#and that's rlly frustrating bc i hate not having the full picture of anything before i have an opinion

[ninicaise]

what's so refreshing about will as a character is that he doesn't throw a denial tantrum about it at any point like most characters with Darkness Within Them do. he's not a moral paragon, his angst and secretkeeping don't get annoying at any point. and i think it's because there's no contrast between who will Really Is, which is Good and True, and the dark king as his shadow or his dark self.

will is the dark king. he behaves like the dark king. he lies and he manipulates and he's a "sneak" and he's scaringly charming and he's possessive over james and a ton of other messed up shit and he tells himself it's for a good reason, and maybe it is!! and will is clearly you know. a Good Person. while his methods are sneaky, he does not actually do anything wrong. but those are his methods still, and they are cool moments and badass and also kind of eerie.

with the way he's written, i would argue will doesn't have or even need a corruption arc, he's just like that from the get-go and he's not gonna change. and i don't mean he was born evil or whatever other bullshit i mean that he was born a full person, including the dark king and will both, and there's complexity, but no clear line separates them.

[infoactionratio7]

(you) on my arm - s. adamu

summary: sydney is at a wall, she has no ideas when it comes to the new menu at the bear. she decides to go to a bookstore for some new inspiration, she finds it, but not in the way she was expecting.

pairing: sydney adamu x fem! bookseller! reader

word count: 2,514

note: annoying! carmy bc he literally is insane, kinda fluffy meet cute vibes, reader just moved to chicago, inspired by the song (you) on my arm by leith ross cause the song is rlly cute! also sydney gives me sapphic vibes, she definitely would have a crush on a girl!

monday morning -

Sydney was pissed, she had sent at least ten messages to Carmy in the last twenty minutes. Some about the new menu they were working on together, some about the fact that he had been a bitch the night before when he kicked everyone out because Claire just had to see the new restaurant. She ran her hands down her face in frustration as she sat at her dad's kitchen table, the sun streaming in through the blinds into the apartment. It warmed the floor as she got up from the table, debating what to do. She had no ideas left, everything was either not working out, or it just didn't fit the menu for the new revamped restaurant.

"Sydney, where are you headed off to today?" Her dad walked into the room with a steaming cup of coffee, freshly brewed from a new coffee blend she had found shopping the day before.

"Uh well Carm is not responding so I'm gonna head over to The Bear and meet up with him for a little then see where the day goes from there I guess." She walked out of the dining area and put her breakfast dishes away.

"Okay honey, have a good day. Hope he stops being an ass." She laughed, "Me too... me too."

Sydney grabbed her shoes out of the closet she had thrown them in last night, slipping them on and grabbing her bag. "I'll see you later dad." She grabbed her keys, and started making her way to the restaurant where she could deal with Carmy in person.

-

You looked around the bookstore, you had only been open for a month but it had been a hit within the community. You had almost any book anybody could want. There were teens coming from the school a few blocks away to get some cheesy romance novels to bring to the park and read with their friends, and there were grandparents coming in to get their grandchildren a new picture book about god knows what. You even had some people come in and request books you had never heard of before, you promptly ordered two copies of any book you didn't have. One for the customer, and one for you, to read and explore the pages.

It was a beautiful space, tall ceilings strung with fairy lights and lanterns, trying to bring some sense of whimsy to the dull days in Chicago. The books were arranged in every which way, requiring the customers to truly search for a book they wanted to read. You had tables full of recommendations, from people online and the employees of the bookshop. You really enjoyed curating all the titles you had in your collection. Tourists looking for a cute little magnet or souvenir adored the hole in the wall place, a safe space to just cuddle up and read a book.

You had a few customers that day, a mom and her son looking for his first chapter book to read. You had suggested he read The Magic Tree House, a series, about a brother and sister and their time traveling tree house. There was a tall guy with a buzzcut, who said he worked just down the street and was looking for a book about how to get rid of mold in the structure of a building. He seemed in dire need of some help, so you found the best book possible, The Toxic Mold Recovery Guide. You had no idea you had the book but it was meant to be. He thanked you immensely, leaving his name and number just in case you ever needed anything. His name was Richie, he seemed pretty nice.

Low music played as you restocked a shelf, you hated the idea of having Colleen Hoover books in the store but they were a big source of income. They absolutely flew off the shelves. The least touched section of the store were the cookbooks, it seemed like everyone in Chicago was moving too fast to just dedicate one hour of their day to making a meal from scratch. It was disappointing, because you had a large selection, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child to Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan. You knew that someday it might come in handy and you would be lucky to have all the cookbooks.

-

Sydney walked into the restaurant in a sour mood, Carmy had still not responded to any of her texts and she knew he was here. She walked straight into the office, passing the locker room, sans lockers and covered in black powder. Richie furiously flipping through a book that said something about mold on the cover. He glanced up at her

"Shut the fuck up." She was taken aback

"I didn't even fucking say anything Richie," he scoffed at her

"Well I was preparing for you to say something dumb as hell, and you did so I stand by my first statement." He looked back down at the book and mumbled something unintelligible to himself. She rolled her eyes and made her way into the office.

"Carm are you here?" Turning the corner she saw the chef, surrounded by papers and various file folders. He had his phone in his hand and was about to dial a number, "You little bitch, you fucking had your phone this entire time." She couldn't believe what was right in front of her.

"What do you mean chef?" Carmy looked confused, "Of course I had my phone, I'm about to call the fridge guy."

Rolling her eyes she brought her hand up to her face, holding her forehead in her palm. "I texted you at least ten fucking times, you couldn't even bother yourself to respond!" Shaking her head she sank down into the office chair Carmy had abandoned an hour ago.

He looked around the room, trying to get her to understand how much work he had been doing, "Syd I've been trying to make sense of this paperwork for hours, I haven't had time to respond to your messa-"

Fak's head popped into the doorframe, "Carmy I got your text about helping Richie clean up the mold but he's being mean to me." Sydney turned from Fak to the red faced chef sitting on the floor. He had been caught in a lie, of course Fak came in at just the right time for this to happen.

"Okay fuck you chef, I'm leaving." Sydney shrugged, stood up and left the room. She heard heated words from Carmy as she walked out of the office and passed the locker room again, now he was pissed at Fak, as usual. She heard her name as she turned around,

"Sydney, wait a sec come here."

"What do you want Richie, I thought you wanted me to shut the fuck up." She crossed her arms tight and shot him a pointed look.

"You should go to that bookstore a few blocks down, I got this damn mold book earlier and saw a shit ton of cookbooks. You should check it out." She sent him a tight smile and turned her back to him. "Thanks Chef."

-

You had just finished restocking the shelves for the day when the little bell above the door rang. You went behind the desk and called out, "Welcome to The Book Worm, If you need anything let me know!"

You heard no response so you just busied yourself cleaning up the case that was behind the checkout, it housed all your special edition signed or first edition copies of books. It needed to be dusted pretty often because you wanted to keep the quality of the books at their highest, just in case anyone would ever want to purchase one.

You heard a thud come from behind you, and turning around you looked down at the counter. There was a stack of six cookbooks placed on the counter in front of you. Looking up you saw one of the most beautiful women you had ever seen since you had moved in to the city. Her hair was long and perfectly braided, her eyes a beautiful shade of umber catching the light in a hypnotic way. She had a grimace on her face, yet still looked stunning. You had no idea how to react, so instinctively you started to enter the books into the register as you made some small talk,

"So how has your day been," She sighed and looked up to meet your gaze, "If I'm being honest, shitty. My fucking partner wouldn't respond to my messages and when I went to talk to him he had is phone in his hand about to call someone. So yeah really fucking shitty." You looked back down at the book at disappointment, of course she had a partner and of course she was straight.

Awkwardly smiling you tried to think of a good response"Oh, um, wow. That's pretty shitty I'm sorry." She seemed to sense your disappointment, trying to save the conversation, "Shit uh, my business partner I mean, he's a little bitch sometimes. We're uh, opening a business- or I should say um," She rubbed the back of her neck, "We're kinda rebranding his brother's old restaurant, its a lot." You had finished entering all the books into the system, your chest had filled with warmth when she rushed to clarify that he was her business partner. You thought that maybe, just maybe it might be because she wanted to make sure you knew she was single, and not exactly straight.

"I guess that explains the cookbooks then," You looked at her, she had been staring at you in a flustered state of shock. "What, oh, uh, yeah! I'm kinda stuck making the menu so wanted to get some inspiration."

Sharing an understanding smile, you read her total out to her. She grabbed her wallet and pulled out some cash, as she handed it to you her fingers brushed along yours. It sent chills down your spine, no matter how cliche it might be, you knew that she was someone to keep close. Your face flushed red as you took the cash and put it into the register, printing her receipt and giving her any change she needed back.

You decided that since she got so many books you would give her a free tote bag, just so she could carry all the books out of the shop. You pulled one off of a hook behind you and started to put the books into a bag. You decided to quietly slip a business card with your cell number and a little note into a book so she could find it and contact you. A subtle way of screaming, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen I want to spend the rest of my life with you, without being too forward. As you finished packing the bag, the two of you both happened to say something at the same time.

"Do you wanna come see my restu-"

"Do you work at the restura-"

You flushed

"No you can go-"

"No you can go - sorry um. Do you want to come to the opening of the restaurant. It's uh, the one down the street, we're not opening for a while but, if you want to come to the friends and fam-"

You cut her off, wanting her to know you really wanted to go to her restaurant, "I would love to go... what was your name?"

"Sydney, It's uh Sydney" Her face got hot, nervous about the fascinating bookseller she just had the pleasure of meeting.

"Well Sydney, I would love to go. Just let me know the details," You softly smiled as you gave her the bag filled with books. She looked to you and grabbed a bookmark you had as a display that happened to have the shop's phone number on it. "I'll call you, um when we get closer to the open date, promise." You smiled, hoping that she would get in contact with you sooner than she expected to. She turned to leave.

"Thanks for coming in, really good to meet you Sydney." The door rang again and she sent you a wave through the glass, walking away quickly.

You were frozen, you had just given a random girl you just met your number, and had openly flirted with her for all the world to see. You crouched down onto the small stool you had behind the desk, tucked your head into your knees and screamed. You were feeling rushes of emotion and didn't think you would ever recover from that interaction. The bell rang again just as you finished screaming, you shot up and saw a group of teenagers heading to the new books you had just set out.

"Welcome to The Book Worm, If you need anything just holler!"

-

Sydney rushed back to The Bear, she was so utterly mortified, she had never seen someone so radiant and in their element. The chef couldn't contain her emotions as she stormed into the restaurant, Richie was the first person she saw, he started to say something,

"Not right now Richie I swear to God" The tall man was taken aback but threw his hands up in surrender, not wanting to get involved.

She might as well have ran into the office at the speed she was going, throwin the bag of cookbooks on the ground and closing the door, sliding down the back of the door she groaned,

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, fucking, fuck," dragging out the last word as she hit the floor.

Carmy stared at her from the floor a few feet away, "Yo Syd what happened to you? Looks like you just ran a marathon." He chuckled at the expression on her face.

"I just met the most beautiful girl and totally fucked up my chances with her cause I left so quickly." Sydney put her hands into her face and just sat there marinating in her embarrassment.

Carmy had some strong suits, his attention to detail one of them. He noticed something poking out of one of the books. He grabbed it, hoping that it was something that would change Sydney's mood before he had to work with her for more hours than they could count. He grinned taking the note out of the book and reading it,

"Hey Syd," He reached out to give her the note.

She looked up from behind her fingers, "What?"

He shook his hand, implying he wanted her to take the note from his grip. She groaned, then leaned forward to forcefully take it out of his hand.

She read the note, and smiled. Thank God you slipped her this note.

cookbook girl -

i hope you enjoy your SIX cookbooks, i have some more you could borrow for some inspiration. text me

Sydney's face heated up as she leaned back into door and scoffed.

Carmy had saved the day, one again.

[adricno]

oh heeeeeeeeeeellloooo everybody 😈 it’s your resident little shit, bc everyone is always yelling at me for something. idky bc i don’t do anything. SDJFKHDSJKFHDS  hennyways, it me adding another ball of a mess to this rp, next to ky, ouuufffff, but thank you to @dcniros​ and @alanncs​ for letting me bring a deniro. I’m very excited. so keep reading, like this, or hmu on discord or something! <3 

new york’s very own Adriano Deniro was spotted on broadway street in Gucci Ace GG high-top sneakers. your resemblance to Lorenzo zurzolo is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty first birthday bash . while living in nyc , you’ve been labeled as being manipulative , but also versatile. i guess being a virgo explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be speed driving along empty streets, cigarettes at 3am and drinking limoncello by the beach  . ( cis-male & he/him  ) 

Basic Information

Full Name: adriano marco deniro

Nickname(s): baby deniro, addy, adri, adrian

Age: 22

Height: 6′2 ft

Date of Birth:  september 13th 1997

Zodiac sign: virgo

Hogwarts house: slytherin

Ethnicity: italian

Nationality: italian-americian

Gender: cis male

Pronouns: he/him

Orientation: heterosexual

Religion: agnostic-catholic

Language(s) Spoken: italian + portuguese + french + german + english + spanish

Accent: has an italian accent that blends well with english

Favourites

Weather: summer

Colour: red

Music: ultimo, logic, travis scott

Movies: fast and furious franchise

Sport: what is that? LOLOL

Beverage: negroni, limoncello, rum

Food: florentine steak and potatoes

Animal: lions, eagles, bears.

Family

Father: arnaldo deniro

Mother: vittoria deniro

Sibling(s): an older brother, and 2 sisters in between. adriano’s the youngest !

Cousins: alanna deniro + atlas deniro + ? deniro

BIOGRAPHY 

adriano was born in Florence, Italy, the youngest child of four from arnaldo and vittoria deniro. the last name itself gives away what his family is all about. they’re prestigious, boujee, and automatically adriano was given a rep before he could even breathe. 

arnaldo is oldest of the second generation after arnaldo sr and corina, therefore he was actually offered the family company but instead decided to venture off into doing his own thing, wanting to make another stamp for the deniro family. he invested in buying out Ferrari instead. buying out ferrari was a smart move for arnaldo because he got a dip into buying out other italian sports car companies - currently in works of buying out alfa romeo and maserati. 

even if adriano was born in italy, he has dual citizenship with america due to his family being in both countries and he often visited New York City growing up.

needless to say, adriano grew up around cars. ever since he was little he loved them, the way they looked. when he was 8, he drove a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT California and crashed it into a tree. no one will ever let him live that down bc he’s an idiot for it, but he rlly wanted to, and it wasn’t a hard crash anyway.

adriano’s always lived on the edge of life, you tell him to do something, and he’ll do it. he’s a very independent kid, he likes being on his own, doing things his own way. he thinks his way is better than everyone else’s. this kid is super self critical and strives to be the best, especially since his family has such a prestigious rep, it makes sense, and he just wants to earn up to the name, even though he doesn’t say it, or portray it. it’s just something within him he always feels he needs to do. he’s young and stupid though, right now he’s really into partying, drugs, and doing reckless things. he doesn’t listen to anyone but himself. 

growing up in italy, he got away with literally everything, and a lot of that was street racing. it gives him such a rush to pull apart beautiful cars and adding parts to them to make them better, faster, stronger. he loves to hear the strong sound of the muffler. he’s one of those idiots on the streets, and not surprisingly he’s VERY good at racing. when he’s behind the wheel it’s like everything shifts and his brain goes into some analytical mode. there is a system to racing that adriano can’t explain into words, he just knows it. he’s good, but it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been caught, because he has, a lot of times. 

adriano has been arrested for street racing, being plagued on multiple tabloids often that his dad is overly frustrated with his youngest son being the troubled kid. it’s not like he had a hard childhood - besides having to live up to the deniro name and being told he had to make a name for himself. it’s just that, even if he wants to amount to something, he’s also sick of it and wants to rebel, so he turned to streetracing, and he doesn’t care about consequences. 

one thing for sure though, is that adriano is a VERY skilled artist. in order to get his mind off of cars, his mom hired a personal teacher that would teach him everything about art, whether it was sketching, sculpture - anything of the sort. he’s really good at it, and the only place besides racing where he can let out his frustrations. leonardo da vinci is his icon, which is weird, but that’s him. he’ll often fall asleep on top of sketchbooks filled with charcoal drawings and have little sculptures around that he’s built. he’s just never opened up about his art with anyone, though people know he’s good and always encourage him to do more with it. if he wanted to be a creative director, he would be really good at it that he often gets asked opinions on things for fashion shows, events, and everything. but again, not something he thinks he wants to pursue. 

because he’s gotten into so much trouble, his parents have sent him off from Florence to Rome thinking it would help sort him out, it didn’t, so his dad is ultimately sending him off to New York City, thinking maybe a new change of country will be even better for him, but adriano isn’t so sure. nothing he can do about it though. 

SO, Adriano is pretty new to new york, arriving on Christmas Day 2019 to fuck shit up leggo

SKILLS + PERSONALITY + CAREER

besides racing, cars, and art; adriano is versed in a large set of languages and skills. he was always learning due to his parents not wanting him to left out in anything. 

he’s pretty laid back, but highkey very judgemental, sometimes he doesn’t know when to shut up. he’s those kids that you know mean well but you just want to punch because they’re so annoying. 

he hates being called a baby even though it’s what he is. he’s a perfectionist, very much a clean freak, but he’s very reliable.

even if he hates being a deniro sometimes, he loves his family, highkey looks up to those older than him - but again, will never say it bc he’s a little shit. 

Right now, he’s just moved to new york, but he’s been working with fashion brands, thinking up new ways to present their lines during the upcoming fashion weeks. (that fenty fashion show? adriano’s creative directing work right tHERE) 

it’s ineveitable that he’s attractive, so sometimes when he feels like it, he’ll model for brands and magazines, but that’s pretty much it.

adriano’s not rlly one for relationships unless you want to get hurt. he will always tell you he’s a piece of shit and you’re about to get into a mess. if you’re okay with it so is he. 

he doesn’t really have feelings for other people, often gets into trouble bc of it too.

he just arrived to new york, so he’s not rlly looking for work right away.

HMU FOR PLOTS COS YOU KNOW I GOT PLENTY~ 

[m4rkshouse]

a kid!myungjin fic heavily inspired by this fic by @astrofireworks . shoutout to the anon who shared their story bc it rlly rlly inspired me to write this! uhh i definitely got a little carried away, pls enjoy the first part bc i had to split it up with how long it is. 

myungjun and jinwoo don’t even remember when they became friends bc they’ve always been friends

jinwoo’s parents moved in to the house next to myungjun’s parents the year before jinwoo was born and being the 2 youngest couples in the neighbourhood they really hit it off

jinwoo and myungjun’s parents are basically bffs and they go to each other’s houses all the time

jinwoo’s mom adores myungjun before she can even really know him 

the first time jinwoo’s parents meet him is just after his 1st birthday when they go to the kim residence for dinner

myungjun starts crying and freaking out when jinwoo’s dad tries to come near him so jinwoo’s mom shoos her husband away and begins talking with the toddler

the only things myungjun can say other than “mama” and “dada” are “yes” and “no” 

somehow they make the conversation work and soon enough they’re sitting in the middle of the living room playing with blocks with myungjun babbling and jinwoo’s mom beaming at the 1 year old

jinwoo’s dad is basically myungjun’s second dad and jinwoo’s mom is his second mom

every once in a while myungjun and jinwoo’s dad’s take him to baseball games on saturday afternoons to give myungjun’s mom a bit of a break

their wives will spend the afternoon relaxing somehow; they sometimes go shopping, get their nails done, just hang out at one of their houses, etc

this tradition continues once jinwoo is born and gets a little bit older

right after myungjun turns 2:

jinwoo is born

he’s old enough to understand that jinwoo is a baby but other than that he’s got nothing

is v gentle and caring when he’s around him though and really likes to sit in his mom’s lap and hold jinwoo with her

loves making jinwoo giggle

actually the first time jinwoo ever laughed was because of myungjun pulling his signature duck face at him

when jinwoo is 1.2 and myungjun is 3.2:

jinwoo starts walking

nobody really knows how jinwoo learned so quickly but they suspect he learned faster by following myungjun around all the time (crawling isn’t effective with how energetic myungjun is and so jinwoo had to adapt somehow)

jinwoo also can’t really say myungjun’s name very well so he starts calling him mj as prompted by their parents (the nickname sticks and to this day jinwoo still calls him mj)

when jinwoo is 2.7 and myungjun is 4.7:

it snows for the first time all winter

myungjun obviously wants to play outside and this means that jinwoo has to play outside too (jinwoo literally follows myungjun everywhere)

so their parents bundle them up in sweaters and long sleeve shirts, putting on their snow pants and hats and mitts and winter coats before sending them outside and sitting on myungjun’s porch to watch them

the boys try to run around in it but jinwoo is still a little clumsy when he walks and keeps tripping in his clunky boots

myungjun giggles each time he falls before helping him back to his feet and making sure he’s okay, brushing snow off his shoulders and anywhere else its gotten stuck

both boys are all bright smiles and wide eyes, trying to take as much in as possible before they have to go back inside

myungjun shows jinwoo how to make a snow angel and laughs loudly as jinwoo tries (and fails) to make one himself

their conversations mainly consist of myungjun talking in semi-full sentences and jinwoo babbling much of the time but the 2 understand each other so well anyways

both of their dads come down from the porch and start teaching the boys how to build a snowman

excitedly they begin helping, successfully completing a full snowman about the same height as myungjun in about 20 minutes

myungjun wants to name it but wants jinwoo to help him pick

myungjun: “jinwoo, what should we name our snowman?”

jinwoo, looking up at myungjun from where he’s sitting on the ground: “*talks about nonsense and unrelated things, just saying random sentences*”

myungjun, not at all frustrated bc he’s totally patient with jinwoo and understands that the boy is still learning and leaning down to his friend: “jinwoo, do you want to name our snowman?”

jinwoo, excitedly: “yeah, yeah, yeah”

myungjun, smiling: “okay, what should we name him?”

jinwoo begins concentrating hard, their parents can tell bc his tongue is sticking out of his mouth slightly, a habit he’s stolen from myungjun, who does the same thing

jinwoo: “we name him Bugs”

myungjun quickly agrees, willing to go along with whatever jinwoo suggests (and also bc he likes the Looney Toons cartoons too and it’s one of the only ones jinwoo watches with him)

myungjun: “then his name is Bugs!”

jinwoo claps excitedly and myungjun smiles widely at him

now that they’ve named it, its time to go inside bc they’ve been out for almost an hour and their moms don’t want them to get sick

they sit in myungjun’s living room on the couch watching cartoons and their parents bring some hot chocolate for myungjun and a tiny glass of warm milk for jinwoo

myungjun totally lets jinwoo have a sip of his hot chocolate when he asks for one (he’s a giant sucker for the boy)

when jinwoo is 3.2 and myungjun is 5.2:

jinwoo’s parents have a pool put in their backyard

myungjun and jinwoo spend the rest of the summer in their water wings (myungjun) and life jacket (jinwoo), climbing in and out of the pool and playing imaginary games

their favourite is to hop on to the pool floaties and pretend to be cruising through a river in the jungle and exploring for rare creatures

myungjun’s parents bought them each a pair of plastic binoculars to carry around with them

jinwoo is very easily distracted and so the game doesn’t always work but myungjun doesn’t even care bc as long as his best friend is having fun then so is he

usually end up falling asleep sometime during the late-afternoon on top of each other on jinwoo’s couch bc they’re tired from swimming and being out in the sun for so long

myungjun begins calling jinwoo jinjin that summer, no one really knows why, this nickname also sticks

when jinwoo is 4.5 and myungjun is 6.5:

myungjun starts school

jinwoo watches his friend get on the bus every morning from the park residence living room window with a pout, wanting to go with his best friend

bothers his mom all day about where myungjun is and when he’ll be back bc he misses him

tells his mom every single day that he “hates the bus for taking mj hyung away” and his mom just shakes her head with a smile bc myungjun will be back in just a few hours to see him but she can tell how much her son loves and admires the boy

most days, the two boys play in jinwoo’s driveway for just under an hour before jinwoo begins rubbing his eyes and yawning

even though he wants to keep up with myungjun and continue playing, the poor boy is still little and needs a nap most days (he could have one while myungjun is at school but he refuses to do anything except stay in the living room playing until he spots the bus bringing his best friend back)

as soon as myungjun sees him yawn he begins picking up whatever toy they had been using and grabs jinwoo’s hand, leading him into the house to find jinwoo’s mom

“jinjin is sleepy”

jinwoo’s mom thanks myungjun and tells him that if he wants to go watch some tv or play in the living room then he’s welcome to and when she comes back she’ll bring him a snack

he nods his head, hair bouncing around as he smiles widely at the mention of a snack and heads to the living room, searching the toy shelf for one of jinwoo’s colouring books and some crayons and kneeling down at the living room table

jinwoo’s mom walks in every day and spots him with his tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration as he colours whatever pictures he’s chosen, his hair messily flopping into his eyes and forcing him to push it out of his way every once in a while (she has a feeling that the boy is going to be a really great artist when he grows up bc of how much he colours and draws and how much he enjoys it)

around 5:00pm, myungjun’s mother will knock on the door to pick him up, thanking jinwoo’s mom for watching him

jinwoo often makes his way back down the stairs as myungjun is leaving and the two boys talk quietly while their moms are talking

jinwoo, pouting: “i just woke up and you’re already leaving”

myungjun, ruffling his friends already messy hair with a giggle, “i’ll be back tomorrow, silly”

jinwoo, still pouting: “but tomorrow is so far away hyung, i don’t want you to leave yet”

myungjun, smiling even wider at his younger friend: “you’ll see me before you know it”

myungjun’s mom, unknowingly interrupting their conversation: “okay myungjun, time to head home so i can start dinner, say goodbye to jinwoo”

both boys quickly mumble goodbyes before wrapping their small arms tightly around one another, their moms beaming down at them as they do

jinwoo running to the window after the door closes to watch them cross the lawn to their house and waving at myungjun one last time when he turns around, smiling goofily and waving back

when jinwoo is 5.4 and myungjun is 7.4:

they’re sitting on the floor in myungjun’s living room with blank paper spread out around them and various crayons and markers

jinwoo is happily scribbling and messily drawing random shapes, more concerned with the colours than anything else (definitely colouring on himself and myungjun with the markers, would get in trouble but myungjun’s mom couldn’t bring herself to be upset with him for drawing hearts all over himself and her son)

myungjun is drawing people and animals with pretty good skill for a 7 year old

myungjun, suddenly announces: “jinjin i’m going to draw you!”

jinwoo, giggling: “why would you draw me?”

myungjun: “bc you’re my best friend and i want to draw you!”

so jinwoo agrees and sits still across from myungjun for as long as he can while his friend draws him, watching the crayon move around on the paper and myungjun use various colours for different things like his hair and t-shirt

after about 20 minutes he’s finished and shows jinwoo who claps happily and tells myungjun how amazing it is before shouting that its his turn and proceeding to try drawing myungjun

he finishes after 10 minutes and its less of a person and more shapes put together to make a person but myungjun smiles widely nonetheless and tells jinwoo how good it is and that he’s so talented

they make one another sign the drawings and have myungjun’s mom put the date on it for them

both jinwoo and myungjun pin the drawings up on the walls of their bedrooms (the drawings remain there well into their teens)

when jinwoo is 6 and myungjun is 8:

a new family moves in across the street

both boys don’t know much about the family until their parents tell them that they’re coming over for a bbq at jinwoo’s house, and that they have a son a year younger than jinwoo

so the day for the bbq arrives and jinwoo and myungjun are excitedly running around the park family’s backyard and jumping into the pool while their dads are talking by the bbq when the lee family arrives

dongmin hasn’t yet turned 5 and is standing in his swim trunks and a shirt with pool goggles in his left hand, clutching onto his mom’s skirt with his right as he hides behind her leg

his mom grabs his hand off her skirt and motions for him to talk to the boys as myungjun and jinwoo, all messy hair and dripping water, walk up to him

dongmin is nervous for .3 seconds bc as soon as he sees myungjun smile at him he feels totally at ease (bc myungjun’s smile could make literally anyone feel welcome)

myungjun, shaking dongmin’s hand: “hi, i”m kim myungjun, i’m 8… what’s your name?”

dongmin smiles back sheepishly, still a little shy, “i’m lee dongmin, i’m 4, but i turn 5 in 6 days”

both myungjun and jinwoo are a little surprised at how soft-spoken dongmin is, his voice coming out crystal clear and small

they brush it off as jinwoo smiles too, also reaching for dongmin’s hand, “i’m park jinwoo, i’m 6 years old”

just like that, any shyness dongmin initially had is gone and he’s running after his 2 new friends to the edge of the pool, quickly (trying to) taking off his shirt and throwing it on a chair near the waters edge (after he finally get his head through the hole)

he puts his goggles over his head and follows myungjun and jinwoo when they jump into the water

jinwoo and myungjun’s parents are a little worried about him being in the water without any kind of flotation device as jinwoo had only started being able to swim without water wings at the end of the previous summer but quickly learn from dongmin’s parents that he’s been in swimming lessons for the last year so he’s okay

myungjun and jinwoo are curious about why he’s wearing goggles and decide to ask him

dongmin: “i like wearing them so my eyes don’t sting in the water”

suddenly jinwoo and myungjun are begging their parents to buy them goggles too so that they can be like dongmin

pretty soon its dinner time and all 3 are quickly wrapped in towels by their mothers and sat on the patio furniture in front of plates

they all begin rambling to each other about various things, myungjun and jinwoo talk about school and dongmin tells them stories about where he used to live

when its time to leave, dongmin, being that he’s only 4 (nearly 5) throws a bit of a fit bc he’s a bit sleepy and also wants to stay and hang out w his new friends

somehow the three convince their parents to let myungjun and dongmin sleepover

at 9:00pm (which according to the boys is so late) they head to jinwoo’s bedroom, sliding into his double bed and staring up at the glow-in-the-dark spaceship stickers on his ceiling, accompanied by a few stars and planets

myungjun: “i wish i could explore space”

dongmin: “but space is scary, its dark and there’s lots of scary things like aliens”

jinwoo: “i think it would be fun… but only if we went together”

myungjun: “of course, and i’d protect you from all the scary things dongmin, the aliens wouldn’t even be able to come near you”

dongmin, being only 4 and still afraid of monsters hiding in closets and under beds: “myungjun hyung, will you protect me from scary things here too? i mean, the scary things not in space?”

jinwoo: “myungjun and i will protect you from everything dongmin, nothing will get you while we’re here”

dongmin: “promise?”

myungjun: “always”

all 3 hold out their pinky fingers and swear on it, vowing to protect each other

dongmin then begins falling asleep bc he is 4 and tuckered out from running around and swimming all evening

myungjun and jinwoo try to stay awake talking but also fall asleep pretty quickly afterwards

when they wake up, jinwoo’s mom makes them breakfast (dongmin clumsily spills about a quarter of his breakfast into his lap as he eats)

each boy returns to their respective home for about 10 minutes before they’re back outside and ready to play

spend as much time together as they can on weekends bc myungjun and jinwoo have school during the week

they also begin calling themselves the 3 musketeers and go on adventures where they save people from monsters and evil villains like in movies

dongmin carries around a telescope and map to lead them places while myungjun ties bandanas around his head like a ninja and fights off bad guys and jinwoo wears a blanket as a cape and carries a foam sword around in order to kill monsters and slay dragons

and those 3 characters would never really be together but the boys make it work and run around their neighbourhood on crazy adventures

when myungjun is 9.4, jinwoo is 7.4, and dongmin is 6.2:

they watch their first horror movie

it’s the week before halloween and one of jinwoo’s classmates was talking about the movie Gremlins and so the boys want to watch it too

dongmin’s parents are hesitant to let them when the boys ask but after they beg for over an hour they finally let them bc they know its not too scary but enough for the 3 (but not without talking to myungjun and jinwoo’s parents first)

so the boys snuggle close together on the couch in dongmin’s living room under a blanket and his parents put the movie on

and whenever they’re scared, jinwoo and dongmin will hide their faces in myungjun’s shoulders as he’s sat in the middle, and eventually they just end up holding hands and squeezing one another’s hands tightly too

they laugh at the funnier parts but dongmin and jinwoo, being slightly younger, seem to be getting more freaked out by the gremlins than myungjun

once they finish the movie, the rest of their sleepover is spent with the lights in dongmin’s bedroom on and all of them triple-check that the doors are locked (and also that there are no gremlins playing with the electricity wiring outside)

when myungun is 10.6, jinwoo is 8.6, and dongmin is 7.4:

a boy in school begins picking on dongmin

myungjun and jinwoo don’t really know about it until one day, dongmin gets onto the bus crying

myungjun, extremely concerned for the younger boy: “dongmin, whats wrong? what happened?”

jinwoo, wrapping his arms tightly around him and gently wiping at his tears with his fingers: “its alright dongmin, me and mj hyung will protect you”

dongmin stutters out that a boy in his grade had been calling him names and he tried to ignore it but today as he was leaving school the boy had told him that jinwoo and myungjun didn’t even like him and just thought he was annoying

and this hit him pretty hard bc he didn’t like hearing people say things that he had worried about before, especially when he’s so much younger than myungjun (he’s little but he’s dongmin so of course he worries about this kinda thing)

myungjun, throwing his arms around dongmin too: “thats not true at all dongminnie! me and jinjin love you, you’re the third musketeer!”

jinwoo: “yeah, myungjun’s right… without you we wouldn’t be able to go on adventures or anything bc we wouldn’t have 3 of us!”

dongmin, smiling with tear tracks down his cheeks: “i love you guys”

and people might look at them a little funny bc of their exchanged i love you’s but they don’t really care bc its myungjun and jinwoo and dongmin and thats them, and they wouldn’t want their friendship any other way

when myungjun is 11.2, jinwoo is 9.2, and dongmin is 8:

by now all of their parents see the other 2 boys as their second and third sons

that being said, they agree to let them have a campout in myungjun’s backyard after the boys have been begging for a few weeks

myungjun’s parents set up a tent and the boys bring sleeping bags and pillows and pile them onto the air mattress myungjun’s parents have blown up

and they stay up late watching the stars overhead while laying on myungjun’s patio furniture and talking

dongmin: “will we be friends forever?”

jinwoo: “i hope so, dongminnie… i don’t want any other friends but you guys”

myungjun: “me too, you guys are my best friends, even better than my school friends”

dongmin: “i think i’d be sad if we weren’t friends anymore, you guys are my first friends ever and i don’t want new ones”

the boys sit in silence after that, each thinking to themselves

dongmin thinks that he wouldn’t rather have anyone else but myungjun and jinwoo help him with homework when he doesn’t understand, nor would he rather hit anyone else on the head with things whenever myungjun falls asleep

jinwoo thinks that he wouldn’t want to ride the bus with anyone else but myungjun and dongmin, nor would he like to play games and run around with anyone else

myungjun thinks that he wouldn’t want to protect anyone else except jinwoo and dongmin, nor would he rather come home to any other friends each night

they go to sleep in their tent not too much later, squishing as close together on the air mattress as they can in order to stay warm (and definitely not bc all of them are a little emotional about how much they love each other, its not that at all)

when myungjun is 13.2, jinwoo is 11.2, and dongmin is 10: 

dongmin’s family announces that they’re moving once again for his father’s work

they don’t really know how to react bc “what do you mean dongmin won’t live across the street anymore?? what about the 3 musketeers?? what about all our adventure plans??”

dongmin cries when he tells them bc he doesn’t want to leave them and myungjun and jinwoo just hug him and try not to cry themselves, insisting that it would all be okay

dongmin doesn’t know that when he leaves, jinwoo and myungjun embrace each other instead and cry to one another bc their third musketeer is leaving??

the day they leave, jinwoo and myungjun aren’t even really sure how they haven’t started crying yet

they stand on the curb with dongmin while their parents talk with his parents as the moving van finishes being packed and is closed 

and dongmin’s parents motion that its time for them to go and so dongmin hikes his backpack higher onto his back and wraps his arms as tightly as he can around jinwoo as tears begin sliding from his eyes

dongmin: “i’m going to miss you so much jinwoo hyung”

jinwoo: “i’ll miss you too, but its okay dongmin, we have our emails and you have my phone number, and myungjun’s too… we’ll still talk every day”

dongmin wants to tell him that it won’t be the same but he needs to hurry and finish his goodbye’s

so he turns to myungjun and throws his arms around him too, burying his face into the eldest boy’s neck

dongmin: “i’m going to miss you so much too myungjun hyung”

and myungjun has never really been one for words so he presses his lips to dongmin’s forehead instead just before they pull away

dongmin: “promise me you guys won’t stop protecting me”

and all of a sudden all of them are taken back to the first time they met and pinky promises made while talking about their plans to go on an adventure in space

jinwoo is trying really hard not to cry at that so myungjun takes over instead: “of course not dongmin, we’ll always be looking out for you! and next time we see each other, we’ll be ready to leave for space”

and then he smiles so widely, and pulls both boys in for one last group hug before dongmin rushes to his parents car and climbs in the backseat

his hands are pressed to the glass and he waves at myungjun and jinwoo until the car turns the corner and he can no longer see them standing at the end of what was once his driveway and then he cries even more bc now it’s real, and he won’t see them anymore

and myungjun continues smiling until the car turns the corner bc he wants to make sure that dongmin’s last memory of him is the same as his first and isn’t one of him crying, he doesn’t want dongmin to remember him like that

once their parents take them back to the park residence, jinwoo is crying into myungjun’s chest and tears are sliding down myungjun’s cheeks silently bc they really just had to say goodbye to their best friend of 5 years and they’re not ready for him to go

they fall asleep like that, huddled together on jinwoo’s bed, and once again it’s the 2 of them against the world, just like it had been when they were little

after that jinwoo and myungjun are closer than ever bc they may have lost dongmin but they were determined not to also lose each other 

the end of this had me crying as i wrote it but i had to have some kind of drama happen in their lives right? (thats what I’m trying to tell myself anyways). part 2 soon?? (hopefully)