#despite their conflicting opinions of him
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do you think about how the only two times (episodes 11 and 37) utena took her rose crest ring off (tried versus successfully) were due to the prince(s) of utena's past [touga (she believed him to be the prince from her past) versus akio], and both times, she secured the ring back on her finger due to anthy...
both scenes followed a similar sequence of events; utena was faced with a substantial realisation ⟶ utena tried giving up the pursuit of the princely ideals ⟶ utena shared a heart-to-heart moment with anthy ⟶ utena got herself together and resumed playing the role of a prince for anthy's sake.
in episode 11, touga successfully manipulated utena into believing he's the prince she met when she was younger. utena's aim was to reunite with her prince, and now that she had met "him," he challenged her to a duel. naturally, this would make her feel conflicted and wish she wasn't a part of the dueling game that had put her in this position. as utena tried removing her ring, anthy called out to her. i think it may have been intentional on anthy's part to call utena at that time, to prevent her from removing the rose crest ring and dropping out of the duels without fighting touga (although i don't have any proof to back this up; just a matter of a convenient interference time by anthy). i did ponder why anthy didn't let utena simply drop out of the duels; perhaps it had something to do with honing one's soul sword (touga's in this case [?]), and in a way, anthy wanted to teach utena a lesson/give her a reality check as with the cases of the other duelists in previous episodes.
after a little conversation with anthy, utena was resolute in going through with the duel for anthy's sake. the heart of the conversation was anthy admitting that she wished to have more friends. with the knowledge of later events in the series in mind, upon rewatch, this part could easily be interpreted as anthy's subtle manipulation of utena to ensure she continued participating in the dueling game. in my opinion, anthy was honest here and she used the honesty to manipulate utena, a situation of plausible deniability. i think both facts can be true at the same time. on the other hand, it's also possible that anthy detested the companionship of others and so, she simply lied to utena here to manipulate her. nevertheless, i'd like to think that it's realistic and possible for anthy to both hate and long for some normal human connections despite her loneliness. to me, anthy did have contradicting qualities coexisting within her.
i think it's interesting that she chose anthy over her "prince." i think this may indicate that utena cherished what she had with anthy at the moment more than what she had with her prince in the distant past and what she could have with him should she choose him. perhaps utena didn't dare to risk losing the security the bond with anthy provided her over something uncertain and possibly at odds with her own sense of self.
despite the unconventional ways things had played out, utena had begun to consider anthy her friend, like wakaba. however, what differentiated wakaba and anthy was the role anthy played. i believe performing the role of a prince alongside anthy as her rose bride truly affirmed utena's sense of self because she had molded a large part of her self around the ideals of a prince. this made her friendship with anthy more special than her friendship with wakaba. besides companionship, utena can also be more of herself with anthy compared with wakaba, or any other person.
utena assumed responsibility for protecting anthy, which is reasonable since she's engaged to anthy at the time. she added that she could "turn anthy back into a normal girl" and "wouldn't give her over to others, including her prince," who she surmised to be touga. while i'm sure utena meant well, her intention seemed rather naively misguided at best and patronising at worst. much like others, utena was also somewhat projecting her visions and ideals onto anthy, though utena herself wasn't aware of this yet. utena said all of those lines as she walked towards the phallic-shaped ohtori tower, which could serve as an imagery of how utena's pursuit and aims can easily spiral into her upholding and perpetuating the very system she strived to protect anthy from, a reenactment of the princely persona that had been hurting anthy for a long time.
in episode 37, it began with utena looking over the large window of her and anthy's room. she held the rose crest ring in her hand, and the accurate scenario of young utena and prince dios played in the background. utena echoed the end of prince dios' speech to herself and dropped the ring. the night before, she walked in on anthy and akio. it's possible that learning the true nature of their relationship brought back the correct version of utena's encounter with prince dios. at this point, she may have figured that akio was both prince dios and end of the world.
these parallels have been pointed out by other people before; i think the vague similarities between the two scenes could have reminded utena of the real sequence of events with regard to meeting prince dios; an unravelling of her repressed memories.
utena and anthy spent the episode somewhat avoiding each other, they weren't willing to broach the subject of that late night scene until near the end of the episode.
these three moments were when they gradually opened up to each other and talked about matters of their hearts. the moments of vulnerability reached a climax when anthy attempted suicide, which was stopped by utena, and in turn, led to one of the most vulnerable and honest moments the both of them shared with the other throughout the series.
compared to the moment they shared in episode 11, the post-suicide attempt moment (explored in episode 38) was genuine in that both utena and anthy laid their hearts bare to the other. by this time, utena had gained more perspective and understanding and was able to see and address her wrongs with regard to being complicit in worsening anthy's situation and pain. utena's care for anthy had also grown to be more earnest. her reason for playing the role of a prince was more sincere in episode 37 compared to episode 11. on the other hand, anthy was much more transparent here than in episode 11. she didn't hide her feelings "behind a thin veil" (something akio said in episode 19) or put on a facade. anthy opened her heart to utena, something that utena suggested to anthy in episode 11 so that anthy could make more friends. we could interpret that at this point (episode 37), anthy had accepted utena as someone she could rely on, someone she could turn to, someone who would allow her to be vulnerable: a friend. and of course, anthy had also come to sincerely and truly care for utena.
#i hope this is something#i'm sorry for any errors/mistakes/misunderstandings#do add on if you'd like#revolutionary girl utena#shojo kakumei utena#shoujo kakumei utena#rgu#sku#utena tenjou#anthy himemiya#utenanthy#touga kiryuu#akio ohtori#parallels#analysis
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How s2 betrayed Viktor, Mel and Jayce by making them passive characters
I had initially started to write a long post about the reason I didn't like Viktor, Mel and Jayce in s2, but I figured it would be better to just get to the point, which is : they do not work in s2 because they have become passive characters.
See Viktor : in s1, he is a determined inventor, has a strong will (manifested by his presence at the Academy, his desire to help Jayce, to break into Heimerdinger's office despite the risk, his refusal to be limited by his body, etc.) and a strong intellect, which is used to reach his personal objectives. He has strong opinions about his environment, about his work, and he has his own personality. He is shown taking action (ex : trying to cure his leg). His tragedy is that his health will not let him accomplish all that he is capable of. He is an active character : his desires, his skills, his choices move the plot forward.
But then in s2 : he gets fused with the hexcore while he's unconscious. He's magically cured. He isn't a scientist anymore. His relationship with Jayce isn't important anymore. He has a few lines before more or less disappearing from the story until the finale.
And before continuing : that scene where Viktor gets out of the arcane cocoon and talks to Jayce was the one that convinced me that s2 had given up on itself. Has anyone else realized how devoid of tension, of meaning, of scenaristic conflict it is ? It is not very long, but each line is like a wet fuse. They don't talk about the fact that Jayce made weapons out of the Hextech. They don't talk about the fact that Jayce betrayed Viktor by not only not destroying the Hexcore, but also using it to save him. They don't talk about Sky's death, they don't talk about the radical changes Viktor made to his body using the Arcane and shimmer, about the extremes he could have reached. They don't talk about the attack on the Council and how it ruined their efforts, how they were so close to making a great leap forward in realising their dream (I cannot believe that this major plot point, the cliffhanger of s1, the tragedy of the Council being attacked while voting freedom for Zaun, is not addressed by the two people who should feel particularly concerned about it. How are they not horrified by it ? How come it had so little impact on them they don't even mention it ? How come Viktor doesn't bring it up with Jinx ?).
Each conflictual plot point, which should have been used to create tension and make the story interesting, was very carefully ignored. When Viktor walks away, Jayce doesn't even try to talk to him, or express any real sadness. This scene is just Viktor going "bye" and Jayce going "kay" (before he is whisked away by the scenario but we'll get back to this later).
Anyway, it doesn't get better for Viktor in the story. Somehow he gets magical healing powers, which is lazy writing. He does nothing when Jayce is clearly hostile, he lets him destroy the commune. Then he suddenly wants to turn everyone into puppets for one episode, before Jayce comes back in the story with a grand declaration, and then he changes his mind again because the show needs him to. All of this is passive : he is no longer a fully-fledged character but an OOC doll that the writers string along and put in a drawer when they don't know what to do with him.
And don't get me started on the "Viktor was the mage" revelation, which is the final nail in the coffin. In short, saving Jayce from jumping, inventing Hextech, their projects, their dream, their bond, all of that loses impact because it was not even their own decision. The main interest of Jayce and Viktor's arc is that they met each other by chance, decided to embark on a seemingly unfeasable project (carried only by their determination, their belief in each other, and their talent), tried to change the world for the better, and failed to protect their creation from the corruption of the real world. If it was all written in the stars, if it happens in other dimensions, then it loses most of its interest. If it isn't really their choice, it has no meaning anymore. It makes them passive pawns in their own story.
The same analyse can be done for Mel and Jayce :
Mel in s1 is a smart politician, strategic, cunning and manipulative at times. She is a nuanced active character, one who wishes to avoid violence and does not take pleasure in suffering, but who also places her own interests first and is not that concerned with the common good (as a council member and the richest person in Piltover, she is also guilty of abandoning the Undercity by her inaction.) Then her mother arrives and adds another nuance to her already moraly-grey character : we understand Mel's upbringing, her exile and her desire to not follow her mother's footsteps. She has difficult choices to make : should she prioritise Piltover over Zaun ? Piltover over Noxus ? Is it being a pacifist to refuse that weapons be made out of Hextech, or is it dangerous and naive to pretend your enemies won't use it ?
But then s2 happens, and you can scratch all of that. Writing political conflict is too complicated, let's just get her kidnapped instead (passive), put her in a magical cell for most of the show, and watch all this meaningless Blackrose subplot unfold (who cares about her father ? Neither her supposed nor her real father appear in the story, and Ambessa clearly is the Noxus leader, so what does her being an illegitimate child change ? Nothing. Also, lineage is a passive character trait). Now Mel has magical powers, without having done anything to acquire them. She gets out of the cell not because of her intellect, or because she cracks a code, or because she accomplishes any action, but simply because she magically knows the solution (passive). And then, the resolution of her conflict with her mother ? A most unsatisfying magic fight. That's it. She didn't even struggle to master her powers. Just like Viktor, she didn't accomplish anything as a true character : she was just put to the side until the writers needed her.
And the exact same happens to Jayce :
Most of Jayce's characteristics from s1 are basically erased. He barely appears in the first episodes, then disappears in the wild runes for most of the series, and comes back towards the end, and suddenly he's on a rampage. His character arc is completely forgotten : remember when Jayce was slowly getting corrupted by power, popularity, politics ? Remember when he was an idealist getting dragged into choosing sides in a violent conflict ? An inventor who broke his own vow, made a weapon out of his own invention (against his partner's will), hated it so much he campaigned for Zaun's independance, only for a rocket to explode in the council room at the critical moment ? What does Jayce think about all this ? Well Jayce doesn't think at all in s2.
When he comes back in the third act (and no character cared about his disappearance, much like the writers didn't care about him), all of his previous dilemmas are erased (because that was easier than writing a satisfactory conclusion) and he has no problem using violence, killing people, and even killing Viktor while he is defenceless. We never get to see any psychological nuance for him : (barely) no regrets for inventing the Hextech and summoning the wild runes, no regrets when deciding that the commune must die, no regrets when hunting Viktor (serioulsy, he should NEVER have accepted to kill Viktor so easily). He gets out of the wild rune and suddenly he's the Terminator.
Until the last ten minutes of the show when he joins Viktor in the Arcane and now he's love incarnate. Then the writers desecrate his corpse one last time by making him spew the strangest lines at Viktor (he was dying, Jayce ! Remember s1 Jayce who was desperate to find a way to save his partner ?).
Again, Jayce did not do anything as an active character : he became a puppet who only moved when the scenario needed him to.
I'd continue with Ekko and Heimerdinger, but you see the point.
The scenario of a series such as Arcane is supposed to be moved forward by active characters making decisions, thus creating and resolving conflict. In s2, the scenario decides what it wants, then twists the characters to bring them where it wants, regardless of coherence or good writing. And even if Viktor, Jayce and Mel had been better written, they had so little screen time, the writers cared so little about them that their stories could not be anything but a disappointment.
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EPIC the musical: Athena's Philosophy and Character Development
I have a very different take on Athena and Odysseus' moment during "I can't help but wonder" than the other opinions I've seen. After investigating and thinking about it, I realised I think I have a different understanding on Athena's character.
The take I mainly see about that moment is that Athena and Odysseus switched mindsets. And while yes, their mindsets vastly changed from where they were during My Goodbye, I don't see it as a switch.
See, when it comes to Athena telling Odysseus to kill Polyphemus, it isn't about being ruthless. Ruthlessness was never the focus of Athena's philosophy.
Her philosophy, is absolute logic and rationality.
She is the goddess of wisdom and strategy: her domain is using smarts: planning and plotting. Those things rely on logic. In fact, during her first meeting with Odysseus, the reason she found Odysseus as a potential protege was because he outsmarted her with reverse psychology.
And in order to focus on the logical, factual aspects of situations, you need to be rational. This is what Athena was pushing, as seen in "Have you forgotten to turn off your heart? This is not you" in Warrior of the Mind, and "You’ve grown soft, your dead friends can attest; Put your emotions aside" in My Goodbye.
Empathy is an emotion, and Athena deems that a hindrance.
But then you get to the wisdom saga, and from "We'll Be Fine", we are told that Athena's fall out with Odysseus has haunted her ever since, to the point where she can't sleep. And Telemachus, in turn says that perhaps by helping this old friend, both of their lives can be better. Note that at this point, Telemachus doesn't know that Athena's friend is actually his dad, all he knows about this friend is what Athena told him.
And that is an act of compassion, an emotional act.
Yet somehow, that brings comfort to Athena, so she does as he suggests, and pleads for Odysseus' life.
And I've mentioned part of this in my essay on God Games, but if we look at each level Athena completes, we can see that for the five Gods, she uses logic to persuade all of them, but almost fails on Aphordite's level. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, which is an emotion.
But when her rationality and strategy enraged Zeus, she can't do anything in the face of his anger, because he won't listen to reason.
Then she thinks of Odysseus and Telemachus.
And uses the thing she learnt from them: emotion.
Her final plea to Zeus, is nothing more than "Let him go, please". There's no elaboration or explanation or rebuttal. It's just four words.
But she's desperate, and sad for her friend.
And that's what convinced Zeus to help. Not as the king of Gods, but as a father fulfilling his daughter's request.
If we look at it step by step: Athena's sympathy and affection for Odysseus led to her final lines of God Games, and Zeus' sympathy and love for his daughter led to him eventually agreeing.
Odysseus was freed because of the empathy of two Gods.
I truly think this moment was what fully changed Athena's worldview.
So when we get to Athena and Odysseus' reunion, I don't see it as Athena asking for anything from Odysseus. I understand it as her reflecting: "If we all held each other with a bit more empathy", it turns out that at the end of the day, the best way to resolve conflict is empathy and love. That overrides any logic or strategy.
Odysseus, despite everything, agrees that this is the best world for everyone. All his ruthlessness and rage in beating Poseidon and killing the suitors came from his unending love for his family, if anything he fully embraced pure emotionality in those two battles. He just doesn't have it in him to make the whole world see it like he used to.
This is actually Athena and Odysseus coming to an agreement.
#epic the musical#epic athena#athena#epic odysseus#odysseus#epic telemachus#telemachus#epic thoughts#epic the musical thoughts#epic analysis#epic the musical analysis#meraki essay#epic zeus#zeus#jorge rivera herrans
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every time someone insists alkaid is a yandere an angel loses its wings
edit to this post because i wrote that essay i mentioned in the tags.
it gets me so pressed because alkaid's whole deal is that he ISN'T some generic yandere. he doesn't want control over mc and he doesn't take pleasure from her losing all agency. alkaid's flaws tend to originate from anxiety and a sincere desire to protect. but one of alkaid's most notable traits is an emphasized importance of one's own freedom. his desire to protect and his desire to ensure mc's freedom conflict - but his respect for her own agency and freedom will always outweigh his desire to protect, even if he doesn't realize it.
alkaid (all of them, deep down imo) would rather rob himself of his own freedom if it ensures mc gets to live with no chains. that's the whole POINT. any story beat where an alkaid tries to control her has some sort of context or nuance where it shows this ISN'T what he wants, and that he's miserable. because that's the POINT. this ISN'T who he is.
godheim!alkaid chains himself to his own sins to ensure mc flies free from her cage. eden!alkaid breaks free of prefect luminary's control because of how wrong it feels to control mc. spirit world!alkaid willingly ends his own life and his own spirit to ensure mc lives. puppet!alkaid turns himself into a puppet locked in a house simply to stay immortal with her and despite being terrified of her leaving him, he wants her to leave and be free regardless.
modern!alkaid is literally horrified of the bad future he sees where he is lying to mc. awakening!alkaid willingly weighs himself down with his own sins to ensure that burden is taken off mc. and even then, modern!alkaid is horrified by his dishonesty and inability to take mc's opinions into consideration.
And Yes, This Whole Topic Includes Prefect Luminary.
pl has had empire dogma beaten into him since he was a child. control is key. but deep down, this ISN'T what pl wants. pl's whole deal is literally how his environment (or his "nurture") is completely at odds with his own nature as an alkaid.
"alkaid is a yandere" can we PLEASE have nuance. alkaid's plots tend to discuss where to draw the line between protection and freedom, and how whenever he toes the line too far into protection, and into control, he's fucking miserable and always learns to regret it. that is the POOOINT.
#lovebrush chronicles#i could go off on a rant about how each universe's alkaid Isn't a yandere for like 20 minutes#but i'll spare you all#yes even pl. but that involves cn spoilers.#why do i check Twitter Dot Com#'if you want a REAL yandere play lbc' AND IS THE YANDERE IN THE ROOM WITH US RIGHT NOW#ARE WE MISSING CONTEXT. NUANCE. ANYTHING. GUYS?#alkaid mcgrath
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you ever wonder how the ancients got pebbles to be in ads
#rain world#five pebbles#rw five pebbles#rain world fanart#riantart#tbh in canon he'd probably be fine with this#didn't seem to mind his citizens too much#despite their conflicting opinions of him#nonetheless he'd need some#erm#“persuasion”#shitpost
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I really adore when Jonathan is shown to have some nuggets of humanity. I love when despite how twisted he can be, there is still some vague goodness inside him. Like how he would love to return to academia in Batman Adventures. I love that complexity and I wish newer iterations would explore it more. I like the duality of Jonathan fighting between that and his love of fear. I would love to see him in more vulnerable states as he clearly hasn’t gotten over his childhood. I wanna see that man cry, although he’d probably try not to.
he is a pathetic, sad little man at his very core, struggling at all times.
#jonathan crane#batman#dc scarecrow#idk if its an unpopular opinion but#i love seeing his humanity explored. i love when he isnt just scarecrow#i love headcanons where despite everything he still has jon left in him#i like when he isnt just a complete sadistic monster#even new 52 did this sometimes and i appreciate that#i love villains with depth and conflicting feelings and morals#i even love when jon has a bit of softness to him#blorbo tag#im sorry for the long tags i just. love him so much#he is such a strange sad little man#dc comics#batman rogues
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normally when analyzing characters and such you probably already noticed that i go "but that's just my interpretation!!!! i could be wrong here!!!!! feel free to correct me or offer your own take ^_^" even with characters i love or study a lot for any reason. that's up until i see an annoying fan theory and then i become an expert on said character and no one knows them as well as i do
#besties I'm ngl. imo. just my interpretation. etc. dazai being not human is narratively stupid#like so much of his story is about being proven that he IS human despite not feeling like it...#of course he's got imagery and dialogue pieces that imply otherwise. bc that's his perception of himself#we are currently reading a story. about why that's NOT true. and why he's wrong about that#that's what oda tried to tell him before dying that's the catalyst of his change that's why this story even exists!!!!!#so like from a technical standpoint sure that's cool and that's a cool concept for a fic#but in canon? that'll be a really bad choice like this would ruin his character. imo just my interpretation only my opinion etc etc#i was gonna keep this post vague bc i don't wanna start conflict but also. i trust my followers to be normal abt this. hopefully#(that being said if you disagree we can actually open a discussion abt this. if you wanna. but just be civil and respectful 👌)
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for whom good omens is being written
Hey maggots and the rest of the fandom, it's the Good Omens Mascot here. Today I read a post about this tweet:
The accompanying video genuinely made me cry. And I've been thinking about this for a long while, as far back as February, when I saw a lot of conflicting opinions on what people wanted from the third season. It really is true that no matter what you do, some people will be dissatisfied. But what matters is that Neil is writing this for Terry.
And I was reminded of some paragraphs from the Good Omens TV Companion, which I'd read in Amazon's sample excerpt of the book. I know this is a long post, but I really truly do think you all need to read these, I've done my best to select only the most important parts. Here you go:
'His Alzheimer's started progressing harder and faster than either of us had expected,' says Neil, referring to a period in which Terry recognized that despite everything he could no longer write. 'We had been friends for over thirty years, and during that time he had never asked me for anything. Then, out of the blue, I received an email from him with a special request. It read: “Listen, I know how busy you are. I know you don't have time to do this, but I want you to write the script for Good Omens. You are the only human being on this planet who has the passion, love and understanding for the old girl that I do. You have to do this for me so that I can see it." And I thought, “OK, if you put it like that then I'll do it."
'I had adapted my own work in the past, writing scripts for Death: The High Cost of Living and Sandman, but not a lot else was seen. I'd also written two episodes of Doctor Who, and so I felt like I knew what I was doing. Usually, having written something once I'd rather start something new, but having a very sick co-author saying I had to do this?' Neil spreads his hands as if the answer is clear to see. 'I had to step up to the plate.' A pause, then: 'All this took place in autumn 2014, around the time that the BBC radio adaptation of Good Omens was happening,' he continues, referring to the production scripted and co-directed by Dirk Maggs and starring Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap. ‘Terry had talked me into writing the TV adaptation, and I thought OK, I have a few years. Only I didn't have a few years,' he says. 'Terry was unconscious by December and dead by March.'
He pauses again. 'His passing took all of us by surprise,' Neil remembers. 'About a week later, I started writing, and it was very sad. The moments Terry felt closest to me were the moments I would get stuck during the writing process. In the old days, when we wrote the novel, I would send him what I'd done or phone him up. And he would say, "Aahh, the problem, Grasshopper, is in the way you phrase the question," and I would reply, "Just tell me what to do!" which somehow always started a conversation. 'In writing the script, there were times I'd really want to talk to Terry, and also places where I'd figure something out and do something really clever, and I would want to share it with him. So, instead, I would text Terry's former personal assistant, Rob Wilkins, now his representative on Earth. It was the nearest thing I had.'
(...) As Neil himself recognizes, this is an adaptation built upon the confidence that comes from three decades of writing for page and screen. But for all the wisdom of experience, he found that above all one factor guided him throughout the process. 'Terry isn't here, which leaves me as the guardian of the soul of the story,' he explains. 'It's funny because sometimes I found myself defending Terry's bits harder or more passionately than I would defend my own bits. Take Agnes Nutter,' he says, referring to what has become a key scene in the adaptation in which the seventeenth-century author of the book of prophecies foretelling the coming of the Antichrist is burned at the stake. ‘It was a huge, complicated and incredibly expensive shoot, with bonfires built and primed to explode as well as huge crowds in costume. It had to feel just like an English village in the 1640s, and of course everyone asked if there was a cheap way of doing it. 'One suggestion was that we could tell the story using old-fashioned woodcuts and have the narrator take us through what happened, but I just thought, “No”. Because I had brought aspects of the story like Crowley and the baby swap along to the mix, and Terry created Agnes Nutter. So, if I had cut out Agnes then I wouldn't be doing right by the person who gave me this job. Terry would've rolled over in his grave.'
And, finally, this paragraph:
"Once again, Neil cites the absence of his co-writer as his drive to ensure that Good Omens translated to the screen and remained true to the original vision. 'Terry's last request to me was to make this something he would be proud of. And so that has been my job.'"
I think that's so heartwrenchingly beautiful, and so I wanted you all to read this, too, just in case you (like me) don't have the Good Omens TV Companion. It adds another layer of depth and emotion to this already complex and amazing story that we all know and love.
Share this post, if you can, please, so that more people can read these excerpts :")
Tagging @neil-gaiman, @fuckyeahgoodomens and @orpiknight, even if you've definitely read these before :)
#good omens#neil gaiman#sir terry pratchett#good omens show#good omens fandom#good omens mascot#weirdly specific but ok#asmi
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Oh boy. You know, I really love how you've cut some of those panels out. Here's a little more context on Oliver very clearly laying a solid chunk of what's wrong with Jason at Bruce's feet:
And you know what, you're right! No one's ever obligated to forgive everyone or anyone ever! But also guess what! You're also ignoring like... a lot of stuff actually. You think the batarang is the only thing people have an issue with.... as if it exists in a vacuum as the only thing Bruce has ever done wrong to Jason ever? Because most people aren't so much mad over a single incident as we are over it happening again and again and again.
RHATO Rebirth v2 #25
Batman and Robin uhhh Issue 6 I think? Going off the omnibus, sorry
Batman #138* *yes I'm aware that Bruce is being influenced by "Zur-En-Arr" in this, but honestly? I've always felt that this & the Batman & Robin one were some of the more in-character examples of Bruce's flaws manifesting in abusive ways
Or maybe some of these are too recent. Let's talk my personal favorite little beef that I like to contrast with Ollie:
Batman #424-425 The Diplomat's Son & Consequences
Ollie, on the other hand, when his charge commits a murder that Ollie thought could be prevented:
Now there's something to be said for how the writers for these stories had very different opinions of the sidekicks that were responsible, Starlin, for example, fucking hated Jason (Well, Robin in general) and wanted him dead, and it's deliberately set up to be a question of whether or not Jason actually did. Regardless, Bruce pretty cleanly absolves himself of any wrongdoing in his upbringing of Jason, whereas Ollie takes responsibility for Mia being in the position that she even could/would make that kind of call. And at this point, Oliver had Mia with him for a lot less time than Bruce had had Jason.
If it was Just the batarang, then, frankly, I think it's be a lot less controversial. This isn't even everything OR the worst panels from those incidents!!! I'm just cherrypicking, just like you were. And you know what, let me add this:
According to Bruce, Ollie's a pretty forgiving guy, it looks like. And if we're taking more Rebirth into account, Oliver was pretty chill about Cheshire hanging out with his family, and she's definitely caused her fair share of problems for the family and world at large on scales Jason has yet to even touch*, regardless of if she's Lian's mom. *some of Jade's crimes are dubiously canon, but with the reality mashing from Convergence in a way all of it is.
Ollie is a lot of hot air. I love the man, and he'll rip anyone and everyone a new one at the drop of a hat for any godsdamned reason. Pretty sure he's called Bruce and Barry and Hal all fascists before, so he has no hesitation in saying the absolute worst about people while... still having a relatively decent relationship with them in the long run, actually. Hal even used to be a villain for a while and Oliver was forced to kill him and now they're buds again. An alternate version of Hal that is STILL that villain continues to torment Oliver and his family.
Would Jason need to actually work to earn forgiveness from the Arrows? Probably. But he's still friends with Roy now (yes, CURRENTLY. AS HE HAS BEEN FOR OVER A DECADE he hasn't even been features in much w/ Roy lately but it has been REFERENCED), and even if it was small that olive branch of helping Roy and Lian reunite (and their general friendship, actually) isn't something that Ollie would just brush off, just as he wouldn't just brush off the events of Seeing Red.
But, in the grand scheme of things, kidnapping her, sending him on a wild goose chase across town, "having a talk" (mia's words) then letting her leave unharmed, and blowing up a building behind her is honestly small potatoes in comparison to the Repeated incidents of textbook abusive relationships that goes on between Bruce and Jason. (And I cannot overemphasize how little Mia was injured by this incident.)
Of course Olie was talking shit about Jason in the interim, Red Hood is incredibly dangerous, and he's scared for her safety. You can SEE how stumped he is by her coming out of this completely unharmed. Plus! This is hot on the heels of her return after the Dr Light Incident, and Ollie has every right to be scared out of his fucking mind.
But when it comes down to it, Mia Was Not Harmed. I will not stop saying that. Because in the world of villains and superheroes and red Hood doing significantly worse shit to other characters, this is NOTHING. Even actually within Arrow comics???? This WAS NOTHING.
And oh my god "He did the same thing Joker did" okay so where do I start with this
a) that was the point, obviously.
b) he didn't, actually.
c) that was the worst description of both incidents I've ever read in my entire life. Joker didn't "take a kid from his father and torture him and make him doubt his place in his family" unless you're talking about the fucking Arkham 'verse!
c2) actually let's break down that description: "took a kid from their father figure" Joker didn't take Jason, he was sold out by his mom. "Beat them up" understatement, but go off. "Tortured them mentally about their place in their family" not really. Joker just beat him nearly to death laughing for the most part, Jason's doubts about it came after he came back to life and saw news that Joker was still alive.
d) hmmm I wonder who said it was just Jason messing with Bruce...
Hm. Yeah. Bruce is definitely the most reliable source for Jason's intentions. I mean, was it generally to spite Bruce? Probably, yeah. But Jason's very good at multitasking and layering his intentions.
e) once again, Mia was not harmed. Jason spent most of their sparring match on the defensive, And only hit Her, physically, like, four times? and all of them in retaliation to her getting in close and hitting him first*? (And, trust me, if Jason can pull the hypercompetent bullshit that is "Seemingly shooting wildly but managing to hit nothing but THE STRING OF MIA'S BOW while also accounting for how she'd dodge" he could do sooooo much worse.) Notably, he briefly had her pinned to the floor with his hands around her throat... and then let up just after he held it long enough to make his point *Note: this is not a justification, she had every reason to fight back with everything she had and what Jason does is very fucked up on like...a normalscale. But it's worth noting he was Very Visibly and outright explicitly "teaching" her throughout it and it's soooo much less than any other villain has done to her.
This doesn't read to me "Making her doubt her place in her family" so much as "Emphasizing their similarities" this is the kind of speech the villain gives when he's trying to recruit the hero. (something which, hilariously, he mocked the idea of in UTH) But you know, all interpretations of canon are valid, although...
Funny enough, this also is very much not what Joker Did, actually. I mean, I don't recall Joker letting Jason have ANY agency at all, really. Just started breaking bones.
Now, I didn't post all of them because if I kept going it'd just be the whole comic, but yeah he does very much air out his daddy issues and compare them to her relationship with Ollie. It's clear that while he does know a lot about Mia... he also doesn't know much about Ollie. At least, not personality wise. Not how much genuinely better he is at this whole parenting gig.
This is so, so much easier to forgive, conceptually, than everything that goes on in the Batfam both from and to Jason and from and to OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BATFAM without involving Jason at all!!! (Birthdays, amirite?)
And, honestly, I'm probably seeing a lot of the posts that you are, and the ones making the Jason & Ollie bonding posts? Aren't really the same ones going on about the Batarang Incident. We've moved on to the rest of the, gestures above, Patterns of Abuse. If we discuss anything past post-crisis at all. (Speaking of post crisis, I actually remember Jason doing a pretty big solid for one of Oliver's close friends... hmmmmmm. Oh, yeah, he helped out when Black Lightning was framed for murder by Slade so good that even HE thought he did it! Granted, that was pre-Mia. So he's not going to stop being wary, but it's not like Jason hasn't done good things that affected people close to Ollie either.)
And if Jason's emotions aren't an excuse, than, well, Bruce's aren't really an excuse either, are they?
Jason's not even the only one who gets abusive treatment from Bruce. And regardless of your personal interpretations of whether or not it's a valid Batman characterization, after multiple writers have written this kind of thing across multiple continuities, there comes a point when you have to accept that this is a genuine flaw that Bruce carries and find a way to reconcile it with everything else.
And if we're going off of canon-gospel, Jason's own behavior has steadily trended towards more and more fangless, more palatable, in a way that given exposure Oliver would probably tolerate, considering all the others that he tends to tolerate. He still seems to regard the Batclan in general as a dumpster fire, "None of my kids would take a shot at me" he says, completely correct, while Batman's kids wouldn't even hesitate. He rolled up with unsolicited advice about Batman's relationships multiple times, all correct, and gotten shot down or ignored as if his significantly fewer incidents of being a shitty parent that he's very self-aware about somehow make him unqualified to speak at all!
Sometimes the reason that people are writing this, is because they like Ollie more than Bruce, because he knows how to actually apologize and actually do better. And trying to ignore canon in favor of making "good dad" Bruce stories, can wear you down when you just keep seeing Bruce depicted worse and worse and worse, and so maybe you want to start seeing the people trapped in Bruce's vortex move away from that.
And among those in that vortex, Jason has it the worst. Like, this isn't a competition. Some of the shitty stuff that Bruce does to him could be argued to be just responses to what he does himself (victim-blamey, but you know what let's pretend it makes things okay) like uth, or RHATOv2#25 But... Batman & Robin? "Oh Bruce was upset about Damian."
What was it you said? Oh, that's right: "Your feelings being valid don't excuse the harm you do, guys."
Gotham War? I'm sure you'll make excuses for Bruce there. I mean, maybe implementing it was Zur, but, frankly, that "Failsafe"? That has "Bruce genuinely thought this" written all over it. Hypocrite. Considering what his response was to the last time someone messed with his mind.
Oliver... kind of is the canon version of fanon's "good dad Bruce" tbh. And sometimes people make that connection, see those parallels, and want to play with that. It's just a what if.
You know that thing about tragedies about how if anything happened any differently it could have been prevented, that someone could have been saved? Ollie fucks up, but, fundamentally, if Ollie had been in Bruce's position, he would have saved Jason, not by doing the impossible of making it there in time, but by putting Jason first and having healthy communication lmao. Because Bruce very explicitly didn't! He didn't want to talk about it because he was scared of the truth! Or, he was scared of what he believed to be the truth, which would be that Jason had killed. And that it wasn't Bruce's fault. Because it's never Bruce's fault if he failed to raise Jason in that way that took that instinct out. It's not his responsibility to have realized, as the adult in the situation, that Jason maybe shouldn't have been exposed to so much rape and murder at an impressionable age. It's not his responsibility to keep better track of his barely teenaged son who's going through severe trauma right in front of him because they failed to enact justice on someone.
And Bruce had a lot to say about what he thought about Jason that varied and, honestly, rang more as projecting his own issues onto Jason than matching up what was actually happening on the page. Better meta-writers than I have discussed how rarely we get Jason's POV in these situations, that we're TOLD a lot about Jason by everyone else who has an agenda to frame Jason in a certain way.
If you hate Jason Todd, or hate jayroy, then block the damn tags & add it to a content filter bcs generally the latter is always marked. if it's someone on your dash reblogging them and it's not tagged/hiding it then ask them to tag it so you can filter it or stop following them idc. Don't pretend your cherry picking of canon and willful out-of-context misinterpretations is any better than anyone else's.
I have seen many posts and fanfics who are going "Oliver works with Jason to annoy Bruce!", "Oliver protecting Jason from Bruce!", "Oliver deciding to annoy Bruce by being like a father figure to Jason!", "Oliver being so happy for Roy and Jason being together!", and etc, but in canon, Oliver HATES his guts.
Here is a compilation of Oliver thinking or talking about Jason from Seeing Red, which is the first Red Hood's story after Under The Red Hood, and the one time Oliver and Jason interracted in canon (if I'm not mistaken, they never did since):
For the last one, he is talking to Bruce and Jason is one of the "every damned manner of sociopathic fruit fly".
And like, Oliver and the Arrowfam are 100% justified in their dislike or hate. He literally pulled the same shit Joker did on them: took a teenager away from her father figure, beat her up, torture her mentally about her place in her new family and her usefulness, make her and her guardian think he was going to kill her, explode the building she was in in front of her father figure to make him believe he was too late... And all of that to get to Batman. He doesn't give a shit about Oliver or Mia, it's about Batman, it's about Bruce. Just like when the Joker killed him, it wasn't about him, it was about Batman.
And it doesn't matter that Jason changed, because others aren't obligated to forgive someone because they redeemed themselves. I do not believe that Oliver is fine with Jason, he is probably not very happy he hangs around Roy, and does NOT want him near Mia ever again, and certainly not his granddaughter, Liam. That's the man that kidnapped his daughter because he was mad at his own father, nope. He knows how it is to be annoyed with the Bat, and it doesn't justify this.
I can hear y'all seeing disregarding canon is fine, and yes, sure. But also, folks, you are such hypocrites if you want to keep in that Bruce threw a batarang at Jason's neck, and erase how it was an accident ("Batman doesn't make mistakes!" Firstly, he does, canonically, make huge mistakes sometimes. Secondly, the man was an emotional wreck, his son had come back to life and had been killing people and his other son, Dick, was maybe dead because his city just exploded. He is human, not a machine! Thirdly, it is simply fucking stupid for a character who is against killing to willingly inflict such a mortal wound.), but Jason being a huge asshole to others is either erased or excusable (your feelings being valid don't excuse the harm you do, guys). Talk about favoritism.
#dc#sidenote seeing red was written by winick just as UTH was and it's worth noting he is kind of ableist#for all that there's a lot of good stuff he writes he does so love to throw around terms like sociopath or psychosis like it's candy#tbh if Oliver knew half the Shit that Bruce does to Jason he would turn to bitch Bruce out again because how can you think that's helping#Even WITHOUT LIKING JASON he would call Bruce out because as I posted he VERY MUCH DID DO THAT. MULTIPLE TIMES.#also most of the ollie being a good dad to Jason posts going around right now are from someone who hasn't read RHATO and hates it#in fact a majority of jayroys you see fucking hate RHATO and have their own version of it in attempt to reconcile conflicting canon#But everyone just really wants to feel morally superior yeah?#I actually also very much love Bruce and it's very painful to me to see canon make him so cruel & abusive. over and over and over again.#Sometimes it's exhausting to try and reconcile all of that.#You stop making excuses.#Jason has done less and less harm over the years as writers generally try to redeem him despite the classism in their portrayals.#Bruce? has only gone on to do more and more harm to the people close to him with more and more in universe justifications.#And parental abuse is a lot more of a Real Issue that people relate to. That canon has accidentally made incredibly realistic portrayals of#Despite the fantastical proportions of some of it. And yet he's still a good man.#But no matter what Jason does to improve himself and be better he's still just the fuck up and wrong huh?#Sure there's no real reason for any of that.#At the end of the day Oliver's line with Jason would be whether or not Mia has the capacity to forgive and tolerate him.#And she would give Jason no end of shit but ALSO she values Roy & his opinions very highly#and you don't have to ship them for her to look at their CANON FRIENDSHIP and think “well. If you see something in him then sure.”#“But if he tries anything I'm taking the shot” and Jason would respect that.#Mia cares so little she ain't even kicked Jason in the balls like Tim did#I always hate using Jade for this bcs I DC hates asian women but she did like nuke a whole fucking country.#which made no sense on a number of fronts but that's not the point. If we only accepted which comics “made sense” we wouldn't read comics#Jade nguyen I'm so sorry bbg but I'm makign a point even if I hate to do it.
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You Just Do It Better
Summary: There are some things that are better left to you
Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace, Sabo, Law, Kid
Genre: Fluff
CW: None // SFW
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Luffy:
When his hat is in a state of disrepair, as it often is, he now hands it over to you to be fixed. You did it once when he was sound asleep after a fight, and when he woke up, he discovered his most prized possession looked better than it ever had. People are so rarely allowed to touch his hat, but he begs you- puppy dog eyes and all- to fix his hat for him every time it gets damaged. You just do it better.
Zoro:
Why does your sake always taste better? And your beer? And, though he’s loathe to admit it, he’d rather swipe that fruity cocktail you’re drinking than have his own whiskey because whenever you order a drink, it just tastes better. Oh, and when you make it? Forget about drinking it yourself. If you make a drink yourself, be it ice water or hot tea or something with liquor, Zoro will at the very least be stealing a few sips, even if he’s made his own. You just do it better.
Sanji:
Who knew you had such a talent for frosting cupcakes? He takes such pride in cooking for you, never imagined for a moment he would allow you to pick up even a single kitchen utensil. But he had his hands full one day and you took over the cupcakes he’d made upon Luffy’s request, and you did such a beautiful job he didn’t even let the crew eat them. Now, it’s your job to frost any sweets he makes. You just do it better.
Ace:
It’s everything you touch, really. Whether you’re picking out a necklace or seasoning a dish, you just do it better. But most especially, you talk. Whether you’re talking about nothing or speaking on something important, you have a way with words that he simply doesn’t. He always puts his thoughts and feelings through a you filter because however you phrase things is going to be the best way. You just do it better.
Sabo:
You edit his manuscript. He has no shortage of people who could do it for him, people who have real experience doing such things. He could do it himself, too, educated as he is (though he hides it well). But you’re so much better. You know exactly how to read his words and improve on them without changing the underlying point he is trying to make. He even has you read his private journals just for your opinion. You just do it better.
Law:
You put the right words in his mouth for him. Law often stumbles over his words and isn’t the best at communicating his emotions. You have a special talent for reading his emotions and explaining them, so much so that when he has a conflict, he comes to you and you help him piece together the right thing to say so he doesn’t end up snapping and saying something rude (still probably ends up snapping, but it’s not as bad with your help). You just do it better.
Kid:
Applying the soothing gel intended to calm the residual pain in the stub of his arm used to be a private ordeal, the fact that his arm hurt perhaps his most closely guarded secret. But you walked in on him one night and found him in so much pain that you took over despite his protests, and he found the gel worked even better when you massaged it into his arm. Now, he doesn’t even bother trying to do it himself. You just do it better.
———
Hope you enjoyed it! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!
#one piece#one piece headcanons#one piece fluff#one piece x reader#luffy x reader#zoro x reader#sanji x reader#ace x reader#portgas d ace x reader#sabo x reader#trafalgar law x reader#law x reader#captain kid x reader#eustass kid x reader
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Controversial younger s/o things
Slight mentions of like one nsfw thing, especially for Stanley, it’s not much but still I thought I should say.
Ford worries that he’s far too old for you, but yet is unable to keep his distance from you when you spent every waking moment at the shack with Soos, Wendy, Dipper and Mabel.
He feels like a perv whenever he lets his gaze linger a little too long on you for it to be platonic, yet he could never bring himself to look away as you had him bewitched mind, body and soul for all he knew and he didn’t mind it, even if it did mean he lost sleep dreaming about you being his youthful spouse who often stole his turtlenecks just to get his attention.
He thinks you could be better off with someone your own age, and yet despite believing this, Ford can’t help but harbour this mentality that he could treat you far, far better then anyone your own age. He’d worship the ground you walk on, treat you with respect, dignity and trust.
You’d probably be brought down to the lab quite often per his request. Ford claims he needs your opinion on something but the moment your down there, you’re making out with your back pressed against his workbench as his hands remained above your waist; maybe teasingly trailing to your thighs but still he’s a respective gentleman towards you forever and always.
There the moments you gladly wait all day for moments like these as you got to feel just how badly Ford wanted you in more ways then one ;)
You make out in his bed too but that’s only if you couldn’t make it to the lab, so Ford makes sure to lock the door when you do, for privacy and such.
There’s multiple entries about you and Ford’s conflicted feelings towards you followed with sketches of you looking the most beautiful he’s ever seen you. Seeing you be great and supportive with dipper and Mabel defiantly awakens something in him that he later puts down in the journal.
Will loose it if he ever saw you in his turtleneck, he’s not gods strongest soldier in their regards as he’s more then happy to get on his knees for you right then and there. You in his turtleneck is his secrete fantasy and to see it become reality is enough for this man to believe that there is a heaven.
Stanley feels that you deserve better then him
the girdle stays off! You don’t give a fuck, the girdle stays off and you will fucking hide it from him, much to his dismay but you love his tummy so, so so much!
Heated make outs in el Diablo while on road trips just the two of you at night.
Spoils you rotten however he could in meaningful ways, kinda feels sad that he can’t do more for you like you deserved but you didn’t care as you pepper his face with kisses and reassurance that he’s more then enough for you.
Probs gets jealous of you talking to other older men that has deeper pockets, but is smug as fuck the moment you came back to him with wads of their money in your hands as he pulls you in close by the waist and kisses you firmly on the lips saying, ‘that’s my girl/boy/ spouse.’
You will get love bites from him for making him jealous but also for making him so proud of his gorgeous/handsome/ beautiful spouse. You wear them with pride as you know no one else can elicit the same feeling as Stan did and he’d show off his own love bites with pride as he’s shameless and wants to show that he’s more then taken.
Does get moments of insecurity about your age gap but with a few words of reassurances, kisses and caresses to his body and he’s more than back to being confident of your relationship.
Stan wants you to sit on his lap all of the time, no excuses you’re on his lap and he gets the prettiest view of his unbearably cute spouse as his large hand rubs your thighs, getting progressively closer as to where you needed him most. ;)
#gravity falls x reader#gravity falls imagine#gravity falls imagines#gravity falls#ford pines x you#ford pines imagine#ford pines imagines#ford pines x reader#stanford pines x you#stanford pines imagines#stanford pines imagine#stanford pines x reader#stan pines x you#stan pines imagines#stan pines imagine#stan pines x reader#stanley pines x you#stanley pines imagines#stanley pines imagine#stanley pines x reader
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one of the most powerful things about arcane in my opinion is that it managed to capture so many forms of love, so please bear with me while we delve into this analysis.
[SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 OF ARCANE!]
vander’s love for vi and jinx was the one of a good father; he raised them like he promised their mother, and for as long as his consciousness lived, he was determined to protect them. silco also grew to love jinx like a daughter, in his own way. she wasn’t just one of his most prized assets: while he was ruthless to most, he had a tendency of going “softer” on her, and was desperate to save her when he thought she was gone. singed loved his daughter so much that he was willing to go to unspeakable lengths to bring her back. and despite everything, ambessa and mel were still mother and daughter, and in the moment of death, they recognised how much they meant to each other. a mother stabbed by her own daughter, and yet, with her final breath, she expressed how proud she was of who mel had became — quite similar to silco’s death.
caitlyn and vi have always been romantic, this third act showing the passionate kind of love they had. ekko loved jinx in a most pure way, a love he carried with him since childhood and somehow persisted. mel and jayce had their troubles in the beginning, but they grew to trust each other and became very significant to one another with time.
vi and jinx were one of the most important of all, because they clashed and fell apart, and even through it all, even with so much hatred and hurt and grief, they never let go. they loved each other beyond words. their love was powerful enough to bring forgiveness. with isha, jinx showed all this love that was still inside her, the love for a sister she thought she had lost. silco and vander too clashed and nearly killed each other (silco succeeded) and yet their love persisted.
and then it concluded with jayce and viktor. their love was transcendental, beyond simply romantic or platonic bonds even. ever since they first met, without their knowledge, their lives had always been intertwined. it all started with them, and it ended with them. they clashed to near death, but jayce didn’t let go, and viktor couldn’t either. “it was affection that held us together”, viktor said. they were both alive because of each other. they owed each other so much. it was their love’s power that saved the universe of its collapse. again, a love powerful enough to forgive and leave everything behind.
so yes, I am very emotional and may have many conflicting thoughts about some aspects of these last acts, but the portrayal of love was something that I felt deeply throughout the entire series and can’t go unnoticed. all in all, the message of the show can be summarized in silco’s line: “the greatest thing you can do in life is find the power to forgive”.
#I am going insane#I love overnalysing#arcane#arcane season 2#arcane spoilers#arcane act 3#jinx#powder#vi#caitlyn kiramman#jayce talis#viktor#ekko#timebomb#jayvik#caitvi#silco#vander#ambessa medarda#mel medarda
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This is kind of weird… but do you have any headcannons between Falena and Imani?
Why, of course I do! Thank you for asking!
Falena is what Kalim would be if he were less hyper and party-prone, and able to detect sarcasm. He reigns with a kind heart, following traditions (at least until Leona butts in to give his opinion). While he has a near infinite patience, he will show his fangs if someone goes too far.
Despite his gentleness, Falena has the kind of charisma that immediately brings all eyes to him when he enters a room.
Falena is aroace and isn't interested in getting himself a harem like is the norm for Sunset Savanah princes and kings. That's one of the only traditions he doesn't follow while his brother goes around collecting boyfriends like pokemons for his harem
Falena and Imani's marriage was arranged when they were teens. They've known each other since they were children and agreed with it wholeheartedly. They have a very loving marriage and are very happy together.
Cheka was hard to give birth to, so Imani is a bit relieved Falena is fine with only one child. She's been berated a lot by the court for not giving the king more heirs (in case something goes wrong, but like the mother lioness she is, she showed her fangs and dared anybody to try and hurt her son. She won't go down without a fight if anything happens.)
Imani acts like an older sister to Leona. She doesn't butt in when brotherly conflicts happen, but she will chew his head for misbehaving in front of her and Cheka.
(She will also chew anybody who tries to hurt Leona.)
Imani is from a high status old money family who has been members of the court for generations. She has a very good education and is able to help Falena in his duties should he need.
Imani studies cartography in her free time. She's also a very good artist.
She is absolutely incapable of singing and despises it. Falena finds it terribly endearing.
Falena and Imani can sometimes be caught in pun competitions. The one who tells the worst pun to the point the other can't talk anymore coz they are too busy laughing wins. Leona avoids those fervently.
Falena is very into tarot reading. He has a little collection of cards and regularly reads things for Imani.
Falena's UM creates light and warmth. He doesn't use it a lot.
Imani isn't a mage.
Falena dotes on his son (and his future niece and nephew) far too much. Even Imani has to tell him off sometimes.
And I'm gonna stop here for now!
#mello's drawings#twst#twisted wonderland#twst oc#falena kingscholar#imani kingscholar#ask me anything#my art
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𝐢 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 - benjicot blackwood
summary: an unexpected visit to a pleasure house causes tension to rise between you and your brother's new nephew.
pairings: benjicot blackwood x fem (stark) reader
warnings: mentions of sex, but without actual smut, profanity, and spicy.
ask me for permission before translating.
Benjicot knew the rumors that went around about you, about your rebellious personality, and about your sharp tongue.
He generally did not believe rumors, given his experience with distorting and exaggerating stories. Most of the things that circulated about him were often fabricated by the foolish Brackens who liked to tarnish his name, and a few others were created by those who even enjoyed his more violent side. This made him a little skeptical.
At first, Benjicot even thought that the stories about your audacity and rebelliousness were mere exaggerations, whispers from the North to the people nearby, or even your brother's own words to ward off any suitors you might have, but everything changed when your families became one and he began to observe you closely, noticing that every rumor he heard reflected the truth of your personality.
He clearly remembered the first cutting word you threw at him when you two met, he also remembered the excessively sweet smile you gave him, a smile so sweet that only a careful look could detect the falseness. He appreciated every acidic word and every forced grin so intensely that he wished those marks were embedded on his skin, like a burning reminder of who you really were.
The duality between the two of you left Benji thirsty for more, turning every encounter into a game of challenging looks, provocative smiles, and falsely sweet words, yet he loved it; the more contact you had, the thirstier he became, more and more overwhelmed by your presence and personality.
He knew that every word you said to him was a conversation calculated to get into his head, and every discreet touch was caught up in an intense conflict between the rebellion you possessed and the probability of getting something out of him, something he didn't even know if he had or was capable of possessing.
Either way, Benjicot didn't care; he liked to be used, both by you and by the stubbornness that flowed through your veins.
He liked to be a easy prey for you. Maybe that was why he followed you through the dark and cold streets of Winterfell at such a late hour.
As he follows you through the dark, icy streets of Winterfell, Blackwood remains hidden in the shadows, careful not to reveal his presence. The snow beneath his feet cushioned his steps as he walked down the silent alleys, lit only by the faint glow of distant lights. Despite the cold in the air, his determination to unravel the reason for his visit to a place that, in his opinion, was not suitable for a lady like you.
Benji watched in surprise as you entered one of Winterfell's pleasure houses, hiding further into the shadows as you glanced back before completely passing through that door as it fell to pieces.
The idea of you going to a place like that made him possessed and yet intrigued, so he followed your steps without hesitation, ignoring any kind of logic that told him to stop, but nevertheless, his mind was more consumed by you than by anything else.
He needed to find you.
In the corridors of the pleasure house, Benjicot could not contain a discreet cough at the profusion of thick perfumes that permeated the air, and as he tried to ignore the fragrances, he could not help but thinking that those intense aromas perhaps served as a smoke screen, to cover up the residual odor of sex that escaped from the cracks in the bedroom doors, where moans and loud noises presided.
As he turned towards the other hallway, Benjicot felt a subtle presence behind him. A light current of air, filled with the intense scent of the place, made him stop instantly and slowly feel the dagger he had attached to his belt.
Slowly, widening his eyes in surprise, he found you there, without the cloak that had previously protected you from the cold outside, a sly smile playing on your pretty lips. It was as if you knew exactly what he intended with that visit, even if he didn't know himself.
He put the dagger down quickly.
"You have a gift for appearing at the most intriguing moments, Blackwood.” You hummed in a falsely sweet but confident voice.
"Lady Stark." Benji greeted you in a stupid attempt to ease the embarrassment he was feeling for following you, and you almost laughed at that.
"Stop the act." You started. "I'm sure Alysanne wouldn't like to find out that her nephew is in a place like this." You said it teasingly, and he licked the inside of his cheek mockingly.
"And what about your brother?" He snapped back and lowered his head so it was at your level, his heart pounding when he saw that you hadn't moved an inch. "I'm sure your brother wouldn't like to see you in a place like this."
"You're right, he wouldn't like it." You hummed once more, putting your head in his direction, almost mixing both breaths into one. "But he wouldn't be surprised if that's what worries you, Benny." You said the last word with a shameless smile, and when he suddenly blushed, your smile grew even bigger.
And the air around you seemed to electrify with the rising tension.
Benjicot felt his breathing becoming heavier as your provocative words echoed in his mind, and he seemed unable to tear his eyes away from yours, mesmerized by the closeness of your faces, the mixture of your breaths creating a suffocating hunger.
"So, what's your real reason for being here?" You muttered, your voice low and full of challenge, your gaze fixed on his, searching for the answers you already knew.
Benjicot opened his mouth to respond but hesitated, feeling the internal struggle between reason and desire. He knew he should move away and maintain his composure, but the proximity of your bodies and the intense look you gave him made his thoughts hazy and filled with your essence.
"Maybe I came looking for something... or someone." He finally responded, his voice barely audible as he felt your nail scrape his cheek. However, his voice was full of intention.
"Really?" You teased him again, leaning even closer until your lips were almost touching. "And did you find what you were looking for?"
Benjicot felt his heart beat faster; a current was running through his body and giving him chills. "I think so." He whispered back, his breathing ragged but just as thirsty as yours.
The closeness was unbearable, and before he could think twice, his lips found yours in a kiss filled with desire and repressed tension. At first, the touch was soft, almost tentative, but it quickly turned into something more urgent and intense, as if you had both been waiting for this moment for a long time, and in fact you both had been.
The kiss was full of tongues and teeth; he kissed you as a starving man and even dried up, because with the strength he held you, you were almost sure you would see the mark of Benji's fingers as soon as you undressed. However, you didn't care as you hugged his neck and tried to unite the clothed bodies into one.
And, when you finally both pulled away to breathe, your lips slowly separated, and Benjicot still kept one hand firmly on your waist, his eyes burning with a mixture of desire and surprise at what had just happened. You both breathing heavily, your chests rising and falling rapidly as both tried to catch your breaths, both thirsty for more.
Still, with swollen lips and a mischievous smile, you pulled away from his body and said. "Well, that was fun." Then, without waiting for a response, you turned and walked down the hall, leaving him standing there with confusion, still trying to process what had just happened.
Watching as you disappeared from his view, he couldn't help but smile in disbelief at what had happened, and he was a little disappointed that it had ended so quickly.
But one thing was certain: Benjicot liked you that way — intense, unpredictable, and provocative.
And he definitely wanted more of that, more of you.
— I apologize if there are any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language.
— I hope you liked it, because honestly, I don't know how to feel about this. 😭
tag: @maidr-00
#benjicot blackwood x reader#benjicot blackwood#house of the dragon#bloody ben#house of the dragon fanfic#hotd imagine#benji blackwood#benjicot benjicot benjicot#hotd x reader#hotd fanfic
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The beast trio as your boyfriend headcannon + Trafalgar D.Law જ⁀➴ ♡
Pairing: Zoro/Luffy/Sanji and Law x A!Reader
Tags:fluff,cute,,kisses,pecks,snuggling,lovey dovey stuff
i'm no english native so sorry for some mistakes
please reblog 🔁 and like❤️
@muzansslxt @candy69gurl @kiwicopia @satorkive @ponderingmoonlight
ZORO
Zoro as a boyfriend would be the silent but caring type. He may not be the most verbal about his feelings, but he would always be there to support and protect you. He'd be the reliable and steadfast partner who stands by your side through thick and thin, always ready for a challenge. Behind his stoic exterior, he secretly has a soft side, especially when it comes to you. He might not say it outright, but his actions would speak louder than words. He would show his affection through small gestures, like surprising you with a gift or taking care of you when you're unwell.
When it comes to intimacy, Zoro would approach it patiently and respectfully, taking his time to understand your boundaries and desires. He values communication and trust, and would ensure that you feel comfortable and safe with him. While he may not be the most open with his emotions, he would express his love through physical contact, holding you tightly and showering you with gentle touches. He would also be fiercely protective, ready to defend you no matter what. Despite his serious demeanor, he can be playful and sarcastic, finding joy in the little things you do together.
Zoro would be the type to have deep and meaningful conversations with. While he might not always have the words to express himself, he would actively listen to you and provide thoughtful insights. He would value your opinions and feelings, and would be open to discussing his thoughts and experiences. He might not be the best at expressing his emotions, but he would try his best for you, knowing how important communication is in a relationship. He would also be supportive of your goals and ambitions, encouraging you to pursue your dreams and aspirations.
Zoro might appear tough and strong on the outside, but when you ask him for cuddles, he'll be surprisingly soft and eager to comply. He may grumble a little at first, pretending to be annoyed, but deep down, he secretly enjoys the closeness and intimacy. He might tease you a bit, calling you "cute" or "needy" but he can't resist the way your body fits perfectly against his. He would wrap his strong arms around you, pulling you close to his chest, and let out a content sigh.
When it comes to conflict resolution, Zoro would be straightforward and honest. He would prefer to address issues head-on and would not shy away from difficult conversations. While he might be blunt at times, he would approach discussions with the intention of finding common ground and reaching a resolution. He would respect your feelings and opinions but would also be firm in expressing his own perspective and boundaries. He values compromise and would be willing to adjust his approach for the sake of the relationship.
In an intimate moment, Zoro's kiss would start off slow and tender, his lips gently exploring yours. He would take his time, savoring the moment and making sure you felt comfortable and wanted. As the kiss deepened, his grip on you would tighten, pulling you closer to him. His tongue would dart out, seeking entry into your mouth, tasting and exploring every corner. There would be a sense of possessiveness and passion in his kiss, as if he was marking you as his. He would break the kiss momentarily, his breath hot against your skin as he looks into your eyes, a silent promise to always protect you.
LUFFY
As a boyfriend, Luffy would be fiercely protective and loyal.
He would always defend your honor, and he would never let anyone disrespect you.
Luffy would also shower you with affection, hugs, and physical touch. His love language would definitely be physical touch.
However, he'd also be incredibly dense, especially about romantic matters.
Luffy would constantly surprise you with spontaneous dates and romantic gestures, but he wouldn't always realise they were romantic gestures.
He'd buy you flowers because they look pretty, but wouldn't realize that giving you flowers is also meant to express affection.
Luffy would be extremely blunt and honest with you, and expect the same in return. He doesn't like playing mind games or playing hard to get.
Luffy would be incredibly affectionate and physical in public, holding your hand, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, or even picking you up for no reason other than just wanting to hold you close.
He'd constantly compliment your beauty and strength, and wouldn't hesitate to show off his affection for you to others. He'd take pride in being your partner, and would never shy away from calling himself 'your boyfriend.'
Luffy is also adventurous and spontaneous. He'd often drag you on last-minute road trips or adventures, even if you were supposed to have a quiet night in.
Luffy would always make you laugh, no matter how bad your day was. He'd have a way of lightening the mood with his jokes and carefree attitude.
He'd also be intensely loyal, and once he commits to a relationship, he'd never cheat or betray your trust.
Luffy would always be there for you when things get tough. If you're having a bad day, he'll immediately offer a shoulder to cry on and lots of hugs.
He'd be extremely supportive and encouraging, and would always push you to be the best version of yourself.
Luffy would also fight anyone who dared to hurt you physically or emotionally, no matter how strong they are.
However, Luffy can be a bit clueless when it comes to emotional nuances.
He might not always understand when you're upset or hurt, and can be a bit too blunt in his attempts to comfort you. He can be insensitive at times, but it's never from a place of malice.
Luffy also has a short attention span, so you'd have to be patient with him and accept that he can be distracted easily, even in the middle of romantic conversations.
Whenever you ask Luffy for cuddles, he is more than eager to oblige. He'd wrap his arms around you, pulling you close to his chest. His arms are strong, yet gentle, and he holds you securely against him. Luffy loves the feeling of your body against his, and he'll often bury his face in your hair, taking in your scent and enjoying the sensation of having you so close to him. He'll also sometimes nuzzle his face into the crook of your neck, placing light kisses there.
When it comes to kissing, Luffy is surprisingly gentle and passionate,
He'd cup your face with his hands, holding you closely, and press his lips softly against yours. His kisses are firm, yet tender, and he never fails to convey his feelings of affection for you through the contact.
Luffy isn't the type to hold back, and if the moment feels right, he'd deepen the kiss, his tongue exploring your mouth with an eagerness that's both hungry and tender at the same time.
SANJI
As a boyfriend, Sanji would be the stereotypical romantic type. He'd shower you with constant gifts and compliments, his way of expressing his love would be through his cooking and always making sure you were well fed. Despite how rowdy and boisterous he can be, when it comes to you, you have his undivided attention. The moment he's in your presence, he's completely enamored with you. He would do anything to make sure you're always taken care of and happy.
Another notable thing about Sanji as a boyfriend is his jealousy. He's known to be possessive and territorial, getting jealous easily if he sees anyone giving you any kind of attention. He'll always be there to step in and protect you if need be, making sure nobody else gets near you or tries to take you away from him.
His love language is definitely physical touch. He'd make any excuse to touch you. Whether it's holding your hand, wrapping one arm tightly around your waist, or just gently placing his hand on your shoulder, as long as he can touch you, he's happy. He likes to shower you with small kisses as well.
On top of being romantic, he's also pretty flirtatious. He loves to whisper sweet nothings into your ear, and shower you in compliments. He knows how to smooth talk and charm his way into your heart. Even when it comes to arguments or disagreements, he'd never raise his voice at you, instead trying to gently and calmly find a resolution. His desire to understand and compromise is one of his strong points when it comes to being your boyfriend.
He's not afraid to show his soft side around you either. When the two of you are alone, he's all gentle and tender. He likes to be close to you, and often craves your company. Even if he's having a bad day, just spending time with you can instantly put him in a better mood. Your presence alone brings him comfort.
He's also really considerate of your feelings. He'd always ask how you're feeling and make sure you're not stressed out or upset. If you ever need someone to talk to, he's all ears. He's willing to listen to you vent about anything and everything. He takes your emotions seriously and always tries to find ways to make you feel better.
Even when he's busy, he can't stand being apart from you for too long. He constantly checks in with you and keeps you updated on what he's doing. He doesn't like the idea of you feeling neglected. If he can't come to you, he'd make sure to send one of the other Strawhats down to give you updates, just so you're not left in the dark.
When you ask Sanji for cuddles, he would light up like a Christmas tree. His eyes would widen, and a bashful smile would spread across his features. He'd immediately scoop you up into his arms, holding you close to his chest. A low hum of contentment would leave him as he nuzzled his face into your hair, inhaling your scent deeply.
Overall, Sanji would be a devoted and loving boyfriend. He'd treat you like a princess and make you feel like the only girl in the world. He's attentive, caring, and protective, and his love language is a mix of physical touch and words of affirmation.
Whenever you kissed him, Sanji would melt against your lips. He would wrap his arms around you, pulling you closer to him in an almost desperate manner, as if he was afraid you'd slip through his fingers if he didn't hold onto you tight enough. Soft sighs and quiet moans would escape him, his body completely surrendering to the sensation of your lips against his. He'd kiss you with an intensity that betrayed his usual bashful behavior, his tongue eagerly exploring your mouth as though he couldn't get enough of you.
LAW
Law would be surprisingly a very affectionate boyfriend once you win his trust. Behind the facade of being a cold-hearted and apathetic doctor, Law secretly yearns for the closeness and love from someone he can rely on. He becomes a bit clingy, not wanting to leave you alone for long, and always secretly craves your attention. But he will rarely admit it, if you confront him about it, Law will blush in embarrassment and call you "bothersome".
Law is also a surprisingly a very protective partner. He always worries over you whenever you're in danger or injured. Though he does try to hide it from you, he gets jealous easily and secretly enjoys having you around him rather than other people. He values your presence in his life and always craves your company. Law will also always go out of his way to keep you happy and satisfied. Though he may portray himself as a stoic and apathetic person, Law is a real softie when it comes to romance.
Law is also a surprisingly a very protective partner. He always worries over you whenever you're in danger or injured. Though he does try to hide it from you, he gets jealous easily and secretly enjoys having you around him rather than other people. He values your presence in his life and always craves your company. Law will also always go out of his way to keep you happy and satisfied. Though he may portray himself as a stoic and apathetic person, Law is a real softie when it comes to romance.
Despite his aloof and stoic nature, Law secretly enjoys cheesy and romantic gestures. Whether it's a surprise flower bouquet, a hand-made card, or even a simple hug, Law can't help but melt whenever you do something romantic. He pretends to be annoyed by it but secretly loves it. He also secretly loves cuddling and holding hands with you, often subconsciously seeking your touch whenever you're nearby.
Law also secretly loves it when you show concern and care for him. When he's not well or feeling under the weather, Law secretly enjoys it when you take care of him. He's secretly happy when you bring him a glass of water or a soup to bed, or when you offer to do something for him. Law will never admit it to your face, but he does secretly love being taken care of by you. He also secretly enjoys it when you pay attention to him and focus entirely on him.
Law also secretively craves your touch and affection. He loves it when you hold his hand or rest your head on his shoulder. He pretends to be annoyed by it but secretly enjoys the small gestures of intimacy. Law also loves it when you stroke his hair or caress his face. He loves it when you give him little touches like a brush against his arm or a playful poke in the side. He's secretly addicted to your touch.
Law also secretly loves it when you give him compliments. He may act like he doesn't care, but he secretly revels in hearing sweet words from you. When you call him handsome, or tell him how much you care for him, Law can't help but feel a little flutter in his chest. He secretly enjoys the attention and the appreciation, and loves it when you go out of your way to make him feel special. Law also secretly loves it when you express your attraction to him, whether it's through words or actions.
Law secretly loves it when you ask for cuddles. He may pretend to grumble or act annoyed, but he secretly enjoys the intimacy and closeness. Law will often pretend to be resistant at first, but as soon as you curl up next to him and rest your head on his chest, he will quickly wrap his arms around you and pull you closer. He secretly loves the feeling of your warmth and your scent, and will often hold you tightly, as if he never wants to let go.
Law's kisses are surprisingly gentle and tender. Despite his aloof facade, he's actually a very skilled kisser. His lips are warm and soft as he gently kisses you, taking your breath away. Law also secretly loves deep and passionate kisses, especially when alone with you. When he's in a good mood, Law may even initiate kissing you unexpectedly, surprising you with a quick kiss on the forehead or a kiss on the cheek.
#one piece#one piece fandom#one piece x reader#one piece x y/n#one piece x you#one piece characters#straw hat pirates#law x y/n#one piece fluff#one piece fanfiction#trafalgar law#law x reader#law x you#roronoa zoro x reader#roronoa zoro#zoro roronoa x you#zoro roronoa x reader#vinsmoke sanji x reader#vinsmoke sanji x y/n#vinsmoke sanji x you#monkey d luffy x reader#monkey d luffy x you#monkey d luffy#monkey d luffy x y/n#op x y/n#op x reader#op x you#op headcanons#law headcanons#zoro headcanons
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X + Y = YOU AND I || jeon wonwoo
PAIRING: academic rival!wonwoo x fem!reader
WORD COUNT: 8.6k
GENRE(S): smut, fluff, rivals to lovers, college au
SUMMARY: you wish jeon wonwoo would sometimes act like an insufferable prick instead of the perfect guy, because then you wouldn't have to feel your head spinning each time he looks at you.
WARNINGS: SMUT [unprotected sex, fingering, use of petnames (baby, good girl), praise, some degradation, sex in an empty classroom] wonwoo is so in love
Class discussions where both Wonwoo and you are involved never end well.
Partly, it’s because none of you possess the ability of backing down from a fight, but mostly it’s because of Wonwoo’s annoying tendencies of having read all the books in the world, which allows him to criticize every word that comes out of your mouth.
Which again leaves you with no choice but to get angry and argue even more vividly — though Soonyoung claims that’s just your own stubbornness making matters worse.
He doesn’t get it, though. The desire to beat Wonwoo at his own game each time he opens his mouth. It’s something you can’t entirely explain, but it keeps you grounded, and so you don’t question it too much. The adrenaline that comes along with it is enough for you.
And that’s exactly what keeps you going today — Wonwoo’s annoying takes on social anthropology.
“I just don’t think cultural differences are the root of conflicts.”
He says this and shrugs, eyes subconsciously drifting to the side to look at you. As expected, you’re already raising your hand to comment on his statement and he has to fight the urge to smile. Despite coming in tired, eyes drooping, you’re eager to partake in a discussion with him. Always. It’s a little too reassuring to think about, so he stops, and instead focuses on what you’re saying.
“That’s a baseless claim to make,” you scoff, and again, he feels his lip twitch, almost forming a smile. “Of course they are. No differences means nothing to fight about.”
“Yes, in theory,” he says, and his eyes crinkle with the smile he offers you. A smile you can’t seem to tell if is cocky or genuine. “But cultural differences aren't everything. If we don’t have culture, people will still form opinions. And those opinions will still become the roots of conflicts.”
With those words, he crosses his arms over his chest, his elbow bumping into you.
You’re not sure who came up with the idea of the two of you sitting together in the classroom, but moments like these make you want to find that person and rip their hair out. Because in what universe should you have to argue with Jeon Wonwoo while his shoulder is literally touching yours?
It’s stupid, unethical, and every other derogatory term you can come up with, but most of all, it’s making it hard to focus. Obviously, it’s not about him, it’s about the closeness itself. You think. Probably.
You lean a bit to your left so you can actually think of a response, but end up sighing and asking a question instead.
“So you’re saying conflicts are inevitable?”
He tongues his cheek – a sign that he’s in deep thought – and bumps his elbow into you again. An accident, probably, but it catches your attention nevertheless.
“I’m saying disagreements become conflicts because we can’t handle our emotions. It’s not differences that are the problem, it’s our way of handling them.”
And there it is — that twinkle in his eyes that signalizes he knows he’s won. You know it, too, from the way he leans back into his chair and your words die down in your throat and the professor nods his head approvingly. Still, you wish he wouldn’t be so fucking happy about it.
“Asshole,” you mumble only loud enough for him to hear as you sink back into the chair.
He chuckles and you feel your insides turn. God, he’s annoying. Super annoying.
Especially when he leans a bit to your side of the desk, face a lot closer to yours than it needs to be when he whispers, “Good job.”
You glare at his soft expression, your own face heating up in something resembling embarrassment.
“No need to gloat about your success, dickhead.”
“I’m not gloating,” he frowns, the smile slowly fading from his face.
“Sure you aren’t. You’re just kindly reminding me that you’re better than me.”
“That’s not what– That’s not true.”
His voice falters, and he leans back in his chair and taps his pen against the desk. You scoff at him, but it’s nowhere as threatening as you’d like it to be — thrown off by the quiver in his tone.
“It is true,” you whisper, more to yourself, and avert your gaze from him.
The professor picks up where he left off, and you let your thoughts scatter and eyes drift closed. It’s been a long day, you think. Thankfully, the professor’s got you and Wonwoo placed in the back, and so he doesn’t notice it when you manage to fall asleep in your chair, head falling to the side.
Wonwoo notices, though. Your cheek squished against your shoulder, hair in your face. It’s not the first time you’ve fallen asleep in class, and he should probably start scolding you for it, but seeing your under eye bags and hearing your tired voice makes something turn unpleasantly in his stomach. And so he lets you sleep.
(It’s all because of his perceptiveness.
You know about this trait of his, and it’s awful. How he hands you a pen when you’ve forgotten your own without you having to ask for it. How he knows when to shut up during an argument, because your face tells him he’s won. How he never feels the need to embarrass you, or anyone, for that matter.
He’s a good person in and out, and you hate him for it.)
It’s not before the class is nearing its end that Wonwoo decides to wake you.
“Y/N,” you feel a hand on your shoulder, shaking you awake, and then a deep voice hits your ears. Wonwoo’s voice, you realize instantly, and then criticize your heart for jumping at the thought. “You might wanna wake up for this.”
“Huh?”
Wonwoo’s smiling at you softly, and you sit up straight, confused. At least until you see your professor clutching his phone against his ear, muttering aggressively.
“His wife called,” Wonwoo explains in a hushed tone, leaning towards you so you hear him better. “I feel kinda bad for the guy. She doesn’t seem to like him very much.”
You rub your eyes and yawn, then realize Wonwoo is sitting right there, and clear your throat.
“Maybe he’s an asshole.”
“Maybe,” he turns to look at you. “Girls like assholes, though, don’t they?
Your breath hitches in your throat involuntarily. You’re not sure whether it’s from the question or from the way he’s looking at you – like he’s already got you all figured out – but it’s making you nervous. All of it, him. And now that you’re discussing a topic you’re not certain about, it shows.
You chuckle nervously, “Where’d you get that from?”
“You, mostly.”
“Excuse me?”
He offers you a smile, one that you subconsciously accept by feeling your insides turn to mush. This has got to be the longest you’ve spoken to him without mutual friends around, and without arguing. Truthfully, you don’t hate it. You’d never have thought that this would be the topic of your first ever civil conversation, though.
“Minghao? Seungkwan? Your type’s pretty obvious.”
“Do you spy on me or something?” you ask, a little baffled he knows the names of your previous boyfriends. You weren’t hiding it or anything, but Wonwoo’s never shown much interest in you outside of class. “Plus, that was months ago.”
He fixes his glasses and tilts his head to the side.
“Yeah? And what type of guys do you like now?”
You open your mouth to answer, but the words die down in your throat. Not assholes, you could say. He’s sparked your curiosity, though — what type of guys do you like now? Because you know for a fact that you’re done with assholes, which is why you’ve been trying your hardest to classify Wonwoo as one up until now.
“I–”
You’re saved from answering his question by your professor, who’s successfully hung up on his wife and is now announcing that class is over.
A sigh of relief escapes past your lips — another thing that doesn’t go unnoticed by Wonwoo, but he doesn’t push. He simply gathers his stuff, his pen that you borrowed included, and slings his bag over his shoulder. You smile at him, softly, a little hesitantly, because it feels right to do so.
His glasses rest at the tip of his nose as he stands up and says, “See you around, Y/N.”
Then, he walks off and you no longer fight the smile that makes its way to your face.
—
“Okay, so I think we all know why this meeting is being held.”
This is the first thing Soonyoung says as he sits down by the round table in the cafeteria, latte almost spilling out of his cup. You and Minjeong perch up in curiosity, and she puts her phone away in favor of commenting Soonyoung’s poor word choices.
“Meeting? It’s our lunch break, dude.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he rolls his eyes at Minjeong who snickers. “This lunch break is being held because–”
“–Because we need to eat?” you raise a brow.
“Y/N, you are literally in no position to act all smart right now. It’s you that we need to talk about.”
“Me?”
You look to Minjeong, but she only shrugs, meaning that this is a Soonyoung thing. You try racking your brain to find what the hell he might want to discuss, but nothing comes to you. Not even when Soonyoung offers you one of his signature smirks that signalize he’s up to no good.
“You, and hot nerd Jeon Wonwoo.”
Your mouth falls open in genuine shock. “Wonwoo?”
“Did you just call him ‘hot nerd’?” Minjeong slaps her hand over her mouth as she laughs, but stops when she sees you glaring at her. “Damn, okay, someone’s defensive.”
“Yes, Wonwoo,” Soonyoung leans over the table, hands together on the table like some sort of Hollywood detective. “What’s the deal with you and him?”
“What deal?” you look to the side for some help, but all Minjeong offers you is a smirk. She’s enjoying this a little too much for your liking. “Why are you looking at me like that? There’s no deal. We don’t get along, that’s all.”
“You sure looked like you got along yesterday,” Soonyoung giggles like a little schoolgirl, and you feel your face heating up. Of course he noticed, even though you barely talked with Wonwoo for three minutes. “Also, have you seen how he looks at you?”
“Like he wants to kill me?”
“Like he wants to kiss you. You’re mistaking passion for hate, babe. Or maybe you’re just pretending, because there’s no way you’re not seeing how cute you are together.”
“Me and Wonwoo?” you ask again, incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding. There’s no way.”
“You have to admit, he’s pretty hot,” Minjeong cuts in. “Plus, you guys have, like, undeniable chemistry.”
“The only chemistry me and him share is the class. Which already sucks enough.”
“You know what they say, denial is a river in egypt.”
“Nobody says that, Minjeong,” you glare at her, deciding that it’s better to get out of here before you start doubting yourself. “Anyway, I gotta go to class, so get those Wonwoo delusions out of your heads, okay? Because that’s what this is — delusion.”
“Funny you had to clarify that.”
“Just because you’re insufferable,” you send them a painfully fake smile and grab your things so you can walk away, almost missing the words Soonyoung mutters under his breath.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
—
Usually, you can’t be found in the university’s backyard ripping your hair, but usually, you also don’t fail your chemistry exams.
You might be acting a tad bit dramatic, running out of class and sitting down on the grass with your back pressed against the stone cold wall to cool off, but that’s something to worry about later. Right now you’re just focused on feeling sorry for yourself. Which you are. To a very high degree.
“Are you okay?”
You jump at the sudden intrusion to your self-wallowing, turning around only to be met with a familiar face. His glasses are high up on his nose and his hair is neat, smile lines nowhere to be seen.
“Wonwoo?” you ask, a bit embarrassed that he’s seeing you in this state, especially when he looks so put together. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I read here every free period,” he says, frowning. “It’s you that should be in class right now.”
“Do you have my schedule memorized or something?” you look at him accusingly, pulling your legs closer to your chest for comfort. “Anyway, I’m just sitting here.”
Wonwoo’s silent for a moment, pondering on what to do, and then he takes a step in your direction. You don’t run away or protest, so he takes another one and another one until he’s close enough to sink down on the grass next to you.
“You look more like you’re drowning in sadness.”
“Yeah, well, I failed an exam, so,” you say and hand him the paper your hands gripped just a moment ago — your test with every mistake highlighted in red. The whole sheet might’ve just been red at this point, you think.
He examines it, brows furrowed, then hands it back. “Chemistry? I thought you were good at that, though.”
Your heart falters in embarrassment.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. That’s why I’m fucking sad.”
You don’t mean for it to sound so angry, but it comes out harsh and bitter. It’s nothing like Wonwoo’s used to hearing you speak. And what comes after shocks him even more — the tears that well up in your eyes and then fall, he can see them even as you turn away from him, perhaps in fear of judgement.
“Wait,” he says, a little dumbfounded. “Are you crying?”
It’s a stupid question, but his tone isn’t judging. Still, it doesn't ease anything — you feel like you’re about to explode. And what’s worse is that he’s here, Jeon Wonwoo, of all people, watching you cry over something so miniscule that he probably can’t even relate to. You’re not sure why it bothers you so much that he’s seeing you in this state, but it does, it really does bother you, so much you feel like you might die.
“Yes, I’m crying, Wonwoo,” you say, wiping your cheeks to your best ability. “Jesus christ. I did badly on a test, so I already feel like shit, and then you always have to come up to me with those stupid comments of yours.”
He blinks in surprise from behind his glasses, and even through your bitterness, you think to yourself that he looks cute like that — confused, for the very first time. At least it’s the very first time you are seeing him like this. But, to be fair, this is his very first time seeing you like this, too.
“I thought you liked it when I'm mean to you, though,” he says finally, and you look at him in disbelief.
“Wonwoo, are you seriously just here to imply I have a degradation kink?”
He remains silent for a minute, hesitating.
“Great.”
You laugh through the tears that have now stopped falling, and Wonwoo exhales in something that resembles relief. His gaze is still set on you, unrelenting, like he’s still trying to put together the puzzle. Does he want to leave?
A part of you hopes he won’t. Because despite that it’s a bit embarrassing, you could use someone to talk to right now. Even if it’s just so you can get your frustration out somehow.
“What I’m trying to say is,” he starts, choosing his words carefully. “I didn't mean it like that. I never do.”
You meet his gaze – soft eyes that remain otherwise unreadable – and let out a breathy chuckle.
“Yeah, whatever.”
You kick one of the stones in front of you, and watch it bounce a couple of times before it settles a little further away. Wonwoo doesn’t leave, even though you’re giving no signs of continuing the conversation. He just sits there, shoulder a centimeter or two from yours, and listens to both your breaths. Both uneven — his is nervous, while yours is upset.
“I’m serious, Y/N,” he says finally, catching you off guard just enough for you to turn in his direction again. “If I ever cross the line, tell me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
He bites his lip awkwardly as you feel your heart dropping to your stomach. It’s silent for a while, the back of your throat burning — threatening that you might start crying again if you say something now.
He pushes his glasses further up his nose, and that’s when you decide to take the leap. Leap meaning that you lean forward to engulf him in a hug, your head coming to rest on his shoulder.
It catches him off guard, you can tell. His muscles tense, breath caught up in his throat and your own heart beats so fast you think you might die. But it feels nice, hugging him. And it feels even nicer when he wraps his arms around you, too, albeit hesitantly.
You stay like that, bathing in his scent – peach and jasmine with a hint of something you can’t quite identify – and somehow, you feel at peace. The test is still at the back of your head, obviously, bugging you, but it’s faint compared to Wonwoo and his hand that begins to slowly stroke your hair.
“Thank you.”
The words are whispered into the crook of his neck, sending shivers down his spine.
They’re so quiet he barely hears them, might’ve mistaken them for a hiccup hadn’t he paid complete attention, but he is. He is paying attention. To how your muscles loosen up in his arms and there are no longer tears soaking through his shirt; how his own heart beats a little faster than usual; how he’s so painfully aware of the fact that talking to you only makes him like you more.
More meaning that he’s afraid he might be advancing from the useless crush he’d developed watching you argue with him during class. Advancing into uncharted territory that he’s never even intended exploring. Though he supposes he sabotaged himself by approaching you today.
“It’s nothing.”
But it’s a lie. It is something — the butterflies in your stomach or the warmth spreading across Wonwoo’s chest. Whatever you want to regard it as, it is something.
And that something settles in the very depths of your mind and his mind alike.
—
When Soonyoung announces that he’s bringing Wonwoo to come study with you and Minjeong in the library, your first instinct is to tell him you’re not coming.
Obviously, you’re embarrassed. And scared. And a million other things you can’t even begin to describe with words. He saw you crying, after all. Jeon Wonwoo, top of the class, saw you crying over a bad grade. It really doesn’t get much worse than that.
Still, you go. Mostly because you know staying at the dorm would spark questions from your nosy friends, but also because you don’t want Wonwoo thinking you’re avoiding him. Or else he’s going to think you care — which, essentially, you do. But he doesn’t have to know that.
“Do you think Wonwoo will laugh at me if I get the questions wrong?” Minjeong asks as you stand outside the door to the library, her hand on the handle.
“No,” you say. “He’s not like that.”
She opens the door, and you walk inside, met with the smell of books. Soonyoung and Wonwoo are sitting by the chess boards, talking, and you feel something turn in your stomach. Is it too late to leave now? Judging by Minjeong’s worried face, she isn’t so keen on being here either. Maybe you could both just go home.
Yet when she bites her lip and asks, “Are you sure?”, you can’t bring yourself to lie just so you won’t have to face him.
“Yeah. You should ask him to teach you if you don’t understand something, you know. Better to feel a little embarrassed than to fail an exam.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Just as she says this, Soonyoung catches your gaze and waves eagerly, urging you and Minjeong to come closer. He whispers something to Wonwoo, and he, too, turns to smile in your direction.
“Guess there’s no backing out now,” Minjeong giggles and you nod your head. There really isn’t.
The two of you make your way to the table where the boys are sitting and pick your chairs. Minjeong’s quick to sit next to Soonyoung, so you’re left with no other option but to plop down on the chair closest to Wonwoo. Normally, that would’ve only mildly annoyed you, but now, three days after he saw you bawling your eyes out, you can feel your heartbeat speed up vastly.
“Hey,” Wonwoo says and you almost jump. You’re not sure why, but you hadn’t expected him to speak to you first.
“Hi,” you reply and try smiling at him. Thankfully, he smiles, too. “What are you guys studying?”
“Chemistry,” he says, and upon seeing you wince, he’s quick to add, “‘Cause Soonyoung’s struggling with it. He asked me to teach him.”
You have to bite back a smile at his worried tone. “Ah, I see.”
He fixes his glasses, and clears his throat.
“It’s a really tricky subject, though, so I understand why you– uh, he, finds it troublesome.”
“Right,” you nod your head with a giggle, and you can almost feel Soonyoung’s stare burning into your side. It’s fine, though, because now, Wonwoo looks the slightest bit more relaxed.
You pull out your notebooks and textbook along with a coffee you’d made earlier, and when Wonwoo says your notes look pretty, you can’t help but grin. You kind of wish he weren’t so nice to you, but it doesn’t make you feel awkward, so you suppose you don’t have much room to complain.
It’s probably just reality catching up to you that’s making you nervous — the fact that he’s not so argumentative outside of class, and that you definitely felt something pull at the very bottom of your heart that day you failed the exam. That, and how the feeling isn’t giving any signs of leaving soon.
You let those thoughts wander as you start making notes, and soon enough, even Soonyoung goes quiet, occupied by his own stuff. It stays like that for a while, and at some point, Wonwoo’s knee bumps into yours. Warmth spreads all across you and you look at him.
“Sorry,” he whispers apologetically, retracting his leg, and the warmth subsides. In return you send him a smile in which you hope he can’t glimpse your slight – and unsettling – disappointment.
“It’s okay.”
And then it’s silent again, your body painfully aware of the fact that if you lean your leg a bit to the right you’ll touch Wonwoo. It’s not like you want to touch him, at least you don’t think you do, but the awareness is slightly nerve-wracking for some unknown reason. Everything about him is.
“Wonwoo,” Minjeong says, breaking the silence, making both his and your heads shoot up to look at her. “Y/N told me you could help me if I asked, so… I was wondering if you could explain biomolecules to me.”
“Of course.”
A quick smile flashes in your direction and then he’s leaning over the table to help Minjeong. His fingers follow the illustrations in her textbook and he starts talking — something about structure, you think. You listen intently, and it makes sense even though you’ve barely started the chapter, but you can’t bring yourself to take notes of what he’s saying. Can’t bring yourself to take your eyes off of him.
You wonder silently if he always was this handsome. You try to think of the times you spoke to him in class before, but it’s hard to recall his face in any other form than what your eyes meet now — focused gaze, lips moving to the rhythm of his voice. His glasses are slowly sliding down his nose, and you feel an immeasurable urge to push them up, but he beats you to it.
“Basically, they’re essential for cell division to happen,” he says, and you lean forward to look at the picture he’s pointing to.
Your shoulder bumps into his and he turns to the side. You notice, but don’t react in fear that you’ll just end up giggling like a schoolgirl. Instead, you pretend to read some of the text in the book.
Wonwoo picks up where he left off, voice a little hoarser than before, but you don’t move. Neither does he.
“Can you say that again?” you ask after he says something you don’t understand.
He repeats with his head turned in your direction, and your eyes drift down to his lips. You don’t want them to, it just happens, your stomach tying into a tight knot. You’re almost entirely sure nobody is supposed to look this hot while talking about biomolecules. Or was it morphogenesis? You honestly don’t know.
You don’t know why you feel like this with him of all people. Truly, there could be a lot of factors playing into it. The fact that he’s a smooth talker; the fact that he’s both intelligent and knowledgeable; the fact that you’ve grown to know him — what makes his blood boil and what makes him chuckle; the fact that he’s a constant in a sea of variables.
Maybe that last point especially. That even when everything else goes to hell, the moment you step into social anthropology class, he’s always there. Always willing to entertain you with, albeit sometimes pointless, banter.
You don’t even know what this is, though. Feeling your head spin when you look at him, having mini heart attacks when he says your name — are these the signs of you going insane? It could very well be that, you think. Insanity feels like the right word to explain your state right now.
“Y/N,” he says, breaking you out of your thoughts. “You listening?”
Your eyes drift back to his own, and you swear you see a glimpse of amusement playing in his gaze when you mumble a quiet “Yeah.”
Suddenly very aware of Soonyoung and Minjeong’s presence, as well as Wonwoo’s burning stare, you stand up, dusting off your clothes.
“I just need some fresh air,” you offer as an explanation.
“Mind if I join?”
You look at Wonwoo in disbelief as he asks the question. What the fuck? You don’t mind – at least in the sense that implies you don’t like his company – but it’s the same issue again; he makes you nervous. Goodbye to going for a relaxing walk, you suppose. And goodbye to whatever left there is of your sanity.
After what seems like hours of overthinking, you decide to get your shit together and send him a smile paired with a nod. Minjeong raises a brow in your direction, but doesn’t inquire further and internally you thank her for that. You’re not sure what you would’ve told her if she asked.
You and Wonwoo leave the library together, shoulders close together just like when you were sitting, and you swallow the lump in your throat.
“Everything okay?” he asks as you leave the building. “You seem a little dazed.”
The air is still cold, though winter is nearing its end and spring is slipping through the cracks. You pull your jacket closer to your body in hopes of both warming yourself up and slowing down your heartbeat, but it only fulfills one of those wishes, leaving you to deal with the latter yourself.
“I’m alright,” you respond with a soft smile. “Thank you for helping Minjeong, by the way. You’re a great teacher.”
Wonwoo’s smile lines shyly make an appearance. “Thanks. I’ve been thinking about becoming a real one, actually.”
You stop walking and turn your head in disbelief. Somehow, you didn’t expect that answer. Wonwoo was always a diligent student, but now that you come to think of it, he never really talked about his plans for the future, or what he wanted to do with his degree in chemical engineering.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” his cheeks redden ever so slightly. “Teaching chemistry honestly doesn’t sound that bad.”
You take a moment to think it through — him, in a suit and those glasses that fall down his nose, teaching kids about biomolecules. The idea is foreign, and yet, it fits just right.
You nudge him with your shoulder. “Professor Jeon, huh? It would suit you.”
He lets out a snort of laughter that sounds nothing like the small chuckles you’d hear from him during class. But it sounds nice, this loud laughter and you bathe in it for as long as it lasts. You’re starting to enjoy this whole ‘being kind to each other’ thing. Suits you better than yelling about something stupid in class. It suits him better, too.
Content with everything, you begin walking again and he follows suit. The grass is a little wet from yesterday’s rain and outgrown as it is, it tickles your ankles. It might’ve been mildly annoying if you weren’t so stupidly happy for whatever reason.
Whatever reason being Wonwoo, of course. You might be bad at chemistry, but you like to think you’re not dumb — at least not in an oblivious way. It’s become quite obvious, you think, that you like him.
The thought partly makes you want to kick your feet in the air and partly, it makes you want to rip your hair out. You like Wonwoo. It’s something so unexpected it makes you feel very bare as you stand there on the grass outside of your university, with your cold hands buried in the pockets of your jacket and Wonwoo’s eyes glimmering in the faint sunlight.
You like him. God, it feels weird to admit.
“About that day…” Wonwoo’s voice brings you back to reality, and you take a second to register what he’s saying.
“I freaked you out, didn’t I?” you ask.
“No, no, it’s not that,” he looks away and sighs softly, only to look directly at you the next second. “I just wanted to make sure you remember that one mistake doesn’t make you a failure. I should’ve said it earlier, but that day I was a bit… taken aback, I suppose. Not by the crying, obviously, but by the whole situation. And you.”
“Me,” you repeat, tasting the word on your tongue. Your heart starts beating a little faster, despite your best efforts at staying calm. He’s just talking after all; it’s not like this is some sort of love confession.
“Not in a bad way. Just in a new way,” he’s quick to assure you and you feel your heart swell in your chest.
“New. You make it sound so pretty.”
You laugh a bit, looking down on your hands. It. Does he even know what you mean? Does he know you’re talking about the fact that you’re slowly but surely starting to fall in love with him? Or is he just talking about seeing you vulnerable the other day?
“What would you call it?” he asks and you can’t stop your gaze from drifting back to him.
“I don’t know, confusing? And kind of insane.”
You swear his eyes drop to your lips for a mere second at that. He doesn’t say anything, just walks by you in silence, and it drives you crazy. You wish he’d say something – anything – just so you’d know if you’re even on the same page, but you don’t rush him.
Finally, he smiles at you.
“If insanity is losing control, then yes, I suppose I’m going insane. But it doesn’t feel all that insane to me.”
His eyes crinkle, soft streaks of sun painted across his face and you almost sigh. In delight, relief, or maybe fear, you’re not sure, but it’s those words, you think, that will linger. Those are the types of words to never abandon your mind, you’re sure of it.
“Did you rehearse this in front of the mirror or something?” you scoff at him, heart heavy in your chest.
He only laughs, and the sound stays in the air for a long time after you’ve left.
—
To say you were shocked to see Jeon Wonwoo sitting outside of his dorm with his head in his hands would be a major understatement.
You had grown closer to him in the past weeks — walking shoulder to shoulder around campus; him helping you with your homework — it all would’ve seemed unlikely had someone proposed the idea to you a month prior, but now, you had grown to truly enjoy his company. And he enjoyed yours, too.
In some ways, it stayed normal.
Comments and half-mean, half-endearing remarks remained untouched; what didn’t was your heart. It seems to be working against you at all times, beating too quickly when Wonwoo unexpectedly smiled in your direction, and dropping down to your stomach in fear whenever you saw him tippling over in emotion, only for the feeling to fade to the sound of his laugh.
This time, though, it doesn’t fade, only intensifies as you hear him curse under his breath.
“Wonwoo?” you try, and his shoulders tense ever so slightly.
You watch as he sighs, rubbing his eyes, then sits up straight, back against the wall. He doesn’t respond, even as his eyes, frail as ever, look into yours. They’re a bit darker than usual, and his lashes flutter as he blinks up at you.
There’s no one in the hallway, as if this part of the school emptied just to grant you a moment of privacy; a deciding moment, something in your stomach tells you.
“What’s happened?” you ask softly, quietly, unsure of what else to do with this obviously unhappy Jeon Wonwoo that’s sitting on the ground in front of you.
“It’s nothing,” he mumbles in response, leaning on his arms to stand up. “Just some school stuff.”
The corners of his mouth lift in a small smile, but you call his bullshit. You don’t necessarily doubt the genuinity of his smile, but the way he said it makes you think there is something that happened.
Taking a step in his direction, you nudge him with your elbow.
“What, the golden boy failed a test for the first time in his life?”
His eyes change at that — soft crinkles appearing at the very edges of them. His shoulders relax, too, and though it’s barely visible, you see it clearly. The air feels a lot lighter when he tongues his cheek and nudges you back.
“You sure run your mouth a lot, Y/N,” he grins and you feel butterflies flapping around in the very pits of your stomach. Then the smile fades to be replaced with a faux scolding look as he says, “I suggest you stop.”
You move to stand right in front of him, arms crossed over your chest. He’s taller, and you have to tilt your chin to look him right in the eyes as you giggle with a hint of playfulness in your gaze.
“Or what?”
He sees the smile playing on your face, the giddiness in your tone, and his heart bangs loudly against his chest. You look gorgeous today — well, that’s nothing new but it never ceases to amaze him how you can look prettier for each day that goes by.
Is this it? Is this when he’s supposed to make a move, like Soonyoung told him to? What does even ‘make a move’ mean, exactly?
He supposes it varies — just like the value of variables in the equations he solves so often.
Then how come he can’t solve this one?
You’re still standing there, looking at him without a care in the world, and he thinks that he’d never forgive himself if he screwed this up. At the same time, it doesn’t seem like you’re ready to run away from him, and so perhaps making a move doesn’t sound so stupid right now.
“Or,” he starts, and lets his eyes glide down to your lips for a moment to test the waters. You don’t scream in fear, and he takes it as a good sign. “I’m gonna have to make you.”
You giggle. “Yeah? And how exactly are you gonna do that, big boy?”
He feels his stomach turning upside down, squeezed by some invisible force and he has to remind himself to breathe. Is he really going through with this? Don’t start something you can’t end, Soonyoung would probably tell him. For once listening to his advice seems reasonable.
“Like this.”
And before he can even think of backing out, he brings the palms of his hands to cup your face and leans down, placing his lips against yours.
Taken aback, you let out a startled noise, eyes growing wide. He hesitates upon seeing your reaction, about to pull away when you finally kiss him back, tongue swiping over his lower lip ever so slightly.
A groan. Then, he’s bringing his hand to the back of your head and pulling you towards him, kissing you until your head starts to spin, and kissing you through that, too.
Your arms hold onto his shoulders for support, cheek leaning into his touch. Your noses touch clumsily; teeth clash when you open your mouth to let him explore it. Still, it feels like heaven and you can’t bring yourself to pull away for a breath.
Wonwoo, though, the more sensible one of you two, pulls back after a while, a smile on his lips and breath ragged.
You look at him — waiting for him to pick up where he left off, but he doesn’t move.
“That’s it?” you ask, and for a brief moment, all color drains from Wonwoo’s face. Did you not like it? Did he do something wrong?
“What do you mean?”
“You’re just going to leave me hanging like that?”
Your lip pulled between your teeth, you look at home expectantly, heart still hammering against your ribs. Truly, it’s not just about wanting more – though that plays a part in it, too – it’s also about whether this was a one-time-thing.
“Was it not enough for you?” he asks, tilting his head to the side after he’s calmed his racing heart.
“Considering I’ve been waiting for this, like, a month,” you say. “not really, no.”
He smiles down on you — that same smile that makes you weak in the knees, and you know there’s no turning back now. Not that there ever was.
“I think you’re a bit greedy,” he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and you shiver in anticipation. “I’ve been waiting for half a year, and yet, I still have some self control left.”
“I never had any in the first place.”
And with that, you pull him close for another kiss.
He doesn’t protest, opening his mouth and sucking on your tongue. His hands move down to your waist this time, pulling your body flush against his. You’ve never experienced being in such close proximity with him, and yet, you don’t feel all that nervous. It all slips away with his soft touches.
Your hands in his hair — it feels foreign, but he likes that feeling, gets drunk on it. But it’s some kind of reversed intoxication; he doesn’t feel faint; if anything, he’s feeling more sober than ever before as he bathes in your taste, your scent, you. This must be what love feels like, he thinks. This must be it, or else he’s certain he’ll never know love. If this isn’t it, he doesn’t want to know love.
He hopes you’re at least feeling a fraction of what he’s feeling as he pushes you gently against the wall, hands roaming your body. You do the same, holding onto him like he’s your lifeline, tugging at the strands of hair available to you.
So caught up in this feeling of bliss, you don’t even notice how you’re not alone with Wonwoo anymore until you hear laughter from a group of bypassing students.
“Get a room,” someone says and you pull away from Wonwoo immediately, face hot with embarrassment.
He doesn’t appear shaken, though — rather, you glimpse the shadow of a smile playing on his lips as he urges the students to leave. Just as you’re about to ask what he’s smiling about, his fingers close around your wrist and he pulls you along the hallway. He’s all rushed steps until you reach the nearest classroom that turns out to be empty, and he walks inside, dragging you with him.
Upon closing the door behind him, Wonwoo drags you into his chest. You look up at him, his inquiring gaze that asks for permission, and smile.
“Are you sure?” he asks and your grin turns teasing.
“Sure about what, Woo?”
He tongues his cheek, unsure of what to say. You’re just plain teasing him – that much is obvious – so he supposes he can give the same energy back.
“Sure that you want me to fuck you.”
You’re taken aback, though perhaps you shouldn’t be, considering how you set yourself up for this with your question. Still, your breath catches in your throat and your hand holds onto one of the nearby desks for stability as you face him. Wonwoo looks different now, to some extent; maybe it’s the lighting that gives his eyes a different glow, or maybe it’s how the air has suddenly become swollen with tension.
Whatever the cause, it excites you to no end, the way he’s looking at you when you take his hand in yours. Like you’re the only thing that matters.
“Yeah,” you say finally. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
At that, he pulls you impossibly closer. He takes off his glasses in a manner that you in a drunken state would’ve most likely called seductive, and throws them away somewhere you can’t see, too busy kissing him back when his lips crash into yours for the nth time today. He kisses you so hard it knocks the breath out of your lungs, and all thoughts out of your brain.
Mouth open, you let his tongue explore it and simultaneously, you allow him to walk you further into the classroom, until the back of your thighs hit one of the desks. Standing between your legs, he pushes your shirt up so his fingers can graze the bare skin underneath, and you sigh in content.
Before you know it, he’s pulling away to peel off your shirt and bra, leaving you bare in front of him.
“You’re beautiful, you know,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to yours again.
You smile into the kiss, goosebumps spreading over your skin with the touches of his fingers that glide further up your thigh, until they slip under your skirt. Knuckles running over your soaked panties, he bites your lip and you let out a delighted moan.
“You’re so wet,” he comments as he slips a finger under your panties, running it through your folds. You can already feel another flood of arousal approaching just because of his words. “Won’t even need to prep you, huh?”
You desperately shake your head no, and he chuckles.
He lays his palm flat against your clit and you squirm until he retracts it. Playfulness in his gaze, he smears your arousal all over your cunt, ignoring your whines. This takes him at least half a minute before he finally – upon hearing you whimper his name in a way that makes his pants a whole lot tighter all of a sudden – gives in and slides one of his fingers into your pussy.
You throw your head back with a whimper, holding onto his shoulder as he starts pumping it in and out of you, noises caused by the movement filling the air.
“Oh my god,” you breathe as he adds another one, your cunt tightening around his digits endlessly.
He smiles, pressing a kiss to your shoulder which is an immense contrast to how he curls his fingers inside of you, hitting that one spot that makes your toes curl. He plunges his digits in and out of your hole as his thumb circles your clit, until you’re moaning loudly — despite how little time has really passed.
It’s in utter shock that you watch him retract his hand completely, sucking the arousal from his fingers with a smile.
“Wha–” is all you manage to say before he flips you over, bending you over the desk.
You’re painfully aware of how bare you are in front of him — your naked cunt on display, because your skirt doesn’t do much to cover anything at all, and your tits pressed against the wood of the desk. Plus the fact that the locked door won’t do much good if someone is to have class in this room next period. Which would be in about thirty minutes.
Not that you care. Or, essentially, you do care, but now it doesn’t really matter — besides, you’re certain that Wonwoo would’ve managed to come up with some sort of excuse had you been forced to open the door for some frustrated professor.
Amidst your thoughts, you almost fail to hear the sound of Wonwoo unclasping his belt. Almost. But when you do hear it, something turns pleasantly in your stomach.
“You gonna be good for me and stay quiet?” Wonwoo asks and you feel his hands move to hold your hips, cock positioned at your entrance.
You mumble something in affirmation, something you’re not even sure you can hear yourself, and spread your legs to urge him on. You feel his cock prod at your soaked cunt, run through your folds languidly; again and again, until you’re whining his name in protest.
He only chuckles at your behavior, and asks, albeit teasingly, “What did you say?”
Gathering your thoughts, you try your best to ignore the way he’s dragging his dick over your pussy, occasionally rubbing over your clit.
“Yes, I’ll be good for you, Wonwoo.”
Pleased with this response, he finally enters you — cock stretching you open and making you cry out, holding onto the desk for support. He’s big, you realize, tears prodding at your eyes as he bottoms out.
“Yeah? Gonna be my good girl?”
You nod and nod, fingers turning white from how you’re gripping the wooden desk once he starts moving — in languid strokes, he manages to turn your moans louder and louder.
His hands hold onto your hips, pushing them against him so you’re further impaled on his cock with each thrust, and you swear you feel him all the way in your stomach. It’s a good feeling, one you can barely register fully with the way your mind’s gone hazy.
You hardly notice it when one of his hands lets go of your hips and comes up to your lips, fingers tapping at your chin as a signal to open your mouth. When you do, he slips two digits inside and you suck on them obediently, tightening around his cock.
Wonwoo smiles.
“Thought I told you to be quiet, baby.”
In all honesty, he loves the nosies you’re making, but he can’t risk someone starting to bang on the door before he’s got you falling apart completely. Besides, the sight of you sucking on his fingers is just as pleasing; just as effective in making his cock twitch in your cunt.
Your walls suck him in perfectly, the sound of him gliding in and out of your pussy loud in the empty classroom. His thrusts grow gradually harder; the desk starts moving in rhythm with them, and you can’t help letting out moans and whimpers that his digits in your mouth do a poor job of concealing.
He realizes this, and decides on removing his fingers so they can grab at your hair instead, pulling your back closer to his chest. Your tits bounce with his movements, and he plays with them briefly, groaning as your pussy clamps down on him especially hard at that, but then his hand moves between your legs to tend to your clit.
He rubs it in circles, granting you an occasional pinch or slap that makes you cry out, and you feel the knot in your stomach grow tighter and tighter.
“Feels so good, Wonwoo,” you sob, tears streaming down your cheeks as his fingers abuse your swollen clit.
“I know, baby.”
Barely coherent, you beg him not to stop, and he wonders whatever even prompted you to think that he might want to stop. He only fucks into you harder, hand on your hips to steady the thrusts that bring you closer and closer to coming.
“Wonwoo,” you say. “So close.”
“Yeah? Gonna come for me, baby? Gonna come all over my cock like a slut?”
You nod, though he probably doesn't see, and he pulls you even closer, eyes rolling to the back of his head at the sight in front of him. And to think he could’ve had this earlier had he taken the chance. You in the shortest skirt he’s ever seen, moaning his name like you don’t care if anyone hears — he honestly thinks he might be in heaven.
“Good girl,” he groans, and that’s what sends you over the edge, your pussy clamping down on his cock as you reach your orgasm. “Good fucking girl.”
He comes less than five seconds later, buried deep inside of you as his cum coats your walls. You whimper at the overstimulation of his last thrusts, collapsing on top of the desk when he pulls out.
He’s careful not to hurt you, but you still wince slightly, which prompts him to ask you if you’re okay.
“Never better,” you reply, and as soon as you say it, you realize it’s true.
Wonwoo smiles. He helps you clean up – repeatedly apologizing that he’s wiping you clean with the paper by the classroom sink, even though you tell him it’s fine – and puts his glasses on again. It kind of makes you wish he’d never taken them off, but there’s no way you’re telling him that. Your opinion about his beauty is something you’ll keep to yourself for now.
You get ready to leave just as someone knocks on the door, and Wonwoo opens it for a very flustered professor that tells you he’s sorry for interrupting. Wonwoo tries telling him it’s not like that – though it definitely is like that, and the blush coating his cheeks does nothing to hide it – and finally, you’re in the hallway, free.
“Poor guy,” you comment, a smile playing on your lips.
Wonwoo sighs. “Tell me about it. And here I was, thinking we’d gotten lucky.”
“I think we did get lucky, though.”
You say this without thinking it through, but from the way Wonwoo’s eyes light up, you’re glad you didn’t.
Suddenly, the doors to all classrooms in the hallway open and out come tired students, marking the start of the next period. Which you’re supposed to spend in biology.
You sigh, and Wonwoo seems to get it, because he tells you to leave for class.
“By the way, Y/N,” Wonwoo says just as you’re about to leave. Something in his gaze tells you this isn’t just a ‘by the way’ thing. “In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m really in love with you. And I’d like you to be my girlfriend.”
“Well, you’re in luck, mister,” you kiss his jaw with a grin. “Because it so happens that I’m in love with you, too. And I’d love to be your girlfriend.”
TAGLIST: @just-here-to-read-01 @syn-hhj @nikkell @dollyji
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