#You know what kind of determination it takes not to write an essay in the tags again?

[lordplavis]

I just realised.

Like fully realised that I just quoted the Lords prayer in a tag of my own post.

I might be going slightly mad.

[starstruckmoony]

Hi, could I request a enemies to lovers with Enzo? Love your writing :))

tysm for the request anon!! i am so so sorry for taking ages to post this but i got veryyyyyy carried away and it may or may not be too long BUT i hope you enjoy it and that it's similar enough to what you imagined <3

king of my heart.

masterlist , requests

pairing - lorenzo berkshire x reader

summary - you and lorenzo are both sore, jealous losers with egos the size of jupiter, so you decide that you hate one another and that academic competing is the way to go. you keep that up for six full years, until something rather unfortunate happens and destroys your entire game plan.

trope/tags - enemies to lovers, rivals to lovers, angst, fluff

word count - 12.8k

warnings - language, smoking

if there was one thing every single person who ever crossed your path knew about you, even if you were barely acquainted, was that you had sort of been raised without the ability to accept that you cannot always come out on top. it was simply incomprehensible. you'd been told that you were a gifted kid from the moment you became aware of your pathetic little existence. it did wonders to your ego. your smarts and determination amused your tutors, petrified them even. and the better you got, the more motivation it sparked in you.

you intended to keep things going your way when your acceptance letter for hogwarts arrived in the mail. you weren't worried, not even a little bit, and neither were your parents. being the best of the best was a running thing in your family.

unsurprisingly, it couldn't have started off better. your professors loved you. other kids envied you. each essay and exam result you'd ever recieved was the textbook definition of perfect. your grades were nicer that aphrodite's reflection in the mirror, as hermione had told you once. it was a lot coming from her. she was also amongst the few of the smartest, most hardworking students in your year, but you never felt threatened by her, or anybody else for that matter. there was, weirdly, no jealousy. on her part, at least, considering you so very effortlessly secured your spot as top of the class and never let anybody take it. she'd always be happy for you like the good friend she was, proudly patting you on the back, yet you couldn't help but think if she ever felt a little angry behind that supportive smile of hers.

and funny enough, you were finally able to stop pretending to know what it was like one fine wednesday before the christmas holidays. you had come into class more confident than ever that morning, smugly waiting for your potions essay results. you were hoping for a hundred, but a ninety nine, maybe even a ninety eight, didn't seem so bad either. that would have been, if lorenzo berkshire hadn't got his essay back with a score better than yours. he, much like yourself, was just another sore loser who craved academic validation like a drug, silently fuming whenever somebody surpassed him. he had dealt it with for months, watching you ace everything from charms to transfiguration, and always being second to you. the jealousy consumed his entire being, and he was kind of going mental, so you one could only imagine how ecstatic he was when he saw your face twist with dread after snape praised him in front of everybody. he wouldn't have hidden that mocking grin on his face if you held a knife to his throat and it made you want to choke him to death, for lack of better term.

"l/n." he sang as he successfully caught you in the corridor right after the said lesson. twat. you ignored him and increased the speed of your steps, biting the inside of your cheek, so hard that it began to sting. you didn't instantaneously realise how desperate he was to get your attention, but it became a lot clearer when he stood in front of you, entirely blocking your path. your little attempts to confuse him and avoid the situation were useless. it was kind of pathetic.

"what do you want?" simply shoving him to the ground and acting like it never happened would have done the job, but god forbid you swallowed your pride for once. 

"c'mon, don't be so pissy, i'm just trying to make conversation." you saw right through him, anyone would. him? wanting to make conversation with you? after death-glaring you every lesson for three months straight? and then bursting your bubble and being so smug about it? you almost scoffed, "you're in my way."

"oh, my apologies." he moved to the side and bowed dramatically, waiting for you to leave. you rolled your eyes, and took a single step forward, just to have him come right back to his original spot.

"move." you tried to shove him and even attempted to run for it, but he was faster than you. your nostrils flared, "you know that today was just dumb luck, right?" you crossed your arms, thinking you'd get under his skin, but there was no sign of change on his face. on the contrary, he was more accomplished than ever. you were fuming.

"i wouldn't call it that." he tilted his head to the side, observing your face.

"alright then," you copied his movements, "plagiarism?" his smile fell a little. it made you a lot happier than it should have. you expected victory from that senseless squabble, but lorenzo wasn't the type of person who backed down so easily. that was something you should have known.

"you're projecting." he shrugged, blankly staring at you.

"projecting?" you almost stuttered.

"projecting. pick up a dictionary, yeah?" he gave your head a tiny pat, and left you standing in the hallway, dumbfounded, angry, and a little humiliated.

that moment alone set off a feud that changed the trajectory of your miserable lives forever. each time he did better than you, whether it was on an essay, an exam, flying lessons even, your urge to wipe his existence of the face of the earth got stronger. the feelings were mutual on his part. you went back and forth like that for a while, trying not to be that obvious about it, but one could only hide their true feelings for so long.

it started off with hushed insults, which got strategically thrown around every time you'd cross each other's path. having other people notice your diminishing confidence was proper nightmare fuel, so you kept it as subtle as possible. then it turned into shoving and pushing, which was enough to set off some alarm bells in the heads of your friends. neville had told you that it wasn't worth it, and draco, of all fucking people, had told lorenzo to tone it down, but you refused to listen. you offered a few empty promises, saying that you'll sort it out sooner or later (sort out as in make sure you never let lorenzo get a score higher than yours again, but that was not going to happen).

your sooner or later turned into a few godawfully long years. saying you hated him may have seemed like an overstatement, but there was no other way to describe that burning feeling of i want to fucking kill you that entirely took over you whenever you laid your eyes on him. it kept getting worse and worse, without you realising just how bad it had become. your little competitions had completely lost their significance. it didn't matter who was first anymore. it could be ron or pansy, and you wouldn't bat an eye. all you cared about was surpassing each other, even if you were among the average with your scores.

that being said, it became an open secret of sort. as stupid as you made your classmates out to be, they were not, and they quickly put the missing puzzle pieces together. one of them spread a rumour that you tried to kill lorenzo, or vice versa, you couldn't really remember. and frankly, you couldn't blame them. you had given them more than enough reasons to think that you hated his guts. the most ridiculous instance had to have been the one during potions class when snape assigned you to work together. you could have placed a bet of two million galleons that he did it on purpose. it was like he wanted you to fail.

lorenzo had managed to insult you before he even took a seat at your table, calling you too stupid to work with in front of the entire class. you told him that he was a daft idiot when he unwillingly slumped down into the empty seat next to you, which had only set him off more. you accepted your fates almost immediately, knowing that whatever task snape assigned to you wouldn't be done, even if it cost you your grades.

just like you predicted, you did everything but what you were supposed to; spilled every sort of liquid there was all over each other's things, broke a few glasses, set two notebooks on fire, and burnt a hole in the table. you had stuck him to his chair, too, and lost a few house points as a result.

***

a sane person would have reached a certain point and stopped, pushing all of those stupid grudges aside. forgive and forget, that whole talk. hopelessly, your friends thought you would have got over it as you were growing older and that you would have chosen basic human decency over some hurt feelings and an insignificant competition no one gave a shit about. but no. you were not sane. you were ruthless, and you continued trying to make each other miserable like your lives depended on it. you hated lorenzo berkshire, and he hated you just as much. you were too naive and caught up in it all to realise that it'll come right back for you later.

it was like some sick obsession. from obvious sabotaging during classes whenever you got assigned to work together (followed by unsatisfactory results you blamed the other for) to throwing insults at each other in the corridors where everybody was set to hear you, you had checked every single one off.

you called him a useless arsehole on a daily basis. he called you an insufferable bitch every time he saw you. you had cursed out each other during lessons and done even worse things when nobody was looking. and if anyone did see you and try to get involved and call you names, it was bad news for them. you were each other's enemies to insult and demean and degrade and ruthlessly bully, nobody else's. only you were allowed to call him a cockroach, and only he was allowed to call you a snake. your relationship with lorenzo was nothing you could explain to somebody with a fully functioning brain, even if you tried.

one night in your fifth year, you had successfully snuck out in search of some sort encyclopaedia to help you out with your DADA assignment. none of the books which you were allowed to use did good enough of a job at making it easier, so you were hoping that the restricted section would have something better to offer - which it did. you couldn't recall the last time your trip to the library was that short.

to make things even better, you successfully avoided bumping into an annoying brunette who made your life oh so entertaining (unbearable). lorenzo wasn't anywhere to be seen. you smiled to yourself, feeling a sense of freedom at last. you were praying that the prick got bored of looming around the corridors all alone like a loser, waiting to terrorise you.

you began humming a tune you heard dean play on his old gramophone (one that got confiscated), and skipped around the corner to make your way to the grand staircase. mistake number one. you tripped over something, someone, but managed to stay on your feet as opposed to falling face-first onto the ground. you didn't even have to look back to know who it was.

"my, my, out rebelling again?" lorenzo leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, smirking in satisfaction when he noticed how you were grimacing. he stepped on one of the books you dropped, refusing to move when you tried to snatch it back.

"do you mind?" you spat, aggressively pulling it from under his foot. you straightened out your clothes and dusted yourself off before tucking the literature you had picked up under your arm.

"stealing?" he raised an eyebrow.

"borrowing." you corrected.

"without permission?" he tilted his head to the side in faux amusement, "i wonder what would happen if i alerted a professor about this."

"and you'd tell them what?" you scoffed, barely able to hold your laughter in, "that you saw me stealing while you were sneaking out to go for a casual wank?" what a fucking idiot. you rolled your eyes, turning away from him with the intention to walk away from the scene. you were not in the mood for his bullshit.

"yeah, yeah, run away like you always do." he uttered in disappointment, yawning. he knew exactly which buttons to push, and it wasn't surprising. you were familiar with each other's habits and emotions more than you'd like to admit. you stopped in your tracks. sighing, you set the books down onto the stone tiles, and spun around to face him once again.

"aguamenti." you cast the spell with an evil smile, and in a matter of seconds, a wave of water was shot straight in lorenzo's direction, leaving him soaking wet. he gasped out in shock; his clothes clung to his body. the water was unbearably cold, it was so fucking freezing, he could barely move. the commotion was noisy enough to alert filch and his beloved ms. norris, but those were the last of your worries. your felt rather fulfilled, that was what mattered.

"you asked for it." you shrugged, but did not turn your back on him just yet. that would have been the easiest way for him to attack, so you mistakenly waited, thinking he would strike for you. he dug his wand out of his pocket, and muttered a spell, "vermiculus."

you whipped your head in the direction in which he pointed his hand, realising what happened a second too late. he had turned your precious books into worms. you yelped in surprise and stepped away from the disgusting mess on the ground, your back bumping into his chest. you turned to face him and gave him a harsh push, backing him up into the wall and shoving your wand into his face.

"uncast it." you demanded. he laughed. how stupid did you have to be to even think that he'd listen to you, "no."

"berkshire." your words came out louder than expected. you wouldn't have been shocked if you saw a teacher coming around the corner to reprimand the both of you for looming around so late, but you didn't care.

"undo the damn spell." you repeated, just about ready to strangle him if you deemed it necessary.

"no." he pushed you away and took a hold of his own wand. he tried to disarm you, but failed miserabley. two could play at that game, then "stupif-"

"what's going on here?" filch's scratchy voice stopped you mid-spell. your head snapped towards him, and you instinctively stuck your wand inside of your clothes as if he hadn't already seen it. being too preoccupied by trying to come up with an explanation that you hadn't previously used to get yourself out of trouble, you had forgotten about the slimy creatures crawling on the floor. a worm wiggled towards you, too close for comfort, and you scrambled to get away, clumsily bumping into lorenzo once again. he gave you a somewhat gentle shove to get you away, and you kicked him in response, right in the shin.

"she tried to drown me." he explained with an irritated groan, rubbing the sore spot on his leg.

"he destroyed school property." you added dramatically, wishing to kick him one more time. filch's eyes trailed over to the filth beside your feet, and he made a face of disgust before instructing you both to follow him to dumbledore's office.

the whole ordeal ended with the books being safely returned to their spot on the shelves of the restricted section, a half-assed DADA assignment and the two of you getting put on bathroom cleaning duty for seven days straight (no magic allowed). it was probably the biggest mistake of dumbledore's life.

the bathrooms were not cleaned properly once. in fact, they'd only end up in conditions which were about ten times worse than their default ones. lorenzo was too busy spilling bucketfuls of water, dirty or clean, all over you to care whether he scrubbed the junk off every single sink there was (payback for the stunt you pulled on him in the corridor), and you were too busy hitting him with funny smelling toilet brushes (made sure you got all that rubbish into his hair, too) to polish the tiles and mirrors to perfection like you were told to do. it was disgusting and sickeningly entertaining at once. dumbledore considered punishing you with some other method, but gave up seeing what the boys' toilets looked like after night four. not even detention was able to come between the two of you. limits and common sense weren't either.

***

in your sixth year, the unimaginable happened. there wasn't a single soul who saw it coming, not even yourselves. maybe it was magic. maybe it was a sign from the universe. maybe some higher power did everybody justice. whatever it was, it sent your professors into a spiral. their shitty damage control was finally paying off, as cruel as it turned out to be.

classes had become increasingly more difficult than they were in previous years. to follow, to manage, to keep track of, and everything in between. mcgonagall had pulled you outside twice, asking you what was wrong after she had noticed that you were falling behind. many of your peers were, actually, but nobody would have ever expected it from you. the results you'd achieve weren't always as perfect as they were in your first year, though you had never struggled to get past eighty points until then. it was singlehandedly the worst thing that could have ever happened to you. priorities were hard to sort out, so there was a noticeable decline in your performance. you were absolutely miserable, and it did not get better, only worse. so bad that you had forgotten that you had a certain slytherin to compete with.

it was the day before halloween night, lessons had come to an end. your friends scattered around different places – some to the great hall, some to hogsmeade, some headed straight to bed, all intending to clear their minds after a stressful week of difficult assignments and dreadfully challenging essays. nearly every student left the transfiguration classroom with a relieved smile, happy that even their low scores ensured them a pass. hermione got a ridiculous amount of praise for her outstanding results, and even an encouraging pat on the back from mcgonagall.

so, a wonderful end of october for everybody but yourself. your expectations weren't high when you handed your toughest essay in. you thought you'd get sixty points at best. not hoping for much, yet still trying to ignore the worst possible outcome - one that was bound to get you someday like proper karma. but that wouldn't actually happen, would it? there was no way. it was impossible. you felt like a bloody idiot.

you failed. you fucking failed. for the first time in your life. and it was much more humiliating than you had imagined. you were so upset with yourself that you hadn't even bothered to pester lorenzo about his results, and strangely, he hadn't approached you either. no glances, no death glares, no hushed insults. not during the lesson, not after.

you left the transfiguration classroom trying your hardest not to cry, ignoring all of your friends and wishing to get out of the castle as soon as possible. you needed to be alone. you weren't looking for anybody's comfort, validation or their empty words of sympathy that would lose their meaning the moment you fixed the mess you were in. so you went to the black lake; where very little people preferred spending time, where you could be at peace with your own thoughts, and where you could catch a much needed break, even if it was only for a little while.

you slumped down onto the grass with a thump, bringing your knees up to your chest and letting your tears fall. you failed. for merlin's sake, you failed. it was like everything you had ever known was suddenly gone. you weren't even worried about what your parents or professors would say. truthfully, you couldn't give less of a damn. you were so disappointed that you had blocked out everything and everyone else, or whatever stupid opinion and solutions they might have had to offer. everyone, except for lorenzo and that dumb game you two were, for an even dumber reason, still playing. he must have been oh so happy to hear about your failure. he'd never let you live it down, you knew it.

"l/n?" speak of the fucking devil. he always had fantastic timing.

"get out of my sight before i throw you into the lake." you spat, wiping your tear-stained face with your sleeve, not looking at him.

"shiver me timbers." he sang, not feeling threatened at all.

"berkshire." you warned, turning your head towards him and meeting his gaze. you shouldn't have moved. worry flashed through his face for a brief moment when he caught a glimpse your puffy eyes, and he pressed his lips together, guilty. could he actually bring himself to pester you while you were in such a terrible condition? no, he couldn't, regardless of the resentment he felt towards you.

he cleared his throat and took a step closer. you sighed, staring back at the landscape spread out in front of you without uttering a word, "what happened?" he questioned hesitantly.

"nothing that concerns you." you attempted to shut him down. he raised both of his eyebrows, a little amused, "someone upset my favourite rival," he scoffed, "of course it concerns me."

you rolled your eyes, "just leave, will you?" but did you really want him to? your voice shook as you spoke. you despised the part of you that was wishing for him to stay. you wanted to be alone more than anything, but you knew you'd break down again if he listened to your plea and left you there. you'd take his overused insults over failure any day.

"not until you tell me what happened." your jaw clenched, and you muttered a quiet curse, knowing that he most likely wouldn't let up. as if that one would miss out on an opportunity to annoy you. he settled down in the grass, right next to you, waiting.

you sat in silence for what felt like forever. he didn't push you to speak again, and you were pretty reluctant to say a single thing. not even calling him names seemed tempting. you sighed for the nth time, starting to tear up again, "i got my essay back with thirty points." you sniffled, silently preparing yourself to get made fun of.

"fuck," you heard him mumble, and he scratched his head shortly before speaking, "if it makes you feel better, i got twenty eight." getting on your nerves was always in his best interest. although, having to see you so seriously upset was not on his bucket list, not anymore. you stared at him in shock, frowning, "what?"

he nodded. the look on his face was so sullen that you were starting to believe him, "are you not taking the piss?"

he snorted, "i wish i was," he avoided your gaze, "i, uh," he pursed his lips in thought, letting out a breath of frustration, "i was convinced i'd do well even if i started last minute... without research, but uh, guess i was wrong." you hummed, doubtful.

"why are you telling me all this?" you shook your head and trailed your eyes back to the lake, finding it rather difficult to believe that he was being so... nice. it was your first normal conversation and you had no clue what to make of it.

"who else am i supposed to tell it to?" he responded, annoyed. you bit the inside of your cheek, just as irritated, picking up a pebble. you examined it shortly before throwing it into the water.

lorenzo watched you curiously, having very little to say, which was terribly weird in itself. lorenzo berkshire not having a single unnecessary, offending comment to offer? your failures had truly taken a toll on you, completely.

"i can't believe we both fell off." you said in wonder, throwing another rock below the surface.

"right," he agreed, without an urge to backtalk, "fucking hell, i've no reason to hate you now." he blurted out, horrified by his own words.

"fantastic, now i suck at that too." you let out a dry, emotionless chuckle. you weren't crying anymore, just silently fuming at lorenzo for being the one to stop it without even properly trying.

"you suck at everything." he corrected.

"i take after you." you retorted nonchalantly.

"dumbass." he bit back a smile.

"dickhead." you were struggling just as hard. holding in your laughter was never more challenging, but you were determined not to break character.

you found yourselves in an eerily comfortable silence. by the looks of it, things would be alright. knowing that he messed up too somehow put you at ease. not even because you were happy to him fail, but more at the thought that it just happened to be at the same time as you. you found a certain dose of comfort in it. it was written in the stars, as it seemed.

"get lost now." you broke the bubble you found yourselves in. it was about time you got back on track. there was no way you'd get all friendly and gushy with him, even after whatever that was.

"alright, alright." he stood up, groaning as he did so. he dusted off the pieces of grass that got stuck to his trousers.

he stared back at the lake shortly, waiting to see if you'd say anything else he could offer a witty response to. he was a bit sad when you didn't, and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, sighing, "well, i shall see you-"

"never." you finished that for him.

"perfect." he added, turning on his heel and heading towards the castle. you allowed yourself to glimpse at him one last time, simply not being able to let him have the last word.

"you've got some on your arse." you were talking about the remainder of the grass that was stuck to his clothing. he stopped to clean it up, and then flipped you off wordlessly.

you thought that was the last of your civilised interactions. there was no reason for you to bore your mind with it. you happened to fall behind at the same time and it gave you a decent bonding moment, but it was nothing more than that. just two people who claimed they didn't like one another very much talking properly for once. nothing, it was nothing. simple as that. so you weren't able to pinpoint why you kept looking back on it nearly every day, or why you felt so guilty for calling him stupid and useless, or why making fun of him for getting a lower score than you wasn't rewarding anymore, or why competing so fiercly was no longer satisfactory. and why he too, happened to feel just the same. maybe you had grown out of it.

you blamed it on the stress. you did have lots of different things occupying your mind anyway - such as your major arithmancy exam that you decided to pull an all nighter for.

for the first time in a while, you stayed inside the library past closing hours. madam pince wasn't too happy about it, but she liked you enough to let you crash there and warned filch not to throw you outside if he happened to notice you during his nightly patrol. the woman had some interesting tactics up her sleeve, none of which you ever questioned.

you swore, probably for the tenth time in the past two minutes, crumpling up yet another piece of parchment. you had to start over a ridiculous amount of times. the pile of rubbish on the floor was growing larger by the second. ripped up paper, bottles of ink, broken feathers, it was definitely a sight. there was no way you were getting through all of that on your own. and oh how that angered you. you rarely ever needed assistance with anything, but this was just a little bit above your level. that enraged you even more. a helping hand was starting to sound promising.

"you're still here?" you didn't even flinch, knowing all too well who that voice belonged to. did god or the devil just answer your prayers? you never got past your little habits of leaving the dormitories to do whatever there was to be done around the castle almost every night, so there he went, running into you again. lorenzo peeked out from behind the bookshelves in front of you, smiling like a little kid who was just about to do something egregiously silly. you couldn't not grin back, despite being angry.

"you're still here?" you repeated his question, crossing your arms.

"i asked first." he moved towards your desk, pulling out an empty chair and settling there next to you without even asking if you wanted him there. weird, that one.

"alright, and?" you teased further. he bumped your shoulder with his own. he wanted something. punching him suddenly sounded like a fine option. he looked over your arm to examine your notes.

"arithmancy?" he glared at you, kind of bemused. it was another subject he was that awfully good at, unlike you. you weren't terrible, but not exactly the best either. an infuriating thing.

"my favourite." you responded sarcastically, throwing your quill across the table. he hummed, sitting back in his chair, but not taking his eyes off of you. he definitely wanted something.

"what?" you could sense it already. he was gonna mock you again.

"do you need help with that, perhaps?" or maybe not. you looked at him, skeptical.

"from you?" you raised an eyebrow.

"well, i mean, yeah." he shifted in his spot, as if he was anxious. you did a double take, and then burst out laughing, wiping away a non-existent tear. he was just too damn funny. him helping you? that was a good one. you carried on with that little performance of yours for the next minute until it hit you that he wasn't joking.

"are you serious?" you asked, just to confirm. there was absolutely no chance.

"look, i can leave-" he stood up, "no," you grabbed a fistful of his sweater and pulled him back down. he yelped, startled, "what's your deal?" you weren't letting him get away with that so easily.

"what do you mean?" he was geniuenly confused.

"don't play fucking dumb," you jabbed a finger into his chest, "why are you being so kind to me all of a sudden?"

he laughed uncomfortably, scratching the nape of his neck, "well, i thought, you know, since it seems like we're no longer on about hating each other, that-"

"oh." you interrupted him, chuckling in disbelief. you shook your head, rubbing your temples in frustration and then letting your arms fall to your sides, "look, berkshire, just because i'm not trying to kill you anymore doesn't mean i want to be friends."

"what!? for fuck's sake, you're impossible." he stood up once more, this time darting out of your reach.

"here we go again." you rolled your eyes. you just couldn't interact without quarreling, could you? he paced around inbetween the bookshelves before returning to your table, "you're not exactly giving me any reasons to be nice right now."

"i never asked of you to be nice." you argued.

"you could appreciate me trying." he retorted. you had no idea what on earth he was trying to achieve. you could only think of so many explanations, "why? so that you could gain my trust and then stab me in the back when it's convenient for you?"

"that's what this is about?" he muttered something under his breath, "i thought we were past that rubbish."

you wanted to laugh hysterically, "okay, we may have pushed the resentment aside, but you can't exactly expect me to trust you."

he understood that, unbeknownst to you, "i never said that you needed to trust me," he sighed, leaning over the table, "listen, i offered to help you because i can see you're struggling. i'm not here to sabotage you if that's what you're worried about. i'd be wasting my time." he straightened his posture, standing there with his arms crossed.

"because i'm already terrible enough and don't need anyone's interference to properly fuck up, right?" you were prepared to tell him to bugger off if he refused to give you the answer you were looking for, furious at him and yourself.

he paused, hesitant. you were so fucking stubborn, and he loved you for it, "correct." alright then.

you picked up your quill, "sit down."

you got your exam back with a shocking score of eighty-nine, surpassing even hermione. not lorenzo, but you were second, and that was enough to have your ego flying right back through the roof.

i told you you could do it, he said, but not without me, he had to point out. you had to give him that. how could you not? he casually decided to save your life without you even asking for it. if it weren't for him, you most likely would have majorly fucked up on that exam. that's not saying that it wasn't difficult. he had no patience and you had even less, but you had somehow survived that night in the library without biting each other's heads off or getting into any additional fights. he even followed you back to your dorm, an offer he didn't allow you to refuse and one that you were too exhausted to complain about.

in the few weeks that followed, you decided that it was for the best that you block out whatever happened between you that night. christmas holidays were approaching, and you couldn't let that ruin your mood. lorenzo told you that mattheo said that it was a shift in the matrix. you had no idea what that meant, it sounded horrifyingly muggle, but you agreed for the sake of agreeing. a shift in the matrix, bloody nonsense. a coincidence, you called it. an accident, even. an accident that helped you out tremendously and made you reconsider lorenzo on nights when you couldn't sleep, but still an accident. 

who were you kidding? something had definitely changed. other students started noticing it too.

you had gradually become somewhat friendly rivals who'd rub their own success into each other's faces for the laughs till they got threatened with a jinx or tickled to death. some occasional name calling too, just not as intense. but you weren't friends. nothing near it. you had done a pretty good job at convincing yourself you never would be. treating him a little better than usual was the farthest you'd go trying to mend all those years of jealousy and grudges. that was what you started living by, pushing away that strange tingling sensation that would coarse through you every time his hands happened to brush against yours when you walked side by side.

it is exactly why you almost spilled acidic liquid all over the table and burnt a hole in it again when he sat next to you during potions one fine afternoon.

snape was visibly mortified by the sight, partially because of that incident from two years prior (when you almost set the entire classroom on fire), and partially because he couldn't believe that mcgonagall was actually onto something when she purposefully failed you both. it would go down in history as one of the most ridiculous moments of his career. he sent a warning glare your way before beginning the lesson.

"excuse you?" you whispered once professor snape finally turned his back to the class, raising both of your eyebrows in question. was lorenzo asking to get violated?

"harry took my seat." he pointed towards the table where he usually sat. and shockingly enough, there was harry, sitting next to draco, for whatever sick and twisted reason. you gaped at them, then at lorenzo. not looking into that deeper was maybe for the better.

okay then. you didn't respond, trying to get into taking some notes like you were previously instructed. that would have been easy (it was for the first quarter of the lesson), if lorenzo's presence wasn't keeping you so alert, stopping you from focusing on what you deemed more important, "merlin, can you breathe a little quieter?" you snapped.

he purposely inhaled louder than he normally would, grinning proudly when your eyes rolled back into your brain. you kicked him under the table. he yelped, but oddly, covered it up with a cough. you glared at him, doubtful. that was not the reaction you were expecting to get.

you resumed trying to copy the crucial bits from the chapter snape assigned you all to analyse, very poorly. it was kind of impossible. you weren't used to having lorenzo sit so close to you for such an extended amount of time. ignoring him was unimaginably hard. your notes had never looked worse. words missing, constant mistakes, sensless scribbles. you reached for a new pot of ink after seeing that you had run out, and then felt his finger poke at your side.

you flinched, catching a glimpse of your professor who's head was still buried in the pile of assignments he needed to grade. he hadn't noticed you. good. but then lorenzo did it again, right where you were most ticklish, because he knew. you swatted his hand away, not missing the way he smiled to himself. little shit.

you reached to poke him too, and when you tried to pull away, he took a hold of your wrist, not letting go. he had a lot of good defense tactics up his sleeve. you didn't try to yank your arm out of his grip instantly, which was the perfect opportunity for him to tickle at your side with his free hand. this time, you held back a startled giggle, kicking him under the table one more time. he snorted, resuming his little game.

you were both sweating trying not to make too much noise, but neither of you was letting up, not letting the other have the satisfaction of winning. he eventually moved his chair closer to yours with the excuse to tickle you more effectively. your legs were touching under the table, but only because it was easier for you to kick him that way. it went on for at least fifteen minutes, until snape finally lifted his head, his eyes on the class. you separated, thinking you were being slick about it, when it was the least fitting explanation for what had been going on. the two of you had your lips pressed together, trying not to laugh. your professor could only sigh in response. at least you didn't set anything ablaze.

hermione tucked her arm under yours in the hallway when your lesson ended, grinning mischevously, "would you like to tell me what happened just now?" 

you scoffed, rolling your eyes playfully, "huh? i don't know what you're on about." you played dumb, despite knowing exactly what she was getting at. and you had no idea why. it's not like you had anything to hide.

"i think you do." she pushed. there was not a chance for you to get out of that conversation.

"really? i truly don't." you still tried, though. acting foolish was your only escape route.

"y/n." she dragged out, laughing and pulling you along with her. potions were your final lesson of the day, so you were already able to picture her desperate attempts to pull some information out of you all the way until bedtime.

"what? we were just fighting." you finally gave in. you knew you would have to eventually, but you loved your free time a little too much to let her annoying interrogation tactics drag on for so long.

"so you do know what i'm on about." she teased, scarily invested.

"what else could you possibly be on about?" you snapped, pushing away that uncomfortable feeling that settled in your chest. you had no reason not to tell her anything, so you couldn't pinpoint why you were feeling so guilty all of a sudden.

"the way you two sat closer together than every couple in our year?" she exclaimed, astonished by how shamelessly you were avoiding the subject.

you gasped, feeling a bit offended, or maybe called out. you couldn't tell which one it was, "that is not what happened." that was an overexaggaration if you ever heard one. was she out of her bloody mind? sometimes you thought that she enjoyed setting you off as much as lorenzo did.

you stepped through the portrait hole with the rest of your housemates, pushing through the crowd to get your dormitories faster. you wanted a nice shower, some peace and quiet for reading, and then decent sleep. it was that simple. you survived the walk through the common room without anyone asking additional invasive questions, immediately heading for the toilet once you arrived to your dorm.

you really needed that shower. it made you feel whole again. you stepped out after putting some comfortable clothes on, skipping over to your bed and then cursing out loud when you realised what was on it. amongst your own, there was lorenzo's fucking book. you had accidentally taken it when you scrambled to collect your things once class ended.

you could have just given it to him tomorrow, or not given it back at all. like he'd know who took it. it was incredibly tempting, but it also felt unnecessarily mean. what if he needed it to study that night? you brushed it off, not like it was your problem anyway. you sat down onto the mattress, picking up a novel from your nightstand and throwing the other books straight to the carpet so you could comfortably settle on your bed. you then put it back. you didn't feel like reading anymore. you laid there, thinking. peace was never an option in your world.

you groaned, snatching his book up from the floor and venturing back into the common room. you hadn't bothered to explain yourself to anybody, and you continued trotting over to the dungeons with a neutral expression on your face (neutral as in i am very much internally raging and if anybody tries to talk to me i might use the imperius curse on them). very useless it was, that relaxing shower of yours.

none of the slytherins lounging on the sofa questioned you, your appearance was pretty telling. good thing you ran into mattheo on the way there. getting in wouldn't have been so easy otherwise. you disappeared in the direction of their dormitories, stopping right in front of lorenzo's door. you swallowed harshly, begenning to get nervous. something was wrong with you.

you hesitated before knocking, tapping your foot against the ground furiously as you waited. "one second!" lorenzo yelled from the other side. it sounded like something had fallen over. the noise was followed by a few curse words and some shuffling before the door opened.

much to your dismay, you were met with a bare chested lorenzo, wearing nothing but a pair of trousers which loosely hung around his hips. his hair was wet, and his cheeks were a tinted with a light shade of pink. he had stepped out of the shower merely three minutes before you showed up. you inhaled sharply, swallowing the sound of surprise that almost escaped you and feeling your face heat up. his eyes went wide, given that he was taken aback much like yourself. you were the last person he was expecting to find on the other side of the door.

"hi." he greeted awkwardly, pulling his trousers up a bit as if it would help. you opened your mouth to speak, then closed it. opened it, before closing it again. you were pretty sure you resembled a damn fish. whatever was happening to you, you did not like it one bit.

"i- you- we- ithinkthisisyours." you finally spluttered, slamming the book into his chest. his hand touched yours momentarily when he grabbed it so that it wouldn't drop onto your feet. you felt lightheaded.

lorenzo was kind of freaking out, but only kind of, not even bothering to look at what you had given him at first. he was a little too busy staring at your blushing face, wondering what the hell was going on and why his heart was in his throat all of a sudden, "are you alright?" he queried, concerned.

"i am perfectly fine." that was a lie. 

"ah," he nodded, then eyed the piece of literature in his hands shortly as he slowly figured what it was, "oh! thank you."

you laughed in misery, "okay!" before shutting the door in your own face. you tripped and almost fell down the stairs as you ran, still flushed and your heart beating in a way that you found a little too unusual to push away.

you received a few judgemental glares from the students you had run past. the question marks were practically visible above their heads. you were too busy going hysterical to sneer at them for staring. you burst through the door of your dorm, breathless and blushing, "what the fuck?"

somewhere back inside the dungeons, a confused lorenzo turned to face his friends, still holding the book you had given to him. he had no idea what on earth happened, or why you reacted the way you did, or why he, deep down, found it more adorable than he'd like to admit. he groaned, falling face-first onto his bed. what the fuck, indeed. christmas holidays never looked more promising.

and oh how you regretted waiting for them with so much anticipation. you were supposed to get a break. from books, assignments, essays, whatever lorenzo was doing to you. hogwarts was supposed to be all yours. you weren't heading home that year. it was your parents' twentieth anniversary, so there was no point in going back, considering that you wouldn't see them (you didn't exactly have friends in your hometown either). they'd be having the time of their lives in the alps, and you'd be regretting every decision you had made up until that point.

not only because you were already bored out of your mind waiting for your friends to return, but because you saw lorenzo sitting at the slytherin table when you walked into the great hall on christmas eve. the image of him opening the door two weeks prior flashed through your mind. it happened often, in the most inconvenient situations too. you were hoping you didn't look too flushed.

"what are you doing here?" he questioned in amusement once you slid over to him, an equally puzzled expression on your face. "i could ask you the same thing." 

"all in good time." he cleared his throat, awkward. it was weird, but you didn't think much of it just yet. instead you sighed, taking a quick look around, and then speaking, "my parents ditched me for a skiing trip."

he snorted, motioning over to the very empty seat beside him. you sat down, no thoughts behind it. he was the only person among the ones who stayed for the holidays who you knew enough to hold a conversation, so it's not like you had better options. besides, that was your chance to see if there was more to his sudden change in behaviour. you were unnerved at the idea of even having the desire to do such a thing.

"what's your excuse?" you reached over his arm to grab a piece of toast, as well as some jam and chocolate spread.

"parents as well." you didn't miss the way he shifted uncomfortably. you put down your knife and propped your arms on the table, eyeing him expectantly. he held back shortly, and you couldn't blame him. who were you to think that he'd trust you with a possible family issue?

"i was told that i'm a disappointment and i'm not allowed home until i get my grades in tact." he stabbed the bacon in his plate aggressively, not looking at you. your jaw dropped in shock.

"in tact?" you uttered in disbelief. it was practically common knowledge that lorenzo exceeded you in a lot of subjects, a little more than half of them actually, so in your mind, this shouldn't have even been a problem. he was one of the top students. everybody knew that. your parents expected you to do well too, but they weren't that pushy or strict. yeah, receiving a howler for momentarily falling behind in october was aggravating, but nothing that you couldn't bear. lorenzo's, however, were crossing a line.

he hummed, picking at his food, "don't say anything." he sighed, it almost sounded like a plea. he couldn't just ask you for comfort, or ask of you to understand. faux sympathy was the last thing he needed.

"no, it's just–" you chewed on the inside of your cheek and picked up your knife again, spreading some jam over the piece of toast you grabbed previously, "you're not a disappointment, that's bullshit." you bit into the crunchy bread, chewing it slowly, a sour expression on your face. lorenzo went a bit red, stumbling over his words before getting out a clumsy i know, followed by a hesitant thanks anyway. 

you said nothing for the remaining few minutes of breakfast, just eating in silence while other students chatted in background. when you were exiting the great hall together to return to your respective dorms, you made eye contact with mcgonagall for a brief moment. she offered you a proud smile, yet with a hint of mischief behind it. you had never been more confused.

you spent the first half of christmas day alone in the gryffindor common room, reading some trashy muggle romance novel you found under hermione's bed a couple of nights before. it was one of the worst books you had ever picked up, but there was something so annoyingly addicting about it that you just couldn't give it up. it left you feeling empty and lonely, and with a strong desire to fling yourself straight into the depths of the black lake.

"christ, l/n, why do you look so sullen?" you shut your eyes, exhaling through your nose. just what you needed. you weren't even gonna question lorenzo was doing there. you had a clue.

"you don't wanna know." you tossed the book across the room, internally celebrating when he decided not to investigate further.

he made a face, "merry christmas?"

"likewise." you replied blandly. when you didn't tell him to get lost, he jumped onto the sofa, getting comfortable next to you. he didn't look all too happy either.

you sat there for good twenty minutes, staring at the fire like your entire worlds were crumbling in front of your eyes. it didn't occur to the either of you how awful it would feel to spend christmas all alone for the first time. no presents, no childhood foods, no hugs from mum in the morning. you even missed your spoiled cousins who would nag you to play with them each time you visited their house on boxing day.

it fucking sucked, but god, at least lorenzo was there. you'd push aside everything that happened between you in the previous years just for a twinge of affection. something came over you, and you lowered your head onto his shoulder, almost sighing in relief when he didn't shove you away. he scooted closer and rested his head on top of yours, not speaking.

from that moment onward, you saw each other every day. he'd show up at your dorm at random moments and you'd show up at his at even worse ones. you'd take walks in the snow together and come back with soaking wet clothes and red noses. you'd smoke in the courtyard before bed after making sure the coast was clear. you'd go to hogsmeade and fight over who was gonna pay for the butterbeer until you came up with a nonsensical compromise. you'd sneak out at night to steal books from the restricted section of the library and then read them under covers in the slytherin dorms. you'd sometimes fall asleep next to each other and then act like nothing happened in the morning.

***

you expected it all to fade to nothing once everybody else came back to hogwarts, but then it didn't. you still took walks in the snow and argued over butterbeer and snuck out after midnight (and had to clean several toilets after getting caught almost every time). he still helped you with arithmancy without asking for anything in return, and you'd sometimes kiss him on the cheek if you were in a good mood. you thrived off of the expressions that would paint his face whenever you did that.

but with the return of other students also came whispers and rumours, following you around like shadows. you ignored them tactfully, not wanting to give anybody the satisfaction of confirming that their silly theories may have been right all along. especially not hermione. she wouldn't let you forget that until you perished. she'd probably leave a note on your grave too, so you'd have that humiliating reminder haunting you in the afterlife.

"i thought you two hated each other." mattheo deadpanned one evening after lorenzo had brought you to the slytherin common room, straight into the damn snake pit. you were squashed together on the sofa, a large book splayed open across your laps, not getting read. it was one of the stolen ones. all of his friends were there, watching you like hawks.

"we do." you responded nonchalantly, taking the cigarette that lorenzo handed you. you took a long drag before putting it back between his lips.

"then why do you spend so much time together?" draco was very obviously judging you. he of all people should have understood. lorenzo rolled his eyes.

"you are in no place to talk, mister i hate potter but snog him in my off time." blaise took your side, bless his soul, and tossed theodore's shoe in his direction. shutting draco up was easier than you would have thought.

"no, but why?" mattheo repeated draco's question, propping his chin up into his palm and observing you curiously.

"maybe, they're– wait, what do you call that?" theodore leaned into pansy, hoping she had an answer.

"masochists?" she replied casually and lit a cigarette herself.

you choked on your spit. lorenzo almost burnt a hole in the sofa. but then pansy brushed her friend off, staring at the two of you with a mischievous grin, "not really, i think they're just bad liars."

and she was so bloody right. hate was the last thing that could be used to describe your relationship. third year you's biggest nightmare was a better label for it, given that you couldn't even be in the same room as him without trying to turn him into something nasty.

present day you was having a difficult time stopping herself from trying to kiss him whenever he was in her presence. it was that fucking frustrating. you couldn't believe yourself. lorenzo was facing the same struggles, and you couldn't tell if he was worsening or subduing the tension by randomly touching you. not like you minded, you were loving it all and stopped bothering with trying to hide it from him. your ego may have been large, but your crush on him ended up being bigger.

potions class was usually the height of it all, although it wasn't the only period during which you got to sit next to your favourite rival. mcgonagall was was thriving, unlike snape, who simply could not get used to the positive energy surrounding you, or the way you were together each time he crossed your paths. seeing pure fear flash through his eyes at the beginning of every class was hilarious.

when lorenzo arrived, you felt yourself starting to smile and tried to push it away with the most unsettling thoughts you could muster. it did nothing. he sat down with a dramatic groan, and immediately started ranting about some minor issue he had run into that morning. he did that a lot. this time it was about his favourite pair of socks going missing. you sucked in practically everything he said, chuckled at the random curses, noticed every breath of frustration he released as he was rummaging through his bag. you didn't realise you were staring. lorenzo did, but he didn't comment on it. he liked when you were looking at him.

you failed to regsiter that the lesson officially began, but not much was happening, really. snape was telling you about felix felicis and how insanely difficult it was to make, while you were required to write down the most useful bits of the information he was giving out. when he finally sat down after assigning you to read an overly long passage, lorenzo shifted closer to you. you eyed him, puzzled.

"would you kill me if i asked you for a favour?" you focused half of your attention on the writing, half on him.

"depends what the favour is." you shrugged. he put his arm over the text to prevent you from reading. he wanted you to look at him. he had always wanted you to look at him. from the very moment your fued set off, it was one of those little annoying things that made your hatred for him stronger. not anymore, but it was still infuriating in its own way. you gave him your full attention. he may have seen some sparks fly. you had each other wrapped around your little fingers without even realising it.

he shifted even closer to you so that you could hear him better, considering that he had to whisper, "can you come to hogsmeade with me today?" his breath fanned over your ear as he spoke. you didn't respond, so he continued, "none of my friends want to and it would be stupid if i went alone. you do kind of owe me." ah, yes. for that time he saved you from detention after slughorn caught you two smoking in the astronomy tower. you shot him with an annoyed look. you both knew it was exaggerated and what your answer would be, yet you still played around with it. that's the way things went. he smirked. bitch.

"fine." he was so smug about it, you could choke him and snog him at the same time. he got his arm away from your textbook, but didn't retrieve his chair. you were squeezed next to one another despite having more than enough space. your arms were touching, and so were your legs beneath the table. you moved not a muscle, and neither did he. you had grown to like having him sit so close to you. it made you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, helping you ignore the freezing winter air and the thick layer of snow covering the ground outside.

you met him in the courtyard after a quick change of clothing following the end of your classes for that week. when hermione asked you where you were heading and why you won't be staying in the common room with the rest of your friends, you told a half truth. that you were heading to hogsmeade, but then bolted out the door before she was able to ask with whom. she would guess either way.

"i forgot to ask you why we were doing this in the first place." you spoke as you left the school grounds, your hands shoved into your pockets and your face hidden inside of your fluffy scarf. you were a little cold. lorenzo was too, his nose was already going red. it was an adorable sight to see, but you weren't dumb enough to say that out loud.

"i wanna pick up a few poetry books." you bit your tongue, trying not to laugh at him.

"didn't know you could read." you snickered, it was stronger than you.

"you're so original," he mocked, "they're not for me. pansy's birthday's coming up so i figured i should get her something."

"oh." the disappointment in your tone was obvious.

all of your willingness to go with him left you in an instant. his presence was more irritating than ever. he furrowed his eyebrows as he watched you chew on the inside of your cheek, wondering if he said something wrong. again... or not. lorenzo was smarter than that.

"what, are you jealous?" he nudged you, teasing. yes. you hated yourself just a tiny bit for that, "no," you scoffed, "in your dreams, berkshire."

"we both know you can't fool me." he kept the act going. you gave him a shove, making him stumble. he almost tripped and fell in a pile of snow. it was very funny. he tried to get back at you, but you slipped out of his reach, laughing when he began chasing you.

spending time with him was like a getaway from all the things that drove you mad, even though he sometimes excelled at that. he became a friend you didn't know you needed and a friend you were pretty sure you were catching some major feelings for.

you entered the bookstore as your unplanned snowball fight came to an end, its warmth immediately engulfing you. after being in the cold for longer than intended, it was just what you desired. you stuck with lorenzo for the first few minutes, helping him out and leading him away from the large isle of erotic novels he accidentally found himself in. people were looking at you weird, especially your schoolmates, so you stepped away from the crowded bits of the shop and decided to check out different sections.

a certain book had caught your eye – its contents intrigued you, but the price did something opposite. you put it back on the shelf without second guessing yourself. you hadn't brought any money with you. you continued roaming through the different isles, browsing through various books while you waited for lorenzo to finish. you lost sight of him for a few minutes, too busy debating whether to make him come back with you here some other time so you could purchase whatever your heart desired.

for the time being, you'd have to leave the shop with empty hands. lorenzo was luckier and ended up getting five poetry books which all seemed to be written by the same author, except for one. he handed you the odd one out. you opened your mouth, ready to complain about your fingers being cold and not wanting to carry it. slowly, you realised what it was. your jaw dropped a little.

he had seen you looking at it ever so longingly when he went to check up on you after realising you had gone off on your own. he picked it up without hesitation. you were too stunned to thank him, too stunned to say anything, for the matter. but he wasn't exactly expecting a thank you. he was just happy that you liked it, grinning when you blushed and struggled to keep it cool.

"you shouldn't have done that." you chastised. those were the only words you could muster. he rolled his eyes, "deal with it."

you punched his shoulder. he didn't even flinch, "you're welcome."

when he threatened to ruin your life when you were twelve years old, this wasn't how you thought it would happen.

"i'm gonna kill you." you weren't exactly addressing him, more like talking to yourself.

"you're still on about that?" he huffed, pretending to be bored.

"lorenzo!" you groaned, he chuckled, "i love you too." your eyes almost popped out of their sockets. his weird confession seemed unserious, but your heart still fluttered. little did you know that he wasn't as oblivious as you imagined.

he was positively glowing at the reactions he was getting from you. his tiny year five crush on you had blossomed into something stronger after that moment at the lake a couple of months prior, and at last, the possibility of you feeling the same wasn't looking so small. if only you saw through his actions. all those offers of help, and his complete dismissal of your rivarly, and his clinginess, and how he stuck to you like glue whenever he got the opportunity.

your walk back to the castle surprisingly wasn't silent. you were chatting quietly, snickering amongst yourselves. your shoulders brushed occasionally, and so did your hands, and you thought your heart might burst. you shivered as the wind got stronger, pressing yourself a little closer to him.

"you okay?"

"huh?" you didn't register what he said at first, "oh, yes. just a little cold, that's all." you explained, not taking your eyes away from the pathway you were pacing across.

"let's hurry up, then." he took a hold of your hand, swiftly leading you back to the castle. you were so, royally fucked. you clutched onto the poetry book tightly, focused on regulating your breathing. your entire face was on fire, your breaths ragged, heart beating rapidly against your ribcage.

four days later, you caught a terrible cold after accidentally falling asleep by the window while you were reading. hermione said that she expected better from you. she was fantastic help. you were pretty sure you were dying. your limbs hurt. your head was throbbing. your sinuses were clogged. your throat felt like someone had stuck a knife into it. but did you skip any lessons because of it or at least visit madam pomfrey to see if she could do anything? no, you weren't that helpless. you'd deal with it on your own.

or try to, at least. you stumbled into class resembling a zombie, eager to sit down and hopefully not do much work for the day. you placed your arms on the desk, laying your head into them and shutting your eyes. you opened them only a few seconds later when lorenzo shifted next to you. you were met with his worried face, just a couple of centimeters away from yours. when you didn't budge, he touched your cheek with the back of his hand, frowning.

"you're burning up." he kept his voice down, but his tone was giving away the fact that your state concerned him greatly. you waved a dismissive hand, closing your eyes again. he poked you to make you look at him.

"have you went to madam pomfrey?" he questioned. you shook your head. if looks could kill, his probably would have.

"i'll go later." you reassured him poorly, just to get him to stop. the last thing you needed was getting all flustered and emotional because he was showing more interest in taking care of you than anybody else in your circle of friends.

"your later usually means never," he was right. you hated that. you grunted, hiding your reddening face. that was both from the fever and from him, "hey." he threw his arm around you when he didn't get a resonse. you leaned into his touch faster than you thought you would, just searching for any sort of warmth there was.

other students were giggling, but he couldn't care less, "y/n."

you lifted your head again, and then allowed it to fall against his shoulder. mcgonagall stepped through the classroom door shortly after that, her mouth dropping a little when she saw the position you were in. she was gonna scold you for displaying your affection so publicly, but lorenzo quickly explained the situation, and before you were able to protest, she shooed the both of you outside.

he immediately intertwined your fingers, walking at a slower pace than usual, not wanting to tire you more. as annoyed as that made you, you didn't pull your hand away, and instead kept your body close to his. he was muttering something, scolding you for being so dismissive and not getting this fixed right away. you were too exhausted to argue, but he was right anyway.

you inhaled sharply as your headache increased in intensity, latching onto his arm and stopping in your tracks. you shut you eyes, thinking it would help and ease it a bit. you felt him move to stand in front of you. his forehead fell against yours and his hands cupped your cheeks gently. you held onto him, taking a few deep breaths through your nose. his thumbs grazed over your skin ever so slightly, as if that his was his way of trying to soothe you.

eventually, your eyes fluttered open, but neither of you let the other go. lorenzo broke the silence between you, "you're so bloody stubborn."

"you're one to talk." you chuckled dryly, hugging him a bit tighter. he pressed a kiss to the top of your head, waiting for you to give him a sign that you were ready to walk again. when you nodded, he took your hand again, leading you to the hospital wing.

madam pomfrey had you going back to normal with a simple flick of her wand after a tiny scolding, and then she pinched lorenzo's cheek and called him a "good boy" for being so caring. the unexpected praise had his eyes going wide and he was blushing madly – you were never gonna let him forget that one.

she instructed you to come back if the cold returned, but she was addressing lorenzo more than she was you. a smart move on her part, the older woman knew you and your headstrong ways well enough. she ushered you out only after she made sure were in perfect shape to head back to class, though you couldn't do it without rubbing her comment into lorenzo face until he turned completely red again. he had to tickle you to get you to stop and you caused a bit of a commotion in the silent corridors, but that didn't matter. you returned to the transfiguration classroom with your pinkies intertwined, all eyes on you. you two really needed to talk.

and what are the odds of him being caring enough to check up on you later that day. he knew he wouldn't find you in your dorm, or the common room, or the library, or the astronomy tower. instead, he headed to the only other place on his mind, where the two of you often hung out on nights when neither of you could sleep.

you were sat on one of the stone walls in the courtyard, a cigarette in your hand, kind of forgotten. you hadn't noticed that it was burning out, or the occasional ash landing on your clothes. your thoughts were going places, recalling the many events that occured during the past few months, and what on earth you were going to do about your feelings. you could hide them from your friends for some time, but not from lorenzo. you blew out a frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of your nose. being straightforward with that idiot was always easy. you never had trouble with telling him exactly what you meant. 

the fact that you were anxious about it now was the most maddening thing in the world.

"what a depressing sight." you flinched, whipping your head in lorenzo's direction almost instantly. you couldn't tell if that was luck or misfortune. you snorted, rolling your eyes and offering him the remainder of your cigarette. he gladly took it, joining you in silence.

"why are you here?" you questioned.

"came to check up on you." he replied.

"i can take care of myself just fine." you patted his back. he seemed unphased. of course he was, he knew he'd win that argument.

you glimpsed up at the sky shortly. it was snowing just a little bit. you turned to lorenzo, a pleading expression on your face, "walk with me?"

he nodded, tossing the cigarette butt into the snow. you left the school grounds once again knowing that you wouldn't make it back before curfew, but that wasn't something the either of you dwelled on very much. there were more important things to get worried about.

it was obvious that you kept dodging the subject, settling for talking about things so insignificant that you would probably tell somebody to shut up if they brought them up in conversation on a normal day. being ballsy wasn't your thing anymore, as it seemed.

as cowardly as you felt, the sore winner in you wasn't letting you back down. a long internal debate and a silent minute of self-deprecation was what it took to make you finally speak your mind... to an extent, "have you ever felt incredibly guilty about being wrong about someone?"

lorenzo stared at you as if you were insane. it was a little too early on in the conversation for him to start connecting the dots. his street-smarts were sometimes lacking.

"you sure your cold didn't come back?" he pressed his hand against your forehead. you let out a startled laugh, observing his questioning face.

"what?" you spluttered, shoving your hands further into your pockets. the skeptical look in his eyes was making you nervous.

"you're admitting that you were wrong about something?" he sounded unconvinced, but there was a hint of jest in his voice.

you bit your tongue, clearing your throat awkwardly, "yes." you breathed out. he nodded, a way to tell you to go on. he was definitely interested. you were beginning to suspect that he already knew what you were gonna say.

"i mean," you grunted, cursing quietly, "you know when you spend years convinced that somebody is an awful person and claiming you hate their guts but then end up realising that they aren't nearly as terrible as you thought when you get to know them properly?" you explained frustratedly, resisting the temptation to kick the snow piling at your feet.

his mouth fell open in surprise for a moment, but he quickly shut it, running a hand through his hair, "uh, yeah, actually." he uttered nervously, scanning your face for any sign of humour. but you weren't playing around, and certainly not lying. he had been around you enough to be able to tell when you were being truthful.

you gave him a brief nod, looking everywhere but at him. you barely noticed that your hands were shaking. you contined walking on, not saying a single thing. if he were to tell you that he could hear your heart beating, you wouldn't even have the time to act surprised.

"i have to tell you something." he stopped in his tracks, grabbing your elbow in order to make your steps halt. you faced him, looking down at your feet, waiting for him to drop the bomb. he chewed on his lip anxiously, running a hand through his hair.

"i, um," he was struggling, not exactly knowing how to begin. how to formulate that sentence, even. he wished he could just show you. he reached to take your hand, and you let him, standing there motionless.

it was his turn to panic, "i- fuck." he met your gaze. you knew that look. you knew that bloody look he gave you when you were both thinking the same thing. two years prior it would have been something along the lines of i want to kill you. but it had turned into something that was a lot closer to i want to kiss you. you wanted to fucking cry. 

you nodded, breathing out and blinking your tears away. he almost sighed in relief, cupping your cheeks, and that's when your lips pressed against the last pair of lips you thought you'd ever be kissing.

you reached up to touch his face – that pretty face you once hated the sight of, but then couldn't get enough of. you pulled back only for a moment, only to connect again, neither letting the other go. your kisses were unhurried, soft, and loving, despite months upon months of pining, despite the years of pent up hate that was, at the end of day, sort of bound to blossom into love.

at the end of your seventh year, when you were leaving hogwarts hand in hand, mcgonagall stopped you on the way out. it was only then that she told you what had actually happened that gloomy day october, the one that practically sealed your fates for eternity. the overflow of different emotions was too strong for you to have time to act shocked, and you pulled the woman into a big hug, thanking her with teary eyes. for putting up with you for so many years, and for managing to do the unimaginable.

[paintingwhiteceilings]

❃ Seventeen and Playfully Flirting with Them ❃

A/N: So sorry this took me so embarrassingly long!! I have been so incredibly busy with uni that there was little time to write anything, but essays. Hopefully, I will have a bit more time on my hands to occasionally post a reaction now and then. Thank you for your patience, hopefully, the wait was still worth it :')

Scoups/Seunghceol

❀ The members had dared you to act flirty with him during their dance practice, and who are you to deny a bored Jeonghan and Joshua the fun of a struggling to keep composed Coups? He is trying his hardest to remain serious, attempting to scold some of the members who have started to goof off during their tiny break but is having a rather difficult time doing so as you push his hair back, whispering that he had looked so incredibly handsome during his part.

❀ Honestly, his mind kind of blanks, and he is all soft and puddy in your hands. Wait, what was he doing? He gets so incredibly shy as you keep doting on him, complimenting his dancing skills whilst playing with his hair. He gets ever shyer when he remembers that the members are watching you two. He will be all like, “Noooo, stopppp”, but he is lowkey loving it.

❀ The moment he realises you are being flirty solely because the members dared you to, he will get so incredibly pouty. How dare you use his love for your compliments against him? How is he to ever trust your compliments again? He demands a lot of cuddles and even more compliments in return.

Jeonghan

❀ I can see him as someone who is rarely phased by playful teasing and instead really enjoys it, treating it almost like a game. He takes it as a challenge, trying to one-up every flirt you throw his way. Oh, you told him his eyes are beautiful? Well, guess what? Your eyes reflect all the stars in the universe. If you lightly touch his arm, his fingers will start to linger around your waist.

❀ Mind you, that is only when this man is flirting innocently. Most of the time, his flirting is on a whole different level and slightly inappropriate. Honestly, he has you flustered within seconds because his compliments are so out of pocket you feel like you need a dose of holy water to cleanse yourself from it. He has no shame either; he will do it in front of other people without blushing.

❀ At some point, he starts initiating it on his own. You will be talking to some of the other members when he enters the conversation, with his compliment being so cheeky it has you hitting his chest in embarrassment. Needless to say, afterwards, some of the members feel like they need therapy.

Joshua

❀ This man is a king of accidentally flirty gestures to everyone he encounters. You have had enough; you feel like you should charge him for endangering your health by making your heart skip so many beats. Most of the time, he is fully unaware that he has done something romantic. After seeing your tomato-red face, he slowly comes to the realisation that his actions made your heart soar.

❀ Thus, you have decided to flirt back. Full-force. No mercy. You lay it on so incredibly thick that a part of your brain is constantly cringing. You beat him to opening the door for you, rushing forward to open it for him instead. Not a moment passes where you are not gushing over his handsome looks. Heck, you even got him flowers.

❀ He is all smiley during your love attack, loving every single minute of it. He thinks you are slightly ridiculous, albeit incredibly adorable. The reason he is flustered isn’t even the gestures; it is your determination to continuously sweep him off his feet that has him blushing. He finds it hilarious when he accidentally does something romantic before you can, and you get frustrated with yourself for not beating him to it.

Jun

❀ Jun.exe has stopped working. Try rebooting him. If altF4 does not work, return to the manufacturer. He is not used to you being flirty and touching him more than usual. It isn’t that he minds it, but Jun doesn’t know what to do and instead freezes in place, staring at you in shock. Did you just really pinch his cheeks, calling him adorable? Jun feels like he is experiencing some type of fever dream. Upon you throwing your head back at the worst joke he has ever made, he gets seriously worried about your sanity.

❀ He is so incredibly close to getting you admitted to a hospital; he is convinced you might have hit your head too harshly when he wasn’t looking. When you assure him that you did not, in fact, hit your head, he whips his head around, trying to find the hidden camera that surely is the reason behind your weird behaviour.

❀ It takes some convincing that you are just being playfully flirty and that there is no prank being played on him. Once assured, he will let it happen, albeit shyly. Man’s still confused and can’t help but continuously blush, but who is he to spoil your fun?

Hoshi/Soonyoung

❀ It can go two ways with him. Hoshi will either get incredibly soft and shy or take it as a challenge. The moment you get his attention by poking his cheek and telling him he is adorable, he will scrunch up his lil face in the brightest shyest smile ever, blushing like a madman. He will try to throw himself at the nearest object or person, hiding his face away from you.

❀ However, if he is comfortable with your flirting, it is honestly over for everyone around you two. It doesn’t matter whether it is a public space or whether you are in the middle of a serious conversation. Hoshi is always ready to grab your cheeks, turning your playful flirting into a disgusting “no, you are cute” battle.

❀ Everyone around the two of you wants to clean their eyes out with bleach because once you two get started, there is no ending to it. You two can go on for hours, telling the other why exactly you find them so amazing. Nobody will be left by the time you’re done hyping each other up and professing your undying love for one another. They have all fled. 

Wonwoo

❀ Wonwoo is all smiles and blushing. Nothing more, nothing less. You had discovered his adorable way of reacting to your playful flirting after you two had gone to karaoke, and you had continued to sincerely compliment his singing, calling his voice the hottest thing to have ever existed. He suddenly got very aware of his body in space and froze in place before giving you the tiniest, shyest smile ever, his face slightly red.

❀ He loves it when you take his face in your palms, gushing over how his glasses frame his face so well. However, he doesn’t quite know what to do with it, freezing up at all the attention and love he is receiving. Out of all the members, he gets the shyest about it, muttering a small “you too” whenever you throw a flirty compliment his way.

❀ He will 10000% accidentally drop whatever he is holding the moment the compliment reaches his ears or when you happen to kiss his cheek. His face is red, and he can’t seem to stop smiling to himself for the rest of the day. He is incredibly torn between feeling embarrassed and wanting to hear you say it again.

Woozi/Jihoon

❀ He immediately knows that you are trying to tease him, and he is having absolutely none of it. In your defence, your boyfriend had insisted on finishing up a song before getting dinner with you and had been at it for the past thirty minutes. Thus, you decided to turn your boredom into frustrating your boyfriend by plopping down in his lap, flirtingly complimenting every change he made to the song. Damn, the way he played that chord? So sexy.

❀ The only indication that he is affected by it is the increasingly reddening of his face and the occasionally wrong-pressed button. He tries to crank up the volume of his speakers the longer you go on, but it is no use. You simply lean in, getting closer to his ear.

❀ He will either give up and leave with a heavy sigh because he can’t concentrate anymore, or he will ‘accidentally’ lock you in the recording room and ‘forget’ about it, opening it when he finally finishes the song. He doesn't even apologize for it; you called it on yourself. You are lucky that you inspire most of his songs, as he otherwise would save himself future trouble and ban you from the studio.

DK/Seokmin

❀ Initially, he thinks you are joking and will joke with you, pretending that he, too, thinks he is the most handsome person on the planet. However, the moment he realizes that you are serious about finding him show-stopping handsome, he starts to malfunction. DK is not quiet often, but your compliments never fail to make him tongue-tied.

❀ Thus, as some of the members are over at your place and DK is his usual loud self, you decide to set up a small competition about who can make him shut up the fastest. Naturally, they fail miserably and expect you to do the same. Whatever the members had been expecting you to do, kissing him on the cheek and telling him that he is the best thing to ever happen to you, was not it. Still, it works like a charm; DK’s eyes widen as he touches the spot where you kissed him in wonder, completely awe-struck by your laugh at his adorable reaction.

❀ After discovering it was a competition, he will pull on your sleeve to quietly ask whether you had meant what you said. When you tell him yes, congrats, you have successfully put him on cloud nine. It kind of backfires on you all, though. DK is so incredibly happy that he gets twice as loud.

Mingyu

❀ Where DK gets quieter upon hearing a compliment, this man gets progressively louder. He is whining and squealing at your flirtatiousness. His body spasms and knocks something (or someone) over. His legs give out, making him fall to the ground as he is clutching his racing heart. He gets so giggly about it, too, asking you to tell him he is handsome again and again. The way he reacts has you momentarily wonder whether he has never heard a single compliment in his life; when you compliment the way his shirt shows off his chest, he gets all bashful, covering up his chest with his arms.

❀ He lives for this and keeps asking you to compliment him more and more. It makes you slightly shy as he is hanging off every word that leaves your lips, zeroing all his attention in on you. The moment you do as much as slightly graze his arm, he scoops you up in his, wrapping his arms around your waist. The world could be ending around him, and it wouldn’t matter as Mingyu feels like he has already gone to heaven hearing you tell him that he is your entire universe.

❀ He would shamelessly try to get you to flirt with him and compliment him more, wearing his tightest shirt and casually stretching in front of you. The moment you hold any jar that needs opening, he appears right next to you, flexing his arms unnecessarily as he dramatically opens it. He doesn’t even care that the members tease him to no end about it, as one compliment and touch from you is worth ten years of endless teasing.

❀ Let’s just say it never ends innocently, either.

The8/Minghao

❀ He gets so soft when you run your fingers through his newly cut hair, telling him that you didn’t think he could become even more handsome, yet here you are. All he can get out is a “thank you” gazing at you like you hung the moon. He basks in the feeling of you playing with his hair, his smile only growing broader as you continue to compliment him. Minghao knows that he is fashionable, but nothing beats you telling him, whether playfully or seriously.

❀ When you get very playful with it, kissing every inch of his face whilst calling him the prettiest piece of art, he will get so red, giggling as he tries to get you to stop. In the end, he will hug you close, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. Not only will it prevent you from kissing his face continuously, but it will also refrain you from seeing how much he is blushing and adoring your actions. 

❀ Once he feels like he has received enough compliments, he will turn the tables. He will softly tug you by the hand, getting you to sit across from him on the couch. Taking your face in his hands, he will return your compliments in full force. Minghao will be so sincere about it, too, regardless of whether you had only been playfully teasing him, poetically describing how you make his life more complete. He will take his time, savouring the way you blush at each word that leaves his lips.

Seungkwan

❀ Listen up, BOO SEUNGKWAN DESERVES MORE COMPLIMENTS. We should give him more compliments as he deserves ALL the compliments because he is THE Boo Seungkwan. After hearing him complain once more that he needs to go on a diet in order to, in his opinion, look his best in the music video, you decide to wage war on his critical inner voice. So often, you have heard Seungkwan bring his own looks down, and you finally decide to do something about it.

❀ When you first barge into your shared living room, your expression full of determination, he initially thinks you are about to scold him. When, instead, you start to relentlessly flirt with him, calling him handsome and reminding him of all his best qualities, you catch him completely off guard. It takes a while for your compliments to reach him, after which he gets so painfully shy that he physically tries to leave your presence, running away to whatever corner of the room you are not in. One compliment would have already been enough to make Seungkwan bashful. But upon hearing the tenth compliment leave your mouth, he wishes to turn permanently invisible.

❀ He ends up locking himself in the bathroom, screaming at you to stop flirting with him as he can’t take it anymore. He is one of those people who would rather have someone lovingly call them stupid than receive a genuine, heartfelt compliment. He only chooses to leave the bathroom after you promise to stop, not daring to meet your eyes, fearing it might trigger another wave of compliments.

Vernon

❀ Out of all the members, he is the most unphased and unimpressed by normal, playful flirting. Listen, this dude hears at least seven times a day that he has godly looks and resembles a young, handsome Leonardo di Caprio. Touching him, at most, will get you a questioning glance from him. Similarly to Jun, he would be concerned about your well-being, asking you whether everything is okay and if you need to talk about it.

❀ However, what he would love is stupid flirting. Let me explain what I, a fellow stupid flirter, mean. You would point at a fridge and tell him he is just as cool or compliment his ears for being perfectly round. Cue his wonderful chair-squeaking-over-floor laugh. The two of you live for coming up with the weirdest ways to flirt/compliment one another. To anyone else, some of your so-called flirtatious remarks come off more as insults than compliments. Who in their right mind would feel moved by being told that if they were a trashcan, you would only use them for paper?

❀ All in all, playful flirting with Vernon is equivalent to speaking his alien meme language. It is all about having fun for him, making the person he adores laugh and laughing at whatever they tell him in return. Vernon knows he is hot; instead he wants to know whether he is hotter than that beautifully shaped rock you found the other day.

Dino/Chan

❀ He. Is. So. Shy. It gets worse if his members are around. You adore it when he gets bashful when you kiss him, smiling at you all dreamily before dropping his eyes, too embarrassed to meet yours. Usually, he recovers after a few minutes, whining that you gave him a heart attack and should make up for it by kissing him again, to which you all too happily oblige. Dino still freezes when he feels your fingers intertwine with his or go through his hair, afraid that a single movement might scare you off.

❀ Sometimes, he seems to slowly get used to it. On one occasion, he had returned so incredibly late from his dance practice that you decided to make up for lost time, latching yourself onto your sweaty boyfriend. To try and convince him to let you keep hugging him, you kept kissing him, telling him how much you had missed him. He mirthfully laughed at your adorable behaviour, kissing the top of your head, promising not to let go.

❀ Yet, today, you think you have officially broken your boyfriend. All you had done was take his face in your hands out of the blue, kissing him deeply before telling him in full detail how beautiful he is to you and how much you adore him. It, however, is enough for his brain to shortcut. All he gets out is a stupid “Thanks, you too.”

Masterlist

[hazelsmirrorball]

Rockstar Girlfriend III. | Hazel Callahan 

Rockstar! Hazel Callahan x Popstar! Reader Summary: Hazel Callahan and Y/n L/n have to be in a pr relationship, but both of them can stand each other but recently things are starting to look up.  Warnings: Enemies to lovers! Enemies to lovers! Enemies to lovers! Fluff, slight loser! Hazel. Not proof read. Sorry for any mistake, English isn't my main language. a/n: I should be doing an essay for class here we are. Hope you enjoy and thank you so much for all the love. There could possibly be another part.  ps. the song is "Lavender Haze" by Taylor Swift

part one. part two. part four. part five.

“Surreal, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say. No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me”

The two lines stared back at her as she anxiously tapped her pen against the couch hoping that some words would magically show up. She was desperate, very desperate. The deadline was near and she had made zero to no progress only having the first two lines of the song. She needed to finish the last song on the album, her manager had emphasized how important this album was for their career as a band. They needed to hop on the wave of success “dating” Hazel Callahan brought. 

She hated it, the only reason people were actually listening to her band wasn’t because they were talented but because she was attached to Hazel’s name. Not only did Hazel have several awards, a reputation of a god and a talented band but now Y/n’s band success was thanks to her.  She wanted to prove to the people that she was as talented as Hazel Callahan and her band. That’s why she offered herself to write that song on the album and that’s how she found herself at one am in the morning in the recording studio attempting to get out of the writer's block she had been stuck in for days. 

“No deal, the 1950’s shit they want for me. I just..” Y/n hummed the melody as taped the pen on the cushion attempting to get a beat. She was determined to get this song out. She needed to prove to her manager, to herself, to her band and to Hazel that she was talented.  “For fucks sake” Y/n muttered out as she took a sip of energy drink crumbling the paper up and throwing it in a pile of paper on the floor. She threw her head back on the couch stretching her legs under the coffee table. She closed her eyes, controlling her breath. Someone had cleared their throat from the other side of the room startling her. Y/n had lifted her head staring at the person in front of her. 

Hazel Callahan stood before Y/n, the only thing separating them was the table in the middle of the studio. Hazel’s body was adorned in a familiar sweater which instantly caused Y/n to smile at her.  Hazel held onto her guitar case while her tote bag rested on her shoulder. She sent a warm smile towards Y/n’s way, not her usual smirk, which actually scared her. For Y/n, this felt like she was crossing unknown territory. Why was Hazel at the studio late at night? It didn’t make any sense. 

“Hey, I hope I’m not bothering your creative process. I just.. You know. I was here in the morning and left by lunch. Didn’t see you move from your spot so I thought you might be hungry.  I brought some food so we could eat.  I always get good inspiration with a full stomach so I decided to bring your usual, I think… I’ve seen you order it a bunch of times before so I really hope it’s your usual and that I didn’t get it wrong” Hazel rambled quickly, taking out a brown bag from her tote bag and placing it on top of the table in front of them. She slowly rested her guitar case against the leather couch and quickly sat in front of the table also taking out her food out of her tote bag. 

“You know. It’s kind of scary that you’re being this nice to me.” Y/n said softly as she  inspected the bag slowly, surprised that Hazel had gotten her usual order perfectly.  Hazel took a bite of the fries shrugging her off. 

“I know it’s hard to believe but I am a nice person, Y/n. I just like messing with you, you make this cute little face when you're angry” She replied, taking a bite of her burger as Y/n followed her actions. Y/n could feel her face flushing at Hazel’s compliment. Her voice saying her name sounded like a melody she couldn’t get out of her head. What was happening?

“Thank You, Hazel. I really appreciate you bringing the food and everything but I need to finish this song. Management wants it for tomo.. Well actually today and I’m not even halfway done. ” Y/n said, placing her food down and reaching to grab her pen. As she grabbed it Hazel rested her hands on top of hers. Y/n looked up, locking eyes with Hazel as she felt herself loose the grip on the pen. Hazel cleared her throat, tapping her hand awkwardly, moving it away quickly. She looked to the side awkwardly, not wanting to face Y/n. 

“You are stressed and it’s pretty clear that you need a break. So forget about the song and talk to me. I know you’ll get the inspiration soon enough, Y/n. You are a talented girl.” Hazel said, rubbing the back of her neck turning to look at her quickly. 

“You, Hazel Callan, an award winning rock star, think I’m talented?” Y/n gasped dramatically placing a hand towards her chest in a joking manner not believing Hazel’s words. Hazel rolled her eyes, continuing eating her food. 

“I actually believe you guys are underrated. I consider myself a very big B/n fan. Your last album and quite honestly I believe it deserved several awards. More people need to hear you guys. I know that if they take the time they’ll see how talented you are and you’ll be on top of the world”  Hazel responded, scrunching up the wrapper and throwing it inside the paper bag. 

“I didn’t know you were such a fan. Would’ve sent you a signed sweater instead of the one you have.” Y/n said while continuing to eat her food. Hazel’s smiled started to form slowly while looking down at her Y/n’s merch. 

“I had to fight someone for this sweater, Ln. Now you should understand how big of a fan I am. So if you give me a signed one, I’ll love you forever” She said jokingly while leaning towards the pile of papers picking one up reading Y/n’s messy writing on a scrunched up piece.  

“Please don’t laugh at it. I tried my best.” Y/n muttered while placing her head on the table hiding her face from Hazel. 

“No, Y/n. You’re off to a good start. Let me help you out. Maybe we can come up with something together. You wrote here, I feel the blank, creeping up on me, what did you really want to write? Come on don’t be shy” She asked, while her eyes reread the lyrics. Her hand reached towards her guitar case, took her acoustic guitar out and placed it on her lap. As she strummed the guitar tuning it, Y/n felt herself smile. She wanted to write a love song and as much as she wanted to push Hazel away, the only thing she could think about was Hazel and her lavender sweater. 

“Lavender Haze” She muttered softly onto the table. Hazel straightens up trying to see her facial expressions. Y/n slowly raised her face up looking at Hazel.  

“Speak up, pretty girl,” Hazel said, sending her way an encouraging smile. Y/n felt herself blushed, feeling completely flustered by Hazel’s actions. 

“Lavender Haze. I feel a Lavender Haze creeping up on me. ” Y/n replied confidently, while  she watched Hazel nodded writing down on the paper. 

“Well, Y/n. Let’s make Lavender haze a real hit, baby” Hazel replied, passing her the pen with a confident smile. That’s how two girls that supposedly hated each other wrote a song at midnight about the Lavender Haze. 

...

Thank You so much for reading.

[next part]

previous chapter

[siddyyyyyyyy]

University Romance

Johnny 'Soap' McTavish x female!Reader

Wc: ~2 K ; part two

warnings: being kind of stressed out, 'crazy' chemistry professor Soap, no y/n used, Johnny and Reader are about the same age, the name of the university is fictional

summary: You and Johnny are two professors at a university, and he often catches you working late in your office. Also, you're just really good friends and there's probably more to it.

a/n: I don't know how I got that in my head, it's a quick drabble, but I hope I could get my idea across, even if my first language isn't english. Have fun!

Redcrest High Academy, Monday 11:21 PM

Work is fun. At least for you, and that's also what you're trying to tell yourself every time you have to stay in late. It's a pretty social workplace, getting to meet rather famous professors but also some pretty edgy students. Fortunately, you don't have to deal with the edgy kind of students since you're only a history professor. And also take part in some psychology lectures, where most of the edgy students are. Very unfortunate.

This time, it's the grading that keeps you up at work for longer than usual. Inside your office, it's no one but you and those paperlong paragraphs your students wrote about a current topic you are discussing from the previous lectures. It is already dark outside, but the small lamp on your table is working, casting a warm light onto the papers in front of you. The big light is on as well, but it never quite reaches your desk, so the small lamp is a good help.

You are about to put the grade on the essay when you hear a knock at your door, humming absentmindedly for them to come in while being focused on calculating the grade in your calculator again. Of course, it's no other than Johnny, or as his students call him, Soap, for always having crystal clear objects for experiments, having been caught cleaning those in breaks as well. He walks in and steps up to your desk, hands in pockets and studying the big pile of papers, before his eyes land on the essay in front of you. He understands quickly, nodding to himself before he clears his throat shortly to catch your attention.

»Grading, huh? At this hour?«

He questions and takes a look at his watch with an exaggerated arm motion before he puts his hand back into the pocket. You finally manage to write the grade down with some feedback on the side before glancing up to him.

»What?« You put your glasses down and check on the digital clock next to your lamp, realising it's about time you usually go to sleep normally. Johnny tilts his head at your question, a hint of concern crossing his features.

»How many essays did you grade today? Ten, twenty?«

»Eleven.«

He rolls his eyes and takes a seat at the chair in front of your desk, crossing his arms as he leans back. »You're aware it's eleven PM now, right? Lectures ended four hours ago.«

You nod in response, having had your last lecture around that time. Unfortunately for you, he is just as work consumed as you, which means he often catches you staying late or napping at your office.

»I know, I was about to pack my stuff anyway.«

He watches you in disbelief, sighing out dramatically.

»No, you weren't. Didn't even notice me come in, hypnotised by those papers.«

Johnny scoffs lightly and gestures to the essays, now being two piles of graded and ungraded work.

»I get it, you like your job, and that's great, but... c'mon, not even I am as determined as you.«

He shrugs lightly and shifts on his seat to lean back further, seemingly tired from today. You shake your head and stand off your chair, smoothing out the papers before groaning lightly from your lower back pain. As always, you stretch your arms and crack your back, the sounds of joints and bones cracking being soft but loud enough to make Johnny grimace slightly.

»Yeah, you need a break.« He nods to himself, making you huff out amused.

»Listen, I don't need you telling me what to do. I know when to take a break.«

He shakes his head at your words, disagreeing and ready to talk your ears off about the importance of rest. Before he could start, you put your hand up in the air, looking to him finally.

»And now that you're here, I'm going to pack my stuff and get outta here. And you won't say another word.«

Johnny almost interrupts you and wants to say something again before he settles on watching you while he stays in his seat. It's silent, the only sounds being the light ruffles of paper as you organise them and put them back in your bag. The glasses you left on the desk earlier are being put back on the bridge of your nose, slinging your bag around your shoulder finally. He finally speaks up, staying seated as he watches you for now.

»You're lucky I was still here, building up the experiments for tomorrow.«

You don't believe him, giving him a side long glance.

»More like cleaning those weird bowls and glasses of yours.« He's not too amused at your light jab, getting off the chair while gesturing to himself.

»I am just doing my job properly. Don't want my students to get hurt from dirty-«

»What were those loud sounds from this morning, by the way? Did you try to set this place up?«

He perks up at your question, even though you interrupted him just now. Johnny has a big grin on his face now as he gets to explain it to you, walking around your desk while he does so. You listen to him explain in full detail why he decided to do such an experiment and how he set it up, telling you how his students made the small bombs he told them to construct. It led to having built colourful mini-bombs that they just had to set off in the lecture hall. The ceiling is high enough anyway.

Johnny and some other students had some blue and yellow sticking on their clothes and faces, but it was fun, and his students know how to build mini bombs now.

»You don't think it was risky to teach them how to build literal bombs?« That's your only question you have for him now, as everything else doesn't surprise you anymore.

»No. They're studying chemistry; they would have it figured out sooner or later.« He reasons casually, which makes you agree somewhat quietly.

----

Redcrest High Academy, Tuesday 8:13 AM

You're thankful to Johnny for baically forcing you to stop working the night before, because you can already feel how tired and sore your body is after sitting and grading for so long. The lecture hall is mostly quiet as usual, something most teachers in schools would kill for, but in your case it's making you almost frustrated. Why are your students always so quiet during lectures? Do they fear you? Before you could worry any longer about them, a hand goes up from a student, seemingly wanting to ask something. »Have you graded our assignments yet, miss-« »No.«

Okay, maybe it's no wonder your students are mostly silent during your lecture, but being all bubbly and social like your favourite colleague is not easy. And forcing yourself to be more social and funny with your students will only earn you some weird or confused stares. A loud, sudden sound goes off, similar to a small explosion, making everyone jump up and look around for a moment. You hold your hand up and sigh out wearily. »It's probably Professor McTavish again. Calm down.« Not a second later and said Professor is peeking into your lecture hall with a worried expression, his lab coat seemingly less clean, him having a rather dishevelled look. »Your fire alarms didn't go off, right? Don't worry, we already put the fire out. Just checking in.«

He can't be serious.

He clicks the door shut, and the hall is silent for a brief moment before some chuckles and laughs errupt, making you smile slightly as well. You're making a mental note to ask what he was doing with his class again before focussing back on the task at hand. With that quick disturbance, the lecture continues as before.

Once lunch break begins, it's your mission to find Johnny and talk to him about the earlier disturbance. It's certainly not hard to find him; walking into his lecture hall makes it a quick find as you see him cleaning the tables and the other stuff the chemics have around. »Weak arson attempt or another experiment?« He gets surprised by your voice and presence, turning around to face you. He grows sheepish for a moment before chuckling lightly at your question. »I guess one of my students needs to study a bit more. He never gets to set up another experiment alone again.«

You are sure, you could hear some light tension in his voice while he continues to clean and scrub around. Maybe he is just focused on cleaning so much, making him seem a bit tense. In all honesty, he rarely gets mad at his students or scolds them, but it's evident this particular student had to endure some of his strict words after class. »Hm... well, at least my students got a kick out of it.«

He barks out a laugh at your words, pausing on his cleaning for a moment. »I'm sure they did. But my students were afraid for their lives there.«

This makes you shake your head subtly at how serious that sounds. But it's nothing new, just another tuesday at work. After a few more words, you retreat from the room and get to continue your own work, the day going by quickly. ----

Redcrest High Academy, Wednesday 8:43 AM

Another work day, another chaotic day for the chemistry students. The class is lively inside, talking to classmates, making jokes, and telling stories to one another before their professor walks in. It gets more calm once Professor McTavish walks in, most being curious about what they will do in this lecture. He seems to be in a good mood today, as usual, standing by the whiteboard as he explains today's lesson and shows them some diagrams over the projector.

The atmosphere is more light and exciting, the students having their first semester and enjoying themselves, not needing to face the horrors of writing essays or doing research at home for the class yet. A particular student holds his hand up, him already having the nickname 'boom box' from Johnny for being louder and more extroverted than the other students.

»Are you and the history professor something?« Johnny pauses at the question, not having expected such a question. He blinks and looks rather caught off guard by the question, making some students chuckle. »Don't get me wrong, you just seem like a married couple. You're always together and stuff.« Johnny has to literally restrain himself from thinking about you both being potentially something more than friends, acting as neutral as possible in front of his students. He gathers himself quickly, shaking his head as he holds one hand up slightly. »This is chemistry class, no? We have no time to discuss something like this.«

This earns some classic booing from his students, making him roll his eyes while he just tries to get back to the lesson and also teach them about minding their own business.

----

Redcrest High Academy, Wednesday 9:00 AM

You enter his office with two coffees in hand, each for the two of you, as you find him leaned over his desk with his back to you, looking like he is contemplating something really hard. The sight isn't new as you're walking up to him and place one cup at his desk beside him. He acknowledges it with a small nod and finally notices who you are, turning his whole body to face you.

»Did you know my students think we're married?« Silence follows afterwards, blinking at him while he takes a loud sip from his coffee. »Wow, straight to the point, huh?«

He doesn't match your sarcastic energy or finds it funny, staying serious as he stands in front of you.

»They thought we were married.« He repeats, making you narrow your eyes at him before realisation hits.

This is gonna reach the other colleagues in no time.

a/n: Wow, cliffhanger, oh my god, no one has done this before!!! Let me know what you think about this, I'm not sure if I will continue writing about this silly guy kachow

[soleilceirinen]

The Portrait | modern!Tommy Shelby x Reader

Summary: Thomas Shelby is your History professor at the university. One day he wants to meet you at his office and it scares you a bit. Definitely, you are not expecting to see what's waiting for you there. Modern AU.

Warnings: nothing.

A/N: this is short and maybe makes no sense but I just wanted to write something after not writing anything in months. Also, it's inspired by a real teacher I had, who kept a huge self portrait in his university office. It was horrible and funny at the same time.

Sorry for the English, it isn't my first language. There are probably a lot of mistakes but I don't feel like proofreading it more. Thanks for reading it!

Peaky Blinders Masterlist | Cillian Murphy Masterlist

In the three years that you had been studying at the university, you had never been in professor Shelby’s office. Not even once. But there were rumours, each of them crazier than the next one. They said that one of the walls was covered by a bookshelf which actually was a secret door to access professor Solomon’s office, who some people believed were his secret lover. But that was nothing compared to other things you had heard, such as not going alone to his office if you were a young woman, just in case. 

Of course, you didn’t believe any of this. Unfortunately, you had learned the hard way that sometimes people were mean and they would talk shit about others just out of jealousy, or self discontent. Some people had very sad and empty lifes. 

It didn’t make sense to you because Thomas Shelby never messed with anyone. The man taught his classes and left, unlike other teachers who tried really hard to be friends with their students, he knew where to set the limits. He was serious and a good professor, one of the best you had ever had. 

His lectures were focused on the first half of 20th Century History. Sometimes, Thomas would talk about World War I in a way that made you feel like he had been there, as if he were telling you all his memories. 

-

On Monday you got an email from him. Your heart skipped a beat, he wanted to meet you at his office. The message was brief and concise, it just said that he wanted to talk to you, along with the appointment’s date. Now you were a nervous wreck. What did he want to talk about with you? You couldn’t know, maybe your last essay was so horrible that he wanted to say it to your face and see your reaction.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to push away all those thoughts. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal and you were creating a mountain out of a grain of sand. Besides, it made no sense to dwell on the suffering if you didn’t even know the reason why he wanted to meet.

-

It had been five minutes since you arrived at Mr. Shelby’s office. The only problem was that you couldn’t find the strength to knock on the closed door. You just wanted to put off the moment as long as possible.

"You can do it. Tommy doesn't bite, you know?"

The sudden presence of someone behind you made you turn around in surprise. You thought you were alone in the empty hallway but clearly you were wrong because Mr. Solomons was standing next to you, seemingly amused. After all, his office was the one next to Thomas's. 

He was your professor too, although his lectures didn’t captivate you as much as those of Mr. Shelby. It wasn’t because they weren’t interesting, he specialised on Jewish History and cultural heritage, but the way he rambled was certainly disconcerting. Some days after leaving his class you weren’t even able to determine what he had been talking about since  he liked to spill ideas that in theory had some kind of connection with each other.

“I know, thanks for the encouragement,” you replied quietly. He placed one of his large hands on your shoulder and gave you a friendly squeeze before walking past you, as he headed towards his own office. 

-

Mr. Shelby's deep voice invited you in from the other side of the door. You entered slowly, fixing your gaze on the floor. He waited, sitting on the other side of the desk as he watched you with interest. 

“How are you, Y/N?”

The answer died in your throat the moment you gathered enough courage to look up in order to meet his blue eyes. Mr. Shelby stared at you expectantly, one eyebrow raised. You covered your mouth with your hand, the last thing you wanted to do now was bursting into laughter but you couldn’t take your eyes away from the painting.

Right behind him, almost covering the whole surfice of the wall, hung a huge portrait. It wasn’t a photograph, it looked like an oil painting on canvas. In it appeared Mr. Shelby, who was wearing the kind of clothes that men would probably wear back in the 1920’s, standing next to a majestic white horse. Slowly, your eyes moved from the painting to the man in front of you. 

Who in his right mind has a painting like that in their university office? It was the tackiest thing you had seen in a long time. Definitely, not what you were expecting to find there. 

“Y/N?”

Mr. Shelby's soft voice brought you back to reality. To the here and now. "Yes, good. And you?"

"Not bad. You'll wonder why I summoned you today," he said, as he rummaged through the piles of papers and books that littered his desk. You made a small noise of confirmation, so he continued speaking. "I really liked your last essay about the role of women in society during World War I. Have you ever been to France?"

You tilted your head to the side, for a moment nothing made sense. What did one thing have to do with the other? You kept looking at the portrait, as if the answer was painted somewhere there. "France?" 

At your bewildered face, Mr. Shelby laughed softly. It sounded as if he were letting out a gust of air. His eyes shined gently, he seemed to be in a good mood. “Yes, the country. The university’s History department has been offered a student exchange with a French university. It’s only a week but in five days you can do many things. I was talking to Mr. Solomons and we agreed that you are one of our most promising students, it might be interesting for you to go.”

"Really? I don't know what to say..." you mumbled, your cheeks turning red and warm. You wanted to cry, or laugh, or both. "I've never been to France, I don't even speak French."

Mr. Shelby found what he was looking for. He placed a form in front of you and pointed his finger at it. "Think about it. If you decide to go, fill this out and bring it to me in a couple of days. It's a great opportunity," he added.

Nodding, you took the form and put it carefully between your notes so it wouldn’t get all wrinkled. “Thank you so much for considering me,” you finally said, truly grateful. 

You looked one last time at the painted version of Thomas. His cold eyes returned an icy stare from above, with an almost cruel expression. He seemed so distant, like someone who no longer has anything to lose. It made you wonder, in the first place, the history behind the painting. Did he commission it? Why? Anyway, he could have hung it at his house, not there. 

Before stepping out of the office, you looked over your shoulder and smiled at him. What you weren’t expecting was Thomas returning the smile back at you, but he did and for a brief moment, his face lit up. That face couldn’t be further away from the hard features of his painted version. 

As you walked down the hallway you shook your head. So many nerves for nothing. It also infuriated you a little bit to think about all the shit people said about him behind his back, all rumours, since nobody ever mentioned the painting. 

However, you had something clear. Despite the bad reputation that preceded him, you kind of liked Thomas Shelby. He had the most incredible pair of blue eyes and the worst taste when it came to decoration, but nobody is perfect.

[beestriker015]

Raven x sweet and bubbly male s/o

(This is an AU that takes place during Team STRQ’s time at Beacon.)

Most people know Raven Branwen as a cold and serious person, but much to their shock, there’s one person that she has a soft spot for.

That person….is a fellow Beacon student named s/o.

When she met s/o at initiation, Raven was at first constantly annoyed by his cheerful and upbeat personality, which is very similar to that of her team leader Summer.

“Ugh, as if Summer wasn’t bad enough, now I have too overly joyful nuisances in my life.”

Raven thinks to herself while silently staring at s/o with an annoyed gaze.

Despite being shunned and spoken to rudely on several occasions by Raven, s/o was persistent on befriending her.

“Please Raven! Our teams are going to Vale to hang out and I would really love for you to come too.”

He says to her while the stoic girl exits her dorm room.

“For the last time, I don’t want to waste my time being around you s/o. Now leave me alone.”

She says while rolling her eyes and walking away.

Overtime however, Raven began to respect s/o’s determination and even started to…like him.

“Hey Raven! I probably already know your answer, but would you like to hang out with me?”

Much to his surprise, the black haired girl agrees.

“Sure, I have nothing else to do anyway.”

“Really?! Awesome!”

He smiles widely, which Raven can’t help but find a little…cute?

After that, Raven and s/o slowly began getting close, causing a bit of a personality change that her teammates started to notice.

“Raven’s been acting different lately.”

Summer tells her other two teammates Tai and Qrow, the latter of whom is also Raven’s brother.

“Yeah, she’s a lot nicer.”

“I guess spending time with s/o has been a good influence on my sister.”

Qrow says before taking a drink out of his flask.

“Yeah, I’m beginning to think she might like him more than just a friend.”

“I think so too! I ship it sooo hard!”

“Of course you do Summer.”

Tai deadpans as the three continue talking about Raven and s/o.

Although she has yet to realize it, Raven’s teammates are right about her developing feelings for s/o.

Raven doesn’t catch on to how she feels about her friend until the rest of Team STRQ point out the obvious signs, much to her denial.

“No, s/o is a friend and nothing more. I don’t want to fall in love and I’m not interested in dating.”

She tries convincing herself, though ultimately comes to terms with her feelings thanks to her team.

“Fine, I like s/o a lot, but he probably doesn’t see me that way.”

Luckily, matchmaker Summer Rose is on the case.

After doing some prying, Team STRQ’s leader finds out s/o likes Raven too and proceeds to tell her.

“Raven! Raven! Guess what?! S/o does return your feelings!”

She tells her with barely contained excitement as Raven simply nods.

“Really? That makes things easy for me then.”

The confession s/o got from Raven was short and straight to the point, but he was ecstatic nonetheless.

“I love you too Raven! I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ll ever have!”

He pulls her into a hug, causing an ever so slight smile to make its way onto her face.

As a couple, Raven and s/o have a rather unconventional relationship.

Most if not all affection comes from s/o, not that he minds all that much, but Raven does hold his hand in public, which is something I suppose.

Jealousy is nonexistent because s/o is too positive minded and Raven sees being jealous as completely pointless due to her personality.

(Besides, no girl would dare try making a move on s/o because they’re all afraid of what his girlfriend would do if they did.)

Due to s/o’s overly kind and somewhat gullible nature, several people have tried taking advantage of this to get what they want.

“Hey s/o, I really don’t have time to write that essay. Can you please do it for me, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“Umm, w-well…”

Luckily, he has his girlfriend to help him deal with these kind of people.

“No. S/o is not going to do your work for you. Don’t bother him again and go write that essay your own damn self.”

Raven glares at the student as he hurriedly leaves.

“Thanks for that Raven.”

“You need to learn not to be someone else’s doormat s/o. Be assertive and say no.”

“I understand, and I promise to try.”

“Good, because you’d be weak if you didn’t. Remember what I said about being weak s/o?”

“The weak die and the strong survive?”

“Exactly. You are strong aren’t you?”

“Of course I’m strong!”

Raven smiles in satisfaction.

“Good answer.”

True to his word, s/o is surprisingly a very skilled fighter, so he and Raven train together quite often, which she may or may not take too seriously.

“You lost s/o. That’s 10 wins for me and 7 for you.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you kept count.”

He says while getting up off the ground and dusting himself off.

“I never forget when it comes to combat.

“You’re so cool Raven.”

S/o tells her with stars in his eyes, not caring at all that she beat him.

The thought of Raven Branwen blushing sounds like pure fantasy, but s/o somehow manages to make that a reality.

“How’s my pretty bird doing today?”

S/o’s nickname for her makes Raven flustered every time, but only when he calls her that.

(Tai tried once, needless to say his nose is healing up nicely.)

Well into their relationship, Raven starts becoming more affectionate with s/o, but will snap at anyone who points it out.

“I love you pretty bird.

“I love you too s/o.”

She smiles sweetly at her boyfriend as Qrow snickers.

“Never thought I’d see the day when you’d become such a big softie sis.”

“Softie?! I’ll make you regret those words Qrow!”

“Raven no!”

Qrow runs for his life as his livid sister chases after him with her sword that she named Omen, s/o desperately trying to calm her down the entire time.

If s/o ever got serious hurt, Oum help whoever or whatever is responsible, for they will face the hellish fury of a pissed off Raven.

“For hurting my s/o, you deserve nothing but death.”

She says calmly with a terrifying glare before brutally killing the Grimm who attacked her boyfriend.

“Raven, you saved me!”

He hugs her tightly, which she returns.

“We will do some more training one we’re back at Beacon so this doesn’t happen again. I won’t let my boyfriend become weak.

She tells him all tsundere like, but is secretly very concerned about s/o’s safety.

“Ok! I love you pretty bird.”

Raven smiles softly to herself before breaking from the hug.

“I love you too s/o.”

Despite initially being known as uncaring and cold hearted, Raven can’t help but drop this persona from time to time due to strong love she feels for her sweet boyfriend with all her, whom she will always protect no matter what.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Arcana Brainrot: Blog Rules, Posting Schedule, Masterlists, Playlist, & Requests/Mini prompts Guidelines

Come chat on the Discord server!

Current MC ask game

INBOX STATUS: closed

Thursdays: open all day to all requests! All other days: closed to requests, open for everything else!

BLOG RULES:

Please read request guidelines (below the masterlists) and check if requests are open before sending one! Requests periodically open for a 24-hour window announced in advance. If you specifically want yours to be written as a mini- or full- sized prompt, feel free to specify! I do my best to write what I can, but I can't guarantee all requests will get written :) Comments and feedback are always welcome!

I don't think it needs to be said but hate isn't welcome here. Of any kind.

Please also keep in mind that this blog is PG-13, so whatever comments you make on it will likely be seen by minors. I take their safety seriously, so if there's anything grossly X rated in the comments (I don't see why there should be) I will delete it. If you continue to comment things like that you will be blocked :)

With my older brother rant out of the way, please enjoy the results of me trying to cope with an endless Vesuvian obsession :D

Posting Schedule

Saturdays: headcanons! Sundays: answering asks (& maybe some rambles?) Mondays: headcanons! Tuesdays: answering asks (& maybe some shitposts?) Wednesdays: Vesuvia Weekly Thursdays & Fridays: rest

MASTERLISTS: oldest to newest, I'll do my best to update as I post.

All quotes for Arcana characters sent in have this tag: #arcana brainrot quote collection

Because of the link limit for posts, you can find the masterlist for all full headcanons below:

The Arcana HCs : Brainrot's Masterlist

The Arcana HCs : Brainrot's Masterlist, Pt 2

And here is the masterlist for all my mini-prompts, answered ask arcana style:

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot's Masterlist

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot’s Masterlist, Pt 2

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot's Masterlist, Pt 3

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot's Masterlist, Pt 4

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot's Masterlist, Pt 5

The Arcana Mini-HCs: Brainrot's Masterlist, Pt 6

A masterlist for drabbles, with an explanation at the top for how they work!

The Arcana Drabbles: Explanation and Masterlist

All the recipes posted by the originals devs from the Arcana universe, with pictures of my own creation attempts and descriptions of how it went!

The Arcana Food

Worldbuilding/character analysis essays ^.^ (not a comprehensive list atm, unfortunately)

The Arcana Essays: Brainrot's Masterlist

Finally got around to fleshing out my self-insert enough to make him a proper MC/ OC!

Bainrot's self-insert MC (Drue)

Vesuviella: my first fanfic. don't get your hopes up (updated sporadically)

Summary: Julian decided to write his own version of Cinderella to be performed in the Community Theatre, and then recruited MC to help him cast the rest of the M6 in the leading roles. Chaos ensues. (There is no determined love interest, MC is friends with the M6 and M6 are all thirsty for MC.)

Vesuviella: All Parts

Arcana Brainrot Playlist: a compilation of all character song suggestions in one Spotify playlist, kept up to date!

Arcana Brainrot Playlist (Spotify)

Arcana Brainrot Playlist (YouTube)

REQUEST GUIDELINES

Generally, I pick from what's in my asks and write what sparks inspiration. If there's an idea you'd really like to see written, you're welcome to message me directly about it! ^.^

I don't write about toxic/abusive relationships or dynamics between MC and the M6 (I get the appeal, I'm not judging, but it's not for me)

I don't write for M6 x M6 ships - side character ships are on the table, though!

All of my work is PG-13. (yes to romantic/sensual themes and references to painful experiences, no to explicit matter or glorified violence/pain/death/toxicity)

I'm willing to do research for topics I'm not familiar with, but there are plenty of things I can't write about just because I haven't lived it and I know an hour of research wouldn't be enough to be accurate (and respecting other people's experiences is important)

I am unfortunately very familiar with what it's like to have trauma/mental illnesses. That said, while I'm very happy to explore how that impacts MC and their relationships, there are some prompts I may take a very long time to do or just not write at all because they would mess me up

In general, keeping the prompt relatively short (a sentence to a paragraph) helps me organize them better! The same goes for asks sent with a visible blog - if I have questions, I can reach out to you for more details! ^.^

Both my asks and messages are open because I love hearing from new people! If you abuse that you will be blocked :)

All of the above points have reasons for them, and are therefore subject to change. If you have an idea that you'd really like to see and you're not sure about, just message me! I can either tell you why I can't do it or I can make an exception depending on the case

RELEVANT FANDOM HAPPENINGS

(I don't do drama on my page, but these are some posts that provide transparency and accountability for some of the things I've been caught up in)

To the Arcana Fandom, From Brainrot

An update on Rai/Kip

[animehideout]

heyyy so for whenever you open your requests again, could you do the green/red flag thing for Sugawara, Yamaguchi, Hinata and Tsukishima? I really liked it alot... but feel free to ignore this if you don't want to write it! Have a nice dayyy 🩵🩵🩵

Haikyuu Boys Green / Red Flags ( IMO) part 3

Characters: Sugawara/ Tsukki / Hinata / Yamaguchi.

A/N : @flowerjun 🩷 , thank you so much for requesting, and I'm glad you enjoyed the other parts, I hope you enjoy this part as well. Have a nice day / night 💝💝💝💝💝

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

Sugawara Koushi:

okay this man right here is a walking green flag 🥹, i luv him.

Green Flags 💚:

• Very mature, works hard for your future together.

• Very good at connecting with you and your energy.

• Responsible, takes a good care of you and everything concerning you.

• You have an exam? he'll help you study.

• You have an essay? he'll write it for you.

• Very considerate: you're his priority.

• Good at communicating, and solving conflicts.

• Healthy environment and healthy discussion whenever you argue.

• Very gentle and asks for consent.

• Stops whenever he feels that you're uncomfortable, even if sometimes you're not.

Red Flags ❤️:

• Most of the time he puts others before him 😭🥹.

• Not willing to take risks, no matter how hard you reassure him.

• Hesitant at first to try new things in your relationship ( you know what I'm talking abt).

• Very paranoid.

Tsukishima Kei:

Green Flags 💚:

• Very smart.

• Knows how to deal with situations concerning your relationship

• Attentive.

• He observes the progress of your relationship.

• Doesn't let anyone disrespect you or bully you.

Red Flags ❤️:

• Overly critical, ends up hurting your feelings.

• Emotionally distant most of the time.

• Expresses his love through passive acts of service.

• Not very intimate vocally or physically.

• Sarcastic and can take it too far.

Hinata Shoyo:

Green Flags 💚:

• Very supportive.

• Encourages you when it comes to your goals and dreams.

• Pushes you forward.

• Wouldn't let you give up.

• Cheerful.

• Brings positive energy and joy to your relationship.

• His laugh wipes your sadness/ stress away.

• Very loyal.

• Makes your relationship exciting.

• Very determined.

Red Flags ❤️:

• Impulsive.

• Takes quick decision without second thoughts.

• Brings unnecessary competition everytime (considers everything as competition)

• Doesn't know the term « personal space »

• Sometimes pushes you too hard to achieve something or get something done.

Yamaguchi Tadashi:

Green Flags 💚:

• Kind and sweet.

• Spoils you with gifts especially food.

• Expect cute nicknames.

• 100% loyal, has eyes only for you.

• Very understanding.

• Listens to you talk for hours without getting bored.

• Speaks softly to you even when arguing.

Red Flags ❤️:

• Overly sensitive, lets sadness/ anger take over him.

• Low self-esteem / lack of confidence when it comes to taking decision about your relationship.

• Simps for tsukki .. jk.

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

FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[positivelyholland]

Hey sunshine, it’s meeeeee!

So could you write something with Chris x daughter reader when she’s not having the best past couple of weeks because her brain just won’t let her communicate what she wants to (her brain just isn’t braining) and chris knows when she gets like this her anxiety is though the roof because she can’t explain anything it’s almost like her mind is just detached from herself it makes her panic badly. So it’s a lot of comfort, bluey and communication strategies because he knows it’s hard for her, so he gets scott to take her out because she’s hasn’t been out the house in a hot minute just to get her some fresh air and some of her comfort foods like apple sauce because it slaps. They just have a fun and slow couple of days until her brain finally decides it wants brain again, even if it’s as slow and spending a day in chris’ bed with bluey or going on a walk with Scott and dodger. Just comfort and to be able to slow down that’s all she needed

pairing: chris evans x daughter!reader

genre: comfort & fluff

summary: when school gets to be too much, you're dad comes and saves the day

warnings: being overwhelmed

A/N: im so sorry that it took me long to respond to this, my dear! hopefully the wait was worth it and this can be all that you wanted it to be

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

You sit at your desk, surrounded by what felt like a mountain of books, papers, assignments, and so on. School has become extra overwhelming lately, and you're struggling to keep up.

You had been working on your homework for hours at this point, and you were just about to reach your tipping point.

That tipping point came sooner than you thought as you finished what you assumed to be your millionth essay of the day, just to realize that you didn't save your progress.

That's when the tears started falling.

Just before you about ruined your art homework by crying, you head a gentle knock on your bedroom door. You sniffle, hastily wiping away your tears, and call out, "Come in."

The door creaks open, and you see your dad, standing there with a sympathetic smile. His presence alone is enough to provide some solace. You've always admired him—his kindness, his strength, and his unwavering support.

"Hey, kiddo," Chris says, stepping into the room. "I noticed you've been pretty stressed lately... and now you're crying so I'm a little concerned, mind if I come in and talk?"

You shake your head, and he walks over to your desk, taking a seat beside you. His comforting presence feels like a warm shield against the stress that surrounds you.

"What's been going on, y/n?" Chris asks, concern evident in his voice.

You take a deep breath and pour your heart out, sharing your struggles, fears, and frustrations. You talk about the constant pressure to excel, the feeling of never being good enough, and the anxiety that has been building up within you.

Chris listens intently, his eyes filled with empathy. When you finish, he places a hand on your shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You know, you're doing a really good job, but i understand that it can be hard to do a good job sometimes" he says, his voice soothing. "But it's important to remember that you're not alone in this. We'll find a way to make it through together."

A glimmer of hope flickers in your eyes as you absorb his words. Your dad, understands your struggles and is determined to help you overcome them. Inspired by his unwavering support, you wipe away the remaining tears and give him a small nod.

"Alright, then," Chris says with a mischievous smile. "Enough of the studying for today. It's time for a break."

You raise an eyebrow, intrigued by his sudden shift in tone. "What do you have in mind?"

He stands up and extends a hand toward you. "How about we go on an adventure? We'll leave the books behind for a while and focus on having fun."

You hesitate for a moment, but the idea of spending time with your dad, escaping the suffocating stress, is too tempting to resist. And besides, you don't get chances to spend an entire day having fun with your dad instead of doing homework.

You reach out, your hand slipping into his, and he pulls you to your feet.

Chris leads you downstairs, and soon, the two of you are stepping out into the sunshine, Dodger's leash in hand. As the three of you walk together, he fills the air with his infectious laughter, making your worries melt away.

First, he takes you to a local park. You swing on the swings, feeling weightless as the wind rushes through your hair. He pushes you higher and higher, shouting encouragement and laughing alongside you.

Doing all this just like you did when you were a little girl. You finished at the park with a game of fetch with Dodger.

Next, you head to the arcade, where Chris challenges you to a series of friendly competitions. You cheer each other on, while both of you still want to be the winner.

As the two of you celebrate victories and laugh off defeats, all the stress and worry seem like distant memories.

When you're both worn out from games, Chris suggests grabbing ice cream. You eagerly agree, savoring each spoonful as you stroll through the city streets, talking about anything and everything. Chris listens intently, offering advice and sharing stories of his own struggles.

"Remember, kiddo," Chris whispers, his voice soft and comforting. "Life can get tough, but it's the moments like these that make it all worthwhile. You're strong, resilient, and capable of great things. Don't let the challenges define you."

His words resonate deep within your heart, filling you with newfound determination. With Chris by your side, you realize that you can face anything that comes your way.

After a good nights sleep, the next morning you settle back at your desk, ready to tackle your mountain fo work with a renewed sense of purpose. Armed with the love and support of your dad, you know you can do anything.

[justatalkingface]

hello! i don't want this ask to come off as mean or targeted at all so please don't take it that way, but i'm confused as to why you're still a my hero fan you don't seem to like the characters or the way that the story is headed, is it just hate watching (uhh,, consuming of media??) at this point? again it's cool if that's what it is, but you talk about the characters like they aren't that in depth, not just bakugou but. the other villains and also izuku too.

you said something about izuku just being happy and content with losing one for all in the new leaks, (in that same post you weren't caught up so i sorta get why you could draw to that conclusion,) but also izuku's character is known for bottling up his emotions.

Izuku's is always happy (even when he's not), the only time we really see him fall apart is his vigilante arc. yes throughout the story he is constantly crying, but again, never in situations that he is really hurt emotionally you know? We get to see his journey and his progress, it's all that he's ever wanted in life, to have a quirk and save people, so when that gets stripped away, he's gonna be a bit gutted no? thats what i think at least. the story started with "this is how i become the worlds greatest hero" but i think it's always been more about what make someone a hero, why people should want to be heros, and their stories behind it. why else create flawed characters like bakugou and shigaraki if not to show all the side of the story?

gosh, sorry didn't mean to write a whole essay, my words tend to get away from me. I would love to see your views once you do catch up tho.

Hmm. Well, I talked about some of my motivations in... that Gaiden post, I think, but if I wasn't OK with ranting, I wouldn't have made this account just to rant.

Why am I still a fan? And as an extended of that, still posting?

Spite.

No, seriously.

Like. When I first started reading MHA, I was amazed. It just felt so... refreshing, so unique; I loved how determined and kind Izuku was, I loved how human All Might was, I liked the variety apparent in the world, how rich it felt, all the potential to it. And then, before my eyes, I watched it rot away, so slowly I didn't even realize what was happening until it was already dead.

I miss what MHA was, and so much of this is... mourning, almost, for what was and could have been.

Also, like I said, spite, because I watched this fester before my eyes and honestly I want to call out each and every wound and point of rot on it's corpse, along with some desire for validation in finding people who agree with me.

'but you talk about the characters like they aren't that in depth, not just bakugou but. the other villains and also izuku too.'

Not... quite sure what you mean here? I think you mean that I think they're done badly? (And I do, so you're not wrong there.)

Alright, see, so I don't disagree with your logic here: Izuku is a mess. Izuku is a mess held together by lack of time (or not being allowed) to process his shit storm of a life and duty. He's gotten everything taken away from him.

He should be pissed. He should be feel destroyed, depressed.

But the keyword here is 'should'. And that is the problem, in a word. Izuku 'should' be upset. He 'should' be depressed.

But historically, things that 'should' happen regarding Izuku just... don't happen. From his abilities, to his opinion on himself, to other people's views on him... what 'should' happen, logically, just doesn't.

Also... let me pose a question:

Do you think Hori is going to end MHA with Izuku withering away from depression? That his friends, one by one, are going to abandon him, because they only ever really liked his Quirk, that his mom is going to die of disappointment of her useless son, that All Might will get killed by a three year old wielding a balloon? And that he'll die early, and the only one to attend his funeral will be Aizawa, out of obligation, and his entire summery of Izuku's life, and the inscription on his grave, will be 'Problem Child'?

Of course not. (Even though I get the feeling that Hori kind of does want that.) If he tried it, the editors would literally kill him. Less dramatically, they just wouldn't print it and make him rewrite it, because they don't want to fuck up the MHA cash cow at the finish line.

I'm not caught up, yet, but for this? I don't have to be. Stories like shonens follow basic structures, like a sort of skeletal system; you may not know the fine details, but you do know some things will happen. And shonens? They always have happy endings. Always. Even if the MC dies, they'll do it willingly, for a Great Cause(TM), and almost certainly go with a smile, and satisfied with their life choices. If it was a manga like Berserk, it would have been up in the air, because Berserk doesn't follow the same narrative rules, and so how it ends and what not are far more open to question than something like this (ignoring that, yes, Berserk ended too).

Fundamentally, MHA will not end with Izuku miserable. It basiclly can't.

That's why I say he'll be content, because he doesn't really have the time to be miserable before MHA finishes up. At worst, he'll have a brief shown moment of sad, because he reaches acceptance, because he won't be allowed to feel otherwise.

(Yeah, this doesn't feel targeted or anything, don't worry about it. If you get something more specific to ask me or whatever, knock yourself out.)

[kenny-the-ken]

Y O U + M E

Part 1

Soooo!!! Last nights South Park was everything I wanted but didn't know I needed!!! Kenny with his hood I mean,,, I am deceased. I'm having some serious writer's block, so please feel free to send me requests, HCs too!! I wanna get to know you all, and thanks for all the love on my previous fics. I normally hate my writing so knowing you guys like it is amazing!! This fic contains string language, angst, toxic thinking, obsession and sexual themes. ALL CHARACTERS ARE AGED UP!! If you guys like this fic I can write more parts!! Loosely based on the Netflix show YOU!!!

Kenny hasn't been with another girl since the last time, and that was not something he wanted to repeat. That was until his eye was caught by you, and he couldn't tear his eyes away.

You were new here, family just moved to town and you had transferred to South Park High, and he was determined to know more about you.

It's not an obsession, he isn't obsessed, is he? So far he knew your name was y/n, you had moved here from the UK, so quite a far away from home, you were shy, trying your best to fit in, you were alternative in how you dressed, Kenny has already touched himself thinking about you, and he swore it was the best wank he'd ever had! It was clear to him that you were thirsty for that kind of attention, blushing as other boys talked and flirted with you, and his blood boiled, you would be his, who the fuck did these other guys think they were? How dare they even look at you in that way!

Although he didn't blame them, those short skirts, tight tops with too much cleavage and today was the day that Kenny's resolve broke, he could no longer watch from the sidelines, you were wearing the shortest shorts he'd ever seen with knee high socks and a lace bralette, no bra! God he was going insane. You had a flannel shirt tied loosely around your waist and Doc Martin boots on, and god you had tattoos! He swore you were so angelic looking it was sinful, and he knew he had to talk to you, before someone else could shoot their shot. You would be his. He was damned sure of it.

One problem though, how to approach you without creeping you out? You didn't know him, but he knew you, you were both meant for each other, you just didn't know it yet, but how to catch your attention. He'd have to think, and fast.

That was before his perverse thoughts were interrupted by the harsh ringing of the bell.

"Fuck." He muttered under his breath, slamming his locker in annoyance before making his way to English class, plopping down on his seat, lost in his own thoughts as the rest of the class filtered into the room.

He was once again distracted from his thoughts about you by the scent of your perfume, his head rising as you both met each others gaze, you smiled at him, as he gave you a gapped tooth smile back.

Trust the teacher to ruin his shot!

"Quiet class! I have a lot planned for todays lesson so let's cut to the chase, I have paired you all up for group work, you will be working in pairs! This is an analysis of the prose we have been reading, and I expect a presentation and a written essay that both of you must present to the class next week."

She turned her back, writing on the chalk board who was paired together, and Kenny swore his heart skipped a beat when he noticed he was paired with you. He's never wanted to fist bump the air so much in all his life, but he didn't want you to notice him geeking out over you.

"Please sit next to your partner and get started straight away!" You teacher said to the class, and you moved your seat beside Kenny's, you both sharing a desk.

"Hey, I'm y/n, I'm new here from the UK so sorry if some of what I say doesn't make sense, our slang is hard to forget." You laughed, and Kenny nodded.

"Most people can't understand me either." He mumbled, his hood up. Let her see your face, idiot! His brain almost screamed at him as he unzipped his coat, taking his hood down, and it didn't go unnoticed by his friends. They knew he was hot on your tail, and what Kenny wants, he gets.

Your mouth was wide as you studied your partners face, a blush on your cheeks. He was hot, his fluffy blonde hair sitting messily atop his head, his pale skin and subtle freckles and that adorable little gappy smile. Fuck! You'd only moved a week ago and already you were crushing on someone.

"I'm Kenny. We can meet at the park after school and work on our project if you're up for up it?" He offered, you would definitely be turned off if you seen how his family were and what his home was like, and he was not losing you because of his parents and their usual neglectful bullshit.

"Or you could swing by my house? I'll get us coffee and order some pizza?" You offered, twiddling your pen between your thumb and forefinger, trying to avoid direct eye contact out of fear of blushing in front of him.

"That sounds a million times better, thanks." Kenny replied, a small smile on his face, he took this opportunity to sneak a quick look at your cleavage, and he swore he could make out the shape of your hard nipples through your bralette, and were those piercings?! Fuck, what were you doing to him? Don't get hard, Jesus Christ don't get hard!

"Can I have your number? So I can send you my address?" You asked, offering him your phone to punch his number into.

And he gladly accepted, typing his number on to your phone, and while you were distracted talking to Wendy he quickly installed a tracking app on your phone, just so he could know where you were at all times, to keep you safe of course.

"There you go." Kenny replied, holding your phone out to you as you took it from him, smiling at him.

"So... tell me a little about you, Kenny?" His eyebrow quirked at your sudden question. Were you wanting to find out more about him because you were partnered with him and just being friendly? Or did you ask because you were interested in getting to know him, because he wanted to know everything there was to know about you.

"I'm eighteen, I've lived in South Park for my whole life, and I've always been known of the poorest kid of the school, thanks to Eric over there." He said, nodding his head in the direction we're the older boy sat, you could hear him laughing at his own jokes, he seemed like an ass.

"I have a brother and a younger sister, Kevin and Karen. Just a warning though, people here love to gossip, so if anyone is bothering you, let me know." Kenny said kindly, his eyes not tearing from you once, it was as if you two were the only people in the room, god how was he going to control himself when he was in your bedroom, just you two.

"So tell me a little about yourself, y/n." Kenny inquired, and he was genuinely interested, soul mates needed to know all there was about each other, and he was determined to know you, he just hoped that you'd let him.

"Um... I'm eighteen too, I'm an only child, live with my mother, but she has some... problems, y'know?" You said, and Kenny knew exactly what you meant, his parents were the crème de la crème of drug and alcohol addicts, so he knew fine and well what she meant. Maybe they moved here for a new start.

"You smoke?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, you smoke weed?" You asked back, a small smirk on your face.

"Fuck yeah, I've dabbled with a lot of drugs, I mean, I've been exposed to them all my life." Kenny said, his eyes staring at his table, then back to you.

"I'll buy pizza and get us coffees if you bring the weed, deal?" You asked, putting your hand out to the blonde boy in front of you.

"Deal!" Kenny said, a smirk on his own face as the bell rang for the end of class.

You began packing up your things off your table and into your bag and as you bent down to grab your pen that had fallen on the floor, Kenny thought his eyes had popped fully out of his head. He stared at your ass and your thick thighs and my god how he wanted his head between them.

When you stood back up you finished packing and turned to see Kenny was waiting on you.

"If you wanna grab lunch together you can come with with me?" He asked, a small smile on his face, and boy did he hope that you said yes.

"That sounds lovely. Thanks, Kenny." You replied, throwing your back pack over your shoulder and beginning to walk out of the classroom with Kenny.

You could feel the eyes of other girls burning into the back of you as you both walked down the corridor, chatting together and making jokes as you both erupted into laughter.

Even though he was fully fixated on what you were talking about, Kenny was dazed, he was deep in thought, and it was all about you. About how your shirts hugged that perfectly round ass, how sensitive your nipples would be, what piercings would adorn them, did you have any tattoos that he couldn't see? His mind swirled.

As you both entered the cafeteria, he smiled and waved at his friends, before leading you over to introduce you.

"Guys, this is y/n m, she's new here. Y/n this is Eric, Kyle, Stan, Jimmy, Craig and Tweek." He said, pointing to each individual as he said their names, and you smiled.

"Hey guys, hopefully we can all be friends." You said, taking a seat between Kenny and Kyle.

"Kenny, how did you manage to get this pretty girl to befriend you?" Stan blurred outright, his cheeks going red as he averted both of your gazes.

"Um, we got partnered up together in English and it looks like we have a lot in common, and Kenny seems really nice." You said as the rest of the group nodded as if in sync.

"That makes sense." Kyle said to no one in particular and Kenny was in his own world again. You thought he was nice? He was making a good start, now he had to get you to fall in love with him, and he was pretty sure he knew how.

The rest of the day was pretty much standard procedure as far as Kenny was concerned, you had texted him, telling him to come over at 7pm.

So he had some free time on his hands. And he knew exactly what to do with it.

[northernember]

red queen taking place after the 6th mass extinction event has me so unhinged and feral like,,,

its about the underlying theme of being undone down to your base essentials and than remade entire by circumstances out of your control. its about stumbling out the other end, having miraculously survived the horrors done to you but being unable to recognize the person looking back.

its about how humanities hubris will always guide us down the same paths and corridors. how our base components and nature will always ripple across time even as the knowledge of those that came before us is lost.

and what of the great blood divide? how many times were those that bridged the gap unraveled and sewn back together by the massive amounts of radiation they were subjected to until they emerged with silver blood and abilities? How many succumbed to radiation sickness? How long did it take?

How long did humanity claw themselves across the ground of their forefathers failings before they learned how to walk again and how long until they repeat it?

i need to know of the calamities, i need to know what domino fell first. what happened afterwards, How the blood divide happened. Was the Silver’s creation violent and cruel? to mirror the natural, 1500 year evolution of the New bloods? were they made from those in poverty left to die to the radiation, to circumstances they had no control over but managed to somehow survive in spite of it? to mirror the Silvers treatment of Reds now?

was Cal’s arc the radiation? was it the explosion that shattered the windows and cracked the pavement? was it about the unmaking of everything youve ever known to pave a path for it to be remade for those who come after? was it feeling yourself come undone, feeling your dna unraveled, your cells torn apart and Surviving but seeing someone else staring back at you in the mirror? that the blood and ash is still on your hands but the person who stares back is not who you were before. he is scarred and scared but Better, kinder with gentle hands that will hold the world aloft, to help pave a way for those who can fix it, To fix it because he has Learned where his ideals and duty would have lead through his own unmaking.

was Maven’s arc the ruined cities? a place once full of joy and sorrow, of music fluttering through the windows, the smell of paint that clings to some people, the gentle noise of people typing as they write novels and essays and chat with their friends, of people walking and talking, of everything humanity was and now it is nothing more than a hollow city full of the echo of ghosts. A place left to decay and crumble beneath the tragedy brought by those that promised to protect it. A place that is seen as unsalvageable but only needs time to heal. Plants and vines climb up through the cracks, leaving a promise and echo that it Can heal. That it could have healed.

and was Mare’s arc the aftermath? was it the stubbornness and determination to stand on to shaky legs, to look out upon a world ripped apart and left in ruin and choosing to fix it, for yourself and for all those who will come after you? was it about pulling together a community left to die, to rebuild all that was lost, to heal the world and yourselves with gentle seeking hands and promising to do better? you came out bearing scars and cracks, searing memories of the terrible things done to you and choosing to take a trembling step forward even as the earths crust shakes beneath your will. You have had terrible things done to you time and time again but still you loved and still you chose to stand up on your own or reach for outstretched hands. You are scarred and you see yourself as unfixable but your community and family do not and they will give you the things you need and the time to patch yourself up until your tremors stop and your waters settle, until the sun is blanketed by your ozone and made gentle and kind again, until your raging storms become kind bouts of rain. They will wait for you to be okay again, and they know you will never be the same and they will love you through everything. They will stand with and beside you until the end of time. are you the aftermath of humanity or are you the earth’s embodiment?

[aclowntiny]

It's Not Easy Being Green- Jongho x Female!Writer!Reader

woohoo this title is a pun because green like new but also drink haha get it??? MORE COFFEE SHOP MORE >:) but we get to mix it up, no barista!reader this time hehe. Also, Jongho with glasses???? I simp

Word Count: 3089 | Coffee Shop, Fluff, Faint Angst | Warnings: I mention Fifty Shades of Grey just by title lmao

The sun remained faint beneath the cover of clouds and morning. A cool breeze blew, blessing what bits of Jongho's skin it could reach. He sighed to himself at the release, having just left a morning gym session and still feeling a tad bit sweaty despite wiping off.

As he shook out his hair, Jongho spotted a café two doors down from his position, deciding to stop in on the way back and get an iced coffee. Anything to cool off and regain some much-needed energy.

He was second in line despite it being so early. The girl in front of him probably had work, he considered. She did have a laptop case in hand, after all, though it didn’t appear she was dressed up. Huh.

When she was done ordering, he stepped up to the counter, ordering a caramel iced coffee from the kind shop owner, a lady about ten or fifteen years older than Jongho himself, before making his way to a seat. The girl that had been in front of him in line was now sitting at the table adjacent to his; she had pulled out her laptop, typing away as she waited. Wow, hard worker.

A few scrolls on his phone later, Jongho glanced up to watch the woman shuffle happily over to his table neighbor, placing a cup down with a smile and a “Here you go, (y/n). What are you working on today?”

The girl, (y/n) apparently, smiled back. She had a kind smile. “The same one as usual,” she sighed, “but you know I love it.”

“I do. You know I’ll read it when you finish, right?”

“If I finish it.”

“You will. I know you will. You're so close.”

“Thanks, Dahye-eonni.”

Jongho couldn’t help but smile to himself at the warm interaction. Clearly the lady was friendly to regulars, doing more than just serving them coffee. He couldn’t help but feel curious about what the girl was working on, though. Glancing over, he met her eyes, prompting her to smile, so he took his chance.

“I heard you’re here to work- what is it you’re making?”

“Well, I write, which you probably guessed by the reading comment,” you answer with a chuckle.

“Like essays or a book?”

“Novels, yeah.”

“What are they about?” Jongho found himself asking before he could stop and think.

She got shy suddenly, her eyes dropping from his. “Well, I won’t go on and on, but I can tell you a bit about what it’s about.”

“Sure.”

The café owner, Dahye as (y/n) called her, slid in and dropped Jongho’s drink off as he listened to (y/n), making a joke about her bringing more regulars in.

“She’s here every other morning for a matcha latte and a quiet place to write,” the woman explained with a smile as she looked back and forth, “doesn’t she have an amazing imagination?”

She sure did have some big ideas for her story, things Jongho would have never even considered. He had some artistic skills, sure, but crafting characters and stories like that wasn’t what he’d call his forte. And the fact that (y/n) did it almost as second nature?

“Yes, she does.”

The way she beamed alone was worth the comment.

~

It wouldn’t hurt to stop by that café again. Dahye was nice, the coffee was good, it was a nice place.

The image of (y/n) flashed in Jongho’s head. The coffee was good, he repeated to himself simply.

She was there. Jongho saw her seated already by the time he’d entered, laptop out. He found his eyes scanning the stickers on its (y/f/c) surface, taking in the things she liked before they flicked over her face. She looked focused, determined, eyes not even leaving the screen when she took a drink, reaching blindly but straight for her matcha and bringing it to her lips as she typed with one hand.

Chuckling, he crossed the stained concrete to the simple white cash register, venturing a protein latte since he wasn't looking forward to what Wooyoung was making for breakfast that morning.

The chairs were faintly bowl-shaped, Jongho falling a bit into their embrace as he took a seat at the same table as last time. The one facing (y/n).

For the first time, she looked up from her screen, LED light reflected in her eyes as she gave Jongho a smile, one he immediately returned.

"You come from the gym, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Look at you being all healthy and stuff," you teased, one corner of your lips quirking up a bit more.

He shrugged, amusement playing on his own expression. "I just enjoy staying active."

"I wish I had that," (y/n) replied, glancing down a bit, cheekily sheepish.

"If you did, though, we wouldn't have your great stories, right? I also wish I could do what you do, but you know what? You can train, get stronger and stronger, but the spark of telling a story is either there or it isn't. It's hard to make yourself good at understanding characters, you know?"

Nodding, (y/n) peered into Jongho's eyes with wide ones, the color of which really was quite nice. "I guess I never thought about that before. That sounds like something out of a book, though!" You both giggled at that.

"Well, work it in then," Jongho teased.

"If it ever fits in, I will. Guess I need to write a writer."

"Well, you'd know how to do that."

"Are you kidding? Half my job is just staring at a word doc. It's like this meme. Hold on," you told him as you reached into your pocket for your phone.

~

He'd gotten up a little earlier and worked a little harder. Thoughts of his plan both sped him up and spurred him on, suddenly making his gym trip seem secondary- a stepping stone along the way, albeit a sweaty, barbell-laden one.

Jongho had decided to buy (y/n) her latte for her this morning. Dahye greeted him with a wave and used his name, cementing his unwitting regular status as he leaned on the counter. The woman gave a smile that rose straight to her eyes when he ordered both a caramel iced coffee and a matcha latte.

"Oh?" She inquired, gaze boring into Jongho's.

"I decided to surprise (y/n) with it. Would you mind making it for her when she comes in?"

"Not at all," the kind woman answered, clicking the pen she held in her hand out, in, out, in, "Are you going to stay and watch?"

"Of course," it was Jongho's turn for a scheming look, "but not from my regular spot, I'm going to hide around the corner."

The café seating area was L-shaped, stretched around the kitchen and treated to a minor visual separation in the form of a small decorative trellis. Jongho positioned himself behind ivy to wait for both his coffee and (y/n).

The bell tinkled. He'd timed it well, then, (y/n) arriving right before his own drink was done. She stood, laptop bag slung over her shoulder, and waited a few moments while Dahye puttered around the kitchen, pouring this and measuring that. Enough pours and measures and a frown of confusion furrowed (y/n)'s brow, though she remained in place, hand fiddling with the strap of her rectangular computer bag.

"Sit, sit," Dahye finally urged, popping from behind the counter to wave her hand forward and back at (y/n) as if shooing a bug, not a woman, "I'll be right there."

Jongho had to suppress a laugh at (y/n)'s confused face, brow furrowing even harder and eyes squinting slightly. This was turning into far more than he thought it would.

(y/n) slid into her usual seat and pulled out her laptop with a shrug. Just as she was opening up the program she wrote on, though, Dahye appeared at her side with a mug of steaming green.

"You didn't take my order," she told the older woman.

"I didn't need to," Dahye shot back, "it's been covered already."

"Wha-"

Jongho chose this moment to pop out from behind the ivy with a wave and a small "surprise!"

(y/n)'s eyes looked like she'd been handed a winning lottery ticket, not her go-to drink order. "Really?"

"Absolutely. You've been working really hard, it sounds like, so I just wanted to take a bit of burden off of you, maybe make you smile?"

"You did," (y/n) replied, beaming, "my manuscript is almost done and it has been really stressful. I feel like a disgusting little hermit, but I want to be submission ready more than anything."

"You don't look like a disgusting little hermit," both Jongho and Dahye chimed in at the same time, followed by a shared glance and smirk from the latter, which caused the former to suddenly break contact uneasily.

"You guys are too sweet," (y/n) giggled, taking a sip of her free drink with a little shoulder dance of joy at its taste.

"We're your fan club," Dahye remarked, "though I think Jongho here is taking over as president."

He started. What did she mean by that? "I'm sure I'll be an even bigger fan when I read the whole novel. Good luck, (y/n)." And with that, he took up the iced coffee he'd purchased and strode out, giving the writer one last smile and wave.

~

"Ok, this is it!"

Two more café visits later, (y/n) had hermited her way into having a submission-worthy format on her novel. Her words, not Jongho's, though he'd been there for some of it about four days past, hours of staring and clicking with some breaks to talk about her characters or worries that no one would want to read what she was writing.

"I'm sure they will. I mean, look, Fifty Shades of Grey sold and all people do is make fun of how badly written and uncomfortable it is. Your sentences actually sound intelligent and contribute something good to people's brains."

She giggled at that. Jongho's straightforwardness was refreshing to her, she'd told him. No need to question his motives or anything like that. "You probably give the best criticism, too."

He hadn't thought about that before, but a sudden wave of motivation to give her the best criticism if she asked it of him had hit when she'd commented that.

She wrung a napkin in one hand as the other hovered over the track pad of her laptop in preparation to submit. Before clicking, she paused, a few heartbeats passing as she glanced between her now-empty matcha mug and Jongho. "Wait."

"What?"

"Should I change the tagline on the cover here? It looks corny now, I feel like I could put out better. But what quote would I use?"

"I like that one you posted on the graphic on your instagram the other day," Jongho suggested with an approving nod.

(y/n)'s eyes lit up, their lovely color shining as bright as ever as sunbeams cut through the latticed windows of the shop, stopping in their tracks upon reaching her irises. "You followed my writing page?"

"Of course," Jongho responded with a soft smile, "I'm in your fan club, remember?"

She smiled. Backspaced. Typed. Submitted. "I feel confident now. That was all I needed," she told him, reaching over to lay her hand over his as it rested on the table.

Confident was how she should feel, Jongho's brain managed to override his somersaulting heart, how she should view herself all the time. Capable. Skilled. Wonderful at what she does. Pleasant. No, a joy. He wanted to be what she needed again. And maybe again and again.

"No, you're the president, remember?" Dahye strode by with another customer's dishes in hand, chiding Jongho with a wink.

Ignoring that, he pulled out his phone to show you a writing meme he thought you would like, grinning widely when you showed him you saved a gym one to show him.

~

Something was wrong, Jongho could see that the moment he detected the absence of (y/n)'s laptop or its bag at her table. He still ordered her drink, maintaining the custom he'd begun a handful of trips back, but he asked Dahye if she knew anything.

"Stop her from spouting that nonsense," the woman told him, "you're the only one that can."

"What does that mean? Why are you always saying things like that?"

The café owner just looked at him, dark eyes daring his. "I think you know why, free matcha boy. Now get over there. She's more blue than green today, at least for now. You're the one to add that sunshine yellow."

Jongho squinted into her nonsense. "I think you've been hanging out with the literary types too much."

"Just get in there and cheer my other regular up. I'll bring you two donuts."

"Just one, I'm not a big donut person."

"No, you have all the sweetness you need, don't you?"

There was no defending himself from the remark, not when his eyes involuntarily slid (y/n)'s way at the mention of sweetness. Sighing at the way her head fell into her bent arms, he strode over to her table, taking the seat next to her instead of the one across from her like usual. Heart beating a little faster, he tentatively raised a hand, hovering it over her back before thinking better of it.

"(y/n), are you alright?"

She shook her head, glancing up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I got rejected."

Jongho's heart was really hammering then; any moment it might burst out of his ribcage. "What kind of fool would reject you?"

"I told you people wouldn't be interested in the type of story I told. Not enough drama. Not that they said that, of course they had to be vague and just say it wasn't what they were looking for so I don't even know how to improve! I don't even know what I have to change, and with that I can't grow into an actually good writer-"

"Whoa," Jongho interrupted, leaning a bit closer to her with a jolt of pleasure at the feeling of their arms brushing against each other, "I'm going to have to stop you right there. You are a good writer. Remember how frustrated you were with your classmates in college barely having elementary sentence skills? That's because they aren't good like you are. Have you heard Dahye talk lately? She's become more and more colorful thanks to you. The way you put the world out there, even if it isn't this one, has changed the way she sees everything."

"It has?" She sniffled, sitting up a bit.

"It has," Jongho repeated, "and your story doesn't need to become something it's not over one rejection. Harry Potter got rejected, like, five or eight times. Would you say Harry Potter was not successful?"

"No," (y/n) muttered, shaking her head.

"And this is only your first try. Sometimes we crash, but that doesn't mean we're destroyed."

"I feel destroyed," she replied quietly, "I don't want to write anymore."

"You don't have to right now, but don't stop doing something you love because one person doesn't like it. You have plenty of followers, you have Dahye and me, and we all like it just how it is. I never want you to feel destroyed. I like you too much."

A single tear slid from her widening eye, cutting a glistening path down the lovely curve of her cheek. "You like me?"

Jongho gasped, not really having planned on confessing like that, but he was nothing if not straightforward. No going back now. "I do. I only kept coming to this café to see you," he answered.

"I knew it!" Dahye called from the kitchen. That got a shaky chuckle even from (y/n), who ventured a bigger smile when Jongho's face lit up at her returned mirth.

Once again, he felt spurred on, like that runner's high that hits or the determination to finish a set, though expressing one's feelings was a far different exercise than pull-ups or a good jog were.

"I kept coming to see you and I really wanted to make your burdens lighter. That's why I kept buying your drinks. I just wanted to take care of you a little, especially if you weren't doing it yourself. I like the idea of being there to take care of you. To hear every bit of your stories from your own mouth. That's the effect you have on me, and I'm sure you could have it on countless other people if you put yourself out there and let them know you."

(y/n) just stared at him, eyes still wide, smile faltering and rising again tentatively.

"You, er," Jongho rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling awkward over the whole monologue, "don't have to worry about all the me stuff or answer that, but please keep writing, alright? You felt so confident the other day- don't lose that over one opinion, ok?"

"You're right," she breathed, nodding shakily, "it was like this in writing workshop, too. People tore one of my stories apart because one of the characters was too one-dimensional and one of my professors only craved extreme drama. I can't let that get into my head. Everyone is different. It's just...hard when you pour hours in and they don't like it. But it's like you said, I love to write. I do it subconsciously every day, imagining how I would describe things in words. I physically can't stop," she chuckled, the playful lilt returning a bit, "and I really won't if that's what got you to like me back."

"Back?" Jongho's face lit up again, awkwardness melting away like butter.

"That's right. I was getting a little worried my love interest character was going to shift gears and become a strong, athletic sweetheart if I didn't keep the reins on it."

"Well, I like your character's love interest as he is, just like the rest of your amazing story that you need to submit to more, better publishers that actually have taste, but could I try out being your love interest?"

"Wow, you just dropped feedback, a corny line, a diss, and flirted with me in one incredibly long sentence," (y/n) commented, dabbing tears off her face with a napkin, "how could I say no? I'd love to go out with you."

"Good. I already know what I want to do."

You gave one final sniff. "What's that?"

"I want to hear you read to me."

[peachjagiya]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachjagiya/747638524276293632/i-feel-like-all-these-anons-writing-dissertations?source=share

I don't know if this is in response to the ask i sent you yesterday but if it is, please understand that i wasn't trying to tell you to stop believing in ur ship. That is your prerogative and you have a right to believe in what you want to believe in. It's not like my "essays" are going to change your mind anyway.

I was only pointing out what is think is a flaw in your logic especially because i saw u complaining of jikookers talking about a pic being deleted and i was pointing out that if you think Jk posting a pic only with Tae on his instagram is "special" then couldn't the other group of shippers say the same thing about Jk only having a selfie with Jimin on his WV ? What is the difference? I don't think who Jk chooses to post and not post on his socials is what determines who is most special to him and i'm sure in real life, most of you know this. If he takes a picture which he thinks is cool, he would most probably post it regardless of who it is. I am married and have been for over 5 years but i only have one picture of my s/o on my socials but i have tons of pics with friends and acquaintances. Do u think i posted more people than my s/o because they mean more to me? absolutely not lol. I even rarely take photos with my s/o at all so if someone had to judge how special my s/o is to me by looking at things like socmed posts they would probably think i hate him lol.

You created a blog to talk about and appreciate the bond of two people u believe could be in a relationship and it is normal to like seeing only or mostly people who agree with you but please don't think that anyone who disagrees with or questions your logic on certain things is out to disprove your ship or make you stop believing in them. Look at my ask again, not once did i ask you to stop believing in your ship. i only asked that you stop making big deals out of things that could literally apply to any other pair. Some of u talk about those things and see them as decisive proof that these boys have to be together but the truth is that, it really isn't mainly because those things aren't exclusive to the two you ship, that's the point i am trying to make.

So please stop coming out with your pitchforks and knives whenever someone challenges your logic because we all know the excuses and excess copium that will follow, the moment Jk wakes up and does something "special' for some other member especially if it is Jimin.

Plus if you had an answer to the question that i asked (which imo is a fair question) you would have provided it but you don't and deep down you probably see some sense in what i am saying and that is why you responded the way you did.

sorry about the "many words". I am just passionate i guess.

So please stop coming out with your pitchforks and knives whenever someone challenges your logic

It's less pitchforks and knives and more... tired of being condescended to.

I really don't mind my logic being challenged. I've answered plenty of questions about my logic. But I think you must see how condescending it is to assume that I'm absolutely blind to logic so it's your moral duty to correct my brain. It's my brain! It's not your brain! You really don't need to worry what I'm doing with it!

That's why I am kind of dubious when it's a lot of words because I feel like one question would be challenging my logic and I'm happy to get into it. Paragraph after paragraph is like being hauled in front of the headmaster at school and told I'm stupid. I wouldn't waste my time if I didn't have valid reasons for finding Taekook a bit more than friends.

because we all know the excuses and excess copium that will follow, the moment Jk wakes up and does something "special' for some other member especially if it is Jimin.

Especially if it's Jimin? Huh? I don't differentiate between Jimin and the other five? I don't know what experiences you've had with other TKKrs but I don't have the same grudge against Jimin you've experienced. If he comes out and posts a bathroom picture with Jimin at an OT7 dinner, I will be like "Oh look, a selca of JK and Jimin" and probably some thirsty comment about one or both of them being hot tbh.

Plus if you had an answer to the question that i asked (which imo is a fair question) you would have provided it but you don't and deep down you probably see some sense in what i am saying and that is why you responded the way you did.

It was 5am. 5am Peach wasn't up for it but I'm more alive now.

I think the mistake a lot of people, TKKr and JKKr alike, make is that they hinge their entire argument on individual moments. Atomix becomes this huge thing and the second it gets challenged, everyone melts down gloating or getting defensive.

So often, one will come at the other with "Here's why this particular 0.6 seconds in time was NOT special." Ok? Great? You got me? I try to look at them as more of a whole picture and that's how I end up thinking it's different.

So there's a picture of Jimin and JK on Weverse. I don't know the context of it, I have to admit. Was it at an OT7 event? Were they just together? (I don't think your point about deleting instagram applies here because I don't think he can delete Weverse when BTS are entwined with it really.)

But let's take it as it is: A selca of Tae and JK in 2021, a selca of JK and Jimin in 2019.

The reason I find one of them special and one of them less so is not because it's a selca but it's a selca alongside all the other stuff I believe to be true. Does that make sense? Its not just a selca. It's a selca and seeing each other in their hiatus a decent amount and touching and closeness and some suspicious instances and a history of interaction that feels different to me. The selca is just a part of a wider picture.

And this applies to any one piece of the jigsaw. I'm sure you could find JK snuggling Hobi or Jin too. You could find examples of JK spending time at Jimin's house. Does the REST of the picture apply though? I don't personally find that the wider picture of his relationship with any other member rings out as romantic to me. I do find Taekook to be romantic based on a lot of different things, not just individual pieces. That's what I'm saying.

I've now said selca so many times that it doesn't look like a real word anymore. 😂

Ultimately, this is a Taekook blog. I don't want to live in an echo chamber but I didn't really start it to feel like I'm being told off by people I don't know. I don't think you should leave as such but is this the space for you?

Please don't worry about my logic. I'm either wrong and we'll all survive...

Or I'm right. And we'll all survive.

[violetlunette]

So, I did a poll for Silver pairs (twice) and have been meaning to give my own thoughts but started writing essays before I realized; wait a minute, I don’t need to do that. I can just give my basic opinion. I don't need to justify or over explain, so here we go!

Notes:

*Long post

*twst spoilers

*Opinion-based

*Rambles

Silver x Sebek (Silbek) was, voted #1, to the surprise of no one I’m sure.

Personally, Silbek isn’t my cup of tea and I prefer them in a platonic sense. On top of that, I’m not a big fan of childhood friend romance. It just—annoys me intensely and there are very few instances where this trope works for me. (It may because I’ve been exposed to too many Hallmark romances with this trope and in other media.)

There are a few other minor things I don’t like about the ship, but they’re not worth mentioning.

That being said, I can see why others love the pair.

They have enough opposites to be interesting, such as Sebek being loud, emotional, always active, abrasive, and even arrogant at times, while Silver is quiet, stoic, sleeping—through no fault of his own—and humble. Yet both share a lot in common as well:

They place family above all else, are loyal but keep to their morals, and are helpful and kind. 

Plus, in the canon, we see how much they love and care for each other. Sebek is always there to pull Silver out of his own head and sort out his insecurities, as seen when Silver worried about his lack of emotion, when the other Diasomnia students weren’t listening, and—more recently—Chapter 7 and the revelation.

They understand each other, make up for one another’s weaknesses, and more. So, while it’s not my personal ship, I’m not surprised it was voted #1 and can admit it deserves its placement.

So, fun fact; when I did the poll the first time, this pair was the winner. I remember that as I was super surprised. And I’m still a bit surprised they’re #2.

Granted, they’re cute, but I assumed the pair would be in third place behind Silver x Sebek and Silver x Idia, as I don’t see much content between the two

That being said, it does surprise me that this puppy pair has so many fans;

They share the same morals and are cute together, plus, they’re friends in Canon. Also, Silver admits that Kalim is someone very dear to him, and Kalim is always saying nice things about the other. As a bonus, Kalim is already favored by the father-in-law.

I see these two as being the type that are in a relationship before they know they’re in a relationship. They're holding hands, eating together, and going on outings. Neither of them realizes what they’re doing until someone points it out. Even then, they’re confused for a while.

The downside is that while their relationship would help each other grow and change, it wouldn’t be one that could last long-term.

Silver’s dream is to serve Malleus in Briar Valley, a place he loves and where the people he loves live. His dream is to foster peace between the fae and humans.

Kalim, on the other hand, has a responsibility to take over as head, and it’s not one he can just toss aside, and I don’t think he wants to either.

When I think of the outcome of their relationship, I think of this Bojack quote: “I think there are people that help you become the person that you end up being, and you can be grateful for them even if they were never meant to be in your life forever.”

Silver and Kalim would help each other grow, but they wouldn’t be in each other’s lives forever, at least not as lovers. But in fanfiction, anything could happen. And I would love to see more fanfics of the pair and the challenges they would face.

Third, we have Silver x Idia, a personal favorite of mine. I love the two as individuals and squee whenever I see them together. To me, their interactions are a lot of fun, as I like seeing Idia deal with Silver’s “odd” attitude towards things.

On the surface, the two have nothing in common. Idia is shy, while Silver is bold. Silver is determined to the end, and Idia thinks it’s best to not even try. Idia is a tactician, and Silver is a warrior. Idia was raised around technology, and Silver was raised by nature. Idia is weaker than a kitten, and Silver is strong as heck. (How strong? I have no idea.) The list goes on.

Yet, while they are opposites in several ways, their differences just highlight the good they bring out in each other, or could.

On top of that, the few things they do have in common are pretty strong.

I like that they seem to admire each other. Silver genuinely admires Idia’s skills and isn’t afraid to tell him. He often compliments Idia and offers praise, though he does go overboard, which can make her shy.

For his part, while Silver can be too much at a time, Idia admires Silver’s beauty and skills, comparing him to things he finds cool, like ninjas. Both seem interested in the other, though Idia acts in denial.

Both value family to the point where it’s their main character arc. I love that Ortho likes Silver while Lilia and Idia get along online. The in-laws approve!

They also share a deep sense of insecurity about themselves. Idia thinks he is worthless, to the point where all he can do is hide away, mainly due to a tragic event in the past. Silver believes he’s a burden to those around him, and he does all he can to repay those he has troubled. It would be nice if these two could help one another see their own self-worth.

On top of that, I really believe that of all the Silver pairs, aside from Silbek, these two have the best chance to work out in the long run.

If things go well and Idia can break his family curse, he would be instrumental as Malleus’ tech advisor (probably the first) and could bring Briar Valley into the modern age.

And if he can’t and has to work at STYX, Idia and Silver could still work, as both could maintain a long-distance relationship.

Silver was often left behind as a child, and with technology, they could communicate whenever they wanted and visit when they could. On top of that, both have the temperament needed for a long-distance relationship to work.

The problem is that thanks to Idia’s personality, it would be hard for the two to get together in the first place. (His theme song would be “I won’t say I’m in love” as he sails down the river of De Nile.)

Silver would have to realize his feelings first and do most of the leg work in a way that wouldn’t scare Idia off. (That or Ortho and Lilia would have to play cupid.) Regardless, it would be a very slow burn, but I think once they got together, the two could be happy. And once they were together not even the powers of hell would break them up as both are EXTREMELY stubborn. (Another commonality.)

One problem I do have is that, even if they were together, Silver would most likely be doing most of the emotional labor, as Idia is too self-defeatist to do anything. Luckily, Silver’s pretty low-maintenance, and I'm sure Idia would step up if Silver really needed support.

If I had the time and energy I could write an essay on these two, but for now I’ll just say I really love these two and while they’re not #1 on the poll, they’re #1 for me.

The next is Silver x Malleus. My feelings for this ship are complicated.

I like how their personalities mesh, their shared family history, the drama, and all the works that make a ship memerable. Honesty, two have many, many things I like in a ship. There’s just one HUGE problem that keeps me from loving them: Malleus helped raise Silver.

Malleus was there when Silver was a baby and played an active role in raising him--My brain can’t get past that.

When I try to ignore it, my mind can’t help but slide to, “Shit, is this grooming territory?” (It's not unless the fic has Malleus raising Silver with the intent to have sex with him. Even so, there’s a lot of yikes, you know?) But then again, I overthink things, a lot.

That being said, I still find the pairing entertaining.

For one, it’s an interesting pair to explore human and fae dynamics, as well as the blue and orange morality that comes with it. Like when a vampire falls in love with a human. And again, there’s all the stuff I mentioned before.

I’m also really curious how Lilia would react to the relationship. This something I’ve never seen a Silver x Malleus ship bring up, but they should as Lilia is a HUGE part of both their lives. Isn’t anyone else a bit curious?

I don’t think Lilia would be a supporter of the relationship for multiple reasons, so what would he do? How far would he go to keep the two apart? And how far would the two fight him? (The angst potential, man! THE ANGST!)

In a yandere Malleus setup, would Lilia try to run away from his beloved Prince? Would he take up arms against him to keep Silver safe? Would he be able to do anything? Or would he just be helpless as the dragon he hatched takes away his beloved son forever? It just has a lot of potential story-wise, which I adore.

It’s a nice ship to explore darker themes but If I wanna skip those and just have a cute ship, I just find Aus where Malleus didn’t help raise Silver.

So to conclude this part, while I prefer them in a platonic sense I can’t deny that I have an interest in the stories they could tell.

Silver x Riddle; I never thought of these two, but now that I am, I think the two would be like Silbek without the childhood element. I like that Silver would have no issue standing up to Riddle when he started acting like a tyrant and would stop him before it went too far, yet he would always be there to offer support, especially emotional support, which Riddle desperately needs.

On his side, Riddle could help Silver improve himself, such as in how he presents himself, his studies, and his magic. He may even help Silver overcome his habit of talking down about himself.

I think the romance would be a slow burn due to Silver being oblivious and Riddle being a tsundere in denial who refuses to admit his emotions until they overflow. It could be fun to see Riddle drowning and being jealous of anyone near Silver until Trey and Ace have enough and set the two up.

Other than that, I don’t have too much to say.

SilJade is one I forgot to put on the first poll, but one that I like in casual passing for one-shots. To me, Jade is the bad boy that Silver could end up with. I enjoy how Jade is usually sweet toward Silver in canon. While he has his own reasons, he does nice things for Silver and helps him. I also think it’s cute how Silver’s purity surprises him at times. It’s a cute pair for me and I like to imagine them kissing under toadstools.

A pairing that got a mention but wasn’t on the last poll is Silcarter. I don’t think I’ve seen the two interact too much, but I can see Silver operating as a home to Carter, who never got to settle down in the past, and Carter can help Silver in a social setting like Kalim. It’s also neat to see his energy contrast against Silver’s. Other than that, I don’t think much about the pair.

Next have Silver and Leona. (Sileo?)

While in canon Leona is annoyed by Silver, I like the concept of the two.

Personality-wise, there are opposites, but in a low-key way. The only thing they have in common is that they sleep a lot, and even that’s an opposite between them.

Leona chooses to be lazy. Everyone and their mother sees he’s got talent for practically everything but he chooses not to do anything because he never get the role HE wants, which is to be King of Sunset Savanna. So, he choose to be be lazy and just rest all the time. However, Silver doesn’t have a choice.

Silver tries his best to be active and stay awake, but because of his “blessing” he struggles in all that he does.

I really like the contrast between the two. It’s entertaining to see Silver’s earnest and pure nature against the grumpy cat that is Leona and I think, if allowed to develop, they could have an interesting relationship. I can see Leona constantly being a bit annoyed but gradually coming around and may even try to help the other in subtle ways.

There’s also a possible drama plot where Leona wants to be with Silver, but Silver is devoted to Malleus as a guard, resulting in Leona’s insecurities activating as, once again, he can’t have what he desires because another has it. He can’t be Savana’s king, nor could he be Silver’s king.

Like I’ve said with others, it’s hard for me to explain but I like the potential here.

Tied for last are Silver x Jamil and Silver x Azul. Let’s look at SilJam first.

I love how their personalities contrast and how, despite the fact they’re in similar positions, they feel very differently.

Silver is honored to be Malleus’ guard, while Jamil is resentful that he has to serve Kalim. The difference is simple but major. Silver CHOSE to serve Malleus and Jamil only serves Kalim because of family obligations. It’s a single difference that changes everything for the two.

I think it would be fun to explore the two and their dynamics as they grow from each other.

I REALLY enjoyed during the Halloween arc how they worked together and how, for the first time, someone was interested in Silver and his history. I don’t think anyone other than Idia showed an interest in Silver, though correct me if I’m wrong. And even then, Idia seemed more interested in Silver’s dad than him.

I also enjoyed how Silver respected Jamil’s efforts and how he made sure Jamil got the recognition he deserved in the end. Considering how overlooked Jamil usually feels, this was a sweet moment for me.

Not to mention, it was fun to see how Jamil reacted to Silver’s air-headed moments and how he had to work around Silver’s honest nature, though unlike with Kalim, he didn’t seem too annoyed by it. (Of course, they don’t have the complicated power dynamics between them, so that may be why, but I digress.)

I mean, it’s hard for me to explain how much I enjoyed seeing these two together in the Halloween Event. They show an interest and appreciation for one another, I love how Silver baffles Jamil at times and so on.

And, of course, I see story potential! (Yes, this is a big part of why I pick ships. I can’t help it, I like stories!)

A fanfic plot I like is two versions of the love triangle. (Yes, I like these IF done well.) One is where, at first, Silver likes Kalim, who likes Jamil, who likes Silver. Another is that both Kalim and Jamil like Silver, who’s oblivious. Either way, this feeds into Jamil’s resentments, creating drama that could end a victory for him if Silver chooses him in the end.

That being said, the only way these two could have a future is if Silver leaves Briar Valley, as Jamil wants to travel, see the world, and be free. He doesn’t want to stay in one place.

This pair is one I think of when I want Silver to venture beyond all he knows and see the world. To be something more than a royal guard and expand his horizons.

He could still work for Briar Valley by becoming a diplomat alongside Jamil, so he could still embody Lilia’s teachings and fulfill his dreams for peace, but they would still have to leave the Diasomnia fam.

Now on to Azul x Silver (AzuSil? SilAzu?). This is another pairing I believe has potential.

These two are opposites in EVERY way. One is a pure angel of heaven, and one is Azul of the deep. Silver is strong, honest, kind, and does everything for the benefit of others. Azul is as weak as a guppy, cunning, and manipulative, and he does everything for his own benefit.

However, their interactions did light a spark in my brain and I like the pairing of the “devil” trying to charm an “angel.”

The contrast between the two are intriguing and I’m facinated by the idea of these two coming together to make a couple. I think having someone like Silver in his life would help Azul as he could realize not everyone wants something from him and some genuinely just want to help others.

Not to mention fanfic-wise they work SO many ways;

There’s the redemption arc that Silver could provide for Azul--Beauty and the Beast AU, under the sea edition, anybody? No? Oh, come on—as well yandere Azul when the mood strikes, Lilia vs Azul for Silver, and more.

Though I acknowledge these two would probably never work in canon as there Azul is looking for an intellectual partner, I still have a soft spot for them.

Recently, I was asked about SilRook, so I’ll share my opinion here:

First off, my gutter brain found it interesting that Rook appreciates that Silver can “sleep” anywhere, lol.

In a way, I see some potential for fun between these two and think that Rook would hold a lot of surprises for Silver and would help the latter find things to appreciate about himself. Other than that, it seems like it would mainly be Rook being odd or showering appreciation for Silver and Silver going, “Um, okay?” The main entertainment would be from the "in-laws,” as Lilia and Malleus don’t seem fond of Rook.

Rook would be a fun yandere for a fanfic, but otherwise doesn’t do much for me. Still, there’s fun to be had with the two if a writer’s willing to put in the effort.

Another pair that got a special mention was SilYuu. I didn’t put this on the poll as it’s basically Silver x OC as Yuu can be interpreted many way.

If we go off “canon” Yuu, however, they’re still cute but are definitely a “quiet” pairing. And I mean that figuratively and literally due to the fact neither talks much.

I don’t see them as an out-there, exciting couple, but they don’t need to be. Silver can be Yuu’s shelter from the madness of Twisted Wonderland and a safe-port in the storm. It’s difficult to explain, but when I see these two, I see a very tranquil pair with the feeling of a warm afternoon, napping in the son till the kids and grampa start making noise.

And I think that’s it!

I’m sure some of you noticed that most of these are based on the stories I think they could produce, but I can’t help it. I like stories, so when I look at a pairing I think how well they get on together and what tales can they create together. That’s how my brain works, which is why I’m a fic writer.

I guess it’s cheating as I base my ships on potential and what I THINK they could be rather than what they are, but eh.

Anyway, my personal ranking of all the Silver Ships mentioned here are thus;

Love: Silver x Idia, Jamil x Silver

Really like: Silver x Azul, Silver x Kalim, Silver x Malleus with a huge "it's complicated mark"

Like: Silver x Jade, Silver x Leona, Silver x Riddle, Silver x Canon Yuu

Meh/Don’t care for: Silver x Rook, Silver Carter

Not for me: Silver x Sebek

So, how about all of you? What’s your favorite pairing for Silver, and why? I would especially love to hear why people like Silver x Kalim, as, despite it being voted so high, I don’t see a lot of content for the two, so I don’t know why they’re so popular. Is it really just because they’re both sweet angels? Or do you see something else that you like?