#cause i convinced my teacher to allow us to use music lyrics as well as poetry

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (6)

(the next chapter is heeeeeeeeeeeere!!! hope you guys like it!! there’s also a mini series connected to this called Journal Entries, though I don’t know how long I’m going to be continuing it. Check it out if you feel like it!)

Ch.1 / Ch.5 / Ch.7

Chapter 6: Don’t Be Suspicious

Marinette tilted her head from side to side, doing a subtle dance to the music that played through her earbuds. She tapped her pencil on the desk with the beat and mouthed Jagged Stone’s lyrics as they came, thoroughly enjoying the electric guitar in the background. At Dupont, listening to music with earbuds was a ‘no-no’ despite her efforts. Principle Damocles, along with a few of the teachers, insisted that it hindered their drive to focus and work on school. The thought wasn’t entirely misguided- Marinette was already re-reading this textbook page for the third time with no hope of comprehension in sight -but she enjoyed the liberties that came with her new school nonetheless.

In all honesty, Rosemary didn’t allow headphones either, but the librarian wasn’t a snitch, and Marinette wasn’t a saint. So, during her assigned study halls, she would hop over to the school’s library and jam out to Jagged Stone. It was a nice reprieve from the strict guidelines that Rosemary held for their students and gave her time to unwind before her next round of overly-complicated classes. 

She was about ready to start banging her head to the song- the lyrics were just too good -when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her gaze flicked upwards towards Claude, who was sitting beside her. He’d suggested that they study together during the one study hall they shared, and Marinette, being friends with him and genuinely enjoying his company, agreed. He was actually the one who told her about the lax librarian in the first place.

Once Claude was certain that he had her attention, he tapped a finger to his ear, silently requesting her to take out an earbud. Marinette gladly obliged and paused her Jagged Stone music to hear him better.

“What are you listening to? You look like you’re really jamming out.” He asked curiously.

Marinette held up her phone for him to see the song cover. “Just Jagged Stone. He normally helps me think, but I’m starting to wonder if that only works for design sketches.”

Claude gasped so hard that she thought he was going to choke, and an ear-splitting grin spread across his lips.

“You listen to Jagged Stone too? He’s one of my favorites!” The brunette said enthusiastically.

Marinette straightened with delight. “Seriously? He’s been a favorite of mine since I was twelve!”

“Ten!” Claude trilled.

Elation bubbled up in Marinette’s chest. Finally! Someone to talk to about Jagged Stone! She hadn’t found a kindred spirit since Luka and.. well.. She hasn’t met another Jagged Stone fan in a while. 

“Did you hear the new album that just came out?” She asked, folding her arms across the table and leaning onto them. When she first came to Rosemary, she’d naturally assumed that no one there listened to rock. Everyone was prepped and poised and rich. Their tastes were bound to be much ‘finer’ than hers.

Looking at it now, though, it made perfect sense for Claude to listen to Jagged Stone. He was an energetic and passionate person, and that’s what Rock n’ Roll was all about. She also had to remind herself that she was now a Rosemary student. If she listened to rock music, it was possible that her other classmates did as well. The school wasn’t a complete hive mind, after all. 

Claude scoffed playfully. “Did I? I was the first in line for the cd! The songs were a total masterpiece!”

Before Marinette could reply, another scoff interrupted their conversation, one that wasn’t nearly as playful. She glanced across the table to Felix, who had looked up from his book. He’d shared the same study hall hour that they did, and Claude, being who he was, coaxed the blond into joining them in the library.

Well.. ‘coax’ probably wasn’t the right word. It was more of Claude dragging Marinette to the table that Felix was already sitting at and convincing Felix to stay seated once they got there. 

Felix’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and the corners of his lips twitched in a scowl, the same way they always did when he was about to criticize something. 

“No type of rock music could ever be considered a ‘masterpiece’,” He stated matter-of-factly, “especially not that man’s noise.”

Marinette gasped, slapping a hand to her chest in offense. “Jagged Stone’s music is not ‘noise’.”

“Forget it, Mari.” Claude cut in, putting a hand on her shoulder as he shot Felix a glare. “This guy will never understand Jagged’s art.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I’d hardly call throwing a bunch of instruments together and screaming into the microphone ‘art’.”

Marinette crossed her arms and huffed. Jagged Stone didn’t scream. His voice was just rough, but even if he did scream, that shouldn’t give Felix the right to be rude. Everyone had their own tastes. Marinette didn’t go around bashing XY fans, now, did she?

“Have you even listened to him?” She asked indignantly. 

“I’ve had the unfortunate experience of listening to rock, yes. That’s how I know it’s in bad taste.” 

Marinette’s fingers dug into her skin. “But have you listened to Jagged Stone?”

The grated words caused Felix to pause. 

“..I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

Marinette sighed and tugged out one of her earbuds to hand it to him. “Here.”

Felix rose a brow, not moving an inch. “What do you expect me to do with that?”

“You’re going to listen to at least one of Jagged Stone’s songs.” She told him. “Then you can tell me what you think.”

Felix was an extremely opinionated person. He tended to say exactly what he thought without considering how it would affect others around him. At first, his snaps and snide remarks put her on edge. She would worry about angering him and making him dislike her from the things she’d say or do. But after spending more time around him, Marinette realized that he wasn’t angry as much as he was easily irritated. He would get annoyed at things that he viewed as out of place or illogical, then, after fixing the problem or telling someone else to fix it, he would move on. It just so happened that Allegra, Allan, and Claude were constantly doing things that were ‘illogical’, ‘unnecessary’, and- her personal favorite -‘downright preposterous’.

That being said, Marinette still didn’t enjoy challenging Felix when she disagreed with him. His words were sharp and blunt, whether he meant them to be or not, and arguing was never her strong suit, anyway. Therefore, she found it best to merely listen and watch as the rest of the group continued to push Felix’s buttons relentlessly.

Right now, however, was a different story. Right now he was denouncing an incredibly talented artist who he hadn’t even bothered to listen to before condemning, and Marinette wouldn’t stand for it.

Felix’s gaze shifted to the earbud. She could see the command turning in his mind, could see him deciding between being difficult and resisting or simply being nice for once. 

“..Fine,” He relented, taking the offered headphone, “but don’t be upset when my opinion doesn’t change.”

Marinette tried not to smile too much and quickly started scrolling through her playlist to choose a song. If she only had one shot to convince Felix of Jagged’s greatness, she needed to play one of his best works.

“Wow..” Claude remarked. “You actually got him to listen to a song. That’s farther than I’ve ever gotten.”

Felix rolled his eyes, but refrained from commenting. Marinette didn’t reply either. She didn’t want to waste the opportunity she’d been given by joking with Claude.

She found a song a few seconds later and eagerly set the phone between them as it began to play. This had been a song that she’d listened to for at least a week or two before moving on to the next one. She knew the lyrics inside out and could quite possibly sing them in her sleep. If anything was going to convince Felix that rock was also a musical art, it would be this song.

Felix’s expression twisted with annoyance as the drums kicked up to join the electric base. 

“See, this is what I’m talking about.” He sighed. “The notes are overbearing and chaotic. How can you enjoy it?”

“Because they’re not chaotic.” Marinette replied, gathering all the patience she could. “It might get loud sometimes, but the drums and guitar create a steady beat for Jagged Stone to sing to.”

Just then, Jagged Stone’s voice rang through the headphones, gruff and strong. Marinette’s lips quirked up into an involuntary smile, but Felix, unsurprisingly, wasn’t as thrilled as she was.

“He doesn’t even sing about anything important.” He said. “The words are completely random.”

Marinette resisted the urge to groan. How could someone be so smart yet so stupid at the same time? 

“The lyrics aren’t random. And they might not be important to you, but they are to him.” She tried to explain. “Jagged writes about the things he loves and tells it to the world through song. His music is full of passion, and it drives others to be more passionate too. Myself included.”

Felix glanced up at her for a moment, no doubt scrutinizing her claims, and tisked. He then put a hand over his borrowed earbud and closed his eyes to try to listen to the music better. 

Although it was a small, begrudging act, Marinette couldn’t help grinning. He didn’t like rock music, didn’t even want to entertain the idea of liking it, yet here he was, listening to Jagged Stone’s music because she asked him to. He was trying hard to understand something she enjoyed, and that meant a lot, especially when one considers how stubborn he can be.

“I suppose I can understand what you mean..” Felix mumbled a few seconds later. “The notes aren’t nearly as melodic as what I’m used to, but it must take some form of talent to mash banging instruments together and make it sound decent.”

Marinette beamed. It was a backhanded comment, but she could accept it. 

“Okay, my turn.” She said, extending her hand towards him.

Felix frowned. “Pardon?”

“You said that Jagged Stone isn’t what you’re used to, right? I wanna know what you’re used to.” She replied matter-of-factly. “Let me listen to one of your songs.” 

Felix’s frown deepened, but he pulled out his earbuds to hand one to her. 

“I suppose I could show you the one I’ve been listening to recently..” He muttered to himself. “Just be careful with these. They’re expensive.” 

Marinette happily plucked one of the earbuds out of Felix’s hands and put it on. The cord between the earbuds was shorter than hers, so they both had lean across the table to share. She didn’t mind the closeness, though. They’d only be there for a moment.

When the music finally began, all Marinette could really do was snort. Classical music. Of course Felix would listen to classical music. Each note had a purpose, place, and expression in the song. Yes, other music had that too, but most of the time, there were words that people sang to excuse repetitiveness of the beat. Classical music had to carry its own weight, and that made all the difference. 

“What?” Felix asked, referring to her laugh.

Marinette put a hand to her mouth with an apologetic smile. “Oh, nothing. It just makes sense for you to listen to classical music.”

Felix rose a brow, but she waved him off. There was no point explaining it.

“Anyway, I can see why you would like this, because it’s really pretty, but I, personally, find it a little boring.” She said honestly. “The notes are too slow. I would fall asleep before I could finish a song.”

“It’s not just a song, though.” Felix argued. “It’s a story. Listen closer.”

Marinette did as she was told and closed her eyes, putting a hand over her earbud like Felix had done earlier. The piano and violin mingled together in a soft symphony, lulling up and down as the symphony progressed. A lone guitar played a joyful tune in the background.

“The protagonist is admiring their lover.” Felix explained. “They’re making promises of being together always.”

Drums bubbled up behind the piano and violin as the guitar faded, causing the music to shift into a tense atmosphere.

“The father of the lover is coming between them, forcing a separation.” 

Violin strings shake with the drums, and the piano gradually grows louder to emphasize the ominous presence. Once the tension is drawn out to its absolute limit, the music breaks with bursts of violins and trumpets, signifying the beginning of a fight.

“The protagonist refuses to back down, and although they are worried, they stand up to fight for their love anyway.” 

Marinette cracked an eye open to look at Felix. His eyes were now closed as well, and a soft smile ghosted his lips. She hadn’t taken him to be a romantic, but he appeared to be deeply engrossed in the ‘story’. Did he read romance novels often? She assumed all of the books he carried around were about historical facts or intricate philosophies, not trials of love or daring confessions.

“Do you hear it?” Felix asked, his eyes abruptly opening. Their heads were already close from sharing headphones, but his looking up only brought them closer. It was a miracle their noses didn’t bump together.

Marinette froze, her eyes widening at being caught. Was it weird that she was staring at him before he opened his eyes? It shouldn’t be, right? Staring at your friend wasn’t a crime. 

Say something. Marinette’s mind screamed. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t say anything. She could hardly even think straight. She was too lost in the roundness of his eyes or how long his eyelashes were or whether she was too close to him and have his eyes always had those little specks of blue in them?

Marinette squeaked, finally gaining enough sense to lurch backwards. Felix’s earbud was tugged out of her ear, but she didn’t care. Right now she needed distance. 

“S-sorry!” She blurted out. “I-I mean- uhm -the music was fine, or- great. I-.. I could really hear the- the story.”

Her hands covered her face in a vain attempt to hide her blush. Her cheeks were absolutely burning from embarrassment. How could she get so flustered? Wasn’t it her idea to share the earbuds?

Felix was strangely quiet as he picked up the abandoned earbud and paused the song. Oh gosh, he probably thought she was a total weirdo now. (If he hadn’t thought that already.)

Marinette peeked through her fingers, searching his face for judgement, but he simply wrapped the cord of the earbuds around his phone. Although his eyebrows were furrowed slightly, the rest of his expression was neutral. Was that a good sign or no?

“Yes, that’s why I enjoy it.” He finally said once his phone was put away. His tone was graciously composed, not acknowledging her humiliating outburst. “The composers put real effort and work into their music. They carefully aligned each note to make sure it portrays their story and theme correctly. That’s what I consider to be a masterpiece.”

Marinette nodded. “Y-Yeah.. That makes sense.. I still think Jagged Stone’s music is also a work of art, though.”

She settled back into her original seat, as did Felix. 

“Agree to disagree, I suppose.” Felix shrugged.

An astounded laugh came from the left of them, and the two turned back to Claude. Marinette had admittedly forgotten that he was there.

“I, for one, am impressed.” The brunette announced. “You actually got Felix to entertain a different opinion. He never says ‘agree to disagree’! It’s always just ‘you’re wrong’.”

Felix scoffed. “Don’t act like I’m unreasonable. I’m stubborn in my opinions because they’re logical and sound, while your arguments against them are hardly either.”

Claude rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Do you think you guys can argue about cephalopods now? I’m supposed to be doing a report on them for science.”

Marinette chuckled, finally relaxing in her chair again. “Sorry, Claude. I don’t have any strong opinions about cephalopods.”

“Maybe if you read a book every once in a while, you’d find something to write about.” Felix added, being ever the supportive one.

“Hey! I do read!” Claude defended. “I just don’t know what to write about. Should I argue a random point about cephalopods or should I just write about a bunch of facts? Am I supposed to list my sources or can I say whatever I want? What does the school board want from me?”

“Claude, you’re a sophomore.” Felix stated bluntly. “If you don’t know how to write papers now, I can’t help you.”

Claude groaned and sunk into his chair, and Marinette offered a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Anyway,” He grumbled, rubbing his hands over his face, “speaking of cephalopods, have you guys heard about the new aquarium exhibit that they just opened at Aquarium de Paris?”

Marinette perked up. “Wait, really? I didn’t know about that!”

“Yeah, I think it’s something to do with the sharks.” Claude smiled. “They’ve got this new tank and everything.”

Marinette wiggled in her seat with delight. She always loved aquariums. “That’s so cool! I’ll have to ask Maman and Papa about going to see it.”

“Oh, why don’t we all go together?” Claude suggested. “I wanna see the new exhibit too, and I’m sure Allegra and Allan will want to go.”

“Sure! When do you think you’ll be free to go see it?”

Claude leaned back in his chair as he thought about it. “Uh.. maybe this Sunday? I don’t think I have anything going on then. Does that work for you?”

“I’ll have to check with my parents, but that should be okay. Do you want me to tell Allan about it during our next class?”

Claude nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll tell Allegra.”

Marinette smiled and turned to Felix. “Are you gonna come with us, Felix?” 

A part of her felt awkward asking, as Felix didn’t normally enjoy the group outings, but a bigger part of her would feel guilty if she didn’t invite him when they were inviting everyone else.

Felix glanced up from his book with a questioning gaze. He.. hadn’t been listening.

“We’re going to Aquarium de Paris this Sunday. Are you coming?” Claude asked again.

Felix shrugged. “I suppose Allegra will drag me along either way, so why not?”

Marinette bit her lip to hold back a giddy squeal. This was going to be great! Getting to see all of the new fish and getting to spend time with her new friends? What could be better than that?

~~~~~~

Felix drew in a deep breath as he made his way towards the school exit. Aside from the soft chattering and echoing footsteps of the students around him, it was quiet, and he reveled in the silence while he could. Leaving school alone was a rarity now, especially since Marinette joined their group. Allegra, Claude, and Allan had always been insistent on smothering him with activities, but with the new ‘recruit’, the time they spent together has doubled. The trio wanted everyone to be together constantly. That included Felix. 

He sighed, shifting the strap of his bag on his shoulder. The numerous study dates, get-togethers, and group lunches had pushed his social battery to its absolute limit. So the small reprieve was greatly appreciated. 

It did feel strange, though, not hearing Claude’s rambling or Allegra’s scolding or Marinette’s laughter. They’d become a steady background noise to the rest of his daily life, and now that they were absent, Felix found himself glancing over his shoulder, waiting for one of them to pop up.

Of course, no one came, and Felix forced his eyes forward to push away the growing anticipation. There was no need to mull over it. He would see them tomorrow at school, and on top of that, they had another outing scheduled for this Sunday to visit the aquarium. By the end of the week, Felix would certainly have his fill of seeing their faces or hearing their voices.

The sun beat down on Felix as he stepped outside, and he welcomed it whole-heartedly. The biting cold of January was never something he fancied, save for the fact that it kept everyone else indoors. 

He started down the front stairs, letting his mind wander back to the conversation he’d had with Marinette during their shared study hall. Her boldness during their discussion of musical preferences had surprised him, since she usually steered clear of any confrontations. He couldn’t blame her for her sudden tenacity, though. People tended to be extremely attached to their music, and Felix had criticized her tastes. It only made sense for her to defend herself.

On that note, Jagged Stone? Really? He’d assumed Claude was the only one to have such bizarre tastes. Nevertheless, if Marinette approved of the man, Felix wasn’t going to question too much. She still created those phenomenal designs, after all, meaning she must have a good eye for things.

Bits and pieces of the song that Marinette had requested him to listen to resurfaced in his mind. If he was being honest, it wasn’t as horrible as he’d claimed, but blaring drums and pounding beats simply didn’t help him relax like classical music did.

Felix closed his eyes briefly as he recalled the piano piece he’d shown Marinette a few minutes later. It was a favorite of his, one that he listened to often while reading alone in his room, and he did his best to explain the mastery of the artwork. The passion, the yearning, the love- it can be difficult to express, especially when he hadn’t experienced those things first hand. That’s the main reason he found the piece so interesting.

The image of Marinette’s delicate features flicked through his mind. He’d looked up at her to gawk her reaction, to see if she understood what he was trying to say, but he’d found her staring right back at him instead. Her almond-shaped eyes were round with shock, and he couldn’t help thinking about the first time they met, when he first realized how blue her irises were. They almost reminded him of tiny, swirling oceans, deep and mesmerizing. 

When she jerked back a few seconds later, something akin to disappointment had laced through Felix’s stomach, and even now, he wasn’t sure why that was. Perhaps he wanted to admire the color a tad longer. 

Either way, Marinette plopped into her seat, her cheeks flushing a dark scarlet, and it was only then that Felix noticed his own racing heartbeat. Again, he was at a loss for the cause. Was it because she startled him by lurching backwards? He didn’t remember flinching.

The screeching of tires pulled Felix from his thoughts, and his gaze turned to the road in front of him. A silver car had parked on the curb. 

A frown tugged at the corner of Felix’s lips. That was odd. Parking on the curbs near Rosemary wasn’t allowed unless someone was being picked up or dropped off, yet no students were waving the car down or exiting the vehicle.

The back door to the car swung open, causing Felix to raise a brow. Spoke too soon.

A boy jumped out of the car, his golden blonde hair shining in the sunlight as he ran towards the front steps. Something about him seemed familiar, but Felix couldn’t place his finger on what.

The boy slowed to a stop in front of him and offered a friendly smile. Yeah, Felix has definitely seen this guy before. But where?

“Hey!” The stranger greeted. “Sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for a girl. Her name is Marinette?”

Felix narrowed his eyes at the name. Marinette as in Marinette Dupain-Cheng? As in, the girl who was inside talking to Allegra right now? Why would he be looking for her?

“She’s about this tall.” The boy continued, holding his hand just above his shoulder for reference. “She’s got raven-colored hair that she normally puts into pigtails, and wears pink capris and a black jacket. She would have started attending this school about two weeks ago?”

The more he spoke, the more suspicious Felix became. This guy knew a lot about Marinette, but Felix didn’t know a thing about him. Was he a friend? An enemy? Marinette didn’t mention meeting someone after school. Not that she was obligated to share her personal connections and schedules, but what if this was the person that’s been wanting to ‘talk’ with her? The stalker?

Don’t overreact. Felix told himself. This could be a perfectly harmless visit from an old friend of hers. Just because I wasn’t aware of him coming doesn’t mean he has ill intentions. 

...but just in case..

“Apologies, but have we met?” Felix asked, dodging the blonde’s question. He didn’t want to disclose Marinette’s location unless he had her permission. There were too many cases where an unknowing co-worker blabbed about the victim’s schedule to the stalker, and he refused to be one of those idiots.

The boy pulled a sheepish expression and rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, no, we haven’t, but I can see why you would think that. My face is kind of everywhere with all of the ads Father’s had me model in recently.”

Felix blinked, the mix of familiarity and the boy’s words clicking together in his mind. Of course! This was that same, obnoxious face that Paris has been obsessed with for the better half of five years. The amount of billboards and posters of this guy that were plastered around the city was enough to make Felix gag. He couldn’t look in any direction without seeing him!

“You’re Adrien Agreste.” He stated, a hint of irritation accidentally rising to his tone. Not only has this ‘sunshine child’- or so Paris called him -been plaguing his eyes for at least two years since Gabriel upped his campaigning game, he also happens to have the same name that was scribbled on Marinette’s birthday cards, the ones she’d offered to give away. Was that a coincidence? 

Felix was leaning towards ‘no’.

“Yep.” Adrien chuckled. “That’s me. Anyway, is she here? I really need to talk with her.”

“He really just wants to ‘talk’.” 

Marinette’s bitter words resurfaced in his mind, and Felix narrowed his eyes. The chances of Adrien Agreste being an enemy were steadily rising.

“I’m afraid I don’t know a girl by that name or description,” he lied, “and there hasn’t been a new student here since last year.”

If Adrien turned out to truly be one of Marinette’s friends, he would apologize, but Felix wasn’t going to risk compromising her if his suspicions were correct. 

Confusion etched its way onto the blond’s features, and he glanced down at the ground as he muttered, “I could have sworn she said ‘Rosemary’..”

Felix rose a brow. Marinette told him which school she was attending? Or did another girl give him the information?

Before either could say anything more, a car horn sounded in front of them, and Adrien glanced over his shoulder to the driver of the silver car. 

“Ah, I gotta go. Thanks for your help!” 

Felix didn’t bother returning Adrien’s wave, instead watching him hop down the front steps. Although it would annoy him, he hoped that the blond actually was a friend of Marinette’s, for her sake. He can’t imagine her being happy with the news that someone had followed her to school.

“Oh, hey, Felix! I thought you were leaving.”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear..

The silver car had just disappeared around the corner when the girl in question skipped down the front steps next to him. She flashed him a bright smile, making his insides churn with guilt. Should he tell her? She needed to know, right? 

“I was,” He said, choosing his next words carefully, “but I got held up.”

Marinette chuckled. “I know how that goes.”

Felix nodded, his gaze shifting to the side. He didn’t want to worry her, but he couldn’t let her be ignorant of a possibly dangerous situation either.

“.. Were you, by chance, expecting anyone at the school today?”

Marinette frowned and shook her head, unfortunately confirming Felix’s concerns. “No, why?”

“Well..” He hesitated. “Someone stopped by and asked for you. A man by the name Adrien Agreste.”

Marinette’s entire body went rigid, and the blood drained from her face. Felix held back a grimace at the sight. She looked more frightened than two weeks ago when she first ran into the school to hide.

“D-Did you-”

“No.” Felix cut her off, already knowing what she was going to ask. “I told him you didn’t attend this school.”

Her shoulders slumped with relief, but he could still see the nervousness in her eyes. “Oh, thank goodness.. Thank you so much, Felix.”

“Is he the one who wanted to talk to you two weeks ago?”

Marinette faltered at the question, but nodded. “He went to my old school..”

Felix frowned. If he remembered his mother’s ramblings correctly, Adrien Agreste started attending Dupont not too long ago. Was that Marinette’s old school then?

“His father’s a powerful man.” He said. “You need to be careful.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Oh no! I mean- Thank you for the warning.. But Adrien isn’t like that. He’s persistent, but he doesn’t threaten people.”

Felix wasn’t entirely sure that he believed that, but he wouldn’t argue. Marinette was dealing with enough already. “I believe he said something about a girl telling him that you’re attending Rosemary, but he didn’t mention the name of her.”

Marinette’s eyebrows knitted together. “A girl?”

“Yes, something like ‘I could have sworn she said Rosemary’.”

Marinette chewed on her bottom lip, obviously troubled by the news. Felix didn’t blame her. Stalking can be a serious matter. (even if she didn’t quite consider it stalking.)

“Would you like me to drive you home?” He offered, yet again. 

And again, Marinette refused by shaking her head. 

“Thanks, but it’s only two blocks. I’ll be fine.” She assured.

The decision didn’t sit well with him, but Felix nodded anyway. It wasn’t his place to tell her what she could or couldn’t do, or what precautions he personally thought she should take.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He said, finally continuing his descent down the stairs. 

“Yep, see you tomorrow.” Marinette smiled.

They parted ways after that, Marinette heading down the sidewalk and Felix going to find his driver, but the urge to watch her didn’t leave his mind until she completely vanished around the corner.

Felix sighed, tapping his finger against the car door as he settled into the backseat of his car. Why did he want to follow her so badly?

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[xaharadesert]

Bard MC - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 6) x MC

A/N: Okie dokie, this one is for a very lovely and very patient anon! Their request for an MC who can control magic through music is super cool! Honestly, I didn’t know exactly what a bard was when I first received this request, so I’ll be adding in a couple references about that as a joke :) I also tried to leave it ambiguous between whether the MC sings or plays an instrument, but I may have failed. My apologies, these may be a bit shorter than what you’re all used too, but I was struggling with this a little bit (also I am half asleep as I am finishing this, so I’m sorry if some of it doesn’t make sense). Also, I’m very sorry about using an outdated meme, but the oppurtunity was right there and I had to use it. As always, I recognize Asra’s non-binary gender orientation but will be using he/him pronouns! Please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes :) Requests are open!

❤️Julian❤️

Oh, yeah, he knows what a bard is

Like a singer... right?

Nope

When you tell him that you control magic through music, he has a small crisis and reevaluates every bard he’s ever met

He suddenly has quite a few questions about the inherent magic of music

Curious as always, he wants to learn more about how music acts as a medium for magic, which means a lot of questions

Most of his questions are based in psychology, because a small part of him that constantly doubts magic believes that you’re just a scientific genius

Overall, he supports you, of course

He loves music and the fact that you can cast spells using it is just an added bonus

Julian is already thinking about all the musical adventures you’ll have together

If you offer to teach him, he’ll respectfully decline

He’ll stick to the ordinary kind of music, thank you

On that note, unless it messes with your magic he will absolutely sing along whenever you’re preparing a spell

If this is a problem he’ll sing quietly to himself to avoid being a distraction

He’s sorry if it’s annoying to you, but he really loves singing

When he’s constantly surrounded by music he finds it hard to keep quiet

But if you’re okay with him joining in? He’ll belt some made-up lyrics at the top of his lungs

He may accidentally sing over you and your music, so even if it was originally fine, it will unintentionally cause problems

🧡Portia🧡

Oh, a bard!

That’s uh... a music thing, right?

I mean, she was mostly right

When you tell her that you can control magic through music she’s ecstatic

Magic in and of itself is super cool, but music too?! That’s amazing!

Portia wasn’t the biggest fan of music before, but you can bet your butt she is now!

She loves listening to you preform magic, and even if your not doing a spell, she loves listening to you

She wants to know what kind of songs control what kind of spells

In fact, she wants to know everything about your magic

You might as well be her official teacher because she never stops asking questions

In fact, asking if you can teach her eventually does come up

She’s a very eager student, although she often goes off track and starts inventing her own music

It’s not as effective, but she’s definitely having fun

Even if she never actually learns the magic part, she learned a cool new musical skill

She’ll create silly little songs to make you laugh

Sometimes when you use a particularly sad song for a spell, she’ll start to tear up

This can be a bit of a distraction, but she swears she’s not actually upset

You’re just amazing at what you do

Once Julian needed your help and her response was “this is so sad, MC play Despacito”

💛Lucio💛

Of course he knows what a bard is!

At least that’s what he claims

In reality he has no idea, he always referred to them as “music people”

So when you tell him about controlling magic through music he’s suddenly feeling a little afraid of every musician he made fun of in the past

He’ll never admit that out loud, though

Lucio thinks what you do is amazing

You can do magic AND you’re musically talented! That’s double the talent!

For a moment he considered mocking Asra for being less talented than you before remembering that you and Asra are friends

That doesn’t stop him from showing off your talents to everyone else, though!

Whether you really want to or not, you’ll probably have to show literally every Vesuvian your abilities at least once

Lucio himself isn’t particularly interested in learning your form of magic

He’d rather watch and listen as you preform spells

He doesn’t really want you to teach anyone else though, but he can’t really stop you if you choose to anyway

Sometimes he’ll ask you to preform a spell just so he can listen to you

He especially loves to hear slower songs for spells that ward off nightmares

When he listens to you, he genuinely feels calm and peaceful

He just exists in a perfect moment, with nobody but you and him

On a side note, though, sometimes when you’re showing off for other people he’ll try to sing along and it’ll always end up sounding horrible

💚Muriel💚

Doesn’t even pretend to know what a bard is

He never really had a reason to know, so he doesn’t

When you first tell him, he feels a bit awkward because he feels as if you expected him to know

But of course, your brand of magic was pretty unique so explaining your abilities was old hat by now

He’s not exactly sure how he feels about your methods

Of course he loves and supports you, but your magic... it’s just... a lot

It seems to require a lot of noise, and it draws way too much attention in his opinion

He would never try to change you, but he shrinks into himself whenever you gain a crowd from performing a spell in public

He starts to feel differently about it the first time he hears a slower song

When your music is soft and soothing he inadvertently feels himself relax

Knowing that you’re beside him, doing what you love, brings him a lot of inexplicable joy

Muriel doesn’t really have any interest in learning your kind of magic for himself, if he’s being honest

Although, he never minds when you want to talk about the complexities

He doesn’t mind very much if you need to practice late at night at home, because he doesn’t need to worry about other people intruding

Personally, he has no real uses for your magic so he never asks for your help

That isn’t to say he won’t accept it; if you want to use a song to help with menial tasks once in a while he won’t complain

The one exception is if you start using it for some creepy spell in the middle of the night

Then he may have a few complaints

����Asra💙

The only one who actually knows what a bard is without your explanation

He was there throughout most of your magical growth, so he already knows a lot about it

In all honesty, if it weren’t for you, he probably would have been just as oblivious as everyone else

He loves how unique your method of performing magic is

Asra has never met anyone quite like you, and he doubts he ever will

Watching you perform your magic is one of his favourite hobbies (if you can really count that as a hobby)

Observing how your magic interacts with your music is incredible to him

He’s a little jealous, but he’d never say that out loud

You offered to teach him years ago and he eagerly accepted, but he never quite got the hang of it

In the end, he learned most of the theory behind it, but he mostly stuck to his own brand of magic

Even if he does admire your magic more than he admires his own, he does love the contrast between the two of you

(Spoilers) when he brought you back and was re-teaching you most things, your magic was one of the hardest

He felt horrible that he couldn’t properly demonstrate for you, but after teaching you the theories again, you seemed to pick it up on your own

On a side note though, helping you relearn your magic did allow him to grasp a couple of basic spells with your method, which makes him super excited

All in all he’s just thrilled that you have such a strong and unique brand of magic

He’s proud of how much you’ve grown into it, despite not having a proper mentor

Asra is a fan of quite a few unique types of music, but listening to whatever kind of music your using has definitely helped him settle on a few favourite songs

He doesn’t have a favourite kind of musical spell, so he’s excited no matter what kind of magic your performing

One time he even convinced you to cast a spell to heat up some tea faster just because he wanted to hear your music

💜Nadia💜

A bard?

As in, one who recites poetry, correct?

She uses the definition of a bard when describing what she thinks you do

Nadia is pleasantly surprised to find that your definition of bard is much more powerful, although she now has a few questions about how you go about defining words

She doesn’t have very much magical experience, so she was unaware of how unique your brand of magic was

But when she finds out exactly what it is you do?

She’s so excited

Nadia definitely loves music, although she leans toward slightly more refined tastes

She starts to question her favourite songs when she first hears you perform a spell

You manage to convey so much emotion, regardless of how long a spell or song is

She feels her heart pound in her chest whenever you use a lot of emotion in a spell

If you offer to teach her, she’ll have to politely decline

She knows how to play piano, sure, and her singing voice isn’t the worst, but she isn’t particularly interested in studying magic

She’ll just leave that part up to you

Of course, she’s always content to watch you perform, although sometimes it is a bit disruptive

If she needs a quick spell while in a meeting, a whole song can be a bit of a problem

She learns to work around this though, because she would never want you to ever change who you are

Although, she will admit she found it humorous when you chose a particularly aggressive song for a spell when trying to prove a point to Valerius

[blackmissfrizzle]

Hot for Teacher part 3

Title: Hot for Teacher part 3

Characters: Steve Rogers x black!reader

Summary: The reader and Steve finally have their date

Warnings: Pre-smut, creepy dudes, and a long ass chapter and no keep reading cuz its mobile

A couple of drinks after your little performance, everyone decided to call it a night and went home. Well everyone except Shantae, she went home with Sam. Steve offered to take you home, but you declined his offer but you told him you would text him when you got home.

As soon as you entered your home, you texted Steve that you made it because if you didn’t, you surely would’ve forgotten.

“Texting Rogers you made it home,” a familiar voice from the shadows asked.

You dropped your keys into the bowl by your door and sighed. “You can’t just text me if I made it home safely like a regular dad?”

Nick Fury never did anything like a regular dad, except the fussing part. You remember the whoopings you used to get because you decided to be a smartass.

Your dad let your pet cat, Goose down, emerged from his seat and gave you a hug. “I’m not a normal dad, sweetie.”

“I’ve noticed. What are you doing here so late, old man? I hope you don’t want a report on my night with Steve.”

Your dad let you out of his embrace and returned to the couch. “No, I’m not even worried about Rogers. Now if you were going out with Stark, we would have a problem. I’m praying that this thing with Rogers work out. Your mama is already planning your wedding and for her future grandkids.”

You threw a pillow at your dad. “You told mama about Steve!?” You slinked down the couch in despair, your mom’s been bugging you about kids since you were an only child. She didn’t care if you got married, she just wanted grandkids.

“You know she’s a better investigator than I am. I couldn’t lie to her.” Its true, no one could lie to your mom, she had a knack for getting to the truth. “Anyways, I’m here to officially recruit you,” your dad stated as he slid a manila folder towards you.

Inside of the folder were photos of a local gang leader, Terrence and he recruited a lot of kids that go to your school. He truly was a menace to society. He didn’t care who got hurt as long as money was lining his pocket. As you went through more photos, you saw Terrence with an older gentleman.

“The older guy with Terrence works for Ghost, a terrorist who probably has done as much as evil as HYDRA. I know you got a couple of students connected with Terrence. I need you to find out what Terrence has planned with Ghost.”

On occasion, you were known to get involved with your students’ personal lives if they were in trouble. One instance, you fought in an underground fight club match so your student wouldn’t have to, but that was different. Your dad wanted you to work for SHIELD in an official capacity and that was big deal.

You pinched your nose, “This is a one-time thing. And I’m only doing this for the kids.”

Knowing that he won, your dad broke out into a shit-eating grin that few people got to witness. “Thanks, sweetheart. I’ll have Hill send you a briefing within the next 72 hours and you’ll report to me on Saturdays. Now I’ll see myself out.” He gave you a kiss on the temple on his way out.

Great, in the same night you landed a date with Steve Rogers and became a SHIELD agent.

The following days you and Steve were texting and talking non-stop. Sometimes it was silly stuff about the stuff he missed while he was in the ice. At least he knew about the greats like, Marvin Gaye and Aretha, but you had to put him on Beyoncé and the masterwork of Lemonade. Other times you would talk about more serious stuff like, his time in the army or you training as a super spy as a child.

One day, Steve actually stopped by your school during your planning period to bring you lunch, since you told him earlier that you didn’t eat anything that day, because you were so busy. Even though, you couldn’t talk to him because you allowed some students to come for a tutoring session, he stayed and helped you by grading some papers. You were convinced that Steve was angel and you were praying that everything would work out.

Friday came before you knew it, but the day dragged on. Somehow, your students found out that your date with Steve was that night and they teased you all day long, especially since they could sense you were anxious. When 3:30 stroked, you practically ran out with the students and sped out the parking lot.

Arriving home in record time, you decided to try and take a nap, because if you stayed up you would’ve gotten ready early and been a nervous wreck. The week must’ve caught up with you, because you had no trouble taking a nap.

—

Soon, you found yourself knocking on Steve’s door at exactly 7pm. He invited you over for dinner and the dance lesson at his place, because when he went out in public people typically recognized him and asked for pictures and he didn’t want to subject you to that invasion of privacy yet.

The breath was knocked out of you when Steve opened the door. He had on an apron over a blue Henley and black jeans, and you didn’t know if it was the domesticity of the apron, the tightness of the Henley, or a combination of both, but you had a hard time stopping yourself from jumping Steve’s bones.

“Hey, come on in.” Steve waved you inside and pulled you into his warm embrace. He smelled like the food he was cooking and his cologne, and you wanted to drown yourself in that scent.

“I like your place. Its comfortable and welcoming.” Your eyes wandered Steve’s apartment. It didn’t feel like the typical bachelor pad. He had photos of his old and new friends placed decoratively, a record player, and a couch that made you sleepy from just looking at it.

Steve grabbed your purse and jacket to put them in a chair in the corner. “Thanks. Tony had Pepper come and decorate.”

The smell of the food had you gravitating towards the kitchen. Before you had a chance to look in the pot, Steve is pulled you towards him and shuffled you to a seat at the dinner table. “No peeking,” he jokingly reprimanded you.

You kissed your teeth in disappointment. “That’s not fair. I just wanted to see what was causing my stomach to growl. I should warn you Rogers, I don’t play about my food.”

Steve gave you a deep belly chuckle as he came back to the table with two plates. “Duly noted.” He set before you a plate of shrimp alfredo pasta, one of your favorite dishes. Steve Rogers was really pulling out all the stops if he kept it up, he might just get lucky, you thought to yourself.

As dinner began the two of you made small talk. You talked about how you had to stop a fight between two of your students, because Lyric stepped on Diego’s shoes and then they began arguing about how the other were too broke to afford good shoes. The joke was on them because, both of their Jordans were knockoffs but you didn’t have it in you to break their hearts. Steve told you how Tony caused the electricity to short-circuit during making a new suit.

“Okay Rogers, enough stalling! Its time for your dance lesson,” you announced at the end of dinner. You backed out of your seat and stood by Steve and reached out for his hand.

He grimaced and regretfully placed his hand in yours. “Promise you won’t make fun of me?”

To soothe his nerves, you kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear, “I promise.” It was definitely not the kiss that calmed him down, that made him more nervous, but it was the smile that you gave him while you looked into his eyes that did calm him down.

Steve scrolled through his phone until he selected the song he wanted, and then the bluesy guitar riffs of Tennessee Whiskey began to fill the room.

“Ohhh, you wanna learn how to two-step,” you joked.

The super soldier smiled and down casted his eyes to the floor. “Yeah, you did say you love country and the dance seems easy enough, but,” he held up his hand in objection. “I don’t think I’ll be ready for any twirls or lifts.”

It was your turn to give a belly-out laugh. “You’re that bad, huh?”

Steve pulled you into him and swayed the both of you side-to-side. “You’re about to see,” he whispered into your ear.

His dancing wasn’t so bad, but then again you two were only doing a basic slow dance. Confident that he could start doing the two-step, you instructed Steve that he had to take two steps forward and one step back.

After his failed attempts and a couple of stubbed toes, you took the lead to demonstrate how Steve should lead. You took the lead before with your friends, but this time was different because first, Steve obviously wasn’t a female and second, you felt smaller than your dancing partner.

“I think I got the hang of it now. I can lead if you want me to.” Steve commented after you being in the lead for fifteen minutes.

“Are you sure?” Instead of verbally responding, Steve took charge and he was much better than he was at the beginning of the lesson. He would stumble every so often and mumble ‘shit, I’m sorry’, but other than that he was great. Steve even managed to end your last dance with a twirl.

Currently the two you were sharing dessert while sitting on his couch and listening to music.

“So how did I do, teach?” Steve asked between bites.

You nodded your head side-to-side in deep thought. “Umm, it was rough in the beginning. Like for the life of me, I don’t understand how someone who fights in life or death situations and still trips over their own feet while dancing. But you got it at the end and that’s all that matters.”

“True, but I couldn’t have done it without my wonderful teacher.” Steve’s voice dropped lower as he intertwined his fingers with yours.

The both of you sat there in silence while the sexual tension filled the room until it boiled over. You don’t know who made the first move, but suddenly you were in Steve’s lap exchanging kisses. Steve must’ve had some practice since 1945, because the things his mouth was doing to yours made you wonder if he could do the same thing to your lower lips.

Abruptly, Steve pulled away to stop kissing you. “Damn, I forgot to ask. Are you okay with this?” Wow, only Steve Rogers would stop making out just to ensure he had consent. At that moment you knew Steve would own your heart sooner rather than later.

In response, you assaulted Steve with your lips and he gave a growl of approval. He flipped the two of you so you were laying on the couch while he was on top. Both of you were exploring the other’s body, getting dangerously close to start undressing the other.

Your hands were reaching for Steve’s belt buckle when your phone started ringing. Steve tried to get you to answer it, but you were too wrapped up in the idea of seeing what Steve was packing under his jeans.

“Doll, I really think you should answer it,” Steve suggested as the caller called for the second time.

Angrily you reached for the phone and answered, “Hello.”

“Umm, Ms. Y/L/N this is Nia.” Quickly your attitude was gone and you were on high alert. You gave some of your students your phone number, because you knew they had some troubles at home and you told them to not to hesitate to call you if they were in danger or trouble. If Nia was calling she was in some serious trouble, because she always had this jokester/tough girl exterior thing going on.

“Nia, what’s going on sweetie?” Steve was automatically on alert as he heard you say your student’s name.

“Can you come by, please? My…my…my…my mmm-mom owes these guys money and they’re beating on her and I-II-III-I think they’re coming for me next.” The young girl stuttered through her tears.

You were already grabbing your things before Nia explained the whole situation. “I’m on my way. Just lock yourself up until I get there, okay.”

“I already did. Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N.”

As you gathered your things, you didn’t notice Steve was getting ready as well. “I gotta go. Nia’s in trouble.”

“No problem. I’m going with and I’m driving.” You didn’t have time to argue with Steve and you were grateful anyway, so you hopped on the back of his motorcycle.

Before you got to Nia’s apartment door you could hear the fight in the hallway and no one in the complex would go in help, but they sure did have time to stand in the hallway and listen. If you weren’t on a mission to save Nia, you would’ve cuss they asses out.

Finally, you and Steve approached the door with his shield on his arm and your sai in your hands. Giving each other a nod, Steve finally kicked down the door.

The two of you were greeted to the sight of two men, who looked like they belonged on someone’s defensive line beating on Nia’s mom, who was clearly a drug addict. Then another figure caught your eye. It was another man and he was trying to kick down the door that most likely held Nia behind it.

The two guys hitting on Nia’s mom made eye contact with the two of you and made one of the smartest decisions they made that night. They ran.

“I’ll handle that one and you go get those two,” you ordered Steve as you nodded your head in the direction of the door.

“Be safe!” Steve yelled as he ran out the door.

The other asshat finally stopped pounding on the door and looked you up and down with a mix of lust and mirth. “What? Are you the new diversity hire for the Avengers?”

“Ha ha ha. You’re a real comedian. Why are you beating on my student’s mom and trying to burst into her room?”

All of the laughter left his face and it was replaced by a mask of anger. “Because that druggie bitch,” he pointed his gun at Nia’s mom. “Owes my boss money and she refused to pay up so I thought a little fun time with that little ho she calls a daughter could be a down payment.”

Disgusted at the man’s sick plans for Nia, you rolled your eyes. “You thought wrong.”

“Oh, what you gone do about it?” Ole dude pointed the gun in your direction.

You let out a desperate sigh and rolled your shoulders. “Listen, you and your crew ruined my date so I’m already pissed. So, are you sure you wanna do this?”

He looked you up and down in contempt. “Am I supposed to be scared of you, teach?” That’s all the answer you needed. Next thing you did was throw one of your sai’s into the man’s gun and sent a flying kick to his chest, effectively knocking him out.

After you cuffed him to the dining table, you knocked on Nia’s door. “Hey, Nia, sweetie. It’s Ms. Y/L/N. You can come out now.”

Tentatively Nia opened the door, but once she saw you she bum-rushed you. You stroked the young girl between her puff balls as you held her while she cried.

“Thank you, Ms. Y/L/N,” Nia confessed between sobs.

“No problem, sweetie. Are you ok?”

Nia pulled away from slightly to look up at you. “Yeah, I’m good. Sorry I ruined your date with Captain America.”

You grabbed the young girl by the shoulders and knelt down until you were eye level with her. “No, I’m happy you called. It means that you’re safe now.”

After calming Nia down, you checked on her mother and gave her a gentle but stern warning about using drugs. It seemed that the woman took it to heart, but God only knows.

Once you were sure that they were okay, you took the intruder to meet with Steve outside. He currently had the other two guys knocked out as well.

Steve pointed at the guy you were dragging. “You know you could’ve called me to get him.”

You shrugged your shoulders and gave a look of indifference. “Eh, I liked that he kept bumping his head on the stairs. And besides I need the arm workout.”

All three men were unconscious and you needed them awake. With no water on hand you had to kick them to jolt them awake, but it’s not like you felt bad about it.

A chorus of ‘what the fuck’ pierced the air as they awoke.

“Okay, this is how it’s gonna go. All three of you are now my bitches and work for me now and gonna be my informants. I need you to tell me about any information you have on Terrence and any business dealings he has with a Ghost. And if you don’t wanna comply or I feel that you’re jerking my chain, I’ll throw your ass at a SHIELD black site like that,” you threatened with a snap of your finger.

The douchebags were pissed off and wanted to say something, but one look at your face and they knew you weren’t playing. You had those Fury genes to thank for that.

Each grumpily agreed to your terms of conditions. Before they left you did threaten to cut off their balls if they attacked Nia and her mother or any other woman like that again.

—

When the two of you returned, you immediately apologized to Steve. “I’m sorry, I ruined your night. I’m sure you get tired of fighting and that’s exactly what you did on your night off.”

Steve reached out to you and placed a kiss on the back of your hands. “You didn’t ruin anything. Tonight was perfect and I like that you’ll drop anything for your students to help them out.”

“Thanks, everything was really great tonight. I hope we can do it again, but I should go. I have an early morning tomorrow.”

As you reached for the doorknob, Steve pulled you back and ask about turning the guys into informants. You informed Steve of you officially becoming a SHIELD agent to find Ghost through Terrence’s crew.

“I mean it’s only if you’re comfortable,” Steve scratched the back of his neck as a nervous tick. “But since it’s late and my place is closer to the tower, you could stay here for the night. But that’s only if you want to,” Steve hurriedly added on the last part.

Steve’s place was closer and he was harmless, you thought to yourself. “If you don’t mind, I would love to stay.”

The soldier was elated you decided to stay. He tried to give you his guest room, but you preferred to sleep in his bed with him.

Thankfully, you always had a go bag, so all you needed from Steve was something to sleep in.

When you emerged from the bathroom, Steve automatically grabbed a pillow to cover his hard on. He didn’t think he would have such a strong reaction to you wearing his shirt. Right at that moment he vowed that every chance he had, he would try to get you into one of his shirts.

“What are you staring at, pretty boy,” you teased, knowing full well Steve was staring at your curves.

Climbing into the bed and straddling his lap, you felt Steve’s erection. Deciding to be a tease, you rolled your hips around, which elicited a sinful moan from Steve’s mouth.

Promptly, Steve plopped you on the other side of the bed.

“What the hell, Steve? What’s that for?”

Suddenly, there was a shift in the air. Gone was the sweet and nervous Steve, but there was the confident and dominant Steve.

He gripped your chin and pulled your face closer to his.

“When I fuck you, you won’t be able to properly function for the next couple of days. And I doubt you want to accidentally call me daddy in front of your dad tomorrow, but if you do, then by all means let’s get to it.”

Steve was motioning to take off his shirt when you let out a meek, “I’m good.” You wanted nothing more than to be underneath Steve writhing in pleasure, but the way he may it sound you would be silly putty in the end and you didn’t need that your first day at SHIELD.

The blonde pulled his shirt back down and smirked at you. He kissed the side of your head and told you good night before he wrapped his arm around your waist.

Now you had to go to sleep hoping there wouldn’t be a wet puddle on the bed from your dreams of Steve screwing you silly.

Tags: @jojolu @ladyamandapanda12 @kashirenae92 @areubeingserved @dumbchick @wakanda-inspired @blacknthemix @pastelastronomy24 @chaneajoyyy @chonisberonica @everything-is-awesomesauce @blackreaders-assemble @nickidub718 @valkyriesnymph @marvelmaree @lildashofmelanin @cyrioussoul @destinio1 @toniilaney @euphoric05 @yoyolovesbucky @the-undecided-compass

[linphd]

husband!kirishima x wife!reader | wonderful, wonderful

eijiro kirishima x reader

female reader

Eijiro dances with his family at a wedding, remembering everything he's been through with his current wife.

no warning

the lyrics are from wonderful wonderful by johnny mathis

the entire one shot is based on this shot of the solis family dancing together at the wedding cause it's my favorite scene from the whole scene??? yeah lol you thought you were on a bnha book/blog, you didn’t expect so many desperate housewives stuff, right 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sometimes we walk hand in hand by the sea,

and we breathe in the cool salty air.

You turn to me with a kiss in your eyes,

then my heart feels a thrill beyond compare.

When Kirishima was in the 1-A class, his sensei invited a hero that could see in the future. One perk of this quirk was that the hero could also show what he was seeing to the others. The students were allowed to ask any question they wanted, even though the hero could refuse to show them. Most of the students decided that they didn't want to know anything ; maybe in 10 years, they will be dead because of a fight during a hero mission, right ?

But Kirishima had a much brighter idea. ''Will I get kids ?'' He asked. The hero showed him ; one boy and one girl, having his natural black hair, and they seemed rather young. They were dancing with him, and that's when he noticed ; the vision also showed the mom. And it was the one and only (Y/N) (L/N), the girl Kirishima already liked.

''I'm going to have kids with (Y/N) ?'' He muttered. ''But crybaby hates kids.'' Bakugou commented. And yeah, 'crybaby' was the girl's nickname. ''I know...'' Kirishima answered, still staring at the vision. He took a video of it, so he won't forget about it. (Y/N), the mother of his children, and those two, dancing all together. ''Where are we ?'' He asked the hero. ''At a wedding. I won't say whose wedding, though.''

Then your lips cling to mine.

It's wonderful, wonderful.

Oh, so wonderful, my love.

Kirishima decided not to tell the girl, in case she would be scared and avoid him. And the hero say it himself ‘this future still can change'. So, he decided to keep the video of his future family, and not to force the girl to date him. Things would've happened whenever they wanted, so the future won't be changed. The boy didn't even check the future ever again ; so he still didn't know, nowadays, if he was going to be with (Y/N) forever, or if they were going to have another child.

            And actually, things worked out well, since they ended up dating. Kirishima asked her out during a party at the dorms, but he didn't expect her to agree, at all. However, for everyone else, it was obvious that she had developed a crush on him too. Indeed, she fell in love with him later than he had with her, but everyone was happy for them when they finally started to date.

          Once, they were late to class (they had missed the whole morning) because they had decided to sleep together, and had forgotten to put on their alarms. They got house duties for 5 days ; students weren't supposed to share their dorms. They had just spent those days joking with each other and goofing around, so it was a win-win.

Sometimes we stand on the top of a hill,

and we gaze at the earth and the sky.

I turn to you and you melt in my arms,

there we are, darling, only you and I.

They actually kept dating in high school, and even after they graduated. They were 20. As they started to work as sidekicks, they already became quite famous. (Y/N) was known to be a scary hero, because of how serious she looked while fighting. Moreover, her quirk was kind of intimidating, and many villains didn’t want to face her, already. But, when she was with Kirishima, she was the cutest person he had ever seen.

After their days of work, they liked to just lay on their couch or their bed, and cuddle for hours until it was time to eat. They would talk about their day, get each other a massage -since Kirishima had made that a tradition- and giggle together. Of course they were fighting sometimes, but it was really complicated to find a reason to be mad at the boy.

When they became pro heroes, they moved in only together -since they had moved in with Bakugou and Mina as well, after high school- and Kirishima had chosen an house with extra rooms. ‘’Why for ? You know I don’t want kids.’’ (Y/N) had said. But her boyfriend smiled at her. ‘‘No worries ! There’s an extra room for your artistic stuffs and one room in case we’re having a huge party and people have to sleep here !’’ Well, he was a party guy, so (Y/N) didn’t mind it. And they were getting paid very well, so they could afford a big house.

What a moment to share,

It's wonderful, wonderful.

Oh, so wonderful, my love.

They were really young when they married, since they were 22/23. Actually, (Y/N) didn’t expect it at all. They were having dinner together -Kirishima was planning dates actually quite often- and once they were back home, Kirishima proposed. The former Bakusquad was at their house, throwing flowers and playing music so it would be a wonderful proposal. (Y/N) had laughed, agreeing without even thinking. They had started to date at 16, why would she say no ? It wasn’t early, whether they were young or not.

Their wedding ceremony was perfect, because it was exactly how (Y/N) had planned it. Kirishima had let her choose the song for their dance, and he had let her choose most of the decorations. ‘’I’m the one who proposed, so you’re the one who’s getting exactly what she wants. I’m happy with whatever makes you happy.’’ He had said, a bright smile on, showing his pointed teeth.

Many heroes were invited, including their former classmates and teachers. Kirishima had forgotten about this video he had taken of his future, and that’s why he didn’t talk about it to (Y/N). Sure, he had kept it for many years, but after they moved in together, he had other priorities than daydreaming about his future family.

The world is full of wondrous things it's true,

but they wouldn't have much meaning,

without you.

3 years after their wedding, things weren’t so well. They both almost couldn’t see each other, even though they were living in the same house, because of their jobs. They were both too busy about being in the top heroes, that they had forgotten to relax like they used to. And even if for them it was a routine they used to have, they both didn’t know it was this important to them.

They broke up for a few weeks. Yes, a few weeks only, maybe it wasn’t even for a month. Indeed, Mina had organized a party, and being almost as heartbroken as both Kirishima and (Y/N) after their breakup, she wanted to hook them up again. They hadn’t divorced, anyway. They both had laughed, talking about each other’s experiences with being single.

‘’I didn’t change the lock of our house.’’ (Y/N) had finally said. ‘’And I didn’t throw my keys.’’ Kirishima had answered. Yeah, they both knew that they weren’t going to divorce ; they just needed some time by themselves. They both didn’t try to meet someone else and didn’t plan to. But after they got back together, they promised each other that they wouldn’t put their spot in the hero ranking at the top of their priorities anymore.

Some quiet evening I sit by your side,

and we're lost in a world of our own.

I feel the glow of your unspoken love,

I'm aware of the treasure that I own.

They got back together like nothing had happened. They had been together for 10 years, it wasn’t their jobs that were going to tear them apart. They even got stronger, actually. Indeed, (Y/N) was brought into a huge fight, and came back home with a scar on her upper lip, that was expending a bit to her cheek. She had cried, so bad. But Kirishima found her even more beautiful. ‘’And now, we’re matching !’’ He had said, after he had tried to calm her down for a whole hour. But he had convinced her that she didn’t have to mind her scar. That was when Kirishima remembered about this vision of the future he had seen ; (Y/N) had a scar, yes. He didn’t want to tell her that neither, and he had even forgotten about it, too.

And in the same year, it came out as a surprise when (Y/N) turned out pregnant. ‘’I know you don’t like kids, but... We could give it a shot, I mean, I know I’ll be a good dad and you’ll be a good mom, and we’ve been together for so long, but I won’t force you, babe.’’ They talked for hours, but (Y/N) actually didn’t seem against the idea. ‘’I mean... I really want a mini Eijiro running around the house. Spiky baby teeth must look very cute.’’ And Kirishima had never been so happy -or maybe on his wedding day, though.

The first child was a boy. Yes, the first, because 2 years later, the second child was a girl. This one wasn’t planned neither, but they remembered how they both felt a bit lonely as children because they didn’t have any bother nor sister, so they decided to keep it as well. Both children turned out with black hair and spiky teeth.

And I say to myself,

it's wonderful, wonderful.

Oh, so wonderful, my love.

And I say to myself,

it's wonderful, wonderful.

Oh, so wonderful, my love.

And here they were, at 32, at (your fav ship)’s wedding. Kirishima looked at his family, as they were all dancing with the other guests and the newly married couple. He was imitating his son’s dance to make him laugh, while (Y/N) was dancing with their little girl. (S/N) was 6, and he had the same quirk as his dad. (D/N) was 4, and her quirk was brand new ; she had a mix of both her mom and dad’s quirks. Kirishima stared at his wife’s smile.

She didn’t want any child at the beginning, she didn’t even think of getting married someday. But here she was, enjoying the moment. She picked up their little girl, as she giggled in her mom’s arms. (Y/N) looked at her, a bright smile still on her face, and Kirishima was mirroring her expression.

Yes, it really was the scene he had seen when he asked for his future, in high school. And Kirishima couldn’t be more pleased ; he wasn’t the number one hero, but he was living what he used to daydream about all day long, in high school. And he couldn’t think of something more wonderful.

yeay, for once it’s a husband x wife and it’s not an angst lmao

I wanted to write that with shouta at first, but I wrote so many one shots of him already so I thought of kirishima, momo, shoto and even katsuki but I thought of kiri first after shouta so he won.

in case you wanna see the video :

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 19

A Long Spoon

Summary: In which Aced joins in on karaoke night. Word Count: 1,439 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

Aced wasn't an idiot; he knew he had been placed in the proverbial dog house for the past month. He and Ira refused to look each other in the eye. Invi would just barely look at him, her scrutinizing eye glaring at him for another screw up. Gula and Ava seemed to have forgiven him- but there was still the fear of him lashing out again. They didn't say it, but he could feel it.

The only witness who seemed to have completely forgave and forgotten what Aced had done was Ephemer. But even then, Aced could still feel the boy's discomfort when Aced raised his voice. And he tried really hard not to; he could face a lifetime of rejection, as long as it didn't come from a kid he liked. Unfortunately, Ephemer was the only kid Aced truly liked- even more so than the students of Aced's own house. It was awful, and pathetic, but it didn't change the situation any.

This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't had lost his temper. He had gone to tell his house not to interrupt the Unicornis debates, and yet some smart aleck did anyway. In all honestly, the stunt had likely been prepared some time in advance. The Moogle that was once operated the school store admitted to having sold several firecrackers to students over the past month or so, and that was when all Aced saw was red. He threw that Moogle out Invi's office, he almost ripped its head off, and when Ira tried to get Aced to cool down, Aced had punched him square in the jaw.

He needed to get out and do something. Anything was better than just sitting here and moping about his own temper problems.

The headmaster looked over at the calendar. March 29. Sunday. This was the week that the Vulpes house was holding their open mic night. Wearily, he then turned his head to the nearest clock. He had enough time to make it. Would Ava even be at the auditorium? The special activities each house had was typically all student lead- the headmasters themselves had little to do with it. Maybe he could convince a student to come with him, like Ephemer, or one of Ephemer's friends.

Who was Ephemer even friends with now anyway?

Aced buried his face in his hands and groaned. He really needed to take a page out of Ephemer's book and try to make friends at the drop of a hat. Maybe he wouldn't feel so alone if he did. How many friends did he have outside of the other headmasters and Ephemer? None, that's how many.

“I really need to get out of this office.” Aced grumbled to himself. And with that, he forced himself up off his chair and started to head out the door.

A part of him felt like he was sleepwalking as he headed to the auditorium. This month had honestly been so much of a blur; being under a scrutinized eye tended to do that, he believed. His mind didn't even quite register when he entered the auditorium and sat down on one of the plush seats. Aced dimly looked around the room as some last minute preparations were made; students adjusting the lights, another was making sure the microphone was properly connected, and a few others were eagerly waiting to be the first to show off their various acts of the night.

“Well, hello there stranger.” a kind voice said to Aced, causing him to jump a little in surprise. He looked up to see the school's music director. April, was it? April Tremaine. She was older than him, but was about Ava's height. Small, thin, and looking like she could snap in two if hugged the wrong way- that was April Tremaine.

“Good evening Ms. Tremaine.” Aced greeted, sounding far more worn out than he anticipated. “Do you mind if I sit in on open mic night?”

“Not at all!” the woman smiled. “Anyone's allowed to go up there if they feel like it- even us teachers.”

Something in Aced ignited with a miniscule hope.

“Can I?” he immediately asked. April raised a neatly manicured eyebrow in -what appeared to be- amusement.

“Of course!” she agreed, grinning at him. “I'm MC-ing tonight, so I'll pencil you in.”

“Thanks you Ms. Tremaine.”

“Not a problem, honey.” came the genuine reply. Aced smiled at her. He didn't know much about the music director, baring the fact that she had also attended Daybreak Academy back in the day. If memory served, she also had a child attending the school now. But he couldn't remember if it was a boy or a girl, or even what their name was.

Aced gave a sigh as the first act started to go on stage. He tried to relax, trying to understand these kids with voices not as great as they thought, but there was just something nagging at him. Just as the thought came to him, Tremaine was announcing for him to come up on stage. The defeated bear made his way up to the stage and took his place at the microphone.

These kids aren't even going to know this song… he bitterly thought to himself. But then again, the song wasn't exactly from his generation either. Aced gave Tremaine a small nod, signaling that he was ready. She then nodded back, giving the kids in charge of the sound system the cue to keep the microphone powered on. Half singing, half monologuing, Aced started the song.

“Have a little song, won't take long. Sing it right, once or twice. Oh lordy me, didn't I shake sugaree? Everything I've got is done and pawned...”

As Aced droned the lyrics to the best of his ability, he didn't feel any better. If there was any good side to humiliating himself, it was that no one was really paying attention to him. Would he even be able to recognize the students in his house? What did it matter if they saw him here? Might even teach them some humility.

“Chew my tobacco, spit my juice. We'd raise Cain but it ain't no bit of use. Oh lordy me, didn't I shake sugaree? Everything I've got is done and pawned. Everything I've got is done and pawned. Everything I've got… is done and pawned...”

With the song concluded, Aced took a small step away from the mic. He gave the audience a weak smile before stepping down from the stage. As Aced got off the stage, there were only five students giving moderate applause. Not bad. He didn't expect anyone to clap for him.

He didn't even see the happy thumbs up Tremaine was giving him. Instead, he sat right back down in the seat he was in before. This time, however, there was a girl with carrot-red hair with two low pigtails sitting in the seat next to him. Aced was quick to notice that the girl tensed as he sat down. It bothered him so much that he turned at her, and asked without thinking;

“Tell me- am I really that unapproachable?”

At first, the girl could do nothing but stare at him in shock. It eventually turned into one more conflicted.

“Those who eat with the devil should have a long spoon.” she decided in a rather quiet voice. At Aced's bewildered expression, she clarified; “It's easier to be cautious when you don't know how someone will react. You are… an unpredictable headmaster. You try to keep to yourself, but you are still loyal to your students. The members of Ursus tend to do reckless things because they know you would back them up. N-not in a mean way, or anything! They respect you because you respect them. They trust you because you would fight tooth and nail for them if you could. Even if you were the least approachable headmaster, you still have one of the biggest hearts.”

For a moment, the only response Aced could give was a blank stare.

“Is that really how you feel?”

With a small gulp, the girl nodded.

“What house are you in?”

The girl averted her eyes. “Vulpes.”

“Of course you are.” he sighed. “Ava's house has always been filled with blunt, but kind, kids like you.”

And with that, Aced relaxed a little as the rest of the open mic night went on. Strelitzia, on the other hand, was so confused that she refused to look at anything. Had she been too blunt? Geez, she wouldn't have done that two months ago, that's for sure. But still, what was all that about...?

[hylla-yea]

It's literary 12am on a Sunday morning and I spent all fucking week writing this, this better go viral. Anyway have some shit writing, I didn't edit this either, so sorry for any errors

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

Hazel was tired. More than usual to be honest. She looked awful, she felt awful. Hazel hated it, but she needed to finish all of her makeup work. Then there was all her preator work. Hazel was busy, she didn't have the time to sleep. There was work that needed to be done, she could sleep later. That idea would've been fine, if it weren't for the fact Hazel hadn't been actually been sleeping. Not even taking naps.

The longer it went on, the more obvious it has gotten. None of the older demigods had realised it until it had really gotten out of hand. First there was Leo.

“Hey!” The young Latino boy say causing Hazel to jump a bit. “Oh, hi Leo!” Hazel smiled sheepishly rubbing her eyes. “Is everything ok? You look..tired.”Leo said a little concerned. “Oh no, I'm fine. I've been sitting down working for too long” Leo frowned looking at all the work Hazel had around her on the counter top. “Well, don't forget to take a break and a nap.” Leo said before running of to do gods know what.

A few days later, on Wednesday, Percy had woken Hazel up in the same spot Leo had found her. This time Hazel seemed to be a lot more tired. Hazel was hardly awake when Percy had found her. Percy gently tapped the dark skinned girls shoulder. Hazel jolted up from her sleep. She had been asleep. Hazel looked around dazed hitting Percy in the face with her hair.

“Ahh!” Percy spat. “On your left Hazel!”

“Huh!? Oh sorry Percy!” Hazel blinked a few times. “Hazel, you're way too tired you need to go to bed. Plus, you have a test tomorrow, you can hold on the preator stuff for a bit. Take a nap.” Percy said as he started sorting some of Hazel's work. “Hey, wait what are you doing!?” Hazel said covering her papers with her arms.

“Cleaning up your stuff so you can rest.” Percy said. “I'll sleep in a bit, I promise, just a few more minutes!” Hazel pleaded looking Percy in the eye. Percy looked Hazel back in her eyes. He regretted it instantly. After only a few seconds he caved. “Alright fine! But only a few minutes.” Percy sighed and put Hazel's papers down walking away.

--------

Friday morning, a day were most would be happy and on their toes. Hazel wasn't. Far from it. She'd been stumbling across the halls of BAG hopelessly. She had artist statements and essays in her arms rushing go get them to their respective teachers.

It wasn't until Lacy had finally got Hazel's attention did she stop running. “Hazel is everything alright?” Lacy asked before she could look at Hazel.

“Gods, Hazel you look awful! Have you slept at all this week?”

Lacy asked clearly worried about her girlfriend. “Oh, yea..a few hours or so…” Hazel said as she made her way to the first class to drop off the work. “How long is a few hours?” Lacy asked following Hazel around the school. “Enough to get my work done.”

“Hazel, please, tell me.” Lacy pouted. It wasn't often that Hazel acted so cold towards Lacy, unless Lacy really ticked her off. Lacy quieted herself and continued to follow Hazel around school. Luckily they had the same classes so Lacy wouldn't be too far away from Hazel.

As the school day continued Lacy noticed how sleepy Hazel had been acting. She'd been doing off during classes. She some managed to fall asleep standing up. Lacy wanted to say something, but Hazel insisted she was fine.

Lacy bit her lip nervously. The school day was almost over, maybe she could convince Hazel to sleep in. Lacy cleared her throat catching Hazel's attention. “Um Hazel, did you- I mean could stay with you this weekend?” Lacy was clearly nervous. “Um, sure. Want to walk home with me?” Lacy nodded happily.

Lacy felt nervous, it wasn't that she had any bad intentions, she'd never been in Hazel's room. The thought of being alone in Hazel's room made Lacy feel weird inside. Like a happy weird.

“Lacy, are you ok? You look spaced out.”

Lacy shook her head focusing on the real world again. “Oh, yeah, I'm fine!” Lacy could tell she was blushing. She ate her food quietly not wanting to say anything stupid.

The rest of the school day went on fine.

The rest of the classes went by smoothly for both Hazel and Lacy. Nothing happened, no threat of having to rush back to either of camps or some monster attacking them. It was peaceful. Well as peaceful as a Friday even in school could get.

Walking home was sweet too.

“Hey, can I show you a new song?” Hazel asked suddenly. Despite how sleepy she was, Hazel was more than happy to be around Lacy. “Of course!” Hazel pulled out her phone and scrolled through her Spotify playlist. “There it is!” Hazel said as she pressed her thumb against her phone screen.

“I'm forming my own cloud here.”

Hazel sang along with the song. Lacy could only smile. Hazel's voice was sweet. Hazel kept singing until the song finished. Lacy was grinning from ear to ear. Lacy had it bad.

Lacy didn't realize that they finally reached Hazel's house. Despite how many people lived in the house, it was fairly clean. A few books there, a couple of blueprints rolled up in a pile. A couple of tools on the couch, but still clean.

“Come on, my room is this way!” Hazel grabbed Lacy's hand pulling her down the hallway and quickly entering a room.

If Lacy was going to be honest, she wasn't sure what she accepted Hazel's room to look like. When she did wonder she assumed it'd look like what she thought Nico's would. Dark, all the colors would've dark if they weren't black. Maybe a few records laid around.

It was far from it.

Hazel's room walls were painted white, it would've been boring if it weren't for the things that covered the walls. For starters, there were lyric notes painted across one wall while the one across from it was lined with pictures of all her art. Her bed was placed in the corner and had yet to be cleaned and had stuffed animals laid on the pillows. Next to it was a set of cubes that seemed to be connected. The roof had a few large lights on top, they seemed normal. The floor was clean minus the small pile of music and books in the corner near the window.

“Do you like it?” Hazel excitedly. Lacy nodded happily. “I love it! It's really pretty!” Lacy smiled as she walked over to the wall with all of Hazel's art work on it. “You made all of these?” Lacy was examined the wall in awe. The art was realistic and seemed to pop off the page. “Yea, Annabeth gave me the idea. She said I could see my improvement.”

Hazel blushed, she always got compliments for her art, but Lacy's made her feel..happier. Hazel feel soft inside. “Is this one me?” Lacy asked pointing at one turning to face Hazel. “U-um…yea, I painted when we first started dating..” Hazel blushed rubbing the back of her neck. “If you don't like it-”

“Hazel, I love it!”

“Really?” Hazel thought it would've been weird to draw Lacy, mostly cause she drew it from memory. “Of course, I wish I could paint like this.” Lacy pouted a little. “Hey you can dance!” Hazel said. “You're great at doing things, I wish I could do!”

Lacy blushed a bit. She was never good at taking complaints. “Uh..thank you..” Lacy quickly changed the subject.

“Can..can I stay for the night? I already have extra clothes.”

Hazel paused for a bit. “I'll go ask Percy!” Hazel ran out the room. Lacy looked around Hazel's room silently. She looked in the cubes Hazel had near her bed. She wasn't expecting to find much. She found a few art ideas and supplies. She found a few CDs with weird names for each one.

After looking for a bit more shed found a diary. She bit her lip. She shouldn't read it. It wouldn't hurt to just look at it. Lacy looked at the cover. It was painted. It had Hazel's name written in Latin she assumed.It was nice. She flipped over and looked at the back. It was just as pretty. It was covered in stickers on it

Lacy put the book down only to find a little remote. She clicked a button and suddenly the colors of the lights changed. Lacy giggled and kept changing the colors. Hazel came back into the room smiling happily.

“You can stay!”

“Good, now I can trick you into taking a nap!” Lacy said. Lacy stood up and pushed Hazel into the bathroom. “Now take a shower! You need to relax!” Lacy threw in some random clothes and waited patiently for Hazel to shower. Once Hazel finished Lacy wasted no time taking her shower not wanting to waste anytime.

Lacy came out the bathroom smiling. “Great, that's out the way.” Hazel looked up from her phone grinning. “Good, I wanted you to teach you how to paint.” Lacy smiled, she wonder how long Hazel had been practicing that. “I'd love to learn!”

Hazel rushed over to her closet. She pulled out a canvas, a few paint brushes, and a lot of paint. Lacy moved out the way to allow Hazel to place everything out. “Don't we need something to cover the floor?” Lacy asked sitting down next to Hazel. “We should be fine, this paint doesn't dry quickly.”

“How about we try painting a dove? So you can hang it up in your room!” Hazel said as she began to sketch the bird out on the canvas. Lacy was expecting it to take at least an hour. It only took Hazel around thirty minutes to finish sketching. “You draw fast..” Lacy looked at the bird. It looked very pretty and Lacy didn’t want to ruin it. “You sure it's ok for me to paint this, I don't wanna mess it up.”

Hazel nodded excitedly. “Yea, I want you to learn.” Hazel looked around. “I'll be back we need water!” Lacy nodded as Hazel quickly ran off. Lacy picked up one of the paint palettes. She opened it. The colors were mostly used and white plastic that held the paint was covered in light streaks of each color. She closed it and opened another one.

This one seemed new and didn't seem to be used, looked brand new even. Hazel came back with a cup of water. “We'll use this to clean the brushes!” Hazel said placing the cup on the floor before sitting down. “Ok, so, pick one of the palettes!”

Lacy looked at the one in her hand. The colors were dark. More earthy. “I wanna use this one…” Lacy trailed off looking at another pallette. The colors were mostly pink or some version of it. “...and this one!”

Hazel grinned. “OK,what if we paint the dove pink and make it look like it's flying over a forest?” Lacy nodded. “Yea, let's do that!” Hazel picked up a pencil and added to outline for the background. Once she finished going over the pencil in sharpie Hazel dipped the paintbrush in water. “What do you wanna paint first?”

Lacy took the brush from Hazel. “The dove, I can't possibly mess that up!” Lacy said as she ran the brush across the pink pigment in the pallette and began to paint.

Lacy had never painted a day in her life and had no idea what to do.

[theaterdisneynerdsunite]

Tony Awards Thoughts

So it looks like, at least for now, the CBS website lets you watch it for free (at least in the US). Here are my thoughts using those time stamps (be warned I have a long running commentary)

0:23 Oh is this going to be a parody of her playing the piano on last year’s Tony’s

1:05 How has neither one of them won anything? I mean I get if they said neither one of them one a Tony cause I mean, they both did shows that one time…but anything?

1:18 Is there anything more Broadway than saying the same rehearsed thing at the same time and pretending it was just part of the banter? Oh theater tropes I love you

1:36 That’s always been something that bothered me, people assume that just because something didn’t win the Tony doesn’t mean its not a great show, and the show that wins might not even be the best one that season (you know who you are). I love the Tony’s but its an award show, people don’t stop watching tv shows and movies or listening to artists that didn’t win or weren’t nominated, it makes me sad that so many shows close post Tony’s just because they weren’t the big winner. Anyways…

1:53 THEY CELEBRATED THE LOSERS LIKE ME, these A list celebrities that are totally not losers are soooo relatable ;)

2:40 A few years ago Something Rotten did what I thought was a brilliant advertising campaign listing amazing shows that lost the Tonys like them, so the fact that it was put into song gave me a fond flashback. See? SEE??? Oh it feels so good to be vindicated on tv

3:49 “If you make art at all your a part of the cure” :)

4:10 THEY HAD THE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS BE THE ONES IN THE OPENING NUMBER RATHER THAN THE LEADS THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY. If only my high school self could have seen this she would have felt so much better

6:42 I didn’t see any of the plays this year but I heard the most about Angels in America this season so not surprised. Looks interesting

7:45 Happy Pride Month

8:40 Bake a cake for everyone who wants a cake to be baked would actually be a pretty good diction warmup

14:10 Kinda surprised that they didn’t pick Rather Be Me or Apex Predator considering those are the really marketed songs. “Where We Belong” seems a lot like “Status Quo” from High School Musical. I mean you’ll get that about high school clicks in the lunch room with a blond queen bee but like, even the dance moves felt similar, and the lunch tray dancing, even the giant cat decal. But like, it's not as catchy? I didn’t expect them to win anything tonight but I really don’t think they’ll win anything now? Is that mean? Just cause it feels like it was supposed to be a high energy number and it didn’t have that energy I thought it would. Also come on, just cause you want the girls to be shallow and dumb doesn’t mean the lyrics have to be that cringey. This feels like a less good version of if Legally Blonde and High School Musical had a baby (I absolutely love Legally Blonde that was not intended to be an insult to either show).

15:00 Is it me or did Amy Schumer look like she wanted to say something but Rachel Bloom kept talking. But it didn’t really have any joke setup or serve as a good segway for commentary, what could she have wanted to say?

15:35 Later on I’m going to see if I can find the award speeches that didn’t get televised. most of the world doesn’t get broadway they get regional theater, I wanted to hear what they had to say

15:45 Nick Scandalious feels like a cartoon name you’d see in an Onion article about the Me Too movement. His face even looks like the generic celebrity that had a TMZ scandal five years ago. I thought I read it wrong at first lol

16:40 I was cracking up they know their brand so well. The air quotes on emotional, perfect!

17:10 Mini Sara and Josh are so cute!

17:50 Ok I missed the reference, what is the giant bird lady from?

18:10 oh

20:57 celebrity child picture counter: #3 Amy Schumer. Also guess which year the musical described as “a comedy about class and sexism” is from? Yup it’s My Fair Lady, the audience laughed like I did in that sort of this is funny but also sad kinda way

26:00 This was so overacted and hammy and one day I aspire to that level of loud printed robes. Coincidentally my name is also spelled like Eliza but my voice is not nearly that good. Also does it count as drag if they are clearly men in dresses with some comical makeup or is there another name for it when they aren’t actually trying to look feminine?

26:18 The twitter usernames were too small to see on my screen who were the twitter pictures of?

26:30 See above comment

27:00 What show did Billy Joel work on? Also Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Josh Groban maybe my mom will finally enjoy theater

29:12 Oh my gosh that picture of Titus Burgess is amazing as is that suit. And that intro is so Titus its great

30:07 Renee Fleming we’ve got the Opera world here too? It’s so many famous musicians from outside broadway on broadway, think of all the crossovers

32:50: Yes spongebob get Josh Groban to sing more thank you for your service. Ok I’m not a huge fan of spongebob but they have to win for sound design that guy is on overload

33:27 Lol it explains so much why the songs sound disjointed cause they got a billion people to write them. Also lol I was waiting for that joke

33:50 Also what I thought would happen would be a medley that way Spongebob who really is the driving energy of the show and Squidward played by the Broadway darling would both have a song. This wasn’t how I expected them to do it, but I was sort of right so I’ll count it. I’m not really a fan of Spongebob the musical (I’ve listened to it twice once when it first came out and once during Tony Season. I’m not one of the people who hate it off the sheer premise and won’t give it a chance, but I just thought it was meh and not worth having the most nominations.) But Squidward’s song is very me, not in terms of melody cause that is I find most of the melodies to be rather generic but the lyrics are 100% me trying to convince myself. Also all I will be thinking about for the rest of the will be what tap dancing must feel like its gotta feel weird how long do you think he spent practicing it with and without the extra legs. Or it might be nightmare fuel with the sea anemone contributing to it, who knows? Probably both,

38:07 still don’t know whose handles those are

38:28 ^^^

38:40 Ok when I saw the outfits I was expecting a Chorus Line Parody, but this Sia parody fits this every genre but musical theater theme of this Broadway season

39:20 Eight times a week, and all the subsequent puns

40:28 Can I just say I love this return to singing interludes over awkward award show banter?

41:44 I saw the Bands Visit a few month’s back and I still don’t know how to describe it. Normally I would guess it would be the second fiddle of the Tony’s but considering the “purists” it’ll probably win most of the awards

44:16 With all the previous reaction shots you knew it had to be Nathan Lane. I always forget how well spoken he is because of his typical roles but he is really well spoken and sincere rather than trying to wise crack and it was so sweet. It made me smile

47:43 His face saying “blow high” has got to be a gif right?

51:45 The entirety of the Carousel number was me thinking if I had a higher sex drive this would totally make me thirsty. They also used very creative ways to physically embody the shape and workings of a ship but then again I’m admittedly biased. Listen to that number you know their vocal prowess was not why they picked it

52:12 I mean, I know that crew gets less attention than cast and plays less attention than musicals but I would watch the full version stop cutting out the speeches. C’mon I love costumes

53:04 I know your joking but that hurts

53:19 yes #4 famous kid photo Uzo Aduba

55:49 Ari'el Stachel’s speech is made all the more poignant when you realize everyone else in his category were white. Despite this season’s commerciality you actually do have shows and casts with Asian leads and African American leads and Latin American leads and Middle Eastern leads somewhere between the sea of shows like Spongebob and Frozen. Show these shows some love, prove that Hamilton wasn’t the anomaly but the rule

56:55 They brought the Parkland teacher for the theater education award! Fitting 65 students into a high school teacher’s office for hours to protect them is not easy, she saved lives that day

58:17 I thought #5 Matthew Morrison was a girl in his child pic

58:40 They went to Parkland?!

59:35 OMG they’re performing!?!

1:00:10 Seasons of Love is the Perfect song for this, they sound so good too!

1:01:18 Girl has an amazing voice! Dang to get up there in front of all of these famous performers on live TV after the media has already hounded them and putting yourself out there is courageous

1:02:45 I can’t see the handles

1:03:11 Will they be able to top NPH’s Tony magic trick though??? Probably not but let’s see

1:03:31 So cheesy but tbh if I had a Harry Potter wand I’d be even cheesier

1:03:46 Was that line improved or was the tech delay intentional?

1:04:22 C’mon Squidward already pulled the same “trick” you have ensemble block the audience pov while someone enters from the back. Didn’t even come close to topping NPH

1:04:43 Little Patti Lupone I can’t believe she allowed them to include her picture of lil’ Patti

1:05:04 I just wanted to include Patti’s line about a “deep appreciation for outspoken women” cause I actually said “you go girl” out loud

1:05:35 Yeah, fun fact, Tony wasn’t a man but was actually short for Antoinette. They referenced it multiple times before, including earlier tonight, but it was stated most explicitly here

1:06:35 Is that a young or modern Claire Danes, I can’t tell

1:07:39 Also it’s really cool that an older woman won something, I feel like the stage gives more roles for older woman that other acting industries, also if people argue that she was political she served political office. Also how cool is it that apparently people were there from every recognized country?

1:09:27 so that’s how they do Sven, I knew Olaf was supposed to be an Avenue Q style puppet but the way they move Sven is really cool (it’s the technique they used on things like War Horse, I don’t know if it’s considered costuming or puppetry or what the official name is)

1:10:20 Anna looks exactly as I pictured her, and they changed a few minor lyrics for it to fit the stage

1:10:44 There are so many quick changes tonight

1:11:22 Elsa did not look like what I imagined her to be, but the costumes are on point

1:12:00 The chorus versions of these songs have beautiful harmony, but Olaf shouldn’t be there yet right? Isn’t he “born” in Let it Go

1:12:47 Alright I’ve been waiting to see how they’ll do the snow effects!

1:14:00 They got out of building the castle by already having it built at the beginning of the song, which is smart technically but I wanted to see how they do it, unless it’s one of those things that’s a surprise for when you see it live.

1:14:25 Never call it “Daddy’s Day” ever again. Never.

1:14:46 I can’t see the handles

1:14:59 How could you not show Chita Rivera’s lifetime achievement? I’ve been lucky enough to see her in more than one show and she is incredible.

1:15:13 And you also cut out Andrew Lloyd Webber’s?? You made the wrong cuts Broadway

1:15:25 It looks like they’re going to show a tribute I’m excited!!!

1:17:42 Two things: Andrew Lloyd Webber has written a weird collection of musicals, like when you see clips of them back to back you realize just how weird of a collection it is, and Josh Groban needs to be the next Phantom

1:18:08 That exchange was so physically awkward they haven’t even started talking yet and I feel the cringe

1:19:18 Is “I swore I’d never do something like that” shade against the La La Land debacle? In 2018? Or am I reading too much into it

1:19:21 I saw the Band’s Visit but I also saw Once on this Island and I thought that one would win Direction for sure but I guess I was wrong

1:22:36 I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it’s a weird read, but I haven’t seen it live so maybe it’s directed brilliantly, who knows? Who else thinks its a weird read?

1:23:56 He’s getting the Tony audience to sing his boyfriend "Happy Birthday" instead of giving a speech and that is both adorably sweet and such a power move. Also a rare occasion of Happy Birthday being sung on key

1:25:10 They’re having DEH perform? You cut out people who actually were awarded tonight for people who already were featured on the Tony’s last year? And that song is a weird choice for a In Memoriam considering that show doesn’t really…respect the deceased. Weird

1:28:17 Give the tech more time in the limelight! You cut out Chita and Webber’s speeches for a weird tribute and you have weird stunts with tech like the magic thing yet cut out all their stage time. I know this is standard Tony procedure but it is something I will comment on every year until it changes

1:29:20 That move for “work hard for the money mom” line was uncomfortable

1:30:30 They really do sound like the original singer

1:31:53 So that’s how the performers follow the conductor. They have a huge teleprompter-like screen in the back of the audience

1:32:52 This cast seems specifically tailored to gather different subsections of internet geeks and I will not tell you which categories I fall into

1:33:18 I never knew “the Jimmy’s” were a thing when I was in high school

1:34:54 THOSE are the great themes of Harry Potter? Really?

1:36:10 Aww look at little Cinderella

1:36:34 How are they going to build that stage for the Tonys? They built a river inside the theater for it before!

1:37:00 Well it makes sense that they’d only include part of the set, you can’t really recreate an entire building. Yes I’m so glad they included Mama Will Provide. That song is like the definition of a Tony performance song. Why did they include the Daniel bit, that was so awkward and broke up the flow

1:40:40 If anyone would be chill with the goat it’s Nathan Lane. Yup, there a live goat at the Tony Awards

1:41:21 Don’t joke about that

1:41:41 Are you going to cut out every technical award

1:42:32 Too relatable

1:43:16 Is this that song from Chorus Line in real life

1:44:10 English Major life

1:46:03 The angel from Angels in America is so Extra TM

1:46:54 That Tony Kushner line was forced

1:47:18 Awkward segway but REMEMBER TO VOTE

1:47:38 That Judy Garland line ties in perfectly with the Happy Birthday to the gay couple

1:48:04 That reaction to the word “money” is me. And also is a gif right?

Am I so much of a Tony nerd that I both knew and was shocked that the accountants weren’t the normal ones from Ernst and Young but instead were from Grant Thorton. Why do I remember what company normally tallies the Tony votes? Why did they change companies? Why do I care so much? But seriously what happened

1:49:00 That phrase just sounded so odd, just the way it was said “my television Daddy-O Tony Shalhoub”

1:53:15 I don’t have the accent and I’m about as white as white can be, but I really want to perform this song somewhere at some point. I have family in this area even though I don’t look like I would but and I just connect to it. The melody is gorgeous and the chorus reminds me of the lullabies of when I was very little.

1:54:15 Every time the young photos come up it puts a small smile on my face

1:54:37 Good on them for putting their money where their mouth is. They actually helped fund arts programs in places where they were cut

1:55:05 I wonder what the rest of the scenic guy’s speech for Spongebob was because this tiny clip seemed so passionate (and just has such an interesting aesthetic). Gosh darn it Tonys stop pretending the only backstage people that count are the directors and producers, you have all these other people who put in so much hard work yet you consistently ignore them. Even orchestrations, choreography and score?? Orchestrations, choreography and score are crucial for musicals to exist as unique entities from plays. You make jokes about people sitting through 5 hour plays but I would gladly sit through a five hour award show if you just included the technical awards.

1:57:10 me trying to open anything ever

1:57:14 Yes! I was so worried they would go with the super old school ones that get constant revivals. I mean, they picked the show that had “1000 pounds of sand, a 100 gallons of water, a goat and 2 chickens into his theater” when you have safer, more conventional bets. Everyone kept sleeping on Once on this Island this Tony season to talk about their feelings about the Spongebob’s and Mean Girl’s of the world but this is such a good show. Maybe this’ll get this show the love it deserves.

1:59:30 what did Robert DeNiro say on the recording the sound cut out. Did the mic cut out did he say something inappropriate, I’ve been avoiding Tony news what happened?

1:59:55 It’s got more than just a big cast, dancing, and a history lesson. You know that applies to, idk like 60% of famous Broadway musicals lol

2:00:06 when someone gives that pregnant of a pause you gotta wonder what the story is there

2:00:27 Truth

2:00:40 “Jersey Boy” that’s such a good one liner, actually, it might sound sarcastic online but that was a funny one liner in context

2:03:00 Is Bruce Springsteen really going to just do spoken word poetry the whole time? Also I don’t know why but this makes me think of Fun Home

2:06:05 Oh he’s going to sing after all. Though that story is about as Americana Fourth of July as anything I’ve ever heard on the Tony Awards ever and that’s saying something

2:07:39: who are these people?

2:08:00 Didn’t Kristin Chenowitz and Alan Cumming do this exact same shtick when they hosted, what 2 years ago? And there’s was much bigger I mean really go big like that Glinda the Good dress or go home.

2:08:23 Was there really no punch line? Also aww baby Kelli O’Hara is precious

2:09:07 The actor’s name sounds like his character’s name and I enjoy that

2:09:39 Well these actors are very different from each other

2:11:28 I am a sucker for genuine sincerity and that combined with some of the earlier moments like the Parkland moment brought me close to tears

2:12:45 Look at this award shows actual diversity, and not just using one show for diversity and nominating a bunch of actors you have 3 out of 6 female leads be people of color and none of them are a “token” and they all support each other. Hailey Kilgore is so young and such a good actress and I wanted her to win so much but she seemed so excited for the person who did win and they all seem happy at the result you don’t have any of that polite loser face they are all genuinely supportive and this makes me happy. I’m happy, look at those smiles I’m smiling, I love it when they show women supporting each other.

12:14:06 “my stupid little heart with so much joy” is me watching these people tonight.

12:14:27 Still can’t identify these people

12:15:00 Josh Groban’s reaction to Bernadette Peter’s name is me. Honestly Josh Groban is killing the potential gif game tonight

I’m sorry I just can’t take this description of them as “empowering stories” seriously when half of your nominations are Spongebob and Mean Girls

2:16:10 Tonight the Band’s Visit really swept. Honestly some seasons shows don’t win any awards that deserved it and other seasons shows that (while still deserving) probably wouldn’t have won win and it’s all kind of arbitrary, but I’m glad out of this batch it won, it was really the only show out of the four that would have gotten the Tony Award ticket sales boost and it got it.

2:17:35 “Music gives people hope and makes borders disappear”

2:19:08 yes another Josh Groan duet!

2:19:25 I love Miss Peters too

2:20:44 This number made me smile, this whole night made me smile. I was worried I would get frustrated by the night with Spongebob and Frozen and Mean Girls and all the potential for it to be a cynical snark fest or a capitalist money grabber spectacular. There are about 10 billion ways I saw myself not liking this year’s Tony Awards before it started and not only am I relieved that I was wrong about the mood of the night but I am elated. I love me some deadpan humor and some snark but you rarely see one of these nights just wholly be genuine and not tongue and cheek and it was such a breath of fresh air. Even the hokey bits like the stupid magic jokes and banter or weaker songs like that Mean Girls number, because everything was in such a kindhearted atmosphere, didn’t feel as bad as they otherwise would have.

[queensofrap]

The Year of Cardi B - She went from stripping to becoming the breakout star of 2017. So what's she worried about?

Cardi B is butt-naked in the doorway of her hotel bathroom, yelling about her vagina. On a mid-October evening, she's readying herself for a college show in Baltimore, and the toiletries provided by the hotel aren't to her liking. "That soap gave me the yeast infection of 2017!" she hollers in her thick Bronx accent. "My pussy was burnin' like a Mexican taco!"

It takes all of 10 seconds in Cardi B's presence to be reminded of the sheer force and hilarity of her personality. Simply being Cardi B, at maximum volume, made her a star – first on Instagram, then on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip-Hop: New York – before she'd recorded any music at all, let alone knocked Taylor Swift from the top of the pop charts with the sly swagger of her single "Bodak Yellow." She is the people's diva – or "the strip-club Mariah Carey," as she once rapped – unfiltered in a way the world often doesn't allow female stars to be. In a culture reshaped by streaming and social media, where the kids, without much corporate nudging, get to decide who the stars are, Cardi B is what you get.

Yesterday, Cardi turned 25.
 She took a rare day off, hanging
 with her entire family – sister, parents, cousins – at her mother's house. But she missed her boyfriend (now fiancé), Offset of Migos, who was touring in Australia. "I was sad, because it's like, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm not getting no dick on my birthday,'" says Cardi, whose bedazzled acrylic nails are decorated with tiny reproductions of Offset paparazzi shots. "But I wasn't going to get dick on my birthday anyway, because I got my period."

She finds a cleanser she can deal with and hops into the shower, before slipping into a bright-red spacesuit-inspired Milano di Rouge jumpsuit, complete with a yellow patch that reads "Safe sex saves lives," part of the designer's anti-HIV initiative. She glances at it and arches her eyebrows. "Girl," she says, "I don't even use a condom."

It may not seem like it, but this is actually a newer, more cautious Cardi B. After a few social-media controversies – including when she was justly called out for a since-deleted tweet that referred to Kim Jong Un as "Won Tung Soup" – she is trying to learn to hold back a bit. "I used to tell myself that I will always be myself," she says. But she worries that she's going back on that vow. "Little by little, I'm feeling like I'm getting trapped and muted."

Her life is changing fast. She put out her first mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1, in March last year, back when she was still Love & Hip-Hop's breakout star. It was a gloriously raw and raunchy introduction that cashed in on her TV catchphrases with songs like "Washpoppin'" and "Foreva." She released Vol. 2 in January this year, five months before announcing a major-label contract with Atlantic Records.

In June came "Bodak Yellow," named in homage to Florida rapper Kodak Black, whose song "No Flockin'" inspired its flow. "Bodak Yellow" is an unlikely Number One: a tough trap song with zero concessions to the mainstream, or even anything like a conventional pop hook. In a year when the youth power of streaming services, which now count toward chart positions, is changing the very meaning of pop, she's become the first female rapper to score a solo Number One since Lauryn Hill in 1998. Not bad for someone who initially pursued rapping as a way to monetize her reality fame. ("I said, 'TV don't make you rich,'" recalls her manager, Shaft, who once produced Lil' Kim. "'You gotta sell something! Waist trainers, hair, something.'")

The pressure is building. Her once-carefree social-media presence has drifted toward moody reflections about the downsides of fame. She's stressed about creating a debut album – the very word "album" makes her wince – that can live up to "Bodak Yellow" and the best of her mixtape tracks, not to mention the challenge of creating singles that can keep her on the charts and avoid one-hit-wonderdom. There is a chorus of doubters in her head, she acknowledges, and it sounds something like this: "Can she make another hit, can she make another hit?"

She fears failure, and paints a vivid picture of what it might look like: "If you go broke and lose your career, it's bad – and everybody is talkin' shit about it! At least if you lose your 9-to-5 you don't got millions of people judging you and talking shit while you lost your job."

Seven years ago, Cardi B was convinced she'd already failed at life. To please her mom, she was studying at a Manhattan community college with plans to become a history teacher. Born Belcalis Almanzar, she'd grown up in the Bronx's Highbridge neighborhood, and she was struggling to survive financially on her own. "It was just very sad," she says, uncharacteristically subdued. She's in the back seat of a black SUV on her way to a performance at Baltimore's Morgan State University, and the college setting is bringing back memories. "It was very frustrating – you have to pay for everything. When I finally got a job at Amish Market, I had to debate, 'Do I wanna go to class or do I wanna finish my shift?'"

She dropped out after two semesters, and soon took up stripping – a career move helpfully suggested by her Amish Market boss. "A lot of people wonder, 'Why would anybody want to be a dancer?'" she says. "Because there's money!" She used some of her stripping cash to briefly return to school. "I kept missing classes," she says, "and quit because I felt like I was already failing. It was such a disappointment."

Her strict Trinidadian mother worked seven days a week at a local college; her Dominican father, who separated from her mom when Cardi was 13, was "the cool parent," she says. For Cardi, his experience doing "different things in the streets" was a cautionary tale. "That's why I be so careful with my money and always try to invest. I see people who have it all and then lose it."

As a kid, Cardi had a sense that she was destined to do something creative, which led her to a performing-arts school on the Bronx's east side. She tried acting and singing (though she was convinced all of her classmates were better), wrote some poetry. But she'd also crack up friends and boyfriends by rewriting songs by, say, Beyoncé to make them "waaay sluttier." That hobby caught Shaft's attention years later, leading him to encourage her to pursue rapping seriously.

Until then, Cardi B relied on her abilities to charm and to hustle to pay the bills. And it worked: She quickly broke 100,000 Instagram followers in her strip-club days, expanding outward from her loyal customers, mostly on the strength of playful videos – "sucking dick" and scamming men were favored topics.

After Shaft suggested rapping, he began making beats for her at home, and helped her find a lyrical voice that matched the charm of her delivery.

But Cardi – who calls herself "a negative person" – had to overcome her own skepticism. She thought hard about her subject matter (her first single: "Stripper Hoe"), determined to defy haters "expecting me to drop something trash. It just made me, like, 'Aha, I gotta study these other rappers,'" she says. "Study how to do something different from them. You know all these female rappers, they talking about they money, they talking about they cars, so it's like, what's something that I enjoy? I enjoy fights!"

A few hours after the show, Cardi B is back in her hotel room, still wearing her red jumpsuit. She's curled up in the bed, blankets piled on top of her, talking about the future in a tone that's almost resigned. "I cannot turn my life back around," she muses. "I'm already a public figure, I'm famous. … It's like, I might as well keep it going, might as well make the money. People are always going to talk shit – I cannot make myself unfamous."

She's faced an impressively varied set of criticisms and unsolicited opinions. She's been accused of not being a real lyricist ("I'm not trying to be"); of somehow "not being black" because of her Latina heritage and light skin ("It gets to the point that you ask yourself, 'Damn, what the fuck am I?'"); of sleeping her way to the top ("I always had sex appeal – and niggas still give me a hard time"). The rapper Azealia Banks has quarreled with her, but Cardi B has tried hard not to play into the narrative that female rappers can't get along. "It's not even the female rappers that are catty, it's the fans," she says. "They just want that beef."

Her in-progress album is never far from her thoughts. "I got six, seven solid songs that I like, but I wonder if a month from now, I'm going to change my mind." All the looming expectations, she admits, are making it harder to come up with songs. "It's not as fun to do music," she says. "My mind doesn't flow as free 'cause I have so much on my mind."

She's aiming to mix the Spanish and reggae music of her youth with the trap sound that's inescapable at the moment, putting in late nights with her "Bodak Yellow" producer, J. White, and dancehall specialist Rvssian. She freely acknowledges she's chasing hits. "It's so sad to say, and I don't want to be the one to say it, but you gotta follow the trend," she says. "This generation loves to get high. They love to be on drugs. This is why they on that shit: They don't want to think about what you're saying."

She cites Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole as rappers who still write brilliant, conscious lyrics – some part of her might want to try to follow suit, but she feels like she couldn't get away with it. "A bitch like me, it might not work out for me," she says, "so I'm going to stick to trapping."

It's barely past midnight in Cardi's hotel room, and she is already exhausted. "I'm an old-ass girl now," she says with a sigh, head on a pillow. For all her outrageousness – she finished her show tonight by hopping offstage and twerking in the audience – she's not much of a partier. She stopped smoking weed at 21 because it interfered with her increasing fame and accompanying schedule. She had taken Molly as a confidence booster before stripping but doesn't need it anymore. She rarely drinks. "If I drink," she says, "it's like, my man is gonna be around, and I'm gonna have sex."

She's been with Offset since a chance meeting with him in New York in February – just after Migos scored their own Number One with "Bad and Boujee." "We polish each other," she says, noting they confer on music-biz questions. "I could always ask him, 'Do you think this is OK to do? Do you think I'm getting tricked?'"

She hasn’t been shy about the ups and downs in her relationship with Offset, like the night in October when she seemed to break up and make up with him on Instagram in the course of several hours. She also hasn’t been shy about her intentions to marry him — and, a few days before Halloween, Offset made her dreams come true, popping the question at a Philly concert with a raindrop-shaped ring. She knows she wants to have a family. "I need to make money for my family and my future family," she says. "I'm not a YOLO person. I think 25 years from now. I think about my future kids, future husband, future house."

And where exactly will she be in 25 years? She smiles dreamily, and says, "I see myself cursin' at my kids."

[thestarsaroundyourscars]

Just Friends - A Reddie Songfic

Hi, everyone! 

So, I wrote a thing. This is the first time I’ve shared something I wrote on this site, but I feel really good about this. I’m sorry if there are any mistakes, English isn’t my first language and as much as proof read this, I might have missed something still. 

This is based on the song ‘Just Friends’ by the Jonas Brothers, and I wrote it while listening to it on repeat. So if you want to get it the mood while reading you can listen to it as well.

Let me know what you think, I’d really appreciate it.

-

There he goes again

the boy I’m in love with

It’s cool we’re just friends

we walk the halls at school

we know it’s casual

It’s cool we’re just

Eddie is talking to Beverly when he hears the music start to play, he has his back to the stage but as soon as he recognizes the voice he turns around, confused, because there, playing his guitar and singing what Eddie recognizes as an old Jonas Brothers’ song, is Richie.

He doesn’t know what Richie is doing, he never told Eddie he was planning to do anything like this. At first, Eddie thinks this might be a spur-of-the-moment thing, after all, it’s Richie they’re talking about, but there’s no way he knew the lyrics to this song beforehand, not with how much he used to mock Ben and Eddie’s obsession with the Jonas Brothers. No, he must have planned this, which means he chose this song for a reason. And as Eddie thinks the lyrics over in his head, he understands why, because this song might as well have been written about the two of them.

I don’t want to lead you on

No

but the truth is I’ve grown fond

Yeah

Richie is nervous, of course he is, he never plays his guitar or sings in public, only in front of Eddie and occasionally the other losers. He’s afraid he will forget the words or miss a note on his guitar. Everyone’s eyes are on him, but he chooses to focus on one pair of eyes specifically, the most beautiful brown eyes he’s ever seen. Right now they are wide and watching him intently, he can see Eddie’s is surprised but also amused, so he focuses on that as he keeps on singing.

Everyone knows it’s meant to be

falling in love, just you and me

Till the end of time

till I’m on his mind

it’ll happen

As he sings, Richie thinks back to the time when he and Eddie were just friends and it seems so long ago now. He remembers the moment he realized his feelings for Eddie were more of the romantic sort and how afraid he was, afraid that he was alone in this, that Eddie didn’t feel the same way, afraid that this might ruin his relationship with his best friend.

It took a lot for Richie to understand that wasn’t the case, a lot of late night talks over the phone with Stan and heart to heart conversations with Beverly over cigarettes for Richie to realize that he didn’t have to be afraid because him and Eddie were meant to be and it didn’t matter how long it took them to get together, it was definitely going to happen. And happen it did, Richie thinks, we’re married now.

I’ve been making lots of plans

like a picket fence and a rose garden

I just keep on dreaming

but it’s cool cause we’re just friends

Eddie remembers how his mom used to talk about his wedding long before he even knew what marriage really was. She would talk about what Eddie’s bride would be like, a good girl who would listed and do whatever Mrs. Kaspbrak told her to, she would talk about the place the ceremony would take place in, she would even talk about who would and who wouldn’t be invited. She used to say Richie Tozier would most definitely not be invited, she was afraid him and that trashmouth of his would somehow manage to ruin the day. Eddie thinks it’s funny how Richie is here on his wedding day and his mother isn’t and he thinks it’s even funnier that instead of the good girl his mother used to picture him getting married to, he is actually marrying Richie Tozier. The thought brings a smile to his face.

She also used to talk about other aspects of Eddie’s life like his job (something safe, so that it wouldn’t worsen Eddie’s illness), his house (close enough to Mrs. Kaspbrak’s house so that she could still see her son). All of her life, Sonia Kaspbrak made plans for his son, but Eddie had plans of his own.

They would often change, one day he would picture himself as a doctor, living in a big city like New York, other days he would picture himself as a teacher in a small town in Maine, but while the details always changed there was one thing that would stay the same and that was the fact that no matter where he went in life or what he did with it, Richie Tozier would be with him, because even back then Eddie couldn’t possibly imagine his life without him. I still can’t, he thinks.

Small talk on IM

Just one word sentences

it’s cool we’re just friends

if I had my way we’d talk and talk all day

Yeah

For Richie, a life without Eddie Kaspbrak was a life he didn’t want. Even when they were young he knew that, he remembers climbing that old tree next to Eddie’s house and falling through his bedroom window one summer day because he missed his Eddie Spaghetti. It had been a week since the last time he saw Eddie, his mother wouldn’t let him out of house until he recovered from the fever she claimed he had. Since it was summer, Eddie’s window was open and Richie remembers falling through it in a not so graceful manner and scaring Eddie so much he fell out of bed.

Once they were older and they both had cellphones, it was easier for them to talk whenever Eddie’s mom was being extra annoying or when Richie got himself in trouble and wasn’t allowed to leave his room. They would talk on the phone and then, when it was late and they had to keep quiet, they would text until one of them fell asleep, only to do it again the next day. Even when they had seen each other that day, at school or the Barrens or the old arcade, Richie would call Eddie or Eddie would text him, because there was no such thing as ‘too much’ when it came to talking to each other.

Everyone knows it’s meant to be

falling in love, just you and me

Till the end of time till I’m on his mind

it’ll happen

I’ve been making lots of plans

like a picket fence and a rose garden

I just keep on dreaming

But it’s cool cause we’re just friends

Eddie takes his eyes off of Richie for the first time since he started singing and looks around. Everyone is watching Richie and they all seemed to be enjoying his song. He sees Bill holding his camera, the little red light blinking as he records Richie’s performance. Eddie wonders how there’s still enough battery on that thing seeing as Bill hasn’t turn it off since earlier today when he walked into the room where Eddie was getting ready and hit play.

Mike and Ben were with him while Stan and Beverly were with Richie, meanwhile Bill spent the entire morning going back and forth between both rooms while complaining about how none of the others thought of bringing a camera to make it easier for him to document the entire thing. Eddie would try to remind him that he didn’t have to go through all the trouble, they had hired a photographer after all, but Bill only stuck his tongue out at Eddie as he left the room once again to go record Richie’s hundredth attempt at making a tie knot.

Thinking about how

we’re gonna say our vows

It’s cool we’re just friends

He walks down the aisle

Richie also remembers earlier today, watching Eddie walk down the aisle, bouquet of flowers in his hand and a nervous smile on his face looking as handsome as ever in his blue suit, similar to Richie’s but, whereas Eddie was wearing a light pink tie, Richie wore a Hawaiian printed one. It was hard for Richie to convince Eddie to let him wear that tie in particular but Richie threatened to show up wearing a Hawaiian shirt instead and Eddie figured the tie was a good compromise.

He remembers Eddie getting closer, and how the farther down the aisle he walked, the bigger his smile grew. By the time he reached him, his eyes were almost shut with how much he was smiling. My smile must be twice as big as his, I can feel it, but I sure as hell don’t look as cute as Eds does, he had thought.

Seeing my friends smile

Cause now we’re more than friends

Richie remembers sparing a glance at his friends. They had decided to forgo the whole groomsmen business, seeing as they couldn’t choose which of the losers would be on whose side and also because Stan refused to spend the entire ceremony standing on his feet, so they sat on the front row, smiles almost as big as Eddie’s and Richie’s.

Ben and Beverly were on the right side, Richie’s side and they were holding hands. Richie could already see tear tracks on Ben’s face, by the end of the day Haystack won’t have any tears left to spare, Richie had thought, he couldn’t blame him though, he had been fighting off the tears since he woke up that morning.

Stan was sitting on Eddie’s side, looking as composed as ever. Anyone who didn’t know him well enough would think he wasn’t as excited as the rest of them but Richie could tell by his soft smile just how much it meant to him to watch two of his best friends finally getting married, especially after all those years of pinning and drama and way too much PDA that he had had to endure. Next was Bill, holding his camera in front of his face, hell bent on capturing every single moment on video.

Finally, Richie’s eyes had landed on Mike, he was looking at him and when their eyes met, he winked at him and gave him a thumbs up, which made Richie chuckle softly. Eddie heard this and raised an eyebrow in question, Richie just shook his head and took Eddie’s hand in his and together they had turned to face the minister.

Everyone knows it’s meant to be

falling in love, just you and me

Till the end of time till I’m on his mind

it’ll happen

 Eddie is mouthing the lyrics and his hand is absentmindedly toying with the ring on his finger. The ring that matches Richie’s, the one that will tie them together from that day until the end of time. He can see himself ten, twenty, fifty years from now playing with that same ring, not new and shiny anymore but just as meaningful, watching an older Richie, who will most likely be doing something stupid or embarrassing or both if he’s being honest and just falling in love with him all over again.

I’ve been making lots of plans

like a picket fence and a rose garden

I just keep on dreaming

But it’s cool cause we’re just friends

The song ends, everyone is clapping wildly, Richie thinks he hears Mike whistle but he can’t be sure. Richie bows awkwardly and hops down from the stage, he starts walking towards Eddie, there are tears in both of their eyes and they’re both smiling so big they fear their faces might break.

“I can’t believe you serenaded me with a Jonas Brothers’ song” Eddie says.

“Oh, come on, Eds, you know you loved it” Richie replies while wrapping his arms around Eddie.

“I guess it was alright” Eddie says nonchalantly, trying to hide his smile. Richie smirks because they both know Eddie in fact did love it.

“Don’t worry Eds, I thought it was cute how much you were swooning over me back there” Richie teases.

“Beep beep, Richie” Eddie says looking down, trying to hide his blush. God, we’ve been together for years, we’re married for God’s sake and he can still make me blush, he thinks. “And don’t call me that” he adds with a pout.

“Well, how about I call you husband instead?” Richie says this like a joke but then he’s overwhelmed with emotion once he realizes that after all these years, he can finally call Eddie Kaspbrak his husband.

When the same realization hits Eddie he gasps and his voice cracks when he answers.

“I think I can live with that” he says while wrapping his arms around Richie’s neck and kissing him.

Yeah, they both think, I definitely think I can live with that.

[kingspoetrysoc]

Interview with Pete Clarke

What makes someone a writer? How do our personal life experiences affect our approach to writing? With these questions in mind, The King’s Poet’s Karen Ng interviewed Pete Clarke, a writer from Lancashire.

Can you tell us a little bit about your life? As a young 17 year old girl, my mother became pregnant with a 24 year old man who deserted her when he found out. My mother’s family were Irish Catholics. In 1945, having a child out of wedlock was devastating for her. Her father was outraged but died before I was born. Fortunately, her mother supported her. She found a way out of her predicament by marrying a man returning from the war, who she didn't love. He had breathing problems caused by being gassed in the war. She had another four children by him to whom he showed love and affection. But not to me.

After the war my mother and so called stepfather started working in the Lancashire cotton mills, but when his health problems worsened with the cotton dust, he gave up working. My mother worked long hours in the mill and he looked after the children. It was hard for me because I didn't want to be in his company. My mother tried hard to keep the ship afloat, but they got in a lot of debt. I remember her crying when the bailiffs came and took things out of our house – including the cooker, leaving her to cook on the coal fire.

When did you first begin to venture into the world of writing and music? My grandmother Janey O’Donnell told me that our predecessors were Irish storytellers and musical entertainers. Several members of the family who lived across the road were members of the Todmorden Brass Band and I wanted to join. Mr. Duffield – a member of the Todmorden Brass Band – took me to meet the bandmaster who, to my delight, gave me a cornet and offered to teach me to play. When I returned home my stepfather gave it back to Mr. Duffield, and told him I wasn't allowed to have it. I was 10 years old. I remember going back to drawing with my pencil and paper. Then, at the age of 13 or 14, my best friend Ray Hamlin got a guitar for Christmas. I asked my parents if I could have one too, but was told ‘no’. So I made a cardboard template of a guitar, drawing the first four frets and strings on it. Ray gave me a copy of the basic chord chart and I leaned the chords on my cardboard.

I left school at the age of 15. The art teacher Mr. Eastwood personally took me to see the head of design at a textile print works, who offered me a job. I would be making tea and cleaning up the office whilst learning to become a designer. The pay was only £2.50 per week. But my stepfather told me he had got me a job in the cotton mill for £5 per week, and that I had to take it, as they needed the money. I learned quickly, and became a mule spinner – telling my so-called stepfather that his days of giving me a dog’s life were over. I was independent and I was going to do what I wanted to do.

At 17 I had my own guitar and met a 19 year old mill worker called Bob Higgins who said he played the bass. He asked if I would like to team up with him. Bob Higgins was a massive talent. He had perfect pitch: he didn't know the names of the notes but was an incredible bass player. Not only that, he was also a great singer who could do very convincing impressions of famous artists and accents, as well as sounds of nature and car engines. Along with Cannon and Ball – who were welders – we started entertaining in the northern clubs, quickly becoming a successful act. We developed a comedy and close-harmony vocal act similar to the sound of the Everly Brothers. I used to yodel and Bob yodelled in harmony. Over the following four years, we perfected a great musical comedy act. We entertained in the big clubs during the weekends whilst working in the mill during the weekdays. We knew we had something good and that we would one day get a lucky break. Cannon & Ball were on TV, and soon it would be our turn.

Then my world came crashing down. Bob’s wife said she would leave him if he didn't give up the entertaining career and the nightlife. Bob gave it all up for her and became a window cleaner. I continued to work in the mill. I had a gift for working out how machines worked, and I became a mule overlooker in charge of the maintenance of the mule spinning machines. 

Can you tell us a bit about your experiences performing as a stand-up comic? Stand-up comedy is not easy. There are lots of difficult crowds who don't give you a chance. But when you get four hundred people laughing and cheering at the words of one man – you – it's like a drug you need over and over again. On my own, I had to go back to entertaining in the small clubs, developing my individual stand up act and using my ability to tell a gag and my talent for good comic timing. The cotton mills were all shutting down, and thousands were out of work – including myself. So I decided to try to make a living as a comic. Although I had a lot of lean times, I just about managed it. I had three daughters and I worked in every rough dump you could think of in order to provide for them. I played with several Lanc's and York's [Lancashire and York] village brass bands and came up with an idea for a TV sitcom. I pitched the idea to Bobby Ball, who teamed up with me to write the script: a war of the roses between two brass bands at the Tudor Rose Pub. The border between Lancashire and York runs through the centre of the pub, and separates the two rival bands. Then came the second big disappointment: Bobby informed me that his agent had secured a lot of television work for him and that he would have to put my idea on the back-burner. I tried to get it produced by myself, but no one was interested. The script has been on the shelf since – for ten years – but I'm giving it another try this year.

How do you think comedy and music can interact with poetry? I think good music with a good lyric is the full package. And a comedy song is better still, topping it with laughter.

Do you think your life experiences have influenced your art? What kind of messages do you want to share through your work? Of course. My life experiences, my feelings about issues in my life, and the world I live in, all influence my writings. I have strong feelings about the fact that people will spend millions on a twinkling diamond trinket or a lump of yellow metal whilst people are starving to death. Bestowing great wealth on someone who can sing a song or kick a ball into a net whilst the money could drill a well to provide clean water for people...Religious institutions and royalty that own wealth beyond belief and give the impression they are helping by giving a little to charity or using the collection box to impress...The sad thing is I am powerless to change any of this using my words.

Is there a consistent writing habit you try to stick by? Do you think it’s necessary for writers to be consistently writing? I don't have a consistent writing habit. I don't know if it’s necessary for writers to be consistently writing – I started writing the odd song many years ago, and sometimes the lyrics didn’t work, but I kept them as a bunch of words you could call a poem. Once I start on something I don't stop until it's finished. I twist and turn the words, changing them so they do work. I have never taken it seriously; a situation may come into my mind that I would like to put into words. I try to put my thoughts down on paper using a few words and just for fun, to see if I can make them rhyme. I called it a poem. Just for fun again I put some of them on YouTube.

Can you tell us about Napnars, and why you don’t consider yourself a poet? A lady made a comment that I will never be a poet; I replied that I'm not a poet. I came up with the word Napnars. I thought that if my writings are not regarded as poems, this is what I could call them instead. If I am writing a Napnar, or the lyrics to a song – I am trying to tell the full story in a few words, and at the same time, trying to paint a picture in the mind of the listener or reader.

Lastly, what advice would you like to offer poets who are just starting out?  It must give you the feel-good factor and a sense of achievement. You must be happy receiving the responses of others and the belief that you can do it. You are in possession of a lethal weapon: the pen. Take care how you use it. Your words are a point of view that can cause stress and anxiety, or peace and tranquility.

Several of Pete’s poems have been published under The King’s Poet: please enjoy them here. To read and listen to more of Pete’s Napnars, please visit his YouTube channel.

[monoguk]

yule ball

You didn't have to take a good look at the person's face to know who was in your way; his disheveled Hufflepuff robes and signature silver round specs were enough of an identifier.

FEATURING - kim namjoon CATEGORY - romance WORD COUNT - 6000+

Giggles and buzzing filled the air at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Questions and answers tossed around in the air, with reactions from friends and passers-by and visiting schools mingling with it. 

What had everyone been jumping at about anyways? The Yule Ball, of course. 

It had been a custom, as Madame Pomfrey had told to all her advisory Hufflepuff students, in the wizarding world that the school hosting the legendary Triwizard Tournament will also. It so happens that it was Hogwarts's turn to welcome two other wizarding schools from afar. In this tournament, one willing champion from each institution will be specially selected through the Goblet of Fire to compete for the title and to undergo three dangerous tasks. As expected, the magical goblet had chosen the ever-talented Jeon Jungkook to be Hogwarts's champion while the other two champions were the brawny Kim Minseok from the East and the witty Bae Joohyun from the West. In the middle of their tournament, the Head Master of Hogwarts declared over a usual diner in the large hall about the upcoming ball that had every student in uproar. Thus, this lead to what was happening all around the campus. 

Yes-or-no inquiries like 'will you be my date?' and 'can you go to the ball with me?' were said out of excitement or confidence or nervousness. Boys were gulping nervously before stepping up to the girls they would like to ask as a date. Some men lying in benches lazily either already snatched a partner or did not care whoever they asked. Girl traveled in annoying packs, making all the wooers all the more nervous. 

But you were having none of that. 

As you were travelling through the herd of ecstatic students - ranging from Hogwarts students and pupils from the other two visiting wizarding schools - to make your way to the library that you so call as your peaceful sanctuary, a flurry of yellow and black halted you in your tracks. You didn't have to take a good look at the person's face to know who was in your way; his disheveled Hufflepuff robes and signature silver round specs were enough of an identifier. 

Your eyes went up to meet his when he called out your name. You didn't miss the unusually nervous way he gulped exaggeratedly. His stance seemed familiar enough as you've witnessed a lot of his masculine kind do so in front of particular girls. Though, if you hadn't reminded yourself that he was the closest friend you had in your common House, you would have thought he was going to ask you the familiar will-you-be-my-date-for-the-ball inquiry. Snargles, you thought, that is absolutely absurd. Of course, you wouldn't expect anyone to ask you out (because having your books was enough of a companion) and Kim Namjoon - this sweet sloppy guy - was no exception. Though it did bother you that this calm boy who rarely stumbled with his words is suddenly wary of speaking - and to you, of all people. 

"Can you..." He started. Your eyes took note of how the Hogwarts students who were around and knew both of you well gasped and gossiped. Words like 'I didn't know they liked each other!' and 'I guess their friendship bloomed into something more. It's actually about time.' floated towards your hearing, and unconsciously you blushed. Nonetheless, you kept and straight face whereas Namjoon bit at his plump bottom lip. 

"Follow me to the common room." You ordered, knowing fully well how uncomfortable Namjoon was gradually feeling with all the eyes watching him seeing as he - the student who was good in oral recitations and in verbal Divination, who said the wisest serious tips whenever approached, who writes lyrics in his free time, who excelled effortlessly in his extra Music classes - really rarely acts like this. You should know because you had been friends ever since first year and that you secretly felt the same audience-anxiety. Without further ado, you swiveled around and headed to the Hufflepuff common room with Namjoon hot on your trail. 

Passing through the busy kitchen of Hogwarts and towards a familiar stack of barrels, you tapped the wooden surface with a particular rhythm before the door to the Hufflepuff dorm opens. A few loiterers warn you and Namjoon of the hanging plants by the entrance, as if you didn't know already. Though, it had been in the nature of Hufflepuffs to look out for each other no matter the differences. 

You and Namjoon went to send jolly greetings to the people already residing in the mustard common room, students getting comfortable in the stiff wooden materials of the chairs and tables. In one corner of the room, what appeared to be second year students were busy fascinating over harmless plants they were introduced to in Herbology. It was no wonder when Hufflepuffs turn googly eyed over mere plants; being sorted into the House gave you a sense of fondness for the subject. 

You situated in front of the fireplace, right under Helga Hufflepuff's portrait, while Namjoon took up the space beside you. The faint buzz of the students faded in the background as you shot the boy an urging look. When he was still fidgeting like before despite the most privacy you could provide for the two of you, you cleared your throat and made your intentions clearer. "What is it that you wanted, Joon?" 

Namjoon flinched slightly, though his expression calmed a little bit. He then began to adjust his sliding glasses and reached up to run his hands through his silver umber hair. It took all in you not to scold him when you had a familiar whiff of squid scent in his fingers; you would have been scowling while telling him to wash up his hands whenever he ate his favorite dried squid snack, but when had he even remembered your reminders as such? 

"I, uhm, actually..." He shook his head, bangs bouncing in the same direction of his force, inflicting an affectionate smile to crack your sealed lips because you've always find this rare anxious habit of Namjoon's to be adorable, before he continued without bothering to enforce eye-contact with you (not that you noticed it anyway). "You have to teach me how to dance." 

There was a moment of pregnant silence between you two, with the clatter of kitchen pots and ladles and the cheerful chatter of students about the upcoming Yule Ball filling in the pause of sound. You stared at the flames ahead, seeing tiny flame people reenacting the way the students proposed to a date for the ball, letting your friend's request sink in your brain. 

It took cheering from a pack of rowdy boys entering the common room - "Dude, you did it! You snagged a date!" - to have you finally face Namjoon. His face was a lot more relaxed, a little more on the relieved side, as he stared at you expectantly with his small eyes going as round and big as it can get. You finally reacted with chuckling through your nose and smiling up at him. 

"Me? Your dance teacher? Namjoon, we all know you suck at dancing," 

Namjoon scowled at you jokingly, "I'll take that as a compliment-" 

"But, I'm worse!" You exclaimed joyfully, falling down on the ground to accommodate your uncontrollable giggles. Anybody would have been offended when asked to teach someone to dance if they had skills as small as dust particles as yours. Through your peripheral vision, you saw Namjoon blankly staring down at you, a scowl slightly tugging down his lips, but that did not faze you one bit. 

Once you've calmed down, you sat up, turning your body to face your friend. "Why me? There's always Hoseok." 

"He's kind of busy asking out and flirting with girls from other schools." Namjoon explained, but you've already figured that out. "Besides, it's weird dancing waltz with him as a partner." 

"I didn't know you were homophobic." 

"What? No. I mean, I'm straight, but Hoseok is just... a weird guy." Namjoon gave you a you-know-what-I-mean look, and you nodded in confirmation. 

"But, why me?" You raised a brow at him, standing up to sit at the empty wooden couch still in front of the fireplace while Namjoon expectantly did the same to sit beside you. 

The boy shrugged nonchalantly, fixing his glasses once again. Wittily, he says, "Because you’re the only female friend I am comfortable with." 

It was true, because although Kim Namjoon was smooth with words, he wasn't smooth with the ladies, but it still didn't convince you, though you were close to giving in. 

"Oh, come on," Namjoon whined, "You didn't complain when a senior offered you to dance when Madame Pomfrey told us to dance." 

"Well, Madame Pomfrey isn't here, is she? We were required to dance." 

"Exactly," Namjoon reasoned, "We are required to dance in the Yule ball, but how can I meet the requirement if my two left feet won't allow me?" 

Though you were sure nobody was listening on in your conversation, you swore you heard voices in your head taunting you, telling you to just give in. Waltz was pretty basic, and it was probably the only dance you can perform. Looking back at Namjoon's desperate gaze, you thought that maybe you weren't the worst dancer after all. 

Although, you didn't give in right away as one more question boggled up your mind, "You don't even have a date yet, Namjoon. How sure are you that you will dance with a partner during the Yule ball?" 

"I'll take care of that," Namjoon scooted closer, eyes swirling with begging words in his dark brown irises. "Will you or will you not help your dear Hufflepuff friend?" 

"You're not the only Huffle-" 

He whined out your name, causing you to crack a small smile to which Namjoon reflected more joyfully. "Oh, alright. Lessons start in the gardens before dinner." 

"Wicked!"

The legendary ball was a week away, and suddenly you've began to receive a handful of ball invitations. Your suitors didn't seem desperate to have you as a date because of last resort and they seemed genuinely nervous as they approach you like how the other boys approached the girls they liked as a date. Nonetheless, you politely declined their offers because you thought going alone was the most convenient. Besides, it's not like you knew them past their physique and names. 

"Uhm," a gruff voice called out your name making you halt in your steps towards the gardens. You turned around and saw a boy whose uniform was not that of a fellow Hufflepuff, or a Ravenclaw, or a Slytherin, or a Gryffindor. You figured, this boy was from the other visiting school; you also figured, you were receiving another date proposal. 

You had your response formulated in your mind. Although this ball was done to establish a strong camaraderie among the students from different wizarding schools, you still were determined to face the ball without a date. You thought it wasn't such a big deal anyways, attending the ball dateless. 

As you waited for the boy to finish his familiar question, another voice interrupted by calling out your name. You looked around the boy only to see Namjoon approaching you with his famous dimple smile. 

As soon as he reached where you were, Namjoon finally noticed the boy across you and he immediately apologized for getting in the way. The foreign boy said it was okay and was about to continue his question, but you beat him to it. 

"I'm sorry, I can't go to the ball with you. I already have a date. I'm sorry again," you lied, but it wouldn't hurt if the boy didn't know of the truth. After the other boy said it was okay and left, you went to pull a surprised Namjoon to where you two were supposed to be. 

As you both approached the arc leading to the outdoor garden, Namjoon suddenly spoke, his voice echoing along the emptying hall. "You have a date? How come you get a date before I did?" 

Slightly offended, you raised a brow at him but didn't comment about it, though you did answer truthfully. "I don't have a date, and I don't plan on having one. Now, hurry up, we still have to study for our Potions quiz tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is in six hours," Namjoon obviously pointed out as soon as you both reached the empty garden. He put a rusty cassette tape down the edge of the fountain in the middle as you went to discard your bags, scarves, and books of the steps up the entrance of the Hogwarts castle. 

"Exactly," you pointed out, standing across the tinkering Namjoon, "I need to study for two hours for that. Now come on," 

"It won't work," Namjoon held out the cassette, expression sheepish but standing up nonetheless. You rolled your eyes while taking the tape from him and laying it back down on the cement material of the fountain. With a tap of your wand, the tape began to sound out the familiar melody of the song for waltz. 

For a moment, you two awkwardly stood in front of each other, with the soft tunes of the song filling in the silence. Naturally, as the teacher of this lesson, you stepped forward, closing the necessary space for the dance. 

"Madame Pomfrey said that you should put your hand on the girl's waist. Go ahead." 

Following through your instruction, Namjoon reached out and softly laid his palm over your waist. Not being used to such intimacy, you jumped in surprise but you regained your composure when you already noticed something wrong. 

"The other hand," you reached back to take one of Namjoon's hands from the side of your waist then held it up with your hand, "should be holding the girl's like this. Though, you can hold her waist with both hands after the introductory dance. Now, look at your feet." 

You bowed down, with Namjoon following closely. Momentarily, you took note of the obvious difference in your foot sizes, but then it was no wonder when Namjoon was one tall guy. "Follow my feet." 

You stepped your right foot to the right, waiting for Namjoon to follow, then stepped your left foot closer the right with your toes pointed. The boy followed the position of your feet before your bounced on your pointed feet. To this, Namjoon clumsily bounced and the error in it made you giggle. 

"When you step your left foot like this, you bounce instantly. Like this," you demonstrated it again, eyes trained on your feet. You did it slowly at first, then at the normal speed. Your shoes lightly kicked at Namjoon's to signal that it was his turn to try it out. 

You giggled every time he got it wrong, redid the steps after making fun of him, and after a few more tries Namjoon finally got it. 

The cassette played in loop, though you two no longer followed the beat of the song and just served as a background music during your slow lesson. 

"You do the same thing to the other side." 

When you saw Namjoon cross his right foot over his left, it had you pulling away from Namjoon and crouching down on the floor, giggles leaving your lips continuously. "I can't believe you're acting cute right now, Joon. Hold on, this is just too funny." 

Hugging around your waist as you giggled away, you felt Namjoon crouch across you, his outstretched hand laying atop his knees slightly grazing along your bare knees as his mouth let out breathy chuckles. "Well, I'm sorry I'm such a klutz." 

Calming down from your laughter, you looked up to meet his crinkling eyes with a residual smile still on your face. Eventually, you stood up, brushing down your clothes as you regained your composure. "You seriously have a lot to learn." 

"We have a few days more." Namjoon pointed out, standing up to naturally tower over you. At your signal, he slides his hand to curl around the side of your waist while his other held up your hand. He feels your empty hand slide up to rest atop his shoulder. 

You shook your head, not finding sense in what Namjoon said, and continued with the lesson. "You do the same on the other side means that instead of the right foot, you use the left, and vice versa. Like this." 

An hour passed with you going through the stationary basic step if the dance, though most of the hour was spent laughing and giggling at the mistakes you both did. By the end of the lesson, you said that at the next one you will be teaching about the mobile steps while dancing along the beat. 

"Yes, Madame," Namjoon bowed at you, pocketing the magical cassette tape in his robes, before he made move to follow you towards the Hufflepuff dorm. "I really appreciate this a lot. Thank you for teaching me." 

You looked up at Namjoon to flash him a warm smile, but you kept quiet about accepting his gratitude. You haven't done much yet anyways. "Come on, I'm starving. Hurry before all the food is gone!" 

"That's nonsense, Hogwarts can't run out of food. I read about it in the book, Hogwarts: A History."

Lessons were just as tiring as always. Professor Snape was just as stingy as always during Potions and Professor Trelawney was still the same weird Divination teacher. There was more chatter outside, seeing that the Hogwarts students were a little friendlier with the students from the other schools. 

At least, you thought, you and Namjoon had some improvement over dancing lessons after the last class just before dinner. He had a bit of difficulty with the footsteps as you waltzed from one point to another, but he quickly caught on with your guidance and the hypnotizing beat of the song. When the bell rung signaling the start of the dining feast, you both pulled apart and fixed your things. Namjoon had whined afterwards when you said that the next lesson was turning up the beat while your hands switched positions. 

When you both reached the Hufflepuff table, your friends handed you a big box wrapped carefully with brown paper parchment. You smiled, recognizing the thorough packaging from your parents. A wide grin etched on your face when you also recognized their writing on the card attached to the package. 

"Have fun waltzing! Your dad picked the design personally himself. We miss you, dear." 

Your head tilted in confusion, not understanding what could be in the box until Namjoon answered your question as though he read your thoughts. 

"It's probably your dress for the ball. It's in six days, you know?" 

"Oh," you blankly acknowledged, staring at the unopened box with curiosity pooling all around your irises. Naturally, you would have given to your urge of knowing what was specifically inside - and if your dad picked up a what you would have chosen as always - but there were many curious eyes and it wasn't as if you were even excited for the ball anyways. 

Hoseok suddenly appears across you and Namjoon, plate piled up with an assortment of cooked meat and tempting desserts. "Yeah, Joon, it's in six days, but you still have no date." 

"I'm working on it." Namjoon calmly answers, taking in some delicious smelling beef and wrapping it around a fresh leaf of lettuce. 

"That's what you said weeks ago," Hoseok complained. 

"And, I suppose you have a date already?" You interrupted, unconsciously taking Namjoon's side as always. 

Hoseok then scoffed, one corner of his lips tilting up to offer you a smug grin. He puffed out his chest while he ran a hand through his bangs and said, "As a matter of fact, I do. It wasn't that hard; she said yes right away. And, what about you, Miss Bookworm?" 

You shrugged, nimble hands quickly reaching out to steal a chocolate truffle atop Hoseok's stack of sweets on his plate before popping it into your mouth, "I can always go to the party alone. Who says I have to have a partner in order to attend it?" 

"Why would you even bother going to the ball if that's your case?" 

"Because it's required?" You and Namjoon explained at the same time, tones exhibiting obviousness the same though with obviously different vocal timbres. 

Hoseok stared at you, brain storming up ways to convince you to accept having a partner because he had a close friend asking him to ask you to be his date. "The dress your father picked will go to waste." 

You sighed, picking up the last crumbs on your plate and easily stealing one fruity tart from Namjoon's plate before fixing up your things while directing a few words towards Hoseok, "As long as I'm wearing it, it won't be wasted, right? Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have to do my Ancient Runes homework." 

You didn't give Hoseok a chance to retort as you briskly made your exit from the Great Hall towards the dormitories. The said boy stared incredulously at your retreating figure, all the while muttering under his breath, "She's mental, she is."

"What? No." You answered determinedly, eyes staring questioningly at Namjoon who stood in front of you. 

"That's unfair. I showed myself in my dress robes, you go on and change into your gown too." 

You rolled your eyes at his logic, although a part of you found a tiny bit of sense in his statement. However, there was no way you were going to give in this time, even if Namjoon is your closest friend. 

Eaten up by pure curiosity, you had carefully opened up the package your parents’ owl-sent to you once you were alone in your shared room with three other girls in the same year as you. As you opened the lid, even though the gown was merely a combination of materials folded up neatly to accommodate the shape of the box, you had already been astonished. A slight chuckle escaped your lips at that moment, mentally thinking that as always, your father knew what you would have seen as beautiful. And though you weren't even excited to attend the ball, you couldn't help but think of ways on how you would wear this gown during the evening party. 

"Am not. You were the one who showed me your Yule ball attire without me asking you to." You pointed out, flipping another page of the book you were reading and holding before Namjoon had graciously appeared in his sleek dress robes. "I'm going to wear it in three days anyway. You have to worry about your date instead, Joon." 

Apparently, you just found out during dinner that Kim Namjoon still has no date. What was the use of dancing lessons if he was going to attend without a dance partner? Nonetheless, Namjoon replied in a collected tone that he has it under control. 

"I'll ask her tomorrow. Now come on, think of it as my dress rehearsal. Hurry up, we just have an hour before curfew." You had no choice but to follow when Namjoon began hauling you up until you were in front of your room's door. Weirdly enough, you still found sense in whatever he said and grumpily went inside to do as your closest friend had suggested. 

You decided to just wear it without fixing your appearance at all, not even bothering tying your hair and just letting it flow down until the wavy ends reached the curve in your back introducing your tailbone. It wasn't like it was the real thing anyways. When you've had, the dress zipped quickly, because Namjoon knocked on your door after every minute, you put on your large cloak and went outside. 

Namjoon did not comment on how your black robe basically covered your dress, but he had an idea on what color it was as your cloak didn't reach down until the end of your gown. Hurriedly, he grabs your hand and fled away the common room until you two reached the familiar garden you've been practicing in. 

"Lumos," you muttered, casting a ball of light to appear from the tip of your sleek wand. Namjoon did the same when he couldn't find the magical cassette tape with the utter darkness surrounding him. 

"We won't be able to see a thing. It's too dark out. Why don't we just do this tomorrow instead? We don't even have a lamp prepared." You suggested. 

"No way." Namjoon tapped the cassette, the music cutting through the peaceful silence immediately yet softly. He fixed his attire as he stood up and approached you, "This is how I'm going to ask my date out." 

He held out a hand towards you, and you almost wouldn't have seen it if it weren't for the soft silvery glow of the moon up above the dark velvety sky. You raised a brow in question, lips tugging up to an amused curve, but you began to untie the ribbon holding your cloak together to make this "dress rehearsal" proper. "What? You're going to impress her with your dance?" 

"Hey, that's mean. I can do that. Look at how much I've improved anyways." Namjoon eyes the black robe you've placed on his open palm before they slowly traveled up to your figure wearing the dress he'd secretly been curious about. Nonchalantly, he discarded the robe beside the playing music tape. He offered his hand again and you took it, not commenting on how sweaty his palm had gotten because you knew he always had sweaty palms. "Don't girls want a unique promposal?" 

"I suppose, some girls prefer simple invitations." You naturally went to the waltzing position and shrugged while waiting for the right beat to start dancing. 

There was a pause in the tape before it looped back to the beginning, and to this Namjoon led the dance. You couldn't help the giggle from escaping your mouth when his clumsy feet made a mistake not even a minute into the dance, and it continued to spill out of your lips until the boy you were dancing with joined you in your chuckling, saying sorry breathlessly. 

"So," with his strong arms, he swiveled the both of you to step to the side and turn your bodies perpendicular to your previous position. "What kind of proposal do you prefer?" 

"I prefer my books, thank you very much." You answered, toes bouncing and stepping and skipping to the beat of the song. Sometimes your steps would mess up because Namjoon either moved too late or too early. 

"Not even with an invitation like mine?" Suddenly, the beat of the song turned up, causing both of your hands to alternate the hold at a fast pace. 

"It's cute," you simply answered, pulling away to bow at Namjoon when the song ends fleetingly. 

He waited in the silence for your straight answer, but it never came as a slower song followed the last one. "Hey, we still have thirty minutes before curfew. How about one last dance?" 

You were about to retort, not willing to risk the last safe thirty minutes over getting caught by the strict monitoring professors lurking about. You also weren't pleased with the thought of being caught by Mr. Filch and his cat because the last time he caught a naughty student, he sent them to the Forbidden Forest with the Hogwarts Gamekeeper as punishment. So, it surprised you when you gave in to Namjoon's suggestion and went to take his hand until he pulled you closer. 

You two had been the closest ever since first year, since you sat beside each other after being sorted into Hufflepuff, and so when Namjoon went to hold your waist with both of his hands, it didn't really faze you though it did dust a small pinch of pink across your cheeks. 

"If I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to wrap your hands around my neck, like this." Namjoon slid an arm away from your waist to hold your arms and settle it atop his shoulders near the curve of his neck. His hand then went back to holding onto your waist softly, touch too soft it almost felt as if he wasn't touching at all. 

Your cheeks involuntarily pinked, suddenly flustered of having a male too close physically, despite this man being your closest friend. You were still just a girl and he was just a boy potent enough to make the other gender's heart flutter like that of the nimble wings of the golden snitch. But, as the two of you swayed under the blue velvet blanket of the evening, you shoved down such thoughts and instead focused on pointing out Namjoon's mistakes. 

Except, his steps were flawless, stiff and a little bit clumsy, but still at the right track. Besides, the type of dance they were swaying to were more of free-style beat, best danced when just swaying from the left to the right and no complicated-not-really footwork. "I see you've been practicing on your own?" 

Namjoon's chuckle was deep and, with the proximity between you two, the sound sent vibrations running from your fingertips to your body. He showed you his famous smile: the one with a deep dimple below one corner of his mouth and with his eyes crinkling up further into thin crescents. "Like I said, I've been working on it. Besides, I may have watched head-boy Seokjin practicing his dance moves with this girl from the other school." 

"I see," You nodded, recognizing the boy Namjoon had mentioned to be the head-boy prefect from Gryffindor who had looks considered as potential prey from predatory females. 

After that, another pregnant silence ensued between the two of you, time ticking silently with every easy step you took. 

"I didn't know you can wear dresses well. It's pretty." Namjoon spoke up, discreetly eyeing the outfit you'd been ridiculously wearing because of his persuasion. 

You had on your body a well-fitting flowing gown: it's skirt made of dark blue chiffon material and fleeting graciously with every caress of the wind caused by the slightest motion while the top was of a cream-color, shimmering, lace-embroidered, long-sleeved, and off-shoulder. "My father always has the best picks. It's all the dress." 

Namjoon would have disagreed completely, as the dress was a mere prop; a small little detail that made the main art piece so breathtaking. 

He honestly did not like you the way a man likes a woman, but his feelings weren't far off. Having you by his side was the most satisfying thing he'd ever experienced; even better than getting a high mark off the difficult Potions subject; even better than finishing writing and composing a song for Frog Choir or for Extra Music Lessons; even better than seeing dried squid served on the Hufflepuff table during mealtimes. Bloody hell, it might actually even be even better than passing his O.W.Ls or N.E.W.T. or Apparition Licensure exams. 

But, maybe, Namjoon wouldn't be going that far. Because, for now, it was of utmost importance that he asks you this simple question. So, he calls your attention by whispering your name. "Be my partner for the ball, will you?" 

You thought you were hearing things, but the cassette tape had magically stopped playing (it was an old tape anyways) though you and Namjoon were still swaying with an imaginary waltz beat. 

You would have rejected him like all the other boys who asked for your company for the upcoming Yule ball. But you knew he wasn't just any other young wizard. 

You would have incredulously asked him if he was serious, would have asked if he was practicing on you for the time he finally asks out his date tomorrow. 

Your mind was surprisingly at a crossroad, not knowing which statement or question should come out of your mouth as a reply to Namjoon's confusingly clear question. But, even if you had a determined answer at the tip of your tongue, you wouldn't have voiced it out because suddenly the clock struck twelve and your strict Arithmancy professor was unluckily patrolling the hallway leading to the gardens. "What are you students doing outside past curfew? Stay right where you are." 

Staying put until the teacher reached you both would have been trouble, but running for it would cause even more problems. Still, you found yourself sharing a brief look of horror and strategy-making with Namjoon before you felt yourself being hauled away by this sweet unkempt boy in his newly arrived black velvet dress robes. We'd be in trouble anyway, you thought incoherently, she'd probably forget about this tomorrow. Besides, it's not like she saw our faces. 

Amidst the silence of the castle's corridors, a booming laughter echoed along the dark emptiness and it only took a second for you to recognize Namjoon's distinct laugh. Soon enough, you joined him in giggling before you turned the corner and stayed quiet for the rest of your escape back to the dormitories. 

Past the busy floating kitchen utensils, you and Namjoon ducked until you've reached the entrance barrels. And, with adrenaline still pumping with your dangerous escape, you tapped the wooden surface until the door opened and you two slipped inside. 

The common room was empty, save for the badger-like furniture decorating it. The mustard walls illuminated the whole room despite the flames by the fireplace the only source of light. 

You and Namjoon leaned against the door, just in case the roaming teacher managed to follow you back to the Hufflepuff dormitories. You were sure if you got caught, a handful of points would have been taken from your house, but after minutes of silence behind the closed dorm door, you were relieved that Hufflepuff kept their points untouched and that you and Namjoon were free from trouble, for now. 

"That was mental, Joon! You aren't supposed to run away from the teacher." You playfully punched his arm, making your way towards the fireplace and plopping down ungracefully on a wooden seat. Minutes later, Namjoon sat beside you, just as always. 

"What's mental is that you aren't taking my question seriously." Namjoon pointed out, still a bit out of breath with all the escaping that happened. "Besides, running away is better than having our points taken. I don't want our house to lose over Slytherin again." 

"True," you commented, mind still pondering on what to answer while your fingers played with the soft material of your gown. Your eyes stayed focused on the fire; the flames still projecting the people proposing to another for a date to the Yule ball. It was a few days away, and indeed Namjoon worked on it for too long. 

"I still think that this is practice for when you ask a girl out tomorrow." 

"Technically, it is tomorrow." 

Your mouth shut, finding no retort in the fact he had outspoken. Once again, you thought that it was no wonder that Namjoon would want to work in the Daily Prophet and maybe have song composition as a side job, because his words were always carefully, beautifully, and scarily persuading. "Why me? There are prettier girls from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and a few from Slytherin but a lot from the other schools.". 

"First of all, you are the only girl I am very close with." Namjoon stated, body slouching until he had his elbows resting on his separated knees. "You're probably the only girl who'll understand my two left feet. Besides, I'm probably the only boy who'd ever understand your obsession with books." 

You found no error in whatever reasons Namjoon were telling you; both were true although you whined at the very last statement despite the truth in it. You were still having second thoughts about agreeing, especially when you've already rejected a handful of rejections from the previous boys. Secretly, your doubt was brought on by surprise because who would have expected that Namjoon would ask you out? (Everyone but you). 

"Besides," Namjoon sighed, tilting his head to look at you with his dimpled smile, "you were the first girl I thought of bringing to the dance." 

It would have been a lie if you said that that didn't sway your heartstrings. Whatever Namjoon have said may have been the whole truth or just a tactic to have you agree, but you knew Namjoon long enough to know he couldn't have been smooth enough with girl to have said such a greasy line. Still, you began to tease him, "Yet you still waited weeks before you asked me out." 

"You didn't seem to want a partner, so I had to test the waters." 

"I've been flashing rejections to every boy who approached me, and you're still taking this chance?" You asked, but your smile told him that you were this close to agreeing to him. 

"You wouldn't resist me anyways. I'm your best friend, for Hogwart's sake." And, being your best friend - as he claimed to be -, you knew you had nothing against him. 

"Why would you prioritize asking me to teach you to dance over asking me to the dance?" You laughed standing up to make your way back to your rooms. 

"Because it was in the plan?" 

"Being adorable was?" 

"So, you thought I was cute but I still get no solid reply?" Namjoon jeered, having reached both your rooms but staying outside just until you went in. 

"I still don't understand why my date saw me in my dress before the actual day." You giggled softly, whispers almost inaudible as the sound vibrated in the air subtly to reach Namjoon's hearing. 

"So...?"

"Alright, I'll be your partner for the Yule Ball. But, I better not smell any dried squid on your fingers during the party."

"No promises."

COPYRIGHT 170417. DO NOT RE-POST.

[goodwriting1101-blog]

      There is such thing as bad writing, as much as there is such thing as good writing. When writing a good piece, there are five elements of effective writing: a central idea, being organized, supporting your material, expression/word choice/point of view, and spelling/punctuation/grammar. For example, the central idea demonstrates good writing because it focuses on an idea, argument, or thesis that will organize your piece of writing. If a writing piece does a poor job of communicating an idea, or if it is unclear, it is the only time writing can be considered “bad.” Someone can be writing about how much they enjoy dogs and then talk about how they like fruits, clearly, this would have nothing to do with the topic and your readers will become uninterested in finishing reading.       Everyone has their own style of writing which makes it good. One person can think something is terrible while another will find it beautiful and interesting. Writing is helpful as a student, but being a good writer will guide you in the direction of life after graduating. For example, Teachers write documents for their classroom, Doctors and nurses must write reports on their patients, scientists write and publish experiments to their field. Singers come up with lyrics that speak their voice for an audience.        In the article, “True Writing is Rewriting,” Beth Shape teaches us readers about how to make your writing “good.” According to Shape, “Just anyone can think of a story and write it down, this doesn’t imply talent, but skill is not a prerequisite” (Sharpe). Almost nobody gets it right for the first time around, so it is important to rewrite many times to improve your texts. Shape informs us, that with time and experience, you can learn how to recognize what makes your dialogue snappier, and your action more suspenseful if you read good books, bad books, and interesting movies. Reading and watching carefully of the use of conflicts in these examples will help create interesting ideas “Remember, everything you write--whether the first words on the first page or the umpteenth revision of chapter forty-two--is fluid. It can be changed, shaped, and reshaped. That's what rewriting is all about”(Sharpe). Receiving and writing critique can sharpen your objective vision which takes practice and time.         Good writing depends on your purpose of who your audience is. There are many different types of writing: your purpose can be to persuade, explain, research, and to tell. When persuading readers, you must use research to back up your information to your audience- this is considered good writing. For example, If I were to persuade to my audience about how smoking is bad for you, I would need to explain why by including facts by researching articles to convince my readers why. Good writing needs to be organized so readers can read fluently and understand when a writer changes an idea to another idea. Good writing must have good grammar to make their writing piece easy to read. Finally, good writing has to allow readers to feel and imagine the actual scene when reading. In good writing, readers should know what the writer is trying to express.       Bad writing is boring and unclear writing. It can be boring because it is too confusing, or too long. Bad writing occurs when readers are bored with a writing piece. This happens when an author doesn’t express the topic well or if it just confusing. What causes bad writing is when a writer doesn’t have good grammar, terrible use of word choice, doesn’t use enough evidence to support their topic, and if it is understandable. Sometimes, using too much information in a writing piece causes it to be useless and confuses the audience when it is harder to understand the central idea. For example,       Writers must be creative and thoughtful of what they are writing, so readers can be interested in their work wanting to read more rather than giving up on the first page. Whenever I write essays, it usually takes me some time to complete. First, I start out with a blank mind, not knowing what to do. I read books, or watch shows/movies and even get out of my house to walk around to find inspiration which improves my thoughts more clearly. I then brainstorm ideas to include and research if I have to. I then write a rough draft and I have multiple people revise my drafts for errors like grammar, or making my piece unclear to become a good writer. When I get my feedback, I fix what should be fixed which benefits me for my future writing pieces.      In the article, “What Makes Someone a “Good” Writer,” Richard Nordquist gives his knowledge on how to improve your writing. Nordquist informs his readers how a good writer will always find it very difficult to fill up a single page of writing, and a bad writing will always find it easy. This is true because it takes time to come up with a really good story too quickly. Bad writing will include more than what the author thinks. In good writing, it consists of an author writing more of what he thinks “in order to be a good writer, I have to be willing to be a bad writer. I have to be willing to let my thoughts and images be as contradictory as the evening firing its fireworks outside my window. In other words, let it all in--every little detail that catches your fancy. You can sort it out later--if it needs any sorting.”      To become a good writer, it takes practice and dedication. It truly takes hard work, but it’s worth the effort. If you don’t read good writing, you probably won’t know how to do it yourself. Good writers start by learning from the qualified. Reading texts from qualified writers will help inspire you to want to be good as them and you will see the type of ideas and word choices they include. Write a lot every single day; the more you write, the better you will become due to the fact that writing is a skill. This should be done in a scene where there are no interruptions. If it were me, I would enjoy writing in a quiet place at my house. I would sit at my desk in my room, play classical music on low and turn my phone on do not disturb. I try not to think too much about the way I use my words when I plan out my writing as a draft and try to use my own experiences into a writing piece. Self-expression is an important factor in god writing. Self-expression is important to be able to clear things off of your chest and into your writing piece. If you’re feeling upset about something, the best way would be to express your feelings by writing it all down, it could be one of your most amazing workpieces.      Before creating a writing piece, you should write down ideas that come to your head all the time even if it’s in a notebook or flash cards. You can do this by writing down some detailed conversations you have or overhear. Don’t over think when writing, just grab a piece of paper and start writing. Try new things in your writing by experimenting your style, voice, and new words- See what works in your pieces. Peer review is a concept that decides what writing is good. Peer reviews help correct your work from other people’s point of view because your writing to yourself may be good, but there is usually something that can fix to make it perfect.      Writers get judged based on their writing, we all do it. If they use incorrect grammar and punctuation, and poor choice of words it will bother you when you continue to read their work, which is important to receive feedback to improve your writing to succeed in your future writing pieces. Good writing does matter because it can outlive you. It can not only change your life but others’ because you may influence others to write just like you do. Your name could be remembered for years       Good writing does not call attention to itself. It tells the story, proves information, makes the request, or answers questions in an interesting way that makes it understandable. Good writing leaves the audience wanting more. When you read a writing piece, you shouldn’t want to stop reading and think to yourself “Wow! I want to know what happens next.” It takes time to write. You have to spend hours, even days revising and taking criticism and feedback. Good writing takes nothing but practice.