#if we take the bee out of the equation that opens up a whole other realm of possibilities

[thursdayinspace]

what do you think would have happened if they had actually kissed in the hallway in ftf?

i think, assuming the bee had still happened, there are two possible scenarios:

one is that they would have tried their best to ignore that it ever happened after antarctica. they would find a million reasons. it was an emotionally charged situation, they were both so tired, it would make everything so complicated if they acknowledged that they both wanted it. things were strained between them around that time. if they'd kissed and everything that followed had still happened, it might actually have driven them further apart. because those feelings are dangerous territory. there would have been regret, because they did acknowledge that there's more between them than they'd ever admitted before, and how do you move on from that?

those two dance around their feelings and they don't really talk. one of them would have to admit first that it meant something, that it was more than a desperate attempt to fix something. so they'd rather settle back into their tried and tested dynamic where they're safe. even if it doesn't feel very safe, with everything else that's going on with their partnership at the time.

but the memory of that kiss would always be there. and that would spark doubt, insecurity, maybe a certain level of shame or embarrassment for giving into those feelings and risking everything they have. she withdraws and he worries that he did something she didn't want, that he made her uncomfortable, that he crossed a line and she will never trust him again. he withdraws and she thinks he regrets it, that he just wanted to make her stay and that his words didn't mean anything, that the kiss didn't mean anything. they'd need a lot longer to find ease in their partnership again than they do in the canon version of events anyway.

two is that they wouldn't have been able to ignore that it happened. he did mean what he said, in any version of events. and the thing is, she knows he wouldn't lie to her like that. as strained as things may be between them, she knows he would never deliberately hurt her like that, by pretending to have feelings that he doesn't have. that's what makes it so difficult in scenario one: they both know it was real. and in this scenario, they still wouldn't talk. they don't talk. they might try, but ultimately, it wouldn't be conversation that makes them acknowledge what happened between them. they'd just kiss again.

maybe while they're still in antarctica. she's alive, he found her, he was so worried. losing her is the worst thing he can imagine. so he kisses her again. because he loves her, and she didn't reject him, she kissed him back, she kissed him like she couldn't bear the thought of losing him either.

maybe they wait until they're back home. maybe they wait a few days. a few days during which they share looks and smiles and stand even closer to each other and his hand is always on her back and she leans into him when they're reading from the same file. and after a week or so, they're saying goodnight after a long day, both ready to go home, and she stops him just in front of the elevator with a hand on his arm, looks up at him, and he understands, and leans down to meet her halfway.

i think scenario one is more likely. but i like to imagine it might have been two. one thing i'm sure of is that they would not have used their words to work it out.

[jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue]

Resolution - BTS CEO DRABBLE PT 3

So I started this tumblr thinking I would post nothing and now I’ve posted three things in the last 24 hours, what was meant to be a one shot now has three parts lol. I didn’t think the second part was good enough so I’m hoping this part is x

Prev / Next

The doorbell rings an hour too early, but no one stands at the door when you open it... weird. Until you glance down to see the white box wrapped in purple ribbon. Taking it into your apartment you unwrap the bow and open the box, gasping at the beautiful black dress inside with a little note attached “wear me tonight?”

The butterflies in your stomach caused you to giggle, you try to settle your nerves as you get ready for your first date with the seven men that ruled your heart.

You’re finished getting ready far too early and now you pace the apartment in anticipation, what if it all goes wrong? What if they decide this was all a mistake? What would you do then, to dangle this hope in front of you and take it away would crush you.

Your nerves get the better of you, and the little butterflies turn into stinging bees, causing you to clutch your stomach in pain. Maybe you should call it off before you ruin it all.

In your negative headspace you don’t hear the light knocks on the door, 15 minutes too early to be the boys, but your ears catch the soft murmur of Tae’s voice on the other side of the door.

“Flower?” He calls for you. You hear more voices in the background, as Jimin and Jungkook start to speak.

“Maybe she’s still getting ready?” Jungkook mumbled, his own nerves getting to him as he nibbles on his bottom lip in habit.

“Angel?” Jimin says louder than the other two, knocking on the door loudly, but you’re frozen in place. You want to do this, the universe knows you do but the doubt that clouds over you is suffocating you as you breathe. Why would they possibly want this?

“Angel, Jungkook’s going to knock down the door if you don’t open up!” Jimin calls in loudly, voice clear as bells ringing through your apartment, and you wince hoping your neighbours are out.

“You’re worrying us pretty flower,” Tae chimes in after him.

Would it be the worst thing if they broke down the door? You could always bill them for it and hide underneath the bed...

“Bunny?” It’s Jungkook’s voice that makes you move, you always had a soft spot for the maknae, he was younger than you and you felt very protective over him. “Noona, are you there?” He only ever called you formally when he felt vulnerable or insecure and your heart breaks a little for being the cause of it.

You open the door with downcast eyes, the excitement gone as the cloud that looms over you swallows you whole.

The boys share a look, Jungkook stepping forward to bring your face into his soft hands. You look up at his doe eyes, swimming with stars inside, and he offers you a reassuring smile. Jimin wolf whistles next to him and you cover your burning cheeks with your own palms.

“Hyung!” Jungkook tells him off for teasing you.

“Couldn’t help it,” Jimin laughs before taking your hands and tearing them away from your face. “What’s got my sinful angel looking so sad?”

He bends down until his eyes are level with yours, and you look away hesitantly, hoping he doesn’t see through you.

“You look beautiful flower,” Taehyung smiles as he brings out the bouquet he hid behind him.

“Thank you,” you say quietly, feeling awkward at the compliment. Jimin tuts in front of you.

“I asked you a question Y/n, what’s wrong?”

It’s your turn to nibble your lips self consciously, before Tae presses his thumb against them to stop you. You try not to look at him, you know how well he can read you, and you’re not proven wrong when he hums in thought.

“I think my good girl is having some bad thoughts,” he says in his signature timbre. Eyes narrowing as you shuffle uncomfortably.

“Naughty thoughts?” Jimin smirks teasingly.

“Hyung,” Jungkook sighs at his older friend’s antics, but even Tae laughs a little, boxy grin on show.

“Let’s talk business Y/n,” Jimin continues, as you frown at him in confusion. What did he mean by that? “We are business men after all,” he says as if it’s the most obvious fact on earth.

“We know how to strike a deal that benefits both parties, so let’s make a deal.” His hands are still clutching yours as he steps closer to you, not letting you step back from his new intimidating stare.

“Come to dinner with an open heart, and let us show you how much we want you,” he whispers against your lips and you stop breathing. “We’ve been waiting for this for a very long time angel, and my patience is running out.”

You’re forced to swallow nothing as his eyes penetrate through yours, trying to lean back to get some room to breathe, but that’s not what Jimin wants. He wants you to drown in them until you give in.

You nod meekly, as Tae smirks beside you both.

“Good girl.”

—————————————————————————

The car ride did nothing to calm your nerves, you leg bounced so much that Tae put a big palm over it to steady you but it had the complete opposite effect as you felt the heat from his hand travel through your skin.

When you arrived, Jimin opened the door like a gentleman before grabbing a hand and pulling you out a little impatiently, a cheeky apology leaving his lips as he didn’t let you break eye contact with him. He literally would not let you live tonight it seemed.

You’d visited the mansion before, for official business of course, but tonight it looked a little more intimidating than usual. You felt a palm on your back as Jungkook walked beside you, smiling softly at you, crinkling his nose in excitement. That eased you a little and you reflected his smile back at him.

Namjoon and Hobi stood at the enterance waiting to greet you, you offer them a small smile and they grin in return.

“Wow sunshine,” Hobi looks you up and down, the dress hugged you in all the right places and he reminded himself to thank Tae later for picking it out.

He takes you from Jungkook with an arm around your waist, and leaves a small peck on your lips unexpectedly. Your heart rate skyrockets to the moon, you feel his warmth breath as he sighs, rubbing his nose softly against yours, eyes closed in content.

“Sorry sunshine, couldn’t resist,” he chuckles softy. Namjoon clearing his throat breaks you out of the spell Hobi cast you under and you step away a little embarrassed, you can hear Jimin coo and you hope your ears haven’t turned red.

Ever the gentleman, Namjoon takes your hand in his before bowing down to kiss it. He turns it over so your palm faces the sky before pacing another kiss on your wrist. He hums as if contemplating a difficult equation, before pulling you closer and kissing your arm before the juncture of your elbow. When he looks up at you, you feel your breath hitch in your throat. You definitely weren’t going to survive tonight going by the predatory look in your gentle boss’ eyes. He moves closer still, before placing his lips on the exposed skin of your collar bone, lingering there longer than he had before, humming contently. The next kiss is on your throat and you find the hand he’s not holding grab onto him to ground your self. You can feel the smirk against your skin, and it makes you shudder in anticipation through the warmth that envelops you.

He still hasn’t kissed your lips yet, you think. So when he pulls away slightly you act before you realise what you’ve done. It’s Namjoon’s turn to freeze as your lips move against his, the pillows of your lips so soft he thought he was imagining it, until you pull away with a soft moan and he nearly growls.

“When you’re done, there’s dinner on the table getting cold,” Yoongi scoffs from the door. You’re pretty sure you could contest hell for how hot your cheeks are burning, and the cool night air does nothing to cool them, not with Yoongi looking at you with his feline eyes.

“Is kitten done playing with her new toys?” He teases and you choke on air, causing Jimin to laugh into the air and Jungkook to rub your back soothingly. Yoongi’s gummy grin shows itself at your reaction, he could hardly talk with the way he always played with you.

“Ya Yoongi, if you kill my beautiful girl before she even tastes my food I won’t be happy,” Jin yells from inside.

Yoongi rolls his eyes but holds out his hand for you, an unfamiliar softness in his eyes, one that was always there when he looked at you, but made sure you never saw until now. You couldn’t help the smile as you walked up to him, never annoyed for too long, not when he made this warmth spread across your chest. When you take his hand he looks at you like every star is held inside your eyes, soft smile gracing his features. He was never a fan of stargazing until now, he hated any form of eye contact but with you he could hold your gaze forever.

He places a kiss on your cheek first, looking at you to make sure you were okay. He might tease you until you felt your soul burn but he always made sure you were okay. He tucks in a loose stand of hair the wind decided to blow out of place, before looking at your lips, leaning in to rid the space between you both. You felt a fire ignite as his lips met yours, Yoongi was a closed book most of the time but he always silently told you what he was thinking. You could feel everything he wanted to say in the way his mouth moved slowly against yours, and it took your breath away.

“Yoongi stop hogging her!” Jin came through the door, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel, no real anger behind his words. Yoongi groans as he pulls away, looking at you with a peaceful smile.

Softly he pushes you towards Jin, who wraps his arms around you expectedly.

“Hi princess,” he said unexpectedly, making you giggle. That one was new, and he loved the reaction it got out of you, biting swollen lips to stop yourself grinning.

“Hi handsome,” you blush as you try to flirt back, if they made you feel all fuzzy inside you could try to do it back right? You hear laughter behind you as Jin’s ears burn bright red and he stutters a little. You take the chance to kiss his perfect pillow lips and he swears he can feel steam leave his ears with how hot he’s feeling. Maybe he should call you dangerous girl instead.

“Dinners ready,” he says in a small voice, letting you go in a daze and walking through the house. It’s your turn to chuckle now.

“Told you she was having naughty thoughts,” you hear Jimin say to Tae, rolling your eyes at him as they walk past. As you move to follow them a hand on yours holds you back.

You look at Jungkook with confusion, his eyes are on the ground as he shuffles from foot to foot, waiting for his Hyungs to move into the next room.

He clears his throat before pouting, “Noona you’re really mean,” he whispers, and your heart beats with worry.

“Kookie?” You question, running a thumb across his cheek, as your palm held his face to look at yours. His cute pout contrasts the darkness in his narrowing eyes.

“I didn’t get a kiss Bunny,” he grumbles. You have to bite the inside of your cheeks to stop grinning at his behaviour but he can see what you’re trying to do, pout turning stern as his arms wrap around you, lifting you into the air.

“Kookie,” you squeal in surprise, but it’s his turn to grin. “Jungkook put me down!”

He shakes his head, “need a kiss first Noona.”

You sigh in faux annoyance, this demanding boy really was something else. You take his face in your palms, leaning down to kiss him. He drinks you in fervently, feeling your heat against his mouth. Your last doubts dissipate as the maknae grips your skin tighter, fighting with himself to pull away. He looks at you with hunger in his eyes, but as you smile at him, eyes full of love, he decides to smile back. He could wait a little longer to devour you, his eyebrows wiggle at the thought, making you giggle again, the sound music to his ears, calming his own heart down.

He starts walking towards where the others are waiting, still holding you in his grasp as if you weighed nothing.

“Kookie, I can walk,” you don’t know why you’re a giggling mess but it definitely has something to do with the man holding you. He hums dissaprovingly against your skin, nipping at your collar bone causing you to gasp. He was starving for you, a little taste wouldn’t hurt.

“Why do you need to walk Bunny?” He murmured against you, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck, enjoying how warm your skin was getting at his actions.

You both enter the dining room, where six other men lovingly await. Their eyes and smiles on you, and you wondered why you ever doubted anything in the first place.

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (April 11th-16th)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After the Truth episode occurs, Luka will either not appear nor be talked about(not even by Marinette, Juleka, Sass, or Anarka) at all, or, if he does appear, he'll avoid Marinette like the Black Plague. Guess who's fault it'll be(Kagami will still appear and be on good terms with Adrien, though, since anything that makes Marinette happy needs to be either ruined or gotten rid of, while anything that makes her miserable needs to stay around just to be rubbed into her face.).

I s2g if they have Adrien and Kagami patch things up immediately just to make Marinette feel awkward--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The idea that Nino's hat is a keepsake from his late brother comes up during an episode where it inevitably gets damaged and/or destroyed. Marinette is somehow responsible/blamed for this, and/or is forced to try and repair it regardless of feasibility, while being guilt-tripped/ridden every inch of the way. Bonus points for Adrien making some clueless comment about buying a replacement and STILL being treated as more empathetic to Nino's feelings even while ignoring them.

“Bonus” if everyone pressures her over the hat, which eventually leads to Marinette realizes that it can’t be fixed to be the exact same way, so she hides it and lies about it, leading to the episode blaming her for hiding things from her “totally understanding friends” (who are suddenly “totally understanding” and are only upset that she lied to them/”thought so lowly of them”) instead of her friends for making her feel like she had to be perfect.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: A Sleeping Beauty-inspired akuma will ensnare Ladybug, 'forcing' Chat Noir to kiss her awake. While Adrien/Chat naturally claims that he would 'never take advantage of his lady', he is openly gleeful at the prospect and taunts her afterwards, complete with a call back to Oblivio as he tells her to 'check the LadyBlog' to find out what happened. Her dismay over this is played entirely for laughs.

*flashbacks to the “jokes” in “Prime Queen”*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Just like in countless Salt Fics, Alya will get upset at Ladybug for claiming that it's 'too dangerous' for her to be Rena Rouge anymore after Miracle Queen. Regardless of what she does/how she lashes out, Marinette will be held 100% responsible for the fallout, with Su-Han criticizing her for selecting Alya/the others in the first place AND for 'allowing' their identities to be exposed.

That’s what you get for trusting people, Marinette (apparently).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will expose more Miraculous-related secrets on the LadyBlog, such as posting the identities of the heroes who were 'already outed' by Miracle Queen. Marinette will be blamed for this, with Su-Han reading her the riot act for every single choice she's made.

And also, Alya will get no flack for this because “she’s a journalist!! she’s just doing what she’s supposed to do!”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After spending most of the season taking the piss out of Marinette at every available opportunity, Su-Han will start warming up to her just in time to be taken out of the equation by something like Alya posting another 'big scoop' on her blog revealing his existence to the villains. Marinette will be left with even less support and all of the guilt, while Alya learns absolutely nothing from the experience because why would she?

Considering “Truth,” I just automatically presume that characters who support Marinette lovingly/unconditionally will either be abused or kicked to the curb.

Anonymous said:

Don't need Burrow: "Queen Banana" will be like typical episode with Chloe akumatization. 90% Chloe drama and angst, 10% akumatized Chloe (and probably 0% sense)

Show, I’m begging you, just let this character’s focus die already. We are SO tired...

Anonymous said:

didnt need burrow: the show ends with hawkmoth (now shadowmoth i guess) being defeated, heavy implications that the LS will be canon, but no solid proof, any other plot holes disappear in the cheery end music and all fans are left annoyed at the open ending filled with plot holes (bonus: That Guy says smin like "you would know if you watched carefully" to anyone that asks wtf happened)

Fun for us love square salters at least so there’s that? :P

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Trixx wants to return to Alya despite the danger/her past exposure, and ignores Marinette's concerns, leaving/reuniting with Alya over her protests. This is either played as 'It's fine, and Marinette should have trusted Alya more' or 'It's not fine, and it's all Marinette's fault for trusting Alya in the first place and letting Trixx get so attached'. Or both.

Astruc would totally use the opportunity to brag about the whole, “She’s already taken!” line in “Truth” being foreshadowing.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Bunnix reveals that there is an alternate, 'better' future in which Lila never worked with Hawkmoth and became a heroine instead. The turning point was, naturally, that Ladybug never called her out for lying/stealing from Adrien. (Possibly because Adrien never snooped in the safe in this timeline, yet it's still depicted as Marinette's fault.) May couple with confirming she's the future Hawkmoth and that it's all Mari's fault the heroes are still fighting her years later.

Which means that Chat makes the “reversible” mistakes (i.e: Cataclysming Bunnyx’s miraculous) while Ladybug makes the “permanent” ones.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette/Ladybug will get accused of being a selfish glory hound who needs to learn how to share the credit and 'be a team player'... after Adrien/Chat slacks off during a fight and refuses to help. Bonus points if this is tied into the exposed heroes' predicament somehow, implying that the REAL reason she won't give them 'their' Miraculi back is that she's selfish/short-sighted/not good at working with others/insert other bullshit excuse here.

T_T

I’m so tired.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will do something unbelievably selfless and self-sacrificing, only to promptly be slammed by the narrative and treated as though her decision was incredibly selfish.

Honestly you could just ad lib that.

“Marinette will do [something positive], only to promptly be slammed by the narrative and treated as though her decision was [negative].”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will pressure, belittle and berate Marinette until she breaks and agrees to give up being Ladybug/the Guardian. This is naturally treated as the worst thing she could possibly do, with everyone (including Su-Han) ripping into her for it. There is no equivalent of Plagg's 'I've had many holders, but nobody can replace you, Adrien' shilling, beyond Marinette being informed that she MUST continue and deal with her many inadequacies by becoming BETTER. She has no choice.

“You’re the worst Ladybug!”

“Okay I’ll stop being Ladybug.”

“HOW DARE YOU”

“?!?!?!”

Anonymous said:

Don’t need Burrow to know that the writers will retcon Marinette allowing Adrien to BORROW her lucky charm so that Marinette actually GAVE it to him instead.

Bonus: of course, the birthday scarf issue/secret is never addressed. RIP in piece, Marinette gift number xxx0

Technically, this has already happened even back in “Befana,” so I don’t count it. Adrien has said that Marinette gave him that lucky charm forever.

Definitely adding that scarf one though.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get Love Square scenes (shipping fuel) in the next episode (even though Maribug and Adrichat just broke up with Luka and Kagami).

I mean, we got love square shipping fuel in the Adrimi and Lukanette episodes, so :|

I’ve just come to expect inappropriate timing at this point.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a future episode Chat Noir will be even worse than he was in Lies and still be portrayed sympathetically. I don't know how you can get that low, but I have faith that the writers will be able to pull it off and that's not a good thing

“I don't know how you can get that low“

they’ll find a way, I’m sure

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Kagami will become an antagonist/team up with Shadow Moth post-Adrimi breakup for the plot twist "the main villain has been in the show all along." ((This is based on the end card for Lies. I really hope they don't do this because Kagami is one of the only reasons I'm still watching the show.))

I’d only be here for that if her endgoal is getting Luka and Marinette as far away from the plot as possible.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: We STILL don't know how the Peacock Miraculous got damaged and how Emilie Agreste fell sick. Bonus points, we find out in the season/series finale or on social media.

Double bonus if Astruc claims that the decision is good and they did it on purpose (probably to keep people talking).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe debuts as the new Bee holder on the same episode Chloé is akumatized.

I’m 100% expecting Chloe to be salty at all the adoration that Zoe gets.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: if Adrien is ever in the wrong about something, it will only be for about five minutes and it will ultimately be blamed on Marinette.

Marinette: *breathes*

writers: Yes! Something we can blame on her!

Anonymous said:

Didn't need burrow: The relationship between the Couffaines and Jagged will not be explored. They might perform a song together and that's all, Luka forgives Jagged for abandoning him (his daddy issues just magically disappear so he doesn't bring it up anymore) while Juleka doesn't interact with Jagged at all

I’m torn between, “Luka will basically never appear again,” and, “Luka will suddenly appear much more often now that he’s no longer a ‘threat’ to the love square (Marinette didn’t break up with him because of Adrien but sure).”

Anonymous said:

Didn't need Burrow: "Gabriel Agreste" will be all about how he's not really evil just misunderstood. He had a lonely childhood or some garbage and we should feel totally sad for him you guys.

wow i hate it

[fnf-brain-rot]

We're In This Together [Pico's School AU] Chapter 2 - Donut Rendezvous

Today was the day..

Wednesday..

It was a half day, being the day before a teacher work day. They didn't have school on that Thursday. Teachers had donuts available to them in the break room every Wednesday.

Pico and Darnell have been planning this for months.

They got the whole class on their side, having started a little protest in the cafeteria. "We're tired of adults hogging the sweets to themselves!" They cried out to the other students. "This time we take the sweets for ourselves!"

They were being normal at first, all arriving when the bell rang, sitting in their seats, and listening to the lecture. Most of the students shot each other knowing glances. Pico was the leader of this rendezvous, of course. On his signal, the others would move.

Ten minutes into class now, Bee was curious about the restlessness of the other students, looking around himself, having made eye contact with a few. Right, he's new. Pico had a grand idea. He'd lead in the front with him, like his queen of the army or something. He snickered at the thought, looking down at his blank paper. Right, perfect move. He and Darnell looked to each other, then nodded.

It felt quiet. Too quiet. The seconds ticked by loudly from the clock above them. Usually the teacher that buys the donuts would buy two boxes, which should be enough for two classes to feed each student one time.

Oh, right, the other class was in on it too. This would be big.

Pico stood up from his seat, slowly, as to not alarm the other students. Mrs. Fee's back was turned to the children, the woman mindlessly explaining some math equation and writing on the chalk board. He walked over to Bee, gently grabbing his hand. "Bee-" He almost started, but Pico covered his mouth, as to not alert Mrs. Fee as well. "Follow me.." He whispered. Bee nodded and stood quietly as well. The two shimmied from between the desks, and Pico held up one finger.

One...

Two....

Three...

The cacophony of screeching desks an chairs startled the woman up front, and many children began to yell at the top of their lungs, mostly those also known for causing trouble. A thunderous rumble of feet crossed the floor, and Pico raced for the classroom door, Bee just barely able to keep up with him. He threw the wooden slab open, and bolted out of the classroom, not looking back, but he could hear the monstrous amount of kids following him.

"Beep!! Beep bop!!" Bee cried over the noise, then heard the door next to theirs slam open. The second class took the message, and now raced after the other. Pico could hear Darnell's laughter over the noise as the group of students scattered around down the hall. It was a straight shot to the break room, right down the hall. Their school had no security, all they had to worry about were the teachers.

"What are you kids doing?!" The voice of one of the teachers rang out, muffled by the sound of stomping feet and ecstatic screams. "Scatter!!" Pico yelled out. Some of the taller kids blocked view of Pico, Darnell, and Bee, entering the room in which the donuts resided. Bee stood off to the side, hiding behind the wall as Darnell closed the door behind them. "B-Beep?? Brappity-"

"Yeah, you weren't here for instructions. You see, me and Darnell been planning this for a long time." Pico began to explain it to the shorty, quickly grabbing one of the boxes. Still warm. Nice. "Darnell grab a bag." Darnell saluted and went to look for a plastic bag. They would snag a little under half the donuts exclusively for themselves, being Darnell, Pico, Nene, Gigi, by Nene's begging, and Bee, because Pico said so.

"Bep bop.." Bee breathed out. Pico could damn there hear his heart thumping in his ears. It wasn't over yet. "Darnell, assess the situation." Pico then ordered. Darnell poked his head out the door. "No teachers in sight, sir." He responded. "Good, let's book it." Pico grinned maniacally, Darnell holding the door open for him and Bee.

"Boop bepoo?" Bee pointed at himself, and Pico raised a brow. Their next stop was their secret spot, but they had to go past the main office to get outside, since the doors were chained during the day. "Why did I grab you? Well, cause you would have been left alone in there with Cassandra." Pico gagged as he said her name. the goths wanted no part in it. He didn't care, more donuts for everyone else. "Now come on, there shouldn't be anyone in the office right now." He led the two past the glass room, which as he stated, was devoid of any staff. They most likely went to deal with the kids, which the screams still echoed faintly down the halls.

They scampered past the view of some cameras, then accessed the side door. The empty area behind some trees across the walkway was visible. They were in the home stretch. "Hey, Darnell, carry one of these will ya? My arms are dying." Pico huffed softly, and Darnell snurked. "Whatever you say, sissy." He teased. "Hey, I'm the leader of this whole operation. I ain't no sissy." The ginger shot back, making Bee giggle lightly.

They made it without error to the hiding spot in the trees. Bee fumbled with his hands awkwardly, staring at the bag of donuts Darnell held. Pico laughed a little, setting one of the boxes on top of the other on a tree stump. "Wait just a second there Bee." He walked over, elbowing the smaller's shoulder, who winced a little, but rubbed it with a goofy smile. "Those are the special donuts. We're gonna go heat them up in the lounge." Bee made a face. "During lunch dummy."

"There's a part two to this plan??" Darnell quickly asked. Pico shook his head. "I just know how to get in and out. Me and the janitor are on good terms. I'm close to him letting me into his closet." He nudged the brown boy's arm, and they made their way back into the building.

_______________

"Now, I don't know what's gotten into you kids, but this behavior is unacceptable."

Mrs. Fee had decided to give the kids a lecture after they all returned to their respective classrooms. "The only one who didn't leave was Cassandra, which means the rest of you get workbook homework for the rest of the week." Darnell groaned, but Pico had a shit eating grin on his face, his cheeks flushed in triumph. "Fucking worth it." He muttered, holding his fist out to Darnell. "Yeah, I guess." He responded with quiet laughter, returning the fist bump. the other kids probably thought it was worth it. Hell, Pico controlled the distribution of the donuts. They better think it's worth it or they ain't gettin' shit.

Pico looked over to Bee, who was smiling and kicking his legs a little, fiddling with his pencil. That whole ordeal must have filled him with quite the adrenaline. "Stick with me, and you'll be on top of the food chain dude." He had told him when they were coming back in. Bee didn't seem opposed to the idea, but he still didn't wanna scare him off. They did things like this pretty often. Having the parents Darnell had, usually others had to get involved so just those two, or three, including Nene, wouldn't get in trouble.

After the end of first period, Pico waited for Bee by the door, of course being teased by Nene and Darnell as they left. Bee stumbled a bit as he threw his big bag on his shoulders, walking over to Pico with a big smile on his face. "You like that chaos, huh?" He asked the boy, returning the grin. "Beep boop!" He responded, bouncing on his toes a bit, and they left the room.

"That's just how it is in this school. Of course I'm the instigator, got kind of a reputation. I make my father proud." Pico laughed a little. His ego was inflated as hell considering the dads he has. Well, dad. Steve didn't like to entertain the chaotic nature those two shared. Said he didn't like to lose sleep while those two jousted with frying pans at two AM.

"Bep bop.. Skdoo beep.." Bee muttered softly, a bit of a bitter tone to his voice. "What, your dad doesn't like that kind of mess?" Bee shook his head in response. Must be on closer terms with his mom huh? Yeah, he's lucky he had a dad who didn't suck ass. "Well when lunch rolls around, you can have your donuts, okay?" Pico reminded him to reassure him. He didn't wanna see the sad look on the kid's face. He was too bright to be frowning like that. "We could work on that homework together too, if it'll make you feel better." He then offered him. There it is, that bright smile.

Man this kid was just so precious..

_______________

History was mostly uneventful, save for Bee falling asleep in the middle of writing a sentence. He must have crashed from all the excitement. It was so abrupt that his face banged against the desk, and his head shot back up as he let out a yelp. Pico snurked from beside him, and heard some others begin to laugh as well.

Once the class had ended, Pico made sure he and Boyfriend were the first ones out, so they could run and grab the donuts. Thankfully the boxes were still there, untouched. "Come to papa." Pico rubbed his hands together, and lifted the boxes. he hoped all the glaze didn't melt off, it's hot out here.

They made their way back into the school, walking in through the side door to the cafeteria, where all the students waited eagerly for their treats. Darnell, Nene, and Gigi caught up to them when they saw them enter. "Wow, you actually managed to pull it off. I'm impressed." Gigi commented lightly as they set up the boxes on the end of one of the lunch tables. Pico cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening as he put a hand on his chest. "Well, they don't call me Pico "danger" Neil-Griffiths for no reason."

"literally no one calls you that." Nene snorted. Bee held back a laugh, turning his head away, while Darnell just openly cackled. "Whatever, I like my name." Pico scoffed in response, then opened one of the boxes. He was right to be worried. It's a mess in there. "You sure they'll want these?" Nene asked him, doubt in her voice. Pico waved his hand dismissively. "They're idiot kids, they'll take anything with sugar in it." Bee reached for it, but Pico smacked his hand away. "We get the nice donuts. Darnell?" Said boy held up the large plastic bag of almost half a box of donuts. "You sneaky.." Gigi mumbled, sweating nervously. "That's capitalism for you. Now take the best looking ones outta here, and we'll let them have the rest- quit your yappin', you'll get your turn!" Pico glared at some kids that had gathered around the table, and allowed his buddies to grab whatever ones they wanted. He had a mind to sock one of these greedy children in the face.

He often forgets he's a child himself, but he doesn't associate with these gremlins.

Once each of them were satisfied with what they got, the group began to move to leave out of the cafeteria. Pico stayed behind to whistle, signaling to the others to come get their donuts. And like a pack of starving dogs, the children rushed over, once again, save for the goth kids, who glared at Pico knowingly. the ginger only flipped the bird at them, and ran off with the others.

"What are you guys doing for the half day?" He heard Gigi talking to the others. She and Bee were walking pretty closely. Pico stayed back a bit, narrowing his eyes at the little pit in his stomach. He felt nauseous, or something. He didn't know, but he didn't like it. He didn't linger on it for too long though, noticing Bee glance behind him. "Bep!" He slipped between Nene and Darnell, who looked to see where he was going. They cooed when they saw Bee grab Pico's hand, which made the taller flush exponentially. Geez this guy could pull. He must have been an annoying toddler.

"C'mon man, how are we gettin' in?" Darnell then asked as Pico was brought to the front. Pico laughed to hide how flustered he was, then cleared his throat. Literally everyone, except for Bee, weren't buying it. Oh whatever, he didn't need to convince everybody. "Simple, just walk in." Pico walked over and opened the door. "We're on schedule, so the teachers should be on their way in a little bit. Hurry and throw that in there." The others filed inside, looking around and snooping through drawers. "Nice. Sharp scissors." Nene pulled a pair of scissors out of the metal cabinet, and Bee flopped onto the couch, letting out a content, "Beeeeeeep.." Gigi laughed and sat beside him, causing his face to go red.

Pico forced himself to look away, as to not seem weird.

_______________

As everyone wouldn't shut the hell up about, school ended early. Pico was so ready to leave, he even had a couple spare donuts. He stashed them away in his backpack for safe keeping. "Geez P, how do you understand Bee so well so fast?" Darnell had asked them, the group hanging out in the front of the school. "I dunno, it's like.. telepathic." Pico looked to the blue headed boy in question, who was mindlessly tapping away on his phone a a bit away from them. "Bee, you're sitting in the middle of the staircase, someone can trip over you." Pico pulled him closer, just barely missing some kid who wanted to launch himself off the top stair. Dumbass..

"Bop.." Bee mumbled softly, turning his body to face Pico, then continued what he was doing. Gigi and Nene talked with each other some bit away. He didn't care to listen in, they were probably chatting about girl stuff.

"Hey, who the hell rides a limo?" Darnell grumbled in question, and Gigi's head shot up. The horn from said vehicle honked loudly, and some people stared at it. "God, that's so embarrassing.." Gigi covered her face. "That's mine.."

"What?!"

"Beep?!"

The group had shouted simultaneously, and the red head girl giggled. "What are you, rich??" Darnell questioned her, and she made a nervous sound. "I'll explain some other time. See you guys!" She gripped her backpack and ran off, the group watching as the door opened for her, and she hopped in. It left just as quickly as it came. "Huh.." Darnel murmured thoughtfully. "New objective. Find out if Gigi is rich." Pico joked lightly, and Nene scoffed.

"Knock it off. You've done enough today." She went and sat with the three. "Hey Bee, you wanna hang out with us today? We always stop at this playground on the way home." Pico then offered. Bee hummed in thought, but paused when he noticed Pico give him the puppy eyes. He giggled, then held up his phone. "Bee bo bop." He responded. "Is that.. a yes?" Nene questioned. "He'll text his mom." Pico answered for her, standing up from his spot. "Wizard." Darnell mumbled, and followed suit.

Thankfully Bee was able to go. Pico thought he would have to rant to his dad about mean parents.

_______________

Pico wanted to do everything and absolutely nothing all at once.

He sat in his favorite spot near the slide, Bee sitting beside him. "Behp beppo." He muttered nervously, and Pico scoffed. "We steal the playground every day, those kids should know better by now." He huffed.  Bee went quiet after a moment, and Pico looked up to him staring at him. His cheeks flushed red. "Uh.. What?" He then asked. The boy only responded quietly with "Hm?" as if he were spacing out. Pico clicked his tongue and looked away again. "Hey, you got your mic, right?" He then asked. Bee popped out of his trance almost immediately, and nodded excitedly. He reached into his back pocket and pulled it out. "Bee-dep?" He then asked the other, and he nodded, a light smile on his face.

Bee seemed ecstatic to sing for him again, and so he did, gaining Nene and Darnell's attention as well over some time. Just like at P.E, they listened to him sing for quite some time. It was calming, Pico would argue he enjoyed it the most.

"You know, you should hang at my place sometime. I got games and stuff." Pico offered, about an hour after Bee's little jam session. "Beep?" He turned to look at him. leaning against the bars of the playground structure. "I mean, I live with Darnell when my dads go off in the army. Oh, you get to meet my dads sometime! They're cool. I'll be completely honest, one of them will tease you for speaking in bee-bops." He then snickered lightly at the thought.

"Baps?" Bee tilted his head, holding up a two with his fingers. "Yeah, technically, I call them both dad. They're real close, but they're not married or in a relationship or anything." Pico then hummed softly. Sure they also sleep in the same bed when they're at home, but that's just because it's more comfortable than bunkers out where they are.

Bee hummed in thought, then nodded. Cool. It's a date.

Yes, he meant to think that.

It's a date.

Pico's mind swirled with thoughts of what he could do when they met up again. He pulled one of the donuts out of his back pack. It was a little mushed, but still good. He ate at it slowly, wanting to savor the taste. He could eat cold donuts, they were fine. He caught Bee staring at him again, then raised a brow. "What? What's up?" He then asked, his voice muffled with food. Bee's cheeks flushed, and he pointed at the donut. "Oh.. I can give you a piece." Pico looked down and tore off a piece of the treat, handing it to Bee, who took it thankfully. He popped the entire piece in his mouth, a happy "mmmmffff" emitting from his throat. Pico laughed a little. "You like donuts, huh?" He teased him, and Bee curled up a bit, still chewing away happily so he could get every little bit.

Pico spent the rest of that afternoon with the three. Darnell and Nene definitely understood Bee a little bit more after today.

Even if it is just a little bit.

[swaggydaisy]

little ways you can save the environment

 It makes me so gosh dang sad and terrified for the future because of what’s happening to our planet today. I wanted to make this blog because I know there’s at least something on here that you can do. DO ME A FAVOR YALL AND SHARE THIS PLEASE!! It takes one person to make a HUGE impact and it takes so much more to help save our planet. Here’s a list of ideas that you can do that will make a beautiful contribution to mother earth. :) Feel free to add on in the comments if you have any ideas!

SAVING THE BEES.

So I don’t know if you guys noticed but there are less and less bees each year for some reason. I’ve done some research and you guessed it... it’s because of us. Lots of pesticides, global warming, and droughts are causing the bees to disappear. Bees are necessary for plant life because they distribute pollen and help produce 90% of our foods. No bees= no food. 

What can you do to help:

-PLANT SOME FLOWERS BABY. Attract bees by planting flowers that produce nectar and helping them provide a food source year round! check out this page to know what kind of flowers you can grow. 

https://www.planetbee.org/plant-for-pollinators

-GO ORGANIC. Pesticides are making bees super sick and humans too. Next time you’re going grocery shopping, try finding organic items. It seriously makes a difference.

-DANDELIONS AND CLOVERS IN YOUR BACKYARD. Don’t pull them out! Bees love those.

-DONATE AND SUPPORT! Help beekeepers by buying their beeswax products, (soaps, lotions, and candles) and buy organic or local honey!! If you wanna know how else to save our honeybees, here’s a link: https://thebeeconservancy.org/10-ways-to-save-the-bees/

AIR POLLUTION.

Now I know that pollution has become a regular thing and people don’t care about it so much, but uh first of all you should. Pollution is the reason why for global warming, which is destroying a bunch of habitats for a bunch of animals necessary for the food chain and possibly human life. And it also sucks breathing in disgusting air that causes other health issues. Alrighty let’s start this list. 

-LESS DRIVING AND MORE WALKING. I know, cliche. If you need to visit your neighbor, literally walk it. If you need to be somewhere less than a mile, walk it. Or bike it. hover board it. skate board it. scooter it. The less driving you do, the less carbon dioxide emits to the air and less greenhouse gases the earth traps. And more exercise baby.

-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Buses, carpooling, and trains helps reduce air pollution!

-SHOP WISELY. Next time when you go to the store ask yourself this: Do I need it? Are there better options than this item? (like “100% made from recyclable blah blah”) Cause if you’re going to end up throwing this item away, then you’ll create more waste which emits more CO2 in the air.

- TURN OFF LIGHTS OR USE SOLAR PANELS. this is pretty self explanatory.

-PLANTS. Now instead of saying plant trees, cause it’s lowkey kind of unrealistic for some people including me to plant a whole dang tree in my yard, I’m going to simply say plant plants that absorb air pollution. Here’s a link for some ideas of which plants you can buy:

https://www.gardencentreoxford.com/news/how-to-beat-air-pollution-with-

plants

ECOSIA. Orrrr if you still wanna plant trees you can download this extension & app called Ecosia! It’s basically like google but so much better. Basically it makes money off ads when you search something up.  And here’s the awesome part, every 45 searches they PLANT A WHOLE DANG TREE. Not only you’re helping the environment, but you are helping people who are in third world countries or live in extreme environments where its hard to find food, good water, education, and jobs. Ecosia supports all of that. DOWNLOAD IT YALL!!! I’ve planted probably about like 5 trees!

PLASTIC POLLUTION.

This is probably one of my biggest concerns. We create and throw away SO much plastic. Okay story time. literally a year ago, i was hiking with my friends and we sat down on this bench. We saw this like tiny chipmunk probably the size of my hand and he was running towards this huge grocery walmart plastic bag. And all of a sudden he shoves that whole entire bag into his mouth and we sat there with our mouths wide open. It was kind of tragic and that chipmunk probably died. And there’s a bunch of animals that consume plastic and die because they are trapped in plastic. Anyways there’s a bunch of ways that we can reduce plastic use, so let’s get on with it.

RECYCLE. Imma say it over and over again. Recycle, recycle, recycle. A lot of plastics have recycling labels on them, so recycle them as much as you can!

PICK UP YOUR JUNK. If you litter, you better change your ways my dude. If that piece of garbage travels somewhere and an animal finds it, what is the likelihood that they will eat it or get stuck in it? That’s not the only case of course, but your trash also emits CO2. Also remember this if you see any garbage that’s not yours, pick it up. It may not be your junk, but it is your planet. 

 BUY A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE. If you guys can’t remember anything else, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS! There is more than 8 million TONS of plastic water bottles are in our oceans. An average person uses 167 water bottles per year. That is unacceptable my dudes. As you may know, plastic don’t break down easily but instead turns into micro plastic items that animals consume.  It causes starvation, and kills animals. So buy a reusable water bottle. I’ve noticed that when I have a water bottle, I drink more water and save more money. If there’s ever a chance you forget a water bottle and need a plastic one, try reusing it as much as possible.  

SHOPPING FOR REUSABLE AND COMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS. I’m probably going to make another post for this, cause the list is getting long. There’s a lot of eco-safe options to reduce plastic. Like toothbrushes, tooth paste, and toiletries. 

BEACH CLEAN UPS. If you live next to a beach, try researching about ways you can help your beach, or bring your friends to help clean the beach up. You can also help by donating to beach cleanups!

FOODS

Now don’t get my wrong, I love meat and dairy. But it’s also important that we don’t eat too much meat, cause meat and dairy emits a lottt of greenhouse gases. Transportation of this food, producing it, and then wasting it is a no no for mother nature. 

LIMIT YOUR MEAT AND DAIRY INTAKE. I’m not saying become vegan and vegetarian. Like honey, keep eating meat and dairy! It can be good for you. But maybe have a plan like oh I’m only going to eat meat twice a week now instead of everyday of the week. Or try being more considerate of a healthier diet.

SUNSCREEN.

Now, there are some arguments of whether sunscreen is affecting our coral reefs or not. But it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Studies have shown that there are chemicals called titanium dioxide, oxybenzon, octinoxate, and others are harmful to humans and coral reefs. It bleaches the corals into this ugly gray color. Coral reefs are essential to ocean life, and it’s gonna suck if the ocean is dead. 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR. Try finding sunscreens that say “Reef safe” or “reef friendly” sunscreens. sunscreens such as Coppertone, equate, and sunbum are NOT safe. Mineral sunscreens ( i don’t tend to like them cause of the white cast) and banana boat are safe. You can research this more if you want! 

okay there are plenty of ways that you can do to help the environment, but these are some of the ideas. I hope this encourages you than overwhelm you. You don’t have to be perfectly zero waste or feel the need to do all of this. We’re never going to be perfect but we can be and do better. Share this please! Please consider doing at least 1 or 2 of these. Because YOU can make a HUGE difference to our world. 

[bulletballetarchive1]

@tcpimpabutterfly​   said  :    ✩—Travis & Delores 🙈

Okay so this is a novel.

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Travis, specifically if he’s having an episode. Delores usually doesn’t raise her voice unless she’s finally reached the end of her temper. Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Travis will go drive his taxi if he’s heated, so it’s him who ‘never really leaves.’ Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Delores -- did it once! They weren’t a couple anymore. 😰 Who trashes the house? Leave Travis alone in his utter anguish and see what happens. Do either of them get physical? Travis has never hit Delores and Delores has never laid a hand on Travis. Thought of it once. But changed her mind. How often do they argue/disagree? When they’re young, it’s not untypical for them to disagree. I mean, we have quite a few threads where Travis is open about his thoughts on people and society and all of that, and Delores is like “I don’t think that’s right at all” and gives her perspective on it which, of course, he doesn’t agree with because he’s rooted in his stubborn, gloomy thoughts. To be honest, Delores never gets angry during these disputes, she’s very calm and willing to hear his perspective. But eventually she comes to realize it’s sad and that it shows no one has ever properly loved Travis before. Their more passionate arguments come from Delores being worried about Travis’s insomnia, paranoia, if he’s taking his meds!! And these are even MORE reoccurring later in their relationship and cause their initial breakup.  Who is the first to apologize? Depending on the sort of argument that was had, it’s both of them. Sometimes it was Travis who got out of line, sometimes it was Delores who got out of line and deep down...they know who started it first.

Sex:

Who is on top? Sometimes Delores rides him. Sometimes Travis is at the bottom because it's a nice view Who is on the bottom? ^^ Who has the strangest desires? I don’t know what Travis be watching in those porn theatres. I also don’t care to know. Any kinks? 😠 like I said Travis be watching porn and I don’t care to know what it is. Who’s dominant in bed? Technically Travis. Is head ever in the equation? Yes. If so, who is better at performing it? Travis is good. Delores gets steadily better over the course of their relationship because she asks him what he likes. She really wanted to please him. Ever had sex in public? Nah, they got a little handsy in a taxi cab but they didn’t get too far. Delores deserved better than a crusty cab. Who moans the most? Delores. Who leaves the most marks? Travis. Who screams the loudest? Delores if it's rough. Who is the more experienced of the two? I feel like they were both a little inexperienced when they got together, Delores had already had sex. She wasn’t a virgin, but they were not good experiences. Later, she and Travis broke up and she got with some upper class dude, then got with Sal...then got a new gangster...so technically Delores. Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? 😤 they’re deeply in love so they make love. Or somethin’ like that. Rough or soft? Dependent. How long do they usually last? 30-45 minutes. 😒 Might be less when they have children living in the house, though. Is protection used? It’s incorporated, yes. Even though Delores actually doesn’t like condoms. Does it ever get boring? Early on, Delores eventually thought it was boring because she was trying to be classy and hold back with certain curiosities she was having with like, roleplaying and sex in front of a mirror. There were also things in these cheesy books that she read about and fantasized about, but was too shy to say anything. Eventually she opened up, and everything was okay. Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? A motel. 😲😲 Also, Delores found Travis’s original apartment pretty strange lmao. It was a place she did not want to have sex at because she thought it would be ‘regretful’ afterwards.

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? while Melissa was unplanned, Cecilia was planned. It was just a whole different experience going on. When they’re young, the idea of having kids with Travis kind of intimidates Delores because he’s so troubled and the old ladies she hangs around don’t help matters any by asking questions like, “would your children be proud of a taxi driver? would he really be able to provide for them?” If so, how many children do your muses want/have? They have two and they think it’s a nice number! Well, that and Delores hated dealing with Melissa’s jealousy when Cecilia was born. She worried about Cece having the same disdain for baby three, so that wasn’t happening. Who is the favorite parent? Delores and Melissa have a VERY strong bond, even when she’s scolded her! And while Cecilia loves her mom, she gravitates towards Travis. This is because Delores was ALWAYS getting on Cece for something and idk, she was just always fascinated with her busy dad. Who is the authoritative parent? Delores. Those girls had chores and responsibilities and most importantly, manners. She never hit them or anything, but her scolding and manner of discipline could be saddening for two children. Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Travis. Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Also Travis, but then again he could be sleeping when Cece decides to raid the kitchen for snacks. Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? Delores, all the time! Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Delores, and she gets Travis to dress up for it too. Who changes the diapers? Delores. Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Travis can be working at night, so there’s always the chance it could be Delores who was feeding the baby. With Cecilia things were different, he was feeding her more, but still Delores was the primary caretaker.   Who spends the most time with the children? Delores! Even during the summer she has taken the girls to work with her. They didn’t have to sit in the ballet studio, though. They were free to wander the building and see what other creative/artsy things were going on. Who packs their lunch boxes? Both. Who gives their children ‘the talk’? Travis and Delores did it together, but they were stressed out doing it. 😔 With Melissa, it was difficult but things went according to plan. With Cecilia it was extra uncomfortable because she HATED the atmosphere of sit downs. (and of course, in the aftermath, she asked how did ferrets have babies. then she asked why was the bird and the bees called that? How did birds have babies? How did bees have babies? They were mentally exhausted) Who cleans up after the kids? Delores, though she tries to teach them to clean up after themselves. Who worries the most? They both worry for similar reasons. I mean, Travis knows about how young girls can be coerced into sex work and Delores - well, she becomes a mama bear at the slightest threat. Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? I want to say Travis, but I’m also going to say neither. Cece in particular heard it from her favorite, beloved alcoholic teacher! The woman spilled her coffee and said, “For fuck’s sakes.” Afterwards, Cece said it at home when Slink was misbehaving and Delores gasped.

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Both! But Delores especially. She likes feeling tended to. Who is the little spoon? Delores likes being the little spoon, but there are many, many moments where its she who has her arms around Travis. Humming something to soothe him. Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? They're not going to fuck in a diner or nothing, so I'm going to say neither. Who struggles to keep their hands to themself? Delores, sometimes. Travis, usually. How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Hours upon hours until they have something to do. Who gives the most kisses? Delores initiates them. What is their favorite non-sexual activity? Laying side by side, talking and all that. Where is their favorite place to cuddle? Couch or bed. Delores was sure to get Travis a better bed than the one he had in his apartment whenever they’re living together. Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? Delores when she's being sly. How often do they get time to themselves? Usually all the time they get to themselves is at the early hours of the morning. Or sometime at night when the kids are sleeping.

Sleeping:

Who snores? Travis, but its pretty soft. If both do, who snores the loudest? I said they're soft. Do they share a bed or sleep separately? They share a bed. Even if that motel room had two beds, they would still choose to be side by side. If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? Cozy up together. Who talks in their sleep? Neither. What do they wear to bed? :/ Delores has so many cute nightwear, or lingere. Travis ain't got nothing special. Are either of your muses insomniacs? Fuckin Travis. Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? Yes. For Travis. Delores contemplated taking some while pregnant because her anxiety would surface at night, but he convinced her not to. Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? Varies, but usually their limbs intertwine. It's almost subconsciously! Who wakes up with bed hair? Travis. Who wakes up first? Delores. Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? ...Delores because on the real? she just wants to make him so, so happy. What is their favorite sleeping position? Delores likes to be in his arms in some form or fashion. Who hogs the sheets? Delores. Do they set an alarm each night? Delores has one - and she feels bad about it because it can take Travis so long to sleep before it goes off. Can a television be found in their bedroom? When they're older, yes. But it's only local channels. It’s a room where Delores can escape her daughters and watch television in peace, but unfortunately Cecilia enjoys being in there when Melissa is hogging up the living room tv. Who has nightmares? Travis! Delores too when they're on the run! Who has ridiculous dreams? Both. Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Travis. Who makes the bed? Delores. Also she feels that a clean bedroom has a positive psychological effect on others, so she makes sure Travis can come home to a proper bedroom just for him. What time is bed time? So, Delores falls asleep before Travis even comes home which can be at 10 pm. Then ultimately he arrives back at a very late hour and Delores wakes up for awhile. Tries to get him to go to bed. They stay up forever until sleep finally takes hold. When they're older, Delores is trying to sleep by 10/11 pm and doesn't wait up for him as much anymore because she's so worn out. Any routines/rituals before bed? Delores does too much before bed, I'm just going to say that. Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Travis, especially if he had just fallen asleep.

Work:

Who is the busiest? They both are, just in different ways! Who rakes in the highest income? Okay so I actually went to google for this question. Annually, ballet instructors can make $32,000 while taxi drivers make  $26,453. So Delores makes more lmao Are any of your muses unemployed? Nope Who takes the most sick days? Delores, I think. Travis can’t stand to be sick and do nothing. Who is more likely to turn up late to work? On default, it’s Delores. But she still aims to be prompt. If it’s anyone keeping her late, it’s Cecilia who had to tag along for whatever reason. Who sucks up to their boss? Neither. What are their jobs? So Travis drives taxis and when they were first together, Delores was a ballerina. She was doing very well for herself until they killed her abusive boyfriend and had to go on the run. Her whole career in New York went down the drain.🤐 Once she and Travis became very settled and felt like they could live a normal life, Delores decided to become a ballet instructor. Had to put that skill to use somewhere.  Who stresses the most? They both equally stress. Travis is out here seeing the worst of the worst of humanity while Delores has to be a second mother to girls of varying ages. Hearing, “I think I’m pregnant, should I have an abortion???” “I’m being abused by my family/boyfriend,” all sorts of stuff she has to help out with! Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? I think that Travis has mixed feelings for his occupation, while Delores believes that the pros of her job outweigh the cons. She gets to see young girls be themselves and be free even at the price of knowing their personal business. 😌 She doesn’t know if she would still be doing this if life played out different though. Are your muses financially stable? They’re doin’ okay.

Home:

Who does the washing? Delores. Who takes out the trash? All of them, at one point or another. Who does the ironing? Delores, but sometimes Travis will have to iron his own attire. Who does the cooking? Delores. Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? That damn Travis. Who is messier? That DAMN Travis. Who leaves the toilet roll empty? Travis. Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? Travis -- would, if Delores didn't make him learn from the error of his ways. Who forgets to flush the toilet? Travis, initially in their relationship because he wasn't use to living with someone. Who is the prankster around the house? Slink the Bandit who has nearly killed Delores and was nearly killed by Travis. Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? Delores. Who mows the lawn? Travis. Who answers the telephone? Anybody, really. Who does the vacuuming? Both. Who does the groceries? Both, but usually Delores as she remembers to purchase the essential things that are nutritious! Who takes the longest to shower? Delores. Who spends the most time in the bathroom? Delores.....Melissa. and Cecilia.

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? Admittedly, Delores has never been in a financial situation like the one she is in with Travis (when they're all settled that is) because her family is filled with criminals and they always had cash. But she's so in love with him and happy that they're just alive that she doesn't consider money to be an issue. How many cars do they own? One. Not counting Travis's taxi. Do they own their home or do they rent? Own. Eventually. I can imagine that before Cecilia was born, and they finally got out that motel, Travis and Delores managed to rent a decent house that served its purpose. Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? Nope. Do they live in the city or in the country? City! There's people to drive around! Do they enjoy their surroundings? Technically? Delores misses New York a lot, but she also has a lot of hate for New York due to their previous experiences. What’s their song? Vikki Carr's cover of Strangers In The Night, also I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holliday. What do they do when they’re away from each other? Work...Delores handles the children. Gossips with her friends/goes out to lunch with them. Where did they first meet? In his taxi cab. How did they first meet? Delores was leaving a party that she had felt very isolated at. She was also intoxicated. She came into his cab, sat in the backseat...then talked about how lonely she was and spilled her heart out. After that Travis was always present, and she got attached, although she worried about him one day stalking and murdering her. Who spends the most money when out shopping? Delores. God knows she has dug into bill money to get Melissa or Cecilia beautiful dresses for special occasions/holidays. Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Delores technically because she believes you are what you wear and that affects how people see you. Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? This question is trifling. Any mental issues? Travis has a ton of 'em. Who’s terrified of bugs? Delores! Who kills the spiders around the house? Travis. Their favorite place? Together. In their home. Away from people, where they can be themselves. Who pays the bills? Delores handles a lot of that. Do they have any fears for their future? Delores fears Travis engaging in violence. Just as she has worried about him being in so much despair that he kills himself. She just always worries about his wellbeing.  Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? I feel like Travis would, if/when he had the money. While Delores is inclined to do that for him at the house, because she wants him to be happy. Who uses up all of the hot water? Delores. Who’s the tallest? Travis because Delores is only 5'4. Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Delores. “Innocently.” Who wanders around in their underwear? A childless Delores, if she is feeling particularly sly. Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Travis ain't tryna embarrass himself and neither is Delores. What do they tease each other about? Travis has teased Delores about how she is tense during their daughter’s school photos that she paid good money for. she trusts Melissa to look perfect but Cecilia? She doesn't know. She never knows. And the certain reactions (or gasps) Delores has had looking at Cece's awful photos have caused Travis some great memories. Delores has teased Travis about small things, like whether he'll be able to tie a tie or if she needs his help. Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? Delores when Travis's jacket begins to fall apart and he still wears it. Honestly she's the type of wife/gf who's like, "why aren't you wearing the shirt I bought you?" Do they have mutual friends? Delores always knows June from when they were young girls in ballet class together, but I feel like she would just get on Travis's nerves. But even with that said, June made the vow that she would ensure no harm came to Melissa [or Cecilia] when they came to New York. Who crushed first? I'ma say Travis. Delores thought he was cute in his own, messy way, but she thought nothing of it. Any alcohol or substance related problems? I'm going to say no because Travis should probably be taking his pills more than he is. Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? what's travis doing drinking and driving ON THE JOB?? I'm going to say neither. And even if it happened, they'd be together on like a date night. Who swears the most? Travis on default.

[amarantine-amirite]

Interesting Concept But Poor Execution

I have a problem.

I never know whether or not I’m being rude. My whole life, people have told me “you’re being rude” to shut me up. Consequently, the phrase “you’re being rude” has lost all meaning to me, and now; I genuinely don’t know when I’m being rude.

I think the most recent example of when I wasn’t being rude, but somebody said I was to get me to shut up was when I struck up a conversation with someone of my differential equations class about her pet rabbits. “I have three, and one of them is white with black spots, so we named him Oreo”

As a joke, I asked her, “Is he double-stuff or regular?”

We both laughed.  Her friend glared at me. “You’re being rude,” she hissed in my direction. I tuned her out. She sounded like she probably had a stick up her ass.

Over the years, I have met tons of people that do this. But the worst offender of them all was a girl named Terrie Banya.

I first met Terrie in high school, around the time my family and I prepared to move across the country. We had to keep this move a secret, and my mom had a massive project she had to do before we could leave. As a result, I got stuck doing all the moving chores. I’d often call my classmates over to help me out.

It all started when she tried to hijack all my conversations. At first glance, it seems like a minor annoyance. It was actually a huge problem because she’d use it to avoid doing things that were important.

"OK," I began, "I made a list of all the tasks we need to do, and I don't number one on the list is take the dining room table and the hutch were not using anymore do the pawnshop, and-”

Terrie cut me off. “Speaking of pawnshops, did you know that my cousin was mugged in a pawn shop, and they were arrested for mugging themselves because they were trans"

I roll my eyes at her. “Don’t do that." I said. Stuff needed to be done. I needed Terrie to help me. Now was not the time for her to drag me into her family nonsense. "This isn’t trivial, we have to do everything on this list in order, because we need the money from the pawnshop to pay for the plane tickets”

Terrie shook her head. Try as I might, she would just not listen to reason. “This is a huge problem, and no one’s talking about it, and frankly, Heather, you’re being rude.”

In the end, none of the stuff that needed to go to the pawnshop ever got there. And all because Terrie tried to hijack the conversation to get out of doing stuff.

When my family finally left, it occurred to me that Terrie was more trouble than I realized. I always knew that whenever I said something important, she’d always say something like “I don't care about your Bee Movie opinions, go to sleep." But it wasn't until after I was away from her that it occurred to me that she was doing something far more sinister: she was trying to gaslight me.

All the signs were there. She denied the reality that you experience. She didn’t accept responsibility which means they lack the ability to respond and that leads to constant blaming. She raised her voice easily and confused me with everything, and her actions and words almost always contradicted each other.

I bet she felt good criticizing me. I bet she saw interpersonal relationships as a battlefield where someone struggles to be in control. Every single time I reminded them of what they said or did previously, the next word out of her mouth was ‘’You know what’’, with no further explanation. And any time I apologized and promised to do things better next time, it made her more aggressive. If that isn’t gaslighting, then I don't know what is.

One morning, at 2 AM, I came up with a plan to give Terrie Banya a taste of her own medicine. She tried to gaslight me, I would gaslight her back. Like our plans you come up with at 2 AM, this one had a serious flaw. Namely, I forgot that the word “gaslighting” did not mean “light your farts on fire”.

It should go without saying that lighting your farts on fire is a bad idea. You run the risk of burns on sensitive parts of the body, your clothing or skin catching fire, along with permanent scarring. If you're unlucky, you may char your lower intestine. All in all, not good.

I learned that lesson the hard way.

First, I tanked up on beans open (because, you know what they do). Then, I made a voodoo doll of Terrie.

At midnight, I went into the garage and drew a pentagram. I sat in the middle, and placed the voodoo doll on the point facing north. Finally, I got the lighter, pointed my ass at the voodoo doll, and let 'er rip!

It went wrong. Very wrong. Not only did it blow back into my rectum, it also set fire to my flannel onesie.

Yowch!

@weirdprompts

[vampexx]

Just a thought..... **There are spoilers in case anyone’s still watchin’ out......

I have seen probably hundreds of theories floating around tumblr about MLB and season 3 and I just thought that I would throw in my own :) So, ok....

- Chloe......not gonna lie, I'm not surprised. I agree with those that say that she did good things for praise, attention and bragging rights. I do think that it was an attempt to continue being Queen Bee even though she was well aware that literally EVERYONE in Paris knew her identity, she obviously didn't care. She just wanted the fame. Could she still be redeemed? Sure, but...she's still got a long way to go and plenty of work to do, with that being said, the question is......is she willing to do the work even with the bee miraculous and the idolization of ladybug taken out of the equation? That idk, we'll see I guess.

- Fu......alright so......he's gone...... :'( Marinette is the guardian now, not that she's ready for it Lord knows lol but it is what it is at this point unfortunately. The thing with Fu is.....he would always preach about how LB and CN's identities need to be a secret when.....his girlfriend or whoever she is (I can't remember her name) knew he was the guardian, even offered for them both to use a miraculous in some flashback in an episode (that I also can't remember the name of, I think it was origins but idk) to escape danger and protect the miracle box. SO IF SHE CAN KNOW OF ALL PEOPLE, seemingly not being a miraculous holder herself, WHY THE HELL can't LB and CN know!? Kinda hypocritical tbh. Anyways, now that LB is the guardian, there is literally no one stopping her from saying I'm the guardian so I make the rules now but her being as honorable as she is, she still refuses. It would just be too easy I guess if LB came to the same conclusion as the fandom and said, "We knew Fu's identity for the sake of protecting him, and he knew ours in case of emergency (as displayed in Feast).....so then it would only make sense if we knew each others identity." And I'm not sure if they knew that Fu's girlfriend knew but....that just adds to my point, which is there really isn't a reason for them not to know, but like I said I guess it would be too easy that way. Maybe now that the temple is back along with the monks.....maybe they will be the ones standing in the way of the reveal, assuming all the other monks didn’t like what Fu did regarding people knowing their identity (his girlfriend) and are far more strict with the rules. Again, we'll see I guess.

- Alllllright.....*sigh*......Lovesquare/ Drama BS. OK so, look. This whole theory on Marinette moving on from Adrien and Chat Noir moving on from Ladybug.....in MY opinion.....it's BS. THREE SEASONS of you're the girl of my dreams and Mari's intense crush on Adrien, which even though she has gotten better when it comes to communicating and being around him, her crush is pretty extreme. HOWEVER, people seem to forget that when you're 14 or 15, a crush can easily get out of control because....well, hormones....like let's be real, yes it's intense AF but is it far fetched for a typical girl her age? NO, like come on ya'll, really? I feel like that's not really taken into consideration she's still young therefore still immature, and understandably so. Same thing goes for Adrien when it comes to Ladybug. He is obsessed too, maybe not to the same degree as Mari but still, pretty damn obsessed. And between Adrien and Marinette, things started out hella awkward in season 1, but compared to season 3, she HAS grown. THEY have grown. Closer and closer over the course of 3 seasons. Them and Ladynoir too so, obviously they're on the right track. Do they need to grow as individuals? HELL YES ok, that I agree with. Mari and Adrien need ME TIME though. I personally do not believe that they need someone else to come into their lives just to be used as means to get over someone else THAT WE ALL KNOW TOO WELL they aren’t gonna do. Like it has been said that in season 4, it will be decided who wins the Lukanette v. Adrinette war......and in order to continue with the whole made for each other/ soulmate plot, and in order to carry over to the movie (that supposed to be about Ladynoir and their love, it seems) I think between season 4 and 5, Lukanette will lose, (Sorry to all the shippers, no salt intended in this post). I also noticed that it was not mentioned that there will be a decided winner for ship war Adrigami v. Adrinette, at least not that I've heard nor seen, like the other rival ships. That leads me to believe that IF Adrigami happens at all dating wise, they're not gonna last very long at all, or at least not compared to Lukanette IF that happens either. Again no salt intended. In the movie previews that have been released, especially the song, it shows that Chat Noir/ Adrien is still pretty heavily in love with Ladybug. And Ladybug seems just as in love with Chat. Note how Chat/ Adrien says his heart is in a duel, meaning his heart is torn between Marinette and Ladybug, but Ladybug on the other hand, only really talks of patience rather than being torn like Chat which makes me think.....in the movie, DOES SHE KNOW?  Talking about eternal love.....without taking into consideration season 4 since obviously it won't start until next fall, I can only assume as of right now that those feelings of eternal love or whatever are pretty extreme to be feelings for Chat Noir alone. It would make sense to feel so intensely if she were to know that CN and Adrien (whom she would both equally love at that point) were the same person. That would make sense to me. Now, when it comes to the ice cream situation in miracle queen, I like to think, like a few others I have seen post on here, that it's referring to themselves as individuals....because like Pink and Blue for Mari makes sense......Green and Yellow for Adrien also makes sense.....(side note: how the hell does orange tie to Kagami, like why not strawberry or cherry?? Idk but ok......? Whatever). Anyways, that's how I see it. I may not be a big fan of Kagami (I personally don't get the appeal, but that's JUST ME) but she deserves better than being a plot device. Same thing goes for Luka, which he's ok in my opinion. Like, Kagami and Adrien have a bond that is irreplaceable as in they were both raised in similar circumstances, and when it comes to Adrien overcoming the consequences/ obstacles that come with that? That friendship is necessary. But I think that the both of them, ESPECIALLY Adrien, don't really know the differences between friendly love and romantic love, same for Luka and Mari....ok, well maybe not Luka but Mari? Yeah. Luka and Kagami deserve to have someone who loves them and only them, just like everybody else. It isn't fair to them that they be in relationships with people we all know that they want to be with, and for however long they may last, only be for the other person to come to a conclusion that they love someone else......so really in all honesty, it all seems so needless, unnecessary, and completely f'd up. I have heard people say that Marinette and Adrien need other people to move on, saying it's healthy but I for one have a hard time agreeing with that. How are you supposed to love someone else when you can't even BEGIN to learn to love yourself and put yourself first? I think that if they both came to the healthy and mature conclusion that they need to time to themselves, and put their mental and emotional needs first for a change, that it will open so many new doors for the both of them. Mari will embrace Luka's friendship and he will inspire and encourage the creative side of her and his calm/ chill demeanor will help her with her anxiety and she will gracefully come into her own and FINALLY OWN HER BEAUTIFUL SH**!!! As for Adrien, he will be more decisive and sure of himself. He will have a better understanding of what he wants thanks to Kagami who, I think, will guide him in that department. She'll help him be not so wishy-washy and encourage him to advocate for himself when Gabriel "Trash" Agreste does SOMETHING ELSE unjust or unfair to Adrien as means to micro-manage his life. And with that he will hopefully have less stress due to his hovering father and maybe loosen up and relax, showing his dorky/ funny/ CN side while Mari becomes more confident/ brave like LB. And let me say that maybe Adrien can help Kagami grow in return, I think we can all agree that she could benefit from better, friendlier social skills and also help her learn that you don't always win/ you aren't always #1, that's not how life works. Ok, now as for the lucky charm bracelets, the theories that have been spread around on tumblr speak for themselves, for instance the ice cream matching each others charms and the thing with the red string in which, I agree with all of those. 

- To sum up, Adrien and Marinette have some serious sh** to figure out. Especially with themselves. I would love to see them interact more on a real level which will lead to Adrien no longer being able to deny that he see's her as more than a friend. I wan't them to be so close because with shi** getting crazier around them, they need each other, with AND without the mask so that makes me think that the reveal will happen sooner rather than later. I want them to rely on each other more and more, as Adrinette and Ladynoir, and they have INDEED SHOWN that they can be a bada** power couple while knowing each others identities and COMPLETELY loving and trusting each other with NO wall and NO secrets holding them back. And yes, in all fairness, Lukanette, Adrigami & Ladynoir were all suggested in the (not my) finale, however all those ships cannot canonically stand. **deep, creepy narrator voice** Only one will survive (lol sry). I personally feel that season 4 can play out either way, either with them seeing other people or not, but in my opinion, them seeing other people would be sacrificing realism (because no one gets over not only their crush, but likely their first love, in the span of like a day or so...like c’mon) for dramatic purposes which in all fairness, would not be surprising to me at all but still. Either way, it will eventually lead to a reveal which I think is likely to happen in the movie rather than season 4, I think season 4 will be about Adrinette/ Ladynoir like usual but  strengthening emotionally and mentally with aid from Luka and Kagami (and if it happens my way, it would put them both in a more favorable position than just mere plot devices but hey, what do I know). This will likely lead to Marichat being primary ship in season 4 due to Adrien having a chance to fall in love with Marinette and not just LB, and Marinette falling in love with Chat and not just Adrien. Keep in mind that during this, Marinette's love for Adrien won't be gone while she falls for Chat, and likewise with Adrien, coming to love both LB and Marinette.  Leaving both of them conflicted, blushing messes in every corner in the love square LMAO IMAGINE THE MESS THEY’LL BE!!!!  NOW THAT'S THE DRAMA I LIVE FOR LOL and Lord knows Astruc is all about that drama ya'll LOL Maybe that’s the plot of the movie? The lovesquare imploding? LOL Sounds a perfect way to end the 3 season long drama if you ask me......

- Plus, Chloe thinks Luka's cute??? LMFAO OOOOOH SH**, It's going down, I'm yellin' timber ya'll LMAO uh oh

--sorry this was long <3 thanks for listening--

HAVE A MIRACULOUS DAY ;)

[agrimoire]

sigils deconstructed (ideas and meanings)

refer to Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zakroff for illustrated examples. text from pp. 39-85

point (closed dot): literally the beginning of all marks we make. it can be a monad, a seed, a center mark, or an atom - the representation of energy itself. It can be a point of origin, where everything starts, or a point of destination, where something ends. it can represent a stop along the way, a place of rest - consider what the period means at the end of a sentence. it can be grouped with other dots to signify a number, mark a constellation, show a lightly defined trail, or create the feeling of an aura of energy. 

open dot: not much bigger in size than the closed dot, the open dot is a tiny empty circle. it can be seen as a point to be achieved, a seed, the smallest possible container, the nucleus of a cell or atom. this symbol talks of possibilities, options to be defined, and choices to be made.

circle: larger than the open dot is the circle. most simply, a circle is a container and can symbolize protection - creating sacred space within it - or it can be a holder to prevent something from getting out. it can represent wholeness, completion, sacredness, purity, or potential. it may also be a sphere, standing in for the sun or the full phase of the moon. it can also represent divinity, as in deity or spirit, the source of knowledge and commands, referencing the brain or nucleus. circle variation: with a line across it to indicate “prohibited” or “stop”.

horizontal line: traveling east-west, the horizontal line can represent the ground, the baseline, the foundation, or the horizon. it can also be the middle divide - marking the difference between above and below, acting as a border. it can delineate a step or a hurdle to overcome. as a short line, it can be the concept of minus (to subtract or remove). two short parallel lines can show the sign for equal or mark equality. extended parallel lines can represent a canal, channel, chute, or road.

vertical line: travels north-south, connecting above and below or heaven and earth, or forming a border between left and right spaces. it can represent a phallus (erect or at rest), a tree, a tower, or an elevator. grouped together, vertical lines can symbolize walls, pillars, or tally marks (especially when crossed with a diagonal line). 

dotted or dashed line: a dotted line (a line made up of separated dots) tends to have a more fanciful feeling to it - the path of an animal going about its business, like a bee buzzing from flower to flower, a squirrel collecting nuts, or a child at play. a dashed line (a line made up of minus symbols), tends to have more of a sense of intentional focus or a planned trajectory. think of the marked lines on a highway or road. the spaces and patterns indicate when it’s safe to pass, turn, or leave your lane. either type of line can be used to connect points or indicate a sense of movement. 

diagonal line: dynamic, depicting moving energy in an increasing or decreasing fashion. it can also be the path of something rising or falling. the severity of the angle will affect the sense of how quickly or slowly something is moving. the diagonal line can speak to challenges to overcome, or sliding downward smoothly. 

cross: the cross is a perpendicular intersection of a horizontal and a vertical line. most simply, it is a meeting place or crossroads, where two different ideas interact. in terms of math, a small cross is a plus sign (addition). in science, it is the symbol for a proton or positive ion, marking energy. if all of the “arms” of the cross are equal, it represents balance. 

chevron: a chevron is a V-shaped mark. chevrons are most commonly recognized as the “greater than” and “less than” symbols when pointing east or west - and as “up” and “down” buttons when pointing north or south, as well as a mountain or valley. because they feature a convergence of lines, they can be used for capturing or dispelling energy. another way to think of chevrons is that they are “open mouths”, like an alligator opening its jaws wide to consume something. they combine with other shapes to make many influential symbols such as triangles, stars, and arrows. the chevron is also the Roman numeral for five. 

X: similar to the cross, the X is an intersection of diagonal lines, which makes for more dynamic active energy. in maps and myth, X often marks the spot. in basic math, the X can be a symbol for multiplication, while in algebra it’s often the variable for unknown value in the equation we’re trying to solve. X is also used to mark a pace for a signature, or to take the place of one, in a similar vein, X (now more commonly seen as XOXO) has been used to signify a kiss - as in love, or a declaration of truth or loyalty. yet it can also mark something that is forbidden or prohibited, as well as a hazard - think of the stereotypical moonshine jug with three Xs inscribed on it. it is also the Roman numeral for ten. 

arrow: most simply, an arrow is a line with a chevron at one end. the other end could be unmarked (for continuous energy), end in a point (origin mark) or a parallel chevron (emphasizing the direction of the first chevron), or meet a perpendicular line as its base (foundation). an arrow can also have opposing chevrons at each endpoint facing outward, depicting energy shooting in two directions or a choice of directions. when the opposing chevron points inward toward the line, the arrow becomes rooted. when the arrow is vertical and paired with two inward-facing chevrons, it can depict a tree, with the branches reaching upward and the roots going down into the ground. but when this arrow is positioned horizontally or diagonally, it becomes evocative of a snake tongue, testing the air around itself. 

(more to come)

[seasonofthegeek]

Saving My Life, Part 4

Today’s drabble was requested by the lovely @ming85 with a ko-fi donation. Thank you so much!

Parts 1, 2, 3, 4:

“This isn’t going to be like fighting any other akuma, is it?” Nino frowned down at his clasped hands. “Adrien knows exactly what’s happening.”

“A blessing and a curse,” Marinette nodded. “I don’t trust that Gabriel didn’t put in some failsafe to make sure Chat Blanc is under his control but for the time being, Adrien seems to be handling it the best he can.”

Chloe hugged herself. “He must be so scared. Being akumatized with a Miraculous is...” She trailed off with a shudder. “It feels different, worse.”

“And this sounds like it’s even more amplified,” Alya added. “So what’s the plan?”

“I’m not sure yet. I know I need help though.”

“And we’re here for you, of course, but this is all feeling really dangerous.” Nino glanced at Alya and Chloe before settling on Marinette. “Are you sure we can do this?”

“We’re all Adrien has,” she replied helplessly. “If not us, then who?”

He shook his head. “It’s not that. You know I’m down to do anything for him. I guess I’m just asking if we’re enough.”

Marinette sighed deeply. “We’re going to have to be. Master Fu wouldn’t let me take any other Miraculous; he didn’t even want me to bring in you guys. He’s afraid Hawk Moth has grown too powerful. He’s talking about leaving Paris with the Miracle Box if we can’t do this.”

“What a coward,” Chloe spat. Pollen rubbed against her cheek in a placating manner. “Who would stop Butt Moth then?”

“He’s just trying to protect them the best he can.” Marinette could hear the doubt in her voice so she knew the others could. “But I was able to bring these to you so there’s that at least. It was difficult to get him to give his up but Wayzz convinced him it was for the greater good.”

Nino ran a comforting finger along his kwami’s head. “Thanks, little buddy.”

“Master Fu’s decisions can sometimes be clouded by past mistakes. I simply pointed out that history doesn’t need to repeat itself,” Wayzz explained.

“We’ve got our Miraculous which is great but now what?” Chloe asked.

“Right now, our current plan is to come up with a plan.” Alya leaned back against the chaise as Trixx curled up on her stomach. “Gotta start somewhere, I guess.” She looked over at her best friend, expression going soft. “We’re going to get him back, Mari.”

Marinette took a clearing breath and nodded. “Yeah, we are.”

____________________________________________

“We’ll lure Ladybug out tonight.” Hawk Moth held out his hand and a glowing butterfly landed in it. “I’ll send you out with two akumas. Even if she has help, she won’t be able to take them both on and you.” He turned to look at his son. “You’ll take her Miraculous and bring them back to me.”

“And then you’ll leave her alone, no matter who she is,” Chat Blanc pushed in his new growling tone. “No harm comes to her.”

“I’ve already promised.”

“I want to hear it again.”

“Once I bring your mother back, I’ll make sure any damage that has occurred be undone.”

Chat Blanc knew that was the best he was going to get but he still felt uneasy. “What kind of akumas are you going to send?”

“I’m sure I can find some vengeful souls to empower,” his father answered flippantly. “Go ahead out and scout things. Perhaps you can take her down without any assistance.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I’m sure you will. I’ll be watching.”

Chat Blanc held his tongue as he stalked out of the lair.

____________________________________________

“This all falls apart if Adrien isn’t willing to let us use our powers on him,” Ladybug reminded the group. “We have to be careful not to make it obvious that we’re trying to help him though. Hawk Moth could be watching at any moment.”

“But he also needs to know we are, right? You’re saying if I use Venom on him and he doesn’t want to go down, he just won’t?” Queen Bee frowned. “Venom works on everybody.”

“Not when magic is part of the equation apparently.”

“We’ve got to get a magic user,” Carapace said, staring out over the city. “It would be really awesome.”

Rena Rouge elbowed his side playfully. “You want to be the team mage?”

“Heck yeah. I could be Caramage,” he grinned.

Ladybug tried not to let their lightness get to her. She knew they were worried about Adrien too. It was probably a good thing the whole team wasn’t as tense as she was. She stared out at the dark skyline and a flash of white caught her eye. Her heart leapt into the throat and she tried to swallow the feeling. “He’s out,” she whispered.

Rena Rouge squeezed her hand and stood. “We’ll get in place. This will work, Mari.”

“It has to.” She watched the trio disperse to prepare to put their plan in action and she waited on the rooftop. He would come for her; she was sure of it.

____________________________________________

His senses had always been slightly heightened as Chat Noir but being Chat Blanc was a whole new level of intensity. Within moments, he smelled Nino, Alya, and Chloe on the roof they’d been just before he arrived. He knew if he wanted, he could’ve followed each scent and hunted them down. It scared him that there was a dark, twisted voice in the back of his head urging him to. He ignored it and moved closer to Ladybug.

She stood statue still with her back to him. He could smell her fear, her sweat, her nervousness. It made his stomach roll. He didn’t want to be the reason she smelled like this.

“You knew I would come tonight,” he said, trying to keep his voice soft. He left distance between them as not to scare her further.

“I figured it was time.” She finally turned to look at him. “You warned me I’d have to give you my Miraculous soon.”

He felt his lips pull down into a frown. Her expression was blank and her tone was giving him nothing to go on. She almost sounded robotic, shut down. He didn’t like it. “So you’re going to do it without a fight?” he prodded. “Just giving up, Bugaboo?” At his words, there was a spark in her eyes that he instantly recognized and he felt a small beat of relief. 

Ladybug pointedly released her yoyo from around her waist and held it at the ready. “Come on, Kitty, you know me better than that.” 

____________________________________________

Marinette worriedly glanced out from behind the short brick wall. They’d taken one akuma down but the other one was proving to be more difficult than she’d anticipated. It didn’t help that Chat Blanc was moving in at every opportunity to knock one of the heroes back when they got too close. She knew he was only playing the part he had to but it was still unnerving to watch him fight them.

“I’m sorry, Marinette. I’m hurrying.” Tikki nibbled on a cookie and flitted out to look over her holder’s shoulder.

“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to keep this up. Everyone’s getting too drained.” She watched Carapace disappear down an alley and knew his time was up. He’d been providing a shield for Rena Rouge and Queen Bee to fight behind when the second akuma began flinging poison goop at them. 

“If this doesn’t work, Hawk Moth may try to send three out next time, or more!” Tikki warned. “We need to take this one down tonight.” She took one last bite and swallowed loudly. “I’m ready.”

She called up her transformation once more and ran out to join the battle. She thought about how tired Adrien must be staying transformed like that. It had to be taking a toll. 

“Are you ready?” she called to Queen Bee as she got near. 

“Just waiting on your signal.” Queen Bee yelled out as the akuma managed to get in close enough to burn her with its acidic goop while she was distracted. She quickly fell back as Rena Rouge stepped in and knocked the akuma back with her flute.

“Hey, Chaton!” Ladybug leapt up on a chimney so she could look down at the tussle. Magenta eyes immediately found hers and they widened before narrowing in an angry mask. “I have to say, white is definitely not your color. Sorry if that stings but facts are facts. I like you in black much better.”

He stared back at her in confusion. He wasn’t sure what to make of what she was saying. Was he supposed to follow her up to the chimney? He was about to move forward when he caught Queen Bee creeping closer behind him. He looked up at Ladybug quickly and she gave him the smallest nod. Chat Blanc took a deep breath and thought about letting Queen Bee use Venom on him. There was a quick sting and then the world went sideways as he fell.

____________________________________________

“...until he’s awake.”

“Then wake him up.”

“We don’t know what kind of shape he’ll be in.”

“Or if Hawk Moth will be in control.”

Chat Blanc groaned as he became more aware. His head felt like it might split open at any moment. There was a persistent nagging in the back of his mind and he instantly knew it was his father trying to get in contact with him. He imagined closing a door on the sound and it died away.

“Hey, are you back with us?”

He blinked once, twice, three times and then Ladybug’s face swam into focus. She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. “You’re okay,” he croaked.

“More or less. That akuma was no joke.” She cupped his cheek. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got run over by every bus in Paris.” He turned his head slightly to see Queen Bee standing at the ready to sting him again. “You’re scary.”

“Thank you,” she preened.

He tried to fight past the fog in his head. “Not that I don’t appreciate the kidnapping, but now what?”

“Now we try to finish Plan A,” Ladybug answered.

“And what is Plan A?”

“Most of it was taking out those akumas and getting you here,” Carapace answered from across the room.

“And the rest?”

Ladybug gave him a steady look. “You’re an akuma; I cleanse you.”

He stared at her for a long minute and heard a snort from behind her. Rena Rouge stepped into view and crossed her arms. “Yeah, we thought it sounded too simple to work too but she’s led us through it all this far. May as well give it a try if you’re up for it, Sunshine. You know we aren’t going to give you up without a fight.”

He met Ladybug’s eyes. “I trust you,” he said softly. “Do whatever you have to do.”

____________________________________________

Adrien rose to awareness slowly. He felt stiff and his head was pounding but there was a comforting warmth against this side. He forced his eyes open and found Marinette curled up against him, an arm and a leg thrown over him as if she was trying to hold him as close as she possibly could.

It took him a minute or so to finally tear his attention away from her enough to realize he wasn’t transformed anymore. The clothes he’d been wearing the night his father finished the ritual replaced the white leather and he had the distinct feeling that he was in desperate need of a shower.

“How do you feel?” Alya’s voice was low and it took Adrien a few moments to find her in the darkened room. He didn’t recognize the layout and realized he had no idea where he was. Alya was sitting in an armchair across from the bed. There was something generic about the room and he gathered they must be in a hotel. 

“LIke crap,” he groaned.

“But you’re Adrien?”

He swallowed hard before he let out a raspy chuckle. “Yeah, I’m Adrien.” He tried to shift and Marinette made a small sleepy noise of protest, moving in closer to him. “How...”

Alya stood and stretched and walked closer to the bed, leaning against the wall. “It took her hours. Tikki had to keep recharging and they’d start again but they were finally able to strip away the curse on your ring. We’ve been taking turns keeping watch to make sure you guys stayed safe.”

“Plagg?”

“Sleeping with the others. He’s pretty drained but Wayzz says he’ll be okay.”

Adrien felt a little tension ease away. “That’s good. Thank you.”

She watched him for a few long seconds. “How are you?”

“That’s a loaded question.”

“I’m aware.” A sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I know I’m better off with her, with all of you.” He adjusted his arm so he could hold Marinette closer and she sighed happily.

“We’re going to take him down; we have to.”

Adrien thought of his father. He wondered if he was worried about him or just angry he had failed. The fact that he honestly didn’t know left him feeling a little numb. There was also the feeling that he might’ve just given up the only chance he had to see his mother again. “I know.”

Alya smiled at him. “It’s really good to have you back. We missed you. The team definitely isn’t the same without you.”

“Thanks.” He yawned and his eyes felt heavy. He blearily watched Alya retreat back to her post at the armchair as sleep pulled at him. He pressed his lips sleepily to the top of Marinette’s head and let the darkness pull him under. With her by his side, it wasn’t nearly as scary this time. 

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: The Shining Beacon Part 2

I miss RWBY. Specifically, I miss early RWBY when there was less drama (not really but let me pretend), so let’s head on back to Volume 1.

In our opening scene of Episode 3, Ruby and Jaune have managed to find the hall where the rest of the newbies are meeting and honestly? I’m super proud of them for it. These are the two fools who will later argue over who had the map while wandering around the wilds of Remnant. Baby leaders managing to find the rest of their flock? Great job. Well done. Mama’s proud.

This little time skip raises some questions though. Did they ever find the Beacon cafeteria? What else did they chat about the rest of the day? Yang makes it sound like they’ve been gone a number of hours and I for one would love to know what awkward Ruby and even-more-awkward Jaune got up to during that time.

Tis the realm of fics though, not canon. Instead we get another shot of RWBY’s infamous shadow people with Yang standing out like the goddamn sun.

Who could the main character possibly be??

Beats me. What a gosh darn difficult question.

Yang: Ruby! I saved you a spot.

Are... are there spots, Yang? You’re all standing in a giant auditorium. If Ruby comes to stand beside you is another student gonna throw a fit about it? I mean real talk, I went to watch the changing of the guard while spending a month in London and let me tell you, there were people who guarded their spots like a pissed off bird guarding her eggs. (For the record you couldn’t even see anything. This was just human prickliness at its finest). So who knows, maybe Yang knows precisely what she’s doing.

Ruby abandons Jaune to join her, which on the one hand is kinda mean—you can’t invite your new friend to stand around with you?—but Ruby does say she’ll “see [him] after the ceremony,” so that’s nice and all. I know my anxious ass would have been thrilled to hear someone making future plans like that, even if it’s mostly just a nicety. Making new friends is hard.

Of course, Jaune doesn’t make that job any easier on himself. I’ve written before about his Nice Guy tendencies in the early volumes and they come back in full force here. He bemoans Ruby’s leave, asking himself where he’ll find “another nice, quirky girl to talk to?” It’s an easy introduction for Pyrrha, revealing her behind Jaune and quite obviously setting her up as that “nice, quirky” girl who he’ll become closest to as the episodes progress, but jeez, Manic Pixy Girl assumptions abound. Especially given the fact that Jaune/Pyrrha became canon in Volume 3. Obviously Pyrrha will be written with great depth as RWBY continues, but it does rankle a bit to have her introduced as a Ruby stand-in, someone positioned as a way of fulfilling Jaune’s ridiculous “needs.” I’m glad this is undermined later when she takes initiative towards him, i.e. saving him during initiation and angling to be his partner. Her interest is clear even if at that point Jaune will take anyone pretty: Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha herself.

But I digress.

Ruby gives her whole spiel about meeting Weiss and Yang’s response is, “Yikes. Meltdown already?” heavily implying that she expected Ruby to have a “meltdown” at this school, just not so soon. Which—iffy terminology aside—isn’t at all surprising. RWBY does an excellent job of setting up Ruby’s nerves, from her “bee’s knees” comment to her eagerness in showing Weiss exactly what she’s capable of. The girl is desperate for validation—as is the whole RWBYJNPR gang, in their own ways—and a lot of that comes out as anxious, social awkwardness. If Ruby was at all inclined towards “meltdowns” at Signal then I’d say she did a damn good job holding herself together through everything that happened at Beacon. Granted, being put in a position of power will help with that, at least on a surface level. To semi-quote Oz, how can you expect others to put forth their best if you’re not constantly doing the same? Ruby has the veneer of self-control down now because she had to for her team... which makes me anticipate her inevitable breaking point all the more. We saw in Volume Six how close Ruby got to dropping her ‘I’m an endlessly put together leader’ persona with Qrow drinking himself to oblivion, but she never quite got there. I’m waiting (hoping really) that Ruby’s long-established anxiety will finally be addressed, what with Yang having made good headway in that department and all the shit they’ve gone through adding up to a very justified breakdown.

Let the poor girl really falter for once and let the rest of the group grapple with that. Everyone deserves it.

I’m jumping six volumes ahead though. Here and now Ruby is still telling Yang all about her horrible encounter, segueing into how she “just wanted her to stop yelling” which of course is the perfect moment for Weiss to sneak up behind her with a loud “YOU!” (Jaune’s comment linking to Pyrrha; Ruby’s comment linking to Weiss—RT enjoys writing these little bridges, particularly for introducing new characters).

I love this moment simply for how much it tells us about Weiss. Largely in retrospect. Because while her trailer song is definitely on the nose in some respects—“I’m the loneliest of all”—it’s not until later on that we realize exactly how abusive Weiss’ family is and how isolated she’s been for the whole of her upbringing. This girl has absolutely no experience interacting with people outside of the Schnee/everyone else hierarchy (note in a moment how she assumes that Ruby will want to “make it up to [her]��) so if you’re suddenly surrounded by people for the first time who aren’t fawning over your name and money and dust connections... what do you? How do you get some vaguely positive attention? Oh okay, guess I’ll force it! Here Weiss is claiming that she never wants Ruby to speak to her again, but she’s the one who barged in on their conversation and loudly drawing attention to herself. Weiss is starved for healthy validation while simultaneously stuck in the behavior she’s been taught: asking for attention solely by trying to show off— here’s a rambling summary of the Schnee Dust Company’s disclaimer look at what a good puppet I am—or by insulting others. Weiss mocks Ruby’s genuine offer to buy school supplies together but then doesn’t move away from her and Yang once the announcements start. She doesn’t know how to say ‘yes’ to any offers of friendship, but she also doesn’t want to say ‘no.’

Interestingly, that moment also tells us a fair bit about Ruby. Not just by re-emphasizing how kind she is by extending the offer to start this relationship over, but also adding weight to the headcanon that Ruby is neurodivergent. Weiss’ heavy sarcasm about how they can “go shopping, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys” goes right over Ruby’s head. She responds with a “Wow! Really?” similar to the “...can you?” heard right before she attacks the Nevermore during initiation. Ruby has a history of not just being awkward but missing a lot of ‘normal’ social cues as well.

The girls’ bonding is interrupted when Ozpin begins his speech and boy oh boy do I love this moment too. Anyone who reads my metas knows that I’m a firm defender of our disaster headmaster, especially after volume 6, and looking back this scene is the PERFECT example of how RT tries to make Ozpin seem shady... while really failing to accomplish that. Obscuring eyes/the whole face is a super easy way to tell the viewer that this is an Untrustworthy Character. See: every horror movie where the villain’s face is obscured by shadows, our own dear Adam who keeps his face hidden with a mask, etc. It serves to dehumanize the character, keeping us from seeing some of the most expressive parts of their bodies, and equates one thing they’re hiding—such as a deformity. Yay ableism! /s—with other things they’re keeping from the heroes; secrets, sinister intentions, and the like. The primary exception to this are characters who wear masks for defined and morally acceptable reasons. i.e. superheroes who need to keep their secret identities intact and, notably, aren’t withholding that information from the viewer. We as the audience usually know who they are and thus aren’t inclined to distrust the character based on secret-keeping.

Awesome superpowers aside, Ozpin doesn’t fit within the mold of superhero, so all of this reads as pretty damning:

Like holy shit, friends. With the exception of one moment, 

notably when Ozpin informs them that “knowledge will only carry you so far,” the cinematography goes out of its way to hide his eyes, if not his entire face. Oz comes across as super shady here, compounded by the close up and centered shot of Ruby’s silver eyes to contrast. Compounded further by the exchange Ruby and Yang have afterwards about how he seemed “kind of off”—an exchange that doesn’t precisely fit with in-world logic (how does Yang know what Ozpin is normally like?), but serves as a clear message to the viewer: Something is UP with this guy.

The problem? This isn’t Ozpin’s introduction.

Imagine a series where in Episode One we only hear about a powerful Beacon headmaster. Someone who bends the rules and let’s Ruby in two years early for reasons unknown. Then by Episode Three we see this guy almost insulting the new group of students (Yang’s eyes narrow when Ozpin says he sees only “wasted energy in need of purpose”) and the entire time the camera refuses to give us a good look at him. That would have set up a character who is legitimately creepy. Someone we know instinctively might not really be on our side.

Instead our introduction to Ozpin is this.

He’s smiling and charming and legitimately kind. He listens to why Ruby wants to come to Beacon before making his decision (aka establishing her agency here). He shares a fond “Aww, you know I’m gonna get what I want” look with Glynda. He brings cookies, for god’s sake. Ozpin’s supposed shadiness falls completely flat here because we’ve already developed positive feelings for him, notably while he was with our protagonist and his BFF headmistress. The intimacy in Episode One implies that this is the “real” Ozpin, whereas a formal speech in front of (from the audience’s perspective) a literally faceless mass sets this up as a “fake” Ozpin, one that comes out when he feels the needs to be stern with incoming students. Or, based on information we learn later, when he’s pulling from another personality.

All of which isn’t a criticism of RT’s writing. Rather, given what we now know definitively from Volume Six, I don’t think they were invested in making Ozpin into a legitimately shady character. What RWBY is invested in is poking at or outright dismantling a lot of tropes and conventions, which is essentially what they did here. “You EXPECT the secretive, powerful headmaster to be a morally gray kind of guy... so we’re just not even gonna go there. Not really.”

But back to the actual plot. Jaune ends the scene by sliding up and announcing that he’s a natural blonde, another excellent example of precisely the thing women aren’t looking for in a guy. He knows Ruby now so it’s totally cool for him to re-join her, but using that as an excuse to start talking about his looks? Nah. Remember folks, women generally like it when you treat them as more than just a romantic and/or sexual conquest!

But enough about Jaune. We cut to that night where all the newbie students—way more than we’ll actually see throughout the rest of the series—are crowded together in Beacon’s hall, which from a world building perspective is a really great choice. I love what it says about Beacon as an institution: We’re not giving you rooms yet because we believe that most of you will fail the initiation (or at least that’s the impression they want to give the students). There’s a sense of ‘roughing it’ with simple mats and no personal space, the sort of things they’d have to get used to if they’re out traveling as huntsmen later in life. The overall emphasis on community and team work. Like the teams of four, Beacon is invested in setting up situations where the students are forced to work with one another. Particularly with those they might otherwise avoid.

That’s precisely the sort of interaction we get in a moment, but first: a tangent. Okay. So in previous metas—mostly Volume Six stuff—I’ve gotten a lot of pushback for my use of the term “kids” to describe the RWBY gang. Which I get. Post-Beacon most of them are legally adults by our standards and they’re certainly doing Adult Things nowadays. I do think there’s a lot of interesting nuances here—the fact that our protagonist and arguably most significant character plot-wise (Oscar) are both still underage, asking whether Remnant even views age in the same way we do, whether hitting the magical age of 18 suddenly gives you any more insight or maturity than you had at 17 or 16, acknowledging that they were never meant to be out in the world fighting this war and making these decisions yet, so we shouldn’t conflate traumatic necessity with emotional growth—but for the most part fans don’t want to grapple with those sorts of questions. There’s a knee-jerk reaction (particularly from those who are around the group’s age) of, “Most of them are 18. They’re not kids so stop acting like they are.” RWBY has raised a lot of questions for me regarding how I balance “Kids/teens/young adults are people with agency and more maturity than people tend to give them credit for” with “I remember how much of a kid I still was at 18 and know precisely how much I’ve grown in the decade since. I was not an adult then, no matter what the law said.” It’s a matter of acknowledging generational experience without turning into one of those, “Bah! Kids don’t know what the hell they’re talking about” curmudgeons. I’m an adult with a father who dismisses everything I say because he’s got—and will always have—50+ years on me. I’m well aware that it sucks.

Why am I bringing all this up again? Because this scene is just so kid-ish. It’s wonderfully young and carefree! Ruby is writing a letter to her friends in cutesy grimm PJs. Yang slides over with a comment about how it’s just like a sleepover. They acknowledge that Tai would not be pleased with all the boys around while Yang ogles the shirtless guys and Jaune wanders around in a footed one piece. This entire scene has a distinctly middle school or early high-school vibe. Not that adults don’t hang out and chat in super comfy PJs—we totally do—but rather that viewers know how scenes like these are coded. They’re supposed to look young here and even though experience has most certainly aged them, even though about two years have passed since this moment... that’s still only two years. I have a difficult time accepting that we should now view the group’s decisions as irrevocably Adult and Mature (cough-airship-cough) when such a short time ago they weren’t either of these things. And they weren’t meant to be those things. Not yet. I wish that these later Volumes of RWBY were more interested in exploring the concept of (yes) kids forced into the role of adults, as opposed to trying desperately to pretend that they’re adults already with a more worthwhile voice than people with 10, 20, or in Ozpin’s case, a 1,000 years more experience than them.

Anyway. Enough ranting for one recap.

Ruby shares her fears about not making any friends and Yang has her “You’ve just made one friend and one enemy!” line before giving her little sis a legitimate pep-talk. She explains that there are friends all around Ruby, “you just haven’t met them yet.” A near identical perspective to what we heard from Jaune last episode. Which is hilarious given that ten seconds ago Yang was pseudo-insulting the guy.

Seriously though, how is there not more Jaune-Yang interaction in canon? They’re got so much more in common than just blonde hair and anger management issues.

Cue another segue. Right after Yang finishes talking about future friends Ruby catches a sound off screen and we get our first look at Blake since the courtyard.

Yang quite literally drags Ruby over and it is an excellent display of siblings being siblings.

Blake recognizes Ruby as “the girl who exploded” and honestly I’m sad that this didn’t become a moniker for her in the same way “vomit boy” did for Jaune. Nothing like being defined by your embarrassing moments and ridiculous habits to encourage true bonding! My BFF calls me Trout and I call her Hunter and no, I will not expand on the ridiculousness that was my middle school years.

I mean, Ruby starts to tell Blake that she can call her crater face before realizing that this might not be the best idea. The girl is awkward af and I love her.

Yang: What are you doing??

Ruby: I don’t know help me!

God they’re so fucking relatable.

Yang manages to get Blake’s name out of her and then makes the mistake of commenting on her bow. Granted, Blake doesn’t show any overt signs of discomfort here—that would have been too obvious even by RWBY’s standards—but looking back we can assume that any conversation veering towards the one thing she wants to hide wouldn’t exactly endear her to these girls. Blake gets pretty rude by saying that she’ll continue to enjoy her book just as soon as they leave. Yang gets ruder by announcing, right next to Blake, that she’s a “lost cause.”

The book is Ruby’s in though. Now it’s less small talk and more legit interest as she asks what Blake is reading. The fandom has acknowledge to death the “It’s about a man with two souls, fighting for control” line and how that obviously relates to the Ozpin-Oscar situation, but beyond that I’m interested in the fact that we never learn the title of this book. Normally that wouldn’t mean much (only so much world building you can do and book titles aren’t necessarily the sort of thing RT wants to waste time on), except that Ruby specifically asks for it and Blake delves straight into the summary. I wonder if perhaps this specific text will show up again in future volumes. I don’t have any real evidence for the hunch, just the fact that we now know Ozpin has put stories out into the world that relate to his situation, namely The Maidens fairy tale. I have to wonder if perhaps other lives of his created art as a way of coping with their situation—unknowingly truthful accounts that people like Blake read, oblivious to the ways that this fiction might be setting them up to be more empathetic towards the same situation in real life. It just stands out to me that we’re not given a title or author here; that Blake was one of the ones to learn about Ozpin’s immortality off screen (denying us her initial reaction); that comparatively she was one of the more sympathetic during that awful moment out in the snow. It would be awesome if the “lol Blake is a nerd who sometimes reads porn” aspect of her personality actually sets her up to be one of the more understanding people in Volume 7.

Basically, please give me super nerd Blake who starts warming back up to Ozpin because she finds out he’s authored a bunch of her favorite books lol. Or at the very least she realizes that she’s now living the stories she’s long adored; she’s been given the opportunity to extend real support to someone so very like the characters she’s felt for all these years...

RWBY does love its meta.

Ruby admits to loving books too, particularly the fantastical stories that Yang used to read her. Blake is far more pessimistic.

Blake: Hoping you’ll live happily ever after? 

Ruby: I’m hoping we all will.

Hello, conflict of the entire series. As well as many fans’ hope for how it will all turn out. I’m personally not at all interested in a 7+ year investment with this cast only to watch them end on a bleak, or even bittersweet note. Despite what some might claim nowadays, happy endings are far from overrated. Given the state of the world, happy endings are radical.

Blake tells Ruby that her dreams are “Very ambitious for a child,” one of the very few indicators we’ve gotten (along with Weiss’ “Aren’t you a little young to be here?”) that the rest of the students recognize on sight that Ruby is younger than them. I’ve literally never heard one child refer to another, same-age acquaintance as “child.” Especially not when they’re hinting strongly that they’re being naive.

Yang is SUPER proud of that optimism though and starts a tackle hug that leads to them fighting cartoon style, complete with stars, cat noises, and dust clouds. The racket of course brings Weiss over. And by “of course” I mean “Oh look, another excuse she can use to go talk to the only people she knows here.”

We get another handful of great lines—Ruby has known Weiss a day but she was “always on [her] side,” Weiss exclaims that Ruby is “a hazard to [her] health”—but the episode is basically over. Blake blows out her candles and that’s that.

Meanwhile, I can’t believe I just wrote nearly four thousand words on a six minute episode. I’m gonna go re-think my life choices.

Minor Things of Note

“You’re lucky we weren’t blown off the side of the cliff!” Hey there, episode four foreshadowing! Also, Weiss, you guys are nowhere near a cliff. You’re so dramatic.

You can really see the difference in their expressions when Oz gives his speech. Ruby and Yang looked pumped and joyous. Weiss is anxious and unsure.

Still super interested in Ozpin actually using his cane as he leaves the stage. Probably just a random animation choice before they worked out all his character kinks, but if we imagine that his host was currently speaking maybe that’s a quirk specific to him.

We never again hear about “the gang back at Signal” that Ruby is writing to. Just like we never see the friends Yang apparently entered Beacon with (and weren’t meant to given that they were also shadow people). Not that RWBY needs any more characters to keep track of, but from an in-world perspective it is a little strange that they were supposedly super close to all these people and then just... never mention them again lol. 

[unsohlved]

yee yee !!! me ?? being habitually late as usual ??? ppl everywhere r shocked !!!  but hi i’m baby i’m nineteen and yr resident mark lee stan, yr fave irl usagi tsukino & i only wear socks that have cute designs or characters on them bc being cute & obnoxious is all i’ve got going 4 me !!! let me introduce u to my babyboy who’s addicted 2 crime shows and drinking icees 24/7 !!! he’s so smart but so DUMB he can solve complicated equations in mere minutes but if u flirt w/ him he’ll die on the spot dhfhs ps plot w/ me pls u can hit me up on d*scord @ hentai lovers anonymous #8965 i’ll send u barely coherent hcs @ 3am & for a limited time only i’ll send u dog pics !!! 

triggers: uhhh bad jokes, a  deadbeat dad, a terminally ill mother, substance abuse

- ̗̀ ❛ muse 8, jeon jungkook, he/him. ❜ ̖́- did you hear about the monaco trip? it’s legendary at ucla. maddox “max” seo is going, i’m so jealous. their instagram makes it seem like they’re pretty ingenious and they’re all about crime shows & spiked cherry icees. can you believe they’re only twenty-one and they’re going on a free trip to monaco for the summer? hopefully they don’t let their audacious side show too much on the trip. ( baby, she/her, mst)

backstory. 

ok so basically growing up he’s only ever known his mother. his dad had skipped camp shortly after max was born only to make a very brief, drunk cameo at max’s 7th birthday party which only made max hate him more fjdhgj 

having a single mom was cool in a lot of ways !!! for example whenever they cld afford to go to theme parks they didn’t have to worry abt who had to sit with who & she let max stay up reading or playing animal crossing after he’d finished his schoolwork 

its hard parenting solo so he was always a little bit of a wild child hhg but w/ a cause !!! once a girl in his class got pushed by two boys and he kicked their asses !!! and his mom was like ..... im glad u respect women but pls i cant afford 2 bail u out of jail when u grow up 

he’s been getting in fights w/ others since he cld walk lbr hell even CRAWL

but it was also difficult in a lot of ways too. he often wore thrifted clothes or hand me downs that were barely hanging on by a thread. his mom was always busy at work and she was so exhausted by the time she came home that it physically pained max

but she always made time for him. she was so ??? selfless ??? she’d drop everything to watch his science fairs and she was always front row at his spelling bees. she never let money stop max from pursuing his hobbies. when max wanted to join baseball in middle school she worked extra shifts to pay for his equipment. 

his freshman year of high school his mom started to get rlly sick but like jhhfgsh they were a low income family w/ not so great insurance so she put it off until she absolutely couldn’t anymore and she was diagnosed with leukemia 

it was an emotional and financial strain for the both of them. he started working as well as continuing his studies. hospital bills are outrageous & the healthcare system doesn’t rlly care abt poor families u know 

before the trip the doctors announced that his mother’s leukemia was terminal and that she likely only had a year tops left. so max almost turned down coming on the trip altogether but his mom insisted and asked him to go and take pictures and call her every day so she could live vicariously through him

and she pinky promised she’d hold on until he made it back home. she probably won’t. but he can’t afford to lose her bc thats his emotional support parent the only person whos loved him even tho hes temperamental & a smartass 

he juggled school, work, parties, &  taking care of his mom.

he’s going for something in psychobiology or forensic pathology but he !!! can’t decide !!!

hcs. 

if u call him maddox his eye wil l start twitching jfdghkdgjh his dad is the one who named him so he Hates his full name. 

super intelligent ??? but only abt very niche things like if u wanna talk abt pyschobiology or the applications of imaginary numbers in everyday life he’s all in if its abt common sense tho ??? max has left the chat 

started experimenting w/ substances shortly after his mom was diagnosed 2 help him cope 

always drinking spiked cherry & coke icees ??? everyones always like wtf where do u even get that 

facetimes w/ his mom every single day & is always asking the other to take pics of him so he can send them to her 

hasn’t told anyone abt his mom because he Hates being pitied ??? like after all ,,, he’s not the one w/ leukemia 

he has crushes on anyone thats either too nice or too mean to him fhsdhgkshg he never dated when he was younger so he’s like ???? u looked at me for 5 seconds we r in love 

vvv hardworking !!!! but also !!!! goofs around sm u start wondering if he is smart for Real 

cries when he talks abt how much he loves his mom 

ok lstn ,,,, he Rarely sleeps he’s always keeping himself busy bc if he’s busy then he doesn’t have to deal with how guilty he feels abt leaving his mom behind

so he’s spending this whole trip: Barely Sober

when hes drunk he recites the opening scene for law & order svu and hums the intro very off-key over and over 

swears he has 36746 unsolved cases Solved

has a crush on every single anime girl ever hkshkhgk

got into ucla on an academic scholarship but he’s still drowning in debt so he sells iLLeGaL substances 4 cash 

he’s on the baseball team & in lacrosse on top of being in 467364 clubs which is why hes BUff but also tired

this is all ive got i made this up on a whim gdfjagjh

tldr: he hates his dad & his name, loves his very sick mother, is chaotic but somehow smart & he falls in love like five times a day but he’s a libra what did u Expect 

[rosesisupposes]

Going for the Glory

Part 8 of Breakin’ Free, a High School Musical Sanders Sides AU

Chapter Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality, Slight Remceit

Chapter Warnings: Coming out, swearing

word count: 4,980

Reader tags: @residentanchor @royally-anxious@bewarethegrammarpolice   @jemthebookworm@arandompasserby  @sparkly-rainbow-salt@astral-eclipse​ @thelowlysatsuma @adorably-angsty

<<7. If We’re Tryin’ | Masterpost

read on ao3

SCENE: East High - Game Day, Scholastic Decathlon Day, Callbacks Day

Friday afternoon arrived like a swarm of honey bees. The whole school was buzzing in excitement with a large helping of sweetness. The cliques continued to mingle as ‘good lucks’ were exchanged between drama geeks, science nerds, jocks, and pep band geeks alike. As the basketball team found the scholastic decathlon team, the sweetness became slightly more literal.

Roman led the way into the lab where the decathletes were prepping, with teammates shielding their gift.

“Virge, Logan, we have a surprise for you!” he called happily. The two science students turned from where they were donning their East High lab coats.

Patton emerged from where he’d been ducking behind the team to place his creation on the lab bench, glowing with pride. He’d made a lemon meringue pie decorated with a huge “𝚷” in the meringue. “In your honor - a Pi Pie!” he announced, grinning hugely.

Logan looked up to thank him but suddenly went quiet, smiling just as widely. Virgil noticed and smirked, then nudged his friend in the ribs. Coming back to himself, Logan said “Thank you, Patton. In fact, we have a present for you as well.”

He and Virgil walked over to a white board and both gestured with open arms, chorusing, “Ta da!”

Remy, Patton, and Roman all stared at the board, heads tilted. It was covered in incomprehensible (to them) equations that seemed to be somehow explaining how to make the perfect free throw, accounting for drag, vertical draft, air pressure within and without the ball, and speed of the player shooting.

“Oh, it’s… equations!” Patton said with forced cheer. “Thanks, you two!”

Logan and Virgil made eye contact and snickered. Snickers turned into laughs as they flipped the board over, revealing a colorful drawing of a wildcat dunking a basketball and “Go Wildcats!” in huge letters. The basketball players all sighed in relief with “Oh!”s of understanding, as Logan, Virgil, and their decathlon teammates pelted them with stuffed basketballs they’d hidden around the lab. The team tried to retaliate, but they were outmatched and laughing too hard to care.

Remy suddenly caught sight of the clock and nudged Roman. They waved goodbye to the decathletes and jogged as a team down to Ms. Darbus’ classroom, where Dee & Cee were chatting with other students who had callbacks for the singles roles that day.

Remy strolled in and leaned over a desk to wink at Dee. “Hey, Not-So-Evil Twins, we’ve got something to show you. Follow me!”

The twins were slightly off put by the nickname but mostly intrigued. The rest of the auditioners and Ms. Darbus crowded behind them in the door of the classroom to watch. The entire varsity squad of the basketball team were arranged in rows in their red-and-white warm up suits. Remy re-joined the formation, telling Dee, “From our team, to yours!”

One by one they opened their jackets to reveal t-shirts painted in huge letters. “G - O - D - R - A - M - A - C - L - U - B” they spelled out, Roman bringing up the rear with “Exclamation Point!”

Ms. Darbus smiled. “Seems we Wildcats are in for an interesting afternoon.”

Dee smirked, enjoying the offering. Beside him, Cee stared in confusion. “Godra? Godray?” he read aloud. Dee rolled his eyes and pulled his twin behind him, heading towards the auditorium. The basketball team split off towards the gym, and the decathletes made their way to the amphitheater. It was 2:45 pm, less than an hour until the multiple events started.

Logan nudged Virgil with a small grin. “It looks like the game is afoot.”

“I never thought I’d be able to say this without seeming like a huge hypocrite, but you are a enormous nerd,” Virgil smirked back. “But also, yes it is. And we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”

SCENE: Locker Room

Roman was in the locker room suiting up, stretching out his pre-game jitters. He couldn’t wait to get out there with his team, but the amount riding on this game was nothing to sneeze at. He was in the middle of an arm stretch when his dad knocked on the wall, getting his attention.

“How you feeling, Ro?”

“Nervous,” the captain admitted.

“Me too. Wish I could suit up and play alongside you,” the coach said with a smile.

“Hey, you had your turn! Let the young guys show you how it’s done,” Roman shot back with a chuckle.

“You know what I want from you today?” Coach Bolton asked, sitting on a bench across from his son.

“The championship,” Roman said, feeling another butterfly burst out into his gut.

“Well, that'll come or it won't,” his father said. “What I want is for you to have fun. I know all about the pressure. And probably too much of it has come from me.” His face twisted a bit, betraying his guilt. But he made eye contact with the teen across from him as he continued. “What I really want is to see my son having the time of his life playing the game we both love. You give me that, and I will sleep with a smile on my face no matter how the score comes out.”

Roman could feel the butterflies melting away. His dad got it. He knew he’d been harsh, but ultimately, he just wanted his son to be successful and happy.

“Thanks, Coach - I mean, Dad.”

He stood up and hugged his dad firmly. Father and son both squeezed for a moment, then parted to finish getting ready for the game’s imminent start.

SCENE: All Over East High

Quiet chatter bounced around the amphitheater where the decathlon was soon to start. Virgil stood in the audience, chatting with his mom as she cooed over his lab coat.

“I’m so proud of you, mijo. I know you’re gonna do great today!”

“Mamá, you are not allowed to be embarrassing in any way.”

“When am I ever embarrassing?”

Virgil rolled his eyes as he held up a hand to list off his grievances. “The competition in Colorado, junior high graduation, the nationals in 2015, the science fair in seventh grade…”

Lisa laughed and hugged her son around the shoulders. “Okay, okay, I’ll be good. Can I at least meet your friends on the team?”

But Virgil was saved by the decathlon judge stepping up to the front of the room and gesturing for the teams to come meet one another. Virgil hugged his mom back quickly and hurried up to stand by Logan as they shook their opponents’ hands.

“Welcome to the tenth annual Scholastic Decathlon,” the judge announced. “Today we have the East High Wildcats versus the West High Knights.”

“Now presenting your Wildcats!” the announcer blared. Roman, Remy, Patton, and the rest of their team spilled into the gym in a wave of red and white, cheering and waving to the crowd. They grabbed basketballs and circled, warming up, dribbling, and shooting in turn.

“Welcome to the championship game between East High and West High!”

Remy dribbled past Roman, throwing him a grin. “You ready, man?”

“You know I am!”

“It’s go time!”

“It’s time!” sang Ms. Darbus, leading in the small crowd of actors to the auditorium. Joan sat at the piano, warming up and practicing. In the green room, Dee and Cee were performing their vocal warm ups, trills and scales and enunciation exercises.

“Ahhhh-ee-ee-ah-ee-ee-ahhhhhh,” Cee sang, traversing the entire octave up and down. Dee rolled sounds in his throat.

The sounds rolled around the dressing room before Dee held up a hand. Without looking, he fell backwards into Cee’s arms. Standing, he turned to his twin.

“I trust you.”

“Energy.”

Ms. Darbus checked the watch of the student assisting at her audition table. Standing, she took the stage.

“Casting a show is both a challenge and a responsibility. A joy and a burden,” she proclaimed, her voice booming through the mostly-empty auditorium. “I commend you and all other young artists to hold out for the moon, the sun, and the stars.” Her assistant took a picture of her and Joan as director and playwright. She smiled and asked, “Shall we soar together?”

Taking her seat in the audience, she called out “Diego and Cedric!”

As the music started, Cee appeared onstage first. His shirt was flowy and glittery, not quite a full Flamenco shirt, but definitely pushing in that direction. Silver threads interlaced with blue and sequins made him a bit difficult to look at directly as the stage lights caught him. Hitting his first pose, he sang out “¿Quieres bailar?”

Dee appeared on the opposite side of the stage in his own spotlight as he blew a kiss to the audience and sang in response to his twin “¡Mirame!” If Cee was sparkling, Dee was blinding. He was in full character as the musical’s heroine, Minnie. His dress hugged his slender chest and cascaded in tiers of waves in the skirt, all blue and silver and far too many sequins. Even his headset microphone matched, bedazzled in glittery blue rhinestones. He swirled to center stage in a flash of blue and dove into the first verse of the song, with Ms. Darbus grooving along from her spot in the audience.

The twins had a mix of choreography, switching from salsa to flamenco to rumba and sprinkling in more classic musical theater moves in between. In terms of pure talent, they’d never been in doubt.

“Yeah, we're gonna bop, bop, bop, bop to the top!” they sang in tandem, singing through plastered-on stage smiles as they made their way through complex steps and spins. Joan nervously checked the clock as they continued. Time was of the essence today, and the twins had once again adapted Joan’s song to be much faster than they’d pictured.

In the amphitheater, Virgil’s event had been drawn first, and he raced against a West High student to complete a full chain of reactions. He was a comfortable level of jittery as he wrote across his white board quickly. He reached the bottom as his opponent was completing only her fifth line, and quickly made his way to the game clock and stopped his timer.

The judge came forward and checked his word, before gesturing to the team table and announcing, “The point goes to East High!”

The team cheered and their supporters cheered with them, Lisa Montez the loudest of them all. Virgil rolled his eyes but smiled at her and gave a small wave. Logan clapped him on the shoulder, saying, “Excellently done, Virgil!”

Virgil glanced at the clock and nudged his friend. As the next event started, Logan brought out his laptop. “It seems it’s time that the Wildcats made an orderly exit from the gym, does it not?” he murmured as he worked. He sent off the code he’d created, then opened his other file. “You are quite sure this one will work to disrupt the room, Virge?” he asked quietly, typing away.

“Oh believe me, it works," Virgil whispered back, eyeing the Bunsen burner near the judge stand with trepidation.

“All right. Here goes,” Logan said, sending off the new code. The beaker on the burner started to heat up, causing the sac inside to burst. The room filled with the scent of rotten eggs as team members and audience members alike gagged and rushed to the exits.

“I assume it is working?” Logan whispered as he hurried Virgil to a side door closer to the auditorium.

“Uh, yeah, Lo, it smells terrible,” Virgil exclaimed.

“I would not know - I have anosmia. Why else did you think I agreed to this childish distraction?”

Virgil swore at him over his shoulder as he sprinted away, heading for the theater.

Joan was hiding behind their bowler hat as Dee & Cee’s routine neared its end. It’s not that the twins were bad, it was all just so extra. Every extra flourish, every break to throw in more unscripted Spanish just made the composer cringe more and more. They’d even worn a burgundy suit jacket and bow tie for the occasion, but now it was only serving as camouflage as they shrunk into the red audience seats.

“Bop, bop, bop, bop to the top, wipe away your inhibitions!” the twins sang, Dee always managing to be just a bit downstage and more center of his twin. His skirt flared as they neared the conclusion of their song. The lights raised on the back of the stage, revealing a ladder covered in gold tinsel. As Cee spun in front, Dee scaled the ladder into the spotlight.

“We'll keep stepping up and we just won't stop ‘till we reach the top!” the twins hit the final note together as Cee scaled the ladder, only to be push down a rung by his brother.

They held the final note, both breathing heavily from the exertion of the performance as the audience of drama students erupted into applause, Ms. Darbus enthusiastically clapping along.

“Do you see why we love the theater, people? Well done, Dee & Cee!” she cried happily. She picked up her clipboard and called out the next names on her list. “Roman Bolton and Virgil Montez. Roman? Virgil?” The auditorium was silent as Dee smirked triumphantly.

“They'll be here, Ms. Darbus,” Joan said, looking anxiously at their watch.

“The theater, as I have often pointed out, waits for no one. I'm sorry, Joan. Callbacks are over. Cast lists will be posted on Monday.”

Joan cursed under their breath and stormed off into the wings, scowling at the self-satisfied twins.

The first quarter was coming to a close and East and West High were still tied at only 8 points each. The team was moving well, their defense strong. There had been a slip early on, but they were holding West High still. Roman raced the length of the court, directing teammates and weaving between opponents. He watched the ball fly over his head into Patton’s arms when the scoreboard flickered. The voice of the announcer who’d been offering blow-by-blow commentary fizzled and faded. Suddenly, every light in the gym went off. Murmurs of confusion rolled around the crowd as the players stopped and stared at each other awkwardly. Remy nudged Roman with a grin.

“What are you waiting for, babes? Go!”

Roman smiled and ran out of the gym, dodging through the crowd and hurrying out.

He tore into the auditorium as Ms. Darbus picked up her purse and made to leave.

“Wait! Ms. Darbus, wait! We're ready, we can sing!” he cried, seeing Virgil running down another aisle.

“I called your names, twice,” Ms. Darbus said sharply.

“Ms. Darbus, please,” Virgil begged, running up the stairs to the stage.

“Rules are rules,” the director insisted. But as she spoke, crowds of students started filing into the auditorium from both the basketball game and the decathlon. Most wore East High red and white, but the West High teams were present too, all looking confused.

Dee leaned over, staring starry-eyed at the huge audience, and said, “We'll be happy to do it again for our fellow students, Ms. Darbus!”

“I don't know what's going on here,” the teacher began, uncertain, “but in any event, it's far too late and we have not got a pianist.”

“Aw well, that’s show biz,” Cee said sympathetically.

“We’ll sing without a piano!” Roman insisted, but was interrupted by a blur of burgundy and black.

“No you goddamn won’t!” Joan stepped in front of the Evans twins to speak directly to the director. “Pianist here, Ms. Darbus.”

“You really don’t want to do that,” Dee said dangerously, stepping into Joan’s space.

They stared back steadily as they replied, “Oh yeah I fucking do.” Dee’s eyes widened in shock as the composer ran to their piano, calling “Ready on stage!” behind them.

Ms. Darbus eyed the interaction. “Now that’s show biz,” she said with admiration.

A stage hand gave Roman two handheld microphones as the twins stormed off into the wings.

He walked over and handed Virgil one where he was still standing in the middle of the stage, staring at the huge number of people  that was only continuing to grow as the last of the crowds filtered in. The stage lights came back on, illuminating his white lab coat and Roman’s white tracksuit as the basketball player signaled to Joan to start.

The familiar strains of the song began, but Virgil remained frozen, eyes wide as he stared straight ahead.

Roman gestured for Joan to pause and walked over to the shorter man, partially shielding from the crowd as he murmured, “You okay?”  

“I can’t do it, Ro, not with all those people staring at me.” He started to turn away as Roman caught his free hand.

“Hey, hey, look at me, look at me, right at me. Right at me, okay? No one else is here. It's just like the first time we sang together. Like kindergarten,” he said with a reassuring smile. “I’m here. You can do this, I know you can.”

Without releasing his hand, Roman gestured to Joan to start again. 

“We're soaring, flying. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach,” he sang, staring directly into Virgil’s eyes.

Without breaking eye contact, Virgil lifted his mic and continued, “If we're trying, so we're breaking free.”

Roman spotted the tiniest hint of a smile. Virgil would be okay. He spun out to the audience. They needed to hear this too, see them up onstage and telling them what could be possible.

“You know the world can see us in a way that different than who we are.” He saw movement at the door and realized the last person from the gym had entered. It was his dad, leaning on the wall and listening hard.

Virgil let his hand drop, stepping away, “Creating space between us, 'til we're separate hearts.”

Joan grinned from their spot at the piano as the two built up to the chorus, signaling the rest of the band in the wings to join in.

Virgil suddenly  realized that Roman was right. It was just like New Year’s Eve all over again, all familiar jitters and excitement and this beautiful man singing to him like no one else could hear. Roman’s red hair glowed in the stage lights, a sun rising in the dark of the auditorium. Dimly he was aware that the crowd was starting to clap along, but what did that matter when a freckled smile was harmonizing and dancing around him?

They hadn’t practiced any choreography, but danced together and apart, spinning around their lone set piece, a crescent moon they’d painted together. They danced over to Joan’s piano as the composer danced with them, still playing and bopping their head along to the beat.

“More than you, more than me,” Roman sang, spinning Virgil out onto the stage.

“Not a want, but a need,” he sang back, grinning like mad as Roman followed him.

"Both of us, breaking free!” they chorused, hands finding each other and interlocking like an old habit, newly formed. The basketball team whooped and cheered, Remy leading the crowd in a standing ovation. Logan found he couldn’t be self-conscious, watching his friend glow with happiness, and stood too, earning himself a huge grin from Patton, just a row behind him.

Virgil briefly caught sight of his mom in the crowd, her hands covering her face as he swayed to the music. Was she crying? Her hands moved to clap along, revealing tears and a huge smile as she cheered loud and long for her son.

Joan and their piano led the song to its conclusion, slowing down to the final note as Roman and Virgil sang to each other.

“You know the world can see us in a way that’s different than who we are…”

They hit the final notes in harmony. Roman was staring unashamedly into Virgil’s dark eyes, at his flushed cheeks, at the way the stage lights caught the purple highlights in his hair. Grabbing the shorter man’s hand, he felt the same urge as that moment on New Year’s, when the distance between himself and Virgil seemed to shrink and all he wanted was to breach that final, infinitesimal separation between their lips. He leaned in, and despite the loud applause of the crowd, they didn’t break away.

Virgil was positive that this was death. He’d freaked out so hard about singing that he’d died and gone into a weird afterlife dream where the most beautiful man serenaded him and then kissed him in front of the entire school. Because it was only in heaven and his daydreams that this could actually be happening, right? His lips were so soft, and it felt like sunshine spilling into his soul as he kissed back, holding his waist with the hand not occupied by a mic.

The only thing that could cut through the dull roar of the crowd’s applause was a familiar, drawling voice shouting “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, FINALLY!”

They broke apart, blushes spreading on both of their cheeks.

“Ro, I have no idea how we get off this stage now,” Virgil whispered.

“Don’t worry, Panic! at the Musical,” Roman said, still blushing. “I think I know how.”

He stepped forward, closer to the stage, and spoke into the mic. “Thank you! To my teammates, to the drama club, to the science nerds, skaters, band geeks, and also both my parents, my name is Roman Bolton, and I am apparently gay. And I can’t ask my fabulous duet partner, Virgil Montez, to be my boyfriend with you all watching. To our West High guests, can’t wait to see y’all in the rematch, and to my East High friends, go Wildcats!” With that, he grabbed Vigil’s hand and dragged them both offstage, laughing like mad and still blushing furiously.

SCENE: Gymnasium

Roman was more than a little certain that he had yet to touch the ground since callbacks, floating on the countless wonderful emotions and memories that were the reality of dating Virgil. Somehow he had been able to drag himself away from walking down the street and the hallways introducing him to anyone and everyone who would listen as “my BOYFRIEND!” But at least there was the perk that he was constantly walking on air.

Or, in the case of the East-West rematch, flying down the court.

“...and West High pushin' the ball. Fast break. Looking for an open man. Oh, but it's stolen by number 14, Bolton, heading back the other way!” The commentator channeled the crowd’s energy as she called the action on the court. “East High has possession, one point down and only 15 seconds left on the clock! He’s looking for an open man. Fake! Swing to the outside, ball on the perimeter.”

Roman panted as he tossed the ball to Remy, getting closer to the net. He was acutely aware of how close they were to winning this thing, if they could just get an opening… there it was!

A high toss from Remy that only Patton could possibly reach, then a quick throw to Roman. He leapt, legs, core, and arms all in perfect harmony to get just the right angle and…

“And it's good! A 12-foot jump shot as time expires for the victory! East High has won the championship!”

Roman felt a thwump as Patton collided with him in a huge hug, followed shortly by the thwumpthwumpthwump of the rest of the team following suit. They all jumped up and down as one, cheering and celebrating without abandon. The cheerleaders and mascot were the first to get from the sidelines to the court to celebrate with them. But soon after, Coach Bolton, close to tears with happiness, came over to the team huddle of bodies to hand them the enormous championship trophy.

“Coming through! Proud coach coming through!” he yelled, and handed off the gleaming brass basketball on its heavy wooden base to Remy and Roman. Gripping his son’s shoulder, he managed to be heard as he told him, “I’m so proud of you Roman. For everything!”

Remy was the first to start the chant as the team swept Roman off his feet, hoisting him on their shoulders. “What team?”

“Wildcats!”

“What team?”

“Wildcats!”

“Wildcats!”

“Get’cha head in the game!”

They finally released him as he passed the trophy on to the other teammates and grabbed his dad for a hug as the spectators flooded from the bleachers to the court. Even Ms. Darbus had caught the spirit, cheering “Bravo!” at Roman as she passed.

Coach Bolton was even happy enough to cheer back, “Brava!” at her. The assistant coach pulled Roman’s dad away as he paused for a moment, catching his breath for the first time since the game had begun. Arms suddenly wrapped around him as he turned to see Virgil, hair re-dyed a festive Wildcat red just for the occasion.

“Congratulations, you dork,” he said, grinning hugely. “You’re officially the school’s Prince Charming again.”

“I would never make you share this brilliance with the entire school,” Roman responded. “Did you get the scores back from the decathlon?”

“We won, too,” Virgil said, but was interrupted by Roman hugging him with both arms and swinging him around in the air.

“I bring the looks and the brawn, you bring the smarts and also the looks, we are clearly the best couple ever and I am so happy you’re my boyfriend.”

“Goddammit Ro, you’re gonna make me blush and then I’ll clash with my hair,” Virgil admonished as he wriggled out of Roman’s hold.

“Guess I’m forced to kiss the blush off your cheeks,” Roman proclaimed. Just as he leaned in, Remy pushed in between them with a basketball in his hands.

“Hey Ro! Team voted you the game ball! Congrats!” Remy said airily, barely pretending to not notice what he’d interrupted.

“Thanks, Rem. Really appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” his friend said with a bow, strolling off.

Virgil hugged Roman again, then suddenly hit his arm excitedly. Staring in the direction of his pointing arm, Roman saw Patton walking up to Logan and grinned.

“So, you’re coming with me to the after-party, right?” Patton asked, open face smiling.

Logan started. “Sorry, that was directed to me?”

“Of course, Lo! So will you?”

“I- uh. I was planning to attend because Virgil had asked me to…”

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t being clear!” Patton realized. “Words are funny like that, aren’t they? I meant as a date!”

Logan stared for a moment, then two, then three without moving anything besides his eyes blinking.

Virgil nudged Roman and muttered in his ear, “Logan.exe has crashed.”

“Oh, also, these are for you! Fresh today!” Patton added, handing the shorter man a bag of cookies. “I heard you like jam thumbprints!”

Logan accepted the bag and managed to nod his agreement, to both the cookies and the date, as a huge smile spread across his face.

Virgil and Roman both punched the air in victory as Cee and Dee passed by, both in full East High spirit colors.

“Congrats again on your roles,” Dee said. “I guess we’re going to be the understudies in case you can't make one of the shows, so... break a leg.”

Roman stared in slight fear until Dee laughed and added, “It’s drama geek for ‘good luck’.”

Dee passed them and watched Cee dance off with a cheerleader, bopping to the music the pep band had struck up. He shouldered his way through pairs of students before coming up on Remy, leaning against the bleachers as he watched Roman and Virgil steal another kiss in the middle of the crowd.

Dee came up to lean next to him. “Can’t believe I crushed on Roman all these years only for him to actually be gay but still allo. I’m so disappointed.”

“That’s what everyone says when they what I’m ace. Like, I get it, I’m frustratingly hot and sassy as hell, why are you so obsessed with me?” Remy drawled back. He’d found his shades somewhere by the team bench and slipped them back on.

“You’re ace too?” Dee asked incredulously

“Of course I am. Hey, Dee, want to come to the afterparty and make fun of these gay disasters more?”

“Wait, really? You aren’t like ‘Dee’s a bitch and I hate him’?”

“Not at all, hun. You’re a bitch and I like it so much.”

“Well in that case, lead the way, Mr. Danforth.”

Somewhere in the crowd, Roman managed to find Joan. “Hey composer! Here’s your game ball. You deserve it, playmaker!”

Joan took the basketball, smiling. “Congrats again, you two!” they said with a wicked grin. “Can’t wait til rehearsals start and you’re at my mercy for eight weeks straight.”

Virgil laughed and pushed them. “Hey, this is all your fault. You can’t be mean to us now!”

“Oh so you’re saying you’d rather that you hadn’t met your boyfriend through the power of my beautiful song and lyrics?”

“Ya got me there,” Virgil shrugged. “But for real, thank you, Joan. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

Roman nodded emphatically. “And the rest of you, too,” he said, turning to his and Virgil’s teams. “All of this was a group effort. We made each other strong.”

“None of us are exactly alike,” Patton added. He and Logan were very subtly holding hands. “But the ways we’re different are all good and unique. And I’m grateful we arrived at where we are now.”

“Now let’s go celebrate!” Roman said.

“All of us?” a decathlon teammate asked.

“Absolutely!” Roman called. “This is a celebration for all of our victories. We’re all Wildcats, no matter what. And if there’s one thing this school has learned, it’s that we’re all in this together.”

a/n: Thank you for sticking with me through this weird little adventure, especially the cheesy-as-hell ending. Gotta get to those DCOM roots and end in the hamfisted moral.

In conclusion: I love my collection of disaster gays of various heights. I hope you've enjoyed them too <3

[cooldoodjames-blog]

The Crabby Conundrum: Are Crabs Real?

This weeks school newspaper article, edited to avoid giving away personal info

By JAMES

Are crabs actually real?

These conniving crustaceans are not what they seem. “Crabs” as we know them are simply a ruse for evil government antics. Currently, I have been informing people that the corporations who secretly run the government are trying to use crabs as the gateway to controlling the masses. After all, who would assume crabs are the reason why many worldwide citizens are becoming brainwashed to believe obvious lies? Nobody. Well, nobody until me, that is. But how did I come to this “ridiculous” conclusion, some might ask.

Well it all started on a breezy Autumn night at a crab themed restaurant called “The Newport Cafe” situated a few miles off of the Oregon coast. I decided that it might be amusing to send two of my friends a photo of their cartoonish crabby mascot. After some thought on it, I came to the realization that I had never actually seen a living crab. Ergo, crabs are probably not real.

After this, I rapidly spread the news: Crabs are just government creations. They are actually one of two things: 1) highly intelligent bees in costumes or 2) robots filled with seafood. Now, I have to admit, highly intelligent bees in a costume does seem a bit strange, but I’ve been claiming to be highly intelligent bees in a costume for a while now myself, so I think I know what a group of highly intelligent bees in a costume looks like when I see one.

Many people have refused to believe me until I am able to provide suitable proof, so I have taken it upon myself to prove my claims.

First, it is important to know what the popular opinion is. The results of  a recent poll indicated that 80% of voters agree that crabs are not real,with 20% disagreeing, believing that the conniving creatures are, in fact, real. However, despite the fact that popular opinion sides with the hypothesis that crabs do not exist, there have still been multiple debates on the subject. Luckily, some other students have agreed to share their perspectives on this ridiculous controversy.

In response to being asked if crabs are fake, sophomore Katie (@small-leech) replied, “Of course crabs are fake!! There shouldn’t even be an ‘if’ in that sentence. They are definitely fake. The things we think of as crabs are nothing more than the exoskeleton of a long dead species infested with a living parasitic virus that controls the husk’s every move. How do I know this? I listen in science class. Crabs are fake.” When asked what she would have to say to any crab believers out there, she gladly supplied the response, “Do not be duped by the ‘crabs’. The ‘crabs’ only have the power if you refer to them as such. Resist!”

Sophomore Hailie disagrees with the notion that crabs are fake but agrees that the idea of them is unfavorable, saying, “Crabs are real. As a Cancer, I have to respect the sanctity of the majestic crab. Without crabs, I would most likely be considered a Leo, and nobody wants to be a Leo. Gross. All in all, I’m sadly connected to crabs. I wish I wasn’t. That’s all.” What she didn’t take into account, however, was that not all zodiac signs are represented by real creatures. For example, a Sagittarius is represented by a centaur and a Capricorn is represented by a sea-goat, two rather unreal creatures. Therefore, it is still entirely possible for crabs to just be a myth.

Sophomore Layla (@strawbrrs) advocates for the existence of crabs in all debates, but when questioned about their existence, all she had to offer on the matter was, “I believe they’re real because I’ve seen one.” When asked to elaborate on this fact, she could not. Seeing may equate to believing in some situations, but just seeing the outer exterior of these detestable phonies is not nearly enough to conclude that they exist.

Another crab believer is sophomore Lexy who claims, “Crabs are real. They are definitely not bees in costumes. I’ve picked up a crab before and it did not buzz at all… I think.” When asked what she has to say about crab deniers, she simply suggested that they were all unfortunate people to have been fooled by this “ridiculous theory.” Again, Lexy does not really have a leg to stand on here. She was unable to conclusively confirm that the crab she had picked up did not buzz, so there is still a very real possibility that “crabs” could still, in fact, be multiple highly intelligent bees in a costume.

Enter evidence piece number two: Imitation Crab. According to Wikipedia, imitation crab is “a type of seafood made of starch and finely pulverized white fish that has been shaped and cured to resemble the leg meat of snow crab or Japanese spider crab.” And I have to question, if other foods can create the taste we consider crab, were crabs even a real thing at all? Maybe the masses have just been being tricked this whole time. Maybe there is no difference between imitation crab and real crab because “real crab” has been and always will be just a mixture of ingredients under a fraudulent name to promote the falsehoods being shoved down the throats of society?

Finally, it was time to do some in person investigation. I decided to check the local Petsmart in search of living crabs. Their website claims that they sell red clawed crabs and hermit crabs, so it should have been a fairly safe assumption to think they had “crabs” at their stores. However, there was a problem. They had falsely advertised hermit crabs on their site. There were no hermit crabs in sight, just empty containers.  This is proof of the conspiracy of spreading false information in order to give crabs the validity that they lack. Despite the fact that they didn't have hermit crabs, they did have one red clawed “crab.” It was clearly a fake though, because it was hidden in aquarium decor and did not move once. Additionally, when I asked the saleswoman if I could open the crab to check for bees, she said that I could not do that. Because of these facts, I was unable to confirm the existence of non-government created crabs.

Conclusively, crabs are not what they seem. As I have been unable to get any concrete proof that crabs are not highly intelligent bees in costumes, or alternatively robots filled with seafood, they must be one of those two things.

[june-maslow]

Break me

After the events on level 18 there was a lot for the group to discuss. The more the learned about The Grid the more dangerous the virtual world became. Whether or not they should keep going in had been mentioned and the opinions on the matter had been polarizing, to say the least. Maya might have been their leader inside the virtual world, but the de facto leader outside was Wes -with the A.R.V.I.S. program being his thing and all- and he asked them all to meet at the old computer room to talk about the situation.

Bailey and June were the first ones to arrive and the hacker silently hoped that someone else would get there soon. Anyone. Even Silva would have been a good enough buffer between her and the Queen Bee. It was never a good idea to leave the two of them alone in the same space without some mediator. Even if tensions weren’t running as high things were far from smooth between the headmistress’ daughter and herself.

The other girl tried to fill the silence with harmless small talk, getting only curt responses from the hacker, who was notoriously bad at chit chat. Maybe she was bad at it because she hated it so much. At some point that mostly one-sided small talk came to an abrupt end when Bailey asked “What’s your problem? Why do you hate me so much?”.

Now the real conversation started.

“I don’t hate you” she replied with some exasperation, actually bothering to look -really look- at the other girl for the first time. Saying that she didn’t hate Bailey might have sounded as a lie since she clearly didn’t like her, but it wasn’t hate that June felt towards her.

“So?” Bailey asked with an expression that urged her to go on, to give her a damn explanation for all the animosity she had experienced so far.

If she wanted one dose of truth, she could give that to her. June’s frown deepened slightly as she leaned back against her chair, keeping a steady gaze. “I don’t know you, and I don’t want to get to know you. Just because I’m friends with your cousin doesn’t mean I automatically have to be friends with you too. And just because you forced your way into this group doesn’t mean I have to welcome you with open arms”.

“Come on” the headmistress’ daughter looked away, seeming annoyed by such a predictable reply from June. “What’s it going to take for you to get over that? You’re the only one still holding it against me” she said as she faced her cousin’s friend again.

“I’m the only one who’s not giving you a free pass for the shit you pulled, there’s a difference. You fucking blackmailed your cousin -your family- out a fucking whim. You do see how messed up that was, right?” the hacker replied, her words coming out more roughly than before. “But guess what? You can’t always get what you want, princess” she stated derisively.

Bailey Fuge got a spot in the group and she got The Grid. She didn’t get to have June’s forgiveness, or approval, or whatever the hell it was she was after. Was it petty from her? Most likely. But it was the only ounce of control she had over a situation over which she had no say before.

“So this is all about Wes?”.

June felt herself grow tense after that question. For a moment there she felt like Bailey might gain the upper hand in this discussion, that the other girl might get to attack a weak spot she had no intention of fully revealing. Bailey could be incisive, but so could June. She had paid enough attention to the other girl over the past months to know her weak spot.

“No, this is about you” she said coldly, pointing at the girl. “Stop fooling yourself by overcomplicating this whole scenario. You know the only problem in this whole equation is you”.

And with that she got up, grabbing her things and walked out of the computer room. The others could text her when they arrived and she’d come back.

( @baileyfuge )

[dear-jjh]

it was different tonight

gif originally posted by kingdans

requested: yes! “hi omg I love seongwoo too so could i request a scenario for him? maybe something fluffy with a little smut if thats ok:) thank you so much<3” pairing: seongwoo x reader genre: fluff? smut? (light) word count: 2.2k summary: you end up encountering seongwoo in two awkward different situations in one party  a/n: This particular scenario has been updated! I removed the “smut” but there was still a “scene” ;). Read it to find out hahaha (this was the first request sent to me and thank you for sending it! I had fun writing it tbh except for the smut part because it was really hard. please let me know how i did and if you liked it or not. its the first scenario i ever wrote so i know its not the best. it was rushed thats why its in point form! please let me know how i did! thank you and have fun reading!) CAN SOMEONE SEND ME LIKE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS BC I REALLY SUCK AT TITLES, HELP YA GIRL OUT!! :)

masterlist

You were busy trying on dresses for the party later at one of your closest friend’s house

You finished all of your exams and needed to let out some steam. You needed this as a “breather” after a long ass stressful semester

You picked this navy blue dress and was about to try it on when your best friend Ahreum slammed open your apartment door crying and sobbing as if someone died??????

“HE BROKE UP WITH ME, HE CHEATED ON ME” she could hardly say it because she was literally sobbing on the floor

“oh my god what did I tell you!!!!!!!! I told you not to date him, you guys haven’t even dated for longer than a month, why are you like this?”

ok like you felt bad about your friend’s break up but you already gave her the warning that she shouldn’t date him because he was a f*ckboy…

“OK GET UP WE’RE GOING TO A PARTY, YOU NEED TO FORGET ABOUT YOUR SADNESS FOR TONIGHT. WHO KNOWS MAYBE YOU’LL FIND SOMEONE BETTER THERE” you exclaimed because it was literally 7 pm and the party will start at 8

she was still on the floor crying but your bestfriend realized that she probably needed to get drunk to forget about her ex so she decided to just go with you

anyways, back to you

you decided to wear the navy blue dress that you picked, it was kind of showy and it highlighted your curves but who cares you have no time anymore

one of the reasons why you were going to this party was because

first: to actually celebrate

maybe second: to see the guy you secretly like for almost a year or so now, you were pretty sure he was invited because your friend (who was throwing the party) knew you like him him so she decided to invite him so that you guys can maybe have some interaction or something

you and seongwoo have always been so awkward and you never really knew why?

you were awkward because, obviously you had a thing for him

but he was awkward for an unknown reason? maybe because he knew that you’ve been crushing on him which sucked if he did

your life would totally be over

in the hallways you would just smile at each other, not really having any other interaction

you had mutual friends and during gatherings you two would not really interact

if you did, it was just casual

just a hi and a hello

after that its awkward

you did actually talk a couple of times because you were in the same math class but that was it

sometimes he would need help to answer an equation

sometimes you’d ask for the notes that you missed

he was a popular guy at school, he was smart, athletic, good-looking, he was all of that, he was really nice too. you were head over heels for him

you were glad he wasn’t one of the fboys tbh because if he was, that would really be the only thing that could ruin his whole existence

ok anyways

when you were almost at your friends house, you felt nervous????? like wtf

“do I look okay”, “is this dress too ugly”, “should we just go back home” “suddenly im allergic to parties”

you had all those thoughts in your mind but you had no choice but to go since your friend already seemed excited about partying

while you were parking your car, you could already hear the screaming and the loud music from the house

you fixed your dress and your hair before you enter  

ok theres a lot of people, is there anyway you can just go home??

there were people dancing on top of the tables, some making out, some looked intoxicated, wow people were so wild

you wanted to get some drinks so looked to your left you noticed that there were drinks on table and you were just about to tell your friend to come with you and get some but you lost her from your sight?

she was already holding a cup of beer and dancing with some guys?

wasn’t she just crying about her ex earlier?

ok anyways

you were headed to the table for the drinks

my god, it was a journey to get there

there were literally so much people that it was so hard to get through

when you reached the table, there was only one glass left

you reached for it but you noticed someone was about to reach for it too

you both touched the glass. now touching each other’s hand

you checked to see whose hand was it

it was ONG SEONGWOO

the one and only

the one you’ve secretly liked for a long time now

and the one who will not fall for you

no worries, you hopes weren’t as high

he was having an eye contact and youre basically touching each other’s hand

well this is awkward

but that’s not new because you guys are ALWAYS awkward

you snapped back to reality and said

“uh… you could take it!!”

“oh um NO its okay! you can have it” seongwoo said

“no really, its fine, I can just get another one!” you nervously exclaimed

“no (y/n)! im okay, it wasn’t for me anyways, it was for my friend. it also looks like it was just going to be your first drink so go ahead and take it” he said while handing you the glass with a smile on his face

oh my god did he just say your name

he knew your name!

surprisingly, he didn’t seem very awkward towards you at the moment? like you guys were actually talking

“oh okay uh…. okay um thanks!!!” you were about to turn your back when he held your wrist making you look back at him and he said

“you look…” he looked at you from head to toe checking you out “..hot and beautiful by the way” he continued

maybe he was drunk

but a huge part of you wished that he knew what he was saying and that his actions so far were starting to get your hopes up

really, now you just wanted to go home

I mean, who wouldn’t die if the person you like said youre beautiful and hot

“oh thanks!!! you too! see you around”

he gave you a sweet smile and good lord you were about to faint right there in front of him but you had to stay calm

surprisingly, it wasn’t awkward for the both of your tonight, you thought

maybe he doesn’t realize it because hes drunk or tipsy or something

its been a few hours since you saw seongwoo and honestly you were ready to go home but the alcohol you had earlier was finally hitting you

your friend insisted that you should just stay here and go home in the morning since it was dangerous to drive when youre drunk

her house was big and theres a lot of rooms so she said just choose whichever

you headed upstairs where some of the rooms were located

there were a couple of people upstairs but you noticed that 3 out of 4 rooms’ door were closed so you decided to go to the one near the bathroom at the end of the hallway

you opened the door and you realized that this was one of the rooms where you and your friends would have your sleepovers

your friend also told you to just use the clothes that were located in the closet just in case you wanted to wash up

you noticed that the bedsheets and comforter were a mess as if someone laid there but no one was there?

anyways, you got some clothing, just shorts and a tank top

and since this room did not have any bathroom inside, you decided to go to the one near it because you wanted to take a quick shower

the bathroom was literally just before the entrance of the bedroom so it was fine and by this time, there were basically no guests anymore who stayed upstairs

ok so you were about to open the door and when you opened it you were pulled in because someone from the inside opened it as well

now youre inside the washroom with the person who opened the door

the door was still open tho but the person was now infront of you

you were looking at the person’s lower body and you followed this persons body to see who it was

and right now you really just wanted to go home because this was just too unbelievable

you didn’t expect that he would be here after your encounter with him earlier

it was ong seongwoo

again…

in another awkward situation

this has to be one of the weirdest ways to encounter the person you’ve been eyeing on

in the washroom.

he looked shocked with what happened as his eyes wide open in shock

and tbh, you were too, who wouldn’t bee

“i… uh…. um I think I should just change in the bedroom” you nervously said

you were about to head out to go back to the bedroom when he held your waist with one hand and pulled you back. he closed the bathroom’s door and locked it

what the hell

your back was leaning on the sink but his hand was in your waist allowing you not to fall back and he was in front of you just about 5 inches away

thats too close but he was that close

he was just staring at you with a smirk on his face as his eyes match yours

he looked at you from head to toe, again, for the 2nd time tonight

“I really think I should leave im sorry if I didn’t—“ he didn’t even let you finish

he pulled you again and

he pushed you to the wall, not hard enough to hurt you but enough to keep

you still and in the state of shock

his right hand was in the wall beside you while his left hand is wrapped on your waist

you felt shivers through your spine as he tightened his grip on your waist and pulled you close

his eyes fixed on yours, the look of lust and longing would be seen in his stare

you weakened as you slowly attempt to make eye contact with his burning look

his body was against yours as he pulled you closer not letting go of your waist

he breathes, a hot breath, you smell beer

hes drunk, you thought

he was but, he was still in his right mind as he thrills you like this

he knew what he was doing and he knew that it was slowly driving you crazy

you felt your body tense as he tightened his grip on your waist

his right hand which was recently against the wall was now gently grasping your neck

slowly he close the gap in between you but pulling you in for a kiss

you were confused and surprised by his action

he kept kissing you and you naturally just gave in

the kiss started out to be light then it became really passionate

seongwoo was indeed a good kisser, there was no lie to that

in between your kisses, he sighed and said “god, you don’t know how long ive been wanting to do this to you”

you were stunned for a second but butterflies rushed into your stomach when he said those words and you couldn’t help but smile while kissing him and you noticed that he was smiling as well

you placed your hand around his neck while he was still kissing you

he said “ive liked you for a long time now and I didn’t know I would confess like this”

all you could do was chuckle to yourself

he didn’t give you a chance to talk and respond to what he said

instead, he kissed you with burning passion

his kisses were sweet and gentle

he cupped both of your cheeks

he kissed the left first and then the right

he kissed your forehead, which lasted longer than you thought

his and your eyes were closed cherishing this moment

forehead kisses made you feel important and safe in a way

he kissed your nose and back to your lips

he lovingly marked you

from your neck to your shoulders

this was a sense of symbol and affection that meant he owned you

once, he finished marking you

he gave you a slight nod and smile meaning you could do the same

he allowed you to seal him by leaving a bruised spot on his neck just under his jaw

you held his face with your right hand, cupping it

your thumb traced the three moles on his left cheek as you lightly giggle

your eyes interlock with his as you exchange loving stares

he held you hand left hand and kissed the back of your palm and all you could do was admire him

this wasn’t your typical way of confessing to the person you like but it was definitely a memorable one

his eyes met yours again and he laughed as he said

“so im guessing you like me too?”

posted on: 171128 (UPDATED ON 180109)