#even if it's in kind of different ways (given the whole plant biology thing lol)

[orcelito]

Anytime i remember that vashwood in ITNL is t4t I get so very happy 🥰

Yes wolfwood isn't here yet. That doesn't matter for this. It's the PROMISE of the t4t love.......

And eventually. I will fulfill that promise. Thank you.

[cotncandyboifics]

1989 [High School AU]: Chapter 8

AO3 Link

Masterpost

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6 ~ Chapter 7 ~ Chapter 9 ~

Pairings: slight Logince, eventual Prinxiety & Logicality

Word count: 2,407

Story summary: Roman Prince is your stereotypical Jock, with everyone swooning after him. Every day a crowd of people follow him around, only to disperse at his personal whim. In reality, he's lucky to have such good acting skills that help him cover up the disdain he has for his life. He only wishes he could use his skills properly.

Patton Whitelock's always there to lend a helping hand, no matter who you are. If you need a favor or just need someone to talk to, go to him. In reality, he's been taught from a young age that kindness should be held above all else. No one suspects that he took it the wrong way.

Logan Montgomery is the smartest boy in the Senior class. He's stern, and most people are too intimidated to speak to him. In reality, he despises most all of his fellow students. He sticks to his studies and doesn't stray, for fear of being stuck in his father's shadow his whole life.

Virgil Black is the most emo kid in school, let alone 12th grade; everyone knows to leave him be. In reality, he's very fortunate. He has two parents who love him dearly. But everything beyond his life, everything within his mind, is utter chaos and turmoil.

what will happen when they're assigned a biology project together?

General CW: food, swearing, implied s-lf h-rm, non-graphic descriptions of s-lf h-rm scars, graphic and non-graphic descriptions of anxiety attacks and panic attacks, drug abuse, minor character intoxicated on heroin, non-graphic drug overdose description, sickness/description of sickness, blood, non-graphic descriptions of needles, (will be added to as I write more)

Chapter CW: food, (let me know if i missed anything please!)

Author notes: alternate title: Virgil's very subtle epiphany. also Patton has a gay panic moment lol

...

Slam.

Monday morning. Mr. Berry was slapping a small poster on each student's desk like a stamp, one-by-one and painfully slowly.

"This," he began, "Is the official welcome to the schoolyear; audition posters for the Fall Talent Show." His bloated belly hardly fit between the desk rows, and students made futile attempts to scoot away from him before they were bombarded by his tyrannical tummy. "As a retired thespian and a life long supporter of theatre and the arts," he continued, bringing his pile of posters to his chest in his passion, "I highly recommend you at least consider looking into auditions. Everyone has a passion, or at least a hobby, and the talent show is a perfect freelance opportunity to show off your skills."

Roman rolled his eyes too dramatically. This was upsetting him more than he thought it would, and his eyes shot daggers up at his large superior as he slammed the next poster onto Roman's desk.

"Auditions will be held next week, on the specified dates. The show itself will be two weeks later, I believe on Friday night. Be there, and I will award you some extra credit points. All you must do is present me with your ticket, which must have your name on it," he eyed a few mischievous students in the room, "With a stamp on it from the Talent Show admissions booth, on the following Monday." As soon as Mr. Berry had given a poster to Virgil and moved on, Virgil quietly crumpled it and shoved it into a random part of his backpack, proceeding to fold his arms on his desk and put his head down. This caught Roman's attention, and his subconscious latched onto formulating a teasing remark for after class as a distraction from his own feelings about the Talent Show.

After class, the usual place where Roman and Virgil were shortly alone and had a short interaction - most often consisting of some insufferable tease from Roman or occasionally a debate spurred by Virgil making a witty side comment - the two met once again. After their first class of the day was usually the only time they were both at their lockers at the same time, as it happened, and Virgil was always thankful that it was the only time. Since their assignment to the Biology project, however, Roman had taken to walking with Virgil from their English class to their lockers and beginning his bouts of banter prematurely.

"Not a fan of the infamous talent show, are we?" Roman paced quickly over to Virgil, who had just made it outside the classroom door as they'd been dismissed. Virgil huffed in defeat as his attempt to escape before Roman could catch him had been fruitless.

"It's ridiculous," Virgil didn't slow his pace for Roman, and began essentially speedwalking down the hall. Roman was slightly taller than him and was able to keep up, but still got a little out of breath doing it. "Hey everyone, come and show everyone in the school something you really enjoy so they can all collectively judge you and make you self conscious about your interests and - oh no! you don't wanna do it anymore because you feel horribly inadequate? shoooot. Sorry man, no one could have seen that coming. Oh well, better luck next year when you'll just ruin a different passion for yourself!" Virgil flailed his hands at the end of his mini-rant.

"How can you stay that sarcastic for that long consecutively? I'm honestly impressed," Roman said, huffing as they arrived at their lockers. Virgil's permanent frown seemed to somehow deepen. "Though, I guess I really can't argue, Count Woe-laf. I see your point. The pressures of an impromptu performance are... undeniable." Roman focused his attention on the padlock hanging from the latch of his locker, while Virgil looked to him with widened eyes.

"Really?" He didn't look away from Roman until he would look back.

"What?" Roman defended.

"It's just..." Virgil focused on his own padlock now, "You never agree with what I say. It always becomes a debate," he pulled his locker open lazily, pulling his backpack off his shoulders and putting it on backwards so that he could more easily exchange things. When Roman didn't reply, he continued, "like... I don't know. Why is it any different now?"

Roman was exchanging things as well, and didn't have an immediate answer. Well, he knew the answer (or in this case, answers), but it wasn't one he was even ready to admit to himself, let alone anyone else, and especially let alone Virgil. He just eventually shrugged.

This reaction only further alarmed Virgil. He opened his mouth to continue his flabbergasted interrogation, but the bell rang right at that moment. Roman slammed his locker shut suddenly.

"Well, that's our queue I suppose. See you tonight, Incredible Sulk." Roman elbowed Virgil in the shoulder a bit awkwardly and began skipping down the hall to his next class. That left a dumbfounded and nearly-panicking Virgil standing in front of his open locker in an almost completely empty hall.

He wished Roman would stop leaving him like that.

...

Roman had texted the Biology Project group chat that weekend, saying he had an important football practice on Monday that went until 5. they'd have to have their meet-up at Roman's a bit later in the evening. Logan simply waited it out by heading to the school library to get his other homework done, while Patton and Virgil shot the breeze, walking down random hallways of the school.

The two of them were grabbing a snack from a vending machine when Virgil checked his phone. It was 4:50. They got their respective snacks - Patton got a strawberry Pop tart and Virgil got a Sunny D - and made their way to the designated meeting place. It was a concrete bench at the front of the school. They expected to find Logan there, but he wasn't. The two of them simply sat on the cold bench and exchanged bits of each other's snacks, and continued talking until Virgil noticed someone approaching.

He figured it would be Logan, but this person was shorter and more filled out than Logan. He trained his eyes better and realized that it was Roman. Roman, who happened to have a towel around his neck and sopping-wet crimson curly hair unabashedly on display. A drip of water rolled down his cheek and along his jawline, and Virgil realized he was staring. Roman finally got within conversation distance.

"Like what you see, Charlie Frown?" He teased. Patton looked to Virgil, noticing his awe, and giggled.

"Hah, in your dreams, Meta Knight," Virgil deflected half-heartedly, still finding it hard to pull his eyes away from Roman's unfortunate perfection. It was only worse that Roman knew just how attractive he was.

"Why's your hair all wet, silly?" Patton asked, standing energetically to greet him.

"We rinse off after practice. I considered leaving my shirt off so i could just get a clean one when i got home, but i knew that might be a bit too much to handle for some of us," Roman elbow-nudged Patton, who just giggled again and pushed his glasses up. Virgil knew that was extremely forced, especially after their conversation on Friday.

"Well," Roman checked his wristwatch, "Where would my nerdy Wolverine happen to be? It's ten past, and if there's anything Logan certainly is, it's punctual."

"Quite right you are," a stern voice came from behind them, to reveal Logan's lengthy form approaching casually. "My apologies for my tardiness. I got quite engaged in a particular Physics problem." Roman turned to him smiling, and pecked him on the cheek. Virgil didn't need to look at Patton to feel his friend's heart sink through the floor.

"Shall we then?" Roman turned to lead the way on the five-block journey to his house.

...

"hmm, that reminds me," Roman said from his sprawled position on his bed, "what are all your sexualities?"

That sure caught everyone's attention. The clock beside Roman's bed read 6:28 PM. Logan was studying their plants and taking notes, Patton had been cooing quietly to Roman's pet turtle, and Virgil was sitting in Roman's spinning desk chair scrolling on his phone. They all looked at Roman at once, and then at each other.

"Heh," Roman sat up, "My apologies for blurting such an intrusive question, I was just looking up at my-" he gestured toward his ceiling- "glorious flag, and it made me wonder. No man must answer that which he does not desire to." Roman was blatantly referring to the Bisexual flag that was pinned to the ceiling above his bed. They all looked at it, and back at him. "I suppose it's obvious now, but yes, I am undeniably bisexual," He faux bowed.

The silence wasn't doing anyone good, so Patton broke it before it got too much more awkward. "I, I'm gay," he said sheepishly, continuing to observe the turtle. Virgil gave him a soft smile, and decided to offer himself up next.

"I'm pan," he seemed to recoil further into his hoodie, if that were even possible. Logan turned to the other three, adjusting his necktie.

"I'm not usually one to admit this to many people, but since you have all been so transparent and calm about such personal information," He started, "I am comfortable telling you that I am Asexual."

No one regarded this with much surprise, except for Roman. "Oh really?" He said, seemingly surprised and embarrassed. Virgil scoff-laughed at him.

"What, upset you can't make your sexual fantasies a reality?" Virgil teased. Roman gasped, bringing a hand to his chest in an offended gesture.

"Excuse me!" He exclaimed, a look of disgust contorting his face.

Before a classic Roman-Virgil debate could ensue, Patton decided to share his thoughts.

"Well, I, I mean, I'm not ace but I, I guess sex isn't really so important to me," he was fiddling with his ring yet again.

"W-well, it should never be the centerpiece of any relationship!" Roman declared. They all looked at him skeptically. "what? I mean, personally, I prefer grand gestures." As he spoke, he stood and walked to Logan. "In my opinion," he produced a pristine bouquet of deep red roses that none of the others had noticed anywhere in the room before, "they are the key to any person's heart."

Logan seemed tame, Patton thought. As if he were performing. If he were being his normal self, he would have been very confused by where Roman had hidden the bouquet, and how it looked so perfect after being concealed. Instead, he just took it with a very gentle sweet smile, and thanked him quietly. Instead of Logan, Patton was now the one confused.

Virgil's face was red, and his neck a blotchy pink; thankfully he was mostly hidden under his purple bangs and hood. He huffed and excused himself to use the restroom. Patton noticed this time, and grabbed his arm before he made it out of the room.

"You okay?" he whispered gently to Virgil. Virgil just looked at him, mustered a small smile and a nod. Patton knew exactly what that meant. Virgil was okay, he just needed a moment. He returned the smile, and released his gentle paternal grip on Virgil's arm, allowing him to leave.

There was the sound of someone calling Roman's name from another part of the house, and Roman excused himself, rushing off to find its source.

Logan slipped his phone into the pocket of his navy slacks. "Well, I must be going now," He began. Instead of reaching to gather his things, he trained his acute attention directly on Patton, who was startled by the sudden focus on him. "Patton, do you have a ride home today?"

"I, uh, well," He tried blurting out an excuse but none came to his mind. "No, not exactly..."

Logan was slowly approaching, and Patton tried to back up but hit the terrarium containing Roman's turtle after just one small step. "Would you like a ride? My parents would be more than happy to assist in your safe transport home."

"Well, well I really don't want to intrude, or-" He stopped dead when Logan placed a slender hand gently on his shoulder.

"I insist. It's no intrusion or burden to them. They appreciate being able to help others when they can, especially people whose company I enjoy." Logan didn't feel as though he was figuratively lying through his teeth, but he knew that his parents didn't exactly feel that way. The nature of the situation was more that they took kindly to those that Logan worked well with on academically related subjects, such as people from his study group or the like.

Patton caught himself before letting the thought "you enjoy my company?" escape his lips. He just smiled. He knew there was no way he could get himself to deny Logan's offer when his heart was taking the reins.

"I would.. really appreciate, a ride home, yeah," He said quietly. Logan was just looking into his eyes with a tenderness Patton hadn't seen before. He pushed away any thoughts that Logan may have looked at Roman the exact same way during their date. He hoped he hadn't, and cursed himself for hoping it.

"Wonderful," Logan pulled himself out of their shared momentary trance. "I will let them know. I'm sure they will find it a pleasure to become acquainted with you. They should be here in less than five minutes, so I suggest gathering your belongings." Logan's thumbs padded across is illuminated phone screen as he spoke, until he once again slid it into his pocket and began collecting his things along with Patton.

Virgil entered once again, hood off and face slightly red and wet. it was clear that he hadn't been crying due to the sporadic nature of the droplets of water across his face; it looked more like he'd just haphazardly washed his face in the sink and hadn't bothered to wipe the remnants away. Patton smiled at him brightly.

"Ah, Virgil," Logan addressed as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "It was pleasant to see you again. We are on our way out now. Are you ready, Patton?" He looked to Patton, who also slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Yep! Logan's giving me a ride," Patton blatantly could barely contain his excitement in his ever-growing grin, so Virgil only returned it with a small thumbs up.

"Alright, ill see you guys in class tomorrow," He hugged Patton tightly, and half-heartedly saluted to Logan without making eye contact. Logan simply nodded to him, and the two left shortly, leaving Virgil alone in Roman's room.

[dotsz]

So in the jack o lantern au, danny has an electric core, right? How does he handle these as opposed to canon's ice core? Also are any of his other powers different?

*realizes i had given him these powers on a whim bc lightning powers are cool as hell and don’t actually have an origin story lol*

okay but just off the top of my head, honestly i feel like electric core fits him more in this aspect with the whole warmth thing, since ice powers are like. very obviously cold. associated with blue n stuff. whereas lightning is hot energy, quick, more associated with fire.

(also this got really fucking long cause i went on a million tangents so under the cut lol)

uhh he got his powers during the undergrowth episode if my memory of canon is right. i feel like it’d be the same kind of deal? he’s feeling weird all day. all staticky, hair standing on end, everything seems to give him little electric shocks. it’s kinda worrying cause it reminds him of the portal accident. 

now, with undergrowth, he’s a giant plant/tree thing, and lightning can actually help plants grow (though i feel like too much at once would definitely like... not do that). so maybe danny’s powers at first come and go while he’s fighting the ghost, and it doesn’t seem to be helping; if anything, it’s making undergrowth get bigger. there’s the issue of how much undergrowth can take before actually getting hurt from it, and if there’s even a limit based on how ghost biology works and the fact that he’s not in actuality a plant. so there’s that, plus danny having to find other ways to fight him because he doesn’t know how much will actually help the ghost.

and maybe like in the episode there’s a surge of power, crackling all around him, lightning just arching off his body and into the plants and just. frying them. because it’s not electricity, really, it’s more ghostly power taking the form of electricity, just like the ice was more “ghost ice” since it doesn’t melt. the ghostly electricity is much more toxic than normal electricity.

so that’s roughly how it’d go lmao. i feel like he’d def show signs of it early on? cause if it’s a direct result of the portal accident which involved a heavy amount of electricity, danny would definitely feel the effects of it not unlike how his ghost sense in canon was supposed to allude to his ice core (actually how do we feel about his ghost sense being more of a static, hair raising feel, like little bits of electricity?)

as for his other powers, they’d be mostly the same, like he has the basic ghostly powers down of intangibility, flight, invisibility, etc. i don’t believe he’d differ from the ghosts that much in terms of like, general biology; maybe he feels a little warmer, and obviously you have the orange aura instead of the green/blue one, but it’s not too noticeable if you’re not a powerful enough ghost to sense it.

ooh and his human form is kinda weird too. i know in fics we tend to talk a bit about how phantom seems more alive than fenton due to their mannerisms in each body, but like. how about we take that a bit more literally. 

as phantom, his eyes are like lanterns; super bright, full of life, and his aura is overall more warm and human like. 

as fenton, he seems more dead, pale, and even his brown eyes are kinda dull unless you hit the light right (bc he has eyes light enough that they turn that kinda yellow shade when it hits the sun, and it helps when they accidentally glow in broad daylight - this is assuming of course that he’s actually standing anywhere near the sun and not just being a dumbass). wears more blue?? maybe??? idk i’m just having fun with this lmao

ANYWAY before i go on forever yeah. there. that’s my answer haha

[jaehyun-eclipsed]

Before I Met You | One

Updates: Sundays and Thursdays, 8 PM EST

Pairing: NCT (Jaehyun, Lucas...) X Reader/OC

Genre: Romance, Angst, Coming of Age

Summary: Four. There were four people before I fell in love with you… Here are their stories.

Before I Met You Masterlist

Prev | Next

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

I look up from my biology homework to see Seungwan turned around in her chair.

“Are you going to Winter Ball?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

“Are you going with Doyoung?”

“Uh,” I hesitate. “Yeah, as friends. We’re going in a group. Why?”

Her eyes shift down to the desk. “Um, I thought about asking him to go, but I wasn’t sure if you guys were already going together,” she says quietly.

Goddamnit.

I blink at her once before looking back down at my assignment, filling in an answer on my worksheet as if there weren’t any difficulties or complications with her thought.  

“If you want to ask him, you can,” I say, nonchalantly.

Doyoung had been my best friend since the beginning of high school. We met in elementary school, but ended up going to different secondary schools before reuniting in high school. No one knew that Doyoung was actually gay – except for me and our friend, Taeyeon. And that came as quite a surprise as I had been convinced that he had a crush on me since we resumed our friendship in high school.

The strange thing was that because everyone knew we were such good friends, my female friends had a habit of coming up to me to tell me they had a crush on him. (This is in addition to everyone thinking we secretly like each other, but that’s a different issue.) But wanting to respect Doyoung’s secret, I acted as if his admirers’ desires had a chance of being attained. It was an interesting line of being honest and maintaining one’s loyalty. Given the sensitivity of the issue, it was Doyoung’s secret to tell – not mine.

“I’m kind of scared to ask him,” she admits.

“You could always just ask him to dance even if you don’t go with him as a formal date,” I say, keeping my focus on my assignment.

“Yeah, maybe,” she ponders. “Anyway, what’s your plan for the dance? Can I come with you even if I don’t go with Doyoung?”

“Sure. We’re going to dinner at a Japanese place at 5:30.”

“Okay, I’ll probably come with you. Who else is going?”

“Hana and Hyojin.”

Doyoung returns to his seat next to me a short moment later.

“So what’s the plan for next Saturday?” I ask him.

“I’ll come to your place at eleven and we can try to get most of the presentation done. I’ll leave at like three so you can get ready and then I’ll come back and pick you up at five.”

“Sounds good,” I say. “Two hours should be enough.”

He smirks. “I mean, I need to get ready, but I need like… twenty minutes.”

I roll my eyes at him and turn back to my work as he puts his headphones back in to continue watching a movie. Doyoung and I had finished the day’s homework early. Mr. Lee was pleased with our performance so Doyoung would watch movies while I attempted to do other work. Though, I often got distracted and joined him a few minutes later.  

The bell rings, signaling the end of math. Seungwan waits for me by the classroom door while I pack up my belongings so we can walk to history together. We typically take a back route along a gravel path on the side of the History and Literature building to get to the front. Of course, I had slightly other motives behind originally suggesting that path.

We exit the building and start walking towards the gravel path, greeting our classmates going to math.  

“Have you decided what you’re going to wear?” Seungwan asks.

As we approach, I see Lucas and his friends, Sicheng and Seulgi, coming from the opposite direction. I glance at Lucas to find him already looking at me.  

Oh…

Lucas Wong was your typical eye candy – really attractive, kind, charming, and part of the popular crowd. He was half Thai, half Chinese, and most of the girls had a crush on him at one point or another.  

Surprisingly, I was also one of the girls who developed a crush on him. I say surprisingly because I didn’t like the guy at first. I thought he was arrogant and conceited given that he had once made a spectacle of himself just before one of the school dances, reveling in the attention he received from the girls vying to be his date; you could tell he knew he was attractive. But my initial impression changed last year when we ended up sitting next to each other in my biology class and became pretty good friends. When you got to know him, he wasn’t really like that at all.

Interestingly, I started to think that he liked me because he came up and grabbed me from behind to scare me when I was running an experiment during class. And according to my friend, Siwoo, Lucas would frequently talk about me during their history class. I had wanted to go to prom with him last year, but he was out of town that weekend.  

Ever since then, I’d had an on and off attraction to him. After we returned from Winter Break, I found the feelings for him had returned. Though, I suppose they had never truly left. He was nice and always wanted to share music with me.  

“Um,” I begin, distracted by my awareness of Lucas’s gaze. “I have this uh, navy blue dress I bought last year for uh, prom before I um, decided to wear something else. How about you?”  

I hope what I said was coherent…

I keep my gaze in front of me, trying to feign indifference. Unfortunately, that only lasts a moment. My eyes widen in horror when I feel Lucas’s arm lightly brush against mine as we pass each other. I attempt to quickly regain composure, hoping that Seungwan didn’t catch my momentary pause right in the middle of the pathway. Taking a breath, I try to force myself to bring my attention back to her.

He brushed right up against me.

I don’t hear what she says. Though, I think she said something about a teal dress.

What was that?

I blink, my mouth slightly agape, trying to form a response.

“That… should be nice!” I manage to choke out.

We walk into our history class and wait for our teacher to reprimand lecture us on finishing our essays, but I don’t hear a thing she’s saying.

He must have done that on purpose. There was plenty of room for that not to happen.

Ugh! Everything is so complicated!

Forget it, I’ll just look hot at the dance. That’s obviously not going to get me what I want, but I’ll at least get to see him. So that’s fine.

Before starting my homework that night, I open my laptop and log onto Facebook.

Oh, good, Hyojin is online.  

Me: What are you doing?

Hyojin: I’m watching Running Man instead of doing homework

Me: Shouldn’t you be doing your homework so that you don’t have to stay up tonight? You didn’t come to school today

HJ: I know

HJ: I just had to catch up on everything. I’m so behind

Me: 😔  

Me: Are you going with us next Saturday?

HJ: To the Japanese place? Yeah! 😊

Me: Okay, we’re meeting at 5:30

HJ: I’ll be there!

HJ: So… how’s it going with Lucas? 😉

Me: Exactly the same as it always is… I don’t know if he likes me. It seems like he does because he’s always staring at me. Like today when I was walking to history on that side path, he was already looking at me when I looked at him and then he…brushed his arm against mine!

Me: But that path is narrow! It could happen to anybody, so I don’t think it’s all that significant of anything

HJ: He brushed his arm against you? That’s weird. I feel like he does like you…

Me: This is stupid, but I really want to dance with him at winter ball…

HJ: Then do it!

Me: Lol because that’s really going to happen  

Me: What am I supposed to do? Go up to him and ask?

Me: Yeah, lol, no

HJ: Yeah!! Go up and ask him!

Me: Yeah, I’d rather drop a hammer on my foot

HJ: Ok so what will you do instead?

Me: Uh…maybe I’ll just stand near him the whole time and then hope that when a slow dance comes on that he sees me and does that head nod thing and asks

HJ: How is that going to work?

Me: It’s not lol

HJ: Just ask!!!!

Me: No!!

HJ: Why not?!

Me: Because I’m scared!

HJ: What if he doesn’t ask you?

Me: It’s not like I’m expecting him to ask me!  

HJ: Well, I still think you should. Anyway, I need to finish my essay, so I’ll talk to you later!

Me: How much do you have left?

HJ: I’m almost done! I only need a few hundred more words.

Me: Alright, good luck! I’ll talk to you later!

HJ: Bye!!

I stare at the Facebook homepage, distracted by my thoughts rather than focusing on the history worksheet sitting in front of me.

This is so pathetic. You’re obsessed over a stupid boy. All you really have to do is go up and ask him, but you’re scared, so you’re not gonna do that.  

I stand on the side of the dance floor, watching all of the couples slow dancing together, passively listening to my friends’ laughter. I turn my head to see Lucas standing near the edge of the dance floor looking at me. He extends his hand out and flicks his head back, inviting me to join him. I raise an eyebrow and shrug, opting to walk over to him and take his hand, joining him in a slow dance.

I rub my forehead and sigh in frustration, rolling my eyes at my own fantasy. 

That’s literally one of the dumbest things you’ve come up with.  

The following Monday, I wake up go to zero period at seven in the morning and walk to biology shortly afterwards. After class starts, our teacher steps out of the classroom briefly, leaving us to busy ourselves with studying or other homework. Feeling bored, I get up to find my way into our greenhouse and find another student taking measurements of her plants. We greet each other as I peruse the rest of the projects. In my periphery, I detect movement of someone walking from the parking lot and look up to see Lucas looking at me. He waves.

Ah, right on time. He’s ten minutes late – as always.  

I wave back and shift my gaze, pretending to be intrigued by the plants as he walks past the greenhouse and towards the back entrance of the building. My head snaps up when I hear a gentle knock on the greenhouse windows. He gestures towards the locked door, silently asking for me to come open it. I nod my head in acknowledgement and proceed to walk out into the hall to let him inside.

“Thank you,” he says.

I press my lips together into a small smile and nod, quickly turning around, the heels of my boots clicking with each step as he follows me.

“Hey, Y/N?” Doyoung calls as I step back into the classroom.

“Yeah?”

“Can you read over this essay?”

“Sure.”

He hands me his essay and begins chatting with the other students around us. I glance at the back of the room towards Lucas. Our class was small; most of the seats in the back were empty. Plus, Seulgi and Yang Yang weren’t here and I realize I could easily excuse myself to sit in one of the seats in front of Lucas and act like I just wanted fewer distractions. I did want to ask him about his possible attendance to the dance. This would be a good time.  

I stand up and look at the back of the classroom, pretending to check for an empty seat, already knowing that there are several in the row in front of Lucas.  

“Where you going?” Doyoung asks.

“Just to the back so I can read this without any distractions,” I lie.

I make my way over to the seat directly in front of Lucas and proceed to read the essay, making various marks.  

When you finish, just turn around and ask him about what he’s working on.  

Just as I finish reading the last sentence, I hear a voice behind me.

“Hey, Y/N, can you help me with something?”

Well that was easier than I thought it’d be.

I turn around in my chair to face Lucas. “Yeah?”

“What do I have to put on the cover page for our thesis?”

Everyone was scrambling to finish the dreaded senior thesis: a four thousand-word research paper that each student completes over their last two years of high school. They were due tomorrow. Honestly, the hope is that we’d pass with the minimum of a D.  

“Uh, the title, your name, the school’s name, address of the school, date… I think that’s it.”

“Like this?”

He flips his laptop around for me to look at the cover page. A quick glance tells me that the arrangement and spacing is all wrong.  

“No, rearrange it so that the title is first,” I begin. “Then ten spaces down should be your name, then the school’s name, school’s address, and date.”

“Okay. Thanks. What am I going to do? My paper is so long,” he says, exasperated.

“Lucas, mine is thirty-five pages. It’s fine.”

I look at the empty seat next to him and instinctively get up to maneuver behind him to sit down.  

“Oh, okay, that’s good. Mine is already five,” he responds.

Five?  

“It’s only a thousand words and it’s already at five pages,” he says.

I gawk at him. Does… does he realize that he needs to write three thousand more words by tomorrow?

I watch as he scrolls through the document; he has a cover page, a blank abstract, a blank table of contents, and a couple pages of actual text. I feel myself growing increasingly unimpressed.  

I’m just… I guess I expected nothing less.

“Does this look okay?” he asks.

That’s a blank abstract and table of contents and you’ve literally written a thousand words.  

I have to refrain from laughing. While he was kind and attractive, he wasn’t the smartest nor the hardest working student – and everyone knew it. No, it wasn’t okay and there were multiple corrections that had to be made given that this was due tomorrow and I seemed to be freaking out more than he was. 

Now, I was blunt, but I wasn’t rude.  

“Well, it needs to be double spaced and you need to add your table of contents…” I say, skirting around the question.

I give him further instructions on how to format his title page when I remember my true intention for sitting by him. I already knew he was likely going – he never missed a dance. But I wanted to be sure. Perhaps I’d get my chance.  

“So are you going to Winter Ball?” I ask hesitantly, keeping my gaze on his laptop screen.

“Yeah, I just have to wait to buy my ticket with my partner.”

Partner? Like a date?

“Partner?” I ask. 

“Yeah, Seulgi. She doesn’t want to go.”

Lucas and Seulgi were… best friends – for lack of a better term. It was very obvious that Lucas had a crush on Seulgi in our first year of high school. I used to be better friends with her and would see text messages between them. He called her “Juliet” – implying that he was her Romeo, I suppose. Though, I wasn’t quite sure how he felt about her now. Everyone thought that Seulgi liked Lucas, but for whatever reason, she wouldn’t date him. So they just remained very close friends, even though you could tell that he would get jealous any time she went on a date with another guy and that she reveled in the attention.

“She doesn’t?” I ask, confused.

Seulgi always wants to go to the dances. She was the one who was trying to convince me to go our first year and I still didn’t go.  

“Yeah, she said she would go if I bought her ticket.”

What…? So are they going together? Like, together, together? He said ‘partner’ and not ‘date.’  But that often sort of means the same thing. And he’s buying her ticket…?

“Oh…” I remark.

“Yeah, are you going?” he asks.

“Yeah, I got my ticket from Hyojin. She won a set and sold it to me at half-price.”

“That’s nice! You get it cheaper.”

“Yeah…”

God, I want to dance with you and I want to go with you, but that’s not going to happen. Nobody really does formal dates for Winter Ball unless you’re in a relationship anyway…  

“Are you guys going anywhere before the dance?” I ask.

“Uh, we might go to dinner. What about you?”

“Yeah, I’m going to dinner with some friends.”

“Oh nice! I’ll see you at the dance then!”

Sounds like the most I’ll get is seeing him there. That’s all I realistically expected anyway...

The remainder of the class period continues with the two of us making occasional small talk and him asking me for further thesis instructions. Seulgi and Yang Yang never came to class. So I was fortunate enough to have him all to myself for the hour.  

The week went by quickly with everyone hurrying to submit their theses and other senior-year related projects. Though, with Winter Ball fast approaching, most of us were finding it difficult to have any motivation.

At the end of the week, I log onto Facebook, eagerly looking for the green dot next to Hyojin’s name before clicking on it and typing a message to her.

Me: I thought I wasn’t going to make it through this week

Hyojin: Me too! But tomorrow is winter ball! I’m so excited!

Me: Me too! I’m gonna look hot

HJ: Oh! What are you wearing?

Me: This navy blue dress I bought last year that I thought about wearing to prom

HJ: Oh okay. Yeah, I’m just going to wear that leopard print dress I wore earlier this year. It makes me feel sexy!

Me: Sweet. We can both look hot and it’s going to be great

Me: So I talked to Lucas today about winter ball…

HJ: You did? What did he say?

Me: Well, I asked him if he was going and he said he was, but he had to buy a ticket for him and his partner

HJ: Partner?

Me: Yeah, Seulgi. Apparently she wouldn’t go unless he bought her ticket for her?

HJ: He has to buy her ticket for her to go? That’s so rude of her!

Me: That’s what I thought. But why did he call her his ‘partner’? That’s different than a date, right?

HJ: I don’t know… I would think so. If Seulgi was his date, why wouldn’t he just say ‘date’?

Me: That’s true…

HJ: Did you ask him about prom?

Me: No, I didn’t think about it

HJ: Y/N!! I could strangle you! How could you not ask?!

Me: I don’t know! I didn’t think about it! It’s fine. Nothing is going to happen anyway!

HJ: I guess…

Me: So are you going to ask Doyoung to dance tomorrow?

Hyojin was another one of my friends that had a crush on Doyoung.

HJ: I don’t know… I kind of just want to have fun with my friends and dance!

Me: Yeah, I agree. Tomorrow will be lots of fun! We’ll go to dinner and then dance the night away. It’ll be great!

HJ: So are you going to ask Lucas to dance?

Me: No! I told you, it’s not going to happen! I just had that dumb fantasy I told you about the other day

Me: And since it’s a fantasy, it’ll never come true. The end!

HJ: I think you should just ask  

Me: That’s okay. I’ll just let my dream be a dream. Anyway, I need to do my nails so I’ll see you tomorrow! 5:30!

HJ: Okay! Can’t wait! Bye!

I sit in my room and play some background music as I paint my nails with a sparkly blue varnish to match my dress. My thoughts keep lingering back to Lucas. I feel pathetic. Though, I was acting like anyone else who had a crush so it wasn’t completely deplorable.

What’s the point? This stuff never happens except in the movies. Just go have a nice dinner and have fun with your friends. That’s all you can ask for.

Ha ha, yeah, but let's be honest, we all know you're going to stand by him the whole time hoping your fantasy comes true anyway.

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Before I Met You Masterlist Masterlist         

[asgardian--angels]

Hi again! So, you've probably heard about it by now, but I saw an article about the possibility of Asian giant hornets having migrated over to the U.S. I clearly have no knowledge on the subject beyond what I read in the article (and that's hardly any basis to form an opinion on lol) and I know that this kind of falls under your realm of expertise, so I was wondering if you might have anymore information to offer and possibly alleviate some anxieties??

Hi there! Yes, it seems it’s been bombarding everyone’s news feeds the past few days. I was actually just asked to talk about it on the radio today. I’ll preface this with the fact that I am not super familiar with the biology of this particular species, though I had heard of it before all of this and it’s heckin cool. 

Is this wasp a problem? Potentially, yes. Should we call it a ‘murder hornet’ and use it as fodder for wasp hate everywhere? Absolutely not. If the Asian Giant Hornet is a problem, it’s because it could be invasive, not because it’s a wasp. Let’s break that down.

In its home range, this massive wasp specializes on hunting honeybees. Honeybees in Japan are not our honeybees, they’re an entirely different species, Apis cerana japonica (as opposed to western honeybees, Apis mellifera). Japanese honeybees evolved alongside this species, and they are together part of an ecosystem - giant hornets like this don’t just pop up like Godzilla ready to demolish society, they look and act the way they do because of millions of years of evolution alongside predators and prey and their environment. Their arms race is with the Japanese honeybee, which can tolerate temperatures in excess of 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and they will swarm the infiltrating wasp and cook it alive. This is a unique, special adaptation that came about because these two have been duking it out forever. So that’s step 1. This wasp is not some monstrous thing born of Cthulhu. It has an ecological place. Honeybees over there are perfectly used to it, just another day for them (there’s actually two other giant hornet species that attack hives sporadically as well over there). We just think it looks terrifying because it’s different than what we’re used to, and it amplifies our already-present fears of wasp-shaped creatures.

Step 2.1 The reasons why it could pose a problem in the U.S. Firstly, its sting is dangerous; obviously, its sting is very large and can deliver a lot of venom, and if you’ve seen the Coyote Peterson video on it, it causes long-lasting swelling and pain. One or even a few stings will not severely harm you, but seven, eight, a dozen, could potentially send you to the E.R. with severe inflammation and even renal failure. You’re more at risk from complications from fewer stings if you have pre-existing inflammation or breathing problems, and if you get stung someplace like your neck or face. Most victims, even those who are hospitalized, do make a full recovery. That being said, like any other social wasp we have, you’re only likely to get stung if you accidentally stumble upon a nest and can’t book it out of there fast enough. I cannot vouch for the natural aggressiveness of this species, but given its size, life history, and similarities to related species, I would say that it will probably have a fairly proactive response to disturbance, aka, yes, it absolutely does pose a health risk to humans and this is a valid reason to be concerned.

Step 2.2 The other reason people are worried. This wasp targets honeybees, which most people know are extremely important for our agricultural system. It can decimate whole hives of western honeybees, as they have not evolved the defenses necessary to fend them off. However, I’ve heard things like ‘they’re going to contribute to bee declines!’ and that is simply not the case. Honeybees are not native - they are not an essential part of our ecosystem, only our agricultural one. It will be an economic loss if we start losing honeybee colonies, but honeybees are not the bees that we should be concerned about here in North America. It’s our native bees that are declining at startling rates. These hornets will not attack our native bees, because they don’t build hives! Only a very small percentage of our >3,500 species of native bee live in colonies, and they’re almost all underground and with a tiny fraction of the number of workers that a honeybee colony has (instead of tens of thousands, think, a couple dozen). The rest are totally solitary. Not what this wasp is looking for; it has a search image, it knows how to seek out honeybee colonies and I highly doubt it would recognize bumblebees or sweat bees as prey. The reason why this hornet has the potential to do so much damage in the first place is a classic problem with monocultures; grow (or in this case, raise) too much of one thing in one place, and when a disease or pest comes by, it can easily sweep through the population with high mortality. It’s been recognized for a while now that we rely far too heavily on honeybees for our pollination; concerns over Colony Collapse Disorder sparked these discussions. This whole time, we should have been providing for wild, native bees, by giving them the habitat they need to live alongside us and pollinate our crops. Instead, we’ve pushed them out with monocultures, pesticides, and development, then decided to bring in a non-native species to replace them. This is a setup for disaster. The presence of this new threat should be a wakeup call to change our ways. 

Step 3. Do not judge all wasps by this one species. ‘Murder hornet’ is not a term that allows us to discuss this animal objectively. The VAST majority of native wasps are small, stingless species which most of us never notice, yet they perform invaluable ecological services as parasitoids. Our stinging species are still mostly solitary and non-aggressive, and are pollinators and predators on common garden pests. And you know what? Yellowjackets, bald-faced hornets (not a true hornet, actually), paper wasps, the ones people don’t like? They’re beneficial too, for the same reasons as above. They are a crucial part of our ecosystem, and are aggressive only if we threaten their colonies, which contain their young. This introduced species posing risks to us does NOT give us the right to condemn our native species to fear and hatred. Wasps already have a bad rap. Don’t make this fuel for the fire. If this wasp is dangerous, it’s not because it’s a wasp. It’s because it’s an invasive species that lacks the checks and balances of its natural habitat. Invasive species can be plants, fungi, or animals, and just because this one is a wasp doesn’t mean you get to lump all other wasps in with it. 

Lastly, I’m already seeing people all over the country start to claim they are seeing this wasp. You are not. Unless you live in Washington, at this time, you’re seeing something else. Let me show you a few, in case you are mistaken:

European Hornet - Vespa crabro. (Photo) Non-native, but established in the eastern U.S. Largest wasp most people have ever seen, but still half the size of the queen Asian giant hornet. Acts like other yellowjackets and such, no serious ecological threat. 

Eastern Cicada Killer - Sphecius speciosus (photo). Native, found east of the Rockies. Specializes on hunting cicadas. A large, solitary wasp, but not aggressive. Lives in burrows in the ground. About the size of the European hornet. They like sandy areas, so you might see them in fields or playgrounds.

Paper wasps - Polistes spp. (photo). Native, common across the country, some species have yellow markings, others are brown or reddish. Social wasps, they build paper nests under awnings near human habitation, can be somewhat aggressive if you get too close to the nest but otherwise are approachable when foraging on flowers. Smaller, usually 3/4 inch or so.

Potter and mason wasps - Eumeninae spp. (photo). We have hundreds of species of potter wasp, and in the southern U.S. many of them have red and yellow markings. This particular one is Euodynerus pratensis from Texas. These are solitary wasps, and are not very large, usually not exceeding 1/2 an inch, maybe the largest are 3/4in. They make mud nests, sometimes near human habitation, but they are docile and rarely cause conflict. 

Great Golden Digger Wasp - Sphex ichneumoneus (photo). Common across the U.S., a large native solitary wasp common on flowers. Not really the same body structure as a vespid but just in case... these guys scare some people because they are large and gangly but they hunt grasshoppers and katydids and are generally non-intrusive. They live in underground burrows, not near humans. They’re good pollinators too!

I hope that alleviates some fear that comes with people starting to claim they’re seeing this wasp where it isn’t. It’s just another case of boy cries brown recluse spider. Most people are so unfamiliar with our native insect fauna that once they start noticing wasps, everything looks like the culprit just because they weren’t paying attention to what’s always been around them.

It sounds like they don’t know the extent of establishment yet, or when/how the AGH was introduced. Chances are, if people are starting to find them, then it’s already got a population. However, if early response methods can effectively control their spread, there’s a chance we can eliminate them. We have hundreds of invasive species here in the U.S. that are wreaking havoc on our ecosystems because we missed the short window in which to eradicate them. We do not know the total impact this hornet could have, until we thoroughly read the literature on its ecology back in Asia. It does pose a significant economic risk though, and a human health risk if they end up dwelling near human habitation (which they shouldn’t, I would think, unless you’ve got honeybee hives or feral colonies around). What we’re seeing is two non-natives battling it out - two species that should not be in North America at all. I do hope that we are able to stop this invasion in its tracks, but I also really hope it makes us reconsider the flaws in our agricultural system.

[untouchabyeolman]

Monsta X “Beautiful” Theory

Okay, I can’t believe I’m doing this but I was encouraged by my friend @samementha to write this out so here it goes....(I’ll keep this under a cut because it’s quite long so beware)

After viewing the MV many times to try and decipher the meaning behind it, I initially thought that the general theme for the MV were the “7 Deadly Sins”. Obviously, because there are seven members and the fact that the room Changkyun was in was filled with money and gold while Hyungwon’s main object was a mirror. But as I tried to connect the 7 deadly sins with the MV the less sense it made. And then I thought, “what if it’s not the just sins but the 7 virtues?”

That’s when it made more sense. But the 7 deadly sins still play a big part in this theory. 

As we recall, there was some type of war/rebellion going on in All In but most importantly, Hyungwon and Shownu were going through some troubles with their families. Hyungwon was being abused by his father while Shownu needed money to help his sick father. Hyungwon, probably due to being embarrassed, refuses to show how beaten he looks to Minhyuk but once Minhyuk sees, he flees and immediately seeks out where Hyungwon’s father is and burns down their house(?) with the help of Changkyun and Wonho. As for Shownu, he is assisted by Jooheon in robbing a store and a bank to get the money he needed for his father only to find out it was too late. We also see the boys being active in some form of ritual led by Jooheon to extract the healing powers of the blue delphinium flower. This flower is the main symbol of the trilogy and appears in Fighter as well as in Beautiful. 

But what does the flower mean? 

Apparently, the delphinium symbolizes general fun and positivity and also an openness to new emotions and feelings in a romantic sense (could explain the implication of something romantic going on between Hyungwon and Minhyuk but that’s for another theory) and was also used as medicine in medieval times. Despite its overall positive symbolism, flowers of these species are very toxic, causing those who consume it to die within hours. But maybe this explains why Jooheon gathers the boys together in this ritual to separate the toxins from the flower and only use its good components. Other theories I’ve come across mainly focus on the theory that the flower has healing abilities which explains the opening scene in All In where Minhyuk feeds Hyungwon the flower in order to save him. I also think that the boys were using the elixir made from the flowers as a form of drug but.....I can’t really back up this theory aside from the fact that they seemed intoxicated throughout the whole ritual. 

But moving on! (Sorry about that I didn’t mean for this theory to be this long kasjnaskj) Going forward with my 7 Virtues theory, let’s first review the 7 Deadly Sins along with the 7 Heavenly Virtues.

7 Deadly Sins

Lust

Gluttony

Greed

Sloth

Wrath

Envy

Pride

7 Virtues

Chastity

Temperance

Charity

Diligence

Patience

Kindness

Humility

For those of you not familiar with the 7 virtues, I’ll explain each one through which of each represents the members. So, let’s get started, shall we?

I’m going to kind of go out of order and start with Charity because I’m still a bit conflicted with who best represents this virtue. But my gut tells me it might be Jooheon. Throughout the trilogy, Jooheon acts as the center of the group, keeping them together and helping them. However, while the rest of the members are locked in their respective rooms, Jooheon is the only one who can freely roam around and even acts as the delivery boy delivering the objects to each room. He is always helping and giving the boys something, whether it be the elixir from the flowers, the “medicine” he gives Minhyuk and Hyungwon in Fighter, or the objects he delivers to each of them in Beautiful. Now, charity doesn’t only mean giving, but it is believed to be the greatest of the three theological virtues (faith, hope, charity). It also means generosity and self-sacrifice. We can look at the way Jooheon is constantly helping his friends and providing them with things that could help them with their situations as fulfilling his charitable duties. But the opposite of Charity is Greed and the reason why assigning him as Charity is confusing but I will get to that later.

As I’ve mentioned, the other members are locked in a room each with a different theme and Jooheon seems to be the only one who is free. He is also seen sitting on a pile of rope and ropes/cords are usually a symbol of knowledge. Perhaps he cannot be contained or he uses his knowledge to help the others escape. 

Again, each member is in a room, with a different theme and an object that serves as the main symbol for each person. In Beautiful, Shownu wakes up in a room full of plants or a garden with the blue flower in a glass box. I think that Shownu best represents the virtue of Chastity which....can be a little misleading when we look at the fact that its opposite is Lust. However, even though lust is mainly associated with sexual desire it also means a general desire for things like money, power, and other sinful things. And one description of Chastity is “the ability to refrain from being distracted and influenced by hostility, temptation or corruption” and “cleanliness through cultivated good health and hygiene, and maintained by refraining from intoxicants”. We can then say that the reason Shownu wakes up in a room with the garden and the delphinium is because in All In, Shownu had no choice but to turn to robbery in order to obtain money for his sick father. Although he had good intentions, he became corrupt thus making him a sinner and ultimately becomes imprisoned in Fighter. Jooheon also delivers the bottle filled with the elixir to Shownu’s room but instead of drinking it like he would have in All In, he pours the liquid into the box, refraining himself from becoming drunk from its intoxicating effects. He is now pure. 

In Kihyun’s room, he is surrounded by swords, eight of which are on the floor while one is on an anvil. Usually, the way swords are made are by using a hammer to hammer the sword into shape while it is placed on an anvil. So the anvil is there, and guess what Jooheon delivers to his room? That’s right. A hammer. Swords are a symbol of authority and power but also protection, strength, and courage. But there are times when those who hold authority abuse their power but maybe the reason why Kihyun is given a hammer (or mallet?) is because he needs some restraint or better judgement. Because if we’re looking at the hammer as more like a mallet/gavel, then it means whoever possesses it is the judge, the one who demands order and justice. Because of this, Kihyun is the virtue of Temperance. By being mindful of others, and executes proper moderation between self-interest versus the public interest, he’ll be virtuous and therefore overcomes his sin. (Although it’s not clear to me what his sin could be from the previous MVs but I’ll let other theories explain that lol)

Diligence is best represented by Wonho. My reasoning is for his role as “welder” or “builder” in Fighter. In the MV we see him working diligently (lol) on building something. In this Fighter Theory by Passionfruit, OP mentions that Wonho is building something to extract the juice, perhaps from the flowers. OP also points out that Wonho has written “GP BP/VP” on his blueprint and also “9T PLYW”. I don’t know what “9T PLYW” means but when I looked up “GP BP/VP” I was led to a book about biochemistry and the molecular biology of plants. Which makes sense since the machine ends up being fueled by the elixir made from the delphinium (seen in the 2:54 mark of the MV) and a knowledge essential for the machine to work. Now, in Beautiful, Wonho wakes up in a room full of security boxes and is delivered a fountain pen and ink. He is also given a key that opens up one of the boxes and he reads a letter that was inside. I can only assume that what he read might have been a contract or a deal he needed to sign. But we never see Wonho use the pen. Being diligent means being zealous or having great enthusiasm for a cause or an objective. In this sense, his objective is to escape but also to help his friends. Diligence is also associated with being careful in one’s action and work and having a decisive work ethic. Giving Wonho a pen could be a symbol for his need to be decisive, to make a final decision and commit to it. When you think about it, Wonho has always been committed since All In, like when he helped Minhyuk with burning the home and then working hard on the machine in Fighter. It’s in Beautiful where he needs to make the final decision, the decision that will reward him his freedom.

In the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure as to what Minhyuk’s room could be but after realizing that Jooheon gave him the watch, things made more sense. Minhyuk was clearly upset when he saw how beaten Hyungwon was that he immediately leaves to find Hyungwon’s father and eventually burns down their home while Hyungwon’s father is still inside (But I’m starting to think this is actually the building where Hyungwon’s father and the rest of the religious group gathers) with the help of Changkyun and Wonho. Minhyuk was impulsive and acted out of wrath. And the opposite of Wrath is Patience which means “building a sense of peaceful stability and harmony rather than conflict, hostility, and antagonism; resolving issues and arguments respectfully, as opposed to resorting to anger and fighting”. I think from here it’s obvious as to why MInhyuk was given a watch as it clearly symbolizes time. Minhyuk must learn the virtue of patience in order to be free from his sins. 

This is where it gets complicated and a bit confusing. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t sure as to whether Jooheon best represented Charity or not since the opposite of Charity is Greed. In Beautiful, Changkyun’s room is filled with gold and money which he doesn’t have any interest in (he also burns the money in the fireplace) so it would be easy to say that Changkyun could also represent the virtue of Charity. One important aspect of the virtue of Kindness though is that it is also associated with charity but as well as unselfish love and the ability to inspire kindness in others. In Fighter, Changkyun is seen playing a video game and is surrounded by stuffed toys and he is also clutching a teddy bear while he plays. Later, he rides a bike with streamers on the handles and a teddy bear sitting where the basket should be. There’s a sense of innocence here as youth is often associated with innocence. Kindness is also a virtue of having positive outlooks on life and having a cheerful demeanor. When they escape in Fighter, Changkyun leads the way and he looks back at the others with a smile. Soon, we can see the others also smiling seemingly affected by the cheerfulness of the youngest. But, also due to his kindness, Changkyun is able to aid Minhyuk in burning the building and assisting Wonho with the machine. He does these things, without any prejudice or spite even though him helping MInhyuk is considered wrong. You can interpret this however you want but the fact that Changkyun lights up a match could symbolize the “light” inside him and refrains from being tempted by riches but shares his kindness and compassion with others by helping them however he can. 

Finally, the virtue of Humility. When watching the MV for Beautiful, Hyungwon is given a mirror and his room is filled with mirror-like structures. Initially, the main reason why I thought that they were going for a 7 Deadly Sins theme was because of how his and Changkyun’s rooms were set up. Because of the mirror, it’s easy to think that it represents vanity or pride (the opposite of humility) but the mirror could also symbolize self-reflection/examination. Humility, in a more general and modern sense might be mistaken for being ashamed caused by harming one’s dignity and self-respect. We see this in All In, when Hyungwon is slapped by his father in front of his friends. This causes him to hide his bruised face from Minhyuk because he feels ashamed and embarrassed. But Humility, as a virtue, doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. Humility is also the ability to confront fear, uncertainty, and intimidation. Courage is also important in undertaking tasks that may be difficult or unglamorous. The fact that Hyungwon was given a mirror wasn’t meant to say that he was being vain, it meant he was being too prideful by not immediately seeking out of the help of his friends or facing his fears (i.e. his father’s abuse). This shame could have led him to commit suicide but by doing so, he is only running away from his problems, not facing them like he should have. Which is why he needs to self-reflect in order to see or understand the difference between shame and humility. Once he does, he’ll be free.

At the end of Beautiful, Jooheon passes by each room but the doors soon start opening and the others come out. Because they’ve realized and overcome their sins, they are free. I think this was also a way for them to come to terms with the bad things that have happened to them and the things they’ve committed by bettering themselves. But backtracking a bit as to why Jooheon is the virtue of Charity, since he is the only one who isn’t contained or locked in a room, when looking at Charity in a biblical sense, the type of love associated with Charity "is necessary for salvation through Jesus Christ, and with it no one can be lost”. If we look back, part one of The Clan is titled “Lost” and it’s Jooheon who guides the others the way to freedom. 

So, what do you guys think?