#ooh a cliffhanger! how mysterious

[tellthatbrokebitch]

birthday present! snippet from the next chapter of the zombie apocalypse au - this time with ACTUAL zombies!

They’re almost out of there when they hear it.

First is the groaning, a sound they’ve all - Steve and Will, that is - been conditioned to respond to with a dip in the stomach, a feeling of overarching dread. Next is the shuffle of feet, dragging listlessly on the ground. And finally, the most dreaded noise of them all: the uptick in activity, the snorts and snarls that signify their presence has been noticed.

Erica is less familiar with it, as she was only occasionally allowed to join Lucas on scouting missions, but after several seconds the sounds seem to register and she freezes in place. Mabel, however - Mabel is new.

Without looking up, she says, too loud too loud, “Should I grab these, too? They don’t-”

Someone reaches out and grabs her - Will isn’t sure who, because he’s already lunging for the door stupid stupid, he didn’t make sure it was closed, and the only thing that saves them is the fact that the door has partially closed itself, already halfway to shut when Will slams into it and pushes it the rest of the way. A filthy hand manages to slip through, trying to scratch and claw for them with its dark, blood-stained talons. But Will is nothing if not determined, and he pulls back minutely to slam against the door again, and again, putting all of his weight into the motion. A second later, someone comes up on his left to lend their weight too, and someone else bashes the hand with something club-like, and finally the door crashes shut.

“Fuck,” Erica says; she’s the one on his left, now sagged against the door and breathing just as heavily as Will. “How are we going to get past those smelly undead assholes? There’s only one door!”

Steve drops the trophy and lifts both hands to rake through his hair. “Shit! Shit, we can’t - Will, did you see how many were out there?”

“No, I was kinda busy! Judging by the noise, though-” because the zombies were still there, raking their nails against the door and slamming against it and howling and snarling with hunger and rage- “too many!”

“So what are we going to do?” Erica asks again, staring right at Steve. “You’re the experts! What do you usually do in these situations?”

“We don’t get into these situations, Erica, there is no usually! We have no plan!”

“Okay, if we survive this, you can be damn sure I’m going to kill you myself! You thought my mom was scary, you haven’t seen nothing. Count your days, Harrington-”

Will looks away as they bicker, over to the corner where he expects Mabel to still be frozen in shock. She isn’t paying them any attention; instead, she’s fumbling for something by the window, the lift cord, and as he watches she tugs on it, raising the blinds. “Mabel?” he calls out, and when she glances back at him, eyes wide and startled but blessedly alert, he continues, “Do you have an idea?”

“Oh, I - I think I saw, before we came in - the roof-”

As soon as her words register, Will rushes over to her side, peering out of the window she’s just hastily opened. The roof is indeed right below the window, and he gives a soft whoop. “Good eye, Mabel! Okay, I’m gonna go first, okay? Make sure there’s a way down safely.”

He makes sure his pack is secure on his back before swinging through the narrow window, awkwardly straddling the window pane for a moment before swinging the other leg over. From further inside the room, there’s the ear-splitting sound of breaking wood, but when he sticks his head back inside, Mabel pushes him back out - gently, but with enough force to get the point across. “Go!” she hisses, which at least tells him that she’s learned her lesson about speaking too loudly, even if it’s sort of a moot point at this stage. “Steve’s got it, just go!”

[sleepyhoon]

part 2 - read part 1 here

✰ pairing. — emo!hs x reader

✰ genre. — early 2000s au, best friend’s older brother, childhood friends to lovers, smut, light angst.

✰ word count. — 10k+

✰ warnings. — swearing, family issues, friendship betrayal, mention of drugs/alcohol, smut [ cunnilingus, rough sex, …idk how else to describe it ] reader and hs are both 18+, minors dni, cliffhanger.

✰ a/n. PART 3 IS IN THE WORKS PART 3 IS IN THD WORKS PART 3 IS IN THE WORKS

✰ perm taglist. @intromortal @aanniikkaa @meetletsinmontauk @lovelyyf @right-person-wrong-time

———

“Did you seriously think I wouldn’t find out?” Chaeryeong is glaring daggers at you upon opening the front door, arms crossed across her chest as she eyes you. Her lips are twisted into a disgusted snarl, you’ve never seen her this upset before.

You swallow the lump in your throat, “Find out about what?”

She cocks her head to the side, squinting her eyes at you, “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

Fuck, you’re screwed. If there were a list of all the reasons why you shouldn’t have had sex with Lee Heeseung, the simple fact of him being your best friend’s brother would be number one.

With closed eyes, you let out a relieved sigh. As much as you wanted to wait to tell Chaeryeong about hooking up with Heeseung, it’d be an enormous weight off your shoulders not having to hide it any longer. It’d only been a few days since it happened, but you hate keeping secrets from her.

“How’d you find out?” You question, chewing on your bottom lip.

“My parents told me, duh.”

Holy crap, Heeseung told his parents the two of you had sex? Why the fuck would he do that?

“They did?” You ask, completely bewildered.

“Well, yeah!” Chaeryeong finally uncrosses her arms, demeanor completely changing as her gaze softens, “Why didn’t you tell me your sister got engaged?”

Thank God you didn’t elaborate any further.

“Oh! Because they probably aren’t gonna last.” You respond, stepping into the Lee household once Chaeryeong allows you to enter. It’s been a few days since you’ve been here, mostly due to the fact that you were completely avoiding Heeseung.

The empty condom in his trash bin had been plaguing your mind nonstop, you could barely even sleep from how embarrassed you were. Why did he fake his orgasm? What if he didn't fake an orgasm and just shot a blank? Did you do something wrong? Was he not attracted to you? Why was the condom empty?

Seeing him in person would’ve only intensified the thoughts roaming in your head, so you avoided him at all costs up until now. You’d promised the Lee siblings that you’d finally see Twilight with them and their friends despite not being able to function correctly around either of them.

Chaeryeong snickers, following you into the living room. “Ooh, that’s not nice.”

“It’s true, though,” you explain, “she’s still so young, only a few years older than your brother. I mean, can you picture Heeseung getting married in a few years?”

The regret from that question fills you almost immediately.

“Sure,” Chaeryeong responds, pausing to greet the eager doberman charging at her. “As long as he finds the right person; he’d get married in a heartbeat.”

You want to ask what Chaeryeong’s definition of “the perfect person” would be for Heeseung or the type of girl she’d be willing to set him up with. It’d probably be the unnamed, mysterious redhead you recently dreamed about curb stomping (yikes!).

You don’t respond to this, taking a seat on the sofa when the sudden shout of your name has you flinching. It’s Chaeryeong’s parents, excitedly greeting you with open arms as you politely stand to properly hug them. “I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve seen you! How’s your family? We just heard the news about your sister!” Mrs. Lee ambushes you with questions, all while cradling your face.

“About how she’s making the biggest mistake of her life?” You half-joke.

Mrs. Lee playfully waves a hand in your direction as she steps into the kitchen, her husband only a few feet behind. “Oh, don’t say that. I’m sure the two of them will be very happy together.” She turns to her husband, grabbing his hand, “I just can’t believe Imogen is getting married. I still remember when she first started high school.”

Mr. Lee sighs in disbelief. “I know,” he mumbles, nodding at you. “You’re up next soon, huh?”

“Maybe she can marry Heeseung,” Mrs. Lee joked, opening her fridge, “set him straight.”

There’s an idea.

“Gross, Mom. Don’t wish that on her.” Chaeryeong groans in disgust as she plops down next to you.

Well, that answers your previous question.

“We should probably get going, right? To make it in time for the trailers?” You ask.

“Yeah, we should.” Chaeryeong responds, tilting her head up towards the staircase, “Heeseung! Hurry up and come downstairs! We’re ready to go!”

“Gimmie a minute!” He shouts back, and a chill runs down your spine. It’s been too long since you’ve heard his voice. The last time you saw him, he was lying naked in his bed; you’re not sure how you’ll survive being around him all night knowing what your last encounter was like.

As promised, Heeseung is sliding down the staircase a minute later and nails the landing. He’s wearing a black Twilight shirt featuring the leading couple, black cargo pants, and, of course, black sneakers. He looks like his usual self until you take a closer look and notice the reddish-black eyeshadow that decorated his eyes. It wasn’t much, just enough to make his eyes pop, and it complimented him perfectly. A second later, you see the black nail polish neatly coated on his nails. You have to blink a few times to ensure this is real life and you’re not trapped in a wet dream.

He strolls into the kitchen, ignoring the stares from his parents before digging through the fridge. His mom clears her throat, crossing her arms at him.

“What?” He asks, retrieving a two-liter Mountain Dew bottle.

“Seriously, Heeseung? The makeup? The nail polish?” She questions, clearly frustrated.

Heeseung cocks his head, unscrewing the soda bottle’s lid. “What’s wrong with it? Chaeryeong’s wearing the same thing.”

“Son, you know that’s different.” His father interjects.

Heeseung takes a swig of the soda before responding. “Why? Because she’s a girl?”

“It’s not like that, hon. It’s just…we didn’t make a big deal of it when you first started the piercings, and the tattoos, and the hair dye, but this…it’s a little much. Don’t you think?” His mother asks.

You want to step in and tell his parents that Heeseung is old enough to make his own decisions and express himself as he pleases, but it’s not your place. Instead, you cheer silently when Chaeryeong surprisingly interrupts the discussion. “Did you guys seriously force him to come back home just to criticize how he presents himself, or would you rather have a peaceful summer?”

“We aren’t trying to criticize him, Chaeryeong. We’re just looking out for our child.” Mr. Lee responds.

“It’s a special occasion, Dad. Is it bad that I wanted to look nice for—” Heeseung abruptly cuts himself short, quickly glancing in your direction before returning his attention to his parents. “...to go see Twilight with my friends?”

What was that about?

Silence passes, and the three stare at each other until Mrs. Lee sighs defeatedly and says, “No, there’s nothing wrong with that, sweetheart. I hope you guys enjoy the movie.”

“We will,” Heeseung responds, closing the soda bottle lid and placing it back in the fridge. He heads for the front door, beckoning you and Chaeryeong to follow behind. He’s eager to leave the house, quickly swinging the front door open and jogging towards his car.

You and Chaeryeong say goodbye to her parents with a promise to be home by eleven before following in Heeseung’s footsteps, who already has the car running. As you wait for Chaeryeong to finish locking the front door, Heeseung rolls down his window and shouts, “Hurry up! Let’s go!”

“Will you calm down?!” Chaeryeong throws back, rolling her eyes as she finally removes the house key from the lock.

You follow her towards Heeseung’s car, sliding into the backseat as you pretend not to notice Heeseung watching you through the rearview mirror. He wants you to look at him, but you refuse, busying yourself by buckling your seatbelt and convincing Chaeryeong to do the same. Once Heeseung is convinced you’re not going to do so much as glance at him, he puts the car in drive and pulls into the road.

Chaeryeong talks your ear off in the backseat about whatever comes to mind while you keep your eyes on the window. It’s hard to not notice Heeseung glancing back at you through the mirror at every red light or stop sign, but you don’t dare meet his gaze.

The movie theater’s parking lot is crowded when you arrive; it takes Heeseung a few minutes to eventually locate a spot. A smile is plastered on his face as he parks the car, eager to see some of his closest friends after being separated. He informs you and Chaeryeong to disregard anything foolish he friends may say, claiming they arrived early to smoke behind the movie theater, so they’re more than likely too high to function properly.

Heeseung shrugs when Chaeryeong asks why people do that, shoving his hands into his pockets as the three of you make your way towards the theater entrance. “Some people say it makes the movie experience better.”

You want to ask Heeseung if he’s ever been high, but you can barely even bring yourself to look in his direction; let alone ask him a question. So you’re silent as the three of you enter the movie theater, instantly spotting Heeseung’s bandmates in the far corner.

Well…Heeseung’s bandmates and one other guest.

The bubbly redhead greets you guys first, running up to Heeseung with open arms as if they haven’t seen each other in a million years. It makes you want to vomit.

You look away as they hug, directing your attention to the concession stand employee who had apparently already been watching you. His name tag reads ‘Jake’, and he resembles a slightly younger version of Heeseung, with the same dark hair and similar lip piercing. His eyes stay on you until a customer blocks your path, and you’re back to watching Heeseung reunite with his friends.

“Hey, you were the one at that party, right? With Chaeryeong?” The redhead asks, squinting her eyes at you.

“Yeah.” Is all you respond with, because why in God’s name is this girl talking to you right now?

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Scar,” she introduces herself, extending a hand for you to shake.

Chaeryeong interjects, grabbing ahold of your wrist while glaring at Scar. “Your name is Scarlett.”

She drags you along to the ticketbooth, mumbling about she doesn’t like nor trusts Scar. When you ask for her reasonsings, she responds with, “I don’t need one. I just don’t like her.”

At least you’re on the same page about that.

Still, you can’t help but wonder why Chaeryeong has a distaste for Scar. You have your petty reasoning for disliking her, but Chaeryeong (more than likely) has better knowledge of Scar’s personality, so whatever reasons she has for disliking her could be legitimate.

You’re thinking of this as Heeseung is ordering the tickets for everyone, asking the employee to give him a minute when the friend you recognise as Jay starts tapping his shoulder. “We should go see Saw instead, it just came out.”

Heeseung looks genuinely confused at the suggestion. “What? No, we came here to see Twilight.”

“So?!” Jungwon chimes in, eyes as red as the devil, “Come on, dude, you’ve already seen Twilight, don’t you wanna see something new?”

“Fuck no, we’re literally in the middle of buying the tickets.” Heeseung reminds everyone.

“I kinda wanna see Saw, too.”

“Same.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I do, too.”

Heeseung whips his head around at his sister, “What? Even you?”

Chaeryeong scoffs, “Well, yeah! Twilight just seems boring in comparison.”

“Come on guys,” the employee interrupts, “you’re holding up the line.”

Heeseungs turns towards you. “Do you still wanna see Twilight?”

Truthfully, you want to go home; but seeing how excited Heeseung was for the movie made you feel something, so you nod. He lets out a relieved sigh.

He moves out of the way to allow his friends to buy their tickets first, slipping his sister cash to pay for hers; to which she initially rejects. “I don’t need your money,” she claims.

“Just take it, Chaeryeong. I brought it for you.”

From what you can make out, it’s enough to cover her ticket and grab something from the concession stand. The pair of siblings may bicker a lot, but it’s nice to know Heeseung still looks out for his younger sister whenever he can.

Chaeryeong reluctantly accepts the money and purchases her ticket, you watch as Heeseung follows suit; ordering two tickets for Twilight and stopping you from opening your purse. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I have enough.” You reassure him.

Heeseung laughs to himself, “Why are the two of you like this?” He questions, fishing out crumpled dollar bills from his pocket and handing them to the cashier who sighs in annoyance, straightening and inspecting each bill before placing it in his register.

You don’t know why Heeseung insists on being so nice to you despite your persistence on not speaking to him. A part of you wonders if he thinks this is some kind of date now that the two of you will be separated from the group. It doesn’t matter, you don’t know why you’re thinking too much into it.

Once all the tickets have been purchased, the seven of you head towards the concession stand. Chaeryeong debates pushing herself to the front of the long line, claiming that the theater should make accommodations to those who’s movie is starting sooner. Or something like that, you can’t really focus with the way Jake is staring at you. You’re used to guys staring all the time, but they tend to shyly look away upon making eye contact.

Jake is quite the opposite, staring you down every chance he gets. Your skin feels hot, and you’re suddenly growing anxious under his gaze.

When the group ahead of you has finished ordering and is heading off into their theater, you’re sure to stick close to Heeseung as you approach the counter. Jake eyes him over once before returning his gaze to you. “What can I get for you guys?”

Heeseung takes the liberty of ordering a large popcorn for the two of you to share, and doesn’t even get mad when you request a slushie instead of a fountain drink. He doesn’t let you pay of course, swatting your hand away when you absentmindedly reach for your purse. “You seriously have to stop doing that.” He mumbles, handing Jake the cash.

Jake is quick to prepare the popcorn and Heeseung’s drink, but takes his time when making your slushie. He’s sure to fill it to the brim, and you’re worried it may accidentally overflow and leave a sticky mess. “You didn’t want candy or anything?” He questions, handing you your drink.

You shrug, “Maybe Twizzlers, but—”

Before you can finish, Jake is reaching under the counter then sliding you a pack of Twizzlers. “On me.”

“Oh, are you sure?” You ask, hesitant to accept the free candy.

Jake sends Heeseung a cocky smirk before he responds, “Yeah, enjoy the movie.”

You thank Jake and pretend to not notice the death glares the two boys are sending one another before walking with Heeseung to your theater. “That guy was weird.” He comments.

“Yeah.” You agree, but it’s definitely not true. Jake was friendly and clearly interested in you, unlike Heeseung who was sending you nonstop, draining mixed signals. If his definition of weird is someone who is straightforward, then perhaps you should start going after weirdos.

Once you’re settled in your seats in the back of the theater, — per Heeseung’s request — he clears his throat then says, “So, I tried messaging you on Facebook. Didn’t get anything back.”

“Oh, sorry. I haven’t been using Facebook that much.” You reply, hoping your lame excuse is believable enough.

He nods, eyes bouncing between you and the movie trailers playing in the background. “Yeah, I figured.” He says. When you don’t respond, he continues, “I would’ve asked Chaeryeong for your number, but I didn’t want her to get suspicious or anything.”

“That’s smart.” You admit, nodding in agreement.

“Are you okay?” Heeseung asks suddenly, his full attention to you.

You finally make eye contact, and the expression on his face makes your heart sink. He looks genuinely concerned and confused by your sudden coldness. You hate being so mean to him, but you’re too embarrassed to explain the real reason why you’ve been avoiding him. So you nod and say, “Just a little tired.”

It’s clear he doesn’t believe this, the same expression is still on his face as he refocuses on the movie trailers.

You hate how awkward it feels to be around him now, never in a million years would you have guessed the two of you would end up like this. A week ago you would’ve been overjoyed at the idea of being on a movie date with Heeseung; and now you’re considering leaving early and catching a taxi home.

The two of you remain silent as the rest of the trailers play on, and Heeseung immediately sits up in his seat when the lights finally dim and the curtains are being pulled back further. He’s incredibly quiet throughout the movie aside from a muffled chuckle every now and then; he even side-eyes anyone making too much noise.

You enjoy Twilight nonetheless, agreeing with Heeseung that you do in fact dress like Bella Swan from time to time. When he asks if you liked it as you’re exiting the theater, you tell him it was very nice, and that you hope there’ll be another movie.

Heeseung smiles at this, tossing his empty cup in a nearby trash bin. “I’m sure there will be. Maybe they’ll even cast you as Bella’s stunt double since you already have the clothes.”

“Shut up.” You tease, and it feels nice to be able to joke around with him as usual. Maybe you’ll finally have the courage to tell Heeseung why you’ve been so distant these past few days.

Saw doesn’t get out for another few minutes, so you’re stuck waiting in the lobby for Chaeryeong and everyone else. Heeseung gestures towards the nearly empty slushie cup clutched in your hands, “You get free refills on that, I think.”

You take his word, strolling over to the concession stand. Jake spots you immediately and gestures for you to skip around the line. You shake your head, but he still beckons for you to come over. You feel bad, but the line has gotten longer since you were first here, and you really don’t want to wait in a long line just for a refill.

“What flavor?” He asks once you’ve slid him your cup.

You tell him anything is fine and he gets to work, combining the cherry and blue raspberry flavors. “How was the movie?”

“It was good. The vampire stuff was cool.”

“Have you seen Saw yet? It just came out.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“It’s so good; if you wanna give me your number maybe we can see it together some time.”

What is it with guys offering to take you out to a movie they’ve already seen? You’re not complaining, it’s just odd.

Jake is clearly interested in you and has offered to take you out. You'd be silly to pass up on this guy just because your current relationship with your longtime crush is at a standstill. So you accept, scribbling your phone number down on a napkin with your name underneath. He makes a promise to call you once his shift is over, and that he looks forward to seeing you.

When you turn to meet up with Heeseung, he’s gone. You catch him storming out of the theater, hauling ass to his car.

You run to catch up to him, calling out his name and begging him to slow down.

When he finally does stop, there’s a look on his face that you’ve never seen before. He gets angry all the time, but this was something completely different, something unrecognizable.

He was hurt.

“So you were just using me, huh?”

What? What is he talking about?

“Using you for what?”

“To lose your virginity. You just wanted to get it over with, right?” His voice is slightly hushed now, but still loud enough for you to feel embarrassed about anyone passing through the parking lot.

“Heeseung, what are you talking about?”

“You used me to lose your virginity, so when you date other guys you can tell them you’ve had sex before. Is that what this is?”

This accusation hurts, considering that Heeseung was the only guy you’ve ever been interested in romantically and sexually. You don’t know where this theory is coming from, but you don’t like it.

Heeseung continues before you respond, “I tried reaching out and talking to you, and you just blew me off! And yet here you are giving your number to random guys! Am I not good enough for you?!”

“It’s not like that, Heeseung!” You don’t mean to raise your voice at him, but you can’t help it. Both of your emotions were at an all time high.

“Then what is it like?!”

Here goes nothing.

There’s already tears forming as you go to explain yourself. “I didn’t reach out to you because…because I was embarrassed.”

“You were embarrassed to have sex with me?”

This is bad; really, really bad. Much worse than you could have ever imagined.

It’s started raining by now, and if Heeseung noticed it, then he doesn’t seem to care; allowing the raindrops to stain his outfit and ruin his eye makeup.

It feels like a scene from a movie, him standing there in the pouring rain waiting for a response while you stumble over your words to formulate one.

“No!” You yell in reassurance, “No, no, no. Of course not. I was embarrassed because I know you didn’t finish. I just thought maybe I did something wrong or maybe I didn’t do enough.”

Heeseung quirks a brow at you, “What makes you think I didn’t finish?”

You really hate that he’s making you explain this. “I saw the condom afterwards; it was empty.”

“You went digging in my trash can to find the condom?” Now he looks more disgusted than confused; this is going so horribly.

“No! I saw it when I went to get my phone off the charger.”

Heeseung takes a minute to process everything, scratching his chin in deep thought. You can’t tell what he’s feeling, but he does look hurt. It makes you regret avoiding him in the first place.

“So, you were prepared to never talk to me again over an empty condom?” Despite his tough demeanor, he’s clearly shaking as he questions you.

You want to say no, that it wasn’t a case, but you can’t bring yourself to lie to him again. So you say nothing. Heeseung nods at your lack of response before turning around and walking towards his car. You remain still, frozen in place, watching as he sits on the hood of his car and smokes a cigarette.

If it weren’t for Chaeryeong finishing her movie within the next few minutes, you would’ve walked the entire way home.

———

This bitch is driving you crazy.

Your older sister, Imogen, is home for a few days to start her wedding preparations. The fake bridezilla persona she's putting on bothers you the most, bursting out in tears at the most inconvenient times or having a breakdown about selecting a theme. Deep down, she doesn't care about any of this bullshit; she's like you about parties or big events.

"This is literally the biggest day of my life, and you're being so fucking difficult." Imogen snarls at you, pouring herself a cup of coffee. You're sitting a few feet away on the kitchen counter, staring out the kitchen window. Despite Imogen's occasional yelling and snarky comments, all you can think of is Heeseung.

It's been an entire week since the movie theater incident. You haven't stopped by the Lee household not once, telling Chaeryeong you fell ill and don't want to get her sick. It's another lame excuse, but she buys it, opting to talk to you on the phone daily until you recover.

You have yet to speak to Heeseung; but it's not like you've tried. The idea of messaging him on Facebook and not receiving a response makes you anxious, and it's hard to believe you subjected him to the same torture not long ago. It doesn't help that Scarlett is suddenly all over his page, commenting on nearly every one of his posts, writing on his wall, or tagging him in pictures. Your recurring dream of curb-stomping her is back in full force.

You sigh at your sister, "Whatever you say, Imogen."

She waves dismissively at you, "Please, don't even talk to me right now."

You hop off the counter in annoyance and stomp off towards the staircase, mumbling, "Fucking drama queen."

"Language." Your mom warns you, flipping through one of the several bridal magazines your sister has stacked on the coffee table.

Imogen scoffs, setting her mug on the counter. "I'm the drama queen? Whenever I talk about my wedding, you throw a fit."

"Why are you pretending to care about this stupid wedding and that stupid boy you barely even know?!" You shout back from the staircase.

"If my wedding is so stupid, then don't come!"

"I don't even want to go to your stupid wedding with your stupid fiancé and your stupid red velvet cake that no one's going to fucking eat!"

This is probably the dumbest fight you've ever had.

Imogen doesn’t respond to this, advised by your mother no to and to just let you stomp up the stairs in a furious rage. You make a beeline straight to your desktop, waking up the computer with a shake of the mouse and entering your password.

Facebook is already open once you’ve signed in, Heeseung’s page staring right back at you. You’re ashamed to admit you’d been cyber stalking him, but you really didn’t have any other choice. Seeing him in person would’ve been too much, but you still want to make sure he’s doing okay.

There’s a new post up when you refresh the page, you chew on your bottom lip as you anxiously wait for it to finish loading.

It’s a picture of his dirty Chuck Taylor’s perched upon a wooden stool. You recognize the background immediately, he’s in the treehouse in his backyard. You and Chaeryeong would spend hours up there as kids, giving each other manicures and exchanging secrets; now you can barely look her in the eye without bursting out in tears. You hate how complicated things have become.

There’s a light tap against your door that has you swiveling around in your chair. It’s Imogen, leaning against your doorframe with her arms crossed. “Who’s that?”

“Chaeryeong’s brother.” You respond, scrolling to a photo that actually shows his face.

Imogen steps further into your bedroom, squinting her eyes at the computer screen. “Oh, yeah. Hasn’t changed much, has he?” When you remain silent, she asks, “Would it be wrong of me to assume he’s the real reason why you’re so upset?”

You sigh, letting your shoulders drop. “You’d be very correct, actually.”

She nods in understanding, taking a seat on the edge of your bed. “So, what’s going on? You like him?”

“We kind of like each other, I guess.” You mumble. To be honest, you’re not quite sure how Heeseung feels about you right now.

“And Chaeryeong doesn’t approve of it?”

You snort, “Chaeryeong doesn’t know. There was nothing to tell her at first, but things have changed.”

“Are you guys dating?”

“No. We actually haven’t talked in a week. I may have hurt his feelings.”

Imogen nods towards your desktop, “Where is he now?”

You shrug, “Home, I guess.”

She stands, stretching out her limbs. She glances around your room, locates a jacket dangling lifelessly from your doorknob, and tosses it to you. “Let’s go.”

Taking an impromptu trip to the Lee household had you sweating. What if Heeseung doesn’t even want to see you? What if Chaeryeong catches you talking and asks what’s going on?

Each concern you raise is instantly shot down by Imogen, claiming you’re creating excuses to avoid seeing him, how you’re only imagining the worst possible scenarios. You appreciate her overwhelming support but can’t help the nervousness creeping through your body as her car approaches the Lee household.

“Remember, be apologetic but not desperate,” Imogen informs you, putting her car in park in front of the house.

“I am desperate.” You remind her.

“Well, don’t let him see it. You got this.”

You thank your sister one last time for the advice before stepping out of her car. You’re careful to avoid being seen from windows as you make your way into the backyard; not entirely sure what you’d say if Chaeryeong were to catch you.

You scale the tree quickly, silently praying the old wooden steps are stable enough to hold your weight.

You sigh in relief once you’ve reached the top, only to groan at the sight of Scarlett sitting across from you. She looks up from her iPod with a bright smile, quickly pulling out her earbuds as you enter the treehouse. “Hey, stranger! Watcha doing here?”

Her enthusiasm really makes you sick. “Came to see Heeseung,” you pause to glance around the tiny, wooden deathtrap, “but he’s nowhere to be found.”

“He’ll be back soon; went to use the bathroom,” Scarlett informs you, running her hands through her hair. “So, you guys really like each other, huh?”

What? She knows about that?

“Heeseung told you?” You question, trying your best to appear unbothered. You’re unsure where she’s going with this, but you have no reason to trust her.

Scarlett nods, “We tell each other everything. So when he told me you guys weren’t talking, I may have devised a plan to help you come around. You do use Facebook, right?” She smirks

Holy shit, all the posts of them together were to make you feel jealous enough to have a conversation with him; and your sworn enemy was the mastermind behind it. It was all a ploy to get under your skin, and you fell right into the trap.

“You’re a stubborn little thing, though. Didn’t think it’d take you so long.” She comments, slipping her jacket on.

You shrug, “I didn’t think he’d want to talk to me.”

“Heeseung always wants to talk to you. I don’t mind it, though. You seem good for him.”

Aside from Chaeryeong, Scarlett is probably the last person you would’ve expected to be supportive of your relationship with Heeseung. So, to hear she’d been secretly rooting for you behind the scenes nearly gives you whiplash. You almost feel wrong about your dreams of shoving her face into the pavement.

You tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear, “So, nothing is going on between you guys?”

Scarlett grimaces as if you deeply offended her, “Of course not! Don’t get me wrong, he’s cute, but not my type. His sister is cute, though.”

Woah.

“Chaeryeong? Lee Chaeryeong? You’re into her?” You ask, completely stunned.

“Hell yes. Hey, do you think you could set us up? Heeseung would never.”

“You do know that Chaeryeong can’t stand you, right?”

Scarlett excitedly nods, “I know, it’s kind of a turn-on.”

You hold your hands out to stop her from elaborating any further. Scarlett has surprised you in more ways than one in less than five minutes. You’re sure any new information would’ve made your head explode.

“I’ll…try my best.” You promise; not quite sure how Chaeryeong would feel about the idea of Scarlett liking her.

“For what?” A voice interrupts, causing you and Scarlett to direct your attention to the treehouse’s entrance. And there he is, in all his gothic glory.

“Girl talk, none of your business,” Scarlett responds, making room for Heeseung to crawl in.

“Fine. You keep your secrets; I’ll keep mine.” Heeseung groans, sitting between the two of you.

“Will do. I’m outta here. Got a hot date with a box of hair dye. See you suckers later.” Scarlett waves goodbye as she exits the treehouse, reminding you of your promise before disappearing down the steps.

Heeseung clears his throat, sweeping his hair away from his eyes. "So—"

"I'm sorry," you cut him off, "I should've reached out and talked to you, but I was just too embarrassed and didn't know how to approach you about it. I really like you, and I wasn't using you to lose my virginity. I mean, you're the only person I've ever been interested in. So, again, I'm sorry."

He sighs, "I understand why you were embarrassed, but I promise it had nothing to do with you."

"Then what was it?"

Heeseung anxiously scratches the back of his head before he responds. "It's just that…sometimes…it takes me a little bit longer to, uh…to finish."

Oh.

"Is it because of your…size?" You can't help but wonder.

Heeseung snorts, "What, you think I'm big?"

"I'm out of here." You joke, faking as if you're about to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait." He stops you, "I was only kidding. I never really thought size played a factor in it, but every guy is different. But, still, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy us having sex. I mean, you had already finished, and I didn't want to tire you out just for my sake."

Knowing he had a perfectly reasonable explanation makes you feel even worse about spending all that time avoiding him. You want to tell him you wouldn't mind him tiring you out, that the idea excites you, but you refrain.

A beat of silence passes, and you ask, "But, I'm sure if there's something that you're really into, then it wouldn't take as long for you to finish. Right?"

Heeseung nods, "I guess."

"Then, what is it? What are you into?"

He coughs, tips of his ears turning a light shade of pink. "Um…I guess I'm into…roughness?"

Ah.

"That's not a big deal. A lot of people are probably into that."

"I mean, it's fine either way, but I mostly prefer when girls are kinda rough with me. Fuck, this is embarrassing."

"It's not!" You reassure him, placing a gentle hand on his knee, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me."

Heeseung stares at your hand on his knee before placing his own on top. You twist yours upwards and interlock your fingers, not missing the smile that forms on his face. His bangs have swept into his eyes again, and you use your free hand to move them out of the way. "It was my first time, too, by the way."

You snort, "You don't need to say that just to make me feel better."

"I'm serious," he continues, "I mean, I've gotten pretty handsy in the past, but nothing like what we did."

You shake your head, "I don't buy it. You seemed so experienced like you knew what you were doing."

Heeseung shrugs, "I mean, I'm not completely innocent. I may occasionally watch certain videos and read certain stories from time to time."

Porn and smut. Beautiful combination.

He shakes his head, "You still don't believe me; how come?"

You sigh, memories of the night before he left for college flashing in your mind. How you ran home in tears, how he only responded to Scar's comment on Chaeryeong's Facebook post. It almost hurts to think about. "The night before you left for school, there was an opened condom wrapper on your floor. I just figured…you know."

Heeseung nods at the memory. "I wasn't gonna go to the dorms the next day. I was planning on running away, that's why I gave you that bandana. After my parents helped bring my stuff to the dorms, I was gonna put everything in my car then take off."

You're having a hard time processing this information. Why would Heeseung plan on running away? What does this story have to do with the empty condom?

He continues, clutching your hand even tighter. "I only told a few people I was leaving, and there was this one girl who came over to say goodbye. She'd been really into me for a while and was heartbroken that I was leaving. We were about to hook up, hence the condom wrapper, but I couldn't do it."

"Why?" You question.

"Didn't feel right. I wasn't into her the same way she was into me. Just couldn't do it." He explains, eyes staring deep into yours. You believe him; you know he's being truthful.

"What made you decide to stay?" You ask.

"For Chaeryeong," he answers, "I couldn't just leave her like that. And for you, too."

Though you've felt it for many years, telling Heeseung you love him is too soon. But you want to, so very badly.

"I'm glad you decided to stay." Your voice is barely a whisper now as you try to stop yourself from tearing up.

He nods, "Me too."

You sit in comfortable silence for a minute, clutching each other's hands. You wish you could stay like this forever.

"I just realized you never told me if there's anything you're into." He points out.

You shrug, "Just you." And it's true: Heeseung is the only person you've ever been interested in. Everything he says and does is genuinely attractive to you.

He drops your hand gently, using it to tilt your head towards him, and he kisses you.

You're quick to cradle the back of his head as his hands snake around your waist, deepening the kiss. You move to straddle his lap, slowly pushing him onto his back. He grunts in surprise, breaking away from the kiss. "You—"

"Stop talking." You demand before your lips intertwine with his once again. With one hand on his chest, you reach to grab a fistful of his hair and tug lightly, earning a satisfied moan from him. You're not used to being rough with guys, but you're sure Heeseung enjoys it with the way his erection is pressing up against your thigh.

Reluctantly, you pull away from him and sit up, staring at him sprawled underneath you in complete awe. "Alright, I'll message you my number so we can text. See you later."

"No! No, no, no. Please don't go." He pleads, holding you in place when you go to stand, "Just stay a little longer, please."

You smile down at him, fighting the urge to stay in the treehouse. "I can't. Imogen is waiting out front. We'll see each other soon, okay?" You promise, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Heeseung nods, drumming against the floor as he watches you crawl out of the treehouse. "Don't be too surprised if I seem extra excited to see you next time." He calls after you.

"Trust me, I won't."

———

Heeseung is the first boy to ever sneak in through your bedroom window.

He carelessly tosses his backpack in first, cringing when it lands on your carpeted floor with a loud thud. Though you’ve assured him your parents are heavy sleepers, he’s still worried you’ll get in trouble if he makes too much noise and accidentally reveals himself. “Sorry,” he apologizes, hand gripping your forearm as you help pull him in.

“It’s fine,” you whisper back, “they’re not gonna wake up.”

“Still,” he grunts, using his upper body strength to pull him further into your room. “Don’t want you getting in trouble.”

It’s a day after the treehouse incident; as promised, you sent Heeseung your number and spent all day texting back and forth. Despite not being big on texting, you admire how Heeseung likes to keep you updated on what he’s doing and how he checks up on you to ensure you’re okay.

“We’ll be fine, but just in case, I did make room for you in my closet in case you have to hide.” You inform him.

Heeseung stifles a laugh, “Good to know.” He settles himself on the edge of your bed, moving over once he realizes he’d sat on a pile of clothing. “Oh, were you about to shower?”

“I was,” you answer, moving the clothing over to your nightstand, “but I’ll wait until after you leave.”

He has to stop himself from making a joke about joining you in the shower. He nods, leaning down to drag his backpack towards him, “Guess what I got today.”

“What?” You question, legs folded underneath your body as you sit beside him.

Heeseung slowly unzips his backpack, careful not to make too much noise before rummaging through it and clutching something in his hand. He momentarily turns his back towards you, clips something to his shirt, then turns back around.

There’s a name tag on his chest now with his name scribbled in black ink and a little star next to it. “A job?”

He nods, “At that music store, Spin City. Need to start saving up before classes start. Plus, I wanna take you out somewhere nice before summer’s over.”

You gulp, “Like, a date?”

“Yeah. I mean, unless… I don’t know. I just kinda figured…” He trails off, suddenly worried he may be scaring you off.

You grab ahold of his hand, “I know, and trust me, you’re perfect, and I want us to be together. But, the night we saw you at that party, I did ask Chaeryeong if she would be upset if I was into you. Surprisingly, she said she wouldn’t mind as long as I talked to her before making a move on you. And, well…”

“We made a move on each other without telling her,” Heeseung finishes for you.

You nod, “Exactly.”

He sighs, “So, I’m guessing that means you wanna wait before we make things official.”

“Yeah. No matter what, I still want to be with you. But it’d be best for all of us to get her on board with this first. Show her how much we truly care for each other, and make sure she’s okay with it. So she knows my relationship with you won’t affect our friendship, and vice versa.” You explain. Heeseung’s eyes never stray from yours, listening intently and nodding at everything you say.

“That’s fair,” he agrees, “It’s a good idea. Do you want me to talk to her? Or for us to talk to her together?”

You shake your head, “She’ll definitely freak out on you; it’s best if I do it alone first, then you talk to her afterward.”

Heeseung leans back against your bed, resting his head on your pillow. It’s funny how different your aesthetics are; he looks perfectly out of place, sprawled on your baby pink pillow surrounded by teddy bears. “When?”

“I dunno,” you respond, lowering yourself until your head rests comfortably on his bicep. “Doesn’t have to be right away. As long as it’s before we move into the dorms.”

“We shouldn’t wait too long, though. It’ll only make things worse.” Heeseung mumbles, pulling you closer to him.

“I know. I’ll have a talk with her soon, I promise.”

You interlock pinkies to solidify your promise and ease his nerves. You hadn’t realized how anxiety-inducing this was for Heeseung as well. The idea of Chaeryeong not approving of your relationship had him genuinely worried.

“But, you should know that no matter what—” he starts.

You cut him off, “I know.”

———

The hands that once purposely dumped slime in your hair are now tugging your panties down your legs.

“Can we try something?” Heeseung asks with a mumble against your lips, your soft blue underwear now clutched in the palm of his hand.

“Like what? I actually make you come for once?” You joke, earning a laugh from Heeseung.

“Don’t worry about me.” He presses another kiss against your lips, “You trust me?”

“Of course.” You respond, sitting up in Heeseung’s bed as he moves backward, never breaking eye contact with you. He pushes your skirt up slightly but pats your hand away when you go to remove it altogether.

“Leave it on.” He commands, bringing himself at face level with your cunt.

You’ve never felt this shy in your life, grateful your bunched-up skirt created the tiniest barrier between having Heeseung see you all flustered. Never had you been this intimate with a guy, especially not a guy you technically weren’t even dating.

His thumb is circling your clit before you have the time to protest, to tell him he doesn’t have to do this just for your sake, but the feeling of his fingers pressed against you has you at a loss for words.

“This okay?” He asks.

“Yeah.” You respond, tilting your head upwards to stare at the ceiling.

Before you know it, his middle and index fingers are pressed against your opening, eliciting a gasp from your lips. At your reaction, Heeseung slips his finger into your entrance, thumb still playing with your clit. He insists on being teasingly slow today, wanting to draw out every moment and observe your reaction.

He pumps his fingers in and out of you in a slow, consistent motion, an amused smirk on his lips when he hears your breathing become ragged. Abruptly, he slips his fingers out of you, moving your thighs to rest them atop his shoulders.

“Wait, you don’t have to—oh fuck.” You’re cut off by Heeseung pushing himself forward, placing a sudden kiss on your clit that has your hips jolting in the air. His hand grabs your waist and licks at your slit, keeping you in place as he gently returns your body to his mattress.

His growing erection is the last of his worries, all too focused on dragging his tongue across your cunt. He flattens his tongue, pulling the wetness upward until he’s circling your clit again. In search of something to grab onto, your hands grip the bed sheets until Heeseung reaches forward, moving your hand over to grip his hair.

His eyes are closed when you look down at him, and you swear you can hear him moan as he eats you out. You try your best to keep the noise down out of fear someone will hear, but you can’t help but yell out when he’s back to fingering you, all while circling your clit with his tongue.

Your grip on his hair tightens, pushing his face further into your pussy, and he lets out a satisfied groan. It’s embarrassing how quickly your orgasm approaches; everything with Heeseung is so intense. He knows this, eyes fluttering open to watch your expressions. Black eyeshadow is smeared across his eyelids as his eyes focus on your own, hands gripping your thighs as he tongue circles your clit.

His fingers are relentlessly pumping into your cunt now, contrasting against how teasingly slow his tongue is moving. He pulls his mouth away, lips glistening with your arousal, and asks, “You close?”

You don’t respond directly, but the grip you have on his hair gives him all the answers he needs before he’s diving back in. It doesn’t take much for you to come after that, a final kiss pressed on your clit, sending you over the edge and coating Heeseung’s fingers.

Heeseung doesn’t stop there, still continuing to lick and suck your clit until you’re begging him to stop from the overstimulation.

“Sorry.” He apologizes, planting a kiss on your inner thigh, “Was that good?”

“That was literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” You respond. Heeseung lets out a laugh as he crawls up next to you. “I should be upset with you, though.”

“What?” He questions, peppering your face with kisses, “Why’s that?”

“I came over to talk to your sister about us, and you distracted me.”

“How’d I do that?”

“Because! You came downstairs in your eyeshadow. Then you were all like, ‘Oh, hey. I cleaned my room; wanna check it out?’” You mimic a deep voice that sounds nothing like his.

“I apologize for putting on eyeshadow, bringing you to my room, and eating you out. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“I guess.”

You both laugh at this as you move to pull your skirt down. “Hey, how’d you realize you like it when girls are rough with you?”

Heeseung shakes his head as the memory returns to him, a shy smile on his face as he glances over at you. “A little while ago, I was picking on Chaeryeong for something. I don’t even remember why, but it got to the point where my parents were telling me to stop, and I wouldn’t. Then, you just started yelling at me out of nowhere, and I don’t know why, but it was the hottest thing ever. I was in awe. I really thought you were gonna slap me. Since then, it’s just been a turn-on of mine.”

“Wow. That’s actually kind of pathetic.” You tease.

He groans, “Please don’t say that. You’re gonna make me hard again.”

Laughter is shared between you once again before you lean your head down to rest on his chest, the sound of his steady heartbeat making you feel calm. A comfortable minute of silence passes before you have to address the unfortunate inevitable, “Chaeryeong should be here soon, right?”

“Yeah,” Heeseung mumbles, “within the next ten minutes.”

You sigh, “Next time I come over, I’ll have to tell her about us.”

———

The next time you stop by the Lee household, Heeseung has you bent over in the backseat of his car.

His finger digs into your waist as his cock is plunging into you at full force, emptying all the thoughts from your brain. You still haven’t fully adjusted to his size, but you don’t care; the pain of being split open makes you come faster. It feels better.

Heeseung insisted on taking things slow, telling you that you’d need to adjust to his size, but the moment you sunk your dripping cunt onto him, he was under your spell.

Your body lunges forward with every rough stroke Heeseung gives you, hands buried in your hair as he pulls you up against his chest. His hand moves from your hair down to your neck, tilting your head back while applying the slightest bit of pressure against your throat. Your eyes close out of instinct as tears form in the corner of your eyes before trickling down your cheeks. He kisses them away one by one before settling his lips on your neck. You make a mental note to check yourself for hickeys afterward.

You’re coming around him before you realize it, body spasming as you grip the driver’s seat headrest. Heeseung shows no signs of stopping or slowing down; in fact, he’s sped up even faster since fucking you through your orgasm. He lets go of your neck to push down on your back, left hand gripping your waist while the right intertwines your fingers with his.

A few strokes later, he’s finally coming and jokes about showing you the used condom as confirmation.

You shake your head, gesturing for him to pass you the shorts he’d tossed in the front seat. “I can’t believe I let you trick me again.”

“What?!” He exclaims in utter shock, reaching in the front seat to grab your discarded clothing, “How exactly did I trick you?”

“I came over to talk to Chaeryeong, but then you were all like, ‘Hey, come look at my car; I just got it washed.’” You playfully roll your eyes, searching around the backseat for your underwear.

“Can I keep these?” He asks suddenly, the most nonchalant expression on his face as your panties dangle from his middle finger.

You scoff, reaching to snatch them from him, confused when he retracts his hand. “I think I will keep them until you talk to Chaeryeong. Since it was you who wanted to talk to her first.”

“Then, I guess I’ll get them back tomorrow because I’m definitely talking to her today.”

Except you don’t.

You spent the entire summer sneaking around with Heeseung and procrastinating about having that talk with Chaeryeong. It was anxiety-inducing, to say the least, and you had no idea how she’d react. You tell yourself she won’t be upset as long as you assure her your friendship won’t be affected by you dating her brother.

You’re scheduled to move into the dorms within a few weeks, so it’s best to sort things out now before you all live under the same roof, unable to avoid one another. Heeseung doesn’t seem nervous at all. In fact, he’d given you a pep-talk the day before you showed up at their home.

“She can’t stay mad forever.” He pointed out, eyes sealed shut as you do his eyeliner.

“I know,” you mumbled, adjusting yourself on his lap, “but that girl can hold a grudge.”

“Right, but this is you we’re talking about. You mean a lot to her, to both of us, actually.”

His words play in your mind as you enter the Lee household, following Chaeryeong into the kitchen. “Baking something?” You ask, a sweet, decadent scent hitting your nose.

“Brownies for some stupid bake sale my parents are having. Help me clean up?” She asks, pouting her lips at you.

“Sure.” You agree, under the assumption that there wouldn’t be much to even clean up.

Boy, you were wrong. It’s like Chaeryeong used every dish in the house to make one sheet of brownies. There’s no backing out now; you already agreed to help, and it’d be best to stay on her good side for now.

She gets to work rinsing each dish before handing them to you to load the dishwasher, moving quickly to get everything done faster.

“What a beautiful friendship.” A familiar voice comments; you fight back a smile as Chaeryeong groans at her brother.

“You wouldn’t know; you don’t have any friends,” Chaeryeong responds, laughing at her words.

“Neither will you, soon,” Heeseung whispers back, groaning when you swat him in the chest. “Any brownie batter left?”

“None for you. Shouldn’t you be at work?” Chaeryeong asks, handing you another dish.

Chaeryeong takes a break from rinsing off the dishes to bicker with Heeseung for a minute. You tune out from the conversation, dipping your fingers into the leftover batter bowl and gathering the chocolate on your fingers.

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” Heeseung says. When Chaeryeong finally directs her attention elsewhere, Heeseung takes the opportunity to grab your wrist, bringing your fingers up to his lips before sucking the chocolate off them.

Your eyes practically bulge out of your head, nervously glancing behind you to ensure Chaeryeong hadn’t seen anything. You swat at Heeseung’s chest for the second time, and he laughs as if you’re being overly dramatic. It’s odd how surprisingly calm he is about everything. His demeanor would have worried you if you didn’t trust him so much.

Heeseung wipes the renaming bit of chocolate around his lips before mouthing ‘Good luck.’ You give him a nervous smile, watching as he slips past Chaeryeong and leaves out the front door. You get back to work, making small talk with Chaeryeong as you help her load the dishwasher.

It’s now or never.

“So,” you start, “we’re gonna be living together soon.”

Chaeryeong smiles, “Finally! God, I can’t wait to have some freedom. My stupid curfew is a major cock-block. Right when things are finally getting good on a date, I have to go back home. So fucking frustrating. There’s literally cobwebs in my vagina.”

You snort, loading the final dish into the washer. “Well, you won’t have that problem anymore.”

“I know. And maybe you’ll even find someone worthy even to date you.” Chaeryeong jokes, hopping on the kitchen counter.

“Uh, what if I already have found someone…worthy enough?” You question, pressing a few buttons to get the dishwasher going.

“As if.”

“Chaeryeong, I’m serious.”

She sighs, still not buying your confession. “Alright then, who is it?”

“...Your brother.”

A beat of silence passes, and then Chaeryeong doubles over in laughter, nearly slipping off the counter several times in a matter of seconds. It takes her a minute to catch her breath, clutching her collar for support as she regulates her breathing; even tears are forming in her eyes. “Holy fuck, can you imagine? You and my brother? Jesus Christ.”

“Look, there isn’t an easy way to say this, but we really do like each other. We’ve been…together this whole summer. Well, not officially; I didn’t want to put a label on anything without talking to you about it first.” You finally confess. The weight on your shoulders doesn’t immediately drop as you expected; it’s like the load has gotten heavier.

Chaeryeong has a blank expression as she stares at you, eyes darting around the kitchen as she processes the information. “You’re serious?”

You nod.

She shakes her head, eyes closed as she asks,“What kind of friend are you? You’re that desperate for a boyfriend you go after the only boy you know? My brother?”

Fuck.

“Chaeryeong, please, let me—”

She cuts you off, hopping off the counter and inching towards you. “So, what? All this time, you were using me to get close to Heeseung? Out of every fucking guy on the planet? Ones that have spent years throwing themself at you?”

“No! Of course not! Chaeryeong, I never even imagined myself in a relationship with him until this summer, I swear!” Your voice trembles as Chaeryeong approaches you.

“Oh, really? You expect me to believe that, huh? So it’s just a coincidence that you guys suddenly got together right before we’re all gonna be living in the same building?”

“I know it doesn’t sound great, but—”

“I think you should go.” Chaeryeong cuts you off calmly, her sudden change in demeanor shocking you. A moment ago, she looked angry enough to hit you, but now, she seems a few seconds away from breaking down in tears.

You nod understandably, telling Chaeryeong to take all the time she needs and to call you when she’s ready to talk.

She doesn’t say a word as you exit her house, and you wonder if you’ve just lost the best friend you’ve ever had.

———

“I’ve never seen her this angry, Heeseung. I thought she was gonna hit me or something.” You groan, ear pressed up against your phone as you rant to Heeseung.

It's been a few hours since you left Chaeryeong’s house; Heeseung had promised to call you during his break to hear how the conversation went. You’re still shaking as the memories flood back to you, how your best friend in the world accused you of using her. What a fucking joke.

“She’ll get over it, trust me. Y’know, before I called you, she spent five minutes yelling at me over the phone. Five fucking minutes, and I just took it. She’ll be fine.” He says, following up with a loud slurping noise that suggests Heeseung has chosen to have ramen for lunch.

It’s astonishing how calm he’s managed to stay this entire time.

You flip over on the couch, head resting on the armrest as you stare at the ceiling. “I just don’t wanna lose her. She’s a fireball, for sure, but she’s my fireball. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“I just told you you’re not gonna be without her, okay?”

“...Okay.”

There’s a knock at your front door, most likely from the pizza delivery Heeseung had sent to your house.

“I gotta go. The food is here. Are you still stopping by after your shift?”

“Of course. You gonna be alright?”

“Yeah,” you stand, making your way to the front door. “I’ll save you some pizza.”

He chuckles at that, “You better. I’ll see you later, okay? I love you.”

He what?

“You what?” You pause, hand on the doorknob.

“I love you, and I’ll see you later.” He hangs up.

You don’t have time to process his words; the knocking at your front door happens again.

Twisting the knob, you’re met with Chaeryeong staring back at you. “Chaeryeong? What’re you—”

“I don’t care if you date Heeseung.” She claims, storming through your front door, “If you guys want to be together, then I’m not standing in the way. But I will not be your friend if you date him, so it’s either him or me.”

You follow Chaeryeong into your living room, your pulse quickening upon hearing her ultimatum. “Chaeryeong, that’s not—”

“Before you choose…as a girl, and as your friend, I have to be completely honest with you.” She sighs, fingers nervously raking through her hair as she sits on your couch. “I called Heeseung after you left, and he talked to me about you guys.”

You nod, taking a seat next to her. “Okay, and…?”

She sighs again, taking your hand in her own. “Everything he’s ever told you was a lie.”

[hypnagogics]

before you read ▪︎ loose continuation to THIS

ultra loser!ellie x teasing(slightly sadistic tbh)!reader. reads fine as a standalone!! no fr sex, but still nsfw!!! loads of teasing, ellie's shy and flustered (also gave her glasses and piercings muahahah AND HAPPY TRAIL MENTION YAYYY), reader's a little insistent (but it's ok), mentions of masturbation, discussion of sex, REALLY horny making out at the end lol, heavy petting, they almost do it, tiny abby cameo, buildup AS PER USUAL YALL KNOW THE DRILL, kinda cliffhanger ending (its on purpose HAHA), different layout bc i cheated n looked at the poll oops...NGL TS HAD ME SWEATINGGG WRITING IT LMFAO don't think i have ever written something more horny....ok enjoy! + 2.2k wc

apparently both of you missed the professor's class cancellation email on this fateful day… other students showed up too, but they left quickly after seeing it was empty. ellie stayed to catch up on some work, enjoying the silence and typing away on her laptop, which looked like one of those beefy gaming computers.

covered in stickers and the keys changing color, you thought it was interesting she'd lug that thing around campus with her, instead of opting for something light and sleek. and now that leaves you. you had no other plans for the day, and had already mentally prepared yourself for this class, totally unaware it was canceled.

you realized it wasn't a bad idea to copy ellie, and catch up on some of your own work. however you were more intrigued by her, to be totally honest with yourself.

watching her from a distance, she captivated you. she never seemed to notice your stares, too absorbed in her thoughts. you watched her type, efficiently and quickly, pausing only to push her glasses further up her nose with her slim fingers.

the truth is, she's hot. but no one was hearing you out on that, unfortunately. they'd say to you, “what a loser! i don't think i've ever heard her talk.”

you felt overwhelmed by the urge to strike up a real conversation with her—more that simple greetings or coursework questions— and it was the perfect opportunity to do just that. so you got up, sat yourself down in the empty spot right next to her, and put on the most charming grin you could muster up. she abruptly snapped out of her focus, almost flinching at your presence.

“hey! you're ellie, right? whatcha working on?” you got close to her to see, being met with a bunch of hieroglyphic-looking strings of symbols on the screen. woah, smarty-pants. “um, it's just…some project, i dunno. how d’you know my name?”

she finally looked at you, her eyes round, wider than the ufo saucer stickers on the back of her computer. they were so green, the hazel ring reminded you of a polished agate stone. the scattered freckles on her face were so pretty too, you'd never been close enough to her to really take notice. she nervously scanned your features, blotches of pink blush decorating the apples of her plump cheeks.

she was so cute, and noticing her evident shyness flipped a switch inside you, what if you messed with her a little?

you shrugged at her, “just seen you around. you're so mysterious.” you lilt, manipulating your tone to make it smoother on the ears, even containing hints of seduction if you dared.

she blushed a deeper raspberry shade and looked down at her hands, fidgeting with her rings. she was somehow getting more attractive by the second, your heart felt like it was about to burst.

“am i? never thought of it that way, you're funny.” she mumbles, her antsiness obvious. but you didn't wish to let up so soon, you were having a lot more fun flustering her than you'd ever care to admit, even wanting to see just how far you could push her.

“ooh, i love your rings. where did you get em?” “just…places. why are you asking me so many questions?” you sighed and rolled your eyes, “well, ellie. we both don't have anything else to do, gotta pass the time somehow. i wanna talk with you, is that okay?” she took a deep breath and nodded, visibly relaxing. she stretched out her arm to get rid of the tabs on her computer, close it, and put it in her bag, which is when you got a look at her forearm tattoo.

“also i'm obsessed with your tattoo, you have no idea how cool you are, how are girls not all over you?” you question, taking her wrist in your hands and examining the tattoo's intricate line work, tracing your fingertips over the pigment in her skin.

you heard her breathing change in tempo, quickening ever so slightly. but she didn't move her arm away, and let you continue. she took a second to respond. “um. thanks, i guess. i don't really know what you mean.” her voice cracked when she said the last part, igniting a flame inside you, one that you didn't know existed.

your mind wandered, you began wondering what she sounds like when she whimpers. was she really so starved of human contact you could mold her like putty, just with your fingers and tongue? you wanted to find out so badly, wanted to hear how she'd cry your name out if you fucked her into oblivion. was she a squirter or a creamer? you hoped to the heavens above you'd get to find out someday. maybe it was too much to fantasize like this, considering you formally met just now, but you weren't hurting anyone if it all never left the confines of your mind.

you were lucky you hid your own arousal well, nothing out of the ordinary showed on your face whatsoever. ellie wasn't so lucky—to her dismay, but to your delight—everything played out on her delicate features so clearly, it was nothing short of delectable. 

your eyes bore into hers, the intensity of the eye contact making her shiver, and attempt to break it. “ellie, ellie, ellie, may i call you els?” you didn't wait for an answer, and continued, “do you have a girlfriend?” you pouted your lips at her, feigning sadness as if her response was something you didn't already infer.

she was stuttering now, stumbling over her words, making less and less sense as the conversation went on. she was anxiously bouncing her leg, you could see her chest rising and falling, and her face had turned a lovely crimson color, it was so strong, the flush had spread down her neck and reached her ears, making her piercings stand out. good lord. 

“ahem- no, i don't have a girlfriend. actually never have, shocking i know.” she chuckles at her self-deprecating joke, and while her smile was enough to light up a room, you wanted to slap the doubt out of her. or rather, fuck it out of her. 

you exhaled loudly, “hahh, well isn't that a shame. you're so pretty, i'll just have to snatch you up for myself then.” she swallowed audibly, greatly taken aback. “sorry, what?” “oh, don't you know how much people love losers like you? tsk tsk tsk, you're so much hotter than you realize, i mean it, els. look at you! you've got these piercings, this tattoo, you're smarter than this whole class combined, seriously.�� 

she just gaped at you, unable to process what she was hearing. no one had ever talked to her like this, it was only something she read about. and coming from you? this ethereal person who starred in all of her most intimate fantasies? she rubbed her eyes roughly, convinced she was hallucinating. her mouth opened and closed dumbly, her voice box failing to produce any sound. but you were affecting her so much, especially because she lusted after you to an extent she could only take to the grave.

flashes of her midnight escapades flickered in her mind, of her shoving her hand down her pants like an animal in heat, orgasming so intensely she'd black out, abusing her hole with nothing but images of you playing in her mind, and your name on her tongue. her cheeks burned with the embarrassment of her wild actions, and she shook her head to clear the thoughts away. 

you groaned and leaned back in your own seat, exclaiming, “god i'm so bored. and pent up, fuck. it's been so long since i had sex…” that was true. in any other situation you'd never say something like that aloud, but because you were alone with the clueless idiot you wanted so carnally, you let it slip. 

“...maybe you should take care of that.” you heard her cough out, her voice coming out strangled. “i could. but that's boring.” you opened your eyes again and smirked devilishly her way, poor girl looked like she was about to go on a trip with the ferryman. 

you grabbed her hand, examining it some more, commenting, “you play guitar, don't you? guitarists are very good with their hands, i will say.” you played with her hand, pressing it into a fist, then extending her middle and ring finger. gosh, what's gotten into you? “i bet you're sooo good.” 

you've never seen a person look more flustered than she did right now in this moment. her voice was impossibly quiet, barely above a whisper, “cut it out.” “okay, fine.”

some beats of silence passed, but a thought crossed your mind. if she really hated this interaction that much, she could have got up and left eons ago, yet she stayed here and endured it all. hmm. you blurted out, “els, have you kissed anyone before?” 

and again she stayed silent, even after you waited patiently for an answer. she kept looking away, her jaw tense. 

you decided to quit the teasing just for a moment, and speak to her gently, genuinely. you shifted to sit a little closer to her and asked, “do you want to?” her gaze locked onto your mouth, she licked her lips, then muttered, “if you're really offering and not just fucking with me, sure-” 

your patience broke and you didn't wait for her to finish her sentence before swiftly leaning forward and connecting your lips with hers, relishing the tiny gasp she made as soon as you did it. she tasted like a dream.

after a split second she kissed you back, it was inexperienced and clumsy, fueled by adrenaline, but she got into a rhythm soon enough. you took the lead and deepened the kiss, absent-mindedly tugging on her bottom lip with your teeth, coaxing eager whimpers out of her, pure music to your ears.

you succumbed to the sensations and increased the pace, your tongue dancing against hers. you felt her hands fumble by your waist, and she pulled you closer to her. your hands clawed at her chest, the beautiful symphony of panting, the wet smacking of your lips colliding, and her uncontrolled moans filled the empty room.

she gripped your waist so tightly, fingertips surely leaving small marks in their wake, you couldn't wait to find them later, and you shamelessly felt up her chest, your thumbs finding her nipples—perky, hard, and poking out through her thin shirt. you caressed and rubbed and squeezed, feeling her jolt under your magical touch.

she was fully whining now. spilling needy, high-pitched sounds, this was better than you could've ever imagined. neither one of you breaking the kiss for even a second, your hand trailed lower and landed on her stomach, slipping under the bottom of her shirt. you felt her defined abs tensing, and the whisper of a happy trail—now it was your turn to moan.

she got even louder and her kisses got sloppier, and you were about to venture inside her waistband before a sudden sound startled you both. 

your phone vibrated aggressively, and with great effort you separated yourself from ellie, long strings of spit connecting you to her still.

she whimpered from the loss of contact, chasing your lips, then huffing and quietly groaning while you took out your phone, her hands not letting go of your waist. when you checked it, it was a message from your friend, abby, just saying: URGENT. COME HERE NOW. ASAP.

fuck her. fuck her and her timing, was all you could think. really, now? you wanted to kill her.

trying to slow your breathing and racing heart, you explained apologetically, “ugh, it's urgent. im so, so sorry ellie, i gotta go.” she stared at you, speechless, but nodded meekly, reluctantly retracting her arms. you didn't want to leave, and stayed gazing at her for a little longer, and brushed a loose strand of soft hair out of her face. what a cutie, she looked all disheveled and dazed. you were about to look for a paper to scribble down your number to keep in touch, until your phone buzzed again, and started ringing with abby's repeated attempts to get ahold of you. couldn't she wait a minute?

you gave ellie one last devastated look, getting up and rushing out of the classroom before abby called you another seventeen times. 

ellie was left in the classroom, reeling from the encounter and what it had turned into. she was utterly bewildered at the events that transpired, her blood rushing in her ears, mind spinning, lips still puffy, glasses fogged over, hands trembling, and of course a sticky, uncomfortable damp spot in her boxers. she leaned forward to rest her head on the desk in front of her on top of crossed arms, to take a moment to cool down before escaping back to her place. 

“holy shit.” 

im horny🧍‍♂️just like ellie after that. as soon as she got home, u best believe she came so hard she saw literal angels and deities LMFAOO (this is my favorite thing ive ever written gawdDAYUM)

yall who wanted more, hope this suffices as a continuation! @stonerzdaze420692 @womenlvrrr

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

The Hedge Knight graphic novel - could it work as a roadmap for HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

So, per reports, HBO's Dunk & Egg show is going to be 6 episodes. I've seen several people saying that's too long, it should be 4 episodes at most, a 2 hour movie at most, there will be too much filler, blah blah blah. Well let me tell you, that's not true!

In 2003, The Hedge Knight was adapted as a 6 issue comic book (later collected as a graphic novel), and I think its script, each issue ending in a cliffhanger or dun-dun-dunnn moment, would work perfectly for the show, and is very probably how they'll do it.

Potential spoilers under the cut, but first - is this not perfect casting and costuming? It so is.

Like I said, I think each issue could be the plot of each episode. So I'm just going to summarize these issues, I hope you've read the GN or the novella. (If not, go read it, go read all of Dunk & Egg, it's so good.)

#1 - Dunk buries Ser Arlan, decides to go to Ashford for the tourney, meets Egg and a weird drunk guy at an inn on the way, gets to Ashford, sets up camp in the forest (bathes naked in a stream), goes to the tourney field and sees Tanselle performing her puppet show, gets measured for armor he can't quite afford, gets back to his camp to find the weird little bald kid making dinner.

#2 - Dunk agrees Egg can be his squire, that night he sees the falling star, next morning goes to Ashford castle and gets told he needs to prove he's a knight to enter the tourney (or that Arlan was, since he says Arlan knighted him), meets Aerion (badly) but also the Kingsguard, sells his horse for armor money, talks to Tanselle and meets the Fossoways, then meets up with the young Dondarrion lord whose dad Arlan worked for and relates the House Dondarrion origin story (imagine them telling that via puppet imagery, ooh), gets told "yeah knowing that is no proof you're a knight, sucks to be you".

#3 - Dunk goes back to the castle, stumbles into Baelor and Maekar arguing about M's missing kids, Baelor remembers his epic joust with Arlan so yay Dunk can be in the tourney, Dunk and Egg talk to Tanselle about painting him a shield, they watch the opening of the tourney (lots of jousting and pageantry including Lyonel "the Laughing Storm" Baratheon), and the first day ends after Aerion deliberately kills that horse.

#4 - Dunk argues with Egg over how much of a douche Aerion is, more flirting with Tanselle, gossip with Raymun Fossoway about the Targaryens, Egg runs in to say Aerion's hurting Tanselle, Dunk beats up Aerion and almost gets murdered by Aerion's goons, Egg reveals himself to save Dunk, Dunk in prison, talks to Egg and Baelor, Baelor tells him he can be mutilated for striking a prince or ask for trial by combat, so "how good a knight are you, truly?"

#5 - Aerion says sure, trial by combat, but only a trial of seven, Dunk has to find 6 guys, talks to Raymun and Steffon Fossoway, Daeron apologizes and tells Dunk his dragon dream, shield reveal, next morning the smallfolk are all "a knight who remembered his vows", various guys show up to help Dunk and Raymun gets knighted, but Steffon Fossoway goes to Aerion's side so they're still missing a guy, "are there no true knights among you?", wait is that Valarr??? no it's Baelor in Valarr's armor omg

#6 - The trial of seven. You know how this ends. 😭 Then talking to Maekar, and Dunk and Egg ride off into the sunset together.

I hope that's convincing enough for the doubters! I can see a few points where something might be shifted from the end of one to the beginning of the other -- but on the whole I think the comic is an excellent roadmap for the show, and I hope this is the way they lay it out. Also ftr, the Sworn Sword graphic novel was also originally 6 issues so possibly season 2 ditto (unless they add an episode for the in between THK-TSS Dorne and Oldtown adventures that didn't actually appear in the novellas, idk). But the Mystery Knight was only released as one book, so who knows, they might go for more episodes when they get to that season.

Also, re taking inspiration from the comic, I really hope they adapt the Kingsguards' gold codpieces. Just because.

[intothewickedwood]

Ooh, you watched One of Us Is Lying! I love that show! I read the book last year and I thought it was pretty good but then I watched the show and while I don't like some of the changes they made, I think the show is actually much, much better! It treats all the characters as people, not just our 4 main characters. It was definitely a big surprise and I'm glad to see you've enjoyed it too!

Yes!! Just finished it last week after watching it over a few months! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it half as much as I did, but the mystery each season really kept me on my toes! It was so hard to keep from binging it. Definitely gonna check the book series out! Do you know if the book series continues from the shows s2 cliffhanger? That finale was incredible, but the cliffhanger to finding out it was cancelled!! It's a shame the characters aren't as fleshed out in the books. I loved how the show got me to like characters I initially didn't. I'll probably have to mix book canon with tv show canon where possible.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I gotta know, who were your favourite characters/ships and what were your favourite parts? Did you guess the murderer in s1 and/or in s2?

[teaberrii]

Chapter Eight: A Step Back?

Alhaitham has the looks and the smarts. He will also be the stand-in CEO for his grandfather's company for a year.

But, he's been mysteriously cursed to turn into a cat every night since his eighteenth birthday… until he meets you, an employee at his grandfather's company, who rescues him as a cat and changes him back with one kiss.

Alhaitham/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on AO3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

“Daaamn. So, he held her hand in front of you and mom and everything?”

You and Lumine are visiting Aether at the hospital. Lumine has just finished telling Aether everything that happened during that evening. You’ve been casually listening, ensuring Lumine doesn’t exaggerate the truth. By the end, Aether smiles at you.

“It’s like one of the stories you write, Sis.” Then, he lowers his voice and says dramatically, “What did they talk about after the mother and sister left? Stay tuned…”

Lumine laughs. “It definitely sounds like a cliffhanger.”

“Well, if things really go well, I’m happy for ‘ya, Sis.” Aether tears open a chocolate bar. “It’s about time that ginger gets some competition.”

A soft knock comes at Aether’s door.

You and Lumine are surprised to see a girl about the same age as the twins. Her eyes are slightly darker than the colour of her hair that's tied into a high ponytail. She's wearing a dark hospital gown that makes her skin look even paler than it already is.

“A-Ayaka!”

You and your sister glance at each other. Ayaka? Since when did Aether make a friend?

She walks in, and you see she’s holding one of Aether’s video games. “Hello. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” She gives you and Lumine a slight bow.

“No! Not at all!”

“I came to return the video game you lent me the other day," Ayaka says, putting the video game on the nightstand beside Aether's bed.

“You lent her one of your video games?” Lumine gasps.

Aether shoots her a warning look, but his twin remains unfazed.

“Yes.” Ayaka smiles. “He was kind enough to lend me one when I was recovering.”

“Well, well, looks like Aether’s all grown up!”

Ayaka looks at Aether. “Are these two…”

“They’re my sisters.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ayaka,” you say. “I should thank you for giving my brother company.”

Lumine nods. “That’s why we brought him his games in the first place. He wouldn’t stop complaining about how bored he was.”

Ayaka doesn’t see Aether’s deadpan look toward his twin. “I quite enjoy Aether’s company. He’s a fun person to talk to.”

“Oh, is he now?” Lumine asks with a smile. “That’s good to hear!”

Then, Ayaka bows once. “I should return to my room. My brother will be coming soon.”

“You have a brother?” Lumine asks.

“Yes.” Ayaka looks at you. “He should be around the same age as you or maybe a little older. His name is Ayato.”

“Ooh, perhaps we can all get lunch together sometime!” Lumine says excitedly.

“I think that would be a lovely idea.”

“I second that,” you say.

“I, uh, anytime’s good for me!”

“As long as you get to see Ayaka, right?” Lumine says quietly. Aether glares at her, and she returns it with a smile.

Ayaka chuckles. “I guess Aether and I can arrange something.”

“Yeah!”

You and Lumine give Ayaka a small wave just before she leaves.

Once Ayaka is out of sight, Lumine turns to her brother and asks, “Pickin’ up girls at the hospital, are we now?”

You laugh. “She seems like a nice girl.”

“Maybe the only girl who will give Aether a chance.”

Aether sticks his tongue out at his twin. “Ha-ha. Hilarious, Lumine.”

As your siblings continue to bicker, you look at your watch. It's almost time to meet your friends. You grab your bag off the armchair, which gets Aether's attention.

“Leaving already, Sis?”

“I’m meeting Candace and Dehya to get my dress today.”

Lumine gasps. “Oh! For the Awards night, right?”

“That’s the one.”

Once you leave the room, you see a woman walk out of the room next door. Isn’t that the room Alhaitham’s grandfather is staying in? Her long, blue locks make her stand out. Coupled with her fair skin, she would turn heads down the street. Could this woman be a friend of Alhaitham’s? Or…

You walk in the other direction, trying and failing to kill your curiosity.

◆◆◆

As soon as you enter the high-end boutique, Candace waves at you while Dehya goes in for a hug.

“There she is!"

You walk up and hug Dehya, a friend from school who you introduced to Candace a few years ago. 

"I should get your autograph now before you become too famous!"

"And what?" you ask. "Sell it?"

Dehya laughs. "You got me."

“Did you have lunch yet?” Candace asks.

“Yeah, I already ate. I came from the hospital, actually,” you say. “I was visiting my brother.”

“Aether?” Dehya asks. “What did he get himself into this time?”

“He broke his leg while snowboarding.”

“Ouch… but the kid’s learning to snowboard now?”

"Well, he isn't sure he wants to go again after that incident."

Soon, you and Dehya get caught up with what's happening in your lives. Unlike you and Candace, who are creatives, Dehya works in law enforcement. You aren't surprised. She was incredibly athletic in school, having more physical strength than some of the boys. Her grades were also good. Her intelligence and athletics made her intimidating to most of the students, but it was also the reason why the two of you became friends.

Dehya looks around the high-end boutique. “So, Candace, care to give some recs?”

Candace looks at you. “Do you already have something in mind?”

“Not really… but I guess I’d like to try something different.”

She smiles. “A bolder look, maybe?”

“Something that’ll truly knock people off their feet!” Dehya adds.

“Let’s start with the overall design,” Candace suggests. “Once you like the dress, we can start looking at colours.”

After a while of you and your friends going through racks and racks of dresses, Dehya brings up the school reunion, something you’ve been thinking about.

“I haven’t replied to Collei yet,” you say. “Are you going?”

Dehya nods. Then, she quietly says, "He won't be there, you know. Collei wouldn't invite him."

You know that Collei wouldn't invite your ex if she's inviting you. She's not that type of person. 

“...I know she wouldn’t.”

Is it bad to say that you don't want to see any of your old classmates? It's not like you're close to them. They're acquaintances at best. Some knew your ex and probably still kept in touch. However, you didn't want to deal with any questions about him. He used to haunt your dreams; his influence left harmful traces in almost every aspect of your life. 

"I don't want to see them." You sigh. "Don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against them. It's just…."

“Hey. You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Dehya says kindly. “If you don’t want to go, don’t go.”

You give her a small smile, and she returns it with one of her own.

"...I haven't decided, though, so I haven't replied."

“Something wrong?”

You and Dehya look at Candace, who’s holding a black satin off-sleeve dress that’s round and low-cut at the front with a slit on the side.

“I didn’t know dress shopping would be such a downer,” she jokes.

“Oh, it’s not that,” you say.

Dehya quickly gets Candace up to speed about Collei's invitation to a school reunion. Candace quickly catches on; she knows, after all, that your ex went to school with you.

“The reason you haven't replied... Is it because you might want to go?” Candace asks.

She's right. A part of you wants to show off this incredible person you've become. But would there be a point to that? The more you think about it, it seems like you'd be going for all the wrong reasons. Maybe it's best to leave it all behind.

The bell at the entrance sounds, signalling a customer. You, Dehya, and Candace turn around, and your eyes widen when you see Alhaitham… with a woman. The same woman you saw at the hospital earlier today.

“Haitham?” Candace asks, obviously surprised.

Alhaitham is just as surprised to see you.

“Layla!” Dehya exclaims.

“Dehya?” the woman smiles. “I never thought I’d see you at a boutique.”

“That’s cuz I’m here with friends!”

“Well, it looks like we all know each other,” Candace says. “Care to introduce us, Dehya?”

You learn that the woman with Alhaitham is Layla, a Sumeru native living out of the city until recently. She and Alhaitham are old friends, while she and Dehya met at a city event a few years ago. 

“I’m not surprised Haitham knows so many great people,” she says. “It’s wonderful meeting you.”

“So… are you two on a date?” Dehya asks.

“No.”

“That was quick.”

“You must excuse his bluntness,” Candace says.

Layla chuckles. “But it’s true. We aren’t on a date. He’s just accompanying me for the day.”

“What brings the two of you here?” you ask.

"I want to get a new suit," Layla says. "Haitham says that he has a friend who works in the fashion business and thought she could help out." She looks at Candace. "I guess he was referring to you."

“At least he knows a good designer when he sees one,” Candace jokes.

“What about you?” Alhaitham asks, looking at you.

“I’m looking for a dress for the Awards Night."

Candace holds up the black dress. “What do you think about this one, Haitham?”

“Have you tried it on?”

“Not yet.”

Alhaitham smiles at you. “Go try it on.”

“What? So you can judge me?” you ask jokingly.

He leans close enough to whisper in your ear, "No, silly. So, you can see how beautiful you'd look in it."

Your eyes go wide.

“Something wrong?”

Looks like no one else heard what he said. You aren't surprised. With how he lowered his voice like that, it's only loud enough for you to hear but also sends a surprising shiver down your spine. You feel someone's hands on your shoulders. When you turn, you see Candace.

“I bet he told you to try it on, right?”

“Yeah…”

Candace smiles and hands you the dress. “Then, hurry and try it on, girl!”

Once you leave for the dressing room, Dehya points her finger at him. "Who are you to her? How come I haven't heard about you?"

“I’m her neighbour,” Alhaitham answers calmly.

“And her C—”

“She lives across from me,” Alhaitham quickly interrupts. He gives Candace a look, and she catches on and subtly nods.

“You two seem too... close to just be neighbours,” Dehya says.

“She’s also a friend.”

It’s obvious Dehya doesn’t buy it.

Layla chuckles. “Let’s stop grilling them, Dehya. Perhaps they’re a work in progress.”

Dehya jabs Alhaitham in the chest. "I don't know who you are, but you'd better not try anything funny."

“Don’t worry,” Candace says. “I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Dehya still looks suspiciously at Alhaitham as she says, "Well, if you're friends with Candace, I guess you should be okay."

“I appreciate you’re looking out for her,” Alhaitham says.

Dehya blinks once. Twice. Then, she turns to Candace. “Is he always like this?”

“Like what?”

Dehya looks back. “Like… I don’t know. Polite?”

“If it’s any reassurance, Candace already gave me a similar warning,” Alhaitham says. “I do not plan on trying anything’ funny’ with her. If anything”—his gaze turns stern—“I’d like to look out for her.”

You come out of the dressing room with the dress on. Candace is the first to walk up to you.

“It looks good!”

"You think?" you ask, looking down at yourself and then at the large mirror on the opposite wall.

Alhaitham approaches you, and you see his subtle smile in the mirror.

“Are you going to wear heels?” You see Layla just behind Alhaitham. “I think it would look nicer if you wore heels.”

You turn around. “I appreciate the suggestion, but aren’t you two here for something else?”

Layla chuckles softly. “Well, it seems like you completely grabbed Haitham’s attention.”

“Oh, I wonder why.”

You give Candace a look, and she smiles back.

“Well, I also think the dress looks nice on you,” Dehya chimes in. “The guy has a good eye.”

You and Alhaitham look at each other, but you’re the first to look away.

Sometime later, in a twisted series of events, you and your friends end up having lunch with Layla and Alhaitham at a nearby restaurant. After telling Layla about what you do, she looks visibly impressed.

“Wow, so you’re the scriptwriter for Love in the Spotlight? I binged it in one day,” she laughs. “It was so well done!” She takes a bite of her food. “How did you come up with the idea? Or… is that a secret?”

“Actually, it was inspired by something I read in the news.”

“I guess when inspiration strikes, it strikes hard.” Layla looks at Alhaitham. “Didn’t you watch it too, Haitham?”

“I did.” He looks at you. “And I enjoyed it.”

You aren’t sure why you find it difficult to meet his eyes. You’ve always taken compliments nicely. So, why do you feel… unexpectedly nervous?

“What did you particularly like about it?” Dehya asks. You gently nudge your friend underneath the table. “Whaaat? I’m just curious! Maybe he didn’t actually watch it and is just saying it.”

Candace cuts into her steak. “So… you’re testing him, is that it?”

"It was the characters who made it enjoyable," Alhaitham answers. "Perhaps it's a personal preference, but I especially enjoyed watching the female lead. From a rookie, unconfident actress to winning awards and giving advice to her juniors... her growth is quite inspiring."

You're pleasantly surprised at his response. You expected to hear "an interesting plot," "the high production value," or something similar. It never really crossed your mind that he'd comment on the characters.

"I'm sure many people would find strength in watching her as well," he continues. He looks at you. "It was a story with substance."

Curious, you ask, “I suppose you like character-driven stories then.”

"Truth be told, I've never thought about it," he says, slightly smiling. "But if my experience with Love in the Spotlight is anything to go by, it depends on whether I think the show delivers meaningful value."

Dehya whistles softly. “What a compliment.”

You can’t hide your smile, and you don’t want to. You feel a new sense of accomplishment as creating something purposeful and inspiring has always been at the top of your creative goals.

“That’s very motivating,” you say honestly. “I appreciate your thoughts, Catman.”

“Catman?”

You slowly look around at the confused faces. Alhaitham, on the other hand, has a slightly amused smile at your blunder.

“That’s… an interesting nickname for Haitham,” Layla says. “Never heard that one before.”

Candace chuckles. “It’s definitely a more creative one than Nerd or Bookworm.”

“Is it because he likes cats?” Deya asks.

Layla laughs. "Or… maybe he's like a cat. I can definitely see that."

You and Alhaitham glance at each other, and he enjoys seeing your little smile as you continue eating.

◆◆◆

You’ve just finished your shower that evening when you hear a knock at the door. You open it to find Alhaitham dressed in a black tank and pants.

“You’re… early,” you say.

"I was wondering if you'd wanted to come over instead."

You raise a brow. “You aren’t going to kidnap me, are you?” Alhaitham gives you a slightly deadpan look, and you shrug with a small smile. “Just making sure.” You lean against the doorframe. “Why, though?”

“I don’t think it’s fair if we keep using your place. If you’re comfortable”—he nods at his unit—“you could come over.”

You look past him and see the closed door. Alhaitham’s place… what would it look like? You’d imagine it would be minimalistic with a black, white, and gray colour scheme.

“...Curious?”

You immediately turn to him when you hear his low voice near your ear. Your lips almost brush against his cheek.

Then, he chuckles. “You can take a look at my book collection.”

“...Your book collection?”

“You have a bookshelf in your room. I assume you like reading.”

The bookshelf in your room isn't big and can be easily missed. So, you’re a little surprised that he remembers the detail.

“It sounds like your book collection is something private.” Then, jokingly, “Don’t tell me you have some R-rated stuff in there.”

To your surprise, Alhaitham looks at you mischievously. “...If you mean sensual literature, I assure you’ll find a little bit of everything.”

You laugh. “Is that what the academics are calling it nowadays?”

"So... is that a yes?"

And that's how you end up at Alhaitham's place.

It's just as you'd imagined, but it's also very clean. You're still standing at the entrance, looking around, when he comes out with tea.

“Take a seat.”

“Your place is nice,” you say, sitting on the black couch. “No cat fur.”

Alhaitham sits on the couch adjacent to you. “You should know I don’t shed.”

You almost choke on your tea. “Right. Of course, you don’t.”

"...There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

You put down your cup.

“The Best Hit Awards…” You already have a feeling you know what he’s getting at. “I’ll need you that night.”

You remember he’ll be the one giving the awards to the recipients. The event also takes place at night… but he would be a cat by then.

“You want me to change you back at the event?” you ask.

"Unfortunately, I don't see any other way."

“I guess not attending the event would leave a bad impression.”

Alhaitham nods.

"...That's a huge risk. But, if we plan carefully…."

“There’s nothing Catman and Batwoman can’t solve together.”

You cross one leg over the other. “What should I take that smile as, hm? Do you have something in mind?”

“Perhaps.”

“Well, I’m all ears.”

You're thinking over Alhaitham's plan later that night when he walks out of his bathroom in all his fluffy, four-legged glory. He jumps onto the sofa, and you turn to him.

“If I wasn’t here, I wonder what your plan would be.”

Alhaitham walks onto your lap and sits facing you. It almost looks like he’s smiling, but you can’t be sure.

“Don’t tell me you expect me to turn you back like this,” you deadpan. “It’s not going to happen.”

He steps toward you, and you stare at each other in silence. Finally, you scratch him behind the ears, and he nuzzles against your hand. Is this his cat instincts, or…?

“I thought you were going to show me your book collection.”

Alhaitham meows and jumps onto the floor. You eventually follow him to his room, where it's just as clean as the rest of his place. Your eyes almost widen at the wall completely filled with books. What surprises you more is that many books look old and have sticky tabs on the pages. Alhaitham jumps onto one of his bookshelves just as you walk over.

A book titled A Drunkard’s Tale gets your attention. “Did you read all of these?”

Alhaitham meows again. He walks along the edge and puts his paw on the spine of a green book. You put the one in your hand back on the shelf and grab the one Alhaitham is pointing to.

“...Heart’s Desire?” You look at him. “Is this the sensual literature you were talking about?”

You flip to a random page and start reading the first paragraph. But, Alhaitham suddenly puts his head on the page you're reading. His eyes are wide and innocent. He slowly inches closer, making reading anything on the page impossible.

You almost chuckle. “I thought I said you should behave if you want to change back.”

Behave? Pssh. He wants to drive you crazy. In a good way, of course. Alhaitham jumps onto the bed, patting the space beside him using his paw.

You assume he’s giving you permission to sit on his bed. So, you close the book and sit on the edge of his bed. You turn away from him, but that ends up being a mistake. Alhaitham jumps on your back, and his paws are on either one of your shoulders. You yelp in surprise. Then, you reach behind you and grab him off your shoulders.

You’re holding him in front of you, his belly exposed. “What was that all about, hm?”

His paws start moving up and down as if reaching for something. You slowly bring him closer until he’s close enough to bonk his head against yours and hug you. His head is against your neck, and you hear him meow softly.

“Is this your way of convincing me to turn you back?”

If that’s how you see it.

Once you put him down on the bed, you stand to face him as he looks up at you expectantly. Finally, he walks to the edge of the bed, his tail straight up. You lean down, not expecting Alhaitham to give you a light lick on your nose. Then, you and he stare at each other for a short moment before your lips curve into a small smile.

As soon as you kiss the top of his head, you almost gasp when you feel Alhaitham grab your wrist.

Then, you hear him whisper in your ear, “You’re getting harder to resist.”

You pull back. Alhaitham has a blanket over his lower half. The two of you stare at each other; his words are still sinking in until…

“I… I should go.”

You don’t wait for a response and hurry out the door.

Chapter Nine

Tag list: @suoshiii @lordbugs @lxry-chxn @seirenspinel @sakiimeo @ashtree-and-the-cats @ceylestia @forsh4dow @deathkat657 @kalpie @elernity @sentieence @chichibleeps @sunsethw4 @hjjks @tanspostsblog @nqctre @just-simping-over-genshin @uchihaeirin @vynbin @ayanokomu @dksfl920 @alatus2716 @itztaki

[zapreportsblog]

𝒞𝒶𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜 𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉𝓎 𝓃𝒶𝒾𝓁 𝓍 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝒶𝓁𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇

❝ride or die❞

✭ pairing : Rusty Nail x reader

✭ fandom : joyride

✭ summary : (m/n) always follow along to what rusty says, no matter how bad it may be

✭ authors note : I’ve never done a rusty nail fic before and I haven’t watched the movie in a hot minute :) I also had no clue if you wanted a smut story or not normally when I think of bottoms I think of submissive people like myself ooh and it’s sort of a cliffhanger so you all can choose your fate

✭ slasher masterlist

The flickering neon lights of the roadside motel cast an eerie glow on the empty parking lot. Inside one of the rooms, Rusty Nail, the infamous highway killer, sat on the edge of the bed. His piercing blue eyes scanned the room, anticipation simmering beneath his rugged exterior.

Beside him, (m/n) fidgeted nervously, his submissive demeanor evident in every movement. He was a young man, with soft features and an innocence that seemed to draw Rusty Nail in like a magnet. (m/n) had always been drawn to strong, dominant partners, and in Rusty Nail, he found someone who commanded his attention in ways he had never experienced before.

Rusty Nail, older and more experienced, was a man of few words. He exuded a commanding presence that (m/n) found irresistible. From the moment they met, Rusty Nail had taken charge, and (m/n) had willingly surrendered to his every whim. He was always happy to help his older boyfriend, eager to please him in any way he could.

Tonight, Rusty Nail had a plan. He had received a mysterious message, a thrill-inducing invitation that promised excitement and danger. It was an opportunity he couldn't resist, and he knew that (m/n) would be right by his side, ready to assist him in whatever twisted endeavors awaited them.

As Rusty Nail rose from the bed, his tall frame cast a shadow over (m/n). With an affectionate smile, he reached out and gently brushed his fingers across (m/n)'s cheek, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "We're about to have some fun, my love," Rusty Nail whispered, his voice filled with a mix of excitement and authority.

(m/n) nodded, his eyes shining with adoration. "I'm ready, Rusty. I'll do anything you need me to do."

Rusty Nail's lips curved into a satisfied smirk. He knew he had found the perfect partner, someone who would willingly follow him into the depths of darkness. He took (m/n)'s hand, intertwining their fingers, and led him towards the door. As they stepped out into the night, the sound of a revving engine filled the air.

A dark truck awaited them in the parking lot, its engine growling with untamed power. Rusty Nail opened the passenger door and motioned for (m/n) to climb in. (m/n) obeyed without hesitation, excitement coursing through his veins.

As Rusty Nail climbed up and slid into the driver's seat, he turned to (m/n) and fixed him with an intense gaze. "Remember, (m/n), I'm in control. You just follow along like the good little boy you are.”

(m/n) nodded, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and desire. He had never felt more alive than in this moment, with Rusty Nail by his side, ready to lead him on a twisted and thrilling adventure.

With a roar of the engine, the truck sped off into the night, leaving the motel and its secrets behind.

The night air whipped through the open windows of Rusty Nail's speeding truck as he chased down the drivers who had dared to prank call him on the truck microphone. The malicious laughter that had echoed through the speakers had set a rage off within him, and now he was on a mission to teach them a lesson they would never forget.

Beside him, (m/n) held on tight, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and excitement. This was far beyond anything he had ever experienced before, but the thrill of the chase surged through his veins. He trusted Rusty implicitly, knowing that he would protect him and lead him to victory.

The headlights of the pranksters' car flickered in the distance, their taunting presence growing closer with each passing moment. Rusty Nail's grip tightened on the steering wheel, his eyes narrowing with determination. He had a plan, and he was ready to execute it flawlessly.

As they closed in on the pranksters, the adrenaline pumping through their veins reached its peak. Rusty Nail's voice cut through the rush of wind, his command firm and unwavering. "Hold on tight, (m/n). We're about to make them pay for their foolishness."

(m/n) nodded, his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He trusted Rusty Nail completely, knowing that he would protect him no matter what. As the gap between the two cars narrowed, a mischievous smile played on (m/n)'s lips. He was ready to help Rusty Nail in any way he could.

With a swift maneuver, Rusty Nail expertly closed the distance between their truck and the pranksters' vehicle. The sound of screeching tires filled the air as he skillfully kept up with them, never losing sight of his target. The chase had turned into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, and Rusty Nail was determined to emerge as the victor.

(m/n) leaned in closer to Rusty Nail, his voice filled with excitement. "I have an idea, Rusty.”

Rusty Nail glanced at (m/n) and a wicked grin spread across his face. "What did you have in mind baby boy?”

[bethanythebogwitch]

Doctor Who - the Empire of Death

This was honestly one the better season finales written by Davies, but that is a very low bar. None of the new series show runners have been anywhere near as good at writing long-running storylines as they think they are. Sutekh was kind of wasted as a villain. He got less to go on than in the original story, where he was obsessed with ending all life out of paranoia that eventually something might evolve that could surpass him. Here he's just a generic bad guy who wants to kill everything for no real given reason. His defeat was also pretty silly. You're telling me that the god who scared the piss out of the Toymaker couldn't get out of a rope? Yeah it's a science rope, but its still a rope. The Toymaker and the Maestro could casually alter reality but the guy who scares both of them is beaten by a hook. Also, Sutekh survives being dumped into the time vortex the first time and the big solution to him returning even more power is to dump him in the vortex again. Brilliant plan. The Toymaker and Maestro were beaten in a way consistent with their godly domain (losing a game and finding a specific sequence of music). It would have been a lot cooler if Sutekh's defeat followed that trend. Use some kind of symbolic defeat of death to undo his actions.

Calling back to 73 Yards without even attempting to explain what in the sam hell was going on in that episode is kind of annoying. You could have tied the blatant magic of that plot into the pantheon, but nope.

The reveal of Ruby's mom's identity was silly. I guess I can buy Suteks thinking she was pointing at him and his paranoia of thinking she somehow saw him resulting in him accidentally imbuing her with powers by believing she had powers. That's not really what the show went with, but I can pretend.

Ruby referring to her bio mom as her real mom was a big oof moment. A real slap in the face to her adoptive mom.

Davies is so obsessed with giving bizarre hints to future stories he's now doing it as a season-ending cliffhanger. "Ooh, who is the mysterious neighbor? You'll just have to keep watching to find out!". Moffat did that too during 11's run and he ended up having too much hanging plot threads with the Silence, church, Kovarian, Trenzalore, etc that he had to slam it together in one absolute mess of a finale. Please don't do that again. That being said, it really speaks to how awful of a head writer Chibnal was that Davies can still write circles around him.

Consistently through the new series the season-long story arcs have been my least favorite part of each season. I much prefer the standalone episodes. The classic show almost never did running plotlines. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the key to time and trial of a time lord arcs, the latter of which was so bad it almost killed the show. I would love a season of nothing but standalone episodes with maybe a two-parter or two.

If you want a (in my opinion) better take on the Doctor fighting gods, the Big Finish audio drama elder gods storyline is a better one, consisting of the dramas House of Blue Fire, Protect and Survive, Black and White, Gods and Monsters, Afterlife, and Signs and Wonders. There's some backstory involved, but I didn't listen to most of that and still followed the story just fine. A Big Finish story featuring Sutekh that I liked better than this episode is the two parter of Kill the Doctor!, and The Age of Sutekh, found on the Fourth Doctor Adventures season 7 volume 2 collection. And if you haven't seen Sutekh's debut in the Pyramids of Mars, drop everything and go watch it now.

This season only getting 8 episodes was criminal. Next season better be at least 12. Fucking Disney+. 15 is a fantastic Doctor and Ruby ended up growing on me a lot even after the Christmas episode put a bad taste in my mouth. I do think the show has pulled itself out of the hole the late Moffat and Chibnal eras dug for it. Not saying there's weren't good episodes in those eras, but I do think this season helped bring new Who back to its late-RTD/early Moffat high point.

[screampied]

heyyy Vegas daddy how r uuuuu?? do u read romance books and if so do u have any recs ☝️

hey aashi luv 😽. im good !!!! hope ur good 💓. i usually read more mystery / psychological horror stuff but i read romance stuff every once n a while too !!!! sureeeeeeeee

a walk to remember. i feeeeel like this is a classic, if you haven’t read it you should. i watched the movie long ago first before i knew it had a book first and PHEW i wasn’t prepared 😃😃😃. what i really liked about this book once i read it, was like it didn’t feel forced. it didn’t feel like your typical cliche wattpad romance. everything felt natural !!! and it’s kinda rare but i liked both the movie and the book. warning tho, the book is waaaay sadder, especially the ending.

the fine print. this book kinda grew on me bc i honestly didn’t like it at first. i dunno, i think it was the pacing near the beginning but near the middle it def grew on me !!!! if you’re into a grumpy x sunshine trope this is the book for u <3 the thing that made me keep reading was the drama, i was at the edge of my seat at each scene heh. it’s also cool how the author depicts both pov’s which was a nice change of pace bc ur usually used to seeing just one narrator. the ending tho, lovely 🙂‍↕️

from blood and ash. oh my goooood i could ramble about this entire series all day. it’s a mixture of fantasy and romance !!! it’s a specific order to read them. and i believe it’s a prequel series, haven’t read that yet. the pacing is a bit slow during the beginning tho. each character has their own personality and the relationships are *chefs kiss* !!! the thing i like ab this series is after each ending, ITS PLOTTWISTS, CLIFFHANGERS EVERYWHEREEE. some ppl dont like this book bc of the typos / scene mistakes but i overlooked it. i binge read this entire series during quarantine but ill prob reread again ><

the ballad of never after. thisssss book. i have a love hate relationship with this entire trilogy, mainly bc of the questionable ending 🧍‍♂️. i …. cried LOL. more of a frustrated cry, i dunno. the otp is so sweet tho </3 i think this book is what made me invested in the whole enemies to lovers trope. i personally wasn’t that fond of the FL for a few chapters but she grew on me. THE BETRAYAAAAAL, it’s so much emotions i couldn’t do it. i remember pausing between chapters to think to myself like me personally well ????? the concept intrigued me right away tho, and every scene of jacks n evangeline was so :((( also, it’s a slow burn.

also honorable mentions erm—the notebook, the happy ever after playlist, part of your world (literally read anything by abby jimenez), before i let go, and the words by ashley jade. ooh that book ruined me. these books i mentioned rn are tear jerkers be warned 🤗🤗🤗

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

Ficfinder finds: The Lemonade Leak

Chapter 13: The Caretaker

Chapter 13 Summary: No summary

The Caretaker: Appraisal and Ratings

(Don't know what fanfic "Appraisal and Ratings" means? Check out my explanation on my Main Masterpost! Looking for a different fanfic to read? Head on over to my Fanfic List Masterpost!)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is only available to those who have an Ao3 profile. This fanfic is written by @turtleinsoup, so go show them some love and support!!

The fanfic ratings are not based on quality, favoritism, or how good I think it is, but rather, how intense a subject may be. Like a movie review, or the tags on Ao3, letting the readers know what to expect.

Plot: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Plot is five out of five!! The plot for this chapter is really good, filled plenty of tense moments, and sharp realizations! Plus lots of stress and suspense!!"

Suspense/Mystery: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Suspense/Mystery is five out of five!! The suspense was brutal in this chapter!! Not to mention that it's left on a cliffhanger!!"

Angst/Hurt: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Angst/Hurt is five out of five!! Oh gosh, things are just going wrong, no matter what Leo does now. Things are just all messed up, like really messed up."

Fluff/Comfort: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Fluff/Comfort is zero out of five! Complete zero, there's no comfort to be found in this chapter at all. Like, none."

Emotions Conveyed: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Emotions Conveyed is four out of five!! Ooh this chapter really gave off a very strong sense of suspense and dread!! It stressed me out to read it, though in a good way ^^"

Drama/Tension Level: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Drama/Tension Level is five out of five!! The tension in this chapter was very prominent, plus the underlying drama of what's going on, yeesh!! Just yeesh this chapter had a heck of a lot of tension and drama!"

Triggers: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Triggers for this chapter are four out of five. We've got the usual triggers for The Lemonade Leak, now with the added trigger of plans for non consensual drugging!"

Legibility (Reading): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Reading) is five out of five!! I particularly loved how the sentences skipped back and forth, and cut off halfway through, just like a real person stammering out what they're trying to explain."

Legibility (Audio): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Audio) is five out of five! Brilliant to listen to, and once again, the audio book version is especially helpful for pacing."

Length: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Length is two out of five!! Chapter 13 of The Lemonade Leak takes about 17-18 minutes to listen to!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Chapter ->

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The Lemonade Leak: Story Ratings and Chapter List

Personal thoughts on chapter below cut (Contains Spoilers)

Raph let go like he had burned himself, retreating a full step, wide-eyed. Raph was human like that. “Oh crap, I’m so sorry, did I -”

I find this little comment to be interesting. “Raph was human like that.” When Leo gripped onto Mikey’s wrist in a panic, he didn’t let go even though Mikey was hurt. I’m sure he feels bad about that, and notices the difference between what he and Raph did. Also, perhaps Leo is feeling less human lately, and more predatory. 

Leo said nothing. There was a hole in his wall, still. He really should fix it, before it got bigger.

I love it when out of context sentences, are so deeply metaphorical. The hole in the wall could mean nothing, but it also means everything. Leo provoked Raph into making that hole, but then never made the effort to fix it back up. The hole isn’t just physical, but mental as well. 

I know it’s selfish. I know I’m making it about me again, but I would rather drown in lemonade than force you – any of you - to fight Donnie’s parasite. I gave up against yours. I couldn’t allow you to do the same.

I love how lemonade is repetitively brought up throughout the story. 

“Welp, this conversation just took an unexpected turn,” Leo grinned, dumbly. “But so can I!” He pointed at the door behind him. “I mean, Donnie’s got the love life of a hermit, but it’s no fun to roast without seeing his face go nuclear. So… discúlpame?”

discúlpame means excuse me in Spanish, and I do feel like the excuse me is warranted lol. This part of the chapter genuinely made me laugh out loud!!

Leo realized for a moment that his big brother was a kid too. And it was a good thing Raph was only bleeding on the inside because otherwise, Leo’s cold room would be a red, red place.

Ohhh poor Raph T^T the poor boy…

The thing’s voice was soft, when it said. “I need you to mix them into his drink.”

I find it interesting that Donnie classified this as a ‘need’ rather than a ‘want’. He doesn’t want Mikey to do it, he NEEDS him to do it. This is also a psychological trick. When you want someone to feel like they don’t have an option, you classify it as a need rather than a want. Donnie is backing Mikey into a corner whether he knows it or not. He probably doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. 

“It’s designed to dissolve into microscale particles. It’s not sapid. He won’t find out.”

Sapid means to have a strong flavor. You learn something new every day!

“Okay, I get it. I get that,” Mikey cut in. “But like, it’s… okay? It won’t hurt him? Leo’s such an self-destructive egoist, Dee. If he was the last piece of cake, he’d eat himself in secret. So if this was hurting him, you think we’d ever know?”

I think this is the most creative way I’ve ever seen someone say the phrase “eating yourself alive”. 

“Oh, did he?” The thing said softly. “Did he really. All of us?” It breathed out. When it continued, its voice was low and fast. “I’m simply of the opinion, dear Angelo, that Nardo should be banned from getting to make life-or-death related decisions when it comes to himself.”  

I love how much is hidden in Donnie’s question. How it seems like a light question on top, but the deeper you dig, the more you find. That Leo wasn’t the only one who died, and came back to life 

[queer-cosette]

AO3 tag game

Thank you for the tag @apopcornkernel my love kissing u /p

how many works do you have on ao3?

45 right now!

what's your total ao3 word count?

According to my stats page, 781,604! Holy smokes, Batman!

what fandoms do you write for?

Right now, mainly Heathers, but I've also written for Les Misérables, Derry Girls, Monster High, Miraculous Ladybug, Total Drama, Equestria Girls, and Rainbow High, and have posted some original work on AO3 too (mostly poetry).

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

mArinette (a Miraculous Ladybug easy A AU)

today I woke up wanting to kiss you (plotless Duncney fluff)

Cute Boys With Short Haircuts (Miraculous Ladybug angsty one-sided identity reveal)

Mistlejoke (Miraculous Ladybug christmas fluff)

Waitin' on the Sunrise (shameless fluffy JDonica porn with plot)

do you respond to comments?

I try to lol. Usually I'll respond in batches because executive dysfunction is The Worst

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh, does original poetry count? Because if so, Kathryn, a midlength poem I wrote about Kathryn Howard the fifth wife of Henry VIII who was beheaded between the ages of 17 and 22. Or maybe these are times that can’t be weathered (and we have never been back there since then), a story about a Miraculous OC discovering Hawkmoth’s identity.

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Personally, I think it’s The Dark Gate, part four of my Les Mis Winx Club AU. The happy ending is really earned and needed.

do you get hate on fics?

Not really since I stopped regularly writing for Miraculous Ladybug. Boy, that was a wild experience. The fandom was really big at the time and it was the post-Season 3 salt era, so Opinions were both abundant and poor in quality.

do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes indeed! I was born on the run (but I’ll die holding your hand) and Waitin’ on the Sunrise are both JDonica smut fics that I am very very proud of! They’re… very fluffy. You know that rule about how you see in fandom the stuff that was missing from the source material? Look, I just want my awful blorbos to be happy. And also to bang a lot.

do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

Does On Se Sent Comme Par Magie count? It’s really more fusion fic, it’s the characters of Les Mis living out the plot of Winx Club. Look, it just… it made sense in my head, y’know?

have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know, and I hope it never happens!

have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I did write an English translation of a fic I wrote in my native Scots! Never posted it, though.

have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have tried and miserably failed. I just can’t do it, babes.

what's your all time favourite ship?

Probably JDonica. I just… he’d kill for her?? And he does?? Does it get more chewable than that??

what's a WIP you want to finish but sometimes doubt you ever will?

Oh god I haven’t actually written anything for two months. I need to get back to Waitin’ on the Sunrise, The Last Faery on Earth (Part 5 of OSSCPM), and The Mystery Solvers of Derry (Derry Girls SDMI AU).

what are your writing strengths?

According to my beta reader for OSSCPM, readability, characterisation, and cliffhangers.

what are your writing weaknesses?

I’m really bad for run-on sentences - it’s not my fault, okay, I started reading Les Mis when I was sixteen and impressionable, and Victor Hugo did a number on my psyche that I doubt will ever be reversed because unfortunately Vicky Huge-ho lives rent-free in my skull and whispers in my ear to just use more semicolons like the whore he is.

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’ve written in Scots before, which was fun! I kind of want to do it again, but the Plot Bunnies aren’t cooperating right now.

first fandom you wrote for?

I think. Technically. It was a documentary about Sperm Whales that had a really sad ending that I saw when I was six and I wrote a little book that gave it a happier ending, if that counts? If not, probably Equestria Girls. Although, thank god, my early fic experiments are all stored on a hard drive that will never see the light of day again.

favorite fic you've written?

I was born on the run (but I’ll die holding your hand)!! Fluffy JDonica smut for the win!!

tagging: @theladyfae @private-bryan @galahadwilder @swxxtcidxr if yous want to xo

[pitbullwithaship]

DOCTOR WHO LIVEBLOG S5 EP4

Y'all I miss David Tennant. Like Matt Smith is already great but I'm allowed to miss my current hyperfixation actor okay. Okay. But anyWHO I get to watch so much more Doctor Who even without him yay!

Pretty ambient sounds

Hello dude in the middle of a field with a kiss mark on his face

Oh hello who's here

Is this lady pretty I hope she is she gives pretty vibes

I love museums too Doctor

He's having a lot of fun saying it's all wrong lol

Ooh Home Box

Ooh old high gallifreyan on the Home Box cool mysterious

HELLO SWEETIE

OMG ITS RIVER HELLO RIVER I KNEW THE LADY WAS PRETTY

She's amazing

But also she would be dead Tardis or not that is basically instant death right there

InstaDeath, available now lol

Teaches him about his own ship

Blue Boringers!!

Yknow the "kheee hooo kheee hooo" noise

Aww Amy is hilarious and adorable

Hahahahaha

I love Amy

WEEPING ANGELS HELLO

Know I don't like to say they're asking for it but hey are asking for it

I love Amy lol

It's a DnD campaign that's why

Yknow I should put those pictures on my desktop I've heard people done that

Smells a book

Yeah I should totally make those my desktop wallpaper

I still maintain they would be less creepy if they had pupils

This is so fun

Aw smart Amy!! That was brilliant!

Okay what's in her eye y'all what's gonna happen

That's a lot of statues ugh

Oh is she in prison right now? That's not nice

It keeps being brought up what is in her eye!

IM SORRY THAT WAS GREY WEIRD SAND STUFF

She is good lol

Okay I'm guessing since we're following these soldiers so much they are gonna end up dying

Oof jump scare

Oof another jump scare

Do it scared and all that

Okay so those soldiers are dead then good to know my inferencing skills are strong as ever

Oh shit why don't the statues have two heads

This is scary

Oh shit can they like turn people into weeping angels too or something cuz why do they not have robes and stuff

Okay how is the dead person talking and telling Bob to see something that's creepy

Okay we know Bob's name so maybe he will die too he better not

Okay spoke too soon

Okay so they don't look like angels because they are dying

He doesn't sound scared how is he talking if he's dead

Oh dear

Dude stop guilt tripping the Doctor

Angel Bob lol

I KNEW THEY COULD TURN PEOPLE INTO ANGELS AMYS TURNING TO STONE I DO HAVE A BRAIN

Placebo affect

HEY SHES NOT STONE MAYBE I DONT HAVE A BRAIN

Jump!

OH MY GOD WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A CLIFFHANGER

[jmtorres]

how about: your leading lady is pregnant, you have to decide if a) her character will also be pregnant b) she will stand behind comically large furniture all season c) the character mysteriously goes on an offscreen side quest until after the baby is born

ooh or! Production Budget says your script is too expensive. You must remove some combination of characters, locations, and effects to reduce the shooting cost. You can have fireworks on this one if the next one has no exterior locations, just pre-existing sets

Rain day: Rewrite your outdoor location as an indoor location due to inclement weather

contractual obligations: yeah it's an ensemble cast but each cast member in the main credits has been promised a specific number of appearances, ranging from "must appear in every episode of the season" to "no fewer than 5". Yeah we haven't given Whitney enough episodes yet. Look just do an epilogue cliffhanger so they get one line at the end of episode 4 before their main arc starts in episode 5.

schedule conflicts: one of your actors has been cast in a film. Can you write them out of specific shooting days without writing them out of the episode?

and for when you're really struggling: canceled early. the studio says you can't shoot any more scenes, can you edit a finale with what you've got in the can?

canceled and then saved: your original studio tore down all your sets before selling your rights to a streaming platform. Justify why none of your characters can go back to the old office/house/school. hard mode: you also lost all your props and costumes.

r u as cool as umbrella academy: one of your actors has just come out as trans. do you make them keep playing the wrong gender or are you cool enough to trans the character? easy mode: i mean i guess you could sidestep the issue by killing them off. but that's super not cool.

An actor dies. You have some B-roll and outtakes but you can't shoot any new material because they're dead! can you write a meaningful sendoff using only bloopers and the other actors? easy mode: supporting actor. hard mode: it's your lead.

You Only Get One Take: an actor has agreed to shave their head on camera in character. what's your backup cutaway if something happens to the footage?

Makeup allergies: the actor you cast as a space alien can't wear the prosthetics you've shot half the season with. there's no other way to replicate the look. They're gonna have to transform. Plot explanation?

backdoor pilot: you have an opportunity to get a second show going with some side characters. write a two-part episode to launch them on their own adventure that's not out of place in the main storyline.

merch: marketing department wants something they can make toys or action figures out of. are your character designs distinctive enough? what prop does each character get to hold in action figure form? could you consider adding some sort of team mascot they can make a plushie out of? also, marketing would like a dramatic change to generate new designs for the same characters in the season finale, so they can sell new action figures in different outfits

strike: due to protracted labor conflicts your shooting time is now ten episodes instead of twenty-two, with six already in the can. Can you compress the rest of the season arc down to four episodes? if not, can you find a place to break the arc to cliffhang, and have enough material left in the arc for a full order next season?

gimmick episode: for a ratings boost, write an episode around a celebrity guest, or parody another more popular show, or write a body-swap slapstick (which of your actors can successfully mimic each other?), or pen a musical (roll for which 3/5 of your main cast can actually sing)

shit, you ran out of money. You can shoot about 10 minutes of frame story for a flashback episode using footage from past episodes.

one of your actors wants to direct. Write an episode without their character for them to cut their teeth on. but like, nothing too challenging, they may not be up to directing anything emotionally meaty too soon.

a significant spoiler has been leaked. Do you want to write it out and go in a different direction, or write a fakeout so audiences think they've already seen the spoiler early on and are still surprised when it happens differently later?

write three versions of the last scene of the season finale that can all be shot at the same location, so not even the actors know for sure how it's going to end.

your lead got a tattoo between seasons. how do you incorporate it into their character?

one of your actors worked out all off-season, expecting to be shooting some fanservice. you hadn't written any. Find an excuse for them to take their top off in scene because that actor really wants to show off their bod.

Fans have been demanding the return of a character you killed off last season, and you finally negotiated the actor back on board. How are you bringing them back?

You can't get a guest actor back for ADR, and their mic was on the fritz during the shoot. Sound dept can only salvage about half their lines. Can you rewrite the episode, giving plot relevant dialogue to other characters?

One of your actors opened their big mouth to the media and it turns out they're a bigot. Contractually you can't fire them until the season's over, but fans have turned on them. Minimize the character in the remaining eight episodes of the season without writing them out entirely, which would be breach of contract. Also maybe they're a minor villain now, considering how mad the fans are.

A special effect goes horribly wrong, a stunt person is grievously injured and the production shuts down for a safety audit. Rewrite the climax of the episode without the stunt.

You are pressured to cast a young relative of a studio exec, who can't act their way out of a paper bag. Write a character that fits the actor's personality, in hopes they can at least play themself. Still has to advance your season arc, too.

a major real life election is happening in the middle of your season, and you want to reference it in the show because it would matter to the characters, buy you're writing and shooting weeks if not months before the outcome could be guessed. Write two versions of the scene, one for each candidate, that you can drop in depending on what happens. If you have a ton of foresight, also write a third version of the scene referencing ongoing recounts. No matter what happens, 98% of the episode has to stay the same, so all versions of the scene have to segue back to the main plot.

an episode came in 1:30 long, which is three commercials worth, you can't lose that much ad revenue. the editor has already cut all the dead air. Find a scene or lines you can cut without losing important plot, pacing, or actors contractually required to appear.

...apparently I could come up with scenarios all night.

There should be a fanfic writing game called the showrunners challenge where someone writes a story and partway through someone else can play things like "actor leaves after 4000 more words" or "topic now too politically sensitive due to unforeseen world events" or "lost rights to that reference"

[facelessfrey]

“ and the fact that they just wasted all of the potential of Project Shepherd and Jesse Manes” I’ll never be over that. Such a waste. How do you introduce a prison full of aliens and blow it up in the same episode?!

Ooh a Roswell ask! I so rarely get these. Haha.

But oh where to start? Haha.

Your question is a very valid one, how do you introduce a prison full of aliens and blow it up in the same episode? That was like a full season's worth of drama that they shoved into a single episode. It was wild and not in a good way. Haha.

And the complete waste of Jesse as a villain makes me so sad.

Like imagine season one is largely focused on the Rosa murder mystery and discovering Noah is the fourth alien but instead of fully introducing Project Shepherd and having Alex basically dismantle it in two seconds, what if the Jesse Manes threat was just simmering in the background the whole first season. Alex and Kyle in the midst of trying to figure out Rosa mystery stuff of course discover that she's Kyle's sister and then the alien glass and this leads them to wonder what Jim's alien connections were. They could also discover that Rosa's autopsy was fake but instead of Jesse just handing Kyle the real one, they have to find it themselves. Both of these things lead them to Project Shepherd. Meanwhile, Jesse had been keeping things quiet lately because the military wanted to shut down the organization but Max saving Liz and everyone looking into Rosa piques his interest in the existence of aliens still being in Roswell, something he had been urged to give up on and so he starts digging. So he's on their trail and it forces them to have to do things more secretly for fear of exposure. And perhaps at the end of season one we do get the Caulfield reveal because it's not just current aliens Jesse is interested, but he has a whole prison full of them. But either our characters don't know yet or they haven't been in there yet and don't know the full extent. Perhaps they know Caulfield exists and that aliens are involved but only the viewers get to see what Caulfield is as a final cliffhanger for the season just before Rosa is brought back to life thereby creating more for Jesse to grasp onto.

So then season two is truly the Jesse Manes big bad season because well...it sort of was but also not cause all he did was fake a stroke and clean his guns in the background and vaguely mention Deep Sky for no apparent reason.

But instead we could have had our 1947 flashback content plus everyone trying to figure out the full Caulfield mystery and so finally when they do get inside, we know Michael's mother is in there and we're eagerly anticipating this reunion so it has even more impact than it already did. Maybe they get in halfway through the season and Michael gets to have a moment with his mother but they actually try and plan to break them all out and save them, which is the second part of the season. Meanwhile, Jesse is actively trying to thwart them. Maybe he captures one of them and they are actively being experimented upon a la The White Room episode in the original show and then the in the big confrontation at the end, they manage to save who was captured but Jesse hits the self destruct button on the prison himself because he has these new fresh aliens in his sights and he can just start again. But they manage to take him out before he can. Maybe it's still Gregory or maybe it's Flint, who gets to stick around in my version and this is his redemption arc because he realizes his father was wrong. So Jesse gets to do one more terrible thing before he dies and his death is way more climactic because he's actively been the villain for a whole season on screen.

And through the Caulfield plot, Maria can still discover her alien side, maybe Nora also leads them to the Lockhart machine nonsense from this season and also to Jones and that could still be the cliffhanger of season 2 but the rest of it wouldn't have sucked so much and there would have been better build up to Jones.

Sigh...so much wasted potential.

[chat-noir-always-here]

“Hey Arnold!” and “Miraculous!” parallels

Ever have an idea for a post that you take forever to get around to because 2020 is 

actively 

trying

to kill you?!

 Welp, that’s me. I mean, uh, this is that post.

Long post is long and I don’t like cuts cuz I’ve lost a few posts in the past using them. Please filter the tag “long post” I use it for walls of text like these.

So there’s this show from my childhood called Hey Arnold! 

Having been on air before I had cable (I and my unsupervised brothers and sisters spent our childhood watching Jerry Springer and Maury because there was literally nothing else on our cheap little TV. How hilarious is that?) I didn’t really have much of an experience with Hey Arnold! aside from brief little glances at it when i visited a friends home or the rare occasion where they showed cartoons at school. By the time I got satellite, the show was no longer on the air save for some late night reruns and the Christmas special which aired in December along with other Nickelodeon Christmas episodes (THE best Christmas episode EVER btw).

Really I couldn’t remember much about it until hearing about the Jungle Movie finally getting a release date (a total flop but at least its no cliff hanger) and decided to re-watch the entire series in preparation for said movie.

By which point I had discovered another show—Miraculous. 

At first glance the two shows have absolutely nothing in common. Miraculous being a French-born mahou shoujo-esque CGI superhero TV series about a couple of middle schoolers who regularly battle a walking peppermint-frappucino-looking psychopath. Hey Arnold! being a more realistic children’s sitcom about a young football-headed boy who deals out humanitarian aid in the form of advice and simple good deeds to his neighbors, classmates and friends. 

In terms of setting, logic, and animation the two series are as different as night and day.

So imagine my pleasant surprise to discover a whole post’s worth of parallels shared between the two shows???

And here they are in no particular order:

1)Arnold’s Parents/Adrien’s mom

Prior to the start of Miraculous, Emilie Agreste disappeared under mysterious circumstances leaving her family behind. Later on it was revealed that she was in fact sleeping (dead?) in a glass coffin beneath the Agreste mansion--unbeknownst to Adrien, or anyone else in Paris save for Gabriel and Nathalie.

In a similar fashion, Arnold’s parents, Miles and Stella, also disappeared prior to the start of Hey Arnold! and like Emilie were always referred to as “missing” rather than “dead.” 

The Jungle Movie later revealed Miles and Stella weren’t dead, but like Emilie appears to be doing in her coffin, they were sleeping. Having caught a bout of sleeping sickness (apparently they do not need to be hooked up to IVs or other medical devices while in a comatose state cuz fuck logic) they simply needed their orphaned son to come and cure them with the help of the magical golden heart Helga provided him with.

Perhaps Mari holds the key to waking Emilie? That would be nice to see. 

Not the miraculous of course--but some other key.

Although personally I’m hoping for a hardcore, devastating ending like Emilie dying, Gabriel going to prison where he belongs, and Adrien leaving the country for a bit until the second Hawk Moth shows up because I just like devastating cliffhangers and angst and being in utter turmoil over fictional people. But that’s just me.

2) Their best friends are dating

Smol parallel here: Arnold’s best friend Gerald and Helga’s Best friend Phoebe wind up together in The Jungle Movie after being imprisoned together by Lasombra. Similar to how Nino and Alya ended up together after being imprisoned by Ladybug (for their protection, of course).

3) The Bag of Money Episode/ The Ladybug episode

OOh boy both of these episodes make me rage. 

Some context about the Bag of Money episode: Arnold and his friends Gerald and Sid find a random bag of money containing almost $4000. Sid is ecstatic and wants to split the money evenly between the three boys, but Arnold worries it could just be lost and convinces them to let him, Arnold, take the money to the police station. On the way he accidentally switches the bag with another one that is identical and contains a bunch of useless junk, and when he tries to explain what happened to his friends they don’t believe him because their bag of money was accidentally taken by an “old lady with pink hair and a peg leg.”

 Arnold’s a good boy and he’s telling the truth--but the truth sounds crazy, even to my ears. Sid accuses Arnold of stealing the money and spreads lies to their classmates, whom Arnold has spent the ENTIRE SERIES helping in some form or fashion. Despite everything he’s done for them though, the vast majority of the class come to believe Arnold is a thief. Even Gerald, Arnold’s closest friend, nearly believes Sid over Arnold but eventually comes to Arnold’s defense. The other kids (save for Helga who doesn’t really make an appearance this episode) gang up on Arnold, but thankfully the old lady with pink hair and a peg leg shows up with an officer and together they explain the bag of money is now at the lost and found where it will remain and if gone unclaimed will be returned to Arnold, Gerald and Sid. 

Pretty much everything is resolved and things return to normal between the kids. 

But I hate this episode. I hate this episode so, so much. Arnold has spent the entire series helping these people out in some form or fashion. Literally thats the entire show. And after everything he’s done for them they’re so. Quick. To. Turn. On. Him. 

Sound familiar???

4) Hidden Personality                   vs.          Surface Personality

 I do not refer to the cruddy “true selves” thing half the Miraculous fandom believes in. Depending on one’s individual circumstances, environment and how comfortable they are, said person’s behavior can fluctuate or even do a complete 180. This can be kinda frustrating when dealing on one’s own--”Who am I anyway? Is that me or is this me???”

It’s all you, fam.

Arnold and Helga are themselves too, no matter what metaphorical/actual mask they put on. There’s the side that everyone sees and then there’s the side almost no one sees. The hidden personality isn’t hidden due to a lack of trust, necessarily, but rather it is the result of retreating to their respective “shells”--ones which both Arnold and Helga were kinda punched, kicked, and shoved into. 

Helga’s surface personality: Class bully, puts up a tough front, constantly torments Arnold because she can’t stand him and his niceness

Helga’s hidden personality: Poetic, abused and isolated, is in love with Arnold to the point of being obsessed with him and bullies him via surface personality in order to hide that fact

Of course Adrien is no bully--his reasons for not being the “cunning, funny, ultra-charming Chat Noir” 24/7 DOES have a lot to do with his toxic household, his dad, and the overwhelming expectations which are constantly smothering him as Adrien. 

Adrien is a bug under a magnifying glass (or so he feels)

Chat Noir is a chance for a freedom.

 Adrien’s surface personality was molded by his dad.

 Helga’s is the result of her entire family. Her father is brash and loud, her mother is a confirmed alcoholic, her sister is a gifted prodigy, well-rounded and spends most of the series at university or elsewhere. Although her sister, Olga, has been shown to genuinely care for Helga, Olga is kinda the reason their parents neglect Helga. With their first daughter being the genius and prodigy she is, Helga’s parents poured all of their pride and affection and parental devotion onto her. Meanwhile Helga had to walk to pre-school alone. At four years old. In the rain. Not for the last time. 

Which leads me to the next parallel.

5) Umbrella in the Rain

squeals in delight over this parallel<3<3<3

If you’ve never seen Hey Arnold! do yourselves a favor and watch this short little clip over how Helga and Arnold first met. If you have seen it, watch it anyway because it is the most adorable clip in the entire show.

Dr. Bliss: “So nobody’s ever noticed you?”

Helga: “...There was someone.”

The soft way Helga confesses that--you can actually hear how grateful she is to have such a tender memory from such a painful time. 

 In a similar manner, Adrien offered his umbrella to Marinette. Of course Adrien did it because Mari had to walk home in the rain and Arnold did it as a simple gesture of kindness (seeing as they were already at the school)--one of the many kind acts he displays throughout the series. 

 But just like Adrien needed unconditional love coming from somewhere, so did Helga. They were both denied this one common necessity which everyone else around them had. It’s not a lot to ask for, and they should’ve already had it coming from their families--but they didn’t.

 And then, one rainy day, there it was--the unconditional love they needed.

6) Clinginess

What happens when you take someone, specifically a love-starved abused child from an unstable home environment--deprived of the one thing most crucial to their mental well-being--and miraculously provide them with that very necessity? 

Clinginess. 

I can’t really think of the correct word to describe this. “Clinginess” is pretty close to what I’m trying to describe, if not on point, so let’s go with that. 

 What I mean is Helga and Adrien both need Arnold and Ladybug respectively. That’s not a bad thing--it’s okay to need somebody else. What’s bad is hinging your entire being on this one connection. For if either kiddo were to be left behind they wouldn’t handle it very well.

 It can’t really be helped with either Helga or Adrien. They didn’t really have the option to learn certain things and went deprived of unconditional love for such a long time. They’re kids--nine and fourteen/fifteen respectively. They’re not perfect and they’re traumatized for life. Being denied love from your family--the very people designed to love you--would do that to a person. Naturally they would cling to the first people to show up and provide them with the love they needed. 

 The Hey Arnold! wiki says this about Helga and Arnold’s relationship

Due to her unstable family upbringing where both her mother and father constantly neglect [Helga] and shower all of their attention onto Olga, leaving her deprived of the love and attention she needed growing up. On her way to preschool, Arnold helped her by keeping the rain off her with an umbrella and even complimented her on her hairbow. He even later gave her crackers during their snack time. Arnold's kindness and being the first person to notice her quickly caused Helga to transfer all of her love and attention to Arnold.

Of course Adrien’s tunnel vision isn’t quite as bad as Helga’s.

 He treats his friends better.

 He does love his father--

Even though his father is THE. 

WORST.

 PARENT.

 EVER!!!

--because he’s Adrien and he’s just too precious a cinnamon roll and that’s still his dad even if the man does belong behind bars.

7) Unhealthy Obsession

I--

I...

Ugh. I am not going to delve too far into this. You’re just going to have to take my word for it. Helga’s creepy stalker behavior is a thousand times worse than Marinette’s. That pic up there of Helga hiding out in Arnold’s room watching him is pretty decent evidence to back up my argument, but it’s hardly the only example or even the worst incident.

 Honestly I’m amazed at what Nicktoons were able to get away with in the late nineties/early 2000s. 

But yes, Helga’s obsession with Arnold is rather unhealthy in the most extreme moments leading her to display behavior which is more often than not disturbing and concerning. 

The Hey Arnold! wiki has this to say about Helga’s obsession with Arnold

Helga is possessive of her love for Arnold and thinks non-stop about him to the point of obsession. This is evidenced throughout the series by the many shrines and poems she makes of Arnold and of her frequent dramatic soliloquies about her love for Arnold.

Again--Mari isn’t as bad as all that. She’s a sweet girl with many healthy relationships in her life. She has ambition, creativity, and drive. But yeah she can be rather possessive of Adrien too, and that needs to stop. Like right now. Adrien doesn’t need another girl being possessive of him and thinking he’s perfect--he needs someone who acknowledges him as a flawed person and loves him despite that. 

As for Helga and Arnold--show creator Craig Bartlett confirmed they are “made for each other” and wind up married with three kids, so I’m guessing Helga grew out of some of these bad habits? Or at least I hope so...

8) Helper/Humanitarian tendencies

As mentioned before, the plot of Hey Arnold! is more or less about Arnold helping people. As stated by Gerald in The Jungle Movie, “He’s a humanitarian! Like his parents!” Of course not every episode is about Arnold helping people. There are episodes devoted to supporting characters and they’re just as enjoyable and satisfying. 

 But as he is the titular character he spends a lot of time in the spotlight. 

Remember that “best christmas special EVER” episode I mentioned before?

 The reason it’s the best special, in my less than humble opinion, is due to a few things.

 The special is not about Santa Claws. In fact, I don’t think he’s even mentioned, let alone shown and treated like an actual living character.

The focus on the entire episode is again on Arnold helping someone, but he doesn’t succeed. Not really.

The one who succeeded in helping someone was Helga, who accomplished the goal Arnold had set out to do. 

The episode deals with some rather dark subject matter and is actually quite heartwarming as the “perfect present” Arnold was trying to provide someone with wasn’t something you can buy in the store

It’s also one of the episodes where Helga’s love for Arnold leaves her to do good and as her love for him is a secret, she expects nothing in return. She’s just happy to help him.

 Kinda similar to Mari who is, as Adrien puts it in Mayura, “Our every day Ladybug.” Her kindness and devotion to helping others is what drives her as Ladybug and Marinette. It’s what brought Ivan and Mylene together. Is the reason Nathaniel and Mark now have a comic book together. And at the end of the day, that’s the reason for her strange behavior around Adrien--she wants to help him. Even if it’s just as a “good friend.” 

9) There are two main characters

Although Hey Arnold! is technically a show about Arnold, one could argue it is just as much Helga’s story. 

Similarly, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is named thusly in order to convey the fact that Adrien is just as much a main character as Marinette is. 

Although I must say Hey Arnold! did a much better job of giving it’s co-character their dues. GIVE. ME. MORE. CHAT NOIR. FOCUSED. EPISODES. DAMMIT.

But, yes, in terms of screen time, Helga gets about as much as Arnold does. Her story and struggles were given just as much importance as Arnold’s and many people have even come to believe that the show is really about Helga. I’d say its about both of them.

10) Constantly bumping into each other

Granted this happens between Arnold and Helga more often than it does to the love square dorks. 

 But yes the two people meant to be together keep knocking into each other in their respective universes. 

 I forget who, but I remember reading that someone a while back theorized that this was the universe’s way of trying to push Arnold and Helga together. Kinda like the “Now kiss!” meme

Perhaps it’s the same for Adrien and Marinette? 

;)

[pop-punklouis]

Ooh i didnt know you watched mare of easttown, i wouldve vented to you weejs ago! Do you also just get bad vibes from richard/guy pierce? Like i definitely feel something is up with him but it looks like the mystery's all solved for the final episode...

hi!!! yes i do. it’s the best crime show since true detective season 1 imo. the characters, the storyline, the undertones. it’s all SO fleshed out for only seven episodes. and the acting is superb.

and i thought the same trying to think of who it could be that we didn’t expect. but after seeing the trailer preview for next week, i doubt its richard. even though that would be a great twist.

tbh i don’t think it’s billy either. i believe they left us on a cliffhanger having us believe “the case is closed” but with that photo reveal at the end and how john and billy were acting on the fishing trip i have some....... theories.

1) it’s actually john who killed erin. i’ve always gotten a weird vibe from him past cheating on his wife, lori. i think he most definitely could’ve coerced a confession out of billy to save his own ass and then told lori about it as to not have suspicion fall back on him. he knew lori wouldn’t be able to keep it from mare, so it helps his alibi as being the good brother just trying to take him on a fishing trip before billy “confesses.” i do think this whole buildup to billy being the one is a massive misdirection. it seems too cut and dry for there to be a whole finale next week without some twists to it. we also have to take into account the gun that was in the tackle box. it didn’t directly state that it was john’s that he had stowed in there and billy stumbled upon. so, imo that could go either way. john could have stowed the gun to kill billy for 1) what he did to erin or 2) to stop him from talking— afraid billy might confess to john actually killing erin. OR billy could’ve stowed the gun to kill john for coercing him into confessing to something he didn’t do. that doesn’t explain the blood their dad found billy covered in the night of the murder, but they definitely could say he ran into a deer/animal, and he was disposing of the deer causing all that blood on him. john could use that against him saying “no one is going to believe you. you had to have killed erin.” so again it’s a tossup between those two.

2) the photograph revealed at the end by jess is a game changer for sure. if you zoom in on the back of the pic, the light shows a figure of a baby but not who else is in the photo with the baby. i’m assuming that’s DJ as it was in erin’s journal. the first thing i thought was “what if the dad was actually mare’s son kevin” and that’s why the captain told them to get mare on the phone immediately (idk the exact timeline of his death though, so was he passed before she gave birth?). or, if it proves someone else is the father that is close to mare, then it could obstruct who everyone believes to be the killer. i don’t know if the captain would’ve made that urgent plea to contact mare when she was on the killer’s path if it didn’t cast extreme doubt on billy’s guilt. maybe it’s frank after all? idk whatever it is, it definitely feels like it throws a wrench in all we think we know.

3) i still think dylan did something. he’s guilty of something and i despise him. i wouldn’t mind if he went to prison for the rest of his life lmfao. there’s a reason why he’s so adamant on not talking, threatening anyone who does, and then the burning of the journals?? there’s definitely something darker there that isn’t just him not wanting to look suspicious. he did some shit.

ugh i cant wait for the finale next week