#even if people used the same overall beats for the beginning/middle/end

[clear-what-i-was-seeing]

artists have "draw this in your style", i think fic authors should start doing "write this in your style" where a ton of people write the same prompt but all do their own lil interpretations and characterizations and fun dialogue bits etc

[call-me-copycat]

Can you do Oboro confessing to his classmate reader

Hi! Thank you so much for the request, especially since this was the first Shirakumo request I've gotten! (´∇｀)

I have a couple others I intend to finish as well, I just got extremely busy due to the graduation time of year ꜀(^. .^꜀ )꜆੭

That being said, I hope you like it! Thank you again for the request! ♡

When The Clouds Part

➤ Welcome - Introduction and Request Rules (Requests are open + Some info about me)

▶ Characters: Shirakumo x F! Reader

▶ Genre: Fluff, little bit of comfort

▶ Summary: The ask sums it up, but overall Shirakumo gets a little help deciphering his feelings towards you from his friends and plans on how he'll tell you how he truly feels

▶ Word Count: 7640

▶ Warnings: None :⁠-⁠)

"Faster! I know you aren't getting distracted Shirakumo!"

Your class instructor hollered at your friend, as a small group of students in training darted across the obstacle course made for them. You were in the opposite group, waiting for your turn to run.

You studied your classmates timing and reactions, ready to use it for your own turn. Alongside that, you felt a shudder of fear run through your back as your instructor yelled at another student for tripping up.

The whistle rang, alerting group one to pause where they were for the teachers to score how far they got. You glanced at the group, seeing your first friend - Hizashi - near the end. It made sense, you never really saw him as the athletic one. Shirakumo surprisingly didn't get as far as you expected, and your teacher must've thought the same way as he berated him whenever he made his way back to the bleachers.

"Something going on inside that head of yours?" A swift smack to the back of Shirakumo's head had him wincing as he smiled sheepishly. "Because it's clearly not about the training today."

As you made your way to the entrance of the course, you prepared yourself to do the best you could. At least you weren't alone anyways, as Shota stood next to you - also not being the most athletic. So at least you knew you'd have a bit of a better chance than him.

As the whistle blew, you immediately darted across the course as fast as your legs could take you. Your focus was entirely on what was ahead of you, and you combined your classmates' failures in order to learn to avoid what they hadn't.

The first group sat exhausted on the bleachers, the hot sun beating down upon them.

"Man, this really is starting to feel like middle school gym class again, am I right?" Hizashi whined, his arms resting on the bleachers as he awkwardly leaned his head back towards the ones behind him.

With no response from Shirakumo, he turned his head back upright to look at him properly. "Oboro?"

A pout formed in his face as he noticed his friend staring intently at the second group moving through, nearly about to jump out of his seat like one would be when watching a sports match.

"Look, look! She got through the spirals! That caught so many people up!" Shirakumo exclaimed excitedly, not even tossing his friend a glance.

"Ugh, c'mon man." Hizashi only leaned his head backwards again as he rested, too exhausted to complain. He knew exactly who he was talking about, as you were the only person he seemed to pay attention to lately.

Jumping from his seat, Shirakumo began getting excited again. "She just passed Nanitchi, that's insane! He was the top runner at the beginning of the year!" He turned to Yamada, who was lazing about. "Did'ya see? "

"Uh huh."

Not noticing his friend's lackluster attitude, Shirakumo was already turned back to watching you before Hizashi fully could answer.

Curious, Hizashi opened an eye to glance at the group moving through. He saw you, blazing though the course as fast as a person like you could. You were good, but after hearing the way Shirakumo was describing you he thought you'd be further ahead. Alongside that, he noticed his poor friend Shota barely managing to get through the rope climb, one of the last few stragglers just as he was.

"Ahh, Shota..." Hizashi quietly mumbled to himself, holding pity for his friend.

To the side, they both jumped a bit as their teacher hollered once more as he had been doing this entire time.

"Oi! [Name]! I told you to pace yourself, now you're slowing down! I don't want to see that again! "

With his eyes still on you, Shirakumo tried to contain himself. "I saw her doing perfectly fine! Don't you think so too Hizashi?" He turned to his friend once more, but Yamada didn't care at this point. "He's being too harsh."

A disgusted grimace formed on Hizashi's face as he looked at the lovesick pout on his face.

-

"I think I'm going to throw up. "

Hizashi empathetically patted his worn out friend's back as they made their way to the locker rooms to freshen up before the end of the school day.

"You pushed yourself too hard, man. "

Shirakumo raised a thumbs up at his friend with a wide smile on his face, "You did a great job Shouta! I'm proud!"

Hizashi scoffed as he held open the door for the two boys, his hand in his pocket. "You didn't even look at him, what're you saying? "

"Yes I did, I watched everyone" Shirakumo rebutted back, a coy smile on his face.

"No you did not"

At that point the locker room had gotten too noisy being filled with all the boys in class, ceasing the twos' conversation. Once they left the room, Shouta was feeling a little better, but still very sore.

"I hated those wall climbs, they stunk." Hands in pockets, Hizashi was back to complaining as they made their way through the hallways to grab their items before leaving.

"I think they were a little fun to climb if you ask me." Shirakumo offered, strolling with his hands behind his head as they entered the classroom.

"Oh, are you talking about the rope climb?"

Immediately, Shirakumo's eyes were on you as he heard your voice, and his smile only grew wider.

"Oh I was talking about the wall climbs, did you like the rope climbs though?" He asked eagerly, not wanting to miss a single opinion of yours.

"I didn't like either-" Shota's whine was cut off as you chuckled.

"I mean, they weren't that bad, but I wasn't really a fan of either," bringing your hands up in front of you, the trio noticed they were covered in bandages. "Sensei was right, I shouldn't have gone so fast, otherwise I wouldn't have torn up my hands." You bashfully smiled, embarrassed at how you thought you knew how to get through the whole thing, without predicting making a mistake of your own.

"Ah, that looks like it hurts," grabbing your hand, Shirakumo held it carefully as he inspected it, his eyebrows furrowing, "Y'know, if you need climbing powder to put on your hands, I could always give you some!"

It was touching, but the subtle action of him barely holding your hand had your face warming more than you'd have liked it too.

He chuckled while the other two looked at each other knowingly, "Don't want you hurting your hands regularly now, you're going to need those!"

You laughed along with him, always enjoying the way he joked around with you. You looked up as soon as your laughter slowed and saw the time, realizing you had to leave.

You gently pulled your hand out of Shirakumo's grip as you went to get your bag, looking over at him and the others, "Well, it was nice seeing you for a bit before we leave, hopefully it'll be a little easier tomorrow, yeah?"

He hummed in agreement as he waved to you as out of the classroom, "Have a good one! And take care of those hands!"

As the classroom emptied, the trio grabbed their bags from the pile they threw them in together, untangling the straps from the others.

"I really don't feel like walking home today" Shouta sighed, his limbs aching as he hauled his bag onto his shoulder.

"Eh, it shouldn't be so bad tomorrow since we did this today - unless Sensei just wants to be a jerk for some reason."

Shirakumo chuckled, adjusting the strap on his bag, "What? You mean you don't want more obstacle courses-"

His joke was cut off as he gasped and immediately darted to your seat. "Oh great, he's lost it," Hizashi mumbled just loud enough for Shota to hear.

"She left behind her notebook! She's going to need this tonight to study!" Holding up the sticker-covered book for the other two to see, he quickly made his way through the maze of desks, "I'm going to try to get this to her! You guys can go on without me! "

His voice faded as he sprinted throughout the hallway, Hizashi sighing.

"You left me to deal with his pinning all by myself, y'know", he grumbled towards his dark-haired friend. Shota only shrugged.

-

Shirakumo sprinted as fast as he could down the hallways, leaping down the stairs in groups of steps and threatening to fall down as he hurried. Once he made his way to the main lobby he tried rushing through the doors, causing them to bleep until he backed up. He tore through his bag before finding his school ID and scanned it on the machine hooked to the wall, finally being allowed through.

Looking around the campus, he didn't see you anywhere. He promptly made his way to the bike rack and unlocked his bike, hastily hopping on (hoping he wouldn't fall over) before darting off in the direction of your house. He didn't know exactly where it was, but judging based on the few times he walked home with you, he at least knew the area.

As he peddled through the street, he shouted a hurried apology at the car he darted in front of, before deciding to take a detour through the park. Sometimes you walked through it anyway, and if you weren't then at least he had a better chance of finding you faster.

His bag jumped as his bike shook since he was riding on a bumpy surface. The dirt made it a little more difficult to ride through, but he wouldn't complain if it meant he got to see you.

Taking short looks around the park, he almost suspected you weren't there until he looked up and saw you in the distance, still making your way home.

As he made his way to you he excitedly shouted your name despite the distance meeting you from hearing him. He was suddenly caught off guard as his bike began getting more difficult to steer, the dirt changing to a softer soil. It was only made more difficult as you stood at the bottom of a small dip in the park where the ground got lower.

Panic flared his chest for a second as he tried to unsuccessfully break, and his heart nearly burst through it when he saw his bike was heading straight for you. Gripping the handlebars, he held on tight as he attempted to steer it any other way, the bike failing to follow along.

He did the only thing he could think of in the moment and shouted your name as loud as he could. You recognized his voice behind you and smiled as you turned around, eyes immediately growing wide as you saw his bike hurling towards you.

"[NAME]! RUN!"

You awkwardly jumped backwards and watched as his bike toppled over, causing him to slide on the ground until he was right in front of you.

Looking up at you from the ground, he stilled as he tried to play it off.

"Hey."

You looked down at him and there was a beat of silence between the both of you. Watching a smile slowly form across your face, he began to smile wider himself until you broke out in laughter, which he joined in alongside you.

"Are you okay?" You asked him as you still chuckled, reaching an arm down which he grabbed hold of.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, thanks for asking!" Chuckling with you, he awkwardly tried to wipe the dirt from his uniform - knowing his mom would have a fit if she saw how dirty it was.

Grinning at him, you reached a hand up and swiped your hand through his puffy blue hair to get some pieces of dirt out of it, and at that moment Shirakumo's mind shut down. You were so close, and the sun was setting at a point that painted a beautiful golden glow across you, and the trees were blowing their leaves gracefully across the park, and-

He knew it would be the perfect moment to confess. It was as if fate itself set up everything together for him to. He'd have to give his thanks later at a local temple or something.

Looking towards you, he suddenly felt frozen stiff. His heart skipped a beat and he felt his hands get uncomfortably moist. The once outgoing and boisterous Shirakumo, was now afraid to actually say what was on his mind for once.

All throughout his life, he never struggled with such a thing. He always danced in public whenever he heard a nice song, laughed out loud with his friends (despite Shouta begging him to be quiet), openly talked to every new face he met as if he were friends with them since childhood. No, it was never a struggle.

So to suddenly feel this new emotion... One of worry, one of love, a horribly sweet mixture of heartache... He'd have to apologize to Shouta, now understanding his perspective when it came to shyness.

"Shirakumo?" Your hand caught his attention, waving towards his face. Quickly he scrambled back and looked towards his fallen bike where his bag sat. He nervously rubbed the back up his head as he pulled it up from its position on the ground, "Sorry! Zoning out y'know... Hitting your head will do that!" he apologized, letting out a shaky laugh before quickly pulling out your notebook from the bag.

You smiled back, albeit a bit worriedly, "Oh, of course! Though, if you need an ice pack or something you're more than welcome at my house."

He couldn't help but mentally slap himself. Why would he say that?! Now you were worried, and that was the last thing he wanted to make you feel.

"O-oh, don't sweat it, I'll be fine!" The sun was going down, and the wind was slowing. You were also a little further away, remembering your trip home. He needed to do something. To choose something.

Swallowing, he gripped your notebook with a tighter grip as he held it behind his back. Speaking suddenly evaded him as he looked at you, silent confessions falling from his mind and hurling towards you with no impact.

"Well... It was nice seeing you! I hope you get home safe!" You smiled as you began to turn to finish your path home. Quickly, he called out to you.

"Wait! Um..."

Seeing your full attention on him once again made him feel like the world's biggest lovesick idiot. You only looked at him with wide, expecting eyes as he stood there silently.

Gasping in a short intake of breath, he began to tremble as he rethought about what it was he wanted to say to you exactly. He always thought of this moment, in fact he imagined it after every time he saw you. But you were here, really real and not how you were in his imagination. Real life was always so much more daunting than one's imagination.

"S-so... I have something to tell you..." Gulping, he wanted so badly to spill the contents right from his overflowing heart. He wanted to tell you every single thing he loved about you, he so badly wanted to inform you of everything he wanted to do with you, from going to the beach to inviting you to the roof with him and his friends during lunch, to having you ride with him on his clouds... There was so much, so much-

"I lo-" Whipping out your notebook and bringing it in front of him as he bowed with his hands holding it out towards you, he changed his mind last second. "You left your notebook! So I brought it back for you!"

Pushing a stand of your hair behind your ear, you squinted in the dim lighting the sun left behind, soon recognizing the familiar stickers adorning the cover.

"Oh! Thank you so much, I'll need this for that test tomorrow." Gently taking it from his hands, you looked over and smiled at him as you put it in your school bag. "Have a nice night! See you!"

He only hummed in acknowledgement, not trusting his voice at the moment. And he stayed in that spot as he waved you off when you walked away. And he stayed in that spot as he wondered if he messed up.

-

"You're seeing this too?" Hizashi whispered as he leaned towards his dark haired friend. Both were silently staring at their usually bubbly and energetic companion as he sat with his head placed right on the desk. His hands hung limply by his sides, and they both jumped as he let out a loud groan.

"I messed everything up."

The two boys quickly glanced at each other and gave a small shrug before settling on helping their heartbroken friend.

"Well, what did you even do? " Hizashi questioned as he reached into his pants pocket to pull out a piece of gum. "Besides, I'm sure it wasn't even something that bad. "

Slowly, Shirakumo brought his head up to look at the two properly, before going on to explain the previous night's events. By the time he was done explaining, he was yearning to throw his head on the desk more than ever.

"I should've just asked her to a movie or something! Why was everything suddenly so difficult... ? " Looking at his open hand he previously held clenched, Shirakumo gritted his teeth in frustration - though it was more humiliation.

"I dunno, the heart's weird like that sometimes man," Hizashi shrugged, not too keen on giving relationship advice, "If I were you, I'd just try to find something we both like to do and go from there. "

"Hmm... I don't really know what we have in common.. " It was at this point that Shirakumo truly realized how much he still needed to know about you.

"Why don't you just go somewhere nice to have fun or something? Try to get used to being around her so this doesn't happen again. " Straight to the point, Shouta was as blunt as ever.

"It's not that I'm not used to being around her! I think.... I think it's 'cause I'm scared of what would happen if she said 'no' ..." Moving his gaze to the floor, a worried expression took control of Shirakumo's face. "I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"Well, then at that point you don't really have any other choice besides confessing." Nemuri's voice interjected from the door of the classroom.

The three all turned to face her, and in turn she confidently made her way in. Stopping right in front of Shirakumo at his desk, she put a hand on her hip.

"You," She started, pointing a finger directly in front of his face, "Have a bad case of lovesickness my friend, and luckily for you I seem to have a bit of knowledge in this department." Nemuri explained confidently as she placed a hand directly on her chest.

"You need to work her up to you. Small acts of service!" She threw her hands up in the air, "Be a gentleman! Open doors for her, carry her things, buy her little snacks and trinkets... And then," Bringing a fist down onto her hand, Nemuri finished, "Find the perfect moment and confess everything that you feel about her! Let your heart take the reins and show her how much you truly love her, what you think of her, make her feel special! "

Placing her hands on her cheeks, Nemuri couldn't help but gush as she got more and more excited. "Ahh, to see the beginning of a highschool sweetheart relationship! It's so pure, it makes my heart throb!"

Shota and Hizashi only stood awkwardly in the background as Nemuri continued to rant to a very jumbled Shirakumo, both not having the slightest bit of knowledge when it came to romance. Still, they loved Shirakumo and would do whatever it took to make their friend happy.

-

It was the beginning of another day, and you looked forward to the trip your Sensei had planned for your class. To understand what it was like to be a hero on an average day, you all were split into random groups and sent to patrol small neighborhoods. It was to test your knowledge on observing small odd things out, and to ensure you wouldn't mindlessly walk about, but instead that you'd put effort into constantly staying vigil. Small neighborhoods never had anything happen to them, as most villain attacks happened in the city. This was simply a test of observation.

"Aren't you excited Nemuri? Trips are always fun!" Exiting the locker rooms freshly adorned in your hero uniforms, (for plot's sake let's say Nemuri has an outfit that'd be approved by the school) Nemuri could only hesitantly nod, not wanting to diminish your excitement. No one wanted to go on this trip, as everyone knew it'd be extremely uneventful.

Making your way to the buses, you and Nemuri met up with the trio.

"Hey hey! You ready to get rockin'?" Putting up a rock and roll fist, Mic chuckled as you parroted him and put one up as well. "So ready! "

Slinging an arm around your shoulder, you turned to see Shirakumo already next to you. "Well, hopefully we get put in a group together!" Swinging a pointer finger back and forth between the two of you with his other hand he continued with a bright smile, "You and me, we make an unstoppable team! "

Your face warmed at the extreme close proximity, not having seen him this close before. "Y-yeah, and Zashi, Shota, and Nemi!" Really, you couldn't think too sharply as your brain began to overheat with your cheeks.

Nemuri smiled mischievously, tapping the tips of her fingers together as she went over her plan she made with Shirakumo. This first part she simply asked was to gouge whether or not you'd reject any advances made, and based off your reaction, he was in the green.

"Wow Shirakumo, got your hands all over her don'cha?" A couple guys snickered to each other as they passed by, and your face warmed in embarrassment as you pulled yourself from his hold.

Huffing, Shirakumo hated seeing you upset. Before he could say anything, Shota surprisingly beat him to it.

"Mind your business, you don't need to make everything you see weird."

They teasingly put their hands up, "Look, we're just messing with you guys, nothing to gripe abou-"

"Then leave us alone. We don't want to hear your jokes."

The opening of the bus doors cut off the conflict before it could escalate, and as you passed Shota sitting in his seat on the bus, you gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Thanks, I appreciate you."

As you made your way to your seat, Shota tried to hide his faint blush by turning to face the window, but was quickly snapped back when Hizashi threw himself into the seat beside him.

You took a similar seat next to the window, and to your surprise you watched Nemuri walk past you only to sit in the seat behind you - next to the quiet girl with the archer quirk.

Seeing your baffled expression, she awkwardly shrugged her shoulders. "I, uh, wanted to discuss Moji's quirk! We never talk so I thought I'd take the chance, y'know?"

You raised an eyebrow at her sudden behavior, but ultimately didn't question her. Instead, you welcomed Shirakumo as he slid into the seat next to you.

As the bus rumbled to life and began to set off, everyone began discussing who they might be paired with and what they might expect. You animatedly discussed with Shirakumo what pairings would be best, and he added on to your excitement, happy to have you talking to him at all.

Sitting behind the two of you, Nemuri uselessly tried to squeeze a word out of the girl she sat next to, but in the end she never looked anywhere but straight ahead to Nemuri's unease.

-

"I want you all in order now! We're in a residential area, so be respectful!"

*Japanese neighborhoods are very, very different from American ones*

As everyone quieted and stood at attention, the teacher went on once more.

"Now, I need you all to remember who you sat next to on the bus, because that's exactly who you'll be paired with for this activity. "

He paused to allow the students to think about who they were next to, and whether they should revel or hang their head in disdain.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Shirakumo turned and made eye contact with Nemuri, who in turn winked and gave him a thumbs up. His face warmed as he smiled and gave one back.

Once everyone was beside their respective partner, they obediently made their way to the neighborhood they were to care for.

-

"Soo, think we're gonna find anything interesting?"

Walking casually beside you with his arms slung behind his head, Shirakumo clearly showed no belief that anyone would run into trouble.

You scanned the small neighborhood, looking at the walls, bushes that lined the houses, and at the flock of birds making their way into the air. It was quiet, uneventful. "Mm, probably not. " Crossing your arms you whined. "Ahh, this was what Nemuri probably was trying to complain about, huh?"

Turning to look at you Shirakumo tried to offer some reassurance, "Aww don't be that way. I'm sure we'll run into something cool!" Raising a fist into the air, he smiled. "I'm positive we'll be the ones to bring back the coolest story to the class! You and me, taking down the biggest villain this neighborhood has to offer! "

You laughed as he jokingly punched the air repeatedly in front of him, practically brimming with bright energy. It was refreshing to have someone like him around, someone to always reassure and lift you up.

The sun was beginning to set, and you knew your class would be held far after dark. That was when villains mainly come out, no? It was bright as it lowered, and you had to hold a hand up to keep the light from your eyes. However, you looked up when a shadow was cast over your eyes, and found it to be caused by a little blue cloud floating in front of you. You turned to Shirakumo, smiling bashfully as he grinned back.

Time seemed to slow as your boredom increased. You and Shirakumo continued walking ahead, and finally you found a turn on the path you could both take so the sun wasn't blinding you the whole time. The houses in this new area had more greenery growing, and in turn shrouded out the sunlight.

While the lack of light was nice for your eyes, it wasn't for your body as you began to shiver. Winter was closely approaching, and you could only hope your class wouldn't have to do as many outdoor activities.

"Y'know, I kinda like this assignment. Easy A+, just walk around a bunch with a buddy and you're all set!"

You smiled at his incessantly joyous attitude, wishing that you yourself could gain such an ability. For now though, it was more than enough to have him by your side. Eventually he began to whistle a jaunty tune he had picked up from a commercial, with you scanning the right side and him walking and scanning the left.

The neighborhood was a quaint one, little houses lined up in neat yet unique rows, and you thought about the people inside of them. How those very people in the houses you walked by were to depend on people like you in the future.

It was daunting, to have so much responsibility on your shoulders. At the beginning of your admission to UA, you had wanted to be a support or rescue hero. Less being on the main field and more on the sidelines. Less weight crushing atop of you, less damage made if you failed...

"Somethin's turning in that head of yours," as you brought your gaze up to Shirakumo, he stuck out a pointer finger and tapped your forehead a couple times. "Tell me what's on your mind, I'm curious. "

Your face warmed slightly, pushing away the self doubt that momentarily distracted you. The houses continued to pass by you, one after another, and as you comprehended just how many people were to truly rely on you, your heart stirred. The feeling was sickening, so many lives that were constantly in danger. And if you make a mistake? All those lives... Gone.

You both halted as Shirakumo slung an arm around your shoulder and stopped, bringing you to a stop with him. "Something not good I'm guessing, huh?"

His expression contorted as he furrowed his eyebrows in worry, and you hurriedly waved your arms as you tried to reassure him. "Really, it's nothing! Sorry, I was just getting distracted..."

Gazing at the rows and rows of seemingly endless houses, you pushed a stand of hair behind your ear. "It's just... There's so many people that depend on us... All these people in these houses are only a small fraction, I've realized."

Quickly, Shirakumo's expression softened. "Ah, that's what's going on, isn't it?" Confused, you took your attention off the neighborhood and passed it onto him. He retracted his arm and turned to face you properly instead once you turned towards him.

"It's just like at the beginning of the year, you're getting worried again."

He might've acted oblivious and ignorant most of the time, but you knew that was just out of fun. In reality, he was an extremely smart kid. Observation was one of his key things in particular, needed especially for someone with a quirk like his. And with how well you knew him and his group, it was no surprise he was able to read you like an open book.

The ground was now where your attention was turned to, not knowing how to continue. You plucked your fingers as you mulled over how to properly phrase your thoughts.

"It's just-" You sighed, exhausted. "There's so much waiting for us... I don't know if I can handle it all, I've always been a little slower than everyone in the class-"

You yelped in surprise as Shirakumo firmly planted both his hands on your shoulders, his own shaking. You had never seen him get this worked up before, it was odd. This whole situation was new to you, as you had never dwindled on your thoughts for this long before. It was routine at this point, just to follow in the footsteps of whoever was in front of you as you ran in the back.

"Don't say that now." His voice was firm, yet a slight waver could be noticed. "It's... It's natural to feel overwhelmed, especially when the stakes are so high." Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he looked up at you once more. "Tell me, why exactly did you want to become a hero?"

It was a question so many had asked you before. So many times that question was passed around to everyone in the hero department, it was natural to already have an automated answer. This time felt different, however. You thought a little harder about it.

"I... Want to help people." You started off unsure, yet as you continued, your voice began to get more firm. "I want to bring comfort to those who'd depend on me, just like how I felt whatever I watched heroes on TV as a kid."

You gritted your teeth hard as the memories flooded in. "It always filled me with inspiration, seeing them battle the villain and save the civilians... I always wanted to be someone to bring a smile to their face... I'm just worried I can't live up to that. "

Shirakumo's expression softened as a small smile tugged at his mouth. You were one of the main people he always looked up to throughout his time at UA, and as you spoke it only further cemented that fact.

"You have a good heart, and that's half the battle right there. Being a hero isn't just about skill or talent, it's about the drive, about having a good heart. It's about compassion and dedication. And you have all of that."

You sighed a bit. While you knew your intentions weren't the issue, it was nice to be reassured. You had the heart, and you yearned to reach your goal. But what use is a yearning heart when your skills don't match that want?

"I've heard it countless times... That even the strongest people would struggle to become a hero without the passion or drive. But," You looked up at the rising moon that began to light up the once darkened area around you. "What more is there to do when you want to catch up but you can't? I don't think I can do it, as much as I want to do it..."

Shaking his head, Shirakumo sighed. He knew you were worried at the beginning of the year, but you had progressed so incredibly much that he was in awe. So to hear that you were still struggling to see that... It felt defeating.

Yet, despite your doubts and fears, he could see the determination in your eyes. He could recognize the passion you held in your heart. And that's what made his in turn beat a little harder.

"There'll always be room for doubt, you think I wasn't afraid when I was starting out? Or anyone else for that matter? Everyone comes up to that same thought of yours... 'What if I can't?'..."

It was so odd to think about. To think of the boisterous, confident, content Shirakumo as scared. Scared and worried, just as you. Yet, it made sense. Who wouldn't be worried starting out?

He took notice of your interest and continued on. "Being a hero isn't always about being the best and the strongest, and even then those at the top still make mistakes of their own. Being a hero - it's all about standing up and doing what's right in the face of fear. That's what courage is, after all."

His eyes shimmered with passion as he spoke, everything eventually pouring straight from his heart. He needed you to know that you weren't the only one who was afraid. He needed you to know why he looked up to you so much.

His expression relaxed as he rested a hand on your shoulder once more. "Being a hero isn't a race against others, y'know. It's about you, becoming the best version of yourself."

You smiled, putting a hand atop his that rested on your shoulder. He smiled back in response, meeting your eyes. You've come so far, but your self doubt was blocking your vision from seeing how much progress you made.

"Believe me, you're progressing. You're learning, growing, every single day. "

Your expression formed into one of surprised acknowledgement. You were so stuck on focusing on what you can't, on what might happen if you can't, that you never realized just how much you could. And that in order to push past the risk of making a mistake, you'd need to do your best to train yourself on how to change your "I can't"s into "I can"s.

Your smile widened as you grabbed his hand fully now. "I see... It's all about progress, huh?" Looking up into the soft expression of his that he gave you, you felt something warm blossom inside of you. "I guess I was thinking about it in black and white, putting so much pressure on myself... I always remember you telling me I was thinking too hard about things." You teased him, causing a larger grin to form on his face as he lightly chuckled.

Shirakumo nodded approvingly, a hint of satisfaction and relief glinting in his eyes. "Exactly, that's the spirit! You're still learning, still growing. And you will mess up, and you'd probably wish you hadn't. But that's how we learn after all."

He leaned in a little closer to you, as if the two of you weren't close enough. Oddly though, neither of you were concerned about the distance this time. It felt comfortable, and warm. His gaze was steady as it focused on your eyes.

"Just remember, your worth isn't defined by your failure or your success. It's defined by who you are, by what's in here-" He took the hand that you placed on top of his and brought it down to be placed on top of where your heart was. Together, the both of you sat for a moment in silence, simply focusing on the feeling of it beating. It was the most beautiful thing to him.

"I see... Recognizing both the good and bad aspects of yourself.. recognizing that you're only human in the end. That we both are..." You looked up from where both your hands rested, a wistful, relieved expression taking hold. "I always tried following in your footsteps y'know, you've always been someone I looked forward to learning from and I suppose I was right." You lightly laughed, the sound filling the otherwise silent air around the both of you.

His eyes widened in relivation, not knowing that you looked up to him. It always seemed the opposite way to him. You were always the one with the better grades, the one who was always progressing more and more each day.

"I guess we both look up to each other then, huh?" He chuckled as he brought his hand that was intertwined with his in between the both of you. You couldn't contain the warmth that coated your cheeks once again. "Well... You care. And it shows. So thank you."

He couldn't contain the large grin from forming, and it lit up your whole world seeing him so stupidly happy. "Y'know, I'm glad we met. Out of all the different people I could've run into, I really hit the jackpot with you." You blushed a little harder and lightly hit his arm in joking with your free hand, the smile on your face giving it all away.

Suddenly, his expression began to turn a little more serious than before, and it drew your full attention. The grip he had on your hands only tightened a bit, and you were suddenly aware of the close proximity between the two of you.

"Ever since I met you, you always made me feel a little strange. I always felt a little different around you than when I was with everyone else, and I was never able to put my finger on it." His eyebrows furrowed, his mind concentrating on letting everything he was thinking pour out as naturally as he could get it.

Your heart beat a little faster, blood warming everywhere you could imagine as you began to tremble slightly.

"You're amazing, I promise! Out of everyone I met, you're the kindest, the most passionate, the smartest... " You watched as his gaze slipped off to the side, a blush tinting his face with a lopsided smile. Your face felt as though it was on fire. "What are you trying to say, Shirakumo?"

"Oboro."

You could only hum in confusion as you tilted your head a bit. His attention was back on you, clear and concise.

"Call me Oboro, okay? You're too close to me to be calling me by my family name."

You tried mustering up a bit of confidence of your own as your shakily held eye contact with him. "Well, Oboro," It felt so odd. But it was a nice odd to have the privilege given to you. "What's all this about exactly? "

He felt as though his heart was moving his body and not his brain. Grabbing your hands felt so natural to him. Holding them up, he faced you directly, so close your noses could've touched.

"You're... You're amazing. You've always been progressing so much, and you're one of the smartest in the class," He spoke so fast he had to take a moment to heave one last breath.

"Not only that, you have such a passionate heart, it's what pushes me to keep smiling whenever I feel down." He was closer now, his eyes sparkling, twinkling with some unknown joy. "It's why I've always looked up to you... It's why... Why I fell in love with you!"

Both of you sat in stunned silence for a beat, simply looking into each other's flushed faces. It was the longest couple of seconds Shirakumo ever felt in his life.

Shakily, you brought your gaze down as you did many times before. Tremors shook your body, the source being your heart nearly tearing itself from your chest. Shirakumo only stood in place, awaiting any kind of reaction.

Looking down, he saw a droplet of something hit the floor under you. Then another. And another. Quickly, he panicked and grabbed your shoulders, bringing you up to face him. "A-are you crying?! I'm sorry if I said it too fast! Don't think you have to be obligated-"

A couple tears dotted your eyes, but...

You were smiling. Smiling the most he's every seen since he'd known you.

"I'm honored to hold such a spot in your heart, Oboro." You wiped your eyes a bit, but still looked happy as you did so. "You've always been special to me as well, always lighting up my day and helping to bring me back up whenever I was at my lowest. I'm more than happy to let you know that..." You took a deep breath. "That I love you, too. "

It was a moment he'd never forget. The moonlight lit up your features perfectly, and you looked the happiest he'd ever seen you. It was perfect. And the whole time, everything felt natural, the fear that gripped his heart earlier melting away into a syrupy, sweet concoction of love and joy.

You were close. And he was too. Together, you both absentmindedly leaned into each other without much thought, eventually ending as his lips met yours. He moved one hand to place on your waist, and the other to hold your cheek as he leaned in further, desperate for more. The hand around your waist pulled you in closer as you put your own hand on his chest to grip his shirt, drawn to his warmth.

It was quiet. Quiet and comfortable as the two of you got lost in each other. You both smiled as your noses bumped into each other, with him sighing into you as if it brought him immediate relief from some unknown tension. You only had so much room to breathe though, and as Oboro wasn't showing any signs of letting up anytime soon, you took the initiative to detach yourself from him, ignoring his whine.

Both of you were left panting and flushed, new to these emotions and experiences being discovered. Yet, as you looked up at him, you could only feel... Warm. His smile was like that of the sun, as it always lit up the area it was in - no matter how dark it was.

To him, as you looked up into his eyes he felt as though he could get lost in yours. The entire time since the failed confession, he was constantly fretting over how it could've gone, as to what he could've gained or lost.

It was always a risk. But looking at you now, he was glad he took it. It was just as he told you. Sometimes one overlooks how much they have working for their benefit and instead focuses on the possible chance of loss, deciding to not take a risk that could end in their favor.

He was elated to have you by his side, and he was going to keep you smiling as much as he could. It was the least he could do, after all.

-

You were the newest addition to their little trio, Hizashi and Shota both breathing out a sigh of relief at the sight of their lovesick friend no longer pinning and not having been struck down. It was the best case scenario, and in the end everyone was overjoyed for him.

Although, seeing as he was the most open and boisterous in the class, it did have its ups and downs. Such as when he would drag you all over the classroom to introduce you to your own classmates as his girlfriend, or to random students down the hall, even to some teachers. It was a habit of his, showing off everything that made him excited.

Even then, his enthusiasm only seemed to grow more with your newly established relationship. You didn't think you could handle another incident of him cheering for you at the top of his lungs during training again. Being tied with Shirakumo seemed to bring all attention onto you as well, but in the end you got used to it. He meant well, and intended to keep things bright and happy.

It was what he was best at, after all. With a smile as bright as the sun itself, it was able to part even the darkest of clouds to bring his light in.

Notes:

This one was quite fun to write! Thanks again for the request! (˶ᐢωᐢ˶)

Although I'm worried about the lack of Shirakumo fans out there... (⑉ ᷄ ⌳ ᷅ )ก

I hope everyone here has a lovely day! I'm still constantly working on requests, I haven't forgotten a single one! (��´ᗜ`⑉)

If you like my writing or my art (or just want to be tagged for anything in general), please let me know! I'll gladly tag anyone for anything they'd like to see (✌^∀^)

Fun fact: This was my first time writing a kiss scene, please take it with a grain of salt! Aromantic author here, I don't know much about romance but I'll still gladly write it ʅ(´д｀)ʃ

Fun fact 2: If you scrolled too fast you probably didn't realize the title card I made (the one with the manga panels of Shirakumo) is a gif (︎‪︎‬︎‪︎‬︎✌︎︎ ˋ͈ ⌄ˊ͈)︎✌︎︎ ﾆﾍﾍﾍ

[lovecanbesostrange]

I see some people come out of the woodwork again and talking about how super terrible the Fox X-Men movies are. Especially - the absolute valid and most annoying point - how the women were nerfed and underutilized. Biggest criticism, forever a big stain. But I'd argue that X-Men '97 still fell into that same trap. Better? Yes. Holding back still? Also yes.

Most of all this hit Storm. Once again. In part this is thanks to where we are with streaming. Tight seasons, few episodes, not much room to breathe. All that while the team pulled nuggets from so many storylines that have spanned decades. There is very limited time and the biggest casualty is the loss of emotional character beats.

Depowered Storm is a well-known moment from the comics. But the reason why it is looked back on fontly is because Storm still had things to do and say and found herself in new ways, including as leader of the X-Men regardless. Readers followed her for quite some time in that state and could wrap their heads around the situation. The beginning and ending of that journey are wonderfully adapated with Lifedeath, but there is no middle. And apart from those focused episodes Storm does... very little.

They do give her a due badass moment early, even mention her status as an Omega Level mutant (won't explain the concept, easiest yet not totally accurate way is to say the best they can be with the power they have and it's off the charts). There is a case of tell, not much showing going on overall though. And in the finale when Cyclops decides it's time to stop fighting he looks at Storm, she gets it, but you have to be a superfan to find the little nuance, to see how this is very much in-character and it does make sense. Storm has a few very wise lines, something she is known for, a few pew-pew-lightning moments, but sidelined. So hard. Not even allowed to talk about what she feels seeing the footage from Genosha.

For non-comic readers a fun fact: in the recent run of X-Men, the Krakoa era, mutants terraformed Mars. Omega level mutants. Of course Storm was there. Prominently. That was a huge thing. The Krakoa era is ending right now and a new relaunch under the banner From the Ashes is coming. And just this week Marvel put out a teaser that "Earth's Mightiest Mutant" would join the Avengers roster. They had buzz for a day with lots of guesses (the word mighty can be interpreted in a few ways) and guess what, it's Storm. (Although I think going from being the Voice of the sol system in intergalactic matters to Avenger is a downgrade.) Meanwhile '97 Storm barely fought in the big climactic battle. Huh.

A tv show has more time than one single movie. That's the whole reason why watching shows is awesome. A narrative that builds over time and can follow some sidepaths. But not anymore. X-Men '97 would never give us a fun little Christmas special, there is no room. And that's sad.

I enjoy the way they went with Madelyne Pryor. But it all happened in one episode and then Jean was a bit angry at Scott, who for once didn't do anything wrong in this bizarre situation imho. They ignored one of the worst moments from his comic history (thank you so much), gave Madelyne a happy ending (for five seconds), but also left no breathing room. The best they did however was the way Jean struggled with the emotions. She remembers things she wasn't physically there for and her love for Nathan is still just as real. What a blessing. So it makes sense that when she fights Nathan she holds back.

Telling stories that involve Jean Grey can be very tricky. With every super powerful being the threat can't just be punchable. So I get that the Cosmic Birb sighting was limited to one appearance. But what happens? Oh, right, Jean faints. I would be here for a few scenes where Jean explains how this vast power is still overwhelming. That there is a fear of tearing earth itself apart. But what we get is Jean powering up, exhausting herself, powering down and then not being strong enough (even next to Storm) to keep Asteroid M from falling. No, no, we needed Magneto's power or else... which, I enjoy the group effort, but I would have at least appreciated a little "we almost got it, if only we had this tiny bit more" and not making it seem like Magneto is the one and only. They pushed the asteroid in place for him to pull, okay? Please. They should have shown how he could not have done that alone.

The show does have a bias super in favor of Magneto. Without even discussing that his plan is stupid. It comes from an emotional torment I understand. I understand him. I understand Rogue and Sunspot joining him. It's still dumb as hell. And within the three part finale there is no room for any debate and a lot of flip-flopping. Which, again, as a comic reader I can put under a microscope and tell you how this makes sense with a nice good-will reading. It does. But it's buried under the high octane beats. (There wasn't even room to take in what happened to Logan. Honestly I like Logan as a character, but the joke of him being everywhere is not even a joke and there is a certain fatigue and the way Logan was not the focus of '97 makes me appreciate the show even more. I like him! It's somewhat hilarious how the Adamantium pull was the cliffhanger shockfest and then... kinda nothing... of course I know S2 has a lot to pull from with that.)

Speaking of the ladies, the way bias is showing and how two things can be true at once and interpretations can vary - let me ramble on about Rogue in all of this.

On the surface oh I can't complain. My blorbo had things to do. Things to punch, lines to cross, angst to go through - I was fed. I will rewatch so many moments for years to come. But if you want to be cynical about this, Rogue's arc revolved around a man. No, two men. They shoved a decade long on-again, off-again romance from the comics into the show that already has five seasons and never remotely hinted at this. They started with a quiet Magneto and Rogue moment so we can see jealous Gambit. And when she makes a choice after a dance and kiss, Gambit dies. The one she wants. But also Magneto seemingly for a bit. And Rogue rampages.

Equality win: Man successfully put in the fridge so the woman gets to soar. Rejoice! (This is the perfect Rogue/Gambit dynamic though; you are depicting the couple wrong if he iesn't the one with a lovestricken face enjoying to be held in her strong arms. He pines, she gets the manpain moments.)

You could absolutely argue that Rogue's whole motivation is tied to dudes. But if you want to get over this you can look closer at what she says. She remembers Remy. She does this for him. But also every other dead mutant from Genosha. We did not get to see what this would have looked like, but when she chooses Magneto, she also chooses Genosha. She chooses a place at the table, the whole "Queen" deal. And when she joins him again in the finale, she talks about "no more dead mutants" (oh sugar, he's about to destroy the world with everybody). There is just so little time it gets lost. No time for nuance and showing the amount of survivor's guilt she feels. Unlike Storm and Jean though, she is allowed to let loose. She was ready to kill. And disregarding what came next, she dropped Trask from that rooftop.

The show is extremely in favor of Magneto and Rogue, and still doesn't have enough time left to give them the right build-up, because ten episodes isn't enough. Love that Morph got to confess their feelings for Wolverine, yet I'm sure a lot of the audience is baffled with his shapeshifting-power-duplicating powerset. Something that was really nice was the journey Jubilee and Sunspot took together. The way he went from hiding his powers, coming out, being betrayed by his family, giving in to rage for a moment, ultimately wanting to and saving people - true heart of the story.

Okay, this is long and like the show has a dozen different points without following through on one single issue. Ha! I enjoyed every second of it. I have bought monthly X-Men comics for over 30 years now, they are always with me, but these past few weeks have reignited the spark. 10/10 show, highly recommend. But can people please not pretend as if they did everything right? Also with so many stupid, stupid, highly stupid things that have happened within the pages of X-Men stories... just chill.

[popcultureoverdosed]

Jojolands Chapter 1 Review- The Mechanism

If someone had told me a few months ago that part 9 would be GTA with stands, I'm not sure if I would laugh or just dance with joy. Probably both. Jojolands  is already off to a strong start with probably the best first chapter out of any part. Readers quickly get introduced to Jodio and their sibling Dragona getting accosted by police that then delves into sexual assault. Jodio doesn't tolerate this at all and he breaks out his stand to wreck some havoc. November Rain is the name of the stand and it appears that he can manipulate water to create crushing raindrops. That's a cool ability but seems way too cut and dry for a protagonist stand. It's probably just an application of its true ability. 

Jodio is without a doubt the most amoral Joestar thus far. He has no issue with severely beating cops(potentially killing them), stealing cars, and selling drugs to teens. All of this establishes him as a weird alternate universe counterpart to Giorno. Jodio's ruthlessness will take some getting used to so I'm hoping he eventually gets character development that makes him more noble. He's a cool guy but very punchable at the same time. Kinda like how Johnny was at the beginning of part 7. He also seems to be very hedonistic since he wants to get rich simply for the sake of it. He's a true gangster at heart. I also want to talk about Dragona who's easily the biggest highlight of the chapter. Despite their feminine appearance, Jodio calls them his brother. Jodio monologues how Dragona has always been into women's fashion and even got injections to expand their breaststroke. This implies Dragona could possibly be trans or nonbinary. The original Japanese version doesn't even use gendered pronouns to address them but all three translations( you know a manga is hyper when three different people translate it) uses male pronouns. I feel that using gender neutral pronouns for now is the wisest decision. I'm curious to see where Dragona's gender identity will lead but then again, Araki is infamous for never elaborating on important plot points. Here's to hoping he doesn't screw them over.

Near the middle to end of the chapter we are introduced to the primary objective: stealing a 24 carat blue diamond from a Japanese tourist. To assist in this mission they are joined by Paco, a kleptomaniac with some seriously sticky fingers and an unnamed character in a wetsuit who buys drugs from Jodio. Yeah, this part has a lot going on for it. It fills me with excitement just imagining how this heist will play out. The narration implies things will go horribly wrong and piques my interest even more. It's important to not that all the stands seen thus far are non-humanoid and only Jodio was one suited for combat. This makes me believe there'll be an even lesser focus on battles than in Jojolion and will focus more on tactical espionage. It's a fun change of pace but I'm seriously missing  the powerhouse stand battles we used to get. Overall, Jojolands is destined to be a captivating new installment of JoJo.

[burningexeter]

[PITCH]

American Style Vigilantes

What is it —

An adult animated action series that instead of being a comedy is rather a drama with an element of humor, a dramedy that isn't afraid to treat itself seriously and have fun with itself as well.

PREMISE:

Set in at first South Central Los Angeles, California, we follow two brothers each struggling in their lives after different personal events left them alone on their own, William and Keith Shiherlis, who grow increasingly disillusioned with everything around them and what they see in America when they realize that making the right choice is what led them into this predicament.

It's then that after they kill two crooked cops in a violent scuffle and survive a near-death experience, the brothers believe that they now have a new calling in life with this second chance and decide to become vigilantes, doing what the police and others fail to do and make the world a better place.

In doing this, they immediately come into conflict with turf wars threatening to boil over, ruthless and ambitious mob bosses, assassins, bounty hunters and an FBI agent who thinks he can use the two of them to his advantage all the while it seeps into their fallen personal lives and now in the ultimate test must protect everything and everyone they love with all they got.

NOTES/TRIVIA/DETAILS:

• For the roles of the Shiherlis Brothers, I don't think I can picture anyone else voicing them than Michael Jai White and Dennis Haysbert. In a way it does subvert the viewer's expectations in the right way because they're always the hardcore and unstoppable action heroes and here on the other hand, they're beaten down, heavily flawed and schlubby drunks.

• The violence in the show will be very brutal, graphic and vicious but at the same time in a way that can be fun and enjoyed almost like the type of violence that you'd see in a lot of quality 90s action movies.

• I picture this as a limited series event that's about 18 episodes total with a clear and cohesive but also tight storyline that escalates more and more and has a clear and definitive beginning, middle and end.

• The main influences for the series are HBO's Spawn Trilogy, William Lustig's Vigilante, Luc "Yikes!" Besson's Leon The Professional, John Singleton's Shaft and Netflix's The Punisher with it almost being done in the same overall animation style and aesthetic of HBO's Spawn to where some could say they may as well be set in the same universe but for me it's because it's a distinctive old-school gritty 90s style that fits this.

• To give you an idea on what you're in for in this show, the first episode begins with an almost darkly comedic but casual montage of the brothers in action by killing several taboo and controversial people — they massacre O.J. Simpson on his deathbed, they lynch the old hag who lied and got Emmett Till killed, they cut out the tongue of Al Sharpton, they feed that weird bitchy lawyer of Harvey Weinstein to dogs and they even beat to death both Nickelodeon pedophiles Jason Handy and Brian Peck, finishing them off by castrating them. Basically, this is to show what you're in for and is a giant middle finger to modern animation.

[etrangersvoyageant]

Rewire, day 2

Here’s the skinny: I mostly stuck to one venue, where producers set a techno basement on fire. If Feltzer made me a lover, then Noise Diva and ojoo made me a fighter. More below.

Looking at the timetable a few weeks ago, I considered skipping this day. At that time, I had no tickets, so I didn’t feel cheated anyway. But then, I asked myself ‘what if you can get a cheap ticket and see Willem Feltzer? I liked last year’s album and maybe I should just check out who else is playing that venue.

The Grey Space in the middle is a location with many faces: I’ve seen movies there, visited art expos and heard live music and that’s there more organized. It has a good vibe and so there I was on Saturday.

The evening started with Willem Feltzer. He got all his bases, beginning to say down a calm dreamscape before pulling the audience underground. The set covered more genres than the album, but the same elements were present: chill, upbeat and playful. The music got a little darker and one could fantasize a system of tunnels, where Feltzer led his audience from place to place. These all had their own sound, yet the blend of music styles worked together well. And he finished with a club techno beat. For a moment, it felt like 3am in the morning, but it wasn’t even 9pm yet. All in all, an immaculate and well-thought-out set.

Next, a quick cross to a near-by church to experience my first bagpipe concert. Brighde Chambeul played rather long pieces, but the location improved the performance (although pews are not very hang-friendly). The combination of acoustics and the sparse purple and orangish gold lighting enriched the experience. One can imagine how people would get entranced in the old days. When she introduced the last song, she revealed another reason why she might be given this spot as she explained people used to play this piece to conjure the devil. Anyway, it was a bop and people were nodding along happily. Overall, a good performance.

Back to the Grey Space to see Noise Diva. An Amsterdam-based producer from Syria who’s rather versatile, but chose to play a noise set for Rewire. She started off with a speech, talking about the importance of female voices in the noise scene, how it’s been dictated by the white masculine creators (esp. in the 70s & 80s). She explained the thoughts behind the set she was about to play; how it was its debut, rather experimental and could have some odd transitions. Well, I didn’t notice the latter, caught as I was in the darkness of the music. At times, it was even brooding. Said had her eyes on her laptop and was bathed in red light, as she combined women chanting with sirens and drones. Only the ending was a bit odd, for a second it seemed she set up to deliver the final blow, but instead she thanked the audience and left, leaving myself and some others surprised. That was a shame, but it was still a fine performance in my book.

A quick breather and a chance to say hello to Feltzer before I went back down to the basement for ojoo. This DJ, born in Morocco and now based in Brussels, brought an exciting set filled with techno and its adjacent genres to conquer the dancefloor. The initial 10-15 minutes were calm before the storm as the beats were slowly pumped into the room, making people sway or march into place. However, the next phase really got the room dancing and moving – just like ojoo herself, bouncing behind the table, eyes forever locked onto the screen and mix panels. And although the room was never really full, I almost overheated stepping and swaying to the music. After 1,5 hours she was done and so was I. She remained in the room for a moment, greeting people, so I thanked her for her service and went home.

[angstyx]

First Date HCs

Includes: Dream, George, Sapnap, Wilbur Soot, Fundy, Karl Jacobs

TW: cursing

Requested?: [Yes] [No]

Note: some people might be ooc and this isn't proofread 😃 sorry

Masterlist // Rules for Requesting

───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────

Dream

this man would be pretty confident

like he'll compliment you and tell you how nice you look at the beginning of the date

he'll know the ways to impress and charm you and he'll even take you to a fancy restaurant and buy you flowers

but a tiny part of him would also be nervous

and at the end of the date when you tell him that you enjoyed it, his heart can't help but skip a beat

"I enjoyed the date as well and um, would you maybe- and it's okay if you don't want to but w-would you like to go on another date with me?"

and when you agree, a smile would stay on dreams face for the rest of the day

George

poor George :(

he'll be so nervous and he'll stress too much about ruining the date

he'll be stuttering when he talks to you and his face would be flushed

"oh uh h-have I told you um how n-nice you look?"

he'll probably also knock over something by accident but you'll just tell him it's okay

he'll be scared that the date was going to go wrong but when you noticed how nervous he was and reassured him, he began to feel a little less nervous

Sapnap

would act confident but inside his head would be full on panic mode

he'll suddenly forget basic things because he just wants to impress you so badly

like he almost forgot how to talk-

but thankfully you lead the conversation and everything went smoothly

and he'll even have some pickup lines up his sleeve which may or may not be bad, you can decide

his pickup lines would definitely be cheesy yet sweet at the same time and you can't help but laugh (affectionately) a little when he says them

"if I uh could rearrange the alphabet, I'll put um U and I t-together"

like I said: cheesy, yet sweet

Wilbur Soot

Will literally tweet on Twitter that's he's going on a date ._.

"About to go on a date, everyone better wish me luck or I'm fucking deleting my channel"

probably will call phil to help him out beforehand cause the man doesn't know what to do

"Phil?"

"Yeah? What do you want?"

"Uh you got any tips for dates? You know, since you have a wi-"

"oh fuck you"

"PHIL HELP ME OUT IM FUCKING CONFUSED"

that didn't help

Tommy got mad cause Wilbur was going on a date and he wasn't"

the date went fairly well and when Wilbur got asked what he does for a living, he panicked

But like I said, overall the date went fairly well

Except for the part when Tommy called Wilbur in the middle of the date just to say hi to you

"HI WOMAN HOW ARE YOU"

"uh hi?"

"Tommy please stop you're embarrassing me Infront of my date"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DATE SO FAR WOMAN? WILBUR CAN BE A REAL DICKHEAD SOMETIMES"

"oh my god Tommy..."

Fundy

he'll probably talk about his cat, boots, a lot and show you a bunch of photos of her which you can't help but think is cute

and when he realizes that he's been rambling about his cat the entire time, his face would immediately turn red and you just giggle as he tries to apologize but you assure him that you didn't mind

"oh uh s-sorry about that.."

"it's fine! Besides, your cat looks really cute. I would love to meet her someday."

and all Fundy could think of was what you said cause what meant that the date wasn't entirely ruined by his rambling

let's just say that you definitely got a chance to meet his cat :)

Karl Jacobs

he'll be giggling the entire date honestly

but under the table he'll be playing with his fingers cause he's so nervous

his stomach is filled with butterflies and it's clear that he's blushing

and he'll accidentally cut you off just to compliment you

"and so I went to-"

"you look really n-nice today, y/n"

I swear he doesn't do it on purpose

───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────

Taglist: @thenotsohottopic @0-0littlem0-0 @bi-narystars @707xn @sakurapartridge @ryxjxnnx @boiciph3r @maxiewritesfanfic @nightwalkercrescent @missusstark @multifandomgirl-us @sophia902103 @sunnyxlove @marrymetheonott @voidgonemissing @alec-lost-bee @ttakinou @izuru666 @chaoticotaku @joyfullymulti @oh-mcyt @sxltedcxramel @dawnfallx @blushingduckling @lacunaanonymoused @blueberrystigma

Send me an ask or dm to be added to my taglist! :)

[messrsbyler]

Not sure if you’re still in “that mood” lmao but what do you think Mike’s future is going to be?? Like not in the distant future but his story layout for season 5. Do you think he’s going to get vecna’d? Just would love o hear your thoughts :) he’s so interesting!!

UFF mike is soooo getting vecna'd next season, even from a storytelling point of view it needs to happen, mostly bc of how his arc developed in s4

i might nerd this one out more than others, but if you think about it mike's s4 started awful, downhill straight to hell. he made things weird with will because he couldn't communicate how he was feeling after they moved out to cali, he found out el had been lying to him all this time and acted like an asshole, he and el had a huge fight in which both of them refused to understand each other, then his girlfriend was arrested for assault and they went under military custody.

all downhill, right?

but then, right before anything else can happen to really boost mike deep into hell, things start to look up a little for mike. he has his first heart to heart with will where he finally communicates how he's been feeling, how he thinks he lost will and how he's missed his best friend. mike finds a common ground with will. then things start moving, they make plans to go back to hawkins that then change to go save el, they have a ride, a plan, a way to find her (and yes all of this happens in the middle of a shooting and while burying a body, but mike's momentum still isn't as negative as it was when the series started in terms of inner confict). we get some more heart to hearts, mike gets will's painting and loves it, will comforts him, they find el, mike is forced into a love confession and then el lives even though there's major consequences they still don't know about all the way in hawkins.

why the little summary? well, if you think about it, mike has sort of had a "false victory" (as in his arc started by being negative to then being a bit positive), a beat in story telling that can only be followed by *drum roll* the darkest moment. the moment when a character hits rock bottom, where they lose everything and because of it they reach their "aha!" moment. now, this will happen with the plot itself and other characters since this is the last season though i would say the darkest moment is for the overall plot is the ending of s4 when max dies and the four gates open. but when it comes to mike, i think that moment still needs to come in s5 and what better plot device to use than vecna's curse?

in my humble opinion mike has been dancing around his demons and conflict for way too long and while in season 4 we got a bit of mike stealing a glimpse at them, this time mike needs to stare at them dead in the eyes so he can have his "aha!" moment or the moment of realization that will boost him into the beginning of the ending of his arc. while being cursed, mike will be face to face with his greatest fears and conflicts, with those things he's been avoiding throughout the entire show, and then... he'll die.

i am a "mike dies and is brought back to life" truther. mike's death would be so important for other characters' arc but also for his own arc, because you can die and then come back to life without realising some stuff, right? i think season 5 is mike's season to get hurt and be exposed to everything he's been shoving under the carpet. i would love to see him realize about how other people have hurt him and how he's hurt others. i want him to scream and yell and be loud and for example go and face karen and ted and tell them everything he's been keeping inside, same with nancy. i want mike to cry and scream and just explode and let it all out after he is cursed and brought back so he can start healing.

i think s5 will be mike's cathartic moment when he finally comes to terms with many things, but that won't happen until he faces his darkest moment and reaches rock bottom. i'm not sure how this would align with the time jump, but i'm so scared for mike in s5 and still i'm shaking with excitement

so sorry this was so long shdshdhs i'm not sure i even said that much help but thank you for the ask!!!

[alpacaparkaseok]

Spooked

Requested by anon - a picture of your request will be at the bottom of the post! Thanks for sending it in, I had so much fun with it! :)

Pairing: best friend!BTS, maybe some secret crushes going on? 👀

Premise: You + all 7 members of BTS visiting a haunted house. What could go wrong?

So, so much.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: they are touring a haunted house, so there’s gonna be some scary story/spooky things going on. hopefully there’s enough fun things/fluff to counter it? 

a/n: this was longer than I expected it to be...but I was having fun with ot7. hopefully nobody minds lol

It wasn't your fault that Hobi had never seen "A Quiet Place". He had mentioned it as you scrolled through the options on his TV while lounging on his couch like an overgrown cat. Everyone else was in the process of scarfing down their dinner, popping popcorn, and laughing over whatever Jimin and Yoongi were bickering about.

Obviously you had to watch it.

Naturally, the conversation had drifted to a bit more spooky topics. You'd come back from grabbing more popcorn surprised to find Jin talking about his friend that wanted to open up a house they'd inherited for ghost tours.

After nudging Jimin out of the way, you took up your usual spot next to Taehyung. They all watch you with amused eyes, knowing full well that Taehyung is the only one that willingly scratches your back on movie nights.

"Really, like is it the kind of haunted house where people dress up and scare you?" Jungkook asked, his interest piqued.

Jin shook his head. "No, not really. It sounds like they just walk you through the house and tell stories and stuff."

You and Jungkook share a look, already thinking the same thing. A glance at Hobi shows him clutching a blanket to his chest, caught between the events of the film and the conversation taking place.

"We should go," you ventured, immediately earning a startled stare from both Jin and Hobi. The others chuckle in response, Namjoon swatting Jungkook's hand half-heartedly as he tries to steal more popcorn from him.

"...noooo," Jin began. "It's not like it's up and running yet, they're just working on getting it ready for the fall-"

Jungkook picks up where you left off. "Perfect! We can be their test group. That way they'll know what they can do for the general public, get an idea of what works and what doesn't."

You jump in again before Jin can protest more. "C'mon! And besides, this may be your only chance just to go for fun! Otherwise you'd have to find a way to go without running into all of those people, and have to contact management about it..."

Jin sighs, looking at Hobi who stares back at him with an expression of defeat. You grin, Taehyung chuckling beside you.

"Fine."

It was all too easy. Standing here now, you can see just why they want to open this up for ghost tours. Of course you won't admit it, but you already have chills running down your spine.

Or maybe that's just because Jung Hoseok is currently breathing down your neck.

"Alright," Jin's friend, Gina stands at the top of the steps, smiling down at you all. "Everybody ready?"

Jungkook and Taehyung, completely riled up, let out whoops and cheers while everyone else grunts in acknowledgement. Hobi clings to the back of your jacket, whimpering like a lost puppy.

This should be fun.

Jungkook doesn't bother to wait for everyone else, heading straight inside after Gina. Taehyung and Jimin are hot on his heels, joking about something back and forth. You follow after them, glancing back at Hobi with an amused grin.

"Oh," he realizes that he's still clinging to you. "Right." Extracting his hand from your jacket, he lets you move forward. He remains close behind you, Jin at his side.

Namjoon and Yoongi bring up the rear, hardly paying attention to anything that's going on as they chat about a business they saw not far from here.

"We'll begin in the front study here," Gina adopts a spooky tone as she stands in the candlelight. Shadows dance along the walls, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up straight.

Suddenly you wish that Hobi was still holding onto you.

Slowly, so as to not draw the attention (and teasing) of the maknae line, you step back until you're between Namjoon and Yoongi.

The two of them smirk down at you, knowing full well that you're already spooked.

"What are you doing?" Jin whispers back to you, eyes wide while he rubs his arms as though he's cold. "Trying to abandon us to the ghosts?"

You shake your head fervently, hoping that they don't notice the way you're sneaking your hand into the pocket of Yoongi's jacket.

"No, the middle is the safest place," you argue. Yoongi gives a breathy chuckle beside you, his hand finding yours in the warmth of his pocket and giving it a squeeze. Thankfully the house is dark enough that the blush on your cheeks shouldn't be visible.

Absentmindedly you link your other arm through Namjoon's, hardly able to breathe properly when he instinctively moves closer.

What were you even saying?

"A-and now you've got three in front and three in back. You're totally safe."

Hobi and Jin look at each other like they know exactly what you’re up to, but don't push it as they suddenly begin walking again. Gina leads the way toward the dining room, weaving a tale of how the estranged wife of the owner of the house swore she would never leave the property.

"Did she?" Jungkook asks from the front, peeking in closed off rooms along the way. You can't help but marvel at his fearlessness.

Gina's eyes glow with excitement, almost as though she were waiting for someone to ask that. "No. Years later, when the owner sold the house, the new occupants said they found a sealed off room in the basement." You gasp, the sound echoing through the hallway. You miss the look Jimin gives you, too attached to the story.

"What..." you clutch Namjoon's arm, the fabric of his jacket bunching in your hand. "Did they ever open up the room?"

Gina grins. "They did. They hired someone to come and open the sealed door. However, the man they hired only got about halfway before quitting. He was terrified."

Yoongi leans down to whisper in your ear. "Are you trying to cut off my circulation?"

It's only then that you notice you've been squeezing his hand with startling strength. "Whoops." Going to remove your hand from his, he frowns, holding it tighter before you can move.

Well, if this isn't a rollercoaster of emotions.

"Why was he so scared?" Namjoon pipes up beside you, a hint of a smile gracing his features as he reads the expression on your face. Oh, you're so screwed. "Did he find something?"

"It's not so much what he found as what he didn't," Gina replies. "But we'll have to save that for last. For now, the dining room. Come on in, everyone."

Hobi looks back at you, a mixture of horror and overall curiosity on his face. “Oh, she’s good.”

Indeed, Gina definitely seems to have a way with words. You’re just having a hard time understanding them as your heart beats loudly enough to drown out any other noises. Yoongi has taken to tracing circles on the back of your hand, which you think are meant to be soothing. 

It only serves to send your heart rate skyrocketing. You stare at the portrait on the far end of the dining room, practically boring holes into the painting of the young woman. 

Breathe, don’t do anything stupid.

“...alright?”

You blink, finding yourself to be the sudden center of attention. Jungkook grins widely at you. 

“What?”

Jungkook repeats his question. “Are you doing alright?”

“Oh.”

Jimin bursts out laughing. “That’s not an answer, jagiya. Need us to protect you from the ghosts?”

Your wide eyes immediately give you away, and even Gina is offering you a look of pity before deciding to continue on with the tour. Before you embarrass yourself even more, you slip out of Yoongi and Namjoon’s grasp, sneaking up behind Jin and Hobi.

“Hello boys,” you drawl, making Hobi nearly jump out of his skin. You earn a laugh from the group, Jin chuckling at his scared friend. Hobi just glares at you. 

“This sucks,” he whispers to you, pulling you up to stand between him and Jin. Immediately they stick to your sides like magnets and you realize that you have indeed done something stupid as Jin’s breath ghosts over the shell of your ear as he goes to whisper something to you.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, it would seem. Your heart certainly agrees. 

“I’m not scared, you know,” Jin whispers. You take a deep breath, reminded yourself that these idiots are your best friends, not menu items. 

You shoot him an incredulous look. “I doubt that.”

He grins at you, eyes lingering a bit longer than usual. “You’ll see.”

Tearing your eyes away from his and hearing his deep chuckle, you wonder if it’s too late to ask Gina where the nearest exit is. 

Don’t do anything stupid.

“Shall we head up to the attic?” Gina asks. “It’s a small space, we can only go three at a time. However, there are some really interesting old photographs up there that we should look at.”

In the blink of an eye everyone is paired off, and you find yourself face to face with Jimin. He grins at you like the Cheshire Cat, making you wonder if he isn’t the most dangerous thing in this house. 

Jin and Hobi have the glorious opportunity to go up together while Gina leads the way, and several screams accompany their little trip. In the middle of the candlelight in the hallway, you chuckle with the rest of your friends. 

“It’s been interesting so far,” Jungkook muses. “I really want to know what they found in that sealed off basement room.”

Taehyung hums in agreement. “Mmm. Or rather, what they didn’t find.”

“What does that even mean?”

Nobody is given a chance to answer Jungkook’s question as Hobi and Jin come scrambling down the ladder, faces pale even as they laugh. Gina chuckles from above, beckoning the next pair to come up.

Jimin looks at you with an arched brow. “Wanna go next?”

“Sure.” You follow him up the ladder, laughing as Jin recounts how he swore the woman in the photograph blinked. 

The attic is filled with moonlight, and under other circumstances it might be pretty. However, amongst the old heirlooms sits an ominous scrapbook, filled with black and white photos of less-than-happy people. 

Jimin reaches down, grabbing your hand and helping you to your feet as you look around. When he lets go you aren’t sure whether or not to be disappointed. 

You’ve hardly made up your mind when he leads you to where Gina stands beside the scrapbook and slips behind you. A moment later his arms encircle your waist, chin propped up on your shoulder. 

So there’s that. 

Gina points to the first photo, a grim-looking man standing behind a chair where a young woman sits smiling. “This is the estranged wife, before she was estranged, of course. And this is the owner of the house. From what we’ve been able to dig up about his past - no pun intended - he was always deathly serious.”

Jimin hums in acknowledgement, the vibrations going straight into your spine. Unsure of what to do with your arms, you gently place them atop his arms around your middle. 

You swear he smiles for a moment before turning pensive again. “Why did they separate?” You manage to ask, applauding yourself for getting a complete sentence out while Park Jimin hugs you from behind. 

“Rumor has it she cheated on him with his best friend,” Gina whispers, pointing to another photo where the solemn owner stands beside a smiling man. “He was driven mad with jealousy. Terrible, isn’t it?”

Gina gives you a long look, and suddenly you straighten your spine. “I-uh, yeah. Horrible.”

She shows us another photo, explaining something about it while Jimin mumbles out a couple of questions. You hardly process any of it, staring at Gina and wondering if she thinks that you are somehow cheating.

But on who? Jin, maybe? Since that’s her friend?

“Alright, send up the next pair,” Gina croons. Jimin detaches himself from you, suddenly leaving you cold. You turn to follow him, but stop as Gina places a hand on your arm. 

“Yes?” You ask, struggling to keep your tone even. Gina motions for Jimin to keep going, pulling you back to the scrapbook. She tilts her head to one side. 

“Forgive me for maybe overstepping a boundary but...” she motions toward the ladder, where everyone waits below. “Don’t tell me you’re flirting with all of them.”

Your eyes widen, and a breathy laugh comes out. “Me? What? N-no. They’re my best friends, why would I-”

Gina laughs, the sound too loud for the small attic. “Well, they’re flirting with you.” She playfully elbows me. “Speaking from girl to girl...enjoy it. For the rest of us.”

Nearly choking, you frown but nod all the same. “...ok?” When she makes no move to say anything else, you head down the ladder. The boys look up at me with confused looks, Jimin waiting at the bottom to make sure you get down safely. 

“What was that about?” Jin asks, looking a little nervous. “She didn’t say anything to make you uncomfortable, did she?”

You blink at him, wondering for a moment if the boys have always been like this around you. Surely not. It’s just the haunted house bringing out this protective side, right?

Right?

“No, she just wanted to show me something else. She’s actually really nice.” You think.

The other groups go up, and nothing else happens to pique your interest. Gina comes down last of all, giving you a wink before walking down the hallway. 

“I think we’re ready to go down to the basement, everyone!”

Somehow you end up at the front, surrounded on all sides by the maknae line. You crane your neck, looking back to see the older boys all lost in a heated discussion. Hobi catches your eye after a moment, elbowing Namjoon who looks up at you with fake innocence. 

You frown, Gina’s words coming back to you. “They’re flirting with you.”

You must have lost your mind. Was the haunted house really that traumatizing as to make you start coming up with such ridiculous things? How silly of you. 

The feeling of a hand resting on the small of your back has you yelping, jumping to face forward again. Taehyung gives you a sheepish grin. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, gently pushing you forward to stand in front of him. “Are you really that spooked?”

“I...no.” You fail to come up with a complete sentence, but shrug it off. Taehyung smiles brightly at you, gesturing for you to head down the stairs. 

“You seem distracted tonight, are you alright?” 

The way your heart had begun palpitating calms down as you notice the obvious concern on Taehyung’s face. You give him a small smile, allowing yourself to relish the feeling of his fingers splayed against your back as you move down the stairs. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just distracted by the story.”

Taehyung looks at you for a moment longer, not quite believing you but shrugging it off. He brings both hands to your shoulders as you enter the basement, an obvious chill in the air. 

You fight off a shiver, Taehyung noticing and beginning to rub at your arms in an attempt to warm you up. Gina immediately notices the action, hiding a smile as she pretends to cough. 

“Well,” she says once her ‘coughing fit’ subsides. “We’ve made it to the final leg of the tour. How’s it been so far?”

This time everyone cheers with renewed vigor, although a part of you has a hunch that it’s because Hobi knows he’s nearing the end of this scary experience. The thought makes you grin. 

“Earlier, you guys asked me what was found in the sealed off room. It’s easier to show you, rather than explain.” Gina walks backward, motioning for everyone to follow her. It’s darker down here, only a few candles light the way. Despite being surrounded by people you trust, you can’t fight the fear that sneaks inside of you. 

Rounding a corner, you see a small hallway with a half-open door. Jin curses behind you, clearly feeling just as freaked out as you.

“Remember how the estranged wife said she’d never leave this place?” Gina nods toward the door and dark entryway. “In that room there’s evidence that she may have had an...extended stay here. It’s very small, and the door only opens to a certain point. Almost as though whoever designed it didn’t want to have an easy escape point.”

Chills run down your spine, and even Taehyung’s ministrations pause for a moment as he takes in this new information. 

Jungkook speaks up, ever the curious one. “Wait...her body isn’t still here, right?”

Gina shakes her head. “No, although we think that she may have been buried somewhere on the property. We have yet to find her, though.”

“That...” you shake your head, shuffling from foot to foot. “That sounds so ominous. Like she still walks the property or something.”

The smile Gina sends you is enough to make your blood run cold. “We haven’t ruled anything out.” She gestures toward the door. “Due to fire hazards, we can only have two people at a time in the hallway and in the room. Do I have any volunteers?”

Jungkook’s hand immediately shoots up in the air, and he looks at his hyungs pleadingly. You remain still as a statue, refusing to look up for fear of being called on. 

You swear you can almost hear Taehyung sigh before he speaks. “Well, obviously you have to go.” He nudges you forward, and you whirl on him in absolute horror. 

“What?!” You shout. “How could you betray me like this?! I- no way!”

The boys can’t help but laugh at you, Namjoon clapping Taehyung on the shoulder. Taehyung gives you an apologetic look, shrugging. 

“C’mon, I’ll keep you safe,” Jungkook promises, his big pleading eyes on yours.

You hate how you can never say no to him. 

Gina pats your shoulder as you walk past, laughing lightly. “Have fun,” she croons. “Ok everyone, let’s go into the open area just around the corner-”

“You’re leaving us?!” You shout again, stopping in your tracks. “Noooo, no no. Not happening.”

“Jungkook will take care of you,” Yoongi says over his shoulder. “Or do you not trust him?”

Jungkook pauses, looking at you with those big brown eyes. “You don’t trust me?”

Yoongi chuckles darkly before leaving the hallway, and you know he’s aware of what he did. You’ll have to make him pay for it later. 

Possibly in the form of food.

“No, I do Kook,” you sigh. He extends his hand out to you, waiting patiently. 

You take it a little too quickly.

Gina was right, the door only opens to a certain point, leaving you no choice but to shimmy through. Jungkook inspects the entire area, pointing out what looks to be scratches on the doorframe. You shiver. 

“It’s not real,” he reassures you, keeping his hand in yours as he shimmies into the room. You hesitate for a moment, daring to glance at where your hands are connected before following after him. 

It’s nearly pitch black in the room, hardly allowing for you to see anything. “Can you even see anything?”

Jungkook laughs, squeezing your hand. “Nope. I think we’ll have to wait for our eyes to adjust. You good?”

You squeeze back. “Yeah, I think-”

The door is shut.

The door is shut. 

Suddenly delved into complete darkness, your breath hitches in your throat. “Jungkook,” you whimper. “Jungkook, I’m scared-”

“Shhh,” Jungkook hushes you, pulling you closer until you bump into his chest. “You’re fine. They’re just pulling a prank on us.” 

Without thinking anything other than, I’m too young to die, you instinctively wrap your arms around his waist, burrowing your head against his chest as he chuckles. 

“I can’t die, Jungkook,” you mumble into his chest. “I’m too young. I have so much to do. I have a test this week to take, and I’ve studied so hard for it, I have to take it. That’d be so stupid to die before taking that dumb test. And I have to yell at Yoongi or something, I don’t know-”

Jungkook’s giddy laughter pulls you out of your daze, and if you weren’t so scared you would be glaring at him. He laces his fingers behind your back, pulling you impossibly closer.

“You’re so cute,” he whispers into the dark, making every last thought eddy out of your brain. “Have I ever told you that before?”

Finding just enough willpower to move, you shake your head. Jungkook harrumphs above you, the sound almost pulling a giggle from you. Then you remember the situation you’re currently in. 

Jungkook sighs. “Well, you are. That, and a lot of other things. Would you like me to tell you what else I think you are?”

Hands bunching in the fabric of his clothes, you find your voice. “...yes.”

Jungkook takes a deep breath. “Scary smart. It’s horrifying.” A chuckle bubbles up from your chest. “And inclusive. That’s so underrated these days, you know? But you’re always making sure everyone is involved and enjoying themselves.”

You can tell that he’s holding his breath from the way his chest has stopped moving, and you’re about to ask him if he’s alright when he hesitantly runs his fingers through your hair. 

If that wasn’t enough to send you over the edge, he lets out a shaky breath before continuing on. “I’m sorry I haven’t told you those things before.”

You manage a laugh. “I’m sorry that it took us going on a haunted house tour for you to say it.”

Jungkook smiles down at you, your eyes finally adjusted to the dim room. He stares at you for a long moment, and you wonder if he’s going to kiss you.

You wonder if you’d let him.

He must see the question in your eyes, but he gives you a knowing look before heading toward the door, making sure your hand is in his. 

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he says, testing the door and giggling at your sigh of relief when the door is unlocked. 

“Worry about what?” You feign ignorance. Jungkook sees right through your, tugging you along as you head out the door. 

He shrugs, suddenly unable to look you in the eyes as pink no doubt paints his cheeks. “You know...overstepping any boundaries.” He looks down at his feet. “Making a move.”

“Why?” The question comes out before you can stop it, and you inwardly curse yourself. Jungkook smiles softly at your inquiry. 

The sound of everyone chatting makes you almost want to cry with relief. They must be just around the corner, waiting for you to return. 

Jungkook leans over, whispering to you. “Because we have a pact.”

You turn to question him further, eyes wide. He anticipates this, taking long strides until you find yourselves back in the open area with everyone else. 

“We’re back!” Jungkook announces, shooting you a smirk. You can’t help but stare at him, mouth slightly agape. 

A pact?

Gina smiles broadly. “How was the room? Did you find anything interesting?”

You shake your head, trying and failing to stop yourself from overanalyzing every glance the boys give you. “...no. I was too freaked out to even look around after the door closed on us.”

“Yeah, who did that? We didn’t even hear you guys,” Jungkook asks. 

Everyone looks at the two of you before looking at Gina, clearly just as confused. 

Gina, on the other hand, looks absolutely terrified. 

“Ummm...” she begins, rubbing her arms in an effort to warm herself up. “Remember how I said that we haven’t ever found the body of the estranged wife?”

You nod your head but stop, the words sinking in. The hairs on the back of your neck rise up, and you find yourself shuffling over to stand next to Jin, clinging to his arm. 

“Yeah...” Namjoon says, eyes darting around the room.

Gina sighs. “Alright, everyone, single file line. Head out as quickly and quietly as possible.”

You don’t need to be told twice.

masterlist

this has been turned into a series!

 series masterlist ∆∆∆ join the taglist

oooh so spooky ;) 

[slytherinlesbian3]

Let's talk about Wanda Maximoff.

From the beginning in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we find out that her and her brother were volunteers in a HYDRA program that was using the scepter (mind stone) on human beings.

Pretty rudimentary information.

As AoU goes on, we see that Wanda sees into Ultron's mind and makes the decision to back off because total annihilation of the human race isn't what she signed up for. This leads into the twins making the right choice and fighting with the Avengers rather than against them, successfully placing them on the side of good.

That being said...Pietro dies before the movie even ends. This post says it all.

Wanda wasn't allowed to grieve. She wasn't given a funeral for her own twin brother she hadn't separated from her entire life.

Vision then swoops in to save her after she whoops Ultron's metallic, flat-ass and rips his wirey, roundish heart thing out of his chest. After she did that to Ultron, Wanda did not have a single reason to live anymore, not after the only person she's cared about for years was just shot to death. On top of that, her home was plummeting to the ground and was about to be pulverized. She didn't care if she died up there. Not even when Vision found and took her away.

That, however, as we see in Wandavision (Ep8), leads to a friendship. Vision reaches out and tries to comfort Wanda in her grief and sorrow over her brother despite being a synthezoid with little to no emotional capacity. He recognized that Wanda was hurting and attempted to console her. That's sweet.

Fast forward to Captain America: Civil War. Wanda is trying to do the right thing - being an Avenger, saving the day - hero stuff. Then she makes the split-second decision of saving 1 person versus saving a million, so to speak. She chose right, of course, but the government said she didn't.

Sokovia Accords happens. Team Cap and Team Iron Man happen. Everyone fights.

At the end of the fight, Wanda and Vision apologize to one another. They grow even closer, which is good, seeing her let someone else in after Pietro.

But she still gets locked up. She gets thrown in a maximum security prison in the middle of an ocean and forced into a straightjacket. They treated her like an animal - like she was insane, like she deserved to be in one. You could probably imagine what effect that would have on her already fragile mental state.

Avengers: Infinity War. The secret two years of stealing moments with Vision. The fugitive, on-the-run window. She saw her boyfriend get impaled. Then she saw him nearly die multiple times just to find out that she herself has to kill him, and then sees him die AGAIN to Thanos.

Hello??? She's holding off the guy with five infinity stones in his hand and killing her boyfriend, aka destroying the sixth infinity stone (an item that has been there since the universe's creation), AT THE SAME TIME.

The same post as linked above explains it again. Vision doesn't get a funeral. Wanda is snapped. This girl does not get any breaks.

Five years or half a moment later, Wanda fights the bad guys that she thought had just won. She single-handedly would've killed Thanos if he hadn't ordered that strike. All while still mourning Vision (again, who she watched die TWICE).

So, that's two deaths that A) did not get a funeral and B) she was simply told to move on and get over because things happen. On top of that, the Avengers dissembled and went their separate ways after Endgame. Wanda didn't have anyone left, which led her to S.W.O.R.D. headquarters.

As broken as she already was and with no one to understand the absolute debilitation she was experiencing, seeing Vision's...dismembered body made it worse. The only thing she had after that was a cute red car and blueprints for hers and Vision's forever home.

Admit it, everyone cried during this scene.

With the pamphlet in hand, she broke down and accidentally created the Hex. She thought of a happy place and ended up projecting her grief, her pain, her sadness, and dare I say her trauma - onto the town of Westview and...into Vision. Wanda only wanted to be happy and for the love of everything holy Marvel won't let her.

Then she has S.W.O.R.D. constantly trying to topple the Hex, weird occurrences (like episode one at dinner, or anytime Agnes said anything lmao), Agatha being an aggressor and trying to 1) take Wanda's powers 2) making Wanda relive her past 3) the whole Pietro thing. And that's not even everything bad that happened in Wandavision.

Overall, I'm tired of seeing people hate on Wanda. Yes, we all have different opinions of different characters, but remember:

Wanda lost her brother, lost her home, lost her love 3 times, lost her kids, nearly had her powers taken from her, was hunted by S.W.O.R.D. and the government respectively, her parents killed...it's a lot of trauma to unpack and it all started when she was a child. A literal. Child. In spite of this, she still got up after every fall, every beat down, and kept moving forward. She kept her good heart despite it being broken again and again, and she kept going strong all those years. She was able to keep going despite everything she lost, and that? That's the heart of a true hero.

Just food for thought.

[notdonesimpin]

The Truth Is Out ~t.k.~

taiga kagami x fem!reader

warnings: mainly fluff. v small smut scene that mainly just leads into it

synopisis: the story of how kagami’s team and your cousin, kise, find out about the relationship.

a/n: this is long. it WAS purely self indulgent so that’s another reason why it’s long but hope you enjoy :)

“Is this all the groceries we need for dinner? Do you have everything else already?” Riko asks.

Before Kagami could answer, Hyuga tagged another question along. “Do you live here by yourself?”

As he unlocked the door, he responded, “At the moment, my girlfriend is staying here, too.”

The team’s eyes widened and exclaimed, “You have a girlfriend?”

The door swings open to reveal you in the kitchen, making dinner. “Hi, Taiga’s teammates! It’s really nice to meet you guys!”

“Guys, this is my girlfriend, Y/N. She goes to Kaijou. Y/N, this is the team.” 

He points at each member, telling you their names as they all looked at you with wide eyes, muttering a hello back as they walked in and Kagami walked over to you with the groceries you needed to finish up dinner.

“Don’t be shy! Make yourselves at home,” you encouraged them, grabbing the bags from Kagami. You give him a quick kiss. “Thank you. How was the game?”

He leaned against the counter. “It was really good. I wish you could have been there.”

You rolled your eyes, “My game was good, too, Taiga. Thanks for asking.”

“You still play basketball?” A small voice asked.

You looked around, eyes settling on the boy slightly shorter than you that stood on the other side of the counter. You jump back, slightly startled about how you didn’t notice him standing there.

“Kuroko! How can you still do that?” you exclaim.

“You guys know each other?” the team questioned.

You both nod as Kuroko explained, “She’s Kise’s cousin. She’s older by a few months, though.”

“Adopted cousin technically,” you add.

It seemed everyone's eyes were on you since they were intrigued about the insight into who you were and Kagami’s personal life. Kagami seems to notice as his cheeks begin to redden and he rubs the back of his neck.

“Guys, please stop staring. You’re going to scare her.”

You scoff, hitting him with a towel. “I’m not that easily frightened. Plus, if you’re going to be in my kitchen, you better be helping me cook.”

He muttered something under his breath as he walked past you to grab an apron. You give a triumphant smile, focusing your attention back on the boys and Riko in front of you.

“I quit basketball at the beginning of the third year. I play volleyball now.”

“Why?” 

“I had more fun with volleyball. It came a lot more natural for me. Kagami makes me help him with basketball, though.”

Kagami shakes his head, glancing at you from the pot he’s stirring. “You offer because you know basketball is better for expanding your agility.”

“How’d you two meet?” Kiyoshi chimed in.

Kagami’s eyes shot to you, knowing the mischievous smirk that was plastered on your face as you chopped up the vegetables.

“I kicked his ass.”

“She did not!” Kagami tried to defend himself as everyone egged you on to continue.

“When he first moved back to Japan, we went to the same middle school. At that time, I’d recently joined the volleyball team.. He was beating everyone on our school team, making all of them mad and frustrated. Kagami, here, got a little bit of a superiority complex, so I challenged him to a game. His cocky ass thought it’d be easy since I was on the volleyball team so he played around and let me score two points. Before he realized it, I won 5-0. He was shocked and wanted a rematch, but I refused.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped. “You… beat Kagami?”

You look up with a questioning look. “Am I not supposed to? Y’all are talking like this man is a legend…”

Kagami tosses a towel at the back of your head. “Just because you beat me in a game the other day doesn’t mean you’re better than me. I have more wins overall.”

“By one game!” you exclaim.

“Now, I have to see you play. I don’t mean this the wrong way, but you don’t look like the type to be on the same skill level as Kagami,” Riko politely says.

You shrug, “I’m not offended or anything. I grew up playing with my brothers and cousins, and volleyball has helped with my jumping. When it comes to court awareness and IQ, I have Kagami beat. Skill set wise, he’s way past my expertise.”

“You guys get two more questions, then I’m duct taping her mouth closed.”

“She can’t eat if you do that,” Kuroko firmly states.

You point at him, “Kuroko, I’ve missed teaming up with you.”

Kagami huffs, “I can’t win if the two of you team up.”

“How did you two get together?” Hyuga questions.

“Taiga couldn’t take defeat, so we ended up playing one-on-one every day that I didn’t have volleyball. He didn’t know many people, so we hung out a lot during class and after school. Tomorrow will be our one year anniversary. He won’t tell me what he has planned, though.”

The team awed as they looked between the two of you. It was extremely apparent that Kagami was blushing from how his ears were tinted red.

“You’ll know when it’s time,” he said as you turned around and dumped the vegetables in the pot. 

“I’m going to put on a shirt really quick,” you inform him, “I started cooking as soon as I got your text since I figured you guys would be starving.”

He nodded, watching you walk off and disappear down the hallway.

“Kagami, I like her. You better not lose her,” Izuki notes.

“I don’t plan on it.” He smiles to himself as he changes the topic, “Now, let’s talk about anything other than my love life.”

The boys easily fell into their own conversations. When you walk back out, you get pulled into Izuki’s conversation where he just wouldn’t stop telling puns, but you found it extremely entertaining. 

You help Kagami sit the food out on the table. Before you could fully sit down, Kagami pulled you into his lap and lazily wrapped an arm around your waist. This caught you by surprise because he usually wasn’t this clingy when people were around.

“You feeling okay?” you softly ask as he makes his plate, putting enough on it for you, too.

He nods with a soft smile. “I just want to hold you.”

You both eat off of his plate, joining in on the casual conversations around you.

Later that night, all of his teammates ended up falling asleep in various places in the living room. 

“Don’t tell me you’re actually tired,” Kagami whines, tossing his shirt and pants in the hamper as he makes his way to the bed.

You yawn, “It’s midnight and you’re not tired?”

“It’s midnight, meaning that we should bring in our one year anniversary the right way,” he smirks, dipping down to kiss you while you sit on the edge of the bed. 

He deepens the kiss, guiding you down into the bed with a hand on the small of your back. 

His other hand finds its way underneath your shit and becomes a cool contrast in your hot skin. 

“Taiga,” you whined as he began to kiss down your neck. “Your entire team is here. They’ll hear us.”

“That just means you have to be quiet, baby. Let me take care of you tonight,” he softly requests as his fingers play with the hem of your shorts. 

“Taiga, you are insatiable.”

He hums, standing up as he pulls off your shorts and tosses them. 

He raises an eyebrow and looks at you with a triumphant smile.  “No panties? Y/N, I think you wanted this to happen.”

“Shut up.” You try to kick him, but he easily catches your leg and presses a kiss to your ankle. 

“I promise I’ll take good care of you, princess.”

The next morning, you wake up around 7 to rustling in the living room. Kagami had his arm tightly wrapped around your abdomen, so you had to pry it off with all your might. 

As soon as you got out the bed, you heard a soft whine from him as he reached for you. “Where are you going?” he groans, “Come back to bed.”

“Your teammates are waking up. I figured I’ll offer some breakfast before they leave.”

He opens his eyes and looks at you, eyes narrowing when he noticed that you weren’t standing normally.

“Are you still sore?”

You shift your weight, wincing a bit. It was nothing too noticeable but Kagami knew you too well. “It’s not terrible. It’d just been a while.”

He rolled over to get out of bed as he requested, ”Sit back down for a second.”

You plop back onto the bed, watching him grab one of his shirts and toss it to you. 

As you put in each of those items, he found a pair of sweatpants and walked over to put them on you. You lift your legs up, watching him slip the pants up your legs.

You stand up so that he can get them onto your waist and watch him tie the string so they wouldn’t fall down.

He gives you a quick kiss as he stands up, noticing the grin on your face. “What?” he asks, grabbing a pair of sweatpants for himself.

“I guess chivalry isn’t dead,” you tease.

He rolls his eyes, “I guess you can walk to the kitchen yourself, then.”

You pout, reaching your arms out to him. “Don’t be mean.”

He squats down in front of you, letting you wrap your arms around his neck as he holds your thighs.

He walks into the living area and you beam, “Good morning guys!”

“May I ask why you’re on his back, Y/N?” Kuroko questions.

“I’m just feeling lazy,” you shrug. What you said wasn’t a lie. You were feeling lazy, but that wasn’t the reason you were currently on Kagami. “Would you guys like breakfast?” you offered.

Riko shook her head with a soft smile, “We’re all about to head home, but thank you.”

Hyuga chimed in, “Dinner was amazing. I hope we get to see you again.”

You smiled, “I’ll actually be at the next game!”

They all cheered as they piled out of the penthouse, leaving you and Kagami by yourselves.

“Alright, princess. Now that it’s just me and you.” He sits you on the kitchen counter and turns around to look at you.

“Happy anniversary, Taiga,” you softly whisper, bring a hand up to his cheek as you lean in and give him a kiss.

“Do you want your gift now or later?” 

You hit his arm. “I told you not to get me anything, you stubborn ass!”

He laughs, “I know you got me something, though. Even though we promised not to buy anything.”

You became quiet because you knew he was right as he gave you a triumphant smirk.

“Well, I saw it and couldn’t not get it!” you tried to argue.

“I know you too well. Wait here.”

He walks back to his bedroom, coming back after a few minutes with a small bag.

He hands it to you. “I’ve been dying to give this to you for months.”

Your eyes widened, “You actually held back for once in your life?”

“Shut up before I take it back.”

You shake your head, opening the bag to first see a necklace with a key on it. The key was red and had his initials engraved on it.

“The key to my heart,” he softly spoke.

You look at him to see how gentle his eyes have become. 

Taiga has always had a more vulnerable side. He didn’t let it out much even though you’d been together this long. It took a lot for him to let himself fully relax and put down his walls around people since he’s always been seen as some sort of monster because of his dedication and skills with basketball.

You were the first person he connected with once he got back to Japan, so having this kind of relationship with you always made him weary. He didn’t want to lose the only person he connected with so a lot of the things he did were over thought for weeks.

“I know that I don’t say how much I love and appreciate you that often and because of our schedules, it’s been a lot less recently. Y/N, you know how bad I am at this thing. We’ve been learning how to do this together, and I don’t want to fuck up and lose you. I really do love you. You’re the best person to ever enter my life.”

“Taiga, I love you so much. Can you put it on me?”

He nods, taking the necklace from you. You lean forward so he could clasp it around your neck.

You hold the key in your hand as you lean back with a small smile. “I’m never taking it off.” You think of your gift, sitting in the bottom of his closet in the box and pout, “Your gift is so much better than mine.”

He shakes his head, “I’ll love anything that you get me.”

You playfully push him, “I could go get it if you weren’t in my way.”

“Just tell me where it is, and I’ll get it. You’re staying off of your feet today. You always take care of me, so I’m going to take care of you today.”

“The bottom right of the closet. The thin black box and the white box underneath it.” 

He rushes off once again. You laugh, grabbing your phone to answer a few text messages from your teammates.

He walks back in with the biggest grin on his face as he reads the label of the black box. “Is this what I think it is?”

He sits the boxes down on the counters, attempting to open the black box but you snatch it away from him. 

“This one is last, you fiend.”

He laughed, opening the white box to see a Chicago Bulls jersey customized with his name on it. “Baby, this is amazing!” he beamed, trying it on almost immediately. He spins around to give you a good look of it on him as he asks, “How does it look?”

“It looks like I’m dating a really hot NBA star.”

He gives you a quick kiss, mumbling a thank you against your lips.

“Now,” you hand him the black box that he was a lot more excited about, “you can open this.”

He practically rips the box apart in excitement, making the wallet size picture fall onto the ground. He bends down to pick it up, eyes widening at the sight of you in a lingerie set he’d never seen before.

He looks between you, the picture, and the empty box and asks, “Where is it? I need to see it on you.”

You laugh, pointing at the picture as you swing your legs, “You have seen me in it.”

He pouts, “You know what I mean.”

Before you could answer, your phone buzzed with a text from Kise. It read: Tell your boyfriend that I will kill him if he ever hurts you! He’s taking you away from me :( #worstcousinever 

Next message: also, how am i supposed to be your favorite cousin if you won’t even tell me WHO it is or show me a picture -_- 

Next message: YOUR PARENTS KNOW AND NOT ME?! i'm telling your brothers.

You look up at Kagami with pleading eyes. He sighed, knowing what you were asking without any words. 

“We’ll see him tomorrow at the tournament. I’d rather tell him to his face. Plus, I don’t need your brothers showing up to kill me.”

You nod, sending him a quick text saying:  I only didn’t tell you because you’re 100 percent going to steal him away. He’s still playing in the basketball tournament tomorrow, so you’ll meet him then.

You sit your phone down, turning the ringer on silent as you refocus your attention on Kagami.

“Impress me tomorrow during the games, and I’ll wear it. If you don’t, you’ll have to wait until Christmas.”

~~

The next day, you left Kagami’s apartment to hang out with Kise before his game since he wouldn’t stop complaining about never seeing you anymore unless there was school.

“Y/N-icchi! I’ve missed you so much!” Kise exclaimed as you walked up to him.

His team was shaking their heads at him, giving you a small wave since they’d seen you around quite a bit.

“Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” he questions as you both start walking into the stadium to watch some of the games.

“He’s scouting with his team, but he’ll drop by to see us before they warm up.”

Kise nods, “Who does he play for?”

“Not telling.”

“Do I already know him?”

“Not telling.”

“Come on,” he whines, “Give me something to work with here.”

“He’s taller than you,” you say blankly, “Now, shut up and watch the game.”

You took your bag off and sat it down as Kise reluctantly did the same as he muttered, “You’re so mean, Y/N-icchi.”

45 minutes later, you heard your name being called from behind you as Kagami jogged down the stairs.

“Do you have your phone on silent? I’ve been calling you like crazy!”

You pulled your phone out of your pocket, noticing five missed calls from him and six from your mom. “My mom is going to murder me!”

“No, she’s not,” he laughed, squatting down to get out of the way of people watching the game as he continued, “She’s here. She wanted to see where you were sitting. She said that you told her about my games today and decided to come earlier to see me play before Kise did.” 

As soon as he said Kise’s name, the life drained out of both of your faces.

“So you’re the boyfriend,” Kise leaned forward, trying to be intimidating.

“Kise, be nice.”

“You’re dating one of my rivals, Y/N-icchi! That’s so low.” 

Intimidation factor: gone.

You rolled your eyes, “We were dating before you even knew he existed!”

“You’ve only been dating for like two months!”

“Kise, it’s been a year!” you hissed back.

Kagami watched the two of you bicker in amusement. 

Kuroko’s voice brought the three of you back to reality. “Kagami! It’s time to head to the court.”

“Right,” he nodded, looking at you. 

“Good luck,” you smile.

“I don’t need luck. You’re here.” He gives you a quick kiss.

Kise fake gags and you elbow him in the side as Kagami walks off.

“Oi! Kagamicchi!” Kise said, returning to a threatening state. “If you hurt her, I swear to make your life hell. You don’t know much about her brothers but they are twice my size and ten times scarier, so make wise decisions.”

Kagami's eyes widened as he nodded and rushed off to meet the rest of his team.

“Also, I’m glad you finally told me after I’ve had to act clueless for months. You never come to my practice games, but you show up at our one against Seirin. Then, somehow Kagami and you run into each other outside before his team leaves. Learn to keep better secrets.”

[waithyuck]

smile

***part of the nct almost collab by @hyucksie***

pairing: zhong chenle x reader (f)

genre: ANGST, a single grain of fluff

word count: 7k

warnings: swearing, depictions of depression, overall sadness, frustration/anger, the reader is sort of obsessed with chenle, heartbreak, descriptions of a panic attack + anxiety, chenle becomes an ass :/, forced kissing, hyuck is a good friend :)

a/n: my piece for the ALMOST collab! I hope you all enjoy this mess of feelings 🥴 idk if this is actually good or not but I think I’m happy with the way it turned out ??? idk anyway enjoy lmao

———

Ever since you could remember, you’ve had a crush on Chenle.

Literally ever since you could remember, considering he’s been in your life since you were five years old.

Classic boy next door trope, you could say.

You attended the same school and even shared classes together throughout your elementary and middle school years. High school obviously had a lot more freedom, giving you the opportunity to pick and choose classes that suited your interests. naturally, that pulled the two of you apart in a certain sense.

You could recall one instance in the very beginning of your freshman year where you caught Chenle and some random girl kissing behind the bleachers. It tore you apart inside, so young a fragile at the time, but you threw on a smile like you always tended to do, and let out a quick and airy apology before running off into the safety of Donghyuck’s arms.

Nonetheless, you and Chenle were pretty damn close; kind of like those best friends you see in books or stories...except that in fiction they usually end up together, and you and Chenle, well...haven’t yet.

You still had hope though, that maybe he felt the same way you did for him. You held onto that hope and cherished it, considering it was the only reason you could get up and face the world on most days.

Yeah, you knew it was pathetic. at least you could acknowledge the fact that relying on feelings from a boy you liked was incredibly stupid, but hey, you had the brain of a senior in high school.

Anyway, you and Chenle were very friendly toward each other, and of course you would talk to each other out your individual windows sometimes late at night, but it wasn’t like those stories people read online. You were simply really good friends; nothing like brother and sister, but certainly not anything more than just friends.

You’d say you probably know more about Chenle than most; besides your shared friends Donghyuck (who was already in university, and your closest friend next to Chenle) and Jisung (who was just a tad bit younger and too shy to really hold a conversation with you). You paid close attention to him because, well, who doesn’t want to know everything about the person they’re crushing on?

Even so, it was definitely a given that Chenle was extremely passionate about his schoolwork and his future career. This kid wanted to be the ‘best lawyer the world has ever seen’, according to himself. You were always supportive of him, egging him on when the workload got to him and assuring him that everything would be okay in the end, even when he was exhausted from all his extracurricular activities and volunteering. Chenle seriously seemed like he would work himself to death.

You never really fully processed what him being passionate about his future would mean for you, and how it would affect your relationship and friendship with him. You didn’t even know that he applied to universities at all (since he didn’t tell you and you were kind of oblivious, to be honest), let alone which ones he strived for.

Fast forward to the present, it was currently the middle of November and school was going full swing, your senior year of high school passing by like a breeze. You were currently hanging out with Donghyuck, who was in town for the weekend from his university in the next city over. It was always nice to see him, his presence always putting a smile on your face.

You both sat at a window seat in the middle of a fairly busy restaurant, joking with each other and picking at your food lightly as you conversed. It grew silent for a moment, your chuckles dying down from some stupid attempt at a joke by Hyuck, before he broke it.

“Did you hear that Chenle got into Harvard?” Donghyuck absentmindedly spoke quietly, picking at the salad seated in front of him on the restaurant table. “Full fucking ride.” He didn’t even look up to meet your now bulging eyes.

Your blood ran ice cold as your heart began to seemingly stop beating, freezing just like your veins.

“He what?” you practically screeched, causing the boy across from you to jump slightly.

Hyuck looked at you then, his cheeks filled with food as he grasped his chest dramatically.

“Uh yeah?” he replied like it was obvious. “He’s really passionate about his career choice, you know.”

“Of course I know!” you shrieked at him, your hands going up to pull at your hair exasperatedly. You chewed your lip, your heart pounding and squeezing in your chest at the notion of Chenle’s inevitable departure from your life. “What, you think I wouldn’t know that the boy I’ve known since I was a LITERAL CHILD, isn’t passionate about his future?!”

Donghyuck was now looking around the both of you, taking notice of the strangers who were now staring at your visibly panicked form.

“Y/N, calm down, please–“

“I’m calm! I’m perfectly fine! ahah,” you chewed on your nails frantically as you tried to quiet your mouth and your mind, your leg shaking nonstop under the table, causing the silverware to shake.

You distracted yourself by looking out the window to your immediate left, trying to watch the people walk by like it was some sort of therapy for your bustling thoughts.

“Why didn’t he tell us he was applying to–“ you cut yourself off quietly, stopping your question short. ”...How does he know already?” you asked, your voice small.

“Early action or some shit, I guess.”

It was quiet for a few minutes between you both; Hyuck continued to munch on his salad and you could feel his eye warily watching you as you chewed your nails to nubs.

“...Are you okay?” he finally questioned, his voice comforting as he pulled you from out of your own head.

“Just,” you bit your lip, your eyes spaced out as you stared down at the floor. “Why couldn’t he have picked a school around here?” Your voice was small and quiet, and you could hear the boy across from you sigh. “Why couldn’t he just do that, like you?”

He didn’t really say anything then, picking up the fact that those were most definitely rhetorical questions. You didn’t touch any more of your food, your stomach tied up in knots, making you feel sick.

“Y/N...”

You didn’t look at him, your face hot with embarrassment from how much pain your heart was actually feeling at the news that Chenle, the boy you have loved for years, would be leaving you.

“He’s really excited about this...you…” he trailed off, trying to pick his next words carefully. “You need to show him some support, even though I know it hurts you.”

You knew that deep down, Hyuck was absolutely right. What kind of friend would you be if you were selfish and kept yourself wrapped up in your own feelings? You sniffled and picked your head back up, finally looking at him.

“You’re right. you are absolutely right.” you finally breathed out, trying to slowly calm your aching anxiety. “Just like always, Hyuck.” You cracked a slight smile then, and he returned it, seeming relieved that you snapped out of your panic, even if it was just a little bit.

“At least you can acknowledge it, angel.” He sent you a wink along with the pet name, and you jokingly gagged, which caused the both of you to laugh.

With the mood seemingly lifted, you were able to enjoy the rest of your time with Donghyuck, even if the anxiety of Chenle leaving was still a heavy presence in the back of your reeling mind.

——

That same night, you laid yourself across your pillows and stared up at the ceiling, not even bothering to change out of your slightly uncomfortable jeans. The lights were on and all was quiet as you laid trapped in your own thoughts, the inevitable scene of your crush of many, many years leaving replaying on loop inside your head.

You tried to distract yourself by working on some miscellaneous homework assignments, trying to get your work done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

You were just getting in the flow of writing a rough draft for an essay when you heard your mother yell up the steps at you.

“Y/N!” she called, startling you. when you replied with a ‘Yeah?’ she continued, “Chenle is here, I’m sending him up!”

Your heart jumped and you quickly shot up from your bed, trying to get rid of any clothes strewn around your floor to at least make your room somewhat presentable. As you slammed the hamper lid shut, you heard a small knock on the door before Chenle let himself in, already beaming at you.

“Y/N, I have some awesome news!” he immediately spoke, shutting the door behind him. You will yourself not to let your heart sink, already knowing what he wanted to share with you he reached behind him to grab his book bag, and once it was in his grasp he set it on the floor, taking a seat beside you on your bed.

You tried not to let your heart race as his shoulder brushed against yours, and you tried to convert up your nerves by giving him a smile in return. Chenle rummaged through his back before angrily grunting, turning to face you.

“I left something at home that I wanted to show you, shit,” he murmured, his hand coming up to swipe over his face. “I can go grab it real quick–“

“Let’s just go to your room, it’s literally right across. We can climb,” you suggested, wanting to escape the suffocating warmth of your own bedroom. Plus, you were always more comfortable sitting on his mattress anyway. “It’ll be fun, like when we were younger.”

You two both grinned at each other then, Chenle nodding his head in compliance as you both stood, preparing yourselves for the leap out of your bedroom window.

You didn’t bother with a jacket; you were only going to be out in the cold for about five minutes tops, anyway. You allowed him to go first, his body jumping out and landing on the roof of your shed with ease. You quickly followed suit, landing a little rough but still in one piece, nonetheless.

He generously offered to prop you up first so you could skillfully open his window from the outside, which you gladly accepted with a smirk on your lips.

“You’re the best at it.” he replied, slightly whining at your smug reaction. “Always have been. For some reason I can never get it open!!”

You ignored him after that, focusing on keeping your balance on his shoulders while you lifted the window open, pulling yourself up on the sill and throwing yourself inside with a dull thud. You heard the scrapings of Chenle making his way up the side of his house, and he toppled in not long after you.

“I’m definitely never doing that again,” he panted, laying flat on his back on the floor for a few moments. You stared back at him from his bed, giggling at his heavily rising and falling chest. “Maybe not never...but not again anytime soon, that’s for sure.”

He managed to pull himself up from the carpet, dusting off his pants and shrugging off his coat before joining you on the bed. He pulled a piece of paper from his nightstand, and your heart began to pound with untamed anxiety.

“This,” he started, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the piece of paper before looking back at you. “is my acceptance letter to Harvard. I got in, Y/N!!!”

Chenle was so excited, and you couldn’t help but swoon at the absolute elation in his eyes as he went on about what he was accepted for and even what the letter said.

You, of course, didn’t tell him that you already knew, courtesy of Donghyuck. If you would have known that Chenle applied to Harvard, you would have had no doubts from the very beginning that he would get in.

Maybe he didn’t tell anyone just in case he wasn’t accepted, and if no one knew then there would be no one to disappoint.

You knew that no matter what, you could never ever be disappointed in Chenle. He was too smart and too good to ever be thought of in that way.

All you could do was smile and smile some more as he went on, barely breathing before he finally took a short pause. His eyes fell down to look at his denim covered legs, and he bit his lip as you watched him in the sudden quiet of his room.

It didn’t last very long, and he took a deep breath before breaking the short silence.

“They want me to fly out there as soon as possible,” he finally spoke, looking up at you from where his gaze was previously on his lap. “I talked to our school, and they’re willing to let me graduate early. I have all my credits, which is really cool.”

Chenle seemed excited, but he spoke softly, as if he knew how hard this news was for you to hear. You surprised yourself at how composed you were acting, despite the jabbing pain you felt in your heart with every word that passed through his lips.

“That’s great,” you commented, a tight smile lining your face, your voice so close to breaking. “When do you leave?”

A question you didn’t really want the answer to. You didn’t want him to leave at all, and gaining the knowledge of a deadline wouldn’t ease your aching heart any.

He shuffled on the bed, pulling his legs up to sit fully on the mattress facing you. He clasped his hands together and sighed, his bleached blonde hair falling into his eyes.

“The end of December, right before new years,” he chewed on the inside of his cheek, his eyes trying to gauge your reaction, even though you weren’t really giving him anything to work with.

That was really soon…

“Wait, but that’s before our semester ends—“

“I know.” he cut you off, smiling brightly. “Like I said, the school is alright with this all happening. They’re really happy for me.”

You sighed, nodding in understanding. It was silent for a moment once more between the two of you; only the sounds of distant cars driving down the otherwise quiet street could be heard for a few moments.

“I just want you to know that I’m really happy for you too, Chenle.” you softly spoke, your hand reaching out to boldly cover his own sitting on the bed in front of you. He stared down at your now touching fingers, but didn’t move to pull away from your warmth.

“Thank you,” he smiled, surprising you by taking your hand in his own and squeezing it, taking your contact with each other a step further. “It means a lot coming from you.”

“Does my approval matter to you?” you questioned, not able to keep it from slipping past your lips. His eyebrows quirked up and he tilted his head a little, looking away briefly before making eye contact once again.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” he replied. “I never really thought about it before, but now that you brought it up...it really does, so thank you.”

You stared at each other then, your lips parted and dry, your brain not sure what to say to him in response. Your heart was hammering in your chest and your ears were consumed with the rhythmic beating and blood rushing happening within your own body.

His brown eyes and dyed blonde hair captivated you and your tongue felt like sandpaper inside your mouth. he looked like he was fighting with himself in a way; restricting his body from moving closer to your own as you sat there in the silence of his room. Your body seemed to mechanically move on its own as it scooted closer to him, your fingers tightening around his as you situated yourself against his body, your face now just next to his. His eyes flicked down to your lips before moving back to your wide eyes, and you felt your stomach jump in anticipation.

Before either of you could do anything, a loud bang came from outside of his bedroom door, followed by a yell from his mother.

You sprung away from each other and you immediately shot up from his bed, already sprinting to his open window from which you came in from. Chenle stood as well, looking between you and the locked door that held his mother back.

“I’ll see you at school.” you hurriedly whispered, taking one more glance at his red cheeks before leaping out the window and down onto the grass below.

You climbed your way up to your own open bedroom window, using the shed and throwing yourself inside quickly before shutting it and closing the curtains. Once you were sure everything was locked and the lights were all off, you slammed yourself down onto your mattress, shoved your face into your pillows, and screamed.

——

“Can we go for a walk around the neighborhood? I want to see all the Christmas lights before people start taking them down.” Chenle spoke through the speaker on your phone, his face not in view on the screen as you FaceTimed each other. You heard shuffling on his end as you focused your attention on your laptop screen, mindlessly shopping online for random things to keep your mind off of the fact that Chenle was leaving in just three days.

The few weeks you had with him passed by like a blur, and you both tried to spend as much time together as possible. Between having to spend time with your family and other friends, it wasn’t as much as you would have liked it to have been.

“Yeah, sure.” you mumbled, closing the laptop on your bed with a soft clack. “Meet you outside in fifteen?”

“Make it ten.” he replied with a smile in his voice, before hanging up.

You sighed heavily before putting your coat on, bundling yourself up for the bite of the cold outside. It was bitterly freezing, and you knew without your whole winter ensemble that you wouldn’t be able to feel your fingers within two seconds flat of being out there.

Fumbling with the buttons and zipper on your coat, you managed to make it outside in seven minutes even, meeting him on the sidewalk just down your driveway.

“Wow, not late for once.” he commented, nudging your shoulder as the two of your began to walk in sync down your brightly lit street.

“Knock it off, I can be on time when I try hard enough.” You rolled your eyes playfully at him, a hint of a smile gracing your lips as you began to take in the beautiful lights around you.

Christmas truly was a beautiful time of year; not just for the holiday itself, because not everyone celebrated it obviously, but for the decorations and the sense of home and warmth.

Chenle and yourself both kept relatively quiet as you walked on, only making noise when you wanted to get each other’s attention to point out certain decorations on some houses. It was rather peaceful, and your heart was swelling with warmth in adoration as you looked to admire his face, which was illuminated by the colorful Christmas lights surrounding you.

Your stomach jolted slightly. This may be the last time you see him for a while. You didn’t mean for the intrusive thought of his absence to wiggle its way into your mind, but it was too late to fight it off.

‘I should just confess’, you thought, now nervously picking at your nails, and chewing your lip to bits. ‘There may not be another chance like this, not for a while.’

It was selfish...but it was now or never.

Too shy to actually confess your feelings first—and thinking back to certain moments that you’ve shared with Chenle to come to this conclusion—you decided to take a different approach.

Get him to confess first.

“I need to ask you something,” you blurted out, your brain scolding your mouth silently for being so goddamn reckless in a moment of weakness.

Maybe this was a bad idea...

Chenle quirked his eyebrow up at you before stopping, turning to face you entirely.

“What’s up?” he replied, his hands stuffed deeply in his pockets in a desperate attempt to keep them warm. His nose was red from the chill in the air and his lips were the same shade from him biting them, the sheen of his chapstick almost completely gone now. His eyes were glassy from the wind blowing and even though his cheeks were blotched in crimson, you thought this was the most beautiful he had ever looked.

You couldn’t do this. Fuck, you really couldn’t do this. Why did you have to open your big, stupid mouth—

“Hey Y/N? Are you in there?” he suddenly broke you from your own thoughts, causing you to jump a little in your boots. “What did you wanna ask me?”

“Uh,” Quick, think of something dumb! “You know, why is perfume so damn expensive?”

You wanted to throw yourself into a frozen lake at this point, as you watched his brow furrow in confusion.

“Uhm, I don’t know,” he bit his lip for about the hundredth time since you started your walk. “Ingredients maybe? Higher end perfumes probably have stuff in them that are more hard to come by, so that’s probably wh—“

“Do you like me?” you interrupted him loudly, squeezing your eyes shut as you practically belted out your original question.

He seemingly froze in front of you, and definitely not from the cold air whipping around your bodies as the wind harshly blew.

“Do I...like you.” he repeated back, formed as a statement more than a question. “Like...as in romantically?”

You didn’t even have to nod for him to know what you meant; the look in your eyes told him enough. The pleading, glassy look as hope swirled beneath your irises, just absolutely begging him to say that yes, he did like you in the way that you liked him.

“Yes,” you confirmed audibly anyway, heat flickering throughout your entire face. “You know, b-because I think before we almost kissed in your room that one time not too long ago, and we’ve been more touchy lately—“ you would have continued on your panicked rambling if he hadn’t cut you off, beginning to speak solemnly.

“Y/N...I..” he started, shaking his head as he tried to get his thoughts straight. “I do. I really do,” your heart jumped at his confession, and you allowed it to spread in your body like wildfire. It didn’t get very far, because he continued to speak. “but I...I can’t.”

You visibly deflated; your heart shattered like glass and everything colorful around you seemed to fade into a greyscale, the holiday lights surrounding the two of you no longer sparking any kind of joy. “This scholarship...my future...it’s important to me. I can’t let anything stop me, I’m so sorry…”

“Chenle...” you whimpered, stepping closer to him boldly, unsure of how to properly express your feelings to him at this point. You dared to breach his personal space, and he watched your every move with those same, glossy brown eyes that you adored every day for so many years.

You tilted your head, your lips ghosting over his own as he let out shaky breaths, yours matching his as you stood together in the cold.

His lips were right there. unmoving, as he didn’t pull away from you. If your leaned forward just a little more...almost….almostalmostalmost—so close—

“Y/N, stop.” he suddenly muttered, pulling you out of your trance. His head drew back as he stepped away, still in your reach but far enough to where your lips weren’t brushing against each other’s anymore.

You gritted your teeth at the rejected feeling that bubbles up inside you, the tears welling your eyes before spilling hotly down your frozen cheeks.

“I love you, Chenle.” you cried, gripping the rough material of his jean jacket. The darkness of the night could have hidden your tears if it weren’t for the moonlight blaring down on the two of you like a spotlight. “Please, I love you.”

He looked like he was trying to hold himself together, his lips set in a straight line as he looked away from you, his hands hovering over your wrists. Chenle gripped them suddenly, not hard, but with enough force to get you to pay attention.

“I love you too, Y/N.” he finally admitted, his voice quiet as he tried to restrain his emotions. “But I can’t pass this up. I just can’t.”

You should have forced yourself to understand. This was his life, for fucks sake. You shouldn’t have let yourself feel selfish, thinking that he would drop everything to stay here. With you.

“We can’t be together. I’m sorry.” he finished with that, slowly dropping your wrists from his hold. “If I…” he swallowed thickly. “If I let you kiss me, I know I wouldn’t be able to leave. I know it.”

He took in your figure at last, watching as your tears fell freely from your eyes in hot rivers down your already stained cheeks.

“Look, maybe someday this would work...but just, not now.” he sounded exasperated, running a hand through his hair. “Your life is here, and my life will be starting there. I’ll be busy constantly and it just...won’t be fair. It really won’t, you have to understand, Y/N.”

He watched as your hands shook when you lifted them to wipe your face, solemnly nodding in acknowledgement to his words.

“Okay.” you croaked, not meeting his eyes as you turned to walk away, leaving him in the middle of the park you used to play at when you were kids.

You weren’t going to put up a fight. You weren’t going to plead with him anymore. You were going to try your absolute hardest to stop yourself from being selfish in that way.

You were just going to have to live with that fact that you couldn’t have him right now. That you almost could have had him.

Almost.

——

Chenle faded out of your life like he wasn’t even present in the first place. You barely heard from him after he left; there would be miscellaneous texts here and there but overall, he was right in the end. He was really always busy.

His school workload was heavy, and you were aware of that, but a selfish part of you always seemed to get angry at him for not responding to you.

The worst part was not knowing whether he wanted to reach out to you at all.

He didn’t come home during summer break, which broke your heart a little bit. Donghyuck tried his best to be there for you as you went through the motions; you were constantly miserable at the reality that you most likely would never call Chenle your own.

Chenle didn’t keep in contact much with Hyuck or Jisung either, seemingly leaving you all in the dust as he went about his new life away from you. His parents talked to him all the time obviously, and your own mother would dawdle on about something that Chenle achieved at school to you, but you’ve come to pretty much ignore everything that had to do with him.

You went about getting your own education, passing your classes by the skin of your teeth during the first semester and then producing the same results during the semester after that.

You really couldn’t blame yourself for feeling so utterly heartbroken; you were in love with that boy for most of your life, and for him to suddenly rip himself away from you like that was wholeheartedly agonizing.

Chenle rarely ever came home; he did briefly for Christmas, but then hurriedly left immediately after, not even staying for the full duration of his break.

You actually ran into him by accident one day while he was still home, but you didn’t stay in his presence very long before wanting to go to the safety of your bedroom and cry.

“Did you even miss me?” you whimpered out, exhausted after your small talk had turned into a bit of an argument. He sighed heavily, frustrated no doubt. you could hear it in his voice as he spoke to you.

“What do you want me say, Y/N?” he countered, scoffing at you as you held back the pain you felt burning behind your eyes, desperate to cry. “I haven’t even had the time to miss anyone, let alone you.”

You stood in silence for a moment, baffled at his dismissive attitude of it all. It’s like he didn’t even remember that he told you he liked you too all those months ago.

“You...” your voice cracked a little, and you looked away from him. “Did you even try, Chenle? Did you even try to find the time to talk to me?”

He didn’t say anything back, only staring at you before tearing his eyes away, his jaw locked. You felt as if you already knew the answer.

You turned to leave, but felt his hand immediately circle around your arm, roughly pulling you back to face him. Taking one look at his face, you knew he was angry.

“Do you know how much it hurt, Y/N?” he barked out, making you flinch back slightly. “Do you know how much it hurt to leave you? I–“ he cut himself off as his voice cracked, turning his head away and swallowing heavily before continuing. “I wanted to, so bad Y/N. You have no idea.”

Your lips parted in shock, and you had a million things you wanted to say, but you managed to keep it all inside as he went on.

“But I had to control myself. I already came to terms with the fact that this,” he gestured between the two of you, “wasn't going to ever work out. I figured that out a long time ago... I had to distance myself from you, I’m sorry.”

You really didn’t want to accept that apology. You really really didn’t. Your anger was swirling inside you, a typhoon of emotions building and building as you stared back into his now cold brown eyes. To you, they used to be so full of warmth and friendliness, and now they looked distant and unentertained, like he didn’t want to be here in the first place.

That hurt like a bitch.

You scoffed at him, making his eyebrows raise in confusion before they furrowed, his eyes narrowed at you.

Yeah, you were probably being a bitch for not accepting his apology, and all of this was turning out to be super petty, but you felt like he deserved it just a little bit.

Deep down you knew he had a point; his reasoning was valid and it all made sense, but when did having feelings for someone like you had for him ever lead to rational decision making?

“You know, Chenle,” you started, shoving your hands in your pockets roughly to shield them from the cold. “I really thought that we could still be friends after all the bullshit, I really did.” He watched you carefully as you practically spat forth those words, venom dripping in your tone. “But then you went and messed it all up.”

You probably shouldn’t have added that last part; playing the blame game never worked in anyone’s favor in the end, but your emotions once again got the best of you.

Smoke practically blew out his ears as his mouth parted in shock. Your heart dropped when you heard the sound of sarcastic laughter falling out of his mouth, knowing full well that you fucked up this time.

“I messed it up? Me??” He was pointing to his own chest for emphasis, and you had the audacity to give him a quick nod. “Ahah, wow Y/N, that’s really rich coming from you.”

You didn’t even have a second to get a word in before he crowded your space, so close that your chests were touching. You drew in a sharp breath, not sure what in the hell he was doing right now.

“You were the one that was practically begging me to kiss you that night, remember? You were trying so hard,” he spat, so close to your face now that you couldn’t even feel the cold nipping at your cheeks anymore (whether it be from the embarrassment lacing through your veins or the extensive heat from his body, you weren’t sure).

You couldn’t think of anything to say in response; all you knew was that he was dishing out pretty low blows, and each word was like a knife being plunged into your chest.

“Like, how desperate are you?” he added in, now moving his hands to grip your waist, making you squeak in surprise. “You want a kiss so bad? Get fucking ready.”

You weren’t sure what he meant and your brain was having such a hard time comprehending anything going on in that moment, the pressure of his hands gripping your waist making all thoughts fly out of your head besides one.

Him.

“Wait, Chenle–“ you placed a hand on his chest to try to push him away, unsure of how you felt about this situation.

“What, you don’t want it now?” his voice was borderline malicious as he spoke to you now, making you feel incredibly small and vulnerable under his gaze.

“No I–“

“You come to me and give me all that bullshit, and now when I’m trying to give you something that you wanted,” his grip grew tighter. “you don’t want it anymore? Make up your damn mind, Y/N.”

You did want it. There was still a huge part of you that screamed at you to just let it happen, but you knew it would be wrong. So fucking wrong. He wasn’t doing this because he wanted to; he was doing this because he wanted all this to end right here.

You were scared. He was scaring you with the way he was acting right now.

“Chenle, please—“

“Just shut up.”

Chenle didn’t allow you to get another word in before he crashed his lips against yours, roughly pressing his against your own so abruptly that you felt your teeth pierce the inside of yours. You tasted blood, but it wasn’t the first thing on your mind at the moment; Chenle moved his mouth against yours aggressively and without any emotion besides anger behind it, and you absolutely hated it.

Sure, it felt nice to finally get what you wanted, but in a way, you definitely were not. This isn’t what you wanted at all. You wanted to love him and you wanted him to love you...and you wanted it to feel nice.

His hands slid down to your hips and your stomach jumped in surprise as you tried desperately to match his pace to at least kiss him back a little bit. It didn’t last long, and with a strong push on your hips he effectively pulled away, your body stumbling back from the force of his shove.

His lips were red and puffy and his eyes were dark as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, panting slightly. You probably looked somewhat the same, but didn’t even move from where you stood as he stared at you. You felt your eyes become glassy from staring into space too long, and you felt your hands shake, but most definitely not from the cold.

“There’s your fucking kiss.” He finally said, taking two steps back. “Goodbye, Y/N.”

You didn’t even watch him walk back into his house. You ran as fast as you could back into your own home and immediately slammed the front door shut behind you, darting up the stairs without a single word.

You barged into your bedroom and without even removing your winter garments, you threw yourself down onto your mattress for what seemed like the millionth time in the last year, and began to sob.

——

Chenle’s parents said that he had commitments at the school, some sort of research or whatever, and that’s why he couldn’t stay home long. At the time, all you really thought was ‘good riddance’, but you knew that your heart would be back to obsessing over him in no time, even after what had happened between the two of you on the day you try so hard not to remember.

Well, at least he was flourishing at school.

When Donghyuck found out what had happened between you and Chenle during the time he was home from university, he was ready to kill someone. That someone being Chenle.

“He did what to you?!” Donghyuck screamed over the phone, causing you to pull it from your ear from the sheer volume of his screeching. “I’ll kill him, Y/N. I swear I’ll fucking kill that kid.”

“No need, Hyuckie. It’s not that big of a deal.” you replied somberly, sighing as you relaxed on your mattress against your pillows.

“Not a big deal??? Angel, he basically forced that shit on you,” Hyuck was speaking softly to you now, a stark contrast to his yelling from a few moments prior. “You should be furious at him. You need to tell someone—“

“I’m not mad,” you replied quietly, chewing on your bottom lip. “A part of me wanted that to happen, Hyuck. It just…” your voice trailed off, your brain trying to think of the right words to say. “Wasn’t what I was expecting, is all.”

The line was quiet and you weren’t sure what to say next, and Donghyuck must have felt the same. It was a really fucked up situation, you had to admit.

“I think I…” your voice sounded broken, but you continued. “I think I still love him.” The words came out as a whisper and they surprised even yourself, not expecting to admit such a thing after all that has happened.

“Oh, angel…” was all Donghyuck replied with before you quickly made up some lame excuse to hang up the call with him. You hurriedly pressed the ‘end call’ button and threw yourself back on the bed, spacing out once again just like you always do.

You managed to bear with not seeing or talking to Chenle after the incident (a huge part of you didn’t want to, after hearing what he had to say and also what he did during Christmas break), but when you stumbled across a post of his one night a couple months after while scrolling through Instagram, it had your heart shattering completely.

“What the fuck,” you whimpered, already struggling to hold back tears as your watery eyes stared daggers at the photo displayed on your screen. “What. The. Fuck?” you said it louder this time, with more malice, and you threw your phone across your bed to get it away from you.

Chenle had posted a photo of himself and another girl, kissing each other while snow fell in some random park you didn’t give a fuck about. He found someone else. He fell for someone else.

The hypocrisy.....he didn’t want to be with you because he wanted to focus on school, but then he goes and starts up a relationship with someone else anyway?

Maybe he did it to spite you.

At first, you felt pathetic for crying about it. You tried to muffle your cries in your pillow, holding back the ugly sobs that you so desperately wanted to let out. You silently cried, your heart aching and your lungs gasping for air as you fought the pain in the dark pit inside your chest.

You began to grow angry after a while, your thoughts spinning wildly out of control as your chest heaved, your nails digging into your sheets to keep yourself from clawing at your own burning throat.

You screamed.

You screamed and screamed and cried until there was nothing left inside you. You needed to let out the festering hatred you had grown for him since he left over a year ago. It was ugly and it was cacophonous, but you didn’t care anymore.

Your parents were luckily out, and you didn’t give a fuck about your neighbors. You poured out every raw emotion you felt until you sensed yourself beginning to calm; your chest no longer rose and fell like you had been running a marathon, your heartbeat quieted to a low thrum in your ears instead of a pounding drum, and your muscles relaxed, allowing you to lie down flat against your mattress.

Your pillow was soaked through with tears and your head was thumping, like your brain was smashing a baseball bat to the inside of your skull. You breathed in, five long seconds, and breathed out, seven seconds more, before bathing in the quiet of your room.

Your phoned buzzed from the end of your bed, and you hesitantly picked your head up, sliding to sit and reach for it tentatively.

It was a text message.

From: donghyuckie :P

hey, saw chenle’s post. ice cream in 20? I’ll pick you up

You smiled, surprising yourself entirely, as if you weren’t just screaming your head off just five minutes ago. You were incredibly happy to have such a good friend in your life, immediately knowing what you needed when you needed it. You were quick to reply.

To: donghyuckie :P

sounds good, I’ll see you then :)

You smiled again, and didn’t stop the whole night, Donghyuck's presence always comforting and joyful.

You would be okay, you knew you would. All you had to do was just live your own life, forget about Chenle, and be happy...always with a smile.

[autumnslance]

Character meme: Thancred

Give me a character and I’ll break them down:

This got long cuz I tend to ramble about this dude.

How I feel about this character:

This utter absolute godsdamned bastard of a man. How dare he.

When I really got into FFXIV finally (after only dabbling for a bit), the age gap of his listed 32 and my RL age at the time put the same distance as me and my own younger brother, and that is where Thancred fits. I was FINE with him as a total bro, as the local disaster, similar to a younger sibling I am both fond of and exasperated by. He has a lot of backstory, character development, and changes, even before Shadowbringers really brings his various issues and working through them to the foreground. I love snarky, sarcastic characters, using that to cover their pain and issues. Highly competent but still so full of doubts. Acting out middle child of the core Scions family (now the elder brother figure with Papalymo gone and his own sense of responsibility kicking in in healthier ways).

There's a lot there, and he hits a lot of character tropes I like as a writer and reader both. So for 2 full playthroughs, he was a colleague, a companion, a pal, a bro.

Now. Now when I make a fic writing WoL based off the lady midlander CGI model, now when I decide to make an ace WoL who won't get shipped with anyone cuz we so rarely see that, now when I decide to roll Aeryn through the MSQ and got to meeting the Scions and Ifrit's quest...

Sigh. Here we are, 3+ years and counting, and "Shippy Nonsense" has completely taken over my FFXIV posting and it's all that Damn Rogue's fault. I blame his bonus to sneak attack vs a WoL's smallclothes. I know he took that feat.

He’s still my bro that I am going to tease affectionately while my character swoons, but I am going to be amusedly grumbly about it forever.

(Also I still think his ARR model is Generic Anime Protag #3547 and isn’t all that visually interesting. I like bits and pieces of the HW mountain hobo look. I think his ShB model is better at showing his experience and personality, but still wish there were some adjustments.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Fellow Wolcred ships. I love you all. Also it just makes “sense” to me to ship WoL with a Scion over most other NPCs, and Thancred is definitely the default nice handsome male romance option like what one gets at the beginning of a Bioware game (looking at you, Carth, Kaiden, Alistair...). I just. y’know. Thought OC/NPC shipping was for other people, not me.

I have a soft spot for occasional Y'shtola/Thancred and Urianger/Thancred. I feel like he’s a person who’d only open to true romantic relationships with people he’s known and trusted for awhile, because of his own doubts and issues.

He’s totally a Bi disaster though; a lean toward women, perhaps, but certain dudes’ll turn his head.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Thancred & Minfilia for the found family brother-sister trope.

Thancred & Ryne for the same, with father-daughter flavor instead.

Thancred & Urianger for the best bros back and forth.

Thancred & Y'shtola for the best bros in a different way. I also include here occasional side-along headcanons for a FWB situation for them, safe comfort and release--especially after the Lifestream--but without romance; their love is platonic.

(I can’t quite see Urianger doing a casual FWB in the same way tho, he doesn’t strike me as the type; it’s all or nothing there.)

My unpopular opinion about this character

How I see the "temporary eye injury." How he likely wasn't as much of a slut as assumed--while he got plenty, he also used the flirting as a cover a lot (esp given how he drops the flirty demeanor entirely post-Antitower). How he likely wasn't as much of a drunkard in ARR patches as assumed, either; getting blackout drunk makes little sense when the issue was loss of control thanks to possession.

I also think many of the people who think it would have been “fitting” (or just wished for) him to die at the Trolley RP Duty in ShB missed some of the point of Shadowbringers’ overarching themes. ShB could certainly be dark at times, but overall was a story of hope and the differences between remembering the past versus being held captive by it, and the bonds between people. If it were a more tragic story with more pessimistic themes, then yes; Thancred dying then to protect Ryne with their issues unresolved would have been (heartbreaking but) fitting. However, that’s not the story being told; it’s him using that battle as catharsis to beat at his own issues and realize he really had repeated his original mistakes. To make his peace with Minfilia’s loss and then, in the end, work things through with Ryne and be the man he should have been for her.

Ryne gets the fairy tale ending of having her parental figure that she feared resented her tell her he was sorry and fix himself for her.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

We should have seen more of his and Minfilia’s found family relationship in game. There wasn’t a lot of room for it in 2.0, it could have been in the 2.x patches a bit more, but a lot about their relationship is described after she’s already gone.

Ran’jit was Thancred’s kill. There is no way that was originally written with the General porting out last second just for the WoL to suddenly be able to defeat his plot armor. The Trolley RP Duty has the foil character set up, the “last special bullet,” and the player is controlling Thancred at the time. It makes no narrative sense and stinks of executive meddling out of some fear the players would feel cheated by not having it be WoL who defeats Ran’jit, but it’s a serious misstep in the story. We could have, should have, fought suped-up Jongleurs as the speed bump boss to Vauthry, as those characters also were woefully underused.

I’m also hoping for more personal Scion history as we get to Old Sharlayan; while most of the older Scions are from or were educated in the Dravanian Colony, being around the culture and people again shall surely give us more information as to their academic backgrounds.

And we all always need more nutkin interactions and shenanigans.

[pynkhues]

.... any succession fic recs? 👀

Yes!! I haven't read a lot for it yet, but some of the stuff I've read has been staggeringly good. I'm generally more into gen fic in this particular fandom, but have enjoyed some Stewy x Kendall, Gerri x Roman and Naomi x Tabitha too.

A few recs under the cut!

“I wanted to get out. From under all this. Take the money and run.”

Kendall tells Stewy even though he knows he’ll never get it, not like Naomi does. He’ll never understand the crush of it, the heart-stopping head-fucking fear of failing a tyrant. Kendall’s been ignoring the shape of it for a long time, putting pieces of it together in the back of his mind in total darkness like a blindfolded man. It doesn’t matter that one day his dad will die. It doesn’t matter about the money or the hostile takeover or the stolen files or any of it. There’s no running. Kendall’s Logan Roy lives inside his head.

Stewy laughs. Stewy laughs for a long time.

“There is no out, Ken, what the fuck are you talking about? You were born this and you’ll die this. You are what you are, and what you are is a fucking Roy.”

Kendall hates him, for a moment. Lightning-strike furious. What the fuck does he know about any of it, about his dad’s swinging dinner plate-sized hands, about getting 24% name recognition in reliable international polling, about puking every time you think about a car swerving off the road in the rain. About finding out that you can do something unthinkably, unimaginably terrible, and it doesn’t matter to anyone you know but you. There’s a scar on his arm that no one else who hasn’t already been told how it got there can ever know about, and he’s sick of it, and it’s not fair. He hates Stewy for a moment because Stewy’s right.

“I wanted to do the right thing, Stewy, for once in my fucking life.”

Stewy laughs again, more briefly, and the predator flash of his eyes in the neon of the motel sign is a torture all its own.

‘There is no right and wrong, Ken. How the fuck do you not know that yet? Not for people like you. Like us. There’s shit you get caught doing and there’s shit you don’t.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You really, really fucking don’t,” says Ken, and fuck, there it is. The road less travelled, that only he has ever driven on. The path he’s down where Stewy can’t follow. That place beyond Stewy Hosseini where he never thought he could go.

“You’re not telling me something, and when I find out what that is, and I will find out what it is, Kendall, don’t you think I won’t, so I am warning you that when I do find out I am going to be righteously fucking pissed,” says Stewy, and if Kendall thought those were a predator’s eyes before—

“Yeah, you will,” says Kendall, because he knows exactly how perceptive Stewy is. Exactly how weak he is. Exactly, precisely what both of them are.

And treat this night like it’ll happen again by postcardmystery. 8k words. Kendall x Stewy. Post s2. (CW: internalised homophobia, some homophobic language)

I tried to pick a shorter excerpt, but I literally couldn’t, this fic is so. good. The voices are pitch perfect, and it’s got this incredible build to it overall that goes back and forth between time and point of views and just rips your heart out. The premise itself is pretty simple – after the press conference at the end of 2.10, Kendall calls Stewy, and they drive through rural America while Kendall has a breakdown, and it’s just - - unspeakably good. I love it so so so much, I have no words.

r/roysucks Connor’s gf just posted on Instagram (instagram.com) submitted two months ago by webbedscrum_2279 23 comments share save hide report

[–] DM_ME_SAMESMAIL 40 points two months ago I too like to escape to my yacht in the Mediterranean when my family and I are on trial for covering up rape and murder. permalink embed save report reply

AITA for accusing my father of multiple crimes on his own news station? By amleth 3k words. Gen fic. Post s2.

And now for something completely different – epistolary fic which is just reddit news threads of the Roy family drama. I love an epistolary fic and this is just totally charming, and made me laugh a lot out loud.

“You’re quiet,” she observes. “That’s a first.”

“Yeah, well, the Turks beat it out of me. Gave you a run for their money.” He waggles his eyebrows. “So what is this? Whips and chains? Are we doing the whole boat-sex thing? I heard Shiv and Tom are looking for a third —“

Gerri finds what she’s looking for: a black leather binder. She drops it on the bed and begins paging through it, and Roman cranes his neck enough to recognize that it’s just full of documents, not like, dick pics. “I’ve given some thought to what you proposed a few weeks ago, and I agree that we should make things official in some way,” she says, and he blinks.

“Uh,” he says. “Which — what part of it?”

“Take a look.”

Gerri closes the folio and hands it over. It’s deceptively heavy, and the print on these pages is way too fucking fine, he thinks, paging through it. “Is this some kind of, like, Fifty Shades of Roy sex contract? Because it’s not that I’m not into it, but I think there’s a strong argument for going paperless —”

“Strictly speaking, this isn’t legally binding,” Gerri says. “Just something I threw together with regard to our business arrangement going forward. But with no respect to the family — the past few weeks have really illustrated that no one should take anyone at their word right now. Give me a little more than your word.”

Evacuation strategies for a yacht on fire by devourthemoon. 11k words. Gerri x Roman. Post s2. Explicit.

After the events of s2, Roman and Gerri fake being married as a professional alliance, only, y’know, maybe it’s not so fake. This fic is just so, so much fun, and messy in the best possible way. The author nails all the character voices, and the sex scenes are just the right amount of hot and ridiculous, and I just love it all a lot too.

Kendall estimates it will take an hour for the first articles to go up. Some rapid-fire blog without oversight—the New York Post, maybe, or wherever those Vaulter hippies have skulked off to—will slap a catchy headline on it and report his words verbatim. Give or take a gif of his face when he switches to script number two. New York Times, Washington Post, AP, those fuckers take longer. They like to bleed the story like Middle Ages plague doctors for its marrow, fact-check and add context and analysis and as many backlinks as their servers can handle. Still, a couple of hours, and his face will be plastered on every major news outlet. His voice will play over the nightly talk shows. He’ll trend on Twitter. A few more days, and he’ll be the star of analysis segments, podcasts, weekly briefings. Maybe, fuck it, maybe he’ll trend on Twitter again.

It’s been years since Kendall read Shakespeare. But that shit sticks with you, gets under your skin and emerges when you least expect it, like eczema or Keynesian economics. He knows how the media will spin this. Kendall Roy Attacks CEO Logan for Years of Corruption. Prodigal Son Disrupts Family Legacy to Restore Credibility. That’s how Hamlet ends, right? And Macbeth, Lear, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, even Titus fucking Andronicus. The spilled blood sinks into the ground, the seedlings sprout forth from the soil, and a new castle is built on the bones. Order out of chaos, or at least close enough an approximation that the tabloids will buy it.

Legacy for profit by owlinaminor Post-2.10. Kendall Roy. Kendall through Shakespeare analogies – just - - ooooof. It's a beautiful, lyrical character study that weaves through Roy family history and teases at a future none of them are even sure they want. It's gorgeous writing.

For the next few days Shiv would have to keep the pressure on Kira like an open wound because there were other women, victims that Nate’s people were going to find one by one as soon as that phone call disconnected. Mo was her father’s friend, good friend, for a long, long time. Nate and Gil, Sandy and Stewy, too many sharks in the water and the share price probably dipped to a new low but she would never check a stock ticker. Her husband’s nerves fraying at the edges on national television. She had promised a woman she’d never met before that she would kill roughly one third of the top male executives of her family’s company. Her company.

The last look Rhea gave her before she shut the car door was concern close to fear—no longer the same woman who heard their pitch in the safe room, who laughed with her at Argestes. Rhea had only looked into the abyss; she got cold feet and she didn’t even know what it’s like to grow up in it.

Her family’s company is hers, will be hers. Even from a whale fall, new life would spring.

Feed his flesh to wayward daughters by reogulus. 2k words. Shiv Roy. Set during 2.09.

This entire fic is set around Shiv bribing Kira not to testify, and god, it is so good. It’s bleak and rough, and really hones in on the complex ground Shiv walks as a character. It's another brilliant study of what it takes to be a Roy, and the way they make the awful choices in order to fulfill this legacy that they don't even know they want.

Kendall sets down his fork. “So. Tell me. Is it everything you wanted? Is it what you thought it would be?”

Roman stills. He never does that. He’s constantly a menace in motion, slouching and fidgeting, worse even than Kendall at his amphetamine peak. “What? The view from the tippy-tippy-top?”

“His regard.” Kendall wipes his mouth with the edge of the white cloth napkin. It comes away pink from the steak. “Dad. He’s all yours now.”

Roman still hasn’t moved. Finally, he lurches, like corroded machinery come uncertainly to life. “Yeah, man. It’s fucking tight as hell. I love every beautiful daddy and me moment I was a good enough little boy to earn.” He snorts. “Fuck you.” His face goes curiously slack then, like something Kendall’s own face would do. An intermission in the performance, an energy cut. Something genuine finding its way to the surface. “Why don’t you tell me. When you got everything you wanted, how the fuck did that make you feel?”

Nauseous, is the first word that springs to mind. Sick. Scared. I’ve never had everything I wanted, there’s that. I’ve never once had a single fucking thing I wanted. There’s that, too.

Interim leadership by arbitrarily 2k words. Roman + Kendall. Post s2.

I love Roman and Kendall scenes generally, but this one which features Kendall and Roman meeting for the first time a few months after the press conference in 2.10 is just a bit magic. The push pull dynamic that's just inherent to them mixed with the genuine affection and brotherly love is really special, and arbitrarily embraces both in equal measure. It's a great little fic.

There are lots more of course, and I'd also recommend checking out other works by these authors, but I hope this is a good place to start! :-)

[shihalyfie]

How would you describe the relationship between each respective goggleboy and 'rival'? Ive seen different interpretations but im curious what you think! Not to mention that the fans are sometimes arguing over who the 'rival' actually is, like with Daisuke where some people say its Ken and others say its Takeru. (I dont think there are actual rivals in the show, except for maybe Manga!Kiriha who outright says he will be just that with Taiki.)

One thing to keep in mind is that the word "rival" has kind of integrated itself into anime lingo as a full-on English loanword, so it comes from expectations of anime tropes more than anything. While even official staff has used that word in talking about Digimon, as you say, it never really fit to begin with, because not only has Digimon TV anime never been a particularly conventional shounen series in many ways, that term was also mostly coined in light of series where that term made a lot more sense. As in, they were more likely to be actually competing over something (in sports, or something tournament-based like card games); in that sense, a "rival" would be someone who might be antagonistic by being on the other side of the field, but would have a mutually positive relationship with the other person overall because the competitiveness would keep both of them on their toes and allow both of them to improve together. Digimon is not the first time this term has started getting overapplied to contexts where it doesn't really fit at all (it's been going on in Super Sentai for years), so people generally have a greater perception of it broadly meaning "two characters who have differing opinions on how something should be done due to their differing personalities, and sometimes fight over it", but in Digimon especially, it really does seem like trying to smash a square peg into a round hole.

The short answer: Xros Wars is probably the only one you can make a real argument for.

The long answer, in detail:

Adventure: I cannot emphasize enough that Adventure, being a series that was really big on that whole trope subversion thing, is a series that casts the trope of "rivalry" as "getting in a lot of fights" as a bad thing -- it's actually pretty unsubtle about it, because the word "rival" itself is explicitly used in Adventure episode 44, by Jureimon trying to manipulate Yamato. Or, in other words, "hey, if you saw someone who's supposed to be your supportive friend as someone you had to constantly compete against for no good reason, wouldn't that be really messed up?" Adventure does not even bother with or remotely believe in the idea that fighting somehow is a sign of how good friends you are, at least, not as long as that fighting is a sign of genuine hostility and refusal to communicate (which is why Yamato punching Taichi in 02 doesn't count). Every time Taichi and Yamato got in a fight back in Adventure, it was heated and ugly, and everyone in their presence was horrified, and once they sorted out their issues in Adventure, their appearances in 02 and Kizuna involved properly talking things out and making an active attempt to understand each other's feelings. There's a bit of bickering between them due to said opposing personalities, but it's never over anything serious (see the contrast in Kizuna between them having a bit of a minor row at the beginning, but high-fiving right after and spending the rest of the movie practically counseling each other).

02: Straight-up does not exist. Daisuke may have seen Takeru in that way due to the Hikari issue at first, but he was really running in circles getting absolutely nowhere about it, Takeru was mostly like "okay, you have fun with that," their only major argument about anything was the very serious issue in 02 episode 11, and it still resulted in Daisuke trying to understand Takeru's feelings. I think all of it boils down to Daisuke himself just not having that kind of personality to begin with, because he's friendly and supportive before anything else, and the whole thing with Takeru became a non-issue after a fashion (way before we even get into Kizuna, at that). Ken has the word "rival" sometimes applied to him in official franchise media, but nobody ever believes it. Sure, Daisuke and Ken have fairly complementary personalities, but they seem to both be aware of this fact and actively using it to help each other. It's very, very, very hard to imagine them ever getting into any kind of fight the way Taichi and Yamato used to in Adventure. It's just not happening! They're "best friends" who enjoy each other's company and actively hang out, and...yeah, that's it.

Tamers: Also does not exist! I know a lot of people really try to say it's Ruki because she's the one with the lone-wolf attitude and aggravated Takato at first, but my impression of Takato's attitude with her wasn't out of any competition but more that he'd like it if she didn't try to pick fights with him. Which she does actually stop after a while, mind you, and you could even make an argument that she's more of a foil to Jian than Takato, because Jian's the one who was completely pacifist at first, with Takato caught in the middle. In the end, Ruki never actually attains a particularly close relationship with Takato compared to Jian, nor does she really keep up a particular competitive streak with Takato; she kind of pops in and out at her leisure because of her more independent streak, and Jian ends up more of Takato's right-hand man (which is why the franchise presumably picks him as the secondary character to feature whenever they do "secondary characters"), but neither Takato nor Jian are prone to conflict and the entire trope is just fundamentally absent. The Tamers trio, is, ultimately, a trio.

Frontier: Takuya and Kouji are probably the first pair to really look like a proper execution of the trope, and at the very least they align pretty perfectly to how it's known in Sentai: a more hot-headed, aggressive lead with a more cool-headed and cynical right-hand man, where they end up often prone to conflict over dispute on how to best lead the team. However, while it's much more of a conventional execution than Adventure (since Adventure had Yamato actually be more prone to being an emotional fuse bomb whereas Taichi was often too chill more than anything), there being any conflict isn’t gone into that deeply beyond just "their personalities are complementary", and in that sense it's not far off from Adventure itself.

Savers: The series kind of baits you into thinking it might go this way when Nanami taunts Tohma about how he had to resort to a Masaru-esque tactic to beat her (it's one of its early red herrings about Tohma supposedly betraying the group), and it does have traces at the start because of how blatant of a foil Tohma is to Masaru, but one thing important to consider is that while the "rivalry" of what's being competed over is barely even relevant in most Digimon series to begin with, Masaru and Tohma don't even have a "group" to lead -- they're the employees under DATS who are being given orders from above, and are dealing with situations as they come. Masaru ends up leading the charge a bit, but he's not actually a leader in any shape or form, and Savers is more of a story of Masaru's coming-of-age than anything else, so while the series mostly has to do with his personal philosophy more than Tohma's, it ultimately lets the two of them pursue their lives their own ways. Masaru's worst bout of infamous anger is at being hurt over Tohma's apparent betrayal, not against him personally.

Xros Wars: I would say this is the only series to date where the term "rivals" properly applies, and it's because they're fighting over something concrete: the Code Crowns, and eventually Digital World territory. So in this case, for the first two parts, the answer is obviously Kiriha; Nene was a rival at first, but after various events happened she allied with Xros Heart early into Death Generals, and while Taiki and Kiriha had a relationship of mutual respect, Kiriha still considered him an opponent over what they were competing for until eventually the Xros Heart United Army fully came into formation. In the manga version, Kiriha does invoke the word "rival" in the above sense of competing to polish one's skills, but ironically, its version of the Death Generals arc involves them being much more in-tune with the same goals, so it might actually apply less because Taiki kind of responds with "uh, sure...?" since he's not nearly as interested in self-improvement. In Hunters, while it initially seems like it might be Yuu, the answer is really Ryouma, and note that Ryouma never really forms a particularly close relationship with Tagiru; it's just that he's the person most at the forefront for competing with Tagiru in the Hunt, to the point he's the first person chosen to wield the Brave Snatcher and turns out to be a bit of a foil for Tagiru in terms of actually having admired Taiki this whole time.

Appmon: Also does not exist. Rei tried to do the whole schtick in terms of competing for the Seven Code Appmon at first, but Haru was having none of that and immediately reached out to him emotionally, worrying about his welfare, and although Rei had a bit of a detached relationship with the other Appli Drivers thereafter, it really was friendly more than anything, just a bit awkward. Haru and Yuujin aren't even on the table, since their relationship is "best friends" akin to Daisuke and Ken.

Adventure: reboot: Also does not exist, considering that Taichi and Yamato bickering over the best way to approach things is limited to the very beginning of the series (and one of those times was with Yamato and Sora, not Yamato and Taichi, at that). In fact, I think most of these kids have been acting separately for most of the series anyway...?

[achliegh]

Golden

Prologue

Yeehaw Leo… it's all because this song came on one day (I don’t even really listen to country anymore so it really is fate). Leo is based off that song, each chapter is going to be based off a yeehaw song too.

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

TW/CW: Smut, terrible yeehaw sayings and jokes, injuries, mentions of past death, minor character death, underage drinking, mentions of past arrests, cringe

Chapter 1:

Picking Wildflowers

“Ohhhh Leo! Oh Leo! Leo! More More!”

“Please Leo I’m soooo cloosse! Ah! AH! AHHHH!”

Laughing both Finn and Logan were clapped on their shoulders as Thomas and James came up behind them. Red faced Logan and Finn laughed a long, a little more awkwardly and stiff, but much more relaxed than they were at the beginning of the trip.

They kept poking fun and walking beside each other to bump shoulders. Finn, who had a mild limp, and Logan , who still has a bite mark on his ass cheek, walked into the locker room. Everyone had heard the two of them moaning last night with their angelic cowboy so the chirping wasn’t a surprise. Then again, when everyone noticed Finn limping instead of Logan they couldn’t help but stare in wild amusement.

No one on the rest of the team got to meet Leo so they all thought he was some scrappy hick who is into threesomes. Which he is, but he also is one of the sweetest people Logan and Finn had ever met! He gave them a goodmorning/goodbye kiss. What an angel, but they don’t know that, or that he snuggled with them all night even when Logan thought he was a comforter in his sleep and tried to kick him off the bed. He held them just as close as they have held each other for years.

It brought a lot of feelings to the surface that Logan didn’t want to acknowledge yet. Finn knew he was got to daydreaming about Leo’s sweet words he whispered before they even got him into bed, all day.

“Is this all we are going to hear about today?” Logan sets his bag down in his stall and starts undressing. Huffing annoyed as he looked in his bag for his practice jersey.

“You think we would talk about anything else when your moaning of a hillbilly’s name is still fresh in our brain?” Sirius walks past them and bumps Logan playfully with his hip so he jolts forwards a little having to catch himself with his hands in front of his face so he doesn’t faceplant into the locker behind him. The shorter guy glares a little and sticks out his tongue in a show of true maturity. Taking off his pants and changing before anyone sees the bite, he turns around to sit and put his socks and tape.

He feels a tap on his thigh and looks at Finn who is holding his phone so only they can see it, and there is a text from Leo. They had both sent him good morning texts and added him to a group chat because they honestly really liked him, they literally talked about Leo as they got dressed that morning, but they weren’t for sure he would actually answer them.

Text From: Cowboy Sweet Ass

8:15 am

Y’all want to come help me with something later <3

I want to see you again before you leave :)

They share a look of equal excitement and slight arousal from what this implies, Finn texts Leo back, both having this dazed almost soppy look on their face, especially when they looked at each other. Leo was having an effect on the guy and everyone on the team could feel it. Chirping aside, they were happy for them. Maybe this would get them to finally talk to each other.

They could hope.

Leo was dressed for success, overalls without a shirt that were pretty baggy on him and his square-toed work boots, he was sweating in the summer heat as he pushed his hair back under his ball cap to keep the sun out of his eyes as the ranch hands worked with the horses and he worked on fixing the baler. It was nine am and over 80 degrees, sometimes he doesn’t enjoy Louisiana as much as he thinks. But nothing could ruin his mood, humming cheesy love songs to the radio, tapping the rhythm on the machine. Smiling, he takes a step back from the bailer and wipes the sweat off his forehead with the rag from his pocket.

He sees a light blue 1967 Chevy C/K10 pulls up the dusty driveway and parks in its usual spot next to the main house. Who else but Clayton, the man of the hour, hop out of the truck wearing one of his stupid short ass crop tops that stop just below his nipple, making it easy for Leo to tweak them when he annoys him, with his jeans, belt, and boots that are falling apart. Strutting over to Leo he smiles bright and meets him by the bailer.

Leo smiles and they dap, tapping their foreheads together.

“Sooo, how was last night? I saw you leave with those two buffies and I knew you were getting double.” Clayton smiles and hands Leo the wrench he needs when Leo holds out his hand and laughs a little. Leaning on the machine and tipping his head back to soak in the sun.

Leo and Clayton have been friends since kindergarten, having never been apart for more than two days, they told each other everything. They were so close that their parents think they are going to end up together someday. They feel different about it. But they tell each other everything, everything, maybe even too much sometimes.

Traveling together for rodeo has gotten them so close that people just assume they are related somehow. It gets weird when they drunkenly kiss sometimes though. Clayton roping calves and Leo riding bulls has made them a hot commodity with the ladies but they make it clear that they aren’t interested… or that Leo isn’t interested. Clayton would still tap that.

“Dude, they were amazing! Fuckin Montgomery Gentry got me laid.” Leo waits a second for Clayton to catch on, then when it clicks that he is talking about Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy, when he stands back up from where he was squatting next to the baler to fix the belts and gets a slap on the back as Clayton whoops. Jumping around he shakes Leo’s shoulders.

“That's fucking hilarious! They took that song literally! Damn, you gotta try and keep ‘em, are you seeing them again? Or was this one of your hook ups that could work but you don’t want it.” Leo narrows his eyes at Clayton and grabs him into a headlock, struggling to get away from the 3” taller man. Clayton falls to the ground when Leo lets him go.

“I don’t do that! Plus, I want them to go out to secret with me tonight.” Leo looks at him while wiping the grease off his hands and squinting a little as the sun gleams off the metal right into his eyes. The red creeping down his neck doesn’t go unnoticed by the dusty friend and he smirks at him.

“Playboy Leo going on a real date… damn they must have really had an impact on you.”

“Well they rode me at the same time, so that left an impression. It’s funny how I feel more comfortable with two people rather than one.” They start walking towards the house to grab some water and tell Eloise that Clayton is here, so when Judy calls they can tell her that her son is indeed still here.

“One on the dick and one on the face or something weird?” Leo smiles and shakes his head as he gulps down a glass of water.

“How do you just always know?”

Text From: Cowboy Sweet Ass

6:01 pm

I’m outside Sweethearts

ShortCake

6:01 pm

Comming out

CarrotStix

6:01 pm

I’m gey

Leo laughs a little as he reads the texts, he hasn’t stopped smiling all day after he gushed about the boys to his mom and sudo-brother. Texting them when he could he didn’t have time to change before he came to pick them up, but knowing how they react to him… it will be just fine.

Logan gets into the truck first, sliding into the middle and planting a kiss on Leo’s cheek making them both smile brightly and dopey. Finn gets in and leans over Logan to plant a steamy kiss on Leo’s slightly dry lips, taking him by surprise but he melts into it, pulling away until they are still close enough to bump noses.

“Hi” Leo can’t help but laugh as Finn smiles a blushes before sitting back and buckling up, Logan grabs his face looking a little excited and gives him a kiss as well, a bit more possessive and sharp but when they pull away Logan gets buckled while Leo is still blinking in shock.

“Nice to see you too.” He smiles stupidly and relaxes into the seat before switching gear and starting to drive, the rink is close to the outskirts of town. “Alright, tomorrow is mama’s birthday! So.. that means I need to get her some of her favorite things, like wildflower, smooth rocks, and some honeysuckle. I’m taking y’all to a place only Clayton and I ever go, and it has all of those things… and we can go skinny dipping because I like seeing y’all naked.” Leo smiles innocently at them for a moment as he pulls onto a gravel road and starts driving.

“You don’t plan to kill us right? I mean we could probably take you but… I’d rather you take me” Logan bites his lip and leans into Leo’s side, Leo takes his hand off the steering wheel to wrap it around Logan’s shoulders and takes one of Finn’s hands.

“Ditto.” Finn smiles and is looking out the window in awe, as someone who has grown up in the city and really hasn’t been outdoors much he isn’t used to seeing all of the thick trees and wild plants. He squeezes Leo’s hand in excitement.

After a half hour of driving and listening to some oldies music on the radio, they pull over to the side of the road and Leo turns off the truck. “Okay, one more kiss” He leans over and kisses Logan with hand on the back of his neck, humming in contentment before smoothly pulling away and kissing Finn in one smooth motion. He pulls away and sighs happily leaning his head back on the seat, when he opens his eyes he sees Logan and Finn kissing and his heart skips a beat watching them. “Okay, we have a job to get done before we get into some sexy stuff!” Leo is more so reminding himself than the other two who pulled away and are looking at him the same way they did last night.

Getting out of the truck Leo walks toward the woods he pulled up next to and notices the boys aren't behind him, turning around he sees Finn looking at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes through the window. Oh yeah, the door is sticky.

He can’t get the door open.

Laughing Leo walks over to the door and opens the jammed door with ease, bowing slightly. “Your majesty” Finn snorts and gets out of the truck before patting Leo’s head and moving out of the way for Logan to hop out.

Logan takes Leo off guard by leaning his full body weight into him after he closes the door, Leo being the sweetheart he is, just scoops Logan up like he weighs nothing and smiles when he lets out the most manly squeak. Finn sneaks a picture smiling as he moves to their side.

Leo leads them through the thick woods and only sets Logan down when they reach a Grove with a crystal clear small lake and flowers everywhere. It was beautiful.

“This is what we call Secret, because we don’t think anyone really knows about it but” He shrugs “Maybe someone does.” He walks forward and sits on a stump, around the stump is a bunch of small white flowers that are two lipped and smell very strong.

Finn walks towards the water and sees a bunch of minnows socializing in the shallows, crouching down he feels the water, taking note of how warm it is. Logan was mesmerized by all the flowers growing, all different colors of shapes. Bee’s buzzed around the surprisingly silent grove and Logan watched them before picking a couple handfuls of flowers.

Leo looks up at Finn first and smiles as he sees him picking out rock he finds because Leo mentioned they needed some, and then his eyes move to Logan who is holding armfuls of beautiful flowers and even has a couple of leaves and petals in his extra curly hair from it drying in the humid heat. Leo felt so at peace with the whole situation. It felt natural.

Logan hears someone walking toward him and looks up with his arms just overflowing with flowers, Finn is carrying handfuls of wet rocks that keep falling out of his hands and he keeps bending to pick up to just… drop more. It was funny and Leo seemed to agree as he was taking a video of Finn dropping and picking up stones.

“Here” Leo holds out a cloth bag and catches the rock that just fell out of Finn’s hand to finally stop the cycle. They put everything in separate appropriate bags before setting them on the stump Leo was sitting on before.

Turning to the boys and smiling, Leo unbuckles his overalls and drops them after he kicks off his boots, so he is just standing there in his tight teal boxer briefs that have dumplings on them. His smiles turns into a teasing smirk as he turns to face the lake having his back to his boys and takes his underwear off before looking over his shoulder at them and then running into the lakes and driving in. Fin and Logan strip so fast, tossing their clothes wherever and following this Casanova into the water.

Two hours of dunking, kissing, splashing and holding each other close. They decide to lay in the short grass of the grove where the flowers don’t reach, sprawling out in a circle, the top of their heads facing each other. They pass around a spliff that Leo brought in the pocket of his overalls. Relaxing in the setting sun as they air dry.

“What day do you guys leave?” Leo has his eyes closed as he is relaxing holding his hand out for the spliff as Finn shotguns Logan, handing it to Leo as they end up sloppily kissing each other before pulling away to answer.

“A week, so you can call us up anytime.” Finn smiles and rolls onto his stomach propping his head up on his hands as he watches the smoke fall from Leo’s lips. His eyelids feel a little heavy as the exhaustion from practice and the cbd from the weed soak into his nerves.

“Are we going to have sex tonight?” Logan also rolls onto his stomach bumping into Finn’s shoulder as he clumsily does so. Leo opens his bright eyes and tips his head back to look at them. “I am really tired but… I also kinda want to suck you dick.” Leo huffs out a laugh and flicks the roach into the lake where a fish slurps it up later.

“I would not say no to that, sweetheart.” Leo bites his lips a little as Logan flushes pink and crawls over to him sliding between his legs leaving light kisses and nips on the tops and inner of his thighs and watching him get hard. Then Logan notices it.

“Do- do you have a worm tattoo with a lasso on your inner knee?” Logan can’t help but laugh as Leo nods smiling. Finn, who has been in heaven watching, joins Logan between Leo’s legs and notices the small tattoo as well and kisses it.

“I have a bunch of little ones. Can you blow me now?” Leo props himself up on his elbows, an adorable blush spread across his cheeks and nose make him look so delicious. Finn and Logan share a look before smiling and licking up Leo’s shaft on opposite sides causing Leo’s head to fall back and his knees to spread more. “Fuck.”

Logan and Finn continue to mirror each other as Logan massages Leo’s taint and balls while Finn sucks on his head, Logan on the base.

Leo is a mess.

His back arching, his jaw tense from making himself hold off from fucking up into their mouths or grinding back onto Logan’s hand. He is gripping the grass so his hands will be stained tomorrow, sweat beading on his hairline and chest. Moaning every once in a while when he can find his voice.

Finn takes him down as much as he can as Logan squeezes just right causing Leo to cum hard, throwing his hands in his hair and tugging it. Once he finishes riding out his orgasm he just flops down all boneless.

“Give me a minute and I’ll get you off.” Leo exhales slowly and props himself up to look at them and a flush of want rushes through him. Finn had gotten himself off on Leo’s leg, how he didn’t notice he didn’t know, Logan looks like he hasn’t moved but his face was blissed out, he came untouched and if that wasn’t the sexiest fucking thing Leo has ever seen. He didn’t know what was.

Cleaning themselves up with some lake water and getting dressed they carry their treasures back to the truck. They all slide in and make their way back to town. Leo sings some shitty old songs with his hand on Logan's upper thigh as Finn has his head on his shoulder drifting in and out of sleep, by the time Leo makes it to the hotel they are staying at, both of them are asleep. Kissing their foreheads he slowly shakes them awake.

“We’re here, come on darlings, let's get you to bed.” He gets them up and smiles as Finn stretches like a cat and snuggles into his side as he supports them on either side. Walking them to their room he waits for one of them to unlock the door and hears a couple of guys yelling around a ‘cheater in go-fish!’ and Leo can’t help but wonder what it's like to travel with a team like Logan and Finn’s.

After a few tires Leo just takes the key from Logan and swipes it to unlock the door. Leo stumbles a little as they both lean forward. He sits them on the bed and get them undressed.

“What do you like to sleep in?” Leo asks as he located their bag in the corner of the room. Logan mumbles something about Finn’s shirt and Finn just mentions boxers. Leo gets them situated, having Logan lift his arms so he can put Finn’s shirt on him. It's baggy and makes Logan look so sweet that Leo can’t help but lean down and give him a sweet kiss.

Tucking a smiling Logan into bed he moves to get Finn under the covers and see him pouting.

“Wa kith” Leo tries not to groan at how these two beefy boys can be so sweet and cute that it hurts his chest. He gives Finn a kiss and pulls away, watching the two snuggle into each other.

Leo realizes he wants this, every night.

Swallowing down the sudden fear that crashed over him he turns to leave, forgetting to put the hotel key on the night stand he doesn’t realize he still has it until he is getting ready for bed himself in his room that's too large for one person.

Now he has an excuse to see them again.