#Kimberley Tell

[docpiplup]

Upcoming series: Ena

In September, the filming of Ena began, a biographical series that will focus on the life of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, queen of Spain through her marriage to Alfonso XIII between May 31, 1906 and April 14, 1931, after being the monarchy deposed later by the proclamation of the Second Republic. Great-grandmother of the current king Philip VI of Spain, of whom she was godmother at his baptism. Throughout six chapters, the series will tell the life of Victoria Eugenie and at the same time offer a portrait of a time that changed the world, the first half of the 20th century, from 1905 to 1945. Born on October 24, 1887 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Ena was the daughter of Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice, youngest daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her godmother was Eugenia de Montijo, empress consort of France as Napoleón III's wife. The name of the series comes from what her friends and family called her since she was little, Ena.

The fiction is based on the novel of the same name by Pilar Eyre. Javier Olivares, who was behind the acclaimed Isabel and El Ministerio del Tiempo, will be the showrunner and plot manager for Ena. In addition to Olivares, the script is written by Isa Sánchez, Daniel Corpas and Pablo Lara Toledo. The series will be directed entirely by women: Anaïs Pareto, director of the series as a whole, in addition to four episodes, and Estel Díaz, who will direct two episodes.

“Ena is the portrait of historical moments that seem distant but are not so far away, because without them we would not understand the times we live in now,” Olivares declares in the press release sent by TVE. The writer and screenwriter remembers that Victoria Eugenie “fought to be happy in a bitter time, in which she witnessed two world wars, a civil war and a great pandemic, the tortuously called Spanish flu.”

For Pilar Eyre, author of the novel, she was "an extraordinary woman: cultured, supportive, liberal-minded, modern and very loyal." And she is excited because "finally all Spaniards can know" the story of a "misunderstood" woman. in their time, which they will always consider foreign." It is a fiction co-produced by RTVE with Ena La Serie AIE, La Cometa TV and Zona App. José Pastor, director of Film and Fiction at RTVE, has pointed out that "it is a "RTVE is proud to be able to portray this interesting historical character, from the point of view of two women directors and with Javier Olivares as showrunner, in one of its best series."

The Spanish actress of Anglo-Danish descent Kimberly Tell will play Ena and Joan Amargós will play Alfonso XIII. For her part, Elvira Mínguez will play Maria Christina von Habsburg-Lothringen, mother of Alfonso XIII. The cast is completed by Lucía Guerrero (Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), Raúl Mérida (Alfonso of Orleans and Bourbon), Juan Gea (Álvaro Figueroa y Torres, Count of Romanones), María Morales (María del Carmen Angoloti y Mesa, Duchess of Victoria), Pedro Mari Sánchez (Rodrigo de Saavedra y Vinent, Marquis of Villalobar), Luisa Gavasa (Eugenia de Montijo) and Joaquín Notario (José de Saavedra y Salamanca, Marquis of Viana)

Mariano Peña will play Miguel Primo de Rivera; Jaume Madaula will play the anarchist Mateo Morral, author of the attack committed at the royal wedding; Tomás del Estal will be Emilio María de Torres y González-Arnáu, and Ángel Ruiz will once again give life to Federico García Lorca, a character he already played in El Ministerio del Tiempo, among others.

The series will be filmed entirely in natural exteriors and interiors, like the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia), the Palace of Santoña (Madrid), the Palace of Fernán Núñez (Madrid), the Fort of San Francisco (Guadalajara) and the Magdalena Palace (Santander), built in 1911 by the City Council as a tribute to the monarchs and where Ena spent a good part of her summers in Spain, accompanied by the Royal Family. Filming for the series will continue until the end of December.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the Magdalena Palace is going to be an important location during the series as a summer palace, the main filming location in Gran Hotel, and in that series Ena appeared in the episode 3×13, played by Aída Filx.

Apart from that, are we getting an Olivaresverse (XD)? Most likely not, and it's just references about his previous works as a showrunner, but there are connections between Isabel, Emdt and Ena: Michelle Jenner starring Isabel as Isabella I of Castile, then appearing in a couple of scenes in Emdt episode 1×04 and being an important figure in the lore as the foundress of the ministry (& Eusebio Poncela playing as Cisneros in both series, and also he played Cisneros in the film La Corona Partida and the Carlos Rey Emperador series); Alfonso XIII is a descendant of Isabella I of Castile; Ángel Ruiz appeard as Lorca in Emdt in 4 episodes and now he is on Ena playing as Lorca again, we don't know yet how much screentime he will get or which will his role be (secondary character most likely), but it's great to see more about him!

[espeliculando]

Puntuación: ⭐️⭐️ de 5

Operación Barrio Inglés

Operación: Tampoco es tan mala.

Por mgarsos

Mucho se ha hablado de Operación Barrio Inglés, casi nada bueno y es cierto que la serie tiene muchísimas carencias, pero he de decir, que en su conjunto y si lo que buscas es un simple pasatiempo, se deja ver. Pero tras ese maltrato en parrilla y ser denostada por la crítica desde sus inicios, ya presagiabamos un triste desenlace para esta ficción. Pese a ello logra concluir con cierto talante y dignidad.

Su historia es sencilla, genérica, quizás demasiado blanca y evidente, lo que le resta credibilidad. Debido a esto, el guión es demasiado plano y da lugar a situaciones absurdas.

Una maravillosa Aria Bedmar hace malabares con un texto que no da para más. Completan el triángulo Vives, con mejor acento pero menos creible y Cortada, más creible pero con peor acento. Desaprovecha grandes nombres como María Morales, Juan Gea, Paco Tous o Carlos Olalla, que podían haber marcado la diferencia. Destacamos especialmente entre el reparto a Sue Flack, Beatriz Arjona, Kimberley Tell y Marco Cáceres.

En el apartado visual cuenta con una fotografía en la que nada es excelente pero todo funciona medianamente bien. Su diseño de producción se percibe austero y muchas veces la utillería rezuma cartón piedra. Pero si realmente debemos destacar algo nefasto en este apartado, es sin duda el aspecto y la calidad de los efectos visuales, los cuales dejan mucho que desear.

La música por su parte no desentona, pero tampoco aporta demasiado.

Operación Barrio Inglés partía con demasiadas pretensiones que debido a su mala gestión de recursos, el maltrato en parrilla y sus múltiples errores, llegó simplemente a mero entretenimiento de fácil digestión. Si la ves teniendo esto en cuenta, incluso puede que llegues a disfrutar de ella.

Puedes verla gratis en Rtve Play.

GRACIAS POR LEERNOS Y RECUERDA: Espeliculando es un pequeño proyecto que puedes apoyar de forma gratuita compartiendo el contenido que generamos en tus redes sociales. También puedes apoyar el proyecto económicamente donando desde 1€ a través de Paypal .me

[nerdish-nostalgia-revived]

"I love you, Egg and I would very much like to marry you. Just haven't found the courage to ask you"

"So you mean you've just been dithering?"

"Well, yes"

A little gif set to commemorate Jenksel's and my first anniversary of watching this episode. What a wild ride it has been since then!

[papirouge]

Are they gonna remake RE5 too?

I'm lowkey scared about what they gonna do with Sheva. Is she gonna look African or are they gonna keep making her look like an exotical/brown skin version on a White model because japanese charadesigners cannot design actual African characters??

[flowery-laser-blasts]

"Ah, Ronald. Remember when Shego and I tried to kill you and Kimberley-Ann? Again, sorry for that."

"All water under the bridge Dr. D."

Based on/requested by @bcbdrums' post

The worst thing about this, is that this literally happened to me two days ago while finishing up this drawing. Should I have known that my colleagues would give me 0% champagne at 10 in the morning? Maybe; did I think they are wild partyanimals and drink this early because it's an anniversary and I just join in with them despite having a very low alcohol tollerance and getting placebo'd into being tipsy because I can't tell the difference between 0% and actual champagne? Definetely.

I was embarassed and needless to say these two illustrations will be forever tied to this corememory.

But here, have old Rufus enjoying a butter cookie.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kimberley Richards at HuffPost:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) recently slammed Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, over his views on rural America. During an appearance on a Tuesday segment of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the governor criticized Vance for the way he characterized “small-town America” in his 2016 bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.”

“People like JD Vance know nothing about small-town America,” said Walz, who was raised in rural Nebraska. “My town had 400 people in it, 24 kids in my graduating class — 12 were cousins.” “And he gets it all wrong,” he continued. “It’s not about hate, it’s not about collapsing in. The golden rule there is mind your own damn business.” Walz then said that the Republican Party has “destroyed rural America” through their policies. “They’ve divided us. They’re in our exam rooms, they’re telling us what books to read,” he said. “And I think what Kamala Harris knows is, bringing people together around the shared values — strong public schools, strong labor unions that create the middle class, health care that’s affordable and accessible — those are the things.” The Minnesota governor later emphasized his point that Republicans have created division, saying, “We can’t even go to Thanksgiving dinner with our uncle, because you end up in some weird fight that is unnecessary.”

Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Tuesday, Minnesota Governor and potential Harris VP pick Tim Walz (D) scored Trump VP pick and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance (R) good by saying that Vance “know[s] nothing about small-town America.

Walz deserves to be Harris’s VP choice.

From the 07.23.2024 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

[mybeingthere]

Pippin Drysdale (born 1943) is an Australian ceramic artist and art teacher. Her works are known for their intensity of colour and linear markings that interpret the artist's relationship with the Australian landscape. She was recognized as one of Western Australia’s State Living Treasures.

She tells: ‘I am inspired by landscape and am driven to capture its essential beauty. My porcelain vessels record my journeys through Australia’s unique and varied environments. The various series trace my travels to the Pinnacles north of Perth, to the Eastern Goldfields and the salt lakes in the interior of Western Australia. A digression to Pakistan resulted in a series of vibrant works inspired by that impressive land and the largest single work I have ever made. Visits to the Tatami Desert saw a more delicately decorated collection and another to the north of the State – the Kimberley and interaction with Aboriginal people is resulting in another series of really strong collections.’ – Pippin Drysdale, 2022

[fellow-travelers-fic-recs]

Fellow Travelers Fic Recs - Top Rated Fics (by hits and kudos on Ao3)

Be sure to show the authors some love and appreciation with kudos and comments on the fics you enjoyed!

✨ Likes are lovely, but please reblog to share this content with your mutuals! 😁

🟪 sacred word, bind me by @brokendrums // brokendrums [E, 8K] Tim takes a vow of silence, Hawk vows to break it.

🟪 we are tragically meant to be by @fuddlewuddle // fuddlewuddle [E, 1.5K] He looks softer in his sleep, Hawk muses; fingertips lightly skimming over the ridge of Tim’s cheek bone, the curve of his ear feeling the small indent from where the frames of his spectacles rest whenever he’s awake. Part 1 of fellow travelers

🟪 feeding on chaos and living in sin by @fuddlewuddle // fuddlewuddle [E, 2K] Tim doesn't expect Hawk to call. And even when he does, the call doesn't go as Tim expects. But then he should probably stop trying to predict what Hawkins Fuller will do. Part 2 of fellow travelers

🟪 more. by @redmyeyes // redmyeyes [E, 1.8K] "You would drop to your knees and blow me right here if I told you to," Hawk said, marveling at the realization. Part 2 of Fellow Travelers * *Red has their own series, not to be confused with fuddlewuddle's series of the same name. Two different series'--same name!

🟪 I'd walk a thousand miles without my shoes to make it work by @fuddlewuddle // fuddlewuddle [E, 1.5K] The strip of milk on Tim’s top lip gives Hawk ideas. Part 3 of Fellow Travelers

🟪 all through the midnight. by southernkiss [E, 9K] Hawk's eyes burned with lust and something dark, something that both terrified and excited Tim.

🟪 teacher's pet by @ascandalinpink // ascandalinpink [E, 10K, WIP] Tim’s first class for today is his first class ever in this particular elective. It’s a foreign affairs course taught by professor Fuller, whom Tim has never met, but he’s heard about him. All high praise, which leaves this course highly sought after.

As the professor enters the classroom and the chatter around him dies down, Tim understands perhaps why this course is so popular. And it might have nothing to do with the curriculum itself.

Or, Tim starts sleeping with and develops feelings for his college professor.

🟪 have you ever? by Cozy_coffee [M, 1.4K] “Has anyone ever licked that cute little ass of yours?”

A fic in which a bold Hawk introduces a somewhat shy Tim to the pleasures of rimming.

🟪 a joy, hard learned by @partialresonance // partialresonance [E, 12K, WIP] Tim and Hawk get snowed in together.

Later, Tim comes back from the war a changed man.

🟪 perhaps, perhaps, perhaps it's real by drabbleswabbles [NR, 16K, WIP] And then it happened. The metallic screech of the gate, the shuffle of men stepping out beyond the prison walls. And suddenly there he was. His hair was shorter than he’d ever seen it. And his glasses were different. But it was him. Their eyes met. Tim stared at him in wide-eyed shock before recognition melted his features into a confused outrage.

Basically a fix-it in which Hawk finds himself back in the early 70s.

🟪 sweet by Kimora_V [M, 1.4K] Tim noticed how Hawk is being sweet lately.

Or, what happened before the cuddle scene in episode 5.

🟪 this spells love by Cozy_coffee [M, 540] When Hawk gently cups his cheek and calls him ‘my beautiful boy’ and looks at him with nothing but pure, everlasting love, that is all Tim’s heart needed in this tender moment.

🟪 flame trees by @waterlilyrose // WaterlilyRose [G, 1K] (“I received a package from Marcus a few days later. It had been sent by Tim. I thought that Tim’s last gift (and a gentle fuck you to me) was that paperweight. But no...”

“What did he send?” Kimberley asked gently. Her father had looked at her and almost seemed ready to tell her… but then he closed his mouth.

“More than I deserved” was all the answer he gave. Kimberley wondered if he would even be Hawkins Fuller anymore if he didn’t have some secrets.)

Or, Hawk keeps Tim's final parting gift close as he faces his mortality.

🟪 lost somewhere by @trainofcommand // anagrrl [E, 1K] Humming to himself a little, fingers digging into his palms briefly, Tim leans forward.

🟪 together, here and now by Kimora_V [NR, 1.8K] Hawk and Tim are happy, set in the modern day. Because I am just tired of sad stories all the time.

🟪 love by ikharys [E, 1.8K] "It's going to be okay," Hawk whispers.

Something in Tim's eyes makes it clear that he doesn't believe it, but he's not willing to argue.

Or, the cabin scene, but a little different.

🟪 mad about the boy by @redmyeyes redmyeyes [E, 2.8K] “Tell me,” Hawk said, tilting Tim’s head back to give his forehead a quick kiss, “what does my boy want for his birthday?”

“Am I still? Your boy?” Part 3 of Fellow Travelers

🟪 you're my religion by anonymous [E, 956] After Tim and Hawk’s conversation on the bench, Tim does go to Church, and eventually finds that Hawk has attended the same mass.

Things go awry in the chapel.

🟪 i want you to fuck me by @carnivalrow // nightfall_in_winter [E, 2K] THAT scene from Episode 8 but slightly different. :) Chapter 1 is Hawk's POV, Chapter 2 is Tim's POV.

🟪 who do you belong to? by mrschesapeakeripper [E, 2.5K] “That’s my good boy.” All those years later, and the praise still made him blush.

Or, the missing scene from the mutual masturbation episode. None of that "no touching" nonsense.

[jjsmaybank20]

heyyyy! can i request a leighton murray x younger finkle sibling fic where they try to hide it from kimberley

Sneaking

Leighton Murray x fem!Finkle!reader

Summary: You are Kimberly's younger sister, and when you and Leighton start dating, you sneak around behind your sister's back.

Warnings: fluff, slight smut

Word Count: 1.1k

A/N: Hope you like it!

navigation  the sex lives of college girls masterlist

---

When Kimberly mentioned that she had a younger sister, the suitemates were expecting a younger, maybe even more annoying version of her. When she described you as a leather-jacket type with tattoos but with manners that rivaled her own, the girls obviously doubted her. Especially since Kimberly said that her ex-boyfriend looked like Shawn Mendes, and he ended up looking like… well, definitely not like Shawn Mendes. They thought that maybe you had gotten one tattoo, or worn a brown leather jacket once, and now that was how Kimberly described you. 

But you. Oh, you. She didn’t exaggerate at all. In fact, she probably underexaggerated. You went to a school near Essex, and when you finally found time to come and visit your sister, Kimberly’s roommates couldn’t hide their shock if they even tried. 

You rolled up in front of the dorms on your motorcycle, white t-shirt hugging your muscles and full-sleeve tattoos on display. The girls stood in shock as Kimberly ran towards you and jumped into your arms, you barely catching her before turning your bike off and walking forward with you still supporting her. 

“This is a prank, right? Like, she hired someone to act like her sister or something. There is no way they’re related,” Whitney states. When she gets no response, she looks at the other two girls for backup. She sees both Bela and Leighton staring at you with their jaws dropped, and just a little bit of drool escaping from Leighton’s mouth.

She taps her blonde friend’s chin, which makes Leighton snap out of her stupor and subtly wipe her mouth. When you finally get to your sister’s friends, you put her down and stick out your hand. “Hey, y’all! I’m Y/N Finkle, Kimberly’s younger sister. I’ve sure heard a lot about you.” Bela’s eyes seem to bug out of her head even further if possible as she exclaims, “Younger?!” 

You let out a laugh that makes Leighton’s heart eyes grow somehow bigger, and you reply, “Yes, ma’am. One year, to be exact. Most people can’t tell, given the height difference.” The girls nod, noting the foot difference. All of you stand there, looking at each other for a second longer before Whitney claps her hands and says, “Okay! How about we go to the room and get to know each other better?” All of you agree, and you follow behind the girls, not being able to help the way that your eyes keep drifting towards a certain blonde.

---

After that day, the girls took a strong liking to you, especially Leighton. You quickly noticed the attention she would give you when you hang out in a group, and soon you began inviting her to hang out with you one-on-one. 

You would never assume someone’s sexuality, so you never made a move on Leighton no matter how much you wanted to. On the other side of things, Leighton was becoming increasingly frustrated with you, and how you never could get the hint that she just wanted to make out with you already. 

One day, you took her to a movie theater. Every time you took a handful of popcorn, your hands seemed to brush together. Finally, Leighton couldn’t take anymore of your prolonged stares at the side of her head. She muttered, “Fuck it,” underneath her breath, and as you started to ask, “Wha-” She straddled your lap and smashed your lips together. 

Let’s just say that you have no clue what happened in the movie, nor did you really care all that much. 

Since then, all of your hang outs with Leighton had been classified as dates. It wasn’t long before you asked her to be your girlfriend, and she said yes. Your relationship was perfect. Except for one little thing. Leighton didn’t want to tell Kimberly about it, feeling like she would think that this was revenge for Kimberly sneaking around with her brother. 

The other girls knew, as they had walked in on the two of you making out more times than any of you could count, but Kimberly, being the clueless person she is, somehow kept missing the signs. You couldn’t help but want to tell her, as the two of you were close and usually told each other everything, but Leighton insisted, and you couldn’t deny her.

Sneaking around began to get more difficult, as Kimberly had a habit of not knocking and an impossible talent of barging in at the absolute worst time. Now, she definitely wasn’t stupid, but her denial ability was top-notch. It wasn’t until she caught you and Leighton with your pants down, literally, that she finally realized what was going on. 

Kimberly opened the door to Leighton’s room, asking, “Hey, Leighton, have you seen my- OH MY GOD!” She quickly covers her eyes, trying to erase the sight in front of her from her memory. There you are, her younger sister, knuckle deep in her roommate and friend. 

You scramble off of Leighton, quickly covering her up, as she was fully naked and you still had your boxers and sports bra on. Kimberly quickly walks out of the room as best she can with her eyes still closed, bumping into the doorframe on her way out. You let out a sigh before turning to your girlfriend and murmuring, “I’ll talk to her.” Leighton nods, and you pull on your shorts and go into the living room.

You sit down next to your sister, who quickly turns to you and accusingly exclaims, “You’re sleeping with Leighton? Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we told each other everything!” You put your hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down. “Kimberly, breathe. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but Leighton didn’t want to just yet. Also, I’m not just sleeping with her, we’re dating.” 

Kimberly can’t think of anything to say as she stares at you. She finally points a finger in your face and as threateningly as she can says, “Don’t you dare hurt her. She’s already been through a lot.” You nod and laugh at Kimberly’s attempt to scare you, and you wrap your arms around her shoulders.

“Wouldn’t even dream of hurting her, sis. I’m glad that she has someone like you in her corner. You’re good for her.” Kimberly smiles at you. You both hear Leighton clear her throat from the door of her room before she mumbles, “Yeah, I don’t know about that. She keeps stopping me from getting some.” Kimberly’s face flushes red again as she remembers what she had interrupted, and she begins to profusely apologize. 

You laugh before calming your sister down, and she goes back into her room mumbling something about never being able to look at you the same. Leighton comes over to the couch and sits down on your lap. You look at her before asking, “Doesn’t that feel better? Like a weight has been lifted off of you?” She shrugs, but then nods. You smile at her before she mumbles, “Now, where were we?” Let’s just say that that was not the only time that Kimberly got traumatized by the two of you.  

---

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[honkytonk-hangman]

Just Another Thing – [3]

WALT ‘FINN’ FINNEGAN X READER/OC

Summary: God help anyone who might’ve thought a nice, stable relationship might bring some kind of change to Walt Finnegan’s usual mischief and mild-hedonism. God especially help them if they also thought a girlfriend would provide any sort of calming influence over him.

She definitely influenced him, anyone could tell you that, unfortunately just never in any way that could even remotely be described as ‘calm’.

Warnings: cussing, flirting, illusions to sexxxxx. reader/OC is named Kimberly/Kimber, but it is still written in second person and her name shouldn’t come up very often.

“You know, I’m pretty sure this counts as cheating at our little game,” Finn says in a sing-song voice when he jogs up to the fencing around the baseball pitch between innings. It was a balmy Saturday afternoon and at some point between this inning and the last, you’d shown up at the front of the stands beside Beverly. You stand to meet him, and he whistles slowly upon seeing the baseball jersey you have tied into a cropped top. He figures it must be one of Beverly’s.

“How do you know this isn’t serendipity at work?” you ask back, leaning right up against the fencing. Finn lifts an eyebrow but smiles. “Besides, I knew where you’d be today, I’m free tonight. I wanted to see you again,” you state matter of factly, yet still somehow very sexily. Finn pulls off his cap and holds it over his chest.

“You’re making me blush!” He teases back, before nodding in the direction of where Beverly is standing talking to Jake, feeding him little slices of oranges she has in a cup through the fencing. “I hope Bevie hasn’t told you anything bad about me,” he says.

You glance over and scrunch your nose adorably at the sickenly sweet affection between your friend and her boyfriend.

“Not anything I didn’t already know, besides, it’d only be hypocrisy,” you reply with a small shrug. Finn replaces his hat and takes up a lean against the otherside of the fence.

“How so?” he asks with a smirk. You cock your head and match his grin with your own.

“She’s friends with me, isn’t she?”

Finn stays beaming at you, leaning in even closer so your faces are barely separated by the wire between you.

“We’re all going to the Sound Machine tonight,” he tells you, eyes flickering between your eyes and lips. Your face lights up, and he feels a sudden sense of pride that he’s caused it to do so.

“I’ll be there,” you say instantly, just as one of his teammates calls out to him, the next inning about to start. Finn glances back then turns to you once again as he pushes away from the fence.

“And one more thing honey,” he calls, walking backwards back to the dugout. “Let me know the next time you plan on coming and watching me, I’ll make sure you’ve got the right shirt on!” he grins widely, and points to the number on his back just as he turns.

You walk arm and arm with Beverly through the club’s front doors, greeting Harry the doorman as he waves you both through. By now you were well known to the staff at Sound Machine, you and Harry had even had a short fling once, so your cover and drinks were always free of charge. You don’t expect that to be an issue tonight though, not when you had already planned on meeting Finn here.

Beverly quickly leads you around the dance floor and to a set of tall tables already crowded with rowdy baseball players, and the two of you are immediately welcomed as you siddle up. You barely get a chance to untuck yourself from your friend and make your way around to where Finn is sat oogling you before someone else leans over into your space.

“Well, well, well Beverly, who is your friend here?” a man you recognise as the one who threw the baseball that hit you, Roper, says. He doesnt even look at Beverly when he speaks though, his gaze trained solely on you.

“Kimberley,” you introduce yourself, holding out your hand, only a little skeezed out when instead of shaking it, he lifts it to his lips and kisses it.

“Charmed,” he says, looking you deep in the eye. You glance in Finn’s direction to find him glaring at Roper, but before you can tell him to buzz off, another hand is struck out towards you.

“I’m Dale,” the new man says, pushing in to bump Roper aside, and for politeness sake, these were Finn’s friends afterall, you take his hand, relieved when he only shakes it.

“It’s so nice to meet you both,” you tell them, rolling your eyes a little when they both immediately begin flirting heavy-handedly, complimenting your outfit and your hair, and asking about what you do at school. Eyeing Finn again, you see him throwing mental daggers at both men, though you catch his attention when he seems to worriedly look back at you.

Throwing him a wink, you flick your hair and focus back on the two men trying their damndest to be the one to take you home. You lean on the table beside you and pop your hip out, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by either of them.

“How about this;” you begin, speaking loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. Looking over at Beverly, you spot a maniacal grin on her lips as she leans up to whisper something in Jake’s ear. “If you can guess my major, I’ll let you buy me a drink,” you propose, putting on a show and laughing girlishly when both men begin to call out what they think your major might be.

“Vetenarian!”

“What? No, look at her, she’s clearly a drama student, with Beverly!”

“Astronautical Engineering,” Finn announces loudly, causing both Roper and Dale to turn and look at him like he’s insane. Clapping your hands together, you grin widely at him.

“Got it in one!” you tell him, laughing again when you see the appalled expressions on his friend’s faces. Finn smiles back, clearly having picked up on the fact you had no intention of letting any of his friends flirt with you, and pushes out of his seat, holding a hand out.

“Then I guess I get to buy you a drink, that’s my prize, right?”

You meet him on the otherside of the table, and take his hand eagerly, quickly throwing another wink back at the disappointed guys now hassling each other over apparently ruining the other’s chances.

“Right!” you say when you look back at Finn, his smile never waning as he leads you toward the bar.

When you arrive, he holds the little swivel seat steady for you as you hop up, before he takes up a lean next to you at the bar, standing close so you can hear one another above the music.

“Christ am I glad you remembered,” you huff with another roll of your eyes, jerking your head in the direction of his friends. Finn laughs.

“So am I. You nearly had me going there, giggling and all that!” He says with a small shake of his head. You cock your head at him and place a hand on the arm he has resting against the bartop.

“I’m sorry,” you begin to apologise, but he covers your hand with his own and shakes his head once more.

“No, no, that,” he gestures back to the tables. “Was extremely entertaining to watch. Not to mention satisfying.” he grins at you boyishly, but straightens briefly when the bartender approaches, placing both your drinks orders quickly before turning his ful attention back to you.

“Do you like watching, Finn?” you tease, leaning closer toward him. Finn smirks, but considers for a moment, flicking his eyes up then back to you.

“Depends on what I’m watching,” he tells you after a moment, before raking his eyes up and down your figure showily. “I would watch you do anything,” he flirts back, making you laugh.

You don’t go back to your group. You flirt shamelessly until you finish three more drinks each, at which point you slip off the stool and take his hands.

“Dance with me!” you call out over the music, already pulling him toward the dancefloor where Earth, Wind & Fire has started playing.

You can’t help but laugh in surprise, not only at how great of a dancer Finn really is, but at the way he spins and twirls you around the other dancers, singing along until your bodies crash togther once again. You reach up to wrap your arms loosely around his shoulders and neck as his own take a place at your hips, and you hold absolutely nothing back as you roll and grind them against his own.

You’re a little tipsy now, which is perhaps why you pull him closer toward you so you can speak.

“Have you ever looked at the stars?” you ask, still dancing.

“Think I’m looking at one right now,” he says matter-of-factly, making you throw your head back laughing, but you quickly shake your head.

“No, I'm serious!” you shout over the music, “We should go stargazing! I want to show you!” 

Which is exactly how you end up back at your team’s house, laying on the front lawn curled up in one another as you point out constellations to him. Just as you finish showing him the big and little dippers, you sit up partially, resting your head in your palm as you stare down at him.

“Next time I have a shift at the observatory, I’ll try and sneak you in, you can see them so much clearer there!” you gush. Finn grins up at you, and tucks an arm behidn his head.

“Already cheating and planning our next serendipitious meeting, huh?” he asks, making you slip down a little lower to hide your face partially behind his sleeve.

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay, I know that doesn’t sound very sexy,” you trail off, resting your chin on his arm.

Finn looks away from you and back to the stars, his face suddenly a mite more serious than it ever has been.

“I don’t usually do this sorta thing,” he starts, voice low. “You know, seeing girls again after the first time,” he looks back down at you then, where you nod in understanding.

“That’s okay, I don’t really either,” you admit.

“It’s different with you,” he quickly goes on, but stops himself. When he doesn’t continue after a moment's pause, you poke him.

“Why?”

Finn sucks in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds as his eyes turn away from you once again, before he lets it out.

“I don’t know,” he says, sounding unsure, but he’s quickly rolling himself over and draping an arm around your middle, so you lay face to face, only a hair's breadth away. “Maybe because you saw through all my bullshit and wanted to sleep with me anyway?”

You can’t help but shrug, a small smile curling over your face.

“I’d already decided that when we first met, I wasn’t about to let those ruses get in the way,” you tell him.

Finn smiles back, in that way that you like, with his eyes crinkling in the corners as he softly pinches your side.

“Maybe it’s because of how assertive you are, you know exactly what you want,” he adds as you squeak and jerk a little closer at his teasing. Your faces are even closer now, your noses touching, and you can’t help but shrug again.

“A lot of guys don’t, but I don’t really see that as my problem.” you say confidently, speaking nothing but the truth. If a man didn’t want you, you didn’t want him, and that was that.

Finn groans and cuddles closer.

“See, even you saying that’s making me hard!” he faux complains. You can’t help but laugh, leaning even closer to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth, moving back just as he tries to turn his head and capture your lips fully.

“Well, why don’t we go inside and take care of that?” you begin getting up, only stopped when Finn takes up your hand again and pulls you back. You let out a soft sound of surprise that is quickly muffled when he presses his lips to yours fully, hand moving to cup your cheek until you’re both giggling against each other. He finally pulls away and gazes at you cheekily.

“Only if you promise to sneak me into the observatory next time.”

Finn hums to himself as he flips another piece of french toast onto a plate, not even stopping when he hears someone else enter the kitchen. He glances back briefly and nods at Beverly who eyes him sardonically as she pulls on her second shoe and opens the fridge in search of juice.

“French toast?” Finn asks, gesturing with his spatula to the ingredients he’s got laid out. Beverly eyes the two plates of breakfast he’s already made, and takes a seat on the opposite counter.

“Sure,” she says, watching as Finn goes about preparing her food. “Kimberley stayed the night again?” she asks, receiving a little hum in reply.

“She sure did,” he informs her happily. Beverly snorts into her hand and sips from her glass of orange juice.

“What do the guys think about that?” she asks, recalling the shit Jake had gotten from his teammates at first when she herself had started hanging out at the house more.

Finn places her toast on to cook then turns around to lean on the counter top as he looks at her.

“I don’t really care what the guys have to say about it,” he starts, motioning upstairs with his spatula again. “Fact is, they’re out every night complaining about getting laid, I’m actually getting laid. If they don’t see that as winning, they’re bigger idiots than we already thought,” he tells her. Beverly laughs again as Finn turns back to the hob and flips her toast.

“Well, I never!” she says dramatically, hopping off the counter and making her way to his side. “You’re finally growing up!” she gushes, pinching his cheek until he swats her away with his utensil.

“Yeah, yeah,” he shoos her back slightly, before grabbing a napkin and placing her breakfast inside it, holding it out. “S’probably about time, anyway,” he admits somewhat quietly. Beverly only smiles at him, and accepts the food, ducking closer before he can realise to press a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Good for you,” she says, stepping away before she can be swatted at with the spatula again. “Thanks for the french toast!” she calls back as she scrambles from the kitchen. Finn rolls his eyes, turning the stove off and taking up both plates just as the front door opens then closes again.

Upon entering his room upstairs, which he now had to himself since the Willoughby incident, Finn quietly kicks the door shut behind him, before hurrying over to his bed, which he climbs onto carefully. All the movement wakes you some and you groggily lift your head from his pillow, eyeing him sleepily.

“Breakfast is up pretty lady,” he tells you, hovering one plate under your nose until you start to rise.

“You made me breakfast?” you ask softly as you go about sitting up. Finn situates himself cross legged in front of you, handing you a plate once you’re ready.

“Course! Big game day!” he says.

“That is so sexy,” you tell him, placing the plate aside on the mismatched bedside table he’d dragged in for you a few weeks ago, and lean forward to press a kiss to his lips, which turns into two kisses, which turns into you shuffling closer, almost into his lap. Finn pulls back though, and tuts at you.

“Uh, uh, uh sweetheart! Breakfast while it’s hot, and then sex!” he insists, chortling internally at himself. If he’d have heard himself a year ago, he wouldn’t believe it either.

Groaning, you flop back against the headboard, and roll your eyes, but your smile gives you away as you take your plate again, and begin on the first slice of french toast he’d prepared for you.

“Good girl,” Finn teases, earning another eyeroll.

You eat in comfortable quiet for a few minutes, and only when both plates are back on your bedside, and he’s finished having his second breakfast does Finn ask the question thats been bothering him for a while now.

“Why don’t you invite me to any of your games?” he asks quietly, playing with your hair as you cuddle up to his side. You’d need to get up and go soon to catch the bus that would take you and your team an hour and a half north to Baylor, who you were playing. He feels you pause and shift, looking down at you when you look up.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be interested in coming…” you tell him guiltily. Finn scoffs.

“That’s ridiculous!”

You only shrug.

“None of the guys my teammates date ever want to come, and it's not like we’re used to having a huge audience anyway, being a women’s sport and all… most of the time the school doesn’t even take us seriously,” you admit. Finn shuffles to look at you properly.

“That’s stupid, I’d come to all your games, and not just to see you in your uniform!” he tells you assertively, before nestling his face closer to yours. “I’d even wear one of those tight little tops ya’ll wear.” he grins upon making you laugh, leaning down to kiss you.

After thoroughly making you late, you shower together and dress before he walks you to your car. Leaning in through the driver's side window, you kiss him again and ruffle his wet hair.

“The next time we play here, I’ll let you know,” you tell him as he pushes off and you begin backing out. Before you drive off, you lean out your window again and pull your sunglasses on. “And I expect to see you in one of those tight little volleyball shirts!”

When your co-captain calls you over during the mid-game break, you aren’t sure what you’re expecting her to say, but it certainly isn’t what she does.

“Hey, isn’t that your boyfriend in the stands? Why didn’t ya’ll drive up together?”

Faster than lightening you whip your head around, scanning the minimal crowd of mostly parents and friends until right there in the front you spot the green-eyed, blonde. Blinking in surprise, you don’t even respond to your friend before you’re taking off in a jog toward the bleachers.

Finn stands as you approach, placing down a book he’d been holding as you get nearer.

“What are you doin’ here!?” you ask laughing as he greets you with a short kiss. You stare up at him in amazement, still blinking rapidly like he may poof out of existence any moment. Finn waves his arms wide and shrugs.

“I told you, I’d be at all your games!” he tells you, before gesturing down at the shirt he’d worn, only for you to realise it has your college’s volleyball logo emblazoned on it in burnt orange. “Had to make a few pit stops first though, so I only caught half of the first quarter.”

“Where did you get this?” you ask, pinching the hem of his shirt and waving it slightly.

“Snuck into the volleyball courts, asked one of the staff for it,” he waves off this fact breezily and instead bends down to grab his book again.

“Now, listen, I’ve been reading up on the rules, and you guys are doing great, but I reckon if you were more aggressive, you’d easily be able to exploit the gaps in Baylor’s strategy–” He doesn’t get to finish because you pull him in for a much more heated kiss.

“I’m going to blow you so good later,” you tell him upon pulling back. Finn grins wide, looking rather proud of himself, and you kiss him again until someone from your team whistles loudly at you.

You turn back to them, finding your gaggle of teammates crowded together and watching you in various states of giggles and hushed whispering. You look back at Finn and grin.

“Later. Did you drive?” you ask, to which he pulls his keys from his pocket and waves them for you. You begin making your way back to your team, but point at him.

“Later!” you say again.

Upon reaching your girls again, you call for a huddle and gather up.

“Alright, here’s how it is, we need to be aggressive for these last two quarters, Baylor has some gaps, I know we’ve all seen them, so now we take advantage,” you inform them quickly, earning nods and murmurs of approval from the team.

“Is he reading the rule book?” Nancy asks instead of replying to your new strategy, and you look up at her.

“Yes,”

“And he’s got a team shirt on!” Barbra adds, causing the girls to giggle amongst themselves again. You grin.

“Yes, he does. And If i’m gonna get laid later, we gotta win this, alright? Ready? Go!”

[toxinoire]

I thought why the heck not share some H³+V headcanons.

• Full names are: Heather Kimberley Chandler, Heather Elle McNamara, Heather Alice Duke and Veronica Winona Sawyer.

• All four can speak foreign languages. Heather Chandler, French. Heather Duke, Italian, Spanish, German and Irish. Heather McNamara, Japanese. Veronica, French, Spanish and Italian.

• Heather Duke is both an English nerd and a Math Nerd.

• Veronica is an English nerd, smart at Math but hates it with a burning passion.

•Heather McNamara has the SCARIEST resting bitch face that you rarely ever see but when you do, you're fucked.

• McNamara, Duke and Veronica are massive dorks. Heather Chandler wonders how the heck she fell for them.

• Among the Heathers, Heather Chandler was the first one to call Veronica "Ronnie".

• You would often hear Betty and Martha tell Heather McNamara and Veronica "Can you two just flirt like normal human beings instead of hoping to die for one another thinking that gets the point across."

• That being said, these two are pretty suicidal.

• Heather Chandler and Heather McNamara are shopaholics.

• Heather Chandler will usually just arrive home with the most expensive ass gifts for her three chosen disasters.

• Veronica is a hopeless romantic.

• Heather McNamara will use any excuse to cuddle with any of them or all of them.

• Heather Duke is good with words. I feel like that elaborates it enough.

• Heather Duke and Veronica are basically the "128√e980 (equation of love)", "C8h11no2 + C10h12n2o + C43h66n12o12s2 (chemical formula of love)" kind of lovers.

• If her three disasters look at it with interest and obviously want it, Heather Chandler is buying it.

• Veronica once accidentally left her "love life" diary open and Betty ended up showing it to the Heathers. Leading to Veronica being smothered with affection from three flustered/crying stop lights.

• Martha was the first person to witness Veronica's wordy ass gay panic over the Heathers.

• Since Heather Duke is the shortest, they like to affectionately call her pocket sized and just squish her in hugs.

• Veronica has the softest hair and I will stand by that statement.

• "Could you two stop being such worrywarts?" "Only if you two stop trying to fight anyone within a two mile radius."

• They were outed at one point but Heather Chandler managed to turn the crowd to their side after shitting on the football team and saying "I'm also pretty sure a nice amount of this school are closeted people. Why so quiet? I'm right aren't I?"

• Veronica's self care routine is basically just the words "keep going bitch" said to herself in different accents.

• "Winnie" "Kimmy" Chansaw: *having a panic attack and a gay panic at the same time*

That's all.

[docpiplup]

New upcoming period drama: Operación Barrio Inglés

Co-produced by RTVE with Onza (El Ministerio del Tiempo, Parot, Hernán) and the Andalusian production company Emociona Media, filming begins for Operación Barrio Inglés, a new intrigue drama for the TV channel La 1.

Spies, Nazis, British and a risky love story set in Huelva in 1940, a city where the conflicts of World War II are reproduced on a smaller scale.

Synopsis

World War II has just broken out.

Although Spain is "neutral" under Franco's dictatorship, Huelva is a strategic enclave to control the ships of both sides that cross the strait. In addition, it has an important British colony. For this reason, the Germans send members of the Secret Service to control what happens in the city, especially in the mines in the province of Huelva, owned by the English, and which provide Great Britain with ore for weapons and artillery.

In this way, Huelva becomes a veritable nest of spies from both sides, among whom the young Lucía is forced to move. She has just turned 25 and has been hired by an English mining company to work in their offices as a secretary.

There she meets the company's manager, Peter, an attractive Englishman with a dark past who drags Lucía into an adventure in which she will be forced to take sides. When you're in the middle of a war, being neutral is not an option.

Data Sheet

Executive Producer: Gonzalo Crespo Gil, José María Irisarri, Pilar Crespo, Gonzalo Sagardía, Clara Almagro, Santiago de la Rica

RTVE executive production: Borja Gálvez

Production Director: Onil Ganguly Directed by: Chiqui Carabante José Ramón Ayerra

Plot direction: Manuel Ríos San Martín Screenwriters: Manuel Ríos San Martín, Victoria Dal Vera, José Ortuño, Virginia Yagüe, Pablo Tobías and Tatiana Rodríguez

Photo Direction: Dani Salo (A.E.C.) and Alejandro Espadero (A.E.C.)

Art Direction: Hector Bertrand

Casting Direction: Juana Martínez

Music: Pablo Cervantes

Wardrobe: Matías Martini

Makeup and hairdressing: Anabel Beato

Cast

The series will star Aria Bedmar (Lucía), Peter Vives (Peter) and Rubén Cortada (Francisco).

The cast is completed by Paco Tous (José), Juan Gea (Enrique), Bea Arjona (Amparo), María Morales (Cinta), Chiqui Fernández (Rocío), Kimberley Tell (Agatha), Aida Ballmann (Miss Eva), Silvia Hanneman (Hanna), Yan Tual (Victor), Sue Flack (Miss Parker), Marco Cáceres (Juan), Almagro San Miguel (Toni), Carla Nieto (Sylvia), Ángela Chica (Belén), Clara Navarro (Rebeca), Fran Cantos (Oskar), Stefan Weinert (Schneider), Kevin Brand (Kurt), Frank Feys (Edward), Craig Stevenson (Goodwill), Edu Rejón (Gianni), Gregor Acuña (Dieter), José Luis Rasero (Civil Guard Captain), Gonzalo Trujillo (German Consul), Ken Appledorn (English ambassador) and Carlos Olalla (Father Damián), among others.

Filming

Operation Barrio Inglés will have as its settings the old dock of the English mining company and the area of ​​Tinto River and its open-pit mines, as well as the Bellavista neighborhood in the town of Minas de Riotinto, the port of Punta Umbría and the Mazagón beach in Huelva. In Sevilla, among other locations, it will be shot at the Monsalves Palace, and in other areas of the city and province, and also in different parts of Jerez de la Frontera.

About the mines and their location:

This is the Tinto river, its waters are red due to the high concentration of sulfur and iron oxides in the land (it happens the same with the red lagoon of Mazarrón's mines, Murcia), although it's duscussed if the mining activity has been increasing this characteristic, its water are very acid and are poluted with heavy metals.

The Tinto river (ancient name: Luxia) starts its flow in the Aracena Mountain Range and after 100 km joins the Odiel river (ancient name: Urium) at the height of the city of Huelva.

The mines have been exploited since pre-roman era, by Iberians and Tartessians, to obtein iron, copper, magnesium, silver and gold, which improved trading with the Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Greek colonies that were near to this site (in fact, the city of Huelva was founded by Phoenicians, and it was called Onuba), and eventually the Carthaginians took control of the mines after their expansion throughthe Iberian peninsula. Later, it became one of the most important mining areas of the Roman Empire.

By end of the 19th century, due to económico crisis the Spanish government sold several mines to English Companies, and one of them was the Riotinto mines, who were bought by the Rio Tinto Company Limited (RTC) in 1873, as they were looking for metals that were very demanded in the country due to its high industrialization (in contrast, in Spain the industrialization was scarce and the two main regions in which it was developed were Catalonia and Basque Country)

The RTC was the builder and owner of the railway line that connected the mines with the port of Huelva, where it built a mineral dock to facilitate the unloading and transport of the extracted material by sea to England.

In Riotinto, the luxurious and exclusive neighborhood of Bellavista was built for English personnel, it was a Victorian-style neighborhood that was endowed with tennis courts, golf courses, its own cemetery, a Social Club or even a Presbyterian church.

Huelva capital will also develop under the English influence. The numerous workshops and facilities built by the RTC that gave work to more than seven hundred workers, such as the railway station, changed the appearance of the city and contrasted with the rise of a new bourgeoisie of both Spaniards and foreigners who found themselves linked to the company. The power of the company became such in the city that civil buildings depended on the interests of the company.

Proof of this are the Reina Victoria neighborhood, as a garden city that welcomed part of its employees; the construction of Casa Colón, which ended up becoming the headquarters for the company's offices; the disappeared English Hospital; or the gigantic mineral pier located on the Odiel River. The English population introduced football, being the Huelva Football Club the first football team in Spain, founded in 1889.

In Punta Umbría, the British managers of the Rio Tinto Company Limited (RTC) erected rest areas for their employees. Since 1883 some constructions were carried out in the area, in wood and of the bungalow type, but it would not be until 1896 when the RTC was granted the possibility of establishing houses in this area, to which many RTC employees and their families went in summer to the beach through the Riotinto railway.

In 1943, the corpse of Glyndwr Michael, a Welsh homeless, disguised as a British Marine oficer called William Martin with information about a fake plan of the Allies to attack Greece was found drowned near the coast of Huelva, in Punta Umbría. This was part of the Operation Mincemeat to distract the Nazis and attack Sicily instead. Operation Mincemeat was a important plot in episode 3×02, Tiempo de Espías, from El Ministerio del tiempo. Well, although in the episode the original Operation is cancelled and a character named William Martin later takes the place of the original "William Martin", so the Operation success.

Years later, in 1954 the Riotinto mines returned to national property, under the CEMRT (Compañía Española de Minas de Río Tinto)

[pumpumdemsugah]

The most offensive use of intersectionality I've seen is a straight white man bring it up to talk about men's mental health and how it's a feminist issue

I don't tell people to kill themselves but things like this really test me

Every time I've seen Kimberley crenshaw bring up intersectionality she literally only talks about Black women but of course the person that coined the word would use it correctly.

[nerdish-nostalgia-revived]

Three Act Tragedy - Dress Rehearsal

Egg, Charles and the others attend what was supposed to be a dress rehearsal, but unfortunately it takes a dark turn....

[whatever-color-of-the-rainbow]

Farrah: Bad news- Captain Kimberley was late to practice so we were locked out of the school.

Farrah: Good news- We didn’t have to wait for her.

Farrah: Bad news- Annleigh found it concerning that I know how to pick locks and tried to unlock my Tragic Backstory. I didn’t want to tell her that I learned it because when I was thirteen I thought it was the kind of skill that would impress cute people.

Farrah: Good news- A cute person saw me do it.

Farrah: Bad news- It was Kate and since they’ve seen me fall out of several trees, cry because I saw a fawn that was just too damn small, and know I write songs, they’ll never think I’m cool no matter what. It’s too late. They know.

[mae-gi-writes]

02. The note under your desk | Minho (xo kitty)

”it all started with a note under her desk.”

Play: —<| beside you - keshi |>—

(Credits to owner for the gif.)

Thanks for reading &lt;3 @myahwritesss @sparkysparking101 @suzzie63 @upsidedownjill @lovely-hao @lupinette @seoli-16 @rory-cakes @sir-simp @rubes26 @chaerins-world @sadiebrookeholt @sincerely-aaronette @instabull @itsnotino

——— MASTERLIST | 02. Kind Regards, N | NEXT ———

Minho bunches up the note in his hand and pounds it into the wall. The paper bounces easily and falls, crumpled, onto the floor, which does nothing to ease the kind of anger bubbling up through his chest.

What nerve, he thinks as his eyes see all red, who the fuck thinks they can mess with him and get away with it?

He’d almost laughed as he read the words once. Again, and again. Until the reality had kicked him in the balls and he came to the conclusion that whoever this person is, they’re messing with him.

Dear Minho,

First off, that’s such a patronizing way to ask for help. Not even a please? Who the hell do you think you are? What you need help with are your manners, bro. Oh and I’m not Kimberley and I will definitely not pass on your message. Maybe you can try asking again — nicely, and then maybe I’ll consider telling her about you.

Also, Kimberley doesn’t sit at this desk. Maybe you should’ve known that first before even making a move. Kind regards,

N <3

A stranger.

A stranger had read his note. And this stranger might know exactly who Minho is. Great.

Now his entire reputation is at stake because of this stupid idiot who thinks it’s fun to pass on messages like love letters.

A knock sounds on his door and before he can ask, Q’s head pops in, ��hey dude. You got a minute?”

“That depends,” Minho sighs and leans back into his plush bean bag, “I’m currently in the middle of a crisis.”

“What happened?” Q frowns, closing the door behind him before settling down on the carpet opposite.

Minho opens his mouth. Closes it. Regards Q with narrowed eyes. Then, a scowl forms onto his face.

Q blinks, “what? What did I do?”

“If I tell you, you cannot tell anyone.”

“Uh—sure, okay.”

“Swear it on your mother’s head.”

“Wha—Minho, come on. Just tell me—“

“Swear it.”

“Okay okay fine,” Q rolls his eyes, “I swear on my mother’s head. Now tell me.”

Minho recaps everything from the moment he’s dropped the note underneath the said desk to the episode that occurred just a few minutes prior.

Q cannot help himself but laugh, covering his mouth in an attempt to calm himself down as the other boy’s face twists into a ferocious glare that would’ve sent anyone running home, “oh my god,” Q says, trying to hide his chuckle, “this—you—oh my god, this person’s hilarious!”

“It’s not funny!” Minho rages, hands going up to grapple through his locks, “what am I supposed to do now?!”

“Well, assuming that it’s a girl from the handwriting,” Q shoots him a pointed look as he settles more comfortably against the couch, “I’d say you should write back.”

“And say what? That it was a mistake?” Minho rolls his eyes.

“No, but if she’s sitting in the front row, maybe she has all the resources you need. Ever thought of that?”

At that, Minho straightens and looks at his best friend as if a lightbulb has struck, “you think she’s smart?”

“I believe so. Why else would she be in the front row?” Q shrugs.

“Q,” Minho’s eyes fly up to his as a smile breaks across his face, “I think you’re a genius.”

“I know,” Q grins, “thank me later.”

———

Nina is half asleep when her fingers curl over the note under her desk.

It hadn’t been her intention to find it, but somehow it seems as though fate enjoys playing tricks on her. Huddling behind her stack of books and quickly ripping it open under her desk, Nina quickly places the paper over her copybook, slouching over her desk as though in deep thought when in truth she’s reading over the words with barely concealed amusement.

Dear N,

Well well well, nice to meet you. I guess I should apologize for my “patronizing” behaviour, as you said, but maybe you should just tone it down a little. Juuuust a little. Violence was never the answer, honey.

Anyway, since you’re the one who received my beautifully crafted handwritten letter, maybe you’d like to help me out with my horrible grades.

Pretty please? I’m asking nicely this time ;)

Yours sincerely,

Minho.

P.S: you know my name but I don’t know yours. Care to share?

Nina shouldn’t answer. She shouldn’t get involved with such a boy who seems to suck at flirting and who’s desperate enough to do it for the grades. Yet, his half-baked attempts only cause an amused smile to slowly crawl up her lips, one that she quickly hides when Professor Chung turns to ask the class a question.

Hiding behind a curtain of hair and leaning over her desk, Nina takes out a fresh piece of paper, and starts to write.

———

Dear Minho,

who even calls anyone “honey” these days? I think you need a real-life update. In any case, why don’t you ask the library for a tutor to help you out? I’m sure they’ll have much better resources than a random stranger from lecture.

Try it out, it might work wonders for you. Who knows, maybe you could use your flirting skills then ;)

Sincerely, N.

P.S: the first letter of my last name is S. That’s all I can give you for now.

———

Dear N.S.

I finally have some initials to call you by. Nice, although, a name would’ve sufficed. I’ve tried the library, horrible staff and the tutors are just there because they want a piece of me. What can I say? I’m a horribly enchanting man who cannot go anywhere in peace. So please, help me?

Kindly,

Minho

———

Dear Minho,

bold of you to assume that they’re enchanted by you.

I don’t know, should I help you? You’re not being very convincing. Then again, what do I know? I’m just some girl whose notes you need in order to get good grades right? Reality check, my man. Maybe you need to realize the world does not revolve around you :)

Kind regards,

N.S.

———

Dear N.S,

I’ll just say it’s still not fair you know my name and I don’t know yours, so I’m holding that against you. You keep insulting me but you also keep answering my notes. Either you’re a masochist and enjoy watching me suffer or you’re just a little bit entertained. I know I am even though I’m still struggling with Psychology.

Kindly, Minho.

———

The water is icy cold.

Minho’s limbs are freezing by the time he’s twenty laps in, the heat slowly spreading from his heart to the rest of his muscles as he keeps moving through the water as easily as a fish in the sea. This is where he feels the most alive, the most content.

Underneath the surface, everything is dulled out. He can only hear himself, the echo of sounds and voices drowned out by the alienated air pulsing through Minho’s ears.

Breaking through the water with a shaky breath, he quickly swims towards the edge and grabs on. On the other side are toddlers with their swimming instructors, voices loud and bouncing off the walls of the indoor-heated pool.

Minho grabs onto his cap, tugs it off his head before shaking out his hair. Part of him feels guilty for not doing more but he can’t find it in himself to continue for today.

“Hey if it isn’t Minho!”

The said man turns to find one of his swim mates, Jung Kiseok, striding towards him with purpose. He lifts a hand in greeting, “hey man.”

“Long time no see!” Kiseok claps him on the back before jumping into the water, the edges sloshing as he does so, “what have you been up to lately? You don’t seem to be around much.”

“Yeah I’ve been trying to save my grades,” Minho grimaces.

Kiseok groans sympathetically, “Oh I know how that feels. You found a tutor yet?”

“I don’t like the library tutors,” Minho sniffs, causing his friend to laugh, “why don’t you enter a study group? Wouldn’t it be easier?”

“Study group? How’d you find those?”

“Just go on the School Portal, man. They’re everywhere, for every subject.”

Minho straightens at that, eyes wide with hope, “how am I only finding this out now?”

“Shit, you really haven’t been studying have you?” Kiseok laughs even harder, “I’ll send you the link to one if you want. I know the TA in charge well.”

“That would be great, thanks.”

it isn’t until that night that Minho opens up the letter found underneath the desk from his Psychology class this morning. He finds that, ironically, he looks forward to having snippets of conversation with that infamous N.S. It somehow makes his day a little better, a little brighter. He wishes he can know what she looks like, at least.

Muscles aching and hair still wet from his shower, the said young man settles onto his couch with a heavy, tired sigh, before finally giving in and opening up the letter.

Dear Minho, okay. You got me. I’m actually really entertained by our conversation so yes, caught me red-handed. I wouldn’t have imagined that you would answer my note after the first time. Question: why did you take Psych if you’re struggling? I’m sure there must be another elective you can take.

Anyway, I’ll play nice and forward you the latest notes. Just give me your email.

Kindly, N.S.

“Yes,” Minho mutters to himself, inwardly punching the air as he quickly scribbles down his response and folds it as small as he can get it to go.

His phone suddenly vibrates. The young man grabs hold, presses down onto the call button, before placing it by his ear. “Minho, how are you?” “Eomma,” he switches to Korean, the language flowing smoothly through his tongue, “I’m good. How are you?”

“You’ve been very quiet lately. How’s your swimming going?”

“it’s alright,” he lounges back onto the couch, “same old.” “I hope you’re not skipping swimming practice.” On the contrary, it’s school he’s skipping out on. Not that she needs to know that.

“No Eomma, everything’s fine okay? You don’t have to worry.”

“and your grades?”

He clenches his teeth, “my grades are fine.”

Another lie. It’s the only thing that will keep his mother’s nose out of his business. They talk for a few more minutes before his mom is called back to work, and Minho cuts off, head resting back against his couch as another exhale escapes his lips. Lying to his mother had never been in his plans, but he finds it’s easier to do that rather than having her on his back about every little single thing. He’s surprised she has even let him be on his own for more than one day, considering that she used to pester and harrass him about being on time and being perfect at everything he did.

It was tiring. And Minho had grown sick of it.

His phone pings once more. Minho looks down to find Kiseok’s message with a link tot the Study group he’d been bragging about earlier.

Maybe that will help him out.

————

“You going to study group later?”

Nina looks up from her book. It had been one of those rare occasions where she could actually rest after this hectic week that had just passed —what with her midterms coming up, her assignments, and having to find a part-time job to finance her living situation.

It’s also a very rare occasion that her roommate actually reaches out to talk to her like she actually exists. It’s so surprising that for a minute, Nina just looks at her in surprise without registering anything she has said.

“What?” Nina asks blankly.

Her roommate — her name is Karen Liu and she’s a cheerleader —cocks her head at her, long hair streaming down her left shoulder, “you okay?” She asks, “you seem a bit out of it lately.”

It’s not the first time that Karen tries engaging with her and for that, Nina feels grateful. But the thing is, Nina feels so…blank in comparison. Karen’s life is filled with colour and pops of bright vibrancy that seems to jump out of the page at you. She’s someone bright, bubbly, funny, everything that anyone’s ever wanted to be. She’s popular amongst the boys and the girls, so can Nina face her without ever feeling like she’s never enough?

So Nina avoids her. Like the plague. And despite Karen’s greatest attempts at reaching out to her, the latter would rather have it that way.

Nina isn’t someone ready to be thrust in the spotlight. She never was.

“Uh yeah,” she stutters out a reply upon realizing that Karen had been waiting all this time, “I’m good, just busy. And yeah—I’m coming to the study group later.”

A smile so bright fills Karen’s face, “great!” She chirps before slinging her tote bag over her shoulder, “I’ll see you then!”

Great. Now Nina has no other choice than to show up now that she’s made a promise she can’t avoid. And it’s ironic really, considering that she’d been planning to have a quiet evening to herself, listening to her favorite music and watching the latest videos about marine life; more specifically about orcas.

The afternoon goes by quicker than she wants it to and before she knows it, she’s walking straight into the library at five on the dot as the sun slowly descends in the horizon and glazes everything in summery gold despite the fact that it’s freezing outside. Winter is coming. Nina can feel it in her bones.

There are already a few people there and she quickly takes a seat next to a guy she hasn’t seen before. Karen sends her a subtle wave from across the table and she waves back shyly, before focusing on gathering her books from her bag.

“Right, thanks for coming everyone,I’ll just do a quick intro for the new faces around here,” the TA in charge stands and leans his palms against the table, making sure to get a glimpse of every face, “my name’s Alex and I’ll be in charge of the Psychology study group. Make sure you come every week because we don’t normally linger too much on each topic. These sessions are here to help you get a better understanding, not to actually revise any material.”

Nina nods along with everyone else, already knowing all this. She clicks and unclicks her pen out of habit.

“Today we’ll be reviewing on the different mental disorders. I’ll be passing out study sheets and key points to take note of for each,” Alex starts handing around some papers as he speaks, “feel free to ask any questions. Before we begin with the questions, have a quick-read though and discuss with the partner on your left.”

Nina turns instinctively towards a young man who seems unfamiliar, a new addition to the study group probably. He’s nicely dressed, with a crisp white polo and a beige cardigan thrown over him, pretty features framed by stylish locks.

“Hi,” his voice is deeper than she’d imagined, “my name’s Minho Song, I’m new to this study group thing and I pretty much hate Psychology. I’m a Sports Science major.”

He reaches a hand out and she shakes it, “hi, I’m—“

Wait.

Minho?

Could it be—

Her Minho? The guy with whom she’d been exchanging messages with all this time?

No way. No. The world can’t be that harsh to punish her like that.

“I’m—uh—“ Nina’s mind blanks out. Shit. She needs a new name, “my name’s Na—Nana.”

His brow dips in a furrow and Nina quickly realizes that he knows her initials, “I mean—yeah Nana Liu! Yeah. That’s my name.” She laughs to hide her nervousness, “nice to meet you.”

He seems amused, at least, “you from here?”

“No I moved here after high school,” good. It doesn’t seem like he’s suspicious in the slightest, “what gave me away?”

“Your accent. You speak English with an accent I can’t place.”

“Ah yes, well—it’s not my mother tongue.”

“What is it then?”

“I speak French, normally.”

“French,” his eyebrows rise up, “interesting. How come you ended up in Korea?”

She shrugs while trying to calm down the wild beating in her heart, “I thought it’d be cool to live here.”

“And how is that turning out for you?”

“Uhm,” quite horrible but she can’t say that, especially not to a native Korean guy whom she just literally met a few minutes ago. Although, if this is the same guy from the notes, then —

But what’s the chance of having two Minho’s in the same course as her and who are majoring in Sports Science?

She tries to probe a bit further, “so…sports science huh?”

Thankfully, Minho provides her an immediate answer to her silent question, “I’m a swimming athlete. Got a scholarship to study here.”

“Ah. That’s cool.”

Shit. So she’s right. Her gut feeling never lies.

“And you?”

“I’m a marine biology major.”

“Guess we have one thing in common then.”

“Oh,” she cocks her head at him, “which is?”

“We both enjoy the sea, or the idea of it, anyway.”

“Okay guys,” Alex is quick to interrupt, “let’s focus on the work that needs to be done and we can get to know each other later, right?”

That shuts her right up, bringing back the reminder that this Minho is the same guy who’s trying to get her notes. Pompous, self-centered and insolent….somehow, this Minho standing before her doesn’t seem to add up to that same guy.

Nina manages to focus on the task at hand, pushing back her own personal feelings in order to get this assignment out of the way. Together, they discuss the ways in which Bulima and Anorexia are different and she really tries not put her focus elsewhere, stuffs it at the back of her mind like a secret she wishes to forget.

It's a long hour of work before Alex finally calls for a discussion. Then, he summarizes the content for the night before he lets them off, "remember," he calls out, "don't study by heart. Study first to understand."

"You done for the night?" Minho asks as they are packing up their bags.

Nina glances at him in surprise, "uh yeah. My classes are over. You?"

"I have this god awful swim practice I gotta get to," he tugs at his bangs in a manner so childlike she can't help but find endearing.

"Somehow, I'm very glad not to be in your place right now."

"That's because you haven't seen me swim."

Nina laughs, "I like the ocean, I'm not a big fan of swimming."

"Why not?"

"Well, nobody ever taught me how." She flushes upom realizing how sad that sounds, "well, it's not like an essential skill--"

"Uh I'm pretty convinced it's essential," he smirks at her.

"You're just biased because you're a literal mer-man."

"Merman?" Minho chortles, "oh god, haven't heard that one before."

it is only then that she realizes they're the only two left in the study room. She looks around, amazed that she had been so caught up in conversation that she'd barely heard any of the other students leave.

Minho seems to think so too as he slings his backpack over his shoulder, "let's get out of here."

"Do you like it?" Nina asks as they exit the library. The wind has picked up its pace, a lot colder as it whips across her face.

Minho shoots her a glance, "like what?"

"Swimming. Do you like it?"

There's a small pause. "I do."

"How...how does it feel? To swim?"

He takes his time to answer, “it feels…peaceful.” He looks at her then, eyes softening, “as if you’re the only one left in the world.”

Nina wonders how that feels like. And how, in context, is it defined as peaceful. Because she’s been alone and she feels like she’s alone despite being surrounded. And yet, peaceful is not the word that comes to mind.

“That sounds nice,” she murmurs absentmindedly, before spotting the gymnasium in the distance, “well, I guess that’s your stop.”

“Yeah,” Minho’s face creases into a soft smile, “I guess I’ll see you next study session. Don’t miss me too much.”

Nina chortles at that, “dream on, merman.”

——

A/N: second part is up!!! How did you find it?! Let me know your thoughts! Also, I’m creating a playlist for this small series so I’m open to any song suggestions that might fit this couple!