#i guess that earlier post was pretty dramatic of me lol

[torgwn]

i dont usually post wips but i like how this is turning out

[1moreff-creator]

DR: One Shot - Prologue First Impressions

Everyone cheer!!! Danganronpa One Shot’s prologue just released {go read it if you haven't it's awesome}, so I figured I'd record my first impressions the same way I did with DRDT CH2 PT2! As usual with this kind of post, don’t expect anything too cohesive or any impressive insight or whatever, these are just my silly thoughts on something I’m very excited about. I also don’t know how this is gonna go with a written format but, uh… we’ll find out!

CW: Thankfully DROS has its own cw system, here's the ones for the prologue :)

Ante Up, huh? Really like that title :D

“Maybe I finally exude enough of a VIP aura that the security guards just left me alone!” I love this protag’s attitude immediately, I’ve been really intrigued by Ellis’ vibe for an entire week by now and I’m already loving it!

“Ellis: Clearly, I’m in heaven, if I’m lookin’ at you~” FIRST. LINE. Goddamn Ellis does not beat around the bush.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, right?” Watch this idea be one of the main themes of One Shot. I doubt it for now but it’d be funny.

“...we see a robot walk into the room. It’s a strange, spindly metal humanoid, almost like a mannequin. Its movements are stilted, seemingly only able to bend at key points in its design.” Damn that’s a creepy ass mascot design actually, awesome.

Monoquin is an awesome name, I love it. Also I wonder who had to be dragged to the room, Eight or Fifteen by the color?

“[Brown]: “Monoquin,” huh? And how’d you get us here? You must have some kind of establishment behind you.” Hi Six, you’re doing great sweety. Also the names are lining up with my predictions so far, right? Just Long and Rey so far, but…

Young too actually, I might have cooked.

“Ellis: Wow, so we’re all special? I was worried it was just me.

???: An Ultimate? Me…?” Ellis I love you and Five’s not beating the “blank slate” allegations so far lol.

Listen, I didn’t want to bring attention to it earlier, but if you’re gonna call them “Mx Ho” I have to point out how objectively funny that name is. Also I think this also lines up with the name guesses, which I’ll stop pointing out now unless it’s contradicted. 

“Hope’s Oasis Resort and Casino.” A casino and resort, huh… Really interesting setting, very unique! Also Fifteen and Fourteen are gonna catch all the MM allegations unless this series doesn’t do an in-class MM lol. {This was said with my original talent predictions in mind lol}

“[Grey]: Modeled after a school in Japan, right as the apocalypse begins in Japan?

[Orange]: We don’t… know it’s an apocalypse. That seems a little dramatic, right?” … Oh. Oh. This is happening concurrently to the start of the Tragedy? The setting gets more interesting by the second.

“There is no way that my talent can be something as boring as the “Ultimate Lucky Student.”” I love Ellis x3. Also got the talent right! Even though I feel everyone and their mothers could have called it. Though I wanna note one of the possible talents they came up with is “Ultimate Champion,” which suggests they’ve probably won… something with their luck? We’ll see.

“Ultimate Moneymaker! The Ultimate Stock Market King! The Ultimate Investing Intellect!” I’m reading this one how am I still so bad about writing reactions right before shit gets explained? But yeah, stocks! That raises the question of whether Ellis even realizes they’re capital L Lucky or not, which is interesting.

By the way, I like the sprites, they’re very charming :)

“...even if we are debatably trapped here with a creepy living mannequin, there are still lots of cuties here.” Forget Ten being the Ultimate Romantic, Ellis is the Ultimate Flirt damn-

“[Light blue]: Cool! My name is Robert Smith, he/him, and, uh… it’s a little embarrassing, but… My “talent” is that I’m the Ultimate Normie.” YOOO! That’s hilarious actually. And I got this right! “Ultimate Regular Person” or something had been my guess, and that’s pretty much what this is! Though “normie” is a hell of a choice lmao.

“… He’s really giving me nothing to work with here.” Ellis is trying so hard it’s hilarious.

"Ellis: Wow… all these beautiful flowers, and yet, you’re the one I can’t take my eyes off of~

I watch their expression deaden for a second, but they take a short breath and quickly replace it with an effortlessly charming smile." 

“Davis: Nice to meet you, Ellis. I’m Davis Love, he/him, and… I guess I’m the Ultimate Bachelor.” Interesting reactions to the flirting, especially given the talent… And while “Romantic” seems way off, I did get the general ballpark of “relationships.”

I don’t want to just copy paste all his dialogue, but Davis is… very interesting so far. Obviously doesn’t like the talent, but pretty confident it’s right… hm… Very curious where this one’s going.

“Kennedy: Monoquin told me that this room rotates from scene to scene every once in a while. Called it a Show Room. But he didn’t tell us why they change it…”

“I’m Kennedy Rey, Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist. Any pronouns.” Someone who makes insane theories from almost non-existent evidence... Holy shit did they put me in the killing game? :O /silly

Anyways, the show room sounds very… strange. Like a good way of setting up interesting murder mysteries, you know. Also Ellis’ comments about handcuffs are… so off the cuff (heh) he’s awesome.

“Kennedy: So they’re modeling Hope’s Peak closely… If you’re the “Ultimate Lucky Student,” despite us not being high schoolers, then they care more about being true to form than accuracy…” That actually is a pretty good point, given Ellis doesn’t seem to be a student- Oh God I’m actually listening to the Conspiracy Theorist. And I’m probably gonna end up listening to her a lot. How low will I fall?

“Vanessa: Well, in that case, I guess I’d say I found something that caught my eye, too.” Finally… someone that matches Ellis’ freak :O 

“I’m Vanessa Bravo, and I’m the Ultimate Announcer! She/her pronouns for me, thanks!” Announcer! Really cool actually!

“Ellis: I’ve always been rather lucky with money. Gambling, knowing what stocks to invest in, finding money lying around… I’m your guy when it comes to making and spending cash. [...] Or a few choice stocks left to me by my dearly departed grandfather.” Backstory pieces already!!!

This does make me wonder how much accirax actually knew about Ellis before the game. I don’t know how roleplaying works :v She’d know everything about Ellis from the start, right? That would be my guess, might send an ask to the av-multifangan account later lol.

“Vanessa: Plus, the way he reveals information is so boring. I could do a way better job. Like, “oh, by the way, you’re Ultimates, like Hope’s Peak.” Where’s the drama? Where’s the delivery?” I always love when Ultimates are so passionate about their Thing :D

“They wear identical black and white attire with a red tie, including masks that cover the lower halves of their faces. Those, too, are split in half with black and white, reminiscent of Monoquin.” Ah, terrifying, cool.

“Taylor: Sorry, I should introduce myself. I’m Taylor Long, they/them pronouns, and I guess this place thinks of me as the Ultimate Impressionist.” Ooh, really cool! Not what I would have guessed but it’s awesome still!

“Ellis: I can see why. You’ve already left quite the impression on me.” How many pick-up lines does accirax have in stock? She’s actually so good at playing a flirty character damn.

“In a single moment, their entire demeanor shifts, becoming much more confident as they wink, pointing a finger gun towards me.

Taylor: “After all, I must be lucky too, to be meeting such a catch~ Everything’s coming up Taylor!” Oh this talent could be fun.

“Monoquin: Ah, they are the staff. They are intended to help the Resort run smoothly, as well as to make your stays here as luxurious as possible. If you have any requests, please don’t hesitate to ask a staff member. They won’t bother you unless you’d like their attention, but I assure you, they’re quite friendly.

Note Obtained: Staff Members” Love the note system, and you know I’m gonna use it! I’ll keep track of them always, don't you worry.

[Three locked doors] Õ_o

“???: I’m Vivian Mitchell, but you can call me Vivi! She/they pronouns. And, I’m the Ultimate Doctor! Or, uh… they call it something else…

Ellis: Ultimate Hot-tor?

Vivi: No… apparently, they think of me as the Ultimate Mad Doctor.” what. 

Okay that’s awesome actually. Really interested in that talent actually.

“Why are there so many batshit insane people here?! Is that what being an “Ultimate” actually means???” Ah, can’t forget the classic realization!

“Ellis: …I won’t be in danger of death any time soon.

Vivi: Of course! No one will be, with me around.” Really interesting confidence, also I don’t know if that’s a death flag or setting up a mental breakdown upon the first death :v

“Vivi: If we can conquer death, we’ll be unstoppable!” Ah so she’s insane insane got it. Vivi’s definitely climbed the rankings of characters I’m curious about, what is her Deal???

“They giggle, then place a hand delicately on my arm.

Antonia: How charming. Tell me, darling, are you here to play~? 

Ellis: Sure am. So, how much are you in for…?

Antonia: Well, considering I’m the dealer, I suppose you’d make the first move.

Ellis: Dealer?

They flourish.

Antonia: The Ultimate Dealer, Antonia Cisneros, at your service. She/her.” Hi Fourteen I’m your biggest fan. I wasn’t expecting Dealer but it’s a really interesting talent regardless! 

[More dialogue] Holy shit she’s matching Ellis’ freak exactly actually. What in the name of card-game-related sexual tension. 

“Antonia: I do believe we’re in Las Vegas. I’ve spent my time in plenty of Casinos, and I know my city when I see it.

Ellis: Hey, you’re from Vegas? Me too! Wow, we have so much in common…” Ooh… I wonder if Antonia’s right? If she is, that’s a crazy call, which I guess is expected of the Ultimate Dealer… call’s a poker term right i have no idea how this works. Also cool that we’re getting even more on Ellis’ background already!

“Aidan: I’m Aidan Ho. I don’t really care about pronouns, so just use he/him, I guess. And, according to a slip of paper I saw this morning, I’m, apparently, the Ultimate Contrarian.” Oh that’s what the Xs were for lol. Interesting title, and also kinda explains the fit, hmmm… 

Also I called Antonia and Aidan being a pair, right? Well they got introduced together at least, so it’s something :v

“Aidan: Think about your actions before following the weird mannequin’s orders mindlessly?” Well I’m certainly seeing the title. Aidan seems peculiar. Another one on the list of intriguing characters. Which is probably gonna be at least sixteen people long lmao.

“???: I’m Paris Hall, and here, you’ll come to know me as the Ultimate Gossip! I use she/her pronouns, if you didn’t already know~” Okay, “spill the tea” that’s what the tea cups were about, that’s hilarious actually xD Would not have guessed this one in a billion years, but it’s really interesting. I can only imagine the kinda shit this one’s gonna get into when investigations happen.

“Paris: Got anyone you’re interested in?

Ellis: Interested how?

Paris: In any way. Ask, and I’m sure I’ll have something I can tell you about them.” Wow she works fast damn. Guess that’s the Ultimate Gossip yeah :p

“As friendly as she seems, I gotta be careful with my words around this one. She could easily turn what she knows about me into some sort of slander campaign, and that would NOT be good for the Ellis Ortiz brand.” I wonder how literally we’re meant to take the “brand” thing :v

“Cass: I’m Cassidy Torres, or Cass for short, she/they. And, here, I guess I’m the Ultimate Agent.” Ooh, cool talent! 

Note Obtained: Customer Service Desk: There are locked rooms with objects that can be requested of staff. Requests are written on a sheet of paper, which include name if delivered to a room, but can be anonymous if delivered to the desk. Free of charge. {This is my own summary btw, not the note that's actually in the e-handbook}

Very cool concept! I can already see how this could play into murders in many ways. Obviously getting items anonymously is interesting, and I could see some kind of crazy way of framing someone by sending something suspicious to their rooms? In any case, this kind of list of information can go insane, reminds me slightly of SDRA2’s immaculate Trial 3. 

A bar? This is Vegas, so USA, so drinking age is 21, yeah? I wonder if that’ll be brought up.

“???: Jeff Breeze, Ultimate Absentee. He/they for me.” What is this talent. Alright so forget what I said about Fifteen being suspicious, only Antonia’s talent seems related to the place so far.

“Jeff: Eh… I don’t really stick around to find out. I go where I want, and when it’s time to leave, I go.” What? This guy’s even more confusing than Greek Letters dude, who hasn’t even shown up yet. Really curious about them though.

“Grace: I have a boyfriend.” Welp. That was fast xD 

“???: I’m Grace Thomas, and I use they/them pronouns. I’ve been dubbed the Ultimate Clockmaker.” CLOCKS!!! Well, I’ve been known to love Clockmakers (beyond occasionally accusing them of murder) so I’m down to see what Grace’s got going on.

“Grace: I don’t think there’s much use in speculation. We should put our efforts where we can for now, and come back to gather what information we can once it’s time.” Logical, I like them :)

“Ellis: Do you… not know your name?

[Nine]: …

They sigh.

[Nine]: I don’t. Or where I’m from, or my Ultimate talent, or… anything. Sorry to disappoint.” :)

Damn even the pronouns are ??? that’s funny.

So going by the fact I’ve gotten every other name right I’m assuming this guy is in fact “Mark dros” from the tags, so they’ll probably come up with the name soon. I’ve said before I’m a sucker for mystery characters, and that hasn’t changed yet!

“Noah: I’m Noah Walker, he/him, and here, I guess I’m the Ultimate Frat Boy!” THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE! I did call him being a frat boy, I just wasn’t expecting that to be the talent! Wonder what’s up with the Greek letters then… 

“And I’m Harper Young, ve/ver pronouns. According to this establishment, I qualify to be the Ultimate Philanthropist.” Yeah that’s kinda close to my guesses. I forgot this word existed lol. Cool talents!

“Ellis: Did you just meet now, or did you somehow know each other before you got here?

Harper: We’ve been acquainted in the past, yes.

Noah: My frat hosts charity events and stuff, so sometimes people like Harper would drop in and help us out.” Oh cool! Can’t wait for one of them to die so the other one gets sad! :D

One outfit per student, usual business. Cameras are normal, no V3 shenanigans. Interested in the idea that some people may pick up clothes or accessories from the Desk, though I’m not sure if or how that will really come into effect.

The conversations are so cool! These characters bounce off each other so well, I love them all already :D

“Vanessa: Then, uh… Mark! You’re Mark.

Noah: You mean like… question Mark…?

Vanessa: It works, right?” Genius. Zero notes on this. Just flawless naming convention.

Note Obtained: Monoquin’s Hands: They serve as a master key to all the doors in the building. Ellis wonders if they can ask staff for these hands.

Hmm… That one’s interesting. Really gotta watch whether attacking Monoquin is against the rules or not. I could see this coming into play really late into the game, like CH5-6 late.

{By the way, I don’t know how I missed this the first time around, but sixth installment of the killing game is actually crazy, I wonder how it’ll come up. And I wonder if it’s related or a reference to how many fangans venus and accirax made before this one, since this is in fact their sixth :p - That was written before the Notice that it is not, in fact, related. I did figure it was, if anything, an in-joke more than anything actually plot-relevant, but still, lmao, good catch guys xD}

“Voiceover: The game concludes when there is only one survivor left.” So this is gonna end with the destruction of the killing game probably. Feeling lucky with my guesses, why not?

Wait actually.

Note Obtained: Killing Game Explanation. Standard blackened and spotless rules, the game ends with one survivor. BDA plays when 3 innocents see the body. Motives and cameras exist. This is the sixth installment of the killing game.

That’s kind of a shockingly low amount of rules… Maybe there will be more in a bit hold on.

“But then, what’s my play from here? Do I sacrifice all of these people just to let myself go? Do I try to outlive everyone, to be the last person left standing? There’s no way in hell I’ll just allow myself to become some random victim, a casualty of someone else’s scheme. Or, is there some way to rebel against the system altogether…?

Ellis: … So, is there some kinda prize for winning? Other than our escape, I mean.

Antonia: There must be. If it’s a “game,” there has to be an incentive to win.”

Bro??? Ellis immediately starts considering murder holy shit. And Antonia continues to match her rythm, damn. I was already loving how different Ellis was from other protags so far, but this is making me like them more and more. You know, the usual "the worse and more morally questionable a character becomes the more I'll like them" deal. I’d comment about how my tastes are concerning but I feel like that’s been established on this account lol.

Holy shit we actually have a full e-handbook that’s awesome. I love it I love it I love it- I’ll check it out after finishing the prologue.

I lied I wanted to look at the rules. Most of them are pretty standard, but I wanted to point out a few that interested me.

4: “If the blackened receives at least the plurality of votes, they alone will be executed.” I just like that they used the word “plurality” :)

7: “The blackened may only kill a maximum of two people during any single killing game.” I’m interested in the wording of “any single killing game.” Has someone here participated in more than one killing game? Is there a plan for these people to participate in more than one? I'm looking at Mark, who might be in a bit of a Rantaro situation, but I kinda doubt venus would repeat that plot point lol.

8:”If two victims are killed by two different killers in the same Trial, only the killer whose victim’s body is discovered first is the blackened.” V3 rules if I recall correctly, wonder if it will actually come into effect here.

13: “The destruction and/or theft of another player’s e-Handbook is against the rules.” No theft is actually quite notable.

Additionally, I’m seeing a few interesting things in the “Preferences” section. The fact that you can apparently give other people permission to open your dorm room seems like it could be important, and the chatroom intrigues me quite a bit. The character profiles are also cool to see. I don’t see any immediately obviously important birthday dates, but I’ll note the likes and dislikes. I also see that everyone has a set of six die faces on the top right, except Ellis. I’m assuming that everyone has five free time events (since they start at 1 lit up) and those die are a way of keeping track of how many got done. 

Anyways back to the prologue.

“Robert: Well… that just happened.” Of course. Of course he says that xD

And everyone’s immediately fighting I love it lol. I like the plurality (heh) of approaches here: Kennedy wants the truth, Aidan wants to ignore everything, Grace’s thinking in the police, and Vanessa helps Taylor express the whole “let’s chill for the night and meet for breakfast” idea. 

I love the ending introspective segment for Ellis. Just really awesome stuff overall, and seeing a protagonist that, from the very start, is planning not to get attached to anyone and survive on their own in some way. We know that’s probably not gonna last in the slightest, but it’s still a really cool mindset to explore from a protag’s perspective. 

Overall, as expected, nothing but absolute peak. 

Notes we have so far:

Staff Members

Customer Service Desk

Monoquin's Hands

Killing Game Explanation

(In case it isn't clear, since I'm writing down my reactions, I always have the list of notes under what I'm currently writing in case I need them lol)

-

I can’t believe this is out, it’s so exciting!!! I love this so far. All the characters seem super Silly, which I always love to see. The protagonist is cool and interesting, the format is very fun, the talents are very exciting, the writing in general is immaculate… I can’t wait for more! If I have time, I might write something a bit more in-depth, or I might wait until we have more content before really going insane (<- I say as if I'm not already insane over this lol). In any case, thanks for reading, bye!

[bellysoupset]

Hi Soup!

Just so you know, "🐆 anon" will be retiring now, as I am starting to use my blog to post. So yeah, that was me, and if for some reason I'm commenting on anon again, that would be me. ☺️

Well then.

Nooo, your stories haven't been boring! I'm loving the new Max and Vince relationship, seeing Wen and Vin succeed at long distance is so fulfilling, and I love seeing Jon's interactions with his family. Luke being jealous over Max is so funny to me, and I can't wait to see them deal with this. (Honestly, I'm shipping the throuple, but I'll love them all no matter what they do) I love being able to understand characters better, and I feel like all of these interactions are very character building, and will benefit any future developments.

It would be great for Jon to come back though... I miss him. I was thinking earlier today how I miss Jon/Wen interactions, and then remembered he's in Europe. But maybe we could get a phone call or something?

It's weird having Jon in Europe, and it takes away of lot of interaction possibilities, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, and I love seeing this other side of him. A lot of your characters have crappy parents, and I love that Jon has Jackie and Matteo that are turning out to be pretty good, and Angie rocks.

(I'd read a Bella fic with pregnancy-related talk... I'm loving Andy's Mila and Drew storylines, I'd love to see more authors talking about these topics)

Okay, question. (I found this prompt list a while ago that I've been going through with some of my characters: https://www.tumblr.com/judasrpc/687874557884907520/weirdly-specific-but-helpful-character-building)

So, my questions are (for any or all characters):

What's the lie your character tells the most?

What's a hobby they used to love that they don't do anymore?

As always, loving your writing!

Bro, I'm sorry I could swear I had answered this??

I'm so sorry!!

NOW! I kneeeew it was you! When you sent the first ask off anon I was like 🧐🧐🧐 I wonder if Jey is the leo anon!! I'm so happy to be proven right lol.

I'm following your characters bios and I'm very excited for your first story!

Look, my dramatic streak aside, I know my stories aren't boring per se, but sometimes I get the sensation I could be doing more with it, which was what I was being annoying about in the first place and now my inbox is filled with you lovely people reassuring me, but I swear it was never my intention! I just wanted like criticism, I guess? 🙈🙈 I'll shut up now

I'm so happy you're on board for so many of my creative choices. I miss Jon dearly, but he's coming back SOON, especially with the new Leo fic, cannot be away a minute longer. Also, you mentioned Vin/Wen winning at the long distance is fulfilling and I second this, because even as the author I was doubtful at first. My characters often do not obey me, so it was much to my delight as well.

I really like writing Jon with Jackie/Matteo, as you correctly clocked me I have a thing for damaged parent/kid's relationships (projecting yay!) and I feel like Jon and his fam all working to make it work this time around brings me a lot of comfort when I'm typing. Of course things aren't always perfect and not everyone can rekindle their broken relationships (many of my ocs!), but it's so nice to write someone who can!

I hear you about Bella! 👀

So for the questions, I'm so sorry my answer is already huge:

What's the lie your character tells the most?

I don't think my characters lie a lot, actually! Most of them are annoyingly honest, Jon-Wen-Bella, or naively honest, Vince-Luke. Leo and Max I guess are the ones who lie more often, Leo lies about being "busy" a LOT, the most creative lies, but truly all he wants is to stay home with his cat, his musical movies, his guy. He's probably killed his grandma whom he never met like 3 times already and he's really good at keeping track of his lies.

Max lies about minor stuff, just for a chuckle. It's more deadpan sarcasm than lying, I guess? But he also lies pretty much daily about his stomach, because he does not have the patience to explain time and time again that no, he's not chronically ill, he's just the God's most hated idiot. He'll go "no, I'm allergic to that" about literally any food that's offered and that he knows it's gonna upset his stomach. Some older teachers call him the "bubble boy" because of that older movie about a man who couldn't get out of his bubble.

What's a hobby they used to love that they don't do anymore?

Bella used to practice skating and she doesn't anymore, she cannot be bothered since their town is almost always raining.

Wendy has had every hobby under the sun, she's done pottery and jazz dance, but grew out of both.

Luke was obsessed with wordle for a hot minute, but nowadays he's let it go.

Vince isn't as big a reader as he once was, he used to be a total bookworm.

Max has hit a rough patch, he used to go hiking a lot, but for no bigger design, he kinda hit a slump and has been at home much more.

[sweettjrose]

Detective Mickey Pilot P.1

So I made a post earlier about what other Mickey and Friends content they will make due to the most likely end of the Rudish shorts. Personally, I am really hoping we don’t get another drought like before with only the pre-school cartoons coming out. I really like these characters and think they deserve content. And it seems like others agree as that is probably my most popular post on here (Though I barely post on here lol)

One idea I mentioned was a Detective Mickey series, taking place in the modern day, that is inspired by the comics made by Floyd Gottfredson and other Mickey comics, including the Topolino series, but also references Mickey and Friends lore in general. Being less of an adaption and more of its own thing. It is honestly such a great way to expand on the Disney characters in more of a dramatic sense after the Rudish shorts expanded more on a comedic sense. Plus it explores a piece of Disney media that deserves more attention.

So with all that said, I had a pilot idea that has been bouncing around my head and I just feel like I need to share it. This would be the first couple of episodes (Kind of like what both Ducktales did) that is inspired by the comic “Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot”. 

Keep in mind this is just an idea, and not what I think should be the only way to go about it. Tbh there are so many ways this kind of show could go. I had to split this whole thing into parts, because of how big it got and how much I wanted to share. I would love to hear your thoughts and maybe I can share other ideas I had for this show if it existed, if you are interested or have any questions.

Next Part: X

I also made an improved version of this story. If you want to read it (I really recommend it) check this out.

The show will start off with what appears to be a quiet night. We zoom into a fancy-looking museum where two figures are talking while going down the elegant and large halls. One appears to be a high-ranking security guard and the other one is in fancy attire. The security guard is assuring the other that the security system protecting the emerald (This would have a better name, but isn’t important now) is one of the best in the world and that there is no way any villain or criminal is getting through. As they discuss this, the security system is being shown off, being pretty impressive and thorough. The fancy one still appears nervous however and states that the emerald has very special properties and that if anyone gets their hands on it, who knows what they could do. They even start name-dropping some villains, almost saying the Phantom Bl-, before being silenced by the security guard. The guard assures them that they are 100% confident that there is absolutely no way anyone can get this emerald, including any creeps in cloaks… 

As they say that they stop to where the emerald is or rather was… The cushion where the emerald was once placed has an emerald-shaped dent with a note left on top. The note reads something along the lines of

“I was hoping for a bit of a challenge, but left rather disappointed. I guess that is never in the cards for me. Perhaps next time you won’t BLOW it up.

Sincerely"

The letter was signed with a couple blots of ink. The classic signature of the infamous master criminal. Both are shocked with the security guard furiously calling for back up saying that the Phantom Blot has been here, without realizing that they are stepping into a tripwire which leads into a hissing sound. The one in fancy attire hears the hissing and tries their best to warn the guard only for it to be too late. The once quiet night is now interrupted with the sound of a loud explosion and a cacophony of sirens as police cars swarming the area. Any public who happens to be out at night frantically looks around in fear, knowing that some villainy must be near. The camera pans up to a shadowy figure in a black as night cloak and two glowing white eyes standing on top of a building overlooking the mess. You can’t see his face, but you get a sense that he is grinning as he chuckles to himself, pleased to see the explosion and the chaos that surrounds it, with an emerald in his hand. 

We then cut to what appears to be reporters reporting on the emerald theft, but then it evolves into reporting on other crimes of the Phantom Blot and then not just reports but interviews and public accounts. Essentially they explain that the Phantom Blot is one of the most nefarious criminal masterminds in the world. Always seeming 100 steps ahead of any police or law enforcement organization and is able to make the most challenging heists seem like child’s play. This Phantom Blot has never been captured and has never failed, running his schemes nearly perfectly with impunity, often taunting and teasing law enforcement as if this was a game to him. He is feared by the public, but adored and respected by other villains (with a couple of exceptions, but that would be explored in other episodes). He has waitlists full of criminals who dream of working with him on the few times he gathers a team. Mostly drawn to his charisma and leadership but also knowing that with him that failure is a rarity. Many wonder if this evil genius is truly as invincible as he appears or if maybe someday there can be someone who can stop the Phantom Blot. 

This is where Mickey fades into view. He is currently asleep though not for long after being awakened by an alarm clock (looks like the classic cartoon clock) and jumps out of bed excitedly saying that today is the day. He goes to fix breakfast and feed Pluto with a large smile beaming on his face. Pluto, while happy that he has more food, is a bit confused by the sudden excitement from Mickey. That is when Mickey tells him that today is the day that things change. He mentions that he finally found a way to convince the Editor in Chief to stop giving him busy work and to let him take on the real stories. He even mentions having a secret weapon thanks to Minnie as he pulls out a white box from the fridge. Thinking about Minnie he checks his phone and looks at pictures of her together, reminiscing on how lucky he is to be her boyfriend, being high school sweethearts and together ever since… That is when he notices that the time on his phone doesn’t match the time on his appliances… Shoot, Daylight Savings Time, he was so focused on working on his special project that he completely forgot to change his appliances… Including his alarm clock which means that he is LATE… He rushes out the door… Realizes that he is in his pajamas… and then comes back in his clothes (looks similar to what he wears in the Topolino comics but with a white spotted red bowtie) and makes sure to grab a camera (similarly colored) to put around his neck and the white box… He tosses, gently, the white box, into the car and rushes out of the driveway. Going as fast as he can… Within the speed limit.

This is where the name of the show will appear. (Detective Mickey is the current placeholder title) Mickey will drive through the town as various gags take place and we can see some characters. We can see Mickey’s Neighbor Mrs. O’Hara wave goodbye to Mickey, Goofy and Pete who seem to be discussing something while taking Max and PJ going to school, Sylvester Shyster walking off with a sinister grin on his face, Clarabelle outside of a bakery she appears to own, Horace who is coming out of some kind of Amazon-like Pick up place carrying a large number of boxes, and a couple of other characters that are callback or will be referenced in later episodes. Once he is parked, the best he can, he rushes into a building that says “Mouseton Argus”. He instantly bumps into someone through the door, destroying the white box and causing pieces of cream and pie crust to splash out. Mickey looks up to see the person he crashed into is… Ugh, Mortimer… Mortimer of course takes this chance to mock Mickey and brag about how he just came back from another successful interview after catching his 3rd set of crooks that month. He reminisces about how ever since he started that Private Investigation firm, he has been having nothing but success while Mickey gets people their coffee. Mickey of course retorts that he does more than that and things will change soon. Mortimer of course laughs it off, before licking a piece of cream from the white box that flung out onto his cheek. He instantly recognizes it as one of Minnie’s Banana Cream Pies and asks for a slice only for Mickey to tell him to shove it. He then retorts that he’ll just stop by her place and ask for a pie and hey maybe ask her to get a new boyfriend too. Mickey rolls his eyes as he enters the building.

Mickey stops by his office to pick up a laptop, which is more of a corner with a kiddie table and chair, and immediately heads over to what appears to be the office of the Editor in Chief at the Mouseton Argus, ignoring all the glares and comments about him being late. He comes in apologizing for being late, but mentioning that he has something the Editor will want to see. He then shows a presentation on his laptop of various pictures that Mickey took and other demonstrations of his skills. Mickey goes straight into the presentation, trying to convince the man that he has enough experience to start joining the journalists on bigger stories and to move up from a Junior Assistant Photojournalist in Training. Unfortunately, the other man doesn’t look pleased and tells Mickey that he doesn’t think he is up to the task. Mickey tries to bring in the destroyed banana cream pie, but that doesn’t change anything as he continues to explain that just because Felicity is Mickey’s sister and she was one of the best journalists they ever had, enough to move away to a larger city and work on national news, doesn’t mean that he will get special treatment, heavily implying she was the only reason Mickey got hired in the first place. Mickey tries to interject. But is met with more criticism as the Editor mentions that they are nice enough to even let him make a cartoon for the funny pages, but when it comes to journalism he even wonders if Mickey is good enough to be a journalist. This unfortunately is the final point that leaves Mickey defeated as he takes back the pie, only for the Editor to stop him… So that he could leave the pie, but also to get him a coffee as Mickey was late this morning and thus missed getting him his morning coffee. Mickey sighs and solemnly goes to do so. When he returns with the coffee, he sees a couple of journalists inside the Editor in Chiefs office talking with an intern, who gives off major slacker teen vibes. They appear to be inviting the intern to go with them on a story as it would be a great learning experience. The Editor agrees and says that he supports him 100%. The teen shrugs and dispassionately agrees, bringing up the fact that the Editor in Chief is his uncle, which leads to cheers. This is the final straw for Mickey as he leaves the coffee on the desk and sulks back to his “desk” in despair.

The next scene immediately starts with a shocked Minnie who is very upset at the information that Mickey gave her. They are at a nice restaurant, clearly on a date. Minnie mentions that Mickey shouldn’t let them treat him like that and whether she should go and give the Editor in Chief a “Talk”. Mickey immediately lets her know that it will not be needed, but that he appreciates it. Minnie clarifies that she just wants to help given the fact that when she was getting nasty comments from her peers about her bow-centric fashion, Mickey was there to support her all the way. She believes in him just as much and knows that he will accomplish great things and wants the best for him. She even wonders whether Mickey should work somewhere different since they clearly don’t respect him there. Mickey reminds her that being a journalist was a dream of his and his sister and how they bonded over journalism. His sister started her own local paper as a kid and let Mickey take the pictures and draw the comics, while she focused on writing articles. He doesn’t want to give that up and let her down over some bullies at work. And the “Mouseton Argus” is the best news source in Mouseton and the best way for any journalist to get anywhere. Minnie sighs seemingly confused about what else to do, but then a smile grows on her face as she appears to have an idea. She brings up that since they won’t let Mickey be part of the bigger stories, why doesn’t he just find one on his own. Mickey grows a smile of his own as he thinks about the idea and adds that he can ask his neighbor Chief O’Hara to see if they have any unsolved cases he can look into. Minnie cheers on the idea and even mentions making some of O’Hara’s favorite lemon bars to help. They then continue to excitedly talk into the night coming up with new ideas and just enjoying the night together.

We now jump to another day as Mickey is heading into the Mouseston Police Department. He is carrying what appears to be a plate full of lemon bars. He goes to the lady at the desk and asks if he could see Chief O’Hara as they are neighbors and has a delivery for him. The lady ignores him and Mickey mentions to say it is from Mickey Mouse. She ignores him again until he gives a confused “please”. That seemed to do the trick as she told him to sit on the chairs in the lobby and that she’ll let O’Hara know that he’s here. Mickey thanks her and immediately heads over, but not without noticing what appears to be a wall of wanted posters (perfect place for cameos and references to future episodes). He stares at all the criminals carefully observing each one, but notices there seems to be a larger poster covered by a couple of smaller ones. Almost instinctively he starts to move the posters out of the way, until realizing he isn’t tall enough to get the ones at the top. He then drags a chair, careful to not make too much noise, and is now tall enough to reach the posters at the top. As he removes the final paper the larger poster is fully revealed reading “BEWARE THE PHANTOM BLOT” at the top. Mickey looks deeply into the cold white eyes of the dark-cloaked figure shown and feels a sharp shiver in his spine, when he tries to step back to take it all in, he stumbles on the chair he was standing on, immediately getting the lady at the desk to bark at him. He apologizes and looks again at the poster, still feeling unnerved. He comments to himself “Boy, I would hate to meet this guy” “Yeah I think anyone would”. Mickey jumps again on the chair, getting another angry glare from the secretary. 

He looks to the source of the other voice recognizing Chief O’Hara. O’Hara looks tired, but happy to see him. They greet each other and Mickey hands him the lemon bars, much to O’Hara’s excitement, and asks if they could chat. O’Hara mentions that they are really busy, but you know what he can squeeze in a few seconds. It would be nice to not think about work for a little bit and to chat with a friend. He leads Mickey to his office as the entire police department seems to be in chaos with officers and others rushing around in the background. Mickey inquires about what may be going on and O’Hara alerts him that a federal inspector is coming soon and they are trying to be prepared for it. They eventually reach O’Hara’s office with O’Hara sitting down and already digging into the lemon bars. He realizes what is happening and apologizes to Mickey and asks what he wanted to tell him. Mickey tells him about how he is wondering if O’Hara has something he can investigate for his job. O’Hara inquires as to whether they aren’t giving him anything at work, and Mickey sheepishly gives some excuses though O’Hara’s seems to understand what is actually happening. He says that he is glad to help as Mickey was always helpful to him even as a trouble-making kid. He remembers Mickey solving the case of “Mrs. O’Hara’s missing Orchids”, which ended up being the other neighbor's dog. Even comments that he is surprised Mickey didn’t become a detective given his strong observation and deduction skills. He then focuses back on the original conversation and mentions that due to the inspection all of the cases are being handled to increase the number of completed cases, much to Mickey’s dismay. He apologizes until a flash of recognition hits his face as he remembers that they just got a recent call about something. Apparently, a pawn shop is reporting a missing camera. According to the caller, it just disappeared one night with absolutely no traces of theft. O’Hara remarks that since the person reporting was elderly it is possible they misplaced it. Also in these cases, they just see if it was confiscated by a recently caught criminal or is on a suspicious Ebay (Or Ebay equivalent) listing and if not found after a week just assume it is lost forever. But maybe Mickey could look into this, it could lead to something. Mickey of course is glad to have anything and takes the case immediately. Noting that we all have to start somewhere. 

And with that, Mickey thanks him and runs off with the address of the Pawn Store, excited about all of the possibilities laid out for him. This could be his big chance. A chance for everything to change for the better. A chance for him to get the recognition for his efforts. A chance for his dreams to finally come true. That is if he didn’t immediately run into Detective Casey knocking him down. Casey tells him to watch it as he has important work to do as Brick helps him back up. Mickey apologizes profusely before running off as Casey shoos him away. Brick asks who that was and Casey mentions that it was probably no one important.

~ So that is part 1, this ended up being a lot longer than I expected. But again I wanted to get it out as best as I can. I tried to make it shorter by cutting the dialogue. But I would love to hear what you think. I think there may be 4 other parts, unless they also end up getting too long, so we’ll see. Thank you for reading!

[slytherbun]

wildflower

pairing: cedric diggory x hufflepuff!reader

summary: you weren't too sure what to think when a new eye candy transfers to hogwarts and becomes the new seeker of the hufflepuff's quidditch team but you realize in time that he is all of what you hoped for.

word count: 3.7k

tags: @specialagentsoftie

note: so this is all just a bunch fluff. i'm not sure how i feel about it in terms of cringey and hope y'all like it! figured i'd post this anyways either way though lol. i made up the way reader and cedric met at hogwarts so, it's non-canon from the movie.

another note: italics are flashbacks! :)

it was cold.

you could see everybody’s breath in the air outside and knew it was a crime to be out and about now with freezing and chilly weather.

the snow outside coated the ground by inches and the black coats zippered up and wrapped around you only helped so much. you were the type to freeze easily and the climate at hogwarts didn't help your situation at all.

minutes ago before you walked outside, you knocked on the door to his dorm after surveying the hufflepuff’s common room and noticed there weren't very many people around. and when cedric opened the door after you rapped on it a few times—he took in the view of your body wrapped around your blanket before pulling you into his room.

pathetically enough, you were shivering in the halls even with your mitten covered hands stuffed in the pockets of your coat. you weren't about to admit the doubled up socks on each of your feet either underneath the knee-length boots you wore today.

"are you cold?" cedric successfully taunted you when you reached your arm out of the pocket of your jacket and then under the blanket to slap his arm. he hissed and glared your way playfully while rubbing his arm dramatically.

you shrugged with a smirk on your lips and he plopped down onto his soft bed. “don’t get too comfortable.” he suggested when noticing you trying to sneakily get underneath his covers. 

“what i’d do for one of those thermal blankets the muggles use.” you sighed dreamingly while watching him walk towards his closet.

“imagine having a postal company deliver the package to hogwarts? dumbledore would have an aneurysm.” cedric replied and you couldn’t help yourself when imagining the scenario playing out in your mind. 

he turned to the side to admire your smile while you were a little distracted while pulling out a coat. then he closed the closet up and walked back over, holding it in your direction to offer an extra to put over your body. you gladly took it with a smile. "thanks ced."

cedric backed up a few steps and brushed a hand through his brunette hair. not being able to help himself he joked, “can’t have you walking around with your blanket wrapped around you. your height already makes you look so adorable.”

you got off from the bed when he exaggerated with your blanket in hand and scoffed. cedric bit his lip nervously while continuing to back up before he felt the wall pressed against him.

he rubbed the back of his nervously while you held the blanket up to his height and above your own head. “i’m just kidding.” he gulped before you took it and put it over his face.

when he tugged it down from his face he spotted you innocently standing by the door with his jacket around you. “i was going to leave it here anyway. just put it on the bed and i’ll come get it later after we get back.”

while you zippered it up you noticed this particular jacket was the one that you often saw him wearing before he ended up buying a new one for the upcoming winter that you were suffering in now.

and it was longer than the one you had previously put on about twenty minutes ago so, you couldn't argue with him on that steal.

"alright.” he laughed and added with a more serious tone. “oh and by the way—you don't need to thank me. you're my best friend, wildflower."

today was the first quidditch match of the season and you were sitting at the edge of your seat in anticipation. the hufflepuffs didn't score well last season and you were hoping they wouldn't come out with last place again for the year.

y/g/b/f (your girl best friend) sat down on the stands next to you with an umbrella in her hands. you turned and looked at it with a confused face. but she just smiled at your contemplating thoughts and looked up at the sky once before supplying you with an answer.

“well it looks bright now but i have a feeling it’ll rain later.” she always had a suspicion for when it was going to rain or snow and you never second guessed her because every single time she was right.

“did you know we’re having a new seeker play on the team today? i believe he’s going to be captain too if he plays his cards right this game.” she asked. you didn’t know that.

“wait is he the new guy everybody is talking about? i heard the rumors but you know how they are. i didn’t want to take it seriously until i saw it with my own eyes.” you stated and she nodded. 

“yeah he’s a transfer i think but i’m not too sure. his name is cedric diggory though.” after her reply, you glanced around the stands to see if anybody had diggory signs for the game but with no avail you sighed. before you could respond you felt a few droplets on your shoulder. 

your friend gave you a smart-ass grin and popped out the umbrella to hold it over the both of you. “guess we’ll see how good he is.” you mumbled before seeing the players come up to the playing area with their brooms.

butterbeer was pretty popular during the winter season. many students from school usually went and got some to help regulate their body temperature and keep warm.

everybody else must have gotten the same memo because you were inside the three broomsticks now for some butterbeer and it was crowded.

almost every table was filled with peers and that’s probably why you didn’t see many people in the school. with just one glance around the area, you could already tell the divided area’s of where each school was seated right away. 

your tables were to the left area, the slytherins must have come earlier because they grabbed the back ones, some of the ravenclaw’s were off to the right, while harry and the other gryffindor’s had the middle area.

cedric nudged your side to grab your attention and nodded towards the hufflepuff area. “want to grab us some seats and i’ll get the drinks?” he asked and you nodded. “sure, could you get me a snack too if you don’t mind?” 

he smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “i suppose i could.” cedric walked away with a wink and you shook your head knowing he was just humoring you.

little did you know he already had planned to get you something else even before the two of you left the dorms. it had gotten to the point where asking him for little things hadn’t bothered you because you reciprocated all of the time.

but sometimes cedric would give you little excuses when it was your turn to pay, just so he could end up paying for whatever you guys were having or getting. he always spoiled you.

"ah the golden girl is here." hermione scoffed and watched you walk towards the hufflepuff area. your other best friend was seated already and started talking to you when you sat.

the brunette from the red colored house didn't particularly dislike you since you were always nice. sometimes you chatted with her while working on a project that you were paired for. then other times you gave her a soft smile when catching her eye while walking in the halls towards your next class.

she definitely couldn’t help but respect and admire you.

but the reason she didn’t put herself out there and try to befriend you was because you were one of the girls known in school for your smartness, quick reflexes, and witty attitude. 

when people from school talked about you and referred to you as the golden girl instead of your name most of the time—it wasn’t that you were golden per-say but the fact that it matched up perfectly with the school’s color that you sorted it.

hufflepuff was known for its represented yellow color.

and there’s no doubt about it that hermione was also known around the school. but, she felt it was for all of the wrong reasons. despite not having it any other way as one of harry's best friends, she wondered if not for him that in an alternate lifetime that she would be you. 

“why is she wearing cedrics jacket?” ron asked after following hermione’s stare. harry thumped him on the back of his head and then shook his own. “why does it matter?” the one with a thunderbolt on his forehead replied.

“well it is interesting, isn’t it?” the brunette said in defense of ron’s question. the one who didn’t seem curious at all took a sip of the butterbeer in front of him.

he licked his lips, thinking then replied to them with a response. “i mean it’s not our business but it is an odd find now that you pointed it out. maybe he’s just being friendly?”

“as if! cedric has had a crush on y/n since he met her. she’s just oblivious to it all,” she paused and tapped her chin. “—or is she?” ron gasped at her accusation but took a sip of his own drink before she could hear his outburst.

harry noticed her getting riled up once again and sighed. “well i don’t know what else to say. maybe you should just introduce yourself already and ask her instead of me.” he shrugged and hoped to end the conversation there.

you knew exactly who cedric diggory was when he swiftly passed by the hufflepuff area during the game. of course, he was wearing yellow. 

the game has been going on for a decent amount of time now and he was stacking up the scores on the quidditch board—easily passing by the score of the gryffindor’s team.

cedric was undoubtedly the new eye candy for the whole school with the gasps and ‘awes’ from the other girls sitting in the stand. your friend was so busy watching harry that she didn’t catch the commotion.

you didn’t really pay attention to him to get a good glance at his face so, you thought he was just another arrogant rich boy and rolled your eyes.

what you didn’t notice was the way it was like a slow-motion love at first sight situation for him when he went by. since it stopped raining through the middle of the game he was able to catch a quick view of you. 

the week wasn’t done yet so it was possible he’d be seeing more of you in another class he hadn’t had yet. and cedric hoped you were because he couldn’t help but look over in your direction throughout the game to catch another glimpse of your face.

it was still humid outside and you tried wiping your makeup a few minutes ago since it was under your eyes now, but you only smudged it further. your robe was drenched with your wavy and half-dried hair now lying down the back of it. 

but he didn’t care what you thought about yourself because he knew without a doubt that you were the prettiest girl there.

“cedric’s looking pretty good today.” y/g/b/f voiced for the first time today. you played with the napkin in your hand while trying to get a glimpse of cedric. 

“i don’t think you would know even if he was—since you spend all your time looking at harry.” cedric was up to the counter now waiting for your butterbeer and food.

“uh huh. don’t think i haven’t admired cedric before from afar though.” after a moment of not answering her, y/g/b/f noticed that you weren’t paying attention. you knew exactly what she was hinting towards.

cedric did look good.

his hair had that ‘just woken up’ style to it and he always managed to look even more attractive then he should have. the yellow scarf wrapped around his neck was the one that came with every hufflepuff’s supplied uniform clothing.

he usually wore it when you sat with him in potions on a chilly morning and you caught yourself wanting to take it off of him and wear it sometimes.

he always smelled good and it comforted you in ways a best friend shouldn’t have the ability to.

you seemed to have let your guard down and stared longer then you should have which confirmed what y/g/b/f already knew. “i knew it!” she chuckled and stated more loudly than the last comment to snap you out of the zoned out state you were in. 

“know what?” you asked while placing the napkin back down on your table.

cedric was reaching the table and you wanted the conversation to end quickly. you usually dragged out conversation topics like this so you had time to think of another one to distract her with. but, she always found a way to circle it back around again. 

you had to shut it down before he could hear, already knowing exactly what she wanted to talk about again.

“i’ll tell you later before our curfew.” y/g/b/f smirked and you sighed knowing she would in fact take the time out of her night to find you before bed. lucky you.

“hey y/g/b/f. how has your day been?” he asked your other friend while sitting down and placing your refreshments in front of you and then doing the same with his. 

she grinned at you then glanced over at him, “pretty good i guess if it wasn’t for this weather i would say great. how about you? and how’d you manage to get this one out?” she gestured towards you, causing you to roll your eyes. 

here we go again.

you were walking down the path back to the hogwarts dorms with y/g/b/f and some others. there was going to be a small celebration in the hufflepuff’s common room and other students were trying to hurry back without raising suspicions with any professors nearby.

“hey, i’ll be right back y/n/n. i see luna and i’m going to go ask her if she has a hair tie.” she said and pointed to the curly knots that she had on her shoulders.

you nodded and continued along the path while she walked over to the other side. it was quiet for a moment and you surveyed the peaceful area, a few feet over in the grass was a small patch of flowers.

you were about to take a quick look at them before feeling someone tap your shoulder. it was sudden and you couldn’t help but quickly move to the side and form a fist. you were about to throw it but stopped when you stared wide-eyed at the person who scared you.

cedric felt awful and only after he startled you did he realize that you were looking off in the distance of the area. the way you jumped though seemed that you were quick on your feet and he couldn’t help but smirk at the new name he had for you. 

“hey i’m sorry for startling you wildflower but i just wanted to introduce myself. i’m cedric diggory.” he introduced with a panty-dropping smile.

you weren’t sure if it was some kind of joke so you treaded carefully. “uh it’s okay, it’s my fault really for not paying attention but i’m y/n y/l/n. nice to meet you ced.”

cedric held out his hand for you to shake and you took it, giving him a firm shake. after you let go he smirked and questioned. “ced, huh?”

he crouched down to pick up a flower that you were looking at earlier and it reminded you to ask, “wildflower, huh?” you met his statement equally and folded your arms together so they were across your chest to look more tough.

his cheeks tinted a minor shade of pink and tried to hide his embarrassment by ducking down and ignoring your question. instead he glanced back up to tuck a hair behind your ear and then placed the flower there.

“yes, wildflower.” 

and how could you argue with him when he was being so sweet?

the two of you made it back to the common room after an hour of eating, then chatting with cedric and your other best friend. he was sitting on the bed with you sitting next to him.

you’ve been sitting for only about a minute or so—only enough time to shrug off your jackets and place them on the desk chair between that time after walking back to his dorm.

“would you like to lay down for a few minutes?” cedric asked when he noticed the tiredness shown clear as day on your face.

“sure” you agreed and you laid down while he shook your blanket out for the two of you to use. his eyebrows scrunched together when he realized it wouldn’t make much of a difference in comfort with how small it was.

you chuckled watching him trying to maneuver it around and he glanced your way with a smirk of defeat. “hmm, seems this blanket is a little small. would you like to go under the covers?”

cedric was giving into what you wanted earlier before the two of you left and he knew that too. the three broomsticks' food was delicious as always and you just wanted to relax for a few minutes after getting teased by your friend.

he grinned watching you get comfortable after the both of you were situated under the sheets and yellow comforter. there was a hufflepuff patch ironed onto it and you rubbed your thumb over it while laying down.

it wasn’t that awkward since you’ve fallen asleep in his arms a couple of times before already. class exams were frustrating and took a lot out of the students so he took comfort in you and vice versa when there was some down time during the weekends throughout the school year.

with an arm around you—he pulled you close to the point where you could feel his warm breath along your neck. “i don’t think you realize how much i treasure these moments y/n/n.”

he spoke breathlessly and you gulped slowly. you were dumbfounded with how seriously he said that. as if it had some kind of hidden meaning behind it. “me too.” you agreed and wondered if he would leave it at that.

but you knew better and cedric never left well alone when he wanted to get a point across. he turned your body slowly with the arm he had around your middle and you faced him with confusion.

he glanced down once before looking back up and continued on with his confession while staring into your doe eyes—a color he deemed his favorite the day that he met you.

“i’ve been fighting myself for a while on whether or not i should tell you this because i didn’t want my feelings to ruin our friendship. i’d rather be your friend than not be a part of your life at all. and i always look forward to seeing you e-everyday.” he paused when his voice cracked.

after cedric cleared his throat he continued, “and i totally understand if you don’t share the same feelings with me but i just couldn’t go on another day without telling you how i—” you cut him off by leaning in and brushing your lips against his.

he moved closer on the bed, so his skin was touching yours. cedric wanted to get as close to you as he possibly could. your hand swept through his brunette curls and you surprised him by tugging it.

he never knew what you were going to do and his friends teased him that you were a wildcard, to which he’d correct them and say you were his wildflower.

cedric smirked into the kiss and you groaned knowing he was being a smart-ass. but in return, he shocked you when he placed a hand delicately on your cheek to cup it rather softly.

he rubbed your cheek while your hand massaged his curls and then moved them downwards to the nape of his neck.

cedric pushed the hair back from your neck with his hand and then placed it back so his thumb splayed across on your cheek in a loving gesture. and you only wanted him closer after feeling sensitive about the whole astonishment that still had you stunned to the core.

you tugged the collar of his shirt and he pulled away with puffy, red lips and a smile. “what’s wrong?”

“i don’t know, i’m just emotional.” you voiced squeakily and full of embarrassment about it. cedric shook his head and before patting his chest, he held up the comforter over the both of you and let the minimal cold air in.

“oh, baby it’s okay. come here and let's cuddle a little before curfew.”

you bit the bottom of your lip and nodded, giving him a smile in return to the one he gave you and then crawled onto him. “i think i like baby better.” you voiced and laid on his chest with your head over his heartbeat.

he let go of the comforter when he noticed you were settled and tugged it firmly around both of your bodies. “better then what?” he asked.

“wildflower.” you admitted and hummed nervously while awaiting his response. you felt cedric shake his head and he put his arms around your body so you were pressed firmly against him before he kissed your forehead.

“you’ll always be my wildflower.” you closed your eyes after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek in response.

after a moment of laying back down you could feel his chest rising up and down in an odd pattern so, you put your head up to see him laughing again at you.

“what now?” you questioned trying to keep a serious facial expression but failing when he grinned.

“guess you got what you wanted, hmm?” cedric said—referring to the fact that you were finally under the comforters and you smirked.

“of course i always do. including finally getting you, ced.”

[gayworths]

grace and frankie s7 thoughts!

i have mostly moved on to using twitter to express my thoughts and just use tumblr in a similar way to how i imagine pinterest users use pinterest, but i have a lot of thoughts about the final season of grace and frankie and i think tumblr is better suited to longform content, so i'm putting them here. plus i met a lot of you through gaf so it feels fitting that i should post this here!

i was really happy with this season and how the show ended, for the most part! it was a pleasant surprise because 7a did not really click with me, and i was worried 7b would go the same way. but i was left extremely satisfied with how the grace/frankie dynamic played out.

but before getting into grace and frankie themselves, aka the stuff that i actually care about, here are some stray thoughts on the other storylines:

the coyote and jessica plot was cute. i've never been super invested in them but their relationship is sweet and i've always liked coyote pretty well compared to the other kids. i liked that they argued over the concept of soulmates vs. choosing to love someone, because i have had similar arguments in the past lol. i also thought the show handled coyote's potential relapse well.

i do wish they had spent more time on the coyote/frankie relationship, though. they threw in this big conflict that frankie doesn't trust coyote, which led to him spiraling out, but then their relationship was resolved offscreen. as much as i loved the coyote/grace scene (which i'll get into later), i would've liked to see a fuller resolution for coyote and frankie.

i've never cared about the say grace stuff, taneth is annoying (which pains me because i like casey wilson!), and mallory is boring. what i did find funny is that the show pretty much gave explicit meta commentary on how boring mallory is. it was clear that mallory wasn't a good fit for ceo so i guess it's good that she was fired, but i was kind of left feeling, what was the point of all of that? what i did like, though, was the exploration of the mallory/brianna dynamic. i find both characters the most interesting when the show is exploring their sibling relationship.

speaking of brianna, i loved that she ended the series single and childless. it was never really all that clear why she and barry were together since they seemed fundamentally compatible. there are so many series that force unconventional, prickly female characters into a "happy ending" where they end up with a husband and children (*cough* parks and rec *cough*), so i like that the series ended with brianna choosing to live her life the way she wants to. in a lot of ways i think brianna is living out the life that grace would have chosen for herself if the social pressures of the era hadn't made her feel obligated to marry and have kids. what i didn't like, though, is how they made brianna, like, actively awful towards the baby. you can not want or like kids without being a monster! also, i think she and barry should've broken up earlier, because doing it so late in the show left things sort of unresolved. but tbh i ultimately never cared that much about their relationship so whatever.

i did not care for bud's storyline. it makes sense why he would want to quit being a divorce lawyer, and it's consistent with his character as the Good Son that he was probably pushed into following in his father's footsteps without really considering whether that's what he wanted. but his pivot into comedy seemed out of left field and really just brought out the worst in both him and allison, and ultimately left me feeling like he's kind of a dick. and i hated that allison had to give him "permission" to quit his job.

this season was the most i ever cared about robert and sol. the storyline with robert's memory loss was so painful and hit way too close to home. martin sheen and sam waterston are both phenomenal actors and the show finally put their dramatic skills to good use. i actually can't talk about this part too much because like i said it hits too close to home and makes me emotional! but i appreciated how they handled it and that it ended on a note that was realistic but uplifting. the hotel scene was beautiful.

(i do have to say once again though that it is LAUGHABLE how little sexual/romantic chemistry martin and sam have, especially compared to jane and lily who are not supposed to be the canon gay couple. it took me out of their final moment a little when i noticed how clearly they framed the scene so that the elevator would close before they had to actually kiss.)

i still hate everything to do with robert's theatre troupe, though. peter is the WORST character on the entire show, and that plotline is boring and unfunny at best, and actively irritating at worst.

on the other hand, joan margaret is my fave side character, every time she was in a scene i was living.

there were so many characters that they brought back who i had zero memory of. like that guy who mediated the brianna/mallory conflict? was i supposed to know who that was? and i remembered michael mckean being on the show but i did not remember why he would be mad at frankie. i think that means i'm due for a rewatch.

but despite the novel that i wrote above, ultimately i never really cared about anything besides grace and frankie. so, on to the good stuff.

grace:

loveddd the stuff about her father. it's become pretty clear by now that there's a lot of jane fonda in grace, so when they revealed that her panic attacks and fear of the world root back to her father's death, i was like, of course. lol. but it provided a lot of new character insight! such as the fact that a lot the repression that she has continually blamed on her WASP upbringing is probably actually the result of her losing her sense of security when her father died. as evidenced by the fact that her brother, who was too young to remember his death, isn't as outwardly cold and repressed.

i wish they had dealt with her alcoholism more seriously. i loved the coyote/grace scene, as two addicts dealing with their addictions in different ways. and chainofclovers' post helped me to appreciate what they did this season more. but i still felt like it was frequently treated as a joke and i would've liked more closure. that closure doesn't have to be her quitting drinking and joining AA, because that's not realistic- lots of people don't overcome their addictions, and that's just life. but i wanted something more than what we got.

speaking of grace being a fictionalized jane fonda, i love that the show outright stated that grace becomes a different (subservient) person when she is in relationships with men, and that it's bad. it felt like a huge moment of character growth for her to realize this unhealthy dynamic in her relationships and reject it, and realize that even if nick isn't intentionally being controlling she can't be with him because of how she becomes when she's with men. personally i viewed it as her beginning to overcome her compulsory heterosexuality, which i know is not the only possible interpretation you could have, but it makes a lot of sense in this context.

i thought that the conversation between the hansons in "the horrible family" was so well done. everyone acknowledging how horrible they were but also acknowledging how much of it stemmed from trauma was just *chef's kiss*. i feel like it's been implied before but i like that they outright stated that one reason why grace struggled as a mother is because she was given zero blueprint from her own terrible mother (and once again i'm pretty positive that that plot point is taken directly from jane fonda's own autobiography lol)

frankie:

god, the stuff about her losing the ability to paint fucking gutted me. that's one of my greatest fears about getting older. her saying that she's less scared of dying than she is of all of the pain that leads up to it was so painful and real and i think relatable to a lot of people. (and i think this also comes from lily's life, since she's talked about her osteoarthritis affecting her hands, which just makes it even more painful)

other than exploring her feelings about death, which was big don't get me wrong, i feel like we didn't get all that much insight into her character this season. i wish we could've gotten a scene between the bergsteins like we got with the hansons in "the horrible family." but still, i was ultimately satisfied with her character arc this season and how she came to accept the struggles that will come with getting older.

also fucking loved her smuggling cheap drugs for senior citizens who can't afford them, although like i saw several others on here say, it is kind of weird how many Crime Plots grace and frankie were involved in this season.

grace/frankie:

fuck i love what they did with the grace/frankie/nick dynamic. i actually always enjoyed nick as a character outside of his relationship with grace, partly because peter gallagher is so charming, but i have been so sick of this man for several seasons now. i kept being like, why do they keep him around? but it turned out that his ultimate purpose was to highlight how important grace and frankie are to each other! and that no one else could ever be as important to them as they are to each other. grace saying she doesn't want to be married to nick because she wants to be with frankie? nick explicitly stating that their marriage was painful for him because he knew grace loved frankie more than she loved him?? HELLO??? as much as i did not enjoy seeing them have sex for one last time, even that scene highlighted the unequal relationship between the three of them. grace and nick are cuddling post-sex, frankie sits down next to grace, grace starts cuddling frankie instead, and nick knows that's his cue to leave. they really treated their dynamic as a love triangle in which not only did nick lose, but he was doomed to lose from the start. insanity.

grace having panic attacks at the thought of frankie dying because frankie is the only one besides her father who's ever made grace feel safe! my god these women love each other so much!!!

i love love love that a central thesis of the series is that these women's relationship makes them both better people

the scene where they go to heaven. holy shit. frankie rejected going to heaven so that she could be with grace. like. i honestly cannot fucking believe it. that's some shit out of greek mythology or something. and when they thought they were going to have to say goodbye, and put their foreheads together and said they loved each other? frankie saying she wishes they had more time together and that she knew grace as a little girl? grace saying she would be a completely different person (going back to the idea that they make each other better)? you can't tell me they're not deeply in love. you just can't.

(it's basically the castiel superhell ending but opposite lol)

THE FINAL SCENE HOLY SHIT. i have never seen anything more romantic than grace helping frankie to paint. my heart stuttered and i think i literally gasped out loud. no greater act of love!!!

the final scene is them walking off into the horizon while a song with the lyrics "i dedicate my life to you" is playing. i just. i can't.

these women are deeply, passionately in love with each other and in my headcanon they went back to the beach house after the last moments of the finale and admitted that their feelings aren't platonic, had sex, and got engaged. you can't tell me otherwise!

obviously my ideal scenario for the finale would have been for them to kiss and admit they're in gay love but realistically that was never gonna happen and i made peace with that a long time ago. i'm just so happy that the show ended with them committing to each other for the rest of their lives, in a way that i can easily interpret as being romantic/sexual. like, that's not just a headcanon, it's one possible reading that's completely consistent with the text. i know some people were disappointed but i was very emotionally satisfied with what we got. like i said on twitter, in some ways the ending we got felt gayer to me than if they had actually unequivocally made them gay. after all these years of loving this show but it putting me through agony because these women wouldn't admit their feelings to each other, this ending was better than i ever thought it would be.

i can't believe this show is over but i'm so grateful for what it's meant to me over these past 5 years or so, and for all the friends i made through the fandom. it really feels like the end of an era.

[beepboop358]

so first of all i love your account and all of your theories btw!! but when i was looking at a lot of the analysis of many byler/m*leven scenes, such as mike’s reactions to el vs will throughout certain scenes, i was wondering if we’re able to take those things as proof considering it seems like the actors don’t seem to know the storylines for their characters outside of the scenes or season they’re shooting.

for example, i was reading an article from s3 earlier where finn was talking about the “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” scene and how there’s variations of that line that they shot, such as “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls yet”, so it didn’t necessarily confirm that will was gay, but maybe that’s something they would explore with will’s character in future seasons.

anyway, i guess i was thinking about how the actors don’t always seem to know the direction that their characters are going in or perhaps the underlying subtext of each scene, and i was wondering what you thought about that, since it might make using certain glances between mike and will or mike and el almost unreliable in a sense if the actors don’t have a full scope of the situation they’re supposed to be reacting to.

regardless, i love your account and reading all of your analysis posts, but i am starting to doubt if we’re reading too much into certain things since people on reddit/twitter seem to think we’re all delusional and mike’s going to end up confessing he romantically loves el in vol 2 after all. anyway, sorry for rambling, but i hope this makes sense and I’d to hear your thoughts on this as it always reassures me about any doubts im having!!

hi anon!

thank you so much!! also no need to apologize! I think we can take the actors reactions as proof because they’ve edited the show to portray a certain thing/feeling in the final cut, so even if they make the actors shoot variations of each scene/line, only one makes it into the final cut…so the one that’s in the final cut is the direction they want to go in and is what they ultimately want to portray. It’s pretty common for productions to shoot scenes several different ways, with different lines and even different character expressions, so they pick the final takes for a reason :) 😉

Even shooting the line “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” as “you don’t like girls yet” - I think still hints to Will being gay because of the scenario it’s said in where it’s just Mike & Will in a heated fight in the pouring rain (very dramatic lol) and the overall context of the show, like the hints about Will in season 1 like Lonnie calling him homophobic names and stuff. I actually kind of like that version of the line because adding the word “yet” leaves a lot of room for them to develop that conversation further and refelct on it - and for Will to make it clear it’s not just that he doesn’t like girls yet, he doesn’t like girls at all. It also fits in with Mike being totally oblivious to everything LOL, because the “yet” indicates he hasn’t picked up on Will not liking girls.

On another note, I fully believe the actors know more about their characters than they reveal in interviews and articles because if they said anything that hinted to future storylines or development (for example will being gay, byler, m!leven splitting up) they would get in trouble with Netflix 😬 So sometimes it can be hard to fully trust what they say to press and we can’t really take it as the full picture because they can’t be totally honest, they can only share snippets :) I know some of the actors have joked around in interviews saying they can’t say things because Netflix is watching, or Netflix told them what to say, etc etc.

I could see Mike telling El he loves her in Vol.2 to get her back and to keep his cover, and her seeing through his empty words and reassuring him that it’s okay that he doesn’t love her romantically. I mean that fight in El’s room was pretty intense…I’m not sure how M!leven could come back from that…

thanks for the ask! I hope I could answer you’re question and I hope this made sense ahaha. I hope you’re well! xx

[makeste]

BnHA 323: “I Don’t Know How to Explain to You That You Should Care About Other People”

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan was all, “Izuku, I’m sorry.” Bakugou Stans were all, “[sobs for a week straight and tearfully awards him the Nobel Prize for character development].” Deku was all, “[faints in Kacchan’s arms].” Iida was all, “[trying to decide if Ochako genuinely tried to kill him a few minutes ago].” Horikoshi was all, “NO TIME FOR HUGS WE MUST GET BACK TO UA.” The civilians holed up at U.A. were all, “WE TOOK A VOTE AND DECIDED THAT WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE JERKS ABOUT THIS AND MAKE A BIG FUSS ABOUT YOU LETTING DEKU BACK INTO THE SCHOOL.” Deku was all “[stands there looking like he expected nothing less and breaking my heart more and more with each passing moment].” Ochako was all, “that does it, looks like I’m gonna have to do something about this... next chapter, that is.”

Today on BnHA: Flashback!Rat Principal is all “I just want you all to know that I spent nine million dollars turning U.A. into a giant Battleship-style grid that can burrow underground and zoom around in a giant subway maze because Horikoshi lacks a grounded understanding of both civil engineering and economics.” Back in the present day, Jeanist is all, “EVERYONE TAKE HEED, MY COMRADES AND I HAVE DEEMED IT EXPEDIENT TO CONVEY THIS AUSPICIOUS YOUTH BACK TO THIS STRONGHOLD. WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE MAY DEPEND UPON YOUR GOODWILL AND ACQUIESCENCE TO THESE TERMS.” The civilians were all, “NO.” Ochako was all, “EMPATHY, MOTHERFUCKERS, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!” The civilians were all, “oh shit.” Anyway so Ochako is a giant badass, but I’m a little worried that she’s going to get struck by lightning. Please come down from there.

so before we start this chapter, I would just like to apologize for having not posted the ch 321 recap yet, and would like to reassure everyone, and especially Iida who is staring at me with Sad Wobbly Guilt Trip Eyes, that I will get to that as soon as I can

OMG FLASHBACK??

yes please Horikoshi please show us more of class 1-A and their Deku intervention strategy jam sessions

oh dear

Iida you are too pure and good for this cruel world. [sprays the U.A. civilians with a water bottle] NO. BAD CIVILIANS! NO OSTRACIZING SCARED AND EXHAUSTED CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE

EXCUSE ME RAT PRINCIPAL WHAT’S WITH THESE MIXED MESSAGES

???

RAT PRINCIPAL: he’s free to return to us at any time!!

ALSO RAT PRINCIPAL: but it’s too risky for him to return to us

?? ??????? ?????????????????????

so now he’s going on about how strong the U.A. Barrier is, and how it’s comparable to the defensive capabilities of Tartarus. this would have sounded a lot more impressive before chapter 297 lol

OH!!!! HELLO, WHAT’S THIS!!!

A TIMELY CALLBACK TO A CERTAIN MYSTERIOUS EVENT WHICH HASN’T BEEN REFERENCED SINCE USJ? [U.A. TRAITOR MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

so now Rat Principal says he upgraded U.A.’s security systems with his own “modifications”, whatever the fuck that means. I mean look, I’ve been saying for a long time now that U.A. is the best place for everyone to hole up, don’t get me wrong. but that was mostly on account of there not being any other practical alternatives. but you’re making it sound like you figured out a way to actually make it Decay-proof or some wild shit like that

-- hold up, DID YOU ADD A FORCE FIELD. DID YOU TRICK THIS SCHOOL OUT WAKANDA-STYLE YOU CRAZY MARSUPIAL. HOLY SHIT. because that would actually be perfect

LMAO

WHAT KIND OF GALAXY BRAIN BULLSHIT. “NAH THERE’S NO NEED FOR A FORCE FIELD, LET’S JUST PUT WHEELS ON IT”

oh okay so the whole campus is basically capable of burrowing itself underground. that’s insane lol I wonder how they pulled that off. probably got poor Cementoss working overtime

blah blah blah so basically the entire campus is split into a grid and each section of the grid is capable of its own independent movement. lol this is just the Merone Base from KHR. you thought no one would notice this casual plagiarism ten years after the fact, but YOU UNDERESTIMATED YOUR AUDIENCE, HORIKOSHI

“joke’s on you imma just lampshade it” WELL ALL RIGHT THEN

“look at me I’m so fucking self-aware” fucking swear to god. I can’t believe this man is my favorite mangaka of all time smdh

“excuse me, I wasn’t finished describing all the rest of this bullshit yet,” Rat Principal breaks in impatiently. “we also added a steel wall all around the underground of the campus that’s 3000 steel plates thick. that’s fifteen fucking meters of solid fucking steel just fyi. and if anyone fucks around with any part of it the defense system will activate immediately! and also all of the plates are independently motorized, whatever the fuck that means!! in conclusion you’re gonna need a fucking tower crane to suspend all of your disbelief by the time I’m through with this paragraph”

“also Shiketsu is almost as reinforced as U.A. but not quite because we still had to make sure we were better.” but of course. and apparently the two schools are connected via a secret tunnel as Hagakure mentioned earlier

LSDKFJLSDKJFLK

“WAIT WHAT” LMAO YOU HEARD HIM, NOW INASA CAN VISIT YOU BOTH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE WEIRD DREAM HE HAD. GOD BLESS YOU HORIKOSHI

(ETA: moment of appreciation for Shouto and Katsuki having the same thought at the same time and making Knowing Eye Contact and saying the exact same thing out loud in perfect unison like the best friends they are. what a blessed day.)

so Tokoyami is all “but wait if you engineered all this shit all the way back during the Band arc how did you even know that Tomura’s quirk awakening would become a thing, Horikoshi -- uh, I mean, Principal Nezu”

and Rat Principal is all “lol idk”

“basically I just woke up one morning and was all ‘say, you know what this school really needs? a fifteen-meter-thick underground steel wall, and the ability to break up into little pieces that individually zoom around wherever the fuck they want.’ jesus christ. lol if money and common sense were apparently no obstacle why didn’t you just teleport U.A. to the fucking moon or something. maybe I should shut up before I given him any ideas

dsfaelkjldkjgl

you heard it here first, folks, all of this cost a grand total of nine million U.S. dollars. well technically it cost “more than” nine million dollars. never has that distinction been more important lmao. are we sure this barrier was really made of steel and not cardboard? who the hell sold it to them, Ea-Nasir??

this is my favorite manga series of all time. yes I am ashamed

“in conclusion please do your best to reach Deku-kun” SO WHAT WAS ALL THAT NONSENSE ABOUT IT BEING TOO RISKY THEN. anyway thank you for this super informative and edifying flashback, Horikoshi. I will cherish it always. I don’t even want to read another translation of this absurdity lmao, there’s something special about it just the way it is. pretty sure Horikoshi just had a cracked out fever dream one night and transferred it to the pages of the manga verbatim

anyway so back to the unruly mob

not their finest moment. please excuse me while I cover poor Deku’s ears and give him a good shoosh pap

oh wow the parents are out here too

is Mitsuki trying to hold Inko back?? that’s the last thing this fandom needs right now is more Mitsuki discourse fffwlkjs. and even Jiroudad, scientifically proven to be the best dad in all of BnHA, is just standing there silently looking vaguely unhappy. way to rise to the moment you guys

MONOMA

so this settles it for me that Aizawa is not at UA. I know a lot of people have been wondering about his whereabouts, and if I had to wager a guess it would be that something happened with Shirakumo/Kurogiri. I can’t think of anything else -- even the loss of an eye and a limb -- that would keep him from his kids at a time like this

anyway but this is excellent Monoma content right here though. I love that he apparently adopted Eri after a single interaction with her. also WHERE IS SHINSOU DAMMIT. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW

and Kouta’s there too looking like he wants to run over to Deku but Ragdoll won’t let him :/

it’s gotta be pretty upsetting for him to see his hero like this and not having anyone stand up for him. [taps megaphone] IS THIS THING ON. OKAY YEAH IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING. AHEM. PAGING URARAKA OCHAKO. GONNA NEED YOU TO GET OVER HERE ALREADY AND MAKE THAT BIG DRAMATIC SPEECH WHICH YOU ARE CLEARLY DYING TO MAKE. IF YOU DON’T DO IT SOON I’M GONNA HAVE TO STEP IN, AND YOU REALLY DON’T WANT ME TO DO THAT SINCE MY SPEECH WILL NOT BE VERY GOOD OR INSPIRING, AND WILL PROBABLY JUST CONSIST OF “HELLO, YOU ARE ALL STUPID, PLEASE SHUT UP AND GO AWAY”

so now Mic is telling them to calm down. at least someone’s speaking up here, geez

OH MY GOD

MY MAN JEANIST OUT HERE DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST: MAKING EVERYONE FEEL GUILTY AND JUDGED

OH MY GOD HE IS GIVING SUCH A LONG AND BORING SPEECH LMAO IS YOUR STRATEGY TO PUT THEM ALL TO SLEEP OR WHAT

truly in awe of this man’s ability to take messages which could easily be conveyed in ELI5-speak, and stubbornly convert them into incomprehensible language the likes of which you need a graduate degree in order to understand

“hey guys, so originally our plan was to use Deku as bait for the villains, but that didn’t really work and also we realized it was kinda dumb and was probably gonna get him killed, so we brought him back here instead.” was that really so hard, Jeanist. also are we all really just gonna sit back here and watch Jeanist take full credit for Bakugou’s plan just like that lmao

(ETA:

WHERE DID ENDEAVOR GO AND WHO IS THIS DIABOLICAL MASTER OF DISGUISE. lol I genuinely didn’t notice this because I was too busy digging through thesauruses trying to rewrite Jeanist’s speech; many thanks to @class1akids​ for pointing it out and making my day immeasurably better. take it easy there Dick Tracy.)

“anyway so please stop being dicks and let him fucking rest so he can save all your ungrateful asses” what an impassioned and inspiring plea. time to see if the masses will listen to reason

narrator: they did not listen to reason

oh my god finally Ochako is doing something. YEAH OCHAKO WOOOO SHOW THEM HOW IT’S DONE

hmm

this entire chapter is truly and utterly nonsensical to me lol

(ETA: on my second readthrough I’m fucking dying at how she stole the megaphone right out of Mic’s hand lmao. and how Kacchan is all “fuck yeah nothing I appreciate more than some quality fucking larceny.”)

oh I see she was jumping on top of the main building so as to scream down at them all more impressively

“ANYWAY DEKU IS PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY, YOU GUYS ARE JUST MEAN” couldn’t have said it better myself Ochako

lol uh

gotta say I did not have “Ochako reveals the secret of OFA to the entire U.A. Citizen Clown Parade” on my bingo card for this week. it’s a bold strategy cotton let’s see if it pays off

SDLFKJSL

“NO, SERIOUSLY, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT HIM YOU GUYS. YOU THINK HE LIKES RUNNING AROUND DRESSED LIKE A RUSTED OIL DRUM?? HE DID THAT FOR YOU YOU UNGRATEFUL SLOBS”

so she is basically explaining the entire Deku Angst arc to them and explaining what a good and selfless protagonist Deku is, YES, PREACH

OMG IT’S THE GIGANTIC FOX LADY

not to insinuate anything, but what exactly were you doing standing out here with the hysterical mob, Gigantic Fox Lady? you’re better than that

-- KACCHAN SIGHTING!!

sdlkfjl. thanks for weighing in with that helpful and important observation. where have you been for the last five minutes. were you asleep. was it Jeanist’s speech

never mind, now he’s yelling at the civilians so I instantly forgive him

THE FUTURE NUMBER ONE HERO, EVERYONE. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. HE’LL BE HERE ALL WEEK

“anyway so I’m just going to end the chapter here” lmao seventeen pages truly do go by so fast. at least he didn’t try to force in a cliffhanger at the end this time. dare I say, growth

so I guess the civilians are either gonna have a Kamino and/or Fukuoka-esque moment where they remember how to be decent people and apologize to this poor young man, or else they’ll remain unpersuaded, and so Kacchan will have to knock a few of their heads around until they become more inclined to be reasonable. either option is fine by me lol

[quelsentiment]

✨ 2022 Writing Year In Review ✨

Thanks so much to @haztobegood for tagging me :))

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 12

2. Word count posted for the year: 107,847

3. Fandoms I wrote for:  One Direction, Shaw Mendes, Video Blogging RPF (Dream and co.)

4. Pairings: OT5, Niall/Zayn, Niall/Harry, Niall/Louis, Niall/Liam, Niall/Shawn (so many Niall pairings wtf), Zayn/Liam, Zayn/Louis, Zayn/Harry, Liam/Louis, Dream/Georgenotfound

5. Story with the most:

Kudos: In the midst of a storm

Bookmarks: In the midst of a storm

Comments: In the midst of a storm

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

I feel like I have to answer In the midst of a storm. Writing this fic was extremely frustrating at times because I had this amazing picture of it in my head but I felt like I could never do it justice due to lack of time, energy, and stability. I pushed myself through it and managed to finish it, though, and honestly some comments I got on it made me look at it in a much more positive light! Hopefully I’ll be able to read it back one day without cringing too much lol

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

Probably As long as you’re not afraid to feel. Not that I think it’s bad or anything, but I feel like you can tell by reading it that I wasn’t really into it. It’s one of these fics whose idea I came up with early on, but only started working on it months afterwards due to other commitments, and by then I’d kind of lost my initial interest in it :/ I do think it’s a pretty fun one, but it could have been much better if I’d worked on it as soon as I started brainstorming it

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

As I said, some of the reviews on In the midst of a storm really warmed my heart and kinda made me change my opinion on it! Shoutout to @lululawrence‘s lovely comments especially 😊

9. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Ugh, the entire year until September, basically. 2022 has been a very stessful year for me, and despite wanting to make writing a priority, it definitely felt like I’d lost my mojo at times. I only started to pull myself out of it once I 1. moved back to Canada and 2. got into the Dream fandom - I probably just needed a change after 3 years of focusing exclusively on 1d, I guess

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: 

I wrote a few smut-adjacent scenes for It the midst of a storm that did surprise me, or at least were a new experience for me lol

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

From Running From The Sun

 “I don’t. I don’t want you,” Niall protests, but it sounds half-hearted at best. Louis almost has her in a chokehold now, and it’s time for her to land the final blow.

 “Yes, you do. You think I haven’t seen the way you were looking at me earlier, while you were dancing with that guy? You think I can’t hear your heart beat faster whenever I get a little too close?” She punctuates her words by taking the last step that separates her and Niall, and now she’s got the slayer right in front of her again. Right where she wants her. “Hell, you think I don’t notice the blood rushing to your cheeks right now?” she adds in a mere whisper. “You think-”

 “Shut up,” Niall hisses out. Louis can see her swallow, and she knows she’s got her now.

 “Make me,” she dares her.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: 

It’s probably gonna sound dramatic but, for the major part of the year, I’ve felt like I was regressing as a writer. I’d constantly be second-guessing everything I wrote down, including stuff that I never had a problem with before (like dialogues). It’s been pretty exhausting, but in the end I guess it did make me grow, in that it made me more aware of my strengths and weaknesses.

A more practical answer would be that I wrote for new pairings and fandoms, and as mentioned before I even wrote some more explicit scenes, which is something I never thought I’d be able to do, much less to share 😳

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

Continue posting for the Dream fandom. I’m currently working on a longer fic for it that I’m really excited about!

Otherwise I’d like to get back into writing everyday, and like Jinny said, try to edit less while writing even though that habit is so ingrained in me that it might prove to be difficult.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): 

Oh god... My introvert tendencies came back in full force this year, and I ended up taking a big step away from the 1d writing community, unfortunately. Maybe that’s something that I’ll try to change next year too, because I do miss these interactions!

I do want to thank @zou-i-am, though - we had a great time running the Lilo Fest together! Thanks so much to @uhoh-but-yeah-alright too for betaing my Zarry fic :) And of course, much love to Sof if they see this <3

Finally, maaaaany thanks to @allwaswell16 for all the work she puts in to post fic recs and leave thoughtful comments! You’re a legend :))

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

Weirdly enough, I wanna say it’s the opposite. In both New York Kiss and In the midst of a storm, Zayn works a retail job, and that’s something I ended up doing for the first time over the summer. Life imitating art and all that 😌

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Who am I to impart wisdom? lol I guess just... don’t give up. If you’re feeling like you’re losing your inspiration, give yourself some time and/or try something else (like a new pairing or something). Follow whatever excites you in a given moment, even if it means putting other projects on hold.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’m excited to keep writing my current Dreamnotfound fic. Also looking forward to running the Zouis Fest again, and to starting writing my fic for it (even though I have no clue what it’ll be yet)

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

I’m sure a lot of people have done this already 😬 Maybe @zou-i-am @feeisamarshmallow @zanniscaramouche @uhoh-but-yeah-alright ?

[tortilla-of-courage]

Ghirahim’s dialogue in the Gate of Time Scene

This has been bugging me for DAYS, all because in the Latinamerican Spanish version it felt like Ghirahim talked for SO long before leaving compared to the English translation... So, obviously, comparing those translations (+ Spain’s) of this scene at 3 am is the way to go. (SkSw Spoilers under cut)

Okay, so in the scene of the Gate of Time - the one after Lanayru’s Mining Facility - at the very end, Ghirahim gives you a little monologuind before leaving, right? In English, it’s these 5 dialogue boxes:

1: Now you've done it, Link.

2: I blame myself. I should have reprimanded you the last time we met, but instead I was... soft.

3: I'd take pleasure in punishing you, but I have no time for recreation.

4: But next time, I'll do more than just beat you senseless.

5: I'll make the affair so excrutiating, you'll deafen yourself with the shrill sound of your own screams.

So, in it the dialogue goes at a nice pace. Doesn’t take too long to change from dialogue box to the next, and ends basically right before Ghirahim teleports... all nice, right?

But in Latinamerica’s Spanish translation... oh boy:

1 (ESP-LA): Mira lo que has hecho... Esta vez sí que lo has estropeado todo, Link.

ENG: Look at what you've done... This time you’ve really screwed things up, Link.

2 (ESP-LA): Supongo que, en parte, es culpa mía. Tenía que haberte dado un escarmiento la última vez que nos vimos.

ENG: I guess that, in a way, it's my fault. I should've taught you a lesson last time we met.

3 (ESP-LA): Me encantaría darte tu merecido, pero por desgracia ahora no puedo desperdiciar el tiempo contigo.

ENG: I'd love to punish you, but sadly I can't waste any time on you right now.

4 (ESP-LA): Lo dejaremos para otra ocasión. Bueno, suponiendo que sigas vivo...

ENG: We'll leave it for another time. Well, supposing you're still alive...

5 (ESP-LA): Para entonces, te tengo reservado un infierno de sufrimiento y dolor tan inmenso que acabarás ensordecido por tus propios gritos.

ENG: When that time comes, I’ll reserve you a spot in a hell full of suffering and pain so immense you'll end up deafened by your own screams.

Playing through this scene is what made me start this post. He just-- the last two dialogue boxes ended WAY after Ghirahim disappeared (you can see the diamonds of his teleportation in pic 4), making it seem like he’s somehow talking to Link despite having supposedly left already. 

At first I thought maybe there were just... more dialogue boxes, but after making the earlier part of this post I see now that no, they have the same number... in LA’s translation they just... made Ghirahim talk. A Lot. He says pretty much the same thing but uses way more words than necessary, making each box last Way Longer than in English and ending with the situation of him talking after leaving.

Funny enough, in Spain’s translation it’s shorter, kind of like in English:

(Sorry for the writeover here, used a random youtuber’s vid that changed Link’s name lol)

1 (ESP-SP): Link. Me la has vuelto a jugar.

ENG: Link. You’ve played me for a fool again.

2 (ESP-SP): Quizá te haya subestimado.

ENG: Maybe I underestimated you.

3 (ESP-SP): Te daré tu merecido la próxima vez que nos encontremos...

ENG: I’ll give you a lesson next time we meet...

4 (ESP-SP): Suponiendo que sigas vivo para entonces, claro.

ENG: Supposing you’re still alive by then, of course.

5 (ESP-SP): Si tienes esa suerte, te reservo un infierno de sufrimiento eterno. Todo para ti.

ENG: If you’re that lucky, I’ll reserve you a spot in a hell of ever-lasting pain. All for you.

This one is like a mix of the other two? Short and precise like English (so it ends on time with Ghirahim’s teleporting), but with most of the same dialogue as Latinamerica, just... summarized lol.

My only conclussion after this is that Latinamerican Ghirahim (Grahim, actually) is WAY more dramatic than other interpretations. Also now i can finally sleep knowing it was just dialogue box timing rather than it being more of them lol

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: Awkward Stories From The Closet 2

Date video was published: 11/20/2020 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 426

A sequel to one of my favorite videos from earlier in 2020.

0:00 - Phil wearing black again! it is a good look

0:25 - “some truly cursed memories” sets this up perfectly

0:43 - Phil had the fake names ready-to-go this time

1:07 - “that’s when things got weird” clearly Phil didn’t want to go over for a reason for a while

1:13 - this was like a common thing back in my childhood to for some reason? I distinctly remember a couple “hypnosis” things my friends and I did. kids are weird

1:16 - that is a bit weird to start with especially if they weren’t that close of friends, lol

1:27 - awww, gullible young Phil

1:37 - very specific from ‘Dwayne’ there

2:06 - that would be very awkward...I can’t believe Phil actually remembers specifics about it though

2:35 - I laugh every time I watch this 😂 oh Phil

2:39 - innocent young Phil. not surprised it was animal-related either

3:00 - imagine being that person and actually seeing this 😂

3:09 - uni-Phil stories! my favorites

3:31 - love that Phil immediately thought he was cute

3:44 - moment of panic! me too with strangers talking to me, me too

 3:52 - I’m gonna guess Phil is much more ‘charming’ than he thinks he is

4:07 - important annotation there from Phil

4:15 - Phil immediately falling in love with cute guys he met 🥺 he really did want someone so much during uni, it seems

4:40 - and kind Phil

4:42 - “ambiguous train ride” 😂

4:50 - I mean....I MEAN. why are so many moments of Phil’s life straight out of fanfiction

5:20 - it seemed like it was all going so well!

5:30 - love Phil’s genuine confusion about this

5:39 - very dramatic there. I would be he’s thinking of a few other brave moments...

5:44 - oops at using the wrong fake name on this text conversation

5:49 - Phil air-quotes! good level of subtleness in that question

6:09 - tangent!

6:12 - at least the guy replied. 

6:20 - dying at the fake text response Phil came up with 😂 “i like boobs peace out’ king of comedy

6:30 - and then the ending! this is one of my favorite Phil stories of all time

6:42 - yeah this one is weird in a different slightly-creepy way

7:02 - and now we know why Phil might have been particularly concerned about a catfish

7:09 - “I was also bored” not sure that’s a good reason for doing something, yikes

7:14 - love the gay alarm bit

7:30 - those air-quotes started off normal and got progressively more Phil

7:52 - “that’s not sexy to anyone...well maybe someone” alrighty then. I get that though...not knowing who someone is when they know who you are would feel weird

8:27 -  at least he was actually another uni student

8:38 - “a subtle gay” Phil’s descriptions are so great

8:44 - great detail using one of his old emo photos there 🥺

8:58 - aww, Phil

9:21 - Phil does seem like such a nice person and good friend

9:25 - Phil being thirsty and bored seems to have gotten him into quite some situations in uni

9:32 - I really want to know if this encounter was one of the ones he mentioned in this tweet back in 2012

9:44 - a nice ending to that story!

I might like this one even better than the first one! Peak Phil storytelling. 

I’m pretty sure in the (fairly long) gap between the last video and this one is when DNP moved solely into the ‘filming flat,’ where they would be until the forever home was finished. The last look of the ‘living flat’ were insta stories on November 12 of Steve and Scraggy (aww 🥺) and a bath bomb test. Also Phil made a “one year since Japan” post with some new photos, which 😭😭

[l4verq]

remnants (2)

ransom drysdale x reader

in which you have to protect ransom drysdale because he has the same face as steve rogers, your ex who’s gone back to peggy

pairing : ransom x reader

warnings : angst? mentions of guns

if you want to be added to the taglist, lmk in the comments💗

ʀᴇᴍɴᴀɴᴛꜱ

*not my gif*

-

ransom doesn’t remember the last time he was this dumbfounded.

his hands graze over the grainy picture of a andy barber who looks just like him.

down to the very mole on his left cheek, every feature seems to fit perfectly with his.

“we believe, these are all alternate versions of you,”sam glances at ransom, biting into a stale piece of bread, “steve, to be more precise.”

“so what? I’m a clone?” he huffs, cringing at his own words.

yoi look up from your plate and realise he’s looking at you for an answer.

“we don’t know but we do know they’re not from this timeline.” you pick at the canned beans with your fork.

you never really had an appetite on days like these.

“who? them?” he raises the stack of papers.

you nod, placing your fork down.

“thet all popped out of nowhere when everyone else came back after the blip. no one’s heard of them before.” bucky explains, picking up your fork and handing it back to you.

you grimace, glancing at the goopy mess on your plate.

“and what do you mean, timeline?” ransom questions, observing you and bucky.

you guys were close, that was evident enough from the way he’s been trying to get you to eat something.

but just how close were y-

“we don’t know.” sam gruffs, his throat parched from the dry, flaky bread.

ransom rolls his eyes, “what do you know?”

“that the only way you’re not going to end up like them is by staying with us.” bucky gestures towards the papers with his fork.

ransom slouches back in his chair, horrified at the thought of being in this dump for any longer.

he had to sleep on the couch, if you could call it one, last night and he’s pretty sure he saw some rats scurry by while washing his face earlier today.

and did he mention the clothes? he’s in a horribly mismatched shirt and sweatpants that feels like gravel on his skin.

his stomach growls but he’d rather starve than eat that soupy thing infront of him.

“it’s only for a few days, weeks at most. because of the blip, hydra’s suffered, they’re outresourced. the problem is, we are too.” you offer a sympathetic smile.

you kind of felt bad for him.

he sighs, “can we go shopping or something for clothes and food. actual edible food?”

“what can you get with,” sam dramatically digs into his pockets, pulling out a single bill, “five bucks?”

of course, he’d be stranded with three strangers, only five bucks to their names.

“aren’t the avengers supposed to be loaded?” ransom asks in disbelief.

“not everyone has a wealthy grandpa.”

-

“hey, what’s up?” sam walks in, a little too breezily.

you narrow your eyes as he awkwardly shifts around, looking for a place to sit.

the floor is covered with files and documents, you’d been rummaging around, searching for other safehouses set up by shield years ago.

“let me guess, you want to ask me how I’m doing?” you sigh, flipping over another file report from years ago.

he has a sheepish smile on his face as he picks up a file and starts flipping through.

“we’ve been at this for months now and this is the first time we’ve ever met one of them.” he trails off, hesitantly.

“and?”

he looks at you, raising his eyebrows.

you can’t bring yourself to meet his eyes cause you hate to see the pity in them. hate that he knows you’re still hurting.

“just let us know if it gets too much.” he says, softly.

the stupid lump forms in your throat again and you busy yourself, picking up another file.

you flip to the first page, instantly recognising the familiar scrawlings.

cause you were used to seeing those on little notes Steve used to leave you.

you vaguely remember this mission, it was a grueling week of staying undercover as the new siblings in town until shield gave a green light on pursuing the subjects.

you’d never laughed so hard than when your new neighbour had caught you two making out, revolted by the act of incest she thought she’d just witnessed.

a gunshot outside alerts you, breaking your thoughts.

“relax, bucky’s teaching him how to use a gun.” sam chuckles, eyes still trained on the file.

“a gun? why?”

“precautionary measures.”

you furrow your brows, “for what?”

he shuts the file, giving you a look.

you realise why.

“no, he’s not coming with us. are you crazy?” you end up yelling.

joaquin had tipped you guys off about a run-down, abandoned hydra base that would hopefully answer some questions.

and there was no way you were letting them bring Ransom there.

“listen, if we leave him here, there’s no saying what might happen so we don’t have a choice.” he sighs, trying to reason.

“well, one of us can stay here, babysit him.”

he scoffs, “really? who?”

you hate to admit it but he was right.

ransom couldn’t stay here alone and no one would agree to staying behind to miss out on the action.

“well, I’ll go help.” you grit your teeth, storming out of the room.

a second shot goes off as you push the front door, greeted by the bright rays of the sun.

bucky’s passing the gun onto ransom who looks hesitant.

you know he’s never held one by the way his hand grips around it, a little too tight.

he aims at a can placed infront shakily, his posture awkwardly stiff.

you can’t help but walk over, holding out your hand.

he hands you the gun, muzzled pointed right at his legs.

you swiftly grab it, “first thing, don’t point this thing anywhere unless you want to shoot.”

bucky cocks his head in amuse.

you always flunked on training the new recruits back in shield and yet here you were, voluntarily helping ransom.

“your right hand, grip this here,” you guide ransom’s hand along the back strap, “your left hand, under it. Support it.”

he looks over at you, seemingly for approval.

and suddenly, you can’t breathe.

the familiarity of this catching you offguard yet again.

but it had been you in ransom’s place and steve in yours.

“it’s gonna be pretty loud.” you clear your throat, fixing his stance slightly.

a hesitant pull of the trigger, completely missing the can.

he scratches his head, adorning a sheepish smile which shouldn’t feel as endearing.

“wow, you’re really bad at this.” bucky exhales, earning a side eye from you.

“can’t I just hold a pepper spray or something?”

-

your eyes fall on the bag of transceivers, that you guys’d been heavily relying on these past couple of months.

however, beyond a minute they’d track you instantly. so every call made was timed under a minute.

“you know, you can call your family if you want.” you mumble, loading the car with boxes of tech sam needs lying around or else he swears red wing will “go hungry”.

he’s sitting in the passenger seat, legs out on the ground, hands in his pockets.

you bite back a passive agressive remark about how he could be helping you right now.

“no, that’s fine.” he mutters, an unreadable expression on his face.

based on the information you’d dug up on him, you knew their family wasn’t exactly close.

but if their son was being hunted down by crazed psychos hell bent on bringing chaos to the world, they surely had the right to know.

“our phones are untraceable, it’s safe if you keep it under a minute.” you reach out to grab one.

“s’okay, they won’t care.” he gruffs, shrugging his shoulders.

you breathe out an “oh”, internally smacking yourself for insisting.

an awkward silence follows as you resume loading the last box, shutting the trunk.

“who’s ready for a roadtrip?” sam gleams, palms raised.

you wrinkle your nose at the familiar smell of kerosene.

“do you guys have to do this everytime?” you roll your eyes, backing away from the scent.

ransom’s about to ask what when the house explodes up in flames right in front of him.

“what the fuck?” he jumps out of his seat, frantic eyes racing around.

but the fire stops as soon as it began, leaving a scorched framework of bricks and rubble behind.

“can’t find anything if you have nowhere to search.” bucky rattles an empty jar labelled corrosive.

san fist bumps him, smirking.

ransom’s starting to think you might be the sanest out of the three.

and that was saying a lot.

-

a/n : 🤨🧎🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️ i need to stop cringing everytime i post smthing lol

tags : @readermia @inmate-marmalade @stephdavies95 @randomsevans @xoxabs88xox @thebadassbitchqueen @tcc-gizmachine @mypalbuck @natrushman3000

[kjhmyg]

rough edges pt. 6 (m)

pairing: jungkook | (f) reader genre: college!au, badboy!jk, fluffy too :(  warnings: mentions of drugs, unprotected sex, cursing, violence, alcohol, drinking, death, manhandling, college parties, boys lol  word count: 10.7K

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / part 6 / 6.5

author’s note: hello i love u. first of all welcome to  ♡ libra season ♡ sorry this took so long; it feels kinda short so maybe i’ll post a short 1k chapter next week (part 6.5). i wrote the last half of the last part like an hour ago i hope i didnt make any big grammatical errors or typos lol. also dedicating this to my friend haru who i miss loads.

RE asks tag

What was a red mark on Jungkook’s cheek, has now turned purple-ish. He promises it doesn’t hurt anymore but you notice him mindlessly touching it at times. So you kiss it very gently each time you say goodbye and he doesn’t stop you.

With one arm around over the back of your chair, he’s feeding himself fries with the other. You lean against his shoulder, watching as he nibbles away. “Can’t keep your eyes off me huh?” He mutters.

“You know I can’t.” You admit, giggling into quick, continuous pecks. He lingers on a little longer on the last one like he always does.

“Will you guys save it for the bedroom?” Jimin asks, face twisted in disgust. He doesn’t really care, but it’s fun to tease Jungkook. “Gross.”

“Gross is you dipping fries in your coke.” Hana shakes her head at the soaked fry between his thumb and index finger.

"Don't be mad you don't have refined taste in food like me." He shoots back. “A soaked fry has equal parts sweet and salty.”

“You’re just gross.”

Hana’s realised it doesn’t take much to get under his skin and is enjoying every bit of it. The irony is that it always starts with Jimin trying to get under Jungkook’s skin. Next to Jimin, Taehyung’s phone has his undivided attention. In fact, he’s been rather quiet today, spending the last five minutes or so frowning at his screen.

“Tae, you alright?”

“No.” He sighs, finally looking up. “I have to get a job.”

“...And?”

“Well I don’t want to.” He says simply. “Can’t believe my parents are cutting off my allowance because I spend too much.” He uses air quotes.

Except for Jimin, the rest of you only manage blank stares, unable to sympathise with his first world problem. "Yeah, I’m sure those thousand dollar Balenciaga sneakers you got last week have nothing to do with it.” Jungkook says.

“Jungkook. They were limited edition.”

“A thousand dollars?” You say. “What the hell dude.”

“Okay can we stop talking about the past and focus on the present?” Leaning back against his chair and looking into the distance, Jimin places a comforting hand on his shoulder

“Don’t worry, we’ll find you a nice job.” Jimin says and he lets out a tiny whine, throwing his head back.

That’s when it hits you. You have no idea how, but it does. And you have no idea if it’ll work but you’re doing it anyway.

A clueless Hana raises a brow in question at the sudden look of mischief you give her. She braces herself for whatever you’re about to do, equally curious and worried. “Actually, you should apply at our café.” You say to Taehyung.

“They’re hiring?”

“Well not yet.” Turning back to her, you widen your eyes slightly, prompting Hana to play along. She quickly does, noticing Jungkook watching her over your shoulder. “I’m leaving soon so they’ll definitely need a replacement.”

“You’re quitting?” Jungkook asks, sitting up straight. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” The little head shake you give isn’t enough to convince him. “I just wanna work somewhere else. Anyway, you’d like working there Tae. It’s nice.” The other boy perks up, seemingly interested.

Hana agrees, explaining the details of your work and what it’s like there. While they talk, Jungkook squeezes your shoulder to get your attention, “Are you sure nothing happened? Creeps harassing you again?”

“No, really.” You say, hand over his cheek. “I just want a change of environment. The job’s getting boring.”

The worry in his eyes gradually disappears as he seems to accept it. He gives a soft okay for now. Looking away, you let out a silent sigh of relief. On the inside, the rational side of you is yelling her head off. What possessed you to decide to quit your job for no good reason? This plan is banking on the chance that Jungkook will let you join him at the club. Which when you think about it, is very unlikely to happen.

Yet, another part of you is excited. Your mind is in a frenzy. Convincing yourself you’ll figure the details out later, you silently thank Taehyung and his Balenciagas for handing you this opportunity.

"Oh hey, we better get going." Jimin says, looking at the time on his phone. "We'll see you guys tonight?"

The girls of Eta Iota are hosting a party tonight. Naturally, the boys get invited and by association, you too. Sunhee’s cashing in on your promise of taking her to one, so you have to go even if it’s just to hang around for a while then leave. You part ways with Jimin and Tae as Jungkook gives Hana and you a ride back. He walks with you to the lobby of your place, where you tell Hana to head up first.

Right by the stairwell, he leans against the wall and holds you in his arms, between his legs. “Are you sure you wanna quit your job?”

"Yessss, I’m sure. I wanna work somewhere else." Resting your chin on his chest, you look up at him. "It's cute that you're worried about me."

“Of course I am.” He kisses the top of your head. “I’ll help you keep a lookout for places that are hiring.”

You smile gleefully up at him. Oh, he’s going to help you get a new job alright. Just not in the way he’s thinking. Already, you feel bad for lying to him. But you keep telling yourself you’re doing this for him.

He doesn’t let you go so easily when you try and remove yourself, not giving up his hold on you. When you pry his hands off, he tugs you right back in, locking you in his arms as kisses land all over your face. “Stop,” you laugh, “someone might see us.” But you don’t look around to check for anyone. He doesn’t care either.

He lifts you up easily, wrapping your legs around him. Switching positions, you now feel the cool wall against your back. “Should we skip the party tonight?” He asks, a hopeful look in his eyes.

“You have to go. It’s part of your fraternity sorority socialising thingy thing.” He rolls his eyes at that. “Plus, I promised Sunhee I’d go with her.”

"Fine. But I’m only going ‘cause you’re going."

“So I’ll see you there, okay?” He nods in response as his hold on you loosens. A peck on the cheek and you’re going up the stairs, one step at a time, hand still holding on to his. As it slips away, he squeezes his chest with his other hand and groans in mock pain.

“Silly,” you mutter between giggles. He breaks character and skips up the steps to get another kiss from you. At this rate he would never leave.

“Jungkook seriously,” you say against his lips, leaning back to separate yourself from him, “you should go now. I’ll see you later anyway.”

He complies and lets you go, but not without releasing a very dramatic sigh. You hurry up the steps before he changes his mind, looking down over the railing as you go, waving your goodbye.

𝄖𝄖

Purple, purple everywhere. The Etas had decided to do their rush party while celebrating their anniversary. Which explains why the decorations are of their ‘official’ colour. Purple balloons, cups, banners, napkins.

“This is so fun!” Sunhee squeals, coming up to hug you from behind. “I’ve made a bunch of new friends!” She squeals again and hurries off elsewhere, leaving you and Hana once again.

“I’m glad she’s enjoying herself.” Hana comments, taking a sip of her drink.

“Aren’t you?” You nudge her side. “You’ve had like four guys come up and give you their number. Don’t act like you’re not having fun.”

“I guess I’m havin’ a lil’ fun…” she mumbles towards the end, sipping on her drink with a tiny smile. She’s holding up much better than you thought she would. Much better than you at least, she doesn’t seem too bothered by the constant yelling.

There’s no reason to worry about Sunhee. She’d clung on to you earlier when you arrived together as promised, like you’re her ticket in. As soon as you passed through the doors, a couple of girls from the host house came up to greet you. While it was a little awkward for you, Sunhee saw her chance and took it. She’s been hanging out with them since.

“Where’s Jungkook?” Hana asks. She’s still unsure about your plan. You had gotten an earful from her earlier on, back at the apartment. Only after you promised, pinky promised and swore you’d be safe, did she finally calm down.

“Somewhere.” It’s crowded enough to not be able to see the other end of the room. You crane your neck to see better. “Don’t know if I can find him with all these people around.”

“Go.” Her pretty, long eyelashes flutter over her eyes as she looks at you. “Don’t worry about me.”

You’re hesitant to leave, but she reiterates that she’d be fine and you finally nod, much to her relief. She has Jimin and Taehyung with her anyway, she says, nodding over to the pair a few feet away.

Before disappearing into the crowd, you turn back to let her know you might not see her for the rest of the night. But she’s read your mind, waving her hands at you. “You’ll be with Jungkook, I know.”

“Text me when you get home. I love you.” You blow her a kiss and watch her roll her eyes, then push through bodies of people to get to a different part of the house. There’s way too many people here. Most of them tower at least a head over you, disrupting your view. Your phone vibrates just as you enter the biggest room of the house which gives you a little more maneuvering space than the previous one.

Jungkook: u look great

Slowly, you turn in the spot you’re in, paying close attention to each section of the room.

Jungkook: i like pink

Jungkook: ur ass looks great in those jeans btw

You: reveal yourself  

He doesn’t respond and you continue to wander around, until you reach a short hallway separating the kitchen area from the previous room. With more room to breathe, you decide to stay put knowing Jungkook won’t keep this up for long anyway. And you’re right.

"Looking for me?" His hot breath tickles your ear.

Spinning around, you're greeted by his wide grin and immediately hate how good he looks in a simple white tee with his house name, Kappa Sigma embedded on the left chest, and tucked into black jeans, "Hey you." He tastes like fruit punch when you kiss him.

Your bodies sway slightly to the music with his hands on your hips and your arms around his neck. He reaches behind, pulling something out of his back pocket and holds it up in front of you. “Lollipop?”

“It’s...purple.” You take it from him, observing its odd colour, wondering if this was even necessary.

“I know.” He chuckles. “They really go all out.”

You shrug, unwrapping the sweet and pop it in your mouth. “So, you wanna get out of here?” He asks.

“But I thought you liked parties,” you blink, “socialising, hooking up.”

“I know you’re making fun of me but it’s kinda hot when you talk like that.” He eyes the way your lips wrap around the lollipop, unconsciously mirroring the movement of your tongue licking the layer of sugar off your lips, suddenly going thirsty.

You shove him in the chest and he laughs, stepping back. “I’ve been here less than an hour.” You say. Although, it’s not like you were planning to stay long anyway. You know that, he knows that.

“You won’t miss a thing, trust me.” He hooks an arm over your shoulder. “Besides, we can get started on the hooking up part.” He winks.

You leave through the back, avoiding the large crowd up front. You quickly send a text to Hana to let her know you’re leaving. Out on the lawn, you walk past a group of guys drunkenly singing to their heart's content and you flash them a thumbs up despite how horrible they sound.

The Eta Iota house is just a few houses down from the boys’ and you walk back hand in hand, swinging your arms as you go. Jungkook watches your smile, and the way you laugh when your arms swing so far back that it throws you off balance and you almost fall. “You look good.” He says, softly.

“I know, you told me.” You say without sparing him a glance. “I look good in pink. And these jeans are good for my ass.”

“No.” His voice is as soft as his smile. Looking at him then, you notice the tender look in his eyes. “I mean you look good when you’re happy. It’s nice. Does that make sense? I don’t know.”

Your heart leaps at the way he looks away almost shyly, focusing entirely on the ground as he walks, his other hand in his pocket. You close the gap between you and kiss him on the cheek. “I’m always happy when I’m with you.”

“I’m happy when I’m with you too.”

The rest of the short walk back goes in comfortable silence, you still lightly swinging your arms. But as you reach the front of the house, Jungkook pauses. It surprises you when he decides to take a walk in the park instead. You give him curious glances along the way, wondering what’s gotten into him. It’s a ten minute walk from his place to a park that’s your go-to for impromptu date nights.

You walk past groups of people hanging around, laughing with food on large picnic mats. Finally you opt for an empty space on the grass, not too far away from others there but secluded enough to have some privacy.

“Oh my god, look at the clouds.” They’re big and fluffy, floating through the dark sky. “I wish we could see the stars. That’d be perfect.”

Jungkook follows your gaze. “There are places where you can do that you know.”

“Yeah, I’d love to go one day.” You say with a heavy sigh.

“We could go together.” Jungkook says, making you look at him. “Like a vacation.”

“Aw. I’d love that.”

He smiles sweetly, then turns in place to face you. “I went to look for places which were hiring earlier.”

“You did? Why?”

“Aren’t you...quitting your job?” He looks at you confused. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“Yeah but, there’s no rush.”

“Just wanna make sure you have something to fall back on.” He says, checking his phone. “So, the bakery right next to the cafe is hiring.”

“Jungkook,” you laugh, “I can’t quit and then take up a job next door!”

“I know but, just in case.” He goes on, looking upwards as he recalls. “The school’s also looking for a part-time librarian⎼”

“Baby no, that’s so boring.” You groan. “I thought I’d look for something more...exciting. Like a routesetter maybe?”

“I didn’t know you rock climb?”

“Oh I don’t.” He looks at you with a blank expression on his face. “What? I can learn to!”

"You're weird." He shakes his head and taps your nose. "Why would you wanna go out of your way for a part time job?"

"Cause...it's fun?"

"Even you don't believe that."

"You're right." The wheels in your head turn at full speed, trying to make this as natural as possible. You have to be careful, Jungkook's way too attentive when it comes to you. "Okay, I'll be honest."

He perks up. Face filled with curiosity, as if ready to say I knew it, that something was up, and that you wouldn't leave your job over nothing.

"I'm quitting because…" You gulp. "I want to spend more time with you."

"What?"

"Don't be mad." You add in quickly. "I just thought that I'd get to have more time to spare for you if I wasn't always working."

Eyes closed, he lets out a sigh and drops his head with a little shake. The small smile and amused look in his eyes makes you smile too. “Are you serious? Are you running a fever?” He places the back of his palm against your forehead and then checks the pulse on your wrist.

“I’m fine.” You snatch your hand back.

“The Y/N I know wouldn’t make impulsive decisions like this.” He quirks a brow, “You know you need that job. How else will you pay rent? Get groceries? You don’t ever let me pay for anything.”

“I’ll find a job with less hours.”

“Less hours, less pay.” He lifts your chin up, pouty lips calling him in. “Don’t be silly baby, you’re not leaving your job.”

“Too late.”

“What d’you mean?”

“I...may have...emailed my resignation...earlier on.”

He groans and you cringe when he shoots you a look of disapproval. You give your best kicked puppy look which doesn’t work. “This doesn’t happen often but I’m really mad at you right now.”

“Don’t be.” You scoot closer and when he turns his head away, you move onto his lap, forcing him in an embrace. “I’ll find something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Go back to work tomorrow and speak to your manager. Tell him you’ve changed your mind.” He asks seriously. “I’ll go and have coffee during every one of your shifts so we’re technically spending time together.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“I’m the silly one?”

“Okay fine, I’m sorry.” You sigh. “I didn’t think things through…”

“You’re damn right you didn’t.” He rests his head in his palm. “So, what are you gonna do now?”

“Spend more time with you?” You inch even closer, if it’s even possible with how you’re already sticking to him like glue. He doesn’t reply right away but squeezes you in his hold, resting his cheek on your head. “Are you still angry?”

“Yes.”

You lift your head off him for a kiss. When he sighs this time, he feels the anger dissipating. At the same time he curses the way his body betrays him when it comes to you. You can barely tell he’s upset with the way he responds so eagerly. The pleased look you give him after has him rolling his eyes. “You can’t be mad at me. I’m cute.”

“True.” He leans back, hands on the grass behind him. “But, we are going to look for job postings online tonight.”

“But mom!” You whine, folding your arms in front of you.

“No buts.”

“Not even my butt?” Blinking innocently at him, you add in a little head tilt until he breaks and starts grinning. “Thought you liked my butt.”

He falls onto the grass, laughing in disbelief and you steady yourself on his chest. “What has gotten into you?” He says, watching as you hover over him. “You’re acting so weird.”

“No I’m not. I’m just happy, like you said.” You kiss him on the nose. “You’re the weird one. Nagging at me about getting a job. Being a responsible adult and stuff.”

He flips over, switching your positions so that he’s hovering over you now. Almost immediately, you’re distracted by how dreamy he looks with the view of the night sky behind him. You run your thumb over one side of his cheek. “You did this to me. Plus I’m just looking out for you.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“Don’t worry. I can pull some strings and get you a job somewhere fun.”

He rolls over to your side and lets you rest your head under his arm, both of you watching the sky. You shift even closer, slinging one leg over his and draw circles on his chest. “Hey I mean, worse comes to worst, I could always come and work for you.”

Surprisingly, he laughs. Really hard. You lift yourself up and rest on your elbow to watch him. “Nice one.” He sighs. Then he notices the way you’re looking at him, face void of expression and brows up in question. “What? You were serious?”

“Slightly offended that you thought it was that funny but yes, I was.”

He raises a brow at you. “You? Want to work at a club? Doing what?”

“Bartender? Cleaner?”

“Don’t even joke about that, our cleaners are our most valuable staff. They clean, sanitise, then double sanitise, wipe up vomit, make sure the booths aren’t lined with nasty fluids.”

Your face twists in horror and he nods, proving his point. “Okay...fine so I’m not qualified enough for that. But bartending? I can do that.”

“No.”

“Why?”

He gets up and you follow. He ruffles the back of his head and dusts of the grains on his hands. “Baby, you’re not working there. I won’t allow it.”

“But𝄖”

“Y/N, I said no.” There was no room to argue, not even cheekily. He didn't raise his voice, but the tone he took was enough. Easing the firm stare he gave you as he said it, he turns his attention to his phone as it beeps.

𝄖𝄖

"Lucky for you, I told the manager you just needed a break to focus on school," Hana yawns, pulling up the blanket to her face, "you can come back anytime."

"You want me to give up?"

"Only because your plan is dangerous."

"Hana, I'm not giving up."

She sighs, turning over to the other side. “Let’s talk tomorrow. I’m tired.”

You push yourself off her bed and sit on the edge, thinking. Quietly, you pull open the drawer by her bed, fumbling around until you feel what you’re looking for. The little paper you tore out of Jungkook’s notebook. When he started sleeping over, you had asked Hana to keep it safe for you. You stare at the address. You hadn’t gotten round to visiting the place, especially since you don’t even know what you’re looking for.

“Turn off the light when you leave, will you?” Hana mumbles half-asleep.

You leave the piece of paper and close the drawer.

𝄖𝄖

Two days later, you’re back at his place. The guys are all over, making sure the house is ready for a party tonight. Each of them were assigned different tasks to settle to save time. When you arrived, Hoseok made sure to separate Jungkook from you, for the sake of efficiency, so you’re stuck in the kitchen with Jimin. Helping him with the cleaning, you listen mindlessly as he rambles on about something. He yells at every guy that enters and tries to steal some snacks but sneaks some into his mouth when no one’s looking.

Just as you’re done wiping down the chip bowls, Jungkook walks in with dark stains all over his shirt and face. He chugs down half a bottle of orange juice from the fridge before opening a bag of gummies placed on the table for the party which has Jimin groaning.

“What happened to you?”

“Car oil needed changing. Cleaned up under the hood too.”

“What?” Jimin shrieks. “You were working on your car this entire time?”

“Yeah?”

“While the rest of us were preparing for the party? Unbelievable!” He huffs, “You were supposed to fix the first floor bathroom⎼”

Jungkook signals for him to stop, holding up a palm. “Fine, I’ll go do it now.” He reaches out for your hand and continues to nod at everything Jimin says as he tags you along, the nagging fading away as you run upstairs.

“You should really go and help out.” You say, plopping down on his bed with a bounce.

Jungkook hums, “I will. Later.”

Sniffing the shirt he has on, he lets out a disapproving grunt. He removes it in one swoop and tosses it into a basket. You watch quietly as he steps closer, eyes fixed on yours. He leans forward and your hands grip the sheets as you lean back, looking at him expectantly. Then his arm moves past your head and reaches for another shirt on the bed, behind you. He snickers and you slap his shoulder.

“I’m leaving.”

“Aw, come on, don’t go.” He jumps into bed and grabs you. He leans on his side, propped up on his elbow, hand on your middle.

“I have to get some groceries.” You play with his hair. “Then I’m gonna freshen up and come back here in time for the party.”

“Great, I’ll drive you.”

“No, you stay. Fix the bathroom.”

“But I don’t want to.” He groans, and rolls over onto you. Almost naturally, your legs wrap around him and he starts kissing your neck, moving down to your chest, pulling down your shirt. You stop him, giggling. “Why do you always wanna leave when we kiss?” He frowns.

“Why do you always kiss me when I’m leaving?”

“‘Cause I don’t want you to leave."

The smell of your skin makes him smile. It smells like...home.

You feel his weight slowly get heavier on you as his body relaxes and melts into yours, nestling his face into your neck. He almost drifts to sleep with the way you’re rubbing his back. When you ruffle his hair, he lifts his head and claims a kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Kookie.”

You giggle as he drops his face in the space between your neck and shoulder. Groaning, he recalls the night Suga found out about the nickname. He has since, constantly used it on Jungkook whenever he can. “He’s never letting that go. Thanks a lot.”

“I’m sorry.” You laugh, chest moving under him. “I was drunk. I didn’t know what I was saying.”

Supporting his weight on one arm, he hovers above you while his free hand brushes past the side of your face. “You don’t remember anything you said that night?”

“No.” That can’t be good. You scan his face. “Why? Did I say something weird?”

“No. Just wondering.” He says gently, expression slowly changing into a smile that makes you forget you were even worried a second ago. “Don’t get drunk anymore. Suga likes you way too much when you’re drunk.”

“Does he?” You laugh, cupping his face. If Suga likes you, you can use this to your advantage. You can’t wait to tell Hana your plan worked.

When Jungkook hears the sound of his name being called from somewhere around the house, he groans and sinks into you again. You push him off you with much difficulty, laughing as he keeps plopping back down into you.

“Okay, they need you. I’m leaving so you can focus. I’ll come back later.” You say, when you finally manage to escape. Reluctantly, he follows behind as you walk down the stairs.

Just as you reach the bottom of the steps, you’re being pulled to the side, against the wall where he corners you into, hands on either side. “I’ll be waiting, so you better show up.” Down your back, up your front, his hands run over your body till they rest just under your jaw, making you lift your chin towards him. Breath hitching in your throat, he carefully brings his lips to yours, teasing a soft touch. Then he lets go.

He smiles like nothing happened and you catch your breath before racing to the front door. You hear a soft chuckle and turn to see him winking at you as he goes in the other direction. Hearing voices from the kitchen where the meeting has started, you quickly close the door behind you, ignoring the pulsing between your thighs.

𝄖𝄖

With a basketful of groceries, you stroll through the store, looking for anything you might have missed out. As you walk, you notice from afar, standing right in front of the refrigerated section your new friend Namjoon. You head straight for him, a little bounce in your step. When you stop right next to him, he turns slowly and carefully.

“Oh. It’s you.” He says as he realises.

“Getting some groceries?” You ask, looking at the shelf then back at him.

“Oh just,” he lifts up a bottle of juice, “getting my orange juice. I see you’re getting your monthly supply. You alone?”

“Yeah I am.” You nod, “My roommate’s busy with school stuff.”

“Right.” He smiles, then it seems like a thought comes to him. “Hey, you’re going for the party tonight right?”

“What? How’d you know about that?” You look at him confused.

“I have friends too you know.”

“But, you can’t come. You’re technically faculty.” You say, putting down your basket to fold your arms in front of you and stare him down. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

He chuckles, then points and holds up a finger in front of you. “Actually, I’m an external instructor. So technically, I’m not faculty.”

“How convenient.” You eye him down.

“Fine, fine.” He sighs. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a party, okay? I just wanna mingle.”

“Hm.” You chew on your bottom lip. Seems genuine enough. You can’t help but wonder if he’s there for something else. How will that go down with Jungkook? “An instructor looking to mingle with his students...definitely no red flags there.”

He rolls his eyes at you. “Come on, I’m not that much older than you. And I’m not that kinda person.”

“That’s what they all say.” You shrug. “Well, I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

“Cool.” He winks. “I’ll see you tonight.”

He walks off way too quickly, like he’s avoiding something and heads straight for the checkout counter. Of course you know why he’d go to a college party; the perfect place to sell his drugs. You can’t figure out if you should let Jungkook know about Namjoon. But then again, he almost always knows what’s going on. And he’d be uneasy knowing you know so much.

You pick up your basket off the floor and head for checkout yourself. Barely making ten steps, you notice someone leaning against the side of a shelf, watching you with his arms crossed, mischievous smile on his face. Your other new friend. How coincidental.

“Suga.” You say, a tone way too excited for his liking but he nods anyway. You walk over to him and stand awkwardly before him, holding your basket with both hands in front of you. “Hi.”

“Hey cutie.” He searches for someone behind you. “Where’s Jungkook?”

“Oh he’s back at home.” You smile. “They’re getting ready for rush week. And the party tonight.”

“Am I invited?”

“Oh, um…” You can tell he’s joking, but you can’t be too sure. How interesting would it be to have Jungkook, Namjoon and Suga in one place. You wonder what would happen if they met.

You chuckle nervously without giving an answer and he shrugs it off. “I was kidding.”

“I guess you can come if you want to.” You say with a tiny shrug. “I’m sure Jungkook won’t mind.”

He changes the subject almost immediately, offering to help you carry your basket, which you politely decline. He walks with you to the counter. “So who was that guy you were talking to?”

Oh, he’s an instructor from school and also the new drug dealer in town. “Oh him? He’s the new self-defense instructor on campus.”

“Really?” He looks amused, and bites his bottom lip in a half-smile. “Cool. And you guys are friends?”

“Yeah. Kinda.” You place your basket on the counter and help the cashier to unload the items to scan. You don’t notice the way Suga laughs silently to himself, shaking his head.

“You know what, I gotta go.” Suga says, walking backwards towards the exit. You don’t even manage to reply to him before he takes off. “Let’s drink again sometime soon!”

𝄖𝄖

Hana is less than pleased to know about your run-ins. She looks at you with daggers in her eyes. “You have to stop this. He obviously knows your plan."

"Stop overreacting. How could he possibly know that?"

She shrugs. The loud music drowns out your voices from being overheard by those around you. "It's hard to believe it was a coincidence running into him.” She says and you sigh, choosing to ignore her.

The last you saw Jungkook, he was laughing away with a group of people. You didn’t want to bother him, he’d be busy anyway trying to get freshies on his side. But it’s been a while and now you don’t see him anywhere.

While Hana mingles, you go off to look for him. In the kitchen, you find Jimin doing shots of something that doesn’t look edible with a bunch of guys cheering him on. But no Jungkook. You peek out on the deck out back but he’s not there either. A hand on the sliding doors, you sigh and step out into the courtyard, breathing in air that doesn’t smell like sweat.

You pause when you step down the stairs and spot something, squinting at the sight of two guys in the far end of the backyard, right by the bush-lined fence. Recognising that jacket, you realise one of them is Jungkook. He then pulls something out of his pocket and shakes hands with the other guy. You turn back before he spots you. Probably just a polite handshake. Maybe with an old friend. Yup.

Step back inside, you’re being stopped by a hand on your arm. “You look flustered.” He says.

“Hi Hoseok.” You force a smile. “It’s warm in here.”

His eyes flicker over to the backyard and back at you. “This is what he does at parties. It’s how he distributes them.”

“So?” You look around uncomfortably.

“I know you don’t like it either.” He stops you before you can reply. “Can you meet me outside in ten minutes? It’s important.”

“You’re already here, what is it? No one’s paying any attention to us anyway.”

“I can’t.”

The sceptical look you give him has him feeling restless. “Trust me, it’s very important.”

From the tone of his voice, he sounds sincere. You don’t want to, but do you want to risk not knowing something that could help you help Jungkook? You hate this. After a long pause, you nod reluctantly. “Fine.”

Neither of you realised the two figures approaching until they’re walking up the steps. Hoseok and you share a look, as if pleading to the other to act normal. As they reach the door, you see now that Jae is the other guy. He greets you as he walks past, then blends into the crowd. Behind him, Jungkook spares you a curious look at the little exchange. He then notices Hoseok’s presence.

“What’s going on?” He looks back and forth at the two of you. “You look upset.”

“Hm? Oh no, I’m fine.” You muster up your best smile. “We were just talking about the guy who puked in the sink earlier.”

“Speaking of which, I should go make sure he’s not puking elsewhere.” Hoseok says, taking his leave.

You can’t tell if Jungkook bought that but he doesn’t question it. His demeanour changes as soon as Hoseok leaves, directing his attention on you. “He wasn’t bothering you, was he?”

“No.” You smile. “I ran into him while looking for some food.”

“Oh⎼”

He doesn’t get a chance to continue when someone he knows slaps him on the back. They chat for a while as he keeps you close next to him, even when you try to pry his fingers off. The other guy drags him somewhere but before he goes, he turns to you. “Grab some food and meet me upstairs, I’ll just be a second.” He winks, stealing a kiss.

“You don’t have to. I’ll just come find you later on it’s fine𝄖”

“You’re not getting rid of me babe.” He jokes and you let out an awkward laugh as he goes.

You haven’t mastered being in two places at once, you’re not a ninja. And in a few minutes, Hoseok will be waiting for you outside. And Jungkook upstairs. You groan, searching the cabinets for some snacks before heading up to Jungkook’s room.

That’s when you notice a familiar blond head among the crowd you. It distracts you. You could’ve sworn that was Suga. But too many people are blocking your line of sight. As you reach the spot you had possibly seen him, he’s gone. You don’t have time to think about this. Swiftly, you run up the steps and head right for Jungkook’s door. And of course, a familiar face exits the washroom on the same floor.

“Namjoon.”

“Why do you look so surprised to see me?” He raises a brow with a playful smile on his face. “I told you I was coming.

You shake your head and look behind you. “Nothing I was just⎼”

“Hogging all the snacks?” He gestures towards the food you’re cradling in your arms and you laugh.

“There’s more downstairs.” You reassure him.

As if on cue, footsteps move swiftly up the stairs and you glance behind to find Jungkook halfway up, a cautious look on his face as he approaches you. Namjoon nods politely. For a moment it’s like you can no longer hear the music blasting, enveloped by the awkward silence.

“Uh, Jungkook this is Namjoon.” You notice the way his jaw clenches as he takes Namjoon’s outstretched hand in his. “And this is Jungkook.”

“The boyfriend. Nice to meet you.” He flashes a blinding smile Jungkook’s way.

“Likewise.”

Namjoon reads the room well and you’re thankful for it. He excuses himself, saving you from having to grease the conversation any further. “See you guys around.” He says, leaving.

Jungkook opens the door for you and you drop the snacks on his table. His fingers immediately wrap around you, lifting you up and throwing you onto the bed. “Finally." He mutters pulling you in.

You giggle nervously as he kisses you all over, pulling away from him. He shoots you a confused look. "Wait I...need the toilet."

He throws his head back but moves aside to let you go. "Okay. I'll wait."

Hurrying out, you close the door and run downstairs, rushing past the sea of bodies to the front door. Once outside, you look around scanning the few faces there for him. Hoseok stands around the corner at the side of the house and calls out your name.

The front and back of the house is well lit, but not the sides. Both of you stand in the shadows by the wall, waiting for him to speak. But he doesn't, instead, he looks around anxiously.

"Hoseok, what is it? You said this is important!" You hiss. "I can't be too long, Jungkook's waiting for me."

"Just give him a second, he'll be here."

"Who?"

"He's here." His eyes focus on a man wearing a navy sweatshirt, hoodie pulled up so you can't really see who it is. He only pulls it down when he joins you in the shadows.

"Hi."

"Y/N, this is Seokjin. He works with my friend."

"Oh. Hello." You watch him curiously. If you could describe a smile as being trustworthy, it would be his.

"Thanks for meeting me," he starts, "I’ll make it quick. It's about a case I'm sure the two of you are familiar with. Actually, I'm here to speak to you, Y/N."

"Me?" You ask, worrying.

"As you know we have an agent working undercover. He's seen you around and since you know about this operation, he’s worried you might get too close, given your relationship with one of the suspects involved. We want to make sure you stay out of it as much as possible."

"But I'm not doing anything to jeopardise the operation."

"We know." He nods, "But still, we have to emphasise that these people are dangerous. You do not want to get involved. You shouldn’t know about this operation in the first place, but nothing we can do about that now.”

Hoseok’s eyes downcast and hands hide in his pockets, knowing he wasn’t supposed to reveal anything to you. “He’s okay right?” He asks softly.

“He’s fine. He personally contacted me to speak with you. And he’s sorry he hasn’t answered his phone, it’s too risky.”

“Who’s this guy again? Do I know him?” You ask.

“You already know too much as it is. I can’t reveal the name of our agent. We can’t risk him getting exposed, it could cost him his life.”

Silence ensues. It’s uncomfortable to think about how someone could literally die from an unfortunate slip of the tongue. You wait for someone to diffuse the tension. Hoseok looks like he’s in thought, opening his mouth to speak then stopping. Seokjin beats him to it. “In case it’s not clear enough, your plan ends here Y/N.”

How does he⎼ oh. So that’s why Hoseok looks troubled. You stare him down and mutter through clenched teeth. “You told him.”  

“I didn’t mean to!” He spits out. “When Seokjin called me earlier, I got reminded of you. I had to tell him. And I know you wouldn’t listen to me anyway, so I got him to come here.”

“Listen. I just want to help Jungkook, that’s all.” You sigh. “I promise I won’t get in the way.”

“I get it. Hoseok’s explained it to me.” It’s Seokjin’s turn to sigh. “Doesn’t matter what your intentions are, it’s best if you stay away.”

You look helplessly over at Hoseok, then reluctantly agree with a nod. “I’ll try.”

“No, you see, this isn’t a request. It’s an order. There is a chance you’ll get convicted as part of the group if you don’t keep your distance. Is that what you want?”

“No. But𝄖”

“Good, so we’re on the same page.”

“No, we’re not.” Huffing, you step closer to him. “I’m not doing this for fun. I’m trying to get my boyfriend out of there.”

“I understand. But there’s no telling what could happen. Let us handle it. If he’s innocent, then you don’t have anything to worry about. The most important thing here is that you don’t end up getting caught up in the mess. Do you really want to be associated with criminals?”

“Jungkook’s not a criminal.”

Seokjin holds up his hands in a surrender. “That’s not what I meant.”

Hoseok gulps, gently touching your arm. “Y/N please. Let them handle it.”

“I am letting them handle it.” You say stubbornly before turning back to Seokjin. “Look, I’m just here for Jungkook. Tell that to your guy. I won’t stand in the way of the operation.”

“You do know that this is all off the record?” Seokjin starts, “That means even though our undercover, as well as I, am aware that you’re not involved, if by any chance you’re caught with drugs or anything illegal at the time of the raid, you might get convicted. There will be no records to show that you’re innocent.”

“I understand.”

“Alright.” Seokjin pulls his hoodie back up. Now you can only faintly see the bottom half of his face. “Take care. Remember, no one else can know about this.”

He takes off in quick steps, round the corner and down the street. Hoseok fidgets in his spot, trying to find the right words. “I didn’t make him do this to scare you or anything. Promise.”

“I know, Hoseok.” You smile softly. “But you get it right? Why I’m doing this?”

“Yeah...” he trails off for a moment, then continues. “You saw him earlier didn’t you?”

“I did.” You shake your head with a sigh, “Trust me okay? I’m doing everything I can to help Jungkook, like you wanted me to.”

“I never wanted this. I don’t want you to get hurt if things don’t go as planned.”

“Whatever happens after, I’ll deal with it then.”

𝄖𝄖

Feeling numb, the walk back upstairs feels like you’re on autopilot, barely hearing the buzzing of the crowd. You take a deep breath before turning the knob of Jungkook’s door, willing yourself to forget the last ten minutes ever happened. He’d read you like a book in this state.

But your bright smile is wasted on an empty room.

“Jungkook?”

𝄖𝄖

The next day, you're sitting on the running track, soaked in sweat after a long session of track and field. The coach bids his goodbye as the team continues their cooling down stretches. Hana plops down next to you. “So?”

“What?”

“You wanna talk about it?” She asks, picking dirt off of your cheek with her thumb. “You seemed really out of it last night. Barely spoke the whole day today…”

“I’m sorry.” You shake your head. “Just thinking.”

You decided not to tell her about Seokjin and everything that was said last night. For now at least. She already has reservations about your plan as it is, telling her about Seokjin would just freak her out even more.

“Jungkook called you yet?”

“Mhm.” Technically it was a text, wishing you good morning with a kissy face emoji. Not wanting to make a big deal out of the night before, you reply as you normally would. “Don’t worry about me, I’m just tired actually.”

She hangs an arm over your shoulder and gives you a side hug. “No more parties for you.”

“Yeah they’re kinda lame aren’t they?” You laugh.

After grabbing your stuff, you’re headed for the locker room. You're too deep in thought to realise the girls on your team giggling around you. It isn't until Hana nudges you then nods to bleachers that you realise your boyfriend is waiting for you. He salutes the other ladies with a winning smile as they walk off, before getting off his butt.

The girls mutter quietly, and you hear the words lucky and they're so cute as they leave you. Hana waves to Jungkook before walking ahead. Jungkook trots down the steps and lifts you in a hug.

“Sorry, I’m sweaty.”

“That’s okay,” he smiles, swaying you side to side, “not the first time I have you all sweaty in my arms.”

“Shut up.”

He laughs, then starts swinging your hands as you walk back. “Hey sorry about last night."

"Oh it’s fine. Don't worry about it." You say, with a shake of your head, looking at the ground. "You're a busy man, I know."

"Can I make it up to you? Tonight?"

"Alright." You nod. "I gotta shower first though. And you have to give me a ride back to get some fresh clothes."

"No need to dress up."

"But I want to." You pout and he chuckles.

The sound of whistling and yelling coming from the field gets your attention. It's the soccer team, practice still ongoing. It only just occurred to you that you haven't seen Jungkook there in a while.

"Why aren't you practicing with them anymore? Did you quit?"

Jungkook looks at you with an amused look on his face. "Y/N, I was never part of the team."

"Huh?" You stop in your tracks. "I'm pretty sure I've seen you on that field running after the ball."

"Yeah but I was never really on the team." He reiterates. Now you're confused. "I only practiced with them so I could watch you during track and field."

"What?"

"Have you forgotten? I'm on the basketball team."

Honestly, you hadn’t made the connection that it’s impossible for him to be on both the soccer and basketball teams until now. "No wait, you joined them just to watch me?"

"Yes and no?" He shrugs proudly. "At first it was because I got kicked off the basketball team. Then we started dating. I got to see you every practice. Then I got reinstated on the basketball team. And I didn't wanna stop seeing you during practice so I kept going. Until now."

"Jungkook that is𝄖"

"Sweet?"

"Lowkey creepy."

He lets out a tiny gasp with a look of betrayal on his face. "But...I wanted to see you."

You laugh at the utter disappointment he shows and pat his face, though it feels like a light slap, before running off making him chase after you.

𝄖𝄖

Laying on the hood of his car, with his arm under your neck, Jungkook listens to you talk about anything and everything. In your favourite spot, parked by the beach so you get the cool breeze and the gentle sound of waves crashing onto the shore.

He enjoys listening to you talk about your life; what your childhood was like, what kind of trouble you used to get into, your family. It’s like peeling off a new layer every time. Who knew you used to bully the bully as a kid? And let’s not forget that time you got detention for smoking in school but you only did it to get your dad’s attention so that he would stop dating the evil girlfriend who threatened to send you off to boarding school.

“Baby are you...a troublemaker?” He muses and you laugh.

“Well I was. I grew out of it.” You shrug and look up at him. “Kinda.”

“Would’ve never guessed. You’re so shy. And good.”

“Yeah. Once I realised how my behaviour was affecting people’s liking towards me, I changed.”

He smiles tenderly at you, always so full of surprises. You play with the hem of his sweater, then look up at him. “What about you? You haven’t told me anything about your past.”

Not once has he shared his own stories. You never asked because you didn’t want to pressure him. But you’re almost out of stories yourself.

Jungkook looks up at the sky for a while. You sense the hesitance. “There’s nothing much to say.”

“What about...your family? Do you have any siblings?”

There’s no reply, only the sound of the waves crashing and a distant laughter from a group of friends on the beach. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” Propping yourself up on your elbow, you see now the faint sparkle in his eyes. Could be the cool breeze making his eyes water. He blinks it away when you stare. “We can talk about other things.”

He smiles as his eyes scan your face before you’re snuggling into his side again. “I like hearing your stories.”

“But I’ve told you everything.”

“What about your first kiss?”

You groan. “I’ve told you that one. It was during camp. He pushed me into the lake after that because it was all a dare.”

“Oh right and then you threw all his clothes into the lake as revenge.”

“Yeah.” You laugh. “It was pretty funny.”

He laughs thinking about tiny Y/N lugging a big bag full of clothes and dumping it into a lake as the owner yells in horror. Who knew you had it in you. You’re always so calm and by the book, it’s almost like a whole other person.

“Can you tell me about your tattoo?” You look up at him.

He smirks, turning his head to the side towards the arm it’s on. It’s a tiger head on the upper bicep of his right arm. Made up of shapes, lines, squiggles, it has sharp piercing eyes. It’s beautiful, really. “It’s just something to represent my loyalty towards my brothers.”  

You’ve never seen this mark on the other frat boys, so you assume he’s talking about his other group of brothers. “It’s nice. I like it.”

“Mhm.” It’s tough to crack him. He never reveals more than what he thinks you need to know.

After a while, you pluck up the courage to ask him about the job. “Have you thought about what we discussed?” You ask softly, playing with his fingers.

“What did we discuss?”

“About the job,” you remove yourself from him again and this time get on your knees, “about me working at the club?”

He sighs, looking at you like the stubborn teenager in your stories. “I already told you no.”

“You won’t even consider it.” You pout.

He smiles, surprisingly. “After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that you’ve been rejected. You don't have what it takes.”

“Rude!” You huff, “I have all that it takes.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes I do! I’m tough.” You spit out. You strike an awkward pose, doing something weird with your arms. “I have swag.”

It makes him laugh so hard he starts tearing and almost choke on his saliva. Embarrassed, you laugh along, hitting him on his chest. Cheeks hurting from all that, he opens his arms. “Come here you.”

You drop into him, mostly to hide your face in his shoulder. He holds you tight, a content sigh escapes him as he does. “I love you so much.” He says into your ear.

Lifting your head up to face him, he smiles tenderly at you, softly tracing a finger over your face, the lulling movement making your eyes flutter shut.

𝄖𝄖

“You got a problem with me?” Namjoon says to the smaller guy.

Suga smirks bitterly, unimpressed by how the new guy has no respect whatsoever towards him. “I do actually. What’s your deal?”

“What d’you mean?”

“You appear out nowhere, get dispatched to our district. Same area as Jungkook no less...are you trying to replace us?”

“Hey, I didn’t choose the location.” Namjoon shrugs. “Maybe if you guys didn’t suck so bad they wouldn’t have asked me to secure the bags.”

He braces himself as Suga lunges forward, shoving him against the wall, his collar bunched up in clenched fists. Surprisingly strong for a small dude. “You don’t come work for us and talk shit about us to my face.”

Namjoon tugs on his clothes, pulling them out of Suga’s grip. He clears his throat and tries to calm himself. “My bad. Next time I’ll do it behind your back.”

“What are you up to? You took a job on campus, why? Jungkook’s already got that covered.”

“Like I said, I didn’t choose to. I was sent there.” He steps forward, making Suga take a few steps back.

“Liar.”

“Look if you have a problem with it, take it up with the lieutenant.” Namjoon walks off, angering the other guy even more. The nerve of this new kid makes his blood boil. There’s something off about him, there’s no way the bosses would send a new guy in for no reason.

He stomps his way into Kyun’s office, slamming the door behind him. Kyun looks up, sees him, and goes back to his laptop. “What?”

“Don’t you think there’s something wrong with that RM guy?” Suga says, pulling up a chair.

“No. Why?”

“He’s so full of himself.”

“Name one person working here that isn’t,” Kyun says, “besides, you should be thankful I assigned him to you. Jungkook’s been slacking.”

“I told you, the school’s keeping an eye on him. He’s taking it slow.”

Suga can’t remember how many times he’s used that excuse. He can’t come right out and admit that Jungkook has in fact been slacking. Or rather, distracted. Not to mention the time Jungkook considered leaving all of this behind. It’s no surprise the lieutenant’s picked up on it.

“Whatever.” Kyun mutters, obviously tired of having this conversation.

“Wait,” the wheels in Suga’s head turn and he looks curiously at his lieutenant, “you’re not doubting Jungkook are you? Did you send RM in to replace him?”

“If Jungkook’s doing a good job like you seem to think he is, why would you be worried about this?”

Suga purses his lips, “He’s fine. He hasn’t missed any of his shifts. I couldn’t have gotten shit done at the club without him.”

“Numbers are still low though.”

“That’s because you’ve got the new kid stealing all his buyers.”

“RM’s good and the staff there seem to trust him. He stays.”

“Fine. Then get off Jungkook’s back about his numbers. He can’t sell drugs the same as before if you have another dealer there competing with him.”

Kyun thinks about it for a minute, then nods. “Alright fine. Anyway, it’s good that you’re here now. I can run through what boss wants you to get up and running at the club.”

It hits Suga that Kyun having doubts about Jungkook is bad news, at least, if word travels up the hierarchy. While Jungkook had promised to keep up, Suga intends to make sure he actually does. He can’t afford anymore slip-ups. Or distractions, in the form of you. He can’t let anything happen to Jungkook.

𝄖𝄖

Sneaking back into the house at such an ungodly hour, you guide Jungkook in the dark, careful not to make a sound.

Back in your room, his jacket and shirt are the first to go. He lifts you up and carries you to the bed, lips not parting from each other.

Slipping under your shirt, he unhooks your bra and pulls your shirt with it over your head. Lips smiling on yours, his hands knead your breasts and you feel your nerves reacting. He trails wet kisses down your front, fingers undoing your jeans and pulling them off in a single swoop.

He removes his own pair of jeans, leaving him in his boxers. Then, kneeling by your legs, he gently peels your panties off, taking in the view of your naked body, lighted up by the warm yellow of your nightlight. If he could, he’d engrave this image of you in his head.

His eyes wide and lustful, they trail over you. “You’re so beautiful.” He whispers.

Hovering above you, he strokes the side of your face, before pressing his body to yours in a soft gentle kiss. He moves so gently, like you could break at any moment. When your hands wrap around his neck, he grabs hold of your wrists, pinning them above your head. You let out a soft whimper.

Jungkook takes his time, showering your skin with kisses. Starting from your neck down to your navel. He licks one side of your breast, teasingly drawing circles with his tongue along the nipple, then gives the same attention to the other. Your breathing gets hitched in your throat, feeling the blood rush down south.

He brings his mouth lower, hands now occupying your breasts where his mouth was. It sends you butterflies the way his hot breath brushes against your skin. There’s something different about the way he’s touching you tonight.

He spares some kisses down your inner thighs and watches the way goosebumps appear as they try to clam up reflexively.

Hands on your thighs, he pushes them apart and runs a teasing lick over your folds. Then his tongue finds its way to your clit, flicking it gently before his lips wrap around it and he starts gently sucking. You jolt and take in a sharp breath grabbing a fishful of the sheets.

His fingers delicately touch your folds, running a teasing finger over your entrance. Looking up from between your thighs, he watches the way you steady your breaths, eyes closed, brows furrowed.

It doesn’t last long and when you open your eyes, he’s hovering over you, licking his lips. Very eagerly you pull down the hem of his boxers, exposing his hard cock. His own fingers wrap around it, stroking himself gently as he reaches for a bottle of lube. He stares at you with a look you can’t read.

“Something on your mind?” You voice out.

He shakes his head with a gentle smile and takes his position between your legs, your thighs over his. Aligning himself with your entrance, he grips your ankles on either side. Slowly, he enters and you will yourself not to make a sound at the initial stretch.

Jungkook keeps a steady pace, watching intently the way he moves in and out of you. You can’t help but to stare at him and the way his abs clench every time he moves his hips into you. The flexing of his arms every now and then, keeping your legs steady. And the way the warm light casts shadows dancing over his body as he moves.

“Jungkook.” You call out for him, so softly.

He releases your ankles and leans forward, resting his body on yours. Pressing his forehead to you, he admires the look of lust in your eyes and the way you’re biting your bottom lip. “Yes, my love?”

Your fingers run over his face. You’re too occupied with the pleasure of him inside you that your brain refuses to put your thoughts into words. He chuckles when you only manage a breathy smile instead.

Your wrists get pinned over your head once again, and he watches you from above. Every thrust is deep and filling, his hips moving expertly to give you just the right amount of pleasure, leaving you a hot mess beneath him.

You look absolutely breathtaking to him; the parting of your lips, eyes shut and shaky breaths. Your breasts bounce with every thrust and your chest rises and falls with every breath you take. He lets out a low guttural sound and presses his body to yours, devouring your lips in a passionate kiss.

His hips pick up speed, grinding into you with calculated moves. You get lost in each other, a mixture of your quick breaths filling the room. The look in his eyes is mirrored in yours, waves of emotions flowing between both your bodies and soul.

Jungkook can’t describe his feelings for you. It’s something he hasn’t felt in a long time; warmth, love, trust, acceptance. All he knows is to tell you he loves you and hopes you get it.

Your eyes get misty as you let your own emotions get to you, feeling the twinge in your chest when you look at him.

Arms wrapping around his waist, your tongues dance between your lips. He knows all the right spots to leave you breathless. You feel it building in the pit of your stomach, and pull away from the kiss, no longer in control of your actions.

Jungkook feels it too, sensing the pressure between your hips as they wrap tightly around him. He steadies himself and gives you long, deep strokes, as he watches your breaths get quicker. The euphoric look on your face earns a grunt of approval from him.

Not wanting to hold back any longer, his hips grind into yours at a quicker pace, feeling himself reaching his release. His mouth latches on to your nipple, sucking it for a second before he hears small whines leaving you, signalling you’re close.

Willing yourself to keep your eyes open, you place a hand on the side of his face, making sure his eyes stay on yours. It gets blurrier with the way tears start to fill your eyes. “I love you.” You blurt out in a whisper and he rests his forehead on yours as he thrusts hard, one which makes your insides squirm.

Jungkook’s breath hitches in his throat as he watches you. A single tear rolls down the side of your face as you start to reach your high. “I love you Y/N.”  He breathes out against your lips before capturing you in a kiss. With one hard thrust, you find yourself succumbing to the pressure in your middle, unravelling a wave of pleasure that courses through your entire body, chest rising towards him and hands keeping him close.

Watching you, he reaches his own climax, hips bucking wildly into yours, and you feel his warm release spilling inside you, his moans lost in the kiss. It takes a while before his hips slow down into a gentle rhythm. Your body goes limp as you ride it out, drained of energy.

He catches his breath with his head on yours and when you finally catch each other’s eyes, you share a giggle. He shines in his afterglow, a look of pure bliss on his face. But he could say the same for you, thumb running over your cheek to wipe off the tear stains.

In that moment, it feels as if you’re staring right into his soul. He stares back at you, as if trying to say something more than what’s been said, worrying once again about conveying what’s in his heart. But you just smile back.

“I know, Jungkook. I know. I love you too.”

[jeonqkooks]

strap in. i’m gonna get sentimental as heck. you’ve been warned.

maybe i’m being dramatic, but aaah i do feel the need to sit down and write this because today has been so lovely, thanks to all of you 🥺

in the last couple of years i hadn’t been the most enthusiastic person when it came to my birthday and i just kinda wanted the day to pass by quickly, to get it over with y’know? i don’t think there was any particular reason behind it; the older i got the more i just grew to feel very indifferent about my birthday (i guess this is pretty common)

but this year i was actually looking forward to it, despite it being just three days before my thesis defense and state exam and everything. and today had to be one of the best birthdays i’ve ever had, even tho i just stayed in and studied, and it was because of all your sweet messages and the love i received today 🥺

like i’ve mentioned in one of my previous ramblings, lately i’ve been feeling so much closer to y’all in our little community here (i think it started after all the tea about my love life, i feel like we bonded over the updates and by the end of it, we became closer by shit talking that man lol <3). it’s moments like this that made me feel so happy that i took the plunge and made this blog (our 4-month anniversary is coming up this saturday!!) 🥰

it must have been almost ten years since i last had internet friends, and i forgot how nice it is to bond with people over our shared love for something :’) you all have made this such a special and safe place for me, and i still remember the day i posted my first piece of writing here and how nervous i was (also bc tumblr fucked up the schedule and posted it earlier than i wanted lol). this community has been so welcoming and i’m so grateful for every single one of you (i see you all !!). i’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people that i never would’ve known if i hadn’t taken the leap and published. you’ve made this experience so incredible for me in the short while that i’ve been here so far and made my heart soar with every little comment that you leave me

you’ve made this blog a safe haven for me, and i want it to be a safe haven for you all too :’) i want to be someone that you can come to whenever you need to vent, to get something off your chest, or just to chat about random things because my door is always open for anyone 💗 (this might be me pushing my emoji anons agenda again).

aah today has been a wonderful day. thank you everyone for your sweet words and wishes, i wish there was a way for me to engrave them all in my heart forever :’) i genuinely hope that we can be here together for a long long time, i love y’all with every fiber of my being <3

if there’s anyone who’s actually reading this and made it this far, have a koo <3

[shadowed-dancer]

My Thoughts on the New MHA Opening and Ending

I have thoughts, and I will share them because oh boy if I don’t get this out I’m gonna explode

Vague Spoilers for the manga (up to chapter 258 and vigilantes) because I discuss the upcoming arcs, but I don’t discuss any major plot points in detail. Still, proceed with caution if you’re anime only

Keep in mind, this OP and ED will cover the Endeavour Agency Arc and the MVA Arc, so I will be judging them accordingly.

First, the OP

This is a good OP... in theory (that’s going to become my catchphrase for this post). It’s nice to look at and flows pretty well, but my biggest problem is that it doesn’t do it’s job. An OP is supposed to be a sort of... summary (?) of the Cour it plays for. That means any cool plot points, emotional beats, and important characters should be featured in some way, shape, or form. We’ll talk about that more later, but first let’s discuss the music.

The song is really good. I have a feeling it will continue to grow on me as I listen to it more often, but yeah my first impression is that the song sounds great. My only complaint about the music itself is that it ends kind of abruptly (I noticed this is the JT opening too). The previous openings used to have a bit of instrumental to “play us out” and lead us to the end card, but this one feels like it ends very suddenly and unnaturally.

As for the visuals...

Yeah alright I’ll admit, the visuals are stunning... in theory. I appreciate the variety in backgrounds and colours, it makes the OP really interesting to look at. This was actually one of my biggest problems with the JT Opening, it all took place on the training grounds, so there was no variety (everything was metal tubes with a blue sky, with only 3 shots set somewhere different). I appreciate the style of this OP.

But like I said, that’s only in theory, as in, through screenshots these are all pleasing to look at. The pacing of this OP is wild, and I truly don’t know who to blame for this.

That sunset shot above? It lasts approximately 12 seconds, zooming in every few to make it seem like something is happening (when in reality it’s still the same poses, angles, etc). While there’s nothing wrong with a nice, drawn out shot, it becomes irritating when compared to the pacing of the rest of this op.

At the 41 second mark, we are given the shot above. It has flowed directly from the previous sunset scene. We still have not moved away from the image of the trio (aside from the opening shot and the title card) yet we’re approaching the halfway mark of the OP.

The next shot is the MLA, which lasts about 5 seconds. Ok, perfect. Not too long, but also not short enough to be confusing. It cuts away a little fast once the dude on the far left appears, but does anyone actually know who that is? No, seriously, I’m asking. I don’t remember his name and he’s not on the wiki, so I can only assume he’s not important. Therefore, it’s not all that bad if the shot cuts away shortly after he comes into frame. The audience is able to take in the scene without having to pause...

... And then the problems start

While this shot is fine in theory, it pans up fast and  cuts away quickly. You know how hard it was for me to get this screenshot? Really hard. You want to know why I struggled so much? Because, due to the timing of the cut and the way it pans upwards, it’s almost impossible to pause on Dabi’s face. I literally had to go frame by frame to get it, because he’s in shot for so little time that naturally pausing is guaranteed to miss him.

When watching this in real time (without pausing) the cut away makes you feel as if you missed something because “something was there, I just couldn’t register what because now it’s gone”. Unlike Compress, who wears a very colourful coat you can recognize the entire time, Dabi’s pants are more blended into the background.

It also doesn’t help that this shot is literally composed to draw your attention away from Dabi until the last possible second. Due to framing, your eye is naturally drawn to the brightly coloured Toga in the foreground, making it super easy to miss Dabi in the back (until, of course, his bright face appears and contrasts against the background, drawing your eye just in time for the scene to change, leaving you to wonder who or what you missed).

I know this sounds like nitpicking, but this shot is the only group shot we get of the League, and is also the start of a seriously weird trend for the villains in this OP getting the short end of the stick.

Anyways, then we get what I’ll call “The Carousel Shot” in which every Class 1A kid shows up and poses dramatically, as if they were on a carousel. It’s a lovely sequence and I really enjoy watching it but... why is it in this OP?

Seriously, this is a genuine question. Class 1A barely shows up in the Endeavour Agency Arc, and NONE of the students are in MVA. This sequence (not counting the three boys at the end) lasts 8 seconds. Why is this much time dedicated to characters who are barely in the arc? (Unless Studio Bones extends their work studies into fuller plot lines which oh my gosh please don’t do that, or if they do, do it quick).

We then get what I call the “Oh God I Blinked And Missed Everything” sequence, which lasts 3 seconds (not including the longer, moving shot of Shigaraki at the end) and features NINE INDIVIDUAL IMAGES, none of which are related to each other. Not only is this 3 images per second, but the fact that they are all unrelated means you can’t even use previous information to fill in the blanks.

What do I mean by that? Well, imagine if I show you 9 images of various pro heroes posing. If I play that in 3 seconds you’ll absolutely miss some of them, but as long as you catch some you’ll still get an idea of what I’m trying to show to you. Your brain is able to fill in the gaps that “I recognized 4 pro heroes, therefore the rest must have also been pros” even if you didn’t register every single frame.

That doesn’t work if every frame features a completely different subject. The shots in this sequence vary so widely that it’s impossible to find a through line. Some feature multiple characters, some feature one, some are closeups, some are super far away, some are character’s we know, others are characters we don’t. It’s impossible to get a solid read on what you’re being shown.

Now, again, there’s nothing wrong with these super quick shots... in theory. The problem comes from the fact that these shots are the only indicators for some of the major themes that will be explored during this Cour (like Twice’s growth and young Shigaraki).

That being said, let’s move away from criticism and talk about speculation, because hidden amongst this sequence are two... interesting images.

This All Might one is very reminiscent of the shot in Chapter 257, where Aizawa and All Might have a conversation while staring up at the stars. However, this is technically the start of the “War Arc” (or the “prologue”, if that’s what you want to call it), so this might indicate that we’re going to get farther into the series than a lot of us guessed.

(Many people suspected we’d get to that cliffhanger at the start of the season (if you read the manga you know the one), but after seeing the pacing for JT a lot of us assumed we’d be lucky to even finish Endeavour Agency. It seems we’re back to the cliffhanger now though lol). 

This is another really interesting shot because it’s indicative of Shirakumo, meaning we might get to see Aizawa and Mic confront him some time this Cour (this also makes sense, since this confrontation technically happens before that All Might scene I mentioned in the previous paragraph).

But the cat specifically is a really strange addition. That cat is named Sushi and, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Sushi is ever mentioned in the main series. I think he’s only in Vigilantes.

This might just be a little Easter Egg for Vigilante readers, but I’m personally hoping that they’ll add at least a few Vigilante shots in there to really tug at the heart strings. I’d say I want a whole Vigilante episode but I don’t think they have the time (unless they really cram MVA, which I do NOT want).

I don’t have much to say about the last bit of the OP. The action shot between the 3 boys was nice, and it follows the sort of narrative through line they established from the early shot of them sitting at the sunset. I also like the shot of Endeavour fading in to replace All Might, even if it’s very simple.

But I want to talk about an overarching problem I touched upon earlier in that villain shot: the way the villains are handled in this OP.

This is a good OP... in theory. The problem is, it doesn’t represent half the arcs in the cour! Every shot of the League is so rushed that you can barely register that they were on screen before they’re gone.

I have no idea how many Episodes Endeavour Agency will take, but I’d assume 3 (4 if you count the Christmas episode). 12 episodes for this Cour minus 3 for Endeavour Agency = 9 episodes left. If we truly do get the prologue for the War Arc (and if we assume it’s only 1 episode) that leaves us with 8 villains episodes.

8/12 episodes (aka two thirds of the Cour) will likely be about the villains. And yet they’re pushed to the background so hard in this OP.

I want to dream, and I want to believe that this OP is going to magically change when MVA starts. The song fits super well, and I can imagine like an inversion of the OP but from the Villain side! Wouldn’t that be neat? Imagine right after the “it’s alright” part Shigaraki just freaking decays the title card... oh man that would be so cool. But, alas, I highly doubt they’d do that.

Side rant, but you know what was so fun about MVA in the manga? It’s that, for 21 chapters, we leave the kids behind and the villains become our protagonists. Suddenly Shigaraki is the one we’re rooting for, suddenly we’re learning backstories for everyone, and suddenly we find ourselves just as attached to the villains as we are to the kids. It’s an inversion that’s SO RARE to find, and I think many people (myself included) were hoping it would be reflected in the OP.

A big part of being the protagonist means featuring heavily in the OP, and a lot of us just wanted the villains to get that honour, even if only once. As is, the OP still treats them as the antagonists when... really they aren’t. Not right now, at least.

So yeah, final thoughts on the OP are that it’s good, it’s just not very representative of the arcs it’s supposed to cover. If this was just for Endeavour Agency, I’d say it’s actually really cool, but if we assume that this is what will play for the Villain Arc, then it simply doesn’t do it’s job. And it makes me sad to say that because, again, this OP is really well done.

If I had to rate it? Hmmm

If Studio Bones actually grants my wish and creates a different visual for the Villain Arc (while using the same song) and then this version only plays for the Endeavour Agency Arc and the War Prologue? I’d give it an 8/10. It’s really good, but it could use a few more elements that are clearly derived from the Agency Arc (ahem, Todoroki siblings).

But if this is the OP that will play for the entire Cour? a 6.5/10. It’s nice, but it’s not representative of one of the arcs it’s going to cover. And, unlike other arcs like Pro Hero or Summer Exams, the villain Arc is so important and takes up so much time that it honestly feels like a bit of a disservice.

Now for the Ending

I want to say that I appreciate how soft this ending starts. This cour will likely feature a lot of episodes that end on... heavier themes, and I think the sight of peaceful, falling raindrops is the perfect way to let the audience process their emotions before starting the ending in earnest.

The song itself is very nice, and I like that it’s a bit slower than the more recent endings.

(Side note, but the FUNNIEST moment in the entire series is when Sir Nighteye dies because it’s so emotional and everyone is standing around his bed in his heartwrentching silence, only for the ending to come BLARING IN out of no where. If you forgot how jarringly hilarious it was, go listen to the Eri ending and tell me that’s not the funniest thing this series ever did. Anyways yeah I’m glad that’s not gonna happen this Cour).

This ending is a bit all over the place in terms of it’s visuals, but honestly I think it works. Most endings usually have a theme tying them together (all the Class 1A girls, a fantasy AU, old photographs, planning a party, etc) but this ending’s theme is a bit harder to identify.

That being said, I think it’s just supposed to show everyone going about their day. It’s calm, it’s peaceful, and it’s just very sweet to think about

I like this shot. Actually, scratch that, I like this whole sequence. I enjoy anything that allows Class 1A to chill and have fun.

Hawks is featured quite heavily in this ending which, fair. He’s pretty important in this arc.

I really love the shot where Endeavour immediately switches to Hawks, I thought that was a lot of fun, and very good symbolism on how Hawks wants to be like Endeavour. I also love all the shots of Baby Hawks, because it’s adorable.

Something about this shot is just so cute. It’s the little domestic things like waiting for a bus that make this ending feel... idk the word, real? It shows a side of the characters that we’ll never see in the episodes, but we know have to exist.

Like yes, of course the kids have to wait for the bus. We never see it, but of course there are those moments of quiet. Agh, I love it.

The villains also make an appearance and I’m very happy about that (I’d love to see more of the villains just chilling around, I think they deserve it). I kind of wish they weren’t sitting in a dark room for the sake of being edgy, since I think it would be nice to see the villains just... sort of existing, but honestly it’s still a nice shot. I also like how this shot sort of mirrors the first one with Class 1A (someone coming in while everyone else is sitting and waiting for them).

That being said, as much as I love looking at Dabi and his stupid face (affectionate)... why is Dabi the one getting the closeup?

Mind you, endings don’t need to be connected to their Cours (they can be, like the Eri one, but they don’t have to be). But this ending does seem to be connected to the arcs it intends to cover, given all the Hawks appearances, the boys wearing their work study scarves, etc.

So, I ask again, why Dabi? Out of the six League members, we learn the backstory for four of them in this arc (Shigaraki, Toga, Twice, and we very briefly learn about Spinner). The only two left out are Dabi and Compress.

I can only assume they chose Dabi because he’s constantly in contact with Hawks, and therefore that makes him important? If the OP told us anything, it’s that Bones values the Endeavour Agency Arc over the Villain Arc lol...

... Oh my gosh please tell me that’s not actually the reason Dabi is focused on here BONES WAI-

Anyways, the ending comes to a close with Hawks watching over the kids and Endeavour. The relaxing time is done, it’s time for work studies.

Overall impression? It’s great. It’s hard to screw up an ending, so as long as you have something pretty on screen, it’s wonderful.

I’ll give this a 9/10

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 301: All My Todorokis

Previously on BnHA: We learned that when a bunch of superpowered villains are suddenly set loose with nobody around to stop them, things get fucked pretty quickly. Old Man Samurai and a bunch of other useless people decided to make “I pretend I do not see it” their new mantra, and resigned. Endeavor had a moment of despair on account of being crushed by the guilt of having ruined the lives of himself, his family, and basically everyone else in the entire world. For various reasons the heretical notion of “person who has done bad things feels sorry for doing them” sent fandom spiraling into a meltdown, so that was fun. The chapter ended with the entire Todoroki clan descending upon Enji’s hospital room to have a dramatic chat about Touya and All That General Fuckery.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “here’s the story of how Baby Touya slowly went insane trying to win his father’s love.” It’s a tale full of subverted expectations and heartbreaking inevitability, and also like twenty panels of the cutest fucking kids who ever existed on planet earth, who are so fucking cute that I can’t stop thinking about their cuteness even with all of the horrifying family tragedy unfolding around them. It is absolutely ridiculous how cute they are. Touya is out here pushing his tiny body past its limits because he inherited the same obsession as his dad and neither of them can put it aside even though it’s destroying them, and yet all I can think about is Baby Shouto’s (。･o･｡) face. Anyways what a chapter.

so I have to confess that even though I managed to avoid being caught off-guard by the early leaks, the number of people reblogging my Endeavor posts from earlier this week and using the tag “bnha 301” kind of gave me an inkling that this chapter will include more Tododrama lol. that said, I don’t know anything else about it, so we’re still good spoiler-wise

AHHHHH FLAHSBAKC AHHHH. omg I know I typoed the shit out of that, but I’m just going to leave it lol I think it’s fitting

holy shit holy fuck. so this is Rei and Enji’s first meeting, then??

yepppp, oh shit

so wait, I know this is not even the slightest bit important, but are they meeting at Enji’s home or Rei’s? because I always figured that Enji was the one with the super-Japanese aesthetic, but maybe that was Rei’s side of the family all along

(ETA: from what I found during my very brief google search, omiai meetings are often held at fancy hotels or restaurants, so maybe that’s what this is.)

there’s such a period drama feel to this setting. like it’s so outrageously formal fff how can anyone stand this kind of atmosphere though seriously

OH THANK GOD

I mean they’re still stiff af but at least they’re not rigidly sitting in seiza and staring at each other unblinkingly anymore lol. Enji’s actually got his hands in his pockets now. why is this somehow almost cute

oh damn it’s the flowers

Rei seems so subdued and it’s so hard to get any idea of what she’s actually thinking. I want to see her side of this dammit

but anyway, so at least from Enji’s perspective it seems like even though the marriage was arranged and he picked her because of her quirk, he still loved his wife and wanted to do right by her. the fact that he was watching her and noticed that she liked the flowers, and remembered that detail for all these years -- there’s a reason why Horikoshi’s showing us this. we know what’s going to happen later on; we know how much fear and violence and breaking of trust is coming up ahead, and while it may seem like this scene is serving to soften Enji’s character further -- which to be fair it is -- it also helps drive home the full impact of his abuse. that it’s so terrible not only because of the trauma of the abuse itself, but also because of the way it retroactively destroys all of the good things as well. this could have potentially been such a sweet scene, but it’s inescapably tainted by the knowledge of what’s to come, at least for me. and that’s just brutal

anyways, shit. is the whole chapter going to be like this?? feel free to toss in something I can actually make a joke about sometime, Horikoshi

oop, back to the present

omfg lol

“are you all right” “NO I’M NOT ALL RIGHT WHAT THE FUCK.” “oh, right, because of all the stuff that’s happened with me abusing you and you having a mental breakdown and being hospitalized for ten years and then our son coming back to life and killing thirty people, right, right. I almost forgot.” whoops

omfg you guys I’m loving this new and improved steely-eyed Rei. I’m loving her a lot

and what do you mean “part one” fkjds how long is this going to be. TOO MUCH DRAMA FOR ONE CHAPTER TO HANDLE

oh, hello

yeah I’ll say you did. didn’t seem to bother you much at the time, though

HMMMMMMMMMMMM

Dabi Is A Noumu intensifies even further. anyways though would you fucking look at this boy lounging on this moth-eaten couch doing his best DRAW ME LIKE YOUR FRENCH GIRLS impression wtf

Dabi what if you actually had killed him??? what would you feel?? satisfaction?? regret?? anything at all?? tell me your secrets goddammit

who are you talking to buddy

Fuyumi-chan, Natsu-kun (is it common for brothers to address each other as -kun?? can’t recall seeing that in many other anime, but hey), and “dot dot dot,,,,,, SHOUTO” lol thank you so much for this bountiful heaping of Tododrama Horikoshi we are blessed

AH, WHAT DID I SAY THE OTHER DAY

ULTIMATE MELODRAMATIC THEATER CHILD. “I’M JUST GOING TO LIE ON THIS COUCH SHIRTLESS AND ALONE AND MAKE SPEECHES TO MY FAMILY MEMBERS WHO AREN’T THERE AND SAY THINGS LIKE ‘WATCH ME IN THE PITS OF HELL’ WITH A STRAIGHT FACE BECAUSE NO ONE’S THERE TO JUDGE ME.” WELL JOKE’S ON YOU MISTER CHATTERBOX BECAUSE I AM IN FACT JUDGING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU LOL

(ETA: and on a more serious note, it’s interesting to see that “look at me”/”watch me” theme being used again though, because we see that same sentiment uttered repeatedly by the younger Touya in the flashback. well kid, you definitely got your wish at last. don’t know what else to say.)

OKAY HORIKOSHI HAS DECIDED THAT’S ENOUGH FUN, TIME FOR MORE FLASHBACKS

oh my sweet precious lord

just as cute as we left him. giving us a child this cute when we all know full well what’s going to happen to him is just unspeakably cruel though

HOMG

I’m fucking speechless. you broke me, congratulations. what am I even supposed to do with this

I can’t get over this. moving forward my life will be split into two distinct parts, B.P. (Before the Pout) and A.P. (After the Pout)

and meanwhile there’s ALL THIS BACKGROUND ANGST BUILDING UP, AND I CAN’T EVEN FOCUS ON IT. Touya’s arm and cheek are covered in bandages (I’m guessing this is shortly after that “ouch!” panel we got some chapters back), and Enji is deliberately avoiding training with him because he doesn’t want him to hurt himself further. I can’t fucking get over the irony that all this time everyone thought Touya had died because Enji pushed him too far in his training, and it turns out that it’s the opposite -- the tragedy ultimately happened because he didn’t want to push him. but I’m jumping ahead of myself though I guess

by the way,

remember this?? just wanted to remind you that it exists just in case you forgot

so now someone is talking and basically saying that Touya is the exact opposite of what Enji was hoping for when he decided to start playing with quirk genetics

-- okay hold up

...lol no, never mind. for a second I thought “holy shit he looks kind of familiar WHAT IF IT’S UJIKO OMG” before I remembered that Enji would have recognized him during the hospital capture mission if that was the case. so NEVER MIND, PROCEED

IMAGINE THAT, ENJI DOESN’T QUITE SEEM SATISFIED WITH THIS SUGGESTION OF QUITTING NOW

(ETA: how the fuck did this man go around saving 62 towns in a single day what even is All Might.)

[clicks tongue several times] trouble a’brewin’

MEANWHILE BABY TOUYA HAS UNFORTUNATELY INHERITED HIS DAD’S STUBBORN STREAK

KLDIHWOEIJFL:KSDJ

!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god. oh my god. what is this chapter. WHAT IS IT

so now Touya is all “YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND MY MANLY DESIRE TO BURN MYSELF ALIVE” well you got her there champ

THEY’RE TOO CUTE. OH MY GOD. HIS FURIOUS LITTLE TEARS. HER CHUBBY LIL FACE. HIS STUBBY LIL FISTS. SOMEONE HELP ME

also are they just home alone lol or what. “hey Touya, you’re what, like six now?? do us a favor and look after your baby sister for a couple hours for us would you? make sure not to set yourself on fire or anything.” WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!!

now it’s nighttime and Enji and Rei are arguing, presumably about his decision not to train Touya anymore

whew. okay. so, a couple of things here

1. first of all I think this conclusively shows that Enji really was trying to do the best he could for Touya. he stopped training him as soon as he realized it was hurting him, but Touya was still determined so he tried to make it work anyway, and even visited doctors to try and figure out if there was anything they could do. then, once they were absolutely sure that it wasn’t going to work, he tried multiple times to explain to Touya why they had to stop. he didn’t just abandon him out of the blue, which is really important to note. “no matter how much I tried telling him...”

so yeah, that debunks another common fandom accusation. so by the time he finally makes this decision, which we all know is going to turn out horribly, it’s basically because he’s already tried everything else he could think of. which, by the way, still doesn’t mean he handled this right. but at the very least he was taking Touya’s feelings into account and he was trying, and he didn’t just abruptly toss his son aside (at least not yet)

2. buuuut, then there’s this panel right below all that

which is the other side of it. if he’d just quit like the doctor person advised him to, that would have been the end of it. Touya would still have been upset, but he would have eventually gotten over it and the family would have moved on and possibly even been happy. but what happens next happens because Enji can’t let go. he still has this maddening urge to surpass All Might, and so he and Rei keep having more children, and then Shouto is born, and Enji finally has a kid he can start projecting all of his hysterical ambitions onto once again, and everything starts spiraling out of control soon after

though p.s. none of that is Shouto’s fault though!! he’s one of the few good things to come out of this whole mess and I’m very happy that he exists. the tragedy is that his dad fucking lost his mind over his quirk and fucked everything up. but that’s on him, not Touya or Shouto

anyways, SLKFJLSHGLKJL

I CAN’T FUCKING TAKE THIS YOU GUYS??? LOOK AT THAT LIL BUTTON OF A NOSE??? I’M LOSING IT HERE???

AND TOUYA JUST SEEMS DEVASTATED OMG

because children aren’t stupid, after all. he understands that his dad is still looking to surpass All Might. and so he feels like a failure, and feels like his dad is trying to replace him because he wasn’t good enough. and even now, isn’t that what the adult Touya is trying to prove?? that he was good enough after all?? “I’ll show you what happens when you give up on me, dad”?? “I’ll show you what I can do”?? fuck my life fuck everything

AND YOU CAN SEE THE TOLL THAT IT’S ALL TAKING ON REI GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AS WELL OH GOD

really nice touch here with the panel outlines becoming all shimmery from the heat of Endeavor’s flames (and/or becoming more unstable as the family gets closer and closer to their breaking point). but man, Horikoshi I can’t handle this, please show us more cute kids or something I can’t

GKELKWFJLDKSHFLKL

WITTLE BABE. BEEB. BUBS. SMOL. lkj; oh ouch a piece of my heart just detached and latched onto him huh look at that

TODOROKI “I’M SO SMALL AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON AND I DIDN’T ASK TO BE HERE” SHOUTO AHHHHH

crazy how they all just seem to know right off the bat lol. kid doesn’t even have object permanence yet, let alone a quirk. but do they care?? IT’S THE HAIR, RIGHT. WE’RE ALL THINKING IT, I’M JUST GONNA COME OUT AND SAY IT. they knew the minute they looked at him lol

AND MEANWHILE TOUYA IS OFF HAVING UNSUPERVISED TRAINING/CRYING SESSIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS OR WHATEVER, AND, UH OH

are those blue flames yet?? they seem pretty close

(ETA: this is one of the few cases where the manga being in black and white is infuriating lol.)

OH MY GOD AND STILL

so it’s not like he was so disinterested that he didn’t notice what was happening, and he was still trying to stop it and get through to him. trying to reassure him that it wasn’t the end of the world and there were other things he could do with his life, but this one particular thing just wasn’t going to happen

fucking hell. it’s agonizing seeing how close they actually were to fixing it. if he’d only said the right words, or if he’d realized at this point how destructive his obsession could be to his kids, and backed off from putting that same pressure on Shouto. we came so close to possibly having a happy ending

AND ALSO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING BUT PLEASE LOOK AT HOW TOUYA IS LIKE THREE AND A HALF FEET TALL AND HIS DAD IS LIKE NINE AND A HALF FEET. Touya barely comes past his knees flkjlkg. the Todoroki household must have been so filled with like plastic stepstools to reach the bathroom sink and all the little baby toothbrushes, and baby gates to keep the kiddos out of the important grown-up rooms and stuff. and also days-old half-empty cups of water and stale crackers and hot wheels and my little ponies strewn everywhere

“BUT EVERYONE AT SCHOOL SAYS THEY’RE GONNA BE HEROES” a wild Deku parallel appears?? how bout that

I know this is like a pivotal moment in the Todo Tragedy and all, but fucking look at this lil dumpling

“sup bro, it’s me, the manifestation of your fears of inadequacy and lack of fatherly affections. a GAAA. ba-baAA-baa [gurgling baby sounds]”

OHHHHH IT’S THE SOUND OF MY HEART BREAKING OH NO

HE WANTS TO BE LIKE YOU ENJI. good lord somebody please just get this family some therapy

“DAD YOU IGNITED IT IN ME” flkjslkj nope, nope. not ready for this pain here

baby Shouto, would you like to weigh in on this affair? “DA!! ba-ga-daaa, [pacifier chewing noises]” oh my, you don’t say. so insightful for one so young

OH MY GODDDDDD

IT’S SO DRAMATIC BUT ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT ARE THE SHOUNEN WOOSH LINES SURROUNDING FOUR-MONTH-OLD SHOUTO LOL HE WAS LIKE THIS FROM BIRTH OH MY GOD I AM DYING HELP

SHOUTO YOU’RE RUINING THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER!?!?!

“yo, the fuck kind of family was I fucking born into” oh, son. if you only knew. IF YOU ONLY KNEW!!

(ETA: lmao I got so distracted by the ridiculous cuteness that I glossed over the fact that Baby Touya seems to possibly be aiming at him?? it’s hard to tell because he’s also super out of it from heatstroke and may just be losing control in his attempt to show off his upgrade.)

ANYWAY THAT’S THE END EXCEPT WHAT’S THIS LAST LINE OMG

ffffff. and we’re in for ANOTHER chapter of this next week?? MORE drama?? MORE BABIES?? MORE OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD TOUYA’S SLOW DESCENT INTO MADNESS. MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT, BUT ALSO YES PLEASE SIGN ME UP