#but its more likely that he catches the teacher being sus and offs him

[yenyenlive]

These two will either kiss or kill one another, I see no other outcome

[imnotgrimimjustagrumpyreaper]

Is one of thomas' Sanders sizes literally just the Sanders from vine that wore the su shirt and Jung out with the vas 😭?

I'm gonna use this ask as an excuse to introduce you to all the sides LOL

I’m gonna preface this by saying that this will be LONG and also it has been a while since I rewatched the series or refreshed myself on some of the older stuff

I’m also gonna go ahead and give a quick rundown of my history with the fandom. I was like 12 or 13 when it first started? I didn’t have vine at the time so I just watched vine comps on youtube LOL but I was already like a causal a fan of Thomas Sanders. It wasn’t until the third episode which was a crossover with Lily Singh (I was a Lily Singh and Liza Koshy fan back in the day) that I started watching the series though. I got really into it after that and it was one of the first fandoms where I was like actually a super active member (You can look at  the comments on some old prinxiety fanfics for proof of that LOL) I don’t remember exactly when I fell off but I fell off from the fandom for a good while around the Christmas episode where they all sing together through no fault of the series itself. I still watched the series but I didn’t like actively get into it or anything like I used to. Then the asides episode “Flirting with social anxiety” like REALLY dragged me back in hard and suddenly its like 13 year old me woke up as a 18 year old with the freedom to peruse tumblr as much as I wanted and I was back into it HARD. I try not to be ashamed of it but I know its one of those fandoms that gets a lot of shit for both valid and super not valid reasons. Long story short i’ve been a fan for years and unless things catch on fire worse than they already are I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to jump ship. 

Not a side but a character: C!Thomas (which I think is who you're specifically referencing?) (and yes there was a vine where he met the VAS LOL, “Who ate my fries?” ) 

So like I said I’m pretty sure Thomas was big on way Vine before he was really big on Youtube. He did other stuff on Youtube before SASI but SASI has sorta become his flagship. A lot of his characters that he uses for instagram and yes indeed the sides originated on vine. The one I think you’re specifically referencing is a weird one because its not one of the sides. Thomas wore his Steven Universe shirt A LOT way back when so its how a lot of early fans took to drawing him and to some extent still do. This is a weird one like I said hafljad. So Character Thomas or C!Thomas is what fans call the version of himself Thomas portrays in SASI. This sort of relatable everyman online persona he puts on. I’m glad we do this is a good and healthy way to separate the show from the the man and it makes it a lot less weird to see like an in-depth post speculating about Thomas’s mental health when there’s a little C! In front of it to let you know its the Thomas as portrayed in SASI. Like I said the reason you still see the SU shirt even though I can’t remember the last time Thomas wore it and honestly I don’t even really think fans draw him in it anymore is that a lot of the art and fan content that like has the most notes and stuff is from the heyday way back when when he WAS still wearing the SU shirt. So yeah SU shirt guy isn’t one of the sides that is C!Thomas. 

The basic plot of Sanders Sides is that its a guy standing in his living room with various aspects of himself talking about life. It did the very modern western cartoon thing of starting out a lot more episodic with some smaller long running plot threads being slowly introduced and then spinning wildly off the rails with a higher budget and musical numbers and intricate grand storytelling as the show went on but the basics are still the same hflajf. 

Logan

Logan is another character that made the jump from vine and our first actual side on the list! He started as “The Teacher” character. Now it gets confusing down the line as we talk about the old Vine characters and their side counterparts but with Logan I’m pretty sure “The Teacher” is dead and gone so we don’t have to worry about that. 

Sanders Sides characters all belong in name HELL. Its not really a problem with Logan or the other sides like it is for one of the them specifically (cough cough looking at you JANUS) but we’ll get there. 

*The place it causes issues and possible confusion is in shipping. When you see the ship names pop up like “Logicality” “Intrulogical” “Prinxiety” etc the early ones were established popular pairings way before the sides had names so Morality + Logic = Logicality and later ships like “Intrulogical” kept up the name scheme. Where it gets weird is the later ships though where some characters did have names and some didn’t or people just wanted to abandon the naming scheme altogether and just use their names. The WORST culprit of this that I’ve seen happens to be my own dearly beloved “Dukeceit” or “Demus” or “Receit” or “Trashnoodle” Both of the characters were introduced late in the game so naming conventions were DEAD and Janus didn’t get a name for A LONG ASS TIME so its just like I said NAME HELL (it suits them though). I can’t even imagine what poor Orange’s ship names are going to look like.* 

Back to teacher man who I’m afraid I’m treating just as badly as the series whoops…Long story short when the series first started the characters didn’t have names they had roles. So Logan made the jump from Vine as “The Teacher” character and became “Logic.” That is still his role but not what he gets called as a thing that got introduced later was that the sides had names and them telling their name to Thomas was like a very big series deal with a lot of meaning. Logan was the first to get a name.

So Logan is logic, his color is dark blue. One of the OG three (later four). He’s like the part of Thomas’s brain that wants to focus on work and being productive. He struggles with understanding his much more “Feeling based” companions. A lot of his angst is derived from Thomas’s career being so creativity focused a place where he feels he doesn’t really have much to contribute and Thomas’s continued struggles with (mental health) being productive and having a good work flow. A lot MORE of his angst is how often he is talked over, belittled and outright ignored by everyone. Logan deserves a lot better and with where we are in the series right now he’s gonna snap soon so hopefully he’ll get it. Logan is a bit of a funny case in the fandom. In the early days when it was just the four sides (aka when I was in the fandom the first time) he was the least popular side by a long shot. However, this did a full 180 and I would now argue he is the MOST popular side, which caused some cognitive dissonance because by the time the team made a meta-joke about him being the least popular, that shift was already well under way. 

Patton 

Is the “Dad’ character from Vine. The “Dad” character is our first instance where we see a split between SASI and Thomas’s other stuff. I’m pretty sure “Dad” still pops up in some of his skits but like infrequently, but when you see “Dad” in a skit it's not Patton unless stated otherwise. So there’s that weird split I was talking about LOL. Patton made the jump from Vine as the “Dad” character and then became “Morality.” 

So Patton is Morality. His color is light blue and he’s the second side to get his name. One of the OG three (eventually four). Patton is a really interesting character, it's all too easy to label him Thomas’s “Heart” but I feel like that’s an oversimplification. He is Thomas’s judgment, he is Thomas’s sense of right and wrong and yes he is most of his mushy gushy feely stuff. Patton is the “Dad” but in a very real sense he’s also pretty childish and I don’t say that to demean him. He struggles with being blinded by nostalgia and black and white thinking. His main source of angst is that he feels unprepared to be Thomas’s morality now that Thomas is grown up and it's not so easy to tell what’s right and wrong anymore. However, a good source of angst for him is ALSO his deteriorating relationship with his once very good friend and son figure Virgil. 

Patton is a complicated one to talk about because of how much perception of him in the fandom has shifted over the years. There’s always a tendency for the super cheerful friendly one of the bunch to get “Bullied” by the fandom (I’m guilty of it too) and in the early days there was a small pocket that didn’t like him or found him annoying or whatever. However, he was always, I would say, one of the more popular sides, I think he may have even been the most popular behind Virgil at that point.

This has definitely changed in recent years largely due to the introduction of the “Dark Sides,” especially Janus. There was always this tendency for the fandom to infantilize Patton and smush him down to his base components and it was easier to do so early on before Janus. His main role in the story besides being the sort of lovable goofy “White dad guy” who would scold the other sides for cursing (but might accidentally do so himself) was bringing Virgil into their little found family. However, he’s had a bit of a negative character arc lately that I believe we’re on the tail end of now. 

The fandom generally skews young so we’re just as bad about black and white thinking as Patton is. Janus was introduced as the liar to Patton’s honesty and the selfishness to Patton’s selflessness and Patton made a bit of an ass of himself through the rocky introduction process. This is true but it's also true that Janus was directly goading him a lot of the time to try to make him seem bad. So yes Patton has the capability to be a jerk but he was also a jerk under duress. This is also what led to his relationship with Virgil now being so rocky (mostly). We haven’t gotten a conclusion to that yet. I can’t really look at Patton centric posts without them being super divided between the Patton defenders who still love him and the “Patton is the real villain” crowd. Nuance is dead, Patton villain AUs are at an all time high and Patton defenders tend to turn it around and shit on Janus (I may not like Moceit like at all but god bless the enemies to lovers crowd working their asses off here). While he isn’t my FAVORITE I don’t think he deserves this at all and I hope things look up in the future.

Roman 

Roman is an interesting one on the name front. On vine he was “The prince” character and he jumped to sasi as “Creativity.” But he was still actively called the prince  a lot of the time and dressed like a prince, I think it was a little while before we actually got confirmation of what exactly his official title was? This discrepancy comes into play with his ships (which I PROMISE I will stop bringing up eventually LOL). I’m not sure if its just because “Creativity” is a bitch to work into a ship name or because of the thing I mentioned earlier but Roman’s early ships like the juggernaut “Prinxiety” (Prince or “Princey” x Anxiety) and Logince (Logic x Prince). His later ships however like the ever popular sister ship to my beloved dukeceit, Roceit (Roman x Deceit) do not share this descrepency as they simply chose to use the names. 

So Roman is creativity. His color is red and he was the third side to get his name. One of the og three (eventually four). Roman is not just creativity, he is as his name and color suggest Thomas’s capability for romance and romantic love. Now, I don’t remember the last time I saw “The Prince” character pop up in an instagram short or anything but where the same characters different but also characters drama rears its head for Roman is a little series called “Role Slaying with Roman.” The best way I can put it is the whole C.A Cupid MH EAH thing except not really because there it was canon she was the same person who had crossed over into the other world??...Role Slaying with Roman is basically just Thomas’s take on a DND podcast in which he (this is speculation) used Roman as a way to draw in his pre-existing fans by making him his player character. The universes are completely separate, the Romans are completely separate but they are both Roman. The fandoms have gotten pretty good at tagging for this but still I know it is confusing and it is a lot. As far as popularity in the fandom goes he has always been pretty middling and I think it suits him! He deserves to be higher but I think its pretty fitting that he has never ever dipped below the half way point of adoration. Roman is a theater kid extraordinaire, a sweet, slightly selfish, goofy himbo with big big dreams. He is a lover-boy and a bleeding heart. I HAVE to mention his early on rivalry with Virgil and subsequent friendship arc because its one of my favorite parts of the series but I think that about sums it up. Virgil is like the cause of all of Thomas’s stage fright and self doubt so of course the two are going to be at odds. Roman is very antagonist to Virgil because he can be scary so Virgil was antagonistic back but they slowly come to understand each other in a really believable and sweet way culminating in this absolute GUT PUNCH of a speech from Roman in the season finale and UGHH. Ever since they are besties who are constantly friendly bickering; they have a surprisingly healthy and supportive relationship and I love them dearly. Roman continues his trend of being deeply antagonistic to the dark sides by absolutely simultaneously adoring Janus because of his (sarcastic) flattery towards him and hating him after he figures out he’s lying. Janus made his debut in the series by impersonating Patton for a whole episode and it sort of made a fool of Roman and ever since it has been a very one sided rivalry with Roman absolutely HATING Janus. There is also this thing with a callback that he is very conflicted on and it made the whole thing so much worse. He has a hero complex and to him Janus is the villain and that is all he’ll ever be. I feel like it may also have something to do with…Who Janus brings with him but we’ll get there :))))). I feel like I’m talking about other people a lot in Roman’s section but that is where he shines, his relationships to ALL of the other characters are so nuanced and liable to change, especially now with everything that is currently happening in the series. Roman’s main sources of angst have been Thomas sacrificing opportunities for creative success for various reasons, not feeling like he can be Thomas’s “Hero” anymore (similar vibes to Patton) and Nico. Thomas in canon has recently started dating a man named Nico and…Wellll…Let’s just say things seem sweet now in a understandably bumpy but still favorable road…But the whole fandom can smell a break up coming that would push everyone including and especially our favorite prince over the edge. Hopefully he and Virgil don’t get back on the rocks! 

Virgil 

OH VIRGIL. Virgil Virgil Virgil… Originally the “Anxiety” character on Vine Virgil made the jump to SASI and became “Anxiety.” His is the character where you will see the most confusion with or at least it was before Roman. The confusion comes not only from “Anxiety” still being a pretty frequently used character in Thomas’s other content but also from the hoodie and his first arc. When Virgil first appeared in the series (although I don’t know if the episode technically counts?) was episode three in the crossover with Lily Singh I mentioned before. Both Thomas and Lily often spoke about dealing with mental health so Thomas’s anxiety character made an appearance in the episode as a (seemingly) one off antagonist for them to defeat (of course with the mentioned caveat that anxiety was not something you CAN defeat but still the point was he was an obstacle to face). Virgil in that appearance and every subsequent appearance throughout season one appeared in a grey plaid hoodie. However, after being “Redeemed” later on he swapped out the grey hoodie for a more patchwork custom purple hoodie. The Anxiety that appears in Thomas’s relatable instagram content still wears the grey hoodie and (I think) has a sign taped to his chest that simply says “Anxiety.” But the distinction can be hard to make so the confusion was always there and he was definitely the character where it was the most confusing until RSWR.

I think I have a lot to say about Virgil unfortunately. He is undoubtedly a fandom tour de force. In the early days finding a fander who’s favorite side wasn’t Virgil was a chore. He isn’t my favorite anymore but he still means a lot to me. I was a scared and dumb little kid with a family that mocked you for using words like “Mental health” and Virgil was the first time I ever saw a nuanced take on anxiety. He helped me come to terms with my own anxiety and not hate that part of myself. Despite the series later failures with handling nuance and mental health I stand by Virgil being a fantastic character. Besides all that he was just an angsty emo teen Zuko figure who loved MCR and Nightmare Before Christmas of COURSE he was popular.  He is the only one I think could give Logan a run for his money (I would say maybe Janus but Janus also has a fair number of passionate haters). 

Virgil is anxiety. His color is purple and he was the fourth side to get his name. When I say “original three eventually four” he is that fourth I am referring to, he has been around much longer than the two newer sides but also wasn’t in the first two episodes. Our first “Dark Side” on the list but also not really! That gets a little complicated lol. Virgil used to be a dark side, a concept introduced with the introduction of Janus. The dark sides are like the less desirable parts of Thomas, aka his anxiety and others we’ll get to later. Virgil, however, has been confirmed to be a “Neutral” side which will factor in later. Virgil is not just Thomas’s anxiety he is Thomas’s fear in general. We have seen that without him Thomas cannot function, he keeps him safe, he is fight or flight, he seemingly has control over more basic reflexes too or at least keeps them sharp and without him Thomas quote “Doesn’t fear death.” Which isn’t really a bad thing #deathpositive but in this case that refers to him not valuing his life and taking dumb risks like not locking his door or looking both ways to cross the street which is not good. Virgil’s whole arc first season was finding this nuance and coming to be accepted and it is still some of the series best. However, as time went on Virgil stagnated just a hair there wasn’t really anywhere else obvious for him to grow, he was on decent terms with the other three sides. I think this was about the time his popularity dipped slightly but I wasn’t around to see it. ALL of that changed however when Janus popped up and dragged all of Virgil’s history with him. Virgil wants so badly to forget that he was ever “Like them” he worked so hard to get away from being a dark side, from being seen as a threat to Thomas and now Janus waltzes in and just reminds everyone, literally. No literally those two have personal beef and Janus loves taunting Virgil over how he’ll always be a dark side. This is also where what had previously been Virgil’s strongest relationship crumbled, partially? I don’t know if its quite clear what exactly is the root cause but its definitely got something to do with these two factors. One, Patton simultaneously implying that all dark sides were unforgivable by the way he treated Janus but also two, treating Virgil as if he’d never been an antagonist in the first place, just generally not handling a (albeit very difficult situation with much grace). But also Virgil is definitely coded the youngest of the sides I think, he’s the most teenager and as such he acts like a teenager. Virgil (speculation) doesn’t like that Patton would imply he’s just a sweet helpless innocent baby, as much as he would love to distance himself from the dark sides I think someone else erasing that history for him invalidates him. On a less deep level it is a very typical teenager snapping at their parent and giving them the cold shoulder sort of deal LOL. They will work it out. Him and Janus though? His other parent figure? That seems like it may be another story. 

Remus 

OGH REMUS. I have two favorites and he is one of them. That being said there is some…Stuff to say about Remus. Remus was the second out of the two sides made specifically for the series and not being pre-existing characters to be introduced. However, he was the first of the two to get his name so that’s why he comes first on the list. He is the only side to date that has (and likely ever will) given their name the very first time they appear/meet Thomas and I love him for it. As much as I love Remus as a character, him as a concept is…Flawed… 

See, the dark sides seem to be doing the Virgil thing but ramping up in intensity. The series' whole thing seems to be that every part of you can be good and is necessary; you just have to work with yourself not against yourself. Janus is a good example of this. He isn’t a mental health thing like Virgil, but he is something that is often demonized: he is Thomas’s selfishness and the series had a wonderful and deep and complicated conversation about that and what the balance is of prioritizing yourself but still being a kind and giving person who does right by others. His whole arc (which isn’t even quite over yet, hopefully) is probably the best thing the series has ever done and I LOVE it. 

Remus on the other hand…Woof…So. Here’s the thing. Remus represents intrusive thoughts. The way they’ve spun this is that he’s also Thomas’s capability for more adult oriented creativity, darker stories and sex scenes and stuff. He’s all the stuff that Thomas has locked away as a creator who has made his whole brand kid friendly. AND THAT is a deeply deeply interesting conversation to have! However, he’s still intrusive thoughts. Now I can tell you as someone with severe anxiety that anxiety is no damn joke, chest pain, nausea, weak immune system, panic attacks, insomnia NO FUN. However, a big factor here is that anxiety isn’t demonized like intrusive thoughts. 

 I’m going to speak out of my ass here for a bit based on discourse I’ve seen but….There is a lot of nuance here and I deleted a whole paragraph because I feel like I can’t speak with experience on the matter. I haven’t really dealt with intrusive thoughts since I was a pre-teen and my memory there is practically blacked out. A lot of the issues come with just being slightly tone deaf I think and a lot of the other issues come from the person they consulted to write Remus who as I understand it isn’t a great person. Then there was the issue with fanders tagging Remus related posts with “Intrusive thoughts” and clogging up a tag that should have been dedicated to a serious mental health thing with their blorbo. All in all it was just a mess. 

Overall I don’t feel like this is a topic Thomas was fully prepared to handle. As such Remus has sort of been reduced to a joke character which is fine? I guess? I don’t know in his debut episode that was sort of the conclusion: that you shouldn’t take him seriously. BUT, the thing is he has so much damn potential as a character.  Remus. I love Remus and I think there’s a lot there, like I said the conversation about feeling limited as a creative is one I think would be very interesting but I don’t think its ever going to happen. It feels like Remus was meant for more but due to the (rightful) backlash he received he’ll never get it. Its like the series has backed themselves into a corner in my eyes. If they want to make interesting Remus content with the aspect of him that they can talk about in an interesting and nuanced manner they have to reckon with the fact that they tried to tackle a demonized mental health issue and people weren’t happy with the way they did so. MAYBE I’m just a jaded fan who’s sad my blorbo isn’t gonna get the spotlight but I don’t know. In all the supplemental material we’ve gotten since he cropped up he’s been sort of like the lovable outcast buffoon side character that’s just sort of tolerated by everyone and OCCASIONALLY we’ll see a moment where he makes Thomas feel like shit. And I’m like?? Where did THIS come from? It feels like Remus is a song where the last note never played. I LOVE to see him pop up and eat spaghetti with a straw but I’d also love to see him get treated like a character which they really can’t do because they decided to make him intrusive thoughts. MAYBE this legendary alleged four part season finale that’s SUPPOSEDLY on the horizon will give me what I want. But I don’t think so, it feels like the series has already moved on. And honestly? I wouldn’t blame them if they did.

The problem is is that the way the series is set up where “Every part of you has a role” is that at this point Remus doesn’t. It feels counter intuitive to what I think the series is trying to say to have ALL THESE OTHER CHARACTERS with so much nuance and good and bad qualities and then have that one guy over there who’s flat as a piece of cardboard by design. If they want to go the Virgil route with Remus and stick true to their (presumed) message and have that interesting conversation I want they have to deal with the fact that they made him intrusive thoughts. They’re going to have to have a very uncomfortable conversation about just how seriously and with how much value they should treat Remus considering what they’ve made him represent and face more backlash. And I don’t think they’re ever going to and honestly I don’t know if I want them to….UGH sorry its just MNNGHHHH. 

Anyways. Remus. Remus is…Lets call him “Dark creativity.” Which I believe is his official title. His color is green. He is the second out of the three new sides to be introduced and the first to get his name. He is canonically twin brothers with Roman and they are the only sides to canonically have a familial relationship with another side (although this is debatable). Remus is insane, clown car horn honking outside your window at three am insane. He is random and silly and gross and I love him. He cusses, makes sex jokes and has constant props and gags galore. He is also prone to anger and has a temper. He hates being ignored which unfortunately…Remus’s most interesting relationship is probably with his brother Roman although its never really been explored. Its the classic golden child vs fuck up dynamic with Thomas being the parent. Its unclear how Remus actually feels about his brother so far although he did bash him over the head in his debut episode, classic sibling behavior. Roman hates Remus. He hates that Thomas has (sort of because like I said, WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN) accepted Remus and he fears that people may see him and Remus as being alike in any way. Remus hasn’t had much to say on this matter so…A final note on them is that there is a very popular fan theory regarding their history. There is a line in the show about them having “Split like an amoeba” I believe it was which led a lot of people to think they were one person. That. And the fact that their titles are the prince and the duke…Both implying a higher power… 

Logan is the character with which Remus has had the most interesting interactions (hello intrulogical shippers I see you). The dark sides all have light side counterparts, the most direct example is Patton and Janus but Remus is an interesting case. While Remus’s light side counterpart is Roman the side that actually balances him out is Logan. Logan like I said is logic. How do you defeat unreasonable nonsense violence that your brain is spitting at you because its bored? With logic. So the two have a love hate dynamic, they’re very frosty but I think Remus is regretfully fascinated with Logan and fixated on messing with him specifically and I hate to admit it as someone who has a DIFFERENT otp but yeah there is a LOT of tension there (I am so sorry Remuskinn, if you’re reading this). My favorite dynamic with him is one we technically haven’t even seen play out yet in canon but MNNGHHHH. I love them. I have to get into shipping for a minute. So my otp is seen as basic for a very funny reason. The most popular ship in the fandom is an oldie but a goodie “Prinxiety” which is Roman x Virgil. I am sorry to logicality shippers but Logicality Logan x Patton was basically seen as a default if you already shipped Prinxiety. So when Remus and Janus were introduced the people who already shipped Prinxiety and Logicality picked them up as the third duo to complete the default set fhadlfjl. So they are seen as basic despite not really being all that popular? I love them. I’ll give you a bit more on the name because I think its funny. So, the two most popular options are “Demus” and “Dukeceit.” SO. The options for the Remus half of the ship name are as follows: “Remus,” “Duke,” and “Intrusive Thoughts.” He gave away all three in his debut episode which set ship namers into a frenzy because oh god there’s so much to work with what do we pick. For some reason “Intrusive thoughts” + “Deceit” never really caught on although I think “Intruceit” is fine if an ungraceful mouthful. So we get ‘The Duke” + “Deceit” = “Dukeceit” and “Deceit” + “Remus” = “Demus.” Other options are “Receit” “Intruceit” “Janmus” “Trashnoodle” and more. Remus was the main one complicating things here but I also feel like the conflict between the old and new shipping conventions in the fandom was just at an all time high title vs name war. This was only made worse by the fact that Janus didn’t even HAVE a name yet and wouldn’t until well over a year after being introduced. In short: they don’t really have a set name and tagging for them is hell. But in all honesty the chaos suits them. 

Now like I said, we haven’t seen them interact in canon: technically. We’ve seen them interact once or twice on screen in questionably canon content but as of yet they haven’t spoken a word to each other in a main series episode. We are working with scraps here but OH BOY are they filet mignon trimmings JUICY JUICY JUICY. There was a tiktok that Thomas reacted to a while back before even the semi-canon stuff had come out that was to the “Let’s not be to hasty, still I think he’s rather tasty” audio that he said was pretty much a perfect fit if that gives you any idea of them LOL. They have a Jessy and James ISH dynamic in that they’re a dynamic villain duo. They simultaneously have so much in common but also are opposites attract. Remus is all about loud bleating honesty and Janus is the secretive one who keeps his cards close to his chest. Remus fucks around and finds out and Janus is sick of his shit and cleans up his messes. BUT the beauty is he sticks around anyway. There’s a scene in the “incorrect quotes” video where Janus is keeping Remus company during a hospital stay and I think that’s very telling. I identify a lot of with Remus as someone who’s prone to saying shit that makes people look at me funny. Overly honest and kind of a jerk. As someone who is “Unlovable” and gross. So the fact that there is someone who sticks around on purpose and seemingly enjoys his company makes me feel all mushy gushy inside. It's that “There’s someone for everyone” thing. Even beyond shipping their mostly unexplored but semi-canon friendship means literally EVERYTHING to me and the second their dynamic is fucked up is the second I probably can’t stomach to watch the series anymore. Dukeceit fans work with what we got which is NOT A LOT but hey! All I can say is “There’s a snake in my ass” LOL. 

Back on topic: Remus fans work with what we have too which is also not a lot and though I’d like to have hope that that will change in the future I don’t think there is any ground for that hope to stand on…At least there’s always fanfiction. 

Janus 

Janus is arguably my actual favorite character. I just love him SO goddamn much. First of all he has the COOLEST design because his face is literally half snake half human so freakin COOL. I love him. There is so much room for headcanon with that. Like? Does he wear so many layers because he’s all full of secrets or is he just cold because snake? Love love love it. 

I will say that Janus is also not free of controversy largely due to some unfortunate ties to anti-semetic stereotypes that I am definitely not qualified to speak on. Janus. Janus is Deceit and his color is yellow. He was the first of the new three sides to be introduced and the second to get his name. He is the side with the current record for longest time between introduction and name reveal which like I said I think sits at over a year. This suits him perfectly and also his name reveal is one of my favorite moments in the series. His name also not only suits him perfectly but fits very nicely into the current trend of dark side names just being a smorgasbord for Remus to make filthy jokes out of (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Uranus to be next LOL).  Janus is Thomas’s capability for deceit, to tell lies to not only others but also to lie to himself. He is also his capability to be selfish. Janus is a character where its unclear exactly where his morals lay. He seems like a wrong things for the right reasons kind of guy but the beauty is we don’t really know. He desperately wants to take care of Thomas and to be recognized as a valuable and good part of Thomas. He wants him to blow off work and take a nap once and a while but also maybe to commit some arson. He is all secrets and shadows. He has so many fun motifs: Jeckle and Hyde, shadows, snakes and snake eyes. GOD I LOVE HIM. He’s also super well written too. There’s this fun thing where he seems incredibly intelligent and don’t get me wrong he probably is smart but he’s also bullshitting 90% of the time about as hard as your average uni student writing a 10 page paper. Every single one of his sources he cites is usually deeply flawed, he’s scrabbling for anything he can use to make himself seem smart and capable and all knowing. He also has this super fucking sick thing where he has six arm, six shadow arms Dr. Facilier style that he can use to make the sides “Silence” themselves ala Pearl from Steven Universe and slap a hand over their mouth and it is DOPE. He seems like a bit of a marxist so respect there, he’s been seen reading marxist lit lol. He is sarcastic as hell and you have to watch his tone to see how serious he’s being at any given moment LOL. OH! Also it's generally accepted that he has the power to suppress the other dark sides, letting Thomas lie to himself about them not being there which is why they didn’t start popping up until after he showed himself. So oh my god there is a LOT there too.  All in all everything about him is just SO COOL. 

A lot of his angst seems to come from (since he’s my favorite you have to take everything I say with a grain of salt) the fact that he is in fact deceit and as such no one really ever trusts him. Everyone distrusts him and calls him a monster and all that shit. 

People are really indecisive on Janus. He is super popular but he’s one of the sides where the love and the hate are about split equal. Since he is deceit a lot of people think he’s bullshitting at all times and is secretly just a villain. Not only do I think this goes against what the series seems to be about but everything we’ve gotten of him in the supplemental material thus far (keenly his character playlist) seems to suggest the opposite. He is GENUINELY trying to be accepted. Don’t get me wrong the way he went about this was a mess. Like I said way back in Patton’s section he goaded and manipulated both him and Roman into being their worst selves and making them question their own morality, which in a way is a good thing but come on man. He’s not so blameless but everyone who thinks he’s JUST a one note villain is as blind as poor Roman. Janus is grey not black or white. He’s a flawed and complex character. He’s funny and charming and there is SO much potential for angst. I could write a whole other 10k words just on his playlist alone and also before I forget to mention it he has  THE COOLEST theme music but GOD all this to say Janus is the best. I love him. I hope his arc isn’t quite over there’s so much more I want to see from him before he steps out of the spotlight. 

???🍊???

Speaking of characters stepping in and out of the spotlight. 

So. When Janus was introduced he brought a whole lot of new lore with him. We got this new idea called “Dark sides” the fact that our beloved guys weren’t just sides they were the “Light sides.” Patton and Janus have pretty direct parallels and Roman and Remus and twins. So the dark sides are all connected to and the counter parts of the light sides. This lead to a whole thing with the fandom trying to figure out Virgil. Was he technically a light side or a dark side? How many other sides were there? Was Virgil the dark side that was opposite to Logan? No. No he wasn’t. Thomas confirmed that Virgil was a “Neutral” side and is the only neutral side. Which left one more spot to be filled…

For a while there was debate on what color he was. We knew he was going to be a color of the rainbow based on the pre-existing color scheme. Most people immediately went to orange although there was a small pocket of the fandom that thought it may have been pink. This is because the color pink often appears as an entity on merch. But, pink is C!Thomas, that is the color that represents him (there is another character in the Thomas canon who’s color is pink but he’s not a side). 

We don’t know a lot about Orange. People debated his existence for a while until he was all but confirmed by the confirmation that Virgil technically wasn’t a dark side. He has now in fact been directly confirmed by the series via a series of teasers. Most exciting of which is Logan’s eyes glowing a bright orange. 

Orange. Purpose unknown and color orange. Name has not yet been revealed and neither has the character himself. We can speculate and it seems to be the case the orange represents anger. This ties into Logan as Logan has been shown to repress a lot of anger in the past. He is ignored and belittled a lot by characters that he can’t help but think of as less intelligent than him. So orange is anger or rage. 

The dark sides have been building in intensity. Janus is definitely the most intriguing so far and the one that had the most focus in the narrative but Remus is the scariest. Parts of his debut episode are literally like horror adjacent. Janus was a force to be reckoned with Remus is a force that you CAN’T reckon with…So the idea is that oh boy where does that leave orange? And considering that he’s waited to reveal himself until the four part season finale? OH BOY…Well…🍊

This is almost 10k. I had more to say but honestly I am out of energy even for info-dumping lol. If you are reading this why?? But also thank you ahfkjdahfkja. I’ll probably reblog this at some point with the rest. I’m sorry I used this ask to yell about my blorbos but it made me feel good to do so hfldjafhld. So to answer your question again: Yes but also no. He is C!Thomas.

[a-monsters-love]

Hit with a quirk that turns adults to children

Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Genre: massive fluff. angst if ya’ squint

Warnings: implications of abuse, little OOC Shoto but its cannon that he smiled more when he was a kid (the gif is a perfect example) 

A/N: FIC SWAP WITH @hxwks-gf​ ILY2 SWEETS - You’ll find her fic [here] 

(Y/N) = Your name

(E/C) = Eye color

(H/C) = Hair color

[Master List]

—————

“How could this happen?” Endeavor hissed at Aizawa.

Aizawa, who looks like he’s about to explode on the man in front of him, lets out a deep sigh. “As I said before, Shoto got hit with a civilians quirk. It should wear off in the next couple days.” Endeavor scowls at you as you cross your arms and deadpan at him, your frame standing protectively in front of a now child Shoto. Shoto’s been holding on to you desperately for the past few hours since the incident, only letting go once to get changed into the smallest gym uniform the school could provide.

You offered to hold him but he chose to take refuge in the back of your legs rather than face the situation. The two of you had been working together on a project for Aizawa when you ran into villains on the street, at some point Shoto had a run in with a civilian who accidentally turned him into a child with their quirk. The face of despair and unbridled childlike tears that welled up in his eyes will haunt you.

“I don’t have time for this.” Endeavor groans, he pulls out his phone and calls Fuyumi. She’s a school teacher she should be able to handle this, right? After about 20 minutes of light bickering on the phone, he comes back. Neither of his siblings can help and his mother is ‘sick’.

You look back at Shoto’s shaking frame and take a deep breath, “I’ll take him.” The two heroes look at you with raised eyebrows. “As Aizawa already knows, I have the next few days off for personal reasons. Which means I have plenty of time on my hands to take care of a kid.” You squeak through the tension in the air.

Aizawa sighs, “Are you going to be able to handle it though? With everything going on?”

You laugh softly and rub little Shoto’s head, “I’m great with kids, and I could use the company.” You smile sadly at your teacher, who only nods in response.

Endeavor huffs and kneels down to Shoto, who hides himself further in your knees. “Contact me if anything happens.” He says looking at you.

“Of course, sir.” You had your suspicions before about Shoto’s childhood, this only brought the situation to light. Never have you ever seen the calm and collected Shoto petrified enough to have him in tears. “I will be running by your family home to pick him up a few different pairs of clothing. We don’t know how long this will last.” You tell him, you don’t bother asking. You don’t care for his opinion, he just needs to leave.

He nods in agreement and provides you the address and a vague idea on where to look. After he does, you scoop up your quivering classmate and speed walk out the door. He freezes at first but instinctually wraps his arms around you and buries his embarrassed face in your neck.

He hasn’t said a word since the incident and you don’t know how much of the man you know is still in there. As much as the idea of your crush burying his face into your neck makes you blush, protecting him is your first priority.

You quickly make your way to the Todoroki residence, well, as quick as you could. Shoto quietly asked to be put down about half way there, you walked as quickly as his little legs could comfortably take him.

When you arrived you looked at the note Endeavor gave you once more, “Alright, so, your father said there’s should be a box in the attic with your old clothing.” You squatted down and smiled at him, a small embarrassed expression was still present on his face. “Do you want to look with me, Shoto?”

He glances at you with a blush, the two of you weren’t on a first name basis outside of fact that his Hero name is his first name. Honestly you couldn’t find it in your bones to call a little kid by his last name, it felt too weird. He nods shyly, “Yes…(Y-(Y/N)…” His voice was almost a whisper.

You giggled a bit and finger combed out a few ruffles in his hair, “Wonderful, because I have no idea where your attic is.” The comment earns you a stifled laugh from the boy and he pulls you along by the finger.

After pulling down the latter to the attic you send Shoto up first, following close behind. You both cough at the dust but quickly find the boxes, after he pulls out a few outfits you inspect them for signs of deterioration. When you find no problems you both leave the attic and head down to wash the old clothing.

Shoto freezes as he passes through a hallway, the color has run from his face. “(Y-(Y/N)..” His voice shook as he stared at a door, you walk up to him slowly and offer your arms for him.

He awkwardly steps into your embrace, “Lets wash these at my house.” You say quietly, rubbing his back.

When you get home you walk in and show him where to put his shoes, “I’m home.” You say loudly to the nearly empty home. A meow is heard from upstairs and you wait as your old cat walks down the stairs to greet you. “Hello Cali, I’m home. I brought a friend.” You pet the cat who wasted no time rubbing up on Shoto. “This is Shoto, he’s going to be with us for a few days.” You explain to the cat, who meows lazily in return.

You chuckle as Shoto shyly pets the cat, “I’ve never had any pets before...” He says quietly.

You hum a bit and head to your wash room, “Well, you’ll have plenty of time to experience having one while you’re with me.” You smile at him, he slowly follows you poking his head around doors and entryways.

“Where’s your family?” He asks, noticing the lack of life in your house.

You croon at the question, “It’s just me and Cali. It’s been like that for awhile.” That was all you could manage on the situation as you made sure his clothing was set in the washer.

Regret is visible on his young face and he brought his hands to his mouth, “O-oh..I’m sorry..” He murmured towards the floor.

A chuckle escapes you, how can he be so cute? He looks up in confusion at you, “You did nothing wrong Shoto, you don’t have to apologize. Why don’t you go explore while I clean up a bit?” He nods at you and runs off, you walk up stairs and open up your little brothers old room. You move to open up the window and start dusting off the contents of the room when you hear heavy little feet making their way up the stairs. “Find anything interesting?” You ask.

Turning you see him carrying Cali, his arms scooped under the cats front legs in a manner that makes the beast look long. “You have a piano.” He says, you can hear stifled interest in his voice. Your heart breaks at the fact that a 5 year old is stifling their emotions.

“I do indeed!” You chirp while putting new sheets on the bed. “Do you like pianos?”

You can almost see the gears moving in his head. “They sound pretty.” He finally says, releasing the cat.

You chuckle as you finish cleaning up. “They do, my mom taught me to play when I was your age. She told me that music is the window to ones soul.”

It’ll be nice having him around, you think seeing him look at you in awe. “You can play it?” He asks, excitement can be heard in his voice for the first time.

“I can, I just had it tuned too.” You smile widely at him, glad his wall is coming down. “But first, we must bathe!” You scoop him up and tickle his stomach, “I think we’re both pretty stinky.”

He giggles from being tickled and then blushes at the idea of bathing with you. “Together?” He mumbles, you blush a bit at the comment.

“I-If you would prefer me being there, I su-suppose we could figure something out.” You stammer.

He doesn’t say anything as you walk to the bathroom and start filling up the bath when he pulls on your shirt, you look back at him and squat down. You tilt your head to the side, waiting for him to choose his words. “Stay?” He asks.

You smile, “Of course. Let me go grab a few things and we’ll get in.” You rush to your room and change into a bathing suit, grabbing your brothers old swim suit from his dresser. You hear a loud splash as you walk back, you see Shoto wet in his clothing from the trying to turn off the water. “Someone’s excited.” You tease.

He looks at you with a distressed pouting face, “N-No I-.” He stutters as you move to turn off the water. “I was trying to do that..”

You laugh and offer him the shorts, as he changes you move to grab a few bath soaps and bubble bath. “I appreciate all your help, Shoto.” You say walking back, helping him into the tub. Both of you let out a small sigh as you sink into the hot water, causing small chuckles between you.

You scrub off some of the slime from the day and start pouring bubble soap into the bath. “What’s that stuff?” He asks.

“Oh-Ho. Bubbles of course.” You wink at him and quickly mix the soap to create bubbles. He helps you make bubbles, he giggles a bit at the action and then blushes.

Shoto doesn’t understand what’s come over him, his mind is still all there but he has so much less control over his emotions, let alone his behavior. He hasn’t meant to say half the stuff he has since the accident. He watches you happily go along with his childish antics as if the whole situation were normal. You smile at him when you catch him staring and scoop bubbles onto his head. “H-Hey!” He whines, pushing bubbles at you.

You laugh as he falls into you, the tub is smaller than you’d like but you’re content with space you have. “Careful there.” You scoop him up, you find his eyes wandering along the deep scars all over your body. You reached for the sponge, “Let’s get you cleaned up.” You say softly.

Without realizing it Shoto found himself sitting on your thighs, tracing the scars on your shoulder with his fingers. He jumped back when he felt the soapy sponge touch his arm. “I can do it!” He said louder than he meant.

You hand him the sponge and grab another to scrub yourself. You get out of the tub to rinse off and wash your hair before he’s done. “Come here when you’re done, I want to wash your hair.” You say, he just nods with a bright blush.

He gets out by the time you start putting conditioner in your hair. “I can wash my own hair..” He mumbles, awkwardly sitting in front of you.

“I know you can, but I want to.” You say quietly, this whole situation is like a fever dream for you. Getting to wash your crushes hair and satiating the hole that was left without your family? Win-win (Y/N). “I like doing these things.” You say as you put shampoo in his hair.

“Why?” He asks plainly.

You hum as you massage his scalp, a small sigh leaves him from the feeling. “I like spoiling people I care about.” You blush a bit at the statement, blaming the steam for the heat in your face.

“Y-you care about me?” The question broke your heart.

“Of course I do, I wouldn’t have brought you to my family home or shared a bath with you if I didn’t.” A smile can be heard in your words, he doesn’t say anything.

He sat with his thoughts as you rinsed his hair of shampoo and started applying conditioner. The ‘shared a bath’ comment running through his mind, partially clarifying the fluttering in his chest when he’s around you. Maybe I can ask these questions since she thinks I’m a kid mentally.  he thinks, “Hey, (Y/N)?” You hum in response. “What does it mean when your belly flops around?”

“Hmm, in the literal sense or do you mean when you feel like you have butterflies in your stomach?” You ask, focusing more on detangling his unfairly soft hair.

“Like butterflies.” He murmurs.

“Well, it can indicate excitement, anticipation, nervousness but often times it‘s a sign of love-“ Your breath hitches in your throat are the last word, a deep blush taking over your face. You make a feeble attempt to finish your work.

You were so focused on trying to hide you embarrassment you didn’t see Shoto’s reddening face. He stood up quickly and grabbed the shower head from the floor. “I’ll r-rinse your hair.” He says, giving you no time to argue as he walked around you and started the rinsing the conditioner out of your hair.

Both of you felt like your heads were going to pop, while the feeling of his little hands in your hair provoked giggles from you. You reached back and helped him, he struggled getting out knots from your hair and elected to leave them for you to sort out. His small frame doing him no justice as his hands traced the scars on your back but froze. “It’s okay.” You said softly, letting his childishly addled mind explore. You imagined if you had children they’d would do the same thing. “Let me rinse your hair when you’re done studying.” You tease. The comment pulled him from his wonder and he sat in front of you.

After the bath you both changed into pajamas. He lets you blow dry and brush his hair and followed you around like a ducking into the kitchen. “Can I help?” He asks on his toes at the counter, watching you pull out food for prep.

“Of course, pull up a chair.” You respond pointing at the kitchen table and he does just that. He pulls up a chair and you have him washing vegetables while you prepare a pan to cook in and start the rice cooker. “How does Oyakodon sound?” You ask looking through your fridge.

“I don’t mind as long as you make it.” His tone was soft, he didn’t dare to look at you in his own embarrassment. I didn’t mean to say that, he thinks.

You smile widely and pat his head gently, “You are too sweet, ya’ know that?” You giggle softly. “I’ll get you to decide on what you want tomorrow.”

He smiles lightly as you take the vegetables from him. He pushes the chair closer to the stove to watch you cook and watches how delicately but precise each movement you make is. He knows a little about cooking but he can’t understand how you quickly made a dish that seems so complicated.

He drags the chair back to the table when you start serving the dinner, he sits down excitedly as you bring out his plate. A happy noise escapes him as he starts to eat. You smile softly at his childish behaviors, “You’ll be a good mom.” He says with after chewing.

You chuckle and pull rice off his cheek, eating it yourself. “Maybe, I’ll need to find a husband first, and I’m pretty sure boys are terrified of me.” You recall interactions with other students after the sports festival, the girls were all excited but the boys seemed to shy away.

“You’re not scary!” He says almost dropping his spoon, you laugh and roll your eyes. “You’re not! You’re so nice and helpful and smart and-and pretty!” He felt like the room was spinning as he spat out how he felt, why did I say that?! He scolded himself internally, looking down. “If I could eat your food all the time I’d be your husband.” His words were so quiet you almost didn’t hear him, but you did.

You felt like your heart could jump out of your chest, my crush just said he’d be my husband! HOW DO I RESPOND TO THAT?? You tried to keep your face passive, coughing slightly to hide the quandary you’re in. “Maybe when you’re older.” An awkward giggle escapes you, “You’d have to be my boyfriend first though.”

His face was red but he nodded and scooped the last of his food into his mouth. “Okay.” He said with food in his mouth, “I’ll be (Y/N)’s boyfriend.” He continued, more to himself than you, nodding as if he just came to an agreement. You nearly choke on your drink before you both chuckle awkwardly, “Are you gonna play a song on the piano?” He asks as you take the dishes and wash them, letting him help store the left overs.

“I can, what kind of song?” You hum.

Shoto pauses and thinks about it, he doesn’t say anything until you walk up to the standing piano. “Something for me?” His voice was almost a squeak.

You turn and look at him, he’s looking down and fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Maybe a song that reminds me of him? That’s not too tough, you hum and pat the space next to you on the piano bench. “I think I’ve got one.” You scoop him into your lap, giggling as he makes a feeble attempt to escape. “I don’t want to elbow you on accident.” When he stops wiggling around and you start playing the song, singing out the lyrics quietly as he watched your finger fly delicately across the keys. The harsher notes surprise him, but he glances at you with a slack jaw. Your eyes half lidded followed your hands across the keys, a small smile curled at your lips.

“You can do everything.” He gasps, earning himself a bashful blushing smile from you.

“Why don’t we watch a movie?” He nods happily at your suggestion.

He ended up sitting curled into you, under a blanket, you made herbal tea and put on some movie he chose. While finishing his drink it didn’t take long to get tired, he rubbed his eyes incessantly. “I’ll lay down after the movie.” He yawned a soft plea, you can’t imagine how tired his young body must be. Even as an adult, the day you had was a bit much.

He fell asleep not long after, you scooped him up and laid him down in your brothers old room. You left his door open after tucking him in and walked into your own room. You plopped on top of the blankets and dozed off quickly.

You woke up a few hours later to the soft sounds of crying, stifled and buried noises. You quickly got out of bed and walked over to the source, “Shoto? What’s wrong?” You asked softly.

He made an awkward grunt while wiping his face in the pillow, “Nothing, bad dream. I-I’m okay.” He pleas, but his childish form betrays him. “I’m sorry for waking you..”

“Well, you don’t look ‘okay’ to me.” You tease a bit, “Come here.” He instinctually follows you back to your room, you sit him on your much softer bed and wipe his face. “It’s okay to not be okay, Shoto.” You pat his scarred cheek, thumbing at stray tears before crawling into bed behind him. “Come lay down, take advantage of being little.” You say, you’re clearly still half asleep as you lift you arm for him to choose to lay with you or not.

It doesn’t take long for him to crawl into your bed, curling his sleepy small frame into your arms. The smell of you consumes his mind, calming him down. You pet his hair and rub shapes into his back until you both fall asleep.

——

“AH.” You woke to the sound of a surprised little Shoto, I thought that was a dream. He thought when he woke up wrapped in your arms and nuzzles into your chest.

You rubbed and picked at your eyes as he scooted away from you, glancing over at him. Oh yeah, “You sleep okay?” You’re far too tired to be embarrassed.

He watches you stretch out, your hair and clothing are disheveled. You’re glancing at him with half lidded bedroom eyes, your morning voice was softer and raspier than usual. A blush consumes him, I wish I was grown right now. He thinks, Wait…What? “Ah, y-yeah actually.” He rubbed his own eyes, “I slept good.” Better than he had in a long time.

You smile and sit up, quickly getting out of bed. “Good, why don’t you go get dressed and we’ll start breakfast.” You wink and smile at him as you head to the bathroom. He just stares at the door for a moment before rushing to the other room.

Shoto follows you down the stairs after you’re both dressed, noting you’re semi-casual clothing. “I have one thing I have to do today.” You tell him, “After that we’ll be free to do whatever you want.” You start reheating rice and cooking meat for breakfast, along with prepping food for lunch.

“You’re cooking a lot of food.” He comments from over the bar.

A soft smile graces your face, “We’re going to see my family today.” He notes the mild sadness in your face but doesn’t push.

“What are they like?” He asks walking around the counter to enter the kitchen.

“Oh they’re wonderful, my mom is very goofy. She loves music and weird philosophy that I still don’t understand.” You laugh talking about her, “My dad was a loud man, he’s soft and loved when he could take care of me and my brother. My brother on the other hand is a lot like the other boys in our class. A bit of a screw ball but he always means well.” Shoto quietly watches you talk passionate about your family, he smiles softly at the way you smile wide enough for dimples to show.

You set a plate down for him, you eat in the kitchen while you finish packing lunch. “You think they’ll like me?” He asks between bites.

You laugh, “They would have loved you.” Thoughts flash in Shoto’s head, she’s introducing me to her parents? He’s enamored with the idea but his current situation makes it very strange.

He loses himself in thought, not noticing you packing incense into your picnic basket. You feed Cali and start cleaning up, check the weather, and take your time cleaning up. You make a glass of fruit tea for Shoto, who’s watching cartoons. You watch him blow on it and take a careful sip when his face lights up, “This is yummy.” He smiles shyly.

“I’m glad, it was my favorite when I was your age.” You chuckle.

“What’s your favorite now?”

You hum at the question, “I haven’t met a tea I didn’t like. I’m not sure.” You stared blankly at the TV in consideration, it’s been a long time since you’ve been unsure of something so simple.

A couple hours pass before you leave for your picnic. Shoto wishes he could help you carry the basket and blanket, he fails to notice where you’re both headed until you stop. You pull out a key card and open the gate to a cemetery for Heroes, he looks up at you in concern but you smile softly back at him and pat his hair. When you finally stop you set up a blanket in front of a decorated family head stone, he just stares at you in surprise. He goes to say something when someone else calls your name. “Miss (Y/N)!” You look over and see an older man. “Is it the anniversary already?”

You wave as he walks up, “Takahashi! Good to see you old timer. It is, I can’t believe you still work here.”

He laughs loudly, “Your parents saved my life so of course I do! Who’s the tyke?” He asks peering around you.

Shoto bows politely, “I’m Shoto! Who are you?”

You both chuckle, “Polite young thing,” He says to you. “I’m Takahashi Jin, grounds keeper of this ‘er cemetery.” He smiles to Shoto, “You two enjoy your lunch, don’t get into trouble like last time missy!” He teases and turns to leave.

“Me? Trouble? Never. Not even once.” You snort, winking at Shoto who chuckles. You both chuckle further when you hear the old man huff.

Shoto lights the incense and both give your prayers before you open up lunch. Neither of you pay any mind to the strange looks you get as time goes on. Shoto doesn’t understand your happiness as you sit in a cemetery eating lunch with a classmate, you’re alone in this world. His heart aches but he’s glad you seem okay. The old man from earlier stop by again and hands you a few flyers, “You think we should go?” You ask Takahashi with knitted brows. He nods, sending an empathetic smile. You shrug and hand the papers to Shoto.

“A festival?” He looks at you wide eyed, “Can we go?”

“If you want to, then absolutely.”

“I’ve never been to one,” He whispers to himself behind the paper.

——

When you return to the house you drop the basket off on the counter and run upstairs. Shoto follows behind but waits as you head into a room he hasn’t seen yet, “Shoto, come here.” You call, he walks in hesitantly and looks around. “Face the door for a moment.” He does, only glancing over as he realizes your measuring him. “Yeah, this should fit.” Your voice was excited.

He turns to see you have a set of matching yukata’s, a larger white one with red geometric flowers on it, the smaller one was white with fine red and black lines running across it. “We’ll match?” He asks, these types of things were never something his father allowed.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” You poke at him, “Let’s get changed. It’s a bit of a ways away.”

You got him changed first, making sure the Geta sandals fit him. Once he’s sorted you make your way to your room, of course putting on a yukata alone isn’t easy, you groaned internally. It took you longer than you would’ve like to get ready, the outfit then the hair, natural makeup, the whole nine. You grabbed a small shoulder bag and your shoes as you finished.

You stared at the hair stick before grabbing it and walking down the stairs. “Shoto, can you help me with something?” You heard him run over before you saw him, he blushed and gasped at you.

“You look so pretty.” He whispered, cupping his mouth in embarrassment.

You hand him the hair pin and kneel down, “Can you put this in for me?” He looks at the hair stick and then at your hair, his expression softens as you allow him to put it where he likes. “My hero, thank you.” He blushes at the comment but doesn’t say anything. You offer him your hand to hold, he grabs your pinky and ring finger and the two of you set off.

—

“Wow.” He gasps, the streets are lines with lanterns as stalls, you hold his hand and let him pull you to everything that grabs his attention. You buy snacks as you go, you show him and a few other kids your goldfish catching skills and ended up giving all the fish away. You wouldn’t be able to take care of them anyway, the two of you stop by a mask stall. He stares at them in curiosity, the person running the stall explains them and lets him try on a few.

You look at your phone for the time and lift him up, “Look up.” You tell him, as he does fireworks go off. It’s the first time you’ve seen pure childish glee on his face since the incident, if ever. Everyone stares at the fireworks calmly as they go.

When they finish you walk over to a food stand, “Soba!” He cheers, you laugh and order him a bowl. You quickly find a bench to sit at and eat, “Did you know I like soba a lot?” He asked innocently.

“Yes I did, I thought you’d like to have some at your first street festival.”

He watches you eat Takoyaki with a content smile, he didn’t realize you heard that comment. “How long is this going on for?”

You hummed as you finished chewing, “3 more days, I think.” You wipe your mouth, “Did you want to come back?”

He chuckles softly, “Maybe when I’m older.” You smile at him, not quite sure what’s on his mind. “Is this a date?” His question caused you to almost choke on your food.

You looked away as you regained your composure, “I s-suppose i-it is.” You stammer out, your cheeks dust with blush and you’re grateful for the dim lighting. When you glance back at him you see a soft smile on his face, what on earth is going through his mind?

After another hour of playing around you both head back to your home, “Thank you.” He says, squeezing your fingers.

Squeezing his little hand back you hum, “What for?”

“Everything.” His voice was small but content.

You pat his hair with your free hand, “It was my pleasure, Shoto.” You watch the stars as you walk, “Thank you for meeting my family, it’s lonely to go by myself.” You sigh softly.

He glances up at you, “You’re welcome. I don’t want you to be lonely.” You look down at him, a sad smile graces your face. “I’m here for you since you’re gonna be my wife.” His hand quickly covers his mouth at the comment but you can see the smile he’s hiding.

The single comment broke the sadness on your face, causing you to laugh. “That’s a good reason.” You snicker as you make it back to your house.

“We’re home.” You say to the mostly empty house. “Let’s get changed and off to bed.” He nods and follows you up the stairs.

He falls asleep quickly as you tuck him into bed, when you’re sure he’s asleep you press a soft kiss to his forehead and head to bed yourself.

Shoto wasn’t completely asleep when you left a soft kiss on his skin. A smile grew on his face as he got comfortable, you curled into bed quickly dozing off yourself.

You were stirred in the middle of the night by heavy weight of a body curling into your chest and neck. You didn’t bother opening your eyes as you sleepily remembered your guest, you lazily wrapped your arms around him and found his head of hair with you hand to pet as you drifted. “Sleep well, Shoto.” You mumbled as you started to doze back off.

Shoto, now fully grown, had made quick and delicate work of wrapping himself into you. A soft happy noise escaped you as you got comfortable, “I think I love you, (Y/N).” He said softly into your chest, assuming you were asleep.

You hum sleepily and squeeze him a bit, “I think I love you too Sho…” Your voice trailed off indicating your sleep, Shoto squeezes you back as a small happy smile crept up his face.

As much as being turned into a child could have been an absolute nightmare of a situation, he was happy to have had this time with you. He never understood why he was so drawn to you but after all this he seemed to understand more. He never thought being a kid again would have its advantages. He never thought you’d let him so deep into your personal life, between meeting your family, cooking for him and taking him to his first festival. All he wanted to do was stay in your life like this, now he was certain he actually could.

[mushroom-for-art]

I have brain rot so here's another Hexolot who's a hybrid between @my-quirk-is-fred's species and a random alien species I designed for something else, incredibly not Canon but both aliens have: multiple eyes, tentacle/tendril hair, glowy patterny bits and brain went lmao wouldn't it be funny if they just went yea I'd tap. And so they did. Info and long haired version under cut.

I wanna start by saying the Hexolot was likely the 'mother' species receiving the dna to create child as the species I made unnamed would've preferred to keep their child safe on their ship but this oc is on other ships so the Hexolot likely left after a nice space meeting and had child later.

Hexolot dna seems pretty dominant so obviously it more heavily shows in the child.

Short king, has vibes of a dude and answers general to anything but resonates with he more so and people tend to assume they're a he too, significantly shorter than the average hexalot as the 'father' species is small themselves probably idk 5ft if stood from head to toes and idk how tall Hexolot are but I assume they're taller than people so this oc is short. (especially compared to half prehex who definitely stands over him like >:3)

Ship engineer can fix literally anything and everything on a ship, catch him working on things to keep ship going. He only took engineering as he was good at it told by teachers to pursue what he was good at and succeed, rather than learn about what he liked and fail.

He actually really likes plants he's just, really really bad at keeping them alive, in his original mental concept he had an experiment intelligent sentient plant he made (probably illegally(yes its still illegal in space)) called Delpheen but I don't know if I'm keeping that.

Because of his 'father' species he was born with a lot of incredibly short hair tendrils that have grown out a little but remain short as due to weird hybridization his genes probably just tell him to keep youngling hair permanently likely latching onto the Hexolot short hair gene making it more dominant.

He's actually capable of moving each individual one and can make them grow which he uses for climbing around in vents (sus) when working, this is also from the 'father' genes as they climb around similarly.

All his eyes are fully functional, his top eyes are better at night vision though and help process extra information making him very good during power outs or dark places, though the eye shine can spook people.

Finally from his 'father' species comes the metal structures on his face and growing from his tusks/pincers. The species naturally produces cobalt on their face as facial markings and in defensive situations and so he has his own markings and changing the shape of his tusk/pincers likely binding to some recessive dna that would've made those shapes normally.

His extended tendrils do grow a fine metallic cobalt sheath making them slightly defensive and he has warning makings just for show to scare people off if needed.

Oh also surprisingly good with kids? The 'father' species has a very strong active protect child instinct and kids seem to sense he's a soft touch despite being a bit socially inept with adults.

Does not understand the "go bother someone else" parents, who then get annoyed that he's the person watching their kids keeping them safe and outta trouble cause you shooed off your young one? You did not supervise? You can't get mad at me watching over them?? I literally work here??

And doesn't get when people get annoyed if he asks if they even wanted kids considering they always shoo them off. Cause let's be real they'll always be the go away type parents who don't want to interact with their kids but like obviously still love them, it's just hard for him to comprehend as in his 'father' species babies and young are almost always constantly carried around by an adult of the family so it's strange to him, shooing a child away feels wrong.

The kind of crew member to wake up to a power shortage, roll over cause its not his shift they can fix it, then proceed to throw himself outta bed when he remembers a single mom on deck 6-C with a baby that needs bottle feeding every hour and last time these idiots took 3 hours to fix a 30 minute problem so he's GOING cause someone's gotta make sure this baby gets fed! Outta the way you incompetents.

Hand him a baby and he will hold the baby support the neck and body and any extra alien parts that need extra support while the parent works, doesn't make a scene or fuss.

[imthepunchlord]

Do you have any thoughts on how the guardian role is handled lore wise? Would you change much about being the guardian?

Oh yes I do and there's so much that I would change up.

The more we see of the Guardians, the dumber they are and the more pointless they are. To a point it's a wonder if they were worth the inclusion as they don't amount to much and are just useless. I'm putting this undercut as I just go off.

- Lore wise, they set it up that adults are naturally more powerful, so why did Fu pick two kids to fight his battles for him? Why not adults? Why did he leave them on their own instead of offering them some means to have an edge over HM?

- Of the Ladybug and Cat, we have yet to see anything unique that the Cat brings to these fights that the other 15 miraculi that Fu has with him couldn't do. You need a distraction that's going to mess up the akuma? Monkey and Fox. You need a protector/aggressor? Bee, Turtle, or Dragon. Ladybug is a must as its the only cleanser so far and has ML to boot, but Cat doesn't need to be out there, and as soon as HM had quite publicly stated that he wants LB and Cat, Fu should've reclaimed the Cat immediately to secure its safety and that HM won't get both. Another or two could go out to replace it.

- Why was picking Adrien a good idea? If Fu had just arrived in Paris, ok, but Backwarder reveals he's been living in Paris for a while. And with that, he's seen Adrien's face everywhere.s Adrien is potentially the most well known kid in Pari. Technically, for Fu's want of secrecy, why pick the most iconic face in Paris to get a miraculous? That sets up one of your heroes to always have attention on him. Fu picking Adrien doesn't make any logical sense.

- Why is Fu ok with endangering one kid but not the other? Why does Marinette get a test set up that risks her life and Fu's if it hadn't gone well and Adrien just helps an old man up, a common decency that most would do. It's like two extreme differences that don't work well in comparison as Marinette gets the risky test and Adrien it looks like he got his miraculous on a silver platter as he got the far easier one that takes the least effort to be a decent human being.

- Fu being a terrible mentor and hero picker in general and the whole shebang with Syren. If Adrien is not meeting his standards or if he doesn't trust Adrien at all, why is Adrien being allowed to continue as a hero? Or if he really wants Adrien to stay, why isn't he doing anything about Adrien? Why isn't he telling Plagg to encourage Adrien to step up and get serious? If he can take on the role of being Adrien's Chinese teacher, why not do that to try and guide Adrien to improvement so he can also be trusted with Guardian secrets too and truly help Marinette out. He's got two options when he doesn't trust Adrien or finds that he's meeting his standards: he takes the miraculous back or he addresses this issue himself.

- I also call big BS about him not doing anything at all when he comes upon Adrien detransformed on the roof with Plagg. Cause he's risking himself going out to find Chat Noir only to find him detransformed. That realistically should raise some brows and concern him. Adrien at least should've gotten a lecture or warning.

- Also the reveal that kwamis aren't allowed to know about their own power. that to me is off putting. It really stresses that kwamis are beneath them, these very ancient and powerful beings that have probably seen a lot. And canon validates it by making them children (which to me is the writers being lazy so they don't have to do complex characters).

- The whole thing with Fu's backstory. Dumbest backstory I've ever heard and it just paints Guardians in a really bad light, and by extension, real life monks. Monks didn't go to people's homes to take children. If they did take kids with them, those kids had nowhere else to go and offered them a place to stay until old enough to be on their own. And that test, omg, wtf. Ok, I can get the idea of a test of temptation, but there are other ways to perform it without starving a kid. Especially leaving said kid alone unsupervised with 19 powerful miraculi two of which have wish granting abilities. How would the Guardians even know if Fu used a miraculous as they left him alone with mriaculi. If Fu wanted to, he could've made a wish to never be picked.

- Fu didn't even do shit when he finally had a chance to face off against HM. He just sat in his damb ball and allowed himself to get knocked around. At least try and roll over him! Be a ping-pong ball! DO SOMETHING. Like, why did you even pick Turtle??? Turtle wasn't able to do anything against Butterfly! I thought it could as Fu had been ready to go in Origins, plus the 5 are based off Wu Xing, by set up, Fox and Turtle should have some sort of an edge over the Butterfly. But I guess that means there could be other options aside form LB and we can't have that, Marinette's miraculous needs to be the only thing to take on the Butterfly to really stress on the fact that it comes down to only her.

- The memory wipe thing that's an apparently must when you retire from being the Guardian. Honestly I think that should've been saved as a last resort if you're ever captured and could be forced to leak info, not when you retire. Doing so removes a valid source of advisement that a new Guardian can rely on. History is there to learn from it and this tradition removes a source of history to learn from, either from having guidance or seeing what the old did and how you want to change things. This also makes me concerned as I see Adrien taking advantage of an amnesiac Marinette.

- I went off about the NY Special revealing there's more Orders here.

- And lastly, Su-Han, the other Guardian to see aside from Fu. And with him, it solidifies how stupid they all are. When the Butterfly is being misused in Paris, why is someone aggressive and judgmental coming to Paris? Why is this guy even working with kids when he doesn't like kids? And the reveal that Guardians don't use miraculi at all. That just makes that test all the dumber with testers being unsupervised. And for Guardians not meant to use miraculi, how come Marinette gets a nice perk as LB that she can pull a miraculous out of her yo-yo? They're probably playing that she's "the first" to do so but realistically, I'm pressing x to doubt. In the long history of miraculi and when Guardians were around, you expect me to believe that Guardians never used miraculi themselves? What if there was no one to turn to, do they just the disaster happen? ...Well, based on how terrible canon is setting them up, I wouldn't be surprised.

SO.

There is a lot I would change up about the Guardians and for this, I'll adjust canon.

- Adrien gets the ring another way, maybe a gift from his mom or aunt or grandparents. Realistically, there's no logical reason for Fu to pick Adrien. He just has too much attention on him and Chat being an unexpected miraculous user can make him wary, adding to him only trusting Marinette.

- I'd have Fu be more present in Marinette's life, a customer who comes in a lot. This way he can offer advise when needed but not take away from Tikki. And this has him more closely keeping an eye on things.

- I'd change up Fu's backstory. He got separated from his family in a flood, the previous Turtle saved him, tried to help him find his family and with no luck, took him to the Temple, but only the section where other orphans are where they work to help take care of it, oblivious to the miraculous near them. After a year, Fu is one of the few selected to be entrusted with miraculous knowledge. He's surprised but not all that for it as he'd rather go find his family still. Idk how Temple falls but its not that. That was just dumb and avoidable.

- I wouldn't have Adrien meet Fu at all. In truth, it actually could've been cut out entirely as Adrien meeting Fu didn't amount to anything. He doesn't help with Guardian duties, doesn't help pick heroes, hasn't stepped up at all in his role as a partner. And he's not as torn up about Fu's loss as Marinette is. Adrien meeting Fu was pointless in the grand scheme of things. Nothing was progressed or changed from Adrien meeting Fu.

- I'd have HM ONLY getting an edge on Fu because Mayura was there to help him, catching Fu off guard. I want to see the Turtle truly in action, to see what else it can do cause sitting there to be smacked around was just unimpressive. And if Asstruck even did as much research as he could, he'd know that in Chinese mythology, the Turtle is a boss. It's the keeper of history and symbol of immortality, and it's up there with Tiger as an animal that can go toe to toe with the Dragon. And of the Four Symbols (associated with 4 seasons), the Black Turtle is also known as the Black Warrior. There should've been a lot more to Turtle than just sitting in your shell and allowing yourself to be knocked around.

- Su-Han I'd drastically change up. I'd keep in him being critical and stern, but he approaches things smartly and patiently. Before he dives into aggression and accusations, he wants to know what's going on. Why does this 14 yo have the Miracle Box? How was the Butterfly obtained and misused? And what the hell is going on??? How are these people so small and how did they get into this thin glass box?? Computer? What's a computer??? Essentially, have fun with the fact that Su-Han is essentially a time traveler and one great bonding experience to have with Marinette while also offering some good comedy is him learning about the modern time and her acting as his guide. Su-Han can give her guidance that Fu hadn't been able to give, and Marinette can offer her own in a way that Su-Han will need. Which by extension could remove Marinette having a near mental breaking point and revealing herself to Alya, and could avoid some of that drama of what's coming.

- Speaking of which, Adrien. I'd use Su-Han to finally address the issues with Adrien as a hero and partner. Su-Han prioritized Marinette as she has the Miracle Box, but Adrien is someone he'd take the miraculous away from. Adrien would get a very clear warning and call out for his actions and role.

[dokoni-mo]

Where Is My Friend || Platonic! Izuku Midoriya x Reader

Summary: You and Izuku walk home together.

SFW // angst to light fluff

Word Count: 1915

WARNINGS: swearing, crying, all might slander, allusions to su*cide, otherwise none

A/N: i hate all might as a teacher. sometimes i just wanna reach through the screen and punch him for the things he tells izuku to do. this is why i made this.

~~

Izuku was late again that day, and this time you were more disappointed than mad.

With each student that passed by you and through the gates, you grew more and more irritated. You were trying to hide your annoyed expression by burying it in your phone, scrolling mindlessly through the various apps you had downloaded. Every now and again, you would check through your messages again, double and triple checking that you hadn't somehow missed a text from Izuku.

Every time, there was nothing.

Your brow furrowed when you checked it for the fifth time, forcing you to let out a silent frustrated sigh.

Izu, are you ready to go?

I'm out front

Are you still coming?

Hellloooo??? Where are you???

You promised, Izuku.

All of these messages, and no reply.

This wasn't a new occurrence. Every single day it was like this, and you would oftentimes just go home alone in silence. Izuku would always call and text to apologize to you afterwards, though.

At first you would pick up the phone. But, it slowly became less and less, to eventually nothing at all.

You were angry for a long time, but it all eventually boiled down into a soft, quiet frustration. You wondered to yourself a lot why you even bothered trying anymore. Those thoughts eventually drifted off into memories of middle school, and that quiet, timid, nerdy boy that you made your best friend.

You wondered where that boy went.

You looked up from your phone and looked at the campus around you. The area was bathed in an orange light, giving everything a warm and cozy glow. It was a beautiful spring afternoon, one that you would unfortunately most likely spend alone. Looking back down at your phone, you checked the time. It was getting somewhat late, and you knew your parents would start to worry about you if you didn't head back soon.

Five more minutes. You would give him five more minutes.

Letting out another sigh through your nose, you continued to scroll through your apps, not paying too close attention to what you were seeing. Every other second, you would peer up at the top of the screen, hoping to see the familiar bar of a notification up there.

None ever came.

A handful of photos and news articles later, and you decided to call it a quits. It had been more than five minutes, and there was still no sign of Izuku. Not one single thing.

Fuck it. You were going home.

Clicking your phone to sleep and putting it in your jacket pocket, you squared your backpack on your shoulders and stepped down the stairs of the front entrance, staring ahead at the gate with a blank expression.

Going to U.A. was you and his dream as kids. You remembered how the two of you would draw pictures of your hero costumes together, how you would spend hours of the phone coming up with the ideal schedule the two of you would have and what classes you would take.

Where did all that go? All those late nights? All those days the two of you got bullied? All those times you would tell Bakugou to fuck off when he was mean to Izuku? All the times Izuku told you to be nicer to Kacchan?

Was it all for nothing?

Were you just a memory now?

Were you not good enough to be his friend anymore?

All because of his new quirk?

It's not fair.

Not fair.

Not fair.

Not fai-

"Y/N!" you heard a voice from behind you shout, along with the rapid tapping of shoes against concrete.

It was him.

You stopped in your tracks and turned around, looking at him with a somewhat surprised expression. His green hair was the usual mess, and he was somewhat sweatier than normal. He ran quickly to catch up with you, breathing heavily once he was by your side.

You looked down at him in silence, your face unchanging.

"I'm-I'm so sorry I'm late!" He exclaimed, getting better control over his breathing, "I-I was just taking off my costume after hero training today and one of the teachers wanted to talk to me after and I-"

"It's getting late." You said, cutting him off, "We should get going."

You started to walk towards the gate again, and Izuku stared at you with a somewhat confused expression.

"Right..." he responded quietly, following by your side.

The two of you walked in silence for a good, long while. Izuku would keep looking at you to try and grab your attention, but you ignored him every time. You kept your gaze trained on your feet on the sidewalk, his red shoes in your peripheral.

You didn't want to talk. You just wanted to go home.

Go home and never talk to anyone again.

Izuku tried giving you one of his bright, warm smiles, but you ignored that too. As much as you didn't want to admit it, Izuku didn't smile the same anymore. There was something always behind his smile, something that you couldn't quite figure out.

The two of you used to share everything together, and now he was doing nothing but keeping secrets from you. You were quick to notice this, and you began to do your own digging.

You were observant, you always had been.

What you saw, you knew no one would believe you, though.

You just kept it to yourself, leaving it to rot deep inside you and plant its seeds of bad.

It was eating you alive, and you were angry.

"It's uhh..." Izuku said next to you, "It's a pretty day outside, isn't it?"

You said nothing and just kept staring down at your feet.

"It was a fun day at school too, huh?"

Nothing.

"What class did you like most?" I really liked Mr. Aizawa's today. I like it when he tells stories about his time at U.A."

Nothing.

"I also really liked All Might's cla-"

"Don't."

Izuku was definitely taken aback by your sudden, harsh response, his smile instantly fading away and his brows arching downwards.

"What... (Y/N), wh-what do you mean-"

You stopped walking abruptly, giving Izuku a glare through your lashes.

"Do not mention that man."

Izuku stopped walking too, looking at you with confusion and a touch of shock.

"You mean All Might? (Y/N), why? I thought you loved him as much as I-"

"I don't fucking love him anymore, Izuku!" you snapped, "But how would you know, huh? HOW?"

"(Y/N), what are you saying?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Izuku!" you threw your backpack off your shoulders, the extra weight only adding to your fury, "Even before we got into this shitty fucking school, you've done nothing but fucking blow me off and ignore me! I try to call, you don't answer. I try to text, you don't answer. I go over to your fucking house looking for you, and you're not there either! Do you have any clue how fucking lonely that makes me feel?! Knowing my best friend, my ONLY friend, wants nothing to do with me?!"

Izuku slid off his backpack too, his expression now more worried than anything, "(Y/N), I wasn't trying to ignore you. I-I just-"

"Just what Izuku. Just where have you been, hm? Tell me."

The green haired boy's gaze fell to the ground.

"I... I can't."

You raised your hands up and let them drop to your sides, a laugh of disbelief bubbling out of your throat.

"Fine, I'll finish it for you. You've been hanging out with fucking All Might, haven't you?"

Izuku's gaze shot back up to you, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but you cut him off.

"Ah- don't even goddamn try. I know you have been, Izuku. Do you think I'm fucking stupid? Do you think I'm fucking naieve? I fucking see how you two talk to each other. How you have lunch with him every goddamned fucking day. How he always focuses on you during training. How he keeps you after school."

Izuku just simply looked at you in silence, trying to process what to say.

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, but you decided to continue anyway, "And I know, I know he's been putting shit in your head. Not letting you think for yourself, telling you that it's okay to hurt yourself. How it's noble and honorable to be bedridden for fucking weeks to save people. How you should never prioritize yourself. Well goddamn it it's WRONG Izuku! It's fucking wrong! It's wrong to tell a kid that. It's wrong to take him away from his friends. It's wrong to have fucking favorites!"

You were full on crying now, and probably looked completely out of your goddamned mind.

You didn't care.

"He was my hero too, Izuku!" you continued on, hot tears pouring down your face, "But more importantly you were my hero! You were the only person in that shitty fucking middle school that I could confide in. You were the only friend I had, and that fucking bitch took you from me! Every day I go home and beg for my friend to come back to me. I don't give a single fuck what that old man says, I need my friend back! I'm so tired of it! I'm tired of feeling like nothing, like no one wants to be around me anymore! I'm t-tired, I'm... I...."

Unable to keep yourself together anymore, you fell onto your knees and sat back on your ankles, wiping your face on the back of your hands and wrists as you sobbed.

"I just... I miss you, Izuku."

You broke down again after that, crying there on the ground for a good minute. This was probably embarrassing the hell out of you, but you didn't care anymore. You didn't care about anything anymore. You were certain that Izuku would want nothing to do with you anymore. You just both dissed him and his number one idol.

There was no hope for you and him now.

After sitting there for a good minute bawling your eyes out, Izuku gently knelt down in front of you. You could feel his big, green eyes on your face, but you didn't look up at him. From your blurred vision, you couldn't tell how he was looking at you, but you figured it couldn't be good.

You were wrong.

Suddenly and without warning, you felt two strong arms wrap around your fame, your head being pulled into a chest covered with a uniform shirt and tie. Your cries softening, you were quick to realize who they all belonged to.

Izuku.

"(Y/N)," he said, his voice soft but firm, "I didn't know you felt that way. You are my best friend, too. I didn't mean to forget about you. I was never trying to make you feel that way."

Izuku hugged you tighter, resting his chin on the top of your head.

"From now on, I promise I'll always make time for you. You're my hero too, (Y/N). Without you with me in middle school, I... I would have..."

You didn't need to hear him finish for you to connect the dots.

After along moment of fleeting, renowned silence, you wrapped your arms around the boy, holding him tight against you.

You vowed to yourself then and there, that you would never ever let him go again.

[arhvste]

can you maybe do some hcs w kuroo tsukishima and oikawa when their s/o is being bullied by people from school?

love me some savage haikyuu boys 😈

-

KUROO, TSUKISHIMA AND OIKAWA REACTING TO THEIR S/O BEING BULLIED

-

KUROO

kuroo is a perspective little shit 

he analysis’ anything and everything 

he isn’t called the scheming captain for nothing 

so when he notice’s his s/o feeling down or acting different from normal he will find out what’s bothering them

he’ll ask you first

and if you’re not willing to give clear answers he’ll just find out himself

he doesn't want to overstep privacy boundaries

but if you’re being upset by something he feels like it’s his duty as your boyfriend to sort it out

so one day you’re waiting for him after practice

and you both usually meet outside the gym doors to talk home together

however

this time you’ve unfortunately encountered the people who have been making school life unbearable for you

“look its stupid little y/n!”

“why are you still here? waiting for your boyfriend like some sort of lost dog?”

“i don’t know how he puts up with you”

“so clingy and desperate for support i feel so bad for him”

they have you cornered and you’re outnumbered by far 

kuroo has been waiting outside the gym doors for 5 minutes now and is confused 

you’re never ever late 

so he wanders around looking for you since you aren't answering your phone 

now kuroo is annoying but he isn’t stupid

he’s had a hunch about what’s been bothering you lately

he’s noticed a few kids often hang behind class until you leave and they seem to surround you when you’re trying to leave your classroom

he never intervened because he didn’t want to wrongly accuse them of harassing you in case you were friends with them

but you still didn’t look particularly thrilled when you got away from them

so kuroo hears some familiar voices and he heads straight over to them

“don’t cry y/n you don't want to look even more ugly than you already do”

“oh look y/n’s crying they can't even handle a few jokes”

“your boyfriend might even dump you when he sees you”

“the only ones who need dumping are all of you into a pit of fire 🥰”

there stands the 6′2, muscular built, powerhouse school national level volleyball captain with the coldest look he’s ever had

the kids surrounding you are dead silent

“what? nobodies got anything to say now? i thought we were all just laughing and joking with each other so why’d we stop now?”

kuroos eyes soften as soon as they meet yours 

he’s grabbed your hand and pulled you tightly into his chest

“i don't think much of a warning needs to be made but let me make this clear just this once because i don't like having to remind people things, come near her, approach, talk about or to her again and you’re going to have a personal problem with me and my team. got it?”

lmfao the little bitches nod trembling and run 🏃🏽‍♀️

kuroo is such a science nerd who makes awful jokes and has the worlds most obnoxious laugh 

but he’s also a man and a captain and sometimes it’s easy to forget that

he can pick and choose when and what he wants to be perceived as

and right then he has chosen to show you who he really can be 

“why didn’t you tell me angel?”

“i didn’t want to have to bother you”

“oh baby you’re never ever a bother to me. im sorry i couldn't help sooner please never hesitate to tell me if anything like this happens again”

kuroo’s warning sticks with your bullies and they don't bother you anymore

the volleyball team and coach nekomata are throwing dirty ass looks at them too nfjdsbfjs

all in all, kuroo just wants you to know he is there to support you

and he’ll do anything to make sure you’re happy and comfortable 

-

TSUKISHIMA

lmao all i’ve got to say to your bullies is good luck

because if tuski finds out you’ve been bullying his s/o

you’re done for 

this boy has no mercy

he doesn't even need to physically fight

his words can cut deeper than any knife and he knows it 

so when he notices you've been feeling more anxious around school and clinging to him a little more

he grows sus

he’s immediately closing in on who is bothering you and what insults he wants to throw at them

tuski has an exam and it runs a little into lunch 

he told you that if it runs over than you can just wait by your classroom and he’d come and get you 

however while you’re waiting you have a run in with the students who have been giving you a hard time 

just like tuski you’re a student who thrives in academics 

so a few of your classmates aren't particularly fond of your constant reign of lead in your class

“ew y/n you gross weirdo why are you here?”

“they’re probably waiting for their boyfriend to come and pick them up”

“such an entitled little shit, waiting to be collected who do you think you are”

so far you’d done pretty well ignoring them 

but that was in an environment with many other students who’d call your bullies out if they were to step out of line in class

right now you’re an easy target though

nobody to protect you

well that’s what you thought anyway

you feel your bag get snatched from your hands and thrown to the ground 

the bullies are kicking your stuff around laughing while you have no choice but to watch is despair 

that's until one of them is tripped up and lands face flat onto the ground

“you think i should kick them around and see if they can take it?”

tuski is standing there with a dark smile on his face

“so brave of you to pick on my y/n when you all have the audacity to look the way you do and don't even get me started on your academics”

“if i were you'd just apologise to your parents now because realistically what are you all going to do in your lives? success doesn't really look like it fits any of you to be honest”

the other students don't even know what to say

they can't exactly say anything

tsukishima is known to have a sharp tongue with an endless flow of direct insults 

“it’d be a shame if a teacher were to find out about this wouldn't it. im thinking suspension maybe? perhaps you should all call your parents up right now and apologise for your inevitable suspension”

the bullies look at each other nervously

he couldn’t be serious right

“im waiting”

these kids whip out their phones and are calling their confused parents trying to explain about how they could be suspended

“now off you all go, get out of my sight and don't you dare come near her again”

they be sprinting out the hallways 

“you weren’t actually gonna get them suspended were you?”

“it was depending on how fast they called their parents really”

tsukishima is on the floor helping you gather you trashed things

“im annoyed you didn't tell me. don't keep things like this from me yeah? cause not only am i here for you but, i get a kick out of it to. besides, im the only one who gets to be playfully mean to you.”

and he’ll make sure to keep a closer eye on you and keep you around him for a little longer just till he’s certain you’ve been left alone

OIKAWA

fangirls 

the absolute bane of his existence 

oikawa appreciated the support but it was overbearing sometimes 

especially when he just wants to spend time with his precious y/n-chan

in front of him, his fangirls would be so polite and supportive 

“you and y/n look so good together”

“i hope you’re treating them well”

“oikawa is is lucky”

but behind his back these girls were nothing but vicious and spiteful towards you 

you knew you’d have to deal with his fangirls at some point 

you’d decided to keep your relationship hidden for the first few months until oikawa suggested going public and you felt like you couldn’t say no

you’d hear comments as you walked through the halls

classes would’ve been a nightmare if iwaizumi wasn’t in your class

he knew you were struggling with oikawa’s fangirls but you pleaded him not to say anything to his best friend 

iwaizumi didn't exactly want to keep this from oikawa but he also didn't want to go against your wishes 

you compromised instead and told iwaizumi about everything the fangirls put you through and sometimes he’d even take it lightly into his own hand 

despite the fact you had oikawa’s best friend looking out for you, this was also a reason the bullying got worse

“you think you can get iwaizumi to back you up now? you want the whole team or what?”

yes

“stop being so overdramatic oikawa shouldn’t have to put up with someone as fragile as you”

“he can do so much better did you manifest or do witchcraft to get him to date you?”

the comments had become so common to you they started to have no effect

you slowly became more and more emotionally unavailable and this was something oikawa had started to pick up on

“y/n-chan you’ve stopped smiling at me so much. have i upset you?”

at first he’d think he did something wrong and he’d desperatly rack his brain for anything he could’ve done to offend you

“no you haven’t tooru i’ve just been tired lately”

you’d lie and give him a small fake smile 

but oikawa has given enough fake smiles in his life and is more than capable of being able to tell a real smile to a fake one

like kuroo though, he wouldn’t want to push any privacy boundaries and can only hope you’d open up to him soon

it doesn’t mean he’s not going to be watching you even closer now

he’ll ask iwaizumi whether he’s seen a change in your behaviour 

iwaizumi has finally decided this has gone too far

“idiot do you not see it’s your shitty fangirls that are making them miserable?”

“my fangirls?”

“yes your fangirls. y/n can’t catch a break with them around they’re really nasty to her and i don’t know how it’s taken you so long to see”

now that oikawa thinks about it you do cling to him a little tighter when they’re around

you don’t thank them for their ‘compliments’ about your relationship with the setter

you go extremely quiet and anxious when they’re around

oikawa had just thought it was nerves from sudden attention

he didn’t realise they had been secretly harassing you 

so oikawa goes to wait outside your locker when the day ends

“tooru shouldn't you be at practice?”

“come with me” he says sternly but he’s giving you a reassuring look as he grips your hand securely in his larger one

he walks you quickly through the halls and round to the entrance of the gym where his fangirls are usually waiting for practice to start

“oikawa-san! why aren’t you in uniform? is practice cancelled?”

“oh y/n is here... that's cute”

oikawa is beyond livid just from their presence alone

they even had the nerve to say your name?

“you know what isn’t fucking cute though? your disgusting behaviour”

the fangirls are look between each other innocently

“what do you mean oikawa-san?”

“don’t play oblivious with me you bitches! what was going through your heads when you all thought it was okay to harass MY y/n-chan?!”

the girls are silent now

oikawa is usually so charming and relaxed 

nobody sees him worked up outside the court

“there’s a reason none of you have even been allowed to be considered to have the chance to get to know me, you’re all fake. every single one of you. i hate fake people more than anything. this behaviour is gross i want none of you associated with me get out of here and if i hear one more thing about anyone upsetting y/n hell will be broken loose and that won’t just be from me.”

oikawa did not stutter 😌

king

the girls leave immediately 

“i think you’ve just lost yourself your whole fan club”

“oh y/n they were never fans if they have the nerve to upset someone they know i love. why didn’t you tell me i would’ve said something sooner”

“i just didn't want to upset you about your fans”

“you’re always going to be the first priority to me always if they or anyone else ever bothers you again, promise you’ll tell me straight away?”

“promise.”

after that he’ll take you to sit on the bench on the side of the court so you can watch him play and he can keep an eye on you

yeah oikawa may seem like a carefree people pleaser

but if you’re upsetting his s/o, you’ll be experiencing the side he tries to keep under control and he won’t be afraid to let loose.

-

ALL CONTENT BELONGS TO @KUROOSKULT ON TUMBLR 2020 PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, CHANGE OR PLAGIARISE

[hellothirteenhere]

formation a (and other related stories)

Summary: 

Or, the five times that Megumi received unsolicited protection from the members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical college. 

(And the one time he asks for it)

Part 1 of 6

A/N: This is based on a post I did a couple of days ago about Episode 23′s Jujutsu Stroll. I would be posting the completed fic in all its entirety (plus extra scenes!) on AO3 eventually but for now, however, enjoy!   

Everyone warned Satoru from taking in the Zenin bastard child. 

It would distract from his studies and his training, they wheedle - he was born to be the new god ruling over the jujutsu world, not to play house with two children. (Why not both? Satoru shrugs, swiftly putting an end to that particular piece of bullshit)  

What would people say, when they find out that the sole heir of the illustrious Gojo clan had taken in two runts from the streets? (The clan elders did not think that one through - Satoru would love nothing more than to give the jujutsu world a good shake. By taking two little brats of dubious parentage - one without a lick of cursed energy - into his care and protection on a seeming whim, when there were hundreds of dodgy old sorcerers clamoring for it; that, he decides, was a good start.) 

Most unfairly of all, however, was Yaga sitting Satoru down the day he broke the news to the college. It was not fair to the children, he said. The Fushiguro kids needed - no, rather, they deserved a stable parental figure instead of a flighty excuse of a guardian who can barely afford to stay for a day. (It was unfair because Satoru can’t deny that). 

However, at the end of the day, it was only Satoru who could protect Megumi from the Zenin clan. Whether he deserves him or not, Megumi was stuck with him. 

And he’s determined to do right by his precious student. 

Work keeps him out of town more often than not but whenever he could, he would swing by to check on the kids, keep them company for a couple of hours, maybe spoil them a little - or as much as Megumi allows him to. 

Which is why he found himself humming as he pressed the doorbell of their apartment, returning before the sun had gone down for once.  

“Yo!” Satoru grinned as the door swung open. “You look well, Tsumiki-chan.” 

“Gojo-san,” Tsumiki smiled. If it had been anyone else other than Satoru, they may have missed the brief millisecond of disappointment in her face. 

But she knew it was Satoru standing in front of her - she knew who she was dealing with, so he didn’t waste time with pleasantries. 

“What’s wrong?” His eyes instinctively scanned her from head to toe. Before he even got to her feet, he already knew that she was alright. But his Six Eyes immediately alerted him of the possible cause for her distress.

Megumi wasn’t home yet. 

Satoru looked at her in the eye. “Where is he?” 

“I -,” Tsumiki started, before breaking off with a sigh. “I don’t know. Not here.”

That wasn’t like Megumi at all. For a kid that’s all but ten years old, he sure acted like an old man. He went home immediately after school ended, often did his chores and homework without kicking up too much of a fuss, and stayed holed up in his room unless he was called for dinner. At least, he did. 

“He’s been g-having trouble in school lately,” She wrung her hands nervously. 

Well, that confirms it: something was definitely wrong. 

Satoru quirked an eyebrow at that, a smile frozen on his face. 

Tsumiki flushed, knowing that she had been caught in a lie. “He’s been getting in trouble at school lately,” she admitted. “The teachers -” 

Ah. Satoru breathed out.

“Old bastards giving our Megumi a hard time again?” He said lightly. 

Tsumiki’s shoulders slump. “Yeah.” 

“Well,” Satoru rolled his shoulders back, reanimated now that he'd identified the root of the problem. “It’s up to your Satoru-nii to go talk to them, right? Don’t worry, Tsumiki-chan -”

“Please don’t -” 

“Don’t go too far - yeah, uh-huh, got it. I’m not gonna hurt anyone,” he waved a careless hand at that. “I’m just gonna scare them a little -”

“Gojo-san!” She protested. 

“A little!” Satoru jutted his lower lip out, looking at her pleadingly. “What’s the point of being your Satoru-nii if I can’t deal with the big bad adults for you? You’re lucky to have such a proactive older brother in your life, you know.”   

Tsumiki sighed at that before looking at Satoru with a weary smile on her face. “Don’t get too carried away, Gojo-oji-san.” 

“That’s cold,” Satoru complained as she closed the door on him.   

Smiling, he started his walk towards Megumi’s school. He could teleport, of course, but he actually had a pretty good idea where the kid was. His Six Eyes told him that Megumi was at a park around five minutes away from his home. He couldn’t help but crack a grin at that. 

Typical Megumi - rebelling by staying away from home, while still staying at a safe, walkable distance as to not worry his step-sister too much.  

Personally, he had never been as nice of a kid as Megumi is, so he doesn’t know how Megumi’s brain works exactly. However, he could guess that he probably chose that park because, while it was close to home, it was out of the way enough from school that Tsumiki probably didn’t think to check there. 

His best guess was that Megumi had wanted to stay close to home in case his sister needed him, but that he didn’t want her finding out where he was unless he came to her. 

And for good reason too. 

Because his Six Eyes shows him not only where the kid but that Megumi - quiet, responsible Megumi - was fighting with someone.  

Satoru hummed lightly. It should probably worry him that a seven year old kid was fighting with what seemed to be older neighborhood kids who all towered over his slight frame. A stable parental figure probably would have bolted to the park, running as fast their 9-to-5 limbs could take them. 

However, his Six Eyes shows him that, despite being outnumbered and outgrown, Megumi had a fair chance of winning. 

So he walked. 

Megumi was too young to learn how to fight curses just then but it wouldn’t hurt to let him learn how to fight assholes at this age - maybe if he gets him mad enough one day, he could sic him on the elders. He grinned at the thought. 

“Get off me, you psycho!” 

Satoru got to the park in time to see one of the older boys creep up behind Megumi as he pounded his tiny little fists on another boy’s chest. The kid reached over and grabbed Megumi’s hair, yanking him off his friend with a sharp tug. 

He felt the edges of his vision go red for a second. 

“Hey, let go!” Megumi protested, kicking at the kid’s legs. 

“You’re such a freak, Fushiguro.” The boy he had been sitting on scrambled to his feet clumsily. He gave Megumi a nasty look. “Girls aren’t su -” 

“I’m not a girl!” Megumi growled, kicking his legs out at the kid. 

“Yeah?” One of the kids taunted. “Well, you sure fight like -”

Yeah, no.    

Satoru called out, “Playing with your friends, Megumi?” 

The children all froze at the sound of his voice and turned towards him. He could feel the older boy’s apprehension at the sight of his height. 

“Who are you?” One of the kids - the one holding Megumi by his hair - asked. 

Satoru paused. His omnipresent eyes took in every little detail before him - the scruff and frays in the kid’s clothes that suggests that it was not his first playground fight, the defiant look on Megumi’s face that suggests that it was not his first playground fight, and, perhaps most telling of all, the pudgy little fingers fisting the hair over Megumi’s ear. 

Ah. The entire-boys-will-be-boys thing had always sounded ridiculous to Satoru, who had been taught by private tutors of the Gojo family before coming to the college. 

But he never would have thought that there were actually children who would take the term ‘pigtail-pulling’ way too seriously.    

“What if I told you I’m his dad?” He smiled at the kid who dared pick on his precious student. All because he didn’t know how to process the emotions that came with a first crush. Ah, youth. He thought, strolling up to the kids with his hands tucked into his pockets. 

“W-what?” The kid holding on to Megumi paled, letting go and backing away. 

Megumi fell to the ground, barely catching himself. He glared up at Satoru with those wide, defiant green eyes of his. How cute. 

“No way!” The other kid protested. “You’re way too young to be a dad!” 

Satoru grinned at him with entirely too much teeth. “We have good genes.” 

“Just look at my pretty boy,” He leaned down, wrapping a hand around Megumi’s arm and pulling him up. Megumi reluctantly allowed Satoru to pull him close, a sulky expression sourind his face. “Doesn’t he look just like his dear old papa?” 

He could see their eyes flicker from his white hair and blue eyes, to Megumi’s dark hair and green eyes. Despite himself, Megumi snorted under his breath. 

“Boys,” The kid gritted out, looking up at Satoru with a scowl on his face. “Boys can’t be pretty. Only girls are pretty.” 

“Really now?” Satoru gasped in mock-surprise. “I think I’m quite pretty myself.” 

He could practically see the gears of the boy’s brain stop at that. 

“Of course, my son is still the prettiest.” Satoru brought his hand up to ruffle Megumi’s hair. His eyes flicker to the boy who had grabbed Megumi. “Isn’t that right?” 

He watched as the boy’s face flush into a bright, splotchy red. The other boy continued to glare at Satoru, oblivious to his friend’s crisis. And Megumi - oh, sweet summer child Megumi - had no idea what’s going on. 

“I- uh, no, b-but -” The kid stuttered as Satoru leaned forward, placing a hand over each of the boys’ shoulders. As much as he could with the Infinity, of course. 

He deliberately pitched his voice down, squeezing down on their shoulders with deliberate force - not enough to hurt them, but enough to make a statement. “And I don’t like seeing anyone pick on my cute son. You wouldn’t want to see it too, don’t you agree?””

Satoru deliberately allowed his sunglasses to slide down his nose a little - enough to show the kids a flash of his eyes. Enough to scare the living shit out of them. 

Just a little, he remembered promising to Tsumiki. 

Well, he amended. Just enough.

Upon seeing them nod, Satoru straightened up, pleased to see that kids looked as though they were about to piss themselves. “Glad we’re in agreement, boys.”

“Off you two go, then. Wouldn’t want to worry your mothers by getting in late.” He smiled cheerily, pushing them to a running start. They didn’t waste another second and took off, sprinting as though the devil himself. One of them, however, kept tripping over himself by looking back over his shoulder at Megumi every now and again, eyes wide as though he was seeing him for the first time.

Satoru scowled at that. 

That was not part of the agreement. 

[sweetestlamb]

Teenage Dream Pt. 2

Summary: Mun-Yeong learns that Gang-Tae has an admirer, she handles it very well. 

Notes: So, I really had fun playing with blushingshy! GT and aggressivepossessive! MY, I thought the high school au would be the perfect place to have some fun with their roles, I love domGT to bits but domMY does something special to me. I tried to incorporate things you guys said in the comments for part 1, so if you see your idea in the story thank you for the suggestion! This has smut but I am also enjoying the slow burn of their teenage years, so no full sex yet. Blame GT he wouldn’t stop blushing long enough to get ridden. All in due time. Anyway, here’s part 2 enjoy lovelies! 

 In all actuality, she hadn't expected him to approach her that night. Had felt his eyes on her several times at school, Seung-Jae jokingly labelled him her "not so secret admirer" but she wasn't sure if he actually liked her. She was aware that people considered her popular, a byproduct of wealthy parents with celebrity status, therefore people thought they should like her. The same way you liked a useful tool, she wasn't naive enough to believe that her classmates liked her genuinely. Most of them didn't even know what her stories were about, couldn't see past the grotesque imagery and hidden messages. In reality she knew they found her strange, pretty but too different to truly understand  but they played their parts well, fake smiles plastered on. 

So, she only had Seung-Jae  and that was fine by her, one great friend was infinitely better than a thousand faux friends, who only viewed her as a means to an end. But then he approached her and he was just precious, for goodness sakes he had complimented her school uniform of all things, even his constant stuttering and nervousness had been cute. None of her short stories were about damsels who needed saving, writers honestly needed to get past that ancient trope, yet she found herself playing that role with him. He would show up whenever she needed him, slaying all the dragons that stood in her way and asking nothing in return. It made it easy to give him everything, she'd never met anyone quite like Moon Gang-Tae. She hadn't planned on getting a boyfriend, too focused on school and her goals of being a writer, but he had stumbled into her life and she didn't know how to pass up beautiful things. Being with him was effortless in a way she'd never experience with another person, he listened to her and made her feel like she was important and enough as simply Ko Mun-Yeong, not the daughter of Ko Dae-Hwan and Do Hee-Jae . He had once told her as she cried quietly in soft of his collar, "You belong to you." Oblivious to the fact that he possessed a piece of her too, a piece she'd given willingly, no take backs. She was happy and it terrified her. Which, explained why the universe decided to tip her boat of happiness. She stood waiting for him, in the same spot they had been meeting for weeks now, their spot, not to be confused with their other spot outside where he often waited with her for Sang-In, who she had  recently informed commanded to take a scenic route from now on when picking her up, cherishing every second extra she spent with Gang-Tae. It was his first day back since his untimely suspension, she had visited him everyday under the ruse of bringing him school notes, his mother would smile as she greeted her at the door. Unsuspecting that as soon as they were alone, studying was the last thing on their minds. It was beneficial for science class though, she was learning key information about the male anatomy. Excitement bubbled up as she waited for his arrival, fixing her hair and then immediately moving it back to its original position. Agitated at her nerves, it was unsettling to say the least, no one had this affect on her. His smile was brilliant, when he spotted her, his eyes scoping her out like he had a radar system solely for tracking her, he easily walked away from his friend leaving him mid sentence, closing the space between them with a few wide steps, courtesy of those long legs. Suddenly, it wasn't fast enough, she needed to be in his arms, sooner, now and she propelled forward, rushing to meet him halfway. They bounded to each other like long last lovers who were finally reunited, torn apart by the cruelties of an unfair life. She watched him drop a bag carelessly on the ground as he reached her and grabbed her by her waist, immediately she reciprocated his hold, throwing her arms around his neck. With ease, he lifted her up off her tiptoes, her feet left dangling inches off the ground as he effortlessly supported her body weight. She let out a soft gasp, always shocked by his unassuming displays of strength. She snuggled her face into his neck, it was flame red and and she yearned to kiss it. After a short consideration, she pressed a light kiss into his neck, his soft gasp music to her ears. Tightening his hold, he swayed them side to side, inhaling the scent of her intoxicating shampoo. Unbeknownst to them, Jae-Su looked on in disgust and horror, he hadn't even gotten a chance to finish his story before Gang-Tae had taken off, he rolled his eyes watching their dramatic reunion. They hadn't seen each other for two days; Saturday and Sunday, yet they were acting as if Gang-Tae had just returned from military service. He'd known Gang-Tae for a much more substantial number of years, and he was never greeted in such a fashion. He stomped past them grumbling under his breath, "You never hug me like that, I have to beg for any affection." Unfortunately, Gang-Tae's ears were occupied listening to Mun-Yeong's soft breaths and his complaints were left unheard. Mun-Yeong was the first to disturb the hug, drawing back until they were face to face, but still locked in their tender hold. She couldn't help the exuberant smile that spread across her face, "I'm so happy you're back. I missed you." She watched with amused eyes as his signature blush colored his face, his adorable grin tempted her to kiss him right then and there. It was only his next words that halted her, "I got you something." He finally broke their hold, she suppressed her sigh, and he picked up the bag he had discarded prior to their hug. She clapped her hands in excitement, she adored surprises. He reached into the bag smiling at her adorable response and handed her a plastic cup filled with milky brown liquid, her eyes lit up in recognition. "It's coffee milk. I went to the coffee shop you like, that's why I'm late, I'm sorry didn't mean to keep you waiting." His glossy brown eyes stared at her, apologetic and pleading. She giggled before finally giving into her previous urge, yanking his checkered collar, bringing his face close enough to kiss. His eye was huge but he didn't resist, allowing her to draw him in. She curled her free hand around his thick neck, leaning up to capture his slack mouth. He tasted like cereal, sweet and succulent and she chased the taste with her tongue, licking into his moist mouth before he returned the favor. His tongue insistent in her mouth, gasping when she pulled his bottom lip hungrily. She let out a surprised puff of air, as he walked forward forcing her to retreat until her back met the hard wall. He placed a broad hand on her back, dragging her deeper into the kiss as the other cradled her head. Time slowed down as they kissed, wet sounds filling the air. Their mouths broke apart only to come back together, time and time again. A loud cough sounded off to her right, she willfully ignored it, lost in the flavors of her boyfriend. But the cough continued followed by an obnoxious clearing of the throat, she pulled away to shout at whoever was interrupting them only to meet the eyes of her best friend. "You do realize that you're in public right and that you're giving everyone a free show?" Seung-Jae asked eyes never looking up from her phone, her fingers flying across the touch screen, most likely on Tumblr again. As she took a moment to catch her breath, her eyes scanned the hallway and yes, all eyes were on them. Thankfully no teachers but their classmates were looking on with gaping mouths. Some even had their phones out, she glowered at them until they hurriedly hid them shamed-face, before snapping back to Gang-Tae. He was painfully shy, she knew his face would be alight and she was right. He glowed scarlet red above, satisfaction settled in her belly, poor baby. Looking down at her watch with a despondent sigh, she brought the gifted drink to her lips, still tingling from the passionate kiss. His eyes followed the motion, lingering on her mouth. "Thank you for the coffee milk. You were even more delicious though." She teased, hearing him groan in embarrassment. "Come on girl, we need to get to class. " Seung-Jae impatiently interrupted again, tapping her feet now, code for hurry the fuck up. "Alright I'm coming." She picked up her fallen book bag, swinging it over her shoulder, before Gang-Tae's arm shot out grasping the bag in his large hand. "I can carry it." He said in the softest voice, sounding like he was being given a gift, she'd forgotten how he seemingly couldn't stand to see her carry anything. Just adorable. "No. No, lover boy. You go to your class, we don't have time for another long goodbye. She can carry a book bag." Gang-Tae's eyes shifted to hers pleadingly and she almost lost her resolve, but she knew her friend was right, if he carried her bag she would notice his arms and how muscular they were and that would lead to her wanting to kiss him again and this ferocious cycle would repeat. With an apologetic hand on his smooth cheek, she shook her head, "She's right, you shouldn't be late on your first day back. I'll see you later." He nodded, subconsciously swaying into her hand before she pulled it away. Suddenly she was violently yanked away by her book bag, Seung-Jae's patience all but worn out. She longingly looked back at Gang-Tae, blowing him a kiss. If she hadn't spun around to threaten her best friend for being so aggressive, Do you have a death wish? She would have seen him catch the kiss, delicately putting it in his pocket.

She'd always judged girls around school who couldn't stand to be away from their boyfriends, rolling skeptical eyes at their dependency, she was already whole no other half needed, thank you. So when she found herself thinking of Gang-Tae, unable to focus on the teacher's voice, affronted annoyance seared in her blood. What was he doing to her? Mentally berating herself for her weakness, she rose her hand, catching the teacher's attention. "May I use the bathroom?" She requested, already knowing the response would be yes, this was one of her best classes and missing a few insignificant minutes wouldn't alter her high standing. She grabbed the pass at the teacher's nod, avoiding Seung-Jae's suspicious glance. She didn't need her negativity, weren't best friends supposed to be supportive? Hers was clearly defective. She told herself she would use the bathroom after checking on Gang-Tae, see how his first day back was going, merely good girlfriend duties. Peering into his classroom she easily located her handsome boyfriend, a chiseled chin laid on his hand, gazing out the window as if lost in a daydream. Her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes eagerly devoured him, the hours they'd spent apart ached, she longed to be back in his arms kissing him senseless turning him into a blushing mess. She was so wrapped up in his beauty, she almost missed another set of longing eyes. Nam Ju-Ri, she didn't know her well, had declined her hand in friendship after seeing how quickly she could go from “nice” to malicious. She'd always preferred the wolf rather than a wolf in sheep's clothing. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the oblivious girl gaze at her boyfriend, the flames of jealousy searing in her blood. Who was she to look at him? Wasn't it clear that he was off limits? Her taste was probably still in his mouth from this morning, she'd happily recreate the moment to remind the two faced bitch to back off. Finally, after a few minutes she stalked off to the bathroom, a bad taste lingering on her tongue.

They were working together on a group project. Her smile had fallen as he explained to her that he would need to leave early to meet Ju-Ri and Jae-Su at the Subway's to begin working on their group project. She planned on asking him to stay at school with her, she needed to work on her new short story for the school paper. It was the perfect excuse to get some much needed alone time with him, this new information threw a proverbial wrench in her plans. Only his sweet sad eyes stopped her from throwing a tantrum. He didn't look happy at the prospect of being away from her either. Using the situation as motivation, she penned a tale about a slow-witted girl who learned the dangers of touching that which wasn't yours, the grass wasn't always greener on the other side, sometimes it was best to appreciate what you had, least you lose everything. Or at least, a few fingers in the process.  She never claimed to be subtle. After adding the finishing touches, her story was complete. Not her best work but adequate, a true Ko Mun-Yeong classic, dark but revealing. Are you still at Subways? As she collects her belongings, she awaits his reply to her message, humming and setting a new course of action as she exits the school, the sun warm on her skin, restoring her energy. Yes, we're still here.

They are the scene of academic innocence with textbooks sprawled across the dining table, and notes and writing utensils precariously dangling. Gang-Tae is seated next to Jae-Su, Ju-Ri directly across, currently leaning over to point something out to his watchful eye. He rubs his jaw, nodding in agreement before jotting down notes on a stray piece of paper. With a firm hand she pushes the door open, a melodic chime announcing her arrival, all eyes glance to see who has entered including the only eyes that matter to her. He instantly stands up, wide smile on his face as he waves her over, missing the grimace that covers Ju-Ri's face. As soon as she's close enough to touch, he does. Drawing her into a warm hug, that she happily returns, breathing in his fresh scent. "I didn't know you were coming. Are you hungry?" He motions to the cash register, she shakes her head in decline, nodding at Jae-Su and Jae-Su, alone. Ju-Ri makes a point of checking her phone and looking as occupied as possible, she's happy to act like they’re strangers. In most ways, that's exactly what they are. "Do you want to sit?" There are no additional seats she notes, the establishment packed as it usually is after school's dismissal. "No, you sit." He looks at her in apparent confusion, about to argue before she forces him back into the seat, before taking her seat. 

In his lap. His gasp breezes against her ear as she faces Ju-Ri, placid smile on her face at the girl's evident irritation, she makes herself comfortable turning to look at Gang-Tae, who shyly meets her eyes, his hands cautiously holding her hips for support. "Hey, you." She whispers only loud enough for him to hear, his coffee-brown eyes soften in response, "Hi, I missed you." Her lips find his in a sweet kiss, as he brushes her hair behind her hair. A quiet moan escapes her lips at the gentle touch, his eyes are dark when she draws away. A million miles away. She would never tire of her affect on him and how unashamed he was about showing her. "Alright that's enough from you two." Jae-Su's exasperated voice interrupts, she squashes the urge to glare at him, Gang-Tae had asked her to be nicer to him claiming he was terrified of her. She really didn't see the issue with that but she was trying for Gang-Tae's sake. He soothed out her rougher edges. Gang-Tae struggles to focus with her in his lap, absentmindedly stroking her hair instead of answering a question that was posed to him. When he brought his sandwich to his mouth, she leaned over taking a bite too, accidentally biting his finger, soft apology on her lip. She slowly licked mayo residue from the corner of her lip, his eyes raptly watching its journey as she swallowed, "Mmmm it tastes good." He briskly repositions her in his lap, shifting her into his leg, away from her place in the center. Ju-Ri finally speaks after the display through clenched teeth, "I need to go, my mom is expecting me." Gang-Tae and Jae-Su bade her goodbye and safe travels, Mun-Yeong merely looks at her while stroking her finger possessively across Gang-Tae's massive shoulders, mouthing one word, mine. He looked scrumptious in his basketball uniform, arms tensing and flexing as he dribbled the ball up and down the court. She'd happily agreed to stay for his practice today, unwilling to pass out the chance the see a slightly damp Gang-Tae. She hasn't yet spoken to him about his...admirer. It felt ridiculous to waste their time together talking about anything other than them, when they weren't devouring each other. So she didn't expect to run into the very person who was infiltrating her thoughts. The two faced bitch, alone, walking down the stairs text books in her arm. Impulsively she calls out, "You know he's mine right? Stay away from my boyfriend." The girl's head snaps up in shock, before her face settles into vexation. Good at least she's being real. She would loathe to see the fake calm smile Ju-Ri typically sends her way. "He's not your property. You don't own him." With a tight smirk she stalks over, climbing the stairs until they're level, still knowing she'll always be above her in every way imaginable. "That's where you're wrong, he is mine. My boyfriend, so why don't you get someone who actually wants you and stop drooling over what you can't have? You act so nice but you're just a two-faced bitch." She bites out the last word, stepping into Ju-Ri's face, blood singing at the opportunity to put her in her place. The sting of the harsh slap against her cheek, whiplashes her head to the side, momentarily she's impressed, surprised that the girl actually had the gall to strike her, whatever I do now is technically self defense now, she thinks. Before viciously grabbing the other girl by her thin hair, yanking at the tender follicles. "Are you crazy?" She screams loudly, lost in her rage. "Are you on something? How dare you slap me?!" Emphasizing her question with a particularly hard pull of her hair. They tussle on the staircase, Ju-Ri frantically trying to pry her hands from her hair as she pushes her head into the wall. Both unaware that the commotion from their fight has garnered the attention of the basketball team, the boys cheering them on, cacophonous yells filling the previously quiet hallway. "Oh shit is that Mun-Yeong?" "Someone get Gang-Tae!" She slams Ju-Ri's head into the wall, satisfaction overcoming her at the pleasing smack it makes. Soon Ju-Ri's screams drown out the boys and then she feels her body being lifted, completely swept off her feet. Only his familiar scent stops her from lashing out at the arms around her midsection, prying her away from Ju-Ri.  Her hands remain in their tight clutch of the girl's hair but then his voice cuts through the fog in her mind, like a lighthouse. Guiding her back to the light. "Mun-Yeong, let go of her." His voice is too quiet to be a command but there is no inflection indicating a question either. He pulls her bodily away from Ju-Ri, his arms like steel around her abdomen, making her feel like a wayward child. With a final cry, she releases her hold, only to roughly shove her, aptly watching as she tumbles down the three measly stairs. Ju-Ri screams as if she had been murdered, dramatically wet eyes staring behind her, looking at him. She grabs at her once more, regaining her attention. She is elated at the look of fear in Ju-Ri's eyes as she looks up from her spot on the ground. She growls at her, bearing her teeth as she is carried away. "This was your only warning!" As soon as she is freed from the prison of Gang-Tae's arms, she begins pacing like an trapped animal, hot puffs of breath rasping out of her lungs. She feels hot with anger, which morphs into frustration before coiling into ugly shame. She dreads the look of disappointment she will see on her boyfriend's face, unlike Daniel, who was no friend of hers, she had just attacked someone he considered a friend. She knew that she had let the flames of anger consume her, this was the real reason she didn't have true friends. Most people couldn't handle her... intensity. Which was putting it nicely. She didn't like to share. Years of loneliness with parents that couldn't be bothered with her existence, had formed an ugly desire in her to latch on to the people she opened up to. She would squeeze so tightly until they ultimately burst, realizing her darkness and leaving before they too were consumed. She'd never cared enough to worry about losing anyone, all she had was Seung-Jae and Sang-In and they knew first-hand about her uglier traits, and loved her despite her flaws. But Gang-Tae had never seen this side of her, had never given her reason to show it. He looked at her like she was the sun and moon and all the stars, it would be crushing to see that love twist into fear. "Are you okay?" His voice. It was gentle. He didn't sound scared. Or disappointed. Or repulsed. Just worried, his hand on her cheek further shocking her until she brought her head up to meet his eyes. In them she saw concern, but not much else, none of the emotions others usually exhibited when they saw the real Ko Mun-Yeong. "Mun-Yeong, are you okay?" He repeated his question, cupping her cheek in his hand now. A cool balm on her hot skin. She forced out a reply, "Yes. She only slapped me, I hit her a lot more." His eyes perused her body, looking for more injuries and he let out a sigh of relief when he found none. "Aren't you.. aren't you upset that I hit your friend?" She cursed out the final word, unable to control the venom in her tone. "No, I'm mostly... confused? I didn't know you didn't like her." His brows knitted together in bewilderment, "Why were you fighting? What happened?" The memory of overhearing Ju-Ri talk to Byeol about Gang-Tae played in her mind, all of the earlier anger resurging in her blood. "Should you really be going after him? Isn't he with Mun-Yeong now?" "I liked him first! She stole him from me, I just want him to know how I feel too. Let him know he has options." After that the rest was inevitable, she couldn't hold herself back. Didn't want to in all honesty, the slap was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. "She likes you! I heard her talking about you, she said she wanted you to know you had options. I simply reminded her that there are no options, you're mine." Flabbergasted, if you searched the word in the dictionary Gang-Tae's face would be the image. He sat down in an chair of the empty classroom he had dragged her into, looking dazed. His mouth opened. Then closed. Opening once more, before closing again. Until he finally found his words, "You're jealous....of me? Of other girls liking me?" She took high offense at the skepticism in his voice and passionately retorted, "Yes, of course I am! Those...those ants want you and are trying to steal you away from me!" He grabbed her arms, stopping her mid pace, drawing her into his lap. Calming her with a single touch. His raspy baritone hypnotized her, "Breathe with me, please." She took a deep breath, matching his even breaths until she felt her anger dissipate, fizzing into nothing. "You have nothing to be jealous about. I don't want Ju-Ri or anyone else, I want you. Only you. I am yours, for as long as you'll have me." His hands rubbed up and down her sides in a soothing motion, massaging away any negative emotion left in her body. "You don't mind.... You're not upset I called you mine?" She peered at him with huge bewildered eyes. "Why would I be? As long as you're mine too." He looked at her hopefully, she didn't deign that inquiry with a verbal response. Instead taking the opportunity to utilize her spot in his lap, grabbing his face and kissing the query off his lips. Possessively shoving her tongue into his mouth, hands falling to his neck to pull him deeper into their embrace. She bit his lip then swiped the pain away, lapping at his hot wet mouth. Humming at his taste, thirsty for more. He gasped, pulling away to inhale deep breaths, his eyes were hazy with arousal. She attached herself to his neck, sucking his sweaty skin into her mouth, aroused by his moan of pleasure. "Wait, should we do this...here?" He gestured at the classroom, "What if someone comes looking for us?" She perked up at the idea, delighting in the thought of that two-faced bitch finding them and seeing first-hand that Gang-Tae belonged to her. She sucked harder instead of answering, running a hand through his hair, pulling his head to the side to give her better access. He melted in her arms, boneless at her ministrations. She looked proudly at the purple-red bruise that formed on his skin, stark on his porcelain pale skin, it would be seen a mile away. "Beautiful." She sighed caressing the marked skin, awed and proud of her work. Gang-Tae blushed looking at her like she was a predator and he couldn't wait to be eaten. Realization washed over her like a tidal wave. He hadn’t acted at all like she had imagined.  "You like this." It wasn't a question, the hard line prodding into her ass told her everything she needed to know. "I never thought you'd get jealous of me. Seeing you like this is...." "Sexy?" She finished his sentence, he held her heated stare before nodding in agreement. She laughed, boisterous laughter, he was utterly perfect for her. She wanted to wreck him. Swiveling her hip into a seductive roll, she watched the pleasure wash over his face, his pretty red cheeks and open mouth calling out to the beast that had been unleashed. She swallowed his moans, groaning as he licked into her mouth, their tongues wrestling for control, she ground into his hard erection, playing dirty to get the upper hand. "Cheater." He rasped out, eyes narrowed at her. She grinded harder, wrapping her arms around his neck, riding him through their clothes. The head of his hard cock rubbing on her moist center, she'd moved her uniform skirt out of the way, desperate to feel him. They hadn't done much sans clothes yet and she was hungry for it. Whispering into his red hot ears, "Can I take off my panties?" His hands tightened painfully on her hips, as he threw his head back in a long suffering groan. She pressed on, "Please I'm so wet, I know you're not ready for.... that. But I just want to feel you." He was shaking in her arms, little hitching breaths and she waited for his response, mouthing at the large hickey on his neck. Finally he nodded. Eyes too bright, they almost seemed to be glowing. She stood up, leaving his lap, eyeing the rigid tent protruding from his uniform pants, covetously watching, eager for the day it would also be hers. Raking her skirt up under his watchful eyes, she took a hold of her panties, he subconsciously licked his lips in anticipation, as she slid the moist material down her thighs, bending over to slip them off. He watched her soaked panties hanging from the tips of her fingers utterly captivated, before she tossed them to the side carelessly. With a coy smile, she slid back onto his lap, moaning at the sensation of his clothed cock pressing on her bare opening, rocking harder on him, as spots of color exploded behind her eyelids. It felt incredible. He was burning hot and so stiff beneath her, all her thoughts minimized down to this moment. She wanted to come. Desperately. Could feel the persistent itch under her skin. When she opened her eyes Gang-Tae's were fixed on the space between her thighs, he looked ravenous as she used him for her pleasure, muscles coiled tight as he sat painfully still as she bounced on his lap. "You can touch me. I want you to, don't be nervous." She insisted, seeing his hands brutal grip on the sides of the chair. His nails were digging into the plastic, leaving indentations. He hesitated before bringing his fingers to the lips of her pussy, briefly sliding into the opening before retracting this fingers. She groaned in frustration, it felt so good she needed more, why was he stopping? Fucking tease.  Voice laced with veneration, he said, "You're so.... it's so wet." She glared at him before chastising him, he was like this every time they were naked, surprised that she was aroused by him, "You made me like that. Don't be a tease now." He glowered at her statement, she had called him that various times before.  His fingers slowly crept to her wet opening, a barely there touch that had her shouting, and she couldn't wait anymore she was too turned on, using his thighs for support she leaned up before bearing down on his fingers, easily slipping down their entire lengths, feeling a breath punched out of her. Gang-Tae was still frozen as she began to ride his fingers, pulling him into her tight hole, wet sounds filling the room, her juices coating his fingers. Then she felt him moving inside her, driving his fingers up to meet with her downward thrusts, his thumb momentarily pressed against her clitoris and she bit her tongue at the euphoria. She was dangerously close. His dick twitched underneath her and she slowed her sensuous movement in a slow rock, peering into his pleasure dilated eyes, "Do you want to feel me?" She watched the war on his face, control and hunger battling, "I don't...I don't want our first time to be in a classroom. You deserve more." She softened at his precious words, if only he knew that any first time would be perfect as long as it was with him. The location was insignificant. "There are...other ways to feel me." At his blank stare she continued, "Do you trust me?" Instantly he nodded, and she smiled, before reaching down to catch his zipper and slowly lowered it. He wheezed, sounding short of breath but didn't stop her. She pulled his erect dick from the slit in his boxer, it stood red and impressive in her hands, perfect in size and shape, thick and long. She hummed in approval, giggling at Gang-Tae's embarrassed face. With a dick like this, he had nothing to be embarrassed about, she doubted hearing that would help his blush though.  He closed his eyes at the feel of her hands on his dick for the first time. It surely wouldn't be her last. She would make sure of that.  Then with her eyes boring into his, she slid over his cock, rubbing her wetness over the hard ridge, simultaneously they moaned at the sensation. His engorged head caught on her opening but it never went in, instead sliding through her sopping wet folds, rubbing on her swollen clit.

Soon, she was the one being devoured as he inhaled her lips with a deep sloppy kiss, his spit running down her chin, as she vigorously rode him, letting him plunder her mouth. Without prompting, his hands slithered under her shirt, groping her breasts. Roughly, moving her bra out of the way, squeezing them the way he knew she liked. His fingers twisting her rigid nipples until they were deliciously sore.

"Gang-Tae!" She screamed his name, her body overloaded from pleasure. He met her thrust for thrust, their pace vigorous, a race to the end. She pulled away from his lips, taking his face in her hands feeling him stiffen under her, she forced his head up until their eyes met, with a final punishing thrust she was falling off the edge, shouting her release. She squeezed her eyes shut, riding the waves of pleasure. He twitched beneath her, bruising grip on her breasts as his cum shot out of his cock and landed in thick streams on the floor.  She took huge gulps of air as her body cooled down, coming down from her extreme high, thin layer of sweat settling on her skin. Lifting her head from where it had fallen on his shoulder, she grinned at his goofy smile, he looked wrung out, it was a good look on him. After regaining the feeling in her legs she hopped off his lap, retrieving her panties from the floor, as she was placing her legs into them, she paused before looking at him, before walking up to him as he adjusted his own pants, flaccid cock now hidden away sadly enough. With a salacious grin, she stuffed her panties into his pocket, "You can keep those." He stuttered, too tongue tired to respond but didn’t stop her or give them back.  They stumbled downstairs to wide eyed stares that shifted into knowing glances from Gang-Tae's teammates who were just finishing up with practice. All eyes immediately latching on to the giant hickey on his neck. She'd never seen him turn quite that red.

The next day, Jae-Su's loud voice assaulted her ears as he looked at his best friend in horror, "What happened to your neck?!" Before looking at her with an accusatory glare, "What did you do to him you....you vampire!" She smiled serenely as Ju-Ri snuck past them, avoiding her eye contact, a small scrape on her knee from the fall. Gang-Tae flushed at the words but didn't cover the mark, instead taking her books before kissing her on the forehead. He was hers, happily and she wouldn't take that for granted and had no problem reminding others who might forget. 

[aknosde]

I have a lot of thoughts about Percy’s junior year because Rick is stupid and literally forgot about an entire year of Percy’s life. I also made the executive decision that this is the year Percy backslides (but can you really call it backsliding if he never worked through the trauma?) Without further ado

with a little mist they patch up Percy’s extended absence but decide it’s better if he doesn’t go back to Goode. He doesn’t really care because he didn’t have any friends there besides Rachel, this is where he goes to AHS (literally the only thing I know about TOA, and the rest of it will be ignored)

He’s not going to school with Annabeth because she said senior year together, so she’s still in California, which he’s thankful for so he doesn’t have to feel like he’s disappointing her

Originally he had been reported as missing, but now that he’s back it raises too many questions (this is where they use the mist) so it’s resulted in a really weird transcript that makes it very unclear if he actually finished his sophomore year (he did it online over the summer, and he did pretty well too)

As always he is singled out as ‘the weird kid’. This is because he only wears the longer versions of the uniform (even when it’s really hot out), has a problem with staring, and the grey streak in his hair (ignoring cannon for this one)

He makes approximately two friends (kinda?) and all of the popular kids hate him

There’s this ‘professional administrative counselor and student consultant’ who isn’t an actual counselor and thinks Percy is hella sus. A lot of its because Percy’s transcript and record, but basically he tries to not let ‘bad kids’ into AHS and he wants Percy to leave so the school’s reputation doesn’t get tarnished

Some of the teachers are nice but a lot of them are ableist

Due to that and Percy’s severely under diagnosed PTSD, anxiety, and depression, his grades really fall, but he doesn’t tell anyone

Chemistry is his favorite class and chemistry and history are the only classes he does well in.

This one popular kid who is on the football team or something really likes to physically bully people and in Percy’s attempt not to reveal how strong he is he just subs in for the kids who used to receive a regular beating instead of fighting back

At one point he accidentally catches a punch on reflex (while tons of people are watching, mind you) and freaks out, blah blah blah, that fight ends up with his hand severely broken in multiple locations

BUT he doesn’t like going to the hospital/doctor’s/nurse’s because those are the people who ask a lot of questions about his scars and old injuries and such, so he just walks around for like four hours with a broken hand

(insert my Percy is ambidextrous head cannon here, which comes into play)

eventually his (kinda)friends make him go to the nurse and it’s just straight up not a good time for anyone. Paul has to pick him up. He has to go to the ER. This is when he really starts lying to his parents because he doesn’t want them to know about the fights

He’s kinda all over the place on who he’s talking to, which he feels guilty about, but he just doesn’t have the energy to talk to people who knew him before all this because it’s harder to fake being that happy again (even though he wasn’t that happy even then)

Which brings me to something a bit happier, every Friday he visits Camp Jupiter. No matter what. He started it about a month after the war, it keeps him connected with Hazel and Frank and some other people he was friendly with, but the new thing is Reyna

It takes a bit to get through all of the stuff between them, but they end up becoming really good friends, to the extent that she, Hazel, and Frank become the sole people that he confides in. (Reyna knows that they’re special, but the other two don’t)

There is definitely a big fight he has with Sally in his second semester, and he shows up at Reyna’s quarters, it’s 11 pm, she opens the door wordlessly and he spends the weekend at CJ.

Reyna’s also the person he talks to most about Gabe. He has a lot of built up stuff there and she works through some residual feelings towards her dad too.

He and Nico are in a lot of contact during this year, with varying degrees of tension. They start off really well, but as Percy falls further back it gets a really weird vibe because he still has a whole thing about protecting Nico. Basically Percy’s not good at being vulnerable right now. But they do get better and eventually develop a sibling like relationship.

Talking about sibling like relationships: Hazel! She’s amazing. Due to the Friday visits and her and Percy already being super close she starts calling him her brother really quickly and he picks up on it immediately. She’s probably the person he’s most honest too, and they spar a lot.

His and Annabeth’s relationship is kinda weird too. They both still really love each other, and they talk a lot, she starts working through some of her issues and he’s really good about being there and helping her, but he’s also really good at hiding his own problems around her. (This is a new development, she could read him until he went missing or Tartarus, I haven’t decided) 

He becomes really spotty at communication. Sometimes he won’t text back for a week, and he used to be really good at getting back to people. This is the only thing Annabeth has evidence of. The rest is just a feeling of off-ness so she can’t really see that something’s wrong with him.

Panic attacks and breakdowns become supper common for him. Usually at least one a day, but he’s good about hiding it. However his powers, tied to his emotions, start going haywire and that’s really difficult to hide, especially at school.

He has a really bad panic attack during chemistry one day and his friends find him in the bathroom and try to get the nurse and get him to go home. It wasn't very pretty. 

He looses so much sleep that it rivals Annabeth ‘I stay up ‘till 3 for fun’ Chase

Also becomes a low-key vigilante? Not really, but he does stop several robberies and muggings and its just the right number to look a little suspicious but also not. 

during this whole ordeal he’s spending a lot of time at the school’s pool. At first there isn’t much swimming because he’s still afraid of drowning/suffocation, but Reyna’s just like “Well if you became a better swimmer that wouldn’t be as big of a problem” and he rolls with it. 

Part of his whole healing thing is learning more about competitive swimming and talking with the swim coach. And of course he gets really good at it. Sometime during his second semester he does end up joining the team.

It’s past competition season but the coach thinks he needs it so he just,,, joins

He actually gets along with most of the team REALLY well, and around this time he works on strengthening his relationship with his (kinda)friends, not his actual friends.

Honestly I’ve been considering turning these into a fic, so maybe when I finish Peanut m&m’s there will be another multi chapter in my future.

[gayfrenchtoast]

Despite sleep juice brain still go brr so

Harry Potter if Lily and James DIDNT DIE

A fan theory ramble

Also fuck JK Rowling

Okay so Harry Potter would be taught about the order and the dangers of the wizarding world early on due to James and Lily's positions and James probably being all hug ho about Harry not being afraid of Voldemort especially after that faithful night they almost died to him but didn't because Sirius was watching over their house that night and came to save them. They found out Wormtail was the traitor and sent him scampering and took max precautions after that.

Harry is more arrogant in this version because "my parents are great wizards and my parents and Godfather fought Voldemort and sent him packing" however big bad V did manage to land a hit on him that gave him his scar, unknown if this makes him a haucrux yet. So yeah he's arrogant and he's super confident he's gonna go to hogarth and be an awesome gryffindoor

Lily made Snape and James "make up like adults" and be civil for her and Harry's sakes. They shit talk each other behind their backs and though this in first year made Harry dislike Snape especially since James would shit talk about Snape to Harry and Harry would then overhear Snape shit talking his dad as he got older he just came to accept it and listen to it for the petty drama, ever got Snape to shit talk his dad to him and so they'd just vent at him about each other and no it isn't healthy but damn is it funny to Harry.

Harry does meet Ron and Hermione on the train for the first time, makes friends with Ron by buying some of the sweets from the trolley, with the money James slipped to him before he got on, for them to share. Kinda teases Hermione first time they meet by opening the chocolate frog to her when she asks about the toad ("are you sure it's not a frog? Cus I found THIS" he opens the box in a flash and the chocate frog makes a leap, right towards Hermione. She let's out a high help and leaps back in surprise only for Harry to catch it before it can even get that close to her. Both he and Ron laugh at her reaction as the girl flushes red with rage and embaressment, beginning to turn to presumably storm off. "Wait wait! I'm sorry, I was just joking! Here, you can have it. I only really want the card anyway." He grins as he offers the chocolate frog that was mostly reverting into mainly chocolate form. She looked hesitant but did carefully take the token of good faith, inspecting it a little just to be sure. "...fine. I accept your apology. I shall continue to look for the toad. And by the way, we'll be arriving soon. You might want to get changed into your robes." And she trots off, seemingly satisfied with whatever good job she did.)

Malfoy, who's heard about the boy who's family sent the dark Lord to the shadows, I quick to try and belittle Harry and then try and make it sound like he could "redeem his family name" by becoming friends with him. Harry basically laughs and says he knows of malphoy and his family and he's proud his family was the ones that fought Voldemort instead of the ones who bent over for him. Draco is stunned and pretty pissed.

Sorting hat Ceremony makes it real interesting. Ron gets in Gryffindoor, as expected, however Hermione is in Ravenclaw, Nevil is in Hufflepuff and Harry Potter is in Slytherin. With Draco Malfoy. Who he just insulted.

Harry is devastated to be in Slytherin. He deadass argues with the hat but is forced to concede and go sit and just accept that he's a Slytherin. Ron is conflicted that his new friend who's family fought Voldemort is in slytherin and Draco appears to have the same problem. Despite now being in the same house a rivalry forms between them which is only enhanced by them bunking in the same room.

Harry writes home about this and both James and Lily assure him it's okay he's in Slytherin, Lily tells him that Snape was a Slytherin and Snape is their friend and James reminds him that Slytherin does not mean evil and Gryffindoor does not mean good, wormtail was a Gryffindoor and he turned them over to the dark Lord. This does make him feel a bit better.

Harry manages to maintain his friendship with Ron despite their houses, it's weird at first but they quickly break down that barrier and become great friends, goofing around, becoming friends with the Groundskeeper, which helps them become friends with Hermione.

They make friends with Nevil by saving his rememberall when draco throws it. Nevil helps them with herbology homework from then on. Minera advises Snape to get Harry to be seeker for Slytherin Quiditch after she sees what he does and Harry, who still sees Slytherin as kinda the enemy despite being in it, hesitantly agrees. Slytherin Quiditch is allot less friendly that Gryffindoor, the team is allot colder to him at first, however once he proves himself he finds he loves the sport more than he cares about what team or house he's in and his team warm up to him and actually turn out to not be as scary and mean as he thought. They're still kinda arrogant assholes but Harry is too so he dosent have room to judge

Deadass I do not care about the Philosipers stone shit, people don't think Harry is some kind of chosen one, he and his family survived voldemort and are kinda celebrities for that but because there no tragedy within a year of the event there are rumours its a hoax and eventually the potters surviving the dark Lord becomes a roumour itself so people aren't trying to actively sabotage him. And since he don't think Snape is a stranger out to get him (litterally confronts him about his sus and Snape is like "nah fam I may not like hour dad but you're like my godson I'm not gonna try and kill you in the middle of a quiditch match on a broom" and Harry is like "oh...okay nvm but if you're lying I'm telling my mum" and when he dosent flinch he knows he's telling the truth) and so they quickly figure it was Quirrel. When Hermione puts sus on him Harry decides to be very Slytherin when they confront him in the bathroom and tries to wingardium leviosa him into the air, only getting his turban and showing off his voldemort face. In front of like three other teachers. Fight ensues, day saved, stone safe.

They do find the mirror while goofing off one night and Harry sees himself as a Gryffindoor with his parents proud. He dosent visit the mirror again

Harry gets the invisibility cloak from James that year for Christmas with the strict instructions that he will not tell anyone except those he trusts of its existence.

Draco, probably in second year again, ends up calling Hermione a mud blood at some point ("Potter! You're making our house look bad hanging out with that mud blood!) Harry immidately starts yelling at Draco for that and it quickly escalates to them fist fighting. Sape ends up being the one to discipline them, actually telling Draco off for using such a phrase but still punishing Harry for starting Violence. This is what ends up with them being punished by being sent into the woods with Hagrid. They somehow end up bodmung on tbsi trip, Harry asking why Draco would do that and Draco launching into a tirade about how "father says it and father is always right! He'd beat me if I was friends with a mud blood why should you get to do this and that id get punished for this and that father this father that-" you get the picture. Harry just lets him rant until he's done and then is like "wow your dad is a dick" and drack tries to.deny but Harry just goes through all the shitty stuff draco just told him his father did and draco is just like "...you won't tell my father we talked about this will you" "look mate, I dont ever wanna even meet your father and if I did meet him I would have a bunch of other shit to say to him and a few gestures." And so Harry managed to convince Draco his dad is the dick he is and begins on a mission to get him to see that and be better than him.

Harry goes home for Christmas but always sends his friends gifts. In second year before they depart on the train he gives Draco something before they part ways. He knows a gift would probably be suspicious from him arriving at Malfoy Manor so he gives to to Draco with instructions to only open it at christmas. On christmas day, when he gets some alone time, Draco opens the gift. It's a metal bangle of a Snake that when he rubs it and says a set word it becomes a warm light in the darkness. Draco only says uts acceptable when they meet in the new year bug Harry sees him wearing it and catches him using it at night.

Sometimes Harry has nightmares about the night Voldemort tried to kill his family and of the dark Lord himself. Draco has nightmares of his father and death eaters. When they wake the other up from the nightmares they sit ul and talk about them, abiut random thing or just make teasing jabs at each other until they're comfortable to sleep again

Draco gives up the information they need about the chamber when asked so no need for polyjuice, apologises to Hermione on their way out from the Slytherin dorm room, visits her and brings her and apology chocolate frog for when she is cured (the boys told him they were her favorite) and follows Ron and Harry to the chamber, demanding he be a part in the adventure. Its the Basilisk and Tom Riddle that terrify Draco and seals the deal on his conversion over to the "oppose the dark Lord" side

Draco sets Dobby free

Let's get some Potter family back in here for the hell of it. Sirius has been in love with Remus for yeaaars. Lily knows and is his emotional support. James is oblivious. Remus is with Tonks for a few years but talks to James about his doubts. James is all "naah man Tonks is great! I understand you don't think yihre worthy of a great girl but you are man! Belive in yourself!" And so Remus sticks with it. By Harry's third year there are rumours in the order of Wormtail being about, Remus becomes Hogwart's defence against the dark arts teacher and Sirius is a wreck with Harry and Remus in the frey but him stuck on the sidelines, even Tonks is confused and kinda annoyed with his fretting causing him to confess to her that he lives her boyfriend. She's surprisingly chill and is like "deadass I've been waiting for years for him to break up with me and get with you you two are so stupid" and so Sirius runs off in doggy disguise to confess to moony and arrives in time to help save the day

Draco slowly intergrates into the friend group, Ron bringing some of his friends (Dean and Sean) in a bit and Draco trying to bring some of his friends (Crab Goil and Blaze) but they're mostly hesitant (except from Blaize who wants help on his Herbology from the smart awkward Hufflepuff)

Draco pretends not to be worried about the dementors and Harry's fear of them but he always has his eye on them whenever he sees one.

The demontors were sent out to look for Peter Pettigrew.

Harry shares the maunders map with Draco when he finds it. Harry recognises whk the maunders are as soon as he sees it but doesn't tell Fred and George. However when they see Peters name they rush to Remus. Remus is in a bit of a tiz by this and tells them to follow him with the invisibility cloak as they go look for him. They never find him that night and he ends up dissapearing off the map but Remus still confiscated the map for the night and tells them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, including rats. They're confused but promise to be careful.

Draco doesn't try and get buckbeak executed this time, he deadass is working with Harry to gain the hypogriff's trust and some slytherins that are pussdd they're being all friendly with other houses set off a loud spell that spooks buckhead and draco shoves Harry out of the way before he can get hurt and takes the brunt. None knows how word got to Lucius, it causes an argument in the group especially when Drsco is too afraid to stand up to his father but Harry stands up to him as he knows why Daco is afraid and they work out a plan to free buckbeak instead.

The plan ends up co-inciding with the day Sirius breaks into hogwarts. The dementors know there's an intruder but can't find him so are more active that usual, Sirius doesn't get tome to confess because as soon as he arrives Remus is all work mode and fills him in on the map and all and needs Sirius' nose to sniff him out. The kids plan of rescue is interupted because of this and most continues as normal with Harry furious at Peter not Sirius when he's revealed for trying to get his family killed and Draco tagging along. Snape busting in let's Peter escape unfortunately and then full moon and dementors happen. They manage to rescue buckbeak and themselves with time Turner magic and all is good.

After the full moon is done sirius sniffs out Moony and crades him in his arms until he wakes up, its there in the sunrise he tearfully tells him he loves him and with a clear mind Remus tells him he loves him too.

Draco ends up actually getting into an argument with his dad about trying to get buckbeak killed when he gets home which starts Draco's proper rebellious streak with also means an increase of strictness from Lucius. Draco and Harry send secret messages back and forth.

Thats all for now but I have ideas for the rest of the stories I will ramble about later!

[moonlightreal]

Fate Episode Two

Last time on Fate: Silva was surprisingly interesting, Stella was surprisingly pitiable, and Terra was surprisingly badass.  What surprises await in episode two?

In which we have a magic class.

Promising start, Silva and Dowling walking in beautiful Irish landscape, talkin’ worldbuilding!  The “Blackwoods massacre.”  Silva killed thirteen, or at least helped kill thirteen.  

They’re going to check on the Burned One they have doped to the gills and locked up in a shed.  Dowling is going to read its mind and hopes to find it’s the only one around.  Dowling crouches down by the Burned One and her eyes glow silver.  So she’s a Mind Fairy like Musa, I guess.   She gets flashes of the Burned One killing the shepherd and chasing Bloom.

But WE know Beatrix came and woke this Burned One up, so we weren’t surprised when it leaps for the grownups!

Opening sequence!  Still good music.

Bloom waking up.  Aisha’s already been up for hours.  Aisha suggests, “get up!  Be excited!  Today you get to learn to use your magic!”

Waking up montage!  Musa and Terra being friendly.  Terra asks Musa if she can detect lies or “social niceties” heh.  A sensible question, Terra!  But Mua’s not a lie detector, just emotions.  But it seems like she can feel every single emotion Terra feels in realtime, which… how would you LIVE?  How far is her range, if it’s just the closest person the school should’ve giver her her own room, if it’s all the girls how has she not gone completely barmy by now?

And of course Musa isn’t a walking lie detector, this show is going to have a “but who summoned the Burned Ones” plot and lie detection would mean no Plot!

Terra’s changind in the bathroom and Aisha comes in and sits down on the toilet just right in front of her and then strips and hits the shower also right in front of her.  O_o  Terra flusters and looks away, clearly full of shame about her own body compared to Aisha’s.  Poor Terra.  Aisha seems oblivious, she just asks if anyone’s seen Stella.

Cut to Stella walk of shame coming in.  

Musa: ‘That outfit looks similar to yesterday’s.  Same designer?”

Buuuurn! Ok, that’s mean but after Stella’s “they expect me to care about how I look” last episode Musa is kinda delivering karma here.

Bloom hears them talking and comes out of her room to say the Burned One took the portal ring.  Stella’s upset.  Musa: “Calm down, princess.”

Yep, Stella’s a princess!  “My mom is the queen and the ring you lost is one of the crown jewels of Solaria.  That might not mean much to a First Worlder so feel free to ask your suitemate how much of a screwup that is!”

Aisha brings the logic: “Almost as big as giving it to her in the first place.’

They say Dowling has the Burned One locked up, if it was loose in the First World even for a little while that’d be a disaster.  Stella dribbles the idiot ball saying nobody should tell dowling about the ring, she’ll figure out what to do after class.  “and can someone make sure Terra knows that?  She can never keep her mouth shut.” and Stella opens the door and there’s happy Terra squirming into a vest that looks like it doesn’t fit but sunny as a daisy.

Cut to Beatrix with her hair down walking up some stairs.  She’s going to Dowling’s office again, to “see if she needs an escort” down to the stone circle where the first-year class is being held.  But obviously she really came hoping nobody would be there so she could snoop.  Also, beatrix has an interesting pendant that might be magic or not.  I don’t think they had a big prop budget in this show; the portal ring wasn’t much.

Outside Iiiiiireland!  Green!  Waterfall!  And here’s the stone circle! it’s not very big, the stones are low and the dolmens are actally seats.  The first year class is less than twenty people, though we do see a few of fate’s minor fairies in the shot.  Dowling has “the vessel’ a big silver dish, maybe two foot wide.  Beatrix could’ve been trying to get her hands on that too.

Dowling teaches: “Magic lives in the very fabric of nature.  And here in our circle of stone it’s magnified.  The vessel tests your ability to channel that magic.  Further down the line you may learn to connect with other elements but your first year is all about the element you were born with...”

And here the girls show off their powers as in the trailer.  

“Earth. Soil, sand, rock, and all manner of plant life.”  terra looks so happy as she coaxes ivy vines up.

“Water. The lakes and oceans of the world, or the molecules that exist in all organisms around us.’  So could Aisha do bloodbending?  Or pull water out of a person ‘til they drop from dehydration?  How dark is this show gonna go?

“The mind.  Thoughts, memories, dreams.”  Poor Musa just holds a bubble of ripply air and her eyes glow purple.  They could at least have given her some glowy lines around her eyes like Psyloche or Jean Grey in her pre-fiery incarnations.  And yeah, “mind” instead of ‘spirit’ for the sixth element it does WORK it just...

“I know! Let’s base magic on the traditional magical elements! That’ll be a fresh new take!” Said every fantasy showrunner ever. Smh.  One of the cool things in Winx was that it opened way more possibilities.  Telekinetic-flute Musa would’ve been more fun than this Musa whose power so far just makes her and Terra’s roommate life difficult.  I hope there’s good plot reason for it all later.

“Air. Speed, temperature, sound, its power.  And electrical properties.” Beatrix stretches lightning between her hands and smirks and sideeyes like the villainess she thinks she is.  So is Beatrix The Flash?  Can she create phantom sounds, maybe mimic voices?  Freeze people?  Be nice if she could freeze people, give her one of Icy’s tricks.  And if she can throw lightning… uh, that’s a lot of powers for one person.  Who is a baddie.

“Whatever your element, the emotions underlying it are the same for all fairies.”

Bloom gets up to take her turn.  Her eyes flame up but she’s not getting much more than sparks.  The other students look at each other and snicker.  Dowling says, ‘focus on clear, positive feelings.”  and Aisha like a bonehead says, ‘What about your parents?  Focus on how much you love them?”  Aisha, not ten minutes ago in this episode Bloom told you she was trying not to have feelings about this changeling thing.  You’re an idiot.

Bloom says it’s not working.  Dowling says feel don’t think, and Musa singsongs something to Aisha that I couldn’t catch after rewinding 3 times.  Finally Bloom just says, ‘It’s not happening, can we please move on?” and we cut to class being over and they’re all leaving.

Bloom says to Dowling, ‘I’m either on the verge of killing everyone or I can barely light a match.”  Dowling says she just needs a clear mind, “Distraction can cause magic to be erratic.”

And then Dowling says, “So we have exercise classes, meditation classes, and I’ve signed you up to talk with a specialist fairy councilor to help you figure out your relationship with your parents...” oh wait, no she doesn’t.  She turns away.  

Bloom bursts out, ‘Am I a changeling?” and says how Aisha told her. Dowling’s face confirms it.  ‘i didn’t want to burden you with too much too quickly.

Bloom: “So instead you let me learn from teenagers, the most gentle and reliable sources of information.’  Ahahahaha!  Love it!  So self aware.  

Dowling admits that was not ideal, then snaps at Bloom when she says, ‘Ya think?”  Bloom deflates.  She asks who her real parents are but Dowling doesn’t know.  Just, ‘Come to class every day, you focus, you learn, you grow.  Eventually the answers will come.”  She turns away.

Bloom: “Cryptic and vague just like everything else in this place.” Iknowright?  I’m starting to feel less like Dowling is sus and more like Dowling is just a bad teacher.  Why was there no, “And I will help you find out.’ Dowling suspects Bloom is a very important changeling and knows her magic can be very destructive, why isn’t she working harder to get Bloom what she needs to become an emotionally put-together nondangerous fairy?

We go from here to the Specialists doing martial arts!  Sky and Riven are watching Dane and a girl face off.  Apparently last year Riven was kind of a hopeless case until sky befriended him.

Sky goes off to see Stella, who’s coming over, and Riven gets up to creepy-flirt with Dane.  Apparently Dane accidentally putting a like on one of Riven’s sexy pics is something that could ruin him before the whole school?  I guess it could out him.  There is something sexual in Riven’s menacing, he’s sitting right next to Dane with their faces close together.

And then Riven un-creeps completely and starts giving Dane advice about “chose your friends wisely, focus.  Being a good specialist is about strategy not how big and strong you are.”  then he calls a big specialist named Mikey over for a bout and takes him down handily.  He turns to Dane with a big wholesome grin, “You see?”

Uh. I guess Riven is your standard perv; when he’s not being creepy he’s very likeable.  Makes you want him to not be the kind of guy he so clearly is.

Over with Sky, Stella’s asking him where they might keep the Burned One. Sky says he’ll break out the maps, and suggests they tell Dowling. But Dowling took an oath to the queen, and if the queen found out Stella lost the ring… Stella looks teary-scared.  What of, exactly? She hugs Sky and maybe it’s just my pity for this poor washed-out Stella but I do get the vibe that she’s not being a queen bee, she’s scared and Sky is helping her and it’s not about romance. Then silva comes over and she covers it up with, “so just let me know about the Celtic runes quiz when you find out.  Thanks Sky.”

Huh. Using earth runes for Otherworld magic.  I feel an extra post about this comin’ on.

Stella leaves.  Silva doesn’t even have to give Sky a look, Sky says, ‘you don’t have to lecture me, I’m lecturing myself for it in my head.’  Heh.  And Silva says, ‘My guess is you would ignore your own lectures as well.’  Hah!  And they have a great little teacher-student chat.  Silva promised Sky’s dad to look after him, and the famous Andreas of Eraklyon would’ve said the same thing but with more profanity.  Heh.

Is Sky’s dad dead?  I got the vibe he died in the last magic battle with the Burned Ones but I don’t think they’ve actually said it. Anyway, good lil scene there, show!

We go now to Bloom’s room where she has, ooh! A spell book!  Of Celtic runes!  It’s a fat book, and ok I only know the Norse runes but there’s only 24 of ‘em and you could maybe squeeze out a few pages of meanings and uses for each one plus readings and ok if you added lots and LOTS of spells...  And the Celts didn’t use runes, strictly speaking, they used the Ogham alphabet which is basically runes being an alphabet of straight lines but it does have its own name.

Her other book is called Magical Flora and Fauna.  

While she unpacks these books from her bag Bloom is on the phone with her mom.  Bloom describes her roommate as, ‘Perfect.  Overachiever, athlete, morning person...’ and mom says, ‘and you get to spend so much time with her...” just savoring it, but in a joking way. This conversation was very sweet.  And Bloom’s mom has a watch set to Switzerland time so she knows it’s time for Bloom to go to bed. that’s really sweet.  It’s clear Bloom’s parents do love her, but how regular were meltdowns like the one that set the house on fire?  Like Riven, people can be both great people and horrible people.

And they are so unlike Mike and Vanessa that I’m not calling them Mike and Vanessa.  Fate clearly didn’t mean for them to be the same characters.

Late afternoon outside.  Beatrix approaches Riven and enlists him to break into Dowling’s office because he seems like a “proper delinquent.” and also “because you’re a guy and I’m hot.” Pfft!  Uh.  Go, Beatrix?  Own your power?  “Or did I underestimate the depth of your character?”  Heh.  Beatrix heads off without waiting for Riven’s answer.

In the cafeteria Aisha and Musa get dinner.  Aisha is wearing a bright yellow ankle-length skirt what is with the costumes in this show!  At least Musa’s got her appropriately colored red jacket.  She talks about her power being always on and how that makes crowded places a nightmare, and reads some people’s minds.  Then she reads one guy’s mind and meaningful music plays.  What is this?

They go sit with Terra and Bloom and Aisha is again on the ball trying to help Bloom figure out her emotions so she can control her magic because she’s worried bloom’s too distracted by the changeling thing.  And yeah everybody knows about that now.

Terra: “Oh is that why you were freaking out about the vessel that makes so much sense because that’s about the easiest assignment we’ll have aaaaand I’m making it worse.”  Musa had to signal Terra to shut up, but good save.  The girls are being nice to each other, I like that.  Aisha is epically bad at the skill of helping, but she is trying to help.  Gee, if only there were school councilors who had studied the skill of helping!  

Stella and Sky come over with a map of Alfea and Terra starts pointing out all the locations and starts a story from her childhood and even Stella’s glare won’t shut her up.

Sky sits down by Bloom and asks if she’s ok after last night.  “I think you’re freaking out and pretending you’re not.”  

Poor Stella can’t decide who she hates more, chattering Terra or talkin’-to-my-guy Bloom!  Hope Stella gets her head on straight about Sky soon.  After Musa and Riven in season 8 my eyes have run out of roll. 9_9  

They figure out the likliest place for the Burned One to be chained up and Stella says, “We just have to go there and get my ring.” But Musa and Aisha say this isn’t a “we” problem, more of a “you” problem.  Stella pulls out her worst side and says to Bloom, “But ‘I’ didn’t lose it.” and Bloom’s down to go.  Even knowing she has no control over her magic.  But the Burned One is chained up and drugged with some oil that Terra’s father makes.  Called Zambak or something.  They can maybe get some more.  that’s sensible. Nasty Stella says, ‘thank you Terra, thank you Bloom for taking responsibility, and everyone else thanks for… nothing.’ and smirks and gathers up her map.

Yeesh, Stella’s catty!  

Also, how do they know Dowling and Sliva haven’t already searched the Burned One?  Do Burned Ones have pockets?  And Burned Ones carry a disease that kills you if you get scratched by one, so is it even safe to touch them at all?  Does Stella have a plan for a magical hazmat suit or something?  Have y’all really thought this through?

I think Bloom stealth rolls her eyes at the cattyness, and then she goes outside.  To what looks like a hedge maze with a pond where IS this place?  Sky follows and says, ‘You don’t have to go along with what Stella says just because she’s got a… strong personality.”  But Bloom’s mind is made up which makes her also a strong personality.

Sky awkwardly explains he dated Stella last year and they had a rough breakup, trying to set out his situation for Bloom so she won’t think he’s ‘that guy’ but Bloom sensibly points out they only met yesterday and she already has enough complication in her life.  

Meanwhile our conspirators are working out Dowling’s schedule in a library somewhere.  Riven knows already!  Dowling’s secretary is named Callan.  

And Riven is trying soooo hard to prove he’s a bad boy.  Hood up, pouring booze from a decanter, saying he smokes weed with his vape. If you gotta try that hard, you have already failed.

Beatrix meanwhile is petting the books.  She’s not after test answers, she’s beyond the stuff they teach.  She wants secrets.  “the history of this place is a lot darker than Dowling an the rest of the faculty want us to know.’

Riven: “So wait you’re like some hot fucked-up history nerd.’  Heh.

And Beatrix comes over and sits on Riven and the camera thankfully doesn’t make us watch them making out!

Musa’s in the cafeteria, she detects that guy again.  She follows him-- to a closed door.

Bloom’s gone back to the stone circle!  The vessel is still there, which seems stealable, and we see it’s full of crystals.  Bloom opens her red notebook and we see her notes “clear mind = emotional control + stronger magic” and “positive magic > lasts longer.”  But just as she starts trying to summon fire…

“I hear you’re broken.  In more ways than one.”  Stella, that was mean and that costume does nothing for you.  Are long skirts in style in Italy?  Heck, they could be in style in America for all I know, I haven’t seen other people in ten months.

Stella briefly acts nice, telling Bloom her notes are the problem magic has to come by feel.  Then she turns and starts a mocking list of things she thinks Bloom might have listed as sources of positive emotion. Then Stella goes for the changeling thing, and pushes Bloom to use her rage to call fire.  Bloom summons fire and jumps back.  Stella says, ‘What?  You think you’re done?” So Stella is going to just abuse Bloom to get her magic working?  Great, just great.  Ugh. I suppose later on she’ll say, “It had to be done, we didn’t have time for you to figure it out the normal way.’ and that’ll be fine and nobody will punish Stella for creating a danger to herself and the whole school.

Also, Stella goes for “worthless changeling” which ok anything will be nasty in that voice but what’s wrong with being a changeling?  not like Bloom had any say in what her parents did when she was just born.  And Aisha called it barbaric… was changeling-swapping used for some awful purpose back in ancient times that created a stigma? What?  I sense worldbuilding, and Fate you’d better deliver!

Or there is no stigma to being a changeling and Stella’s just poking Bloom where it hurts.  Or if Stella knows about the mysterious Rosalinda she may have put the dates together and realized Bloom could be the daughter of the great heroine and destined for main-characterhood.  And Stella may be getting jealous.

Also 2, Stella’s basically using Sith philosophy.  Didn’t you ever see Star Wars, Stella?  Heck, maybe she has and she’s doing it on purpose.

Also 3, I may need to do a separate post about magic and emotion.  It’s easier to get to angry from happy than to happy from… anywhere. it’s just how brains work.  So everybody ever would discover rage works better and… I don’t even know where the worldbuilding would have to go from there.

Ok. That was a lot of thoughts and my mid-episode break on a Friday night.  (dinner, watched some Classic Doctor Who, wrote some fanfic, went to bed, got up, wrote more fanfic, walked my pokemons, and here we are again.) We rejoin the episode at definitely-night at Alfea.  Dowling has no lighting in her office.  Silva comes in saying the other realms have had zero Burned Ones sightings.  Silva wants to move the Burned One to the queen’s prison before the students start trying to find it. Silva is a sensible guy.  (also his first name is Saul, which I learned already on Tumblr.  I’m not the only one who thinks he’s a good character it seems.)

And I guess Dowling goes along with it because here come 3 black SUVs from the queen’s army, lookin’ very Jurassic Park as they roll across the fields.  No roads around Alfea I guess.  Doomful music plays.  I think something very Jurassic Park is about to happen to these poor guys…

Also, it’s day when before it was night.  Is it the next day?  A few days on?  Time & lighting in this show!

The soldiers stop when they see a dark figure, but it’s just someone in a cloak.  There’s a growl…

The girls waking up!  I guess it’s the morning of day 3 now.  Aisha makes her bed as Bloom snoozes away.  Aisha sees Bloom’s notebook, conveniently left open to Bloom’s notes about “Is Stella right that I should use hatred and fear?”  Aisha is concerned that her roommate is considering the ways of the Sith.

She talks to Musa about it on the way to (I presume) breakfast.  Bloom and Stella were ouit late last night.  But Musa thinks Aisha is just jealous that Bloom and Stella may be becoming friends.  And Musa’s eyes glowed so I guess that’s what Aisha was thinking?  Aisha changes the subject to the boy Musa’s chasing.  Musa says she senses him behind her but there’s nobody there… then he Kitty Prydes it in through the wall.  ‘Mystery solved.  Earth fairy.” and Aisha just calls him over and introduces the two of them and says Musa’s been stalking him.  As Musa quietly swears hatred to Aisha’s children unto generations, but is kind of laughing too.  Musa turns and Sam says, ‘Lucky me.” and Aisha leaves them to get acquainted.

We go to Terra in the greenhouse where she’s doing planty things and teaching Dane chemistry.  They have pipettes in the Otherworld, and they’re called pipettes.  Dane has a glass chemistry apparatus.  Is he doing chemistry or potions?  ‘Cause they are two different disciplines!

Terra coaxes a flower from a bud with her magic, and Dane says it’s cool. Cute scene.

Interrupted by Riven texting to ask if Dane is training or busy picking flowers.

More cuteness, Dane teases Terra asking if she’s making drugs, apparently meth exists in the Otherworld too, and Terra tells him about the anti-Burned One oil she’s making.  Dane is helping with preparation while Terra does the magic bits.

Riven sends a picture of someone picking petals off a flower and Dane says he has to go.  Poor Terra is abandoned.

Riven is in a dark room smoking.  He shows Beatrix his phone and she says, ‘Homophobic gay-bashing via gif. Truly you’ve reached your peak clever.”  Riven explains he doesn’t care if Dane is gay, he wants to make him less lame.  Well-intentioned bullying.  That is weirdly thought-out, Riven.  

Sky comes in so I guess we’re in Sky and Riven’s dorm.  Beatrix offers him her vape pen and he declines.  Riven isn’t worried about having a girl in the boys’ dorm because Silva went off to meet the soldiers coming for the Burned One.  Beatrix knows Sky is dating Stella and asks if it’s weird having sex with someone who looks just like him and I snicker.  Sky is unmoved.

Beatrix heads off to the library and Sky says, “I don’t have time to tell you all the reasons that is a bad idea.”  Riven just waves it off.

Over with Bloom and Aisha, Bloom’s trying to write a paper when Aisha interrupts to spill the beans about seeing the notebook and says Stella’s “methods are unreliable” and she’s maybe not the best magic teacher.  Bloom just focuses on “you read my notebook?” and asks Aisha to stop trying to help.

Stella arrives in that big olive coat to say the Burned One is about to be moves, their mission needs to happen now.  The coat is something the real Stella would never wear in a million years, but I find myself approving of a practical choice in adventure wear.

Sam and Musa are chatting happily.  Sam is trying to guess what he sounds like in Musa’s head.  Guess she heard emotion as music.  Musa says he sounds like “an absence of chaos.”  And sam describes his power which he calls “boring through anything natural.”  I’ll just call it phasing because obviously.

Terra texts Musa for help in the greenhouse.  I do believe we’re leaping into action.

Stela, Bloom and Aisha stride across the grounds.  Aisha calls Stella “Army Barbie” so wait they have Barbie dolls in the Otherworld?  How does that work, pallets of dolls get spirited away from the Mattel factory?  Stella spends a long time saying Aisha was not invited. But Aisha is coming along, they need her.

Stella: “I fixed her.”

Aisha: “Negative emotions are unreliable. They have limits. Your method won’t help her in the long run.”

Bloom points out neither of them are helping at the moment.  Stella and Musa arrive and the five of them cross the barrier to go find the Burned One.

They find the barn quick, but the Burned One is already gone.  Stella again sounds teary and holds the chains saying “No, my mum’s going to kill me...”

Musa gets a bad vibe and she and Terra follow it.  Suddenly Musa is struck down by a blast of empathic pain.  Ah crap, here are the soldiers, very dead!  Oh good, Silva is just grievously wounded.

But Bloom lagged behind at the barn.  Aisha and Stella go look for her while Terra and Musa hopefully save one of the three adults in the cast.  

Bloom is wandering through the forest, summoned by magic one assumes because this is a bad time to wander off.

Yikes, poor Silva is infected with Burned One venom and not in his right mind!  Luckily Terra takes charge, vines the guy up before he can stab them, and tells Musa, ‘He’s scared, I’m not.  Focus on me.”  the anti-Burned One oil will help with the infection.

Aisha and Stella follow Bloom through the dark forest.  Stella tries to summon light but can’t make it work and Aisha says, ‘I don’t have time for this, go back to school.” and walks off.  So the three of them are now separated.

And there’s the Burned One!  It runs at Bloom, who sends fire at it. Even being on fire doesn’t slow it down but Aisha sends a wave that tosses it into a tree, impaling it through the chest on a branch! The girls creep in for a closer look and they see Stella’s ring, that the Burned One has buried in its flesh!  We don’t see that. The girls waffle about who should pull it out-- did none of you bring a pocket knife?  A stick?  Don’t touch the highly infectious monster!  But Bloom reaches in with her actual hands and grabs the ring and they flee.

Stella did go back to school.  She finds Sky and tells him what happened, that the Burned One got loose.  Sky immediately goes from, “How?” to “How are you?” making him a class A good dude.  Stella begins to cry and says her magic wouldn’t work.  Sky says, “Tell me everything.” when below in the cafateria Musa and Terra enter with the injured Silva.  Terra takes charge, ordering medical help and for Dane to come help them get Silva to the greenhouse.  I guess there’s no infirmary here?  Maybe all the medicines are potions.  Beatrix runs to get Dowling and Sky and Stella rush down to help.

  And we learn Sam is Terra’s brother.

Beatrix rushes into Dowling’s office, tells the news, and Dowling and Callan rush out.  Leaving Beatrix right where she wants to be.  She lightnings up her hands and Dowling’s secret passage slides right open for her.

Down in the greenhouse Terra’s dad Harvey says, ‘You saved his life, I’m so proud of you.” and Terra glows.  Silva is battered but himself again and tells Sky he’ll be fine and sends the students out before telling the adults the real news.  The Burned One was freed and waiting for them.

Beatrix can’t get through the secret door.  There’s a barrier on it. Dowling’s assistant Callan comes in and catches her, but he’s a baddie too!  He says turning loose the Burned One was a good distraction but he can’t get through the trap on the secret door because he’s not a fairy and that’s why “he” sent Beatrix.

The plot thickens!  A mysterious boss-villain has emerged!  And Beatrix, that is a lot of lipstick.

Evening of day 3, getting ready for bed in the dorm.  Terra texted, Silva will be ok but they should prepare for a lecture.  But bloom’s more interested in teasing Aisha about her toothbrush.  

Stella turns up and says while the others were in the woods she was covering for them at school and Bloom should be grateful.  Which is a total lie.  Bloom returns the ring, joking about what she had to do to get it and Stella says right over her, ‘let;s never talk about this day again.” and leaves.

Sky arrives.  And looks at Bloom, then goes into Stella’s room.  The door shuts behind them with great finality.

So… does “being turned on” count as an emotion for the purposes of magic?  That would make the worldbuilding very odd indeed.  We’d have the Sith and the… hmm… Bacchanates?  Supposedly followers of Bacchus who ran around drinking, having orgies, and tearing apart small animals with their bare hands in the lust of the hunt.  They probably didn’t exist in our world, but in the Fate world they’d make sense.

Also would people with mental illnesses have stronger magic?  Bipolar mania is a heckofathing from what my psych textbooks say.

Anyway Bloom and Aisha talk before going to bed, Aisha apologizes for helping too much, says it’s all new to her too.  Bloom says she wandered off from the barn because she felt something.  “a connection to that thing.”  She talks about how she’s kind of given up on understanding but, “opening up emotionally the magic’s all around me.  And that’s new and kinda scary.”

A meaningful silence falls, and when Aisha looks over Bloom’s eyes have gone blank white!

Boring ending music this time.  i guess the themes from this episode are 1) lots of characters do really awful things and also likeable things.  either this show has nuanced characters or it doesn’t know what the heck it’s doing with its characters.  I’m not sure.  and 2) Has this magic=emotion thing really been thought through?

[baddadjokez]

514 Dad Jokes

What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta.​I would avoid the sushi if I was you. It’s a little fishy.​Want to hear a joke about paper? Nevermind it’s tearable.​Why did the cookie cry? Because his father was a wafer so long!​I used to work in a shoe recycling shop. It was sole destroying.​What do you call a belt with a watch on it? A waist of time.​How do you organize an outer space party? You planet.​I went to a seafood disco last week... and pulled a mussel.​Do you know where you can get chicken broth in bulk? The stock market.​I cut my finger chopping cheese, but I think that I may have greater problems.​My cat was just sick on the carpet, I don’t think it’s feline well.​Why did the octopus beat the shark in a fight? Because it was well armed.​How much does a hipster weigh? An instagram.​What did daddy spider say to baby spider? You spend too much time on the web.​Atheism is a non-prophet organisation.​There’s a new type of broom out, it’s sweeping the nation.​What cheese can never be yours? Nacho cheese.​What did the Buffalo say to his little boy when he dropped him off at school? Bison.​Have you ever heard of a music group called Cellophane? They mostly wrap.​Why does Superman gets invited to dinners? Because he is a Supperhero.​How was Rome split in two? With a pair of Ceasars.​The shovel was a ground breaking invention.​A scarecrow says, "This job isn't for everyone, but hay, it's in my jeans."​A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog stand and says, "Make me one with everything."​Did you hear about the guy who lost the left side of his body? He's alright now.​What do you call a girl with one leg that's shorter than the other? Ilene.​I did a theatrical performance on puns. It was a play on words.​What do you do with a dead chemist? You barium.​I bet the person who created the door knocker won a Nobel prize.​Towels can’t tell jokes. They have a dry sense of humor.​Two birds are sitting on a perch and one says "Do you smell fish?"​Do you know sign language? You should learn it, it’s pretty handy.​What do you call a beautiful pumpkin? GOURDgeous.​Why did one banana spy on the other? Because she was appealing.​What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.​What do you call a cow with two legs? Lean beef.​What do you call a cow with all of its legs? High steaks.​A cross eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils.​After the accident, the juggler didn’t have the balls to do it.​I used to be afraid of hurdles, but I got over it.​To write with a broken pencil is pointless.​I read a book on anti-gravity. I couldn’t put it down.​I couldn’t remember how to throw a boomerang but it came back to me.​What should you do if you are cold? Stand in the corner. It’s 90 degrees.​How does Moses make coffee? Hebrews it.​The energizer bunny went to jail. He was charged with battery.​What did the alien say to the pitcher of water? Take me to your liter.​What happens when you eat too many spaghettiOs? You have a vowel movement.​The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray was a seasoned veteran.​Sausage puns are the wurst.​What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.​Why shouldn’t you trust atoms? They make up everything.​What’s it called when you have too many aliens? Extraterrestrials.​Want to hear a pizza joke? Nevermind, it’s too cheesy.​What do cows tell each other at bedtime? Dairy tales.​Why can’t you take inventory in Afghanistan? Because of the tally ban.​Why didn’t the lion win the race? Because he was racing a cheetah.​What happens to nitrogen when the sun comes up? It becomes daytrogen.​What’s it called when you put a cow in an elevator? Raising the steaks.​What’s america’s favorite soda? Mini soda.​Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.​What kind of car does a sheep drive? Their SuBAHHru.​What do you call a french pig? Porque.​What do you call a line of rabbits marching backwards? A receding hairline.​Why don’t vampires go to barbecues? They don’t like steak.​How do trees access the internet? They log on.​Why should you never trust a train? They have loco motives.​Is your refrigerator running? Better go catch it.​The future,the present and the past walked into a bar.Things got a little tense.​I saw an ad for burial plots, and thought to myself this is the last thing I need.​I just found out I'm colorblind. The diagnosis came completely out of the purple.​I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction.​Have you ever tried to eat a clock? It's very time consuming.​I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.​Read enough of our funny puns, and you'll be punstoppable.​Yesterday a clown held the door for me. It was a nice jester.​I used to go fishing with Skrillex but he kept dropping the bass.​The wedding was so emotional even the cake was in tiers.​What does a house wear? A dress.​Why can't bicycles stand up on their own? Since they are 2 tired.​I owe a lot to the sidewalks. They’ve been keeping me off the streets for years.​Imagine if alarm clocks hit you back in the morning.It would be truly alarming.​Why is a skeleton a bad liar? You can see right through it.​What do you receive when you ask a lemon for help? Lemonaid.​A man sued an airline company after it lost his luggage. Sadly, he lost his case.​What does a dog say when he sits down on a piece of sandpaper? Ruff!​What do you call crystal clear urine? 1080pee.​At my boxing club there is only one punch bag. I hate waiting for the punch line!​An untalented gymast walks into a bar.​Einstein developed a theory about space, and it was about time too.​I was accused of being a plagiarist, their word not mine.​My friends say they don’t like skeleton puns. I should put more backbone into them.​Let me FILL you in on my trip to the dentist.​Why does the singer of Cheap Thrills not want us to Sia?​Traveling on a flying carpet is a rugged experience.​Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy.​The old woman who lived in a shoe wasn’t the sole owner,there were strings attached.​Did you hear about the crime in the parking garage? It was wrong on so many levels.​My new diet consists of aircraft, its a bit plane.​Have you ever tried to milk a cow which has been cut in half? Udder madness.​Why are there fences on graveyards? Because people are dying to get in.​Why do trees have so many friends? They branch out.​Models of dragons are not to scale.​Never discuss infinity with a mathematician, they can go on about it forever.​Why don’t some couples go to the gym? Because some relationships don’t work out.​Don’t trust people that do acupuncture, they’re back stabbers.​A persistent banker wouldn’t stop hitting on me so I asked him to leave me a loan.​I ordered a book of puns last week, but i didn't get it.​People say i look better without glasses but i just can't see it.​Don’t judge a meal by the look of the first course. It’s very souperficial.​I heard Donald Trump is going to ban shredded cheese, and make America grate again.​I relish the fact that you’ve mustard the strength to ketchup to me.​What do you call a young musician? A minor.​Police were called to a daycare yesterday, where a 2-year-old was resisting a rest.​If artists wear sketchers do linguists wear converse?​I changed my iPod name to Titanic. It’s syncing now.​Jill broke her finger today, but on the other hand she was completely fine.​I smeared some ketchup all over my eyes once. It was a bad idea in Heinz- sight.​I flipped a coin over an issue the other day, it was quite the toss-up.​I got hit in the head with a can of soda? Luckily it was a soft drink.​I heard that the post office was a male dominated industry.​Why isn’t suntanning an Olympic sport? Because the best you can ever get is bronze.​What do you mean June is over? Julying.​Why is Kylo Ren so angry? Beause he’s always Ben Solo.​These reversing cameras are great. Since I got one I haven’t looked back.​The candle quit his job because he felt burned out.​Our maintenance guy lost his legs on the job, now he’s just a handyman.​Going to bed with music on gave him sound sleep.​A magic tractor drove down the road and turned into a field!​I met some aliens from outer space. They were pretty down to earth.​The plane flight brought my acrophobia to new heights.​My phone has to wear glasses ever since it lost its contacts.​I, for one, like Roman numerals.​How do mountains see? They peak.​The show was called Spongebob Squarepants but everyone knows the star was Patrick.​This is not alcohol, water you thinking?!​Novice pirates make terrible singers because they can’t hit the high seas.​I told my friend she drew her eyebrows too high. She seemed surprised.​The earth's rotation really makes my day.​If I buy a bigger bed will I have more or less bedroom?​Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted.​Two ropes were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-frayed.​What kind of shoes do ninjas wear? Sneakers.​I got a master’s degree in being ignored; no one seems to care.​After eating the ship, the sea monster said, I can’t believe I ate the hull thing.​Smaller babies may be delivered by stork but the heavier ones need a crane.​A bartender broke up with her boyfriend, but he kept asking her for another shot.​I had a pun about insanity but then I lost it.​He couldn’t work out how to fix the washing machine so he threw in the towel.​Why does the man want to buy nine rackets? Cause tennis too many.​Why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny.​If I got paid in lots of Pennes I would make loads of pasta.​I thought I saw a spider on my laptop, but my friend said it was just a bug.​A doctor broke his leg while auditioning for a play.Luckily he still made the cast.​The tale of the haunted refrigerator was chilling.​Why are frogs so happy? They eat whatever bugs them.​If you wear cowboy clothes are you ranch dressing?​I was addicted to the hokey pokey but I turned myself around.​Simba, you're falling behind. I must ask you to Mufasa.​I bought a wooden whistle but it wooden whistle.​The bomb didn't want to go off. So it refused.​The sore mummy needed a Cairo-practor​I feel sorry for shopping carts. They’re always getting pushed around.​The display of still-life art was not at all moving!​On Halloween October is nearly Octover.​Pig puns are so boaring.​Why couldn’t the dead car drive into the cluttered garage? Lack of vroom.​What do you call Samsung's security guards? Guardians of the Galaxy.​What does Superman have in his drink? Just ice.​How does a penguin build it’s house? Igloos it together.​Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.​The safe was invented by a cop and a robber. It was quite a combination.​What do you do when balloons are hurt? You helium.​One hat says to the other, "You stay here, I’ll go on a head."​How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles.​When does a farmer dance? When he drops the beet.​When the scientist wanted to clone a deer, he bought a doe it yourself kit.​If people ask how many puns I made in Germany I reply, "nein"​Did you hear about the invention of the white board? It was remarkable.​If Donald Trump becomes president, America is going toupee.​Can February March? No, but April May.​I hate Russian Dolls, they are so full of themselves.​What do you do to an open wardrobe? You closet.​The magazine about ceiling fans went out of business due to low circulation.​So what if I don’t know what apocalypse means? It’s not the end of the world!​Some aquatic mammals at the zoo escaped. It was otter chaos.​A backwards poem writes inverse.​Getting the ability to fly would be so uplifting.​I asked my friend, Nick, if he had 5 cents I could borrow. But he was Nicholas.​The soundtrack for Blackfish was orcastrated.​Where do you imprison a skeleton? In a rib cage.​There’s a fine line between the numerator and the denominator.​I used to work at a hairdresser but i just wasn’t cut out for it.​Why is metal and a microwave a match made in heaven? When they met, sparks flew.​The lumberjack loved his new computer. He especially enjoyed logging in.​Garbage collectors are rubbish drivers!​When the church relocated it had an organ transplant.​Lettuce take a moment to appreciate this salad pun.​The scarecrow get promoted because he was outstanding in his field.​Sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed.​I never understood odorless chemicals, they never make scents.​What do prisoners use to call each other? Cell phones.​Why was dumbo sad? He felt irrelephant.​When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.​Old skiers never die. They just go down hill.​Did you hear about the pun that was actually funny? Neither have we.​You know why I like egg puns? They crack me up!​Want to hear a pun about ghosts? That's the spirit!​I used to make clown shoes… which was no small feat.​Did you hear about the human cannonball? Too bad he got fired!​What happened when the magician got mad? She pulled her hare out!​Did you hear about the circus that caught on fire? It was in tents.​The one day of the week that eggs are definitely afraid of is Fry-day.​A hen will always leave her house through the proper eggs-it.​The man who ate too many eggs was considered to be an egg-oholic.​All the hens consider the chef to be very mean because he beats the eggs.​Eskimos keep all of their chilled eggs inside of the egg-loo.​Under the doctor’s advice, the hen is laying off eggs for a few weeks.​I had a real problem making a hard-boiled egg this morning until I cracked it.​The best time of day to eat eggs is at the crack of dawn.​The chicken coop only had 2 doors since if it had 4 doors it would be a sedan.​Crossing a cement mixer and a chicken will result in you getting a brick layer.​That reckless little egg always seems to egg-celerate when he sees the light turn yellow.​Hopefully this egg pun doesn't make your brain too fried or scrambled.​Don't ever have multiple people wash dishes together. It's hard for them to stay in sink.​People using umbrellas always seem to be under the weather.​I dissected an iris today. It was an eye-opening experience.​What was Forrest Gump’s email password? 1forrest1.​What planet is like a circus? Saturn, it has three rings!​Before my father died he worked in a circus as a stilt walker. I used to look up to him.​Why did the lion eat the tightrope walker? He wanted a well-balanced meal!​I really look up to my tall friends.​I hate negative numbers and will stop at nothing to avoid them.​Long fairy tales have a tendency to dragon.​It takes guts to make a sausage.​Why shouldn’t you give Elsa a balloon? Because she’ll “Let It Go”!​What do you call cheese that’s not yours? Nacho cheese!​How do you make a tissue dance? Put a little boogie in it​What do you get when a witch goes to the beach? A sand-witch!​Where do cows go on Friday nights? To the mooooo-vies!​What did the mommy tomato say to the baby tomato? C’mon, ketchup!​Why did the banana go to the doctor? Because he wasn’t “peeling” well!​What did one snowman say to the other? Do you smell carrots?​Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance? Because he had no body to go with!​What is a pirate’s favorite letter? Arrrrrr!​What does a piece of toast wear to bed? His pa-JAM-as!​What does one eye say to the other eye? Something between us smells​Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide!​What happens when an egg laughs? It cracks up!​What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!​Why didn’t the teddy bear want dessert? Because he was stuffed!​Why can’t you tell a joke while ice skating? Because the ice might crack up!​What do you call a pig that knows karate? A pork chop!​What’s mommy and daddy’s favorite ride at the carnival? A married-go-round!​How did Cookie Monster feel after eating all the cookies? Pretty crummy!​What do you call a skunk who flies in a helicopter? A smelly-copter!​What do you get when you shake a cow? A milkshake!​How do you catch a squirrel? Climb up a tree and act like a nut!​Why did the bee get married? Because she found her honey!​What did the ocean say to their airplane? Nothing, it just waved!​Where do eskimo pigs live? In pig-loos.​What’s a dinosaur called when it’s sleeping? A dino-snore!​What did the cookie say to the annoying cookie? Crumb on!​Why did Mickey Mouse go up in space? To find Pluto!​What does Olaf eat for lunch? Icebergers!​What letter is always wet? The C!​How do you throw a space party? You planet.​How was Rome split in two? With a pair of Ceasars.​Nope. Unintended.​The shovel was a ground breaking invention, but everyone was blow away by the leaf blower.​A scarecrow says, "This job isn't for everyone, but hay, it's in my jeans."​A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog stand and says "Make me one with everything."​Did you hear about the guy who lost the left side of his body? He's alright now.​What do you call a girl with one leg that's shorter than the other? Ilene.​The broom swept the nation away.​I did a theatrical performance on puns. It was a play on words.​What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back for seconds.​What do you do with a dead chemist? You barium.​I bet the person who created the door knocker won a Nobel prize.​Towels can’t tell jokes. They have a dry sense of humor.​Two birds are sitting on a perch and one says “Do you smell fish?”​Did you hear about the cheese factory that exploded in france? There was nothing but des brie.​Do you know sign language? You should learn it, it’s pretty handy.​What do you call a beautiful pumpkin? GOURDgeous.​Why did one banana spy on the other? Because she was appealing.​What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.​What do you call a cow with two legs? Lean beef.​What do you call a cow with all of its legs? High steaks.​A cross eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils.​After the accident, the juggler didn’t have the balls to do it.​I used to be afraid of hurdles, but I got over it.​To write with a broken pencil is pointless.​I read a book on anti-gravity. I couldn’t put it down.​I couldn’t remember how to throw a boomerang but it came back to me.​What did the buffalo say to his son? Bison.​What should you do if you’re cold? Stand in the corner. It’s 90 degrees.​How does Moses make coffee? Hebrews it.​The energizer bunny went to jail. He was charged with battery.​What did the alien say to the pitcher of water? Take me to your liter.​What happens when you eat too many spaghettiOs? You have a vowel movement.​The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray was a seasoned veteran.​Sausage puns are the wurst.​What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.​How did Darth Vader know what luke was getting him for his birthday? He could sense his presence.​Why shouldn’t you trust atoms? They make up everything.​What’s the difference between a bench, a fish, and a bucket of glue? You can’t tune a bench but you can tuna fish. I bet you got stuck on the bucket of glue part.​What’s it called when you have too many aliens? Extraterrestrials.​Want to hear a pizza joke? Nevermind, it’s too cheesy.​What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.​What do cows tell each other at bedtime? Dairy tales.​Why can’t you take inventory in Afghanistan? Because of the tally ban.​Why didn’t the lion win the race? Because he was racing a cheetah.​Why did the man dig a hole in his neighbor’s backyard and fill it with water? Because he meant well.​What happens to nitrogen when the sun comes up? It becomes daytrogen.​What’s it called when you put a cow in an elevator? Raising the steaks.​What’s america’s favorite soda? Mini soda.​Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.​What kind of car does a sheep drive? A lamborghini, but if that breaks down they drive their SuBAHHru.

[tw-anchor]

03. Hospital Visits

Anchor

Stiles Stilinski x Original Character (Reader)

Episode: 1x03; Pack Mentality

Word Count: 4,992

Warning(s): Mature language, blood

Author’s Note: Olivia told her dad about what was going on in her life--and about Stiles! Tell me what you think! Reblog and like!

Masterlist in Profile Description!

Olivia was not expecting Scott and Stiles to rush up to her as soon as she got out of Lydia’s car, but there they were. They both waved at her with awkward smiles on their faces, obviously trying to apologize to her.

Knowing that they probably needed help with something, she said goodbye to her cousin, ignoring the questioning look Lydia gave her, and walked over to Stiles and Scott.

“What’s going on?” she asked bluntly.

“First of all, we’re sorry about Derek and your cousin,” Scott said quickly.

“Apology accepted. What’s going on?” she repeated herself.

Scott and Stiles exchanged a loaded look before Scott confessed, “Okay, I had a dream about Allison. And it was a really weird dream,” he said as the three of them walked up to the school together. “At first, we were making out in a school bus but then I lost control and started mauling her.”

Olivia hummed, wondering what she was supposed to do about this dream of his. “Okay…”

“So, you killed her?” Stiles asked, opening the door so Scott and Olivia could walk through.

“I don’t know,” Scott shrugged. “I just woke up and I was sweating like crazy and I couldn’t breathe. I’ve never had a dream where I woke up like that before.”

“Really? I have,” Stiles announced. “They usually end a bit differently.”

Olivia wrinkled her nose, not exactly wanting to know that much information about Stiles.

Scott didn’t look pleased to know about Stiles’ dreams, either. “Okay, I meant that I’ve never had a dream that felt that real.”

“And can you please not talk about your freaky sex dreams?” Olivia added, looking up at Stiles. “Too much detail.”

“All right, noted,” Stiles shrugged, unbothered.

“Great,” Olivia rolled her eyes and turned to Scott. “Let me guess, you—”

“No,” Scott interrupted her. “I don’t know you that well but I do know that you think my dream has something to do with me going out with Allison tomorrow. Like I’m gonna lose control and rip her throat out.”

“Frankly, yes,” Olivia nodded, catching the annoyed looks both of the boys were throwing her. “What? You came to me for help.”

“Okay, Livvy’s negativity aside,” Stiles spoke up, ignoring the unhappy look Olivia sent his way. “I think you’re handling this pretty fuckin’ well, Scott. It’s not like there’s a lycanthropy-for-beginners class you can take.”

“There’s not a class but there is a teacher,” Olivia pointed out the obvious.

“Who, Derek?” Stiles scoffed, looking at Scott for back-up. The idea of going to Derek for help was pretty ridiculous.

Scott shrugged. “Maybe she’s right.”

Stiles reached over Olivia’s head and slapped Scott on the back of his head. “Are you forgetting the part where we got him tossed in jail?”

“Derek’s not petty enough to not help Scott over that,” Olivia said, defending her cousin. Though they both hadn’t forgiven the new werewolf and his smart-ass best friend, they knew that helping Scott control his change was for the greater good.

“And besides,” Scott said, growing more into the idea of asking Derek for help. “chasing her, dragging her to the back of the bus? It felt so real.”

“How real?” Stiles asked, dodging another student as he opened the door leading out of the school.

“Like it actually happened.”

Olivia’s eyes fell on the scene before her, her eyes widening in horror.

The bus parked right outside the doors was busted open, its back door almost ripped off its hinges completely. There was blood everywhere, numerous handprints slapped on the windows, seats, and yellow siding. Police officers, including Stiles’ dad, hovered around the scene, taking photographic evidence and conducting interviews with the principal and some teachers.

Stiles gasped. “I think it did.”

“Shit. Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” Scott cursed, whipping his phone from his pocket as he turned to walk back into the school. He frantically texted Allison, hoping that this was just a huge coincidence and that she was safe and already at school.

“She’s probably fine,” Stiles tried to soothe his best friend as he and Olivia followed him through the hallway.

“She’s not answering my texts, Stiles!”

“Scott,” Olivia tried, intending to tell him about the text Allison sent her earlier, explaining that she got a late start. “She’s fine. She—”

“Do you see her?” Scott interrupted her, looking around the hallway for the tall brunette.

“It could just be a coincidence, all right?” Stiles said. “A seriously amazing coincidence.”

“Just help me find her, okay?” Scott begged before turning down a different hallway.

“Great!” Stiles sighed, as Scott walked away, rubbing a hand over his head. “Now Scott more than likely killed his girlfriend.”

“Relax, she’s fine,” Olivia put a hand on his arm, pulling his hand away from his hair. “Allison texted me earlier. She’s just late today.”

“What?” Stiles’ eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell Scott that?”

“I tried!” she said defensively. “I was interrupted.”

Stiles nodded and sighed. “Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” she waved him off. “You’re protective of Scott. I get it. I’m that way with Lydia and Jackson.”

Stiles chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re friends with that douchebag.”

“Well, I’ve known him for a long time,” Olivia wasn’t even offended by Stiles’ name-calling. Everyone knew that Jackson was an ass—even Jackson knew.

“Attention, students, this is your principal,” the overhead speaker squeaked to life. “I know you’re all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled.”

Olivia frowned as the rest of her peers groaned. “That doesn’t sound like a good environment to conduct an investigation.”

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed. “But the principal probably insisted on school continuing. You know how they are about their professional development days.”

Olivia laughed, smiling up at him. “Yeah.”

-

-

“Maybe it was my blood on the door,” Scott whispered to Stiles, turned around in his seat to talk to his best friend as Mr. Harris droned on and on about covalent bonds.

Stiles shrugged, playing with his pencil. “Could have been animal blood, you know? Maybe you caught a rabbit or something.”

“And did what?” Scott raised an eyebrow at him.

“Ate it.”

“Raw?”

“No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven,” Stiles muttered sarcastically. “I don’t know, you’re the one who can’t remember anything.”

“Mr. Stilinski!” Mr. Harris called from the front of the room, his hands on his hips as he glared at his least favorite student. “if that’s your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while.”

Stiles scoffed.

“I think you and Mr. McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?”

“No,” Stiles objected, horrified.

Mr. Harris pointed at two empty seats, one in the back and one in the front. Stiles grabbed his bag, textbook, and notes and headed to the empty seat in the back, relieved to find that the seat was next to Olivia.

He couldn’t believe his luck.

“Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much,” Mr. Harris quipped as Stiles sat at the table next to Olivia.

“I’m good,” Stiles smirked, his eyes trailing over to the brunette beauty next to him.

Olivia rolled her eyes at him and focused on her diligent notes.

“Hey,” the girl next to Scott shouted, rushing over to the window. “I think they found something!”

Squeals from chairs scraping across the linoleum flooring echoed through the classroom as everyone got out of their seats and ran to the windows. Stiles and Olivia made their way over to Scott, the three of them watching as two paramedics pushed a gurney holding an injured man over to the waiting ambulance.

“That’s not a rabbit,” Scott murmured to Stiles.

All of a sudden, the injured man shot up, screaming in pain. Everyone shrieked and jumped away from the windows, all shocked by the man’s abrupt screams. They all thought that he was dead.

“Okay,” Stiles breathed in relief, patting Scott’s shoulders. “This is good. This is good. He got up, he’s not dead.”

“Yeah, just severely injured,” Olivia commented, looking back to the man being loaded into the ambulance.

“Not helping,” Stiles shot her a stern look before turning back to Scott. “Look, dead guys can’t do that.”

“Stiles,” Scott looked at him with wide eyes. “I did that.”

-

“But dreams aren’t memories,” Stiles protested as he and Scott walked over to their usual lunch table, their trays full of food.

“Then it wasn’t a dream,” Scott proclaimed, sitting down. “Something happened last night and I can’t remember what.”

“Okay, but what makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?”

“Because,” Scott looked around to see if anyone was listening. “during the full moon, he wasn’t changed. He was in total control while I was running around in the middle of the night, attacking some totally innocent guy.”

“You don’t know that,” Stiles argued.

“I don’t not know it,” Scott pointed out. “I can’t go out with Allison. I have to cancel.”

“No, you’re not canceling, okay?” Stiles shook his head as he picked up the orange from his tray. “You can’t just cancel your entire life.”

Across the cafeteria, Olivia stood, patiently waiting for Lydia and the rest of their group to get out of the food line. Having brought her own lunch, she didn’t have to go through and pick up the nasty food that the lunch ladies were giving out.

Finally, Lydia walked up to her with her tray. “We’re sitting with Scott and his friend today.”

“We are?” Olivia raised her eyebrows at her cousin, bewildered. “Why?”

“Well, since Allison is dating Scott and you are spending more time with them, I figured we could all get to know each other,” Lydia smiled, almost too cheerfully. Olivia was instantly suspicious. “Why were you talking to them, anyway?”

“Oh, uh, Stiles and I have Advanced Spanish together. We have a project coming up and we’re partners,” Olivia lied. While she and Stiles did have that class together, they didn’t have a project. But Lydia didn’t need to know the reason why she was actually speaking to Stiles and Scott.

“Hmm,” Lydia pursed her lips, still disapproving of Olivia’s choice of foreign language. “Let’s go, then.”

As the two of them approached the table where Stiles and Scott were sitting, they heard Stiles say, “We’ll figure it out.”

“Figure what out?” Lydia asked, setting her tray down on the table next to Scott.

Olivia took the seat across from her and next to Stiles, sheepishly returning the smile he sent her.

“Uh, homework,” Scott said in a way that Olivia knew he was lying.

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed before moving his head closer to Olivia to ask her, “Why are you guys sitting with us?”

“Allison,” she whispered back.

Just as she said the taller brunette’s name, she sat down on the other side of Scott. She grinned at her boyfriend and then greeted him and Stiles. Stiles nodded at her and then turned to Danny, who was sitting on his other side, and grinned. Danny turned away, obviously not happy with his seating arrangement.

Olivia snickered at the frown on Stiles’ face at Danny’s rejection and opened her lunch pack.

“Get up,” Jackson ordered Luke, the guy who sat at the head of the table between Olivia and Lydia.

“How come you never ask Danny to get up?” Luke complained, noticing that there weren’t any more open seats at the table.

“Because I don’t stare at his girlfriend’s coin slot,” Danny snarked from down the table. Olivia and Lydia grinned at Danny as he changed the subject. “So, I hear they’re saying it’s some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar.”

“I heard mountain lion,” Jackson disagreed with his best friend, shaking his head.

Olivia rolled her eyes, muttering, “A cougar is a mountain lion,” at the same time as Lydia.

Olivia smiled at Lydia while Jackson furrowed his eyebrows at her. Lydia instantly corrected herself.

“Isn’t it?”

“Who cares?” Jackson asked harshly, not having any empathy for the injured man. “The guy’s probably some homeless tweaker who’s gonna die anyway.”

“Wow, Jackson, that’s so compassionate of you,” Olivia quipped, rolling her eyes at the blonde.

“Uh, I just found out who it is,” Stiles spoke up, his phone in his hand. His dad had just sent him a text with a video detailing the attack and who the victim was. “Check it out.”

He held out the phone so everyone could watch the video.

“The Sheriff’s department won’t speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack,” the male reporter announced on the video as Noah walked around the bus, looking for clues. “Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition.”

“Hey, I know this guy,” Scott spoke up, his face full of recognition.

“You do?” Allison asked, curious.

“Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad,” Scott confirmed. “He was the driver.”

Olivia winced and shared a worried look with Stiles. It wasn’t good that Scott not only had a dream where he mauled Allison on a bus and someone was actually injured but that he knew the victim, too. Did Scott actually do this?

Why was this becoming so complicated?

“Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please?” Lydia asked, fed up with hearing about the bus incident. “Like…oh,” she turned to Allison with a smile. “where are we going tomorrow night?”

Allison gave her a confused look.

“You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?” Lydia reminded the brunette.

Olivia really hoped that Lydia wasn’t inviting herself and Jackson to Scott and Allison’s date.

“Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do,” Allison glanced at Scott for help.

“Well, I am not sitting at home again watching lacrosse videos,” Lydia glanced scornfully at Jackson and continued, “So, if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun.”

“Hanging out?” Scott looked at Allison as he spoke. “Like, the four of us? Do you wanna hang out like us and them?”

Olivia grimaced—this was going downhill so quickly. Guys and girls didn’t just hang out. Well, some did but not when they had chemistry like Allison and Scott.

Allison shrugged apologetically. “Yeah, I guess,” she looked around Scott at Lydia. “Sounds fun.”

“You know what else sounds fun?” Jackson sneered lightly, picking up his fork. “Stabbing myself in the face with this fork.”

Olivia rolled her eyes and forced the fork out of his hand. “You’re so dramatic.”

“How about bowling?” Lydia asked Jackson brightly. “You love to bowl.”

“Yeah, with actual competition,” Jackson said, giving Lydia a pointed look.

“How do you know we’re not actual competition?” Allison leaned forward to ask Jackson, twisting her lips. She looked at Scott. “You can bowl, right?”

Scott grimaced. “Sort of.”

Olivia heard Stiles let out a quiet groan and glanced at him as Jackson leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.

“Is it sort of or yes?” he confronted Scott.

“Yes,” Scott’s tone harshened, leaning toward Jackson. “In fact, I’m a great bowler.”

Olivia had the feeling that Scott was a terrible bowler.

“Great!” Lydia exclaimed. “We’ll meet up tomorrow.”

-

-

“You’re a terrible bowler!” Stiles exclaimed as he and Scott walked through the school at the end of the day.

“I know!” Scott lamented, disappointed with himself. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Yes, you are,” Stiles agreed. “God, it was like watching a car wreck. I mean, first, it turned into the whole group date thing and then, out of nowhere, comes that phrase.”

“Hang out,” Scott said, knowing exactly where Stiles was coming from. They both knew what hanging out with a hot girl meant in their experience.

“You don’t hang out with hot girls, okay?” Stiles failed his arms in contempt. “It’s like death. Once it’s hanging out, you might as well be her gay best friend. You and Danny can start hanging out.”

Scott groaned. “How is this happening? I either killed a guy or I didn’t—”

“I don’t think Danny likes me very much,” Stiles commented randomly, thinking about the boy he sat next to at lunch.

“—I ask Allison on a date and now we’re hanging out—”

“Am I not attractive to gay guys?” Stiles wondered.

“—I make first line and the team captain wants to destroy me and now—now I’m gonna be late for work,” Scott sighed, finishing his rant as he walked out of school to get his bike.

“Wait, Scott,” Stiles called after him. “You didn’t—am I attractive to gay guys? You didn’t answer my question!”

-

-

The next evening, Lydia had roped Olivia into helping Allison pick out her outfit for the group date that they were going on. Olivia hadn’t wanted to go to the house of known hunters, but she didn’t exactly have a choice when her cousin asked her to do something.

So, even though she was kind of hurt she wasn’t included in the group date, Olivia found herself perched on Allison’s bed in her cardboard box-filled room, watching as the taller brunette tried to find something to wear.

Allison stood in front of her closet, pushing some hangers aside and pulling out an ugly brown shirt. She showed it to Olivia and Lydia, smiling expectantly.

“Mmm,” Lydia hummed, her lips wrinkled in disgust. “Pass.”

Allison shrugged and put the shirt back in her closet, pulling out another one for the girls to see. Olivia pursed her lips at the hideous multi-colored shirt Allison held up to her torso.

“Pass,” she muttered, looking at the time on her phone.

Lydia sighed loudly and hopped up from the bed, walking over to the closet. “Let me see…” she went through the clothes hung up in front of her, eyes narrowing in disapproval. “Pass. Pass. Ugh, pass on all of it. Allison,” she turned to the taller brunette and smiled slightly. “my respect for your taste is dwindling by the second.”

Olivia snickered under her breath and stood up, making her way over to Lydia and Allison. She searched the closet quickly and pulled out a black shirt covered with soft sequins.

“This one is fine,” she handed the shirt to Allison.

Allison smiled slightly and took the shirt, holding it up to her torso to look in her full-length mirror.

The door opened and Mr. Argent walked into the room, his jacket in his hands. He didn’t seem to realize that he had just walked in on a room of girls trying to find clothes for a date.

“Dad, hello,” Allison greeted her father softly, a pointed look in her eyes.

Mr. Argent paused in realization as he put on his coat and smiled awkwardly. “Right,” he nodded. “I’m sorry. I completely forgot to knock.”

Olivia sheepishly waved at him while Lydia grinned and plopped herself on Allison’s bed, curling up seductively. “Hi, Mr. Argent.”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Dad, do you need something?”

Mr. Argent continued to put on his jacket, straightening out the collar. “I wanted to tell you that you’ll be staying in tonight.”

“What?” Allison gaped at him while Lydia frowned in disappointment. “I’m going out with my friends tonight.”

“Not when some animal is out there attacking people.”

Olivia bit the inside of her cheek and looked down at the floor, hoping that Mr. Argent wasn’t looking at her when he spoke about the animal attacking people. Luckily, when she looked up, he was still staring at Allison.

Allison frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Dad, Dad,” she attempted to protest. “I’m—”

“It’s out of my hands,” Mr. Argent interrupted her with a calm smile. “There’s a curfew. No one’s allowed out past nine-thirty. Hey, no more arguing.”

As Mr. Argent left the room, Allison sighed heavily.

“Someone’s daddy’s little girl,” Olivia commented as Allison seemed to agree to her father’s command. She expected more of a rebelliousness out of Allison, to be honest.

“Sometimes,” Allison said heavily, glancing at her closed door. “but not tonight.”

Allison grabbed a purple beanie from her desk and settled it over her curls before walking over to her window. Olivia and Lydia watched, shocked, as she climbed onto the roof and did a front flip off of it, landing safely on the ground.

“What the hell?” Lydia breathed, looking at Allison with wide eyes.

Allison grinned up at them. “Eight years gymnastics. Are you coming?”

Olivia and Lydia exchanged a look before Olivia called, “We’ll take the stairs.”

-

Fifteen minutes later after Lydia dropped her off on the way to the bowling alley, Olivia wandered through the long-term care unit at Beacon Hills Memorial. She approached the front desk and smiled at the receptionist, waiting for her to get off the phone.

It had been almost two weeks since Olivia last visited her father, which was longer than she liked to go without seeing him. She usually visited every Wednesday or so, but with all of this Scott-being-a-werewolf business, she hadn’t had the time.

Peter Hale had been in the long-term care unit at the hospital for almost six years now, having been transferred there half a year after the fire that killed her mother. He had severe burns covering most of his body—including half of his face—and had been in a coma-like state. He couldn’t talk or move or even take care of himself.

As much as it hurt to see her dad like that, Olivia wanted him to know she was there for him.

The receptionist—Sheila—finally hung up the phone and smiled at her. “Olivia, it’s been a while, hon.”

All the workers in the long-term unit knew who Olivia was after weekly visits for five years. They were all pretty nice, except for Jennifer, her father’s nurse.

“Yeah, uh, I’ve been busy,” Olivia gave her a weak smile. “I’m getting used to my new classes.”

“Of course,” Sheila smiled indulgently and handed Olivia a visitor’s sign-in sheet. “Well, you can go on in. Your dad just had dinner.”

Olivia signed the sheet. “Thanks, Sheila.”

“No problem, hon.”

Olivia gave her another sweet smile and left the desk, heading to her father’s room just down the hall. She knocked gently as she walked into the room, seeing her dad sitting in his wheelchair in front of the blank television.

“Hey, Dad,” she greeted him softly, walking around his chair to take a seat in front of him.

Jennifer, no matter how bitchy she was, made sure that Olivia knew it was important for Peter to be able to see who was talking to him. Even if he didn’t understand.

“Sorry I haven’t been to visit you,” Olivia apologized, looking into his blank eyes. “School started up again and I’ve been busy with that. I’m taking Advanced Spanish this semester. Lydia isn’t too happy that I keep spending time on it, but Derek and Laura said that the Hales could speak the language fluently.”

Peter blinked but he didn’t respond. Not that Oliva expected him to.

“Mr. Harris says I’m doing really well in Chemistry,” she continued. “He’s been giving me extra work. He claims it’ll bring me to my full potential but I don’t need extra worksheets to tell me I’m good at science.”

Olivia went on, telling her father about superficial things that were happening in her life. When it came to the heavy stuff, she hesitated, eyes starting to water.

“Dad,” she paused, her voice thick as she wiped her eyes before tears could form. “Dad, Laura’s dead. Derek found her cut in half. Someone killed her but we don’t think it was the Argents because then Derek would be the alpha and he’s not.”

She took a deep shuddering breath. “The alpha is still around, though. He attacked a bus driver at my school…he bit one of the kids in my class. His name’s Scott. Derek and I are trying to help him adjust, but he’s being a little stubborn.”

“And he’s got this friend,” Olivia shook her head and chuckled once. “He’s so annoying, he thinks he knows everything. But he’s actually pretty smart,” she admitted, thinking of Stiles’ intellect. “Almost as smart as me.”

Olivia’s eye caught sight of the analog clock on the wall, seeing that visiting hours were almost over.

“I’ve got to go, Dad,” she sighed, standing up. She leaned over and kissed the top of Peter’s head. “I’ll come back next week, on schedule. Love you.”

Olivia gave him one last smile before leaving the room, missing the way Peter’s eyes followed after her.

After signing out on the sheet up at the desk with Sheila, Olivia made her way back to the main part of the hospital. She had gotten a text message from Derek, telling her that he was there talking to the injured bus driver and that he’d take her home when he was finished.

She was planning on waiting around until his visit was done. However, she wasn’t planning on running into Stiles Stilinski in the hallway by a vending machine.

“Olivia,” Stiles looked at her in surprise, turning away from the machine with a candy-bar in one hand and a paper bag in the other. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was, uh, visiting my dad,” Olivia gestured behind her awkwardly. “What about you?”

“Picking up medicine,” Stiles held up the paper bag that had the logo of the hospital pharmacy printed on it.

Olivia nodded.

“Did you, uh, did you get the homework from Thomas?” Stiles already knew what their English homework was, but he wanted an excuse to keep talking to her. “I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Yeah,” Olivia nodded, remembering the assignment easily. “I can message you it, if you want.”

“Oh, sure,” Stiles grinned. “Um, do you have my number?”

“Yeah, you called me before,” she reminded him before pausing. “Yeah, how’d you get my number?”

Stiles smiled sheepishly and rubbed his hand over his short hair. “I looked up your information in the system.”

“That’s illegal.”

“Yeah…”

Olivia snorted, she couldn’t help it. Sometimes Stiles could be a little funny when he wasn’t annoying the shit out of her. Even though she should have been weirded out that he got her cellphone number from the system at his dad’s work, she found it kind of funny that he went to such lengths just to find out what had happened with Jackson.

Suddenly, before Olivia could reply or Stiles could bask in the fact that he made her laugh, Derek came walking down the hallway. Olivia could see the slight confusion and panic in his eyes and she didn’t like it one bit.

“Let’s go,” he said briskly, grabbing her arm.

Olivia looked back at Stiles, seeing his narrowed eyes, and let Derek pull her away.

“What’s wrong?” she asked her cousin as they walked out of the hospital.

“The bus driver knew who I was,” Derek answered tensely.

Olivia stopped breathing, shocked. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Derek opened the driver door of his Camaro and slid into his seat. “But I’m gonna find out.”

-

-

Stiles walked gingerly across the roof next to Scott’s bedroom window, trying not to let his full weight settle on the creaking material. He sneakily opened up the window that Scott never locked—which was kind of dangerous on his best friend’s part—and tried to crawl onto the bed set right beneath it.

He cursed under his breath as his foot caught on the window sill.

Stiles freed himself and rolled onto the bed, screaming in fright when he came face-to-face with Scott’s mom, Melissa.

Melissa, who was holding up a bat, about to swing at him.

Melissa shouted, shocked, and put down the bat. “Stiles, what the hell are you doing here?”

“What am I doing?” Stiles exclaimed in shock, gesturing wildly to the baseball bat in her hand. “God, do either of you even play baseball?”

Melissa scoffed, still breathing heavily from the shock of seeing Stiles.

The light turned on as Scott shuffled into the room, giving his mom and best friend questioning looks.

“Can you please tell your friend to use the front door?” Melissa asked Scott, waving her hand at Stiles.

“But we lock the front door,” Scott said, shrugging. “he wouldn’t be able to get in.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Stiles gave Melissa an offended look.

“And, by the way,” Melissa continued, looking between the boys. “do either of you care that there’s a police-enforced curfew?”

“Not really.”

“No.”

Stiles and Scott grinned at each other when they spoke at the same time.

Melissa sighed. “No? All right, then,” she threw the bat onto Scott’s bed behind Stiles. “that’s enough parenting for me in one night. Good night.”

As Melissa walked out of Scott’s room, Stiles sighed heavily, remembering why he came here.

After he saw Derek practically drag Olivia out of the hospital, nurses started to rush by him, a code being called. The bus driver was coding and the nurses tried to revive him, but he ended up dying.

It was very suspicious to Stiles that Derek just happened to be at the hospital just as the bus driver started to flat line.

Scott noticed the sad look Stiles gave him. As he pulled his desk chair over to the bed, he asked him, “What?”

“I left the hospital twenty minutes ago,” Stiles started solemnly. “It’s the bus driver. He succumbed to his wounds.”

“Succumbed?” Scott gave him a confused look.

“Scott,” Stiles sighed sadly. “he’s dead.”

(Gif is not mine.)

[kihamsta]

Thief

jeno, nct dream x female oc genre: fluff, high school au

summary: son ahri has had things she treasured stolen from her by lee jeno since the day she met him

words: 8486

Son Ahri thinks Lee Jeno is a thief.

Actually, she knows he is a thief.

When they were four, he stole her favourite swing at the playground in their kindergarten. Her favourite swing was the only yellow one and yellow was her favourite colour. She had recently learned what having favourites was and realised she had a lot of them.

It was a sunny afternoon and she had dashed to where her swing was as soon as she set foot in the playground, only to find a boy already sitting on it. She had told him to get up, that it was her swing.

“It is not yours,” the boy had said, “Your name is not on it.”

She had told him to play on another swing. He had told her to do the same. Seeing no other solution, Ahri had cried. Their respective class teachers got involved but the boy still refused to get up and the girl continued crying.

It was the first time Son Ahri met Lee Jeno, a thief.

                                                             xx

The next time Jeno stole from Ahri was in elementary school.

She didn't have a favourite swing at the playground anymore but she her favourite colour was still yellow. She almost always wore a yellow satin ribbon on her ponytail and made sure it never ever came loose. However, one day, without her knowing, it had.

Just out of her uniform, she had reached up to pull her ponytail loose to find her ribbon gone. She didn't know where she had dropped it. She tried looking for it, in her room, her house and the street outside but to no avail. Her ribbon was gone.

With tears in her eyes, Ahri had gone to her mum and informed her about the grave incident. Her had mum only chuckled and told her she'd buy her some more the next day. It was not a big deal. Ahri had accepted that.

That was until the next morning when she found a guilty looking Jeno standing outside her classroom. They didn't talk much. They were not friends, so Ahri was going to just ignore him. But when she was about to enter the classroom, her eyes landed on what was in the boys hand. Her ribbon! Before she could say anything, though, he shoved the little piece of fabric at her and ran off.

Suddenly, it clicked. The previous day, she had passed by Jeno after school near the gates. She had been a few feet away when he had called after her. “What?” she had snapped.

“Nothing,” he had replied.

Lee Jeno had stolen her ribbon but for some reason had decided to return it. At least that was what ten year old Ahri had deduced.

                                                            xx

It was their first year of middle school and Ahri realised that Jeno was on his way to stealing her best friend.

Her best friend, Na Jaemin, had lived next door to her ever since she could remember. Sadly, he hadn't enrolled in the same elementary school as her but as far as spending time outside of school went, they were quite inseparable. Her piano lessons and his art classes took place in the same building and even at the same time. They always spent every holiday together as well.

Both of them had been ecstatic when their parents had decided that they would attend the same middle school. It meant walking to and from school together, it meant eating lunch together, it meant having much more to talk about together.

Not many of Ahri's old elementary school friends were in her class and unfortunately, neither was Jaemin. She would spend lunch time with Jaemin and that was more than enough. That is until one afternoon, Jaemin showed up to lunch with another boy in tow: Lee Jeno.

Jeno was all smiles as usual as he took a seat across from Ahri while Jaemin slid in next to her. “Jeno says he knows you,” Jaemin said excitedly.

Ahri's smile was thin as she replied, “Yeah. We know each other.”

That was how their duo became, to Ahri's exasperation, a trio. The two boys were in the same class and got along like a house on fire and Ahri feared that at some point, she would drift apart from Jaemin. So, she took precautions. She started spending more time with the girls from her class and formed solid friendships with a couple of them, especially with a girl called Heo Jinri. Heo Jinri always wore her PE track pants under her skirt and always had something to add to any conversation. Everything that Ahri didn't say out loud, Jinri said for her.

However, to Ahri's surprise (and relief), the drifting apart never happened. Jaemin, and even Jeno, for some reason, strongly insisted on eating lunch together, even if it meant eating on the grass outside with Jinri going off about her new favourite idol group.

Ahri had to walk home alone only on days Jaemin was absent. On those days too she'd be accompanied by Jeno for a part of the way home. When their parents allowed it, the four would even catch movies together.

Jeno stole nothing from Ahri all throughout middle school. They shared a best friend though and spent a lot of time together. Maybe, Ahri realised, they were friends too.

 xx

 In their second year of high school, Jeno went back to his criminal ways.

“Did you guys see the poster?” Huang Renjun asked, more like yelled, as he entered the classroom. He had moved to Korea from China a little over a year ago, but his Korean vocabulary was almost scarily good. Ahri thought he made some boys their age sound dumb, but that could be because she was biased. Renjun had become a very good friend very fast, courtesy of Jaemin and Jeno.

Whoever they befriended, Ahri did too, and vice versa, even though Ahri wasn’t as good as the boys at making friends.

“The Duet Song Festival one?” Heo Jinri asked, from her perch on top of her desk. She still wore track pants with her skirt.

“Won't it get our school sued? Copyright... trademarks... something like that?” Jaemin sounded genuinely concerned.

Ahri snorted, “Like they care about one tiny high school.”

“Its interclass,” Renjun announced, like it held deep meaning.

The other three sucked in a breath. Their class had suffered a humiliating defeat at the annual sports event, and that too at the hands of the freshmen. It had been humiliating enough that in high school, they were being subject to things like a ‘sack race’, the fact that Zhong Chenle from Class 1-A was an absolute beast and had annihilated everyone made it worse.

Their class had only one medal, because of Jeno winning the high jump event, and that was it. No one had bothered to even find out what rank their class was on, they had simply, sadly walked home.

The four collectively came to a realisation: this was a chance at redemption.

Renjun’s eyes lit up. The boy could sing, and everyone knew.

“It’s a duet festival though,” Jinri reminded the boy, and his shoulders visibly sagged.

That small technicality didn’t completely bring him down however. One could tell by the way his eyes wandered the classroom, going from one face to another. After some internal contemplation, he spoke, “Guys, does anyone want to participate in the duet song thing?”

The class was almost full but the responses were few, all of them negative. Morale was at an all time low in Class 2-E after the sports day.

“Good then, me and Ahri will represent our class.”

Ahri let out a strangled protest and stood up from her seat. But soon after, Jeno entered the room, announcing that the teacher was on her way. Everyone went back to their seats, Renjun with an especially satisfied smirk on his face, leaving a shocked Ahri the only one on her feet. Jeno raised his eyebrows at her as he walked over to his seat which happened to be the one right in front of her. Ahri couldn’t help the pout that appeared on her lips as she gestured to Renjun. As he sat down, Ahri thought she saw Jeno’s ever-present smile fall.

                                                                x

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Never.”

“But you will.”

Na Jaemin rolled his eyes. Heo Jinri was scrolling through her phone while Lee Jeno was silently gulping down food, his eyes not leaving the lunch box even once. The back and forth between Ahri and Renjun had been going on for almost five minutes. The other three were growing annoyed.

“I cannot sing on stage!” Ahri said hoarsely.

Renjun looked unconvinced, “Oh, please. I know you did piano recitals since you were like eight or something.”

Ahri opened her mouth but said nothing, taken aback by the fact that Renjun knew something she had never told him about. In a second though, she gained her composure and threw a glare at Jaemin. No one else could have told Renjun. Turning to the latter, she spoke, “We started the chapter on Correlation yesterday in Maths class. Weren't you paying attention?”

Renjun only smirked, “I didn't know you were smart enough to understand Maths.”

Positively fuming now, Ahri turned a shade of pink. Jeno finally looked up from his food.

“How is insulting me helping you, Huang Renjun?” the girl asked.

Said boy's shoulders sagged. “I'm sorry,” he said, his voice now soft, “But I really need you to sing with me. You're good and we have a chance.”

Ahri blinked a few times. Renjun sounded almost desperate. “I’m not good and you haven't ever heard me sing a full song.”

“Then sing for us right now,” Jinri suggested with a shrug.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea!” Jaemin said, enthusiastic for some reason.

Ahri would save a good punch or two for each of them. The only one who wasn't adding fuel to the flames was Jeno, and she was grateful. She turned to Renjun, who looked close to tears. Did this competition mean that much to him? She let out a sigh. “Can you guys at least not look at me?”

Renjun's face lit up. “Sure!” The boy hurriedly turned his back to her. The others followed silently, Jaemin shooting her a dirty look for giving them extra exercise.

Ahri cleared her throat and then let out a deep breath. She chose to sing a song she was most comfortable with. Eyes trained on the floor, she sang a verse and the first chorus. As soon as she was done, Renjun all but spun around on his butt to face her. He started clapping and she'd never seen him smile so brightly. The others turned around and joined the applause, their clapping not as enthusiastic. There were smiles on their faces nonetheless.

“We can win, Ahri,” Renjun grabbed her arm and lightly shook her.

Ahri couldn't help but crack a smile, “We can't be so sure. Other classes have really good singers too.”

“Doesn't matter,” Renjun said dismissively, “we’ll practice hard.”

“We'll have to choose a song first,” Ahri pointed out and then turned to the rest of their friends. “You guys will help us out, right?”

“Sure,” Jinri said with a shrug.

 Jaemin nodded, smiling widely.

“I'll play guitar for you guys,” Jeno suddenly blurted, speaking for the first time since they had started eating. His eyes travelled to Renjun and then to Ahri. Voice much softer, he spoke again, “I mean, can I?”

“Of course! I heard live instruments are preferred.” Renjun held his hand out for a high five which Jeno met halfway. Jinri looked like she was biting back a smirk.

“It's settled, then,” Ahri said, mostly to herself.

Jaemin raised his arms over his head and looked at the sky dramatically. “Finally!”

                                                               x

It didn’t take them too long to choose a song. Two days after Ahri had agreed to the duet, they had shortlisted three songs with help from Jinri. ‘Some’ was rejected on grounds that there were probably five other teams that were singing it. ‘Give Love’ was rejected because Renjun refused to even try to rap, which was, in hindsight, wise on his part. That meant they ended up with ‘Garosugil at Dawn’, which both Ahri and Renjun were fairly pleased about.

“Who broke your heart, little boy?” Jinri had asked when Renjun had shown a bit too much love for the song. To be fair, the boy had looked a little too wistful, staring into the distance with a smile on his face for five seconds straight.

They had quickly decided on a practice schedule: every other day after school at 5 in one of the music rooms; they decided to give themselves rest on the weekdays. The contest was almost two months away, they didn’t need that much practice, not now at least.

Ahri would be lying if she said that Renjun’s enthusiasm wasn’t rubbing off on her. Instead of dreading having to sing with him, she was starting to almost look forward to it. She liked her song and her partner. Things weren’t as bad as she thought they would be when Renjun had first suggested it. But then again, they hadn’t started practicing. Things could get bad then.

Abruptly, she stopped in the middle of the hallway and shook her head. A student or two gave her annoyed looks. Stopping abruptly in a crowded hallway after school wasn’t the best idea.

“What’s wrong?” a familiar voice asked from behind her.

Startled, she turned to see Jeno looking down at her. “Nothing,” she answered, without much thought.

“Why did you stop walking suddenly then?”

Her best friend’s best friend seemed to have a lot of questions today. “Were you following me?” she teased.

Jeno, to her surprise, look uncharacteristically annoyed. “This is a hallway. I was just walking behind you.”

“Cool,” Ahri said dismissively as she glanced behind him, “where’s Jaemin?” They didn’t have the same subjects, so despite being in the same homeroom, they changed classes quite a lot.

“Club meeting. They’re planning a trip to an old age home.”

The girl nodded in understanding, a pout on her lips. “So it’s just us today.”

To her surprise, Jeno looked bothered. She hadn’t intended for that to happen. “Is that so bad?” he asked.

“No!” Ahri was surprised at how defensive she sounded. Since when had she cared about Jeno assuming she didn’t like him? “It’s just that I’ll be alone for the rest of the way.”

“I can walk you home, if you want,” he offered.

Not knowing what to say, she looked up at him with eyes a fraction wider than usual. This was new. Jeno had never offered to walk her home before, and there had been many opportunities over the years.

Somehow she mustered up a few words to say, “No need. It’s too much trouble for you.”

“Tell me if you change your mind.”

The girl could only nod. This was odd. She started walking silently when Jeno motioned for her to lead the way. Their walk from school to the bus stop was spent in awkward silence. It hadn’t been awkward between them in years.

Ahri didn’t know when Jeno had gone from being the boy she had hoped and prayed would stop hanging out with them, to the boy whose company she kind of enjoyed. Sometimes, when he was absent from school for over two days, she missed his presence. Of course, she was never going to admit that. Not even to Jaemin.

Ahri didn’t like this strange silence, so once they were on the bus, she decided to break it. “We chose the song, by the way.”

“Which one?”

“Garosugil at Dawn.” She could feel his gaze on her but she kept her eyes trained on the bland scenery outside. Jeno was behaving strangely and she was afraid to meet his eyes. Maybe she’d see strange things in them.

“I can manage that.”

Deciding Jeno’s response sounded fairly normal, Ahri decided to turn to him. That was a mistake. He was looking down at her, unsmiling. Was he in a bad mood? She wished she could say something that could make him smile till his eyes disappeared. She liked smiley Jeno.

“Will you be playing the piano too?”

It took Ahri a second or two longer than usual to reply, “I guess.”

“Then we’ll have to practice playing together too,” Jeno said, finally breaking eye contact and fishing his phone out of his pocket.

Ahri let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. She felt like she could speak better now. “About that. We’ll be practicing in the music rooms after study hall every other day. You don’t have to come every day if you can’t.”

“It’s okay,” he turned to her again, but this time with a smile, “I’ll try to make it.”

“Thanks for offering to play for us,” the girl managed a smile, “that was nice of you.”

“That’s what friends are for right?” For some reason, the boy took a deep breath after speaking. Not knowing what to say, Ahri allowed a silence to settle between them, this one a little less awkward than the one before.

When they got off the bus, Ahri was aware of the fact that Jeno was side-eying her, probably wanting to know if she’d changed her mind about him walking her home. She didn’t know what she wanted. They walked in silence till they came to where they had to separate. It was a fifteen minute walk to her house and she had taken the path alone so many times. It was his fault for making her feel like she needed him to walk with her. What was Lee Jeno up to?

“You’ll go alone?” the boy asked, sounding strange.

 It made Ahri look up at him. His eyes looked darker than usual and his jaw was clenched. Ten minutes ago, he had smiled at her. What had gotten into him now? “Yeah,” the girl tried to give him a carefree smile, “I’ll be fine.” The boy merely nodded, gave her tiny wave and walked away.

Ahri sighed (out of relief or disappointment, she did not know) and continued on her way.

                                                                  x

Thankfully, Jeno had returned to his normal self the next day. He wasn’t sitting in his place. He was at the front of the class discussing something with a group of other boys that apparently was hilarious. When he caught Ahri looking at him, his eyes didn’t grow dark, and his smile remained on his face.

Mood swings, much?

His behaviour the previous day had left her confused and irritated and she didn’t know what she would do if he had continued to behave that way. She didn’t know what had caused that behaviour, she just hoped it wouldn’t happen again. She liked smiley Jeno.

Breaking eye contact, Ahri turned to talk to Jinri, who was a bit stressed lately. The latter was on a quest to find a part time job to finance her fangirl-ing expenses. “By the way, I saw a ‘Hiring’ sign at a café nearby,” she told her friend.

Jinri smirked, “By the way, I caught you staring at Jeno for one minute straight.”

Ahri felt her cheeks heat up. “I wasn’t staring!” she claimed, her voice a whisper as she looked around, making sure no one had heard.

“Watching, observing, eyeing, whatever,” the other girl rolled her eyes, “You were looking at him.”

A sigh left Ahri’s lips, “He was acting weird yesterday but now he’s completely normal.”

Jinri’s smirk seemed to grow, “It was just the two of you yesterday, wasn’t it?”

Ahri didn’t like how her friend sometimes acted like she was enjoying a private joke that no one else knew. “Yeah. So?”

“Nothing,” the smirk refused to leave the girl’s lips, “He was probably having a bad day or something.”

“But…” Ahri trailed off. She didn’t want to tell Jinri that Jeno had seemed like he was angry but had been nice to her at the same time. How does one explain that? She didn’t like the way Jinri was smirking and also didn’t want anyone to overhear, especially not Jeno.

“Oh wow,” the other girl said flatly, “now he’s staring at you.”

Eyes narrowing into a glare, Ahri spoke, “I know you’re trying to trick me.”

Jinri shrugged, “Don’t believe me if you don’t want to.”

Rolling her eyes, Ahri turned to the front. She didn’t understand what had suddenly gotten into her friend. Jinri liked teasing people and especially got on Renjun’s nerves but she had never teased Ahri about Jeno. Sure, she had tormented Ahri when she had developed a crush on a senior the previous year but never over any of their guy friends. Why Jinri thought it was now a good idea to imply that Jeno liked her or something, Ahri couldn’t figure out. Jeno didn’t like her, she knew. She wasn’t always nice to him. He had no reason to like her.

When Jeno scrambled to his desk just before their teacher walked in, Ahri found herself unable to look at him. Instead she just stared at the book on her desk.

For the entire class, she felt like Jinri was smirking at her and she just couldn’t concentrate on what the teacher was saying. The fact that their Korean teacher taught like he cared about the class as much as he cared about a pebble on the road didn’t help. The girl felt her eyelids grow heavy. A few times she startled herself awake but after the fifth time she dozed off, she decided to give up on staying awake.

Glancing at the teacher to make sure he wasn’t looking, Ahri slowly reached out for Jeno with both hands. He grew stiff when she first touched him, and it almost made her pull away, but he relaxed soon enough. He allowed her to gently position him so that he was blocking their teacher’s view of her. This was a frequent occurrence. He was taller and broader and covered her perfectly.

The sound of chairs scraping over the floor made Ahri shoot up in her seat. She stood up to greet the teacher as he left, but as soon as he was gone she sat back down and resumed her previous position: cheek squished against her arms as she used them as a pillow. She squeezed her eyes shut as the class grew noisier. She really wanted to fall back asleep.

Her eyes shot open, however, when someone grabbed her shoulder and violently shook her. Cursing under her breath, she looked up at the perpetrator. Jaemin looked down at her with an angelic smile on his face. “It’s lunch time, wake up.”

“I hate you.”

Jaemin did not look bothered by the sudden hatred directed towards him, he only reached forward and took his best friend’s cheek between his fingers. “You’re drooling, sleepy beauty.”

“I’m not,” Ahri snapped defensively, but still reached up to wipe the corners of her mouth. It was a difficult task, given Jaemin was still pinching her cheek.

Renjun was suddenly beside Jaemin. “Let’s go, guys, I only had an egg for breakfast,” he said, his hands on his tummy.

Jeno, who had been putting his things away, stood up. Renjun spared him a quick glance before speaking to the girls, “You guys head to the roof, we’ll buy a few things in the cafeteria, okay?”

“Sure,” Jinri responded with a shrug while Ahri only smiled up at the boys, turning to put her things away.

With no more to say, the boys made their way towards the door. Jeno put his arm around Renjun’s shoulders as they listened to Jaemin talk rather passionately about food.

Just as they were about to exit the classroom however, Jeno stopped in his tracks like he had been struck by lightning. The smaller boy beside him looked up at him in confusion, but Jeno paid him no mind. He turned to where his other friends were sitting. “Do you want something from the cafeteria?”

The question was meant for both the girls but for some reason, his eyes met Ahri’s.

“Banana milk,” Ahri and Jeno said at the same time. Ahri tried to stop her lips from tugging up into a smile but failed. Thankfully, Jeno did too. He gave her a nod and then pulled Renjun along with him and into the corridor.

“Nice,” Jinri said, “he forgot about my existence.”

Ahri stood up, lunch box in hand, and turned to her friend, “Did you really want something?”

Jinri smiled mischievously, “No, it would be nice to be asked. I just want Lee Jeno to stop being an idiot.”

“Fair enough.”

Ahri shrugged and held out her hand for Jinri to hold before they made their way out the class too. This was routine. The boys usually got their food from the cafeteria and the girls brought homemade food. Apparently it wasn’t cool to carry lunch boxes for the guys anymore. Their group of five always ate together on the rooftop. They didn’t know why but a portion of the rooftop wasn’t off limits for the students, and it was never crowded. A majority of the time, they were the only ones in the place during lunch. Maybe it was because the kids were too lazy to climb up the stairs. More realistically though, first years probably did not know about it yet and the third years were too busy to come out of their classrooms for trivial things like lunch. No one was complaining about the lack of other company though.

Everything was going as it always did everyday of every week until the girls rounded a corner. As soon as they did, they came across a group of girls deep in conversation outside one of the classrooms. One of girls in the group happened to glance over to Ahri and Jinri. She narrowed her eyes at them (much to their confusion) and leaned over to whisper something in her friend’s ear. Said friend also turned to look at them and was less cautious about showing her disdain, her lips curling into a sneer.

As confused as they were, the two girls didn’t stop walking. It wasn’t worth getting into fights for no reason at all. Once on the floor above though, Ahri spoke. “What was that about?”

Jinri seemed to be thinking of an answer. “Don’t know,” she finally said, “That class in full of weirdos though. Even their class teacher is weird. He’s always smiling, but only at girls.”

Ahri frowned, “I thought he was just being nice.” Nice teachers were rare.

“Oh, you naïve little child,” Jinri said with a shake of her head.

Ahri only rolled her eyes. She took the stairs two at a time, making the other girl rush behind her with a string of complaints. She flung the door to the rooftop open and made her way to their usual spot, right at the edge, in a corner against the safety net.

As soon as they were seated, Jinri whipped out her phone, ready to show Ahri her favourite girl group’s new music video. It took four more music videos for the boys to finally arrive.

Jeno made his way over to Ahri and sat down beside her. With a tiny smile he handed her that banana milk. The other boys followed suit. No one said a word as lunch boxes were opened and seals were ripped off as everyone wolfed down the food they didn’t ever realise they had been craving.

After several minutes of silence, which was only broken by faint sounds of chewing, Jinri spoke up. “By the way, Na Jaemin, what did you do to Kim Solmi? She and her gang looked like they were plotting to murder us.”

Everyone loved Jaemin, with his bright smile and chatty ways. However, sometimes, try as he might, he couldn’t return certain people’s feelings. He’d inadvertently left a trail of broken hearts behind him. Alarmed at the new information, the boy seemed to find it difficult to swallow a mouthful of omurice. Interest piqued, the others waited for him to speak. Jeno, however, had taken a sudden interest in a trash can on the far end of the roof.

“It wasn’t me!” Jaemin burst out as he was done chewing his food. “It was Lee Jeno this time.”

Ahri reacted a little…a lot more quickly than she would have liked to. Her head whipped sideways to look at Jeno, the tips of whose ears had turned pink. He seemed to hold her wide-eyed gaze for a fleeting moment before he turned to the rest of their friends. “It isn’t like that,” he claimed, holding up his hands as if in surrender. “She, uh- actually she confessed to me yesterday and I said liked someone else to get out of it. That’s really it.”

Was it okay for Ahri to sigh in relief? “That’s it?” She felt like she sounded a little too hopeful.

Jeno didn’t seem to notice, he nodded earnestly.  “Really,” he said. Then, after a pause, “She didn’t do or say anything to you, did she?”

“Except for the glaring, no. It’s weird though. We used to be friends in middle school.”

Suddenly Jinri’s interest seemed to be piqued. “Yeah, Jeno. It was weird. What did you say to her?”

The pink from the boy’s ears seemed to shift over to his cheeks as he mumbled something that was hardly audible.

                                                               x

In the weeks that followed, Kim Solmi’s distaste for them thankfully didn’t take a turn for the worse. Sometimes, when she passed by Ahri, she would side-eye the girl. Ahri didn’t dwell too much on the other girl’s actions.

Except, when she happened to be with Jeno, Solmi seemed to be extra hateful. She’d roll her eyes and let out really loud scoffs as she passed by them. Once she’d gotten a bit too close in the hallway and Jeno, for some reason, had wrapped an arm around Ahri’s shoulders and pulled her a little bit closer. She hadn’t thought much of it then. It was just her friend saving her from an unreasonable, one-sided conflict.

When Jeno started doing it when his admirer wasn’t around, however, Ahri thought about it. Ahri thought about it a lot. Like right now as they were walking to the music rooms together. He had his guitar case slung over one shoulder, but he had his other arm over her shoulders. There was absolutely no need for him to do that. Ahri tried to tell herself that it was because the hallway was crowded, but he had never had a problem with letting her walk on her own before. It wasn’t like she couldn’t dodge the occasional rowdy kid.

She didn’t detest being touched by her male friends. Sometimes, Renjun fondly patted her on the head and she was used to Jaemin and his affectionate ways. ‘Affectionate’ couldn’t be used to describe her relationship with Jeno though. There had always been an underlying awkwardness between the two of them. It was perhaps because they both knew of Ahri’s dislike for him during their childhood.

As she was forced to befriend him in middle school, she’d found herself trying to recall why she’d disliked the boy and had come up with nothing. Even now when she tried to remember why she’d been so reluctant to get to know Jeno, she could come up with nothing substantial.

When they did become friends, they got pretty close but not like the rest of the group. Their relationship was never carefree, both a bit strung up around each other. Jeno was so nice and respectful that sometimes Ahri thought something was wrong with her. No one would be a friend to her like Jaemin was. That fact was undisputable. But even Renjun, who she’d known for only little over a year, was more of a ‘buddy’ than Jeno ever was: the kind of friend that didn’t leave her skin tingling whenever he touched her.

When they arrived at the music room their passionate friend had rushed after class to capture, Jeno finally let go. They entered the room to find Renjun waiting with his arms crossed over his chest and with one foot tapping on the floor impatiently. “There you are!” he exclaimed.

The other two couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or excited. What they did know was that they would be spending a long time practising.

They indeed ended up spending quite some time in the room, but at some point, they had stopped practising the song for the competition and started singing random songs that came into their minds. Obviously they had had way too much fun because when the trio separated at the main gate, it was already dark.

Renjun said goodbye with a cheerful wave and went his own way, leaving the other two in each other’s company. Without words, they started walking towards the bus stop. Now that there were no rowdy boys or glaring girls to protect Ahri from, Jeno didn’t have his arm around her shoulders.

“We really lost track of time, huh?” the boy broke the silence.

“No kidding.”

There was long pause before Ahri spoke again, “But it was fun.”

“It was like karaoke,” Jeno smiled down at her. “Can you believe the number of Korean songs Renjun knows?”

“Sometimes he feels more Korean than us.”

Jeno let out a chuckle. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but before he could, the bus’s bright headlights shone on them from a distance, making them both turn towards it. The two silently climbed onto the bus as it slowed to halt before them. Finding seats wasn’t a problem, finding a way to keep Jeno’s guitar upright and making sure it wouldn’t fall as the bus moved was.

“I can’t believe you’ve been doing this every day,” Ahri said, her lips curving into a pout, sympathetic and extremely touched. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you,” Jeno simply responded. Those three words made Ahri’s stomach flip. That had quite literally never happened to her before. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Swallowing rather obviously, she turned away from him, wondering why he was making her feel this way.  “...and Renjun,” the boy added belatedly.

This time, Ahri felt her stomach drop. She was disappointed, she realised. She unconsciously shifted away from Jeno as another realisation hit her: she wanted Jeno to do something, anything, just for her. What did that entail for her feelings for the boy? She didn’t want to know.

That is why she rushed off the bus as soon as it stopped at their stop. She was hoping the guitar would slow Jeno down a bit, but he was quick. He caught up to her soon enough, grabbing her by the sleeve of her blazer. Surprised at how brazen he suddenly was, she let out a little gasp as she looked up at him.

His eyes softened when they met hers. “It’s pretty late. Let me walk you home at least today?”

It was late, and Ahri didn’t want to walk home alone. “I will allow you to walk me home,” she said with a cheeky smile.

Jeno let out a snort of laughter that he didn't seem too embarrassed about. Then he did something that she’d never thought he’d do. His hand slipped from her blazer, slowly and deliberately, and came to hold hers. Ahri struggled to keep the same cheeky smile on her face. Thankfully, before she could do something embarrassing like squeak or gasp, he tugged her forward gently.

It took a few moments for her to fall in step beside him. It took longer still to process the fact that Lee Jeno had decided to hold hands with her. Maybe friends did that sometimes but a friend holding your hand isn’t supposed to send your heart racing, is it? She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything other than the fact that she kind of wished Jeno would walk her home every day.

                                                              x

There was only a week left till the competition and Renjun was late. Ahri checked the time on her phone. He was exactly twenty minutes late and she had listened to four songs in an attempt to pass time after getting bored of waiting. She let out a sigh of exasperation. She hated waiting. She had spent too much time out of the window at the quad waiting for Renjun to come running across it.

Just as she was about to call him up, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. Her heart leapt up to her throat at the sudden touch. Her mother always told her not to keep her earphones on all the time, maybe she was right.

With a gasp she turned to face the person. It took only a moment to realise the person in question was a lot closer than she had thought and that the person was Jeno. In the next moment, her lips came in contact with another pair of lips. She closed her eyes on impact, body only half facing Jeno. Time seemed to slow down and she couldn’t hear anything other than the pounding of her own heart.

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. These kinds of things only happened in unrealistic dramas. This wasn’t happening.

It felt like eons before he pulled away. Ahri let out another gasp, “Jeno, I—” His lips were on hers once again. One of his hands gently gripped her chin. Her eyes shut once again, finally accepting that this was actually happening. As confusing as it was, it was happening and she wasn’t opposed to it.

The kiss stopped as suddenly as it had started. Jeno pulled away suddenly, staring down at her, his breath ragged for whatever reason. “I’m sorry,” he breathed out. Ahri couldn't quite find it in her to speak. “I didn’t mean to,” Jeno added.

Ahri felt a lump grow in her throat as she watched Jeno grab his guitar and rush out of the music room.

Lee Jeno had just stolen her first kiss.

Lee Jeno had stolen her first kiss and run away.

x 

The day of the competition had arrived. It had been a week. A week since Jeno had kissed her and fled. A week since he had actively maintained an arms distance from her. She didn’t know what to feel about the fact that he had made sure that they never had to go home alone together. Sometimes she wanted to laugh when Jaemin showed up out of nowhere when they were heading home after practice.

“How is our Riri doing?” Think of the devil, Ahri thought as her fingers halted on the piano keys mid-arpeggio.

“I’m okay,” she said. She gave him a tiny smile as he pulled up a chair beside her. Jaemin reached up and played a single shrill note on the piano and flinched. Her smile grew. He always did that.

“Don't lieeee,” he said in a sing-song voice, his pout almost audible.

Ahri's gaze fell to the piano keys. “I’m kinda nervous.”

“I’m not talking about that.” The light heartedness in his voice was gone. “Look at me.”

Despite the fact that her cheeks were quite literally flaming, Ahri’s met her best friend's gaze. “Jeno has been avoiding me,” she let out, sounding small.

“We all know that, idiot. Why is he avoiding you though?”

Involuntarily, she sniffled. “He didn't tell you?”

“No,” Jaemin let out a sigh, “that's why I'm asking you.” Another sniffle from Ahri. “Are you crying? Did you guys fight?”

The girl shook her head. “He kind of...kissed me and ran away. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”

There was a long silence.

Almost a minute passed before Jaemin let out a laugh that sounded more like a scoff. “That idiot!” After another beat of silence, the boy let out a real laugh. “You're an idiot too, you know? Stupid things like this wouldn’t happen if you guys just admitted you like each other!”

“We don’t—”

“He’s right. I agree.” The pair of friends both looked to the door at the same time, eyes wide. Renjun stood there holding Ahri’s water bottle, looking like he hadn’t snuck up on them. “You guys are talking about you and Jeno, right?” The other two nodded. “That guy’s taking too long to confess,” he said with a slight tilt of his head.

“No one’s talking about confessing,” Ahri blurted.

Renjun exchanged a look with Jaemin. “Are these two still in denial?” Jaemin only shrugged. He honestly didn't know. The other boy sighed and handed Ahri her water bottle. “Warm water. Our performance is soon.”

Ahri muttered thanks and proceeded to chug the water.

Renjun placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile that made her feel like the world was at peace. “You guys will be fine. Let's go.”

 Ahri could feel her heart pounding in her chest harder and harder in her chest as they approached the back of their school auditorium. She could tell Renjun was nervous too. He was a lot stiffer than usual.

“I wish Jaemin could have stayed,” Renjun murmured as they finally entered the crowded backstage area. Ahri couldn’t agree more. Jaemin was quite a bubble of cheerfulness; he’d at least keep them distracted. Unfortunately, only participants and musicians were allowed backstage. So he had happily bounded off, promising to tell their friend Raon from the photography club to take good pictures of them. “Where’s Jeno anyways?” Renjun sounded antsy. Almost as if his name had summoned him, Jeno appeared beside Renjun. He muttered an apology, something about his guitar and the sound people.

For once the pounding in Ahri’s chest wasn’t because Jeno was in the vicinity. She was nervous. It had been a while since she had performed in front of this big a crowd. Renjun seemed to notice. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. His hands felt a tiny bit unsteady. The smile that he gave her though was reassuring. From the corner of her eyes she saw Jeno stick his head out to take a glance at them before quickly going back to his previous position.

Too soon, someone called for Son Ahri and Hwang Renjun to go on stage. The MC who was someone from third year gave them an enthusiastic and over the top introduction, of which Ahri could register very little. The spotlight was glaring down at them and it made her eyes water. When she looked down at the crowd she couldn’t make out a single face. Someone let out a loud shriek of a cheer. It sounded a lot like Chenle. That made her smile.

Shaking off the nervousness, she quickly made her way towards the piano and settled down, making sure the mic wasn’t too close to her. As her partner was introducing their song to the audience, her eyes wandered to the other side of stage. Jeno had already seated himself on a stool, looking more relaxed and ready to perform that she ever felt. Maybe he felt her eyes on him. That was probably why he turned to meet her gaze. She must have looked a lot more nervous than she thought, because the first thing he did after their eyes met was to take a deep breath, as if reminding her to do the same. Then with a quick glance at Renjun he mouthed, ‘One, two, three, and four.’

Renjun sang the first words of the song at the exact second Jeno strummed the first chord. “When I put on my jacket at 9pm after the sun has set, When I leave the house no one will come home to...”

Everything that happened after the performance was a bit of a blur. The only thing Ahri remembered was the fact that Renjun couldn’t stop smiling from the moment their performance was over till they made their way to the audience to join Jaemin and Jinri. Ahri would be lying if she didn’t do the same. Maybe Jeno was smiling too. She wouldn’t know. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She was seated in between Jinri and Renjun. Jeno still hadn’t spoken to her.

The smiles faded, however, when it was time for the announcement of the results. There was a vicelike grip on Ahri’s arm that belonged to Jinri. Every time she tried to swat her friend’s hand away, it would come back stronger. There would be bruises on her arm for sure. Renjun wasn’t doing too well either. He’d probably have no fingernails left by the time the winner was announced.

“The winners are...” There was an entire unnecessary and long pause. “Son Ahri and Huang Renjun from class 2-E!”

Two pairs of arms wrapped around her, belonging to Renjun and Jinri, as the audience applauded. The loudest cheers came from the area around them. All of class 2-E had decided to sit together so that they could make a lot of noise. Smiles back on their faces, they went up to receive their trophies.

 “Redemption!” Jaemin cheered as they made their way out of the auditorium, the trophies now in his arms. “We’re not the class that is bad at everything. I love you guys.” The other four chuckled. Jaemin was always like a proud, doting mother.

“Let’s go celebrate. The cafe I work at has amazing food,” Jinri suggested.

“Someone’s taking their job seriously,” Renjun teased. Jinri just blew him a raspberry.

Ahri was just walking quietly beside her friends, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. “What?” Jaemin stopped beside her.

“I forgot my water bottle in the music room.” She looked up at Jaemin with a pout, hoping that he’d offer to get it for her. He was a nice person that way.

“No,” Jaemin said firmly, “that won’t work with me.”

With a sigh, Ahri begrudgingly said goodbye to friends and hurried to the music rooms on the other side of the school. Since the competition was over, the music rooms were eerily quiet. Only a day ago, they would have to fight for some time in one of the rooms. Quickly, she stepped into the music room she had left her bottle in and picked it up. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh as she stood there for a moment too long. This was the same room Jeno had kissed her in. It had been an entire week since they hadn’t spoken directly to each other. She didn’t know what she had expected to happen, but this wasn’t it.

A loud bang startled her out of her reverie. With a gasp, she looked to the source of the sound. Jeno stood at the door, looking like he’d raced all the way to the building. He had opened the door a bit too forcefully.

Ahri reacted automatically. She tried to make her way around him and out the door, but Jeno’s arm came to block the way out. “Please.” It sounded like a plea.

She had to gather all her courage to look him in the eyes. “It’s okay. You can continue ignoring me.” It was when her voice broke that she realised she didn’t mean those words.

“No,” Jeno let out a sigh. “Look, I really didn’t mean to—”

“I get it. You made a mistake. It’s fine.” Ahri couldn’t maintain eye contact. She looked down, hugging her water bottle to chest.

“That’s not what I mean.” Those words made her look up at him again, eyes wide and unsure. “It was an accident and I didn’t want it to happen that way. I kissed you out of nowhere and I wasn’t sure if you wanted to and...and I haven’t even asked you out.”

A long silence followed during which Ahri’s eyes got impossibly wide, her mouth hanging just a bit ajar. She felt dizzy as Jeno’s words echoed in her mind. Her stomach was full of butterflies she had never felt before. “What do you mean?” she managed to whisper.

The boy swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and then back down. He took a step inside. Ahri took a step back as she watched him shut the door behind him. “I like you.” Silence. “I like you, Son Ahri. I’ve liked you for a long time. I just...didn’t know.” Jeno hesitated before continuing, “Everyone seems to think you like me too.”

Ahri almost dropped her beloved water bottle. Everyone was right, she realised. The irritation she’d felt when he had gotten his first girlfriend back in their last year of middle school had been jealousy. She hadn’t liked when he sat beside her acted oh so friendly because she had wanted him to do more. She had wanted him to treat her like she was more than a friend. She had liked Lee Jeno for a long time too.

“Everyone is right,” she said as a giggle inevitably left her mouth. They were idiots, the two of them. “I like you too.”

Out of nowhere, Jeno tackled her into a hug. Her bottle fell to the floor with a clatter, uncared for. He was warm and for some reason, smelled faintly of her favourite cookies. Shyly, she wrapped her arms around him. He sent tingles down her spine when he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Let me kiss you? Properly this time.”

With cheeks feeling hotter than the sun, she nodded against his chest. He loosened his grip on her waist only for his hands to cup her cheeks. Ahri eyes shut the moment his lips touched hers. Her grip on his blazer tightened when her knees started feeling weak. And as if he knew, Jeno’s arms went around her waist again, pulling her closer.

When they broke apart, flushed and breathless, Ahri dazedly let two words slip from her mouth. “You thief.” Both her hands came up to slap her mouth shut as she gasped in embarrassment. She couldn’t believe she’d let that slip. Tentatively, she looked up at Jeno, hoping he hadn’t heard.

For some reason, Jeno looked just as embarrassed. “You remember that?”

“Huh?”

“Back in fifth grade, you dropped your ribbon and I took it home with me because...it was yours.” He let out a little laugh. “My mum scolded me and told me to return it to you.”

Ahri chuckled, “I do remember.” But that was not what she had meant. It was unexpected, unbelievable and awfully corny, but Lee Jeno was a thief because he had somehow stolen her heart.

author’s note: i did not mean for this to be a birthday post, but happy birthday, jeno! i’ve been writing this for months. i actually wanted to write high school aus for the 00 liners before they graduated but since no one is graduating, i can post high school aus for 6dream and maybe a college one for mark. but again, no promises.

[mousehole5000]

okay tgcf book 3 time chapter 89 - 106

goth king pei su here to steal pickle jar banyue. or maybe save her? i may have to reread that confrontation in the pit with the scorpion snakes i wasnt quite sure what exactly was going on. anyway pei ming is here now boooo hisssss actually he’s becoming funny to me now

screaming i love this. thank you mx windmaster for this gift i withdraw all my suspicions of you. pickle the man pickle him good.

cheers bro ill drink to that

oh????? curious if there’s any basis for that one with feng xin. also love that this is how the immortals get their kicks

ahh classic little frenemy shenanigans. bad liars both of you

lantern contest im guessing that xie lian is going to have something unexpected happen here in fact im willing to bet he actually wins due to interference from hua cheng and possibly relating to the merchants. if he doesnt i may delete this part out of embarrassment at being wrong but i mean its definitely not going to be completely uneventful or straightforward.

called it what an image!!! okay now lets find out how it happened 3000 is QUITE the turnout

okay my internet dropped out for most of the little catch the fetus spirit saga but we have had the first kiss now it was kind of a disaster also we’re in ghost city now? tight

idk what warning to put on this next excerpt. its a little graphic maybe idk its a description of the fetus spirit

im including it just to say.... eraserhead flashbacks.....

typical man tbh when in doubt just back out. this is a joke but also ive seen friends bfs do this to get out of an argument when theyre wrong lol

YEAH BABY GHOST CITY i love every line of the ghost city hijinks. also ME SOUP ME SOUP ME SOUP every time i take a bath this is how i feel

light in the darkness.... i would like to see it..... also wait ghost city is red????? sexy...

the fact that there isnt an idol or cushions for kneeling in the temple bc thats not what xie lian ever wanted.... the literal devotion......

goths are illiterate. amazing

my 5th grade teacher trying to read my illegible chicken scratch

xie lian saying he’s never lied to hua cheng like he didnt give him an entirely bogus fortune when he was investigating him.... amazing

hua cheng’s canonical evil handwriting is great but also i cant lie i think teaching your love to read/write is... cute.... yes my favorite disney princess movie when i was a kid was beauty and the beast..... what of it....

i actually think its pretty interesting that this current wayward spirit is a mother/child issue... im intrigued

im just now realizing that its most likely going to be a plot point that xie lian’s cultivation relies on his “purity”/abstinence... how will this be resolved considering well. you know. is it just not going to count if the sex is gay? also mu qing follows the same cultivation path? interesting. ALSO jun wu just happens to have a virgin testing sword laying around? so many questions

also im still pissed at qi rong about the queen’s corpse tbh

looks like we’re taking a break from our regularly scheduling mystery for an episode of a cooking show

this book is funny again. love this little stand off while hua cheng is just. doing dishes. also jesus christ whats in the stew?? jfaskdfjasl

windmaster using magic to make the shrine spooky for the ambiance...  dramatic legend. also this spirit is known for being a killjoy and it feeds off fear and incites self-fulfilling prophecies? only to meet its match in the god of misfortune? amazing love that

love that xie lian is 100% ready to lend the care of the children over as hua cheng’s responsibility. i really hope when they get back theres at least 2 concerningly ghostly helpers taking care of the kids

xie lian and hua cheng exchanging phone numbers private communication array passwords vs windmaster’s password being poem praising him fight. cannot WAIT to find out what hc’s password is

MORE GHOSTS??? love it cant wait for more. dinnertime now bye tgcf for now