#asks are always welcome-- doesn't matter if we've never interacted!

[spiderled]

SPIDERLED. highly private & low activity miguel o' hara from spiderman: across the spider-verse. non comic compliant but with comic influences.

my name is Miguel O'Hara. i'm this dimension's one and only Spider-Man. at least i was. but I'm not like the others. i don't always like what I have to do. but I know I have to be the one to do it.

written by marina, 27, she/her, mexican. carrd tba. psd, pinned post & dash icon cred @sereg0re.

[empydoc]

SOUL EATER AU morgan & seer obscura

check out the masterpost here!

welcome to a redacted soul eater au post! here, i try and discover what it'd be like if you merged the soul eater world and mechanics within the redactedverse. this is the fifteenth post in the series! we've got morgan & seer obscura on the menu today. enjoy!

༺♰༻

morgan — soul type: meister strongest meister ability: soul perception - a technique all meisters have, but skilled meisters can see clearer personality or significant traits within souls. seers have a constant soul perception ability that they can use with ease. compatible with: n/a

as mentioned here, seer obscura have stronger meister abilities, but are incompatible with weapons and meisters, no matter how much one's soul attempts to bond with another's. morgan's never really had issues with this physically, although it's simply another thing that's outcasted him from what it is to be a seer without obscurity.

even though morgan and seer obscura as a person cannot be compatible with one another, they certainly have a unique connection. in some odd way, there's hints that their wavelengths might be able to merge and curate wavelength control attacks if need be- which is something neither of the two have come to be acquainted with yet.

༺♰༻

seer obscura —  soul type: meister strongest meister ability: soul perception - a technique all meisters have, but skilled meisters can see clearer personality or significant traits within souls. seers have a constant soul perception ability that they can use with ease. compatible with: n/a

realistically i could just say everything i said in morgan's section, but i also wanted to touch on the matter that seers can mimic or cover as different empowered types. since this is something that happens in canon, i want to make a way for it in this au (which... won't apply to everything LOL)

when a seer obscura covers as a different empowered type, that doesn't change the fact that they're incompatible with others in terms of weapon-meister abilities, but it will change slightly. when a seer obcura tries to match wavelengths with someone, the rejection of such will be quite passive, with both participants feeling like they've been physically nudged away. however, when a covered seer obscura tries to match wavelengths, the rejection will be much fiercer, mimicking what it's like to try and match wavelengths with someone you're simply not bonded with.

lite backstory: for every post i make for the characters, i'll add some au backstory to really fill in some details you may be curious about!

when morgan met obscura he thought of many things. and, admittedly, the concept of obscura potentially being a weapon he might be compatible with- like a soulmate of sorts- was a possibility. when he asked about their weapon/meister status, they explained that they were always incompatible, and held a meister title loosely around their neck.

morgan wasn't disappointed, however. this gave him the chance to explain (and even learn) about the fact that obscura were simply exempt from the wavelength compatibility pool, and simply couldn't bond with one-another.

even so, as time fondly grows on, the two are discovering new abilities and things about each other. who knows what unique sorts of interactions they'll discover as they get closer?

[lunarflux]

Hi it's Lyra, I'm back, so sweet that you like my name. 😭❤️

And I've actually been reading through your asks too! I loved your take on Aemond's love + duty! I'll admit that's something that has already bothered me too, whether he'd be willing to love or not and if the person he loves maybe would never be "important enough". But the point you make is a good one, that it's natural that we care about our own goals, and that doesn't mean love is less important. I would like to think that's what Ewan means when he talks about Aemond as well, that yes duty is important to him, but he wouldn't necessarily place duty so above someone he cares for, not to the point of making them any less important to him, right? They would coexist, as they should.

I honestly have this vision of Aemond confiding his goals to his beloved and seeking support, and as you said, loving her even more when that support is given; it's very endearing to think of tbh, and I agree that it feels unfair to say he'd abandon the person who loves him.

As you said too, we just don't see it because Aemond literally has no one that gives this to him :'). But from what we've seen of him, that's what I interpret.

Maybe I'm delusional? But because of all he's been through, I think if Aemond met someone who actually loved him dearly, he'd be incredibly devoted??? I think he'd eagerly reciprocate that love because it's literally been something he's been after for his whole life pretty much. That's why it also bothers me to see people saying love would not matter to him, because honestly I think it's the very opposite. Don't you think?

Sorry I rambled a bit. 🫶🏼

Hi, Lyra, I have insomnia. And feel free to ramble in my Asks, I welcome chaotic thinking.

The "not important enough" argument is such a.... Not complex, but I guess multi-tiered concern for a lot of people. On one hand, someone can absolutely make their partner feel insignificant (ie. All time spent at work, little time spent together, shallow communication, poor listening skills). On the other hand, insecurities can lead people to believe that nothing is ever enough. However, one issue is through actions and the other is an internal struggle.

I don't think I've ever felt like I wasn't important to any of my partners. If anything, I felt burdened by how much they prioritized me because I didn't want them to. If I'm focused on my career, no amount of emotional appeal will ever convince me to pivot my goals and refocus. It made it even more troublesome when I try to be very communicative and empathetic with my partners because nothing ever seemed like it was enough to make them feel secure. At some point, the blame can't all fall on me for having other priorities. Like, you can't have all of me lol You get the parts that need and crave human interaction, but my mind will not sacrifice ambition which helps only me and no one else. To be there at the start and feel at peace with me until I achieve my goals is something I've yet to find with anyone (please I hope to God this isn't an insane ask).

In terms of Aemond, he might prioritize security in a relationship. The boy doesn't need anything else stressing him out, and the last thing he'd want is for an insecure partner to keep vying for his attention (I mean hello Vhagar is right outside and she needs attention, too). And security encompasses comfort, reassurance, confidence, and a mind at ease. Just let him sleep at night beside someone who isn't constantly asking him why he did something or why didn't he do this or that. Let him rest his head in silence and he'll talk on his own.

As for your thoughts, I know the Aemond girlies are naturally more biased and want him to feel loved, but I also find it interesting because loving him won't change his stance on the throne, his morals, or his ethics. Hell, loving him might cause him to be more determined with a powerful partner at his side. And HONESTLY, I love that. Team "I can make him worse" is always a fun one. His self-interest for power puts him above Team Green and Team Black.

You date Aemond - you're Team Aemond LOL I had a mild "oh God why did he do that" when he nuked Sharp Point, but when the showrunners explained it was strategic, I immediately changed to "oh well OBVIOUSLY there was a reason duh"

That being said, you're not delusional. Or maybe we all are. A community of delusion. And it's dark in here.

[wendingeverwicked]

Rules

This seems like a long list, but I can boil it down to a single thing. Be excellent to each other. The rest is just specifics.

Content

NSFW might happen. It's why I don't want anyone under 18 following me, and wont even RP general threads with someone I know is under 18.

Triggering content involving violence, substance use, sex and more, is very welcome and allowed in threads. It wont be sprung on folks without discussion. I'm just saying it's welcome.

Because of that, if you need anything tagged, let me know. I do read rules for that information, but I'm wildly forgetful.

You, as a real person, even if we've never talked before, matter more to me than a thread and a fictional character. Let me know if something makes you uncomfortable. Tasha is a fully realized creation, I can write him whilst avoiding aspects of his personality in the occasional thread. I wont change him completely, but can work around things.

I use gifs when posting opens and replying to asks. I don't care if you do or not, or if you use icons. Very stylized text can be an eyestrain for me, so I don't do that. Thread lengths and styles vary from shorter chat threads to multipara.

Interactions and shipping & stuff

Shipping is cool, always a fan. Tasha is multiverse and multiship. But, it's not needed or expected. I like to talk about hypotheticals even if the muse chemistry doesn't happen.

Pre-established relationships are great! Just know that Tasha doesn't really do romance without us talking ooc and building up to it, but besides that, feel free to throw him in the deep end of connections.

I'm not the best at plotting. Preferring to throw spaghetti at the wall together until an idea seems fun, then see where it goes naturally. Have plotting things out in depth with partners in the past, then it came to writing it, both our muses went 'hhmmmm, nah' and things went of the rails in a wildly fun way.

The easiest, and quickest, way to get an interaction going, is to send an ASK or reply to an OPEN

Other bits and shits

Low activity. Allow a week before reminding me about replies. But do, please, send reminders if you want to. It's not a bother. It's a boon for my adhd ass.

Take as long as you need with replies. I mean it. Months even. If I'm still here, and I see your reply, I'll happily pick up the thread where it was.

I don't drop threads intentionally without saying so. So if I don't reply and don't tell you, assume it's a mistake. That said, I'm allowed to drop threads, and so are you! For whatever reason, or no reason. I'd like to be told if you don't plan to reply, but it's okay.

[neatimmortal]

bsd characters and League of Legends Roles

How did I come up with this? I don't know. But it's been stuck in my head for a week now so it's getting evicted from my head to your fyp.

you're welcome. probably.

Armed Detective Agency

Atsushi Nakajima

def mains jungle. Specifically, Rengar.

just look at the man.

epitome of a rengar player.

he's def very imbalanced in his gameplay though.

he either goes 0/12 or 12/0. no inbetween.

but he's EXTREMELY talkative.

in all chat, team chat, it doesn't really matter, he's got something to say after every play. and its usually something nice.

"gj!", "nice", "(actually helpful criticism)" and always a "gg" at the end of the match.

does kinda get upset when teamed w/ people that don't know what theyre doing, esp in higher elo.

i also don't think he plays too much though, he's got better things to do with his time.

mid gold?

Osamu Dazai

either plays top or jungle.

plays top for the obvious jokes. plays jungle because its the hardest role to play.

I'd think he'd enjoy jungle more because it seems like a slightly more complex chess game to him than, yknow. nerdy league of legends.

He'd be really good at the game too, but i kinda get the feeling he'd throw games if he got matched with people he didn't like.

or people he just knew, in general. Like Kunikida? Dazai's gonna play the game with his actual feet.

because of that behavior, probably somewhere in gold? like he doesn't play very often but when he does he almost always wins when he's semi-serious abt it.

Kunikida Doppo

this guy. has either never heard of it, or was addicted at some point.

either way, he'd play adc. He just kinda seems like he'd play Jhin specifically. The added challenge of keeping track of autos and all the intricacies of the playing style is definitely appealing to him.

lowkey kinda pretenious w/ it? "oh i main Jhin, ik how to do x y z mechanic that no one cares knows about" . . like wtaf, put the wine glass down.

not that great at the game though. Mid silver to low gold.

definitely rages over the game from time to time. Hence why he doesn't play anymore. (i mean, we've all seen his interactions w/ Dazai.)

Ranpo Edogawa

mid lane.

look at this man and tell me he doesn't run a crazy ass mid lane.

I'm not sure what he'd main, but it's always off meta.

dude could run like . . nautilus? god forbid yuumi. and still win.

no counterarguments here, just look at him.

when he first started playing, he played meta but got bored after winning too many games so he switched to the most random picks.

i'd believe it if he chose the random option for champion select.

would play pretty frequently, at least compared to everyone else.

definitely in platinum.

Akiko Yosano

also adc, definitely loves to play Vayne.

anything hyper-carry honestly.

rarely plays though.

the game isn't super interesting to her but Ranpo asked her to play and so she picked it up for a little bit.

when she did play, she played somewhere in silver.

she didn't play enough games to get past silver but probably wouldve.

Kenji Miyazawa

support.

but one of the tanky ones.

occasionally he'll run pyke though? Like if the poor kid had a bad day, he's running pyke.

probably loves Braum.

but also probably hardly plays.

Like Yosano, he doesn't find the game too interesting, he'd rather be outside doing something.

also a silver player.

Junichirou Tanizaki

he's the stereotypical adc.

and i mean that in every. way. possible.

steal a minion? he's going afk.

can't save him from being dived under turret? prepare to get flamed.

he goes 0/6 in the first 15 minutes but somehow it's your fault? you just got doxxed.

his first couple of games are decent, and he's more likely to win those. But once he has a really good game where he carries, he'll get overconfident and never win again until he quits the game for the day.

high bronze, low silver

Kyouka Izumi

hear me out.

top lane.

specifically? Nasus.

hear me out again.

She just likes any character that scales really well tbh.

plays the slow game and wins every time.

doesn't like the game though, so she rarely plays it.

high silver.

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

this draft has been sitting in drafts for so long, im worried i've mischaracterized these guys lmao. but it was too funny and it made me giggle when i was looking through all my old work so i figured might as well post.

anyways, thank you for reading! Please take care of yourselves, and though I don't know anyone who's gonna read this, I hope you all have a great day/morning/evening/night <3

[minsinclair]

We've Been Here Before

ᐊ Chapter Two: Present (if you squint) ᐅ

Poppy glances over her shoulder and immediately wishes she hadn't, wishes she could disappear, wishes she were starting at any other crappy minimum wage job in any other dingy quick-stop convenience store in any other place in the world. Because standing in the door of the Garment District 7-Eleven is Bea fucking Hughes.

based on this incredible idea by @uhh-the-green-thing and this gorgeous art by @titfairy

535 8th Avenue, New York, NY One day after graduation

Even in this life, Poppy has Bea.

Well, not really. It's kind of complicated. If she's being honest, Poppy herself doesn't fully understand what's going on.

She's had Bea before. A couple times, actually. Had Bea pinned down against plush mattresses and molded against her skin in the searing water of the Clubhouse hot tub. But that was all temporary; that kind of having never lasts.

She'd thought, for a while, that maybe they could last. Against her better judgement, she'd found herself indulging in fantasies of keeping up their verbal sparring long past graduation. In what way, she was never sure, but the details hardly mattered as long as they were both there.

And then, for an earth-shatteringly vulnerable moment in the middle of their graduation ceremony of all places, Poppy had allowed herself to hope.

It's always been you, Bea had lied.

And Poppy had almost been lonely enough to believe her.

Leave it to Bea Hughes to get under her skin one last time.

It's always been you is what's playing on repeat in her mind as she steps into the convenience store, doing her best to ignore the stickiness of the door handle and the flickering of the already dim overhead fluorescents.

"Welcome in!" says an overly enthusiastic woman in the ugliest baseball cap Poppy has ever seen.

"Hi," Poppy says, failing to keep the distaste from her voice. "I'm Poppy Min-Sinclair. I'm starting here today."

"Oh, of course!" The woman beams. "You're right on time!" The electronic doorbell beeps as someone else enters, and the cheerful employee's eyes focus on something just over Poppy's shoulder. "And here's our other newest employee!"

Poppy glances over her shoulder and immediately wishes she hadn't, wishes she could disappear, wishes she were starting at any other crappy minimum wage job in any other dingy quick-stop convenience store in any other place in the world.

Because standing in the door of the Garment District 7-Eleven is Bea fucking Hughes.

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

"Bored, Pops?" Bea asks from her place behind the ever-turning hot dog station, and Poppy makes a face.

A week has passed since they started, and Poppy has smiled and nodded her way through about fifteen of their cheerful manager's training sessions. She'd thought that Bea had been doing the same, but if the way Bea feels comfortable treating the store like a second home is any indication, she'd been wrong. Today, it seems like cheerful manager (Poppy decides to call her Cheery) has finally started to give up on Poppy's ability to retain anything regarding the store's cleaning or maintenance, and as such, Poppy has been regulated to the register. Bea, meanwhile, is in charge of everything else.

"I miss the days," Poppy muses, squinting at her fingernails through the dreary ambient light (half of which is blocked out by brim of the atrocious 7-Eleven hat Cheery insists they wear), "when the most boring part of my day was having to interact with you. Now I have to do that in the most mind numbing place on earth."

"Don't lie," Bea says teasingly. "Interacting with me was the best part of your day back at Belvoire. And I'm probably the only reason you haven't gouged your eyes out on a spork in the middle a shift here."

"Yet," Poppy corrects sulkily, eyeing the box of individually wrapped sporks that sits below the counter. "Haven't gouged my eyes out yet."

The doorbell chimes, cutting off whatever witty response Bea had no doubt prepared, and both she and Poppy snap to attention. The night shift always crawled by at a snail's pace, and while Cheery had insisted it wasn't the case, Poppy was pretty sure that the 7-Eleven seniors had managed to convince her to pencil both of her new employees in for five night shifts a week. Poppy's eyes move to the register clock: 11:34, a whole hour and ten minutes since their last customer had hauled himself into the store, spent some time poking around the aisles, and had promptly left, pockets filled with unpaid merchandise. She and Bea had watched in ambivalent silence as he'd gone, neither girl willing to put in the effort to report the theft.

"You guys have Camels?" The man rasps at Poppy. "Blue?"

Poppy grabs the cigarettes down from the wall without a word. "Thirteen ten."

The man drops a couple wadded up bills on the counter. "Hey, how old are you?"

"No." Poppy shoves the cash in the register and hands over the cigarettes and change.

"I'm just saying," the man continues, smiling in a way that makes Poppy's skin crawl. "You're too pretty to be-"

"Dude." Bea's hand closes around Poppy's shoulder, plastic gloves crinkling. "Back off."

The man frowns. "Fine," he spits, annoyed. "Bitches."

Poppy watches silently as he leaves. At her side, Bea does the same.

When the door swings closed, Bea removes her hand. "Well he was pleasant."

Poppy just sighs. "You got hot dog juice on my sweater."

"Oh." Bea frowns and wipes her gloves on her puke green 7-Eleven apron. "Whoops."

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

Two weeks pass since the day of their graduation, and Poppy finds herself wondering if it would have been better to just murder Bea that first day they met in the courtyard. Sure, she'd be in prison right now, but what's a little jail time compared to a seemingly endless eternity of insanity and knock-knock jokes?

"Okay, I've got one," Bea says. She's straddling one end of the counter, resting one foot on a shelf half stocked with metal mint tins and leaning back against the hot dog case in a way that Cheery would definitely not approve of. Poppy is perched at the other end of the counter, chin resting atop one knee while her other leg dangles against the shelves of gum housed adjacent to Bea's mint tins.

"Knock knock," Bea says, rapping her knuckles against the counter to give Poppy the full effect.

Poppy closes her eyes, letting her head roll back and hit the plaster wall with a hollow thunk. "Who's there?" she asks dryly.

"USA."

"USA who?"

"U-say my last joke wasn't funny, but I heard you laughing."

"Oh my god." Poppy smacks her head against the wall again. "I wasn't laughing at your joke, I was laughing at you almost cracking your head open on the Slurpee machine."

Bea shrugs, looking not even a little bit abashed. "A laugh's a laugh," she decides. "Okay, how about-"

"Stop." Poppy drops her head into her hands. "I told you, these jokes will never be funny. You can't revive the fucking knock-knock joke."

"Not with that attitude," Bea retorts, but the moments afterwards are blissfully free from any knock knocks. Poppy checks her phone for what must be the millionth time that day; the only new notification is a message from Chloe with an update on her tropical summer vacation.

"Chloe made it to Fiji," Poppy reports, for lack of anything better to say.

"Yeah." Bea glances out at the aisles of snacks and sodas that surround them, as if contemplating just how much their gloomy little convenience store isn't Fiji. "I saw."

They fall back into silence, Poppy staring numbly at a rack of salt and vinegar chips.

"Oh," Bea says after a while. "I've got another one. Knock knock."

Poppy tips her head back and groans.

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

After three weeks on the night shift, Poppy is basically nocturnal. Every day when the clock finally heaves itself over the cliff that is six in the morning, she and Bea take turns clocking out on a computer that looks like it came straight from the early 2000s before parting ways and making the trek home. For Poppy, that means a twenty five block walk in the freezing cold, and by the time she gets to her mom's apartment, she's already nearly half unconscious. Sleep is the priority; she showers after she wakes, usually a few hours past noon, and then tries to scrape together a meal with some semblance of flavor using the plethora of healthy vegan ingredients her mom keeps loaded in the fridge. By the time she's starting to feel like a normal person again, it's already nine PM, and she's forced to decide whether it'll be less painful to get ready for work like normal or to crawl back into her perversely tempting bed and live out the rest of her days as a hermit in poverty.

The one upside to this schedule is that she rarely has to see either her mom or Piers. They're usually gone by the time she gets home, and she leaves just a few hours after they return for the night. One of the many downsides, however, is nights like these.

"Hm," Bea muses, staring out the filthy glass door into the thundering rain. "Maybe I was wrong when I said it would be over by now."

"Hm," Poppy echoes mockingly. "You think?"

"We've still got twenty minutes. Maybe it'll stop by then."

"Or maybe we'll get robbed and someone will knock you unconscious and I can use your hideous clothes as an umbrella."

Bea nods sagely. "Yes. Maybe that will happen."

Poppy sighs deeply, wishing (not for the first time that night) that she'd worn something a little more rain proof than the thick knit cardigan she'd chosen. While she's wishing, she wishes that Piers wasn't such a shitty investor. And that Bea wasn't so fucking annoying.

"Where are you staying, anyway?" Bea asks annoyingly.

"Plaza Tower," Poppy answers. Bea snorts. "What?"

"I thought you were supposed to be poor now."

Poppy sniffs haughtily. "Poor is a relative term."

"You're working the night shift at a 7-Eleven," Bea says pointedly. "Like, full time."

Poppy glares. "Look who's talking," she spits. Then, tiredly, "Mom and Piers were the ones who decided which assets to keep and which to get rid of. I told them we should downsize, and they made me get this job instead."

"That's dumb." Bea pulls out a bottle of disinfectant and some paper towels and begins to wipe down the counters. "Can't you call your chauffer to come pick you up? Or did that asset not make the cut?"

Poppy glares harder. Bea laughs.

"Calm down, rich girl," she says. "You can crash with me."

That draws a sharp laugh from Poppy's throat. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Cause you love my company," Bea says, dead serious. "Duh. Plus I'm only two blocks away."

Poppy stares lifelessly out into the rain and adds Bea spontaneously combusts to her list of wishes. "Fine," she agrees finally. And then, because she's not a heathen and Bea is actually being helpful for once, "Thanks."

"Don't sound too excited," Bea laughs. "And don't thank me yet. We're still gonna have to run for it."

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

Twenty five minutes and two rain-soaked blocks later, Poppy's sitting on the edge of Bea's bathtub, wringing out her hair with a small towel. Bea had lent her some spare pajamas, the legs of which she'd had to cuff thrice to keep them from dragging on the ground.

"Thanks," she says when she emerges from the bathroom to find Bea sprawled across the couch, browsing shows on her giant TV, and she means it a little more now that she's somewhere warm and dry rather than somewhere cold and faced with the prospect of quickly becoming soaking wet.

Bea nods. "They're Zoey's," she says, gesturing to the pajamas. "Figured you'd have a meltdown if I made you touch my plebian cotton blend clothes."

Poppy ignores the dig. "Where is she?"

"Zoey?" Bea whips out her phone, opening a folder of photos and handing it over. "Big beach trip. She goes every year."

Poppy thumbs through a few pictures of a sunny sand bank, landing on one of Zoey under an umbrella surrounded by an assortment of musical celebrities. "You didn't go with her?"

Bea shrugs. "She took me last year. It was pretty awesome," she continues. "Super sunny, tons of cute girls. You would've loved it."

Poppy squints, suppressing a slight smile. "Are you calling me gay?"

"Yes, Poppy," Bea says in a straight deadpan. "I'm calling you a massive lesbian. The point is, Zoey's living it up with music production royalty. Almost makes me wish I'd actually made a plan for my future instead of fighting with you and Selene all the time."

She shifts over as Poppy settles onto the couch. "Almost?"

"Come on," Bea chides. "It was pretty fun."

It was pretty fun, Poppy admits to herself. But no amount of night shifts could drive Poppy crazy enough to say it out loud.

"So why didn't you go this year?" she asks instead.

"And pass up the opportunity to sell overcooked hotdogs with you every day?" Bea shakes her head, grinning. "Please."

Poppy can't even tell if she's joking.

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

What the hell are you doing here? Poppy had hissed on their first day of work. Cheery had retreated to the office to print off their paperwork, her fingers slamming down on the ancient computer keys so hard that Poppy had to wonder if she was more used to typewriters than keyboards.

I'm working, Bea had responded simply. What are you doing here?

You're such a liar. Poppy jabbed a finger accusingly in Bea's direction. How did you find out about this?

Fine, Bea had relented. I stole your phone when you walked at graduation. You really should've given it to anyone but Chloe.

So what, you saw my application email and decided it'd be fun to follow me here? Bea had shrugged, and Poppy grit her teeth. Get out!

You don't own 7-Eleven, Pops, Bea had said. You can't control who they hire. If I want to spend my summer selling badly made food to badly dressed people, I can.

I hate you, was all Poppy had said in response.

Please, Bea had laughed. You wouldn't know what to do without me.

And all thoughts of it's always been you had flown right out the swinging glass door.

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

"I think this is the slowest day we've ever had," Bea says halfway into week five.

It's unusually hot, even for a summer night in New York, and Poppy's skin is damp from the humidity. She'd stripped off her sweater in the first hour of her shift, and soon after had been forced to trade her simple longsleeve for a 7-Eleven polo, which hangs big on her shoulders and has slowly grown more and more unbuttoned as the heat creeps on. Bea isn't fairing much better, having abandoned her hot dog station apron just minutes after putting it on. Their hats hang forlornly in the back office, untouched since the thermometer hit 85.

It had been Bea's idea to stand in front of an open drink refrigerator. At first, they'd used it as a temporary reprieve - five minutes of engulfment in the sharp, cool air in exchange for an hour at the register - but they've reached the point where neither of them has the will to care about keeping up the pretense of doing any actual work. Bea had fashioned them little seats out of overturned milk cartons and they'd each claimed a refrigerator to sit by, well out of view of Cheery's sole security camera or anyone who might walk by.

"It's slow because anyone with a brain knows it's hot enough outside to boil it," Poppy responds. "Too bad it's already too late for yours."

"I'm wounded," Bea drawls. "And bored. Come up with some scheme to ruin my life or something."

"You come up with a scheme to ruin mine," Poppy retorts.

Bea laughs. "I thought I already did that when I showed up here."

"Well, that one kind of backfired, wouldn't you say?"

It's silent for a few minutes. Poppy lets her head roll to the side, looking at Bea, who was already looking at her.

"Wanna make out?" asks Bea.

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

"Why don't we do this every day?" Bea gasps, breath warm on Poppy's lips.

"I think we'd-" Poppy's next words are lost in Bea's mouth. "-fired," she finishes when they break apart. "You'd have to get your masochistic kicks in somewhere else."

"I'd just follow you to your next job," Bea laughs against Poppy's throat.

It's always been you.

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

If week five was heat, week six is rain.

The first day of the downpour, Bea offers to let Poppy crash again.

By the second, it's an unspoken agreement.

"You should bring some stuff by," Bea says once the rain has finally begun to let up. "You know, for next time."

Poppy keeps her tone casual, makes a show of checking something on her phone.

"Okay," she says. Bea smiles.

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

"You know," Bea says sometime in week eight (or is it nine? It's hard to keep track), "some people would say we're dating."

She's got Poppy backed into a rack of cold sandwiches so that Poppy's practically sitting on the refrigerator ledge, Bea almost straddling her legs. Poppy has one hand fisted in her hair, the other clutching her shoulder to keep her balance.

"Some people are idiots," Poppy breathes, and pulls Bea in for another kiss. "What can you do?"

Bea's tongue sweeps across Poppy's jawline, teeth grazing the skin of her earlobe. "Would it be so bad?"

Poppy bites hard at Bea's neck just under her jaw, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. Bea makes a high keening noise, and Poppy runs her own tongue over the rapidly forming bruise. "Can you think of anything worse?"

Bea sighs, pushing Poppy away with a gentle hand to her chest. "It's four," she says without looking at the clock. "We're off."

They clock out in silence.

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

Bea's glaring at this customer so hard that Poppy wonders if she's changed her stance on people who steal from what the fuck do I care to I care so much I'm about to commit a murder. But the girl hasn't even stolen - not that Poppy's seen, anyway. She just keeps sending smiles over at the checkout counter, which is off-putting in its own way, but nothing to glare about more than usual.

"Just these," the girl says after a while, handing over a sandwich and bottle of tea.

Poppy scans them quickly. "Six eighteen."

The girl swipes her card. "Hey, are you busy after this? I know it's late, but I could buy you a drink."

"Oh." Oh. Beside her, Bea throws a new hotdog on the roller with more force than necessary.

"Sorry," Poppy says, giving the girl what she hopes is a polite smile. "I'm taken."

"No worries." The girl takes her items, leaving with a wave over her shoulder. "Have a good one."

The door swings closed behind her.

Bea raises an eyebrow. "Taken, huh?"

"Well," Poppy hedges. "Some people would say we're dating."

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

Bea finally cracks her in week eleven.

It's on one of six shifts they've had where not a single customer comes through for their entire eight hours. I thought this was the city that never sleeps, Bea had groaned during the fourth. Where the fuck is everyone?

I think anyone not sleeping at three in the morning has better things to do than trolling 7-Elevens all night, Poppy had responded. Bea's head had hit the counter with a thud.

"I think I'm going crazy," Bea says now. "I think if nothing exciting happens in the next five minutes I'm going to admit myself to a psychiatric ward."

"We're literally in the middle of making out," Poppy says, only half affronted. "I don't know how else I'm supposed to keep you entertained."

"It's not just today," Bea admits. "This place sucks. I mean, it's great that you're here and all, but it sucks. Why haven't we quit yet?"

"Because I need money and you're obsessed with me," Poppy says.

"Right. That's it." Bea's mouth returns to Poppy's neck, her fingers tangling in the buttons of her stupid 7-Eleven polo. "Seriously, though. If you don't fall in love with me soon I'm gonna have to quit."

Poppy's mind blanks out. "What?"

"It's been like three months," Bea continues, trailing kisses back to Poppy's face. "I mean, I knew it would be slow, but god. Three months on the 7-Eleven night shift for you? You'd better make this worth it."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Poppy spits, shoving Bea back. Bea's eyebrows knit in confusion.

"I told you at graduation," she says, utterly bewildered. "The speech? Remember?"

It's always been you.

"I thought..." Poppy trails off, shakes her head. "You were lying. You're lying now."

"No?" Bea's expression grows more confused. "What did you think I was doing here?"

"I don't know!" Poppy cries. "I thought you were just- being stupid! Trying to annoy me, like always!"

"Well, yeah," Bea says, like it's obvious. "I love annoying you. Cause I love you."

"You-" Poppy struggles, but the words don't come. She presses her head into her hands. "This is a lot to take in."

Bea nods in mock seriousness. "Would a knock knock joke make you feel better?"

"It would not."

"Knock knock," Bea says anyway. Poppy shakes her head, so she continues, undeterred. "Olive."

"Please stop."

"Olive yo-"

"Jesus christ," Poppy snaps. "Fine. I'll go out with you."

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

"We quit," Bea tells Cheery at the end of week fifteen. "Sorry."

"No problem, dears!" Cheery chirps brightly. "Let me go get your departure paperwork. Oh, and you can keep the hats as souvenirs!"

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

this was so much longer than i thought it would be 😭 also i know NOTHING about new york so take everything with a grain of salt and i apologize to any new yorkians reading.

tags / @camren-jenlisa-is-real @noone6252

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[ihateliterature]

maybe it sounds stupid but when I first started to come out I realised something that changed the way I interact with cis people ever since

they have no problem with gender bending, their issue is:

1.trans people

2.when it's not done as a punishment or for ridicule

I was assigned female at birth and I was a tomboy since childhood. My favourite color was blue, I liked "boy" cartoons and "boy" toys, I spent more time with boys because they made me feel more comfortable and generally I was not very ladylike in behavior (as in I would sit "wrong" in chairs and I never groomed myself more than it was necessary). Everyone had a problem with that. My mom chastised me every time I asked for a toy car or clothes that were not pink, purple, white or red. Girls in my class kept telling me what I *had* to do because I am a "girl". Boys told me all the time "You're not a girl" or "You can't even be called a girl anymore", especially after I cut my hair short, and some even welcomed me into their group as "one of the boys". The message was clear for me, womanhood was not inherent to me, but something that I had to earn.

All my life, womanhood was dangled in front of me as a prize that I had to prove myself good enough for. But the thing was, I never wanted that prize. I never had any use for it and most people noticed that. They just hoped that it was a phase that I would grow out of, but I didn't. To my mom's horror, every year I cut my hair shorter and went from staring in horror at the women's section to not even paying it any attention at all.

Then I realised I was transgender, and cis people started to sing a very different tune. "But you are still a girl", "You will always be a girl", "Doesn't matter how you look, you will always be a girl". Suddenly womanhood was not something that I had to earn, instead it was core to my being, something I could not change. And then I realised, cis people are eating shit.

The majority of cis people use womanhood in two ways: a weapon or a cage

1. Against other cis people, trans women and trans fems, womanhood is always used to attack: dangling it in front of women and fems as an unattainable goal in an attempt to control their appearance and behavior: they can never be pretty enough, or skinny enough or delicate enough or whatever to truly achieve it. Then they turn around and chastise them for it, for "hitting like a girl" or "driving like a girl" or being too girly to be taken seriously and more. For cis men, womanhood is used to shame them, telling them that they are "like a girl" is saying that they are weak or incapable or inferior

2.For trans people that were assigned female at birth womanhood is used as a cage. They will always be girls, doesn't matter how they present, what the authorities say, what doctors say, what the person themself says, doesn't matter how many hormones they've taken or how many surgeries they've had. We will always be girls, daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, doesn't matter who we actually are. We are poor little girls that didn't know better, that were manipulated by insidious groups to mutilate ourselves, or women so desperate to escape mysogyni that we were willing to throw away our womanhood. That is, funnily enough, until politics and our own health are brought up, then we can't speak about mysogyni, can't speak about reproductive health, can't talk about medical abuse we've experienced, about how hostile the medical environment around reproductive health can be to us. But honestly, not even then we can escape it, because "if you say that you are not girls, then you should not implicate yourselves in girl talk". We are not taken seriously, we are ridiculed even then.

That's why I say that cis people are eating shit, because gender matters only when they say it matters. They are so caught up in their own bullshit that they can't see how they are contradicting themselves. But I am not buying it. You told me my entire childhood that I am not a girl? Well guess what buddy? You were right and you don't get to take it back just because you decided that my pussy is the most important thing about me

[k1nky-fool]

As usual, this is for the oc asks. Grasshopper, margarita, mojito, tequila sunrise, caipirinha; for Devo, Mita and Pepper.

I love to learn more about your characters.

Sending virtual hugs for you!!

AAAAAAA LOVE TO SEE YOU

I love talking about my characters, so I love questions. Sorry this took so long, but I am happy with what I got.

𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 〜 describe your oc’s personality

Devo - Devo is basically a cat. Making a good first impression is everything to her, because she won't change her mind about you unless you all but murder someone for her. If she likes you, she'll want your attention, or just want to be around you all the time even if you're not interacting, but if she doesn't like you, she is ready to kill for even the pettiest of reasons.

Mita - The most cautious of all my OCs. I have OCs that exist in a post-apocalyptic demon invasion earth, but Mita watches everything that moves like it could kill her. So trust issues are an understatement for Mita. However, she is very conscious of those that need protection, particularly children and survivors. She is very gentle and kind to those she can help, and she extends her skills and wariness as a shield for anyone that needs it. Mita is very protective of those she loves and while her distrust can often be to a fault, her overcoming that fault is a bit part of her character arc as a whole.

Pepper - A very "fake it til you make it" attitude. She is confident in herself, but it took a long time to get enough experience to be able to have that confidence. Of course we've seen that Pepper takes her parental loyalty to Sketch very seriously, but the thing is with her, and why I paired her with Silco was because the two of them are very alike. They both value loyalty and respect, and they are both rather stubborn when it comes to changing their mind, and yet they are reasonable when it comes to negotiating compromise. For obvious reasons, it may take them longer than necessary to realize they actually like each other. And it may get a little more violent than necessary before they actually do realize it.

𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮 〜 does your oc have any disorders or disabilities?

Devo - I specifically write Devo with autism and ADHD in mind. Specifically in the sense that she does show hyperfocus, and processing difficulties, as well as sensory complications and I do mention specifically symptoms of PTSD. I often take symptoms of my own and write them into Devo because it is a way for me to be able to process my own symptoms, and in that way, writing her character and experiences is therapeutic for me. All that being said, Devo is able bodied.

Mita - She is able bodied, and in light of Part 4 being posted now, Mita does also suffer from PTSD. And while I don't try to write Mita as having ADHD, often after reading my chapters, I see that I've given her a sense of time blindness which can come from stuff other than ADHD, but that's my main experience with that symptom.

Pepper - If I do write Pepper with mental illnesses, it's not always intentional. I'm sure anyone can look at Pepper and see their own symptoms in her, and headcanons about her mental state are welcome. However, a sneak peak for the next chapter, she does indeed have a lung condition, as well as her living with and taking steps against an anxiety disorder. I am trying to show with Pepper, as much as I am trying to be an example myself, that it is possible to be happy and have a life while taking medication and living with anxiety disorders.

𝗺𝗼𝗷𝗶𝘁𝗼 〜 does your oc have any tattoos and/or piercings? if so, what are they? if not, do they want any?

Devo - She has three ear piercings on each ear. One on the lobe, and two higher up on the cartilage. Devo loves tattoos, but that needle is a sensory nightmare for her no matter where it touches her. She may, however, consider a lip or nose piercing if she sees one she likes.

Mita - Never really saw a point in getting any body modifications. She just doesn't care all that much about them. However, she may hear someone mention that muscular women with back tattoos are hot as fuck, and it may sway her opinion toward getting some kind of ink on her back.

Pepper - Her and Sevika actually got matching tattoos on their left inner biceps of snakes, but when Sevika's arm was blown off, the tattoo was obviously not salvaged. Pepper also has regular lobe piercings, and in her youth, she had a septum piercing, but it's long since closed up. She's not really looking to get any more.

𝘁𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 〜 what kind of hobbies does your oc enjoy? is there anything they’ve always wanted to do but never had the time/resources to try?

Devo - I've mentioned a few times that Devo is an artist, and likes to draw in her free time. She will entertain puzzles that Viktor gives her to keep her busy while he works, even if she gets frustrated with them easily.

Mita - Never really had time for any hobbies at all. However, being bedridden and unable to work for a long amount of time may have uncovered a sudden obsession with strategy games. Mita is wicked smart in combat, and keeping her mind sharp is vital, and it's a bonus to see five kids all debate their next move and argue with each other, and still lose against her.

Pepper - Since a drinking hobby is just called alcoholism, she tries to put it a little more eloquently than that. Pepper will say she enjoys collecting wines and beers or something like that, and that may or may not have been the whole reason Sevika asked if she'd be interested in a barkeeping job for the undercity's newest kingpin. But one thing she wants to try, but never had the time to do, is competition shooting like we see Caitlynn Kiramman and Grayson doing. Pepper has wanted to find a non-violent way to use her shooting skills for a long time, but between working and parenting, she just hasn't had the time.

𝗰𝗮𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮 〜 what does your oc’s voice sound like?

This is a difficult question because I have a very specific voice I imagine for all of them, I just don't have a specific voice claim for any of them except for Mita. So if this is done late, it's because I've been looking for links all day.

Devo - Closest I can find for Devo is Asami from Legend of Korra.

Mita - She's the only one I had a full voice claim for. And I just outright decided her voice is just Asajj Ventress. And her mask does sound like Ventress' as well.

Pepper - Probably the hardest to find, because I do give her a full southern US accent. If I had to choose one, it'd be Renee Zellwegger as Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain. ⚠️TW: for rooster murder in this clip (not graphic). ⚠️

[bookwyrminspiration]

Response to an ask from Ophelia:

(this is the one about the two people)

Hello!! Welcome back! You're not bothering me at all, you never have.

I'm really sorry to hear about that situation, it sounds absolutely exhausting and frustrating. Especially just one after the other like that--but I suppose if you were trying to spin a positive on that you could say that at least they're both out of the way now and out of your life.

I know it's hard to recognize when it's so fresh, but I do think (based on the information I have) that it will be better for you in the long run. Having friends and people close to you is valuable, but you want those to be the right people, and it sounds like those people were not the right people for you. If there was such a discord between your perceptions of each other, it's telling. It's not either of your faults, sometimes people just don't work together, including as friends. There doesn't have to be a huge underlying reason, sometimes people just don't work, so please don't blame yourself for this.

You being upset is entirely valid and I'm sorry you've lost those two people in your life. If there's anything I can do to help please let me know and I'll do my best to.

I think I understand what you mean by putting so much effort and trying so hard with people but it never seeming to work. You can see all these people around you hanging out and enjoying themselves and being friends, and you can see what they're doing but when you try it doesn't seem to work right. And they make it look so effortless!! They just become friends meanwhile you're stuck trying to figure out how they do it and guessing, and you guess wrong a lot. It's so much effort without the reward, you know?

There was one time in eighth grade (age 13-ish) where I had a class of like 8-10 people and so due to close proximity, I became friendly (not friends) with a bunch of people I hadn't really talked to, and towards the end of the year one of them said something along the lines of "yeah you're much cooler/nicer now." and when I asked for clarification she said "you were such a bitch in sixth grade" (age 11-ish), which really took me off guard, because the way I remember sixth grade I was super quiet and did my work and was generally the living embodiment of "the smart kid" and didn't interact with others, but to her I seemed aloof and rude and entitled and condescending. And it was just this quiet realization of even when I'm doing nothing, I'm still doing it wrong to everyone else. When I try to interact I say things wrong, and when I don't interact I'm somehow also doing it wrong.

It was a shock at the time, but now I've moved on from it and realized that no matter what I do, to some people the genuine me is going to be incompatible with them. And that's not either of our faults. Some people don't work together. So instead I can let them go and stop trying to fit somewhere I won't ever, and look for people who I am compatible with. It's not necessarily easy to find people, but it's also so much more satisfying and rewarding than trying to make someone else work.

That...might not be very helpful to hear right now, so I'm sorry about those two people. It really does suck, and I hope you find more people in your life who are the right people for you.

As for my meltdown, it was surprisingly not as bad as I had been anticipating, but still wasn't fun. It was the kind where a situation happens and then you're like "oh I'm going to have a meltdown about this but not right now." Where you recognize you're on a decline but aren't at the bottom yet. I'm kinda used to them and know what will happen, but it's always disruptive.

I was able to relax after though, and played tiny tina's wonderlands with my dad for a few hours. It's the dnd themed borderlands shooter game we've been playing for the past few weeks. I'm currently playing a level...32? 31 or 32, gloombringer (started as a clawbringer then multi-classed as a graveborn), and my dad is a level 31 Frostwilder (started as a spore warden and multi-classed as a brr-serker).

Claiming Sophie Foster was also like a "eh why not" kind of situation. Her being autistic is an idea I've been aware of for a while (first saw it in a fic a while ago, but unsure if nilnaea would want it shared as they sent me the link personally, not publicly), and then when I was doing some recent analyses on her I realized that a lot of what I was saying just sounded like my experience growing up autistic, so when I had the meltdown it was on my mind.

I hope you're doing okay after the emotionally exhausting two days, and if there's anything i can do to help I'll do my best. I'm always here <33

[houseofzoey]

World-building

What exactly is a thread of Darkness? It's clumsy, it has a neck, and when Neferet's spell on LaFont somehow failed due to him getting distracted, she said the threads owed her. They were also able to choose to stay with her when the White Bull said he was bored of Neferet and would no longer offer her direct aid. So they're sentient enough to have allegiances, but also seem wholly unable to refuse a command of the proper blood is paid. This means they aren't like a darker version of sprites, who can pick and choose what deals they make and demand highly specific payments.

Why was Lenobia given blood-laced wine after the stable fire instead of just a straight up blood bag? We know the campus has them because Zoey and co. have used them multiple times. Would this not be the first response when a vampyre is injured?

What exactly do the campus healers do? It doesn't seem like they have any actual healing magic - Neferet is the only character established to have that ability - and all we've really seen them do is provide first aid and bloody drinks. Are they basically just school nurses? Do they have any kind of formal medical training?

For that matter, does the campus really need healers, aside from ones with literal healing affinities? Fledglings and vampyres alike can endure extreme injuries and recover with rest and plenty of blood to drink, especially if they've Imprinted.

Why does Thanatos consistently get the title High Priestess of Death? Neferet was never the High Priestess of Cats or Healing or Intuition. I don't think Zoey has been called High Priestess of the Elements, nor has Stevie Rae been called High Priestess of Earth. And later in the series, Shaylin and Shaunee aren't called High Priestesses of their elements, either.

When Thanatos sees spirits move on to the afterlife, why are they always younger? Zoey and Heath didn't age down while in the Otherworld, nor was Heath younger when Nyx visited him in the afterlife and offered to put his soul in Aurox. And when Zoey had a vision of her mother meeting Nyx after dying, Linda wasn't aged down either.

Why would Nyx give Shaylin True Sight, and why would she make it work like that? Not only does Shaylin have to deal with the disorientation of suddenly having sight after being blind for almost as long as she can remember, but now she also sees auras and has to a) recognize that's not a normal part of vision, and b) figure out what they mean. Or she would, if the author had any interest in meaningfully interacting with disability. But she doesn't, so Shaylin has no problems being sighted or understanding auras, and consistently uses visual metaphors to describe her True Sight. What was the point in making her ever blind at all?

Why would Nyx welcome back Kalona for basically asking nicely and saying he'll be on her side now, when the crimes he has committed are staggeringly worse than any other character so far? Could Neferet honestly turn around and go "Oops! Sorry!" and be forgiven without consequence?

Conversely, why would Nyx punish her Prophetesses for being catty by making their intuition/visions foggier? She doesn't take gifts away allegedly, and these characters are supposed to be a warning system to Zoey so she can act quickly to prevent or address danger and disasters. Neferet can straight up murder people to increase human-vampyre tensions and push for war without any punishment, but Shaylin is rude one time and is immediately punished for it. That makes no sense.

[sanfl0werrr]

the meaning of love

| part one | x | part three | part four |

you felt weird, like really weird. the ride back home with jaemin was weird. the both of you barely spoke and he looked as if he was so done with everything. it felt as if he didn't want anything to do with you either.

i mean, he could have just rejected me, you thought, why go through all the trouble?

you decided to not think about it anymore. the run in with the dreamies were too weird, and it was probably the first and last time you will ever interact with them. at least you hoped it was.

just as you were about to leave the house, your mother called out to you, "i don't see wonwoo anymore. did you have a fight with him?"

you rolled your eyes, "no, i didn't. there's rumours that he's dating someone now. i don't know who's the lucky girl though."

"y/n doesn't need any man! she has me," your little brother ran to hug you, with his arms wide open.

"that's right, my little prince! i only need you," you kissed him on the cheek as you carried him up.

"what about me, princess?" your father coughed from behind the newspaper, "i'm practically the first man you love."

both you and your mother looked at each other and laughed, "well, someone's craving for some love."

"i'm going now. bye!" you shouted as you put your shoes on.

--

the rumours of wonwoo having a girlfriend was spreading like wildfire in school. no matter where you went; canteen, garden or even the toilet; you will keep hearing about it.

you sighed. your heart was hurting after all, and the fact that everyone was talking about it, made it worse. it was as if you were invisible, like you weren't the one who's been next to him all these while. everyone dismissed your existence now that wonwoo has a girlfriend.

break came, and when it was break, wonwoo would usually find you to eat together. ever since the rumour had spread, he no longer finds you anymore. so, you secluded yourself in the music room at the end of the hallway.

you entered the music room, finding solace in the silence as you sat down in front of the piano. wonwoo and you would usually hang in the music room from time to time, just catching up or even talking about random topics.

the music room was also one of the reasons why you fell for him. because when two people spend so much time together, they're bound to be alike. that was what happened to you and wonwoo, the both of you were inseparable.

remember when you told me you liked the colour green? you smiled to yourself, remember when you told me you wanted to write?

remember you told me you wouldn't leave me? your smiled faltered, remember you told me you loved me?

"it was probably as friends, though," you sighed.

"as friends? what is?" a voice boomed from behind you.

you jumped in shock, "oh god, make a noise! you nearly killed me!"

"you're exaggerating," you could sense the sarcasm in his tone.

you turned around to give the boy a piece of your mind, but you didn't expect it to be him, out of all people.

"jaemin?" you squealed.

"cat got your tongue?" he raised his brows.

before you could even say anything, the rest of the dreamies entered the room.

"y/n is here!" chenle shouted excitedly.

"luck is not on my side today," you huffed.

"what do you mean by that? we're the best you've got!" donghyuck snapped in fingers.

"i suddenly don't feel so good," you joked as you grabbed your unfinished lunch, trying to get away.

"she just called you thanos!" jisung laughed really hard, slapping mark's and jeno's arms.

"jisung!" both of them shouted in unison.

you were just about to escape the chaotic scene until someone closed the door shut from behind you.

"going somewhere?" jaemin voiced out.

you turned around, his tall figure hovering above you, "yes, i'm trying to get away."

"why!?" chenle questions you, very loud.

"i mean, aren't i intruding? seems like the music room is your hangout place," you shrugged.

"y/n... come sit with us. like chenle said yesterday, you're always welcome to hang with us," mark softens.

"why is mark so soft towards y/n? suspicious," donghyuck scratches his chin.

"yucks, i can't get used to mark being soft," jeno chides in.

"mark, i didn't know you had a crush on me," you cooed.

"oh god, y/n! stop teasing me so much. you always do that during our committee meetings!" he shrieked, "not here too, please."

you laughed, "i'll try."

the moment you looked up, your eyes made contact with jaemin's. you didn't realise how pretty he looked up close, almost too sinful to be that beautiful. you blushed momentarily and looked away, walking to take a seat to finish your lunch.

as you sat down, jaemin plopped next to you immediately after that. you looked around to see that there were a few other seats available, but didn't really heed much attention.

"so, y/n! do you like games?" renjun started the conversation.

"mobile games? not so. arcade games? hell yeah," you grew excited the moment you mentioned arcade.

jeno placed a hand on his heart, acting offended. you just laughed and stuck your tongue out as a joke.

"let's go to the arcade after school, then!" chenle suggested.

"that's very impromptu though," you widen your eyes.

"you don't like it?" renjun asked.

"hell no, i love it! let's go! i'm so excited!" you danced a little, out of excitement.

the rest of the dreamies laughed, except for jaemin. he tried stifling his smile, because he found you really cute and all he wanted was to squish your cheeks. not that you know anything though.

--

you were just fidgeting in class, and knowing that you're gonna go to the arcade right after that you couldn't control the excitement.

"ms y/n. i will have you know that my class hasn't ended yet," the teacher voiced out.

the bell rang right after that, signalling the end of class.

"well, it has now," you winked at the teacher.

you spranced out the door to get some of the things out of the locker that was needed for the weekend.

"arcade! let's get it," you whispered to yourself.

just as you closed your locker, someone called out to you. you turned around to see who it was and it was none other than, jeon wonwoo. right next to him was a girl, whom you assume to be his girlfriend.

"y/n!" wonwoo greeted you excitedly.

"oh, hey!" you forced a smiled.

"i know i've been missing in action a lot and i know you've probably heard the rumours and i'm super sorry for the late introduction!" he clasped his hands together, hoping you'd forgive him, "her name's aera, and she's my girlfriend!"

and those assumptions were correct.

"finally, jeon wonwoo! i've been dying to know who's the lucky girl!" you took his hands and jumped around gleefully, while your heart literally broke into a million pieces yet again.

"i wanted you to be the first one to know and i'm sorry for keeping this from you. you're my best friend," wonwoo smiled.

you're my best friend, he said.

"o-of course! you're my best friend too," you repeated to assure him but it somehow left a bitter taste in your mouth.

"let's catch up soon, y/n!" wonwoo waved goodbye.

looking at their silhoutte fading away, your tears threatened to fall any minute. i thought i told you to suck it up, you said to yourself again, suck it up!

he isn't worth any tears, you tried brainwashing yourself again, but the tears fell anyway.

you ran to the music room. you didn't care if anyone saw you or judged you, but you kept running. you just needed to be alone.

the moment you slammed the door open, you were face-to-face with 7 familiar faces.

"y/n?" chenle whispered.

"oh my god, what happened?" donghyuck tried to come closer.

you stepped back, shock evident on everyone's faces, including yours.

"i-i have to go, i'm sorry," you ran away.

"y/n!" you heard jaemin calling out to you.

you ran till you reach the one place with no memories of wonwoo and you together; dream book cafe.

with a heavy breathing, you tried to make yourself comfortable at the restricted section that was located at the end of the room. you hated that you cried easily, and the fact that you've fallen deeply in love with your best friend.

everyone said don't ever fall for your best friend, and you could see why now. there wasn't any guarantee that he/she will love you back. you only realised that now, which sucks.

"y/n?" a voice call out to you.

you immediately looked up and widen your eyes, "h-how did you know i was here?"

"i live around here remember? and you mentioned this cafe once before," jaemin sighed.

he came closer and sat right next to you, "wanna tell me what happened?"

"n-no," you stuttered.

"really?" he asked once again.

you hiccup, "n-no."

jaemin chuckled, "come here."

he placed his hand over you, making you lean onto his broad shoulder.

"are you comfortable?" he peered into your face, making sure that you're okay.

you nodded, "very comfortable, thanks to you."

jaemin chuckled once again, "so, do you wanna tell me why you were crying?"

you waited and contemplated for a little while, wondering if you should opened up to jaemin. i mean, he was actually the one who didn't talk to you, but also, what's the harm in letting him know.

you breathed in, wondering how to start, "um, well.. i like someone, and he turns out to be my best friend."

you looked at jaemin, and he was staring back at you, listening to every word you were saying.

"maybe it's more than just a like. maybe it's love, but i don't know. we've spent every day together and doing things together and that made me grown to like him so much, so the thought of us being together most of the time was never really weird. i thought maybe we had a chance together, until i saw his girlfriend."

you paused again, and you felt jaemin hugging you tighter.

"his girlfriend was so pretty and they really look compatible together. maybe, it was just me, being my delusional self, you know. wonwoo deserved way better and i can never match up to him, i would never. i was never meant to be loved by him but i wanted him to love me badly."

"you're fine the way you are, y/n. my words probably won't be of any comfort but, believe me when i say you deserve just as much love as wonwoo. maybe even more. the love you give to people is the love you're definitely gonna get back. wonwoo's girlfriend is pretty, you say? i think you're even more stunning and charming than anyone i've met."

you didn't dare to look up to meet his eyes. you didn't want him to see you've became a mess, a blushing mess. it wasn't even a confession, you know it, but it drove you mad, a wreck.

from then on, you knew things will never be the same.