#see it’s not just about the ‘oh he pretended to be friendly and then betrayed you! oh no!’

[goldensunset]

pla was like hey what if you got sent back in time to a world where a bunch of people hate you for existing and think you must be evil and force you to perform herculean tasks daily just to be tolerated except there’s this one guy who seems to genuinely like you and he thinks it’s really cool that you’re an outsider from another world and he’s there for you in your worst moment when no one else is brave enough to help and then later after it’s all been resolved you find out that this entire mess was his fault in the first place he’s the reason that you’re here he’s the reason that the world was ending and you got blamed for all of that and he turns on you suddenly and reveals he was just using you to achieve his own selfish goal and after you put a stop to him he curses you for being an outsider sent here just to stop him and now suddenly he genuinely hates you more than anyone else because it has dawned on him that you are the epitome of all that he wishes he could be

[yesimwriting]

i know the general consensus is that oliver is using bestfriend! reader to get to felix but i do wonder if the more he spends time around felix and you that the line between hate and something akin to what he feels for felix blur a little. when did he find your naivety become endearing instead of annoying; when did he find interest in kind of books that you often rattle on about— i think him liking reader is funny but also a good point of conflict for him and felix and just felix himself. kinda forces him to address his totally not platonic affections for reader. (also oliver and reader dynamic in my mind is basically just olivia rodrigo's lacy)

in honor of me now having officially seen lacy live :))

also i have had lacy on my mind for them for such a long time it feels like you've crawled into my brain omg

they also remind me of the song girl crush (i love the harry styles cover of that song omg)

----

"Stalker."

Oliver hadn't meant for the nail of his thumb to start tracing the sharp crease forever dented into the spine of one of your paperbacks, but the strangeness of it had been too tempting.

The Virgin Suicides. The title doesn't seem to suit your taste, and yet there it was, well worn and tucked into the corner of your small shelf lovingly, next to the first few installments of Harry Potter.

"Oh, I--" He should have been more focused, he should have worked harder at listening for you over the music coming from your CD player. "I was just..."

You're staring at him, charcoal colored product smeared beneath both of your eyes now. When he first showed up at your door, about fifteen minutes early, you had only completed your left eye.

The night has a way of changing you, of making you look a little older. The makeup, your low cut top, the length of your skirt. It all works together to blur away any uncertainty in the way you hold yourself. Oliver's seen it--you--like this before, but for whatever reason, it's hitting him harder than usual.

He swallows, fighting the thrown feeling to take in your expression. Your eyes give away little about what you're feeling, but the set of your lips betrays you. There's the slightest lift to the corner of your mouth. You're amused. You're joking.

"Kidding," you grin, "You can relax."

Oliver lets out an exaggerated breath to play up his relief. You're harder to crack than you should be, the most significant piece in the puzzle that is Felix's favor, but there are a few things that Oliver has figured out about you. The first is that your loyalty runs deep, so once he's in with you he's in for life.

The second is that you like being the good guy. It's not the same as Felix's desire to play in the macabre until it, too, bends to his will and morphs into something good, but it's similar enough. You like making people feel at ease, you like having people trust you.

"Do you read?" Your question is genuine. You even lean against your bathroom's doorframe to make it clear that you're listening.

The fact that you felt the need to ask reminds Oliver of how little you actually know about him. Felix is attached to you like he is no other, so Oliver's been around you, but he hasn't managed to make it across the line that divides friendly from friend. You're polite, kind even, but it's clear that something about Oliver hasn't clicked with you. Yet.

Your unfamiliarity should shake him, should make him regret pretending to get the time wrong to buy himself some time alone with you in an attempt to thaw the ice. But if anything, his novelty in your mind grounds him. Any indifference or dislike you feel towards him isn't personal. You just don't know him.

To you, Oliver is a blank canvas that he can paint to reflect exactly what you want in a friend. "A little," he answers, "I've gotten more into it recently, still looking for recommendations."

"You can borrow the one you were looking at, if you want." There's a shy quality to your response that briefly gives him a flash of what Felix might see in you. "It's a little eerie, but beautiful. Definitely one of those books you'll either really love or really hate, no in-between."

Oliver nods. Reading isn't a terrible way to find an in with you. "Sounds interesting." He takes a slight step forward. "Hopefully, I'll love it because after what you said to Lucas in class, I'm scared to not agree with you."

Your eyes briefly dart to the ground, a bashful grin playing at your lips. "Oh my god, don't remind me."

The one good thing about Oliver's too-brutal-for-an-elective literature for creative writing class is the fact that it gives him something to have in common with you.

"You made good points." You shake your head at the compliment, expression still lighthearted enough for Oliver to know that he's still treading on safe ground. "And honestly, needed a break from hearing Lucas's thoughts on the canon for the fifth time in the same hour."

"Thank you." Your tone is full of the satisfaction that comes from vindication. "He's the worst kind of English major."

"The worst," he echoes.

Your smile hints at a camaraderie that Oliver should find satiating. After all, that's what he came here for. A few stolen moments in which Felix wouldn't be able to distract either of you.

Oliver's eyes drift towards the collage decorating the wall your bed is pressed against. A lot of it is made up of scraps, pieces from magazines, post cards and notes from friends, some scrapbooking material to fill awkward spaces. But there are also pictures. Most of them of you and Felix.

A disposable clearly taken by your best friend stands out. You're laughing, Felix is staring at you, the arm that isn't holding the camera around your shoulders. There's an unabashed affection behind Felix's gaze that Oliver can feel in the pit of his stomach. It'd be one thing if the two of you were drunk or inebriated in one way, but the background of the photo is so mundane. The two of you are in a coffee shop, daylight still streaming in from the window next to you.

What is about you?

The question cuts through him from the inside out, the same way it always does. This, his mind reminds him, this is why he doesn't let himself be around you...because he can pretend all he wants, can attempt to convince himself that the visceral feeling that strikes him in the chest whenever you laugh; or pull your lips into a pout; or look at him like he's more than static is as simple as hatred. It won't change anything.

You'll still be goodhearted, enough of you rooted in your own world to let you stay that way. You'll still have that off kilter sense of humor and the way you pinch your eyebrows together when you're pretending to get something everyone else does. You'll still have your cherry lip gloss and perfectly smudged eyeliner. You'll still be the one that Felix eventually realizes he's in love with.

There's no reason to hold this against you. You're blissfully unaware of most of the things that twist Oliver's stomach into careful knots, and the little you're actually aware of, you're kind about.

Oddly enough, that only makes it worse.

The sharp nausea that comes from thinking about you too much isn't something to act on. If Oliver lets himself lean into his bitterness even slightly, all of his careful planning will have been for nothing. Felix would never keep anyone around that hurt you. Even Farleigh's learned to temper his snark, keeping any comments made about you lighthearted enough for you to laugh off.

Besides, there's nothing to gain from hurting you. With those eyes and soft, eager to please smiles, it'd probably feel like kicking a puppy.

"You sounded good, though," he mumbles, "Smart."

You beam at him, the look so warm and real Oliver's once again forced to understand why Felix cares about you so much. "I think I sounded a little crazy, but I like your version better." You scratch the back of your arm, the movement almost nervous. "Thanks."

He forces a smile, letting silence fall over the two of you. If you were as predictable as the others, Oliver would have some kind of direction on what to give you.

"If you want something to drink..." You trail off, head turning to look at the mini fridge tucked into the corner of your dorm. "Felix was going to bring something, because my fridge is basically empty. I think I have some leftover vodka in my closet, but it's the mixed drink bottle from last week, so a single shot could be a lot...and it's pink now, and I think it was more orange last week."

You shift your weight from foot to foot as you ramble. "But I don't remember a lot of last Saturday. Ironically, because of what's in the closet." You let out a self deprecating laugh. "But no judgement if you want to be that drunk. Seriously."

It's the kind of statement that would feel sarcastic from anyone else. Oliver can tell you mean it.

He didn't plan on getting that drunk tonight, but then again, he rarely does. Oliver's gotten into the habit of following Felix's lead, letting him set the tone of the night.

"We could do a shot together." Oliver keeps his voice low, casual in its hesitance.

Taking shots with people you're not the most familiar with seems to be your form of low stakes bonding. More often than not, it seems to be a girl thing, but Oliver's seen enough exceptions to not feel weird about asking. The only time Farleigh openly gets along with you is after the two of you make a game of who can down a round fastest.

"Yeah." You smile, visibly easing. "Sounds fun."

Oliver has a feeling that your relief is more about having something to do with your hands than the promise of alcohol. The only part of you that ever indicates insecurity is your uncertainty. Like you're afraid someone's going to tap you on your shoulder and tell you that something about your last social interaction was objectively wrong.

You turn, walking towards your closet. There's the creek of old hinges and then a slight laugh. "If we get drunk enough before Felix gets here, he's going to have a really stressful night."

You're different when you're drunk, touchier and more susceptible. Oliver swallows. You could be joking. You're usually joking.

"He could use some stress," he mumbles, attempting to reflect your usual brand of humor, "He's had it too good for too long."

You laugh again, the sound fuller this time as you shut the closet door. "Where would he be without us to humble him?"

The thought of him holding the same level of significance in Felix's life as you do clouds Oliver's mind. That is so you, to say something so inviting and disorientating just as he's resolving the way he sees you. "Nowhere good."

You place a small, plastic cup in front of him before setting down your own. The liquid in the bottle is an egregious shade of pink for what once was plain vodka. You were right to point it out. Oliver's stomach starts to turn just looking at it.

"Okay," you start filling his cup first, as innocently as if you were offering him lemonade. "This might kill us."

Oliver doubts anything that bad would ever happen to someone like you. He watches you fill your own cup, the liquid draining from the bottle much faster than it should. "It might with the way you're pouring it."

"What?" You start twisting the lid back onto the bottle. "That's a standard shot."

"Standard to who?" The question is more for the sake of arguing than genuine concern. A lot of your friendship with Felix seems to be made up of pointless bickering.

You glare at him, "I don't know, like standard standard."

You're the kind of person that enjoys reading for fun and sitting by the pond to feed ducks and yet you're willing to drink like that. "Sounds exact."

You pick up your cup, squinting at its contents. "Standard-ish." Clearly. You extend your arm slightly, Oliver takes the hint, picking up his own overfilled cup. He taps the edge of his cup against yours. You return the gesture immediately. "One...two..."

The two of you down your drinks in unison. You both regret your choices immediately. It's more than just the sting of alcohol, it's the nauseating taste of everything that was considered left over at the end of last week's party mixed together.

His eyes meet yours, and there's an immediate, wordless understanding. That was disgusting. Despite your mutual repulsion, the two of you are smiling.

Oliver's reminded of a gesture he's seen you and Felix exchange between rounds. A version of a kiss so quick and casual, it does manage to pass as something close to platonic. At the very least, platonic compared to you on Felix's lap, you in Felix's bed in nothing but his T-shirt...

You smell like Felix. It doesn't matter how much of that start-of-spring perfume you wear, it never fully covers the faint aroma of cigarettes and luxury fabric softener. Oddly enough, the artificial scent seems determined to linger on anything that isn't you, often making Felix smell like you. It's such a common occurrence, sometimes if Oliver's not thinking about it, it's hard to remember what comes from you and what comes from him.

It's easy to wonder if that level of entanglement applies to other things. If you'd feel like Felix. You wear his clothes often enough. Or, if Felix feels like you. He's in the habit of using the lotions and products you leave in his room.

You set down your disposable cup. "That was a lot grosser than I remember it."

"A lot," he echoes, discarding his own cup.

----

taglist; @vader-is-hot @spiritofbuddha @getosangie @freyafriggafrey @ilovehyperfixating @aryiannarae @willowpains @ker0senebunny

[rollawaycurly]

i have something to add to the discourse regarding the "toxic yaoi" in the mouthwashing fandom.

curly and jimmy are NOT toxic yaoi during or even before the game events. if you see the events that happen after the crash and insist to ship it, pretending to act as if it's a healthy ass relationship after the crash you are shipping an abusive relationship, which isn't toxic yaoi, its serious. it's a one sided, very UNHEALTHY relationship with a power imbalance. you as an individual do not get to call it "toxic yaoi" and it is VERY disrespectful and disgusting to do so.

but, i want to talk about how people are ignoring the relationship they have had before EVERYTHING. they have known each other for years and since they were younger, curly says this himself. they have seen each other through literally everything. if you put logic to this, they have a bond together, a very very large bond. before the crash, curly holds jimmy higher than everyone else, even anya as most of you know. if you look back on how they interacted and how curly looked out for everyone else, jim is the bigger picture. he is always apart of the bigger picture. you cannot tell me they didn't have some sort of connection with each other through the thick of it. more than just a "friendly" one. curly allowed jimmy to go to the cockpit because he trusted him. jimmy is a very mentally disabled man with a fucked up view on himself and life as a whole, ultimately betraying this trust that curly has built up throughout the years. betrayed EVERYTHING because of his selflessness. jimmy does not deserve that man anymore. jimmy is his own problem and he got what was coming for him. i dont know, i have more to say but it's hard to get my words grinding in my brain so please just try to see what im getting at. i also want to reiterate that i am not supporting ANY actions of jimmy nor the weird ass relationship that is going around oh my gyatt... freaks....

[tinyteaberry]

Yandere! Genshin headcanons

Just for some of my favorites, I'm a little excited to post so this is to keep me sane until I'm finished with bigger pieces.

Hope u enjoy, and feel free to request any specific character for next time as well! <3

characters: Al-Haitham, Kamisato Ayato, Raiden Ei, Ganyu

conent/warnings: Yandere, possesive characters, unhealthy relationship dynamics, manipulative behavior

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ ｡˚ ✧

Al-Haitham

-He pretends that he doesn’t know that the way he feels so strongly for you is wrong.

-He almost gaslights himself into believing it's true, too, he’s just so nonchalant about it, it just feels right to trust his own judgment.

-It’s normal for boyfriends to be protective, right? 

-So, it’s okay for him to want to harm anybody who so much as looks your way, or bumps into you, or speaks to you, or sits next to you, or-

-Yep! He doesn’t like it when you disagree with him. 

-After all, it would be foolish to challenge such a high intellect as his. Obviously he knows what he’s talking about, clearly he’s right, so don’t bother trying to argue and admit he’s right.. He isn’t too keen on letting go of his pride, even when it comes to matters with his darling. 

“What? They were practically undressing you with their eyes, so naturally I had to tell them to back off. Really, you can be so dramatic sometimes. I didn’t say anything out of line. Come on, you know it’s best to just avoid other men, anyways.”

Kamisato Ayato 

-He knows that what he’s doing and feeling isn’t right or normal. But, he’s head of the Kamisato Clan, who would dare speak up to tell him otherwise? 

-Not that he’d value anybody else’s opinion, anyways.  

-Although you did- for some reason, it seems as soon as you entered your relationship with Ayato, people began to act very different towards you.

-Even Thoma, usually so friendly, became anxious in your presence.

-Little did you know, Kamisato Ayato deemed having a little word about how they behaved around you necessary. 

-Of course, you were to remain none the wiser of this. So from your perspective, it just seems things change when you become a part of the Kamisato family.

-But if there's one thing in your new life that will remain the same, it’s Ayato himself.

-He weaves sweet words and promises into his threats to you, so that you have no choice but to obey him, and you’d feel bad for ever doubting him. -After all, if you didn’t, he’d feel oh-so betrayed and disappointed in you, dear. 

“Oh love, you have no reason to speak with him again. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about such matters, alright? Or I might not let you into the city again. I just adore you so much, I can’t stand to see you wasting your time on such petty things. So just stay beside me at all times, okay?”

Raiden Ei 

-Oh, yes, the shut-in God of Electro herself.

-Since she spends so much time away from people even nowadays, she just doesn’t see the problem with you doing the same. 

-She survived without interaction from the outside world for so many years, and besides, for you it would be different.

-You had her to be with! So where was the issue? 

-If she was fine on her own for so long, then you could spend eternity with her, and that was that.

-She would take the utmost care to make sure you were comfortable in your new, permanent, home.

-All your favorite flora and fauna in a dedicated garden she made just for you, all of the foods you enjoy stocked up, everything decorated in your favorite colors and patterns…

-It was paradise, truly. All for you. Don’t you love it? Of course you do.

“Nonsense. You don’t need to go out there anymore! We have everything you could ever need right here, so you won’t ever have to leave me. And anyways, I could always have someone from the Tenryou commission deliver anything if necessary. We can remain together now for all of eternity, now! Oh, I’m just so happy. Aren’t you excited for our new life together?”

Ganyu 

-I feel she’s the manipulate type, but without realizing it 

-She just wants to make sure you’re safe, is that really such a bad thing? 

-You’re the only one who she can truly be herself with, and wants to repay you for everything you’ve done for her in any way she can (That being chasing away anyone else you interact with, that is)

-She just adores you ever so much, she has no choice but to take you away to be kept all to herself! It’s for the best.

-She’ll take the best care of you! She helps you pick out your outfits, she’ll bathe with you, cook for you!

-Whether or not you appreciate her affections is up to you, but it’s recommended to at least pretend to enjoy them.

-Otherwise you’ll hurt her feelings, and who would want to upset sweet Ganyu?

“O-oh! Um, I didn’t realize you wouldn’t.. I-I thought you might appreciate it, but it appears I, ah, miscalculated. Hm? Oh, you did enjoy the sweets I baked you? G-good! No, I didn’t put anything different in them, what do you mean they taste a bit strange?”

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ ｡˚ ✧

[theerurishipper]

Another thing I dislike is how people still demonize katara for being angry at zuko - yeah maybe katara didn't need to spend as much time she did being harsh to zuko... but zuko also didn't need to burn down the innocent villagers'houses, yell at Iroh multiple times and call him fat over and over again and yell at his soldiers and the gaang when none if them did anything to deserve it and steal the ostrich horse + kidnap and blackmail katara and also indirectly get aang killed, traumatizing katara by proxy and betray both of them. Zuko was a sympathetic antagonist, but that doesn't change the fact that he wasn't a very nice person at the beginning - zuko himself understands that and he doesn't hold it against her.

And this is q blink and miss moment, but katara actually saved Zuko when he fell during the Bruning rock episode. She had a motivation to just let him fall and pretend it was an accident but she saved him even though she hated him because she's a good person who's not going to let somebody die over a grudge, regardless of how justified it is.

Obviously she didn't like him and made it clear several times but there's no proof she'd bodyshame and mock Zuko or abuse him. Katara hates wirh a passion and holds her foot down on her own, bur she's not cruel or a bad person.

Oh definitely. I personally haven't actually seen this happen, but I have no doubt that it does. Katara is not to blame for wanting to be wary of Zuko even after he joined them, and she isn't in the wrong for threatening him. Even in the episodes, even though she can be a little snappy with him, she usually is cordial enough to him, even if she isn't friendly. We see her accepting tea from him and all that, she isn't going out of her way to insult and demean him or anything of the sort. And like you said, she did save him in TSR. She isn't cruel or awful. Katara is a good person who has complicated feelings about Zuko because of what he did to her in the past, and she has every right to feel that way. Zuko doesn't begrudge her that, and ultimately they became close friends. Anyone who bashes on Katara for her valid feelings needs to reevaluate their opinion.

Thank you for your ask!

[kyogre-blue]

This awful nightmare month had FOUR paralogues. So tiring. And they don't even let me kill Flayn or Seteth! Or let me see Rhea murdering those two NPC imperial suckups. Disappointing all around.

To get my notes under the char limit, I'll put the part about the first paralogue here.

Immediately after Claude's death/deportation, we get invaded by Almyra. Holst "fell ill" but big doubt.jpg, since he does not show his face to either Hubert or Edelgard (Hubert can only comment that "it's said" that Holst looks and smells awful). The Alliance supposedly can't cooperate enough to muster forces to support the Locket, even though we just spent lots of time playing up how Claude maneuvered everything to go down with the least amount of damage possible and how the Alliance has been extremely peaceful and cooperative to our occupation and invasion. The Goneril soldiers book it immediately when we arrive, no green units for us. And at the end, Holst politely passes the duty of guarding the Locket to the Empire. Which is another way of saying he refused to do it anymore, possibly on account of the dead little sister. You know, just maybe.

This is hilarious in general, and you can read all kinds of funny things into it, especially since this is the route where the game lies to you all the time with a straight face, so you are free to interpret practically all things you're told as complete bullshit (and you'll be provably right at least half the time).

Personally, I think it's very funny to assume everyone who says the Alliance occupation is going oh so well is either wrong or lying. I mean, sure, Claude supposedly arranged it so things would go peacefully whether he won or lost, BUT he was wrong at least twice about his allies surrendering peaceably and his dying words are about how he misread the entire situation. Yeah, logically this is all structured to contrast how the Kingdom and the Church won't go down as peacefully, but it's funnier if the Alliance is also not peaceful about this at all.

Almyra certainly is not looking like a future friendly neighbor, despite Edie's optimistic outlook.

Live blogging:

Hubert reports that Thales has started collecting the Relics from the Alliance (cool! definitely not a problem! Hilda wasn't casually able to oneshot everyone with that awful axe!)

He also suggests that we have one of our Lions recruits pretend to be a hostage to force their family to betray the Kingdom. Lovely man, so practical.

Byleth: you're using too many Proper Nouns, I can't keep tracks :( Edelgard: don't worry about it, kitten

Nader's in good spirits, at least. The Almyran forces have a lot of wyverns, mounted archers and also giant birds.

Edelgard thinks we can befriend Almyra, she would even consider a treaty. It's not a land ruled by blind fealty to the goddess (lol), so as long as communicate openly and respect the differences between our cultures... OK. We're not gonna mention Claude at all, which is funny.

Next paralogue! Hubie is investigating Solon, Kronya and Arundel. He wants to know their identities, their origins, their numbers, their base of operations, their plans, and where they acquired their dark powers, how they disguise themselves. He calls them "those who slither in the dark."

Now, working backwards from this, it means that he doesn't know these things in early war phase (where we are now), unless we assume he got further in his investigations in other routes.

Also, as has been pointed out, although this is a descriptive name that Hubert came up with, it's also used by Rhea for some reason.

It's a shame that Arundel is just Thales, he has a pretty nice design.

Hubert calls Arundel "Regent" even now. Weird!

We're sent to help some Agarthans who were experimenting in the Sealed Forest but their demonic beast subjects ran wild. Hubert later suggests that this was all a setup to make Edie's faction feel powerless in the face of the Agarthans' experiment (because they are aware Hubert is investigating them), but it backfired because Hubie isn't intimidated at all. He's looking forward to when Edelgard finished uniting Fodlan, and then House Vestra will fight the Agarthans in the shadows. (Hilarious from a narrative standpoint.)

Incidentally, you only need to save more than half the mages to get Arrow of Indra. The "Mysterious Mages" that you save also do not have Agarthan Technology abilities unlike the shapeshifters. Ladislava is popular with the citizens of the empire. She doesn't put up airs, is talented and also beautiful. She's known as the Scarlet Warrior.

There isn't much unrest in the former Alliance territories, perhaps thanks to Caspar's dad's strength (aka keeping them in line by force).

Riegan was once a branch family of Blaiddyd, which is very mysterious given their different crests.

Ladislava's troops depart at the end of the month (February) to the western front. They have high mobility. iirc she's a wyvern rider.

It's a bit funny to get the quest for the Almyran merchant same month as the Almyra invasion paralogue.

Claude told Lysithea roughly that she shouldn't focus too much on whether they win. Unlike Judith and Hilda, she listened lol.

Hubert hanging out in the Deer classroom, thinking about Claude. Relatable. He says that Claude has a compassionate exterior, but underneath is cold and calculating. Harsh! Also, not really in line with Claude's behavior toward his allies.

Linhardt says that there's a passage from the Holy Mausoleum to the Holy Tomb, but he can't figure out the mechanism. It's not really clear where the Holy Tomb is, and I've seen the speculation that it's under the amiibo gazebo... but the Holy Mausoleum is in the cathedral, so the two being connected... it's possible both are true, but kinda weird if so.

Dorothea: They'll write operas about this... I'm sure a pretty actress will play you :) And Edie :)) Maybe they'll throw in a love story :)))) hahaha (extremely awkward laugh)

Just realized you steal Zoltan's idol from the advisory room in the cathedral. Nice.

Hubert and Edie A: He emphasizes again that he's devoted to her due to personal feelings but also that he's not loyal in the sense of following her orders. He does what he thinks is best and if Edie disagrees, or doesn't like it, or is kept in the dark for her own good, well, that's how it is. He also mentions that his devotion became personal after Edie returned from the Kingdom, which calls back to how he and Ionius treat it as some kind of malicious kidnapping.

Petra paralogue: Church is threatening Brigid :( Well, per the Empire's perspective. Catherine is here <3

Jokes aside, Petra's perspective is interesting. Brigid is trapped between the Empire and Dagda, and they don't have the ability to stand against either one. They were dragged into war with the Empire by Dagda, which they then lost, and Petra's father was even killed. So they became a vassal state of the Empire, but given the whole racism issue, they probably were not in a good position. So Petra is focused on basically proving that Brigid is a useful and valuable ally for the Empire. Which is a rather practical approach.

Leonie paralogue... Interesting details that you need recommendations to get into Officers Academy. In the Alliance this means paying nobles to get them. Raphael mentions that his family sold their business to pay for him, iirc, since he wasn't up to running it anyway. Ignatz's parents are more successful, so perhaps they could just afford it. Leonie's entire village had to chip in to buy her way in. Presumably Ashe was sent by Lonato directly (though interesting choice given that the uprising happens very early in the year, so he must have already been planning it). I think the only other commoner is Dorothea, who... well.

Linhardt brings up the crests perpetuate the nobility angle and says to take it up with the Goddess for handing them out like that. But given where Leicester crests actually came from... sigh

Linhardt read about the legend of Saint Indech, so it's free real estate for any other character to read in an AU. Very nice.

Lake Teutates... Indech is a giant turtle. Man, these "dragons" are all kinds of shapes lmao. He attacks with water spikes.

Leonie calls the Immovable One a "magic beast" which we haven't seen so far, only wild beasts and demonic beasts.

Linhardt immediately caught on that the Immovable One is Saint Indech.

Petra has been in Fodlan for 9 years as of the war phase, so she came 3 years before the Academy.

Garreg Mach can be entered from the north by following Aillel, the Valley of Torment.

The map this time is a modified version of the monastery defense map from end of Academy Phase and second battle of the other routes. Previously, I didn't realize that the right hand third is gone. Presumably, this is the gorge that Byleth fell into...

We're fighting an expeditionary force led by Alois, while Rhea and Catherine hold off the rest of our army at the Sealed Forest. Aaah, they're so cool <3 They're also set up an ambush.

OK, so the situation with Flayn and Seteth is that they just retreat when defeated, regardless of who fights them. I thought there would be some scene about specifically sparing them, but nah. They just leave on their own. You don't even have any unique dialogue with Seteth, and Flayn just talks about how she won't kill you since she owes you her life.

Rhea murdered the heck out of Ladislava and Randolph off-screen. Shame, I would have loved to see it.

We killed Alois tho! He felt that, since we betrayed Rhea, Jeralt would not have approved.

[keicordelle]

Fluffvember Day 27 : Coffee Shop - Estinien

I couldn't stop my eyes from straying back to the barista behind the counter. It was rude to stare, even I knew that, but I couldn't help myself. I'd never seen eyes that blue or lips so full before, and even in that dusky apron he was by far the most beautiful man I'd ever met. Ever since I'd first set foot in this cafe, I was lost, drawn back time and time again like a sailor to a siren's call, that I might dash myself upon his rocks - or drop 3$ a day on coffee, which was a little less disastrous a fate.

His face lit up as he smiled at a customer while handing over their coffee, and the expression looked so genuine and friendly that I swore my heart skipped a beat. Three dollars was a small price to pay to see that smile, even if it meant getting no work done for as long as I sat within the shop, mind far too distracted by this angel upon earth to worry about whatever crisis I'd been assigned that day. It was well worth it, for the chance to see it directed at me even once.

Just ask him out, that helpful little voice in my mind suggested. As if. I didn't even know his name. He probably didn't even know that I existed. How many people came through that door in a single day, and he was going to remember one guy who could barely manage to get out a handful of words while standing at the counter? Not likely. And what were the chances someone like him would be interested in someone like me? What were the chances he was even single? Someone that beautiful must be asked out all the time; surely by now, someone had caught his eye in return. Hell, he could even be married for all I knew. He didn't wear a ring (I'd looked despite myself) but that didn't mean much, especially while he was working. Somehow, though, even as gorgeous as he was, I couldn't picture him as a heartbreaker. He was too nice; he'd probably let his admirers down easily, with a gentle smile and a sympathetic look in those bright eyes.

Good lord, Estinien, what are you thinking? Giving my head a shake, I forced my eyes away from the beautiful barista and back to the work I was pretending to get done. The clacking of keys served only to measure how many mistakes I made while forcing myself not to cast surreptitious glances at the man behind the counter. He deserved better than to have me leer at him anyway. Even if all it did was transfer his face from its spot before my eyes to behind them.

The sudden sound of his voice at my ear made me jump, looking up to find him smiling down at me, a plate of cookies in his hand. "Here. Estinien, right? You looked like you could use something sweet. On the house."

I blinked up dumbly at him, all rational thought fleeing my mind in a rush. He knew my name. He remembered me! Amidst all the customers he saw in a day, I was not just one more faceless man among the throng!

Great, now say something back. "I... like cookies. Thanks." Oh sweet lord have mercy and swallow me whole. I like cookies!? Come on Estinien.

But he was smiling at me, that brilliant expression that I was fairly certain could solve all the world's problems - or at least all of mine - and he didn't seem to mind my ineloquence at all. "I'm glad."

He turned to leave, and I could feel my chance slipping from my fingers. I had to say something, or I'd never be able to face him again. "Er, what's your name?" My face was warm all of a sudden, a bashful blush slipping over my cheeks to betray my emotions as he turned back to me.

"It's Aymeric."

"I'm glad to have met you, Aymeric."

I kicked myself as soon as the words were out of my mouth (what am I, some old timey hero about to take his leave, never to be seen again?) but his smile softened, making him even more beautiful than before as he said, "I'm glad I met you too, Estinien."

The breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding left me in a rush as he returned to his place behind the counter, waving to a customer who'd just come in the door. I watched him prepare their order, that blush refusing to dissipate, and I suspected I'd be wearing it all the way home today.

[Masterlist] | [Ao3]

[mysticstarlightduck]

Trick or Treat!

Thank you for the Ask, @avoidingcertaindoom!

This is from my victorian fantasy WIP, Enchanted Illusions!

(Context: In this scene, Harriet Sharppe, the main character, confronts Liam Arloway, a snobby noble who had been working with the villains, and who had attempted to kill her cousin, Vincent, days before. Luckily, she counts on a little help from the story's resident dark mage, Augustus Grimmure to even the odds)

Liam circled around her, a faux-friendly demeanor to him as he attempted to convince her that his words were reasonable. At this point, Harriet had resigned herself to waiting until he was done rambling - though she was getting far more worried with every step this wannabe noble took toward her. His condescending tone and practiced smile had a way of getting on her nerves, Harriet knew Liam was counting on it.

"Listen, Harriet" Liam had started "Augustus Grimmure is a dangerous opportunist, known for stabbing people in the back once he gets what he wants. His kind doesn't listen to reason, especially when it comes to the Dark Arts. You can't trust him, if you come with me, we can pretend none of this ever happened."

He reached out a gloved hand towards her, expectantly. This offer came with a hidden demand - that she and Vincent would be quiet about what they had discovered. That she would let the Hemlock Society continue their crooked work without facing the consequences for what they'd done. Not a chance.

Harriet pushed his hand away.

"It is funny that you of all people would say this, Liam" She took a step closer of her own this time, squaring up to him. "So far, he has given me far more reasons to trust him than you ever have. Augustus may be many things, but he is not a fool. And he is not a traitor. We have a mutual understanding, and as long as one of us is winning, so is the other - he won't betray a good investment, and I won't lose the only clue I have. I know him. I don't know you."

She continued, tapping his tie with a finger, emphasizing her comment. Liam scoffed, but before he could continue, Harriet pulled a letter from her pocket. A letter addressed to him, from his superiors at the Hemlock Society - detailing how he was to kill her cousin, Vincent. She'd read it all.

"All I know about you is that I saw you, not Augustus, talking to Sir Garissen's spy after the assembly. Curiously enough, that's the same night an attempt on Vincent's life took place. The same night my friends found this letter." Harriet sidestepped him, walking out of the corner he'd backed her into moments prior, holding the accusing letter for the fraud to see.

"Tell me, 'Liam', if you have nothing to do with the events that took place, why is it you looked so surprised when my cousin showed up - alive and well - to the masquerade the next day? Because you're the one who would've murdered him the night before and now, your credibility was on the line. So you came after me."

There was a knowing moment of silence, as Harriet stood her ground, glaring, waiting for the befuddled Liam to pick up the courage to answer.

"... Fair point," Liam said with a fatalistic sigh, pulling out his rapier and pointing the blade at her. He looked almost apologetic - if it wasn't for the crooked smile on his lips. "Look, I really wanted to do this the easy way, Harriet. Tsk, tsk. It's a pity such a beauty as you went about poking her nose where she doesn't belong. You should've taken my offer."

With that, he moved to strike, a manic glint to his eye, as the blade lifted high. And stopped, just before he could do so. Behind him, an arm was hooked around his chest, keeping him in place.

"No. You're the one who should've stayed in our lane, pup" A new voice whispered into Liam's ear, a dangerous smile on sharp lips as a pocket knife pressed itself against the gentleman's exposed neck. Liam froze. "Drop the sword."

The bejeweled rapier fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Oh, Augustus, old pal! We - we were just talking about y-you!" Liam scrambled to come up with an excuse, going silent as Augustus pressed the knife harder against his untarnished skin, drawing a line of blood. The noble's confident facade crashed and burned, as his eyes searched around desperately for a out, voice shrill, as Liam attemped to sound casual.

"Quiet," Augustus told Liam, nails digging where he held the man's shoulder. He looked up, ignoring the noble and turning towards Harriet."What do you say, darling?" Augustus asked, voice soft, almost playful, no longer the venomous whisper he'd directed at the cowardly nobleman before him. "Should I dispose of him? Pretty please - this scoundrel is a waste of good fortune."

Liam went pale, torn between struggling and freezing in place - it was clear he was regretting his previous treasonous intent, now that the tables had turned. As if, only moments before, Liam's intentions hadn't been even more murderous - he would have killed her without a second thought, despite all his advances to court her at the royal ball. And he would have killed Vincent even more thoughtlessly.

Even so, Harriet shook her head, arms still crossed over her chest, ignoring Liam's presence for the moment.

"No, dear. But thank you. I think there's no need for that specific solution just yet." She answered, "Do you still have that contact in the constabulary?"

Augustus nodded, curious, still holding Liam in place with a vice grip. "Yes, I do. Whatever do you mean?"

Harriet pondered her options for a moment, before speaking up, placing the letter at a nearby table behind her. Liam dared not try to move, though his eyes glared murderously at her. If this man was not arrested, he would surely follow them, to finish the job. She suppressed a shiver, mentally reminding herself to get someone to replace the mansion's locks soon.

"We'll leave an anonymous lead, on their doorstep then. As for him -" She continued, eager to get out of this warehouse as soon as possible. "I'm sure he'll be fine waiting for the police to arrive. The gossipmongers will love to learn the truth about what their beloved nobility is up to, once this fraud is exposed."

[coqhee]

BLAME IT ON THE SNOW 𓂃 심재윤

✷ when a friendly pet name accidentally exposes your crush on jake

day 6 of melodies to memories ― close friend jake︲f reader︲fluff︲664

the two of you shivered in the cold as you walked out of the coffee store holding your hot cocoa in hand. the warmth of the cup being the only sort of heat you could bring yourself in the heavy snowfall.

"you should’ve worn more layers," jake muttered, his breath fogging in the frosty air as he shot a glance at your bare hands.

“oh really, you think?” you rolled you eyes at the obvious statement. your hands were nearly going numb from the cold freezing them over. 

jake chuckled, shaking his head as he walked beside you. "next time, how about you listen when i tell you to bundle up,” 

the two of you fell into an easy rhythm, boots crunching against the snow-covered sidewalk. the silence wasn’t awkward—it was the kind of quiet that felt natural, comfortable.

“here.” jake suddenly stopped, reaching around his neck pulling off the scarf that hung loosely over his neck, moving it to yours, pulling the fabric snug.

 “can’t have you freezing, angel.” he smiled the words just slipping out of his mouth.

you froze—not because of the cold, but because of that word.

angel.

jake didn’t seem to notice his slip-up at first. he was still fussing with the edges of your scarf, his brows knit together in concentration. then, as if realizing what he’d just said, his movements stilled.

he noticed how still you stood, as if they snow had actually taken over and you were frozen.

“uh—sorry,” he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck, a sheepish smile spreading across his face. “that just… slipped out.”

“yeah no you’re good,” you stumbled on nonchalantly trying to brush over what he just said. he didn’t mean it right? he always calls layla angel, so just a slip up. 

though, you wouldn’t mind hearing him call you that again.

“um, are you blushing?” he asked with a small grin seeing your reaction, they way you basically malfunctioned when he called you that silly little word.

“uh no, its just the snow. so cold out right?” you tried giving a small laugh rubbing your arms.

jake tilted his head, his grin widening as if he could see straight through you. “the snow, huh?” he teased, stepping a little closer, his cocoa held casually in one hand. “i don’t think snow makes your cheeks red like that, though.”

you groaned inwardly, feeling the heat climb up your neck and spread to your ears. “okay, scientist, what’s your theory then?” you shot back, trying to sound sarcastic but failing miserably when your voice wavered.

“oh, i don’t know,” he mused, pretending to think as his eyes sparkled with mischief. “maybe… you liked it?”

“liked what?” you said too quickly, your heart pounding.

“you know,” jake shrugged, taking a sip of his cocoa. “me calling you angel.”

your grip tightened around your cup as you fought to keep your composure. “you call layla angel all the time,” you muttered, trying to sound unaffected. “it’s not a big deal.”

“your cheeks say otherwise.”

“shut up,” you muttered, glaring at him over the rim of your cup as you took another sip of your cocoa. you tried to sound annoyed, but the heat crawling up your face completely betrayed you.

he laughed, the sound light and infectious as it echoed in the crisp air. “okay, okay, I’ll stop,” he said, holding up his free hand in mock surrender. “but seriously, you’re cute when you get flustered, you know that?”

“forget it,” you muttered, taking a hasty sip of your drink.

jake laughed, his voice soft and teasing. “okay, angel.”

you nearly choked on your cocoa, shooting him a glare, but he just grinned wider, his eyes twinkling like the snowflakes catching in his hair.

maybe today wouldn’t be the day you addressed whatever was going on between the two of you. but now you finally confirmed there was something between the two of you.

─── ♡

a/n: happy day 6 of melodies to memories!! back to cute and fluffy!! not much to say today but hope you enjoyed >< all likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated!

melodies to memories tl (open!): @pshwrldd @sainns @wonsdoll

@ coqhee 2024. all rights reserved.

[hangmansvandalizinggoose]

Hi Tumblr!

I’m now treating you like my diary because no one reads this 😂. Anyway- story time!

I believe I’ve made a mistake TM

So if you saw my post yesterday, ya gal is going through it with Karate again. I love the sport but I just don’t think i deserve to at the belt level I’m at, even though I graded for it.

So I decided to try and see is it me (all up in my head) or is it the dojo(not the right one). Where I live there aren’t many dojos for my breed of karate, and I didn’t want to switch to one of the other breeds necessarily. So I found the only other dojo, asked for beginners classes and dandered on in tonight.

They were friendly enough and when the black belt who greeted me asked if id trained before, I told the truth. She got a little funny and was like oh yes, we know your sensei. And the way she said it, it didn’t seem like a good thing. Ah well. I knew it was a possibility they knew each other.

Then the sensei of this dojo walks in and introduces himself. Asked if I’ve practiced before and what type of karate. He was shocked and started laughing before saying oh yes I know your sensei, I was his sensei ( I always thought my sensei might have trained in England, but apparently not) he then says I’m smiling though. See how I’m smiling. And asks if I train with my sensei why am I here.

Told him I was going through it a bit, and he was like if you’ve graded with the judges and they’ve given your belt then you deserve to be at that belt. He then asked about a few other students at my current dojo, and I felt like I was betraying my sensei by sharing.

I enjoyed the class, learned new things. As I reflect I probably enjoyed this class more because of two things, 1- I was still sort of pretending to be a beginner and the pressure wasn’t as high. 2- I was distracted by the fact that I was pretty sure if my sensei found out I was here he’d kill me 😂.

At the end of class the new dojos sensei asked if I was coming back. I didn’t commit, Because honestly idk, I think being between two dojos could get me in trouble. He then muttered that if I see my sensei to tell him he said hi.

Yeah. Mama raised a fool, but even I’m not that dumb.

So it’s weird, really weird and now I really want to know what happened.

It must have been fairly serious, because we sometimes train with dojos from other cities and the new dojo is going to do training in one of the cities and my current dojo wasn’t invited…

Trust my dumb ass to stumble into all of this.

[sukirichi]

Is just me or anyone else just want to y/n and omi ship instead Tooru and y/n because personally I think omi and y/n has better chance of happening then Tooru and y/n because in order to have that ship to happen. We have to betray Maiko and I don’t think y/n wants to hurt her by steal Tooru from her even if one side’s love and plus that would make her same as iris or Rin and she definitely doesn’t want that and especially if you really think they kind the same or parallels to each other. Maiko loves Tooru but Tooru doesn’t love her in romantic way but instead of sisters way. Y/n love Rin but Rin was only pretending to be in love with y/n and never really did love her in the first place and instead he use her to get what he really wanted it which is iris. The only difference is Tooru never give Maiko hope to begin with vs Rin on the other hand he give y/n 2 years of hope only for it to turn out to be a lie in the end.

As for Tooru as much he doesn’t love her. That doesn’t mean he hurt by cheating on her. He still care for her just not romantically but instead in friendly way or sister way and plus that would make him same as father and brothers and he hate them.

Another reason I want Omi and y/n to be together is drama. I want iris and Rin to freak out about y/n and omi together and being happy together and romantic with each other also there has to be a reason since that anon ask what the prince types are? and Kiyoomi types happens to be y/n 👀

OH OH ANON I SEE YOUR POINT, YES

that’s exactly the conflict in oikawa x yn rs: we’re gonna have to hurt maiko in the process and she’s someone who supported, comforted, and loved us in our worst times. maiko’s really our sister now, and imagine that the two of them just had this bond of two women doing their best to remain strong and being family for each other because they had no one else but then because we loved tooru, we had to break maiko’s heart. OH no omg that makes me feel guilty now agshjka but yeah, there’s the part about tooru not wanting to be like suna or their father, either. if tooru still does want to be with us, though, he’ll find ways to pursue us without hurting too much people in the process.

and omi x yn !! secretly a power couple. they’re the girlboss and supportive, quiet boyfriend duo. yn will be like “i want to overthrow the monarchy” and kiyoomi will be like, “whatever you wish for.” kiyoomi is such a quiet person so there’s not much drama he can cause by himself but them together? rin and iris will be soooo agitated that rin will get most jealous when we’re with omi rather than when we’re with tooru. not because tooru is lesser of a threat (since if he wanted to, he could actively pursue us) but rin would think, “omi is married to my girlfriend, and now he also has my wife,” so that’ll set him off the most

[ariondevereux]

Not me coming back to clutter ur inbox once more. (yes I'm tokrev anon once again. I feel so bad for cluttering ur inbox I'm so sorry. 😭). Omg I can't believe mila read that ask. I'm fangirling 😭😭🥰. Heeey!! I love u and ur work sm! U and nikka are such lovely people. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

You asked about Phoenix, so here are some hcs I had for them and Shiloh. This got way longer than I expected. I'm so sorry that I keep sending you mammoth sized essays. 😂

Some facts about phoenix ortega

they were originally born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but moved to London when they were quite young (around 4 or 5 maybe).

they grew up near the soho area in London and they took up a part time job in a Hmong-Chinese restaurant, so they picked up some conversational mandarin there which they sometimes practice with shiloh.

at first phoenix didn't like Shiloh at all. they have a bunch of trust issues so they were a bit suspicious about shiloh's friendliness. they think people only act nicely when they want something from them always want something from them, that's how they thought life works kind of like a business transaction, the gang and being betrayed by one of the people closest to them taught them that.

phoenix is an ENTJ/INTJ, so sometimes they can come off across as cold and rude. They pretend to be cold and heartless, but on the inside they're just a broken person who yearns for the love that they were never really given by their parents.

Shiloh and Phoenix's friendship started off as a business relationship, which lowkey- turned into a one-sided rivalry which phoenix used as an excuse to spend more time with shiloh because of Mei lmao (would often have to go to shiloh's home for meetings and stuff like that idk 😂). Phoenix has a huge soft spot for dogs which they'll never admit to anyone. Shiloh often teased Phoenix about them being a completely different person as soon as Mei was in view. Phoenix would get flustered and dismiss the teasing by telling shiloh that he's just spewing bullshit like always.

Shiloh was also a bit reluctant about Phoenix due to their reputation but the more he got to know Phoenix the more he wanted to spend time with them. I guess he was rather curious and wanted to see what was hidden behind the walls that Phoenix constantly puts up.

After Tej's betrayal Phoenix didn't show up for some of the meetings and no one could get a hold of them and so since Shiloh was the only person that they knew Phoenix was close to they sent him to find them. After stopping at Phoenix's apartment, shiloh knocked for a while but there was no answer, but after a while Phoenix opened the door. They were wrapped around a blanket with a Hello Kitty mug filled with wine on one hand and a greggs sausage roll on the other. 💀

Love Island was playing in the background and they just sat in silence for a while (yes phoenix watches love Island, they keep up with every single episode 😭). Phoenix was in a coocon in the sofa and didn't want to get up. Shiloh suggested they go for a late night drive to the beach. Phoenix at first said no, but shiloh managed to make them accept after saying that they'll take mei along.

It was late at night,they drove in silence. They got to the beach and it was dark, they just sat and watched the stars. Their backs were back to each other because Phoenix didn't want to be seen being so vulnerable, they hate that part of themselves and didn't want shiloh to see it. Phoenix finally turned around just hugged Shiloh out of nowhere. Shiloh was so taken aback he almost fell back. He put his arms around Phoenix and rubbed their back telling them thatevrythings gonna be ok. Phoenix really needed to hear that because they completely broke down.

After that Phoenix fell asleep. Shiloh didn't want to wake them up and phoenix sleeps like a log, not even a fire alarm can wake this bitch up. 💀so they essentially carried them back to the car and drove them home.

The next day Phoenix woke up like "Oh fuck no what the fuck did my drunkass do? 💀". They were really flustered and embarrassed but they still wanted to thank shiloh for that day. They were at shiloh's door but they chickened the fuck out after knocking. Shiloh opens the door to find a giant packet of Meis favourite dog snacks with a note attached to it with Phoenix's shitty handwriting that just had a smiley face on it " :))".

After that they quickly became friends. Phoenix was not used to someone being so kind to them without wanting anything in return like Shiloh, but they didn't particularly mind it. 👀. Forward to the present, Phoenix is a big Shiloh simp, they fell for Shiloh's personality, their little quirks, their teasing, the late night drives, the late into the night chats, his smile. Before they knew it they had fallen head over heels for Shiloh and erm... they become a hot mess when Shiloh flirts with them. Phoenix. exe just stops working, they're such a shy goof all honestly. 😭😭

One last fact. Ever since becoming friends with Shiloh they've been teaching themselves some Cantonese and brushing up a bit on their conversational mandarin they had learned in high school. Hmmm I wonder why? 🤔😂😂

DONT APOLOGIZE I LOVED THESE OMG

please the beach scene got me in my feelings 😭😭 i wish they didn’t experience enough pain that they developed trust issues but i’m also a HUGE sucker for emotionally closed off characters being the first one to give in. when phoenix suddenly hugged shiloh i was grinning like an IDIOT. and shiloh carrying them to the car and driving them home because they fell asleep…… me and who

and phoenix leaving a bag of treats for mei on shiloh’s doorstep SHUT UP THAT WAS SO CUTE i can imagine them literally dashing tf outta there 😭😭😭 ugh idc that shiloh can fight. if he doesn’t treat phoenix right i will fight him with my bare hands

thank you for sharing these with me. phoenix sounds absolutely lovely 🥺 they’re so fleshed out too i already love them. gonna put them in my pocket and protect them from the order 😤

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 317: My Boy Was Just Like Me

Previously on BnHA: AFO randomly blew up Lady Nagant as a good reminder of why you should never make a deal with this fucking guy, smdh. Hawks was all “well if it isn’t my two best friends, Deku and Lady Nagant, both of whom I respect and love tremendously.” Everyone was all “??” and Horikoshi was all “shh... just pretend” because it was too embarrassing for him to admit that he forgot to write a couple of set-up flashbacks I guess. Anyway so Hawks got Lady to tell them where AFO was hiding out, and everyone said goodbye to her and Overhaul, who never did get to see his boss (sorry buddy, I’ll send you a vial of my tears in the mail), and headed out to a house in the woods. AFO was all “hello Deku :) :) it sure is fun making you suffer :) :) :) anyways this is a trap”, and blew up the house. Yeah, we all here are getting reaaaaaaaal tired of your shit, AFO.

Today on BnHA: The Hawksquad and Edgeplatoon meet in a warehouse and are all “what should we do about the fact that everything sucks?” Mt. Lady is all “here’s a thought, what if we tried battling AFO with more than six people.” Hawks and Endeavor are all “great initiative, but just a friendly reminder that our friends also suck and would probably betray Deku which would suck further still.” Shouto is all “ANSWER THE PHONE DAD” and Endeavor is all “[IRONICALLY DOESN’T ANSWER THE PHONE].” Meanwhile over in Sadtown, capital of Sadland Prefecture, Japan, Deku is all “All Might, as you can clearly see I am completely fine and good, never been better in fact, definitely not caught up in the throes of an epic mental breakdown which is shutting me down emotionally, anyway so on that note I would like to leave you now goodbye!!” All Might is all “[can’t actually form any words because he’s too distraught].” Fandom is all “o(╥﹏╥)o.” Horikoshi is all “(*＾-’) 乃 [pew pew finger guns and barrel rolls into the darkness].”

sweet jesus lord

this literally doesn’t even look like Deku anymore?? this looks like Dark!Deku who shows up to fight you in that one room in the Water Temple. he looks like he’s about to crawl out of my television set and murder me with his psychic powers good lord

holy shit lmao Horikoshi is really just shrugging his shoulders and resolving last week’s cliffhanger with a single line of dialogue

fire is no one’s weakness. idk what other options you’ve got, AFO, but you’re gonna have to go back to the drawing board. maybe try bees or something. I’m just saying. we’re all expecting fire at this point but nobody is expecting bees

anyway so now they’re all sitting in some warehouse somewhere chatting about it I guess. shoutout to Horikoshi for finally giving my man Edgeshot some more dialogue at long last

well, Edgeshot, to answer your question, she exploded. so naturally she’s fine

nah just kidding, Hawks says she won’t be able to help them out much because she’s recovering from being exploded. this is the part where we all ignore the fact that Hawks got set on fire for like a full ten minutes back during the War arc and was only in the hospital for a day. anyways enjoy your temporary plot hiatus Nagant

man there’s a lot of dialogue here and I’m trying to figure out where to insert commentary but it’s kinda difficult lol. basically, Edge and the others are saying that they should gather up the other remaining heroes and get them all caught up on the whole OFA situation. which, hmmmm

like on the one hand, these guys definitely aren’t going to cut it on their own, so it’s a reasonable suggestion on the face of it. but on the other hand, do we really want to entrust the OFA secret to a bunch of other people, most of whom shat the bed during the War arc to be quite frank? is it really worth the additional risk? especially given that any one of them might go spilling the beans to the public -- or worse, betray them to AFO??

also just a quick side note here, Mt. Lady’s character development never ceases to delight me. she’s become so committed to her responsibility as a hero these days, and it fucking suits her. I genuinely consider to be one of the elites now. I mean it doesn’t hurt that all the other elites are fucking dead lol but still

wait what? Death Arms retired??

Death Arms as in the guy who was too afraid of a little fire to try and save a terrified 14-year-old kid who was slowly suffocating right before his eyes?? that Death Arms???? color me surprised. shocked, I tell you

...okay but holy fuck

Death Arms. bro. my expectations for you were low but holy shit. like I’m sorry, but I don’t even have it in me to try and pretend like I feel the slightest bit of sympathy for him or Old Man Samurai or any of those other guys today. thanks for a whole lot of nothing my dude. good riddance

(ETA: so I’m rereading this the next day and realize this comes off as kind of harsh, so let me just try to clarify. it’s not the fact that he’s quitting that bothers me, to be honest. it’s the fact that he’s quitting specifically because he feels like the public is being mean to him. that’s it.

seriously. it would be one thing if he was quitting because he was scared, because now that is human. nobody wants to die, and I doubt any amount of training can ever fully prepare someone to go up against that fear. but the thing is, he never once mentions that, or talks about the danger aspect. instead, I got the distinct vibe from this speech that Death Arms is one of those people who only became a hero because of the limelight. and I just don’t have any patience for that. if all you care about are likes and subscribes then go become a fucking youtuber or some shit. nothing wrong with that! but you didn’t; you signed up to be a hero and protect these people. they gave you their respect and admiration because they trusted you to protect them. and now that they’re no longer in the mood to worship and applaud your every move on account of them being scared shitless because they’re living in the literal end times, you decide to dip. so like okay, fine then. don’t let the door hit you on the way out. anyways lol sorry for the rant.)

anyway so yeah. perfect example of why I don’t exactly have a ton of faith in most of the remaining heroes out there lol. also let me just once again give a shoutout to my best girl Mt. Lady whom I suddenly find myself appreciating all the more

“please calm down makeste. drink some water and enjoy this fresh new jeans pun” listen Horikoshi don’t tell me what to do dammit

fine. it is a nice pun, I guess

-- damn so now Endeavor’s saying that the media is already being fed info by the retired heroes. so for some of these guys it wasn’t enough for them to abandon all the people they swore to protect and to leave their fellow heroes out in the cold; they decided they might as well actively make things worse for them while they were at it, huh. like I get wanting to spill all the dirty secrets from your old job that you just quit, but this isn’t Jeff Bezos you’re screwing over, this is a sixteen-year-old kid

-- like, yes!! this, right here!!

exactly!! let’s not forget that there are already two prior instances of this happening. Endeavor arguably deserved it, but Katsuki not so much

huh. Endeavor seems to have a more optimistic outlook regarding this than I do lol

I mean, this is the same public that didn’t hesitant to blame a kidnapped child for his own kidnapping, and then later on for being the downfall of the Symbol of Peace. but okay then

anyway so blah blah blah, more talk about how they need to use Deku as bait, which basically puts them back at square one, and then they’re all just trailing off into silence and sitting around in the dark lmao this is getting very depressing

SKDJFLSDKJ:LFKJ

SHOUTO?????

NOOOOOOOO ARE YOU KIDDING ME

OH HOW THE TURNTABLES OMG. THE GHOSTER HAS BECOME THE GHOSTEE. Endeavor you petty son of a bitch. and what a brutal cut to that flashback too. “let’s stop Touya together” nah Shouto I’ve got a better idea why don’t I abandon you in U.A. and sally off with Hawks and Jeanist to found the “let’s pretend like we’re doing something to help Deku” club, which basically consists of us sitting around making terrible decisions all day long

Shouto, honey. you deserve better my little Coca Cola can. .........but if you really do have something important you need to tell your dad you could just text it to him. all the love and support, hugs and kisses, you’re doing amazing sweetie. but if you need to pass on any vital information you can just write it down and hit send honey that’s all I’m saying love

now he’s getting another call?? -- or, no, Hawks is getting a call from All Might

ARE YOU FOR REAL HAWKS OMFG

so while you all were sitting around talking about how useless you are, the kid you’re supposed to be protecting was battling another hired gun. I see. please pardon me for one second, I have a phone call to make. the phone call is to RockLockRock and Manual. the reason for the call is to apologize for calling them the worst bodyguards ever back during the War arc. the reason for the apology is because it turns out I WAS SEVERELY MISTAKEN OMFG

JESUS CHRIST DEKU DID YOU JUST KILL THIS MAN LMAO

shoutout to Horikoshi for offscreening this fight. we get it, lol. Deku strong and scary, villains ineffectual and feeble, and AFO... [checks notes] yep, still a dick. the angst arc continues

-- the angst arc continues, SIR

jesus christ I may have to rethink all of my opinions about Deku being framed for murder in movie 3 lmao. never mind. he did it, your honor

holy fucking shit Deku. “he might blow up, so please be careful” fdlskjflk jlskdjflk lwkejflk anyway so I’ve decided the explosion running gag can stay, actually

DEKU WAIT YOU FORGOT YOUR LUNCH!!

lol why do I get the feeling some serious shit is about to go down. ALL MIGHT NEVER MIND BACK OFF I THINK HE NEEDS HIS SPACE

OH MY FUCK I GASPED OUT LOUD

NO NO NO. I KNEW THIS WAS COMING GODDAMMIT BUT NO. NEVER MIND, I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT IT, I’M NOT READY TO CRY TODAY

shit. shit shit shit shit and OF COURSE all I can fucking think about is that stupid fucking prophecy and gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Deku please. please please please if you really are going to leave All Might here, please be so very careful in choosing your farewell words to him now because have this sudden horrible fear that this might be the last time you ever see him alive and oh god. oh god oh god

DEKU NO, YOU’RE REALLY NOT!?!?

I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE LESS FINE IN MY LIFE, ACTUALLY????

holy shit. and the fucking callback to the prophecy now. just in case we forgot. WHICH FYI, WE DIDN’T. but that’s basically confirming that this is all still very much on the table and HORIKOSHI NEVER FORGETS oh my god someone please hold me

and the fact that Deku’s flashing back to it now too, though?? because he never forgot either, because of course he didn’t, and now all this stuff is happening, and AFO’s words are getting to him, and this is literally his worst fear come to life and so of course he’s distancing himself from everyone, and now it’s finally come to even this. even the person he admires most

-- OKAY NO, FUCKING COME ON ALREADY I CAN’T TAKE THIS

I GET IT OH MY GOD, I ALREADY UNDERSTAND THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THIS MOMENT WITHOUT ALL OF THE DEVASTATING FLASHBACKS THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! YOU ACTUALLY DO WANT ME TO CRY, HUH, IS THAT IT. THIS MAN THAT HE THINKS OF AS A FATHER, THIS MAN WHO HAS BEEN EVERYTHING TO HIM SINCE HE WAS A VERY YOUNG CHILD. EVERYTHING THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH, JUXTAPOSED AGAINST EVERYTHING DEKU IS UP AGAINST, EVERYTHING THAT’S AT RISK. LET’S JUST PUT IT ALL SIDE BY SIDE. LET’S JUST PILE ON ALL OF THE FEELS

(ETA: just a quick note that even though some of the posts I’ve read have described these as All Might’s flashbacks, I’m pretty sure they are Deku’s. most of these are scenes that only he was there for, so yeah. even though All Might is the one thinking the thoughts on the next page, the flashbacks are what’s running through Deku’s mind right now, and so we’re getting that emotion from both of them, which makes it extra devastating lol.)

wait, what???

WHAT??? do you really think that’s why he’s been so determined to protect you this entire time?? simply because you’re his successor?

-- oh no wait lol I think I got that mixed up, this is All Might saying that Deku feels the need to protect him. well that makes more sense lol

oh my god I cannot

his last words. his last words to him. and we can’t even see if he is smiling, like All Might always encouraged him to do. but what are the odds he can’t actually bring himself to do it. what are the odds he’s actually crying. oh god this scene is going to rip my heart out and STOMP on it in the anime isn’t it. Deku’s VA is going to full on murder me with emotion. not that there’ll be much of me left to murder after the thorough job that Horikoshi has already done here

YOU’RE CRYING. DEKU IS LEAVING ALL MIGHT AND IGNORING HIS OUTSTRETCHED HAND AND YOU’RE CRYING. AND BY “YOU” I MEAN “ME”, FUCK

nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope no words just feels just a big ol’ pile of feels. I do not have the strength. future me... [broadly gestures] good luck with all that

(ETA: LOL, WELL THEN.

what breaks my heart here is All Might. All Might, and everything he’s been through, and history repeating itself, and forcing him to live this moment from both sides because he wasn’t strong enough to fix things.

Toshinori had only just turned eighteen when Nana died. like, I feel like we don’t mention this enough. the All Might we know is a sixty-something-year-old man, and so everyone always talks about him like he’s basically been an adult forever. but he was a child when he met Nana. and he was still just a child when she died. barely a year older than Deku is now. younger than Mirio was when we first met him.

and we don’t talk about that. we don’t talk about how devastating that was for him. and we don’t talk about how the reason he grew up to become so reserved and withdrawn -- for all that he always tried so hard to outwardly project the image of a bold, confident, smiling hero -- was specifically because of what AFO did to him. because AFO targeted him in the exact way that he is now targeting Deku. because that’s what he does. he goes after every new user of OFA, and he finds out what’s most important to them, and then he destroys it. and for Toshinori, that was Nana. if you’ve read All Might Rising, you know that AFO basically killed her in front of him (and only killed her, while letting Toshinori and Gran get away). Toshinori (while crying) later says she was like a mother to him. and interestingly enough, during this same conversation, Gran tells Toshinori that he can see “that madness in [his] eyes” when Toshi talks about becoming strong enough to defeat AFO. madness in his eyes. sound familiar??

what’s happening to Deku now is the exact same thing that happened to Toshinori when he was a boy. AFO tried every bit as hard to break him as he’s trying with Deku now. “the path you’ve chosen is a thorny one. every battle grinds away at your soul with no end in sight.” we don’t talk about how Toshinori experienced this same thing for forty fucking years. and all the while isolating himself, exactly like Deku is doing now. pushing people away, exactly like Deku. because he never had anyone who was able to reach out and pull him back. and those words that he now finds himself frozen and unable to speak -- “don’t push yourself”; “you can rest” -- are the same words that no one ever said to him until decades later, when it was already far too late to make any difference.

everything that Deku is experiencing now is what Toshinori also went through. and it’s only now, as he watches it happen to his student, the boy he loves like a son, that he’s finally starting to realize the full extent of how wrong it was. you shouldn’t have to fight alone. you shouldn’t have to bear that kind of enormous burden alone. you shouldn’t have to push yourself, and you can rest. you can rest.

but it’s too late. just as he’s finally coming to understand it all, it’s all too fucking late. and he can’t say the words, he doesn’t know how to say the words, and then just like that, Deku is gone.

and he’s alone. again.)

I can’t. this can’t be their goodbye. I’m not ready. for this to be how they finally part, and then they never see each other again except in OFA. how is that fair. how is that fair. how is that fair

fuck me. lol. how many pages are left in this thing. let’s just wrap this up lol. so now of all the times for this fucking guy to finally show up

I can’t believe Stain has been here literally this entire time hiding behind this random wall and cutting onions. that was you who was cutting the onions, right. no need to answer that we’ll just say it was

HORIKOSHI JUST END THE CHAPTER PLEASE I’M OUT OF SPOONS. YOU HURT ME SO GOOD AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT BUT YOU NEED TO LET ME GO NOW SO I CAN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO PUT MY LIFE BACK IN ORDER HERE. SO WHERE ARE WE CUTTING TO NOW WHAT IS HAPPENING

Stain did you also let AFO give you a new quirk. what’s with you guys. do you like blowing up

oh nvm lol because they were talking about THIS GUY ohhhhhh my fucking god

THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S SAD, LINDA!! jesus

omfg. and so yes, good, the chapter is ending here now on page 15. for once I am FULLY on board with that lmao

anyway so tune in next week for more adventures of Werewolf Deku!! that is, assuming we don’t finally cut back to U.A. at long last, which is actually a strong possibility considering that this chapter will likely mark the end of volume 31. it sure wouldn’t kill Horikoshi to start giving us some hope after everything he’s just put us through lol. KACCHAN COME GET YA BOY

[sankyeom]

let’s play pretend | l.jh

pairings: lee jaehyun x reader (she/her/hers pronouns, reader wears a dress at one point, which isn’t specific to women but i realised it might not suit your style so sorry about that) genre: fake dating au, friends to lovers, a lot of pining, y’all are both kinda of blind ngl summary: in which your sister’s wedding is right around the corner, and you don’t want to spend the day telling your relatives that your boyfriend cheated on you, so you ask hyunjae to accompany you word count: 6.6k series: sankyeom’s 2k followers celebration

masterlist

When you found out that your boyfriend was cheating on you, you were happy to let him go and completely cut him out of your life. Of course it was a huge blow to your confidence that he had decided to cheat on you; relationships were supposed to make you feel comfortable and supported, not lied to and betrayed. However, you were lucky to have some pretty amazing friends that helped you through it all.

The only problem was that when your sister sent out her wedding invitations, you had told her that you were bringing your ex-boyfriend as a date. This might not sound too bad, but your family loved to pry into your personal life, and you weren’t sure you could handle an entire weekend of questions about why you and your ex were no longer together, along with the pitiful glances you knew they would send you.

You groaned. “I’m literally dreading my sister’s wedding. Isn’t that horrible? I’m the maid of honour, I’m supposed to be excited for her and super supportive. But all I can think about is how miserable my extended family is going to make me.”

Younghoon and Kevin had been listening to your ranting, the three of you cuddled up together on the couch of your apartment. “So bring a date,” Kevin stated the obvious, raising his shoulders and arms in a shrug. “Problem solved.”

“Except, not really,” you denied. “It could work, but I don’t have anyone who’s close enough to me that I wouldn’t have to fake the chemistry and strong bond of a long-term relationship. I don’t think it’d be convincing if I just took anyone and asked them to pretend we’re dating.”

“Then take Hyunjae,” Younghoon suggested, moving his head off of your shoulder to make eye contact with you.

“I guess we have been friends for a long time…” you allowed, thinking it over. You had met Hyunjae in college where you met most of your friends, but the two of you clicked really easily and got along incredibly well. Your humour played really well off of his and you, Hyunjae, and Eric often got up to mischief to the point where you gave Changmin and Sangyeon a headache. “Do you think he’d do it?”

“If he thinks it’ll help you, I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” Younghoon said, grabbing his phone from the coffee table before resting his head on your shoulder again. “Now can we finally agree on what to order for dinner? Waffles for dessert, no discussion.”

Hyunjae’s deep, loud laugh wasn’t what you expected to hear after explaining your predicament to him. After a moment of letting him chortle to himself, he seemed to realise that you weren’t laughing with him, causing his eyes to widen. “Wait, you’re serious?” he exclaimed, sitting up from where he was slouched on your couch and pulling the hood of his sweatshirt off his head.

“This is way too pathetic to joke about,” you retorted, slightly embarrassed at the whole ordeal.

“Let me get this straight,” Hyunjae folded his hands together on his knees. “You want me to go to your sister’s wedding with you and pretend to be your scumbag ex-boyfriend?” At the mention of your ex, an uncharacteristic scowl appeared on Hyunjae’s face.

“No, I want you to come with me to my sister’s wedding and pretend to be yourself, just that we’re dating,” you corrected. “You get to be yourself; name, personality, and all. We’ll just be fibbing about that fact that we’re dating.”

Hyunjae nodded at your words. “Is telling your family really not an option?” he wondered.

You sighed. “I want good memories of my sister’s wedding,” you admitted. “I don’t want the memory of her night to be filled with embarrassment and humiliation from my distant relatives who only have horrible things to say.”

Hyunjae grimaced, familiar with how often you ranted about your harsh your extended family could be. “If it really means that much to you, then I’ll do to,” Hyunjae told you slowly, as if he wasn’t quite sure of himself.

“Really?” you eyes lit up, the relief and excitement in your irises enough to fully convince Hyunjae that he wanted to help you.

“Of course,” Hyunjae smiled, the outer corners of his eyes crinkling adorable like they always did. “When are we going?”

“In three weeks,” you informed him. “Thank you, Hyunjae. I think we’ll actually have fun together! The trip is paid for and it’s a really sweet beach wedding.”

A beach wedding. Hyunjae couldn’t help but think about how romantic a beach wedding was. Getting married surrounded by nature, then spending the evening partying with your friends at the beach… Shaking himself out of his thoughts before he started picturing you in white, Hyunjae cleared his throat and nodded. “That does sound fun. I’ll be there.”

“You’re so screwed,” Eric cackled when Hyunjae told him and Jacob about your sister’s wedding. The three of them had gone for dinner after Hyunjae left your apartment, Hyunjae citing it as a way for him to clear his head and talk. Jacob nudged their youngest friend, although the smile on his face indicated that he somewhat agreed with Eric’s sentiment.

“What are you talking about?” Hyunjae asked.

Eric rested his elbows on the table. “You and Y/n are going on a romantic beach getaway together-“

“It’s her sister’s wedding, not a romantic beach getaway,” Hyunaje corrected.

“Whatever it is, you shoot hearts out of your eyes whenever you’re around her,” Eric reminded his older friend, causing Hyunjae to shut his mouth for a moment to actually listen. “You can barely keep it to yourself when she’s in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Do you really think you won’t be obvious about it when you see her in a beautiful dress, walking down the aisle?” Eric asked, an amused smile on his lips.

Hyunjae pondered his point. “I mean… It’s not like she’s the bride.”

“You’ve never been to a wedding with a partner before, have you?” Jacob realised. Hyunjae nodded. “Whether or not Y/n’s the bride doesn’t make a difference. Surrounded by the flowers and the ceremony… watching a couple confess their deepest feelings for one another and commit to each other for life…” Jacob trailed off, and Hyunjae could see what he was getting at.

“Oh,” he breathed out, speechless. Even after their food arrived and Jacob and Eric dug into their meals, Hyunjae was still staring blankly into space. It took Jacob nudging him gently, handing him his cutlery, and telling him to eat before Hyunjae snapped out of it. “I don’t want to slip up and confess to Y/n,” Hyunjae said after they had each eaten some of their meals.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen, even if you do confess?” Eric challenged.

“Well, if I confess, Y/n could reject me and I might ruin our friendship and make things really awkward until we drift apart and she’s out of my life all together,” Hyunjae said easily, as if this was on his mind frequently.

Eric paused his eating, “Damn, that does sound pretty bad. I have no idea what I’d do if I were you,” he admitted, looking incredulously at his older friend.

Hyunjae gave him a frustrated look, as if Eric’s comment hadn’t put Hyunjae at ease but made him even more worried.

“You don’t have to feel pressured to confess or not confess,” Jacob assured Hyunjae. “You guys can just have a fun weekend trip together as friends. It’s not a big deal. The ceremony is going to be very emotional and that might be tricky for you, but the rest of it should be a breeze. You guys have been good friends since college, I’m sure you can get through a friendly weekend together.”

Jacob’s words were far more comforting and assuring than Eric’s. Hyunjae took his words to heart and agreed, allowing the three of them to properly get to their dinner. A cloud of doubt still obscured Hyunjae’s thoughts, but he did his best to push them to the back of his mind. He had decided to help you, and he knew that he could get through it without messing anything up between the two of you.

Or, at least he hoped he could.

The Friday before your sister’s wedding, you swung by Hyunjae’s place to pick him up for your flight. You would be spending three nights at the beach, all paid for by your sister and her fiancé, returning back home on Monday after they married on Sunday afternoon. When you arrived at Hyunjae’s place, he was already waiting for you outside in a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, looking comfortable for the plane ride. He smiled when he noticed you, even taking the time to excitedly wave his neck cushion in the air at the sight of your car.

“Mr Lee Jaehyun?” you asked, rolling down the window so he could hear you. “I’ve been sent to pick you up.”

“Sorry,” Hyunjae said with a small shrug, making his way to your car. “I’m actually waiting for my girlfriend. We’re going to a wedding together this weekend.”

You laughed at his way of getting into character, unlocking your doors to let him hop into the passenger seat of your car. He tossed his duffel bag into the back seat with yours. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to that,” you mused. “Calling you my boyfriend and being called your girlfriend.”

“I guess so,” Hyunjae grinned. “Unless you want to tell your family that you picked me up on the plane ride?”

You burst into more laughter at his words. “Sure,” you joked. “I can tell them that you’re married and have two kids but I just had to have you, so I seduced you by giving you my in-flight snacks in hopes that you’d be my date.”

“That doesn’t sound bad,” Hyunjae admitted. “I’ll take your snacks as payment.”

“No way,” you denied, driving towards the airport after Hyunjae had his seatbelt on. “You’re getting a beach weekend with your favourite person in the whole world as payment.”

Hyunjae sat up straight, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Jacob’s coming too?!” he exclaimed.

You gasped. “I’m so telling Eric that you said Jacob’s your favourite.”

“Like Juyeon isn’t his favourite anyway,” Hyunjae physically swatted your words away with a scoff. You grinned at this, knowing that Hyunjae and Eric were two peas in a pod.

The plane ride was fun enough; you and Hyunjae spent the first half hour of the flight playing games and trying not to irritate the passengers around you too much, until the both of you got tired and eventually fell asleep. Hyunjae had let you rest your head on his shoulder and the two of you shared a blanket that you had brought with you, knowing how much Hyunjae hated the plane blankets.

By the time the both of you woke up, you had taken a nice nap and already arrived in Jeju Island. You took the car that your sister had sent for you and made your way to the hotel where everyone was staying. Your flight had been in the afternoon, so by the time you arrived at the hotel, it had already gotten dark. Once your sister spotted you, she squealed in excitement and pulled you into a hug.

“I missed you!” she told you, genuinely meaning it. The two of you hadn’t lived in the same city ever since she finished college six years before you, and it was getting harder and harder to make time to see each other. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Of course I’m here,” you rolled your eyes, pulling away from her tight grip. “You’re getting married, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Your sister winked at you before giving Hyunjae her attention. “You must be the boyfriend,” she said, holding her hand out for Hyunjae to shake.

He took her hand, giving her his best smile as he introduced himself. Even though your sister was getting married and completely in love with her fiancé, you could see the way she was instantly smitten by Hyunjae’s sweet smile and voice. He simply had that effect on people.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m so glad you could make it, too! Y/n’s been avoiding all of my questions about you recently so I’ll just have to grill you myself,” your sister joked.

Hyunjae laughed nervously. Even though he wasn’t really your boyfriend, he still wanted your sister to like him. The two of you had always been close, and it was important to Hyunjae that he get your family’s approval.

“If you have time,” you corrected your sister. “It’s your wedding weekend, don’t count on having so much spare time to interrogate Hyunjae,” you added, giving Hyunjae a reassuring smile.

“I’ll make time,” you sister replied, giving you one last hug before rushing off to tend to something the wedding planner was asking her about.

You and Hyunjae decided to take her absence as a chance to check in at the front desk. The concierge gave you two keys for your room, and you followed the numbers on the doors until you could see your room. As you entered, you couldn’t help but think about how lovely the room was. It was open and bright, windows cracked just enough for the breeze from the ocean to waft throughout the space freely.

There was only one problem.

“One bed?” Hyunjae stammered, the large queen-sized bed being the first thing he spotted.

“Oh,” you hadn’t given it much thought when you came in, instead taking the time to step out onto the balcony and admire the night view of the ocean. “Well, I was with my ex for almost a year so… I guess my sister thought this would be okay,” you explained. “I don’t mind sharing.”

“Oh that’s fine,” Hyunjae smiled, placing his duffel bag on the floor under the desk. “I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he decided, taking a seat on said sofa.

It looked big enough for him to sleep on, but you didn’t think it was necessary. “Really, I don’t mind,” you repeated. “This bed is huge. And I know that you don’t have any weird sleep habits that I need to worry about.”

“I insist,” Hyunjae said, lying down on the sofa and stretching out to demonstrate. “See! I fit perfectly.”

You bit your bottom lip. You didn’t realise that the idea of sleeping in the same bed as you was something that Hyunjae was so against. The two of you had been friends for years, and you considered Hyunjae one of your closest friends amongst Younghoon and Kevin.

You supposed it meant that Hyunjae was uncomfortable with the idea of you interpreting his actions as romantic instead of platonic; which you understood. You didn’t realise it would hurt so much to realise that Hyunjae didn’t see you romantically at all.

To hide this, you gave Hyunjae a shrug and sat down on the bed. “I propose that we order room service, watch a few movies, and leave the meeting of the extended family until tomorrow,” you suggested. “Thoughts?”

Having already closed his eyes, Hyunjae hummed in agreement. “Sounds good,” he said sleepily. “I’ll take whatever burger they have.”

You nodded, taking out the room service menu and flipping through it.

One overly large meal and two movies later, Hyunjae had trudged off into the bathroom to get ready for bed once you were done. You took your phone out to check your social media and found that your sister had also spent the night in for the most part; according to her Snapchat story. She and her fiancé had a similar evening to your and Hyunjae, except they shared a romantic bath amongst other things in their suite.

You laughed suddenly. “Hey Jae,” you called out to Hyunjae. “Have you ever had the urge to see what Eric and Sunwoo look like dancing salsa? Because if the answer is yes, you have to see Changmin’s Snapchat story,” you added.

Hyunjae emerged from the bathroom in his pyjamas, taking a seat next to you on the bed as you showed him the footage. The two of you giggled together, fondly making fun of your friends as you fabricated funny texts to send to the youngest two. Soon, the two of you had comfortably burrowed yourselves under the covers in the bed, yawning.

“You really don’t have to sleep on the sofa,” you told Hyunjae once more, just in case he changed his mind.

Hyunjae smiled timidly, shaking his head before pressing a kiss to the top of your head as he stood up. “I should get to sleep,” he said in lieu of an answer, making his way over to the sofa.

With a quiet sigh, you nodded and tucked yourself into bed alone, turning the lights off after sharing a good night.

You woke up with a start, having experienced a pretty weird dream you couldn’t recall anymore. Sitting up, you looked around to gage your surroundings and found Hyunjae shivering on the couch as he flinched and mumbled in his sleep.

Realising that he was having a bad dream, you quietly got out of bed and collected the blanket you brought from home to use on the plane from where it sat in your bag. Kneeling next to the sofa, you covered Hyunjae with the blanket over the thin sheet he had as a blanket to warm him up better. Then, you gently combed your fingers through his hair until he stopped shivering and his expression softened to a peaceful smile.

Fatigued, you trudged back to your bed and soon fell back asleep.

The next morning, Hyunjae woke up to the sound of the shower running. Sitting up, he realised that you weren’t in your bed and connected the dots in his tired state. Rubbing his eyes, he felt around the sofa for his phone an realised that a soft blanket was covering the sheets he was using last night. Realising that you had covered him after he had fallen asleep, a smile appeared on his lips.

The thought of you going out of your way to make him more comfortable caused butterflies to rise in his stomach. Hyunjae leaned back against the sofa, letting out something like a giggle as giddy emotions overwhelmed him. Your scent on the blanket was so comforting that he could have fallen back asleep again. Instead, he got up to make your bed along with his, and stepped out onto the balcony to look at the view.

“Morning,” you soon joined Hyunjae outside, your hair wet from your shower as you were dressed in your clothes for the day. Most of the day would be spent during the wedding rehearsal and other family activities, so you had put on a semi-formal little blue dress so you would be set for the evening as well.

“You look nice,” Hyunjae complimented in return, opening his arms for a hug. You chuckled, stepping into his arms and wrapping your arms around his waist. After being friends with Hyunjae for years, you knew that he was always in the mood for skinship in the morning when he was still waking up. “What’s the occasion?” he joked, perfectly well knowing the occasion was your sister’s wedding preparations.

“You’re hilarious,” you replied, pulling away and admiring the view during the day for the first time. “You should wash up. We have to be at brunch soon, and my family is going to be so much worse if we’re late.”

Hyunjae nodded, going to wash up. Knowing that he wouldn’t have the chance to change for the rehearsal dinner that evening, Hyunjae decided on a pair of jeans and a more formal shirt so that he didn’t stick out too much amongst your family.

For the majority of the day, you had helped your sister with her wedding rehearsal because you were the maid of honour. Hyunjae stuck around for a while to help, but you soon sent him off to have fun at the beach or do something else, feeling guilty that he was just sitting there helplessly. Once rehearsals were over and it was time for the rehearsal dinner, you and Hyunjae trailed off to the dining room, giggling as you kept trying to tickle each other.

“You guys are so cute,” your sister pouted when you entered. “Seriously. I can’t believe we’ve never met Hyunjae,” she added. “I mean, I’ve heard about you since Y/n went to college and yet this is the first time we’re introduced.”

“That’s my fault,” Hyunjae said. “I’m horribly shy.” Even after meeting once, your sister could tell this wasn’t true, earning a loud laugh out of her.

“Y/n,” one of your cousins greeted. You and Hyunjae had just taken your seats to eat at the large table your sister and her fiancé were to sit on the evening of their wedding. “Is this that boyfriend your mother’s been telling me about?” she asked. You greeted her, and the rest of your family, before confirming her question. “It’s so nice to meet you! After all this time, none of us have ever met you. Even the ones that live in Seoul…” she trailed off, eyeing Hyunjae with curiosity.

That’s because Y/n says you’re old-fashioned, rude, judgemental jerks, Hyunjae thought to himself, masking his thoughts with a smile and a vague introduction. “My job keeps me pretty busy,” he said vaguely.

“Of course,” your cousin nodded, her tone disbelieving. As dinner was served, you couldn’t help but laugh as Hyunjae confusedly used all the different sets of cutlery for all the wrong reasons. It didn’t matter to you at all, and the surprised looks from your family were priceless as well.

“Here,” you handed him the outermost fork. “You work your way in to your plate with each course,” you explained.

Hyunjae only smiled, grabbing onto your hand. “What would I do without you?”

“The two of you are just precious!” One of your favourite aunts exclaimed as she passed by. “How did the two of you meet?” she asked, smiling encouragingly.

“At college,” you told her simply, not having come up with a fake story beforehand. This was one of the reasons that you had invited Hyunjae; the two of you had a history and connection that you didn’t have to lie about. You only fibbed a little about the nature of your relationship.

Hyunjae laughed. “That’s a story you won’t want to miss,” he said, inviting your aunt to sit in the vacant seat next to him. “The first time I met Y/n was in the coffee shop on campus,” Hyunjae began. “I saw her leave a textbook in the cafe when she left. Later she came back for it and I told her that I had seen her and held onto it in case she came back.”

“How romantic,” a different aunt of yours cooed.

Hyunjae shook his head, an amused glint in his eyes as he remembered the story. “That’s what I thought,” he said, remembering how badly he wished for you to return so he had an excuse to talk to you. “I told her that the only way she could have her textbook back was if she agreed to go on a date with me,” Hyunjae continued.

You raised an eyebrow at this. You had always thought that when Hyunjae said he wanted to get coffee with you that day, it was a casual invitation. Now that you thought about it, you could have interpreted it as a date as well. You wondered what Hyunjae thought it was.

“She told me I could keep the book,” Hyunjae added, making your family complain around you. “She left and I held onto her book, hoping that she’d change her mind. A month later, I get a call from the University library saying that Y/n’s book was rented and that I owed them $100 for keeping it past the rented time.”

You laughed at this, remembering how you had purposely let Hyunjae keep the book to teach him a lesson about ultimatums. This caused all of your family to scold you. Still, they were completely hooked onto Hyunjae’s story.

“Eventually, Y/n found out about the $100 I had to pay and felt bad. So, she reached out to me and said that she wanted to pay me back because she didn’t realise how much the fee would be. I told her that I’d just settle on getting to know her better. The rest is history,” Hyunjae finished, looking proud of the way he had intrigued your relatives.

“I don’t like ultimatums,” you defended yourself. “I thought I should teach you a lesson for trying to force a poor girl to go out with you.”

“Lesson learned,” Hyunjae nodded. “Now, I’ll only ever force you to go out with me,” he winked. You felt your face warm at this, your family’s attention on the two of you not helping with your embarrassment. Somehow, Hyunjae was perfectly executing his position of fake boyfriend; so well that even you were momentarily convinced by his act.

“Alright, let’s stop hounding them,” your sister interrupted, taking her seat with her fiancé in tow. “Hyunjae, I’m glad that you didn’t give up on my sister,” she added, sending him an encouraging wink. Hyunjae smiled at her, pleased that your family seemed to warm up to him.

As the evening went on, your sister pulled you aside to speak with you in private. “Hyunjae is way sweeter and funnier than you described,” she admitted to you.

“Really?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Plus he’s really handsome. He has very honest eyes,” she added thoughtfully. “When he sees you, he gets little sparkles in his eyes. Like he can’t believe the treasure he’s looking at.”

You scoffed. “I highly doubt that,” causing your sister to nudge you with her elbow.

“Trust me. I’m about to be a married woman,” she said with an air of wisdom that made you smile. “Hyunjae has it bad for you. I’m just glad he’s not as vacant as you described him to be.”

You had indeed described your ex boyfriend to your sister in detail. And of course you knew that Hyunjae was everything your ex wasn’t: warm, playful, inviting, charming, open; you could go on for days about all the amazing qualities you saw in Hyunjae that you wanted in a partner.

By the time dinner was over, you, Hyunjae, and most of the people at the rehearsal dinner were just a little bit tipsy. You and Hyunjae were mostly just a little bit buzzed, easily making your way back to your hotel room without any trouble or confusion. “That was fun,” you said, lying down on the bed as soon as you arrived. Hyunjae helped you with your shoes before he followed suit, lying down next to you on the bed. “I can’t remember the last time I actually had fun around my extended family.”

Hyunjae smiled. “I’m really glad you had a good time.”

You turned to face him, seeing him already watching you with his head propped up on his hand. Seeing him there, you were reminded of what your sister said about Hyunjae having honest eyes. There was certainly fondness and affection in his eyes, though you couldn’t tell if it was romantic or platonic.

Up until last night, you had never realised you wanted it to be romantic. That evening only seemed to confirm that you did.

“Thank you, Hyunjae,” you whispered. “I genuinely don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here.”

Hyunjae raised the hand he wasn’t leaning on to brush your hair out of your face. “You would’ve done just fine,” he assured you. “Now let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a long day.”

You nodded, getting up to change into your pyjamas. By the time you returned, Hyunjae had done the same, tucking himself under the covers of the bed. “I hope that offer still stands,” he added, referring to how you said he could join you in the bed.

“Just don’t steal the duvet,” you mumbled, getting under the covers and cuddling up to Hyunjae for comfort. He grinned, reaching around to turn the lights off before wrapping an arm around you and nodding off to sleep.

Your sister was having a meltdown.

You had heard of brides getting cold feet right before the wedding ceremony, but you hadn’t expected it from your sister. You were in your silver silk cami bridesmaid dress, having your hair and makeup done perfectly for the occasion so that your sister was happy with how everything looked. And yet, your control-freak sister was freaking out about the idea of marriage.

“I don’t know if I can commit to someone for my whole life,” she ranted, pacing in her wedding dress as you and her bridesmaids tried to calm her breathing.

“But you love him,” you reminded your sister. “You love him so much that commitment isn’t scary around him,” you added.

“But marriage?” she exclaimed. “I don’t know if I can do it,” your sister stopped her pacing when she spotted your concerned expression. “Do you love Hyunjae?” she inquired.

The question threw you. “W-what?” you stammered.

“Do you love Hyunjae?” she repeated. “Could you do this with him? Commit?”

You thought it over.

You and Hyunjae had a long history of friendship together, but you always knew that your friendship with him was special. Sometimes it felt like you could read each other’s minds. Even though your friend group was extremely large, you always made time for one another and would drop anything to help the other person.

Hyunjae was your rock, somebody who steadied you and helped to point you in the right direction when you were lost. And he was beautiful; not just because he was handsome but because he had a heart of absolute gold. He even agreed to come here and pretend to be your boyfriend just to stop you from having one uncomfortable weekend.

“Of course I love him,” you admitted. It was the first time you had said it out loud to yourself, and you were saying it to your sister and all of her bridesmaids. “Of course I would commit to Hyunjae.”

“Isn’t that scary?” your sister whined. “I would give everything to my fiancé. That scares me.”

“It’s terrifying,” you agree. “But the fact that you’re both here means that your love for one another outweighs the fears and uncertainty. Now are you going to leave him standing here alone or are you going to be with the man you love?”

You weren’t sure who you were talking about anymore.

Hyunjae understood what Jacob was talking about when he said that attending a wedding with the person you love is different.

The moment you walked up the aisle in your silver dress, Hyunjae felt all the air leave his lungs. It almost hurt how stunning you were, and how much Hyunjae wanted to run up to you and kiss you. You smiled at your sister’s guests, winking at Hyunjae as you passed him to stand up by the alter, waiting for your sister. You gave her fiancé encouraging smiles, knowing that he felt nervous about the ceremony too.

Hyunjae was sat somewhere in the middle of the chairs, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself since he didn’t know your sister or her fiancé personally. He had taken a seat with your kind aunt, the one who had asked him how the two of you met the night before, and she could see exactly what Hyunjae was thinking.

“Are you thinking of proposing?” she wondered, causing Hyunjae to choke on air in surprise.

“M-me?” he asked. “Oh. No. Um, not yet,” Hyunjae admitted to your aunt, feeling shy that she had just asked him out of nowhere. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, the way you look at her,” your aunt said, as if this explained everything. “It looks like you’re ready to walk up that aisle to meet her at the alter at any moment.”

“Oh,” Hyunjae blushed a deep red.

Everyone stood for your sister when it was time, compliments and happy sighs filling the room at the sight of her in her wedding gown.

As the wedding proceeded, Hyunjae could feel his eyes filling with tears. Your sister and her fiancé loved each other so openly and intensely. Everything they said perfectly matched what Hyunjae wanted to tell you.

You seemed to be in a similar situation, on the verge of tears because you knew your sister was going to marry the love of your life, and because you knew you had found yours. It was always easy for you to find Hyunjae in a crowd; the two of you were like opposite sides of a magnet, constantly pulling towards each other. You smiled at him, a small laugh leaving your lips when you saw how emotional Hyunjae was getting.

If Hyunjae’s eyes were as honest as your sister said they were, then Hyunjae must have loved you.

“You look so beautiful,” Hyunjae complimented as the two of you danced. Your sister’s wedding reception was in full swing. She had thanked you profusely for helping her through her meltdown, citing the day as the most wonderful in her entire life. Her husband looked at her with so much affection that you felt your heart stutter when your sister returned his every emotion with a single glance.

“Thanks, Hyunjae,” you thanked him. “You look very handsome this evening, too,” you admitted, adjusting your hands around Hyunjae’s shoulders to be more comfortable. “How did you like the ceremony? I hope this weekend wasn’t a total waste for you,” you added.

“Not at all,” Hyunjae shook his head. “I had a lot of fun this weekend. Your sister’s interesting, she’s a lot like you.”

“I hope that’s a compliment,” you joked.

“You are magnificent,” Hyunjae said as seriously as he could. “It’s the highest compliment I could grant her.”

You smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek. “Aw, is that it?” your sister’s familiar voice teased as she and her husband danced next to you and Hyunjae. “Come on, I want to see a real kiss!”

“Dude,” you hissed, embarrassed at her prodding.

“Oh come on,” your sister rolled her eyes. “It’s my wedding day! You can’t say no to a bride on her wedding day, it’s bad luck.”

“Isn’t that only before the wedding?” you changed the subject, not wanting to make Hyunjae uncomfortable. You could see him shuffling his feet as his grip on your waist loosened.

“No, it’s the whole day,” your sister insisted cheekily.

Hyunjae was growing exceedingly nervous. “Excuse me,” he muttered to your sister, bowing his head just slightly before releasing his gentle grip on you and stepping off the dance floor.

You were left alone, surprised by his sudden exit. Your sister and her husband seemed just as startled. “Is he really uncomfortable with PDA?” your sister asked. “I’m sorry, Y/n, I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s fine,” you assured her, giving her what you hoped was a convincing smile. “I’m just going to go check on him. Congratulations again, you two,” you gave them both a hug and followed in Hyunjae’s footsteps. You found him further down by the beach, sitting in the slightly damp sand and staring out into the dark ocean. “Hey,” you greeted, taking a seat next to him. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be,” Hyunjae replied, purposely keeping his eyes trained on the ocean despite seeing you trying to meet his gaze. “It’s fine. You always kissed your ex in front of us, I should have realised that your sister would ask about something like that.”

The mention of your ex boyfriend made you raise an eyebrow. “Right,” you said, discouraged that Hyunjae was acting so cold. “I didn’t realise that the idea of kissing me was so horrible that you had to leave,” you tried to say it as a joke but though your tone gave away how his actions had burned you.

“Don’t joke about that,” Hyunjae said.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t find it funny,” Hyunjae snapped. “Okay? I don’t find it funny that kissing me is a joke to you.”

You backtracked. “Hyunjae, that’s not what I meant.”

“Isn’t it?” Hyunjae asked, finally turning his head to meet your eyes. His usually bright eyes were clouded with negativity; insecurity and sadness prominent in them. “You joke that the idea of kissing you repulses me, when that’s exactly how you feel about me.”

“That’s not true,” you denied immediately. “I would never think that about you, nor would I joke about that, Hyunjae,” you sighed, closing your eyes tightly. The image of Hyunjae being upset with you only made your head spin. “I just said that because I didn’t want you to feel pressured or anything. Of course I don’t hold the fact that you don’t see me romantically against you, I just didn’t know that you were so against it, is all. I guess that’s good to know,” you mumbled.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Hyunjae inquired. “After all these years, you can’t possibly think that I don’t have feelings for you.”

Your eyes opened. “Well, you never said anything…” you trailed off. “I’m not one to make assumptions.”

Hyunjae gathered all the courage he had left in him, ignoring the rising beating of his heart. “I’m saying something now.” he said. “And I’m telling you that I’ve loved you since that day you called me to compensate me for the $100 fee I paid the library for your textbook. I loved you then, and I love you now.”

You smiled, leaning in to kiss Hyunjae’s lips. “I love you too, Lee Jaehyun,” you told him as sincerely as you could muster, stroking his cheek with your thumb and relishing in the way his arms came to wrap around you. Hyunjae leaned in to kiss you again, longer this time and with more eagerness than the first time. You felt your lips bruise just slightly at the pressure and duration of your kiss, allowing Hyunjae to pull away so you could both catch your breath.

Hyunjae smiled, pulling you into a hug and pressing a kiss to your nose, cheek, and temple. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to stop pretending to be your boyfriend.”

You laughed, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pulling Hyunjae closer to you, inhaling his scent and memorising the way you felt in his grasp. “I think I’m okay with that.” You sat like that for a while, listening to the ocean waves and letting your hair blow in the breeze.

“Hey Y/n?” Hyunjae asked, earning a hum. “Beach wedding or church wedding?” he asked.

Chuckling, you pull away from the hug to take his face in your hands. Observing his eyes and the way they glittered with love, you shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

note: i feel like this one the cutest one so far but idk. what did you guys think? i hope you enjoyed it!!

[startanewdream]

Hiya, Mah! Please, if you feel like it, could you write something with: "9. “I’m too sober for this.” “You don’t even drink.” “Maybe I should start.”? For whichever ship you want to :)

Hi! 💓

For you I wrote a missing moment with my all-time favourite Sixth Year Pining Harry. Hope you enjoy this moment and thank you so much for joining this silly game :)

__________

Harry registers the heavy scent of flowers even before he notices it’s Ginny who sat next to him on the couch. He flinches, not wanting her to be so near him, though it’s all for the wrong reasons.

It’s really hard to pretend he isn’t crazy about her when she is so close, wonderful perfume in the air, so near that he wonders how it would be to turn towards her and see her eyes sparkling with a surprise for a second as he would lean even closer, and then Harry would close his eyes and…

She has a boyfriend, stop it. She is not interested.

That thought never makes his dreams go away, though.

‘Ugh,’ Ginny complains, pressing her temples and Harry almost offers to replace her hands. He could massage her, that would be a friendly thing, right? Not really, he admits. ‘I’m too sober for this.’

She frees one hand to indicate everything around her. Fred and George are sitting together at another couch, face troubled after being reprimanded by their father; Mrs Weasley is crying in the kitchen, her husband holding her; Bill and Fleur are close by the Christmas tree, and Harry thinks Fleur is being very accomplished in easing Bill’s worries, so he turns his eyes away quickly.

Harry isn’t sure what’s upsetting Ginny more, but he knows he is the reason Christmas spirit is so low.

‘You don’t even drink,’ he notices grimly.

‘Maybe I should start.’ She opens one eye. ‘Do you think Mum would notice if I went to the liquor cabinet?’

‘Do you have one?’

‘No, probably not. Or else Fred and George would have discovered it already.’

‘They are of age. I’m sure they can provide you with some firewhiskey.’

‘Harry, Harry.’ Now she opens both eyes, looking more relaxed as she watches him with something close to amusement. ‘Shouldn’t you be talking me out of my underage drinking?’

He can’t help his smile. ‘I know that the easiest way to convince you to do anything  is to forbid you.’

Ginny laughs. It’s not her brightest laugh, not with the mood still sober in the house—the Minister’s visit weighted them all—, but it’s nice all the same and it warms Harry more than the eggnog he drank.

‘You know me too well, Harry.’

He looks away carefully now. He noticed her, all right, but he doesn’t want her to see how much. It’s certainly more than reasonable for friends.

‘Better than most,’ she adds, somewhat heavier now, and Harry watches her again. Ginny is looking at the lights of the Christmas tree thoughtfully, seeming to even ignore her brother snogging her fiance next to it.

‘Got a problem?’

She blinks, snapping out of something. ‘Problem? No, I—’ she shakes her head. ��Never mind, today was just a mess.’

‘I know. I’m really sorry.’

Ginny frowns. ‘Sorry for what?’

Harry sighs, glancing guiltily in the direction of the kitchen. ‘Well, Percy and the Minister—’

‘No one forced Percy to be a git, Harry,’ she says, somewhat more like herself suddenly. ‘He came here as the Minister’s lapdog because he wanted to.’

‘If it weren’t for me, he would still—’

‘Still be blissfully ignorant that You-Know-Who returned?’ she asks forcefully. ‘Find another stupid reason to betray his family?’

‘Yes,’ he agrees, sad. ‘But it wouldn’t be me.’

She shakes her head. ‘Stop it. Really. It’s his choices, and you’re not responsible for them.’

Harry doesn’t answer, stealing another glance to the kitchen. He can hear a sniffle coming from there.

‘No one blames you, Harry, especially not Mum.’

He looks back at her, almost smiling. ‘Sometimes it's like you are reading my mind.'

And then he wonders if it wouldn't just be easy if that was the case; if Ginny could just see how he feels about her, how she is so bright and how much... How much she visits his dreams.

Maybe it's good she can't read him that well.

'I know you too,' she answers calmly. 'If you are not blaming yourself for something, you call it a bad day.'

'I can not blame myself… some days.'

She raises her fist, holding an imaginary cup.

'To only blaming yourself for things that are under your control,' Ginny declares, and Harry toasts playfully with her.

Ginny blinks, taking a deep breath, then she picks up a book that was standing on the coffee table in front of them, flipping through it. Harry notices all pages are blank.

'It's a sketchbook,' she says, knowing he is looking. 'Dean gave me for Christmas.'

'Oh.' A weight drops in his stomach, unpleasant. 'Nice.'

'Yeah, I told him I wished I could draw like him and he thought I could begin…'

She looks a little troubled at the book and Harry suddenly knows what's on her mind.

'It's just a sketchbook. Nothing else.'

'I… I know.' Ginny sighs. 'Blame ourselves only for what we can control, right?'

'Right.' He smiles. As jealous as he feels about Dean giving her a Christmas gift, he decides that making her feel better is more important. 'What are you going to draw?'

Ginny grins as if unable to resist his joyfulness. 'Oh, I don't know. Nothing probably. When I said I wished I could draw like him it was more wishful thinking, not that I really wanted to do it. I am no artist.'

Harry indicates the room, so bright with the paper decoration she had spent hours doing. 'I don't know, decoration is stylish here.'

'Thanks,' she laughs, not really taking him seriously. 'Well, I can't draw still. I have no patience for it.'

'Then let's not draw.' He looks around until he finds a quill and ink. 'Doodle. Write a short story.'

'I could write a poem,' she says, just a really teasing, a blush coming to her cheeks.

Heat creeps upon his neck too.

'You are good with rhymes,' he whispers.

There is a moment of silence, and Harry feels Ginny's eyes over him as if she is trying to assess if he is messing with her or, somehow, really complimenting her for her valentine's card from years ago.

Again, he almost wishes she could read her mind.

Then she lets out a sigh, placing the quill over the first page of the sketchbook and drawing a grid. She draws a cross at the middle of it, watching the ink dry before offering him the quill.

'Your turn.'

Their hands brush when he goes to pick the quill and for a moment, three very short and very long seconds, their eyes meet. Maybe she can read his mind after all, because her eyes are sparkling, a blazing look on them, and she has to know how he feels about her because he is sure he is matching her gaze. The same longing, the same emotions, the same urge to just lean in and…

They blink at the same time. Harry draws the nought anywhere, not really paying attention, but Ginny ends up allowing a draw.

At the end of the game, she looks at their art, that silly game of noughts and crosses that is the only thing in the sketchbook, a satisfied smile on her lips as if that's the kind of thing she wants to fill those pages with.

Harry wonders if she wants to fill pages with him too.

'Another match?'

Harry can't refuse her.

__________

Please join me in this birthday special (asking for a prompt! Let me see your work too! 😍)

[teddybasmanov]

You bite the feeding hand And it will crush you where you stand

Time to put that Spymaster headcanon here properly.

TW: mentions of poisoning and death, spoilers for the old Spymaster videos.

Word count: a bit more than 800 words.

Notes: typed on the phone and badly edited.

When he walks out of their room, they stop him: "One last question, your Excellency."

"Yes?" he is surprised by how calm their voice suddenly is.

"What colour suit are you wearing for the portrait? I'll have to pick a complementary one."

He says that he's going to wear what he has on right now and leaves puzzled.

The change in their attitude is instant - as if someone has flipped a switch: they are polite and friendly with his guests, they're all giddy and excited for the wedding, they look at him with dreamy eyes and lovesick smiles.

"Didn't you say you betrayed and kidnapped them?"

"I did, I don't know what's going on either."

He leads them aside: "You don't need to put on an act you know? All of my friends know what's going on."

"An act?" they bat their eyes in confusion "What are you talking about, dear?"

"You don't have to pretend to be in love with me!" This is starting to get frustrating.

"Pretend?!" the ruler sounds offended, "Oh, darling," their eyes and voice softens, "I understand, please calm down - these are just wedding jitters, it will pass." They put their hand on his cheek and he doesn't know how to react, "I do love you. Now let's go, it's rude to keep our guests waiting," and with that they tug him back to the hall.

The marriage goes just as planned, they return to the palace with a pomp and he is more and more doubting his sanity and questions his feelings for his now spouse. He can't exactly complain - this is more than he could have hoped for, but at the same time the closer comes the part of his plan when he has to start slowly poisoning them, the less certain he is about the plan itself.

And then they get ill.

He's simultaneously summoning all the doctors and shaking the soul out of all his agents in the castle: who dared start the next step without his orders?! No one. No one did, as well as none of the doctors, healers or priests are able to help the ruler. He spends more time by their bedside than in his office or throne room.

They slowly fade and pass away holding his hand.

He arranges a grandiose funeral - he had already planned it but for all the wrong reasons. Little does he know that the Royal crypt is emptied the night after they were buried. Even less did he know that despite his wide net of spies and agents there were still quite a few servants and guards loyal to the monarch and monarch alone.

He reached his goal, he should be happy about it, shouldn't he? The former spymaster, current king, is devastated. Everything around him reminds him about his spouse. He stands in front of their couple portrait and just cries. He hasn't cried since he was a child. He finds a note in their handwriting on his bedside table: "Still didn't sell the painting, then?" He throws it into the fireplace, terrified. In the next few weeks he finds a handkerchief smelling like their favourite perfume, their favourite tome of poetry open on his office desk and many other little things that make his heart ache and mind rush. He starts hearing whispers and seeing figures in the shadows, he had always been cautious and suspicious, but now he becomes downright paranoid.

He stands in front of their portrait again. It's night time and the light of his candle dances on the walls. He can almost see their eyes flicker on the painting.

"You come here often," he quickly turns around, almost dropping the chandelier. They're standing in front of him, in the same outfit they were that day the portrait was drawn - the one that matched his.

"Darling, I" he rushes towards the ghost of his spouse, but they stop him with a gesture and he drops to his knees, "I am so sorry. I swear I didn't do it! I know I said I was going to kill you, but I didn't! I am so sorry, I should have never betrayed you! The gods have punished me so much by taking you away from me, please, forgive me!" he looks up at them and their expression is odd, a smile is wandering on their lips.

"Guards," they call firm and loud, "take him," they're now addressing two knights who have entered the room, "I think we've heard enough."

"You can't!" he struggles to get out of the armoured grip.

"Oh, no, darling" they put their hand on his cheek and it's warm and soft as it was that first day, "I'm the ruler of this country. I can do whatever," the hand moves to his hair, "I" their grip becomes painful as they yank his head up, "want" they let go of him. "Take him away," they wave at the guards, "I don't want to see him again before the gallows."