#i just have a LOT of thoughts about alyssa and co and i wanna yell about them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

trashlie · 2 years

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New Aegi hug on the anniversary of Ep151 hug and it starts snowing because Symbolism baby!!! 🤗🤗🤗🥰

Didn't Quimchee say she wanted to show how everyone's memories are not 100% reliable due to their own implicit biases and trauma? Thus creating inconsistencies in the flashbacks. I wonder what other purpose Maya's flashback serves. She's the third party in this situation having observed the two of them and will probably play a role in resolving their drama. The thought of Alyssa and Nol both hurting Shinae to protect her kills me!!!! You are galaxy brain girl! 🤯 Yes, I think this recollection will be a huge revelation for Shinae. She's not at fault for putting her trust in others. She can have faith in humanity even if it feels like the world is against her. I think this will help her become the supportive friend she aspires to be. Whatever comes from their exchange, I really want Nol to gain insight from Shinae to never give up hope in the goodness in people Kousuke like Shinae did.

As for Kousuke, my theory is that after the flashback, he will go to the party to talk to Shinae. She called him and we don't know what he said to her regarding Nol. Maybe he wants to make up an explanation. (There's also Rand's speech on TV that may be important storywise for him to watch. Perhaps Rand will reword it to send a message to both him and Nol.) On his way there, I think he will witness them reconciling. It was talked about on twitter that there could be a parallel to the end of Ep18 where Kousuke was watching them exchange phone numbers from a balcony. It would be a really nice touch for the story circle back to the moment when all three of them intertwined their lives together but with Nolan this time instead of Yeonggi.

I definitely wanted to answer this earlier this week before this episode went up but WELP I clearly did not do that lol but bear with me! I loooooooove this ask; you brought up something I LOVE to talk about! (Spoiler alert: I love to talk about everything lmao)

God I forgot Shinae had said she wants to give Nol a hug haha imagine actually getting that wauw! I'm not really holding my breath for it given how things currently are but I would love that. BOOKENDS!!!!! A parting hug and a reunited hug!!!! From rain to snow!!!!!! GOD that's beautiful!

Didn't Quimchee say she wanted to show how everyone's memories are not 100% reliable due to their own implicit biases and trauma?

BINGO BINGO BINGO Even though 197 made me pause and contemplate what I'd written before it came out, I still think this is worth examining, and this goes for all flashbacks. We've seen it most heavily with Nol and Kousuke, of course, where Kousuke's censored Nol's mom in his own memories, and the way Yui appears in Nol's recollection, but yes, I think we are supposed to acknowledge that in all memories or recollections, we are not seeing the whole story, or even necessarily the way things happened. In fact, even after episode 197, I think a lot of this still stands, because something important to glean from Shinae's memories is that what happened with her and Alyssa was not simply between her and Alyssa. There's a number of extenuating circumstances and forces that influence their choices and behavior. If it was solely between Alyssa and Shinae, maybe it would have turned out differently, but given that we know Alyssa is a character with different wants and needs than Shinae, who is affected differently than Shinae by the bullying the image others have created for her, it's no surprise that she makes the choices she does, right? I think you know well enough that when I say this I'm not excusing her behavior, but sometimes I like to reiterate this lol. At the end of the day, Shinae can only remember the way she was influenced and affected; especially if Alyssa isn't forthcoming about things, she's not privy Alyssa's side of the story, to why she did the things she did or made the choices she did. In Shinae's view, it's always going to be something confusing that she didn't quite understand, and may still not understand after all.

Yes, I think this recollection will be a huge revelation for Shinae. She's not at fault for putting her trust in others. She can have faith in humanity even if it feels like the world is against her.

This is what I hope for, as well! One of the most important lessons for Shinae to learn is that no matter how it feels, she is still the one in control of her own life, that she's not fighting against some kind of karmic destiny; the cards are just stacked against her. Because of how Alyssa hurt her, she built these walls and convinced herself that people could only let her down, but even though Nol did let her down, she's also learned that's not true. There are people like Minhyuk and Dieter who have never let her down. There are people like Rika and Maya who let her down but made it up to her and resolved to start over and do better. I think seeing herself in Nol will help her view her past through a new kind of clarity and understanding that she is always responsible for her choices. Does she want to stay locked inside of her self-built prison, to never again give anyone chance and lie to herself all the time again? Or does she want to embrace what she really wants and face her fears? No one can change over night, and Shinae will still take time to grow, but I think - or maybe I just hope - that seeing each other in one and other will help Nol and Shinae climb out of those very deep holes they're currently stuck in.

Tangential, but this is absolutely something I love about Shinae, because once upon a time I also had very similar ideas, though not nearly as deeply rooted. It's so easy to tell yourself that people suck and will always let you down. There's a sort of comfort in it, because once you start to think otherwise, you have to reckon with questions like "If people don't inherently suck, then why did this person hurt me?" which is sometimes even more uncomfortable, right? Shinae has been hurt by a lot of people and acknowledging that they hurt her by choice, not because that's just human nature, can make those instances feel even more painful. But again, that's something I hope she will come away from this flashback with - that even though she's been hurt, there are still those who DON'T want to hurt her, those who will see her for all that she really is. Minhyuk, for instance, is pointedly juxtaposed against Alyssa in that one is willing to throw her under the bus in order to save face and get what she wants and the other is willing to stand up for her despite what others will think of him.

And like you, I want Nol to come to this same conclusion, too - that there are people worth investing in, people worth fighting against the universe for, people worth letting down your guard and sharing a part of your heart. Despite knowing that Soushi is "working for Kousuke", I think it's safe to still say that, like Shinae, Dieter and Soushi have proven to be people who do care about Nol and his friendship, who appreciate what he's done for him, and are willing to fight for him, too. And, yes, I think there's also some kind of hope that one day he and Kousuke can.... reconcile? Make peace is probably the better word lol. Like Nol, Kousuke has been dealt his own circumstances, and I hope that Kousuke will come to see beyond them and maybe, you know, deal with all his trauma lol. I'm really, really looking forward to seeing what comes of their futures, actually.

The thought of Alyssa and Nol both hurting Shinae to protect her kills me!!!!

I find myself already questioning this one, as much as I really want it to be true lol just based on 197 because SIGH Alyssa is Alyssa lol. I think.... there's still two different forces affecting Alyssa and she's trying to control them in her own way but this is something I'll have to come back to again sometime. I think it would be fun if I was on to something, because I do love the idea that in the same way Shinae is a foil to Alyssa regarding their individual relationships with Nol, I'd LOVE to see Nol as a parallel to Alyssa regarding Shinae. We already see hints of it, in which they both have been people to "cause" (used loosely here lol) a fall that resulted in a head injury to Shinae, both having betrayed her trust and affection. I guess if it turns out I'm wrong, then we get to see Nol and Alyssa foiled, in that one made choices for their own benefit and the other made choices for Shinae's benefit? I guess that's something we'll have to revisit one day!

I know it's very naive of me, but I'm constantly hoping there's more to Alyssa and Shinae's past, because why else would we see it played out in such a long-drawn-out format, when we could have used what we already knew? I guess, again, part of it is illuminating that no situation is as simple as it appears - that Alyssa is pitted with what she wants against what she has, and that she makes choices based on those external factors, like validation and how others perceive her, compared to someone like Shinae who has learned that she'd rather have a real friend that someone who fakes it. But... idk. I guess I'm constantly holding out hope there's something more, and I feel like the implications of the bullying in 196 DO give us a little more insight to things. Maybe that's the straw that broke the camel's back, something she wants to guard so strongly that she snaps and falls apart?

(I think this is a good time to remind us of Alyssa's parallels with Kousuke, how they both reach a point where they can no longer control the narrative and snap, passionately reacting in anger. Alyssa has been cornered and despite doing everything she can to shake this association she was "saddled" with, she's failing to do just that. This is something I think I'll get into in another post, but essentially, I think we're seeing that Alyssa was driven into a corner and behaved much like Kousuke does when he's also driven into a corner; she found a way to take control her own way, and it bore consequences against others.)

It would be a really nice touch for the story circle back to the moment when all three of them intertwined their lives together but with Nolan this time instead of Yeonggi.

Oh ILOVE this, I love this a lot and I did not even consider it at all lol. Frankly I am not sure what Kousuke is going to get up to, but since Yujing drove them all, it's not like he's going to drive himself back, short of hailing a taxi, which is a possibility! But aaahhh the idea of going ALL THE WAY FULL CIRCLE is !!!!!!!!!! Extremely up my alley lol. Also just RIGHT paralleling the beginning of it all? DELICIOUS!!!!! I've already talked at great length about how this is clearly a new beginning for Nol and Shinae, in that he made his decision to return, that the act of climbing up to meet her is a conscious choice and not for the sake of closure, I'm pretty sure. So the idea of Kousuke seeing them making up (ESPECIALLY now that Shinae knows Kousuke had interfered in their relationship!!!), with Nol truly himself, not a fake version of himself, is absolutely delightful.

I know once upon a time, quim said there was a panel in the first so many episodes of ILY that revealed the relationship between Nol, Kousuke, and Shinae, and it's essentially believed to be one wherein Nol is walking away from everyone and Shinae is being taken away by Kousuke. I wonder if it's likely that what we now get to see is a conscious choice against that - where yes, once upon a time, Yeonggi was someone who walked away from his friends, but now Nol is going to be making his own choices? Again, I have to reiterate that this entire reunion arc doesn't feel like it's simply for closure, otherwise why dedicate so much build up and climax to it, you know? There doesn't feel like an air of finality to it as much as an air of a beginning. One, again, with fewer secrets, no masks, and equal footing. One where maybe this time Kousuke does not hold all the cards, where Shinae is more forthright and assertive, and where Nol, hopefully, is more considerate of his choices?

There's a whole tangent here we could get into about what this means for Kousuke, too - to have less control over the people he's been trying to keep a handle on, in addition to the fact that Nol is facing him more squarely. We already saw at Alyssa's agency's party how very thrown off balance he was by... well, everything lol. I think that's going to be something that affects more than just this moment, but that's something we stand yet to see, I think!

Again, something I continue to reiterate is that I believe this reunion is absolutely setting us up for the dynamics these characters will have when we reach our Big Time Skip, so the idea of this being a bookend to how Nol and Shinae first "became friends" (under the guise of Nol's mask as Yeonggi, never intending to be true friends, watched over by Kousuke) to a true friendship and alliance forming where Kousuke holds less control... POWERFUL. Thank you for bringing that concept to my attention, I'm going to fixate on it all night long now!

#I Love Yoo #ILY Brainrot #Shinae Yoo #Nolan Oliver T. Lochlainn #Nol #Alyssa Cho #Kousuke Hirahara #i skirted around spoilers again so I don't think this needs a spoiler tag lol #I'm trying to save all my more spoilery thoughts for a better more cohesive post but i'm also like should i just wait for this arc to end?#i think we have one more post to this flashback unless there's any way to stretch out what remains so?#i just have a LOT of thoughts about alyssa and co and i wanna yell about them #but look i just have a lot of thoughts period at any given time so who is really surprised #anyway as always i am a suCKEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR for parallels so THANK YOU for bringing these up to me #PARALELLS. BOOKENDS.#god bookends are especially good because i have never in my life been a crafty enough storyteller to utilize them #just always here screaming into the night about nol and shinae starting over their friendship for real as friends. so good to me

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h4rin · 7 years

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request: could i request demon!daniel from wanna one this time? where you're daniel's human "mate" and since you're human u don't feel as magnetized as he is to u, but daniel is just. head over heels in love w u, constantly trying to prove his undying feelings and is so Eager to Please u??? i've been rlly into wanna one recently and ur demon wonho idea awakened smth pLUS I DO LOVE ME A TALL BUSAN DANCER BOY - ellian

helo i love u

words: 3,001

masterlist

You hunched your neck down and towards the front of your lecture hall as you felt eyes burning a hole in your neck for the fifth time that week.

It was only Tuesday.

Any time you whipped your head around, the sensation of being stared down, stalked, disappeared and was only left with embarrassment, heat pulsing in your cheeks and the tips of your ears. You’d turn back, and the feeling wouldn’t come back, at least for a few minutes.

As you finished taking your notes, you took your time putting everything away. You swept your eyes over everyone leaving the room as subtly as you could, but nobody was acting suspiciously. By the time you left, the room was almost empty, the only two people who were left being two boys around your age, Ong and Daniel. Half of your grade was positive that they were dating, considering the amount of time they spent together. The two were both dancing majors. They were also inseparable, even though, at one point, Ong was considering changing majors. They’d been living in the same room since freshman year.

You slung your backpack over your shoulder, pulling your phone out of your pocket. A text from your friend was waiting, another one quickly following. “[Y/N]!” the first one read. “Halloween party tonight @ dancer dorms!! we’re going!!” The second one read, “you don’t have any classes, right? come home ASAP!” The dorms at your dorm were co-ed, but even with the huge pool of possible roommates, you ended up with Alyssa. She was nice, and you honestly loved her, but she was a lot more social than you. You responded quickly, knowing she would spam you.

“I don’t have a costume,” you weakly argued. Her rebuttal was automatic.

“I’ll figure something out, the makeup is the main thing.” You sighed as you locked your phone, knowing you couldn’t win. You walked back to your dorm, steps heavier than usual, as you really didn’t want to go to this party. Even though he was nice, Daniel always tried to make conversation with you, and you got uncomfortable. Not because of him, just because of the atmosphere. Dark rooms, the thick smell of sweat and alcohol, music you could feel in your chest...yikes. You didn’t mind the former or the latter, but the second thing really irked you. Adding those too...just no.

You made it to your dorm in only six minutes, actually less than the usual eight. You spent the entire time lost in thought, mostly about Daniel. Alyssa was waiting for you at your door, texting furiously on her phone. Her hair was falling in her face, and as she tucked it behind her ear, she looked up at you suddenly.

“Finally!” she groaned. “You look exhausted, do you want to sleep? I’ll make you cup ramen when you wake up.” A genuine but mildly concerned smile made its way up your face. Alyssa never really offered to make you food. The smile was wiped off your face, however, when Alyssa continued. “I get to do your makeup, though.” SHe laughed at your crestfallen expression, moving so that you could get in the dorm.

After a short, dreamless nap, you felt slightly refreshed, especially considering the sound of boiling water and the soft smell of instant ramen noodles wafting into your room from across the hall. “[Y/N]!” Alyssa yelled, waking you up further.

“Yeah?” you grumbled back, quiet, yet somehow heard.

“Ramen!” Even knowing it was instant ramen, you still felt excited. You’d bought melon milk the day before, and even though cheap chicken ramen doesn’t go well with melon milk, you were going to eat it. And you were going to enjoy it.

You stumbled across your room, avoiding the mess of various chargers that you kept saying you were going to pick up, but never did, into the kitchen. You didn’t even really need to open your eyes, your heart leading you to your cup ramen, but you kept your eyes open anyway. You still bumped into a few corners.

You ate your ramen quicker than you meant to, draining your milk carton in one go. “So…” Alyssa started as you tried to find a few more drops of milk. Looking up to her devilish expression, you felt dread in your chest. Her face fell as she looked at you, leading to a sigh. “Fine,” she groaned. “Skeleton makeup?” You nodded, happy that she had given in before you.

An hour in her bedroom, and you were a skeleton. She’d used a glue stick and some lavender scented powder to get rid of your eyebrows, then used a pure white foundation to completely rid your skin of any color. She blended it in streaks into your neck from your face, and into your wrists from your hands, making it look like you had pure white gloves on. Until, of course, she pulled out her collection of black eyeliner. Closing your eyes, you hoped for the best as she painted your face.

Old Fall Out Boy music played as you tried to calm your racing heart. “Hold out your hands,” Alyssa muttered over Patrick’s slurring words. You unclenched your fist, not even sure when you’d clenched them, and set them on the table in front of you. The gentle strokes of the tiny brush atop your dry hands was oddly calming as she finished quickly.

“Okay, finished.” Her voice was louder than before, but still softer than usual. You opened your eyes warily, scared to crack the eyeliner. “It won’t crack,” she said as if reading your mind, “it’s good.” You could feel her eyes rolling. You fully opened your eyes and were genuinely shocked by what you saw.

You could barely recognize yourself in the mirror. You could recognize your eyes, but that was about it. If you looked too long, it was sort of terrifying. Alyssa watched in amusement as you took your new appearance in, noticing all of the small details.

“‘Lyssa,” you finally said, tearing your eyes away from the mirror, “this is amazing.”

“So, my collection of eyeliner was…”

You sighed. “Not a waste of money.” Alyssa grinned.

“So, what’re you wearing?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” you sighed. “Black?” Based on the look on her face, you knew that would not suffice. She sat down the eyeliner, admiring her work once more, before grabbing a pair of scissors and wandering off towards your rooms.

She took a sharp turn into your room, yelping a “sorry!”, leaving you with no time to react. You didn’t mind, knowing that you could easily get her back. You knew where she lived, after all. You sat, enjoying playing on your phone, missing when she slipped out of your room for a second. The only hint you got towards that was the sound of a paintbrush hitting the floor outside your door a split second before it slammed shut and locked.

By the time you got bored enough to knock on your door, she was swinging it open, a grin on her face and a still-wet paintbrush in her hair.

With a wild grin on her face, she motioned for you to come in. “You’re gonna like it, don’t worry.” You tried to cam your breath as you stepped around your mess of chargers, now covered in white paint.

Laying on your bed was a white t-shirt under a black t-shirt, holes in the latter making it look like ribs. A pair of black ripped jeans were laying next to them, slightly wet paint over the legs to form bones. “Holy shit.” The words tumbled from your lips.

Alyssa beamed. “I know, right? ANd it didn’t even take that long. Go, try it on!” You clasped your hands together in front of yourself, waiting for her to get the hint. She did, and after she flashed one more grin at you, walks out the door, shutting it gently behind her.

You changed quickly, stumbling slightly as you pulled your jeans up. The shirt was slightly complicated, looking weird, but once you figured out to tuck the white shirt into your jeans, everything got easier and it looked a lot better. You took a look in the mirror, and had to admit you looked good. The dim light added to the creepy effect, which, in turn, added to you not recognizing yourself.

“Nice,” you whispered.

Alyssa knocked on the door. “[Y/N], you changed?” she called, twisting the doorknob but not opening it.

“Yeah,” you replied, tearing your eyes away from the mirror yet again. “Come in.” The door swung open, revealing Alyssa in a white t-shirt and plain black leggings. The paint in her hand, however, was anything but. Black, green, blue and purple sat on the palette, patiently waiting to be used.

“I did good,” she said. “Do you like it?” You nodded.

“What are you going as?” You questioned. She grinned.

“A glitch.” You watch as she sits on your bed, pulling out a paint brush and methodically painting streaks of color down her shirt and legs. She carefully stopped at the seams on her shoulders, and before she painted her face, she asked you to pin a small sign to her back.

“Error 404,” you read, “costume not found.” You laughed too lightly to be heard, making sure to not stab her in the back. Once you finished, she sprung back into action, painting blocks of color on her face in a carefully calculated yet somehow random pattern. She carefully swiped a coat of black lipstick on her lips before declaring that she was done.

“You ready to go?” Through the excitement of the past few hours, you’d completely forgotten about the party.

You sighed, feigning annoyance before agreeing. “I...actually feel better about this. Let’s go.” Alyssa and you slipped your shoes on as you walked out into the frigid late-October air. The two of you took your time walking to the dorms where the party was being held.

You felt the thumping bass before you heard it. Still a block away, your gentle heartbeat was replaced by rapid bass. By the time you could clearly hear the music, your heartbeat had sped up to match it. There was a small group of people on the grass outside of the building. Some smoking, some drinking, some just talking. The air was thick with various smells, the most obvious of them being alcohol.

You and Alyssa crossed the grass, taking in the various costumes that people had elected to show up in, none really catching your eyes until you saw a pair of glittery red horns sticking out of soft brown hair. You found yourself wandering towards him and his friend, whom you recognized as Ong. As you were able to more clearly hear them, you heard the words “he’s here” hastily whispered and saw as Ong’s widened. The words had come from his mouth, but he still seemed shocked.

Alyssa had long since wandered off, you realized as the figure in front of you turned around, revealing himself to be none other than Daniel himself. He flashed a grin at you, revealing pink-stained teeth. The glass in his hand was full of a liquid just slightly darker than it, and the heavy scents of strawberry and alcohol surrounding him suggested that he’d been drinking for a while.

“Hey!” He was a lot looser than when he was in class, but the pitch-black contacts he had in really made him look like a demon. The red t-shirt, black skinny jeans that were miraculously free of holes, and sharpied-in Converse threw his entire outfit together. For some reason, you couldn’t keep your eyes from traveling down to his pink-stained lips. “Do you want a drink?” He stuck his glass out to you.

You shook your head. “No, I just got here. I’m gonna wander a-” You were interrupted by Daniel.

“I’ll come with you!” The words tumbled from his lips before he could stop them. He turned a shade of red that easily rivaled his lips. “I mean, if you want.”

You flashed him a grin. You’d always meant to get to know Daniel, but never did. “Sure!” you agreed, telling yourself that you would at least have his phone number by the end of the night.

The two of you wandered around, and eventually, you did get a drink - something blue and so fruity you could barely taste the alcohol. Daniel got another cup full of his pink drink, and the two of you were sat on the grass in a secluded area behind the building. The conversation switched topics quickly, from an incoming freshman Daniel was friends with, Daehwi, to food, to supernatural creatures. Daniel sipped absentmindedly at his drink as you spoke.

“It’s like...I want to believe in vampires and werewolves and stuff but… I don’t know that I do. I do believe in ghosts, though, that I know.” Daniel pulled the straw from his mouth.

“What about demons?” If you didn’t know better, based on his tone of voice, the personal excitement, you would’ve thought that he was one. “And angels, I suppose.”

“I don’t know.” You paused. “I feel like demons would be more likely to exist, like bad people exist more than good people.” Daniel’s face fell at this. He was really committed to his costume. “But, on the other hand, it’s gonna be like that super philosophical thing, like, ‘light without darkness is blinding, darkness without light is an abyss’. We can’t have one without the other. Why that, specifically?”

You sipped at your drink, enjoying the feeling. Daniel avoids your question subtly, poking his straw around his glass for that last bit of drink. The fading sunlight helped him to dance around your question, shadows holding that last bit of strawberry hostage.

“Well…” Daniel finally spoke. “I kind of am a demon.”

“I can tell,” you responded, the alcohol finally starting to affect you, if just a tiny bit. “The horns, the contacts. All you need is a pitchfork.” You spun around on the dirt, laying yourself in Daniel’s lap so that you were looking up into his brown eyes.

Wait, brown? You immediately pulled your head away from him. You rested your hand over your heart, willing your rapid heartbeat to slow. “When did you take out your contacts? You blinked slowly, another way to calm yourself, but when you opened your eyes, you heard a quiet ‘click’ and his eyes were back to pitch black.

A nervous smile spread on his face. “What do you mean?”

“Daniel, I’m not stupid or drunk. Are you seriously a demon? Or are you just fucking with me?”

Daniel blinked, another soft ‘click’ sounding. His warm brown eyes were back. He sighed before he opened his mouth. “I’m a demon.” There was a pause, as if he thought that was enough of an explanation.

“Yeah, no shit,” you responded. “But, like, explain?”

“Uh.” He paused. “I’m from Hell? We have soulmates? You’re kinda mine. And I couldn’t tell you about this sooner, ‘cause I’m a pussy.” That was the most you’d ever heard from Daniel’s mouth, but then again, this was the most you’d ever spoken. “Ong is a vampire. Daehwi, that incoming freshman, is a werewolf. Uh…” he trailed off.

“What do you mean, soulmates?”

“Well, you would’ve felt the pull if I was human or you were a demon, but, uh. Yeah.” Daniel was clearly slowing down, the alcohol completely effecting him. “I gotta go home.”

“Oh, okay.” You needed time to process this, and it was best if it was away from him. “I’ll get On-” You started standing up before Daniel grabbed your wrist, half-releasing it almost immediately as if he was afraid to hurt you.

“Would you stay with me?”

“You’re drunk.” You gently pulled his fingers off of your hand. “Let’s get you home, we’ll talk in the morning.”

You helped him up, the two of you stumbling quite a bit as you walked the uneven ground. You couldn’t feel your legs, and you were pretty sure Daniel couldn’t, either. You led him to the front of the party. The two of you looked around for Ong, and once you found him, red around his mouth, he immediately spoke.

“Is Daniel okay?” He wiped his mouth, a slightly metallic tinge filling the air. You crinkled your nose, ignoring it.

“I’m fine,” Daniel insisted as you shook your head. His arm was wrapped around your shoulder, legs wobbling on the uneven ground. “I met my soulmate!”

“We’ve met before?” you questioned, confused.

“Yes, but now you know!” His sentence was punctuated with a boop on your nose, and the heavy scent of strawberries and alcohol.

“You want me to take him home?” You only nodded in response to Ong.

Daniel called out in protest, but Ong was definitely stronger. “I’ll call you tomorrow!” Daniel yelled. You laughed and shot him a thumbs-up.

You and Alyssa wandered home around one in the morning, thanking whatever God there was for your all late classes tomorrow. After a long, restful night of sleep, Daniel called you.

The two of you met up for breakfast, Daniel obviously hungover. You were too, but Daniel was much more blatant. You had a cinnamon bun, he had his body weight in bacon. Simple stuff.

“So,” he started, “Ong told me everything I told him last night. You’re not scared?” You shook your head.

“I trust drunk people. Especially when they’re drunk on strawberry.” He turned the shade of his drink the night before.

“So I don’t scare you?” He took off his sunglasses, revealing soft brown eyes.

“Nope.”

His eyes clicked black. “Good.” A grin spread on his face.

“Don’t do that!” you hissed, struggling to keep your voice down.

He clicked his eyes back, laughing. “But really…” He leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. “Tell me everything about you.”

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