#heard of. me O_O when my friend told me and my friends O_O when i told them

[lunarcry]

if i dont get a main story update in april i'll cry <-guy who actually doesnt expect an update

[dark-frosted-heart]

Roger Barel Main Route - Mad Love Chapter 25

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this. I’m doing this for archiving purposes and you can probably find a better translation out there.

“Today, I’ll write down a recent story that I didn’t include in my report presented to Her Majesty.

I’ve been living in the darkness as Roger’s exclusive Fairytale Keeper since.

There’s still evil in Britain. And today—

~~ Flashback ~~

Roger: Haa, haa…, this time our target’s persistent.

Alfons: Illegal drug dealers are sent to jail when caught. It’s natural that they would run like a rat chased by a cat. …Oh my? Where are Lord El and Kate?

Roger: Ah.

Alfons raised a brow at Roger as he asked the question.

Alfons: Don’t tell me you left your own lover behind. You are theeeee worst!

Roger: Says the guy who left El behind. Welp, that guy’s gonna be fine. Actually, they’ll both be fine.

Roger smiled and reloaded his rifle.

Roger: Hey, Al. Since this is the only time you’ll listen to me, I’m gonna tell you now. Your fate’s “to be forgotten by everyone after death.” But since there’s a chance I’m gonna die before you, I’m not gonna forget about you.

Alfons: …o_o

Roger: I feel like this is the only thing I can do for an old friend… Even if it won’t make you happy.

It’s not something extravagant like a will.

But it’s something he didn’t want to regret not telling him at the time.

Roger: Al, while I’m still alive, I’ll definitely find a way to remove curses from the Cursed. Just like I promised when we were kids. That way, you won’t be lonely.

Alfons: …o_o

This egoist of a man spoke as he pleased, as plainly as if there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.

Alfons: Haaa. Are you stupid? Please don’t ever assume people’s feelings. It’s irritating. I couldn’t care less if you fulfilled your ambitions or not. Continue wandering through your living hell to fulfill your absurd ambitions.

You couldn’t escape fate.

That being the case—you’d live how you wanted until death.

Death came for both the Cursed and humans equally.

Roger: I’m gonna have to live long to wander through a living hell.

Alfons: Bad people have all the luck in life. A man like you won’t die even if you’re killed.

Roger: Pfft, without a doubt. Alright, done reloading. Kate and El are—

Kate: Roger. Alfons, are you okay?

He turned toward the voice and saw Kate making a beeline toward him like a loyal dog.

Roger: Kate, El. Are you two hurt?

Elbert: …Kate and I don’t have a single scratch on us…However…

Alfons: However?

Kate: The targets are bound in rope in the third warehouse.

Elbert: It’s thanks to Kate.

Kate: No, you’re the one that stepped on their shadows which let me do it.

Alfons: …Kate, don’t you think you’re becoming a little too strong?

Roger: Haha.

--

While in the carriage on the way back home…

Alfons: …The queen ordered for the huntsman to bring her the heart of the detestable Snow White.

Elbert: …Al?

Elbert, who was in the same carriage, slowly raised his gaze when he heard the murmur.

Alfons: But the hunter betrayed the queen by letting the girl go in the forest and instead, brought the queen a heart of an animal. After that, Snow White met a prince after her life was saved…

'Snow White'—

Elbert quietly listened to the story that was beautiful yet unsavory for the Cursed before speaking up.

Elbert: I’ve always…thought it was strange.

Alfons: What was?

Elbert: Why didn’t Snow White choose to be with the hunter who turned traitor and saved her life?

Alfons: That is because— The happiness chosen by princesses in fairytales were generally conventional and boring. However, it doesn’t seem like Kate likes those endings. ‘Have a lovely rest of your life.’

—Fairytales will continue to be spun.

No one knew what would happen next.

--

Kate: …And we were once again misinformed when we were told “a Cursed One’s been found.”

After our mission, Roger and I went to check if the information that suddenly came to us was true.

(But it was a miss…)

Between missions, the two of us had continued to conduct research on the Cursed, but it hadn’t been easy.

Roger: …You feeling heartbroken?

Roger, who had unequipped his rifle and was now dressed down, smirked.

That day, I told Roger my answer to the question he had asked me long ago.

~~ Flashback within a flashback ~~

Roger: Would it be good or evil to make curses disappear from this world? You don’t have to answer me now. When it comes to you, let me know.

~~ End flashback within a flashback ~~

Kate: I want the Cursed to be able to choose how they live, and that thought will never change. And if I want that to happen, I can’t let things like this discourage me.

Roger: …O_O

Kate: Roger?

Roger: It’s nothing. Was just thinking about how you’ve become a fine woman.

With a hand on his chin, Roger looked at me fondly with dazzling eyes.

Kate: Don’t tell me I’ve become a fine woman for something like this. I plan to grow more! So keep your eyes on me. Closely.

Roger: Don’t have to tell me twice.

(...)

Roger was suddenly so close to me that our lips were almost touching…

My heart pounded as his eyes pierced through me.

When it comes to me, Roger’s never been one to hide his desires.

(Openly showing his desire just by looking at me…)

(It’s always made my mind and body ache like crazy)

It’s as if I took a potent drug called Roger.

Roger: Kate.

The second he said my name, he bit my lip.

Kate: Ngh, nnnn…

His tongue explored my mouth, the wet noises hit my ears—

Kate: Haaa…wait…please.

Roger: Do I have to?

Kate: Y-yes! Because…I’m scared.

Roger: After we’ve done this so many times?

Kate: That’s not it…

My breathing still hadn’t gone back to normal when I glared at Roger with teary eyes.

Roger: Sorry, I cut you off. …You’re talking about something else. Tell me, I’ll listen to everything. What’re you scared of?

Roger looked at me with a smile that enveloped all my weaknesses.

Kate: I chose to throw everything away and live with you. My hands were empty that day, like a newborn baby’s. But…suddenly, my hands were filled with you.

I closed my open palms.

Kate: I chose you so that I could be me. I don’t regret that at all. Despite that, sometimes I get scared…that I can’t live without you.

(...I never thought I’d be so deep in love)

Roger: And what’s wrong with that?

Kate: Because…

Nothing’s more important to me than you.

I would never find happiness like this again.

The surface of my ordinary life was so out of reach, and the moment I felt happiness, I’d sink further down into the bottomless lake.

Roger: Hey, that’s just called being in love. I think it’s too cute how you love me so much it scares you.

Kate: Maybe it is being in love, but I’m seriously worried about it, you know?

I glared at him but his shoulders just shook with laughter…

Roger: I already told you that I’m not letting you go. No matter what happens. Besides, I’m like you.

Kate: Eh?

Roger: “What you call romantic love’s just a dysfunction of the brain or a misunderstanding caused by sexual desire.” I had that theory set in stone. But then, Kate. You overturned it. You—changed me.

Kate: …I…changed you?

Roger: Who else? The other day, Victor told me “You’ve fallen for your fated love.”

Do you think it’s fate?

How lovely.

What was your response? +4 +4

Kate: …So, what was your response to that?

Roger: I think I said something along the lines of romantic expressions aren’t for me.

Kate: Hehe, I agree.

We looked at each other and laughed. Roger’s brows then furrowed in self-deprecation.

Roger: I’m also scared…of someone like that taking a spot in my heart. Me of all people. Scared of being in love…it’s so not like me, it’s funny.

An outstretched hand touched my hair; the gentle affection in his touch reached my heart.

Roger: But worries like that are trivial. They’re nothing compared to the despair of not living with you. Nothing compared to the despair of not being able to love you as much as I want to.

Kate: …

Despair is always close by.

However, if we let ourselves be scared of it, something important will slip through our fingers.

(That’s why you give despair the finger and live how you want)

(I want to love you…)

It made me happy to know that Roger felt the same as me.

Filled with more than fear of loving this person, I nuzzled Roger’s hand.

Kate: …Roger, please touch me.

Roger: Is that okay?

Kate: Don’t need to be scared of anything, give me all your love.

Taking a sweet smile as a cue, our lips locked together.

Kate: Nnn…nnnn

Roger: Haaa…

Roger removed his glasses and kissed me deeper than before.

And then— 

We slowly fell back onto the bed, our hands woven together.

(I can hear Roger’s heartbeat…)

The moment the heart within that thick chest breaks, I might despair.

The despair was so deep and dark that I couldn’t even imagine it.

But—I still want and love.

Pull in that faint hope and pursue uncertain happiness.

Heart beating.

Living hopelessly.

Passionate, mad, together with our loved one in this world painted with despair.

Roger: Kate. I’ll take you, satisfy you, love you. So…love me too.

Roger smiled.

No matter when, even when in the depths of despair, you’ll smile again—

Kate: Yes, Roger. I’ll love you…with all that I have.

I will protect your smile.

~~ End flashback ~~

This was the love story between me, a Fairytale Keeper, and a double-crossing hunter who lived in darkness.

Neither of us know how our love will end.

However, we seem fine with that.

Because I don’t want—

A fairytale that promises a happy ending.”

His POV | Next

[boyfhee]

no no no, it is not for counselling no never 😒 i would no pray for god when i am not even expecting a seat in college, i and my friends have been thinking since last year to watch mahabharatam actually, so we are doing it now since kalki 2829 AD is based on mahabharatam 😁

i did heard news of re conducting neet so i don't know but all the best if they do it again 🫶🏼 and i think i would be busy too hehe but i do not know if classes would be really hard cause the gap between my last class and my first class would be 8 months (feb 12 was my last class and sept 1st week would be my first 😭)

i am not ready yet but hope you would do well in your classes sweetheart, i know you will do your best 😊 also, my relatives will come tomorrow morning so cant expect me to send you an ask the next whole week 😭 i will miss you bby <33

and being an anon, well i am 🪷 anon for sru (@bywons) 🧸 anon for jiah (@okwonyo) and 🍮 anon (@luvlyhee xuan i am sorry i didn't send you an ask, i was busy with certificate verification ㅠㅠ) that's it i guess 😭😭😭

it is not that hard but so endearing when you guys reply to me, i find it so warm and comforting that you guys spend time to reply to my long ass asks (especially you) soo i respect the energy you guys have to respond to me or any other anon 😭😭😭 love you lots bbygirls <333

— lover club anon <3

ooo yes my dad told me his friend from work went to watch it :O he says it's nice and i did ask my dad if we can go too but he didn't say anything TT today is the hearing of sc for neet .. let's see how it goes >< AND PLEASE this multiple choice thingy has ruined my habit for writing long answers .. i acc need to write a lot before classes started or i'll lose it when it comes to lab work ..

although, i hope when your classes start, you don't take it hard ! getting back into the studying rhythm can be hard after such a long break but take it easy, give yourself some time to accommodate, it's going to work out in your favour :D have fun with ur relatives, i will miss u mwah

i guessed sru's and jiah's ! i saw u talking ab management seats on sru's and was like oh O_O that's lover nonie ! but it's rlly sweet that you're sending these super nice and supportive asks to us >< i will not lie, it is draining sometimes to answer asks but thank you for being patient with us ! it's always good to see you in the ask box. i will not speak for anyone else, but personally you're one of my fav people to talk to even tho you're on anon ( get on insta again ... pleek ) love u too ♥︎

[frozen-heart]

Before the next episode we need to have another talk about Pretty Little Liars Summer School!

First of all, Kelly, my girl, please stay alive!!! WE NEED YOU! I NEED YOU!

Now that we got that out of the way--- here are some thoughts:

The school situation is still sus to me. A friend of mine also thought it was suspicious for all of them to have to go to summer school

The cult of Bloody Rose is a mirror to the church. As we saw with the SpookySpaghetti video. So that means Bloody Rose's cult has an inner circle as well. In that inner circle everyone is working together to test the liars. Everyone brings in a motive or is blindly following. The cults leaders will be at least two people. I could imagine some mothers working together (Mrs Beasley, Mrs Langsberry, Mrs Nobel).

If Wes is part of this Bloody Rose thing I'm dissapointed

Karen or Angela are high on my suspect list for Bloody Rose! The limping and the bloody eye. Mouse's grandmother also said Bloody Rose called from the other side and that she pretended to me Mouse's friend. (How much can we trust her?)

Bloody Rose is definitely more than one person. How did she get down the trail so fast to catch the dog, during Noa's trial? Noa was running down there and Bloody Rose is always seen limping...

Something's up with Greg - Not saying he's part of Bloody Rose, BUT he appears a lot in this season and it's starting to give me a weird feeling

I had a dream last night about Bloody Rose being Rose Waters's secret twin sister o_o

What actually happened to Archie and Clanton??? We just never heard from them again.

I feel bad for Shawn and Jen. You cab dislike Jen all you want, but Noa is just playing with both of their feelings. It's obvious Jen was still into her from the start and wanted more and instead of cutting it out she played right into it, while also being with Shawn. I was genuinely surprised at how cold Noa could be, when she threw Jen out of her house and told her she chose Shawn. The way her face and her voice just turned so cold and hurtful was just wow (Really great scene from her actress). I kind of hope she doesn't end up with either of them in the end.

Either Johnny, Shawn or Greg will probably be killed off next episode. KELLY STAY ALIVE PLS!

Side Note: We need Kelly x Faran! Let Kelly finally be with the liars! T_T

[doggirl08-moved]

Sorry for not posting about like lovey-dovey stuff I have been busy playing unnamed embarrassing video games but I made a friend on there and he's so sweet he calls me Billy since I forgot my username was Billy Lenz I don't enjoy that name so I might change my username to Kylie or something...but besides the point all of his friends like me and I play with him almost every day. Hes so sweet and stuff and we talk through the little chatting system on the game I purposed we should call one day but we both said we would be not talking from nervousness :V! He told his friends about me and they like me from what I have heard. I don't know how crushes work I have only had 2 1/2 in my lifetime ( The 1/2 was me getting stalked. ) and the 2 was from elementary this boy named Ethan, a red head ( All I remember ) liked me he gave me chocolates and my mom thought is was the cutest thing then in 5th a boy named Mason we both wore galaxy hoodies and he talked about whats funny the unnamed game I'm playing right now I didn't know a thing about it but I liked him so I pretended and went along with it. He accidentally knocked the wind out of me and when school ended turns out he liked me he was cool. Anywho I am not one for online dating out of fear O_O but if it happens it happens ; D!

[lesbiancharliedalton]

also the fact i was the one who was always making sex jokes/comments like constantly i was the pervert of the friend group but i was like. actively repulsed by the idea of heterosexual sex. like i NEVER wanted to have sex in my life the very idea was revolting to me but yet all i did was act like. freakish about it. o_O i love that fucking face. and like i said like. i knew what being a lesbian was but i had only ever heard it discussed in negative contexts including from like. family/adjacent people (not my parents) who would like. see a butch lesbian in a magazine and say "don't be like that.........." which is an EXTREMELY vivid memory i have from when i was young LOL. like i VIVIDLY remember being told to not be Like That. i wonder why it stuck with me for so long

i've never really talked about that bc i am allowed to have nuanced opinions abt the people in my life who are like family or whatever and she's different now when it comes to that but that was the environment i grew up in.... like that was the norm. lesbian was an insult and gross and ugly. and plus i thought i hated girls bc they made me feel insecure and weird. i only liked to hang around boys who didn't make me feel insecure or weird at all........................ like it just was not a possibility in my mind. i could NOT be that.

[blindrapture]

MONDAY JUNE 27TH, 2011 (Secret Friend)

6:38 AM Dream was of Donnie as a zombie. Her sickness took over her bloodstream and.. gah, it was awful things, journal. Awful things. I’ve gotta find her some medicine.

7:12 AM Someone else is out here. It’s Bill. He looks paranoid.

7:13 AM I just scared the shit out of him. He says he sneaks out every morning because his parents won’t let him out of their sight when they’re awake and it’s too risky to go out at night. I told him I was looking for medicine for Donnie; he said he knows where I can find some. Shit. o_o

7:37 AM Well, I’ll be damned. A black market pharmacy in an alleyway nobody’d ever notice. Jack-fuckin’-pot, man.

7:40 AM I’ve stuffed a bunch of various medicines in my coat pockets and as many as I could into my hat. ..Bill’s talking. Transcribing! “You were asking a lot of good questions yesterday. About Rogers and those things. Rogers knew a lot, but my parents are strict about a lot of things. “Rogers had.. this thing. This ‘secret friend’ he’d talk about. We didn’t want him talking to him, though, because this secret friend of his was nothing but trouble. Maybe you’ve met him, too. He’s a little boy. Rogers said the boy knew a lot of nursery rhymes. But the boy was always cold, always a little too cold. He looked like he had just been thawed out of, like.. a block of ice or something. Except he looked like that every time we saw him.” I know exactly who he’s talking about. o__o “The first time we saw the secret friend, Rogers woke us up in the middle of the night. The first night. The first night of all of this. The boy had been knocking on the back door, asking to be let in, but only Rogers heard him. So he went and let him in and then woke us up. Before that, everything was completely normal, everything. Like I said, it was the first night. Heh.. I guess you could say that boy was an omen.”

Bill seems pretty shaken about this. I asked what happened next. “We asked the boy a lot of things, but he’d just either complain about the cold or recite a nursery rhyme. After about ten minutes of this, we lost track of him and he was just gone. Then our neighbours got killed by those spider-like cat things, and the rest is.. yeah. Hectic. “We saw him a couple other times, always before something really bad happened. But Rogers talked about him a lot. He was his ‘secret friend.’ Have.. you seen him? The secret friend?” Told him I have. Told him about seeing him in Spain. “He’s not a real human child, that much is clear. He’s one of them.” I asked about that. About them. “Rogers called them ‘eldritch abominations.’ But that wasn’t their name; it was him trying to describe them. He told me about them once. He told me that ‘eldritch’ was a very old word. It meant ‘strange, uncanny, eerie.’ He said, when you get right down to it, almost everything out there’s an eldritch abomination. But there were particular ones. There were things he’d call something else. Particular things. Not zombies or anything, those were just eldritch things. But no, things like his secret friend, like those birds we kept seeing, like the Operator in that one internet series about the entries.” ..Marble Hornets. “Yeah, Rogers loved things like that. That Marble Hornets thing, he’d show me it every week, and there’d be a new one. The man in those videos, the Operator, it looked very real, but Rogers said it was a fake. He said the real man is much more terrifying. He tried to explain it to me, but I didn’t quite get it then. I can remember bits of what he told me. He said to imagine the monster you were most afraid of, and to imagine something a hundred times as scary. He said that wasn’t even half as scary as the real man could be. As all these things can be.”

I asked if Rogers knew about these things like the Operator before this apocalypse happened. “Oh no. Not definitely, but Rogers suspected. He had this suspicion that all these monsters and terrors we see in horror movies and stories had to come from somewhere. He said a lot of them weren’t that scary— the thing from The Grudge, for instance— but there were a good number that were. Rogers would watch all these horror films and he’d analyze them, and he’d write all these papers. He really knew what he was doing.” I asked if he remembers much about the papers. “No. But, we still have the papers. Rogers brought them with him. He wrote down a list of the.. things. The important ones. He kept the paper with him to let us know when we’ve hit a creature we’d have to avoid at all costs.” About that name… “Oh yes! The name. ..I actually don’t remember.” Son of a dick. “Sorry! I’m sorry. It should be on those papers, though. They’re back at the inn. I can get them for you and show you them tomorrow morning, if you’d like.” I said that’d be perfect.

9:01 AM I gave Donnie some pills. The label just said “Cold.”

11:39 AM Donnie says she feels better already! :D

1:27 PM Innkeeper’s calling for the daily headcount/meeting.

2:00 PM ..we’re missing more people than we should be. We should only be one down from yesterday. We’re three down. fffff, and it’s children we’re missing. .___.;; The innkeeper also said she’s extending the curfew. Eight o’ clock tonight, since the Massacrer seems to be interested in killing us indoors and out.

4:38 PM Quiet day today. X|O|X O|O|O X|X| Donnie’s awesome. .W.

6:42 PM NOISE MASSACRER?

7:01 PM We’ve all been looking around for twenty minutes now; we can’t find what the noise was.

7:06 PM SCREAM

7:07 PM It came from back here, down this alley. There’s a woman. She oh

7:10 PM It was a man. Asian man. We can tell only from the fact that he’s absent from the headcount. His body is in tatters, absolutely ripped to shreds. His head.. he doesn’t even have a face anymore. On the wall next to the bloodbath, someone’s written MASSACRER IS NEXT It sounds like we’ve got a vigilante here.

8:43 PM It makes you wonder who’s gonna die next. Really puts you on-edge, doesn’t it? o_e I’m keeping a close eye on Donnie. And myself.

9:26 PM Someone’s shouting in the hall. I get the feeling yep Heard “He’s dead.”

9:30 PM This time, it was another man. First suspicion was that he was the Massacrer, but he wasn’t torn to shreds or anything. So it was probably the Massacrer that did him in. Motherfucker, this is tense.

10:02 PM Donnie wants to try to get some sleep tonight. I’m inclined to agree.

11:00 PM fhfsd

11:03 PM someone there was someone in our room who was that

11:08 PM Gah, I don’t know if I’ll ever sleep.

11:11 PM I WISH I COULD SLEEP

(Attached: “The Ruin is an odd case. A bit of a loner, but not as much of one as Salmacis is; he at least communicates with the rest of us. He specializes in freezing things and isolating his targets. He doesn’t even seem to get anything out of it, since they all die anyway. Maybe that’s his tragedy. He’s just a little boy, forever a little boy, lost without his parents in a world of strangers, discovering his own abilities and finding his abilities are why he’ll never have friends. Shame about Rogers, then.”)

[PREV LOG] [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [NEXT LOG]

[dragongirl642]

I really love your writing and noticed your asks are open (i think). And, I checked your masterlist and didn't see RE8 listed as a universe you write for, so you can ignore this if you want. But, could I request Heisenberg, Donna, and Lady Dimitrescu reacting to a male dragon-shifter reader who has decided to make the character's residence their hoard, and as such, going to extreme lengths to protect them and the residence?

OOOHHH 😮😳 How did you know dragons (and by extent dragon shifters) are my favourite things in the whole wide world!!!!!

As a treat, you get all four of the Lords' reactions. 😎

For extra drama, the dragon-shifter (you) basically crash land nearby (after a loooooonnnngggg flight) and decide to take up residence in the nearest abode while you rest, and end up getting comfortable and liking the area so decide to stay.

You have a full human form, fully dragon form, and an in-between form.

Also, you have like saintly levels of patience.

Heisenberg

It takes him a minute of staring to figure out that the giant dragon in the factory, is not a hallucination, induced by either the drinking he was doing the night prior, or a trick of Mother Miranda's trying to destabilize him mentally.

However this quickly turns into a lot of yelling "what the F are you doing in my factory!" and "What the F are you!" while chucking metal at you.

You melt the more dangerous pieces and yell at him to "Cease this nonsense! You can't hurt me like this."

Heisenberg.exe has stopped working.

He's partially re-evaluating his life like...did I just get sassed by a giant lizard.

You take the initiative to tell the small angry man telekinetically chucking metal around to chill. "Listen, I'm just going to rest here a few days then leave. You leave me alone, and I won't Incinerate you."

He quickly weighs up how much he doesn't want you here vs how much it will piss Mother Miranda off if he uses the giant dragon crash landing in his factory as an excuse to do absolutely nothing for her.

He's a bit annoyed about you taking up all the room by the forges so he can't make new soldats but...

Hate for Miranda wins!

He actually uses this as an excuse in his next report and Mother Miranda comes to 'get rid of the problem herself since Heisenberg cannot'...you almost incinerated her and she checked out. (He's putting that down as one of the best days of his life).

Since he now has nothing better to do he either leans on a nearby balcony or stands on a floating gear and starts trying to get your attention.

Will ask you everything from your name and where you came from to your favourite colour and if you have a specific favourite scale on your body.

You're distrustful and annoyed at first but soon warm up to this obviously lonely man.

You get so comfortable you decide you just might never leave.

The first time you feel comfortable enough to shift back to your human form Heisenberg is like (o_o) hot person! Two for one deal, annoying Mother Miranda plus Eye Candy!!!!

Makes a joke about having you turn into your dragon form again so he can keep making excuses to Mother Miranda. Which gets you curious and you ask about her, and he explains about the cadou, the experiments, and what she did to him.

He will make a bunk for you, so he can get back to work and you can stay near the heat of the forges, (absorbing the energy from the flames speeds up recovery and/or keeps you charged at 100% so you're always ready to burn a b1tch...specifically Miranda).

You both talk about whatever while he works. Lots of late night chats. One time he accidentally doused the forges and you just blew into the chamber and they re-lit immediately. (Mechanical Heart Eyes)

Since you start considering the entire factory to be your hoard, sometimes you claim a random object as your specific favourite piece for the day, maybe one of his tools or a specific piece of scrap. If he needs to use it, you won't let him and a small argument can be had. A solution is soon found though, you can't have a conflict of interest if your favourite item is him.

When you protect him, he's super flattered and hypes you up.

Cue him on the sides cheering you on.

If you two have started dating he will definitely yell "that's my boyfriend!" and gush about you to whoever happens to be standing next to him. (Bonus points if it's any of the other Lords. Especially Miranda, she is dying!)

Definitely makes a sign saying 'Beware of Dragon' to put on the fence.

Sometimes you jump to his defence even when he's in the middle of handling the threat. He gets huffy, saying he can take care of himself. You respond by telling him you won't let anything harm what's yours and once again, Heisenberg.exe is experiencing an error.

Alcina Dimitrescu

She is absolutely dismayed and angry at the giant lizard that barged its way through the doors and took up residency in her hall. It's tracking in mud and snow, burned the curtains, and took a good chunk of the wall, (letting in the cold).

Her daughters can't handle the cold, damn you!

Tries to fight you...fails. Turns out she's not immune to incineration and loses quite a few limbs (they grow back...eventually).

When she sees you shift to your human form, she's doubly-incensed...not only did you barge into her home but your also a D I S G U S T I N G M A N T H I N G !

You shift back whenever she tries to kill you so eventually she just gives up. (According to her she's waiting for the right opportunity NOT giving up.)

Wants to kill you, calls Mother Miranda for help and well, the same thing happens if you had crashed in the factory...she checks out!

Refuses to leave the castle for any reason, she's not leaving you along with her daughters.

Resigns herself to yelling insults at you from the balcony.

You respond in kind and it slowly devolves into a competition to come up with the most creative insults.

Your dragon form radiates heat...like...a lot. (Even counteracting the cold coming through the hole in the wall, which you attempted to fix.) This of course attracts the Dimitrescu daughters to the hall (against their mother's will).

If Alcina sees you lying their in dragon from, her three hive-mind children chattering away happily with you encouraging their curiosity, (Bela is half-asleep by your side, Daniela is complimenting your claws and asking about your bone structure, while Cassandra proudly proclaims her mother's are better than yours), she partly reconsiders her stance on you being a filthy, horrible, disgusting lizard man thing to just a filthy lizard man thing.

Seriously, your filthy, take a bath.

You quite enjoy all the little luxuries that can be found in the castle and decide to stay. Alcina almost shreds her hat in exasperation.

You get more comfortable and she starts to tolerate your presence, although she will take a swipe at you if she thinks she has a chance at killing you in your human form.

Jokes on her you can partially change and still fit through the hallways.

You never told her you've claimed the castle and the Dimitrescu family as your hoard but she does notice you being oddly friendly to her and she is "suspicious!"

You've met a few vampires and have a few suggestions for a more sustainable food source (buying blood donations from villagers instead of killing them). She's skeptical but considers it.

The first time you defend her is actually against Mother Miranda...over the phone. You have sharp hearing...and you don't like what you're hearing.

She's both flattered you would defend her so, and disgusted with herself for accepting a man thing's help.

When she realises she likes having you around, she starts to rationalise to herself that you're not just any man thing, you're her dragon man thing and therefore okay.

Gets more comfortable with leaving you with her daughters. You treat them well and keep them entertained?! That's a free babysitter if ever she's seen one.

When she sees the more extreme lengths you will go to protect the castle and her family, she is impressed and flattered and a little scared, and acts like it was her idea to have you stay.

"Oh, haven't you heard, that's the Dimitrescu Dragon."

Definitely rubs it in Heisenberg's face that she has a dragon and he doesn't.

Donna Beneviento

What are you!?!?!

To protect Donna, Angie is ready to fight you or die trying!

Just kind off avoids you and sends the pollen at you to make you leave.

The only one of the four Lords most likely to actually defeat you.

When you speak though, telling her to "release (your) mind, witch, or (you'll) incinerate everything", she's surprised and scared enough to actually do so.

Asks if you'll be her friend. Angie is cussing you out.

You see how scared and lonely she is and just *adoption mode activated*.

You only need to rest a few days, why not do so on friendly terms with your host. (keep telling yourself that).

It takes a day for you to shift to human form, partially because you don't want to have your measurements taken because Donna wants to make you a giant bonnet, (You reason it's a waste of resources, you'll only be here a short while).

Jokes on you, this is your home now.

You've never hoarded dolls before, but there's a first time for everything.

You will spend most of your time in human form since your dragon form kinda scares her.

Even though she's still scared of it, Donna does find your dragon form interesting and will ask to sketch you (from a distance...no fire please).

Make various over-exaggerated poses and joke about "draw me like one of your french girls" and she will laugh, (even though she doesn't get the joke).

She makes a plush doll of you. It turns inside out to shift between human and dragon.

The first time you protect her, she's scared. The flames take her straight back to her childhood, she's crying and she hides. You shift back to human form very quickly and find her, holding her close and apologising for scaring her over and over.

Will tear a man apart in human form to avoid this (or almost human form).

She slowly works up to being comfortable in your dragon form, the first time she falls asleep against your side is a good day.

You start insisting on accompanying her to meetings and escorting her whenever she has to meet another Lord. They start talking sh1t, they get hit (or burned...you let Donna choose).

Angie cheers you on.

Salvatore Moreau

He is terrified of you when you first show up.

You basically tear your way into the mines for shelter and he is frantically plugging the entrance to his home with the enzyme to hide.

Calls for "mother" to save him and that's how you find him.

You see this small deformed fish man crying in the mine and think, "i'm not gonna ask."

You settle in the slightly larger chamber and just lie down for a rest.

He soon realises your not going to attack him and ventures out to stare at you. He just keeps staring at you for like an uncomfortably long time, peeking around a doorway.

Eventual you snap and ask him to stop staring.

He slowly comes out of hiding and starts asking the basics.

"You can talk?" "Who are you?" "Why are you here?"

Seeing no reason not to, you tiredly answer all his questions.

Hearing about your long journey has him curiously asking about the places you've been to.

He quickly figures out you must have some sort of human form since you end up on the topics of favourite foods or movies and your favourites are all distinctly human. (He's the fastest at figuring this out and the least surprised when you shift).

Terrifying (hideous) creature going through an unnerving transformation into a humanoid form...he can relate. Although he's slightly jealous of how 'normal' you look when you shift to human form.

You two have a movie night where he proudly shows of his collection. It is in the middle of him analysing the context of THAT ONE SCENE that you decide, Yes...This one is mine.

The entire reservoir and mine is your territory and if anything comes anywhere near it they will be ash in 30 seconds.

When you protect him from danger, he's shocked that someone cares enough about him to f-ing incinerate a lycan for even looking at him weirdly.

You act like its natural and eventually he starts to get used to you.

Has self doubt and questions your motives...you tell him he's worth it or that he's your jewel.

C O N F I D E N C E B O O S T

Starts talking back to the other Lords when they insult him. It's easy with you hovering menacingly behind him, veins glowing with barely contained R A G E.

One source of friction however, is the fact that he doesn't like that you keep trying to kill Mother Miranda and he will latch onto you sobbing until you agree to spare her (for now...you'll get her when he's not around).

However, the longer you two know each other, the more self-confidence he gains and the more you talk through what Mother Miranda did to him and why he deserves better, (pointing out her manipulation, analyses whether she's ever 'cared' about him, etc...), the less bothered he gets. (Give it a few years, he'll cheer you on alongside Heisenberg).

Bonus:

The second you see Mother Miranda...it is on sight. (Especially if you know what she did to the Lords).

Cue you shifting to dragon form and preparing to unleash a volley of flame, "I smell the blood of children on you."

You may be comfortable(ish) with the actions of your housemate but you have STANDARDS.

Alright 😊 Hoped you like these headcanons, jaychirps. They were really fun to write and grew quite a bit. 😅

(I feel like Moreau's a bit ooc but I don't know enough about him to dispute that claim....)

Oh and p.s. ... asks are open.

[choibinn3]

GET IT TOGETHER, JUNGWON!!

[ four. O_o Yang Jungwonnie ]

series masterlist

⋆·˚ ༘ * in which jungwon had meant for that love letter to go to yeri, and not you—her bff. for some reason though, he finds that with each moment he spends together with you he's closer and closer to forgetting all about that damn letter.

luv note - chloe moriondo

WRITTEN PORTION. 1.9k words

btw remember that second hand embarrassment tag?? yeahh....

ps. this is bad, very, very bad and cheesy so be warned (its meant to be, but youll still feel pain lol)

—

student council room.

Jungwon could feel his hands clamming up, but he instead urged himself to just swallow down his nerves. For the past week he thought the biggest worry he had was his parents and Student Council work.

Not potentially losing friendships and breaking your heart.

"Jungwon? Are you still there?" your voice asked. It was slightly muffled by the door, but still distinct. "I had to tell Hyuka to go back without me."

You, he remembered. He had to fix this. He had known you since you were both in kindergarten, incidentally somehow being in the same classes up until High School. Still, he didn't know you though.

You were closer than acquaintances, maybe a little less than friends, and definitely not more than people with mutual friends. With everything that had been happening since the Student Council election, he had assumed he'd get closer to you naturally. It just never happened though, but he enjoyed your company when he could.

Yeri on the other hand, he was connected with. Being both Student Council President and Vice President meant they worked together often, and he found himself being drawn to her sweetness. He enjoyed their dynamic and their current friendship.

The way they worked complemented each other, and she always found a way to make him smile—it seemed as though her kindness and generosity knew no bounds. Plus, she related to him in a way none of his other friends did.

Late, after class and after hours, they'd both talk casually while doing paperwork. Jungwon's parents were hardheaded and stubborn people, wanting the best for him and yet stressing him out. They were the whole reason he ran for President in the first place.

He couldn't find it in himself to hate them though.

Yeri was the same, and she supported him throughout all the difficult times he went through because of them. She was soft, so level headed, fiercely loyal, and unbelievably pretty.

They had been partners and friends for a little over a month, and Jungwon was sure he wanted to at least try with her. It was young, new and unfurling feelings, it was something he wanted to find out.

Your energetic personality was charming, but that was all it was. It didn't strike his heart in any particular way. Jungwon was almost 100% sure there was no way Yeri would ever date him after this, but he needed to prioritize your feelings currently.

He just hoped Yeri and him could still be friends afterwards though—because being a liar was the one thing Jungwon wasn't.

"Yeah," he called out, "still here. You can just come back in now."

He watched as you nervously peeled back the sliding door of the clubroom, inching inside to peer at him. You walked closer to stand in front of him, and Jungwon smiled in hopes of easing your anxiousness.

You threw one back, although a bit hesitantly. "Jungwon," you started, twiddling with your fingers. He simply watched—wanting to at least let you talk a bit. Crushing your feelings now would be nothing but brutal. "Honestly, I was really surprised with the letter. Do you... remember back in 3rd grade?"

"No? I'm sorry, I'm not good with memories from Elementary School," the doe-eyed boy replied. He was telling the truth, grade school felt like ages ago and he just hasn't had the time to reminisce on childhood memories.

You held your hands up in a defensive manner. "That's fine! Um, you like... Uhh, how do I say this..." You made gestures with your figures, hoping to convey it to him in one way or another. God, this was dumb.

Jungwon observed silently as you laughed at your own stuttering. Endearing, came to mind. That was cute.

In the Council Room and in class, you were always particularly enthusiastic and excitable. Seeing you bashful was a very different side of you for the black-haired boy.

"I sent you my own love letter once. Like, a long, long time ago, and you sort of rejected me? I think."

"You think?" The boy held back a laugh, but quickly composed himself. He wasn't laughing maliciously, just... how could you be unsure of such a thing? "I'm sorry, but I still don't remember."

"Yeah, that's fine!" You nodded, embarrassed from his almost-chuckle. You did not want to seem like an idiot in front of him today. "Actually, I don't remember much either, but you didn't reply to it."

Jungwon gazed at your brows furrowed from trying to think of more words to say, and suddenly he felt a tonne of guilt fall onto him. His expression grew solemn.

Quick, get it over with, before this would get any worse.

"Look, YN—"

He had to shut his mouth almost immediately.

"What I'm trying to say is—!" You took a deep breath. "I've liked you since then! Since years, and years ago," you finally blurted, closing your eyes as to not see his reaction.

"You're the only one I've ever felt this way towards. I thought once I grew up this warmth would just... go away, but it hasn't and I don't think it will. I was honestly going to just swallow it all down hoping I'd get over it before we graduate, but I couldn't. My feelings were overflowing—I just found myself finding more things about I liked about you instead."

Your goal today was to not embarrass yourself, but to hastily tell him you liked him too before sprinting away. It seemed as though nothing was going to plan so far, for neither of you, actually.

Jungwon was left unable to speak from your surprising declaration. You took that as a sign to continue. Whatever happened next was something for future you to panic over.

"I like your dimples, that smile you make when you're passing by strangers in the hallway, and the way your hair falls when you comb through it. You're admirable in everything you do, truly. The way you help underclassmen, the way you always make sure to assist teachers during your free periods, and how you never seem to complain or get frustrated when we make mistakes."

You had nurtured your feelings for what felt like forever. Even when you were technically rejected back then, and even now. At first, you thought that he would be a passing crush from when you were a kid—but he wasn't. He grew into his own so much so that you found yourself admiring his leadership, compassion and thoughtfulness with each day you watched him.

"I like how mature you are, how you still find the time to care for your friends even with Student Council work, the natural way you light up any room you walk into, how I could honestly hear your voice talk for hours on end, how even though we haven't spoken much you still remember my favorite color from when I told you during introductions, I'm rambling gahh, just—all of it! I like all of it, everything about you!"

Everyday of harboring your secret affections for the boy consisted of soft glances during his speeches, wishes to be able to encase his hand within yours to interlock your fingers under the table during meetings, and wantings to be more than what you were to him. It was alright for a while, but it had started to become painful.

All crushes are painful, you told yourself in 5th grade, watching him start to receive confessions from your classmates.

"—I like you! I've liked you since the 3rd grade, and so I accept! I really, really want to be with you Yang Jungwon. Please take care of me!"

They were all painful, but you were given the chance to make yours not. To make your feelings real and acknowledged, to bare yourself in front of him like a vivisection—and you were taking it. Even when you were practically trembling from the embarrassment.

Jungwon was stilled from the shock. Heeseung had already told him of your long held feelings, but hearing it from your mouth while you had your eyes shut tight made him flustered.

How were you able to do that so shamelessly? To be so vulnerable and weak in front of someone? He had to write a whole letter, albeit a bit poorly, and somehow you were able to say it all.

He's received confessions before, felt those kind of feelings, but he wouldn't have been able to yell out those sort of things ever—no matter how strong his feelings were. You were dangerously bold, he thought.

Bold enough to send a bright heat to overtake his cheeks.

You looked up finally after mustering enough courage from his lack of speaking, only to find yourself blinking at a red-faced Jungwon. Oh my God, he's blushing...! YOU did that.

The both of you stood there for a while, thinking the same thought of what is even happening? Is this real, or have I just been in a daze for the past few days? Jungwon's eyes were comically wide and his mouth was gaping, but he couldn't find it in himself to close it.

The thought made you gain confidence all of a sudden, finding the opportunity to do something you had always wanted to do. Quickly and stealthily, you went onto your tippy toes—

and kissed him on the cheek.

Jungwon felt your lips on the smooth expanse of his skin, and smelt your scent from the intimate proximity. It was a chaste gesture, almost no where close to his lips at all, but he heard his heart beating against his ribcage nonetheless. It thrummed in his ears like a drum, and he wanted to whisper for it to stop.

For it to not be swayed so easily.

It was the innocence of such a thing that got to him. Not once had Jungwon held hands, kissed, or even confessed to someone up until now. Of course, you suddenly getting so close and pecking him with your hands balled up would send his heart into a flurry.

The usually put together Student Council President in front of you let out a strangled noise from the back of his throat, the tips of his ears and face becoming rosier. His throat was closing up, God, why was his throat closing up? Not now, please. He couldn't even remember what he was meant to be saying.

You smiled at him, happy to be rendering him to such a state. It was one of the most impulsive things you've done up to date, but you couldn't find yourself regretting it.

This was what those coming of age dramas on TV were describing—it was the start of one of those cheesy, really bad High School romances. Fervent, mushy, uncertain, but so tender it made your heart ache for hours even after watching.

As you retreated slowly, he caught a glimpse of your bright eyes, downcast lashes, and—holy shit you were so close. He could see the particular way you curled your lips.

He had to hold his breath.

Jungwon watched as your expression morphed into one of slight mischievousness, and an inkling of something softer, before you dashed out the sliding doors—

"Wait!

The sudden motion made him gain his words back, but you were already through the hallways with your hand on your bag.

—leaving him with nothing but the memory and the patter of your footsteps. So fast, so much speed, were you in track? The past few seconds were nothing but a blur of confusion and feelings he didn't want felt.

What just... What just happened?

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TLDR (but whyy :( pls read it); jungwon goes to do take backsies on his confession, u kiss his cheek, he goes coocoo bananas!!!

TAGLIST; @lumixen @ghjasksdk @atinyyylove @jjikyuu @yjwooon @ncityy04 @tyunni @littlewolfieposts @xoxojayd3n @rosiechaengz @sunshine-skz @youreverydayzebra @hobistigma @plshhhhhhh @lokideadontheinside @alo-ehas @milkycloudtyg @bangtopia

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i wanted to emphasize how new his feelings for yeri :] if u could guess what this could mean. alsoooo... did u notice how fast this went ? i intended it to be rushed and "in the moment" like it was in the scene hehe

[yangsrose]

Hey can you make an NCT 127 reaction when you prank them by calling them a "friend" on a phone call even tho you both are dating :) I saw this on tiktok hahaha

Btw Thank You and have a Good Day!

i love this idea so much adhkgh 

Taeil

He would be minding his own business until he heard “Oh yeah I’m with a friend right now” 

I don’t think it would register at first but then later it would click in his mind and he would just stare at you like “o_O wdym friend”

He would probably get all pouty and would ask you why you called him your friend when he was clearly your boyfriend

After you told him it was a prank he would laugh along and bring it up at random times in the future just for the fun of it kabjfn

Johnny

Johnny would be sitting next to you doing something like playing a game on his phone, listening to your conversation in bits and pieces. 

After he hear you call him as your friend he would literally stop everything he was doing and would look at you with his eyebrow raised

He would probably keep staring at you throughout the entire call and would give you an expectant look after you cut the call

Once you told him it was a prank he would pretend to get hurt and ignore you but then would start laughing after he saw your confused look 

totally does not plan to use that same prank with you in the future

Taeyong

Taeyong would get so hurt and would be so confused akjdbfn

He would just sit there and go “Me??? Friend???”

Once you end the call he would be so pouty

After you explained to him that it was a prank he would finally stop pouting but would still pretend to be mad at you just for the fun of it kadnf

Yuta

As soon as you said “I’m with a friend” Yuta would start looking around because he does not believe that you are talking about him

Points to himself and raises his eyebrows because wdym friend

Once you end the call he would just be staring at you until you gave him and explanation as to why you called him a friend

Once you did he would roll his eyes and would laugh but not before plotting to get you back >:)

Doyoung

Doyoung would be so confused akjbf

As soon as he heard “I’m with a friend” he’d think that you did something like lie to them or ditch a friend to hang out with him

But then it would click in his mind later and he would be even more confused 

“Why did you call me a friend :(( i’m more than a friend right?” 

You’d have to reassure him that it was just a prank and that you didn’t mean anything by it

I feel like he would playfully pout at you but then would use it against you to get back at you

“Why should I give you cuddles? I’m just your friend right?”

Jaehyun

I feel like Jaehyun would just look at you until you were to explain to him what you meant akbjfn

Like after you said “I’m with a friend” he would look at you and mouth “Friend?” while giving you an expectant smile

After the call ended he would probably just sit there without saying anything pretending that it didn’t affect him all while pouting

Once you told him why you did that he would pretend to be mad at you but then give you a hug to let you know that he was just joking with you

WinWin

WinWin would just give you an extremely confused look

He would have that same face until you were done with that call and then after you ended it he would go “Friend?!”

Would definitely tease you about it by referring to you as his friend as well

Jungwoo

Jungwoo would just act so extra

“Wdym friend w d y m”

He would pout so much while looking at you 

And then after you apologised he would joke around by calling you his friend at all times kajdf

Mark

I don’t think Mark would understand at first 

He would be half listening to you conversation and then a few minutes after you ended the call he would go “wait did you just call me your friend”

I don’t think he would be too affected by it ajdfh

He would probably just laugh it off and go on with his day but would jokingly bring it up

Haechan

He would be soooo dramatic

Literally he would be lying on the ground clutching his chest

After you ended the phone call he would probably go “My life has been ruined I’ve been friend zoned by my s/o”

He would literally never let you down unless you make it up to him

[yoimix]

haikyuu!! as types of best friends.

➼ ft. hinata, sugawara, bokuto, osamu+atsumu.

➼ playlist. talk too much - coin, higher - banks, romanticism - mrs green apple, me and my friends - james vincent mcmorrow

➼ a/n. these have light bff2l undertones hhn i love that trope, pls forgive me. </3 + there’s some timeskip spoilers for atsumu & osamu’s part.

❀ hinata :-

i wish the childhood best friends trope a very good evening.

no one’s better than hinata at making friends, even if you met after he spiked a ball into your face. you’re childhood best friends too !! so imagine being a child and having to pick up this goofball by the scruff, who has the audacity to ask you to play with him after giving you a scratched up forehead and teary eyes from a ball to the face. but, like, you were the one who said yes so it’s on you :-)

sometimes you bicker but it’s ok bc he would literally go to the ends of the earth for you if you asked. no kidding. he hates sitting still anyway so he’ll just gravitate towards where you are like you’re the sun. also gets you taiyaki in the evenings but climbs in through your window instead of using the front door like a normal person. (he has too much energy </3) if you hear someone yelling your name outside your window and ranting about volleyball games, you know who it is.

ok when he makes you mad with his bullheadedness, you'll be complaining with kageyama (who agrees vehemently) and hinata gets pissy bc you get along a little too well when you're throwing insults about him. (he's not jealous, no, of course not.) but.. how long can you stay mad at this sunshine child anyway?? you'll be pretending you never got mad at all within a few hours and go back to joking around.

he gets distracted if you're watching a match sometimes (bokuto somehow got it into his head that he needs to show off in front of you) so you got banned from watching. he overcomes it later on so you can cheer him on in his jersey too <3

gives you ALL his attention when you talk or even complain about your life. he reacts a lot to whatever you have to say so you have to pretend there aren’t people behind you glaring at hinata for having the same decibel sound level as a jet engine.

you have matching keychains you bought at a local fair !!! (you got a pochacco one for hinata but it’s super worn out by now so he keeps it in his wallet instead.) 

he has not won a single multiplayer video game against you (*cough cough* mario kart *cough*) and you don’t even have to be good at it. if you call him a loser, he’ll lose even harder. gets unnecessarily mad at just dance and you have to calm him down.

... you’ve probably kissed bc the two of you (mostly him) were too eager for a first kiss and you got fed up with his pubescent ramblings and ended up kissing him. and then had an early mid-life crisis bc you guys are definitely just friends. (unless.. unless he doesn’t think that way.. surprise surprise 😳) also he's.. kind of bad for make out practice... it’s like kissing a month old puppy.. sorry :/. if you happen to make a lot of offhand comments and tease him about his kissing skills, he WILL turn tomato red and argue in gibberish. only do that in private bc the rest of the world thinks you’re sickeningly cute together >:(

overall, your best friend is a ball of sunshine (who occasionally pisses you off) and your #1 motivation to get out of bed. it's mostly bc he's somehow there to get you out of bed though you've repeatedly told him to not climb in through your window. at least the sun is smiling upon you every day <3

❀ sugawara :-

being best friends with him is such a secure relation !! 

he’s your soft place to fall but also would provide gentle (not so gentle) reminders for your wellbeing (STUDY!!! WATER!!!! BREAKFAST!!). doesn’t get mad when you say you skipped breakfast but gives you this look of disappointment which is 100x more effective. still gets a granola bar for you though. also he literally carries bandaids for u and he’s been doing that since second grade bc you fell off the swing ONCE. you know, just in case. if you’re an accident-prone hazard to society, you’re in luck. 

BEST HUGS especially if you had a rough day and want to sob into his shoulder. if u damage his $85 hoodie tho, he will make u do his laundry and also buy snacks for him. but like he is so soft (his skin is SUPER soft bc he actually follows a skincare routine now) and cuddly like a teddy bear, it's a small price to pay for salvation.

he will hype you up for anything you do !!!! new outfit? offers to be your personal photographer. scored an A+? will treat u to your fav ice-cream. new job? will tell everyone just how proud he is. 

ALWAYS shares the last bite with you and smiles to himself when you eat it so contented. also!!! hanging out at cafes and taking cute pictures is a must <3 even though you’re not dating, you’ll have photos together that make you look a real couple which ensue teasing from daichi and asahi and admiration/jealousy from noya and tanaka. also he gets weirdly protective of you around the team (i’m looking at the moron quartet) and you have to pull the “koushi you’re not my mom” card. it really strikes a chord with him when you say that out loud.

will egg your ex's house with you if you say the word. somehow gets more pissed than you at your ex (if they're a shitty one). it's kind of scary when he's mad too so.... good luck calming him down. he's also really good at sarcastic trash talk so if you happen to meet your ex on the street... send prayers for their self-esteem.

you don't really fight often but if you happen to disagree, he'll go about it in a pretty mature way and talk it out. if you pick a fight on purpose, he'll catch on to it and either tickle you (excessively) or flick your forehead as punishment for trying to rile him up. it’s impossible to prank him!!!!! it’s like he’s got a sixth sense or something so you might as well give up on anything of the sort. 

you said you want to get a dog (or cat) with him in the near future and he somehow equated that to having children. turned bright red and started saying it’s too soon to be thinking of that while you had daichi stop you from smacking some sense into your overly imaginative best friend. (i mean, you do need to live together if you want to raise a pet sooo)

his lockscreen is a picture of the two of you so a lot of people who try to hit on him take the hint quick. he says it’s unintentional but you know he can be terribly scheming at times. if you say something like “why don’t you date me for real, coward” he will malfunction and not be able to look you in the eye. (“don’t joke around, y/n” “what if i’m not” “it kind of feels illegal to date you” “what do you mean?!💢”)

anyway you are one lucky mf if you have sugawara koushi as your best friend even if there are both ups and downs (mostly ups). having someone care for you so blatantly certainly makes the question of romance arise but you’re content with the most loving best friend ever.

❀ bokuto :-

you guys are the “two best friends in a room, we might kiss” “yes we will” “what” type of best friends PLS

it doesn’t matter what stage of life you met him, it’ll feel like you’ve been best friends since the beginning of time.

it’s just so easy to make friends with this airhead and by god’s gift, you cannot physically get annoyed at this man. sometimes his friends will complain about him being forgetful or blunt but you’re just there like. yeah. that’s bokuto. love him for it. (you seem to have a lot of patience.)

he probably gets into trouble with authority unwittingly, so save your weekends to sweet talk his way out after accidentally implying the coach has a weak mindset. afterwards, you go get ice cream or something and hang out at the dog park to forget it happened. (the amount of second hand embarrassment bokuto has given you though... you need some hard drugs to forget all of it.) 

you probably make a lot of friends through him in high school/college but at the end of the day, it’s just you and him and sometimes akaashi making sure you guys are alive. if you guys are alone together on a friday night, you’ll still be having fun!! very often, it takes shape as karaoke :-) bokuto thinks he’s really great at rapping for some reason (he’s not) so cue you screaming the lyrics in an attempt to ruin your part of the song equally. also he always sets the key wrong??? although you sing the same songs each time?? sometimes he picks a song neither of you have ever heard and the both of you try to guess the melody. he’s terrible at it but at least he’s funny. there’s not a single song he hasn’t had a voice crack in.

if you go clubbing/partying with him, get prepared to be introduced as the friend of “the guy who did four keg stands in a row before proceeding to do a cartwheel unprompted and somehow not throw up”. is on first name basis with the bartenders/hosts and gets you free drinks. also gets hit on often but is oblivious unless they’re being very straightforward. if he’s not into them... you have to pull the s/o card and save his ass. oh also he barks at anyone that gets near your drink.

will always exaggerate when introducing you to new people. “y/n and i met when i saved them from drowning a terrible death.” “it was the children’s pool and you were the one that was screaming.” “and then y/n didn’t really thank me but it’s not like heroes need thanks to do the right thing.” “kou, i will push you into a pool right now, let’s see how well you swim.” (he learned swimming to impress you so joke’s on you.)

he likes to watch you do stuff at the end of the day, so if you see him go o_o at you doing homework, you can just put your earphones on and focus on your work. even if he’s making.. a strangely.. adorable expression. also LOVES to listen to you talk about your day when he’s tired, he says it helps him sleep better (so expect a lot of nighttime calls). moreover, if you say you had a bad dream, he’ll comfort you with his ridiculously confident tone of voice (unless the dream was about something bad happening to him, then he’ll freak out and you’ll have to comfort him instead </3)

ok one thing that’s annoying about him is that he probably leaves food crumbs over your stuff like laptop, bed sheet, etc. you clean it up but bokuto.. is a bit... distracted to notice the mess he’s making. it’s usually pretty difficult to get him to be more aware, but like your glare is enough to make him at least try to be careful from the next time. (either that or he’s become sensitive to your change in mood/emotions bc you know... you’re best friends after all.)

i’m not gonna lie, he probably catches feelings for you at some point. he wants to, like, keep it lowkey bc akaashi told him to take your feelings into consideration too but?? it’s so hard?? you’re literally so pretty?? everything you say is like music to him??? he reacts reflexively to all the firecracker feelings u give him. he probably says he likes you all the time but you dismiss it with “as a friend right :-)”. there’s no climbing up from that one, sorry bokuto.

to summarize, if a moody golden retriever was your human best friend.exe

❀ miya twins :-

they feel like a set. it would be strange to have one of the twins as a bff and not have the other one around whoops 🤷‍♀️ 

either you and osamu bully atsumu in your free time, or you and atsumu annoy osamu for fun (or both) <3. it’s always a good idea to team up with osamu and prank atsumu for fun btw. (put wasabi in his breakfast pancakes and you’ll get a very pissed off but weirdly cute tsumtsum. you can blame it on osamu if you don’t want to face his wrath.) your alternative is to embarrass osamu in front of strangers with atsumu, have fun with that. (second hand embarrassment also works.)

when you were younger, you pretended to not be able to distinguish the twins bc it would visibly rile atsumu up and then you’d go “ok you’re atsumu”... which would further rile him up. osamu got used to your shenanigans though it ticked him off the first time too LOL. call them the wrong name on purpose and they’ll start a riot; be careful when you’re playing with fire pls.

you guys played a lot of knight and prince/princess/royal when you were a kid and atsumu would always try to make osamu the evil dragon holding you captive. in the end, you were somehow the knight, osamu the prince to be rescued and atsumu the big, bad dragon. (it’s kind of funny in hindsight. your parents have photographs of the three of you fighting like no tomorrow.) also speaking of which, your parents are also friends and have bets on which twin you’ll marry (or if you will at all). it’s tearing your parents’ friendship apart.

these two have DEFINITELY fought over whose jersey number you’re going to wear to the games ( “oi, ‘samu, stop brainwashing my best friend into wearing your stupid double digit number” “you know i’m the best friend, ‘tsumu. they clearly like me better over yer ratty ass.” “what did ya say?!?!? if anything, you’re the one that looks like ratatouille.”) you wore kita's jersey number to games.

imagine sunday picnics with the boys !!! by that, i specifically mean osamu and his perfect bento boxes <3 sometimes the two of you will cook together before your outings while a sulking atsumu stands outside bc you didn’t let him. (let him in, you monsters.) he says he can cook too but the last time the twins’ bickering almost burnt the whole kitchen down. the picnics continue well into adulthood and you get to diss your boss to the twins who will always support your rants. (sometimes atsumu will tell you it’s your fault but you can smack him off. we only need supportive besties here 🙄)

if someone hurts u.... they’re going to need divine intervention to be safe... you have two well-built, physically adept best friends ready to beat the shit out of anyone who deliberately breaks ur heart. 

when the twins get into a physical fight...... oh boy. it kinda pisses you off that they’re spewing profanity at each other and you’re the one getting glares. but at the same time, you don’t really want to step into a fight that has nothing to do with you. people should solve their interpersonal issues on their own. they have never fought over you, this isn’t twilight <3 

but the question did come up once on which twin you like better; it’s not something to seriously fight over though. if you chose osamu, atsumu will complain for six days straight and you’ll start to regret ever answering the question. if you say atsumu, osamu won’t feed you his onigiri anymore for a few days which is just as bad. the safest choice is to say neither bc it will both be funny and you won’t suffer too many consequences. if you say you love the both of them for being your best friends all this time and go all mushy, there’s a slight chance they’ll go soft too. god help you from the bone crushing hug you’re about to receive 🙏

you make sure to not miss any of atsumu’s official games !! sometimes he’ll wave at you and make the reporters give you hell bc he’s a little shit. just push osamu to them and run away if it gets that bad. (he gets free advertising for his shop, he should be grateful.)

osamu is super good at cheering you up!!! whether it’s with food or with pleasant talk, you’ll be feeling much better with a full stomach and a calmer state of mind. as for atsumu, he’s really good at you cheering you up by distracting you. he’ll talk about his team or this new serve he learnt and the world will seem a lot brighter bc he seems so happy about it. whichever twin you go to, it’s win-win. 

in return, the twins take up a good chunk of your time. sometimes atsumu will crash at your place after a game though you’ve told him to not lead the damn reporters here. osamu makes you taste test his experimental onigiri... which are not always good..... no seriously, why’d he put honey and tuna in there ?? but still, your life is ridiculously colorful with them around.

anyway, what can i say except what’s better than one best friend?? two best friends !!!

[drama-glob]

SPOILERS FOR "SINSMAS!"

Man, this episode was a roller coaster. O_O

Poor Stolas on adjusting to life not being a prince anymore, but my heart melted from how much care and patience Blitz showed to try and comfort him even though he was mainly worried about his daughter over the course of the month. Poor Octavia too on being stuck with Stella and Andrealphus, who definitely kept up with controlling her by taking away her phone and clearly not actually caring about her. :(

I liked that we learned what "Sinsmas" is and makes me wonder how the Sins celebrate because no way they would miss out on this, even though the holiday may not actually be celebrated by the other royals given that Stolas doesn't seem to even know what it it; of course, it could just come from being raised by Paimon, who may not have it in the palace because he either did not care about his kids enough to celebrate with them or considered it a holiday just for the lower class. :/

It's crazy (and sad) that Octavia's song was indeed a parallel to "You Will Be Okay," but it further shows the divide and lack of forgiveness she has for her father all while holding Blitz as the enemy who's to blame. :( Her finding Stolas's pills was so sad too since she seemed to feel betrayed and confused, but I'm glad she was taking the pills to her dad because I was worried for a moment she might have thought to take them. O_O

My heart though when Blitz saw that family and envisioned it being him, Stolas, Octavia, and Loona as one big, happy family; that's basically every Stolitz shipper's dream! I hope we see it come true one day.<3<3<3

I literally cheered when Stolas punched Andrealphus in the face because that peacock deserves it and the fact that Stolas is typically a pacifist just proves how much he wants to see his daughter. I also laughed my ass off to Blitz calling Andrealphus "Elsa" because we've all thought it at one point or another and I even made a meme about it. XD It was amazing getting to see Loona use more magic and I heard we'll learn more about her in season 3, so we'll likely see her use more of her magical arsenal. ;) I lost it though when Blitz saved Stolas and they kissed in midair! Just yes to all of it! ^_^<3<3<3

I'm glad Octavia managed to save the day, but sadly, we all knew what likely was going to occur for Stolas and Octavia's interaction thanks to the trailer; it was still such a gut-punch though as they're both crying and Octavia is refusing to listen to Stolas, which only further highlights where Stolas trying to shelter Octavia has exacerbated the issue. ;_; ;_; ;_;

OMG though on Millie being pregnant!!! We were given the signs and even I was like "Oh, she's pregnant, isn't she?" Sure enough, we got the confirmation, so now we'll have to unpack that drama bomb in Season 3 since she still hasn't told Moxxie yet and we don't know what her decision will be. O_O Also, it was great getting to see Loona hang out with her friends from "Queen Bee." ^_^<3<3<3

Even though things aren't the best for Stolas right now, I was so happy for the Stolitz content we got with Blitz actually being romantic and affectionate, so at least Stolas further knows that Blitz does care and want to be with him. Aww to that hug at the end!!! ^_^<3<3<3

(Although I wish we had seen some Sins actually in it like Ozzie or Bee, I understand why they didn't since it would have messed with the flow and focus of the story. :/ Now we'll have to wait until Season 3 to see them or be blessed to have some shorts focused on them).

[buryymeinblack]

I see your ask for the music game and I raise you: mcr, FTWWW, and black parade >:]

EEEEEEE THANK U FOR THE ASK EVE im sorry it took me a minute to answer !!! i wanted to think hard about my answer but have been busy cramming for a d&d one-shot im dm-ing lol

MCR

Do I know them already?: YES | no

if i didn’t know mcr i would probably be on instagram instead of tumblr. i would probably also still think i’m cisgender. o_o

Favorite Song: oooh lord. Oh that one is so difficult. can i pick two. i’m gonna pick two. boy division, simply because it fucks too good, and helena, for reasons listed below

Least Favorite Song: this is harder than picking a favorite. if you held a gun to my head i’d say tomorrow’s money.

Favorite Album: i love all of them so much and i love all of them for different reasons so it’s super hard to pick a concrete favorite. but also it’s three cheers for sweet revenge. i hold it so close to my heart

Least Favorite Album: this is torture to me but i guess. i GUESS conventional weapons, if that counts

Song that got me into them: when i was about 9 or 10, i was in the car to go to my grandparents’ house, my dad’s playlist shuffled to teenagers. he pointed out the chorus was grammatically incorrect. BUT that was just the first time i’d ever heard mcr, i never thought to look more into it. the song that sparked some kind of emo awakening was helena. when i was 12 years old my mom told me to watch the music video and said i would “appreciate how artistic it is.” and then my gender was transed and my music taste changed forever. helena is still one of my favorite songs of all time it means so much like .. Sentimentally

Seen Live?: YES in cincinnati!!!! i got to go with my parents and two of my best friends in the whole world and it was so awesome and fun. it was genuinely the best day of my life and i’d fight wars just to experience it again

Rate: 10/10 i love them so much it hurts

FTWWW

couldn’t finish it | not my thing | it’s fine | I could get into this | ooo I like | oh hell yeah | fuck this is some good shit | there aren’t even words, this transcends words

MAD GEAR AND MISSILE KID MY BELOVED .. i WILL fuck this whole wide world THANK YOU VERY MUCH ..

TBP

Opinion on cover design: honestly it didn’t strike me the right way the first time i looked at it because it’s so simple compared to their other designs. but the more i thought about it the more i realized it fucks severely. like it gave us the classic MCR logo, and the iconic pepe. my 12 year old brain didn’t like the simplicity of it at first but that’s what makes it so unique. the album is a concept as plain as “a guy dies” and the cover reflects that. a little skeleton in a marching band. but the album is so complex and gorgeous and perfect and the skeleton means so much more than that and i just love it SO MUCH

Favorite song: i have to go with this is how i disappear. that song had an absolute chokehold on me in middle school and still does. though the sharpest lives is a close second

Least favorite song: aggfdgg. if i absolutely have to then blood. just because the intro is so long LMFAO i know that’s what makes it a secret track but on shuffle it gets annoying 💔

Underrated track: DISENCHANTED GAAAAAAHHHH IT WAS THE ROAR OF THE CROWD THAT GAVE ME HEARTACHE TO SING and this is how i disappear i do not see NEARLY enough love for it

Overrated track: hrnnggggghrggggg(z..))((>€£¥]>}. Teenagers. I Love It but very overplayed by the general public

Rate: 10/10. i’ve made an image to display how i feel

[quirrrky]

CHOOSE YOUR YANDERE ●_● HAIKYUU BOYS EDITION  (Part 2) ✧

PART 1 ✧ PART 3

Here’s your 2nd round of yandere selection featuring our beloved hq boys!

Reminder: This is just for fun!

Rating: T+ Warning: Mild psychological triggers (mentions of kinks and stuff) Selected characters only ~(⊕⌢⊕)~

NISHINOYA YUU aka THE GUARDIAN DEITY (I don’t really think I have to change his moniker)

With this guy, you’ve got an instant bodyguard for better or worse

He’s always around you committed to guard you from all harm including that falling leave that dared to touch your hair

Will openly announce his adoration for you in public and

Will openly announce as well how he will deal with this who come your way

No one…I mean no one really gets to touch you or else this boi will rolling thunder their sorry ass

He’s willing to do so much for you so if he sees you crying…the one who made you cry must prepare

Will surely get to the bottom of things

Always there for you like always there

It didn’t help that he’s making his way to get nearer to you like one day he lives one block away from you, then he just suddenly became your neighbour…

Next thing you know, he convinced your parents to stay at your house

He looks so happy and energetic even when he’s mad at you it’s creepy sometimes

Can’t bring himself to hurt you on his ‘average days’

But would punish you if you got yourself in danger

“What do you mean you’re being too careless and accidentally hurt yourself?” Noya asked quite baffled until he beamed at you his big ball of energy all the while something sinister underlies his tone. “Oh, you’ve been a bad girl, Y/N-chan! You’re not getting it good.”

Danger level: 50% Pet peeve: People/things that cause you harm and you being so careless sometimes

ASAHI AZUMANE aka THE GENTLE ACE

You first saw him while you were going home and it’s raining (talk about setting the eerie mood)

He’s there…staring right at you like he wants to talk to you or something

You got scared because even if you changed your destination, he still followed

Like why the hell would a grown ass man follow you?!?!?!

He’s probably in College?! Or has his own wife and child already?! Why was he following you?

You felt relieved when you arrived home, because finally!

The next day, however, it’s still the same

You panicked and dropped the banana milk you just bought from the convenience store

“Y-Y/N!” You heard the man called for you and you ran away as fast as you can

The next day, you found the same brand of banana milk you dropped yesterday on your desk

Then you were surprised to find the man belonging to the other class O_O

Poor you, you didn’t know that he’s the most normal among these dudes

He simply wanted to ask if you wanted to share his umbrella

And he simply just wanted to give you the banana milk you dropped because you panicked!

This guy was often misunderstood because he’s said to look older than he actually is

But he’s as soft as mochi on the inside TT-TT

“Y-Y/N…did you get the banana milk you dropped yesterday?” YN! How did he even know your name? How? Stupid, it’s written on your jersey every time you play volleyball.

Danger level: 10% Pet peeve: Seriously? This guy?

SUGAWARA KOUSHI aka THE SMOTHERING SETTER

His presence reminded you of warm cinnamon rolls

He had that sweet and very snuggly voice that simply drew you close to him

You thought that being hugged by him was a comfort next to your favourite blankyy

And you weren’t wrong

He gave the comfiest hugs and the bubbliest of all kisses

At first, it was those little pieces of advice he gave you like what to eat and who’s the best time to sleep

He was just so addicting that you didn’t even notice that drastic changes happening in your life

You didn’t even notice that you no longer have any friends

You’re even unaware they went missing!!!

Your only contact on your cellphone was him

You do whatever he likes you to do and you still feel good about it even if you already lost your sense of self

Truly, Suga’s really the sweetest and warmest guy there was that you could ever know of

But anything warm can also scorch you

And anything sweet can cause you diabetes

He seemed to have the reins over your emotions and very well adept to set up your feelings to his advantage

“Y/N…What did I told you about having friends?” He said while gently and softly stroking the top of your head while you’re in between his arms.

He leaned closer near your ear and whispered. “You must have no one except me, okay?”

Then gave you a little kiss on your temple.

Danger level: 70% Pet peeve: Other people getting between you and him

SAWAMURA DAICHI aka THE CAPTAIN DADDY

If his moniker didn’t say it all I don’t know what will

Has the big daddy energy going on with him

You thought he’s very protective, dependable and responsible

Buys you stuff you want cuz you’re his little baby girl

You’re kinda’ spoiled and you loved it but

He can get a a little bit extra with some things

Even if you want to run, you can’t and you won’t (sorry)

Like his overprotectiveness

Literally would knock someone’s soul out of their body if they dare try to flirt/hurt you

Who knows how many have already fallen under his wrath?

Strict af will punish you if you ever try to talk back or disobey him (choking and hair pulling included)

Not to mention, he’s very authoritative behind closed doors

No soft or hard limits with this guy

As much as he loves punishing you, he also loves to reward you

Loves seeing you in your most submissive self ever

Gets an odd satisfaction in seeing you so helpless and on your knees begging him please (don’t forget the ‘daddy’ or else you’ll get a good spankin’)

“Get on my lap, Y/N.” His voice demanding and domineering. “If you don’t, I’ll make you.”

Danger level: 70% Pet peeve: Your disobedience

⁺˚*·✧ request guidelines ✧⁺˚*·

[dykeza]

how was bleach my friend

bababbaaaa schlatt anon

Babaaaaaaaaa it was really good!! We just got pulled over anyways!

Baby girl got a little fucked up. He’s okay I’ve heard but reading this part did genuinely worry me very bad. It’s a little short, but I get why it was. Kisuke’s dynamic with Askin is very fascinating and I was so O_O when Askin went on his tangent about basically being a nihilist and Kisuke POINT BLANK lunged at him. It was like a sleeper cell in his brain got ticked when Askin told him that. I hope the fight is longer in the anime when it comes out, because I have GOT to see more of these two go back and forth (I also need to see Kisuke fight more).

This back and forth between Byakuya and Toshiro was very good, I think their dynamic is very fun to watch. Basically anything pertaining to Byakuya is fun to me, he’s one of my favorite characters and how he bounces off of others and leans into his humor more later into the story is really refreshing. He’s just really funny and I’m glad Kubo used him as partial jokester moments, he deserves to be lighthearted. Like this scene:

Is fucking great. He’s really kind and open to Rukia later in the series, and I love how he very obviously likes ragging on Renji like this. Yknow what? Fuck you [purposefully smacks you into a wall for my own amusement]. He really is a big brother and I love it.

I’m using this panel because it’s not really dialogue so less chance for spoilers. Anyway. AIZEN. This arc is so good to me solely because we get to see Aizen really Act Like Himself. He has his backs and forths, he bounces really well off of Shunsui, I would’ve LOVED to see more of his fight against The Big Bad [I can’t spell his name]. Again, I hope in the anime they lengthen his screen time so I can see him truly interact with others. His genuine character at this point is just really fun, he’s so obviously sure of himself and still Dangerous but he’s so lax about it. He even tells Big Bad that he doesn’t like being controlled and that’s why he did what he did, and I find that so…. He’s infuriating. I love him.

I’m using an earlier pic to avoid spoilers again. KENPACHI ZARAKI. OHHHHH my god. I love this guy. God I love this guy. He’s so fucking metal. But also he’s like. He’s genuinely a good person [or as good as a member of the Gotei 13 can be]. Him and Yachiru is so…. :( I miss them. I do think it’s cool that he has so much fucking power. He’s stupid crazy overpowered and it’s AMAZING and I love it when he’s violent. All of his moments in the last arc were so <3 also:

These Homos. They’re less frequent in this arc but by god when they’re on screen am I HAPPY. I love all of squad 11 they’re all so fucking batshit it’s great. These two specifically are 1. Always seen together 2. Look like average rupaul watchers and 3. Frequently up to no good. I love them. Sooooo much. Squad 11 my beloved.

BENIHIME. LISTEN TO ME. Oh my god I love Benihime. She’s so <3. I hope we get to see more from her n Kisuke, I desperately need to witness their dynamic. Kisuke described her as “not nice” and I’ve been dying to see her be a bitch ever since.

I need more of these two. Pls. Thank u.

Ukitake :(…… also I need more Hirako. Pleaseee. I need to see him more, she’s my boyfriend. Please.

Overall it’s definitely my favorite of all time. I love this fucking series.

[akp-1327]

dear diary // chapter ten

Auditions have arrived...O_o

Fair warning, I don’t know much about drama...anything? So I did a bunch of research from the original books, websites, and friends with experience...so let me know if any of this is inaccurate!

Also...hello! It’s been waaaaaay way way too long since the last update, but I’m beyond happy to be back! :)

As always, find the series masterlist here (Tumblr) or here (AO3) to catch up! :)

Pairings: Ajay Bhandari x f!MC (Charlotte Parker), Skye Crandall x f!OC (Leila Maciel)

Word Count: 6.5k

(*) Warnings: the briefest mention of dementia, otherwise there’s just a roller coaster of emotions in this chapter!

After one of the fastest weeks known to man, it was the day that classes started

This morning was all too familiar; the sudden remembrance of signing up for the morning classes, then the curse as I woke up with the sun. However, it was comforting to have this routine again. It made me feel normal, which had been a feeling I missed all summer back at Dad’s.

Walking to class on days like these, where the sun was warm and the sky was clear, had been another thing I missed. Birds chirping, the light foot traffic around campus, the smell of coffee wafting on the light breeze...

I could only think of how many hours spent pouring over the script for The Enchanted Kingdom. There were also points where Rory physically had to tear me away from the script to get outside, which to say, was not a task he succeeded at...

“C’mon! It’ll be fun! We can go find you some new blazers or something, since you insist on wearing them all the time.” Rory was slowly easing a highlighter from my hand. I gave him a death glare and he backed away, “At least take a break? You’ve been hunched here for hours.”

After a pointed look into his eyes, I focused my attention back on the script in front of me.

“I’m completely fine. Also, while I would love to get a few new blazers, I don’t have the time right now.” My voice was rough. I hadn’t been able to sleep much or eat anything but instant ramen for the past couple days. Though, I was feeling adventurous this morning and drank a piping hot cup of coffee. That felt like it did the trick, at least for a good while...until I fell asleep on my script for an hour or so. Ever since then, my eyes have been pretty droopy.

“Just let me be, Rory.”

Without another word, Rory sighed and left with a frown.

...was I a jerk that day? Maybe. But that was my nature; I’m a director and I’m supposed to be that way.

Another drift of wind caught the unbuttoned flannel I wore. Flannel was definitely a go-to right now, especially since all my blazers were much too warm for this kind of weather. Also, who knows who I’ll see?

I adjusted the backpack on my shoulders with a heavy sigh and tightened my grip on the straps. Something about today felt different from first days of class in the past. Could it be how nice the weather was today? It’d been raining on the first day for the past two years...

Maybe it was about where I was going? Performance Theory wasn’t the most interesting thing on the planet, but it was also something I’d taken the past two years. By now, it was something to wake me up in the morning. So why would that make me feel weird?

I shook the feeling away and continued to walk at a relaxed pace, focusing on something else.

Naturally, my eyes traced over campus. A big group of students laughing in the shade of a tall maple tree, a few couples walking shoulder to shoulder, and many stragglers like me with their textbooks in hand.

The environment was serene, and it was definitely one I enjoyed. The long summer of renting out that spare room at Dad’s apartment was, at last, something I didn’t need to worry about for a while. Or...ever again, now that I’ve visited Amma.

Maybe that was the feeling? Amma looked so happy to see me, and so did Mo. I guess I missed them more than I thought...

My feet fell onto a familiar path towards the arts building. I was almost there; only a few more steps and a small staircase until the doors--

“Ajay!” A voice shouted from behind me, making my eyes roll. I fought the urge to keep walking and just ignore them, but I knew that’d be a bad choice with who this was.

Craaaaaap.

“Danielle.” I greeted through gritted teeth. I turned around to face her. “Hello.”

She gave her normal maniacal grin, creepy as always.

“Auditions are tonight, yeah?” She asked, and then held up her already battered script for me to see. There was bright yellow, green, and pink post-its peeking out from the pages. She’d always been dedicated to her auditions...but she just couldn’t execute.

Honestly? That was okay. She was an alright person for ensemble roles because she’d been a good dancer. But that doesn’t mean she was a great actor.

“They are, so make sure to be at the auditorium by four.” I sounded a little annoyed, but Danielle was oblivious. She wouldn’t notice; even if she did, she wouldn’t care. “Don’t be late, otherwise I’ll make sure you can’t audition.”

Her eyes widened a little, but otherwise that annoying smile still stretched across her face. Ugh, absolutely obnoxious.

“I won’t let you down! Oh, and tell Rory to save me a seat!” Danielle said before walking away with a wave. Once she was out of sight, I rolled my eyes with a shudder and started walking to class again.

*

*

As expected, classes were already boring. One lecture after another, going through all those stupid, stereotypical ice breaker games. Your name, your birthday, your major, your entire life plan...

I didn’t have another class until noon, and that was about an hour and a half from now. To pass the time, I decided to pull out my script. The sun reflected off the white paper and instantly obliterated my retinas, so with a watery blink, I looked away and tucked it back into place in my backpack, vowing to look at it later.

There was...nothing left for me to do.

Wait, is this what people call a break? This is what breathing feels like? Wow, this is so surreal...

Something about the moment just felt wrong. I shouldn’t be idle like this.

Students were laughing as they walked by. I recognized a few of them, but only by their faces. Some I recognized from past classes, others from past ensembles, a few from Lafayette...

Then, though, I found a familiarity within the group.

Erin.

“Ajay,” Erin smiled, looking relaxed as she sat next to me, “didn’t expect to see you sitting here.”

I gave her an eye roll. “Is it...illegal?”

Her loud laugh drew the attention of people around. “In the book of Ajay, it definitely is. It’s almost concerning to see you so calm on audition day.”

So it was noticeable. Huh. Immediately, my posture straightened and I crossed my legs, prompting Erin to laugh a little.

“I guess it’s just weird coming from you. I’m not a drama nerd, but I know this isn’t how directors normally act when they’re hours away from auditions.” She slowly turned to face me before continuing. “Anyway, what brings you to this bench?” 

Her voice was surprisingly even. She looked like she’d been doing a lot better, but I could still see the sadness and exhaustion in her eyes. Erin had always been extremely resilient and level-minded, but even she could only handle so much stress at once. 

“My next class is at noon so I figured I’d sit for a little while.”

Almost immediately, she sighed. “Preach. I have psych, so I’m in for a treat.”

Then, silence. It was thick, deafening, excruciating...I quickly wracked my brain for a question to get rid of it. Her confession about her grandma came up, then so did something else.

I hated to bring it up, but my mind wouldn’t forgive me if I chose something else to talk about.

“Erin, what happened to your grandpa?”

The question was met with another sigh, but this one was heavier. Regret already plagued my brain, but it was too late now. Nice job, Ajay.

“Let me guess, Rory told you?” Her expression wasn’t much different, but it definitely solidified into a more serious one than before.

“Yeah, on the first day back. With your grandma and all, I was wondering if they were both...”

Before she spoke again, she took a deep breath. “No, no. You’re right to wonder. It’s nothing concerning, though. He just didn’t like the idea of being separated from my grandma while she gets treatment, and so he let out a lot of his frustrations on me in an argument a few days before I came here. Said he didn’t like everyone he loved leaving him,” she shrugged, shaking her head, “I called Rory afterwards, since his parents were the same way when he left for college, and that ended up being a three hour-long conversation.”

I nodded when she took a break, and in that moment, I wondered how she worked through this. It was terrible, especially when her family was so far away.

“It hurt when I left this time, of course, but I think it’s good for me to get away from them for a while. I just need some space to process everything.” She shook her head, almost like she was shaking the thoughts away. Instead, she changed the topic. “Did Rory say something bad happened to my grandpa?”

Another nod, and Erin clicked her tongue.

“Rory was just being a gossip like always, then. Pops is just adjusting,” A genuine smile came back to her face, which was always reassuring. “So, I heard you went to your mom’s house? How was that?”

I groaned. “Can we talk about something else?”

She laughed loudly and, again, prompted lots of attention to our bench. “That great, huh?”

I sighed. The weird feeling from earlier came back, slowly eating away at my thoughts once more.

Erin quirked an eyebrow. “You’re making a face.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, challenging her gaze. “I always make a face. Everyone makes a face. It’d be concerning if someone didn’t make a face.”

That answer only made her eyes narrow even more.

“You’re rambling,” With this realization, she looked me over, “are you...okay? You never ramble.”

I could feel my leg start to bounce. “I can assure you that I’m fine.”

She hummed loudly, and I noticed my hands were starting to sweat a little.

“Add that to the pile of other lies you’ve been telling Rory for the past week. He’s been keeping me in the loop since, y’know, you never text me,” her elbow nudged my arm with a force that made me let out an uncharacteristic squeak, “so I’m sorry, but I’m not buying any of that crap. I can easily tell something’s bugging you.”

“I’m just stressed and on edge for tonight. That’s all.” Was all I could say. Knowing Erin, she wouldn’t take that as a viable answer.

“You’re never on edge for auditions. You say it’s one of the most laid back parts of the process...” Erin’s voice was accusative. She could see right through me. Sadly, that had always been one of her talents.

“Sometimes auditions are easy, but this isn’t one of those times,” I heaved a loud sigh and rested my chin on my ever-so-slowly tightening fist, “It’s a big cast, and so that a lot of decisions need to be made.”

Erin was quiet for a second. I could hear her drumming her fingers against the cover of her textbook softly, and then she spoke. “Sure, I get that part, but you’re off, too.”

I whipped my head towards her and found a teasing smile growing on her lips. “How so?”

She cocked her head to the side and playfully squinted. “You’re not wearing a blazer, for one,” she was keeping a tally on her fingers, “you’re too relaxed, you’re bouncing your crossed legs, your posture is super straight, you’re rambling, you’re defensive, you’re even a little jumpy...”

I slouched back down at the mention, and this only made her smirk grow into a full-blown grin. “You’ve been pretty quiet about the show, too. By now, I’d usually hear you going on and on about them like a proud grandma.”

“Erin--”

“Oh, this scene will be so interesting to choreograph, and this scene will bring an audience to tears, and even this--” Erin’s voice was mocking. Of course she was fairly accurate, but it still got on my nerves.

“Okay, I get it,” A helpless sigh escaped me, and she had that knowing look in her eye that made me want to gag.

“What’s up with you?” Erin laughed, narrowing her eyes a little in curiosity. “Don’t leave a poor girl in suspense!”

The truth was something I could barely admit to myself. It was the thought of a feeling I never, ever wanted to experience again. Heartbreak.

“Ajay, you’re blushing...” Erin was smiling now.

And then it hit me. All hope was lost when she covered her mouth and squealed. I’ve never, ever blushed in front of her.

“Ooooohhhhh, do you like someone?” Erin started to cheer. I opened my mouth to stop her from getting too loud, but she was already squealing again. There was no stopping the stares from the passing students now. “Oh. My. God! And that someone is making you nervous, right?”

I grimaced, the reminder of why I kept quiet surfacing for the millionth time. People always make a big deal out of your feelings, so that’s why you never show any emotion.

“Don’t you dare. Don’t--” The heat sweltered on my cheeks, and I knew it was still visible when Erin clapped. She looked so relieved while I wanted the world to open up and swallow me whole.

“Oh, I called it! I so called it!”

I looked up at her and found her grinning with some emotion I couldn’t quite place. She looked like she was about to scream! “Erin, if you tell anyone, I swear to any and every deity in this damn universe--”

“Anyone does not include Rory. He needs to know!” Erin said excitedly.

“He does not need to know! That information is not on a need-to-know basis!”

And he’ll know exactly who it is!

“Ajay! This is awesome! It’s been so long since you liked someone!”

Awesome? Awesome?

“Awesome is one of the last words I’d use.” I could practically feel the blush on my cheeks slowly burn me from the outside in; it made me wonder if there were actual flames dancing on my skin. “They might be auditioning. I...can’t let something like that distract me from the show. You know what happened with Kelly.”

Finally, Erin let her smile turn into something more composed.

“That was two years ago. Plus, not to mention, it was with a girl who was as blind as a bat.” Erin lifted a hand onto my shoulder and patted it gently, “You’ve changed since then, so I think it’s safe for you to let that fear go.”

“I know I’ve changed,” I was basically whispering at this point, “but I guess I’m just...”

She patted my shoulder again. “You’re scared.”

Before I could bite my tongue, I blurted, “Terrified.”

She sat in silence for a minute, but then, that sly grin of hers was back. “Well, then.”

“What do I do?”

Erin placed her hands on my shoulders. “One of the healthiest ways to overcome a fear is through exposure therapy. So, maybe...you could tell me who they are?”

I searched her eyes, and much like her grin, all I found was warmth. It was the warmth that’d been missing from Erin since we’d arrived on campus. It was nice to see her start to heal from her summer and return to her normal self.

Still, I blurted the one word on my tongue. “No.”

She sighed, but she couldn’t stop smiling. “Ugh, fine. But just build the courage up sooner rather than later, please? I don’t handle anticipation very well and I’d very much like to know who made you this way.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You think I’m ready for that?”

Erin stood up, suddenly, and laughed. “That’s up for you to decide. Though, from an outsider’s perspective, I think you would’ve been just fine two years ago.”

Her gaze went soft for a second, but it was gone before I could decipher more. “Anywho, text me if you need help asking this mystery person out. You know I’d be happy to help!”

She was off with a sly wink before I could retort, already whipping her phone out to text Rory. Even if I didn’t want that to happen, I smiled.

*

*

My noon class was both a bore and a nightmare. Calculus was all gibberish - well, all math was - so I did my best to not pay attention to the professor. I needed to keep my head screwed on straight for later, so instead, I focused on reading through the script and notes I added in the margins. It ended up being quite nice, actually.

After the class spawned from the fiery depths of hell finished, I had a quick lunch consisting of a pack of rainbow goldfish crackers and hurried across campus to my next class.

Theatre arts was the perfect class for today, especially with it being audition night. Prime location and a great way to get back into the swing of things.

When I arrived, the auditorium entrance was buzzing with people. The drama building has never been a popular destination during the day, so what gives? Were auditions really something special this year?

Among the many faces, I spotted Rory, Skye, Leila, and Charlotte all huddled around a bulletin board on the front lawn. From the looks of it, they were...arguing, I suppose.

“...but wait! Skye, you’re good with computers!” Leila gasped, pointing at whatever was pinned on the board. “There are still tech spots available! And there isn’t an audition necessary for them.”

I watched Skye shake her head. Her hair was down, per usual, and she looked uptight. That was normal for her. But she also looked anxious when her eyes were looking at the bulletin board.

“Leila, you never need to audition for a tech spot,” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head, “can we please just let Skye make her own decision?”

“But there always needs to be more tech people! And it’d be fun to have another friend be at rehearsals.” Rory was pleading. He looked at Skye like she was his saving grace. “Please, Skye?”

It wasn’t an exaggeration at how small the tech crew was. Everyone in the drama program wants to act, not do tech. So, if anyone in the cast or crew heard about another tech, they’d jump at the opportunity and recruit them.

Skye gave everyone a look of dismay, then before she spoke, her eyes met mine.

“Ajay,” Skye said loudly, waving me closer. I hurried over and became apart of the huddle, and somehow fate was nice enough to put me next to Charlotte. “Does the drama program need more tech people?”

She was about to hate my guts.

“There’s never enough of them,” Memories of failing to do sound board last year flooded my mind, “don’t mind me asking, but would you be willing to give it a shot?”

That’s what made Skye groan. “Ugggg, you too?”

Her response made Leila laugh, but that was the only sound before a few moments of complete silence.

Finally, Skye sighed in defeat. “Depends. I’ll have to see what the software looks like first.”

I’ll take that as a yes...for now.

“Auditions are--” I started, but then Skye rolled her eyes.

“If I hear about auditions being tonight one more time, I swear...” Skye said, a hint of a smirk coming onto her face as she started to laugh. That was different, too; I don’t think I’ve ever heard her actual laugh.

“So does that mean you’ll do it?” Rory asked eagerly.

Skye smiled; it was small, but it was genuine. All the anxiety in her eyes vanished. “We’ll see.”

“Don’t feel forced to, though!” Charlotte squeaked, her voice cracking a little. “There are plenty of techs out there--”

“No! Don’t you dare rub her the wrong way!” Rory exclaimed, making Charlotte giggle.

It was cute. That thought alone made me blush a little.

Then, Leila gasped, her eyes widening in panic.

“Oh crap! I have to go!” Leila yelled, checking her phone. I decided to check my watch, and it read that it was almost two. Then she piped up again. “Skye, wanna walk with me?”

Skye let out a soft, surprised gasp. Her cheeks visibly reddened against her pale skin as she nodded.

“Sure,” Skye said, clearing her throat, “uh, maybe I’ll see you guys later,” she waved, allowing Leila to quickly drag her away by the arm, “jeez, lady, slow down--”

“Bye guys!” Leila yelled over her shoulder, then disappeared with Skye down the sidewalk and into a crowd of students.

Rory was the first one to speak, looking right at Charlotte. “Let me guess, you gotta go to the drama building?”

She nodded. “Whoa...it’s almost like I told you that when I got here...”

The two kept joking around as we started to walk into the building, but I kept thinking about what Erin had said about forgetting the whole Kelly situation. It felt like a great idea, but I couldn’t shake away all the fear associated with it.

It was another one of those things that’d eat away at my brain, but I guess that’d be okay. There wasn’t anything I could do about it now...

*

*

Theatre Arts wasn’t as boring as usual, but it was definitely a lot more chaotic. Commands for props here, calls for help with setting the lights up over there, and somewhere in between, lots of laughing coming from Charlotte and Rory.

It looked like Charlotte was blushing from here, but I couldn’t exactly tell. She and Rory were on the complete opposite side of the auditorium.

Professor Olson and I were skimming through the lists we had in front of us. It was hard to focus on the character descriptions I’ve read a gazillion times when I heard Charlotte’s vivacious laugh in the background.

“Alright,” Olson said, sounding exhausted already, “I’ve had some people hang posters around campus, so this shouldn’t be a hard place to find. Hopefully we get some new faces around here...”

Instantly, I looked over to Charlotte, still laughing at something Rory had said. Her smile brightened tenfold when she met my gaze, and she eagerly waved. With a small smile, I shook my head and looked back at Olson.

“That shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” I pulled out the form with all the auditionees on it and pointed to her name, “Charlotte Parker. Freshman.”

He nodded quizzically. “Anything unique about her?”

A lot, my brain immediately responded, though I shook the thought away.

“She performed at the Spotlite festival in London as a lead a few years back,” The professor’s eyebrows shot up, “and her school won. So I’d say she’s a pretty strong contender tonight.”

The fact that she was auditioning made me feel like I’d been punched in the gut by the universe. Exactly what I wished to not happen...happened. Though, at the same time, I couldn’t help but be a little excited to see what she could do on stage.

“That’s quite the accomplishment. Is there anyone else you know?”

As we ran through the list once more, a few names stuck out like sore thumbs; Rory, Danielle, Natalie, Clint, Jordan, and some frequents I’ve seen over the past couple years.

What finally tore my attention from the conversation was a gleeful scream.

“Skye!”

Charlotte. Duh.

Then, rushed footsteps up the aisle and towards the doors. A collision, then a groan of “why”. My guess: there was a hug and it’d been extremely one-sided.

That was Skye, alright.

Wait, my thoughts started to jumble together in panic, it’s already four?

Sure enough, I checked my watch. It was already a quarter til four.

“I hope you’re ready. It looks like this’ll be a long one.” Olson gestured back to the doors where Skye and Charlotte had still been talking. Several people were starting to flood into the seats, all with scripts in hand, and began to mingle.

“Jesus,” I mumbled.

As the start time approached, I got a little more nervous when thinking about the inevitable crashing and burning of this show if I let my feelings come before my job as a director.

Then, a loud timer rang off of Olson’s phone. He leaned over and whispered. “Show time.”

*

*

“Next, please!”

Already an hour in and we’d only made it through half of the list.

Jordan was on stage and running through their lines. They had a great way of controlling their emotions, but it all felt a little bland. However, it could’ve quite possibly been the scene they chose; a scene of the princess or prince daydreaming about the knight. 

I knew it’d be a popular scene for auditions; it really goes into the character of the princess or prince by going through ranges of emotion, from happiness and love to humiliation and regret. The scene is extremely captivating and is a great choice for actors to showcase the abilities they could bring to the table if they got the role. 

What I wasn’t prepared for, though, was the majority of the people auditioning for the role to use the same exact scene. Especially Jordan, who was usually someone who chose scenes that’d be risky for others. 

Strange.

“Alright, thank you, Jordan.” Professor Olson said, composed as ever. It took him a few moments to finish writing in notes next to Jordan’s name, but then he finished and glanced at the auditionee list. “Next, I’d like to see Danielle. Start whenever you’re ready.”

My eyes rolled. She scampered up onto the stage, script in hand, and started with a completely different tone than the millions of other scenes we’d heard. I quickly searched for the passage she’d been reading from in the never-ending stack of papers on the table.

She was reading for the witch, surprisingly enough. Her voice was startlingly dark. It was deep, it was evil, it was rich, it was...what we’d been looking for in a witch. However, her downfall was the lack of control over her emotions.

“Alright, Danielle, thank you.” Olson held up his hand, jotting a quick note down next to her name. Voice: dark, brooding, menacing. Emotions: uncontrolled.

During the transition, I took a glance back at the list to see who’d be next, and my heart stopped. It’s like I couldn’t feel it beat in my chest; it’d felt like it stopped entirely-

“Kelly, whenever you’re ready.”

My eyes snapped up to the stage, and there she stood. For the most part, she’d been the same Kelly I fell for two years ago, but this time, I didn’t get the butterflies in my stomach. Instead, the sight made me a little uneasy. Obviously it wasn’t her appearance, because that was the same, but her very presence.

The only feelings I had were irritation and sorrow and cowardice and regret--

“Ajay, are you ready?” Olson asked. The room was silent, and so I realized they’d been waiting on me.

“Oh. Um, yeah, go ahead.” My voice was rushed, but I barely noticed as the nostalgic feeling of her chocolate brown eyes burning into my being washed over me. It didn’t make me nervous like it used to, nor did it render me speechless.

“Right. Um.” Kelly said anxiously, fiddling with her script before she started to repeat the average line for the prince and princess roles. I noticed that her voice had the same lilt, but something didn’t feel right with it. 

It’s not for the right character, that’s why.

I tapped Olson’s shoulder and pointed to another character on the list, watching as he nodded.

“Kelly,” He interrupted her mid-sentence, and a look of fear glazed her eyes, “have you read over any lines for the witch?”

She shook her head, the look of fear melting into one of utter confusion.

“Flip back a page in your script and choose a line from the witch, then read it as you see fit. Take your time.”

I was so happy Olson was the one doing all the talking. I’d probably just tell her to move on at this point.

After a few moments, Kelly nodded and took a deep breath. Much like Danielle, she had the sharp undertones we’d been looking for, but they weren’t as clear as Danielle’s. Kelly, though, did have more control over her emotions.

I never thought I’d find myself saying this, but I hoped Danielle would have more advantages over Kelly. I just didn’t want to work with her again, not after what happened.

“Alright, Kelly, we’ll consider you for both options. Thank you.” 

At this point, Olson sounded exhausted beyond belief.

Kelly left the stage with a nod. My eyes met hers just before she vanished, and there was some emotion in them that I couldn’t quite place. Guilt, annoyance, confusion...I really didn’t know.

When she left the stage completely, it felt like there was a heavy weight lifted off of my shoulders.

“Well...let’s see here...” Olson mumbled under his breath, taking a sip of his coffee before he pointed down at one last list of names. “Only a few more left. How’re we looking?”

There’d been several great candidates for each role; this was always great, since then we’d have understudies and members for a complete ensemble.

“Like we’ll have some decisions to make, for sure,” I ran a hand through my hair as I read through the notes I made for each auditionee, “especially for a few of our veteran actors.”

It was true. Some were better for other roles, some didn’t have the strength or spark they did last year, some were improving...

“People change, scripts change, expectations change. It’s just a new journey to start,” When the exhausted professor smiled, the faintest purple bags beneath his eyes deepened, “and new journeys require a fresh and open mind.”

*

*

Somehow, Charlotte was the last to audition. When she was called to the stage, it was almost eight. Everyone in the house seats looked like they wanted to go home.

A familiar fluttering in my stomach appeared when she looked at me from beneath the stage lights. She looked like she’d been in her element, her smile shimmering and her eyes sparkling as she looked around at the red velvet seats in front of her. The script she held was neat and shook a bit, but her resolve remained calm and composed.

A good stage presence, I noted.

“Alright, Charlotte, because you’re new, do you have any questions I can answer before you start?” Olson’s voice gave way to his fatigue from asking the same question all evening, but Charlotte shook her head.

“All of my questions were answered throughout the evening,” She smiled, her voice smooth, “but if I have any, I’ll be sure to ask.”

That was an answer that made Olson blink in surprise. He wasn’t someone to be speechless, but those few seconds were definitely silent. It was clear she’d impressed him with just a sentence.

I definitely know the feeling...

“Excellent, so I believe you’re ready to go,” Olson wrote a few notes on his paper, then looked back up, “any specific role you’re auditioning for, or are you open to any?”

Charlotte cleared her throat and glanced at me before she focused on Olson once more. Her posture visibly straightened.

“I’d be open to any role. Lead, understudy, or ensemble.”

Jeez, she really does carry herself well.

“Sounds good...” After another scribbled note, Olson waved at her to continue. “Alright, whenever you’re ready.”

Her shoulders rose with a deep breath and she closed her eyes. It stayed that way for a second, and I couldn’t help but continue to admire her. It took strength to be that calm in front of a crowd.

She’s looks so natural up there, almost like that stage was built for her...

When her eyes opened, it’s like she’d transformed into an entirely new person. Her expression radiated innocence and her eyes filled with life, even more so than usual.

Then, she started to speak from a scene we hadn’t heard at all today. It was one where the prince or princess would come across the witch for the first time; this was a powerful and somewhat challenging scene, as the actor needed to portray multiple emotions at once while still keeping themselves under a neutral mask.

A minute passed, and then two, and then maybe even three. I had no idea. But, what I did know for sure, was that her acting was out of this world.

From what she’d put forth so far, it looked like she’d barely broken a sweat. Her voice was perfect and her control on her emotions was even better. She wasn’t overconfident, but calm. She was a force to be reckoned with on that stage, and it was equally empowering and terrifying. She had so much power, so much passion, so much potential...

She had everything we were looking for in this role.

Olson leaned over with wide eyes. “Wow. I...would like to believe we just found our princess.”

I couldn’t help but smile when the response left my mouth. “Absolutely.”

Then, the sudden horror dawned on me.

Princess. Charlotte...was princess.

*

*

It’d only been about ten minutes after she left the stage with a polite bow and dazzling smile that the entire auditorium started to empty out. Only a few stragglers were talking by the stage or the exits.

One of them in particular smiled and sped over to me.

“Ajay,” Charlotte grinned, “hi.”

“Charlotte,” I responded, “how’re you?”

She puffed out her rosy cheeks before letting the air out in a long sigh.

“So tired,” She was lightly laughing now. It was a little out of place, but it was cute. “Since I just decided to audition a few days ago, I’ve been pulling all-nighters with Leila to get my lines right.”

I feigned a smile and let a white lie slip through my teeth. “I’m glad you decided to audition.”

“Me too. I’m excited to see your directing skills in action,” She said this with a wink, “because it’s all I ever hear about from Rory.”

“Really?” Why does he talk about my directing...?

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “He gushes about how great of a director you are, like, all the time. You really haven’t heard any of this?”

I gave her a deadpan look, and she huffed out a laugh.

“Well, you should ask him about it. I’m sure he’d gladly tell you about how amazing you are,” she said thoughtfully, “he looks up to you, you know. It’s easy to see by the way he talks about you.”

I can’t imagine why...

“That’s surpris--” Before I could get through my sentence, I watched Charlotte stumble forward into me. Everything felt like it’d been in slow motion; her eyes widening slowly as her arms opened to hold onto me. Without another thought, mine did the same, wrapping around her small form carefully.

“Whoa!” Charlotte gasped with her arms tight around my torso and cheek pressed against my chest. I felt my heart start to pound, so I started worrying she could feel it thumping against her cheek.

The sound of laughter could be heard behind her, and when I looked up, I caught a glimpse of Danielle and a few others sauntering away. I glared at their backs, my grip on Charlotte tightening by a fraction.

Danielle better keep to herself from now on, because if that happens again--

The thought made a snarl appear on my face, and I quickly shook it away.

“You okay?” I asked, instantly feeling her rapid nod against my chest. I expected her to move...but she didn’t.

“Y-Yeah, just caught off-guard, um, I’m good.” Her voice sounded panicked. She pulled away from me slowly, looking up into my eyes with a deep red blush. “Thanks for not letting me fall.”

“Well, you didn’t really give me a choice.” I teased, watching her eyes widen for a second before she looked away.

“Right. Well. Uh, I should probably get going. I already have a ton of homework,” she hummed, smiling once more, “I’ll see you...sometime this week?”

I nodded, returning her smile. My heart felt like it was floating.

“Of course. Good night, Charlotte.”

“G’night,” She smiled and waved, awkwardly walking out the door. This whole goodbye thing felt like the new normal - that is, watching her run off while I stay glued to my spot, still living in the previous moment and imagining her eyes, her voice, her smile--

“Ajay! C’mon, man,” Rory shouted from the stage, “let’s go get dinner before we starve.”

It was like I snapped from a daze when I blinked.

The effect she had on me was maddening, but I realized I couldn’t get enough of it. Everything about her was just so frustratingly perfect--

“I’m in the mood for some absurdly overpriced pizza,” I said abruptly, walking with Rory out into the cool September night air. He laughed, nodding in agreement.

“Ohhhh, me too!”

I could swear the scent of her perfume drifted along in the breeze, but that was probably just my mind playing tricks on me.

*

*

It was hard to fall asleep that night. Maybe...maybe greasy pizza wasn’t the best idea.

I kept flipping over, hoping to find that one magical position and miraculously succumb to sleep.

But I just couldn’t get her out of my head.

This shouldn’t even be happening. Why did I let this happen? She was definitely involved with the show now. My rule still applies to me!

But...Charlotte. Sweet, kind, talented Charlotte.

Ug. The temptation to scream into my pillow was terrifyingly high.

For the love of...

Then, a thought. With a blink, I reached over to grab my glasses and a pen. After I turned my phone’s flashlight on, the feeling of a leather book from underneath my pillow brushed against my fingers. At the feeling, I sighed.

*

*

September 17th, 2020

Dear Diary...

Why does life have to be so complicated?

*

*

It wasn’t anything extensive, but my brain felt tired after writing all of that. So...short entry it was. Oh, did I sign it?

Too late. It was already closed.

I still felt like I was going to explode, but it was less severe than before. Progress. Maybe I could fall asleep now.

When I put everything back and folded my glasses, my head dreadfully hit the pillow with a soft thud. To make matters even better, I thought about her audition. How it was breathtakingly powerful and absolutely stunning. About how her voice was perfect for the part. About how...

It’s going to be a long night.