#screaming; banging on tables and intimidating everyone because for once hes playing a character who knows hes six three

[fastofthekillones]

11

I'm just going to pin this post and use it to find weird tags that I have inexplicably written on something, mostly for my own gratification, but if any of you wonderful weirdos wanna look, feel free

[londonskies]

DON’T SAY THE S WORD!!

https://images.app.goo.gl/JKKNVtwZNGAVVwzB9

In which Corpse has a secret girlfriend and his insomnia is driving them both up the wall, putting precious Sykkuno in danger because he said the word “Sleep”. 

Hi! This is just a once in a blue moon, feel good, fluff fic cause I have commitment issues on my writing lol. 

Yes, my writing style is long winded, I’m really sorry, but I hope you enjoy it! 

credits to  u/balderdash_lee on reddit

Corpse had not slept for close to 50 hours by the time that they had started their latest month prior pre-planned plasmophobia session with Rae, Sykkunno and Toast, but it was like he was hyped up on sugar for the last hour or so and Y/n was really beginning to get worried. 

This was a tattletale sign of the huge crash her boyfriend was about to go through, and yet the stubborn man just would not step away from his computer.

She had tried everything, from luring him with pizza (to which he had snatched a few slices and had just retreated to his gaming room once more) to telling him that there was a fire in the kitchen (to which he replied was virtually impossible given how meticulous Y/n was in the kitchen) to faking an injury (which corpse called bullshit on without even looking at her).

It was getting really frustrating and she knew for a fact that the longer her boyfriend was going to wait this out, the worse he was going to feel.

And the worse he was going to act. 

He would never hurt anyone, ever. The man was the definition of a soft boi beyond his brain meltingly amazing voice. But when he was beyond bone dead tired like he was right now, he had the tendency to act mean, and the only person who had the capability of calming him down in the middle of the pandemic was Y/n, and she would have to hijack his stream. 

The stream that was filled with hundreds of thousands of people who didn’t even know that their precious Corpse was in a relationship with anyone. 

Would she have the chance to mute him before he went on his tired, angry, borderline crazy monologue? She would try, but probably not. 

Y/n had to bring out the big guns. 

Rae and Toast were pretty easy people to conspire with and were almost always down to do pranks and other shit that Y/n came up with, and always, always down to do whatever it took to get Corpse to take care of himself. 

Sykkuno though, bless him, the cutest, most clueless person Y/n had ever met. 

He was always very concerned for Corpse’s health but was the worst at going incognito. So Rae and Toast were the ones who used their code word (lights out) and had always been the ones who had the role of making sure Sykkuno knew what to do. 

“Aaaaaaaaaaanddd, lights out baby!” Rae screamed as she made her way past Sykkuno at the entrance of the house they were in at the moment, but Sykkuno, the precious little boy that he is, just watched Rae with a bewildered face, getting even more confused when Toast made his way past him as well, whispering “Lights out.” and moving back to the truck in the game. 

From inside, Corpse’s character was busy laughing at a joke he made about a picture in the wall and had not noticed the other two missing. He did notice though, when Sykkuno appeared near him to ask him what was up before convulsing and dropping to the floor. 

Corpse’s laugh was noticeably more manic now, getting a lot more high pitched and erratic. For a second, Sykkuno laughed with him, then when Corpse’s went on for too long, suddenly looked confused on his stream, turning to face the general vicinity he Corpse’s character was. 

So he spoke through their always open discord chat. “Uhh, Corpse? You okay there buddy?” 

The stubborn man just kept laughing, Y/n increasingly getting concerned as she watched all 4 player’s streams on different devices one room over. Rae and Toast were chatting about the pills in the truck, so as to not alarm Corpse of the lowkey distraction they were doing to finish the game easy (aka getting at least 3 of them killed), and then giving excuses to stop streaming and giving Y/n a chance to haul his ass to bed. 

Sykkuno on the other hand, was now (against all plans spoken about prior) continuing to talk to Corpse. 

“Corpse?” the timid man spoke once more, finally reaching the ever more manic Corpse. 

All of a sudden, an eerie silence fell around the two of them, settling for a few seconds before getting filled by a flat “Yea?” from Corpse. 

Y/n could almost hear the sentence that Sy would reply to that, and at that moment, she knew, they were fucked. 

With a quick “Fuckin shite” to both Rae and Toast’s chat, Y/n bounded over to Corpse’s office, hearing tail end of the question that was about to make Corpse’s brain go kaboom. 

“You sound tired man, maybe you should sleep for a bit?” 

She knew he only meant good. Sykkuno was just one of those guys that would never want to hurt anyone. She knew it, Corpse knew it, everyone knew it. 

But her secret boyfriend was sleep deprived and going batshit crazy because of it, and currently, his trigger word was the word Sleep.

Y/n would give poor Sy a viking funeral if she can’t stop this.

“I am not tire-” Corpse was pretty intimidating when he wanted to be, and I knew that that low voice of his would scare every single hitman in a 1000 mile radius when used in a booming, angry way. And the way his voice was escalating was sure to end in said booming, angry way.

Y/n sprinted into his recording room, only partially wincing at the horridly loud bang the door made when she wrenched it open to fling herself at her boyfriend. The world seemed to slow as she soared through the air, uncaring if she knocked things out of the way. 

Gotta make sure their baby Sy would never be at that end of Corpse’s fury. 

She partially landed on his lap, torso hanging off the side. It hurt as her ribs made contact on the armrest of his computer chair, but it stopped his tirade with a surprised “Ooof!” and knocked him away from his PC.

“Honey!! Don’t yell at Sy!” 

“Y/n???”

Oh shit. 

Of course Sykkuno had to yell out her name during a stream. She had bet Toast 200 dollars that Sy would be the one to drop her name, and it was high time she cashed in. 

Y/n fixed herself on Corpse’s lap, shoving his headphones off of him and forcing him into a hug. Of course he protested, but eventually relaxed in her grip, muttering about how his eyes and wrists hurt now but he promised to play with the OTV peeps and his insomnia hit him too hard these past few days. 

“Baby,” he whispered hoarsely, his grip tightening on her as well. It only took a moment for Y/n to realize that her boyfriend was shaking, trying not to fall apart. “It hurts.” 

She ran her fingers through his hair, putting a kiss on the top of his head as he relaxed even more. They had to move to a more comfortable space soon or else Corpse would fall asleep here and she would have to move him (which at 5 feet, is not very easy.) but he was relaxing and Y/n couldn’t make herself distract him from that. 

“I know babe, it’s okay. We’ll breathe through it. You can do it, I know you can.” Corpse would never fess up to crying, but the growing patch of tears on her sweater was evidence of the amount of pain that he was experiencing. 

His dedication was amazing, but a lot of the time he sacrificed his health for it. So as much as she didn’t want to hold him back, sometimes she really just had to step in and meddle to save him from himself.

They stayed like that for a while, Y/n occasionally having to coach him through his breathing, but overall, they were doing fine. 

Y/n smiled into his hair when he finally stopped shaking. “That’s it babe, you’re doing amazing.” she whispered, moving to get off his lap. She wasn’t the lightest person despite her shortness, her curves never letting her be skinny, so she was sure that her sitting on his lap was making his legs go numb. Corpse, on the other hand, only held on tighter, basically turning into a koala at this point. 

“Corpse, Honey, your legs are gonna go numb, babe.” she giggled. She tried to put him at arm’s length, but her apparently octopus boyfriend had planned to never let her go. 

“No.” he mumbled, pressing his face ever tighter into her sweater, making her giggle, in turn, making him smile. 

Eventually, he detached his face from her sweater and peeked up at his girlfriend, the visual of his tousled hair, pout, one sparkling eye and the other now only partially covered by his falling eyepatch, but both with smudged eyeliner and mirth, made her melt.  “Don’t go, please?” Y/n giggled at him. “I’m not gonna leave babe, I just gotta get off your lap before I make your legs undergo hypoxia.” 

“I’d let them cut off my legs if it meant having you here forever.” if she hadn’t already fallen in love with this man, she would say that this was the moment that she fell in love with him. But falling in love with him over and over again was probably something that she would never stop doing, even if Corpse ever decided to not love her back one day. 

They were jolted out of their happy little bubble when they heard a loud screech coming from his headphones making a sound more akin to blasting speakers than headphones, which had apparently fallen just beside them on the table instead of the floor like Y/n anticipated. “STOP YOUR LOVING AND GO TO SLEEP CORPSE!” Rae screeched, making the both of them laugh out loud, but one look at his screen stopped them at their tracks.

Corpse was miraculously still alive in game, Rae’s character moving back and forth in front of his. 

Rae… was streaming, right? 

Oh shit numero dos. 

One look at the chat showed that they had just outed themselves. The sappy couple making everyone watching go absolutely bonkers at the chat. 

“WHO IS THAT?” -ijustlovemakingsounds

“HONEY???? BABE?????” - corpseybae

“WHAT IS HAPPENING??” -randomuser

“IS CORPSE OKAY?” -ShinigamiEyes

“CORPSE??” -corpsekkuno28

“BABY?????” -honestlywtf

“HE’S SO SWEET OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!” -cutiepiecorpsey

“WAIT WAIT WAIT IS HE OKAY????” -omgilovehim

“WHO THE HECK??” -wifeyyyycorpse

Both parties were staring wide eyed at the screens. Even with slow mode on, the chat was going a hundred miles per hour and all they were seeing were screaming chats in all caps zooming up. 

For a second Y/n just kept staring quietly, and then the first giggle escaped her and soon, both of them were a giggling pile of sweaters and limbs on Corpse’s computer chair, not even trying to stop their antics. Rae screamed another “YOU’RE BOTH CUTE AND WE ALL KNOW IT STOP AND SLEEP!!” 

The laughter seemed endless. 

It was the sound of Y/n’s phone ringing from the other room that finally got her up from the warm confines of Corpse’s lap. But before she left, she was going to make sure that Corpse was not just going to continue streaming in her absence. 

“Sooo….” Y/n turned them over so that she was facing the screen and not him, talking directly into the mic as she scrambled for the headphones she had shoved off of his head. “Yes Corpse Husband has a Corpse wife and she’s now taking him back to their coffins because the hubby is a stubborn piece of shit and has not slept in more than 50 hours.” 

The casual information drop made the chat go even crazier, people now freaking out about her, trying to find out who she was, what she did, when and where they met, stuff like that. “I’ll see what I can do to answer your questions, you simps. But I gotta knock him out for now, and I promise you won’t be left hanging.” 

She felt him wrap his arms around her waist once more, feeling him press his face tightly against her back. “Baby,” he started to say, but Y/n cut him off with a few pats to wherever she could reach behind her.

“Sorry, but the jackass is now cut off from the mic and shall be cut off until he sleeps, so I shall be the one to say, good day to you sirs and madams, he shall see you on the next one! Bye!!!!” 

Then a pause, and a quietly frustrated “Hun, how do you turn it off??”

The chat was flooded with variations of “She’s so cute!!” and as tempted as he was to keep it going for a bit, he knew that it would upset and worry his adorable girlfriend to do so. 

So from his vantage point, he just mumbled a quick “Bye!” before cutting off stream. Normally, he would stay and read superchats and see how many new members he had gained, but this time, his tiny, but determined girlfriend was dead set on getting him to chill his ass out. 

And he let you.

He watched as you dragged him off to bed, tucking him in all the fluffy blankets you’d gotten for his comfort, smiled as you eagerly burrowed yourself under the fluff with him, sighed contentedly as your warmth surrounded him as you cuddled into him. 

He basked in your presence as he held you back just as tight, feeling you plant a kiss in his hair and smile as he relaxed ever more. From across the room, the mirror reflected the image of the two of you, touching the deepest recesses of the soul he would never claim to have. 

And as he drifted off, he watched as you glowed in the streaks of the fading afternoon sun, peeking through their heavy curtains, he thought:

What more was there to ask for? 

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recap: “As Above, So Below”

Welcome back, everyone. So. Last Saturday I was actually feeling pretty good about RWBY. Not as a whole, but for that particular episode because, as I explained to a lovely anon, not much happened. Sure, there were some semi-important bits in the form of meeting Willow and Weiss discovering the recording, but compared to everything else we’ve gotten this volume it was all around a tame fifteen minutes. Which meant there wasn’t much space for RWBY to mess things up. There simply weren’t any stakes last episode. You don’t like how the group gets past Whitley or the exact words Ironwood says to Jacques? It’s ultimately whatever in the grand scheme of things. Last episode was mostly details.

“As Above, So Below” is not that kind of episode. So much happens and I’m once again left metaphorically banging my head against the wall, not regarding the writing choices themselves per se, but rather at how they’re used and portrayed. There is so much that I want to enjoy about this episode but Rooster Teeth continually ignores aspects of a situation in order to highlight one very narrow, very biased viewpoint. The scenes throughout demand that we conveniently forget or outright ignore certain things in order to immerse ourselves in whatever emotion the writing has decided we should be feeling right now ... and I simply can’t do that. RWBY is a show based on the claim that it’s a bright sunny day, so pay no mind to the rain clouds hovering above your head. It’s the animated equivalent of a Jedi mind trick. These are not the interpretations you’re looking for.

Secrets are finally revealed, folks, and oh boy. It’s a hot mess.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Undermining my assumption last recap that Watts had dismantled something that was regulating just a portion of Mantle’s temperature---something specific to maintaining rain over snow---we learn that all heating has been lost across the city. Which, if you know anything about temperature and the fragile human body, is really fucking bad. Here RWBY actually did a good job of introducing Weiss’ comment early in the volume about how people can freeze to death within an hour or so. We were still left with a few detail-oriented questions like how useful aura is in combating that, why Ruby was still so cold with her, why no one was showing symptoms back during the walk to the farm... but at least the setup is clear here. Civilians don’t have aura so that’s that. They’re dead if they don’t find some way to keep warm (riot fires help...) or aren’t evacuated somewhere else. It’s a big deal, though how exactly this fits into the rest of Watts’ plan and the other bits of chaos he’s accomplished is still unclear. More on that in a bit.

We see Pietro and Maria, but they don’t actually do anything this episode. They just stand around looking scared as people get violent and the city is covered in ominous red lights. At least the show remembers that they exist, but we don’t get to see the brilliant scientist specializing in creating weaponry and the former Grimm Reaper doing something to help. So... B grade on that one?

There’s no time skip this episode so with Mantle unraveling we segue right back to the dinner at the Schnee’s. Ironwood is still getting called out for having too much power. He pushes back that there are checks and balances in place to keep everyone, including him, from abusing that power. This is countered with a broad and not very persuasive claim that they simply haven’t worked. Ironwood comes back with a line about intentions and the nameless (?) council guy goes, “What people intend and what people do are not always the same thing!” Well no shit. If that were the case everyone’s lives would be staggeringly easier. You intend to find the madman who dismantled your army at Beacon? Boom, done. Intend to find the murderer responsible for attacking Robyn’s supporters? Congratulations, you did it. RWBY now has a habit of throwing out lines to remind us that the evil men in power---notably Ozpin and Ironwood---might intend to do good, but look! They haven’t managed it! Which... yes? Sometimes intentions fail, but that leaves the unanswered question of what these characters (and the writing) want them to do instead. No one has the luxury of changing their situation and everyone continues to ignore the fact that there are only bad options all around. I’d rather have someone with good intentions at the helm than, you know, Jacques. It also speaks volumes that as much as the council and RWBYJNR has been criticizing Ironwood lately, everyone still expects him to make the hard call himself. They don’t want that responsibility; they want a scapegoat if and when things go wrong. Just like the group was happy to scream at Ozpin and then get pissed that he left, leaving them to make the hard decisions themselves for once, everyone is screaming at Ironwood and then two minutes later turn about with, “So what should we do, General? What’s your plan? How are you going to fix this?” Though I don’t think any of it is intentional, RWBY has a lot to say about how only good and lucky leaders get to come out of their role unscathed. No matter what you do someone hates you for it and even choosing to abstain isn’t an option, as we saw clearly with Ozpin.

At this point the meeting is briefly interrupted by a waiter who tells Jacques about the heating issue. He responds with a, “My authorization?” before trying to cover things up, awkwardly agreeing with the conversation he just missed. Robyn announces that she’s not done with Ironwood yet though and accuses him of more failures, ending with, “yet you won’t let your own council help you?” which... honestly? Just hammers home how not useful this “Ironwood should trust everyone!” mindset is. Because is Robyn really that dense? The council is Jacques and two of his lackeys. You know, the guy who is about to be arrested for treason and as an accomplice to murder. Even though that hasn’t been revealed yet, Robyn is very well aware of what a corrupt, dangerous individual he is. Remember that she herself is not the council. She was given a “seat at the table” because Jacques wanted to use her against Ironwood. Robyn is sitting here symbolically pointing to Jacques and the two members he has wrapped around his finger going, “Why aren’t you trusting them?” like that’s in any way a sound suggestion. Sometimes the answer to, “Why are you doing Bad Things like keeping secrets?” is “Because people can be unimaginably stupid.” This is an example of that. Robyn wants to know everything and right now she’s willing to risk that information falling into an enemy’s hands to get it.

(Also, that picture in the background? Says a lot that Jacques has a picture of him, his obedient son, and his terrified wife in the room where he conducts business. No Weiss or Winter in sight.) 

Ironwood, of course, tells a straight out lie with an excellent poker face. “I’m not hiding anything.” Which inspires Robyn to use her semblance. Oh no! An insanely convenient ability that would undo every conflict we’ve set up for this season! However will we avoid this? Timing, obviously. Weiss, also conveniently, barges in right when Robyn has put Ironwood on the spot. I said it as soon as Robyn’s semblance was introduced: if you give someone that level of power---something that can too easily solve all the problems you’ve set up---then you have to keep coming up with semi-contrived ways of keeping them from using it.

Also, does she need skin-on-skin contact for her semblance to work? I wonder if that’s why she’s got that one random finger missing on her glove.

Wiess plays the recording of Watts and Jacques, giving us the rest of their conversation. We don’t learn anything new. Watts promised Jacques a seat on the council and he in turn (supposedly) would get the satisfaction of ruining Ironwood’s life. Jacques handed over his login information, including what he gained post-election, and now Watts has access to everything he built and then some. To say that’s bad is an understatement. You might be distracted from your worry though by hearing that cake line again as well as the men’s villainous laughs. RWBY really went full cartoon for that conversation.

A detail I really love though? Ironwood’s rhythmic footsteps as he walks around the table. Super ominous and intimidating. Meanwhile, a hilarious detail is how awkward Jacques gets when he’s finally lost that precious control. This isn’t a confident man capable of denying the accusations against him in anything like a persuasive manner. He doesn’t have Ironwood’s poker face. Jacques is a coward who looks like a schoolboy seated in the principal’s office once caught.

He attempts to escape only to find Weiss’ knight blocking the exit, the one we now know was the possessed armor that belonged to her grandfather. In a thoroughly satisfying moment she declares that Jacques is under arrest... and then turns around to ask Ironwood if she can actually do that. I’m on the fence about this. Normally I don’t mind a bit of humor lightening the mood, but in this case we have three things that I don’t think are improving the situation. The first is the sheer emotional impact that should be accompanying this arrest. This is Weiss’ abuser. The man we’ve known about (incidentally anyway) since Volume 1 and who has driven nearly the entirety of her character development from working to escape him pre-RWBY to coming back as a huntress. Provided that Jacques doesn’t pull a Torchwick and escape himself somehow, this is the culmination of nearly seven volumes worth of heartbreaking struggle. There are some things that I think should be allowed to shoulder their weight without undercutting it with a joke and this is 100% one of them. Just like finding out that a friend you thought had been permanently torn to pieces in front of you should generate heartfelt shock and joy, reaching the moment where you finally arrest one of the show’s biggest personal villains should be treated seriously. Let Weiss have this and put the joke later if you still want it. Weiss could be staring hollow-eyed at her father being put in handcuffs and Ruby could try to cheer her up. “So...” she says. “Can we arrest people?” Weiss blinks, coming out of her stupor, and gives a tentative smile. “Don’t know, actually. But it’s working in this case.” There. Serious moment leading to a bit of comedy-bonding. Humor is a wonderful tool, but it also lessens the other emotions of a scene if not used properly.

Potential issues #2 and #3 are smaller. On a personal note, hearing Weiss’ question simply reminded me, again, that RWBY has failed to establish hard rules for its world, including what a huntsmen’s job entails. A few weeks ago fans were arguing over whether Blake and Yang should feel anything in regards to killing Adam because, according to some, it’s already a part of a huntsmen’s responsibilities to arrest and if necessary kill people. Why would they flinch at something they knew they were signing up for? Others (myself included) pointed out that although we see the students sparing with one another at school, no one says anything about them taking out human and faunus criminals. RWBYJNR’s adventures---from Ruby stopping the robbery in her trailer to tracking down the White Fang---are presented as outliers. This is not the sort of stuff huntsmen are meant to get up to. They fight grimm first and foremost. Everything else is a case-by-case surprise. Note, for example, that Ironwood expects his army to keep the peace and presumably the police when things aren’t quite so dangerous. He’s not sending huntsmen out to track down everyday criminals because that’s not their job. Killing grimm is. Weiss’ comment reinforces that. Can I arrest someone? Is that within my power as a huntress? And Ironwood... doesn’t answer. Because it’s meant to be a joke, not a legitimate bit of world building.

And then the third... is just how Rooster Teeth is using humor throughout the entirety of this episode. AKA not well, which makes me less inclined to give this particular moment the benefit of the doubt. We’ll get to that in just a second though. For now I’ve written way to much on a two second scene.

While Jacques’ plans unravel the rioting in Mantle is getting worse and worse. “Atlas killed the heat on purpose! They’ll do anything to control us!” which is very much a conclusion born of panic. It feels like every other episode Mantle is on the verge of collapse and, by extension, all of these moments feel anti-climactic. We’ve watched Mantle rioting over the embargo, and then Penny, and then the election, and now the heat... none of it feels like it has weight anymore. Rioting is just the way we’re ending most episodes now. It also (again) raises that question of what exactly Watts is trying to accomplish, and not in a “Still to be revealed!” kind of way. We do still have an element of that, but at this point there’s also just a, “Literally what was the point?” aspect too. Why is Mantle rioting most episodes? Shouldn’t that be something to build to? More importantly---as I’ve said before---WHY did they frame Penny? We see in the next scene that Jacques’ guilt likewise reveals Penny’s innocence... even though everyone important knew that two seconds after she was accused. There were no consequences attached to blaming her and, as just established, we clearly didn’t need the loss of a city defender to bring that city to the brink. Mantle has been going over the edge for a variety of reasons and the people were at that point before the group even arrived. When Penny was first framed that seemed like a brilliant setup. Now we see definitively that it led nowhere. Why did Watts bother and why did the writers? It’s another case of RWBY chucking in things they think are “cool” without bothering to follow up on them.

So yeah. The Penny situation is done. We didn’t even get any development out of her from it. That really is disappointing.

With everything Jacques did on the table the situation looks bleaker by the minute. What can Watts do with this control?  “With enough time… whatever he wants.” The group finds out that the first thing he did with this power is shut off the heat and Weiss has the most dramatic reaction, which makes sense given that she’s the one who best understands the risks here. And then... then.

Oh dear god.

Ironwood realizes that Watts may eventually have access to the Amity info, if he stumbles across it or actively goes looking for things to uncover. This revelation on its own is good. That’s something Ironwood needs to try and prevent, so it would have been an excellent moment of storytelling to show us Ironwood’s moment of revelation, perhaps with a bit of dramatic music to hammer things home. Except that instead of keeping this issue between the people who know about it---Ironwood and Ruby could have exchanged knowing glances like Blake and Yang did when they first started keeping their secrets---Rooster Teeth has Ironwood talk about loud to himself about the major secret he’s keeping. He literally calls it a secret! “No. The secret is safe for now. But if he learns about Amity…” Hello?? I understand that this episode is all about things coming to light, but that moment was an absolute insult to Ironwood’s character. We just saw this man claim with a perfectly straight face that he had nothing to hide. Five minutes later he’s apparently lost so much intelligence he stands in front of four people he’s keeping secrets from, including Jacques Schnee, and starts soliloquizing about said secrets. That is the most stupid and contrived way to get caught in a lie. Oh no! I totally forgot a bunch of people were standing beside me! Now everyone has heard that I’m keeping a secret since I felt the need to state that out loud...

And in case anyone thought this is a case where I’m reading too much into things, Robyn literally laughs and goes, “Yep! Still here, everyone!” Reminding them that someone who is not supposed to know about this stuff is standing... right there... listening in... The writing draws attention to it. 

This trumps all other former stupidity. Like the group loudly announcing their attempts to avoid getting arrested in the city covered with surveillance. This is so stupid I want to turn it into a meme. Cleanse this scene somehow.

Anyway. More rioting. More anger. Shock, surprise, that draws a ton of grimm. Take note of the fact that Ironwood’s army is almost useless against this barrage. The missiles from the airships don’t seem to take the horde out. Nor do the guns. Two other soldiers are forced to cower when some pterodactyl-type grimm flies overhead. 

I say this not to bash the army itself (they’re doing their best while up against horrible odds), but rather to re-emphasize how not good telling the whole world about Salem is. Everyone seems to forget that, first and foremost, this is the concern that Ozpin dealt with. Even if he was 100% wrong on every other count---no one would lose hope, no one would ever betray him---it is impossible to hear about Salem and not experience negative emotions and those negative emotions draw grimm that kill everyone. Ironwood’s primary justification was that he’ll use his army to protect the people when that happens and (ignoring that his army can’t possibly be everywhere at once) we see here that it’s all but useless. His soldiers may have been able to handle the grunt grimm seen at the breach and the Battle of Beacon, but they’re  helpless in the face of anything stronger, the exact sort of stuff that world-wide panic over an immortal woman would draw. Clover makes it clear when he arrives that only huntsmen stand a real chance and huntsmen are few and far between nowadays. They lost an entire school. Lionheart made sure nearly all the huntsmen in Mistral were killed. They’ve reached a point where teens are given licenses at least two years early, without full training, because they need the help that badly. Ironwood cannot protect the people if their fear grows stronger. That’s not his fault, but it also means he can’t afford to deliberately stoke that fear. Telling the world about Salem, whether she’s immortal or not, is a 100% death wish for lots and lots and lots of people.

That’s why I can’t get behind an idealistic view of, “But they deserve to know.” Maybe they do, but if given the choice I’d rather keep people in the dark and let them live their lives than tell them for the sake of the moral high-ground and risk the very likely possibility that they’ll die a horrible, bloody death. 

Then, finally... we come back to the group’s secrets.

As established, Robyn is calling Ironwood out on his own secret keeping because he just admitted aloud to having a secret. 100% dodged her suspicion  by Weiss’ timely arrival and Jacques getting outed as a traitor, then went ahead and shot himself in the foot. Sorry. I just really can’t stress that enough. Anyway, she’s homing in like a bloodhound, backing him into another corner, and this is the animation they decide to give us.

This is why I haven’t liked the group since mid-Volume 5. Because they’ve become reckless, hypocritical, often incredibly cruel people. Animation is a drawing. Someone had to decide and design this moment. Nothing is left to chance. So Rooster Teeth made a conscious decision to have Ruby almost-smiling in this moment. Looking pleased and happy at the very least. She’s still keeping her own secrets and is taking pleasure in the fact that Ironwood’s are coming to light. This is the exactly the same behavior we saw with Ozpin and (to a lesser extent) Cordovin. The satisfaction this group derives from either seeing or handing out what they perceive as another’s just desserts while they themselves are committing the same or worse sins. Ruby should not look happy here in the same way that she should not have pushed for Ironwood to sacrifice Mantle in the name of finishing a doomed project. And as we’ll see in a moment, she shouldn’t be giggling with Oscar over the shared damage they’ve caused.

At this point everyone is ganging up on Ironwood. Yes, including Oscar. As a preface to all this, I love my farm boy. Just not how Rooster Teeth has been writing my farm boy. Because this is what I meant at the very start of this recap. Oscar and Ruby’s speeches here are only inspiring if you choose to ignore the fact that, in this moment, they’re still keeping their own secrets. I honestly thought Oscar was going to come clean when he approached Ironwood leaning against the wall. Instead he offers his advice which is, straight up, to just stop keeping secrets. Says the kid who is still keeping secrets. Oscar even goes so far as to say that “You already knew that wasn’t the right course” which is the biggest load of BS I’ve heard on this show so far. No! No one agreed that was the wrong path. You all explicitly decided that keeping secrets was the right thing to do. They’re telling him he was wrong to choose the thing they benefited from and continue to use to their advantage in this scene.“Tell the truth,” Oscar insists, still not telling the truth. “You’re not alone,” Ruby adds when she hasn’t trusted Ironwood once this season. This moment is manipulation because Oscar and Ruby both are trying to convince Ironwood to do something using false personas. Ironwood believes that he should listen to them precisely because he thinks they’ve achieved the very thing they’re demanding of him: sharing all their secrets. He thinks they’re models to look up to. When in fact Ironwood is the only one who has ever managed this demand by sharing his plan with them, completely of his own volition. 

The fact that they decide to tell him a few minutes later doesn’t matter. They already got what they wanted and the damage is done. I mean that literally. By manipulating Ironwood into spilling the beans, they’ve created a situation where Ironwood revealed the Salem secret to the council and Robyn but not her immortality. Ironwood himself only learns of that afterward, back in the dining room, and you can see the utter devastation on his face.

Is it still a good idea to tell two highly suspect council members and a woman who has been his semi-enemy about Salem given that she can’t be killed? Who knows. We don’t get to tackle that question because Ironwood wasn’t given a choice. It’s too late. He was pressured and manipulated into a making a huge decision without all the necessary information (which, for the record, is still not the same thing as the group deciding to help people and do the job they signed up for without knowing about Salem). Even if nothing horrible results from these three people now knowing about Salem, Oscar and Ruby have created more problems. We hear the council woman ask fearfully whether Ironwood can defeat Salem. The only thing holding them together is the hope that they can still win with their army... but they can’t. What’s Ironwood going to do with that expectation now? Will he tell them about her immortality too? Risk what they might do in response? Don’t you think this is something he should have known about weeks ago, Ruby? “You should know before you make any… sacrifices” Oscar tells Ironwood, completely ignoring the fact that he already made sacrifices. Mantle was a sacrifice. Those resources were a sacrifice. Telling the council was a sacrifice. Ironwood’s ongoing hope that he could finally end this, stretched out far longer than it had to be, was a sacrifice.

What kills me is the casual nature of it all. There was no catalyst here. Nothing new happened to convince the group that they can suddenly trust Ironwood. If they’re willing to trust him now that means they trusted him before and just didn’t tell him because... they didn’t. The defense of “He’s unstable, who knows what he might do to them and Mantle once he finds out the truth!” was a smokescreen the whole time. Because nothing changed. Ironwood said and did nothing in the last fifteen minutes to suddenly cause the revelation of, “Oh my god. We can trust him. Now we finally know we’re safe to reveal this secret.” They could have done it on day two and avoided so much strife. Like, you know, the situation in Mantle that Nora felt the need to scream at Ironwood about. Maybe if you’d told him his plan was doomed he might not have taken so many resources from the people, given that he’d have known there was no longer a justification for that. You had the power to fix the problems you blamed him for from the get-go.

Combine this with Oscar and Ruby’s horrible conversation. Sure, the rosegarden shippers are thrilled, but beyond the fact that I’m personally not shipping Ruby with a boy housing her 1,000 year old headmaster, that (once again) was not the correct emotion to apply to this moment. They both come across as horrendously callous by laughing and giggling through the decision to finally tell Ironwood. It’s not like these secrets have driven this entire volume and are about to absolutely devastate him or anything. Why would you have a serious conversation about this? Why express even an ounce of sympathy and regret for what you’ve done? Nah, better to jump around and give each other thumbs up. Act so proud that you’ve randomly decided to come clean, like you deserve praise for this. Kids, am I right, Marrow?

Seriously. This is how these two treat the situation vs. what the situation actually is.

Which in a horrible way is fitting because there are zero consequences for all this. (Cue my shock...) Ironwood isn’t mad about any of this. He jokes with Oscar! “No more surprises, alright?” Given that RWBY releases weekly and thus there’s plenty of time between episodes, I feel like people forget the expectations they developed months back. The more optimistic side of the fandom (god bless you all, you’ve got more hope than me) keeps insisting that eventually the group’s new behavior will lead to repercussions, but time and time again Rooster Teeth tells us they won’t. Not for putting Argus in danger. Not for stealing an airship. Not for keeping the secrets Ozpin was crucified over a whole volume for. And that’s still going. Alongside Qrow’s talk with Ruby, Ironwood is given the space to blame Ozpin again---“Why? Why would Oz keep this from us?”---and has no desire to blame the group for doing the exact same thing. Oscar is allowed to go, “Sorry! We just didn’t trust you” but the same justification out of Ozpin’s mouth doesn’t fly, despite the fact that he had a hundred more reasons not to trust a bunch of teens. The level of hypocrisy in this episode is just staggering. We all watched Ruby tell Ozpin’s lies and went, “Oh yeah. This is going to come back to bite them” and it didn’t. 

There is nothing the group can do to get in trouble, or even a reprimand for. Anything and everything is twisted to praise them:

Destroyed precious military equipment (which this episode’s attack shows that the world desperately needs) and nearly get people killed by attacking an ally? You get a free ride to Atlas.

Broke Atlas’ laws by stealing their property and then avoiding the police? You get hugs from your sister and early huntsmen licenses.

You tell the exact same lies you demonized your headmaster for? You’re so much better than he is and I’m so proud of you.

Keep secrets from Ironwood, making a horrible situation even worse? Haha no more surprises in the future please!

And yes, this also includes: Going behind everyone’s back to spill information to Robyn? No one will even find out you did that. I’ve seen a post going around with people expressing how pleased they are that Robyn didn’t rat Blake and Yang out. That’s the level of bias the fandom and the writers are working under. The group gets away with everything because they’re the protagonists. Everyone adores them unconditionally. At this point I think they could join with Salem and people would insist that it’s the smartest and most badass move they could possibly make. Fans and the writing would praise them for that too. 

Ugh. Sorry for the level of salt in this recap. For the record I am glad that others are able to enjoy all of these moments. I just can’t. Oh boy I can’t. 

Alright. Close to wrapping up now. A series of smaller things: Oscar has another moment where he draws on Ozpin’s memories of Atlas being built. “You say that like you were there---” Ironwood says. We’ve spent a lot of time theorizing about the merge but in light of this episode... are we really expecting an explanation? RWBY hasn’t adequately explained dust vs. magic, or Qrow’s semblance, or why we should be rooting for heroes who do everything their perceived opponents do. Why would we expect them to explain something as complicated as this merge either? I think we should just expect a continually wishy-washy situation that changes based on the whims of the plot.

Ren and Nora have a moment on the airship that sparks another charged look between Blake and Yang. Are we ever going to tackle the huge concerns Ren had a few episodes back before they were silenced with a kiss? Does he or anyone else know that Oscar spilled the beans? For that matter, did Oscar admit that there’s still a question left in the relic? Does Ironwood actually want to lock it up now like they should have from the start? Did he explain precisely why Ozpin ran off? These answers remain lost to the void.

Jaune looks like he’s going to be sick after the airship is attacked. Nice throwback to episode one.

Whitley is devastated by his father’s arrest, truly alone now. He slinks off with Willow watching him go. Hopefully with Jacques out of the way she and Weiss (and possibly Winter) can start helping him. Show him how to connect with others in ways besides cruelty. 

The group then jumps out of the destroyed ship... but not before Elm and Harriet tease each other a bit. In a kind way. One might almost say... a friendly way...

Yeah these people aren’t friends. No way. What an absurd assumption. Will the show ever come back to that assertion, or will it remain another illogical way of insisting that the group is intrinsically better than everyone else they come into contact with? I’m betting on the latter.

Finally, we catch glimpses of a disguised Neo infiltrating the Schnee manor. After everyone leaves she returns to Cinder who says, “Oh, you’re back early. Tell me you’ve found what we’ve been looking for” and Neo gives an affirmative gesture. To which I respond with no emotion whatsoever because this episode has scorched me from the inside out.

1/10 with the 1 given because yay arresting Jacques. Everything else I’d happily put through a paper shredded. I’m gonna go cleanse my mind with more Witcher 3 now.

Until next week! Everyone start praying...

[creativeashproductions]

Painted with Pain // Steve Harrington

Summary: The more liked and calm Hargrove twins intimidates peers through her family tie to the knew King of Hawkins High Billy. Born into a family with an abusive father and a runaway mother you protect each other from your father. When Billy isn’t there to take the hits and learns exactly what you do and who you do in the abandoned classroom what exactly happens to you?

Characters: Steve Harrington x Hargrove!reader, twin!Billy Hargrove x twin!Reader, Neil Hargrove, Max Mayfield, and Susan Hargrove (mentioned).

Words: 2008

Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or the characters involved. I also do now own the gifs or images that may appear.

Warnings: Swearing, parental domestic abuse, angst, and fluff

Author: Caitsy

A/N: If you or a loved on is being abuse you could talk to a respected adult like as a guidance counsellor, police officer, or teacher. There are many numbers to hotlines that can help. Remember if someone hits another person as punishment, they’ve thought before it lands to hit that person. They had intent and it can and will happen again. Be Safe.

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Billy wasn’t the nicest person in Hawkins and for good reason but he was a good brother to you when it came to caring for someone. Billy and you were twins that protected each other as much as you could in a house with an abusive asshole of a father and a woman that wasn’t your mother. Billy was the worst of the two of you when it came towards your step-sister but he always taking the hits for you.

“Hurry up.” Billy stated leaning against the car his gaze pointed directly as Max.

“I’m coming.” Max retired reaching for the passenger door handle.

“Backseat.”

“I never get the front!” Max exclaimed.

“Backseat or your walking!” You glared at the young girl.

Max didn’t understand you took the emotional abuse from your father for her so she didn’t have to live the same life you did. While Billy took the physical abuse for you, all because your mother was woken him up when you both were really young and told him to protect you. She immediately fled in the night once she had spoken to Billy and never looked back or said goodbye to you.

“Not fair.” Max muttered gently placing her skate board on her lap.

“You’re really pushing it.” Billy growled at her.

The rest of the ride was loud music, quiet fury in the backseat, and yawning from you as the scenery passed by. Billy did cast you a few concerned looks for the screaming your father did at you last night. Sometimes it bothered you that Billy spend all his kindness on you but nothing but hatred for the rest of the world.

“Y/N’s driving you home if you aren’t a brat.” Billy yelled over the loud music.


“Where will you be?” Max questioned.

“None of your business.” Billy snarled before smiling with mirth, “But if you must know. I’ll be balls deep in Carol.”

“Tommy’s Carol?” You smirked, “Is it true that he…ya know…stares at the guys in the shower room?”

“Haven’t noticed I’ve been hitting Carol’s tight-“

“Look school!” Max exclaimed just wanting to leave the disgusting conversation between you and him. There was something wrong with Billy just openly talking about sex with his sister that freaked her out.

Sharing a smirk with Billy as the ginger haired girl raced out of the car and towards the middle school entrance before the car had even stopped. Getting out with matching smiles you tossed Billy the pack of smokes you sometimes shared while he tossed the keys over the top of the car. Splitting up to your lockers you easily grabbed your textbook for when the neighbouring locker slammed open.

“Can you be any louder?” You groaned throwing your head back in annoyance.

“I could but you’re not worth it or my time.” The owner of the locker said with a smile.

“Idiot.”

“My heart. How will I go one?” He glared back at you.

You grabbed the notebook that went with your textbook before storming off to one of the classrooms that was dedicated to studying. Nobody used them other than making out but there was one classroom that everyone else avoided. It was the one that you used and had threatened everyone from using it. You sat down at the only table in the room to begin using your free period to study.

“Idiot?”

“You said telling to you eat shit and die was too harsh last time.” You chuckled at the arrival. The sound of the lock on the door being engaged echoed in the small room.

“It was hot also.” Steve grinned grabbing your hand as he sat next to you. He pressed a swift kiss on your cheek before leaning back.

‘What time do you want to meet?” You asked playing with his fingers.

“When does dipshit hit come home?” Steve rolled his eyes as he asked the question. He anticipated the playful slap that you never delivered since you began talking to him.

It never came. Ever. You had a personal rule that hitting someone else for any reason could never happen because you were scared you would become your father. You left that abuse for Billy to pick and choose to do.

“I’m taking wannabe rocker home.” You snorted rolling your eyes, “Billy’s got plans between Carol’s thighs later today.”


“You know your step sister does have a name?” Steve defended one of the kids he babysits.


“Just because I got along with her for saving Hawkins, doesn’t mean I like her.” You returned.

“She isn’t-“

“Honey, why are wasting our free period talking about my life when we could be using our mouths for something different?”

You didn’t wait another minute before your boyfriend was glued to your body sitting on the table. Your time went quickly with minimal clothing taken off and evidence of your time together buried under papers in your most hated teacher’s trash basket.

“You little bi-“ Dad’s voice broke when you stepping in front of Max and took the slap intended for her. The slap resonated through the living room leaving your head spinning as you unexpectedly faced the wall.

“Max.” You calmly said, “Go to Susan.”

“But-“

“Now Maxine.”

She fled the room with a concerned hesitation while your father let a sick twisted smile coat his face. The fear inside you intensified but you didn’t regret protecting the child in your home from the brutality that was your father.

“She needs to learn.” He spoke.

“She’s your step-daughter. You know Susan would leave you if you put one hand on her daughter.” You reminded him as you stood your ground.

“Well that’s alright.” Neil Hargrove smiled in his charming way, “Why don’t you go and see if Susan needs help with supper?”

You waited to scan his body language before you turned to leave the room but the unmistakeable sound of a bucket releasing reached your ears. Your spine tingled with recognition of what would come, a violet lashing to your back. When the belt wrapped around your neck you knew you had pissed him off more than anyone in your family had.

“It seems my blood doesn’t know respect.”  He hissed as your struggled to fit your fingers between the dark brown strip of leather and your slim neck.

“H…elp.” You choked as it began to slowly tighten until your back was closely pressed against his body.

“Shame dear big brother isn’t here to save you.”

Darkness edged your vision as you slowly sank to the ground not any relief on the belt wrapped tightly around your throat. When it did lessen a slap on the imprint from before reddened further. Laying on the ground while your father stood above you with the belt in one hand he landed a severely hard kick to your ribs and that was the last you knew before you were unconscious.

“Y/N?” A soft concerned voice spoke.


“What the hell happened?!” Billy roared seeing his twin sister out cold on the ground.

“I don’t know.��� Max admitted, “She made me go to my mom and I did it because Y/N can be scary sometimes.”

“Yeah she can.” Billy admitted scooping your into his arms.

That was one of the only times that Billy was kind to Max from the minute they had met back in California. Of course Billy was still abusive to Max and she bore the emotional marks from his words.

Billy managed to threaten a doctor into treating you without making a report or paying the full bill for the treatment. You were placed in the private practice room that the clinic had for the night while Billy stayed by your side.

“Billy?” You moaned in pain.

“Hey sis. How are you?” Billy whispered holding tight to your hand.

“How’s Max?”

“The lil shit is fine because of you.”

“Steve?”

“Harrington? Why would he be here?” Billy seethed with a deep hatred in his eyes.

“Because I’m dating him but don’t tell my brother. He hates him.”

Billy growled to himself before you fell back under the drugs control to calm your pain. You were mumbling in your sleep while Billy slung his jean jacket onto his shoulders before stomping out of the room. He jumping into the car and slammed the car into movement with one destination in mind and bloodlust enveloping him.

The car was still running when he banged not the door to the Harrington household just waiting for the ass to answer. He didn’t know if he should use words of his fist first but he clenched his hands when the door opened to show a middle aged man. In one hand a newspaper and the other holding onto the door frame.

“Can I help you?” The man asked. Billy identified him as Steve with the similar hair house and bone structure.

“Is Steve around? We have to talk about a project.”

“Steve! You had a friend here.” Mr. Harrington called out over his shoulder. Steve halted when he saw Billy standing there fuming in front of his oblivious father.

“Shit.” Steve mumbled pushing in front of his father to step outside. When the door was closed he turned to face his enemy.

“I know about you and my sister.” Billy snarled clenching his fists more.

“No we’re-“

“Cut the shit Harrington. She told me, delirious but she told me.” Billy retorted, “I’m okay with it.”

“Wait. What? You’re okay with it?!”

“Give me a reason to kick your ass dad when you hurt her and you will.” Billy grinned, “That’s what I hear? Steve fucks with girls and when he dates prissy Nancy Wheeler we find out he sucks as a boyfriend.”

“Well looks like your dream of killing me won’t come true.” Steve smiled just as harshly as the two boys squared up with each other, “I plan to marry her and give her the life she deserved,”

“Won’t happen.”

“Excuse me but I have a family dinner I’m needed at.”

Steve was waiting when you got to your locker early on Monday morning with a nasty bruise on your face and bags under your eyes. The violent black-purple bruise on your neck drew the attention of everyone in the hallway, including your boyfriends. You had a limp from trying to not injure your fracture rib more.

“Y/N?” Steve choked out at the battered body of his girlfriend.

“Hey ass-“

“Billy knows.” Steve interrupted gently moving your chin around to take in the bruises and trying to estimate a time where you got them. 
“How?”

“You told home.” Steve whispered, “Did he do this to you?”



“No. Billy would never do this.” You mumbled looking away from Steve’s face.

“Who did it?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh we’re talking about it sweetheart.” Steve sternly told you as he pulled you into the closest vacant classroom, “I want to know who hit my girlfriend.”

“My Dad okay?!” You screamed without looking at his. You kept your stare at the window to the playground.

“I’m sorry but what did you say?”

“My father did this.” You cried clenching your fists in the typical Hargrove twins way, “He went to hit Max so I stepped in front of her and took the hit. He didn’t like that so he choked me with his belt!”

Glancing out the door window he saw Billy was walking by and Steve opened the door with fury painted on his face.

“Hey Hargrove!” Steve yelled at your brother.

“What.” Billy seethed holding a cigarette between his lips.

“Thank you for protecting Y/N.”

“It’s my job.” Billy snorted, “This doesn’t change anything Harrington.”

Billy and Steve had a mutual understanding that you were the light of both their lives and you meant everything to them. They would do anything to protect you but the hatred between them didn’t lessen at all. Not even as Steve and you planned a life together and followed through with it.

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[inyournightmares97]

The Drama

Eunmi watches way too many dramas, and suddenly, everything in life starts to seem like one. Maybe life is one never-ending drama. Baekhyun/OC. College!AU. Appearances by some EXO members.

Masterlist  Mobile

“Sometimes, I think it’s a curse,” Eunmi mused lightly. She unwrapped a piece of candy leisurely between her fingers and then dropped the wrapper on the table. She briefly observed the bright red candy and then popped it into her mouth. “Mmm. Cherry. I like. Yah, give me all the red ones.”

Baekhyun  handed the half-empty bag of candies to her so she could pick out the red ones. His eyebrows were raised as he watched her from across the table. “What’s a curse?” he wondered.

Eunmi set out a handful of red candies on the table. “I’ve always hated romance dramas,” she replied. “To the point where I would sometimes start watching a drama and then drop it as soon as the sappy romance started. So God must have thought- well, this girl refuses to watch dramas on television so let’s play one out before her in real life, and see how she likes it.”

Baekhyun snickered. “Yeah? I get what you mean.”

Eunmi looked up from her collection of the red candies to the counter at the bakery, where a pretty girl in an apron was working. She looked busy as she set cakes in the display case and tucked her long, dark hair behind her ear effortlessly. The apron and uniform weren’t too flattering, but she still managed to look unnaturally pretty. “Just look at her,” Eunmi sighed, resting a hand on her chin as she glanced at the girl. “Doesn’t she just scream drama lead female?”

“I wonder why, though,” Baekhyun mused.

“Soojung is gorgeous; but in a cute way not in an intimidating way. She’s humble because her family doesn’t have much money, so she has to work her way through college. She’s extremely passionate about her work and yet she still manages to be a little dense, enough to keep the plot going.”

“Should you be talking about your best friend like that?” Baekhyun asked with a chuckle.

“Hey. I call it as I see it. Being dense isn’t a bad thing. If she catches on to the guy’s feelings too early, then what’s the point?” Eunmi popped one of the red candies into her mouth and winced. “Yuck! Why does this one taste so bad?”

“Because it’s watermelon, you idiot,” Baekhyun replied, picking up the wrapper and showing her that it was a slightly different shade of red from the cherry one. He gave her a cheeky smile. “Look at it before you eat it, at least.”

“Watermelon wrappers should be green,” Eunmi grumbled.

“But the part you eat is red.”

“But the outside is green so the wrapper should be green,” Eunmi pressed, shaking the bag at him. “And there are no other green fruits so what’s the point of having two red candies when you can have one red and one green and not put people through the trauma of eating a watermelon candy when they really wanted a cherry?”

“Because the part you eat is red.”

“Some watermelons are pink inside.”

Baekhyun sighed. “Yes, but if they made it pink then by your logic, it would clash with the strawberry,” he held up a strawberry candy. “Which is also pink.”

Eunmi made a face. “Strawberries aren’t actually pink, they’re red.”

“So you want three red candies, then? Cherry, Strawberry and Watermelon?” Baekhyun demanded.

“No. It’s two, because watermelon should be green.”

He sighed and rolled his eyes, knowing that their bickering was pointless. Baekhyun reached over to help Eunmi separate the watermelon candies from the cherry ones. She watched him pick them silently, as the door to the bakery jingled and another figure stepped in.

“Ah,” Eunmi muttered, tapping Baekhyun’s hand urgently. “Look- our lead male has made his entrance.”

Indeed, Park Chanyeol was the perfect lead male. Tall, with a presence that couldn’t be ignored and with overflowing ego and charm. He entered the bakery coolly and calmly, as if he owned it.

Which he did, in fact.

“He’s the perfect lead male,” Eunmi pressed. “He’s tall, he’s usually frowning- I heard he rejects all the girls straight away. Rich, too- his mother owns this bakery, right? And his dad is the President of some company? Must be arrogant.”

Baekhyun tilted his head slightly and frowned. “I wouldn’t say so. He’s a decent guy once you get to know him.”

“Of course he is,” Eunmi replied, as if it was obvious. She took the handful of cherry candies that Baekhyun handed her. “He has to be a decent guy to be the male protagonist. But that’s not revealed at first. He needs to look like a jerk for at least the first four episodes or it’s no fun. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Baekhyun asked.

“Well, it’s the ears that bother me,” Eunmi admitted, tilting her head. “They stick out. It’s too cute. Ruins his image a little, but that’s okay. It’ll come in handy later when she finds out he’s actually a sweet fun-loving person and the cold persona is a front he’s putting on because his parents didn’t love him enough as a kid, or his grandma died or something.”

Baekhyun couldn’t help a snicker. “You’re crazy.”

Eunmi flicked a candy at him. “Hey. If you had anything better to do, then you wouldn’t be sitting here and listening to me. You’re lucky you even get a role in this drama, idiot.”

“I get a role?” Baekhyun mused.

“Hmm. What do you want?” she tapped her chin lightly. “Second male lead? It might work. Your character is starkly different from Chanyeol’s- he’s smart and cool while you’re stupid and cheerful so the contrast works well.”

Baekhyun made a face as he unwrapped a strawberry candy. “Nah. Second male leads are always miserable and moping around by the end. I’ll just be the main lead’s best friend. I prefer to watch. Comic relief, maybe?” he offered with a cheeky smile.

“I’ll offer you a mildly touching bromance storyline with Chanyeol. Two episodes, max,” Eunmi offered.

Baekhyun grinned. “I’ll take it.”

Eunmi laughed, just as Chanyeol approached their table. The two of them fell silent and looked up at the tall and slightly intimidating boy. He gave Eunmi a brief nod of acknowledgement, before glancing at Baekhyun. “Baekhyun-ah let’s go. We’re getting late for practice,” he said in his deep voice.  

Baekhyun nodded and grabbed his bag, starting to gather his things. “Sure, just give me a second-“

There was a loud crash from the front of the bakery and everyone whirled around to look. Soojung had accidentally dropped a large metal plate. Luckily, there was nothing on it and the only damage was the loud banging noise it made. The sound of her voice apologizing repeatedly drifted over to them.

Chanyeol was staring at Soojung, his eyes shining but his lips turned down into a frown. “Does she do anything right? I wonder why we even hired that klutz,” he muttered. He turned his gaze back to Baekhyun. “Yah, hurry up.”

“Coming,” Baekhyun replied. He exchanged a knowing glance with Eunmi and smiled. “I guess that’s all for episode 1, eh?”

“We’ll discuss 2 next time,” Eunmi promised. She glanced at Chanyeol briefly. “Nice to see you, Chanyeol-ssi.”

Chanyeol nodded at her again, before walking out of the bakery with Baekhyun. Eunmi could hear them talking in low voices as they exited the bakery and Chanyeol muttered-

“Episode 2? What were you talking about?”

Baekhyun grinned. “Just a drama we’re both following.”

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Eunmi sighed as she stuffed her exam results in her backpack. Her grades had been falling slightly, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. I should stop sleeping in class, she mused to herself. She stood up from her desk when a familiar figure bounced over to her.

“Eunmi-ah!” Baekhyun greeted.

Eunmi smiled and greeted him in return. She had known Baekhyun since they were kids. He used to pick on her in middle school, but somehow as they matured, the two of them had become quite close in high school. Eunmi liked spending time with him- he was fun, and didn’t seem to mind the nonsense that came out of sometimes.

“How were your exam results?” Baekhyun asked.

“Don’t ask,” Eunmi grumbled.

“Er… okay.” He shrugged and held up his paper. “I passed. Chanyeol failed, though. He’s moping around, and he left without me, so I don’t have a ride. Take the bus with me?”

Eunmi nodded. “Sure. Let me check with Soojung- Soojung-ah! Are you going home?”

Soojung turned around and blinked. “Oh, Eunmi. I’m not going home yet. I’m headed to the library. The professor asked me to tutor somebody as a favor, so have to go meet them.” She sounded reluctant as she slung her bag over her shoulder. “You’ll never believe who- Park Chanyeol.”

Eunmi and Baekhyun exchanged knowing looks. “Oh really?”

“Chanyeol can be really unbearable at times,” Baekhyun put in, just to see how Soojung would react.

Soojung flushed a slight shade of red. “No, he’s… actually, I don’t know. Sorry. I’m going to be late, excuse me.”

She hurried out of the classroom, leaving Baekhyun and Eunmi standing alone. The two of them exchanged knowing glances before slowly walking out of the classroom themselves. The drama storyline was steadily progressing, and the pair had a lot of fun predicting what was going to happen next.

“It’s what I call the lucky-coincidence stage,” Eunmi explained calmly, as she and Baekhyun casually walked towards the nearest bus stop. He was listening to her, his constant cheeky smile on his face. “There there are a series of coincidences that push them into spending time together, even though they may not like to. It starts off unpleasant, but then they slowly get to know each other and affection develops.”

Baekhyun nodded. “Oh. Like the tutoring, and working at the bakery…?”

“Sure,” Eunmi replied. She sighed and tilted her head. “It’s funny. Usually, the leads’ friends are the ones that facilitate this stage, but you and I haven’t done anything yet. We’re pretty useless supporting characters, huh?”

“Maybe. I can’t think of anything to do, though. Chanyeol seems to be falling for Soojung just fine on his own, although he won’t admit it.”  

Eunmi cocked her head thoughtfully. “I feel like Soojung still needs some more prodding. We need to reveal a side of Chanyeol to her that she didn’t know existed, so she can fall for him. What would you say is the most charming thing about Chanyeol?”

“Ah!” Baekhyun brightened up. “He looks really cool when he plays the guitar. Why don’t you bring Soojung to the bar across from campus? We’re performing there tonight, she can see Chanyeol play!”

Eunmi reached across and gave Baekhyun a high-five.

“My friend, I love the way you think.”

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“I have a test tomorrow. Do we really have to be here?” Soojung whined as they walked into the slightly crowded bar.

Eunmi shushed her. It had taken a lot of convincing to bring Soojung to the bar, which wasn’t really her sort of place. Soojung was the typical drama lead who preferred to stay home and do responsible things instead of go out and drink. Eunmi glanced around towards the stage and instantly spotted the group of boys performing.

Baekhyun was at the mike, and Eunmi smiled and waved at him. He had an amazing voice. She had known about it since high school, when he had quietly admitted to her once that he really wanted to be a singer, but that he didn’t have the confidence to take it on as a career. It wasn’t until Chanyeol came along and recruited Baekhyun into his band that he’d even gathered the confidence to sing in public.

“Is that Park Chanyeol?” Soojung asked suddenly.

Chanyeol was playing the guitar while singing back-up vocal, and Eunmi had to admit that he looked quite handsome while doing it. Eunmi smiled at the way Soojung couldn’t tear her eyes off him. Looks like this trip had been useful after all.

“Yeah. You didn’t know that he and Baekhyun perform here sometimes?” Eunmi asked lightly. “Come on, let’s go get a drink.”

They headed over to the bar to grab drinks, and sipped them as they waited for the performance to end. Once it was over, Baekhyun immediately leapt down from the stage and bounded over to them. His hair was styled up, he’d clearly put more effort into it than he did every day. Eunmi had to pause to admire the sight of his shoulders in the black leather jacket he was wearing. He waved at them happily.

“Eunmi-ah! Soojung-ah! You came!” he said cheerfully. He gave them a wink. “What did you think of my charming vocals?”

Eunmi flushed, but rolled her eyes. “You’re a good singer.” Then, prodding him in the right direction, she gave him a meaningful look. “Where’s Chanyeol-ssi?”

“Oh.” Baekhyun grinned and turned around to wave at Chanyeol who was putting his guitar into its case and pretending like he hadn’t noticed them. “Chanyeol! Come say hi to Eunmi and Soojung! I invited them over to hear our performance!” he called.

Chanyeol trailed over, and gave both girls a brief nod. “Hi,” he greeted.

“I didn’t know you played guitar,” Soojung admitted quietly. She seemed unable to make eye contact with Chanyeol. Probably because she was feeling too shy after watching his performance. Eunmi smiled happily, wondering how to leave this awkward lead couple alone together, when Baekhyun solved the problem.

“Eunmi-ah, come help me get a drink. They always serve girls faster.”

She followed Baekhyun quickly, not giving Soojung a chance to protest her leaving. Baekhyun grasped Eunmi’s hand and pulled her a small distance away. It was slightly crowded, and Eunmi flushed when Baekhyun casually placed a hand on her back and pulled her closer to him to prevent her from hitting random people in the crowd. She couldn’t help but breathe in his scent; it was surprisingly masculine.

“Yah! Did you just sniff me?” Baekhyun demanded, looking down at her, amused.

Eunmi shrugged. “You smell nice. Sue me. You look much better dressed than usual, too. You generally turn up to class in your trackpants half the time. What’s the occasion?”

Baekhyun pouted. “Why? Comic relief isn’t allowed to look handsome?”

“Comic relief can do whatever, most of his scenes get cut anyway,” Eunmi teased. They both came to a stop at a slightly more empty part of the bar, where they still had a view of Chanyeol and Soojung. Eunmi glanced back at them, noticing that they were conversing. She sighed, suddenly wishing that somebody would look at her the way Chanyeol was looking at Soojung.

“Yah,” Eunmi muttered, poking Baekhyun. “Introduce me to that drummer of yours.”

Baekhyun paused. “Sehun? Why?”

“Because he’s good-looking,” Eunmi replied, as if it was obvious. When Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at her, she flushed slightly. “What? I’m not a lead female, a guy isn’t going to come falling into my lap. We supporting characters have to watch out for ourselves, you know.”

Baekhyun looked unimpressed. “Hmm. Well, look elsewhere. Sehun has a girlfriend.”

“How about that guy who was playing bass-“

“Kai has a girlfriend too. She’s a model.”

Eunmi made a face and slumped her shoulders. “Okay, I get the message. Your bandmates are out of my league. You can be a little nicer about it, you know? It’s not like you have some model girlfriend,” she grumbled.

Baekhyun blinked. “I’ve been thinking about dating lately.”

“You?” Eunmi asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I mean, there was that girl I dated in high school, but…” he trailed off, making a face. “That was really stupid, I can’t even remember why I liked her. I think I’m ready for a more mature relationship now. Not just somebody that’s pretty or attractive but somebody I’m compatible with and who’ll stick around for the long run.”

Eunmi stared at him for a long moment. It was odd to hear something like that coming from Baekhyun, who’s interest in girls was so fleeting that he often forgot about them before he even got around to asking them out. She blinked at him for a few moments. “You’re being creepy,” she told him bluntly.

Baekhyun laughed, embarrassed. “Why? You don’t think I could do it?”

“I mean…” Eunmi trailed off, realizing that he was being genuine. “Of course you could. It’s just hard for me to imagine you in a serious relationship. I can always count on you to be free whenever I want to hang out, and I just can’t imagine you telling me ‘oh, I can’t make it, I have a date.’ If you suddenly go get yourself a life, what am I supposed to do?” she whined.

Baekhyun chuckled, his arm wrapping around her shoulder fondly. “You get a life, too?”

“How? You won’t even introduce me to your handsome bandmates!”

“I told you, they have girlfriends already!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eunmi shrugged his arm off her shoulder and pouted. “I’m just going to live vicariously through Soojung for now. Speaking of which- is that her third drink? Man, she’s a complete lightweight, what is she thinking?” she wondered as she watched Soojung get herself another drink.

“Isn’t it a good thing? Now Chanyeol can take her home if she gets drunk.”

Eunmi narrowed her eyes. “He wouldn’t take advantage of her, would he?”

“No way! Chanyeol’s not that kind of guy.”

“Okay. Then I’ll leave her be for now.” Eunmi sighed and shook her empty drink. “I want another one too. Somehow, my mood has just gone down.”

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“Yah! Would you hold on tighter? If you fall off and hurt yourself, I’ll just leave you here!” Baekhyun warned. He reached back to readjust Eunmi on his back carefully, and then continued walking down the street. Eunmi pouted, and wrapped her arms around his neck more tightly.

“You have soft hair,” she cooed, as she pressed her cheek to his hair.

Baekhyun flushed. She was holding onto him tightly, and he could feel her breasts pressed against his back as she rubbed her cheek against his hair. They had never been so close- they’d been friends for years, but skinship wasn't something they indulged in often. “Stop touching my hair and hold on a little tighter, idiot.”

Eunmi ignored him. “What shampoo do you use?” she wondered. She let her fingers slide through his hair lightly. “It’s so soft.” She let out a giggle as she ran her hands through it again. “Soft, soft, soft.”

“Wow, you’re so drunk.” Baekhyun let out a slight huff as he continued walking down the street. “What’s with you today? You generally don’t drink beyond your limit.”

Eunmi pouted. “Why should I always be the responsible one?”

“No one’s saying you have to be-“

“W-why can’t I do something stupid and let a guy swoop in and save me?” Eunmi demanded. “Do you know how hard it is taking care of yourself? Most girls have loving and caring boyfriends who’ll take care of them when they’re drunk. I want a boyfriend  who’ll scold me fondly for drinking too much and then carry me home.”

Baekhyun stopped walking. “Yah!” he demanded. “What am I doing right now? Should I leave you here?”

Her arms tightened around his shoulders. “No,” she mumbled.

“Stop being ungrateful, then.”

“But…” she let out a small sniff. “But Baekhyun-ah. I don’t want to be a supporting character anymore. Don’t tell anyone I said this, okay? Nobody can ever know. But I’m… I’m really jealous of Soojung. I’m so jealous of her, sometimes, I hate myself.”

Baekhyun paused. “What are you saying?” he mumbled.

“You know why I hate watching dramas? B-because I wish I was the main character. I want somebody to swoop in and take care of me. I don’t want to be alone. I’m tired of being alone. I’m 22 and I’ve never been in love. So when I watch dramas, I just end up hating the female characters. Half the time, they can’t even see what’s in front of them. I’m much smarter and more sensible. Why do they get to fall in love? Why don’t I?”

Baekhyun scoffed slightly as he continued walking. “You think too much of yourself.”

“I want to fall in love,” she mumbled. Her head bounced as she closed her eyes. “I want to fall in love. I want somebody to love me!”

“Okay, I get it.”

“But.” She paused and looked down at him. “But that sounds so desperate. And it’s really embarrassing. So you can’t tell anyone, okay? You have to keep my secret.”

He smiled to himself. “I’ll keep your secret.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

They reached her apartment, and Baekhyun found that the door was already unlocked. He stepped inside the apartment, in time to see Chanyeol exiting one of the bedrooms. He froze as soon as he saw Baekhyun and looked extremely embarrassed.

“Oh. Baek, uh…” Chanyeol trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck. “Soojung was drunk… so I brought her here and put her to bed…”

Eunmi’s head snapped up from where she was dozing off on Baekhyun back. “Did you leave a note?” she demanded, pointing at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol blinked. “A note?”

“You idiot! How else is she going to know you took care of her while she was drunk? She has to know in order to fall in love with you!” Eunmi scolded him. Chanyeol looked startled.  “Go back there and leave a thoughtful, but slightly tsundere note for her to find in the morning. And… don’t sign your name directly. Sign something slightly mysterious, like CY or something.”

“How drunk is she?” Chanyeol wondered, raising an eyebrow at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun shook his head fondly. “She’s always like this.”

“I see…”

“The note isn’t a bad idea, though.”

Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck. “You think?”

Baekhyun grinned. “Sure. Give it a shot. Eunmi knows her stuff.”

Chanyeol sheepishly retreated into Soojung’s bedroom and Baekhyun sighed, before heading towards Eunmi’s. Her room was a bit of a mess, but he kicked open the door and set her down carefully on top of the comforter. Eunmi lay back on her bed and sighed loudly, her head plopping onto the pillow.

“Baekhyun-ah…”

“Hmm?” he asked.

“Are you really going to get a girlfriend?” she asked quietly.

“Why?” He sat down on the edge of the bed, and gently moved her messy hair out of her flushed face. Eunmi’s big eyes were blinking at him innocently and her lips were in a small pout. “You don’t want me to?”

“No,” she replied quietly. “I don’t like the idea of you having a girlfriend.”

“Hmm. Why not?”

“Because girls are smart and cunning. They use innocent guys like you, did you know that? You’re too pure. You don’t know how evil girls can be. I don’t want to see you falling into some girl’s trap,” she  glared at him. “Nice guys like you have bad taste in girls.”

“Are you sure about that?” Baekhyun asked.

“Sure. Don’t you watch the dramas? The lead’s innocent best friend usually falls for some pretty, characterless girl who uses him and then leaves him broken.”

“What if I dated a really nice girl?” Baekhyun wondered. “Would you be okay with it then?”

Eunmi shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because if she’s too nice, then I won’t have a justified reason to hate her. And I’ll end up being the bad person.” She sat up suddenly, her eyes widening. “Oh my God. I’ll be that clingy female childhood friend who everyone hates because she just randomly turns up halfway through the season and tries to sabotage the leads’ relationship.”

“You’ll sabotage my relationship?” Baekhyun demanded, amused.

“I will,” she decided firmly, pointing a finger at him. “I’ll forcefully kiss you in front of her so that she thinks you cheated on her. Then she’ll go home crying and I’ll have you all to myself.”

Baekhyun couldn’t hold in his laughter. “Yah. For somebody who claims not to watch dramas, you sure know a lot about them.”

“I’d rather be the supporting character than the villain,” Eunmi muttered. She lay back down, plopping her head on the pillow. “But… but villains get more screen time. I don’t know. I can’t decide.” She blinked up at Baekhyun. “What do you think?”

“I think you should sleep,” he said gently, pulling up the covers and placing them over her. “Goodnight.”

Eunmi closed her eyes as she felt a gentle pressure on her forehead. “Goodnight.”

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When Eunmi woke up, she had a headache. She sat up and trudged into the bathroom miserably, wishing she hadn’t had so much to drink the previous night. She had just picked up her toothbrush and was squeezing toothpaste onto it when she saw something yellow on her face in the mirror.

There was a post-it stuck to her forehead.

She tore it off and looked at it, only to find Baekhyun’s chicken scrawl across it. The note was brief and it read-

Have fun with your hangover!

Also- you’re no villain. You’re just full of big talk.

Eunmi had no idea what he was talking about. She crumpled up the note with a frown and tossed it in the trash can, before proceeding to brush her teeth quickly. Why had she gone out drinking when she knew that she had class the next day? Stupid, stupid, stupid…

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“I got so drunk last night,” Soojung informed Eunmi, as they both sat in class together. “I think Chanyeol took me home. He left a note. How could you leave me at the bar with him? Why didn’t you take me home yourself?” she whined.

Eunmi’s head was resting on the table and her voice sounded muffled. “You think I was sober enough to take you home? I couldn’t walk straight. Baekhyun carried me home on his back.”

Soojung paused. “Oh. That’s sweet of him.”

“Yeah, right. He’s going to whine about how heavy I was all day, just wait and see.”

Just in time, Baekhyun came over to their table with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He absent-mindedly rubbed his shoulders and gave Eunmi a pointed look. “Ahh… I’ve got this weird ache in my shoulders today. I wonder why? It’s almost as if I strained myself carrying a heavy weight around.” He had a cheeky grin on his face and Eunmi glared at him.

“If you start commenting on my weight, you’re going to have a lot more body aches to deal with,” Eunmi replied firmly, pointing a finger at him. She started to gather her bags.

“You could at least say thank you properly?” Baekhyun teased.

“Yes, okay. Eternally grateful, thanks a lot. I’ll buy you lunch,” she offered dully. She glanced back at Soojung. “You coming to eat?”

Soojung flushed. “Oh, I uh… have something I need to do.”

Eunmi shrugged, and left the classroom along with Baekhyun. He was giving her mischievous looks the whole way to the cafeteria, and Eunmi glared at him. She couldn’t help but feel like he was laughing at her in some way. After the third cheeky smile, she finally turned around and frowned at him.

“Yah. Why are you laughing at me?”

Baekhyun shrugged with a smile. “No reason.”

“I did something stupid while I was drunk, right? What did I do?” Eunmi demanded. She suddenly remembered the post-it she’d found on her forehead that morning. “And what was all that nonsense about a villain? I can’t remember most of last night beyond you piggy-backing me home.”

“Oh? That’s a pity,” Baekhyun replied as they joined the line for food. “I guess you’ll never find out, then.”

“Fine. Keep snickering to yourself,” Eunmi replied stubbornly. “There’s probably nothing, you’re just trying to get me worked up by making me think I said something embarrassing.”

“Hmm. That depends. Is there anything embarrassing you’re hiding from me?”

“No,” Eunmi said simply. She fished her wallet out of her bag and handed it to him, with a sigh. As annoying as Baekhyun was, he had hauled her drunk ass back to her apartment and gotten her home safely. “I said I’ll buy you lunch, right? Get me a tray too. I’ll go find a good table.”

Baekhyun grinned and took her wallet from her, heading over to get them both trays of food. Eunmi weaved her way through the crowded lunch area, looking for an empty table that she could save. She spotted one and headed for it quickly, barely noticing that another person was headed in the opposite direction and that she was about to crash into him.

“Whoa!”

Eunmi whirled around as the person bumped into her, and the tray he was carrying in his hands wobbled dangerously. Her hand darted out to grab the can of cola that had come tumbling off the tray and she swiftly caught it before it crashed to the floor. She smiled triumphantly to herself.

“Nice catch,” the guy said with a laugh, as Eunmi put it back on his tray. She blinked up at him. He looked extremely familiar, and her eyes widened.

“Oh! Aren’t you the bassist from Baekhyun’s band?” Eunmi asked eagerly.

Kai blinked and nodded, looking surprised. “Oh, yeah. You’re Eunmi, right? Baekhyun’s friend? You came to our gig at the bar last night. You got totally wasted.”

Oh, sheesh. He saw that? “Yeah…” Eunmi trailed off awkwardly.

“It’s okay, you were cute,” Kai said with a laugh. He was extremely attractive, and his eyes scrunched up in a really cute way when he smiled. Eunmi could only gape at his good looks. “But a word of advice- you really shouldn’t drink so much if you’re going to flirt around. Your boyfriend might get jealous. I know I would.”

Eunmi blinked. “Boyfriend?”

Kai nodded sheepishly. “Ah… I asked Baekhyun to introduce me to you, but he said you had a boyfriend. Sorry if it’s none of my business.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Eunmi replied bluntly. “Baekhyun told me you were dating a model.”

“A model? I wish!”

Eunmi folded her arms across her chest, slightly annoyed. Why had Baekhyun lied to her? How could he not say anything when such an attractive guy was showing interest in her? Kai suddenly looked uncomfortable and gave her an awkward bow.

“Ah… I should go. I’ll see you around, Eunmi-ssi.”

He hurried away quickly, and Eunmi turned around to see that Baekhyun was approaching her, a tray in each hand. He had his eyes narrowed. “Yah! It takes you this long to find a table? There’s one over there, let’s go,” he insisted.

She followed him to the table and sat down opposite him, grabbing her tray and taking the wallet that Baekhyun returned to her. She gave him a dirty look and stuffed it into her bag.

“I’m regretting paying for your lunch now,” she told him bluntly.

Baekhyun blinked. “What did I do?”

“You lied to me last night! You told me Kai had a girlfriend when he was actually interested in me!” Eunmi whined. Her arms folded across her chest and she huffed. “Do you know how long it’s been since an attractive guy showed interest in me? A long time. I can’t even remember.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “You’re better off. He’s a player.”

“That’s standard drama-material,” Eunmi pointed out, resting her chin on her hand. “The nicest love stories are the ones where an average but warm-hearted girl melts the stone-cold, but startlingly handsome player.”  

“Stop watching dramas,” Baekhyun grumbled, stuffing a spoonful of food into . “Besides. You told me I’m not allowed to get a girlfriend last night. If that’s the case, you’re not allowed to get a boyfriend either. I’m putting my foot down.”

Eunmi promptly flushed red. “What nonsense. Why would I care if you got a girlfriend?”

“You wouldn’t?” Baekhyun challenged.

“Of course not.”

“Okay. Then I’m going to confess to that girl from my Chemistry class today,” he replied coolly. He twirled his plastic spoon lightly in between his fingers. “She blushes whenever I talk to her, so I’m thinking she’ll say yes. She’s my type, too. Cute, shy, kind of innocent. I can see it working out long-term.”

Eunmi glared at him for a moment. It shouldn’t bother her, but somehow it did. Since when did Baekhyun like simpering cute girls? Her lips pursed together tightly and she gripped her chopsticks tightly between her fingers and clacked them a couple of time. “Good for you,” she forced herself to say. “Tell me how it goes later.”

Baekhyun smiled lightly. “I will.”

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“Really? He’s confessing to some girl?” Soojung wondered lightly, as they left their last class of the day. Eunmi had been in a bad mood ever since lunch and even her footsteps were a little heavier than usual. “That’s good, I guess. Baekhyun is a really nice and funny guy. He seems like he would make a good boyfriend.”

Eunmi rolled her eyes. “He’s a pain. He’s going to get rejected, just wait and see.”

“Do you want him to get rejected?” Soojung wondered.

“Don’t be silly. I don’t care what happens,” Eunmi replied firmly. She shifted her bag on her shoulders. “How are things with Chanyeol? Are you two in love, yet?”

Soojung flushed. “He… sometimes walks me home after my shift at the bakery, if it gets late,” she muttered. “I keep telling him he doesn’t need to but he says it’s not safe. It’s actually kind of sweet. I didn’t expect it from him considering how cold he usually is.”

“Hmm.” Eunmi nodded. “Looks like his good side is coming out.”

Soojung nodded. “He’s not that bad. I’m headed to my shift at the bakery right now.”

“I’ll come with you,” Eunmi offered. She let out a deep sigh. “Maybe more of those fruit candies will perk my mood up.”

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Eunmi pouted as she saw the empty rack. “Excuse me, ma’am?” she called out hesitantly, to the middle-aged woman who often worked at the bakery along with Soojung. The woman gave her the huge smile that she reserved for her best customers.

“Yes, dear?”

“You know those little bags of mixed fruit candies that are usually here…?” Eunmi trailed off.

The woman blinked apologetically. “Ah! Those. I’m so sorry, dear, we’re all sold out. We’ll get more stock tomorrow, though! They seem to be quite popular these days, don’t they?”

Eunmi forced a polite smile and then went over to an empty table to sit down. Why was today such a miserable day? Baekhyun lying to her about Kai, then suddenly going off to confess to some random girl, and now Eunmi’s favorite candies were sold out. She dropped her bag on an empty chair and put her head down, letting out a long sigh. “I hate my life,” she grumbled quietly.

There was nobody to even hear her sorrows.

She pitied herself for a short while, until she saw Baekhyun approaching through the bakery’s glass windows. All of a sudden, her heart started beating faster. Shit. Baekhyun was here. Had he confessed to the girl? Had she said yes? The bright smile on his face suddenly make Eunmi feel horrified and she wondered what she would do if, from tomorrow onwards, Baekhyun started bringing his sickeningly cute girlfriend to the bakery in the evenings.

No. Why would he do that? He would just find somewhere else to go with his girlfriend, and Eunmi would be left alone.

“Hey,” Baekhyun said cheerfully, plopping down into the seat opposite her. “You’ll never guess what-“

“Congratulations,” Eunmi cut him off bitterly. “She must have said yes, right?”

He blinked. “Huh?”

“That girl from your Chemistry class. You look happy, she must have said yes,” Eunmi pointed out. Suddenly, an unfamiliar feeling started boiling up inside of her and her hands started trembling a little. What was this? Anger? Jealousy? She wasn’t sure. “You shouldn’t come and meet me here if you’re dating her. She might get jealous. I wouldn’t like my boyfriend hanging around with other girls in cheesy places like this.”

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? I’m not going to stop meeting with you.”

“I’d rather you did,” Eunmi said suddenly. She stood up, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She gave him a scathing look, while her voice trembled. “Actually, let’s just stop this here. I don’t really feel like talking to you anymore.”

“Where are you- yah!” he called out, as Eunmi rushed out of the bakery at lightning speed.

The hell is wrong with this girl?

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“Chanyeol kissed me today.”

Eunmi was sitting on the sofa, her eyes staring blankly at the television. In her lap was a large bowl of popcorn that sat almost untouched. She’d made it for herself, but had started feeling so nauseous that she couldn’t eat any of it. The music program on television was introducing some hit new boyband and Eunmi glared at them blankly. She couldn’t bring herself to care.

“What?” Eunmi asked dully.

“Chanyeol kissed me,” Soojung said a little dreamily. She sat down next to Eunmi on the couch and poked her shoulder. “Yah. Aren’t you listening? Haven’t you been campaigning for me and him to get together since forever?”

Eunmi bit her lip. She’d been feeling on edge all evening and she turned and looked at her best friend. “Soojung-ah, I think I’m losing my mind.”

Soojung blinked. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I haven’t been able to do anything. I tried studying, but I felt so restless that I had to give up. I can’t even eat, I feel nauseous.” She gestured towards the television, where EXO was performing. “Even gorgeous men dancing seductively on stage hasn’t been able to calm me down. I feel like I’m going to throw something if anyone dares to rub me the wrong way right now.”

Soojung backed away slightly. “Okay…”

“I feel like… I feel like screaming.”

“Did something happen?” Soojung asked.

“I don’t know. I just keep picturing Baekhyun’s pretty face and I want to punch it, over and over and over again. Until he dies. And then I’ll strangle that cute girl from his Chemistry class until her face is purple and bury them together so they can live happily ever after in the afterlife.”

Soojung sighed. “You talk a lot.”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean, you make a lot of big talk and pretend to be all cool but the reality is, you don’t even have the guts to admit that you like Baekhyun,” Soojung replied simply. She folded her arms across her chest and looked down at her. “Gosh, it’s like watching a drama.”

“A drama?”

“Yeah. You know. The childhood best friends that are madly in love with each other, but somehow they take a painfully long time to admit it, and you feel like slapping them because they’re so oblivious.”

Eunmi stared at her. “You’re wrong.”

“Am I? So you’re not simply sitting here and sulking because you’re jealous that Baekhyun wants to confess to someone else?” Soojung wondered. “You realize he didn’t even do it, right?”

Eunmi felt her heart freeze. “He didn’t confess?”

“Nope. You made a scene and ran out of the bakery without even listening to him. Why would he confess to someone else? He’s crazy about you. Chanyeol says Baekhyun’s liked you for a really long time. Sometimes, we sit together and laugh about how cute and drama-like you two are.”

“We do that about you guys!” Eunmi protested, pointing a finger at her friend.

Soojung chuckled. “Really?”

Eunmi nodded, feeling a little blank. “You… you really think Baekhyun has feelings for me?”

Soojung tossed Eunmi’s handbag at her. “My drama just ended a few minutes ago,” she said simply. “Time for you to go get your ending. Don’t drag it on, please? It’s been long enough.”

Eunmi took the handbag and stood up, but she froze. What was she supposed to do? Go up to Baekhyun and say oh, I didn’t realize I liked you until you decided to confess to someone else and then I nearly lost my mental stability? Her cheeks flushed pink at the thought and she sat down again. She couldn’t confess to him. She just couldn’t. Even if there was the chance that he liked her back, it was too embarrassing. She buried her face in her hands and groaned loudly.

There was a knock at the front door.

“Yah! Eunmi, open up!” Baekhyun’s voice sounded loudly.

Eunmi panicked. “Tell him I’m not here,” she insisted, before running into her bedroom. She shut the door behind her quickly and then crossed over to the other side of the bed, crouching on the floor in the small gap between the bed and the dressing table. She pulled her knees closer to her chest and shut her eyes, listening intently.

“Eunmi- talk to her-“ she heard Baekhyun’s voice faintly. Soojung said something in response.

There was the sound of footsteps approaching the door and Eunmi squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her heartbeat pound. Someone opened her bedroom door. She heard Baekhyun let out a sigh and he sounded annoyed. “Are you hiding right now?” he called out. “Yah, how old are you?”

Eunmi stayed silent as Baekhyun walked around the bed and spotted her squeezed in the tiny gap. He laughed and moved closer, holding his hand out to help her up. “You should at least hide better. Come on, get up.”

“Don’t want to,” she mumbled.

“You have to.” He grabbed one of her hands, tugging her out of the gap and pulling her onto her feet. Eunmi’s face was red and she avoided eye contact with him. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow. “Why are you acting so shy all of a sudden? Are you seriously going to be this way? I don’t like shy, blushing girls for your information.”

Eunmi glared at him. “Then get lost, you -“

“That’s more like it,” he said with a laugh. He suddenly pulled Eunmi closer, wrapping her in her arms. She froze in shock as her face met with his chest and he nuzzled his cheek against her hair gently. “You’re a really jealous person, aren’t you? I never realized this about you. It’s okay. I think slightly obsessive girls are fine.”

Eunmi squirmed in his grasp. “I’m not obsessive-“

“You didn’t storm out of the bakery and tell me to stop talking to you because you thought I confessed to another girl?” he pressed.

“That’s not why-“

“Then why did you storm out?”

Eunmi was silent. She had no answer, and Baekhyun’s arms still wrapped around her were making her heartbeat thud. She wriggled in his grasp again, but he held her firmly. “I don’t know- I just-“ she sighed and bit her lip. “You know why, or you wouldn’t be doing this.”

Baekhyun grinned. “I know. I want you to say it.”

“I won’t,” Eunmi challenged.

“Won’t you?”

“Nope.”

He leaned forward and kissed her. Eunmi was shocked for a few seconds, but as his lips slowly moved over hers and his arms slid down to her waist, she felt her heartbeat racing. Baekhyun’s lips were soft and his embrace warm. Without realizing it, she was kissing him back, pressing her lips against his eagerly and wrapping her arms around his neck. Baekhyun smiled into the kiss. “Will you say it now?” he whispered lightly, pulling away from her to place a kiss on her jawline.

Eunmi flushed. “No.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Wow, you’re stubborn. I’m having second thoughts about this. Maybe I should have gone after the girl from Chemistry class after all-“

“Don’t you dare.” She pointed a finger at his chest. “I’ll sabotage-“

“-my relationship, I know,” Baekhyun said with a grin. He let out a mock sigh. “Well, you leave me with no choice. I really want a girlfriend. Since you’re saying you won’t let me be happy with anyone else, I’ll have to settle for you as my girlfriend.”

Eunmi pouted and pushed him away. “When did you become so mean?” she whined.

Baekhyun laughed. “It’s your fault! I had a perfect confession prepared but you didn’t let me go through with it. I even brought you these,” he said. There was a box lying near the entrance to the door, and Baekhyun released her for a second to go and fetch it. It was about the length of his arm and wrapped in pretty pink wrapping paper. “Go ahead, open it.”

Eunmi hesitated. “A gift?”

“Christmas is coming up. It was going to be a present and I was going to confess then, but…”

Eunmi blinked and slowly removed the wrapping paper from the box before opening it. It was sealed quite tightly and she had to rip off the tape before the lid came open. fell open.

Inside, were hundreds of tiny, red cherry fruit candies.

“Oh my God,” she mumbled.

Baekhyun grinned. “You like? I bought all the mixed fruit packets and then picked out the cherry ones. It took me a whole week, you know,” he added with a pout. “Also, I have these huge bundles of strawberry, watermelon and mango ones at home that are probably going to go uneaten…”

Eunmi laughed. It was so silly, but she suddenly felt tears coming to her eyes. Baekhyun knew her so well. Why had she been looking for love in all the wrong places, when he was right here? She sniffed slightly and rubbed away a tear with the back of her hand.

“Whoa, are you crying?” Baekhyun asked, panicked. “It’s stupid, right? I know it’s stupid. I should have just gone with the necklace like Chanyeol said, it was way more romantic-“

Eunmi shook her head, before quickly throwing her arms around Baekhyun’s neck and silencing him. “It’s so sweet and romantic, I don’t know whether to cry or cringe,” she mumbled against his shoulder. “Baekhyun-ah…”

Baekhyun smiled. “Hmm?”

She hesitated. “Oh god, I still can’t say it. It’s too embarrassing. I feel like you’ll laugh at me.”

“I’ll say it, then,” he said finally. He leaned down to peck her lips again, giving her a cheeky smile. “Eunmi-ah, I love you. Stop looking for dramas in other places, okay?”

Eunmi smiled and nodded. “Got it.”

He chuckled. “Oh, and one more thing.”

“Hmm?”

“If you even talk to Kai…”

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[jercythesiscrying]

Karasuno Music Shuffle | Ch. 1/2 | Misc Ships, G, 1.4k

NaNoWriMo Day 5: iPod Shuffle

Summary: Rules: 1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like. 2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle. 3. Write a ficlet/drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it’s over. No lingering afterwards! 4. Do ten of these, and then post them.

Basically a collection of ficlets/drabbles featuring various Karasuno members.

Read on Ao3

A/N: This was one of the prompts I was super excited for this month and I'm so glad I got to relieve my younger years doing a shuffle challenge. I swear I will single-handedly bring this meme back because it's so fun  /)w(\  Enormous thank you to @bearixt for the excellent beta!! ♥

(Fic under the cut!)

Bed of Lies - Nicki Minaj ft. Skylar Grey

Koushi turns over in bed, sheets shifting with his movement. His right nostril begins to unclog as he lies on his left side, and he sniffs, relieved that he can finally breathe through it again.

He closes his eyes, tears still leaking out despite the fact that he’s been crying for god knows how long now. His breath hitches, and he bites his lip, trying forget about the heaviness in his heart.

He thought that seeing Daichi in person would help things, would remind the both of them what they had started, why they had held on for so long.

He was wrong.

Daichi had looked away, unable to meet his eyes, mumbling a half-hearted apology before walking away.

Koushi didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye.

Hours later, stomach empty, body exhausted, face wrinkled with a mournful frown and sticky with tears, he wraps himself in his blanket and tries to go to sleep.

Anybody Else - Orianthi

Chikara looks up at the stage, gazing at the guitarist plucking a powerful succession of chords. The accompanying bass rhythm and drumbeat compels him to continue staring at the man strumming his heart away, sweat dripping down his temples.

The guitarist begins to sing, and Chikara gasps. He’s mesmerized by the way his voice carries a heaviness to every single word in the lyrics. Chikara wonders if his heart has been broken recently—how else can someone as stunning as him possibly sing with so much sorrow?

The man’s buzzcut, tattoos, and piercings don’t intimidate Chikara in the slightest. As he plays centre-stage, Chikara can only see the softness in his actions, hear the tenderness in his voice.

All too soon, the song ends and the next ballad begins. The members shuffle around, the lead vocalist taking centre-stage once more. Chikara lets out a whine without thought—he wants, needs, to see that guitarist again. He needs to hear his voice once more.

Paradise City - Guns N’ Roses

Yuu and Ryuu are belting their hearts out to random songs shuffling on Ryuu’s phone, which is now playing an American rock song filled with hard vocals and an electric guitar. Surely, whatever the two of them are babbling are not the song’s lyrics, but they don’t care, yell-singing the words anyway.

They dance around Ryuu’s room, using a ruler (Yuu) and a hairbrush (Ryuu) as their mics. In the background, Narita bangs his head to the beat, using two pencils to tap along. Kinoshita bops his head side-to-side, singing along with amused interest where he sits cross-legged on the bed.

“SO FAAAAAR AWAAAAAAY!” they yell together into Ryuu’s hairbrush. Vaguely, Yuu wonders why Ryuu even has one—he certainly hasn’t needed it since he buzzed his hair off in their first year.

"TAAAAKE! MEEEE! HOOOOOME!"

This is the scene that Ennoshita walks in on. The expression he wears is half amused, half annoyed, but overall exasperated.

Nothing unusual, when Yuu thinks about it.

“Chikara!” he yells over the music. “Join us!” Next to him, Ryuu continues to belt his beautiful heart out, singing into the hairbrush in earnest now.

Ennoshita shakes his head, walking over to Ryuu’s desk and cleaning up the abandoned homework placed on top.

At the undeniably epic guitar solo, Ennoshita turns around, whipping out a pencil to sing:

"Oh, won’t you please take me home!"

Ryuu cries out in joy and Yuu bellows in celebration with him.

Keijou Kioku Shisei No Pavaanu - Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge OST

Kiyoko walks down the hall, on her way to the gym for club activities, when she hears a melancholic melody coming from the opposite direction. Compelled, she turns at the heel, slowly walking towards the source of the music.

She’s led to a music classroom, where a girl with choppy blonde hair sits alone at the piano. When she finishes the piece, her fingers lay silent atop the ivory keys.

Love Robots - Noisy Freaks

Tobio takes in the nightclub, shuffling his feet with crossed arms as he glares at everyone.

It’ll be fun! Hinata said. You can take a break from volleyball for one night! he said.

As if Hinata has any right to talk. Both of them stay the longest after practice; they clean up the gym together late into the night when they physically cannot play anymore.

Whatever, he thinks, rolling his eyes.

The song blasting throughout the club has a funky beat, a digitized voice saying random one-liners that Tobio doesn’t understand. Somewhere in the middle of the sea of bodies bumping together is Hinata. Tobio convinces himself that he can spot his volleyball partner only because of his outrageously bright orange hair.

“Come join me!” he sees Hinata yell at him.

Tobio pointedly looks away, decidedly not doing that.

Going Down - Jake Chudnow

Kei looks up above him, leaning back into his arms crossed behind his head. He stares curiously at the night sky, feeling the cool, dewy grass beneath him. His mom will be angry if he gets grass stains on his shirt again, though this time he wore his autumn vest, so hopefully the stains don’t set.

He begins to reflect on his day.

He knows what people say about him: that he’s unapproachable, kind of rude, quiet unless directly spoken to. That’s fine with him. He’s busy thinking about other things anyway, things that are much cooler—like how dinosaurs lived on Earth billions of years ago, and how there are more stars in the sky than he can even begin to count, each with their own solar system and orbit.

People are dumb. Kei doesn’t care for them.

Good Time - Owl City ft. Carly Rae Jepsen

Coach Ukai is the one to invite the team to his grandpa’s place. Apparently, the old coach owns a cabin beside a river that can help everyone cool off from the blistering summer heat. Not only does the team come along, but both managers and Saeko nee-san blessedly join in too. The coaches are also there, but that’s the last thing on Yuu’s mind.

Asahi-san accidentally drops his phone into the river after Daichi-san bumps into him, and he moans about how he has to buy another one yet again. Yuu laughs at him, a hand clapping his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Asahi-san!” he exclaims. “I’ll come with you to get a new one!” Asahi-san groans with defeat.

The rest of day passes filled with laughter, cannon balls, and sliced watermelon.

Barcelona - Ed Sheeran

Suga gets pulled into the crowd. He’s rushed in with a throng of people who have been (unwillingly) volunteered into joining the flamenco dancers gathering in the middle of the plaza. Daichi can’t do much but gaze after Suga’s back, head thrown back in laughter.

One of the female dancers takes his hand, and the two begin to dance together. Suga is a horrible partner, definitely born with two left feet as far as Daichi’s concerned, but the wide smile on Suga’s face is unmistakable. Daichi grins.

When the song ends, Suga returns to him, eyes sparkling bright under the Spanish moonlight.

Coffee - Yuna

Kiyoko tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, pen scratching her notebook.

But if we do these practices instead of those, then we’ll also have time for weight training...

She marks this down in her notes, frowning at her messy scrawl. She wishes her writing were much neater, like Hitoka-chan’s.

She hears the seat in front of her drag against the floor, and she looks up to see Hitoka-chan taking a seat, setting down two coffee cups on the table. Kiyoko flashes a smile at her kouhai. Hitoka grins back.

Pride (In the Name of Love) - U2

Shouyou whoops, a bright peel of laughter escaping his lips as he cups Tobio’s chin with his hands. Tobio holds onto Shouyou’s knees tightly, a small smile appearing on his own face.

Around them, the Tokyo Pride Parade is in full swing, rainbow confetti scattering in the air like colourful snowflakes. Like him and Shouyou, many people have someone perched on their shoulders, and together, they all scream in rejoice.

“You okay down there, Tobio?” Shouyou eventually asks, leaning forward just enough for Tobio to meet his gaze when he looks up. His boyfriend’s eyes are alight with happiness and Tobio can’t help but grin up at him.

“I’m just fine,” he promises.

Because, really, how can he not be?

Read chapter 2 here → See additional notes here →