#and that he actually talks to the people who want to help him now

[summertimesadnessirl]

The next step in the comic is when this person intentionally picks a fight with you. No matter what you say. No matter how you say it. Even if you discussed this before. Even if you came up with like, an action plan. Even if you carefully selected someone who you thought you could trust. Someone who would never.

If someone talks to you when you're overstimulated you should literally go ahead and start the fight yourself (I've never tried that but it's the one thing I haven't tried) because there is nothing you can do to stop the fight from happening. It is impossible. You got caught not being happy in public so now you probably lose this person as a friend or a useful ally or a significant other or a trusted person or whatever they are forever, and if you don't you are going to be at their mercy and owe them apology and deference for the rest of your relationship and they will never trust you and always pick fights with you and know that as soon as they goad you enough you will lose even if you're right so they can do anything they want and get away with it because you can't fucking control the volume of your voice. You're a loser. You're a baby. You're a monster. You're committing assault. You are not free. This is a cage. These are the bars of your cage. Anyone can lock you in it at any time for free. You begin to claw at your skin again, but it won't come off. It won't come off and you are too aware of it. People aren't watching. Thank God people aren't watching. If someone catches you clawing at your skin they will throw you in a cell for 72 hours. No one will actually do anything in the cell, but the government will take your tax refund for almost 6 years to pay for the cell and you will miss so much work you almost get evicted. Your boyfriend will yell at you a week after he cried and went down on you when you got out because you can't tell him how to fix your depression and the "emergency plan" you filled out with the doctor said "I have no idea just leave me alone in a corner someplace with my headphones." It's never about you. It's never about you. You aren't even allowed to die because your life is not your own. You can leave this boy but there will always be another boy. It could be a girl instead. They could be your "boss" or "friend" or "business partner." If they catch you unhappy in public they will also be a cage. Anyone can always turn into a cage. You wish you were actually in a cage most of the time, so you consider committing a crime. You think you could probably surprise your cell mate in prison with something weird enough that they would beat you to death or you would get solitary. That sounds easy. You only have to worry about one person and they also got thrown into a cage. They have a way you can lock them up, too. You don't care unless they can beat you to death. Pen stabbed into the brain. You can't hang yourself. You can't explain why you can't hang yourself. You are afraid death won't take if you hang yourself. You will wake up, somehow. You need it to be permanent. You need it to be over. Then you hear that in prison, they can force you to work in a call center.

They don't cover that part. That everyone wants you to be the biggest bitch in the world because then you don't get to be a person. They see that you are stressed out. They aren't fucking stupid. They want to make it worse because they want to hurt you. You learn that no one who says they are your friend will not sell you out. Will not gaslight you. Will not trick you or trap you or force you. Other people keep telling you to stop being avoidant and ask for help.

[gojougf]

convergence theory — teaser

pairing ⸺ tutor nerdjo! x student! reader

summary ⸺ desperate to pass your maths subject required for you to pass your psych major, you reluctantly accept satoru gojo's help after a botched tutoring request. what starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement—he needs your uncle's influence for an event, and you need help with calculus—quickly turns into something more complicated.

teaser word count ⸺ 1.5k

expected word count ⸺ 15-20k (the banter alone has taken up about 8-9k so...)

release date ⸺ not sure yet, hopefully in the next few days or by the end of next week bc i wanna finish it before uni starts

warnings ⸺ smut, p in v sex, virgin!gojo (he acts like a total arrogant, cocky and conceited asshole in this but he's actually a virgin HSHSHGS), oral (both m and f receiving), you basically give him his first blowjob and teach him how 2 be a munch :3, college AU (except i'm australian so my perception of college in american dominated college au's in fanfic is quite limited), nerd!gojo, gojo is like really fucking annoying, switch gojo!, will probably continue to update the warnings the more i write but it'll be so good... trust...

“This is simply not enough, (name). If you want to pass, you need at least 50 percent. I’ll let you retake the required modules and assessments, but I strongly suggest hiring a tutor.”

Your professor sighs, rubbing his temple as you grimace in displeasure.

College math.

The bane of your existence.

Why you needed to pass a math module just to earn extra credit for your psychology major was beyond ridiculous. You had never been particularly good at math, always gravitating toward English or science-related subjects. Nothing too sciency, though. Psychology made sense—it was theory-based, more about understanding people than crunching numbers. It wasn’t the kind of science that required you to calculate how many moles of carbon were left after a reaction or figure out what would happen if a car crashed into a wall at 60 km/h. 

“I can personally recommend last year’s top student—full marks in every assessment and module. He might be available, assuming he doesn’t already have a full roster of students. If you can wait a little longer, he’ll be here soon to pick up last week’s student projects. He’s my TA this semester.”

Your professor’s voice takes on a rare note of approval as he talks about this so-called star student—someone impressive enough to earn the admiration of a man who had docked half your marks over the method rather than the answer.

You nod stiffly, setting your bag down beside you before sinking into the chair across from his desk. You could wait—had to wait, if you wanted even the slightest chance of scraping a pass in this godforsaken breadth subject. The measly 40% scrawled across your paper seemed to mock you, glaring up at you as if it, too, had given up on your ability to solve for x.

Tuning out the professor’s ongoing praise of this so-called star student, you try to focus on anything else. Honestly, how much more could he go on about this guy? It was getting exhausting. You weren’t here to listen to a TED Talk about some math genius—you were here because your GPA was hanging by a thread, and apparently, this person was your last hope of saving it.

Now, by no means were you dumb. Far from it. Some people just weren’t built for numbers, and unfortunately, you happened to be one of them. But when it came to the subjects you were good at? You thrived—aced every exam, topped your classes, excelled in ways that made professors take notice. Just… not in math. Never in math.

And yet, here you were. Waiting.

At least your waiting was cut short when he walked in.

White hair gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the professor’s office, strands falling effortlessly over cerulean eyes framed by almost impossibly pale lashes. He was tall—really tall—with an easy, unshaken confidence that made it clear he was fully aware of the attention his presence commanded. A navy-blue sweater hung loosely over his broad frame, the soft fabric contrasting against the sharp tailoring of his crisp black slacks. And—were those dress shoes?

Yeah. Okay. You could admit it—this guy was hot. But it wasn’t just his face (which, to be fair, looked like it belonged on a magazine cover). It was the way he carried himself, the unbothered ease in his posture, the quiet yet unmistakable I-know-I’m-better-than-you energy that radiated off of him.

And suddenly, you understood why your professor held him in such high regard. He didn’t just look like the type of person who aced every exam—he looked like the president of some elite quantum mechanics club, the kind of person who thrived on things like advanced calculus and theoretical physics for fun.

Great. Just great.

“(Name), this is Satoru Gojo. Satoru, this is (Name) (Last name).. She’s struggling with the content this semester and needs extra help if she wants to pass alongside her major. I was just telling her how brilliant you are and hoping you might have the time to tutor her—of course, only if your schedule isn’t already full.”

You try not to visibly flinch at the way your professor phrases it, as if you’re some hopeless case in dire need of salvation from this so-called prodigy. Seriously? He could’ve at least sugarcoated it a little in front of Satoru.

But as your professor speaks, his voice takes on a warmth that’s… weirdly affectionate. And when you glance over, you’re met with the absolute worst thing you could have imagined—your professor, practically beaming at Satoru, eyes practically glittering with admiration.

What the hell is this? Why does he look at him like that? Is this normal?

You barely manage to mask the horrified expression on your face, but it doesn’t matter—because Gojo sees it. And worse, he revels in it. His smirk stretches just a little wider, his cerulean eyes twinkling with amusement as he watches your silent suffering.

You think you’re gonna implode.

And then, with an exaggeratedly pitiful look, he turns back to the professor. “Sir, you know I’d love to help,” he says, voice practically dripping with faux sincerity. “But I’ve recently been asked to assist the research team for the theoretical physics paper. It’s a big opportunity—could really help with my master’s application—so I’m going to have to politely decline.”

Ah. So your hunch about him being some physics nerd was right.

He casts what might’ve been intended as a respectful bow in your direction, though it comes off more like a lazy spasm. You don’t even think he realizes how condescending it looks.

Yeah. He definitely doesn’t give a fuck.

“Oh. Well, (Name), it looks like you’re going to have to figure things out on your own,” your professor sighs, rubbing his temple. “Satoru was the best option—probably the only person who could actually help you pass. But maybe check out some tutors outside of campus? I’m sure there are professionals willing to help.”

Oh hell no.

Your heart plummets. Does he hear himself? Like it’s just that easy to hire a tutor? You’re a broke college student, barely surviving on instant noodles and coffee, and now you’re supposed to drop a fortune on private tutoring? Absolutely not.

Campus tutors were your only shot—they charged significantly less since the experience boosted their academic records, helped them secure internships, and all that nonsense. You were counting on that.

And now?

Your only remaining option was the physics nerd with the condescending smirk and ridiculous dress shoes.

You sigh internally, steeling yourself. If this guy is your last resort, then fine. You’ll grovel if you have to. Because there’s no way in hell you’re letting this godforsaken subject be the reason you don’t graduate.

“Please. Is there… um, any way you can fit me into your schedule?” You finally break the silence, your voice betraying a hint of pleading that makes you cringe internally. You hate that you’re begging. You can already hear your female ancestors rolling in their graves, disappointed that their descendant is down on her knees—metaphorically—asking a man to help her pass a stupid class.

You try not to let the thought sting too much, but it’s hard to ignore the gap in experience and expectations that separates you from him.

Curse this subject. Curse these grades. Curse my professor. Curse Satoru Gojo.

Satoru, meanwhile, looks mildly entertained by your discomfort. You stand, your bag hanging across your shoulder, trying your best to meet his eyes with a mixture of irritation and a clear, no-nonsense look that says, I see right through you.

But can you really blame him? He’s Satoru Gojo—head of the Physics Society, on the verge of completing his master’s, practically guaranteed a spot in the university’s elite PhD program thanks to his perfect grades and the top-tier references from his research. Of course he doesn’t have time for a tutor request from a girl who, from his perspective, probably couldn’t even define a limit, let alone solve one. Yeah, no.

“Sorry, no can do! As I said, I’m extremely busy right now—” Satoru starts, his tone dripping with smugness, but you cut him off before he can finish, not even caring that your professor is witnessing this desperate spectacle unfold.

“Please. I don’t think you understand—I need to pass this unit to fulfill the requirements for my major. Please consider my request…” You bow slightly in his direction, one hand fiddling with the hem of your dress, a trickle of sweat rolling down the back of your neck.

For a moment, he just stares. Then, with an exaggerated sigh, he leans back, crossing his arms. “Fine. I’ll see if I can make time. But you’ll have to wait at least a week for my response—I’m extremely busy.”

Your eye twitches. What a dick. But this is your last shot, so you grit your teeth and let it slide.

“I appreciate it,” you say stiffly. “Well—I'll get going now.” You give a polite nod to both Satoru and your professor, already itching to leave.As you turn to go, you briefly catch his gaze raking over your form. It’s quick—so quick you might’ve imagined it—but something about the way his eyes linger sends a small, unfamiliar twinge through your body. You shake it off, more focused on willing this pretentious motherfucker to actually make space in his schedule for you.

God, you really fucking hate math.

a/n: i hope you guys liked the teaser!!!! this fic is lowkey eating my ass, i literally had to pull out my old battered copy of my advanced math textbook from highschool to write about some of the calculus concepts satoru explains, which was so funny to me because i never got higher than a 40 percent on an assessment during hs and i dropped math halfway through my final year, but here we are!

if you'd like to be tagged in the full fic once it comes out, you can comment down below, since i think my ask box doesn't work.. (*≧ω≦*)

[cosmosluckycharms]

Bug Like Angel

Girl, so confusing

They watched as you walked out the door.

It was like they all were frozen in time.

They didn't think you'd actually walk out the door like nothing.

They tried to tell themselves you'd be back in 2 hours, that you'll be back in time when their patrol ended.

..But just in case, they'll go look around them to see if you're all right.

Fuck.

You weren't anywhere.

They looked everywhere and they couldn't find you.

They looked harder.

They tried thinking of places where to find you, but they didn't know.

They didn't know you.

And they were worried.

Worried that you were hurt.

Worried that they'd never get to know you.

As they went to look again, they thought about how they treated you.

The way Bruce would feel ashamed of how people he knew told him you and he looked alike, how they'd say you have the same hair.

He wasn't ashamed, not anymore at least.

He doesn't think he was ashamed of you, he was ashamed of how he couldn't raise you.

He was ashamed of how he raised others who weren't you.

He was ashamed of how awkward he was around you.

He was ashamed of how he didn't even know your mother until the DNA test.

He was ashamed of how similar you looked to your mother.

He was ashamed of how he just left your mother after their one-night stand like it was nothing.

He was ashamed of how your mother left a note along with you back when you were left at the manor pleading Bruce not to let you become a robin and put you into trouble.

He isn't even sure how she found out about their identities.

He won't be ashamed of you, not anymore at least.

Dick remembers how many times you had begged him to go out to hang out together, just for him to promise and either not follow through, or just cancel last minute.

He remembers how you kept asking him to train you to be Robin. You wanted to be like them. You wanted to see what it felt like to run around fighting bad people like they did.

You wanted to help others like they did.

You wanted to be with them.

He regrets that back when he was Robin he kept being mean to you. He regrets how many of your toys he broke and never apologized for back when you were younger.

He regrets not taking you into the manor with open arms like he did with the others.

He regrets how many times he brushed you off to be with the others.

He regrets not going to your events.

He regrets forgetting to reply to you when you needed it the most.

Most of all he regrets not being there for you back when Jason died. Sure, he was grieving, but you were too.

He checked his phone to try and text you.

He saw he had so many messages dating back years ago that he hadn't replied to, the newest one being from around a year ago.

He started spam-texting you, hopefully you wouldn't be too mad at him.

He put his phone in his pocket for around 30 seconds.

...Only to take it back out immediately.

He went to text you again and saw his messages couldn't reach you.

He was blocked.

Jason misses you.

He misses how you would run up to him and talk to him.

He misses reading your books and playing with you.

He misses writing poems and reading them to you.

He misses you making him silly little crafts and talking about your favorite shows and music.

He misses how you would follow him around the manor like a duckling.

He misses how you would talk to him about the things on your bucket list.

He wishes he never got distant.

He wishes he didn't push you away.

He wishes you would try again.

He hates how you had no one to be with you when he died.

He hates how now he barely sees you around the manor, and when he does you're either on the phone with your friends or getting food and bringing it up to your room.

He hates how much you flinch when you're around him. He accidentally hit you in the face once because he had come back from a mission and was still in fight-or-flight mode.

He hates how he can't forgive himself for that.

He hates how lately when you needed to ask him questions or talk to him you kept quiet, made it quick, and kept your head down.

Nothing like how you talked to him years ago.

You used to be louder, you used to look up at him and wouldn't mind asking dumb questions.It's like you were scared of him.

He hated that.

When he first came to the manor, Tim didn't like you.

He assumed you were living like a princess, rich and pampered and full of love.

He assumed that you had everyone in the manor's attention. Maybe he wanted to be you.

He was trapped in his hatred, and your life seemed so awesome.

So he hated you.He hated how you would check up on him and the others.

He hated how you would have a lot of friends.

He hated how you had friends that would check up on you.

He hated how cheery you were.

He hated how you were always available.

He hated the way you spoke like you didn't have a care in the world.

He hated how despite noticing everything, he pretended he never noticed you.

He pretended he never noticed how heartbroken you looked when you would talk for a while until you noticed no one listened.

He pretended he never noticed how on family game nights you would stand in a corner by yourself trying not to cry.

He pretended he never noticed how your presence died out slowly.

He pretended he never noticed how you stopped leaving your little treats around the house.

He pretended he never noticed how you started looking happier when you weren't around them.

He pretended he never noticed how you started to leave the manor early and come back late.

To him, your life was perfect.

To him, you were coming home late from being with friends.

To him, you had the perfect friends and family.

He didn't understand why you had begged a robin once, your life was perfect.

To him, you were living like a princess.

He didn't understand, and now he wanted to.

Damian and you were opposites.

He was raised in pain, always training with a tight schedule. Always doing something.

You were the opposite.

You were raised in comfort, you went on with your days with no schedule. Sure, you were constantly busy with your activities and friends, but it was nothing compared to what Damian and the others had to do.So when he met you, he didn't think you were worthy.

He thought you were weak, just someone freeloading off his father's money.

He saw how others treated you and followed suit.

He saw how Bruce only interacted with you when you needed money, so he assumed you only wanted him for his money.

He saw how you would ask Dick to hang out only for him to never follow through, so he assumed you were just bored and he was your last option.

He saw the way Jason would avoid you and get mad at you over the slightest things and assumed you did something wrong in the past to get him mad.

He saw the way Tim would put in his earbuds as soon as you started to walk up to him, so he assumed you were annoying everyone and didn't care.

He always assumed.

He noticed how you and he were totally different, you wouldn't last a day in a life of his.

He noticed how you were somehow always coming home with bruises and slight injuries but never paid any mind to it.

You guys were completely different.You were gentle.

You were nice.

You weren't afraid to ask for help.

You didn't mind having a spotlight on you.

You were patient.

You were welcoming.

Sure, you guys were totally different, but opposites do attract. Maybe you're so meant to be, just you and him.

Alfred was confusing to you.

Sure, he took care of you, but you could tell it was more out of pity than anything.

He would never defend you or tell the others to just look at you, for once!

He would always defend your family when you complained about them, even though you had complete reasons to ignore them!

You learned to stop telling Alfred about your day.

You learned that even though he would show up to your events sometimes, you knew it was more out of obligation than anything.

oof this was bad

taglist(please lmk if i forgot you!):@bath1lda @mariadvorak @coralaura @tsxukikami @hjgdhghoe @coffeeaddictxd @cxcilla @kaitense1 @star-girl-interlud3 @sukaretto-n @welpthisisboring @itsberrydreemurstuff @lovebug-apple @crazycaoticsimp @bellethesleepypotato @blackhood1229 @jsprien213 @sirenetheblogger @awawage @holybatflapexpert @vanessa-boo @ryuushou

[leeknowsnot]

SKZ when you suddenly call them with their full name

I am posting every entry I have written in my notes app to make it up to you guys. 😭😭😭 Anyway, happy hearts day to everyone!!

CHAN

— his eyebrows are immediately raised and he's looking at you like "Did you just call me with my full name?" with eyes wide enough for you to poke them

— you pretend you don't hear him and just continue on with talking to him and calling him Christopher

— he's immediately on your tail like a kid, asking the same question all over again you can't help but pinch yourself to stop yourself from giggling at how cute he is

— he calls you all sorts of cute nicknames to make you surrender to his cuteness

— eventually you do give up and when you start calling him back with your nickname for him, oh my God he smiles at you so cutely you could just dive into his dimples

— you are spoiled

MINHO

— definitely the type to call you back with your full name

— you challenged the wrong person, now he's gonna be the one who'll call your full name with EVERY sentence he'd say until you admit defeat iT BACKFIRED SO BAD

— evERY CHANCE HE GETS HE'S GONNA DO IT

— especially when you guys are out with friends, he's gonna call your full name WITH YOUR MIDDLE NAME people are gonna start staring

— you start ignoring him whenever he calls you your full name on purpose and oh does that annoy him eventually

— the audacity to ignore him and be annoyed with him when you were the one who started this little game, right?

— "kitten got a taste of her own medicine?"

— he's gonna punish you for being such a bad kitty wink w0nk

CHANGBIN

— his pouts are aLL OVER THE PLACE

— whoever sees him gets a free show over a man with biceps pouting like the big baby he is

— he'd feel a bit off at first but eventually gets used to it eventually cause he dares not to pick on how you want to call him

— even if it's a bit weird, he'll tolerate and learn to accept it if that's what you want

— tELL HIM IT'S JUST A PRANK HE'S TOO WHOLESOME FOR THIS WORLD 😠

— would be weirded out again trying to adjust to being called with his nickname again when you finally stop with your prank

HYUNJIN

— will give you an offended stare as if you just committed a sin

— no cuddles for u because he said you're not his gf and says he doesn't know u

— he's gonna make such a big deal abt it to the point Chan would be calling you in the middle of the night asking you if you guys fought cause Hyunjin's acting so weird, like he's so pouty and edgy

— so when you said it's only because you called him by his government name for a prank, Chan L O S E S it

— you'd find a pouty Hyunjin in the morning, complaining cause Chan gave him an earful for maging a big deal out of your prank

— he basically forgot you were the one who started it . at least he's pouty over Chan instead of you anymore

HAN

— waterworks EVERYWHERE

— how dare you make him cry

— the moment you call him Han Jisung it's over for him

— the London Bridge is falling, Eiffel Tower is collapsing, the icebergs are melting

— "Is he better than me? Is he treating you better at least?"

— sTARTS ASKING QUESTIONS THAT SOUNDS LIKE YOU LOVE SOMEONE ELSE NOW BC HE'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH AND HE THINKS YOU DESERVE BETTER

— expect him pulling all-nighters writing a sad love song

— when you explain to him that it was just a prank, he immediately bursts into tears, either in relief that you still love him or bc you messed with his feelings 💀

— how dare you make him cry pt.2

— turns the sad love song that he wrote into a body roll song

FELIX

— he immediately catches on and knows it's a popular prank trend amongst couples so he plays along

— but ofc he's still making sure it really is a prank and you're not actually mad at him

— your friends would be looking at you both weirdly and think you guys have broken up but maintained good friendship

— his friends only know you by nickname so when they saw your caller id on Felix's phone and it was your actual full name, they were having multiple question marks as to why Felix was being all so chummy and sweet with this (Y/N) on the phone

— the next time you meet them they'd be shaking while trying to tell you that Felix has been cheating on you with someone named (Y/N)

— oh my God you and Felix die from laughter

SEUNGMIN

— tbh he doesn't care

— he'd been trying to get you to stop calling him smookie poo, pookie, moochie bear, and all sorts of nicknames the past weeks so this was actually a win situation for him

— he enjoys it too much he starts frowning at you when you go back to calling him the nicknames

— "Where'd the 'Yah, Kim Seungmin' go?"

— 10 out of 10 he loves the prank, would definitely avail for more 💀

— Now he won't stop demanding you to do it again

I.N

— immediately thinks he did something wrong but he just sITS THERE PROCESSING AND STARING AT YOU WITH HIS FAKE EYES OPEN

— he'd malfunction so bad how can you do this to him

— he's already clumsy as is but bc you're making him overthink, he's unintentionally breaking and dropping stuff all over the place

— in the "is-she breaking-up-with-me/did-she-find-someone-better" lineup

— he doesn't show it tho

— he tries not to at least

— would send you all sorts of gifts; flowers, chocolates, champagne, stuffed toys, you name it—it's his love language

— he'd actually try to win you back from this "new guy"

— when you tell him it's just a prank, he doesn't talk to u for a few days and gives you the silent treatment

— i mean, you obviously had it coming

[nicnacsnonsense]

The thing is there really isn't similar imagery in the backgrounds. The only similarity in the backgrounds is that they both have lighthouses in them somewhere and those lighthouses look completely different.

But I do think this is maybe starting to get a little too bogged down in the imagery. A good visual parallel can absolutely cue the audience in to look for more parallels and similarities (or contrasts), but it's not actually necessary to creating a meaningful parallel (nor is it sufficient, but that's a unrelated conversation). So let's set aside the lighthouse and visual parallels for a second and look at the other points of comparison. Taking from above this are two scenes where "ed strangles a mean old white guy who’s hurt the ppl ed loves" so our three points are 1) mean old white guy, 2) hurt the people Ed loves, and 3) strangles (I know that's out of order, but this is going to flow better if I do strangles last).

Starting with mean old white guy, I don't want to leave it unremarked that there are actually a fair number of mean old white guys in this show, but that said that doesn't it can't be a meaningful point of similarity in this instance; we have to consider how being a mean old white guy relates to these two scenes. So with Izzy, Ed attacks him because Izzy is being homophobic (in that way that's also pretty misogynistic) poking at Ed's vulnerability and heartbreak and more broadly trying to police Ed's performance of masculinity. Ed attacks his dad because his dad is an abusive dick who beats his mom, which is suppose does loosely connect to Izzy's thing on the misogyny front, but it's fairly tenuous. (I am aware of the cut line where Teach Sr is mad Ed's mom made him weak but ultimately that line was cut and to my knowledge we don't know why.)

I do actually think this could be a meaningful point of connection, but sort flowing out from the parallel rather than flowing in. That is to say I don't think this is strong enough of a similarity to make a much of a case for there being a parallel here, but I think if we can find other evidence to help establish that there is a parallel between Izzy and Ed's dad, then we can use that parallel to inform us more about these characters. It could help strengthen the case that Izzy's behavior is meant to be abusive for people who won't believe that unless they see man hitting a woman or in the other direction it could help suggest that Ed's dad also policed Ed's masculinity (I absolutely do think he did that), some textual evidence to bring that cut line back into play even.

But we still need to build the case for that parallel. Next is hurt the people Ed loves. Big check on that for Teach Sr; the way it's presented is he hit Ed's mom and then Ed followed him out into the night and strangled him. He did it and it is immediately connected to what's happening in the scene. But with Izzy it's a bit more of a stretch. Not that he did it, Izzy definitely hurt Stede, tried to kill numerous times. The problem is it's not really that connected to what's happening here. Prior to Izzy getting into Ed's face, Ed's totally chill with him; there's no indication that he's bearing a grudge aout Izzy trying to kill Stede. And while Ed lashing out is immediately preceded by the mention of Ed's "boyfriend," but not in a context where Izzy is talking about having hurt Stede in the past or where Izzy is even trash talking Stede in any particular way. Rather, Izzy is putting Ed down for his feelings for Stede; he's insulting Ed for being heartbroken. So yeah, Izzy has hurt the person Ed loves, but that's not relevant to this scene, if the person Ed loves in the scenario is meant to be understood to be Stede (put a big old pin in that; we are going places in this post).

Which brings us now to the strangling. Ed choking Izzy and his dad are hugely important parts of these two scenes, enough to be the basis for argument that there is a parallel here worth further investigation all on its own. If we have the strangling we don't even need the lighthouses. (What a weird fucking sentence, lol.) The problem is the methods of choking not being similar enough actually is really important in this specific case. Because it's not as simple as Ed strangling his dad (he also kills him. And if Ed had killed Izzy, that would definitely be enough for a parallel, and also a special treat for me, but alas. Back on topic.) The most important, impactful thing in that whole sequence where Ed kills his dad is in the opening where he's telling the kraken version of the story, we get a shot of Ed's dad from the front where we can see the kraken's tentacle wrapped around his neck, strangling him, while Teach Sr grabs at it with both hands, trying to pull it away from his neck. Then later when Ed is confessing to Stede, we see the same shot again, but this time the tentacle has been replaced by a rope with Ed behind him, pulling on it. "I'm the kraken." The method Ed uses to strangle his dad is deeply embedded into the metaphor they've built. If you want to build a parallel based on the strangling, Ed's needs his metaphorical tentacle to strangle Izzy with. I don't think it needs to be a rope per se, it could be a rope or a tie or he could turn Izzy's own cravat against him or grab a string from Frenchie's lute, or pull his own sleeve down (picture with me for a moment Ed, with the pink robe falling off his shoulder as he uses his shirt sleeve to strangle Izzy. Beautiful). He just needs something.

So despite all that, and as you might have picked up on, I'm not actually opposed to the idea that maybe there is a parallel between Izzy and Ed's dad here. But to get to that, first we need to jump a head a bit. Lets go a couple scenes later to where Ed is suiting up, and then looks at his reflection and says "I'm the kraken." There is our incontrovertible call back to the scene where Ed kills his dad. That sentence is pretty particular, it's not something he's likely to say in these two different scenes by coincidence. And furthermore it connects thematically across the two scenes. The first time Ed says is he's using it as a way to confess to Stede that he is not a good person, he's a monster. And in the second instance he is declaring the same to himself as he starts to fall into his downward spiral.

Now let's follow the narrative parallel backward. In the flashbacks what caused Ed to "turn into the kraken" was killing his dad. And then after that he never killed anyone directly again, not until right before he redeclared himself the kraken when he killed Lucius (or at least he intended to kill Lucius and thought he had, which is close enough for this parallel). The parallel to Ed killing his dad then is actually when he (almost) killed Lucius. Which is not to say that I think they are trying to imply a similarity between Lucius and Ed's dad; if anything it's a parallel of contrasts where there is meaningful analysis to be done in unpacking what the significance is in the two people he killed being so different, but that is beyond the scope of this meta, which is already too scopeful for its own good.

Now let's move back in time even further. The (attempted) murders were what pushed Ed over the edge into becoming the kraken, but what was it that pushed him to that edge? In the flashback it's the scene where Ed watches his father his father abuse his mother. In the present, its this scene that we started with, where Izzy confrints Ed. Boom, there's your Izzy-Ed's dad parallel. Its not to the scene where Ed is strangling the abusive dick, its to the scene where he's being an abuser. And now you can go back to all those comparisons I said you could draw if we could prove the parallel and plug those in.

And also, let's go back to the pin I put in the idea of Izzy hurting the person Ed loves. If the parallel is to the scene where Ed strangles his dad, then the part where Izzy hurts someone Ed loves has to have happened before this scene. But if this is paralleling the abuse scene, then Izzy should be hurting the person Ed loves in this scene. It's Edward. That soft vulnerable part of himself, that's the person who Ed loves that's paralleling his mother. Bring that cut line back, Ed's dad accused his mother of making Ed weak, and now that "weak" side of him is paralleling his mother.

And if we have Izzy paralleling Ed's dad and Ed is paralleling his own mother, then we're creating a parallel in Ed and Izzy's relationship to a married couple. Which ties perfectly into the fact that this episode also has Ed and Izzy paralleling Stede and Mary. (Another parallel of contrasts in that case. They're perpendicularing them?)

And I know maybe it sounds weird that I was pushing back against the other two scenes not being similar enough, when these scenes aren't seemingly that much more similar. And I can pick out the specific details to argue the case like was done with the other two scenes. The one scene being in Ed's home and the other in Stede's quarters which Ed was trying to make into a home with the abuse violating what should have been a safe space. The thrown plate to the torn and crumpled page and thrown book. The disgust at being presented with "slop" and the disgust at "whatever it is you've become". The storming out at the end of the scene. And there is definitely something very very about comparing the violence of Ed's dad backhanding his mom and the violence of Izzy stroking Ed's cheek. But really the point I want to make here is it's not in the random details you can point to as similar if you look at them right. Its about thematically, narratively what are these scenes doing, and that's where I think these two have the stronger parallel.

So I’m up to episode 10 of my most recent rewatch and I noticed something interesting in the scene where Izzy confronts Ed. At the beginning of the conversation the camera tends to stay with Ed in the left side of the frame and Izzy on the right, with the space between them in center. We do get some shots of just Ed where he’s in center (not included) but any shots that focus on Izzy still keep Ed in the frame with Izzy staying right of center.

So I am not a cinematographer by any stretch, but this seems all pretty straight forward to me? Like, we’ve got these two people having an argument so we’re showing them on literal opposite sides, and our shots are biasing toward whoever is speaking at the moment, but with an overall bias toward Ed, who we’re supposed to sympathize with.

But where it gets interesting is when Izzy makes his namby-pamby comment, and Ed pushes Izzy up against the wall. Izzy is still right of center, but take a closer look at what is now in the center of the frame.

The lighthouse painting. The lighthouse which represents both Stede and Stede & Ed together. In this moment while Ed briefly appears to have control of the conversation, this painting representing many of the things Ed wants and wants to be is prominently in the shot even while we’re supposed to be focused on Izzy. And as an added bonus just as Ed is consistently on the left side of the frame in this argument, the lighthouse is on the left side of the painting.

But then Izzy takes back control over the conversation. He reaches out and strokes Ed’s face, causing Ed to jerk back and let go of Izzy.

Izzy takes advantage of this to step closer to Ed, bringing him to center frame.

And even then he continues to get closer and closer.

And as Izzy whispers his threat to Ed we’re left with this: Izzy filling the center of the frame, with Ed only barely visible at the very edge, and the lighthouse missing from the painting, completely blocked out by Izzy.

[wrioreid]

| Valentine's Day | spencer reid x reader

You and Spencer have plans to celebrate your first Valentine's Day together.

Warnings: fluff, slight angst?, indefinite season, some references to the series, without a definite pronoun I think?, lots of rambling.

Author's note: Hello, happy Valentine's Day! The day is literally over, but I only managed to post now :c I really wanted to write something involving my pookie and rewatching some episodes I had some ideas to put in the fanfic. Sorry if any part was confusing or doesn't make sense, I swear I tried!! Anyway, I hope it's fun to read!

The simple drops of icy water that fell calmly from the tree branches contrasted completely with the warm feeling emanating from the couples walking around there. Couples, lovers, families, friends. The street was full of people who were overflowing with love for each other, and you watched them solemnly while leaning your back against the icy wall of some random store. Not even a morning of persistent rain and unpleasantly below-par temperatures could spoil the romantic atmosphere and prevent people from loving each other.

It was February 14th, Valentine's Day. Or rather, your first Valentine's Day with someone. It was late afternoon and the rain had stopped, leaving only small drops of water as a reminder. The temperature continued, but nothing that good layers of clothing and a warm love couldn't solve.

You were waiting for Spencer. You had started dating the previous year, after February, so this was the first time you would celebrate this day together. In fact, neither of them cared about the date. You could even hear his skeptical voice again, talking about how this celebration made no sense and that it stopped being a proof of unconditional love a long time ago. On the other hand, you had never cared about the date because you had never had someone special enough to show that you were still made of love. Now that you had someone, you wanted to make the date unique.

You bite your lip, trying to suppress a smile, remembering how Spencer looked when you answered him saying that you had the desire to experience the magic of the day at least once. Not shocked, not surprised, but hopeful. The “Me too” that he whispered uncertainly like a secret being eternally kept in your mind. After that day, you started planning how you would spend the celebration, the millions of colored papers full of ideas - and dreams - scattered on the floor of his house being a warm memory in your mind.

But even though the plans were set a few good weeks ago, you - and neither he - could control your nervousness when today finally arrived. Even when you were walking together a few hours ago - him accompanying you to your house as he always did at least once a week - you couldn't hold a decent conversation. There was barely a goodbye, just you running inside the house to get ready and him running to his house to do the same. Now there you were, playing with a small puddle of water in front of you with the boot you had specially chosen while you waited for Spencer to arrive.

It wasn't like him to be late at all, and it was starting to get difficult to control your anxiety. Maybe he gave up. Maybe he realized it was something silly and irrational to celebrate. There were millions of thoughts battling against the small memory of the genuine smile he let out every time he read the post-its with the ideas for the long-awaited day.

Despite his confession when the subject came up, you had never actually talked about Valentine's Day before, much less if he had ever celebrated it. You knew that Spencer had already been in relationships with a few other people before, but you deduced that he had never celebrated the day, probably because he let reason take over, as always. However, deep down, you couldn't help but think that it was because he never allowed himself to celebrate, the idea that he was incapable of being loved rooted in his mind.

You felt pain in your heart, almost like a heart attack, when your relationship grew deeper and you would notice with each encounter these small - big - scratches that he had on his soul. Someone who would like to be seen as normal, to be perceived as someone capable of loving and being loved.

So, you take a deep breath and let the bad thoughts go away. Deep down, this is also his wish, and you accept this fact. You push yourself away from the wall, determined to find a better and more visible spot to make it easier for him. However, you didn't count on finding him standing in front of you when you stopped looking at the floor. And damn, he looked stunning.

His soft and tidy hair, his untidy white t-shirt, the wine-colored cardigan on top showing off his crooked black tie, his slightly wrinkled dress pants quickly revealing the pair of mismatched socks. All of this being soaked up by the dark gray overcoat and the purple scarf. There was literally nothing different about his style, but at the same time there was everything. Maybe it wasn't anything different physically, but whatever it was, was enough to make the thoughts that tormented you before seem like nothing more than a small fraction of an unknown nightmare now.

Spencer clears his throat, trying to bring your attention back to the real world. You can't tell if he's blushing because of the cold or because he's been stared at so intensely, but either way, it's cute. "Sorry I'm late," he says quietly, even though no one else can hear.

"It's okay, we'll still be a few minutes early." You smile playfully and awkwardly stand next to him, ready to go to the first attraction of the day. After millions of desires were buried by a job that took up too much of your time, the final decision was a traditional Valentine's Day schedule so that you could enjoy all the romantic experiences that couples usually have - as much as possible. The first stop would be at a small local theater to watch Romeo and Juliet. Afterwards, you would enjoy a beautiful romantic dinner at a special place, and by that you mean that you would have dinner at Spencer's house. And then, he would walk you home. It sounds simple, but it was more than perfect.

Despite your movement, Reid doesn't move. He looks at you with a tight-lipped smile as he unrolls a black and white fabric from his messenger bag. You hadn't realized it was there and before you know it, he's lovingly wrapping the scarf around your neck.

"I knew you'd forget," he whispers, smiling like a child who's been naughty. You use the scarf as a shield to hide your flushed cheeks, starting to walk quickly after whispering a thank you. The smell of freshly washed clothes with a hint of fresh vanilla is the only thing you can smell now, intoxicating you like a drink.

However, it's not enough to make you not notice the awkward silence between you. You've known each other for a long time and talk a lot, but the idea of ​​something new, a unique - and secret, in a way - celebration between the two of you was too much for both. You snuggle even closer into the scarf and slide your hand closer to his, your pinkies touching. You notice him looking at you from the corner of his eye, a look full of secrets for the others, but not for you. Calmly, he intertwines his fingers with yours, you now walking hand in hand and both of you smiling foolishly behind the scarf.

The play's performance was interesting, but it was hard to concentrate on it while Spencer made several dissatisfied expressions beside you. "It's almost revolting how a play about young love, family rivalry and lack of communication turned into a mere sad story about love at first sight. And I haven't even talked about the imaginary balcony yet!" It was the last thing he said after you left the theater and started walking towards his apartment, distractedly engaging in other matters.

“You can’t deny it, Spence,” you laugh out loud, smiling at his pouting face. “Love moves worlds!”

“It changes realities, that’s what it does,” he mutters, looking irritated, but a playful smile plays on his lips. “A tribute to a bishop who went against an emperor turned into a celebration of love with an exchange of gifts and declarations just because they decided to combine love and romance! And it makes much more sense for the celebration to exist because this is the first day of mating for birds. It’s the order of life!”

“Of course, it makes much more sense for men to leave love messages on their loved ones’ doors because the birds are procreating,” you giggle. “I think I’m talking to the reincarnation of Claudius II and I didn’t know it.” You joke, having even more fun when you notice Spencer pondering his words for a few moments, a furrow forming between his eyebrows.

“Technically, men who have nothing to lose are better at war than those who have love,” he pauses, now speaking again with a mischievous smile, “For example, I worked much better before I met you.”

You stop walking, shock written all over your face as you stare at him in disbelief. Spencer laughs, stretching one of his hands to intertwine them. He gently kisses the top of your hand. “Contrary to statistics and facts, I have been working better since we met and you know that very well,” he whispers, still with your hand close to his mouth, his lips brushing against your skin with each movement. You turn your face away, still angry, but taking the opportunity to control the immense urge to kiss him.

However, the whole act ends when you feel something different in your hand - the same one he was holding until just now. You turn your head quickly only to notice the beautiful red rose that magically rested in your hand, its scent so present that even from that distance you could smell it. Paralyzed, you stare at Spencer, mouth open, not knowing what to do. He stares back at you with a smile from ear to ear, his nose red from the cold.

“As someone told me the other day,” he says calmly and amusedly, “It’s worth ignoring the hype, the advertising and the high prices for someone special.”

You can barely react. Twirling the rose between your thumb and index finger, the only thing you can do is control the tears that are welling up in your eyes. It’s the first time you’ve received a flower so full of feelings from someone. A single, simple flower, but it was worth more than an entire field. Spencer calmly waits for you to recover, tenderness sparkling in his eyes.

“You’re an idiot,” you manage to whisper, hugging the flower gently so as not to ruin it or hurt yourself, despite your clothes. “H-How? Since when?”

He shrugs, reaching for your hand again and intertwining it with his, putting both in the pocket of his overcoat as he walks on again. “A magician doesn’t reveal his secrets… and he always has tricks up his sleeve.” He lets a sentence hang in the air, more mysterious than it should be. You stare at him, waiting for him to continue, but you only get a pat on the hand.

The rest of the way was calm and quiet, but comfortable enough for you to process everything, your eyes never leaving the delicate flower resting on your chest. When you arrive at the apartment, you can't help but notice how much - more than ever - this place made you feel like home.

A small smile escapes your lips as Spencer offers to help you remove and put away your coat and scarf. He removes his own scarf and coat as well and offers to put your rose in a container of water so it doesn't die. You hand it to him and as he disappears into the kitchen, you wander through the rows and rows of books, stopping when you notice that the chess pieces were not on the usual table, the moonlight coming through the window and illuminating only the chess board.

"I couldn't think of a better place," you hear Spencer say before looking in your direction, noticing the beautiful vase with several roses that he held in one hand and the tablecloth that he held in the other. He lovingly hands you the jar, smiling softly “I tried to put them all in my bag, but it was a bad idea, so they were waiting for you” he laughs embarrassedly as he arranges the tablecloth on the table.

You smile from ear to ear, enchanted by the beauty of the flowers, and place the vase in the center of the table so you can help him set up the rest of the romantic dinner. When everything was finished, you stop for a few moments to appreciate it and can't help but smile when your gaze lingers between the two chairs. As your relationship with Spencer deepened, a second chair began to appear frequently at the chess table, a sweet reminder of all the times you played there - and that, now, was even part of the scenery in his apartment -.

You sit there, smiling amusedly when Spencer reappears with a lit candle in his hand. "Waiter, please" you joke. He looks at you with arched eyebrows, carefully placing the candle next to the flowers. "On average, more than 7,000 candle fires happen here in the country each year".

You laugh nasally, fascinated by the moment "Thank you, Spence… I don't even know what to say. Everything is so… right, so romantic".

“It’s the least I could do and… I actually wish I had cooked, but time…” he scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed.

“It’s perfect, seriously. Next time we’ll cook together and you’ll see my culinary skills,” you say, making a silly smile appear on his face as he nods positively.

You eat and talk calmly for a long time, enjoying each other’s company. When darkness already dominates the streets, you realize it’s time to end the night. After helping Spencer put things back in their proper places, you pause in the middle of the room on your way out, pondering what to do. It was still Valentine’s Day and you hadn’t kissed.

However, in these last moments, Spencer seemed more spaced out and lost in his own thoughts, probably overwhelmed by the emotions of the day. You feel bad for a moment, wondering if you hadn’t forced it too much with him. So, you choose to quickly grab your flowers and your coat, your little goodbye speech already on the tip of your tongue.

“Wait,” Spencer, who was standing there watching you get ready, spoke hurriedly and, after making sure you weren’t leaving yet, disappeared into his room, returning moments later hugging an object to his chest. He walked until he was close to you, but never stopped looking at what he had in his arms. Looking closely now, you noticed that it was a somewhat old book, with some obvious marks on the cover and spine.

Spencer opened and closed his mouth several times, but unable to say anything, he just handed the book to you. Parlement of Foules was printed in large letters.

“T-This is considered the first Valentine’s Day poem,” he said uncertainly, his tone lower than normal, as if he wasn’t talking to you. “For this was on St. Valentine’s Day, when every fowl comes there his mate to take… is a 700-line poem that follows the tradition of dream vision poetry, a medieval literary style, and Chaucer uses it to discuss romantic love and freedom of choice… my mother read it to me when I was a child” he finishes in a whisper so low that you doubt if you heard it right. You press the book against your fingers, understanding the weight that it implied.

Spencer bites his lip, but resumes speaking, now with a more confident tone “It was a poem that stuck in my memory, more than any other and… given today’s date I would like it… to become important to you too. It’s the second copy my mother had in case something happened to the first one… but nothing ever happened and well… one copy is enough for me” he smiles embarrassedly, scratching the back of his neck “I-I left some notes throughout the book, too, so you would always feel accompanied while reading and… well, know my opinions about it”

“Couldn’t you read it to me too?” The question escapes your lips, your eyes glazed over the book as you caress the cover with interest.

Spencer is taken aback by the question, but a small smile plays on his lips. “I could too, of course” he paused again, now looking at you expectantly “There’s one more thing in there…”

You press your lips together and stare at him. Passion, surprise, affection… you felt so many things in that moment that not even the cold wind outside could cool the warmth that permeates your heart. You delicately open the book, noticing a writing on the title page. It was in pencil, and the marks from previous attempts were still there as if they were telling you a secret, but they didn’t get in the way of reading the large, hurried letters.

You can only teach a child to love by loving them. Johann Goethe, From your Spencer

A small drop falls onto the page, briefly staining the paper. You then realize that tears are streaming down your face, even though a tender smile has not left your lips. Spencer comes even closer, taking the book from your hand so he can hold it in his. With his other hand, he slowly passes it over your face, wiping away the small drops that insisted on running down.

“The whole discussion of the poem revolves around love… whether people are destined to be together or whether they have the right to choose, whether by passion, affinity or social conventions.” He speaks delicately, never taking his eyes off you. “Love is everyone’s final destiny, but it is a complex, free and uncertain process that, honestly, is still the action of hormones and neurotransmitters…” He bites his lips, quickly looking away to look at you again, determined. “But even so, even though it is not destiny… I firmly believe and I am more than happy to know that I made all the correct choices that led us to meeting.”

Honestly, fuck it. You put your hands around his face, cradling him, and bring him closer to you. Your lips touch gently, and you can't focus on anything else. Spencer timidly holds your waist, pulling you closer to deepen the kiss. Delicately, he starts to run his hands over your body as if he were appreciating a work of art until he reaches your face, where he caresses the side of your cheek with one hand and pulls you even closer with the other - if that's possible -. You separate from the kiss panting, but remain close, your foreheads touching. Spencer calmly places a tender kiss on your nose, then your forehead and, finally, on the top of your head, enjoying every second.

When you look at each other again, the only thing you can whisper are several "Thank yous". He smiles lovingly, still caressing your face.

“I don’t even know how to thank you, Spence,” you whisper. “You gave me so much today, with so much love, so much dedication… and I only gave you a meager little letter with messages that you surely already knew… I really don’t know how to repay you.”

His smile widens and when he answers, you feel like you’ve finally found your place. “Nothing could surpass the happiness your letter brought me, love, there’s nothing you can repay. However, it would make me even happier if you slept here…”

Author's note 2: Hello there! If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading! I'm also on c.ai with the same user @/wrioreid, but the process of making the bots is going veryyy slowly.

[luzyuvu]

Amphoreus worse romcom.

Ch 11.

Anaxa fic part 2!

Take this as a Valentine's day gift!

As part of Aglaea's plan to slowly but surely get you two together was to get the help of the other Chrysos heirs, not only with the intentions of finally appease (or try to) Anaxagoras's jealousy, but also because with their combined efforts it would be way more easy to start trying to close the distance between you two without forcing you to be alone with him. It was perfect, or at least, at the time of just think about the plan, it was.

------

Phainon swears he is doing his best, because he is! He is doing his best so you and Anaxa can have a good time together.

The original plan was for him to be the third wheel, only using his presence so you could feel more comfortable with Anaxa, but Phainon forgot how even if his fellow Chrysos heir is a sage and has incredible wisdom in his hands, he is definitely not good when it comes to dates or have interactions not related to his job. And it's so painfully obvious that every time you try to make things more natural it ends up with you looking down, only to rise your gaze to look out at Phainon with pitiful puppy eyes asking for help.

And Phainon is trying, really hard, but it seems that you end up accidentally talking more with him rather with Anaxa, and the sage is definitely not having it. He knows it's not his fault, and Anaxa does too, but since he got feelings for you his jealousy seems to have grown and rose out of the sky and his logic and reason is down in the core of the earth when it comes to you.

And that's how we got here, with poor innocent Phainon between the two of you with in his right a girl lost and uncomfortable and on his left a man with a gaze so lethal he could kill a Titan by just looking at them.

He thought Anaxa's gazes were deadly before but it seems that somehow they got even worse, and he swears that if it wasn't because of you Anaxa's gun would be already on his head threatening to shoot.

Phainon it's internally crying, he just wants to help.

So in a desperate attempt to got you two to exchange more than a few words he decides to let you two alone, making up any excuse to leave for at least a few minutes.

He is glad that the death glare has lightly softened but in exchange he nows has to face the pure panic and desperate look in your eyes, begging him to not let you two alone.

"I'm sorry, my friend, this is for the best... " He thinks to himself before walking away.

-----

"Finally, some time alone. " Anaxa thinks to himself as he looks at Phainon's back. Then, his gaze goes back to you and how your eyes go back and forth between your hands and him.

He doesn't blame you for being nervous, until then he did nothing but put walls between you two and was also an absolute asshole to you, he is actually surprised you aren't openly rude to him as well. It's one thing that he likes about you, thought, he hopes you are not such a pushover to other people who are rude to you.

"I'll make sure she is treated well, if not, well... " His expression hardens lightly at the thought of people mistreating you, and it's already thinking of ways of how to get rid of those people who dared to even raise their voice at you.

After a short moment of silence he decides to start a conversation, it feels a little robotic and it's not the most friendly and extroverted one, but you are now looking at him and lucky he will get you to give him more than two whole sentences at once. Maybe, you would get comfortable enough to get you to make those jokes of yours again. He might not be the type of people who laughs loudly or makes excessive amounts of jokes, he is not a jester, but he would like you to be that comfortable with him so you can smile in his presence more often.

------

Phainon let's out a sight of relief when he sees the two of you finally have a proper conversation and finds himself smiling at the sight. It is not the most intimate or friendliest of conversations, but it's such an amazing improvement compared to previous attempts and it's definitely a good step to the right direction.

He can't wait to tell to the others what he is just witnessing, even though he knows that soon or later he has to go back and face Anaxa's cold gaze for interrupting his precious time with his beloved puppy.

------

Castorice is more than willing to help Anaxa on his attempts if winning her sister's heart. She isn't experienced in love at all, her power's don't slow her to be that close to someone and she has a hard time talking to people two. The only approach she had to love is thanks to the romance novels she read and thanks to her beloved friend, but she will still do her best to help.

So, to help Anaxa, she tells him every little thing she knows about you, what food you liked your favorite color, favorite book... There's not a single detail about you that Castorice doesn't hold dear to her heart, and Anaxa is taking notes. He is listening every single word out of her mouth, making sure he knows everything he would need to get closer to you.

He is already making strategies and making plans of how he could make his next move, studying Castorice's information in the same way he does his research, with a expression of pure focus and concentration. Castorice smiles at the sight, she is glad someone finally wants to make a move on you and making so much effort.

Of course she is aware of your and Anaxa's situation. As your closest confident, she was the first person to know the details and how it made you feel, but she believes people can change, she is seeing with her own two eyes how hard Anaxa is trying his best and even Aglaea is helping, so it surely can end well despite the rough start.

It might not be a perfect fairytale of romance or a perfect story like some books she read, but it's real and genuine, and that's what makes it special.

She hopes you can both be happy and have your happy ever after.

-------

Anaxa notices how you slowly start to deliver messages to him again. He knows it's Aglaea's, after all, you can't refuse her. It only takes a smile and her gentle tone to persuade you to do her a favor. And he also knows that, in your eyes, it would be worth it when you go back to receive her gratitude and softness. It makes him narrow his eyes in jealousy how you act like a child, eager to make their parents proud when it comes to her. Though, he must admit, the mental image of your happy smile at receiving such reward makes his lips want to curl.

It's thanks to this small opportunities that she gives him that he can put into use all of Castorice's information, and also a way to test his hypothesis and theories of how to act around you and his plans to win your heart. He has a whole note for all the things he had planed and he has even more notes of how you react with each interaction you have, pages after pages of details of how you react, every little gesture, improvement or dislike he notices.

If someone saw it, they would think he is actually making an experiment instead of courting his crush, but it's just the way he is, not even when it comes to love he stops being a scholar.

Is with each little interaction that he slowly starts to master his skills when it comes to your interactions, and with each passing day he is starting to learn how to distract you and make you slowly lose yourself into your conversations, successfully distracting you from the reason you came in the first place.

And he hopes soon enough you'll start visiting him on your own.

Love is new to him and even thought the way he approaches it it's too similar to of how a researcher investigates a new species, it doesn't make it less genuine, he can't give you an out of a fantasy love story but he can give you his heart and the most genuine of efforts. At his own unique and particular way of doing so.

--------

As usual, you find yourself walking towards Aglaea's place to meet her for a tea party, you make sure to do so every now and then, mostly for to check on each other and make sure the other is okay. And as usual, it started well, nothing out of the ordinary, until...

"Lover's day is nearing. " she comments with a calm smile. Of course you know it, couples all over the city are already planning what to do, meanwhile, single people cry out of loneliness.

You always bake some sweets for your friends, but Aglaea already knows it, so you just look at her lightly confused as you agree.

"Your sweets are lovely, I look forward for them every year.... " she starts with her gentle tone, and you can't help but smile too.

"Have you thought about giving Anaxagoras some? " she says calmly as she takes a slip of her tea, you almost choke with yours.

After a few moments of recovery you look at her confused, and before you can even form your questions, she continues.

"I know he might not look like the kind of person that would enjoy or care about this kind of celebration, nevertheless, if it's you who gifts him such a sign of appreciation, he won't refuse. " Sensing your doubt, she places a hand above yours.

"I'm sure you've noticed how much he had improved over months. " She gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. "Please, dear friend, give him a chance, you can't know how it will turn out if you don't try. " Her tone and smile are gentle as she softly let's go of your hand.

Aglaea tries to convince you a little more before changing of topic, going back to your usual themes of conversation.

Times goes by and you find yourself walking out of the residence as you say goodbye to Aglaea, but before you can close the door she calls you once more.

"Please, consider what we talked earlier. " She gently pats your head. "Don't worry, my child. Trust me, you know I would never suggest something that could cause you any harm. " And with that, you walk to your home, thinking about your earlier conversation.

Doubt lingers on the back in your mind, but with a sight you decide to take her suggestion.

The worse it could happen is if the chocolates turn out to not be of his liking.

--------

Later on the same day, moments after you leave, Anaxa knocks Aglaea's door.

The conversation is fairly similar to what she had with you, it started casual, with regular and not so important topics before bringing the real focus of the day.

"Lover's day is around the corner, have you already thought about what are you going to gift to your beloved, Anaxagoras? " She notices how his body tenses at the mention of such date.

Of course he knows it's near, he is even aware of the seconds and minutes that are left for said date to arrive. In fact, he had been preparing his gift for a whole month, meticulously looking out for the perfect recepie, choosing your favorite flavor, your favorite type of chocolate, how would you like the shape to look like, your favourite type of packaging. He also will buy the same day a bouquet of flowers, also carefully and deliberately chosen to express his intentions with you and a plush of your favorite animal. Castorice herself helped him to make sure everything is perfect for the important day, but he won't tell Aglaea all of that, so he just nods.

She decides to not ask more questions and keep the conversation light, satisfied to know that he did something. She already knows he didn't just pick anything and go with it, he is too perfectionist for that and wants your love so badly it's impossible for him to not do something worth of you.

She can't wait for the day to finally arrive.

---------

The first one to receive our gift is obviously Castorice, you woke up early to greet her and give her her sweets, followed by your dear Aglaea, Phainon and Mydei, followed by some other important people. That lives you with only one box of chocolates to give... Anaxagoras's.

All the Chrysos heirs asked about it, after thanking you properly for your gesture, of course. You have all the same exact response, telling them how you haven't seen him yet and that you'd look out for him. Truth to be told, you have been intentionally avoiding him.

It's not like you are scared if him, not the way you did before anyways. It's not like it's the first time you find yourself in this situation, it was exactly like this the first time you gifted something to anyone for the first time, and to this day you still cringe when remembering it. You just hope it won't be as painfully awkward as when you first gave one gift to Mydei, you wouldn't handle it.

It's not like you didn't put effort or anything, actually, you tried so hard to make it perfect that you forgot to sleep and eat.

Everything is handmade, from the chocolates to the box, everything made carefully with Anaxa's likings on mind, but still, your nerves are killing you.

You really hope he likes it, you think as you finally start looking out for him.

-----

Anaxa has been looking out for you everywhere.

He asked everyone he knew and they were equally confused as him. According to them, you were looking out for him, but he was also doing the same so there could be two options, or you two are having terrible bad luck (he doesn't believe in luck) or you are avoiding him. The last option makes his heart hurt, but he still is determined to find you, soon or later.

------

You take deep breaths to steady your nerves, but it doesn't help. Every second feels like torture and you can't do anything about it. You can't hide forever, he will find you, and if not him, Aglaea will and you don't want to go throughout that embarrassment. So you use the little bit if strength you have and look out for him.

It doesn't take too much for you to find him, and even less for him to notice you. It almost scares you how quickly he was aware that you were approaching him, but you decide to ignore it and before he can open his mouth, you hand him his gift.

You somehow find the courage to look at his eye and his surprise surprises you, but it quickly transforms into anxiety as he inspects the box. It is of his favourite colors, elegant and sophisticated. He can notice the handmade nature of the box as he sees the small imperfections in it. He also sees the rests of your effort on your fingers as you play with them, the paint clearly visible around your hand.

The chocolates are also good, they have leaf shapes and are bitter, as he likes. He can't stop the way his lips curl ever so lightly and how his gaze seems to soften.

"Thank you. " his voice lacks his usual coldness and arrogance, and you never heard it before, it takes you a little to process before he hand you your gifts.

A plush, some chocolates and flowers, it's obvious it was picked for you, because it all has your favourite things all over it, and you can't help but be stunned. You don't know what's more impressive, the fact that he gave you something at all, or how much he did to make it so you'd love it.

You give him the biggest smile you could and your tone is nothing but grateful and happy as you thank him. He still looks at you with the same almost unnoticeable softness as you admire your gifts and he wishes you could always be like this around him.

You talk a little before heading to your respective houses before his voice calls you out.

"You don't have to call me Anaxagoras, just Anaxa is fine. "He calmly comments, but you are completely flabbergasted. He hates being called Anaxa, he made sure to make it clear and you did your best to avoid calling him that, so it was a shook to hear him saying that, especially since he didn't say a reason why you could.

Still, after recovering from the recent surprise, you nod and oblige, and you can almost see a smile before you two part ways.

The day didn't have a confession, some wild drama or anything extravagant, but you two were content, and that's all that matters. This was your story, and you wouldn't have it any other way.

-----------

Aglaea smiles to herself as she looks at the scene, glad that everything worked out at the end and that the two lover birds are happy and satisfied. So she walks away like the other two, ready to keep sketching more ideas for your wedding dress.

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

Author note: poor baby Phainon, he has to deal with Anaxa's jealousy :( anyways, this is not the final part, idk how much more there will be BDNDNDN

Also, we all need an aglaea in our lives

I was thinking about naming this fics 'Amphoreus worse romcom' but what would you think? Anyways, see ya

[ineedmorevat7kinmylife]

Little rant about Mabel Pines.

I know people have talked about how unfairly lots of GF fans treat Mabel, and how she's just 12 and Dipper's so mature we forget and you need to cut her some slack, but I want to talk about how both of them have the same maturity level, they just show it differently. Selfishness. This is one of the main reasons people get mad at Mable, because she acts selfish, and makes Dipper sacrifice things for her. There are four episodes where this is most prominent. The Time Traveler's Pig, The Deep End, Sock Opera, and Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future. The Time Traveler's Pig In this episode, Dipper time travels to ask Wendy out before Robbie can, and only finds one universe where it happens. Only problem: in that universe Mabel doesn't get the pig she won in the original timeline. Dipper lets Mabel keep the pig, sacrificing his "date" with Wendy. My problem with people calling Mabel selfish in this episode is that Dipper is the one being selfish. He's trying to change the timeline so he can ask out a girl he's not going to have a realistic shot at at this point in time. Mabel wants to keep the pig she rightfully won in the original timeline, and keep it out of Pacifica's hands, where it clearly doesn't want to be. (Also I doubt her parents would let her keep it)

The Deep End Mabel's new pool crush is really a merman who needs help getting back to his family. Mabel agrees, but her helping his jeopardizes Dipper's lifeguard job, which he wants to keep because he can hang out with Wendy. Dipper ends up giving up his job at the pool to help Mabel save the merman. Once again, Dipper acting selfish while Mabel gets blamed. Dipper isn't even actually doing his job as a lifeguard, he doesn't care about the potential money, or responsibility. He's actually really bad at the job. He and Wendy who are lifeguards, keep sneaking off to pull pranks and steal snacks. While Mabel is trying to save someone's life.

Sock Opera Now in this one, Mabel is genuinely being selfish. She prioritizes her sock opera over the thing she promised Dipper she would help him with. I'm including this here because I think this episode is where people really got the wrong impression of Mabel. And it's because Bill tells Dipper that she's been selfish and Dipper's had to sacrifice things for her. BILL IS MANIPULATING DIPPER!!!! Making him believe things that he wouldn't have thought otherwise to get him to do what he wants!!! He's appealing to Dipper's ego, trying to drive a wedge between the twins, because they're stronger together. It's the same thing he did to Ford. Stop trusting anything Bill says, take it all with a grain of salt.

Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future Ahh, the classic, Mabel-caused-the-apocalypse debate. Again, Bill = manipulator. He knows how to get you to do what he wants. Mabel didn't cause Weirdmaggedon. Bill did. If he had seen an opportunity, he would have done the same to Dipper. Now I'm not saying Mabel isn't selfish. She is sometimes. Like in Boyz Crazy. But I'm saying that it's not just Mabel. They're both selfish because they're 12. Also, Dipper: Your crush works at your house. You already spend a ton of time together. It could be way worse.

Mabel's role in the story Mabel has a major role in Dipper's life, and it isn't just because she's his twin. She is one of the few people that can get him to calm down and act like the kid he is. Dipper tries to be too mature. He's trying to grow up too fast. Mabel calms him down and gets him acting like a normal kid for once. 

Dipper vs. Mabel smartness People have already mentioned that when Ford praises Dipper for his additions to the journal, he opens to the page with the gnomes, which is something Mabel figured out, and how that shows Ford underestimates her.

But I think Mabel is way smarter than we give her credit for. She figures things out that Dipper doesn't all the time!

"Dipper, it's the vending machine!"

Anyway: my point is that Dipper and Mabel are both 12, and are immature and mature at different times depending on the situation. They just go about it differently. Also: the story is more from Dipper's POV so it might be a little biased.

[ravenclaw-for-all-seasons]

Be my Valentine? Mattheo Riddle (2/2)

Link to pt.1

The next morning at breakfast, the Great Hall was buzzing. It wasn’t unusual for people to talk about Mattheo Riddle—his reputation practically ensured that. But today, the whispers weren’t about a fight, a prank, or some detention-worthy stunt.

No, today, all eyes were on the fact that you—his Ravenclaw girlfriend—were sitting beside him at the Slytherin table, tucked into his side and looking entirely too comfortable for his friends’ liking.

Theo was the first to break. “Alright, no way.” He leaned across the table, staring between the two of you. “You actually pulled off Valentine’s Day?”

Mattheo, who was currently focused on adding sugar to his tea, barely spared him a glance. “Obviously.”

Draco narrowed his eyes. “What did you do to her?”

You rolled your eyes, sipping your pumpkin juice. “Oh, I don’t know, Malfoy. Maybe he just planned a really lovely evening and was a perfect gentleman?”

Lorenzo snorted into his coffee. “Mattheo? A perfect gentleman?!”

Pansy, who had just sat down, raised a brow at the conversation. “Wait, wait. Are we actually confirming that Mattheo Riddle—the same Mattheo who once started a duel in Potions over a stolen quill—successfully executed a Valentine’s date?”

Mattheo groaned, setting down his cup. “Merlin, it’s not that shocking.”

“Oh, but it is,” Theo said, grinning. “I mean, did you actually plan things? Pick out the food? Think about ambiance?”

Draco shook his head in mock horror. “Did you—Mattheo Riddle—put in effort?”

Mattheo shot them both a glare, but you just laughed, leaning into him slightly. “He really did. The Astronomy Tower was beautiful.”

Pansy’s jaw dropped. “You took her to the Astronomy Tower?”

“Oh, and he got me those enchanted blue roses,” you added, smiling at Mattheo, who was now looking increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of attention he was getting.

Theo looked like he might pass out. “And the bracelet!” He turned to Draco. “I think we’ve lost him, mate.”

Draco sighed dramatically. “It’s tragic, really. The Mattheo we once knew would have called Valentine’s Day a capitalist scam designed to make men weak.”

Lorenzo smirked. “And now he’s out here buying enchanted roses and—what’s next? Writing poetry?”

Mattheo groaned, dropping his head into his hands. “I hate all of you.”

You giggled, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I think it’s sweet.”

Draco pointed at you. “See, this is dangerous. He’s gonna start smiling next. Can you imagine?”

Theo mock-shuddered. “Horrifying.”

Mattheo finally sat up, scowling at all of them. “Alright, you pricks. Just because you lot have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean I can’t do something nice for my girl.”

Silence.

Then—

“Oh, Merlin, he called her his girl,” Pansy said, pressing a hand to her chest.

Theo gasped. “You’re whipped.”

Draco shook his head, pretending to wipe a tear. “We had a good run, boys. He’s officially gone.”

Lorenzo just grinned. “So, when’s the wedding?”

You felt Mattheo smirk against your shoulder, casually taking a sip of his tea like he hadn’t just dropped that information on his friends.

“The wedding is as soon as we graduate,” he said, completely deadpan.

Draco choked on his pumpkin juice. Theo dropped his fork. Pansy’s eyes widened to the size of Galleons. Lorenzo looked like he was about to topple out of his chair.

“You’re joking,” Theo finally said, squinting at Mattheo like he was trying to see if he was being serious.

Mattheo just raised a brow. “Am I?”

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you, shaking your head as you nudged him. “You’re such a prick.”

He turned to you, smirking. “What? You disagree?”

You rolled your eyes, but the warmth in your chest was undeniable. “I mean, maybe I wanted a bit more of a romantic proposal, but sure, let’s just throw that in over breakfast.”

Theo slammed his hands on the table. “OH MY GODRIC! She’s going along with it!”

Pansy gasped. “No. No, no, no—this isn’t real. This can’t be real. You two—” She pointed between you and Mattheo. “—are actually serious?”

Draco blinked, rubbing his temples like he had a headache. “I need a bloody minute.”

Lorenzo, meanwhile, just grinned. “Alright, but if I’m not Best Man, I’m rioting.”

Mattheo smirked. “Fine by me, mate.”

Theo looked personally offended. “Oh, I don’t get to be Best Man? Unbelievable.”

Pansy groaned, dramatically resting her head on the table. “I refuse to live in a world where Mattheo Riddle is the first of us to get engaged.”

You just shook your head, laughing as Mattheo draped an arm around you, clearly enjoying the chaos he’d created.

Draco sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re actually insane.”

Mattheo just grinned. “And yet, she still loves me.”

You glanced up at him, eyes soft despite your exasperation. “Yeah,” you murmured, squeezing his hand. “I really do.”

Theo groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Merlin, you two are disgusting.”

Draco was still shaking his head, muttering under his breath about how the world must be ending. Pansy, meanwhile, had seemingly moved on from denial and straight into acceptance, resting her chin on her hand as she eyed the two of you.

“Well,” she said, smirking, “if we are planning a wedding, I demand to be involved. Someone needs to make sure Mattheo doesn’t completely ruin the aesthetic.”

Mattheo scoffed. “Oi, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You have the fashion sense of a depressed bat, darling.”

Lorenzo snorted. “She’s not wrong.”

Mattheo rolled his eyes, but you just giggled, leaning into him. “I don’t know, I think he cleans up pretty well.”

He turned to you with a smirk. “Damn right I do.”

Theo groaned again. “I swear, I’m this close to hexing myself just to get out of this conversation.”

Mattheo, ever the instigator, smirked and leaned in closer to you, voice deliberately loud. “Go ahead, mate. Won’t stop me from discussing honeymoon plans.”

Draco choked on his drink again.

Pansy gasped. “Absolutely not.”

Lorenzo, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, just shook his head. “Merlin, Mattheo, you’re gonna kill them.”

You were laughing too, unable to help yourself as Mattheo pressed a kiss to your temple, looking way too pleased with himself.

Pansy groaned. “This is my actual nightmare.”

Theo muttered something about needing a real drink.

Mattheo leaned back in his seat, a smug grin plastered on his face as he draped an arm around your shoulders. He glanced at his friends, who were still recovering from the wedding details he’d dropped. Then, just to push them further into chaos, he casually added—

“So, the honeymoon plans…”

Draco slammed his goblet down. “Absolutely not.”

Theo made a strangled noise, looking like he wanted to physically launch himself across the table to shut Mattheo up. “No. No, no, no. I refuse to listen to this.”

Pansy, wide-eyed, pointed an accusatory finger at Mattheo. “You keep whatever disgusting things are in that twisted little brain of yours FAR away from this breakfast table.”

Lorenzo, to everyone’s horror, just smirked. “No, no. Let him continue. I’m curious.”

Mattheo’s grin widened as he leaned in slightly, his fingers lazily playing with the hem of your sleeve. “Well, love, I was thinking something tropical. You know—somewhere warm, secluded, private.” His voice dipped into something lower, something dangerously suggestive, and you could feel the way his friends collectively lost their minds.

Theo actually threw a piece of toast at him. “STOP.”

Draco was rubbing his temples. “This is my villain origin story.”

Pansy covered her ears. “I refuse to listen to this.”

Meanwhile, you were shaking with laughter, covering your mouth to try and keep it in. “Mattheo, you’re horrible.”

He smirked down at you. “Yet you love me for it.”

You rolled your eyes but leaned into him anyway, grinning. “Unfortunately.”

Theo groaned. “This is sickening.”

Mattheo just chuckled, completely unfazed by their dramatics. “Oh, relax. I’ll spare you the explicit details—for now.”

Draco pushed his plate away. “Lost my appetite. Thanks, Riddle.”

Lorenzo patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, mate. I’m sure the wedding night conversation will be even worse.”

Pansy looked genuinely horrified. “I’m moving to Beauxbatons.”

Mattheo just laughed, pressing a kiss to your temple as he watched his friends suffer. “Best breakfast ever.”

[tgmsunmontue]

A picture is worth 1000 words - 10/?

Hangster post-TGM events, Jake and Bradley becoming friends on Instagram through increasingly competitive thirst traps.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE

PART TEN

                Jake taps his foot impatiently. He hadn’t expected Rooster to be the first out, but he’d hoped he wouldn’t be the last. Clearly happy to make Jake wait. It’s been nearly an hour since his plane landed and he’s starting to wonder if he even got on the right fucking plane. Realizes he doesn’t actually have a phone number for the other man, just friended through various social media apps. He can get the number easily enough, but that’ll be a little humiliating admitting he didn’t think to get it in the first place.

                Then he sees him and he’s pushing a luggage trolley beside an older woman who is pushing an older man in a wheelchair. They look around the same age as Jake’s grandparents, maybe a bit younger.

                Ah fuck.

                His annoyance evaporates because Rooster is shooting him an apologetic look but turning back to the couple with an easy smile, listening to whatever they’re saying. He looks… happy. Relaxed and well rested, which he supposes is the whole point of taking leave. The cuts have healed, bruises melted away, and he simply looks like he’s not got a single care in the world. Jake supposes he doesn’t. He can make out the conversation as they get closer and he’s going to give Rooster shit about it later…

                “No sir, happy to help.”

                “You’re a good boy…” the woman says, and Jake’s lips twist in amusement, eyes catching Rooster’s and his eyebrows go up in enquiry, because good isn’t a word that springs to mind when he thinks of Rooster. He thinks if the woman’s hands weren’t busy pushing the wheelchair she’d have patted Bradshaw on the cheek.

                “Now, is this your young man?”

                Jake’s head snaps back to Rooster so fast he feels the jarring in his neck. Rooster has gone delightfully red, which he’s seen in anger before, but this time he definitely doesn’t look angry. Plus it sounds like he’s maybe been talking about him. Rooster is spluttering, clearly tongue tied and the woman is cackling and Jake’s a little confused but a lot amused.

                “Jake Seresin ma’am, sir. Nice to meet you.”

                “Mmm. Another polite one. I’m Harold Austin,” the man says, holds his hand out for Jake to shake and it’s strong and firm.

                “I’m Maeve. And he didn’t call you his young man, just said he was coming to visit a friend…”

                Another glance at Rooster makes Jake think he could maybe float Goldfish as a new callsign, the way he’s opening and closing his mouth, and he’s definitely still blushing. He doesn’t know who these people are, but he likes them already. Anyone that meets Bradshaw and immediately starts hassling him

                “My Harold here was also an aviator… these two have been talking each other’s ears off the whole trip.”

                Jake wants to make a quip about Rooster making friends, but it would fall flat, and without even noticing he’s walking with them towards he exit, because clearly Rooster has offered his help in getting their bags to their vehicle or wherever it is they’re headed. Then Rooster is indeed helping place bags in the back of a hire vehicle, folding up the wheelchair with surprisingly practiced ease and swapping contact details with Maeve; who does indeed pat Bradshaw’s cheek and giving him a quick hug.

                Then Rooster is turning toward him, duffle over his shoulder and eyebrow quirked up and Jake’s suddenly glad there was the distraction of other people for at least a little while because it feels… heavy. With what he’s not quite sure, but he’s hopeful. More hopeful than he was.

                “Rooster.”

                “Hangman. Hi.”

                “You’re going to need to call me Jake. Unless you want to explain to my nieces and nephews what a hangman is exactly…” Rooster blanches at that and Jake smirks, because that’s not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to awkward as fuck questions that have come out of his niblings’ mouths. “Come on, my truck's this way..."

[blushsturns]

heyyy!! first time doing these request things and i dont know how these things go, but can i request on something for a pairing, like probably chronic hermit!reader and social butterfly!chris ?? thanks ✨

title: louder than words

pairing: social butterfly!chris x shy!reader

w/c: 2095

sometimes you really hated how shy you were. people would mistaken your shyness as being rude and it would only make you really flustered and shut down immediately. it wasn't like you were shy on purpose. you always thought you’d grow out of it as you got older, but you never did.

sure, you did talk to people. it’s not like you were mute and never said a word to anybody. you just get really shy and flustered easily and never know what to say, and when to say anything.

all of the words you’d love to say to people sit in the back of your mind, waiting to come out, but the day never comes. it’s quite frustrating being the shy one. people tend to overlook you, forgetting you were even there because you’re so quiet.

“you should talk more” “what, cat got your tongue?” “you’d be a cool person if you actually talked” “do you even know how to speak?” these are some of the things that people say to you or ask you and even though you’ve dealt with it all your life, it’s still frustrating to have to deal with.

the only one who seemed to get you out of your shell was your boyfriend chris. the relationship was still fairly new, you two have only been dating for a month and a half. he was the social butterfly in the relationship.

when you guys went out to get food, he’d say your order. when you needed to make a phone call, chris helped you write down what you needed to say even if it made you stammer on your words to the point where the conversation left you in tears from how complicated it was. when you two would hang out around people, he never pressured you to talk. chris was the talker and you were the listener. he always had your back and knew what to do when you were feeling anxious, timid, or just unable to speak up about something.

he had the patience of a god damn saint and you were so lucky to have him. meeting him and hanging out with him was effortless. he knew how shy you were, but after the first couple hangouts, he got you to open up and get you out of your shell. now? you’re still shy around him, but you’re definitely comfortable and relaxed and you can truly be yourself around him.

chris loved to talk, even if it was about utter nonsense (which it was most of the time). he’d yap about the most random things when you two hung out together. he didn’t mind talking, and you didn’t mind listening. he always gave you opportunities to have the floor if you wanted to speak on anything, but sometimes he could sense that you were overwhelmed and just needed to hear his voice to feel comfortable.

you both laid on his bed while hanging out at his house, your arms wrapped around his waist as you both lay comfortably in his bed. your bodies faced one another, his hands resting against your hips as he continued to go on and on about something silly that him and nick got themselves into last night. after five more minutes of him constantly talking, you bring your index finger up to his lips to shush him, a shy smile appearing onto your face. “baby, quiet.”

his eyebrow raised up in a curious manner as his eyes narrow down to your finger that was still placed against his soft lips. he pressed a soft kiss to your finger before grabbing your wrist to pull your finger away from his lips and brought his hand and yours that was now holding yours to his chest. “i’m talking too much again, ain’t i?”

you nodded your head slowly, a soft giggle emitting from your own lips. “yes, but you know i like listening to you talk, especially about your day, or things that are truly important to you. i just like listening to your voice.”

chris’s lips curved up into a huge grin, his hands moving underneath the fabric of your hoodie and began running his fingertips up and down your bare skin in a slow motion. “you’re so sweet, my precious girl.” he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to your temple, his lips lingering there for a moment as he murmured, “i like listening to you talk. i like you, so much.”

a pink, rosy tint formed on your cheeks and suddenly grew warm at his words, another giggle leaving your lips. “i like you too, chris. thank you for being my social little butterfly.” you moved your arms to wrap them around his neck, running your fingers throughout his tousled brunette locks.

“you don’t have to thank me, pretty girl. it’s just in my blood that i am the way i am and it helps you out in the long run too. we make a good match, don’t we?” his fingers travel to your back, lazily running them along your bare skin and causing a shudder to run down your spine at the sensation of his fingers against your cool skin.

you relax against his touch, your fingers continuing to run through his hair as you look down at him with a shy smile staying present on your face. you always felt so comfortable and safe when you were with chris, especially when it was just the two of you laying comfortably together like this without any distractions or outside noise. the two of you could just be yourselves without a care in the world. “we do.” you giggle again, not being able to help the fact that chris always said the sweetest things and made you laugh and smile like you were a child all over again. he made you feel so giddy all the time, but you weren’t complaining one bit. “are you sure you don’t wish i was more talkative? more outgoing?” you bit onto your bottom lip as you stare at him and wait for him to answer.

he immediately shakes his head, pulling your body even impossibly closer to his, your legs intertwining with his and becoming tangled together against the sheets. “absolutely not. i love you for exactly who you are, and all that you are.”

your eyes widened in surprise once you hear those three little words come out of his mouth. you open up your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. you’re speechless, unable to speak, which isn’t unusual for you, but this time you’re genuinely surprised and not sure if he meant to let those words slip from his mouth. your heart begins to pound rapidly in your chest, your body feeling like it’s been electrocuted from the currents rolling through you. “chris, i-“ you stammered on your words, not sure exactly what to say.

you loved him, of course you loved him. how could you not? he was everything you ever dreamt of and more. you never thought you would ever be so lucky to find someone as amazing, patient, kind, and loving as chris, but you did, and you thank your lucky stars every day that you luck was on your side the day you met him.

the day you met him, you were in line at the local coffee shop. you didn’t usually go alone, but your best friend bailed on you and you were already at the coffee shop waiting for her. you had no choice but to try and say your own order to the barista. it was a simple order, really: an iced white chocolate mocha. no substitutions, no adds on. you even had your phone in your hand to say your order properly without sounding like a fool, but the words weren’t coming out of your mouth.

the barista had asked you twice if you wanted something, and if you didn’t, to please move out of the line to let the next guest come up. that next guest was chris, who immediately stepped in. he asked you if he could help and when you nodded and showed him your phone with the order displayed on it, he told the barista what you wanted and what he wanted and paid for you. he asked if you wanted to sit with him since he was there alone as well, his brothers ditching him because they didn’t feel like going. the rest was history and you two have been unstoppable ever since.

chris shook his head, bringing his hands away from your back and placed them onto your face to cup your cheeks in the palms of his hands. “you don’t have to say it back, i promise. i just want you to know that i meant it. i didn’t say it by accident, and i wouldn’t just say it to make you feel better or anything. i meant it. i love you, and i’ve been wanting to say it for awhile, but i wasn’t sure when the right time was. i started to realize that in life, there never really is a right time. life is short and precious, and we shouldn’t waste any time not doing or saying the things we want. so, here i am, telling you that i love you and everything about you. that feeling will never go away for me.” he used the pads of his thumbs to caress your warm, rosy cheeks, his eyes staying fixated on you the entire time.

you felt your heart swelling in your chest as you listened to him speak. your bottom lip began to quiver and you felt your eyes begin to well up in tears. not sad tears, happy tears. relieved, actually. you took in a deep shaky breath, a small laugh erupting from the back of your throat as you bit down onto your bottom lip to stop it from quivering. your heart was racing rapidly in your chest as you brought your hands up to his as they stayed pressed against your cheeks, intertwining your fingers with his. “chris.” you started speaking, your voice soft as you try to gain your courage. you blink back a couple tears, but chris immediately uses his thumbs to wipe them away. “i love you.” was all you could manage to say, your heart feeling like it could soar out of your chest at any given moment.

chris seemed relieved, his body relaxing as his smile only widens. he pulls his hands away from yours that are still intertwined together and places them against his chest, giving your hands a gentle squeeze. “you have no idea how happy that makes me, to hear you say that, and to know you feel the same way. god, i love you.”

before you could reply, he immediately leaned forward with his eyes fluttering shut and pressed his lips against yours in a sweet, delicate kiss. your eyes flutter shut once his lips fall onto yours and instantly melt into the kiss, kissing him back with a bit more urgency, a satisfied hum emitting from your lips against the kiss. your lips moved together in perfect unison, your heart rapidly racing in your chest so fast and so hard that he could probably feel it pressing against his own chest. he moved one of his hands away to place back against the side of your cheek to hold your face in place as he deepened the kiss, his smile only widening against your lips.

after a couple seconds, he pulls away from the kiss and you both catch your labored breathing, his forehead resting onto yours. you open up your eyes, his ocean blue eyes gazing directly into yours with a sweet, gentle smile on his face full of adoration and love. it made your heart swell in your chest and butterflies to roam in the pit of your tummy. “i love you, chris.” you say softly, your heavy breathing lingering against his lips.

he smiles even wider, pressing another soft kiss to your lips, moving his other arm to wrap around your waist to pull you even closer to his body, if possible. “i love you, baby. now come on, let’s get ready. i wanna take my girl out to dinner. she deserves it.”

you were incredibly lucky to have him. he was your social butterfly, your guardian angel, your absolute everything.

you don't know how you got so lucky to find him, but you were thankful everyday for him and you weren’t giving him up, ever.

notes: thank you for the request! if you have any more requests, send them to my inbox! thank you for reading, i love you guys!

taglist:

@sturnshood @strangelife122 @jessie-essie @rina3476 @chrissturnioloslvt @sturnslutz @sturns-mermaid @matthewsturnsgf @christmastreecake @rinahasspots @222wall876 @chris-hallelujah @izzylovesmatt @strniloslvts @oopsiedaisydeer @sophand4n4 @xclusivedesires @poppingit4chris @mattsplaything @mattsbunnyxx @pair-of-pantaloons @chrissweetheart @slutformatt17 @sturnl0ve @pasteldreams @h3arts4harry @marrykisskilled @wh0remikasas @sturnzslut @camzeecorner @alesturniolos @emely9274 @2muchofaslvt @y3sterdaysproblem @sturnslux3 @bowsandsturniolos @moustacherryismyhusband @rafesapprentice @ivysturnss @headzgonewest @strawberryghost3 @il0vey0um0st @violetstxrniolo777 @bigbeefybitch @raesturns @courta13 @sofieeeeex @tylerthecreatorsglazr @kittyyyyykats @sturniolochrismatt

-nessa :)

[imaluvsj7]

✿ ─── BOYFRIEND HEADCANONS : 박성훈

SYNOPSIS : where sung𝒽oon wants to make his new classmate his girlfriend

PAIRING : 𝓅ark sung𝒽oon x 𝒻em reader; GENRE : fluff, 𝒽eadcanons, classmate to bestfriends to 𝓁overs ; WC : 744

───── 【 𝒾mas’ note 】 ❍ :: this was requested, anon I hope it's what you wanted if it didn't turned out good I'm sorry it's my first time writing headcanons :⁠^⁠)

WARNINGS : english is not my first language!

DISCLAIMER : This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

CLASSMATE SUNGHOON! who was awestruck when you introduced yourself as his new classmate.

CLASSMATE SUNGHOON! who wanted to befriend you but due to his shy demeanor he couldn't muster up the courage to approach you.

CLASSMATE SUNGHOON! who was envious of his friend Jay when you approached him during lunch hours but soon became flustered when you recognised him and talked to him.

CLASSMATE SUNGHOON! who made the decision to talk to you after his friends, Jay and Jake motivated him and boosted his courage — “look she knows you, idiot and even talked to you so you shouldn't miss out the chance or at least try to continue your talking stage.”

CLASSMATE SUNGHOON! who has successfully made you his friend, now feels happy and giddy everyday thinking about his interactions with you.

CLASSMATE SUNGHOON! who is no more just a classmate but your best friend after 4 months you both are getting closer to each other.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who treats you way better than anyone else among your loved ones, who makes you feel seen and visible despite the crowd.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who is observant and notices every detail about you, who makes sure to you are always eating well after knowing you love different types of foods.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who treats you like a princess and always prioritizes you — asking what you want from the mall when he is out shopping with friends, bringing you random small gifts which remind him of you.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who drops not so subtle hints about his liking towards you. Always blushing, giving small smirks, holding you close to him, finding any excuse to be with you.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who is always present during your vulnerable and anxious moments, holding you close to him and whispering soft and loving words to you.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who wipes your tears and cooks you / orders you your comfort food and cuddles you to sleep.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! whom people assume is your boyfriend but you don't correct them leading him to collect hints.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who introduced you and invited you into his friend group leading you to become friends with some lovely people.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who couldn't help himself but admire you and adore you every chance he gets.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who takes you out on a dinner as a surprise date to make you his girlfriend after 8 months of waiting.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who gets shy when you accept to become his girlfriend but makes sure your first kiss of the relationship is memorable.

BESTFRIEND SUNGHOON! who is no longer just your best friend but also your boyfriend, a proud boyfriend.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who isn't much into pda but holds your hand, gives you hand and forehead pecks occasionally.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who doesn't care about other opinions about your relationship, rather looks forward to being a good boyfriend.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who makes you feel like the happiest partner through his loving gestures, actions and words.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who cannot believe how he managed to make you his girlfriend.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who invites you to his skating performances and practices because for him you're his good luck charm.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who looks up to you with bright eyes and shy grin waiting for you to praise him and tell him how good he is and how proud you're of him.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who has his own insecurities but is open to communicating with you to build a healthy relationship. Who always talks about his day to you and listens to your talks.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who cannot keep his hands to himself with you alone in his dorm, always sliding his hand down your hips or gripping your hips.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who loves when you wear his clothes because he thinks you look so stunning and beautiful and can't help but make you sit on his lap while making out with you on the couch.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who has not only impressed your friends but also your parents — who want him to be your husband too.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who blushes to the thought of being your husband but has the thoughts of making you his wife when the time comes.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who has his own flaws and makes some mistakes in your relationship but regardless always looks forward to acknowledging them and improving himself for you.

BOYFRIEND SUNGHOON! who loves you dearly and wants to spend all his life spoiling you.

© 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐔𝐕𝐒𝐉𝟕 2025 | DO NOT PLAGIARISE ON ANY PLATFORM

💌 ─── NOTE : please leave feedbacks and lemme know if you want to be added in my perm taglist :)

˙ . ꒷ 🍥 masterlist daily click . 𖦹˙—

[sidethatyoudontknow]

DDAKHO HEADCANONS

That you all been waiting for,hope you enjoy!!

Let's start from the most people agree one, after inho sh**ts junho in s1 he not just told the fisherman to get him and make sure he stay away from the island, he also ask the salesman to make sure he's alright after the incident, that might looks like as some would say "st*king".

Their "before sleep" talk was mostly about salesman's life, not bc he's selfish that he wants everything about him or anything it's just mostly bc junho is too tired from work that he has no energy to talk + he likes hearing salesman so openly talking about his past and family.(might make a separate post about this) ☆

Junho tells the salesman about his plan of finding his brother and the salesman was ordered to inform inho about it but he actually might or might not lie about some things just to make it complicated between the 2 bc that means he would have more time with junho before he founds out he's part of the games.

Ofc don't forget about, junho fixing salesman tie. Mostly when salesman gets too panic bc he's running late and just tie it carelessly until junho stops him and told him to calm down while fixing it(and remind him that he's the boss so no one will be mad at him if he's late)or when salesman's have an important meeting or agenda and was too nervous and been asking if his tie was good way too much times that its actually making it worse so junho have to fix it and also calm him.

They would always help bandaging or treats each other wounds if one of them was hurt(they both have a dangerous a** job)

Salesman was so flirty but would get soo flustered and as red as a tomato when junho flirted back(which is rare).

Junho is a valentines hater but Salesman is a valentines lover, so usually on valentines day the salesman would get all lovey dovey and giving junho A LOT of chocolates and flowers meanwhile junho get cringed by how cliche it is(deep down he actually loves it and keep all of the letters that salesman wrote for him, bc he thinks that, that's the most normal and human thing that salesman do).

Salesman would do anything for junho but all he wants was to find the island and bring his brother back which is ONE thing he couldn't do bc if that happens its not only him that would be ded but possibly junho too.

Some of you might not agree with this but they're so boy dad coded, until they have a daughter at least( yes I hc them having children together, a son(older) and a daughter(younger)). (Also might make separate post about this) ☆

Junho sleeps first but wakes up last, when he doesn't have work that day yk damn well he would sleep until past noon if he could and salesman would always try to get him up but only for him to get dragged down to bed instead.

Salesman sometimes would bring/send junho lunch/flowers/gifts when he's at work and all his colleagues starts teasing him about it bc ofc he would wrote/give the sappiest thing ever(his colleagues doesn't know who sends it bc he would always use his initial/inside joke nickname).

Inho DID NOT approve their relationship at first bc he thinks the salesman is not good enough for junho(like his relationship is any better) and scared that he would do something bad to his dear little brother.

When the salesman do the most human and normal thing ever, junho would always put his hand on salesman forehead to check if he have fever or something bc there's no way the salesman just cooks him dinner casual on a random tuesday just bc he "wants" to.

Ok I think that's it for now, let me now if you want more or if you think I should post more part about the hc I ☆.

[softxsuki]

Hello! If requests are still open I would like to submit one for the valentines day event? I would like a confession letter from baji (he's liked me for a LONG while but bc I have low self esteem/been in a bunch of failed friendships and relationship (some of wbuch he had a part if bc he didnt wanna see me with another man), I only saw him as a friend and didn't really allow myself to have feeling for him (like im a really optimistic/extroverted person but I'm also rlly scared of getting close to people as my most recent friendship breakup resorted in me getting fucking insomnia that took weeks to recover from). Tone: hurt/angst to comfort/fluff where after I try to go out on a date (and fail), he finds me crying onnthr curb, ion wanna see his fsce (bc we got into an argument) and then he tries tos ee what's wrong but I'm hiding my feelings, we get into an argument and I run off (it's super dramatic too). Other info: we've been tight since middle school (i saw him as a big bro/cool guy figure. Looked up to him) ans latches onto him even as I gained and lost friends gjnffjdnmd

Sorry if its too confusing or complex dndndn

Have a lovely day!

Confession Letter from Baji

This event is now CLOSED, but you can view the masterlist for the other letters here.

| Pairing: Baji x Gn!Reader| Genre: Comfort, Fluff | Post-Type: Letter | Word Count: 500 |

Warnings: mild language, jealousy, crying

Note: You painted a whole scene for me, so thank you. Hope you like !

You were at home sulking over the events of the day; a failed date once again due to your inability to fully trust a guy again, to Baji finding you crying on the curb, the argument that ensued after, and you running away from your own feelings, taking yourself back home.

You felt so pathetic, why couldn’t things work out for you? Why did you have to have these feelings for your friend despite how much you tried to push them away? There was no denying them anymore.

A knock at your door, forces you off your feet, opening the door to find no one there, but instead, a letter on the ground with your name on it.

Strange…

You wipe away your tears and bring the letter in with you, opening it;

Y/N,

Before you crumple this up and throw it away, please wait…I’m sorry okay? I was just…upset. I realize I’ve been holding my feelings back for so long that my instinct is to scold you for going out on dates…it’s probably jealousy honestly.

We’ve been close since middle school and I’ve seen all the crap you’ve been through with fake friends and failed relationships…which I’ve probably scared a few potential love interests of yours away myself…but I can’t help it. I like you. What man stands around and lets other guys talk to the person they like? Despite how lame I’ve been to keep it to myself instead of just telling you…

But after tonight, I can’t hold it back anymore. I like you, Y/N. I have for a while and I hate to see you hurting…I know I could treat you well. Our friendship is proof of that, but I want to be more than just your friend. I want to hold you when you’re hurting and kiss your tears away. I want to reassure you and build you up after all the times you’ve been knocked down by losers who don’t know how to treat their lovers…

I’m tired of running from my feelings, I just hope I haven’t pushed you away by telling you this. 

Come find me, please.

Love, 

Keisuke.

You can’t help but smile at the letter, the guy could hardly spell (let’s pretend like there were many spelling and grammar mistakes in the letter…the editor in me couldn’t actually do it BFHKEAF), let alone put words together on paper, but he tried for you, and it was beautiful. 

Maybe these feelings you had for him weren’t so bad after all. Maybe this could be your first good experience with a relationship. Baji always treated you well, despite the times he’d get moody after you’d mention dates you had gone on, but now you knew why–he liked you back.

You laugh to yourself, wiping the remainder of your dried tears. Time to find happiness with your best friend. The thought filled you with hope, making you excited for the idea of dating him. 

Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all.

Posted: 2/14/2025

[kuinaminku]

i try to give little bits and pieces of the puzzle for people to put together what glindas life is like post canon in Just a Clock Tick, but im bored so here’s some clarity on some of it. plus these are just my general post canon glindy poo headcanons sooo

- she’s throne minister/functionally the figure head of Oz, but she established a council and willingly relinquished power so all the different states of Oz could govern with her.

boq being the munchkinland representative, Brrr for the animals, and i’d like to think maybe Sarima for the vinkus! (in this canon i’d imagine maybe she’s his childhood friend or something)

- also clarity’s sake, i take bits of book canon arbitrarily to make my own canon. whatever book characters or bits of worldbuilding you may see are just there to give my world building a bit more sauce, they don’t strictly adhere to the book’s canon

- glinda doesn’t really have many people she talks to outside of work. boq will sometimes converse with her outside of meetings and stuff, but she’s not very open with him and won’t go out of her way to spend time with him. (or really anyone with few exceptions) it’s usually him that has to drag her out for stuff like that

- her parents are still alive, but again, she doesn’t speak much to them. she’s pretty much emotionally isolated herself completely so she doesn’t really spend much personal time with anyone like that. she’ll still go see them as a formality but they’re also so brainwashed by the whole anti wicked witch campaign that she feels so disconnected from them and everyone else who thinks the same way

- the exception to this is doctor dillamond. he still struggles with speech but she does her best to meet with him regularly for tea and stuff partly out of guilt but partly because he’s one of the few tethers she still has to Elphie and not the Wicked Witch of the West

- she has not fully unpacked her feelings about everything that’s happened. she’s accepted that she loved elphaba as more than a friend, and never truly felt that love with fiyero, but it doesn’t matter to her anyways because both of them are gone and she blames herself. she doesn’t allow herself to think about her feelings at all. she’ll either drown herself in work, and when she’s not working, drink till she can’t think about them

- segueing from that, i think she’s a functional alcoholic. in my mind glinda has adhd and hpd which already make her pretty susceptible to substance issues but especially now it’s her only coping mechanism. and it’s not a good one

- she finds little joy in her old hobbies. dressing up is a chore now for work. shopping only reminds her of elphie, and it’s not like she can buy or wear the stuff she really wants to anyways. architecture and art feel frivolous, and she finds out that sorcery was never really one of her true loves anyways

- despite that, since it was elphaba’s wish, she’s spent countless hours studying and poring over the grimmerie. elphaba actually left some notes behind in the book, and hard as they are to decipher, they’ve helped her parse out some spells she’s committed to memory

thats all i can think of off the top of my head for right now, but if anyone has any questions about my glinda hcs or anything really send them my way!!! getting asks is super fun

[itsnesss]

𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 | minho (xo,kitty) × fem!reader

summary | you accidentally send your valentine’s letter to minho, leading to awkward encounters and unexpected feelings. by the end of the day, you realize he’s your crush all along, and a kiss seals it

warnings | mild angst, romantic tension, and the theme of miscommunication

word count | 2.3 k

author's note | it would help me a lot if you liked, commented and reposted so that more people read what I write and don't forget to follow me, thanks ᡣ𐭩

If someone had told you that you'd end up caught in a Valentine's Day drama with Minho, you would have laughed out loud. But here you are, holding a box of chocolates in one hand, a letter in the other, and an increasing sense of desperation in your chest.

Because this wasn’t the plan.

The plan was simple: leave an anonymous letter in your crush’s locker, hope he reads it, and maybe get some sign of interest. Nothing complicated, nothing too obvious. Just a little confidence boost, courtesy of the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

But, of course, something had to go wrong.

And that "something" is Minho.

“This is a joke, right?” he asks, holding the letter with an incredulous expression.

You, on the other hand, want to disappear.

“How did you get this?”

“It appeared in my locker.”

Your stomach sinks.

It can't be.

No. No. No.

“There’s a mistake,” you stammer, snatching the letter from his hands. “It wasn’t for you.”

Minho raises an eyebrow.

“Oh, no?”

“Of course not,” you reply firmly, though the heat in your cheeks betrays you.

His expression changes.

“Then... who was it for?”

You bite your lip.

“It’s none of your business.”

He smiles.

“Oh, but it is.”

And that’s when you know you’re in trouble.

You try to explain it, to make him understand that the letter ended up in his locker by mistake, but Minho won’t leave you alone.

“Let me guess,” he says, following you down the hall. “Dae?”

You shoot him a glare.

“No.”

“Q?”

“Nope.”

“Florian?”

“NO!”

Minho smiles smugly.

“Then it’s someone embarrassing.”

You stop dead in your tracks.

“What?”

“If you don’t want to tell me who it is, it must be because you’re too embarrassed to admit it.”

You look at him in exasperation.

“Or because it’s none of your business.”

“You know what?” he says, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Now it is my problem.”

You sigh.

“Why do you care so much?”

Minho shrugs.

“Because it’s entertaining to see you so nervous.”

“You’re the worst.”

“I know.”

You try to forget about it. Really, you try.

But Minho won’t let you.

He shows up at your locker with questions.

He bothers you in the cafeteria with insinuations.

And when he thinks no one’s looking, he flashes you little smiles that make you want to punch him and… maybe something else.

The worst part is that you start getting used to it.

The way his presence feels less and less annoying and more… comfortable.

And that’s a problem.

A BIG problem.

Because Minho is not your crush.

Right?

Valentine’s Day arrives faster than you expected.

The halls are filled with balloons and hearts, and the KISS students are enthusiastically exchanging cards and sweets.

You try to ignore the discomfort in your chest as you watch Minho surrounded by girls, accepting chocolates with his typical charming smile.

It doesn’t bother you.

Of course not.

Except that it does.

And you hate him for it.

“You look like you want to commit a crime,” Kitty says, appearing beside you.

You sigh.

“I’m just tired.”

“Tired of watching Minho flirt with the whole school?”

You look at her, surprised.

“What? No.”

Kitty smiles with amusement.

“Uh-huh, sure.”

You roll your eyes.

“I don’t like Minho.”

“Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?”

You open your mouth to respond, but you’re interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Talking about me?”

You turn your head, and sure enough, Minho is there, looking at you with an arched eyebrow.

Kitty smiles.

“Actually, yes.”

“How flattering.”

“It’s not,” you say quickly.

“Hey, it’s Valentine’s Day. At least you could be a little nicer to me.”

“I could. But I don’t want to.”

Minho laughs.

“Fine, in that case...” He leans a little closer to you. “Can I ask you something?”

Your heart races.

“What?”

“Did you already give your ‘mysterious crush’ your letter?”

Your stomach churns.

Kitty watches the two of you with curiosity but doesn’t intervenes.

“That’s none of your business,” you respond, trying to sound indifferent.

Minho smiles, but there’s something different in his expression.

“Then you still have time.”

You don’t know how to respond.

But before you can say anything, he walks away.

And you’re left standing there, heart racing and too many questions running through your mind.

The day goes on, and you keep thinking about it.

You can’t get Minho out of your head.

Not his smile.

Not the way he looks at you when he thinks you don’t notice.

Not the possibility that… maybe, just maybe… your crush was never the wrong person.

Maybe, from the start, it was him.

The thought scares you.

But it also excites you.

And before you can stop yourself, you grab the letter you wrote and run to find him.

You find him on the rooftop, looking at the horizon with his hands in his pockets.

He turns when he hears you approach, and his expression changes when he sees the letter in your hands.

You don’t say anything.

You just step forward and offer it to him.

Minho looks at it for a moment before taking it.

He carefully opens the envelope, pulls out the sheet, and starts reading.

Your heart is about to explode.

When he finishes, he looks up and stares at you.

“Was it for me from the beginning?”

You swallow hard.

“No.”

“Then what changed?”

You close your eyes for a moment before responding:

“I think it was me.”

Minho doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then, he smiles.

And before you can process it, he leans in and kisses you.

It’s soft, but sure.

And when you pull away, Minho murmurs against your lips:

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

And this time, there’s no confusion.

This time, Cupid hit the mark.