#if this cat were human he’d be a basketball player

[angsty-aliens]

Sometimes when you’re a big boi who doesn’t quite fit in a lap, you need a human to hold your little head so you can take a nap. 🥺

[ohanahoku-ao3]

Whumptober Day 7

Only minutes to spare, but it's on time! Enjoy reading! @whumptober

I Don't Like the Way You Shake and Shiver

     It wasn’t unusual for Steve to be the center of attention. The basketball player was always goofing off and acting out, lapping up the attention like a cat who got the cream. The girls adored him, the boys wanted to be him, and the teachers regretfully tolerated him because of his family’s money. Every day at school, Eddie saw the King of Hawkin’s High surrounded by people, laughing and joking like high school wasn’t a miserable burden every student had to endure. At least once a week, a new rumor about the guy would circulate. His peers would whisper about his latest conquest, his most recent parties, or the occasional fight.

     The best Eddie ever heard, though, was when Nancy Wheeler, arguably the most intelligent girl in their school, had dumped him. And apparently, had run off to be with Jonathan Byers, one of the most isolated loners that haunted the school halls. It made Eddie laugh when he heard it. He’d even given a grand speech about how the mighty fall to his friends, soaking up their energy as it fed his own. Someone had finally put the king in his place.

     Somehow, that joy faded as Eddie watched Steve, once again surrounded by a crowd of people, seizing on the gym floor. His eyes were rolled back, open only enough to show a hint of bloodshot white. His mouth was open, but his jaw was locked tight, giving him a nightmarish look. Even worse than that, though, was the way Steve’s limbs jerked uncontrollably, knocking loudly and painfully against the hardwood flooring, sure to bruise and ache later.

     Someone was shouting Steve’s name, and the coach was kneeling down next to the boy, hovering unsurely.

     Epilepsy.

     Eddie knew the word, knew what it was supposed to look like, but he knew nothing about how to care for someone who had it, and by the looks of it, neither did their coach, who looked more spooked than a startled cat.

     Someone was dispatched to get the nurse and call the hospital, and Eddie felt oddly helpless. He didn’t know Harrington past reputation and probably couldn’t care less about the guy. But something about seeing him like this was twisting his insides up like a pretzel, and he wondered if anyone else felt the same way.

     By the time the nurse came rushing in, rambling about an ambulance being on its way, Steve had fallen still, his eyes fully closed, his hair soaked in sweat, and his basketball shorts soaked with urine. That last thing should have been something to laugh about, but Eddie only felt sick as he was shuffled away with the rest to watch as Steve was placed on a stretcher and carried away minutes later.

     There was no grand speech that day of fallen kings but rather a quiet murmuring among the students who wondered about the golden boy. Since when did he have epilepsy?

-

     Steve spent a week away from school, and that week's rumors and gossip were enough to make Eddie’s rage boil. While the majority of the school was curious, and some genuinely worried about the King’s condition, others were anything but concerned. Tommy H., who had once been Steve’s best friend and sidekick, used every opportunity to remind people how Steve had pissed himself like a little kid, and the obnoxious group that hung out with him all laughed along like it was the funniest thing in the world.

     Some people were also the ignorant type, the kind who believed something was wrong with the guy. Like he was the devil incarnate instead of someone with academically proven medical issues.

     And a few, a very small few, scowled and wished that Steve had choked on his own tongue. Because wouldn’t that just be the best? Like all of their problems would be solved if the guy who once showed them up during a game died. Ridiculous.

     Their words were enough to make Eddie regret being part of the human race, and his dislike for the guy started to dwindle as he listened to them.

     Was the guy really the King if his subjects so quickly dismissed him? Did Steve realize just how many of his so-called friends were ready to stab him in the back?

     Maybe he did.

     When Steve came back, everything changed. Steve no longer sought out the attention of his peers or his teachers. He sat through biology in his seat next to Eddie and not once made a smart remark. When he saw him at lunch, Steve was sitting by himself instead of his usual group of jocks and chicks. At one point, Nancy and Jonathan approached, which wasn’t too unusual, as their paths did cross occasionally at school. But what was weird was that Steve left the table only a minute later, tossing his lunch, tray and all, into the garbage.

     Now, everyone knew that Steve still liked Nancy. Despite being dumped, no one had ever seen Steve dismiss her when they spoke. So something was wrong, extremely wrong if Steve was acting out so unpredictably.

     A week passed, and the rumors and comments eased as new gossip flourished, but still, Steve remained quiet and avoided everyone.

     At least he’d gone a week without another seizure, though.

     Oops, he may have spoken too soon, Eddie realized as he glanced over in biology and saw Steve’s hands shaking. Panic spiked in his chest, and he waited with bated breath for Steve to start seizing.

     But he didn’t. Steve just sat there, eyes flicking over the blackboard as he smoothed a crease in his book and set his pencil down before tucking his shaking hands under his armpits. That… worked? Somehow Steve didn’t end up on the floor, and although the incessant tapping of his foot that started up was more than annoying, Eddie was grateful to not witness another episode he’d have no way of stopping.

-

     Now, Eddie still didn’t like Steve or know him enough to care, but he felt that at least one person in their school should know how to help if Steve had an episode. So he went to the library, checked out every medical book with epilepsy listed in their index, and spent the weekend reading over them.

     The next time Steve started seizing, Eddie wasn’t going to be stuck feeling helpless.

     It took a while for that next time to come, though. He tried to keep an eye out for any early warning signs, but he only had gym, biology, and lunch with him, not to mention that he clearly wasn’t Steve’s babysitter, so he wasn’t going to be devoting his every second to looking after him.

     When it finally happened, it wasn’t in biology, gym, or lunch. Instead, it happened at a school assembly reviewing things like safety measures and fire drills. Eddie was going out of his mind with boredom, so when a commotion started a couple rows away, he was grateful for the break in the monotony. Until he realized what the fuss was about.

     Steve was seizing again, and from the panicked cries, it was bad.

     In seconds, Eddie had vaulted over the legs of the student next to him, rushing to Steve’s side and yelling at people to stand back. He was surprised when they actually listened. Steve’s eyelids were fluttering, and as he started jerking around harder, a slight whine left his mouth. Eddie quickly clocked his watch and snapped at someone to help him, and together he and one of the band geeks had Steve lifted out of the chair and placed on the ground in the gently sloped aisle. He wasn’t close enough to hit any of the chairs now, and Eddie stripped out of his jean jacket, folding it up and slipping it under Steve’s head to cushion it as it started whacking against the floor.

     “It’s alright, Harrington. It’ll be over soon.” He murmured, soothing him gently as the boy whimpered in pain. He wasn’t unconscious this time, and Eddie almost wished he was, if only to not have to listen to his cries. He kept talking to him, paying no attention to the sound of the other students being shooed out of the room or the teachers as they talked about ambulances and notifying Steve’s parents.

     A puddle grew beneath Steve’s body, soaking into the ugly school carpet, and Eddie shushed him as he whined. “Shh, shh. It’s okay. Nothing to be embarrassed about, Steve. I promise.”

     The seizure lasted just past three minutes, and Steve managed only a drowsy incredulous glance at Eddie before he fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

-

     Surprisingly, he was right back to school the next day, and no one was more shocked than Eddie when the king came up to him. “Uh, hey.”

     “Hey.” Eddie echoed slowly, closing his locker. “What’s up, Harrington?”

     “I just… Thanks, man. For yesterday.” Steve said, looking awkward and fidgety. 

     Was he expecting him to mock him after the fact? Eddie just shrugged, smiling as he patted Steve’s shoulder. “Anytime, Harrington.” He moved to walk away when Steve grabbed his arm.

     “How did you know?” The basketball player asked. “No one else knows how.”

     Eddie nearly didn’t give him a straight answer, but then he reconsidered. Ever since that first seizure, Steve had been labeled as a freak, and if there was one thing Eddie refused to do, it was to further isolate a fellow outcast.

     “I read up on it. Someone should make sure you don’t break your head open against the gym floor.” He told the king, and the way Steve looked at him with such surprise was almost heartbreaking. “Really, anytime, Harrington.”

-

     Somehow, that started a new friendship that Eddie never ever expected to form. They weren’t immediate best friends or anything, but now they shared amused glances in biology, teamed up for dodgeball in gym, and occasionally conversed with each other in the lunch line, even though they didn’t sit at the same table.

     They started talking with each other before school started and sometimes sought each other out after if they weren’t busy with their extracurriculars. Then a random comment about Eddie's bike had Steve picking him up for school most mornings. Eddie ragged on Steve’s music choices in the car, and Steve picked on his in return when he brought his own cassettes to listen to. Before long, Eddie was completely comfortable calling Steve a good friend, a close friend even, as Steve started to open up about his epilepsy and the struggle to find the right medications and dosage.

     Eddie started to better recognize the signs of a seizure and the varying degrees of severity they appeared in. He helped Steve through one particularly rough patch where a new medication wreaked havoc on him and most days left him feeling sick and weak.

     Steve started to join him and their fellow ‘freaks’ at lunch, and even though he didn’t care about their DnD discussions, he didn’t mock them for it. In fact, he admitted that the kids he babysat were obsessed with the game, so he knew more about it than anyone expected him to.

     He became good friends with most of Eddie’s lost little sheep, and soon he became someone that all of them could count on when the mockery directed at them became biting and harsh. He might not have jumped into a fight with fists flying, but he had a sharper tongue than Eddie ever thought to give him credit for and a penchant for knowing exactly what buttons to push to shut someone up. Eddie took notes of his best comebacks to use for his latest campaign.

-

     Their friendship was unlikely, but Eddie soon considered him his best friend. So when Eddie walked into the locker room after basketball practice, brushing shoulders with Billy Hargrove in the doorway, he was quick to recognize the signs of a seizure in Steve.

     His friend was sitting on the bench, staring off into the distance, gaze blank. His hands were twitching just slightly, and Eddie moved to sit down next to him. It was just a small seizure, nothing major to worry about, and not the type of seizure he could do much about. But he could keep his friend company.

     But the seizure didn’t stop after a few seconds like these kinds usually did, and Eddie started to grow worried. “Steve? Hey, Steve? Come on, big boy. I don’t like this.” He said, moving to get in front of Steve, setting his hands on his shoulders. “Snap out of it, Steve!”

     He did. With a jerk, Steve inhaled sharply. His eyes finally met Eddie’s, and he blinked a few times before speaking. “I’m okay.”

     “You’re okay?” Eddie repeated, and when Steve only nodded, he threw his hands up in the air. “Then what the hell was that?!” He shouted. “You’re not supposed to seize that long with that kind!”

     Steve suddenly looked tired, running a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t an episode, Eddie. Geez, stop yelling, will you?”

     “Then what was that?!” Eddie asked, still too loud, judging by Steve’s flinch. He toned it down. “Seriously, man. Are you okay?”

     Steve nodded, but his hand was shaking as he lowered it. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little…” He made a vague motion with his hand.

     “Wow. That’s very aptly said, Harrington.” Eddie snarked and relaxed a little when Steve responded by giving him the stink eye.

     “Billy Hargrove was just being a jerk, okay? I overreacted to something he said, that’s all.” Steve explained when Eddie didn’t break eye contact.

     “What did he say?” Eddie asked. Steve wasn’t known as someone who took a bully’s threats to heart, and if Billy managed to send him into some sort of panic attack over something, then it had to be something bad.

     Steve was quiet for a minute before answering. “He said the next time I showed him up on the court, he’d give me more than just brain damage.”

     “More than just… Steve, are you saying..?” Eddie didn’t want to believe it, didn’t even want to say it.

     “Yeah, it was him.” The former king answered. “That fight I got into after Halloween? Everyone thought it had to be Jonathan because of Nancy and all… But it was Billy. It’s what started the seizures and everything.” He said with a sigh.

     “Man, that’s…” Eddie slowly sat back down. “That’s like legitimately horrifying, dude.”

     Steve huffed a laugh. “Yeah, yeah, it is.” He agreed, sounding close to tears as he covered his face.

     Eddie was quiet for a moment as he let Steve regain some composure. “So what are you going to do? Because I think that after everything he’s done to you, you should give him hell.”

     Steve looked at him, and a corner of his mouth lifted just a bit. “You know what? I think I’m going to do just that.” He decided, and Eddie grinned wickedly as he clapped him on the shoulder.

     “That’s the spirit, Harrington!”

-

     When Steve dribbled circles around Billy in the next game, the entire Hellfire club was in the stands, cheering him on. And if, after the match, Billy Hargrove came after Steve, well, Eddie would make sure that he regretted it.

[xianglingslesbian]

ewbts - my top moments

no i will never stop laughing at that abbreviation it’s beautiful. buckle in because this is gonna be long, and probably don’t read it unless you’ve watched/read kuroko’s basketball and like izuki lmaoooo

chapter 1: hatchling, awaken

Izuki swallows. “Why do you all think I can do this?”

Then Kiyoshi turns to him with steel in his eyes (that must be how he got nicknamed Iron Heart - he seriously never backs down!) and asks him very clearly, “Why don’t you?”

Why don’t I think I can be captain?

“Because nobody thought I could be until now.”

aka “ceru is a masochist��, exhibit 1/???. anyway lets hear it for insecurities!!

chapter 2: liftoff

Predictably, Kuroko drags him aside at practice the next day and says, “I have something to tell you, Izuki-senpai.”

Izuki smiles at him. “Is it about your five evil exes?”

Kuroko looks horrified. “My what?!”

i think im funny

chapter 3: crash landing

As Izuki walks off the court, he looks for flashing glasses and grey eyes.

He curses himself for the heavy sadness that falls over him like a blanket when he doesn’t spot them.

yay for “ceru is a masochist” exhibit 2!

Oh, he [Izuki] watched videos of Aomine, came up with strategy after strategy to corner him, but videos and strategies can only go so far. Aomine in real life is something else entirely, a flash of lightning setting the court on fire with the sheer elegance of his crazy street basketball. All one can do is sit back and watch, awed beyond belief. Nothing can curb the wild madness that is Aomine Daiki – unrestrained, gleeful insanity dancing across the court like it’s his playground.

i also rlly like this line, it has some pretty imagery and we all know im a slut for pretty imagery~

chapter 4: a broken bone grows back stronger

“All right,” Koganei says to himself, moving to stand in front of the hoop. “One more time.”

He jumps, raising the ball to just above his face and releasing it. It misses, and he lets out a cry of frustration.

Can he even do this? Is it worth the time?

Koganei bites back the wave of guilt that washes over him at the thought. Izuki, Kiyoshi, Tsuchida, Rinnosuke, Kagami, Kuroko – he’d be letting them down if he didn’t give this his best shot. They’re all so dedicated to basketball that they each have a special skill honed from years of practice and love for the sport. If he can’t bring anything of his own to the table, what will he mean to this team? Seirin makes him want to be a team player, to add his skills to theirs rather than shining on his own. The change is good, yes, but he doesn’t want to stop there – he doesn’t want to be useless.

He will not be useless.

a bit of context: in this fic, since hyuuga did not return, koga became the SG for seirin :D i think my favorite character to develop, apart from izuki, was koganei - it was so fun to imagine all the ways he could have gone!

chapter 5: spreading new wings

All too soon, the day of judgment arrives, and Seirin convenes in the gym one last time before they head off to the Winter Cup building. No one says anything; not Kagami, fresh from his training trip to America, not Izuki, not Kiyoshi or Riko. They simply stand there, breathing in the scent of cleaner and leather and something else that’s so entirely Seirin, and knowing that no matter what happens this Winter Cup, they will return to the gym different people than they were before.

Different, and better.

Then they head out and off to the opening ceremony of the Winter Cup, not looking back once as they do.

yay for more pretty words!!!

“Oh, no worries. The actual motivational part is coming. Anyway, as I was saying – Tōō was just better than us that day. It’s hard to admit, I know: far easier to blame yourself, say you didn’t give it your all, but you know; we all know. It was their day to shine, not ours. But I think we’ve worked hard enough and are in a good enough mindset to change that, today. We aren’t scared or apprehensive about Tōō and Aomine, because we’ve faced them before. We know what attitude they’ll walk into our game with, and that’s what we’re going to exploit!”

“You’re going to exploit,” corrects Tsuchida. “Unlike you, the rest of us aren’t manipulative bastards.”

That raises a bunch of cackles, which quiet down when Izuki gives his team a glare. It doesn’t work on Riko, however, who sniggers under her breath and smirks at him.

izuki highkey sucks at pep talks lmao

chapter 6: ride the storm

Kagami and Aomine were made for each other. Made for this rivalry, this intense competition that will push them to their very limits and carry them onto a plane that no ordinary human can reach. Neither can defeat the other per se - they’re destined to stand neck and neck forever. However, one has a trump card on his side; and that trump card can make all the difference in the world.

Aomine Daiki may be strong, but Kagami Taiga is just as good. And damn him if the power of Kagami’s determination coupled with Kuroko’s unshakeable support won’t overwhelm the undisputed king of basketball.

Move aside, light bulb, Izuki thinks vindictively. The tube light is here to replace you.

pretty words. gay words. i love them (aokaga + izuki being a salt man lmao).

chapter 7: eagle versus aegis

“So bitter,” he [Izuki] reflects aloud, answering Himuro’s question.

That’s the emotion in his eyes. That’s what I might have become, if I had let my anger grow.

And suddenly he isn’t seeing Himuro Tatsuya anymore, but a version of himself, a version with darkened eyes and a mocking smile and pain and rage bubbling below the surface. Immensely talented, but not able to break the last barrier. Because he’s an ordinary man, and it’s as much as an ordinary man can do.

Strong, so strong. But also so terribly, heartbreakingly weak. Weak in a way that today’s Izuki Shun will never be.

GOD where do i even start w/this scene its literally everything i’ve ever wanted to write ksjfhsfj

chapter 8: clawing through mirages

Izuki’s taken aback for a millisecond before he continues his mad dash towards Murasakibara, letting out a war cry as the center makes to simply toss the ball into the hoop.

“It wasn’t their intention,” says a quiet but familiar voice. “But, this is the result of Kiyoshi-senpai and the other upperclassmen’s tenacity.”

Izuki grins, feeling new strength fill him up.

Together, huh? Okay. Together.

“This is where it ends for you!” shouts the voice, becoming stronger.

Not one, but two hands knock the ball out of Murasakibara’s hands and onto the ground. Kuroko shimmers into vision, smiling at Izuki with all the happiness in the world, just as the final buzzer rings.

i loved writing this match tbh, yousen is super underrated!

chapter 9: catch the updraft

21 - 22, in their favour at long last. Izuki grins at Kasamatsu, who shakes his head wearily.

“Using my own advice against me. What a terrible student you are,” he says, affecting an old man’s voice.

“The true student is the one who beats the master at his own game,” Izuki says quickly, sliding back into their familiar banter. “I swore to myself, my drive would beat your drive today, kitakore.”

“When did you get so wise?” asks Kasamatsu with a sigh, ignoring his pun and receiving the ball from Kobori, who was quick to grab it once Koga scored. Izuki just laughs, not bothering to reply and instead focusing carefully on Kasamatsu’s movements.

Kasamatsu shifts his weight right, left, then right again. Izuki narrows his eyes, trying to figure out what the hell his upperclassman is doing—

But it’s far too late, as Kasamatsu successfully passes through his defence in his moment of distraction, ball clutched tightly in hand. The sound of the scoring whistle is shrill and unpleasant to Izuki’s ears, and his chest stings at the loss.

“What was that about the main course?” Kasamatsu teases, wearing an enormous grin as he comes forward to guard Izuki once more. 

izuki + kasamatsu banter is so so fun to write y’all have no idea

chapter 10: headwinds

This is your fault. If you’d been a better captain, a better point guard, a better everything, none of this would’ve happened. Seirin would have been well in the lead and controlling the game—

Izuki shakes his head violently, trying to get rid of his intrusive thoughts. He knows he’s a good captain, and doing this to himself will do no good for the rest of the team. He has to be strong for them. He has to lead them to victory, he can’t be a weak person overwhelmed by emotion. But it’s so hard to breathe, suddenly, and Izuki’s about to sink when—

“Don’t worry, Captain. I’ll take care of this match today,” says a confident and familiar voice, and a hand claps down on Izuki’s shoulder. He turns, a little surprised by the sudden contact, to find Koganei’s cat mouth set in a determined frown. “You can rest your hopes on me. I’ll be Seirin’s wings for as long as you need me to.”

kogazuki brotp feels man. kogazuki brotp feels.

chapter 11: cliff edge

Riko nods, sobering up a little. “I do know. And… I have to admit, I was a little harsh on you in the early days… I kept comparing you to Hyūga-kun.” She looks at the ground briefly, then raises her head to continue, meeting Izuki’s eyes with no hint of doubt in her own brown irises. “But then I saw how different you were. How you were never willing to give up, even if you were the worst player in the world. That’s what… that’s what made me truly believe in you.” She swallows thickly, taking a deep breath, but not averting her gaze from his.

The honesty and trust in her eyes is what shatters Izuki’s calm.

He steps forward, and she rises too, opening her arms. Then he hugs her tightly, murmuring, “Thank you for having faith in me.”

The “Of course. You’re family,” that she whispers back fills Izuki’s already overflowing heart even further.

Eventually, he lets her go, and she drops lightly to the ground, straightening her sweater and skirt.

“We never speak of this,” Izuki warns her, moving towards the door of the room.

Riko nods, back to her usual haughty demeanour. “Of course. No one can know we’re actually big softies who care a lot for each other.”

“To them, we’re just sarcastic jerks,” Izuki agrees. “And that’s the way it stays.”

anyone said izuriko brotp???? this fic is just platonic feels tbh

chapter 12: overcast skies

What should I do? Someone tell me! the voice cries out in Izuki’s head, a voice he hasn’t heard since the loss to Tōō. It is the same voice that whispers all his insecurities in his ear in the dead of night when no one is around to reassure him, the same voice that gave rise to all his fears and worries. It is the voice of the vulnerable and weak part of Izuki, the one that needs someone to guide him with a gentle hand, and he hates it.

It is a voice that, frankly, he never thought he would hear again. Yet, here it is, crying out for attention, screaming for someone to help.

He thought he had left it behind. It turns out he was wrong.

Izuki shoves it deep into his heart with more effort than he’s exerted all game, breathing a heavy sigh when he succeeds in locking it behind the glass wall that keeps his emotions away.

let’s hear it for “ceru is a masochist” exhibit 3~

chapter 13: nosedive

“I don’t know who you are,” Koganei completes his little speech, anger brimming in every part of his being. “But I know that my captain is Izuki Shun, not Akashi Seijūrō. The coach can bench you if she likes; we can fight without our captain, because we know he wants us to win for his sake. We’ve been fighting without him all the match, and we can continue doing so. We don’t need a player that can’t play with the same passion as us!”

Izuki looks at the ground and doesn’t respond. Somewhere within, something is stirring at Koganei’s words. Something that cries out to fill the gap inside him.

Next to speak is Kiyoshi, standing up and executing much the same move as Koga had by yanking Izuki up by his collar. However, Kiyoshi pulls Izuki into a standing position so that Izuki is half-leaning against him.

Brown eyes meet black, and Kiyoshi simply states, “I didn’t expect this from you, Shun.”

Then he rears his fist backwards and punches Izuki in the jaw.

“ceru is a masochist” exhibit 4!

chapter 14: bird of prey

“I just… I didn’t think you’d give up so easily.”

Koganei’s head shoots up. There’s fury in his eyes, and his face is white. His hands are shaking.

Izuki continues, calm and careless as he always is, “Really… after you gave me all that talk at halftime? I don’t believe this is you.”

Koganei’s jaw clenches, and he cries, “But I have done everything I can! He’s just too good—”

“And when has that ever stopped you?” Izuki keeps his voice quiet and even, but it has the gravity he intended it to - Koga falls silent immediately, eyes wide and riveted on him. “When have you ever backed down from fighting? You don’t know the meaning of giving up. You’ve never cared about whether someone’s better than you. I knew a shooting guard once, just like you, and he had the potential to be the greatest in the world. He was held back because he cared that he was worse than others. But you? You never blinked at it, just practised and practised until you could do the impossible.”

His words are getting louder with pride; he’s unable to keep it steady with the outpouring of emotion in his speech.

“Tell me, who can master Ray Allen’s form in one and a half years? Who can be such a rookie at basketball, yet be able to fight an Uncrowned King and respond to a shot that has left all its previous victims unable to move?!” Izuki leans forward and jabs a finger into Koganei’s chest demandingly. “Tell me, who the hell was that?!”

“Me,” Koga whispers timidly, looking down.

ahhhh yay for more platonic comfort and bonding. *izuki voice* yelling is the way to get ur team to get their shit tgt

chapter 15: born to soar

Izuki finds himself moving, barely thinking as he grabs the ball and bawls for an attack. He’s running faster than he ever has, flying up the court like there are wings on his legs. No one follows at his pace - they’re all too far behind.

No one but Kiyoshi.

The rhythm beats louder than ever, a heavy pulse in Izuki’s head and heart. He can feel Akashi on his heels and knows he needs to do something.

One second left—

Izuki’s hands move on their own, passing the ball to the one person he knows that he will always find.

Kiyoshi catches it and jumps.

Fortyfivethirtyfivetwentyfivefifteen—

The ball leaves his hands.

Fivezero—

The whistle blows to end the game. Kiyoshi’s shot hits the backboard and drops straight into the basket. Time stops as a shrill sound screeches into the air and the ref shouts, “124 to 123, Seirin High wins the Winter Cup!”

there we go. the most heartwrenching scene of this chapter ahhhhh

chapter 16: final flight

“We should go. Don’t want to keep them waiting too long,” Kiyoshi says, staring daggers at Hyūga, who to his credit doesn’t flinch but merely stares back.

“Let’s go, then,” Izuki agrees. He looks straight at Hyūga and allows a small, formal smile to play on his lips. Hyūga just nods, accepting the answer.

Izuki nods back, then turns around and starts walking away. But even as he moves toward the exit, something weighs heavily in his tired chest. For the first time in a long time, he isn’t confident in his decision.

Acting on impulse, he turns on his heel and yells out, “Call sometime, maybe!” before walking backwards out the door that Kiyoshi holds for him.

It’s an open-ended suggestion. Hyūga can choose to wallow and ignore it, or he can choose to pick up the phone. Izuki isn’t going to do so either way - he’ll be happy if Hyūga makes that call, but he won’t be terribly sad if he doesn't.

This time, he’s going to be the one that walks forward without looking back.

ahhh okay so this scene means a hella lot to me personally because... i had to grow, the way izuki grew. izuki’s now strong enough to sort of put the olive branch out and say, “take it or leave it,” and if it’s left he’s not gonna be upset. that’s something i really learned with a lot of difficulty and i think that that growth - in both me and him - is a lovely thing.

and there we have it! my favorite moments from each chapter of this story. *cries in a corner* god i can’t believe it’s over...

THANK YOU FOR THE JOURNEY!

[charliejrogers]

Soul (2020) - Review & Analysis

See? 2020 wasn’t so bad. We got TWO Taylor Swift albums AND two Pixar movies! I joke. 2020 still sucked. Still, it is pretty notable to be getting two Pixar films in the same year. Last time that happened was in 2015 when we got Inside Out (what I thought was a masterpiece) and The Good Dinosaur (and I will die on the hill that more than a visual stunner it was a good movie too!) This year we’ve already had what I consider the functional equivalent of The Good Dinosaur in Onward, a very good, but ultimately light adventure tale of brotherhood. That means my expectations for this film Soul, from Inside Out’s director Pete Docter (also the director of Monsters Inc. and Up) were unfairly high. This was to be the year’s Pixar masterpiece.

It certainly tries to be. It’ a heavier film than Onward, deciding to tackle more existential questions like... “is there a point to life?” and “how do we avoid living a meaningless life?” You know… the stuff you usually see in kids’ movies. And while I am a big proponent of Pixar and recognize it is unfair to call their movies “kids’ movies,” the magic of their films usually derives from their ability to appeal to adults and kids alike. Though I love Inside Out dearly, I know it wasn’t a huge hit with kids, so it will never remembered as fondly as say Wall-E, Finding Nemo, or the seminal Toy Story . I say this because… I’m not even sure who this film is meant for? I really cannot imagine a child enjoying this film, but I’m also not a child so I won’t hold that against the film.

As an adult, however, I only moderately enjoyed the film. What it definitely has going for it is the beauty of the animation. I think The Good Dinosaur was probably still prettier, but that’s only because nature is prettier than city streets. This movie is drop dead gorgeous with environments sometimes indistinguishable from photographs.

Furthermore, the world of this movie is really, really interesting and creative in a way only Pixar could make. Well… sort of. A lot of the film is just our world, New York City to be precise. The movie tells the story of struggling, middle-aged jazz pianist Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) whose day job as a junior high band teacher pays the bills but doesn’t feed his soul. He’s only there at the behest of his mother (Phylicia Rashad). If not for her, Joe would be out there every day auditioning for gigs, trying to make it big and (likely) starving from want of work (though certainly not for want of talent). She’s more elated when Joe gets news he’s being made a full-time faculty member than when he gets a chance at a once-in-a-lifetime gig

But as fate would have it, that gig was what he’d been waiting for his whole life, his chance at the big time, the chance to play alongside a modern day legend, jazz sax player Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett). He’s so excited when he gets the gig he can’t keep his eyes on traffic and inadvertently keeps getting himself into danger. Eventually, in his distraction, he actually falls down an open manhole. And he dies.

Yes. You read that correctly. Joe dies like 10 minutes into the movie. It’s really rather jarring tonally, and I feel like his death isn’t made dramatic at all. Something more impactful would make his inevitable resurrection all the more special. This is a studio that made me cry three times in 10 minutes when I first watched Up… they could have done something more here. Instead, the death just happens and we clip along to the next scene. This slightly rushed pacing continues throughout the film and is ultimately my biggest complaint with the movie. For something that tackles very big and heavy themes, it never really gives them time to breathe.

Anyway, the film then starts part 2 of 4. With Joe dead, we now see his soul alone in a vast black nothingness, standing on a bridge towards a bright light (what is referred to as the great beyond). Joe isn’t ready to die – he was just about to have his big break! So he manages to escape from the bridge to the Great Beyond into the world of the Great Before. It’s here that Pixar’s creativity gets to shine the most. The Great Before is the land in which personalities are born. Big Picasso-esque extradimensional figures (all inexplicably named Jerry and all with New Zealand accents) serve as guardians of the little, uniformly blue souls as they go through the “You Seminar” where they engage in various activities in order to become who they will eventually become. The Jerries usher the souls into various pavilions (including selflessness and insecurity as well as self-absorption!) in order to create all of our unique personalities. Apparently, the film sides hard on the nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate.

But the most important part of the seminar is pairing these newly developing souls with a recently deceased soul as a mentor. Together the two are supposed to work together until they find the developing soul’s “spark.” Once a soul gets their spark, they are ready to head to Earth and start life. Some people get their spark, i.e. their inspiration to live, from hearing about their mentor’s great life achievements in “the Hall of You” (mentors runs the gamut from Archimedes to Mother Teresa). Other souls get their spark from time spent in “the Hall of Everything,” where souls can try out various Earth hobbies and find what they will eventually love most in life (whether that’s painting, acting, or in Joe’s case jazz piano).

It’s a clever conceit, and I very much enjoyed my time spent in the colorful world of the Great Before. The movie gains its primary plot here when Joe (who isn’t supposed to be a mentor and should just be on his way to the Great Beyond) gets confused with a recently-deceased, world-renowned child psychologist and accordingly is assigned to be the mentor for a particularly difficult-to-inspire soul, referred to only by the number 22 (Tina Fey). Mentors have tried and failed to give 22 their spark for thousands of year. Ultimately, 22 just doesn’t get the hoopla about Earth and rather just enjoys the routine of their “non-life” in the Great Before. However, they and Joe make a deal. Since whenever a soul gets their spark, they get an Earth pass, if 22 gets their spark, they agree to give their pass to Joe, allowing him to return to his life and allowing themself to stay in the Great Before forever.

That plan doesn’t work. Instead the pair find some “shamans” in a desert within the Great Before who try to perform a resurrection ritual for Joe. This was probably the most creative aspect of this film’s plot. Shamans, mystics, or just serious meditators on Earth can actually have their souls transcend into the spiritual realm, allowing them to interacts with the other spirits who are permanently in the spiritual realm, like Joe and 22. I make special notice to include “serious meditators” because the main mystic/shaman is Moonwind (Graham Norton) who finds zen and therefore access to the spiritual realm by being a sign twirler on a street corner in NYC. But what I love about this aspect of the movie is its explanation that not just serious meditators can transcend to this realm, but actually any human can. Any time anyone gets “in the zone,” like when they get lost in playing music or basketball (or in my case doing physics problems), their soul can transcend up to the spiritual realm. The shamans are only in that they are aware of and can interact with that new reality; the rest of us are not.

However, in a fun, if a little too on-the-nose aside, the main job of the shamans is to return lost souls to Earth. Lost souls aren’t dead, they just belong to people who have become so addicted to something (e.g. greed) that they become soulless while living. The lone example the movie gives is of a hedge fund manager whose soul they manage to return and who subsequently quits his job. I’m sure there are nice hedge fund managers out there… so this joke fell flat for me even if I found the concept intriguing.

So the shamans perform their resurrection ritual. It goes predictably poorly as we’re only maybe 35 minutes into the movie and it can’t end yet. So we enter part 3 of the film where, because of the botched ritual, Joe’s soul inadvertently gets put into a cat and 22’s soul into Joe’s body. The rest of part 3 sees Joe and 22 try to put things back together. All the while, 22 by being in Joe’s body gets to finally experience real life on Earth (including their first experience of the human senses including tasting pizza). They find that they like Earth a whole heck of a lot, finding greatest pleasure in the smallest of things: a leaf falling from a tree, conversation among friends, a child’s hand being held. Plus, by being a naïve soul trapped in an old soul’s body, 22’s interactions with Joe’s family and friends (while Joe looks on in cat form) grants Joe an almost It’s A Wonderful Life type experience. 22 says and does things with Joe’s voice and body that he might never dream of saying, but the result of 22′s fresh take on life is the creation of new and genuine connections with those around him in ways he never had previously.

Of course, it’s not a kid’s movie without some sort of villain. While on Earth, Joe and 22 are being hunted by Terry, another extradimensional figure who serves as the Great Beyond’s accountant. Terry’s not so much a villain as he is a semi-comical plot device. While I appreciate that this movie eschews a true “villain,” I feel like Terry did little to add to this movie’s already very lacking sense of dramatic tension. I would have been perfectly content if they just added more horror and dread to Joe’s sense of loss of life.

Eventually, Terry manages to track down the pair and bring them back to the Great Before where, to everyone’s surprise, 22 somewhere along the way found her spark and now has a genuine Earth pass! She’s ready to live... and for once she’s excited to. That is, until Joe insists that 22 doesn’t deserve the Earth pass (i.e. to live) since they only gained a spark by being him and being in his body. In other words, 22 just got to copy Joe’s spark. So he takes 22′s Earth pass and rejoins life. He even realizes his dream and plays an absolutely outstanding show with Dorothea Williams!

And then feels empty. Earlier in the film, back in the Great Before, Joe got to see his “Hall of You,” that exhibit of his life, and he looking at his life so far decided that if he really stopped living that his life would be meaningless. He worked so hard for one thing for so long (to become a career pianist) and he never got it. Well, flash forward to the end of the movie, having now finally reached his dream, and Joe realizes it didn’t give him the payoff he thought it would. His life still feels empty. I appreciated the film’s quoting David Foster Wallace’s famous “This is water” speech even if it felt a bit hackneyed, and ultimately it serves as the movie’s message. Life isn’t about the big moments; it’s about what’s all around us. “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” John Lennon once sange. Life is the stuff that made 22 so happy… the stuff that gave 22 her spark. She didn’t find a purpose or meaning when she was down on Earth that gave her a spark, she found a joy in falling leaves and conversations.

So with that realization, Joe returns to the Great Before, finds 22 and gives them their Earth pass back. Joe had in effect robbed 22 of the ability to live, and in the end undoes his harmful. But with only one Earth pass between the two of them, if 22 is to live, Joe must prepare for the Great Beyond. Now if you’re expecting to cry somewhere in this last part of the film… think again. As I said earlier, the film kinda clips along through these various story beats, not giving them time to be fully explored to the satisfaction of an adult thinker. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t feel much of a connection to either Joe or 22. so despite big moments of sacrifice and love, no tears came to my eyes. It’s not that either is unlikeable, but neither is particularly charming.

Some of it, I think, lies with some less than stellar voice acting on the part of Jamie Foxx. I don’t know. Some of his parts just felt phoned in? Tina Fey is adequate as 22, but not a stand-out. And I’m willing to concede too that the movie, the first in Pixar’s canon to focus on a Black character, may not have been made with me a white guy in his 20s as the target audience. Still, I’m not sure that race is particularly relevant to my dissatisfaction. I more think the film’s philosophy is a little jumbled, or maybe I just disagree with it. It seems to tells us that there’s no meaning to life and that the important part of life is enjoying the small things… but that’s a little naïve to say the least. Yes, trees are beautiful and music sounds good, but the movie shies away from the fact that life sucks for so many people. Like so many people. I’m sure poor and beaten down people will not feel comforted if you tell them that living is worth it because falling leaves are pretty.

But at the same time, I don’t want the movie to have argued that every person is “meant” to do something. In fact I think that idea is bullshit, and I like that the film denies this degree of determinism. If you can’t tell, I’m more on the nurture side of nature vs. nurture. But still by creating this world where souls are fully formed individuals prior to incarnation and to deprive them of a purpose feels… well soulless. Though, potentially bleaker, it feels more honest to just say we’re born as a blank slate, in a world devoid of meaning than to say that we are born fully formed into a world devoid of meaning. I would argue the later (and what the film argues) to reflect a darker, crueller world. Especially after watching a show like The Good Place which managed to so creatively and adeptly develop an entire moral philosophy that was relatively easy to understand and was largely agreeable... this feels lacking.

So yeah… I just couldn’t connect philosophically with this world, the film tackles bigger themes than its kid-friendly world seems fully capable of tackling, and despite beautiful visuals, it lags in the sound department, making it hard to really relate to these characters. I know it will find an audience because it’s a superbly made film set in a creative world with a unique premise, but that audience just isn’t me.

**3/4 (Two and three fourths out of four)

[solecize]

.  .  .  𝑩𝑨𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑼𝑺  (PT17) |  

— — jung jaehyun is the beloved captain of your university’s basketball team. you’re a freshman in the school ballet company and somehow get roped into giving him dance lessons. the issue is that your brother is lee taeyong aka jaehyun’s on-court rival, who broke his little sister’s heart. that’s where you, revenge, and a little bet come into play.

MAY 23RD. 4:34 PM KST.

there was not a single trace of energy left in your body when you exited the doors to your usual thursday afternoon class. upon entering, you barely had any to begin with. it all had to do with the restless prior night of tossing and turning with all kinds of thoughts running through your mind during these ungodly hours. it was, embarrassingly, not the first time that the thoughts of jung jaehyun caused you to lose sleep. however, this time was far different than the ones you’d once spent when questioning your feelings towards him. now, you were questioning his feelings towards you.

the text from sicheng was basically engraved in your memory at this point. you wanted to believe that you were overreacting like lucas suggested and that it was probably just a misunderstanding like sooyoung suggested. as soon as you saw the text on his phone last night, jaehyun immediately returned and announced that he had to go home early because he had a morning practice. there wasn’t a chance that emerged for you to be able to bring the text up, but it wasn’t like you had the guts to in the first place. therefore, you resorted to basically dragging yourself everywhere since you spent all of your energy on thinking about this.

gnawing on the straw to your caramel coloured iced coffee (your third for the day), you took a moment to break in your steps and scroll through the notifications through your phone. seven o’clock dance rehearsal was cancelled—thank god because you were too fucking exhausted to function as a human being, much less dance. lucas sent you memes. taeyong sent you a video of the family cat. nothing too exciting and you noticed that there wasn’t much from jaehyun since the morning. 

all of a sudden, your phone started buzzing and an incoming call screen replaced your text history with jaehyun. it was doyoung. without thinking much of it, you picked up and on the other end was the basketball player’s cheery voice.

“y/n!” he said, but something was odd. it was as if he was right there with you.

a quick scan around the vicinity wasn’t much of a help. you squinted, looking far out into the corridor to see if he was there and then poked your head around the corner. there, just beyond, was indeed doyoung with sicheng by his side. the appearance of sicheng made you nervous, but you told yourself that it was best that you would at least try to ignore it.

you quickly walked up to the both of them, while they noticed you immediately. doyoung’s mouth widened into a grin and he promptly hung up the call. sicheng waved enthusiastically. 

“hey! jaehyun told us that you’d probably be here,” doyoung said. “we were going to head to that mexican place and since you liked it so much last time, we were gonna invite you to go with us.”

despite your extreme fatigue, you concluded that an hour or two out with friends wasn’t going to hurt. how worse could you mood become when you were already irritated and tired as hell? you shifted your book bag on your shoulder, smiling in appreciation.

you answered, “you know what? i think i’d love that.” sicheng and doyoung high fived at this, which made you giggle. it was nice to be accepted in their friend group so quickly after hanigng out with jaehyun—you had to thank johnny for that, even if you did hang out with the others more. in fact, you noticed that, ever since that first casual outing, johnny seemed to avoid you up until you took him to the hospital. however, you didn’t think anything of it, since he at least sometimes interacted with you while you were with jaehyun or lucas.

the three of you began to walk and make your way out of the building. “you know. .  .” you couldn’t help yourself. “i thought you guys might have practice or something. finals with ku is coming up really fast.” the boys had won their semi-finals game that last tuesday, which was no big surprise, and everyone was gearing up for the finals for the national title. the school was hyped and the team was grinding, but according to taeyong, so was his team. he told you that his team had been struggling lately due to injuries and he personally had been having a hard time because of your recent arguments but it seemed like they were ready the fight to jaehyun’s team.

basketball was the reason that you settled on for jaehyun’s lack of messages and calls. you assumed that he would be working out with the team or practicing. it worried you a little bit, as he’d usually be the type to text you freely when he wasn’t busy. you told yourself to shove it all down, since it was way too early in the relationship to be feeling so . . .clingy.

“yeah, we had one this morning and we’re doing a team workout tonight,” sicheng explained, but he saw the look on your face. your emotions were transparent. “is something wrong?”

you blinked. “oh. oh, nothing at all.” the lie was painfully obvious.

doyoung frowned, taking a closer look at you, as well. “y/n, you kinda don’t look okay. have you been getting enough sleep?”

this was probably your best chance to confront sicheng about the text message. but, looking at the way the two men met your eyes, you felt the words become stuck in your throat. it was too much.

“you can talk to us, you know,” sicheng said.

you took a deep breath. you weren’t sure how to phrase it, so the question came out stranger than intended. 

you bit your lip. “is everything okay with jaehyun?”

doyoung cocked an eyebrow at you, not quite seeing what you were getting at. “yeah, he is? he’s been a little stressed with finals coming up, but he’s doing better than any of us ever could, that’s for sure.”

“he’s good? you guys haven’t noticed him doing anything, um, suspicious?”

the two basketball players attempted to look neutral to the question, but you swore that there was just a half second of panic painted on sicheng’s face. that’s when you knew something was up. 

“i saw a strange message on his phone last night. .  .” you admitted, looking down at your feet. one of them cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. 

doyoung and sicheng were the best out of the serpent starters. you loved lucas, but they were a definite refresher in terms of friendship. johnny only talked to you sometimes until his injury. meanwhile, the former two were just complete balls of sunshines. they were unapologetically themselves and were very open about welcoming you into the friend circle. from that point, they treated you like anyone else. you just hoped that it would also apply to this situation.

sicheng understood what you were talking about instantly and his expression turned upset. “maybe this isn’t something we should discuss here.” it was rare for the chinese student to get serious and you felt it here, seeing his eyes downcast.

“what? is this about jaehyun?” doyoung asked all of a sudden.

seeing that doyoung guessed correctly and sicheng didn’t want to talk about it in public, you only assumed the worse. he was probably having second thoughts on having you as his girlfriend. he realized that he didn’t want to be tied down. he didn’t like your family. or worse—jaehyun had someone else.

you had to stifle a gasp at that thought. you had yet to consider the possibility of there being another person, but you were shocked at just how painful that thought was. there was no way in hell.

“is it about her?” doyoung said to sicheng, as if having their own side conversation, but your heart dropped at that sentence. who was her? did it have to do with the texts? what did that have to do with the texts?

sicheng hissed, “shut up.”

the two of them turned back to you, both looking as if they were uncomfortable children forced to go to a family party. doyoung opened his mouth to speak, but found no words. meanwhile, sicheng started to stutter his words and scratched the back of his nape.

“i think you should talk to lucas. i don’t want to be the one that tells you.”

sicheng rubbed his forehead and distress glowed in his eyes. the same went for doyoung, whose expression closed up. something told you that they didn’t want to tell you this, but had to.

this was it. that only proved that something was truly wrong and your gut feeling was right. they both looked at you with pity in their eyes, having finally succumbed to telling you the truth. they were the ones who’d grown so attached to you that they didn’t want to see you hurt, though this was inevitable. everything up until this point was, indeed, fateful.

lucas hated it, but you basically knew everything about him. it stemmed from the years long friendship that you two shared. it was one full of long summer nights spent talking on the roof of his parents’ house. the short-lived relationship that ended only because you wanted the best for each other and dating was not that. one full of honesty and trust.

he and sooyoung, both a year older than you, moved in together at the end of the last school year. since you spent more time over at their shared apartment than in your tiny, first-year dorm room, you knew their entry passcode by heart. it was somewhat late at night at this point, around ten thirty, but you knew that lucas had some big assignment that he locked himself in the whole day to finish. 

“i’m here,” you announced loudly, hearing your voice echo throughout as soon as you stepped in through the front door. there was a muffled response, but you already knew that it was lucas and that it was only him because sooyoung’s set of keys were missing from the holders on the wall.

slipping off your sneakers, you spotted lucas on his laptop and sitting at their small dining table. he had his reading glasses on, a stained hoodie from your high school, and his laptop was out. by the looks of the scattered instant noodle bowls, he had definitely not left the apartment all day.

sicheng’s advice scared you. how could there possibly be something that lucas knew that you didn’t? you wanted to go to jaehyun yourself, you didn’t understand why you were redirected to him. however, as you began to think about it more on your way, you realized that lucas was starting to act a bit strange lately. he’d been talking to you less, but you attributed it to school work and the competitive basketball post-season.

he casually glanced up at you. “hey. are you gonna crash here tonight?” it wasn’t rare for you to just randomly sleep over. “sooyoung’s out partying with her cheer friends or something.”

your hands became slick with perspiration. it was hard for you to get nervous with lucas, as it was practically useless when he would see right through you and demand that you get straight to the point. like always, he saw this immediately and slowly took off his glasses.

“what is jaehyun hiding from me?”

just like that, you got straight to the point. it’d been killing you ever since and to be frank, you were beyond the point of exhaustion. that, however, didn’t mean that you actually wanted to hear what you were about to hear. 

the month had been a whirlwind. you were randomly thrown in as a dance teacher to jung jaehyun, someone who was simply a background person to the rest of your life. and before you even knew it, everything changed. he became a supporting character. life was funny like that and you were grateful that it was jaehyun. you never thought that it would be, but even though your relationship was in the beginning stages, it was hard to imagine everyday life without his laugh, his dry humour, his passion. it was hard to remember what it was like without waking up to his texts and going to sleep with his sweet voice ringing in your ears. 

lucas paled. the look on his face was pained and you saw the way he ran his hand through his hair, as he always did when he was hiding something.

“is it another girl?” a stupid question, probably. your poor judgement was clouded by desperation to know the answer and fatigue.

“what? no. i—” his lips pressed into a thin line. “you should probably sit down for this.”

something made it difficult to keep your voice steady. “so, whatever this is, you’ve been hiding from me, too.” lucas stood up from his chair, walking towards you, but you took a step away. “just tell me. jaehyun makes me happy, i know you were reluctant at first and i want to know why you didn’t just support me outright.”

he looked down at his feet. “i’m sorry, y/n.”

“just tell me.”

it was storming when you stepped outside. each raindrop felt like a bullet. leaving lucas’ apartment that night with stiff eyelids and a scratchy throat—caused by nearly everything from screaming to crying—was the hardest feeling that you’d ever had to endure in your life.  “how could you allow someone to just hurt me like that? you’re my best friend.” were the final words you told lucas before slamming the door on his face. he told you that he didn’t mean to hurt you, that he didn’t want to be the one responsible for you to get hurt again. it was all bullshit and none of it made sense. jaehyun won his bet.

you hated it, but you realized that you didn’t know everything about lucas. or jaehyun. or anyone.

tag list: @i-hate-these-people @glitterystanz @jkuwus @jenojae  @csillagosegnelkul @imtaehyungry @theloouiisee @ikonictaelien @knisterlicht @seungkwanismyaesthetic @jaemingold @xysabella @sua246 @ireallyjustneedcoffee @p-platonica @just-a-dream-40@fuckthatfeeling @softyfor-sweaterpaws @nshitae @nerdymoneykidcroissant

[strandedhaze]

ONE : MEET GÉRARD

FULL NAME: gérard israh lorente. PREFERRED NAME: gérard. NICKNAME(S): gér and gee. DATE OF BIRTH: november 20th, 2000. GENDER: cis male. PREFERRED PRONOUNS: he/him/his. ORIENTATION: heterosexual. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single in main verse. RELIGION: non-practising christian. OCCUPATION: full time university student. CURRENT RESIDENCE: new york city, new york ; he resides in a penthouse in tribeca.

TWO : GÉRARD'S BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: barcelona, spain. NATIONALITY: spanish. ETHNIC BACKGROUND: spanish. LINGUISTICS: spanish is his native languages but he speaks english and portuguese fluently. EDUCATION: he studies applied psychology at nyu. CRIMINAL RECORD: clean. BIRTH ORDER: first. FATHER: santi lorente was born on march 20th, 1975 in madrid, spain. santi is a former handball player who, currently, works as a handball coach and lives in barcelona. MOTHER: jolanne lorente was born on may 5th, 1977 in sitges, spain. she is the owner of an insurance company that has now branched out all through europe. she still operates and resides in barcelona. SISTER(S): maisa lorente was born on october 26th, 2014 in barcelona, spain.  BROTHER(S): lonzo lorente was born on december 22nd, 2003 in barcelona, spain. OTHER RELEVANT FAMILY: none. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: gérard is single. CHILDREN: none so far. FRIENDS: lillian atkinson, chloé blackwood, thomas knight. EXES: blanca galan. PETS: none so far.

THREE : GET UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

HEIGHT: 6′1″ ( 185 cm ). WEIGHT: his weight oscillates between 165 lbs ( 75 kg ) 170 lbs ( 77 kg ). BODY TYPE AND BUILD: he’s slender ; at first glance, it might appear that he’s on the lanky side but he’s actually athletic. training has always been an integral part of his life, as were sports while growing up, so gérard is definitely in good-shape and he likes to ensure that he stays fit. EYE COLOR: grey-ish blue. EYESIGHT: he wears glasses at night so he doesn’t force his vision and he wears blue-light blocking glasses once he’s on his laptop.  HAIR COLOR: dirty blonde. HAIR STYLE: shorter on the sides/back and longer at the top, usually fluffed out. DOMINANT HAND: right. NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: prominent bone structure, long eyelashes, pouty lips. SCARS AND MARKS: there aren’t any particular scars that stand out. of course, just like the average human, he has a few moles here and there, a few marks and old scars courtesy of falls and other clumsy moments, but there’s nothing worth mentioning. TATTOOS: he has two shooting stars on the back of his left arm, one representing his brother lonzo and the other symbolizing maisa, and he has the word constante in cursive around his right ankle ; he got it alongside his mother before moving to new york city - hers is considerably smaller and it’s hidden on the underside of her arm.  PIERCINGS: none. VOICECLAIM: jaume masia. ACCENT AND INTENSITY: let’s put it simply ... you can tell exactly where he’s from even when he’s not speaking in his native language. the catalan accent peeks through even when he’s babbling around in english and not even in a subtle way.  ALLERGIES: shellfish, wheat and soy. PHOBIAS AND FEARS: trypophobia. MENTAL ILLNESSES: none so far. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES: none so far. SCENT THEY WEAR: noir by tom ford or bleu noir by narciso rodriguez. ALCOHOL USE: socially, he does. SMOKING: no, he doesn’t smoke. OTHER NARCOTICS USE: no. INDULGENT FOOD: he has his fair share of junk food and comfort food but, mostly, he sticks to a healthy diet. it’s all well balanced. SPLURGE SPENDING: no. gérard was taught to spend money wisely so he prefers conscious spending, even if it’s a big purchase, than splurge spending just because he can. GAMBLING: no. ADDICTIONS AND VICES: none.

FOUR : DIG DEEPER

CAN THEY DRIVE? yes, he can drive. CAN THEY COOK AND BAKE? yes and no. CAN THEY CHANGE A FLAT TIRE? yes. CAN THEY TIE A TIE? ish. CAN THEY SWIM? yes. CAN THEY RIDE A BICYCLE? yes. CAN THEY JUMP START A CAR? no. CAN THEY BRAID HAIR? ish. CAN THEY PICK A LOCK? no. EXTROVERTED OR INTROVERTED? an introverted-extrovert, as in he loves being around people but too much social interaction drains him out and has him begging for some alone time. DISORGANIZED OR ORGANIZED? organized. CLOSE OR OPEN MINDED? open minded. CALM OR ANXIOUS? a healthy in-between. PATIENT OR IMPATIENT? patient. OUTSPOKEN OR RESERVED? outspoken when needed, reserved the vast majority of time. LEADER OR FOLLOWER? an in-between. OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC? depends on the situation, it can go both ways. he’s neutral on the regular. TRADITIONAL OR MODERN? modern. HARD-WORKING OR LAZY? hard-working. CULTURED OR UNCULTURED? cultured. LOYAL OR DISLOYAL? loyal. FAITHFUL OR UNFAITHFUL? faithful. NIGHT OWL OR EARLY BIRD? night owl. he rises early either way but merely because he’s often forced to and because the routine is too ingrained by now. HEAVY OR LIGHT SLEEPER? he’s on the heavy sleeper side more so than light sleeper. COFFEE OR TEA? coffee. DAY OR NIGHT? night. TAKING BATHS OR SHOWERS? showers. COCA COLA OR PEPSI? neither. CATS OR DOGS? both. NETFLIX OR CINEMA? netflix. SHOWS OR MOVIES? both. LAPTOP OR GAMING CONSOLE? laptop. HEALTHY OR JUNK FOOD? healthy. ICE CREAM OR FROZEN YOGURT? ice cream. PIZZA OR HAMBURGER? hamburger. LOLLIPOPS OR GUMMY WORMS? neither. BEACH OR POOL? beach. SNOWBALLS FIGHTING OR ICESKATING? iceskating. LITERATURE OR SCIENCE? literature. HISTORY OR ART? art. CHOCOLATE BARS OR COTTON CANDY? chocolate bars. XBOX OR PLAYSTATION? playstation. FACE-TO-FACE OR PHONE INTERACTIONS? face-to-face interactions. DRAMA OR SCI-FI? drama. HORROR OR COMEDY? comedy.

FIVE : GÉRARD’S LIKES & DISLIKES

FAVORITE ACTIVITY: training. FAVORITE ANIMAL: snow leopard. FAVORITE BOOK: he has a number of favorite books, he reads a lot and each year the amount of titles decorating the shelves of his home library increases so it’s impossible for him to narrow it down to one. FAVORITE QUOTE: ❝ who you are is defined by what you're willing to struggle for. ❞ — mark manson. FAVORITE COLOR(S): orange and grey. FAVORITE DESIGNER: he doesn’t know enough about fashion to have one. FAVORITE CUISINE: spanish and mediterranean cuisines. FAVORITE DISH(ES): fricandó, creme catalana, pisto, pretty much anything with salmon because he loves it and lately, he has taken a liking to buddha bowls. FAVORITE DRINK: orxata or coconut water. FAVORITE FLOWER(S): african daisies. FAVORITE GEM: tanzanite. FAVORITE HOLIDAY: christmas. FAVORITE MOVIE: of all time, i believe it is dead poets society.  FAVORITE MUSIC GENRE: lo-fi beats for when he needs ambience or he’s studying, rap for when he’s training and, generally, soul / r&b when he’s driving or walking around town. FAVORITE SONG(S): nothing burns like the cold by snoh aalegra featuring vince staples. GO TO KARAOKE SONG: f**k you by CeeLo Green. FAVORITE SCENT(S): the scent of fresh coffee, vanilla and mango. FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOW(S): la casa de papel and state of union.  FAVORITE SPORTS: soccer, basketball, handball, motorsports altogether with a particular distinction for formula 1 and motogp, tennis and cycling. SPORTS TEAM THEY SUPPORT: fc barcelona is the one he’ll always support, besides it there are teams he likes better than others but none he’d deem an avid supporter of. FAVORITE EMOJI: possibly this 🤪 even though it’s not the one he uses the most. FAVORITE WEATHER: the end of a hot summer day, when the temperature has decreased but there’s still a warmth to the air, with soft breezes of wind washing through every now and again — that’s his perfect weather. FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR: summer. FAVORITE PLACE(S): playa illa roja — a secluded beach in begur, girona where he used to disappear to when he was younger and he was spending summers with his grandparents and extended family. to this day, the place brings him peace. SUPERPOWER THEY WISH THEY HAD: cosmic manipulation. VACATION DESTINATION: vietnam or hawaii, possibly.

[thelanguageoflovers]

If you feel inspired, tyrus + discovering a shared hidden hobby/passion?

I read this and my brain went wild with possibilities but the only one I actually used was sharing an actual human person lmao(Also I just finished writing yesterday’s 5+1 fic and my brain is genuinely melting)

TJ dropped his house keys on the table next to his front door, holding it open for his boyfriend, who filed inside, looking around in wonder.“Anyone home?” he called out, his voice echoing around the house, only to be greeted with silence. “Guess not. Sorry it’s so small,” TJ apologized quickly, glancing around at the tiny house.“I like it,” Cyrus assured him, crouching to pet the cat winding around his ankles. “Who’s this?”“That’s Max. His sister Dani is around here somewhere,” TJ said fondly. “You named your cats after Hocus Pocus?” Cyrus asked, smiling.“In our defense, Amber and I were very young,” TJ said, picking up Max and scratching him behind the ears while he led Cyrus down the hall to his room. He nudged the door open with his shoulder, setting Max on his bed where Dani was already curled into his pillows.“Your room is… Not what I’d expect,” Cyrus admitted, turning in a slow circle.“How so?” TJ asked, sitting down on his bed carefully, shifting away from sitting on Max.“I don’t know, everything is so light and clean. I expected basketball posters held up with like three thumbtacks and a wad of gum,” he joked, causing TJ to elbow him gently in the ribs.“Psh, I could never pull that off in this household,” TJ said, absentmindedly putting books back on his bookshelf. “Amber would sneak in and clean it in my sleep, which she actually did once when we were seven, mind you.”“Fair enough. What’s it like having a twin sister? I always wanted one when I was little,” Cyrus asked, walking over to the record player in the corner and raising an eyebrow at the apparent lack of actual vinyls. “Oh, it has its ups and downs,” TJ said, pointing to the rows of crates, all holding books and vinyls, under his bed. “In some ways, it kind of sucks that we’re just stuck with each other. But on the other side of that argument, we’re also best friends, no matter what. I guess when we were little, it really sucked because we hated each other with a passion. But we grew out of that, and now it’s just really cool. However, she insists that the twelve minutes between she and I being born were the best twelve of her life, and I think she’ll always stand by that.”“Well of course, she was the favorite for twelve whole minutes.” Cyrus crouched, pulling out one of the many wooden crates under his boyfriend’s bed, rifling through the vinyls.“Exactly,” TJ agreed with a chuckle, nodding as he pulled out a second crate from under his bed, swapping it for the one Cyrus had. “Here, these are my favorites.”“You have like a thousand records,” Cyrus marveled, picking up an old Queen album and flipping it over in his hands.“And three thousand books, I know,” TJ finished his boyfriend’s thought for him, circling to the other side of his bed and pulling out no less than seven crates, all overflowing with books.“How on Earth did you find the money for all this? You work a minimum wage job, and insist upon giving most of your paycheck to your mom for bills or groceries- a very sweet gesture, but not one that leaves you with much money,” Cyrus asked, confused.“There’s a used book and record store 20 minutes out of town,” TJ explained. “I take the bus every Saturday, and buy as many as I can. I would buy my records at the Red Rooster, but there’s no way I can afford 30 bucks a record, so I usually find the ones I want there, make a list, then hunt them down at Crumpled Pages.”“Crumpled Pages?”“The book and vinyl store,” TJ clarified. “I’ve been going since I was eight. I used to have to sneak away from the library after my mom dropped me off every Saturday, back when she didn’t want me riding the bus alone. Every single employee knows me by name and favorite genres.”“Wait but today is Saturday?”“Yeah, but, and don’t tell Tolstoy or Gogol I said this, you’re more important than books,” TJ said, leaning across the bed to kiss Cyrus.“We could go to your beloved bookstore right now?” Cyrus asked, putting the crates back where he found them. “I don’t have to be home for a few hours.”“Oh! Are you sure? I know your ideal Saturday isn’t exactly taking a bus to Crawford for some books and vinyls.”“No, I want to see your special store!” Cyrus insisted, squeezing TJ’s hand. “It sounds like fun!”“Okay, if you say so,” TJ shrugged, taking Cyrus’s hand.“Yay!” TJ grinned, pulling his boyfriend down the hall.“I’m happy if you are, Underdog.”

“This is us,” TJ nudged his boyfriend gently, pointing out the window with a smile.“Cool!” Cyrus exclaimed, standing up as the bus rolled to a stop. TJ chucled, jogging off the bus with a quick ‘thank you’ to the bus driver, before pausing to intertwine his fingers with Cyrus’s.“Come on,” TJ said gently, smiling at how adorable his boyfriend was. “It’s just a few blocks this way.”The couple walked slowly, in perfect synchronicity, their hands swinging gently between them, chatting casually. For once, everything seemed right in the world. This was the first time Cyrus had felt so at peace since he was 12 and his aunt was getting married.There had been a moment at the wedding, when he and Buffy and Andi were sitting alone at a table, talking about their science project or something equally mundane, when he realized these two would be his best friends until the day he died. That they could spend hours talking about anything in the world, and never get tired of each other. Of course, the moment quickly dissolved into a debate on the validity of Pluto as a planet, but it was that moment that he decided he’d follow either of them to the ends of the Earth (or to Pluto, which he insisted was indeed a planet [“Just because it’s small, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a planet!”], science be damned).“What are you thinking about?” TJ asked, looking down at his boyfriend, who was clearly deep in thought.“Well,” Cyrus started with a chuckle. “My aunt Edna’s wedding, actually.”“Your aunt Edna’s…”“Wedding, yeah,” Cyrus laughed, looking back and forth between crossing the street.“Wh-why?” TJ asked. “We’re literally on a date, Underdog.”“I swear, it’s actually a compliment that I’m thinking about her wedding,” Cyrus defended, following TJ as they turned a corner. “How?” TJ asked, laughing warmly.“That was the night Buffy, Andi and I stopped being best friends and started being attached at the hip. I loved that night.”“Fair enough,” TJ conceded with a shrug.“Wow, I just realized literally all I talk about with you is my friends, I’m sorry,” Cyrus apologized.“It’s fine, Underdog,” TJ assured him. “You three are a package deal.”“What do you mean?”“Cyrus. Our first kiss was literally in Andi’s grandparents’ living room at their Christmas party.”“Point taken,” Cyrus nodded, following TJ into Crumpled Pages when TJ held the door open for him. “Whoa.”“Yeah, it’s kind of cluttered, but their stuff is the cheapest around,” TJ reasoned, taking Cyrus’s hand yet again, and leading him through the store, winding through overflowing bookshelves and boxes of vinyls.“Thomas!” A lady Cyrus could only assume was the owner of the store appeared out of nowhere, sweeping TJ into a hug.“Addie, it’s only been a week,” TJ protested, his voice strained by the strength of the hug.“A week is much too long, Thomas,” TJ grimaced at the use of his full first name, desperate to change the topic before Cyrus brought it up.“Addie, this is my boyfriend, Cyrus Goodman,” he said quickly, pulling Cyrus in front of him. “Underdog, this is the owner of the store- and subsequently pretty much my second mother- Adelaide.”“I will be circling back to the topic of 'Thomas’ later,” Cyrus hissed to TJ, holding out a hand to Adelaide. “It’s lovely to meet you.”“Goodman?” Adelaide asked excitedly, taking his hand and shaking it. “Are you related to Leslie Goodman?”“Yeah, that’s my mom. Do you know her?” Cyrus asked, cocking his head slightly.“You’re Leslie Goodman’s son?” Adelaide asked, stepping back to look him up and down. “Oh, come here, sweetie!” She swept him into a warm hug, tears coming to her eyes. Cyrus looked at TJ confusedly as Adelaide cried into his shoulder, but his boyfriend could only shrug, his eyes wide. “Your mother and I were best friends in high school and college! How is she?”“Wait you’re my aunt Adelaide? She talks about you all the time!” Cyrus said, smiling as Adelaide wiped tears from her eyes.“Oh gosh, I can’t believe Leslie Goodman has a son!” Adelaide exclaimed, hugging Cyrus once more.“Actually, she’s pregnant, too. It’s a girl,” Cyrus informed her. “Oh my gosh! Let me get my phone, I’ll call her right now!” Adelaide rushed away to the back of the store, leaving Cyrus and TJ standing in between two bookshelves, watching after her. “You knew my aunt Adelaide this whole time?”“I guess so,” TJ shrugged. “I had no idea.”“…And your name is Thomas?” Cyrus asked, chuckling.“Thomas James,” TJ grumbled. “Please don’t make fun of me!” Cyrus shook his head, wrapping his arms around TJ’s neck.“I like it.”

[zenlesszonezero]

[yoonminfiction]

any good soulmate au ym fics?!?!

It’s been a while since I’ve did a soulmates list, and I LOVE Soulmate fic.  So thank you for this ask.  Before I add some new ones to the list, I  need you to check the list here and here.

Spring Day by Bangtanbananas

Even when he was a pup, Park Jimin never even dreamed that he would find his soulmate. Thoughts like that were better left to his hopelessly romantic best friend and partner in crime, Kim Taehyung. It’s a one in a million chance, but a twist of fate brings a strange wolf into Jimin’s life and it changes things forever. (Rated:M)

Sea Foam Green and Tangerine (and the spaces in between) by LAYmedown (InfernalMCR)  also check it here

Jimin was nineteen when he met his soulmate, and as all his hopes and dreams for the future came crashing down around him, he wished he hadn’t.

Yoongi was twenty-one when he met his soulmate, and despite the fact that he used to pray for this moment, he wasn’t sure if he’d really wanted to.

*Remake of Sea Foam and Tangerine (and the others in between)* (Rated:M)

Heartless Crybaby by CmiMiu

In a world, where after you turn twenty, every time your Soulmate cries you recieve a tiny teardrop tattoo on your body, finding ones Soulmate shouldn’t too hard right?

Wrong!

In Min Yoongi’s case it’s a headache. Because his Soulmate seems to be the world’s biggest Crybaby, turning his arms into a black canvas of tiny teardrops.Park Jimin’s Soulmate, on the other hand, must be the world’s most Heartless being. Because his arms stay clear of any indicator of his other half’s existence.

lucky by yururin

Taehyung’s dares has never done Jimin any good (but maybe this time was an exception).

Your Songs are a Burden by Shadowmonsta

Yoongi is already annoyed at his soulmate and they haven’t even met. Circumstances force him to a BTS concert where he may have just found what he was looking for.

PROMPTAU:

‘Whenever your soulmate sings a song you can’t help but join in and my fucking soulmate is in a goddamn band and I can’t sing for shit.’

Second Chances by myeolchi

Suga had looked at the tattoo on Jimin’s wrist, one that matched his own, and smirked mockingly. “You probably had that made, didn’t you? That was fast. I’m flattered but stalkers aren’t really my type.”

Jimin had been shocked and then so angry; he had not been able to utter a word. All of his mother’s teachings about being polite and kind and charitable flew out of the window.

So, he did the next best thing.

He threw his drink at Suga’s smug, stupid face and muttered a ‘fuck you’ before stomping away, uncaring of the fact that people were staring at him in surprise and mounting anger and that Suga had stared at him with no small amount of shock.

or

a soulmate!au in which yoongi starts off as a jerk, jimin is a spitfire, and taehyung is the best wingman

Once Upon A Dream by yururin  

“Somebody once promised they’d find you, and that they’ll love you more than they already do,” Yoongi murmurs, a smile on his lips when recognition sparks in Jimin’s eyes, “somebody once promised they’d ask you to be theirs when they can finally do so again.”

Jimin doesn’t say anything—just leans into Yoongi’s touch, that same shy smile Yoongi has grown to love still on his face.

“Be mine, Park Jimin?”

(or alternatively: “that yoonmin soulmates AU where you can see a glimpse of your past life on the eve of your 18th birthday and Jimin dreams of a forbidden Joseon era love story with an upperclassman Min Yoongi, popular basketball player in uni, 18384/10 out of his reach”.)

When the stars align by Brave_Woodpecker

After being saved by a little boy when he was still a cub, Yoongi swore to become his protector. What he had not expected was to fall in love with the human he had sworn to protect. He knew it was impossible, yet his senses were screaming that Jimin was his mate. A human and a lupus, how could it be ?  (Rated:M)

butterfly kisses by sttrimia

If Jimin knows anything about his soulmate, it is this:

1) His soulmate likes writing words on himself,2) His soulmate must get into fights sometimes, and3) His soulmate gets laid. Like, a lot.

(Or another soulmate au nobody asked for where every mark that appears on your soulmate’s skin also appears on your own.)

A Certain Shade of Gray by Jiminnie_Jimbles

Soulmate AU where your soulmate decides the color of your hair.

•×××××××××ו

Jimin had been told by his best friend Taehyung that he was pretty sure his soulmate was going to shave his head by the time they meet. See, every week, Jimin decided he would pick a color, just for the fun of it.

But what if one day, his soulmate decided he had had enough and it was time for payback?

•×××××××××ו

Based on Yoongi’s ever changing hair color. Bless his head.

Clumsy Souls by ShortyKai 

Yoongi’s soulmate is, apparently, very clumsy.

When the bruises lead him to the adorable Park Jimin, Yoongi vows to protect the dancer from himself.

Purely for self-preservation, of course.

Or

The soulmate!au where every time your soulmate gets a bruise, so do you.

Black Cat by suddenly_yoongi

“Jimin, they’re your soulmate. They’ll love you regardless. They’re not going to care about your Min Yoongi obsession. I promise.”

(AU in which the last of you turns eighteen and you switch bodies with your soulmate until you find them again)  

you don’t have to say i love you (to say i love you) by pizza_netflix_hp (orphan_account)

Jimin knows he’s going to hate his soulmate from the moment he learns how to read and sees the words go feed yourself to the fucking sharks written on his wrist.

[or]

in which the first words one’s soulmate says to them are tattooed on their wrist, yoongi doesn’t like feelings, and jimin just wants to bang his head into a desk because why is his true love so dumb

Midnight Blue by mintsoda

“flareSUGA: the universe just creates stories

flareSUGA: it creates stories with all our existences and gives everyone of us a lead role that we’re sharing with someone else… we’re just stories and the universe watches a hundred thousand times how we meet, how we fall in love, what we make of it. The perfect love story with a happy ending time and time again”

They’re living in a world where they lose their voice on their 21st birthday if they haven’t met their soulmate yet.

Marks by Redhead33

Be careful.If you hurt yourself someone else sees itIf your draw on yourself someone else sees itIf you write on yourself someone else can see itIf you mark on yourself 

Your soul mate can see it (Rated:M)

This list is long, but I hope you have fun reading it.

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Konnichiwa! May you get the marks you desire, can I ask for a ficlet? AoKawa with the #11 dialogue? ^-^ I need some rareship hell to get into, see?

Hi dear! You can’t even understand how happy you mademe with this ask! I can’t even express it! Obviously, I’m also very anxiousbecause I don’t know if I pictured them as well as they’re in my mind and alsobecause I really hope you fall in love with them too. For a minute, I wanted towrite a “serious” or romantic ff, but no. I chose a funny, fluffy and crazyepisode as they are in my mind: AoKawa’s Confession. You are going to findreferences to past events because, well, they’re references to my other ideasabout their whole story that unfolds in my head!

I hope you enjoy it and start shipping them too!

 Shooting  Stars

That night, Aomine was peacefully relaxing before going to sleep, sprawled on the couch in his shared dorm apartment, when he heard his roommate leaving the bedroom. He glanced up from his Mai-chan’s magazine and found an excited Oikawa, completely dressed and with his leather jacket on, in the middle of the living room.

Now, Aomine’d had the time to learn a lot of things about that guy during those months.

First, they were made to argue with each other and they rarely found something on which they both agreed: he was a workaholic, volleyball’s lover, aliens’ maniac and brilliant student; Aomine was a lazy genius, lived for basketball, had posters of cicadas and studied just enough to pass his courses -a kind way to say he was dumb. However, they somehow had managed to adjust to each other and now they were… friends; they even hung out together in their free time, much to their own and their friends’ surprise.

Second, Oikawa was the type of guy who always seemed perfect, polite and composed outside but inside was the worst, childish, crazy, bubbling guy Aomine had ever met; at the same time, the brunet managed to be a scheming, passionate and proud player. A complex mystery Aomine wasn't sure he would ever completely understand. But, if there was something they had immediately recognized in each other, was their sports talent.

Third, he was always up to no good no matter what and, without supervision, he was bound to disturb, annoy or even harm himself or other people: a walking calamity. Unfortunately for Aomine, due to Iwaizumi’s absence, the role of supervisor had been passed to him and that was a tragedy since he couldn’t even properly take care of himself, imagine of another -sly- human being, but it had become a matter of survival.

“Where are you going?” Aomine asked Oikawa yawning, with his brows knitted. If he wanted to go practicing again then he was mistaking.

Two weeks ago, Aomine’d had to go to the gym at half-past eleven because Oikawa had entered his paranoiac phase of “not being enough” and was wearing himself out with an endless session of extra practice; he'd literally had to drag him home by force before he could hurt himself. It had happened before, but Aomine hadn't arrived in time: a worried and angry Iwaizumi, at the time out of Tokyo, had called Aomine so that he could go and bring back the injured idiot who had collapsed on the gym and couldn’t even move due to his aching knee. That had been the first time they had properly opened to each other, since Oikawa was too dejected and in need of comfort to put up any resistance against Aomine’s blunt insistence.

So, even if he had to forcefully push the boy down and tie him to the bed, Aomine wasn’t going to let him overworking himself anymore; he had enough of midnight trips to the gym to save his ass.

Oikawa pouted, probably reading his thoughts, and averted the brown eyes.

“To see the stars, you rude worrywart. As I’ve been saying all week long, ” He answered shrugging as he slipped on his shoes.

“You always talk about stars, alien and shit like that,” Aomine smirked, even if he was now recalling the brunet say something about it, “Where?” then he inquired, lowering the magazine and straightening a bit. He heard the boy huffing, but, from the sound, Aomine knew he was smiling.

“From the rooftop,” Oikawa replied blankly, with just an amused glint dancing in the eyes, but Aomine furrowed his eyebrows.

“Ah? The door to reach it's closed at night, Shittykawa,” he reminded the brunet, calling him by the nickname that Iwaizumi had officially allowed him to use.

The boy stood up and glanced at him from upon his shoulder.

“Who said I’m going to use the door, Dai-chan?”  he teased grinning widely before he opened the door and left the apartment quickly, not letting the other the time to react.

Aomine stared at the empty hallway for some seconds, then blinked slowly and finally realized what it meant.

“Fuck! That idiot!” he cursed, throwing the magazine on the couch and rushing towards the door; he put on his shoes and then tailed him outside, down the stairs and in the backyard.

As expected, he found Oikawa in the garden at the back of their complex, looking thoughtfully at the iron, folded emergency staircase hanging from the wall, midway between the earth and the roof.

“Tell me you’re joking,” Aomine grunted, reaching him with long strides. Oikawa didn’t even bother to turn, he was sure Aomine would have followed him.

“Absolutely no, it’s the only other way to the rooftop,” he explained calmly, trying to understand if he could really reach the first step by jumping as higher as he could, and then use his weight to pull down and unfold the stairs. He had thought it was a perfect plan, but now that he saw closely the stairs, he was starting to doubt it.

“Can’t you look at the stars from the garden?” grumbled Aomine, exasperated by the brunet's antics, putting his hands in the jeans’ pockets. It was still a chilly night, even if the sky was clear. Part of him just wanted to turn on his heels, go back on the couch and resume enjoying his Mai-chan magazine; the other weak-willed part was mocking him because he damn knew that, lately, he just couldn’t leave Oikawa alone.

Oikawa looked at him wide-eyed as if he had just said a blasphemy.

“Tonight, it'll be possible to see shooting stars, Dai-chan. You don’t watch shooting stars from a small, badly illuminated garden,” he explained slowly, as if he was talking to a dumb child, and Aomine felt the usual desire to punch his pretty face.

“Shooting stars?” he opted to say instead, rolling his eyes.

“Exactly. If you manage to see one, one of your wishes will come true,” Oikawa bubbled excitedly, taking some steps back and scrunching his nose in concentration as he tried to measure the approximate distance. Yes, maybe he could do it.

“And what wish is worth a broken leg?” Aomine mocked him, glancing amusedly at his movements. That was going to be such a failure.

“That’s a secret, Dai-chan!” he smirked allusively, winking at him. Aomine snorted, shaking his head, and decided to let him fail in peace and then bring back the corpse.

Oikawa took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and when he reopened them, he wore the focused expression of the determined setter he was. The first thing about Oikawa that had struck Aomine and made him regret Oikawa didn’t play basketball.

The brunette took the same run-up he used when serving; crouching like a cat, he elegantly moved forward and then suddenly spread his arms like wings; he jumped high, hands stretching towards his aim.

But he missed the step, slamming face-on against the wall, and fell backwards on his butt.

Aomine burst into a loud, animal laughter that echoed in the garden.

“Shut up!” Oikawa whined, still laying on the ground.

Aomine was laughing too hard to help him, a pity he hadn't recorded it.

Oikawa, blushing furiously, stood up and brushed his pants, trying to find again his dignity.

“I’m not going to surrender,” He pouted, lifting his chin, and returned to his initial position.

“You can’t do it,” Aomine said chuckling, watching him running and slamming into the wall again.

At the third failed attempt, Aomine thought that now they could return home; maybe, to comfort his hurting pride, he would let Oikawa watch one his aliens movies with some ice cream, only for that night. Maybe.

But as always, Oikawa never ceased to surprise him.

He returned to his spot, but instead of running, he analyzed carefully the wall. An evil grin spread across his face.

“Dai-chan,” he called sweetly and shivers ran down Aomine’s spine, “Who lives on the second floor?” he asked pointing his index at the balcony near the staircase.

The other tilted his head, perplexed.

“Uh? Why do you need to-” the boy started saying when the sudden realization hit him, “Fuck no,” he roared, glaring menacingly at him.

Oikawa pouted, crossing his arms.

“Come on, Dai-chan!”

“I’m not going to ask our neighbors to let you use their balcony to jump on the stairs,” He refused, rubbing his temples, and Oikawa gave him a death look.

“Party-pooper,” he murmured disappointed, reaching the wall and standing exactly under the stairs, frustrated. He just wanted to see his shooting stars.

Oh no, the dejected look. Fuck, Aomine was weak.

Oikawa heard the other guy sigh and growl something, and thought he had run out of patience for that night and was going to drag him inside or, worst, abandon him there. Instead, Aomine finally reached him, scratching his neck both out of annoyance and embarrassment; he already knew that was going to be a bad idea.

“You’re really a child,” his roommate complained and Oikawa blushed even more, offended.

“Said the guy who asks my help to stuAAAA-“ Oikawa’s words melted in a loud screech as Aomine suddenly bent, grabbed him by the knees and lift him up.

“Shut up! You are waking up everyone!” Aomine hissed, face pressed against Oikawa’s tights, “We shouldn’t even be here.”

“What are you doing?” Oikawa panicked, swinging back and forth in his arm, in a precarious equilibrium.

“I help you to reach your stupid stairs,” And he was the dumb one, “Stand steady.”

Finally, Oikawa calmed down and straightened properly, soft giggles escaping his lips.

“You don’t have to do this, you know?”

“I wish that was true,” He replied in a low, annoyed but amused voice. And maybe, sometimes, he truly wanted to go back as it was before meeting the brunet, but it wasn’t possible anymore. He had fallen too deep.

“You softie,” Oikawa laughed petting his blue hair and he snorted.

“You're heavy, Oikawa. Move your ass.”

“First, I still can't reach it,” he pointed out, “Second, I'm not heavy.”

“You shrimp,” Aomine pinched his tight, making his squirming, and growled, “Put your hands on the wall.”

“I’m average height, tall even. It’s you who’s huge!” the brunet whined, puffing his cheeks, but did as he was told.

Aomine didn’t bother answering and slowly moved his hands under Oikawa’s feet. That was dangerous, but he trusted the player’s good reflexes.

“Alright, when I push you up, grab the step. Try not to fall, I’m not bringing you to the hospital,” he warned and Oikawa rolled his eyes.

“You rude guy. You’re going to see how amazing I am,”  he boasted, glancing fiercely at the stairs, “You let me go and move back immediately,” he added and the boy nodded.

“Ready?”

“Ready,” Oikawa replied with a smirk and Aomine pushed him up with all his strength.

Incredibly, everything worked out. Oikawa grabbed the step and Aomine moved out of the way before the stairs unfolded with a loud, crashing, metallic noise. The brunette landed safely on the ground and staggered. Aomine instinctively caught his arm to prevent him from falling.

Both looked at the stairs, the horrible noise still echoing, and then exchanged a horrified glance.

“Move, before they find us,” Aomine growled and shoved him forward.

“You don’t need to tell me,” Oikawa snickered, starting to climb in a hurry. He heard Aomine following him and a small smile blossomed on his lips. That idiot didn’t even like the stars.

 When they finally reached the rooftop, Oikawa emitted an excited and enthusiastic exclamation, bouncing around and spinning on himself with arms wide open. Aomine just stared at him, the corner of his lips curling up.

“See? It was worth it!” Oikawa told him, gesturing Aomine to join him in the middle of the rooftop.

“Yeah…” the other muttered, averting his gaze from him. Damn, he could see more stars in Oikawa’s eyes than in the sky.

They sat down together, in silence. Oikawa brought his knees to the chest, hugging them, and stared at the sky with a content, awe-struck smile. Without Aomine telling anything, he started listing name of the constellations and pointing them out for him, who merely nodded and followed his finger.

It had passed more than half an hour when Oikawa stopped his rambling to breathe.

“You’re not even listening, Dai-chan!” Oikawa sounded more giddy and amused than offended; he was already surprised that Aomine had followed him and remained silent.

“I’m,” the boy objected with an unusual quietness, but his eyes were locked on him instead of the sky.

Oikawa blushed under his stare, realizing that he couldn’t tell when his roommate had started watching him; a sort of soft warmth and resolution bubbled in his stomach.

He fidgeted, clasping more tightly his knees, and then mumbled something.

“Uh?” Aomine frowned, but Oikawa buried the face in his arms.

“I said I’m cold," he whispered a little louder, without his usual whining tone.

Silence.

“I told you it was still too cold to wear that jacket, idiot,” Aomine instantly blurted, bringing back a conversation about Oikawa’s clothes they had during the week.

The brunette's head perked up and he grimaced, glaring hard at him.

“You Ahomine!” He cursed, standing up with flaming cheeks, “You have just lost your chance to be a gentleman!” he hissed before moving to sit a bit further, showing the boy his back

Aomine laughed, enjoying the embarrassment and the dorky side of Oikawa, who whispered some more insults at him; then, in his slow-paced, feline way, he stood up too and walked towards him.

“I don’t need some cheesy, drama’s lines to be romantic,” he smirked, making Oikawa roll his eyes, “I can do better,” he murmured alluringly.

Catching Oikawa by surprise, he fell seated behind him and, before the boy could react, wrapped his arm around his waist; he pulled Oikawa against his chest and caged him between his legs.

“This is warmer…” he whispered in his ear, brushing against the earlobe with his lips.

Oikawa blinked once, twice and then burst into laughter.

“Wh-What are you laughing at?” Aomine pulled away from him, offended, but Oikawa leaned back again in his arms, covering his mouth with a hand to muffle the spontaneous laugh that bubbled from his throat.

“That was so damn embarrassing, Dai-chan!” he giggled with shining eyes and red cheeks.

“Shut up,” Aomine growled again, as the shame started to kick in, and buried his face in the crook of Oikawa’s neck.

“Good confession,” The brunet playfully mocked him.

“Who says I’m confessing?” Aomine replied.

“You are confessing,” Oikawa repeated in a quite menacing way and Aomine immediately corrected himself.

“I’m confessing,” he assured with a snort.

“Nobody is gonna believe me,” Oikawa sighed happily, thinking of Iwaizumi and Kise’s faces after would tell them about Aomine’s cheesiness.

“Don’t you even try to.”

Oikawa giggled again, caressing lightly his short, blue hair.

“This is your punishment for making me feel stupid and hopeless before,” he accused, poking his cheek.

“It’s just too fun messing with you,” Aomine replied with a smirk, “And why did you think I would follow you here, if not for this reason? And don’t answer “stars”, I don’t give a damn,” Aomine reassured him in that brusque and rash way of his.

“So rude, I love stars,” Oikawa whined, but was still smiling, “And you should have done this before.," he complained, gazing at his beloved sky.

“That wouldn’t have been fun. You’re cute when you’re hopeless. And damn, you tried your best to seduce me during those weeks.”

“Are you trying to make me blush?” Oikawa replied, thinking of all his “failed” attempt to understand if Aomine liked him or not. Unfortunately, his everlasting rival was a big breasted idol. Not the easiest person to defeat.

“I’m making you blush,” Aomine corrected him, grinning slyly, and Oikawa huffed.

“Don’t play the Latin lover, cicada-guy.”

“Shut up, alien-freak.”

“Make me.”

Aomine froze, pulled a little away and stared at Oikawa, who was showing him a confident and attractive smile.

“You were waiting to say this line, weren’t you?” Aomine grunted amused, arching an eyebrow.

Oikawa smiled angelically.

“From the first time you told me to shut up.”

Aomine smiled, tilting his head, and Oikawa could only think that damn, his eyes were the same blue as the night and seemed full of stars as he looked fondly at him.

“Then I’ve made you wait too long,” Aomine answered before leaning in and finally kissing Oikawa. A bit rough as his words, a bit goofy as his personality, definitely passionate as his playing style.

Oikawa closed his eyes and grabbed Aomine’s hair to pull him closer; he had desired this for some months now. And it was stupidly embarrassing and incredibly amazing as Aomine was.

He simply loved it.

When they divided, the brunette rested against his chest with a content smile on his lips and Aomine held him tight, savoring the warmth of his body.

“Oi, Tooru,” Aomine called him, making his heart jump.

“Yes, Dai-chan?”

“What is your secret wish? Except for volleyball related things,” he specified, knowing that his love for basketball could only be compared to Oikawa’s love for volleyball.

Oikawa giggled and gave him a peck on the lips.

“Ah, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he replied sweetly, winking at him.