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angelicimagines · 3 years

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(Regular Ask | Any Mod) Post-Game Hajime, Nagito, Gundham, Sonia, and Akane dating the Ultimate Enologist who always plays tricks on them with swapping their drinks (innocently). Like; Hajime being asked to taste their new concoction, and it's literally just orange juice/favorite drink with no sweetener/additives, LOL.

Hello there Anon. This reminds me a lot of those "potions" that we all made when we were kids but they were really just soap and some other stuff mixed with water. I also took some creative liberties with this one cuz I had to mix it up a bit. Here's your request. In other news tumblr crashed on me in the middle of this and deleted a whole ass section. I am ready to fight god with only primal rage as my weapon. -Mod Shuichi

(Post–Game) Hajime Hinata, Nagito Komaeda, Gundham Tanaka, Sonia Nevermind, Akane Owari with a playful Ultimate Enologist!S/O.

Hajime Hinata🍊

🍊 Is immediately suspicious of you. You served him a glass of your new "concoction" but it just tasted like orange juice. Does he look like an idiot to you? 🍊 Begins "interrogating" you about the drink like you're in a trial. You must be the ultimate actor because your acting skills were top notch during the questioning. 🍊 He's out of truth bullets, shit. You got lucky this time, he has his eye on you. 🍊 He is also a massive hypocrite. 🍊 He loves watching others' reactions to your "concoctions". You usually pull this trick when they have already tried some of your original work, so they definitely don't expect to taste lemon juice in what is supposed to be a glass of your newest work. 🍊 Tries to hold in his laughter because then it would look suspicious, like you two were up to something. Maybe in the future though. 🍊 Back on track, he just knows you're paying tricks on him and wants to confront you about it, but… 🍊 Man's a simp. You're just so happy whenever someone falls for your tricks and you genuinely have a passion for creating and pranking and who is he to stop your fun. 🍊 When you do pull the trick on him, y'all have a back and forth debate on whether or not the drink is actually a new creation or apple juice. 🍊 You insist it's a new concoction and he goes "NO THAT'S WRONG!" Oh shit, he's onto you. Rethink your strategy stat! 🍊 You gave him something actually original and said it was "orange juice". 🍊 He drinks it, blinks a few times, and then glares at you. You apparently have a deathwish because you lean closer to his face and feign innocence, batting your eyelashes at him while asking what's wrong. 🍊 You expected another interrogation or maybe a "listen here you little shit", not a kiss on the lips. A surprise to be sure. 🍊 That was the start of a routine. Everytime you played your tricks on him, he'd pull you in and kiss you. You didn't know why he did that, but it was a fun way to get kisses. 🍊 If you ask him, he'd say he wanted you to taste teste your new drink <3

Nagito Komaeda☘️

☘ Very conflicted on how to feel. On one hand, he is sure what he is drinking is not the liquor you said it was; but on the other, who is he to doubt an ultimate? ☘ Plays along and congratulates you on your drink, saying it was very tasty. Bonus points if you do this trick in front of others and they're saying it's plain juice and not whatever fancy name you had said. ☘ Lowkey loves when others argue about your drinks. He always takes your side and it's hilarious. ☘ "I'm telling you that's not wine, it's cranberry juice!" ☘ "It's wine, if the Ultimate Enologist says so then it's wine. Did you spend years studying wines and their craft?" ☘ "I'M NOT AN IDIOT THAT'S CRANBERRY JUICE!" ☘ After a few more tricks he figures it out. You're playing a prank on him huh. ☘ He lets you know by saying thanks for the juice instead of whatever it is you said it was. ☘ You almost dropped the glass you were holding. He thought it was due to his luck, but he let it pass. Your face was just too funny to let the opportunity pass. ☘ Even though he knows, he still plays pretend from time to time. One because it makes you happy and two because you have to keep the illusion going for the others. ☘ You bargained with him over that last point. You promised him cuddles (after lot's of convincing that he did deserve them) in exchange for him acting along when you pulled your trick on others. ☘ Now he gets your cuddles, free drinks, and gets to witness your funny moments when you pull the prank on others. Man he really is lucky. ☘ If you name a drink after him or if one of your drinks is inspired by him he'll cry. Will refuse to drink it himself. ☘ You also share a drink that you say it's a new wine but it's really just dyed water. Others are confused by your couple ritual but y'all are happy so who cares. ☘ Nothing makes him happier than hugging you while you work on your drinks though, it fills him with hope <3

Gundham Tanaka🐹

🐹 Is convinced you're working with dark magic. You made wine taste like orange juice, what type of sorcery do you practice? 🐹 Asks you to see the process to check for magic. Oh no, you're fucked. 🐹 Or so it seems. When he's not looking you swap the drinks and keep the illusion going. He has yet to find out. 🐹 You sometimes pretend to add blood (red food coloring) to the decorations of the glass you serve your drink in and pour a special wine into them to make it look like blood. 🐹 People are convinced you two are vampires because of this. 🐹 You make non alcoholic drinks for the Devas in exchange for protection and a special place in his dark realm. You can also pet the devas free of repercussions. 🐹 Is insulted when someone even dares to suspect your drinks aren't really anything new. How dare they question the work of his soul's chosen companion sorry Hajime. 🐹 Very confused as to why others argue with you over your drinks. He is certain the contents of that glass are not apple juice, it's your new concoction inspired by the Devas. 🐹 The day he finds out your secret is the day the apocalypse began (not really but it felt like it). 🐹 You were preparing your drinks for the trick and waiting for him. He decided to surprise you by showing up a bit earlier and that resulted in him catching you mid switch. 🐹 Kept staring at you and the drink back and forth repeatedly, until the information was processed. 🐹 He's been tricked, sabotaged, and quite possibly bamboozled. 🐹 Began to doubt your status as a mortal and started having a crisis. In front of two perfectly fine drinks but ok. You came clean after that and he feigned betrayal. Even got the devan in on it too. 🐹 Both of you acted like it was a scene from a telenovela while trying to hold in y'alls laughter. You eventually got to the part where you begged for forgiveness. 🐹 Will forgive you on one condition, you pull that trick on Souda <3

Sonia Nevermind👑

👑 Before you even got to pull your tricks on her you were already her own personal enologist. Only the best for a princess. 👑 Does notice that your concoctions taste strangely like every day juices you can buy from the store, but she decides to give you the benefit of the doubt. 👑 Loves it when you do it to others though. She might not know what is happening but watching you argue with Fuyuhiko over what you just served him is hilarious. 👑 Gets whiplash whenever you pull your trick right after a formal event. You serve a magnificent cocktail never seen or tasted before and the next second you serve her what tastes like pineapple juice. 👑 You come to her for inspiration on what drinks to do next, it mostly involves references to the occult disguised as fancy people drinks. 👑 Does she find out about your secret? Yep 👑 She was looking for you to spend quality time together when she say you pour a glass of peppermint lemonade and label it as "new drink". 👑 Someone walked up to your stand and asked to try said drink and you served them the lemonade. They were extremely confused and from there a discussion started. 👑 She scurried away before you could catch her, equally as confused as the poor customer you just served. 👑 The next day, she asked to try some of your drinks and they all tasted like normal drinks. What happened to your awesome concoctions you served during parties? 👑 She's on a mission now, she's gonna get to the bottom of this mystery. 👑 One time, while you weren't looking, she snuck into your storage room to confirm her suspicion and found you working on your new wine (legit this time). 👑 You didn't seem to mind she had snuck into your storage room and invited her over to see the process. After that was done you offered her a glass as a taste test. 👑 She took a sip and it tasted like…mango juice? When she looked at you with a confused expression you laughed and offered her a glass of the actual drink. 👑 In that moment she realized she doesn't mind your tricks that much, if it makes you smile that brightly she'll always for for it <3

Akane Owari🤸

🤸 She would gulp down anything that you "concocted" for her because she loves you and you make killer drinks. 🤸 Would probably "get drunk" on whatever you decided to give her because of placebo effects and whatnot. 🤸 It is very fun to give her something like lemon water and saying it's a new type of tequila and you want her to do the honors of taste testing it. 🤸 Gladly does it and comments that it takes a bit like lemon. Then gives suggestions to other flavour you could add in your "tequila". 🤸 Others have tried to convince her it wasn't a new concoction because after the ntheenth time she had fallen for the trick it got a bit worrying. 🤸 She denies it every time. 🤸 One time you were serving her a glass of your new "drink" that was really just apple juice dyed to look like fine wine. 🤸 "Thanks for drink S/O, it looks delicious!" 🤸 You try to supress your giggles as she drank the whole thing and gave you back the glass. 🤸 She did comment that it "kinda tastes like apple juice" but that theory was dismissed due to the color of the drink. 🤸 Your plan fell right into place, good for you. Though the cheering had to be reserved for another time. 🤸 That time would be when you were cleaning the dishes because it gave you some alone time to cheer on your victory and you had a bunch of glasses to clean. 🤸 As you left with her empty glass in hand to get started on the dishes, Akane smiled to herself and lighty chuckled at the recent exchange 🤸 Plot twist, she knew that you were just messing with her. She played along with you because you always had the brightest smile whenever serving her a drink and she loved seeing you happy. 🤸 She just wants to see you happy, plus she gets free drinks <3

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thechekhov · 4 years

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what's so bad about terfs? honestly asking, idk if I've ever seen anything worse than them being mean online and people being mean back..?

Hmm, where to begin.

Well, let’s look at this comparatively. If you zoom out, isn’t the whole of the internet just ‘being mean online’ and people ‘being mean back’? That doesn’t tell us much about the details.

[Content Warning: I’m gonna talk about suicide, online harassment, bullying, transphobia, slurs, etc, so please proceed with caution.]

Let’s expand the meaning of things you can call ‘mean’. We get a whole range of things. From a teenager leaving a mildly rude YouTube comment on a video to a well-known blog encouraging their followers that sending someone death threats is ok if they ‘really are a bad person’ (and ‘a bad person’ can have many definitions. They can point to a trans woman and say ‘that’s just a perverted man!’ and make the vitriol feel somehow ‘deserved’ because they have built up a narrative where they are a victim.)

So... what happens when those people say ‘mean things’? What happens, more importantly, when the people listening to these ‘mean things’ read the messages and go out into the real world... and vote? And go into a bathroom, see someone they think is a trans person, and yell ‘YOU’RE JUST A PERVERT! YOU DON’T BELONG HERE!’? And get them possibly arrested - for just trying to go to the bathroom in peace?

Do you see where I’m going with this?

I sometimes get the feeling that people think things that happen online are somehow... not real. Like the internet is an alternate dimension where feelings don’t matter, no one is a human being, and you can just say whatever you want without consequence.

Be it a mean joke... or a rude message to someone you think is stupid saying ‘no one likes you’... or an anonymous ask that says ‘lol you’re just a standard f*gg*t, kill urself’... or a YouTube video of someone influential yelling ‘THE WORLD WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THEM’... or a US President tweeting that he is prepared to use military force on protesting citizens.

So where do we draw the line? Why do we think none of these things matter?

The point is, the internet isn’t removed from people. It’s not just a bunch of ‘mean messages’. It’s people with harmful views, often propagating those views, sometimes even encouraging violence or excusing horrible behavior.

Keep in mind - the real world also has its fair share of mean messages. They’re called ‘arguments’ and just like on the internet, many of these can be dismissed by the same token of being seemingly trivial.

“Oh yeah, I saw these two people on the streets. One of them was being mean, and the other was just being mean back.”

[Image Description: Two people are arguing with each other, those there are no words depicted, only exclamation marks to indicate heated debate.]

Sounds like nothing much happened. And maybe it didn’t. Maybe it was just a standard argument about, I don’t know, movies. Or pineapple pizza.

Or maybe it was one person saying “You’re a freak and a pedo and you shouldn’t be allowed to take care of children!” and another person saying “I am a human being, I have never hurt a child, and I deserve to be happy, and I deserve to have a family and not be treated like a criminal for simply existing in a non-cis-conforming-way!”

And maybe it ends there. Maybe no one listens, and maybe they both walk away, and it’s just that.

Or maybe... maybe their argument is overheard.

Maybe there’s an audience.

[Image description: The two people arguing from earlier are now seen from further away. There are other people watching them from afar - and many seem to be siding with one person or the other based on the color of their thought bubbles.]

Maybe someone walks away from this argument and votes to make it illegal to trans people to use their preferred restroom. Maybe someone outs a transgender coworker and gets them fired. Maybe someone goes home to their child and says ‘I read all about your ‘transgenderism’ on the internet and it’s a sick disease! I did my research! This is a blogger I trust and respect - and if you don’t cut this shit out, you can pack your bags and get out of my house!’

Words have power. And now, more than ever, we have access to a lot of messages. Those messages aren’t always harmless, and they aren’t always clearly harmful - often, they just sound ‘mean’. And it’s easy to call them that.

But I encourage you guys to look deeper. Don’t just allow yourself to think ‘that’s kinda mean’ and dismiss. Read it again - ask yourself if it might have a different meaning. Ask yourself - if someone who knows NOTHING about trans people read this, what beliefs would THEY start to form if they had no other information to balance this out?

If you personally think these messages are merely petty squabbles and have no effect, that’s for you to judge. And certainly, the internet is full of such things.

But it never hurts to follow through. No harm will be done from thinking about something a bit more - but plenty of harm has been done through ignoring the early warning signs.

#chekhov answers #terfs #terf #transphobia #harassment #homophobia #dogpiling #Anonymous

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alwaysmychoices · 4 years

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So, I wrote a HC that was pretty angsty and messy about what would have happened if Ethan and MC started dating after Miami. I still think that would have happened, but I started wondering, “what would I have written if I was writing a cute HC about that?” Next thing I knew, it was 2 am and I was writing this on my phone from my bed.

So, here are all the cuter details about what I think would have happened if they started dating in Book 1.

Ethan & MC Dating after Miami - Cute Moments HC 💖

When Ethan and MC started a relationship in Miami, neither of them had any idea how hard those first six months would be. Between the fights and miscommunications, they were just trying to get to know each other while their personal lives went to hell.

There were breakups, makeups, passive aggressions, avoidance, and even a few rounds of silent treatments.

But there was a reason they always came back. Because, late at night, when they mulled over their loss, it wasn’t the bad things that they thought of - it was the good, the pure, and the four letter word on the tip of their tongue that brought them back to each other’s doorstep time and time again.

Because, when they were good, they were amazing.

Ethan loved to send MC flowers.

Before MC, he had never been the kind of man who sent flowers. They were messy, impermanent, and hard to enjoy when you spent all your time at work.

But one time, MC said she mentioned that she liked buying flowers because they allowed her to enjoy a piece of nature, even when she spent her whole day inside the hospital.

The first time he sent them, Ethan had made a real ass out of himself. He said something stupid at dinner, which lead to a fight. He had already worked it out with MC, and though she assured him it was alright, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to do something to prove that he wasn’t such a jerk. On impulse, he ordered 2 dozen roses to be sent to her apartment.

When she got home to her roommates crowding around the prettiest rose bouquet she had ever seen, it didn’t even cross her mind that it could be for her - not until Elijah supplied the card addressed to her from a secret admirer.

Once she was alone, MC called Ethan to make sure it was really him. She couldn’t imagine him willingly ordering such a romantic gift, but she also couldn’t picture someone else giving it to her.

When she asked him if he bought the flowers, he tensed, afraid he’d accidentally risked their secrecy by sending it to her home, but he anxiously admitted that he did and asked if she liked them.

And when she said she loved them... he felt a feeling so unfamiliar he couldn’t classify it. He was so proud to be the one who sent them and so happy that he found a way to make her smile when he so often felt like he was always messing up with her. Right then, he knew this wouldn’t be the last time he sent her flowers.

And it wasn’t. He regularly sent her bouquets and only let up a little when her roommates became suspicious. Once, when MC was alone in his apartment dog sitting Jenner, he had a massive flower arrangement delivered to her with just the message “I miss you.”

To accommodate their busy schedules, date night usually meant going back to Ethan’s apartment with takeout, but after one too many nights of Thai delivery, Ethan decided to teach MC how to cook.

He was startled to realize she had absolutely no idea how to cook. How had she gotten this far into adulthood without this basic skill? Every week, he had a new recipe for them to try, and he would walk her through all the steps.

When Ethan concentrated on cooking, he got these little lines between his eyebrows. MC thought they were cute. Sometimes, she would smooth them out with her thumb to remind him to relax. Other times, she would kiss them. When she did that, he always became distracted. Once, he almost cut his hand because he was so wrapped up in her.

Ethan pretended to find this annoying, but whenever she did it, he showed a small smile that gave him away.

Their fights were usually brutal. They were both so smart and so stubborn that the fights became unwinnable.

And probably because of that, their debates were practically a force of nature.

More than once, they spent a whole Saturday afternoon half naked in Ethan’s apartment and debating the finer points of medical ethics or treatments for patients. They usually could reach an agreement, except when they debated pineapple on pizza.

They pushed each other.

They made each other better doctors for having worked together and better people for having known each other.

Perhaps more importantly, they cared about each other. Even when they were locked in a disagreement or feigning disinterest, they cared. If the other needed them, they were there.

They needed each other more than they would admit. Very quickly, MC became Ethan's rock as they treated Naveen. She was the only one who could understand what he was going through.

MC was nervous to tell Ethan about being sabotaged at work. She didn't want him to think of her as the kind of person who blamed someone else for her mistakes, but when Landry was exposed as a traitor, she was devastated and just wanted Ethan to comfort her.

When he found out all that Landry did, Ethan was furious. Beyond hurting his girlfriend, he had endangered dozens of patients and the stability of the whole hospital.

But he was also hurt that MC hadn't told him.

Ethan realized that he wanted to be the person she shared her problems with. He wanted to be her person, just like she was his.

MC was surprised that, when it came to someone insulting or hurting her, Ethan was always on her side - even when she was equally as guilty. Once, MC complained that an attending made a sexist, offhand comment during rounds. Ethan never liked that attending again. When someone hit on MC and made her uncomfortable when they were at a bar together, Ethan told him off and forced him to leave.

Ethan was equally surprised by how jealous MC could get. He rarely noticed when women flirted with him, so it took him a few months to detect MC's jealousy. The first time he saw it, they were having a drink at a bar. A woman was very shamelessly coming onto him, though she didn't get much of Ethan's attention, but MC looked furious. Every time the woman came over to talk to them, MC moved just a little bit closer until she was almost in his lap.

When he took MC home, he commented on it, assuring her that he was only there for her, but MC grumbled that it happened all the time and that he didn't notice.

So, he started paying attention, and wow, it happened way more often than he thought. Even patients flirted with him, earning a glare from MC.

Once, when Ethan and MC were in the middle of a really big fight, Ethan caught MC staring at him at Donahue’s. To get a rise out of her, Ethan started flirting with the woman sitting a few seats down at the bar. MC was outraged. Thirty minutes later, when he got up to leave, MC followed him out, and they yelled at each other in the ally. And then they made out in the ally and had sex in the back of his car.

The next morning, they acted like nothing happened at work.

In fact, that was usually how they acted at work.

But at the beginning of their relationship, there were plenty of cute moments to be had at Edenbrook.

Like when their hands would accidentally brush when looking over a chart. Or when Ethan's breath hit her neck when he looked over her shoulder to see if she was doing something right. Or secret meetings in his office under the guise of needing to talk about a patient.

But MC thought the sweetest moments where the ones when he would see her coming down the hall, and just for a second, his face soften and warm to her. Almost immediately after, his face would harden again as he got back to work. But in that short little moment, MC knew she made him happy.

Keeping the secret was so hard, especially when MC was always under the watchful eyes of her roommates and friends.

They were all convinced she was in love with someone and joked that she had a secret boyfriend. MC laughed along, but they never actually thought it was Dr. Ramsey.

To make it a little less obvious, she always joined in when they complained about him.

Ethan noticed and rolled his eyes, but he didn’t stop her.

The only person who noticed in Ethan’s life was Naveen, but Ethan skillfully dodged the question whenever he could.

However, they had almost been caught so many times, in and out of the hospital. Even at the farmer’s market, they weren’t safe from a coworker finding them and innocently approaching.

MC always looked around before she kissed him, and Ethan had to be at least 5 miles from the hospital to show any display of affection, not that he particularly liked public displays of affection in the first place.

MC knew that she loved Ethan before she even really knew him, which was terrifying. She worried that, one day, she would learn some horrible fact or realize some unforgiveable trait. Ethan, on the other hand, never imagined that MC would become ruined in his eyes. He didn't think she could. No, he worried that he would be the one to make the mistake.

Both them harbored a lot of insecurities in their relationship - insecurities that held them back.

When they shed them, even just for the night, it was incredible.

Some of the best nights were spent wine-drunk, oversharing hundreds of little details that shaped who they were. MC liked hearing about Ethan's childhood, and she frequently needled him about his mysterious past relationship with Harper. Ethan wanted to know everything about her adult life before him, even when it included ex-boyfriends he instinctively hated.

When their relationship settled into comfortable, stable commitment, they still had nights like that.

Even when they moved in together, they sometimes picked out a bottle of wine, finished the whole thing, and spent the second bottle of wine sharing stories and experiences.

That was when it felt real. That was what reminded them that this was magic - that this was love.

@stateofgracious I think this was kinda cute, so maybe I can do some cute ones 🤞

#Ethan Ramsey #Ethan Ramsey x mc #Open Heart #Open heart 2 #choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry

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wocfics · 4 years

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In The Dark 2

Part 2

Arranged Marriage Series

Masterlist

PJM x Poc Reader

Warnings: Eating disorder, slut shaming, heavy angst with fluff in between

Word Count: 3.2k+

Sore feet would be an issue for a while once you started back up doing ballet again. You had no problem doing it before but that was when you were only doing it three times a week and now you were doing it for five times a week, six hours a day. Two classes each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The only ones not complaining were the little girls who were enjoying their learning experience with hopes of becoming a professional one day. It did take your mind off of what was going on at home between you and Jimin. You’d wake up a little before he did to get a workout in before getting ready for work. You always changed at the studio before class started and stretched beforehand.

Lately you have been feeling a bit tired, light headed, nauseous, fatigued and on the verge of just passing out. You drank plenty of water but the real problem was with your eating. You just weren’t eating much of anything. Ever since Jimin made a comment about your weight a few months ago, you just couldn’t let it go. You ate only every other week or so and you knew it wasn’t healthy but in your mind, you needed to be smaller. Even the teacher of your class was smaller than you were and you wanted to look perfect. You worked out constantly and whenever you did feel like you were going to pass out, you’d eat plain rice and shredded chicken to keep yourself going.

It was starting to take a toll on your body, you’d force yourself up every morning and would be so happy on your days off. Jimin would ask you a few times if you wanted to sit and eat with him but you’d lie and say you had eaten already. He knew you were lying to him.

After coming home early after your second class, you placed your bag into the bedroom and took out your clothes from the duffle bag to place them in the hamper next to the bedroom door. You ran some hot water in the bathtub and changed into cloth shorts before sitting on the edge of the tub and placing your feet into the water, hissing at the pain in your toes from practicing so much this week. You took your hair down from the bun it had been in and scratched your scalp while slowly wiggling your toes around in the water. You turned off the water and sighed heavily, staring down at your feet. Ballet was different from when you used to strip. With stripping, you could do whatever you wanted and be as loose as you wanted to be. With ballet, you had to be organized, poised and not miss a beat or a step. Everything had to be perfect, even you.

You had been sitting there for a couple of minutes and decided to drain the tub and dry your feet with a towel. Your feet were still sore but not as much as earlier, so you ignored the slight pain and went to make yourself some rice and chicken, measuring everything out before placing the chicken in the pan and the rice in a small pot of water with the lid on. You heard keys jingling in the door before Jimin walked in with two plastic bags, sliding off his shoes and walking into the kitchen to place them on the counter. “I ordered takeout.” He said then looked at the chicken you were cooking and tilted his head to the side. “Who’s eating the tiny piece of chicken? Do you have someone’s child here?” He asked, looking around before looking back at you, obviously knowing you were cooking ir for yourself.

“It’s just leftover that I forgot to cook, I didn’t want to waste it so I’m cooking it.” You looked through the cupboard while he took out whatever was in the bag, and grabbed your box of ballerina tea. He glanced up at you and quickly walked over to snatch the box out of your hand and put it in the trash. “Y/N, you’re not drinking that and you’re not eating that little bit of food either. I ordered some ramen, meat and dumplings and you’re going to eat it with me, okay?” He spoke softly and you shook your head. “I’m not that hungry-” “Seriously? I’ve heard that before..” He sighed heavily and leaned back on the counter. “You haven’t been eating and I know it’s because of me, but that didn’t mean that I wanted you to starve yourself. I’m sorry if what I said hurt you, if I knew that it would do this to you then I wouldn’t have said that you were a little heavy. I take it back, I’m not a malicious person but you look like a twig now and I’m afraid you’re gonna snap in half if someone even hugs you. Please just eat something.” He begged.

Turning off the stove top, you mixed up the rice, adding salt and pepper and tried blinking away your tears. He was such a jerk to you a few months ago and now he’s sorry? “I am eating, Jimin. I just...I don’t want to look too fat standing next to you when we go to events or anything. I have to look perfect.” You hated that your voice was cracking and you hated that he was grabbing your hand so gently that you might shatter in shards of glass or something. You mostly hated how much you were crying right now.

“Y/N...you don’t think I know where you’ve been right now? You’ll get sick and you won’t be able to go anywhere with me. It’s not good for you to do this to yourself, especially in your line of work.” He wiped the tears from your eyes and from your cheeks, his eyes pleading with yours. You looked away and wrapped your arms around your stomach, glancing over at the food on the table, mentally debating with yourself. “Please? At least eat some meat, I don’t want to see another piece of tasteless chicken with plain rice in this house again.” He whined and you let him pull you over to the table to sit down next to him. He made you a plate with meat and a few dumplings and picked one up to feed it to you. “I promise, it’s good. Open.” You opened your mouth and ate the dumpling. Of course it was delicious. It was the best thing you had eaten in two months and to be honest you wanted to eat everything on the table but because you weren’t eating as much as you used to, you didn’t want to get sick from eating too much at once.

That night, you ate a few more dumplings and some pork before calling it quits and going to take a shower. You washed your hair and did your hair routine, diffusing your curls so they would be dry and extra curly before tying your hair up into its usual pineapple and dressing in your oversized shirt and shorts for bed. Sitting on the bed, you rubbed your feet, poking out your lip at how sore they were and saw Jimin coming in from his shower, dressed in only pajama pants while he dries his hair. He watched you for a minute before climbing into the bed. “You’re going to ruin your feet trying to be a world class ballerina.” He grabbed your right foot and placed it in his lap, looking over your toes before gently massaging your foot. You flinched a little and blushed, not used to him in this way.

“You should get a small bucket and ice your feet in between hot soaks so they won’t look like you’ve been trying to kick boulders all day. And stretch your toes more or you’ll ruin your foot muscles. Get a massage every week, I’ll set up your appointments with mine when I go so we’ll go together. You should call out until after the award show, give your feet some time to rest since you’re literally on your toes all day long.” His soft hands massaged your foot and switched to the other one and it felt nice. You felt your eyes getting heavy as you agreed with everything he was saying, sliding under the covers once he let your foot go. He finished getting ready for bed and turned off the bedroom light before joining you under the blankets.

Your nights were usual, him holding onto you since you never stayed still during the night while your back was to him. You did listen to him the next day, taking off up until a few days after the ward show since you didn’t think you could stand another day, literally.

Red. Of course he wanted you both to wear red for this event. Your ruby red long sleeve body con dress with pearls as buttons in the back and off the shoulder neckline definitely seemed like something you would wear if you could afford it. It was a good thing you were allowed to keep the dress after it was designed to fit you. You wore black platform booties and your makeup was more on the plain side, since you didn’t want to take away from the bright color of the dress. Your hair was straightened with a side part and pearl clips decorated the one side while your necklace was black with matching earrings.

Even with heels on, Jimin was still a little taller than you were. You two held hands the entire time, taking pictures and some of the fans cheering when they saw him, others glaring at you, but of course that would happen. You didn’t speak much during the show, only smiling and clapping when it was time to. If one of the other wives said anything to you, you’d reply back to them but keep your eyes on the stage and cheered when the boys performed their lengthy performance. They all did so well and you were especially proud at the awards they were winning.

“There’s an afterparty, come on. It'll be fun.” He spoke to you while you were in the car, nodding in agreement with him. You mostly followed him everywhere, letting him introduce you to a few of his friends. You were standing with him while he spoke to a few women he knew, them giggling and feeding into his naturally flirty self. They glanced at you and raised an eyebrow at each other. “So this is Mrs. Park Jimin huh?” One of them said and you smiled and nodded. Jimin grabbed a glass of champagne while they spoke. “So many girls are jealous of you, someone as handsome as Jimin ending up with someone like you.” She said and you furrowed your brows before she laughed. “I mean, you were a stripper right? You took your clothes off for money?” She asked while the other girl just stood there, trying not to laugh. Jimin sighed heavily. “Yuri...be quiet.” He smiled at her and you let go of his hand quickly. “I’m just saying, that’s disgusting. Strippers do more than just take their clothes off for money, who knows what else she’s done for extra. Haven’t you heard the stories Jiminie? Sometimes they turn to prostitution. So, Y/N, have you done that too? All strippers have, I’m sure and now you’re with Jimin? Aish, so disgusting. Jiminie, I hope you got tested before you had sex with her.” She said. Jimin’s face was red but he said nothing, just glanced over at you before looking down.

If anyone’s face was flushed with embarrassment, it was you. Why would he tell some person you didn’t even know about your past life? Yuri held out her phone to you to show you a picture. An old picture of you, back in the states in a purple bra and see through shorts, posing with an old coworker, one that you knew hated you. “This is you right? It’s all over the internet now, those sasaengs know how to find information very fast, especially when it’s raunchy like this.” You suddenly felt small and you couldn’t help but look at Jimin once again, his jaw clenching as he stared at the phone. “Jimin…” You said quietly and he sighed. He wasn’t going to say anything? Clearing your throat, you turned away and quickly walked out of the after party. “Y/N…” Jimin called out and walked after you. You needed to get out of there and fast, you felt like you were ready to explode into a million pieces but you had to hold everything in for not, you didn’t want anyone to see you so upset.

It was a good thing you got into the car since everyone else seemed like they were ready to go anyways. Perfect timing. You sat with your hands in your lap and pulled away when Jimin tried to reach for you. No way was he even touching you right now. He couldn’t even open his mouth to stick up for you when you had nothing to say to defend yourself to those women and besides, he was flirting with them and they were eating it up.

You said nothing the entire car ride home once you got into you and Jimin’s car and walked ahead of him into the apartment. Taking off your shoes, you stormed into the bedroom before he called your name again. “Y/N!” He yelled and you turned to look at him, your face turned into something he hadn’t seen before, even with your talk last week. Pain. Your eyes were red as hot tears escaped them while you sobbed, your chest rising up and down. “You just s-stood there while they said that to me! You said n-n-nothing, you let them judge me! I don’t even know them and you’re talking about me...to other people? What did I do to you, huh? Waht the fuck did I do to you?!” You yelled and walked over to your mirror to take the clips out of your hair. Reaching behind you to undo the buttons on your dress, you grabbed your tshirt and took off your dress before sliding the big shirt over you and placing the dress on the bed.

Jimin now had tears in his own eyes. “Y/N, please...I don’t know how to say sorry without you being mad at me. I was shocked at the picture myself and at what Yuri was saying. I didn’t think she would bring it up like that, especially there.” He sniffled a little and slowly walked over to you. Wiping the makeup off your face with a wipe, you moved away from him and went to wash your face quickly in the bathroom and applied your usual skincare. You were still upset and grabbed a blanket from the closet. “Leave me alone, I’m not sleeping in here. I’ll be in the living room.” You pushed past him and walked into the living room, wrapping yourself up in the blanket and curling into a ball on the couch, tucking your head into the blanket and shaking as you let every emotion out.

After doing the same, Jimin walked into the living room, seeing you so upset and crying made his heart ache. He never meant to hurt you but he wasn’t going to just let you be upset, especially before bed. He was crying himself, upset with himself for not saying anything and letting someone else get under your skin, he was just so angry with them that he didn’t want to explode on the wrong person. Sitting on the couch next to you, he unwrapped the blanket from you and pulled you into his lap, regardless of you pushing and pulling away from him, he was stronger than you and you knew it but that didn’t stop you from at least trying. He hurt you, but worst of all, he let someone else hurt you while he was standing right there.

He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly, rocking you back and forth, your head against his chest as he closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/n...I’m so sorry. Please..” He pressed his forehead against yours, shushing you and trying to comfort you. “Why would you let them say that to me? I don’t deserve this…they’re laughing at me now…” You were hyperventilating now, still trying to push away from him but that just made him hold you tighter. “I was stupid, I fucked up Y/N and I’m going to fix it. I promise. I made a mistake. I’m so sorry.” He whispered, pushing your hair back to look at you. He wrapped the blanket around the both of you once you stopped fighting back and he picked you up, carrying you back into the room and laying you down on the bed.

He climbed in behind you after turning off the light and rubbed your back until you calmed down, pressing kisses to the back of your head. This continued for an hour until you turned around to face him, your eyes red and puffy, the look of purse exhaustion on your face as he stared at you, puffy eyed as well. “Please let me make it right, okay? I’m so sorry I hurt you..” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead. You whimpered, your face pouting like a sad puppy once he looked at you. He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him. “I’m sorry.” He said once again and you rested your hand on his cheek. “I already heard you.” You said quietly. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to be with-” “Don’t say that please...I want you to be here, with me. Okay? I suck at this but please give me a chance to make things better? I’ll make it right for you.” He rubbed your back as he spoke and you nodded.

He leaned forward a little more, rubbing your noses together until you smiled just a little before he pressed his lips into yours, molding them together. He pulled back and looked at you. “Is that okay to do?” He asked. “Yes, it’s perfect.” You said quickly and leaned in to kiss him again, the feeling of his pillow soft lips against yours had you parting your lips and dragging your tongue across his. As your tongue danced with each other, his hand snaked down your side and tugged on your ass, keeping it in a death grip as your hand as you moaned into his mouth before slowly pulling away, him chasing after your lips, leaving kisses against them until he pulled away and looked at you. “I’m sleepy.” You said and he shook his head. “Don’t do this to me right now, you got me worked up.” He whined and kissed your neck. Breathing in deeply, you turned around, pressing your back to his chest as he kissed and sucked on your neck until you patted his hand that went back to your ass again. “Get some sleep, Jimin.” You kept his hand on your waist and he sighed in frustration. “I don’t know how I’m going to sleep with blue balls but I’ll try.” He mumbled.

“Goodnight, Jimin...I forgive you.” You rubbed the back of his hand and he kissed the back of your head, holding you close. “Thank you.” He whispered in your ear, watching you fall asleep until he did the same.

#bts fanfics #BTS jimin #park jimin #park jimin imagine #bts x poc #bts x black reader #bts x poc reader #btspoc #bts poc #jimin fanfic #jimin imagine #arranged marriage #kpop poc #pockpop #pocimagine #bts imagines #bts imagine #jimin x reader #jimin x black reader

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years

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11. You Used to Love It

This chapter is the last good one for a while. I mean, there’s some pain here, I suppose, but nothing like what’s about to happen in the next few chapters. And, I’d like to dedicate this particular one to the apex of the Mall Rats shippers @scipunk63 and of course, my Infinity Train fandom ace boon koon @i-am-a-passenger 3668 Words

Even the idea of going back to school after the awesome summer that she had SUCKED. She halfway had the mind to tell her parents that she’d like to go back to personal professors, but she knew that ship had sailed. With her father being up in arms about her academic career and the fact that she hadn’t yet started looking for colleges… She didn’t NEED college, and if ever she did, she’d have enough to go then, so there was no need for her to lose her mind over it like he was.

“Grace!” Ah, finally. Some good fucking company.

Simon rushed to her and grabbed her from the ground to squeeze her into a tight hug. He immediately began talking to her about school. She sighed. They had one more weekend before school began, so she straight up just cupped her hand over his mouth and shook her head. Then, she removed her hand and eyed him suspiciously.

“What’s happened to your face?” she asked.

“What’s… happened… to it?” He repeated, confused.

“Did you do something?”

“Is this like that time you thought my eye color changed?”

“No! This is real… WAIT. Did you do your eyebrows? AND shave off your peach fuzz??” She was on the verge of laughter.

“I think it makes me look more presidential,” he said, straightening the collar of his hoodie.

She laughed, “Sir, you are the junior class president…”

“Also debate captain, academic decathlon, I have a position in journalism,” he grumbled, ‘Two actually,” and completed his list, “As well as STILL the top of our class. People won’t take me seriously if I don’t take myself seriously. That’s one thing that my dad taught me.”

“He should’ve added that they won’t take you seriously if you take yourself too seriously, because I definitely do not.”

“Rude. I shouldn't give you your welcome home present… But, I already spent money on it.”

“You… spent money on me? Simon! You KNOW that you don’t have to do that!”

“Yeah, but I wanted to, and I rarely ever do. Besides, it’s a special occasion. The Apex is back together.” He pulled a gift basket out of his bag and presented it to her.

“This is from that fancy custom basket place near the mall!” she said. That was WAY out of Simon’s budget, but also, not returnable. “Simon!” She fussed.

“Please, just tell me that you love it.”

“I do!” She accepted it with damp eyes and a trembling lip. There was a boxed honeycomb, a bottle of honeysuckle nectar extract, and a honey bun shaped like a bear. “This is really cute, Simon. I really love it. It’s one of the best gifts you’ve ever given me.” She reached out to hug him and he went in for a kiss. She gasped and he startled, then she rested her head against his chest and he rested his face on her hair… both confused as to why the other acted that way.

Honey had become one of Grace’s things, because of the products she represented and her natural branding, over the summer, she’d been being called, The Internet’s Honey, and so she ran with it. Apex members were putting the little honeypot emojis in her comments, brands started sending her their honey - which she loved because she could use it for SO many health and beauty purposes, but also, she was reckless and sometimes, just wanted to eat it. Her favorite way was to eat the honeycomb, with a fancy soft cheese and some fruit - generally honeydew melon, just because there sort of was a flow of collaboration.

Simon had commented on a post she made while she was on the road that she should do one of those ASMR eating honeycomb videos… More people liked that comment than she expected. She wasn’t planning on doing ASMR anything and thought it was such a weird thing for Simon, of all people to comment on a post of hers! But, even though she wasn’t going to do one of those at this point in time - she just felt weird about all of her followers watching her eat, even if it was trendy - she still ate around Simon, and on their calls he kept asking her to do the honeycomb thing.

“What is with you, Dude?”

He blushed a lot and shook his head, “I just like it. There’s something soothing about watching you eat and it’s something you love, and I really like the sound, too.”

She gave him a look but reached for her snacking sack and looked through it. “I’ve got mostly fruit snacks in this thing. Ummm… some dried mango, banana, pineapple… a jar of country peach preserves…”

“Are the preserves chunky?”

She examined the jar, “There are pretty big peach pieces in here, actually.” She looked at the anticipation on his face and wondered, “What, you expect me to just eat this with my hands? I definitely don’t have a spoon in here,” she glanced around the hotel she was staying in.

“What’s wrong with eating with your fingers?” he wondered.

“It’s messy! Then, I’ll have to suck my fingers, and this is already weird enough, Simon. What… is this gonna do for you?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, it’s relaxing, and you’re just usually the person who helps me relax the most.”

“The anticipation of school got you riled up?”

“The anticipation of things with your dad.” he sighed.

She nodded, “He stresses me out too.” She laughed at herself, shook her head and said, “Fine, fine. I guess… here I am eating peach preserves out of a jar, with my fingers, for my best friend.”

“It’s a show of love,” he said, as he began recording her on their video call.

Presently, she asked him, “Are you gonna wanna watch me eat the contents of this gift?”

“Very intently.” She laughed. She didn’t get it, but also… It did seem to help him out the times she’d done so on his calls, and it didn’t seem sexual or anything.

Over the weekend, he was with her at the house. Her parents were away, and most likely wouldn’t be back until the week after school began. That meant that Simon would be spending every night that they weren’t there with her. She didn’t want to stay in the house, either. Especially if they were going to be milking the boyfriend/girlfriend thing. She wanted to be out and about with him, maybe cause some trouble, do some secret destroying.

He was perfectly content to just stay inside, just the two of them, because they hadn’t been able to be that way for a while. Of course, her desires won out. They went to the mall that evening. It was only open for a few more hours, but they loved the mall. They used to frequent it and were actually banned from a few stores, but they hadn’t been in a while and she wanted a corn dog from the Corn Dog Express.

She generally didn’t have any pockets, and Simon generally had several large ones (some with buttons), so he always carried her wallet and whenever they (she) bought something, he usually handed over the card. She thought about carrying a fanny pack, because it latched on to you, but she just couldn’t rectify the thought with the fact that those things were hideous. Maybe if she were trapped in uncivilized society...

So, whenever they got to the Corn Dog Express and ordered, she turned to look at him when they were given the total. “I… don’t have it..” Simon told her. She furrowed her eyebrows and patted herself down. Did she… forget her wallet? And her cell phone?? The clerk looked annoyed while Grace looked worried. She could have sworn that she picked them up on their way out of the door..

“Did you two really order all of this without any money?”

“Chill out. She may have forgotten her wallet. It happens.” Simon said, annoyed at the guy’s tone. He went to the back and Simon heard him say that there was “some Black girl out there trying to scam” them. He immediately was not pleased with that, and he saw from Grace’s face that she’d heard it too.

“Let’s just go,” she said, softly. “I should’ve been more attentive.”

“Mmhmm,” Simon said, but he didn’t budge, save to pull out his phone.

She made a sad face. She really wanted the dogs. “Simon? Did you hear me? I left my wallet at home, not to mention my cell phone. No need for me to further embarrass myself. I don’t even think we’ll have time to go get it and come back before the mall closes.”

But whenever the clerk came back with the manager with him, Simon began announcing, “This null who works at the Corn Dog Express just described Grace Monroe, of the Monroe Square Monroes, as ‘this Black chick trying to scam them.’ Scam them. At the Corn Dog Express. In the mall. That’s it. That’s the entire post.”

Grace covered her mouth and said, “Umm… Simon…” She was actually even more embarrassed, because obviously, these people didn’t know her. They weren’t her target audience, probably had only seen her family name on the plaques of buildings, and she really just wanted to go.

“You are fucking lucky that I don’t make you bob for corn dogs in that hot grease, you…” Grace pulled Simon’s arm and called his name. “You fucking short sighted, beast faced, insignificant little prick. She could buy this entire mall, never touch it again and STILL be above you. Who do you think you are?” The clerk was grateful that they had a plastic display between him and Simon. He looked terrified and the manager was confused but trying to speak on behalf of the company that they didn’t intend to upset Ms. Monroe...

“Simon! Can we PLEASE. Just. Go?” He looked over and she had her fists clenched and she was shaking. He didn’t know if she was mad or sad… or what. It was unclear, but she was asking for them to go. That was clear.

“Are you sure?” he asked her, an eyebrow raised. He had been two seconds away from hopping the counter after this guy.

“I’m positive,” she said, through her teeth, tugging him by the sleeve to come with her. He knocked over everything on the counter, with purpose, looking right into the eyes of his target of anger as they passed it. “Sorry,” she told the workers. She would make sure that they were compensated for that entire scene.

Simon was casually on his phone as she dragged him outside of the mall and whenever they got to the parking lot, he said, “Posted it! We’ll let the Apex at him, now.” She groaned and released him with a shove of the hand she had been clutching his sleeve with.

“What?” He asked.

“Simon… I left my wallet at home. That experience was because of MY mistake, and you just attacked that guy like he was some kind of enemy combatant.”

“He was very rude to you and I didn’t like his tone when he spoke about you. I was defending you. How is that a problem?”

“Because, I have a reputation, Simon! I have a brand. An image! I can’t just go around slapping things off of counters whenever I can’t pay the man at the counter! People SAW us! Some looked like they were recording!” She was highly upset. “You… are gonna go to college, get a degree, build a career. You have several talents and intelligence and pathways. I’ve got THIS, Simon. MY future is nested inside of my personality, and the world can’t think that I’m this person that goes off on people like a rotten brat. I can’t believe that you would put me in something like this!”

“I thought we were in this together. The Apex sticks together.”

“I wish you would’ve stuck with me when I was asking you to leave!”

He ran his hands through his hanging strands of hair and shook his head, “I thought you’d be happy. You used to love when I defended you.”

“We’re not kids anymore, Simon! You can’t DO THAT to people!” she snapped and walked off, hugging herself. “You can’t do that to people,” she said softly and sniffled. Where the hell was she going? He followed her, silently. He had already apologized. Why wasn’t she… doing something to make him feel better about her being upset with him?

“Okay. I’ll follow your lead, Grace. I won’t react next time unless you tell me to.”

She looked at him. She seemed like she wanted to say more to him, but she just gave him a small smile and collected him by his hoodie string. “Let’s just go home and order in. We can watch one of your fantasy movies, or something.” he still looked nervous, like he was worried that she was still mad. She… didn’t ever get mad at him and she was realizing this as she watched him process how she’d just yelled at him in this public space. “That okay with you, Eyebrows?” he chuckled and wrapped an arm around her with a single nod.

Still… They both felt it. Something just wasn’t right between them.

It blew up. Of course it did. What started with Simon’s post generating a massive amount of hate at the Corn Dog Express and the employees there, spiraled into Apex stans making death threats, doxxing these people, and harassing their family members. Grace went live several times to remind them not to do this and to explain that it was indeed her fault that she couldn’t pay because she left her wallet, and assuring fans that she paid after the fact and held no hostility for the staff there.

“I am demanding that the real Apex stand down this time. I’m human. I made a mistake. Yes, the clerk could have been nicer, but I don’t know what kind of day he had or what’s happened to him before. I didn’t take it personally. Simon is a little bit more sensitive about these things happening to me and he got upset and tried to defend me. We’ve talked about it. We’re on the same page. Please leave that guy alone, Apex. Come on. Listen to your Honey.”

With the incident going viral, in those comments appeared a very aggressive woman who wanted to draw people’s attention to her post from a few years prior. It was a post where she cried on camera, showed off bruises and described two kids that beat her up on the train.

Grace gasped whenever she noticed her. Apex members were cussing her out and accusing her of lying, but she was claiming that she even tore out a handful of the girl’s hair and that she was POSITIVE that it was the girl in this video, and she knew that Simon was the same boy, because he looked exactly the same, but longer. She meant taller, and Grace hadn’t thought about that woman in almost as much time since her hair grew back.But, she definitely recognized her whenever she went to her profile.

Then Shana’s little bitch ass comes in to comment, “Actually, I very clearly remember her showing up in society with a shaved head around that time, so I believe you. They call her the Internet’s Honey, but she’s actually a violent, destructive sociopath and I hope that you get your justice.”

Grace’s head was spinning. She didn’t know what to do with bad publicity and this felt like it was a lot. Should she call her mom? Her mom would kill her!

She saw Simon arguing with Shana in the comments, “Do you realize that whenever Grace went natural we were 12? You’re going to believe this stranger when she says that unprovoked Grace and I just beat her up for no reason? I know you’re a jerk, but I thought you were smart.”

The woman fussed, “You put me in a choke hold and crushed my esophagus while she punched me in the ribs and stomach!”

“Prove it, null,” Simon almost instantly typed.

“I still have her hair!”

“And what? You think that your lawyers are going to be able to demand that she release a sample to check it against the hair that your nasty ass has been carrying around for god knows how long? FOH. You deserved to be thrown to the wheels of the train and you got off easy, Jealous Null. You’re jealous of her. Every hater is jealous. Shana certainly is. She’d say anything to try to look better, since the hair weave and makeup doesn’t help.”

“If it doesn’t help, how come you think I’m almost as pretty as her?”

Grace waited for Simon to respond, but instead, she watched as both Shana’s and the woman’s comments vanished… Simon had obviously signed into her account and blocked them. She was both relieved and upset.

This was EXACTLY the kind of thing that she wanted him to not do on her behalf. She started crying. Moments later, he was calling. “Hey… I spoke with your dad. They’re gonna take care of it, okay?”

“What? What did you say?”

“I said that a woman who attacked you a few years ago on the train is claiming that we beat her up, when we actually defended you against her and I gave him the time and date and train, in case they need to go back and check out the surveillance. If it still exists.”

“What?? My parents can’t know that I got into a fight on the train, Simon!”

“You defended yourself on the train. We were 12. That was a grown ass woman and she hit you first.” There was silence. “Grace, please don’t tell me that you’re mad at me again for fixing the problem for you?”

“No,” but she was frustrated about all of this. “I just… My dad… how did he sound?”

“He said he was pleased that I thought to call him.”

“I just don’t want them to be disappointed in me. I don’t want to hurt them like that, and I don’t want them to hurt me.”

“They won’t.” He heard her sniffling on the other end of the calling as she read the comments. “I’m coming over.”

“We’ve got school in the morning.”

“Yeah, which we would’ve rode together to anyway.”

“Simon…”

“You don’t need me?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then, I’m on my way.

Grace cried a lot, curled up in a ball in Simon’s lap. It wasn’t their usual. She didn’t generally come to him with things. She cried on her own, but since he had insisted on being there and insisted on holding her, that’s where she landed and she had to admit that it wasn’t bad, at all. He had told her father that he was going to keep her company and make sure she was safe and sound all night and her father had advised them both to go to school the following day and if anyone asked anything about that woman and her accusations to tell them that they are not at liberty to speak about it.

Grace just hoped that this weekend was not some indication of what type of school year that they might have. She woke up to see Simon climbing out of her bed, shirtless? When did he take off his shirt? Probably in the middle of the night, because he was always hot and always in long sleeves. She had never seen his physique before, that she could remember. Even when they went swimming, he generally wore a wetsuit that was tight fitting, but still covered up everything. He heard her gasp and he jumped and looked at her. “Simon, what happened to your arm?” She asked, climbing out of bed to rush to him. “… Did your mom do this to you?” She wondered, touching his faded tally marks.

He quickly grabbed his undershirt and said, “I won’t like to talk about this.” She bit her lip and wished that she could help him somehow. He smiled softly and kissed her on the forehead, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about me. Just… If you need me today, say the word.”

“What should I even say?”

He thought for a while, “Say, charge.”

She laughed, “Are you gonna charge?”

“If you say charge, somebody is getting messed up.” She laughed lightly. She needed his sense of humor.

“I’m not saying charge, Dude. The way that the Internet has reacted to me telling you NOT to do something? I say charge and they’ll crucify me. My mom’s gonna wind up taking over my social media again.” She rolled her eyes and went for her uniform.

“A signal, then. I need to know when you need me to attack.”

“Simon,” she laughed. “I don’t ever need you to attack. Remember that you’ve got college courses starting this year and college is like super important to you?”

“You’re super important to me too,” he confessed, casually.

Soon, they were dressed, out the door, and heading for the campus. More kids were around outside than typically and Simon knew that it was because they were all waiting for them to arrive. He met Grace at her door and helped her out of the car. They checked each other out, gave a nod to each other that both were good to go, and turned at the same time to walk into the school.

Simon was confident. He had nothing to be ashamed of. Grace had gotten upset over the weekend, but he had done nothing wrong and she was clearly just stressed out, because last night, she’d let him comfort her and be her support system. She had let him hold her and wipe her tears and lift her up. She had let him back in. He was confident that the Apex was going to become stronger than ever before, and keep growing. They stopped at the stop of the stairs and she leaned on his shoulder. A couple of the boys that Grace had kissed on the cheek the previous year rushed to grab the doors for them and the other present Apex kids gathered behind them, following them inside when they went into the building.

#If They Didn't Get on the Train #AU Infinity Train #Infinity Train #Nesha Fanfiction #Infinity Train Fanfiction #fics

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alrighttherescarhead · 5 years

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𝔸 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕒𝕕 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 // e.d

~ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 2

“Y/n!” Ethan nagged, calling me for what seemed to be like the hundredth time. This boy has no patience, whatsoever.

I roll my eyes back in disbelief. “ Alright! I’m coming! Jeez!” When I manage to reach the room the complaining was coming from, my eyes fall upon Ethan’s sprawled out body. His chest was bare and his legs were limp, hanging off the end of his bed. He must’ve become bored of waiting for me as he had his phone out and was hovering it over his face with both hands. He was oblivious to me standing here.

Sneakily, I tiptoe over next to him and scream loudly as I grab him by his bicep and scare the living shit out of him. I’m so funny.

“Jesus, y/n! You made me drop my phone!” He pouts, sitting up and rubbing the left side of his face. I knew it was rude but I couldn’t help but to look at the bright screen laying on his bed beside him. He was looking at my Instagram post that I had put on an hour ago.

“Did you see the comment I left on there?” The pained boy wondered, scrolling through a few of the comments other people had left.

I shake my head ‘no’. “I don’t have any data on my phone.” I confess with a sigh.

Ethan, being the kind being he is, types in the WiFi password in on my phone and hands it back to me.

“I followed you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course, E. It’s fine. Thank you so much!” I smile, looking down at my phone as many notifications pop up.

“Your fans are so fast to respond.” I chuckle, kinda shocked about the amount of comments I was receiving. “Both you guys are so lucky to have such an incredible fanbase.”

A big gleaming smile spreads across Ethan’s face, expressing the love he has for every single fan. “They’re really something aren’t they.” He agrees, leaning towards me slightly, also reading the comments on the photo.

“Do you ever get sick of the attention? I mean, I’m a fan myself but, you get no privacy on social media. Don’t you wish you could comment on something without being bombarded afterwards?” I couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty. Admit it, we’ve all been there, just begging to be noticed by the one person who always seems to make your heart flutter, without fail, even though they have no clue about your existence.

Ethan shakes his head. “No, that’s what social media is for. If I wanna comment privately, I’ll just inbox or text the person instead. Plus it’s nice to give the fans some look into our personal life. It makes them feel move involved.” He’s so caring and sweet, it’s tugging at my heart! “I love my fans, wholeheartedly, and they know I do.”

“Yeah, they definitely know.” I nod in agreement and lock my phone. “Right, so, what’s happening then? We gonna sit and talk all night or do you wanna do something?” Listening to myself talking, I mentally slap myself. He must think I sound like a bitch. “I mean- I really- don’t get me wrong, I love talking to you but I’m sure you don’t want to listen to me blabbering all night.”

“I was enjoying talking, to be honest. I don’t get to talk to many people, other than Grayson, about stuff like that. It’s nice.” He admits, standing up and putting his phone on charge and laying it on his bedside table.

I put my bag down on the floor at the foot of his bed and begin stretching. “I mean, we can carry on talking if you want but I thought it’d just be nice to do something else.”

“Well I did have an activity planned for tonight but because Gray is sick and Sam couldn’t make it, it’s gone out the window.” Ethan sighs, crawling onto his bed and sitting against the headboard.

“What was the plan?” I ask, curiously.

“I was going to suggest bowling but it doesn’t matter. We can always do something else.”

“Like what?”

“Uhh- a movie maybe? We can either go out or we can pull the sofa bed out in the living room and watch something in there? We can get snacks and everything.” I absolutely loved the idea of staying in and watching a movie with E. It sounded like something out of a fan fiction.

“Ooh, I like the sound of staying in. Do you guys have popcorn?”

Ethan stands up off the bed and waves his hand in a ‘follow me’ motion. “I think so but I was thinking of something along the line of pizza?” Say no more!

“YES!” I cheer, clapping excitedly.

He laughs, amused by my reaction and turns the tv on that was hanging on the wall. “Alright, I’ll order after we pull the bed out. Do you just wanna go ask Grayson if he wants some food? He hasn’t really eaten much today.”

“Sure can!” I turn on my heal and head back down the hall to Gray’s bedroom, knocking before walking in.

“Hey Gray, how you feelin’?” I question, peeping my head around the corner to see him sleeping with his mouth wide open and his phone still in his hand.

Debating whether to leave him alone or not, I look at the glass beside his bed and see that it’s empty. Being the good friend that I am, I take his glass and fill it back up with water. On the way back to his room, I grab the sandwich out from my bag, that my papa had given me earlier on today, just in case he wakes up hungry.

As I place the glass and food down on his bedside table, the sleepy boy starts stirring and begins to open is eyes. He smiles lightly after rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands, stretching in the process.

“This for me?” He asks in a groggy voice, sitting himself up and grabbing the sandwich. I nod.

“Yeah, Papa made it. Best sandwich you’ll ever eat.” I tell him, sitting down beside him on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t want it if it’s yours, y/n!” The sick boy complains, holding the food out for me to take.

“No it’s fine! Me and Ethan are gonna order some pizza and watch a movie in the living room.” I assure him. “I’ll save you some if you’d like.”

“Only if it’s pineapple.”

“Okay but you still gotta eat this sandwich though.”

“Deal.” Grayson agrees, taking a bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I wait a few moments for him to get a good taste. Soon enough, his faces lights up in amazement.

“It’s good, isn’t it!”

“Hooolllyyyyyyy-“ he pauses, throwing his head back is delight. “Why is this the best thing I’ve eaten?! Like, ever?!”

“Probably because it’s my grandmas homemade bread.” I chuckle at the boy next to me, looking as though he’s having a food-gasm.

“Alright, well, I’ll leave you and your new lover to have fun. Call me or E if you need anything else.” Grayson nods his head ‘yes’ in response, filling his mouth with another bite of the yummy sandwich.

Walking back into the living room, I notice that Ethan had completed setting up the bed and was now laying down, comfortably.

“Gray okay?” He asks, patting the bed beside him. I do as I’m told and get in next to him, pulling the sheet up to my chin.

“Yeah he’s eating a sandwich I gave him.”

Jealousy washes over Ethan’s face causing me to raise a brow.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning my head towards him.

“That’s not fair! Where’s mine?!” Ethan whines. This boy can’t seriously be upset over the fact I gave his twin brother a sandwich and not him.

“I thought we were gonna get pizza?” I furrow my brows. “And besides, Gray deserves it because he doesn’t get to spend time with us. It’s only fair.”

Ethan huffs “Fine but you owe me.”

Rolling my eyes, I let out a little snicker. “Okay, what about a hug?”

“Make it a cuddle and we’ve got a deal.”

“They’re the same thing, E!”

Ethan shakes his head, vigorously. “No, no, no. A hug is just a quick embrace. A cuddle, however, is warm, comforting and a lot longer.” He explains, bottom lip sticking out in a pout. “Please y/n, just this once.”

I’m not gonna say no to cuddling with Ethan. Who would be stupid enough to say no? I’m gonna get all the cuddles I can.

“Fiiine!” I act casual, as if his request didn’t phase me at all, but truth is I was freaking out inside.

You know when you’ve only just met someone? and you know you shouldn’t feel anything towards them but you can’t help but feel a little attached? That’s exactly how I’m feeling right now.

I pull my hoodie up over my head and throw it on the floor beside me. I didn’t want to get all comfy with Ethan then decide that I’m too hot and have to remove myself from him just to take my hoodie off.

“What movie do you wanna watch?” Ethan questions, pulling me into his side so my head is resting on his shoulder.

“I dunno, something like a comedy?” I recommend, bring my arm up and draping it across his torso.

“You smell nice.” He compliments out of the blue.

“Uhh- thank you?” I answer, making it sound more like a question.

Ethan turns his head to the side and inhales the scent of my hair. It had only been a few hours ago that I had washed it with my favourite shampoo and conditioner.

“It that strawberry?”

“It is.” I confirm with a small chuckle.

Seconds pass and the entire house seems to come to a stand still. Nothing but the sound of distant ticking could be heard - more than likely coming from the clocking hanging on the kitchen wall.

I tilt my head up to come face to face with Ethan staring at me, deep in thought. His eyes were scanning over my facial features, looking as though he had never seen anyone up close like this before. Like this was new to him. He looked so confused.

His eyes fall upon my parted lips as his large hand rises and, ever so softly, he moves a tiny strand of hair out of face and pushes it behind my ear. I keep my gaze fixed to his wandering eyes, waiting patiently for him to look back up to my pleading ones.

As if he was reading my mind, he glances back up and furrows his brow.

“What’s wrong?” I murmur, taking hold of his hand that was now cupping the side of my face.

Before answering, he looks back down to my lips and lets out a small sigh.

“Nothing’s wrong, y/n. I just- this feels weird.“

My heart drops. Did I do something wrong?

“I’m sorry-“ i look down as i feel tears starting to well up in my eyes. “I should go” I mumble, attempting to detach myself from Ethan’s embrace - however, I’m stopped by an arm pulling me back in.

“Please, don’t.” The boy pleads. He places a forefinger and thumb on my chin, gently turning my face to look at him. “I want you here.”

“But I’m making you feel weird.”

“It’s not bad, I’ve just never felt anything like this before.” Ethan explains in a hushed tone, never breaking eye contact.

“Never felt like what?”

“Like- fuuuck“ Ethan curses, resting his forehead against mine, starting to become slightly frustrated with himself.

I place a hand on his cheek, comfortingly, assuring him it’s okay. “Take your time, E. Don’t push yourself.”

“I really like you, y/n.” Ethan blurts out, causing me to freeze in place.

Did Ethan Dolan really just say that?

#ethan dolan imagines #ethan dolan imagine #ethan grant dolan #ethan dolan #ethan #grayson #grayson dolan imagines #grayson dolan imagine #grayson bailey dolan #grayson dolan #part 2 #imagine #fake instagram #ethan x reader #grayson x reader #my writing

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imacrowcawcaw · 4 years

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1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 23, 29, 38 😘❤️ Hope you’re having a wonderful day!

Hi mimi thank you so much for all the questions!!! This is gonna be really long lol - also, sorry it took a while, Tumblr kept glitching and erasing EVERYTHING

1. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them? Oh my god SO MANY! I have roughly 50 works in progress, and so many more ideas running through my head - I just haven't had the energy or the time lately to actually work on them. One that keeps coming back to me is Sam and Danny chilling in bed on a lazy Saturday, after a sleepover, and Sam announces that if they had sex, it would be the best either of them ever experienced. They debate for a while, and of course end up getting it on... it'll happen someday.

4. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic. There's a lot of fluff and heartfeltwords; I try to keep it lighthearted too, though, and throw in what I hope is some funny stuff; smut of course, or at least some kissing; metaphors and figurative language galore. I feel like I'm still very much trying to find my voice and my style, so I think my fics differ a lot in their styles, but there are things that I generally like.

5. Share one of your strengths. Hmm, I was going to say that I know how grammar works (that feels rude but- ) actually I'm going to say that I always turn out things that I really enjoy. That may be more of a personal strength - i.e. it only matter to me - but if I post something I am satisfied (enough) with it. I like my work! I write what I want, even with requests, and I put my all into my writing because I want it to be such good quality that it would make me squeal if I came across it.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

"Dude, that's disgusting."

Danny just smiled at Josh, showing off a rather gross mouthful of mangled food, and kept eating his pineapple pizza.

"Seriously, pineapple doesn't belong on pizza. Can't you just eat regular toppings like the rest of us?"

Danny shook his head and swallowed. "Nuh-uh, I can't. I'm not like the rest of you."

"Hmm, you know, you're right: you're not like the rest of us. It's way hotter in the Wagner corner." Josh looked at him coyly, licking BBQ sauce from his chicken wings off of his fingertips.

Danny froze and Josh laughed, using a napkin to scrub away the rest of the sauce and continuing to messily eat his 'regular' pizza. Danny shook his head, closing the lid of his box to save the rest for later.

Idk if anyone other than @satans-helper would be interested in Josh and Danny (like, together, or at least flirting) but.... I thought this was good. It was fun to write - still not anywhere near done, though - and I think it captures them pretty well. I think dialogue is good when the characters speak for themselves, literally, without having to rely completely on prose to give it meaning.

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

"The bass pumped through Sam in the same rhythm as his cannabis-speckled blood, sludgey warmth crawling in his veins as he took a second hit of the blunt being passed around. Hidden away from the eyes of management constantly trying to tighten the reins, as if they weren't rock stars in - or perhaps even before - their prime, he let the dark corner he and a few new acquaintances occupied be his cover from an eventual scolding."

Let this be a little teaser for the Collab Zara and I are doing (!!!) lol. I think it's some of my best writing; lyrical but not too long as I'm learning how to do it right, offering information with every little part, setting the scene in a concise but not info-dump way, some bit of irony and humor.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write? Ohhh man, well there have definitely been MANY that I've gotten stuck on for months, if not over a year -- but, the finished fic that was hardest was probably "Forever", to be totally honest. I think it turned t out very well, but I revised over and over and over, and scrapped a very large portion of it. I know what I wanted, but it wasn't coming for a very long time.

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write? "Blood Brothers". It just flowed so well, I sat and types furiously in my phone for a good 3 hours without stopping, and it was born.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across? There's quite a few pieces that I always think of: write what you want to read, adjectives and adverbs slow the pace (learned this recently and it's very handy), sometimes straight-forward is best, don't be afraid to scrap things and start over.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose? Oh man, that's a hard choice. I think that "Eyes of Juniper" (metallica fic, not finished 😔) would actually be the best choice, because it's funny, I would love to see the guys in the 80s, and, while it deals with bodies/nudity/sexuality it wouldn't be a straight up porn film lol.

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? A mix of both, I think it just depends on how my ideas are flowing. If I'm really on a roll and know I won't be interrupted, then I'll just write it chronologically. But, if I have a small idea, or I know how I want to end but dont know how to begin, then I'll just start writing something. I'm always afraid I'll forget what I want if I don't write it down, so I work on what I'm able to and fill in the rest later.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions. Well, I usually end up doing the most of my writing hunched over sitting on me bed in the dark and furiously typing on my phone lmao. I would love to get a laptop and a dedicated space, but it's just not gonna happen rn. So, I'll go with dark, undisturbed, comfortable

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why? there are quite a few that I can look back at and be like noooo what was I doing. I think, though, one that could be really really amazing if revised would be "Black Dog", a guns n roses fic I wrote. It was good, but one of my firsts. My style has improved, and I think I could just make it a lot better, and the dialogue at the end could be a lot more clear and realistic sounding

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose? Oh mannnn there are so many fics that have made me want to somehow write/find more, I'll go with "Angel of Apple Valley" (pairing: Duzzy fandom: gnr, on rockfic, I cant find it rn though sorry). It was so amazing and I still think about it. I don't think I could do anywhere near justice to the original, so of course I wouldnt actually, but I just really want more

38. Talk about a review that made your day. Ohhh ok pretty much every review makes me suoer hapoy, but the lovely helena_s_renn left me a comment on Ch. 4 of "Skin on Skin, Hearts Laid Bare" and it nearly made me cry

"Girl, I think you've discovered your voice. This has an intensity beyond any of your other work that I've read thus far (not saying the previous isn't good - it is!!). I was glued to my phone by the eyes, didn't want it to end, and yet it did in what seemed like 5 seconds. Danny's acceptance of Sam's physical needs without asking anything more of him than "just sleep with me" is love. On that subject, I think you've thrown more words at the wellspring of Sanny Love from Sam's perspective than one would have thought possible, and they all ring true."

Like, holy shit thanks?!?! Lol. But really, I've been seriously trying to find my style, and to hear this from one of the writers I respect the most was huge. I felt like a favorite teacher was giving me a hug and telling me i did good!!!

#mimi🌼#asks #asks answered #im sorry this qas really long

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falseroar · 5 years

Text

Acting Lessons

((Another short story in the same universe as Can You Wake Up? in which Yandereplier comes to Y/N for some acting advice and the other egos get involved. A silly story that’s on the longer side than my other shorts, it should not be taken seriously at all. Does reference Code: Pineapple briefly for a joke.))

It was a quiet afternoon in the Iplier house, which is to say there currently wasn’t anything on fire and the constant mayhem and destruction was at a minimum, or at least in another room where you couldn’t hear as you sat on a couch in the living room, reading.

That is, until you heard a throat clearing and looked up to see Yan standing in front of you, dressed in their usual schoolgirl outfit and with what could have passed for a friendly smile on their face. At least, you hoped it was friendly as you said, “Oh, hey Yan. Did you need something?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Yandereplier said in a cheery voice. “I could really use a partner for some script reading.”

“A script?” you asked, putting your book aside to get a better look at the badly stapled packets of papers in question, which from here looked to be covered in several scribbles and various hearts. “Are you working on a new skit?”

“Uh, not exactly…” Yan dragged their foot back and forth across the carpet before looking up at you, the picture of embarrassment as they admitted, “It’s for a school play.”

“That’s cool,” you said, thinking it would be good for Yan to have some kind of hobby that didn’t involve their Senpai or pointy objects. “What’s the play?”

“Cinderella!”

Well, so much for that idea.

Yan must have seen your disappointment, because suddenly they lunged forward and grabbed both of your hands in their own and pulled them to their chest as they said, “Please, Y/N! Rumor is, my Senpai is trying out for the role of the prince! Prince Charming, Y/N! I need to get the part of Cinderella! And to do that, I need to practice with someone before auditions, and it would really help if I could maybe get some advice too?”

“Uh, I’m not sure I’m the best person…” you said, trying and failing to get your hands back. Yan’s grip was strong. “I mean, Mark is an actor, he’s been in plenty of plays.”

“He’s also in Texas for, like, weeks!” Yan said, pouting. “Plus, he gets a little intense when it comes to this kind of thing.”

“Oh, really?” you said. You were starting to lose the feeling in your fingers.

From the corner of the room, another voice added, “And the last thing we want is to feed into Mark’s already inflated ego.”

You shot a glance at Dark, but he hadn’t looked up from his own book, not even as he added in an undertone, “Not like we don’t have enough of them running around as it is.”

You looked around the room and noted that there were other egos here, including the Host, Bim Trimmer, Google, and Silver Shepherd. “What about one of the other egos? They’re all in front of the camera way more than I am, they have to know something about acting.”

“Debatable,” Dark muttered under his breath.

“And we try not to act against each other when it comes to the romance stuff,” Bim chimed in as he looked up from his phone. “Last thing we want is for Kinkiplier to get involved, am I right?”

Silver and Yan nodded in agreement while you tried not to roll your eyes.

“Kinkiplier, right.”

“Says Y/N, expressing doubt in the existence of the ego despite the reassurances from Mark and his other egos that Kinkiplier does in fact exist,” the Host said.

“An ego that I’ve never actually met before, but who everyone blames when ever something even slightly embarrassing happens,” you added.

“Look, the man’s kinks may happen to include dressing up like the rest of us to do his…things,” Silver said. He threw up his massive gloved hands and said, “No shame, of course, but things get weird when he’s involved. We all know his handiwork when we see it…Eventually.”

“If you knew some of the situations he’s put us in…” Bim said and shuddered. “Point is, we’re not about to risk getting him involved for some school play.”

“Please, you’re my only choice here,” Yan said, not doing a lot to build up your self-esteem. They knelt down in front of you and, turning on the puppy dog eyes as much as they could, asked, “Will you be my Prince, Y/N?”

“Will you let go of my hands?”

“It’s a deal!” Yan shouted, jumping up to their feet with a sprightly bounce. They let go of your hands only to immediately pull you into the middle of the room and hand you one of the marked-up scripts.

“Wait, we’re doing this here?” you asked, very aware of the others in the room.

“Sure, why not?” Yan asked. “If these guys want to throw in suggestions, that only helps me. And it’s not like anyone’s recording this, right?”

Bim immediately sighed and put his phone away while Google raised his hand to make a comment and thought better of it.

“Fine,” you said, already knowing you were going to regret this. “So, do we just start at the beginning, or…?”

“No, no, we’re going to skip straight to the good stuff,” Yan said, turning your pages for you until they found the right scene almost a third of the way into the story.

“’The scene is a grand ballroom’,” you read aloud, “’The reluctant Prince paces the floor, avoiding the other suitors who swarm around him until he makes eye contact with Cinderella, who—‘”

“Will be me,” Yan said with confidence as they took a few steps away and waved the script at you. “Basically, you spot me walking in, come swooping across the room, knocking everyone out of the way just for a chance to dance with me.”

They waited, and then gestured, and you finally picked up on the hint and scanned the script for your line as you walked toward Yan, your eyes on the page.

“What is this? Has a star fallen from the heavens to grace this place?” you read aloud. You paused at the stage direction and gave a belated bow. “Oh star, my starlight! Please, what may I call you?”

“My name is unimportant,” Yan said and you looked up to see that they weren’t reading from the page like you. They had the words memorized, apparently, but… “Forgive me, my Prince, I only came here to enjoy the dance with the rest of the kingdom. I did not wish to disturb you.”

“I-if that is your wish, then of course, Starlight. All are welcome here tonight, you most of all,” you read.

You tried to ignore Silver Shepherd as he leaned over to Bim and said, “This Prince likes to lay it on thick, doesn’t he?”

You continued, “But may I be so selfish as to ask for a dance in exchange?”

“Oh, there it is,” Bim muttered. “Always a catch.”

Yan glanced at the script and said, “Then apparently they dance for a while, music plays, yadda yadda other people who don’t matter, and our next lines are…here.”

They turned your page for you before saying, “My Prince, the hour. I must leave.”

You frowned but answered, “Please, Starlight, stay just a little longer. I cannot bear to see you leave, not yet.”

“But it is almost midnight.”

“What do hours matter? This time is too short, but it’s enough to know I need so much more. I can see in your eyes that you feel the same, so why do you turn and leave?”

“I am sorry, my Prince, but I must leave.”

“Have I imagined it? Forgive me if I have trespassed, but I thought…I thought I saw something more. But how can a star feel anything for a mortal such as I?”

“My Prince, do you not see the answer in my eyes?” Yan said, and you looked up to see their eyes were glassy, all of their concentration on reciting the lines. “I love you. I want nothing more than to—But I must leave.”

Yan blinked and glanced at the script again. “And that’s where Cinderella runs away, there’s a big chase scene, lose the shoe and the magic wears off as the clock strikes midnight, end scene. Did I get all of my lines right?”

“Um, yeah, you remembered them all…” you said uneasily and glanced toward the others for help.

The Host had one hand over his mouth, either to block the shape of his muttered narration or to keep from laughing, you weren’t sure, and Dark was pinching the bridge of his nose while still determinedly staring at the book held in one hand.

It was up to Bim then to speak up and say, “Yan, hon, you gotta put some feeling in your words!”

“What do you mean?” Yan asked.

“I mean, when you say ‘I love you’ the same way you say ‘There’s gum on my shoe,’ there’s a bit of a problem,” Bim answered. He glanced around the room and added, “It’s not just me, right?”

You and Silver nodded, and Google said, “Even I am capable of expressing more emotion than that.”

Silver thought about correcting the android and then shrugged. “Well, I guess homicidal rage is an emotion, so you’re not wrong.”

“So, what do I do?” Yan asked.

“Relax,” Bim said, jumping up to stand beside Yan. “You’ve got all the words figured out, now you just need to put some ‘oomph’ behind them. Do you know what I mean?”

Yan thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Then run it again from the top!”

You cleared your throat and asked again, “Please, what may I call you?”

Yan flashed a giant grin and said in an over the top cheery voice, “My name is unimportant! Forgive me, my Prince, I only came here to enjoy the dance with the rest of the kingdom! I did not wish to disturb you!”

“Uh, better?” you said. “But I’m not sure that’s the right emotion for this scene.”

“What, really?” Yan asked, looking at their script again. “But this is supposed to be a happy scene, right? All of the dancing and love and all that?”

“Well, yeah, but you sounded more like it was all just kind of a joke, like more ha-ha happy than love scene happy,” you said. You rubbed the back of your neck and looked to Bim again, who nodded in encouragement. “I mean, try to imagine you’re in this scene, that you’re Cinderella. How would you feel?”

Yan looked at you blankly and you tried again.

“Maybe try imagining that the Prince is your Senpai when you’re talking to him? How would you say these things to him?”

Yan nodded and said, “Yeah, yeah, I think I can do that. Pretend you’re my Senpai.”

They cleared their throat and said, “F-forgive me, my Prince, I only came here to…to enjoy the dance with the rest of the kingdom. I did not wish to disturb you.”

You relaxed as Yan shyly looked up at you before staring back down at the floor again, hands tight behind their back and their shoulders tucked in from embarrassment. This was a lot better, and you felt more confident yourself as you read again, “If that is your wish, then of course, Starlight. All are welcome here tonight, you most of all. But may I be so selfish as to ask for a dance in exchange?”

Too late, you saw the other egos shaking their heads, and even Dark had stopped pretending to read and was halfway out of his chair before Yan cried out, “Oh, Senpai! I thought you would never ask!”

With a sudden change of energy, Yan wrapped their arms around you, pulling you in close as they said, “Just you and me, for hours and hours and hours. What could be better?”

“Uh, then midnight comes,” you wheezed, trying to break free from Yan’s clinging grip as you added, “And Cinderella has to let go.”

“Why would I ever let go of my Senpai?” Yan purred. “And I know my Senpai would never let go of me! I love you so much I could just cut you open and crawl inside to be closer to you!”

Yan blinked in surprise when they found their feet leaving the ground as Dark shook them by the back of their white shirt, adding “Drop it,” in the same voice of a pet owner trying to convince their cat to drop a mouse.

Yan let go and you staggered back, coughing a little.

“Oh,” they said. “I, uh, went a little overboard pretending, huh?”

Dark just dropped them and went back to his seat, where he held his book up in front of his face in an apparent effort to block out the rest of the room.

“Y-yeah,” you said as Silver offered his arm for you to lean on until you regained your breath. “You could say that.”

Bim placed a hand on Yan’s shoulder and said, “Maybe being in the play isn’t the best thing for you, Yan. I mean, if you get a little too excited when it’s just Y/N, what are you going to do if it really is your Senpai playing the prince?”

You tried not to feel insulted by that “just Y/N” when you saw Yan’s lips start to tremble and their eyes tear up. “Hey, it’s okay, Yan. Did you even really want to be in this play, or were you just doing it because he might be in it?”

“Well of course I only wanted to do it because of him!” Yan bawled. “I can’t just let some, some hussy be Cinderella and have him confess his love to them on stage, in front of everyone!”

You and Bim exchanged looks and he said, “It’s not really confessing though, is it?”

“It’s just a play, Yan,” you added. “None of it’s real.”

Yan shook their head and said, “No, you can’t just say you love someone and it mean nothing!”

“What? Of course you can say the words and it mean nothing, watch,” Bim said. He turned to you and placed both hands on your shoulders as he spoke. “Y/N, you would not last two rounds on one of my shows. Like seriously, blood and viscera everywhere, not pretty. You’re never giving me the studio time I clearly deserve, and you’re certainly not as handsome or as talented as my dear Matthias, but I want you to know…I love you.”

Bim smiled and said to Yan, “See? Absolutely zero attraction, isn’t that right, Y/N?”

“I kind of just want to slap you now.”

“Exactly!” Bim said, oblivious as he added, “They’re just words, Yan. Anyone can say them.”

“But I have to be Cinderella so he’ll fall in love with me like he’s supposed to!” Yan shuddered and added, “And I don’t know what I’ll do if someone else gets the part…”

There were several nervous faces around the room at that, but before anyone could answer, Yan suggested, “Maybe, maybe if I see how someone else plays the part, I can figure out how to do it. Or how to be okay with it if it’s not me. Please?”

You sighed and asked, “Do you really think it’s going to help? Maybe you—”

“Thank you, Y/N!”

You stepped back quickly before Yan could hug you again and they spun to face the other egos. “So, which of you wants to play Cinderella?”

At this point you realized that your audience had grown without you realizing it. Possibly attracted by the noise, there were now more egos than you remembered in the room. A second Google had taken up position in the opposite corner, watching it all with an impassiveness that suggested his internal drive was focused on something else, and your couch had been taken over by three egos jockeying for space so they could watch.

One of the new arrivals, who insisted on wearing his cowboy hat and reflective sunglasses even indoors, shrugged and said, “Well, I am quite the actor, if I do say so myself.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who would,” Silver scoffed.

Ed bristled and said, “I’ll have you know a fine salesman has to do quite a bit of acting! Why, I pulled out the ol’ charm and the right story and I managed to sell my son to a couple with 15 boys of their own already. Best deal I ever made, I’ll tell you what.”

“Uh...” you looked around to see if anyone else heard that, but aside from the Host, who gave a noncommittal shrug, and Dark, whose brow was creased and his eyes darting back and forth as if doing his own mental calculus, no one else commented. Even the third ego on the couch appeared to be too nervous to notice the connection as he looked from one person to the next and judged the distance between himself and the nearest exit.

“Yeah, I’m not casting you,” Yan said, waving for the salesman to sit back down. “Anyone else?”

Another ego wearing a crown and a long fur cape poked his head up over the couch and raised his hand.

“I, I’m King of the Squirrels,” he said. After checking around to make sure everyone was still aware of that fact, he scurried into the middle of the room. “And you said Y/N is a prince? Does that mean we’re related?”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” you said.

On the couch, Dr. Iplier gave a noncommittal sound and said, “Well, if we’re going based on European royal tradition, more of them were related than not, so…”

“Besides, I’m not a real prince. It’s just pretend, right Yan?”

“It’s not pretend that Senpai is my prince,” Yan said dreamily.

The King of the Squirrels took your hands as he said, “Y/N can be my prince! Or my princess! Or both, if they want! Doesn’t matter if it’s pretend or not!”

“That’s sweet King,” you said, smiling. “I’m just trying to help Yan with their play. Do you know the story of Cinderella?”

“Um…” The King hesitated and then said, “I’m okay with just watching.”

Dark lowered his book and frowned at the ego, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft swear come from the Host’s direction. He glanced over at the ego, who had a hand to his head as though fighting off a headache or possibly facepalming.

“Just remember that it’s all pretend, we’re acting,” you said, eyes on Yan. If nothing else, you wanted to get this point across to them.

“Say,” Yan said, locking eyes with you but talking to the King, “King, can you act?”

“Can I?” The King thought and then nodded with a grin. “I believe I can.”

“Then can you act like you love Y/N and tell them how you feel?”

Before you could protest, the King nodded and pulled you into a hug, the scent of almond butter almost overpowering as he said, “I love you, Y/N! You’ll always be a prince to me.”

You couldn’t help but smile and return the hug with a muffled, “Love you too, King.”

The ego stepped back and looked at Yan expectantly. “How’d I do?”

“Great,” Yan said. “Now that we’re done acting, do you love Y/N?”

“Of course!”

Yan looked at you and gestured toward the King as though that proved their point.

“That doesn’t count,” you said.

Yan just shrugged and said, “If you say so. What about you, Dr. Iplier?”

The doctor shrugged and said, “Well, I have been known to act here or there. Let me give it a shot.”

“Can I be Cinderella this time?” you asked. “I’m getting kind of tired of saying the same lines over and over again.”

“What? No, you’re getting better with your lines every time,” Yan said, while Bim and Silver made iffy noises at that. “It would be weird to change it now.”

“But he just talks so much,” you muttered, eyeing Cinderella’s much shorter lines.

Yan sat down on the couch next to the other new ego who was twisting his handkerchief and trying not to take up too much space, while being careful to keep some distance between them and Ed. Nearby Bim and Silver moved over to make way for the King as he plopped down between them and immediately started whispering excitedly. Once they were ready, Yan said, “Okay, Dr. Cinderella has just walked into the ballroom and our Prince Y/N locks eyes with them.”

“What is this?” you read from the script, sure that at this rate you were going to know the prince’s lines by heart.

Before you could continue, Dr. Iplier swept forward and said, “I’m sorry, my Prince, but you’re dying.”

“Wait, what?”

You heard a few murmurs of interest around the room.

“You’re suffering from a deadly brain tumor that has clearly affected your ability to recognize faces. If you look around the room right now, you’ll see that everyone looks the same to you.” Dr. Iplier said, making you feel more than a little uncomfortable by how accurate that statement was in this particular room. He placed a comforting hand on your shoulder and continued, “It’s the most logical explanation for how you can only recognize the love of your life by their footwear.”

“Oh, in our version of the play the ball’s a masquerade deal,” Yan answered cheerfully. “Everyone’s wearing masks so no one knows who anyone is. Isn’t that romantic?”

There was more than one sharp inhale at the word “masks” and general disagreement at that idea, but Google was the first to speak up. “Based on my preliminary research, I see nothing ‘romantic’ about the concept of being unable to identify possible partners.”

“Research?” you asked.

“Markiplier has commented several times in the past that he wishes to put on a masquerade ball involving his fans,” Google answered. “I have merely looked into the feasibility and logistics of such a plan.”

“He’s not still thinking about doing it, is he?” you asked, privately thinking that you had dealt with enough “masks” to last a lifetime already.

Google started to answer, but Yan made a noise and pointed at the script with a “keep going” expression.

You hesitated, looked at the script, and faced Dr. Iplier as you said, “This is terrible news. Please, my starlight, if I am dying will you at least grant me your time before the night is over?”

Dr. Iplier smiled and nodded approvingly before dropping into his serious doctor expression to say, “I’m sorry, my Prince, but we only have until midnight.”

You faked a shocked gasp. “No! That’s far too short a time! Please, can’t you stay longer than that?”

“I can, but I’m not the problem, Your Highness. I’m sorry, but your disease will kill you on the stroke of midnight. Also, your father has already disowned you and named his dog as the next heir to the throne.”

“Well, at least the kingdom will be in good paws.”

“No,” Yan groaned as you and Dr. Iplier cracked and started giggling. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go at all! How’s Cinderella supposed to have her nice and happy ending if her prince is dead?!”

“She gets hired to be the royal dog groomer and makes enough of a living wage to move out of her terrible home situation?” you suggested.

“But that’s not romantic,” Yan complained. “Dr. Iplier, if you can’t stick to the script then you’re out.”

The doctor shrugged and flashed you a smile before taking a seat in one of the open chairs.

“Um…you, what’s-your-name, you can be Cinderella,” Yan said, pointing.

Eric Derekson gestured to himself and said, “M-me? I, uh, I don’t know…”

“Come on, you can do it,” Bim said encouragingly, and the other egos chimed in until Eric was standing next to you, wiping his brow with his handkerchief.

“It’s okay, Eric,” you said, smiling. “We’re just reading lines from a script. It’s not a commercial or a sketch or anything like that, no one’s even recording this.”

Google pointedly did not make eye contact with any of his other units, who by this point had all entered the room and taken up stations where they could all get a good angle of the “performances.”

“Y-yeah, I can do this,” Eric said, more to himself than anything as he took several deep breaths. “I can do this.”

He jumped as Yan’s phone dinged and shook his head, muttering, “Oh, this isn’t going to end well…”

The King of the Squirrels murmured something and Bim nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Yan did have a point there. Nothing we’ve seen so far has been very ‘romantic,’ and I don’t think we can just blame Y/N’s acting.”

“Seriously Trimmer, did I do something to you?” You glared at the couch and saw that there was a lot of whispering back and forth going on there and all around the room now as the extra scripts were being passed around. And when had more egos come in? You didn’t remember Bing or Chef Iplier being here before, or the Jims. Was everyone in the house going to be watching this?

“It’s just missing something,” Bim said, ignoring your indignation.

“It could be because none of you are actually doing anything,” Dark said. His eyes flickered up from his book and, seeing that nearly everyone in the room was staring at him, said, “You’re all standing feet apart, just saying the words at each other. I would hardly call that acting or romantic.”

“He does make a good point,” Dr. Iplier admitted. “Isn’t this supposed to be a dance scene?”

Yan started to say something but paused when Google leaned over and spoke quietly to them. A second later, the android straightened up and with more readiness than you expected from him said, “I can provide music.”

“Do we have to?” you asked.

“I-I’m sorry, Y/N, I know, I know you’d rather dance with someone else,” Eric said, “I can just…”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that,” you said, catching the ego’s elbow before he could walk away.

“Great, then cue the music,” Yan said, pointing at Google. They waited for a slow waltz to start playing before they said, “Once again, the Prince spots Cinderella and invites them to dance. Only be romantic this time!”

You held back a huge sigh if only for Eric’s sake and started over again. “What is this? Has a star fallen from the heavens to grace this place?”

You were getting pretty good at the bow by this point, and at the bottom of it you looked up at Eric and said, “Oh star, my starlight! Please, what may I call you?”

Eric spoke, stumbling over his lines much like you had the first time you read them aloud, but every time he looked up at you for confirmation you gave him an encouraging smile. This was a big deal for him after all, speaking up in front of everyone like this.

“But may I be so selfish as to ask for a dance in exchange?” you said, holding out a hand for Eric.

He hesitated and shook his head, saying softly, “I-I can’t…”

“Just follow my lead, it’ll be okay,” you said quietly, taking his hands and showing him where to place them. “Nothing fancy, we’re just going to sway back and forth. See?”

His hands were shaking, and he kept looking down at his prosthetics until you poked him in the forehead and said, “Look at me, okay?”

He nodded, closed his eyes and whispered under his breath before opening them and focusing on your face. Together, you moved back and forth in time to the music, and gradually he started to relax until—

“Sorry, sorry!” Eric moaned when he saw your wince, but you kept him from pulling away.

“It’s fine,” you said. “I barely even felt it. You wouldn’t believe how many times I stepped on JJ’s toes when he was teaching me.”

Behind his book, Dark scowled and the music skipped a beat when the android winced at a sound too high for the others to hear just yet. Taking that as a cue, Yan spoke up, reading from the script as they said, “The dancing continues until the hour draws near. This is your line, Eric.”

“Be sure to show us how you really feel,” Bim chimed in.

“My, uh, my Prince, the hour.” Eric said, eyes darting toward the others. “I must leave.”

“Please, Starlight, stay just a little longer. I cannot bear to see you leave, not yet.”

“But it is almost midnight!”

“What do hours matter? This time is too short, but it’s enough to know I need so much more. I can see in your eyes that you feel the same, so why do you turn and leave?”

“I am sorry, my Prince,” Eric said, pausing to take a deep breath before he started to pull away. “But I must leave.”

“Have I imagined it?” You reached out to grab his hand. “Forgive me if I have trespassed, but I thought…I thought I saw something more. But how can a star feel anything for a mortal such as I?”

“My Prince, do you not see the answer in my eyes?” Eric read the next line and looked into your eyes. “I—I, uh, I…”

And then Eric broke with a suddenness that startled you and everyone else in the room as he pulled you into a hug and said, “I love you!”

After a second you patted Eric’s shaking shoulders and said, “I love you too, Eric.”

His sobbing only grew louder when you asked if he was okay, and eventually Dr. Iplier managed to talk the sniffling ego into sitting down on the couch where he could talk him down. You couldn’t understand what the ego was saying through the tears, but apparently the doctor could make something out. He nodded a few times and explained to you and the room at large, “Sorry about that, apparently it brought up some bad memories from the last time he said that.”

Eric sobbed again but you saw a thumbs up come from the ego’s curled in frame, and Dr. Iplier translated, “He says he’s going to be fine, just give him some time.”

While that was going on, Yan said, “See, Y/N? What’d I tell you?”

“I feel like that was a bad example,” you said, trying hard to ignore the sniffling coming from the other side of the room. You wanted to comfort Eric, but knew from experience that might just make things worse until he was ready for it. “For the last time, Yan, they’re just words from a script.”

“But it’s not just words!” Yan flipped through the script until they were almost to the end and pointed at the page in question. “See, the next scene between Prince Charming and Cinderella, they kiss! Kiss, Y/N, right in front of the whole kingdom and the whole audience and the whole school!”

“Wait, the Prince and Cinderella only get two scenes together in this whole play?” Bim asked, yanking one of the spare scripts from Silver’s oversized hands to check.

Ed Edgar shook his head and added, “Seems to be a bit too hasty, if you’re asking me.”

“But it’s still just acting,” you pointed out. “You can kiss someone and it not mean anything romantic is going on. I ki—uh, can think of several examples.”

You gave the Host a warning glare when you heard a chuckle come from his direction and could swear you saw him silently whisper the word “pineapple” to himself, but fortunately no one else seemed to notice the slip of the tongue. The other egos were too busy debating the idea between themselves, with some agreeing with you while others such as Silver saying that it would be hard to fake that kind of chemistry.

You sighed and added over the noise, “Besides, if you’re that worried about your Senpai maybe kissing someone else, then why don’t you ask the director of the play if it can just be a stage kiss? There’s plenty of ways to fake a kiss on stage.”

“Tell me about it!” Wilford Warfstache cried out, causing you and several other egos to jump because he definitely hadn’t been standing in the middle of the room two seconds ago. “Why I could tell you a story or two about kissing.”

“Okay, prove it,” Yan said, with a backup murmur from the other egos. They flipped through your version of the script and pointed at the page. “You two do these lines together and do the kiss, and we’ll see. Y/N, you’re still the Prince, Wilford, you’re Cinderella.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way!” Wilford said with a chuckle.

For the benefit of the others, Yan said, “We all know the story, after the ball and the magic wears off, Cinderella goes back to her tragic life, the Prince searches the whole kingdom for the one person who can wear the glass slipper, a bunch of dramatic nonsense, and then they’re finally together again. Now that he’s sure he’s talking to the right girl, the Prince says…”

“Oh, right. Um…” You glanced at the line Yan had pointed out. “Starlight? Is that really you? Are we finally, finally together again?”

“You bet we are, Princey!” Wilford had both arms around you, and with a wide smile said, “It took you long enough. Now about that kiss…”

You gave a startled laugh when Wilford dipped you down, away from most of the other egos, so low you thought your shoulders might touch the floor before he paused, gave you a wink, and then spun you back up onto your feet.

“How’s that for a not-kiss?” Wilford asked the room at large, over the whistling and clapping.

“Confirmed, there was no kiss,” one of the Googles said, and to your confusion there was a mixed response to that around the room.

“But anything could have happened there,” Yan protested with some nudging from nearby egos before you could think about that. “How can I know if someone else is kissing my Prince or not if I can’t even see what’s going on?”

“That’s the point of that kind of stage kiss,” you pointed out. “It lets the audience fill in the blank. Or there are other ways to handle the kissing scene.”

“And I think you might have jumped the gun a tad there, Wilford,” Ed pointed out. “There’s a bit more chit-chatting that goes on before the kiss, you see.”

Wilford nodded along with all of these points and then snapped his fingers. “Right, take it slow, and easy with the kiss. Like a first date.”

He turned back to you and said, “Hey, Prince, I’ve got a fun idea…”

Wilford leaned in and kissed your cheek before gently whispering in your ear, “Let’s steal a car tonight.”

You couldn’t keep a straight face no matter how hard you tried as you said, “I might be up for breaking a couple rules tonight.”

Wilford grinned even when Yan said, “No, absolutely not, that was way too flirty.”

“Guilty as charged,” Wilford admitted with a shrug before taking a seat.

“And forehead and cheek kisses are even worse than real kisses,” Yan muttered.

“What, since when?” you asked, frowning when you saw some of the other egos nodding in agreement.

“They don’t count,” Bim said, and then looked around when he realized just how loud that was. “I mean…We were trying to show Yan that it’s possible to have a romantic scene without the actors actually being in love, right?”

“Which you still haven’t done,” Yan said. “Wilford, do you love Y/N?”

“Do I love them? Why, I’d shoot everyone in this room for them if they asked!” Wilford answered, and no one felt the need to challenge him on that.

“For the record, I’m not asking and never will,” you said and Wilford shrugged before sitting back in his chair, hand off his gun. “And Yan, how many times are we going to have to do this? Shouldn’t you be the one rehearsing?”

“Uh…” Yan looked at the others on the couch and around the room. “Who else can we get to play Cinderella?”

“The Host hasn’t gotten to play yet,” the King of the Squirrels said.

The Host frowned in the direction of the ego and said, “The Host…politely declines Kin-the King’s invitation, as he prefers to narrate stories, not be a part of them. The Host also points out before the others insist that, even if he were to do so, it would fail to acknowledge a fundamental flaw with these ‘exercises.’”

“What’s that?” Bim asked warily, and you couldn’t help but notice that the other egos were very focused on the Host’s answer.

As if sensing that, the Host sighed and muttered something. Only Dark was close enough to hear what sounded suspiciously like, “This might as well happen,” before the ego spoke up for everyone else.

“Yandereplier insists that it is impossible to confess love within the context of a play without the actors being in love, to which Y/N disagrees. The problem is that so far, all of the ‘actors’ already loved each other. Perhaps not romantically, but platonic and familial love are still forms of love, and their acting has done nothing to change its existence. The Host is reluctant to point out that to prove either right would require another actor who does not already love Y/N.”

You stood there alone in the middle of the room as the egos looked around at each other for a moment before saying, “Well, I guess that’s that then. I’m going to—”

“Well, what about Dark?”

There was silence in the room except for the creak of wood coming from within Dark’s growing aura as he finally gave up on pretending to read and looked around the room.

“Who said that?”

“Well, I didn’t suggest nothin’,” Ed spoke up, “But way I see it, that would fit the bill.”

“Unless you love them,” King added with a cheeky grin.

“It’s just a play, Y/N,” Bim added. “None of it’s real. Come on, you can’t let me down now.”

Dark narrowed his eyes even as he felt his aura settle in around him. He had noticed there was something off about the egos, and now it was clear that something was going on around the edges of the room and on the couches of the ‘audience,’ more than just a debate on whether the new arrangement should count or not. He could shut it down now, or…

“You’re right Bim, it’s just a play,” you answered. “But I can still say right now there is no way I am going to kiss that—”

You stopped short when Dark sighed loudly and stood up. His book, left in the seat of his chair, did nothing to stop Wilford from stealing it, but Dark did not seem to notice as he walked over to the other couch and took Yan’s copy of the script from the ego’s unresisting hands. He could feel all eyes on him as he lazily read over the scene in question until he finally spoke.

“If I recall correctly, the agreement was to perform the lines and the kiss, was it not? I can think of a way to stage it in such a way that might suit Yandere’s…shifting goalposts. Unless someone here has a problem with that?”

He waited, suppressing a smile when he saw the egos giving each other meaningful looks while no one actually spoke up. Oh, it felt good to call a bluff.

That is, until the King of the Squirrels raised his hand and asked, “So does that mean you’ll do it?”

And suddenly Dark was not smiling anymore.

“I feel like the Host made a good point—” Dr. Iplier started.

“The Host asks to be left out of this, please.”

“—And if we don’t settle it now, no one’s going to let it go,” Dr. Iplier continued without acknowledging the interruption.

“Past observational data would suggest the doctor is correct on that,” Google added.

Maybe, and this was difficult to admit even to himself, Dark may have misread the situation a little.

When you spoke up, he was sure that it was to end this farce, but instead you said, “What did you have in mind, Dark?”

“What?”

“Staging it,” you answered, and he could hear the frustration clipping your words short. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Dark hesitated. It was either read the scene or endure the childish mockery of the egos, and as stupid as it was, he could not bow out now without losing face in front of everyone. And he suspected that something similar may have been going through your mind as he moved closer.

He sighed and closed his eyes, letting his aura settle until it was barely visible again. You were right, it was best to just get this over with.

“A kiss on the stage means nothing,” Dark said to you and the room at large when he opened his eyes again. “But if you’re insistent on avoiding a physical kiss, one way is to have something in between the two actors’ lips. For example, put a hand on the other person’s cheek—”

As he spoke, he reached up a hand and you instinctively flinched away.

“Y/N,” he said quietly and you glared at him but let him place a hand on your cheek that was on the same side of most of the egos. “Then you just slide your thumb over the other person’s lips and kiss the thumb. It looks close enough to a real kiss if done right, even if it wouldn’t really fool an audience. That should suit your criteria, Yan.”

He let his hand drop and looked to the ego for confirmation.

“…I guess we can see how it looks,” Yan said, glancing at the others before adding, “Let’s try the Prince and Cinderella’s second scene again. So, ball’s over, the Prince has been searching the entire kingdom, Cinderella escaped her stepfamily’s house, drama, drama, and then the Prince finally finds Cinderella walking through the woods with the help of who cares, point is they’re back together again.”

“I feel like we missed a few things,” Silver said.

“I feel like you owe me a dance,” Dark said to you, smiling when you gave him a warning look.

“Who cares?” Yan asked. “This is the important part anyways. Y/N, you start.”

You nodded and glanced at your script again. “Starlight? Is that really you? Are we finally, finally together again?”

A cough barely hid the word, “Act!” from the egos and you gave an exaggerated groan before repeating the line, this time moving closer to Dark as you did so.

Dark barely glanced at his line before drawing away, his eyes not meeting yours. “Please, my Prince. You know that is not my name.”

“But it is you, isn’t it?” You moved closer again. “What may I call you?”

“As I told you before, my name is unimportant to one such as yourself, my Prince.”

You faked a smile, which was difficult as the script told you to reach out and take Dark’s hand. “Haven’t you noticed yet? Could you not know how long I have been searching for you, how far and how long I have looked? You are so very important to me, and I don’t even know your real name.”

“Haven’t you noticed, my Prince? Look at me!” Dark pulled away again and gestured to himself. “I am not the same person you met that night, I never was. I am not your Starlight.”

He turned away from you, head dipping down as he added in a low undertone that still carried through the whole room, “I had a name once. Ella. But I lost it years ago, when my life turned to cinders and ashes. Now all that’s left is ‘Cinderella,’ a pretender and a fake who had to resort to magic to even stand in the same room as Your Highness.”

“Ella.” You paused and then added, “Please, Ella, turn around.”

Dark’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve even heard that name.”

You looked to the script again before, not without some hesitation, placing a hand on Dark’s elbow. “Then let me say it, again and again and again. I love you, Ella.”

“My Prince?” Dark turned and suddenly his hands were on you, one on your waist, the other cupping the side of your face. “I—”

One of the egos made a buzzer sound and there was a round of disapproval around the room.

“What?” Dark asked, his aura flaring up briefly until you pushed his hand away.

You rubbed at your jaw and flinched both at the numb spot already prickling as the feeling returned and at the sudden flicker and buzz of images in the back of your mind. It wouldn’t have been the first time one of the others triggered a memory from the District Attorney, but this was different, less like a vision of the past and more like a haze of different moments just slightly too far out of reach that left you with an unsettling mix of nostalgia and déjà vu.

“You’re doing great,” Dr. Iplier said, ignoring Bim’s ambivalent gesture beside him, “But that last action felt a little…off.”

“What do you mean?” Dark asked, trying hard to rein in his aura and his temper.

“Looking at the scene, Cinderella wouldn’t be holding the Prince like…that,” Bim said, gesturing toward Dark. “That’s more like something the Prince should be doing, going by the dialogue. He’s the one who should be initiating the hands-on stuff.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely the top in the relationship,” Yan said.

“Yan!” You glared at the ego, who shrugged.

“Just calling it like I see it.”

“I fail to see how it matters,” Dark muttered at the script.

“It just would feel more accurate, I think,” Bim said with a shrug. “That is, if Y/N can handle being the—”

“I swear to God, Trimmer, if you finish that sentence I will—” You stopped short on your threat, if only because this close you could see Dark struggling not to laugh, but you still felt a spike of anger that didn’t quite match your own reaction. You breathed out and it faded, slightly, but as it did you could now feel a twisting roil of emotions rising and falling with the haze of memories at the back of your mind.

“I didn’t see anything wrong with the scene,” Silver threw in, and soon the egos were debating on who should be holding who.

“Whatever gets this over with,” you said, taking another deep breath which seemed to help before placing a hand on Dark’s shoulder, only for him to wince with a light hiss. You drew back your hand quickly with a quiet, “I’m sorry, I forgot—”

Dark rolled his shoulder, clearly avoiding the urge to rub at it as he answered in a quiet voice that would not carry to the others, “It’s fine, just a little sore.”

“I thought…Shouldn’t you have healed by now?” you asked. You had seen the wound in Dark’s chest up close, but you had also seen him recover from other injuries much faster than a normal person.

“Some things take longer,” he muttered. “It may have something to do with the thing that did it. Like I said, I’m fine.”

His aura flared slightly and you nodded, deciding not to push any farther. You put one hand on his upper arm instead, the other resting on his good shoulder with the script turned so that you could still read from it. The memories spiked but disappeared just as fast before you could make anything out, but they left behind a rush of clashing emotions, such as joy tainted by pain, sadness twisted around guilt, a noxious blend of peaceful happiness and anger.

Was something going on with the District Attorney? But why would this stupid high school play bother them like this? Or had that brief brush with Dark’s aura done it?

If you said something now the egos would just think you were trying to get out of the scene, or worse, start to worry. Speaking of the egos, they were already starting to settle down again and the room was quiet by the time Dark repeated Cinderella’s lines.

“My Prince? I—you can’t mean that. I am just Cinderella.”

There weren’t too many lines left, you told yourself as you read, “Ella, or Cinderella, here in the woods or in any palace, no matter what form you take, the answer will always be the same: I love you, my Starlight. And unlike a magic spell, my love has no time limit. Is the same true for you, or should I leave you be?”

You glanced away from the script and met Dark’s eyes just as he said, “Do you not see the answer in my eyes? I love you, my Prince. My heart beats for you like no other.”

The room around you faded briefly as the memories attempted to surface. Once again, they moved out of reach at the last second, leaving you so disoriented that for a moment you were barely aware of where you were or the touch of Dark’s hand on the side of your face.

“If I am your Starlight, then you are my Sunlight, giving life to my days.”

The sickening mix of emotions returned stronger than ever, pulling you into a hundred different directions as he leaned in for the “kiss.” Until they all converged onto one single, overpowering emotion when you realized: his thumb hadn’t moved to your lips.

The slap resonated in the silent room as you suddenly found yourself with one hand pressed against Dark’s mouth.

Heart hammering, a little light-headed but back in control, you paused only for a split-second before leaning in and kissing the back of your hand above Dark’s lips.

“There, one kiss that means absolutely nothing,” you said to the room at large. “If that’s not enough for you, get someone else to play the Prince.”

With that, you tossed your script down and walked out of the room.

Dark stood alone in the middle of the room, one hand still raised to his stinging mouth, and slowly became aware of the conversation going on among the egos once they recovered.

“That didn’t really count as a kiss, did it?” Silver asked. “I know Roxanne says nothing should get in the way of our, heh, quality time, which is why my mask keeps these luscious lips ready for puckering.”

“I did not need to know that,” Dr. Iplier muttered.

“Well, no one said it couldn’t be a stage kiss,” Ed pointed out. “It’s more than I’ve gotten in a while, if you know what I mean.”

“Surprising no one,” Bim said, earning an elbow to the ribs from the salesman. He winced and added, “But someone with more experience in the area such as myself can tell you, that wasn’t a kiss.”

“This just in, Jim,” Jim said as he turned to his brother with a conspiratorial whisper, “Popular opinion is that it was too close to call. It looks like we’ll have to rely on our impartial judges for a ruling on the bet.”

Dark’s aura did not just spread out, it started to leech the color from the area around him with a deep, thrumming noise.

“What did you just say?”

Almost everyone who had turned to look at the Googles suddenly pretended to be busy or just very interested in the furniture as the sounds of Dark’s aura filled the entire room.

The Host’s lips moved silently as he read ahead before he answered, ignoring the hissed warnings from the other egos, “They are referring to whether the kiss in question would count toward the bet going on among some of the egos. In particular, the portion of the bet that related to whether or not Y/N would kiss certain persons in the room, along with other certain outcomes.”

“Yan,” Dark said and the ego quailed under his glare.

“Don’t blame me! I really did need the help…until I found out Senpai was going to be working with the stage crew and not actually in the play,” Yan said, their voice becoming a petulant mutter at that last part, then they spoke up again to add, “I was going to say something when I found out, but then they told me to keep it going!”

“The bet was not for monetary gain, if that is any consolation,” the Google in the red shirt said as he pulled up a screen. “If you are curious, it appears that the greatest odds were on Y/N not kissing anyone. The single condition with the lowest number of winners would have been if Y/N finished the scene and kissed Darkiplier.”

“Excuse me?” Dark felt his aura lash out again and the Google frowned at his glitching screen.

“Even better question, why wasn’t I let in on this?” Wilford asked, the picture of indignation.

“You were not even included in the pool,” Google answered. “It is well known that Wilford Warfstache will happily kiss anyone if given the chance.”

Wilford opened his mouth as if to protest and then sat back with a shrug. “You got me there. Well, who won?”

“No one,” Dark assured Wilford with a crack of his neck. He would see to that personally.

Bim Trimmer, who had been consulting with the original Google, turned to the rest of the room and asked, “Okay, which one of you put odds on both a slap and a kiss?”

And Dark added, along with the echoing hum and creak of his aura, “More importantly, which one of you idiots came up with this bet?”

The Host gave a heavy sigh, but it wasn’t immediately clear which question he was responding to when he said, “…Kinkiplier.”

A second later, Dark’s aura reached a new high pitch.

“Why are you all looking at me?!”

---

Down the hall, you winced at the high-pitched ringing coming from the living room but kept walking. Maybe some fresh air outside would clear your head. However, when you opened the back door you almost ran into the person standing on the other side, who had his hand raised to knock.

“Oh, hi Y/N. I’m the King of the Squirrels.”

“Hi King,” you said, eyes turned upwards as though fascinated with the top of the doorframe. “Trust me, I know who you are.”

“Good,” the King said with a sigh of relief. “I was afraid no one would recognize me without my crown. I fell asleep and when I woke up it was gone!”

“Y-yeah, I can see that,” you said. “Uh, King—”

“Can’t go walking around without a crown! Luckily, I knew how to make a temporary one,” the King said, and you risked looking down far enough to see that he was pointing to the flower crown on his head. “Will you help me find my real one? I’ll let you have my flower one if you do!”

“Uh, sure, but can we go by the laundry room first?” you asked. “I think there should be plenty of spare clothes for, uh…”

The King of the Squirrels looked down at his very naked self and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess if you think that’s important, but I don’t think my crown will be there.”

“Believe me, it’s important,” you said, leading the way. On the way to the laundry room, you could hear the loud voices coming from down the hall, but fortunately you didn’t have to go close enough to make out any actual words. “Hey, King, what did you think of Cinderella? I guess it must have been boring if you left early to go take a nap.”

“What? No, I love that movie!” the King said, and proceeded to hum the tune of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” while getting dressed.

You thought that was strange, but didn’t question it further. After all, the day had been strange enough on its own and left you with more than enough to think about. Besides, looking for a lost crown sounded like a far better alternative to any more acting.

((End of Acting Lessons. Thank you for reading! And for the record, Wilford was referencing Ninja Sex Party’s First Date (warning, some explicit lyrics) with that kiss and steal a car line, because that’s absolutely how a first date with Wilford would go.

And yeah, this was a weird one for me, but I’m hoping it was enjoyable and that it ties in well with the next story and the last one I have planned for a while in this series.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @purpstraw @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate ))

#markiplier #fanfiction #wkm y/n #wkm district attorney #yandereplier #darkiplier #wilford warfstache #king of the squirrels #kinkiplier #iplier egos #please don't make me list them all #cinderella #school play #acting #fake kiss #shut up kiss

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junker-town · 4 years

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A Halloween candy draft, because we are a sports website

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Eight GMs. 24 picks. 1 ultimate candy haul.

Halloween is for everyone. Kids who want to trick-or-treat. Adults who want an excuse to wear costumes outside of Comic-Con. But especially for the candy lovers.

While children trade cuteness for the primary currency of their adolescent world, the childless among us must wait an extra 12 hours to profit. There’s no sweeter day in this world than November 1, where the racks and racks of sugary sweetness at grocery stores across the world become a distressed asset. All Saint’s Day is America’s gift to the gluttons, the beginning of a one week period where, if you play your cards right, you can purchase your body weight in Milky Ways for $15.

But which candy truly reigns supreme? That’s too big a question for just one person.

[Related: 17 last-minute Halloween costumes for sports fans in 2019]

About two weeks ago, a handful of SB Nation staffers threw down the gauntlet on breakfast cereals. A raging debate between honey vs. fruit vs. chocolate eventually exploded into a three-round draft where the world saw James Brady reign supreme with a lineup of Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reese’s Puffs.

Brady, oat-loving coward that he is, decided to retire with his mantle intact. In his place, eight other SB Nation writers stepped into the void to create their three-candy roster. Now it’s time to dive back into that sugar mine for Halloween season. Here’s how it turned out.

Round 1

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — Whitney Medworth

It’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Do I really have to explain it?

David (Fooch) Fucillo: How am I supposed to shit talk peanut butter cups? Who would NOT have this atop their big board?

Tom Ziller: Easiest No. 1 overall pick since Zion. Disks over novelty shapes.

2. Skittles — Matt Ellentuck

Best fruity candy. It’s obvious.

Fooch: Y’all will trash me for candy corn, but as Eric Stephen put it, taste the lame-bow. Skittles are a perfectly fine candy, but who the hell takes it No. 2 overall? I feel like this will turn into the Ryan Leaf of #2 picks. If you had to go with “fruit” candy, Mike & Ikes would have been my preferred choice, but even Starburst feels like a better choice.

James Dator: Skittles are so overrated it’s scary. They’re way too sweet and literally dissolve into sugar crystals.

Ziller: Jabari Parker went No. 2 over Joel Embiid and Skittles went No. 2 over Snickers. Wow.

3. Snickers — Caroline Darney

Look, I didn’t think Reese’s would fall to three, so I’m happy going with Snickers. Snickers is one of the few candy bars that doesn’t loose that...je ne sais quoi...when it’s fun sized, but it’s a grand slam if you get a full sized one of these bad boys in whatever plastic pumpkin/pillow case you’re carrying through the neighborhood. This is a classic, and sure, I’ll build a team around it.

Christian D’Andrea: Regular Snickers aren’t even the best candy in their own brand extension. Crispers. Almond. Peanut butter. ALL SUPERIOR

Ziller: Both a delicious candy and a workout for your jaw muscles. Win-win.

4. 100 Grand — Tom Ziller

100 Grand is a classic candy that is best served in fun size (hence why full-sized bars are split in half). A lot of different textures happening here. A lot of complexity.

D’Andrea: Ziller, in either an act of hubris or just not being on Slack for draft day, missed his picks in the first two rounds and played catchup later. His first pick was a brick of mud dipped in rice. Nestle Crunch and Milky Way were both still available. This was a terrible idea.

5. Kit Kat — Christian D’Andrea

The chocolate is pretty great, especially if you can get your hands on the European version. The wafers don’t taste like anything, they’re just there for wonderful texture and to provide something to break apart with your teeth if you’re a nervous weirdo like me. Bonus points if you can break the candy down to its basic components like a Hershey Park diagram before eating it.

Eric Stephen: Gimme a break!

D’Andrea: God dammit, Eric.

6. Candy corn — David Fucillo

I get dumped on for picking Candy Corn in the first round and you’d think I was the Jets drafting a fullback. Most of y’all will argue I reached in a big way, but it only takes one other person to ruin my Halloween. I don’t eat candy corn outside of October 1 to October 31, but for that one month, it is truly a delight. The only opinion that matters is that of my taste buds, and they demand candy corn every October.

Darney: This pick has big “took a kicker in the first round” energy.

Ellentuck: Candy corn is good and I’m here to stan it actually.

James Dator: Yeah, I thought Fooch was tanking the draft like @boring_as_heck used to ruin NFL mock drafts. I still think he might have. I refuse to believe that in the pantheon of candy any reasonable adult with their faculties would look at a list of confection delights and say “why yes, I would like this honey-flavored wax please.” While the overall abuse of candy corn has gone a little far and is the cool thing to do (like trashing pineapple on pizza) this is still an absolutely garbage pick that would have been a UDFA. This is a worthless, awful, horrible pick that absolutely nobody should applaud Fooch for. I still love you dude, and I’m not mad. I’m not even disappointed. I’m just bewildered.

Ziller: What are we doing here? Is Fooch taking edible vampire fangs in the second round? Is he actually going to pick something like raisins?

7. Twix — Eric Stephen

I was worried that with such a low pick that I would have to draft a lesser treat in the first round, but instead I was fortunate enough to have a Mount Rushmore candy fall into my lap. Twix provides a perfect crunch with the inner biscuit, coated with the best combination of caramel and chocolate in the candy universe. It usually gets dark earlier around Halloween, but houses that give out Twix are beacons of hope.

Darney: I’ll say it. Caramel Twix are trash. TEAM PB TWIX FOR LIFE.

Ziller: Good value pick.

8. Reese’s Pieces — James Dator

Thanks to someone picking Candy Corn in the first round I got a sleeper here. I’m not going to say something ludicrous like “Reece’s Pieces are better than Reece’s Cups,” but the drop off really isn’t that far. This is a No. 1 pick adjacent candy I’m thrilled to get with the 8th pick.

Fooch: I don’t hate Reese’s Pieces, but the peanut butter aspect of them is missing something. They’re the M&M version of the cups, but frankly it just doesn’t go together as well. M&M type candies are best as plain chocolate (down with peanut M&Ms!), and going PB with them, I just am not a fan.

Round 2

1. Starburst — James Dator

I was a little shook at this pick, to be honest. I was sure I was going to be able to go Twix-Reece’s Pieces with my back-to-back selections and walk away knowing I owned these noobs. Good pick by Eric, so I had to pivot.

Starburst was my top fruit candy on the board and paired nicely with my Pieces pickup. Every flavor of Starburst is good. They are the perfect size and have a good tail end for medium-length enjoyability.

D’Andrea: All the flavor of Fruit Stripe gum, only with an added 3 percent chance of pulling out a filling with each lemon piece you bite into.

Ziller: Half the flavors low-key suck. So in the fun-size two-candy edition, you have a decent chance of coming up empty. Decent overall candy, bad Halloween candy.

2. Peanut M&Ms — Eric Stephen

A tried and true classic, M&Ms in the fun-sized bag is the perfect amount. I chose the peanut variety over regular because I love the combo of peanuts and chocolate, and each M is a perfect bite. Though who are we kidding, I’m not putting just one of these in my mouth at a time.

Fooch: Outside of peanut butter, peanuts are just bad. Why ruin a good little piece of chocolate with them? Frankly, any candy with a peanut in it has just been ruined.

Ziller: Fooch’s comment here explains a lot about his draft.

D’Andrea: I think we all came away from this pick more worried about Fooch’s wellbeing than Eric’s actual selection.

3. Nestle Crunch — David Fucillo

I pondered a Hershey’s special dark bar here, but that ricey chocolate mix of the Crunch bar has been a favorite of mine all the way back to a childhood. A Hershey bar is great on its own, but the “crunch” of a Crunch bar is unmatched amongst chocolate bars. Outside of candy corn and Reese’s peanut butter cups, this was #3 on my big board.

Dator: I’m supposed to shit talk you, but I’m subverting our structure just to tell you that I’m proud you made a good choice here.

4. Crispy M&Ms— Christian D’Andrea

By far the superior breed of M&M. I don’t know why they don’t sell these in five gallon drums.

Ziller: M&Ms aren’t great, but at least they are versatile (add them to cookies, popcorn, ice cream sundae). You can’t really do that with Crispy M&Ms.

5. Hershey’s Special Dark — Tom Ziller

This was a panic pick after missing the live draft, but to justify it: these always go first in that variety bag with Hershey’s, Mr. Goodbar, and Krackel, right? There’s a reason: dark chocolate is delicious. Even Hershey’s dark chocolate.

D’Andrea: Were baking morsels unavailable? There’s a certain brand of old man strength here, picking a chocolate bar that also sounds like a six dollar bottle of rum.

6. Tootsie Roll Pops — Caroline Darney

There’s going to be some sass on this pick, but 1. don’t tell me you don’t still search to see if you got a wrapper with the star on it and 2. any song related to these slaps. Don’t @ me.

D’Andrea: The taste of going to the doctor to get shots as a child, wrapped around the 20-year-old sweets eternally stuck to the bottom of your grandmother’s candy jar. Truly a winning combination.

Dator: Take a trash candy and put a stick in it so it’s even less enjoyable. Sounds like a winning combo.

Ziller: I haven’t eaten one of these in 25 years and I can still taste the cotton swab that stays stuck to the Tootsie Roll in the middle. Bleh.

7. Mike & Ike — Matt Ellentuck

Second-best fruity candy. It’s obvious.

D’Andrea: The perfect “my stepdad let me buy candy at the Dollar Tree” selection.

Ziller: Hot Tamales without any flavor. What’s not to like?

8. Butterfinger— Whitney Medworth

I can’t believe Butterfingers were still available at this point in the draft. There is nothing better than a fun size butterfinger in your trick or treat bag. Crispety, Crunchety, peanut-buttery chocolate bar perfection.

Stephen: Butterfinger has a rich history as one of Earth’s greatest candy bars, but since the flavor change last year it tastes like rancid cockroaches.

Ziller: I got so mad I left Butterfinger on the table. First-round talent. This is why sports teams “prepare” and “do research” and “make big boards.”

D’Andrea: Butterfinger is great. Especially the way it adheres to every crevice in your teeth so you keep tasting it for hours afterward.

Round 3

1. Wild Berry Skittles— Whitney Medworth

First off, my prior two picks were Reese’s Cups and Butterfinger so this pick is to round out my team and add that extra kick of flavor necessary. The combo is too strong: Berry punch, Strawberry, Melon berry, Wild cherry, and Raspberry. No weak links. No green. No yellow. Just good.

D’Andrea: Congratulations on selecting the fifth-best version of Skittles. Each one is a tiny trip to Smoothie King, only without the smug satisfaction of babysitting a 40oz jug of “vitamins” the rest of the day.

2. Cookies and Cream Hershey’s — Matt Ellentuck

Regular chocolate is basic as hell, but the cookies and cream version is not basic as hell. It’s actually the perfect complement to fruity candies like umm... Skittles. Or Mike & Ikes.

Ziller: “Want a cookie? Too bad, here’s a piece of chocolate with fake cookie inside it.”

3. Nerds — Caroline Darney

Nerds are the perfect Halloween candy because it’s not one that you’d really ever buy for yourself. October 31 is like the only night you accumulate these little crunchy nubs of sugar, and eating them straight out of the tiny little box is truly one of life’s delights.

Ziller: Pop Rocks without fizz. Why not just drink corn syrup straight from the bottle?

4. Whoppers — Tom Ziller

Obviously, based on my draft, I like chocolate and chewy candy. Whoppers hits both marks! Also, my daughters hate them so this is free money for me on Halloween. I’ll be rich in Whoppers on Friday and I can’t wait.

D’Andrea: I can’t say anything bad about a candy they package in old milk cartons. Whoppers are ...fine. Better than 80 percent of the selections available? Nope.

5. Sour Patch Kids — Christian D’Andrea

Because some days my tongue can just go to hell. Midnight Milky Way and Baby Ruth were strongly under consideration here, but a strict sugary diet of only chocolate would be a wasted opportunity. Throw about 20 of these little guys into a cup, microwave it for about 10 seconds, and then to go work on the softened mess moments later. And then ignore the filmy coating of corn syrup that lasts on your teeth for days afterward.

Ziller: Make a meal of it with Cap’n Crunch and just completely destroy your mouth for a week. Sadist candy.

6. Sun Maid raisins — David Fucillo

Halloween may be about indulging, but why not have a sugary treat that offers excellent fiber?! I was that kid who loved a box of raisins and am perfectly comfortable with it. There was no way any of these heathens was taking raisins, and since we did not have a UDFA option, it made sense to ride it to the last round of the draft. It gives me a well-rounded Halloween bag of waxy, chocolate, and fruity — the perfect Halloween for me!

D’Andrea: I swear to god this pick was emailed to me in all caps from [email protected]. Which one of your grandchildren showed you how to use the internet, Fooch?

Dator: I take it back. I hate you so much, Fooch.

Ziller: Unbelievable. So like Werther’s Originals and peppermint candies were a little too adventurous for you? Love to eat a box full of the worst part of basic trail mix.

7. Krackel — Eric Stephen

Halloween is Krackel’s time to shine, since it’s just about the only time you can find the crispy deliciousness in regular stores. Don’t listen to the heathens: Krackel is wonderful, a Nestle Crunch with even more crunch. Krackel is the highlight of those Hershey variety packs.

D’Andrea: Exactly like Nestle Crunch, only worse! I’ve never seen this bar in non-mini form.

Ziller: Almost always the last chocolate candy remaining in any modern Halloween basket. It’s the mid-November desperation chocolate when all the good stuff is gone.

8. Baby Ruth — James Dator

I will get down on some Baby Ruth. You know what a Baby Ruth is? A Snickers for an adult. Instead of some pressed peanut sweepings you get whole-ass peanuts and its makeup is essentially identical. If someone says “I like Snickers, but I hate Baby Ruth” they’re either pedantic, a liar or a sleeper agent.

Also its wrapper is silver and I like shiny things because I am actually a bird.

Darney: It’s no surprise the candy bar that is used as a euphemism for a turd went last in the draft. Good pick, James.

Ziller: Good pick, though inferior to its close, more exotic cousin Almond Joy, which I can’t believe I didn’t pick in retrospect.

The final results?

So who had the best draft? Vote below so we can mercilessly mock the loser, who will almost certainly be Fooch.

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milominderbindered · 7 years

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thirty days of skam fic: day thirteen aka an au where isak is totally (not) in denial about liking even

beginning. accusation. restless. leaves. rainbow. flame. formal. under. move. silver. prepared. knowledge. denial. cans. order. thanks. look. summer. transformation. tremble. tent. mad. thousand. paper. winter. luxury. letters. promise. simple. future.

[ READ ON AO3 ]

There are some things in the universe that are just facts . They're not up for debate, they don't need evaluating; anyone who’s not in complete denial about the workings of the world just has to agree. For example, it's a fact that the earth goes around the sun. It's a fact that there are two hundred and six bones in the human body. It's a fact that pineapple doesn't belong on pizza. And, most importantly of all, it is a fact of the universe that Isak Valtersen does not have a crush on Even Bech Naesheim.

The only unfortunate thing is, Isak’s idiot friends seem to disagree with one of those facts.

-----

Isak has only been out of the closet for half a year -- he’s never had a boyfriend that he introduced his friends to, he’s never hooked up with a guy at a party in front of them, and he’s certainly never said anything about the kind of guys he finds hot.

But the first time the guys ever meet Even, Magnus turns to Isak afterwards and says, “Fuck, bro, he is so your type!”

Isak just blinks at him, and then whirls around to make sure Even really has retreated to the next room of the party and didn’t hear that. What the fuck is Magnus talking about, anyway? Yeah, Even’s tall and hot and dreamy and his eyes are captivating and he’d smiled at Isak way too nicely, holding his gaze for a moment too long, as Jonas introduced them all, but -- Isak’s never even had a conversation with him.

Even is just Jonas’s new weed guy. And, most importantly, when Jonas had mentioned finding this new weed guy, his exact words had been, ‘ yeah, we met through his girlfriend, she’s in my Politics class.’

So. No matter how much eye contact Even might make or how good he’d looked all bundled up in way too many layers of clothing for a house party, Isak is absolutely not going there. He’s had enough of crushing on straight guys to last him a lifetime.

“He is the opposite of my type, what the fuck,” Isak lies to Magnus, and then swallows down the rest of his beer. “Why do you think you know what kind of guys I like anyway! Shut up.”

Magnus just laughs at him, and Mahdi shakes his head.

“Bro. That was some serious eye-fucking right there. You guys are gonna hook up, I’m calling it right now.”

-----

The first time Isak’s alone with Even, it’s super casual. Okay, it’s at least halfway casual. It was supposed to be super casual, because it wasn’t actually supposed to happen at all; Even was coming over to hang out with all the guys, in theory, and bringing weed with him. Since the party where they first met him, they’ve all hung out with Even and some of his friends a few times. He’s too nice. And he always sits right across from Isak when they all get high, looking at him more than he looks at anyone else.

But today, everything’s gone a bit wrong, because Mahdi took the wrong tram after class and texted to say he was just gonna go home instead, and Magnus suddenly changed shifts at the pizza place he works at in the evenings so he couldn’t come either, and Jonas, although he hasn’t messaged anyone, hasn’t yet arrived back at the flat since he went to go get coffee with some girl a few hours ago. So when there’s a knock at the door and Even’s voice is suddenly calling in, Isak is the only one there.

Admittedly, he panics just a tiny bit. He knows Even has a girlfriend, and that nothing is gonna happen between them, but that doesn’t stop him from checking his hair in the mirror and shoving a few errant curls back under his snapback before he opens the door.

“Uh, hi,” he says, as a smiling Even leans against the doorframe. “Nobody else is actually here. Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Even says, his voice all sweet in a way that makes Isak’s knees tingle. “Us two can just hang out. I brought weed.”

Okay, maybe it’s more the fact that Even’s wearing this dark red hoodie that looks insanely good next to his pale skin and swooshed blonde hair than it is the promise of weed, but Isak can’t say no to that.

“Yeah, awesome. Come in.” He pretends his voice doesn’t sound just the tiniest bit weak as he closes the door behind Even, taking one deep breath before following him into the living room.

They end up sprawled at opposite ends of the sofa, passing one joint back and forth, and mostly just laughing. Even hadn’t even let Isak give him any money for the weed, despite the fact that they always actually buy it off him when the rest of the guys are there; “It’s different when we’re just hanging out,” Even had protested when Isak tried to get out his cash. “Five people smoking is a thing, but two people smoking is just chilling. I can’t let you pay me for chilling, Isak!”

Isak is actually incredibly broke, as always, so he doesn’t really argue. He just lets Even place the joint between his lips for him, trying not to have a small heart attack when Even’s fingertip brushes his mouth just the tiniest bit. When Jonas finally gets home from his date an hour later, he finds Even and Isak giggling in a haze of smoke and sharing a piece of cheese toast, sat much closer than they had been to start with.

Isak flushes when he sees him stood in the doorway. Jonas just raises an eyebrow, and stares.

-----

In theory, living with his best friend while they're in college is a great idea. In practice, it’s awful, because it gives Jonas the chance to do things like this -- come into Isak’s room once Even’s gone home that night and just stare at him, like he can read Isak’s mind or something. Isak rolls his eyes as hard as he can, but feels a little bit flustered as he shoves his laptop to the side and sits up from where he’d been sprawled across his bed.

“ What?” he huffs, waving a hand towards Jonas. Jonas just shrugs. “You’re just so into Even. It’s insane.”

Isak splutters, “I am not! And -- and why does everyone keep saying that? All we were doing was getting high together, all of you have done that with Even as well.”

“Bro, it’s not what you were doing. You just look at him like he’s the best thing you’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not.” Isak might be lying but he’s also very grumpy so he thinks he’s allowed to lie. He flops back against his pillows, staring up at the ceiling. “And are you forgetting the part where he has a girlfriend? A girlfriend you actually know, by the way? I've seen plenty of better things than just another taken straight guy.”

Maybe, Isak thinks, if he keeps telling himself that, it might start to feel true.

-----

The next time Even comes over, he specifically texts Isak first. They’ve traded numbers by that point, ostensibly so Isak can get in touch if he ever wants to buy his own weed rather than sponging off Jonas, but in reality, they’ve just been sending a lot of memes back and forth, and Even keeps sending him good morning texts and strings of cute song lyrics, and sometimes Isak sends him long 2AM messages about science and the universe and how fascinating everything is when you look at it deep enough, and Even texts back things like your brain is amazing and tell me more, I could listen to you tell me about the universe forever.

But Isak still doesn’t have a crush. He doesn’t have a crush, and he definitely doesn’t have feelings that are more than a crush, because Even has a girlfriend and Isak is done falling for straight guys.

-----

Mahdi is so chill. Sometimes Isak actually thinks Mahdi is the best one out of all his friends, cus he never makes inappropriate comments like Magnus, or meddles like Eskild, or stares Isak down all-knowingly and makes him actually deal with his problems like Jonas. Plus, he has good taste in music, and often brings free food wherever he goes. Isak is considering ditching all his other friends and just relying on Mahdi.

Unfortunately, not even Mahdi seems to be able to keep his mouth shut about Even. One day, the two of them bump into Even while they're walking across the university campus towards the cafeteria, and Even is hurrying the other way, late for a class but still looking cheerful. Isak knows Even’s late for a class because Even had actually been texting him about it only a few minutes ago -- because they're now at that stage where they send little texts just to talk about how their day is going. Super casual.

But despite being late, Even’s face lights up when he spots them, and he clambers over a bench just so he can come say hi.

“Hi, Isak!” He’s beaming as he gets the words out, and although his expression doesn't dim when he turns to Mahdi, his voice definitely isn't quite so affectionate when he adds, “Mahdi! Where are you guys headed? We all need to hang out soon, yeah? Fuck, I'm so late.”

He says that, but he stays for a couple more minutes in the end, just chatting to them. Eventually he does jog off towards his class, and as they set off towards the cafeteria again, Isak can just feel Mahdi’s stare.

“You might as well just say it,” he says, rolling his eyes. Mahdi smiles a bit.

“What's going on with you guys? Really?”

Well, at least Mahdi is the first person who's phrased it as a question. Isak still huffs, scuffing his trainers along the ground as they walk. Unfortunately, the chill way Mahdi is asking doesn't make Isak actually want to discuss it any more than he did with anyone else -- which is to say, still not at all.

“Nothing,” he says, trying to sound decisive. “We’re just friends, same as all of you guys are with Even. Shit, like -- just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm gonna hook up with every new guy we meet!”

Mahdi still looks skeptical as hell, but he just says, “Okay. Got it.”

This is why he's Isak’s favourite.

-----

“No, open up! Open up!” Even’s laughter rings through the whole kitchen as he lunges towards Isak with a fork. Isak tries to dodge him, pressing his lips together to keep in his own giggles, squirming away and turning his head when Even manages to catch him by the arm.

“Even! That’s gonna be so gross. I can’t believe you put cinnamon in eggs.”

“It’s gonna be delicious,” Even says, through peals of laughter. His hand slides down Isak’s arm as Isak tries to escape, and all of a sudden it’s holding onto Isak’s hip instead. Isak suddenly can’t catch his breath, and stops struggling. He’s incredibly aware of how close their bodies are pressed together; how he can feel Even’s huffs of breath against his cheek as he laughs.

Even takes the moment to shove the fork into Isak’s mouth, scrambled egg smearing across his lips and a few bits falling to the floor. Isak wrinkles his nose, but swallows.

“You’re a fucking nightmare,” he says, but he doesn’t try to move away, and they stand there for a few long moments, the laughter dying down and being replaced with an aftermath of silence.

Then Even moves away, shattering the air between them as he starts talking loudly about eggs, like nothing had just happened at all.

It takes Isak a minute to catch his breath.

-----

Eskild texts him at nine on a Saturday morning, like the freak he is, after the gossip has presumably spread through Magnus to Vilde to Eva to Noora to Eskild. Just Isak’s luck.

[ 9:03 -- From: Eskild ]

my little gay prodigy!!! i hear you have a hunky new love interest, and frankly i’m very insulted you didn’t text me to tell me :( do you gossip about boys with someone other than me? that’s basically like cheating, isak :(

[ 9:05 -- To: Eskild ]

1. i’m not awake yet leave me alone 2. i don’t gossip about boys with ANYONE i’m not a 12 year old girl 3. even is just a FRIEND, why won’t anyone listen to me

[ 9:06 -- From: Eskild ]

tut, you’re always so grumpy in the mornings

[ 9:07 -- From: Eskild ]

aaaand i don’t believe you! all our friends have reliably informed me you like him

[ 9:08 -- To: Eskild ]

it wouldn’t matter if i DID like him, he has a girlfriend. i’m not into crushing on a straight guy

[ 9:09 -- From: Eskild ]

oh, little isak. have i taught you nothing? having a girlfriend doesn’t have to mean he’s straight. he could be bi or pan or anything else. and it might not be a serious relationship, either. don’t lose hope, i’m sure this new love of your life likes you back!

Isak doesn’t respond, after that. He knows that Eskild’s right, technically. Dating a girl doesn’t mean Even has to be straight. But Isak has chosen to believe that it does, because otherwise, he’s going to go down the dangerous road of starting to hope.

-----

“Are you ever gonna introduce us to your girlfriend?” Isak asks one day. Even’s never actually mentioned her at all, and they’ve known him for more than two months now, and Isak knows she exists because that’s how Jonas met Even in the first place, but it’s beginning to feel a bit odd. Almost like Even’s trying to hide her. He’s trying to sound casual, and like he doesn’t care at all, but he’s not sure how well he pulls it off -- especially since he’s lying with his head basically in Even’s lap as they watch a crappy movie together.

Underneath him, Even freezes.

“My girlfriend?” he says, and the tint of confusion in his voice makes Isak’s breath hitch. “I didn’t know I had one. Wait, do you mean Sonja? We’re still on good terms, but we’ve been broken up for like, four months. Before I even met you.”

Oh.

“Oh,” he says. His voice comes out far too weak but he doesn’t even have it in him to care. Isak pushes himself up from where he’s sprawled on the sofa, sitting back but not quite looking into Even’s eyes. “Jonas must have heard wrong. He, uh, he thought you were still together.”

This maybe changes everything. This shouldn’t change anything, if Even is still straight, but the conversation with Eskild flashes to the front of his mind, and -- well. Sometimes, the way Even acts around him. It’s not exactly how most friends act together.

When he finally glances at Even, Even’s brows are furrowed, looking almost upset.

“Did you really think that’s the kind of guy I am?”

Isak blinks.

“Wha -- what kind of guy?” This has all thrown him so much, and he can’t believe he never thought to actually check, in the whole of the last two months, whether Jonas’s information about this mystery girlfriend was right at all. “Like, the kind of guy who goes after someone when he’s already in a relationship?”

And if Isak thought he was shocked before --

“You're --” He has to stop to clear his throat, every part of him overwhelmed. “You've been, like, going after me?”

Even’s expression turns almost amused. “Could you not tell? I didn't think I was being subtle!”

And, fuck, Isak’s not stupid . If he'd known Even was single and not entirely straight, he would have picked up that most of his behaviour towards Isak has been flirty. The endless texting, laughing at his bad jokes, giving him free weed, making him food, coming over when the flat is empty with some DVD he's decided Isak just has to see. In retrospect, all those things are maybe -- yeah, they might seem a bit more obvious than he'd been anticipating. Isak had just been so busy denying that he liked Even at all, he hadn't let himself hope. (Okay, maybe he hoped a tiny bit, mostly in the middle of the night when he was lying in bed thinking about how pretty Even is.)

“Wow,” Isak says, his voice suddenly going soft. He's just -- he can't quite believe it. A smile tugs up the corner of his lips, and then it turns into a tiny laugh. “Wow, I’m glad you don't have a girlfriend.”

Even smiles so wide his eyes scrunch up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Isak nods.

And then he hooks his fingers into the front of Even’s shirt, tugging him forwards, and into the best kiss of Isak’s life. It sends sparks all the way down to his toes and makes his lungs stop working altogether. It's perfect.

----

“My friends are never gonna let me live this down,” Isak says a few hours later, as they lie all tangled up in his bed and panting together. Even just laughs, and -- yeah. Isak doesn't give a shit about his friends being right all along.

#evak #evak fic #skam #skam fic #skamFWN #maia writes fic #30 days of skam #evak au #even bech næsheim #isak valtersen #mahdi disi #magnus fossbakken #eskild tryggvason #jonas noah vasquez #even x isak #isak x even

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