#Guys ignore how she looks so much like saffron ok? ok

[terracomets]

and MYRTLE!! another beloved misfits character who has a very special place in my heart...she's introduced in season 2's opener and has a very nice bond with jack and nurm i need to dive into more. radar too she has a lot of nice bonds with other characters :)

[alyssaiswriting]

Prove It

Before You Read: So I never thought I’d do a Joel smut but when @la-saffron tells you she wants a Joel smut you give it to her 

Warning: Smut 

Summary: petty Joel? Jealous Joel 

Word Count: 2373

You were always Joel's science partner, as your boyfriend, he never thought he'd have to worry about you wanting to do an assignment with someone else. As he's watching you laugh at something Erick says Richard doesn't miss the way his jaw clenches and unclenches or the fact that his leg hasn't stopped bouncing the whole class period.

"you know I only agreed to be your partner because you're good at this stuff and it's an easy A but you haven't even looked at the assignment once" Joel looks over to his friend than to the lab table with all the equipment set up.

He looks at you once more before forcing himself to focus on what's in front of him"Right ok" He sits up straight in his seat.

"Why is y/n partnered with Erick today?" Richard asks

Joel sighs softly so Richard won't hear, "something about his performance for prom" Joel shrugs. you're in student council and were put in charge of finding entertainment which was Erick and another live band Joel didn't remember the name of.

"Performance?" Richard frowns.

"He's singing" Richard's eyebrows raise at this "I didn't know he could sing" he sounds impressed.

"Neither did I, y/n saw him post a cover on Instagram" Joel is still skimming over the assignment.

Richard looks over to y/n and Erick to see y/n nodding and Erick get a little excited he looks back at Joel to see he didn't see that interaction since he's now focusing on his work so he decides to keep it to himself.

————-

"I'll see you tonight?" Erick tells you as you're packing up your stuff when the class is over.

"Yeah I'll tell Joel but I'm sure he'll be down too" you smile at the Cuban who returns the action with a bright smile of his own.

He tells you bye as he picks up his backpack, you spot Joel give Erick a weird look as he walks past him to get to you. You decide to disregard the look and with a smile on your face, you ask how the assignment went.

"Good I guess, did you understand the second half of the worksheet?" He questions.

You sling your backpack over your shoulder as you say "yeah it took me a while but Erick helped me figure it out, you're too busy saying goodbye to the teacher to notice how Joel tenses up, a part of him feeling threatened by the fact that Erick was able to help you when it's usually you helping Joel.

Joel decides to push those feelings down because he knows how stupid they are.

As you both walk out of the classroom you ask "so did you turn in the worksheet unfinished or?" You look up at your boyfriend.

"Richard found the answers on quizlet" you laugh at this. Joel smiles at your laugh looking over at you.

"I swear thanking quizlet is gonna be my senior quote" you joke, Joel laughs at this and finally taking your hand in his forgetting all the pettiness he felt earlier.

Though you choose now is a good time to tell Joel about the party. "So Erick is throwing a party at his house tonight you should come"

Joel frowns, "you're going?" He looks over at you.

"Yeah, it sounds fun" you shrug.

"Why don't we just stay in tonight? Watch Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or something?"

It's your turn to frown "we stay in all the time plus I already told Erick I'm going" before Joel has a chance to speak Chris is coming up behind you both swinging his arms over each of your shoulders, you immediately unclasp your hand from Joel so Chris can squeeze in between your two.

"Hola mi gente," Chris says smiling at you both. "So you're going to Erick's party tonight"

"How do you know?" You ask scrunching your eyebrows together

"I was just talking to him," Chris says.

"How class ended like 3 seconds ago," Joel says in disbelief looking around to find Erick but seeing him nowhere in sight.

"Speaking of which I got to hurry can't be late to English again, but I'll see you guys tonight!" And with that, he's running off down the hall.

—————

You raise your arms in the air as you let out another victory scream when you shoot the ball in the cup so Richard is forced to drink yet another cup of beer.

Joel watches from a distance as Erick high fives you holding your hand in his a little too long. He's had to watch for 20 minutes as Erick hugs you, places his hands on the small of your back and congratulate you every time you make a shoot.

Chris chuckles softly before taking a swing of his drink, "are you ever going over there or are you just gonna sit here glaring at Erick all night?"

joel looks over to his friend "what are you talking about?"

"bro you're jealous, you've been pouting all night, just go over there," Chris tells Joel.

"ok and then what? pee on her to mark my territory? I don't own her" Joel shakes his head looking away from his friend just as Y/N looks over to him you smile that beautiful smile Joel knows and loves and as much as he wants to smile back he just can't seem to force himself this time. "plus if she rather spend the night hanging with him rather then me fine" Joel shrugs

"still doesn't change the fact that you're jealous"

"I'm not jealous" Joel scoffs rolling his eyes.

"Really cause Erick just took y/n inside" Chris smirks when Joel's head snaps up to the back entrance of the house.

Joel immediately stands to his feet ignoring Chris' obnoxious laugh as he makes his way to the house.

From the entrance, he can see you and Erick walking upstairs. A part of him debates just walking back outside and waiting for you to come out and explain but another part of himself which is the part that is winning tells him he needs to know what you two are up to and he needs to know now. So he follows you both.

When he reaches the top step he can hear your voice coming from a room a couple of doors down the hall. The door is open and as he gets closer he can hear your conversation.

"I've been practicing but I don't know how good I am," Erick says.

"Ok show me," you say making Joel frown standing frozen in the middle of the hall just a couple steps from the door.

"Ok," Erick says followed by the sound of shuffling, there's a silent pause before the strumming of a guitar is heard soon followed by Erick singing lyrics to a Luis Fonsi song.

Joel finally decides to step closer to the door, to get a view of Erick and you sitting on his bed, Erick playing his guitar across from you singing the song so sickly smooth that Joel finds himself clenching his jaw again.

When the song ends Joel doesn't even give them time to exchange words before he's coughing to interrupt them.

You turn to face him your smile dropping at the look on his face. "Joel" you frown, Joel's glaring at Erick before his eyes drift to you and his glare immediately drops.

"Uh we should get you home, it's almost 1," he says your eyes widen. if you miss curfew your parents will kill you.

"Uh Erick that was so good definitely approved but I really got to go home" you stand to your feet.

Erick nods placing his guitar aside and You both bid your goodbyes with a hug.

——————-

You sneak Joel in through your window like you do every Friday night after making sure your parents are asleep.

You and Joel don't speak much on the way home and he doesn't say a word when climbing into your room.

You change into an oversized T-Shirt before climbing into bed. You left your lamp on so your room isn't completely dark. Joel slipped on some shorts he always leaves at your house and remains shirtless never sleeping with a shirt.

"What did you and Chris talk about when I was playing beer pong?" You question not exactly wanting to go to sleep with the weird tension in the air.

"Nothing" Joel is staring up at the ceiling.

"Really cause you looked really annoyed" you're facing Joel on your side.

"He's just annoying" you snort sitting up.

"Ok, what's bothering you?" You ask getting tired of his standoff presence.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Really then why won't you look at me?"

Joel turns his head to look at you "I'm looking at you."

"Why are you acting like this?" You frown, Joel sits up

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you spent the whole night hanging out with Erick instead of me" Joel squints at you.

You raise your eyebrows at this "ok and? He's my friend"

"Last week he didn't even know your name," Joel says. "Now he's taking you to his room singing you songs-" he cuts himself off when he notices your bored expression.

"What?" He asks

"You're jealous," you say.

"I am-" he almost denies it but changes his mind. "Ok so I am jealous," he says slowly.

You let out a breathy laugh before crawling over to him climbing onto his lap, sitting on his thighs with your legs on either side of his.

"You're literally so annoying" you whine making Joel squint at you. "I love you, so insanely much that it genuinely scares me sometimes" Joel's features soften.

"And honestly you're a lot dumber then I thought of you're getting jealous over a  guy I met like 3 days ago"

"Shut up," he tells you making you laugh "seriously though like think about it, what's the reason to be jealous? why would I ruin something so good like this?"

Joel places his hands on your waist "I know, I know I overreacted."

You smile at your boyfriend before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"I'm sorry," he says.

You lean in closer to him a smile still on your lips. "How sorry?" You ask.

Joel's eyes flutter down to your lips "very sorry"

When you don't say anything Joel's eyes look up to meet yours again. That's when you say "prove it"

Joel's eyebrows raise and you mimic him a teasing smirk replacing your smile.

Joel flips you both over so you're laying on your back. Joel hovering over you "how do you want me to prove to you how sorry I am?" He question.

"Whichever way your heart desires," you say.

Joel places a rough kiss to your mouth before quickly making his way down your body. He lifts up your shirt before you feel his soft hands glide along the outside of your thighs before they grip the waistband of your underwear and quickly starts sliding them down your legs and off at your ankles.

You instinctively open your legs to him making Joel smirk. Joel starts slowly peppering open mouth kisses from your ankles all the way up to the inside of your thigh.

When he finally reaches your cunt your breath hitches in your throat when his eyes look up at yours, he wiggles his eyebrows at you before dipping his tongue in between your lower lips drawing zigzag patterns up to your clit.

Joel uses his middle and index finger to spread your pussy lips apart to allow better access for his tongue to get every inch of your pussy.

When he pulls away you look down just in time to see him slip two fingers into your entrance. Your head falls back against the pillow as Joel slowly sinks his fingers in deeper. Your curling your lips into your mouth only to release a gasp when his other hand comes up to rub your clit, with his fingers curling inside you it takes everything in you to stay quiet.

Joel slips his fingers out and before you have time to protest he's adding another finger to the mix, sticking 3 digits in repeating the process of curling and pumping. He watches as your body moves and shift because of him.

"Come on doll, cum for me" you can feel his breath on your wet cunt and soon you find yourself cumming.

Joel helps you ride of out your high before slowly slipping his fingers out.

Hovering over you with one hand in his mouth licking you off his fingers and the other holding himself above you.

"Do you know how sorry I am now? Or do you need more?" He smirks.

"I could take more," you say through half hooded eyelids.

Joel smiles leaning back to slip off his shorts and briefs revealing his hard length.

Joel grips your thighs opening them wider to fit his hips in between them, Joel grabs the base of his cock rubbing his tip along your slit covering himself in your juices.

Joel's eyes meet yours as he slowly starts sinking into your entrance until he finally bottoms out inside you, you both moan softly.

Joel pulls out and starts a deep steady pace, leaning down to pepper kisses along your jaw and neck.

"Uh, baby I won't last" he whispers in your ear, You cling onto him with one arm feeling his warm soft skin under your touch while your other hand reaches down to rub circles at your clit.

One of Joel's hands grips the sheets beside your head while the other grips your waist as he starts picking up his pace.

Joel's eyes are squeezed shut but as soon as they open to meet yours and his face morphs into one of pleasure you're cumming, pleasure pulsing all over your body and it doesn't let up when Joel reaches his own climax, cum filling you up adding to your pleasure.

When you've both come down from your highs Joel pulls out of you slowly collapsing beside you on the bed.

"So I'm assuming you're really sorry?" You ask making Joel chuckle.

-------------------

A/N 

THANK YOU FOR 300 FOLLOWS yall are the cutest, I appreciate it <3

ummm that’s all I got, i love you guys 

[musubiki]

Hc about conflictedshipping visiting another region? Sinnoh maybe???? Love your work ❤️!!!

hoOOOOOOO BOI LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR TRIP TO KALOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

➞

im making it MANDATORY THAT THEY TOOK A SEMESTER ABROAD IN KALOS DURING THEIR TRAINERS SCHOOL TIME

(also this is where that one line of diaglouge in xy comes from. that one chick who tells you that green was there studying and only ever said smell ya later)

i was thinkin about giving them pokemon for this trip but. i think its better if their first pokemon come from prof oak later.

(gd i wish pom and vee were here for this that wouldve been amazing)

when they first got there leaf was worried that he was irritated he had to spend the whole semester with her there. he kinda scoffed and smirked at her and said something like “Are you kidding? I’d be angrier if you DIDN’T get the scholarship.” cuz they’re rivals. and he expects no less from her. he tells her something like its bad for his image if his rival isnt as good as him. he’s actually kinda happy that she’s there with him and he’s not gonna be all alone. 

this actually makes leaf really happy and kind of. sets the mood for the whole trip there

so they end up staying with this older couple who live in the heart of lumiose city and usually house the students every year. ofc they’re thrilled tho have leaf and green there. the wife owns a bakery/cafe and the husband works at the docks down in coumarine city. as a condition of them staying there, leaf helps with the bakery and green helps at the docks

when they first go there. they find out that. the kalos school doesnt require uniforms and theyre both kind of “???? so you just wear whatever??” greens perf fine with this but leafs kind worried bc she didnt bring THAT much clothes, so the couple takes both her and green shopping for kalos-style clothes. this is where leaf gets this outfit from and she LOVES IT shes adorable i love her so much

when green first sees her in it hes a little surprised because WOW what. “shes actually. kind of ok looking.” hes blushing shut up you idiot 

so they get to their new school and everyone intrigued by them oooo new transfer students whaaaat??? green right off the bat is all confident and doing his usual thing. winks at like 3 girls and they’re all fawning over him first thing.

but the school is very welcoming to them!! they get a lot of transfer student from all over the place so they have a lot of different people from different places!!

they actually have a pretty good time. a lot of the kids from school drop by the bakery just to. see leaf. same with the girls for green and business is good. amen. the couple is actually shook because they have so many profits

on weekends they get to go see kalos!!! its pretty.,. nice actually like esp traveling to like cyllage and laverre and anistar(leaf loves anistar city) 

and green is actually really enjoying theyre time there. it kind of feels like.,. dates.,. kind of.,. and he never voices it and STILL ACTS LIKE A JERK BUt.,. spending time with her here in kalos is actually kinda cool,,. we should do this more often, he thinks

they go to all the little cafes and explore that big mansion with the gardens, they actually get to go rollar skating around a couple times and ride gogoats like they live kalos life to the fullest

sometimes when they study at night he goes to her room and just chills with her on her bed (she has a huge bed and it’s really comfortable compared to his). they take turns reading the material out loud and leaf. really likes it when he reads she just lays there and stares at him and he. has a great voice shes dying a little here guys //

leaf always felt a little bit homesick. once when they were chilling in her bed she asked green if he missed home. he kinda sat there for a bit before answering with a “no, not really. it’s actually kind of nice to get away from everyone. there no real pressure to be anyone or do anything.” 

she wasnt exaclty sure what he meant but lowkey. he was actually talking. about her and him. because in kanto they’ve been rivals for so long it’d be weird to hang out with her and go see places like they do there. but no one in kalos really know them so hes just.,. ehuhhhhhh i dont wanna go home

okay ANOTHER THING THAT HAPPENED IN KALOS WAS THIS: at some point, one of the students at their school fell desperately in love with leaf and she. didn’t even like him at all. like he was just some persistent rich creep so yes. im doing this. no one can stop me. to get him to give up she asked green to pretend to be her boyfriend for like. a day or two just so he’d leave her alone. 

OFC GREENS LIKE SMIRKING THE WHOLE TIME SHES ASKING HIM THIS AND SHES BLUSHING AND EMBARRASSED BUT SHES TRIED EVERYTHING ELSE. 

greens actually a little irritated by this and is kinda ehh at first because. he doesnt wanna fool around and then actually catch feelings by accident (he doesn’t want to temp god like this hes already enjoying their time together) 

but shes. desperate and so after a few more pleads he.,. agrees and she kind of feels bad. so she apologizes for dragging him into this and then. she asks him “Can…can you handle it?” she didn’t mean it as an insult or anything she MEANT ARE YOU COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO DO IT

but what HE HEARD was a CHALLENGE so he just. stops. and turns to her. and he grabs her by her waist and pulls her REAL close to him and leans in and just “Can you?” with the widest smirk and like. the sexiest voice. and she just becomes this blushing terrible mess and shes stammering over all her words and he just fokijnff laughs because god. this is gonna be fun. 

fhjkf this is horrible okay so. the next day at school ofc hes true to his word so here we go. they pretend like theyre going out. and its the biggest scoop of the whole place. girls are crying, teachers are shocked. in the distance, sirens.

green is a pro at this bc he teases her enough as is, now he just needs to take it a little further and he’s actually enjoying the reactions he’s getting from her. like he can fuckin gently grab her hand and she turns into a mess like why did i ask him to do this i am an idiot

when they get home that night green is just laughing his ass off because she., is terrible at this and he cant believe it. she makes up some excuse and after some banter and making fun of her, green tells her that if she really wants this to look convincing, she gotta get better control over it. hes smirking the whole time. so she gets even more flustered and asks if he has any great ideas, to which he replies yes.

lets practice, he says. and she if confused and honestly a little scared. she asks how and he actually. sighs and sits down in front of her and for once, is actually smiling instead of smirking. so he adds a “Don’t freak out.” before,. gently taking her hands in his. 

shes trembling and takes a deep breath before lacing her fingers with his and this. actually turns into a nice kind of moment. the whole time hes watching her eyes. and he can see shes still nervous so he tells her. “How about we pretend like… we’re actually together for a while.” 

and shes blushing like hell because oh my god shes liked him for so long and this is so nice with him but it actually hurts a little that its not real

so he,. slips his hands around her waist and pulls close and presses her against him and slowly nuzzles his nose in her hair 

and hes. actually kind of enjoying this. 

and this feeling boils in the pit of his stomach as his lungs fill with the scent of her hair and it sends shivers over his skin and he feels his hands tracing over the small of her back and the warmth of her body on his and through the foggy blurry haziness in his head the only thought that comes out is ‘Oh no.’

and then BAM one of their caretakers slams the door open with a “Hey kids, dinner is ready!” and green IMMEDATLY grabs her arms and pushes her away and his face his red. She responds with a shocked quiet “Oh, I hope I wasn’t inturrupting-” 

and they BOTH CUT HER OFF STAMMERING AND STUTTERING WITH “No it wasn’t what it looks like-!” “We were just- uh- practicing-!” “FOR THE SCHOOL DRAMA COMING UP-” “YEAH-” and shes just. giggling and a little surprised with an “Oh! Could’ve fooled me!” before she leaves. 

and green and leaf are just standing there in awkward silence and leaf is rubbing her arm while green is rubbing the back of his neck and she leaves with a brisk “I-I think we should go get dinner-” before they both go downstairs

the next day it turns out that rich creep was too heartbroken from seeing her with green the day before that he transfered schools entirely, so oh, I guess we don’t need to keep up the act anymore, and green answers with a yeah, cool, and ignores the small feelings of disapointment and covers it up by going back to his usual snarky self 

he forces himself not to think about this for a long time because he doesnt wanna get caught up in the feels. Leaf, however, thinks about it all the time because it was really nice, but green doesnt bring it up and they were just pretending anyway hes just used to being a flirt it wasnt a big deal for him

(it was)

that was the first time theyd ever been that close and also. the last time until saffron

they have a lot of adventures here that i cant. fit it all here but they had a really good time

[triciya]

An Addict’s Premonition

@blame-it-on-weed

“The addiction is each other. A sick twist in their understanding of love.”

(AKA the one where the Squip shocks Jeremy every time he speaks or touches Michael.)

Word Count: 2563

Warnings (general): Arguments, Angst, Broken Bones, Depression, Kind of suicidal thoughts, smut later on if ya’ll want. Implied past self harm. Kidnapping (not the main characters). PTSD with said character.

Chapter 1

The floor of the school hallway creaked as the mass of students hurried to their last lesson of the day. The air was humid and everyone had taken all their clothes off to the last layer, busily chatting with their peers or sauntering with their head drooped because of the heat. Sweat and skin bore down on New Jersey, saffron yellow rays of fire pounding onto the people and concrete.

Take off your jacket Jeremy.

You’re getting more built up each day, those push ups are paying off.

No.

I told you to wear a tank top for a reason, now come on. Don’t you want girls all over you? You`ll be loved.

… Fine.

The squip lounged in the back of his mind as he pulled off his black bomber jacket, a white tank top stretched over his growing muscles.

“The developers have said it should be comi- dude. What the fuck.” Michael stopped mid-sentence, eyeing Jeremy up and down, “What treadmill ran you over?”

“Oh. Squip said to exercise more, no big deal. Plus, the weather is melting my skin off.” Jeremy blushed, slightly flustered and insecure.

“Dude. That’s like… impressive.” Michael’s eyebrow was raised and ignoring the people that kept bumping into his shoulder unintentionally as they passed, he shook his head in disbelief, pouting, “My little Jere-bear becoming a big buff man! Woof!”

Jeremy scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, slouching slightly. Of course, he straightened up once the squip coughed in his head, a warning, “I mean, how can you wear that hoodie all day every day? You’re going to overheat.”

“I’m fine.” He mumbled, his tone changing instantly, pushing Jeremy slightly so he would continue walking instead of blocking the hallway, “Anyway,” He changed the subject quickly with a wave of his hand, “Like I was saying, Life is Strange has a confirmed season two and a small prologue, kind of, is available to play. You should come over to mine after school and we should try it out.”

Video games aren’t cool Jeremy, you should stop spending so much time playing them. Better yet, stop spending time with Michael.I keep telling you this every single day.

Shut up. I’ve said no. You aren’t changing my mind.

The squip stayed silent, clearly disapproving as Jeremy grinned over at the boy he’d been best friends with for twelve years, “Totally! I’d skip the last lesson but I’m kinda failing history.”

“Dude, I told you, History is cool. You can study with me!” Michael skipped a little, it was true, history was the only lesson other than music that interested that kid. It was almost like a story apparently, a novel waiting to be read. An alternate universe with elegance, religion, gender inequality and racism. Maybe a little touchy and horrible as places to live in, but interesting nevertheless.

“Yea, but you like African Tribes, pre-historic humans, world catastrophes! Not… the founding fathers.”

“It all comes together to form today, y'know, everything plays an important part. The butterfly effect or some shi-”

“Jerry! Dude!” Jake came stumbling towards the pair, arm firmly wrapped around Rich’s shoulder, a friendly gesture.

“Jeremy…” He replied awkwardly, everyone was getting his name wrong. Well, at least they knew him at all, progress is progress. Michael stayed silent, frowning slightly.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. Uh,” Jake snorted as Rich started chortling, “I’m having a party at my place on Saturday, You should join everyone!”

This is your chance, Jeremy! Say, “Yea, I’ll see you there dude!  There’ll be booze, right?” Then give him a fist bump.

Jeremy tilted his head, play rehearsal coming to his aid as he smirked (something that the squip had taught him to do correctly), “Yea, I’ll see you there, dude! There’ll be booze, right?” He lifted his fist up which Jake returned.

“Of course! We’ll get pissed! It’s Halloween!” He started to walk off and Jeremy turned as he walked by, still in awe at how people were approaching him. As though he was cool.

That’s how it’s done.

Shit, squip. You know what you’re doing. I’ve never been invited to a party before!

I know.

Jeremy turned to Michael who had slowly started walking, “Did you see that!?” He screamed, grinning. Leaning his arm on his shoulder, “I can’t believe we got invited to Jake’s party! The biggest party of the fall! Our last year and I`m finally getting somewhere!“

“Well, uh, have fun I guess?” Michael shrugged, throwing Jeremy’s arm off and pulling his sleeves back to his elbows.

Jeremy stopped and looked at him with a confused expression, shoes screeching on the floor and crossing his arms, “You aren’t coming?”

He avoided his gaze, “I wasn’t invited.” They veered left into the class, most students already there, sitting on the desks and fanning themselves with text books and make-shift origami fans.

Jeremy waved his hand dismissively, “Bro, ‘course you were. Join me, it’ll be great.”

“I won’t feel like I’m supposed to be there. Out of place.” They flopped down into their seats, the scorching rays of light from the window thankfully avoiding their desks which were opposite each other, Jeremy sat backwards on his chair so he could chat to Michael.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, c'mon!”

“Ugh, ok. Here,” He pulled out a handful of sour candies from his hoodie pocket, Warheads, “I’ll have the green ones, you’’re the pink this time.”

Jeremy hummed, their faces scrunching up simultaneously as they swallowed them.

“But I won’t stay lon-”

“Jeremy! Why didn’t you answer my messages?” A shrill voice split Michael’s voice in half, flats slapping against the floor and a shimmer of gold hair passing everyone by as Brooke confronted Jeremy. Her eyebrows were furrowed and arms crossed, smelling of honeycomb and chocolate.

Play it off.

Jeremy grimaced, “I’m sorry, my phone was off. I was at Michael’s.” He pointed towards the guy in question, apologetically smiling to his pissed off girlfriend.

Jeremy. You’ve got to listen to me. My calculations do say that Michael is the only thing in our way.

“Oh. Hey! God, are you still wearing that old thing. You’ll overheat, Michael. Seriously, take my water.” Brooke fished out a water bottle from her Gucci bag.

“That’s what I’ve been telling him!” Jeremy took her hand and threaded their fingers together, something the Squip told him to do whenever she was upset.

“Whatever. Don’t do it again.” She stopped and pouted, looking like a kicked puppy. She was always insecure about herself and he hated making her feel bad but his Player One always came first.

Kiss her. She needs emotional support and desires physical contact when feeling negative emotions.

“C'mere.” Jeremy drawled, placing his hands on hips, one arm around her back once she started to lean down, a blush dusting over her cheeks. Their noses brushed together, eyes closed, Brooke fell into it, a soft sigh running smoothly between their joined faces. His lips were chapped from hours of biting them whilst hers were soft, clear lipgloss making them move easily against each other as it intensified.

Jeremy didn’t feel anything for her.

Don’t get him wrong, she was such, such a good friend. Always there when he felt his worst and Michael couldn’t be there. She had witnessed multiple of his mental breakdowns, much to the squip’s dismay, and still loved him to the bone. But he didn’t love her back. She was a pawn in his game. It was dumb. Hurtful. Disgusting. But the squip said it was the only way.

As long as Jeremy kept her happy, which he really did try, he didn’t feel as bad about it. He’ll let her go gracefully when the time comes. Not like those guys that break up over text, such as her last boyfriend.

The bell interrupted them and Brooke gave him a shy smile, skipping over to the front of the class where her seat was books clutched against her chest.

When Jeremy turned to ask Michael something, he was already gone, his chair still pulled out from under the table and green wrappers littering his desk.

 The class finished abruptly, a technical problem with the computer caused it to cut out in the middle of class and they had to read out of a textbook for the rest of the lesson. Of course, no one did. When the bell rung,  Jeremy got his things together slowly, knowing well enough that the onslaught of students would crush him against the door if he didn’t go last.

He was worried. Like, really really worried about Michael. Sure, he skips lessons constantly but not once he’s already in the class, not unless he was having a panic attack.

The school was mostly empty of people by the time Jeremy got to his and Michael’s meeting spot near the fire escape door opposite the art rooms. Thankfully, he was there, leaning against the wall browsing through Tumblr on his phone. He looked rough. Hair dishevelled, back hunched and hoodie bunched up with wrinkles in awkward places.

“Hey. Are you ok?”

“Oh, what? Uh yea, yea I’m ok.” Michael jumped up, startled.

“Dude, you left in the middle of lesson. Don’t you trust me to tell me things?” Jeremy crossed his arms, slightly disappointed and upset, @I don`t want you dealing with attacks by yourself.”

“Of course I trust you! It’s just, nothing. I felt a little queasy, not a panic attack and you were occupied so I didn’t want to disturb you.” Michael backtracked, standing up a little straighter, “Anyway, we should get onto that new lis preview. The cruiser’s parked out back.” He managed a forced smile as Jeremy sighed, letting go.

“Fine. Just, don’t do it again without telling me.”

“Yea yea, bro.”

The car journey was comfortable, if that was the right term to use, with Michael bobbing his head to some lofi ghibli mix on youtube and Jeremy sticking his hand out of the car to feel the wind on his skin. The sun was still scorching and they had all the windows rolled down, in hope of cooling down the drive. The cruiser had spent the day meeting the heat.

Jeremy hated this. This underlying sense of unease because of the squip. He knew Michael was against it and was really worried about what it would do to him. He just wanted things to be easy. He wanted to be popular. He wanted someone to love. Christine was his original goal but as much as he likes her, he knows it won’t work out. He’s still trying of course. But for now, he’s settled on Brooke, she’s kind and sweet and doesn’t hate Michael.

Take the upgrade. He doesn’t agree with us.

Oh shut up. That’s how life works.

They pulled over into Michael’s driveway, Jeremy smiling at Michael who ignored him. He frowned, shrugging it off and pulling out his phone to see some unread texts from Brooke once he got out.

Bunn-ke: Jerry!!!

The name stuck even after they established that his name was, in fact, Jeremy.

Bunn-ke: I found this black and white kitten near my house and it’s just playing and biting my fingers!!!

Bunn-ke: It’s ADORABLE!!!

Bunn-ke: You should come over and see it! I don’t wanna take it home because then its mama won’t find him so if you can come over soon we can pet it together!!!

Ben&Jeremys: I can’t come earlier than 5 sorry. But it sounds cute, send a pic!

“Jeremy, come on.” Michael shouted from the front door, getting there without him realising it.

“Oh, yea sorry! Brooke.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket and jogged to catch up, closing the door behind him. Michael didn’t respond and instead shuffled down into the basement without a word. He didn`t seem to be avoiding him, more so lost in thought.

Bunn-ke: Oh. ok. I guess.

They flopped down into the beanbags, loading up the Life is Strange Preview. The game started, music as ethereal as ever, wrapping the room in a film of calm as they opened up bags of Doritos and marshmallows, taking sips of fanta every now and again.

Jeremy. Look at him.

He did what the squip told him to. Almost automatic, used to listening and obeying.

Look at the way he’s slouched, he bites his lips when concentrating. He’s unfit, you can tell with how his hoodie bunches up in the wrong places. All those patches just make him look like a mess. He is one by the way. How do you deal with him? He’s bringing you down.

He’s my best friend. Look, I’ve told you a million times, I’m not abandoning him.

It’s taken you months to be invited to a party! Your relationship with Brooke is on the verge of falling to pieces and Christine is further away than ever!

Christine won’t work out, she’s amazing and everything but ugh, I’m not good enough. And Brooke, I should just break up with Brooke, it feels wrong to use her like that. She’s a nice person.

“You’re mumbling.” Michael sighed, running a hand through his hair and pausing the game. He turned to look at Jeremy, eyes darkening with a silent stare, almost as though he was waiting for something.

“Oh. The squip’s just being a nuisance.”

He sighed, pulling at the strings of his hoodie in frustration and bursting.

“Seriously. I can’t do this anymore. “He threw his hands up in the air, "You’ve been getting more and more cold with me every day! What is it even saying to you! It’s talking about me isn’t it?” He nodded, taking a shuddering breath, the anger sudden.

“Micha-”

“No! I’ve had enough! I can’t stand seeing you and who you’re becoming! It’s like you don’t give a shit about how other people feel and all you need in popularity and your trusty little buddy the squip! One day you’re going to be in an asylum begging for that thing to be taken out!”

You see. He doesn’t need you. You don’t need him. He thinks you don’t give a shit, let’s show him just how much we can do that.

“Michael! You’re my best friend! Of course I care!”

“Yea, well you don’t seem to care about yourself!” Michael was shaking, lips quivering and the sound of his pacing echoed around the room, “Trust me! For once! Let’s try get rid of it! You’re cool without it. You’re you. Please.”

“You don’t understand. Without the squip, I’m just a loser.”

“Ah, I bet that’s what you think I am.”

“No, God no!” Jeremy shook his head trying to reach forward but Michael flinched.

“Don’t touch me. Go spend time with your girlfriend. We’ve been tiptoeing around each other for four months. Let me do you a favour, just leave me then. Go fuck Brooke over, go get Christine who doesn’t feel comfortable about your crush on her, go fuck Chloe. Go and live a perfect life, just don’t go crying to me when some fucking video game shit happens and the Squip starts taking control of your body.”

Jeremy felt his skin boil, dread quickly bubbling up into pure anger, “Oh, I see, so you’re jealous!”

“Jealous! Don’t you dar-”

He stood up, pointing a finger into Michael’s chest,

“You’re just jealous I have a squip and you don’t!”

Michael glared back at his best friend, “Jealous of that siri reject? Fuck no!” His voice cracked as he ran a hand through his hair.

“That I have a girlfriend and you don’t! You know what, maybe you should stop being so selfish and let me be happy for once, huh!?”

“You know nothing about me.” Michael whispered this, tears gathering in his eyes, “Get out.”

“Fine!” Jeremy picked up his jacket, slamming the door behind him and not looking back as he left through the front door and called Brooke to come pick him up.

“Fine.”

Tagged: @multiotp @nyan-nyan-nii @axel-the-flower-prince @beagle-girl-36 @crazilyawesomeme @timpaxew @cannonu @oh-my-love-I-write @jealpe12 @oh-my-mettaton @crispwiz @alice4897 @scarlet-the-cat

[its-btrz-blog]

Caraval (by Stephanie Garber) Book Review

Caraval is the first novel of author Stephanie Garber, published in 2017 by Flatiron Books.

What made me want to read it:

It's a new book on a genre I like and it received a lot of promotion. I've been seeing it everywhere and it seems like everyone has been reading it and enjoying it.

What is it about (no spoilers):

Scarllet Dragna lives with her sister Donatella under the tyrannical roof of their father, who has arranged a marriage with a mysterious count for her, with whom she corresponds.

She has dreamed, ever since she was a girl, of visiting the magical Caraval, a performance that happens once a year. This year, Scarlett receives an invitation, and along with her sister and a mysterious sailor, goes to Caraval. Once she gets there, her sister has been taken by the master and finding her is the way to win this year's game. At the same time, her wedding day approaches and so she has to find her sister and return home as soon as she can.

What I thought about it (no spoilers):

If you read the book's summary, you think you're going to be swept away to a magical world where you can get lost in. That's hardly true. I'm going to start with the world besides Caraval.

The protagonist lives on a colonized island and her father is the governor. The world seems basically some version of 1800's Britain, in terms of technology, fashion (more or less, basically the girls just wear pretty dresses anytime), morality (I guess? Since propriety and virginity seem so important). For some reason the colonized island and the island where Caraval takes place are Spanish-inspired. We get some vague mentions of continents and other colonized territories but it's barely there. There's a religion that is basically some modified Catholicism: angels, God, saints, heaven, novices, priests and a version of  a confession. You can see there wasn't much effort put into this. I guess what really mattered was the magical Caraval so the rest of world was just some slight modification of a vaguely inspired historical setting.

As for Caraval itself, it seems a weird mix of Oz and Wonderland, with colorful and odd-shaped architecture and a touch of Venice, with travel by boat in the channels. It is exhaustively described with so many metaphors and pretty words and adjectives that it gets overwhelming. However, you don't really get a grip of what Caraval is. There are magical shops, selling magical objects for unconventional paying (secrets, fears) and it's said that many people go there just for that. But the magic itself is left unexplained. Supposedly magic doesn't exist and it's simply a myth of Caraval, but you get there and that's actually not true. But we never get a hint or an explanation of how this magic works, or how it is acquired, who possesses it or not. In this way, it feels lacking because it's just used as it is convenient.

Moving on to our protagonist, Scarlett. To put it simply, she is stupid, selfish, shallow, and a hypocrite. That's not how she describes herself, or how other characters see her, but it's what you get from reading the text. Let's start with stupid. She jumps into the cold sea fully clothed and with shoes. She is told specifically not to do that, but she is oh so modest that she does it all the same (one of her more irritating traits is her obsession with being a proper young woman – points for being shallow). Guess preserving your modesty is more important than preserving your life, oh, and others' lives too, since she ends up having to be saved by someone, putting their life also at risk (selfish, no?). Then, at some points in the game, she is given clues to find her sister. One of these mentions a very specific trait that one of the 3 people she's met has. Instead of figuring it out, like someone with a normal intellect, she spends a chapter or three after the wrong person. I find it very hard to relate to dumbed down protagonists and seeing them chase after clues that we know are obviously wrong is not entertaining. She is so obsessed with an informed trait of the master of Caraval (people say he wears top-hats) that she thinks that, of course, he is in a top-hat shaped store and everyone else didn't figure it out because she is so much smarter than them (oh, it's so obvious they ignore it). What's worse is that she think she's smart:

“She knew when she was being deceived”.

Since she is deceived by everyone and their brother, over and over again, I think it's safe to see this as a blatant lie. She accepts sleeping in a stranger's room because he's handsome, too. Life-saving skills here. Then, we are constantly, and I mean constantly, being told how much she loves her sister and how it's the only thing she can think about. Except… it's not? There is more than once instance in which she has a choice to take an action that will help her find her sister. You know what? She wastes the effort for a guy she barely knows, the first time, because he's handsome and maybe he's her true love! She can feel something special in him. The second time:

“She felt as if it shouldn’t even have been a choice. But it was a choice, which made her feel like less of a sister. Or maybe (...) mattered even more than she realized.”

At one point she says her biggest desire is to find her sister and a truth-telling device doesn't accept it. So, honestly, trying to make her this altruistic character who loves her sister so much was a very poor choice, being obviously contradicted by the actions but enforced by the narration.

We are also told she never really cared much about how she looks, but we get a detailed description of everything she wears (and others, for good measure). When meeting someone she doesn't like, her immediate reaction is:

“She imagined her to be sullen and unattractive.”

As for her hypocrisy, there are two glaring instances of it. The first is when she tells a guy that they should both turn around so they can't see the other changing clothes. After securing her modesty and her proper lady status, she then proceeds to turn around to admire his back with its hard muscles or something. He didn't ask for privacy, but she insisted on it and then does this. The second one is more hilarious, since, she is absolutely in love (and thinking of a possibility of marriage) with a person she has known for 5 days, more or less. When her sister tells her she is engaged to a man she has known for the same amount of time:

“Tella, this is wrong (...)You can’t be in love with someone you just met.”

OK, I'm going to stop talking about her. The other characters are: her sister, who cares as much for her as she is cared for, since she makes plans for both their sakes and thinks keeping her in the dark is a good idea; their abusive father, whom at last she recognizes for what he is and stops blaming herself for the abuse; her mysterious suitor, whom she never met but who sends her loving letters; the dark, handsome, mysterious stranger who is love interest number 1; the dark, handsome, mysterious stranger number two, who is the decoy and serves to complete a pseudo love triangle, or at least to create jealousy; the more mysterious Legend, whose face is unknown and who is the mastermind behind Caraval and Donatella's abduction. There are some more characters who are mostly part of the background.

About plot and narration. The plot is more concerned about Scarlett's love life than about her sister, although it tries to disguise it by repeating five times a chapter how much Scarlett loves Tella. It also keeps telling us (and everyone else) about her fiancée and how she can only stay 2 days because of her marriage. It's supposed to be some sort of obstacle for the romance but it only occupies space. Authors need to understand that their readers can retain a piece of information, even it is only mentioned once.

Also, this protagonist has a very interesting trait in that she sees her own emotions as colors. However, colors are used to such an extent, along with some nonsensical metaphors, in descriptions that sometimes I didn't even know what I was reading anymore. I get it that it's trying to be different and deep and beautiful and magical, but there are limits and this crosses over to the ridicule.

“She felt five different shades of berry-colored foolish.”

“ (…) yet she felt… disappointed. It came in cool shades of forget-me-not blue, which wrapped around her like evening fog”

It's a bit silly, but could be excused if not used to exhaustion with some very elaborate and idiotic prose. Her sister's smell is “Sharp molasses and wild dreams”. Other things are “smelling of flowers and flutes and long-lost love.” And then:

“Death was the color purple. Purple wallpaper and purple temperatures.”

“Cerulean blue. Apricot orange. Saffron yellow. Primrose pink.”

We also fall on the ridicule and end up with redundancies like this one. Cerulean is a shade of blue already, isn't it? It's not evocative of a specific shade from an object, like the other elements, so it destroys the effect. This is trying too much.

To finish, the handsome men have “a look made of lies and sinful things”, “smile turned seductive, all shameless curves and immoral promises”, and are  “made of polished boots and neatly tied-back hair.”  and “all kinds of tragic and lovely”, with eyes “two hungry pools of liquid amber fringed by dark lashes” and “Light brown, the color of caramel and liquid amber lust.”

Enough of these, then. I'm only going to add (without spoiling) that the story itself ended with little impact and that the recourse to some events for shock effect and angst and dramatic declarations followed by making them inconsequential the next chapter is a cheap recourse that I personally hate seeing used.

Conclusion:

As a fantasy it is a lame attempt and as a romance or as a compelling story it is equally mediocre. If you like easy reads and simplistic stories that make you not think and are a fan of elaborate senseless prose that is good for pretty quotes, and some splash of instant romance (I wouldn't call it that) with handsome strangers, maybe this is for you. It wasn't for me though, and I rated it one star.

[My review of this book is also here.]