#girl who is actually just going to pull an all nighter because it’s already 12

[alxclaremont]

girl who is going to kill herself because she forgot that daylight savings was ending and that it is, in fact, going to affect the times of quali and the race so instead of waking up at 5, i now have to wake up at 4

[loversamongus]

In the Dark | Zuko x reader

summary: just a modern!gaang trying to make the best of a rainy day and you ending up in the same hiding spot as Zuko, what could be better?

a/n: this is so long for no reason and was written for no reason but I like it and I hope you do too. Also I didn’t proofread this well so please forgive any typos.

words: 2.5k

fic taglist: @spiritvines @protect-remus @emeraldpotato

The middle of August was supposed to be devoted to making happy memories before classes started again. The middle of August was supposed to be about steamy hot beach days at Ember Island, jumping over waves and burying Sokka in the sand. The middle of August was supposed to have all-nighters just playing video games or staying up with the girls talking about everything and nothing at the same time. The middle of August was supposed to be fucking awesome. But instead, it’s thunderstorm after thunderstorm after hurricane after thunderstorm. 

The six of you were in various corners of the living room. Sokka and Suki sat around the coffee table, taking turns nibbling on a plate of nachos. Toph was perched sideways on the old, barely-holding-up armchair so that her head rested on one armrest while her feet hung off the other. Aang’s face was scrunched up in concentration as he braided Katara’s hair, who kneeled in front of the tv. You and Zuko took opposite ends on the couch, your legs sprawled on Zuko’s lap as he mindlessly flipped through the channels.

“Wait, no go back,” you nudged Zuko with your foot.

“No, I’m not watching Dance Moms.”

“Yeah,” Sokka chimed in with a stuffed mouth. “It makes him mad that Maddie can dance better than him.”

A pillow flew across the room until it collided with Sokka’s head. Before you could so much as let out a snort at your friend’s misfortune, thunder crashed outside and the windows rattled as wind and rain pelted against the glass. And the lamp in the corner of the living room flickered. And the tv froze.

“Oh no,” Katara whined.

“If we lose power again, I’ll scream,” you threatened. Sadly, the universe doesn’t bow down to the threats of a poor college student and soon the unmistakable pop of electricity shutting off was heard by all. The room was suddenly shrouded in darkness for the third time in ten days.

“GIVE ME THAT PILLOW” you yelled as, in the dark, Sokka and Suki both scrambled on the floor to fulfill your request.

“Huh, can’t say I notice a difference,” Toph smirked.

You felt a pillow being shoved in your direction and, snatching it gratefully, you shoved it in your face to release all your frustration with a single, drawn out, muffled screech.

“Now what are we gonna do?” you heard Aang say glumly. 

You felt Zuko shift underneath your legs and you quickly adjusted yourself into an upright position. “If you even THINK about suggesting to think about our place in the universe, I will lock you outside for you scream at the skies, I don’t care.”

Suddenly, you felt a pair of hands patting around the couch and as they got closer to your legs, you reached out to grab them. “What are you doing?” you asked.

Suki’s voice answered. “I’m sensing some hostility.” Rolling your eyes, you hoisted Suki up so that she could sit in between you and Zuko on the couch. Overcome with annoyance and misery over the present situation, you laid your head on her shoulder and her fingers began to soothingly weave through your hair. “Anyone got any ideas?” she asked.

“I know!” Aang exclaimed rather too cheerfully for your taste. “We could play hide and go seek in the dark!”

Zuko scoffed. Everyone else seemed to weigh the option out in their minds. And that was the thing. It was the only option at the moment. They could join in on a seemingly juvenile game. Or sit in the living room and stare at each other until they were so bored that the only thing left to do was to go to sleep. Already you began warming up to the idea. And if worse comes to worst, at least you could scare Sokka a few times for shits and giggles.

“All right. Let’s do it!” You and Suki stood up from the couch as your mind began listing off all the places you could possibly hide. Behind the tv, under the bed, in the linen closet, the cabinet under the sink, in the dryer...

“No, I’m not playing a dumb preschool game,” Zuko interrupted your list. 

“Yeah... I dunno,” added Sokka.

“Why is it called hide and go seek ‘in the dark’? What difference does it make? Hide and seek is hide and seek,” Toph asked.

You chose to ignore the other two downers and exclaimed, “Because it’s spookier! And harder to find people! You know, because you can’t see them as well!”

“Yeah, can’t imagine what that must be like.”

“I think it’ll be fun!” Katara laughed.

Zuko stood up from the couch and you couldn’t tell for certain but you felt his presence draw further away from the group. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be in my room.”

“No!” you cried as you stuck out your arms in an attempt to find him, your eyes still not having adjusted to the dark room. “We’re all playing. We’re all going to HAVE FUN.”

“If I play, will you stop quoting Dance Moms?”

Your hands finally found his in the dark and you gave them a squeeze. “Yes, I promise.”

His hands relaxed in yours and then with a sigh, he spoke again. “All right. Sokka’s it first.”

And then the mad dash for hiding spots began. As you ran away from the living room, you heard Sokka miserably plop down on the couch, no doubt complaining that he had to be the seeker first before beginning the countdown from 30.

Your first thought was laying in the bathtub with the curtains drawn so you felt along the wall to find the bathroom door. But as soon as your hand grabbed hold of the doorknob, you felt someone else smack into you.

“Sorry!” Katara whispered, moving past you into the bathroom. You couldn’t even argue over the hiding spot because you were too busy rubbing the back of your head. You were sure it was Katara’s chin that slammed into it. Retreating from the bathroom, you struggled through the throbbing of your head to think of another hiding spot.

“15...14...13...12...”

“Shit,” you muttered. With Sokka almost done counting, you knew you weren’t going to make it to the laundry room to hide in the dryer in time. As you heard him near the ten second mark, you finally decided the best possible hiding spot was the closest room to the bathroom: Zuko’s room.

Tiptoeing as fast as you could, you scuttled into Zuko’s room. Your eyes were able to make out the door of his closet that was left slightly ajar. With Sokka’s countdown almost complete, you knew it would have to do. You took one step over the threshold of the closet before dropping your knees to the ground. Only your knees didn’t hit the hardwood floor like you had expected.

“WATCH IT,” someone whisper-yelled as they freed their hand from under the weight of your knees. It was somehow even darker so you reached out your hands again to act as your eyes. A rough patch of skin and a mop of hair brushed your fingertips.

“Zuko?”

“Get out of here! This is my hiding spot!”

“You were just complaining about playing this game and now you have dibs on hiding spots like a toddler?!”

“I was here first!”

“Oh my god, you are a toddler!”

“4....3....2....1..... READY OR NOT HERE I COME.”

Suddenly, you felt arms stretch out to reach behind you and you heard to click of the closet door being closed. Those arms wrapped around your waist next and pulled you down into a corner on the floor. Now leaning against his chest, you heart raced, and your head throbbed a bit harder from the sudden movement, but Zuko sat completely still. You could barely hear him breathe.

You heard Sokka’s footsteps come down the hallway and you tried to calm your breathing so he wouldn’t hear. The footsteps paused for a moment outside of Zuko’s room but then picked up again and continued into the house. You felt it safe to move the few inches of space the closet allowed away from Zuko’s chest.

“You didn’t have to pull me down so hard,” you whispered, your hands moving to your temples to massage the headache.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want you to get caught.”

“Me? What about you? We’re in this together now.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who actually wanted to play this game. Couldn’t let you get caught first.”

“Don’t act like you’re not enjoying this.”

“Anything is better than the fit you’d throw if you lost to Sokka in the first round.”

The both of you tried to stifle your laughter as best you could in order to not make too much noise. In the distance you could hear Sokka complaining about not liking this game anymore because the dark house is spooky. It only made you want to laugh harder but keeping down the giggles only managed to make your head pound more.

“Ow...”

“What’s the matter?” Zuko questioned.

“Katara and I collided heads. Now I have a headache.”

Zuko was silent for a moment but you heard him shift besides you. Something fell off a hanger and landed in you lap. “What are you doing?”

“Wait here,” he said as a teeny bit of light came into the closet. Zuko had opened the door. Zuko was leaving the hiding spot.

“Where are you going?!”

He shushed you harshly in response and then he was gone. You knew he wouldn’t hear it but you let out an annoyed scoffed anyways. Really. To be shushed like that. How rude.

A couple of minutes go by and the boredom starts to set in. Who knew Sokka would be such a terrible seeker. In the darkness, you start feeling around Zuko’s closet for anything interesting— anything the slightest bit amusing to keep you occupied. A thought popped up that this scenario wouldn’t be half as boring if Zuko just stayed where he was, but no, he just had to leave. And after manhandling you and shushing you! Definitely rude. Your hand fished in one of the pockets of his coats and you heard the crinkle of a wrapper.

“Aha!” you quietly exclaimed as you pulled out a small wrapped Jolly Rancher. “He is a toddler!”

Just then, the closet door swung back open, nealy making you jump out of your skin, and a tall silhouette stepped inside.

“It’s just me!” Zuko whispered, and crouching down, he resumed his place beside you. “I went to the kitchen and got you some aspirin for your head. And some water.”

“You did that without getting caught?” you asked while taking the aspirin and glass of water gratefully. Sokka really is a terrible seeker, you confirmed in your thoughts. You popped the two pills in your mouth and followed that up with a chug of water. While doing so, you heard something hit the floor.

“What was that?” It definitely wasn’t Sokka or anyone else because it sounded like it came from inside the closet.

“I got tired of sitting in the dark,” Zuko quietly explained. “So I grabbed one of the candles from your room, too.” Suddenly, a small flame erupted and lit the candle placed in the middle of the closet floor. “And the lighter from the kitchen.”

“Well, that’s probably a fire hazard.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want to sit in the dark for the third time this week?”

“Zuko, we’re playing hide and seek!”

“Okay, fine. I’ll blow it out!”

“No, wait!” You grabbed onto his shoulder before he could bend down to blow out the candle. You considered just how miserable the past couple days have been with the constant downpours and losing electricity, events preventing you and your friends from having any kind of fun before the summer ended. The days have been so dark and gray lately that you had almost forgotten what light even looked like. What’s a small candle flame? You’ll just make sure no more of Zuko’s shirts fall off the hanger and onto the candle.

“If you were able to do all that without Sokka finding you, he probably wouldn’t notice light from coming under the door, right?” you asked, and Zuko settled back against the wall beside you again. You didn’t know how long you’d be stuck in this hiding spot so, deciding to make yourself comfortable, you rested your head on Zuko’s shoulder. 

“This summer was supposed to be fun,” you said quietly. “Having bonfires on Ember Island. But we’re sitting on the floor of your closet with an evergreen scented candle.”

“Could be worse,” he answered. “You could be stuck in here with Sokka.”

“And you could be stuck in here with Azula... or Jet!”

“You could be stuck with Momo.”

“But I love Momo.”

“Yeah, but would you want to be stuck inside a closet with Momo?”

“Touché.” 

You giggled a little before settling down again. Zuko wrapped one arm around you. With all the frustration the weather of the past week has wrought, the flickering evergreen candle and Zuko’s light embrace was enough to comfort you just a bit. It does not, however, help take away the fact that this is not at all how you expected the summer to go.

“I just wanted us to have a really memorable summer before you graduated. You know, spend time together,” you said. “This weather ruined it.”

Zuko hummed and reached with his free hand to grab hold of yours. His thumb gently ran back and forth over your knuckles. “I wouldn’t say it ruined it.”

“You wouldn’t rather be sitting in the sun on Ember Island?”

“I’m happy just being here with you.”

“Says the guy that tried to kick me out of this hiding spot at first.”

“Hey, I pulled you down here, didn’t I?”

You smiled again and nestled further into his shoulder. In the back of your mind, you wondered why it’s taking Sokka so long to find everyone. After all, hiding in a bedroom closet isn’t one of the most unique spots. And with the light of the candle, it’s sure to be a dead giveaway. Nonetheless, you let yourself relax. You felt Zuko kiss the top of your head, making you remember that your headache had finally subsided.

Just as your eyes were about to close, you heard the door fly open again.

“GOTCHA!” Sokka yelled seemingly at the tops of his lungs. You sat up quickly and threw the Jolly Rancher you had found earlier at his head.

“GO AWAY,” you yelled. You felt Zuko chuckled as you leaned back against him.

“I’m never playing hide and seek with you people again,” Sokka muttered as he ambled away and out of the room. Back and resting comfortably with Zuko, you thought to yourself that maybe losing power and staying in isn’t so bad after all.

[cloudywriter]

i never got to say i love you - 2

~~~

A/N: heyy i wanted to update vanilla pudding cups but i’ve really kinda hit a block in that story so enjoy this while i move pass my stump with the other story. also i’m working on some masterlist so navigating stories will be easier!

masterlist & AO3 

also here’s my other feysand au if you would like to check that out! -> vanilla pudding cups

~~~

As classes begin to start up Feyre finds herself adjusting well to her new schedule. Most days she has one or two classes in the morning and one or two in the afternoon. Alis almost always brings her some lunch or snacks as she spends every free moment she has in the studio. If it weren’t for Alis she’s convinced she might’ve accidentally starved to death by now. 

Honestly, Feyre hadn’t made many friends besides Alis who she had grown pretty close with. She had brief conversations with Mor in the hallways and had eventually met her roommate, Viviane, but most of the time she saw Mor outside of the dorm building she was with that group of boys from the dining hall. Yes, the same group of boys Alis still managed to bring up every other day, especially when they’d first seen Mor walking with them very comfortably. Alis was convinced Mor would be their way in. 

What Feyre had never told Alis was a week ago Mor had invited them to come play monopoly in her dorm one Friday night with said boys, Viviane, and her boyfriend, Kallias. Feyre had declined. 

Mor is always extremely sweet and a constant ray of sunshine but so much so it unnerved Feyre a bit, she could easily turn into one of those girls Feyre avoided like the plague in high school. Viviane is similar, but a bit more subdued, however Mor was completely right about her being with her boyfriend more often than not. 

At the moment Feyre was making her way back from her last class of the day to her dorm, mentally preparing herself to pull an all-nighter. She had an assignment due for her drawing class that she had been putting off for weeks until the due date had crept up on her. Therefore, Feyre now had approximately 12 hours to draw an entire portrait. Mostly she had procrastinated up until this point because she just had no idea who she wanted to draw and her options were already limited.

When she finally arrived at her dorm room, having stopped at the vending machine for snacks on the way, she pushed the door open, threw her bag on her bed, and slumped in her desk chair, letting out a loud sigh. 

She was hunched over her sketchbook feeling utterly defeated only a few hours later. The sun was beginning to set which had her hopeful, usually she did her best work in the dead of night anyway. But her fingers ached from gripping her pencil so long and she wasn’t sure she could sit up straight without an immense pain flaring in her back, even her neck and shoulders felt stiff. Not to mention, her efforts only produced a half dozen crumpled balls in the trash and a mound of eraser shreds. 

Luckily, Feyre started to get her rhythm back as the night progressed, it was dark out now the only lights coming from the city buildings surrounding the campus. Alis had yet to return which she found a little odd but it was safe to assume she was studying late in the library. 

Unluckily though, the dorm next to her, Mor’s dorm, was getting increasingly noisy with the darkening sky. The constant sound of muffled voices, laughing, and music poured through the wall. 

Feyre was about halfway done with her portrait which had turned into a drawing of Alis, it had started coming together nicely but the added distraction of all the commotion next door was throwing her off her game. She’d been debating with herself for half an hour now whether or not she should say something to Mor; she knew Mor would probably tone it down if she asked. 

At last, nearly two hours later, Feyre was at her absolute breaking point. She hadn’t made much of a dent in the rest of her sketch throughout those hours due to the ever growing disruptions. How Mor had not gotten a noise complaint yet she did not know. The music was louder, the voices went back and forward between intense bickering and cheering, and even random slamming sounds could be heard every once in a while. 

Feyre tried desperately to tune out her surroundings but just as she was finding success a loud banging on the wall followed by yelling brought her right back. She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Before her mind even processed what her body was doing Feyre found herself outside of Mor’s door knocking with intent. She heard a frenzy of shushing and the music turned down a few notches. 

The door then swung open.

“Hey, sorry - oh, you’re not the RA.”

A hulk of a man stood in the doorway dressed in a tight black t-shirt and batman pajama pants. The man flashed her a big shit-eating grin. Feyre thought there was something familiar about him.

“What brings you around here, sweetheart?” He added, leaning against the door.

That’s when the familiarity donned on Feyre. He was one of the boys from the dining hall, specifically the one who had half his hair up. She also then realized it was in fact Friday night, game night for them.

She had yet to respond to the boy but made herself look up to meet his gaze, making sure she had her best scowl on. He was quite tall.

“You look cute when you’re trying to look angry.” He smirked at her. His eyes dragged up and down her body slowly, intimately. Fuck, Feyre noticed too late she had really left her room with only a random cropped band t-shirt on, barely there baby blue shorts, mismatching socks, glasses, and her hair wrapped around itself in a ridiculously messy bun with only a chunky wool beige cardigan thrown over herself. 

“I’m not cute.”

“I beg to differ, sweetheart.” He winked at her.

“Don’t call me that,” Feyre ground out.

“Sure, I can switch up pet names. What would you rather instead?” He raised his brows at her in question. 

Before Feyre could stomp on his toes Mor came up from behind him, a red solo cup in hand. “Stop bothering Feyre with your incessant flirting, you brute.”

“Feyre, you say? I don’t believe we’ve met.” He spoke, not breaking eye contact with her.

“Right.” Mor opened the door wider causing the man to stumble and shoot her a glare, Mor only giggled. Now that Feyre could see inside she noticed the small foldable table set up in the center of the room and an array of uno cards scattered across the floor. “Okay, well you’ve kinda met Cassian, he’s an ass. But this is Azriel, Rhysand, and Amren,” she spoke, indicating to each person with her hand. 

Azriel gave her a small, half smile while Amren gave her a disinterested wave of the hand. 

Rhysand, however, studied her with an intense gaze that Feyre returned. She hadn’t seen the front of his face up close until now and she could not say she was disappointed whatsoever. Gods, he was like a greek god or something. He looked as if his face and body had been expertly sculpted out of the finest marble. He had black hair that was longer on top and adorably tousled, eyes that were such a specific shade of deep blue they might appear violet in some lights, and bronzed skin. Azriel and Cassian were definitely not bad on the eyes but Rhysand was just something else in her mind. It didn’t hurt he was also wearing the batman pajama bottoms.

Feyre might’ve thought he was having a similar inner monologue to her own but the harsh reality of what she was wearing right now, her bare face, and her hair’s state had her banishing that possibility. He too seemed as if he were in a bit of a daze, studying her. 

“And this guys is Feyre. She lives next door,” Mor finished off. 

Cassian gave Rhysand’s ribs a sharp jab. Rhysand looked a bit startled at first but recovered swiftly, giving Feyre a small tilt of his head in acknowledgment. “Well, it is lovely to finally meet you, Feyre,” Cassian smiled at her. 

Feyre nodded her head, still a little distracted by Rhysand. “You too, sorry for interrupting.” 

“No, no, you’re all good. I’m really sorry were we being too loud? Were you trying to sleep?” Mor asked so sweetly and genuinely Feyre almost felt bad for coming to ask her to quiet down in the first place.

“I-I no, um, it’s alright actually. Have a good night.” Feyre stammered, turning on her heel to end this embarrassing exchange. 

She heard Mor reply with the same sentiment before disappearing back into her dorm. She closed the door and leaned her head against the solid wood. 

That was not the smoothest interaction she’s ever had, that’s for sure. 

She sat back down at her desk and stared at her work before picking up her pencil once more. It was substantially quieter now, Mor must’ve known what had bothered Feyre in the first place. 

She tried to finish her sketch of Alis but her inspiration to do so had dissipated. With that, Feyre turned to the next page, letting her mind take over as her pencil flowed across the paper. She was somewhat aware of who she was now outlining but couldn’t find it in herself to stop. When she got an idea or saw something that intrigued her she had to draw it, like an itch that wouldn’t go away until it gets scratched. 

In record time a completed portrait stared back at her, more specifically Rhysand’s stupid, perfect face stared back at her. Feyre groaned and put her head in her hands.

~~~

please leave feedback & let me know if you wanna be tagged!

[nerianasims]

Billboard #1s 1984

Under the cut.

Yes -- "Owner of a Lonely Heart" -- January 21, 1984

The full version of this song is way too long. Not surprising from a former prog rock band. The music is good and interesting, but it loses me before the end even in the shorter single version. There's too much stuff. As for the lyrics, maybe that prog rock gloss made people think they were profound, but they look like self-help. Some incredibly 80s Reagan-era individualism, better to be alone than to be hurt, you're the only one you can count on, blah blah blah. Not for me. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Culture Club -- "Karma Chameleon" -- February 4, 1984

The video to this song has nothing to do with it, unless there's supposed to be a connection between the con artist on the fantasy world 19th century steamboat and the guy who keeps coming and going whom Boy George is singing to. And I didn't fully realize the "you come and go" double entendre until just now. I like the video, anyway. And I like the song quite a bit. It's a very cheerful-sounding song about being strung along by some asshole.

Van Halen -- "Jump" -- February 25, 1984

Van Halen was something boys were into. It's weird how we delineate these things. At least back in 1984, if it got coded as a boy thing, then if you were a girl and also found it interesting, you'd damn well better hide it or certain other more socially powerful kids would tear you to shreds. That was my experience, anyway. (And if other girls were into it and you were not, you were also in serious trouble.) So though when I heard Van Halen songs I thought, "hm, I'm intrigued," I did not dare pursue that interest. Except for this song. This one was allowed. It's fun.

Kenny Loggins -- "Footloose" -- March 31, 1984

Footloose is a pretty good movie. At least I remember it being so when I eventually saw it in college in the 90s. Anything that stands against censorship, and for art and people having fun, already has an in with me. Also Kevin Bacon's great. The song isn't about the movie particularly; it's just about how dancing is wonderful. Though there is a hint at the movie: "You're playing so cool/ Obeying every rule/ Deep way down in your heart/ You're burning yearning for some/ Somebody to tell you/ That life ain't passing you by/ I'm trying to tell you/ It will if you don't even try." Yeah. Agatha Christie at one point lamented that young people in the 1950s were far too serious and self-righteous, and really needed to go dance in fountains. I feel the same now as she did then. Though wait until after the covid vaccine's been widely taken. Anyway, this is a good dance song.

Phil Collins -- "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" -- April 21, 1984

It's a lament about being dumped. Apparently, Collins wrote it about his wife leaving him out of the blue, taking the kids and the dog with her. Ouch. There's a great drum part, which keeps the song from being too boring, but I still don't like it. Phil Collins' serious love/heartbreak songs don't do it for me. I find this one depressing without being cathartic.

Lionel Richie -- "Hello" -- May 12, 1984

I remember this video from when it was on the air. Mostly because of the Lionel Richie clay head. But also because I was like... is she his student? Isn't that a bad thing? Even though she's an adult in college, I still thought you weren't supposed to do that? I've had a major squick against teacher/student relationships, even in fiction, since I was a kid. Possibly this is because I come from a family of professors. (I didn't get a PhD and am therefore the black sheep.) Without reference to the video, the song is terrible. The lyrics are just repetitive cheese, whatever, but the song is so slow and blah and I don't like Lionel Richie's singing.

Deniece Williams -- "Let's Hear It For the Boy" -- May 26, 1984

I keep being surprised that there are people who think someone is worthless if they don't have a lot of money and don't dress fashionably. In this song, the titular boy also can't dance, but is that a thing that people get dinged for in reality? I don't know, maybe. This song was in Footloose, and it's the same sentiment as "My Guy"; her boy isn't some smooth-talking rich brat, but "he's my lovin' one-man show." He's like Edward Ferrars, not Willoughby. It's a fun song.

Cyndi Lauper -- "Time After Time" -- June 9, 1984

This is one of the greatest songs ever. Not just pop songs. Any song, of any type.

Duran Duran -- "The Reflex" -- June 23, 1984

These lyrics make no sense. That doesn't matter for this song much, which is all about the music. Which is not the best of Duran Duran's music. For all the many, many, MANY different musical ideas in it, it's actually kinda boring. They'd have done better to simplify. I imagine this sounds something like cocaine feels, though drinking way too many Mountain Dews to pull an all-nighter's my only comparison. Duran Duran were never my favorite, but I do enjoy many of their songs. This one, meh.

Prince -- "When Doves Cry" -- July 7, 1984

Prince only two songs after Cyndi Lauper? Is it my birthday? The song's lyrics start out being about the amazing chemistry between the narrator and "you." That establishes why they're together. Then Prince moves on to how they "scream at each other," and it's what it sounds like "when doves cry." He's accusatory -- "How could you just leave me standing/ Alone in a world so cold?" But then he goes right into thinking maybe it's his fault: "Maybe I'm just too demanding" etc. It's a sexy, thoughtful, and anguished song about a relationship in trouble. I like to think they'll overcome their problems and stop screaming at each other. Trust me, it's very possible. Also the music is great.

Ray Parker Jr. -- "Ghostbusters" -- August 11, 1984

Um. I have no idea how to evaluate this one. I heard it first in the theatre when I saw the movie, but I heard it years after every week when I watched the cartoon. It just... is.

Tina Turner -- "What's Love Got To Do With It" -- September 1, 1984

I have an overwhelming memory of hearing this song when I was alone in the grocery store as a teenager. I have no idea why the memory's so strong. Maybe it was the first time I went to the grocery store by myself? Maybe I ran into a guy I had a huge crush on, though I don't remember that? (If I was 16, that could have been one of any three guys... Romance is my secondary aspiration, after all.) In any case, it's a good song. The attempt to pretend love is a bunch of chemicals and doesn't truly matter is a pretty common one for the broken-hearted. And Tina Turner's great as always.

John Waite -- "Missing You" -- September 22, 1984

Two songs in a row about being in denial over matters of love. Interesting. This isn't the most fascinating song ever, but it's a good solid song about heartbreak that isn't gloopy at all. In the main vocals, Waite keeps insisting "I ain't missing you," but in the background is a soft voice that sings "missing you" over and over. That's a smart artistic move.

Prince and the Revolution -- "Let's Go Crazy" -- September 29, 1984

I liked a lot of pop music when I was 7, but I didn't get Prince. His songs sort of slid out of my brain as a "thing for grownups," and who could understand grownups? He was short and wore fancy outfits, and that's about all that registered. When I hit puberty, though... yeah. This song is more adult than that, though, and I don't mean sexually, though there is plenty of sex in this song. "You better live now/ Before the grim reaper come knocking on your door." The song is about sex, partying, and death. Also Prince was an astonishing guitarist, along with everything else. It's not one of my favorite Prince songs, because the lyrics are pretty depressing and it's super loud, but it's still great.

Stevie Wonder -- "I Just Called To Say I Love You" -- October 13, 1984

I never really listened to the background beep-de-boops in this song before. I've wondered before why this song, with its simple lyrics and melody, didn't bore me. It's the beep-de-boops. They, along with Stevie Wonder's perfect delivery, make this song musically complex. And the simple lyrics, with the more complex musical counterpoints, absolutely work. It helps that this is the kind of thing people really do.

Billy Ocean -- "Caribbean Queen" -- November 3, 1984

That heavy breathing after the line "I get so excited just from her perfume" is unfortunate. Otherwise, it's a song about how he met this "Caribbean Queen" on vacation and she "tamed" him so he's no longer looking for "love on the run." Sure, why not. I'd like a little more story to it, but that's me. It's got a good beat though, and is enjoyable enough as-is.

Wham! -- "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" -- November 17, 1984

I just realized I don't like this song. The beat and hook are sort of irresistible, and as a dance song the music absolutely works. But there's too much nostalgia about stuff that George Michael actually wasn't old enough to be nostalgic about. He was only 21 at the time, born in 1963, and yet he was singing about Doris Day. You can homage anything at any age, but... meh. And speaking of age, it's kind of a childish song and George Michael's voice was always more on the mature end, even if he was young at the time. For me, it hits a jarring note.

Daryl Hall & John Oates -- "Out of Touch" -- December 8, 1984

The beginning makes it sound like this is gonna be a relatively hard rock song, but that ends after a pretty short time. It's still really loud, with huge drums, and Hall pretty much shouts the song. Hall & Oates were great when they stripped stuff down. All this noise doesn't work for them. There are neat parts when all the noise suddenly stops and there's total silence, but then it goes right back to the rather uninteresting loudness. Not for me.

Madonna -- "Like A Virgin" -- December 22, 1984

And so it begins. Backstory: Madonna went to the same high school as my mother. She was friends (maybe more? he won't talk) with one of my uncles. When my grandmother saw the Like A Virgin album on the rack at the store, she said, "I'm so glad [he] didn't marry that girl." When my mother told me that, my reaction was "Are you kidding? We'd be rich!" But my family cares about PhDs and not money. My uncle ran wild in high school, but eventually became a successful career diplomat (and stopped being a jackass) after the woman he was in love with told him he'd better shape up or else. Also he looks a lot like Guy Ritchie, so that was weird for a while. I'd be in the grocery store and for a second think, "Why's my uncle on The Enquirer with Madonna?"

So anyway, the song. The way Madonna sang it in later iterations, I like it. I can't stand the version that became a #1 hit. The Betty Boop voice is just ugh. I love a lot of Madonna's music, and she would be something of an inspiration to me in later days, with her unapologetic persona as a woman who liked and wanted sex -- and enjoyed shocking the censorious -- but I was 8 at the time. I didn't get any of it, I just knew she sounded squeaky in this song and it bugged me.

BEST OF 1984: "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. WORST OF 1984: "Hello" by Lionel Richie

[bnhababyyyy]

Bro’s before that kinda bro

Todoroki x reader

Part: 1/?

Summary: You have a crush on your friend but he just doesn’t get your feelings. It’s up to you to figure out how to woo him.

You loved Todoroki.

And he loved you just as much……

As a friend possibly could.

He obliviously missed all the signs you had been giving him, poor boy couldn’t even tell when you were flirting with him. Any other sane person would be able to tell what you had been doing all this time. Every attempt, shot down innocently because he truly didn’t know what you were hinting at.

You thought one of these days you were going to break and just straight up confess to him because of how unnoticed your efforts went. It took every piece of your being to not outright confess your feelings for him and make out with him on the spot.

It was especially bad when one night your cravings for some sweet snacks got the best of you making you reluctantly go to the kitchen. You were surprised to see Todoroki sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone with a cup of tea on the table. He didn’t seem to notice you coming down the stairs, making you decide to scare him a little.

You covered your mouth to hold back any giggles as you tip toed over to his unguarded position. You stood behind him for a beat of a moment before abruptly grabbing both of his shoulders. He whipped around and grabbed one of your arms before you could even pull back.

He looked up and dropped his shoulders just an inch with a small glare being shot your way. “I didn’t know I should be on my guard at night too,” he yawned.

You ran your hand through your hair as you let out an awkward laugh “Well, think about it, I’m preparing you for any sneak attacks!”

He went back to his phone rolling his eyes.

You began walking to the kitchen before you got the chance to forget those snacks. “But hey what are you doing up this late? It’s like almost 12.” you asked as you raided the pantry for a cookie or anything of the sort.

He turned his head over to where you were, “I… couldn’t sleep,” he said in a lower tone shifting uncomfortably, “What about you?”

You had known Todoroki long enough to know that two things were weird about what he said, first his tone was off and second he never stays up this late. You peeked your head over the pantry door with a cookie in your mouth, “What do you mean you couldn’t sleep? Did something happen?” You asked ignoring his question.

He averted your gaze to his lap, “No it’s nothing, don't worry about it.”

You gave him a concerned look before sighing and squeezing yourself between him and the couch’s armrest.“Scoot! Something’s obviously bothering you and I wanna help you out.” You said wiggling a bit on your side .

He shuffled over giving you a small smile that literally took your breath away. You tried your best to calm your now heightened heart beat. You cleared your throat, “Take as long as you need though. I’ll listen ok?”

He nodded looking back down at his hands in his lap, “I had an odd dream. Something that freaked me out.” You cocked your head silently asking him to continue.

He glanced at you before looking away again, “It was about Endeavor. More like a memory I guess… He was arguing with my mom and she said that I,” he took in a breath, “that I was going to be just like him. That I am like him and how she didn’t want to look at me because of how I just keep growing more and more similar to him.”

You sat there shocked at what he said, before you could comfort him and give your apologies he continued.

“And then I looked in the mirror and I looked exactly like him, or I was him. The reflection in the mirror mocked me saying I couldn’t escape him and I’d be wanting to be better but would end up hurting others and destroying everyone else’s relationships with myself just like he did. That I’d end up being hated, never achieving my dreams that I’d die alone and he would always be there to haunt me. I woke up after that and I just…”

You nodded understandingly feeling extremely shocked at how his PTSD from childhood had manifested into such a scary nightmare as a teenager. You felt incredibly heartbroken at what kind of dream he had. His father damaged him so badly as a kid Todoroki was still dealing with the trauma.

He looked so broken in front of you. You wanted to reassure him that he had just had a bad dream. That he resembled nothing of his father.

But the words just didn’t form and you sat there not knowing what to say. It was completely silent. You both dwelled in the freshly expressed emotions quietly. Neither of you moved, you both continued to look at the ground. You glanced up at Todoroki, opened your mouth to speak, and decided not to. Instead you hesitantly put our hand on top of his. He jerked his hand a little and moved his head to look at you.

“Todoroki, thank you for telling me what happened,” you looked up at him, rubbing small circles on his hand. “I know it was hard for you to do that. You’re nothing like your father though I… I never saw him in you. You’ve proven to be so much better than him. If no one else is proud of you for that then I am. I’m proud of how much you are yourself and you strive to be better.” You gave a heartfelt smile at his shocked expression.

He looked away and you swore that if you squinted he had a slight slight slight slight blush and a HINT!!!! Of a smile. You died on spot he was just so lovely.

“Thank you.” He mumbled giving your hand a tight squeeze. Wow did he know what he was doing to you? You internally wheezed and felt your heart beat so loud you couldn’t tell if Todoroki was talking still.

‘I wish we were more than friends. Why are you doing this to me.’ You thought to yourself. Well at least you thought you thought that thought to yourself. He looked up at you confused.

“What do you mean (y/l/n)?” He asked with furrowed brows.

Your eyes widened and your mouth dropped to the floor. No way did you just say that out loud. The absolute love of your life, your amor, your crush, just heard you confess that you basically like him. You felt your face heat up and you retracted your hand from his as you suddenly felt abnormally sweaty.

You silently freaked out too shocked to even move. “Uhm I-I didn’t mean to say that out loud I’m so sorry I don’t know what I’m talking about!” You rambled.

He cocked his head to the side. “Did you want to be best friends? I don’t know why you’d be sorry about that. We can be best friends if you want that.”

You sat there even more shocked. He. was. so. dense. You sighed rubbing your temple. You didn’t know whether you should feel disappointed or saved. You shook your head taking it in as a good thing he was so dense.

“Uhm yeah. I’d like that a lot actually,” You smiled.

He nodded his head returning the smile. “Good. I’d like that too.”

“Well I’m glad we got that out the way!” You got up brushing yourself of any crumbs. “Uhm talk to me if anything else starts to bother you again alright?” He nodded back. You stood there staring at him.

“Did you need me to walk you back?”

“Oh No! No it’s fine really! I can go back myself! Uhm alright good night see you in class!”

“Goodnight to you too.”

You hurried back to the girls dorms and into your room before you could blurt out any more confessions. You laid in bed completely shocked about everything. He was so oblivious to your feelings. But you didn’t want to ruin your friendship. I mean yeah being best friends is great. For people who want to STAY FRIENDS. Not for people like you who have been crawling out the friend zone hole forever.

You tossed and turned in bed. Sighing you decided to text your bakusquad chat about what had just happened.

Your hand wavered over the call button for him. You didn’t want to bother him, but at the same time what Mina said is true. If he truly didn’t want to answer he wouldn’t. So no harm in trying right?

You gathered all the courage you possibly could and pressed on his contact. You waited as you heard the facetime ringtone go on over and over. Until it stopped and his face popped up on the screen. You audibly gasped in surprise to see that he even picked up the phone.

“Hey. I didn’t know you’d answer.” You said, still thoroughly surprised.

He smiled that smile that makes your heart topple over itself. “No I wouldn’t ignore your calls. What’s wrong?”

You we’re so mesmerized by the angle of his face that the camera showed off. He held it in his hand at a bit of a low angle really detailing his jaw line. He was probably sitting at a desk or something because he kept putting his phone down into his lap to do something.

“No no nothings wrong, I'm good!”

“Then why’d you call?”

“Oh right! I needed help with the test tomorrow. Did you know what would be on it?”

He finally shifted the phone onto his desk so that it was sitting up on something. You could fully see his face and torso. His room was dimly lit and he had a book and papers on his desk. So he was studying too.

“Yes I’m working on it now, did you want me to send you the answers?” He asked while flipping through what seemed like a math book.

You nodded, “Please! I didn’t know we had a test until 2 minutes ago! I’m looking at the study guide now but I cannot think of the answers.” You knew you’d be pulling an all nighter, so him sending you answers would help a ton. You decided that you’d have to pay him back somehow tomorrow.

After he sent the answers you two occasionally talked here and there but often sat in silence. It felt nice not needing to talk to him to fill the silence. Another thing that made you fall for him even more, you felt way more comfortable being around him than a normal friend would feel. You tiredly moved your eyes towards the clock to see the number 3:25 AM across the alarm.

“Oh god it’s 3 already. Are you pulling a-“ you yawned. “An all nighter too Todo?” You asked, stretching your arms out.

.

..

…

……………...

No response

You quirked your brow and switched your screen from the photos he sent to the facetime call. You internally squealed at the sight in front of you. He was passed out on his desk, his face laid sideways with his arm under it as a headrest. You couldn’t really see his face but you thought he still looked cute.

“Goodnight,” You whispered as you ended the call. You then rolled up your sleeves taking a shot from an energy drink Mina had given to you in case of ‘Dire emergencies’. You decided to seriously get to work and finish your studying for at least a passing grade.

….........................

You passed out 15 minutes later.

Master list — Next

[oikawas-bae]

OHMYGOD I need a part two for Target with Akaashi!! It’s so beautiful and I need to know please? Like does he confess? Do they start dating? Does Bokuto suspect something!? Does she(?) like him back?! I NEED ANSWERS PLEASE 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Here’s the part 2! Ahah thank you for literally being my #1 hype man/woman/person since I started this blog like a week ago!! I’m really feeling the love :,) also here are answers hehe

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOKUBABEY!!” You whooped when you slapped the front door open. Bokuto came running down the stairs in only boxers with a paranoid look on his face.

“Calm down, we’re not burglars.” Akaashi walked ahead to set the snacks down on his credenza.

“HEY, don’t rule it out. I was watching this documentary the other day-“ You cut him off by grabbing his hand, earning you a surprised yelp from the owl boy.

“You really need to stop watching the videos Kuroo sends you, they all make you act some kind of way and we get to deal with the aftermath.” You frowned for a millisecond before flashing him a toothy grin and looking at Akaashi for reassurance. The latter nodded.

“It’s your birthday Bokuto! We’re doing whatever you like, we brought you snacks right at 12 o’ clock to experience your birthday for as long as it lasts.” Akaashi sighed, bracing himself for the incoming storm of excitement that would explode from Bokuto’s mouth in a minute.

“ALL 24 HOURS? WERE STAYING UP?” Yep, Akaashi was right. “I’ve always wanted my birthday to be longer...how did I not think of this sooner? Ah! What should we do? Good thing I took a nap! I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH.” Pulling you both into an agressive hug, there was a synchronized groan.

“Well (y/n) and I didn’t nap all day so you’re in charge of keeping us awake with all that energy of yours.” The black haired boy grumbled into the hug. Bokuto let go and placed a hand on his hip, “Deal.”

“Speak for yourself, Akaashi. I’ve done countless all nighters.” You boasted, locking elbows with Bokuto and walking toward the kitchen.

“You’re literally a baby. You nap in every car ride where you’re not the driver.” Akaashi followed.

You stuck your tongue out at him and he simply rolled his eyes. Bokuto looked to you then to Akaashi, sighing but shrugging off the mini argument. His owl eyes shrunk in concentration as he tried to figure out what to do for the next 24 hours.

“Okay!” Akaashi and you turned at his call for attention. “I’ve decided that the best plan of action is to start off with the light stuff like watching movies or homework if you guys have any and then we’ll do the intense stuff when we’ve been awake for a couple of hours and feel the sleep kicking in.”

“It’s smart to do more interactive activities when we’re tired but I’m afraid to ask what you mean by ‘intense activities’’” Akaashi mumbled, Bokuto chuckled ominously.

“I have twister! And we’ll make an obstacle course...” He continued to ramble on about the ideas he had and Akaashi and you knew it was going to be a long day.

Hour 5

Bokuto put on a movie for and you pretended to be critics and pointed out all of its flaws. Bokuto and you chortled at how serious Akaashi got about critiquing the movie- he really should’ve majored in film.

Hour 10

The drowsiness began to kick in for you but you refused to show any sign of weakness. Your eyes were peeled and you blinked constantly to keep the dryness from reddening your eyes. Akaashi, being as observant as he was and just looking up to admire you every once in a while, noticed but kept it to himself since he had to admit that it was amusing to watch you battle with pride about being a ‘professional staying awake person’ as you put it.

Hour 13

Twister time! And Bokuto was feral. He pushed you out of your place, making you lose, when his hip was beside your face and he bumped you intentionally (and he lied about doing that when you accused him). Akaashi lost on purpose and went to use the restroom but not before mumbling incoherently about Bokuto being a cheater.

Hour 15

At this point, Akaashi and you were begging Bokuto to do something not so physically demanding so that you could sneak in at least a few minutes of sleep. Your head was on Akaashi’s lap and he was so frazzled by it that he stuttered while lecturing Bokuto about the dangers of driving with zero hours of sleep.

“AHAHA you stuttered, Akaashi!” The owl boy teased and Akaashi’s face heated up, even more so when you nuzzled on his lower thigh to get more comfortable. A wave of relief washed over him as he thanked the forces of nature and whatever was out there that Bokuto was so simple minded, “the sleep deprivation must really be getting to you.”

You shot up at Bokuto’s words, “IM NOT SLEEPY AT ALL. It’s Akaashi, like you said, Boku.” You were not about to even be vaguely assumed to be tired.

“If we can’t go out, let’s do karaoke!”

You and Akaashi looked at each other and breathed in like exhausted parents trying to appease their hyperactive child. And at this point, that’s what you were. Only nine more hours.

Hour 20

“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. “ Bokuto alternated from you and Akaashi as he watched the two of you nod off every few minutes while he was bringing out his birthday cake from the fridge.”

He served the two of you your pieces and didn’t bother with the candles or the song. You had already sung a dubstep version of ‘Happy Birthday’ and awkwardly inserted Bokuto’s name in during karaoke.

“Eat. Sugar will keep you awake.” Akaashi heeded his friends orders and lifted the form up to his mouth but sleep sounded much more enticing. You and Bokuto both watched Akaashi’s head flip back and his mouth open just a few centimeters wide, his breath coming out slowly.

Chuckling evilly, you took a bite from the cake, “Weak.”

“I honestly thought you would be the one to go down first.” Bokuto said in between mouthfuls. It was really a mystery how this boy could have so much energy with so little sleep.

“Huh? I’m literally a god when it comes to not sleeping.” You slurred. Bokuto grinned, it wasn’t long before the sleepless drunk (y/n) emerged. You were fun when you were fueled by sleep but he could really mess with you when you were in the vulnerable state of almost-sleep.

It only took about half an hour before the two of you headed to the dining room to leave Akaashi alone in the living room to sleep.

“I’ve got a question.” He set his palms down flat on the wood.

“Yes, birthday Bokuto? Ahh I mean birthday boy...oh wait, it still weeerks...it’s even bettturr.” Your words tripped out of your lips and he couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

“How come you haven’t made a move on Akaashi?” The question came at you like a canon ball. Your cheeks flare up and usually you and the wit to counter Bokuto’s ridiculous remarks but this was sleepy (y/n).

“Huh? Akaashi is lame, he’s literally a sleepyhead...” you denied.

“Cmon, (y/n). I’m dense but I know my best friends and you like him and he like you.” You wanted to smack the smirk off his face but you were just so lethargic.

“Yeah, he’s a cute sleepyhead.” You drew circles on the table with your index finger and Bokuto couldn’t help it compare you to a little girl with a crush. He smiled at the thought while you continued to breathy commentary on Akaashi. “He’s not even just cute, he gorgeous like I had a dream we were married and I woke up soooo happy , I cried. But it’s weird, no?”

Bokuto asked ‘what?’ With a flick of his eyebrows and you sighed and continued to exhaust yourself by talking. “Well, we’ve been friends since forever and it’s weird because he treats me so well and I love this him, I don’t want him to become someone else if we’re together. And don’t assume he likes me.”

“Are you kidding me? He’s love struck on you, he stares at you and he takes you places even though he hates driving. He keeps every dumb selfie you take on his phone. When he talks about you, it’s like he’s lost in his own world. And I get it, you’re really great, (y/n).”

“B-Bokuto...” You breathed out. The drowsiness was out of your mind and the only thoughts flowing through your head were those pertaining to what Bokuto was saying.

“Yeah, (y/n). Akaashi sees you just like I do but for him there’s just something extra there. Like he doesn’t just want to be with you, he wants to take care of you and for you to take care of him.”

“That sounds so-“

“Chummy, I know.” The black-white haired boy chuckled, his head falling on his wrist. “But it’s true and it has been for about...3 years now?”

“Three? HUH?” Your eyes opened wide. 3 years and you didn’t notice? Or maybe you chose not to see it because you were afraid of mistaking it for something it wasn’t.

Bokuto nodded, looking over to the curled up Akaashi on the couch. “You should tell him. If you wait for him, you’ll be waiting for six more years.”

“Maybe I will.” You confidently stood up, chest puffed out before grains of static filled you vision, that was too quick of a movement for someone who hadn’t slept in nearly a day.

“Actually, tell him after you get some rest.” Bokuto shuddered before getting up to help to balance yourself.

“But it’s your birthday...I’m not sleepy...” He lightly shoved you next to Akaashi on the couch and you r head fell to the armrest and almost instantaneously, you fell asleep.

Bokuto stood back and gave a satisfied nod at his sleeping friends. “You two made it farther than I thought you would.”

He looked down a his phone at the sound of a ding from Kuroo.

Kuroohohoh: I’m outside. Birthday dinner is on me!!

“Okay, gotta go!” He snapped a quick photo of the two of you sleeping beside each other before slipping on his shoes and continuing his birthday celebration. Akaashi’s eyes twitched at the sound of the door and he caught a glance of you next to him but he would save his freaking out to after he got his 8 hours.

[kenmas-consoles]

HAIKYUU X READER PURGE KARASUNO EDITION

"₦Ø�� ɆVɆⱤɎØ₦Ɇ ₵₳₦ ₥₳₭Ɇ ł₮"

PROLOGUE:

It felt like any other day, for (Y/n) atleast. Walking the streets in such an ungodly hour should be a sin but the team had morning practice and this week she was assigned with key duty. With eyes lidded and a limp to her step dragging her body along the concrete pavements the girl could easily be mistaken as a corpse. This wasn't exactly uncharacteristic of her as she's normally this way after pulling all nighters on the day before morning practices. The last time this had happened Tsukishima had practically scrunched his nose in disgust towards his classmate and team manager seeing how much of a sleep deprived zombie she was.

A gust of wind sped past that made the girl shiver, cursing herself for not bringing a jacket she folded her amrs together.

"Oh, it's (Y/n)-chan!" Hinata said as he saw the girl sluggishly walking. He rode up to her in such inhuman speed flailing his arms a little bit to catch her attention.

"A simple hello would be nice, it's too early to make this much noise." The girl said burrying her face into his back as the boy offered her a ride on his bike.

"E-eh, sorry (Y/n)-chan I was jusy excited." The boy replied stiffening at her touch as well as making the tips of his ears go red, 'I've never been this close to a girl before' he thought only making his face burst with the same red hue. He silently thanked the gods she was practically half asleep and behind him.

"4:30 is way too early to be at school and practice is an hour later," Getting of the bike the female had whined stretching her arms crickets could be heard chirping in the background and the morning breeze had caused her to involuntarily shiver yet again.

"I didn't think I would get here this early normally I'd make it here by 5 on foot" the girl mumbled, puffing her cheeks as she said so.

Still somewhat sleepy she rubbed her eye and looked at the boy who was parked his bike at the bike rack by the school's entrance "Why are you up this early though?"

"Hmm," the boy put a finger on his lips, "No particular reason, I couldn't really sleep last night either maybe because I was excited for today's practice. Something big is happening today and I feel it in my bones."

While the girl had smiled at the boy's enthusiasm and her luck that they were able to cross paths today she let out a sleepy yawn.

"(Y/n)-chan sure is tired, were you not able to sleep last night too?"

The girl shook her head in response. Hinata then crouched down before her with his back facing her and offered her a ride on his back. After a bit of convincing the pair made their way on to the gym, with (Y/n) on Hinata's back.

★彡★彡★彡

It was currently 6:52 and practice is now ongoing, and had been for almost an hour or so.

Right after the pair had made their way to the gym Kageyama was unsurprisingly the next person to arrive, the boy being a little bitter Hinata arrived first. The other members soon filled in one after another some more lively than the rest.

Now the girl sat on the bench as the boys did their drills. Takeda-sensei couldn't make it to morning practice today as the school board was having a faculty meeting at this hour as well. So here she was inbetween Yachi and Kiyoko watching the boys practice.

Daichi had proposed a mini-game between the team and as soon as he said it the boys had already split into two seperate teams and started a rally as a way to conclude training.

Kageyama was extremely out of it during the game, his serves had less power in them and his tosses lacked accuracy (nothing the team would notice but still). 'Something doesn't feel right, was it the Mackerel this morning? no no no it couldn't be maybe it was because I wasn't able to wash my pair of favorite kneepads' he thought.

"Kegeyama!" Nishinoya had called signalling him that the ball was being passed to him so he had assumed a setting position, jumping he felt the ball fit perfectly in his fingers flicking his wrist he tossed it to the otherside of the court where Hinata was ready to swing.

'Crap, it's low' The boy thought as the ball had left his fingers watching at how the trajectory was down by atleast 18 degrees. Hinata was ready to spike, he felt the surge of adrenaline kick in as he stretched out his hand. He felt a jolt as the ball collide with his face instead of his palms. It all happened too fast for anyone to register, Hinata was soon found on the floor face first hurt, confused and ready to fight Kageyama.

"Hinata!" Daichi had shouted.

"A-are you okay?" Asahi asked as the whole team had circled around the boy who was still laying face flat on the floor.

"He's silent. . .

Ryuu do you think he's dead?!"

"I would be surprised if he wasn't" a certain megane snickered.

"Now now let's not jump to conclusions, Hinata are you alright?"

The boy groaned in reply refusing to sit up.

(Y/n) stood up from her spot and inspected the orange haired boy. The boy had an obvious red mark on his cheek and a growing spot by his forhead and nose, it was only a matter of time before it started bleeding.

Daichi sighed watching (Y/n) escort Hinaya towards the other managers he looked towarss his team, "looks like this is the end of our morning practice, In the mean time the rest of you can do cool down stretching individually and leave. Hinata would be taken to the nurse's office and Suga and I are going to the teacher's lounge to talk to Takeda-sensei about the new training schedule and updates on this mornings practice."

On the otherside of the gym (Y/n) stood by Yachi who was tending to Hinata who had his nose pinched with a tissue. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima stood a few ways from them snickering at the boy's predicament while Kageyama was silently sat next to Hinata.

"Ano, Hinata-kun I think it's best to go to the infirmary now, your nose is bleeding quite a lot." Yachi said scratching her cheek.

"A-ah you're right."

Noya bounces in with Tanaka and Ennoshita in tow, while Narita and Kinoshita finish up their stretching.

"I'm coming with you!" Noya declared, "I need to ice up and bandage my arms too, plus what kind of senpai would I be if I didn't accompany my kouhais to the infirmary." Noya said with an intense aura that nearly blinded Yachi that had left Tanaka laughing.

Kiyoko had volunteered to go to the Infirmary as well to request for a first aid kit as these accidents have been happening quite frequently these days. This had only caused Noya to sky rocket since he'd get to be within a foot radius with his beloved Kiyoko-san.

Daichi, Asahi and Suga stood by the entrance looking over at the team. Suga let out a playful exhausted sigh watching at how loud and energetic Noya is even after morning practice. The boy was laughing with his arms spread looking over a star strucked orange haired boy while Tanaka seemed to hype them up as well (Y/n) and Kageyama looked geniunly confused with Ennoshita face palming behind them. It was a sight to behold, truly it was.

"Sure is energetic, huh?" Daichi said.

"Well, I wouldn't put it pass him, he's always been lively." Asahi said meekly using a finger to scratch his cheek sweatdropping at the scene before him.

With his hands on his hips, lips twisting to the side, "Kinda envious actually, I feel like some old dude now especially when I'm with you slovenly bunch." Suga replied.

"Suga you aren't even old" Daichi said sighing at how dramatic the setter has been lately, ignoring his latter comment the trio exited the gym heading towards the teachers faculty. Hinata, Nishinoya, Yachi and Kiyoko left the gym as well to pay a visit to the infirmary not long after the trio.

7:23

The rest of the volleyball club still stayed by the gym, the door closed, shoes sqeaking and balls being hit could be heard from the gym. None of the boys even bothered to change out of their gym attire yet and class was about to start in an hour.

"Daichi and Suga aren't here right?" Narita asked picking a stray ball.

"Nope, they went to see Takeda-sensei, I'm sure they already left for class after." Ennoshita replied also taking a stray ball and placing it inside the cart.

"I don't think so, they left their bags here." Narita said using his chin to point at where their bags were, by the bleachers along with a few of their teammates belongings as well as a napping (Y/n).

7:30

The lights glowed dim and flickered this caused the group of males to stop their ministrations.

"Did the lights just go out for a second or was that just me?" Tanaka asked aloud.

"I bet it was nothing," Yamaguchi said dismissively, as he was about to practice another float serve the lights went out.

"Who turned out the lights"

"Shit"

"Is it a black out"

"Do you think something happened to the main building??"

Narita takes initiative to go towards the door to check, waning to see if they were the only ones affected from the cut off in electricity.

"Do any of you have flashlights"

"Use your phone"

"It honestly isnt really all that dark you guys are exaggerating"

Narita grabs onto the sliding handle and tugs at it, jerking it with a little more force but to no avail.

"Guys. . . we're locked in."

Kageyama's faced twisted as he ran over and started pulling at the sliding door hoping it would budge but after his actions proved to be uneffective he hit the door with a loud bang.

"Shit" he whispered.

The lights then started to flicker on and off, a loud alarm blaring from the intercom and announcement speakers outside. A wave of panic coursed through the students in the gym.

"

ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴄɪɴɢ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪʀᴇɴ, ᴀɴʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʟ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ, ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅɪɴɢ ᴍᴜʀᴅᴇʀ, ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ʟᴇɢᴀʟ ꜰᴏʀ 12 ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴏᴜꜱ ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ. ᴘᴏʟɪᴄᴇ, ꜰɪʀᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ ꜱᴇʀᴠɪᴄᴇꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴜɴᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ᴀᴛ 7 ᴀ.ᴍ., ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴜʀɢᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇꜱ. ʙʟᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ʙᴇ ᴏᴜʀ ɴᴇᴡ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅɪɴɢ ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ, ᴀ ɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʀᴇʙᴏʀɴ. ᴍᴀʏ ɢᴏᴅ ʙᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟʟ."

"What the fuck"

Ḯ̸̡̡̨͙̹̞̟̞̃̊̎͆̔͗̚͝ť̴̢̢̫̭̙̞̱̆́̇̌̉̔́͝͝ ̶̺̊h̶̠̫͉̲̘̔̅̑͛͠ͅͅả̷̢̳͚̦̽̓͒̃̾̋̈́͜s̵͙̱͙͒͆ͅͅ ̵̧̝̭̫̟̫̝̎̈́͆̈́̑̕͠͝͝ḇ̶̙̄̌͝e̶̦͘g̵̛̟̖̉̀̋̄͜ụ̵̡͖̘̹̖̘͔̆̀̆̂̓̊̒͛n̷̨̪̆̅͒̇͛͆͝

Next

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

Someone Must Get Hurt (Cordelia x Reader (Part 3))

This is set during around and through coven so she’s still Cordelia Foxx technically. 

I’m not American so any odd spelling, phrases or inaccuracies. I apologies for in advance.

Happy Holiday!

I wanted this out before or on Christmas (got one hour till 12). I finally came up with a name for the series "Someone must get hurt" its a song title by She wants Revenge. I'll change it after the series is done. I may come up with a better one but I doubt it.

Writing might be too squashed. Apparently, Tumblr had a limited I knew nothing about.

Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

You had already pulled two all-nighters this week. It wasn’t because of school- that was going slow as per usual- it was because you had lost track of time. You were meant to have a ‘lesson' with Ms Foxx this afternoon but after your third yawn in the first fifteen minutes of starting, she sent you to bed. So much for hanging out with Cordelia. 

“You don’t have to follow me, Cordelia,” You yawned out. “I know where my room is.”

“I don’t know, last time you said that I found you passed out by the stairs,” she kidded. It was true, last time she sent you to bed late after a lesson, she almost stepped on you on her way up to bed. 

She stuck around as you got changed. She had the curiosity to turn around. You hopped into bed before notifying her you were done changing. She smiled at the sight of you sitting there cross-legged smiling tiredly at her. You sat on top of your blankets fiddling with the fabric of your night attire. You were too cute for your own good. As she went to flick off the light, she caught the smirk on your face. She prepared herself, knowing you were going to make a smart-ass comment. 

“You’ve gone all this way and you’re not gonna tuck me in?” You were just messing with her at this point.

“I’m not your mother.”

She rolled her eyes. The suggestion, as it were, wasn’t the worst thing she could do. She knew you were just messing with her, but it almost felt like an invitation to get closer to you. Maybe not even physically. Keyword, almost. You had built your walls so high over the year or so you had been at the academy. She was desperate to unveil the mysteries of (y/n) but she was scared that if she moved too quickly, she would scare you off. 

She approached the bed, you readjusted yourself. Now under the blanket, you waited for her next move.

“Wipe that smug look off your face.” She wasn’t normally like this. You brought out something in her that had been tucked away in the deepest darkest corners of her being. She enjoyed your back and forth of snarky comments. It rarely happened, only when you were tired and/or comfortable. “And would you like a glass of milk too?” The question did come out in the same snide way as the rest of the conversation, but milk might help you fall asleep faster. 

“Actually, that doesn’t sound that bad.” You were back to your everyday tone. All sarcasm put to rest. 

“Okay, give me a minute.” She headed downstairs to pour you a glass of milk. It was just after dinner; Cordelia had worked through the mealtime to ensure that she would be able to go that lesson with you. It wasn’t important work, she needed to go through some emails and scour the internet for any news that sounded like a witch could have done it. After she delivered your milk and made sure you fell asleep, she would have dinner then head to bed herself. Working in the greenhouse didn’t seem as fun without your chatter. 

By the time she made it back to your bedroom, you were already fast asleep. She rested the beverage on your nightstand. She gathered the fabric laying it neatly over your frame. She leant down, leaning her body weight on one of her hands as she placed a kiss on your forehead, “Goodnight Y/n/n.” You smiled in your sleep. 

You’d heard the glass of the greenhouse shatter. Unaware of what it was you got up to check it out. “Shit.” Quick on your feet. You slipped through the back door, grabbing a branch on your way to the glass wreckage, igniting it with your mind. It was dark and had to be around ten. Fiona seemed busy yelling at someone and you had no idea where Cordelia was. Your mind screamed at you to find your headmistress. Chances were she was amongst the wreckage. She spent most of her free time there and the two of you were meant to have been in there tonight. You were thankful you weren't at the time, but it didn't ease your concern.

You called out Cordelia’s name but got no reply. You climbed through the wreckage scanning around looking for any person. One of your fellow students was on the ground bleeding from her stomach. You cursed and ripped off your jacket off, placing it on the wound (and applied pressure) to try and stop the blood.

“Queenie, stay with me.”  

 A voice outside called your headmistress name. You cried out for help. It didn’t surprise Fiona that you were there, she knew that you were close to her daughter- and unlike Cordelia’s Husband, she didn’t completely despise you. However, she was shocked to see Queenie bleeding out on the floor. Queenie moaned out in pain.

“Jesus, what happened?” Fiona asked. 

“I don’t know. I found her like this,” You said glancing up at her for a moment. 

“It hurt me really badly.”

“What? What hurt you?” Fiona asked Queenie. 

“Oh, God.”

The minotaur emerged from behind Fiona. Fiona whipped out a blade and slashed its throat before it could harm either her or the students anymore. It collapsed to the ground. It was sent by Marie Laveau for the soul purpose of tormenting Delphine.  She prayed the woman kept her damn mouth shut until this mess was cleaned up and forever long after. 

Queenie began convulsing. You cursed, tearing off your jacket from her wound. You laid your hands over her wound, begging for it to heal. The wound disappeared from Queenie. The pain seeped away from her, stopping her convulsing. You pulled away, chortled at your handy work as she patted herself down.

"You saved me." She engulfed you in a hug. 

"Yeah, I did." You paled. You were fighting the dizziness as best as you could.

"(Y/N)?" She asked.

"Your cut was deeper than I thought." You chuckled as you stumbled back clutching your stomach. Head turning over to Fiona, you weakly said, “Don’t tell Delia.” Your eyes rolled back into your head as you plummeted to the ground.

"Shit. Is she going to be alright?" Queenie asked, eyes darting between you and the Supreme. 

"Help me get her up," Fiona said. Together they managed to take you to your bed. "Get cleaned up and tell no one that you were the one attacked." Queenie was hesitant to do what Fiona ordered. Still in a state of shock of what happened to her, she went along with the Supreme’s plan. She was the supreme after all, she had to know best.

Fiona went to Cordelia's room and woke her daughter up.

"My God, what happened?" She rushed over to your side once she saw the blood-stained on your shirt. She moved the fabric around to find a tear in the material but there wasn’t one. How odd.

"This girl was attacked, near to death, while you slept."

"By who?" Cordelia pulled out a candle and matches to cast a spell. She struggled to light the match.

"Not who. By what. Some minion of hell or other."

"Summoned by who? Not one of our girls?"

"Christ, our girls couldn't pull a rabbit out of a hat. This was dark-art voodoo, flat out."

"Marie Laveau."

"No doubt."

"This is your fault. You went to see her. You deliberately provoked her."

"How would you know that?"

"Because she told me." Cordelia got the match to light. She hovered it over the wick lighting the candle. 

"Yeah? And what were you doing over on that side of town?"

"It was a personal matter."

"Christ, Delia."

The two argued ignoring the sick girl lying on her bed. Cordelia noticed you weren’t breathing. Her mother ordered her to move out of the way. She exhaled, using her power of Vitalum Vitalis to bring you back just enough so they can save you. You gasped and groaned. 

"I got a heartbeat. But maybe we should get her to a hospital."

"That is out of the question. From now on, we handle everything internally. The last thing you want is to have the Council show up on your doorstep and question your competence."

With that, the Supreme exited the room leaving Cordelia to take care of you. You began to mumble something, whether it was to her or yourself, she couldn't tell. You looked over to Cordelia through heavy eyelids. 

"Delia?" You croaked out.

"Yes, sweetheart?" 

"Hot."

"I'll get you cool in a minute, but I need to clean your wound first.” You weakly nodded. Her eyes asked for permission as she notified you that she needed to lift your shirt. Usually, you would make a fuss. No one had ever seen you in anything that didn't cover you head to toe with some form of jacket. 

As she pried the tight fitted shirt off your body, she was shocked to find more than the wound she was treating. A million different scratches going every which way, chunks missing creating divots in the skin. The more fabric she removed the more damage was revealed. She decided it was best to remove the blood-stained item of clothing completely of your frame. 

As she grabbed your right arm to help remove the shirt quicker, you lurched forward yelping in pain. She retracted before investigating the area she touched. The area was a deep purple (almost brown) with blotches of red. Cordelia’s best guess was that it was broken.

She tossed your shirt aside, taking a step back to total damages. The sight of the state of your body was taking a toll on her. She stared at your damaged body. She’d never felt so sick to her stomach. Your past was a mystery having shut yourself off from both your past and your fellow witches. If she hadn’t caught you in the greenhouse trying to learn more about ‘green magic’ she would still know next to nothing about you. No wonder why you dashed at the sight of blood, you'd seen too much of it. She wished she could take your pain away. 

"Oh god. who? What monster did this to you?"

She patched you up and washed all the blood that had bled onto you. She apologized after every whine. On point, you weakly tried to fight away her hands as she worked on your stomach. Mumbling words like ‘hurt’ to tell her to stop. “Baby, I need to fix you.” Not much was thought about her word choice, you were highly delirious and her, completely stressed out. “Shh~ I won’t be much longer, I promise.” She murmured to you trying to calm you down enough to stop fighting the help. “No- don’t do that.” She worried you would injure yourself further- mainly your bruised hand. 

 She carefully placed your hands at your sides. they didn't stay there long. She resorted to magically holding them in place. You whined louder, scared you were loosening control of your body. You called out for her, babbled incoherently as your mind mistook Cordelia for a stranger. Your sight worked against you, she blurred in with the rest of the fuzz. You calmed down towards the end of her working. The blonde worried as soon as she undid the spell you would attempt to undo her work.

She sat by your side, dabbing a cold rag on your forehead. You hummed contently at the contacted of the rag. Too tired to panic or care. The cold towel was welcomed.

She was disappointed to find out that your arm was broken. She made you a temporary cast, so you didn't injure it further. As soon as you were healthy, she would sneak you off to get a proper one. She didn't care what her mother said.

You woke up from your sleep dazed and confused. You felt as like a thousand knives had stabbed you. You grumbled as you attempted to sit up. Light was shining through the gap in the blinds. Usually Cordelia would open them for you in the morning before class. She was the one to wake up all the girls before the morning meeting otherwise they wouldn’t show up on time. 

You must still have time before the meeting. The pain would only stop you from falling back to sleep, so you decided to have an early start to the morning. 

As you go to sit up you noticed you weren’t alone. To your left, Cordelia was slumped in an armchair, fast asleep. You scanned around trying to figure out why she would have spent her night in the uncomfortable armchair that usually was in the corner of your room instead of her own bed. The world was airier on your body. You never found the mornings cold like the other girls complained about. This morning was your first taste of what they were talking about. You pulled your blanket up, feeling the fabric brush against your arm. 

To your shock, your top half was covered in nothing, but your bra and blood-stained gauze wrapped around your stomach. Your morning brain forgot about the incident. She saw your body. She was exposed to all your imperfections. She knows what you tried so desperately to hide. What does this mean for the rest of your secrets? How much does she know of last night? You couldn’t let her know that you had done this to yourself. Another student was injured, and you made an impulsive decision to take it away from them. You only added to the story. Someone would still be injured, if you didn’t help but now there’s your need to please others.

“Where are you going?” Her croaky morning voice broke the silence.

“To get ready for class.”

“You should be getting some rest.”

“I’ll be fine, just need something for the pain.” You shuffle through the vials on your dresser. You opened one and take a whiff before downing it. The plant-based pain reliever tasted bitter. “I want to act like nothing happened.”

“I can’t let you do that.” She stood up from the chair getting ready to physically drag you back to the bed if she had too.

“Good luck stopping-” Both your attention was drawn to the door creaking open. “Me,” you slipped the last word out as Nan made herself known.

“They’re here,” Nan said. 

“The girls?” Cordelia asked. 

“Not the girls.”

The two of you looked at each other confused by what Nan meant. Cordelia excused herself, telling you that you needed to go back to bed. To hell you were. You pulled on a black full-length robe. You removed your jeans tossing them out of sight. 

You wrapped an arm around your stomach as you used your good hand to keep you stable as you made your way downstairs. 

“I can guess why you're here.” You heard Cordelia’s voice say. “Last night's assault on Y/N was a horrific tragedy, but I can assure you she is resting comfortably.” Sticking your head around the corner to see who was there. 

“Are you sure about that?” The man said pointing over to you. 

Cordelia spun around to see you, “Y/N, you should be in bed.” She rushed over to you, helping you off the wall and allowing you to rest all your weight on her. She cradled your body in her arms.

“And I told you I didn’t want to-” She gave you a disapproving stare. “I’ll go back to bed,” you pouted. You tried to break away from her grip, but she didn’t let go. 

“I’ll help you back up. Please give us one second.” The council members gave a nod. As the two of you were about to leave the Supreme walked in. Cordelia didn’t like the idea of leaving them alone with her, especially when her mother was asking about why they were here, something she would also like to know. 

The people you didn’t recognize said something about a missing girl. That couldn’t be right. Who would be missing? Nan was there, you saw Queenie last night as well as the other two. They’re only five girls. So, who was gone?

They let Cordelia take you to your room and let her get changed before the started the questioning.

You were the second last person they interviewed. They had come up to your room which you were now laid underneath the blankets. Cordelia who had been witnessing all the questionings moved your chair back into the corner of the room as the question went on.

“When was the last time you saw or spoke of Madison?”

“Dinner last night before-”

“Before?”

“I was attacked,” you stated bluntly. “She was giving me advice.”

“Advice about what exactly?”

You lowered your head looking at your hands. You could not believe you were going to have to admit this aloud especially when the person you were trying to impress was in the same room. 

“How to get someone to notice you,” you squeaked out. They made you speak up. “Her suggested methods were distasteful, but she was nice about it (for once. She was probably excited I was making a move.). I thought she would have some idea because she was a movie star, she’d might know something.”

“Do you know anyone who would have the intention to harm her?”

“Anyone who has ever met her. She isn’t the nicest person.”

“Do you?”

“No~ I tend to stay away from her. The only time she ever talks to me directly is at dinner.”

“Before her disappearance, was Madison manifesting any powers, new ones, rapidly accumulating?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t really pay attention in class, I get distracted,” You admitted. “Sorry Ms.” You didn’t have the guts to look at her. “I’m in my room or the greenhouse for the rest of the time so I wouldn’t know. Sorry.” 

When their questioning was done, Cordelia made her way back to your room. She gestured for you to get up which you were more than happy too.

"I can't believe Madison's gone," you thought aloud. Cordelia supported your body as she guided you out of your room. She hadn’t told you where you were going. "The attack and then this. What if the culprit was on the inside?" She remained silent. "Are any of us safe?" She halted. 

Are any of her girls safe? One missing, another injured. She feared for the safety of her coven. They were already facing extinction, who knew how long they got left. If someone on the inside was against them then who and why? They already had to face the outside, why bring more trouble?

"Why did you go outside after I told you to go to bed?"

"I didn't mean to embarrass you, I just wanted to-"

"Last night."

"Oh. I heard glass shatter. I thought you might have been in there, you know cause we had planned to be there, and I wanted to make sure you were okay." 

She took you to her room. Allowing you to enter first, a strong arm wrapped around you the whole time keeping you close. Your arms found their place on her chest, gathering the fabric of her blouse in your fisted hands. 

"And you got yourself injured instead." She looked down at you. She wasn't happy with what you did even if it was out of the kindness of your heart. She was touched that you cared enough to make sure she was safe but the fact that you got hurt didn’t sit well with her. Nothing about last night did. What she saw. The state you were in. You were pushing her away, acting like nothing happened. Metaphorically, shutting the door and locking her out as if she was a stranger. You enjoyed being perched on your high tower, walls higher than most are willing to climb. She had joined you for a bit, but the walls were getting taller and she was getting sick of climbing.

"It's fine, I'm fine." There it was. Denial. Cordelia thought she got past that with you, but you were adamant that keeping your pain to yourself was right. Maybe you didn’t know the extent of what happened last night? 

"You almost died last night. You stopped breathing; my mother had to help you." 

You shrugged. It wasn’t the first time you got close, “I just want to forget about what happened." She couldn’t believe it.

"Y/n, with everything going on it's not the time to neglect taking care of yourself."

She helped you comfortable on her bed. She laid you on her side as it was closer to the door. 

"I'll be fine." 

No one who uses the word fine is fine, it's a go-to answer we are trained to use to not burton people with our problems.

You didn't want her to leave, but your constant reassurance that ‘I’ll be fine’ (which she used against you) made her want to prove that you weren’t. She'd been offered to get drinks with her mother, and activity that didn’t excite her. She told you about her mother's invite out and that if you wanted her to stay, you’d have to admit that you needed her help. She hoped you would. All the way until she was at the bar with her mother. She had her phone on, in case you called her, asking her to come back. 

If you knew what was going to happen when she was out, you would have begged her to stay with you.

“Fiona, what happened?” 

“She was blinded,” Fiona filled you in. 

“What? By who? 

You heard the tapping of a cane against the floor. The door opened to reveal your favourite blonde dressed in black and her less than favourable husband. 

“Probably the same that got you,” Fiona responded. 

“She made it up the stairs on her own,” Hank said.

“Of course, she did. She's tough. She's a survivor,” Fiona responded.

“She's right here.” 

“Why are there roses in here?”

“Why, I thought you might enjoy them. They're the very last of your heirlooms.”

“Roses pull in love and romance. That's not what I'm looking for right now.”

“She needs chrysanthemums. All kinds of them, for strength and protection,” you said without thinking.

“Y/n?” she lit up at the sound of your voice.

“Why is there a student in our bed?” Hank asked Cordelia. 

“She was attacked and since you weren’t here, I thought it would be nice to recuperate on the best bed in the house.” She was on edge. You wouldn’t blame her, not knowing what is going on around you would make anyone uneasy. She made her way to the loveseat in the middle of the room.

“Well, doctor said, uh, bed rest for at least a week, hmm?” Hank said going to help his wife find the chair. Cordelia gasped at the contact. He must have scared her, you thought.

“Who is she? Who is the redhead?” Cordelia snapped. 

What was she on about?

Little did you know that Cordelia had a manifest a new power after her blindness. 

“Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, baby. I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Enough bullshit! Anything else you want to tell me now? Because I will see it sooner or later. I had to go blind to see things about you I couldn't see before. A bad cosmic joke. It's a different kind of clarity, an absolute clarity I've never had. The images almost vibrate with light."

Her words confused you. 'Had to go blind to see things about you I couldn't see before' was she getting vision? The idea frightened you, but you were happy she was seeing the man for what he is, a piece of shit.

“Thank Christ she's finally got your number,” Fiona said. You hummed in agreement.

“She's high as a kite. You know what they gave her before we left the hospital?”

“I'm high all right, but it's not the drugs, and rest assured, you will be accountable for every single betrayal, no matter how deep you think your secrets are buried. Now get out of here. Get out!”

“Baby. Now, you're my... you're my heart.” The door banged open.

“I'd get out while you still can, jug head.” The door slammed shut behind him. Thank god he’s gone, you thought. 

“I wanted to sever his arms and throw him out the window. I had to stop myself.”

The man deserved that. Why would anyone want to cheat on her?

“You've been given the Sight. It comes in bits and pieces. It's the greatest gift to have. And the hardest one to live with.” Fiona said. She saw Cordelia starting to undress herself to get dressed into some more comfortable close and she offered to help. “Let me help, honey.” Cordelia gasped again. A vision of Myrtle burning filled her vision. Cordelia began crying softly, asking her mother why she hadn’t told her sooner. Fiona said she wasn’t to tell her, but she was in too much pain. 

“I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Ah. I think it's best if I... I’ll leave you with Y/N for a while. I'll ask Delphine to come and check on you two later.” The door squeaked as she left the room. 

You were alone with her.

“Would you like me to get you some comfortable clothes for you?” you offered.

“Yes please,” she choked out between sobs.

You rustled through her closest searching for a fresh pair of pyjamas. Having no luck, you settle for a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. In your search, you found a pair of gloves. Noticing how she only reacted when she touched someone, you thought it wouldn’t they wouldn’t hurt. You slipped them on your hands you only needed one because your other arm was in a sling) before walking out. She let you help her get changed into her new clothes, it took some time because she couldn’t see and you only hand on arm, but you made it work. 

"You know you don’t have to wear the glove; I can’t see anything. You don’t have to hide.” She mistook it for you want to hide yourself up. It was better than her being suspicious. You were almost fully covered up except for your head and parts of your right arm. She had no reason to suspect you were hiding something.

“Someone might walk in,” you played along. “Anyway, I only have one useable arm. Even if I could it would be too much work putting it back on.” She nodded understanding. The two of you were the cripples. 

You told her to lay down, letting her know that if she needed help, to ask you. You informed her that you needed to make a quick call. You didn’t bother stepping out of the room. You pulled out your phone and dialled the number. 

“Hey, this is (y/n), I helped you find your son a while back.” You waited for a few moments. “You offered me a free order; can I get a mixture of different types of chrysanthemums?” More mumbling on the other end. “No, they’re not for me, they’re for this amazing woman I know” It was obvious Cordelia was going to eavesdrop when you hadn’t left the room. “I’ll come and get them later today. Thank you.” 

You hung up the phone and sat on the left side of the bed. Cordelia laid on her back her. She turned to you when she felt the bed dip. She brushed away the tears escaping her. She tried her best to hide her feelings from you. 

“So, tell me about this ‘amazing’ woman?” Cordelia asked, you could tell she needed a distraction from the news she just heard. Everything was crumbling down on her. How could someone be this strong? She was always impressing you. 

“She’s the kindest person I have ever met, understanding and smart. Strong and patient even when most people would snap or break down and let’s not forget about how insanely ho- gorgeous she is.”

“Hmm~ really?” She crawled closer to you. “Do I know this woman?”

“Maybe~” you sung. You shuffled closer. You removed the fabric of the cloth sling in two motions, flinging it across the room. Her head darted in the direction of the noise when it hit the ground. 

“What was that?”

“My sling.” Your gloved hand gently tugged her closer guiding her to lay her head on your chest.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re asking too many questions Delia.”

Once settled on your chest, she snuggled up trying to get a comfortable position. She compared you to a soft cloud as you wrapped your injured hand around her. Your sleeves cover your hand completely creating sweater paws. 

Cordelia didn’t know if what she was feeling was right. You were her student and she was still (unfortunately to her) married. The man cheated on her and her she was lying in her bed with one of her students. Could she pass this off as something friends do? Females tend to be strangely clingy to their other female friends, kissing, hugging, where is the line between friendship and love? Does it draw down to feelings? She didn’t know your intentions when you pulled her in, you were trying to comfort her that was for sure. It’s you, there wouldn’t be more to it. Yes, she was overthinking every touch. Her brain was grasping onto something else other than the attack, burning and cheating. Oh, Aunty Myrtle, you couldn’t have done it, Cordelia thought. Someone was trying to hurt her sisters and she was left blind and defenceless in the arms of someone she couldn’t even tell was a friend or more.

She let it go. Finding comfort in you, she buried her face into your jumper, staining the fabric with her tears. All you could do was watch on, stroking her head with covered hands. 

“I-I’m sorry,” she sobbed out.

“Don’t apologies. Cry it out if you need to, I’ll be here if you need to talk.”

“What did I do to deserve you?”

You chuckled, nothing but be who you are. “Just sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

You weren’t.

When she didn’t wake up in your embrace, believed the worst. She sensed a change in the environment. As she fumbled about, she found a vase full of Chrysanthemums on her bedside table. She smiled as she leaned in to smell them. 

The door flung open, she prayed it was you. She was saddened to find out it was Delphine checking up on her like her mother requested. She asked the woman where you were to which she had no clue. She hadn’t seen you since she dropped the flowers in Cordelia’s room. 

Her worry was later diminished when she was informed you were in the now fixed greenhouse making a potion, you claimed was for her. 

The lone time allowed the both of you to think. Whether that was for the best, only time will tell. 

[scribble-bunnie]

soulmark | m.yg (1)

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Chapters: 9

Summary: in which, a girl and a boy without soulmarks learn what it means to have a soulmark and a soulmate.

01 || There's Always A Little Truth

(Y/n)'s POV

A warm breeze blew at me, making me smile as I stepped into the familiar coffee shop. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. The familiar guy behind the counter smiled at my appearance before continuing his work of typing the bill.

It was 8 in the morning and I was at my workplace, the 'Sweet Secret' coffee shop that my friend, Kim Seokjin owned. I rushed to the back, pulling on my everyday waitress/barista outfit, before coming out. I went next to Jin, who was writing something on the counter.

"Jin," I called out to him, giving him my award-winning smile. He looked up, amused. He was a year older than me, but he said that sometimes, it felt as if I am older than him, so he asked me to call him Jin instead of Jin-oppa. "Whatcha writing?"

I leaned over his (extremely broad) shoulder to look at the small notepad. It was a bunch of numbers that I guessed was the coffee shop's budget and all.

"Good morning to you too," he said, turning around and leaning against the counter to face me. I bit my tongue when I remembered I forgot to say it. He just smiled. "Looking good, I see. Smiling as ever. Now get your smiling face and make a mocha and a latte for that couple over there."

I internally groaned but kept the smile. I prepared the drinks and immediately served it to them. By that time, the shop was starting to fill in, especially with university students looking for help after all-nighters.

I was soon joined by my co-worker, Park Jimin, who was also one of the main attractions of girls to our coffee shop. Too bad for them, Jimin-ah was taken by a handsome guy (who girls would kill for), Jeon Jungkook.

The morning rush continued on till 11:30, and I could finally take a breath when Jin nodded at me to take five minutes off.

My eyes were just looking around when it fell on Jimin-ah, who was wiping tables. Specifically, on his left wrist. Where his soulmark was.

In our world, everyone had a soulmark; a sign similar to their soulmate's. Jimin-ah met Jungkook-ah in university, and since he started working part-time here starting his first year, he told me all about it. All the feelings, all the rush, all the happiness.

And I felt happy for him. I felt so happy that he got to meet the one for him. Jungkook-ah was a sweetheart, and the two were made for each other. In more than one way. 

Thinking about him made me look down, at my own wrist. It was bare, just a plain normal wrist without a soulmark. Everyone got their soulmark between 10-12 years old, and at first I thought I was just a late bloomer. But no. I just don't have a soulmate.

Ever since then, I have wondered what it felt like to have a soulmate; somebody who is made for us. Meant to love us and only us. Soulmates dated and married and them doing otherwise was unheard of.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, making me look up. Jin was giving me a sad look. He shook his head. I looked down at my lap with a sad smile.

"I'm okay," I told him. He didn't look convinced. He gave me a mug of (f/c). I took it from his hand. "Really."

"I know," Jin said, giving me a small hug. I hugged him back, basking in the warmth for a second before reality slapped me in the face again. I downed the drink and hopped onto my feet. "Ready to work?"

"As I'll ever be," I said with a grin, to hide my pain on the inside. He gave me a wide smile too, and I got to work again.

At twenty-five, I had given up all hope. Almost 97% of people had soulmates and it was hard to find people without soulmates, because they hid the fact. Also, people who weren't soulmates had a fat chance of actually working out.

I knew I was going to be alone for life, but for some reason, I had a little bit of hope inside me, that one day I might find someone. I sighed to myself as I packed the pastry for the woman.

"Here you go, ma'am," I handed it to her. "Would you like anything else?"

"No, no, I'm good," she said with a smile. "How much will that be?"

I handed her the bill, and she paid before leaving. Around 1:00 the shop was empty and so the three of us sat down for lunch. Jimin-ah had gotten us sandwiches from the shop across.

"Ah, Jimin-ah, (Y/n)-ah," Jin said, pausing from biting his sandwich. "My soulmate is coming tonight and we're gonna go for dinner. Would you two care to join?"

"Jin, no!" I exclaimed. "You both have fun, why do you want Jimin-ah and I to ruin it? I'm sure he's desiring some alone time with you!"

Jin laughed before speaking, "No, he's coming to meet you guys. You all have never met, so he proposed a meet-up dinner. We are going on a date this Saturday, anyway."

"Oh, then sure," Jimin-ah replied for the both of us. 

"He'll come at 8:00, so I'm closing the shop early, and then we can all go," Jin said, before taking a huge bite of his sandwich. "I already messaged Min-ji about today's timing."

Song Min-ji was the university part-time student we had. She worked from afternoon to night. Since Jimin-ah finished university last year, we decided to take a part-timer again. I nodded at the information, before finishing my lunch.

"Alright, I'm gonna open the shop again," I announced.

Min-ji came at around 2:30, after her university. She had long black hair and black doe eyes. She started her last year at university with Jungkook-ah this year. They were both two years younger than Jimin-ah. She was Jungkook-ah's friend and he introduced her to us since she wanted a part-time job.

"(Y/n)-unnie!" she pounced on me, giving me a hug that left me struggling to breath. "I hate university. Just one week in, and they are driving us crazy!"

"There, there," I patted her on the back. "You can do it, and we both know it. One more year, Min-ji, before you are free!"

She nodded, determined. She stepped back and went to the back to change her uniform. She came out, her beautiful soulmark resting on her wrist. It was a design, unlike most people. The Soulmark was something that connected the two people involved, something that meant a lot to them. So mostly, people got different objects from flowers to wine. 

Min-ji still hadn't met her soulmate, and she was anxious to meet them. I tried my best to support my friends, but sometimes, I couldn't help it. I cried to myself, because my bare wrist spoke my future.

It was a truth universally acknowledged, that I was going to be alone forever and ever.

❒❒❒

Part 1 | Part 2

[jaehyeonsgf]

Hey babe, I love your scenarios they’re amazing, I come to your blog to see if you’ve posted. Can I request a scenario with Jaehyun 17, 12 and 24.

12 : “whatever you have to say about me, say it to my face”

17 : “its like you’ve made it your sole mission to annoy me”

24 : “don’t underestimate me”

a/n : highkey wanted to write another fratboy!jaehyun, but I opted for idol!jaehyun and photographer!reader. hope you enjoy and thanks for your support :> it means a lot to me

warning : smut

[ view prompt list here ]

-

Landing a placement in SM Entertainment as a photographer meant that you’d have a stable income for the next few months, but it also meant that you find yourself in the company of a certain arrogant ass more often than you’d like.

Jaehyun is the hottest model currently and is making leaps and bounds in the k-modelling world, famously walking in the New York Fashion Week show, and he knows it. He knows that he is a big deal and he’s aware of how a single smile leaves a flutter of girls at his feet – that explains his bigger-than-his-wardrobe ego.

You wonder what would the public think of him if they saw what actually goes on behind the scene. They say that you should never meet your celebrities. That if you do, you’ll realise that they are nothing more than rich snobby kids, put together by absurdly expensive clothes, and that their personalities are nothing more than printed words, editing and a façade. You think that that is an accurate depiction of the contrast between the man you see in giant posters or interviews on The Late Late Show and the man that stands in front of your camera.    

You come to the conclusion that before any fragments of Jaehyun’s true self reaches the masses, his management will be willing to drop large sums of money just to keep it all under wraps.

The fact doesn’t disappoint you that much, you’ve already gotten used to the reality. It simply means that you’ll have to suffer under his reign silently for the foreseeable future, or at least the end of your contract with his management.

It doesn’t stop you from bickering with him when he acts up though.

“B-but I thought you said these were okay to use!”

“That was a week ago but right now, I don’t think that they don’t look good enough,” Jaehyun calmly answers, his eyes never leaving his phone screen. He continues to swipe through his Instagram feed and it does more to further annoy you.

You roll your eyes. You had pulled two all-nighters, editing photos from a Harper’s Bazaar Korea photoshoot, only to have it been rejected by him.

“Don’t you know how long I’ve worked-“

“You say that as if my job is that easy,” he quickly shuts you up.

You acknowledge that it’s not easy to stand in front of a camera and look as good as he does. There’s a reason that you chose a life behind the camera instead of in front of it. It doesn’t stop you from showing every trace of annoyance you have on your face.

His eyes glance up at you in the mirror and at the sight of your furrowed eyebrows and tight lips, the corner of his lips raises into a smug look. He takes your silence as answer.

“Great. So I don’t see any problems with you choosing another set of photos and have them done by… Wednesday,” he arches a sculpted eyebrow up.

You open your mouth to argue that two days aren’t enough. His eyebrow arches further up.

You sigh and brace yourself for another sleepless night.

The next time you see Jaehyun, it’s at another photoshoot and you have half a mind to commit a felony right there and then. It doesn’t help that his stylists had all rushed down to MNET to help out a group of newly debuted group, leaving you all alone with him in a luxurious hotel room.

You wonder where did the professional model go because for whatever reason, Jaehyun is simply not delivering enough. Usually a few prompts are enough to get the shots of Jaehyun you needed – thanks to how his expression, gaze and posture all coming together in the perfect union. It’s one of the few perks of working with Jaehyun, shoots are usually shorter and easier to coordinate.

But not today.

Today, he’s no where near half his usual capability. Today, his concentration is fixated on something else, rather than his job. Today, you predict, will be the day he finally pushes you off the edge.

“Soften your gaze,” you demanded through clenched teeth for the third time in a row.

The gaze he gives you is instead one of frustration.

“Y-you know what, let’s just take a break,” he breathes out, lifting a hand to run it through his hair, only to stop midway when he realises that his stylists aren’t around to help him position each strand in its perfect position. His hand forms a tight fist as he lowers it.

You frown. The both of you only have the room for the next two hours and the fact that you haven’t exactly taken pictures – well, at least not pictures that can be published – bothers you.

“We can’t stop just ‘cause you aren’t feeling it, Mr. Hotshot,” you say.

“It’s not like we’re getting any work done anyways,” he throws you a pointed look, as if to toss the blame on you. And, as if his point isn’t clear enough, he chooses to add in, “Don’t underestimate me. The only reason I’ve gotten here today is because I’ve never taken a single day off.”

Your eyes widen in the rage. Who does Jung Jaehyun think he is? Who does he think he is to cast the blame on to you, when it’s clearly his fault? It annoys you to no end that he actually thinks that you’re the one screwing it up.

Yet you choose not to retaliate. At least you try not to. You breathe and set your camera down on the nightstand, trying desperately to stay calm. Your best friend had shared with you a breathing technique that was supposed to work wonders to calm yourself down and you try it. You recall the instructions and breathe in, holding it for a moment, then letting it go.

Still, it doesn’t stop you from mumbling under your breath, “It’s as if you’ve made it your sole mission to annoy me. It’s not even my fault.”

You hadn’t mean for Jaehyun to hear it, but he does. And it flips a switch within him and in one deft movement, he has you back against the soft white bed and pinned under him.

“Whatever you have to say about me, say it to my face,” he almost growls out.

Getting what he wants isn’t a matter of privilege, rather it was a given. More of a right than a blessing. His status meant that everywhere he went, there’ll be crowds of people following him around, taking pictures of him as he goes through his day. His popularity doesn’t end with the masses. Modelling agencies from all over the world are pining for him to sign contracts with them. So, it comes as no surprise when people start doing things just to please him, just to gain his favour.

Still, he can’t deny the surge of satisfaction he gets when he manages to force his way through life. And he feels it, looking down on your blushing face and eyes fixated at the window beside the bed, rather than him.

It is then that you make the mistake of tearing your eyes away from the window. Because when your eyes meet his, something dangerous transpires.

You gulp visibly and remind yourself. He is… a client.

It doesn’t stop you from kissing him back when he places his lips against yours. You sigh against his lips and relaxes your body. The kiss starts out slow but then it isn’t. It becomes clashing teeth and rough tongues that speaks of desperation.

He is a client but God, if you aren’t excited for what’s in store. It’s been awhile since you’ve last were intimate with anyone. That isn’t to say that you didn’t have your chances, the chances were there but you just refused them. Your mind was simply too preoccupied with Jung Jaehyun and his lists of unreasonable demands to do anything else – sex included.

You bend one knee up, slotting it between his legs, feeling the growing erection. You’re rewarded with a lustful moan. It sends shivers down your spine but you refuse to acknowledge just how angelic it sounds next to your ears. Instead, you lift one arm up, snaking it behind Jaehyun’s neck and up into his hair. They aren’t smooth or soft because of the amount of hair product in them, but it doesn’t stop you from tugging on it. Your other hand quickly undoes his button up shirt.

His hands don’t leave you alone either. He steadies himself using one hand to grip on the headboard, as the other slips under your shirt. His warm touch is enough for you to elicit a hiss into the kiss. His hand is everywhere, from your waist, to your hips and rests against your ribcage, caressing your skin.

“Your clothes,” he says when he pulls away from you.

The both of you are breathless and you just know that your lips are swollen red. You push him upwards, so that he is sitting on his knees and you’re sitting upright. It takes only a brief moment before you’ve gotten rid of your top and your pants, leaving you in a mismatched black laced bra and a white silk panty. He takes the opportunity to work on his own pants, quickly pulling it off so that he’s in his boxer briefs.

Within moments, both your bodies are again pressed up against each other. His lips wander across your jawline and works down your neck.

“Wait- Oh god…” You exhale shakily and turns your head one way to give him access to your neck. “Don’t-I’m!” you try to warn him about how sensitive you are along your neck but Jaehyun gets there first with his soft lips.

Your soft mewls encourage his smug smirk and he decides to treat you by generously littering patches of red and purple down your neck and on to your chest. You know that they’ll bruise tomorrow but you don’t care enough to stop him.

Then his body leaves yours again and, this time, you let a whine out.

“Hold on, baby doll,” he comforts, using the side of his index finger to lift your chin up so that you’re looking at him.

He uses his index finger to split apart your lips and in an act of seduction, you lick his finger. The act catches him off-guards but he lets you have his hand. You take his index and middle fingers into your mouth, slightly hollowing your cheeks as you suck on them, playing with them using your tongue.

There’s something at the sight of you with saliva dripping down your chin and mouth full of his fingers that turns Jaehyun on even more. So, he removes his fingers and, instead, pulls down his boxer briefs, letting his fully erect length spring free. You let out a shaky breathe when you see his size. He aligns it to your swollen lips.

“Suck on this instead.”

You get on your knees and obediently swallows him into your mouth. You feel his length hit the back of your throat and a single tear rolls out your eye. You steady yourself, one hand on his hips before bobbing up and down, letting him complete destroy the back of your throat. He doesn’t try to control his moans and it’s soon that your name is bouncing off the walls, punctuated with the occasional hisses.

It made you feel good that the Jung Jaehyun is at your mercy. This lasts for a mere moment because without warning, his hand is gripping a fistful of your hair, shoving his dick down your throat making you gag from the unexpected move. Your voice is muffled by his cock and he doesn’t notice how badly he is wrecking your throat.

Your salvation comes the moment he pulls out and orders you to get on your hands and feet. You obey, sticking your ass high up in the air. This is the moment that you’ve been waiting for.

“You’re so wet for me baby doll,” he breathes against your warm core as he pulls your panty off of you.

A whine leaves your lips because you know the exact smug expression he has on. “H-hurry up.”

“Impatient,” he comments but is quick to reach over to, what you think is, his wallet.

But your hand flies out, stopping him. You’re already dripping in desperation and the longer you waited, the more it felt like torture. “Don’t… I’m on the pill.”

The way lust rolls off your tongue is enough to stop Jaehyun and his grin widens upon hearing the fact. It takes him less than a second before he slides himself in you and it makes a sinful sound.

It’s been a while and you’ve totally forgotten how amazing it is to feel completely filled. You sigh in pleasure. Jaehyun makes an equally loud moan, fingers lightly digging into your hips. The pleasure of your walls clenching so goddamn tightly around him is enough to overwhelm him and he almost comes, but controls himself. He steadies himself, letting you adjust to his length. It’s only when you desperately started grinding down on him that he starts thrusting into you.

He reaches forward and pulls your head back by your hair and his other hand reaches forward and grips tightly around your throat. He wastes no time and starts moving his hips, with each thrust comes quicker than the next.

In a blur of strained moans, desperate whimpers and gasps, Jaehyun keeps up with the brutal pace and nothing stops him. Not even as you came undone under him, shaking and shivering, yelling at him to stop, only for the moans and whimpers to completely fill your throat. Quickly after your first orgasm, the overstimulation builds up your second orgasm and this time, the knot is wound tighter. It only when you feel him coming into you that it snaps, bringing you into your second orgasm. Even then he doesn’t stop, until his creamy white cum seeps out of your drenched pussy.

He pulls himself out of you, taking a moment to take it just how absolutely ravaged you look. Hair in a mess, eyes glossy with tears, cheeks and chest flushed, your lips are slightly parted and there’s saliva leaking out of it, and the way his cum overflows out of you. It almost enough to get him in the mood for round two.

But it’s been a while for him too and he’s tired. So, instead he collapses beside you. You’re panting and take a moment to catch your breath.

But the camera by the nightstand is a reminder to yourself, the purpose of your visit to the hotel. And you pick it up, carelessly snapping away photos of Jaehyun, with his hair in a mess and his shirt unbuttoned. He lets you.

And when those photos finally come out, a month later, it surprises you that the public enjoyed the look almost as much as you do. So much so that his stylists don’t question why his hairstyle is different and why his lipstick has turned much redder.

Jaehyun invites you over to his house that night to celebrate its success – this time you make sure that your lingerie matches.

[d-p-f-m]

Take it easy |🥁|💕|📌|✔|

Seokjin x Reader |🥁|💕|📌|✔|

I love love love writing Seokjin prompts, so thanks again @btsfangirl1999 for requesting it!

Sorry for taking so long but I promise I'm working on everything as soon as I have time and inspiration!

Also thanks to my lovely beta for reading through this mess I call my writing. I'd be lost without you, girl❤🔥

Hope you enjoy!💞

Prompts:

A.) 94. Why the hell are you on the floor? + 95. I'm so tired, it hurts when I close my eyes

Word count: 5783

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

The distant ringing in the back of your mind has you writhing underneath the comforting cover of your blanket. In a silent act of protest you instictively wrap the soft fabric tighter around your body, burying your face in your pillow in hopes of drowning out the annoying noise. Obviously though, the torture doesn't magically stop on its own.

About three more minutes in and you finally admit defeat. Groaning in dispair you rip the sheets off of you in one swift movement and slowly roll on your back to extend one arm in the general direction of where your phone is supposed to be.

Without actually being able to see what you're doing, it takes you a few seconds to locate it and press the power botton on its top to cut the alarm off for good. Sighing in content at the peaceful moment of silence you allow yourself to simply lie there a bit longer before you eventually sit up straight, so you won't be tempted to just fall asleep again.

Forcing yourself to pry your eyes open you blink against the blinding screen of your phone to check the time. There is still about twenty minutes left before you have to leave for university, thank God. With all the willpower you're able to muster you heave yourself out of bed and waddle through the corridor leading to your bathroom to proceed with your usual morning routine.

Examining your puffy face in the mirror while brushing your teeth you make an unsatisfied noise in the back of your throat and grimace at your reflection. You don't have time or motivation to conceal your sleep deprived expression with make-up and usually you don't care much about things like that anyways, but seeing the dark circles under your eyes you really wish you could just crawl back into bed and hide from your responsibilities until you're finally well rested for once.

Hearing your phone buzz on the side of the sink you look at the message that popped up on screen and sigh. With finals week coming up there is usually no space for personal life already and you knew it was a stupid idea the moment you agreed to help one of your friends to plan the project for one of their classes but you just didn't have it in you to tell them no. They'd do the same for you when you need them someday. ... right?

While rinsing your mouth you brush your hair absendmindetly and stare blankly at your reflection, thinking about your plans for the day. You'll need to meet up with your friend after classes and then you have to work the evening shift at the café before rereading your notes for the first exam coming up next Monday. You can do this. No problem. You've gone through worse things in your life.

Still, as you set aside your hairbrush and reluctantly make your way downstairs to the kitchen, you can feel how every muscle in your body protests with just the tiniest movement. Walking down the circular shaped staircase has somehow made you a bit dizzy and you have to take a moment to lean against the nearest wall for support when you feel a light headache spread from your neck upwards all the way to your forhead. Probably because you've pulled an all-nighter last night again.

Seokjin would definitely scold you if he found out, he always tells you to slow down when you get like this. Of course you never listen. Good thing you didn't actually see each other the last few days even though you live together, because you're both too busy with your own lives. The only time you would have the chance to talk to each other is either in the morning before heading out, or on rare occasions at lunch break when you don't meet up with anyone else.

It seems like you've missed your chance for today though because it's so silent around the house that you assume the acting major is already out and about again and even though you don't want to admit it, you're starting to really miss having him around all the time.

It's not common for two university students of the opposite gender to be roommates and you often have to endure judging stares or rude comments about your undefined relationship with your handsome friend.

You don't mind, though. If they're nice enough to ask you about what's going on between Seokjin and you, you'd gladly explain that you're just very close friends, for the time being at least, and if they prefer side-eyeing you from afar then you'd simply ignore them. It's not their business anyways.

Yawning, you turn on the coffee machine and then make your way to the fridge to search for something to eat that will hopefully get you through most of the day. To your surprise there's a box with food placed right in the middle for you to see, with a bright blue sticky-note attached to its lid and you instantly pray that it's what you think it is.

You take the box to read the note to make sure the contents are really meant for you and not reserved for your roommate since he's the only one who could have put it there and you don't want to risk getting into a fight over food with Seokjin of all people. You only tried to get away with stealing his food once and decided right after that it wasn't worth the eventual consequences ever again. You actually value your life, thank you very much.

One look at the note is enough to tell you that the food is in fact meant for you though. It's even your absolute favorite and at the thought of your roommates' skilled cooking, your mouth automatically starts watering. Maybe your day won't turn out to be as draining and horrible as you originally thought it would. Seokjin made apparently more on purpose so, and quote: 'your lazy ass doesn't starve before you pay me back for the last seven months of living at my apartment for free'. His choice of words makes you let out a huff in amusement.

When he had taken you in after you got kicked out of your old dorm in favor of someone else without any warning beforehand you both had come to a silent agreement that you wouldn't speak of how much you owed him, since you can't effort even half the rent to his apartment. It's clear to you that you'll pay him back as soon as you have the chance and Seokjin knows this too, even though he probably doesn't actually expect you to.

Silenty thanking him for his life saving food you pack it into your bag and then grab your phone to thank him via text as well so you won't forget. After hesitating for a short moment you also decide to ask him when he's going to be home today. If there's even the slightest chance you're going to be able to see him for dinner or at least a few hours of lazing on your couch just talking while watching some random movie, you're sure that it'll give you enough motivation to get through the day.

Seokjin immediately opens your message and you can't help but smile when you see that he's already typing a reply. He's always been like this. Always quick to answer your texts or calls, always down to go with every single one of your random ideas that tend to pop up in your head at the craziest of times, just... always there for you when you need him.

Being close friends for so long you know that's just who he is, of course. You know he's a good person and a really loyal friend but still, that little voice in your head keeps whispering that maybe, just maybe, he's so considerate because it's you. That it's not just your wishful thinking and he actually cares about you as much as you care about him. That he'd somehow realize how whipped you are for him and return your feelings instead of trying to let you down gently like he does with all the girls that confessed their crush on him in the last three or four years.

Shaking your head to get rid of your cheesy thoughts you stumble back to the coffee machine to get your mug while still squinting at your phone screen where Seokjin's message just popped up. As expected he's pretty busy today as well and he doesn't know how late it's going to get until he gets home. He tells you not to wait up for him with dinner if it starts getting too late but that he'll try his best to make it on time.

Sighing you brush your hand through your hair before finishing your coffee and putting your mug down on the kitchen counter to clean it later. It wasn't a 'no'. So it could happen, ... right? You decide it's not going to be of any good to think about it too much and instead make your way back upstairs to change into some proper clothes. It's almost time for you to leave for university anyway. You try to think positive and tie your hair into a ponytail before putting on your shoes.

You'll just have to survive the next 11 hours, then you'll finally be able to rest. And maybe you'll even see Seokjin again and have dinner with him tonight. So with this promising thought in mind you eventually step out the door of your apartment to get on with your day.

~

Stepping inside your own four walls you almost start crying in relief when you're finally able to get out of your shoes. You're burned out. The only thing on your mind right now is to sleep for at least 12 hours straight before even thinking of anything else. Unfortunatly though, you still got a few things on your to-do list for today, so you'll have to settle for a quick power nap.

Shrugging out of your jacket you just drop it on your way to the couch, not caring about anything else other than your well deserved rest. You grab the remote and turn on the TV with low volume to let the background noises lull you to sleep and then drop yourself backwards on the couch. Or that's what you thought.

Having misjudged the distance between you and the soft cushions you only scratch their surface before your fall continues and you land on the hard floor with a loud thud. The impact has you holding your breath in shock and while your mind is trying to catch up with your body you instinctively reach up to hold your head in your hands a few moments before the pain even kicks in.

You let out a pathetic groan and slowly roll over to lie on your back, swinging one arm over your face without moving a second time, too tired to try and get up again. It's what you deserve for not being more aware of your stupid surroundings anyway. And the ground's not even that bad, you tell yourself. There can't go anything else wrong if you don't move, right?

Allowing your heavy eyelids to finally rest for a while you stretch your legs out completely in an attempt to get more comfortable and huff, a little disappointed, because it's not working. The noise of the show that plays on TV is actually stressing you out more than helping you relax so you just press the power button on the remote that's still in your hand since you fell down to turn it back off before you finally admit defeat and just wait for sleep to take over.

That's how Seokjin finds you.

You don't know how much time has passed since you first slipped and fell to the ground just to stay there without moving a muscle when suddenly the front door to your apartment opens, accompanied by the very familiar jingle of keys and a heavy sigh sounding almost as tired as you're feeling.

The urge to stand up and greet your roommate comes up for a moment but the second you try to even so much as shift a bit your headache gets worse and a scorching pain shoots through your neck causing you to let out an almost inaudible groan in defeat.

You pray to every entity your brain comes up with that Seokjin won't find you like this, that he'll just grab a snack from the kitchen and then go upstairs to his room to study or whatever. But of course, like most of the time when it comes to Seokjin, it doesn't go the way you want it to. 'Hey y/n, you there? I'm home!' You can't help but cringe at the loud noise coming all the way from the other side of the room.

It's not because of his voice, you love his voice and on any other day hearing him say your name with so much hope and anticipation coloring his words would have caused your heart to go into a frenzy. Right now, however, you just want him to go away and leave you there to suffer alone until you're feeling better.

As much as you want to call out and tell him where you are, you can't bring yourself to actually answer him. The incredible pain in your neck and the merciless pounding of your head aside, the potential humiliation of him seeing you like this, completely vulnerable and pathetic has you biting your lip as if that would help you to make as little sound as possible.

There's a moment of heavy silence in the room before you can hear him let out a disappointed sigh, probably because he's assuming you aren't there and you immediately feel bad. It's the only choice you have to protect your dignity though, so there's no way around it. You decide you'll make it up to him with breakfast tomorrow instead.

His footsteps seem to lead him in the direction of the kitchen, away from you and you're starting to relax a bit but then he suddenly stops, presumably in the middle of the room. It's silent again and you furrow your eyebrows in confusion. Your brain is trying to come up with an explanation for what could have made him pause like that and when you hear the shuffling of clothes it suddenly clicks. Your damn jacket.

You dropped it on the ground on your way to the couch. Cursing yourself you press your arm tighter over your closed eyes and bite the inside of your cheek while anxiously waiting for Seokjin to move again. After a few seconds the rustling of clothes picks up again and your instincts scream at you to curl into a ball so he won't be able to find you.

You can pinpoint the exact moment he sees you by his surprised gasp of horror coming from almost right beside you and you can't help but to click your tongue in defeat. 'Y/N?! Oh my fu- ... y/n, are you alright?!' He's by your side in an instant, kneeling at your feet and touching one of your legs oh so delicately to check for any signs that you're alive and well.

Even in your hazy state you're still able to appriciate how careful he's being with touching you. 'Shh... shut up, Seokjin.' Hearing your raspy voice he pauses his attempts to softly shake you awake and even though you don't open your eyes to look at him you know he's probably staring at your covered face like a confused puppy.

'You're alive?! Why the fuck- Do you think it's funny scaring me to death?!' Groaning at the volume of his voice you move one of your legs to kick against his knee softly. 'Unfortunatly, yes. But could you please be quiet, my head hurts like crazy.' Amused by his overly dramatic reaction your voice automaticly takes on a softer tone to show him you're fine and it's then that he finally relaxes a bit.

You can feel his hold on your thigh become weaker and you immediately miss the warmth of his touch when he shifts to get a better look at you. 'Well... I mean I've been told my looks are able to bring girls to their knees and while I'm aware of how easy it is to fall for my handsome face, I'm pretty sure I'm not the reason why you're wiping the floor with your shirt. So why the hell are you on the floor?'

It's kinda funny how he's trying to lighten the mood without even knowing what's going on, you think. His voice is barely above a whisper though and you let out a soft hum to let him know you're going to answer in your own time. He still hasn't moved and you're wondering if he just doesn't know what to do in this situation.

Sighing, you move your arm from your face and reach out to search for him. Once you can feel the rough fabric of his jeans under your fingertips, you pat his thigh reassuringly while thinking of what to say next. 'Mhm... it's nothing, really. I just thought it'd be nice to get to know my surroundings better. You know? Bond with the floor, so it doesn't get lonely. Turns out it's really nice to talk to. Found my standards here so I didn't feel like getting up again.'

The amused snort he gives you as an answer is enough to get a content smile out of you as well. You give his thigh another friendly pat and subconsiously lick your dry lips. Something to drink would be nice. You make a mental note to go to the kitchen the moment your body is ready to function again. 'Give me a few minutes, yeah? You can go upstairs and I'll be there in a bit. Honestly, I'm so tired, it hurts when I close my eyes.'

There's silence for a while, like your roommate is contemplating what to answer and if it wouldn't be for your hand still touching his leg, you couldn't even be sure if he's with you anymore.

Suddenly, you feel him shift away from you and your heart squeezes in your chest at the thought of him actually leaving you here to go upstairs. There's still no way you'll open your eyes to confirm your suspicions though. The throbbing right behind your temples got worse while you were talking and you won't take the risk of provoking a full-on migrane just because your stupid feelings tell you it's absolutely necessary to look at your etheral being of a roommate right now.

You don't know what you were expecting at this point but the sudden noise right beside your ear was definitely not it. Feeling your head being lifted carefully you make a confused sound in the back of your throat but before you can actually react, it's already over and you're lying on something far more comfortable than the cold linoleum of the floor.

'You're an idiot. You know that, right?' Seokjin's voice is just a hushed whisper against your ear and you can feel him wrap his arm around your waist when you try to get up on instinct. 'Wha-' You don't really know how to react to his sudden proximity but as you open your mouth to respond he just pulls you closer until your cheek is pressed against his shoulder and hums quietly to effectively shut you up.

'You could have just said you weren't feeling well. There's nothing wrong with taking a break when you feel like you can't keep up anymore, you know?' His words make you let out a resigned huff. He always says that. And he's right, of course. Theoretically. But thinking back to the pile of notes on your desk you've still got to rehearse to be able to pass the exams next week, you can't help but disagree with him.

Seokjin seems to know what you're thinking because he sighs in an almost frustrated way, like a parent trying to reason with his stubborn toddler and leans his forehead softly against the top of your head, burying his face in your hair while stroking your back with his free hand as if trying to soothe you. He has you pretty much caged in his arms and even if you wanted to, there'd be no way to get up now. You're not complaining though. It does soothe you.

It feels nice to have him hold you like this. Like he actually wants to be here, with you. Like he wants to protect you from anything that's trying to harm you in any way. Like... you mean more to him than he says out loud. From time to time, the fingers caressing your back find their way up to absentmindedly play with strands of your hair and you can't stop your heart from jumping a bit when you feel him subtly shift closer.

You're so close you can hear Seokjin's heartbeat and while the steady rhythm calms you, it's still kinda strange. It's not like you never cuddled before. The actor's a pretty affectionate person and so it's actually common for you to be constantly hugged or held in his arms or pulled into his lap when you two hang around each other. Still, there's something about the way he's holding you right now. It's so loving and gentle, as if he's scared he'd hurt you if he isn't careful enough. You've never felt so at ease before.

Seokjin suddenly stops playing with your hair and after another moment of silence lets out a small huff. 'Don't think I didn't notice that you weren't feeling well for a while now. Still... I didn't exactly stop you from letting it get worse, so I guess I'm a bit at fault as well. I should have known you'd strain yourself... you really are an idiot.'

The tone of his voice is a mix between cockiness and genuine worry, so instead of complaining about him calling you an idiot you just grumble into his chest and murmur something that's supposed to sound like an apology. A small laugh escapes his lips at your childish behavior. 'What was that, princess? I couldn't hear you.' He gives your shoulder a soft push to get you to lean back and look at him and not able to resist any longer you comply.

You carefully blink open your tired eyes and when they finally adjust to your surroundings you see Seokjin smiling down at you so fondly your breath hitches. The words you wanted to say won't come out and you clear your sore throat when you see him raise an eyebrow in question. He casually licks his slightly opened lips and you can feel the blush creeping up your face when you realize your eyes followed the movement without your consent.

You're pretty sure he saw you staring for a second and not being able to look into his eyes after that, you press yourself up against him and wrap one of your arms around his waist as well to cuddle into him more. 'I missed you,' you whisper instead. The words come out of your mouth before you can stop them and they're so muffled through the fabric of his shirt that you hope he couldn't understand you.

It's kind of embarrassing how needy your voice sounded just now and when he tenses against you, you immediately regret saying it, scared he'll take it as a joke and laugh at you for being dramatic or worse, understand what the real meaning behind it is and reject you for good. But instead of teasing you like you expected he just hugs you closer to him and lets out a sigh. 'I missed you too, y/n.'

Maybe it's because you're feeling so tired and vulnerable or maybe it's the tender way he just answered you in but hearing him say it back has a wave of pend up emotions suddenly crashing down on you all at once. Your eyes well up with tears and before you know it you're sobbing into his chest, gripping onto his shirt like a lifeline. 'N-no, you don't get it. I missed you, I always miss you and it's so stupid because I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. I'm stupid, so stupid.'

You don't care if you're crossing the invisible line you had drawn from the moment you started living with him right now. You're tired and cold and you can't think straight with that fucking headache drumming against your skull. All you can think of is how warm Seokjin is and how good it feels when he tightens his arms around you in an attempt to calm you down.

Not really knowing what else to do Seokjin slowly sits up and pulls you into his lap. You bury your face in his neck and clasp at his shoulders while he hums a low tune and rocks you from side to side, one of his arms securely wrapped around your waist to hold you in place. 'Shh... it's fine, you're fine.' For the past eight years you've know him, Seokjin always tried to avoid emotional confrontations by cracking a joke or playing dumb but right now he seems completely serious and you're thankful that he's not withdrawing himself from you even though seeing you like this probably makes him uncomfortable.

Somewhere in the back of your mind you know how dramatic you're being and usually you'd be embarrassed to let him see you like this, but the way he's cradling you in his embrace like you're something precious to him has you melting against his chest without a second thought. You're allowed to be weak sometimes too. Seokjin is always here to remind you of that and it makes you love him even more. So maybe, just maybe, you can allow yourself to show him what's really on your mind from time to time.

Your roommate hushes you for a while until you're not crying anymore and as soon as he's sure you've calmed down he turns you in his arms so he's able to stand up. 'Come on, let's get you in bed. The floor's going to make me get sick and if my handsome face gets all puffy because of you, you're going to pay.' The comment makes you snort in amusement and glancing at him from out of the corner of your eyes you see him smiling at your reaction. Would it be too much to tell him that his puffy face looks extremely cute? Probably. Better not take a chance after what happened just now.

He carries you up the stairs as if your body weighs nothing. The actor isn't even the slightest bit out of breath when you arrive in front of your room and you're reminded of how build he actually his, despite him joking about becoming fat all the time. You silently study his face while he lets you down on your bed carefully. His eyebrows are furrowed in thought and he's looking down at the mattress instead of at you.

You can't really tell if it's out of respect for you or because he can't bring himself to look at your miserable state, and you actually don't want to know if you're being honest. Sighing in bliss at the feeling of your soft covers being pulled over you, you snuggle deeper into the fabric and look up at your friend through heavy eyelids to see him give you a warm smile. 'I'll be right back, don't fall asleep on me already, hm?'

You let out a quiet hum in agreement and watch him leave your room to go somewhere downstairs. His absence gives you time to think about what happened in the last few minutes and your heart squeezes painfully when you remember what exactly you told him while you had your little outburst. Is that why he was so stiff and quiet just now?

Does he understand your feelings towards him and needs time to think about a way to reject you without making things awkward? Fuck. You really don't know if you're ready to hear him say it. Suddenly you can hear his footsteps coming back up the stairs and on instinct you close your eyes to pretend you're asleep. He can reject you all he wants tomorrow when you're emotionally stable enough. Right now you just want to fall asleep and pretend today never happened.

Your roommate comes to a stop beside your head and just stands there for a moment, probably looking at you. After a few seconds the mattress sinks down at the level of your waist and your breath hitches when you realize he's now sitting on your bed, softly brushing your hair from your forhead. 'I know you're awake. Nobody blushes in their sleep, not even because of me. Now open your eyes and let me feed you, so I know you're not going to die in your sleep.'

Clicking your tongue in annoyence you comply to his order and blink your eyes open. He's holding a glass of water out to you and you let out a short hum to thank him, eagerly accepting it while you sit up and lean against the headboard of your bed. You empty it in one go and hand the glass back to Seokjin for him to place it on your nightstand. He offers you a slice of an apple but when you try to take it from him, he lightly presses it to your lips instead, the look in his eyes daring you to refuse him to feed you.

Your face starts burning again but you know he won't take no for an answer so you just open your lips and let him slip the slice into your mouth without complaint. Seokjin makes a content noise in the back of his throat at your obedience and pats your knee over the covers with his unoccupied hand to reward you.

'You want some more?' Shaking your head at his question you lie back down and pull your blanket up to your chin before he can press another slice to your lips. 'Wanna sleep, 'm sorry,' you manage to croak out and thankfully he relents right away. 'The plate's right here if you change your mind. I'll be in my room if you need anything, yeah?'

He makes an effort to stand up and leave but you immediately shake your head and grasp the sleeve of his shirt to stop him before he can get away. 'Stay, please? I could use your cuddles right now.' Your roommate blinks at you a few times as if unsure of how to react but when you silently lift your blanket in invitation, he finally gives in and gets under the covers next to you with a small sigh.

Pressing your body against his you shift two or three times and then yawn happily once you're comfortable. Neither of you talks for a long time, Seokjin just lets you lie with your head hiding in the crook of his neck and affectionately brushes through your hair to help you fall asleep.

You're just about to let his breathing lull you to sleep when he suddenly smiles against you as if he remembered something and whispers in an amused but husky voice. 'Your actual confession is going to be a bit more romantic, right? I'm thinking something like a restaurant or a movie night with take out and lots of cuddles to set the mood.'

Tensing up a bit at the sudden question you slowly pull away to look at him with your eyes already bleary from how tired you are. 'Who said I liked you?' Seokjin grins cockily at your terrible attempt to play dumb and the mischievous glint in his eyes tells you that whatever happens next, everything is going to be just fine.

'Oh please, it's so obvious you're whipped for me. I mean, who wouldn't be? It's me we're talking about.' You roll your eyes at him and grin back but you can't come up with a sly response right away since what he says is one hundred percent the truth, so you settle for not answering at all until you know what he's getting at for sure.

Seokjin looks into your eyes for a moment longer, the content smile still prominent on his face. Then he's shifting forward until his nose brushes against yours and a shiver runs down your spine when you feel his breath on your lips. 'So how about that dinner? I think I deserve something fancy for our first date. It's what first comes to mind every time I think about how to ask you out, you know?'

By now your heart is already threatening to jump out of your chest from how wildly it thumps against your ribs. He already thought about asking you out? More than once? So he actually likes you too and it's not just your hopeful mind playing tricks on you?

When you think you're finally able to form a coherent sentence and tell him you'd gladly go out with him, Seokjin suddenly closes the remaining distance between you both to press a loving kiss to your slightly opened lips. Gasping in surprise against his pillow like lips you don't even get the chance to return the kiss before he's already leaning away from you again.

He's smirking at your dreamy expression and wraps his free arm around your waist to pull you as close to his side as physically possible before speaking up again. 'Movie night would be fine by me too, though. Tell me tomorrow, yeah? You gaping at me like a deer caught in the headlights made me kinda sleepy and you need your beauty sleep. Let's get comfy, hm?' Wow, the nerve of this guy. As if you'd be able to get any sleep now.

'You're an idiot,' you say amused and cuddle into him further to get comfortable again. He pulls a funny face in response and sticks his tongue out to you before he chuckles. 'That's my line, idiot.'

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

[jalapeno-princess]

College Boyfriend Mark

* Okay let’s get this shit started I’m excited

* First things first, I think Mark would be the perfect boyfriend and I’m not being biased because he’s the actual love of my life

* But ANYWAYS

* He hates the thought of you walking/catching the bus to school

* If you weren’t living together, he would probably pick you up from your house/dorm/apartment and take you to school/work everyday

* If you did live together, he would be very irresponsible

* Your alarm would go off and he’d probably turn it off completely just so he could cuddle with you longer

* If you were late to class because of him, he’d just shrug it off and give you a knowing look

* “You’re already late babe, might as well just skip the rest of the day”

* This happens a lot because you can’t help but want to spend time with him

* Your attendance is terrible but honestly who attends classes nowadays

* “Next semester, you should sign up for online classes so you can stay home with me and I can kiss you all day”

* He wouldn’t go to bed until you did so if you had to do an all-nighter in order to study/work on assignments he’d stay up with you

* Would carry you to bed if you fell asleep on the couch/table/desk

* Has a calendar of all your schedules so he can help you whenever you need him to

* Makes you flashcards to help you study

* He thinks his handwriting is ugly af but you think it’s so cute

* Gives you a bunch of his jackets and sweatpants to wear because he absolutely loves how his clothes look on you and he knows you don’t care about how you look at school

* Not that you need to

* He thinks you’re the most ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful being that he’s ever laid his eyes on

* Prepares lunch for you because ain’t nobody got time to pay for campus food

* Even if it means instant ramen

* Or straight up rice

* I’m not even joking one time you were starving and went to open the box of lunch he prepared for you

* And your heart kind of sank (and your stomach growled) at the sight of just rice..not even any sauce

* You were kinda confused until you read the post it note

* “Hey baby, I’m sorry about the lack of food. I tried cooking fish but I ended up burning it and then I tried making chicken but it tasted weird. The rice was the only thing that came out right. Here’s some money for you to buy something to go with it. I love you. Have a nice day! (:”

* Your stomach swarms with butterflies just at the thought of him, how much he loves you and how he takes such amazing care of you

* Holds you every time you cry over school

* “It’s okay to cry baby. You’ve got this. It will all be worth it in the end okay? I’m here for you every step of the way.”

* No matter how hard school could get, you were content knowing you had him by your side

* Every time you jokingly said you would drop out, he would frown at you

* He knew you were capable of great things and he refused to let you give up when you’ve worked so hard to get where you are

* Will walk you to and from all your classes

* Some of your classmates would develop a crush on him and you couldn’t blame them I mean

* LOOK @ HIM

* WOW

* AN ACTUAL GOD

* Y’all know that song by NSYNC?

* “God must’ve spent a little more time on you”?

* Well God spent a lot of time making Mark I ain’t even kidding

* okay BACK TO THE STORY

* There were days you would get jealous because of how many pretty girls had their eyes on your boyfriend

* But Mark would remind you almost every day verbally and physically of how much he loved you and how you were it for him

* He also felt the same about you

* He knew guys would look at you

* And when you told him about how one of your classmates asked you on a date he was furious

* That’s also one of the reasons why he gives you his clothes

* And accidentally leaves hickeys along your neck and chest

* He wants the world to know you’re his

* Jackson almost earned himself a black eye for calling you sexy once

* “Mark, I know she’s your girlfriend but she’s my friend too and I can compliment her-“

* “Jackson, I wouldn’t want you calling my girlfriend sexy either..Even if it’s true that y/n is very-“

* “Shut up Jinyoung you’re not helping”

* Mark loves to leave you cute, supportive post it notes all over your room/textbooks/pencil case/lunch box because he knows how much they mean to you and make you happy

* Cares so much about your mental health

* So whenever you have a breakdown, he takes you away from your computer and brings you to bed and holds you

* Sometimes he even brings you to the beach/park/movies to take your mind off of anything school related

* Runs you baths to help you relax and joins you sometimes

* But it always leads to more

* And the two of you end up having to clean up the mess you both made

* Buys you school supplies because he knows how much you love them

* “Mark, you already bought me highlighters.”

* “Yeah, but this one has Pikachu on it.”

* You now have 12 different highlighters

* And you don’t have the heart to tell him you hardly use them

* “You bought a 64 pack of crayons? I’m a college student I don’t use crayons-“

* “Well you’re gonna start doing so come on babe 64 CRAYONS. Look! It even comes with a sharpener!”

* Contacts your mom a lot and lets her know how you’re doing if you don’t have enough time to do so

* If you were away from home for college and you were homesick, he’d stay on the phone with her to learn your favorite recipe because he would do anything to make you happy

* Bought the two of you matching shoes because matching shirts are so overrated

* If either of you is wearing them, the other will wear them regardless of what you both are wearing

* “Babe, I don’t think the red goes with the-“

* Kisses you to shut you up

* “She’s right Mark, who wears red with purple-“

* Jackson isn’t allowed to hang out with the two of you anymore

* He used to buy you coffee but stopped because it keeps you up at night

* So he makes you chamomile tea instead

* Will help you cheat by texting you the answers on your test

* “Oooh, I’m dating a bad girl. Misses out on class to spend time with me and cheats on quizzes. Kinky. This is exciting...Ow babe what was that for?”

* Him ditching his friends at lunch just so he can spend time with you

* This boy can be on the complete opposite side of school yet never fail to meet you on time

* Sneaks in to your lectures and y’all end up sitting in the far back so you can make out

* One time you forgot to tell him that you were gonna study in the library

* Jinyoung found you and accompanied you

* After a couple of hours, you found yourself falling asleep

* You were in such a deep slumber that you didn’t notice Mark was trying to get in touch with you

* Boy was losing his shit

* He was so worried that something bad happened to you

* Jinyoung noticed your phone was going off and he didn’t mean to snoop but he wanted to make sure it wasn’t something important

* He laughed when he saw all the messages from Mark

* And he found it really cute how whipped Mark was for you

* He let your boyfriend know that you were sleeping and Mark had to take a moment to calm his heart down

* You stressed this poor boy out sometimes

* But he loved you more than anything else in this shitty ass world

* Jinyoung would take you home and as soon as Mark saw you, he pulled you in to his chest and held you tightly as if he was going to lose you

* You left soft kisses along his face as an apology

* You also found yourself on your knees with your head between his thighs but WE’LL SAVE THAT FOR ANOTHER TIME

* He would surprise you with plane tickets to your hometown so you could visit your family while on break

* Your mom always reminds you how lucky you are to have found a boyfriend like him

* He would have to kiss away your tears because you were an emotional wreck at the thought of everything he does for you

* Honestly Mark would be the sweetest, fluffiest, most supportive boyfriend

* That boy loves you so much

* Even if he tells you all the time

* You can really feel it in his actions

* The best boyfriend ever

* 10/10 recommended

* We need more Mark Tuans in this world

[purplesurveys]

1057

survey by lets-make-surveys

1 - When was the last time you had a roast dinner? What kind of meat or vegetarian option did you have with it? That’s not really a thing we do here, but for our noche buena dinner we did have roast chicken with rosemary as one of our dishes. It was surrounded with bangus (milkfish), lumpia with cheese, callos, baked macaroni with cheese, and mashed potatoes with gravy. My family has never been traditional when it comes to Christmas food and I’ve never tried hamon or queso de bola.

2 - When was the last time you drove or travelled for over an hour? Where did you go? It is for sure going to be today because we’ll be driving to Laguna to visit my dad’s family wearing our face masks, face shields, equipped with alcohol and hand sanitizer, and ready to follow social distancing.

3 - What’s your favourite kind of coffee to order (eg. cappuccino, latte etc.)? I’ve been ordering caramel macchiato in the last...6–7 years. If a coffee shop doesn’t serve it, the next thing I go for is whatever sounds like the sweetest drink on their menu, like a chocolate chip truffle frappe or something like that.

4 - When you get old, are you going to let your hair go grey or dye it instead? I will probably dye it for a bit, like what my grandma used to do. But I guess it’ll also depend; I might end up liking grey hair and not feel the need to change how it looks.

5 - What genre was the last book you read? Was it any good? I can’t remember which one it was but it was definitely a wrestler’s memoir; I must’ve read around four this year. The best ones I read are always of Chris Jericho since he has fantastic stories but he also knows how to write well. A lot of wrestlers have great stories, but are so-so in writing.

6 - Did you ever wear braces on your teeth? Yeah, briefly from the end of middle school to freshman year of high school. I need to get braces again, though.

7 - When was the last time you were relieved about something? What caused you to feel that way? Continued from earlier today. We brought both dogs to my dad’s family’s place today and I was glad that they were fast asleep on our drive back home and that neither felt bad and puked.

8 - Where was the last place you went that required you to wear a mask? Are you used to having to wear one now? Everyone is required to wear masks as long as they find themselves outdoors, period. I wear one even if I’m just walking one of my dogs in our backyard. I’m definitely more used to it now, compared to months ago when I had just started going out again and would be forgetful when it came to masks.

9 - How often do you receive calls from unknown numbers? Do you ever answer them? I get them a lot more often now that I’m working and have to coordinate with third-party people...I get unknown numbers once or twice a week. As much as it irritates me, I have no choice but to answer all of them now.

10 - What’s your favourite condiment to have with sausages or hot dogs (or the vegetarian equivalent)? Whenever I have a sausage/hotdog in a bun, I’d be glad to simply have mayonnaise on it.

11 - Which fictional character can you relate to the most? Is this a character from film, TV or a book? Monica Geller from Friends.

12 - Do you groom your eyebrows? If so, how? Nah, haven’t in a long time. It’s just not something I’ve ever particularly cared about. Whenever I have to, I just shave them. I also haven’t had a trichotillomania episode with my eyebrows, which is a relieving thing to realize.

13 - Did you get “told off” for anything the last time you went to the dentist or was everything okay? My last trip went smoothly. I just had a tooth extracted and there wasn’t really anything to reprimand me for since the tooth was already damaged.

14 - Would you rather get a starter or dessert? Have always been more of a savory girl than sweet, so I’ll go with the starter.

15 - Have you ever been involved with the police? Did you find them to be helpful? I mean...I guess? Kind of? I wasn’t arrested by any means, but I was a journalism student, so *shrug* pretty self-explanatory lol. There was one time in one class where we were all required to write a story covering the police beat, so I had to stay at a police station in Manila and wait for any tips or leads to come in. I was in freshman year and was absolutely scared, but I did have a classmate/friend with me ‘cause we were in the same class and she needed a lead as well.

16 - Are you tired at the moment? Is there a specific reason you feel that way? I am extremely tired and would pass out in a second if I let myself. But I had been out all day and didn’t have the chance to do anything I wanted to do whether it was doing embroidery, watching 2 Days 1 Night, or taking a survey, so I’m making up for all the lost time and powering through this survey.

17 - Are you big on colour coordination? Does that just apply to your outfits or to the rest of your life as well? It rarely comes to mind. It’s not something I feel the need to maintain, precisely because I’m very inconsistent with maintenance. Even though I know I possess the necessary effort and patience to organize a group of items by color, I also know it would be disorganized in less than a week.

18 - What shoes did you last wear? How long have you had them? Puma sneakers. Yep, I’ve had them for the past two years.

19 - When was the last time you wore make-up? What kind of make-up was it? September, for my first job interview. My items were simple; just an eyeliner pencil and some lip gloss.

20 - Have you ever slipped or skidded on the ice? Did you end up getting hurt? Continued from last night because I’ve been so sloppy at taking surveys lately, loooool. I’ve slipped a few times on ice skating rinks before. I don’t know if it’s the same experience, but whenever it happened to me I usually felt more embarrassed than hurt. It only hurt quite a bit when the cause of my fall was crashing into someone on the rink.

21 - Do you wear glasses or contacts? I wear glasses, but I already need to change mine since my eyesight has gotten worse and the lens that are on my current pair aren’t for me anymore.

22 - Do you own any photo albums? Are they dedicated to special occasions or just a random selection of photos? My mom made several photo albums for her kids from our childhood days so each of us have lots of photos from age 0 to about 7 or 8. I haven’t made a photo album just for myself, though I really should. Making memories with a film camera and having them developed still sounds very appealing to me.

23 - What was the last reason for you using a spoon? I was mixing my coffee to make sure all the granules are mixed into the water.

24 - Did your state/region go into lockdown or similar back when Covid hit in March? What did you do to pass the time while you were stuck at home? Of course. I would be more surprised to hear of a city or region anywhere in the world that did not go into lockdown. March was a livelier, more optimistic time, so I tried out lots of new things while the lockdown was still fresh and no one had any clue for how long it would actually pan out, and continue to pan out until the literal end of the year. I played the Switch for longer hours, tried making dalgona coffee, watched Descendants of the Sun, pulled more all-nighters, revisited computer games from my childhood, and did my thesis chapter by chapter with Andi.

25 - What’s your favourite meal of the day - breakfast, lunch or dinner? In my family, lunch and dinner are very identical so I’d go with either of them.

26 - Who was the last person you texted? How do you know that person? I have not touched my phone in a while, believe it or not...I haven’t needed it much during the holiday break. I think it was my cousin? He’s a relative, so I’ve known him since birth.

27 - What was the last thing you put in a sandwich? A hotdog.

28 - What was the reason behind the last time you shouted or raised your voice? I was at my dad’s family’s last night and I had ordered four boxes of empanadas from their business, and I was trying to hand over the P500 bill to my aunt (the total was like P300, but I gave them bonus to serve as my treat and my gift). I kept trying to give it and she kept rejecting it and putting it back in my pocket hahaha, so it became like a game for me to see which tiny space in the house I can squeeze the bill in so she can stop retorting. It turned into a funny cat and mouse situation and I ended up raising my voice a few times.

29 - Are you a citizen of more than one country? Would you ever use that advantage to move abroad? No.

30 - Do you know how to change a tyre? Could you do it without help? HAH, no. I am fucked if it ever happens and when it does, I really hope luck would be on my side that day and have a kind stranger that knows how to change tyres walk or drive by.

[esther-ti-designs]

Hey everyone, uhh so I have some tea for you all.

So I met this guy (I’ll refer to him as J) during the last meeting of the quarter for the graphic design club last fall.  Here’s everything that happened between December 5 through February 22.

December 5

Honestly, I haven’t noticed J at any of the previous meetings, but that one night, he just came up to me out of the blue and complimented me on my cozy winter gear.

So J and I happened to be taking Intro to Design that quarter and we talked about our group projects for the class, which we just turned in earlier that day (I had just pulled two consecutive all-nighters and had just taken a 3-hour nap prior to the meeting, so I was very sleep deprived at this point).  We continued our conversation while walking down some stairs and outside the building, and he asked me about other clubs that I’m involved in, to which I told him that I’m the secretary and Head of Hufflepuff for the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) and that I’m also in the ballroom dance club.  He seemed very interested in HPA.  He mentioned that he played second violin in the video game orchestra (VGO) and that they were having a quarterly concert that weekend.  A friend in HPA had promoed the VGO concert the night before, but I wasn’t really interested, as I had no knowledge of video game music.  J and I exchanged Instagram handles and later that night, I answered all of his questions about HPA.  Then on Sunday, sort of at the last minute, I found out that a few friends from HPA were going to the VGO concert and I went along because $5 for a concert is not bad, and I haven’t been to an orchestra performance in a while.  The concert was so much better than I expected!

December 9

Finals week just started and J randomly asked if I was studying on campus 👀

December 11

We met up at a boba shop near my apartment to study for the Intro to Design final (it was raining pretty hard and J refused to have me bike out to campus in the rain).  We studied off a Quizlet set for about 3 hours until my laptop’s battery was running low, and then we talked for another couple hours!  It turns out we have a lot in common!  We’re both only children, 22 years old, left-handed, design majors (J is actually a design and managerial economics double major), and we play the violin (I used to play violin and cello, but I digress).  Oh and we both have an iNTeResTinG injury story haha.  Then, before we went our separate ways, he gave me a one-armed hug, which I couldn’t reciprocate because I had my arms full with a cup of boba and my umbrella.

December 12

J DM’ed me out of the blue asking for my Spotify wrapped up.  I normally don’t give in to trends easily, and this was something I wasn’t really interested in sharing with the entire world, but I shared it with him anyways (Spoiler: It’s mostly Game of Thrones soundtracks, Taylor Swift, and BTS).  Despite being an orchestra nerd, I find it really difficult keeping up with popular music, and my musical taste stays fairly consistent even several years later.  I was kind of expecting him to laugh at my musical taste, but he actually complimented me for liking dramatic tv/film soundtracks.  And then we arranged another study session right before the design final.

December 13

The Intro to Design final was supposed to be 50 questions, all multiple-choice, no trick questions.  It was supposed to be really easy, and I thought we got almost everything down at the previous study session.  So why were we having another study session right before the exam?  I thought either he really wanted an A in the class, or he wanted to see me again before we went on winter break.  Right before going in for the exam, he asked if I wanted to meet up again for a “post-final celebration” when we were done with the exam.  Okay, now I was really starting to think he wanted to spend some more time with me before winter break 👀

So after the design final, we walked down to one of two boba shops on the edge of campus and downtown.  We both ordered our drinks, he got some popcorn chicken, and we talked for four hours!  I can’t remember everything we talked about, but time really flew by.  And then, before we went home, he gave me a one-armed hug again.

December 14

I had plans to fly home to LA today.  I had spent the previous night cleaning my apartment and packing stuff (I managed to forget to bring a pair of sneakers because, for some reason, dumbass me decided to wear heeled boots to the airport because ~fashion~).  I was sitting in the airport, about to board the plane, when I got a message from J.  He remembered that I was flying that day and was asking if I got home safely.  Aww he actually cares.  I told him that I would be boarding soon and will be offline for the next couple hours.  And then I updated him when I got off the plane, when my parents picked me up at LAX, while we sat in the typical LA traffic, until we all made it home.

December 15 - January 5

Over the next few weeks of winter break, we messaged each other a couple times every day.  We shared pictures of the holiday decorations in our home, and I shared pictures and video clips of my pet bunny too.  On Chistmas Eve, he asked if I had any plans, to which I told him we were going out for dinner to celebrate my mom’s birthday.  He wished my mom happy birthday and I passed the birthday wishes to my mom. “Hey mom, my friend says happy birthday.” “Thank you — who???” And I had to tell my mom about J (whoops).  Her judgmental ass was not exactly happy to hear that J is a Caucasian dude from yeehaw country, and after showing her J’s Instagram feed, she was not a fan of his art style smh.  Anyways, the day I was coming back to Davis, J was like AHHHH you’re back!!!!!!!  Just pure excitement 💖

January 9 - 16

We met up at yet another boba shop after the first week of classes.  Our meeting was shorter than all our previous meetings, because I had to bike back to give an apartment tour later that afternoon.  Two weeks into the winter quarter, we met after our design studio classes and walked to an HPA meeting together.  We also went to a graphic design club meeting together, after which he offered to drive me home so that I wouldn’t have to bike with the cold wind on my face.  I trusted J at this point, so I gratefully accepted.  I think my trust in him went up at least 10 times in this moment, because J managed to secure my small and heavy bike to the bike rack on the back of his car, which already had his bike strapped in.  After dropping me off at my apartment, he invited me out for dinner that weekend (it was also MLK weekend).

January 18

J picked me up at 7.  The restaurant he chose was hella ~ f a n c y ~.  It was an Italian restaurant downtown with dim lighting and pasta priced at $13 - $16.  He said he didn’t know the place would be that fancy and that he trusted Yelp’s description of “casual Italian.”  I told a friend about our sort-of-date night and she thinks J picked a date-y restaurant on purpose 👀  Oh and my mom went the extra mile of writing down J’s name, the place we were going to, and I was to call home at 10 PM (I ended up getting back and called an hour early).

February 14 - Valentine’s Day ❤️

Unfortunately, J never came to another HPA meeting because the campus radio station, KDVS, holds meetings at the same time, and he’s trying to get a job with them.  And we don’t really see each other very often because design classes are usually 3-hours long and J is really busy with 5 classes.  But J has been super excited about Yule Ball ever since he met me.  J came over while I was tabling for ticket sales.  He mentioned that VGO was going to see Sonic that night, and invited me to hang with VGO.  Let me tell you, it was quite an experience and definitely not the typical Valentine’s Day date.

We pulled into a Sonic drive-in for dinner (because gotta get in that Sonic mood lol).  A girl introduced herself as D (name altered to protect identity, of course).  She clearly has some sort of leadership role in the group because everyone pays attention to her, but she constantly makes jokes about being everyone’s daddy.  The jokes are so vulgar and obscene.  It was like weirdest video game nerd and band kid hybrid (J later tells me she’s a violinist.  What?!  Orchestra people are usually super chill lol).  After dinner, we get in our cars and head down the street to the movie theater.  The VGO had reserved seats in Row J.  J and I had just booked our tickets several hours earlier and we were in Row F.  Throughout the movie, someone in the theater yelled at every pivotal moment (including, yes, that Tails reveal in the post credits).  J thoroughly enjoyed the movie and laughed along with whomever was yelling behind us, while I knew absolutely nothing going into it, except that Sonic is a blue hedgehog that can run super fast.  J also gave one additional bit of info before the movie: Sonic really likes chili corn dogs for some strange reason???

So that’s how my Valentine’s Day went lol

February 18

J came by around 3 in the afternoon, right before we were going to pack up for the day, and purchased a Yule Ball ticket.  He’s obviously very excited to go to Yule Ball with me but he says he doesn’t know how to dance.  I told him we have a waltz lesson planned.  He’s like aww and says he wants me to personally teach him (my heart 💕).  And as always, he gave me a hug before leaving to go to class.  Recently, I noticed that J has been giving full hugs instead of his usual one-armed hugs, though it depends on the situation.

February 22

✨❄️ Y u l e   B a l l ❄️✨

J and I arrived separately at Yule Ball because I had to help set up the venue for the event and I had spent the entire day working on an Azkaban wanted poster prop and literally finished it two hours before our meeting time for setting up the venue.  The dance was supposed to start at 7 PM and J got there early enough to help me out with last-minute decorations.  I had signed up to be in charge of the photobooth from 7 to 7:30, but no one came for pictures during that 30-minute period, so I was free for the rest of the night.  J and I had a fantastic time admiring the detailwork in the decorations around the venue and laughing and dancing to the weird selection of 2000s music.  J did pretty okay with learning waltz basics and I gave him tips here and there on standing in closed frame, balance, the slight tension in the left hand, etc.

Sometime towards the end of the night, my ballroom friend pulled me aside for a bathroom chat and asked if we’re dating.  I don’t know???  We haven’t decided to call it official so ??

After helping clean up everything at the end of the night, J dropped off a friend and right before turning to drop me off (I live across the street from that friend), he remembered that I hadn’t had actual food all day prior to Yule Ball (aww he actually cares, and he probably wanted some extra time with me even though my apartment was right there).  So we went downtown for (a very late) dinner.  While we chatted over food and boba, our conversation drifted towards soundtrack music and I mentioned The Theory of Everything soundtrack, my favorite soundtrack besides Game of Thrones.  J immediately searched up The Theory of Everything soundtrack album and streamed it on the way home (that’s some serious dedication right there), and he liked it!

Oh and I forgot to mention that J forgot to bring a jacket and I had a very warm scarf and coat, so we held onto each other with a one-armed hug while we walked to his car.  I really love his hugs, one-armed or full hugs.

I usually post a picture from Yule Ball every year so here’s this year’s!  Yep, that’s J.  And we’re both Ravenclaws :)

I’ll end this post here, so I don’t end up with a romance novel in a single post lol

[nubnubblr]

If You Do .12

BM

"This is so stupid, why do we have to do this?" Jae whined.

"Technically, this is your fault," Sam stated.

"To be fair this stuff has been sitting here for over six months and some of it hasn't been used for years. We might find stuff we didn't know we missed," I said as I hauled another boxed out and sat it on the grass.

"Maybe we should just throw it all out," Sam stated.

"Come on guys, this could be fun,"

"Or it could be a complete waste of time," Jae raised an eyebrow at me.

"It's just Thea making sure we don't get into trouble," Sam pointed out.

"Which is funny because out of all of us, she is the most trouble," Jae added.

"You guys have to remember she has a mother complex," I defended.

"Then she should have a child instead of treating us like one," Jae shrugged.

"Maybe if you didn't act like one she wouldn't," I pointed out.

"How many boxes do we even have in here?"

"More than we need," I shrugged.

We actually had a lot of boxes in the girls shed, I'm pretty sure over half of the boxes in there were ours. They hadn't had an issue with us keeping it here though when the three is us moved out we got a little apartment in a run-down complex because that's all we could afford at the time. The place was tiny and there wasn't room for all of our boxes so the girls said we could keep them in their shed.

We had eventually moved in with them for a brief period after I bought the bar and we were a little tight on cash, even when we were living in a run-down apartment building. Thea had gone all mother mode and insisted we move in with them so we could eat. Charlie hadn't really wanted either Sam or Jae, who both eat more than they breathe, starving because we didn't have any money. So when we had moved into the apartment conversion 7 months ago, and honestly I had forgotten about the boxes until Thea mentioned them yesterday.

Thea wasn't exactly wrong, they had been sitting here for a while and we should go through them and see what was worth keeping.

CHARLIE

"Oh thank god," Whitney stated as she walked in the door and seen me.

"I missed you too," I laughed.

"My boss just about had an aneurysm when you weren't here yesterday," she shook her head.

"As flattered as I am, you should probably tell him it's just coffee. Do you just want one?"

"No, can I have four? He had a meeting with a potential client yesterday, he could really open up a whole new market, and apparently, he needs your coffee to function. You should have heard him on Wednesday,"

"He sounds really high strung,"

"He's a CEO of a pretty successful company and he's in his early 20's, I think anyone in his situation would be a little high strung,"

"Is he attractive?" I joked.

"He's not really my type but I suppose if you're into guys like him he would be considered attractive," she shrugged.

"So no,"

"He's okay," she laughed.

"Right," I nodded.

"So why weren't you here yesterday?"

"I accidentally pulled an all-nighter,"

"Accidentally?"

"My housemate and I started watching Lord of the Rings, I didn't really notice the time until it was 6 in the morning,"

THEA

"Hey," Junior met me at reception.

"Hey," I smiled following him through to the studio.

"The models are all ready so you just need to do your thing," he gestured to my camera bag.

"You make my job so easy," I smiled.

"How so?"

"Normally I have to wait around for half an hour or so for my client to get ready for the shoot,"

"That's so unprofessional," he shook his head as we walked into his studio.

I recognized a few faces, and I more than recognized a few others. He smirked at me with a wink, I couldn't even hold back the eye roll. I hadn't seen him since the morning after we went to Drew's club opening.

"Hey Thea," he smirked at me.

"Yuri," I sighed.

"Min Sung," I smiled at another model, who happens to be good friends with Yuri and has been really good friends with Charlie since high school.

"Why is she always nicer to you?" Yuri frowned.

"Probably because I haven't slept with her," Min Sung shrugged.

"You two have slept together?" Junior raised an eyebrow.

"It was a while ago," I waved him off.

"Yeah seems like it," Junior gave me a skeptical look.

"We've been working together without any issue since it happened," Yuri shrugged.

"So what's different today?" Junior looked between the two of us.

"It's a long story," I shook my head.

"Is this going to be a problem?" he raised an eyebrow waving a finger between us.

"Absolutely not," I assured him.

"Good because I don't want a new photographer and he's kind of my best model,"

"Rude," Min Sung pouted.

"Let's get to work," Junior stated loudly, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

SAM

"Dude, check it out," BM stated holding up our old jerseys.

"I haven't seen those in years," I laughed as he handed me mine.

"We should frame them and put them on our wall," he suggested.

"Why? It was only high school football, it's not like we were stars,"

"Well, you kind of were. You two and Drew were really the only ones on that team that had any talent. There is no way they would have won a single game without you," Jae shrugged sitting on top of an old dryer the girls hadn't gotten around to disposing of yet.

"He has a point," BM nodded.

"So we put them in the take box then?" I threw the jerseys toward the large tub Thea had set up for us before she left this morning.

There was a box, a tub, and the wheelie bins, all labeled because she's a bit of organizational freak, the brown cardboard box had 'DONATE' written in big block letters across some masking tape, the plastic tub had 'TAKE' written across the front with 'you can keep the tub' written in smaller letters underneath the block ones. And the bins weren't labeled but it was pretty self-explanatory; one for rubbish, one for recyclables.

"Oh my god, is this what I think it is?" BM spoke to himself but both Jae and I looked up to see what he had found.

He pulled out a small black box with faded stickers all over it, they were so faded you couldn't tell what they were of.

"Is that the Polaroid box?" Jae's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I believe so," BM nodded.

"Oh we are so taking that, do you know how many photos of Thea that she will hate are in that box?"

I'm not really sure who's idea it was, probably Thea's, but back when they started high school, not long before I joined their group they had started this box, they each had a Polaroid camera and the rules were that every photo taken with the camera had to be put in the box with the date the photo was taken and who took it written on the white strip. We also weren't allowed to remove any or throw any away. Sort of like a memory box. The box was full of mostly Polaroids but there were also photos from disposable cameras in there from trips we went on. It pretty much documents our entire high school life.

"Don't open it!" Jae yelled at BM who was lifting the lid.

"Why not?"

"Because we have to wait until we are all together," Jae stated, it was another one of the box rules.

"Like the girls will know,". BM shrugged.

"Yeah, but they'll know when we don't react with the same surprise," I pointed out.

"Fine," he sighed putting the box in the tub.

"How did we even end up with the box?" Jae frowned.

"No idea," I shrugged.

"Thea probably put it in here because she didn't think we would look in here," BM stated.

"I don't know who has more embarrassing photos in that box, Jae or Thea," I shook my head.

"Probably me," Jae shrugged.

"Thea is skilled with her sneak attacks," BM nodded.

"You wouldn't think so with her being so big back then," Jae commented.

"She wasn't that big, and she had lost all the weight not long after we started this box," BM frowned.

"She definitely was that big, and there are the photos in there to prove it," Jae shrugged.

I had never actually seen Thea as a big girl, she has been skinny for as long as I've known her but Jae was always going on about her being big. Apparently, she had lost a lot of weight not long before I had joined the group. But I couldn't actually imagine her as fat, and she hid all of the photos of her from when she was, somehow she had even gotten her hands on the ones anyone else had taken of her, except the ones in this box.

"Are those swords?" Jae pointed at the box to BM's left.

MARK

"Coffee," Whitney smiled placing the paper cup down on my desk in front of me.

"Finally," I sighed picking the cup up and taking a sip.

I hadn't realized how much I missed this coffee. I don't understand how someone I have never met and who doesn't even know me can make a cup of coffee so perfect to my taste.

"Ready for today's schedule?" Whitney asked opening her folder.

"Not yet," I shook my head taking another sip of coffee.

"Okay, go," I nodded after a third sip.

"You have two group meetings this morning, one at 10 with the marketing team and the other straight after with HR to go over the new policies. There are a list of potential new clients to go through and one of the girls from the board for the charity gala are coming by to hash out a few details with you,"

"I'm going to need more coffee,"

"There are four more in the fridge,"

"Was the barista apologetic?" I joked.

"No, your assistant knows your schedule," she stated.

"I'll go and make sure the conference room is ready for your meeting," she smiled leaving the room.

BM

"Dude, put the swords down and help us sort through boxes," I sighed a Jae who had been sitting on top of the old dryer swinging the sword around for the last twenty minutes.

"What's the point? You have like four boxes left," he shrugged.

"We'd have three if you'd help us," Sam mumbled.

"But that would require me to actually help and then who would supervise?"

"You're hopeless," I sighed.

"Could you at least put those boxes in the back of my car?" I pointed to the boxes of stuff to donate that we had already filled.

"And stick those ones in the van," Sam pointed at those ones full of stuff for us to take home.

"We're not done yet, what's the point?"

"To get them out of the way?"

"But it would be so much quicker if the three of us move them, also you two are stronger than I am," Jae shrugged.

"You know you're not at all helpful," I frowned.

"I never claimed to be,"

"I think we need a snack break," Sam stated.

"There are leftovers in the fridge, I'll get them," Jae jumped down off the dryers.

"Of course you will," I smiled shaking my head.

THEA

I sighed getting out of the car, I let out another sigh before walking through the cafe doors. Charlie frowned at me, I wasn't looking forward to this conversation, of course, I wasn't going to tell her exactly what was going on until she was in the car otherwise I would take too much effort to actually get her in the car.

"What are you doing here?" she raised an eyebrow.

"We've got a little bit of an emergency, how long until the end of your shift?" I asked, even though I already knew she had just under an hour left. I also knew her boss was pretty lenient.

"Like 40 minutes. What's going on?" she frowned.

"I'll tell you in the car,"

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because we've got to go. Can you get off early? It's important," I was bouncing on my heels at this point.

She looked over at her manager who just nodded. Charlie reached under the counter to grab her bag then followed me out to my car.

"I can follow you in my car," she paused realising that her car was here.

"I'll bring you back to it, just get in,"

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"When you get in the car," I nodded.

"I don't get why I can't just follow you in my car," she sighed getting in the passenger's seat.

"Because you won't be able to drive when I tell you," I mumbled to myself as I walked around to the driver's side.

I started the car and pulled out of the parking space. I hit redial on the hands-free and waited for BM to answer.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked.

"The boys found swords in the boxes and decided to sword fight, and one of them got stabbed,"

"What? Who?"

"Either Sam or Jae, I couldn't quite understand what BM was saying, they were getting in the car when he rang me," the colour drained from her face.

"How bad?"

"I don't know,"

"Hey you've reached Matthew, leave your name and number and I'll call you back as soon as I can,"

"Hey it's me, I need to know what hospital I'm going to. Call me back as soon as you get this," I left a voice mail and hung up.

I glanced over at Charlie who had shut down. There was no point talking to her until we knew what was going on because she wasn't likely to talk to me anyway. I knew she wouldn't be okay until we knew exactly what was going on and that everyone was okay.

My phone started ringing, BM flashed across the hands'-free screen, I looked over at Charlie who didn't seem to even notice my phone ringing. I sighed and clicked answer.

"Hey" he sighed into the phone.

"What's going on? I could barely understand you when you called earlier, all I got was one of you was stabbed with a sword,"

"I'll explain it all when you get here, we're in Murdoch; St John of God. Just ring me when you get here and I'll come get you, it's a little confusing,"

"Wouldn't I just go to the emergency department?"

"No, we've been transferred through to the orthopedic department,"

"Why?"

"If I explain it to you over the phone you'll go or mother mode and freak out, I'll explain everything when you get here,"

"Fine, I'll be there in 20," I sighed.

"See you soon,"

BM

I waited by the entrance doors for Thea and Charlie, they were pretty much in the exact state I thought they'd be. Charlie was shut off, an empty shell, more than likely going through all of the worst possible scenarios in her head. Thea was in mother mode, she looked like she was on a mission, she was actually kind of scary when she was like this.

"Come on," I gestured for them to follow me.

"Explain," Thea retorted stopping in her tracks.

"I'll explain on the way," I kept walking, she reluctantly followed, guiding Charlie with her.

"So we were sorting through the boxes like you asked, and we found the swords we had bought at the comic-con convention a few years ago. We took a break to eat something and Sam and I ended up sword fighting. Everything was perfectly fine, we were having fun, then something distracted Sam as I lunged forward, neither of us had enough time to move and the blade, which was surprisingly sharp by the way, went right into his shoulder. There is blood all over your backyard just a heads up. So we got him in the car and drove him to the nearest hospital,"

"How bad is it?"

"He's gone into surgery so they can fix the damage, the doctor said that it had torn through his deltoid, they're going to repair it and he will have to do some rehab for it but after that, he should be perfectly able,"

"So he's going to be okay?"

"If the surgery goes well, we won't know for sure until he comes out but the doctor says there is an almost 100% success rate,"

"Almost?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Thea," I frowned at her.

"Why did you think it would be a good idea to sword fight?" Thea scolded.

"We didn't really think it through," I shrugged.

"Obviously," she sighed.

We reached the waiting room, Sam had already been taken in for surgery. Jae was sitting in one of the chairs, quietly. Charlie sat down next to him but didn't say anything, they both just sat there quietly, Charlie staring forward at operating room doors.

I sat on the other side of Charlie, Thea started to pace, which was weird. I'd expected her to sit down next to me or start mother-henning, but she just paced frowning, mumbling to herself. She was starting to unravel, the strong front she had put up was starting to fall down. It was a little early for that though, she wasn't normally so quick to crack.

"Thea?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Mm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Our friend is in surgery," she frowned at me like I was stupid. There was a flash across her eyes and then it clicked in my brain.

"This isn't your fault," I spoke out loud, I hadn't meant to.

"I made you guys go through those boxes, it's kind of my fault," she bit her bottom lip.

"It was my idea to sword fight," Jae stated looking a little guilty.

"You two didn't force us to pick up the swords, besides I'm the one who stabbed him," I sighed.

"Are you three serious?" Charlie snapped.

"This isn't about you, Sam is in there getting surgery, stop throwing yourselves a pity party," she continued.

The three of us fell silent, it was out of the ordinary for Charlie to snap at people in general. But the fact that she had snapped out of her shut down mode and was speaking to us was what was the most shocking. Thea bit her lip and sat down next to me without a word. She started fiddling with the rings on her fingers, she does that when she is nervous.

JACKSON

I pulled my phone out to check my messages as I waited for the elevator. I hadn't heard from Thea all day. She did say that she was working for a few hours this morning but it was almost 6 and she hadn't even replied to my text. I sighed sliding my phone into my pocket as the elevator doors opened. I could see Junior making his way over, I knew he wouldn't run for an elevator but I held the doors open for him anyway. He would likely kill me if he knew that I had seen him and let the doors close.

"Hey, thanks," he smiled as he walked in.

"Long day?" I asked just to make casual conversation.

"Yeah I had a photo shoot this morning for my new line, but we had to stop halfway through and reschedule," he sighed.

"That sounds inconvenient,"

"It was a lot of staff to re-book," he nodded.

"Why did you have to reschedule?"

"My photographer had an emergency so she had to leave, speaking of which you should probably give her a call,"

"Why would I call your photographer?" I frowned.

"Because she was Thea," he looked at me like I was an idiot.

"How was I supposed to know that,"

"Because you know that's how I know her,"

"Why do I have to call her?"

"Shouldn't you want to call her anyway?"

"We just text," I shrugged. The thought of calling her made me nervous.

"Have you text her at all today?" he raised an eyebrow like I was supposed to know something I didn't.

"Yeah, but she hasn't replied,"

"She was working this morning and then had to leave because her friend was stabbed and taken to the hospital,"

"That explains why she isn't replying," I mumbled to myself.

"Is her friend all right?"

"No idea," he shrugged as we got off the elevator.

"Thanks," I waved as we walked into our own doors.

Mark was sitting on the lounge with Jooheon eating pizza when I walked in. They didn't notice me at first, not until they heard the door close behind me. Mark looked up nodding a gesture for me to come and join them.

"There is a box here untouched with your name on it," Jooheon called over his shoulder.

"Yeah I'll be there in a minute, I just have to make a phone call," I nodded.

"Work problems?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Nope,"

"Girl problems?" Jooheon smirked sarcastically.

"Something like that," I sighed.

"You're not even dating her, how can you possibly have drama already?"

"We don't have drama, I'll explain later," I waved him off.

I lent against the kitchen counter, dialed her number and waited for her to answer. My heart thumped in my chest, it kept ringing and I almost hung up thinking it was just going to go to message bank when someone answered.

"Thea's phone," a male's voice filled the speaker.

"Hello?" I frowned.

"Hello Wild and Sexy," he responded. I mentally face-palmed.

"Uh, who is this?"

"Not Thea," he answered.

"I realise that,"

"How? She has a manly voice, speaks a little like a truck driver,"

"She's going to kill you," I hear someone in the background.

"It'll be fine," the person on the other end of the phone stated.

"Is Thea there?"

"She just went out to get food to satisfy her binge eating habits, seriously, the girl eats like a fat person,"

"Seriously, who are you?"

"I'm Jae,"

"Why do you have my phone?" there was a girls voice in the background.

"It rang,"

"So? Like I need people thinking we're close enough for you to answer my phone,"

"Ew, that's disgusting," Jae responded.

"Who is it?"

"No idea,"

"What did the caller ID say?"

"I don't remember,"

"You're useless, give me my phone," she sighed.

"Reach for it," there was some rustling and insults thrown back and forth.

THEA

Charlie and I made our way back up the hallway towards Sam's room, he'd been out of surgery for about an hour and a half and was hungry. We were all kind of hungry so Charlie and I had gone down to get McDonald's.

Sam had to stay overnight because the specialist he needed to see wasn't here until the morning. BM felt so guilty about stabbing Sam, Sam didn't seem at all phased by it, he didn't blame him, they were both playing with the swords and it could have easily have been BM that was stabbed. But that didn't stop Charlie from being mad at BM, she was mad at Sam too but not to the extent she was with BM.

"Who's the dike?" I frowned as we rounded the doorway into Sam's room.

"That's BM," Charlie answered in a monotone voice.

"Oh," I laughed as we walked further into the room.

"I'm Jae," Jae stated holding my phone to his ear.

"Why do you have my phone?" I frowned.

"It rang," he shrugged.

"So? Like I need people thinking we're close enough for you to answer my phone," I pulled a face.

"Ew, that's disgusting," he shivered.

"Who is it?"

"No idea," he shrugged again.

"What did the caller ID say?" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't remember,"

"You're useless, give me my phone," she sighed.

"Reach for it," he held the phone above his head.

"Are you serious?" he just nodded.

"Give me my phone forever virgin,"

"Reach for it midget,"

"I will kick you in the shin," I warned.

"With your Shrek feet?" he raised an eyebrow.

BM reached up and took my phone from Jae's hand before he could react and handed it to me.

"You're in a hospital room, behave," he frowned at the both of us. I rolled my eyes pulling a face at Jae and lifting the phone to my eye without checking caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi," a voice that was familiar but I didn't quite recognize filled the receiver. I pulled the phone away from my ear and froze.

Why was he calling me? He has never called me before. Oh my gosh, did he hear everything I just said to Jae? What did Jae say to him? I've been silent too long, what if he thinks I'm rude? Talk!

"Oh, Hey. Sorry, I was a little thrown, I wasn't quite sure who I was talking to. I'm sorry I haven't replied all day it's been a little hectic with work and my friend had to get surgery because my other friend stabbed him not on purpose though, it was an accident they were sword fighting it's not like he seen the sword and decided 'hey I'm going to stab you' that would be weird," I rambled, I knew I was doing it but the more I tried to stop myself the fast my mouth moved until BM cupped his hand over my mouth to shut me up.

"and I didn't really have time to reply to your messages," I sighed once BM had removed his hand.

"You're cute when you ramble, oh my gosh I did I just say that out loud?"

"Yeah," I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"H-how is your friend?" he changed the subject.

"He'll be okay with a little help," I shrugged leaving the room so I wasn't disturbing anyone but mainly so they didn't eavesdrop.

"That's good to hear,"

"So why did you call?"

[recentanimenews]

Manga Editor Yumi Sukemune on Making Princess Jellyfish and the History of Shojo

Most writing about manga focuses on the artists and writers credited on the covers of the books. But there’s another role that’s indispensable to the creative process for most manga series: the editor. In addition to managing the manga production schedule, editors provide creative guidance for artists, in some cases acting as equal partners in coming up with the storylines and characters of their series.

A year ago at Anime Expo 2017, I sat down with manga editor Yumi Sukemune to chat about her work with Akiko Higashimura, the artist behind the josei (adult women’s manga) series Princess Jellyfish about a group of geeky women living together in a Tokyo apartment complex. But our conversation wandered a bit outside of her day job, revealing an editor with a critical, feminist perspective on the history of shojo (girls’ manga).

Thank you to Ms. Sukemune and Kodansha interpreter Misaki Kido for the interview opportunity, and for their patience as this interview sat in draft form for an entire year. It took a while to get this one out, but I think it was worth it!

First off, how did you get started as a manga editor?

I joined Kodansha 12 years ago right out of college. I’ve been assigned to the Kiss Magazine Editorial Department the entire time. The editor of Attack on Titan joined Kodansha the same year.

What titles have you edited?

Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls, which is Higashimura’s follow-up series about 30-something-year-old ladies. It’s like a Tokyo version of Sex and the City. A lot of titles that aren’t published outside of Japan. I always have five to six titles that I’m looking at at any time.

How typical is it for a manga editor to be editing multiple titles at the same time?

It’s pretty common.

What’s the process for how editors are assigned to titles?

For those existing series, there might be editors already assigned to them, but in Japanese companies, people rotate from department to department fairly frequently. So when some editor leaves the department, if the title needs a new editor, then that’s an opportunity where you might get assigned to an existing title.

In my case with Higashimura, there was another editor before me, but then that person left. But besides that, I was already close with Higashimura because we both liked Johnnys idol groups. That was our connection.

So when the previous editor left, because I was pretty personally connected to Higashimura, I became the editor.

Is Higashimura going to do an idol series?

(laughs) She loves K-Pop right now.

Being an editor is a creative role in addition to an administrative one. Is that assignment process partially based on story fit in addition to being good at managing an artist?

There’s no test for it or anything like that, but when you’re being hired into the company, in the interview process, they’re looking at the way you talk, the way you express yourself. The people looking for new hires are picking up those kinds of personality traits. So those are some of the challenging aspects.

In other cases, when you first start to become an editor, you team up with more of a veteran, “sempai,” editor. Then, when they go together to a creator’s house and they have a meeting, the sempai editor will ask you things like, “What would you do in this case of the story?”  You’re on the spot and you have to express what your opinion is.

A lot of the editors love manga of course, but they also study and watch a lot of movies and stuff like that too. There are a lot of movie otaku.

I imagine they read a lot of books too.

Yes.

So in terms of the creativity, of course there’s individuality, but at the same time … being in love with the character, that’s just being a fan. As an editor you have to really think about where the story’s going: beginning, middle, and end. You need to look at it constructively and then put your opinions into those critical perspectives. That’s something that’s expected from an editor. And then, depending on your level of skills in addition to your creativity, you could become a hit-maker editor or not.

The Manga Editing Process

What’s a day in the life of a manga editor like?

My working hours are flexible. Most of the manga artists work at night. So in the morning, a lot of people just watch movies and things like that. Around noon-ish, that’s when we go to work. But then we won’t be able to go back home until the last train.

In terms of shojo manga artists specifically, it’s kind of a one-on-one relationship of manga artist to editor, so as long as we can stay in touch with those artists, we can work from anywhere. We can work from home too.

Regarding Higashimura, she works on so many series at once, but she also has a lot of assistants and they’re kind of set up like a studio. Their schedule usually starts at 11 AM and goes until 7 PM. So in terms of Higashimura, she definitely doesn’t work beyond those hours. She won’t pull all-nighters, she won’t work on weekends. She keeps a work-life balance.

Do a lot of very successful manga artists do that?

It’s not regular at all!

Because it’s set up like a production studio, the main artist Higashimura just does the rough sketches for the story and she also does the penciling. But from there on she actually works with other staff, and they finish her work.

When the artist sets up a production studio-type of setup, then they can actually work on more than just one title at a time. But not too many female artists actually do it like that. Usually if you work with shojo manga artists they’re working with their friends and just barely making the 30 pages each month.

You mentioned in the Kodansha panel earlier that Ms. Higashimura is the most prolific current shojo manga artist. That she has the most titles.

That’s true. She works with all the major publishers.

Speaking of staying in touch with artists, we were looking at your phone before. Could you talk about the process? You two are on LINE sending “names” (rough manuscript drawings) back and forth, right?

(She shows me her LINE message history with Ms. Higashimura.)

Yesterday Higashimura sent a name. I usually just loosely say “I kind of want to see the first draft by this day.”

The name stage is usually very simple. But for her, she makes it very detailed. This one has notes on how to finish these panels for the assistants. So, “Put the shadow on here, on the blue.”

Here’s what I’m saying in these messages: “Sorry about the delay of this post. I think the name is really awesome. I think we can use it just the way it is. Especially the scenes in the past and the scene about grilled fish. You’re actually connecting them indirectly. I think it’s really well done. I am here in LA in the morning. I was in awe for a minute. If you’ve got a continuation of these pages please send it to me.”

What stickers do you use on LINE?

We mostly send photos. Not a lot of stickers.

(She shows another name with red pen marks on it.) This is proofing. I use red pen to mark things.

Princess Jellyfish is a really honest portrayal of fujoshi and otaku culture and social anxiety. What sort of conversations do you two have about telling this kind of story?

She often models these characters off of her real-life friends. There’s a friend of hers who’s into dolls. Also all her assistants are super manga otaku. While they’re working, they’re always chatting, for example, having a funny conversation with different ways to end a sentence. The way they talk is unique. She picks it up while she’s writing. Whenever I meet her or even on LINE, Higashimura mentions, “Oh this funny thing happened.” I say, “That’s really funny, why don’t you write about it?”

Communicating and keeping friendships with people outside of work is one of the main reasons she insists on doing the 11–7 shifts, the work-life-balance. Tokyo Tarareba Girls is really based on all her friends who are editors, who are always bitching about something. It’s like, “I’m working so hard, but I have no boyfriend. What’s going on?” She writes about that.

As her editor, my main job is to figure out what she’s into, what her main focus is right now, and to encourage her, to ask “why don’t you write that into the story?”

Shojo and “Waiting for Men”

In the panel earlier you talked about how shojo has changed. You said it was about waiting for a boy to discover you, and now it’s about girls saying “this is my way of life.” Why do you think that is?

I think the biggest influence was Sailor Moon. I’m 34 now. When I was little, Sailor Moon was a current, ongoing series. Up until the emergence of Sailor Moon, all the manga was really about an average girl being discovered by a boy. That was the classic formula. But as soon as Sailor Moon hit, everything changed into a new generation of girls who had the ability to do what they wanted to do in life.

Around that time in the history of Japan, women were starting to get accepted into regular workplaces. The timing in history might have contributed to the message too.

For those girls who grew up with Sailor Moon and keep that true to their hearts, as they get older they become these really strong women and do things for themselves.

Do you think the cultural shift influenced Sailor Moon? Or the other way around?

Sailor Moon was originally supposed to become an anime by the time it started. There was a project for the anime too, they worked on them together. So instead of waiting for the stories to finish, they actually continued the story at the same pace in manga and anime. Because it was a collaborative project between the artist and the animation studio, it wasn’t really up to the creator herself. The creation came from the anime production team as well.

Princess Jellyfish is josei though, not shojo, right?

Yes. The magazine is a josei magazine, although story-wise, none of them are working, so it’s more in the realm of shojo manga, really. And definitely the style is shojo manga.

How much of what you were describing about shojo applies to josei?

In the josei manga genre, unlike shojo manga, it’s not all pure and fresh. It’s not that kind of puppy love story. But in terms of the main character opening up the door to their own life, it’s actually consistent between both shojo and josei manga.

Was josei already doing that, though?

Even in josei manga back in the day, even though they were working women, the formula of an average woman being discovered by men was still the same. It’s like all the characters are mature adults, but it’s still this bubbly romance.

There’s a series called Tramps Like Us (Kimi wa Pet) in Kiss Magazine. It’s a story about a girl picking her favorite boy and keeping him in her house. The pet is a boy.

That change is interesting. Early shojo manga like the works of the Showa 24 Group weren’t about women waiting for men.

Those series like Rose of Versailles are very eternal, evergreen titles. Those tend to be the formula of the character seeking their own path. Those legendary creators: Keiko Takemiya, Moto Hagio. Series that actually stick around long enough to be classics, they tend to be based on main characters finding their own path. But series that became very popular hits but eventually as time goes became lost and forgotten, those are the ones with the formula where the girl gets discovered by the boy.

I feel like in the 1980s shojo manga went in that direction a bit.

Yes, during the bubble economy. Back in the ’80s during the economic boom, it was all about what kind of relationship can you have as a person. That was the biggest focus.

Keiko Takemiya was told by an editor that a story was not going to be a hit; it was complicated, it should be more romance. But she really felt strongly about writing those kinds of stories. So she created The Poem of Wind and Trees (Kaze to Ki no Uta) from there. It’s a really famous Boys Love manga now.

It really shows how hard it was for those female creators in the ’80s to stand up for what they wanted to write about and to execute their expression and get published.

There have been a lot of fans who have been supportive of creators like Takemiya, but at the time, those fans were a way smaller fraction of fans. But post-Sailor Moon people began to accept and understand and like those formulas too. In terms of The Rose of Versailles, it’s inspired by the sort of “fantasy” admiration toward French culture. So that brought in the audience. It’s not really because of feminism. It’s because France is cool.

But it sounds like Sailor Moon represents more of a true feminist shift.

I think so.

There’s an element of romance in Sailor Moon with Tuxedo Mask but that’s not the focus of the series and that’s not the reason why she’s fighting. She’s also looking out for her teammates and friends.

In the US a lot of fans had a very similar response. Because we didn’t get a lot of female characters with that kind of agency.

Everything is connected. No matter where you’re from you really want to cherish and respect yourself in terms of your personality.

As an editor, I always question the difference between the audiences. Like, the school life in America and Japan is different. Is that something that affects the popularity of manga?

The portrayal of the cool, attractive boys seems to be very different here in the US too. I think that might affect whether a manga series becomes popular overseas, not just in Japan. Series like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura, ones set in fantasy-based worlds, are kind of rare in shojo manga. They’re just a fraction, and the rest of the titles are focused on school life and slice-of-life stories.

Even the editors and executives in Japan, they’re thinking that whatever is available here and the shojo manga outside of Japan is just a fraction of the shojo manga that is available.

The High School Formula

Have you edited any of those high school titles before?

I have a series called Love’s Reach. In shojo manga, there are a lot of teacher-student relationships, but elsewhere that’s illegal, right? Love’s Reach is the standard shojo manga formula: school life, always a big event with some emotionally thrilling moments. So if people actually get into these series and accept these kinds of stories then we can introduce a bunch more shojo manga. A lot of the shojo manga that’s available here, like Princess Jellyfish or Nana, is kind of irregular compared to the rest of the shojo manga in Japan.

Is there anything different about editing for one of those school life series versus something more irregular?

For Princess Jellyfish, the creation starts with Higashimura’s inspiration, ideas, and imagination. In terms of things like Love’s Reach, there’s the standard formula and then you put a good talented artist on it. So during the meeting, I say things like “do you want to go on a school trip now?” Like, “this is a good time now.” We have these formulas so you can sort of test the artist to see if they can work creatively with those frameworks and make them their own. That’s how each of the creators’ talents emerge.

Because the history of shojo manga is so long in Japan, there are readers who just want to read a formulaic story. Instead of going into a really fresh story that’s very imaginative, some people just want to read the same old story right before they go to bed after coming back from a long day of work.

In fact, a lot of the digital shojo manga sales in Japan happen after 11 PM. It’s interesting. They probably just buy it and read it and just fall asleep. Maybe right before you’re going to bed and you’re relaxing, you might not want to be introduced to super fresh, super imaginative ideas.

(laughs) The Rose of Versailles is too heavy!

(laughs) I might dream about it or something!

Of course sexy titles and “ero” manga too. Manga that you don’t want to have as a book also sell during nighttime.

It’s important for big publishers to fulfill all these people’s needs. Of course we want to create something new, but we also want to produce something that our audience would want.

Thank you so much for your time!

Manga Editor Yumi Sukemune on Making Princess Jellyfish and the History of Shojo originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on October 2, 2018 at 10:14 PM.

By: Evan Minto