#brought to you by randomly thinking about it when I scrolled past a painting just now

[failed-version-of-both]

I know it's probably 101 level reading or whatever, but White by Richard Dyer was so eye-opening to me...you can never unsee it it's everywhere

[violetsoju]

page 30彡★

kageyama tobio · fluff · 3.2k

a/n: came up w this idea based on a tiktok vid of this trend that randomly popped up on my feed (which i can't find anymore T_T) do let me know if you enjoyed it! ❤️

“Hey, Tobio.”

The mop of raven hair doesn’t look up to you, eyes fixated on the jiggly onsen tamago on top of the curry tonkatsu.

“There’s this new trend going on.”

He hums in response, fingers gripping onto a pair of wooden chopsticks, manoeuvring the fragile soft lump towards the spoon. Just a few more steps till being cradled snugly in the deep end of the cool ceramic spoon.

“And we’re gonna learn the moves and film it right here after this.”

His fingers twitch. One of the long pointy chopsticks loses its cool and stabs the tamago right in the core, streaks of yellow bleeding across the crisp golden brown tonkatsu. Its counterpart desperately tries to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, but too much yolk has been lost, and more jabs were made in the frantic rescue mission. Not even the string of ‘shit’ muttered could save the day. So long, dear onsen tamago.

You’re finally met with piercing blue eyes glaring at you.

“No. And look at what you did to my onsen tamago.”

“You should’ve scooped it up with your spoon instead of pushing it with your chopsticks. Common sense much?” You thank the waitress for the hot steaming tempura udon. “Plus, you’re supposed to break the yolk and coat the luscious essence over your rice, unless you’re a freak and eat it in one go.”

Kageyama’s scowl softens when a piece of fried tempura lands in his bowl in exchange for a piece of tonkatsu. A glint of delight gleams in the two pair of eyes at the first bite of delicious food, taste buds tingling in satisfaction.

It’s a rainy Wednesday night. And rainy nights call for warm comfort food to make up for the gloomy wet weather brought by the pitter patter parade of fat rain droplets. So after a spontaneous text message, here you are, with an old close friend of yours, inside a small cosy shop hidden in an alleyway without any prior arrangements.

“And let me repeat myself. I’m not going to do any dumb dance trends with you again.” Kageyama restates his point firmly.

“Come on, you had so much fun the last time! Even Tsukki sent a good job sticker in the group chat.” You reason.

“You mean he enjoyed seeing me almost tripping over my feet.”

“That was the highlight, to be honest.”

He smacks your chopsticks away with his at your attempt to snag another piece of tonkatsu, not giving in into your pout.

“Anyway, I was just kidding. You’re in luck this time because it’s not a dance trend.”

Kageyama raises an eyebrow at you suspiciously, tilting his head to ask you to continue on.

“This time it’s a trend where you grab your nearest book, turn to page 30, and the first sentence will describe your love life. Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Just when I thought you’ve outgrown these ridiculous nonsenses.”

“Says the one who still insists on drinking a box of strawberry milk before matches.” You jab your chopsticks towards his direction accusingly.

“That’s different because it actually works. And it’s good.” He counterattacks by returning your gesture.

“I hate to say this but, point taken.”

He triumphantly snickers as you sigh in defeat.

“Aren’t you curious on how my love life is described?” You question, blowing off the steam from your spoon full of udon.

Kageyama chomps on another piece of pork cutlet, unamused at your question. “If you’re generous enough to share, I’d be honoured.”

“‘He smiles’”

“What?”

“That’s the first sentence on my page 30. ‘He smiles’.” You reply matter-of-factly, taking a sip of your hot green tea.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” His brows knit in confusion, hands momentarily forgetting the spoonful of curry rice in hand.

“Use your imagination, Tobio. Awaken your romantic cells.” You gesture with your hands dramatically, earning a deadpan look from the boy seated across you.

“Does it mean whoever’s smiling is the love of your life? Or someone who’s always smiling?” Kageyama rests his cheek against his left knuckle, trying to connect the dots together.

“Well-“

“Wait a minute! Don’t tell me it’s Suga-san. Because if it is, I won’t allow it because Suga-san is way too good for you.”

He yelps as you not-so-accidentally dip your chopsticks stained with broth into his green tea.

“Shush, we both know how much Suga-san adores me. And everyone else.” You smugly take another bite of your fried tempura as he frowns in disgust after drinking the now broth infused green tea.

“I guess it’s feeling of love at the sight of his smile? Like feeling all warm and fuzzy seeing him smile.”

“Is there someone who makes you feel that way with their smile?”

You swirl the udon with your chopsticks mindlessly for a moment. “Maybe there is.”

You look up to the pair of blue eyes staring back at you, holding the intense gaze firmly, neither side backing down to break the tension.

“Do I know him?” Kageyama falters, a hint of anxiousness cracks in his voice.

“Since when were you so interested in my love life?” You laugh awkwardly, hoping to conceal your nervousness.

Despite the surrounding bustling chatter, the world suddenly falls painstakingly silent, with the irregular beats of two young hearts thumping deafeningly and out of rhythm.

The raven-haired boy succumbs first, looking back down to his half empty bowl. You continue swirling your bowl of udon, mentally slapping yourself at your answer and cracking your head to come up with something to save the mood.

“Well, I could help to scan him for you, if you want. Boys know boys better after all,”

You snap back up to look at the boy seated across you, eyes not meeting yours. This is a surprise.

“Plus, you can save the tears and snot to yourself because I might not be free to attend to your midnight crying sessions. If it really happens.”

A surge of warmth radiates throughout your body at his words. Definitely not from the hot bowl of udon.

Kageyama still has his eyes on the bowl before him, looking anywhere else but you. He tries to keep himself busy by scooping more rice, groaning as he further destroys the onsen tamago, unaware of the faint blush painting his cheeks. Definitely not from the hot bowl of curry, too.

“Don’t worry, he isn’t a jerk. I’m sure you’ll like him too.” You chuckle, adjusting your chopsticks to pick up more udon.

Oh, Kageyama Tobio, what exactly should I do with you.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽.* :☆ﾟ. ───

Scroll. Refresh. Switch apps. Repeat. Sigh.

You’ve been stuck in this constant loop for the past hour. Instead of getting much needed sleep for the next day, you subject yourself to the chains of the device held in your hand, despite the drooping eyelids and strained arm muscles.

What’s so fascinating about social media anyway? If it’s not friends or random acquaintances posting sinful food pics of ootds, it’d be someone ranting about either their work or love life, or memes you’ve already seen before. Sometimes you wonder if you’ve been casted a spell by social media.

Crying out a yelp as the gadget lands right in your face at the slip of your hands, you massage your nose bridge and forehead from the impact, grimacing in pain. It’s not easy being a slave to social media, huh.

Tossing your phone to the side, you roll over to lie flat on your back, sprawled like a star fish on your bed. A long sigh escapes your lips, eyes staring blankly at the bare celling above. Maybe you should really call it a day.

A beep from your phone tells you otherwise.

Tobio [23:17]

I did it. You owe me one box of strawberry milk.

[23:18]

IMG_20210402_961222

You immediately plop yourself up to sit cross-legged on your bed, tapping on the notification to open the message. As expected of Kageyama Tobio, it was a full-page picture of a book, with a small number 30 on the top left-hand corner. But unexpectedly of Kageyama Tobio too, the page wasn’t from those volleyball books or magazines stacked in the corner of his room. Looks like the mini ramble session you gave him on the way to the metro station worked.

“I know volleyball is the love of your life too, but we’re talking about your actual love life here! So no volleyball books or magazines, go rummage Miwa-san’s book shelf for one random romance novel. Just one. She’ll thank me for taking care of your love life.”

Sliding both your thumbs outwards on the screen to zoom in, your lips press together to form an ‘o’, brows arching in fascination at the first sentence.

She knows.

Interesting.

Your fingers dance across the screen swiftly.

me [23:20]

Ohhh interesting. See, it’s exciting, isn’t it?

Tobio [23:21]

I guess so

me [23:22]

Do you think it describes your love life well?

To actually imagine Kageyama Tobio having something that he loves as much as volleyball is, an odd and foreign feeling.

Tobio [23:24]

I’m not sure tbh

me [23:25]

Well spill the tea so I can help you analyse it

Tobio [23:25]

No

You swear you would throw punches at him if he was beside you now.

me [23:26]

Tsk tsk, so who’s the girl you’ve been hiding from me

Tobio [23:27]

Since when were you interested in my love life?

The use of your own words against you has you clicking your tongue in amusement.

You were contemplating between a civil or sarcastic remark when a new message bubble pops up.

Tobio [23:29]

But do you think she knows?

me [23:30]

About what?

Tobio [23:31]

Nvm, forget what I said

Seriously? This conversation is by no means, ending like this. You tap on the video icon on the right-hand corner of the screen hastily.

It takes a few rings for the familiar face to appear on screen, face a little too close to the camera, brows furrowed, lips pursed.

“What the heck, do you know what time it is?” Kageyama huffs in annoyance, running his fingers through his dishevelled black hair.

“Says the one who sent me such juicy information at this hour.” You bend your legs up, resting your hand on your knees for a better angle.

He throws his head back exasperatedly, muttering something inaudible along the static noise from the speakers, resting his head on a wooden frame you recognise. He still hasn’t changed his bed that he has long outgrown, complaining about soreness in his legs and arms that dangle off the edge every night.

“How do you expect me to go to bed with you hanging me like this? You have the worst timing ever.” You raise your hands in protest.

Kageyama buries half of his face in his palm. “I shouldn’t have listened to you.”

“But you get a box of strawberry milk from this! It’s worth it.” You gesture a finger gun to him knowingly.

He moves two fingers away from his face, peeking to see you through the screen like a child. Heaving a long, heavy sigh, he shifts his weight to sit up properly, half of his face still cradled in his palm.

“So, ‘she knows’, huh. Back to your question. What do you think she knows?” A tinge of excitement and fear bubble up your throat.

Kageyama avoids your gaze, looking to the side. “Well, I mean, about my, er- my feelings, I guess?”

“You mean your heart.”

The sentence has his eyes back on you, vivid blue eyes clouded by the shadows of dimly lit room.

“Yeah, uhm, well, I guess.” His voice trails off.

“Well, have you told her before?” You keep your voice steady.

“No, of course.” His words come out like a whisper.

“Then how is she going to know without any words or actions?” It comes out like a blunt statement, but somewhere deep down, a wave of relief washes over you.

“But I’m always there for her. Whenever she needs me, wherever she is, I try my best to be there for her,” Passionate flames ignite across the vast blue ocean. “I know something is on her mind when she bites the insides of her cheeks, when she flicks the tip of her thumb with her index finger constantly, or when she plays with the piercings on her ears. I’m not one with words, but I stay by her side when she needs me to, listening to her rambles or vents, or wiping away tears that stain her cheeks soft like mochi.

“I set notifications the night before to give her morning calls during her exams or important days because she tends to snooze the alarm on days like these. I always have extra band-aids ready on hand because she always somehow cuts and hurts herself, which hurts my heart too. Heck, I even learn ridiculous things that would be the death of me just for her, because nothing compares to the sparkle in her eyes when she flashes her precious smile, brighter than the sun that takes my breath away every time. I-”

Kageyama stops midway, face painted with horror as if he just let out a million-dollar secret. Panic flares in his eyes, mouth agape in incredulity as his body rigids, dumbstruck with terror by what rolled off his tongue so smoothly. You wonder if the line got disconnected because he turned into a static image, with a full-blown flustered look on his face.

You wave at the screen. “Tobio, you still there?”

It takes a few seconds for the raven-haired boy to snap back to his senses and regain his composure, coughing awkwardly in attempt to calm himself down. Small patches of blush blooming furiously on his cheeks peek out from his hands covering his mouth.

He looks cute.

No, he’s cute.

He’s always been cute.

“I- Er- Ye- Yeah, I’m still here.” Kageyama struggles to find words from his tad-larger-than-average vocabulary vault that has seem to disappear into thin air.

“Gosh, breathe Tobio, breathe. Come on, take a deep breath with me. One, two, three.”

He exhales deeply at the count of three with eyes shut close, hoping that all his jitters have been expelled away in the air.

“There you go. Feel better now?” Your lips tug up gently as the boy on the screen visibly relaxes, shoulders loosening from the tension, face free of creased lines.

He opens his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to adjust his vision before returning a soft smile to you. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

A tranquil silence blankets over the both of you. This time, the steady beats of two young hearts thump in tune like a metronome. Two young souls gaze at each other, basking in the calmness and comfort of the sincere warm smiles that felt so much like home; but too proud to admit they were like lovesick fools, brushing off the feelings that were screaming loudly to be heard, feelings that they were afraid to face.

“Do you think she knows?” It’s a genuine question, one that takes a mountain high of courage to come up with.

“I’m sure she does.” It’s a genuine answer, one that takes a of couple hundred meters of might to emerge from the deep ends of the sea to come up with.

And you both hope that you’re on the same wavelength.

“So back to square one. Who’s the girl?”

“None of your business.”

“Another piece of crap from you and I’ll leave without you at the metro station tomorrow.”

“Sorry.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽.* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you reach the designated exit of the metro station the next day, a pair of eyes as blue as the day immediately catches your attention among the crowd, feet shuffling on its own accord towards them. As if there was a detector sensing your presence within him, the owner of the beautiful pair of orbs turns to you, raising a hand in greeting.

Kageyama gives you a smile, a smile that says, ‘I hope my smile makes you feel warm and fuzzy’.

You smile back at him, with a smile that says, ‘I hope you know that I know your heart’.

It’s hard to shake off the pride to be damned, but the two lovesick fools find themselves discarding it slowly, bit by bit with each step taken, together.

【☾】

Kageyama is a creature of routine. He always has his day planned out in detail and hates it when it doesn’t go according to plan, or when something pops out of the blue. But there are a few which he can make exceptions for. So when he receives your text asking for dinner after his training session, he agrees in a heartbeat.

He felt his heart sink deeply in his guts when you said there was, indeed, someone who made you feel warm and fuzzy with their smile. But who was he to have his say when his status was merely just a close friend?

Miwa thought he had lost it when he barged into her room without notice that night, scanning her bookshelf for novels, specifically of the romance genre. It was more nerve-wrecking than retaking exams back in high school with Hinata while flipping through the pages, and it didn’t help much when he finally found the particular page, with the first line inked in black staring back at him in doubt.

He doesn’t know why he sent the picture of the page to you. What exactly was he expecting?

Worse, he doesn’t even know why he started blabbing about how he was always there for you, how much he cares for you, and how much you mean to him. It all just came out so naturally that he could actually score an A+ for impromptu speaking.

But when your eyes were filled with concern while calming him down instead of making fun of him or pestering him for more, something flutters in his mind. Maybe it was from the rush of adrenaline from before, or maybe it was his heart that had leaped out from his chest taking over. He brings up the question once again, with more confidence this time.

He knows you’re not one to lie with your eyes. And he sees the kindness and honesty in them.

A ray of hope flickers in him.

So today, Kageyama musters up every ounce of courage he has, and tells himself it’s now or never: to close the gap he has longed for so long between two hands that swayed side by side. Instead of retreating his hands away when they brush against yours, he curls the tip of his fingers with yours delicately, as if your fingers would melt at his touch.

He hopes that he made the right decision.

And when your fingers curl back, intertwined with his, he knows he has made the right decision, and that his question has been answered.

She knows.

And the fact that he’s the one behind the smile that makes you go all warm and fuzzy, he swears it feels like he could run for miles and miles without running out of breath, soaring even higher than the clouds in the skies. None of the perfect sets he has set in his lifetime could compare to the satisfaction and bliss he was feeling right now.

Because you had set his life ablaze the moment fate brought the both of you together, and you’re his end game.

[captainsimagines]

“I Could Fall in Love”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you enjoy this little drabble as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cutting it close to midnight on Valentine’s Day but hey, it still counts. xx Moni

BUCKY BARNES X READER DRABBLE

Warnings: none, simply fluff!

Word Count: 3000+

Song Fanfic: Listen and enjoy!

~

     It wasn’t that you hated Valentine’s Day, you just didn’t see it as purely romantic. In your opinion, it was supposed to represent so much more than just romantic love. Friendships, beginnings and endings, the actual historical event, elementary school card giving, baked goods, and a nice dinner for either yourself or in the presence of others. So, no - you didn’t hate it. In fact, you actually quite enjoyed the giddy feeling of seeing other couples go all out for a single day, the sweets that were always available, and the awesome discounts. 

     “Come with us!” Natasha whined, filling up her glass with some oat milk and passing Steve some utensils at the same time. She wasn’t whining excessively, as that wasn’t in her nature, but she did raise her voice as her tone shifted from playful to annoyance. You rolled your eyes and chewed on your bagel, shaking your head dramatically. You plastered on your best grin, but it was overpowered by the massive chunk of bagel in your mouth. So you sat there, stupid bagel-filled grin covering your face, and tiny giggles threatening to escape as Natasha’s face also dropped into a silly one. 

     The rest of the crew was planning on attending a private Valentine’s Day party hosted by a close business partner of Tony’s. It sounded like a lot of fun and a perfect excuse to dress-up, but you had a tiny mission to go on before it. It was not a ‘mission-mission’ so to say- more like a ‘get in, get out, this will literally take two seconds and I could do this any other day’ type of mission. Natasha had given you such a disapproving look when you told her what your actual plans were for tonight, but she expected nothing less. You always had something else up your sleeve. 

     And that you did. 

     Since your mission was a quickie, you would be able to return to the compound before everyone else and bake your special pink cupcakes they all knew and loved. A sweet mixture of vanilla and strawberry, no flavor overpowering the other. You had recently perfected the recipe, only having Natasha and Bucky taste the final product, and because of their genuine surprise and praise, you were ready to bake dozens for everyone proudly.

     She finished her glass and went to wash it. “Still, I think you’re missing out! I hear the food is gonna be great!”

     You shrugged, “Eh, we have food here.”

     You heard Natasha release a tiny scoff, “Please tell me your actual reason before I laugh too loudly and wake everyone up.”

     “I swear, I’ve been putting off this mission for so long that tonight just seemed like the perfect time. Everyone’s occupied- I don’t know. I mean, criminals gotta get laid too, right?”

      Natasha snorted, “That’s very true.” She eyed you suspiciously while drying her glass. 

     “You know, you and Barnes are the only one’s not attending. Obviously, his excuse is that he’s literally on a mission right now but you see my point.”

     “No, I don’t see your point.”

     Natasha smiled, as if secretly knowing your other very valid reason for not attending the party. “We all have dates. You know that if he were here you would be going with him, even as friends. But since you would literally be the only one of us without a date, it seems reasonable you wouldn’t want to attend.”

    Okay, she hit that spot-on. 

    You groaned and lay your arms across the counter dramatically, “Stop, it’s scary how right you are all the time.”

    Natasha laughed and rounded the counter, going over to pat your shoulders. “I’m not making you go. Don’t worry. Just give yourself some self-care and I’ll see you tonight to let you know I got home safe.”

     You nodded and waved goodbye to her, ready to finish the everything bagel you had abandoned. 

          Bucky wasn’t one to dress-up for a night out anymore. He just didn’t have the motivation to do anything unless it involved stake-outs, knitting, painting, and binge-watching some stupid series you were watching. It always happened the same way, too. You would be casually chilling in the main common room of the compound, barely starting the first episode of a new series with stacks of junk food ready for your eager taste buds, when Bucky would randomly come in and ask what you were watching. And the next thing Bucky knew, you two were discussing the hidden elements of The Crown and debating whether a scene actually happened the way it was portrayed. By God, how much Bucky absolutely detested Prince Charles. 

     And you were so determined to knit that sweater for Natasha by her birthday that you came to Bucky’s room five times a day now rather than your usual three. But Bucky was extremely patient, helping you hook the remaining yarn that kept falling off your needles. Each time you pouted over the ‘horrible knot you made’ or when the yarn would tangle, Bucky would grin and tease you about, his stomach twisting pleasurably.

     And each time he would reach over to help you fix it, your heart fluttered ever so slightly. 

     Bucky had actually planned on taking you to that Valentine’s Day party but his mission carried on longer than it was supposed to. Rather than returning a day before the party, he would now be returning towards the middle of it. He wondered if you were still going to go, but he highly doubted it. Not because you had told him explicitly, but because you had joked that if he wasn’t able to go, then ‘why would you bother?’. 

     To see you in that red dress you had jokingly placed over your already clothed body and modeled for him - Yeah, he absolutely hated he was missing this party tonight. 

     His mission had just ended and he was currently on the flight home, resting in his tactical gear but with the headphones you let him borrow in each ear. He chuckled lowly, realizing that most things he had in his possession, whether that be the headphones, hair bands, lotion, and Spotify account, all belonged to you. It brought him some comfort as he fixed himself in his seat, settling on your ‘Love me please?’ playlist to match the special holiday. 

     Lovebug by the Jonas Brothers. Tonight by FM Static. Oh, dozens by Taylor Swift. You’ll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins. And a whole lot of Selena songs. 

     There was one song that caught his attention, as if the title spoke to him. It just made sense. He clicked it, surprised by the upbeat beginning and rhythm of the drums, finally closing his eyes as he heard the melody from the acoustic guitar. 

     He lost count of how many times he replayed that one song as his plane touched land. He quickly woke himself up and gathered his things, ready to jump into a warm shower and watch an episode of The Crown behind your back. The drive to the compound was short and he entered the living quarters somewhat alert. There were no sounds his super soldier ears could hear besides the clicks of keyboards by overtime workers and computers humming. Kind of sad and joyful at once, Bucky realized he was alone for the first time in a long time. Maybe he would try that face mask you had urged him to buy tonight. And those very comfortable pajamas. 

          Ever the procrastinator, you never did go on that mission.

     You were humming along to your Valentine’s playlist as you cracked the eggs into your bowl. You stirred quickly, bowl in your arms and a strike of flour along your unknowing cheek. You had your earphones in, enjoying the solace of such a peaceful night. The mix was coming together nicely and as you waited for the oven to preheat, you took out all of your cupcake supplies to set on the kitchen counter. 

     You could have sworn you heard some noises a few doors down so you took one earphone out to listen closely. At first you heard nothing, but you could have sworn you heard the likes of a toothbrush tapping against a bathroom counter. But as you stood there comically, bowl in your arms and whisk held up like a weapon, you settled on no disturbance. 

     You set the bowl down quietly and ran over to the door, looking down the hallway. Once you saw it was completely empty, you couldn’t contain the grin that spread across your face. You raced back to the kitchen and called for Friday. 

     “Friday? Could you please connect my phone to the living room speakers, please?”

     “Done.”

     You scrolled through your playlist and settled on a song that would for sure damage your vocal cords but delight you nonetheless. 

“I could lose my heart tonight

If you don’t turn and walk away

     You swayed around the kitchen as you traveled to grab each new ingredient, singing at the appropriate level the song called for. 

Because the way I feel I might

Lose control and let you stay

     Bucky had just finished brushing his teeth and putting a warm pair of socks on when he heard Friday play the exact song he had been listening to for the past two hours. At first he wondered if Friday had mistakenly connected his phone to the speakers but realized his phone didn’t even have the Spotify app open. He quickly walked down the cold floors of the hallway, his warm socks somewhat doing their job. He stopped at the living room entrance and leaned his shoulder on the doorway, beaming with a huge grin. 

Because I could, take you in my arms

And never let go

     You twirled around and used the whisk as a microphone, and to both your and Bucky’s surprise, hit every note perfectly. Bucky knew you were a great singer and although he would never admit it, he had heard you singing in the shower quite a few times. It was impossible not to at the level of volume you sang, but each time he would come into your room to grab something random or to ask you a question, he would sit outside the shower door and listen to your angelic voice as it sailed through the steamy air and into Bucky’s ears. But here you were, belting out the exact song Bucky had just learned all the lyrics for on his way home.

I could fall, in love, with you

     It was in that moment that Bucky realized he was in his ‘comfortable pajamas’, which consisted of a loose long sleeve and bottoms set, with a nice dark blue color and white stitching along the pockets and buttons. But the sleeves, incredibly so, were far too long for his arms so he would crunch them up in his palms. And his socks had stripes on them. But he remained still on the door frame, watching you sway to the music and enjoying the scent of your first batch of cupcakes already in the oven.

I could only wonder how touching you

Would make me feel

     You halted immediately when you saw his tall form resting on the door frame, a giant grin plastered on his newly shaven face. You yelped in surprise, putting down the whisk and patting your hands on your little green apron. 

     “Bucky, oh my god! Say something if you’re going to enter a room!”

     Bucky just shrugged, walking over to the kitchen counter, eyes never leaving yours. He leaned over and placed his chin in both his palms, smiling as the music continued playing in the background. “I like this song.”

     You squinted at him, “You know this song?”

     Bucky nodded, holding his hand out now for you to take. “Like I said, I like this song.”

But if I take that chance right now

Tomorrow will you want me still?

     You reached over hesitantly and let Bucky lead you over to the carpet. He wrapped one arm around your waist and rested the other higher up on your back. You wrapped your arms around his neck, allowing for his large frame to sway you both to the rhythm of the song. 

     “Nice pajamas.”

     “Shut up.”

     The room was dimly lit, cupcake aroma circling you two, and his snuggly pajamas seemed to also provide you the warmth you were previously getting from the oven. You smiled up at him, low giggles emitting from your lips. He did the same, enjoying the feel of your body pressed up against his. 

So I should, keep this to myself

And never let you know

     “When did you get back?” you asked, reaching up to touch his shaven cheek. You were undoubtedly curious about the feeling.

     Bucky let you roam your hand all over, “About an hour ago. I didn’t think anyone was here.”

     You chuckled, “I am! I told you I wasn’t going to bother going to that party if my plus one wasn’t coming!”

     Bucky lifted his arm and twirled you slowly, happy that you followed his lead. “So, I’m your plus one now?”

     You rolled your eyes, “Always.”

I could fall, in love, with you

     “How did you even hear about this song?” you asked, hands now resting comfortably on Bucky’s chest. He had his arms wrapped around you, hugging you to his chest as you two swayed. 

      “We share a Spotify account, doll.”

     “Yeah, but it’s a love playlist. Were you just in the mood for some ballads and stumbled across this one?”

      “Exactly. It’s quite the tearjerker.”

And I know it’s not right

And I guess I should try

To do what I should do

     He looked so relaxed at this moment, fresh and calm, enjoying the dance he pulled you into. He was resting his chin on the top of your head so you felt his little puffs of air escape his nostrils. And as he breathed in, you could feel his chest rise and lower below your palms. You were tempted to reach up and grab his face, pull him into yourself and share a sweet kiss, but you decided against it. For some reason you knew that this was different. You had snuggled before during naps or binge watching, but they never had a romantic undertone. And if you acted upon your desires, you were frightened it just might ruin your friendship. It took you two years to build up such a rapport with this man, and dare you say you were extremely proud to harbor some of his deepest secrets, and him yours. But his breathing calmed you immensely, as if the gentle rhythm was enough to put you to sleep, and you wondered if he was thinking about the same thing. 

But I fall in love, with you

So I should, keep this to myself

And never let you know

     Bucky seemed to hug you tighter as the lyrics encircled the room. Over the last few weeks he had felt a shift in your relationship, where sharing food was no longer as innocent as it seemed, barging into each other’s room was not seen as drastic, and partaking in each other’s hobbies was never a bore. Steve had commented on it before, asking Bucky if there was something between you two. And Bucky confided in both Steve and Sam, hands pulling at his hair as he paced in a safe room and his friends sitting patiently on the lone couch. They let him act out his worries in peace, and once Bucky tired himself out they both explained how he should ask you out or how to bring up the topic with you. Bucky listened intently and pushed down the tiny voice in his head that joked about Steve being the one to give him romantic advice. But if he ended up with you on his arm after this little pep talk, it would all be worth it. 

     But now the song was coming closer to its end, and he knew that if he didn’t act now then he probably wouldn’t have the courage to bring it up ever again. He leaned down to your left ear, and whispered the lyrics to you. In Spanish. 

Siempre estoy soñando en ti

Besando mis labios, acariciando mi piel

Abrazándome con ansias locas

Imaginando que me amas

Como yo podía amar a ti

[I am always dreaming of you

Kissing my lips and touching my skin

Anxiously hugging me

Imagining that you love me

Like how I love you]

     You knew Bucky knew several languages. You knew. But it made you incredibly excited and hot that he specifically knew Spanish. He spoke in such a gentle manner, breath hitting your skin and voice practically drowning your mind. It was all foggy for a moment, but you quickly refocused your attention on his face. 

     “Oh, wow.”

      Bucky smiled, “What?”

     You scoffed and swatted his chest lightly, “Don’t ‘what’ me! You just confessed you like me!”

     Bucky pushed you away for another twirl under his arm, but kept you at arms length once you turned around. “No, I confessed I love you.”

     You stumbled slightly, staring at him with wide eyes. You thought about how absurd that confession was, but as quickly as that thought entered your mind, it left - because let’s face it, you did know each other for over two years and were best friends. This was right. This felt right. 

     “You love me?”

     Bucky breathed in deeply but your reaction didn’t change his mind. It was now or never. “Yeah, I do. Seemed like the moment to tell you.”

     You grinned, pushing your body forward to be engulfed by his strong arms once more. “And to think you could have just told me at this damn party when I was looking all hot without freaking flour on my face.”

     Bucky let out a loud laugh that originated from the pit of his stomach and reached his hands up to your face. He pulled you in and kissed you sweetly, the taste of your lip gloss driving him wild. He tasted like toothpaste and chapstick, a perfect combination for your superhero. 

     “I love you, too.” Bucky let his eyes close in complete bliss. 

     You could have stayed like that forever, but as you left his lips and looked up at him, you suddenly remembered you never set a timer. 

     You pushed Bucky away, your sudden strength sending him backwards onto the couch. “My cupcakes!”

      And as you rushed to pull the burnt tops from the oven, you could hear Bucky slide off the couch and hit the floor, his laugh louder than the speakers. 

I could fall, in love

With you.”

~

Happy Valentine’s Day. All the love. xxMoni

[ouyangzizhensdad]

I just saw a post saying nhs has an inferiority complex and I'm?? Confused?? I always thought he was fine with being weaker in terms of cultivation, maybe I missed something

Hi anon,

I have to say, I struggle as well to figure out where people are getting this from the text. I think, oftentimes, people don't actually pay attention to what the text provides us in terms of characterisation as a whole, but take elements of what makes the character or which happens to them and simply extrapolate how they themselves would feel in that situation as a means of understanding the character. I can easily imagine how a reader would think: wow, if I had low cultivation in a world that values it (and within a clan that values strength even more so!) and a brother who was not only super strong and admired but who wanted me to fit into that role, and then found myself having to fill his shoes after his sudden death, I'd feel some sort of inferiority complex. I think that's the same reason you see so much people insisting WWX has self-esteem issues.

The thing about NHS is that, as a youth, we never saw him value high cultivation or "academic" achievements (not sure how to otherwise call his time at CR but there is probably a better word for it) or brute strength. He's afraid of consequences from his brother for failing at the CR, as we see here:

Although the brothers were not born from the same mother, their relationship was quite solid. Nie Mingjue had always taught his younger brother with extreme harshness, particularly caring for his studies. This was why, even though Nie Huaisang respected his older brother, he was the most scared of Nie Mingjue mentioning his schoolwork.

and here:

Although he didn’t understand a single bit as he listened in class, Nie Huaisang worked as hard as a slave when the date of the test approached. He copied Virtue two times for Wei Wuxian, and begged before the test, “Please, Wei-xiong, if my grade is lower than yi, my brother would really break my legs! Stuff like telling apart direct lineage, collateral lineage, main clan, clan branches… For us disciples from big clans, we can’t even distinguish our relationships with our own relatives, randomly calling everyone who are more than two tiers away from us aunts and uncles. Does anyone have enough capacity in their brain to remember those of other clans?!”

After thinking for a few moments, an expression of envy and yearning appeared on Nie Huaisang’s face, “To be honest, Wei-xiong’s words were quite interesting. Spiritual energy can only be obtained through cultivation and taking great pains to form a golden core (金丹). It would take I-don’t-know-how-many years to do, especially for someone like me, whose talent seems as if it was gnawed by a dog when I was in my mother’s womb. But, resentful energy are from the fierce ghosts. If they can easily be taken and used, it would be beyond wonderful.”

[...] . If disciple from a prominent clan forms the core at a later age, it would be a disgrace to tell other people of it, yet Nie Huaisang didn’t feel ashamed at all. Wei Wuxian also laughed, “I know, right? No harm comes from using it.”

The only moment that I can find that could tangentially be used to suggest that NHS has an inferiority complex could be this one, where NHS wants to avoid LXC's questioning about how his studies are going (and WWX picking up on his cues like a good friend to redirect the conversation). However, when you consider the whole context of the scene, it’s not because NHS feels self-conscious but because he’s afraid LXC is going to report to his brother that he’s not working hard at his studies:

Lan Xichen turned to him, “Huaisang, a while ago, as I returned from Qinghe, your brother asked of your studies. How is it? This year, will you be able to pass?”

Nie Huaisang replied, “Generally speaking, yes…” He seemed like a wilted cucumber, looking at Wei Wuxian in a helpless way. Wei Wuxian grinned, “Zewu-Jun, what are you two going out for?”

[...] Nie Huaisang also wanted to join in, but he had been reminded of his older brother as he met Lan Xichen. Cringing silently, he didn’t dare to have fun, “I’ll pass and go back so that I can review…” With this act, he hoped that Lan Xichen would put in some good words for him to his brother.

NHS seems very industrious at finding ways not to have to do anything that relates to cultivation or to leading a sect, and that is linked once more to the fact that he does not want to do these things (so not a case where we could say he’s self-sabotaging because he fears failure):

Lan Xichen took Nie Huaisang’s saber into his qiankun sleeve, “Huaisang has been using the excuse that he left his saber at home. Now he will have no excuses for lazing around.”

or here

“Nie Huaisang!”

Nie Huaisang fell at once.

He really did fall to his knees from the terror. He only staggered up after he finished kneeling, “D-d-d-da-ge.”

Nie Mingjue, “Where is your saber?”

Nie Huaisang cowered, “In… in my room. No, in the school grounds. No, let me… think…”

Wei Wuxian could feel that Nie Mingjue almost wanted to hack him dead right there, “You bring a dozen fans with you wherever you go, yet you don’t even know where your own saber is?!”

Nie Huaisang hurried, “I’ll go find it right now!”

[...]

In a hurry, Nie Huaisang dropped a few fans on the ground. Jin Guangyao picked them up for him and put them into his arms, “Huaisang’s hobbies are quite elegant. He’s dedicated to art and calligraphy, and has no propensity for mischief. How can you say that they’re useless?”

Nie Huaisang nodded as fast as he could, “Yes, Brother is right!”

Nie Mingjue, “But sect leaders have no need for such things.”

Nie Huaisang, “I’m not going to be a sect leader, though. You can be it, Da-ge. I’m not doing it!”

or here

Nie Mingjue was on the school ground, teaching and supervising Nie Huaisang’s saberwork in person. He did not acknowledge Jin Guangyao, so he stood at the edge of the field, waiting with respect. Since Nie Huaisang was quite uninterested and the sun was bright, he was rather half-hearted, complaining that he was tired after just a few moves. He beamed as he got ready to go to Jin Guangyao and see what presents he brought this time. In the past, Nie Mingjue would only frown at such things, but today he was angered, “Nie Huaisang, do you want this strike to land on your head?! Get back here!”

If only Nie Huaisang were like Wei Wuxian and could feel how great Nie Mingjue’s rage was, he wouldn’t grin in such a bold way. He protested, “Da-ge, the time is up. It’s time to rest!”

Nie Mingjue, “You rested just thirty minutes ago. Keep on going, until you learn it.”

Nie Huaisang was still giddy, “I won’t be able to learn it anyways. I’m done for the day!”

He often said this, but today Nie Mingjue’s reaction was entirely different from his past reaction. He shouted, “A pig would’ve learnt this by now, so why haven’t you?!”

Never expecting Nie Mingjue to burst out so suddenly, Nie Huaisang’s face was blank with shock as he shrunk toward Jin Guangyao. Seeing the two together, Nie Mingjue was even more provoked, “It’s been one year already and you still haven’t learnt this one set of saber techniques. You stand on the field for just thirty minutes and you’re complaining that you’re tired. You don’t have to excel, but you can’t even protect yourself! How did the QingheNie Sect produce such a good-for-nothing! The both of you should be tied up and beaten once every day. Carry out all those things in his room!”

The last sentence was spoken to the disciples standing by the side of the field. Seeing that they had gone, Nie Huaisang felt as though he was on pins and needles. A moment later, the row of disciples really did bring out all the fans, paintings, porcelain from his room. Nie Mingjue had always threatened to burn his room, but he had never actually burned them. This time, though, he was serious. Nie Huaisang panicked. He threw himself over, “Da-ge! You can’t burn them!”

Noticing that the situation wasn’t good, Jin Guangyao also spoke, “Da-ge, don’t act on impulse.”

Yet, Nie Mingjue’s saber had already striked. All of the delicate objects piled at the center of the field erupted in roaring flames. Nie Huaisang wailed and plunged into the fire to save them. Jin Guangyao hurried to pull him back, “Huaisang, be careful!”

With a sweep of Nie Mingjue’s hand, the two blanc de chine antiques shattered into pieces in his palms. The scrolls and paintings had already turned into dust in a split second. Nie Huaisang could only watch blankly as the much loved items that he had gathered throughout the years vanish into ashes. Jin Guangyao grabbed his hands to examine them, “Are they burnt?”

He turned to a few disciples, “Please prepare some medicine first.”

The disciples answered and left. Nie Huaisang stood at the same place, his entire body trembling as he looked over at Nie Mingjue, pupil encircled by veins. Seeing that his expression wasn’t right, Jin Guangyao put his arm around his shoulders and whispered, “Huaisang, how are you feeling? Stop watching. Go back to your room and have some rest.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes brimmed red. He didn’t even make a sound. Jin Guangyao added, “It’s alright even if the things are gone. Next time I can find you more…”

Nie Mingjue interrupted, his words like ice, “I’ll burn them each time he brings them back into this sect.”

Anger and hatred suddenly flashed across Nie Huaisang’s face. He threw his saber onto the ground and yelled, “Then burn them!!!”

Jin Guangyao quickly stopped him, “Huaisang! Your brother is still angry. Don’t…”

Nie Huaisang roared at Nie Mingjue, “Saber, saber, saber! Who the fuck wants to practice the damn thing?! So what if I want to be a good-for-nothing?! Whoever that wants to can be the sect leader! I can’t learn it means I can’t learn it and I don’t like it means I don’t like it! What’s the use of forcing me?!”

I'm not saying he didn't have a hard time during the first moment of him taking over a leadership role in the sect after the sudden death of his brother (ultimately we can wonder whether the yiwensanbuzhi persona originated then, as he could have felt overwhelmed and actually didn't have the answers needed for the position he didn't prepare for--or whether it was always a pure fabrication to serve his goals), but I don't think we can chalk it up to an inferiority complex.

In the past, Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang studied together, so there were a few things he could comment about this person. Nie Huaisang wasn’t an unkind person. It wasn’t that he was not clever, but that his heart was set somewhere else and used his smarts on other areas, such as painting on fans, searching for birds, skipping classes, and catching fish. Because his talent in terms of cultivation really was poor, he formed his core around eight or nine years later than the other disciples of the same generation as him. When he lived, Nie Mingjue was often exasperated by the fact that his brother didn’t meet his expectations, so he disciplined him strictly. Despite this, he still didn’t improve much. Now, without his older brother protecting and supervising him, under his lead, the QingheNie Sect declined day by day. After he grew up, especially after he became the sect leader, he was often troubled by all kinds of affairs unfamiliar to him and looked for helpers everywhere, mainly his brother’s two sworn brothers. One day he’d go to Jinling Tower to complain to Jin Guangyao, and the next day he’d go to the Cloud Recesses to whine to Lan Xichen. With the two leaders of the Jin and Lan Sects supporting him, he still barely managed to settle on the sect leader position. Nowadays, whenever people mentioned Nie Huaisang, although they didn’t say anything on the surface, the same phrase was written on their faces—good-for-nothing.

And after NHS pieced together what happened to his brother and set out on a path to revenge, I don't see how someone who is so sharp and deceptive and able to reach his goals while hiding behind a facade the entire time would feel "inferior".

[almostkoo]

Blue Moon Rising | Min Yoongi

pairings: yoongi x oc

summary: the past week oc’s roommate, yoongi had been acting strange, being short with them and disappearing quickly when one day oc decides to follow yoongi out to the woods to see what’s going on and discovers a big secret

word count: 1.5k

warnings: language, unedited 🤡

author’s note: sixth spooktober story ! one more and we’re all done !! as always i hope you guys enjoy !!

link to my main masterlist :)

Min Yoongi was odd.

He was a lot of things. Sweet, thoughtful and caring. But odd was definitely up there in the defining traits of him as a person.

You’d coined Yoongi as an odd individual since you had met him about a year ago. He’d place an ad looking for a roommate after his previous one had moved out. He was relatively easy to live with. He did all the cleaning per his request. But was oftentimes never at the apartment. You’d see him there on Tuesdays and Saturdays and that was it. You had only seen him on Tuesdays only but that changed a month into your residence. He’d caught you sitting up on the couch late one night binging some old show that got placed on Netflix, he quietly joined you and it just picked up and the next weekend you found yourself again with Yoongi on the couch and it just continued like that for a while. Until he randomly stopped. Then you caught him on Tuesday sitting at the kitchen counter drinking black coffee when he quietly said:

“I’ll catch you this Saturday.”

So you now currently danced your way around the kitchen, preparing snacks for your Netflix binge. SNSD and SHINee blasted from your portable speaker. Wiggling around the kitchen as you popped popcorn and arranging the various bowls of snacks and candies.

You wiped sweat from off your brow, dancing in a Cinnamoroll onesie was a workout. You brought the bowls into the living room placing them on the coffee table. You sat back on the couch picking up the remote to flip through Netflix waiting for Yoongi to join you.

You sat back toggling the options between Unsolved Mysteries and The Haunting of Bly Manor. The door to Yoongi’s bedroom opened up and he came out in a Kumamon onesie. His black hair was slick down to his head and he looked like he wasn’t feeling well.

“Hey Yoongi if you want we don’t have to binge Netflix today we can just wait until next weekend if you want.” you offered. Yoongi shook his head as he leaned back slowly into the couch, wincing in pain.

“I’m fine. Just a little tired. I’ve skipped out enough with you, it's no problem.” he said, leaning his head back into the cushions.

“Are you sure?” you asked him.

“Yeah it’s fine. What did you pick?”

You hummed. “I’m thinking either Unsolved Mysteries or The Haunting of Bly Manor. But Unsolved Mysteries is longer so I’m not sure if I want to watch that.”

“Just watch The Haunting of Bly Manor. I don’t really like true crime shows that much anyways.” he said, you flipped to the option and clicked play. Looking out the corner of your eyes to check out Yoongi who had his arms tucked into his sides holding onto himself.

About three episodes in and the clock swiftly nearing midnight. You felt yourself getting sleepy but unable to fall asleep. Anytime you felt your eyes start getting heavy with sleep and ready to close Yoongi would start shifting around on the couch in an attempt to get comfortable. How many times could he do that within 15 minutes you had no clue but was slowly getting irritated with his restlessness. You leaned forward grabbing the red bull you had placed on the coffee table, cracking it open and taking a sip.

Before you could finish it you heard soft snores leaving Yoongi’s mouth. Head tilted back, the hood of his onesie covering his eyes. You laid back pulling out your phone to scroll through it, hardly paying attention to the au pair on the tv and the ghosts haunting the manor.

Another three episodes in and you found yourself nodding off again, phone weighing your hand down as you kept falling asleep and waking.

You jumped awake when you felt Yoongi jump up off the couch muttering a “Shit, I gotta leave.” and then dashing out the door not even putting on shoes, slamming the door behind him. The artwork you had framed on the walls rattling in his wake. Yoongi left before you could even get out a word of protest. Scratching your head in confusion. You found yourself trotting over to the door sliding your feet into your sneakers and following behind him.

You ran down the steps to the apartment. Yoongi was nowhere in sight in the apartment. You made it outside, the cold October air made you regret not snatching your jacket off the hook when you left. Your head whipped around until you spotted a black figure with hooded bear ears that you recognized as Yoongi running off into the trees on the side of your apartment. You sighed, you were probably about to run off into the forest to your death. You started running off following behind him.

One thing you didn’t know was that Yoongi was a very fast runner. You found your lungs burning and begging you to stop running when Yoongi came to a stop a few feet away from you, he fell to his knees breathing heavily.

“It’s nice … to know .. that running.. kicked your ass too.” you huffed out in between breaths.

Yoongi’s heavy breaths turned into groans. “Y/n you can’t be here right now. You gotta go.”

“First of all you shouldn’t even be out here you’re gonna get sick. It’s fucking cold out here.” you persisted.

“You shouldn’t be here right now” Yoongi turned around looking at you, his sharp, feline like eyes usually brown glowed a bright gold, taking your breath away. “you gotta leave before something bad happens.”

You couldn’t find the words. But you were confused and definitely binged enough supernatural teen dramas as a youth to grasp what was going on right now. “Uh Yoongi..” you trailed off.

“You gotta leave. I can’t control myself right now. I might hurt you.” Yoongi said, as you caught a glimpse of his elongated canines against his bottom lip, creating a small lisp when he spoke.

“I uh-“ you found yourself stuck, unable to move as Yoongi hunched back over, groaning in pain. “Yoongi, are you alright?” you dumbly asked, finally feeling yourself able to move foot backed behind you ready to run if necessary.

“You need to leave now!” Yoongi yelled, the snapping of bones filling the air. Your feet took off, setting you off balance as you took off stumbling before catching your balance taking you off to your apartment.

You made it back to your apartment. Slamming the door and locking it behind you. Hoping your neighbors didn’t make a noise disturbance complaint against you. You sat down at the counter throwing back the hood of your onesie. Taking deep slow breaths attempting to calm yourself down. What the fuck did you just see? That couldn’t be right. No that was the Red Bull you had that fucked you up. Yeah? That sounds about right. That’s what it had to be. No way that Yoongi was a werewolf. You laughed out loud to yourself. That had to be it. It was your fourth Red Bull after all. You’d only drunken two in a day before. Four obviously had to be testing your limits and making you hallucinate weird shit. Yeah. You thought to yourself, laying your head against the counter, drifting off to sleep contempt with the story you told yourself.

You woke up to a soft knocking at the door. Your eyes blinked open as you got up going to the door. Looking through the peephole was Yoongi, you opened the door quietly letting him in. His Kumamon onesie was tattered and ripped in some spots, his hair was all over his head making him look more disheveled than he already was . He sat at the kitchen counter and you went around to join him sitting on the other side. You sat there for a few moments waiting for the silence to break.

You cleared your throat. “So uh, last night was weird.” Yoongi coughed, eyes darting around the room.

“I’m not human.” he sighed.

“You know I was really hoping last night was a Red Bull fever dream.” you ran your hands down your face.

“I tried hiding it from you for as long as I could. It’s been.. hard? Controlling this side of me. Everything is still so new and I tried staying away but everyone needs human contact.” he whispered, the last part. Your shoulders dropped, as you felt yourself grow sad for him.

“When did this happen?” you asked.

“My old roommate bit me. Then skipped town and left. I have no one to teach me how to go through all of this. I’m just dealing with it the best way I can.” Yoongi held his head in his hands a frown painting his features.

“Well I know I don’t know anything about this at all” you said, reaching across the counter to grab his hands. “we can get through this rough patch together. We’re friends, I got your back.” you said, softly. Yoongi looked up, a subtle smile on his face.

“It gets ugly at times.” he said.

“I imagine it would. That’s okay though. But this can’t repeat itself. I don’t like being scared out of my mind. I almost dirtied up my favorite onesie.” You and Yoongi laughed.

“Things will get better from now on. Since I have your help.” he smiled.

“Yes they will. Let’s keep being optimistic.”

[thebestplltheories]

Hello! I loved the finale, and I loved the season! I'm really hoping there's a second season (with some serious re-branding). Before episode nine, I sent in a theory through the submit box, and I was just wondering if you'd seen that or if it had gotten lost in the shuffle. Just trying to do my part in making the fandom a healthier, more positive place with some theorizing! :)

Omg yes I saw that! It’s just at the bottom of my message box that I keep forgetting to scroll down enough to post it. Thanks for the reminder! Let me post it here for everyone to enjoy. I’ll read it later today, I’m excited!

Let’s look through Taylor’s timeline (with included analysis) up until the day of Nolan’s death:

According to Claire, despite Taylor’s and Nolan’s close relationship as children, Taylor never trusted anyone, including Nolan. If Taylor felt that Nolan was turning against her by wanting to reveal that she was alive to an outsider, would their unity fall apart? As Claire says, both Alison and Taylor are survivors at any cost. While we can’t always trust Claire’s perspective on her children, we can use our understanding of Alison’s character to better understand Taylor. We know that Alison is a survivor, and we’ve seen her ensure her own survival over others in the past. It’s not a leap to say that Taylor would do the same.

At some point in the past, Taylor “snapped.” Taylor says to Claire: “I snap and you come out smelling like roses. Just like last time.” We don’t know for sure what Taylor is referencing here, but this does show that Taylor has struggled with mental health in the past.

At some point during Taylor’s time at BHU, she befriended Ray Hogadorn. This friendship inspired Ray to write “They’re 👀” on her wall as a warning once he realized that something was wrong with Beacon Guard. Was this a personal warning or an overall warning to inspire Taylor to look into the situation?

Taylor became paranoid and occasionally delusional once she began teaching according to Claire. Because this is coming from Claire’s perspective, it could be doubted that Taylor really was paranoid rather than responding with caution to a real situation. However, we have had signs that Taylor snapped before (as Taylor referenced herself). Interestingly, Mason notes that Nolan also changed upon attending BHU. Something about BHU really impacted both Taylor and Nolan. This information raises questions: Was Taylor’s paranoia and delusion before or after Ray Hogadorn’s warning? Is this a hint that Taylor is dangerous? Did BHU have this effect only on Taylor and Nolan, and if so, why them?

A year ago, Taylor faked committing suicide as a way to escape the attention of her family and Beacon Guard. She told Alison that the “real reason” she ran away was because someone tried to kill her. This is of course potentially true, but I find it to be an interesting cover story. If Taylor ran away because someone tried to kill her, she is painted in the light of a victim. This immediately makes her seem more trustworthy. However, in the one conversation we 👀 between her and Nolan, it doesn’t seem like Taylor ran away for this reason. It seems more like the system at large is a threat.

During the year Taylor is gone, she and Nolan tried to find evidence to bring down Beacon Guard, but we don’t know why they’re trying to do this or what kind of evidence they’re trying to find. It’s worth noting that Alison comments to Mona that she feels something is wrong with the campus–something worse than a murder and fake suicide. This seems to align with there being more to Beacon Guard than meets the eye, as Taylor and Nolan know since they were actively trying to find evidence of this corruption. Does Taylor know exactly what is wrong, or was she simply trying to find any evidence that spoke of corruption? It’s notable that Taylor has not told Alison that she and Nolan were working on this project together. Her whole focus has been on “someone tried to kill me!” and “I need to find who killed Nolan!” There is a lot she has not been upfront with Alison about.

The day Nolan dies, he and Taylor meet up. After Nolan asks to 👀 Taylor (why?), Taylor seems to disagree because Nolan had been put under surveillance and it wouldn’t be safe if they met up. However, Nolan assumes that this means Ava has also been put under surveillance and pushes that he and Taylor need to meet. During this meeting, Nolan becomes dissatisfied with his and Taylor’s process in bringing down Beacon Guard (he’s 😟 for Ava’s safety) and argues with Taylor that they should bring in an outside source (Alison), which Taylor is adamantly against because she doesn’t feel safe. However, Nolan makes it clear that he’s going to do it anyway. Taylor responds by sheepishly agreeing and gives Nolan a very interesting hug. Even in the first episode, this hug felt significant–like Taylor is saying goodbye to her brother.

Now let’s break down what happened during Nolan’s death scene:

Nolan has decided, with Taylor’s unwilling acceptance, that he’s going to bring Alison into their group in order to bring down Beacon Guard. Presumably, Nolan and Taylor come up with the exact plan together of how to talk with Alison safely without revealing their entire ✋. Nolan texts Alison to meet him on the roof, and Taylor turns off Beacon Guard in that area so the conversation will be private. This means that Taylor knows that the roof is a safe place for her to be without being seen.

When the killer arrives, Nolan can only 👀 their silhouette and maybe some vague features because they stand directly in front of the bright light. This tells us that Nolan would have been immediately suspicious of the killer if he had been able to 👀 them.

Despite Nolan revealing very protected, sensitive information (that Taylor is in fact alive), he is sure enough that he’s talking to Alison that he reveals this information before getting a full look at the killer. It doesn’t make sense that Nolan would start talking without thinking he absolutely knew who he was talking to (based on his character’s attributes). However, it makes sense that Nolan would have thought he was talking to Alison if he was actually talking to her look-alike, Taylor. In silhouette form, Nolan would have seen long, blonde hair and very similar facial features.

The killer reveals themselves (stepping away from the light) immediately after Nolan says that Taylor is alive. If this is anyone other than Taylor, it makes more sense that they would have kept listening. This would have been huge  news that they could have gotten more information about! However, if the killer is Taylor, it makes sense that this would have been when she would have attacked. She had her evidence that Nolan was going to “out her.” As we discussed above, Taylor is a survivor at all costs and she is shown to be extremely fearful of being the “⚰️ girl who’s not ⚰️ anymore.” Taylor also knows who Alison is and why Claire brought Alison to Beacon Heights. Most likely, as someone trying to stay unseen, this would have made her feel hunted and more paranoid than ever. At what point would she turn against Nolan to protect herself?

Of course, we know Alison doesn’t reveal the text until the next day because of a partial Beacon Guard shutdown around Alison’s 🏠, the roof where Nolan is killed, and a few other cameras. We know that Taylor is behind the roof shutdown, meaning we know that Taylor is capable of causing a larger shutdown as well. It’s quite a coincidence that other cameras are shutdown, allowing a safe route for Taylor to travel the campus. It’s quite a coincidence that Alison doesn’t receive the text because of her home’s shutdown. If Taylor knew that she might kill Nolan, she absolutely wouldn’t want Alison to randomly show up. Plus, stopping Nolan from revealing her secret in the first place is the whole reason she would have gone to potentially kill Nolan. As Alison says later to Mona, “there is no such thing as coincidences.”

A few additional observations:

Mona is locked out of Beacon Guard for suspicious activity that she later discovers came from a single source. We never learn what this suspicious activity is exactly, just that Mona initially assumed Beacon Guard didn’t appreciate her trying to solve Nolan’s murder. I would bet that source is Taylor’s RV. What was the suspicious activity?

Two things from Mona’s perspective: first, Mona tells Alison that Nolan is dangerous because he has the ability to push a student to the snapping point. We 👀 Nolan push Taylor past her preferred safety system. Second, Mona tries to use her Beacon Guard algorithm to discover which student snapped enough to kill Nolan but was unable to find anyone. Of course, Taylor wouldn’t have come up because she would no longer be active in the system.

Taylor has shown lots of suspicious behavior. The biggest incident that immediately springs to mind is the fact that she’s trying to manipulate Alison into giving her the evidence against Booker. If Taylor is the killer, it makes sense that she wouldn’t want Booker to be stopped. Booker is doing a great job of keeping everyone focused away from who murdered Nolan, frantic, and potentially pinning Nolan’s murder on someone else. Taylor would want to do everything she could (like destroy the evidence) to keep Booker doing what she’s doing.

Dylan, Caitlyn, and Ava are talking about their belief that Booker is behind everything when Dylan briefly mentions Taylor’s suspicious behavior and her access to Beacon Guard. The script immediately cuts him off and then Booker shows up to take the audience’s attention off his statement. This is interesting.

This show has gone out of its way to show two aspects of Alison’s character: first, that she used to be a mean girl capable of deception and manipulation and second, that she has now changed and wants a drama-free, trustworthy life. The show has also gone out of its way to connect Alison and Taylor’s personalities. I think the show is doing something very interesting with this. Basically, they have created a gemini character. Alison is the good side while Taylor is the bad side. Taylor’s mean girl persona has been brought up by Claire, and we’ve seen it in how Taylor immediately treated Mona (calling her short, saying she should wear a 🛎️, etc.). This is a study of how the “same” person can choose two different paths.

I’m unsure if Taylor is the ultimate big bad, but I do think she is the one who killed Nolan. Personally, if she is the killer, I hope that she’s not also the big bad. I would 💛 to 👀 the dichotomy between someone who did a horrible thing but who is still fighting against a corrupt or dangerous system. Like Booker noted about Alison, she’s a complex character. I’m sure the same can be said then for Taylor.

[rosegardentwilight]

Don’t Miss a Beat

Summary:  Marinette didn’t know what Alya said to convince her to join greek life. But here she was about to be called up as part of her initiation and karaoke in front of all these strangers- the only comfort was an alcoholic drink for courage and the stimulating conversation with a blond guy in a black cat hoodie.

A.n.- The second I got this as my summer santa, I went to work and I really like how this turned out. Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you to Whim, who betaed this! You are amazing!

Pairing: Ladynoir

This was crazy. Marinette didn’t know what she was doing here, dressed ridiculously about to get on a stage and sing in front of a bunch of people. The blame belonged solely to Alya, who dragged her along for moral support, but now it was growing on her. Marinette had to admit some parts of Greek life were fun, and she had met some great friends. After this week, all of these ridiculous hazing tasks, she would be welcomed into the sorority with open arms. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to barge into a cafe and recite her ABC's, or grab a random guy at 10 pm to and bring him as a date.

She walked into the bar, at least by the sound of it; she wasn’t the only one making a fool of herself. The girl on the stage was singing an off-key rendition of Dancing Queen. Marinette grabbed an open table towards the middle of the bar while Alya headed straight for the bar to buy them drinks.

“Nervous?” Marinette turned her head to see a college-aged blonde holding two drinks in his hands and a smile that stretched for days. “Do you need some liquid courage?”

“My friend is getting me some.” Although cute, Marinette didn’t make a habit of taking drinks from strangers.

“The redhead at the bar? This is from her; she asked me to deliver this for her.”

Marinette’s eyes wandered past him in time to see her best friend flirting with a guy at the counter. Even with the distance, she could see the blatant motions for her to make a move on the guy standing there.

“Thanks.” Rules were made to bend sometimes, and she did need the help. With one motion, Marinette downed the drink.

“So your sorority decided to use animals as part of their torture?”

Marinette winced, she thought the makeup was a bit over the top, but her future sister applied it, and she was hardly in a place to protest.  

“I can say the same about you,” she shot back playfully,  glancing at his black hoodie sporting cat ears.

“Guilty as charged,” he grinned, taking a seat across from her, “So, are you a fan of Ladybugs then?”

“Oh.” Her skin flushed with heat, but thankfully part of the face was covered with red paint. “They’re cute, but I mainly got Ladybug as a nickname because I brought luck to a greek competition and I guess the name stuck.”

“Well, it would be too forward to say that you’re the cutest Ladybug I’ve ever seen.”

“My, my, someone’s a flirt, Kitty.” The nickname rolled off her tongue in confidence. With a hoodie like that, he probably had heard the name hundreds of times. Although, Marinette did enjoy seeing the tables turned as his cheeks dusted pink.

“What can I say, I’m a trebled man.”

Marinette held back a giggle. “So what song are you singing?”

“Just some random pop song that they pulled out of a hat. It could have been worse. You?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette confessed, “My big picks the song for me and rates me on my performance.”

“Sounds like you have to be pretty sharp to accomplish that successfully.”

“I’ll just be thankful when my turn is over.”

“What if we made it interesting.” His eyes sparkled mischievously. “Whoever gets the most applause for their performance wins. If I win—I get to take you out on a date.”

“And if I win?” Marinette asked.

He opened his mouth to respond-

“Please put your hands together for Ladybug!”

Marinette pushes herself up, might as well get this over with. All eyes were on her as she made it up on the stage. Music started playing, and she couldn’t help but smile, she could work with this.

Nice to meet you, where you been?

I could show you incredible things

Magic, madness, heaven sin

Marinette scanned the room for a mark to look at; otherwise, her anxiety would kick in. Unfortunately, Alya was too far back that the darkness entrapped her. The second set of eyes she immediately latched onto were the familiar green eyes of her blonde company.

Saw you there and I thought

Oh my God, look at that face

You look like my next mistake

Love’s a game, want to play?

The smirk on the blond’s lips edged her on and gave her more confidence on the stage.

I'm dying to see how this one ends Grab your passport and my hand I can make the bad guys good for a weekend

All her nerves started the fade, and she began to work the stage. Dare she say this was- fun? So it's gonna be forever Or it's gonna go down in flames You can tell me when it's over If the high was worth the pain Got a long list of ex-lovers They'll tell you I'm insane 'Cause you know I love the players And you love the game

Marinette knew the song well enough that she could play to the strengths of the crowd. There was a bet to win after all. Not that she wouldn’t mind going out with the guy, he seemed nice enough, and handsome to boot.

Towards the end of the song, Marinette was sure that by the hoots and hollers she gained that not only was her performance enough to make her a shoo-in for the sorority, but also win the bet.

Her beaming smile could not be dampened as she settled back into her seat.

“Not bad, but I think I still have a chance,” he coolly replied. “Besides, you got the words wrong.”

What? Marinette had heard the song enough from Alya, and if she did need help, then the words were plastered on the screen.

“No, I didn’t.”

“I’ve heard that song before from one of my friends, and it definitely mentions Starbucks in it.”

Marinette could only blink in response; he had to be wrong. The mention of the coffee joint would make no sense in the context of the song.

She opened her mouth to correct him-

“Next up we have, Chat Noir!” The announcer’s voice boomed.

What a weird name. Who would name themselves after a black cat? Marinette’s question was answered when the blonde stood up from his seat.

“Hold that thought.” He winked, “I’ll be right Bach.”

Marinette’s eyes followed him up onto the stage. He certainly had the charisma to win; she could hear the gushing from the other tables almost instantly.

“Hey everyone, I’m Chat Noir of Sigma Thêta Pi. And I’d like to dedicate this song to the beautiful lady that has kept me company all evening.” His words were paired with a wink.

She slipped down a little as some darted heated gazes prickled her skin. But what caused further damage was the intense green stare coming from cat boy on the stage; it rendered her cheeks heated and colored. He only broke contact for a second to nod to the DJ to cue the music.

Hey, I was doing just fine before I met you

I drink too much and that's an issue but I'm okay

Hey, you tell your friends it was nice to meet them

But I hope I never see them again

His lips broke out into the biggest smile as he took over the stage and made it his own. But no matter what he did, his eyes met hers every couple of seconds.

So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover

That I know you can't afford

Bite that tattoo on your shoulder

Pull the sheets right off the corner

Of the mattress that you stole

From your roommate back in Boulder

We ain't ever getting older

He started to pull off some dance moves, and the crowd went wild.

He had said that they pulled this song randomly out of a hat; what were the chances that it was one of her favorite songs at one point. The longer the thought lingered, the more she remembered that the song was a duet.

Her head shot up to find his eyes on her, and she knew what was about to happen. In a blink of an eye, he grabbed the other mic and jumped off the stage mid-performance.

He wasted no time making his way to her table and held out his hand. If she stood, then she would be relaying a message to not only her partner but a crowded bar. Her feet found their footing, and she grabbed the extra mic from his hands in time to start singing in sync with the highlighted words.

You look as good as the day I met you

I forget just why I left you, I was insane

Marinette’s lips split into a smile as she turned her head back to look at him while walking to the stage. What she didn’t expect was Chat to brush past her to help her up on stage. The strength he used to pull her up, Marinette tried not to yelp. A wave of cheers escaped the crowd, and the realization hit her; they were eating up whatever was between them.  

Stay and play that Blink-182 song

That we beat to death in Tucson, okay

She circled Chat Noir, allowing her fingers to graze over the fabric of his hoodie. When she crossed to the other side, his green eyes immediately snapped to hers and caused warmth to twist inside her chest.

The rest of the song they fell into sync, mirroring a countermove to their partner. People would have a hard time believing they only met today, Marinette mused. She could hardly believe it herself.

They ended the song facing each other eyes locked. Marinette found herself breathless, but only time would tell if that was the result of the performance or the stranger. The cheers were muted as Chat Noir reached out to push some hair back into its place.

“Thank you for singing with me,” he mumbled, allowing his hands to linger longer necessary, not that Marinette minded.

“You’re welcome, Kitty.”

They made their way back to their seats, everything the announcer said lost on them.

“You know,” he purred, “I’m pretty sure I won our little bet.”

Marinette’s mouth dropped open to argue, but remember that they never said their performance had to be a solo one. He had her there. She reached into her purse to pull out a pen. Grabbing his hand, she scrolled several numbers on it.

“My number, text me tomorrow, and we can set something up.” Although, in theory, she would love to go somewhere now, time had slipped away from her, and it was already past midnight. She had a study session in the morning she couldn’t miss.

“How do I know this isn’t some wrong number?” He argued.

Marinette leaned in close enough that a kiss was inches away. “I guess you’re going to have to trust me, Minou.”  She shot up from her seat purse in hand, winked, and then made a beeline for Alya.

“Time to go,” she grabbed her hand and tugged her away from a prolonged goodbye kiss.

Once they reached the outside, Marinette’s head stopped spinning. She turned her head back to see Chat Noir, still staring at her. The two exchanged smiles before Alya hailed a cab.

“So I want details with you and lover boy,” immediately spilled out of her best friends mouth and Marinette felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

“I gave him my number, and he’s going to text me and figure out when we can meet up.”

Alya’s fangirled giggles drowned to the sound of her cell phone buzzing.

Unknown: I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to text you. Sweet dreams, I know I will; revolving around Ladybugs.  

Marinette tapped her phone to her lips, thinking of a reply.

Marinette: You sure are confident, how do I know you don’t say that to all the Ladybugs you meet?

Unknown: You caught me. But in my defense, you’re the only Ladybug I’ve met ;) Her smile widened.

Marinette: Fair enough. Meet me at the Starbucks on 13 Boulevard Saint-Michel at 11 am where I can inform you proper lyrics of Blank Space.

It took seconds for a response.

Unknown: it’s a date, My Lady.

A blush stained her cheeks with color as she shoved the phone in her pocket and turned her attention back to her best friend. If this was how they bantered after a first meeting, who knows what will happen. She realized that she had never got his real name, but if she texted him now, they would talk all night. It would have to wait until tomorrow. His last text flashed in her mind again, causing her stomach to tie itself in knots.

Dumb Cat.

[rhomsfanfic]

Forever (Ren Kouen X Reader)

a/n: And the last one from the appreciation series for the zine ^-^ My favorite tbh though I enjoyed writing all of them really ♥

“This will take how long?”

There was a certain nervousnessin the prince’s voice, only overtaken by the growling tone he let roll with it. From all the things he didn’t need that day, it was the carriage breaking down on the way to the next negotiation meeting. Not only would it make him stand in a bad light to come late, but it also would make the people talk about how he wanted to ditch out of this meeting so badly, he lied about his carriage. Kouen knew this was going to happen, and it put him into an angry and frustrated state.

However, the driver kept his cool, even standing his ground against the member of royalty. "I sent the page, ya know, the kid. Anyways, I sent the page to get us a spare wheel from the next town. Might take an hour, or maybe even two hours, but it'll take a while, to get it fixed." Groaning, the prince walked away without any form of goodbye, opening the way into the carriage and slamming the door behind him.

“And?” you asked, not looking up from the scroll in your hand. Just like Kouen, you had your duties to attend to and you were determined to get the information you needed from the paper. “One or two hours,” he replied bitterly, sinking down onto the seat in front of you. “Told you so,” you replied in a humorous manner, smiling as you read through the sentences. He replied with a grunt, angry that you had been right before when you told him the exact same time span. Or maybe he was just angry at the situation, it wasn’t very obvious to you.

You knew too well how important this specific meeting was and the tension running through the prince very well deserved to be there. However, you sighed as you put the scroll aside, leaning forward to touch his knee. “We’ll still be on time. It’s so early, they don’t expect us before sunset anyway,” you tried to calm him, smiling at him.

Kouen was not convinced but he at least let out his breath and the tension on his shoulders dissolved slowly. You smiled more when you saw him relax a little and gave his knee some pats with your hands, before leaning back again. Pushing the curtain on the window out of the way you gave the outdoor area a thorough inspection, sighing longingly.

It was beautiful outside. The autumn painted everything in warm orange and brown tones, from the leaves to the grass. Some rare spots of pink and red fluttered through and the falling, yellow leaves that danced on the breeze made you long for a stroll outside. You heard Kouen shuffle in his seat, his hand soon enough pushed the curtain further away, enabling him to look out too as he followed your gaze with his eyes.

“It’s pretty…” you sighed, grazing the landside with your look. You hadn’t been able to give your mind a break. Instead you had been driving through the country with Kouen, attending meetings and educating yourself on new knowledge to use. There was no time for breaks, by how rapidly the two of you had to get from place to place, and now you really felt just how much you had spent indoors, not even noticing the seasons pass.

Kouen looked over from the spot he was sitting at, inspecting your hair and the soft features of your face as you gazed outside with so much longing. He let out a deep breath, before pulling back from the window and getting up, taking your wrist into his hand gently. “Come,” he said and even though you gave him a confused look, you let yourself be pulled out of the carriage by him.

Immediately there were soldiers around the two of you, making sure you are safe. Much to your surprise however, Kouen waved them off, telling them to look after the carriage. You gave the warriors a smile, thanking them for their work, while the prince tugged you along and away. Luckily, he didn’t let you follow his footsteps for too long, the position you were in getting uncomfortable.

Then again, you were surprised when he held out his arm, an unusual gesture from Kouen. He wasn’t known for being tactful and you had abandoned the thought of him being overly romantic. You couldn’t even remember the last time the two of you linked arms, if there even was an opportunity before, so you eagerly took the chance he gave you now.

You couldn’t help but smile at his affectionate behavior. Even though his expression didn’t change drastically, you noticed how he slowed down his walking to match yours and also leaned to the side a bit so you could easily hold on to him. He wasn’t a man of many words, but he made up for it with all the little gestures he expressed randomly. You couldn’t be happier to be by his side.

Leading the way, the two of you browsed through the grassy area, the path leading you into an alley of trees. You went quite a bit ahead of the carriage, which was still resting at the place it broke down. The autumn wind was fresh and you felt good when breathing it in, but it also felt a little cold against the few open patches of your clothes, so you drew closer to the arm that was held out for you, seeking the prince’s warmth.

Above the two of you, a sudden flock of birds raised up, the sound of their wings and the cooing making you stop and look up. You watched how they flew high and then slowly disappeared from your line of sight. “It’s getting colder, they are leaving for a warmer place,” you mumbled, staring at the last point you had seen the flying animals. “Indeed,” Kouen replied and the two of you slowly continued on your way.

“Soon, all the leaves will have fallen down and everything will be covered by an icy blanket,” you sighed, looking down to the path you were walking on, listening to the leaves crunch under your feet. Kouen didn’t say anything, taking your words as the facts they were. You understood that there was nothing to add for him, since his words would serve no other purpose than holding small-talk, something he didn’t like.

Undeterred, you continued. “You ever think about this, Kouen?” On the call of his name, he turned his head towards you, his eyes burning with a questioning gaze. “About life and death, the endless cycle, I mean…” Biting your lower lip, you lowered your eyes which had met his previously. Cautiously and softly you added, “You were on a battlefield before, did this never cross your mind?”

You could feel his arm tense a little at the mentioning of war. It was his own love-hate relationship with it that urged him to think about your words for a while. There was silence between the two of you, minutes passing as you made your way down a branch of the path. Surprisingly, a small lake opened up before the two of you, a few last ducks circling on top of the water.

The two of you came to a halt and you let go of his arm, both of your limbs falling to the side of your bodies. “What happens…” he grumbled, letting the words fall of his tongue. Then he shrugged before adding, “happens.” You looked at him, nodding slowly. His gaze was fixated on the grey-blue of the lake, but you were able to see a small hint of pain in the wrinkles he had on the side of his eyes.

The prince was thinking back to his past and the loss of his heroes at that time, you were sure about that. You were never able to confirm if he was still troubled by it - Kouen would always avoid the topic and there was no clear answer - but you knew. Deep inside it still shook him to the core and with all the responsibility that suddenly was on his shoulders, he never did have the time to come to terms with it.

“So I am not afraid of something that might be. I’ll deal with it once its time is drawing close,” he finally replied to your question. You tenderly placed your hand on his upper arm, leaning against him without putting much weight on him, and mumbled, “I see.” For a moment the silence returned but it wasn’t too long until you picked up your voice again.

“I am. I am afraid of the day that I won’t be able to spend with you.” Though it had cost you a whole lot of confidence to say that, you felt proud to have it off your chest. It wasn’t very often that the two of you exchanged words about your feelings and when you thought about it again, you felt a little stupid for doing so, but you also were glad that it was out. Maybe it had been the warmth radiating from him. Or maybe it had been the strength you felt when leaning against his arm. But your voice had left you before you could overthink it. However, you couldn’t bring yourself to regret it.

Kouen didn’t reply to that. You didn’t really expect him to. Instead, the two of you said your farewells to the lake, the last duck swinging its wings and leapt out of the water, leaving its home behind to escape the cold winter. You made your way back to the carriage in silence, only disturbed by the cracking of the leaves and the breeze that rustled the tree crowns.

The carriage came back into sight soon, making you let out a sigh in relief when you made out the page that brought back the wheel, already working on the repairs. That was, until you suddenly felt a warm hand engulf yours, Kouen holding you back slightly and slowing down your steps. It took a few seconds until you two came to a halt and you looked at him expectantly. He didn’t meet your gaze, looking stoically forward at the carriage and observing what was going on.

“We need to appreciate what we have. But…” his words got quiet again and for a short moment, he looked at you. It was a soft gaze and his red eyes shimmered affectionately in a light tone. The words that followed were almost inaudible, but even just the motion of his lips got stuck in your head. He let go of your hand, making his way towards the carriage alone.

“But the thought of parting with you does worry me,” he had said and you stumbled after him immediately, determined to not let him go back alone. Not now, and not until death will part the two of you.

[8bityeol]

Clash of The Clubs

Summary : You’re the leader of the Murder Mystery club, and he’s the leader of the Anime Club and you both hate each other. -rewritten-

“They’re secretly in love with each other." 

"What!? No, they hate each other.”

  Two years ago, Anime club declared war on Murder Mystery club. Things had been heating between the two clubs for sometime. With both of the clubs tied in on acquiring the lowest number of members per year, no one wanted to be the last one.

The inciting incident occurred during a particularly hectic IT class. You’d been fooling around on Excel, trying to put some numbers into a graph when your ear caught something in the air.

"What type of person even joins murder club 101?” The voice said.

You whipped your head around, and of course it was him. You knew that chalkboard scratching voice from anywhere.

“What type of person joins anime club, huh Kyungsoo?” You said, narrowing your eyes on the boy. “A hentai loving freak?”

Jongin who’d had finally noticed the heating tension and attempted to turn your chair back to the monitor. “Oh shit,  don’t-”

“I’m not letting him trash talk our club,” You hissed, shrugging Jongin’s hand off your chair. “Not today Jongin, not today.”

“My god-” Jongin sighed, burrowing his head into his hands.

Kyungsoo snickered, “Hentai loving freak? Can you necrophiliacs really say that? Come on.”

“Necrophiliacs!” You snorted at the word.

Murder Mystery club was not devoted to being ’friendly’ to corpses, not at all, Murder Mystery club was strictly for discussing murders. Which was not as  creepy as it sounded

“Kyungsoo, you really are something,” You said. “Just because we know you all stand in a circle and wank off to some girl being chased by purple tentacles does not mean you get to label our mystery club as being filled with necrophiliacs. And I’m sure you all come at the same time in perfect synchronisation!”

Keyboards had stopped typing and Jongin was near enough close to death. Even the teacher stood at the front with her mouth gaped open.

Kyungsoo eyes darkened. “Amazing speech, really, ten out of ten. But here’s the thing, little miss grave digger, this year your club had the lowest member join rate, and the difference wasn’t sizable at all. So, i’m really inclined to believe that the average person would rather circle jerk over anime rather than circle jerk over case files. The truth is in the pudding.”

You stood up.

“You know what-”

“No, no, no” Jongin said as he grabbed your shoulders and pushed you back into the chair. You struggled against his grip because God knows you wanted to wring your hands around anime lord’s neck. He’d had it coming for the last three years, today was the day.

“I hate them,” Jongin sighed as he flicked through the latest issue of James Patterson book.

Baekhyun hummed in agreement, “Guess what Kyungsoo’s doing this summer break?”

Jongin looked up from his book, “What?”

“He’s creating a plan for our ‘big’ stand,” Baekhyun said. “He’s bought those waifu pillows…”

Jongin closed his eyes, “My god…”

“I know right. What’s Duchess of Death doing for the new year?” Baekhyun asked.

“She’s ordered banners that say 'Let’s Talk About Murder’,” Jongin shook his head in shame. “Why do they do this?”

“It’s the sexual tension,” Baekhyun adds. “They’re secretly in love with each other.”

Jongin knitted his eyebrows in astonishment, “What? No,they hate each other. They’d sacrifice the other to the devil, for a half-eaten Werther’s Original.”

“No, no, listen. Tell me you’ve not seen them looking at each other when the other is looking away.” he said. “Kyungsoo was staring at her basically all through English, I had to flick a pencil for him to stop.”

Jongin paused and pondered over Baekhyun’s words. 

“Now you say it…” Jongin words trailed off as he recounted the time he’d noticed you scrolling on Kyungsoo’s instagram, just randomly. You’d closed the page down in record time and acted as though nothing had happened.

“Shit, I think the club’s starting soon,” Baekhyun said, looking down at his phone.

Jongin looked at his own and nodded, “You’re right. See you around.”

“You too,” Baekhyun said as they both parted ways.

Hobby Craft, the land of dreams and unlimited creativity. It was what you considered a safe space, you could whiz through the aisles, knocking bottles of paint and glitter into your trolley without a care in the world.

A beautiful place, you sighed whilst plugging in your earphones. Your mother was off somewhere in the store’s cafe gulping down a latte, she didn’t want to get in your way she said as she handed you a twenty pound note.

You were going to make the most spectacular display the clubs had yet to see, and you were certain it’d blow whatever big boobed chick with purple hair anime club was about to put out.

You must’ve cursed yourself right there and then, because when you turned the corner into 'Paper’ section , no one other than hentai-boy himself was at the other end, trolley frozen as he glared at you through the thick frames of his glasses.

Never being one to back down to a confrontation, you pushed your trolley forward, wearing a smile worthy of a flight attendant’s job.

“Oh, what a surprise it is to see you,” you said, your voice sickly sweet.

He broke out into a smile that mirrored yours. “Wow! And here I was thinking you weren’t following me. No other boys to stalk this year?”

You felt something in your neck twitch.

First of all, It was not stalking. Plus, you were twelve back then - everyone was a mess when they were twelve, especially when they were 'in love’ with a boy in the upper year.

“Yet you still remember. So, how long have you been thinking about me, huh Kyungsoo?” you said. “Funny isn’t it.”

“Thinking about you? Stop. You’re killing me. I’ve never laughed so hard.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well, I think you need help, but what you can do right now is move to the side,” you said, making a 'shooing’ motion.

He snorted. “Say please.”

You stared at him, deadpan. “Um … yeah, no. Just pass me that A1 paper and I’ll be out of your hair.”

He turned to the shelves and stared at the lone roll of A1 paper. He picked it up. “This?”

“Well, is there another there?”

Without missing a beat, he dropped the roll into his trolley. “Looks like there’s not.”

“You insufferable twit!”

He shrugged, walking past you.“I know.”

“Snorlax!”

That was the last thing you’d heard before your feet were swept from the ground. Your hands reached out to grasp something. But there’s nothing there. As a small shriek broke from your mouth, your head crashed down onto the wet grass.

What happened? You asked yourself as you tore open your eyes to the sound of hurried footsteps on twigs.

“Shit.”

You recognised that voice from anywhere.

“You!” You hissed, sitting up so you could look him straight in the eye, even though your head was throbbing to the heavens.

“Don’t get up so quick,” Kyungsoo said, pushing you back down. “And calm down.”

You followed his order; not because you ever did so, but by that fact that you were taken aback by surprise. You’d expected a biting hiss back, but no. His voice had been - God forbid, could you even say it?- gentle.

“Wait there,” he said, standing up.

You craned your head to see him kneeling down and clasping a collar back onto a dog. He was probably the snorlax in question and the reason you were currently lying on this soggy grass.

“I think I’m good,” you said, after a moment.

“Are you sure?” he said, coming back to you with his dog in tow. “I can … uh, help you back.”

You shook your head. The last thing you needed nor wanted was help from the likes of him. And yes, you were still angry over the Hobbycraft incident.

You began to stand up, but a shooting pain whizzed through your leg causing you to crash back down onto your arse. “Fuck,” you muttered, holding onto your ankle.

He knelt down.“Stubborn.” He said, as he placed his arm under yours and over your waist. “Hold onto my shoulder.”

Your arm draped over his shoulder, he hoisted you up and you leant against him. And all the while, your heart was beating hard against your chest. Oh no, you thought. It was happening again. As much as it pained you to admit it, you’d developed a 'fixation’ on Kyungsoo sometime last year and just as quick as it’d snuck up on you, it’d left as quick too. But now it was back and all the tell-tale signs where there; dry mouth, furiously blinking and the inability to breath like a sane woman.

“You live near right?” He asked, after a moment.

You shook your head. “No, I came here on my bike.”

“Right … we’ll go to my place, it’s only a minutes walk and you can call your mum or dad.”

And so, you found yourself sat in Kyungsoo diningroom. His mother and older sister flanked at either side of you, fawning over you as Kyungsoo glared from the kitchen. He’d been shooed away to make tea.

“So, how’s he like at school?” His sister asked, casting a devilish glance at Kyungsoo.

“He’s … alright, I guess,” you said.

“That’s great, I have to say I was a bit worried,” his mother said, a furrow setting in between her brows. “He spends too much time on his computer, playing those stupid games.”

“Mum, please!” Kyungsoo butted in.

His sister whipped her head around. “Soo, we’re waiting for the tea.”

“Plus, the last time he brought a girl around was three years ago,” His mother added.

You could hear Kyungsoo groaning in the back.

“Girl?” your eyebrows shot up. “I have to say Mrs.Do, I’m surprised.”

“We were too,” his sister said.

Kyungsoo set your cup down with a crash and you were lucky the liquid didn’t fly out. “Thank you, Kyungsoo,” You said, smirking as you lifted the cup to your mouth.

By the time your mother arrived, Mrs.Do had been on the fifth page of Kyungsoo baby album and you’d made sure to snap a pic of the one in which he’d been dressed a girl. You’d print it out and hand them as flyers for Murder Mystery Club.

Your mother had practically tackled Kyungsoo with the biggest hug, and kiss to his cheek. Your Saviour, she called him. You could only snort.

A/N

This is one of my faves, so fun to write! I posted this on my old account, but I’ve added in more scenes starting from the hobby craft scene.

lemme tell y'all about this bullshit I went through the other day. I could honestly still slap a bitch. There’s shady heifer’s on this site y'all. I have never wanted to beat a sister’s ass so much. She tried it. 

[avi-stella]

Sweet | Zen/Hyun Ryu x Reader

Rating: General Word Count: 1,302 Genre: Fluff | Slice-of-Life Summary: Zen decides to surprise you with a gift.

When Zen walks into your shared bedroom after another successful late night performance, the first thing that he notices is the soft melody playing in the room. As much as you would have loved to watch all of Zen's performances, work had you busy that night, and your ever loving boyfriend had told you that you could go to sleep before him. He noticed the dark circles and overall tired look in your eyes the past few days, so he had told you to go ahead out of consideration.

The actor walked up to the bedside drawer and picked up your phone that was playing the music. His eyes scanned over the screen, finding that it was about an hour long video titled "Music to Help Fall Asleep". Zen's expression melted to one of concern as he shut off the phone to preserve the battery life before glancing over to you. You've been so busy and stressed as of late that you've had difficulty finding sleep.

Zen placed the phone back down onto the drawer before finding his set of comfortable clothes to change into before falling asleep. The actor slowly slipped himself beside you on the bed, making sure he didn't accidentally wake you up. His fingers ghosted over your cheeks, taking a moment to admire how beautiful you look sleeping so peacefully like that before he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, muttering a small good night. Just before the young man fell asleep, he made a mental note to contact possibly Jaehee or Seven the next day for some help with an idea he had.

A few nights later, you were comfortably sitting up on the bed, leaning back against the headboard as you scrolled through your social media on your phone. You vaguely heard the sound of the door creaking open, but you paid it no mind, knowing full well that it was just Zen entering the room. What you weren't expecting, however, was to have Zen suddenly tackling you on the bed.

A surprised shriek escaped your lips before you could even think to stop it, dropping your phone on the bed in the process. "Ze—!"

You were about to scold Zen but never got the chance to finish saying his name as he pulled you down so that you were lying down on the bed with him hovering over you. You let out another small yelp before Zen started showering your face with small and light kisses. Your cheeks, your nose, your forehead, your eyelids. It was starting to feel ticklish, and you couldn't stop the small giggles that bubbled out of your chest.

Zen seemed to be enjoying himself and your laughter for you could feel him smiling against your skin with each small kiss. You tried to get him to stop, but his weight above you prevented you from doing much. Your boyfriend continued to pepper your face with kisses before connecting his lips with yours with a big and loud 'smooch'.

Deciding you've had enough and that two could play at that game, you firmly poked the actor's ribs. He pulled back with a small shriek before looking down at you with disbelief etched onto his features. You merely shrugged your shoulders underneath him and shot him a challenging smirk.

Zen's form shook as he laughed deeply before mirroring your expression. "Oh, it's on."

Suddenly, hands and fingers were flying everywhere as both you and Zen engaged in an impromptu tickle fight. Zen was much stronger than you, so it wasn't a surprise that you were losing, squirming and thrashing underneath him in an attempt to get away and catch your breath. You kicked your legs around and could vaguely hear a small thudding sound at some point, and you assumed that it was your phone that you accidentally kicked off the bed. Eventually, Zen relented and gave you a moment to bring your breathing back to normal. He smiled down at you with a triumphant look his face before dipping his head down to rub his nose against yours.

"Zen, you're going to break the bed if you jump on it so suddenly like that," you chided him as soon as you were able to speak again.

The actor got off of you, chuckling. "It hasn't broken yet from our more 'enthusiastic' activities, so I'm sure it can handle something as light as that."

Your cheeks flushed at the wink he sent you in addition to his words, and you smacked his arm in an attempt to distract himself from your visible embarrassment. Zen threw his head back in laughter, unable to keep his eyes open from the pure joy that filled his chest. As soon as he calmed down, he cupped your cheek, stroking the skin with his thumb. "I have something for you."

The actor pulls his hand away as he leans over the bed to retrieve something from underneath it. You watch him with a curious look in your eyes as you tilt your head to the side. Zen turns back to face you, and in his hands, there's a box neatly covered with silver wrapping paper. He gives it to you, your fingers brushing slightly against one another as he does so.

Zen then sits criss-crossed on the bed, hands on his laps as he eagerly waits for you to open it. You trace your fingers over the box, a confused look on your face. "Did I forget a special occasion or something?"

The actor purses his lips into a pout as he speaks with feigned hurt, "What? I can't just randomly give the love of my life a gift just because I felt like it?"

You shake your head, chuckling, before you tear open the wrapping. Your boyfriend's eyes don't leave your face, watching every single second of your reaction when you find a music box in your hands. A gasp of delight leaves your lips as you bring it closer to your face to inspect it. It was painted a lovely silver with a shine to it. Your fingers delicately traced over the intricate details and carvings of the rose and heart patterns before tracing over the letters of your name and Zen's together on the lid.

"It's beautiful," you manage to breathe out, and the actor's expression softens.

"I realized that you were having difficulty falling asleep without music, so I thought this might help," he explained.

With a gesture of his head, he urged you to play it. Excitedly, you wound up the key and opened it. What greeted you were miniature figures of you and Zen in what looked like to be a dance as a soft and warm melody played in the air. You could feel tears form in the corner of your eyes, and you brought up a hand to your lips. "The song's so pretty..." you commented. "What is it?"

"An original by yours truly," Zen answered with a smug expression on his face, his nose tilted upwards into the air.

Your eyes widened. "Was all of this custom made?"

Zen nods his head enthusiastically, overjoyed with your reaction. He leans towards you and places a quick peck on your cheek. "I'm glad you like it."

"Oh, Zen... I love it," you corrected him as you kissed him back on the lips. "I love you. Thank you so much!"

You decide to wind the music box again and place it down on the bedside drawer before lying down in bed and making yourself comfortable with Zen following behind you not too long after. The two of you just stare into each other's eyes, listening to the melody play around you as Zen's hand finds yours, and he interlaces your fingers together. You decide to snuggle yourself closer to the actor's chest, and he laughs softly. He kisses the top of your head before murmuring, "Sweet dreams."

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