#My favorite cousin is June

[linashirou]

Finally! I'm in my desk!

So I will try to answer everything I have going around! The first one is!

5 Favorite Characters!

Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

I was tagged by @arisenreborn and I'm really sorry about how much it took to me to do it.

So, I want to tag to: @kleiner-ghost @hc-svnt-dracones95 @sillyfriendssharingablog @bexisanidiot @scratchyemporium @oafishwoman and everyone else who could want to do this!

And here is my list. A mixed one:

[khawlat]

THEO JAMES for Vogue Greece

[outoftheskillet23]

Rough sketch of some katamari cousins. I'm trying to draw loosely for sketches and then draw more carefully later, so I'll probably post individual portraits of some of the cousins later!

[flamingpudding]

DPxDC Family Week June 24 (Day 7)

Prompts: Distant Relatives | Engrave

A/N: This is what I believe some would call straight up crack :D

AO3 Link: DPxDC Family Week Contributions

How do you tell your great great great great great (how many greats do you add when the child is the x-generation after about… how many years again? Danny had lost count) grand nephew that the ghost king, he just summoned, with an old family heirloom is his granduncle of many generations?

"Batman. Why does the pendant you gave me summon the fucking Ghost King?" Danny heard a familiar man in a trench coat say next to his nephew (he decided he needed to keep it simple there were too many greats to count)

The batman grunted glaring at the man, Danny blinked finally recognising the guy.

"Aren't you the guy who sold like a tenth of your soul to Ellie's spouse? I am sure I also heard Lucifer complaining that Mammon got more parts of your soul than he has." Danny mused as he looked down at them in his eldritch form. Noting how his nephew tensed as he got past that pathetic wall of protection.

Honestly all the protective engravings he had gifted his nephew and nieces through out generations were a hundred times better. How else would a place like Gotham survive on only Lady Gotham as spiritual protection from ghosts of the Ghost Zone and his former rogues that still liked to mess with his children, nephews and nieces? At least Jazz's branch of the family was safe from them this way. He had baby proofed the entire town or better every town a part of his branch family lived in.

"So, trading game, why did you summon me?" He would have liked to stay hidden, you know? The branch family had long forgotten their relation to the Ghost King and Danny had easily accepted that. His own child of chaos had not so much and preferred to play with the earth family branch but that's besides the point. They had used the pendant to summon him, with his own personal engraving. Did that mean they remembered or did his son let something slip to his cousin?

"Trading game." Someone snorted and for the first time since he got summoned Danny noticed the audience around him. His eldritch form did the equivalent to stunt blinking as he straightened up and took count of the children of his nephew. Baby Ghost, Baby Menace, Baby Stalker and Baby Stabby were there.

A gasp left his lips. A Baby Ghost was sick! In a puff of greenish smoke his eldritch form was dismissed and he changed to his favorite 20 years old Phantom form, rushing past his nephew and trading game.

"You poor baby! I didn't realize you were this sick! If I had known I would have done something way sooner!" He fretted as he inspected one of his nephew's babies, hovering around the boy poking and prodding the little guy, well little to him anyway.

"Who are you calling a baby?! Get your fucking hands of me!" Danny only hummed, patting the baby's head, only a little sad that he couldn't look at his face as Baby Ghost was wearing his favorite red explosive helmet and was on duty.

But on second thought seeing their cute little uniforms live was way better than when he had watched them through his ice mirrors. "Don't worry little Red Hood. You will be feeling a whole lot better soon. Your Uncle Danny will make sure of it."

"The fuck?" The sick baby probably looked at Danny like he had gone insane and the ghost king could only laugh. Good had it been long since he interacted with the earth branch family let alone humans. Maybe he should start accompanying his youngest to his visits to earth.

"Constantine! I thought the sigils were supposed to contain him!" He heard his nephew grunt and Danny grinned over his shoulder at them.

"My little nephew. I granted you way better engravings than this pathetic wall of protection." As if to prove a point he flew around the babies, stopping by the youngest and pulling his sword from him. There were gasps of shock as well as complaints and he couldn't help the laugh as little Baby Stabby tried to lunge at him but got held back by the eldest Baby Menace. He just held the sword towards his nephew and trading game as he held his palm against it and let his power flow. Soon the sigils he had placed on the sword as a homecoming present to the youngest baby, when he started living with his nephew, started to appear, glowing and shining.

"You… you engraved your sigils on things the bats own?!" Disbelieve clearly coloring the trench coats' voice as the man paled. His nephew appeared to be close to start brooding like he had seen him do a couple of times through the ice mirrors. Danny returned the sword, huffing amused how little Robin instantly inspected the sword again, the engravings no longer visible.

"Of course I did. I promised my sister a long time ago that I would always protect her children. Though the engravings were certainly hard to hide from one of your babies."

"Sister? Babies?" Baby Stalker aka Red Robin aka little Tim asked and Danny coed. This baby always reminded him of his best friend Tucker and he was glad to have a technology adept child in the family again.

"Yes your great great great uh…" he stopped thinking how many greats he needed to add and ended up sighing compromising with: "...your grandmother many generations ago."

"How many of our things did you engrave?" His nephew finally grunted out, trench coat guy definitely looking like he was having an aneurysm by now.

"Don't remember, decorations, jewelry, toys, weapons, I think I even engraved your belt buckle." The ghost king shrugged, he honestly didn't. Ellie liked to joke that he was way too protective of the earth branch with the amount of protective engravings and sigils he had put up for them without them even knowing. She was still a little cross with them when they started forgetting about their ghostly part of the family after Jazz died.

There was a distinctive frustrated sigh and for a second Danny did feel bad for his nephew. Maybe he should not have just simply spewed everything but he couldn't hold himself back when he saw the sick baby. He was protective of his family, sue him. At least he hadn't given any of his nephews potential mates a shovel talk yet, not like he had with Ellie's spouse anyway. Jazz had banned him from using Fright Knight's Soul Shredder on humans after he had mentally scared and traumatized her first boyfriend with it. Apparently the guy had been too weak to handle it and lay sick in bed for a while after his return from the nightmare realm.

That reminded him! Turning around he flew up to the sick baby again who flinched back from his touch. He ignored that and only made a calming thrilling noise, calling out to the baby's sick core.

"Get the fuck away-"

Poor baby must be suffering badly from uncontrolled anger and ghostly intermittent explosive disorder. No wonder he hadn't developed any of his powers yet. That Disorder tended to be violent, especially the ghostly kind. Carefully letting his power wash over the baby, Danny coaxed out the little underdeveloped core. Usually he would make sure to do these kinds of things for any of his children, nieces and nephews in a safe environment but this was an exception. It was a sick baby core that would receive long lasting damage if not treated.

Gasp resounded as the tiny core came out of the baby's chest, not wasting any time Danny refresh the ectoplasm in it and removed the corrupted one. He then sent the core back into the baby's chest patting him where it sunk back into the body.

"There you go! Should be all good now!" A second after he said it Danny blinked at all the weapons that were pointed at him. He flinched a little as Baby Menace let electricity spark near him.

"WAIT THAT IS THE GHOST KING YOU IDIOTS!" Trading game screamed, apparently finally waking up from whatever stupor he had been in.

"So? He did something to Todd. Who knows what that was." Danny cooed, he knew Baby Stabby cared, his own youngest was similar in that way, just more chaotic in his display of affection, which also earned him his title. Little Damian was also the most intune with ghostly etiquette next to Baby Ghost, considering the reason for the nickname Danny gave him.

"And he can destroy entire dimensions! Do you guys want to doom us all?!" Trench coat countered very much insistent that the babies pull back their weapons.

Danny in return only huffed in annoyance and rolled his eyes. Like he would destroy the home of the earth branch. That man was talking rather rudely to them and he was also stopping him from bonding with his nephews' babies. "Buzz of trading game. This is a family matter and if the babies want to bond then we will bond."

After a moment of consideration he added. "Also don't talk to them like that. They are royalty and I will not have you disrespect them."

With a wave of his hand a green portal opened below the man swallowing him. Being nice Danny decided to drop the man off in his own home. He was the one that taught his nephew how to use the pendant again after all. But he wanted to be left alone with his family. Before his nephew or the babies could panic he smiled brightly and said. "Don't worry I sent him home to his house of mysteries or whatever he calls it. So we can have some family time! Besides, my In-law wouldn't be happy if I harmed his contract even if his soul is a trading game among the demons…"

They all shared a look and seemed to take the ghost king's words for it. Especially as litte Jason finally got out of his shock, patting at his own chest and mentioning that he indeed did feel better. Saying that there was no Pit Madness in his mind anymore, huh so that's what the Disorder got called on earth.

They instantly questioned Danny of what he did to which their ghostly uncle only smiled at the once sick baby without answering. He would have Frostbite to take a second look soon though, just to be safe.

"You mentioned us to be royalty?" The gruff voice his nephew put on when on duty resounded and a warm smile spread across the ghost kings face to the wonder of the bat-clan present.

"I thought that information got passed down through all the generations like the summoning pendant." The ghost king tilted his head. "You do know your part of the Infinite Realms Royalty right?"

"We… are royalty? For real?" One of the babies slowly asked and Danny grinned at them.

"Of course you are. In fact, the little Baby Ghost here-" He flew up to Jason, the once sick baby and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Is the fifth in line should neither my children, nore Ellie or her children want to take over the throne when I don't want it anymore and don't feel like bothering on waiting for someone to beat me in a succession battle."

"Red Hood is? Shouldn't it be like Batman or Robin?" Little Tim asked and Danny sadly shook his head.

"By earth standards, sure. Not by Ghost Zone standards though. They don't have a core, it would be different if they develop a core after death but right now? It's baby Hood here who is in line."

"So… to sum it up." The oldest baby started packing his weapons away and Danny felt just a little bit disappointed but the youngest had his sword out. So maybe a bit of bonding would still happen now that the earth branche knew about their relationship again.

"B is a descendant of your sister which makes him royalty and in turn all his children, blood and adopted equally? And Red Hood is even in line for the throne of another dimension because he has, what you call a core?"

"Yup." Danny popped the 'p', he was about to explain more considering his nephew had adopted quite the stoic look and the babies did appear to become slowly a little too overwhelmed. When a red portal opened and his own son decided to join the family reunion.

"Dad! What is taking you so long? Aunt Ellie is sending me to fetch you cause she thinks you're skipping your meeting with the observants again!"

"KLARION?!" Baby Stalker shouted and Danny blinked. Oh right, his own baby boy liked to bond with his cousin's babies. When was the last time his baby boy visited earth? Oh the babies were taking on fighting stances. How sweet of them! Even his nephew was tensing up and looked ready to fight.

"Baby Spook, are you here to bond with your cousin's again?" Sue him, he couldn't help the excitement. His little chaos was the most interested in playing with his earth branch family compared to everyone else in the ghost branch, including Ellie's children. They liked to mess with entire dimensions though and nearly caused at least three wars in the last ten years. They had also inherited Ellie's ire in regards to the earth branch forgetting their existence. That's why his youngest son had taken it upon himself to teach and bond with the little ones here.

"Bond?" Little Tim questioned while his son sighed.

"Beings of the Infinite Realms bond via fighting. How else are we going to teach babies how to protect themselves and become stronger?" The Lord of Chaos explained in exasperation like he was talking to a toddler. Considering their age differences he kind of was, Danny mused.

"Hold on, does that mean all the times you spent attacking was…?"

"Me bonding with you babies, yes. My siblings as well as older cousins aren't interested so of course that leaves me, the heir and superior cousin, to take care of our earth bound family."

"Even when you messed with the watchtower?"

Klarion arched an eyebrow at Batman. "Just because you are the oldest among the earthly doesn't mean you're any less of a toddler."

"Klarion." Danny warned, his cousins might be babies by ghost terms but that didn't mean he could act all arrogantly with them. Danny might have spoiled the boy since he was his youngest child but he surely had raised him better than that.

"No bonding today, Dad, you do have a meeting scheduled." A sigh left his lips, he guessed it was time to return. The disappointment must have been written all over the ghost king's face as his son huffed in amusement. "Maybe next time, Dad. You can come alone… if you get away from the observants."

"Alright, alright." Agreeing, Danny flew over to the summoning cycle and picked up the pentant before floating to his nephew.

The boy took a step back from him but Danny just smiled and continued forward, placing the pendant around Batman's neck. "My calling card, little nephew. We don't exactly have phones in the Infinite Realms. So use that to call me any time, though now that you guys got reminded about your relation to me I will make sure to come visit more often and not just watch and protect you from the other side."

"See you later Amadillos"

"Bye Bye Baby Bats!"

With that he didn't leave his nephew and the babies time to respond as he opened a portal and he and his son returned to the Infinite Realms, where an angry Ellie was waiting for him. Oh boy…

Meanwhile the bat clan exchanged looks slowly digesting the information dump that had just happened. They had just wanted to have Constantine check on the engraving they had on a family heirloom that happened to be similar to one that was found on an ancient egyptian summon plate and had caused some rather dangerous events.

Who would have thought that the Ghost King himself would tell them that they were apparently related and royalty in another dimension?

"I am so going to rub it in Roy's face that I am Royalty." Red Hood broke the silence.

"I always knew I was of royal descent." Robin added holding himself even prouder than before.

"Am i the only one losing my shit here that B and Robin are apparently blood related to Klarion? Also… just a warning I am going to start digging into the Family tree now." Red Robin informed with a glint in his eyes hidden behind his mask. He was definitely not asking for permission to do so.

"The Ghost King kept calling us babies though." Nightwing sounded amused, watching at how his brothers were taking the news and wondered how the rest of the family would react.

While Batman on the other hand was brooding and appeared to be severely constipated, probably thinking of all the worst case scenarios and most likely trying to figure if he needed a contingency plan for their newly discovered interdimensional family or not.

John Constantine on the other hand awoke back in his home and let out a long and suffering groan with the new knowledge he gained. Apparently the ghost king's in-law had a contract with him and now he also couldn't even be rude to the bats anymore because they were royalty and he would be screwed and potentially risk his entire existence should the Ghost King take offense. He was fucked the next time he had to deal with the bat-clan again.

[nolita-fairytale]

make my heart surrender | carmen 'carmy' berzatto x fem!chef reader | social media au - part one

inspired by @caramelberzatto i made a few social media posts for my make my heart surrender universe with carmy x fem!chef reader. my carmy as your baby daddy series was a headcanon/social media au and i just love these so i couldn't resist!! enjoy these fake social media posts depicting different parts of their story :)

see part two here.

liked by sydneyadamu, poursomesugarnatalie and others

thesustainable.chef: surprise! @/chefsyd and i are popping up at @ bigdeliciousplanet for their urban garden dinner series!! join us on june 1st for a five course dinner starring tomato season.

get tix @ the link in bio

philipKrich: the can't miss event of tomato season! ➡ chefsyd: you heard the man!

carmyberzatto: ❤️

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liked by carmyberzatto, maya.kaz and others

thesustainable.chef: what an honor it was to cook at the James Beard House in my hometown, NYC, with some of my favorite people in the world. congratulations to the team @/thebear on a beautiful job! and thanks for letting me cook with you guys again teehee.

more posts to come. this last trip back home was life changing. ❤️

chefsyd: don't call it a comeback 👀

chefsyd: life changing, you say? 👀👀👀 ➡ poursomesugarnatalie: 👂🏻i'm listening ➡ liz.jpg: @/maya.kaz and i are SEATED.

marcusmakespastries: what an honor it was to have you BACK with us, chef.

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liked by thebear, fakattack and others

thesustainable.chef: my honey on film #35mm

maya.kaz: hubba hubba! #teamcarmy4ever

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liked by chefsyd, philipKrich and others

thesustainable.chef: uncle carmy, cacio e pepe ravioli we made, and very well deserved glass of wine for this milf of 2 🤣

philipKrich: where was my invite? ➡ thesustainablechef: sorry, cousin. 😵‍💫

poursomesugarnatalie: you're a milf 😘 ➡ carmyberzatto: babe... milf? really? ➡ thesustainable.chef: uncle carmy 🤝 dad carmy ➡ carmyberzatto: 😳 ➡ poursomesugar: you guys are gross. can you flirt elsewhere?

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[loomiseater]

Baby?

warnings: smut ofc!, oral f! receiving, talks of baby, Hayley mentioned at some point, and dom Hotch.

Criticism is appreciated! I would love to know how I can improve on my writing.

Aaron Hotchner x fem!reader

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masterlist

Written: June 9th, 2024

Published: June 10th, 2024

Summary: Aaron gives you your Mother’s Day gift.

wc: 1,992

You wake up to an empty bed, you were shocked because Aaron loves sleeping in on his days off. You wanted to stay in bed but the smell of breakfast hit your nose. It smelt really good.

Just as you were about to get out of bed, Jack comes running into your shared bedroom jumping onto the bed. “Happy Mother’s Day!” He exclaims as he hugs you really tight.

It was so adorable you wanted to cry at his cuteness. You hug him back even tight and place kisses all over his little face as he giggles. “We made breakfast for you!” Jack says as you make a surprised face.

“Really?! What did you two make?” You ask happily as he smiles. “You gotta wait until dad brings the food” he answered. You nod your head and pat the side of the bed for Jack to sit.

“You excited for today, buddy?” You ask as he cheerfully nods his head. “I can’t wait for all the food and to see my all my cousins!” Jack said as you giggled. “I can’t wait either, bud” you respond, placing a kiss to his forehead.

Jack started talking about random stuff that kids talk about as Aaron walked into the room. You almost teared up at the sight. He looked so domestic. His messy morning hair, sweats, and a plain t-shirt.

“Happy Mother’s Day, baby” he says before giving you a kiss. You were both interrupted by Jack’s “ewws” and fake throwing up sounds. Aaron just laughed a his childish behavior. “That’s disgusting!” Jack said before hurrying out of the room.

After he left out the room, Aaron had closed the door so you both could have some privacy. “So what did you make?” You ask as he brings your plate over to the bed. “I made French Toast, topped with whip cream, I also made scrambled eggs, bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice” he answers with a proud smile on his face.

“This looks amazing, babe” you replied, looking in awe at the food. “You deserve it” he said. “You must really want some tonight” you said as he tried to hide his smirk.

“Please?” He begged as you let out a little chuckle. “I just woke up” you whined as you grabbed some of the whip cream and sprayed it in your mouth. “Mhmm, that is so good” you said as your eyes rolled back some.

“You know exactly what you’re doing” he said as he eyed you. “You want some?” You ask teasingly as his jaw tightened.

You’re pulling your shirt off as your boobs are now free for him to see due to not wearing a bra. You spray the cream all over your chest while moaning. “You test me everyday, woman” he says before leaning and sucking your breasts along with licking the whip cream off.

As he got done licking it all off he placed a kiss on each nipple, then moving on to take off your shorts. He was happy to see that you weren’t wearing any panties.

You lay back with a smile on your face as you preparing for him to eat you out but instead of feeling his tongue, you felt..whip cream? It was a cold yet satisfying feeling on your pussy.

“Aaron? What are you doing?” You ask nervously. “Eating my favorite meal” he replied back nonchalantly as you raised your eyebrow.

He slowly licked the whip cream off of your slit and it sent pleasuring chills through your body. Aaron has never done anything like this before, that’s why you’re so shocked at his actions.

As he licked the whip cream off he began sucking each lip and your hands gripped his scalp really hard. “Yes!” You shout but it was muffled due to Aaron’s hand. His reflex’s were quick, as soon as he’s saw your mouth open his hand flew straight to it. You completely forgot that Jack was still in the house.

“Gotta be quiet, baby” he said lowly as you began pouting. He began thrusting his tongue in out of you, he enjoyed seeing you like this, how you submit to him, and how you crumble beneath him.

“Fuck! Your pussy is so sweet” he said before diving in deeper and spreading your legs further. He always loved how you tasted but the whip cream made it even better.

As he dove deeper into you with his mouth, you felt his nose rub against your clit. “Feels so-good!” You said in a choked out sob. The pleasure was beginning to become too much, but Aaron didn’t care.

He shook his head side to side while still eating you out, you wanted to scream. He’s never acted like this before. “Cum on daddy’s face” he said lowly. It was like your body just did what he said on command.

You came all over his face, eventually squirting due to him rubbing your clit during your orgasm. He let his face get covered in it.

He rode up from in between your legs and up to your face before making out with you. His face was glistening in your juices, you could even taste yourself while kissing. You broke away from the kiss to catch some air.

“You’ve never been like this during sex, Aaron. The sex has always been amazing but this-this was something else” you explained, still out of breath. He laid down next to you with his face buried in between your breasts.

“I want a baby with you” his says with his voice all muffled. “I thought you said you weren’t ready for another kid? You said Jack was enough” you explained as he shook his head. “I changed my mind. I gave Hayley something so special, and that was Jack. I want to be able to give you the same thing” he stated.

Your face softened as tears fell down your face. “Hayley passed away two years ago, there’s no rush into having another one” you replied softly. “I’m not rushing into it Y/n. I think you’d look beautiful with your round stomach full of my child” he said before placing a kiss to your stomach.

“I’ve always wanted to have a child but I didn’t want to rush you, and I wouldn’t want Jack to feel some type of way” you said sincerely.

“Jack has been wanting a sibling since forever, he’ll be fine” Aaron said surely. You thought about it and maybe he was right. Hayley got to have that special thing, why can’t you?

“We can start making that baby right now” Aaron said as he picked you up and placed you on his lap as you giggled. “Right now?” You ask again, just to tease him. “Yes, right now” he replied as he groped your ass. “But first, I really want some head” he says with a smirk across his face.

“Whatever you say goes, my love” you say to him before getting on your knees and taking his dick out. He was already hard with pre cum leaking out his red tip.

You took him whole as he let out a groan.

[astonmartingf]

YOU'VE BEEN ON MY MIND —

— co-parenting with alonso has been smooth sailing, until he starts dropping hints that he wants to be with you again

SPECIAL ★ ALES AND YNLONSO

amgf after that chapter, this is your gift ig enjoy it because it'll only get better (worse) from here 😀👍

previous ★ masterlist ★ next

ALEJANDRO ALONSO (ALES)

born on June 2019, 5 years of age

likes dinosaurs, toy cars, legos, and construction work

likes to eat ice cream, alonso's special tacos, and a specific pizza that yn makes

likes long walks on the beach with his father and mother

likes to add grass in his lego builds

currently raising a succulent with his father, they named it avi

has his own id at the hospital yn works at due to his frequency in visiting

started pre-school recently and spends most of his time in school

his favorite places are the aston martin office and anywhere with his mother and father

playmates with lewis and nico's daughters

his godfather is lance, yn's cousin

YNLONSO — FORMATIVE YEARS

met through lawrence stroll back when yn was volunteering in the medical bay at a few races

alonso would fake injuries just to go to the medical bay whenever he can, and often skipped meetings just to take a few peeks at yn

alonso became extremely jealous when someone else crashed and was brought to the medical bay, so he began to pray for everyone's safety so they don't have to meet yn

when called for mandatory check ups, alonso would always look for yn and hog her for the whole day

the grid became increasingly curious about alonso's relationship with you, despite your attempts in keeping the relationship private

broke up once after a nasty crash in 2016, yn couldn't bear seeing alonso in pain especially since she was the one treating him

yn is a date to marry type, and found a future in alonso when they got engaged in 2018

their first date was in a parking lot outside the hospital when yn was still an intern for residency, and alonso surprised yn with tacos during a night shift

once, alonso planned on surprising yn but she was stuck in a long surgery, so he fell asleep waiting for her

alonso would always stop by the hospital after races and meetings just to see yn and talk to her even if it's just a few seconds

yn prefers it when alonso was in wec due to less racing schedules, also because alonso won the year she gave birth to ales

had a mutual split much to alonso's pleas after he came out from retirement in 2021

started co-parenting at the beginning of 2022 when ales and yn moved back to spain

frequently drives to each other's house and has a spare key of each other's front door and gate

alonso kept yn as his emergency contact even after their split, so she was still getting updates from alonso

yn and alonso both use lance to get updates about each other, and use him to play messenger, which lance didn't really like at the beginning, but now he's holding a lot of their secrets

their weekly routine with ales includes walking to the beach, having one lunch outing, one dinner date and a trip to the grocery

speaking of groceries, they go buy groceries together so ales has the same food in both households

it's also customary for them to invite the other for a meal when picking up ales, but really it's alonso being a mastermind to spend more time with yn

currently, alonso is trying to make it work with yn, and is contemplating on leaving after the 2023 season to be with them

★ YOU'VE BEEN ON MY MIND — @namgification @nebarious @minkyungseokie @viennakarma @lxclerc @booksandflowrs @c-losur3 @lichterfee @moonyzsworld @e-nonsense @vicurious28 @dannyriccsupremacy @thearchieves @welovediaaxx @vogueprincess @mael1pastry @khaylin27 @whydowesleepeachnight @iridescent-sol

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

As someone who has always loved siblings dynamics in fiction, I find it funny that almost every single member of the HoM team has siblings. Kim has two little brothers, Danny has an older sister, Jake has a little sister, Jenny has eight robot sisters, June has an older and a younger brother, Rex has an older brother, and Zak has three cryptid siblings. Ben and Randy are the only ones who are technically only children but Ben still at least has a cousin who he has a sibling dynamic with. I don't think Randy had anyone like that. (Although it's one of the few shows here that I didn't watch so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) Any way, now Only Child Cunningham is being treated like the little brother by all of these experienced siblings and has no clue what to do and I find that funny.

(P.s. sorry about the long comment. This thought wouldn't leave me alone so I thought i should share it)

(P.p.s I love your HoM au and your art. Thank you for sharing it!)

Please, don't be sorry, this is like, one of my favorite asks about HoMies I ever got! And also thank you for your kind words! <3<3<3

I also adore sibling dynamics in fiction! It's one of the main reasons I don't want to put much focus on ships in this AU, like I mentioned before, there would be like one canon couple with one of HoMies, but otherwise everyone are sort of floating in nebulous single area, so I could focus better on their complicated friendships with a dash of found family/siblings dynamics!

(And your ask reminded me of a fanart I did a long time ago about Randy being the only child in Secret Trio. xD same brain anon!)

Also one can argue that Howard, Randy's best friend, could be considered sort of like a brother to him (they became friends at a very young age), but I personally view them more as Bros. (does it make sense, lol?)

But even if we count Howard, their dynamic would be more equal in older-younger sibling scale, while Randy indeed would be mostly treated as a younger sibling amongst HoMies and it would probably drive him insane!

Being the youngest and newest in their friend circle, he is like a new baby brother or a co-worker/young kohai (ye, cringe wording but terminology vibe aint wrong! xD) that others are prepared to protect and help, impart their wisdom on, but also tease! (and perhaps learn something from him in return! )

But Randy Only Child Cunningham, as an already seasoned, if a bit overconfident, hero would hate (just a little bit) being considered as less experienced (even if he technically is) than others, no matter how much he absolutely adores being in presence of all those cool people! At times it would feel condescending, but in reality others just want to support him the more they learn about how he came to be the Ninja.

After all they know what it felt like being that young, having that responsibility trust upon your shoulders and going through so much. Especially considering that among them, Randy perhaps had the least stable support during his hero-ing career. Sure, all of them had to go through some things alone, but there were family and friends that were there to help when it came to it. And, no offense to Howard, who does sometimes manages to get through for Randy, he is not the best at being the type of support Randy needs at times. And, Ninjanomicon? While incredibly useful for teaching moral lessons and art of being Ninja - is not exactly the most er, physically able in supporting Randy at time of crisis, being an inanimate object and all that, lol.

So yes, Randy-Only Child-Lone Ninja Hero-Cunningham sometimes doesn't know what to do with all those people who appeared in his life and treat him like a little bro! But sometimes, he enjoys it. ;)

(a little bit of random rambling beneath, feel free to ignore! haha)

Also random, and its not very obvious at all, but there is slightest differences amongst HoMies on how they view/regard him and behave with/around him, depending on their own experiences:

Kim and Jake, as older siblings through and through, tend to see him as a younger bro, like their own siblings who can be a handful and overzealous little hellions at times.

Danny, Rex, Jenny and Zak are a bit complicated. They all have siblings that are older than them, but they are also kind of younger in some sense (or in Danny's case an adopted younger sibling).

Danny and Rex would tend to be overprotective a little bit, as people who didnt have a younger sibling before (I mean, Danny does but she is so independant! Danny doesnt get to exercise his overprotectiveness on Danielle xD) so its a bit new to them. But they are also kind of dicks, and thats just the younger siblings in them talking, lol.

Jenny and Zak on the other hand, both have siblings that are very confusing from the age bracket view.

All ofJenny's siblings are older than her BUT their prototype AI and bodies make them behave younger than her, so she tends to view them as younger siblings. There is a constant argument amongst them about who is older-younger, but its all in good fun! (She also sometimes misses being the only child. xD)

Zak's siblings are all cryptids, and two of them are older than him in age (Fisk and Zon are definitily full grown and possibly more long-lived than humans, I still have questions about Komodo, but he is probably older than Zak in age just by a little bit), but their behaviour, as.... well, i don't want to say animals, because they are not mindless animals, but let's just say - their disregard to human behaviours and norms, as cryptids, make them behave in a way that could be considered irresponsible, thus making Zak often behave like a responsible older sibling, despite being younger than them.

So, Jenny and Zak tend to be as snooty and in 'charge' as an older sibling would, but also be mischevous little shits that is younger (sorta only) child behaviour.

Ben and Jun are sort of like the previous four, but they tend to view Randy on a more equal footing rather than just vacilate between older-younger types of behaviour.

Ben, is a single child, but he grew up pretty close to Gwen, since they were born on the same day. Sort of growing up twins but not kinda situation. They also have an older cousin/brother Ken, and they both adore him, but it is obvious that primarly those two grew up together and are equally annoyed with that, lol.

Jun is a middle child. (I kind of dont want to say anything else, because i feel like it explains everything. xD but-) She is independant, and is equally exasparated with her snooty older brother and her hellion of a younger brother. So, really, she just tends to be the most normal towards Randy in the end???

so, ye, of course in the end they treat him as just a new friend, this was just more of me trying to look into inner mind of sibling dynamics in a weird way haha

sorry about it, but if you got this far, hope you had an entertaining read! ;D

[ducktoonsfanart]

Happy 90th Birthday Donald Duck! - Donald Duck and his family and friends - Tribute to Don Rosa (Happy belated birthday to Don Rosa) - The Duck Who Never Was - My redraw - Duck comics - Duckverse

I know it's past Donald's birthday, but I don't care, because this year is a whole year dedicated to him, because this year the most popular duck is celebrating his 90th birthday this year. So if someone tells me why I'm dedicating his birthday to him now, even though it's passed, please shut up, this is definitely dedicated to the best duck in the world and I have the right to draw related to him. By the way, I drew tributes related to his birthday before, so check out my previous drawings.

By the way, even though his birthday passed a month ago, I definitely wanted to dedicate this drawing to one of my favorite comic artists and writers, Don Rosa, who celebrates his birthday on June 29th because he was born on that date in 1951. Don Rosa wrote and drew comics mostly related to Scrooge McDuck, but also dedicated something related to Donald Duck. A special comic is "The Duck Who Never Was" from June 9, 1994, which is dedicated to the 60th birthday of Donald Duck, where Donald thinks that everyone has forgotten about his birthday, so he miraculously went to another universe where he does not exist and it can be said that it doesn't work at all without it. In the end, Donald returns to his world and is surprised that his beloved family and friends threw him a great birthday party. It's one of my favorite Don Rosa comics.

Yes, I drew as a redraw those final scenes from that comic, so I drew it in my own way, and I apologize to Don Rosa, since I added some characters, and also did some of my own version of characters from the Duckverse. Daisy kisses her Donald, and besides them there are also Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck, Daisy's nieces April, May and June Duck (Dutch version), Donald's uncle Scrooge McDuck, Donald's grandmother Grandma Duck (Elvira Coot), Donald's cousins ​​Gladstone Gander, Gus Goose, Fethry Duck, Donald's best friends Gyro Gearloose, Little Helper, Jose Carioca (José Zé Carioca) and Panchito Pistoles. Yes, added Fethry and the two caballeros because they somehow don't make a real Donald family without them in my opinion. And instead of the 60th birthday, I added Donald Duck's 90th birthday on the banner held by Donald's nephews and Daisy's nieces. Yes, and the 30th anniversary of this comic. I hope you like this idea and this drawing and my remake of that comic, even though I know it's against the Don Rosa rules. Sorry.

I hope you like this drawing and this idea and feel free to like and reblog this if you like it, just don't use these same ideas of mine without mentioning me! Thank you! Also, here's a happy 90th birthday to Donald Duck (who celebrates on June 9th) and a happy birthday to Don Rosa (who celebrates on June 29th) and the beginning of summer, which is celebrated on June 21st! Happy birthday to the best duck who deserves the best! :D And this is a gift for all of you who love this duck and his family!

[guess-i-do-art]

It’s June 15th. You know what that means.

Happy birthday to our favorite old men AND happy 12th anniversary Gravity Falls‼️🎉

It’s hard to believe GF came out that long ago. Of course it’s different for me because I just watched it 1 or 2 years ago and not when it aired on TV. I’m a little disappointed in myself by that fact

Soo the OG Pines twins are now even older than they were before. If Stan and Ford were 60 or so in the show, then they’d be about 72 now. I decided to draw them younger because look how cute they were ☺️

I don’t mean to brag but I really love the way Ford’s glasses look

You may notice the hearing aid in Stanley’s ear, there’s actually a reason for that! Stan canonically wears hearing aids in the series. It was probably just a joke to make fun of how old he is because they’re only mentioned once and never again. BUT I decided to roll with it!

My older cousin and his twin (RIP Charlie, he died a couple days after he was born) were born prematurely, which isn’t uncommon for twins. So it can be assumed that Stan and Ford were also born early. Since my cousin was born so soon, his hearing didn’t develop properly and he’s been deaf his entire life.

So, I headcanon that Stan was born deaf or hard of hearing. That’s why I draw him with a hearing aid! I don’t know if it’s accurate to his time period, but I still think it looks pretty good.

I think we can all agree that cartoon senior citizens are a gift to this world Uncle Iroh

[dumblilb]

SUMMERTIME SADNESS

Jeremiah Fisher x Fem!Reader

(Summary: ~ Think I'll miss you forever. Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky ~

No place in the world ever felt more like home to Y/n Rowe than Cousins beach. Sure it was a beautiful place, but it was more to do with the people. Her and her mother spent every summer since she was brought home with the Fishers and the Conklins. It was her favorite time of year.

But this year felt different. Everything felt more intense. She was finally comfortable in her skin. And that meant maybe, just maybe, Jeremiah Fisher might actually notice her.)

(Warnings: none for this chapter besides some underage drinking and insecure thoughts)

(Words: 4074)

* ・゚☆ 。・ * ・゚★ 。・ * ・゚☆ * ・゚☆ 。

Chapter 1:

I loved cousins beach. Maybe even more than home. But then again it never feels quite like home without the fishers and the conklins. Me and my mother have been staying with them at cousins beach since before I could remember. It was my favorite part of the year. It suck’s being so far from your best friends. So the months between June and august we have to make the most of it. Me and belly would call sporadically throughout the school year but the weeks leading up to cousins whe faced times every single night. Planning outfits and talking about what we would do all summer.

And well, the fisher boys. It was painfully obvious how much belly liked Conrad. I remember the day I squeezed the information out of her. Literally. We were in her room two summers ago and it was late. We had been messing around playing dress up in some clothes I stole from my mom when I bring it up.

“Belly I swear I know who you like.”

“No you don’t.” She says looking in the floor length mirror giggling.

“Yes I do.” I say jumping to her shoulders with a hug. She squealed

As we fell to the bed.

“Who then?” She laughs squinting her eyes.

“CONRA-“ I say loudly before she puts her hands over my mouth.

“STOP! Be quiet.” She whispers eyeing the door hoping the boy didn’t her me from down the hall.

“I knew it.” I say muffled from under her fingers. I wrap my arms around her squeezing her in a big hug causing her to let my mouth go.

“That’s so cute! I knew it!” I smile. She just rolls her eyes with a big blush across her cheeks.

“Fine, fine. I like conrad. But you can’t tell anyone.” She said looking me dead in the eyes.

“Pinky promise.” I grin softly.

“Pinky promise.” She says wrapping hers around mine.

“Plus I promise not to tell anyone you like Jeremiah.” She giggles causing a loud gasp to leave my lips.

Sitting in the car on the way to cousins always brings up memories like that. Maybe it’s the nerves that get built up to see him. Would he notice me that way this summer? Did he look better than the year before? It always clouded my mind on the road there. But then we would hit this place in the road where you could smell the sea so strong it would all fade away. And the excitement would flow back in.

We finally pull up to the house and I see Jeremiah and a soaking wet belly run out the door.

“Y/n!” Belly yells jumping into my arms. Getting me slightly wet in the process.

“Hi bells.” I muse with a wide smile.

“I missed the belly flop didn’t I?” I laugh and Jeremiah chuckles walking up to us.

“Oh yeah you did. But this time she got Conrad back.” He says and belly moves to the side letting him get a hug in.

“Missed you n/n.” He says squeezing me tight spinning us around.

“I missed you too Jere.” I say letting go. The feeling on his hands moving themselves from my waist to his sides making my cheeks heat up. Belly just smiles knowingly and then they both greet my mom, helping her with her bags. I start to get mine out when Susannah, Laurel, Steven, and Conrad walk outside.

“My beautiful girl. Look at you!” Susannah smiles as she walks up to me pilling me up in a warm hug. Sometimes the only thing in the world that can make me feel better is a hug from Susannah. She has this was of making you believe everything will be okay.

“I missed you so much.” I say holding her tight.

“My turn, my turn!” Laurel says and Susannah lets her get a hug.

“Ugh I’m so excited to be here with you guys.” I say and she pulls away fixing my hair.

“It’s so good to see you.” She smiles and they both turn to my mom. They all smile and embrace each other. It makes me wonder if us kids will be like them when we’re older. But I’m brought out of thought when I feel a hand aggressively messing up my hair.

“Hi Steven.” I say rolling my eyes.

“You know I’m gonna get pay back for last summer right.” He says with a glare that doesn’t reach the giant smile on his lips.

“Oh yeah I bet.” I smirk. Every summer me and Steven have a little prank war. Last year me and belly stole all of his clothes while he was in the shower and dumped them in the pool. The moms made us do laundry for a week after. But it was worth it.

He goes to say hi to my mom and Conrad comes up.

“You got taller.” He smiles.

“You didn’t.” I say smiling back causing him to laugh.

“Yeah yeah okay, I’m gonna got say hi to the nicer Rowe, before I’m all Rowe-ed out for the day.” He jokes and belly comes up to me.

“Let’s get your bags inside. I wanna get you all unpacked so we can hang out.” She says dragging me to the trunk of the car. We grab everything and head up to my room.

The light blue patterned wallpaper brings this sensation of calm everyone I walk in. It feels serene. My room back home is covered in posters, but here, here was a clean slate for my mind to breathe in every year.

Belly puts my bags on the bed and I open them up starting to unpack my clothes her putting away my makeup stuff.

“God I love all your makeup stuff it’s so pretty. I need to get better at it before I can go all out like this.” She smiles as I put a few shirts in the drawer.

“I’ll teach you don’t worry. Plus you’re so beautiful already makeup for you should just be fun.” I remark. She looks up at me with a blush.

“You’re just saying that.” She scoffs.

“No I’m serious bells. You’ve always had beauty don’t get me wrong, but you had a glow up this year.” I reassure and her smile grows.

“Well you’ve gotten more beautiful too. You just seem so comfortable in your skin this summer.” She says back. Nudging me with her hip.

I just thank her. She was half right. I definitely feel more confident in my self. But I’ll always feel insecure in this town. All the pretty girls on the beach will never fail to make me self conscious about what should be my so called ‘bikini body’. Or not being able to wear makeup to the beach when I’m having a breakout. But I’ve learned to ignore those thoughts as well as I can.

I’m a year older than belly. And I always feel like I have to hide those thoughts from her. Be a good example. She doesn’t need to find insecurities in herself because I’m complaining about mine.

“Hey let’s go to my room real quick I want to change out of these wet clothes.” She giggles pulling me out of thought.

“Oh yeah duh, let’s go.” I smile. “I wanna pick out your outfit though.” I smirk and she sighs.

“You’re so extra about this stuff.” She complains and I just laugh.

“I got a passion for fashion, what can I say.”

“Did you just quote bratz.” She giggles as I go through her drawers.

“And what if I did.” I smirk.

“You’re so-“ she starts to say when the door slams open.

“Hello ladies.” Jeremiah says jumping on belly’s bed.

“She could have been changing you dork.” I say throwing a pillow at him.

“You guys always lock the door when you change. I know you.” He says throwing the pillow.

“But anyways both of you do need to change. I’ve been waiting all day to go to the beach with you guys.”

“I- uh, told my mom me and y/n would go to whale of a tale.” She says and Jeremiah grabs junior mint making a sad face.”

“Please come swimming with me.” He says in this stupid baby voice.

“-I think she can go by herself.” Belly says and me and Jere share a big smile.

“YAY!” He exclaims getting up off the bed. He grabs my wrist pulling me to my room. Before I can say he shuts the door with me in it.

“Both of you go change!” He says and runs downstairs.

I pull out a bathing suit and head downstairs with my towel meeting Jere and belling in the back.

“Ready?” I ask and he turns to me. God his eyes were blue. They had a tack for making me forget what I was thinking about when I started speaking to him. They both say yes and we start walking but the whole walk all I could think of was how he got tanner this summer. And his hair looked fluffier than last. He had gotten taller too. He had to look down a little to make eye contacts. Which made my heart flutter.

“Hey. Did you know my dad's coming up for the Fourth?” Says belly making us look at her.

“Cool.” Jeremiah smiles.

“Yeah that’s great.” I say doing the same.

“Don't you think it's weird?” She asks.

“Not really. I love your dad.” Jere adds.

“Yeah, but they've only been divorced for, like, a year and a half.” She sighs.

“Well, that's what's so cool about your mom, you know? She just doesn't give a shit.” He says.

“Exactly. She doesn't give a sh¡t because she's the one who wanted the divorce in the first place.” She continues.

“Forever grateful I’m adopted. I never have to deal with men. It sounds exhausting.” I giggle and they both join in.

“I think if you don't want to be married, you just shouldn't be married.” Jere says and I nod.

“It’s better for everyone involved.”

“Well, tell that to my grandma. She basically collapsed when my mom told her. Did you know my dad has a new girlfriend already?” She chuckles.

“Well, what about your mom? Is she dating anybody?” Jere asks.

“No. Oh, and he has a beard now.” She laughs.

“Oh yeah?” I say.

“Your dad has a beard?” Jere says with a confused face.

“Yeah. He thinks it makes him look cool.” She sighs.

“Well, does it?” I ask.

“Kind of.” She snorts.

“I've waited all year for this.” I say loudly as we get to the water.

“You want to race?” Jere asks us.

“No, no, I can't, you...” belly starts to say then runs towards the water leaving us behind.

“Oh that is just not fair.” I say and start running too.

“Oh, come on. Wait up!” Jere yells and chases us. He quickly catches up to me grabbing me and spinning me around.

“If I can’t be first I’ll be second.” He smiles. “SORRY N/N” he continues and bolts for the water. I just kinda stand there for a second in a daze. The heat from his body goes just as quickly as it came leaving me in shock. I’ve always had a crush on the younger fisher brother. But for some reasons this year it felt stronger. Maybe it’s because I finally feel pretty enough in my own skin. Maybe he’ll notice me.

Jeremiah fisher is the biggest flirt in cousins. He’s had multiple summer flings for the past few years. But I don’t want to be that. I don’t want to be someone he forgets about in the fall. And maybe being friends is the only way that can happen. But a girl can dream.

We all head back to the house for dinner. Getting changed into dry clothes and seated at the table.

“Steven, I swear to God, if you look at that phone one more time, I'm putting it in the screen basket.” Laurel says scolding her oldest child.

“It's just, we want to see your beautiful faces. Can dinner be a screen-free zone? You know, like the olden days.” Susannah smiles with a small chuckle at her own joke.

“Steven.” Laurel repeats. Jeremiah takes his phone from his hands and throws it into the basket.

“Dude, are you kidding me?” Steven exclaims.

“Boom! Nailed it.” Jere says flexing.

“Okay, okay, okay, we get it, you've been working out.” Steven complains.

“Oh, you're just jealous because Jere has a better body than you.” I say nonchalant but quickly look up to see Jere looking at me with a pleasantly surprised look on his face.

“Thank you n/n. You’re pretty bodacious yourself.” He says quoting ‘bill and teds excellent adventure.’ I made him watch it with me last year and he hasn’t stopped sending me stupid texts quoting it since. I just roll my eyes with a small smile, saying thank you.

“Uh, no, actually, it's all about the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits.” Steven defends.

“Sure, sure.” Belly says.

“Tailored suits.” Conrad laughs.

“When are you leaving for training camp, man?” Steven asks him.

“Uh, he quit football.” Jere says.

“Wh... Wait, really? You quit?” Steven asks.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Are you kidding me, man? I'd-I'd kill to play college ball.” Steven continues.

“He can always change his mind.” Susannah butts in.

“I'm not gonna change my mind. I was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyways.” Conrad says getting annoyed.

“Well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?” Belly asks.

“Oh, dude, you can work at the club. with me and Jere.” Steven says.

“Yeah. I'm not gonna work at the club.” Conrad scoffs.

“Wait, you guys are working this summer?” I ask.

“Yeah, I'm lifeguarding, and Steven's working at the snack shop.” Jere says doing a lil hand shake with Steven.

“Oh, Belly, Y/n, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you.” Susannah says taking out two white invitations.

“So, this is why you had to stop by the country club.” My mom says. And Laurel shakes her head.

“I wrangled Belly and y/n an invitation to be a debutante.” Susannah exclaims.

“Is that the thing where the girls wear white dresses and curtsy?” Belly asks.

“It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. I-I know it sounds silly, but I swear it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be a part of it. You'll make so many new friends.” Susannah defends.

“I cannot believe you are still holding on to this archaic dream.” My mom laughs.

“No, it used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. They teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourself, and it benefits charity. It's, um, like a bat mitzvah.” Susannah continues.

“It is not like a bat mitzvah. There is nothing religious about a debutante ball.” Laurel scoffs.

“The whole deb scene is bullshit. It's for sheep.” Conrad says.

“No, it's not. It's when a girl has a coming out, it's a formal recognition she's reached maturity.” Susannah continues.

“Oh, sorry. I'm sorry. Mature?” Steven says surprised.

“Yes.”

“Belly and Y/n?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“A-a couple months ago you had a cat funeral. You made us all wear black.” Steven exclaims flabbergasted.

“Shut up, Steven. I saw you crying in your room.” Belly recoils.

“Wait, Mochi died? Dang. I'm sorry, Bells.” Jere says a sympathetic expression taking his features.

“Girls. Don't you want to get all dressed up?” Susannah asks hopeful.

“It's just not Belly's kind of thing. She's our feral little alley cat.” Laurel says. My mom already knows I’ll say yes. I like dressing up. Meeting new people isn’t my favorite thing but if it’s with belly I’ll do it.

Belly looks to me and I smile softly causing her to do the same and look back to Susannah.

“I'll think about it.” She says.

“She'll think about it.” Says Susannah to Laurel happily.

We finish up dinner and I head up to my room. After a few minutes I hear a knock at my door. Jere cracks it open and I invite him in.

“Hey, there’s a bonfire tonight. I already asked your mom and she said you could go. Get dressed.” He says flopping down on my bed next to me.

“What my pajamas aren’t bonfire ready enough for you.” I say turning to him.

“They are, but I know you. Go pick out a cute little outfit. And let’s go.” He says booping my nose and walking out of my room.

Sometimes I hate how right he is.

I pick out a dress and put on my leather jacket. It gets cold at the beach during the night. I slide on my shoes and head to the door to the back yard.

“Ooo y/n give us a twirl.” Jeremiah says with a smile as I walk up and I laugh doing a small 360 for him and Steven.

“Okay let’s go!” Steven says and we walk out the back door.

“First bonfire of the summer!” jere says loudly.

“All right, we're totally taking my car. You're not driving.” Jere says pointing to steven.

“Come on, man, we're leaving. You ready?” Steven says to Conrad who is sitting at the edge of the pool talking to belly.

“Can I come, too?” She asks.

“Uh, no. The moms are getting everything set up for your movie night.” Steven says.

“See you. Let's go, slowpoke. Have fun with the moms!” Jere says.

“Hey why can’t belly come?” I ask but the boys start walking away.

“Come on y/n.” They say not stopping.

“I’m sorry. I’ll take you out a different night. Just us girls.” I say to belly heading to the car.

We get to the bonfire and I thought I would be hanging out with them but they all dispersed and left me alone. Steven is flirting with this girl and Conrad is already making out with someone. Jere has a group of like four people fawning over his attention. I’m not a big drinker so I just kinda chill by the fire. Till I decide to go walk closer to the water. I needed to get the sight of Jeremiah flirting with other people out of my head.

I loved the ocean. Well. To be honest I loved the shore. The part of the water that you can still see your feet in when you look down.

The first time I realized I liked Jeremiah we were sitting on the shore. We were 12 and we sat covered in wet sand digging for sand crabs. He had found one and told me to put my hands out. He put it and a small pile of sand onto my palms and put his forehead to mine to block the sun. We sat there and watched it dig around. Legs crisscross and knees together. His eyes met mine for a second and he had the biggest smile of his face. That was the first moment I understood what people meant when they said they got butterflies in their stomachs.

I shook the memory out of my head and started walking back to the bonfire. It was getting too cold. When I got there though I saw belly. And she was talking with some guy. They looked cute together so I just left them alone. Till I hear Conrad fighting with some guy.

“What's your problem, man?”

“It's one beer. It's a party. Relax.”

“No, give me my beer back. I paid for this.”

“Stop, stop. You're drunk. Just give him the beer.” The girl Conrad was with says.

“Maybe you should listen to your lady.”

“Stop. You're drunk.”

“No. I'm fine. I'm fine. Give me the beer back.” Conrad argues.

“You guys, you guys, you guys.” Belly says walking up to them just as it’s about to get physical. She gets elbowed in the face by the guy Conrad was arguing with.

“Belly.” Conrad says concerned.

“Guys. What the hell.” I say running to help belly up.

“What the fսck is wrong with you?” Conrad says to the guy.

“Are you okay?” Jere says coming up to belly.

“Come on, big man, come on.“ the guy says still egging Conrad on.

“Quit being a dick.” I yell at the guy.

“COPS!” Some kid yells and lights start flashing. We all run to the jeep and climb in. I look around and notice I dropped my phone.

“Fuck I lost my phone I’ll be right back.” I say.

“I’ll help you look.” Jere says.

We trace back our steps and find it.

“Shit this thing is gonna be full of sand for weeks.” I complain and he laughs.

“It’ll be fine don’t worry about it- hey is that Steven?” He asks and we look over.

“Steven hurry up!” I yell and he runs over.

“Sorry I was saying goodbye.”

“Oooh Steven got a girlfriend-“ I start to say goofing around with him till we get to the jeep and see the cops talking to belly and Conrad. Fuck.

We get escorted home and Laurel takes care of it.

“Officers, thank you. It won't happen again, I can promise you that much.”she says.

“Tell Mr. Fisher the chief wants to set up a tee time when he gets back in town.” The officer says.

“Absolutely. Sorry again for all the trouble. Have a good night, Officers.” Laurel says and shuts the door turning to us with disappointed look.

“How could you guys be so irresponsible?”

“Mom, it wasn't a big deal. All right?” Belly says.

“Seriously. The cops were just looking to break up the bonfire.” Steven says.

“Not a big deal? Yes. I would say getting picked up by the cops for underage drinking is a pretty big deal, Steven.” She says letting out a scoff.

“Were-were you guys, you guys smoking tonight?” Conrad asks and my jaw drops. Why is he being such a douchebag.

“What? Keep your voice down. Susannah and Kate are asleep on the couch.” Laurel says panicked.

“Well, I wasn't yelling.” He continues.

“Well, you-you-you were.”

“Just so you know, Laurel, I-I didn't drink tonight. I was the DD, I swear.” Jere reassured her. But she doesn’t care.

“You're the oldest. What the hell's gotten into you?” She says to Conrad.

“And when did you leave the house without telling anybody? And what in the world are you wearing?” She says looking to belly.

“It's Taylor's. And why am I the only one who's not allowed to go out?” She asks.

“It's not that you're not allowed, it's that you should have told us you were going. How did you even get there?” Laur says concerned.

“I walked.”

“Jesus. You know better than to walk that far down the beach alone late at night.”

“Can you stop treating me like a kid?” Belly pleads.

“If you want to be treated like an adult, you need to act like one.”

“Then maybe you guys should, too.” Conrad says digging himself in deeper.

“What does that mean? I hope you realize this night could have ended a lot differently if your family wasn't your family.” She says to the boys.

“We're sorry, Laur.” I say.

“Just... go to bed, guys.” She says sighing and we all walk upstairs.

Im about to get ready for bed when I feel arms wrap around me from the back.

“Jere go to bed.” I say shaking my head.

“Im so happy you’re here.” He says letting go and I smile.

“Why.”

“Cause me and you are doing another movie night soon.” He says.

“Oh yeah?” I questions.

“Yeah and it’s my turn to pick.” He says. “Be prepared to be stollen from belly one of these nights.” He continues and leaves the room only to crack the door open one last time.

“Good night n/n.”

“Good night Jere.” I say and he shuts the door.

I get ready for bed and climb under the covers. As I’m falling asleep all I can think about is his arms wrapped around me.

This summer was going to be great.

[vilnmelling]

do you have any more richie tidbits :D

Trust me, I have a LOT to say about Richard Lipschitz. As he's my current hyperfixation character, I have made it my mission to find out everything there is to know about him, and of course also to make as many headcanons as possible about him. Now LET'S GO, ALL SORTS OF RICHIE STUFF!

Canon/half canon facts and trivia (AKA things said/done either in NPMD, in track commentaries or in streams)

As he says a couple of times in NPMD, he has overactive sweat glands, meaning he sweats more than the average person, and that he doesn't smell very good.

He also has asthma, as Bury the Bully confirms.

Shapiro asks the nerds if they're sure they didn't see Richie in their AP calculus class, so we can assume Richie's good at math.

Richie's quite skilled with a camera, and he knows how to photoshop (whether or not he's good at it is up for debate *glances at Ruth's playbill headshot*).

His favorite anime is Attack on Titan.

He would absolutely dye his hair blue.

He cosplays, and if he could afford to, he would make ELABORATE cosplays.

Richie's bedroom: his walls are absolutely decked out in anime posters, he has tons and tons of plushes, and he has a glass case of Funko Pops. Then he also has his anime love pillows, of course.

He did some Twitch streaming in 2020.

Once, he tried to organize a Pokemon Go meet-up, but no one showed up.

He's not as brave as he would like to be.

He doesn't seem to be a big fan of parties.

Out of the nerds, he was the one who felt the worst about what they did to Max.

My personal observations and headcanons

Richie's a shorts guy, all year around. He only has one or two pairs of long pants in his closet. It doesn't matter how cold it gets during the winter; he still wears shorts. He would've worn shorts to Homecoming. He'd be one questionable decision away from wearing shorts at his own wedding.

He and Trevor are identical twins, and Trevor is eleven minutes older. Even though Trevor's barely interested in anime and Richie's hardly at all interested in musicals, they watch them together. It's a weekly thing that they sit down in the living room, argue for five minutes about whether to watch an anime or a musical ("We watched Newsies last time." "Bullshit, that was like a month ago, we've watched anime the last two times at least!" "And what pray tell may those animes be, Trevor?"), then settle on one but talk over it the entire time. One of them always gets annoyed at the other for not keeping up with the storyline, but if you think they're gonna stop talking over them, you're wrong.

Daniel's their younger brother by five years. Neither of them know about Daniel's abilities nor about the fact that he's part of a magical fighting ring. (Their uncle, Gary, takes Daniel in secret, and they've told the rest of the family that Gary's taking Daniel to some sports practice. Trevor and Richie have ongoing bets about where Daniel keeps getting loads and loads of money from, and they constantly make deals with him to earn some money for themselves (doing Daniel's chores, watching stupid superhero movies with him, etc..))

His full name is Richard Jonathan _____ Lipschitz. Jonathan as a middle name is a family name for all the men in the Matthews-Goldstein-Lipschitz-McNeil family, and then they all have their own second middle name.

Trevor and Richie's birthday is somewhere in June. Richie was just so fucking clearly born in June.

When they were kids (8-12), they would make shitty movies and movie trailers on iMovie on their iPad. Most often, Richie would film and Trevor would play all the roles. Sometimes they'd involve Daniel and their cousins from their father's side of the family, then they'd force all the adults to watch their movies. Their greatest hit films include 'The Children in the Drawers', 'The Green Plant', 'The Murderer in the Barn' and 'The Boy Who Went to the Bathroom and Disappeared' (definitely not named after the shitty iMovie trailers and movies my sister, cousins and I made when we were kids).

Richie and Ruth met for the first time on a playground the summer before their first year of school. They played together for an hour or two before Ruth had to go home, and parted as typical six-year-old strangers who played pirates on a playground once. When they started school a month and a half later, they ended up in the same class, and they immediately recognized each other, and since then they've been besties. (Ruth met Pete at tap class, and that was how Pete completed the trio).

Based on a whole fuck ton of things in both the proshot and the digital ticket, I have no choice but to think Richie's down bad for Ruth, and that she's equally whipped. Richie's 110% oblivious to how he's feeling. He's not in denial or anything, he just has no idea. I'm talking, "Seeing her smile makes my stomach do cartwheels, but that doesn't mean anything." "That dress she wore once made me speechless, but that's just because she's such a good friend." "Yes, I could imagine myself kissing her, but that doesn't have to mean anything." He gives her an almost Paul-level heart-eyes look, she's fucking constantly looking at him, he fully checks her out in the digital ticket (involving nodding and hand gestures), she giggles at every lame joke he makes like it's the funniest thing she's heard, how angry he is that Pete wouldn't want to be with her, she beelines for him after "arguing" with Steph, he hypes her up when Max compliments her skeleton bit, and they're pretty much incapable of standing more than three millimeters away from each other. I mean, come on.

Analyses are on the way!

I've spent a lot of my time delving into story analysis, and I'm about to make an analysis video focusing mainly on Max and Richie (Richie's death, in particular). The script is done, I just have to film and edit it, but then it'll be up on Youtube!

Another analysis video idea I have is to make a video purely dedicated to breaking down each of the main characters and unearthing their internal conflicts, goals, desires, fears and misbeliefs. I've already got a pretty good idea of Richie's motivations and fears, so I'm quite excited about this one...

And there ya go, a bunch of Richie stuff!

[hellfirenacht]

Crit Happens: Session 1

Fic Summary: You are who’s Dustin’s favorite cousin from out of town who is staying with him for the summer. Eddie finds himself jealous as he’s suddenly been pushed aside as Dustin’s favorite dungeon master. When Dustin insists that Eddie join the campaign, you and Eddie quickly butt heads about how Dungeons and Dragons should be played.

Chapter Summary: You arrive in Hawkins and prepare yourself to start your campaign.

5.1k words

Tags: Eddie Munson x Reader, Rivals to Lovers, rival dungeon masters, eventual smut, satanic panic, advanced dungeons and dragons, Henderson!Reader, Reader is Dustin’s favorite cousin, no use of y/n, reader is not described, smut in later chapters

Master List (0 1)

Session 1: Stronghold and Followers 

June, 1986

The closer you got to Indiana, the worse the heat got. In the passenger seat beside you, there were a half dozen water bottles sitting empty, as well as a few wrappers of the various snacks that you had picked up from gas stations on your long drive into Hawkins. You spent half the drive cursing yourself for not getting the a/c fixed earlier, your usual guys going on vacation right when you decided to suck it up to spend the money. Go figure. 

It was twilight now, and there was a hazy purple over the horizon as you passed the WELCOME TO HAWKINS sign. Your radio turned to static, having lost whatever signal you had found for that last stretch of the drive and you reached out to fiddle with the dial to find something to listen to that was loud enough to drown out the sound of the wind rushing through your rolled down windows. 

KISS blasted through your speakers after a moment of messing around, the tail end of “I Was Made For Loving You” giving you the push you needed to get to the Henderson house. 

The street lights turned on as you pulled into the quiet neighborhood and a sense of nostalgia washed over you. For two weeks a year from the time you were in 2nd grade up until your last few years of high school, you’d spend time here with Dustin and his friends, playing D&D and riding bikes. His mom had always welcomed you like a daughter, even though you weren’t even related by blood, your mom having remarried when you were barely three years old.

You turned down the radio as you picked out the old house and pulled into the driveway. The yellow lights illuminating the house from within were a stark contrast to the fading light in the sky, and you saw a shadow rush past the window. You peeled yourself off the seat, and stepped out of the car, wondering how it was now cooler outside rather than inside. 

Your name was called from the porch and you saw Dustin running at you and pulling you into a hug. You grunted and laughed. 

“Who in the fresh hell are you?!” you demanded as Dustin pulled back. He was so much taller now, and you saw a hint of metal in his mouth that showed that his teeth were finally growing in. His hair was also longer, the spiral curls nearly reaching his shoulders. 

“You smell like fresh hell!” Dustin said, scrunching his nose. 

“Oh, do I?” you asked and wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him into a headlock. “Do I? Do I really stink? Am I breaking the illusion that girls smell like roses and unicorns all the time?” 

“Jesus, get off of me!” Dustin cackled as he pushed you off. 

“That’s not my name, but on Friday you can call me ‘God’.” you smirked, ruffling his hair. “It’s good to see you again. Now help me get my shit out of the car.” 

It didn’t take long for you two to drag your suitcases and duffle bags into the spare room. It was stale, but nothing that a cracked window and a fan couldn’t fix. 

“Are you staying for the summer or are you moving in completely?” Dustin asked, dropping an oversized tupperware of clothes on the carpeted floor with a heavy thunk. 

“Most of this isn’t my stuff. It’s for my job. They decided instead of paying to have things shipped they can just shove all the costumes in with me on my drive up.” you said, pushing the clothes to a corner of the room. 

“Couldn’t it have stayed in the car then?” Dustin asked. 

“No, don’t wanna risk damage in the heat.”

Without the boxes of costumes, your personal belongings added up to one suitcase, two duffle bags, and a backpack. You unzipped one of the bags and went digging through the mess to find your toiletries. You were going to need at least three showers after that drive. 

Dustin hopped on your bed and watched you unpack. “Everyone’s really excited for the campaign.”

“Yeah?” you smiled as you tossed the toiletry bag on the dresser. “I spent an afternoon on those tickets, so they better remember to bring them.” 

“We almost stapled Mikes’ ticket to his character sheet so he wouldn’t lose it.” 

“Good because I worked too damn hard on this campaign for you all to derail it before it even starts.” You said firmly. “There will be consequences if they don’t remember the ticket.” 

Dustin shifted on your bed and he started picking at the pilling on the pillow next to him. “And what happens if someone doesn’t have a ticket?” 

“Nice try kid, I’m not sharing anything with you.” you snorted, shoving your clothes in the dresser.  

“Not even a hint?” 

“Nope, instead I should be giving you false information for being related to me. You’re lucky I don’t automatically give you disadvantage on all of your rolls just for knowing me, you nepo.” Your box of D&D items was pulled out of the duffel and placed on the bed next to him. 

“That’s not fair!” 

“I know, which is why I’m not doing it. Aren’t I such a benevolent dungeon master?” You bat your eyelashes at him. “Now is there an actual game shop here that I can get minis from? Otherwise you guys are gonna be battling old Sorry! pieces and maybe the Monopoly dog if I need a boss figure.” 

“The closest one is a town over.” Dustin sighed. 

“Damn. Well, I’ll make due for the first session.”

“I can ask Mike or Will if they can loan you some figures.” 

“And that’s why you’re my favorite cousin.” 

“I’m your only cousin” 

“Details.” 

The rest of the evening was filled with catching up with Dustin, having dinner and finally taking a cold shower after a long day of driving. You were a long way from home, but at least you were somewhere familiar. 

It was almost midnight when you finally laid down for the night, the radio beside you was quietly playing some jazz station. The clean sheets felt like heaven against your skin, but it was still a different bed than usual. 

You stared at the popcorn ceiling, making up constellations in the bumps as you pushed away thoughts of your old D&D party. How everything imploded, and you had jumped at the opportunity to run away with your tail between your legs the second this job opportunity popped up. 

It’ll be different this time. You told yourself. It’s Dustin and his friends. Just a couple of kids who just want to play a game, just like you.

As the quiet sounds of the radio lulled you off, there was a small voice in the back of your head that whispered. 

‘Everyone’s confused why you want to go, anyway-’

With your new job not starting for another week, that gave you plenty of time to get ready for the first session. With the tickets you had sent out a few weeks ago, you’d also send all your players a rundown of what this campaign would be about, and what you expected of them at the table, as well as any house rules. Ideally, you preferred to talk about all of that in person but you wanted to jump right into the game as fast as possible. 

Maybe the faster you started the game, the more you’d like it again. 

When you originally called to ask if the Henderson’s would be willing to host you for the summer when this opportunity popped up, Dungeons and Dragons was the last thing on your mind. It had been a few months since the night that everything had fallen apart, but the wounds were no less healed. But then Dustin had hopped on the line and had gone on and on about Hellfire Club and how he missed playing with you and how amazing his new dungeon master was. 

You weren’t sure if it was jealousy or spite that made you offer to run a campaign again for the kids. Maybe you missed being the one to run games, maybe you missed the idea of seeing people consistently, maybe you were just insane and were looking to still hurt. But you ran your mouth and spent the next few days in a nest of comics, Bradbury books, and B movies and emerged with a campaign about a haunted carnival to run. 

You threw yourself into planning the campaign, focusing everything solely on work and this. Nothing else mattered other than getting as far away as possible, be it in reality or fantasy. 

Friday night rolled around, and Dustin grumbled as you kicked him out of his own home. Your aunt had book club tonight, and that gave you time to spend the day getting ready for the first session. 

The living room was decorated with streamers and balloons in neon greens and dark purples. Your old boom box was playing a tape of distorted carnival music, amplified by the busted left speaker. The afternoon was spent cooking up hotdogs and popcorn and other assorted carnival foods to stay on theme. 

To top it off, you rummaged through the boxes of costumes that you had brought and pulled out a ringmasters coat and top hat. 

Go big, or go home. 

And you were a long way from home. 

It was just past 7 when you heard the familiar laughter of Dustin and his friends outside as they all pulled up into the driveway on their bikes. You took a deep breath, and straightened your coat out. 

Almost none of the voices you heard outside sounded familiar, except Dustin's and you had to remind yourself that you really hadn’t seen these kids since they were in middle school. Damn, it really had been a long time since you’d been back here. 

You made your way over to the door and opened it with a flourish before they could let themselves in. 

“Welcome gentlemen to the circus of the strange, the sideshow of the sinister and the theater of the bizarre!” You said dramatically, bowing as you ushered them in. You could see that Dustin couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or enjoying you hamming it up in front of Mike, Lucas, and Will. 

“Enter a realm of dark wonders to indulge your wickedest dreams. Or, if you dare, explore the shadows of your most diabolical nightmares.” You continued, leading them into the kitchen where you pointed to the food you had made that day. Your hard work for the day was worth it, just to see how Will and Lucas looked around at the decorations that you had put up for the evening.

“Cast your eyes upon cruel the oddities of nature and behold monstrous creatures from the depths of the abyss. Marvel with awe and dismay at unbelievable death-defying acts that teeter on the very brink of doom. Leave the mundane world behind, for those who visit this festival of phantasms are never the same again... Step this way... there is no turning back!” 

The end of your speech was met with laughter and applause. If Dustin had landed on ‘embarrassed’ with your monologue he decided that being fed was worth the show. 

“You really set all this up this afternoon?” he asked, grabbing a handful of popcorn. 

“In a manner of speaking. I’ve been planning this for weeks, setting up was the easy part.” you explained before turning back to his friends. “Why the fuck are you all the way up there, Will?” 

Will laughed, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Growth spurt about a year ago.” 

“God, you’re all tall now.” you said. “How dare you. You’re supposed to stay exactly the same as you were in my memories. Small and in middle school.” 

“We’re going to be sophomores in the fall.” Mike pointed out. 

“Illegal. Not allowed.” you shook your head. “Try again.” 

Your nerves were calming down now that your party was here and being fed. You had overmade the spread for the night, but that just meant that there’d be leftovers for lunch later. As the five of you caught up in the kitchen, you felt yourself relaxing and excited to start the game. You didn’t have to impress them, they knew what to expect with you as the dungeon master. You’d already told them what you expected for this campaign in your notes that you had sent. 

But there was a part of you that wanted to impress them. The small voice in the back of your head that kept whispering that if you ran this campaign well enough, then maybe- well, you weren’t sure what. It wouldn’t change what happened with your last party, but you’d feel better.

Right?

This wasn’t going to be like before. These were good kids, who wouldn’t bring any drama to the table. 

You were going to be okay. 

Once everyone had their fill, you ushered them to the table, where you had set up the game. 

“Before you take your seats, I’ll need to see your tickets.” you said with a wide grin, putting on your best ringleader's voice. “You do have tickets, correct?”

There was a scramble as the boys pulled out the tickets you had worked so hard on to present them to you. 

Lucas was the first to hand his over and you took it, ripped it in half and handed it back, offering him a seat at the table. It pained you to tear up your work, but the look on their faces was worth it. When he took his seat, you reached into a small bag that you had set in the middle of the table and handed over a small set of brand new dice. 

“Holy shit.” Lucas immediately dumped them out and picked up the D20. The dice were purple and green, a custom job from the only person from your last party that you still talked to. 

“Not bad, huh?” you said, feeling proud of the way he looked at his new prize. “I thought they fit the theme of the game.”

Will was next, followed by Mike. Each ticket was ripped and handed back to the boys and you directed them on where to sit. Each ticket came with a brand new set of dice, and the excitement of seeing the boys with their new toys added a bandaid to your bruised heart. 

Then it was Dustin’s turn. 

You looked at him.

He looked at you. 

You held out your hand. “Ticket, please.” 

Dustin laughed nervously. “So, about that...”

“Dustin, you live here!” you gasped, but your smile only grew wider. “You have no ticket? You lost it?!” Despite your scolding, you were giggling maniacally with glee. “My money was on Mike for losing his ticket.”

“Hey!”

“I didn’t lose it!” Dustin said defensively, glaring at his friends who were snickering at him. “I just- I might have uh...”

You clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, there is good news and bad news.” you said. “The good news is that you will still be allowed to play, and you will eventually get your set of dice.”

“And the bad news....?”

“All in good time, Dusty.” you said, and pushed him to his seat. “But no new dice for you. Not yet.” 

Dustin groaned as you made your way to your seat. Your dm screen wasn’t anything especially interesting or fancy, just a few folders taped together with a composition notebook filled with notes for your campaign. 

Just as you started to set the scene, Dustin spoke up. “Wait I- I need to use the bathroom.”

Everyone groaned and looked at Dustin.

“Seriously? You couldn’t go five minutes ago?” Lucas asked. 

“I didn’t need to before!” Dustin got up and quickly ran out of the room and you sighed and paused the music, rewinding it to start over. 

You looked at the clock and took a deep breath. This was fine, he had just thrown you off before you could really start. When Dustin got back, you could just start over and be fine. 

As your party talked amongst themselves, you noticed headlights pulling up outside. That was weird, your aunt wasn’t supposed to be back for at least another hour or two. You heard someone walk up to the door and ring the doorbell. 

Well, that couldn’t be Dustin’s mom. She wouldn’t need to knock for her own home. You got up from the table and started towards the door. 

“I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT!!!” Dustin yelled as he barrelled down the hallway to the living room. 

“What...?” You looked at Dustin confused before opening the door.

You turned to see the person who your cousin was staring at like a deer in the headlights, and for a brief moment, your face mirrored his in a rare moment of family resemblance. 

In the backlight of the porch, you swore for three seconds that Van Halen himself had shown up at the Henderson residence. The man on your porch had long wavy hair and a fringe that almost fell into his round doe eyes. The Dio shirt hung loosely over his frame, and the denim vest on top of that made his shoulders look broad and sturdy. 

He was gorgeous.

You blinked and finally realized that you were staring like a creep. 

“Hi....?” You said. “Can I help you...?”

“Eddie!” Dustin said, which was suddenly echoed by your party as everyone suddenly got up from the table to greet this person. 

Eddie... wait, was this...?

“You made it!” Dustin said. 

“Dude, you invited Eddie to play? Why didn’t you say anything?” Will asked. 

“Yes, Dustin, why didn’t you say anything?” You asked, looking at your cousin as you were all but shoved out of the way as the boys invited Eddie in. You could handle adding an extra player, sure, but Dustin hadn’t warned you about inviting anyone at all, let alone his oh so talented dungeon master from school. 

After spending so much time setting everything up, you weren’t feeling thrilled about the wrench in your evening. 

Dustin looked at you sheepishly, and looked between you and Eddie. By his expression, he hadn’t been warned that you were unaware that he was coming either. 

And now, here you were, surrounded by children who all expected you to allow their old dungeon master to play. A dungeon master who, by all accounts, took the rules seriously. 

Eddie, reached into his pocket and pulled out the ticket that you had crafted for Dustin. 

“Hi, I uh, have a ticket.” he said waving it. 

You snatched the ticket out of his hand, a bit harder than you meant to. It wasn’t his fault, but this did annoy you. 

You looked over the ticket, pretending to examine it, as if trying to decide if it was real or not before looking up at him. 

“And who are you?” you asked. 

“Eddie.” he said, crossing his arms and looking you up and down. 

“No.”

“No?”

“Who are you?” you asked again slower, waving the ticket in the same way that he had. 

You could feel everyone’s eyes on you and Eddie, and despite the anxiety roaring in your stomach you held your ground as you sized him up. It would be a lot easier if he wasn’t taller than you and genuinely looked intimidating. You had never seen such intense brown eyes before.

He seemed to understand what you were asking. “My name is Eddie, and I’m a level five bard who heard about a carnival in town that might be stealing souls. I’ve come to take a look for myself.”

Shit. That was a good answer. 

You offered your name and ripped the ticket in half, handing it back to him. For a split second he looked shocked, and then hurt before you stepped aside and motioned to your table. He looked even more like Van Halen when he smiled at you. 

“So, Henderson, you didn’t warn the dungeon master you were adding a new body to the table?” Eddie asked. 

“It slipped my mind.” Dustin said, looking at you nervously. 

“Oh did it?” you asked. Moving behind your flimsy screen. “So you gave away your ticket and invited someone without asking. You must really be wanting your character to be targeted, huh? Go get the guest a chair.” 

Dustin returned a moment later with an extra chair and everyone adjusted themselves to fit around the small table. It was already cramped before, as it wasn’t like Dustin and his mom needed a lot of space, but now it was nearly shoulder to shoulder. 

You made a mental note to try and find a bigger table for games, or maybe a different place to host. All this set up had just been planned for this one session. You didn’t think you’d have the time when you started up with the job. 

Now, with no more distractions you turned the music back on and took a deep breath. Alright, Dustin didn’t have a ticket. You had planned for that, hoped for that even. Having an extra person at the table wasn’t a big deal either, you had people come in and out of games all the time. You breathed out any annoyance you had for the surprise. It wasn’t like it was Eddie’s fault that you hadn’t been warned and he came prepared with a character and a simple back story. 

With all eyes on you, you set the stage for the campaign. You set them all in a small village where everyone, except Dustin, had been sent an invitation to a carnival. It didn’t take long for the party to realize that the tickets were magic and probably a little bit cursed. 

“As agents of the Department of Occult Research, or DOOR, magic like this isn’t new to you.” you explained. 

“So, we’re some sort of government research department?” Eddie asked, fiddling with one of his dice. “Huh, that’s not exactly the usual fantasy setting I’m used to.”

“If Dustin had tried to do you any favors, he would have also given you the notes about what to expect with this game.” you said, shooting Dustin a look. 

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.” Lucas said, looking over at Eddie. “We’ve played with her before.”

“I want to ask around to see if anyone knows anything about this carnival.” Will said before the conversation became more derailed. 

You guided everyone through the town, allowing them to talk to NPCs and gather information about this mysterious carnival. Once darkness had settled over the village, you took your time describing as a fog rolled into the town and the villagers boarded up their windows and doors. 

Those with tickets were able to enter the fairground easily, but Dustin’s character needed to sneak in, and almost died in the process. It was a nice little bit of karma. 

You described the Midway and gave everyone the chance to play games, and unlock the mystery of the carnival. Once you got into the groove of storytelling, you were finally starting to relax. 

Well, until Will wanted to cast a spell. 

You grabbed your notes and flipped through the handbook to look at the spell in question. “Alright, roll for me.” you said. 

Will dropped the dice on the table. “That’s... 17.”

“Modifiers?” 

He shook his head. 

“Perfect, you manage to cast the spell successfully and-”

“Wait, what about the components?” Eddie asked, messing with his D4. 

You looked over your haphazard DM screen. “What about them?”

Eddie didn’t even look at you, choosing to direct his attention to Will, which kind of pissed you off. “Do you have the components for that spell?” He asked. 

You took a deep breath and tried to remind yourself that Dustin hadn’t given him the rundown of your house rules. Still, you weren’t thrilled how he had ignored you to talk to Will. 

“I don’t run the components rule, Eddie.” you said, saying his name a bit louder to get his attention. He looked at you now as you stood up from behind your screen. “Did anyone bring a copy of the notes I sent?”

When no one had, you sighed and flipped through your notebook that was holding every piece of information about your campaign. Wincing internally, you grabbed the pages that you had carefully written out your house rules and ripped the two pages out. 

“Since Dustin did you a disservice and didn’t give you any warning at all about this, here are the rules we’re playing by.” you said, as he took the pages, his eyes scanning your chicken scratch handwriting. He looked confused as he read everything over, but you just wanted to get back to the game. 

The rest of the evening went by as successfully as you could have hoped. You led the party through a house of mirrors where they fought an evil clown and retrieved more clues about the mysterious carnival. It wasn’t everything you had wanted to do with the session, but with how rusty you were, you weren’t going to complain. 

“Alright, and I’m done.” you said after describing how Lucas had taken down the clown, turning it to dust. “We’ll pick this back up next week.” 

You stood up and stretched, as everyone started gathering their things. Looking at the clock, you had a little bit of time to start cleaning up before your aunt got home. Take down decorations, pack up food, do dishes, and go over notes for next week while it was still fresh. Simple. 

“So, are you coming back next week?” you asked Eddie. Despite the minor hiccups, Eddie had been a passionate player, and had no trouble getting into character. There was that minor issue where he seemed to struggle with the idea that these kids were in your party now. You didn’t hold it against him. You just kept reminding yourself that Eddie had been their DM for almost a year, was clearly more experienced than you were, and the kids did have a strong bond with him. You hadn’t been in town for years and were just getting back on your feet. 

It was fine. Not anyone’s fault. 

Maybe Dustin’s. 

“Do I need another ticket?” Eddie asked, grabbing his dice. 

You shook your head with a small smile. “If I gave you one, would you give it to someone else?” you asked, eyeing Dustin who just groaned. 

“If I did, I’d warn you that I was subbing someone in.” Eddie grabbed the top of Dustin’s head and shook it. 

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Dustin said. “I got caught up in everything and forgot!”

“Don’t worry, one day I’ll forgive you and you’ll earn your shiny new dice set.” you teased. 

Grumbling something under his breath, he and his friends grabbed their things and started packing up their backpacks to head home. 

“The rest of the campaign will probably happen on Wednesdays or Thursdays.” you said, grabbing a piece of scrap paper and jotting down the number to the Henderson home. He might have already had the number, but you had no way to know that. Plus, with you spending the rest of the summer here, you weren’t exactly wanting to spend every moment of your free time hanging out with a group of kids that couldn’t drink or drive. Eddie would at least be an age appropriate friend. 

Okay yeah, and he was really fucking attractive and you wanted to give your number to a cute boy. Could anyone really blame you for that? Sure, there had been some points during the game where you and him and butt heads a little, but you were sure that since he had your house rules it would go smoother next week. 

Eddie took the paper and put it in his jacket pocket. “And should I dress up next week to match?” he asked, glancing up at your hat. 

In all the stress and excitement, you had actually forgotten that you were meeting this person dressed up in a cheap Ring Leader costume that had been made specifically for entertaining the children. Blood rushed to your face and you crossed your arms pretending that you weren’t feeling just a tad bit embarrassed. 

“By all means, dress up.” you said with a shrug. “I’m very generous with my players for being creative. I’m not above giving out inspiration to those who impress me. Or bribe me.”  

You liked the way Eddie grinned at you, and there was a look in his eyes that said that he was up to any challenge you’d throw at him. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“I told you I should have brought my robe and wizard hat!” you heard Will say to Mike. 

“Shut up, it would have been dorky!” Mike responded. 

“Do you two not see what she’s wearing right now? If there was a time for you to let yourself be a dork then it would be with her campaign.” Lucas added with a shake of his head. 

“I can hear you all, you know.” You said loudly. “Keep it up and I’ll start making it personal during the game.”

“Dude, let’s go before we piss her off.” Mike said, practically pushing Will and Lucas out the door, Dustin following behind to see his friends off. 

“I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” Eddie said, offering his hand. “Not bad for a first session.”

“Thanks.” you took his hand, and his handshake was surprisingly strong. He wasn’t trying to crush your hand or anything, but you could feel how firm it was. 

With a promise to call you to find out when the next session would be, Eddie turned and left. You followed out to the porch, watching as his van pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. 

Fuck, you were exhausted now. You had forgotten how much mental work went into running the game. You figured you had just enough energy to clean up before passing out and sleeping until noon. 

By the time you finally made it to your bed, you felt braindead. The past few days were catching up to you now. In such a short time you had made the long drive to Hawkins, set up in a new room far from home, realized that the kids you knew were no longer kids, and might have made a new friend. 

That night, your dreams were filled with thoughts of fighting against evil clowns with Eddie Van Halen while Will criticized your battle outfit. 

a/n: I really should be working on the ending to Wing Man, but instead I worked on this lol.

Also, this is Chapter One but there was a prologue posted in the Master List.

No tag list yet but if anyone wants one let me know, or follow the story on AO3.

I'll fix any mistakes in post when I haven't been up since 6 am for work lol

[heeluvviee]

SUMMER LOVE | LHS + SJY + YJW

one; summer house

pairing; conrad!heeseung (17) x belly!reader (16) x jeremiah!jake (17) x cam cameron!jungwon (16)

genre; mostly written + smau, tsitp au, romance, angst, fluff, heartbreak, unrequited love, childhood friends to lovers, love square, love triangle, non-idol au

synopsis; every summer, your family returns to jina's beach house at cousins beach, a tradition since childhood. this year, as you reconnect with jina's sons, heeseung and jake, you notice a change in their interactions with you. gazes lingering longer, hugs feeling tighter, sparking a summer filled with unexpected feelings and the potential for long-awaited romance. leaving you to wonder if this season might be the one where everything changes, maybe to finally bring the romance you've always secretly hoped for all these years.

wc: 9.4k

《 previous | masterlist | next 》

every summer, my family and i would pack up and travel to cousins beach. it's tradition, one that i looked forward to all year long. we have been going here since i was a baby. since before i was even born. the summer house belonged to my mom's best friend, jina, and we shared it with her family. all year long, i would count the days until i'm at that beach, at that house. the summer house is made up of lots of things. the beach, the swimming pool late at night, movie nights with the moms. but the boys. the boys most of all.

jina has two boys- heeseung and jake. heeseung's dad died before he was even born and eventually, jina remarried and had jake with mr. sim. heeseung was the older one, by a year and a half. he had that honey type of tan that made him look breathtaking and a smirky mouth that i always found my self staring at. sometimes even imagining what it would be like to kiss it. he was everything i wasn't- confident, outgoing, and effortlessly cool. jake, though- he was my friend. he's the type of boy who still hugged his mother and held her hand, not ever being embarrassed. he was way flirty though. he had that puppy golden retriever like personality. he’s easygoing, playful, quick to laugh. the one all the girls at school like.

it's the same every year, and i loved it. the house was my world. as if winter didn’t even count. summer was what mattered. like i don’t really begin living until june, until i’m at that beach, in that house.

for me, everything good, everything magical happens between the months of june and august.

"chae, i thought you came here to help me pack." i laughed and jokingly rolled my eyes as chaewon continued to yap about boys, parties, balala.

"fine. here's a tip: don't bring that speedo. it doesn't do shit for your new boobs!!"

"kim chaewon!!" i exclaimed, nudging her playfully.

kim chaewon, my bestest and longest friend, was the literal definition of the it girl. she's a natural flirt, always drop dead gorgeous she made heads turn wherever she went. she's effortlessly popular, attracting guys like moths to a flame, boyfriend after boyfriend. her short, blonde hair, sparkling eyes, flawless skin, and perfect body made her the center of attention wherever she went. being around her was like being in the shadow of a celebrity, and sometimes, it really made me feel invisible.

"i'm just saying, babes," chaewon says with a mischievous grin. "if you wanna get heeseung's attention this summer, you gotta pack cute things. don't bring a swimsuit that looks like you're trying out for the swim team."

i tackled her with a laugh, and we both broke into a fit of giggles. my room was a mess, clothes and belongings scattered everywhere as i tried to pack my suitcase. posters of my favorite artists all over the walls, and fairy lights and vines hung around my bed, giving the room a cozy feel despite the chaos.

"y/n!! we’re leaving in the next 10 minutes!!!" my mom’s voice echoed from downstairs.

"okay, okay, before you go," chaewon said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, " you have to tell me your wish for this summer. like, what is the one thing you want to happen." she looked at me wiggling her eyebrows.

i shrugged nonchalantly, "i don't know." even though the truth was far from that. i've been wishing for the same thing every summer, hoping it might come true someday.

chaewon snorted in disbelief. "you little liar. yes, you do. you want a hot make-out with lee heeseung!! you want his tongue in your mouth you dirty little slut!!"

"shut up, chae!" i blushed furiously, shoving her away playfully.

"i'm just saying!! like, you've been in love with him since we were 12. it's kinda obvious."

"whatever," i replied, trying to sound nonchalant even though i felt a pang of disappointment. "he doesn't even see me in that way at all no matter what i do."

"girl, he'll see you alright. whether he wants to or not. look at you—" chaewon gestured to me with a dramatic flair. "you look a lot different than last summer, y/n. i mean, just look at you."

her words lingered as i glanced at my reflection, wondering if this summer might be different after all. the thought was both exciting and nerve-wracking. chaewon was heading to madrid for the next few weeks until the end of june just in time for my birthday at cousins.

"do you really think he'll notice?" i asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

she walked over and put her arm over my shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile. "trust me, y/n. he will. and if he doesn't, he's a fool."

just then, sunghoon peeked into my room. "hey, are you two done with your little girly shit? we're gonna be late."

"almost, sunghoon!" i called back, giving chaewon a meaningful look.

"okay, y/n. you got this. and don't forget, have fun! it's summer. anything can happen."

i smiled, feeling a wave of determination. "thanks, chae. i'll miss you."

"i'll miss you too," she said, pulling me into a hug. "but don't worry. we'll catch up soon, and you can tell me what happens with you-know-who while i'm gone."

as she left, i felt a mix of emotions. excitement for the summer ahead, a little nervous to see heeseung, and a lingering sense of being overshadowed by chaewon's dazzling presence. but maybe, just maybe, this summer would be different. maybe this summer, i'll finally step out of her shadow and into the light, my own light.

with a deep breath, i zipped up my suitcase, ready to face whatever the summer had in store.

as i reflected on my feelings for heeseung and the upcoming summer, i couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

"alright, let's go," i said to sunghoon, determination and excitement in my eyes.

i loved this drive, where the salty air started to tickle my nose, signaling we were nearing the town. seeing the familiar streets and the old diner again felt like coming home after an endless journey, memories flooding my mind of past summers.

as we pull into a small gas station, sunghoon parked the car to fill up the tank. my mom and i get out to stretch our legs, heading into the store for snacks. the scent of gasoline mixed with the salty sea breeze created a unique aroma. the gas station was small and a bit rundown, but it had a certain nostalgia with its faded signs and ancient gumball machine by the door.

inside, the flourescent lights flickered slightly, and the cool air gave me a relieving welcome from the heat outside. i grab a coke, hot cheetos, sour patch kids, and nerds clusters, my hands overflowing with sugary and spicy treats. the shelves are packed with a wide selection of snacks and drinks, the hum of the refridgerator units providing a constant background noise.

mom watches me with an amused expression as she hands over her card to pay, then heads to the bathroom. as i stuff a handful of cheetos into my mouth, i catch the cashier’s eye. he's smiling at me, and i glance around, wondering if there's someone behind me he could be looking at. but the aisle is empty, and his attention is undeniably on me.

at school, boys barely notice me. chaewon was always the center of attention, always drawing people in with her charm and looks. i had learned to be okay with just being… there. but here, in this tiny gas station, i felt seen.

i make my way to the counter, still munching on Cheetos, and the cashier’s gaze lingers on me.

"hey, are you new this summer? i'm jay," he says with a friendly grin.

"me? no, i've been coming to cousins since i was a baby."

"i definitely would've remembered you. thought i knew every pretty girl in town."

i feel a blush creeping up, and i quickly wipe cheese powder off my face with the back of my hand. his attention was flattering but it was also unfamiliar.

"so, are you going to the bonfire tonight? first of the season," jay asks, his grin widening.

be cool, y/n, i remind myself silently.

"oh yeah um… maybe."

my mother returns from the bathroom and gives me a curious look, which i pretend to not see. she gently brushes my hair out of my face lovingly.

"after we get settled, do you want to go to whale of a tale with me so I can pre-sign stock before the signing tomorrow night? remember how you used to sit on my lap when I did signings there? you insisted on drawing a little whale on every book I signed."

"um no, i don't remember that." i admit, feeling a bit embarrassed as we stand at the counter. my mom, yeji, had just come out with her latest book, and it's clear to see how excited she is for the signing. she's so passionate about her work, and i admire her for it.

"i’ll make you a deal. i’ll let you be in charge of picking out tonight’s dessert if you come with me and keep me company."

jay looks at me expectantly as we start walking away.

"so, i’ll see you later?" he asks.

i push mom out the store, avoiding jay's gaze. "what’s later?" she asks.

"nothing." i mumble, and we head back to the car where sunghoon is scrolling on his phone. my brother is about to be a senior after this summer and will soon be leaving for college. it feels like everything is changing too quickly.

when we arrived at the summer house, jake comes running to us with his arms wide open. he put both his arms up in the air and yelled, “sunghoon!”

sunghoon and mom get out of the car, hugging jake tightly. i follow, dragging my bag behind me. as I step out, i spot him—heeseung, coming from the pool gate. time seems to slow as our eyes meet. he looks different, almost like he’s changed since I last saw him.

jake does a double-take when he notices me, his confusion obvious as if he doesn't even recognize me. he starts to walk over but hesitates when he sees heeseung approaching me.

heeseung stands close, his breath warm on my face. his hair is freshly dyed red, still wet from swimming. he smiles, and then he pulls me into a hug.

"i liked you better with glasses," he murmurs, his lips brushing my ear.

i push him away slightly, trying to hide my surprise. "well, too bad. i like me better without them."

we share a moment of silence, just smiling at each other. the way he looks at me feels new, intense. there was something familiar in his gaze, but also something more, something i can't quite place.

our moment was quickly interrupted when jake suddenly picked me up in a tight hug. "y/nnie, i missed you so much! i've been waiting all day for you." he ruffles my hair when he puts me back down.

"hi, jakey." i smile up at him. he has grown so much taller since last summer.

"wow y/n, something seems different about you." he kept staring at me as if he didn't know who I was.

"don't be silly, jake. it's probably the contacts," i reply, self-consciously touching my face. do I really look that different without my glasses?

"nope no, you just look different, you know. you came back all grown up!" jake insists, his eyes filled with admiration.

heeseung watched our exchange silently, his expression unreadable. there was a tension between us, something unspoken but noticeable. jake’s admiration made me feel self-conscious, and i wondered if heeseung noticed it too.

as we settled into the house, the familiar sounds and smells of summer surrounded us. the cicadas buzzing, the scent of the ocean mixed with the pine trees, and the distant laughter of kids playing on the beach. this place held so many memories, both good and bad. it was here that our parents had decided to divorce, and the pain of that summer still lingered. but it was also a place of healing and new beginnings.

after unloading the car, i headed up to my room. as i started unpacking my things, my mind wandered off. the way heeseung had looked at me, the way jake had seemed to notice me—it was different. i let out a long breath, feeling as if i've been holding it in for an eternity. my heart was beating so loudly that I could hear its rhythmic thumping in my ears. everything was the same but not. they had looked at me like I was a real girl, not just somebody’s little sister. chaewon was right; maybe there was something different about me this summer.

i lay on my bed and let out a deep sigh, sinking into the familiar softness of the mattress. the room was scented with a faint hint of lavender from the sachets jina always put in our drawers. the bedspread, with its texture of soft cotton, felt cool against my back. the beach-themed decorations, seashells, and calming blues. i tossed my belongings into the drawers absentmindedly, the sound of fabric adding to the quiet of the room.

jina entered the room with a warm smile. "oh my gosh, look at you, y/n! you've always been lovely, honey, but oh, look at you now. you've blossomed into such a beautiful young woman."

her words made me feel both embarrassed and touched. jina had always been like a second mother to me, her presence comforting and her praise genuine. "thanks, jina," i said softly.

she hugged me tightly. "i’m so proud of you. and remember, you’re beautiful inside and out."

when jina went back downstairs, just a few minutes later, the creak of the door caught my attention, and i turned to see my best friends—ning ning, niki, and beomgyu—coming in.

"y/n! oh my gosh girl, i've missed you so much!" ning ning exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she rushed over to envelop me in a hug. her perfume, a sweet floral scent, filled the air around us.

beomgyu, always the funny one, grinned teasingly, "damn girl, look at you, all grown up and mysterious! what’s with the new look?"

niki, who's mostly quiet but the sweetest guy ever, gave me an appreciative nod. “can’t say I don’t approve.”

i laughed, feeling a wave of comfort wash over me. "thanks, guys. it's really good to see you too."

as we began catching up, sharing stories from the past year, i couldn’t help but glance out the window occasionally, hoping to catch a glimpse of heeseung. my thoughts kept drifting back to that intense moment earlier.

"so, when's chae coming?" beomgyu asked, his voice tinged with hopeful curiosity. he's had the hots for chaewon for as long as I could remember, though she’d never shown him much interest, always saying he wasn’t her type.

"oh yeah, she's at madrid with her parents." i replied. "she won't be here until before my birthday."

ning nudged me playfully. "so, what's this i hear about you having a crush on heeseung? tell!"

i felt my face heat up. "what? no! who told you that?"

"jake mentioned it," niki said with a smirk. he said you were acting all weird around heeseung earlier."

i groaned, covering my face with my hands. "great, now jake's spreading rumors."

"come on, y/n, we know you," beomgyu teased. "just admit it already."

my friends and I continued our conversation, the atmosphere light and full of laughter. we talked about everything that had happened over the past year, from ning ning's new painting hobby to niki's adventures in photography and beomgyu's latest pranks.

"do you guys remember that time chaewon convinced beomgyu to dress up as a mermaid for the beach party?" ning ning laughed, causing everyone to burst into giggles.

"yeah! and he actually did it!" i added, recalling the memory vividly. beomgyu's crush on chaewon had always been a source of endless amusement for us.

after a while, we decided to head down to the pool. maybe a swim could help escape the thoughts swirling in my mind. the pool area was just as i remembered it: crystal-clear water shimmering under the golden sun, surrounded by lush greenery and the faint aroma of blooming flowers that jina tended to daily. the hot tub bubbling invitingly nearby.

the sight that greeted me was exactly what I had missed: jake, splashing around with an energy that was as infectious as ever that made it impossible not to smile at, and heeseung lounging at the edge, his red hair now dried and messy, looking relaxed and at ease. (and so fucking hot.)

i walked out, feeling a bit self-conscious in my new bikini chaewon had picked out (that was very much revealing). trying to act casual, i walked towards the pool. jake's eyes lit up when he spotted me and waved enthusiastically. “y/nnie! Come join us!”

i waved back, giving a small smile as i approached the pool. heeseung’s gaze met mine once again, and the corner of his mouth curved up into a small, knowing smile. it sent a shiver down my spine, but i quickly tried to shake off the feeling.

"hey, heeseung," i said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"hey," he replied, his tone soft with a hint of something unspoken that made my heart race. "you look great. really."

i felt my cheeks flush at the compliment, but i managed to respond with a casual, "thanks. i guess the summer heat agrees with me."

jake gave me and ning ning a playful shove towards the pool. "come on, guys! swim with me!"

we laughed and jumped into the cool water, pulling niki and beomgyu in with us, feeling a refreshing contrast to the warm summer air. the sound of water splashing and the smell of sunscreen filled the air as we swam, played, and laughed as if no time had passed at all. we had races, played pool volleyball, and even had a contest to see who could do the best cannonball.

amidst the fun, i couldn’t ignore the moments when heeseung’s gaze would find mine, lingering with an intensity that made me wonder what was going on in that pretty little head of his. he would swim over occasionally, subtly bumping into me or giving a compliment that left my heart fluttering.

as the sun began to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink, we gathered around the poolside, sharing snacks and stories. the atmosphere was filled with the warm, comforting laughter of friends. ning ning was lounging in the pool chair next to mine. "y/n, how was your sophomore year? i want to know everything. you know, any boys we should know about." she wiggled her eyebrows at me, a playful glint in her eye.

i nodded, feeling the comfort of old friends around me. "well, there’s not much to tell. just the usual school stuff and a few new hobbies. and nope there wasn't really any guys."

beomgyu eyed me curiously. "nahhh, something interesting must have happened. come on, spill!"

i chuckled, appreciating their interest. as i began to recount some of my favorite moments from the past year, i noticed heeseung quietly listening, his eyes never straying far from me. there was something in his gaze that felt almost protective, as if he was hanging on every word i said.

the evening carried on with more laughter and stories, the transition from day to night marked by the soft glow of fairy lights being turned on. the stars began to twinkle above, and the warm summer night wrapped us in a comforting embrace.

as the conversation continued, i caught heeseung's eye again. this time, he gave me a smile that seemed to hold a thousand words. my thoughts wandered to the past year and my feelings for him. was there something more between us, or was it just my imagination? the uncertainty gnawed at me, but for now, i just wanted to enjoy the moment and everyone's company.

the summer night wrapped around the pool with a comforting embrace, its surface shimmering softly from the gentle glow of string lights that wrapped around the trees above. the air was alive with the hum of crickets and the occasional splash from the pool.

at the elegant outdoor dining table, the bouillabaisse gleamed invitingly under the ambient light. aach bowl was brimming with vibrant colors—chunks of fish, mussels, and shrimp mixed together in a rich, saffron-infused broth. the aroma of garlic, tomatoes, and herbs traveled through the air, going with the soft scents of the night. alongside the bouillabaisse were platters of fresh baguettes, bowls of crisp garden salad, and trays of roasted vegetables, their edges caramelized to perfection. the table was a lively scene of post-swim hunger, surrounded by friends and family savoring the meal and each other’s company.

jina, dressed in a flowing floral sundress, sat at the end, her glass of wine a steady companion as she observed the lively conversation around her. her eyes sparkled with delight as she watched the group interact.

“i can't believe you guys are working this summer,” ning ning exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. “i thought the only plans you had were beach days and parties.”

jake grinned, his smile almost as bright as the pool lights. “yeah, well, change of plans, ning. sunghoon and i are trying something new this summer. gonna get those racks.”

beomgyu nodded, his eyes flicking between Jake and Sunghoon. “it sounds like a good idea. both of you could take a break from hoeing around.”

niki raised an eyebrow, glancing at heeseung, noticing his quiet demeanor. “and what about you, heeseung? any big summer plans?”

heeseung shrugged casually, his voice low. “i’m just focusing on myself this summer. no big plans. just taking it easy.”

jina leaned in with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. “oh, speaking of plans, y/n! I almost forgot to tell you! I managed to get you an invitation to the debutante ball.”

a murmur of surprise passed through the group. i looked at jina, confusion evident on everyone's faces and probably mine. “wait, is that the big dance where you dress up and curtsy?”

jina crossed her arms, a determined look on her face. “i really think you’d enjoy it. tt’s not just about dressing up. it’s a chance to meet people and do something different.”

beomgyu looked intrigued. “what even is a debutante ball?”

jina smiled and took a sip of her wine. “it’s kind of like a fancy coming-out party. it’s where girls are formally introduced to society, and it’s a pretty big social event.”

ning ning’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “it sounds fun! you get to wear beautiful dresses and dance with cute boys.”

i could feel my face twisting into a frown. “i don’t know… i’m really not into all the etiquette stuff.”

jina leaned in, her tone encouraging. “it’s not just about etiquette. it’s about growing up and finding your place in the world.”

heeseung, glancing over from the corner of his eye, added with a hint of rudeness, "the whole deb scene is bullshit. it’s for sheep."

sunghoon, not missing a beat, added, “yeah, maybe the debutante ball would do you some good.”

i shot my brother and heeseung a look before turning back to jina with a hesitant nod. “i’ll think about it. but don’t get your hopes up, okay?”

jina's smile was warm and understanding. “that’s all I ask.”

my mom turned to me, concern all over her face. “are you sure you want to do this, honey, it doesn't really sound like you? but, whatever you decide, i’m sure you’ll make the best of it. and if you do go, we’ll all be here to support you.”

i smiled at my mother’s supportive stance. “thanks, mom. i’ll definitely think about it.”

ning ning's excitement returned. “omg, you’ll have me and chaewon to help you with your outfits, your dress! omg, your escort too! it’s gonna be so much fun.”

as the conversation shifted back to lighter topics, the group continued to enjoy their meal. laughter and chatter filled the warm air, going with the calm sounds of the night. the tension around the debutante ball eased, replaced by the warmth of the evening and the comfort of shared moments.

i can't help but feel a mix of anticipation and dread about the debutante ball. would it really be a chance for me to grow and find my place, or just another event where i felt out of place? the future seemed uncertain, but at least i know i had the support of my family and friends.

when ning ning, beomgyu, and niki left to go home, i walked back outside from cleaning up dinner, the cool night air brushing against my skin. the pool was still and silent. i stopped short when i spotted heeseung sitting on the edge of the pool, a joint dangling from his lips and a beer in hand. i'd never seen him do either of these things before—so relaxed, so detached. but damn, he looked so good. especially with that cherry red hair.

i stood there for a moment, taking in the scene, before putting my towel down and diving into the pool with a splash. when i rose up to the surface, i took a deep breath, trying to shake off the surprise, and swam towards him. the water felt refreshing on my skin, a big contrast to the tension building inside me.

“hey, heeseung,” i called out, attempting to sound casual despite the nervousness i feel fluttering in my chest.

he glanced down at me, his expression unreadable. he took a slow drag from the joint, his eyes lingering on mine, and then took a swig from his beer, all the while keeping his eyes locked on mine. the smoke curled around him, mixing with the scent of chlorine.

“hey, y/n,” he replied, his voice surprisingly calm.

i tried to keep my voice steady as i swam closer to him, but my curiosity got the better of me. “i thought you said smoking pot changes the way your brain processes information.”

he raised an eyebrow, taking another drag and blowing out a cloud of smoke. “so does your cell phone.”

“you said marijuana messes with white matter,” i called out, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.

heeseung tilted his head slightly, a smirk forming on his lips. “do you even know what white matter is?”

i moved closer, my hand brushing against the edge of the pool. “you said our brains are still developing and that—”

“god, do you memorize every single thing I ever said?” he interrupted, his tone a mix of amusement and frustration.

i paused, treading water, considering my response. “get over yourself.”

heeseung gaze softened, though he still held his casual demeanor. “look, i said a lot of stuff. and i’m not an athlete anymore.”

a flashback of heeseung in his element went through my mind, scoring touchdowns and leading his team. i remember the determination in his eyes, the confidence in his stride. seeing him now, so different, was unsettling.

“well, i still think you should quit,” i said, trying to sound firm despite the vulnerability i felt.

heeseung’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “what will you give me if i do?”

what the fuck-

the air between us suddenly felt charged with tension. i hesitated, my mind racing as I tried to find the right words. “n-nothing,” i said finally, turning away slightly. “you should quit for yourself.”

for a moment, the tension lingered in the air. our eyes met again, but just like that, the little spark between us felt like it had been extinguished. i got tired of treading water for so long and sat up on the edge next to where heeseung sat, the joint between his fingers and the beer bottle nearly empty. he seemed lost in thought, but then he looked at me with a hint of concern.

“why are you considering this debutante thing?” he asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

i was taken aback by the question. “i don’t know,” i said honestly. “it’s not like I have anything else going on.”

heeseung shook his head slightly, taking a slow drag from his joint. “but it’s not you. don’t let my mom make you into her little doll just because she never had a daughter.”

i kicked my legs in the water, gazing up at the moon. “i don’t mind it. sometimes I wish I was her daughter.”

heeseung’s eyes softened. “you’re better off with yeji, trust me.”

i watched him take another hit, the smoke curling around his face. “why are you acting so different?”

heeseung looked startled by my blunt question. it was always a little disarming, the way I could cut through his defenses. “i—i’m not,” he stammered.

“yes, you are,” i insisted. “what's going on? you know you can tell me.”

heeseung’s cool facade began to slip, his eyes reflecting the struggle behind his calm exterior. i could tell he wanted to open up, to share the weight he had been carrying. his mouth opened slightly, as if he was about to speak, but then—

sunghoon and jake burst out onto the porch, dressed up and ready for a night out. the sudden intrusion broke the moment between us.

"wow, look at you two,” sunghoon teased, his eyes darting between us. “looks like you’re having quite the heart-to-heart.”

jake, always the more light-hearted of the two, grinned. he looked over at me. “come on, we’re heading out to the bonfire. don’t you want to join us?”

"um yea-"

"um no. don't you have your little movie night with the moms? they're getting it ready for you, y/n." sunghoon butts in, clearly not wanting me to come with.

sunghoon and jake then started talking about the party, pulling heeseung with them towards the car. i stole one last glance at heeseung. there was something more he wanted to say, something he was holding back. it was clear that the conversation we’d started wasn’t over.

as they left, i felt a mix of frustration and concern. what was heeseung hiding? and why did it feel like our connection was slipping away just when i wanted-no, needed-it most? the night air felt heavier, now charged with unanswered questions and lingering tension.

i dried up and walked back inside, rejecting the movie night, saying i was tired. i laid in bed, wearing an oversized t-shirt, my eyes fixed on the familiar ceiling of the summer house. the room was dimly lit by the soft glow of my bedside lamp, casting long shadows on the walls. even from here you could hear the distant sound of waves crashing against the shore. my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each one more confusing than the last.

i grabbed my phone, the cold metal a stark contrast to the warmth of the room. hesitating for a moment, i finally decided to facetime chaewon. the call connected, and chaewon’s surprised face appeared on the screen, a makeup brush in hand. her background bustling with the organized chaos of her vanity, scattered with makeup products and jewelry.

"y/n? you never call me on the first night," chaewon said, raising an eyebrow, her expression a mix of curiosity and concern.

i avoided the question, my curiosity getting the best of me. "where are you going?"

"to dinner," chaewon replied, leaning closer to the screen. "what’s wrong?"

i sighed, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "tonight, heeseung and i were talking by the pool, just the two of us. it felt… different."

"good different?!" chaewon’s excitement was through the roof. "see, i told you!"

"i don’t know," i continued, my voice uncertain. "jake and sunghoon came down, and they all just left to go to this thing at the beach."

"why didn't you go with them?" chaewon asked, her tone turning serious.

i hesitated, lying, "like i care about a beach bonfire. and sunghoon probably would've made a fit if i went with them."

"he doesn’t own the beach!" chaewon exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"well, i did talk to this one guy at the gas station, and he mentioned it to me. jake also asked if i wanted to go with them," i admitted.

"see?! come on, girl. go have fun!"

"but, i don’t like that guy. or jake," i muttered.

"that’s not the point. heeseung will be there. go to the bonfire, get in his eyeline. let him see you all dressed up looking cute."

i mulled over the idea, my reluctance slowly fading. i sat up abruptly. "all right! shut up. i'll go."

chaewon looked into the camera, judging my attire. "is that what you’re wearing?"

"it’s fine! nobody dresses up for bonfires."

"how do you know when you’ve never even been to one?" chaewon challenged.

"i’ve seen what the guys wear!" i defended.

chaewon sighed dramatically. "look in your duffel bag. i gifted you my secret weapon. not to keep, obvs, just to borrow."

i opened the duffel bag, finding chaewon’s favorite body-con dress, tight as a second skin. "no way in hell."

"y/n. who got five promposals, you or me?"

my voice softened. "i didn’t even get one. people kept saying i look so different from last year, but not a single person asked me."

i held the dress against my body, glancing at my reflection with uncertainty. memories of last summer flooded back, the feeling of being invisible among the crowd, and the ache of not being noticed. but this summer, things felt different. heeseung seemed different.

gosh, ever since i got here, i just can't stop thinking about heeseung.

with a sigh, i then went to jina's room and rummaged through her drawers. i opened tubes of lipstick, tried one on, wiped it off, then tried another. opening the medicine cabinet, i noticed numerous prescription bottles but ignored them, focusing on the perfumes instead. i sprayed several before settling on one that smelled of jasmine and vanilla

wearing chaewon’s dress, i tiptoed down the stairs. the lights from the tv flickered in the dark living room, playing the famous hitchhiking scene from it happened one night. yeji and jina laughed together, their heads close, looking cozy on the couch.

i felt a pang of longing, tempted to stay and let this night be like every other first night at the summer house. but then it would be like every other first night at cousins beach. i took a deep breath and slipped out the back door unnoticed, the cool night air hitting my skin as I stepped into the unknown.

as i walked towards the beach, the scent of the sea grew stronger, mingling with the earthy aroma of the sand and the distant laughter of people gathering around the bonfire. i thought about heeseung and our conversation by the pool earlier. his smile, the way his eyes lit up when he talked—it all felt different, special even. but doubt eventually crept in, making me wonder if i was reading too much into it.

i reached the beach and saw the flickering flames of the bonfire in the distance. the sounds of the waves crashing, the crackling of the fire, and the soft murmur of conversations filled the air. my heart raced with a mix of excitement and nervousness. part of me wanted to turn back, to retreat into the safety of the summer house. but another part of me, the part that longed for something new, pushed me forward.

the beach was alive with a bonfire, a crowd of teens, and a keg. i felt out of place in chaewon’s tight dress, while the other girls wore cutoffs and crop tops. the waves crashed rhythmically, and the salty breeze tugged at my hair, making me shiver slightly.

i’m gonna kill chaewon, i thought, crossing my arms over my chest. the dress felt like a spotlight, drawing attention I didn't want.

i scanned the beach but didn’t see my brother, heeseung, or jake anywhere. feeling alone, i stood on the beach until jay, the guy from the gas station, spotted me. his eyes lit up, and he hurried over, a red solo cup in his hand, stumbling slightly on the uneven sand.

"whoa, where are you coming from?" he slurred, his breath reeking of beer.

"um, another party," i lied, trying to sound casual.

"sweet. here, take my beer." he thrust the cup towards me, spilling some in the process.

"no, i’m okay," i said, stepping back as he accidentally sloshed beer on my dress.

"oh shit, i'm so sorry!" jay exclaimed, trying to wipe it off with his sleeve.

"chaewon’s gonna kill me," i muttered, feeling the damp fabric cling to my skin.

"who’s chaewon?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"my best friend," i answered, my eyes scanning the crowd for heeseung.

jay, inching closer, asked, "so what, you have a boyfriend back home or something?"

before i could answer, i spotted sunghoon walking past with his arm over a girl. relief washed over me. "sunghoon!"

he looked at me, did a double take, and then asked, "ummmm what are you doing here? and what are you wearing?"

jay jumped in, "i invited her. who the fuck are you?"

"her brother. she’s fifteen, you pedo," sunghoon replied, making jay jump away from me.

sunghoon tried to drape his hoodie over my shoulders, but i flung it back at him. "i’m almost sixteen!"

sunghoon frog-marched me down the beach toward their bonfire, the girl trailing after us. "let go of me!" i protested.

"quit embarrassing yourself!" sunghoon snapped.

i twisted away from him, tripping and falling into the sand. he tried to help me up, but i pushed him away, spitting sand out of my mouth. everyone was staring at me.

my eyes landed on heeseung, who was kissing a pretty girl in a red sox cap and cutoffs. when he pulled away, she wiped her lipstick off his mouth. he took a sip of beer and then saw me.

"y/n?" heeseung looked surprised.

"but—but you hate the red sox!" i stammered.

heeseung looked away, embarrassed and regretful.

the girl stepped forward. "who are you?"

"who are you?!" i choked out.

red sox girl smirked. "karina… heeseung took me to the deb ball last summer. how do you know him?"

i turned to heeseung, my voice trembling. "but—i thought you said deb balls were bullshit and all debs were sheep!"

karina glared at him.

heeseung, looking flustered, muttered, "god.. you’re such a brat."

"well, you’re an asshole," i shot back, close to tears after seeing him rolling his eyes at me.

everyone at the bonfire was staring at me when jake walked over, throwing his arms around me and heeseung. "y/n, you came! we can all hang out tonight!"

i shrugged away from him, my face burning with embarrassment.

sunghoon stepped in. "i’m about to take her home."

"what about wonyoung? you can’t leave now," jake pointed out.

sunghoon glanced at wonyoung, contemplating.

"just let y/n hang. what’s the big deal? she’s already here," jake said, waving at someone calling him over. "brb!"

sunghoon turned to y/n. "stay right here and don’t talk to anybody."

i flipped him off and wandered, determined to find some peace on my own.

i sat alone on the beach, my dress bunched awkwardly as i wiped tears from my eyes.

i never should’ve come. maybe some things change, but not this. lee heeseung will never love me back.

a voice interrupted my thoughts. "hey, is that you?"

startled, i looked up to see a cute guy standing nearby. he had a sweet smile and dimples on his cheeks, wearing a stylish hoodie.

"um, who are you?" i asked, confused.

"it's me, jungwon! from the school olympics in freshman year? you placed second in the poem recitation."

i pulled down my dress to cover my thighs. "oh! yeah! you dressed up for the costume contest. weren’t you… a wizard or something?"

he chuckled. "i was charon, ferryman of the dead."

"oh! um, i'm y/n!" i replied, feeling a bit more at ease. "you can sit down if you want."

jungwon hesitated. "oh, i was on my way out." he then smiled and sat down next to me. "but i’ll hang for a bit."

"are you new this summer?"

"nah, i’m from here. you?"

"i’ve been coming to cousins ever since i was a baby."

jungwon looked puzzled. "how have we not seen each other until now? i would’ve remembered you. i mean, your poem was really, uh, memorable."

i rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "yeah, i stick pretty close to home when i’m here."

"how come?" jungwon asked, his voice sweet.

"i guess because i don’t really know anybody, other than my family."

jungwon's smile was warm. "well, now you do."

i smiled back at him, feeling a shiver run through me. i should’ve taken sunghoon's jacket after all. jungwon noticed and shrugged out of his hoodie, handing it to me.

"here, take this," he said gently.

i hugged my knees to my chest and pulled the hoodie over my knees, feeling a little warmer in more ways than one.

we sat on the beach, talking like old friends, which we kind of were.

"hey, so did… did everybody see me fall down before?" i asked.

jungwon hesitated. "um, yeah… sort of."

"my brother’s such a jerk," i muttered.

"who are those other guys?" jungwon asked casually. "is one of them your, um, boyfriend?"

i shook my head dismissively. "no way. they’re family friends. my mom’s best friend’s sons. it’s their house we stay at every summer." i looked over at them. "they’re just mad that i’m here."

"well, i’m glad you came," jungwon said sincerely. "i didn’t want to come because i knew it was just going to be people getting drunk, and i don’t really drink."

"me either," i replied. "so how do you know all these summer people if you’re local?"

"my mom works at the country club. i grew up around them."

i suddenly remembered something. "hey, do you know anything about the debutante thing at the country club? it’s dumb, right?"

jungwon considered my question. "well, it’s definitely steeped in tradition and a bit old-fashioned, if that’s what you mean."

"yeah, that’s what i thought," i said, though it wasn't exactly what i meant.

"but it’s not all bad," jungwon added. "they do a big fundraiser for women’s health, and they raised the most money in massachusetts last year. oh yeah, and stray kids came! look." he dug in his pocket for his phone and proudly showed me his wallpaper—a picture of him and some of the members.

"oh my gosh, that’s awesome!" i said, genuinely impressed.

jungwon looked at the time on his phone. "oh man, it’s late. i really don’t want to leave, but i have to be up early tomorrow. i’m interning on a whale-watching boat."

he hesitated, about to ask me something, but we were interrupted by a loud commotion. i turned around to see heeseung drunk and arguing with jay, who had a six-pack of craft beer under his arm.

"who cares? there’s plenty of beer. why are you starting shit?" karina said, rolling her eyes.

heeseung ignored her, stepping closer to jay. "they’re our beers. get the fuck out of here and go drink your cheap-ass shitty beer."

as karina walked away, jay got in heeseung's face. "say that again."

i jumped up. "i’ll be right back! don’t go anywhere!" i told jungwon before running over. in the scuffle, i was accidentally elbowed in the face and fell in the sand. heeseung turned, horrified, checking to see if i was okay. jay took advantage and landed a blow. heeseung, enraged, swung at jay, who got another punch in. jay's buddies joined the fight, and jake and sunghoon ran to help.

jungwon rushed to me, touching my face worriedly. "are you okay?"

"yeah," i said, stunned.

police lights flashed on the beach. "cops!" someone shouted, and everyone scattered in different directions. jungwon grabbed my hand and we ran down the beach toward the cars.

jake shoved heeseung into the back seat and got into the driver’s seat. "let’s go, y/n."

i glanced at jungwon. "jungwon can give me a ride home. right, jungwon?"

"yeah, it’s no problem," jungwon replied.

jake shook his head. "you can’t get into a car with a guy you just met."

"uh—actually, we sort of know each other. freshman year olympics? so we’re not like total strangers," jungwon said.

"no offense, but no. y/n, we’re going," jake insisted.

"just get in, y/n," heeseung said from the back seat.

i threw heeseung a dirty look.

jungwon sighed. "you should go. the whaling boat i intern on leaves at dawn from the piers every morning. would you maybe be interested in coming one day? i could introduce you to my favorite whale, jonah."

i could feel my face light up. "um, yes. sure! how else will you get your hoodie back?"

we grinned at each other, both nervous.

this could be my summer wish. this night, this boy.

in a truly impulsive move, i got up on my tiptoes and gave jungwon a sweet peck on the lips before jumping into the car. i was thrilled and delighted with myself, riding on pure adrenaline. the boys were dumbfounded. jake peeled out, and jungwon watched them drive off, completely awestruck.

jake slammed on the brakes. "fuck, we forgot sunghoon." he reversed the car, parked, and jumped out. "watch heeseung!"

i leaned my head back, my long hair hanging loose. i touched my fingers to my lips. it was quiet in the car. dark. heeseung reached out and touched my hair, running his fingers along the bottom.

"your hair is like a little kid’s, the way it’s always so messy," heeseung said.

i held my breath. our eyes met in the rearview mirror, everything between us unspoken.

"heeseung…" i started.

we were interrupted by a knock at the window. it was the cops, with sunghoon and jake in tow.

"have you kids been drinking?" one of the cops asked.

the dimly lit entryway was bathed in the eerie glow of the old chandelier, casting long shadows on the walls. the grandfather clock in the corner ticked loudly, a reminder of the late hour and the tension that filled the room. the room smelled faintly of damp wood and the lingering scent of dinner.

my mother, standing tall in her maroon robe, faced the two imposing police officers. her expression was a mix of worry and frustration. we stood behind her, huddled together in a cluster of nervous energy. sunghoon’s eyes darted around, avoiding mom's gaze, while jake shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. heeseung leaned against the wall, clearly drunk, his shirt torn and a fresh cut on his cheek. i stood slightly apart, pulling my borrowed hoodie tighter around me.

"officers, thank you. it won’t happen again, i can promise you that much," she said, her voice strained but polite.

"tell mr. sim the chief wants to set a tee time with him when he’s back in town," one of the cops said, his tone lighter than the situation warranted.

she tried not to grimace. "absolutely. sorry again for the trouble. have a good night, officers."

as she closed the door, i could feel my heart racing, the guilt and fear bubbling up inside me. she turned to face us, her eyes flashing with anger. "how could you guys be so irresponsible?" yeji demanded, her voice sharp.

"mom, it wasn't a big deal. seriously. the cops were just looking to break up the bonfire," sunghoon said, trying to sound casual. i remembered the bonfire vividly, the warmth of the flames, the laughter of friends–a brief escape from my usual routine.

"not a big deal? i would say getting picked up by the cops for underaged drinking is a pretty big deal, sunghoon!" yeji retorted, her voice rising. her anger wasn’t just about tonight; it was about the countless times we’d pushed her limits. Her hair swung around as she glared at us, emphasizing each word.

sunghoon sniffed. "w-were you guys smoking tonight?"

yeji shot him a look. "keep your voice down! jina's asleep on the couch."

"but I wasn’t yelling. you were," sunghoon whispered, silenced by another look.

"by the way, yeji, was the dd tonight and i didn't drink, i swear," jake added quickly. Hhs sincerity was clear, but it did little to calm our mother’s fury.

my mother turned to heeseung, who was clearly drunk, swaying on his feet with his shirt torn and a cut on his cheek. "what’s with him?!" she asked the group before focusing on heeseung. "you’re the oldest. what the hell’s gotten into you?"

before he could answer, she noticed me. "and when did you leave the house without telling anybody? and what in the world are you wearing?" she demanded.

i pulling the hoodie tighter around me. "it’s chae's, and why am i the only one not allowed to go out?" i asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"it’s not that you’re not allowed. it’s that you should have told us you were going. how did you even get there?"

"i walked," i hesitated.

"jesus. you know better than to walk that far down the beach alone late at night!" she exclaimed.

"i was fine! can you stop treating me like a kid!" i retorted.

"if you want to be treated like an adult, you need to act like one," my mother said firmly.

"then maybe you guys should too," heeseung suddenly said.

we all looked at each other, confused.

"what does that mean?" yeji asked.

heeseung just shrugged and didn’t answer.

"guys, i don’t want to be the nagging mom. it’s even less fun for me than it is for you. don’t put me in that position," she said, her voice softer now, filled with a weariness that made me ache with guilt. she turned to me and Sunghoon. "we are guests in this house. remember that. and the next time i call you, you better pick up the phone."

we nodded guiltily.

"i hope you realize that this night could’ve ended a lot differently if your family wasn’t your family," she said to jake and heeseung.

"sorry, yeji," jake said.

"just-go to bed, guys," yeji sighed, her shoulders slumping as she turned away.

heeseung moved to follow me, jake, and sunghoon upstairs, but yeji stopped him. "i don’t understand what’s going on with you," i could hear her scolding him as i walked upstairs.

"gee, i don’t know, yeji. what could possibly be going on with me?" heeseung replied, staring at her in challenge.

she swallowed nervously, glancing over at the couch where jina slept. "hee…" she began.

heeseung brushed past her and up the stairs. she didn’t follow.

as we trudged upstairs, i couldn’t shake the feeling of dread. the night wasn’t over, not really. the tension lingered, a shadow that would follow us into our dreams.

i crawled into bed, the events of the night replaying in my mind. the cool sheets felt soothing against my skin, a stark contrast to the warmth of the bonfire still lingering on my clothes. as i settled beneath the covers, i heard the familiar two little knocks on the wall next to my bed—a secret signal jake and i had since we were kids.

we’d come up with it during a summer storm, hiding under our bedsheets, when we wanted to talk without our parents hearing. i knocked back twice, and a moment later, jake's light flickered off, leaving him in the dark. i smiled, remembering our whispered conversations through the wall, our childhood secrets shared in the quiet of the night.

the house gradually wound down for the night. sunghoon was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, his reflection in the mirror showing the meticulous care he took in his nightly routine. yeji, clad in glasses, busily updated her instagram, her face illuminated by the screen's glow. she smiled at the amount of likes and comments she was getting, a small step to branching out her books. jina was asleep on the couch, a peaceful look on her face, her hands clasped gently. heeseung quietly draped a blanket over her, his face betraying a complexity of emotions that remained unexplained—worry, exhaustion, perhaps something deeper.

back in my room, i couldn’t shake the restless feeling that kept me awake. the house was silent, but my mind buzzed with thoughts. unable to sleep, i pulled out my phone and texted the groupchat. my fingers were trembling with excitement.

the night wore on, and as the first light of dawn approached, i decided to get out of bed. i picked up jungwon’s hoodie and noticed the debutante invitation on my bedside table. my fingers traced the elegant calligraphy of my name: park y/n. the weight of the paper and the intricate design made it feel important, a symbol of the change I was about to embrace.

reflecting on how things could change whether i wanted them to or not, i realized that maybe it was time for me to change too. memories of past summers, filled with the same routines and familiar faces, made me long for something new. i picked up the rsvp card and checked the "accepts with pleasure" box. with a determined breath, i put on jungwon’s hoodie and headed out to the beach.

as the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, i found heeseung sitting alone in the sand, his silhouette outlined by the dim glow of the early morning. i sat down next to him, and we both stared out at the sea in silence. the cool breeze of the ocean brushed against my skin, and the sound of waves filled the silence.

“last night was…” i began, struggling to find the right words.

“a shitshow,” heeseung replied, his tone resigned.

“amazing,” i corrected, my voice softer.

heeseung glanced at me with a mix of amusement and concern. “you’re gonna have a black eye tomorrow.”

“it’s already tomorrow,” i replied, touching the tender spot near my eye. “do you even remember anything from last night? you were pretty wasted.”

his expression was serious as he replied, “i always remember everything when i drink.”

i wondered if that meant he remembered our moments in the car. as heeseung reached into his pocket for a cigarette, i sideeyed him.

“let me have a puff,” i said.

“no way! yeji would actually kill me,” heeseung replied, his voice laced with genuine concern.

“okay then, if I can’t smoke, you can’t smoke,” i countered.

heeseung's laughter was a rare, genuine sound, and it made his face light up in a way that i hadn’t seen before. “same old y/n,” he said with a chuckle.

i hugged my knees to my chest, a smile slowly spreading across my face. i touched my bruise, realizing i was different now—changed by the night’s events.

“let’s go pick up some of the good muffins before everybody wakes up,” heeseung suggested, his tone almost nostalgic.

a flicker of the old heeseung appeared, but i felt a pull towards something new. i stood up, shaking my head with a new plan.

“i’ve got somewhere i need to be. don’t let sunghoon eat all the muffins,” i said, my voice filled with determination.

i dashed to the side of the house where my bike was propped up and quickly mounted it. as i pedaled away, my long hair flying behind me, the first light of day began to emerge. the streets were quiet, the air crisp and filled with the promise of a new day. the upbeat tune of “xo” by enhypen played in my mind as i rode.

i thought this summer was going to be like all the other summers. but it’s not. because I won’t let it be.

○ sam note - hi!! finally the first chapter is posted i really hope you guys like it! tsitp is one of my favorite books and i love the show so so much. i recently rewatched it again (for the 50th time) and i wanted to turn it into a fic!! this first chapter is pretty much the same as the episode because there were so many important scenes and good moments that i just couldn't help but add as it is the first chapter. the next chapters will be pretty different though! stream xo and brought the heat back

taglist (open); @sunghoonnsupremacy @llvrhee @ilychee08 @iren3luvv @chocminteu

FEEDBACK AND REBLOGS APPRECIATED <333

[ancientbygone]

favorite pictures of iii that my cousin (huge shoutout to him) took at Mystic Festival in June 2023. feat. my blue hair and painting in some parts LMAO

[whowantslovergirl]

Fezco x rue’s older cousin reader ?

An: YESYES 🤭

Perfect Couple

Fezco x bennet! reader (gender not specified but is called ma)

warnings: cursing, smoking, hope you enjoy my lovers 🤍

euphoria masterlist

Summary: Fezco and Y/N’s relationship timeline

posted: June 29,2023

How Fez and N/N met:

You were going to pick up Rue for some ‘cousin bonding’ as she would call it. And you guys were going to get some rolling papers since you ran out. You finally get to the house and honk the horn multiple times.

She finally came running out and you’re still honking the horn just to piss her off. “I’m here! I’m here!” She got into passenger seat and hugged you. “Hey Seth Rogen!” You start to drive to her plug.

“Stop calling me that. Jules is gonna think she can call me that.” She said pouting. “Oh your girlfriend? She wouldn’t be wrong though. You dress like Seth Rogen”

“She’s not my girlfriend. And no I do not.” You just nod.

That’s her girlfriend. And she does.

“So who are we driving too?”

“Oh his name is Fez and his little brother ashtray.”

You look at her. “His name is Ashtray? Like his biological name?” She just shrugs. “I don’t know his name is just like that.”

“But you would like Fez. He’s your type.” You just shrug her off. “Shut up you don’t know my type.”

“Yea I do it’s white boys with swag. As you would say.” You just roll your eyes and continue the drive.

_____

“Hey rue. Who’s this one over here?” Fez said pointing at you. “This my cousin Y/N.”

“Hey.” You give him a awkward wave. Rue was right. He is your type. Tall, pretty eyes, good style. “Hey.” He said looking at you up and down.

_____

You get your papers and when you were about to leave Fez called you. “Hey Y/N. Can I get your number ma?” You may have giggled at the nickname. “Um yea of course.” You give him your number. You turn around to see Rue smiling at you.

“I told you!”

The first time N/N and Fez facetimed:

You were pacing back and forth. He wants to ‘see your face’ and yea you guys talked and stuff but it’s just something about facetime that’s nerve wracking.

You called Rue out of panic. “Hey cuz. Ew why are you like sweating?”

“Fez wants to facetime!”

“And that’s a panic situation because….”

“Because Seth it’s different!”

Then he started to call.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! He’s calling! Rue he’s calling!”

“Then answer it…”

And you did. “Hey Fez.”

“Hey ma. Why you look so nervous?” He said smiling. Wow, he has a really pretty smile. “No reason just overthinking about something.”

“Well what you thinking about?”

You told him you were nervous about the call and he laughed in your face.

“God! It’s not funny!”

When Fez and N/N first smoked together:

Fez invited you to smoke because you said you were bored and you wanted some weed. He was on the phone while you were driving. “You’re so vain. You probably think this song is about you.” You were singing lowly. You were watching the movie a few days ago and the song’s been stuck in your head ever since.

“What’s that song from?” You made a shocked face. “You never saw that movie?!” He just said no. “Really?! How to lose a guy in 10 days?!” “I don’t watch romance movies.”

“Ok we are gonna watch it when I get there.”

“What’s it even about?”

“So it’s about this girl named Andie and she makes like cute little tips and she wants to make something real right? And she comes up with this article how to lose a guy in 10 days. Then this guy named Ben bets to his co workers that he can make a girl fall in love with him in 10 days.”

“They’re doing the opposite of each other’s goals or something.”

“Yeah exactly!”

“Alright ma, Ima get the movie ready.”

_____

You knocked on the door. And Ashtray opened it. “Hey Ash. I got your favorite.” You give him a bag of those airhead bites. Not too long ago you brought them when you came over. He asked for one and when you gave him one he fell in love and told you.

“Everytime you come over bring these.”

“Yes! Thanks Y/N.” He walked to his room. And Fez came from the kitchen and hugged you. “Hey ma. I told you not give him those shits.”

“But he’s likes them.” You pulled away and went to the couch. He sat next to you and gave you a blunt. And you guys started to do your thing and watch the movie.

_____

“That movie was actually good.” He said smiling. “What was your favorite part?” You asked him.

“The dog, that motherfucker was funny looking.”

You guys started to laugh.

When Fez finally asked N/N to be his girl:

After a lot of smoke and movie sessions you guys were at your apartment just laying in bed. Your head on his chest and his hand drawing shapes on your hip. “You wanna be my girl?”

You looked at him abruptly. “You’re finally asking me after six months?!”

“Why you so surprised?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know I’m just not used to waiting I guess.” He smiled.

“You don’t chase you attract. I like that.”

You let out a small laugh. “You still didn’t answer me ma. You my girl?”

“Yeah sure. Why not?”

He leaned in and you smiled into the kiss.

Fez and N/N were the perfect couple.

An: YESYESYES hoped y’all enjoyed this is probably one of my favs YALL i just want to do a former apology for all the song fics i plan on posting but until I post again my lovers 🤍 *hint: pope x reader*