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harley-sunday · 2 years

Note

omg congrats!!! got a little Drabble idea for you 👀 perhaps you went to school with dan and you’ve finally reconnected with him when he’s home on break

A little drabble, sweets?

Yeah. No. I can totally do that. I can totally just write a quick little drabble and not turn it into 2k worth of angst that's also sort of hopeful but doesn't have my usual happy ending epilogue. No problem. No problem at all...😐

Seriously though, thank you for this idea. I hope you like what I came up with 😊

🧡

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x reader (Dan's POV) Warnings: language Word count: 2k AN: Please don't hate me.

Michael makes him go.

Daniel doesn’t really care about it. Doesn’t really feel like this is something he has to be at. Doesn’t really feel like showing up to his fifteen-year high school reunion just so he can be the centre of attention all night. Which is- It’s weird. And so unlike him. He’s very aware of that. During the season he loves to have all eyes on him, even makes sure they are most of the time but here? No. He’s finally made it home after two years of being locked out of the country, what with the pandemic and the travel bans and all that, and so the last thing he wants to do is talk about racing all night with people who don’t really know him and have this idea of him that he’s not sure he can live up to anymore.

Maybe that’s just it. Maybe, when he’s back in Perth, he doesn’t want to be the honey badger, doesn’t want to be the world famous racecar driver everyone thinks they get to have a piece of. Maybe, when he’s here, at home, he wants to be just Dan and have that be enough.

Then again, being ‘just Dan’ wasn’t enough fifteen years ago when he- When he so selfishly did what he thought was right and broke so much - trust, at least a hundred promises, and a heart - in just one night, that the possibility of that- Of being confronted with the consequences of his actions, even after all this time, almost makes him cancel at the last minute, some bullshit excuse about a migraine ready at the tip of his tongue.

But Michael makes him go. Tells him he’ll regret it if he doesn't even though Daniel thinks that’s highly unlikely because he’s been doing just fine without seeing all these people for the past fifteen years.

Michael made him go and so here he is, tucked away in a corner of the courtyard at Newman College, peeling the label of a bottle of beer while Michael keeps rattling off the names of people he recognises as they walk past them. Dan tries to at least look as if he’s having a good time but the pieces of torn paper scattered across the table tell another story.

It’s- There must have been someone in charge of decorating the place but he thinks they did a shit job. There’s a big ‘Class of 2007’ banner hanging from a tree but the seven has half fallen and he thinks the two also might not make it to the end of the night and- Honestly, it’s just pathetic. There’s a bar on his left and a dance floor in front of him but there’s no DJ and the music that has been put on over the speakers is too soft and so there’s no one dancing either, most people just standing around and talking loudly, catching up with old friends and forgotten crushes.

Daniel’s still on his first beer of the evening but already too many of his classmates and people who he doesn’t even remember being in his year have come up to him to ask him what it’s like, going that fast on those circuits, and travelling the world, and- Each and every one of them saying how they wish they could swap places with him because, “Mate. You are living the life!”

He has to bite his tongue every single time, has to keep from telling them it’s not all they’ve made it out to be. Because if the G-forces alone don’t wreck enough havoc on your body, the constant jetlag most definitely will. Add to that the constant pressure of the team, the fans, and, most of all, himself, and it’s a wonder he hasn’t retired yet. He doesn’t say that, of course he doesn’t, because sometimes it’s better to keep the dream alive. Instead he gives them one of his thousand-megawatt smiles, pats their shoulder a little too hard, and says, “Yeah, you’d absolutely love it.”

The scarce moments there’s no one talking to him, and Michael doesn’t fill his mind with useless trivia about whoever walks by them at that moment, he lets his eyes wander across the room, searching for- Something he lost fifteen years ago. Even though he’s not sure he’ll ever find it again.

***

After two hours or so, Michael spots one of his old teachers on the other side of the yard and tells Daniel he’ll go over to have a quick chat and that he’ll be back in a minute and that after they can go home if he wants. Daniel nods, tells him, “No worries,” even though he can’t wait to get out of here. He watches as his best friend makes his way through the crowd, shaking his head when he sees Michael greeting everyone he comes across with a smile and a hug and a genuine, “Hey, how have you been?”

People always think Daniel is the more outgoing of the two but in reality Michael is much more of a social butterfly than he’ll ever be, definitely less guarded and more open, and not as worried about ulterior motives hidden behind kind words and bright smiles as Daniel is.

He sighs and focuses on peeling off the last bit of label still stuck to his beer but it proves to be a resilient fuckin’ piece of paper and so he curses quietly and has to fight the urge to throw the bottle against the wall behind him in frustration. However, he’s not a quitter - hence why he’s still in Formula One, he thinks wryly - and so he doubles his efforts, determined to strip this bottle of both paper and any glue residue that’s left.

A laughing voice comes from somewhere on his left then, “Are you ok?”

He looks up from his art project, a little confused by the fresh beer that suddenly appears in his field of vision, but when he sees who’s handing it to him he can’t help his jaw from dropping. He's the least eloquent he’s ever been because all he says is, “Holy shit, what are you doing here?”

She laughs even harder and the sound of it is like music to his ears- It feels as though she’s putting him back under her spell again, pulling him in with the sweet sound of her laughter and the promise of hope renewed, and he’s never been more willing to let himself fall off the deep end and into the unknown. Not the unknown, he thinks. Unfamiliar territory maybe. Or is that the same thing?

He watches her shrug, “It’s our fifteen-year high school reunion, Daniel,” she says and his name, rolling off her tongue so effortlessly yet sounding so different from anyone else saying it, drags him under- “Someone needs to play the scapegoat for them to take pity on.”

He flinches at her words, wants to tell her that’s not true, that no one is taking pity on her, but he can’t. Because if he does, that’s exactly what he’ll be doing too. And so instead he points at himself and says, “Yeah, no shit. That’s why I’m here, babe.” Because fuck it, two can play this game and they’ve always been right up to par as far as self-deprecation has been concerned.

She eyes him suspiciously and takes a sip of her beer before she shakes her head, “No.”

“No?”

“No,” she echoes with a sad smile. “No, Daniel-” she looks down at the bottle in her hands and he wants nothing more than to put his hand over hers, take some of her pain away, but he knows she’ll never let him because fuck, it’s fifteen years too late, “-you’re not the loser here. You’re not- You didn’t run away from- You were running towards something. Bigger things. Better things.” She looks up at him then, a sad smile playing on her lips, “You became a star.”

Fuck.

She doesn’t notice the way he swallows hard, or maybe she chooses not to, and instead continues although her voice is a little more quiet now, “I’m the one who ran away. The one who left everyone and everything behind to no avail because I now know that I’ll always carry with me what I was running from. Turns out the hurt stays the same, Daniel, no matter where you are.”

He wants to tell her. Wants to tell her about his own life and how he’s been running away from everyone and everything for the past fifteen years as well. The only difference is that he’s been doing it under the guise of something he claims he loves.

It isn’t. Not anymore.

What he loves is right here.

He knows that now. Now as in, this exact moment when she looks up at him again and gives him a weary smile, “It was really good to see you again-”

Daniel just nods, not trusting his voice right now even though there’s so much he wants to say. Fifteen years worth of-

“I should go,” she says all of a sudden, eyebrows knitting together and scrunching her nose the way she always did whenever she tried to justify her actions. “I shouldn’t have- Maybe it was better if I-”

“Hey, no.” Daniel does reach out this time. Puts his hand on hers and doesn’t miss the way she freezes under his touch and so he quietly berates himself because he should have known better. “Shit, sorry-” he pulls his hand away, letting it hover over hers awkwardly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“It’s ok,” she tells him quietly. “I just wasn’t expecting it to-” she takes a deep breath as if she’s trying to find the courage to say what she’s about to say next, “I wasn’t expecting it to hurt this much. Not- Not you touching me but this-” She waves her hand between them, “Us.”

He swallows hard, a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he’s only ever experienced once before, right before he sent his car into the wall during FP2 in Austria two years ago. Back then there was nothing he could do to change his trajectory. He hopes this time there is, “Can we-” he tries to smile but knows he fails miserably. “Can we talk? It doesn’t have to be right now but- I’m here for another two weeks, maybe-”

“Dan,” she starts and he never knew. He never knew three letters could hold so much promise. That’s what he holds onto anyway, not wanting to hear the hurt and anger and disappointment he also thinks he hears. Maybe there’s love too, buried somewhere deep under all the other stuff but-

“Please?” He hangs his head and because he realises his fate is completely in her hands he does something he knows he’s not going to be proud of but desperate times and all that. He puts his hand on the table, close to hers, their pinkies almost touching when he says, “I miss you.”

“Dan,” she says again but this time it’s- Different. Lighter? He’s not sure. Maybe he’s imagining things. Before he has a chance to think about it some more she surprises him. Like she always did, “I missed you too-”

Of course he notices she uses past tense. And of course he notices the way his heart skips a beat at whatever it is he thinks she’s implying. Still, he pulls back a little and searches her face for- What, he’s not sure. He tries again, “Please?”

She nods, “Now? I don’t want- Maybe it’s better if we don’t get to think things over and come up with rehearsed excuses and-”

“Now is good,” he agrees quickly, not wanting to lose her to the hands of time. He takes his phone out and shoots Michael a quick message, nothing more than a ‘I’m going to try to make things right. No need to wait for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

It’s vague but he knows Michael will understand and so he puts his phone on silent and pockets it again before his best friend even has the chance to text him back.

She looks up at him then and smiles a hesitant smile, “Promise me one thing?”

One thing. Everything. The world. Whatever it takes, Daniel wants to say. He nods instead.

“Don’t make me miss you again.”

#Daniel Ricciardo x reader #Daniel Ricciardo fanfic #F1 fanfic #DR3 #F1 drabble #Harley answers asks #and writes a drabble #Harley Sunday x Daniel Ricciardo

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myimaginarywonderland · 2 years

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Omg your thing about f1 drivers in FE has been my thoughts for weeeeks!!

I'm so scared McLaren are gonna put Daniel in the FE seat and it will RUIN the series for me. Because that's all anyone will care about or talk about. And all the other drivers will get over-shadowed. Daniel is a massive personality too and I think he's used to being adored and the centre of attention so I fear what he will be like in the paddock. I think F1 drivers are lorded as god's of Motorsport and none of them will like not being treated as that in FE. It's one of the reasons I don't find many of the F1 drivers that likeable, their egos seem massive.

I thought it was an odd move for Gio last year and it hasn't really worked out. I have barely seen anything of him this season I don't even know if he's enjoyed it but I think it's a good example of how the move, whilst bringing over lots of new fans, brings a totally new environment.

So ya thanks for the post. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I think I'm just generally anxious about anyone new joining the "family" and disrupting the vibes. But I think an F1 driver, esp one who was really successful in F1 like seb or Dan, would be the worst case

Omg, thanks for sharing this!

Yeah, I hope that if anyone of the McLaren family has to come in FE that it's Felix (because he seemed to enjoy his time in FE.) He's had experience and while he apparently expressed his desire to continue Indy, I just don't see anyone else there really?

I also think Daniel would be one of the worst candidates, worse than JEV even when he got there. He would hate it and I could see him making bad comments just to get out of it sadly. As much as I hate Rene Rast, I would absolutely take him over Daniel because he has been in a series that has been pretty low-key and he isn't that big of a character and centre of attention in any way.

I agree about Gio. While he obviously got better towards the end,he just was nowhere during most of the season and besides his super pole there was nothing special or even note worthy of his run in FE. I don't think it makes him a bad driver but it just shows how FE isn't easy and especially not easy to get into from F1.

I think even the Mercedes driver to some degree changed the environment or rather the team did. There was a clear difference between them and any other older team.

I think a great example of someone fitting in is actually both Nick Cassidy and Oliver Askew. Both of them had not been expected by most to perform and yet they did good and easily settled into FE.

I 100% agree.

#fe

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luvnami · 3 years

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𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬!

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 - aa my first time writing for kny!! i hope you like it~ the title is a play on the word ‘pillars’ lol hopefully that makes sense... enjoy!! likes, comments and reblogs really help me a lot <3

𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - @/amjustagirl (muacks)

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 - mention of food

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 - what if the pillars were... cats?

𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐚 𝐠𝐲𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐢

- the CHONKIEST fella you’ve ever seen in your entire life

- seriously, this cat feels like a brick when you try to pick him up

- yes, his fur is dense. no, he does not get any skinnier when he’s matted down with water

- a lovely, calm cat abandoned by his previous owners because they were moving out of the country

- he loves lazing in the sun and his brown fur turns golden in it!!!

- is a lap cat but doesn’t understand that your legs turn numb way too fast when he’s purring away like a little truck motor

- (his purrs are so deep……. put him on an asmr youtube channel already!!!!)

- once, you had a dream that you were drowning. you found him sleeping on your chest when you woke up gasping for air

- broke a flimsy cat tree once and is now terrified of heights

- a big baby :( kind of needy, always welcomes you at the door when you come home with chirps and gets frisky when you don’t return till late

𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐢

- …

- the quiet cat that seems like it might murder you in your sleep

- you adopted him together with kanroji because he simply wouldn’t leave her side and wouldn’t leave your side so… yeah

- this cat HATED you at first

- like… he even refused to eat the food that you tried to give him :/// you had to lure him out with some churu

- you once woke up in the middle of the night because you were thirsty and found two glowy things at your bedroom door

- yeah, he was staring at you while you slept

- you didn’t dare to get a glass of water and just went back to sleep

- dark gray short fur with heterochromia! you think that he might be kanroji’s sibling but the centre said that they came in at different times

- he goes crazy for catnip oh my goodness

- he rolls himself in it and purrs so LOUD……….. ok iguro……..

𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐢 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢

- so! affectionate!

- you adopted her from a local centre… seriously, who abandoned this pretty baby!!!!!!!

- (iguro insisted on being adopted as well. they come in a pair, do not separate.)

- is a white short fur with heterochromia <333 she looks so magical omg

- when you visited the adoption centre, she wouldn’t stop meowing and curling herself around your legs

- how could you not take her home!!!!!

- she tries to steal all kinds of food (even yours). please don’t own any plants, she will try to chomp them as well

- one time you came back home and heard some loud rustling from the door. you were terrified that it was a thief but when you switched on the lights, the cat had somehow managed to raid your pantry :/

- loves loves loves cuddles!! will even let you touch her soft tummy and play with her toe beans (only for a while though!)

- you wish she’d stop jumping around and getting into the hardest to reach spots…….

- loves trying out new collars, toys and even outfits!

- grooms iguro a lot and loves playing with him <3

𝐤𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐮

- y’all know the cats that play nice when you’re petting them and then bite your hand immediately after… yeah

- the childhood cat that gives you trauma after it scratched you one too many times

- but very lovable and social!! loves meeting new people and then giving you a smug look as she crawls into their lap

- is not tempted by treats… she will do a trick when she wants to

- siamese, brown to white with a tail that flicks too much when she’s irritated

- this cat pushes your glass of water off of the table while looking you in the eye

- will lay herself over your keyboard when you’re trying to work

- has and will chew up your socks again

- scratches your furniture even after you sprayed it with that ‘no-scratch’ spray

- HOWEVER she will occasionally let you scritch her chin when she feels amiable…….

- tries to groom you sometimes

- jumps around too much for her (and your) own good. has caused the shattering of many things and now you cannot place fragile objects on shelves

𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐤𝐮 𝐤𝐲𝐨𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐨

- the most!! active and happy tabby cat you’ve ever seen!!!!!

- meow! meow meow meow!

- man i have no idea what you’re saying rengoku but you look happy and adorable so have a treat

- probably a family cat that your dad brought back home (much to mom’s dismay) but he’s part of the family now

- VERY vocal at night no matter how much you try to tire him out in the day… rip

- will wake you up because! human! it is night time and my water bowl is an inch out of place!

- has the most gorgeous coat ever… really. it’s an envy for many cat owners

- he struts around with his head in the air and demands many pets from you while yowling and pawing your leg

- loves outdoor walks, actually. will attack a dog on sight if given the chance so please keep him on a leash

- give him little booties to keep his paws clean!!!!!!!! he fell over the first time you put them on but now he’s used to it and he looks so cute omg

- very nurturing!! takes to other cats very easily and is a joy to have around if you’re fostering other animals (besides dogs)

𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢

- this bastard cat

- hisses if you pat him for too long

- hisses if you don’t give him attention

- hisses while you’re pouring out his food and will NOT hesitate to bite you

- if you touch his paw pads, you can goodbye to your fingers

- i’m thinking……. gray shorthair with green eyes!

- probably a stray cat that you took in (which came with a lot of coaxing, snacks and wrangling) who got into one too many fights

- he took a while to get used to staying indoors, often hiding in obscure places and was oddly possessive of your sofa

- no, he did not let you sit on it for a whole month

- he’s very protective and territorial! when he’s feeling like it, he’ll rub against you and get into your closet to curl up and scent your clothes (getting fur all over them)

- once, when you had some friends over, you had to lock him in your bedroom because he wouldn’t stop snarling at them

- no one dares to come over to your place after that

- (he’s secretly addicted to butt pats)

𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨

- black shorthair that literally appeared in your house one day

- you have no idea where he came from but you let him stay for a few days and he’s never left since then

- sometimes, he wanders outside (while chasing a butterfly or something...) but always comes back in time for dinner

- has the clearest emerald eyes!!

- he’s so quiet oh my goodness. you swear you’ve never heard him meow or chirp or purr once………. you think he might be a ghost cat sometimes

- moves around silently too. has scared you on more than one occasion when you turned around and found him staring at you, or felt something furry brush against your leg while you weren’t expecting it

- doesn’t initiate affection much but will let you pet and smother him with love!! he kinda just… chills lol

- loves snuggling in the warmest places! sometimes you’ll come home and find a suspicious bump under your covers… lift it and you might find a friend within <3

- hates hate hates collars

- will literally bat at you if you ever try to put one on him

𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐤𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐲𝐮

- loves water so much its crazy

- you have to lock your bathroom door because he’s somehow managed to figure out how to open the doors in your house

- like, he’ll actually jump into the shower with you

- you brought him home one day when you found him as a kitten in the rain outside :c (ur the hot anime character now)

- he’s really quiet! rarely meows and prefers to headbutt you (which can be slightly inconvenient, like that one time you were pouring coffee and nearly scalded the both of you)

- his fur is always messy. sticks up everywhere no matter how much you try to brush it

- black fur of medium length and thickness!!! puffs up SO MUCH when winter comes though

- it’s insane, he looks like a ball of soot

- exceptionally fast. when you try to play fetch with him, all you’ll see is a black blur darting back and forth

- easily scared

- you have to be careful when rounding corners or petting him because if he doesn’t expect it he’ll jump like five feet in the air

𝐮𝐳𝐮𝐢 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧

- if you do not change his collars or outfits at least once a week or brush him daily he will start yowling

- you decided to adopt him after your neighbour moved to an apartment that didn’t allow cats

- unfortunately, your neighbour was also the most outrageously extravagant person you’ve ever met and spoiled uzui too much

- a good chunk of your monthly spending goes to the cat

- will not eat cheap cat food (how can he tell the difference…?)

- occasionally buries himself in the back of your closet because it’s dark and smells like you but please help me i’m entangled in a scarf and can’t get out!

- loves posing for photographs and being cooed over!! if you run an instagram account for him you’ll be sure to get popular really quickly

- he just… knows the camera is there lol

- hates having his nails clipped omg

- he will run around the house just to escape you and will only be bribed by a fancy new outfit or a churu

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gubler-me-up · 4 years

Text

Exposed (MGG Request)

Request(s): I got a mgg request! Maybe one where reader and matthew are both part of the cm cast and and while on an interview they’re like asking him about her and he’s like ♥️👄♥. And everyone’s like aww. That made sense?

OMG WAIT ANOTHER MGG REQUEST POPPED IN MY HEAD! How about Mgg and reader reading thirst tweets and they are joking around but matthew kinda starts getting jealous

A/N: Thanks for the request, anon!! Originally I was going to do these two requests separate but every time I thought of these requests I thought of those YouTube videos where celebs read thirsty tweets so I decided to make it a talk show setting to incorporate the best of both worlds, no hannah montana (that was so lame pls excuse that) hope you enjoy!

Couple: MGG/Fem!reader

Category: Fluff

Content warning: Thirsty af tweets but that’s about it

Word count: 2.5k

————-

“I don’t interview well,” you said to your makeup artist.

“Just envision the audience naked,” she giggled as she applied your mascara.

“That old trick never works,” you said.

“Okay, how about you pretend you’re on the set of Criminal Minds except it’s a live take in front of a studio audience?” she said.

You placed your hand on your cheek as you put on an over-exaggerated thinking face. She laughed as she finished applying your mascara. You looked at her with a scrunched up nose as you shook your head.

“I don’t know if I can, Sheena,” you said.

“Well, with Matthew by your side during this interview maybe you can,” she said.

“I’d probably choke even harder. I don’t even know what I was thinking when I agreed to be a surprise guest,” you said.

“You were probably thinking how fine Matthew would look in a suit,” she said.

“I get the privilege of seeing him in a suit every day on set,” you giggled.

She laughed along with you. Your giggle-fest was interrupted with the sound of Jimmy Fallon speaking. You both turned your attention to the small tv screen in your dressing room. You grabbed the remote to turn the volume up a little louder to hear what he was saying.

You watched as he gave a little introduction to his guest. Calling him a fan favourite of Criminal Minds and the dorky genius everyone is swooning over. You giggled as you knew Matthew hated so much admiration centred around him but you had a feeling Jimmy knew so as well. He kept on continuously complimenting him before he finally introduced him.

“Please give a warm welcome to your favourite FBI agent and mine, Matthew Gray Gubler,” he announced.

Matthew appeared from the side all smiles as he waved to the audience. He looked a little pink in the face. Probably from all the overflowing compliments Jimmy had given him. Jimmy had every right to gush over him. He looked fine as ever. He was wearing a midnight blue suit with his iconic black converse on. His hair was freshly cut short but his untamed curls didn’t seem to care as they swirled around his head. He had a new thing for rings too, specifically pink rings which only added an extra bit of spice to him.

“You know, I actually don’t think I’m the fan favourite anymore,” he told Jimmy.

Jimmy gave him an over-exaggerated shocked expression. He looked out into the audience before standing up and raising his arms up and down to encourage them to cheer.

“Make some noise if Dr. Spencer Reid is your favourite character,” he said.

Most of the crowd cheered as loud as they could. Matthew awkwardly smiled as he covered his face to hide the fact he was turning a deeper shade of red. Jimmy sat back down and laughed as he pointed out into the audience.

“The audience never lies,” he said.

“You’re right, you’re right, but I personally think we have a great cast filled with amazing actors,” he chuckled.

“Okay, okay, I’ll hear you out. Who’s your favourite character on the show?” Jimmy asked.

“I love Y/N Y/L/N character Andrea Pike. She’s such a fascinating character on the show,” he said.

You couldn’t help crack a smile at the way his voice brightened up when he mentioned your name. He looked overly excited to discuss your character. You felt Sheena nudge you with her elbow. You looked at her to see her smirking at you.

“I think someone has a little crush on you,” she sang.

You smiled as you felt your face heat up. You turned away from her to look back at the tv screen. You knew she would inquire about your feelings for him if she saw the way you looked. You weren’t quite ready to expose how you felt towards him yet.

“Y/N Y/L/N is such a great actress and I was excited when I found out she joined the Criminal Minds cast,” Jimmy said.

“Yeah, it’s great having her on. She’s so much fun to be around and she always lightens the mood,” Matthew said.

“I’d love to have her on the show one day. Do you think she’d ever come on the show?” Jimmy asked.

“Oh, for sure. You’d love her on your show, she’s so funny and entertaining. That’s what I love most about working with her,” he said.

Slight ‘awe’s’ came from the audience which made Matthew and Jimmy burst out laughing. Matthew looked towards the audience with a sheepish look on his face as he tried to reduce his bright grin. He didn’t have the chance to regain his composure as the band started playing a rendition of ‘Lady in Red.’

He placed both of his hands on his face as he leaned back in his chair trying to hide his embarrassment. Jimmy, of course, was having a blast watching Matthew squirm. Matthew slid his hands down from his face to show his flustered expression to the audience.

“Okay, okay, we’ll give you a break. Anyway, other than Y/N, what else is your favourite thing about working with the Criminal Minds crew?” Jimmy asked.

You watched as they talked about the show. You couldn’t take your eyes off of Matthew as he laughed and talked. His smile could brighten any room and his soft eyes could just melt you into a puddle. You watched the whole thing up until the commercial break. When it went to commercial you didn’t even realize you were still spaced out looking at the screen until Sheena nudged you.

“Girl, it’s your time to position yourself,” Sheena said.

“Oh, right,” you said as you jumped out of your chair.

“Lost in Gublerland huh?” She giggled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said as you walked towards the door.

You took one step out of the makeup room door before you froze. You turned around to look back at Sheena with an awkward smile. She immediately knew what you were about to ask and giggled.

“Stage right, hun,” she said.

You smiled. “Thank you.”

By the time you reached stage right, the show had come back from a commercial break. You stood there as you watched Jimmy explain to Matthew and the audience the activity he had planned for them. It was called “Need Some Water?” The concept was Matthew and you would read thirst tweets and whenever you thought the tweet was overly thirsty you take a sip of water.

Matthew had no idea he was going to be playing with you though. Jimmy handed him a deck of tweets he had printed and had a separate deck in his hand. He handed him a water bottle. He could barely contain his smile as he saw you standing, waiting for your cue to go on stage.

“We’ve actually gotten another guest to participate in “Need Some Water?” Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Y/N Y/L/N,” Jimmy announced.

Matthew’s head shot over to you as you walked out, waving to the audience with a big smile on. You looked at him and his face was nearly on the floor. He immediately stood up with his arms outstretched for you to come into. It was a magnetic connection instantly as you walked over to him and embraced him in a hug. You knew you shouldn’t hold him too long or else people would talk but the warmth of his arms and the scent of his cologne had you enraptured.

He let go of you slowly but without looking you in the eyes to give you a quick smile. You instantly smiled back. He directed you to your seat with a gesture of his hand and you followed the direction it was pointing at. You both sat down with goofy smiles splattered on your faces.

“Thanks for joining us, Y/N,” Jimmy said.

“Thanks for having me. I’m very excited to read what people say about me,” you said.

He chuckled as he handed you a bottle of water and the deck of tweets. Matthew took them from him to hand to you. He was such a gentleman. You took them from his hands and couldn’t help to feel butterflies fluttering inside your gut.

“You might find a few tweets from Matthew in your deck,” he joked.

“He might find a few of mine in his deck actually,” you joked.

You heard everyone in the audience go “ooo” and knew you sparked something again. You laughed as you looked at Matthew who looked down at his deck, shaking his head trying not to laugh. He wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it. Jimmy was having the time of his life cackling at your joke.

“Okay, okay, let’s start. Matthew, go,” Jimmy said.

Matthew turned over the first card and immediately opened his bottle of water. He took a long sip of his water so you knew it was a ridiculously thirsty tweet. Everyone laughed as he finished drinking his water before he even started to read the tweet.

“I would let Matthew Gray Gubler break my back in bed like a glow stick,” he read trying his best not to laugh too much.

You and everyone else freely laughed at the tweet. You excitedly turned over your deck to read your tweet. You covered your mouth trying to conceal your laugh.

“Y/N Y/L/N could just stare at me for a second too long and I would get pregnant,” you read.

“I think valid points were made. I’m currently pregnant with Y/N’s baby as well,” Matthew joked.

“Ugh, I hope it’s an Aries baby,” you joked.

“I dibs on being the Godfather,” Jimmy said.

Everyone laughed before Matthew went back to looking at the tweets in his deck. He chuckled to himself as he read it in his head. He looked up at the audience before bursting out laughing.

“If Matthew Gray Gubler took me out on a date and told me to pay for the bill, I would simply run my bank card deeper into the negatives for that man,” he read.

You laughed. “That’s a true fan.”

You looked at your deck and giggled. You opened up your water and took a long sip because the tweet was extremely thirsty. You saw out of the corner of your eye Matthew was watching you sip your water but he tried to gaze at the tweet in your hand. You didn’t leave him hanging for too long. You cleared your throat before reading it.

“If Y/N Y/L/N ever put an ad on craigslist asking if anyone had a dog up for sale, I’d tell her yes and meet her at her doorstep on all fours ruffing,” you read.

Matthew covered his mouth trying not to laugh too hard. Everyone else in the audience and Jimmy freely laughed. You felt your face get hot from all the laughing you were doing but also the fact you had serious admirers out there.

Matthew cleared his throat before reading his. “Maybe if I pretend to be a bird outside Matthew Gray Gubler’s window long enough he’ll open his window to let me in.”

You laughed. “These pretending to be animal tweets are too wild.”

“Do you have more like that?” Matthew asked.

You looked down at your pile. “No, this one’s actually kinda cute. If I knew Y/N Y/L/N I would love her forever and never let her go. Duh.”

Everyone in the audience ‘awed’ but you noticed Matthew was quite silent at your tweet. You looked at him and noticed he seemed a bit bothered by the tweet. He smiled politely but he wasn’t as energetic as he was before.

“Read yours,” you encouraged.

“Matthew Gray Gubler, please for the love of God, leak your nudes already,” he chuckled.

He took a long sip of his water. You giggled as you looked at your next tweet. You laughed loudly as you read it. Matthew turned to you in curiosity as to what made you so giddy.

“If someone doesn’t kiss Y/N Y/L/N already, I will. I will gladly volunteer and do it forever,” you said.

Everyone had a mix of ‘awe’s’ and laughs except for Matthew who was kind of stoned face. He still smiled politely for the camera but you knew something was wrong. You took a sip of your water as you tried to figure out what expression he was giving off. Was it possibly jealousy?

“That’ll be it for “Need Some Water?” Give a big round of applause to Matthew Gray Gubler and Y/N Y/L/N for coming on the show,” Jimmy said as he stood up to clap for you two.

You both waved at the audience with big grins before getting up to say your goodbye’s to Jimmy. He gave you both big hugs and started to ramble on about how much he appreciated you taking the time to come on the show. He also gushed about being a big fan of Criminal Minds which was always touching to hear.

Once the two of you finally exited the show stage, you grabbed and held onto Matthew’s arm as you two walked. He looked at you with a small smile with quizzical eyebrows trying to figure out what you were doing. You narrowed your eyes at him to look through his nonchalant expression.

“Is someone jealous?” You asked.

“Me? Jealous of tweets? No,” he said as he shook his head.

“I know I’m not a real profiler, but I know jealousy from a mile away,” you said.

“Is that so?” He asked.

You nodded your head. “Of course. You don’t have to be jealous of fans though.”

“I’m jealous they have more guts to tell you they want to be with you more than I do,” he said.

You stopped dead in your tracks. He stopped as well to turn back and look at your floored face. You think that was the closest Matthew had ever been to saying how he truly felt about you.

“You want to be with me? Like for real, for real?” You asked.

He chuckled as he awkwardly looked down at his shoes. He soon looked back up at you with a smile as he nodded his head.

“Yeah,” he softly said.

You pulled his arm towards you and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. He looked at you with a soft smile before leaning in to you and you received the message. You pecked each other on the lips quickly before parting as if nothing happened.

“You don’t have to be jealous of thirst tweets. I’d rather the real thing,” you said.

He chuckled. “How about I take you on a real date? Next Saturday sound good to you?”

You smiled wide. “Any day with you would be good to me.”

He smiled. “Great. I’ll text you tonight. See you soon, Y/N.”

“You too.”

You waved goodbye to each other. You stood there as you watched him walk away. To think a talk show would actually make him confess his feelings for you. Maybe you should have agreed to do talk shows with him way earlier if that would have been the result. You weren’t mad about it though because you finally got to be with the man you’ve been thirsting over for months.

—–

Tagged: @shadyladyperfection, @slutforthegubes, @pinkdiamond1016, @spencerreidsthings, @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto, @slutforsr @bxtchboy69, @fallinallinmendes @haihappen5 @mgg-theprettiestboy @siltuz-png @ptrs-prkrs @tclaerh @agentadhd @alexmarie29 @closetedreidstan @mac99martin @blxckhearthood @jesspavlik0vsky @katexrichardson @keniaasf @reidbuck @corishirogane3 @thegoddamncrazycatlady @keniaasf @pastelbabygirl19 @shadybagelsludgecolor @bootycrackraisinjuice @vintagebeauty1496 @bluerose512

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its-deputy-caleb · 3 years

Note

If your requests are still open, I would like to request more Micah please? I LOVE ALL YOUR STUFF, BUT RAT MAN IS JUST TOO MUCH FOR MY HEART AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT ❤️❤️❤️

Maybe...... Maybe the girl he is sweet on gets shot and is brought back to camp by her horse (like Arthur after being kidnapped by the O'Driscolls).

He finds her at the camp entrance and catches her before she falls, taking her to her tent and barking at Grimshaw and Hosea to get over and help. He's never told anyone how he feels, but this is it.

'If anything happens to her, I will burn the world to the ground. Just fix her, Hosea. Please.'

Naturally he stays with her until she regains consciousness, and he then tells her everything about his feelings and how much she means to him.

Thank you please?

OMG I LOVE THIS REQUEST AND I WENT WAYY OVERBOARD!! ITS SUPER LONG BUT I REGRET NOTHING.

thank u for asking this off me, i'm in a micah kind of mood and throw some angst in there for a perfect mix of softness. I really hope u enjoy this ilysm <3333

(yes i use this gif for almost all my micah fics i do not care lmao)

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

It’s just another normal night for Micah, sharpening his knife on the edge of camp like any other day. And no, it’s not guard duty that would mean he’d admit to doing work other than just recklessly robbing stagecoaches at the first chance he can get his hands on one. No of course its not, Micah is simply looking for a way to keep busy while his only friend in camp is gone for a job.

Gosh, he hates how much of a sap he’s become because of you but even more, he hates how lonely he feels when you’re not around. He loves the way you smile at him in the mornings, offering him a coffee after a rough night, he loves the way you come to him first if you need a partner on a job and he loves the way your head rests on his shoulder after a long day.

Micah loves everything about you and yet he’s terrified of the way you make his heart skip a beat every time you’re near. He used to take such pride in being the biggest jerk around camp and now the thought of disappointing you seems unimaginable. Of course he still generally avoids the rest of the camp but when he sees how upset you look after another punch up with Bill, something inside of him breaks. You’ve stolen his heart already…

A chuckle leaves him, amused at how soft he’s gotten because of you but he couldn’t really hate it. Just the thought of you makes him smile down at his knife gliding over the whetstone, equal amounts anxious and excited to see you return to camp. It only gets bigger when he sees your horse riding into camp.

That smile doesn’t last however when he sees you clutching at your horses mane. The closer you get, the more he realises you’re covered in blood and bruises, barely clinging on and a wave of panic washes over him.

Frantically, the knife is dropped to the ground below him as he rushes forward to get you. Your last bit of energy is used to hoist yourself into a sitting position.

“Micah…”

Your words are so fragile and weak, barely above a whisper before your eyes are closing and you’re falling from your horse.

The part of Micah’s brain that isn’t worried sick about the sight in front of him is able to act fast enough to catch your fall. His arms come to hook under your knee and carry you bridal style with your head tucked under his chin. He’s holding you tightly against him, probably too tight for someone with that many injuries but he’s afraid that if he lets go he might just lose you.

“Just hold on darlin’ gonna get you all fixed up— just hold on for me.”

Micah knows you can’t hear him but the silence is killing him as he carries you into the centre of the camp. When he yells at the top of his lungs for Grimshaw to wake up he can’t help but wince at yelling too close to you. However, the colour only drains from his face when he sees you haven’t moved an inch in his arms.

“Give her to me Mr. Bell, she needs urgent medical attention. Mr. Morgan will you help me carry her.”

Micah literally growls at Arthur who tries to approach you, there’s no way in hell is he letting you out of his arms— especially not to someone like Arthur who he despises so deeply.

“Piss off Morgan, you ain’t gonna lay a hand on her.”

Arthur goes to protest, opening his mouth to argue his case that he was not only your close friend but he could help save your life. He’s only stopped when Hosea comes to place a hand on his shoulder and signals with a small head nod that Arthur should indeed let Micah be the one to carry you.

It seems Hosea, as wise as ever knew that the bickering and arguing could wait.

“Common now, let’s get her to her tent.”

Micah reluctantly places you down onto the cot of your bed, taking a knee beside you to brush some of the hair from your face which has been stuck down to the side of your head by dried blood.

“Mr. Bell I know you’re very worried about her but I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait outside of the tent.”

Ms Grimshaw does her best to usher Micah out of the room but of course in his panicked state he wouldn’t give up so easily.

“Mr. Bell if you don’t get out of the way I may not be able to save her…”

With a defeated sigh and a heavy heart Micah finally leaves your side, knowing deep down that he needed to just let the others take care of you. He leans down and places a kiss to your forehead, narrowly missing the gash you have there before making his way out of the tent. Just before he goes however, he glances back to see Ms Grimshaw cleaning and wrapping your wounds and something in his mind tells him you’re not going to make it.

Somehow when he exits the tent, the cold night air washes a wave of anger over him. The initial terror of losing you has been masked by the absolute rage he feels towards the people who’ve hurt you. His teeth grind together as he angrily paces back and forth around the entrance to your tent.

Eventually Hosea arrives holding an array of tonics, herbs, medicines and bandages that would assist Ms Grimshaw. The only problem was Micah who in his heightened state of panic and rage, can’t see he’s just trying to help.

“I assure you Mister Bell I am only doing what is in the best interest of saving her life, now please step aside so I may do just that.”

‘I swear if anything happens to her, I will burn the world to the ground with you and everyone else in it.”

“Micah your anger will only worsen her condition when she wakes— don’t put her through more pain and stress than she’s already going to be in. Please, for your sake and hers, take a walk before you see her.”

At Hosea’s calming and slow words Micah’s anger seems to leave him, only for the panic to return. He’d take offence to Hosea trying to boss him around on any normal day but the thought that he could make your situation worse has his stomach twisting uncomfortably.

“Just fix her, Hosea. Please…”

For once, Micah actually takes Hosea’s advice without arguing. It seems someone has clearly had a word with the rest of the gang because they leave him to pace the outskirts of camp in silence, making sure to leave lots of space between themselves and him. The whole time he’s pacing frantically, his eyes remain glued to the entrance of your tent.

The whole time his mind is racing with the terrifying thought of losing you. The bottle of whiskey probably didn’t help him but it wasn’t enough to get him drunk. No, right now he needed to be alert, wouldn’t allow anything to happen to you but he needed something to dull his nerves. It also helped to fiddle with the label.

It took a few hours but eventually Ms Grimshaw and Hosea leave the tent and Micah is there before Susan can even dust her skirt down.

“Try not to pester her too much Mr.Bell, she needs lots of rest and water if she wakes and do not for the love of God bombard or overwhelm her. Its the last thing she needs.”

With an eye-roll, Micah pushes past the two of them so he can kneel beside your cot again. He’s only mildly comforted by the fact the blood has been wiped from your face or that your breathing has definitely evened out into a much steadier pace.

He takes his hat from his head and places it on the bedside table next to the glass of water waiting for you and gently takes your bruised hand in his. Your hand is slowly lifted to his face where he places a soft kiss to the bandages wrapped around your palms.

“Got me real scared there sweetheart— thinking for a moment there, ya might not wake up.”

Micah’s voice is filled with fake confidence, trying to convince himself more than anything that you’re awake and talkative. Like he didn’t just watch you collapse at the camp entrance and nearly bleed out.

The sickly feeling in his stomach has only grown to make him feel nauseous as his voice dies in his throat.

“Please darlin’, ya gotta wake up for me soon. Don’t care how long it takes… just wake up.”

It’s two painfully long days before your eyes crack open slowly and not once did Micah leave your side. The only exception was to refill your water even though you never drank it and to bring you a bowl of stew that sat for hours until it went cold and Micah brought you another one.

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep but the adrenaline that kept him going was gradually turning into exhaustion meant his head came to rest the cot beside your hand. That, and the silent tears he’ll deny he shed over you during the late hours of the night. It probably didn’t help either that he was sleeping half on the crate he’d sat on and half on your cot.

It wasn’t until a soft hand was gently rubbing on top of his hair did he finally lift his head to see you smiling at him.

“Hey there sleepy. Didn’t— didn’t mean to wake you.”

Micah can only shake his head, of course you’re the one to worry about him even as you’re coughing from the dryness of your throat and grimacing at the pain of your injuries. Micah had learnt over the past few days that you most likely had a broken rib and two bullet wounds; one in your thigh and the other grazed your side. That didn’t include the various other cuts and bruises as well as your gash in your hairline.

The robbery must have really gone bad.

“Ain’t nothing to feel bad for darlin’, just happy to see you’re alive.”

As Micah’s talking he helps you into a sitting position, doing his best to avoid any of your wounds before bringing the glass of water to your lips. Micah moves to sit on the edge of the cot, letting you lean into his shoulder as you slowly sip at the water. It stays like that, a comfortable silence as you regain your strength and Micah takes some security in seeing you conscious again.

“What exactly happened to ya any how?”

The water has eased the pain in your throat, allowing you to take a deep breath through your mouth.

“O'Driscoll’s found me, tried to clip the earnings after I finished off the homestead. ’N by the looks of me, they did an alright job of it too.”

Suddenly, all that rage from before is coming back and he wants nothing more than to find those O'Driscoll boys who dared lay a hand on you before gunning down every single on of them.

He probably would have if it weren’t for the fact your head was still resting on his shoulder, your breath tickling at the ends of his hair that rested against his neck. But he’d never leave your side and so he gently tilts you to lie back down again.

“You know once you’re healed I’m gonna kill every single one of them O'Driscolls. Even Colm if I have too— God do you know how worried I was, thinking you’s were gonna die on me for three days? Darlin’ you’d don’t know what I’d do without you, I- I can’t be alone like that again, I can’t lose you now that I—“

Your hand comes to weakly hold Micah’s own, you have no strength to squeeze it in reassurance and you’d risk popping the stitches if you did but you slowly rub your thumb back and forth.

“I know Micah… I know.”

You knew what Micah was trying to say, you could see it in his eyes. You’ve seen it everyday for the past six months. The way his eyes beam when you smile or bring him coffee, how his whole body perks up if you ask him to accompany you on a job and the way he blushes under his hat when you fall asleep against his shoulder. He loves you, he just has no idea how to say it.

“— I ain’t ever been so scared to lose someone before.”

“Micah come here.”

Your soft but gentle command seems to snap Micah out of his own mind and he leans down close to you and your noses brush together.

In your weakened state you can only manage to tilt your head to the side and kiss his cheekbone. It barely qualifies as a kiss but in this case neither of you mind and it leaves both of you smiling against each other.

“I love you too.”

Micah spends the rest of the week nursing you back to health— changing your bandages, bringing you stew and helping you eat it, making sure you’re never short of water and peppering all your bruises in kisses.

He doesn’t leave your side even after you’ve left the tent and helps you walk and get back on your feet. It’s clear you’re a couple by the way your hand is in his pretty much the entire time while you recover and by his hand that sits around your waist in case you fall. Of course, that’s really his excuse to cuddle up to you but it’s Micah Bell you’re with, he’d never openly admit to anyone other than you that you’ve well and truly stolen his heart.

#soft rat 🥺🥺🥺#this made my heart melt writing it #and i will always write any request for micah #just give me soft micah all day every day #hes my favourite micah #micah bell #micah bell imagine #micah bell hc’s #micah bell x reader #rdr2 writing #rdr2 #rdr2 headcanons #red dead redemption 2

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wincore · 4 years

Text

youngblood | lee donghyuck

pairing: haechan x reader

words: 9.1k

genre: ‘bad boy’!au, fluff, angst(?)

warnings: language, juvenile crimes (do NOT try shoplifting, speeding and vandalism, kids)

a/n: okay omg i finally got around to editing this and you guys should know by now this au doesn’t mean he’s bad and just.........annoying........... (also it follows troublemaker’s style but like............it might just be my fav troublemaker part aaaa)

The first day you meet Lee Donghyuck, he picks a fight with you. Or you pick a fight with him.

That’s not how the first day of high school should have gone.

It surprised you, just a little, to be toe-to-toe with someone so easily. Did he like picking fights for fun? You looked him up and down, the ink over his forearm meant to be shown and a strange friendliness in his eyes. Not exactly the bully type, you weren’t sure what to make of him. Movies spoil reality when it comes to things like this. Rumors are even worse. You took a slow gulp anyway, Donghyuck’s eyes on you unnerving.

He leaned in slightly to match your height. His tone was lilting and he phrased his words light-heartedly, a pretence you found funny. “I have no interest in you, kid. I’m going to keep it that way.”

“We’re the same age, you know?”

Your reply went unheard. It was just misunderstanding that got you there—you mistook his locker for yours and it’s not your fault you happen to have the same passcode (a little weird though, definitely). Lee Donghyuck said if you were allowed to take what’s his, he should have the same privilege, the word thief at the tip of his tongue. He was a little daunting, you suppose—taller than you were, in all black and several piercings and tattoos poking out on wrists. Maybe it was the undulating rage of being fourteen and at the stage of heavy regret in later years, maybe it was the wariness around strangers. You weren’t quite afraid of him; just that a fight on your first day didn’t seem like a very bright start in a new city. Although you assured him you didn’t touch his stuff, you handed him your bear-shaped keychain. (“You can have this if you want a gift so bad.”)

When Donghyuck laughed, giving it back almost immediately with a cheeky grin—you couldn’t decide whether to let the confusion show on your face.

“Don’t be a pushover, newbie.”

You frowned. “Who’re you calling a pushover?”

You don’t remember the rest of it but you found it very hard to not have mixed feelings about him. You’re trying to have a normal fun high school life for fuck’s sake. You didn’t think he was the awful sort of person—but it was almost as if he was trouble’s very own lovechild. There are better weapons against him than falling into pointless playfights.

Lee Donghyuck. Funny guy.

The school bully image was a lie, no doubt spread by someone more than annoyed with his antics. Of course, Lee Donghyuck either didn’t care or didn’t know, wits always about him like some sort of eccentric defence mechanism.

You admire him in a way, but you wouldn’t be caught dead telling him that.

Lee Donghyuck is popular, full of jokes and fun but a little rough on the edges all the same. But you have to assume he must have some demonic heritage. You could say you have a strange relationship—friends but not. You hate him but don’t. While you’re sure there’s at least a little bit of sunshine hidden beneath those black T-shirts and inked skin, there’s a bit more than hidden sides to young troublemakers—things that don’t involve misunderstanding.

Lee Donghyuck looks like danger. (And danger attracts attention of all kinds, you’d noticed in a few unfortunate heart-eyed classmates.) You’ve seen him in enough fights to have respect for him, making you wonder why he doesn’t join the debate team already. It might have something to do with how his victorious smile gets on everyone’s nerves, the way they groan at Donghyuck’s sudden affections afterward. They don’t hate him—mostly. He’s honest and he knows exactly how to press people. That doesn’t change the innocence in his arrogance or the clear distinction of his spirit.

Of course there are bad people; Donghyuck just isn’t one of them. He just tries too hard to look cool. (“Sunflower,” he’d called you, pulling a face. “I know you’re dense. But maybe start being afraid of me so you don’t ruin my reputation.”)

The sunlight falls against the web of your thumb, your fingers rapidly moving to match the pace of the game on your phone. Five minutes to class, you’ve got nothing better to do.

“What, trying to beat my high score again?” Donghyuck pulls the chair beside you to sit, his arms resting on the desk as he continues to stare at you.

“Believe me, Donghyuck, not everything I do is for you,” you chuckle, tapping on the play again button, catching the look on his face out of the corner of your eye.

Donghyuck looks visibly irked and you think maybe your decision to be so annoyingly passive has been the right one if it bothers him. Ah, but you won’t tell him that. You’re having the time of your life this way.

“Well,” Donghyuck begins but frowns instead. “Whatever.”

It’s not every day you get to win—Donghyuck does get under your skin. You just don’t have to show it. Sometimes his own friends decide they’ve had enough, the classroom shenanigans making you laugh. You don’t want to get started on the chaos that unfurls every time Donghyuck walks into class and straight up picks a fight with anyone in his eyesight—even Jaemin has his “Lee Donghyuck!” moments. Donghyuck is friends with everyone and that means he gets to get on everyone’s nerves.

You smile to yourself thinking of Donghyuck yawning deliberately at Renjun trying to make a point. Call him a demon, call him a disgrace; he knows how to make people laugh.

You pass Red’s diner on your way back home, as usual, the unusual red and white checkers replacing the normal concrete sidewalk by it. It’s always soothed you to see bright colours in this side of the city, the beige and coffee aesthetic far too dominating for its cause—something to keep up with the larger, fancier (more pretentious) metropolises. It’s also the oldest; your friends told you the number of baby pictures everyone has on the wine-coloured couches is, in more appropriate words, fucking astounding.

You wish you’d moved here earlier. The thing about little cities is just that—they’re not all that little. Something everyone seemingly loves to boast about, the romance of a small town and its delicate simplicities. It’s nothing alike. You’d know. You enjoy it more here. You like all the food outlets and stores lining the streets and further up, less congestion and more dog parks—all places you love breezing through in your free time. There’s an amusement park too, a forty-minute drive away into the middle of nowhere and if you’re not mistaken, the city centre has the best clubs and bars. Sunshine drips through every nook and cranny—it’s everything you’d expected a city to be.

You stop in your tracks at the sight of distinct brown curls in the alleyway between buildings. Donghyuck doesn’t seem to be in the best of situations, a tougher, much larger guy shoving him against the wall. They seem to be speaking, and something about Donghyuck’s smile doesn’t give you a good feeling about what’s going to happen.

Before the guy’s fist meets Donghyuck’s cheek, you yell, two pairs of eyes shifting focus to you. You feel your heartbeat quicken, Donghyuck raising his eyebrow and shooting you a confused look.

“Don’t- don’t hurt him,” you say, cursing at the meekness of your voice.

The larger man laughs, a sound like nails on a chalkboard and you cringe. Donghyuck mouths at you to get away but immediately shuts up when the man turns to him again.

“You got a little lover come here to protect you?” he says, looking at Donghyuck with amusement.

“No, that’s not—”

“I hate little brats like you,” he huffs, shoving Donghyuck once more, this time a little harder. He lets out a pained whine, eyes squeezing shut as he drops on his knees.

You take a hesitant step back when the man makes his way to you, blood rushing to your ears when he raises his hand. Your arms go up by instinct and you’re met with a hard push, falling to the ground with a whimper.

You’re picked up by the collar, struggling to not let fear show on your face.

“Tell your boyfriend to stop messing around my store, okay, sweetheart?” he threatens, voice lower.

With that, he drops you and leaves, the adrenaline in you not quite down yet.

“Donghyuck?” you call, worried as you spot him lying still in the alleyway. You’re about to get up and go to him when he responds, whimsical as ever.

“I’m okay!” He raises his hand with a peace sign and you sigh, annoyed.

“Really?! What were you even doing?”

“I ate some cookies for free, big deal,” he says before he suddenly raises his head with a lopsided grin. “Is sunflower worried about me?”

You groan, dusting yourself as you get up and walk over to him. You throw him a light kick at the side to which he whines overdramatically and scrunches his face into something pained. Lee Donghyuck could be hit by a bus and he’d play it off with fingers guns and eyebrow wiggling.

“Become a chainsaw-juggler or something if you want to do something dangerous,” you complain, “And get up!”

Donghyuck wrinkles his nose. “As always, you have such boring ideas.”

He does get up the next moment, although with a large show of holding his back and several whines about near-death experiences as if he’s not the one bringing it upon himself. You’re sure his back is bruised but he doesn’t acknowledge it as anything more than a joke. There’s also a gash on his cheek he must have received earlier. It’s no surprise he has a fresh batch of wounds—you think he spends more time in the nurse’s office than in actual classes.

“Why do you pick fights with people clearly stronger than you?” you grumble as he dusts himself off.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me,” Donghyuck says, straightening, “I would’ve got out of this pretty clean without you.”

You roll your eyes. “Sure thing.”

Donghyuck frowns, a huff leaving his mouth.

“I don’t mean to brag but that guy would have been running for his life if you hadn’t butt in,” he shrugs, trying to sound less ruffled.

You laugh at his expression, forgetting about your bruised arms for a moment.

“You should treat me,” you say, the thought passing your head. You don’t have change and you’re really craving some strawberry milk.

He scoffs. “For what?”

“For saving you.”

You expected a retort, at least. Donghyuck pauses for a moment before a worrying grin floats up on his face. “Sure. Come with me.”

You narrow your eyes at him but follow nonetheless, walking side by side. The sunlight makes his skin glow, the hue on his cheeks perfect were it not for the dried blood from the gash. His eyes shine when he smiles, mischief or not, when he’s telling you about how you should try vandalism and robbery sometimes, they’re pretty fun. It’s a Donghyuck trait—to be able to live like this and still call it fun. You look at his lips once and immediately look away. What a silly thought. They’re regrettably pretty, though, despite being busted often. The sun has been kind to Donghyuck, with the colour of his skin full and the confidence you’d only find in someone made of sun flares.

So that’s why.

You stare at the motorbike parked at a clearly No Parking area, the metallic red gleaming under the late afternoon sun. You’ve never been on one before but something tells you Donghyuck would traumatise you far too much to try again. You cannot agree to get on that.

“Hop on,” he instructs.

You hesitate. “Where are we going?”

“To the centre, of course.” He smiles brightly. “There’s a bunch of bakeries and eateries over there.”

“You can just buy me some strawberry milk from a vending machine around.”

“Well, I forgot my wallet,” he says, looking up to think, “I left it at my job.”

You furrow your eyebrows, not believing a word. It’s Lee Donghyuck after all, the opposite of predictable, and arguing with him will only cost you your breath.

“A motorbike and no leather jacket?” You smile, regaining your composure. “I mean, not everyone can pull off the leather jacket, of course.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes overstatedly. “I don’t expect you to be smarter but stereotypes? Wow.”

You do get on the bike, however, with some pushing on Donghyuck’s side. More importantly, you somehow don’t end up traumatised despite what you supposed. It felt good, wind in your hair and although your legs were stuck to the sides of the bike like glue, you found yourself enjoying the scene around you speeding by. The fact that Donghyuck can be careful was beyond your knowledge and understanding.

The buildings are a little taller here and while you’ve been here before, the sight never fails to make your heartbeat quicken. There’s something inevitably calling about this place. You’d love to explore when there are nightlights around each corner.

“Your wallet?” you remind Donghyuck.

Donghyuck feigns surprise, gasping. “Right! It was in my pocket. But I have no money.”

“What? We came all the way here for nothing?!”

“No. I have a plan.” Donghyuck grins, pointing towards the pretty glass door of the bakery across the street.

“Oh no,” you say quietly as the realization dawns, “We’re not stealing.”

“Then you came all the way here for nothing.”

You sigh heavily into your hands as Donghyuck tries to sweeten his grin, clearly trying to convince you.

“You really don’t have to be this annoying, you know that?”

“It’s a choice,” he says, pulling a face, “And I do it because I excel at it, thank you very much.”

You reluctantly follow Donghyuck into the bakery, people bustling in and out, mostly for their fix of evening coffee or tea. There are photo frames around pictures of coffee beans, tea leaves and pastries, all against a soft orange wallpaper. It’s not as small as it looked from outside, you realize, with its capacity for people quite enough. The smell of chocolate is predominant, hazelnut and coffee wafting in from the left side.

“Free samples!” Donghyuck gasps, before turning to whisper to you, “You know we can try one of each, right? That saves us some trouble.”

You’d be lying if his lips so close to your ears didn’t make you jump a little. You take short steps behind him as he eagerly walks to the counter.

“Ah, is this a new type?” Donghyuck asks, beaming at the woman behind the counter. She raises an eyebrow at the ear piercings and tattoos, gracing him with a smile nonetheless.

While he’s engaged in conversation, you stare at the two of them confused till you’re met with a light kick at your foot. You give Donghyuck a dirty look, who keeps pointing towards the samples with his hands under the counter.

“You’re supposed to shove some into your bag, you know?” he leans in to whisper, exasperated, when the lady leaves to enter the pantry.

“Well, how was I supposed to know, genius?” you shoot back, crossing your arms.

Donghyuck looks around nervously before taking a few of the tarts and carefully placing them in your bag.

“Don’t move too much or you’ll crush them,” he warns in a hush.

The woman returns again, with a warmer smile and Donghyuck goes back to his clever, silver-tongued words. He’s so awful, you think. But you can’t deny the exhilaration in your chest, a giddy feeling of doing the wrong thing in a way that feels right.

You end up having the free samples afterward, pretending to contemplate buying as the woman looks at the two of you expectantly. It’s delicious, sweet chocolate manipulating your taste buds to want another bite almost immediately after you’re done.

“We do offer couple discounts, too!” she says, beaming.

There it is again, the unsettling implications—accusations almost. Since when do the two of you look like a couple? You’re obviously too young to be looking the sort of way most lovers do and where the fuck do they see any love anyway?

“Uh,” Donghyuck begins but can’t seem to form a sentence.

Before either of you can say anything, the woman is called by another customer and you look at each other at the same time.

“We should go,” he says, quickly, “before they realize we’re not buying anything.”

You nod and sneak out of the shop as quickly as you walked in, Donghyuck suddenly picking up the pace till you’re at least a few blocks away.

“You’re so slow,” Donghyuck teases, laughing when you reach him, out of breath. He adjusts his shirt, dark as always, such that it doesn’t stick out of his pants awkwardly anymore. The tattoos on his left arm catch your eye, muscles beneath flexing as his moves his arm, a strange pattern of ink. You don’t think they’re real if you’re being honest—that field of sunflowers. They’re too pretty.

You’re so annoying, you think, despite the smile forming on your face as you follow him down the lane.

What a frustrating personality, the thought crosses you at night, as you kick away the blanket at your feet. He ended up paying for some ice cream at a nearby shop anyway, right after you’d finished having your stolen goods by the dog park. He said summer needs some ice and he’ll oblige just this once with whatever few notes he has left. (“Summer just ended, idiot.” “I can’t hear you.”) The first bite had immediately given him brain freeze, a whine escaping his lips as he held his head in an attempt to soothe it. You found it cute—yes, cute, a terrible choice of words for him. It doesn’t mean anything, you tell yourself. It’s almost within his personality to intrude upon your thoughts like this—gods, you hate even the letters of his name that form so easily in front of your eyes.

The buzz from your phone gives you a fright as you quickly open it to two texts from Donghyuck. You adjust the brightness before you read it, your heartbeat embarrassing you at its rate.

demon child, 11:36 PM

btw today wasn’t a treat you still have to pay me

food is expensive you know

You smile. A part of you warns you shouldn’t.

demon child, 11:37 PM

or you can pay for next time

Your smile drops. Next time? What is this, a date? You shake your head instinctively. Like you’d make it out alive of a date with Lee Donghyuck.

you, 11:37 PM

sure thing little stingy man

demon child, 11:38 PM

wow that was fast do you like me or something

You roll your eyes. You might have really decked Donghyuck in the jaw in another timeline, where you knew how to deck someone in the jaw.

You feel a certain static in your heart, hoping you’re mistaken as you respond to his texts for the rest of the night. Lee Donghyuck needs to have the last word all the time, and you lose count of how many times you huff, only giving in when the tiredness in your eyes seeps to the rest of your body.

You think you smile in your sleep that night but you can’t be sure.

The thing about bad days is that you notice nothing outside of them when you’re having them—but you forget you ever even had them when you’re not.

You end up at school with a lack of will to pay attention to classes. It’s well into the semester, and that means it’s time for you to get to some serious studying, except, well, you can’t. You’re decent at academics—or so you’d like to think. You’re average at best and there’s a nagging thought eating away at your brain at a painfully slow rate.

The college application deadlines are near.

It doesn’t help to be second and third best at almost everything. You nod along to everything Jihyun is saying; really, he aces every subject without trying. His words aren’t exactly…encouraging. You thought his notes would be your ticket to a dream college except he’s not quite the person you should be asking help from.

You’re suddenly not sure about all the friendly competitions you’re running.

You’re starting to feel too worked up these days, worry tugging at the back of your head every moment. It’s lonely when your friends are busy with their own struggles so you stay quiet. You’re a big kid, you tell yourself, you got this.

Except you really don’t.

“Woah,” Donghyuck interrupts you and Jihyun. “You look like you used the dryer on the wrong setting.”

Sometimes, it’s really not the best of situations to have your seat beside Donghyuck. You glare at him, keeping your notebook on the table with a loud ‘SLAM!’ You turn your head to find him smiling. Oh, he better not start now.

“Ah, (name),” he says, grinning, “what’s got you so upset today?”

“Nothing,” you insist, trying your best to control your scowl.

It’s been two weeks since you ‘hung out’ (committed minor crimes) at the bakery. Your friendly bickering since then has been not-so-friendly, you think with a grimace. He’s been getting under your skin—not a favourable thing when you’re against Lee Donghyuck.

“(name).”

You look up to see Jihyun, almost always devoid of any emotion behind the eyes—even if he’s smiling.

“The notes you asked for,” he says, keeping the notes on your table and turning around, almost as if he’s glad to be rid of conversation.

“Oh, and,” Jihyun turns back around. “If you’re hoping to get into any college at all, I hope you keep the right company.”

There’s contempt in his voice and your eyes trail to Donghyuck’s, a little confused if not bothered. You shouldn’t be surprised to find him grinning, laughing almost. You think Donghyuck’s confidence is a good substitute for a leather jacket.

“Hey, come on now.” Donghyuck leans back in his seat, smiling like a kid. You wonder where all that sunshine’s coming from. “Are you still mad about me beating you at that MUN thing?”

Jihyun smiles. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I wasn’t referring to you, of course. And there’s worse things you’ve done.”

Your teacher walks in, drawing everyone’s attention instead as they scurry back to their seats. Donghyuck’s eyes linger on you for a second longer, his face blanched before he turns away and rests his chin on his palm. You think you weren’t supposed to steal so many glances at him throughout the class.

The day somehow manages to draw energy out of you even further. Worries aside, Jihyun’s been strangely demanding—are you even that close? Should he be asking you to bring things this way? Should he be making you run errands? You’re so close to losing it before you realize you can’t. He’s helping you, sort of. You groan into your hands during break, ignoring Donghyuck’s eyebrow raise from beside you. It’s unfair and while you’re sure it’s all light-hearted, you have another name to curse when you run into a problem. Ah, the scorn of high school kids is truly incomparable.

You almost sigh in relief at the last ring of the bell for the day, getting up a little too enthusiastically. You get some admonishment from the teacher at that but you forget once you’ve reached the gates, almost running out faster than your friends. They let you go with a laugh, your desire to get home and take a nap triumphing every other thing on your mind. Some days are meant to be forgotten.

Cursed as you are, you bump into Donghyuck a few blocks from the bus stop. He adjusts the collar of his plaid shirt in a hurry, the black T-shirt underneath so worn out, you wonder how many years he’s been wearing that. The symbol on his baseball cap is probably related to a demon cult, you think. It being related to a metal band is also a possibility.

“(name),” he says, grinning. “What a coincidence.”

“Don’t pick a fight now, demon,” you huff before he can continue.

“I didn’t even say anything.” He raises his arms defensively. “Yet.”

You have the intense desire to punch him. When did the tables turn to this? Weren’t you supposed to be the calm one?

“You had fun running errands for President Snob?” he snickers.

“Well, I didn’t want to,” you say, your shoulders dropping, annoyed as you are. It makes you a little upset for something to affect you that much. You wish you were like the kids who barely cared about things like college applications, enjoying life either way. You wish you didn’t have this strange pretence of a person you are. You wish you were like Donghyuck.

There’s a pause.

“Come on. Don’t let anyone push you around like that.” His voice comes off as exasperated. Donghyuck isn’t the kind of person to let worry show.

You look up, a little surprised. Before you can open your mouth, he cuts you off.

“There’s some festival going on at the centre,” he says with a shrug. “Lots of food trucks. Wanna come?”

You furrow your eyebrows, a frown taking shape over your lips.

“Stealing off others doesn’t exactly make me feel good about myself,” you say, hugging yourself. As fun as the adrenaline rush was, it’s better to stick to morals, whatever they may be.

“I’ll pay,” he says, his smile incredulous. “I promise.”

You raise an eyebrow. “What, you got a credit card lying around somewhere?”

“Nope,” he responds, rolling his eyes. “No credit card. Don’t believe in money.”

“Then how do you plan on paying?” you ask, frustrated.

“Trust me,” he whispers, urging you to follow him.

It turns out Donghyuck happens to know every food outlet in the city and also happens to have been kicked out of half of them, which is oddly impressive. He’s also worked several jobs in local eateries, the old ladies more than fond of him. (“Who wouldn’t find my charming smile adorable?”)

“You hobgoblin,” you exclaim, huffing. His story about vandalism on the bleachers shouldn’t have been as amusing, or endearing, for that matter.

“According to our lovely folklore, hobgoblins can warm your heart,” he replies, as-a-matter-of-factly.

“That is definitely not true. You just have to respond with something, don’t you?”

“And what of it?”

A (surprisingly) within-speed-limits bike ride away, you end up in a flurry of colours and crowds—you gasp at the large line of food trucks lining the pathway leading to the people’s square. You’ve never seen this before, looking from place to place. A lot of them look like they’ve come from pretty far.

At the square, there are wooden stalls of food out for trial by the people, shopkeepers encouraging the few tourists there are to try the local food. You spot various fishcakes, dumplings and street toast with glimpses of strawberry and banana milk decorating the stands in between. There are old upbeat songs playing through the speakers attached to the electricity poles, faint enough to be drowned out by crowds but loud enough to enjoy a little dance to. You didn’t realize you were smiling till you turned around to see an amused look on Donghyuck’s face.

Time only seems to fly—like when you’re done with your favourite song and it just wasn’t long enough so you hit repeat. The truth is, a song is barely four minutes—and yet you feel like you saw a movie, a story in it; so very curious because you were so sure it was too short.

Donghyuck walks side by side with you to where his bike is parked. (You wonder if he ever travels without it. Gas isn’t exactly cheap.) There’s little distance between the two of you, something neither of you seems to notice. You bite into the sugar candy, the sudden crack sound in the quiet lane making the two of you laugh despite the surge of sugar on your tongue. You forget what you were talking about.

“Why do you even steal, Donghyuck?” You ask softly. You paid for some food today, some were free samples and mostly, there was nothing illegal involved. Donghyuck didn’t particularly want to cause trouble either. You don’t want to be a bad judge of character.

“Because I can.”

What an expected answer. Is there anything Donghyuck can’t do?

“Don’t you feel bad?” You raise an eyebrow. He’s always been so confusing, but when he starts to make sense, you feel like you should’ve seen it that way in the first place.

“Are you talking about our sweet bakery? You really think a company as big as theirs would notice some free samples are missing?” Donghyuck says, making a face. “In a city no one cares about?”

You don’t say anything, puffing your left cheek in contemplation.

“Look, I could spend the rest of my life looting as much as my arms could carry and I would never be able to make my crimes pose even the smallest threat to a single shitty millionaire.” Donghyuck waves his hands about in a gesture that implies indifference.

You suppose he’s right, walking up to him and continuing your journey up.

“I’m not justifying myself,” he says, voice softer, shoulders relaxed. “Stealing’s bad. Other people are affected. I know. It’s just that I like having more choices than they give us. We should try everything we can, you know?”

Is that why he’s always up to something? Flitting from club to club in school, running around the entire city like it’s his own?

He shakes himself immediately, cringing. “Ah. Ew. I can’t believe you’re getting to my head, sunflower. Yuck. You’re ruining me. Did I just monologue?”

“Oh, okay.” You cross your arms. “That’s my fault now. It’s a good thing to be honest, asshole.”

“La, la, la.” Donghyuck puts his fingers in his ears, sticking out his tongue. “Can’t lecture me if I can’t hear you.”

You punch his shoulders, his laugh accompanying the evening blooming in full colours above you as you forget you’re already on your journey back.

You reach Red’s before nightfall, a sort of pitstop for kids like you when it’s time to go home before the night soaks into you. Donghyuck feels lighter in his chest as he enters, the jingling pleasant and the smell of waffles even more so. He just can’t believe you’re the reason he’s here.

“Obviously, we’re going for chocolate waffles,” he says, crossing his arms.

The tables outside are better than the stuffy humid air inside. Donghyuck’s complaining didn’t let you take even a step inside.

“We just ate,” you reason, your eyebrows furrowed. “And honey is always better!”

“Eh, what do you know?” he says, resting his elbow against the table. “I was raised in this diner, newbie.”

“Yeah, you and a million other rats.”

He presses his tongue against his cheek to stop the smile, although he reckons he’s doing a terrible job of it.

Get yourself together, one voice pipes up in his head.

Or say it. Ask them out. Yeah, the other voice is a piece of shit. That’s not going to work out.

Donghyuck didn’t realize he’d fallen silent, a daze over his eyes. He blinks a few time to regain focus, the peach hue across your cheeks coming to his attention. It’s adorable, if he could just reach out and place his palm against your cheek, just lean over the table and—

Fuck. No way.

“Stop staring at me like some sleaze,” you huff, eyes flickering between him and the table.

“Why would I stare at you?” he retorts, resisting the heat on his face. “You’re not that pretty.”

“Right,” you say, rolling your eyes as you hold your arm.

The lights lining the eaves flicker on almost at the same time, the sky still in transitionary lilac and you look up with your lips parted, something akin to curiosity in your eyes. Pretty. It could just be the reflection of the lights though—Donghyuck’s not exactly the poetic type. He wants to curl his lips at the notion, but it’s not very smart to have all his thoughts show up on his face.

“Can we stay here a little longer?” you say, eyes still on the lights, occasionally shifting to the sky.

“Your parents will worry.” Donghyuck thinks for a moment before mumbling, “It’s not safe.”

“Then drop me home,” you say, your eyes shifting to meet his, an unusual confidence in them.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel the skip of his heartbeat.

Donghyuck thinks he should pat himself on the back for not speeding all the times you were with him on his bike. He loves the thing to death, although he’s had it for barely a year. The jolt of adrenaline and the freedom blooming in sprouts within his ribcage should be a dead giveaway to what he feels about speeding. Donghyuck’s never really cared about rules. Break them, bend them—it’s up to him and he loves that feeling of control. Whatever people think of him, they’re nowhere close to the truth. They’ll never know just how much he has everything under control.

Except you.

How annoying, he thinks to himself as he feels the speed picking up and your distant warmth behind him. He feels a little tingle in his chest, the way he always does when he gets the urge to do something reckless.

What if he were to speed up just a little? No, that would be childish. He should definitely not do that.

You wrap your arms around his waist with a squeak at the sudden jerk as he revs up the bike, a grin growing on his face despite his attempts to hold it back. You’re warm, compared to the sharp winds grazing him and he wants you to hold onto him like this a little longer. If he’s not childish now, when else will he be?

You hadn’t realized you’d fallen asleep, faint sunlight hiding behind the curtains ready to present the evening to you. A celebratory nap for the end of the deadlines that’s been haunting you overextended a little bit more than you’d anticipated. Just a few more weeks and it’s the finals and then, it’s all over. You stretch your hand out to switch on the lights, groaning when you can’t seem to reach it and reluctantly getting up.

You startle, a little yelp leaving your mouth at the knock on your window. What in hell? Either you haven’t slept enough or you slept too much.

You let out another yelp when you see Donghyuck’s face. There’s a band-aid over the line of his jaw starting to peel off and another one over the bridge of his nose. His hair looks recently washed, underneath the cap he’s wearing the right way for once, a pleasant smell wafting off him. You wonder what the occasion is for him to have cleaned up like this.

“Did you just climb up to my window?!”

There’s a pause.

“Yes.”

There’s another pause.

“Anyway,” he continues, “Since you’ve been enjoying my premium Haechan recommendations lately, I’ve got another plan for you.”

“Haechan?” You tilt your head. “Full sun? Is that why you call me sunflower?”

Donghyuck’s cheeks colour. “That’s- That’s not- We’re going to the club today!”

You find the sudden fluctuation in his voice cute. You suppress your smile, before giving in to his constant nagging for you to hurry up and follow him. (“Why would I get out through the window?” “Won’t your parents, like, kill me if they saw me at your front door?”)

There’s no bike today. In a way, you’re sad it isn’t there; the memory of your arms around Donghyuck making you feel hot in the cheeks for wanting it again.

“I finished my budget for fuel because of you,” he complains.

“No one asked you to be a show-off,” you retort.

He opens his mouth but says nothing, resorting to pull a face at you instead. Public transportation it is today. Even if there’s, what, nine subway stations in the city, Donghyuck seems to have already planned out the route. He walks with a bounce to his steps, turning around to walk backward facing you just to laugh and call you slow.

You run up the stairs to the station, another evening beginning something yet anew. The clouds disappear, replaced with the tiles of the station roof as Donghyuck eyes something in the distance.

“Oh no,” you say, your gaze traveling to wherever his is fixed. “We’re paying for the tickets. Hell, I’ll pay.”

Donghyuck grins at you and before he can make the stupid decision of jumping over the faregate, you grab the back of his collar, a choked sound leaving his mouth. You pull him by the sleeves of his hoodie to the ticket machines, relatively empty when the old folk use the ticket booths instead.

“You’ll go to jail if you murder me,” Donghyuck says, whining as he massages his neck. “It’s not pleasant, let me tell you that.”

“You’ve been?”

“Not yet.”

The club Donghyuck was talking about turns out to be more of a music joint, really. The letters ‘No Smoking’ spelled clearly beside the entrance, you eye the guard nervously. A rather skinny man who seems to be in his early twenties, you wonder how Donghyuck knows him as he lets the two of you in. You don’t have time to ask as you’re pulled in, a gasp barely leaving your mouth at the force.

It’s different inside. It’s not as dark as you’d expect, a rather mellow set of colours spread through the place. There’s a band playing songs from the 80s, the sound of indie rock pulsing through the place. Some people are dancing, some sitting at the round tables, looking as if they’re waiting for someone or, at the very least, a pretty stranger.

You look up at Donghyuck, a hum on his lips as he thinks.

“The song’s so boring,” he says finally. “Let’s change it.”

“It’s a live band, Donghyuck.” You deadpan. “You can’t press next here.”

“It’s called requesting, stupid.”

Donghyuck runs off before you can say anything, suddenly awkward about standing alone in a room full of people. You look around—the amount of people isn’t too much but at the same time it’s much more than you see in your average crowded room. Most of them are sitting, now that you see clearly, some with ramen on the tables, some with beer and chicken. There’s a bar at the other edge, people joking with each other over drinks.

You’re not sure how you’d describe it but it smells like people in here.

You look around further, curiously, at the beige wallpaper and vines decorating the edges—it’s larger than you thought a club would be. (But really, the only images you have are of purple and blue lighting on giant drunk crowds when you think of clubs.)

“Hey, pretty.”

You startle at the voice, an older man standing beside you. He seems to be a little old for a college kid, a rather impish look on his face with a very prominent grin.

“Uh, hi,” you say, unsure.

“You don’t come here often, do you?” He leans his left side against the wall.

“No, not really.” You’re a minor. Technically, you’re not even allowed in here.

Your nervousness seems to have shown up on your face because the guy straightens, a little smile on his face.

“Woah, don’t look so worried.” He laughs a little. There’s a scent of alcohol in his breath. “Will a friendly handshake make you feel better?”

You look on, a little unsure but definitely surprised. You go along with what he says, the movement of your hands in the childish pattern bringing a smile to your face till eventually, you’re laughing.

“I don’t mean to be too forward,” he says, “But you’re, like, a kid, right?”

You straighten, stammering out words of denial. You don’t want to be kicked out. You’ve never been kicked out of anything before.

“And that’s your boyfriend right there?” He asks, pointing over to Donghyuck having a conversation with the bass guitarist.

You think you turn pink, but you shake your head vehemently.

“Well, don’t worry, kid,” he says, laughing. “Enjoy it while you can. Not everyone gets to have a partner in crime.”

With that, he walks off to the bar after a wave of goodbye and a smile, making you wonder if adults really are the same as you. You smile a little to yourself.

You yelp when you’re grabbed by the arm, Donghyuck’s own arm linking through it.

“I’m gonna teach you how to dance,” he says, grinning. “Be prepared to thank me.”

You furrow your eyebrows at him and right when you open your mouth the next song starts with a drum solo. You look at the band, confused. They’re all grinning, however, and soon the song steadies into an upbeat sort of mood. You think you smile, but it’s probably just in the eyes.

“Eyes on me, loser,” Donghyuck says, smiling wide at you.

You turn back to him, an indescribable amount of emotions surging into you. Lee Donghyuck is a phenomenon of a person, you think, almost ready to voice it out loud.

More people join in with the dancing, the place seeming much fuller now that you see everyone up. You catch the man from earlier throwing you a wink and a finger gun in a friendly gesture. You laugh in response, Donghyuck complaining about your lack of focus. (If you’re being honest, you think he meant your lack of attention to him.)

You can’t count the minutes or hours—what’s the difference, really? Donghyuck smiles through his eyes, telling you you’re a terrible dancer (and that, of course, not everyone is born perfect like him). You learn to love the unknown songs, each note catching on to a new piece of your heart as Donghyuck shows you a move to copy, singing along gibberish lyrics to the songs he doesn’t know. It’s weird how you can mould into songs like this, songs you don’t even know—their beats pulling out different people and melodies making that person familiar.

There’s a soft halt when Donghyuck catches something through the corner of his eyes. He makes a face that spells out ‘yikes’ before leading you off the dance floor, snaking through the crowds till you’re back to the entrance.

“What’s wrong?” You say, eyes scanning his face.

“Oh, nothing, really,” he says, an unsure lilt to his voice.

Your question answers itself at the gruff voice barely audible over the music, a notch louder than when you’d entered.

“Hey, kid!”

Your heart jumps against your ribcage at the uniform of a police officer by the entrance, thinking whether everything really had to go wrong right now. Is underage dancing a crime? You didn’t drink and—oh, the entrance probably said 19+.

Donghyuck’s eyes flit from place to place looking for an escape when the officer confronts him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“You’re the kid that’s been stealing around the shops, aren’t you?”

“Uh, no?” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, the expression on his face almost comedic. “You’ve got the wrong kid, officer.”

“And what might you be doing in a club? Where’s your ID?”

“About that…”

Donghyuck pushes the man with his elbow, leg extending to trip him, catching him off guard. You’d even be impressed if the loud crash didn’t make you yelp in surprise, looking at the two of them with terrified incredulity.

Donghyuck takes off running almost immediately after before backtracking and gesturing at you exasperatedly. “You know you’re supposed to run when I run, right?”

“What the fuck just happe—”

Donghyuck doesn’t wait to explain, gripping your hand in his and tugging you to match his insane pace as you exit through the entrance.

It takes a while to reach the subway station even at that speed and with the distant shouts of the police officer prompting you to move faster. The sky’s much darker now—you think it must be well into late evening before night gets ready to clutch the time. Donghyuck moves with careful calculation, taking turns in places you have no clue about and soon you’re running up the stairs with your breath barely caught in your throat.

The station lights are dim but you’re good as long as you don’t trip over something. You turn to the ticket machine in panic when you hear the officer’s voice by the gates.

“No time!” Donghyuck pulls you away, effortlessly jumping over the faregate and looking at you expectantly.

“I can’t do that, Donghyuck!” you complain, panic rising in your chest, adrenaline drowning the rest of it.

Before you can say anything more, Donghyuck reaches over the gate, pulling you up by the waist and grabbing your hand all over again to run down the stairs to the tunnels.

“Hey!”

You hear the shout of the lady behind the ticket counter, clearly having seen your misconduct as you pray for her to forget your face. You’d like to be able to use the subway for future travel.

The train’s about to shut its door when you reach. Donghyuck treads quickly on the stone before he jumps on, pulling you in just in time to avoid getting caught in between the sliding doors.

For a moment, there’s only the sound of heavy breathing and the movement of the train on its tracks, the burning in your throat drowning out other senses. You slide down to crouch on the floor, your face hot and sweat drenching your forehead and neck. Your shoelaces are undone, you notice, no energy left in you to reach out and tie them into your perfect knots.

There’s a few moments of silence as you regain your composure.

“What was that?!” You laugh, unable to control yourself as you clutch your stomach. “You almost got arrested!”

He joins in with his sunny laughter, crouching down beside you. “Man, I really thought I was done for.”

After a few moments, Donghyuck sits with his legs crossed atop the passenger seat, the coach mostly empty save for you and an old couple at the far corner. He animatedly recalls a story of another near-arrest he had, with you laughing beside him.

A thought passes you in between jokes and stories—what if everything was like this always? Just the two of you, in a room full of people, in a room without people. You think you’ve started looking at Donghyuck a bit too much. You’re not sure about regretting it.

Donghyuck’s been getting the strangest of impulses these days.

He tilts his head away from you to check the time on his watch, the gentle weight of your head on his shoulder reassuring, even if it’s hard to admit. It’s half-past ten and he’s been staring at you for a little over an hour now. Who falls asleep in the subway? Sure, there being not many stops, the journey between each is longer but Donghyuck wouldn’t be caught dead drooling on someone’s shoulder like this.

You shift, Donghyuck immediately moving to cradle your head with his hand so it just doesn’t drop off. Your lips are puffed even in sleep as if you’re still caught in an argument with him. He chuckles to himself. It’s so like you.

Cross the line. The voice in his head says. Just dip your head a little and…

Your head leans into the skin between his neck and shoulder, a shot of electricity pulsing through him at the contact. There’s a race of thoughts within him, thoughts he shouldn’t be having.

What is he so afraid of, really? What is he, Lee Donghyuck, so afraid of? Love? That’s the lamest thing he can think of.

It’s true, though.

Fucking voice of his conscience—loud thoughts are more a pain in the ass than anything else. Donghyuck will resort to cowardice if it be so. He’s not going to be reduced to something he’s not just because he’s head over heels in his own feelings for you.

Donghyuck pushes the hair from your face, craning his neck to be able to see you better. Wanting to love, wanting to be loved—what a stupid thing to fear. He sighs, closing his own eyes and checking the time once again. He’ll wake you up in a few minutes when your station’s near.

You stop at the medicine to store to buy antiseptic cream and some band-aids. Donghyuck says he doesn’t need it, he has some at home but you must be good at convincing. There’s a little garden of scratches on his palm even he’s not sure when he received.

You sit in the empty parking lot, under the only streetlight that seems to be working in the area. The convenience store beside you is there to provide its twenty-four-hour lights if not anything else. There are some people out on nightly walks, you notice when you look at the sidewalk. It surprises you a little to see shapes of people against midnight blue.

You’ve never been out so late. You text your mom to remind her you’re still alive before you can turn your attention to Donghyuck.

“Okay! Enough!” He retreats his hand, complaining. “My hand smells like a pharmacy at this point.”

You lean back against the streetlamp, sighing.

“I can’t believe we ran away from a police officer,” you say, a goofy smile on your face as you stretch your arms in front of you.

“There’s always a first.” Donghyuck grin. “You don’t have to thank me for that, by the way.”

You roll your eyes. “One of these days, you’ll regret it. How long do you plan on being reckless?”

“How long do you plan on pretending you don’t enjoy it?” He asks, face leaning in with a sly smile.

You think you feel heat on your cheeks, you can’t be sure, but you end up scoffing, a rather losing response to someone who’s used to winning.

“You’re clearly into my devilishly handsome face,” he continues with an exaggerated shake of his head. “Does my recklessness turn you on? Don’t you think I look good? You can’t blame m—”

This brat.

You yank him by the cloth of his hoodie to get face to face, noses almost touching. Watching the confidence drain from his face, you’d laugh but it’d just give away the sudden adoration you feel. What a shame this demon was blessed to be so cute.

There’s a pause the length of a breath.

Donghyuck’s eyelids flutter close just as he presses his lips against yours, a soft sound escaping yours. He places a hand against your cheek as nimbly as possible, something pushing him to deepen what you have. You give in, humming into the kiss as you pull yourself closer.

For all the havoc he wreaks, Donghyuck isn’t necessarily a bad kisser. His lips are soft—his investment in lip balms improved since you first met him and the scent of whatever he used is delicious.

It’s a few moments of kissing when Donghyuck suddenly pulls back.

“I don’t deserve this,” he says, eyes flickering.

You look on, unsure. It’s not like him to falter. “What- What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he responds, looking at his hands, “that I’m really not good enough. I’m just- I’m not who people think I am. Hell, I don’t know who I am. It’s just- I don’t-”

You place your hand against his cheek, his rambling fading away as he looks into you.

“Even if you like me because you think I’m fun,” he continues, “I mess things up, you know? I mess things up really bad. If you get hurt- If- Ah, I don’t know what to say.”

“I really like you, Donghyuck,” you whisper, “but you’re making no sense right now.”

There’s a pause within the night air.

“I…I put a kid in the hospital,” he says, voice low and upset. “In middle school. I- I didn’t mean to! I can’t remember what happened but…we had to pay the bills and- and we’re still recovering.”

There’s a stifling silence. You lift his chin up so he faces you, the inability to see his expression troubling.

“I still feel guilty,” he whispers. “I do things for fun. And I fuck up the consequences.”

Donghyuck’s calculating and careful. You already know that.

“It’s okay,” you assure him, not finding any better words. “We’re big kids now.”

“But that doesn’t mean—”

“I’m not saying anything like that,” you interrupt. “We’ll still fuck up, you know? Adults fuck up. Doesn’t mean we don’t do things at all.”

“God, I hate you lecturing me,” he groans, looking away.

You crack a smile, still holding his face, the side without the band-aid. Donghyuck doesn’t say you’re right, a short chuckle on his lips instead before he leans in to peck you on the mouth, slowly turning into another kiss.

You think you hear the buzz of fireflies, spring’s darlings, although you didn’t know they’d be found here. Donghyuck looks pretty under the streetlight, as you connect mole to mole, an airy feeling in your chest, almost bubbling over.

You want to tell him he’s amazing, but you figure you’d tend to his ego some other day.

“Hey, you got that leather jacket!” you exclaim when you walk into class, Donghyuck’s head in Renjun’s chokehold.

He’s quick to defend himself, shaking Renjun off him and scoffing. “I didn’t get it because you said so, obviously.”

You shake your head with a laugh, sitting at your place. Donghyuck smiles to himself before dropping it to shoot some comments at Renjun.

“Nothing going on with our precious demon there?”

You look up to see Jaemin smiling at you, clearly onto something. You haven’t told anyone yet, every rendezvous a ridiculously honest secret.

You turn your head to see Donghyuck consuming a bag of hot Cheetos in what seems to be a competition with Zhong Chenle. You shake your head, furrowing your eyebrows at the scene. What’s even going on in their heads? If anything at all, that is.

Jaemin clears his throat, bringing your attention back to him. He has some sort of expectation in his eyes.

You laugh, more than enough to answer him. Really, being fond of Lee Donghyuck shouldn’t feel so much a crime as the city lights in his eyes do.

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lucivar · 3 years

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Most excellent lucivar, as an incredibly imaginative and funny author and the creator of the #prayforHiram tag, would you share your top 5 most outrageous head canons about Hiram Lodge? Please and thank you! (I know a guy who knows a guy who can deliver all the doritos without asking any questions, if you're interested)

OMG THIS ASK IS BRILLIANT! Thank you so much for gracing my inbox with this! SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RESPOND!

So my feelings for Hiram in Riverdale went from “Aw yes racketeering for the capital value play!” to “what. the. actual. fuck.” from s1 to s5, but in that glorious transformation, like a butterfly from a chrysalis, Hiram has become one of my favourite characters. #prayforHiram

So, I thought a lot about this and I just couldn’t stop laughing at the crack my brain was coming up with, so here, as you so kindly prompted, are my top 5(ish) most outrageous headcanons.

Villainy is just showbiz, kids. Hiram is a fucking star and Riverdale is his stage.

Read the nonsense under the cut.

After being denied his acting opportunity, Jaime Luna took his Hiram Lodge inspiration from The Godfather: Little Jaime Luna got the idea after watching Don Vito Corleone’s speech in the Godfather and imagined having the same power, respect and flair. He really, really wanted to be a STAR, but mommy and daddy Luna did not allow it because Jaime really needed to focus on taking over the family business. He considers every interaction a moment for his glory, an opportunity to show off his brilliance, his chiselled jaw or his wrestling prowess.

He has a script - I mean - grand plan: Don’t ruin it, or he’ll come for you and get his goons to beat you up. (LOOKING AT YOU, COFFIN BOY)

He demands PERFECTION and FLAIR of his associates. He will not be denied: He asks his associates for the same ~dramatique flair~ that he possesses, which is why he and Penelope have a weird truce and why he only accepted Reggie Mantle once he grew into his glam rocker haircut and could cock a pistol in perfect synchronicity with his other goons. One of my regrets is that we never saw the OG Stonies and Hiram team up because that would have been insufferably perfect (and I would have added a new tag for Bret: #gayforHiram)

He will be centre stage no matter what: As a denied theatre kid, he feels like he missed the opportunity to be in the spotlight. As a consequence he hates when Archie takes Veronica away from him, because all he wants to do is have her NOTICE HIM and vice versa (see: Hermione Lodge’s comment “your obsession with archie andrews will ruin this family”).

The only RiverParent that strikes fear into his heart is Gladys: Fred is a homewrecking slut (Hiram’s opinion, not my own), Tom Keller has no stomach for villainy, Clifford was boring AF and barely a rival, Hal had a weak chin (which could not hold a candle to Hiram’s own), Mary gives him nothing to work with (Hiram gets bored), Sierra is excellent because she is corrupt and loves it, Miles reminds him of his father, Alice can be easily distracted with some random chaos and FP is hopeless. Gladys, however, is terrifying and people PAY ATTENTION TO HER. Hiram does not like this. People pay attention to Penelope, but attention whore to attention whore (affectionate) he *understands* her. She has a flair for the dramatic; she is the epitome of cloak and dagger, as long as the cloak is fur-trimmed and she’s naked underneath. Hiram gets this, and he hates her for putting Veronica in danger, but they have a shaky truce (yes, this truce includes burning down the maple groves because yolo).

On the other hand, Gladys is cold fucking psycho bitch who gives no fucks and would step all over Hiram’s ego without even realising it. Now that’s power. #girlboss

Hiram has two (barely) acceptable partners for Veronica: No one will ever be good enough for Veronica Lodge. I know it, he knows it and he has no qualms telling her suitors that they suck a bag of dicks. He has never liked Archie, but over time the boy with the absTM has grown on him like a tumor (#prayforHiram) because Archie has a flair for villainous drama (see: the Red Circle) and is susceptible to suggestion (see: the Red Circle). He is also musically inclined. Not that he’s good, but Hiram probably thinks that if he just took Archiekins under his wing that he could someday become a triple threat. Many of Hiram’s favourite memories involve beating and beating up Archie. He is the least worst choice and for that reason he will tolerate him. I totally stan andsmile’s theory about Hiram being a barchie hater and setting fire to the porch to break them up so that he can get invited to the varchie wedding. He just wants to do the Don Corleone speech. LET HIM, YOU MONSTERS.

The other person he will tolerate is Cheryl Blossom aka Cherry Bombshell aka Nightmare Child. Now that woman knows how to fuck shit up. Plus it would upset Penelope a bit, so that’s exciting.

If you’re wondering about Reggie, it’s: eh? Like, Hiram prefers him with the flair hair, but he’s too scruffy for Veronica now. Maybe he would change his tune if Reggie put out fires or mined palladium with his shirt off. No promises tho.

Other headcannons

When Hiram quarantined Riverdale, the real longcon was to cut off the Dorito supply routes: #LetThemEatTostitos. Ungrateful, meddling twerps.

“Mija, I built that prison, I can come and go as I please”: strong Narcos fan. He watches it in his home-made prison mancave, practicing “Plata o plomo” to perfect the intonation. <3

The real reason he blew up the prison is that the paperwork was becoming too tedious. The real travesty these days is how many lawyers are needed for good old-fashioned villany. Due to the depreciation schedule of the prison, he still had a few years until his assets were fully amortised (it also got super fucked up in the time jump seven years from 2020 to 2021 - many of his taxation lawyers quit because of THAT mind fuck). So Hiram blew up his prison to claim malicious damages. He probably blamed it on a tweaked-out Jughead.

The real reason he wants a palladium mine is to fill Archie porn bingo squares: Miner, Fireman, Boxer, Footballer, Teacher/Coach, Soldier, Prisoner, Musician, Gang member, Farmer, Superhero, Minor (hahah don’t shoot me, I’m just commenting on Riverdale’s serves) #It’slegalnow

Hope you enjoyed these and thanks so much for waiting so long for me to FINALLY COMPLETE IT. <3

#hiram lodge #the campiest villain #river!crack #raymondebidochonlifechoices #lucivar answers questions with way too much detail #prayforhiram #gayforhiram #stayforhiram

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aajjks · 2 years

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No offense taken!!

I don’t really relate to the Centre of attention thingy since I have major anxiety problems(I’m Virgo dominant which explains the anxiety😭😭) I do however resonate with the whole pride thingy especially when it comes to love since my Venus is also in leo 😭.I can be quite egoistic when it comes to relationships bc I always wanna be number 1.This is why I love your ffs (I WANT SOMEONE TO BE OBSESSED WITH ME AKAKAJAKSKAHA).I love pretty hard as well since I have a Scorpio moon and it often sucks to be honest bc no one loves me as much as I love them🧍🏻‍♀️and Scorpio moon makes me a rlly sensitive person so don’t recommend lmao

Omg i love your big 3❣️I love libras and I also have a lot of Pisces placements :3 yeah I can tell that you love to be loved but you also seem really kind and funny! Having a Virgo rising sucks but a lot of ppl think we’re cute so 😗 it’s whatever I guess haha

Awwww that is so sweet, I really hope you didn’t mind my wording… if you did, I sincerely apologise 💔 and yep tbh we all want someone to be obsessed w us haha… in a non dangerous or toxic way ofc!!!!

The libra in me is so true minus the girly/flirty part, I honestly hate how Libra’s are viewed as girly and spoiled-bratty/ really turns me off!!!!?

Haha we all hate being a Virgo but I have positive interactions with them… they are really sweet. :/ I kinda like them now!

but hush that’s a secret 🤫

#asks

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broccoliboix5peepeeman · 4 years

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😅 I thought of another prompt. Can you please write a fic where Izuku overhears people saying Shouto is too good for him and they have no idea why he’d want to be with someone like Izuku. Izuku feels insecure and Shouto comforts him. Thank you! I promise I won’t spam you💜 I hope you’re having a wonderful day!

(I love this idea so much omg! I hope you’re also having a wonderful day! 💜)

Three days after they publicly announced their relationship, it started. At first, it was the strange looks that the other students - sans Class A - had given them when they had held hands in the corridor Monday morning. ‘Why are they staring at us?’ Shoto had leaned in to whisper, not relinquishing his grip on Izuku’s hand, which he was thankful for. ‘They’re probably just getting used to it, I think...’ Izuku had shrugged in response, looking at his red shoes. He felt for bad lying; he knew the looks the other students were giving him. He had been looked at that way his entire life. ‘They better hurry up and get used to it then.’ Shoto responded a little too loudly. ‘We’ve been hiding this long enough as it is.’ Izuku let out a small smile and turned to meet Shoto’s gaze. He gave his partner’s hand a squeeze of reassurance. ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine.’

When lunchtime came around, the whispers started. They were quiet and could easily be mistaken for idle chatter among students, but Izuku didn’t miss the way their eyes would glance over at him and Shoto as they walked to their usual table. He also didn’t miss the way they would stare at him like he was on trial, before leaning in to whisper something in hushed voices while giggling. ‘What’s wrong, Izuku?’ His boyfriend had asked him, bumping their shoulders together gently. However, his eyebrows furrowed with concern when Izuku startled in response, nearly dropping his lunch tray. ‘Nothing, Shoto-kun!’ He chuckled nervously and gripped the bright yellow tray tightly to stop his hands from shaking. ‘I’m just distracted.’ ‘Hmmm.’ As the days passed, the less subtle the other students became. After sweating himself into a deep paranoia, Izuku had decided to note down who exactly seemed to have an issue with him and Shoto. To his relief, it seemed that there were only really two groups of students who liked to stare and gossip about them, but that was still enough people to set Izuku on edge and make him worry to the pit of his stomach. It’s like being back in middle school. He thought gloomily. He wanted to tell Shoto what was going on, he really did. They had both agreed to be honest with each other from the start, and Izuku didn’t like keeping things from his boyfriend, especially after he had found out about One for All. However, he couldn’t put this on Shoto. He knew that his partner struggled with interpreting facial expressions and tended to have a short fuse when it came to something he was passionate about. If Izuku told him that these students were bothering him, he couldn’t entirely be sure that Shoto wouldn’t declare war on them like he had done to Izuku back in their first year. It was over a week later, when Izuku was in the school’s getabako, that he finally caught onto exactly what the other students were saying about them. Aizawa Sensei had kept Shoto back after classes finished, so Izuku had gone on without him. He had just finished switching shoes and had gotten up to leave when he heard a giggle a few rows down. Usually, Izuku would’ve just ignored it, but after moving towards the end of the getabako, he heard his partner’s name and stilled. ‘Todoroki-kun’s just so gorgeous. Every time I see him, I swear I melt a little bit!’ Someone spoke with a wistful sigh. Izuku’s eyes widened but he couldn’t really be mad about that. After all, Shoto was gorgeous. ‘So you’ve been saying.’ One of the girl’s friends replied, tone sounding bored. ‘Honestly, you need to get over him already, Kamiko-kun.’ ‘Why, Kei-chan? Because he’s supposedly dating that Midireo boy?’ A third voice asked. ‘Ugh! You mean Midoriya.’ The first girl - Kamiko from what Izuku gathered - spoke his name with such disdain that he flinched. ‘Yeah, not happening. They won’t last.’ ‘Why? They seem really happy together.’ The one called Kei-chan retorted. ‘I’ve never seen Todoroki-san smile before, but whenever he looks at Midoriya-’ ‘Come onnn, he smiles at him because Todoroki-kun knows he’s too good for him!’ Another girl, who had remained silent until now, groaned. ‘I mean he’s just so plain-looking!’ ‘Not to mention a crybaby!’ Izuku felt stung. He had been called a lot of things over the years - nothing could really compare to the stuff Kacchan used to say - but hearing them talk about him and Shoto like that? This was a new feeling. Sure, they hated Izuku and he couldn’t really argue with them. He was plain-looking. He was a crybaby - even All Might had told him as much. But the way they described his boyfriend? Like he was vain and superficial? You don’t know anything about him! Izuku wanted to scream. They didn’t know that Shoto was actually really insecure about his appearance. They didn’t know about his boyfriend’s recurring nightmares, where phrases like “you’re unsightly” and “you have your father’s eyes” have plagued his mind. You don’t know anything about us! Izuku shook his head violently. They didn’t know that Shoto was the first one to say “I love you”. They didn’t know the shape of Shoto’s lips when he first whispered to Izuku, “You’re beautiful”. They didn’t know what it felt like to take his boyfriend in his arms, never knowing if it will be the last time, because they’re training to be heroes and nothing is guaranteed. They knew nothing about them. Izuku frowned irritably and gripped the straps of his backpack, ready to storm out of the room. He knew Shoto would never string him along. But what if? His mind supplied. You've always known he’s too good for you. ‘Ain’t that the truth.’ The third girl exclaimed, startling Izuku. ‘All he does is cry until everyone’s attention is on him. It’s annoying and he’s so self-centred!’ That's not… Izuku wasn’t self-centred? He cried because he got emotional easily, not for attention. He felt his traitorous eyes begin to water and hated himself for proving their point. He hastily wiped his eyes using his sleeve. Shoto said… Even heroes must cry sometimes. ‘He’s also such a stalker.’ Another spoke. ‘Have you seen the notebooks he keeps with him all the time? Apparently he keeps notes on all his classmates and teachers! That’s so creepy!’ ‘He better not have a page on me!’ The group burst out into a fit of giggles just as Izuku audibly sniffed, trying to keep it together. Am I really being creepy taking notes? Kacchan had said something similar to him back in middle school, but his childhood friend thought that everything about Izuku was wrong or bad, so he hadn’t taken it seriously. He closed his eyes as the tears began to fall and leant his head against a getabako. Was Kacchan right? ‘Not to mention the mumbling.’ One of them wheezed. ‘So weird and scary!’ ‘Plus, the way he writes! I mean, have you seen his fingers? They’re so crooked and gross!’ Izuku looked down at his right hand, full of callouses and scars. He thought back to how Shoto had taken his hand yesterday, pressed a kiss to every digit and murmured “My hero”. ‘I know right! Ewww!’ Kamiko laughed. ‘He deserves it though, I mean, he’s so reckless! Did you see him at his first sports festival? Honestly, seeing him vs Todoroki-kun, it just makes it all the more obvious that he’s way too good for that loser-’ ‘If you have something to say about Izuku and I, you can say it to our faces.’ Izuku’s eyes widened and he shot up straight as the girls gasped. He knew that voice. Izuku hesitantly peeked around the corner of where he was hiding to find four girls with their backs to him and Shoto towering over them. His boyfriend looked at them coldly, arms crossed and ready to kill. ‘Ah! Todoroki-San!’ ‘We were just saying... Er...’ ‘You’re too good for a loser like Midoriya.’ At Kamiko’s outburst, Shoto stepped forwards and the room suddenly grew colder. Izuku felt a shiver run through his body. The movement must have alerted Shoto of his presence, as his eyes shot up and met Izuku’s own from across the room. When recognition dawned on him, his boyfriend’s hard expression instantly softened. They stared at each other for a moment, until one of the girls went to follow his gaze. Before she could spot Izuku though, Shoto broke off and resumed his icy glare. ‘I am not too good for him. If anything Izuku is too good for me.’ His boyfriend began, leaving no room for interruption. ‘He is my hero and the kindest and strongest person I know..’ ‘But I-’ ‘Quite frankly, I don’t give a shit about what you have to say.’ He raised his hand to silence her. ‘But if you’re going to badmouth Izuku to put me on a pedestal, then we’re going to have a big problem.’ Shoto bent down to be at eye level with Kamiko. ‘You don’t know him and you don’t know me - you don’t deserve to. Izuku may forgive easily but I don’t.’ His boyfriend stood to his full height again. ‘If I catch any of you spouting shit about Izuku or our relationship again, I can promise you, you will regret it.’ He stepped aside. ‘Go.’ The group immediately scattered - silently so as to not further enrage Shoto. When it was just the two of them left in the room, Izuku stepped out fully and wiped away some more stray tears. ‘That wasn’t very heroic, Sho.’ He sniffled as his boyfriend strode over. When he reached him, he took Izuku’s face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs across his wet cheeks. 'They were saying nasty things about the love of my life.’ Shoto replied easily, checking him over. ‘How much did you hear?’ Izuku asked, voice barely a whisper. ‘Enough.' ‘I tried not to let them get to me, but I couldn’t help it.’ Izuku hated the way his voice broke at the end, but when Shoto pulled him into a tight embrace, arms wrapping around him protectively, he let himself succumb to the feelings that had been picking at him for over a week now. Hiding in Shoto’s chest, he continued, ‘Sometimes I think, what if they’re right? What if Shoto-kun wakes up one day and realises he is too good for me?’ ‘Whenever you think something like that, I need you to tell me.’ Shoto pulled back to hold Izuku’s face once more, looking at him seriously. ‘I could talk all day about why I love you. Your brain and a bunch of envious bitches can’t take that away. Izuku, you’re perfect, you’re beautiful, you’re my best friend, my hero, my love.’ Fresh tears poured from Izuku’s eyes as he started to cry freely. ‘I love you, Sho.’ He hiccupped. ‘The same goes for you as well. I’m sorry I let all this get to me,’ ‘Don’t be sorry. It’s my fault for wanting to make our relationship public.’ Shoto’s eyebrows knitted together with concern. ‘I didn’t realise something like this would happen.’ ‘You couldn’t have known.’ 'Hmm.’ Shoto pressed their foreheads together and kissed the tip of his nose. ‘Do you regret it... Telling everyone?’ ‘No.’ Izuku shook his head and let out a watery smile. ‘Despite all of this, I’m glad that everyone knows. I am yours and you are mine.’ Shoto hummed in response and leant in for a quick kiss, smiling against Izuku’s lips. When he pulled away, he put on an expression of mock innocence. ‘And if they have a problem with that, I know how to get rid of a body.’ His boyfriend’s lip quirked up and Izuku snorted. ‘Shoto, no.’ ‘Shoto, yes.’

#holy shit this got long #Fun Fact: don't search in the anti tag for inspiration for what bad things to say about the green bean #you will get angry #i got very angry #Sho level angry #anyway #tododeku #todoroki shoto #midoriya izuku #bnha #mha #bitchy OCs #AgarJelly writes #hurt/comfort #fic prompts #hope you enjoyed it :)

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district2001 · 4 years

Text

Fake Fan

Seventeen AU: 14th member

ERA: An Ode/ Fear

Jangmi x SVT

Recap: Jangmi deals with an unpleasant situation at a fansign, and takes it a lot worse than she expected

Words: 1.3k

AN: Requests are OPEN: Please please please send me what you want to see from Jangmi. I’m also open to feedback :)

Let me know if you want a part 2 on the members reactions

CHECK OUT MY MASTERLIST FOR MORE JANGMI CONTENT XX

“OMG We have matching earrings!” Jangmi squealed as she continued signing the carats album, adding a quick ‘twinning’ alongside her autograph.

Seventeen were currently smack bang in the middle of the ‘An Ode’ promotions, and their schedule was packed with music shows, radio interviews and fan signs. The latter being her favourite. She could secretly eat snacks, mess up the performance as much as she pleased as well as spill some of the tea with Carats.

She waved goodbye the fan, before taking a sip of her water whilst waiting for the next fan to move along. She was squashed between Mingyu and Hoshi, who had both decided that would be super loud and annoying today. She grabbed one of the feather boas near Mingyu and wrapped it around her neck. It definitely didn’t match her leather suit, but the bright pink allowed her to stand out from the rest of the members. As if being the only girl wasn’t enough.

She turned to face the next carat, who was still talking to Mingyu. Must be their bias, she thought. Jangmi continued waving at the fans back in their seat, making stupid faces to them.

One of their staff came up behind her and tugged the boa, so it came off her neck. Jangmi turned around to face them, whilst pouting.

“Nice try.” They teased, ruffling her hair slightly, but not enough to ruin the difficult task their hairstylists had this morning. They then ushered the fan who was still with Mingyu, to move over to Jangmi.

“Hi, how are you today? Is Mingyu your bias?” Jangmi asked. Whilst trying to grabs the fans hands to hold. But they just shoved their hands back.

Strange. Jangmi thought. But then again not everyone wants to hold hands.

“He’s my favourite person in the entire world.” The fan declared, a smile on her face from ear to ear.

Jangmi politely smiled. “He’s a good bias to have. I mean did you see the amount of content he gives carats. Mukbangs after emceeing every weekend. I think Joshua’s stans are in a continuous drought.”

Jangmi reached over to grab the album, but the fan once again pulled it out of the way, hugging it tightly

“Do you bias him” they asked cautiously.

Jangmi tilted her head, at the strange question. “Ofcourse I do.” She then lowered her voice into a whisper. “He’s my favourite member.”

The last comment, which was meant to be a joke, clearly hadn’t turned into one, since the fan was furrowing her eyebrows at Jangmi.

Jangmi awkwardly looked around, trying to find a way to diffuse the tension. She couldn’t think of anything, so she leaned over to get the album- to sign- since it was technically a fansign.

What she didn’t expect was the ‘carat’ to thwart her hand away.

“Stop throwing yourself at Mingyu, you little slut. I know he’s your boyfriend” They whispered, loud enough only for Jangmi to hear.

“He’s- He’s not?” It can out more like a question then a statement. Jangmi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

The fan quickly grabbed Jangmi’s hands, and squeezed them a little too tightly, for her liking. She tried pulling away, but they started digging their nails into her skin.

“I don’t even understand what he sees in you. You’re just a little fat fuck who is free-riding on Seventeens success. Don’t think you’re better than anyone else. You don’t deserve his heart”

Jangmi widened her eyes, trying to silently motion for the staff to come over. Where were they when she needed them.

“Please let go of me before I call security.” She firmly said, hoping they didn’t catch the little quiver in her voice.

The fan leaned over closer and sneered, tightening their grip on her arms. “Do it, I dare you. Bring more attention towards the truth.”

She was weighing up her options, when Hoshi suddenly interrupted her train for thought. “Jangmi, don’t steal all our carats.”

“I’m not.” Jangmi scoffed, holding up her hands which were still being held by their fan. “She’s not letting go.”

“Not her fault everyone loves her.” Mingyu chimed, causing the fans eyes to widen.

“Do you love Jangmi?” The fan asked quickly, tripping over their words.

Mingyu, being the most unobservant person on the planet replied with a simple “obviously,” whilst leaning his head on Jangmi’s shoulder.

Jangmi tried pushing him off to not make the situation worse, but the damage was done once the fan let go of her hands and stood up on their chair.

“Everyone” She yelled, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look at her. “Mingyu just confirmed that he loves Jangmi.”

Jangmi held her breath, waiting for the crowd and staff to go crazy.

They did not.

They just laughed, and went back to doing what they were doing before the interruption.

Jangmi mentally laughed. Why was she even worried? Carats were so used to dating rumours with her and her members. Legit. They don’t even trust Dispatch anymore.

Unfortunately, her happiness was short lived, when the fan started yelling again. Except this time, instead of spilling the tea, she was calling Jangmi out for being a shitty human being.

“What does Mingyu even see in that talented bitch?” All the members stopped signing again, with Seungcheol pre-empting the situation and alerting security.

“Mingyu’s never going to be yours. You can’t sing. Can’t dance. Can’t rap. You can’t even speak Korean. Plus you look like you need to go on a diet. You’d probably have been kicked out already if you were in a kpop girlgroup.”

Hoshi quickly stood up, pulling Jangmi with him, and stood infront of her, shielding her from the fan.

“Ignore it.” He whispered, not breaking the deathgare he was shooting at their fan.

The fan’s rant was cut short by security asking her politely to get down from the stool and walk off stage.

Jangmi felt someone’s hands wrap around her shoulders, and she leant into their embrace, slightly embarrassed for being the centre of this whole ordeal.

“You know what?” The fan screamed at their security. “I don’t want this shitty album anyway. Since her medicore vocals are on it.” She pointed her finger at Jangmi before hurling the CD towards her.

Jangmi, who was too busy looking at her members reactions, didn’t have enough time to process what was happening. And before she knew it, she felt the sharp corner of their album hit her cheek, before crashing on the floor.

Hoshi quickly turned around to face his maknae and cupped her slightly red cheeks. “Are you okay?” He asked worriedly, quickly scanning her face for any signs of distress.

She nodded while biting her lip, trying not to show any emotion. That was the first rule of fansigns; make it a positive and fun environment for carats.

She felt the arm around her shoulder pull her towards the side of the stage, and she didn’t object. Instead she grabbed one of the signs she was gifted as shielded herself from the fans.

“Thanks Hannie” She whispered, as they walked off the stage.

Hannie’s arm was replaced by their managers, who guided her to the nearest couch.

“Go back onstage. And tell everyone that everything’s under control.”

“Can’t I stay with Jangmi for a little while.” Jeonghan pleaded, but one look of their managers face made it clear that it was no point arguing.

Jeonghan quickly untied her high ponytail and took out all the bobby pins, before running his fingers through her hair. “Just relaxed for a bit. Don’ worry we can handle the rest of the fansign.”

He quickly ran back on stage, but not before turning around and giving her a thumbs up.

Her manager came back over to give her a bottle of cold water, which she gladly accepted.

It’s not like she hadn’t received hate comments before. She was basically the only girl in a group full of guys. Not to mention that they were all considered visuals, and she-well the fan was right- definitely did not fit into any of the beauty standards of the industry.

But she had never really had to deal with a hater in person before, especially right in front of her. Usually, they just talked shit on the internet, and she could give a snarky reply from her secret fan account.

This was different. Everyone heard it. And she was so sure it would be the talk of the town for the next few weeks. Pledis would make a statement, the members would be ultra protective of her and her parents would once again question her decision of being an idol. Fucking fantastic!

She heard Seungcheol making a statement, and fans screaming back towards him. She heard a few ‘I love You’s’ and ‘Jangmi’s,’ but she honestly was a bit over the situation, to really understand what was happening.

As she sunk deeper into the couch, she accepted the fact that she was not ok after this ordeal. But she’d have to keep on a brave face. Considering the end of promotions was nowhere near in sight.

Next: Hyung Line’s Reaction

#seventeen #svt #seventeen fic #seventeen imagine #svt imagine #svt fic #seventeen angst #seventeen 14th member #seventeen au #seventeen oc #svt oc #kpop oc #female member kpop #kpop additional member #kpop additional female member #kpop #hate

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sukirichi · 3 years

Note

SUKI OMFG 🤣🤣🤣🤣 THE LAST PART OF YOUR ANSWER!! But i mean 😏😏😏😏 respectfully Naoya could 'kidnap' me too 😌 hfhfhdhskaldnf this feels wrong since i ship him with you 😭😭😭😭 but I can torally see him bracing himself to convince you to go with him and you just go like "no need baby lets go" he would probably just stand there eyes open wide and his fox ears twitching in pure shock, like you a human so easily accepting of his demonic self but he then would give you a soft chuckle and just pull you to him~ 😌

Oyaaaa rewatching season 4 👀👀👀👀 gonna admit I rewatch the season 2 way more cause well Aoba but now you're making me want to rewatch season 4 AGAIN ASWELL CAUSE NOW THAT YOU REMINDED ME ABOUT SUNA BLOCKS AND THEN YOU MENTIONED ARAN WHO I USUALLY DIDN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION BUT NOW IM. LIKE "wait... Wait WAIT" HFHDHDHRUWOWOTJS AND YOU JUST PUBLISHED A SUNA FIC- SUKI!!!

Honestly im fucking impatient for the next season of Jujutsu Kaisen.... Theres so much that will go down there! The infamous fight between Gojo and Toji HTHFJSODJFF ANIMATED TOJI BUT BUT IM MORE HYOED FOR SEEING YOUNG GOJO AT THE BEACH?? LIKE BITCH JUST WALKED AROUND WITH HIS SHIRT OPENED FHFJFJFJGBFJSJDHFHFJS AND THEN AT THE FIGHT HE GOES FUCKING PSYCHO WITH HIS FOR REAL REAL AND I FHFHFHFHFBSJDJGBSNS AND THEN! WE GET TO SEE NAOYA AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE HIM ANIMATED AND I HOPE THEY PICK SOMEONE LIKE MAMORU MIYANO FOR HIS VOICE CAUSE THAT WOULD BE FUCKING SEXY PLS PLSSSSSSS

Right? I mostly imagine myself chilling with him while watching some series and talking about wtv or just texting stupid shit at 3am hfjdoaksnfns yo I dont think I would be able to speak to Kita at all cause his perfection konda scares the living shit out of me too 🤣🤣🤣🤣 like I would be afraid of saying something stupid on front of him and having him judge me.... Yo nahhhhhhh I dont mind Suna or even the twins judging me actually throw any haikyuu boy at me and ill be like sure go ahead but Kita, Suga and Tooru judging me that would kill me

WAIT YOU DONT LIKE ISSEI??? BUT HE SO PRETTY? AND TALL AND 🥵🥵🥵🥵 think about those broad shoulders and toned chest- HES THE ONE I WOULD CALL DADDY NO PROBLEM

Oikawa is my absolute king ❤️❤️ (my top 3 is actually Oikawa Levi and Gojo) Iwa is my second fav and then between Makki and Mattsun I just absolutely love both cant pick 😭 I also really really really let me repeat REALLY love kyotani... Something about his tough personality makes my knees melt fhfhfjdoakdjd hes also very... flexible 👀

Imagine Kitsune Naoya prepared to use his manipulation skills if ever you refuse to go with him but then you’re walking ahead of him and go like, “what’re you waiting for? let’s go!” OOF. Mission: Make Kitsune Naoya Fall for Us commence !! And Naoya pulling me to him URGGHHH HELP I BET HE’S SO WARM AND SMELLS REALLY GOOD TOO LIKE GOOD SIR PLS KEEP ME WITH YOU sobs

I REWATCH ALL SEASONS EXCEPT S3 /j. Nah I love Ushi too but Oikawa and Suna are my faves so I’m always repeatinf their parts the most MHHHHMMM. Oh my gosh, I swear... once Toji and Naoya gets animated, I will unleash hell on the Naoya content. My blog will be Naoya centred (it always is 🤔) but ykwim !! AND OOOH MIYANO MAMORU 😳 I actually think Tomoe’s VA from Kamisama Kiss would suit Naoya though, or maybe even Kambe Daisuke’s VA 😳 Whoever voices him, I’m sure Naoya will still be sexy as hell. Also yeah yeah same 😭✋🏻 I’m a perfectionist like Kita as well but yknow how Kita is confident he won’t make mistakes? Well sorry I love him but I feel like Kita would really pressure me just by getting near me and I hate being pressured 😭 SUGA IS LOWKEY SAVAGE TOO AHSKWOW

Well its probably bcos I haven’t seen much of timeskip! issei so that’s why I don’t know him very well to like him hehehehe. ALSO DID YOU JUST SAY LEVI ?!?!?! IM A LEVI ACKERMAN STAN TOO OMG OUR TASTE IN MEN 😫✋🏻

#asks with naoya's trophy wife #long ask #jjk: manga spoilers

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yoimeta · 5 years

Note

Hi everyone! I noticed recently that the "KAZAKHSTAN 101 OR HOW TO OTABEK" post seems to have been taken off of tumblr? The author's whole blog seems to have been wiped. Do you know if this is archived anywhere? Is there a mirror, say, on Ao3?

Hello!

Thankfully, I managed to find what I believe is the original post. Here it is! The post is archived in plain text under the cut.

Hope this helps!

- Ji

Source: @sawyer-aik

KAZAKHSTAN 101 OR HOW TO OTABEK

THERE YOU GO YURI ON ICE FANDOM.

Disclaimer: this is in no way a fully comprehensive guide. This is just me trying to put together basics for people who are unfamiliar with Kazakhstan/Kazakhs to start their writing/research.

I am an ethnic Kazakh female, citizen of Kazakhstan, Almaty, bisexual, upper middle class, currently in college in the US. My experience is in no way representative of all kazakhs and Kazakhstan citizens. However, I think it’s pretty close to Otabek’s.

This is really, really long and kinda convoluted, but if you can bear it –– welcome!

Name: Many people have talked about Otabek’s name. This is how you shorten it –– “Bek”, “Beka”, or “Beks” if you wanna be really familiar and laid back.

Kazakhs don’t have middle names, we have patronymics. They are formed like this: the father’s name + ‘uly’ if the child is a boy or ‘kyzy’ is the child is a girl. For example, Otabek’s childrens’ patronymics would be Otabekuly and Otabekkyzy.

About Almaty and almatinians: Ok I’m so happy Otabek is from Almaty, I really don’t know much about life in other cities or rural areas. Almatinians rarely do. Comparing Almaty lifestyle to the rest of Kazakhstan is the same as comparing NYC to the rest of America –– it’s not representative of the quality of life in the country, like, at all.

Almaty has 2.5+ million population, and it grows every year. It’s a cultural and economic centre of the country. Apples originate from Almaty (!!!), hence the name from “Alma” –– apple. Almatinians are usually stereotyped as fast, brash and snobby –– kinda like New Yorkers, right? Almaty is much more tolerant and progressive, and also more ‘Western’ than the rest of the country in terms of mindset. Almatinians kinda look down on non-Almatinians, and really dislike the capital Astana because of all the funding and attention it gets.

Almaty has a great ethnic diversity –– main groups are Kazakhs, Russians, Uygur, Koreans, Germans, Jews, Uzbek, and many more. Though stereotypical jokes are generally acceptable, outright hate and discrimination against an ethnic group is not tolerated. Many foreigners visit here for business –– mostly Americans, Western Europeans and Chinese.

Almatinians love: coffeeshops, mall sales, cool cars (Hello Otabek’s motorcycle), smoking hukkah and vaping. They are usually concerned with status and try to show off their wealth. You can see people of all kind of different style and background in Almaty, fashion shows are held there, contemporary art and indie-music congregates there, along with all kinds of fancy ass crowd. It is a really interesting and kinda exhausting scene, especially if you are young and wanna have fun.

Language, culture, food, etc.

As an Almatinian Kazakh, Otabek is definitely fluent in both Russian and Kazakh, and probably has a very good grasp on English. He is a master of shala kazakh. Shala kazakh is a magic language that only city Kazakhs are privy to. It’s basically a wild mix of kazakh, russian and some fashionable english slang thrown in there. It’s usual for me to start a conversation with “OMG bro” and then kinda pull my speech together, substituting kazakh and russian words with each other and pepper it with “cool”, “ok” and other english exclamations. It’s not grammatically correct and is kinda lowbrow, but we all do it. Yes, even our parents. This is how Otabek sounds when he is talking to someone from home. Terrifying.

Nuclear family: City Kazakhs usually have two or three kids. That’s less than people have in rural areas. Children are important in Kazakh culture because they carry the family’s bloodline and history, especially boys. If you headcanon Otabek as having brothers and sisters, you are probably right! His family should be at least sort of wealthy to afford all the expenses of having a professional athlete for a child. Otabek has an expensive bike and his clothes look high-end –– he is definitely not poor.

Family in general. Kazakhs are close, VERY CLOSE to their family. Mind you, family is not just parents and siblings but also your grandparents, aunts and uncles and like all 173 cousins and nieces and nephews. Everyone is ridiculously involved in your life, always there with advice and complaints. You stay connected to your parents when you move out, when you get married, when you have kids, when you DIE. When Otabek misses the weekly skype dates or check-in phone calls, HE IS SHAMED SO HARD. Do you know grandma is worried about you, think about how old she is! Otabek’s relatives brag about his achievements like they moved him up the career ladder personally, with their own two hands. There’s nothing Otabek can really do about it tho he gets annoyed

Food: city Kazakhs have a very diverse cuisine. Traditional kazakh food is like 50% batter and 50% meat and takes long ass time to prepare so we reserve it for the holidays. My family loves fish, russian dishes such as borsht and blini, Uzbek lagman, Korean kimchi tho we try to avoid pork. And it’s not like we choose one day as a “Russian cuisine day”, we just kinda??? Deside to have some borsht today?? Almaty has lots of different restaurants, almatinians love sushi, pizza and pasta, shashlyk, all kinds of experimental foods and trying new things. Kumys –– mare’s milk –– is one of the things you should try in Kazakhstan as a turist, but I know many kazakhs who have never had it or don’t like it. They say it’s really good for you tho.

Holidays: ethnic Kazakhs in Kazakhstan celebrate: birthdays, New Years, Eid al-Adha which we call Kurban Bairam, Independence Day on December 16th and Nauryz on March 22nd. Young people kinda have get togethers on Halloween because it’s fun and a reason to hang out. Nauryz is one of my faves, it’s a pagan holiday of coming of spring and new life. On Nauryz, Almaty is adorned with flowers, yurts and giant swings are set on the city square, people wear traditional clothing and dance and play and eat a lot. My family also ended up celebrating Eastern Orthdox Christmas and Easter because each year our Russian friends invite us to hang out and celebrate with them, lol.

LGBTQIA+

Main principle is “Don’t ask, don’t tell”. General conflict avoidance protocols are in place. I personally know like 3 LGBT friendly hubs/clubs in Almaty. Nobody explicitly says “gay clubs” but people just kinda know what and where those are. There are get togethers and meetings you can attend to meet people, you can hang out with your significant other in public, hug, hold hands and no one would probably say anything. Colleges and universities are generally safe places, many of my friends are out in their college and don’t face any trouble. PDA will be frowned upon, but all PDA is generally frowned upon in Kazakhstan, even hetero. Feminist and sex-positive initiatives try to educate the populace and break the status quo, and are doing really well but the government’s disposition is homophobic. If your family is religious or traditional, they probably wouldn’t go as far as disowning you, but will probably pressure and guilt-trip you. LGBT+ youth generally plan to move somewhere else or just not settle. All of this is Almaty situation tho. Being LGBT in rural area is much more dangerous.

THE BEST PART: VOCABULARY

Ok this is what I find to be the easiest way to explain Kazakh to English speakers: think Turkish but written in cyrillic, with words borrowed from Arabic and Russian.

Endearments:

zhanym, жаным: my soul. Zhanym is everything to a Kazakh. You can use it for your family, friends, SO, I called my laptop zhanym today. It can be flirty, it can be serious. If you need Otabek to be affectionate with someone, use zhanym.

ainalaiyn, айналайын: really hard to translate but something like my precious?? Usually used towards small kids, but also if a Kazakh finds something really cute.

altynym, my golden baby. I love this one for obvious reasons, lol, hi, Otabek.

Mahabbatym, махаббатым, my love +

Suiktim, сүйіктім. my love, my dear. Kinda old fashioned but really romantic. I can see Otabek using this, but he will be teased and called an old sap if he does.

Kazakh have a lot more endearments, but most of them are for children.

Basic interaction and exclamations:

Iya. Ия. Yes.

Zhok. Жоқ. No

Rakhmet. Рахмет. Thank you.

Keshir. Кешір. Sorry.

Salem, Сәлем. Hello. A familiar greeting.

Sau bol, Сау бол. Literally “Be well” but actually means goodbye. Pretty familiar too.

O Kudai, О Құдай/O Allah, О Алла! Oh my god, obviously. Used in all kinds of different situations.

Oibai, Ойбай! How does one explain oibai. When a friend jump scares you, when you receive bad news, when you check your bank account –– oibai!

Abai bol, Абай бол. Be careful, is what your mom tells you when you go out.

Expletives and Swear Words. Yeeaaah the juicy stuff.

Zhyndy, Жынды. Crazy. If someone is being stupid or inappropriate, you call them zhyndy. When you tell a dumb joke at the familty table, mom smacks you upside the head and hisses “Ooooi, zhyndy!” When Jean-Jaques is acting a fool and makes out with his reflection, Otabek rolls his eyes and mutters “Zhyndy”.

Akymak. Ақымақ. Idiot. When someone is just dumb and not worth your time.

Ittin balasy. Иттің баласы. Child of a dog. It can be as harmless as “you pup” and as offensive as “son of a bitch” depending on the situation.

Kotindy kys. Көтіңді қыс. Squeeze you ass. God I love this one. When someone being an obnoxious wannabe, tell them they should squeeze their ass and check themselves.

Jean-Jaques: I am gonna be the King of the Grand Prix!

Otabek: Kotindy kys.

Shygasyn ba?! Шығасың ба?! You wanna go bro?! Ohh, someone is gonna catch these Kazakh fists.

Sigil. Сігіл. Basically go fuck yourself.

Sheshen ahmy/Sheshen sigem. Шешең амы/Шешең сігем. Your mother’s c*nt/Imma fuck your mother. REALLY FUCKING OFFENSIVE. Say this to a Kazakh if you have a death wish.

——————————————————————————————-

AND THEEEEEEERE YOU GO.

Again, this is just the basics. Do more research and talk to as many Kazakhs and Kazakhstani people as you can. We are a different but usually an interesting bunch. Thanks for your attention, Sawyer out!

#yoimeta #solosvejs #answered #Otabek Altin #yoi meta

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