#i actually worked rly hard on this one and edited it like five times for pacing and flow so!! very proud of it

[across-every-universe]

In which Julian learns to fight back.

Two wooden clack-s break through the courtyard between the buildings at headquarters, and then the rough, beat-up surface of a dummy sword scratches at my neck.

“Dead,” the flat voice in front of me declares.

I’ve been backed down onto one knee on the ground, my boyfriend-turned-swordsmanship-instructor announcing my defeat. I’m breathing hard, my legs long since fed up with all the maneuvering and dodging he’s putting me through, and I’ve learned so many patterns of attack and defense it feels like they could fall out my ears.

“You’re being awfully critical,” I remark as I get to my feet and brush the gravel off of my knee.

“And you’re the one who said we should take this seriously,” K.aeya retorts.

“Only to get you to stop making innuendos.”

“Well, I’ve stopped.”

He’s infuriating. I hate him.

“What went wrong that time?” he prompts, backing up to his starting position. That’s been the game now, ever since he became determined earlier this afternoon to teach me ‘self-defense.’ He finds a new way to kill me, and I try to figure out how I could’ve stopped it.

“I, uh… I didn’t cover my left side,” I say, absent-mindedly tossing my wooden sword between my hands. It’s my best guess.

“Correct.” He tips his fake sword at me. “I’ve shown you multiple times that I’m going to try and come at you from that direction. It’s a pattern. You’re supposed to pick up on it.”

I sigh at him.

“Don’t give me that look. I told you, you need to-”

“-to know the enemy, yes.” I echo his words for what feels like the tenth time.

“Ready?” He raises his sword, and an eyebrow.

“Ready.”

Our shoes crunch on the gravel. Clack. Swish. “Dead. Too much to the left, this time. Don’t overcompensate. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Clack. Step. Breathe. Think. Think-!

“Dead. Don’t step out too far, you won’t be able to get back to your center. Ready?”

…“Dead. Keep your legs bent.”

…“Dead.”

“Dead!”

“Dead-”

Gods! I stop short of swearing out loud in frustration. Self-defence, my ass! I’m not cut out for this, and he knows it. “Do you just, like, enjoy tormenting me or something?” I laugh, exasperated, as I smack his wooden sword away from my heart for the umpteenth time.

“Gotta be ready for anything!” he chirps, spinning his sword and smiling at me in that way that makes the corners of his mouth sharp and his eye flash.

“Well why do I have to be ready for this?” I counter. “You know, most people don’t go around whacking me with wooden sticks. I don’t know if this is a relevant skill, personally.”

“It’s usually not wooden sticks, darlin’.” He pauses his pent-up energy to level a look at me. There’s something knowing in his eye, the steel he pretends that isn’t there, forged by the decade of missions and monster-fighting and knowledge I wouldn’t begin to have. His world is more dangerous than mine, even though both worlds occupy so much of the same space. I’ll never have to use this knowledge, but I’ll also never be able to convince him of that.

“That’s fair,” I say, my voice light. His oh-so-helpful words from earlier poke at my head again. ‘Know your enemy.’ He wants me to learn the fighting patterns he’s putting on, far more obvious than he’d ever be in a real battle, to teach me how to learn how my opponent thinks. He’s made a mistake, though. In being so thorough in his instruction, and so thoroughly annoying in his methods, he’s made it personal. ‘The enemy’ isn’t the random assailant he’s pretending to be. It’s him, and I’m gonna win.

I’ve got an idea.

This time when he raises his sword, I know he sees the hint of mischief in my eyes. I can’t hide it from him, I’ve never been able to hide much of anything from him. I need to do something as a cover. He steps forward, and I evade the first swing he’s deliberately telegraphed to give me a chance. Before he swings again, I abandon anything resembling the technique he’s trying to teach me and just try to whack him. I swing my wooden sword around with reckless abandon, laughing triumphantly.

He blocks it easily, and snatches it out of my hands for good measure with a look of good-natured disapproval. “Definitely dead. You never learn, do you? Thought that would help you?”

“You’re no fun.”

“One more time?” He offers me my sword back.

“Fine. One more time,” I agree, and it doesn’t take much effort to put on a face of genuine frustration and fatigue.

He lunges forward again, in one of the attacks he specifically taught me, and I block it just how he showed me to. We’re even closer now, and when he brings his sword down again, I overextend my arm during my motion to defend from it. The wood of his sword meets mine much closer to my hand than it should’ve done and I stagger backwards, yelping in pain. I curl protectively around my right hand as I take the sword out of it with my left. My expression falls, wincing.

“Julian?” He steps forward quickly, his face confused. He could’ve sworn he felt wood, not fingers, when he landed the blow. But he’s also learned that I have a much greater capacity for trouble than he’d ever anticipated. “Hey darlin’, I’m sorry, I didn’t—” He places a hand on my shoulder, leaning in and trying to get a look at the hand I’m favoring. “You okay?” He ducks his head, reaching for my fingers.

The rough, beat-up surface of a wooden sword scratches at the back of his neck. “Dead,” I say in a triumphant voice, my sword in my left hand held up behind him. His eye goes wide in surprise, just as mine spark with glee, all attempts at feigning injury abandoned.

“Oh, you cheat,” he says incredulously, releasing my shoulder by shoving me back playfully. “That doesn’t count, you yielded-”

“Didn’t yield.” I cut him off, grinning victoriously. I watch the contemplative frown form on his face as he runs through his memory and realizes I’m right.

“But,” I continue, “I did know my enemy.” And it’s my turn to tip my sword at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, you-” He cuts himself off with a huff, trying his best not to smile. It’s a rare thing, seeing him speechless. “Practice is done,” he says, the words woven through a reluctant laugh. “I’m clearly incapable of bettering you.”

[spacenugget11]

Planetary

Chapter 2 

Pairing: SasuSaku

Synopsis: AU. Sakura Haruno has never met Uchiha Sasuke, but she already has him All Figured Out. She has him analyzed, defined, and categorized in her head like one of the diagrams in her biology textbook. The taxonomy is obvious. Genus: Tall, Dark, Handsome. Species: Quiet Brooder.

Sakura is so absorbed in her work she doesn’t realize the time until an employee apologetically interrupts to explain she was closing the café. It’s 2:11 A.M, and the last bus was one minute ago. 

“Oh shit! Oh Shit, shit, shit! Sorry, sorry, ugh, I’m so sorry!” Sakura hurriedly sweeps her belongings into her backpack while unspooling a string of apologies, throwing a wild “Have a good night, sorry!” over her shoulder before she sprints out the door, headlong into the hard black winter air. It’s pouring snow, and her breath explodes in thick white clouds as she races for the bus stop while struggling to shove her other arm through the sleeve of her coat.  

Someone else is also waiting at the stop, which means there’s still a chance she’s made it on time. The stop is uncovered and she stands as the snow furs her coat in frost and crowns her hair in ice. The traffic signal overhead changes from red to green, but the streets are empty, covered in an unbroken layer of snow. She leans over the curb, craning her neck in hopes of catching a glimpse of the bus’s headlights from afar. 

“I don’t think it’s coming,” says the stranger waiting with her. Sakura turns to look at her companion through the screen of snow. He’s standing a few steps away from her, and a flash of paper-white skin emerges from behind his dark scarf as he cranes to look into the same direction as she had been, eyes searching, mouth slumped down in an irritated frown. 

“I don’t think so either,” she agrees. 

His gaze slides down to her, and Sakura realizes this must be Sasuke Uchiha, because she’s known Ino for so long, and so she knows this must be the boy because she can feel her heart strain, then fracture beneath the heavy press of those dark, dark eyes. 

“Do you live nearby?” He asks while turning his attention back towards the road. He does, in fact, have a deep voice that curls her toes.  

“A little? I live on Whitestaffe,” she says.  

His glance cuts back to her, eyebrows raised in disbelief that her situation could actually be this unfortunate. “Isn’t that the last stop?”

“It is,” Sakura nods. 

“Are you going to walk back?” 

 “Yes?” 

“How long does that take, thirty minutes?” 

Sakura looks up, searching for a number off the top of her head. “Forty-five? Probably an hour if I slip enough times.” She tries to grin, but it comes out as a grimace because the last part isn’t a joke. 

Sasuke surveys the area— snowstorm, empty streets, nighttime—and then circles back to the girl standing before him—pink-hair, owlish green eyes, her muffler wrapped absurdly high around her neck like a grade-schooler—he’s made his decision by then. 

“I live on Mason Lane, it’s a fifteen minute walk from here. Do you want to spend the night?” 

The question blindsides her and knocks her off balance. She teeters. “Uh,” is her monosyllabic response, and her distant cousin on the evolutionary tree, the Neanderthal, would be proud.   

“Do you live with anyone?” 

“Just my friend, Ino—“ 

“Good. Call her. You can give her my number and address.” 

Wait, what? 

So Sakura arrives at Sasuke’s house—not an apartment, but a house house in the literal sense, right in the middle of the city. The phone in her pocket reads 2:36 AM, and she has it on silent because Ino’s assailing her with a barrage of texts in all-caps—HOLY SHIT HLY SHIT WTFFFFF WAS THAT RLY SASUKE UCHIHA THST CALLD YOU BETTR TELL ME EVRYTHING TMRW MORNING OMMMMFFFGG HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN FOREHEAD U BETTER LOSE UR GODDAMN VIRGINITY TONITE—and Sasuke holds the door open for her while she scrapes the slush off the soles of her boots on the mat before stepping through the threshold.

He shuts the door behind them and flips on the lights, and Sakura can’t help but stare at all the sleek edges and modern lines that bisect the space in a beautiful study of geometry.  A wooden staircase suspended from wire cables leads up to the second floor, and she thinks about the apartment she shares with Ino, about the moldy ceilings, the grimy stovetops rimmed with rust, and the hot water that’s never hot enough, especially during the winter, all for the price of a 2,800 dollars a month (not including utilities). She can’t even begin to fathom how much an actual house in the city costs, especially in this neighborhood with its wrought iron fences and beautiful, brick faces that tell of status and old money. She bets he even has a washer and dryer. 

Plus he’s rich, Sakura, like fuck-you rich, Ino’s voice echoes in her head. And an in-house washing machine, Sakura adds to the list with unveiled envy.  

“Make yourself at home,” Sasuke says and Sakura usually does well with directions, but she finds this particular one to be a little difficult to follow. He puts down his backpack, undoes his muffler, and shucks off his heavy black coat, hanging them from a rack on the wall. His dark hair is slick with melted snow, and he looks at her expectantly while she stands clutching the straps of her backpack for dear life; it’s been a strange night.

“Do you want me to take your coat?” He offers with his hand held out. 

“No, no, I’m sorry, I mean, I’m okay, thanks.” She doesn’t want to impose upon him anymore than she already has, wants their interaction to be kept to a minimum so that the next morning their lives can disengage as smoothly and frictionlessly as possible—no accidently caught edges, no hassle, no need for those awkward hellos she dreads so much. 

Sasuke shrugs as you will, and she pulls herself out of her boots and follows him to the living room. He gestures at the couch and tells her he’ll get her some blankets and does she want a towel for her hair? She silently nods yes to all of the above, and he leaves to fetch them while she peels off her coat and scarf and sweater before settling into the fine black leather.  

She had been standing out in the cold for a long time, and the warmth seeping into her marrows had been so intoxicating that when Sasuke finally shows up with everything and an extra set of clothes, she’s already on her side snoring softly—long gone into the land of nod. 

Sasuke puts the clothes and towel aside on the coffee table and covers her with the blanket. She doesn’t stir, and Sasuke shuts off the lights, heading upstairs to his own room to do some work before going to bed. 

Halfway through editing his paper, he realizes he’s forgotten to ask the girl for her name.

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 3]

[cattles-bians]

damie vibecca exes au pt 9

post directory

obsetress: ready ok ot4 hc incoming

em: ot4! ot4! ot4

obsetress: after dani breaks up with her viola cuts all her hair off n it's the first impulsive thing she's ever allowed herself to do in her whole life (which should also tell you exactly how fucked up she was by it) n so then we have

obsetress: short curly hair viola

em: what is wrong with you

em: oh i love a dramatic haircut as a motif

obsetress: by the time she and rebecca start hooking up it's grown into a long bob and she keeps that for a while tbh because like

obsetress: viola has impulses all the time but she either: suppresses them, or thinks about them and then does them to the point where they can no longer be considered impulsive

obsetress: vs um

obsetress: dani has impulses all the time and used to suppress them but then fully leaned into

obsetress: charging headfirst into whatever the fuck (vp speech ref sheds a tear)

em: OTP: dont you wanna go apeshitt

obsetress: and thinking about how people change u and rub off on u for the better even after they leave

obsetress: viola: wants to go apeshitt

obsetress: viola: thinks about going apeshitt, thinks about all the ways it would benefit her, thinks about how she would enjoy it even if it did not in any way benefit her

obsetress: viola: yes ok don't you wanna go apeshitt

em: no but i am i am thinking abt like. dani and viola as both sort of? dragged into being housewives and homemakers because Women n viola didn’t really have the power to change her situation (even if she got isabel out of it!) and dani actually managed to call it off

obsetress: YEAH

obsetress: grits teeth

obsetress: once again crying over very intentional very deliberate danvi parallels that no one else wants to talk about and i think even in this au right

obsetress: viola is socialized in such a specific space that this can very much still be true

obsetress: and i think like part of what draws her to dani is exactly that––that dani had the freedom to do that much sooner––but also she resents dani for exactly that too

obsetress: even when they're together, and that's the possession piece too

obsetress: i think a part of her thinks if she can't do it for herself she can have it for herself and that's close enough

obsetress: like she v much covets dani

em: ah the unique way that lesbians fuck each other up bc of living in a homophobic and misogynistic society

em:i mean who doesn’t covet danis ass

obsetress: literally and metaphorically

obsetress: and part of dani definitely knows that but part of dani (at least until she doesn't) likes it

obsetress: (also this is kinda what i was getting at w my insane lil pwp alfjadslf but i think it tracks here too)

obsetress: because she's like "well this is what it's supposed to be but it didn't work with eddie because i don't like men but now i'm with a woman and this is how it's supposed to be"

obsetress: "and i like being wanted it's nice to be wanted by someone i want for once"

obsetress: but yeah thinking a lot about the danvi dynamic once again

obsetress: viola short curly hair to viola long bob

obsetress: YEAH I JSUT

obsetress: WENT TO HER INSTA TO FIND

obsetress: AND THEN GOT

obsetress: SO DISTRACTD

[em note: edited out a 30 minute tangent going through pictures from kates instagram]

obsetress: so anyway the whole point of this. long bob viola

obsetress: rebecca loves long bob viola she rly loves um. sitting on her lap and running her fingers back through her hair

obsetress: when she and dani see each other again for the first time dani's all "oh. you cut your... hair" and vi's like "i did" and dani's like "it, um. looks... it looks... good?"

em: i think it’s nice when viola does something for herself :)

obsetress: it's nice :)

obsetress: i'm happy for her :)

obsetress: wish she didn't have to look so much hotter though :)

obsetress: don't make that face, babe, it's fine :)

obsetress: you know i love you :)

em: WAIT

em: dani had a fucking moment. she’s like

obsetress: oh dani likes her girls w curly hair huh

em: counting on her fingers. how many ppl has she dated w

em: YEAH

obsetress: YEAHDLKFJSLDFDFJSLDFj

em: CURLY BROWN HAIR

obsetress: OH MGOD EDDIE TOO

obsetress: NOT JUST GIRLS

obsetress: aw baby has a type

em: so actually it is DANI who ends up w the strongest routine

em: just short bob hair viola sitting next to jamie and dani has a fuckjng. out of body experience. perceives herself a little too hard

obsetress: she's just. staring

obsetress: mouth def hanging open

obsetress: then someone's like "dani? dani?" and she's blinking like five times in a row and sitting up straight

obsetress: but she does def have that moment at brunch

em: jamie doesn’t twig it

em: violas like. violas got a keen eye for anyone ‘copying’ her style. raises one devastating eyebrow

obsetress: dani and vi devastating eyebrow partners n crime

obsetress: later that night, in bed: jamie?

jamie: wot?

dani: do i have a type?

obsetress: jamie immediately wants to jump to no because how could she have anything in common w––

obsetress: oh. oh

em: jamie’s lil wispy premature greys set her apart

em: ‘jamie HATES it when she has things in common w viola’ is my favourite bit sjddkhd

obsetress: jamie "not sure how viola has no greys n she's how much older than me again" taylor

em: dani realises she actually has. no idea how old viola is

em: barely even knows a birthday

em: maybe viola even has like. a decoy birthday

em: queen of being mysterious for the drama of it all

obsetress: "she's just too stubborn to grey is all" "i'm stubborn!" "mm" "wossat supposed to mean" "you're..." "i'm what" "you like to... pretend? you're stubborn" "pretend i'm–– i am!" "jamie, i asked you to repark the car because i didn't want to get out of bed and it's street cleaning day and you immediately jumped up to do it even though you can barely parallel park"

em: WHIPPED

obsetress: jamie's quiet for a long time then, softly: "can parallel park just fine"

obsetress: "mm"

obsetress: whipped as hell

obsetress: this led me to everyone making dani or viola parallel park all the time when they go anywhere

obsetress: hc dani is a Very Good driver. idk why but it tickles me

em: i think um. dani is v independent and wants to be able to do things herself

em: and i think she probably got her license before eddie, but as soon as eddie got his....

obsetress: and dani's better than him n got a better score than him, and yet

em: and yet!

em: they swap out being deso driver if they’re gonna be drinking. or jsut call a taxi lmao

em: i’m so endeared by Extremely Good Driver Dani

em: dani does a reverse park without thinking

obsetress: viola loves her martinis n dani is drunk off of half a glass of sangria

obsetress: same!!!!!!!

obsetress: also just like. imagining

obsetress: dani checking all her mirrors

em: no

em: HANNAH

obsetress: and adjusting everything so fastidious

obsetress: OH GOD

obsetress: i didn't––

em: i jumped

em: phew it’s actually cute

obsetress: yeah! dw i'm not sick

em: well

obsetress: she just goes through her whole lil checklist and is so meticulous and precise

em: jamies like ‘we’re the same height’ and danis like ‘well.’

obsetress: oh god the four of them driving to the seaside for a vacation together (lots of content to mine here, will have to put a pin in most of it because i am getting sleepy) but they end up taking the truck much to vi’s chagrin just because it can hold the most

obsetress: (like viola doesn’t have a range rover but listen it needs to be dani n jamie’s car for this to work)

obsetress: and vi and rebecca are sitting in the back and then rebecca’s frowning and blinking and digging a headband out of the seat between them and viola immediately just. knows

obsetress: she’s like “dani?” “mm?” “you and jamie... have cleaned your car recently, right?” (jamie’s chiming in: “i’m right here, vi, you can address me too,” viola pointedly ignores her) “um... maybe a couple months ago? why?” “well,” and vi pokes her disdainfully with the headband, “can you at least tell me you’ve had it cleaned between whenever this got stuck between the seats and rebecca and me sitting here now?”

obsetress: dani just GRINS sheepishly

obsetress: “i could tell you that, but...” “but?” dani mumbles “it would be a lie”

obsetress: anyway dunno why vi’s that upset about having to sit in the backseat where dani n jamie hooked up, like, last week when it’s not like she and rebecca haven’t been inside the two of them respectively but it’s absolutely the kind of contrarian shit she’d choose to be pressed about and it makes me laugh so

[jeongjaehyuns]

hi!!✨💌 self promo time: reply with five of your favourite creations and pass this on to some of your favourite creators! thank you for making such lovely things! you have such beautiful gifs and gfx 💕🥰💌

hello!!! thank you so much for the sweet message 🥺🥰

one. this post took me So Long and there was a point throughout the entire process where i rly wanted to rip my hair out bc i was sooooo stressed and even in the end, i still wasn’t 100% pleased with it but it remains a favorite of mine bc i really liked the coloring for it 🥺🥺🥺

two. this one isn’t posted here on tumblr but i really enjoyed editing this one! i really love editorial design work!! 

three. this gifset had a lot of different colors to work with and it was really hard to make it look all cohesive but i’m really happy and content with how it turned out! 

four. in the beginning when i started this, i didn’t think i’d like it as much but this is actually one of my favorite gifsets i’ve ever made!! i’m very happy with how clean it looks LOL 

five. ooh this one is suuuuper old but i remember being really satisfied with the outcome of this one!!! 

thank you so much for sending me this!! 💘

[shushvera]

*toy story shark vc* howdy howdy howdy ! i would like to make it known i’ve been unabashedly eyeing this since it opened ! anyway ! i’ve lost my ooc intro groove so we gonna move down to my ic intro down below:

oh hi there, welcome to holiday, VERA FLOROS. you’ve been here for TWO MONTHS? awesome! you look just like MARINA DIAMANDIS, it’s crazy. oh, so you’re a 30 year old ‘FORTUNE TELLER’/’MUSICIAN’. and you’re FEMALE and use SHE/HER? okay, just checking! oh, people say you’re INTUITIVE & DILIGENT but DECEITFUL & RASH? well, i’m sure that you can prove yourself here. you’re looking forward to the HALLOWEEN celebration? that’s a good one, you’ll love it. i have to get going now, bye! [fleur, 19, est, she/her]

i would like to start by saying i’ve played vera once (1 time) before and it was,, so much fun,, the dumbest smart person to exist. i’ve tweaked her bg a little (because..... that’s what happens when you read lucille ball’s autobiography that was SUMN.....), but ! who cares !

update: this got rly long so there’s a tl;dr at the bottom if that better floats your boat !

INTRO-WORTHY STATS

aka, stats that aren’t that deep™

FULL NAME: Vera Floros DOB: August 17th, 1989 AGE: thirty FROM: Abergavenny, Wales OCCUPATION: “fortune teller” & a musician who doesn’t understand marketing ORIENTATION: bisexual CLASS: middle class ( that inheritance kicked in ! )

BACKGROUND: 

CHILDHOOD

triggers: parental death, brief mentions of child abuse

alright, vera was born to a very young couple in wales. they’d gotten married fresh out of high school and had a child (her) just two years later. that being said, for about two years after, her mother began distancing herself from the father... not because he was a bad guy, but he moved cities entirely and she was NOT about that.

to be perfectly redundant, for about two years, it was just vera and her mother. 

grandparents weren’t about their daughter being married. at 18. did they help pay rent for a separate living space? until vera’s mom was 21, yes. but was she welcomed in their house? lmao!!!!!

THEN her father blew back into town. they reconnected, they both began working more so that vera’s mother didn’t have to rely on her own (we’ll get to her dad’s parent’s in a second). 

vera, at the Tender Age of Three™ learned that she was a complete Daddy’s Girl™. although she loved her mom for obvious reasons, she connected with her dad on an entirely different level. he was fun! he was playful! he was young, but he was the perfect dad! he even told dad jokes! which she didn’t get until she was five because three year olds usually aren’t that smart! they did little ‘acrobatic’ things! it was cute and fun and good!

but? this is a roleplay character?

our man died from unexpected heart failure. the autopsy showed an abnormality that hadn’t previously been discovered, and we know our man rarely went to the doctor. vera was six at the time.

her mom: married at 18, mother at 20, widow at 26. 

because she and her mom had never developed that Close Bond™, it was difficult for her mother to figure out how to... like... keep her from wandering around... because just telling her not to wasn’t working... so she was like “you know what.... a leash.”

we love ‘puppy’ by george saunders

so whenever her mom was at work and vera wasn’t in school, she was tied to a tree in the backyard.

cruel and unusual punishment!

eventually, her mom kind of just... threw in the towel... she left completely for a change of pace. she said she would be back and that vera would be under the care of her father’s parents in athens until then.

her father’s parents had always been more accepting of the young marriage. they’d been more supportive of them being young parents, in spite of her father having left for a while. they’d definitely been supportive of vera and her mother during that time because they were like “omg mood”

there were a few other kids under their care, all related or not. they did some work for her father’s parents, but nothing very laborious – just sort of... Bonding™ ja feel?

so her mom DID keep her promise and returned three years later when vera was nine. mind you, vera had never held any feelings of resentment towards her mother. when she was six, she... just didn’t get it. at nine, she was old enough to be like “i get u.”

BUT her mother DID get remarried. she didn’t resent her for that, but... she was not fond of the new husband. he wouldn’t accept the ‘dad’ title, was very stern, very serious, made her mom seem like an absolute joy, etc. 

but her mom was in love, so what could she do? and then they had a son together, so what could she do? nothing.

that summer, to learn more Discipline™, vera was sent to live with her step-father’s parents in london. boy howdy, it was nothing like her father’s parents! they had a knack for pointing out flaws, induced actual laborious work, constantly quoted the bible at the worst of times, and thought that a single head nod was the equivalent of “good job!” there were a couple of other kids there too, but yikes.

TEENS ( *hang ten emoji* ) + COLLEGE

triggers: brief domestic abuse implications

early was filled with Drama™ surrounding her step-father’s parents and her step-father himself. the overall consensus was that he was not a dope dude, nor were his parents. vera’s mother filed for divorce and gained sole custody of their son (keeping in mind.... she basically already had sole custody of vera.... considering she was her only legal guardian left lmao)

after the divorce was filed, vera’s mother was like “u kno what. my parents hate me. my first husband is dead. my second husband was a douche. i have no reason to be here anymore.” so they went to the land of golden opportunity

but wound up in america instead

(joke patented by dr. doofenshmirtz)

vera, around sixteen at the time (y’all i’m figuring out ages as i go along bear with me), now attended some strange high-school where they were like “fahrenheit.” 

by the way! it was in holiday! that’s important to note for possible future connections!

it wasn’t an unwelcome change, though. starting over... was nice...

but the problem was that she was like her father in that she always acted before she thought... which made her a very dumb smart person. 

alright get ready for the single idea that drove this entire thing:

she majored in philosophy then was *pikachu shocked face* when she realized there were no jobs out there for philosophy majors.

ADULTHOOD

alright... so what do you do when you have no good opportunities for things in your major?

you would think you would do something like... idk... find a well-paying job that doesn’t require a major?

or maybe a job that just requires experience in ___?

or maybe a job that just requires a bachelor’s degree of any sort?

or maybe a job that doesn’t require a major, but would like a major similar to yours, thus giving you a leg up?

etc.?

lmao no. you go to new orleans and become one of many phony fortune tellers using the one good thing you got from your weird upbringing: easy analysis of body language.

in addition, you try to make something of your life through music, but have no clue what ‘marketing’ is because you really don’t understand social media and probably still have the egg as your twitter profile picture.

what do you mean print is out of style?

what do you mean no one listens to CDs anymore?

what do you mean garageband isn’t acceptable to record on?

that being said, it’s not like... she wasn’t good at it... i mean she was v good at it... but musician is in quotes because she has made NOTHING of her LIFE with it. DOES NOT UNDERSTAND MARKETING.

*sonic kid vc* WHEN WILL YOU LEARN? WHEN WILL YOU LEARN? *end vc*

she got some decent pay from being a ‘fortune teller,’ though. tourists totally flocked and using a fake russian accent helped, as did... just speaking a language they didn’t know while pretending to contact spirits...

at least she’s a good scam artist

can’t market very well, but could probs create the next big ponzi scheme

returned to holiday when she heard news from her brother that her mother had fallen ill.

honestly rest in peace.

is still around because... that’s her home! sentiment! also rip!

also marketing isn’t as hard in holiday so???

also testing fortune telling out in holiday is more interesting so???

DOPE.

PERSONALITY

either really dumb for a smart person or really smart for a dumb person.

still has a childlike trait tbh. i mean when ur growing up just laying beneath child labor laws, ur gonna have to become a kid again eventually.

really bad at technology for reasons unknown to... everyone, but really good at scams.

has not thought before she acted even ONCE.

hasn’t used her degree since she was 22. the closest she’s come is buying some misc. philosophy books and sharing tidbits with strangers. 

“now this is a taoist anthem” - vera @ ‘soak up the sun’ by sheryl crow

so many ragrets.

will find a way to bring up she’s half greek in every conversation. 

“and i’ve had mental illness since i was in middle school. good night.” - that video someone edited of professor tox

im so bad at personality sections but she’s got a fun one y’all one of the few characters i’ve played who’s had a Sad Backstory™ but wound up being a Fun And Comedic Character™

TL;DR

that was my first time ever writing this whole thing out, so it got real long. so we gonna give a tl;dr:

triggers: v brief mentions of parental death, brief mentions of child abuse, v brief implication of domestic abuse

born to a v young couple in wales. dad was like “brb” then he did, indeed, come rb. loved dad. but dad died when she was six lmao get wreckt this is a roleplay character.

mom was like “idk what 2 do” so she took notes from george saunders’s ‘puppy’ and just tied vera to a tree when she was gone adjsflka. went away for a while and vera stayed with her dad’s parent’s in greece. came back three years later and reunitedanditfeelssogood.mp3.

got married tho and vera was like “i don’t like this guy” and mom was like “i’m having his child.” lived with his parents over the next few summers. they almost violate child labor laws. like. just a hair more. hare? became source of any self-hatred lmao get wreckt

vera’s mom and step-dad divorced bc he was horrible and they moved to holiday when she was sixteen. she left for college when she was eighteen. she decided to major in philosophy which was a bad idea and the source of her entire character. 

decided to become a phony fortune teller in new orleans instead of... idk... just getting a job that didn’t require a degree or sumn? pretty successful tho! talked in a fake russian accent around tourists bc? why not? 

also did/does music but has no idea how marketing works. bad at social media. records things on garageband. an overall fool. good but a fool.

back in holiday bc mom died lmao get wreckt we’re an orphan now boizzzz

Sad But Rad™

WANTED CONNECTIONS

it’s 2:38AM as i write this part and i still have to go back and include a stats thing bc i love those then post ic but i’ll update this w/ some when im done i suppose?? but we do love brainstorming in this house!!

like this or hmu if you’d like to plot !

[crafiet]

1-50 of the writers ask thingy, tell me everything :D

D:

1 : What age-group do you write?adult! ive always written characters my age or a few years older

2 : What genre do you write?sff, mostly fantasy

3 : Do you outline according to big ideas or small details?hmmm, i guess small details? when i get an idea, i get an idea for single scenes or pieces of dialogue or a certain character, so i piece together an outline from that. but i have trouble with a overarching plot lol

4 : Which do you prefer–line-editing or plot-revisions?line-editing, i love editing. revisions suck bc it takes me 10,000 yrs to come up with an idea and now i have to replace it with another??? blasphemous

5 : Do you write better with or without deadlines?ive written my whole life without deadlines except for when i tried nano last year and failed. so without i guess, but then i dont have anything to convince me to write more lmao

6 : What would be the biggest compliment you could hope to receive on your current WIP?idk probably that its someones favourite book, or to see fanart *.*

7 : How long is your current WIP?26,305 words, its a rewrite heh

8 : What author would you be most excited to be compared to?hummmmmm,,,idk when people call new fantasy books “the next game of thrones” it sounds so fake lol but idk who my favourite author is...

9 : What do you struggle most with as a writer?writing

10 : Do you brain-storm story ideas alone or with others?mostly alone but YOU, ASH, help sometimes. its good to get an objective ear

11 : Do you base your characters off of real people?nah lol, im not good at characters

12 : Is your writing space clean or cluttered?clean

13 : Do you write character-driven or plot-driven stories?plot-driven. my writing is extremely fast paced, and i dont tend to like reading character-driven works

14 : Do you have a favorite writing-related quote?ive answered this in previous ask. the 'drunk on writing’ one by ray bradbury

15 : If you transport your original characters into another author’s world, which world would you choose?everyone else’s worlds are so harsh lol maybe id put them in atla so they can fuck around w bending

16 : Would your story work better as a movie or tv show? Why?miniseries ﾟ*｡(･∀･)ﾟ*｡ but it would lend itself to a movie yeah

17 : Do you make soundtracks for each story?nah, lazy ass

18 : If you could assign your story one song, what would it be?unbecoming by starset

19 : Would you rather live in your characters’ world, or have your characters come live in our world?honestly? i wanna escape capitalism and wield a sword

20 : What book would you love to see adapted for the big or small screen?zero world by jason m hough!!!! its a pretty big book i think a movie duology or a tv show would work!

21 : Do you finish most of the stories you start?no

22 : Has your own writing ever made you cry?no lol 

23 : Are you proud or anxious to show off your writing?anxious cz im bad

24 : When did you start considering yourself a writer?i meannnnnnnn do i even now thoooooo

25 : What books are must-reads in your genre?sff is so broad, read whatever tf u want

26 : What would you like to see more of in your genre?diversity, not just in race gender sexuality but in fucking plots like damn give me something w a twist

27 : Where do you get inspiration from?real life, books, movies

28 : On a scale of 1-10, how much do you stress about choosing character names?about a 2, i just search on a generator until i find one i like im not a stickler for names nd i dont usually have placeholder names or anything

29 : Do you tend to underwrite or overwrite in a first draft?chronic underwriter hence the only 20k words

30 : Does writing calm you down or stress you out?calm me down, i have no control over my own life so its good to have complete control over my oc’s lives. i dont tend to have the ‘characters run away from me’ thing, but probably bc i dont see it like that lol

31 : What trope do you actually like?ride-or-die, charas who are knowledgeable and badass from the beginning, i hate following the character learning to do something lmao im impatient

32 : Do you give your side-characters extensive backstories?depends on the side character, every character is fleshed out to an extent but i dont do a massive family tree or anything

33 : Do you flesh-out characters before you write, or let their personalities develop over time?i tend to create characters before plot so i would say i know them pretty well before starting but i do let them develop naturally within the story without forcing them into any box

34 : Describe your old writing in one word.tryhard

35 : Is it more fun to write villains or heroes?mmm both have their merits, i went through a phase where i loved villains but a warped heroes journey or a morally grey/anti-hero can be super good too

36 : Do you write with a black and white sense of morality?nah, murky

37 : What’s one piece of advice you would give to new writers?try anything. anything it doesnt matter if ur nervous or you ‘dont write in that genre’ or you dont even like that genre. its good to train yourself and go out of your comfort zone, makes u a better writer imo. also dont read this and think ‘im not writing an entire historical romance novel bc i hate it’ i mean just one shots. a paragraph or two. try out writing prompts, it really flexes ur skillsalso dont feel like everything u have to write will be published, thats what i mean by try out little paragraphs or prompts. let go of this idea that any of this work will see the light of day [unless u rly want it to] and just have fun, go wild, go crazy, go stupid

38 : What’s one piece of writing advice you try–but fail–to follow?its mostly those ones that help u have cleaner, more beautiful writing. i write really beige-like and its hard to be poetic or flowery

39 : How important is positive reinforcement to you as a writer?probably super important

40 : What would you ask your favorite author if given one question?when ur next book out

41 : Do you find it distracting to read while you’re writing a first draft?nah

42 : Do critiques motivate or discourage you?ive never really had many, so i would say discourage bc i dont have a thick skin with my writing

43 : Do you tend to write protagonists like yourself or unlike yourself?unlike myself, i like to write bold, confident characters and im not that lol escapism much

44 : How do you decide what story idea to work on?whichever interests me the most at the moment, i can jump between projects easily so i dont have a problem 

45 : Do you find it harder or easier to write when you’re stressed out?harder, i cant look at my writing if im stressed else ill absolutely hate it and might do something drastic like delete it all lol

46 : What Hogwarts house would your protagonist(s) be in?ary is slytherincyri is ravenclawash is gryffindorcaena is slytherin [i dont know how to spell the house names]

47 : Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?still writing id hope

48 : Would you ever co-write?nah

49 : Are you a fast and rushed writer or a slow and deliberate writer?i used to be fast and rushed bc i was so impatient i just wanted to see the end product but i realised that i really love being in the world of my wips as long as possible so i draw it out and really mull everything over

50 : Would you rather be remembered for your fantastic world-building or your lifelike characters?both lol? i do love worldbuilding but i think characters make a greater impact

[spvnningsilks]

* ( POWERED )『 ― dread it. run from it. destiny still arrives for you, cindy moon. silk is said to be twenty years old and she is a hero associated with no-one. on good days they can be hard working but catch them on a bad one and they’re easily overwhelmed. on that note, don’t they kind of resemble adeline rudolph ? 』

                     cast the sabrina girls as the spider women 2k19 - HOEKAY so thankfully I’m fresher 2 writing Cindy than Cassie bc I’ve written her in the last few months so !! More info abt her under the cut ( some is edited tho to fit w/ the rp’s timeline n’ all )

okay so u all know the Spider-Man origin story ; Silk’s sort of starts out the same. I think in the comics she’s a year or two older than Peter but she was at the same museum Peter was when he got bitten by the radioactive spider !! it bit her I think after it bit him - on her ankle

N THEN YEAH basically she got the same powers he did !! only thing was , her spider senses were way more sensitive and she actually could make organic webbing much easier.

BT SHE COULDN’T CONTROL THEM !! so her parents basically hand her over to this guy n his answer , to helping Cindy control her powers , is toooooooo lock her away in a bunker. to protect her. Kinda Sucked. 

now in the comics Cindy was in the bunker for ten years ; but in this rp she’s only gonna have been in the bunker for four or five , roughly. But that’s still a LOT of time to be locked away like that - and her answer to where she’s been to the people who know her was that she’s been in college overseas. 

there was also the big spider-verse thing in the comics n she’s like some sort of ... spider totem ??? in a way ?? idk those are also the comics that paired her w/ peter bc of sPIDER SENSE U R G E S n I kinda try to block that memory out whenever I think abt it so.

so yeah I write Cindy the same as Cassie : trans n gay. fight me , Marvel , you fucking COWARDS 

I didn’t pick up another energetic  battle kween though Cindy is more . . . awkward. She’s still kind of adjusting to being free but the problem w/ being free is that it comes at her SO FAST - Cindy’s also got rly horrible anxiety and the spider sense that alerts her when college kids are crying by themselves definitely does not help.

She’s trying her best to be your friendly neighborhood . . . Silk , tho. But she’s new. Still trying to come up with her own quips and methods and she’s not as BIG as Spider-Man but she’s pretty cool

definitely a lil more moody and it can show , sort of caused by her silk sense working a little too well. also sorta reckless in the sense that she throws herself into situations and then panics and is overwhelmed and then runs purely off ADRENALINE and puts herself at risk.

GOD THO I FUCKIN LOVE HER ; probably my main Marvel muse tbh. Cindy Moon is the best girl n I ,,, love her n also Dan Slott writing her was uh kinda tragique so again I rly base my portrayal off of the Silk series

i was motivated 2 pick her up by charli bc felicia/cindy is,,, gud.

so YEAH i’ll put up a starter call 4 her momentarily !!

[itshyejung]

Coffeehouse Angel - Zhu Zhengting

Type: Scenario

(Not gonna do genres bc tbh idk how to categorize my scenarios? I guess they’re fluff I mean they’re not rly angsty and def not smut so... just cute? Who even knows lmao)

Characters: Nine Percent Zhu Zhengting x you

(Pics are edited by me so pls give credit. Scenarios are not requested, I came up with all these a long time ago but never really shared them publicly, so hope you guys enjoy! I tried to be creative with each scenario and not do super cliche or boring ones but I think all of them are still kinda cliche lmao...)

P.S Sorry if there are any typos on the last two and this one! 

The crowded counterspace was so small, it was uncomfortable to breathe in the area especially when your co-worker, Zhu Zhengting, was always squishing behind you to get around you as you rang up customers’ orders. The satisfying sound of steaming coffee falling into a cup made you realx as Zhengting’s quick and skillful hands expertly mixed a raspberry mocha for the tall lady in a red leather coat. You adjusted the hat you wore on your head and wiped off a bit of sweat before turning on your super smile for the next customer in line. Your hands worked quickly at the cash register, occasionally glancing to the side to see if Zhengting was squeezing by. You made sure to let him have plenty of space when he would. You blushed insanely at the thought of bumping rear ends, so. you were carefuly to make sure it wouldn’t happen. Little did you know of Zhengting’s expression on the other side, secretly smiling at the way you cutely tried to move out of his way. But, he thought, a little skinship wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

“Oh it’s 9:30am. Position switch,” Zhengting noted as he glanced at the small clock on the left wall of the shop. You nodded and traded places with him, ashamed at the fact that you would now have to openly perform your coffeemaking skills, which weren’t nearly as skillful and exciting as Zhengting’s. You also kind of enived the way he confidently took over your job. Your boss had told you that you were better suited for cashier management and customer service, but as Zhengting has been working here longer than you had, he obviously had more experience and was good at just about everything.

You rubbed your hands together, untied and retied your apron, and set your elbows on top of the coffee machine as you waited for Zhengting to call orders out to you. From there, you got a nice view of his straight back and long fingers, handling cash just as expertly as you did and typing away on the touch screen of the cash register. However, he seemed to handle everything with ease, unlike the way you had scurried around, handing a pile of orders to him, shuffling left and right, and fingers shakily typing out orders onto the touch screen that you sometimes made typos (no one saw, so that was okay, right?). 

“Hey. Are you listening?” Zhengting’s large hand waved in front of your face rapidly as the customers in line laughed. “I know I’m good looking, but if you stare too long, you might lose your job.”

You flushed madly, which Zhengting smiled cutely at. He thought you were generally pretty, but prettiest when you were modest. He had a strong attraction to girls who were just the way they were, not hidden under layers of disguise that supposedly made them “pretty” but rather, he liked the pretty nature of them. He thought the best kind of person was one who always stayed their true self, and sometimes they were crazy or weird, and it entertained him to meet those people. He was very outgoing in meeting all kinds of people, and one of the reasons he liked working at a coffee shop was because it also amused him to see all the slack faces of people who were having shitty days, desperate for a kick of caffeine to wake them up. 

You hastily yanked down on a lever on the coffee machine to fill up one of the styrofoam cups. The calm brown liquid flowed into the bottom of the cup and pooled to fill the container. Just like how many people like the sound of rushing or running water, the sound of coffee hitting the bottom of a cup calmed you the same way. You quickly capped the cup after it was filled and handed the steaming beverage to the customer. A few coins fell from his hand into the glass jar on the side of the counter.

“Thank you, sir!” you waved at him as he stepped out of the coffeeshop, the bell on top of the door jingling as it swung open and closed.

You shook the glass jar a bit to loosen up the coins inside. This week, you and Zhengting had collected a good amount of tips. Not great, but what would you expect? Indeed you were an amateur. Seventy-five percent of those tips were probably the college girls going crazy over how cute Zhengting was. He looked like an adorable little mouse or cat with really fluffy fur.

“Seriously, if you’re going to keep doing that, I’m going to have to go work back there.” Zhengting pointed towards the back kitchen, where a few cooks worked making orders for people who had stopped by for a bite. Although it was mostly known for coffee, the shop was also partially a cafe where you could dine in. “And I’d be washing dishes. Now, I don’t want to do that, with you out here having all the fun, right?” He pushed on your forehead gently with two fingers. “Focus.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, boss.”

The day rolled by quickly, but you were kept busy for the rest of the day and surprisingly rarely thought about Zhengting as you served sandwiches and handled to-go customers who pulled up at the window. “I think it’s your turn to wipe down tables,” Zhengting said to you as you flipped over the sign on the front door.

“Right.” You walked over to the small calendar that hung off a pushpin in the wall. “It says ‘JUNGJUNG’ in giant letters. And obviously my name is not Jungjung.”

“Ugh, I hate going by that nickname,” Zhengting groaned. “And contrary to wait it says, it’s actually your turn anyways. Boss said so, because he saw you staring off ‘into space’ during work today.”

“Whaaaaaat,” you tried not to blush at how he had sarcastically covered up what (or who) you were actually staring at. “Alright, I guess this makes up for that then,” you sighed, and headed to the kitchen to grab the dish towel. You and Zhengting both detested wiping the gunk off the tables. The cookies and muffins many people requested for were especially crumbly, and there were messes all over the tables. You tied your apron tighter around your waist and began wiping the crumbs off the table, sweeping them onto the floor which you would later make Zhengting sweep up. You wiped ugly, sticky smudges of coffee off the tabletops, secretly making faces at them.

Meanwhile, Zhengting hid his smile behind his hand. Actually, the boss had never spoken a word of what he’d just told you to him. In fact, it was 100% true to say that Zhengting loved watching you work, especially when you wiped off tables. It wasn’t that he was a pervert who just liked staring at nice asses, definitely not. He especially liked your figure from the back. He thought that even your derpiest moments were done with at least some beauty and grace; you just looked beautiful to him. And he loved viewing your hard-working self from a distance, where you were completely clueless about it. After all, anything pretty should be looked at from a distance. You didn’t suspect a thing, just begrudgingly worked at making each table spotless. When you were done, you wiped sweat off your forehead with the backs of your hands and threw the towel at Zhengting, who caught it perfectly in the center of his chest.

“Whoa there, calm down. Hey, if you’re mad about wiping down twice in a row, I’ll take it tomorrow and the day after. Coffee?” Zhengting held out a hot cup of the liquid as you approached the counter, fingers already fumbling to untie the knot on the back of your apron. You folded it up neatly and hung it on your apron hook.

“Don’t mind if I do,” you grinned, accepting it halfheartedly. To be honest, all you wanted to do was go home and sleep all day, every day. Yet something about Zhengting’s attitude and personality made you stay later than your shift every night. Perhaps it was the way he joked humorously, but then was sincere at other times. Maybe it was the way he had voluntarily taught you all that he’d learned working here so that you wouldn’t be behind all the other employees. Or maybe it was because he had been the one that proposed the idea of “coffee dates” each night.

It wasn’t that you two were dating or anything. In fact, you’d never thought of him as more than a best friend and a long time co-worker. However, you didn’t think you’d rather have a coffee date with anyone else other than Zhengting. You enjoyed these a lot because they were especially refreshing after a tiring and long work day. They definitely stretched longer than the amount of time you’d been scheduled for. Three hours a day felt like three years. Besides, there was something about Zhengting’s smiling face that always left you relaxed at the end of the day.

“School’s ending pretty quickly, don’t you think? Soon all of us seniors will move onto uni,” Zhengting suddenly brought up, staring out the window while propping himself up against the counter. He gulped down a big sip of his coffee. You swirled your own raspberry mocha in your cup absentmindedly. There was something eating at the back of your mind that you didn’t really have the heart to tell Zhengting. However, it was not something you could avoid.

“It has been a pretty fast year,” you agreed, finally consuming a bit of your coffee. “Sometimes I wonder if everything really happened that fast or if I’m just terrible at paying attention.”

“Worried?” Zhengting grinned. “Don’t worry, star student. Didn’t you tell me you sent a lot of college applications out? I bet all of them are going to fight over you.”

Heat flushed through you and colored your cheeks warm. “Don’t say that,” you brushed it off. “I haven’t gotten any letters yet. Where are you planning on going to college?”

Zhengting’s head snapped up to look at you and grinned when he caught you off guard. Returning his gaze outside, he said, “I just applied for the local university. Nothing too extravagant. I think staying here will be just find for me.”

You nodded in understanding. “The safer choice, of course.”

“Are you saying I’m not a risk taker?”

“W-what? No… well, it’s not that it makes me one, obviously…” 

“I think asking you to prom was probably the biggest risk I ever took,” Zhengting made a face and downed the rest of his drink, tossing the empty cup into the trash can with a loud clutter. “Don’t you think?”

You set your cup down with a clunk as you thought back to the clumsy but fun mess that night had been. “You punk! I’m not as difficult as you are to deal with!”

“Perhaps not, but you have to agree that I’m better at dancing.”

Aish, this kid. You grabbed a bunch of his coffee-brown locks in one hand and dragged his towering head to your eye level. “Say one more word and you won’t be able to dance anymore, you got it?”

“Ouch! The f-” Zhengting began, trying to yank his hair out of your grasp. Then his gummy smile suddenly returned. “Yes, ma’am.”

Your stomach was full of hot coffee but you weren’t ready to leave yet. Although Zhengting was an annoying kid a lot of the time, you had to admit you had a lot more fun if he was around. You two had somehow become close a long time ago when you had been swinging int he backyard. A grubby, sweaty little brown-haired kid barreled through, trying to keep a slippery frog in his grasp. You had jumped off the swing and joined him in the chase, always seeking adventure.

“Do you think… that Seoul University will accept me?” you wondered aloud as Zhengting watched you carefully. There. You had said it aloud, but unbeknownst to you, he had long ago known about your desires to study in South Korea. He was your childhood best friend, after all.

“Idiot.” Zhengting pressed two of his fingers to your forehead again and pushed gently. You feigned pain and flopped down on the counter. “You know smartasses like you will get in. You just wanted to rub it in my face.”

“That hurt!” you complained, but was secretly grateful that Zhengting supported you and gave you encouraging words, even if it was in a rough way.

“Ah, true love always does, doesn’t it?” Zhengting joked nonchalantly, but his cheeks flamed up at what he’d just said.

You choked. “Whoa, where’d that come from?”

“I was just thinking.” Zhengting dragged his finger around on the counter and said nothing more. You looked at him funny and then proceeded to finish your coffee as if nothing had happened.

“That’s never a good thing for you,” you joked back.

“Yah! Your smartass is showing too much!”

“Or maybe it’s because you’re too much of a dumbass.”

“Ugh, forget this. I’m going home.” Zhengting laughed a little and swiped your car keys from you, pretending to head off with them.

“What about me, you inconsiderate punk?” You jumped on his back and yanked his arm down, desperately prying athis fingers. What was with him today?

“There! Now I really get to go home.” You smiled triumphantly, walking out of the door with a huge new ego.

Zhengting just chuckled and turned off the lights, locking the doors before heading home himself. It was true, he loved annoying you. But he loved it more when he made you smile.

_______________________________________________________________________

You couldn’t help it. Your smile would just not disappear. It had to be completely normal, right? How could one’s smile disappear when they had received an acceptance letter from Seoul University as a foreigner? You almost jumped out your bedroom window, wanting to show Zhengting the letter, but miraculously refrained from pitching yourself out 50 ft into the air onto gravel down below and waited with close to no patience until your shift had started.

At five o’clock in the morning, you raced to the coffeeshop with more speed than you had ever run in gym class and probably more speed than you will ever run in a zombi apocalypse and burst into the staff room, banging the door so loudly that it ricocheted and almost hit you back in the face.

“ZHENGTING!” you yelled, jumping on him again.

“Whoa there, tiger. Calm the hell down. Did you get into Seoul U or something?”

“See for yourself!” You shoved the envelope in his face excitedly.

“I can’t see anything,” Zhengting said in a muffled voice. “Lemme see this.” He tore the envelope from your hand.

“Don’t crinkle it!”

“I’m guessing you got in then,” Zhengting smiled genuinely and opened the envelope carefully, skimming over the letter and stopping at the last sentence. “You smartass. I knew you would make it.” He ruffled your hair affectionately, but it ended up looking like a wild bird’s nest.

“Yah! You-” you protested, trying to fix your hair. “So this is how you congratulate me?”

“I’m proud of you, smartass. Let’s get back to work,” Zhengting winked.

You smiled at him, knowing that he was sincerely happy for you. You two had been friends for years, so of course you could read that on his face. However, you could also hint that there was a bit of disappointment on his face. What could he possibly be worrying about? Did he not get into the college he wanted? You dismissed it temporarily and stepped out the doors feeling more confident and ready for work than you had ever been in your career there. You made sure to give your absolute best in customer service today, and even surprised yourself when you volunteered to wipe down tables and wash the dishes.

Zhengting watched you with a longing expression. He knew this would be one of the last moments he would ever get to spend with you before you left for Seoul. You didn’t know that he would miss you so much he would never have the same work attitude again just because you weren’t there. Zhengting watched you nonchalantly wipe down the tables and hum a familiar tune, admiring your figure for the last time and making sure to remember it forever. He had wanted to confess to you soon, but apparently “soon” wasn’t soon enough. Now you were leaving even sooner.

You lazily dragged the towel across the countertop when you were finished and proceeded to head back into the kitchen to start washing the dishes. As this was probably your last day here, you wanted to be of as much help as you could to the coffeeshop you loved working in so much, mainly because of Zhengting. You admit that you had to thank him in the first place for giving you such great memories throughout your childhood.

If it weren’t for him, you might not have even gotten a job here. And finally the feeling of missing him terribly slapped you in the face. How could you have been so blind? You were so excited about getting into the school of your choice that you had completely forgotten about the reason why you had the confidence and the potential to be accepted into such a school: Zhu Zhengting. You shook your head in disbelief.

“Hey.” Zhengting pushed a small styrofoam cup your way. The last coffee date you’d ever have with him was beginning, and somehow you wished it would never end. You smiled and picked it up, suddenly feeling silly for wanted to keep the cup as a memory to reminisce the days you’d worked here.

“Thanks.”

“And I have something else for you too.” He drew out a box from behind his back and slid it across the counter towards you. Surprised, you turned over the box in your hands a couple of times.

“What’s this for?” You unlocked the clasp that locked the box together and found yourself looking at something you knew would touch your heart forever.

“Remember this?” Zhengting smiled the instantly he saw you smile at the pair of star earrings that used to belong to your mother. Perhaps she had gone off with another man ever since the divorce, but you knew that she never forgot about you. She’d left those earrings just for you, but then a month later you had lost them and gone to Zhengting to cry about it. This was when you were ten years old. Now you had to confess that you’d never really thought about them again. You’d never expect that they would turn up again, much less in the hands of Zhengting.

“But how did you get these?” you asked him, closing the box finally.

“I have my secrets,” he said slyly.

You were confused at his sudden generosity. Zhengting had always been one to play around, throw around a couple of jokes, and tease you in every possible way he could. For him to be this sincere was a completely different image to you. For the first time since the two of you had been friends, you saw Zhengting as other than just the little kid who used to push you on the swings in the neighborhood playground every day. You saw him as someone who had really matured and grown up.

“What are you staring at?” Zhengting wondered in amusement.

“You- uh, I mean thank you, Zhengting. I definitely won’t lose these ever again, and I’ll wear them all the time in Seoul.” You just smiled back at him, refusing to admit that he looked different to you now. How could he possibly have known where your mom kept her valuable things even after she died if he wasn’t interested in it, and how was he that dedicated to find those for you? And for what reasons?

_______________________________________________________________________

It had been a year since you’d moved out of the country for Seoul University. She really left. The idea had hit him harder than a car accident probably would. Without you, working at the coffeeshop had obviously never been the same.

Zhengting didn’t really pay attention to the shifts of new co-workers that came in and out to replace you over the past year. He hid his friendly, outgoing self with a more modest mask. As he turned over the dirtied “Open/Close” sign on the door one night, the new co-worker began wiping down tables.

He knew that she, too, was one who had feelings for him but he ignored that fact. Even the way she wiped down the tables was not as appealing to him as the way you had done it. It was a whole other level of missing somebody that he had. He missed the way you and him always had soap fights when washing dishes. He missed the way you always walked into work with a smile on your face and kept it that way as you handled customer service. He missed the way your beautiful, long fingers tapped on the touch-screen cash register.

He missed coffee dates with you.

He knew it was against the rules to suddenly pull out his phone during work, but his fingers were itching to get in contact with you again. He’d done the same only a few days after you left, remembering that he had worried about seeming desperate since you didn’t know about his silly crush on you still.

You hadn’t had the chance to come back over the holidays you’d had that year, and he was even more devastated but generously understood how busy you were. You were studying at one of the top universities in eastern Asia. Just as he was opening the chat you guys had, the co-worker called out, “I’ll be going, Jungjung!” 

Zhengting didn’t even look up at his subtley rolled his eyes while she hung up the towel. “Can you please not call me that?” Ever since you used to scribble his weird nickname on the schedule, all the other workers had seen it as well and loved to tease him. But he’d only allow you to call him that. “Just call me Zhengting.”

“Okay,” she said, not seeming to pay any attention to what he’d just said. Zhengting sighed as she finally left the shop.

He walked to the counter where you two always had your coffee dates. Something was different about the counter. Although it was pretty much empty, he saw on the end of the counter that there was a small green box sitting there, with one of the shop’s lights shining on it like a spotlight on a main actor in a play. Curious, he reached for the box and almost made a noise of surprise when he saw his name on the back.

“This must be a gift from the boss for all the hard work I’ve done,” he jokingly praised himself. 

With hesitant fingers, he untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. Surprised, he found a silver and bronze chain, the kind he had always wanted to attach to his black pants. He couldn’t think of anyone who could’ve possibly known that he had wanted it, except…

His fingers hit something papery at the bottom of the box. His eyes breezed over the words and his breath caught in his throat as he read the words over and over again, feeling that what was happening now was completely unbelievable. He looked around quickly, but as usual, he was the only worker left in the shop. Suddenly, a sliding sound across the counter startled him. A cup of his favorite espresso was being pushed towards him. As the familiar smell met his nose, his smile brightened.

He pushed himself up onto the counter and peered at the person crouched below the counter, trying to hide herself. “You’re finally back.”

Zhu Zhengting,

First, I apologize for not acknowledging your feelings earlier. I think I knew in myself that I had those feelings for you as well. At first, Seoul University seemed like a good idea. But as I went through this past year, I found that I didn’t really enjoy studying far away from you after all. I haven’t been doing too well because of being homesick. If I can’t be where you are, I don’t think I would be able to live my life very well. So I transferred to Anhui University, where we can be reunited again. I chose to come back to you, because I love you. I hope you’re not disappointed in me.

Zhengting felt your beautiful, long fingers against his broad back as he engulfed you in the biggest bear hug he could ever give someone. When he breathed in your scent, it was just like waking up and smelling the coffee.