#things have gotten so much worse it's unreal

[lesbiansanemi]

We’ve officially hit the point where I can’t fucking sleep because of this shit and on top of everything the AC went out I literally want to cry I’m so stressed I physically feel like shit like I need to throw up I’m so tired but between my stomach hurting, the stress, and the heat I can’t

[honeyednights]

.

[nohaijiachi]

Why I Think The Fandom Has Been Doing Aziraphale Dirty Ever Since Season 1 And It's Only Gotten Worse With Season 2 And It's Killing Me Inside

Before we get into the subject matter of the title let me preface a couple of things:

1- All that will follow is, big surprise, my opinion and my interpretation of this character. Do I think I am The One And Only Who Gets The Blorbo Right and that my ideas are 100% the way the author(s) intended to convey the character? No.

More likely than not the way I see Aziraphale could be intensely different from the way Authorman sees him, or Actorman sees him, and I don't think that my interpretation is necessarily any more correct than anybody's else.

That said, if I also did not think that I am, in fact, correct on a certain level, I wouldn't have bothered forming such a thought out opinion of Aziraphale in the first place, nor would be sitting here, writing this post that I can already tell is going to be entirely too long and might probably ruffle some feathers.

So I'll be writing the rest of this post with the caveat that I while I do think my interpretation correct, I'm also not trying to change anybody's mind nor to discredit anybody's else interpretation of Aziraphale. We can sit here in the sandpit and hold different opinions and still be able to build sandcastles together, it really isn't that deep at the end of the day; I can assure you, I'm not here to fight nor cause fights with this one.

2- With the above point, comes also the fact that I won't bother continuously saying "In my opinion" for the rest of this post. You already know that. So, if something will come across as a bit caustic, do know that it is very much tongue in cheek and I am poking a bit of fun at general fannish habits that I am also very much quote-unquoute 'guilty' of having partaken into, and will partake into again plenty of times in the future, I'm sure.

So, with that: Here's Why I Think The Fandom Has Been Doing Aziraphale Dirty Ever Since Season 1 And It's Only Gotten Worse With Season 2 And It's Killing Me Inside

A large part of the people comprising this fandom prefers Crowley. There, I said it.

This fandom's preference blatantly skews toward Crowley. Can we admit that openly? Let's admit that openly.

To be clear, this isn't meant to be an accusation or recrimination or any other -ation you can think of, I am merely stating matter-of-factly a phenomena I've observed in the last four years.

It is also not a wrong nor bad thing in any way, shape or form. I adore Crowley myself. I love them both so much it's unreal.

But I started with that because I think it is very much a symptom of the fact that a lot of people don't get Aziraphale.

I remember back with S1 there had been plenty of times when I found myself reading discussions and opinion exchanges about Aziraphale and Crowley, their dynamics, all the things that went unsaid behind the things that were said, and found myself genuinely surprised by seeing how some people interpreted certain moments wildly different from how I personally saw them.

I look back at that and I think "Oh, sweet summer child". Nothing could have prepared me from the onslaught of takes about Aziraphale that make me go "Good lord, what???" in the wake of S2, and the infamous Last Fifteen.

Now because I don't want to be pointing fingers at specific things and risk upsetting somebody more than I already am by being open in admitting that, guys, yes, some of the takes y'all have been sharing make me go "Yikes(tm)", I'll move on the interesting part and what I would actually love to discuss, aka cracking Aziraphale's head open and see what that actual fuck is going on in there.

Another preface: Because this duo is intrinsically linked and woven together it is downright impossible to only focus on Aziraphale without also mentioning Crowley, so... Let me circle back to our fav demon bae for a sec, here.

I think the reason why it seems that a larger part of the fandom favors Crowley is because I feel like Crowley is a much easier character to grasp. He is very open in his thoughts and feelings, at any given moment us, the audience, have a much easier time watching a scene and sort of ruminating in the back of our heads about Crowley's motivations for saying the things he says and doing the things he does.

That isn't to say Crowley is a less complex character than Aziraphale. They are very much equally complex and multifaceted individuals with their strengths and weaknesses, their issues and the way they each cope with them, how differently they approach their existence and so on and so forth.

But whereas Crowley as a character presents itself with a certain dynamism and a far more outward openness about his complexity, Aziraphale does the exact opposite; we can say Aziraphale is downright hermetic about it.

For us, the audience, he presents a challenge that requires a good deal of thought being put into him to see over the facade he presents at a more superficial level; he requires time and effort to fully dismantle him in our minds to try and see what makes him thick (other than his thighs), and thus I think it is entirely natural that more people latch on the far easier to identify-with, and relate-to, Crowley.

And that is the inevitable consequence of everything that makes Aziraphale... Well, Aziraphale.

So, where to start? Let's try and jot down what Aziraphale truly is at his core.

He is a contradiction.

This man-shaped being is a walking contradiction, constantly existing in a state of being coated in three thousand layers of misdirection and obfuscation and double thinking.

Why is that? Well. He's an angel.

Aziraphale loves being an angel. It is a tenet of his entire existence and something he cherishes. He wants, so very much, to be his ideal of what a good angel is: An entity who is kind and loving and understanding and forgiving.

Of course us, the audience, know that is utter bullshit, because we know angels can be individuals just as complex as the humans Aziraphale loves so much, with all their inherent flaws and capability for cruelty. And, on a certain level, Aziraphale knows that too.

So there we have it, one element of contradiction: Aziraphale wants to think that angels are always Good and Righteous and Never Wrong; Aziraphale knows that angels aren't, in fact, always Good and Righteous and, by god, can they make plenty of mistakes, too.

What else? How about Aziraphale sitting there, being in love with a demon, fully knowing that at the end of the day demons really ain't that different from angels, and also desperately hanging onto the concept of Good vs Bad.

And he sits there, existing with these two contrasting idea equally taking space in his mind, neither side ever capable of taking over the other.

What else do we have? Aziraphale loves God and wants so hard to believe in Her love for humanity and Her ineffable plan, and Aziraphale also time and again does things that very blatantly go against Her will, lies to Her face, and Doubts. He Doubts, a lot, and that requires the capital letter because those Doubts are what spur him in going against everything he's ever told to believe in order to do the right thing.

Aziraphale's very existence is a constant push-and-pull of things he wants to believe and things he knows are real; things he's told to do and things he wants to do. That's how we get "My side" and "there's a bit of good in you" and "you are the bad guys".

And nothing he's lived through has managed to break him out of this unhealthy way of existing quite yet; that's why he acts the way we see him act in the Edinburgh flashback in S2, or at the start of S1 when Crowley has to ease Aziraphale into the idea of trying to stop Armageddon with the usual song and dance of "temptation" and "plausible deniability" and "you'd be thwarting me", even though from the start we can tell there's a little part of Aziraphale who is clearly not at ease with the idea of the end of the world, and once he's been given 'permission' by Crowley nudging him, he is all the way in with the whole saving the world business, not take-backsies.

Both the moments I mentioned here are very important for different reasons, but of the two is very much the Edinburgh flashback that gets a lot more flack by the fandom and is blatantly misunderstood, which I think is the inevitable consequence of that minisode immediately following the glorious, beautiful, heartbreaking piece of art that is the "A companion to owls" minisode.

I've seen a lot of people lamenting that Aziraphale acts obnoxiously in the Edinburgh flashback and, yeah. He does. But I feel like the fact that we are seeing this after watching Aziraphale struggle his way through saving Job's children, even being willing to go to Hell for it, is a though act to follow and probably soured Edinburgh-Aziraphale for a lot of people, made them think that the character had regressed instead of progressing.

But, see, the way he acts is wholly congruous with who Aziraphale is and has always been and keeps being up to the very end of S2. Yes, even after what he does for Job's children.

If you get down to it, Aziraphale had been ready to give up and let the children die, in episode 2. For a brief moment, after Crowley told him he 'longed to destroy the blameless children', Aziraphale was walking away, having tried all he thought he could try to do to stop this senseless act. That was until Crowley tested him by making the crows bleat, cuing Aziraphale to the fact that his impression of Crowley wasn't wrong, and the he could count on him to do the right thing.

To be clear, I don't want to undermine Aziraphale's action by only giving the credit to Crowley but... It is, also, only thanks to Crowley cajoling him and giving him the right excuses, that Aziraphale feels safe in doing what he's always wanted to do all along.

He'd wanted to save Job's children, and thought he couldn't until Crowley threw him that hell of a lifesaver. He wanted to save the world and thought he couldn't until Crowley nudged him on the path of plausible deniability.

He wanted to save Elspeth's eternal soul, blinding himself to the hardships she'd have to endure in her not-eternal life, and was smacked right in the face by the reality of human suffering multiple times.

The way Aziraphale acts in that flashback can't be a regression, because there never was a progression in the first place: He'd always walked the line between Heaven's and God's will and his own, personal morality and sense of justice.

By all means, if we look at Uz-Aziraphale and modern-day-Aziraphale at the start of S1, his reticence about the whole saving the world business should, by all means, appear as a regression as well. You mean to tell me that he'd been ready to become a demon for the sake of three mortal children, and then suddenly a handful of thousands years later when faced with the prospect of the whole world going up in flames he'd just be all like "Heaven will triumph over Hell and it will be all rather lovely"? Like, fuck off, Aziraphale, you lying double-thinker, you (/pos)

Aziraphale constantly exist while being at war with himself. Circumstances have allowed him to rebel the will of Heaven and God more or less safely time and again, but he never quite managed to break free entirely. He'd always ended up being reeled back in, being fed the party lines, being made to feel shame for his independent thinking, until it all becomes too much and he is forced to step back from that freedom he'd been inches away from grasping.

Back and forth, back and forth, never stopping.

And all of this, all of what he is, makes it so hard for us, the audience, to truly see him. To truly grasp him. To truly watch any given scene with him and figure out what he might be thinking or feeling.

To understand Aziraphale is to understand what he is not saying when he says something, which is a good deal harder to do than it is to understand and relate to a character like Crowley, who very much revel in saying exactly whatever the heck he thinks whenever he damn well pleases.

All those layers of obfuscation and misdirection and double thinking that Aziraphale coats himself in are as much an armor that makes it harder for the audience to understand him as they are his very own downfall because, good lord, if you exist like that, if you exist forced to keep things hidden from yourself, well... It's inevitable that at some point you are going to stumble into pitfalls of your own making.

And I love him for it.

So, there? I hope I managed to explain something with this post, and that it wasn't just the rambling of someone who spends way too much time thinking about her blorbos. To be clear, I don't think people who haven't spent as much time as me trying to dissect and better understand Aziraphale's character are like, dumber than me or anything. It's just that this pair of angelic-demonic blorbos take too much real estate in my mind, lol.

Feel free to let me know your opinion and if you think I am wildly off mark and my Take Is Bad. I might answer, I might not, it all depends on time and my mood ◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜

[sl-ut]

ceilings

pairing: ellie williams x fem!reader

description: ellie and y/n are together when they’re in private, but she’s not sure if she’s ready to be with her in public. A newcomer to jackson might be the shove that she needs to decide whether she really wants her or not.

warnings: UNEDITED!!! slight hint of smut, reader has a bad rep, reader is a lil slutty (in a fun way), mentions of bad parenting, slightly mean!ellie, jealousy

words: 4.8K

date posted: 08/06/23

part two

Early morning patrol was going to kill Ellie someday, that she was sure of. The urge to stay in bed all day only worsened as the wind grew increasingly bitter with the oncoming winter. More often than not, she would be paired with Jesse or Dina, who both took their time apart to use Ellie as their unpaid therapist. At that point, she would almost rather have tense smalltalk with Joel or even suffer through Eugene’s ramblings–at least Eugene almost always brought weed to share between them. Plus, waking up before the sun had even risen halfway into the sky was easily one of her least favourite things to do, and her thighs were always sore after riding all day, no matter how often she was on horseback. 

The only thing that made it even worse in the more recent weeks, was that she found it so hard to drag herself out of bed while knowing who was still tucked into the numerous blankets. 

She made an effort to wake up early every morning, turning over as slowly as she could manage in hopes of not disturbing the slumbering figure behind her, settling onto her side as her fingers itched to reach out and feel the smooth flesh beneath the hem of her shirt. In such close proximity, she was able to feel the warmth of her body, blistering beneath the mountain of blankets. The girl was curled onto her side, shoulders rising and falling with every deep breath that escaped her parted lips. Before noticing her own movement, Ellie’s fingertips stroked against the softness of her warm cheek, stroking the sleep-swollen flesh in admiration with slow, gentle movements until the girl’s long eyelashes began to flutter. 

Y/n blinked a few times as she pushed through the grogginess, a dopey grin crossing her features sleepily as her eyes fell on the figure next to her. She tugged the blankets in closer to her chin as she readjusted her head on the pillow, smacking her lips a few times before mumbling out a warm ‘mornin’’.

“Sorry,” Ellie hurriedly pulled her fingers away, “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“‘S okay,” Y/n yawned, “I don’t mind waking up next to you.”

Ellie flushed, chest burning with the desire to snuggle so close to the girl that they became fused together. Her fingers moved down, searching blindly beneath the blankets in search of Y/n’s own hand, and tangling them together tightly.

The night before had felt unreal. Ellie had invited Y/n over, having made sure that they would be uninterrupted, to watch a movie on the shitty little box TV that she had brought out to her garage. In the dim lighting of the battery-operated lantern in the corner and the flickering TV, Ellie had admired Y/n’s features up-close in a way that she yearned to on a much more regular basis. The night had, of course, ended with Ellie tripping over her own feet in excitement as she was leading Y/n to her bed, wandering hands finally finding their purchase beneath the covers. 

Things had been that way for a while now. Ellie had known Y/n from a distance for quite some time before they started seeing each other, but hadn’t truly gotten to know her beyond a few things until Dina and Jesse ditched her at the Tipsy Bison in favour of Jesse’s bed. The two girls had a short conversation that night, and their relationship quickly snowballed from there. Small talk quickly turned into stolen kisses, and kisses turned into experimental touches–though it was always in private.

“I have to go soon,” Ellie whispered to her, “Patrol.”

Y/n let out a quiet groan, “Just skip today, I’ll do the same. Let’s just stay in bed all day.”

A small huff of a laugh escaped Ellie and she rolled her eyes, “Yeah, and risk us both being skinned alive by Maria?”

The girl shrugged lazily, shifting a tad closer to Ellie and nudging at her nose with her own playfully, “I can make it worth your while…”

Ellie’s fingers twitched, a knowing smirk crossing her dry lips, “Yeah? And how’s that?”

“Well, I was thinking…” She lowered her voice, as if they weren’t completely alone in the privacy of Ellie’s renovated garage, “I could get on top of you, and, you know…”

“I’m listening,” Ellie prompted her to continue with a wolfish grin.

“Well, I would get on top of you, get nice and close,” she giggled, “and then we could go back to sleep for a few hours.”

Ellie chuckled, pinching at her side playfully, “I should’ve known you were full of it when you said you would get on top.”

Y/n scoffed, swatting at her as she cackled at her own joke, “Uh, excuse me! I would get on top if you would let me!”

“Oh please, you wouldn’t even know what to do.”

“You wanna bet?” Y/n wasted no time in crawling on top of the brunette, grasping at her wrists and pinning them above her head with as much strength as she could manage, “What do you think of that, huh?”

Ellie’s eyes dropped from Y/n’s own to her lips, then down to the plush of her thighs from beneath the large shirt that she had worn to bed. She could feel the warmth of her centre through the thin fabric of her panties against the firm expanse of her abdomen, and she could make out the shape of her breasts through the worn fabric of her shirt. Her breath caught in her throat at the intimate position, fingers stretching out as she gauged how difficult it would be to break her hold. 

“I think you’re in over your head. You’re nothing but a little pillow princess, aren’t you?”

Y/n pouted, shaking her head in defiance as she bent down further to ghost her lips over Ellie’s before finally dropping them together in a firm kiss. Slowly, she began to rotate her hips against her, mewling against her lips excitedly and easily becoming overwhelmed at the slightest of touches.

Ellie took the opportunity handed to her, wrenching her hands free and manoeuvring herself to be propped up against her pillows while grasping Y/n’s hips in her strong hands while forcing them to continue on with her movements. Y/n shrieked in surprise at the jostling movement, but didn’t fight Ellie’s clear show of dominance and allowed the girl to guide her hips in grinding down against her abs. 

Small gasps fell from her lips as she urged Ellie to let her go faster, their lips moulding together to a series of sloppy kisses.

“See?” Ellie panted as their lips separated for air, “You can be on top all you want, but you’ll never be in control.”

Y/n moaned as the sensation of cotton rubbing against her sensitive bundle of nerves, the contours of Ellie’s abdomen acting as the perfect surface for her pleasure, murmuring out little incoherent sentences under her breath–a result of both the warm feeling that had begun to pool in her belly and the sheer exhaustion that still gnawed at her brain. Ellie whispered little praises to her, watching impatiently as her face scrunched up with every movement of her hips.

Her peak was torn away as a knock sounded on the door, Y/n finding herself falling face-first into the mattress as Ellie pushed her away as if she had burned her, tossing the blankets over Y/n’s body as the door swung open.

Y/n peeled the blankets off of her face, scowling at her unofficial girlfriend for throwing her to the side so haphazardly, though Ellie hadn’t even spared her a glance as she rushed out of bed and towards the door.

“Yo, Ellie!” Jesse marched straight in after knocking only once, “We’re gonna be late if you don’t drag your ass outta–oh.”

His gaze had quickly shifted past his friend’s alarmed expression to the flushed figure in her bed, a knowing look crossing his embarrassed features. 

“Jesse, what the fuck man?”

“Sorry,” He flickered his eyes to Ellie, not wanting to let his gaze linger on the half-dressed girl longer than necessary, “We’ve got patrol, so I guess I’ll just, uh, wait outside.” He paused at the door for a final remark before closing it behind him, “Hi, Y/n.”

Ellie dropped her head in embarrassment, hands on her hips as she shook her head, “Fuck.”

Y/n crawled out of the bed, cringing as her bare feet met the cold floor. Her fingers reached for Ellie’s back, barely ghosting her spine before the brunette ripped herself away, rushing around the room to collect her things.

“Hey,” Y/n called out to her, “I know you’re probably embarrassed over that, but it’s okay. I mean, he didn’t really see anything, but–”

“Yeah, well I’m pretty sure he’s not dumb enough to not figure out what we were doing,” Ellie remarked as she slid her jeans up over her thighs.

“It’s not the end of the world, now is it? I mean, you know what he’s doing when he and Dina sneak off, right? What’s the difference?”

“Difference is that I know that he and Dina are dating. This isn’t exactly something that I planned on telling people about.”

The blood drained from Y/n’s face, “Oh my God, Ellie. Are you not… I had no idea that you weren’t, you know, out to everyone. I’m so sorry, I would have taken it more seriously if I–”

“What?” Ellie scrunched her face up, “Are you kidding me? I dated Cat, everyone knows that I like girls.”

Y/n paused, the sinking feeling in her stomach returning, only significantly worse than before, “So, you weren’t planning on telling people about me?”

Ellie stood up from lacing up her boots, turning to shrug into her jacket and backpack quickly as she turned back to face Y/n with a sigh. Her shoulders dropped as she took in the wide, teary eyes of the girl she had been quite intimately embracing only moments before, “Jesus, I don’t have time to deal with this right now, ‘kay? We’ll talk when I get back.”

Ellie disappeared out the door without another word or glance, leaving Y/n to collect her things and flee back to her own home. 

* * *

Jackson was not a very big community,meaning that Ellie had come to know who most people were within the first three weeks of her and Joel settling into Jackson for good. Seth was a cranky old asshole, Big Frankie had a bad temper, and Jennifer was cheating on her husband with his brother, only he was too blind to see it. Joel wasn’t exactly one for gossip, so she did her best to follow by example and ignore the kinds of reputations that people held until she could judge for herself. That was until she met Dina.

Dina was the kind of girl who people aimed to please. Generally everyone was instantly drawn to her; pretty, smart, and confident, the kind of girl that everyone wanted to be or wanted to be with. She was the first person that Ellie seemed to actually click with, so of course she was willing to hear and trust her opinion of other Jackson locals. With older people, the general consensus was that they were either nice or absolute dicks with no in between, though things were much more complicated with people closer to their own age. 

There was a clear social hierarchy among the Jackson youths. Dina, of course, was among the top of this status quo, and had very strict opinions of those who she personally did not like. There were a handful of people who Dina wasn’t the biggest fan of, but there was no one else in Jackson that Dina seemed to dislike more than Y/n, though she was never very open about exactly why she didn’t like her, beyond several petty comments or calling her mean names when she passed by with a smile. Jesse had even let it slip one night just before greening out that Dina had once been friends with the girl, but was too out of it to tell her anything else.

Ellie decided that anyone who could have caused such hatred in Dina must have been the scum of the earth, and that it was in the best interest of herself and the relationship that she had with Dina to take up similar opinions, though she still couldn’t quite figure out how that kind of dreadful personality could exist within such a cheerful facade. Of course, Ellie was aware of the reputation that she had around town, and she had taken notice of how she seemed to hang around with different guys every few weeks, but did that necessarily mean that she was an awful person? She had also seen the way that she interacted with others around town, and had heard from Maria how sweet she was with the dogs when she worked at the kennels–things just weren’t adding up. 

When she asked Dina, she was quite vague about the actual issue that she had with the girl, instead choosing to explain why Ellie shouldn’t like her. 

“She’s slept with half the guys in Jackson, and tried with the other half. Guess they weren’t desperate enough to stoop to that level.” Dina had scowled, “Plus she’s such an airhead. Like, I figured that people nowadays needed to have some kind of common sense, but jeez.”

To be quite honest, Y/n was one of the first people who she had taken explicit notice of in Jackson, aside from Tommy and Maria, of course. She was the kind of girl that Ellie just couldn’t look away from, and always seemed to have a peaceful and soft aura about her. Whenever they happened to run into each other, she always greeted her with a smile and a soft hello, only to turn beet red and retreat when Dina came sidling up beside her. Whenever they were both at the Tipsy Bison, Ellie’s eyes couldn’t stop themselves from following her movements, internally cringing as she watched guys run their hands over her body and pulling a boisterous laugh out of her. 

“Can’t believe Keith is the guy of the week,” Dina raised her brows at the sound of the obnoxious giggling.

Jesse shrugged, keeping a neutral position that would only prove to piss his girlfriend off even more, “He’s a nice guy. Seems to like her.”

She snorted, “They always seem to like her, until they get what they want. After that, I guess she lets people see the real her.”

Later on that night, Ellie did actually get to know the real her after Dina and Jesse pulled their infamous disappearing act, and she still couldn’t figure out what kind of person could be so awful under such a starkly opposite front. She quickly grew to like Y/n much more than she wanted to–she wanted to be a loyal friend, to hate the same people that Dina did, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to. But what Dina didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, right?

It hadn’t seemed to be in the best interest of anyone to be open with her relationship with Y/n just yet. Dina would likely have given her the cold shoulder for God-knows how long, as she so often did with people, Jesse would have been forced to ignore her wherever possible, and Y/n would have faced some serious consequences from Dina and, by association, Jesse. 

Y/n had a reputation around Jackson, and it wasn’t as if Ellie was put off by it, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she was just the latest obsession and would soon be kicked to the curb. As much as she liked Y/n, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to risk losing Dina and Jesse if what they had was nothing more than a passing fling, so it only made sense that she hadn’t told them yet. Plus, that stupid grin on his face was enough of a reason not to tell them.

“Stop looking at me like that,” She drawled, trotting alongside him on Shimmer, “Seriously, I’ll punch that smug little smile right off your stupid face.”

Ellie was honestly surprised that he had contained it this long so far, waiting until they were a fair distance from Jackson to even prod at the questions he’s been dying to ask. 

“So…” Jesse paused, unsure of how to approach the conversation without being maimed by his best friend, “How long have you guys been… Are you together?”

“No,” She answered sharply, “We’re–I don’t know. A few weeks, I guess.”

“Honestly, I didn’t even think she liked girls. Does…anyone else know?”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “No, Jesse, Dina doesn’t know. She would probably kill me, which is why I didn’t tell you, and why you can’t tell her. Don’t bother asking anything else, ‘cause I’m not gonna tell you.”

Jesse grunted in response, nodding in silence for a few moments before he cleared his throat and leaned towards her ever so slightly as he muttered out his question.

“How is it?” He laughed at her incredulous expression, “What? It’s not like you can talk about this with anyone else, can you?”

She shook her head at him, turning her face away to keep her eyes on the path ahead of them, “I don’t–I mean…” Ellie sniffed, deciding to answer now rather than be bothered by him for the rest of patrol, “Yes, it is.”

Jesse howled in amusement, “Holy shit, you like like her, I can see it on your face.”

“I do not, I just–”

“You didn’t even look this smitten with Cat, and you were down bad for her too,” He continued, “So are you gonna ask her out?”

She shrugged in response.

“I don’t see why not. I mean, people talk, but she’s actually really nice, funny, not to mention that she’s like–”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Ellie pointed at him accusingly, “And you know why.”

“Because of Dina?” Jesse asked incredulously, “C’mon, don’t let her stop you from being happy. What happened between them, that’s like ancient history now, D will get over it.”

“Will she? I mean, she’s never even told me why she doesn’t like her.”

Jesse paused, almost as if he was unsure of how much he should actually reveal about the situation without betraying his girlfriend’s trust, “Listen, it’s really nothing. Just drama from when we were like thirteen, and you know that Dina can hold a grudge, but I really don’t think that she would be willing to just stop being friends with you because of it.”

Ellie shook her head once more, “Just forget it. This is supposed to be patrol, not therapy.” She chuckled at her own words, nudging at Shimmer to get her to pick up the pace and leaving Jesse in her dust.

***

The morning had progressed very slowly for Y/n. She had been left in quite a state; still frazzled from Ellie’s touches, while also distraught from her words. They hadn’t been very public about their relationship, if you could even call it that, but it hadn’t even occurred to Y/n that there might have been a reason behind the secrecy aside from Ellie’s preference to keep her life a bit more private. She knows that Ellie had been upset this morning, and she likely wouldn’t have said the things that she had otherwise, though that didn’t make it any better considering that she was upset because someone had seen them together.

Y/n knew what kind of reputation she had around Jackson. From a young age, she knew that she had issues with being alone–it terrified her to no end. Her father, while still doing the bare minimum, was not very present in her life beyond making sure that she was still breathing and punishing her for getting in trouble. Aside from that, he would have nothing to do with her, and more often than not, didn’t even spend the night in the same house as her. In truth, it would be more surprising if she hadn’t sought out comfort in others, and it was incredibly easy for her. 

The first boy she ever kissed was Frank Cahill, who was a year older than her and just happened to be there at the right moment. She had been crying to herself silently after a fight with her father, curling into herself on the front step of the empty house. Frank happened to be walking by and said the right words for her to fall so easily into his arms. 

From then on, Y/n fell in love with just about every guy she had ever been with. She needed companionship, and guys were willing to give it to her for the price of her body. The only issue being that not many stuck around afterwards, and some weren’t willing to “work for it” beyond what they deemed necessary, so she truthfully could not deny most of the rumours that had gone around about her. Of course, she wasn’t stupid and knew that many of these guys didn’t really like her, but those who were good enough at acting to trick her into believing their sweet whispers truly took a toll on her.

Which is why she was so caught off guard by Ellie’s treatment. Ellie had criticised the way that she allowed guys to treat her in the past, but made it clear to her that she didn’t think of her any differently because of it. If the embarrassment hadn’t been caused by the fact that she was a girl, it left her with no other reason other than that she was Y/n. Ellie was embarrassed to be seen with her, not because she wasn’t out yet, but because she didn’t want to be seen with Y/n in general. 

Ellie was the first girl that she had ever been with. In fact, she hadn’t even considered the fact that she might like girls until she found herself seeking Ellie out and eventually beginning to fall for her. She was different from the others, seeming to actually be interested in her as a person rather than just another warm body, and even after they had slept together for the first time, she still stuck around. She was the first person to make Y/n feel like she was worth more than what she actually believed, but their interaction during the early hours of the morning made her question whether Ellie was actually as trustworthy as she had believed her to be.

Her eyes were droopy as she brushed through the soft chestnut hair of what felt like the thousandth horse of the day. She hadn’t managed to fall back to sleep after returning to her own house and needed to be at the stables for her shift only a few hours later. She was dreading the fact that Ellie would soon be returning from her morning patrol and would be coming straight there to return Shimmer for the night. 

She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her name being called, managing a cheerful smile as her eyes fell onto Maria’s figure, then onto the shy expression of the girl behind her. 

“Y/n, this is Erin, she and her brother are new around town. I figured that the stables would be a good place for her to start out, so would you mind giving her a little show around when you’re done here?”

Y/n turned to face the girl, taking in her short brown hair and cocoa skin. She smiled at her kindly, nodding to Maria before offering her a hand to shake. The pair had fallen into an easy conversation, giggling quietly together in the corner of the stables as Erin helped her finish grooming the remaining horses.

Y/n found Erin to be a welcome distraction, not even noticing when Ellie and Jesse returned their horses. 

Jesse glanced over at the two girls, then back to his friend, who’s eyes hadn’t left them since they had first set foot in the stables. 

“Who’s that?” She asked Steven as she handed Shimmer’s reins off to him, an uneasy feeling settling into the pit of her belly.

“New girl,” He shrugged, “Weird, though. Could barely get a word out of Y/n all morning before she showed up.”

Ellie sneered as Steven led Shimmer back to her stall, resisting the urge to march over to the pair and stake her claim–but what claim? To the public, Ellie and Y/n barely know one another. They may speak in passing, but there really shouldn’t be any reason for Ellie to feel jealous over Y/n getting along with someone else. This is what she wanted, isn’t it? She had been mortified when Jesse caught them together earlier that morning, so what could have possibly changed enough in the few hours that she was gone in order for her to feel so differently?

The brunette would never admit it, but it had actually felt quite nice to be able to talk about the time that she spent with Y/n to someone–it made it feel much more real, like something real could actually sprout from their late-night talks and stolen kisses. Perhaps Dina could grow to accept Y/n as her partner, though she was certain it would take quite a bit of time for that to happen. 

That dreamy image seemed to shatter as Ellie whipped around, marching out of the stables and leaving the two girls to themselves. 

***

The Tipsy Bison was usually busy on Saturdays, and this one was no different. It had been a full day since Ellie had last spoken to Y/n, unable to get over her own pride and jealousy to approach her while she had Erin at her side, which seemed to be just about all the time now. She was thankful for the opportunity to get to the bar with her friends, to drink until her problems seemed so miniscule that she could almost completely forget about them. 

But then she caught sight of Y/n tucked into a corner booth, sitting suspiciously close to an all-too-obvious Erin. The mixture of annoyance with Dina and Jesse, who seemed to be moments away from sneaking off, the jealousy, and the heat of the hard liquor in her veins had her fuming. 

“Oh my God,” Dina had sneered in judgement, “Looks like she burned through all the guys in Jackson too fast and switched teams. Watch out, Ellie, you might be next.”

Jesse and Ellie shared a knowing look over Dina’s head, his dark eyes silently asking if she was going to do anything about the new girl blatantly flirting with Y/n, while Ellie’s simply betrayed the burning rage inside of her. 

She saw her chance when Y/n got up to approach the bar, leaning her arms on the sticky bar top as she waited for Seth’s attention. Ellie sidled up alongside her, remaining a casual distance away from her as she barked out another drink order for herself. 

“So you and Erin, huh?” She mumbled, glancing at the girl out of the corner of her eye. 

“Sorry, are you talking to me?” Y/n looked around dramatically, hand rising to grasp at her own chest in shock, “Last I heard, you couldn’t be seen with me.”

“You know that’s not…what I meant.”

“No, how could I possibly know what you meant, Ellie? When one person saw us together and you suddenly didn’t want anything to do with me, what else was I supposed to think?”

She shrugged, “I don’t–”

“And Erin’s just a friend, by the way.”

Ellie chuckled humorlessly, “You’ve gotta be stupid to not see how into you she is.”

Y/n shook her head, “You know, that’s the second time you’ve called me dumb in the last two days, Ellie. And so what if she likes me? Honestly, it’s kinda nice to–” she paused, choking on a sudden onset of tears. She shook her head, refusing to allow her own emotions to spill out with Ellie present, “It’s nice to be around someone who’s not embarrassed to be seen with me.”

As if on cue, Seth placed the two drinks down in front of Y/n, allowing her to snatch them away from him and flee before Ellie could even think of a response. 

[midnight-mourning]

*Taps mic* Heard y'all like Moon around here, you're in luck, this one's for you

massive, MASSIVE thank you to @lunarmoves for beta-reading this chapter!!

She put a lot of time and effort into making my BS readable for y'all and it's greatly appreciated <3 <3 <3

Shay also makes really good dca stuff (also sebastian solace but I know very little about the fish tbh) and you should check her out!

Also, happy 200k+!!! We're only 297k from truly becoming the 500k enemies to lovers slowburn of our dreams lmaoooo

But for real I apologize for such a delay with this one. If you'd like to hear my excuses/reasoning they're below the cut, or you can just go read the chapter whatever suits ya ^-^

Tag list (if you would like added please see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

CW: medical stuff & additionally a bit of unreality mentions

Okay going to try and keep this simple bc I've said parts of it before

So as most of you know, I've been sick for 3 months now

I've now been on two rounds of steroids, and currently on my third round of antibiotics, which are basically keep me fucntional, not improving

besides general discomfort and pain, my memory has been pretty shot at times, I will go through the day and barely remember what I did/what I'm doing/what I need to do

as someone who had brain fog caused by covid a few years ago, this was genuinely a scary experience because ultimately, this has been worse

i've felt out of control of my body, having times where I'm mid thought and then instantly lose it

this is not my normal, I usually pride myself on my memory, so losing it has been incredibly devastating and scary

this was not helped by the fact that the quick care I went to (THREE TIMES for this) basically kind of sort of tried to gaslight me into believing nothing could be done and that it's not an infection

so not only has this entire thing has gotten dragged out so much more, which makes me sad tbh, but I've also felt like I've been going crazy bc it felt like no one was believing me when i said I was sick and not getting any better (including friends, family, coworkers etc, though unintentional on their parts to be fair)

I feel like I've lost three months of my life and coming to terms with that has been, yeah

on top of all that, I'm still in school AND doing grad stuff, and while the school side of things has been okay (thank god), grad's had it's moments, won't get into it but have had multiple issues with my advisor that have been at times just really tough to deal with

Confused spirit got pushed to the back burner, because i quite literally at times could not think, and when it comes to this fic, where there's multiple ongoing plot threads, characterizations, lore, and so on to keep track of, it was just, impossible to me to even consider writing for it

having shorter stuff like promptober, the oneshots and such was great to keep me writing, and also still interact with everyone in the community, plus i had a lot of fun with them so that helped too

this is all to say that I do sincerly apologize for the delay, and at the very least I should've clearly communicated about there being a hiatus, when this all started I thought i'd be down for two weeks max, then as that time kept increasing I just kept putting it off and putting it off because i thought i was going to get better, and then I didn't

I do this for fun and for nothing else, fic writing isn't content (it's engaging with fandom) and i have to remind myself of that sometimes but given that I've been around in some capacity on and off I feel I should've said something in some regard

Having said all that, I'm doing okay now! Still sick, but as long as I'm on meds I'm functional, stuff is getting managable with grad, and hopefully have some fun things coming up irl! Point is, the last three months haven't been the best, but they've been alright, due in part to all the support you all have given me, so thank you for that, can't say it enough :)

Okay, I think that just about covers it, thank you for taking the time to read all of this if you did <3

[monimccoythings]

Alastor x Daughter!Reader: Runaway I (Platonic)

So, what would it happen if Y/N after a lot of time at the hotel, decides to run off and explore the human world? Just like it happened in Helluva Boss I think. This is lighter than the others, but I really wanted to write this one. This could be interpreted as some AU of the Au or even set in the same series after a lot of time has passed.

I know the Grimoire doesn't really look like that and is in the ownership of someone else, but I was thinking that since Lucifer is the King of Hell, he should have at least a copy.

Reminder: Alastor is in hell for a reason.

Tw: Controlling behavior, possessive behavior, Alastor being a very controlling dad.

tags: @anonymousewrites, @nonetheartist, @littledolly2345, @sunnyx07, @ouroborostheunholy, @mo-0-o, @sydneyyyya @lbcreations-blog, @kiraisastay

Things have gotten much better for you since you first arrived. It had finally gotten inside your thick skull that this experience was for real. As crazed as Charlie's dream seemed to be, you couldn't help but believe in her and her goals, given her optimism and enthusiasm. You could say this place was safer than anywhere else you had been crashing for the last ninety years.

But the safety of a place didn't always come hand in hand with feeling safe. And there was only one person to blame for that: Alastor.

If he had been overprotective as a human, as a demon he was much worse. He didn't give a fuck about subtlety anymore. He knew the kind of people that were out there; in fact, he was one of them! Time had proved over and over again you wouldn't make it out there without his protection! He just wanted what was best for you and he also casually happened to know what it was! He was that smart, hahahaha!

As a minor, there was little you could do in Hell, you couldn't drink, you couldn't smoke, you couldn't have sex. So that just nuked three of the most popular hobbies there. Not that you cared much, but it just really left you with a feeling that you didn't belong among the guests and staff friend group due to your youth. The emotional age gap was quite something. And there were times where you felt like the tag-along-kid more than a part of the team.

It was really embarrassing to pull yourself up to one of Husk's stools, ask for the strongest he had, and get served some pineapple juice. He may get a few laughs out of your antics, but you just wanted to fit in.

Sometimes you played with Nifty, since she seemed to be the closest to you in age. Unfortunately, Nifty didn't seem to know any game that didn't involve cleaning or roach mutilation. (how was she even able to find a murderous point of view to Parchis???)

Charlie and Vaggie were too busy managing the hotel and attracting new customers, but you got a feeling they still wouldn't manage to fill that void you seemed to have.

Angel was like the big brother you wished you had had back when you were alive. He loved to gossip with you and Cherri; even when you didn't understand half of what they were saying, it felt nice having some kind of normal teenage stuff around. He also liked to nudge you towards some potential boyfriends, saying that you were in 'in the age' *wink* *wink*. Your dad did not appreciate that.

Alastor wouldn't consider himself a boyfriend blocking dad, Heaven's, no! Just a humble boyfriend murdering dad. So whatever idea of dating or just hanging out with other people your age was out of the question. As soon as you started talking to someone that was in the same age range as you, his shadowy form started to appear behind you and his eyes changed into dials, that was enough for anyone to start running in the opposite direction (he had scared away so many pontential guests it was unreal)

You couldn't even own a phone. Your dad insisted that 'his hotel, his rules'. Any technology that surpassed the 50s was out of the question. (they still didn't have a working phone). If he caught you with one in your hands, specially a VOXTECH phone, even if it was not yours, the battery suddenly started to heat to unbearable levels and you just had to drop it before it exploded in green flames.

Where was the fun loving dad you grew up with? The one that at least had the decency to be a bit more discreet? 'Dead at the prospect of raising a teenage girl!' He liked to say with a laugh.

You talked to Rosie about it, hoping she would talk some sense into him, and he had the nerve to act all innocent and oblivious! Like you were the one being unreasonable!

Somehow, this safe haven had started to become like a prison. You found yourself feeling suffocated and alienated from the others. When you were out there on your own you had lived in fear and trauma, which you hated with all what remained of your heart; but now that you were in a relatively safe place, you felt isolated and trapped. There was no common ground. You needed to breath, to live (or unlive), to enjoy life! You were not a little girl anymore! (҉Y҉e҉s҉ ҉y҉o҉u҉ ҉w҉e҉r҉e҉!҉)҉

So, one day, while helping Nifty clean and hiding from the Radio Demon That Sees It All, you casually stumbled into something very interesting at Lucifer's workshop. It looked like an ancient book, unlike those at the library which you had read and reread over and over again (One could read one too many times Mr. Waddles Goes to Church before it started to get old).

Something in that book drew you towards it, you knew you shouldn't look. It was probably full of ancient demonic knowledge, but maybe a teensy weensy peek wouldn't hurt, right?

Your face lighted up when you opened the book, (and not only because the light was coming from it). There were no words to describe what you found inside. You could see everything inside of it, it was like it was filled with everyone's dreams and hopes, you wondered how something as beautiful as that had ended up in Hell.

Without thinking, you touched the pages which felt warm to the touch. In response to your delicate caress, the pages started shining even brighter. You were so mesmerized by it that you didn't notice how the room was starting to fill with small orbs of light that started moving around you at impossible speeds, like a tornado.

Crafting materials, toy ducks and gizmos were sent around the room due to the force of the movement. But you didn't pay them any attention. There was something truly magical about the orbs' dance. It was enrapturing.

The door shot wide open, revealing Lucifer, Charlie and Vaggie with an horrified look in their faces. They were shouting something at you, but you could barely hear them, too lost in the orbs and their hypnotic dance. So distracted that you didn't feel the chilling presence that joined them until he spoke.

"Y/N, my dear? ." You felt a shiver run down your spine and your heart filled with the fear of a child who knows they have been caught doing something they shouldn't. You could perfectly hear his radio filtered voice, clear as a day, quiet as the calm before the storm. "Step away from that book, cherie. You could get hurt, and we don't want that, do we? ." He spoke with the kind of condescending tone one would use with a little kid.

A new sudden emotion emerged within you, something you had never felt before and never had any need for it. Anger. Who was he to stop you? Why did he always treat you like you were one of his puppets? Like you were another toy he could dress up and command as he pleased? Why couldn't he let you live?.

Feeling braver, probably due to the book's influence, you looked at his red eyes defiantly, once again touching the pages. Despite his permanent smile, you could tell he was getting angrier by the second.

"Y҉/҉N҉" His body was morphing, growing, eyes already changing to those red radio dials that gave you the chills. "I҉ ҉F҉O҉R҉B҉I҉D҉ ҉Y҉O҉U҉-҉"

"No!" You found yourself surprised at your own voice."I lost my life for you, I got sent here because I tried to protect you, I wasted my life because of you!" That last part came a bit more demonic sounding than intended. "Now. I WANT TO LIVE."

And with that, you were enveloped in a bright light and dissapeared.

For a couple of seconds, nobody dared to make a move. After what felt like hours, reality seemed to kick in and everyone sprung into action; Lucifer desperately searching through the pages of a suddenly very uncooperative book, just in case you had been sucked in, Vaggie was already establishing a perimeter around the hotel and search parties, and Charlie, poor sweet Charlie was franctically looking through every single room on that floor.

The only one who hadn't moved yet was Alastor. Already shrunk back to normal size, he seemed completely relaxed and chill in what could be considered an extremely catastrophic situation to any parent.

"Ah, must be those teenage hormones kicking in." His voice sounded as cheery and joyful as always. Almost like he didn't care. Lucifer shot him a venomous look, silently urging him to show a little care for his MISSING DAUGHTER. But Alastor had already retreated back into the shadows and returned to his radio tower.

If only they knew.

The truth was that Alastor cared. Way too much. He sunk his claws into the table while he fought against the deeply buried instinct in him to let himself loose and destroy everything in his path. The chains in his neck, glowed menacingly, a bitter reminder that he wasn't at full power.

He had lost you. Again.

He had you there, close enough to reach and you had vanished before he was able to do something. You had run away.

The mere thought made his hands shake with anger, antlers already growing twice their normal size. How could you? After everything he did for your sake, for your safety, y҉o҉u҉ ҉d҉i҉s҉o҉b҉e҉y҉ ҉h҉i҉m҉??? His smile looked more like a grimace and his eyes were pools of red hot rage. Oh, you were so grounded when he got you back.

Now you were out there, who knows where. All on your own. Defenseless, at the mercy of his many enemies without anyone, HIM, to protect you.

He sent his shadows into the city, he would leave no stone unturned no crackden untouched until he found you. He didn't care who he had to kill, maul or destroy. You would be coming back with him. Only HE could keep you safe, whetever you wanted it or not.

His desperation only grew when his shadows came back empty handed, the crazed look in his eyes combined with the slasher smile only made him look like the deranged psychopath he actually was.

You weren't in the Pride ring. He was even starting to doubt you were in Hell at all. What was the last thing you had said?

His non beating heart gave a painful twist when your parting words echoed in his mind. The bitterness and resentment in your voice hurt his tainted soul in ways no other person could have. His claws dug even deeper in the wood.

No.

All he wanted was to keep you safe back at the hotel, to ensure no one in this hellish landscape ever laid a finger in your delicate skin. He was just being a good father. You may not understand it, and probably never would. That's irrelevant.

He had found you again after nearly ninety years since that fatidic night when he lost it all, he was not going to allow anybody to take you away from him.

A theory started forming in his twisted mind. You had said that you wanted to live. Alastor was no fool, he knew what the Grimoire could do, in fact he had been dying to take a peek himself. Whatever you had wished, would have probably come true. His grin turned sour.

You had gone where he couldn't follow.

The mortal plane.

Who knew the kind of horrors you were facing up there? The kind of fools that would dare to disrespect the child of one of Hell's most powerful overlords?

He couldn't go there, at least not physically. If he could synchronize his radio frequency with the ones on Earth, he may be able to locate you before some fuckwad up there decided to have their way with you.

"We're on air"

[skelliko]

Kazutora Hanemiya |°- crushing misunderstanding

|°-context: kazutora is crushing on you but he sees you and akkun walking together and assumes that you're both together making kazutora's heart to break not knowing that you and akkun are simply friends - mainly fluff not angst

final time line: 4th Division Captain: Kazutora Hanemiya Vice-captain: Atsushi Sendo (Akkun)

kazutora couldn't help but notice the scene that he had accidentally stumbled upon on, before he was gonna ignore it and think nothing much of it until he double looked and his heart managed to stagger in emotions, akkun walking with his school crush. kazutora's school crush.

despite akkun being Vice-captain of the forth division and them being good friends there's still things that kazutora doesn't mention and one of them being is who his heart flutters to.

his mind went to so many scenarios and reasons as to why, out of everyone it'd be you two who walk together and not only that but also holding little brown bakery bags, as if you both had bought a sweet desert together, and are about to enjoy it in each others company.

'no no no no no... their not though? are they?!' his mind was more than a mess

theres no other explanation other than your both either on a date or dating. or even worse, in an actual relationship. kazutora's mind went to so many lengths as he pondered and stalked you both, hiding behind corners, bushes and bus stops to wherever you both are walking to,

he was desperate to find out what was going on even though he knows he needs to let go and back tf up.

'akkun has never mentioned having a girlfriend though, let alone that he's talking to a girl...' that certainly reassured him a little but only for a few seconds when his overthinking took over again

'but maybe that's cause no one asked or mentioned anything! and here he is with the girl that I like, for fucks sake!'

he tried to get close to the both of you to try and hear what you guys were talking about but while doing so self awareness had hit him, he didn't want to get caught lurking around, if a bystander seen what kazutora was doing then a clear title would be placed on him 'stalker'

he kind of just stood there in the middle of the pathway, watching as the both of you walked ahead having your own little moment. it was like kazutora was a small puppy being cast out and away from it's owners. for a short moment he had grown upset, he accepted that him and you were never gonna be because Akkun has already taken your attention.

when he took half a step backwards to turn around and not invade your privacy any longer, it was then that you had turned around making kazutora to be captivated. it wasn't just your beauty that had made him freeze and his heart to grow wings and flutter but it was you smiling and waving at him... him, kazutora, no one else, your eyes were stuck onto kazutora.

his heart was left uncontrolled and skipped all around his body whilst his main focus was to bite down the corner of the inside of his mouth to stop him from smiling like a little kid and getting all giddy for you just simply noticing him. it felt unreal to him in that moment that he had forgotten to wave back, and he was too busy on not smiling like an idiot that he didn't even smile back at all. well now he feels like a complete fool and should be shut out of society forever.

*inserts image of grieving shinji on a chair* -how kazutora feels right now

a whole week went by after that encounter, and since then in school kazu and you haven't had a full conversation, sure you've exchanged a few small words but then he'd cut it off with an excuse to leave all due to wanting to give respect for you and akkun.

before, the both of you would be talking non stop in the middle of lesson, being the teachers most annoying students that can't shut up and are always an nuisance to deal with. it's gotten to the point where after you both stoped talking even the teacher pointed it out Infront of the whole class, "some argument happened between you two?" like c'mon... why is it always those teachers that think they can get involved and think pointing things out to be funny. they get in-between everything.

it left an empty pit in his stomach not being able to talk to you the way he wants to. all because in this setting he chose to put his friends first before himself.

-- some time later ---

"so akkun, you got any plans with y/n?" asking that question hurt him more than it should have, but he needs to get over it soon enough. only after he gets an understanding at what stage the both of you are at. 3 month mark? secretly wishing.

"don't think so, why'd you ask?"

"nothing nothing, just curious. I'm surprised that she'd be with someone like you" it was supposed to come out as regular boy banter and laugh it off but instead he didn't watch his tone and grew blunt about it as if he'd meant it. in which he did.

it took akkun a few silent seconds to process his response and what kazu had just assumed "be with?" purposely ignoring kazutora's sudden burst of agitation and instead focusing on the question itself. "you think me and her are together... as in dating?"

"well you two seem to be quite close, no?"

"kazutora. no. were friends, full heartedly friends" while motioning his hands out to emphasize how baffling and wrong kazutora's question was.

if crickets were around the city they'd be loud, but instead all there could be heard was the click of kazu's tongue before replying "...Oh. shit"

akkun couldn't help but snort out a laugh, whereas kazutora on the other end was looking back and regretting everything which included ignoring you. but he had a good reason to, right? I mean how exactly was he supposed to know that you two were just friends?

many ways actually, sure, but he put his friends first and that's what had mattered, before at least. now, kazutora is trying to figure out ways on how to approach you without seeming like a douche for abruptly leaving and then coming back.

"wait, you like her??" it only then clicked into akkun's head making him perk up about why you even became a conversation topic.

"I bet she hates me" burrowing his face into his hands and feeling all sulky. didn't fully answer akkun's question but that small sentence answered a lot without meaning to.

"you do! you like-like her!" first time hearing about this and he instantly stood up from his seat, oh he was gonna have fun with this information. he can either tease the hell out of kazutora or help him out. but currently he'll torment him first.

"keep it down! dont need anyone hearing" lifting his head up from his hands and looking around the open area

"who's gonna hear? I'm not name dropping, or unless you're embarrassed" tormenting kazutora by making him think of you.

"of course not... maybe. but that's besides the point" kazu ended up explaining things from how he saw you and akkun but left out some details such as him following them to how things went with you and kazu at school.

"dug yourself a hole there I'll be honest, why didn't you ask me first before assuming?" -akkun

"didn't want to draw much attention on the subject"

"oh right right..." not right actually, don't exactly know what that was supposed to mean but didn't want to press on about it. after a short moment of silence it seemed like something was supposed to be done otherwise dragging the gap between you and kazu any further and it might be too much to fix. though luckily a little plan had settled into akkun's mind, after all he was close enough to you to be considered good friends. "I'll help you, don't worry"

♡----

a/n: I could have written the plan/aftermath n' that but I got lazy

[annabelle--cane]

Oh I envy those who were not there in the trenches for season 5. It was truly deranged. Every week, a deluge of posts explaining how Jonmartin was actually abusive/unhealthy- often alternating who was the supposed abuser. The discourse over Strung Out. And, of course, the ever present 'has the show gotten worse?'

Being around for season 5 was great. It was also awful.

EVERY WEEK. every week these are the posts I would see in the tag:

sooooo fucked up that jonmartin is lichrally abusive and you're all still stanning :/

this is thee worst domain we've had so far, how could jonny ever think it's okay to write horror with social commentary in his horror social commentary show?

haHA, this episode CONFIRMS that the web will have nothing to do with the finale and that the "alternate dimensions" theory is bogus and everyone who thinks otherwise is a dumb idiot

I love anthologies and hate meta plots. this is obviously an objective truth about art and not a personal taste thing. tma was only good for the first 21 episodes.

the characters were sad and mean in this one. doesn't anybody understand that if you write characters in fiction being sad and mean it means you think no one ever deserves to be happy in real life?? what the fuck???

I hate women so much it's unreal

[greyskyflowers]

I want a really specific Luffy/Sanji/Zoro fic where it's focused on how Zoro is probably not able to be numbed or knocked out.

I want to do a post at some point about how Nami, Usopp and Zoro are the humans of the crew. The ones without devilfruits, no genetic stuff, and completely human.

You can absolutely argue that Zoro has whatever the fuck is going on with the demon stuff but until that's clearly discussed I'm going with the human thing.

Back to Luffy/Sanji/Zoro.

I'm really sold on the idea that Zoro burns through numbing and pain medications like it's nothing.

He can be knocked out or made completely numb but it requires a unreal amount of medication, enough that the amount is usually unavailable or risks overdosing him and making him very sick.

So, how many times has Chopper had to dig out shrapnel and bullets while Zoro was completely aware and felt everything?

Or stitched him up while Zoro held the skin together for him?

How many times has Chopper had to rebreak bones that had healed wrong if they were separated for a period of time and Zoro didn't set it right?

How about cauterizing wounds?

Concussions?

Blood loss?

What it he needed surgery because of a wound, and Chopper had to cut into him without being able to numb him at all?

Oooooof

I fully believe Chopper has had to do some of those. However, when Zoro is too out of it, or it hurts to much to not jerk away or fight back... I think Luffy and Sanji would have to hold him down. The only two with enough strength to get him still enough that Chopper can do what needs to be done without worry.

Robin could be added to that, I think. I like to think Zoro and her have a strong friendship and she's seen enough shit to know sometimes things have to be done even though it sucks.

What sounds does someone make in a situation like that? How much can the human body take?

If he was out of it enough, would he plead with Luffy to let him up? He would absolutely call for Luffy when everything hurts and I'll die on that hill.

It would be a blessing if he passed out but how long would he be passed out? Just long enough for everyone to breathe before he was awake again and struggling?

Is it worse when he's quiet? Awake but so exhausted he can't even try to jerk away?

The rest of the crew hearing everything but knowing better than to go try to help.

Having to act like they can't all hear anything and desperately hoping that Zoro passes out soon.

And Zoro is Zoro. No one really talks about it. They're all aware, of course, but Zoro never brings it up or complains.

He's actually really good at holding still, clenching his jaw and curling his lip back in a pained snarl. Every muscle in his body tense and his back in a rigid arch.

This isn't new to him. He's always burned through this stuff quick but it's definitely gotten worse as he's gotten older and stronger.

Luffy and Sanji only have to hold him down for the really bad ones. It's more of a precaution, a comfort of all of them.

They're the only ones to hold him because even blind with pain, Zoro knows them.

Even when his world narrows down to hurthurthurt, he won't fight them the way he would someone else. He trusts them to be strong enough that he can be a little weak if needed. Only a little.

Luffy being cautious and untrusting of anyone other than crew while Zoro recovers and gets his feet back under him.

Possessive and protective in the way all captains are. A extra edge to it because it's Zoro and Zoro is his in a way no one else quite is.

Sanji hovering, always something in his hands because his way of caring is food. The pain usually takes away Zoro's appetite but it's the best way Sanji knows to heal.

Luffy curled around Zoro when he naps on deck or when they go to sleep at night, trying to make sure nothing hurts and reassure them both that Zoro's okay.

Both of them running a critical eyes over Zoro because infection is a whole beast of its own. They want to make sure that if there's even a hint of one, they catch it as soon as possible.

Touching Zoro constantly because if they feel tense muscles they know he's hurting and if he's running a fever they can work on cooling it down.

🌊

The strawhat crew holds a grudge against a few people. Most of them obvious but always at the top is Garp, Blackbeard, Judge, and Mihawk.

Because they don't know exactly what went on while they were all separated for 2 years but they hold Mihawk accountable for Zoro's eye, even if he wasn't the one behind that particular scar.

They know Zoro felt all of it and they weren't there with him. And anyone who is responsible for that kind of pain to one of the crew goes right on the shit list.

[noxiousgrace]

Holy shit krs makes me so sick it's actually unreal

How unfair is it that everyone managed to get their revenge except for him

The white star was a common enemy anyway, that's not enough to satisfy me 😭

How unfair is it that nobody was there to raise him the same way he raises literally every child he's adopted so far

I want to know what kim rok soos life was before the cataclysm, more than what has already been revealed. I want a full-blown start-to-finish recap of this mans life before i go crazy

How much does he even remember from before he got the ability to record things

Does he remember anything about his biological parents? I know he waited to see them for a long time but does he ever shudder at night thinking about them?

Does he only remember the ghost of their warmth, but no faces to attatch it to?

How did he escape from his uncle? I want to know so bad. I want to know what happened to that piece of shit after he hurt his nephew 😭

How did he hurt krs anyway? Did he just beat him? Lock him in a room? Starve him? Worse?

I want cale to meet his uncle again, he needs the closure. I can't accept the fact he isn't able to face that motherfucker in the same way that raon got to face venion.

Why is everyone allowed to have closure besides him

The only time he's gotten any closure is after he speaks to lsh in a DREAM. And he started CRYING after that.

He carries so much weight on his shoulders, it hurts to watch

This man needs therapy asap

And this line especially just emphasizes how he'd rather keep his emotions bottled up because he thinks they're a nuisance 😭

[sufferingink]

the way that TMA has altered my brain chemistry is unreal so here's 911 characters and their fear alignments (without having watched past season four):

Buck: I don't think his would actually be The Lonely. while that's certainly part of it, I think too much of his fear comes from the idea that he's replaceable and filling too much space and needs to hide parts of himself to be loved and if that's not The Stranger, I'm not sure what is.

(I think you could probably make a case for all of them EXCEPT the corruption. when faced with a decomposing dead body he stabs it without gloves to manually drain fluids. when faced with a maggot that had crawled from somewhere I'd prefer not to think about, he goes "maggot :D!" he's kinda chill around killer bees apparently?? I've not gotten that far. but he's not afraid of bugs or sickness or anything so long as it doesn't keep him from his people. tldr: Buck loves bugs too much to be a corruption avatar)

Eddie: that's The Desolation babey. Is terrified of losing everything, so blows up his life before anyone else can. routinely loses things, relationships, people in a dramatic fashion, usually descending into guilt spirals that makes everything so much worse. has yet to end a relationship on even remotely good terms, I think it's fair to say they'd all be better to not have been with him at all

Bobby: I'm actually not too sure about this one but I'll go with The Eye. After the fire that killed his family he talks about how he should have known better, both in doing drugs and in the building's many safety violations. He's a fire captain that takes the injuries of his people very seriously because they happened under his watch and he should have kept a closer eye on them. he's got religious guilt. he even immediately gets sucked into spying on people "just in case" just like one Jonathan Sims circa Magnus Archives season 2

Maddie: The Hunt. do I need to explain this one? her abusive husband LITERALLY HUNTED HER through the woods. not to mention her relationship with her parents. The Hunt is also the fear that the people closest to you would turn on you, and I think trying to erase your brother from existence, leaving you (a ten year old) to raise your OTHER brother, then completely ABANDONING YOU when you get into previously mentioned abusive marriage qualifies as a betrayal, one that has broken her trust in others to help her (Buckley parents when I find you-)

Chim: The Lonely. his mother died when he was young, his father barely speaks to him, one of his brothers died BECAUSE OF HIM (in his mind anyway), he refuses to admit he thinks of his found family as more his family than his blood relatives till his late thirties, and I haven't got to where Tommy gets reintroduced, but Chim's origin episode I'm sorry but he's trying a LOT, TOO MUCH to become friends with someone that's been exclusively a jerk to him, he strikes me as a lonely guy

Athena: The Hunt as well, and I'm not just saying that because she's a cop! that's only part of it- but she's also a black woman working in a police department. she's aware of how easy it is for officers to get away with basically anything, even aware of exactly how unsafe her OWN family is, yet insists on staying and insists that there are more good cops than bad. you can't tell me she doesn't doubt that every single day, and what if they prove her wrong? (remember what I said about the fear of being turned on?)

Hen: I'm feeling The End, but less in a Death™ way and more of "there's nowhere to go from here." Hen prides herself on her ability to learn and grow so naturally that hard stop, you will be exactly as you are now forever, scares her. also people keep telling me she's the only one yet to get a major near death experience soooo

Ravi: Buck

[crehador]

brother crab's fall 2024 parting thoughts: uhhhhh basically everything

doing these all in one batch because i have been falling behind big time this season orz

long post under the cut

acro trip & kabushiki gaisha magi lumiere: the two magical girl series i picked up this season, both delightful! my only gripe is i wish acro trip had also gotten a season two, but thrilled to have more magilumi coming eventually

sengoku youko: after the wreck that was biscuit hammer THANK FUCKING GOD THIS WAS GOOD, and it was really. really. really good. it's not the, like, shiniest thing you'll ever see in 2024 in terms of animation, and the story isn't exceptionally unique or anything, but it's a great, classic adventure fantasy that has a really nostalgic feel to it

haigakura: ummmmmmmmm the less said the better. let's move on

tasuuketsu: was it good? no. was it compelling? also no. did i watch all 24 episodes? well. man idk the beginning was a mess, and not even the fun sort of mess, and the situation did not really improve. however i do feel like there's some potential in the characters and death game mechanics here, just fully unrealized potential, which is just... frustrating. anyway. do not recommend

touhai: this one's rolling onwards into a second cour but this is the fun sort of mess. it delivers on its gritty-dark premise in all the ways that yakuza fiance (i'll get to that) doesn't. do i even necessarily like its gritty-dark premise? ehhh... but i do respect it for being just. balls to the wall ridiculous

raise wa tanin ga ii: mannnnn this one probably warrants its own post because i could go on and on about what i found lacking here if anyone wants to hear it, but the tl;dr is i just don't feel like they committed to the yandere-ness of the yandere relationship quite enough. but i did love yoshino and i did love kirishima... 's voice (basically picked this up solely for ishida akira lol) so it was fine. whatever. it was fine

rekishi ni nokoru akujo ni naruzo: surprisingly decent villainess series! for a while it seemed like it was going to fall into the boring old trap of actually the villainess is Good and the heroine is Evil. while our aspiring villainess is clearly not Evil in this, she's at least going about her supposed 'villainy' in a somewhat interesting way

kimi wa meido-sama.: i... i don't know. i think overall i did enjoy this, i remember it having a really strong start, the main characters were both really charming and fun, but it sort of fizzled out for me. i don't really have a problem with the flagrant wish fulfillment-y vibe here, it's just i guess i feel like it didn't really strike a steady balance between the romance, the slice-of-life bits of yuki trying to lead a normal life, and the looming hints of her ominous history. it's not that these things can't all coexist, the show was just a little clumsy about balancing them imo

kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri s2: honestly i don't think this has gotten worse, i think it's just gotten to be not my thing. when ron said "this is the last case i'll ever thought" i said out loud "promise? 🥺" so... i probably shouldn't continue if they make another season. but they did just get suwabe in here so. we'll see

blue lock s2: lol. lmao even

goukon ni ittara onna ga inakatta hanashi: an absolute delight! all the characters wound up being really fun to follow but for me fuji and asagi absolutely stole the show. they were just too good

maou 2099: this has one more episode to go, but i can't imagine my thoughts on it changing much. and my thoughts are it was fun! nothing mindblowing in the end, but solidly fun. you can feel the hpmi all over it

natsume s7 & bleach tybw cour whatever & beastars final season pt1: lumping these together since pretty much all i have to say on them is it's more of the same, which is a very good thing. bleach and beastars quality is staying up, and natsume is still the same natsume we know and love which is exactly what i want it to be forever and ever

dandadan & ranma 1/2 & ao no hako: grouping these together because they're clearly the big names of the season (well idk about ao no hako but i certainly hope it's one, because it deserves to be) and there's not much i can say that hasn't already been said. they look great and were/are (ao no hako is continuing into a second cour) a delight to watch. dandadan does a great job of portraying not just kids being kids but weird kids being weird kids, which is a somewhat rare delight. ranma 1/2 and ao no hako are both peak romance. ranma is also such a visual joy to watch

of the three... ough... i feel like i have to give anime of the season to ranma because it was just such a pleasure to watch, but i have such a soft spot in my heart for ao no hako right now. it's just gorgeous, and the characters feel so wonderfully real. the only thing knocking it down a bit is i don't enjoy love triangles in general, but like if there has to be one, ao no hako's is not (currently) that annoying

anyway this is not my anime of the season post so more on that later

i think... that's... everything? maybe? chi and slf s2 are both excellent, but more on those after their second cour. the one thing i will say about slf s2 for now is nothing has topped the wethermon fight for me yet and phew. it's gonna be tough because that fight was peak

tsumasho, mecha-ude, and murai no koi i've already made separate posts on. some other two cour stuff i'll also save comments on for next season

oh wait

kinokoinu: this was cute but not all the memorable i guess, as evidenced by the fact that i. just. nearly forgot it lol

anyway! i'd say overall this was a very solid season with some seriously underwatched sleeper hits like mecha-ude. anime of the season is... going to be fun to think about. much to consider

[schizosupport]

this is going to be very long and rambly, i apologize. you can answer any, all, or no parts of it, i guess i just really need to blurt it all out to *someone*

for the past 3 or 4 years, ive been having mild (?) transient stress related psychotic symptoms. i suspect i have a cluster b pd which could possibly cover that

at first it was mostly paranoia i think ? usually the standard "theyre out to get me" type thoughts, both with people i knew and nebulous entities i couldnt define. it doesnt happen too frequently, but it seems to have gotten worse with time. this past fall / winter was especially bad bc i was already doing poorly mental health wise and was very isolated. a lot of the thoughts are still paranoia based, but some lean more towards delusions now (e.g. being afraid of the music i left to play from my phone speakers bc i felt it was hunting me down) as well as some that are fully bizarre (e.g. believing that ive been an angel stuck inside a human body my whole life, thinking theres a force field around my apartment thats keeping me stuck inside). for a while there was also this... pervasive sense of unreality almost ? like i would get frustrated that things werent operating on dream logic, or have difficulty differentiating dreams and reality in general. for the past couple months since then, ive had pretty much no issues

i always retain Some grasp on reality, whether its full on double booking or a vague sense of "something is wrong with me right now", which is enough for me to hide away from people and try to calm myself down and ground myself back to reality (... can you even do that with "real" delusions ? talk yourself out of them ?). the symptoms only last a few hours "at their peak", though the unsteady / unreality feeling may stick around for days or weeks surrounding that. im still able to be mostly functional for that part though. as such, nobody knows about any of this.

i just. i dont know. i dont have a therapist (i need one). im too afraid telling my friends will change their views on me irreparably even though they too struggle with (other) deeply stigmatized mental health issues. ive spent a lot of my childhood being called insane and incapable and i dont want it to happen again after ive finally found people that respect me. im worried ill have a full on psychotic break at some point (what the hell counts as "a break" ? can i call what ive been through "episodes" ?), or lose my ability to double book, or display symptoms in front of people i know. i just dont know what to do so im. spilling it out all here. so someone at all besides me knows

-- elias

Hey there,

Sorry it took me a while to get back to you.

It definitely sounds to me like you are experiencing some level of psychotic symtoms, and it sounds like it's causing you significant distress. You asked whether you can "talk yourself out of" a "real delusion" - and well, not as such, until the delusion passes, but they can be more or less long-lived and come with more or less insight.

The types of episode that only last a couple hours at full intensity are sometimes referred to as micropsychoses. When people talk about "a psychotic episode" it usually refers to a prolonged loss of reality that may last days, weeks or even months. But plenty of people on the schizo- and psychosis spectrum don't experience full-blown psychotic episodes. That doesn't make their psychosis un-serious, and it also isn't a given that these people will go on to develop worse psychotic symptoms.

I think one of the reasons the diagnosis of schizotypal exists, is because we needed to acknowledge that not every person's endpoint on the schizo-spectrum is schizophrenia, but that doesn't mean that their experience doesn't come with distress or disability.

I think you could try to do a vibe check with your friends to see how they react to the concept of psychosis and psychotic disorders. If they seem cool, then you could try to bring up your own experiences. It might be nice to be able to talk about those things, and get to experience that it doesn't have to be the end of the world, and not everyone will judge you for it.

I hope you all the best, anon!!

[add-v-bae]

Hi. I'm sure that nobody expected me to come back, and I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to. I'm just so disgusted with recent events that I want to post my thoughts in a location where anybody will understand what I'm talking about, as nobody in my day to day life even really tolerates kpop

As everybody knows, a lot has happened recently. And yeah, I've got a lot of emotions. I'm devastated to find out how much of a disgusting human Taeil is, and just in general, the wave of disgusting misogyny that's been going on in South Korea is absolutely horrifying.

However, I'm here to talk about my disgust in the state of kpop fans and the abysmal behavior some show. Mind you, i know very well that its very much not everyone. I've spent enough time in the community to know that there are plenty of people who are capable of being normal about their relationship with the idols, even while being a stan who cares about nothing but them. I have a history of parasocial relationships and I firmly believe that you can absolutely obsess over celebrities without being a psychopath. That being said, it's also a very fine line and I've seen some absolutely disgusting shit here.

None of these men belong to you. None of these men owe you a fucking thing. They are there to make you music, give you dances that you can enjoy, and serve you looks, depending on your style per era. They don't owe you abstinence and this is frankly something I've hated even while I was frequenting this site. I know full well that i personally have gotten a little too deep into shipping and crushing on idols. Do you know what happened during the two time an idol that i obsessed over/shipped with people referred to being in a relationship while being an idol? I felt a pang of disappointment and then I decided that as long as they're happy, I'm happy. Do you know what happened to them? One of them could only talk about it after leaving the industry, and the other lost their contract at their company. There's absolutely zero reason why an idol can't live their life alongside being an idol. They're not dolls, they're human beings with human lives.

Now, I left the community years ago. I still listen to the songs I used to listen to, but that's about the extent of where my kpop Fandom journey is anymore. I've also technically started rewriting some of the story ideas I had while excluding the kpop aspects, but that's an entirely different thing.

However, I do still like the occasional kpop post on Twitter, and today, my page was full of learning of a man named Seunghan from a band Riize. I've never heard of him, nor have I heard of this band prior to this controversy. However, the shit that's going on with this is unreal. You're telling me that this 21 year old got bullied into going on hiatus because he smoked a cigarette and dated someone? And then as soon as he came back, people sent funeral wreaths to SM over it? That's abhorrent. The girlfriend thing I've already touched on, he doesn't owe you anything, let alone abstinence from a time before he was famous. The cigarette, sure that's not good. Death threats are so much worse?? Most people have done something bad at some point in their life that doesn't at all reflect who they are now, and frankly, even if he still smokes, what the fuck are you helping with this behavior? Show concern, don't act like he's your fucking doll who's not acting how you want.

I'll be honest, I don't think the people that have or currently follow me are the kinds of people to do this thing. However, if somehow one of the people who engaged in this see this (especially those girls dancing in front of the wreaths uggggh), in complete, 100% seriousness, get some fucking help. You're entering into a parasocial state that is far beyond the acceptable state and has passed into psychotic behavior, and you need to find how to work that out because you've already emotionally hurt people and you're well on your way to physically hurting people, if you haven't already.

And if you haven't been one of the people who have been doing this but you don't see a problem with it, you get some help too. You might feel that you're not doing anything to anybody but as far as I'm concerned, you're just as part of the fucking problem. You might not have engaged in this action, but you very well could to other idols in the future, or God forbid people in your life. This kind of obsession can very easily translate over to behaviors and entitlement to partners, friends, family, none of which are people you're entitled to either. I couldn't fathom looking at this and feeling like this is at all okay.

I can't say if I'm gonna uninstall Tumblr and go back to staying my nose out of things or if I'm going to pop in once and a while as a casual, especially since I'm sure my page has been dead long enough that nobody cares if I come back but I got so heated over this that I needed to put all my thoughts out there, even if nobody sees it

[wishitweresummer]

Sensitive (Dream x GeorgeNotFound)

Word count: 2730

Warning: This is a love story! It’s completely PG and SFW, but there is kissing. DNF babyyyy.

     Strangely enough, the domino that set off the two revealing their feelings for each other was Dream discovering George was ticklish.

The feelings themselves were already known. Basically. Dream and George are two smart and accomplished men. They simply put the facts together and came to the same conclusion. There wasn’t really any wonder or question. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the trajectory of acknowledgment. The fear in change. They might have leaned into the feeling of inevitability too much. While they had an awareness of endgame, it still needed a start. But, they didn't know how. They danced around each other, too afraid to touch.

Touches were kept platonic and friendly. Luckily, Dream got to practice that with Sapnap before George moved in. So many elbow jabs into ribs. Playful shoving. It was probably a month in when it was just second nature to grab the younger in a headlock and mess with his hair until he was red faced and shouting.

Physical touch. Dream couldn't get enough. Years locked away will do that to you. That first hug with each of his best friends had him burning with love and overflowing with tears. As he got to meet each and every one of his friends he had only gotten to be close to over a screen, he crushed them to his chest with all the love in the world.

     And now; George. This impossibly adorable angel of a man. Eyes like two little voids that lock on relentlessly to Dream’s and take him apart without even trying. Pretty lips that stretch into mischievous grins and precious little pouts that give Dream a run for his money every time. Cheeks that bloom with dark embarrassment at just the barest of teasing. So addictive to pull reactions from. A sharp tongue and endless charm. George was unreal. Perfect, in Dream’s eyes.

     It was hard for Dream to pick his favorite thing about George, but gun to his head? His laugh. George had many and Dream loved every single one. The mean one that shook out of him when he was tearing into his friends with roasts and jabs. The pleased giggles when he gets away with something no one else would have. Those high pitched shrieks of laughter and fear that tear out of him when he's running from his friends in video games. Those uncontrollable cackles when something is just too funny for him to handle.

     Dream discovered a new one and he just couldn't get enough.

     When Sapnap was being too much of a brat for Dream’s patience levels, but still too lovable to actually make him mad, he had found the perfect way to deal with him months ago.

"I'm sorry! Dream I'm sorry!", he would plead through raspy laughter. The apologies always so quick to come when the Tickle Monster came out to play. Play fights brought teasing pokes and grabs. Startling squeaks out of each other was fun. Tickling came easy into Dream and Sapnap’s causal interactions.

     It was really only a matter of time before the other two learned how much of a weakness it was for George.

     The very first time had basically been an accident. Kind of. Dream meant to squeeze George’s side and tug him in close while they were cuddling on the couch watching a movie. It was playful. At most, he expected a little puff of air and some cute blushing. Instead, the squeal that startled out of the boy made the other two jump. Well, he succeeded at making him blush, that’s for sure.

     George met Dream’s amused smirk with the meanest glare he could, whole face burning and only getting worse by the second.

"What happened over there?", Sapnap asked from the loveseat.

"Yeah, what happened there?", Dream pressed. George could only sputter dumbly.

     Then, Dream crossed that threshold. Before then, there was an air of politeness he had held for touches shared between him and George. A purposeful amount of platonic awareness for the closeness and length of every touch and hold.

     Dream threw it all out the window as he dragged the squirming boy into his lap, held him close, and tickled his sides until he let out that insane screech he loved so much. George was hysterical in seconds.

"Georgie, you're so ticklish!". The boy grabbed at Dream’s hands and flipped around in complete and utter ticklish agony. His desperate cackling nearly deafened Dream.

"Holy shit!", Sapnap added from across the room.

     The ticklish attack only lasted about thirty seconds, but when the mean fingers relented against George’s sides he was panting and had tears in his eyes.

"Don't do that...", he said weakly. He tore his gaze away from Dream’s over and over again as the younger tried to meet it. "Yes yes I get it, I'm really ticklish whatever oh my god shut up you're so annoying.", he huffed and scrambled from the other’s lap. Dream practically buzzed with interest. Every single second of George’s reaction left Dream crawling with desire for more. That familiar addiction. George had a way of being exactly what Dream craved. "Shut. Up.", he gritted out. George was flushed under Dream and Sapnap’s amused gazes.

"No one even said anything!", Sapnap laughed.

And just like that, things were different.

Touches were easier. As they all cooked breakfast together in the morning, well George and Sapnap floated around the kitchen while Dream made them breakfast, it was easy to bump elbows and laugh. Sapnap splashed George with sink water while cleaning up dishes and he cowered behind Dream, only to get his ribs jabbed. The squeal he let out made the other two flinch.

"You're like, so sensitive.", Sapnap informed him with a smirk. George glared back at him with newly pinkened cheeks and rubbed at the spot Dream had poked.

Things were casual like that for awhile. Just a small new addition to the routine of teasing the boys had. George had even found himself brave enough to get his own licks in. Grabbing and poking at unsuspecting sides and tummies when they dared to get too close.

     The first time George and Sapnap tested their strength against each other had George pressed down to the floor, absolutely screeching with apologies and regret.

     After a few weeks, the two had worked out the full extent of George’s sensitivity. The sharp-tongue Brit could be reduced to a blubbering mess by either of them in under a minute. After years of dealing with George’s stubbornness through screens, it was incredibly endearing how some simple touches could get seemingly anything out of him.

     "I'm going to make you say you love me.", Dream threatened. George whined through his hysterical giggling as they increased in speed and pitch as he fought the hands teasingly playing at his hip bones.

"Don't! Ah fuck!!", he cried. A scream tore from him as Dream leaned over him with a smirk, his hands having found their way onto trembling thighs. Those lovely frantic cackles filled the room.

     This was the same man who would mercilessly tear him apart in front of thousands? Killing his friends in games with no hint of guilt? Dream had once watched him pick out every single one of Sapnap’s insecurities without a thought to his feelings until the younger actually smacked the shit out of him. Who was this? It was incredible how different he seemed like this. The way he squirmed and squealed with no hope of escape once he fell weak to any ticklish touch. So impossibly adorable. Dream was finding himself becoming obsessed.

With Sapnap and Dream, there were different levels of reactions. A soft touch could get them jumpy and giggly. The tickles that were meant for a playful attention grab or to ease out a smile when another thought it was needed. George was different. The two couldn't find a way of tickling him that didn't throw him into hysterics instantly. It's exactly why the act of tickling him had become a bit of an addiction. Especially to Dream.

     Dream found himself testing his sensitivity to a lighter touch one day on top of the couch that he had first learned about the older’s weakness. The TV kept on with some long-forgotten show as George fell into pieces under Dream’s curious hands.

"Seriously? I'm barely touching you.". The smaller boy squirmed wildly as crazed giggles bubbled out of him. His wrists were locked together above his head to the couch with just one of Dream’s hands.

"Please!!!", he squeaked out. All he was doing was trailing his fingertips around underneath his shirt. Every graze against the jumpy stomach had him shaking with helpless giggles. Loud squeals broke through when the light touch teased at his hypersensitive sides.  A cute flush grew on his cheeks the longer he struggled.

     As Dream’s torturously gentle touch explored George’s body, the air became lighter with all the pretty giggling. A dangerous vibe.

     Dream found another threshold to cross. A startled shriek sliced through the room when a quick raspberry was pressed into the pale flesh that had been exposed through a ridden-up shirt.

"Nononono.", the begging fell from George’s lips quickly when playful green eyes met his with a curious head tilt. The hands trapped up above his head were quickly brought down and pressed down to the couch cushion by his sides and Dream started to nudge the shirt up further with his nose. George shrieked in fear. Hysterical giggling wracked his body with anticipation. "No Dream please don't!!!".

A loud scream flew from the squirmy boy’s lips before he fell back into wailing laughter. Soon, there were playful nibbles across his tummy and unpredictable raspberries to his sides. George was a goner.

Dream studied how George couldn't handle any playful touches. He only got bolder as the weeks went on.

When George stood with his head tilted back staring at the pantry of snacks for a minute straight, Dream couldn't resist a gentle bite near the back of his neck. George nearly collapsed after letting out a startled cry.

When he learned the McDonald's had run out of George’s favorite cookies in the drive-thru, Dream attempted to comfort the other with a firm squeeze of his thigh. Of course, George only thrashed in place with a squeal loud enough to startle Dream and the worker at the other side of the box.

Even just the barest resemblance of the threat of tickling always sent him into ticklish paranoia. George and Sapnap were curled up on the floor playing round after round of chess one day when suddenly Sapnap was over it. The younger flopped dramatically down onto the floor, innocently. The quick movement towards George sent him into a giggly panic; squeezing his eyes shut and wrapping his arms around himself in protection. Dream watched in amusement as Sapnap popped up in confusion at the other’s reaction, just to quickly twist him down to the floor and tickle him exactly how he feared.

The first time they used the pool together was delayed with Dream and George’s antics. The older had asked the other to apply his sunscreen, just to melt into a giggling puddle from the cold lotion.

"It doesn't tickle!!", he cried through his high-pitched giggles. Sapnap and Dream could only smile in confused amusement as the frantic squirming consumed the boy anyway.

It fell easily into their routine. This was just a part of their near-daily interactions for the three best friends. Friends.

Feelings between Dream and George had always been there and not really any kind of secret, but the actual relationship had not changed from anything more than best friends. Until one fateful night in early May while Sapnap was away filming something for NRG.

Dream had the next season of the series him and George were watching all booted up in the living room. He was just waiting for George to finish up whatever he was doing in his room.

The younger had no qualms about whining like a puppy behind the older. He complained and kicked the back of his computer chair until he was sure that George was just fucking with him at this point.

"You have about thirty seconds before I go ahead and bring you to the couch myself.". The other scoffed at the threat.

"You're an idiot.". Dream’s mouth dropped open before the timer in his mind could go off.

"That's it!", he huffed before scooping George up and throwing him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. The lack of fight before being bent over it led Dream to believe this was exactly what the smaller was hoping for. George shrieked and pounded against his back as he headed towards the living room. Dream only chuckled at the tiny ineffective fists. He tossed the squirmy body to the couch and plopped down.

Now, none of this was all that out of the ordinary for them so far. Everything flipped into a new realm when George scrambled over to Dream and took residency in his lap, giggling breathlessly. Dream froze and his eyes went wide as George got comfy facing him with his thighs on either side of his lap. Before he could react, small hands attacked his rib cage and a bark of laughter flew from his lips.

"George!".

Soon, the two were laughing as they tickled each other, but neither moved to leave the new position. It was like their bodies were built to slip into a position like this together. George the perfect comfortable weight on top of Dream’s lap. Sides and thighs so easy on each other to squeeze. Hyperticklish George fell into an easy defeat in no time, though. His hands tugged on Dream’s wrists and he pressed his forehead to his shoulder with a whimper.

"I can't take it...", he murmured weakly. But, that pale slender neck was far too tempting. Dream grabbed a hold of the perfect waist perched on top of him and dug his teeth into sensitive flesh. The nibbles forced George to crumple against him with squeaky giggles. The boy squirmed in his lap, but not off. He stayed put. He clung to the younger man desperately.

The reactions were impossibly intoxicating. Dream let his playful nibbles travel up his neck and tease across his jaw. George only flinched and jerked around as the pretty giggles flew free with two fistfuls of the front of Dream’s shirt.

Dream heard how breathless the giggles were getting and slowed down. Soon, he bumped his nose against George’s.

"Are you okay?", he whispered. They were close. They had never been this close before. George dropped his head down with a whine and it forced Dream’s lips against his forehead without meaning to. An accidental forehead kiss.

Another threshold. Dream really couldn't get enough this time. Large hands grabbed George shoulders and Dream peppered his blushing face with more little kisses. George could only blush harder as he fought the smile from the affection.

"Dream...", he said softly, meaninglessly. Meaning-everything-ly. A confession. A plead. A question.

"George.", just as soft.

Who made the first move? Who knows.

Lips that were always destined.

A future revealing itself. Fate complete. A forever, found. Inevitable together.

Slow nervous lips slid together. Gentle giggles falling between them easily as any hesitation melted away. Strong hands around a narrow waist tugged the bodies impossibly closer. George squeaked in surprise and Dream was all too happy to invade deeper. New addicting noises earned with every bold movement. Playful hands even teased at sensitive sides to bring more squirming to the loving kiss.

Dream’s lips traveled back down to that tempting neck again. George clung to his shirt as he tried as hard as he could to let the younger explore as he pleased. Soft cries from the overwhelming sensitivity filled the air around them.

"I love you.", George whimpered. Dream froze at the words he had tried to pry from the boy for years. He pulled back to try and meet his gaze.

"Yeah? You do? What was that?", he asked with a goofy grin. George looked away fast.

"Nothing.".

"Say it again!!", he demanded, playfully. Happier than ever.

More squeals of laughter erupted from George as Dream chased getting to hear those lovely words again. And again and again…

[nczennie]

hungry eyes.

Part Two of She's Like The Wind

Pairing: Reader x Stray Kid’s Lee Know AU: Summer love, based on the film Dirty Dancing Genre: Angst, Fluff (this part) Preview: “I’m doing this for you, you know! I could’ve refused and you would have been stuck without that job, but I’m doing the best I can to learn this stupid dance and help you, so stop being such an asshole!” You huff out angrily, you can feel the redness in your face clearly showing your emotion. Words: 9.2k *Warnings under cut

Warnings: Some curse words, some making out and like groping, drug use, talk against drug use, bad side effects of drug use,

It was only three days later that you found yourself sweating profusely in a small dance studio. As you stand trying to catch your breath you’re unsure how you even let Jeongin and Momo convince you to agree to this. This morning, bright and early before Minho’s shift started, you got ready in the most athletic-like clothing you packed, gently reminding yourself that you were doing this to help the girl out everytime you yawned on the walk over.

But now as you breathe heavily and wipe the sweat from your brow while Minho stares unimpressed and annoyed, you find yourself thinking, why do you owe this girl anything?

“I knew this wasn’t going to work,” the boy grumbles as he grabs a small towel to hand you, “We haven’t even gotten a fraction into the damn song and you can’t remember a single step.” Though his words are harsh, you know they were true. You’ve never done any ballroom dancing to this extent and you don’t think you were that great of a dancer to begin with. But Minho and his teaching wasn't helping you learn anything, in fact you find it to make everything much worse. 

"You're the dance teacher you know, isn't that your job?" You glare back at him as you wipe the sweat from you, cursing the summer humidity. "If I'm not learning anything then maybe it's your fault".

Minho scoffs at you, shaking his head, his brown hair falling into his eyes, "Unreal", he mumbles, "This whole thing is stupid, I can't believe I bet my job on someone like you".

“Then help me!” You let out frustratingly. “I know I’m not a dancer, and I’m not as talented as Momo or any other partner you’ve had. But if you actually slowed down and tried to teach me as a beginner then it would be easier for both of us! It’s like you’ve given up on me before you’ve even given me a chance.”

You know Minho was the most against you stepping in for Momo for the performance, but you figured he would at least give you a chance seeing as his second job is on the line.

At your outburst Minho says nothing, but at least it has stopped his grumbling. You swallow at the tense atmosphere, his large eyes slowly blinking at you, unchanging. Finally, he makes his way to a small table in the room, grabbing a couple of water bottles. The boy makes his way back to you and hands you one, “Drink up well, we have a lot to do, baby.” He turns back around to drink his own water and you can’t help the small smile that reaches your lips as you open the bottle, perhaps your words have gotten to him after all.

Just a week into being Minho’s pupil, you realize this could become a problem. Yet it wasn’t the tough footwork or the even tougher instructor, but the passionate routine and perhaps even your underlying attraction to the dancer.

After your confrontation, things seemed to progress much better for you both. Though he is tough with his instructions and expectations, Minho turns out to be a great teacher and that is crystal clear seeing as he was able to get you to memorize even the smallest things. You’re both already a good portion into the song and everything is on track for the performance in two short weeks. 

That being said, you never thought about the amount of passion the dance included. You saw with your own eyes how much passion Minho and Momo individually had when they danced, but now being a partner, it became clear the passion would be presented to you as well. You’ve shared a dance with Minho before, a very intimate one at that, but even that night when you basically had your pelvis’ pressed against each other (to put it politely), for some reason you still don’t find it to be as heart fluttering as what you’re learning now. 

The intense eye contact and slow dragging of his fingers across your body hitches your breath every time and you’re glad you can still blame the shortness of breath on being out of shape.

Of course you found Minho attractive from the very first moment you saw him. It's his dancing that draws you in, but it’s his large eyes, sharp cheekbones, and pouty lip that keep you staring. There’s something beautiful and stunning about Minho’s physical appearance. His features are both sharp and delicate at the same time, and his aura automatically draws the attention of everyone in the room he’s in. He’s the type of beauty you believe would be hard for anyone to deny. 

And though you noticed Minho’s beauty from the beginning, there was something about the boy now that had begun to become almost conscious of yourself. You wanted to learn the dance and perform well for his and Momo’s sake, but you also wanted to impress him personally. You wanted him to tell you how well you were doing, you didn’t want his passionate looks to stop as soon as the music did, you wanted to make his heart flutter the same way he made yours. 

That would be the reason why the effort you put into your appearance before practice grew, but you hope it wasn’t too obvious. Your comfort wear slowly started to change to pieces that were practical but what you found to accentuate the best parts of you. You sneakily stole one of Daisy's lip glosses and you're always sure to apply it right before you enter the room to make sure it’s fresh. If Minho notices any of your changes he doesn’t let on, so for now you make sure to focus on perfecting the dance.

Sometimes, if her schedule allowed, Momo would make her way into the practice room as well. Since it was also her routine you would be doing she tried her best to come and teach you, from her perspective, just how you needed to portray the moves. 

It was a lot of help learning from the one who actually did the moves you did and spending time with Momo for the first time showed you a side of her you hadn’t seen before. 

The girl was quite energetic and fun, she helped you in an entertaining and less strict way. Having her at practices was very helpful, you and Minho performing for her so she could see and correct from an outsiders point of view. 

You were glad to have her help and getting to know her better made you glad you chose to help her out.

Though your relationship with Minho did improve in the time you did work together, there were still moments you felt like you were going backwards. There were times where the tension between you both grew; whether it was him being frustrated with you not being able to get a move down, or you frustrated with him being frustrated with you. You figured it came with being around each other for long amounts of time, but that did little to ease your emotions.

Such as today.

It had been a stormy, gloomy day from the moment you woke up. Even now it was pouring hard as you were alone with Minho in an old garage that wasn’t being used. The dance studio you usually used together was in use for a class, so Minho found this garage on the outskirts of the resort property. There was no air conditioning so he opted to leave the large doors open, the sound of the storm loud and clear for you both to hear and see. The humidity that the weather brought seemed unbearable causing you both to sweat more than usual. 

On top of that, you’ve recently started to wear heels to practice to help you get used to them since you would have to wear them for the actual performance. You were just getting used to them on the dance floor but now trying to dance with them on top of this dirt, you were a mess. 

To put it lightly, you have been crap at the entire routine today, you of course blaming it on the weather and new location, but nonetheless, Minho became frustrated. 

He felt as though all the progress you both had made had gone down the drain and it wasn’t long before he became more snappy and demanding with his instructions. 

The mood quickly became sour; matching the downpour outside and it was on a matter of time before one of you was to finally snap. 

“1, 2, 3, and 4,” Minho calls out and you wind your arm up, like he taught you on the count. But unlike what was supposed to be the routine, your hand makes contact with the middle of his face with a loud smack. “Ow, fuck!” You gasp in surprise, your own hands coming up to cover your mouth as you turn around to look at him. “Are you trying to kill me?! What is wrong with you?!” The boy yells dramatically. 

You quickly lose the sympathy you felt, hands dropping to your hips, “Oh, yes. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” The boy sends you a glare, fingers still gripping on his nose. “I don’t know why you’re so pissed! I’m sorry okay, it was an accident!” You flare your arms up, not sure what else you could do. “If you did the fucking move like I taught you this wouldn’t have happened.” He retorts back, calmly yet full of venom. 

“I’m doing this for you, you know! I could’ve refused and you would have been stuck without that job, but I’m doing the best I can to learn this stupid dance and help you, so stop being such an asshole!” You huff out angrily, you can feel the redness in your face clearly showing your emotion.

Minho closes his eyes, taking a few moments to breathe in and out, perhaps to calm himself. When he finally opens them again, he glances out at the hard rain, “Let’s get out of here.” You keep your gaze on him, clearly confused at his words, “What?”

He goes to grab his leather jacket from the table along with his car keys, “We both clearly need a break from this, so let’s go, baby".

You ended up shielded from the rain in his car and you don’t question him about where he’s going, taking the time of the drive to try to cool down and listen to the radio. Watching the scenery out the window, you notice he drives further away from the resort. 

"Why do you keep calling me that?" You mumble to him once you feel you've calmed down enough. "What?" he asks keeping his attention on the windshield has the rain begins to slow. "Baby," you speak, "You keep saying baby". Minho merely shrugs, "It fits".

It was only a few minutes before the car came to a stop and he moved the gear into park. The rain finally seemed to stop completely and there is a small glimmer of sunlight bursting from beyond the clouds. “Follow me” he says, pushing his jacket off and making his way out of the car and into the trees in the distance. You do as he says, following his lead, only half joking in your head about how you hope he doesn’t plan to murder you after you smacked him in the face.

The sounds of your shoes against the leaves and dirt seems to echo in the large empty woods and you follow the boy silently for another five minutes from the car. A few steps in front of you, Minho finally comes to a stop and as you catch up to him you see you’ve come to a small cliff of sorts. Looking down you see a small stream, full of water from the rain but not running quickly. The drop isn’t terribly far, but it is further than the next piece of land across the way. In fact, the other side has been connected by a large fallen tree. The brown wood lays on either side of the land, acting as a bridge above the water below. 

“I think the most important thing about ballroom dancing, well all dancing really,” Minho starts to talk and you look slightly confused at him as he leans down to start taking off his shoes and socks. “Is balance.” He finishes with a small smile. Your gaze never leaves the boy as you watch him walk over to the log placed above the water. 

“Minho!” You gasp out as he places one of his feet on the so-called bridge. Though you knew the fall wasn’t critically high, it was still high enough to cause serious damage if he were to lose his footing. But he ignores your call, clearly less worried than you seem to be. You move closer, ready to help though you don’t know exactly what you would do if he needed it. 

Your heart races as he continues to walk carefully along the log, arms spread out to help him balance as he works his way to the middle, directly above the water. Finally making it to a place that pleased him, he turns around to face you with a smile, “Ta-da!” You can only frown at him, “Please be careful.” 

He chuckles at you, looking down towards his feet, “Don’t worry, baby, I have amazing balance.” He does a little jump, coming completely off the log before landing again. And though he lands perfectly you can’t help the little scream that comes naturally out of your mouth. The boy smirks at you and reaches his arm out to motion towards you, “Come on, your turn.” Rapidly you shake your head, "No way”. He raises his eyebrows and calls out your name, “You’ll be fine, I promise. This is technically part of your training, so you have to do it.” He walks closer to your side of the long. Though you give him an unamused glare, you move down to remove your shoes just as he did his. And before you know it you were taking your first, shaky, step on the log. 

“There you go.” Minho praises you as you start to walk shakily towards him, you breath shaking just as much as your feet. You don’t dare glance away from your footing, not wanting to take a single misstep. “Look at me, don’t look down.” 

“Minho, I can’t” you whine, eyes still not leaving the log. He reaches over to grab your hand in his, “I’ve got you, now come on look at me.” 

You shut your eyes completely, taking a deep breath to try to calm your pounding heart. You finally raise your head away from the ground (or lack of) and count to three in your head before opening your eyes. 

As you do, you make eye contact with the boy and he smiles excitedly, “Good. Now keep your eyes on me, don’t look down.” He takes a step backwards and you have no choice but to take a step forward in order to keep your hands together. 

You both keep stepping like that, slowly on foot at a time and soon Minho starts to hum a little toon, obviously one he seemed fit for the rythemed stepping you both were doing. You can’t help the small laugh that leaves your throat at his silly song and he glances at you with a smirk. He starts to walk towards you causing you to walk backwards this time and you surprise yourself with how calm you keep at the new direction, now more focused on keeping on the beat that Minho continues to make. 

After a couple of moments he lets go of your hand, “Now get low,” He starts his beat again and you throw your head back in laughter as he moves in a funny manner, legs bending in order to get closer to the log. You’ve never seen the boy dance in an unserious manner and laughter only grows in your stomach as he urges you to do it along with him. 

Not being able to help it, you dance along with him as he starts to whistle the toon. Before long you both laugh loudly, the sound echoing in the woods as you start to walk backwards on your own, clearly not worried about the fall and your balance as good as ever.

With a pleasant smile still plastered to your face you return to the solid ground taking a seat on the cool grass, watching Minho take his own on the log- legs dangling over the edge. 

Realizing this is the first time you've been with Minho outside of dancing, you become curious. Never once having talked to him about anything other than the performance. You enjoy the silence for a moment, basking in the sound of the running water and tweeting birds before you speak again, “How long have you been dancing?”

He turns his gaze to you, taking a second to collect his thoughts, “Since I can remember,” he hums “It was offered as an afternoon activity so I took it up so I didn’t have to be home as much.” You nod even though he’s removed his eyes to look at the log. 

“Have you always been as good as you are now?” Questioning with a smile you keep it as the boy looks up at you, an amused smile on his own lips. He shakes his head playfully, “Well I did plan to follow it into college.” 

Letting your gaze travel across his face, you lick your lips before asking yet another question, “Why didn’t you? Go to college for it, I mean.” Your voice is softer towards the end as you realize it might not be something he would want to converse about.

He starts picking at the wood beneath him and answers you steadily, “I’ve just never had the money for it. It was only ever me and my mom, so money was always tight.” Minho meets your gaze again, sending you a smile that could barely fully raise the corners of his mouth. You immediately regret bringing it up, knowing by now finances is not something you want to ever want to talk about again seeing as the conversations about it in the past weren’t the most delightful.

You swallow harshly, readying to apologize to him but he asks you a question before you can, “What about you? You’re going to a university in the fall, what are you majoring in?” You assume Jeongin must have told him something.

His intense eyes stay on you as you consider his question, already red in the face with having to admit your lack of plan- feeling almost ashamed. 

“Oh, I don’t- I don’t know what I’m majoring in. I don’t know what I want to do.” 

He stares longer and you’re surprised with how well you can keep the eye contact, finally he licks his lips and raises to his feet, “Don’t worry, you have a lot of time to figure it out.�� 

Minho comes closer, reaching out to pull you from your sitting position, “C’mon, I’ll show you the lake.” 

The lake down the hill is much larger than that of the one nearest the resort. It is also much quieter, no one other than you both within the whole space. 

Minho has already dove in, keeping both his pants and his shirt on- the black material now soaking and sticking to his body. 

“Well come on, it’s cool but it feels nice.” He runs his fingers through his wet hair and you try to look too long at the sight before you. 

You take a breath and dive in yourself next to Minho, clothes and all. Returning from under the water you push your hair out of your face and gasp right away, “This water is freezing! What were you saying?!” You look up to the boy beside you whose eyes glimmer as he sports a devious smirk.

“Minho,” you whine “It’s cold and we don’t even have spare clothes.” He hums in response moving to float on his back, “Just keep moving, you’ll be fine, baby I might have some towels in the car.” He closes his eyes to relax in the water.

You huff, ignoring the drop of your stomach at the pet name he insists on using. Looking around you not really sure what to do. There's a sudden movement from beside you as the boy suddenly sits up, “Want to try something cool?” He smirks at you and you can’t help but to glare back, having no idea what he could be up to now.

“Let’s try a lift.” He says plainly standing up straight. 

“A lift?” You question.

“Yes,” he drags on, “A lift, you know like I do with Mo.” 

Your eyebrows furrow, “You said we weren’t adding the lift to the routine.” He hums, nodding and moving closer, “Not for the routine, just for fun. In the water is the best place to do it anyways. C’mon,” he closes the space between you to grasp your hips in his hands and you can’t help but a chill to run down your spin, “It’s cold,” you mumble but he merely grunts.

“Okay, when I count to three, you’re going to jump. I’ll lift you and you keep your arms straight out as if you’re Superman, okay?” You can’t help but smile at his explanation and nod. 

Strengthening his grip, he starts to count, “1,...2,...3!” 

You jump as hard as you could in the water and squeal when you feel Minho lifting you completely out of water and over his head. Keeping your arms straight you try to do as your told, but not even a second in the air, you feel yourself falling forward. You scream a little just before falling into the water and nearly on top of the boy. 

You come back up and you’re almost scared to see Minho but what you hear from behind you is a surprise. Turning to make sure you’re not crazy, Minho stands messing with his wet hair, laughing like you’ve never heard him laugh before. 

The laugh is almost cute in a way and you would’ve never pictured it belongs to Minho; in fact, you don’t think you pictured him laughing at all.

But here he was, eyes closed and smile wide as the laugh shakes his whole body. It’s contagious and you can’t help but join in.

Finally recovering, he moves towards you again, “See? Wasn’t it fun?” You keep your smile nodding up at him. “Here, this time try keeping your legs out straight just like your arms.” He reaches for your hips again and you giggle.

You don’t even know how long you both go like that, lifting and falling and laughing and splashing but it’s until your stomach is sore and your mouth hurts but in a most delightful way.

You reckon it’s the most fun you’ve had all summer and it feels like the Minho you’ve just spent time with is a completely different person.

Standing trying to regain your breath and ring out the water from your hair, Minho quickly moves towards you before you realize and he’s right in front of you.

He crouches so he’s in front of your face and you can feel his heavy breath crashing against your mouth. You stare at him in shock by his sudden actions but he doesn’t move. You follow his eyes when they move from your own to look down at your lips.

Your heart starts to pound as his large eyes look back up to yours and then down to your lips again. His hand comes forward to move a piece of your wet hair away from your face. And suddenly your breath stops because he place his lips on yours.

Blinking a few times before closing your eyes, you stay as still as him neither of you attempting to move. His lips are warm against yours despite the coldness around you and you can feel a drop of water from his hair fall to your cheek. There's a stillness in the air before Minho moves again, kissing you again but rather than the previous peck, he's slotting his lips between yours. At the feeling you push your lips back into his, eager to meet his slow kisses.

His hand slips beneath the water to lightly grip your hip so you take the chance to move your own hand to his back, gripping his soaking shirt. Standing in the lake kissing Minho slowly, the only sound coming from your lips and some bird in the distance, neither one of you moving for more, content with the slow kisses. But then a raindrop hits your head, only one but seconds later a steady drizzle has already started breaking you both from your trance.

He pulls away from you before a smile breaks out on his lips, he bites it as if to retain and you’re surprised someone so intense could look so cute.

Minho stands straight again, reaching for your hand, “C’mon, let’s get dry.”

You’re pleasantly surprised that despite the kiss you shared, your relationship with Minho seems to grow into a friendship of sorts after the endeavor at the lake. It’s as though you were able to break through whatever front he was putting up at first, or maybe you were able to prove something to him. Whatever it may be, you had no intention of asking him. Not when it could ruin what you had finally gotten to. 

“Hey, are you busy tonight?” Minho asks one afternoon after one of your practices. He doesn’t look at you when he asks, choosing to focus on fidgeting with the record player. You swallow, taking a moment to look at his back as you dab the sweat from your forehead with a towel. “After dinner with my family I believe I'm free.” You speak and furrow your eyebrows, silently contemplating if it was weird your plans were only ever with your parents. 

The boy finally turns around to look at you, “There’s a get together with some of the workers tonight. I thought you might like to come. Jeongin will be there.” He awkwardly scratches his neck and you wish he had left the music playing to fill the room with something other than the awkward tension. “Like the one I went to before, with the dancing?” Asking a question, you try to get more information. “Sort of,” He says “Smaller though. And it’s at one of the rooming houses so there won’t be that much room for dancing. It’ll probably be more of a hang out.” 

You purse your lips, not really sure why you’re contemplating. It’s not like you have anywhere else to go, and you would usually not want to invite yourself somewhere you’re not welcomed, but Minho asked you himself. “Yeah, sure. I’d like to come.”

And merely hours later you find yourself in a cramped employee house, squished on a chair that wasn’t made for two people. Yet you consider yourself lucky it was Jeongin you’re smushed against. Though you enjoy Jeongin’s company on a regular basis, you let your eyes wander the room as he drags on about a pair of college girls he got to help out all day to some fellow workers sitting across from you. 

Maybe it was a bit foolish of you to expect Minho to actually hang out with you at the get together with many of his friends, but he was the one that invited you here. Since you both shared a kiss in the lake the other day he has yet to mention it. Sure you were thankful for his growing friendship but how were you supposed to kiss him like that and pretend it never happened, especially after you spent a better half of your time ogling over him. It's not like you were expected a date tonight, although you did steal one of your sisters skirts and perfume, but at least something from the boy would be nice. Yet, since you arrived with Jeongin you’ve only seen glimpses of him from across the room. 

You don’t know how much time you sit there, pressed almost uncomfortably against the boy as he talks with the people around him. Though he is a gentleman of sorts, frequently asking if you’re okay, needing anything, or just bringing you into the conversation. 

The music was blaring from the speakers, the tunes sounded much like the ones that were played the night you first danced with Minho, and the room had gotten more hazy since you first arrived. 

“Hey,” you hear from your right and you straighten up with a start from where you were leaning against your propped elbow. You can’t help the smile that grazes your lips as you see the familiar dancer pulling up a stool to sit next to you. “Hey,” you reply back, happy to finally get to see him here. He returns your smile before moving his attention to a couple of boys across from you that Jeongin was talking to before, quickly falling into conversation with them. 

As more time passes you notice Minho moves closer to you as the drink in his cup slowly grows emptier. Since Minho has joined, you joined the group conversation more actively, laughing and joking with everyone like they were your long-time friends.

It wasn't long before you watched the boy sitting across from you lean back in order to pull something out of his front pocket. His hand emerges with a tiny plastic bag which seemed to be filled with a white powder of sorts. He leans forward to the coffee table placed in the middle of the small group of people, pushing some empty bottles around in order to clear some space. “Oh, c’mon guys, seriously?” You turn to look at Minho who speaks up as the boy empties the contents onto the table. He rolls his eyes bringing his cup to his mouth to finish the last of his drink. 

The boys don’t seem to notice, or care for that matter, at Minho’s words. The pair of them scooting closer to the table in order to separate the powder into neat lines with the help of a piece of paper. 

You’re not that naive, you knew the drug even though you had never seen it in person and it still surprises you that no one else in the room is as shocked as you are at their actions. One of the boys leans down to snort the line, using the help of a short rolled up piece of paper. Your eyebrows furrow watching in pure curiosity, never have you seen any drugs, let alone seen someone do any drugs. 

He comes up with a smile wiping his nose on the back of his hand, automatically making eye contact with you across from him. “Wanna take a hit?” He asks in such a friendly manner you almost forget what he was offering. You turn to look at Jeongin; he merely purses his lips and shrugs his shoulders, clearly not wanting to be in charge of any decisions you’re going to make tonight. 

You take another look at the boy making the offer; he looked fine, nothing about him looked like any of the warnings that taught you in school. Even at the moment he didn’t even look like he was experiencing any side effects and maybe that’s why you hesitate a moment before slowly leaning forward, reaching your hand out to grab the paper. 

“Are you fucking serious?” You snap your head in surprise at the outburst next to you, Minho standing up from his seat in order to yell, but you’re surprised he wasn’t looking at you but at the boy. “You guys can fuck around and fuck up your life all you want but don’t bring anyone else into it. Don’t ever offer her anything again, you got it?” before turning to you, "Don't be fucking stupid". His face is bright red when he finishes his sentence throwing his cup to the ground and kicking over the stool he once sat on. “Fucking assholes,” he mumbles before making his way out of the small house with a slam of the door, never once sparking you a glance. 

The rest of the group merely chuckles, obviously not phased by Minho or his words. You feel Jeongin grasp your arm lightly next to you, “Let’s go,” He whispers in your ear and you gladly get up off the chair and follow him out the door leaving the loud music and crowded space behind. 

Jeongin slowly walks with you back to your room and you bask in the silence, overthinking about how embarrassed you are. Embarrassed you almost made a dumb decision and Minho of all people had to be the one to stop you, and he made it very clear that was something he was not happy about. 

“I’m really sorry, Jeongin” you finally speak up as you get closer to where your room is located, “I really wasn’t thinking, I have no idea what I was doing.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I don’t think taking one hit ever would do something to you, honestly. But Minho has a bad history with shit like that so he freaked out easily. He was trying to protect you, I don’t really think he was angry at you. Plus he had a lot to drink tonight.” The boy trails off. 

You can’t help but wonder about the history Minho has but you figure it’s none of your business and if you really wanted to know you should ask him and not get the information unknowingly from his cousin. 

You finally reach your door and you turn to Jeongin, “Thanks for walking me back. I’m sorry for ruining tonight.” He only chuckles at you, “Stop worrying about it so much, go on and sleep it off. Just forget about the whole thing!” He sends a friendly smile your way and you try to send one back, “Thank you, Jeongin. Well anyways, if you see Minho tell him I’m sorry.” You pause, “And tell him thank you.” You reach for your doorknob as Jeongin brings his hand to his forehead in order to salute your requests. 

You laugh at his actions before finally entering your room ready to sleep and forget all about the incident.

The next couple days go smoothly, you’re happy not to mention anything about the party when you’re with Minho and you’re even happier that Minho doesn‘t utter a word about it either. 

The two of you merely focused on putting the final touches on the routine, trying to perfect it to a point where you would look just as good as Momo would be dancing. 

And before you know it, it’s the day of the performance. The butterflies and nerves have been present in your body since the moment you woke up. You find yourself running over the routine again and again in your head throughout the day, over breakfast with your family, lounging by the lake with your mom, lunch with your dad, and now a quick volleyball game with your sister and Chan. 

You felt bad for being so distracted but you needed to have this dance down. Though you were confident at your last practice last night, now your nerves were so high you’re afraid that would be the thing to mess everything up. You couldn’t ruin it for Minho and Momo.

“I thought you liked volleyball?” Daisy calls out to you as she runs up to you, the game coming to an end. You pout slightly, “I do. I’m sorry, I’m just really distracted I guess.” You turn to look at Chan who had gone to say goodbye to the coworkers that were a part of the game. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?” You turn to look at your sister. 

“Oh Chan and I are going to dinner and a drive-in movie in the next town over. He’s working the lunch and dinner shifts the next couple of days so we wanted to do something fun.” She smiles, eyes wandering over to the shirtless boy across the sand.

You swallow hard, “Daisy, can you do me a favor?” Her eyebrows furrow as she turns to look at you, you continue, “Can you please pretty please tell mom and daddy that I’m going with you tonight?” 

She automatically looks taken aback, never having heard you ask something of the sort, “Why? What are you doing?” 

You sigh, “I just want to hang out with a friend. They don’t know him but I really don’t want them to push me to hang out with Neil again.” It’s not completely a lie so you don’t feel as bad as you should for asking your sister for a cover. “You mean the cute little baggage boy? Alright well, I’ll tell them. And Chan too I guess. Just don’t do anything bad, alright?” 

Pulling her in for a hug, you smile brightly not even correctly for her for thinking you would be with Jeongin. “Thanks so much, I owe you! Stay safe!” You dramatically place a kiss to her cheek, turning to wave at Chan as he walks over, and finally beginning to jog out of the sand to make it to your next location.

“Keep my elbows tight, shoulders locked, don’t look down.” You stand looking in the mirror moving your arms as subtly as you can, trying to practice even as Momo works around you on your dress.

She had been slightly tailoring one of her old performance dresses to fit you better and now just hours before the performance, you’re in her room as she helps you get ready. 

She would be doing your makeup, as it would be heavier than any makeup you’ve ever worn, and making sure your hair was in an appropriate updo. 

You let out a deep sigh staring at yourself in the beautiful dress, Momo chuckles at you, “There’s no need to stress. You know the routine, you’ve worked so hard. You’re going to nail it.” She runs her hand over the skirt trying to straighten a wrinkle.

Pursing your lips you let your worries tumble out of your mouth, “I know, I just” you shrug, “I don’t want to mess this up for your guys. You both really need this and I don’t want to ruin it because I’m not a proper dancer or because I get too nervous.” 

You look down at Momo and you’re shocked to find her eyes watering, you start to panic. “Oh! No! I’m sorry, I’n sure I won’t mess it up, I’m just nervous is all!” You step down from the small stool to put your arms around her shoulder but she quickly shakes her head, “No, no! It’s not that. It’s just you’re being so nice.” She sniffles, “You’re being so nice and you’ve been so nice from the beginning and I’ve been nothing but a bitch!” You’re surprised as she starts to sob, going to sit on her bed. 

“Hey, hey,” you follow to sit next to her, “Don’t cry, Momo” you reach to grab a tissue from the table beside her bed to hand to her, “I know you’re not really that way. You had every right to act that way to me in the beginning, I was a stranger and I saw you in a very vulnerable situation.” 

She starts to wipe her nose, “I was so mean and you still decided to help me! You gave me the money and you stepped in for me for tonight. I don’t deserve it!” Her crying continues and you sigh.

“I’m in a position to be able to help you, Momo. It doesn’t matter how you acted then, okay? I’ve seen your true self and I’m more than happy to help.” You nod, smiling at her and her crying finally starts to calm. “I hope you know how grateful I am.” She blows her nose and you give her a bigger smile. “Of course.” “And I really owe you one.” She adds and you chuckle, “Just make sure my makeup looks stage worthy tonight please.” She finally laughs and gets up to continue to get your ready before Minho come to get you.

"Perfect," She lets out as she places the final touches of lipstick on, a deep red you're not not used to and find yourself staring at the mirror in shock. "Do I look alright?" You ask, feeling uncertain under the dark makeup.

"You look beautiful!" She answers, throwing her makeup back in her bag. Swallowing hard, you decide if you could be subtle or not, "Does Minho usually like makeup like this?"

Momo's movements freeze as she glances at you, "Minho?" You feel your face flush as you try to shake it off, "Nevermind, I just-" She cuts you off, "You like him don't you?"

You study her face for a moment, trying to tell if the truth was the best answer. "I-yes I do. I like him, I'm sorry". She lets out a chuckle, "Why are you apologizing?" she moves to sit next to you as you speak again, "I don't know. I feel like I shouldn't like him, that it's wrong".

Momo only frowns at you, "Why would it be wrong?" You ponder the question yourself, why does it feel wrong? Because it feels one sided? Because you thought he hated you until not long ago? Because he kissed you but hasn't mentioned anything since?

You shrug instead, "He kissed me". She looks at you as if you were lying to her, "He kissed you?" You want to lick your lips but you remind yourself of the makeup, "Yeah, when we were at the lake".

The girl beside you hums, moving to fix a strand of hair she had worked for an hour on, her silence only making you more nervous. Maybe you shouldn't have confessed, that the kiss you both shared was meant to stay a secret.

A knock on the door interrupts you two, Minho peaking in before either of you could answer, "All ready?"

"Yep!" Momo stands, going to greet him, you stand on your own as he gives her a kiss on her cheek, finally moving to look at you. You look for something on his face that might tell how he thinks you look, that might make you feel slightly less ridiculous in the heavy makeup you weren't used to, but there's nothing. Minho only nods before turning to Momo again, "Well, we'll be off. Have a good meeting tonight".

Your stomach drops but you bring a smile to your face as Momo looks to you, "I'm so nervous". She smiles shyly but Minho squeezes her shoulder, "It's okay, it'll be worth it". She nods at him before turning to you, "Thank you again, for everything."

Nodding your head, you clear your throat, "I'm happy to help".

"Okay," she breathes out, moving to open her door for you and Minho, "Good luck".

You’re still on an adrenaline high as you walk back to Minho's car after the performance. Your heart is pounding and your palms still clammy but most of all you feel relieved.

You did it! You actually performed a full routine, with minimal mistakes, but you made it nonetheless. 

It was late at night now, only you and Minho walking outside to the staff parking, still hearing the lively show going on inside. You still feel giddy after everything as you both make your way through the gravel of the parking lot, so much so that when your heel gets caught and you slip out of your shoe you merely laugh.

Minho looks at you worriedly, moving to pick up your shoe. But a smile breaks on his face as he notices your good mood, leaning down to help you put your shoe back on. You gulp when he grasps your hand when we stands back up, both of you walk the rest of the way to his car. Rather than get inside, Minho stops in front of you, your back pressed against the black vehicle, his hand still grasping yours.

"Thank you," He speaks softly, "For everything you've done for us. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner". A smile tugs on your lips as you shake your head, "There's no need, I'm happy to help".

You see him swallow before his eyes move down to glance at your lips. At that moment you decided you've waited long enough for another chance to kiss him, so with adrenaline coursing through your veins you make the first move. Leaning up slightly and moving your free hand to place on his neck, you press your lips against his.

There's a split second where your nervous he'll reject your advances, but it doesn't last long as Minho immediately returns your kiss, hand that isn't grasping yours moving to hold onto your hip. You kiss him urgently, desperate to feel like you did back at the lake, for his warmth to take over your mind. He pushed his body closer to yours, trapping you between him and the car and you attempt to bring him closer if at all possible.

Feeling daring, you tentatively poke your tongue to swipe at his bottom lip, but he pulls away. Breathing deeply as he takes you in before letting out a chuckle, he moves to check around the parking lot making sure you're alone. He moves to open the back seat of his car, raising his eyebrows before he waits for you to climb in.

It's cramped as he climbs in after you, but you would do anything to be close to him. As he situates himself back on the seat, he beckons for you to climb atop his lap. You rearrange your stage dress to help you sit comfortably on him, huffing at how difficult it was to move. At your frustration Minho looks at you with a smirk, hand coming up to move some hair that had fallen loose from your updo. "You look beautiful," he confesses and you swallow hard, had you ever heard a compliment from him before?

"You don't think I look silly with all this on my face?" You ask, think before hand he hadn't been impressed with the look. He shakes his head, "You look amazing. Now and even when you're sweating like crazy when you were learning the routine".

You bring a hand up to cup his face, not being able to believe what he was saying. Had he really felt this way all this time? But you don't want to think now, you only want to feel, to feel him and to feel the feelings you weren't sure you should be having. You move to kiss him again, much softer than before but he moves to meet you nonetheless, hands encircling your waist.

The kisses you share grow deeper and his tongue finds its way to meet yours. Both of them moving together almost desperately, leaving the sound of them echoing in the cramped car. Unable to help himself, Minho moves one of his hands up your torso slowly, tracing over the pattern of your dress before he meets your chest. He stills for a moment before moving to grope you over the fabric, the sounds you make spilling into his mouth.

A sudden burst of laughter causes you both to break with a start, you hitting your head on the roof of the car as you jolt. The noisy group next to you gets into their own car and drives away leaving you both breathing heavily at the interruption.

Minho chuckles, moving to rub your head where it had hit, "I guess we should be getting back". You nod, chuckling as you move to wipe the smeared lipstick that has made its way from your lips to his.

Whereas Minho makes his way to the front to start driving, you’ve opted to stay into the backseat to change out of your performance dress and into regular clothes so you could go straight to your room once you arrived. 

It was a slow process trying to get your dress off in a moving car but you tried to get yourself as steady as possible.

“You did great today, you know.” Minho speaks up over the soft hum of the radio. You chuckle starting to slip the sleeves off your shoulders, “I missed a step about 5 times, it’s a miracle I didn’t step on your foot.” You did make minor mistakes, as would be expected from your first ever performance and only learning for a couple weeks, but they were so minor the audience didn’t even notice.

“No, no. You did amazing.” He reassures you. Your dress is finally off and you grab your shirt to throw on, turning to look at Minho to thank him. But as you do, you make eye contact with the boy in the rearview mirror, his head snapping away once you catch him. You don’t say a word, silently slipping your shirt on. When you look at his ears you see they’ve become red as they peek through his hair at being caught looking at you changing. You climb back over the seat to return to your spot in the passenger's seat, biting your lip to contain a laugh that threatens to slip at how fidgety Minho has become. 

Ever since the performance ended, it seems as though a huge weight was lifted off both of your shoulders. The air between the two of you feels much different than before. You find yourself hoping things would be different now, from the kiss at the lake to the backseat of his car, surely they were enough for you both to have something, you couldn't be alone in your feelings.

You turn to look at the window as you get closer to the resort. You don’t know what Minho is thinking or feeling and it drives you crazy, but what you do know is you don’t want to separate from the boy tonight.

Minho drives his car up near the staff housing, finding his usual spot before putting it in park. You stay seated and he gets out himself and makes his way around the car to open your door for you. You give him a sweet smile as you join him outside the car, not moving much except to allow him to shut the door. 

It seems he’s in no rush to leave either as he stays planted in front of you. 

The moon is the only light provided outside at this time of night but even so, it was bright enough for you to see Minho’s beautiful eyes. His eyes that were only glued on you. 

You watch silently as they move across your face, though you don’t feel a bit self conscious, your heart still races being under his gaze. 

You feel the warm tips of his fingers brush against yours, merely feeling the pressure of them together before he fully laces them together. 

You’ve held Minho’s hand in yours countless amounts of times over the weeks of dancing, yet nothing could even prepare you for the feeling of sharing his touch tonight. 

You lift your head up more in order to observe the boy just as he observes you, smiling even more as he moves his thumb to graze over your hand. 

It’s all very peaceful, the cool summer night quiet, nothing but some bugs chirping in the grass. 

But a noise breaks through the peacefulness, you both turn to look at the sound of the gravel crunching next to you. You squint at the person making their way over and as he comes closer you realize it’s Jeongin.

“Minho!” He yells out of breath as he runs to get the boys attention. 

“Hurry, come quick,” he pants “It’s Momo!”

You enter Momo's room after the boys and immediately gasp at the sight. Momo is laid on her bed in the middle of the room, sweat evident on her whole body and he twists and turns, obviously uncomfortable with the groans leaving her mouth.

There’s another girl by her side, pressing a washcloth to her forehead. “What the hell happened?!” Minho yells, moving over as quickly as he came to Momo's side. “It-it was her boyfriend!” Jeongin stumbles out. Minho looks at his cousin confused, “I thought he came to take her to the program?”

The girl beside her speaks up, “He insisted on taking one last hit before they left, you know how she can’t refuse him. But once he saw how she reacted he left!” Jeongin chims in, “He took the fucking money and was gone without a word! His shit must have been laced with something” His anger and worries making him red in the face. 

“Fuck,” the dancer reaches to move Momo’s hair out if her face trying to gain her attention, “It’s much worse than before because she’s been clean these past weeks leading up to the program.”

You stand near the entrance feeling helpless. There was only one way you could think to help her. It was a risk but if it meant helping Momo you would do it. You quickly turn and run out the door.

Your dad follows you in a rush, doctor bag in hand, as you lead him to Momo’s room.

You don’t give him any details other than one of your friends urgently needed his help. He comes without question.

You open the door for him but choose to stay outside while he does his work. And moments later Jeongin and Minho join you on the porch, only the girl staying in order to not crowd Momo. 

Out of the three of you, no one utters a word the whole time. Only worried tension fills the air as you all pace the area and wait to hear any news about her.

It’s sometime later that your dad finally comes out of her room. Wiping his hand on a handkerchief, he speaks to no one in general, “She should be fine now. The medicine I gave her has helped but she’ll be pretty tired for the next 12 or so hours.” He puts the wipe back in his pocket, “She needs to get help soon though, proper help that is.” He nods his head back towards her door, “I gave her the information for a rehab in the city, if you care about your friend you’ll make sure she’ll check it out.”

Minho lets out a relieved sigh and more toward your father with his hand outstretched wanting to meet his, “Thank you, really, sir. I can’t thank you enough.” But your father merely glances down at the boy's hand before moving towards the steps, obviously having no intention to shake it, “Make sure she drinks a lot of water and eats something, preferably bread.” He makes his way on the steps and calls out your name, “Lets go. And take that stuff off of your face before your mother sees you.” He calls referring to your stage makeup. 

You swallow hard, glancing back at Jeongin and Minho who are just as surprised as you are at your father's actions. 

You reluctantly turn to follow the man before you can cause any more trouble.

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