#and it’s funny because Tire Trouble is a very SPECIFIC opening. it has a starring Porky title card where he waves to the audience and the

[ducktracy]

wait, your favorite title card music ISN'T porky's tire trouble?

ONLY if it’s the version that plays in Naughty Neighbors, where it inexplicably loops a second time and ruins the opening joke of the short that is reliant on its tranquil music

JOKES ASIDE THOUGH I REALIZED I DID FORGET ANOTHER FAVORITE IN MY POST! yes i know the 3 i’ve linked in answering this are all Daffy cartoons… but i haven’t been able to get this out of my head recently, especially given that i’d been surrounding myself with more ‘50s shorts for these polls and Stalling seemed to get a lot of mileage out of this song

[noteguk]

for science | jhs | m

— summary; in which Hoseok hears through the grapevine that you give one of the best blowjobs ever, and he needs to test it to be sure. 

— contents and warnings; blowjob (duh), dirty talk, praising and stupid pet names, cum eating, deepthroating (the oc has no gag reflex), Hoseok finds heaven, kind of crack? Idk don’t take this seriously, college!au, hoseok x reader (with a mention of past Jimin x reader), studying sessions being interrupted in the name of science 

— words; 5,1k

Requested by anon! 

Hoseok could be kind of clueless when it came to some science-related things (and his high school biology teacher could attest to that), but one thing he knew very well was the scientific method. All that hypothesis-testing-stuff, or whatever the hell that was (okay, maybe he didn’t know it that well) had taken him out of some trouble in the past. It helped him see some of his decisions in a more experimental light, avoiding the terrible Olympic-somersault-into-conclusions that had gotten so many of his friends into awkward situations. And it shouldn’t even be said that he took quite a bit of pride in that — it made him feel very intelligent and he would take any stroke to the ego that he could get. 

So, when Jimin got a bit too tipsy and started babbling on about how you gave him the best blowjob of his life, Hoseok was, at the very least, cautiously skeptical. 

“You’re such a drama queen.” Hoseok rolled his eyes before chugging down a bit more of his beer. He was nowhere near as intoxicated as Jimin was, and he wasn’t planning on changing that. It was a Wednesday night, for fuck’s sake. He had to leave some thrill to the end of the week. “It probably was like… alright. Good, even. But the best one ever? Please.” 

“It was so much more than alright, dude.” Jimin threw his head over the couch’s back, looking like he just got washed up on the shore. His hair was a mess of clear strands, exploding on his head like a failed science fair experiment. “It was the best suck of my liiiiife. I wish she didn’t hate me so I could have that again.” 

He scoffed. Hoseok had enough filter left in him to avoid telling Jimin that the reason why you hated him was entirely his fault — what did he expect from three weeks of ghosting? Besides, if the head was that good, he would surely stick around for just a bit longer than two months. “Sure. Like the time that you almost died riding a roller coaster.” 

“Hey. I almost did.” Jimin’s eyes opened, presenting his friend with a dazed-out, unfocused brand of frustration. He was getting tired of not being taken seriously — didn’t Hosoek know that alcohol makes you more honest? He wasn’t making things up. Not when they were as serious as the well-being of his dick, or actual death. “It was some Final Destination bullshit, I’m telling you. Pieces of metal flying and everything.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved it off, leaning closer to Jimin so he could take the almost-empty can of beer from his clumsy hands, and placed it on the center table. “I think you’ve had enough alcohol for tonight, man. You have a class at ten tomorrow.” 

“I’m serious, dude,” Jimin pressed on. It was past eleven and Hoseok only wanted to sleep, but the other boy was clearly clueless about the lack of mutual interest in that conversation. “Aren’t you two friends or something?”

“Kind of. It’s weird,” Hoseok answered. You two had lingered in a hazy friendship space for a long time now, and he didn’t know exactly how to explain your relationship. He didn’t really consider you two close by any means, but you weren’t strangers or casual friends either. To be honest, he hadn’t thought too much about it until that very moment. “Why? What does that have to do with anything?” 

Jimin sighed, fumbling against the sofa. Much to Hoseok’s delight, he was starting to get sleepy as well. “You could ask her to suck you off,” he mumbled, “then you can feel it for yourself.” 

He laughed at that, unable to believe what he was hearing. “Jimin, you’re out of your mind if you think that’s not gonna backfire.” 

He blinked heavily. “Hm? Why?” 

Hoseok blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “We aren’t that close, and we haven’t done anything remotely sexual before this. It would be super creepy.”

“That’s not true,” Jimin spoke lazily, as if the words were starting to get hard to find. There was a pause so long after his sentence that Hoseok thought his roommate had fallen asleep. “I know you guys made out like at the beginning of the semester. Taehyung told me so.”

He was going to murder Taehyung. “It wasn’t like that. We were both drunk and it was super awkward afterwards.” Hoseok got up from the couch, leaving Jimin to groan and spread out his legs over the cushions. “Listen, I’m glad you two had fun, and I’m sorry you ruined it. But I’m not gonna ask ____ to suck me off just so I can know if you’re being dramatic or not.” 

Jimin smirked wickedly — or at least tried to, because his lack of facial control wasn’t doing him any favors. “Whatever you say,” he teased, “but I think you’re curious.” 

Truth was: Hoseok was beyond curious. The cogs in his head had started to move, and his brain was evoking lewd images of you so fast that he could barely follow. He would be pretending if he said that he never saw you under that light before, but, after the mess that was your makeout session, he had forced himself to jump into the friendzone before he managed to make things worse. 

Hoseok liked you very much, even if you two weren’t particularly close. He enjoyed spending time with you, he found you funny, smart, and way out of his league. But he wasn’t delusional enough to believe that you would actually say yes to sucking him off, especially so out of the blue. 

“I’m not curious,” Hoseok lied through his teeth, and he wanted to change the subject so much that his head was starting to hurt. “You’re gonna sleep here?” 

“Hm… yes… the couch is very comfortable.” Jimin closed his eyes and adjusted his body on the furniture. His baggy shirt was already halfway through his stomach and his pants had ran up to his waist, but the man didn’t seem to notice. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes, moving towards the door. He needed to get Jimin some blankets, because the other was surely not getting up for the rest of the night. It was bad enough to babysit him for those few hours of intoxication, but infinitely worse to make him chicken soup if he got sick. Been there, done that. “I’m sure the couch is great.”

Jimin’s voice was soft and sleepy when he spoke up again. Hoseok was already in the corridor, and he almost didn’t hear him when he said, “I’m not talking about the couch.” 

Hoseok went to Jimin’s bedroom and grabbed his pillow and the blanket from his undone bed. Meanwhile, scenarios ran wild inside his head, having you as the main star. He didn’t know what was taking over him, but he wasn’t so quick to ignore Jimin’s story. Hoseok was faced with a fantastic scenario of a perfect blowjob, and the idea that it was so close to him was making his pulse quicken. Again: it would be absurd to ask you to do that, regardless of the motive behind it, and he knew that it would be awful for your already-strange friendship. 

No, he could never do that. He would not. 

But like… what if it worked, and you magically accepted his request? And what if, by some wonderful moment, some millennial alignment of planets, Jimin wasn’t actually being hyperbolic and you actually had the ability to give incredible blowjobs? Could he really let it pass without giving it a shot? 

He could see it as a scientific experiment, Hoseok thought, as a way to prove a hypothesis. It couldn’t hurt if he just— 

Oh my god, dude, shut the fuck up and forget about this. 

Coming back to his senses, Hoseok strutted out of his roommate's bedroom and walked toward the living room. By the time he came back with the blanket and the pillow, Jimin was already deep asleep.

~ 

Against his best efforts, that conversation remained stuck to the back of his mind for the next two weeks. Hoseok would find himself going back and forth on the idea of you having some strange, Marvel-worthy superpower when it came to sucking dick and, worst of all, the idea that his skepticism was making him miss out on it. Jimin was exaggerated when it came to, well, pretty much everything, but that didn’t mean that he would be wrong about that specific subject. That would be a logical fallacy, and that was also something that Hoseok knew very well. Bless his late nights on Reddit for that. 

Yet as the days moved along, and his curiosity was slowly turning into desire, he was forced to revisit the infamous night between the two of you, the one that Jimin had so mercilessly mentioned. Thinking back on it, it wasn’t surprising that your overconsumption of alcohol, added to the way that you two had grown close (both physically and mentally) had ended up with Hoseok laying on top of you, kissing the soul out of you and fondling your breasts in the middle of a party. It wasn’t the most dignified moment of either of your lives, but, well, it happened. 

One way or another, the night didn’t move forward. Even if Hoseok already had a tent in his pants, you two were far too intoxicated to consent, and were quick to fall asleep before the situation could escalate. Bottom line: Hoseok woke up with your tit in his hand, a nightmarish hangover, and the decision that the You-Subject would have to stay on hold for some time. 

And on hold it stayed. For an entire semester. And it would’ve remained that way if Jimin’s stupid mouth hadn’t started talking. 

So after two weeks of self-inflicted psychological torture, Hoseok slipped a hangout invitation amidst your texts. If you saw any second intentions behind his “haven’t seen you in awhile, wanna hangout? ;)” you didn’t let it show. The problem was that you weren’t really in the mood to go out, especially since you had a big exam coming up, so Hoseok ended up convincing you that he would stay quiet if you let him go over to your place. 

It was a bit harder not to notice the desperation in his proposal that time, but you ended up agreeing. Your thought process was that the boy would eventually realize that his hangout attempt was ridiculous and that he would leave you to study by yourself, and the two of you would reschedule that odd friendship session to when you weren’t drowning in textbooks. 

The problem was that you had been stupid enough to believe that your friend would actually keep his mouth shut. 

Hoseok was seated on the edge of your bed for so long that he was sure that his asscheeks were permanently imprinted on your sheets. Because he hated himself, he kept eyeing the digital clock to your right, and he was certain that he had spent the last fifty two minutes and thirty three seconds staring at the back of your head and trying to come up with a casual way to ask for a blowjob. 

He had tried a few times already, and each one constituted of him being unable to finish his sentence, instead looking at you like BooBoo The Fool until you turned back around to face your disorganized desk, sighing and trying to concentrate on your work. 

All things considered, he couldn’t actually believe he had escalated Jimin’s sailor tale to that point. He was out of his mind, that was a fact, and he had absolutely no clue how you would react once he (if he) found the words to ask you to sacrifice your mouth for science. 

God, he was an idiot. 

He cleared his throat and got ready to try one more time. “So… I…” 

You sighed heavily and turned around on the chair. “Hobi, this is the fifth time you’re starting a sentence and not finishing it,” you said, annoyed. “Can you tell me what the problem is? I have a test in two days and you promised you wouldn’t interrupt me if you came over.” 

“I’m sorry,” he didn’t like feeling like a kid being scolded, even if he kind of deserved that. Hoseok guessed it would be better to just take off the band-aid before he made an even bigger fool out of himself. “Let me just, like, explain the context of this. Otherwise it’s going to be even more strange.” 

Dropping your pen, you fully swirled the chair around, crossing your hands over your legs. He wasn’t expecting your complete attention anytime soon, and the seriousness in your stare made his courage falter for a second. It was such a stupid idea, you’d just end up hating him like you did Jimin. “As long as you make it quick,” you told him.  

Hoseok hesitated, running one hand through his hair. “Yeah, okay, so… like, a few weeks ago I was talking to Jimin,” he started, watching your face for any signal of an expression — confusion, disgust, anything. But he found nothing. “We were drunk, and he started talking about the time that you two were together. Like, sexually.” 

You blinked, unfazed. “And?”

“And… he told me that you give, like, the best blowjobs in history,” the words left his mouth before he could fully digest them. This time, he got a reaction out of you — a light raise of your eyebrows. “And, no offense, but I didn’t believe him. You know how extra he is about some stuff. Most stuff.” 

There was a moment of silence as you waited for him to go on, but Hoseok was too busy swallowing his thoughts down and feeling like he would collapse at any given moment. You sighed. “So what? You wanted to tell me that you don’t believe in my blowjob abilities? That’s all? Can I go back to studying now?” 

“No, that’s…” Now, things were starting to get complicated. Just take off the band-aid, Hoseok, don’t chicken out now. “I wanted to know if you could show me. Like, if you could suck me off. So I could... confirm that hypothesis.”

Every part of his brain was suddently hyperaware of how fucking stupid he just sounded. He had expected that another thick silence would follow, but his heart almost leaped out of your chest when you started laughing at him — like, full-chest, eyes closing, head rolling back laughing. “Are you serious?” You asked, taking one hand to cover your mouth before, at last, bursting out again. He felt like his ego was being stabbed with a rusty nail. “I can’t believe you, Hoseok. Took you all this time just to ask me if I could suck you off? For science?”

His mouth felt like it was full of cotton and he had to clear his throat before he found the force to answer you. “Yeah, I mean, only if you’re comfortable with it, of course,” he struggled to say, each word morphing into the next. His stomach had frozen up and the flight or fight response was starting to kick in. Had he really been that much of an idiot? When did his cock start dictating his words? “I… I know this is like, super creepy. I’m sorry. We can forget this ever happened and I’ll never talk to you again. I shouldn’t have said anything.” 

Suddenly sad, he waited as you settled back on the chair, wiping a small tear from the corner of your eye before you stared at him. There was still a smirk crawling up your lips, and he felt like the world was collapsing all around him  as the silence expanded around the two of you. He looked at the digital clock: it had taken him precisely three minutes to ruin everything. 

He sighed, shoulders falling. “Do you hate me? Why are you so quiet?” 

You bit down on your lip, your eyes narrowing as you took his form in. Hoseok was hot: point blank. He was also nice, and respectful enough to realize that he might have overstepped a few lines with his request — and, even if you couldn’t really understand it, you also weren’t bothered by it. And you certainly didn’t hate him. In a way, you were almost flattered. You would’ve been more if the comment had come from anyone else but your Danny Phantom ex. But that was a different story. 

The entire situation was just too funny to let it go. And, besides, you really wouldn’t mind sucking Hoseok off. It wasn’t as if you had never thought about that before. 

“I’m... considering it,” you told him, watching as his face lit up in a mixture of confusion and joy. He looked like a kid seeing Santa for the first time. “If you promise to shut up and let me study, I’ll do it. And if you agree to never talk about it again.” 

Hoseok blinked profusely, his mind short circuiting. “For real?” 

“Yeah.” You raised from your chair, walking closer to your bed. Hoseok swallowed hard and leaned back, placing his hands on the mattress for support. “But do me a favor: if it’s not that good, don’t tell me. It’ll hurt me.” 

“Yeah, alright.” He swallowed dry, every neuron in his brain trying to grasp what the fuck had just happened. His mind was the Spongebob office being set on fire, and he suddenly didn’t know how to deal with the anticipation booming in his chest. “I’m... not hard yet, though.” 

“It’s okay.” You kneeled in front of him, placing your hands on his inner thighs and slightly pushing them apart. Hoseok quickly got the cue, and opened a bit more so you could comfortably place yourself between them. “Just... relax,” your voice was almost a whisper then, and he felt his soul trying to leave him. That was insane. “Let me take care of you.”  

Your words managed to make him relax a bit, then he tensed all the way back at the feeling of your hands fumbling with his button. His breath hitched as you pulled the zipper down, fingers hooking on the edge of his pants before tugging them down his thighs. 

He felt exposed as his pants fell like a puddle around his ankles, his tongue coming out to wet his lips as you leaned in. Hosoek felt like he was dreaming when you started nibbling at his skin, kissing and licking his inner thighs as you slowly made your way closer to his aching member. 

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he barely got out before sighing, the tingles of your caresses on his skin shooting directly towards his cock, already semi-hard. 

You flicked your eyes up at him, humming against his thigh muscles. You were now so dangerously close to his underwear that he thought he would lose consciousness. “Were you daydreaming about it or something?” You teased. 

Maybe in a different position, he would’ve lied about it. But the truth came out before he could hold it back. “Ever since Jimin told me that, yeah,” he said. 

“Hmm… hope I live up to the expectation, then,�� you purred, looking up at him with those doll-like eyes. Hoseok suddenly felt like he was losing his balance, his entire body burning in desire and expectancy. You looked like another one of his horny daydreams, but you were kneeling right there, in arms reach, and he didn’t know how he would deal with what was about to ensue. 

Your mouth was hovering above his clothed cock before he could notice and, delicately, you leaned down to place a kiss on it. The touch was tender, almost numb with the fabric standing between you two, and yet Hoseok shivered, biting down on his lip as one of your hands enveloped his erection. He watched, mesmerized, as you started lazily stroking him through his underwear, leaning your head to the side so you could place heavy kisses on him, at times giving his tip a few kitten licks until it was covered by a thin layer of your saliva. 

The sensation left him on edge, silently begging for more. By the time you moved back so you could undress him, Hoseok was a mess of shallow breaths and heavy swallows; his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as pleasure started to build up at the corners of his perception. Biting back a moan of relief, Hoseok raised his hips as you slowly pulled his underwear downward, allowing for his cock to spring free from its confinement. You had done a good job teasing him, because it was already fully hard when it bounced against his abdomen, red-tipped and leaking. 

His gaze oscillated between your face and his cock, watching for any reaction as you took one hand to his length, squeezing him firmly. “Fuck,” he let out a grunt, his overwhelmed body responding to the smallest of touches. 

You smirked at his reaction, taking a quick glimpse at his devastated features before moving back to what you were doing. Hoseok was so cute, you thought, liking the way he was so responsive. 

A shudder ran up Hoseok’s body when your tongue came out between your lips, placing delicate licks on his base. He loved the feeling of your warm muscle against his hardened member, his mind growing eager as you began tracing a path upwards, flattening your tongue against him. His breathing was ragged by the time that you reached his crown, a hum escaping your throat as you lazily swirled your tongue around his tip, covering him with your saliva. 

You took your time caressing his slit with your mouth, waiting until he was cursing and panting before you finally wrapped your lips around him. At first, you only took his tip in your mouth, sucking so slowly that Hoseok whined and buckled his hips from the bed, trying to make you move faster. 

Wordlessly, you simply placed your palm against his thigh and pressed him back down. Even if that was the last thing he wanted to do, Hoseok accepted your order and settled back against the mattress, grunting as you continued to tease him. 

“Please, put it all in,” he begged, starting to lose his trail of thought. “This is torture.” 

And maybe another day you would have taken a bit more time torturing him, but, that afternoon, you were kind of in a rush to finish studying. So you complied. 

“Oh, fuck, fuck.” His eyes shut and his head was thrown back as you fully sank down on his cock, your tongue flat against him. Before he could stop himself, his hand flew to your hair, yanking at the strands as you moved back up, your hand pumping the parts of him that you couldn’t reach. 

“God, your mouth feels so great…” He moaned, back arching as you reached his tip once again, licking it before sinking back down — you took him just a bit deeper that time, and the motion didn’t pass by unnoticed. He was really starting to believe Jimin, and he wondered if maybe he should’ve been more worried about the entire rollercoaster situation. “Ah, that’s it. Just like that.” 

You moaned around him, the vibrations making him cry out, desperate. Hoseok couldn’t hold himself back from moving closer to the edge of the bed, his other hand clenching your bedsheets between his fingers as you continued to swallow his cock like it belonged in the hot confinement of your mouth. 

“Oh— oh my god, baby,” he grunted, pulling at the strands of your hair. His mind was starting to get hazy, his chest fluttering in a mess of sighs and heavy breaths every time that you sank down on his member; every time you flicked your tongue against his sentitive slit or pumped his base. “That’s really good, you take my cock so well.”

You looked up just to see the mess that Hoseok had turned into. With his mouth parted and eyes glazed over, he looked like he was about to fall apart at any second. He was watching you in complete awe, his eyebrows falling to form a beautiful frown of concentration; tongue coming out to lick his lips. He was so fucked out that you felt yourself getting riled up by his image, a pool of wetness accumulating between your thighs. 

“You look so pretty like this.” He exhaled, unaware of his own words. Hoseok was too busy following your swollen, redden lips as they wrapped around his member, your cheeks hollowing after you sucked him with all that you had. Even the small amount of droll around your mouth was enough to make him throb in your hold, a grunt escaping him. “With these — fuck — those pretty lips around my cock, shit. I could watch you forever.” 

You hummed around his member again at his words, the vibrations shooting directly at his core, where a rising heat had dangerously grown stronger, signaling his upcoming orgasm. Hoseok loved the way you actually looked like you were enjoying yourself, moaning and whimpering around his cock as you took all of him in your mouth, eyes closing every time he throbbed inside you. The eagerness in which you took him in, like you were starving for his cock, was one of the filthiest images that Hoseok had ever seen, and it was one that he knew would haunt his dreams for the years to come. 

When you removed his cock from your mouth with a dirty wet sound, Hoseok was about to complain before he saw you licking down his length, one of your hands holding his cock away from your face as your tongue started to play with his balls. It was an odd feeling, but not an unwelcomed one, and it kept him on edge for a little while longer while you played with him. 

With a timid whimper, you looked up at him as you licked your way back up to his tip. The image was so hot that he almost fainted, a deep moan escaping his throat when you took him back inside your delicious mouth. 

And the truth was clearer than Hoseok had ever expected: Jimin was right. 

“Fuck, babe, how did you get this good?” Hoseok grunted, trying his best to focus on the picture-perfect image of your lips wrapped tightly around his throbbing cock. He could tell that his release was starting to build up at an alarming rate, his thighs growing weaker every time you took him inside you. “Oh my- Ngh! Fuck! Oh my god!” 

Hoseok’s mind was wiped clean when he felt his tip hitting the back of your throat, his hips buckling up as your throat clenched around him. He was pretty sure he was in heaven then — if he focused, he could hear angels singing all around him — , his pleasure overtaking every cell of his body as you continued sucking the soul out of him. 

“Holy fuck, do that again,” he begged, his voice much higher than before. You didn’t need to be asked twice, because, within a second, he was crying out at the feeling of your throat wrapping around his cock one more time; his hands holding tightly to the roots of your hair. The only reason why Hoseok hadn’t started fucking your mouth yet was because he wanted to have you in control, giving him the best head of his life without any interruption. “Fuck, fuck— Baby, you’re so fucking good at this, fuck.”

There was a vague raising of his hips to meet your movements, making him hit the back of your throat again and again, the lewd sounds you were making filling the room. Nothing in his life had ever compared to that instant, he had ever felt a pleasure as great as he did at that point, and he knew it was about to snap. 

“God, I’m gonna cum,” he sobbed, finally closing his eyes and letting the pleasure take over. “Fuck, you’re so good, I’m gonna—“ 

Hoseok filled your mouth with his cum, dripping down your throat when you swallowed around him. His head was spinning and his muscles were trembling, and that time he was unable to hold himself back from thrusting up against your mouth, trying to prolong that divine sensation for as long as he could before, at last, collapsing against the mattress with a final, shaky moan. 

He barely heard you when you got up to your feet, his mind floating above his body as he tried to get himself back together. With the little force that he still had inside him, Hoseok leaned on his elbows and stared at you like you were made of gold. “Fuck, ____.” He breathed out, and the only thing he could say was, “What the fuck?” 

You giggled at his reaction, thumb cleaning a bit of cum that had painted the corner of your mouth. “I appreciate your feedback,” you teased, pointing over your shoulder, to where your desk stood, forgotten. “Now that you have your answer, can I study in peace?” 

“Y-Yeah, sure,” he struggled to say. “I’ll... stay quiet.” 

You smiled brightly. “Thanks!” 

He thought about thanking you right back for giving him the best orgasm of his life, but he thought that would make everything much more pathetic. So he didn’t. 

Hoseok eventually found the motivation within him to put his cock back inside his underwear, clumsily pulling his pants back up. He found himself in the same position he was before everything went down: dumbfounded, staring at the back of your head as you worked on your textbook. The red numbers on the clock told him that just ten minutes had passed, and yet his life had completely changed. 

All that he wanted was to return the favor — it was the fair exchange, after all. Hoseok sat up at the edge of the bed and spoke up, filled by a newfound courage. “Wait. Don’t you want me to take ca—”

“Shut the fuck up, Hoseok.” 

His mouth fell shut and his courage deflated just as quickly. Maybe another time.

[cripplingaddictions]

Haikyuu boys when you get injured playing your sport pt.2

Oikawa, Tsukishima, Tendo, Asahi, Kageyama

Summary: The first one was really fun to write, so here is part 2! This is some others and how I think they’d react when you get hurt during sport!

Warnings: Explicit mention of blood and open wounds

A/N: I’d like to thank everyone for over 100 followers! Yes, I know that doesn’t seem like many but it’s a big deal to me, so thank you!! I also appreciate the patience with my messed up writing schedule <3 ...Tendo’s got really long and Kageyama’s got a little angsty whoops 

Oikawa:

As one who suffers from a sport injury himself, Oikawa is constantly aware of the possibility

Reminds you before every game of hockey to stay safe

His tone may be lighthearted when he says it, but he’s very serious

He knows the ins and outs of stretching and the recovery process for injuries

Usually, he doesn’t come to your games, mostly because he’s busy or he's afraid of getting recognised

When you get home or see him next, he’d ask out the game and listen with excitement and interest

He definitely does research on the game too

This time, he was so glad he went

To avoid being recognised, he wore a cap and sunglasses, standing at the back of the spectators

His height allowed him to easily watch you from the crowd

You were really hyped for the game, knowing your opponents were going to be tough

Unfortunately, your team was struggling with the game

The other team was scoring goal after goal, and you couldn’t keep up

You ran back to defend the goal, in the way for an approaching player

They were ready to score, and you were ready to dive in

The urgency and pressure of the situation got to your head, and you ran towards them with anger

You let out a cry, charging towards the hockey ball

In the back of your mind, you knew Oikawa wouldn’t be impressed with how you lost your patience

And you were right

He treaded closer to the game, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms crossed

“Y/N... Don’t get ahead of yourself”

He whispered, wishing you could hear him

Your opponent placed the ball in position to swing for goal

But you had gotten too far ahead of yourself

They swung their hockey stick

Your ankle was in the way

Usually, you wouldn’t be too bothered, bruises littering your ankle for a week after

This time, the stick was made of aluminium

The impact and pain that shot through your ankle brought you to the ground

Pain unbearable, you dropped your own stick and held your food

“Ow, ow, ow”

You mumbled sloppily, tears, saliva, and snot dribbling over your lips

You wanted to stand up and keep playing but the pain continued like an unforgiving clamp tightening on your ankle

Suddenly aware of how you look, you wiped your mouth from the fluids

You heard a whistle blow, but the pain caused for stars to dance in your vision

“Y/N-chan, eyes up here”

The stars from your eyes cleared, the sight of your boyfriend crouching next to you on the field shining through

You couldn’t form words, not that they would have helped

He immediately moved to take your shoe off, seeing how it had already started to swell 

It blew up like a balloon before your very eyes

“I’ll carry you”

Oikawa whispered, sliding an arm around your back and the other securely under your knees

Lifting you up, he escorted you off the field

He didn’t let you ride in the ambulance your coach called by yourself, holding your hand the whole way

It was definitely a bad break, being a pain through the recovery process as you could hardly apply any pressure on the foot

You were in a cast, and Oikawa wrote a lovey-dovey message on it that took up half the space

Once you were out of it Oikawa knew all the right physiological stretches in order to get you back on your feet to play again

He did a great job taking care of you, and you couldn't thank him more

Tsukishima:

Doesn’t effect your relationship that you were into swimming as that was not why he loved you

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like how you are training so hard for it

It’s the passion and love for swimming that he wishes he had for volleyball

To be honest, Tsukishima wouldn’t be worried about you getting hurt

He thinks swimming is not a very hazardous sport

Which is fairly true, so you don’t get injured during a specific race or anything

Your injury shows up slowly over time

Originally you shook it off, expecting that the soreness in your shoulders was just your muscles tired after a long two hours of lap after lap

However, it started getting worse, and you began to tell Tsukishima your concerns

He’d say something like, “Then just take your time at training. I can’t do anything about it. What did you expect me to say?”

Let’s be real, he’s kind of worried

Especially as he began to notice how you would wince after taking your bag off your shoulders, or if you reached up to the top shelf

The day he realised that you needed to get them checked out was when you had walked to his place after training

The whole walk there the straps of your bag felt a lot heavier

Your shoulders hurt, but the left was the worst one by fair

Shifting the weight of your bag to your right shoulder, you gave the left a rest

Soon enough you knocked on Tsukishima’s door and he opened quickly after

You dropped your bag inside the door and rubbed your shoulder

“Oi, Y/N, are you okay?”

Tsukishima asked, the way your sighed making his eyebrows furrow ever so slightly

“Yeah, but my shoulder is pretty bad”

You tell him, hoping that he’ll show some sympathy

He scooped up your bag and called for you to follow him to the couch

He left you there, leaving momentarily to drop your bag with your wet swimmers into the laundry

Soon, he plopped down on the couch beside you and turned on the tv

Carefully, he pulled you onto his lap and you instinctively dropped your head onto his shoulder

Instead of huffing slightly like he usually did, you pushed you forward 

“No, sit towards my knees”

You obeyed him, and he hovered his fingers over your shoulders

Smiling once you realised what he was going to do, you let him work his nibble fingers into your shoulders

He stopped if you whined, asking where to go from there

It really helped, you never realised how good Tsukishima was with his fingers (no... not like that)

You were putty in his hands, completely relaxed as you watched the tv 

Once you felt the tension was mostly gone, Tsukishima scooted out from underneath you to book a scan

When you had it, you discovered you had Bursitis 

(A/N: I have this in my shoulder and it sucks)

This required for lots of rest, icing, and careful exercise

You were off swimming for almost three months before Tsukishima was convinced that you could handle tending to it afterwards

When you got back to swimming, you wore a sling on the worst days and Tsukishima carried your bag for you

He raised his hand in class if you needed to ask a question, and made sure you never had to overexert your left arm

His favourite thing to do was tease you even more about having to get him to get stuff off the top shelves

You were shorter than him, but now you need him even more

When you use your condition as a counterargument he always says “aww, poor baby Y/N”

No doubt, he does certainly cared for you, but get ready for a long road ahead for the both of you

Tendo:

You’re a figure skater! And how he loves to watch you skate!

He gets so excited, you have no idea

Whether you are in a competition, or if you are just practicing, he gets so giddy and proud while watching you glide across the ice

Thinks you look so good in the costumes, no matter your body type 

If you were to have to travel internationally for a competition, you bet he’d be coming with you

Tendo does get into trouble when he disturbs your practise at the rink

But you always invite him to watch any time, not caring what your coach thought

Super supportive of you, it’s not funny

However, what is funny is that he has no idea all the technical terms or how the point system works

So, when he watches you during a comp, he’ll greet you off the ice with:

“BABE, THAT FANCY THING YOU DID WITH YOUR ARMS AFTER YOU LANDED FROM THE SPINNING-TOP-JUMPY-THING YOU DID WAS SO SEXY! YOU’VE GOT TO WIN! YOU LOOKED SO GOOD, MY PARADISE”

You double over in laughter every time he says something like that

You only just manage out a “Thank you, Tori” before you’re ushered off to get your score

The score you were appointed is half decent, placing you in third place

When you go to find Tendo so you can sit with him while watching the rest of the skaters, he appalled

“PARADISE, YOU DESERVED MUCH BETTER THAN THAT! I’D HAVE GIVEN YOU A 634.53!!”

“Satori, that’s basically impossible for a short program”

“I DON’T CARE BECAUSE IT IS WHAT YOU DESERVE”

It’s kind of embarrassing, in a large rink of people, for him to be yelling like that

But... it’s all because he thinks you are incredibly talented

Which is very sweet

Anyways, you injure yourself at practice 

Tendo had just got of his volleyball practice at Shiratorizawa and decided to swing by the rink

You were staying in late, your coach and the rest of the skaters had gone home, so it was just you and a few workers at the rink

Tendo burst in, the goofy grin on his face that cases his eyes to be forced shut by the adorable purity of it

You were focusing on a quadruple axel that you hadn’t perfected when he arrived

“Good evening, paradise! How are you-”

You had been halfway through the jump when you peeled your eyes open

Immediately happy to see him, you smiled brightly

But, your excitement cost you the landing

You slipped, landing harshly onto the ice on your hip with a thud, the water soaking into your tights

“Y/N!”

Tendo dropped his bags, running and sliding his lanky body across the ice on his knees to where you had sprawled out

There was certainly going to be really bad bruise there, you could tell

But the coolness of the ice made your hip numb to the pain

“Are you okay? I scared you, didn’t I?”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the way Tendo was leaning over you, now having soaked knees too

“Yeah, you did”

“Let’s take you home and have a nice warm shower, hey?”

You agreed, leading him off the ice with both of your hands in his, because the psycho had run onto the ice with no skates on

The two of you walked home, the whole time you noticing the numbness leaving your hip

While having your shower, you checked your hip to find a dark purple bruise the size of your hand, raw to the touch

You took a shower, afterwards putting on some underwear and one of your boyfriend’s large shirts

Leaving your room, you enter the living room find Tendo sprawled on the couch

He made a comment about how good you look, leaving you giggling

You grabbed an icepack from the freezer and a tea towel to wrap it in

Laying on top of Tendo, you rolled on your side to have your bruised hip facing the ceiling

“Whatcha got there?”

Tendo asked

You flashed the icepack in front of his face, before quickly wrapping it up

Pulling the oversized shirt over your hip, you exposed the bruise to your boyfriend

“This is what you did to me, you scary man”

You joke, poking him in the cheek

The colour drained from his face in a split second, and he let out a cry of agony

“No! I’m so sorry! How can I make you feel better?”

He leaned over you, pressing scattered kisses over the bruise and mumbling sorry between each one

You knew he was trying to be feathery with his kisses, but the slightest pressure hurt

So, you pushed his head away

“Ow, Tori, that hurts. You can hold the ice for me”

He does as he’s told and you thank him, kindly

He has eagle eyes on you constantly after that, acting like your personal bodyguard

Makes sure he’s always on the side that is bruised at school, so that no one can bump it

Lines your bed with pillows, as to not accidentally bump it on the wall

Stops you from walking if you don’t have to, in which you tell him he’s fine

You try reassuring him by saying that it could have been worse, but that makes him even more wary when you skate knowing that worse could happen to you

Asahi:

He’s adorable, constantly being supportive during your games of netball

Out of everyone, he’s the most likely to be worried about possible injury

Even though it’s a fairly safer sport, Asahi makes sure that you are reminded of every possible scenario that he had made up in his head before a game

You’d shut him up with a kiss to the lips, but he’ll be trembling when you walk away

Understands the game, not needing much help with keeping up with points or rules

He’ll calm down eventually while watching you play, focusing on silently praising you

Secretly a fan of the uniform, don’t tell anyone - he’d be so embarrassed

Doesn’t come to practice often because of the clashes with his volleyball training

When you got injured during a game, thank goodness Nishinoya had joined him to cheer you on

The energy Nishinoya brought to the sidelines motivated Asahi to cheer more too

Usually, you’d wave to him after getting a point and he’d wave back

But you could actually hear him because of Noya

You had in the back of your head to thank him for bringing him out of his shell

Have of the reason he never went to your practice because he was scared the other players would have thought he was some creepy middle-aged man there to stare at them in their uniforms

That’s why he always came to your games without fail, to make up for it and because he felt safer from a distance

However, Nishinoya had dragged him to the front, which he was hesitant about at first

But when he saw how excited you were to see him so close made him smile 

You were in perfect position to receive the ball in order to shoot

Your teammates passed back and forth, approaching you slowly

“I’m free! Guys!”

You gained their attention, and they sent the ball your way

You caught it and immediately shot for the goal while the opponents were distracted

“Come on, Y/N!” 

Both Nishinoya and Asahi shouted, Noya obviously the loudest

The first shot missed, but you quickly caught it and shot again

This time, the ball landed through the hoop and the whistle blown to confirm that it was a point 

You could hear Asahi and Nishinoya celebrating on the sidelines

Pumping your fists in the air, you brushed your forearm against the goal post

A nail had been sticking out of it, slicing through your skin

You immediately hissed, the pain stinging dramatically

You grab your arm, searching to find a massive gash down the length of your forearm

Blood poured from the wound and you called your coach

They immediately brought you off once they saw the red liquid

Asahi was worried, slipping around to where you were holding a towel to your arm

Hissing in pain, you found Asahi approaching

“Y-Y/N, what happened?”

He could see the pain laced into your face, shaking nervously

You wanted to hide it, afraid of how he would react

Carefully, you removed the damp cloth from the wound with a hiss as the air hit the tenderness

“I’m gonna need stitches”

You hissed through your teeth, turning to show Asahi

By then Nishinoya had arrived by Asahi, and at the perfect time

One look at the way your arm had been split open with blood gushing from the open wound...

And Asahi had fainted

Luckily Nishinoya was there to catch him and lower him to the ground

Now you were more worried for Asahi than yourself, to be honest

With Asahi out of commission, your coach had to take you to get you almost twenty stitches

Nishinoya stayed back to make sure Asahi woke up safely, and when he did, he was anxiously asking where you were and how you were

Asahi dropped into your place after finding out you were out of hospital, pulling you into a hug

Of course you made sure he was okay after his episode too

Constant tender touches while you healed, and soft kisses over the patch on your arm

He treated you like an absolute princess, especially after Nishinoya had scared him again by saying “I think she’ll need to get it amputated” right after he woke up

Fainted again when he went with you to get the stitches removed

Kageyama:

This boy does not get rugby at all

He tries, because he’s smart enough to pick it up if he wanted to

But, he’s more impressed with sports that involve more ‘thinking and skill’

What is impressive to him, however, is how fit and strong you are

Even though he is still taller than you, he almost feels like you are the bigger person in the relationship with the muscle you have

Likes being small spoon with your figure

Silently admires your athletic ability, and thinks you are really cool whenever you make a massive run down the field

Kageyama likes to watch when you win

He gets so blushy and excited when you bound into his arms after a good game 

Unfortunately, he’s very busy with volleyball, unable to make many training sessions or games

He tries his hardest to be at your training grounds in time to walk home with you

He tries to keep his Saturday’s free to be with you or at your games

Recently, he had been even more busy, and this week he couldn’t make it too 

This team had been tough, with a lot of bigger players 

You were sort of struggling to break past them, unable to score any tries

All you remember was receiving the ball, trying to break through the wall they had created

You had run headfirst into the players, and the next thing you knew...

You woke up in hospital

Your head was wrapped up, and it thumped painfully

Trying to sit up hurt your head, so you laid back down

With how fuzzy your head was, you failed to notice Kageyama sitting in the corner with a carton of milk

He had been anxiously twiddling his thumbs while emptying carton after carton

When your eyes opened, he shot up, hurrying to your bedside

You finally noticed him, smiling softly at the pout on his lips and the shine of glossiness in his eyes

“Tobio...”

Even speaking hurt your head

“Don’t speak if it hurts”

Kageyama basically read your mind, taking your hand in his and placing your open palm on his cheek

“You’re such a dumbass, scaring me like that”

He rested his head on the bed next to you on the bed

You glided your thumb over his cheek, watching as the pout on his lips began to tremble slightly

Whining slightly in order to awe at him, you whispered

“I’m sorry...”

“Why did it happen the one game I can’t make it... damn it... I should have been there”

You shifted your head, ignoring the pain, in order to get a better view of him

His dark blue eyed were sparkling with tears, and you mumbled

“No... baby...”

Kageyama ignored you, turning to press his face into the white sheet on your thighs, blinking back his tears

“I was scared...”

He mumbled in a cracked voice into your thigh

You took his face in your hands and carefully pulled him towards your face

Giving him a kiss to his nose, you let him lay his head on your chest

“Don’t cry... I’m here”

You croaked, threading your fingers through his raven hair

The recovery process was long and hard, having received severe head trauma

You were in hospital for another day after you woke up for tests and to make sure you could stand without fainting

Kageyama stayed with you the entire time, only leaving when your parents insisted he get some sleep

After this, your parents were certain you could marry him, not kidding

He treated you like glass whenever he saw you, especially when you took the time off school

He would accidentally yell at you if he saw you up and about, but immediately took it back and apologised 

Poor Hinata got all of Kageyama’s pent up anger about everything, being unable to yell at you

When you return to school, he’s like your shadow, following you around and making sure you’re drinking enough water

Reassure him that it wasn’t his fault and that you’re not going anywhere

[samanthalightning]

She's Got A Date-EoWells X Allen!reader- Part II

*The GIF is not mine. All rights to the owner*

Part I

Summary: A new meta is in town, and you are starting to want your secret relationship not to be not-so secret anymore. But Wells doesn't have the same idea

Warnings: Smut if you squint very hard.

***

You never really were one to wake up early in the morning. You hated it, actually. You never liked seeing the sun rising up, you hated the way it made you feel; that heart sinking and hopeful feeling. It reminded you of when your mother died. You stayed all night with your brother in the precinct, after a few hours of sleep, you woke up when the sun was rising, and you wished really hard to go home and see your parents again. But you never did. Your Mom died, your Dad went to prison for your Mom's murder, you never came home, and the Detective from the case adopted you. Barry told you back then that the sun was also a star, unfortunately, it wasn't the star for wishing.

You hated mornings, but of course, you have to pay bills and have to get a certain someone from your bed.

Your limbs ache, as you stretch your arms over your head. You went rounds last night, which shows how much you missed each other and how much of an animal you both were.

Still completely groggy, you moved under the sheets, propped your elbows, laying on your stomach to stare at him. You couldn't help but smile upon the sight of him.

Always so stern, well-composed, mysterious, guarded, seems like the kind of guy who's least likely to do something that will get him in huge trouble— except for the Particle Accelerator explosion, that was a huge mess— Now, he's in your apartment, sprawled out on your bed, specifically, naked under the sheets of 24-year old girl's bed. So relaxed and comfortable. The careful and stoic demeanor he radiated temporary vanished.

You ran your fingers through his brown, unruly locks. You remember how hard you gripped on them last night.

God, memories like this are what enters your mind when you talk to Barry and Joe; it makes you flustered and all scared to face them. Eventually it got easier to deal with, but the guilt doesn't fade, or it hasn't yet.

Despite Barry's admiration for the man, he would question it. You're his baby sister, and there are so many issues he could point out. But you know him, he'll get over it quickly.

Joe, on the other hand, the silent treatment is what he's going to put on. He's a tough man to break. Besides, he has yet to deal with Iris and Eddie dating.

You didn't want them to feel as though you betrayed them or left them out on a part of your life, because they're part of it. You really wanted to tell them.

You don't want to be all sappy, you want to take in this nice morning and this man in front of you. He usually wakes up before you. Perhaps you really worn him out last night.

You ran your dainty finger across his cheek, he stirred in his sleep, grumpily. You stifled a giggle. Even in his sleep, he's guarded.

"Good morning," you mumbled, leaning to kiss his pink thin lips.

That woke him up. Gradually gaining his consciousness, his lips moved against yours, passionate and sweet. He reeled you into him, his bare chest meets your naked ones. His hands roamed your body, up and down your sides. He then planted a hand on the small back softly, pressing you closer to him, while his other hand slowly moved dangerously low. He runs his hand on the skin of your thigh, up and down. At the same time, your hands gripped his biceps.

The kiss deepened, squeezed and nails dug on the skin of your thigh in the process. You tried to suppress a moan, but damn he was such a good kisser. You don't know how he managed to stay quiet during intimate times like this. The kiss was turning feverishly and intoxicating. You felt that warm feeling in your stomach, an ache between your legs, sending jolts of excitement through your veins.

Wells knew you better than yourself, and he knows how you get. So before things escalated further, it took him a decent amount of control to reluctantly pull away from your lips.

A beam already crossed his face, as he fluttering his eyes open, "A good morning, indeed,"

You gave him one more peck on the lips, before placing your head on his chest, and his arm around you. You snuggled further to his warm body. It's heavenly, because it's starting to get colder in Central City.

"Can't we just stay in bed today?" You looked up to him, pouting with puppy dog eyes. It has an effect on him, and you like to push your luck.

"We have to go to work. And Caitlin and Cisco will notice."

You sighed. "I know." Your fingers drew circles on his chest. "Don't you think it's time to tell them, Har? It's been 6 months."

"I just need things to wind down, then we'll tell them," he assured you, though it wasn't enough to convince you, because that was what he said the last time. You're young, not dumb.

"When will that be?" You tried not to sound as if you were forcing him, but sneaking around is becoming tiring.

Wells frowned, uncomfortable with the discussion. "I don't know. Let's not talk about this— come on, we need to get ready." He tried to sit up, but you pinned him down. Your legs over his and hugged him tightly.

"Y/N…" He warned. You didn't bugde, kept him pinned down on the bed.

"Let's just stay in for a little while. How about just one more round?" You suggested playfully, biting your lip.

He opened his mouth to object, but you didn't bother to let him start. You ghosted his neck, your lips trailing up, and planted a kiss behind his ear, his sweet spot. You sucked it to leave a mark. His chest heaved, licked his dry lips and hummed in satisfaction.

"Y/N, w-we need to go," he managed to stutter those words.

Ever so stubborn, you didn't listen. Instead, you hushed him, and started nibbling on his ear. You earned a growl from him.

"Just one. I promised," you whispered seductively.

Your fingertips brushed against the skin of his stomach, traveled lower and lower, down lower abdomen, painstakingly slow just to rile him up. His breathing was getting uneven. His face still maintained a leveled expression, but his blue eyes turned dark, boring into yours. You decided to go for it. You took his length, as he grunted. You slowly pumped the base, torturing him. He couldn't help but let out a guttural groan.

You don't wanna look back later today, and all you remember was you talking about going out in public again. So, make-up sex, even though you didn't really fight.

He gave in. One round turned into two, turned into three, until you both were very exhausted and fell asleep.

You didn't wake up until it was late. Harrison wasn't very pleased with this. You know he had every right to; this the third time he got late, because of you.

He scolded you for sidetracking him, hurrying out of your apartment, not before giving you peck on the lips.

The elevator dings, and the doors slide open. You exhaled sharply, mentally cursing yourself for having no self control. You and Wells went at it like bunnies in heat.

You hissed, stepping outside. You were a little sensitive, so sore, limbs are like jello. Your legs wobbled as you walked in the hallway. You feel like each step you take, you're gonna collapse to the floor. It's gonna take you a few days to walk properly again. So much for being subtle and discreet. The team will definitely notice.

You entered the cortex. Caitlin and Cisco were present, of course. Cisco was chilling in his seat, feet up on the desk, while fiddling with a pen. As usual was babbling, about how excited he is to know what kind of meta you have to deal with today to Caitlin who was invested in whatever she was doing on the computer.

He paused, seeing you entered the room.

"I take that your date went well last night," he teased.

Caitlin spun her chair around to face you, cocked her head slightly and an intrigued look crossed her face.

You rolled your eyes. "I didn't have a date, Cisco," you insisted.

You know that, of course, they would wonder. Usually, you would come to the lab around Dr. Wells would arrive, just so you can sneak into his tight schedule.

"I just overslept," you lied, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Funny. Dr. Wells overslept, too," Caitlin commented with knitted eyebrows.

Your eyebrows lifted, surprised. Despite the fact that this happened before, it still surprises you how fast he can get here.

"He's here?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't he be?" Cisco scoffed jokingly.

Your face paled. Oh crap. You were not as good as him.

You opened your mouth, but luckily, Barry, Joe and Wells entered the cortex to save you. They got a case that needed some insights. Members of a crime family had been murdered. Poisoned by gas, specifically. And Joe thinks that it's a Meta.

Wells wheeled to the desk. "Fascinating. A meta-human that can manipulate poison gas," Wells commented.

"Is it just poisonous gas or he can control all aerated substances?" Cisco questioned, walking to the comms, and stood behind Dr. Wells.

Caitlin followed suit. "And how is he able to formulate the connection. Is it physiological or psychological?" She inquired, taking a seat on the chairs, immediately working on something on the computer.

"This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances," Wells said.

"You mean connective gases on a molecular level?" You asked him, eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Yes,"

"That is ridiculously cool," Cisco stated.

"This is so exciting," you squealed, rocking your feet in excitement like a child at an amusement park.

Barry laughed at your reaction, Joe looked at you incredulously.

You changed your expression and mimicked a frown, "I mean, it's devastating. People died. Sad."

"They get really excited about this stuff," Barry said to Joe.

"The only thing I'm excited about is putting criminals behind bars, except Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle meta-humans," Joe stated.

"I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far no longer with us,"

It really is.

"Well, unless we're planning on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses are going to have to come up with someplace else to hold them,"

Joe was right. The number of people affected by the Particle Accelerator was huge, it's hard to track them all down, and killing them all isn't exactly the best approach for this problem.

"A meta-human prison? Sweet," Cisco murmured.

"Until we figure a way to remove their powers,"

"There is one place here that might hold them," All of your heads turned to Cisco in curiosity.

"You can't be serious," Caitlin scoffed. "We haven't been down there since— it's cordoned off."

"Cisco's right," Wells agreed. "It could be modified to acts as a makeshift prison,"

Caitlin looked at them in disbelief. Your eyebrows furrowed, confused. You tried to read the room, though you didn't get what they were talking about that made Caitlin upset. She's always been uptight, sure, but this was different. As if she was hurt.

"What could?" Barry asked.

"The Particle Accelerator," he replied.

It all suddenly clicked. Caitlin's fiancé died because of the explosion. Cisco told you he died down there. The details were vague, the team wasn't very open to discuss whatever happened that night.

Silence hung around the cortex, as everyone shifted uncomfortably. It was a touchy subject. To you, to Barry, to Joe, especially to them; the ones who lose more than anyone in this room.

"Uhm, I guess we should go down," Cisco spoke.

You all agreed. Cisco scurried out of the room immediately. Wells was about to follow Cisco, but turned over his shoulder, asking Caitlin if she wants to come with you.

Caitlin didn't budge. She stared blankly at the distance, lost in her own world. The doctor called out to her again, only to be ignored.

"Caitlin," he called her. Caitlin whipped her head around, raising an eyebrow in question. "Did you hear me? Are you going down the accelerator with us?"

Barry cleared his throat. "Actually Dr. Wells used Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas." He turned to Caitlin. "If that's okay with you."

Caitlin smiled at your brother. "Let's go."

Taking a step forward, your body reminded you how sore you were. You limped as you tried to exit the cortex. You weren't exactly subtle. The team noticed you struggling with... walking.

"You okay, Y/N?" Joe was obviously concerned. "You're walking a little funny,"

Your eyes flickered to your boyfriend's blue ones. He was watching you carefully, just to see how you are going to dodge this. You wonder are you going to, as well.

If you had a dollar for every single person who corners you, you'll have— well, two dollars.

"Yeah," you chuckled nervously. "Just a little sore. Took some workout classes last night, and the trainer was very hard and intense on me." He coughed at your choices of words, blush creeping up on his cheek.

Your lips curved slightly, only for it to fade when Joe pointed at your neck. "Your trainer gave you some hickeys as well?" He questioned.

Your eyes went wide, cheeks turning

into a dark shade of red, hands quickly flew your neck to cover whichever part of your neck he left a mark on. He's not a damn good detective if it weren't for his observation skills.

"I think I heard Cisco calling us. Gotta go! Bye!" You sprinted-staggered out of the cortex.

Joe looked at Caitlin for answers. Caitlin shrugged and answered, "She had a date,"

You all approached the entrance of the accelerator. You've never been here before, it's not like you have any reason to down here, but the thought of wandering the what's underneath the floor you work for that blew a hole in the city did enter your mind countless of times. You didn't want to ask, though. It was a sensitive subject.

It's huge space, hollow, dim, despite the number of lights it has, and there's a lot of pipes. There's not much to say, really.

"The copper in the tube is arranged to form cavities," Wells pointed out, wheeling inside. "And we can use those cavities as containment, which we have to design to counteract meta-humans abilities, but..." He paused, processing a thought.

"This is perfect," Cisco said with a heave of chest. He seemed reluctant, but it was the best option you got.

All of you take a look around, check for somethings that could be faulty or ruptured by the explosion, so you could fix it, before building the makeshift prison. Cisco took the other side, and you followed Wells.

You pulled your cardigan across your chest, and crossed your arms. It felt strange and bone-chilling, almost. Lurking around the place that someone died in. Ronnie, Caitlin's fiancé could have been anywhere in here, before he died. It must be so hard for Caitlin. It must have hurt so bad. She had to go to work everyday to the place where the love of her life was killed. You always wondered what he was like, prior to the whole mess 10 months ago. No one talked about him, and asking seems to be so insensitive for people you just had met. But it's been months, and you're all way past being just colleagues. You're dating your boss.

"You never talked about him," you began.

His eyes wandered around, too busy inspecting to turn to you. "About who?"

You wondered if he was truly oblivious or he just wants to confirm if you were asking about him.

"Ronnie," You saw the way his posture stiffened when you mentioned his name, but he didn't stop or paused.

You felt bad for asking. He never really says anything. You know he feels bad, but he was never vulnerable with it. 6 months of dating, he just never talked about his pain, and during the times he was actually in the state of it, you weren't in his life.

"He was a structural engineer for the project; he was a good man, a smart man," he said.

"And he died down here?" You inquired.

He nodded. "Yes,"

"How?" He slowed down, before eventually stopping.

You were met with silence. You instantly felt bad. You knew that you crossed a line and let your curiosity get the best of you. The details may be too much for him to explain.

You shook your head in regret. "I'm sorry. That was insensitive," you apologized.

"No, it's fine." He waved his fingers dismissively. "He contained the blast; adjusted it to make sure that it would go upward, not outward. He wasn't able to go out, since a lockdown was initiated. He saved so many lives that night, including mine."

You know he felt bad. For Barry, for Ronnie, for everyone. You took a step forward to him, and hugged his shoulders from behind tightly. You gave him a peck on the cheeks, then rested your chin on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry you lost him," you murmured to his ear.

He sighed, relaxing in your arms, as he put a hand on your arm and rubbed his thumb against the fabric of your cardigan, soothingly.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"How about dinner again tonight? Just to cheer you up," you suggested.

"I thought we're gonna take a break from your cooking,"

You rolled your eyes, but you were the one who suggested it. You need practice, not spontaneous dinner with lack of experiences with cooking meals.

"I know—"

He straightened. "But…?" He already knew that there is an underlying agenda.

You were hesitant to even say it now, but it doesn't hurt to try. Again.

"There's this amazing restaurant that opened last month. They're not that pricey, but they serve a pretty decent steak. So I was wondering if he could go there too, you know, go on an actual date," you whispered the last part with a wince on your face.

You dreaded his reaction, because deep inside, you know what he's going to say. But you kept your hopes up that he might change his mind on the whole thing.

"Y/N…" He exhaled. "You already know what that means. "We talked about this, right? I don't think it's the best time for us to go public with our relationship."

You sighed, exasperated. You unwrap your arms around him. You heard those excuses enough today. "I know, babe. But why do these people matter? We don't need the public's seal of approval for being in a relationship." You argued.

He turned around to face you. You watched him, as he took your hands and kissed your knuckles sweetly. "We don't," he told you sincerely.

"Then why?"

"It's not the best time. Your brother just woke up and he has a new power to deal with. As long everything worked out, we'll talk about it, okay?" His eyes searching into yours for yes, so you look down at your feet.

You knew, of course. He told you that earlier, still you pushed. You always attempt to do this, using every reason and excuse, but it always leads to you being disappointed. You wonder why it still feels the same despite getting this reaction so many times.

This anger bubbled in your chest. "Yeah, I know. It's what you always say," you murmured through your gritted teeth, sarcasm dripping off of it.

He opened his mouth to reply, but you didn't give him a chance to do so, you walked ahead, past him. Wells, who was very aware of your frustration, followed you. He decided not to react or add fuel to fire. It was not the time nor the place.

While inspecting, walking quickly, so you stay a couple of meters ahead of him, you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket. You fished it out. A notification popped out of the screen. It was a text from Iris.

"Hey. Are you busy tonight?”

***

Yikes. What do you think will happen?

Anyway, I'd really appreciate if you share this and give it some love. Thanks!

Part III

[florvinhara]

my detectives (part 1)

kjahfjhsj i can have a little infodumping... as a treat... anyway this was originally gonna be 1 post but then i got carried away so part 1 in the series of me ranting abt my detectives!

Kira Isabella Song

Romances N, F, or M

Age: 25 at the start of book 1, currently 26

Birthday: February 7

Star sign: Aquarius sun, Taurus moon, Scorpio rising

Height: 5’7”

Hair: Short, ash blonde, a little longer than chin length

Eyes: dark brown

Race/ethnicity: Korean-American

Other appearance details: Several beauty marks on face and body. a few subtle scars on face/legs from falling out of trees, etc. fingers are callused from band practice and left hand fingers are a little crooked from being broken.

Languages: English, Spanish, a few basic phrases in some other languages

Stats:

Charming/Intimidating

Impulsive/Cautious

Sarcastic/Genuine

Friendly/Stoic

Easygoing/Stubborn

Heart/Mind (equal)

Optimist/Pessimist

Team player/Independent

Primary skills: Science & combat

Strengths: Trustworthy, strong, courageous, calm under pressure, compassionate, thorough, clever, good intuition, self-sufficient, sure of herself

Weaknesses: Petty, caustic, distrustful, secretive, lackadaisical, insubordinate, emotionally unintelligent, can be disdainful, uncommunicative, contrary

Personal:

overall body language is casual and unbothered, lowkey her posture is kind of yikes RIP but she has a very fluid way of moving

her voice is smooth and somewhat low in pitch, very even in tone

Loud and/or jumbled sounds sometimes overwhelm her; she usually has noise cancelling headphones with her just in case

Rebellious as a teenager; she started skipping school and getting into fights, did some graffiti and one time she stole a street sign that she may or may not still have

When she wasn’t breaking rules, etc. she was taking boxing lessons, chilling in the library, going on runs, or playing bass guitar in her band

Wanted to get out of Wayhaven as soon as possible after college but was arrested after she came back because she was selling fake IDs and stole a car; absolutely did not want to be law enforcement but Rebecca and the captain essentially made her

The deal was that she would work at the station for 5 years and if she did well/stayed out of trouble she could then quit- she's 3 years into it

deep down if she wasnt a detective she would want to be a paramedic

She shares a lot of mannerisms with Rebecca and they’re way more similar than she’d like to admit

Birds FREAK her out seriously; she’ll deny that she’s afraid of them but she’ll cross the street to get away from them, also hates crowded places and deep water

Scary resting face and has a habit of just... eerily staring at people who are bothering her until they get spooked, but she's not actually that angry or grouchy, she's really just Vibing u know? she's not gonna correct anyone's impression though or they might start like... Talking to her :/

Loves any book/movie/show with a secret society or spy element and stories about a Hero and their Journey, also loves angsty philosophy books; her favorite movies are cheesy but feel-good (The Mummy, Pacific Rim, anything with big CGI monsters)

Doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth but would kill someone for strong coffee; if she’s really tired you can catch her drinking it cold straight from the pot with a straw

Emo/pop punk teen and she definitely cried when MCR broke up, she also listens to a lot of Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, Dottie West, Patsy Cline, etc

She’s been drawing since she was a kid- mainly works with charcoal and sometimes pastels. her sketchbooks are like her diaries and she’s never shown them to Anyone Ever

In her spare time, she still plays some guitar, draws, or reads; her library is extensive because she keeps every book she’s ever read or intends to read (it’s one of the few things she’ll drop real money on)

Very tactile person and fussy about textures, she prefers ultra soft blankets/pillows and her bed is basically a nest

Practical, efficient, frugal- she doesn’t necessarily find joy in cooking or anything but she can do it well enough, quick showers, uses cheap soap/shampoo, cuts her own hair

Her hands get super dry/chapped in the winter and it hurts very much :(

Never yells; when she gets angry she’s very cold & will Not hold back; every word is designed to hurt bc she’s purposefully poking at things she knows are sore spots

At the start of the books, she’s kind of... sleepwalking through life? like, she was in a not-great place mentally for most of her teens and didn’t really have a plan for the future but law enforcement was definitely not it? She isn’t feeling super passionate about what she’s doing and it kind of sucks to not have joy in purpose :( luckily that’s changing and is gonna be a significant part of her journey through the series!

Her apartment is cluttered but clean and she knows where everything is, if someone moved one of her things she would not be able to find it and it would bother her until she located it

She’s not stubborn exactly? Like she’ll concede an argument if it’s not super important to her and has no problem with losing or backing down in many cases; she’s pretty open minded in that respect, but if something is central to her values then she will Die before she backs down

On that note she’s overall a very logical person but when it comes down to it she'll follow her heart/first instinct

Does not care about rules or procedures At All, she'll follow them if it suits her end goal but otherwise... nope

Lowkey she… did not care about the reveal? it was a surprise but not her first priority in the moment- she kind of already thought UB was sketchy and didn’t trust them, so mainly she was pissed off that Rebecca had sent them to babysit her instead of actually help solve the murders

Speaking of Rebecca their relationship is kind of yikes. Kira isn’t exactly mad that Rebecca was gone so often, but she does think that she kind of forfeited her parenting rights and was annoyed that Rebecca was interfering with her life; first by getting her on the force and then by dropping UB on her. So now it’s Very Awkward between them because Kira doesn’t want to be like… mean but honestly what is there to say?? They’re trying but neither of them like to share personal information so it’s rough

On the subject of sharing, she just… genuinely doesn’t like to open up. Like, it doesn’t come naturally and in her mind it’s just… nobody else’s business what she’s feeling/what’s going on in her life

Genuinely does not realize that people care about her unless they openly tell her lmao... sad hours but at this point in the story she honestly doesnt think that any of UB cares abt her beyond their job besides the one she's dating :(

"Everyone should be allowed to feel things and rely on the support of the people around them, their emotions are Valid. not me though, this is my personal problem and as such its dumb so i have to get over it alone"

Her primary love language is acts of service, she wants the people she loves to have everything they might need; she’s Soft and really just wants snuggles but also she does not want to address it out loud

Her way of asking for affection is to just... stand/sit there and occasionally glance at the person... hovers like a sad ghost until she gets a hug... literally like 🥺👉👈 sjdhdkn Clown girl

She’s sarcastic and makes a lot of snarky comments, but generally she’s pretty honest unless she doesn’t want to talk about something (in which case she’ll brush it off and deflect or change subjects) which is why it annoys her so much when people are willfully dishonest or conniving

Pretty adaptable and capable of rolling with the punches but she generally dislikes surprises and being the center of attention

genuinely she's pretty chill! and a Huge enabler of chaos as well, like unless it's specifically bothering her she's gonna let it happen and mostly she thinks it's pretty funny to watch from the sidelines

in short she's basically like a feral cat who stares suspiciously at everyone from a distance until they successfully pspspsps their way into her heart and then she would die for them <3 but if she's mad she will make direct eye contact while shoving glasses off the counter

ahdgsksg ok last one i swear she Cannot Sit Properly, always has to be some flavor of lounging or leaning or sitting twisted into a pretzel

[nochuwrites]

redamancy

oneshot

pairing: jungkook/reader

genre: !bestfriends in high school au, fluffy, mayb angst, mayb, 

word count: 9538

a/n: haha so this might look familiar but it is bc i posted this sometime last year but as a chapter series! however i felt really uncomfortable about the chapter sizes so i decided to condense it into a oneshot! also this is still one of my first fics so feedback is greatly appreciated ! also would love to make mutuals with people !

—SYNOPSIS: Faking a relationship with Jungkook was not going to be a breeze as you thought it would be. Especially when some feelings still linger. 

The first time you met Jungkook was in your freshman year. You never noticed the boy in your class but you did know a few things about him from your friends. You knew that Jungkook had a gathered quite a lot of attention around the school due to his ethereal looks and to the school, he was known as the golden boy since he was known for his many skills. Whether it was dancing or sports, Jungkook would completely go above and beyond to prove that he was the best. His competitiveness and talent gathered attention from many of the girls at your school. Despite Jungkook’s popularity, many of your friends claimed that he was generally a shy kid and did not approach many people. 

But this was before you talked to him.

When you met him, it was during a game of Kahoot in your computer science class. You had never noticed him being in your class since most of the time, you had your eyes trained on your laptop coding. That day had been a different day however. That day, there was a substitute teacher and most of the class time was free time. Using this time wisely, you set up a Kahoot game about Minecraft and waited for tablemates to join the game. The thing that made the game entertaining was that none of the people in your group played Minecraft so they all chose the Kahoot topic as a joke. You angled your laptop towards the edge of the desk so that the rest of them could see the screen. 

What you didn’t notice was that Jungkook could see the laptop screen from a table across and decided to crash the Kahoot game. After a couple of minutes, a bundle of immature usernames were displayed across the computer screen. There was an extra player logged on the screen but no one in your group noticed or cared enough to mention it. Not until after a couple of rounds. After the fourth round or so, you noticed that one player had completely dominated the rest and scored correctly on all the questions so far. Specifically, that player’s name was “thelegend27,” which earned a couple of laughs from the others at your table. “Ok, which one of you lied about not knowing anything about Minecraft?” You finally asked. Your friends denied of being the player and said that they did not know who it was. So you continued the game. By the end of the game, you make it your mission to catch whoever it was that joined your Kahoot game. And as expected, the player with the username “thelegend27,” wins the game. Immediately, you look up from your screen seeing if you could catch your culprit. The moment your eyes leave your screen, you are very surprised that they are met with Jungkook’s brown eyes. His eyes were crinkled from laughing but as soon as he noticed your eyes on his, his demeanor immediately switched. He stifled a cough and his eyes traveled back on his screen playing out his usual cold demeanor. 

Target spotted.

During lunchtime, you get your lunch at the cafeteria and look around for tables to sit at. Surprisingly, you find Jungkook sitting by himself at a table. You walk to his table and decide to greet him with the first thing that came to your mind. 

“Hey ‘thelegend27’,” you say as you approach Jungkook and he immediately looks up with his eyes wide. You plop down in the seat in front of him and gently place your lunch in front of him. 

“So you know quite a lot about Minecraft, huh?” You continue and this earns you a small chuckle from Jungkook. 

“Yeah, yeah I do. What? You got a problem with that?” He replies while trying to hold back a laugh. 

“No,” you shake your head, “I’m just surprised..is all. I mean who would’ve guessed Jeon Jungkook, the golden boy, star athlete of the school, is actually a complete Minecraft dweeb.”

Jungkook laughs in response your reply and the sound immediately lifts your mood. “The last time I played Minecraft was in middle school. I just happen to have a good memory of the game,``he clarifies. 

“Alright, sure…” You look at him skeptically and the two of you continue to have an argument about whether Minecraft is for nine year old boys or not. Lunchtime comes to an end and you excuse yourself to go dispose of what's left of your lunch. “Well, I will see you tomorrow.” You stand up from the table as you exit the cafeteria to head to your next period. Leaving the cafeteria, you glance back at Jungkook and he sends you a friendly wave. 

Afterwards, Jungkook is the first to approach you and show you a funny meme on his phone. The two of you talk for a long time and it leads to him inviting you to his home for a game of Overwatch, to prove that he’s a real gamer of course. Your friendship with the boy skyrocketed and you two became so close that it became a rare sight to see you or Jungkook walking around in halls without each other. Shortly after, rumors began to spread about you and Jungkook being a thing. Obviously, you both denied it. You had to admit that in the first few days, you had conjured up a tiny crush on him but soon these feelings became dismissed as you wanted to maintain your friendship with him. As expected, you both remained unchanged by these rumors and cleared up the misunderstanding to anyone who mentioned it. 

But that was before the proposition.

“I need your help with something,” he said one day during lunch, “There’s this girl I like...and I need your help to get her.” You had agreed to the proposition. It was the right thing to do. This was your best friend after all and it would not cause too much trouble...right?

It was on a typical Friday night when you were laying in Jungkook’s bed while he played games on his computer. While his eyes were completely trained on the screen, your eyes were focused on him. From his smooth brown hair (which you would love to put your hands through), to his broad shoulders that you could see through his white t-shirt, to his veiny hands, and his muscular thighs. Since when did Jungkook become so…attractive? 

When Jungkook had asked you to help him get together with his crush, you had imagined you would be helping his create a poster to ask her out or something simple like that. But instead, he had told you to fake a relationship with him to make her jealous. The whole idea seemed absurd at first. 

“Come on, Y/N,” he constantly pleaded, “We’re best friends so it would be believable. It would totally work out.”

After his countless requests and convincing, you gave in and skeptically agreed to the plan.

So here you were laying in his bed thinking about how the past few days had changed you. You noticed how your heart rate immediately spike up the first time he locked hands with you but when you looked up, his eyes were somewhere else. Specifically, on the girl he talked to you about. You tried ignoring the jealousy rising up your throat every time he talked about her as if she was the sun. Or the urge to interrupt Jungkook and the girl whenever they had a conversation. You didn’t know when exactly these feelings began to occur because from the beginning of the fake relationship, you ignored the odd emotions in your chest whenever Jungkook initiated something that was a little more than friendly. As you laid there on the bed in your own deep thoughts, you mind wandered off to the girl and why Jungkook liked her so much. Her name was Rose. It was no surprise you felt insecure next to her. She was well liked at her school and her natural beauty was no joke. You had met her a few times and she was so friendly and nice. No wonder Jungkook liked her. There it is again, that nasty, green, jealousy feeling. You were so deep in your own thoughts that you didn’t notice Jungkook pausing his game to ask you a question.

“Y/N,” he said, “Hello. Earth to Y/N,” he waved his hand to get your attention. “Hmm?” You focused your attention back on him. He had his face close to yours. Curiosity written all over his features. The sunlight from his window outside had been angled perfectly at the side of his face and just when you thought you couldn’t fall deeper for Jungkook, you did. You thought about his lips and how badly you wanted them on yours.

“You look upset. What’s on your mind?” He questioned. I think I might have feelings for you. You wanted to say. But you never would. Why? Because it would ruin your friendship. Everything would become awkward and you cared too much about Jungkook to let him go. 

“Nothing at all,” you finally answered, “I’m just tired. That’s all.” 

“Oh,” He said blankly.

You stand up from the bed and grab your bag. “Umm..I think I’m going to go home to get some rest,” You said. Jungkook makes a pouty face in response. “No, you can’t leave. I’m going to die of boredom without you.” “Don’t worry Jungkook. Just call Taehyung over. I’m sure he has nothing to do either.” 

With that, you leave his house re-thinking about your friendship with him and whether you should tell him how you really feel or just let it be. 

“I think it’s just physical attraction, to be honest,” Taehyung said as he passed the game controller over to you to grab a snack. 

“Really?” You questioned, “But Tae, I told you. I used to have a crush on him. I don’t know maybe it’s coming back or something.” 

Taehyung opened up the bag of chips and you reached over to grab a chip. “Look, I understand that at this age, these changes you may be going through your body are very confusing but—” 

“Tae!” You yelled as you threw a chip at him to indicate that he was getting off topic. 

“Okay, okay. I’m just kidding,” he admitted while resuming to the game on the TV screen, “But to be honest, you should talk to him about it and see how he feels.” 

You sighed in defeat knowing that he was right and that you lacked the courage to confront your problems. You grabbed the bag of chips sitting on Taehyung’s lap and continued eating the chips vigorously. 

But instead of letting you mope in peace, the world decided to be cruel and throw your problems in right in your face. Just as Taehyung’s screen flashed the words, ‘You were eliminated by EdgeLord69,’ there was a knock on your door. You stood up to go open the door while Taehyung remained busy with his game. 

Standing at your doorstep was Jungkook, dressed in a simple T-shirt and ripped jeans but he still managed to look so good. His face glowed with his signature bunny smile that you’ve always loved.

You froze for a moment, not expecting his present but you managed to stutter out a couple words, “H-hi Jungkook. What are you- what are you doing here?” 

“Oh, just stopping by. You haven’t really texted me much lately and I’m just worried, that’s all,” he responded. It’s true that these past few days you have been ignoring him and responding with only short answers. You felt a bit guilty for cutting him off like this but remembered that you needed your space for a bit.

His eyes wandered around for a bit until they landed on Taehyung, seated on your living room floor holding a console in his hands, his smile disappeared for a moment and was replaced with another expression that you couldn’t quite read. It was like a forced smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Oh. So Taehyung’s here already,” he said walking in and taking a seat on the beanbag chair, it became a habit of his to just come over and sit on that chair after countless hours spent at your house whenever your parents were out of town.

 “Hey Jungkook,” Taehyung said when he finally noticed Jungkook’s presence in the room. “Hey man,” Jungkook replied back, “So were you guys just playing Overwatch?” He questioned. “Yeah,” Taehyung replied nonchalantly. “Why didn’t you guys invite me?” Jungkook finally asked the question he’d been wondering since he got here. 

Your eyes widened as you glared at Taehyung, hoping that he won’t say or hint anything that could possibly reveal your secret. “We were just about to invite you over before you came,” he said while keeping his eyes trained on the screen. The room was packed with awkward silence except for the chaotic sounds coming from Taehyung’s game. You decided to end the silence by asking Jungkook if he wanted anything to drink. To which, he responded with a ‘no, thank you’ so you returned to your old spot on the floor next to Taehyung. 

As Taehyung finished the first round of the game, he handed the controller to you, expecting you to pick up from where he left. “I’m gonna use your restroom, Y/N. I think the gatorade and nachos I had for lunch are starting to act up,” Taehyung said, clutching his stomach. “Ew! Gross!” You laughed as you shooed him off towards the hallway. Behind you, you heard Jungkook chuckle at Taehyung’s straightforwardness. 

You fingers moved around the buttons on the controller as you tried to choose which character to play for the upcoming round. “Hey, did I do something wrong?” Jungkook finally spoke up. You turned around in shock as you were confused as to why he thought this was his fault. “It’s just..it feels like you’ve been ignoring me lately and I don’t know if it’s something I did or sai—” “Jungkook,” you stopped his rambling, “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay. I just..I needed some space and I accidentally ended up neglecting you in the process so I’m really sorry about that,” you apologized sincerely. Jungkook’s eyes filled with relief to know that you weren’t mad at him or anything. 

You stayed there for quite some time staring into Jungkook’s eyes while he did the same. ‘This is your chance,’ your mind said. You wanted to take a risk. To lean in a bit and finally kiss those soft lips of him but before you could even move an inch, Taehyung’s voice boomed from the corner of the room as he yelled, “Y/N, the game’s starting!” You snapped your neck back towards the screen to see that your team was already trying to defend the point without you. 

After that, the three of you continue talking about various things like Taylor Swift’s new look to the new hero added to Overwatch. 

“I’m just saying he reminds me of the guy from the Old Spice commercials,” Jungkook says.

“I think he is supposed to remind you of the guy from those commercials. Smart advertising,” Taehyung replies. 

The three of you laugh recalling some of the ridiculous old spice commercials that you have seen when Taehyung suddenly brings up the topic of prom. 

“So who do you plan on going with Jungkook?” Taehyung noticed how Jungkook’s eyes flickered over to you for a bit but then back to Taehyung as he answered, “Uhhh...I don’t know. I’m thinking of asking Rose out. What about you guys?” 

“Wait, how are you going to ask her out if you’re ‘dating’ Y/N?” 

“Oh,” Jungkook looked at you again for a moment, “I’ll just tell her we broke up over the weekend or something.” 

Your eyes wandered to the ground and you started to play with the drawstrings on your shorts. “You guys never answered my question though. Do you guys already have dates for prom?” Jungkook asked, curiously. 

“I’m not even sure if I’m even going. I have no one to go out with,” Taehyung answered. “Oh, come on. Dude, almost every girl in the school wants to go with you. You’re just being like this because Irene rejected you,” you replied. 

“What about you, Y/N?” Taehyung asked, “You thinking of asking anyone?” You sighed knowing that Jungkook was the only person you wanted to go with but there was no way Rose would reject him.

“Uhh..no..there’s no one in particular,” you answered back, “I think I’ll just go with Somi or something since she said she didn’t have a date either.” 

“Hey, you could just go with me since I have no one either,” Taehyung suggested. 

“Yeah, sounds good,” you said in response since there was nothing wrong with two friends going together. 

However, Jungkook didn’t seem to like the idea. Jungkook frowned at the suggestion and argued, “What if people think you guys are dating or something?” 

“Who cares what other people think? There’s nothing wrong with going with a guy friend,” you argued back. Jungkook nods as he realizes that he shouldn’t complain about who you want to go to prom with because that’s not his business. 

“Well, I think I’m gonna go. I should probably go study for tomorrow’s Psych quiz,” Jungkook said and stood up as if he was in a hurry. “Oh..” you said disappointed that he wasn’t going to stay longer, “Bye Jungkook, and good luck on the quiz!” He waves at both you and Taehyung as he opens the door to head out. 

Taehyung waited until Jungkook until was long gone before turning to you, “Ok, I was wrong, Y/N. He is really into you! You’re just too blind to see the way he looks at you.” You roll your eyes at Taehyung’s comment because he could be just getting your hopes up. “Whatever, doesn’t explain why he’s asking Rose to prom instead so..” you said as you focused your attention back on the game and ignored Taehyung’s rambling about Jungkook.

To your surprise, Jungkook never ends up asking Rose out to prom. There’s no word going around about Rose and Jungkook going together to prom and Jungkook keeps his distance ever since that day with Taehyung. He still talks to you regularly but is nowhere to be seen when Taehyung comes in the picture. 

As prom gets closer and closer, your friend Somi ends up getting a date and you are left to go with Taehyung, your date in case you can’t find anyone else you want to go with. 

“Should we be matching?” Taehyung asked through the phone while the two of you are preparing for prom.

“Ew, no. I think that’s what couples do.”

“Oh, well then…I think we’re all prepared. I’m just going to wear a pair of jeans and a shirt then.”

“Tae,” you warned him, “We don’t wanna look like a couple of hobos either. C’mon be serious.”

“Fine. But I just think that we should be a little bit coordinated so I need to know what you’re going to be wearing,” he responded.

“Ugh… I don’t know yet. I wanna choose a black dress but I also don’t wanna look like I’m going to someone’s funeral.” Taehyung chuckled at your comment.

“What about red?” He suggested, “It also happens to be Jungkook’s favorite color.” Knowing the pervert Taehyung was, you could already imagine him doing his usual lenny face through the phone. 

“Oooh..red seems nice,” you said, “But I’m wearing it because I think it would look good. Not because it’s Jungkook’s favorite color. Just wanted to make that clear.” 

“Well then, it’s set. We’re going with red,” Taehyung agreed, “But don’t worry, I won’t overdo it. I’ll just wear a funky tie and a regular suit.”

“Okay, good,” you said, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow at school, okay?”

“Aight, bye,” Taehyung said and the phone beeps twice signaling that the call ended.

You return to your depressed state as you sigh and fall back onto the bed. Why was it so hard to read Jungkook? If he doesn’t like you in the way you want him to then why doesn’t he ask Rose to prom like you expected he would? 

It was prom day and Taehyung arrived at your house in his mom’s small compact car like you expected. You were glad that he didn’t go overboard and listened to your advice about not getting limousine because that would have been too much. 

Taehyung opens the door to walk out in a black suit and a maroon red tie around neck. You noticed he had a plastic container in his hand and as walked towards you. He pulled up the container in his hand to reveal a small ring pop in it. 

“I thought since we were just going as friends, I didn’t need to buy you an actual corset so I put this together last minute,” he explained.

“Wow, what a gentleman,” you joked, “And by the way, it’s called a corsage not a corset, you uncultured swine.” 

The both of you posed a couple times for your parents before getting in the car and saying goodbye to the both of them. 

When you arrived at prom, every nervous thought about Jungkook and what you were going to do when you saw him was thrown out the window when you saw the snack bar. Almost every one of your favorite desserts were displayed out on the table in bite size servings and you quickly rushed to it to get dibs on fanciest looking one. 

While you and Taehyung were busy smuggling the snacks from the table, Jungkook walked over to make his presence known. Your eyes widened when you spot him staring while Taehyung was shoving as much chocolate strawberries into his hand pockets as he could and you were trying to fit as much candy as you could in your bra. 

“Oh..uhh..what’s up Kook?” You awkwardly greeted him as you adjusted your dress. “I’m not even gonna ask,” he said with a traumatized look on his face. 

“So uhh…how’s Rose?” Taehyung asked. 

“Oh, she didn’t want to go to the dance with me,” Jungkook replied awkwardly while scratching his neck, then glancing at you. 

The three of you shifted around awkwardly until Taehyung decided to cut the silence by declaring that he was going to try to talk to Irene. “Good luck!” Both you and Jungkook exclaimed. 

“So…do you want me to get you something to drink?” Jungkook pointed at the barrel filled with berry juice. 

“No, it’s okay. I think I’ve had enough and earlier Yoongi tried to offer me some booze that he managed to sneak in,” you said and Jungkook chuckles. 

The air is once again silent except for the sounds of other students yelling and mainstream songs playing over the speakers around the gym. After a couple of moments, Jungkook suggested to ditch. “You wanna just go get some ramen and hang out?” 

You were surprised at his suggestion since he wanted to ditch prom to get some ramen. But as you look around at the bland scene around you, you decided that getting some ramen with Jungkook sounded much more entertaining. You nodded your head at him and he gave you his signature bunny smile in return.

“Should I get us the chicken cup noodle or the beef?” 

“Chicken,” you replied to Jungkook while contemplating between the Sour Patch Kids or the Haribo gummy bears. 

He grabs both of the chicken cup noodles and asks, “Don’t you think it’s a little too late for candy?” 

“Jungkook, my dear, there is no curfew for candy.” You take both of the packages and march towards the cash register, “And it’s barely 10:32, you nerd.”

Everything about Jungkook had always captivated you. As you are seated in the front of the window of a ramen store, you are left amazed at the way Jungkook basically inhales the ramen in his bowl. 

“Holy shit, were you that hungry?” You questioned him. He looks up at you mid-chew and nods furiously, his mouth stuffed with ramen. Cute, you thought. Jungkook then picked up some of the ramen in his bowl. He stuck it in front of your face, some of the soup from the noodle dripping onto the table. 

“What?” You raised your eyebrow at him.

“Try it. It’s good.”

Is he serious? You think as you start to lean closer to the noodles, opening your mouth. You take the noodles into your mouth. Hmm..he wasn’t lying..it is pretty good. You raise your eyebrows and give him an approving look. “See? I told you it was good,” he replied. 

“So how do you think Taehyung’s doing with Irene?” Jungkook asked. 

You laughed as you imagine the thought of Taehyung flirting with his crush, “Probably embarrassing himself but I’m sure he’ll be fine. Irene’s a nice girl and they share the same type of humour.”

“You know, I always thought you would end up with Taehyung,” Jungkook said while looking down at his ramen. 

You tilt your head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, you and Tae seem really close,” Jungkook said, still not looking up from his bowl.

“We’re close too, Jungkook,” You rebuked.

“Well, do you..do you like Taehyung?”  

“Of course I do! Why else would I be friends with him?” 

“No, you know what I mean,” He explained. 

Your eyes widened and you threw your head back in a fit of laughter. “O-Oh my god. Jungkook, dude. Look, Taehyung’s great and all but no. Not my type, I guess.” 

“So what is your type?”

You. “I don’t know, a guy who’s nice? Can cook?” You faked a laugh.

“Wow Y/N, that’s it? Those are some pretty low standards,” Jungkook jokes.

“Okay that’s not only it,” You retaliated. “I’d like a guy who’s tall.”

“Of course you would. That’s so cliche,” He mumbled with his mouth stuffed with noodles.

“Oh my god Jungkook I’m not done,” You say giggling, “I want him to have the same sense of humor as me which is pretty rare to find. Remember that guy that stopped talking to me after I kept mentioning that boneless pizza thing?”

Jungkook laughed remembering that unfortunate incident.

“Anyways that was a long time ago, expired meme now, but...I want a guy who’s willing to go to a place like this with me and consider it a date. Like if you can’t handle me at 1am convenience store date then you don’t deserve me at a 5 star restaurant in the fancy part of town.”

Jungkook chuckled at your statement and asked, “Then does this count as a date?” 

Your eyes grew wide once again and your cheeks turned into tomatoes, “I-I-I don’t know...I mean if you want it to be.” 

In return, Jungkook gives you the brightest smile and offers you his hand.

“Jungkoooook..where the hell are we even going?” 

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise,” Jungkook reassures you.

“I’m slightly terrified.”

Jungkook rests his hand on your thigh as if it’s the most normal thing ever, “Relax, okay? Just trust me, you’re going to love this. This will be a real date.”

“Okay,” You sink back into your seat, too flustered from the unexpected skinship and flirting to argue any further. You look at Jungkook while he has his eyes trained on the road. Your ramen date had escalated to a late night drive in Jungkook’s car after you told Jungkook that you wanted to do something random, spontaneous. 

You had no idea where he was taking you. But you felt happy, at peace, and that was the effect that Jungkook had over you. He was a light in your life and he had always been for a while. You hoped that by the end of this “date,” as he called it, things would change between the two of you, for the better. That he simply wasn’t just messing with you and that his intentions were genuine. 

“We’re here.” You’re stirred awake when you see Jungkook’s brown orbs staring into yours intensely. “Oh..umm..where are we?” 

“It was my favorite place when I was a child,” he said. 

You became aware that Jungkook’s favorite place as a child was a beach which became intensely beautiful at night as the moon shone onto the glimmering sea and the waves crashed onto the shore continuously. Nothing could be heard except for those sounds of nature and Jungkook turning the engine of the car off. He stepped out of the car door and soon appeared by yours, opening it and asking you to come out. As Jungkook ran towards the sea, he began stripping his clothing, loosening the tie and taking off his shoes. He turned back to you and raised one of his eyebrows, a teasing look on his face. “You gonna join or what?” By now, he was shirtless and you finally had a chance to see the result of all those hours this muscle pig put in at the gym.

“Alright, I’ll join but turn around first.” Quickly, you took off your uncomfortable heels and stripped down to your underwear, leaving your expensive dress by your shoes. “I’ll deal with the sand later,” you thought.

“Are you done?” Jungkook asked, reminding you of his presence and how odd and risky this whole situation was. “No, don’t look until we’re in the water,” you ordered. “Alright then,” Jungkook chuckled, walking towards where the water met the sand and soon emerging into it until only his shoulders could be seen above the water. 

When you finally reached him in the water as well, you hooked onto his shoulders, not knowing where the boldness came from, “You can turn around now.” 

He swiveled around in the ocean water to finally meet you face to face. In the moonlight, Jungkook looked as ethereal as ever. Knowing that this was one of Jungkook’s secluded and sacred spots during his childhood made this moment so much more intimate. 

He trusted you and shared a piece of him with you today. In that moment, it felt like Jungkook was closer to you than ever before. His eyes fervently staring into yours with a tender and soft quality in them. His arms which you now noticed were wrapped around your waist, pulling you tighter into his embrace and shielding you against the coldness. His erratic breathes, showing you that this was not only affecting y—

“Can I kiss you?” Ohmygod did Jeon Jungkook, my best friend who I’ve been in love with for almost all of high school really say that? Your lack of response prompted a look of shame and regret on Jungkook’s face until you came to your senses and nodded eagerly at his request. Instantly, his face lit up and he leaned in. 

The rest of the night became a blur. You felt like you were living on cloud nine as you kissed him back passionately in the water and after a couple of minutes, you took it to the car, where the session continued. With tongue. And you grinding on his lap. Your hands tangled in his ebony locks and his groping you all over. 

When Jungkook drove back you back to your home, you remember him humming to songs on the radio with his hand caressing your thigh. Except this time, you didn’t feel flustered at the contact. You thought that something had changed. That it might have. 

Across from you in the small cozy cafe, Taehyung takes a sip of his carbonated drink, intently listening to your recalling of prom night. “Wait so he left? Without a note or anything?” He questioned.

“Yes, when I woke up he was gone and I-I’m starting to think that the reason, he did all of that, you know, kiss me and everything, was because I was a rebound for Rose after she rejected him.”

Last night, after Jungkook had dropped you off at home, he also came in with you since your parents were away on a business trip. It didn’t lead to anymore as the both of you were too drained from the day to initiate anything. You remember him tucking you into your bed and then you, asking him to stay by patting the other side of the bed. In the dark room you can see him avoiding your gaze, mulling over the idea of staying with you. Finally, he gave in and climbed over to the side of you. After he was settled into the bed, he tried to keep his distance from you. His attempts were futile as a couple moments after, you rolled over to his side to hug his torso like a teddy bear. He gave in again. He wrapped his arms around your waist and the two of you fell asleep like that. In the morning, he was gone. 

“I don’t think Jungkook is using you as a rebound,” Taehyung said, taking another sip of his drink, “Jungkook.. He’s not like that.”

You took a sip of your latte as well, taking the fact that Taehyung had known Jungkook for quite some time as well into consideration. Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. He still left without a word or any kind of note. 

“You need to talk to him,Y/N,” Taehyung continued, “You need to confront him because I’m sure he has his reasons...Also I still can’t believe you guys didn’t do anything more PG-13.”

“Tae!” You yelled at him. “Anyways,” you looked down, “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Can we talk about something else? Anything else? Like I don’t know, how’s umm..your drink?” You asked.

“It’s alright,” he replied. You feel guilty for inviting Taehyung out to coffee since you now remembered that he has never liked coffee. 

“Hey, there’s this party at Jennie’s this weekend! I think you should come. Get your mind off of things. I know you’ve been working on homework for weeks now and I think you should allow yourself to indulge,” he interrupted your wallowing. You eyed him skeptically. To most, it seemed like an innocent offer, just a friend encouraging the other to get out there more. But you knew Taehyung too well. And there was a mischievous glint in his eye. “Come on, Y/N,” he nagged. You budged, deciding that you deserve a break and that whatever shenanigans Taehyung was storming in his busy brain, you would take it head on. 

“Alright I’ll go,” you said, “But I’ll head home right now to work on assignments to make up for that time.” You grabbed your canvas bag and threw on your coat. “You fuckin’ nerd,” Taehyung mocked you. 

As you finally stepped out of the door and left the site, Taehyung reached for his phone from his pocket and pulled up Jungkook’s contact.

 You check your phone constantly. The illuminating light tormenting you as days have passed and you’ve received no word from the boy with the dark brown hair and doe eyes. It’s not like you haven’t thought of messaging him and initiating a discussion yourself. You’ve spent hours opening and closing your chat with him, playing out scenarios in your head and weighing the good and bad in facing him. 

But every time your finger hovered over the small “send” button, you couldn’t do it. You couldn’t risk it. Your heart would break if Jungkook told you to disregard that night. Or that it was a mistake. 

You concentrate your energy on preparing for Jennie’s party. You decided you would look your best. It isn’t easy to be invited to these events and you were lucky your friend Taehyung was such a social butterfly to give you an opportunity like this. You throw on a velvet black dress with straps that hugged onto your body tight and a pair of long earrings that accentuated that 90s look. After your face was dolled up, you checked your phone again for any messages. No messages. 

As soon as you entered the house, you were met with the sight of a drunken teenager preparing to ride down the stairs on his front. “Dude, get down from there. What the hell are you doing?” His friends scolded him. You didn’t stay to see the end result as you made your way to Taehyung who was mingling with others in the living room that had been become a hub for horny teenagers. 

“Hey! Taehyung!” You forced yourself to walk through the space where teenagers were touching each other and shoving tongues down each others’ throats. You looked at them in disgust as if you and Jungkook hadn’t had the same moment a couple of days ago. 

“Y/N! You came!” He shouts through the loud party music. “Jennie, this is Y/N. I invited her.” You smile and shake hands with Jennie. You both know each other from school but have never talked, only having Taehyung as a mutual friend. “Nice to meet you. I really like your dress,” she complimented. “Oh thank you!” “Hold up, I’m gonna go reprimand that lunatic sliding down my staircase but I’ll talk to you guys later,” she said looking towards the drunken teenager that you spotted when you first walked through the door. “Oh yeah I was going to say something about that..” you murmured as she left. “So..” Taehyung said awkwardly once she was gone. There was that mischievous glint in his eye again. “Tae..” you squinted at him. “IalsoinvitedJungkooktotheparty.” You gasped at him. “Becauseya’llneedtotalk,” he rushed the words. But before you could cuss him out for meddling in your affairs, the man bolted. Fucking coward.

After sauntering around the house for a while exploring rooms and catching up with classmates, you decided to go upstairs to freshen up and fix your makeup in the bathroom. Thankfully, the staircase surfing guy has been dealt with and the space is occupied by bored teenagers glued to their phones instead. 

“Hi.. umm excuse me? I’m looking for the bathroom,” you asked one of the people passing by in the hallway. He pointed lazily at the right end of the hallway which narrowed it down to...four rooms. “Umm..alright,” you said, not believing that he deserves a “thank you” for his unhelpfulness. Your feet ached in your heels as you made your trek to the end of the hallway, stepping on party decor and trash thrown on the carpeting while wondering how Jennie was ever going to clean this mess. 

The first room was silent. You gripped the doorknob and twisted it, disappointed to find out that it was locked. If this is the bathroom, then what if someone is using it already?, you thought. You knock on the door and moments later, the door is opened by the most handsome guy you’ve ever seen in your life. He had the most perfect face ratio and the plumples lip—

“Do you need something?”

“Umm..this isn’t the bathroom..ha..ha..” you laugh embarrassingly but before you could ask him where it actually was, the beautiful man rolled his eyes and then you were met with the slam of the door. “Geez.”

The second door was slightly open. The creak in the door allowed you to see that it was not the bathroom and that it was dimly lit inside. You were about to move onto the next room when a certain strawberry blonde head of hair caught your eye. Rose? You knew it wasn’t right but you were curious. Was Rose with somebody else? Was that why Kook was rejected? 

You moved to the left of the door, peeking through that small creak to see the other side of the conversation. However, the sight shot a pain through your heart as you realized that in the tenebrous room, situated on the bed was no one other than Jeon Jungkook. You clasped a hand over your mouth as you held back the urge to gasp. He sat close to her on the king bed, listening intently to whatever she was saying you couldn’t make out. The sight confirmed your speculations. That night didn’t mean the same to Jungkook as it had meant to you. You moved onto the third room, not wanting to look at the pair any further to want to know what they were discussing.

After freshening up in the bathroom, you strode to Jennie’s kitchen where the majority of kids were opening her parents’ cupboard and taking the most expensive alcoholic drink they could find, not that Jennie would care. She could always get away with it. 

Shots after shots, you downed them hoping that it would wash away that ache that grew in your chest from seeing Jungkook and Rose together. You began feeling drowsy but a little bold. In the living room, you can hear an obnoxious and familiar tune. You looked to see a scrawny, young man holding the mic. Every few intervals, he monotonously spoke “Tequila” into the mic. What was this ass doing? That is literally the worst choice for karaoke—is he- is he just fucking with everyone? Driven on by the alcohol in your system and your irritance, you marched your way over, ready to call this motherfucker out for commiting a karaoke crime, not realizing how petty you were being. However, when you were footsteps away from the gentleman, who was still oblivious to your presence and still dully singing Tequila by The Champs, a hand halted you and pulled you back. “Woah, slow down there Y/N. Why do you look like your about to murder that guy?” 

You turned around to tell the voice off in irritance until you recognized him. 

“Hobiiiiii.” 

“Hey, Y/N. You didn’t answer my question,” he grinned at you. 

“I ‘aven’t seeen ya in so long,” you hiccuped. 

“Jesus, Y/N, how much did you drink?” He asked as you latched onto his arm like a koala. He smelled real nice. 

“Ju-jus’ enough.”

“Y/N, what are you doing?” A third voice cut in.

“Wahh,” you turned towards the voice that you recognized so easily, “Googieee I missed you s’mush.” You run over and hugged Jungkook tightly. Drunken you had forgotten your recent interactions with the man, or rather lack of interaction.

Jungkook glared at Hoseok suspiciously as he took in your intoxicated and vulnerable state. 

Hoseok raised his eyebrows and put his hands up.

“You need to get home Y/N. You are so drunk right now,” Jungkook put his attention back on you when you began to play with the hem of his shirt. “Okayyyyyy,” you whined. 

You held onto Jungkook’s shoulders tightly as he carried you to the front of your house on his back. “Where are your keys?” 

“It’s somewhe-where” Hiccup “Unde the doorstepp,” you managed to say.

“That’s so unsafe, Y/N,” Jungkook said worriedly. He gently lets you down from his back as he raises the cliche “Laugh Love Live” doormat to find a key the size of his thumb.

“Well Jungkookie boi, myy middle namee is.. dangerr,” you retaliated smugly. 

“Drunk you is a mess ohmygod,” he said as he unlocked the door. 

You sat on your parents’ grey couch as Jungkook slipped off your heels one by one. “Can you keep still?” He asks after you legs kept dangling. “Sorryyyy Kook.”

“It’s okay,” he said as he lifted you up from the couch into his arms and he carried you into your room, “I’ll find you some clothes and we’ll get you in bed.” 

“Koo, you’re s’good to me.”

“Anything for my favorite girl.” Your heart skipped a beat.

After brushing your teeth, you plopped down on the soft bed while he searched for clothes in your drawer. “You still have my hoodie from the last time I stayed over,” Jungkook whispered, grabbing the black piece of clothing and strolling towards you. He placed it in your hands and turned around as you began unclothing. “Kooooook, you can turn aroun,” you said, unlike that night at the beach, “It’s not the firs’ timee you’ve seen this.”

Still, Jungkook stubbornly stayed facing his back to you. A couple moments. “Kookie ‘m done.” He turned around and you can see how he was blushing from your comments earlier. He takes in the sight of you tipsy and adorned in his favorite hoodie. Cute. 

“Goodnight, Y/N,” says flicking the light switch off and walking out. 

“Nooooooooo, Kook stay wit me pleaaase,” you whined, “Please don’t leave.”

“Y/N—”

“C’mon Googie,” you patted the other side of the bed, “It-It’ll help me sleep.”

Jungkook hesitated. “Alright,” he strode to the other side of the bed, mirroring the events of that night. 

He sighed when you quickly rolled over and threw yourself into his body, embracing him securely in your short arms. “I really really really really like you Kookie... Kook. Kookster... Ratkook…like you a lot.” Jungkook stiffened under your touch. ‘She’s drunk. It doesn’t mean anything,’ he reminded himself. 

“Don’t say stuff like that, Y/N.”

“Whyy not?”

“Shhhh...go to sleep. We’ll see if you still like me in the morning.”

You settle for this compromise and hope that this time, he does stay.

Your eyes stung as they desperately tried to get used to the sunlight spilling in from the windows. You were burning up under the blanket and you felt heated up in the baggy hoodie that you were adorned in. Your head was throbbing and you couldn’t remember why you were wearing it .. until you did. It hit you all at once. Party. Jungkook. Bedroom. Drunk. Home. And suddenly, it felt cold. So cold on the other side of the bed when you realized that Jungkook wasn’t there. Not like he promised. 

Clang! You heard a loud drop from outside the bedroom. Is there someone else in your home? You decided to act quick. You grabbed the closest weapon you could find near your queen bed: a fan, and hoped for the best as you tip-toed towards the door. As you approached the living room and were slowly coming into view with the kitchen, you heard sizzling noises. Is someone cooking? You soon found out that that someone was no one other Jeon Jungkook. Wearing your Hello Kitty apron. Caught like a deer in the headlights making .. pancakes? 

“Oh hey..” he said while grasping the pan in his left hand, eyes wide. 

“Jeon.. are you making pancakes?”

“I wanted to surprise you in bed.” 

“That is .. very sweet,” you replied. And very domestic.

At the thought of that, it became too much. Jungkook’s messy hair in the morning was something that you’d never you’d find so cute on your best friend. Thinking about how domestic this situation was and how likely that it was just a short term thing made your headache worse and you needed to sit down. “I’m going to my room,” you stated abruptly, “And then we can talk over pancakes.”

“Ummm.. okay,” Jungkook obeyed. And you dragged your feet into your room. 

Outside in the kitchen, Jungkook gulped as he recalled your demeanor and words. What did you mean about that talk? He placed the pancake gently on your plate and poured more batter into the pan to make more. Is the talk about our relationship? He thought. He let his thoughts wander and he slowly became paranoid. 

Did she find out about the talk I had with Rose?

Does she know how I feel about her?

Shit. Jungkook was so afraid to have that talk with you. In an attempt to calm his nerves, he focused on making the perfect pancakes for you. He placed strawberry slices in a perfect circle around the pancake and a square of melted butter in the center, for the aesthetics. If he couldn’t win your heart over, he could at least impress you with his culinary skills. 

After quickly shutting the door, you finally exhaled when you were alone in the room. You also realized that maybe you were blowing it out of proportion. Your feelings about Jungkook should not have been bothering you this much. You let it affect your relationship and it was the last thing that you wanted to do. Jungkook’s friendship meant so much more to you than some recent crush you’ve been harboring on him.

You flicked on the bathroom lights and grabbed your toothbrush. You were going to freshen up before you were going out there to have that talk. You didn’t know exactly what you were going to say to him. Maybe you would tell him about your feelings and hope that it doesn’t drive him away. Maybe you dismiss what you said and nonchalantly go outside to devour some breakfast. No, you needed to get out whatever you needed to get out now. You were going to tell him how you feel and try to salvage the friendship as best as you can. 

After brushing your teeth and getting rid of your morning breath as quickly as you could, you walked out of that door and slowly creeped out onto the hallway for the second time that morning. You found Jungkook finishing up on the pancakes. Still adorned in that ridiculous Hello Kitty apron, he was sprinkling powdered sugar on the pancakes and humming to Bad Guy by Billie Eilish. Sheeesh, why does he have to be so cute. 

“Hey.. Jeon,” You called him sheepishly.

He looked up from what he was doing, “Oh Y/N, I finished the pancakes, do you wanna sit down?”

You nodded and he was quickly pulling out the chair at the dinner table to seat you. Not only is he cute but he’s sweet, you were so screwed. 

It’s not like Kook wasn’t sweet before. He’s always been sweet. From the day you met him until now. Even after making through the torture of high school, the man you met in the beginning still remains the same. You remembered that time you had lost the cap to your water bottle and he chugged his entire water bottle on the spot so that you could have his cap. It was a small gesture but it was still selfless and it showed you what type of friend Jungkook as. You remembered when Jungkook would stay a bit later after school events to help clean up the trash that his classmates left. He was always such a polite and sweet boy. You couldn’t believe that it took you this long and a fake relationship to really see and appreciate these qualities he possessed. 

“Y/N? Hello? Earth to Y/N?” Jungkook called and you snapped out of your daze, “You haven’t touched your pancakes yet? Is everything alright?”

“Huh? Oh no, everything’s fine,” You covered your tracks. You stabbed your fork at the edge of the pancake and began eating. The pancakes were fluffy and tasted perfectly sweet with the powdered sugar. It was a nice touch. 

“So.. are they good?” Jungkook asked while raising his eyebrows jokingly, trying to ease up the tension between you two. 

“Really good, Jeon. I didn’t know you could cook like this,” You said and resumed gobbling up your breakfast. 

There was a pregnant silence before you finally spoke.

“Can we talk about last night?”

“Uhh sure.. What do you remember from last night?” 

“Not that much. I was really drunk. I just remember getting drunk and calling out some idiot with a terrible choice for karaoke,” you lied. 

“Oh so you don’t remember me bringing you home?” 

“Nope, could you remind me again?” You lied again hoping you could take the cowardly route. If Jungkook doesn’t mention what you said to him last night then that meant it didn’t hold any significance to him. It would be a clean slate for you. 

“Oh.. umm.. You ran into Hoseok at the party while you were really drunk and then I came to get you. And uhh.. I took you back to your apartment. You were, shitfaced, by the way. Like super drunk. You were drooling on my shoulder, slurring your words. You couldn’t even find your own roo—”

“Okay, I get it, Jeon,” you stopped him. 

“Yeah.. so anyways, I just took you to your bed and tucked you in.” 

“That’s it?

“You also asked me to stay and sleep there beside you,” he continued.

You nodded while eyeing him, a tiny part of you wanting him to say the next part. 

“Youalsotoldmethatyoulikedme,” he rushed out the words. 

“Huh?” You acted oblivious. 

“Uhh.. You uhh t-told me that you like me .. a lot,” he blushed red as a tomato as he talked, “But I mean.. You were drunk right? So it couldn’t mean anything, right? I mean you probably didn’t even recognize m—”

“I meant it,” you managed to utter out those three words despite your nervous heartbeat telling you otherwise. After processing your words, you didn’t believe Jungkook could turn redder. 

“Wh-what?”

You took a deep breath in. 

“Look, drunken words are just sober thoughts right? I .. didn’t mean to catch feelings. I know this isn’t what you wanted when I agreed to fake that relationship with you and I know you and Rose are probably a thing now. I guess it’s good that our plan worked like you wanted. Or not really.. Not for me really,” you rambled, “I saw you guys at the party so I’m really happy for you and Rose but I think I’m going to have to take a brea—” 

“Hold on, hold on, what? You said that me and Rose were a thing?” 

You nodded your head slowly at him as if this was obvious. 

“Where did you get that crazy idea?” He asked incredulously. 

“I.. uhh saw you at the party,” you answered hesitantly. 

Jungkook’s brows furrowed as he desperately tried to remember what moment you were referring to. 

“Did you mean when I was talking to her privately?” He emphasized privately and it hurt more than it should have. “Yes, I didn’t mean to see. I was just looking for the bathroom and I stumbled into that same room that you guys were talking.”

You and Jungkook sat in silence as Jungkook was trying to find the right words. 

“Rose confessed to me,” he said bluntly.

“Wow.. That’s good for you Kook. But seriously, I get it. I don’t really need to know what comes after that. I told you how I felt—”

“But I didn’t get to tell you how I feel.”

You narrowed your eyes in confusion, “What do you mean by that?”

“I rejected Rose,” he took a deep breath, “Y/N.. I like you a lot.”

This time you were even more shocked.

“You better not be playing around with me.. That would not be a cool best friend prank and I don’t care if this is revenge for those times I airdropped embarrassing videos of you to Taehyung.”

“No, Y/N I’m serious. I’m not fucking around I swear. I’ve liked you forever.”

“Well, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m a coward. C’mon you know me, Y/N.”

“And what was all that fake dating because you ‘liked’ Rose?”

“I felt.. it was time I initiated something. I just..was too afraid to tell you about my actual feelings so I thought maybe I could..uhh.. ease into it and maybe convince you to fall for me in the meantime?”

You snorted, “Well it worked, you clown.”

“Yeah no shit Sherlock, you got it bad for me.”

“Do not get cocky on me. I will walk out that door,” you threatened.

“Yes ma'am,” he tried to hold back his laughter, “So uhh .. what do we do now?”

“Guess we’re dating now..” you smiled as you tried to resume to your breakfast nonchalantly before, “Do you wanna make out after we finish our breakfast? Because I’ve got all these repressed feelings dying to get out.”

You’ve never seen Jeon gobble down his food faster. 

All rights reserved © nxchubabe | 12/19 — Reposting and/or modifying of any form on any medium is not allowed. Translations are not allowed.

[onewfantaesy]

Foster Kid AU

Taemin’s whole brain short circuits. He can’t believe it, because sitting across the table from him is Kang Hodong and his wife. And every time he’s interacted with the man, he’s been goofy and funny and just a comedian. But now he’s serious, and even though he’s smiling it’s not the same, and Taemin just doesn’t understand what’s going on.

They talk for hours though. About all sorts of things. About how they want to be parents, how they’ve been trying to adopt for over a year now, how they heard Taemin’s story about wanting to be adopted and tried so hard to get in touch with Taemin’s case worker.

And Taemin talks too. About how he gets good grades in school. How he’s never gotten in trouble. How he’s a good kid who does exactly as he’s told. How he stays at the SHINee dorm all the time so he won’t even get in their way.

Taemin regrets talking though, because it seems to upset them, to throw them off, and he’s terrified of scaring them away.

“Please, I’m really really good, I promise!” he says quickly. “You can even look at my file, I’ve never been in trouble ever! See look!”

And he leans over the table and pushes the file his case worker brought towards them, even opens it for them, his picture on display right at the front. He thinks it’s a decent picture. It’s no SHINee photoshoot, but his hair is combed neatly.

“Can you tell us,” Hodong asks softly, “why you want to be adopted?”

He feels like his brain is buffering. He doesn’t really understand, doesn’t know how to answer, doesn’t know what the right answer is.

“I just,” he stammers, his heart pounding, “I just want someone to want me.”

Turns out that was right enough of an answer, because a date is scheduled for Taemin to have a sleepover at their house. A whole weekend. Just two days from then. Taemin is nervous and a little shaky as his case worker guides him out to take him back to the dorm, after saying goodbye, after getting hugs from both of them. As soon as he gets back to the dorm, he’s packing a bag and spilling word after word to the other members about everything that happened. They all seem just as confused and excited as Taemin.

Except that Friday, SHINee are guests for a Star King recording. Taemin’s never felt so nervous in his entire life, because he can’t fuck this up, there’s no room for error, he needs to do everything right and be the perfect guest or else Hodong won’t want him anymore, won’t even let him sleepover that, it will ruin everything.

But Hodong is as silly and goofy as ever, even carries Taemin around stage like he always does when SHINee comes to Star King, treats Taemin just exactly the same as always even though Taemin stutters more than he usually does and blinks more than he usually does.

Then after recording runs late and all the members are exhausted after a long day of school and practice and schedules, Taemin is slumped over on the dressing room couch, waiting for the other members to finish changing so they can go home. He’s tired and blinking slowly falling over Jinki’s lap when Hodong comes inside, speaks quietly to the senior manager, and then comes over to the couch to kneel in front of Taemin.

“Are you ready to come to our house?” he asks, smiling again in the same soft way he had in his case worker’s office.

Taemin didn’t realize he’d be leaving the shooting with Hodong, didn’t realize his manager had even brought the bag he’d packed two days. Taemin just nods, trying to stay quiet and calm and put together. And Hodong just slings Taemin’s bag over his shoulder and guides Taemin out of the room, out of the building, into the parking garage with a comforting arm held around Taemin’s shoulders.

“You must be tired,” Hodong says as he drives. “Your manager said you’ve had a long day.”

“Yeah,” Taemin says. “Kind of.”

“How was school today?”

“It was okay,” Taemin says, clasping and unclasping his hands in his lap. “Had a chemistry test.”

“How do you think you did?”

“I think I did okay,” Taemin says. “It was a little harder than the last test.”

It’s a little awkward and forced, but Taemin appreciates the school questions. They’re easy to answer. He talks about what he learned in math that day, what book he’s reading for his literature class, what war they’re learning about in history.

Then when they get home, dinner is prepared and waiting on the table, the three of them sit down together, and Taemin repeats the same answers for the same questions when Hodong’s wife asks them, even though Hodong has tried telling her that he’d already asked him all these questions.

“Do you like this type of dinner?” she asks instead.

“Yes, it’s delicious!” he answers immediately.

Taemin spends the entire weekend trying his absolute best to please them. To be nice and polite and follow every single tiny detail of the house rules they outlined. He helps wash dishes and takes out the trash and makes the bed they’re letting him sleep in every morning. He keeps everything in order in the room he’s staying in, no clothes on the floor, no mess in the bathroom, no clutter, nothing. On all accounts, he’s done everything right, done everything perfectly.

Taemin thinks it’s a good weekend. Even though he had to go to SHINee practice on Saturday morning and Hodong drove him and picked him up even though Taemin insisted he could get there on his own.

“It’s no trouble to take you to practice,” he insists.

He meets with his case worker that Tuesday after school.

“It was good, right?” he asks quickly, as soon as he enters her office, before he even sits down. “They liked me, right?”

“Did you like them?” she asks instead. She seems concerned, and Taemin has seen her get concerned like that before, and now he’s convinced he fucked it up, he fucked it all up.

He doesn’t sit down, his hand lingering on the back of the chair instead.

“They don’t want me anymore,” he says, his voice shaking. It’s not a question. He’s been through this enough times. But now he doesn’t know how he’ll ever go on Star King again if Hodong hates him.

“They adored you,” she says, and it throws Taemin off enough to make him fall in the chair. “But they were worried you didn’t like them.”

“But I did like them,” he says quietly.

“I explained that you’re just shy,” she tells him. “That it sometimes takes you a little while to open up more.”

“Do they still want me?”

“Very much so.”

It’s several more weekend sleepovers, then a couple week-long sleepovers, and then Taemin is officially moving into their house, into his new bedroom, with his new foster parents. But he doesn’t want another foster home, he doesn’t want more foster parents, he wants to be adopted.

“It’s just the next step to being adopted,” his case worker tells him for the millionth time. “It’s just a couple more months now.”

He’s on edge all the time now, even when he’s staying at the dorm instead. Because everything has to go right. Everything has to be perfect. He has to be perfect. Or else everything will be ruined and he’ll go right back to being alone and he can’t go through that again.

But Hodong and his wife always just tell him how amazing he is. How he’s just a delight of a boy. How happy he’s made their house, how it feels so much warmer, so much more like a home now that a child is living in it with them.

It’s too good to be true. He knows it’s too good to be true. It’s all got to be a prank, there’s a secret camera somewhere, they’re going to punk him. That’s the only explanation. It’s going to be the night before the set adoption at the courthouse and they’re going to tell him how it was all for tv, how stupid he is for thinking anyone could ever want to adopt him.

So just a couple weeks before it’s all supposed to be official, Taemin snaps. He acts out and he yells at them and breaks their rules and does presses every possible button. He stops making his bed. Stops keeping his room clean. Stops doing his homework. Starts staying late at the company building and not letting them know like they asked, starts staying at the dorm even on nights they specifically ask him not to, starts talking back anytime they try to discipline him.

And when Hodong finally snaps back and forces Taemin to sit on the couch and asks in what might be a louder voice than necessary what Taemin’s attitude is all about, his hands gripping Taemin’s arms, keeping him held down in front of him, Taemin just breaks down.

He’s crying, trying so hard to hold it back, but that only makes him shake more, heaving and gulping in air, his eyes squeezed shut but tears still pushing past and falling down his cheeks, pooling in the corners of his nose and lips until they’re spilling down his neck and wetting the collar of his shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Hodong asks, almost sounding like he’s begging, his voice soft and desperate and his hands moving from the way they were gripping Taemin’s arms to instead rub them up and down, trying to comfort him in anyway he can. “Please just tell us what’s going on with you. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s wrong.”

It takes a few minutes before Taemin stammers our a desperate, “Please.”

“Please what?” Hodong asks, moving instead to cup Taemin’s cheeks, to use a blanket from the couch to wipe the tears still falling from Taemin’s eyes.

Taemin sucks in a few breaths before whispering, “Please don’t let it be a prank.”

“What’s a prank?” he asks. “I don’t know what would be a prank, Taemin, honest.”

“Everything,” Taemin cries, fresh tears welling in his eyes. That’s when Hodong pulls him close, hugs him tight, and Taemin hides his face in his shoulder as he begs, “Please, please I just - please want me, please.”

His wife comes and sits down with them too, rubbing circles into Taemin’s back, agreeing with Hodong as they both insist, “We want you so much, we want to adopt you so much, we want you to be our son so much. Nothing’s going to change that. You not always being perfect isn’t going to change that.”

It takes a lot of reassurance. A lot of fierce insistence that they’ll love him no matter what. A lot of hugs and a lot of tears and a lot of comfort. But then just a couple weeks later, they’re at the courthouse and the judge has approved the adoption and everything is official, Taemin’s family name is officially changed, because he officially has a family.

He officially had parents. And he doesn’t really know how to react to it. He just knows he’s happy and ecstatic and overwhelmed.

And the only time airing it on tv is brought it up is when Hodong tells him it’s because he wants the whole world to know that Taemin is his son now, that he wants everyone to know that he’s the lucky one because he’s the one who gets the privilege of being Taemin’s father. That so many people have missed out on having such a wonderful son.

And the next time Taemin is on Star King, Hodong is the same as he always is when SHINee are guests. He carries Taemin around and teases him silly and makes a big show of how much he adores all the SHINee members. Except this time, Taemin is calling him Dad and Hodong’s face lights up more than ever and it’s so clear they both adore each other, it’s clear Taemin is thriving under the attention, and that Hodong is thriving giving the attention.

It’s not always easy, and it’s not always cute, but they’re a family now. And they love it, even when it’s difficult.

[saiilorstars]

Falling Temptation

Previous chapters • Sequel to Stars Dance •  Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

Ch. 21: Orphan 

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x Female OC

Chapter summary: The travelers have landed in a planet the Doctor can't quite remember (but thankfully the Sapling can) and possibly find another Time Lord...a Time Child?

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel​ [If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message!]

"Where's a prefrontal cortex when you need one!?" The Doctor grumbled as he tirelessly rubbed his temples. This was not working. If anything, he felt his mind more jumbled than when he first started.

"Nice tiara," he suddenly heard Avalon remark. The Doctor cracked his eyes open to see her and the Sapling standing in front of him. "How come you get a tiara and I can't?"

The Doctor's face fell flat at the question. "First, this-" he pointed to the Chameleon Arch helmet over his head, "-is not a tiara. And second of all, the last time you saw a crown was Queen Mary's and you tried stealing it!"

Avalon folded her arms, about to make a better argument when the Sapling giggled beside her. "You were trying to borrow it," he said.

"I was?" She blinked suddenly, as if realizing something. "Wait, how come I can't remember that?"

"Because the Sapling remembers it," the Doctor sighed. "Remember, whatever he remembers of our memories we-" he gestured at himself and her, "-can't. He has our memories."

"Right…" Avalon brought a hand to her forehead. Her mind was already conflicted with her memory wipe from Kovarian and other torture mechanisms that it was a lost cause trying to remember what the Sapling could and couldn't remember. In lamens terms, her brain was tired.

"Don't worry Ava," the Doctor got a sense of where her thoughts were running to. Lately, he'd been getting the feeling like his and her memories were just a tad fuzzier than the normal amount caused by the Sapling. It was, admittedly, a long time since the Sapling was created and it meant that he had kept the Doctor's and Avalon's memories for a much longer period than either expected.

The Doctor was getting the feeling that his brain was beginning to try and compensate for the missing memories. He presumed it was the same for Avalon but because of Kovarian's interference, the feelings had to be heightened.

"So what is that thing anyways?" Avalon motioned to the metal helmet again.

"It's the Chameleon Arch," the Doctor let the device rise back into its spot above the console. "It's exactly what it sounds like. Helps a Time Lord disguise them self into anything. Last time I used it, I made myself human!"

"You could do that?" Avalon gaped, her eyes widening at the thought.

"Yup!"

"Were you trying to switch again, then?" The Sapling cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Not exactly. I've been noticing there's some gaps in my head. I've, uh, been forgetting things…"

Avalon stiffened. "The Silence?" It was fairly quick how the color in her face drained. Had they found a way to continue messing with them after all? They'd been so careful not to let their guard down but the fact the Silence made you forget would always be the weakening point.

"No, no, Ava, don't worry," the Doctor brought her into a hug. He definitely knew where her thoughts went to now. "No one's touching you, I swear."

Despite her efforts to appear brave, Avalon let herself be wrapped in his arms. She felt so small whenever she thought about the Silence and what they did, what Kovarian did. She still had a long way before she truly recovered.

The Sapling moved on over to hug them as well. He took every chance he got to hug them, much to his parents' amusement. "You're safe, Mother," he assured her just like the Doctor.

"Can I be honest, though?" Avalon's question came in the form of a whisper.

"Of course," the Doctor nodded and pulled away from her.

"You say...that you've forgotten things?" She watched him nod again. "I-I kind of feel the same and it's not just because of the things Kovarian wiped. I feel...like there's something before Demons Run that I've forgotten. And then...I don't know, I feel like there's something kind of...watching us."

"Yes!" The Doctor snapped his fingers at her, regretting it the moment she flinched. "Sorry. I meant to say that I feel the same way."

"Do you think it's still the Silence? Some lingering effects?"

"It's been a long time," the Doctor mumbled in thought. "But I get the feeling that whatever is watching us will be revealing itself to us very soon."

"Just as long as it's not Kovarian," Avalon felt her skin crawl at the image of seeing the woman again. "When I see her again I want to do it with all my brains so I can shoot her dead."

The Doctor watched her silently, sadly, knowing that she had to be that afraid to truly want to kill someone. He wanted to kill Kovarian and all her Silence for hurting Avalon. He wasn't scared, he was angry, but Avalon was afraid. She was so afraid.

Before he could try to comfort Avalon, Amy and Rory joined them from the corridors. They were eager to see where they would be heading out for today. Each day, they'd been exposing Avalon to new environments to see how her immunity system would take it. They were so grateful to see their granddaughter reacting fine to each trip. It was almost as if she was completely normal.

"Now that's interesting…" the Doctor said just as Rory wondered out loud where they would be taking Avalon. He drifted towards the monitor, prompting Avalon to do the same and eventually the Sapling. They were like a little domino effect and they didn't even realize it.

"What are we looking at?" Avalon cocked her head to the side when she saw the odd readings on the monitor. She was sure that they weren't even in their language!

"Time Vortex energy!" the Doctor gawked.

"Oh my God!" They heard Amy yelp and when they followed her gaze, they all did the same.

The Sapling's neck had elongated to do a semi-curl and move his face closer to the monitor.

"Sapling, stop doing that!" Avalon screeched with the same horror she usually did when the Sapling pulled that stunt. Lately, it'd been happening more and more. He would stretch parts of his body for whatever reason that presented itself.

The Doctor theorized it meant the Sapling was beginning to mature, an act that prompted Avalon to joke and tell him he had to give the Sapling 'the talk'. While the Doctor stammered for a good ten minutes, he also made Avalon realize that the closer the Sapling got to maturing the more danger they could all be in if he decided to follow into his ancestors' primal instinct.

Destroy worlds.

"Time Vortex energy?" Rory moved over with Amy to the monitor. "Isn't that where we are right now?"

"It's coming from a planet in the Ligotti Tract," the Doctor read off from the monitor.

"Zoline, perhaps?" The Sapling asked.

There was a funny look on the Doctor's face when he tried to think of the place. "Zoline...excellent. Um…can't quite remember it."

"But I can!" The Sapling cheered. "Because I have the memories!"

That was great.

"Don't worry! I love that place!" The Doctor zipped to the other side of the console, working fervently to get them to the planet. "Least I think it was!"

"That doesn't sound very promising," Amy made a face but the Doctor was already bringing them to Zoline.

"I'm sure it is! Come along Ponds!" the Doctor exclaimed, internally laughing with his joke. He could truly say it now and mean all of his companions, if only Avalon would know.

"And me!" Avalon rushed to his side, taking his hand. She chuckled at the blush that sprouted on the Doctor's face. Their relationship was still a secret from Amy and Rory and since the Doctor was so worried about what they would say, Avalon thought that 'easing them' into the idea of a relationship would help out when the time came to say the truth. Although she secretly thought that maybe Amy and Rory already had some idea because sometimes they acted just a bit nonchalant about their hand holding and closeness.

"Let's go!" The Sapling zoomed by all of them, heading straight for the doors.

The rest followed and stepped out of the TARDIS to find a gray city full of smoke.

"This, uh, this doesn't look very pre…" Amy started to feel a funny tickle in her throat. Beside her, Rory was bringing a hand to his throat because of the same tickle.

"This can't be ri…" the Doctor cleared his throat several times. Even the Sapling was having trouble breathing.

Avalon reacted worse than all of them. She went into a full coughing fit. The Doctor could see her from the corner of his eye. He reached over for her, intending on practically shoving her into the TARDIS. The air was terrible.

"Doctor! Nothing to worry about, just a slight air quality!" A male dressed in green robes (and wearing a funny tall green hat that seemed to have pipes sticking out from it) ran towards the group. He also wore a transparent green face mask.

Two more robed men came behind him and strapped the same masks to each of the travelers.

"Price of progress I'm afraid!" The same male continued as the travelers got their normal air back.

The Doctor immediately checked Avalon with the sonic to make sure the bad air quality hadn't left effects that would hinder the progress she was making. Her lungs were clear of permanent danger and, thankfully, she was breathing normally again.

"I'm fine," she mumbled to him. The Doctor wished he could kiss her but now there were masks between them apart from, well, other people.

"What kind of place is this!?" Rory was outraged after he could properly breathe again. This was not the place to bring Avalon around!

"I'm Pfortner," one of the men dressed in gray introduced himself. "His excellency imperator Bax's chief Sycophant. Sorry about the informality of the welcome but we only had minutes to prepare once the TARDIS' energy signature was detected."

"It's so good to see you old friend," the man in green looked specifically at the Doctor, but the Time Lord was having trouble placing him. "Well...surely you remember me Doctor. I'm Bax! Imperator of Zoline and her Moons! We seduced Quantum Kelp together off the coast of Revok!"

"Seduced who now?" Avalon shot a sharp look at the Doctor, one that genuinely sparked a bit of fear in him.

"You survived a cage match with my first born son's placenta!"

"He did what!?" Both Amy and Rory chorused together, shooting the Doctor the same wide-eyed look.

The Doctor didn't like being the center of attention for once. He had no idea what the green robed man was talking about and it seemed to be getting him into trouble with Avalon. He needed to put a stop to it before she smacked him. "That all sounds very me but the thing is, that handsome little chap over there-" he pointed to the Sapling who was busy staring up at the smoky skies, "-is currently in possession of a couple of my memories. I don't remember being here."

Knowing he was being talked about, the Sapling moved over to properly greet the green robed man. He knelt down on one knee, amusing the travelers for a moment, as he properly introduced himself. "Greetings Imperator Bax. May your fronds shoulder the sky."

"May your fronds shoulder the sky - have we met?" Bax looked at the Sapling with bemusement, still not understanding what was going on.

"No your excellency. But I remember meeting you all the same. My father is sadly diminished-"

The Doctor's face scrunched into offence, much more when Avalon, Amy and Rory snickered around him. "Rude!"

"-but I can recall his time here perfectly," the Sapling finished and raised his head to reveal a grin.

"Father?" Bax's eyes widened in surprise. "I was not aware you had a child, Doctor."

"And my Mother," the Sapling gestured to the curly-haired ginger beside the Doctor.

"It's not what you think," Avalon quickly shook her head before any presumptions were spoken.

But before any comments could be made about the situation, there was a rumble in the sky. Everyone looked up to see something green coming down on them.

"Quickrain!" one of the gray robed men exclaimed. "Run, your excellency!"

"What? What the heck is 'quickrain'?" Amy made a face when the man took Bax away in a hasty run.

"OW!" Rory suddenly flinched when the green rain dropped on him. It was rain….but with acid. "That hurt!"

"Ow!" Avalon was next on the list and the final one before the Doctor pulled them into a run.

This was definitely the wrong place for his Ava! They followed Bax and his men into a building but they'd still suffered sustainable acid over their skin.

"Earth's acid rain doesn't get anywhere near this corrosive until the mid-21st century," the Doctor remarked as he turned his palms over to see the reddened blotches on his skin.

"Rory, I'm fine! Stop it!" Avalon was fighting off both him and Amy trying to see if her skin was reacting worse than theirs. "Seriously!"

"Mother…?" the Sapling squeezed himself through his grandparents to see Avalon's reddened skin, but he also allowed Avalon to see his.

"Oh my God," she shooed Amy and Rory away and cupped the Sapling's head. "Look at you! Your skin is all red!"

"I will heal, mother," the Sapling assured her but Avalon still called for the Doctor.

"Is he really going to be okay?" She asked while the Doctor let the sonic scan him. Like everyone else, the Sapling's skin was only irritated.

"Just fine," he assured her. He was relieved to know it too.

"But it shouldn't be like this!" The Sapling exclaimed. He pointed an aggressive finger towards Bax. "We must know what has transpired here! The Zoline are not an industrialized people! They're tree dwellers!"

Didn't look like there were much trees out there," Rory mumbled to Amy who nodded in agreement. The city barely looked like it had a sun. Actually, they weren't sure if they saw one now that they thought about it. It was all so gray and smoky!

"Primitives!" Bax huffed. "We left all that behind years ago, creature!"

"Hey!" Avalon snapped at him. "You watch how you address my son!"

"Behold my Imperial Palace! A miracle of engineering and leak management!" Bax gestured to the building they were in. He raised his hands up, making the group realized it was several, several floors high.

But it was all gray.

And slimy green.

It all looked icky like they were in a rundown factory.

"Every expense was spared in its construction!" Bax exclaimed with a proud smile and yet the Sapling looked sO so sad, and terrified.

The Doctor noted it and turned the Sapling to him. "What is it, Sapling?" he crouched in front of the child.

The Sapling's eyes glistened. "I remember Imperator Bax. He was a wise ruler. This was not how the place looked like before." He could vividly remember the Zoline his father visited before. It was all so bright and green and...natural. It was nature. Such an abundance of nature that peace was just one of the common effects one would feel when visiting it. "It was like a beautiful fairy tale forest that Mother would like. The Zoline you met were barely past the hunter-gatherer stage. That was less than 30 years ago."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Fourth dimensional skulduggery may be afoot there."

"Would it really kill you to speak in English?" Avalon frowned at him. "I mean-"

The building shook like an earthquake was striking. The same green liquid that the acid rain was made of came so rushing down like a waterfall.

"Relax everyone!" Bax raised his hands to calm them down. "Everything's fine! It's just the Golden Triangle conducting one of their experiments!"

"Watch out!" Rory lunged to get Bax out of the way before the green waterfall fell over him.

"Avalon!" The Doctor did the same with the ginger who'd been second on the list of accidental contamination. He shrouded her with his body but somewhere along the way Avalon started feeling like he was the one in need of protecting. His body was shaking and he groaned in pain.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Avalon wiggled out of his arms, not that he noticed because as soon as she was free he clutched his head and chest.

"Father!" the Sapling rushed to help him as well.

"I'm not...feeling too clever, truth be told!" The Doctor raised his head to reveal a strong golden glow in his eyes that seemed to pour out of him. At first instinct, Avalon pulled the Sapling away.

"What is going on!?" Amy turned on Bax for a full explanation of what was causing this.

The Doctor lost his balance and fell to his knees. The golden energy around him got stronger, blinding the others for a moment.

"Fairy Tale Man!" Avalon cried and rushed towards him only for Rory to pull her back.

"T-th-the Time V-Vortex energies!" The Doctor managed to say in-between his groans. "My b-b-body's saturated with it, so…" He sucked in multiple sharp breaths, "Temporal t-tremors tend to-to- shake it all up like a can of pop!" He raised his head to meet Bax's terrified face. "Where are you keeping it!?" Everyone turned on the Imperator. "Where are you keeping the Time Lord technology!?"

"I have no idea what you're…" Bax was in the middle of denying it when the Doctor collapsed completely.

"LET GO!" Avalon shouted and shoved Rory to the side to hurry up to the Doctor. She dropped to her knees beside his body and listened for a heartbeat. Thankfully, she heard the two but he was completely out cold. "We need to get him somewhere so he can rest!"

"I'll get my personal physician for him," Bax offered and while the group was thankful for it, it didn't save him from the stand off with Avalon.

She had gotten up and stormed right up to him. "You better hope that he wakes up fine because if not I'll make sure you wish you were still a primitive as you said."

"Ava," Rory pulled her away but he honestly knew that there was no making her back down. He only wanted her to calm down and not hurt herself.

~ 0 ~

The next time the Doctor woke up, he found himself in a lovely room and a soft bed under him. He sat up with a groan, only getting a minute before someone gently stroked the tips of his hair. He knew that hand anywhere! A big grin came to his face even though his head was hurting like mad.

"Fairy Tale Man, are you alright?" Avalon was sitting beside him on the bed, her eyes full of concern for him.

"Who stuffed my skull with socks from the lost and found?"

"That's a weird thing to say, father," the Sapling giggled from the foot of his bed.

"Where am I?" The Doctor said after gaining a bit more lucidity.

"In some fancy guest room of the Imperial palace," Avalon explained with a mutter. Bax could give them all the fanciest things he had but it wouldn't make her like him.

"The Imperator put you in here because there's air filtration on the whole floor," the Sapling added.

"Amy...Rory…?" The Doctor soon noticed the couple was missing and panicked until Avalon shushed him.

"They just went to see if they could get Bax to talk about whatever is causing this to you. I really didn't like what I saw, what was that?"

"I need to find it first," the Doctor said as he moved to get out of the bed.

"You can't!" Avalon hurried to keep him down.

"Ava, I have to! Something Time Lord is out there! It's my responsibility to find it!"

Avalon bit her lower lip and watched him continue his efforts to get up despite his body being too weak to do it on his own right now. She was scared that this would turn into another House moment. It could all be a trick that would end up hurting the Doctor. But she knew that no matter what the Doctor would be doing it anyways. She would have to ready herself for whatever was going on.

With a sigh, she got up and helped the Doctor stand up with the Sapling doing the same. Together, they brought the Doctor out of the room where they met Amy and Rory, along with another man, Pfortner, from earlier.

"Did you get anything?" Avalon asked the pair.

"Just this guy," Rory pointed at the man then winced. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Pfortner said. He didn't look too pleased either. It was why Amy and Rory were able to convince him to come talk to the Doctor. Bax wasn't letting anything slip. "Look, I'd be lying if I told you that most of us didn't find the recent tremors a tad discombobulating. Still the Golden Triangle insist that they're perfectly normal. No 'Time Lord' energy is involved."

"That's the…" the Doctor groaned again, "...second time you've mentioned this 'Golden Triangle', Pfortner. What are they? Or...who are they?"

Pfortner smiled kindly, and genuinely. "Oh, they're simply divine. Their genius rivals even yours, Doctor. Three inventors whose break-throughs - so revolutionary, so numerous...led us out of the timeless forest into an age of industry. Nobody knows where they came from or who they were before, but to us they became known as 'the Golden Triangle'. His excellency would never admit it but they are the real power on this world."

"Hmm, I don't suppose anybody ever conducted a medical examination of these chappies, did they?" The Doctor muttered. He didn't want to get that hopeful but all the signs were there. Maybe this time wasn't a trick. Just maybe...

"Not that I know of, why?"

"Well, to ascertain how many hearts they have for starts. Ponds, we're we're leaving!"

"Doctor, we agree but you still need to - GET BACK HERE!" Avalon screamed when the Doctor raced away from them.

"Where is he going!?" Pfortner asked but none of the group seemed to know. Still, they chased after him.

The Doctor snagged a facemask off the first person he met in his run, and with an apology, he went on outside. He had to go out there and find...find whatever Time Lords were out there. It was fairly easy for the rest of the travelers to catch up to him. He wasn't that fast yet but it didn't save him from the smack Avalon gave him.

"You shouldn't be out here!" She angrily said, grabbing his arm but still letting him lead to wherever it was he needed to go.

"You shouldn't be!" He argued. Despite her wearing the mask again, he wasn't comfortable with her exposure to such a horrendous city.

"We're all doing this," Avalon looked back at Amy and Rory. They agreed and helped the Doctor on his other side. The Sapling came beside his mother.

They walked together until they saw a building with a strange golden design on its front. It was a circle with dozens of lines inside it. It was also the building that lost a good chunk of its top after getting struck by a big pink blob.

"Don't you see?" The Doctor swallowed hard, willing the others to keep going straight for it. "There's only one rational explanation for what we're seeing. The Gallifreyan symbol clinches it! If this 'golden triangle' have Time Lord technology, then that means one of them might be…"

They walked into the building only to be targeted by multiple red dots.

"Oh c'mon," Amy sighed. They had just walked in and there were five people already waiting to shoot them!?

"This is as far as you go, Doctor," one of the guards said. "Pfortner warned us you were en route. The Golden Triangle were very explicit: they're not to be disturbed during their experiments."

"Look, I'm feeling a bit peaky so I'll keep it short," the Doctor shuffled a bit to find his sonic. "It may have escaped your notice, but the top of your building just fell off!"

Their response was to point more red dots on him and the others.

"Keep talking, it's going great," Rory shot him a look.

"C'mon, it's a diagnostic thingummy see!" The Doctor waved his sonic in the air. "It's harmless!" He scanned the immediate area for show but did get some interesting results along the way. "Except it's telling me you're going to have to worry about a lot more than this building if you don't let me talk to this Golden Triangle! How would you like to not die in the very near future?"

"Don't be idiots please," Avalon added with a flat face. Thankfully, they spared them the more dramatic parts of the standoff and stepped aside. They were brought into the elevator to finally meet the Golden Triangle.

"It may be temporal bends talking but...is that Kenny G I can hear?" the Doctor mumbled to the group on their way up.

"Yeah, actually," Amy made a face when she heard the familiar tune.

"Thirty billion light years from Earth and I still can't escape smooth...jazz," he blinked though when he started to wonder how nice it would be to have a nice jazz date with Avalon. They would have such a lovely time together, dancing to the jazz music. She was all about the music, after all.

The elevator dinged open like a regular Earth elevator. As it slid open its doors, a soft, warm golden glow slipped in. The Doctor's mouth fell open at the sight before them. Little by little, the same happened to the others.

"I'm not allowed visitors. Are you here to watch the end of the world with us?" A young female Time Lady sat across from them with three robed people behind her. She wore the red robes and golden armor that the Doctor recognized so well.

Everyone behind the Doctor was frozen in their spots. The Time Lady wasn't just a Time Lady...she was child. She appeared to be like a ten year old in Earth terms. Still, there were noticeable differences between her and a human child. For starters, there was something funny going on with one of her eyes. The right eye was completely white and the more the group stared, the clearer the scars on the right side of her face got. A chunk of her hair was missing on the same side as well.

"Go get the TARDIS," the Doctor immediately ordered, startling the group of their thoughts.

"What? No! We're not...we're not leaving you," Avalon frowned at him. Yes, the Time Lady turned out to be a child but who's to say it wasn't a trap? The Doctor was in no condition to be on his own.

"I'll be fine. But I'm gonna need my TARDIS." The Doctor wasn't sure what was going on but something warned him that he would require his TARDIS for whatever reason.

Amy and Rory suspected that beyond the TARDIS, the Doctor wanted a moment alone with the child. No matter what, she still looked like a Time Lord. And the Doctor was still the Doctor.

"We'll be back," Rory said while Amy reached over for Avalon and the Sapling.

Avalon still resisted Amy's pull but she stopped when the Doctor held out his sonic to her. "Why are you giving me that?"

"So you can follow the signal back to the TARDIS and because it gives you a reason to come back to me," the Doctor offered her a knowing smile that, even though she didn't want to, got her to smile for him. He wasn't leaving her nor sending her away like he tried to do to Amy and Rory when they were in the pocket universe.

"Please be careful," she whispered as she took the sonic from him. He nodded at her, at least silently promising he would do his best. These were one of the moments she wished she could kiss and hug him. One of these days she might just skip over the 'easing Amy and Rory into the idea' thing and kiss her Doctor whenever she wanted. But for now, she gripped his sonic in her hand and let Amy pull her back towards the elevator.

Despite her reluctance, Avalon let Amy take her away.

~0~

"I'm not sure that was a good idea," Avalon huffed on their way into the TARDIS. The Doctor's sonic was lead them right to the blue box.

"Either way, he didn't want us in there," Amy said, keeping a tight hold around Avalon's arm despite knowing that if she really wanted to, Avalon could rip away with ease. They truly understood now that Avalon's 'freakish' strength wasn't freaky at all. It's a natural part of her unique DNA.

"I'm sure Father can handle it," the Sapling chimed in to cheer his Mother up. "The Time Lady is a child."

"Doesn't mean she's not a weapon," Avalon muttered before it truly hit her. Her eyes widened as she looked over to Amy and Rory. "I'm sorry! I meant…"

"We know what you meant, Ava," Rory assured her. Their daughter was part Time Lady and it was used as means to weaponize her.

"I'm just scared that it's still going to happen," Avalon admitted. She found it easier to share with them than the Doctor. He didn't know what they had seen at Lake Silencio. "The Silence are still out there and since they don't have neither me or River, who's to say they didn't come up with something else?"

"I think this is something completely different," Amy said. They were picking up their speed and could already see their blue box from a distance. "If this had been the Silence, they would've done something on the spot. I think we've angered them all a bit too much for them to be patient again."

"Let's just get the TARDIS back to the Doctor and hopefully clear all this mess up so we can go!" Rory was on the urgent plan that they really needed to leave. This was a terrible place for his granddaughter who was only just healing. He didn't want to see her have a setback.

"Right," Avalon bit her lip and turned to the console, her eyes lingering on the Time Rotor. She handed the Sapling the sonic, once she made sure he understood he was not to play with it, and started working the controls.

Her grandparents had the time of their lives watching her hands smoothly glide over the controls like she practically owned the TARDIS. Of course the TARDIS was letting her work like she was a pilot, because Avalon practically was. Amy and Rory wondered if Avalon truly realized just how much the TARDIS had bonded with her in these last months. It was touching, really.

The TARDIS had separated all of Avalon's favorite rooms again since there was no need to keep her in bed all day, but she still only put them in separate rooms in the same hallway as Avalon's bedroom. Her piano room, the media room and the library were all just seconds from her bedroom. Avalon had no idea why the TARDIS was that involved in making her life easier but she loved the attention. She took it as 'I'm the TARDIS' favorite' and she was.

She just didn't know how much deeper it went.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor felt his head pounding as if someone was actually hitting him with bricks. Little by little, it got stronger and he had a pretty good idea of why it was.

The Time child, who had introduced herself as Orphan, stopped talking when she heard the Doctor mumble something under his breath. Even she knew he wasn't looking well. "Are you okay, Doctor?" She leaned forwards on her seat.

The Doctor seemed to be sinking away in his chair. He brought a hand to his forehead and rubbed circles over it. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Just a...very minor anoxic seizure. Where were we, Orphan?"

"You were asking me about my memories."

"Ah, yes! What's the very first thing you remember?"

"War," the child said distantly. "I remember war."

"War, that makes sense," the Doctor sucked in a breath and leaned forwards to meet the child's face.

Orphan didn't seem to remember a lot about Gallifrey, much less about herself. She suffered a type of amnesia but the Doctor was fairly sure there was something else going on, he just needed his sonic first. She remembered the planet's environment, its people, but when the Doctor asked her specific questions about herself, she went blank. She seemed kind, she seemed...like a child. She was a very mature child, more than the Sapling was. That was normal given Orphan's age. She was a bit past 100...she couldn't remember the exact number. And she genuinely wanted to remember who she was.

The TARDIS materialized outside the room, just as the Doctor hoped. He had barely gotten up from his chair, albeit wobbly, when the doors opened and allowed the others in.

Avalon came rushing in first, once again holding the sonic in her hand. "You're not supposed to stand!"

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes. He supposed this was how everyone was acting with her. He could understand the annoyance that came with it. "Thanks Ava, but I'm fine." He took the sonic from her and turned back to Orphan.

"So...what's happening?" Amy quietly asked while they watched him sonic Orphan. The child sat motionless, only blinking at the sonic in front of her.

"Do you know who I am, then?" The child asked when the Doctor pulled the sonic away, taking a look at the readings he'd gotten. "You said there was a possibility that we might be related."

Everyone behind the Doctor went wide-eyed. Could they be related? Could it be…

"Is that one of his kids?" Rory whispered very quietly to Amy. They knew that the Doctor had once had children of his own and that they died as adults in the War…

...or so the Doctor thought.

Avalon swallowed hard and stepped back. What if the child really was his? That would be wonderful news for him, that one of his children had survived...but that left a lot of questions. Did it mean the child had regenerated into a child during the War? And if so, why was it only now that the TARDIS picked up on their signal? It was all just a bit too odd.

"I'm sorry Orphan, would you excuse us for just a minute?" The Doctor smiled at the child and turned to the others, his smile dropping. They needed to follow him.

"Doctor, where are we going now?" Amy asked as they crossed through the doors.

"I need to see the Golden Triangle now!"

"Right, but what about her?" Avalon stopped him for a moment. She suspected he was on his fast pace plans again and his body wasn't quite up to it. "Is she...you know...your daughter?"

"Do I have a sister, Father!?" The Sapling beamed at the idea of having a sister. The could have so much fun together!

The Doctor visibly tensed. "I need to see the Golden Triangle," he repeated.

Avalon inwardly sighed. He wasn't going to tell them one bit until he talked to those people. "Fine. But please don't run. You still look sick!"

"I feel sick," he corrected as if it was a point for him.

"So you need to slow down," Rory exclaimed, his nurse side coming out.

"Quite the opposite Rory, I need to be faster! It's the Temporal Quakes! If they don't stop soon then my body will try to regenerate! And the problem with that-"

"-besides the fact you'll be regenerating?" Avalon folded her arms over her chest. What more could there be than that!?

"Well...I don't really have any regenerations left."

Avalon's eyes widened. That. That was worse! Her arms dropped to her sides out of shock. "What...what do you mean you don't...you don't have any left!? You said you could regenerate!"

The Doctor cursed himself for choosing this moment to have that type of talk with her. There were so many things he needed to discuss with Avalon now that he knew who she was and who her family was...but it just wasn't easy. How could he bring up his regeneration count? Her mother''s own life?

"Doctor, you're kidding right?" Amy asked, trying to ease up the tension with what she hoped would be the beginning of 'Of course I am, Pond'...but it wasn't.

"Father is telling the truth," the Sapling spoke up. "He only has 12 regenerations and he is at the end of the cycle."

"Thank you Sapling," the Doctor sarcastically smiled at the child. He was trying to be delicate about it but the Sapling, really being just a child, couldn't see that. "Avalon...I didn't know how to tell, there was no right time with everything…"

Avalon shook her head, pushing away everything that she was thinking to focus on the most important thing right now: keeping him alive. Because if he stayed alive then she could kill him afterwards for not telling her about the regenerations

"Let's go," she snagged his hand and pulled him down the corridors.

They found the Golden Triangle in the only room with its door wide open. They were waiting for the group, or more so the Doctor.

"We're delighted that you've finally deigned to meet with us, Doctor," one of the trio said as the group walked into the room. "The Golden Triangle is always happy to meet a peer."

"Yes, even one who dismisses us from our own conference room," the second of the trio said somewhat sourly. The Doctor hadn't been too kind asking them to leave him alone with Orphan.

"I am Beaback, Doctor," the only female of the trio introduced herself. "Such a pleasure."

"And I am Sendham," the first male went next. "We met when I was just a boy actually."

The Doctor didn't remember that detail.

"Shriven," the last of the trio said. "Are you enjoying our friend? She's been helping us with our experiments for some time now."

"Yes, yes, charmed. Which one of you gave her the name 'Orphan'?" the Doctor started going around the room on his wobbly feet, trying to find something the others weren't sure of.

"Ah, it's the only thing she could remember when we found her injured in the forest all those years ago," Beaback said.

"Lovely story," the Doctor's sarcasm was very noticeable. He was shooting down everything they were telling them. "An amnesiac Time Lord foundling...kindly scientists. Shame it's all poppycock of course."

Avalon watched the trio go from outrage to shifty in two seconds. "Oh, are you lying?" She smirked. "Somebody just got caught."

"How dare you!" Senhdam exclaimed but the Doctor paid him no attention. He had found what he was looking for. The sonic had found a hidden compartment in the wall.

"What are you doing, Father?" the Sapling scurried over to him while he pushed the compartment open.

The Doctor reached inside to pull out a small pyramid with silver metal outlining it. "Oh you silly, silly, sausages. You have no idea what this is, do you?"

"None of us do, actually," Rory pointed that out for him.

None of them noticed a small figure peeking their head into the room.

"What about Orphan? Does she know?" the Doctor demanded from the Golden Triangle.

"Know what?" Avalon dreaded to ask, but they would need to know anyways.

"That she's not real."

"What?" A child's voice asked, claiming the entire group's attention. Orphan had found them and had tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm not...real?"

"Oh Orphan, I'm so sorry!" The Doctor exclaimed and moved towards her only to feel that same pain course through his body. The same golden energy was striking the right side of Orphan's face, sparking up into the air.

"Not again!" Avalon rushed to help the Doctor stay on his feet, but she had to take away the pyramid and hand it to the Sapling instead.

"Orphan! You don't need...ah! Orphan!" the Doctor extended a hand towards her but she was already turning away.

"Help me!" Avalon motioned to Amy and Rory. The Doctor was slouching in his attempt to chase after the girl. Between all of them, they brought him into the hallways after Orphan.

The child was nearing the TARDIS but she stopped. Her body was flickering. She raised her left hand and saw it...disappearing?

"Why does she look like that?" Amy crinkled her nose. It almost appeared like she was losing her hand in bits that kept disappearing in the air...like she was disintegrating.

"I...I know this box," Orphan said at the sight of the TARDIS. "I don't understand I'm real!"

"Of course you're real," the Doctor said once they were behind her. "You're just...not like me. You're not like anyone. Trust me, that's not the first time I see it happen." He had someone just like that helping him stand and she had no idea.

"Father, do you need this?" The Sapling presumed once the Doctor had straightened up on his feet, though he was still a bit rockish.

"Yes!" He moved towards Orphan and gently turned her around, making her face the pyramid and the others. The Golden Triangle had come after them but remained a cautious distance from them.

"What is that thing?" Orphan stared at the pyramid in fear.

"It's...well, it's you, Orphan," the Doctor said, gently bringing her a bit closer to it. "You're the user interface for it."

The closer Orphan got to the pyramid the brighter her body became. The others had to shield their eyes every now and then.

"It's a...weapon. A terrible Time Lord weapon," the Doctor swallowed hard. It was far too similar to the Moment. Even its structure resembled it. "The Orphaned Hour was part of the Time Lords' Omega Arsenal. It was deployed during the Time War. It worked by hurling everything within a defined radius back in time. Imagine being able to make an advancing army disappear simply by resetting your surroundings. Wildly destructive even in the right hands. The weapon was designed to protect users from its effects, but they were still vulnerable to the external threats. Last I heard, the Orphaned Hour had been damaged in the war. It - you - must have been flung clear of the…"

The Doctor shut his eyes terribly hard. He used the Moment, he needed to accept that and own up to each time it came up. He used the Moment and just before chaos descended, the Orphaned Hour must have been thrown off planet and landed in Zoline.

Orphan gingerly took the pyramid from the Sapling and held it with shaky arms. She was glowing. "I'm...I'm not a weapon!" she frowned. "I feel! I think!" She let the Sapling take the pyramid back and turned to the Golden Triangle, eyes blazing with fury. "Is this true!?"

"Ah, well...its complicated," Bearback said nervously.

"You said you were my friends!"

"Of course we're your friends, Orphan! You've known us since were children! We treat you like a princess!"

"Oh, shut up!" snapped Avalon, shooting a similar glare at the trio like Orphan. "That is not how you treat a princess! Actually, that might not be as true. You do, you just treat her like Rapunzel. Keeping her locked away."

"Preposterous!" Sendham snapped.

"Yeah?" she arched an eyebrow. "How many times have you let her go outside? Out of the room we found her in?"

Silence.

"Mhm. She's like a caged bird and you are the evil stepmother, only worse!"

"It sounds like you just used her," Amy frowned.

"Because they did," the Doctor reiterated, feeling terrible when Orphan looked back at him with fresh tears in her golden eyes. "You three found a broken magic box that magically resets your world every, what...thirty years? You correctly deduced that close proximity to the Orphaned Hour would protect you from its effects. Then every time this planet got reset by a few decades, you kept the technological innovations made by others during the last cycle. You claimed these innovations as your own and then waited for real geniuses to build on them so you could steal their ideas too and so on. Finally, you invested in life-extension tech so you could continue fleecing these poor people indefinitely, isn't that right? Zoline's great minds? Don't make me laugh! You're cheap con artists who lucked into the ultimate scan!"

"Uh, Doctor…?" Rory was the first to catch the Doctor's flashing gold. Avalon and Amy each gasped when the same gold spread over his body.

"Unfortunately for you, this gizmo wasn't designed to be triggered multiple times. You're lucks run out. This broken bomb's gonna blow!"

"So let it go!" Avalon snapped when the Doctor took it from the Sapling hands. He groaned and fell to his knees with it. "Dammit, Doctor!" She ran to help him stand with Amy's help while Rory and the Sapling took Orphan's weakened self.

The Doctor pointed them towards the TARDIS so they helped them in. "You lot better not move!" He yelled to the remaining trio behind.

The trio huddled together as another tremor shook the ground. A few seconds later, the TARDIS doors re-opened only for a book to be thrown directly at them. It fell to the ground where it remained until the Doctor stepped under the doorway and pointed at it.

"Pick it up," he ordered with gritted teeth. "Come on, chop chop!"

Shriven grabbed the book off the ground and opened it up to a random page. "I...I can't read this!"

Carbon Sequestration For Children: A Beginner's Guide was freshly printed on the title cover.

"It's p-printed on semi-psychic paper!" the Doctor clutched his chest with one hand. "Give it a few seconds and it'll translate into your language."

"What are we supposed to do with this!?"

"You have the money and the resources, so you're going to - ah! - roll up your sleeves and fix this mess yourselves! No resets, no do-overs!" He wouldn't tell them he'd be checking up on them later on to see their progress. They would most likely wait for him to come and fix everything and he was not going to do that!

"That book's a got a cool pop-up section!" The Sapling poked his head from around the Doctor. "I love it!"

"Doctor!" Avalon called from inside.

"Fix it!" The Doctor left the Golden Triangle with those parting words. He let the doors close behind him as he rushed to the console.

Orphan was continuing to disintegrate.

"What's happening to Orphan?" Rory asked once the Doctor joined them. He would try to be a nurse once he knew what the problem was exactly.

"The weapon's disintegrating which means she is too!" The Doctor ushered them away from her, leaving only himself around.

The TARDIS hummed a second before a lever on the console was pushed down. She was bringing them back to space, off Zoline.

"Did the TARDIS just move us?" Amy blinked. Funny, the box hadn't rocked them this time. The Doctor truly was that bad of a driver.

"Yes, but…" the Doctor groaned, lurching forwards.

"The weapon!" The Sapling gasped at the pyramid. A fierce golden light was slicing through the thing.

"Doctor!" Avalon forgot all about staying away when she saw the Doctor collapsed on the ground. "N-n-n-n-no! You gotta get up!"

"He's dying!" Amy frantically looked at Rory but neither of them knew what to do.

"Shut up, no he's not!" Avalon had heard that far too many times in this year alone. Why was the universe so hell bent on taking him away from her? From the entire world!?

Orphan picked up the pyramid from the ground and desperately looked over to Amy and Rory. "Please...I don't want to hurt anybody. What do I do?"

Neither could answer her but the TARDIS could. The console shined bright in a white light, pulling the Orphan's attention. "What?" It was like she could understand what the box was trying to tell her. She gave a firm nod. "Yes...yes of course. The Heart of the TARDIS."

Hearing those familiar words made Avalon raise her head from the Doctor. "No, wait! I know that!" But the Orphan was already coming towards the console.

"Don't...don't let her…" the Doctor struggled to get up. He felt terrible (apart from his biological pain) using Avalon like a pillar to stand up, but he couldn't let Orphan get any closer.

"Will it hurt…?" Orphan seemed like she wasn't even in-tuned to their world. She was in a little bubble, talking to the TARDIS who kept calling her forwards.

"Orphan, you can't do that!" The Doctor argued once he was back on his feet but try as he might, he couldn't get closer.

"It'll kill you too!" Avalon exclaimed. Orphan's body was already more than half disintegrated.

"The TARDIS says this is the only way to keep everyone safe," Orphan reasoned. "I am not a weapon for destruction. I can do good." Her voice started to echo as her body truly began to lose form and turn into white particles. "I think...I would have enjoyed being a Time Lord, Doctor. Shame."

"Orphan, no!"

The Sapling wrapped his branch arms around the Doctor to keep him in his spot. They couldn't get any closer without getting hurt themselves. Orphan was sacrificing herself for them! They couldn't let it be in vain! Soon, the white light faded and it was like nothing happened.

"Sapling, let me go!" The Doctor untangled himself from the branches but wasn't free until the Sapling listened. "I could've fixed this!"

"It didn't look like that," Amy frowned at him. "You were dying too!"

"I could've done something!"

"No, you couldn't have!" Avalon stepped towards him. She wasn't going to stand there and let him blame them for something the Zolines did and much more for wanting to keep him safe and alive! "You were dying if you forgot!"

No, of course he hadn't forgotten. That was still a pending conversation to have with her. The console suddenly sparked, starling all of them, before a wicked groaning came from the Time Rotor.

"What...was that?" Rory asked slowly.

The Doctor hurried up to the console to find the problem. "Well...the TARDIS just euthanized the Orphaned Hour by absorbing it into her core. I don't think she thought it through!" He yelped when the Time Rotor burst, shooting out white electricity all over.

"What's happening to her!?" Avalon shrieked when an electric shock just narrowly missed her side.

"We're going to lose her! We're coming apart!" the Doctor had to step back from the console, or what was going to be left of it.

"I thought you said she could withstand the heat of a star!?"

"I don't know what that means but she just digested a Time Lord weapon of mass destruction! That's bound to make things harder!"

Amy fell against one of the railings. "Doctor, what do we do!? What do we do!?"

The Doctor put his hands together and thought. He really thought. This was the first time something like this was happening and he had nothing to keep it from tearing apart!

Actually…

The Doctor shook his head. No, that was...that was a terrible thing to ask…

"RORY!" Avalon screamed when Rory toppled down the staircase leading to the corridors. She tried running towards him but Amy yanked her back.

"I'm fine!" Rory called from his spot, but who knew how long that would be true.

The Doctor closed his eyes. He had to. It was the only way to keep all of them safe. "Sapling!" The child raised his head at the call of his name. "I...I need you to put down roots again, right now!"

The Sapling naturally hesitated. "But...I will lose myself among my leaves, Father!" That's what happened the last time he grew so tall and wrapped everything in his arms. He ended the hippie party but he nearly got lost! What if this time he stayed lost forever!?

"Doctor, you can't make him do that!" Avalon wobbled on her feet to get to the two. She almost fell but she was close enough for the Doctor to grab her and pull her up to him.

"Ava, tree roots stabilize crumbling riverbanks, shifting sands...the Sapling can hold the TARDIS together!"

"But he's just a child!"

"I know that!" He snapped, startling her into silence. He held her closer, really close, enough for him to feel her heart beating rapidly. She was terrified. "I always do things like this and I'm sorry but this is the only way to keep everyone - to keep you - safe."

Avalon's eyes teared up. She shook her head and looked at the Sapling. "You don't have to," she whispered. "You're just...you're just a child."

The Sapling swallowed hard. He believed his mother when she said it was his choice, but he also believed his father. The only way to keep everyone safe was to sprout his roots. He didn't...he didn't want to let anyone die, especially his parents. But he was just so scared. He wasn't brave like them.

But he had to try.

"Will I...will I still be me when you have saved us all?" He asked in a frail, child, voice. "What if I disappear like last time?"

The Doctor shifted so that he could face the Sapling and still keep hold of Avalon on the side. "Sapling you listen to me, we are family. That means that wherever you are, I'll find you and bring you home."

A smile took over the Sapling's face. "That's what you said to aunt Amy and Mother...and you found them." It took them a long time to find them but they did, so that meant that they would find him no matter what.

"Sapling…" Avalon reached for him but didn't have to move a step. The Sapling ran up to her and the Doctor, throwing his arms around them. He hugged them tightly.

"Sapling, I swear we'll find you," the Doctor told the Sapling when he looked up at them. This was the last time he would ever say that to anyone. He had to stop putting them in danger like this, making them get taken away.

"Yeah?" The Sapling asked.

"Yeah, cos I'm going to help," Avalon smiled strongly for him. "And you know what they say, mothers always find what they're looking for."

The Sapling giggled. "You're funny." And that was his Mother, whether she was sure of it or not. He took a deep breath and stepped back. He looked down at his feet and saw them started sprouting the roots on the ground.

His body started stretching out into huge, thick branches that went to cover every inch of the room.

Outside the TARDIS, something was beginning to peek through the shattered windows of the door. "Yesssss, finally….I wassss right all along. Faaaame issss chiefly a maatter of waiting for the rrright door to open."

The Scream smashed a hand through the last window of the door to squeeze right in. "Doctor, I hhhhhave finally fooound youuu."

[amintyworld]

Oh! Oh! For the mutual thing, in relating to tss, who would be a light side and who would be a dark side? Would any of them kinda be like Virgil who changed sides? Or maybe opposite? If you wanna go further, what would they represent too?

Alright Anon, I hope you know you inspired something amazing. Mutuals, I have here Sanders Sides OCs with each and every one of you in mind, including Icons (which is why this took a while to finish). Anyway, I hope you enjoy them and feel free to draw or write with them, and maybe come up with some ideas or designs for my own (Because I couldn't figure out a good fit to make a OC for me). Here we go, and I hope you guys enjoy! <3

Let's start out with the creativity twins (Two sides of creativity):

@h-ad3s - Instinct (Dark Side)

• Instinct represents the wild, spontaneous side of creativity - like painting or writing your feelings out, when you do something just because you want to.

• Very Impulsive at times, and because of their reckless nature can get the (what do you call it? Thomas part?) 'Thomas' in trouble a lot, leading to everyone pegging them as a dark evil troublemaker

• As with their twin, Instinct can turn into a animal at will - theirs is a raccoon.

• Found late at night rummanaging through or sleeping in garbage. 'Why, Inst? You have a bed!' 'Because. The funny smells calm me, plus I wanted to.'

• Has eaten glitter, glue, bar soap, and even a ceramic mug (No one knows how they ate the mug to this day.)

• But, when feeling sad or someone else is sad, they usually are found in raccoon form cuddled up in Protection or Imagination's lap, sleeping.

@dee-ree-vee - Passion (Light Side)

• Passion represents the creating for creation's sake side of creativity. They create not based solely on emotion, but because it brings them happiness to create. Passion represents just happiness and drive for any hobby, and the drive to improve. As well as, you guessed it, passion in Relationships as well - weather it be platonic, familial, or romantic.

• Despite being told to stay away from Instinct because they're dangerous, and that they were the 'better creativity', they still try to chat and connect with them because of their past closeness feeling like family.

• They can turn into a cat at will like Instinct, and usually use the form to sneak out and meet Instinct in the 'Creativescape', a middle between the darkscape and the mindscape, where they are crowned ruler.

• They love free time of any kind, and enjoy the constant creative drive with weekends or holiday breaks, and are usually the ones who come up with gift ideas or little surprises for Friends, Family, or SOs.

• Can get overwhelmed by expectations of always doing things right and never making a mistake, in that way being slightly jealous of their twin.

• Their favorite thing to do is help make dreams with Imagination and fight off nightmares, sometimes even Instinct joining to help.

@lightyagamisqueen - Protection (Dark side)

• Protection represents Fight or Flight as well as Anxiety, but also white lies at times to take the pain away, to protect. The lies leading them to become a Dark Side.

• Has a very hard time relaxing, leading them to get burnout quite often from their overly taxing job, and Instinct, being the only other Dark Side and who knew them well would always be there to comfort when it all became a bit too much, or when Protection was so emotionally tired they broke down and cried.

• Likewise, Protection knew Instinct too well to always be there to hug and hold closely when they felt so abandoned and alone, even confessing to them once they wish they could stop the impulses but it hurts them physically to do so, and Instinct showed them their scars.

• Protection protects and stays up often at night in the real world to protect from monsters in the closet and to hold the 'Thomas' tightly when they got too scared. They live off of coffee and redbull.

• Once didn't sleep for almost two weeks for a cram finals session, and Instinct had to help them recover.

• Cannot watch horror movies, and usually gets overly anxious and worried walking home alone at night, especially in the city.

@pastel-candies - Inner Strength (Light Side)

• Inner Strength represents Hope, and Strength to keep going when things get hard, as well as Positivity and a co-gatekeeper of emotions, the other being Inner Child. But, while Child's emotions are more fuzzy and less prominant, Inner Strength's are more intense, leading them to get very emotional at times. Also they represent ignorance, pushing bad emotions or negative thoughts away, thinking they're just getting rid of them and not realizing they're repressing.

• Has plant powers that are tied to emotions, meaning if they're happy, plants will grow around them, if they're sad or angry or upset, they turn into not just killing plants but also slightly life sucking when every other side gets close.

• Is the slightly more 'moral' one than the rest in being the one to get scared and think Instinct and Protection are being more hurtful than helpful and kick them out.

• Has their own little garden with a specific flower in their room that isn't fazed with her emotions, being infused with all the emotions that were too intense to handle, good and bad. They talk to the flower and vent when things get tricky.

• When the 'Thomas' is upset, Strength usually works with Protection sometimes when things get really low, but mostly the two switch off depending on the situation.

• Lately is having regrets and confusion over kicking the other two out, but doesn't know if inviting them back will hurt the 'Thomas'

• Is protective of Passion, Reason, and Inner Child and will do anything to make sure they're safe.

• I imagine them wearing a flower crown, I dunno-

@the-duke-of-deodorant - Reason (Light Side)

• Reason represents and helps with the process of memory and new information, as well as the leader in solving any problems, math or otherwise.

• Reason values the truth above all else and makes sure the 'Thomas' knows the truth of any situation, despite and emotions they have at the moment, leaving them and Strength to butt heads a lot.

• I picture them with a black and white checkered tie...

• Geeks/Nerds out with Passion about Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. They often binge watch many movies and shows, and.. Even have their own code?

• Tries to be there during the emotional fallout Strength gets in, and usually is talking through their door, sometimes Strength's hand sneaks out when the door opens a bit for Reason to grab.

• Teaches Child about the world, leading them to grow into a pretty stable teenager, and the two share a very familial bond.

• Doesn't really understand the whole fear of Dark Sides and visits sometimes, even once helping out Protection during their burnout.

• Is prepared - always has a first aid kit handy and helped Raccoon Instinct when they got a nail stuck in their paw and couldn't transform back.

@antisocialdragonenby - Imagination (In the Middle)

• Imagination is the main gatekeeper of all dreams and daydreams, and has complete creative control in the Creative scape, making anything they imagine in their mind come to life there.

• Could have been ruler of the Creative scape but turned it down, claiming it wasn't their style. Instead they live in a treehouse and chill.

• Probably the most calm in a crisis.

• Out of the Creative scape, they have a cloud they ride on and use for many things - spying on others, viewing past dreams, and viewing made up scenarios or dream scenarios they have, as well as just a hammock to nap on.

• Is well trained with their powers, and uses their imaginative strength to fight nightmares in the dreams that seem to be finding their ways in randomly.

• Is usually the one to go to for advice or just to rant to, closely followed by Reason. This is how they find out about everyone's problems, fears, and turmoil - like how Protection thought they were the ones who caused the nightmares, and Imagination calmly explained that it had nothing to do with them, that they just appear, and that it's their job to help.

• They're fun to hang around and go on adventures with. They like specifically going on adventures with Child, but will tag along with Passion and Instinct from time to time

And finally, @if-i-had-a-spoon - Inner Child (Light Side)

• Inner Child repesents your childish side, as well as childhood memories and emotions. They're the only and first side to grow up from a child when the 'Thomas' is a teen, to a teen when the 'Thomas' is a adult. As a result they're babied sometimes and always treated as the youngest.

• They love looking at older memories and remebering them, although they panicked, figuring out the memories faded as they got older.

• Always a fan of candy, and squeals at cute pet and baby clothes, even making small accessories and gifts for Raccoon Instinct, whom they called 'The trash gremlin' when they were a toddler, and for Cat Passion, whom they just called 'Pretty'.

• Always tries to hold onto stuff from childhood, especially the "Thomas" 's old teddy bear, which they have a copy of for comfort.

• Now, as a teen, they love to write poetry and draw little baby animal sketches, and listen to MCR.

• Responsible for reminencing during random times.

• Although they look young, they're just as capable and smart as the others, fighting for the 'Thomas' to be truly happy, and to be there for everyone, light or dark side.

• I picture them with light purple headphones...

And that's everyone! I hope you guys like them!

[atombombbagel]

How would a Romanced (or just a love interested) companion (+Maxson) react to accidentally hearing Sole moaning their name in their sleep?

A little nsfw but notreally. Let’s pretend Nick has a dick. If you don’t like this type of content don’t read it :)

Cait:  

Cait was working late,scrubbing the grime and ale stains from the bar she was standing behind. Shewas only doing it because Sole had specifically asked her to. The usualbartender ill, because he was swiping booze from behind the shelf and drinkingit on the job. Cait, completely done with cleaning for the night, threw thedirty, sticky rag onto the bar. She dragged her feet tiredly as she steppedinto the home she shared with her lover, her eyebrows creasing when she heard…moans. They were moans, weren’t they? Is that why she was working late? So Solecould… they better not be. Cait’s blood started to boil, her face turning acherry red as she stormed down the corridor to their shared room.

“Sole you better not be-”Cait stopped talking as she came face to face with Sole, who wasn’t cheating,but was in a deep sleep. Cait tilted her head as she watched Sole’s breath escapetheir parted lips.

“Mmm Cait,” Sole moanedout, shifting in their sleep as their head fell deeper into the pillow. Cait’seyes widened as she awkwardly shifted on the spot. She didn’t know how to reactto Sole moaning her name. It made her… hot and bothered to say the least. Caitpulled her shirt from her head and removed her trousers, slipping in bed nextto Sole. Something took over her in that moment and she ran her fingers over Sole’scollarbone, trailing down Sole’s body under the covers. Then she decided on it.She needed Sole, because hearing her name slip from her sleeping lover’s mouth,was too hot for her to sleep on.

Curie: Curie sat over Sole’s body, carefully examiningtheir vitals, adjusting the needle in their arm, making sure the blood pack wassecure. Sole was injured earlier in the day, and they lost a lot of blood.Curie obviously wanted to be the doctor to look over their partner and she wouldn’tleave their side.

“Curie…” Sole said quietly.Curie looked up at Sole. Still sound asleep. She smiled. “Mmm Curie please… youturn me on so much.” Sole’s breathing grew harder as they kept moaning Curie’sname. Curie gently nudged Sole awake.

“We need to keep yourbreathing stabilised,” Curie informed Sole as they came to. “Trust me if youwere better and we were at home… I would be all over you. But let’s focus ongetting you better, hm?”

Danse: Danse shifted under the covers again, tossing andturning as he tried to get comfortable in his and Sole’s new bed. And not newby news standard. It was pokey and slightly damp. Danse hated it and now he couldn’tsleep. He sighed moving onto his back and looking up at the stars through thegaps in the roof. That he had yet to fix. A few drops of water dripped onto hisforehead.

“That explains the dampness,”he muttered with another light sigh. It wasn’t quite like living in the securewalls of the citadel, but he’d been used to that by now. Its just this bed isjust - He groaned.

“Danse…” Sole mutteredand he immediately turned to face them. He expected to see Sole looking up athim with their beautiful eyes, but he was met with their closed ones. Sole wasasleep? He wished they were awake, how could they possibly sleep on thisterrible bed, he had no clue. “Yes… Danse… That feels so good…” Sole let out strewof moans.

Danse eyes widened as herealised what was happening. And boy was this an opportunity to wake Sole up, avery needed distraction and maybe at the end when Danse was worn out, he’d beable to fall asleep. Now he just needed to wake Sole up.  

Deacon: Still shocked he was sharing a bed with his newly romancedpartner, he would sleep on his back, right on the edge of the bed, every night,waiting for Sole to fall asleep first. He was nervous his in-bed habits would scareSole away, because he wasn’t exactly a restful sleeper, he was more of a cover-hogging,leg-jutting kind of sleeper. As usual he was silently watching, behind his darksunglasses (that he even wore in bed like - what the fuck) waiting for Sole tofall asleep, like every other night only this time something was different.

Sole kept moving and wrigglingaround in bed, their chest puffing out from under the covers, their hair messy,their breathing hitched. That’s what Sole was like when they were… but Sole wasasleep.

“Mmm Deacon… work it…”Sole mumbled, shuffling again, their cheeks a light shade of rose. Deacon awkwardlysat up, swinging his legs off the bed as he rubbed the back of his neck withhis hand. Had he seriously just heard, that right? Sole just moaned his name,he chuckled? Deacon saw ample opportunity to tease and wind up Sole for therest of time and Sole wouldn’t be living this down anytime soon.

Hancock: Hancock loved dreaming about Sole, he lovedvisioning their face and their laugh and their body as he slept peacefully nextto them, his arm tucked over their waist as he snuggled into the back of theirneck. But what Hancock loved more than that, was when they would both wake upand share last night’s dreams with each other over a small breakfast in bed. Hancockstirred awake to the sound of Sole’s heavy breathing and by the way they weremoving in their sleep, Hancock was sure Sole was having a nightmare. That wasuntil Sole shifted, pushing their butt into Hancock’s crotch. Although you couldn’tsee it through his calloused and broken skin, he blushed. Hard.

“Right there… Hancock,please…”

He raised his hairless eyebrows.Not a nightmare… but a sex dream? Yes please – he thought. He reached around Sole’sbody, moving his bony fingers down Sole’s stomach and between their legs. He wasabout to make their naughty dream a very naughty reality.

Nick: Nick was nose deep in a case file, one that hadbeen troubling him for a while now, he couldn’t wrap his head around the twistsand turns and the crime scenes he’d seen. Honestly, he needed a break. Sole hadtried to get him to come to bed earlier, trying to entice him with needy hands,a naughty words, but Nick convinced himself that he needed to get this done andso Sole went to bed alone.

“Niiiick,” Sole whimperedlightly but loud enough for Nick to stop reading and look up from the file. Helooked over to his and Sole’s bed, only occupied by his partner. He noticed theway Sole’s hands were placed on their chest and at first, he thought they weretrying to entice him to stop what he was doing. But on closer inspection hefound that Sole was in fact asleep. “I love you. Yes, keep going…” Sole continuedon, unaware that their sleepy groans were in fact turning Nick on. He put thecase file down and with heat between his legs he made his was over to Sole.Because he did need a break. So he woke his lover up.

MacCready: MacCready was needy, he needed Sole right now, hewas young, and he couldn’t control what Sole did to his body, but they’d fallenasleep on the couch waiting for MacCready to finish cleaning his sniper rifleafter a long day of hunting. MacCready reached down and picked Sole up in hisarms, and although he may look scrawny, he was stronger than you’d think. Hemoved down the corridor to their shared bedroom when Sole muttered something intheir sleep.

“It’s alright love, yousleep now I’ve got you.”

“MacCready… mmm Harder.”MacCready nearly tripped as the words slipped from Sole’s mouth in a hot moanthat definitely made the young man more needy than he already was. He lookeddown at Sole who from what he saw, was in a deep sleep. He wanted to wake them…so badly, but decided against it, they were tired, and plus, the morning wouldbe around soon enough and then he would give Sole, exactly what they werecraving.

Piper: Piper sat with her journal in her lap, jotting downa few notes and a few scribbles here and there as she desperately tried to comeup with a new headline for a story she’d been working on. She huffed nearlythrowing the journal when she was startled by a few loud-ish moans coming fromthe bed behind her. She peered over the back of the couch at Sole who wassleeping in their bed.

“Piper, stop being sucha tease…” Sole breathed before a moan followed and Piper couldn’t help butgiggle.

“Oh this is going to begreat,” She whispered to herself, turning a page in her journal to start a newentry. Sole may not find her new entry funny, but hearing them moaning for Piper,now that’s a story everyone would read.

Preston: Preston was on patrol, walking past his and Sole’shouse, laser musket tucked securely on his back. He would always be ready foran oncoming attack. His ears perked up as he heard movement coming from insidehis shared house. Quickly making his way inside he followed the noise to his andSole’s room. He quietly opened the door, peering inside and let out a breath ofrelief when he realised it was just Sole, moving around on the very squeakybed.

“Preston… I need you,”Sole moaned as Preston was about to shut the door. He peered back through, thinkingSole was awake but to his surprise they weren’t. He would have loved nothingmore than to get into bed with Sole, taking them in his arms but alas he had ajob to do. No matter now desperate he was in that moment, he needed to protectthe settlement… maybe tomorrow night… on his night off.

X6-88: X6 was still getting used to the fresh and newfeeling of falling in love, the emotion still completely new to him. Althoughhe would never show it, this new love, scared the living shit out of him. Yethere he lay next to a sleeping Sole and he’d never felt so peaceful, so relaxedin his entire life. He found himself smiling as he watched Sole’s chest riseand fall with every little breath. He leaned over and kissed Sole’s head beforesettling in to fall asleep himself. He was just beginning to fall off when Solemoved a hand to his bare chest, their fingers lightly grazing his skin, sendinga shiver through him at the touch.

“X6… I love that… mmm…more…” Sole’s moan was enough to wake the poor man up fully. He was sure how toprocess what he was hearing but he knew it felt good. He could tell by the bloodrushing through his body. He tried to shut his eyes and not think about it. Butits all he could think about until he fell asleep.

Maxson: Maxson removed his coat, carefully putting it onthe back of his chair before he climbed into bed next to a half-naked Sole. Hewished he could have gone to bed with them, but the Elders job is never done,and it was another late night for him and many other Brotherhood of steelrecruits. Sole turned to face him; their eyelashes fanned out across theircheeks as they rested their head on Maxson’s chest. He smiled briefly wrappinga strong arm around his partner. He just began to close his eyes when…

“Please Maxson…” Sole breathed out, “… Slap myass.” His eyes snapped open. Maxson couldn’t stop the tent rising in his pantsas he watched Sole mumbling and moaning in their sleep. Dreaming of… him. The ideaexcited him and definitely turned him on. He unknowingly slapped Sole’s ass,making them jolt awake. They looked at him surprised.

“Y-you asked for it,” Hestuttered. They both turned lobster red as they stared at each other, making itan awkward night for the two of them.

[sicut-in-caelo-et-in-terra]

Hi! I came across your blog and I’m so happy I did. I recently started to open my eyes and wanted to know Jesus and I am beyond happy I did because I already feel like a more calming presence around me. However, I was wondering if you have advice on how to stop with the ‘false idols’ thing? I spent the last few years only feeling validated when getting notices, spending money or whatever for meeting celebrities I liked and I’m so exhausted + tired of doing this. I’m just scared of falling back

Thank you so much for the ask! And I'm so happy you've been coming to know Jesus!

Yeah, false idols are tough. We all have them, and there's extensive literature on why they're bad and how to get rid of them - read the writings of almost any Saint. The first one that comes to mind is St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her little way. For more info I would recommend reading one of her actual works like Story of a Soul, or you can read something about her writings by someone else, like I Believe in Love by Fr. Jean C. J. D'Elbée. But here's my take largely based on the Little Way.

Here's the thing that might kind of seem surprising to hear in a discourse on purging idols. Money, power, fame, sex (although sex is a bit complicated of a topic, for a different post), things you buy, food, celebrities, likes on social media, politics, all these things that can become idols, aren't actually intrinsically bad. They become bad when they become your source of meaning. They become bad when they become the center of your life. They become bad when they stand in between you and God. They become bad when you stop seeing them as gifts God has given you, and start seeing them as things you deserve, or things you need, or things you can't be happy without.

Okay, great, that's why we've come here, so that we can figure out how to make those things be not like that.

Let's talk about chocolate. Chocolate is good. Chocolate is exquisite. I love it. I just had a piece of chocolate earlier today because it was my cousin's wedding and my mom was making candy baggies for the guests and there was some candy left over. I had a dark chocolate Kit Kat. I ate it and it was great, and I didn't think much about it and went on with the rest of my day.

But before time began, before the creation of the angels, before the beginning - God, who would go on to create massive spheres of plasma millions of times bigger than the sun, and black holes and quasars and dazzling crystals of amethyst and waterfalls and physics and kittens, who would go on and send his dear Jesus to die because he would rather endure that pain than be separated from me, who even now has sent an angel to watch over me who is so powerful that he could extinguish any one of those gigantic stars with a swing of his sword, God said, "On October 10, 2020, my beloved son Jared is going to eat a dark chocolate Kit Kat bar and I can't wait to make him even just a little bit happy for it."

Like can you understand that?! This modicum of joy that I received, which I barely paid any mind to before moving on with my day, was a gift that since before it all happened God has been giddy to witness me experience. Even now as I move my thumb across the screen to write these words, God watches with utter love, in total enjoyment. You know how when you see a gif of a celebrity you like doing some normal movement in their day and you fall a little more in love? God experiences* a million billion kajillion times that, towards you, specifically, every second of every day.

(*to say 'God "experiences"' is not quite right but in this context it is a sufficient explanation even if not technically accurate)

Okay, so idols.

Everything that is good, is good because of God. And any and every good that happens to you, ever, is because God specifically wanted it for you (delight that comes from sin is not counted here as a good) because He loves you.

Why is there something rather than nothing? Why is there a you rather than no you? God doesn't need you, and He doesn't lack anything without you. He made you out of love, because He wants the good for you. Everything is a gift.

And suffering? That's also a gift. But for a different post.

So, go ahead and eat a dark chocolate Kit Kat bar. You might be tempted to think, "I deserve this." You might be tempted to eat the first one and then seek after infinite dark chocolate Kit Kat bars because you love them so much. You might be tempted to treat the dark chocolate Kit Kat bar as an end unto itself. I guess you might be tempted to construct a golden dark chocolate Kit Kat bar statue and have an orgy all around it until Moses comes down from the mountain and grinds it into powder, mixes it with water, and makes you drink it. But instead, do this - recite these words: "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we have received from thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord." And really understand the words. Know that this is a gift, given to you freely by God. Let this dark chocolate Kit Kat bar be a sign, from God to you, that He loves you. That is what good things are for.

When all your candy is eaten for the candy's sake, or to vainly fill some hole that a wound has left in your heart, it will leave you, as you described, empty. But, properly ordered, no good thing will ever go to waste.

Now, some more practical tips (and anyone reading this please feel free to add)

1. Fast. This is a good practice for everyone, but especially if you've identified a particular idol in your life that you're having trouble ordering properly. If there's something that keeps making you feel empty, something that keeps getting in your way on your path to God, give it up. If it's not a sin, give it up only for a time, and break the fast sometimes. As Catholics we break our fasts on Sundays and solemnities to celebrate the Resurrection, but it's also a good practice because having something you really like but haven't had in a while, makes you appreciate it more and it's easier to see it as a gift. Also bask in the silence that has been brought to your life when this thing you often turn to is no longer available. It's uncomfortable at first but it's good.

2. Thankfuls. I do this every night, once over the phone with my girlfriend and once right before bed as part of my examen prayer. Now, psychologists are recommending it for people with depression as well so. Basically what you're going to do is review your day and notice the gifts you have been given. You can tell someone or write it down, or just pray it. Thank God for everything you've received. If your mind tends to wander like mine, I recommend with starting with a set number, like 3. Or try and think of everything you can.

3. Replace. This is another psychology tactic, also useful when conquering sin. Feeling like you want to watch porn? Draw instead (doesn't have to be a good drawing). Feeling like you're going to gossip? Excuse yourself and say a quick prayer instead. Gonna post something funny (and maybe a bit mean) for the sweet sweet dopamine from getting likes? Maybe journal instead. Have a plan for when you notice yourself being about to idol something. Fasting can enhance this practice cause it makes you more aware and more likely to catch yourself as well.

That was a very long post, but I hope it was helpful. Thank you for reading! And I'll be praying for you.

[joyofcrime-elinorhigh]

 Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt, and legacy can be an fascinating thing in regard to animation. Since cartoons are made with the intent of being seen years or even decades after they're created, it can be interesting to see how the general consensus people have about a series can change over time. One day you can be on top of the world, and your series is loved by critics and audiences alike. But then, something happens. Sometimes it's a specific episode. Other times a season. Maybe it's a controversy within the fandom. But whatever it is, something happens that causes peoples opinions to turn. And suddenly your show has gone from being universally praised to becoming much more divisive. And when something like that happens, it can be hard to recover. It happened to Steven Universe.  It happened to Rick and Morty. And it happened to Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

 Created by Daron Nefcy,  Star vs. The Forces of Evil  premiered on the Disney Channel and Disney XD in 2015,  and quickly became one of the hot cartoons that everybody was talking about. It makes sense, as it came outright around the time where more continuity based fantasy series were really starting to take off, so it's natural that it became a hit. While the series was generally well regarded upon its debut, as time went on the series became much more of a "love it or hate it" type of show. And while that's not too uncommon for any show that amounts a large flowing, what makes Star vs. so interesting is that it seems like nobody can seemingly agree when the show got bad, if it did at all. Some people say the quality dipped after the first season. Others say the third. Some say the fourth. Others say that the show was good until the finale. And some say that the show was solid throughout. This divide among fans is why I feel confident calling Star vs. The Forces of Evil one of the most divisive shows of the 2010's, even if the debate around it isn't nearly volatile as other series. But now that the series has ran its course I have to ask, does it hold up? Did the show really go down hill, or is the hate undeserved? That's what I'm here to find out.

 I feel like I'm in an interesting place to talk about this series because, while I tend to try to keep up with all the big name animated show coming out, I actually didn't watch most of Star as it was running. I watched the first season until my family cut cable right before the finale of season one (You know, around the time people started to care about the show.) And only caught up with the show in the last year or so while doing research for my "Top 30 Cartoons of the Decade" list. So I went into the series mostly blind with the exception of a few spoilers. I just felt like this was important to point out as I feel it may have an effect on my view of the show.

 Also, while I usually try to go spoiler free when I do a general overview of a series, for this review I may have to go into some spoiler territory. Since this series features an ever changing status quo, as well as a lot of major characters who aren't introduced until late in the series' run, doing this review completely spoiler free would be difficult. So I'm going to be doing this review under the assumption that anybody reading this has already seen the show, and are just curious to hear my take on it, or don't care about being spoiled.  So if you wanna go in blind I suggest you sign out now.

 But to everyone else, let's dive in and talk about Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hJ5ecrpp8k

 Star vs. The Forces of Evil stars (He, get it. I'm funny.) Star Butterfly. A princess from the dimension of Mewni who, upon her fourteenth birthday is given a wand of unbelievable magical power. However, after causing nothing but trouble with her new found powers in her world her parents decide to ship her off to Earth, where she can be somebody else's problem. There she befriends a human boy named Marco Diaz and the series mainly follow these two as they go on all sorts of magical adventures as they battle all sorts of evil monsters and ne'er-do-well who want to take the wand and use its power for themselves. Or at least that's how the series goes at first. As the series goes on it begins to focus more on the world building, as Star and Marco discover that the kingdom of Mewni isn't as great as they first believed, and are forced to battle political corruption, conspiracy within the royal family, and the generation spanning systemic racism against monster kind.  

 The best place to start when talking about the show are the characters. Lets start with the main leads.

 We got Star, your typical fun-loving, ditzy, hyperactive action girl. Which seems to be a common trend in Disney Channel cartoons now that I think about it. But she does enough to stand on her own. She's a fun character, and an overall good lead for the series. I admit that her bratty nature and general stupidity could turn some people off, and there are times  where it can get a little annoying, but I never minded it all that much. I think that's kinda suppose to be the point of her character. She's a royal, and spent her whole life with a silver spoon in her mouth. So it makes sense she would be a bit selfish and be unaware of the world around her. And she does improve over the course of the series, as she begins to take her job as a princess more seriously and spends much of the series actively fighting against monster prejudice. Though I'd be lying if some of these less desirable elements of her character don't continue to pop up every now and again, even later in the series and especially in the last couple of episodes. Also she's kinda a sociopath. Like especially early on in the show there are like...a lot of casualties to Star's antics. I'm kinda surprised Disney let them get away with that.

 Also, can I just say that I am sick and tired of people asking "When is Disney going to include their first LGBTQ+ princess, completely ignoring the fact that Star is bisexual as fu*k. Like, come on now!

 Marco is also a good lead. He's a neurotic, responsible, karate student who often acts as the straight man to Star's antics. However, I like the fact that he's not a total stick in the mud. Sure he's more cautious than Star is but he's still capable of getting in on the adventures as well. He comes across as a realistic teen with his own set of flaws. Namely his insecure nature and general social awkwardness. I also like that due to his expertise with karate he's able to hold his own in a fight even without magic. He always feels like Star's equal and never like a sidekick. He and Star have a great dynamic in general, and the two play off each other well. They contrast with each other and It feels like the two really cover each other's flaws. And it's kinda refreshing seeing two characters who are so different manage to genuinely get along with each other.  

 But of course, we also have the forces of evil that the shows title so clearly mentioned. Each season focuses on a different villain, and something that I really like is how all four major villains are introduced relatively early on. So the show doesn't suffer from that "Dragon Ball Z" type thing where it's like "Haha! I know you just defeated the villain, but now's there's an even BIGGER villain who we just haven't happened to mention until now!" They've always around in the world, and many of them even start out as joke villains only to become more serious later down the line. And they manage to do that in a way that feels very believable.

 The best example of this is the shows first villain, Ludo. Who upon introduction is portrayed as a completely comedic villain who Star could easily take in a fight. But things change when a new more serious villain, Toffee, usurps him as the season one antagonist. Stealing his castle and army in the process. Come season two and Ludo is left alone, having lost everything, and is forced to toughen up in order to get back what he once had. He builds a new army, stronger than his first. He finds a new castle to form his base in, and becomes a genuine threat to our cast. Scrappy underdogs villains who lost everything might be one of my favorite tropes in fiction. Other examples of this trope used effectively would be Peridot in Steven Universe and Jamack in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeast. However, while those shows use this trope as an opportunity to have these villains go through a redemption arc, Star goes the other way and uses it as an opportunity to make a character become more of a threat. That said, he never loses the comedic charm that made his fun to watch in the first place. Part of me honestly kinda wish that Ludo stayed the main villain of season two, instead of being usurped Toffee yet again. That said, the episode "Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell" does a good job giving his arc a satisfying conclusion.

 Speaking of antagonist, let's talk about Tom Lucitor. Star's demon ex-boyfriend. While not a season spanning villain like Ludo or Toffee, he has several appearances early on as a recurring antagonist only to go down the more traditional "redemption arc" route later on. And I just want to say upfront, Tom is one of my favorite characters. Not in the show, but in fiction in general. It would of been so easy to make Tom your generic "toxic boyfriend" arch-type but even early on it's made clear that even though he's an antagonist, he isn't pure evil. His love for Star is genuine, but the problem is that he hasn't earned it. He tries to improve himself and become a better person but his own anger issues and jealousy keeps getting in the way. Specifically jealousy of Marco because he seems him as a romantic threat. But as time goes on, he does become better. He learns that he and Marco have a lot in common and eventually accepts that he can't make Star love him, and lets her have her space. And that, ironically, causes Star to becoming willing to open up to him again. They become friends and eventually get back together. But what I like is that while he has gone through efforts to improve and work through his problems, they still persist throughout the series. He's still very insecure and is looking for constant approval from Star. He still is jealous of how close Star and Marco are even though he has become friends with both of them. And it's shown several time that Tom tends to put his own problems above the problems of others. It shows that even though he wants to change and is willing to change, that doesn't mean that change come easy. It takes time and can be a long process. These are realistic character flaws that make Tom such a more complex and relatable character in my eyes. I relate a lot to Tom with his desire and constant struggle to improve as a person, and I feel like it's a struggle that's easy for a lot of people to relate to. Also...he's just such an edgy dork. He's...he is good boi.

 Another fantastic character is Eclipsa. Introduced about halfway into the series, Eclipsa was a former Queen of Mewni who was imprisoned in crystal due to dabbling in dark magic and for running away from her arranged marriage and marring the King of the Monster, Globgor. The show builds up mentions of Eclipsa early on, with characters talking about how evil and dangerous she was. Eventually she becomes free from her prison (cause lets be real, whenever there's a villain sealed away somewhere you KNOW they're going to get out.) But surprisingly, when we see her she actually doesn't seem that evil. She's polite, kind, and is even willing to go through the proper legal channels to prove that she isn't as bad as people say she is. She is an excellent example of a morally ambiguous character cause for the first several episodes we the audience don't really know if she is actually a good person who's just been judged too harshly by society or if she is actually evil and this is all an act. As even as the show goes on and it becomes clear that Eclipsa is a good person at heart they still manage to keep the audience guessing. Much like Star, Eclipsa can be kinda selfish and impulsive, making her a bit of a loose cannon.  Despite the shows title "Star vs. The Forces of Evil" Eclipsa goes to emulate one of the shows major themes. That life isn't that black and white.

 The show deals a lot with shades of gray when it comes to its characters, as all characters have there own motives and backstories and relations with each other that can make them either allies or enemies depending on the circumstances. An example of this is the Magical High Commission, a group that monitors magic across all the dimensions. throughout the series it is shown that they stand on the side of Mewni. So in season two when Mewni is being conquered by  Ludo and Toffee they're good guys. But just like most most people in Mewni they hate monsters and believe that Eclipsa is evil. Making them antagonist in seasons three and four. Their motives stay the same, but their role in the series changes.

 However despite my praise not all the characters are  great. In fact the show can be kinda hit or miss with their cast. The characters that are great are really great, but then you get characters like...

(Art by JelloApocolypse)

 You know what, I have to be honest. I kinda like Pony Head. I know a lot of people say she's annoying and selfish and contributes next to nothing to the plot...and they're right. But I also just kinda like her. I think what makes her more bearable to me is that she's kinda disliked in-universe. Even Star, who is Pony Head's best friend, often times get sick of her crap. Real talk though, can we all agree that Pony Head is basically just a discount Lumpy Space Princess from Adventure Time?  Like, they're nearly the exact same character.  

 A character who I don't like as much though is Glossaryck, the magical spirit guide that lives in Star's spell book. I never really got his deal. Sometimes it seems like he likes Star and genuinely wants to help her become a better magic user, while other times it doesn't seem like he really cares. He dies in the beginning of season three only to come back a few episodes later acting like a wild animal and yelling "Globgor" over and over again without any explanation as to how or why. Than at the end of season three it's revealed that it was all an act and he was fine the whole time. Like...why? We later learn that is a highly recognized historical figure in Mewni. Why is he yelling his name? And why does nobody question why he's doing this? I can buy that Star and Marco might not know who Globgor is but most everybody else seems to. I keep expecting that moment for his motivations to click. Where it's revealed how everything he's done was all an elaborate ploy to help Star or something, but it never really happens. Though my opinion of him does slightly increase in season four, but that's just because Keith David took over the role of voice actor. And adding Keith David can make anything better.

 Some characters can even change in quality between seasons. Janna is this edgy punk girl who joins the main cast in season two as a new friend to Star and Marco. I liked her well enough in season two even if some of her more abrasive elements could be somewhat obnoxious. She's more or less absent for most of season three. Then come season four she returns and I found her more annoying. I don't know if her character got worse or if it was just the fact that her character didn't work as well in later episodes after the show had become more dramatic. But near the end of the season, they give her some long overdue character growth. Not a lot, but some. And I found myself liking her more.  

 There are other characters in the series as well, and they tend to vary. Star's mom, Moon is a BAMF and I like Buff Frog a lot. Jacki and Kelly are fine characters, though I admit there's not that much to them outside of being love interests for Marco, though they still have there own personalities. King River's kinda annoying but I've seen worse examples of the "dumb dad" trope and Alan Tudyk gives a great performance.

 And since I don't have time to go over my thoughts on EVER character in this series, I'll do what ever online review does when they don't have time for nuance. Create a tier list!

 If It's not apparent by now, the characters in this show run the gambit. With the best ones being some of my favorite characters of all time, and the worse one's just being generally annoying. However, if there's one thing that this show excels at is not painting things as black and white. No character is evil without a reason and all the heroic characters have un-heroic flaws to their characters with unique motivations that make sense for their characters. (For the most part anyway.)

 The shows animation is also really good. Featuring thick outlines and a lot of nice coloring on the characters. (Even if some of the background colors can be a bit drab at times.) Most of the first season is done in flash, but it's good flash, which does well to accentuate the character expressions and the fluid action scenes. Part way through season one though the show's animation changes to more traditional animation. I think there is a bit of a divide on which style people consider to be better, but I personally prefer the look of the later seasons. The bouncy look of the early season one episodes look good, but I don't know how well that would of worked in the more dramatic and somber moments that happen later on.

 I also appreciate the world building. The first two seasons are set mostly on Earth in the town of Echo Creek, but the last two seasons changes things up and focus much more on Mewni, allowing us to explore both settings. I know some people don't like the change as it resulted in several of the characters introduced earlier being written out of the show but I never really minded that. I think Mewni and the cast of characters who inhabit it are on the whole more interesting than the people of Echo Creek. (I mean does anybody really miss Sensei Brantley?) Plus the change in setting allows us to get a bit of a role reversal with Marco being the fish out of water, and Star having to show him how her world operates. And even if you do prefer the Earth setting we still cut back to it on occasion. And when you add it all up the total series runtime between the two setting is fairly evenly.

 I like how characters can kinda come and go in this series, as it shows that the world doesn't revolve around Star and Marco. And it allows the writers to see which characters people gravitate to and focus on them while keeping less interesting characters out of the way. It also allows for character arcs to actually have conclusions, without the need for them to be drawn out just for the sake of keeping characters around longer.

 Let's talk about themes for a moment. Specifically the main theme of prejudice and  systemic racism in the show. It's handled...okay. It's kinda standard stuff and it doesn't go super complex on the issue, but for what it is it works though. That being said the show can be a bit confusing in terms of what counts as "monsters" and what are just regular races in this world. Which can make the metaphor a little muddled. I get that the idea is that there is no difference, and that monsters are only deemed as bad as an excuse for mewmans to justify their mistreatment of them, but it can still be confusing as to who's oppressed and who isn't and to what extent. I feel it would be even more confusing for a younger children watching who might not understand all the nuances of this stuff. However, the way the show tackles this isn't bad either. And the fact that the show tackles this element at all is admirable.

 But who cares about systemic racism! That's not the real reason people are watching this show! We all know that everybody is really here for the shipping!

 Yeah, as the series went on the shipping seems to become a much more major element within the series. So much so that to many the increased focus on the shipping is often cited as one of the main elements that caused the show to go down hill. However I never really minded it. I mean Star vs. has always been a bit of a love letter to the shojo/magical girl genre and romance is a very important element to those types of shows. So it makes sense that it would be used here. And I think it's used pretty well here overall. These are just kids struggling through these types of feelings for the first time, So it makes a lot of the stupid decisions that they make feel a lot more believable. But if this kind of thing isn't your cup of tea, it might end up bothering you. Because they do devote a good amount of time on it.

 But you're probably wondering, who do I ship? Am I team Starco or team TomStar? And honestly, while shipping has never been something I've ever gotten too invested in, if I had to pick I would probably have to say team Starco. Which may be surprising as I previously went on and on about how Tom was one of my favorite characters of all time. But this is the way I see it. Tom's whole arc is about learning how to get over his jealousy and controlling nature regarding his relationship with Star. And it's shown that even after he's dating Star, and has everything he thought he wanted, he still couldn't fully get over his hangups. Even though he loves Star and Star loves him, it's clear that the relationship still isn't exactly the most healthy. And it's clear that they are going in different directions in their lives. Tom knows what he wants. To be with Star. But Star doesn't know what she wants. Not all relationships have to end because one person does something wrong or because one of the parties involved is a bad person. Sometimes two people just aren't compatible in that kind of way. And seeing Tom be the one to break up with Star shows just how far he's come as a character. Plus, like I said earlier, Star and Marco have great chemistry. And I do genuinely see them working as a romantic couple, beyond the fact that there the two main leads.

 Besides, StarTom is technically incest so....

 *record scratch!*

 Oh wait, you didn't know about that.? Yeah, according to the official "Star vs. the Forces of Evil Magic Book of Spells" Star's Great Great Great Grandmother Rhina Butterfly was in a relationship with John Roachley, a second cousin to the Lucitor's. Now granted that would mean that Star and Tom aren't THAT related. But still. Incest none the less. Not that it even matters anyway since all of the Mewmans are descended from like five random people!  

Seriously, this is some Ishigami Village levels of incest we got going on here.

 But despite how heated the flames wars can be, I think we can all agree that Tomco is the best ship anyway. Like come on now.

 So yeah, even the shipping elements didn't bother me. To be completely honest, while the show did have some problems here or there, I found myself enjoying the show well into the fourth season. But I knew it was coming. Since I was watching the show months after the series had concluded, I had heard things about the finale. A finale that figuratively "cleaved" the fan base. But in order to talk about the finale we have to go a few episodes back and talk about the episodes leading up to it. Obviously spoilers ahead.

 To briefly recap, at this point in the series Eclipsa had become Queen of Mewni along with her husband Globgor after Star relinquished the crown to her. And many of the Mewmans are upset by Eclipsa's new "pro-monster" policies had left to live with the former Queen Moon. Meanwhile Mina Loveberry, a legendary monster fighter from generations far gone, had begun building up an army to invade Eclipsa's castle and take Mewni back from the monsters. A lot of people I hear don't like Mina as a final villain, but honestly I was surprised by how threatening they were able to make her despite how goofy she is. And her backstory about basically being a magically altered super solider driven to the point of insanity really helped to make her sympathetic. (Like I said, in this show everyone is painted with shades of gray. Even genocidal lunatics.) She invades with a Solarian Knight, a giant magic powered mech and it takes all of our heroes working together to barely defeat it. Until it is revealed that it was only one of many. It's an amazing twist that really leaves you wondering "How are or heroes going to get out of this one." Up to this point I was digging this final arc. But that's when I finally got to it.

 To me, the moment where Star vs. the Forces of Evil got bad was the moment it was revealed that Moon was working with Mina to reclaim the thrown from Eclipsa.

 It just doesn't fit Moons's character to do this. While it is shown throughout the season that Moon does not agree with Eclipsa more extreme policies, It was still shown that while Moon may be against Star's decision to give the crown to Eclipsa, she acknowledges that since Star was queen at the time and was within her right as queen to decide what was best for the kingdom. And in previous episodes she seemed generally happy not having the responsibility that comes with being queen anymore. But now she suddenly wants her kingdom back? If she wanted it back, all she had to do was say so from the start. At the start of the season most Mewmans still hate Eclipsa. It would not be that hard to stage a coup if she really wanted, especially since the magic high commission and all of Mewni would be on her side. Why would she work with Mina, who Moon knows is insane and racist even by Moons standard? Sure Moon and Eclipsa definitely don't see eye to eye on a lot of things but Moon still wouldn't want her dead, and Moon knows that Mina wants to kill her. I know she thought she could control Mina's army but that's still a big risk. It seems uncharacteristically reckless for a character as intelligent as Moon to make these choices.

 So then, after it turns out that Moon can't control Mina's army, our heroes are basically screwed and are forced to hide out in a special tavern located at the edge of the universe to wait things out while Mina begins rounding up all the monsters in Mewni. They are all trying to figure out a plan on how to possibly defeat Mina's army when Star suddenly goes on a rant about how magic is bad. And this idea had been brought up a few times in the series, but overall had never really been portrayed as a major aspect. But suddenly the show treats this as if it's all the magics fault, and that everything would be better if it was gone. And that's when Star comes up with the genius plan to use go to the magic dimension to destroy all the magic. Thus making Mina's forces useless. And while I admit that yes, they are very much been pushed to a wall here, this has to be one of the most overkill ideas they could of possibly think of!

 Now, I've seen a lot of people online saying that by doing this, Star would be committing mass murder on a multiverse scale, potentially destroying many universes. And I think that is a bit of a reach. From what we see in the series, it seems to me at least that magic is kinda a rare thing in the universe. That's why so many villains are trying to steal the magic wand away from Star. And I see very little implying that there are whole universes that are reliant on magic outside of Mewni. THAT SAID THOUGH, this would result in the deaths of a lot of innocent people. But Star really only seems concerned with the fact that once magic is destroyed, all people who come from parallel universes will return to their home universe, meaning she won't be able to stay with Marco. Which makes Star seem beyond selfish and generally pretty horrible.

 Hekapoo, one of the high commission members, despite being made of magic and knowing that she will die from this, is totally on board for this plan because plot. And our heroes travel to the magic dimension to destroy all the magic. Which they do. Defeating Mina's forces and leaving her powerless. She still manages to escape however because nobody decides to actually, you know, try to arrest the person who just committed a political coup and nearly whipped out an entire race. They just let her walk off, because she's powerless now. I mean what's the worse she could possibly do, right?

 So yeah, Mina is defeated, but everybody is sent back to their home dimensions. But somehow, through the power of love I guess, the universes of Earth and Mewni begin to merge. Thus allowing Star and Marco to be together. Happy ending, I guess? I don't know.  Like Star and Marco being together is treated as a good thing. But we also see humans screaming as there world have now been overrun by monsters. Is this suppose to be a joke? A bittersweet ending? I'm not really sure.

 In concept the idea of a universe merge is actually a pretty interesting idea. As it feels like a natural progression of the shows themes of racial tolerance and mutual understanding. Now that we've gotten semi-tolerance between monsters and mewmans we could now have an arc about trying to bridge the cultural gaps between the humans and the mewmans. Plus it would be a good way to appease both the people who enjoyed the earlier seasons focus on Echo Creek, and fans of the later seasons who preferred the stories set on Mewni. It's not a bad idea, but it needed to A.) be set up better and B.) needed more time to be fleshed out. I get that it's designed to be a sequel hook, but it's not like this is something that the series had been building up to to the point where we the audience can put together what happens next. As is, it's just weird.

 So yeah, the last couple of episodes of Star vs. where a total mess. It's fitting that the finale to Star happened to come out the same day as the finale of Game of Thrones. While I'm not going to act like there weren't some parts I liked or some good ideas sprinkled throughout, this finale was pretty bad. How do you have a show that preaches acceptance and equality and end it with a genocide?! But hey, genocidal problems call for genocidal solutions am I right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ufmrn7BCuA

My God, It's Dragon Ball Super all over again.

 And the worse part is that the series didn't have to end this way. Cause the show actually had a pretty good episode about half way through the season, "Cornonation" which would of acted as a great series finale! With the series ending with Eclipsa as Queen and ruling with Globgor by her side, with the mewmans finally accepting monster kind. You'd have to change a few things, like rap up Mina's plot and put Star and Marco together, but other than that it could of really worked. Admirably it may end up feeling more like a finale for Mewne as oppose to a finale for Star but it would thematically fit with the message of the series. Or if you really wanna keep this finale more in tack just don't have Star destroy the magic. Just have Star, Moon, and Eclipsa go off and do the one thing the three of them had never tried doing. Working together. And have them defeat Mina the old fashion way. They even allude to this idea in the tavern episode before Star goes on her whole "We gotta destroy the magic" kick.

 It is a bit ironic to think that a show that's whole message is about unity could end up being so divisive with it audience. I genuinely believe that had the show ended on a better note, people would look back on the show more fondly. Despite the flaws. To the people who don't like Star vs. The Forces of Evil, I can understand where you are coming from. Even if you ignore the finale there are things to not like. A lot of things aren't very well explained and the show has its fair bit of plot holes. The series can be repetitive with its frequent shipping and "racism is bad" episodes. And some of the characters can be a bit annoying, including our main lead at times.

 That being said though, I have to say, I can't bring myself to hate this show.

 I don't know what it is, but I just found myself getting really invested into this series. Maybe it was due to me hearing so much bad things about the later seasons that I had low expectations, and while that may be part of it I don't think that's the whole reason. When you watch as many cartoons as I have, and for as long as I have, it becomes harder for things to impress you. Sometimes it can feel like your just checking shows off of a box, which is something that I've been trying to improve upon. But watching this show, it brought me back to the way I felt back in the early 2010's when I first started getting into these types of series.  For all of Star's flaws, and trust me there are many flaws, it felt like it was doing something unique. Like it was in it's own little world that wasn't quiet Adventure Time and not quiet Steven Universe. And the series stuck with me after I finished watching it, which is surprisingly kinda rare. It's why I became interested in doing this review in the first place.

 Star vs. the Forces of Evil is a flawed show. Very flawed. But I'd rather have a flawed show that's unique than a perfect show that's something I've seen a million times. And while I may not be a fan of how it ended, I don't think that should completely take away from all the good that this show has to offer. This show isn't going to be for everybody, and If you somehow made it this far into the review without seeing the show than I hope I've said enough to help you figure out if this show is right for you. But for me, despite everything, the series still has it's magic.

 What did you think of Star vs. the Forces of Evil? I really genuinely want to know on this one.  Did it go downhill and if so than when? Leave those thoughts in the comments down bellow. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review. And have a great day.

[lunawings]

King of Prism SSS Episode 10 (LOUIS)

So I think one of the main reasons a lot of people were confused by this episode (well other than misleading subtitles......) was because a lot of us had our own long-time theories/assumptions about what Louis is or what a Rinne is, and this episode turned out a bit different from what we were all expecting. (I got a lot of messages that were like “But I always thought that...”) I think you have to let your past assumptions go in order to take this episode in. A few of my long-time assumptions were proved wrong by this episode as well.

Although, given this post does still include statements that are my own interpretations, if you think I’m wrong about something please feel free to speak up. (But also please include evidence from Rainbow Live if applicable, etc.) I’m afraid I may have to go back and edit this post several times, especially after whenever the director starts releasing interviews about all this. 

There is a tl;dr at the end, but I really hope most of you guys read all of this. I know it’s long, but the Crunchyroll subs for this episode are just....... so bad...... by far the worst....

I wasn’t really able to keep track of the the scores when I was watching this in theaters, so I actually didn’t realize what a big deal Joji’s score was until this scene at this moment. It’s why I tried to start a dialogue about it earlier. 

Kinda funny how Kokoro, Mondo, Mitsuba, and Tsurugi’s scores are almost exactly the same. It makes them feel all the more like manufactured prism stars.... (not really their fault, it’s how Schwarz Rose does things....) 

I’m going to skip over talking about the scene with Jin and Sanada because I think it’s best saved to discuss in a future episode. Don’t worry, we’ll deal with Jin later.

HE’S SO HAPPY AND CONFIDENT AND EVERYONE BELIEVES IN HIM........................................................................................ 

The translator doesn’t really understand prism sparkle, causing a lot of confusing dialogue in the subs, but I suppose that’s kind of to be expected for anyone that didn’t watch Rainbow Live. 

I’m pretty sure the intended meaning here was: If they can’t fix Rinne then the prism sparkle will disappear, which would mean the end of the prism world, and the prism gods, etc.

Um no, I think they said F-type here. Rinne keeps falling in love with male stars because she’s “F-type”. 

My understanding of the scene is: the Rinnes keep falling in love, which is keeping them from spreading the prism sparkle and leading to destruction of the prism world. But the gods hesitate to make an M-type prism messenger since there is a “dark history” with that. So they just change the basics (like appearance) of Rinne to be male, while keeping the rest of the coding the same, and..... 

....Also restore the memory to hopefully “avoid problems”.

(The subs say “back up” here which isn’t so off, but a bit misleading. I believe the Japanese is 復原 or 復元 = restore and they do say lit: “memory”, not data. I guess the translator was thinking in computery terms.) 

So this explains why Louis is male and has memories of the past, even though they say Rinnes lose their memory in Rainbow Live.  

He’s a Rinne, just a different version. 

And because he has those memories, he immediately begins looking for....

Turned? What do the subs mean by “turned”? 

The word used here was 復活 = to be revived/resurrected. 

I guess the translator thought Shine went to the dark side or something, but he went to the dark side long ago. (Either that or this was supposed to be “returned” and that was a typo.) 

This scene is taking place in the Pride the Hero-ish era and the prism gods are asking Louis WTF he’s doing awakening Shine (by giving Shin the pendant and whatnot). 

So. I read a while back in a director interview in the “Ready Sparking” fanbook that Louis’ mission was “to kill Shin”.

Which didn’t make any sense to me. Rinne in the flashback in Pride the Hero says she’ll find Shine again, so why would she find him just to kill him again? Why would Louis go to all the trouble of giving Shin the pendant and awakening his powers JUST TO KILL HIM? 

But now in this scene it makes sense. Louis’ mission was not to kill Shin(e) to begin with. He was intended to be just a regular prism messenger trying to spread the prism sparkle UNTIL THIS SCENE when his mission changed, because he decided to divert from his mission and awaken Shine without permission.  

So the spoiler I read was technically true, but not in the way it seemed. He did not specifically come like an angel of death to kill Shin(e). (A huge load off my mind.) But in between the ending of the first movie and Crazy Gonna Crazy, things changed. 

Once again, misunderstanding of prism sparkle. The way they subbed this, it sounds like he was told not to expand the brilliance of Shine because what “its” refers to is not clear............ It should have been more like: “Your mission now is the elimination of Shine. There is no need to worry about spreading the prism radiance anymore.”

None of this is readable in the theater ahah... Every time I saw Part 4, I always thought I’d be able to read a bit more of it and I never did. 

But yeah, I’m not sure if we knew before that Hijiri’s mother was deceased....? (Did we?) 

Edit: Lol nevermind we did.  

I heard some people saying that Shin(e) was a Rinne, so I just want to take a second to clarify this. 

Shine is not a Rinne. Shine is a Shine: A now defunct male prism messenger program. He’s a separate program from Rinne, and they were meant to exist together. (Unlike Rinne and June, who were both Rinnes and thus caused an error by existing at the same time in the same world in Rainbow Live.) 

Woah. I’m not sure, but I think they cleared up his face here to make it more obvious how much he looks like Shin...... I think I remember it being too dark to see his eyes well in the theatrical version...? ??

But anyway, the rule for prism messengers not being allowed to perform before an audience (and also the reason why) is something that was previously established in Rainbow Live.  

So I think the subs were absolutely fine for this part. My understanding of it was that after erasing Shine, Rinne gets stuck in a loop where she keeps self destructing because she’s trying to find Shine. 

This makes the prism gods decide to delete her memory. They also task her with guiding male stars as well, since Shine cannot fill that role anymore. This is why the Rinnes in the Rainbow Live era have their memory deleted, and what also unintentionally laid the groundwork for June to fall in love with Hijiri I believe. 

And because the Rinnes kept falling in love like June is why they re-wrote the program to be Louis to try and prevent this and also gave him the memories of the past Rinnes so he will supposedly know what not to do. (But the unintended effect of this is that the memories of the past Rinnes also gave him the memory of Shine, causing Louis to search for Shine again.) 

Which is why I’m confused as to why the very next scene is Louis staring at the pendant looking confused like he doesn’t recognize it or something? Because I thought from the earlier scene where Louis was created, he immediately set off looking for Shine after the Rinne -> Louis update? Am I just misreading his expression here or did I miss something? I don’t know. 

Edit: OMFG IM AN IDIOT. THE SCARF. This scene isn’t taking place right after Louis was created. It’s taking place right after Crazy Gonna Crazy. He’s looking at the pendant which fell from Shin after their show. It’s meant to transition into the events which happen after Louis re-seals Shine I guess. They could have made this a bit more clear. 

If you thought why the F is Kokoro here well WHY YES. YES THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE OTOHA 

but putting that aside

I believe this scene was supposed to establish that Louis knows the Rainbow Live girls. He has the past memory of Rainbow Live era Rinne, but he can’t really do anything about it........... (It’s not like he can just go talk to them as Louis.....)

But his expression is so unreadable it’s hard to tell. 

He gives Shin back his powers to jump geez Crunchyroll.

(But for anyone wondering how mix-ups like this can even occur in the first place, a lot of sentences in Japanese don’t have subjects in them. Therefore, if you don’t know.... the context.............................) 

Maybe the translator chose this wording in the context of prism messengers being forbidden to be seen on stage. But as much as I appreciate that, it’s wrong. In this scene Louis is saying that he physically cannot perform. (He’s a fallen prism messenger now, so the rules don’t matter.)

Okay, I’ll take a moment to explain this just in case, since it is not explained outright:

When Louis broke his connection with the prism world and lost his rainbow feathers in Pride the Hero, he made the same decision June did when she ripped off her wings in Rainbow Live. He chose Shin(e) over his mission. He disobeyed orders and cut himself off from the prism gods in order to do things in his own way.

But whenever a prism messenger makes this decision, their rainbow feathers are replaced by the night dream feathers. The night dream feathers take life away. 

(Screencap from Rainbow Live episode 43.)

In other words, ever since Louis pulled out his earring in Pride the Hero he has slowly began to die.....

Although this is never stated clearly within the main King of Prism series, there are several ways you could have picked up on it before this episode. 

First of all, like I said before we have already been through this with June in Rainbow Live. 

Second, across the Road to SSS events on Prism Rush we have steadily seen Louis getting weaker and weaker. At first he was just tired and fell asleep after the Schwarz Rose opening ceremony in Road to SSS 1, but then his deteriorating condition was made crystal clear in his Queen of Glass PR story from Road to SSS 4, in which Louis plans a date with Shin only to collapse and unwittingly stand him up. 

And then eventually by the time we get to Road to SSS 9, Louis cannot even gather the energy to perform at all unless it’s with Shin. And we got this whole scene with a weakened Louis begging Shin to perform with him.

But even after their performance is a success and they win the Tokyo Kizuna Beat Climax, by the time we get to Road to SSS 10 Louis is so weak they miss the finals. 

Finally, Louis being a fallen prism messenger is directly confirmed in literally the opening scene of King of Prism SSS. 

So if you saw this scene and your reaction was something more like “Oh look it’s Louis... are his wings different?” and not “LOUIS IS DYING” then well.... That’s exactly why I’m always telling you guys to watch Rainbow Live.......................

Although, there was a bit of confusion over these feathers even for people who watched Rainbow Live so don’t feel too bad if that’s you. Some people thought Shin had the night dream feathers in Pride the Hero, or that Rinne had them in the end of Rainbow Live. 

But no. The regular star-type feathers are dark blue too. (Generic, lower level feathers than the rainbow ones.(?))

There are only two characters to have the night dream feathers. And they are: June in Rainbow Live and Louis in SSS. Both fallen prism messengers. 

And buried in the midst of all this Louis drama and deep lore is my probably favorite Joji line of all time. Seriously the Joji in this scene is best Joji and I cannot not laugh no matter how much I’m suffering. 

Okay so. Here is what I do not understand about this episode and would be thrilled if someone could explain it to me. If Yamada-san knew Wataru Hibiki, then Shine could not have been sealed that long ago. I actually searched my fanbooks/magazine collection until I found one which listed Yamada-san’s age as 24. So he’s probably 25 now. So this scene could not have taken place more than 20 years ago (and even that is generous). 

So what the heck was all that 1,000 years thing about? Is that just the amount of time Rinne and Shine knew each other? Or does time just not flow in a straight line for prism messengers when they are skipping in and out of different worlds? 

WOAH

WOAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHIN’S PHONE BACKGROUND IS DIFFERENT 

Okay you’re just going to have to believe me on this, BUT I SWEAR Shin’s phone background in the theatrical version is a photo of his hand holding the pendant. Which seems like a weird choice for a background right? But I had a theory on it that I was gonna discuss here. And that theory is that Shin wanted some kind of a background that reminded him of Louis, and that was all he had. (He couldn’t straight up use a picture of Louis because he didn’t want the other boys to question it.)

But TV version Shin, HE JUST WENT FOR IT. NO SHAME. DAMN BOY. 

I can’t help but wonder why Shin still feels like he has to hide his relationship with Louis here, considering if Road to SSS is canon like it seems to be then they all saw Shin and Louis perform together at the Kizuna Beat Climax a few months ago. 

But I guess in between the Prism King Cup and the start of the Prism One tensions rose with Schwarz Rose again, so maybe he’s worried about that?

Or maybe there is a possibility that maybe he would talk about it if it was anyone but Leo asking. What with how Leo is. 

(I know the real reason is probably just because for plot convenience/the casual viewer hasn’t read Road To SSS but shhhhhhhhhhhh.)

I’m sorry but, man I do not like this outfit. And not because it’s basically girls clothing. If Naru wore it I would hate it too. It’s just kinda ugly IMHO. (It’s not an existing Pretty Rhythm coord is it?)

Original brand glasses Shin is cute as heck though. 

I like how he just keeps his same damn clothes he’s been wearing the entire time in SSS and just glasses + hat = done. Pfft. 

Shin and Louis saw a PriPara movie together. 

(Prism Tours is the name of the first PriPara movie, which included different courses of Pretty Rhythm shows/flashbacks shown on different weeks in theaters back in 2015. The “flavor” Over the Rainbow animation seen in the first King of Prism movie was actually reused from Prism Tours, and increased attendance to the prism boys course of that movie including that scene was one of the main reasons King of Prism was greenlit in the first place. So I wonder if this is actually a reference to that.)

This crazy umbrella street is apparently based on a real place in Nagasaki (nowhere near Tokyo).

I just happened to catch a Tweet about it right after Part 4 came out.

So..... I actually wasn’t as excited for Shin and Louis’ date as you would think I’d be. I spent a while thinking about it and I came up with a couple reasons. First of all, even though this is the first date they have had in the main series, in the side materials.... they date all the time. Like seriously! In my mind they have already been dating for years so this was like just another date. 

Second.... honestly...... I don’t really ship Shin and Louis all that much anymore. Or at least not in the way I used to. My feelings about them peaked somewhere in the Pride the Hero era, and have been quietly declining since. And this scene basically sealed it. Their relationship just isn’t what I thought it was. I know in this episode Louis realizes he loves Shin and not Shine, but he took such a long time to reach that conclusion and I’m just so uncomfortable about their relationship being originally based on Rinne’s relationship with Shine. Which was not a healthy relationship. 

Also! It wasn’t 1,000 years since they have seen each other dammit! It was like 20! AT MOST! Right????? Yeah that’s a long time for mortals, but not for a being like Louis that lives for thousands of years. 

Anyway before you send me hate, just know that I’m definitely not saying Shin and Louis shouldn’t be together and I’m certainly not saying that you should agree with me. Both of them deserve happiness, especially Louis. I’m just saying I personally am not as passionate about them the way I used to be. 

But even so....

That didn’t stop me from going to find the location of this scene when I was in Tokyo last week! 

So did Shin pass the smell test or not? Because Louis.... I guess technically........... (nevermind..... not gonna open up that can of worms right now...........)

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW MAKES ME SO SAD

(Especially thinking about what happens next.) 

 Louis is not at his peak performance condition here. He’s not performing a serious competitive show. Heck, he’s just wearing casual clothing. 

He’s finally realized he loves Shin and not Shine................  All he wants to do is just relive his date with Shin................ THATS ALL.....................

WTF THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THIS ONE 

THIS IS THE MOST BLATANT MISTRANSLATION YET 

He says 君は僕を殺すことができない = You cannot kill me 

Shine tells Rinne (Louis) that she cannot kill him because that would erase Shin’s memories too. He knows Louis cannot stand to lose Shin.

NO

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

HE JUST WANTED TO RECREATE HIS DATE WITH SHIN

HE JUST WANTED TO DO A FUN LITTLE SHOW ABOUT HOW HE LOVES SHIN

THAT’S ALL

WHY

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY 

It took me a long time to appreciate it considering WHAT JUST HAPPENED but this YABEEEEEEEE from Sanada is pretty hilarious. 

This is unfortunately (?) another moment ruined by the new ending music. 

In the theatrical version, this moment is dead silent and it makes it all the more apparent the.... change which has just taken place. It is terrifying. 

But regardless. Now you can probably guess why episode 11 is so painful for me and any fans of Shin..................................

*deep breath*

Okay so. Let’s review. 

Here is my tl;dr of the timeline, from my understanding:

The Rinne/Shine program is created with Rinne for female stars and Shine for male ->  Shine breaks the rules and so Rinne has to erase him -> But Rinne doesn’t erase him completely and promises to find him again -> The Rinne program gets stuck in a loop where she keeps freezing/self destructing because she's trying to find Shine ->  The gods decide to start erasing the memory of the Rinnes -> Rinne keeps falling in love with male stars since she's in charge of male stars now too ->   The events of Rainbow Live happen -> The gods decide to alter the Rinne program to make the body male and restore the memory of the past Rinnes to fix this, creating Louis -> Since Louis has the memory of the past Rinnes he goes to find Shine again -> The events of King of Prism : Louis begins the process of resurrecting Shine in Shin ->  The gods find out and order him to delete Shine again -> Louis still cannot finish the job and cuts himself off from the prism gods, becoming like June -> Louis realizes he loves Shin not Shine but.... -> Louis’ weakened state allows Shine to fully resurrect, and.....

So. There is more to this. But if you would like to come to your own conclusions about what just happened in that final scene and go into the next episode blind, this post is over. Thanks for joining me this far!! 

But if you would like me to explain some more things using spoilers not revealed until the next episode, keep scrolling. 

Obviously you don’t have to!

It’s up to you! 

I just kinda feel like I owe it to you guys. 

(Since I was lucky enough to get my major questions answered right away and not have to wait a week like you guys do.)

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Ready?

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Episode 11 spoilers start here

So I first saw Part 4 on like, 3 hours sleep. So as you can imagine I was having a really hard time taking all this in. And when that last scene happened I was basically plunged into the darkest depths of absolute horror. To think all this time I had been worried about Louis hurting Shin. The opposite had never ever crossed my mind. 

In my first viewing what I thought happened was that Shin had just regained his memories and killed Louis. And for 30 seconds or so, I seriously considered walking out of the theater. Not that I didn’t plan to ever finish watching it, but I just felt I was not ready and needed time to cry and take this all in before continuing to the next episode at the next showing. I was so close and literally the only reason I didn’t leave was because I just didn’t want other people to see me walking out. So I stuck with it and forced myself through the next two episodes. 

And I’m glad I did. Because that’s not what happened. 

The next episode makes it very clear that Shin and Shine are two different people. Shin did not get any memories back in the final scene. Shin is Shin, and Shine is Shine. 

From what I can gather, Shin was born with Shine sealed inside him. He’s like the host. (Whether this technically makes him a reincarnation or not, I’m not sure.) Shin has never had any contact with Shine, but Shine has always been watching life through Shin’s eyes.

The Shin we see walking off at the end of episode 10 is Shine controlling Shin’s body. From the moment he says “Rinne.....” Shine is in control, and Shin as we know him is unconscious. Shin has no memory of the things he does while Shine is controlling him. 

Also, the act of Shine destroying Rinne’s feathers did not kill Louis back there. But as you can imagine, he’s in bad, BAD shape right now.....

[whumphoarder]

Festive Misfortune

Summary: Being lactose intolerant sucks. Being lactose intolerant during the Christmas season sucks even more.

Or, Tony tries to give his kid a carefree holiday party for once by serving a completely dairy-free menu. But of course, Parker Luck™ strikes again.

(In the same universe as Spider-Man’s Very Mundane Kryptonite and Face God and Walk Backwards Into Hell, but you can read them in any order)

Word count: 1,953

Genre: Fluffy illness, sickfic, Christmas theme

Link to read on Ao3

“So, you’re saying I can eat everything here?” Peter asked in amazement, eyes scanning the overflowing buffet table at the Avengers team Christmas dinner. “Including the lasagna?”

Tony nodded. “Every single dish. I catered the entire event from a restaurant specifically specializing in allergen-free dishes. Despite how it may look, there’s not a drop of dairy in sight.”

“So”—Peter moved over to the dessert section of the table—”the cannolis? The tiramisu?” He looked up at his mentor, near giddy with delight. “Even the cheesecake?!”

Tony chuckled. “For once, knock yourself out, kid.”

For just a second, Peter looked like he might cry. He settled for pulling Tony into a bone-crushing hug. “Mr. Stark, this is the best Christmas ever,” he said sincerely.

X

As expected, dinner was a rousing affair. The team joked and laughed as they ate, sharing anecdotes and recounting past missions with each other. With the exception of maybe two dishes that had weird textures, the catered dairy-free food was all surprisingly good. Peter tried a little of everything, gushing his thanks to his mentor the entire time to the point that Tony felt a little bad for not having done this before. Everyone agreed the crème brûlée topped tofu-cheesecake was the star of the show; Tony watched fondly as the kid polished off his third slice.

Once dinner was finished, the team moved into the common area living room to decide on a movie to watch. Or attempt to decide on a movie anyway.

“White Christmas,” Bruce said. “Hands down, best Christmas film of all time.”

“You can’t be serious,” Clint balked at him. He made eye contact with Tony. “Home Alone. That kid is a tactical mastermind.”

“I vote Die Hard,” Natasha said.

“That’s not a real Christmas movie,” Wanda complained. “I want to see Charlie Brown in English. I’ve only ever seen it dubbed in Sokovian.”

“Nah man, you gotta do the Grinch,” Sam said, walking in with a massive bowl of steaming popcorn.

Nat wrinkled up her nose. “Which version? Classic or Jim Carrey?” she asked as she snagged a handful of popcorn.

Sam shot her an offended look. “Jim Carrey is a classic.”

Steve was sulking in an armchair at the other end of the room. “I still vote Babes in Toyland,” he grumbled.

“Okay one, that definitely sounds like a porno,” Tony scoffed at him, “and two, that’s just because it’s the only one old enough for you to remember.”

“Hey,” Steve shot back, “I have the right to nostalgia just as much as the rest of you.”

“What about It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street?” Bruce suggested. “Those have gotta be from your era, right?” He glanced up at the ceiling for confirmation.

“It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, was released in 1946,” FRIDAY informed. “Miracle on 34th Street, directed by Les Mayfield, was released in 1947.”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “I was frozen in ‘45.”

“Ah.” Bruce winced. “Sorry.”

“Okay, I say we let the kid pick,” Tony declared over the chatter. “What do you say, Pete?” he asked, turning towards the unusually quiet teenager at the other end of the sofa.

Peter seemed caught off guard. “Oh. Um, I dunno…” He shrugged and shifted position, pulling his legs up and tucking his knees to the side. “I’m good with whatever.”

“C’mon, you gotta have some preference,” Tony pressed.

“I guess…I mean, the Grinch is always good. Or Christmas Vacation, maybe?” Peter suggested.

“Oh man, how did I forget about the Griswold family?” Clint exclaimed. “I’m changing my vote.”

“I’m down,” Sam agreed. “Exploding turkeys, insufferable relatives, electrocuted cats...what’s not to love?”

X

It turned out Clint could more or less quote the whole movie, and did so under his breath for the first five minutes solid until Nat threatened to silence him in a rather unsavory way. They were all much quieter after that.

The movie was amusing as always, but Tony was a little distracted. Peter kept shifting around on the sofa, only giving half-hearted laughs at the funny scenes. For the most part, his lips were pressed together tightly.

Tony frowned and leaned over to whisper at him. “You alright, kid?”

All traces of discomfort disappeared from Peter’s face as he quickly flashed his mentor a smile. “Yeah, of course.”

When they got to the swimming pool scene, Tony jokingly tossed a throw blanket over the kid’s head, blocking his view of the screen.

“Aw c’mon!” Peter complained, his voice a little muffled by the blanket. “It’s PG-13. You don’t even see anything.”

“No minors will be viewing sideboob under my roof, kiddo,” Tony declared.

Natasha smirked at him. “The hypocrisy is rampant.”

“Nah, I’m with Stark on this one,” Clint said. “Kid’s got plenty of time for that later.”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “You two are such dads.”

Still comically covered by the blanket, Peter got to his feet. “I’ll just use this opportunity to go to the bathroom,” he mumbled. “Enjoy your sideboob, everyone.”

The team snorted in laughter as the blanket-clad figure shuffled out of the living room.

X

When twenty minutes passed and Peter still hadn’t returned, Tony was starting to get antsy. Finally, he slipped off the couch and headed out to the hallway.

Upon discovering that the closest bathroom was unoccupied, he paused. “FRIDAY, where’s the kid?” he asked.

“Peter is currently in his bedroom,” the AI replied.

Tony’s brow furrowed. He’d just been teasing the kid about the sideboob thing—he honestly didn’t give a shit if Peter watched PG-13 or even R rated scenes for that matter. But maybe calling Peter out in front of a group of his literal heroes had embarrassed him more than Tony thought.

Figuring an apology was probably in order, he made his way up to Peter’s room. Technically, it was one of the guest bedrooms, but Peter stayed in it so often that it had morphed into his own space.

When Tony got there, he saw that the door was just slightly ajar. Through the gap, he could see Peter sprawled out face down on top of the bed, arms circled around his pillow which he was clutching to his stomach. His head was tilted away from the doorway so Tony only saw the back of it.

Tony hesitated a second before rapping the back of his knuckles against the door. “Hey kid? You planning on coming back?”

Peter pulled his head up and turned towards the doorway. Seeing his mentor, he immediately pushed himself up to sit up on the bed against the headboard. “Oh, sorry!” he gasped. “You didn’t pause the movie for me, right? Because you can totally keep playing it.”

Tony pushed the door open further and stepped inside. “They’re still watching, don’t worry,” he assured. “But you disappeared on us. What’s going on?”

Peter glanced down at the bedspread and shrugged. “Just got kinda tired. Wanted to lay down.”

Tony frowned as he moved closer to the bed. “Too tired to sit on a couch and watch a movie?” he questioned. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” Peter mumbled back, but his stomach cut him off with an angry-sounding growl. A grimace flashed across his features and Peter snaked an arm around his middle.

It was a gesture Tony knew all too well. He blinked at the kid. “You have a stomach ache.” It was a statement, not a question.

Peter gave him a sheepish look.

Tony blinked again. “Why the fuck do you have a stomach ache?” he demanded.

“Uh...sorry?” Peter mumbled.

“No, I didn’t mean-” Tony cut himself off with a frustrated sigh. “I just don’t get it. Nothing you ate should have had dairy, so why is this happening?”

Peter gave a half-laugh. “Welcome to my world, Mr. Stark.” He hugged the pillow back to his obviously cramping stomach. “It's fine—I'm used it it. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve ordered soy milk in drinks at Starbucks and got regular milk instead.” He shrugged. “Now I just get that iced tea lemonade thing when I go there.”

“This is unbelievable,” Tony muttered irritably. “FRIDAY, call up the catering company. I want to speak to their manager. Now.”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Peter said quickly. “You don’t have to get anyone in trouble! I’m sure it was just an accident.”

“No, they can’t get away with this shit,” Tony argued, the feeling of righteous anger rising in him. “If they’re gonna advertise their menu as dairy-free, it better be fucking dairy-free! I mean, what if you were someone who had an actual dairy allergy instead of an intolerance?” he demanded. “Then we’d be talking about anaphylactic shock, not an upset stomach. This is serious, Peter—they have to be held responsible.”

Peter rubbed a hand at the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, so about that...”

“What?”

“Um…I wasn’t gonna tell you, but if you’re gonna yell at someone—” Peter steeled himself with a breath. “It might not be totally their fault?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at the kid. “What did you do?”

If possible, Peter looked even more uncomfortable. “Uh… it wasn’t really me either…” He glanced up at the ceiling nervously. “I was kinda checking with FRIDAY before you got here to see what might have gone wrong and it turns out this place has two different specialized menus you can order from.”

“Right.” Tony nodded slowly. He was well aware of that. “One is dairy-free, and the other is gluten-free. I ordered off the dairy-free one.”

Peter’s stomach grumbled again and he pressed a hand to it with a wince. “Yeah, so, the two menus have pretty similar sounding stuff…”

Realization suddenly dawned on Tony. “Oh my god,” he muttered, a sick feeling coming over him. “Tell me I didn’t…”

“No no, not everything!” Peter cut in. He gave a humorless laugh. “Trust me, Mr. Stark, I would be like, on the bathroom floor, praying for god to just finish the job if that were the case.”

That image didn’t make Tony feel even remotely better. He squeezed shut his eyes and pressed his fist to them. “Which dishes did I order wrong?”

“Just um… just the cheesecake,” Peter mumbled. His stomach grumbled again. “And like, also maybe the cannolis?”

Guilt flooded through Tony. “Great. Fantastic.” He huffed out a sigh. “I fucking poisoned you.”

“No, no it was an accident!” Peter said quickly. “And it was probably my fault anyway—I should have known there was no way that gloriousness was made of tofu,” he said with a half laugh.

Tony ran a hand over his face. With all the shit he usually gave the kid about eating things he knew would make him sick, knowing that for once Tony was the reason for Peter’s current suffering made him feel terrible. “God, kid, I’m so sorry.”

“It's fine! I wasn’t even gonna tell you because I knew you’d feel bad but then you found me and…” Suddenly Peter paled and hopped off the bed. “Um, I gotta go, be right back.”

“Pete, I swear I’m gonna make this up to you,” Tony called after the kid as he headed for the en suite bathroom. “Christmas is in five days and I am an actual billionaire, so dream big kiddo!”

Peter threw a mock salute in Tony’s direction as he scurried off. Just as he got to the door, he looked back and locked eyes with his mentor. “It was really good cheesecake, Mr. Stark,” he said sincerely.

As soon as the door was shut behind him, Tony let out another sigh and muttered at the ceiling, “FRIDAY, get my Audi dealer on the phone. Tell him I’ve got a rush order.”

Read Part 4 of the Lactose Intolerant Peter series

Fic Masterlist

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam season 3, episode 7 reaction

AKA The One Where The Boy Squad Saved the Day

Episode 7 of season 3 is simpler compared to other episodes, artistically speaking - for most of it, there’s no slow motion, no big music moments, or any other Skam hallmarks. That is, until Even’s dramatic ass shows up at the very end. Which is quite fitting, in a way. 

SEASON 3, EPISODE 7 - “Are you gay?”

Clip 1 - Eskild becomes Isak’s guru

Eskild tries to help Noora get over William by showing her the wonders of Tinder. I don’t know if his distaste for William in S4 was something Julie invented that season, as maybe a nod to the part of the audience who did not care for William or Noorhelm, but in-universe I would buy Eskild developing that grudge against Willy around this time. I don’t think he quite knew how much of her S2 angst was William-related, considering she wasn’t an open book and she was dealing with assault-related trauma as well. Here he knows she’s hurting for reasons directly to do with William. 

Noora liked the guy on Tinder with the guitar, awww. William apparently had a guitar, as we saw during the More Than Words scene, but he was never shown playing it or talking about music.

“I just think you’re the kind of person who always has to do the right thing. You always have to be so good.” Hmmm, this says a lot about what Eskild thinks of Noora and her role in Kollektivet. Although I think in this case it mostly has to do with what Eskild says a moment later, about how everyone knows William isn’t going to come back. He really doesn’t think William will return for her and believes Noora is limiting herself by waiting for him. Just because Noora will wait for William doesn’t mean William will wait for her (which ... may have been true, it’s never clear in S4).

While watching this clip in real time, I wondered if, with all these moments reminding us that William is gone, Thomas wouldn’t come back for like a cameo in this season finale. Regardless of my personal feelings on the ship, Julie spent a full season on Noorhelm, and since there were Evak/Noorhelm parallels this season, if Evak ended up together, then Noorhelm would get some closure, right? It was actually a little surprising that she would tank her OTP like that without a hint of his return. 

Noora is making tea in a Star Wars mug. Is that her mug, or someone else’s? Who’s the Star Wars fan in the flat? Tbh ever since Eskild made that Warhammer reference in the first episode, I kind of like the idea of him having sci-fi/fantasy nerd tendencies. Imagine if Kollektivet had a tabletop game night, omg.

Isak has a little smile for just a fraction of a second at Eskild’s dramatics over the Noorhelm saga.

Eskild is really tired of Isak apologizing for the gay pride incident. I think once he got some distance from the situation, he remembered that Isak is young and just coming out, and not perfectly educated on all issues regarding to the LGBT community. Eskild himself likely made some similar mistakes when he was younger and newly out of the closet. Life is a learning process, there’s no point where any of us reach Mount Woke and forevermore say the right thing and hold all the right opinions about issues of social justice.

Also, at a certain point you just want people to stop saying sorry for their mistakes, because you’ve stopped caring about what they did and just want to move on. And sometimes it becomes more about the person saying sorry than the person they hurt, though I don’t think that’s the case here with Isak. But I do think Isak just does not want Eskild mad at him. He realizes he messed up and hurt someone close to him, someone that he frankly needs during this sensitive time in his life, and who already has done so much for him.

It’s hilarious how Eskild’s annoyed mood does a 180 once Isak says he needs some advice. Those are the magic words. Eskild is a dude who really, really wants to nurture others and take them under his wing. He wants to help. And he likes the idea of being Isak’s mentor. Of course there’s the satisfaction of having his opinion listened to and valued, but he also gets to help out a gay kid who’s not as sure of himself as Eskild. Really makes you wonder whether Eskild had his own guru or whether he had to go it alone - if this is a “pay it forward” situation, or if he’s telling Isak the things he wishes someone would have told him.

It’s kind of hard to think about long-term future headcanons for Skam since it existed so firmly in its present, but I love the idea that Eskild would become a counselor for troubled youth or LGBT teens or something like that.

This is also just delicious payback, because asking for help shows Isak does look up to Eskild and respects his opinion, which is what Eskild wants. It’s really fun as Carl Martin stretches out Isak’s request, playing with him. Messing with Isak is probably more satisfying than another apology. Meanwhile Isak rolls his eyes in peak bratty teenage mode. (Tarjei gives some first-rate bratty teenage face in this scene.)

Here’s the immortal guru line, ha! Didn’t Carl Martin improvise this part? 

It’s really nice that Isak felt he could go to Eskild with this concern, though. Coming out to Jonas made him relax a little bit, but Jonas can’t quite understand the specific scenario of being a gay guy (or pan guy in Even’s case) and having relationship drama. There are some factors in Isak and Even’s situation that could be influenced by them being two guys instead of a straight couple, so now Isak wants the input of another gay guy. Still, Isak is mostly looking at the ground while he openly admits his concerns about this thing with Even. He’s very vulnerable, getting it all out there. And honestly, he’s indicating to Eskild that this isn’t just a casual thing with Even - he’s invested in it, otherwise would he be so confused and upset about Even going back to his girlfriend? They weren’t just hooking up, Isak thought they were going to be together.

You can see the mention of “girlfriend” being the thing that sticks out to Eskild, and Isak noticing that and starting to get worried.

I really like this exchange where Eskild asks Isak how honest he wants him to be, and Isak says, “Maybe not too honest,” at first, then changes his mind and asks for the whole truth. That’s such a good little moment because you can see that Eskild wants to protect Isak’s feelings but also doesn’t want to give him false hope or lie to him. He’s really looking out for Isak’s best interests. And Isak doesn’t want to hear the harsh truth at first, which is real and vulnerable, but then he figures he better hear it anyway, which is a mark of maturity.

Look at the bucket of cold water splashed over Isak when Eskild tells him not many guys leave their girlfriends for a guy. This is like the episode opener from episode 4 all over again, except opposed to what Eskild said to Noora - “There are people who leave their wives and families to be with the ones they love.” It’s interesting because he’s talking from a more personal perspective here, as a gay man, rather than Noora’s issue with her het relationship, and his take is more cynical. 

Though even with Noora, Eskild was trying to soften the blow - it was clear he thought William was out of the picture for good, going off how he kept mentioning how Noorhelm had broken up despite Noora’s protests. Similarly, Eskild doesn’t want to let Isak down too much, he wants to qualify that he’s not God or Buddha, this is just his opinion … but he also can’t bring himself to openly lie (in his opinion) to Isak and tell him it’s going to work out fine.

Nothing like Eskild asking if his advice was helpful when Isak’s hope is draining fast, and the clip just ending there.

So I remember there was criticism of Eskild’s advice/POV here, and while I understand why because his advice is flawed and he ends up being wrong about Even, obviously, I think it’s important to keep in mind Eskild is coming from a very specific, very personal perspective, where he’s meeting guys on Grindr who are ostensibly hanging on to a straight identity while having gay sex. As that one dude in episode 2 wrote to him, he’s not gay but he likes to suck dick, etc. - and I doubt that random Grindr guy meant he was actually bi or pan rather than gay; in context he was likely disavowing any non-heterosexual identity. Eskild is talking about a specific type of guy who will have sex with men for pleasure, but would not commit to more long-term relationships with men - relationships that are perceived more negatively in society, relationships that will direct prejudice and scorn toward those involved, relationships that unfortunately can lead to terrible consequences due to homophobia, such as violence, discrimination, family disapproval, etc. He’s not getting a correct read on Isak’s situation - the guru is fallible. But his take on it is from personal experience. (Plus Isak is telling him how Even keeps running hot and cold, showing Isak affection then ignoring him, which is not going to give Eskild the best impression of the situation.)

Clip 2 - Nei, Vilde

My heart gets so warm whenever Isak and Sana are in the same frame.

“I read it last weeeeek.” Why is that one line delivery so funny and memorable? Tarjei is a human meme.

Isak is right, the correct answer is D. Sana is convinced it’s A. One of Sana’s greatest strengths is her conviction in her beliefs, but it’s also one of her biggest flaws. As we can see, sometimes she is strongly convinced she’s right when she’s not, and she can have trouble admitting that she’s wrong. (Another moment: that scene from S1 where Sana and Noora are talking about an assignment, Noora says Sana did a problem wrong, and Sana says that the answer key is wrong.) This part of the scene with Isak and Sana fighting over the answer is here to parallel the earlier scene with Sana talking about homosexuality not being supported by evolution and to foreshadow the coming scene where she does admit to Isak she was wrong about it. We can see that Sana, while a smart person, doesn’t have all the answers. She is just a teenager, after all. And we can see that she’s stubborn in her mindset, so for her to say she was wrong about something is a big deal for her.

Also, in Isak’s season he’s the one who’s got the right answer and it’s Sana who’s wrong, and I believe in Sana’s season she’s the one outperforming him, which is funny and fitting for their characters. They both think they’re the brains of the operation.

“Your own organs don’t release waste.” Sana ... do you not know what poop is....

I mean excretion takes other forms,too, but I am given to understand that poop is a globally recognized phenomenon.

Sana pinching her nose in exasperation is pretty funny, though. She must have perfected that gesture during her conversations with Vilde, but as it turns out, it has many applications!

“Just trust me, Sana, I know this.” “I trust myself and it’s A.” Character-defining statement for Sana right there.

I’d forgotten that Isak says, “This is my subject. I know what I’m doing.” Just to support all those fanfics where Isak is a scientist or doctor. Sometimes facts can be super common in fic, but not necessarily supported in canon, but this bit gives credence to scientist Isak outside of him just generally being smart and getting good grades in biology.

AND NOW, as of this week, we have Julie Andem herself saying that Isak is studying biophysics at university, for people who would like to run with her headcanons.

Isak is like, “Let’s just Google it, I’m sick of you being stubborn,” and Sana’s like, “Well, if you’re so uncertain that you have to check Google,” and I’m like, oh my god what a ridiculous duo, I can’t stop giggling at them sniping at each other. The crankiest friends, I love them.

Everyone’s least favorite teacher returns, still without a bra but this time without a racist comment. Uh, character development? (Wasn’t she some teacher at Nissen? Imagine walking into your classroom and all your students were watching extended shots of your nipples when the clip dropped earlier. Unless she usually free-boobs it, then it’s just another Tuesday.)

Isak and Sana can’t come to an agreement, so they agree to disagree by each choosing an answer and marking it. Almost like … they can agree to disagree on other topics … hmmmm...

You can see Sana frown in confusion as she reads the text, and my heart cracks a little with Isak’s response. He looks over with a smirk, teasing her about not knowing her name and it’s very cute, but his smile drops when he sees her expression. And then when he reads the text, Tarjei does such excellent and subtle acting. It’s not like Isak has a meltdown at the table or anything, but you can see him getting punched in the gut, the shock sinking in. He quietly puts the phone in his pocket, a little tremor in his voice.

Vilde, Vilde, Vilde. I actually love Vilde a lot, messy comments and opinions and all, but this is What Not to Do when you think someone you know might be gay. First of all, you shouldn’t be putting someone randomly on the spot like that, launching into such a personal question without even easing into the subject (“I hope you don’t find this question rude” - too bad, because it is rude). I mean, imagine if someone was randomly like, “Vilde, I hope you don’t think this is rude, but is your mom an alcoholic?” WTF. Second, Vilde doesn’t know Isak that well, certainly not well enough to be asking him that question. I don’t think that question would be appropriate from a close friend, either, but definitely not from their level of acquaintances. Third, if you think your friend might be gay, you should wait for them to bring it up to you, because it’s a very personal matter. It’s a sensitive topic and they’re likely to be feeling vulnerable; they might not be sure of themselves and still questioning their sexuality, they just might not be ready. Plus coming out is something each individual should have control over. With these rumors, Isak has this life-changing moment taken out of his hands.

Sana responds to the text well, though, not acknowledging it, changing the subject by asking about the next bio question, and taking care of their assignment for Isak. You know when she saw Vilde next she chewed her out.

This is probably when things really started to make sense to her about why Isak was so hung up about religion not being accepting of homosexuality, and why he confronted her about it. She realizes that no matter her point, maybe her words had some unintended meanings that weren’t the best for Isak to hear.

There’s fear in Isak’s eyes when Sana gets up. He looks at her like he thinks she might hate him now because she knows he’s gay :(

Isak is not ready to be labeled gay, really, so you can imagine how alarming this is. Not just that he had a relationship with a boy, but that he IS something. He’s something that he’s not yet ready to accept about himself, but suddenly everyone in school knows it about him? 

To make matters worse, when Isak asks Vilde where she heard it, she mentions that she heard Isak and Even had a thing. So it’s not just that Isak is gay, it’s that Isak had a relationship with Even, like ... exactly how much do they know about his life?

What do you think Even thought about being outed? We don’t know whether he was out or not, whether he was OK with it. He wasn’t wearing a pan pride button until S4. Maybe he was fine with people knowing about his sexuality, but it still wasn’t Emma’s call to make, it was his.

Of course here we learn Emma spilled the beans after hearing it from Sonja. You can imagine how this went: Even told Sonja about him and Isak. I don’t have a problem with him doing that. She was his girlfriend of four years, she deserved to know the truth about why Even was ending their relationship. And she also had graduated and didn’t go to Nissen so she wasn’t exactly enmeshed in the Nissen social sphere, there seemingly wasn’t much risk in telling her. Then Sonja contacted Emma, the sweet first-year girl who she got along with so well, to warn her off Isak. I don’t think it was wrong of her to do this in theory? I guess Sonja could have said, “Hey, Isak is not worth your time,” without going into more details about Isak and Even’s relationship, but who knows how effective that would have been. I get it, she doesn’t want Emma to waste her time and get her heart broken. Ultimately it was Emma’s choice whether to keep Isak’s sexuality to herself or not. And we don’t know exactly how Emma outed Isak, since the details Vilde gives are on the vague side. It could have been Emma venting to a friend but not intending to spread it around school, except someone else happened to overhear. It could have been the friend passing it on to a friend, who passed it on to another friend, and it kept going way more than Emma wanted or predicted. Or, I mean, it could have been Emma really angry at Isak and not bothering to keep it a secret, not understanding the severity of what it’s like to be outed (because it’s 2016, Isak, get out of the closet, geeeeeez).

But whether it was through carelessness or malice, outing Isak was clearly wrong of Emma. And frankly worse than what he did to her - he hurt Emma by leading her on, but outing Isak could have had really bad consequences. Isak is lucky that his friends are good people who accepted him instead of rejecting him. Even if he wasn’t gay-bashed or something extreme like that, he could have had to deal with homophobic assholes at school. We don’t see Isak dealing with homophobes until S4, but it’s not unreasonable to think there would be some shitheads who might use homophobic slurs or make fun of him, laugh at him, etc.

Actually, although he doesn’t really deal with bullying in this season, we do see that he has to deal with people like Vilde and the dance girls, well-intentioned individuals who still make him uncomfortable with inappropriate or generalizing remarks. All of that is a hell of a lot to deal with as a gay teenager. It should have been Isak’s choice when he was ready to deal with all of that by coming out to the school. No matter her intentions, Emma took that away from him.

This is my one substantial critique of the season and the only thing I would change. I think we definitely see that Emma’s actions had negative effects for Isak, but it would have been nice to get more open acknowledgment that outing someone else without their consent is wrong. Either by someone explicitly saying that Emma did something wrong, or by Emma apologizing to Isak for what she did. Or both. Her reaction in her final scene with him does seem like she’s apprehensive about speaking to him, so maybe she realizes she messed up, but it would have been good to get this message vocalized for the audience. Don’t out people against their will.

Vilde says, “Sorry if it’s not true.” But not sorry if it is true, because Vilde doesn’t realize that it’s not the veracity of the rumor, it’s the violation of privacy.

Vilde thinks she’s being an ally, too, except of course her comments are just going to make Isak feel worse. This is what he fears - being judged because he’s gay, coming out = people seeing him as a concept instead of as an individual. Vilde is playing into the same thoughtlessness as Emma in episode 3: she’s making generalizations, and positive generalizations are still a problem. “I love gays!” is dehumanizing. Not all gay people are the same. Some are nice. Some are mean. Some are fun. Some are boring. You know. Like the rest of humanity. She’s showing that she’s slotting Isak into this neat little box, which is what she wants to avoid.

If you’ve read Ulrikke’s Skam fanfic for charity, there’s a bit where Vilde kisses Isak on the cheek because she’s trying to make him her gay best friend. But of course Isak is anything but the “gay best friend” stereotype. 

It is kind of ridiculous to imagine Vilde looking at Isak and going, ah yes, there’s a guy who would make a perfect gay best friend. Like Vilde is expecting a shopping partner or someone to give her grooming tips and romance advice, and instead Isak’s preferred BFF activities would consist of lying around, playing FIFA, and smoking weed.

Clip 3 - Coming out to the boys

Jonas asks the important questions, like how does IKEA name their furniture? (And IKEA had an answer for Jonas.) (They told him to have fun at the pre-drink on Friday, lmao. IKEA was just as deep in Skam hell as the rest of us.)

The random girl saying hello to Isak is one of those innocuous-seeming things that really illustrates the negative effects of being outed. Isak is exposed. He’s suddenly a public figure. Even in a “positive” way that’s a lot to deal with; not to be a broken record but he should have been his choice when to come out so he could prepare himself for this attention. 

Lmao, Magnus and Mahdi have their own little musical duo. Also, David’s rapping and dancing in this scene is the funniest shit. His comedic timing was great in this clip.

You can notice a few subtle differences in how Magnus and Mahdi greet Jonas versus how they greet Isak, because there’s still awkwardness over what happened at Emma’s party. Mahdi doesn’t look at Isak at first.

I don’t usually comment on this type of stuff but this is one of Isak’s fluffiest looks. Whenever he leaves off the snapback? Fluff factor increases 200%. Helps that he spends part of this scene looking skittish as a baby deer.

Jonas is the one to mention Isak’s pre-party, signaling that he is cool with Isak and softening the awkwardness of Isak having to do it. Jonas is such an excellent bro.

Magnus readily agrees to the party; I think he’s just such an easy-going dude and not someone who likes conflict. Jonas semi-subtly asks if they’re all in, and there’s a little moment where Isak and Mahdi exchange a look. Isak says that he won’t get violent this time, which is his way of saying he’s sorry, and Mahdi is cool with it and gives a giant lovely smile. So just like that, peace is restored in the boy squad.

I remember this was the clip where I fully turned around on the boy squad and went from, hmmm, don’t know how I feel about these teenage boys? to I love them FOREVER. Just in time for the magnificent Fredag clip.

Of course, then Magnus just has to bring up that totally wacky rumor about Isak being gay. Lol so funny that everyone thinks that!! Because it’s obviously not true!! The relief Isak must feel at making up with his friends must grind to a halt. Because it’s one thing that they’re forgiven him for the fight, but are they going to be OK with him once they learn he’s gay? He came out to Jonas and it went well, but what about these guys? Coming out is going to have to be a continuous process for him, isn’t it? And maybe it will get easier but can it ever get easy?

 I’m not sure Isak planned to come out to Magnus and Mahdi when he sat down. There’s a text conversation between Isak and Jonas about telling the boys since the rumors went around, but I don’t know if Isak entered the room with the intention of coming out right then and there, or if he was just planning on making amends and then coming out to them in a different scenario, like maybe he wanted to tell them at the pre-drink (hey, it could be easier after a few drinks), but Magnus bringing up the rumors sort of pushed the issue. At least when he came out to Jonas, he got to plan the time and place and had some control over the situation.

Jonas is there, though, and he realizes that this conversation could head into uncomfortable territory for Isak. The upside is that Isak does have Jonas there for emotional support, he has at least one friend he knows has his back about being gay, he’s not doing this alone. I live for Jonas glancing at Isak during this conversation to check on how he’s doing. Which is not great - Isak is REALLY uncomfortable listening to Magnus and Mahdi talk about the rumors.

I really like how they handle this part of the conversation, though, regarding the rumors about Mahdi fighting Isak for being gay. It puts Isak and Mahdi, who haven’t always gotten along this season, on similar ground. Mahdi is also a victim of a stereotyping and generalizing, both “neutral” and negative - that he’s Muslim when he’s not, that he’s homophobic when he’s not. Assumptions that are certainly made because of his race. I can’t speak for Norwegians specifically, but it’s a widespread stereotype that POC are less tolerant of LGBT people and more likely to be homophobic. It’s a good thing for Julie to casually include a rejection of that stereotype. Also that Mahdi is really bothered and not amused by other people thinking he’s a homophobe. Magnus thinks this whole thing is so ridiculous it’s funny, while the others really don’t find it funny at all; it’s shitty for Isak and Mahdi personally, and Jonas knows that Isak is struggling.

I do love Magnus overall but I want to duct tape his mouth shut for a large part of this conversation.

Okay, he drives me up the wall here but admittedly I do get a laugh out of that satisfied huff he gives at the end of the talk, like “Good chat, glad we got that cleared up.” Having no idea the seriousness of this conversation.

Poor Isak. His discomfort throughout this clip is very well-acted, good job, Tarjei. He can’t even look his friends in the eye at the beginning. 

And that eye contact Jonas shares with him before Isak starts to tell them the truth!!!! Best bro!!!! He also keeps looking to Jonas for support during the talk, before he tells the boys about Even.

The way Isak comes out here is roundabout, just like before. Like he did with Jonas, he builds up to it - he’s not just like, “Well, there’s some truth to the rumors,” or anything so direct. He starts by winding into the story about the dance chicks, taking some time to get to the point. He needs to work up to saying the words.

An interesting part is when Isak asks if they remember the guy who came up to them and Magnus is like, “The gay guy?” and Isak wants to know why he thinks he was gay. Because Isak is of course thinking about Even, not the random dance instructor. But there’s some stuff to unpack with how Isak gets maybe a little tense or alert about Magnus thinking Even is gay. There are a couple ways you could read his reaction: that Isak is still dealing with what it means to be gay and to be seen as gay, the social perception of it, and can’t turn off the part of his brain that’s full of anxiety about seeming gay, and wants to know what it is Magnus picked up about Even - could it apply to Isak, too? Or that Isak is still thinking about Eskild’s guru advice and Even’s general hot and cold-ness and wondering if Even really is gay (or bi, or pan, or into dudes) and wanting another take on it? Or you know, just confusion over how Magnus could know that much with such a brief interaction. 

To be fair, all of these interpretations assume Isak believes Magnus is capable of a deeper level of perception that he perhaps is, lmao. Or, on the other hand, if someone like Magnus could pick up that Even was perhaps gay after seeing him for like 10 seconds, then what does that say about how people see Isak? 

It’s honestly pretty funny that Isak is like “Don’t you remember the guy who was such a tall swoopy-haired drink of water? Didn’t him returning Jonas’ hat burn into your minds for all eternity until you pass from this world and it’ll be the last thing you see on your deathbed?” Isak, those guys were in a dance girls coma, a random dude returning a hat was mostly a non-event to them. (Yes, Jonas remembered that moment and figured out he must be Isak’s crush, but Jonas is the The Best Friend and paying close attention to all Isak-related anomalies.)

Once more, Isak comes out to people not by saying he’s gay, but by describing his actions (“We’ve had a thing”). Quickly reinforced by Magnus asking whether he’s gay and Isak reflexively rejecting the label. It goes from Isak saying, This is what I did and Magnus saying, So this is who you are? and Isak saying, No, that’s not who I am. Well, maybe a little bit.

I mean, he does say he’s a little bit gay, but I feel like that’s a concession that yeah, hooking up with a dude is not a straight thing to do, he probably feels like it would be stupid to pretend otherwise. But him fumbling with the gay label here shows how concerned he still is about the perception of others about his sexuality. He still has hangups about what it means to be gay and wants to distance himself from societal stereotypes, and he quickly backs into a defense of himself. Isak might be a little gay but he’s not SO gay he’s into every guy he meets. Which should be obvious - he’s not into every guy out there just as these straight boys are not attracted to every single girl on the planet. But Isak is very insecure. Like at its core, this part is sad to me, because he wants to make sure these other guys are not uncomfortable with him and they don’t see him as a threat. It’s completely understandable why he has these insecurities, because of homophobic ideas about predatory gay men, but it’s still depressing that he feels he needs to defend himself when the words about him having a relationship with a guy are barely out of his mouth.

However, here is another really good moment! Magnus is confused because Isak (in his eyes) hooks up with girls all the time, and Isak doesn’t really know how to say he was lying or faking, or he doesn’t want to say he is not into girls at all yet (because if he’s like, “I’m not into girls,” Magnus is going to be like, “Sooo… you are gay?”) BUT before Isak has to handle this deeply awkward moment, blessed Mahdi is like, “Well, he could be pansexual?” THANK GOD. We as the audience know that Isak is not pan (or bi) but it’s completely reasonable as an outside suggestion that Isak might be. So often this is framed as one or the other, Isak could only be gay or straight. A lot of canons won’t even bring up bisexuality, and it’s really rare to hear pansexuality mentioned at all. Bravo, Skam. 🙌

So this tense moment where Isak is suddenly put on the spot and potentially asked to explain his sexual history is diverted by his friends casually discussing and debating pansexuality and bisexuality. Is this the most #woke way they could have talked about it? Well, no, but it’s a realistic discussion and certainly a good thing for the teenage audience to hear. These characters are not experts on every social issue out there, but they’re open to being educated and sharing knowledge with each other.

Like I kind of laugh at Isak pursing his lips, suddenly excluded from his own coming out while his friends debate labels. In a way it is weird that they’re suddenly talking about whether Isak could be bi or pan right in front of him, but not with him, just among themselves. It’s meant in a good-natured way though, they’re trying to understand him. And Isak must find this deeply surreal but preferable to being grilled personally on how he identifies. Of course they could have just asked him whether he was bi or pan but I don’t think Isak was ready to answer that question.

King Jonas is like “However, he identifies, he’s having a pre-party on Friday,” because hey, that’s the most important thing here, where and when they can get drunk. (For real, bless Jonas for changing the subject before it got too strange.)

Magnus using the f-slur is jarring and not excusable and I mean, I hope Jonas later on was like, “Don’t say that word, dumbass,” and Magnus went home and Googled words not to use when your bro might be pansexual and educated himself. I’m not excusing him, but I don’t think we don’t hear anything like that from him later so hopefully he wised the fuck up.

But again, duct tape.

At least Isak does not seem rattled by it and uses the opportunity to roast Magnus. Because it’s just so easy.

Not gonna lie, the clip ending so abruptly after Magnus is like, “Huh?” makes me laugh.

Clip 4 - Love letter, kinda

Is this the shortest individual clip in all of Skam? It’s less than a minute long. I can’t remember any others that are shorter.

I love that Isak stops and takes a moment to size up his locker, bracing himself for his daily battle. And that it just … doesn’t happen. He’s downright stunned when the locker doesn’t fight him and gives way easily. Isn’t it wonderful when a problem that’s been bothering you is finally gone?

Regarding Isak’s locker of character development, the meaning is very clear. Isak came out to his friends and it’s not the end of the world. They accept him. So his locker (closet) can open without a struggle. He’s not stuck in the closet or struggling to keep his secrets from spilling out. It’s fine. It’s such a simple metaphor but it’s lovely.

And on top of that, he has another message from Even!

Even drew that damn phone twice, you can see subtle differences in each version (besides the obvious text messages).

Again, I love Even’s sketches so much. He’s has such a clever, creative, romantic mind. The “this universe” side of the sketch is acknowledgment that he received Isak’s message, but didn’t reply. The “same time in a completely different universe” sketch is what he feels he SHOULD have done, what he wanted to do but couldn’t get the courage to do, or felt he couldn’t. It’s so poignant! There’s so much longing! I swoon. 

This sketch is an apology, too, because he knows Isak must have been hurt by Even leaving him hanging yet again, especially right after Even must have given him some hope with the cheese toastie sketch. This is Even acknowledging that he should have replied and in a better world, he would have.

It makes you think so much about what was holding Even back. I don’t think it was just Sonja (tbh I wonder if Sonja was really in the picture, to be discussed later), I think it was just simply his hesitance over Isak’s comment about mentally ill people. He gave Isak the cheese toastie sketch because he saw Isak was sad and wanted to let him know Even still cared, that his feelings were still there. But then, you know, Isak found the sketch and sent Even a text, and interacting with Isak again just made Even have another round of doubts. He felt like he shouldn’t be doing this, he shouldn’t be continuing this thing with Isak or encouraging it. But at the same time, Even does not want Isak to be in pain. And despite his reservations, despite everything standing in his way, Even wants Isak.

The “miss you” is such a punch in the gut, too. Like we know Even misses Isak because he drew them having cheese toasties together, in another, better universe. But it’s also good to see him state the words so directly. Again, the longing. My heart can’t take it.

This is the drawing that ends up on the wall of the Evak apartment in S4. Isak saved it and they both decided to put it up, even when all the drama had passed, because it was special to them. I like to think it’s a reminder to them of what they went through to be together, and to treasure their life in the present, because going through hell was worth it to arrive at their happiness together.

Look at Isak’s little smile, awwwww.

Not to ruin this beautiful moment or anything but as people have pointed out, Tarjei is reacting to a blank piece of paper.

I think I’ve said this before but looking at Even’s drawing here reminded me of how I am an utter wreck of a human being when I think about his drawings being in the S3 header. Just Isak surrounded by Even’s sketches. Even’s mind, Even’s personality. Even as an integral part of the season, of Isak’s story. I see an Illuminati symbol surrounded by dicks and I’m overcome with emotion. This season still got its claws in me, goddamn.

Clip 5 - REUNION CLIP

This clip is just so heartwarming. When this aired the Skam train had left the station, internationally speaking, and the fandom was so happy and having such a good time with this quality content. It’s really amazing how fast the fandom grew. I think the reaction to this clip was maybe when it sank in for me that Skam was getting big on Tumblr.

The boys talking about russ music at parties reminds me of how S3 is so devoid of anything russ-related compared to other seasons. If Skam had continued until graduation, do you think we’d see the boy squad participating in russ at all, or would they opt out? I mean, I guess we have Jonas’ thoughts on the matter, but what about the others? We don’t see them planning anything, obviously, but a lot of us wanted to see the boys in those overalls. How common is it not to participate?

The way Jonas says “Nate Dogg” cracks me up.

Isak is trying, really trying to get invested in this conversation, but his mind can’t help but roam elsewhere, to Evenland. He is wearing the exact same outfit as in the Bros clip of episode 5, and it’s a similar setup, scene-wise - he’s at a pre-drink with his boys and they’re engaged in a conversation, but he’s very disconnected from it all. The difference here is that Isak has re-established that social connection with them, so Jonas is quick to notice Isak really isn’t there with them, and he checks with Isak. Not just how Isak is feeling right then and there, but making sure to ask about the Even situation. Jonas can deduce that whatever’s got Isak in a mood, it’s probably Even-related. And because Isak has opened up to Jonas, he doesn’t have to sit there in misery the whole time.

The setup of this scene is subtly different from the Bros clip, too. In that one, the boys were all on different pieces of furniture - Magnus and Mahdi on some couch, Jonas across from them on a chair, and Isak between them on another chair - and it made it easy for Isak to sit there disengaged from the group because of the distance. Here they’re all sitting around the same table, a united front, and it’s not as easy for Isak to detach himself. He’s in the same place as they are, he’s level with them.

When Isak says Even has a girlfriend, Magnus asks if he is pansexual. HOW RIGHT YOU ARE, SON. Look at Magnus, using his new vocabulary. 

These boys are just darling. I kind of love how Jonas is the friend who is like 100% Team You, like … the friend who will join in with you when you’re spilling your romance woes and be like, “What is his DEAL?” and give you all that commiseration you want, but also the advice you need to hear. And Magnus is like oooo, are we talking about Even? Isak’s friends want all the dirt on their boy’s boy. Like they are invested, they are ready and willing to hear about Isak’s interpersonal issues. 

But isn’t it nice for Isak to be able to talk about this with people? That once he’s no longer keeping this huge secret, he can talk with his friends about his romance problems, just like they can talk about their girl drama? It’s no different than Magnus talking about Vilde, except with less TMI. That’s the obvious contrast between this scene and the Bros clip. Isak starts off detached in both scenes, but in this one the boys bring him back in.

And to be fair, Isak could hypothetically had shitty friends who didn’t accept him, or who were theoretically OK with him being gay but didn’t actually want to hear him talk about hooking up with boys because it made them uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that happens in real life. Like … Isak was not unjustified in his fears and in his keeping secrets. It’s just that his friends turned out to be great, and that opening up to them was a positive step.

One annoying part about coming out to his friends: Isak having to deal with Magnus’ incredibly heterosexual questions. But also, it’s nice that the other boys are clearly rolling their eyes and groaning at Magnus being a dumbass, it’s treated as Magnus bieng inappropriate. And this exchange is a small but valid misconception to include in the show, because it’s a big thing for straight people to ask who’s the man and who’s the woman in a gay relationship - they’re still mapping the relationship onto heteronormative roles. Each romantic relationship MUST have a man or woman role in it. And of course that’s not the case. Not to mention this question is also clearly linked to sexual roles, like … two men having sex are two men. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing during that sex. No one’s the “woman.” (I mean, I think Magnus is asking how they decide who’s the top and who’s the bottom? But there are no guidelines for that, either, lol. Those are things people decide as individuals when having sex, it’s not a universal rule who does what. Or I guess Magnus is just very confused about how gay sex works, lmao.)

Magnus’ question always reminds me of this scene from The Office.

Isak’s roast of Magnus here is one of the finest roasts I’ve ever heard, like someone serve it with carrots and enter it in the county fair because it’ll win a blue ribbon. He goes in for the drag about straight sex and then circles back for a snap at Magnus’ lack of action! Double roasted! So roasted it’s burnt! You’re going to be chewing on that sucker and end up spitting it into a napkin. Even Jonas is impressed.

Lmao, I know Magnus is meant to be the clueless straight guy, but I like headcanoning him as stumbling into a bisexual epiphany in a few years. Like sometime after he graduates he’ll be like … ohhhhhh, that’s why I had those questions about gay sex for Isak and was so invested in Evak and was struck speechless by Even. 

JONAS IS THE FUCKING BEST, LISTEN TO HIM AND HIS WISE OLD WIZARD EYEBROWS, ISAK

Really, Jonas just cuts past the bullshit and says for Isak to put his foot down about this whole Even situation. It’s now or never. Stop letting Even play with your heart. Did Jonas have a flair for relationship advice when he and Eva were together, or has he gained some wisdom from his own experience with love drama?

This scene is just such a joy! Usually in media, the gay characters are the ones who help out the straight characters with their romantic drama. Here it’s the opposite. Especially because these are straight boys who are completely fine with giving their gay bro advice on how to get his man. This is honestly great of Julie to normalize this behavior. I’ve heard comments that maybe this situation is idealized, that the boy squad are so cool with everything, but you know what? Skam, for all its realism, is frequently about ideal outcomes - not just how things are, but how they should be. Giving teenagers a roadmap of how to react in unknown situations.  

Also, how great is it that Isak has been listening to endless conversations about girls, sitting through dance chicks performances, basically going through all these social rituals and bonding with his friends over heterosexual desire, feeling so isolated from it all, and now finally he’s included? His coming out has opened the door for Isak to both be honest about his own attraction to men and no longer having to feign interest in girls. Freeeedoooooom!

The boys are also using their knowledge of dating girls to help out Isak, translating it to him dating a boy. And I mean, there is a different social context with straight relationships and gay relationships, so their advice might not always fit perfectly with Isak’s situation. However, it matters that they’re not othering Isak (well, Magnus is with his questions, but those are laughed at and shut down). They’re able to maintain an easy connection with Isak, not filtering him through a different lens because he’s into a guy. Which is absolutely what Isak wants, to be treated the same.

Isak is very encouraged by the boys telling him to put Even on the spot and be blunt with him about what’s happening with them. I think it’s funny that Magnus is like, “Yeah, it sucks when she leaves you on read,” and we hear it happens to him all the time. Somehow that does not surprise me!

Isak is friendlier and not as blunt as Jonas encouraged him to be in the text message to Even, thanking Even for the drawing at the beginning. He’s human, he’s soft for Even, he can’t totally hide it. But he does make it clear that if Even doesn’t want something more, then this needs to end. 

“Call me when you’ve broken up with your girlfriend.” What a line. You harness that self-respect, Isak.

They’re all so proud of their boy Isak for standing up for himself. They’re even like “Bros! Brothers!” when they clink their cans. You have to imagine that even if this thing with Even hadn’t worked out, Isak had a strong support system to get him through the heartbreak.

Lmao, Even answers immediately. Isak giving him that ultimatum and laying down the law really made him sweat, huh.

No, really, let’s talk about what Even thought when he got this text.

Now personally I believe Even was no longer in a clear relationship with Sonja when he got this text. I think whatever happened with them at Emma’s party was either temporary or ill-defined, and they were still technically on a break through all of this. Mostly because Even ends up getting to Isak’s apartment SO FAST. Like ... was Even breaking up with Sonja as he was running out the door??? Did he shoot her a break-up text during the night, after when Isak was asleep? I’d like to think he didn’t do Sonja that dirty. 

But yeah, Even responds so quickly. Right after Isak sends that first text, Even realizes that he might lose him. And after all this hesitation, knowing that Isak doesn’t want mentally ill people around, fearing that he could hurt Isak, that Isak could reject him once he finds out the truth … after his efforts to push Isak away, Even can’t do it. When Isak makes plain that Even has to put up or shut up, it takes zero time for Even to make a decision. Or at least, he has to talk to Isak. The thought of losing Isak outweighs any other concerns he might have. There’s something about the simplicity of it that gets me. When there’s no time or room for doubt, Even chooses Isak in a heartbeat. 

Jonas is of course the master of strategic texting. Don’t call Even, because calling will put you on the spot and bring you closer together than texting. Isak has to be a little aloof, make Even think he’s really about to let go. Play it cool. The magic words are Chiller hjemme. Lets him know you might be available, but you’re not desperate to talk with him. (Seriously, how did Jonas get this smooth?? I assume from experience but lmao, the evolution between S1 and S3 Jonas is like ... Bulbasaur and Venusaur.) (I don’t know Pokemon that well, if there’s one that has magnificent eyebrows please let me know.)

Isak’s facial expressions throughout this whole texting debate are so funny to me. He’s practically a wide-eyed innocent? He’s so earnest, he really does want to talk to Even! Plus with his little curls popping out from under his snapback, he looks very young and fresh-faced to the whole ultimatum via text message thing.

And he keeps wanting to add more to the text, like “just call me,” or suggesting a smiley, and Jonas shoots that shit down. What a character moment, honestly? Isak the young inexperienced texter and Jonas who has gone through multiple desired relationships. It is really cute that Isak wants to add a smiley! But Jonas is right, it completely would have made him seem too eager and destroyed the perception of aloofness. 

What smiley would he have landed on, though? 😀 or 🙂 or 😁 or 😎? I’m partial to the sunglasses emoji myself. Chiller hjemme 😎

There is a conversation to be had, by academics who study the impact of modern technology on everyday communication, about the instinctive knowledge these teenagers have about subtleties in non-verbal expression, such as recognizing the impact that a smiley can have in changing the tone of a text message, and combing Skam for all related examples of strategic use of electronic messaging and/or social media to send messages to their peers.

STRAIGHT UP

Sometimes I think Marlon’s finest acting on the show is that self-assured look he gives Isak when he says Even will call, or that gasp of overjoyed satisfaction when Even shows up at the door a few minutes later. Those are just some damn fine expressions.

This moment where the boys sit in silence, waiting for the text, is so good! They’re hooked into the drama! They want their boy to get his man! And that forlorn shot of the phone sitting on the table among the beer cans, inactive. Not lighting up with the desired response from Even.

It’s also really sweet when the boys try to offer suggestions why Even isn’t responding. Even Magnus has a reasonable idea about checking the typing bubble. When it seems like Isak has given up, Mahdi says maybe Even is just somewhere he can’t talk right now. (Which was accurate, seeing as Even was probably hauling ass over to Isak’s apartment.)

Poor Isak, you could see how he was getting hopeful and feeling better when this whole texting idea started, he was proud of himself for being proactive and putting his foot down with Even’s indecisiveness, he had a little smile and some light in his eyes. And now, the resignation is seeping in. Tarjei does a lot of these smaller reactions so well. Isak is still smiling a little, but it’s bitter, he’s telling them that Even is going to flake again. I mean, I’m not even sure Isak is totally convinced that Even won’t respond. I feel like he does still have that spark of hope, he’s just trying to tamp it down. He knows Even has a history of running hot and cold and he doesn’t want to get too optimistic.

Guys, I’m so emotional about these kids. Tarjei is such a good actor that all of his micro-expressions are giving me pinpricks to my heart. And I’ve seen this a million times and I know that in less than five minutes Isak’s going to be shaking off his virginity like he’s a golden retriever come in from the rain, BUT. But I feel so bad for this kid and his disappointed face.

And the rest of the boys, too. They’re there with their friend Isak getting his heart broken. Even, you’re letting down not just the man of your life, but the whole crew!!! 

The other boys try to make some conversation about other topics but Isak just sits there, checking his phone again. At this point, watching the clip for the first time, I definitely thought Even was headed over to Isak’s - no way could they have this random conversation about fermenting beer at school without something big to interrupt it. Also, we hadn’t seen Even at all this week, so he probably had to make an appearance. Still, that wait? Feels like forever.

THAT DOORBELL RING, YESSSSSS. Didn’t our hearts leap up at that simple sound?

How Even got there so fast is such a mystery, too. I guess he doesn’t live that far away, and he could have taken his bike, but I mean, he’s literally there in two minutes after Isak sends the Chiller hjemme text. Two minutes! Sometimes it takes me two minutes just to put on my shoes and leave the house.

I kind of like the idea that maybe Even was already in the neighborhood, or out for a walk or something, trying to work up the courage to go over to Isak. There’s an Instagram post from Magnus of the boys drinking in the kitchen, so if Even happened to see it, he could recognize it as Isak’s kitchen, he could know Isak was at home, he might find himself wandering in that direction….

Lmao, I love them asking Isak if he invited more people and Isak being like, nah, you guys are the only friends I have. It’s kind of self-deprecating but uh … also true. And of course that’s why it was important for these bros to accept Isak’s sexuality.

The boys are really into saying Eskild’s name for some reason, they do it in episode 2 as well. WHERE IS MY ESKILD/BOY SQUAD INTERACTION. I wrote this in the episode 2 recap but I want to know what the boys thought of Eskild, especially prior to Isak coming out, because that probably would have influenced Isak’s attitude toward coming out to his friends?

We don’t get a shot of Even standing outside the building, even though it would be within Isak’s POV. I’m assuming because it would have been too complicated or time-consuming to film for just a short shot. Or maybe for Dramatic purposes, it’s more striking to just have Even appear after the week by smoldering in the doorway, and it heightens Isak’s brief anxiety by keeping Even’s reveal in suspense. But what do you suppose Even was doing outside as he waited? Bouncing up and down nervously as he tends to do? Hands in his pockets? Panting from getting to Isak as fast as he could?

Speaking of Drama, lmao how dramatic is Even, that he just SHOWS UP, in the time it takes to make toaster strudel, with no warning? Hypothetically he could’ve texted I’m coming over to Isak, but of course that would ruin the intended effect of Even just landing at Isak’s door. It’s such a cinematic movie. I think love of movies is so ingrained into Even’s personality that sometimes he just does what a romantic comedy protagonist would do.

Or else Even was just not thinking anything but Isak Isak Isak must get to Isak and didn’t even consider anything but getting his ass in motion. Which frankly, I think is quite likely!

This is a very minor point but the way this clip was filmed always throws me when Isak gets up and we see how tiny the table is. They show it at the start of the clip, but the texting debate feels like some knights of the round table shit in terms of importance. It feels like it should be way bigger and instead they’re sitting at this little square.

The boys are so delighted that Even is there. And it makes me laugh so hard that Magnus is excited about getting to meet Even, L M A O. I mean, even if he assumed that Isak and Even were just going to have a long talk and not bang it out, how awkward would that have been? Who wants to meet your friend’s sorta-maybe-potential boyfriend when they’re presumably about to have a serious discussion about the fragile state of their relationship?

And of course Isak is like FUCK THAT about his friends meeting Even right then and there. Tarjei’s delivery of, “You can’t meet him, what the fuck are you saying?” is perhaps underrated in its comedy.

Lmao, Isak gets so cranky here, too, he went from soft “Smiley?” Isak to RARRRRR grumpy teenage boy in like two seconds. All thanks to Even’s presence, of course!

Bless Jonas yet again for just immediately starting to pack up, no questions asked.

This is a Romeo + Juliet song when the boys start leaving ( “Local God” by Everclear”). I believe it was used in the film when Romeo and his crew are hanging out, so it’s a bro song. We don’t hear any of the lyrics in the clip but they sure are interesting:

I feel just like a local god when I'm with the boys. We do what we want, yes, we do what we want. I feel just like a local god when I'm with the boys.  We do what we want, yes, we do what we want. We do what we want. Yeah, we do what we want. Be my Romeo,  Tell me all about your love,  Tell me all about your pain, Baited breath and rubber gloves.  Be my Romeo,  My go-go Romeo,  I see you twist and turn,  You look so fuckin' stupid.

So yes, bro song with direct mentions of Romeo.

All the chaos and casual catastrophe of the boys getting up to leave, I love it. It’s all the typical stuff when you leave a party - where’s my phone, where are my shoes, what’s happening, etc.

Also that Isak herds them out the back door, he really does not want Even to meet them, it’s gonna be too awkward and it’ll be anything but chill if Even knows Isak sent his friends away to get some alone time with Even.

“These aren’t even my shoes!” I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, I truly love these teenage failboats with all my heart.

They are champs for leaving when Isak asked them to, like even with all the confusion this was relatively swift and efficient.

Oh my God, guys. When Isak shuts the door, "Local God” (the song associated with his friends) instantly stops, and he is left there alone, for just a second, and the opening of Lykke Li’s “Tonight” starts … I get butterflies in my stomach. Isak is nervous, I’m nervous, we’re all nervous. What good directing from Julie, switching so quickly from a comedic mood to this vulnerable romantic mood, and how she can do that in just a few seconds with some well-chosen music and a moment to breathe.

Yeah, that moment to breathe, from Isak … where he shuts the door and looks toward the other side where Even is knocking, and takes just a brief pause to collect himself, and you can see how unsure of himself he is … good acting, good directing, just. Good.

AND THEN HE OPENS THE DOOR AND EVEN LOOKS LIKE THAT

I honestly do not feel Isak opened the door with the intention of getting laid, or that Even came over with the intention of getting laid. Especially Even, actually. I think Even really just panicked at the thought of losing Isak and ran over. It’s possible that maybe Even was even going to explain a bit - I don’t know if he was going to go over everything, necessarily, but I think Even wanted to make some things clear - that he wasn’t with Sonja, or that he wanted to be with Isak. I don’t know how he would have brought up his bipolar disorder though I guess it’s possible he could have pushed himself to do so. And maybe in that little pause moment, before Isak opened the door, he thought to himself about the possibilities of what could happen when they were alone, but it was wrapped up in every other uncertainty or fear, such as Even dumping him or saying he wanted to end it, or that he couldn’t leave Sonja. But it all changed when Isak opened the door and they looked at each other; they had missed each other so much and wanted each other so much that talk wasn’t happening.

Even looks really rattled and vulnerable when Isak first opens the door, I’m sure he’s thinking over how he’s going to explain himself, maybe psyching himself up to disclose his mental illness, as mentioned. But he softens a little when he registers Isak, because despite everything, it’s Isak.

Isak is trying to keep it together and play it cool at first and then Even Hallas at him a few octaves lower than normal so that’s not happening. Lawd, Henrik.

Even starts to look a little hesitant and nervous again as they pause too long at the door, like, oh right, I ran over here without a clear invitation. Is this okay? Am I welcome? Should I go?

But obviously Isak is just like, fuck it, and goes in for the kiss. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Isak initiated the kiss, Isak has been proactive throughout the evening, Isak is more assured in his sexuality that he can do this.

You know what else has experienced character development? Isak’s tongue. 

The first time I watched that part I think my eyebrows legit jumped off my face. No offense but gay storylines on TV frequently feature dry, tight-lipped, no-homo kissing so it’s nice when actors actually kiss like they mean it. Isak and Even really want each other, it’s believable.

But seriously, this is actual progress for Isak and demonstrates that he’s more grounded and confident in his sexuality.

That moment when they break off the kiss for just a second - I’m pretty sure it’s Even who breaks it off to look at Isak, as if to ask whether he’s sure he wants this. And Isak wastes barely any time before diving back in, by way of an answer. Not gonna lie, that moment when characters stop kissing to look at each other, searching for an answer in the other’s face, is one of those romance tropes that I enjoy, so this was a good scene for me.

Even lost his denim jacket somewhere between the front hallway and Isak’s bedroom, by the way. I’m just imagining Eskild or Noora stepping over it when they got home and being like, yep, Isak had a busy night. (Linn would probably step on the jacket and not notice.)

Even shoves Isak against a wall because he is living that fanfic life.

Kudos once again to Tarjei and Henrik because they really keep kissing and stay in their character’s passionate mindset. There’s a moment where they sort of break off to start undressing and Even swoops in for another brief kiss - it feels like these two seriously can’t stop kissing, they want to be kissing, and it’s a small moment but it makes it feel like they genuinely desire each other.

Lol, Even was going to take off his hoodie first but then decided to divest Isak of his shirt, what a gentleman.

I don’t know why I love that snapback coming off but I do. It’s just funny to me in a way? Like the snapback would get knocked off anyway when Isak took off his shirt but he’s instead he has to make a Moment of it. You know shit’s getting real when the hat comes off.

This bit that goes from against the wall to in the middle of the room shirtless (they moved around!) is just so tender??? Like that bit where Even taps Isak’s lip with his thumb and gets in a quick nose rub. What the fuck. 

I mentioned this in my episode 5 review but this scene is what made up the footage in the mysterious hiatus trailer that had everyone in a tizzy for 10 days, except not all of the footage in that trailer made it into this clip, so there’s extra Evak sex scene footage out there. I am sure this would be of interest to no one, obviously.

Not to be weird but I legit think it is nice that Tarjei is doing this scene with this large zit on his forehead because that’s OK! People don’t have perfect skin when they have sex. 

I feel like Isak is having a spiritual experience when Even goes down his body, like he’s not even entirely there. Is this happening to me??? 

Also, totally a callback to the very first scene of the season, when Emma tries to blow Isak in the bathroom and he’s not having it. He does not express such reluctance when Even goes down on him. A+ narrative parallels, Julie, A+.

But this was a really good first time scene (if you believe, as I do, that this was their first time together) and a lovely sex scene that wasn’t either too exploitative or too coy. The Evak sex scenes are handled very well in this season. 

And Lykke Li’s “Tonight” was a gooooood choice. How simple and painful is the desire behind those lyrics. You can just imagine how Isak and Even have been missing each other and pining, and how this song expresses the feeling that they don’t want to let each other go. And all this emotion goes unspoken, tonight they’re not going to talk about their heartbreak, tonight they’re just going to show each other all that pent-up longing.

But also, the end song over the credits, “Crave” by Pharrell Williams??? Spectacular. We watch this emotional scene set to this incredibly sweet song full of longing and vulnerability and then the credit song is just like … sex. Sex is a thing that is happening. It is the equivalent of an eyebrows waggle and a suggestive wink. Bet you can guess what they were doing after the credits rolled!

I love this show so much, oh my God.

Social Media/General Comments:

The text that Isak sends in reply to Even’s cheese toastie drawing seems so polite, like Isak rewrote it a million times trying to decide on the right tone and phrasing and everything and finally went for something very neutral, trying to reestablish the conversation between the two of them without seeming too eager.

Eskild sends Isak a long-ish text after their talk on Sunday, where he basically strives to give Isak more encouragement. You can tell he really thought over what he said to Isak because he truly wants to be helpful to him and be a good guru. He realizes Isak is young and probably in his first relationship with a guy, and Eskild can’t help but feel protective and not want Isak to get his heart broken. It’s honestly such a sweet message, because Eskild is first and foremost looking out for Isak’s well-being. Like … there’s a thing in media (and fanfic, sometimes) where a character’s friends are more concerned with making sure their romance works out, rather than whether this romance is right and good for the friend. Isak’s friends in this season are supportive of Evak, but they’re Team Isak first, and they’re not afraid to tell Isak when they think Even is doing Isak dirty or when it might not work out. See also: Jonas in this week’s Fredag clip.

Anyway, Eskild tells Isak how happy he is that Isak came to him for advice, and that’s beautiful. It’s supportive of Isak relying on his friends rather than bottling up his feelings. And he says that he thinks Isak is brave- incredible, show-stopping, spectacular, etc. I mean telling Isak he is brave? What a wonderful thing to say to a kid who’s still in the early stages of coming out and is dealing with a ton of insecurities. Eskild is the fucking best, guys.

But he’s also offering to hook up Isak with someone and help him move on to another guy if that’s what Isak wants, lol. Getting in his jab about tights and mascara but in a good-natured way.

You know who else is the fucking best? Jonas. Isak texts him about the rumors with Even spreading and Jonas is so supportive and sweet, offering to talk to the guys for Isak and telling him not to stress over it. With a heart emoji, no less ❤️

Isak also decides that he should be the one to tell the guys. My brave boy!

Jonas also posts an IG on the same day of the text with him and Isak as Simon & Garfunkel, with the hashtag #bros. Basically a show of support for Isak. Like. CAN YOU BELIEVE. My heart gets so warm thinking about these kids. Skam is a space heater for my soul.

Text between Kollektivet where Linn does not want to leave on Friday and Eskild is dragging Linn out of her cave. I mean, sometimes you want to chill, but this is probably good for Linn. Get her out of the house.

Text between the boy squad after Isak comes out to all of them. They’re able to rib him about his “family dinner” so things are back to normal.

I want to mention that Isak uses a Broad City gif. I don’t know if Isak actually watches Broad City, but the idea is pretty funny.

I know Magnus can be dense as hell but he uses a gif of Sam Rockwell in Galaxy Quest in response to Isak’s drag and like, Galaxy Quest is the greatest film of all time so clearly Magnus is a man of superior taste and intellect.

PS he says something that translates to “never giving up hope” and I’m going to take that he meant “never give up, never surrender.”

Mahdi says Friday is going to be nice because “bros united.” Awwww! That’s especially nice coming from him since he and Isak had the friction; I feel like this is his way of saying he’s really over what happened between them and he just wanted them all to be OK.

I remember when this episode was airing in real time, people had a lot of theories about what would happen on Friday. Jonas mentions an Elvebakken party and Magnus mentions a gay bar. I remember people thinking they might go to the Elvebakken and see Even, or hear about Even’s past from Bakka people, or that they’d go to the gay bar and Isak would hook up with someone or run into Even or something. Instead Isak never made it out of his apartment, lmao.

Also, Magnus being like, “I’m up for a gay bar” is not hurting my bi Magnus headcanon at all. I know, I know, he’s that bumbling straight friend. Still!

Isak texts Eskild about his second drawing and Eskild is like, “Play hard to get.” Which obviously did not work on Friday. He also calls Isak his little godkitten which is. Adorable.

As I mentioned above, Magnus posted a pic of the boy squad at the pre-drink and that’s why I think Even might have seen it and moseyed over in that direction and was already lurking in the vicinity, as to account for him showing up so fast.

[momorabu]

Ensemble Stars! Event Story - Raising Curtains! Dark Night Halloween / Dark Night Halloween

Since today’s Halloween and the new Halloween event has just started in Ensemble Stars~ I thought I’ll read the Halloween event story from last year’s event, which I actually enjoyed reading as it was the 2nd? event that I participated in as I just joined Ensemble Stars at that time. Below is a recap or say a brief summary of the event story ^^

Anyway as always, the summary of the story can be found below. Translation may not be 100% accurate due to my poor Japanese skills~

Prologue

The story starts off with the twins at 2wink giving out flyers and candies while advertising the Halloween Party Event that was coming soon. It was a very grand event at the school, with a live concert at an S1 level, which meant the school was open to the public for viewing all the idols perform.

2wink’s idea of Treat or Trick! are very interesting, for Treat it’ll be fanservice like giving out signatures and handshakes, whereas Trick will be using an easily erasable pen to draw on (the person?) and hugging while twirling around~ +W+ (Somehow I kind of want the “Trick” version just because I’ll get to hug them XDD)

甘えん坊 / Spoiled Child: Chapter 1

Ritsu was sleeping in the terrace garden when Leo found him (when he lost his memory suddenly and find himself wandering here OwO) Ritsu was feeling really weak as he’s trying to stay awake in the day as it was only during the day that everyone will be around, and he wants to be up and with them too.

However, as Ritsu’s body is still a vampire, it’s very hard to him to change his sleep cycle as it might be due to genetics that it’s hard for him to stay awake in the day.  Leo noticed that Ritsu is not feeling well though Ritsu brushed it off himself.

(It was cute that Ritsu is close with Leo in a way that he can hug him and even use him as a “slave” to get some drinks for him XDD)

甘えん坊 / Spoiled Child: Chapter 2

UNDEAD, on the other hand, was hard at work preparing for the Halloween Party Event. Rei was on the phone with Leo in mid-practice as Leo probably informed him that he found Ritsu not being his usual self. Nevertheless, it was a good time to catch up with an old friend for Rei.

Kaoru actually came and tells Rei not to slack off and went for a phone chat instead XDD (It’s rare that he’s so hyped up!) Kaoru is putting effort in this event just because it was a huge event that will be open up to public, which means that’ll probably alot of girls coming which is what he is looking forward to ^^;

He’s definitely okay in giving fan service whether it’s “Treat!” or “Trick!”, but it’s only limited to girls XDD

This made Koga very angry as he thinks that Kaoru’s reasons are very “unpure” since he’s not exactly doing music because he likes it ^^;

They suddenly realised Adonis was not participating in the conversation and mulling in a corner instead. Koga thought he might not know what Halloween is and thus looked troubled about the Halloween Event. (Since Adonis didn’t seem to know Hanami or Tanabata)

He was all hyped up and ready to start explaining to him when Adonis replied that he did know what Halloween is about as his home country actually has it. That made Koga disappointed as he even actually went and researched about it just so he gets to show off his knowledge. (So sad for him that now he can’t TWT)

Adonis wondered why Koga got angry suddenly but Rei wanted Adonis to figure it out on his own. (I like how Rei described as “there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes human relationship” ^^)

Kaoru decided to lend a helping hand to poor confused Adonis, by hinting (or say that’s the full answer already XD) that perhaps it’ll be better if Adonis asked him on the knowledge on Halloween, as Koga was probably hoping that he’ll ask him about it.

And thus Adonis went to Koga to ask for his knowledge. Koga became very happy that Adonis is asking him for help and since it was requested by Adonis, he shall give the lecture~ (Koga seems to be easily pampered actually XDD)

The seniors looked on as Koga started teaching Adonis while Kaoru commented on how cute they are. Rei is glad that Kaoru is maturing (?) as he knows how Rei usually feels when he looks at the junior, to which Kaoru isn’t happy about and say he doesn’t want to grow old and has an old man’s taste yet =w=“

(This part was really cute when Adonis was worried that he might look too scary when he dressed up for the Halloween Party. And Koga dissed him that if he wants to be cheered by the girls (in the audience) and comment that he’s cute, he should transfer his unit to Ra*bits instead XDD) (That’s so harsh, Koga! >A<)

After practice though, Rei called on Koga to stay and asked for his help to keep an eye on his brother Ritsu, as he’s worried that Rei might not be able to sustain his strength if he kept trying to stay awake during the day and not rest at all.

Koga reluctantly agrees, though he specifically mentioned that he’s not doing it because he wants to help Rei and more of him being worried for his classmate - Ritsu’s welfare as well.

赤ずきん / Red Riding Hood: Chapter 1 - 3

Halloween soon arrived, and Koga went to find “me” in school among the crowd. He’s surprised that “I’m” dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and he’s a wolfman, which somehow fits together perfectly like the story Little Red Riding Hood.

“I” started to play along with him by attempting to shoot him (perhaps with the hand signal and sound effect) Koga dissed “me” that “I’m” stealing the hunter’s role if I’m using the gun to fight the wolf, and suggested we should follow the original instead.

Back on topic after the idle chit-chat, Koga asked for “my” help and that “I” should follow him. “I” reminded him that it sounds like the original story of Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf asking little red riding hood for help too. Koga joked that maybe he should eat me too if I get too close (That… actually sounds abit… sexual? ><”)

Long story short, he explained about the “mission” given to him by Rei and mentioned that he will need “my” help to find Ritsu together and get him to rest as soon as possible. (Since in Koga’s words, if Ritsu died from over-exhaustion Koga said he’ll have a hard time sleeping because he’ll remember Ritsu’s dead face… OwO”) (That escalates quickly to scary stuff OAO”)

悪戯っ子 / Mischievous Kid: Chapter 1 - 3

We finally found Ritsu, who was on his way to delivering more sweets that he had made in the kitchen, as the booths kept running out due to the “Treat or Trick”-ing around the school.

Koga advised him to rest, and that made Ritsu abit pissed as he grumbled that when he was slacking/resting, everyone kept asking him to wake up and move, and now that he wanted to be more active, everyone is asking him to rest instead =w=“ (I like what he had said “I can’t take this down, why can’t everyone let me live my life like how I wanted?”)

In the end, in order to get Ritsu to obey and go to rest, Koga ended up being a sacrifice and have to be held down to eat Ritsu’s tasty but horribly looking candies. He even gets pulled around by Ritsu like he’s on a leash, sing to Ritsu, dance for Ritsu, and get sent to do delivery duties for Ritsu in the end TWT (Poor Koga TWT Even though Ritsu does feel abit guilty for doing it abit overboard later on…)

But after playing around, Ritsu finally decided to rest, and thus slept in a coffin prepared by Rei in the music room~

百鬼夜行 / Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: Chapter 1 - 3 + Epilogue

Evening came, and 2wink came to the band practice room to wake up Rei to prepare for the night concert, when they found out that “I” was there too, working on some last minute catch up on the outfit for Ritsu.

Yuta mentioned about understanding how Ritsu feels, about not being in a good relationship with the elder brother, which made Hinata feel both shocked and hurt since he thought they’re both always in a good relationship to the point of LOVE LOVE XD

2wink were being quite mischievous that when they put candies by the side of Rei’s sleeping coffin with him, they mentioned that they look like offerings (for the dead) for him OWO”

Rei woke up in the end, and “I” ended up feeling really sleepy due to all the rushing of work for the Halloween Party. Rei, being a gentleman suddenly, swept “me” off the floor and carry me to the performance area, with 2wink tagging along behind us.

Kaoru was worried but ultimately was relieved to find that Rei has arrived in time for UNDEAD’s performance (if not they’ll have to sing without him) Rei was initially confused why is Kaoru not dressing up as a monster, but Kaoru said he decided to be a priest, an evil priest in fact that cheats on the innocent girls when they fall into his trap that he’s a good guy…. (Omg, Kaoru sounds like a bad guy here seriously OWO” Don’t play with girls’ feelings Orz)

Kaoru was pissed when he found out that Rei was carrying “me” in hime style, and said he’s being sneaky and that should be his job instead XD

But when Rei’s arms were tired and he requested someone else to take over, Kaoru wanted to but was stopped by Adonis saying that “I” dislike Kaoru to hug “me” and that Adonis himself will take over instead.

Kaoru was shocked to hear that he’ll be disliked since he thought that he was confident that over time that “I’ll” like him and not be so turned off by him ^^; (Maybe Kaoru just… has too much confidence in himself? ^^;)

Anyway, he seems terrified by the thought that “I’ll” dislike him and pleaded with “me” not to feel scared or repulsed by him with a please~~

(Seriously I find it so funny that the confident Kaoru is actually afraid of making me unhappy XD He’s kind of cute for his reactions this way ^^)

Finally “I” managed to locate Ritsu at the performance area, where he was sleeping on Leo’s lap (ahh~ So cute >///<) With Leo’s help, we put on Ritsu’s performance outfit and tried persuading him to go on stage to perform with UNDEAD and 2wink, who was supporting part of the performance as well.

Ritsu initially didn’t want to go, he even tried to get Leo to go up on stage with him. (He whines that Leo should go together with him, he doesn’t want to go alone and it’ll be very lonely~ It sound so cute coming from Ritsu XD)

In the end, Ritsu did agree to go on stage and perform side by side with Rei. Rei finally gets some chance to talk alone with Ritsu on stage (since Ritsu normally avoids him in school), and said that whether or not Ritsu dislikes him or hates him, he has to take care of his own body. And if Ritsu really feels miserable sometimes, he can come to lean on Rei as his big brother.

I think this probably has touched Ritsu in the end, as he apologized to Rei for making him worry about him, and also “thank you, big brother”. The end.

This is still a great story now that I’ve re-read it again, I find myself quite enjoying UNDEAD’s members interactions so I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading any event stories that have them next time +W+ (Adonis and Kaoru are sooo cute <3) It was nice to understand abit more about the brotherly relationships between Rei and Ritsu, I like reading about family ties as much as friendships too, so I’m glad that Ensemble Stars is actually focusing on such relationships once in awhile and not just creating characters as brothers for convenience sake or some random trait just to add onto a character profile.

I’ll definitely be looking forward to this year’s event story as well~! Though it’ll be awhile before I unlock and have the time to read all of them during the event, I’ll probably wait until the event is over before I start reading as per usual~ +W+

PS: No cards because my teams are so weak at that time that I couldn’t make it to the 600K tier TWT TWT