#⭑✦��� He took everything�� Everyone… { Post Endgame }

[ironroar]

-- {{ Closed starter for @itsshcwtime

Out of all the universes Recovery scouted, out of all that he could've picked for a getaway, a universe with a business needing a mechanic specializing in robots and other related technology was the one he picked.

And Flame, ever the workaholic now, hopped on that opportunity for a mechanic job without hesitation. Would Recovery be happy about that? No. Was Recovery here right now? Also no. No harm in working a little, Flame reasoned. She liked to work. Liked creating and fixing, liked solving issues, liked making things better. She's not panic building! She's just doing something because there's no other options is all.

Did she need the money? Nah. She'd probably donate it to charity or some other good thing to do with the paychecks she gets. Wouldn't be any good in her universe anyway- something something money is not multiversal or whatever. Wasn't a big deal, she was well enough off anyway. Someone else needed it here.

The feline wasn't a huge fan of the uniforms, she thought them to be unneeded. It was stupid to her. But, she'll do what she has to in order to get into a workshop. Anything she has to in order to get into a workshop. ...And said workshop would end up a mess just the same as her own.

Stepping into her new workplace, Flame glanced around. It was odd, honestly. All of it was. How she got down here, the voice from the ceiling, the entire hiring process. Just- everything. One particulate thing- or person? She's not sure yet. She's not sure how advanced the technology of this universe is, but this seemingly highly advanced fox had caught her eye. Has her circling with a curious gaze.

[shy9-29]

Love, Lies, and Sim Jake

심재윤 x reader - enhypen campus series

You were the quiet girl with the not-so-quiet crush on Jake Sim—campus heartbreaker, smooth talker, and everything you should’ve stayed away from. But when a bet turns your name into a game, the rules change fast. He didn’t expect to fall for you… and you didn’t expect to find out. Now it’s your move—and this time, you’re not playing nice.

wc. 16.4k

a/n. This took me so long istg but lwk wanted then to be endgame @sheseung

masterlist | req open

It wasn’t supposed to be obvious. You were careful—or at least you thought you were.

Sure, maybe you stared a little too long when Jake walked into class late, hair still damp from a rushed shower, backpack half-zipped like he couldn’t be bothered. Maybe you laughed a little too loud when he made a joke, even if it wasn’t that funny. Maybe your friends caught you scrolling through his Instagram more times than you could count—but you had never said it out loud.

But somehow… everybody knew.

It started small. You remember the moment it all began to slip. One afternoon in the library, your best friend nudged your arm and whispered, “You’re staring again,” followed by the most annoying smirk you’d ever seen. You blinked, cheeks warming, then looked away quickly as Jake leaned back in his chair, stretching in that way he had to know showed off his arms.

“It’s not like that,” you’d mumbled. Lie. Straight lie. But it was your go-to line.

Then came the whispers. The way people started looking at you just a little differently whenever Jake was around. In the dining hall, one of his teammates nudged him and said something under his breath, both of them turning your way right after. You pretended not to notice. But you felt it—the heat in your face, the tightening in your stomach. You hated it.

It was like high school all over again. Like a crush you couldn’t shake, no matter how much you tried to play it cool.

And the worst part? Jake noticed.

He started looking at you a little longer in the hallways. Smirking when you’d pass by. Saying “hey” like he hadn’t ignored you for two semesters straight. You weren’t sure if he was just being polite—or playing with you. Still, every time your name left his lips, something fluttered in your chest and you hated that you let it.

Then, one night at a party, it all came out.

You were standing by the kitchen, holding a red solo cup you barely sipped from, when you heard it—your name. Jake’s voice.

“She’s cute,” he said casually, too casually, and the room seemed to go quieter around you. “And I’m pretty sure she’s into me.”

Laughter. Someone said, “Bro, everyone knows she is.”

Another voice chimed in, “You’re the first thing on her mind when she walks into class.”

You felt the heat rush to your cheeks as your stomach flipped.

They were talking about you like you were an object, like your feelings didn’t matter.

You tried to shrink back into the corner of the room, hoping no one noticed your face burning hotter by the second. But Jake didn’t miss a beat.

He didn’t stop them. Didn’t correct them. Didn’t even seem surprised.

You were supposed to be doing your sociology reading. That was the whole plan. Laptop open, textbook to the side, highlighter in hand—every prop perfectly in place. But instead of notes, your screen was filled with him.

Jake Sim’s Instagram page.

His latest post? A blurry mirror selfie at the gym, captioned something dumb like “light work.” His abs were obnoxiously sharp, his hair pushed back by a sweatband, and there was a cocky little smirk tugging at the edge of his lips like he knew exactly what he was doing. You didn’t even like gym pics—and yet there you were, zooming in like a creep and biting your lip like an idiot.

You were halfway through stalking his tagged photos when Yuna burst into your room.

“Oh my god,” she said, before even setting her bag down. “Are you stalking him again?” You jumped, slamming your laptop shut like it was something illegal. “No.” She raised a brow. “You literally jumped like I caught you watching illegal shit.”

“I was doing research,” you muttered, trying to sound convincing.

“Research on what? His jawline?” Yuna flopped onto your bed, grinning. “Girl, you need help.”

You groaned and hid your face in your hands. “I know. It’s so bad. I can’t stop.”

“Yeah, no kidding. This is like… phase five of a full-blown Jake Sim spiral.” You peeked at her through your fingers. “Do you think he knows?” Yuna blinked at you. “Girl. Everyone knows.” You groaned again, louder this time, flopping back in your chair with a dramatic sigh. “I’m so pathetic.”

“Not pathetic,” Yuna said sweetly. “Just tragically whipped.” She laughed and tossed a pillow at you, and you couldn’t help but smile through the embarrassment. Because yeah—you were absolutely whipped.

And the worst part? You hadn’t even had a real conversation with him yet.

Yuna stayed sprawled on your bed, scrolling through her phone while you reopened your laptop—this time pretending you were actually going to study, even though your fingers hovered dangerously close to Jake’s profile again.

“I swear, he’s getting hotter by the day,” you muttered under your breath, more to yourself than to her.

“Don’t do it,” Yuna warned without even looking up. “Don’t go back to his highlights. You already watched his Europe trip twice last night.”

“I just like the aesthetic,” you defended weakly.

“You like his face.”

You sighed, resting your chin in your palm, eyes drifting back to his latest Story. Just a casual boomerang of him walking into a party, surrounded by people, drink in hand, that same effortless confidence radiating off of him. He looked like he belonged there—like the world bent to him just slightly wherever he went.

Meanwhile, you couldn’t even bend your willpower long enough to not stalk him for one damn night.

“He’s at that rooftop bar again,” you murmured. “That one near campus.”

Yuna glanced at your screen. “With the LED lights and overpriced drinks? Ugh. Of course he is. He’s always out. Does he even do homework?”

“He’s passing econ somehow.”

“Probably because he flirts with the TA.”

You snorted. “I wouldn’t even be mad.”

Yuna tossed her phone aside and sat up. “Okay, real question. What are you actually gonna do about this?”

“Do?”

“Yes, do. You’ve been drooling over him for months. Either shoot your shot or block his page and join a monastery. This in-between spiral is destroying you.”

You hesitated. The idea of talking to Jake—really talking to him—made your heart race in a way that was more panic than excitement. He was just so… untouchable. Like a poster boy for bad decisions wrapped in designer cologne and half-smiles. And you were just—you.

“I don’t even think he knows my name,” you said quietly.

Yuna gave you a look. “Oh, he knows.”

You blinked. “What?”

She just smirked, grabbing her bag. “I’m gonna leave that there. You think about it.”

And with that, she disappeared out the door, leaving your heart racing in the quiet. Because if Jake did know your name… what did that mean?

You sat frozen for a solid thirty seconds after Yuna left, her last words echoing in your head like a fire alarm.

“He knows.”

She had to be messing with you, right? Yuna loved a good dramatic exit. She lived for chaos. There was no way Jake Sim—resident heartbreaker, campus lenend, the guy with a rotation of girls longer than your Spotify playlist—actually knew who you were.

…Right?

You glanced back at your laptop. His story was still up.

Tap.

Next slide—him laughing at something, dimples on full display, head tilted back like life was just that easy for him. You paused on it, your stomach twisting in that way it always did when you saw him smile. It was gross. You hated how much you liked it.

You shut the laptop again. This was getting out of hand.

Grabbing your phone, you opened your group chat with Yuna and your other two friends.

You:

i hate you why would u say that

Yuna:

what did i do NOW

You:

“he knows” ??? why would u say that and then LEAVE like some cryptic little drama gremlin

Kazuha:

HELP what’d she do

Minju:

this is about jake isn’t it

Yuna:

ok first of all. i am a drama gremlin. second of all. i didn’t lie.

You:

YUNA.

Yuna:

look he asked about you once okay?? don’t freak out

You stared at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, heart thudding so loud you almost didn’t hear the buzz of another message.

You:

he what.

Yuna:

like two weeks ago. after class. he was talking to beomgyu and i walked up and he was like “hey that girl you always hang with, she’s in my stats class right?”

and i said yeah. and he nodded.

that’s it.

Minju:

girl that’s not nothing

Kazuha:

he definitely knows. also why do i feel like he’s been looking at her lately???

You:

guys stop

i’m sweating wtf

this is too much

You dropped your phone on the bed and covered your face with your hands again, half-screaming into your palms. This couldn’t be real. Jake noticed you? He remembered you existed?

You thought about the times he held your gaze a second too long in class, the lazy way he said “hey” when passing you on campus, the smirk you always thought was meant for someone else.

You didn’t want to get your hopes up. That was dangerous. That was how people got hurt. But still…

Just maybe…

This crush wasn’t as one-sided as you thought.

Jake leaned back against the bench, legs stretched out and sunglasses pushed up into his hair as the late afternoon sun filtered through the trees. The quad buzzed with weekend energy—students lounging on the grass, music playing from someone’s speaker, that kind of lazy chaos that only ever happened when no one felt like doing real work.

Jay sat beside him, twirling a straw around in his iced coffee, eyes scanning the crowd like he was picking out a movie to watch.

“You know what I was thinking?” Jay said suddenly, eyes still tracking something in the distance.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “That’s always a terrifying sentence.”

Jay smirked. “We’ve never been in a real relationship. Like ever.”

Jake scoffed. “And your point?”

“My point is,” Jay said, sitting up, “we should see who can actually do it. Lock in. Longest relationship wins.”

Jake blinked, amused. “That’s the dumbest bet you’ve ever made—and you once bet Beomgyu fifty bucks you could throw a slice of pizza on the dorm ceiling and make it stick.”

“It did stick,” Jay pointed out.

“Yeah, and the RA made you clean it off.”

Sunghoon, who’d been quietly watching some random soccer game in the distance, sighed like he was already regretting his life choices. “This is so stupid. Why would you guys want to date someone just for the sake of it?”

“Because we suck at it,” Jay shrugged. “We’re trash at commitment. Might as well make it fun.”

Jake tilted his head, thinking for a second. “So what, we just pick someone and… date them?”

“Exactly,” Jay grinned. “No hookups, no games. Real dating. See who lasts longer.”

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “You guys are hopeless. Seriously.”

Jake was about to respond when Sunghoon suddenly nodded toward a group of girls laughing across the lawn.

“What about her?” he said, jerking his chin in that direction.

Jake followed his gaze—and immediately shook his head, a tight, amused smile tugging at his lips. “Nah. Heeseung would kill me.”

Jay raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press it. Sunghoon just shrugged like it wasn’t his problem.

Jake leaned back again, lips pressing into a thin line. His thoughts drifted, uninvited, to you.

He didn’t know why, but your name floated to the surface, soft and unspoken. He pictured your face for a split second—how you always seemed to be laughing with that same small circle of friends, always just there on the edge of his world.

He said nothing.

Instead, Jake pushed himself off the bench, brushing imaginary dust off his jeans.

“Where you going?” Jay asked, glancing up.

Jake just smirked and threw a lazy wave over his shoulder.

“Nowhere. Just remembered something.”

Jake shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked off, head down just enough to avoid the glare of the sun but not enough to miss the way people turned to greet him as he passed. He gave the usual half-smile, a couple nods, but didn’t stop.

He wasn’t sure where he was going. He just didn’t feel like sitting there talking about bets and fake relationships when his mind was suddenly, annoyingly, stuck on you.

Not in a romantic way—God, no. Jake Sim didn’t catch feelings like that. Especially not for girls he barely talked to. That wasn’t how he operated. That wasn’t how this worked.

You weren’t the hottest girl on campus or the loudest or the one constantly throwing yourself into his orbit. If anything, you stayed out of it. And yet… you’d started showing up in his peripheral vision more often than he liked to admit.

Every time you passed by him in class, you did that little thing—tucking your hair behind your ear, eyes flicking to him for half a second before you looked away like you’d been caught doing something wrong. You weren’t subtle. And Jake wasn’t stupid. He’d noticed.

It was kind of… cute.

He kicked a rock off the sidewalk, watching it bounce onto the grass.

He didn’t know why you popped into his head when Sunghoon pointed out that girl. Maybe it was because you felt like the opposite of a challenge—someone easy to talk to, someone safe. Not messy. Not loud. Not tied up in anyone else’s drama.

And maybe, he thought, that wouldn’t be such a bad way to win a bet.

He stopped walking.

But then again… this was stupid. It was Jay’s idea. It wasn’t that deep. And you? You were just a thought. A maybe. An option.

Nothing more.

Jake smirked to himself and kept walking, brushing the idea off like it was dust on his sleeve.

No feelings. No strings.

Just a game.

Jake didn’t think about it again—at least, that’s what he told himself.

The next day, he walked into stats like he always did: five minutes late, iced americano in one hand, phone in the other, no apology in sight. He dropped into his seat near the back, legs stretched out under the desk, and immediately tuned out the professor’s monotone voice.

But then he saw you.

You were in your usual spot, two rows ahead and just slightly to the right. Laughing at something Kazuha whispered to you, pen twirling between your fingers, that same focused-but-not-really expression on your face.

Jake leaned back, tapping his pen against his lip.

You looked soft. Not in the cheesy romcom way—just… not sharp like most people. You weren’t trying to be noticed. You weren’t dressed to impress. You just were. And Jake had a strange moment of clarity where he realized: that might be why he’d thought of you in the first place.

Predictable. Low drama. Quiet.

Someone he could control the narrative with.

Jay’s dumb idea floated back into his head again: “Real dating. See who lasts longer.”

Jake exhaled slowly, like it would push the hesitation out of his lungs.

This wasn’t about feelings. He didn’t like you. He didn’t want to text you goodnight or hold your hand at parties or any of that romcom garbage. But maybe you were safe enough to play the part. Someone who wouldn’t make things messy. Someone who already had a soft spot for him.

He glanced at you again, just as you looked down to write something in your notebook, your brows furrowed in concentration.

He could do it. Just a few weeks, some dates, a little effort. Easy.

Jake grinned to himself, resting his chin on his hand.

He didn’t realize he was already watching you too closely.

Didn’t realize he was starting to wonder how you’d react if he actually said hi.

He just thought,

Yeah. This’ll be easy.

Jake caught himself watching you again.

It wasn’t even on purpose—at least, that’s what he told himself. You weren’t doing anything special. Just taking notes, occasionally glancing at the board, the corners of your mouth twitching every time Kazuha leaned over and whispered something dumb. But for some reason, he couldn’t look away for long.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, snapping him out of it.

Jay:

pick someone yet or u backing out?

Jake smirked, thumbs tapping quickly.

Jake:

working on it

Jay:

clock’s ticking

Jake rolled his eyes, tossing the phone facedown on the desk.

The truth was, he already knew. He’d made up his mind the second he walked into class and saw you laughing like you didn’t have a single clue how close you were to becoming part of something you didn’t sign up for.

But he wasn’t going to tell Jay yet. He wasn’t even sure why.

Maybe because part of him felt like once he said it out loud, it would make it real. More real than it needed to be. And despite how casual he was pretending to be, this wasn’t like hooking up with some girl from a party. This wasn’t sneaking out of someone’s dorm room at 2 a.m. before things got too serious.

This was… a role. A performance. One he’d have to keep up if he wanted to win.

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyes drifting toward you again.

You didn’t even know he existed—at least, not really. Sure, you might’ve looked at him a few times, maybe had that little crush people liked to tease about, but you didn’t know him. Not the version he showed at parties, not the bored one in class, not the one who smiled when he needed something.

You were still clean.

Jake wondered how long that would last.

When class ended, he stood and slung his backpack over one shoulder, lingering by the exit just long enough to watch you gather your things. You laughed at something Kazuha said again, then turned to wave goodbye to Minju.

And for half a second, your eyes met his.

He gave you a slow, easy smile—one he’d used a thousand times before—and this time, you didn’t look away so quickly.

Jake walked out of the room, his smirk growing.

You couldn’t focus the rest of the day.

Jake Sim had smiled at you.

Not just a polite, passing one. Not the half-distracted, probably-at-someone-behind-you kind. No. It was at you—slow, smooth, like he knew something you didn’t. Like he meant it.

And stupidly, pathetically, you’d smiled back.

Your stomach was still fluttering from it hours later. Even as you sat at your usual café table with Yuna, Kazuha, and Minju, pretending to listen to their convo, all you could think about was that look. That damn smile. The way his eyes had lingered just long enough to make your brain short-circuit.

Yuna caught you zoning out and kicked your foot under the table. “Earth to lover girl.”

You blinked. “Huh?”

“You’ve been checked out since class,” Minju said, sipping her iced latte like she wasn’t stirring chaos.

“Let me guess,” Kazuha added, leaning forward with a smirk. “Jake smiled at you?”

You opened your mouth to deny it, but Yuna cut in with a dramatic gasp. “He did?! Wait—you smiled back?!”

You groaned and buried your face in your hands. “I don’t know what it was, okay? He looked at me and—ugh, I probably imagined the whole thing.”

“You didn’t,” Minju said casually. “He looked at you. I saw it.”

You peeked through your fingers. “Was it like… a weird look? Or just, like, a normal thing?”

Kazuha raised an eyebrow. “Does Jake Sim ever look at someone normally?”

Yuna leaned her chin on her palm, suddenly serious. “Okay, but real talk. If he did look at you, like, look at you… be careful.”

Your heart sank a little. “What do you mean?”

“He’s Jake,” Minju said. “He doesn’t date. He flirts, he parties, he makes girls fall for him and then disappears.”

“I’m not falling for him,” you said too quickly.

Three sets of eyebrows went up at once.

“I’m not!” you insisted, but your voice cracked halfway through, completely ruining your case. They all exchanged knowing looks, and Kazuha patted your hand like you were already a lost cause.

You sat back in your seat, sipping your drink in silence, trying to calm the chaos in your chest. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe Jake smiled at a hundred girls a day.

But still, the way he’d looked at you…

It didn’t feel like nothing.

And somewhere not too far from that café, Jake Sim was leaning back against a wall outside the library, scrolling through his phone.

He hadn’t told Jay yet. He hadn’t told anyone.

But your name sat quietly in the back of his mind.

Like a string he’d just started tugging.

Like a move he hadn’t played yet.

And tomorrow? He planned to say hello.

The next day came quicker than you expected.

You tried not to overthink it. Tried not to pick out your outfit with him in mind. Tried not to rehearse fake scenarios in your head where Jake Sim actually acknowledged you again—maybe said hi, maybe made a joke, maybe even asked you a question. Nothing big. Just something. Anything.

But deep down, under the nervous energy and second-guessing, a small, traitorous part of you hoped.

You walked into stats early, which never happened, your notebook hugged to your chest like it might protect you from your own delusions. Kazuha and Minju were already there, chatting quietly, and you took your usual seat beside them, eyes scanning the door more times than you cared to admit.

You told yourself you weren’t checking for him. Just being aware. Just… existing in the same room.

And then he walked in.

Jake didn’t look at anyone at first. Just strolled in like always—relaxed, unbothered, his usual drink in hand. He scanned the room casually, his eyes drifting past people without really stopping.

Until they landed on you.

And this time, he didn’t look away.

A lazy, lopsided grin pulled at his lips as he met your gaze. Not rushed. Not accidental.

Intentional.

Your throat went dry.

And then—like it was the most normal thing in the world—Jake Sim nodded at you. A simple, subtle gesture.

But it felt like the whole room paused around it.

You blinked. Your lips parted, surprised, and then instinctively—you nodded back. Small. Shy. Like your heart hadn’t just punched through your ribcage.

Jake held your gaze for half a second longer, then turned and walked to his usual seat near the back like nothing had happened.

But something had happened.

Kazuha leaned in immediately. “Okay, no. That wasn’t normal. He totally looked at you.”

Minju blinked. “Did he just nod at you like you guys are friends or something?”

You couldn’t even answer. You were too busy trying to regulate your breathing, too focused on the way your hands suddenly didn’t know what to do.

Across the room, Jake sat down, stretched out, and didn’t say a word.

Jay nudged him. “You good?”

Jake didn’t look away from the front. “Yeah,” he said simply. “Just watching something.”

Jay raised a brow, confused, but let it go.

You felt it the second you walked out of class—like a magnet at your back.

You didn’t have to turn around to know he was behind you. His steps were slower than yours, but just close enough that you could hear the occasional scuff of his sneakers on the pavement. And even in the noise of campus—people laughing, bikes zipping by, someone blasting music from a speaker—you felt him.

Jake Sim. Still walking behind you. Still very much a mystery.

“Okay,” Kazuha whispered beside you, leaning in with the most obvious side-eye imaginable. “Do not freak out. But he’s right there.”

“I know,” you hissed, eyes forward.

“I mean right there, like five steps back.”

Minju, on your other side, kept her voice casual. “What do you think he wants?”

“Nothing,” you said quickly. Too quickly. “Probably just going the same way.”

“Oh, sure,” Kazuha drawled. “Because Jake Sim always just happens to walk behind girls he makes eye contact with for five seconds straight.”

Your face was hot. You hated how your brain had started keeping track of these things—every glance, every nod, every smile like it meant something.

You turned the corner with your friends, and for a second, it felt like maybe that was it. Maybe he was just walking the same direction.

“Hey.”

One word. Smooth. Easy.

Him.

You stopped. Your heart didn’t.

Jake slid into view beside you like he did this all the time, like you weren’t already halfway to spiraling.

He looked straight at you. “You’re in my stats class, right?”

You blinked. Your mouth opened slightly. “Uh… yeah.”

He smiled like he already knew the answer.

“I’ve seen you around,” he said casually, like this wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it. “What’s your name?”

You told him. Your voice barely above a whisper.

Jake nodded, like he was tucking it away. “Cool. I’m Jake.”

Like you didn’t already know.

“I know,” you said before you could stop yourself.

His grin widened slightly. Not cocky, not smug. Just… amused.

“Right,” he said, a little laugh in his voice. “Well, I’ll see you around.”

And with that, he was gone.

No flirting. No teasing. No over-the-top pickup line.

Just your name on his lips. Like he planned to use it again.

Your friends were staring at you with open mouths.

Kazuha grabbed your arm. “I am going to pass out.”

Minju fanned herself. “You talked. To Jake Sim.”

You stood there, blinking at the space where he used to be, your heart still racing.

You didn’t know what just happened.

But whatever it was, it wasn’t nothing.

Jake didn’t look back.

He didn’t need to. He knew you were still standing there, probably replaying the conversation in your head, maybe wondering if you’d said something weird or if he’d meant anything by it.

He hadn’t.

Not really.

(Kind of.)

He let his smirk fade the second he turned the corner, jaw tightening slightly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He could feel Jay’s voice in his head already, mocking him—“So? Who’d you pick?”

He wasn’t going to tell him yet. Not until it was set in motion.

And it was now. Officially.

He’d spoken to you. Broke the fourth wall. You weren’t a background presence anymore—you were the option. The one he was going to test this theory out on.

Not because you were a challenge.

Not because you were hard to get.

But because you were… interested.

He’d seen the look on your face when he asked your name. That flicker of nervous excitement, like you’d been caught in the middle of something you didn’t want to end. He knew that look. He’d seen it before. Dozens of times.

But this time? He wasn’t here to break hearts. He was here to win.

That was the bet.

Longest relationship.

Play the part. Make it believable.

Easy.

Jake walked into the dining hall like nothing had happened, spotting Jay already sitting with a tray of fries and a bored expression.

“Yo,” Jay said. “You look like you just committed a crime.”

Jake slid into the seat across from him, swiping a fry. “Maybe I did.”

Jay narrowed his eyes. “You pick someone?”

Jake chewed slowly, then shrugged. “Thinking about it.”

“‘Thinking about it’ or already made up your mind?”

Jake leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head. “Let’s just say… I’ve got a good feeling.”

Jay laughed. “You’re gonna lose.”

Jake grinned back, calm and sure of himself. “We’ll see.”

Meanwhile, two buildings over, you were still stuck in place—your name echoing in your ears in his voice.

Jake Sim had talked to you. Asked your name. Smiled like he’d meant it.

And you?

You were already in trouble.

You just didn’t know it yet.

You floated through the rest of your day in a haze.

Jake Sim—campus heartbreaker, unintentional walking distraction, the guy you’d spent way too long overanalyzing from a distance—had not only spoken to you, but said your name. Like it belonged in his mouth. Like he planned to say it again.

You replayed it on loop.

“What’s your name?”

“I’ve seen you around.”

“Cool. I’m Jake.”

You. Were. Doomed.

Yuna nearly screamed when you told her.

“HE WHAT?” she shrieked in your dorm room, slamming her phone face down on your bed. “Okay, no. Wait. Start from the beginning. Word for word. Breath for breath. Blinking pattern. Everything.”

“I already told you everything!”

Yuna gave you a flat look. “You barely told me anything. You just stood there in a daze and whispered, ‘He talked to me’ like you were in some kind of Jake-induced coma.”

“I was in a Jake-induced coma,” you mumbled, falling back onto your pillow dramatically. “I think I still am.”

“Okay but why now?” she asked, sitting at the foot of your bed and stealing one of your chips. “Like, what changed? You guys have had stats together for weeks and he’s never even looked at you.”

You blinked at the ceiling. “Maybe he just… noticed me.”

Yuna gave you a look. “Guys like Jake don’t ‘just notice’ girls. It’s either because he’s bored, he’s interested, or he’s got some kind of motive.”

You sat up a little. “You think he has a motive? Like… what? What kind of motive?”

Yuna paused, chewing thoughtfully. “I don’t know. But Jake doesn’t make small talk unless he’s getting something out of it. Trust me. He’s hot, yeah, but there’s always something else going on in that beautiful, toxic little brain.”

You rolled your eyes, but a tiny part of you held onto her words. You didn’t want to believe that. You wanted to believe maybe he was just… curious. Maybe he thought you were cute. Maybe—by some miracle—he wasn’t playing a game.

But then again, Jake Sim was known for a lot of things.

Genuine interest wasn’t one of them.

Still, your heart refused to care.

He said your name.

He smiled.

He looked at you.

And for now, that was enough to keep you wide awake at 1:42 a.m., staring at your ceiling, whispering his name once just to hear how it sounded in the dark.

You told yourself it wasn’t for him.

You were just in the mood to look nice today—normal girl behavior. Nothing out of the ordinary. So what if you curled your hair instead of your usual half-tied bun? So what if you put on a little gloss and swapped your hoodie for a top that fit just a little better than usual? You weren’t going to see him anyway. Probably.

(But you left five minutes earlier than usual… just in case.)

You blamed Yuna for the way your nerves spiked as soon as you stepped onto campus. Her voice kept looping in your head like a warning bell.

“Guys like Jake don’t just notice girls out of nowhere.”

You’d rolled your eyes at the time, but it stuck. Still, when you caught your reflection in the hallway mirror outside class, a small smile tugged at your lips. You looked good. Confident. Not for Jake—but if he noticed? That wouldn’t be the worst thing.

He did.

You felt his gaze before you even stepped into the classroom. The weight of it. Heavy, warm, lazy like he wasn’t in a rush to look away. You didn’t dare meet his eyes—not right away—but your heart was already beating in your ears.

Kazuha whispered a teasing, “Oooh, someone came dressed to kill today,” as you sat down, and you tried to play it cool, brushing her off with a laugh. But you couldn’t ignore the glance Jake threw over his shoulder.

And the small nod. Again. Just like before. It was subtle. Barely there. But intentional. And that was enough to keep you smiling through half the lecture like an idiot.

Later that day, back at your dorm, you were practically humming as you kicked off your shoes. Yuna looked up from her laptop, narrowed her eyes, and said immediately, “Okay. Spill. What happened?”

You raised a brow, feigning innocence. “What do you mean?”

“You wore lip gloss,” she deadpanned. “You only do that for confidence or crushes. And knowing you? It’s both.” You flopped onto your bed with a dreamy sigh. “He looked at me again.” Yuna groaned. “Girl. You’re spiraling.”

“I’m fine,” you said, rolling onto your stomach.

“No, you’re in the delusional phase,” she said, sitting up. “Where you think he’s texting you with his eyes and secretly planning your wedding. I’m telling you, this is how he gets girls. He makes you feel seen.”

You stayed quiet, fiddling with the edge of your pillowcase.

“I’m not saying he’s evil,” Yuna went on. “I’m saying he’s not… safe. He’s not consistent. And I just don’t want you to be another story where he gets bored and leaves.”

You didn’t want to hear it. Not now. Not when your heart was still soaring.

“I get it,” you mumbled. “But it’s not that serious. It’s just a crush.”

Yuna stared at you for a long moment. “That’s exactly how it starts.”

But you didn’t answer. You just kept smiling to yourself. Because Jake Sim looked at you again. And in your head, that meant everything.

Jake saw you before you saw him.

You were sitting on the low stone wall outside the library, legs crossed at the ankles, earbuds in, flipping through your notes with a furrow between your brows like you actually cared about the quiz tomorrow. The afternoon sun hit your face just right, lighting up the gold in your lashes, and for a moment—just a second—he forgot this was supposed to be a thing.

A game. A bet. A joke between him and Jay.

He shook it off.

“Go say something,” Jay muttered from beside him, nudging Jake with his elbow.

Jake rolled his eyes. “Relax.”

“Relax? Bro, you were just talking about how easy this was gonna be,” Jay said. “You smiled at her, got her name. Step three is conversation.”

Jake didn’t answer right away. He just watched you.

You looked like the type who wrote in a journal at night. The type who doodled on worksheets, who had a playlist for every mood and a favorite pen that no one else was allowed to touch. You weren’t like the girls at parties who clung to him for the thrill of it, who liked the idea of Jake Sim more than Jake himself.

That made it interesting.

Or maybe risky. He hadn’t decided yet.

“I’m giving you three seconds,” Jay said. “Then I’m picking someone else for you.”

Jake scoffed and stepped off the path.

He took his time crossing the grass, casual but with purpose. You didn’t notice him at first, too caught up in whatever study playlist was pulsing through your ears. He tapped the back of the bench once with two fingers, and you startled slightly, pulling one earbud out as your eyes lifted to meet his.

There it was again—recognition. Surprise. That soft little tilt to your lips like you were trying not to smile too much.

“Hey,” he said, leaning slightly against the edge of the wall. “You always study out here?”

You blinked. “Only when it’s nice out.” He nodded, eyes flicking to your open notebook. “What’s the subject?”

“Stats,” you said, grimacing. “Trying to pretend I understand anything from today.” He laughed a little—easy, smooth, practiced. “Yeah, same. I zoned out after the first ten minutes.”

You smiled, and this time it reached your eyes. “You sit in the back. You always zone out. He raised a brow, impressed. “So you’ve been watching me?”

You opened your mouth to respond, then faltered, clearly realizing what you’d just admitted.

Jake grinned. Gotcha.

“I mean—not watching watching,” you rushed to say. “Just, you’re… kind of hard to miss.”

He let the moment hang between you, his smirk lingering before he glanced down at your notes again. “You want help?” he asked suddenly. You blinked. “With stats?”

“Sure. I mean, I don’t guarantee results,” he said, pushing off the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. “But we could suffer through it together.”

Your eyes searched his face for something—for a sign he was messing with you. But he didn’t look away.

“Okay,” you said quietly. “Yeah. That’d be… cool.”

Jake nodded once, then stepped back. “Tomorrow. After class?”

You nodded.

He turned without another word, heading back toward Jay with that easy gait that made people move out of his way. Jay raised his brows at him like well?

Jake just said, “Locked in.” And didn’t explain further.

Didn’t mention how your voice had sounded a little shy when you said yes. Didn’t mention the part of him that liked that.

He told himself he wasn’t catching feelings. He was just playing the role. That’s all this was. Wasn’t it?

The next day, you didn’t know whether to dread or look forward to stats.

You’d barely slept. You kept rewriting yesterday in your head—Jake walking up to you, Jake talking to you, Jake offering to help you study like it was nothing. Like that wasn’t the most surreal part of your entire week.

You were half convinced it was a fluke. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe it was some joke. Or maybe—maybe—you dreamed it and none of it actually happened.

But then he slid into the seat next to you like it was his usual spot.

Like it had always been his.

You looked up at him in surprise, your voice caught in your throat. “Oh. Hey.”

“Hey,” he said easily, tossing his phone on the desk and leaning back like he had all the time in the world. “You still down to study after this?”

You blinked. “Y-Yeah. Of course.”

He gave you a small, satisfied smile, then leaned in a little closer, voice low enough that only you could hear it. “What’s your Instagram?”

You froze.

You knew this moment was coming. Like, eventually. Hopefully. Maybe. But not this fast. Not like it was casual.

“Oh—um,” you fumbled with your phone, screen lighting up as your fingers clumsily opened the app. “It’s just—my username is kind of stupid, don’t laugh.”

Jake chuckled under his breath. “Now I have to see it.”

You turned your screen toward him, and he leaned in slightly, shoulder brushing yours for a second too long. His fingers grazed your phone as he typed it into his own, brows furrowed in concentration.

“There,” he said a moment later. “Followed.”

Your phone buzzed instantly, the notification lighting up like a siren:

simjyn started following you.

You tried to stay calm. Cool. Normal.

But Jake? Jake was already scrolling through your feed like he had nothing better to do. His eyes flicked up to yours briefly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You’re cute in this one.”

You almost choked.

He was pointing to a picture Minju had taken of you a couple weeks ago—your hand resting on your cheek, smiling softly at something off-camera. You’d only posted it after three days of deliberation.

“You—what?” you said, breathless.

Jake didn’t miss a beat. “I said you’re cute. You don’t agree?”

Your mouth opened, then closed again.

He laughed under his breath, clearly enjoying the way he’d short-circuited your brain. Then he leaned back in his chair like he hadn’t just sent your pulse into orbit.

“Stats,” he said casually, flipping open his notebook. “Then coffee. That’s our deal, right?”

You nodded slowly, your cheeks on fire.

He didn’t say anything else.

But your phone buzzed again under the desk.

simjyn: looking forward to it

You didn’t know whether to smile or scream. So you did both. Internally.

You didn’t even have to type it in.

The second Jake said, “What’s your Instagram?” you already knew where this was going. You played it off so well—bit your lip like you were thinking, fumbled with your phone a little like you needed to search for his account too.

But you didn’t. You’d known it for months.

@simjyn.

No numbers. No punctuation. Just clean, simple, cool. Like him.

You’d visited it more times than you’d ever admit out loud.

You knew the exact photo he’d posted on New Year’s Eve—black button-up, rings on his fingers, drink in hand, smirk sharper than his jawline. You remembered how his captions were always short, effortless. Sometimes just a song lyric, sometimes a single word. Always just enough to keep people guessing.

You’d watched his stories religiously. Even the ones that weren’t interesting—clips of skateparks, random memes, grainy concert videos. You once spent an entire night reading through the comments on one of his old posts, heart dropping every time a girl left a flirty emoji and he liked it.

And now? That username lit up your phone for real.

@simjyn followed you.

@simjyn ❤️ your story.

@simjyn sent you a DM.

You nearly forgot how to breathe.

What made it worse—or maybe better—was how normal he made it all feel. Like he hadn’t just stepped out of the fantasy you’d kept locked behind your phone screen. Like this wasn’t your real life crashing into the version of Jake you only knew from filtered posts and captions.

You tried to keep your cool, acting like this wasn’t a big deal. Like you hadn’t already scrolled back to his 2019 posts at least once. Like you didn’t already have his account bookmarked under a folder labeled “Just Vibes” (because “Jake Sim” felt too on the nose).

Still, when the class ended and you stepped outside, your fingers twitched with the urge to check your notifications again. And there it was.

@simjyn: looking forward to it.

Like it was just the beginning.

And maybe, terrifyingly, it was.

The days that followed felt like they were moving in slow motion, each one dragging longer than the last as you waited for something to happen.

The moment you’d been hoping for—the one where Jake would finally make it real, where the playful back-and-forth would shift from flirtation to something else—wasn’t happening.

Instead, he kept it casual. Too casual.

Too normal.

He kept up the conversations. Stats class? He would lean over, whispering about the notes, joking about the professor’s monotone voice. He would always walk with you afterward, or grab coffee with you. Nothing over the top. Nothing overtly romantic.

But your heart still raced every time he smiled at you. Every time he leaned a little too close. Every time his fingers brushed against yours as he handed you your coffee or his shoulder bumped yours when you were walking together. You could tell he was making it seem easy. Comfortable. Like you were just friends.

But you were barely holding it together.

Your phone buzzed late one night while you were finishing up homework. You glanced at it, heart skipping when you saw his name pop up in your notifications.

@simjyn: Got a minute?

You stared at the message for a solid minute. Your thumb hovered over the screen, hesitation creeping in. Should you play it cool? Or be honest and show just how interested you were?

You took a breath, tapped the screen, and typed back:

You: Of course, what’s up?

It took a few seconds for him to respond, and when he did, you couldn’t help but feel the subtle excitement surge in your chest.

@simjyn: You free tomorrow after class? Thought we could grab lunch or something.

You stared at the message for a long second, rereading it just to be sure it wasn’t some joke. But no—he’d actually asked. He’d really asked.

And you, being entirely unable to contain the flutter in your stomach, replied without hesitation:

You: Sounds good. What time?

It didn’t take long for him to send the reply, casual as ever:

@simjyn: 1 p.m. sharp. See you then.

You couldn’t help but smile, even as you tried to play it off to yourself. You were going to lunch.

With Jake Sim.

Just lunch.

Still, as you set your phone down, the knot in your stomach didn’t loosen. It twisted, deepened, and tightened with something you couldn’t ignore.

This was different.

You weren’t just some girl caught up in the attention of a guy.

This time, it felt real.

The morning of the lunch, you barely made it through your classes. Every few minutes, your mind would wander back to the text. You tried to focus, to pay attention to the lecture, but all you could think about was what you were going to wear. You settled on something comfortable—nothing too dressed up, but something that still made you feel good. You didn’t want to seem like you were trying too hard, but you also didn’t want to look like you didn’t care.

When the bell rang, you gathered your things and tried to move quickly, but not too quickly. There was no way you were going to be that eager.

You got to the café a little early, scanning the tables, heart racing as you waited. And then, just as you began to think he might be late, you saw him walk through the door. Jake Sim, effortlessly cool in a black leather jacket and dark jeans. His hair was slightly messy in that way that made you want to run your fingers through it.

He glanced around and spotted you almost immediately. The moment your eyes met, he gave you that signature, crooked grin. The one that made your stomach flip.

“Hey,” he greeted as he slid into the seat across from you. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

You shook your head, trying not to act too flustered. “No, not at all. I just got here.”

He gave a nonchalant nod, then leaned back in his chair, eyes scanning the menu on the wall. “So, how’s the studying been going?”

You shrugged, trying to sound casual. “Same as usual. Lots of work, not a lot of results.”

Jake chuckled, glancing over at you. “I can relate. Stats is definitely not my strong suit. I’ve had to rely on the internet a lot.”

You laughed, genuinely this time. “I can’t believe you’re just now admitting that you’re using Google.”

“Hey, it works,” he said, raising his hands in mock defense. “Why make life harder?”

The conversation flowed easily after that, lighthearted banter about classes, the terrible food at the campus café, and random bits of gossip you both knew. Nothing serious. But somehow, it felt… different. He was relaxed around you. More relaxed than he’d ever seemed before, and it made you wonder if this was just another casual thing to him, or if something else was starting to shift.

Then, after a while, Jake’s tone softened. He tilted his head, studying you for a moment as if weighing his words. “You’ve been acting a little different lately. More… put together, you know?”

You blinked, unsure of how to respond to that. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged slightly, his eyes still focused on you, but there was a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “You’ve always been pretty chill, but you’re, like, shining now. What’s up with that?”

Your heart skipped, a small nervous laugh escaping your lips. “I’m just… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting better at balancing everything.”

Jake leaned in just slightly, his gaze narrowing with interest. “I think it’s more than that. You’re definitely pulling it off.”

You stared at him for a second, not sure what to make of the compliment. He said it so casually, like it was just an observation. But it felt different, like he was actually noticing you—really noticing you.

You swallowed, suddenly feeling exposed. “Well, thanks. That’s… sweet.”

There was a moment of silence between you, the air thick with something you couldn’t quite place. Then, to your surprise, Jake broke the tension with a grin. “You know, I’ve got a theory.”

You raised an eyebrow, curious despite yourself. “A theory?”

“Yeah,” he said, leaning back in his chair, looking like he was about to say something way too casually. “I think you might just be trying to impress me.”

The words hit you like a bolt of electricity, and for a moment, you weren’t sure if you were supposed to laugh, blush, or run away. “What? No—no,” you said quickly, shaking your head. “I mean, maybe a little bit, but… I don’t think I need to impress you.”

Jake smirked, clearly enjoying the effect he was having on you. “Oh? I’m not that impressive, huh?”

You bit your lip, not sure how to play this. “No, you are. I just—” You cut yourself off, suddenly realizing how much you’d revealed in a single sentence. But Jake didn’t press. He just chuckled, clearly having fun with this.

“You’re cute when you get nervous,” he said, his voice low and teasing.

Your cheeks burned at the comment, but you quickly composed yourself. “Well, it’s not like I’ve got anything to impress you with. I’m just… me.”

Jake leaned forward slightly, eyes locking with yours in that way that made your heart race. “That’s all I need to see.”

His words hung in the air between you like an unspoken promise, and for a moment, you thought you might actually fall for the idea that this wasn’t just a game.

But then, just as quickly, he sat back, picked up his coffee, and took a casual sip like nothing had happened.

You blinked, trying to clear the confusion in your head. Was he playing with you? Or was this real?

Before you could ask, Jake grinned, his eyes flicking to your phone. “Hey, I’ll hit you up later. I’ve got to go catch up with Jay about something.”

“Okay,” you said, your voice a little quieter than you meant it to be. “I’ll see you later, then.” He stood up, tossing a few bills onto the table before flashing that same carefree smile. “Yeah. See you around.”

As he walked away, you watched him go, your heart hammering in your chest. You couldn’t figure out if he was just being Jake, or if something else was going on. But one thing was clear. He had your attention, and it felt like you were already in this deeper than you wanted to admit.

The next few days were a blur of moments that felt too good to be true. Every time you saw Jake, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was changing. He was suddenly everywhere, his presence more noticeable, more… intentional.

It started small—an unexpected text, just a random meme or a “How’s your day going?” message. It wasn’t the kind of thing friends usually exchanged, not unless they were really close. But he made it feel effortless. Like it was normal. Like you were supposed to be texting each other.

When you sat together in class, Jake would lean a little closer, whispering jokes in your ear, his breath warm against your skin. He’d brush your arm with his when reaching for a pen or hand you a piece of paper as if your hands weren’t already close enough to touch. And every time his gaze met yours, there was this flicker in his eyes—a hint of something that made you feel like you were both in on some secret that no one else knew.

“You’re wearing that sweater again,” he’d say, a grin pulling at his lips. “I like it.”

You’d laugh nervously, trying to act casual, but inside, your heart would race. Every time he called you out like that—whether it was for something you wore, the way your hair fell across your face, or the way you bit your lip when you were nervous—it felt like a compliment. A tease. And you couldn’t tell if you were supposed to be flattered or embarrassed.

But then, you’d notice the little things—like how his gaze lingered on you just a moment longer than usual, how his smile reached his eyes, and how he seemed to make every conversation feel like an inside joke. You could feel it. The playful flirty energy was unmistakable.

One afternoon, you were walking across campus together when Jake leaned in and said, “You know, you look really cute when you’re thinking.”

Your mind went blank. “What?”

He laughed softly, his voice low and teasing. “When you get all quiet, just staring at nothing. You’re cute, I can’t help it.”

You swallowed hard, trying to keep your voice steady. “Stop it.”

But his grin only widened. He didn’t stop. Not this time. His arm brushed yours as you walked, the skin-to-skin contact sending an electric jolt through your entire body. He kept close, just close enough that you could feel the warmth radiating off him, just close enough that it started to mess with your head.

“Really,” he continued, “You should smile more. Makes everything better.”

You couldn’t think straight. He was being so Jake about it—teasing and flirty, but there was something in the way he said it, something deeper, like he was trying to get closer to you than just casual flirtation. You tried to brush it off, but there was no denying it—he was turning up the charm.

The worst part? You liked it. You liked it too much.

But as much as you were getting drawn into the flirty energy with Jake, your friends noticed. Especially Yuna.

“Hey, you’re pulling away,” Yuna said one day as you walked with her across campus. “You’ve been hanging out with Jake a lot lately. Like… more than usual.”

You tried to brush it off, but the protective tone in her voice was obvious. “What are you talking about? We’re just hanging out.”

She raised an eyebrow, giving you a skeptical look. “I don’t know, YN. I mean, I’ve seen the way he’s been acting with you lately. Don’t let him mess with your head. He’s—”

“Stop,” you snapped, more sharply than you meant to. “I’m not stupid. I know what I’m doing.”

Yuna stopped walking, eyes wide as she stared at you. “I’m just trying to look out for you,” she said quietly. “Jake’s not exactly the type to take things seriously. You don’t want to end up hurt.”

The words hit you like a punch in the gut. But instead of feeling gratitude for her concern, you felt something else—a weird, unexpected irritation.

“I said stop,” you repeated, this time quieter but no less firm. “I don’t need you to remind me every five seconds that Jake’s a bad idea. I’m fine.”

Yuna opened her mouth to argue, but you held up your hand, cutting her off. “Really, Yuna, just drop it. I can handle myself.”

You could see the hurt flash across her face, but you didn’t care in the moment. You didn’t want to hear it. You didn’t want to hear about how Jake was playing you, how he was just a game to him, how everyone saw it coming except you. Because you didn’t want to see it. Not now. Not when things were just starting to feel… good.

You walked away from her then, your mind in a whirl. But even as you pushed away your concern for her words, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Something was off, and it wasn’t just with Jake.

And as you thought about it more, as you thought about his flirty comments, the way he leaned in too close when you were talking, the way he looked at you like he knew something you didn’t, you wondered if maybe Yuna was right after all.

But then again… why would you care?

After all, he was giving you attention. He was talking to you. It felt good. And sometimes, that was all that mattered, right?

Later that week, you found yourself standing in front of Jake’s apartment door, the cold metal of the handle pressing against your palm. You didn’t know exactly how you’d gotten here, but somewhere along the way, you’d ended up accepting his invitation to hang out. It wasn’t even that late. You’d just had a weird day with your friends, and now, you were here.

Jake’s voice came through the door before he even opened it. “Hey, come on in!”

The door swung open, and he flashed you that familiar grin that you still weren’t used to, despite how many times you’d seen it. “You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders,” he said with a teasing raise of his eyebrows.

You didn’t even have it in you to give a smart remark back. Instead, you just walked in, kicking your shoes off as you stepped inside. The apartment was just as you remembered—lived in, a bit messy, but still comfortable. Jake had that careless confidence about him, the kind that made everything feel like it was in its rightful place, even when it wasn’t.

You plopped down on the couch, dropping your bag beside you, feeling suddenly exhausted. Your shoulders slumped, and Jake’s eyes followed the movement with a curious look before he sank onto the couch beside you, casually stretching his arms out along the backrest.

“What’s going on?” he asked, genuinely concerned, but his tone was light, trying to keep things casual, like everything was fine.

You took a deep breath, then sighed heavily, letting it all spill out in a way that surprised even you. “I don’t know what’s going on with me lately,” you said, your voice a little softer than you expected. “I mean, Yuna’s being… overprotective. She thinks you’re just playing with me. And I get it. She’s looking out for me. But it’s like, I can’t get her to understand that I’m fine. That I’m not… that stupid.”

You glanced at him for a moment, but he was just listening, his focus on you in a way that made your stomach flip. He didn’t interrupt, didn’t tell you you were overreacting. He just sat there, waiting for you to keep going.

“I feel like I’m stuck between two worlds. Like one side wants to just… enjoy it, you know? You’re fun, you’re everything I thought you were. But then, there’s this other side, where I can’t shake the feeling that maybe she’s right. Maybe you’re not looking for anything serious, and I’m just… falling for it. But I can’t stop myself,” you vented, your voice starting to tremble slightly.

Jake stayed quiet for a few seconds, his gaze shifting to the floor for a brief moment before looking back at you.

“You’re allowed to feel what you feel,” he said softly, the words coming out slower than usual. “Don’t let anyone make you doubt yourself. Yuna’s just trying to protect you, but you can handle it. If you’re not ready to hear what she has to say, then you don’t have to. That’s your decision.”

There was something in his tone that was different—something almost… comforting. It wasn’t the usual cocky Jake. This was the version of him that actually cared.

You let out a shaky laugh, unsure of whether it was from nerves or relief. “I don’t know if I can handle this… It’s all just so confusing. I don’t even know if I’m reading everything wrong, or if I’m just imagining things.”

His expression softened, and he leaned in just slightly, the casual distance between you both shrinking. “You don’t have to have all the answers right now, you know? You don’t have to be perfect. Not with me.”

And before you even realized it, you were leaning toward him. You didn’t even think about it, didn’t even second-guess it. Your body just reacted, your forehead resting against his shoulder, your exhaustion seeping out of you all at once.

Jake didn’t pull away, didn’t even flinch. He just stayed still, his body tense for only a second before relaxing, letting you lean on him, letting you take the weight off for just a little while. His arm slowly reached up, resting gently on your back, the warmth of his touch sending an unexpected shiver down your spine.

For a moment, the world outside disappeared. There was only the sound of your breathing and the steady, comforting presence of Jake beside you. And in that space, you didn’t feel confused or vulnerable. You just felt… safe.

But Jake? Jake felt something he wasn’t prepared for.

His chest tightened as your weight shifted against him, your head resting on his shoulder. Something in the pit of his stomach stirred in a way he wasn’t used to. The easy, flirtatious banter, the teasing touches, the smiles—it had always felt like a game, a light distraction. But now, with you leaning on him like this, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had crossed some invisible line.

Jake wasn’t the type to let his guard down easily, especially not with someone like you—someone who was already too easy to get attached to. He’d always prided himself on being able to keep things light, keep things easy. But now, as you sat there with your breath steady against his chest, he felt something shift in his chest. It was too strong, too real, too unfamiliar.

He knew he shouldn’t be feeling it. He knew he shouldn’t be letting himself get this close, this comfortable. But there was something about the way you were so trusting, so open, that made him rethink everything. Maybe he didn’t have to keep things light forever. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let things get a little deeper.

But Jake didn’t say anything. He didn’t pull away, and he didn’t push forward. He just stayed there, letting the moment stretch out, wondering what it would mean if he allowed himself to feel whatever this was.

And for the first time in a long time, Jake Sim wasn’t quite sure what was happening to him.

The next day, you were walking with Minju and Kazuha when the conversation inevitably turned to the topic you were avoiding. Your friends had been whispering behind your back, but now, they were cornering you about it, and you knew exactly what was coming.

“YN,” Minju started, her voice soft but firm. “We know you’re close with Jake now, but Yuna’s just trying to look out for you. She cares about you.”

You tried to ignore the feeling of guilt that twisted inside you, but it was impossible to shake off. You had felt bad about snapping at Yuna, but right now, you just weren’t ready to deal with it. Not when everything with Jake was still so… new, so uncertain.

“I know, okay?” you said, your voice slightly more defensive than you intended. You slowed your pace, unwilling to keep walking any longer. You could feel their concerned gazes on you. “But I don’t need to hear it right now. I don’t want to think about it.”

Kazuha frowned, tilting her head as she studied your face. “We just don’t want you to get hurt, YN,” she said, her voice gentle but tinged with worry. “We know you like him, but… Jake doesn’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to relationships.”

You clenched your jaw. Not this again.

“I don’t need anyone else telling me what I already know.” Your words were sharp, but it was hard to keep your cool. “I’m fine. I’m not an idiot. I know the risks.” You paused, your voice quieter now. “I just… I’m not ready to have that conversation with anyone, especially Yuna. So, can we just drop it?”

Minju gave you a sympathetic look, her eyes softening. “We’re just looking out for you, YN. It’s not about not trusting you. It’s about the fact that we’ve seen this kind of thing happen before.”

You shook your head, running a hand through your hair. “I get it, but… I’m not asking for advice right now. I just want to figure things out on my own. I don’t want to hear how this is going to end before it’s even really started.”

Kazuha took a step closer, her tone easing as she tried to lighten the mood. “We’re not trying to ruin the fun, YN. We just don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all.”

“I know you care. But please… not now,” you said, holding up a hand to stop any further discussion. You didn’t want to fight, didn’t want to let your friends down, but you just couldn’t handle it at that moment. You needed time to figure out where you stood with Jake before you could process any of their warnings.

Minju and Kazuha exchanged a glance, and even though they both wanted to say more, they stayed quiet, sensing that you weren’t in the right headspace.

“Okay,” Minju said finally, her voice softening. “But we’re here for you when you’re ready to talk. Just don’t shut us out completely, alright?”

You nodded, feeling a strange mix of frustration and relief. “I won’t. I promise.”

The conversation ended there, but the lingering tension between you and your friends stayed in the air. You couldn’t shake the feeling that they were worried about you, and that made your chest tighten. But as much as you knew they were just trying to protect you, a part of you didn’t want to listen. You just wanted to figure things out on your own.

And for now, that meant staying focused on Jake and whatever this thing was between you two. Even if it meant pushing everything else aside, at least for a little while.

Jake wasn’t one to let his guard down easily, but over the past few days, something about you had begun to chip away at it. The easy flirtation, the playful teasing—it was all still there, but there was something more now. Something deeper. He couldn’t help but notice how the little things seemed to matter more when you were around. The way you laughed at his jokes, even the ones that barely made sense. The way you smiled at him when no one else was watching. It felt too easy, too natural, like he’d always known how to make you smile. But lately, it didn’t feel like a game. It felt… real.

And that, in itself, was dangerous.

Jake found himself thinking about you even when he didn’t want to. His friends, Jay and Sunghoon, had made jokes about him getting “soft” or “whipped,” but it was hard to shake the feeling that they were right. He did feel something for you. Something he didn’t quite know how to name.

It wasn’t that you were different than the others—no, you were different in a way that made him uncomfortable. You made him want things he hadn’t thought about in a long time. Stability. Connection. More than just a fleeting encounter.

And it was killing him.

He didn’t know why he let himself get closer to you. Maybe it was the way you always seemed to understand him, like no matter how far he pushed, you’d still stick around. Or maybe it was the way you made him laugh even when he didn’t feel like smiling.

He found himself texting you more, asking if you wanted to hang out, even if he had no real reason to. He’d steal glances at you when you weren’t paying attention, noticing the way your eyes would light up when you spoke, the way you’d tilt your head when you were thinking. He even started texting you just to hear you laugh, just to see your name pop up on his screen. It was stupid. It was complicated. And, most of all, it made his stomach twist in ways that were both unsettling and addicting.

That night, things were different. You’d come over to his apartment again, this time without any of your usual defenses. You were quieter than usual, your eyes slightly more distant. He could tell something had been weighing on your mind, and despite all his usual nonchalance, he couldn’t help but want to comfort you.

You were sitting next to him on the couch, a slight distance between the two of you, but it felt like there was something pulling him toward you. He wasn’t sure what it was—maybe it was the way you looked tonight, or how vulnerable you seemed, or maybe it was just the growing ache in his chest that wouldn’t go away.

“So, what’s going on?” he asked, his voice quieter than usual, no teasing, no playfulness. Just concern.

You met his gaze, your lips forming a small smile, though it didn’t reach your eyes. “Nothing. Just… stuff with my friends. You know, the usual drama.”

Jake felt his heart sink at the emptiness in your voice, like something was off. But he didn’t press. Not yet. Instead, he leaned closer to you, watching as you pulled your knees up to your chest, clearly lost in your thoughts. Without thinking, his hand found its way to your shoulder, lightly resting there.

“You can talk to me, you know,” he said, his voice quieter, gentler than before.

You hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know if you want to hear it. It’s just… complicated.”

“Hey,” he said softly, his thumb rubbing along your shoulder. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’m listening.”

You met his gaze then, and for a moment, something passed between you. It was brief, almost imperceptible, but Jake felt it like a jolt of electricity between you. The weight of the silence was thick now, and the space between you felt too small.

Without thinking, Jake moved closer, his hand shifting from your shoulder to the side of your face, cupping it gently. Your breath hitched, but you didn’t pull away. You just stared at him, eyes wide, like you were waiting for him to make the next move.

Jake’s pulse quickened, his heart pounding in his chest. He had been here before—flirtation, attraction, all of it. But this time, something was different. This time, it wasn’t just about the thrill or the chase. It was about you.

You leaned toward him, your lips brushing against his, tentative at first, like neither of you quite knew what was happening. But then, something clicked. The kiss deepened, slow and steady, and Jake’s entire world seemed to narrow down to that single moment.

It was everything. And it was nothing like he expected.

When you finally pulled away, breathless and slightly dazed, you stayed close, your foreheads resting together as if you both were grounding each other.

Jake’s mind was racing, but his body felt weightless, like he was floating. He didn’t know what had just happened. Didn’t know if it was just a moment or if it meant something more. But for the first time in a long while, Jake Sim didn’t want to walk away from something. He didn’t want to pull back.

And he didn’t know how to explain it, but it scared him. More than he cared to admit.

The night of the party, you were already feeling a little on edge. Jake had invited you, and for the first time, it felt different than all the other times. There was a part of you that had been hesitating, unsure of how things were really between the two of you. His texts had been more frequent, his touches lingered a little longer, but you couldn’t shake that nagging feeling in the back of your mind.

You were getting ready when your phone buzzed—Jake had just texted to remind you about the party. He seemed excited about it, but something felt off in the way you were receiving it, like you were standing on the edge of a cliff and had no idea what would happen if you jumped.

As you walked into the party later that night, the music thumping in the background, you tried to shake off your nerves. People were scattered around, some dancing, others talking in smaller groups. You spotted Jake almost immediately—his usual confident grin, that cocky air about him, but tonight there was something different. He waved when he saw you, and his eyes lit up as you approached.

But before you could make your way over to him, you overheard Jay and Sunghoon talking in the corner, standing just out of earshot from where you were. You froze, hearing your name mentioned, and despite yourself, you couldn’t resist the urge to listen.

“Yo, Jake is really into this girl, huh?” Jay’s voice was low, but you caught every word.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Sunghoon replied, a laugh in his voice. “I mean, he’s been all over her. This bet’s got him acting like a different person.”

You felt your heart drop, but you didn’t move, too stunned to turn away. You tried to act casual, but everything inside you tensed. You could feel the blood rushing to your face, your stomach sinking.

“Are you sure he’s not faking it?” Jay asked, his voice skeptical. “I mean, it’s Jake we’re talking about. He doesn’t do ‘serious’—he’s just playing it for the win. He’ll probably drop her after.”

Sunghoon didn’t sound so sure, though. “I don’t know, man. I’ve seen the way he looks at her. It’s not like the other girls he’s been with. He actually seems invested.”

You wanted to walk away then. You wanted to ignore it, pretend you didn’t hear, but their words were like a knife twisting in your gut. The truth was, you weren’t stupid. You knew something was off. You had seen Jake be playful, you had felt the connection, but hearing his friends talk about it like it was a game… it made everything you had been feeling seem so much more meaningless.

“But it’s still a bet, right?” Jay said, the doubt lingering in his voice. “That’s what I don’t get. Is he really getting attached, or is he just playing the part? I’ve never seen him act like this with a girl. Not once.”

There was a long pause before Sunghoon replied, his voice lower now, more serious. “I don’t know. It’s Jake. Who can say for sure? But… I think he might actually care. Just a little bit.”

You didn’t stay to hear more. You didn’t need to. The damage had been done.

You took a breath, steadying yourself. You hadn’t expected this, not like this. But the pieces were starting to fall into place. Jake had been different with you—maybe more than he’d been with anyone else. The thought that this could be a game, a bet, was suddenly so clear. You couldn’t just ignore it anymore.

Your heart was pounding, but you forced your feet to move, walking over to where Jake was standing. You pasted on a smile, trying to keep your voice steady, but it felt harder than ever before.

“Hey,” you greeted him, your voice betraying none of the turmoil inside. He smiled, his usual confident grin appearing on his face. But you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were standing on the edge of something, teetering between what you thought was real and what you had just overheard.

“Hey, you made it!” Jake’s voice was light, happy, as if nothing was wrong. But something in his eyes made you pause.

Maybe it was time to figure out just how deep this bet really ran. And whether you were just part of it—or something more.

You stood there with a smile stretched across your face, but your heart was pounding so hard you swore Jake could hear it. His grin was easy, his eyes soft when they landed on you, like he had no idea you’d just overheard everything. Like you hadn’t just heard your name tossed around like a prize in a bet.

So, you smiled back.

You smiled even though your hands were trembling at your sides. You leaned in closer when he talked, nodded when he joked, even laughed—though it was a little too sharp, a little too forced. Because you weren’t about to fall apart in front of him. Not when everything finally made sense.

If this was a game to him, then fine. You’d play.

You could act too. You could flirt back, make him think he had you wrapped around his finger. You could give him exactly what he wanted—attention, affection, maybe even more—just to turn it around on him later. Just to prove you weren’t some stupid girl who didn’t know what she was getting into.

“I missed you,” Jake said, brushing your hair off your shoulder as he leaned closer to be heard over the music.

Your breath hitched slightly, just for a second. He didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t say anything. You looked up at him, eyes wide and soft—just how he liked them. “Yeah?” you replied, your voice light, teasing, even though it shook at the end. “You’re not just saying that because I finally came out tonight?”

He laughed, completely taken with you. “No. I mean it.”

You didn’t know whether to believe him or not. Maybe part of you still wanted to. That was the most pathetic part. But you just nodded, playing along like everything was normal. Like your heart wasn’t breaking and piecing itself back together all in the same breath.

Jake kept talking, leaning in like he couldn’t get enough of you, and all you could think about was the sound of Jay’s voice—He’s really into this bet. And then Sunghoon’s, Or maybe it’s real.

You hated how badly you wanted that second part to be true.

But you pushed the thoughts down, deeper than they’d ever gone, and played your part. You looked up at Jake like he was the only person in the room, like your voice hadn’t just betrayed you a few moments ago. Like you didn’t feel like the punchline of some cruel joke.

Because if he thought you were falling for him—then you were already winning.

You’d play along. Smile. Flirt. Fall—just enough to make him think he won.

But neither of you realized that somewhere along the way, Jake had already stopped pretending.

The party had started to blur around the edges—music thumping, people laughing, the usual chaos of a Friday night. But all Jake could focus on was you.

You were standing by the kitchen counter, half-listening to some conversation you clearly didn’t care about, your arms crossed and your head tilted like you were already somewhere else. Like maybe, you didn’t belong in this room full of noise and people pretending.

Jake found himself watching you a little too long. Again.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to snap out of it, but the weight in his chest wouldn’t go away. The bet. The damn bet. It had been fun at first—a dumb challenge between him and Jay to see who could last longer in a relationship. A joke. Something to pass the time. But now, with you standing there looking like everything he didn’t know he needed, it didn’t feel like a joke anymore.

He pushed off the wall and walked toward you, slipping past the crowd.

“Hey,” he said, brushing his knuckles gently against your arm. You turned, a bit surprised, blinking up at him.

“Hey,” you replied, your voice still a little unsteady. You were trying to keep the act up—Jake could tell—but he didn’t know what it meant. Didn’t know that you had already heard the truth.

“You wanna get outta here?” he asked, eyes locked on yours.

You hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

Jake smiled, but something in his chest twisted.

“Cool. Just—go ahead to my car, I’ll be right there,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the front door.

You gave him a small nod and slipped away without another word, your steps a little faster than usual.

Jake exhaled, then turned around and made his way through the crowd until he found Jay and Sunghoon standing by the back patio, drinks in hand, mid-laugh.

“Yo,” he called out, stepping up to them.

Jay glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “Leaving already?”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. With YN.”

Jay smirked. “You’re really committed to this whole long-game thing, huh?”

But Jake didn’t laugh. His jaw clenched as he looked between the two of them.

“I’m ending it,” he said plainly.

Jay blinked. “What?”

“The bet,” Jake said again, firmer this time. “I’m done.”

Sunghoon straightened, exchanging a quick glance with Jay. “Seriously?”

Jake shrugged, but his voice was tight. “Yeah. It’s not fun anymore. I’m not… playing.”

Jay frowned, the smirk fading. “You caught feelings.”

Jake didn’t say anything.

Jay let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

Sunghoon just nodded slowly, like he’d been expecting this. “Good. About time.”

Jake didn’t wait for more. He turned and headed for the door, his heart beating fast for reasons he couldn’t explain—not even to himself. He just knew one thing:

He didn’t want to hurt you. Not anymore.

When Jake stepped out into the cool night air, his heart was beating fast—but not with excitement, not with adrenaline. It was something else. Something heavier. Something he wasn’t used to.

He spotted you leaning against his car, arms crossed, your gaze fixed on the night sky like you were looking for answers. You looked calm, but you weren’t. You were still hearing Jay’s voice in your head—He’s really into this bet—like it was playing on loop.

Jake walked up slowly, unlocking the car with a soft beep.

“Hey,” he said, his voice low, almost cautious.

You didn’t look at him right away. “Took you long enough.”

He let out a quiet laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Jay wouldn’t shut up.”

You gave him a tight smile and slipped into the passenger seat, still playing your part.

The drive was quiet. The city lights passed in a blur outside the windows, but inside the car, the silence stretched. You were trying to act normal, casual, maybe even a little detached. But Jake felt it. The difference.

And maybe that’s what made him speak.

“Are you okay?” he asked, not looking away from the road.

You shrugged. “Yeah. Just… tired.”

He didn’t believe you. But he didn’t push.

A few more minutes passed before your voice broke the silence again. “Why’d you invite me tonight?”

Jake glanced at you. “Because I wanted to be with you.”

You turned to him, searching his face for any flicker of dishonesty. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I just… like being around you.”

You held his gaze for a second longer than you should have, but your heart ached. Because you didn’t know what was real anymore.

When the car pulled up in front of your place, you unbuckled your seatbelt, hand hovering near the door handle. But you didn’t open it.

“Thanks for the ride,” you said quietly.

Jake didn’t say anything at first. Then, “YN, wait.”

You looked over, and before you could ask what, he leaned in.

His hand gently found your cheek, his thumb brushing lightly against your skin. His touch was warm, careful. And then—he kissed you.

It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t cocky or playful like you might’ve expected. It was slow. Almost unsure. Like he was feeling everything for the first time.

And for just that moment, the noise in your head stopped.

When he finally pulled away, he didn’t say anything. Neither did you.

You just stared at each other—confused, shaken, caught somewhere between a lie and a feeling that had started to feel too real.

You opened the door quietly, stepping out. Before you closed it, you leaned in just a little, voice softer than it had been all night.

“Goodnight, Jake.”

He watched you go, the echo of the kiss still warm on his lips.

And for the first time, Jake Sim wasn’t sure who was playing who anymore.

You lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, heart pounding with a mix of emotions you couldn’t even begin to untangle.

Jake had kissed you.

And worse?

You had kissed him back.

You touched your lips absentmindedly, remembering the way he held you like you were fragile. Like you meant something. Like you were real.

But you weren’t falling for it. Not again.

No, you told yourself, turning over in bed and squeezing your eyes shut. You are not doing this.

He played you. He made you feel seen, chosen, like maybe—just maybe—you were special. All the soft smiles, the subtle touches, the “accidental” run-ins, the way he said your name like it was his favorite word. All of it had been leading to this. The kiss. The final act in his perfect little performance.

You gritted your teeth and swallowed the lump rising in your throat.

Never again.

You weren’t going to be that girl—the one who got strung along, who ignored every red flag, who made excuses just because he looked at her like the sun rose in her eyes. No. That girl was gone. You buried her the moment you heard Jay’s voice echo in your head: Jake is really into this bet.

This was all a game to him.

So now? You were going to play too.

You’d play the part of the clueless, lovesick girl. You’d give him exactly what he wanted—until you flipped the whole damn game back on him.

And when the time came, when he was fully convinced he had you wrapped around his finger, when he couldn’t tell the difference between real and fake anymore—you’d confront him. You’d look him dead in the eyes and tear the mask right off his face.

And maybe, just maybe, you’d watch his heart shatter the way yours almost did.

But the worst part—the most frustrating, infuriating, confusing part—was how damn convincing he was. The way his eyes softened when they met yours. The way he smiled like he meant it. The way he touched you like he cared.

He seemed so in love with you, it made your chest ache. Like maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t all a lie.

And you hated that part more than anything.

Because for one small, dangerous second… you wanted it to be real.

It was one of those rare moments when everything felt almost normal again. You’d been home alone for a few hours, scrolling through your phone, when the text from Jake popped up.

@simjyn: Hey, I was thinking of coming over. You free?”

You stared at the message for a moment, a knot of nerves tightening in your stomach. You had been trying to keep things light with him—after everything that had happened, after hearing about the bet, you couldn’t let your guard down. But part of you still wanted to see him. Maybe part of you was still pretending things could be okay.

“Sure,” you replied, biting your lip. “I’m alone, so come on over.”

Not long after, the sound of the doorbell echoed through your apartment, and there he was, standing outside with that familiar smile. He wasn’t dressed any differently from the usual, but there was something in his eyes today. Something that made your heart skip in a way you hated.

Jake stepped inside, pulling you into a quick hug before you could even react. His hands lingered at your waist, warm and firm as he squeezed you close.

“You look good,” he said, his voice low and warm.

“Thanks,” you muttered, stepping back to break the hold, though you could already feel your heartbeat accelerating.

You led him into the living room, where he flopped down on the couch with a sigh of relief, like he’d been waiting for this moment all day.

“So, what’s up?” you asked, trying to sound casual, though your heart was beating a little faster than you’d like to admit.

He grinned up at you. “Just wanted to see you,” he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

You nodded, though the words felt too heavy in your chest to speak. He wasn’t here just for a visit—he’d been clingier lately, texting you more than usual, wanting to be around you all the time.

It should have felt nice, but it felt suffocating. Every time he smiled at you, kissed your cheek, leaned in close like he couldn’t get enough—it made your stomach churn.

“You’ve been… kind of different lately,” you said, trying to sound nonchalant, but the words had more bite than you intended.

Jake furrowed his brow, his expression shifting to something more concerned. “What do you mean?”

You swallowed, frustrated by how easily he could shift his tone. “You’re being… clingy. All the time.”

He tilted his head, eyes widening in confusion. “Clingy? I just like being around you. Is that a bad thing?”

You took a deep breath, leaning against the counter to steady yourself. You could feel the tension rising in your chest, the frustration bubbling over.

“Jake,” you began, voice trembling just slightly. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not some… some toy for you to mess with. I’m not a prize, and I’m definitely not some girl to play along with your little bet anymore. If you’re really into me—then fine, but if this is just some fucking joke, then get the hell out.”

His face faltered for a second, just a flash of confusion before his gaze softened, his hands reaching for you. “I—what? No, YN, I’m not playing any game—”

You took a step back, hands trembling at your sides, the anger, the hurt, and the disappointment threatening to spill out.

“I know about the bet, Jake,” you snapped, cutting him off. “I know exactly why you started all this. And I’m done pretending I don’t. I’m not going to be the one who falls for this, okay? Not when you don’t even know what you want.”

The silence that followed was suffocating, the words hanging heavy in the air between you. Jake didn’t move, his eyes wide, and for the first time, you saw something flicker in them—something that looked like regret.

But it was too late.

You turned your back on him, pacing toward the window, your heart pounding in your ears. “Just go,” you said, voice cold. “I don’t want you here. Not like this.”

“YN, wait—” he started, his voice softer, like he was trying to make you understand. “I’m not lying. I’m not playing games anymore. I—”

“Just go, Jake,” you snapped, spinning around to face him. “I don’t want to hear it.”

You could see the hesitation in his eyes, the uncertainty that had never been there before. But you couldn’t bring yourself to soften. Not when he had already crossed the line.

With one last look, Jake slowly stood up, like he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Then, without a word, he walked toward the door, the weight of the moment sinking in with every step.

And just like that, he was gone.

You sank down onto the couch, your mind racing. You told yourself you wouldn’t trust him again, you reminded yourself. You wouldn’t fall for it.

But deep down, there was a part of you that still wished this wasn’t the end.

Still hoped, somehow, that Jake would come back. But you didn’t trust that part.

The next day at school was chaos.

You barely made it ten steps into the building before you heard your name—sharp, urgent.

“YN!”

You stopped, heart clenching as you turned to see Jake storming down the hall toward you. His eyes locked onto yours with a mixture of desperation and something dangerously close to hurt. You froze in place as he reached you, his voice already rising.

“You knew.” His words sliced through the tension in the air. “You knew this whole time and you were punishing me, weren’t you?”

Your breath caught.

Students slowed around you. Some stopped walking altogether. You could feel the shift—phones slipping out of pockets, eyes glinting with curiosity. You tried to step around him, but Jake moved with you.

“You acted like nothing was wrong,” he went on, voice getting louder. “You smiled, you kissed me, you looked at me like—like I meant something to you.”

You snapped. “Yeah? Well, welcome to my world.”

His expression twisted like you’d hit him.

“You were playing me from the start,” you hissed, trying to keep your voice steady, but it wavered with the weight of everything. “I heard Jay. I heard everything. And I kept going, Jake. I kept smiling, kept letting you in, because I wanted to see how far you’d go.”

He blinked like he couldn’t process it, like he hadn’t thought you’d actually know.

“You—” He shook his head. “You kissed me back.”

“You made me believe it was real.”

“I didn’t fake any of it!” he fired back, stepping closer. “You think this is just about a bet now? You think I haven’t lost sleep over this—over you?”

The hallway was dead silent except for your voices. Students were openly filming now, whispering like wildfire spreading through the air.

“Jake Sim and YN?”

“She’s actually yelling at him.”

“I heard it was a bet. Is that true?”

You glanced at them, your fists clenching at your sides, your chest rising and falling fast.

“Jake Sim chasing someone like her?” someone murmured nearby. It stung. It always did.

You turned back to Jake. “You had your fun, right? You got what you wanted. Just leave it alone.”

But Jake didn’t move. His jaw was clenched, his eyes locked on you like he couldn’t look away even if he tried.

“I didn’t fall for you because of a bet,” he said quietly, voice raw. “But I might’ve lost you because of it.”

That did something to your chest. You hated it.

You hated him for saying the one thing you weren’t ready to hear.

Without another word, you turned and walked away—past the stares, past the whispers, past Jake.

And for once, you didn’t look back.

The next day, you didn’t expect to run into Jay—especially not when you were still raw, still reeling, still angry. But there he was, leaning against the lockers near your homeroom, like he’d been waiting.

The second he saw you, he pushed off the wall and walked straight up, his expression unreadable.

“Why did you chew him out like that?” he asked, no greeting, no hesitation. His voice wasn’t angry, just confused—tired, maybe. “In front of everyone?”

You froze, blinking up at him. “You’re seriously asking me that?”

Jay crossed his arms. “Yeah. Because the guy’s been a mess since yesterday. You acted like he’d—what, humiliated you? Like he was still playing you or something.”

You laughed, sharp and bitter. “The audacity to ask that when this whole thing started as some game between you and him.”

Jay’s eyes narrowed, confusion flashing across his face. “Game?”

“Don’t play dumb, Jay,” you snapped. “I heard you and Sunghoon at the party. You literally said he was invested in the bet. What else was I supposed to think? That everything he said and did was real?”

Jay went quiet for a second, then shook his head, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Wait—wait,” he said slowly. “You thought the bet was still on?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t have to.

Jay exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck like the weight of it all had just hit him. “YN… Jake called it off. He called it off way before he asked you out. He told us it didn’t feel right anymore. That you weren’t just some challenge or a joke—he wanted something real.”

Your chest tightened painfully.

“No, he didn’t,” you muttered, barely audible.

“He did,” Jay said. “I swear on everything. He told us it stopped being about the bet a long time ago. That he wanted to be with you for real, no games. And honestly… we could all tell. He wasn’t faking anything.”

You looked away, suddenly cold all over. Your brain scrambled to make sense of it, replaying every interaction, every touch, every word. Had it all been real? Had he actually cared?

The guilt hit like a truck.

You chewed him out in front of everyone. You looked him in the eye and threw his feelings back at him because you thought he was still playing. Because you were scared.

Jay’s voice was quieter now. “He was falling for you, YN. He still is. But after yesterday… I don’t know if he’ll try again.”

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t.

You just stood there, heart cracked open, with nothing to say and everything to feel.

You didn’t go to class that morning.

Instead, you found yourself sitting alone behind the school gym, knees pulled to your chest, trying to breathe through the ache in your chest. Everything felt like it was collapsing in slow motion. You were the one who was supposed to have control now. You were the one playing him—so why did it feel like you were the one who lost?

He ended the bet.

He wanted something real.

And you… you’d shoved it all back in his face, right in front of everyone. You humiliated him for something he had already walked away from—because of you.

The worst part? He hadn’t even defended himself.

He just stood there, took it, because maybe he thought he deserved it. Or maybe… because he didn’t want to hurt you anymore.

You remembered the look in his eyes—the way they didn’t hold that smug glint anymore, the way they softened when he looked at you like you were something fragile, something he was afraid to break.

And you had shattered it first.

You rested your forehead on your knees, eyes burning. You’d promised yourself you wouldn’t fall for him. Promised you’d get even. And maybe you had.

But it didn’t feel like winning.

It felt like you’d pushed away the one person who had tried—really tried—to love you, in the only way he knew how.

Maybe he messed up. Maybe you both did.

But somewhere between the lies, the games, and the dares, something real had bloomed. And now?

Now it was buried under everything unsaid.

But feelings don’t just disappear. Not like that.

So maybe… maybe this wasn’t the end.

Maybe it was the part right before you decided what kind of story this was really going to be.

here to be added to permanent tag list PART TWO OUT NOW

[aristaspark]

Gaslighting everyone into thinking Kenlynn is endgame

Chaos Theory Season 3 : Part 8

Finally getting around to posting a more *detailed* version of my Kenlynn are endgame thoughts.

Part 1 because I'm allergic to going straight to the point.

A little disclaimer because I think that it's necessary: this post is not meant to convince anyone of anything. It isn't me trying to convince myself either. I genuinely believe that in the forth season that is probably already fully animated as we talk, Kenji and Brooklynn get back together at some point. This post is just me laying out the elements that make me think that.

Most, if not all of it, will turn out to be wrong but I don't care, I like to theorize, that's fun!

Part 1: Brooklynn isn't in love with Darius.

While there are some things I am uncertain about - duh, I'm human - this might be the ONE thing no one will be able to change mind about.

If you only look at what's in the show (not relying on the false sense of security the popularity the ship has in the fandom brings nor the flawed belief that the writers took shippers' feelings into consideration when they wrote the show) everything that's actually on screen points towards Brooklynn only feeling platonic love towards Darius. I feel like people tend to forget THE TEXT, and only look at their scenes as being detached from the story and CONTEXT.

Firstly, her having feelings for Darius don't make sense chronologically. She has only spent a MAXIMUM of two weeks with him at the time he confesses. And this was right after her boyfriend broke up with her and she came home crying, throwing their picture in the trash because she was heart broken like a good romance movie heroine. She was in no mood to fall in love with anyone and her utter shock at his confession makes it clear that she had never considered Darius as anything other than a friend, these two weeks she had spent with him hadn't change that for her the way it had for Darius.

There's also that she only went to see Darius to fuel her obsession with her investigation. She made that face when she understood what was going on.

She recoiled.

She looked sorry for him, no sign of her being flustered, shy, lost in thought or enamored after he left.

She didn't even spend a second thinking about his confession after he left, she wasn't moved at all. She still expects him to help her with her investigation, because to her their relationship has no reason to change. She didn't feel any type of way about the fact that she was going to see him in the evening. She gets mad at him when he ignores her calls, doesn't give his feelings more credit.

When she sees him again in Senegal, she only reacts to his presence when they come face to face in person for the first time after he let her down, but when she sees him on the monitor (which would make it the first time she sees the man she supposedly loves after months apart), when she saves his life, or sees him above the arena, nothing. She never focuses on Darius.

They were adorable in season 3. But again. Brooklynn still prefers to do things on her own, Darius is not special in that regard, she rejects his offer at helping her. She doesn't treat Darius any differently from the way she treats Yaz and Ben.

When they separate, it's Darius who calls out to her, she was already on her way to leave.

She could have been the one to call out to him, she could have been the one needing that interaction with the person she loved, that would have shown that despite her always going off on her own, he is at least a little special to her, but no. She's treating Darius exactly the same as the others. She's pushing him away exactly like the others.

HE is the one always running after her, begging her to stay (what's funny is that when Kenji was the one doing it people used it as proof that he wasn't right for Brooklynn, but here it's crickets).

To me, but I know that other people opinions differ on that, the use of their nicknames feels like a re-affirmation of their friendship, a first step towards reconciliation. Like Darius will always be Dino-Nerd to Brooklynn, the kid obsessed with dinosaurs who was always her best friend, and Brooklynn, despite having been rejected by her, is still Superstar to Darius, the socially awkward girl with pink hair he struggled to understand at first but who later became his best friend. I feel like if they had used their names it would have said something else yk? Picture it, Darius calls her superstar, and she replies with "Good luck...Darius". To me it would have shown that there has been a shift in her perception of Darius. That she was no longer satisfied with him being her friend dinonerd, the name she wrote down on that post it while she was still in a relationship with Kenji, the name that he was registered as on her phone while she was in a relationship with Kenji, but that she now saw him as Darius. But I know that it's only my interpretation, that might or might not have been the writers' intention.

Brooklynn LOVES Darius, don't think I don't see the endeared way she looks at him, especially during season 3. But it's the key word, endeared. Endeared, as in opposed to "in love".

She looks endeared when she says "you too dinonerd", and I think that was what I tried putting into words in one of my previous posts but couldn't. It's like she's happy that he calls her superstar and that their relatonship hasn't changed despite everything that happened. The way she behaves with him just feels SO platonic to me. He gets her better than anyone else because he is and always was her best friend. They have a special bond, but to me it was NEVER shown as been a romantic one on Brooklynn's end.

As of the end of season 3 you have yet to show me a single element that suggests that her feelings for him have changed in the few hours she spent with him since the moment he confessed (as I'm POSITIVE she didn't love him during the confession scene).

Like, if she's in love with him, when did it happen? During the six months she was dead? It makes no sense because she spent 6 traumatizing months alone after that confession and her last interaction with Darius was her getting mad at him because he was ignoring her calls, demanding that he came for her investigation, not giving a damn about his confession.

I'm only looking at the actual story. They would be cute as hell because the trope is cute as hell, but it just doesn't fit with what was shown in the three first seasons. To me the only way for dinostar to happen would be to have Brooklynn fall for him/realize her feelings during season 4 (because I repeat myself, but there's no way she was in love with him before, at least not consciously). And with everything that's bound to happen, I don't see it happening, especially because of one...detail.

They are currently stuck in an helicopter, with Ben and Yasmina, who will probably leave them alone as quickly as humanly possible to allow them to get rid of the awkwardness that they are bound to display.

Dinostar WILL have a discussion at the start of the season, there's no way they won't. Darius even spoke about wanting to tackle the subject in season 3, so sorry, but them talking about their feelings is not shaping up to be that series final gran endgame ship reveal/pay off. And whatever that conversation holds for them, they will probably come clean about their feelings and as I said, I absolutely do not believe Brooklynn to be in love with him at this point, and her saying "I'm not sure" would feel extremely anticlimactic.

But let's imagine that somehow she's like, yeah Darius, while I was looking at my amputated arm, alone at Ronnie's, I realized that I actually felt the same.

That would make yet another thing Kenji would have to forgive her for.

We all have our beliefs about what ships will be endgame, but I think it's not too far fetched to say that in the end they will all be on good (if not great) terms with each other. Or at least cordial.

Brooklynn already has an endless list of things Kenji has to forgive her for if she wishes to someday be friends with him.

Seeing his dad behind his back. Neglecting him. Choosing her work over him. Secret appartment. Not telling him she was alive. Letting him mourn her despite knowing what it would do to him. Rejecting him after they see each other for the first time since she died. Choosing her work over him once again.

That's a lot to forgive if they want to be friends.

But then you would also have to add - falling in love with my adopted brother, your best friend, while I was still hurting over you and you were still treating me like crap, and deciding you wanted to be with him before we even had some sort of closure on our relationship, not even asking yourself if I would be ok with it.

And you know, you could take that endless list and throw it back at me and say, well, doesn't that only reinforce the idea that they have no chance of getting back together if the chances of them even being friends are this thin?

Well, that's the thing. There's this endless list of things Kenji has to forgive Brooklynn for, but I believe that these things all come down to one "big thing", that thing being the sole reason Kenji has currently given up on Brooklynn (someone counts the number of times I said *thing*).

I think the real reason Kenji is so mad at Brooklynn is that to him all her actions are all proof that she doesn't love him. This is what hurt him the most, this is the reason, to me, the real reason he broke up with her in the first place.

Just like his father didn't love him, the love of his life, the girl he loved for 6 years...also didn't love him.

He desesperately wished for her to prove to him that he was mistaking, that she did love him the way he loved her. He gave her the opportunity to prove it to him when he broke up (I can't be with you IF you're not going to be with me), but she didn't. He did it again in front of the plane, he made his heart vulnerable again because the fact that she was alive made him forget all the rest. She pushed him away. When I look at these two scenes I just SEE the set up being...yk, set up? This is right there, at the beggining of their arc: Kenji was waiting for Brooklynn to show him that he was mistaken and that she wanted to be with him - that she loved him.

But each and everytime her actions prove to him that she doesn't love him, so he ends up accepting it as a fact and thus gives up on her (the moment she pushed him away in front of the plane, which is why the focus was so heavily on them).

Which gave us season 3 Kenji, who has given up on her. She has proved to him that he was right, now he's done. You can see it in the way he talks about her that he genuinely believes Brooklynn doesn't love him/them. "She doesn't want anything to do with us" / "She sacrificed us willingly" / "She didn't look like she needed our help, or wanted it"

Now that I spoke about Brooklynn's feelings for Darius, I will talk about her feelings for Kenji in part 2 because I have way too much free time on my hands (I actually don't, that's the worst part 😂)

[crowsofdarkness]

Vaz Prizrak: Chapter Eleven

-gif not mine. credit to owner-

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Female Agent! Reader.

Content Warnings: language, 18 + implied smut, angst, fluff, violence, mentions of losing a pregnancy, thoughts of taking one's life, an attempt to take one's life. I will give another warning when that chapter is posted.

Summary: Bucky and Reader have been in their own solace while in Wakanda for years. They were finally happy to create the life they wanted and deserved. That was until a new foe came along to dust it all away.

Authors Note: This takes place during Infinity War and Endgame! If you haven't yet, please read Soldat and Dorogaya beforehand.

Tags: @globetrotter28 @sakuracyberhex @chinggay85-blog @bookofriverr @misatxox @that-blonde-girl @cats-chaotic-mind @wintrsoldrluvr @sebastians-love @pumpkin-babydoll @ordelixx @starfly-nicole @j23r23 @baw1066 @capswife

Soldat Masterlist | Dorogaya Masterlist | Vaz Prizrak Masterlist

Laughter was heard throughout the large open space of the garage of the Avengers Compound where we had set up our timemachine. Natasha and I joked with each other before coming to a stop in front of the rest of our team. Steve looked on with a raised brow and a smile pulling at his lips. 

“What?” I wondered. 

“I haven’t seen that smile in a long time,” Steve admitted. 

Natasha bumped her shoulder into me. “She’s got a lot to be happy for. We’re close to getting Bucky back.”

Steve’s lips pressed in a hard line but nodded. 

“We’re getting all of them back,” he stated. 

“Plus,” Natasha started, “We decided that when this is all over that you and Bucky need to take us girls on a vacation. We’re thinking somewhere warm with beaches.” 

She patted Steve’s chest as she walked past him, over towards Clint, and Steve laughed while looking at me. 

“Ready for this?” He questioned, getting very serious quickly. 

I nodded. “As I’ll ever be.” 

We both started walking toward the platform together. 

“We’ll all have our coms on in case anything goes wrong,” Steve reminded me. 

I pulled his hand gently to stop him, seeing a very worried look in his eyes. 

“I will be fine, Steve. We all will be fine.” 

Steve nodded but I knew that he was still unsure about letting me go without him. He made that promise to Bucky before the snap that he would take care of me and with the last five years of me being on my own, Steve had vowed that he wouldn’t let me out of his sight. 

“I still don’t agree that you should be going with Nat. Her and Clint should go to Vomir and you can come with me.” His large arms crossed over his chest.  

A soft sigh fell through my lips. “Do you trust me, Steve?”

Immediately he nodded.

“Then believe it when I say that Natasha and I will be fine,” I reassured him again by placing a hand on his cheek. 

We stood there for a few beats, our eyes locked, but when the urging feeling of jealousy filled my veins I took a step back from Steve. 

It was almost as if his skin shocked my own. 

“Everything alright?” Steve asked. 

“Um, yeah. But we should probably head over to the rest of the team,” I motioned towards everyone who were standing in their own places on the platform. 

Steve knew that even if something was bothering me that now would not be the time to bring it up. We both took our spots on the platform, me standing next to Natasha.

“Five years ago, we lost.” Steve’s captain's voice came out deep and strong. “ All of us. We lost friends. We lost our family. We lost a part of ourselves.”

He then locked eyes with me, the same intense gaze as before.

“Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, that doesn’t mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we’re going to win. Whatever it takes.”

Steve reached for my hand, giving it a calming, loving squeeze. “Good luck.”

I nodded with a smile. 

“He’s really good at that,” Rocket spoke. 

“Right?” Scott agreed. 

I placed my mask over my face. “See you in a minute.” 

Steve gave me a warm smile before we all placed our hands in the middle of the platform, our bodies getting sucked into the past. 

“ONE HOUR!’ I yelled down towards Rhodey and Nebula as we dropped them off on Morag. 

As the ramp of the ship closed, I sat back in my seat next to Natasha who put the ship in auto pilot before gluing her eyes on me. 

“What?” I asked. 

A smug smile pulled at her lips while she leaned into her seat. 

“You and Steve?” 

The groan that slipped through my mouth before I could even stop it. I didn’t want her to think I was annoyed with Steve because I was far from that. 

“It’s confusing; I don’t know what’s going on between us.” I admitted. 

“You two have a lot of history that it’s hard to ignore those feelings.” Natasha pointed out. 

“I know,” I nodded. “I feel guilty for even thinking about Steve in that way because Bucky and I never actually broke up.” 

Nat placed a hand on my knee, giving it a squeeze to let me know that she understands. She had been one of my best friends for so long that she knew exactly what I was feeling before I even knew it. We may not share the same DNA but Natasha was my sister and I would die for her. 

“It’s been so long since you’ve had that kindness and lovingness shown towards you. Bucky wouldn’t hold it against you, Y/N. He would understand,” Natasha said. 

My gaze was locked in on my hands as I wrung my fingers together, one of the things I did when I was nervous. “Bucky and I have gone through so much together. I can’t forget that because Steve is creeping back into my life.” 

“No one is telling you to forget that.” Natasha stated. “But Bucky can’t be the only thing holding you back.” 

I looked into her eyes, feeling the guilt pull at my heart knowing I was keeping a large secret from her. We never kept any secrets from each other and I could tell in the way her eyes bore into mine that Natasha knew I was hiding something from her. 

“Steve is the only one that knows about this.” I started. 

“My lips are sealed.” 

She even pulled an invisible zipper over her lips, showing that she meant what she said. 

After letting out a deep breath, I gathered the courage to let the words fall from my lips. 

“Five years ago with the snap, I not only lost Bucky but our baby too.” 

A quiet gasp came from Natasha and her shoulders went stiff. 

“That’s why I went off the deep end after we killed Thanos. I thought that if we brought everyone back that it would also bring back our baby.” 

We sat in silence for a few moments, letting the words sink in deep with Natasha, before a large grin came to her face. 

“I would be the godmother, right?” She questioned. 

The laugh that sounded in the ship caused Natasha to laugh as well. 

“I wouldn’t want anyone else,” I admitted with a smile. 

A loud beeping sounded throughout the ship, letting us know that we had arrived on Vomir. The fog immediately covers our view of the planet. The eeriness of it all caused a shiver to run over my skin. 

“Let’s get this soul stone and bring back your baby daddy. I need to be a godmother as soon as possible,” Natasha smirked while we both stood, ascending down to Vomir. 

Time passed slowly as we both walked side by side on the hard ground, silence engulfing us afraid of making any type of noise. We weren’t sure if there was some form of alien life on here so the last thing we needed was a monster attacking us from behind. 

“Okay, this place officially gives me the creeps,” I said. 

“Y/N Y/L/N. Daughter of Y/F/N.” A deep, echoing voice sounded behind us.

We both turned on our heels and the flames sparked at my fingertips when I heard the mention of my fathers name. I hadn’t thought of my family in years, that part of my life almost forgotten with everything I had dealt with. 

A floating being in a dark cloak stood in front of us but underneath his hood, I saw bright red skin peeking from underneath. 

“You seem very familiar,” I spoke to this being. “How do you know us?” 

“It is my curse to know all who journey here,” he stated. 

With a quick nod over his shoulder, he beckoned us to follow him which we reluctantly agreed. 

“Can we trust this guy?” Natasha whispered over to me.

I shrugged before turning my attention back to the stranger. “How do you know this place so well?” 

“I ,too, sought the stones a lifetime ago,” he said. “But it cast me out here to guide others to something I cannot possess.”

We stopped at the edge of a very tall cliff and Natasha and I eyed each other in concern. 

The stranger looked over the cliff before coming back to us. “What you seek lies in front of you as what you fear. In order to receive the soul stone you must give it something in return; something of which you love.” 

When I realized what he meant, I looked back over to Natasha with a sad gaze. “A soul for a soul.”

The stranger let Natasha and I alone to discuss our options but I had already decided myself of what we were going to do. Daring a quick glance over the edge to the large drop, I looked back towards Natasha. I knew with the look in her eyes that she was thinking exactly the same thing I was.

“You need to make sure to tell Steve and Bucky when you get everyone back that I loved them both,” I told Natasha. 

She shook her head. “You can tell them that yourself.” 

My eyes watched in slight horror as her feet started in a fast run towards the edge of the cliff. Without a second thought, I blasted her away with a fireball, thankfully not injuring her because of her suit. 

“Oh you bitch, that hurt,” Natasha groaned in pain. 

“Give Steve what he always wanted, Nat,” I said. 

My own feet took off towards the cliff but before I could jump off, Natasha had speared me to the ground, before shooting me with her electric bracelet. 

I hissed in pain for a moment before pulling myself to my feet to chase after Nat, who I watched with fear as she made the jump. My fingers gripped hard onto her hand to stop her and I tried with all of my strength to hold her up. I wouldn’t let her sacrifice herself for what I wanted. She deserved more of a happy ending than I did. I refused to let her die for me. 

Tears welled in our eyes as we stared at one another, both refusing to let the other die for them. 

“Please, Nat,” I cried, begging her to not let go. “I can’t live with myself knowing what you’re about to do.” 

“And you think I can?” She asked, a lone tear falling over her cheek.

“Please,” I sobbed. 

“Y/N, it’s okay. You’ll always be my sister.” Natasha vowed. 

“No,” I shook my head, trying with all of my strength to pull her up. 

“You have to let me go, Y/N.” 

Our eyes locked once more and through my teared vision, a banshee scream erupted from my throat when I felt Natasha push herself off of the cliff and from my grasp, her body falling hard to the ground below. 

“NAT!” I bellowed once more. 

Before darkness took over me, the image of Natasha laying bloody on the cold ground was the last thing I remembered. 

My body had been sucked through something that felt like a water slide, the ones you used to be so excited to ride when you were little. Only this one wasn’t fun and I didn’t want to ride because it meant that I was on my way back to the present time, without Natasha.

[just-b-yourself]

Love letter to the fans ? Really ?

That's a wrap. The end of an era. This show used to give me goosebumps, emotions and reflection. And I don't want to forget all the emotions it procured me. Expectation. Fear. Anxiety. Hope. Love. Freedom. And more. This show used to be a rollercoster of emotions. And it was indeed a rollercoster this season. But not in a good way.

I was so eager to finally see this season. We waited for so long. I had hope. I was excited to see where the writers would take us. So I watched. Every episode. I needed to watch everything before making up my mind and writing an overall review. But right now, I can't even do that.

From the beginning of this season, something seemed a bit off. I couldn't put my finger on it at first. The acting was good ( even if EM was a bit off sometimes. And I don't say that because I can't stand June's character anymore or whatever. But I used to find her acting so powerful, so meaningful. Don't get me wrong, she still gave us some amazing performances this season. But I don't know, there were times where I wasn't really into it. But that's really personal. Each of us has its own sensibility.) Anyway. Then, I figured it out. The storytelling was the issue. The writing was the issue. The character development was the issue. The narrative was the issue. None of it made any sense. Everything seemed so rushed. And in the same time, so slow. It was a weird feeling.

It's not just about Nick's character. It's about June's development. It's about Serena's redemption. It's a whole. Of course, I didn't hate everything. There were some good scenes, good acting, the photography was splendid, some episodes were actually pretty good . The first half of the season wasn't terrible. The second half on the other hand... I don't know what the writers tried to do, but it failed. There was no consistency whatsoever. No real closure. No storytelling. No logic. They destroyed the narrative of a powerful book. Some people have talked about it way better than me.

Their communication on social media was horrific. They played with us until the very end. They disrespected us. They disrespected their character. They disrespected their actor. They broke the silent contrat between writers and viewers. They shamed us for loving a love story that THEY BUILT for 5 seasons. For loving a character, a story with which they fed us for so long. But you know what ? I'm not ashamed. They won't take that away from me, from us.

What is done is done. This season is such a disappointment, such a waste. I have never been so disappointed by a show before. And the Handmaid's Tale used to be one of my favorite. And you know what's saddens me the most ? I don't know if I'll ever be able to rewatch the show and enjoyed it knowing how it ends... And I'm really sad that they took that away from me.

But there is something they could never take away. A special character who deserved so much better. Nick. Somehow, they managed to destroy June's character. She became a cold, selfish, mean, self centered woman. But they failed to destroy Nick's character. They tried. And for some people, maybe it worked. But for me, it had the opposite effect. I will always be on his side. He deserved so much better and I will stand by it.

I just wanted to thank you. I don't know what I would have done these past few weeks without this community. I really loved reading all of your posts, you theories, sharing our ideas. So thank you. To everyone who took the time to read me, to talk with me.

I will continue to post about the show for a while. But I will change my blog's name. They will never be endgame. And in the end, knowing what they did with June's character, Nick deserved better. He deserved to be truly loved. He deserved respect. He deserved some gratitude.

So, it's time to say goodbye to the show. In a way, I'm relieved. This is finally over. This shitty, lazy writing is over. This horrendous marketing / communication is over. I'm gonna need some time to move on. I will keep the first perfect seasons in my heart and let go of the rest.

As I said, I will continue to post about this show, about movies, books and other tv shows. ( By the way, if you have any recommendations, I take it 😊).

Nolite te Scriptores Carborundorum

[cece693]

Numb (Tony Stark x Gender Neutral! Reader)

Something that I had saved and forgot all about.

Summary: You didn't understand Tony's decision; he'd left you with a gaping hold in your heart. It was easy to feel anger and resentment, but was it really a surprise how things ended?

tags: slight comfort, post-endgame, Tony's dead, reader handles the loss, mourning, last words/message

You stood there, numb, as Tony's heart drifted farther down the lake, a small, fading dot on the horizon. The weight of what you had done pressed down on you, and without a word to anyone, you turned away, heading home. As you stepped into the house and climbed the stairs to your bedroom, everything appeared the same—yet it all felt different. The one piece that truly made this a home was now gone forever.

When Tony sacrificed himself, it was easy to be consumed by anger. How dare he leave you like this, sobbing and begging for him to return, all for the sake of Earth? After everything, after all the times they had wronged him, it was you—the one person who never turned their back on him—who was left behind. That anger still simmered beneath the surface, but now it had dulled into a numbness that spread through your entire being.

Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey had all tried to comfort you, offering words meant to soothe the unbearable loss. But their attempts only made it worse. They didn’t understand—they couldn’t. What they had lost was different from yours. Tony was your husband and he'd failed your wedding vows. Through sickness and health—the battle with Thanos had no place there.

All you wanted was to be alone, to sit with the emptiness that had taken root inside you, to feel it in its entirety without anyone trying to take it away. That emptiness, as hollow and painful as it was, felt like the last piece of Tony you had left.

Looking around, your vision blurred with unshed tears, taking in the sight of the room. It was a mess, but that was typical when living with Tony. The wardrobe door was flung open, shirts haphazardly hanging half in, half out. His favorite jacket was draped over a chair, and a pair of mismatched socks lay abandoned on the floor. It was like he had just stepped out for a moment, like he would walk back in any second with that roguish grin, asking if you’d seen his watch or where he left his keys.

Your eyes moved to the messy bed, and you couldn't help but collapse onto it. Bringing Tony's pillow to your nose, you inhaled deeply—taking in his familiar cologne and the faint scent of oil and metal that clung to everything he touched. As you lay there, your mind replaying happy memories, something caught your attention.

Hesitantly, you reached out and picked it up, your fingers trembling as you recognized the Stark tech design. With a deep breath, you activated it. A hologram flickered to life, and there he was—Tony, looking at you with that familiar blend of warmth and determination that only he could pull off.

"Hey, love." his voice was soft, almost soothing, but there was an undercurrent of sadness. "If you're seeing this, it means I'm gone. And I know you're angry, probably cursing my name right now. Believe me, I didn’t want to leave you. God, I wanted to stay more than anything."

He paused, as if searching for the right words. "But…you know me. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to save everyone. It’s who I am—who I've always been. I know that’s not an excuse, and it doesn’t make it hurt any less. But I need you to understand that I didn’t choose them over you. I chose all of us. I couldn't bear the thought of a world where you weren't safe."

Tony’s image flickered slightly, and you could see the pain in his eyes. "I hate that I hurt you. But you…you're stronger than you know. And I need you to keep going, to live your life, even without me in it. Because, in a way, I’m still here. I’m always with you."

He took a shaky breath, and his voice softened. "I love you. I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and I will love you until the end of time. Forever, remember? That’s what we promised. And I’m keeping that promise, even now."

As the hologram continued, you could hear the faint background noise—a gentle clinking of dishes, the hum of a movie soundtrack. Your heart ached as you recognized the scene: it was the last day you spent together. The day you cooked dinner side by side, the laughter you shared, and the quiet intimacy of watching a movie on the couch.

Now everything made sense. Tony’s extra affection, his words of love, and the lingering touches—they were all part of his farewell. It was as if he had known he wouldn’t have another chance to show you how much you meant to him. The realization hit you like a wave. How long had Tony known his fate? How long had he been preparing to say goodbye, knowing he had to make every moment count?

As the hologram began to flicker and lose its stability, Tony’s image took on a more solemn, resigned expression. His voice softened even further, as if he were speaking directly to your heart.

“I have to go now. But remember this—no matter where I am, my love for you will never fade. It’s with you always, even in the darkest moments. If there's an afterlife, I'll be waiting for you.” The hologram shimmered one last time, and with a final, loving glance, Tony’s image faded into the darkness. Clutching the device to your chest, the tears that you have been holding back finally spilled over.

[simpforpeterp]

bucky barnes x oc

True Blue

Chapter 1: Stay Open

series masterlist

summary: Post-Endgame, everything’s fractured, worlds, teams, people. Bucky Barnes is trying to figure out what freedom even means, and Bianca Delgado, the most powerful Avenger no one really talks about, is hiding from the fallout of her past. She’s sunshine and sharp edges, a walking contradiction with too many secrets behind her smile. He’s quiet and coiled, still fighting ghosts in every shadow. Neither of them is looking for someone. But they keep finding each other anyway.

Featuring: late-night training sessions, reluctant vulnerability, Thunderbolts playing chaos matchmakers, and two tired people learning how to be a little less alone. takes place post thunderbolts pre thunderbolts post credit scene

warnings: none

word count: 3k

It was dark in Bianca’s apartment. That’s quickly become the new normal, her rotting away with nothing but old sitcoms on the TV. She sat on the couch, knees to her chest and her chin resting on her knees.

This wasn’t her initial reaction to everything. She had spent months parading around the world, traveling everywhere. She saw both sets of the Seven Wonders: ancient and new. She saw the Rio Grande, the Nile, the Rhine, and the Seine. All while ignoring calls from her friends, old family, and people she barely knew who needed her help.

She ignored Doctor Strange’s call when something apparently really important was happening, Thor’s voicemails filled her machine, and Shuri tried every means of communication to reach her but she was too busy surfing mid-breakdown in Oahu. Then there was Scott’s whole thing, the Guardians, something Carol needed her for, Sam was spam calling and texting for help while in DC and most recently, Bucky.

She took all of this as a sign to stop being publicly seen as a tourist. Being the current most powerful Avenger didn’t do much for discreetness. Especially when she couldn’t even ask someone to take a picture of her next to the pyramids without them posting it everywhere.

Ever since everything happened, after Nat, Tony, and Steve were gone, she hasn’t felt okay. She pretends as well as she can but it’s not always easy. Especially when the people who took her in at 17, the people who helped her find her footing, aren’t here anymore.

Bianca Delgado was born a normal girl. Her parents were addicts but that is nowhere near the wildest part. Most people don’t know about her biological parents but everyone knows about her adopted father. Especially after one snap of his fingers caused half of the world to disappear.

During one of his missions or conquests near Earth scouting for candidates or potential warriors to bolster his forces, he saw her suffering the consequences of her parents’ addiction. Thanos intervened, taking her from that life.

Unlike Gamora or Nebula, who were abducted as children and subjected to cybernetic enhancements, Bianca’s transformation was different. Thanos, fascinated by her human resilience, brought her aboard his ship and offered her a chance at survival and strength but at a cost.

He performed experimental enhancements, not full cybernetic conversion, but genetic modifications and energy infusions influenced by the Power Stone or his advanced tech. This granted her unstable and raw abilities. These changes also came with side effects, like uncertainty about her limits and the cost to her humanity.

Bianca was always the favorite because she was uniquely human in a sea of alien warriors and enhanced beings.

When there’s a knock at the door, she doesn’t get up to answer it at first. Not until ten more spaced-out knocks.

“Bianca, I know you’re in there. For god's sake, the TV is on.” A voice calls and she knows that it won’t kill her to answer.

“Come in!” She calls and instantly puts a smile on her face to hide the brooding.

“Ugh, your floor just has to be the highest and the elevators aren’t working,” Bucky complains.

“Well, that’s for a reason. Everyone who can fly has the higher-up floors just in case of that. And anyway, I thought supersoldiers could handle a few flights of stairs.” Bianca teases but Bucky doesn’t smoke.

“A few? Try thirty flights. Anyway, I just wanted to warn you, everyone’s moved in. I told them not to even go near your floor and not to bother you. Same for whenever the others are here but you know, you’re here more.” He clears his throat.

“They don’t have to avoid me like the plague. I just don’t want to be all buddy-buddy. What would Sam think?” She asks.

“Bianca-“

“I’m not trying to get in the middle of it. But the people want to know what I think. And honestly? If I have to pick a side, I think you know whose side I’m on,” She tells him. “This was the Avengers Tower. Before that, it was Tony’s. I don’t want to be mean to anyone but this whole ‘New Avengers’ thing is-“

“You’re just as opinionated as I remember,” He sighs and begins to pace. “Sam is suing us. Did you know about this?”

“Yeah, but I’m not getting involved in legal stuff. I don’t even want to be involved at all but I have to be. This is all getting too political for me.” She tells him.

Bucky doesn’t say anything for a moment. He just stands there, the quiet between them stretching long enough that the sitcom laugh track on the TV hits another punchline without either of them noticing. Bianca clears her throat and reaches over to hit a button, muting it.

“So. What’s the verdict? You coming all the way up here just to scold me about staircases and politics, or is there something else?”

Bucky crosses his arms, then uncrosses them, then sighs like it physically hurts him to be here.

“You know, for someone who claims she doesn’t want to be involved, you sure seem to have a lot of opinions.”

“I’m a woman. With trauma. And powers I don’t fully understand. Opinions are all I have,” she says brightly, with that too-big smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

He doesn’t laugh, but the edge of his mouth quirks like he’s fighting one.

“I just don’t get how you can sit here when everything’s on fire out there.” He tells her.

“Maybe because the last time I tried to help, I ended up almost splitting a continent. And before that, I lit a Kree warship on fire with my hands. So forgive me if I’m trying the whole ‘non-combustible lifestyle’ for a bit.” She shrugs.

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“Right. It’s never my fault. It’s just always my mess.” Her smile falters, but she recovers fast. “Anyway, why are you really here? You could’ve just sent a raven or a threatening email like a normal assassin.”

“I missed your cooking.”

“Oh, please. You eat like a Victorian ghost.” She waves it off.

“You made that soup once. It was decent.” He shrugs.

“Oh my god. Was that a compliment?” Bianca perks up.

“Don’t push it.”

“Too late. It’s going in the memory bank, right between ‘thanks for saving my life’ and ‘you’re not the worst.’” She grins and stands up, stretching like a cat. “I have some stuff in the fridge. You staying for dinner or just here to warm my heart and leave?”

“I can stay.”

“Really?” She freezes, surprised for a beat too long.

“Yeah. If you’ve got that stew.” He nods.

“Wow. I must be really good at hiding my breakdowns if I’ve tricked you into thinking I’m mentally stable enough to cook.” She hums.

“You’re doing better than most of us.”

“That’s the saddest compliment I’ve ever gotten.” Bianca looks at him for a second, softer now.

“Still a compliment.”

And she laughs, genuine and loud, her head tilting back as she does. The silence between them now feels a little lighter.

“What soup are you talking about? The lasagna one?” She asks.

“Yeah, the one you made for Natasha that one time. Though, it’s hardly soup. More like watery lasagna. And that’s not an insult, it’s to the dish itself, not you.” He clarifies quickly.

“Well, you just called it a soup. And also you can say that about anything. Baked potato soup is just watery baked potato.” She shrugs.

“Why would you say that to me?” He says, deadpan.

“You’re more talkative than I remember.” Bianca turns to face him more.

“You’re the only person in this tower I’ve known for longer than a week.” He says quietly.

“Yeah…you too.” She nods.

He sits on a stool in her kitchen along the little bar-looking thing. She begins to move around grabbing stuff and he sits and thinks about how much she’s changed. She used to seem more young and naive. She still kind of does but not nearly as much.

“How old are you now?” He asks.

“Twenty-seven,” She tells him as she places a cutting board in front of him and a knife that looks like it’s part of a child’s play set with its pink handle. “You’re gonna help cut stuff.”

“I had a feeling,” He sighs as she puts a tomato in front of him. “Dicing?”

“Yeah.”

It’s quiet again for a moment as he does it. So she’s more of an adult than she was eight years ago, obviously. He remembers the way it felt like everyone was trying to take care of her as if she was some shared project. Especially Tony, acting like she was his daughter and also an angel sent from Heaven.

During the whole Civil War thing, she stood with him. That’s the only side of her he really knew until Thanos came. He knew parts of her backstory from Steve. Knew that she was one of three daughters Thanos had. That was the final crack in the glass and he didn’t trust her.

But now, after she fought against her own father and reconciled with Steve before he went back in time, Bucky feels bad not trusting her. And he feels bad for his team of “New Avengers” because he trusts this twenty-something-year-old woman more than them.

He’d trust her more than them to cover his back at least and not just because she’s more powerful than any of them. When they fought against Thanos for the first time, she had his back for real. She literally watched his back and fought beside him because he didn’t have any magic powers the way she did.

“So…are you gonna tell me about this new team you have going on? I’ve heard from Sam. He’s told me a lot. A lot of…not so good things. Is that your side too?” She asks.

“Well, you remember John Walker?”

“Blegh, the ‘New Captain America’ you told me about that one time you and Sam needed help?” She makes a face, her nose and eyes scrunching.

“Yeah, so there’s him because- because I’ve gone crazy or something. And then there’s…this Ghost girl-“

“The one Scott was talking about?”

“Yeah, her. And this new face, Bob. You haven’t been watching the news have you?” He asks, pushing the fully diced tomato towards her. And he knows she must trust him too because she handed a super soldier a knife in her apartment and then didn’t flinch when he pushed it and the cutting board back to her.

“Why would I do that? All the news ever does is give bad…news. Mostly about me or my friends or dead people or my friends who are now dead people but used to not be.” She rambles.

“You used to be a lot happier.”

“I am happy. But I don’t have a reason to act like sunshine the way I usually do when you’ll know it’s bullshit. I mean, it’s not always. I am naturally a really happy person, I’m easy to please. But I’ve just had a really hard time lately.” She shrugs.

Bucky doesn’t say anything right away. He watches her for a moment as she stirs something in a pot on the stove, her hair pulled back haphazardly, a mismatched pair of socks on her feet. She’s so…human. And somehow, that makes her seem more powerful than anything else.

“And then there’s Yelena and Alexei-“

“No fucking shit!” She gasps, her jaw dropping as she turns to look at him. “They’re here? Right now? Oh, god, Nat told me all about her old family. Especially about Yelena when we were talking about our sisters. And- huh, I guess me and Yelena have more in common now.”

“What do you mean? Because you know me?” Bucky can hardly follow her train of thought.

“No because…you know, my sister. Gamora. And her sister, Nat.” She can’t really bring herself to say it.

Bucky nods once. Not a big, dramatic gesture. Just enough to show he heard her. That he understands.

“I didn’t know you two talked about that kind of stuff,” he says after a beat.

“We didn’t, really. Not much. But when we did, it was…real,” She doesn’t look at him as she stirs. “She made me feel like it was okay to not be okay. Like…I wasn’t the only one with weird family trauma and impossible guilt.”

“You weren’t.”

Bianca lets out a soft breath that could almost be a laugh, but it’s too flat around the edges.

“Yeah, well. She made me feel like I could still be good. Even with everything I came from.” She continues.

“You are good,” he says, simple and steady.

“You don’t know that.” She finally turns to look at him again.

“I do.”

There’s a pause. Long enough that the bubbling of the stew fills the room. Long enough that Bianca’s eyes flicker. Bucky leans forward a little, resting his arms on the counter again.

“You ever think about coming back? Working with a team again?” He asks carefully.

She doesn’t answer right away. Just keeps stirring, slow and steady. And that’s when it hits her that maybe he had ulterior motives in coming up here. And she just got worked the way targets do.

“She sent you, didn’t she?” She says with no hint of emotion in her voice.

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb, I just heard your voice shift like it does when you’re closing a deal.” She steps closer to him.

“I- look, Bianca, we’re a good team. But we aren’t great. All we have, minus Bob, is hand-to-hand combat and guns. That’s it. If there was a real Avengers level threat, you know as well as I do-“

“You must be fucking with me if you think I’d ever work for Valentina. If you think I’d ever- you- you don’t know me at all, Bucky. And it’s not like I thought you did but you are just so- ugh. I thought you understood what I was talking to you about for a second.” She presses her hands into the counter.

Bucky doesn’t flinch. But he doesn’t argue, either.

“I didn’t come on her direct orders,” he says quietly. “I didn’t even tell her I was coming here now. She had a different plan, wanted me to corner you and pressure you into joining. But fuck, Bianca, I’m not a cult leader.”

Bianca looks at him, eyes sharp, searching. She doesn’t believe him yet. Not fully.

“So what? You just dropped in because you missed my lasagna soup and thought I might like to be guilted into superheroing again?” Her voice is bitter, but under it is something closer to hurt.

“I’m not trying to manipulate you,” He says it firmly, clearly. “You think I wanted to bring this up? I didn’t. I was gonna eat soup and sit with someone who doesn’t look at me like I’m broken glass. That was the plan. But then you asked. And I told the truth.”

Bianca lets the silence sit between them again, heavy and pulsing. Her jaw clenches, like she’s trying to keep everything in. Finally, she shakes her head and pushes herself back from the counter.

“I am broken glass,” she says, but it’s quiet this time. “And every time someone asks me to come back, to help out, to join a team, to fight, they act like I’m just a weapon they can un-shelve. Like I’m not someone who’s barely holding her shit together.”

“I don’t think you’re a weapon,” Bucky says.

“Well, maybe not right now. But ask yourself if you’d still say that if another war broke out tomorrow.” She says with a certain bite in her voice.

He doesn’t answer. That silence is enough. She exhales, tired now more than angry.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, brushing her hair back. “I didn’t mean to bite your head off. But you don’t get to act like I’m just this missing puzzle piece you can plug into your messed-up team. I’ve earned more than that.”

“I know,” he says. And he does. Really.

“I don’t want to be someone’s secret ace or liability or symbol of redemption,” Her voice softens now, finally cracking. “I just want to be allowed to be Bianca. And right now, Bianca can barely cook dinner without feeling like she’s going to fall apart.”

Bucky stands up from the stool, but slowly. Carefully. He crosses to where she’s still half-defensively planted near the stove, and without touching her, he speaks.

“Then be Bianca. I didn’t come here to fix you. I came here because I know you better than I know those guys and I needed a minute to not put up as strong of a front. Don’t you think I- of all peso pls, know exactly what you’re feeling? I was literally a weapon on and off a shelf for DECADES. And I don’t want to make anyone feel like that but Valentina would have my head if I didn’t try,” He shrugs. “There’s a microphone on my sleeve, they all voted me to come talk to you sometime this week.

That hits her like a slow-moving train. She closes her eyes, just for a second.

“Fucking- come on!” She rolls her eyes.“I’m still not joining your shitty team, though.”

“That’s fair.” Bucky lets out a breath of something close to a laugh as he covers where she assumes the microphone is.

She turns the heat down on the stove, eyes still a little glassy but her smirk returning.

“But I will feed you because I’m actually starving too.” She sighs.

[feyrescourt]

This is a long and rambly discussion post for elriel nation btw so strap in

I want to preface this by kindly asking the elriel hive to not use any tags of #those ships if reblogged. I want to keep this in the elriel echo chamber. Please and thank u!

A huge part of fandom culture is to ship canonically compliant characters and crack ships. Everyone’s got them, and it’s totally normal, and it’s usually fun to engage with.

The majority of the time I have no issue with this (I am a wolfstar shipper and even though there is canonical evidence of them in the original HP books, they’re widely accepted online and balked at IRL usually due to homophobia and #that nasty, nasty woman’s bigotry), but over the last few years a certain group of crack shippers have taken it upon themselves to fly a little too close to the sun, and want to make it our (elriels) problem. I am talking about the Glees.

It’s late and this just popped into my head so I want to rant about it.

My friend who got me into ACOTAR gave me a breakdown of the ships (bc I read ToG first and went in blind. I became a doraelin shipper very early on and remained one halfway through QoS, it was a whole thing when I realized they were not end game lol), bc I asked her to after my ToG experience. She told me all the characters names and then told me about feysand and nessian endgames but didn’t mention az or elain’s situation. I asked her about it and she told me that she didn’t want to mention much about Az because “by the end of the series azriel has two options for how his story could go, elain or another way”. She shared some anti elain sentiment with me because she’s “boring and doesn’t do anything”. That went in one ear and out the other with me tbh.

When I started acowar, and feyre returned to the night court, I saw how elain and azriel were interacting and I concluded that mor was the second LI of az bc of acomaf. I was not apart of the fandom online at this point, so I was genuinely in the dark about everything around these two. I was just reading and talking to my friend about what I read. I also want to add that I still liked L*cien at this point in the series (it changed in acofas, I became apathetic towards him rather quickly when I finished reading that whiny ass convo with feyre…..I don’t play when it comes to her) but wasn’t sold on eluce because they had like one interaction and it wasn’t a great intro to a ship.

However this first meeting in acomaf….. :)

‘Can you truly fly?’ He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, ‘Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.’ ‘That’s very beautiful,’

“Rhys chuckled, Cassian’s wrath slipping enough that he grinned, and Elain, noticing Azriel’s ease as proof that things weren’t indeed about to go badly, offered one of her own as well.”

Well imagine my surprise when I finished acowar and it turns out mor (the person az has crushed on for 500 years) comes out to feyre before the book ends and she explains that she can never love az the way he loves her. After three books, and everything that happens in acowar it was clear to me that elain and azriel were being set up as each others love interests, despite the mating bond with l*cien.

After Acofas I was officially on the elriel train. I mean…

“Azriel strode to the lone window at the end of the room and peered into the garden below.”

“Azriel emerged from the sitting room, a glass of wine in hand and wings tucked back to reveal his fine, yet simple black jacket and pants. I felt, more than saw, my sister go still as he approached. Her throat bobbed.”

“But Azriel only took Elain’s heavy dish of potatoes from her hands, his voice soft as night as he said, ‘Sit. I’ll take care of it.’ Elain’s hands remained in midair, as if the ghost of the dish remained between them. With a blink, she lowered them, and noticed her apron. ‘I—I’ll be right back,’ she murmured, and hurried down the hall before I could explain that no one cared if she showed up to dinner covered in flour and that she should just sit.”

“Elain swept in, apron gone and hair rebraided. ‘Please don’t wait on my account,’ she said, taking the seat at the head of the table.”

“He [Azriel] was the portrait of relaxed, an arm braced against the carved mantel, his wings tucked in loosely, a faint grin on his face and a glass of wine in his hand. He slid his hazel eyes toward my sister without him moving an inch.”

“Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room, my sister showing him the plans she’d sketched to expand the garden in the back of the town house, using the seeds and tools my family had given her tonight. Whether he cared about such things, I had no idea.”

(Damn the more I read elriel’s acofas moments the more I can’t help but conclude that they just hate/don’t understand introverts 😭)

Before I started SF, I decided to look at the online fandom and bitch……my jaw hit the floor with all the elain/elriel hate I saw on TT. And everyone was talking about a newer character in SF, and I was seeing the glee fan art and was like oh shit ok maybe elriel isn’t endgame.

Fast forward to SF……

‘What happened to Elain?’

“Nesta saw the blow land, like a physical impact, in Elain’s face, her posture. No one spoke, though shadows gathered in the corners of the room, like snakes preparing to strike. Elain’s eyes brightened with pain.”

……and I’m thinking ok, az obviously likes her. Then comes az’s BC. When I finished the elriel portion of the BC I was actually crying bc I was like oh fuck I really love these two….I knew it was over for me, and I was freaked out bc I thought I was going to get got with this “new ship” involving az. Plus I was thinking about elain being left alone in the dark without any explanation and feeling like an idiot for finally showing her true feelings towards him😭. It was like 3AM when I read it so I was hyper emotional lol. But then I read the rest of the BC and was still confused because I didn’t see any romantic subtext with g/wyn. I read it and saw a hurt male who couldn’t stand what he had done to elain the night before, was pissed at his brother for stopping it and making him feel bad when he was finally willing to voice what he’s been feeling for the past year or so and hating that he was shut down because we know he never voices his emotions, and couldn’t bear keeping a gift he picked out specifically for her. A necklace…..for solstice……Then I finished SF as a whole, and still, was confused as to why glee is a ship. Nearly all of their conversations were centered around training, and Sarah didn’t use any descriptors in their encounters that elude to any romance or mutual interest. (Btw I have a whole take on rhys’ part in that BC and I think a lot of ppl are dense and don’t understand what he was going through in that book but I can save that for another time)

Cassian and Feyre have more chemistry than those too lol.

I then talked to my friend about the these ships (elriel, eluce, and glee) ((i didn’t talk about eluce much in this post but that’s a lifeless ship too. I mean…..she can’t stand that red head anyway soooo)), and I said “I’m an elriel through and through. Idc that eluce are claimed to be mates you can tell she does not like him. also glee makes no sense to me.” Not verbatim but you get the point. My friend is very sensible so by the end of our convo, she told me that she’ll accept whatever way Sarah goes and that she’ll give elain a chance when her book comes out.

But isn’t that what all of this shit is about in the end: unjustified dislike/distain/hate for elain? That’s certainly how is appears to me. You cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that you love elain if you ship her with a male whom she has expressed, on multiple occasions, zero interest in AND becomes a shell of herself when he’s around because she just doesn’t want to interact with him. (I want to reiterate that I don’t hate L, I don’t think he’s awful or anything. elain just doesn’t want to know him. And that’s her right.) The glees don’t like her bc she doesn’t fit their stereotype for what they want in an FMC and therefore, for azriel. Which is why they have been chirping that the next book will be azriel’s. Not elain’s….WHAT??? You sound fucking crazy. The eluces (even though they claim they like her) dislike her so much that they go on and on about how she needs to grovel and apologize to the male they like because HE deserves to be happy……the same male who she associates with one of the most traumatic days of her life. Who also has not apologized to her for the part he played in that day, but I digress.

I say all that to point out that Glee specifically is in the crack ship category. No canonical evidence in the text can be used to claim they are ‘mates’ or endgame or anything more than acquaintances. And that’s fine, but don’t act as though they’re to be taken seriously as a canon ship when there’s no evidence to support it. Don’t boldly claim that azriel “has two love interests” when he literally doesn’t. He can’t sleep because of elain. He can’t stop thinking about her. He’s short with his family and others around him the days and weeks following solstice. His shadows threaten to strike nesta when she hurts elain and causes her pain. He doesn’t assign his spies to watch L*cien in acofas because he doesn’t want to know if he’s trying to court elain. He goes full lethal when he hears she may have been hurt. He follows the sound of her laugh to see what caused it. He goes on a suicide mission to save her. They communicate through looks alone when their family is around. Have you read an SJM book before? This is how she sets up her relationships. Like, holy fuck.

You cannot claim elriel is a crack ship because they have had background build up that both FMCs in their respective books have noticed and commented on. Cassian has noticed it too DESPITE not being hyper aware of what’s going on with az in SF. (referencing the scene in SF where elain tells everyone at family dinner about nesta’s love for dancing and the ball story from when they were human).

This ship war shit is fucking crazy because really this should only be between elriel nation and the eluces. Anyway, I’m over dealing with the fever dream brigade and their hallucinations. They’re going to come crashing down like Icarus when the elriel bible release day arrives and all our suffering will finally come to an end.

Then after that I’ll need to defeat the tamlin redemption arch threats, bc that is not a claim, that’s a fuckin threat and I won’t stand for it. But let’s tackle one problem at a time.

Pink: side notes/thoughts that give more context to my points

Blue italics: convos I’ve had being referenced

Purple: elriel moments <3

[louferrignojrofficial]

one thing that really annoys me and that i normally wouldn’t bitch about on main but i’m just not feeling all that great today so i’m gonna - is how some people who ship buddie but liked tommy - both in general and with buck - are acting. (editing this to say it got really long and a little off topic so proceed with caution)

before 7x10, they’d be like omg he’s so funny, so considerate, he’s so cute/handsome!! with an added disclaimer of (i still ship buddie and i think they’re gonna be endgame but i’m enjoying tommy and him with buck in the meantime!)

and then after that dinner scene, it was like a switch flipped. he’s so disgusting, insensitive, how dare he make a daddy issues joke when buck was talking about bobby basically being his father and when he was basically dying!!! how dare he!!!! i’m not gonna go into how that’s a gross misinterpretation of the scene and just plain wrong because that’s a whole other rant.

it was a drastic change. there’s all these posts hating on him, on everything they’d liked about him before. having the most negative misinterpretations of things they’d literally praised about him saying/doing before. all but rewriting canon dialogue to create this narrative of how much characters, mostly eddie, feel towards tommy.

now i see so many of these people making and/or reblogging posts saying they can’t wait for buck to break up with tommy because he either somehow mistook his feelings for eddie with feelings for tommy because they’re baSicaLly tHe sAme pErSon, or that eddie and everyone else will be like we never liked him in the first place, or some other insane post about how they’d kill tommy or rant about how much they hate him for things they literally had no problem with before.

like i’m not saying you can’t change your mind about a character, but i just think it’s crazy how much people can start to hate someone they literally had no problem with after ONE comment.

and this is another thing partially related, but seeing how the tommy hate has gotten so out of hand, i see comments on twitter and tumblr and even on instagram posts from the cast hating on him that veer towards sounding just plain homophobic. like the killing tommy ‘jokes’ ??? you’re not funny. you sound homophobic. ‘but i’m not homophobic for not liking a character and making a joke!!’ okay so imagine literally anyone else who knew nothing about the show making a comment like you’re doing. it’s not a good look.

to me, it seems clear that to these people, tommy was just meant to be a placeholder. he was meant to only be there for buck to realise his bisexuality, and then buddie was meant to be canon and so tommy is in the way somehow. because people took bi buck being shut down back in season 4 to be proof that buddie was meant to have gone canon (which i’m not saying wasn’t the case, but it’s never been confirmed or really even hinted at.)

so now anything to do with tommy just makes people so mad, because he’s still here and buddie isn’t happening. so they’re purposefully having the most negative interpretation of anything to do with tommy to make themselves feel better.

hating on tommy makes it easier to deal with the fact buddie doesn’t seem to in the cards (at least rn). so people don’t have to really consider that it may never happen, so they don’t have to shift the blame onto the actors and writers and anyone else. so they can continue to read into any oliver and ryan interaction into meaning canon buddie, anything they say in interviews that doesn’t point towards canon buddie, to misinterpret anything they do say (including ryan continuously calling eddie heterosexual, that’s a big one) because they can’t give away anything yet, it has to be a surprise!!!

tldr: people are hating on tommy after 7x10, and it’s less to do with anything he said in that scene and more to do with the fact that he’s still on the show and buddie doesn’t seem to be going canon. and that hating on him makes it easier to deal with that fact.

[lovecolibri]

Loved the points you raised in the tags of the post about Rescue Hi Surf being cancelled and Lucy potentially coming back. I want to bang my head against the wall at how naive people are being with their 'bring back Lucy so she can make Eddie jealous and lead to Buddie endgame and knock some sense into them.'

LOL WHAT. I believe with every fiber of my being that they would put her with Buck and try to replicate the Buddie dynamic again with a m/f and just have her as Buck's endgame love interest because they wrongfully believe they did enough to develop her well (when they didn't and won't do shit).

This fandom is its own worst enemy at times.

Sorry for the negativity but the Lucy discourse has me super irritated. They can't see past their hatred of T and don't realize they are just undermining Buddie. Why would you bring back an ex love interest NOW?! When we are closer than ever?!

Hi nonny! Nice to know I'm not the only one out there who isn't hating T while praising other female LIs for doing the same things 🙃

If they did bring her back, I'm not fully sure it would be as a LI, just because the audience hated the cheating storyline SO MUCH they had to cut almost everything about that arc and her screentime. I'd never say never, but that's not my actual worry.

My worry is losing screentime for our mains which has been a big problem in past seasons but has been GLARINGLY loud these past several weeks, especially with the "funeral/tribute" episode to Bobby not ACTUALLY being about Bobby. Regardless of if he's actually dead or not, that was a bad, imbalanced episode and I already particularly hate the formula of the last several seasons being one thing getting full focus and everyone/everything else getting scraps vs the first 3 seasons where things seemed more balanced with lots of arcs happening at once, rising and falling at different times so everything had a chance to shine and be the focus but nothing felt forgotten or ignored even if it was more in the background.

The problem that L aways had was she wasn't a character in her own right, she took on whatever another character would have been suited for in that episode because there wasn't actually space for her on the team. Ravi took over for Eddie while Eddie covered for Chim, and when Eddie left they got Jonah. There wasn't another open spot! So instead, L got Buck's "worked a dozen different jobs/out of the box ideas" stuff, what was clearly meant to be Ravi's Dumb Luck storyline being "mentored" by Buck, only to then get offered the Captain job due to her "experience" (flying in the face of Bobby's "OMG I can't trust new people with my team" plot around Jonah), not to mention Eddie coming back FINALLY and being stuck blurry in the far background of the team shot so she could take center stage.

People have (rightfully) bitched about T showing up when he wasn't needed and when they could have had firefam stuff (let Eddie fly a helicopter, it's as realistic as anything else on this show, moreso because we have SEEN him do helicopter stuff before!), or used other main/recurring characters. We have so many lovely characters (MANY of them females) that truly love and respect Eddie and Buck and it never fails to BAFFLE me when people insist L or Tay Kay just NEED to be the ones to push Buddie together, or be the "mean bitchy" friend. We already lost Linda (though we are going to see her again soon, god fucking bless), we barely see Karen who SHOULD be more integrated with the mains as Hen's wife, we NEVER get Maddie/Eddie interactions, Athena could use more integration with the mains as well, Ravi has been beloved by the audience from the start and has been barely utilized, like whymst the FUCK do we need to add another character when the show can't do justice to the ones it already has?!

THAT is my biggest issue, and something the show needs to work on. Trading out T for L does nothing but continue to steal time from the mains and recurring characters we already have, and allows Timmy to get distracted using cool toys and trying to recreate epic movie moments instead of focusing on SHOWING things ON SCREEN about the stories and development of our main characters. It's a waste of time they don't need. And while she's not as wooden as LFJ, AK was not particularly good in her time on this show either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Like, imagine wanting THAT over seeing Tracie Thoms being perfect, or letting Eddie and Linda be besties again. Could not be me.

[charlesslut16]

hii!

could you write something about charles x actress!reader where fans start saying that they don’t work together and charles should get someone more humble and yn gets really sad and she thinks about breaking up with charles but charles doesn’t want too break up then he comforts her? it could turn into a smut or a fluff, whatever you’d like!

thank you, kisses 🩷🩷

-we belong-

summary : you read the hate comments and you do not feel enough for charles anymore...

PAIRING : charles leclerc x actress!reader

WARNINGS : none?

note : i hope you like this :)

masterlist 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charles and you have been dating for almost one and a half years now. You worked as an actress, while charles was a Formula One driver at Scuderia Ferrari.

You were so happy with charles as your boyfriend and best friend, and he was happy with you. But the fans of Charles were not as happy as you were with the relationship between the two of you.

First there were hate comments like 'charles deserves better' or 'they do not fit together' but then there were comments at premiers, events or even on the paddock.

You ignored them at first, but now that they were regularly, you couldn't ignore them anymore. As you read or heard them and started to doubt that you and charles could work.

Charles didn't realize you weren't feeling well, but that was your plan. You distanced yourself from him, which charles just thought and hoped was the stress.

liked by arthur_leclerc, yourusername and 1.532.116 others

charles_leclerc great day with my girl

view all 3,426 comments

lorenzotl had a great day with you guys

charles_leclerc_fanpage they're endgame!

yankees Delivered a strike! thanks for stopping by!

username she looks absolutly beautiful

user charles deserves better

username they just do not work

username absolutly agreed. he deserves better user he needs someone more humble

liked by user and 24.792 others

user i don't understand why he chose her.

You read the comments under charles new Instagram post. Every hate comment, you read, you took to heart. You knew that charles deserved better, but you loved him.

You pondered about what to do right now. Maybe you should break up with charles and go on living your life without charles. Or maybe you should tell charles.

If you told charles, you both could talk and clear up the feeling that were inside you. But no, you didn't want to tell charles your problem. Instead, you decided you should break up.

It would benefit everyone. Charles could find another girlfriend that was better for him and fit better to him. And you could film your movies without the worry that charles fans were there to say hurtful things.

Everything could go back to normal. 

So you called charles the next day and told him that he should come to your apartment because you wanted to talk about something which included your relationship.

Charles agreed and drove to your apartment. The bell rang and you opened the door anxiously. You welcomed charles in, without a hug or a kiss, which made charles suspect something bad.

Then you sat down on the couch, opposite from charles, which made him suspicious again. You played with your hands, that were in your lap. Then took a deep breath and looked him deep in the eyes.

“Charles… I think we should end our relationship or at least take a break. I can't take this hate anymore. It's consuming me whole.”

As you told this, charles, he was absolutely speechless. How could he not see how much it hurt you. He knew you became distant, but he didn't take it that serious. 

But now that he had the pieces, the puzzle finally made sense. You became distant because you wanted to break up, but not because of him, because of the comments.

He didn't know what to say. How could he? You had just told him you wanted to end your journey together. But he needed to stop you. Charles needed to tell you that you could master this together.

“I love you, y/n. I hope you know this. I understand that the hate comments can get too much. Please tell me when you feel like this. I can help you to cope with it. But please don't break up with me. You will please the haters with it.”

He stood up from his place on the couch and walked to you. Charles kneeled in front of you and took your hand into his. He held them up to his mouth and gave your wrist a kiss, then he laid them back on your lap.

“Y/n, I know that this is hard, but please do not end our relationship just because of some stupid comments.”

Before you could say something, charles gave you a warm, long hug, to comfort you. He saw that small tears were starting to appear, and he didn't want you to cry.

You couldn't say anything, as you realized, that if you had just talked to charles, everything could have been avoided. The sadness wouldn't have consumed you.

Charles ended the hug and saw as the tears were running down your cheeks. His heart broke at the sight of you being so upset. He’d do anything to make you feel better.

He hugged you again, rubbed your back as he held you tight and whispered sweet things into your ear. The scent of your boyfriend comforted. Charles wiped your tears and kissed your stained cheeks.

“It’s okay”

Charles hummed to you, even though he’d never ever admit to anyone he had done that, but he knew how much you loved it and as I said, he’d do anything for you

You wrapped your arms around Charles's shoulders, burrowed your head into his neck. He smelled of his aftershave and his expensive shampoo. Charles traced circles on your back with his fingers, his nose buried in your hair. 

“I’m here with you”

harles gave you a small, light kiss on your neck, while he rubbed his nose against the warm skin of your neck. He hoped that everything would be alright in time.

“Je t'aime. Nous allons nous en sortir ensemble. Tout va s'arranger. Mais s'il te plaît, arrête de lire ces commentaires horribles et méchants. Tu vaux bien mieux que tous ceux qui écrivent de tels commentaires. Nous sommes faits l'un pour l'autre.”

I love you. We'll get through this together. We're going to be okay. But please, stop reading those horrible, mean comments. You are so much better than anyone who writes such comments. We belong together.

[ironroar]

"Would somebody get this"

"goDDAMN TURTLE-"

"OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

[nobylerdoubt]

my friend saw the henry play in london last week and said henry and patty really killed her hopes for byler because they showed that the duffers can turn a messy romance into a really good solid one under worse circumstances than mike and el are under. she’s been a byler for years and now she thinks either mileven’s gonna be endgame or everyone’s gonna end up single ;-;

I'm gonna be honest - I haven't seen The First Shadow yet (It's on my to do list!) so I may need to pass this to @wedonottoleratebylerdoubt and see if they know anything more. Or I will circle back once I've watched it.

So I guess for now rather than answering I'll ask some counter questions and points for you and your friend to contemplate in the meantime.

Do they in any way get a "happy ending"? Because from my understanding Patty almost dies in the end, and from Henry's perspective is dead. To me this reminds me of other themes that have been pointed out in the past with Mike and El - how the confession of love in the pizza-freezer-mind-fight was followed by disaster. They may have "won" the battle, in a sense, but they've lost so much. This is one example amongst others that I will probably make an analysis post about down the line.

How long are Henry and Patty together? Once again, my understanding is that their relationship is cut sure - if Henry and Patty had had the chance to be together as long as Mike and El, would they have a solid relationship foundation, or would they eventually fall apart? Mike and El have fallen apart and come back together a few times now, and seemingly have become a "solid" relationship again only to fall apart once more. This is why we tend to think that Mileven is "bones" because no matter how many times they come back together, they continue to fall apart.

You mention Patty and Henry come together under worse circumstances than Mike and El - which makes me wonder if that is another sign that actually Mike and El won't be endgame. Murray can say what he wants about shared trauma, but from my life experience - real relationships are tested just as much outside of bad circumstances as they are in them. Trauma has a way of bringing people together - you remember how much you love this person and don't want them to, in these cases, die. But it's one thing to love someone and another thing to be a good partner to them. Mike is famously very supportive of El in the heat of battle because he's very protective and needs to be needed - but outside of battle, he's emotionally unavailable and is unable to tell El that he loves her. Would Patty and Henry be able to live compatibly outside of their terrible circumstances?

Finally - Henry is the villain. He's the "monster" and while the theme of people not being able to be sorted so easily into "good guys" and "bad guys" is explored in the show, and is very real - it's pretty clear to me at least that while Henry had a childhood we can sympathize with, the person he's become is horrible, monstrous, and irredeemable. This is exactly what El, who in this comparison parallels Henry, does NOT want to be. To me this means that the path Henry took, is everything El does NOT want to do - therefore I think that just because Patty and Henry ended up together at the end of the show, doesn't mean that Mike and El will.

I hope this helps. Again, I will hopefully come back to this question once I've watched the show, but these are the thoughts I have right now.

[auguryofjellyfish]

random day 25 thoughts let's go

another otherwordly Tetro Friday? what's with chap 4, I swear, so far it's been a stream of endless bangers.

first of all, I hope Hiroaki and Tamba had a good day 😭 it was strange to not see Hiroaki at all....

[Oyasumi]

is that a goddamn Omori reference?? naw, it's not, but that's where everyone's mind went first and mine as well lol.

Oyasumi, oyaaasumi, close your eyes and you'll leave this dream....

normally something like this would make me worried, but honestly? i'm not. because Wada is not going to die. I'm not even considering the possibility. he's going to be okay. he might suffer but he's definitely going to make it. i'm not even scared of his death at all cause it's not gonna happen (except if they kill everyone in endgame). if he survived chapter 3, he can survive anything.

either way....such a sweet episode <3 loved the amount of focus Wada is getting like, THAT'S MY GOAT!!! I LOVE WADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please give him all the love and hugs.

HE'S NOT EATEN FOR 3 DAYS!! ?!??! Wada...i thought he'd not eat one day at a time, but, three...? no wonder he's crashing again. if the starvation motive hits, nnnnn holy shit but no he's going to be okay. trust.

I still need time to fully process [Bruise] but good lord, while watching it made my chest feel so heavy it felt like it was caving in. fucking concave. just. Mai. Ojima. it was so painful and so heavy but, i was overflowing with pride for them both. they're so incredibly strong. i love Ojima sm....

[Refulgence Post Mortem]

he loved Kamimura. he loved him. he didn't need to say it at all. i just knew from the way he talked about him. the way his voice went soft, the fondness, the light amusement... how Kamimura was stubborn, argumentative, funny, smart, kind... he made him sound so special. he painted such a lovely picture with his words.... and he had so much to say about him. he thought and worried about him a lot, Kamimura was interesting to him (!!!!!) ..... I hope Kamimura at least could tell that Ken really really liked him...he probably did.

he didn't always care about what Ken was talking about but he cared enough to pretend, always...this just...just. Kamimura cared so fucking much too.

on one hand, this is kinda nice, because Ken would never say all of this to Kamimura, so if he were alive we'd never hear Ken gush about him... but jesus, I'd rather have him back....

he was worried about Kamimura because of his suicidal tendencies, and when it seemed like he wanted to live again, he was just so relieved... the depth with which he said that, I just. wow. I know... I KNOW!!! I KNOW HE WAS GETTING BETTER! I know, Ken...!

Ken was so proud of him. so happy for him, so moved. HE WAS TURNING HIS EYES TOWARDS THE FUTURE!!! he tried to end it so many times because life was an unchanging never-ending hell BUT the instant he felt like he might not be doomed forever after all, that he could have people who love him, that he could find a place for himself in this world once more, he wanted to try again, he wanted TO LIVE.

and then she took him away.

...what the fuck. what the fuck, it's not fair...it's not fair. i can't get fucking over this, i can't, i can't. i can't. fuck. me. fuck...i hate this...

...I've seen a lot of discussion on whether Ken is gonna die this chapter. it's still a little too early to say for sure, but in my opinion, nah. he doesn't seem like he'd be a victim right now. he is a little vulnerable, but frankly in these people's place I would be scared to go at him cause he's tall, strong and has nothing left to lose.

as for whether he'd kill...mmmnnnneehhh.......no...? not in chap 4 at least. he is in a really bad way, and that "she destroyed....everything." was so good, it sounded really dark and wrathful, but, yanno. i'm mostly just side-eyeing the "everything"...

if okazaki was somehow still alive i would def be concerned about him going for her head but lol. that's taken care of already. i guess it's not impossible for him to find another outlet for his anger, COUGH watari COUGH but still, he is more depressed than angry.

he said "there's nothing left." he still has his family but he can't even take them into consideration right now. that's what he truly feels- utter desolation. how could he have the motivation to plan a murder in this state? when he "lost everything"? i'd be much more worried if he continued with his total isolation arc but with this episode, he's not too far gone. just feeling overwhelming malaise. doesn't help that he's off his meds.

then again, we might be going back to unintentional murders, so it's not out of the question. it would just be weird for Ken to try to kill everyone on purpose??

also he won't try to kill himself people 💔 he won't. although.

i was 100% sure he wouldn't before this ep, and now i'm just a little less sure. 🙁

everything is gray now.

the biggest thing i took away from this week's episodes...I really...really don't want anyone else to die...I really don't. none of them. not Ojima. not Hayashi. not Hiroaki. not Wada. not Hasegawa. not Watari. not Tamba. not Yanagi. not Hama. none of them. i really don't want anyone to die anymore.

[gunsandspaceships]

Shall we play a game? Answers

Here I'll explain why the correct answers are:

Drinks when upset (Steve)

Criticizes everyone (Steve)

Obeys orders (Tony)

Doesn’t trade lives (Tony)

Worked for politicians for personal gain (Steve)

Good shooter (Tony)

Kissed 4 different women after starting a relationship with his partner (Steve)

Asks others for help and advice when needed (Tony)

Drinks when upset - Steve

He can't get drunk, but that doesn't mean he doesn't drink. And he does this when he is upset for some reason. In Captain America: The First Avenger, it was Bucky's death; in Civil War (extended funeral scene), it was Peggy's death.

There is not a single scene in the entire MCU where Tony drank because he was upset.

Criticizes everyone - Steve

I didn't remember that until I started working on the "Nice Guy" Contest and watched every scene with Cap in every movie he was, as well as every scene in every movie with the other OG6 Avengers. And it caught my attention - how often Steve criticizes other people: Fury, Nat, Tony, Bruce, Thor, even Peggy. I even got tired of this.

One of the examples:

Obeys orders - Tony

Steve spent his entire military/paramilitary career doing the opposite - refusing to follow orders and criticizing his commanders. In any hierarchical organization, be it SSR, SHIELD or the Avengers, he took control. Tony, despite being the owner of the Avengers, obeyed him and followed Rogers' orders.

Doesn't trade lives - Tony

Even though it was Steve who said, “We don't trade lives,” he traded them. And more than once. As our winners mentioned, he traded the lives of Wakandans in Infinity War. In Civil War he traded the lives of civilians, special ops operatives, agents (they were killed or injured), Clint (his freedom and life with his family), Scott (his freedom and even life - he didn't stop him when Scott offered to do something that could "split him in half"), Sam (dragged into danger), Wanda (same), Sharon (who risked several times to help him), Nat (who also would be safe if not him), Rhodey (who wouldn't have been injured if Rogers hadn't started the fight), Peter (who he could have killed with the boarding bridge he brought down on him), and Tony. He traded them all for one man and the right to continue to command without anyone above him.

In Endgame, his plan was to bring back 50% of the universe. Before Tony and Bruce explained to them how time travel actually works, the plan was to erase everything that happened after 2018. This means all the people who have been born since then and everything that has happened to the remaining 50% over the years.

Tony had to intervene anyway because they would have done terrible things if he hadn't told them not to change anything in those 5 years. He is the one who does not trade lives.

Even when he is told he can't save everyone - he tries. And sometimes he proves that he can.

Worked for politicians for personal gain - Steve

That's how Steve became captain, in case you forgot.

And that's what Tony never did - work for politicians for personal gain.

Good shooter - Tony

You can find it here:

Kissed 4 different women after starting a relationship with his partner - Steve

In 1940s Steve started a relationship with Peggy Carter. Since then he kissed:

Howard's secretary

Unknown woman (or man? who knows)

Natasha

And Sheron, Carter

Ever since Tony started his relationship with Pepper, he hadn't kissed anyone else. Or did anything else of that sort of things.

Asks others for help and advice when needed - Tony

Steve asked for help. He brought a bunch of people to risk everything and start a fight in Civil War, for example. He never asked for advice though. He always has his own opinion, it is always the right one and he doesn't need anyone else's.

On the other hand - Tony is not above asking others for help, as well as asking for advice and opinions.

[magical-illune]

I just beat Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Deluxe) for the first time, and damn

DAMN

That felt GREAT!

I'd like to talk about my experience with the endgame, if you don't mind...

The day before, I'd gotten quite frustrated with the long, challenging levels in the final world. It really was a Dangerous Dinner! I got all three done, but I was mad at myself for once again having to skip a dimensional rift segment and just for struggling so much in general. Everyone says Kirby games are easy -- baby games, even -- but I can still have a hard time with them. Actually, Kirby games' so-called easiness make them the only platformers I can actually beat by myself. My reflexes and hand-eye coordination are absolute shit. I struggle with pretty much any game that involved dodging or the like, I knock things over and drop things and bump into everything all the time, I make so many typos whether I'm using a phone or an actual keyboard... As a wee child, I had to go to physical therapy to, among other things, learn how to button a shirt...

Look, what I'm saying is that I'm really, REALLY bad at platformers, and I adore Kirby games for being platformers I know I can play. But I was just so frustrated at myself for being bad at a "baby game" that I didn't take on the boss that day.

Today, I woke up feeling much better, and earlier this afternoon, I picked up my Switch, determined to beat the final boss.

(as a note, I didn't have the Helper Magolor thing on, I never have, but I do like to take a souvenir energy drink with me into every level)

First, I took on Landia with the Wing ability. I love Wing, so that was great right off the bat. And Landia would split into four, giving me more targets, so thank you, Landia! I beat it my second try, with a shred of health left. Instead of a triumphant jingle, a dance, Kirby just stood there, and Landia lay motionless on the ground as the screen faded to black.

And as I watched the following cutscene, something occurred to me: Kirby gained nothing from either of the Halcandra boss battles. There was no ship part to be taken -- the bosses were just in the way of Magolor's plans (and, well, attacking us lol). And on that note, Kirby and his friends never really got anything out of beating the five bosses on Popstar, either. We were just helping Magolor fix his ship. We went through level after level and ran through collapsing dimensional rifts and fell into pits and were crushed by walls and swallowed by giant eels while frantically swimming away from giant floaty spike balls and died and died and died all to help Magolor, and how did he repay us? By turning on us, vowing to conquer our home!

I thought about this as I did that awesome Another Dimension shooter bit. I love shooter segments, so it really pumped me up for the final fight! And by the time I'd reached Magolor himself, I was out for blood.

It took me two tries, but I kicked his ass in the end, and it felt incredible.

Take that, Magolor! With the power of friendship, this spear I found, and lots and lots of violence, I have defeated you and saved Planet Popstar!

I know this post was all over the place, but I just wanted to say what a wonderful time I had with this game, even when I was frustrated. I love Kirby games so much :D

Now I'm so psyched for the Magolor Epilogue!!