#this is such a great performance and for WHAT

[loganofthenorth]

Did I go into this thinking I'd be a mighty hero? Of course not.

...

Okay, well, maybe a little bit... I wouldn't have gone on this quest had I thought it would end this way. I was foolish. Had hope I might prevail. Instead, water drips from the drip stone high above my head, and echoes against the cracked stone floor. Streams run into these cracks and several luminous dragonflies zip around the area to collect any flies enjoying the damp atmosphere. I'm not sure if my lack of breath is due to fear, or the humid air which suffocated me in this dark place underneath the ocean.

"Well, 'Chosen One?' Are you going to bow down and face judgement, or are you going to stand there like a snivelling coward?" The taller man standing across the cave from me questioned. A dragon with scales that reflected what little light the cave offered in a chromatic sort of way circled us. Her giant feet were slow in their steps as she gracefully moved her large body around the two of us. If I ran, she'd likely swallow me whole... I could sleigh her with my sword, but then what? He was a powerful wizard with magic which could restrain me. If I attack him first, the dragon will fry me. I could likely escape with my life, but... I likely would not escape with the artifact that hid within my bag, a loose raggedy thing strapped to my shoulder.

"Dimitri has terrible taste in heroes..." The wizard sighed in exhausted dismay. He took a moment to comb back his long black hair, which shined like the dragon's scales. A cocky smirk rested under his large nose, and his green eyes- the colour of which also matched the dragon's scales- glimmered with amusement. "What is it with great wizards and sending scrawny children to do their dirty work? Why can't he be a proper gentleman and perform his own suicide missions?" The wizard complained.

"You... Know Master Gracen?" I asked timidly.

"Why, has Dimitri not told you? I thought certainly he'd have at least warned you what you were up against. Please, allow me to introduce myself." The wizard before me mused. He bowed gracefully to me, a wicked grin across his face. "The name is Corren Hofftraitor. You can call me Coy, if you like."

"Coy? Like your attitude?" I couldn't prevent myself from snarking him despite the grave situation.

Coy laughed and clutched his stomach as his deep bellowing echoed through the cavern. "Yes," He heaved for breath as he finally calmed down. I felt my shoulders slump, and my gaze avert away from him. "Yes, like my attitude. I do like the younger heroes, they have such spirit in them. So nice to see someone who has yet to be crushed by the world... A shame I'll have to kill you to get what I want." Coy continued. He reached out his hand towards me, then held his chin up high. "Now kneel, and present the artifact to me. Or I shall make the remainder of your life a living hell." He threatened.

"But... My village. We need this artifact." I stammered. I took a step back, and the dragon growled in warning.

"Inerva, at ease." Coy soothed his reptilian friend. The dragon ruffled her wings and blew out smoke, then shifted her legs and lowered herself to lay down. "There's a good girl." Coy praised as he reached out and patted her scales gently. "As for your village... Might I ask, what does your village need this time? Will this artifact stop a monster? Perhaps cure a drought? Or, mayhaps, is it going to break a curse? I'm curious what con my old friend and rival is pulling this time." Coy went on, his attention back on me.

I could have escaped at this point... Grab my broken broomstick from the jagged ground and cast a quick mending spell before his dragon gets up. Or perhaps a teleportation spell would be more practical... I'd just need to know where I'm teleporting to.

Regardless, I was curious. "Con, Mr. Hofftraiter?" I asked to clarify.

"Yes, a con. The idea that anyone can be special and save the world by adding random things to some Wizard's collection. Kids keep getting killed over this and yet he's the 'good' guy." Coy complained.

"For the record, I'm not a kid, I'm 21." I defended.

"Oh, honey. To me that still makes you a kid." Coy mused. "But regardless... There's nothing magical about that trinket. It's simply a rare collector's item and your 'Master' wants it for himself." Coy explained.

"You're lying! Master Gracen said we needed it to craft a potion to cure my people's disease!" I declared.

"Ah, so that's what he promised you... A cute in exchange for the trinket. How quant. Unfortunately, I am also a collector, and unlike Dimitri I get my own hands dirty for what I want. Now hand it over and accept your fate." Coy threatened deviously.

The feeling of despair fell over my shoulders, and the realization that I had failed, doomed my entire family. All I could do then, was pray. I whispered to any Gods whom might listen, begged them to assist me in this moment of possible failure, and grant me guidance on what to do next.

I knelt down in front of the villain, and slowly reached inside my bag. While Coy pulled out a large knife, I pulled out the artifact. Eagerly, Coy swiped it from my hands. Then chuckled maliciously.

"Oh, excellent. This will go nicely beside my Egyptian Artifact collection." Coy decided.

I closed my eyes and waited, knowing this would be the end..

I felt cold steel against my neck after I obeyed a firm command to bow my head.

Then a sharp pain, and warm blood dripping from my neck and down my back. I was surprised, however, when the sword was sheathed and a hand was offered to me.

"There. In return, I have removed the tracking spell your Master engraved in you." Coy announced.

"The what spell!?!" I exclaimed.

"Gods you're oblivious... er... How about we return to my place, you can become my own apprentice, and I can tell you everything. K?" Coy offered as he climbed onto the back of his dragon.

"I... can't betray my Master. Or abandon my people." I argued.

"Your master is supposed to be protecting that village. He doesn't need a special vase to make the antidote, he'll do it once he realizes you're not coming back. Your master sees you as a tool, nothing more." Coy informed me.

"I guess..." I conceded. I felt a pit form in my stomach, knowing I couldn't return without that artifact or Master Gracen would not heal my people. "I have always wanted to ride a dragon..." I then attempted to persuade myself.

Coy smiled, then patted a space behind him. I eagerly ran over, climbed on, and held Inerva's spikes tightly.

Apparently I'd be the fifth adventurer Coy ended up adopting.

Which is better than being the fifth one to die certainly.

When the villain demanded that you submit or be destroyed you just apathetically shrugged and braced yourself for death. You were surprised when the villain did not kill you and instead offered you a nice, comfortable room and an appointment with their personal therapist.

[youvebeengalindafied]

I’m sure there’s an official version of Fiyero’s last letter somewhere in all the merch content that Universal has spat out over the years, but the version in my head is so much funnier to me than whatever it could possibly be:

Fae -

The Good News: I survived being tortured to death thanks to your spell! Thank you!! ilysm!!

The Bad News: The Grimmerie turned me into that scarecrow you tried to firebomb last week. Whoops.

Anyways, I think it’s time we finally blow this popsicle stand. Here’s the plan:

[overly long and convoluted plan that Elphaba ignores half of]

Step 57: and after the Monkeys finish their full performance of Wizomania for Dorothy & Co, you’ll be able to slip away with Feldspar! Genius right??

Glinda must take the throne, but I will let you decide on whether we tell her of our full plans. All my love to you both.

Yours forever,

Prince Fiyero Tigelaar of the Vinkus, Captain of the Royal Guard of Oz, the Witch’s Consort, High-Honored Friend of Dorothy Gale, and - apparently - a talking scarecrow

P.S. What the hell was with the fire and screaming babe?? Are you doing okay?? You keep threatening to murder a 12 year old, and it’s kinda freaking me out.

P.P.S. Tell Captain Zek I say hi!! Love the face paint btw - great disguise. (Unless you accidentally did turn my whole house guard green, in which case we probably need to talk)

P.P.P.S. did you really threaten to “stuff a mattress” with me?? I’ve been thinking about that for a week…

[souljahwwitch]

MY LIVING LEGEND! 𓂃⋆.˚

𓂃⋆.˚ hc’s about thanos x dancer! reader who has a big crush on him >_< (slightly angsty)

(no squid game here!) (mentioned that the reader is very pretty (because ya’ll are!!!!)) (drugs mentioned)

𓂃⋆.˚ being thanos’s main dancer was—exhilarating to say the least, going on tours with him, being on every spot, even sometimes get interviewed because of your otherworldly beauty

𓂃⋆.˚ thanos tolerated you, he usually doesn’t get involved with the dancers but you were a different story—he got more successful because of you and your beauty, and you were just timd, so he liked having conversations with you (not the one where he tried molly with you..that was a slip-up, a mistake he promised never would happen again.)

𓂃⋆.˚ you thought thanos was blind, because how couldn’t he saw the way you look at him, as if he had the whole world in his hands, everytime he even much as passed by you—you felt like you were starstruck.

𓂃⋆.˚ you two had many slip ups, as in trying stuff together and both of you waking up confused and..half naked. but he never wanted to talk about it—never. he’d always just call his private driver to drive you home, and when dance practice came—he had to touch you, because of the choreography. and it was damn near infuriating

𓂃⋆.˚ you couldn’t even count the times you cried to your friends—cried alone even, because of him. but you couldn’t be mad either, your relationship should’ve been purely professional, right?

“you gotta stop looking at me like that, angel.” he’d hiss, making you blush—but you’d just brush it off

“likeeee what, thanos?” you’d say, smiling prettily, and as mad as he is at himself for wanting you as much as you wanted him (though he was completely blind to your feelings towards him) he couldn’t help but crack a smirk.

𓂃⋆.˚ you noticed thanos taking those little pills from his cross before every performance, and once, unfortunately, you had to say something.

“you don’t need those, you’re already great.” you mumbled and he looked at you—angrily?

“you don’t know shit about what i need or not, just dance and look ethereal like you always do, got it?” ouch.

𓂃⋆.˚ it was positively awkward between you two after that, which was strange—he shouldn’t feel awkward with you, not when you’re the only one keeping him fucking sane.

𓂃⋆.˚ he’d catch you crying because of him, and he knew—he fucking knew it was because of him, but he’d just look at you, not having the words or the courage to say something—until now

“don’t waste your tears over me, sweetheart. s’not worth it.” he mumbled, sitting beside you as his tattooed hand reached for your cheek.

“you-you don’t understand.” you said between hiccups, blushing even now at the smallest contact

“then make me—make me understand and we’ll figure something out, yeah? like we always do, sweet girl.”

[leonw4nter]

I Love My Wife!!!

Husband!DI!Leon x F!Reader

A downside to being one of the DSO’s top performing and most trusted agents since 1999 is to be entrusted with handling the new generation of fresh-faced recruits, training them in all aspects necessary to become the next best assets the government has in their fight against BOWs. With each new generation he trains, their slang only gets weirder as they get younger; just the other day, they called him ‘mama’ and said that ‘a girl behind you’. He looks back and sees no one, much to his pupils’ amusement and his ever-increasing confusion.

“What the hell does that mean now?” He asks Hunnigan over lunch before he takes a bite from the egg sandwich you prepared for him. “I never told them about the baby announcement and she didn’t visit yesterday.”

“Oh you know, it’s the kids’ slang. They don’t even make sense anymore,” she says with a restrained smile. “They don’t really mean anything, you just need to see the videos that provide the context but each time the context doesn’t even make sense.”

“Kids these days,” he mumbles as he shakes his head. His blond-turned-brown locks sway with the slight movement.

“Oh relax, you were their age once.” The communications expert agent teases.

“Yes, but our slang was never this nonsensical,” he retorts. “If you guessed smart enough you could figure out what the words actually meant back in ‘98.”

“Good point,” she agrees before digging into her salad. “They’re bringing back everything from the late 90s though: low-rise pants, flared jeans, mini shoulder bags, and so much more that I thought we left behind in the past.”

Lunch continued on smoothly with small conversations in between bites of sandwich and sips of soda. The phone on Leon’s chest pocket buzzed to life, an illuminated rectangle revealed behind thin cloth. Wiping his hands, he fishes it out and checks the caller ID.

“Gotta take this one,” he says as he gets up from the table. “She’s calling.”

He walks outside of the store and into a not-so-busy sidewalk, not letting his phone ring for a little longer.

“Hey sweetpea,” he says. “How’s your day goin’?”

He vividly visualizes your smile right before you speak. “Oh y’know, it’s great. Yours?”

“It’s been great too,” he can’t resist but let a smile tug the corner of his lips upward. “Why’d you call? Need anything?”

“Nope,” you pop the ‘P’ sound. “Just wanted to hear your voice today. Stupid reason, I know.”

“No, it’s not stupid sweetheart. I wanted to hear your voice too,” he softly responds. “Day’s going to be busy for me: bigwigs are making me teach theoreticals to the rookies today, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. They’re always boring.”

“I’ve never sat through one of your lessons but it already sounds boring,” you comment with a dramatic sigh.

“Are you saying that my teaching is boring?” He asks, voice laced with feigned offense.

“Well…” you trail off, breaking into a small giggle.

“You just broke my heart, ouch.”

“Kidding!” You swiftly respond even though you know his feelings were never hurt in the first place. “You’re such a drama queen.”

“That’s why I’m your husband.”

“Okay, that’s enough cheesiness for today mister. That’s all, you can get back to your lunch now.”

“That was just one joke,” he points out. “Okay, I’ll get back inside and demolish the rest of the sandwich you made me. Take care of yourself and the baby for me while I’m at work, okay honey?”

“Yes, I will, don’t worry.”

“Okay, that’s great. You end the call, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, baby.”

The call ends so he brings his phone away from his ear, lovingly taking a moment to admire your beaming self saved as his contact photo– you, bundled in dense scarves and insulating layers, smiling brightly at him in the middle of a street covered in crunchy white now. He walks back in the shop, taking his seat to finish up the rest of his snack and energize for the long day that is yet to unfurl.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Nightfall has finally seized the day, the absence of the sun in the sky prompting Leon to swiftly pack his belongings and drive home to his darling wife. Just as he finally zips his laptop sleeve, his coworker Patrick leans on his cubicle and starts talking.

“Got any plans?” A loaded question.

“Yeah,” he says as he locks his drawer. “Stayin’ home with the missus and watching TV.”

“Me and the others are going out for drinks tonight. It’s been a week and I think we all deserve to unwind, no?”

“Mhm,” Leon hums absent-mindedly as he makes sure that there’s nothing plugged on his desk.

“C’mon, man. A drink or two with us won’t hurt, we’ll be at a bar a few minutes away from here. Drinks are on Miller and Ronson,” Patrick adds. Leon hasn’t touched a glass of alcohol in months, his previous alcohol issue and current sobriety progress kept secret amongst his most trusted circle. Patrick, and the rest of the agency, is oblivious to his relationship with alcohol.

“Thanks for the offer but I’ll definitely pass,” the seasoned agent coolly says as he slings his bag over his shoulder. “Bars aren’t really my scene.”

The curly-haired agent’s shoulders slumped but he took Leon’s answer, gaze trailing after him as he neared the door.

“If you’ll be in here a little longer, don’t forget to shut the lights on your way out.”

Patrick’s back straightens up and nods, following after Leon since he doesn’t have any business to do in the room now that Leon’s made his mind on heading straight to home.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

The ringing of the doorbell shifts your attention from laying out skincare materials on the kitchen island, face masks and other sheets cool from being kept in the fridge. You excitedly skip over to the front door, walking normally on the remaining half of the lap because ever since that test showed positive, you’ve been a lot more susceptible for motion sickness.

“Welcome home sweetie pie,” you greet your husband in a silvery singsong voice as you engulf him in a hug of unmeasurable comfort. He leans into your touch, melting in the middle of your arms as he returns a hug of his own.

“Missed you s’much,” his voice muffled from his face burrowed in the crook of your neck. His arms encircling your frame tightens slightly, wordlessly communicating his yearning for your affectionate touches.

“Tired?” You ask as you pull away from the hug and invite him in, keeping him company by the doorstep as he takes off his coat and shoes.

“Mhm,” he affirms. “Didn’t do anything physical today but y’know, it’s still a pretty draining workday today.”

“A coworker invited me for drinks in town after work hours ended but I declined,” he adds before he could forget. “That could never match up to a night staying in with you.”

“It’s nice that they thought of inviting you. That's progress from everyone aside from Hunnigan being intimidated and too scared to approach you,” you point out. “Anyway, I got a surprise for you!”

One glance at your glowing smile and infectious elation soothes your husband’s spirit, giving him an added boost of energy. “Yeah? What is it?”

“It’s a surprise for a reason, dummy. Freshen up first and I’ll show you. Close your eyes when you pass by the kitchen!”

“Gotta hold my hand first, I might bump into something and seriously concuss myself.”

“Leon we’ve lived in this house for 4 years, you know the layout like the back of your hand.” Despite that, you still take his hand and lead him.

He’s finally freshened up, now wearing a worn-out sleep shirt paired with Batman pajama bottoms. His head rests on your lap, your fingers idly playing with his silky soft tresses as you watch one of those corny reality TV shows about finding love on boats– or tropical cruise getaways, you corrected him moments ago; he makes more than enough money to spoil you to a tropical cruise so he makes a mental note to start some research while you’re asleep. His hair is kept away from his face by a fuzzy Mike Wazowski headband, matching with your own fuzzy Sully headband as chilled face masks rest on your faces. There’s sliced cucumbers resting on his eyes and a jelly lip mask on his already-perfect lips, challenging his resolve to stay awake and listen to you rant about Basic White Man with A Beard and A Tan #3’s stupid decision. Playing with his hair is tempting him to fall asleep but carefully scratching his scalp while you’re at it? It’s like you’re commanding him to drift off to Dreamland ASAP.

“Man, I love my wife,” Leon quietly murmurs to himself before he’s out cold, snoring deeply. Despite your yapping, you didn’t miss his words and blush to yourself. He must’ve had a truly exhausting day so you lay a blanket over his sleeping frame and turn the TV off.

“Hey, do you know what ‘mama a girl behind you’ means? I’ve been hearing it from my trainees all day.”

NOTES - yipee, first di!leon fic in... 7 months :0 ?!?!?! this fic is pretty much just stream of consciousness, i wrote the fic + formatted the post while listening to ASMR and actively fighting off sleep (it's quarter to 4AM in my area uyurhgrh). i kept repeating 'mama a girl behind YOU 💜' in my head randomly so i was like "hey yk what why not add that into my fic heehee so silly :D" and thus this fic was conceived. also guys i read on twitter that re9 takes place 4 years after re:village and since leon's there... we're going to see his chronological appearance which also means he'll look old... mmm yummy :3 and he's dripped out similarly to re:damnation... mmm yummy :3 also my nail is peeling off so imma have to lay off of nail polish for a bit aw :'( anyways, thank you to everyone supporting me and reading my fics!!!!!!!! I <3333333333 UUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The dividers (hearts and support banner) are made by @cafekitsune , the images are made by me (sourced from Pinterest).

[pasteldreams]

aftercare - c.s.

pairing: fwb!chris sturniolo x reader

summary: you teach your fuck buddy, chris, how to care for you after he rails you

cw: mentions of sex and bodily fluids (mdni), aftercare, pet names (baby, pretty girl, etc.), educational maybe?, fluff

word count: ~1.2k

you and chris had been "together" for a while. when you broke up with your ex 6 months ago, you missed his dick more than anything. fortunately, your friend, chris, offered up just what you needed. you two weren't technically dating, but everyone knew you were fucking each other and only each other. chris was great in bed, he knew exactly what to do to make your back arch and your fists grab the sheets. however, he didn't have nearly as much experience as you do. his lack of experience didn't seem to affect his performance much, but his aftercare skills were shit. and today was no different.

"fuck, you did so good for me baby," chris says in between heavy breaths. he slowly lowers himself to lay next to you as he gently brushes your hair off of your face, both of you sticky from a combination of bodily fluids.

all you could release was a soft hum in response as the blood pumping through your ears began to quiet. you attempt to open your eyes only for the exhaustion to drag your lids back down.

chris laughs, "damn, it was that good?" you could practically hear the smirk in his voice before he let out a soft laugh.

"i'll give you a minute to recover, pretty girl." he presses a soft kiss to your forehead before moving to check his phone on the night stand. after seeing his notifications, he begins rambling on about something sports-related, but you were still much too fucked out to comprehend any spoken language. once your senses returned to normal, your eyes fluttered open and you slowly turned towards chris, cringing as your lower body vibrated from even the small movement.

"guess what time it is," he grins laying against the pillow while facing you.

"what time is it, chris?" you ask trying to mask the discomfort.

"it's… CUDDLE TIME!" he yells suddenly before throwing himself on top of you, forcing you to lay on your back, and engulfing you in his arms.

you groan and attempt to push him off quickly receiving a pout in response.

"heyyy, what's wrong? why won't you cuddle with me?"

"dude… i literally have your cum dripping down my ass crack right now," you roll your eyes.

"oh," he pauses. "um. do you want me to get you a towel or something for that?"

"uh, yeah, that'd be nice," you say passive aggressively.

he doesn't respond as he quickly shuffles to the bathroom to grab a towel.

"do you want a big one or a small one?" he yells from the bathroom.

you sigh. "either is fine," you grumble just loud enough for him to hear.

he returns with a small towel.

"what's wrong baby?" he says as he climbs onto the bed putting the towel next to you.

"have you ever heard of aftercare?" you ask using the towel to soak up as much of the leaking fluid as you could, grimacing at the friction on the sensitive area.

“aftercare? like when a parent forgets to pick their kid up from school?" he jokes.

"no, chris… like for after sex," you state bluntly.

"no? am I supposed to know what it is?"

"do you wanna keep fucking me?"

he looks at you with surprised eyes not expecting that kind of question.

"of course I do, I mean─fuck─look at you," he gently slides his hand up your side as his eyes follow, taking in each inch of your skin on the way up.

"well, if you wanna keep fucking me, you need to learn how to take care of me after. you can't just fuck me the way that you do and expect me not to be in pain afterwards…"

"wait, you're in pain?" he furrows his brows in concern. "why didn't you tell me, angel? i can be more gentle whe-"

"no! fuck, no. i love the way you fuck me. please, don't be gentle. that's not what i want"

"so what d-"

"christopher, you can't learn if you don't let me talk."

"oh right, sorry, i'm listening," his expression turns serious suddenly.

"aw, what a good boy," you smirk teasing him.

"yeah, yeah, yeah, let's get on with this so I can keep fuckin' you, pretty girl."

"my pleasure," you grin. "first, you're usually pretty good with this one, but after you practically abuse me with your dick, i need you to tell me how good i was for you. because it's a lot of work taking you like i do, and i deserve the praise."

"you do deserve it princess. i can─no, i do do that. easy. next," he responds confidently.

"next, the towel. non-negotiable, and honestly, put it down before we even start 'cause once you pull out, sometimes even before that, it all just…"

"yeah, yeah, makes sense. i definitely should've thought about it when i was washing the sheets every single time we fucked," he admits sheepishly.

you laugh, "yeah, maybe."

"what else can I do for you, baby?" he cups your face with one of his warm hands, softly gliding his thumb across your cheekbone.

"now… i'm gonna need some help getting to the bathroom, 'cause i don't think i can even stand up on my own right now," you laugh softly, thinking about the less-than-natural positions chris had just put you in.

He laughs, smirking. "i really fucked you good today, huh?"

"just shut up and help me up."

“yes ma'am," he salutes jokingly before standing up and reaching his hands out to lift you out of bed and to the bathroom.

"you didn't have to carry me," you tell him.

"i know, but i like carrying you," he admits as he gently places you on your feet in the bathroom. once you're standing with the support of the counter, chris can't help but look you up and down.

"are you just gonna watch me piss or can i get a second by myself?" you tease him.

"oh shit, right, sorry. i'll be- um, i'll be out here," he says clearly flustered by your comment while backing out of the bathroom and closing the door.

You laugh, shaking your head.

After finishing in the restroom, you call chris's name softly.

"yes, baby?"

"can you help me get back to the room?" you giggle at your own sad state knowing it was partially your fault for begging chris to go harder.

he opens the door, quickly scooping you up and carrying back to the room.

"so, when do we get to cuddle?" he asks laying you down on the bed,

you roll your eyes playfully at him. "now, we can cuddle now, chris."

"fuck, finally, i've been waiting years to hold you," he exaggerates as he lays next to you, pulling your frame against his chest.

"chris, it was like 10 minutes."

"yeah, and I was going through withdrawal."

"you're so dramatic."

he nuzzles his head into your neck, releasing a content sigh. "you trust me to take care of you now? i can keep fucking you? please say yes."

You laugh. "yes, you can keep fucking me, on one condition."

"anything for you. what is it?"

"you promise to always cuddle me after."

"i promise to always cuddle you, whether we fucked or not."

a/n: love y/all and thanks for all the support! enjoy :)

🏷️ taglist: @y3sterdaysproblem @sofia-is-a-sturniolo-triplet-fan

reply/msg/inbox and ask to be added to the taglist!

cake divider by @dollywons, apple divider by @ithemes, and heart divider by @cafekitsune

[f1cflcfic]

The Prophecy (SMAU ft. Lando Norris)

pairing: lando norris x singer!reader (y/n)

summary: what happens after the break-up that noone saw coming? as Y/N L/N gears up to release her next album, each song reveals a little bit of the past, present and future of her relationship with Lando Norris. Inspired by a curated playlist built around "The Prophecy". note: this is RPF and is obviously in no way, shape, or form reflective of real persons. Also, this story is angsty with a happy ending - it does not contain any smut or suggestive themes. [A/N: This is my first SMAU and hooooooly shit did I totally underestimate how much work it is, and how things work within Tumblr to make it look alright. If you have any tips, let me know lol. I had to split it up in pieces, but i've got all the content written out already, so will be updated soon with the next part!]

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

December, 2025

February, 2026

[Excerpt from red carpet interview at the Grammy's with Y/N]

How are you feeling tonight? You're up for 3 awards, one of them Album of the Year for All I Ever Needed - that's huge!

"It's so overwhelming, to be honest."

Even when you've gone through this experience before? This is your fourth time attending, second time as nominee.

"Yeah, maybe even more so! It's a great chance to hang out with friends and meet new people, but it's also really prestigious still. Being nominated - I try to act like it doesn't matter, because awards always involve politics too - but at the end of the day, you do want it."

And who're you most looking forward to seeing tonight?

"Honestly? I came alone tonight, so I can't wait to find Sabrina [Carpenter] and Jade. I'm gonna need my girls."

Your friend Miley is also up for an award tonight in the same category, what's that like?

"Ha, if the Grammy's do the right thing tonight she'll win it - I know I voted for her!"

You'll also be performing one of your songs - Ruin My Life, can you tell us a bit about what to expect?

"I really wanted this to be visually interesting, but it took me a while to get the right concept for it. I think it's because to me this album and song already feel sort of far removed, and lived in? I'm in a different phase of my life right now, so I had to find a new way to still connet to it. I was really grateful to work with a great art director to bring a different version to the stage."

March, 2026

July, 2026

[SkyNews excerpt]

Lando Norris wins Silverstone GP, dedicates his 20th podium win to his family

The man of the hour is none other than Lando Norris, who’s just gone on to claim his 20th victory at his home race. You’re reading that right, his home race! While he still owns his apartment in Monaco, Norris revealed today that he’s been living back in England for the past few months. “I just wasn’t in the right headspace anymore and wanted to live closer to my family. Especially now that my brother’s kids are growing up, I just like knowing I could drive over – rather than having to fly across countries.”

Speaking on the importance of his family being present, Norris shared that it means everything to him. “In this sport you need to have skill, talent, trust and investment from your team, but also you need that stable sense of safety from the people you love. If your mindset isn’t there, you can’t be competitive.”

Norris has been vocal about mental health in the past, and has advocated for more access to mental healthcare facilities and professionals across motorsport.

“Especially in tougher years where there’s just a lot of noise and turmoil, it’s nice to have a professional coach you to mental fitness as well.”

It was the only notable reference to Norris’ private life, which ended on a low note last year after splitting from long-time girlfriend y/n l/n. The two were originally thought to have had an amicable split, but recent reports hint at a different story, with Norris unfollowing his ex and her friends unfollowing him in return.

August, 2026

September, 2026

♥･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♡･*:.｡ ｡.:*･ﾟ♥

Part II can be read here! likes, comments, reblogs are always very much appreciated ♥

[darling-flora]

pov

harry styles x yn!singer - social media au

fc: dua lipa

summary — releasing a new song about your ex is a great way to get him back.

note — short smau because why not ? let me know what you think!! reblog's and comments are appreciated ❤

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

enews

Liked by user1, user2 and 969,944 others

enews Y/n L/n spotted trying to keep a low profile in her first outing in London since being rumored to "taking a break" with Harry Styles.

view all comments

user1 wait her being so lowkey right now makes me nervous that the rumors are true 😭

user2 stop, i thought they were meant to be 😪

user3 HARRY AND Y/N PLEASE TELL ME ITS NOT TRUE 😫🙏

user5 bro when they've been spotted out together they are attached at the hip.... i think they're going to get back together honestly 😭

↳user6 this!! especially since there's no cheating rumor's, i think they'll get back together prettyyyyy soon

user7 not them both fumbling eachother ijbol

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

yourinstagram

Liked by joeyb_9, bellahadid and 11,159,944 others

yourinstagram NEW SINGLE "pov" OUT TOMORROW !!!

I have the honor of being able to perform at the Royal Albert Hall a week from tomorrow and I finished this song after working on it for about a week and want to put it out so I can have the pleasure of singing it for the first time live with the incredible Heritage Orchestra!!!

view all comments

user1 STOP IM FREAKING OUT

user2 okay it's either "pov your popstar boyfriend breaks your heart" or "pov you want your boyfriend back" and hopefully it's the latter!!!

user3 YAYYYYY NEW Y/N MUSIC!!!!

user4 now why is joe burrow in the likes....

↳user5 lol he's a fan of her music!! ↳user5 he's posted about listening to her music a quite a bit ↳user4 oh i had no idea, i thought he was trying to shoot his shot or something 😭

user6 im so nervous what the tone of this song is going to be

user7 happy for new music but scared because of break up rumors

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

yourinstagram

Liked by harrystyles, bellahadid and 10,981,944 others

yourinstagram Royal Albert Hall was a dream and an honor thank you to everyone who came out and the Heritage Orchestra for being amazing as always what an unforgettable night!!!

view all comments

user1 what a night!!!!

user2 are you 2 back 2gether??

user3 you are UNREAL 😍

user4 harry back in the likes!!!

user5 honestly make it a weekly performance it was too good!!!!

user6 SERVING VOCALS & LOOKS !!! THIS DIVA 💜

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

yourinstagram

Liked by harrystyles, bellahadid and 18,981,944 others

yourinstagram you know me better than I do ❤

view all comments

user1 SHUT UP STOP 😭

harrystyles ❤

↳yourinstagram ❤ ↳user2 the matching hearts 😩 ↳user 3 the only people ever actually!!

user4 we can sleep happy now

user5 this is so important to me omg

user6 honestly they are serving parents now more then they ever have

user7 ohhhhh my heart is so full

user8 IT COUPLE!!!

☆ -------------------------------------------------- ☆

[bigscaryd]

Say what you want about Jim Carrey but the man is, and always has been, absolutely committed to the Bit.

Notably, this is why, like all of the truly great comic actors, he is downright unpleasantly riveting in dramatic roles. The Method has nothing on comic actors doing dramatic roles. Seriously: watch Man on the Moon, or Uncut Gems, or 1 Hour Photo (the last isn't actually good, but Williams' performance!)

sorry but the scene where eggman grabs his henchman by the inner mouth made me blush

[visenyaism]

have a great bastard oc (currently nameless) who was born to a cadet branch hightower. her mother was sent to the silent sisters by her family out of shame, and oc was shuffled off to be trained as a septa as soon as the family could get away with it. instead, oc elected to go voluntarily to the silent sisters extremely young, in the hope that she would be able to find her mother amongst the order. she never found her mother and was frequently punished for breaking the vow of silence to ask the other sisters. eventually she stopped asking, and found solace in the grim work of preparing bodies for burial. she was particularly good at autopsy and anatomy and was frequently assigned to perform them. bc she missed conversing with others she would often talk to the dead when she prepared them alone. at some point she was sent to kings landing and was one of the silent sisters who attended to aemon the dragonknight after his death. when alone with his body, she addressed him as 'uncle'. unfortunately, this was overheard by king aegon IV who then demanded she reveal her face and laughed at seeing one of his own bastards attending to his sainted brother. he ordered the high septon to annul her vows (under the argument that her marriage to the stranger was 'unconsummated' and thus could be broken) and installed oc as one of the queens handmaidens out of spite. when naerys died a year later, this was attributed as one of the reasons why- aegon had taken one of the strangers wives, so the stranger had taken one in turn.

This is so bonkers and dramatic and perfect I’m going insane. What a life this girl lives.

[respectthepetty]

Choose Violence: Pick One - GMMTV Edition

This started because of a "we hear you, and we don't judge" post because I was thinking about a pair who has *the* show that everyone loves, but I wouldn't pick that show as the show that highlights them best as a pair. So I'm going to sit in my truth for the GMMTV branded pairs and pick which show I think highlighted them best as a branded pair.

However, in order for the couples to be in this list, the pairs must have acted as at least THREE different couples as of the end of 2024, so for example, JimmySea is out because they only have Vice Versa and Last Twilight. The implied relationship in Perfect 10 Liners doesn't count since Jimmy didn't appear. So by these standards, even Singto x Krist are OUT! Most of the "newbies" like Winny x Satang are out too, but not all of them!

Off x Gun

Senior Secret Love, Theory of Love, Not Me, Cooking Crush, The Trainee

These are the boys who started the list because I should pick Not Me, but I'm going to be honest with the crowd - COOKING CRUSH! It's been their best show. Fight me!

Tay x New

Dark Blue Kiss, Cherry Magic, Peaceful Property

Technically, they shouldn't be on this list because they didn't play a couple in Peaceful Property since it wasn't a BL, but this is my list and there is no way Polca wasn't going to be included, so it's canon to me, and therefore PEACEFUL PROPERTY is their best show! I wrote what I wrote!

Earth x Mix

A Tale of Thousand Stars, Cupid's Last Wish, Moonlight Chicken

It's way too soon to know how Ossan's Love will turn out, but even if it's great, I know my choice because it will always my choice - CUPID'S LAST WISH! They played comedy, drama, and romance. It gave them dimensions. It gave them the range.

Pond x Phuwin

Fish Upon the Sky, Never Let Me Go, We Are

Oh, this is soooo har---NEVER LET ME GO!

Force x Book

Enchanté, A Boss and a Babe, Only Friends, Only Boo, Perfect 10 Liners

I know I should pick A Boss and a Babe, and before 2024, I would have easily picked that show, but now I know that Force and Book have the range, yet have been handed some of the weakest plots that horribly typecast them, so my pick is the only one that did them true justice - PEACEFUL PROPERTY with a steel chair!

First x Khaotung

The Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken, Only Friends, The Heart Killers

They will always turn out the best performance, but I have to go with the reason we even got them in the first place - THE ECLIPSE. Easy.

Milk x Love

Bad Buddy, Vice Versa, 23.5

BAD BUDDY, duh.

Gemini x Fourth

My School President, Moonlight Chicken, My Love Mix-Up

Were they a couple in Bad Buddy? Doesn't matter because there is only one show here that proved to me that even if I hate their upcoming Ticket to Heaven, they will win all the awards for it because they can act and had me by the throat in MOONLIGHT CHICKEN. Good for them!

Junior x Mark

Midnight Museum, Cherry Magic, Perfect 10 Liners

I really think they are going to serve in Perfect 10 Liners, but just like Force and Book stealing my heart in one episode in Peaceful Property, Junior and Mark did the same in MIDNIGHT MUSEUM, and I still hope they are together in a parallel universe.

Boun x Prem

Until We Meet Again/Between Us, Even Sun, Cutie Pie

It'd be obvious to go with Win x Team since they played them twice, but fuck it, we ball, so it's CUTIE PIE for the established couple!

View x June

10 Year Ticket, Dangerous Romance, 23.5., High School Frenemy

I have to squint for some of these, but this is my list, so since I'm not getting them again, I'll do what I want! I'm giving it to the show I only watched fan-made videos of their parts - HIGH SCHOOL FRENEMY since I think they did best with hating AND pining.

Aou x Boom

Midnight Museum, Vice Versa, Hidden Agenda, We Are, Perfect 10 Liners

This is the hardest one because they have played a couple so many times and it all started with Enchanté where they weren't even a couple (right?), but even the tiny knowledge that Dome took over Boom's body in Midnight Museum had me in my feels! I'm confident that Memoir of Rati is going to be their best outing so far, but I still wouldn't be able to pick just one. DRAW because I think every version of a couple they have played is fantastic. Period.

Joong x Dunk

Star in My Mind, Hidden Agenda, The Heart Killers

I'm a Jaidee fan first, and a human second, so I love everything they have done, but gun to head, it'd be THE HEART KILLERS.

And it's only because the show leans into why I think they are a great pair in the first place since this is how they behaved in Safe House.

Basically, I think they are playing themselves.

A really loud kid pestering a quiet kid into leaving the house.

Choose Violence Bonus Round:

Ohm x Singto in He's Coming to Me is the best pairing either has had, and the competition isn't even close.

Thor x Fluke should have been a branded pair after The Warp Effect and could've easily pulled Wandee Goodday off (glad we got Great x Inn though).

And for Marc x Poon to be thrown together at the last minute, they are running circles around these established couples.

I wrote what I wrote. Fight me in a Texas Chicken parking lot, and come prepared because the streets raised me, and I'm Catholic, so I ain't afraid to go hard 'cause God will forgive me!

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hello!

What tipe of student do you think Harry were? Was he academicaly average? Do you think that any professor had him as favorite student?

Well, we know his O.W.L grades:

(HBP)

And these are great grades. Like, E is Exceeds Expectations because it exceeds expectations, it's beyond what's required.

O.W.Ls loosely mirror irl O-levels that are taken at 16, and N.E.W.Ts loosely mirror A-levels that are taken at 18 (the grading system and the exam system have changed over the years). But, if we look at the grades for the GCSE and O-Levels compared to the O.W.L, I think it would be something like this:

GCSE grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) – Certificate and qualification awarded. At GCSE, considered a 'standard pass', and awards a qualification at Level 2. GCSE grades 3 to 1 (D to G) – Certificate and qualification awarded. At GCSE, awards a qualification at Level 1. U: ungraded/unclassified – no certificate or qualification awarded.

(From Wikipedia + my WW additions)

Since, let's be real, the Wizarding World is using an older standard than the muggle one. Also, this fits the descriptions we get of the grades in the W.O.M.B.A.T.s exams pretty well:

Passing: Outstanding - CONGRATULATIONS! Your exemplary powers of deduction and a formidable knowledge of the inner workings of the magical world reveal you to be a witch or wizard of genuine skill and learning. This first examination has barely tested you. We look forward to challenging you to a further and more difficult examination in due course. Exceeds Expectations - Well done - a most creditable performance! We are impressed by the breadth of your magical knowledge and your level of insight into the wizarding world. We hope that you will attempt our next, and more difficult, examination in due course. Passing: Acceptable - We are pleased to tell you that you have passed your Grade 1 W.O.M.B.A.T. Your knowledge of the workings of the wizarding world demonstrates real magical potential. We hope that you will continue to study further and attempt W.O.M.B.A.T. Grade 2 in due course. Failing: Poor - Alas - we regret to inform you that you have narrowly failed your Grade 1 W.O.M.B.A.T. This may have been due to factors outside your control (eg: poltergeist intervention, examination nerves or a malfunctioning quill.). Please do not disconsolate. Another examination will present itself in due course, should you wish to try again. Dreadful - We are sorry to inform you that you have failed your Grade 1 W.O.M.B.A.T. A little further study of the textbooks is recommended. Should you wish to try again, a grade 2 W.O.M.B.A.T. will present itself in due course. Troll - You would appear either to have abandoned the test due to factors outside your control (eg, earthquake, poltergeist attack), or else you are a troll, in which case you are to be congratulated on being able to use a computer and have achieved the grade of O.F.T. (Outstanding for Trolls).

(Source. If you want to take the W.O.M.B.A.Ts exams, you can here)

The point is that E is a good grade and Harry (and Ron) can get very good grades with little to no study. If they had studied as much as Hermione, they would be O students too.

Like, we see N.E.W.T Potions has only 12 out of the original 40 in the whole year:

When they arrived in the corridor they saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level. Crabbe and Goyle had evidently failed to achieve the required O.W.L. grade, but four Slytherins had made it through, including Malfoy. Four Ravenclaws were there, and one Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry liked despite his rather pompous manner.

(HBP)

Only 12 out of 40 get an E or O in Potions (Harry, Ron & Hermione are the only Gryffindors in the class). We know Neville managed an E in Charms but only got an A in Transfiguration. Getting an E is considered hard and not something everyone does. I mean, in DADA, even Hermione didn't get an O! Becouse being "really good" gets an E, you gotta be truly exceptional to get an O.

The "average" student passes 3-5 O.W.Ls (Neville only passed 4 O.W.Ls. Fred and George passed 3 each and it doesn't seem odd to anyone - though in their case it's not because they're average, but because they didn't care about school), good students probably get 6-7 O.W.Ls and very good students get 8-10 O.W.Ls with only extremely talented students passing more than that. And passing doesn't inherently qualify you for N.E.W.T classes. So, Harry (7 O.W.Ls, and he might've passed history with an A if it wasn't for the visions from Voldemort since he didn't even finish the exam) and Ron (7 O.W.Ls) are actually above-average students in terms of grades.

(Some subjects, like Charms, are considered easier than subjects like Potions and Transfiguration, so the percentages there would look a little different)

And his teachers think of him positively for the most part:

“You see what you expect to see, Severus,” said Dumbledore, without raising his eyes from a copy of Transfiguration Today. “Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likable, and reasonably talented. Personally, I find him an engaging child.”

(DH)

McGonagall has no qualms about Harry wanting to be an auror because she knows he is intelligent:

“You’d need top grades for that,” said Professor McGonagall, extracting a small, dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it. “They ask for a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under ‘Exceeds Expectations’ grade, I see. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It’s a difficult career path, Potter; they only take the best. In fact, I don’t think anybody has been taken on in the last three years.” [...] “I would also advise Transfiguration, because Aurors frequently need to Transfigure or Untransfigure in their work. And I ought to tell you now, Potter, that I do not accept students into my N.E.W.T. classes unless they have achieved ‘Exceeds Expectations’ or higher at Ordinary Wizarding Level. I’d say you’re averaging ‘Acceptable’ at the moment, so you’ll need to put in some good hard work before the exams to stand a chance of continuing. Then you ought to do Charms, always useful, and Potions. Yes, Potter, Potions,” she added, with the merest flicker of a smile. “Poisons and antidotes are essential study for Aurors. And I must tell you that Professor Snape absolutely refuses to take students who get anything other than ‘Outstanding’ in their O.W.L.s, so —”

(OotP)

Harry reminds me a lot of my younger brother when he was a high school student honestly (Ron, too, tbh). Because he's really smart, and he could get Os (As) in all his subjects if he felt like it and put it the effort, and McGonagall knows this. The only reason he doesn't get top grades is because he doesn't apply himself, and we see it in the books repeatedly.

We see he does his homework on time, but he usually stays up on the last night to make it, like Ron:

“Come on, we’ve got to get this finished some time before dawn,” he said briskly to Harry, pulling Professor Sinistra’s essay back toward him. Hermione was looking at Ron with an odd expression on her face. “Oh, give them here,” she said abruptly. “What?” said Ron. “Give them to me, I’ll look through them and correct them,” she said. “Are you serious? Ah, Hermione, you’re a lifesaver,” said Ron, “what can I — ?” “What you can say is, ‘We promise we’ll never leave our homework this late again,’ ” she said, holding out both hands for their essays, but she looked slightly amused all the same. “Thanks a million, Hermione,” said Harry weakly, passing over his essay and sinking back into his armchair, rubbing his eyes.

(OotP)

And that he doesn't study for exams as much as he could (he usually spends the end of the year at the hospital wing, so, it makes sense). Basically, Harry is really smart and he manages to get passing grades on basically no study at all. That's really impressive. Like, McGonagall, I believe that with just minimal effort he could be an almost all-Os student. And when he does study just a little more (like to the O.W.Ls) he does get higher grades.

But he did read his school books before his first year:

Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic. His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased.

(PS)

And he entered his first Potions class with the intention of studying properly, he read the books before class in the measly month he had to prepare:

“I don’t know, sir.” “Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?” Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys’, but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?

(PS)

So, I think, in canon, since Harry has so much else going on (mysteries and misadventures) and Ron is a bad influence on his studies (I love Ron, but he is a bad influence on Harry's studies), he waits with most of his assignments to the last moment and doesn't study as much as he could. But he does make them and except for Potions with Snape, he gets decent grades for them. If he had more free time without a mystery to solve, we'd probably see him doing homework earlier and maybe putting in more effort. But even with close to minimal effort (which is what he does), he is a student with good grades who most teachers clearly see as smart and capable.

Edit becouse I forgot to mention it: we see Harry apply himself to studying potions in HBP when he spends hours deciphering the Prince's notes, and lo and behold, when Harry takes time to study he becomes an O student at the top of the class in his supposedly "worst subject". Just goes to show it's all about effort for him because he has the brain and talent.

Harry is the student that if Hogwarts had parent-teacher conferences (and Harry had parents), McGonagall would be all like: "He is bright and has potential if he only applied himself".

And that sentence is Harry as a student in a nutshell.

[thiccpersonality]

5 Times Bruce Was Protective of His Pups (+2 Times They Were Protective of Him)

1: The Interview

Batman hates a lot of things: mornings, waking up early, the sunlight peaking through his curtains, people-more specifically, Superman-bossing him around (even if that one is a bit hypocritical) and losing (in general) bets, just to name a few. But, another thing is strangers being around his newly adopted pup; Richard, anything and anyone that isn't deemed trustworthy to Bruce is deemed as a threat or kept in his sights as a potential enemy until stated otherwise.

Which is why Batman finds himself feeling antsy as he waits for the signal to be given for him and Superman to exit the backstage area together and onto set.

The omega doesn't even know why he agreed to be shown in public with his pup and Superman, it's just...he couldn't resist the excited little eyes turned his way when Richard heard the Kryptonian suggest doing an interview together. Of course, Bruce knows he should have knew his pup would be excited at the idea of an audience, the boy was a performer and entertainer for Heaven's sake, it's just that he never expected for himself to be so nervous about taking his baby out in public for the first time in awhile that wasn't for dealing with small crimes.

"Robin, make sure to stay under my cape unless stated otherwise, okay?"

The boy pouts at the gentle command, curious as to why his mom is so nervous. "But why? I could perform a lot of cool tricks for them out there. I bet they've never seen a live circus act before!"

Batman sighs fondly at the boy's youthful exuberance, his gloved hand instinctively raising to scent the boy's neck gland before realizing his own wrist is covered and settling for gently ruffling the pup's hair. "I bet so too. But...I would really appreciate it if you stayed under my cape until I tell you to come out-" He pauses at the disbelieving look on Robin's face, sighing softly in response-"What is it? Why do you look like that?"

"Because you aren't planning to let me ever come out, are you?"

At Batman's silence, Robin pouts further, a frustrated little puppy squeak escaping his throat. "See! Why can't I show them my tricks, B? I know they'd love to see me! Do you know how much people talk about Robin in the news? I'd be a hit!"

Batman takes in the boy's excited face carefully, thinking that maybe he's holding the boy back from something that could be good for him, but he knows his worries aren't unfounded. He remembers when he was just a pup, traumatized from witnessing his parents murder and just as bitter and angry as Richard...which is why he's not comfortable with the pup being in the spotlight, the boy seems to have good days where he's excited and happier than ever before; but then, things are too loud, the media that never ceases to leave Bruce Wayne alone too much for the poor boy to handle...and he's just scared that they'll upset his precious child, that maybe all of this spotlight won't be that great in the end, but what is he to do? He gave Alfred a break today and won't bother the alpha to come and watch his pup when the reasons for it most likely aren't even that serious.

A deep, soothing voice, however, interrupts Batman's thoughts.

"C'mon, Batman. Robin seems to be all for it, so why not let him be in the limelight for a few minutes? He knows you'll keep a good eye on him...and I hope you know that I will too?"

Superman gives a calm, reassuring smile down towards the smaller man, hoping that it's as disarming as he's trying to make it. This whole thing with the Bat is still fairly new, and he's even surprised that the man agreed to doing this with him when the other was so...volatile when they first met, but to be fair, Robin wasn't there when they encountered each other. It seems that the pup really has changed Batman in an unimaginable way.

"Of course he knows that-" a quick glance to his pup-"At least I hope he knows that?" Batman is yet again interrupted by his pup tugging at his cape desperately, "Pleeeease! Pretty pleeeeease? I promise I'll make you look good and-and make sure to smile-oh! Wait--I'll make sure to look grumpy to make you look really, reeeeally serious. And I'll stay close by, and I'll-"

"Okay, okay. You can...go...out there. But! You have to stay behind me when we go out first, okay? I'll make sure to introduce you properly before you do anything, they don't even know that you are here with us."

Robin nods enthusiastically and instinctually hides behind the omega at hearing someone approaching their dressing room, a small but audible knock is heard before one of the PA pokes their head in. "U-Uh...Superman, sir. A-And...Batman, sir. I've been told to come and get you guys, it's almost time for you all to h-head on." The poor beta swallows nervously at Batman's blank, white stare being directed his way. He can't see the man's eyes, but he can feel the icy stare piercing his skin almost painfully, luckily enough, Superman steps in front of the Bat with a bright smile. "Of course, thank you! We'll be right on out."

The beta nods quickly before rushing out of the dressing room, leaving the three heroes alone, Robin snickering softly at Batman's attitude.

"Agent A wouldn't appreciate your lack of manners, B. You were supposed to say, 'thank you very much.' You teach me to say please and thank you, but I never hear you say it...unless it's to Al-Agent A." The displeased grumble coming from Batman makes Robin even more amused, "That's because Agent A deserves said pleases and thank you's...most of the time anyway, though sometimes he gets on my nerves giving his opinion when I never asked for it. I'm surprised I haven't fired him ye-" Robin's 'oooh' cuts him off, even if the pup knows this familiar pattern of Bruce "threatening" to fire Alfred or lessen his pay, the child still likes to cause mischief wherever he can. "I'm telling him what you said! And you can't fire him, he's your daddy!"

Batman softens at the pup's words and-yet again-sighs softly, nodding in agreement of the pup's analysis of his and Alfred's relationship, slipping out a one hundred dollar bill for the pup just in case he really does plan on telling Alfred what was said.

"I won't say anything about my lack of manners or any threats to Agent A as long as you don't?"

Robin takes a moment to think about the question in Batman's tone; a mere proposition for him to not say anything, after all, he knows how scary Alfred's wrath can be. And even if it's not anger, you still don't want to be scolded by the older alpha...it makes you feel guilty for any bad things you've done, however, it's just that: a proposition, a mere suggestion for Robin to decide if he wants to go along with Batman's request or not, and while he may not be business savvy, he's not an idiot and immediately snatches the money and slips it into his own utility belt. "What are you talking about, B?"

The omega smiles down proudly at his pup and the genuine look of innocence written all over the pup's face, "That's my boy-"

Superman clears his throat to get the two Gothamites attention, holding the dressing room door open for the two when they look his way. "We have an interview to show up to...and I don't think we should make them wait any longer, it'd be rude-"

"But Batman isn't rude. He has the greatest manners ever, very nice."

Superman looks amused at Robin keeping up his act, eyeing the boy suspiciously as Batman leads them out the door. "You sure about that? Your answer wasn't swayed by...perhaps, a one hundred dollar bill?"

A small, offended gasp escapes the pup who decided to hide under the black cape anyway. "I don't take bribes, Superman, only cash or credit." The Super snorts at the young boy, not bothering to correct him on how that's what a bribe usually entails is money, instead, choosing to superspeed his way in front of Batman. "Do you want me to head out first? I...know how uncomfortable taking Robin out made you? So, maybe seeing me first might be for the best."

Batman wants to bristle at the taller pointing out his vulnerability...but he's too busy trying to ignore the flutter of his heart at the alpha's thoughtfulness.

"Mm. Fine."

————°————

The directed applause dies down as they come back from a commercial break, the interviewer/talkshow host smiling brightly for the camera. "For the first time in the history of ever we have two very special guests coming out for us today-and I don't mean gay-" the audience erupts into cued laughter-"One is the Golden Child of Metropolis, Superman, who is used to being in the spotlight and having annoying folks like myself poking and prodding at him. Let's give the champion of Krypton a big, but not too big, round of applause! He's still from Metropolis folks."

The crowd gives a more genuine round of applause and laughter this time around, the Gothamites curiously watching the super powered alien exit from the back with watchful eyes, one audience member shouting how they think Gotham Knights is still a better baseball team than whatever forgettable team Metropolis has.

Superman has to hold back from replying about how if his team is so " forgettable", then why did the Gotham Knights lose the World Series two times to them. It really shouldn't bother the Kryptonian as much as it does...but he loves baseball, so sue him for being passionate about it. Instead, he offers the host a thankful smile for having him in Gotham, the woman feeling as though she has to squint to properly look at the alpha. "How is anyone this happy in the morning? I'll never know, but thank you for agreeing to come to Gotham for this interview, Superman."

She pauses as the crowd claps again, her excitement-and nerves-growing at who she has to introduce next.

"Next is someone who I have great respect for and am extremely proud to introduce. This man-or I should say-Bat, is an enigma; a legend and seemingly myth to all who have heard of his great, seemingly impossible, feats. I am very happy-" and nervous goes unsaid-"to introduce our Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman!"

The crowd grows deathly silent as the Bat steps out onto set, the mood changing to one of slight unease and stunned awe as the man's beloved people witness his cape dramatically fanning out on the ground around him like some sort of Gothic wedding train. His stance tall and confident; commanding, as he keeps his eyes trained on the now stupefied TV hostess, each step eerily silent yet so loud to the people watching him walk forward as if he owns the place. The silence deafening as everyone takes a moment to process that the Batman is actually here, "U-Uh, you may seat-I mean, take a seat...i-if you want Batman, you don't need to if you don't...want...to."

The woman messes with her already neat hair nervously, turning to smile at the audience and camera to the best of her abilities. "Uh...a round of applause, please?" It takes a few more seconds before everyone reclaims the basics of their fine motor skills and burst into loud applauses and whistles. 

Batman does his best not to growl at the audience, they aren't doing anything wrong...just being loud and making his protective instincts flair, but he knows it's not them.

It takes everything in the omega to not clear his throat before speaking, if he does, that would most likely be a sign that he is nervous...and just in case any enemies are watching, he can't let them see he's weak, especially with a pup around. He ignores the woman's curious and slightly worried looks as to why he hasn't taken his seat yet, and turns to the audience and camera crew. "Before we begin, I have someone else you should be pleased to meet-" everyone's eyes are immediately drawn towards the small, vibrating lump underneath his cape-"Batman can't go anywhere without his partner, so you better show your appreciation at the new vigilante, Robin."

Everyone in the crowd gasps quietly and excitedly at the small pup that rushes out of the cape and performs a series of difficult flips and tumbles before landing perfectly and bowing.

Robin keeps his head bowed as the crowd cheers loudly and coos at him, rubbing at his chest at the random prickly feeling in it from the noise, before sitting up and smiling cutely. "Thank you! Thank you!" The crowd genuinely giggles at the cute display, no one daring to show the usual Gotham grumpiness towards the Bat's pup.

Batman finally takes his seat next to Superman, the alpha nodding at him proudly for not getting defensive while the omega does everything to ignore that stupid flutter in his stomach from that godforsaken smile.

"O-Oh, wow! This was something completely unexpected, but absolutely welcomed! Another round of applause for our guest heroes on: Shut Up! And Spill That Tea." The hostess relaxes somewhat at the sight of the pup, she admits that the boy is a breath of fresh air in the usual smog of Gotham...and the feeling of the studio, because while Superman is a way friendlier presence than Batman, he still is intimidating in his own way. She finds herself softening at the sight of the pup skipping up to Batman and crawling up onto the alpha's lap, "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Robin. It's very nice to be able to meet such an adorable new face."

The boy smiles at the hostess and waves at her seemingly bashfully while his other hand holds his cheek. "You flatter me, Veronica-I mean, Ms. Veronica. I love your show." Her eyes widen at the fact that the pup watches her program, "Oh...thank you! I didn't know that you watched my show? How do you have time for that with all this crime fighting?" Veronica glances up at Batman to gauge his reaction to her question, sighing softly in relief at his attention placed carefully onto his pup.

Robin pouts at the question, his arms crossing to show his displeasure. "I'm not allowed out every night. B and Agent A say that growing pups need as much rest as possible...even though I try to tell them that I'm old enough to stay up late."

The crowd 'oooh's' and 'ahhh's' at his confession, Veronica perking up at the sudden mention of another name. "I have to say that I agree, you still need your sleep to grow just as strong as Batman. And I'm sure this...Agent A is a good man too if he's working with you both, if I may ask, who is this mysterious agent?" Robin pauses at that, worrying he maybe revealed too much and glances up at Batman quickly to see if he messed up, relaxing into the other when he looks normal enough. "He's a mysterious agent as you said. But back to how I watch your show! I enjoy waking up every morning and watching it! Because B only allows me to fight petty crimes on weekends, I have to get my drama fix every other day."

Even though the boy completely avoided her question, Veronica can't find it in herself to be annoyed like how she'd usually be if anyone else tried it.

"I appreciate you for tuning in! What makes you enjoy my brand of tea spills compared to other shows?"

Robin's smile is mischievous, "I enjoy how you don't hesitate to give your opinion. You aren't a suck up like most other TV hosts when they speak on a topic, and while you talk about things that may or may not be true, you keep it real in your opinion without also being overly cruel."

Veronica makes an impressed noise at how clearly the boy speaks, of course he's still a child...but definitely better spoken than most children she runs into. "Now who's the flatterer-" she smiles and looks at the camera for a minute-"Listen up, folks! This is something completely new and different for a show like this, as many of my viewers know, we talk gossip and scandals here a lot. But, as we are dealing with two men who could easily crush me if I ask the wrong questions, we will go a different route today and just stick with regular schmegular interview questions with...maybe slightly juicier questions thrown in, at least with Superman anyhow."

Veronica turns back towards the two older heroes, her eyes trying not to linger on Batman too long in fear he'll snip at her for admiring his physique a little too closely.

"Alrighty, so, you two have made headlines about a year or two ago with the announcement that Superman was in Gotham. Even better, was the lucky bastard who captured you two together on a rooftop, though some eye witnesses say our Dark Knight wasn't all too welcoming. I-as I'm sure everyone else-would love to know how you two first met and what caused Superman to bother stepping foot in Gotham?"

She leans in expectantly, expecting Superman to cooperate first and easiest.

"Well...If I'm allowed to say this? That wasn't the first time Batman and I met, we met a year prior in Metropolis when he was investigating a crime that involved both Lex Luthor and The Joker. That instance was the first time we were actually captured together, however, and...yeah, Batman wasn't so welcoming of me being here."

Veronica eyes the Kryptonian like a predator with its prey as he keeps drifting his eyes over to look at Batman, the excitement bubbling in her stomach at the almost reverential look the alpha wears on his face. Humming in response to his words, "And how exactly have you come to this point of doing an interview together? No one can get their hands on the Bat...not unless you are as stupid enough to try it like the Rogue Gallery, but I guess Superman can use his powers in many ways, right everyone?"

The audience whoops and wolf whistles at the implications of her words, the Super flushing under the attention and because he would love to use his powers in such a way towards the Bat. 

"Superman isn't as stupid as he appears, Veronica. He'd be a fool to try touching me."

Everyone grows silent again at the Bat talking, a shiver running down everyone's spine at the soothing, yet bone shaking, silky deepness of the man's voice.

Superman's eyebrows twitch at the way the other man says it...he...technically did touch the Bat when he pushed him into the wall with his superspeed, but the man pulled out his greatest weakness in retaliation. However, he still got to touch the Batman! Veronica licks her lips in excitement at the Bat actually participating and saying something, "Of course! So I take that to mean, he has never tried being forceful with you?" It's Robin that responds this time, his voice innocently confused. "Why would they fight? They're friends."

The set descends into a silent chaos as the audience starts whispering about what was just said, Veronica turning her sights back to the pup, deciding she'll try to suck as much information out of him (in a nice way) as possible, because the boy obviously has all the tea to spill.

He's her strongest weapon right now.

"Oh? They are friends, are they?"

Robin nods absentmindedly while crawling around all over Batman, playfully biting the Bat-ears and tugging as he usually does whenever he's near the omega's head.

"Yeah! B came down today because I overheard Superman asking him if he wanted to do this. Batman said no, but I was super excited at the thought of-" Robin yips at Batman's gloved hands gently grabbing his scruff warningly, not enough to hurt obviously, but to get the excited pup to calm down and stop him from saying anything more. Right...he almost exposed how he was excited to see an audience again, that could cause possible questions to anyone listening extremely closely as to who his civilian identity is. "B-eeee..."

Everyone watches as the pup is gently reprimanded, the boy puffing his cheeks out and snuggling up to the Bat immediately after the punishment, his apologetic puppy squeaks filling the room.

Batman huffs fondly at the boy, ignoring the urge to nuzzle into the boy's neck and gently rubbing his back instead. "He heard us talking and begged me to come on this show. I only came because he likes it so much." Veronica swallows nervously at the man looking at her but nods, "T-That's very sweet of you to do this for Robin. Uh...we have to go on a commercial break, but we'll be right back with more hot topics for these three heroes."

Veronica slumps in her seat as soon as they go to commercial, scrubbing a hand carefully down her face and sighing loudly as the pressure slightly lifts from her shoulders.

Her honey brown eyes eye the trio curiously, watching as the pup is given consolation snacks, her manicured nails tapping unconsciously on her desk as she wonders what the boy was about to say and how she can pull more juicy stuff out of the pup without scaring him off. She enjoys juicy gossip as much as any other drama leech, but she doesn't like to make innocent pups cry, especially not Batman's pup.

Veronica closes her eyes as the makeup artist touches up her face with a powder so she doesn't look so greasy, it's not her fault she was starting to sweat under the intimidating glare of Batman.

The shocked gasp escaping from her makeup artist startles the TV hostess out from her thoughts, her mouth hanging open stupidly at the Bat standing in front of her desk. "Robin was looking forward to performing." Veronica is frozen in place at the command in his tone, as though he expects her to open up a spot for the pup to perform. "O-Oh...I was...supposed to ask questions-"

"Your questions are stupid-"

"Batman!"

Superman zips over to the man, his gaze apologetic towards Veronica for the other's rudeness. "I'm sorry about him, it seems he forgot the conversation he had with Robin about manners."

"What conversation?"

Robin speaks up from around his lollipop, looking between Superman and Veronica curiously. "I don't remember that? I do know I mentioned something about B being suuuuper duuuuper polite and well-mannered." The boy turns fully towards the intimidated and fascinated woman, "Can I pretty please do some tricks for you all? I promise you've never seen anyone perform quite like I have! That's why I came today, B said that I would be able to do something."

Batman grumbles, "I never said that."

Veronica looks between the Bat and his pup before conceding to the puppy eyes she knows the boy is making at her.

"Alright, alright, kid. No need to look at me like that. I'm sure we can open up a spot for you as soon as we come back on air, m'kay?" Veronica straightens out her suit jacket as everyone rushes back into place, her lips twitching up in amusement as Batman quietly tells Robin he can't perform with a lollipop in his mouth, her perfectly trained smile returning as the last commercial plays. "I know that we are getting off of our usual schedule, but it seems that Robin would like to perform some lovely tricks for us today. So if we could give him a warm round of applause as he takes the spotlight to let him know how eager we are to see his special tricks he's learned from Batman himself."

Veronica is thankful for the sound crew in this moment and how they don't bother showing irritation if they have any, but choose to play a song for Robin to do his flips to, the crowd clapping along as the music starts and the boy performs on the open floor.

Robin gives a beaming smile as he begins, reveling in the cheers and aww's he receives anytime he does something particularly cool. It feels as though it's been forever since he's done something like this, even though he knows deep down it probably hasn't been horribly long, it feels...freeing to pull stunts like this once more for an exuberant audience, yet also intimidating, he tries his best to push on despite that prickly feeling appearing again in his chest.

His mind flashes back to that horrible night as his body soars through the air, the anxious feeling spreading through him the more he thinks about it.

That fateful night started just like this too, didn't it?

Robin remembers how excited he was to witness his parents perform, recalls how enthusiastic he was to do his own little show, a-and the audience were just as loud and excited as he was too. Their claps and screams filling his ears as he flipped across the stage...yet unlike then, he feels himself falling-falling-falling--

Everyone gasps as Robin lands awkwardly and falls down with a loud cry, everyone's worried murmurs sounding too loud for the pup's sensitive ears, his hands lifting to cover them in hopes he can't hear the horrified shouts of the audience. A dangerous snarl is heard from Batman towards the camera crew and how they focus on Robin, one of them having the audacity to zoom in on the boy's reaction. "Turn the cameras off, now!" Veronica flinches at the command and waves frantically at her crew, disappointment in her gaze towards the one camera man for his carelessness towards the pup.

Luckily the cameras cut off to a commercial break as Robin shouts, "M-Mommy! Daddy!" The mood tense as the pup reaches out to people who aren't even there, "M-Mama!"

Everyone is too stunned to notice how Batman reacts to the last call, a snarl ripping through his throat at the people watching his son like some spectacle as he quickly gathers the puppy into his arms, securely tucking him away under his cape before gliding off set with his trembling bundle.

Superman can't help his own protective glare directed towards the one specific cameraman before super speeding to the dressing room where he can hear Robin struggling to breathe properly, standing guard outside to make sure no one approaches them and keeping his ear out for the two. "C'mon puppy, breathe with me-" a loud whimper from the boy as Batman shushes him-"I know it's hard to, but mama is right here, it's going to be okay--"

Superman's eyes widen at that and he chooses to stop listening in, standing taller with a warning growl as one of the crew passes by.

"You aren't at the circus, baby. You are right here, on the set of Shut Up! And Spill That Tea, your favorite show, yeah? Can you feel my arms around you?" Batman waits for Robin's slow nod, the omega looking around cautiously before taking off his mask to nuzzle the pup, "That's very good. You are doing so well, honey, but I'm still concerned about your breathing. Just...come here-" he gently turns the boy's head so that his ear is resting on his chest-"Listen to my heartbeat and just follow it as best you can. I'm going to count to five when we inhale and count eight with exhaling, okay? Follow along as best you can."

Robin whimpers, his heartbeat too loud in his own ears, yet warring with the calming, steady sound of Bruce's own.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five-" Bruce's voice washes over Richard like calming, gently swaying waters, the pup clinging onto the older man's voice like a lifeline as he slowly starts to breathe normally.

Batman, after a couple minutes of repeating the patterns, ends with his own relieved exhale at the pup's breathing evening out into something normal. "Richard..." His voice croons softly to the child at the tears wetting his suit, "Are you okay?" The boy sniffles and nuzzles into Bruce's neck, sniffling the soft and spicy scent of the omega. "I-I'm sorry, mama. I-I couldn't-you were right! I couldn't handle it a-and I made you look-" he's cut off at the hands that gently grab at his tear stained cheeks.

"Don't even finish that sentence. It's not about how you made me look, I already know how I look, and that's fine with me. This is about you and how you are holding up now...you know I understand what you're going through, don't you?" Richard softens at the reminder that Bruce truly does know how he feels, nodding his head gently as he slumps against his mom. 

"Do I...do I have to go back out there?"

Bruce growls protectively, hugging the boy closely, flashbacks of the media bombarding and overwhelming him when he was this age coming to the forefront of his mind. "Never! You never have to be seen by them if you don't want to. Only when you are ready to."

Robin nods softly, the weight of his stress making him sleepy as he rests his head against Bruce's shoulder, his ears twitching at the sound of Batman's communicator chiming, watching sleepily as the omega slips his mask back on and answers. "Alfred says he's on his way back home with ingredients for some chicken noodle soup, if that sounds pleasing to you?"

Robin hums softly with a small smile on his face, nodding and nuzzling into the man as he clears out their scents from the room before exiting the door.

Superman slumps in relief at seeing Robin look a lot less shaken than before, though there's still some lingering shakiness from the sudden flashback. "Is he okay?" Batman tightens his hold on Robin, his hand gently rubbing up and down the pup's back. "Yes. He's going to be fine, Superman-" the omega curses the unwanted warmth he feels at the alpha showing concern for his pup-"We...have to go though, he's not going back out there after that. I'm so-"

The Kryptonian waves off the apology, "Don't even say that, please. I've never heard you apologize for anything before...and I definitely don't want it to be for something like this-" the alpha looks away nervously, wanting to ask so many questions about what he heard the other man say to Robin, but deciding against it as now's not the time-"U-Um...can I give you both a lift home? My cape will keep you both warm and cozy on the trip to...wherever it is you go to." Batman bounces his child higher, adjusting his hold on the boy as he eyes Superman wearily for the offer, softening slightly at realizing it was just a genuine offer. "No, I have my own ride. Batmobile, remember?"

"Oh! Right...right."

The two heroes stand there awkwardly, the soft sound of Robin's snores managing to cut through the tense air as the alpha and omega focus on the boy.

"I should--You should get him home." 

They pause to stare at each other for speaking at the same time, Batman nodding his head in thanks for Superman's understanding as he heads to the exit, his mouth opening slightly in surprise as the Super holds the door open for him.

"Your hands are full."

With a small hum, Batman exits the building, squinting instinctively at the rare show of sunlight shining down through Gotham's sky, the Batmobile's roof sliding open as he nears it. The omega gently settles the pup into his seat while Superman keeps an eye out for any gossip hungry media, heading over to the driver's side after buckling the child up and hesitating before hopping in, his tone uncharacteristically soft as he addresses the alpha, "Thank you."

Superman feels his heart beat furiously in his chest at the gently whispered words, watching the Batmobile race off before turning his eyes up to the bright sky and smiling, remembering exactly why he's so fond of mornings.

(This is taken from my AO3 account here: Thicc_Personality I just thought I'd cross post it here too as I haven't posted anything in a bit 😂. I hope this is enjoyable to someone? You darlings please stay safe, happy, healthy and of course lovely as always. 💛)

[metamatar]

soo curious what made you say armand's story wasn't 'well done' cuz i havent seen many ppl criticize the way they handled his race/backstory/etc

i mean his being indian is mostly just window dressing till s2. he is violently trafficked and abused, so he has no memory of india but "arun" (plausibly hindu name), new delhi, and a time period. he's a great character tbc, just that his race is very generically done.

the one obvious site for commentary – where he pretends to be his own muslim servant is mostly cast on the show in the context of his history of prostitution. the poolboy in the vampire mansion. when daniel sees through the performance, it supposedly because he's not sure he's performing "dubai" native correctly... but! when it comes dubai in specific, it actually enslaves south asians in large numbers through the kafala system. it also has a large number of south asian expats. the show is really only interested in armand as rashid in terms of what it means for his relationship with louis. so far? i guess there's stuff to be mined about how south asian men are demasculinised and considered weak and armand was young and dying when he was turned, forever immortalised as fragile. mostly though iwtv only uses armand's race as it likely marginalizes him in a very generic sort of it got him trafficked and he got whitewashed sort of way. there's none of the verisimilitude we get with louis being southern creole usamerican, lestat being french, santiago's british theatre pretensions and so on.

the show has like, watsonian reasons to be lazy – its not armand's season, he seeks to control and manipulate people with what he reveals, he's avoidant, etc etc. its inoffensive, but its not interesting. it feels like an oversight on a show obsessed with the clash of the old world and the new in lestat and louis, the dynamics of race and class and gender.

[mssorceressupreme]

The Way I Loved You | F.W

———

Pairing: Fred Weasley x reader

Summary: Dumbledore has asked for every house to put on a performance during the Yule Ball, the winner will earn 250 House Points. For this particular dance you’re partnered up with George though you wish it was Fred, however during the dance George is nowhere to be found. You’re left there on the dance floor right before your performance, stranded, alone & embarrassed, will anyone save you?

Warnings: jealousy, mutual-pining, dance lessons from Fred Weasley, nothing else lol this one’s fluffy <3

A/N: was superrr inspired by that one scene in The Summer I Turned Pretty during the debutante ball where Conrad dances with Belly instead of Jeremiah 🥹🥹 feel free to listen to ‘That’s the Way I Loved You by Taylor swifts’ for this read

Sorry this one's kinda long, got a bit carried away but he's just so scrumdilicious x

———

The Gryffindor common room was lively with the crackle of the fireplace and the chatter of students winding down after a long day.

You sat cross-legged on the floor near Hermione, flipping through a book on charms, while Fred and George lounged on the sofa, tossing a chocolate frog back and forth like it was a Quaffle.

Lee was perched on the armrest, chiming in with his usual quips, and Ron was attempting—and failing—to beat Harry in wizard chess.

The portrait door swung open with a thud, and Ginny burst in, her face alight with excitement. “Everyone, listen up!” she called, cutting through the noise.

Fred groaned, tossing the chocolate frog into George’s lap. “What now?”

Ginny ignored him, standing proudly at the centre of the room. “Professor Dumbledore’s announced a competition taking place during the Yule Ball. Each house has to put on a performance, and the best one wins 250 house points!”

The room fell silent, except for the crackle of the fire.

“A performance?” Fred repeated, eyebrows raised. “You mean like... dancing in front of the entire school? Nope. No way. Count me out.”

“Oh, come on,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes. “You’re not scared, are you?”

“Scared? No. Smart? Yes,” Fred replied, sticking his tongue out at her teasingly.

Ginny mimicked him. “Fine. I wasn’t planning on pairing you anyway.”

“Good,” Fred said, leaning back smugly.

Lee raised his hand. “Yeah, same here. I’ll pass on the public humiliation, thanks.”

Fred breathed a slight sigh of relief at Ginny's words, thankful he had escaped that particular disaster. He noticed her next comment, however, and a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach.

“Great,” Ginny said, undeterred. “McGongall's put me in charge of organising's Gryffindor performance and I’ve already got pairs in mind! Harry and me, Ron and Hermione, Neville and Angelina, and—” she paused, grinning at you, “you and George.”

Fred perked up slightly at this but quickly masked it with a yawn.

"Let's goo Georgie!" Lifting your hand up for a high-five with George.

Fred watched as you high-fived George, his eyes narrow slightly with jealousy. He couldn't believe Ginny would pair YOU and George together. The thought of the two of you dancing together, moving in sync, made his stomach twist uncomfortably.

As the others continued discussing the dance, Fred's gaze flickered to you, watching as you interacted with the others. He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to dance with you, spin you around the dance floor, hold you close...

Fred quickly shook his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind. He had to keep it together. He couldn't let everyone know that he was secretly hoping to dance with you. Besides, Ginny had already paired you with George. There was no way to change that now.

“Practice starts at 7 in the Great Hall tomorrow,” Ginny continued. “Don’t be late!” ___

Right at 7 the next day, the eight of you plus Fred and Lee started making their way to the great hall, the energy in the air buzzing with anticipation.

Fred reluctantly followed, his heart pounding in his chest as he entered the grand room. "Oi Fred what are you doing here, I don't recall you being in the dance." Ron teased.

Fred rolled his eyes at Ron's comment, feigning indifference. "Just thought I'd come see how the professionals do it. Don't get too cocky, Ronald."

George snickered at Fred's response, clearly enjoying watching his twin squirm. In reality, Fred was here solely to keep an eye on you and George dancing together.

"Alright Gin, what do you have in mind?" You asked excitedly about the choreography.

Ginny beamed at your enthusiasm and clapped her hands together. "So, for the slow part, we're doing a simple box-step. Just a few basic steps with some swaying and twirling, nothing too complicated."

She demonstrated the steps with one of the boys. It looked fairly simple, a basic back and forth moving step with some twirling and having your arms around your partner.

"It's a fairly easy dance, with clear instructions for each step, just remember to move in sync with your partner, or it'll look like a chaotic mess." She chuckled.

She demonstrated the dance, moving her body to the beat of the imaginary music. It involved swaying, spinning, and stepping, all in time with the music. "That looks amazing, should be a piece of cake to get down." You noted.

You and George paired off going to one corner to rehearse while Ginny helped the others, and to your surprise, the two of you picked up the routine quickly.

“You’re a natural,” George said with a grin as you spun gracefully under his arm.

Across the hall, Fred and Lee sat against the wall, their arms crossed. Fred was trying to act indifferent, but his eyes kept wandering to you.

“You’re staring,” Lee said, nudging him.

“Am not,” Fred muttered, tearing his gaze away.

“Yes, you are. You’re jealous,” Lee teased, smirking.

Fred scoffed. “Jealous? Of George? Don’t be ridiculous.”

But the flush creeping up his neck betrayed him.

George, with a cheeky grin, took the lead, his hands confidently on your waist. He led you through the basic box-step, his movements smooth and precise. You, too, followed his guidance gracefully, executing the steps effortlessly.  You blushed, looking into his eyes as this was the first time you'd properly danced with a guy.

Though George was a delight to dance with, you couldn't help but secretly wish it was Fred, your long-time crush. But no way would you admit that to anyone, you did not want to ruin the long-term friendship you had with him, or worse, change the dynamic of the friend group.

Thinking of Fred, you looked over at him, making eye contact with him momentarily. 

Fred, watching from the corner, felt a sting in his chest when he met your eyes. The sight of you and George dancing together was almost too painful to bear. He tried to stay neutral, but the longing in his eyes betrayed his emotions. ___

The next day, you found yourself in the courtyard, practicing under a tree. George had been called away for something, so you were left to rehearse the steps alone.

“Left foot back, right foot forward... no, wait—” you muttered, stumbling.

Unbeknownst to you, Fred had been passing by when he noticed you under the tree. He paused, watching as you put your books aside and started recalling the dance steps. He stood there for a moment, debating whether to approach you or not. 

His heart was telling him to go over, strike up a conversation, flirt a bit. But his mind, the rational part of him, held him back.

He knew he should keep his distance, not get involved further. But he seemed to be losing the battle with himself.

Taking a deep breath, he decided he couldn't resist anymore. He walked over to you, trying to maintain his usual carefree demeanour.

From behind you came a familiar voice. “You’re doing it all wrong.”

You spun around to see Fred leaning against the tree, arms crossed and a smug grin on his face.

“Fred, go away,” you said, exasperated. “I’m trying to practice.”

“I can see that,” he said, strolling over. “And failing spectacularly, I might add.”

"I'm serious, I don't want to let Ginny down." You glared at him, pushing him away playfully.

Fred stumbled back a step, faking defeat. He chuckled as he regained his footing, his smirk widening. "Oh, I know, I know, can't have dear Ginny's dance being ruined, can we?" "Exactly. Now if you mind, i'm trying to recall my steps." You mentally practice in you head, moving slightly as you did so to your own rhythm. Fred chuckled, finding it slightly amusing and endearing how focused you were on remembering the steps. He leaned against the tree, crossing his arms, watching you with a mixture of playful mockery and genuine admiration. You then mimick the steps, putting your arm out pretending George was in front of you but it was hard without someone in front to guide you, "Wait no like this...? Two steps to the right?...or left was it?"

Fred watched you struggle, your movements clearly off without a partner to guide you. He couldn't help but smirk at your frustration and confusion, finding it quite charming how determined you were despite the difficulty. He pushed off the tree, coming to stand beside you.

"You know, I could help you, if you want. I'm an expert dance teacher, you know."  "Yeah right 'Mr. I Hate Dancing'..." You roll your eyes.

"Hey, don't underestimate me. I'll have you dancing like a pro in no time." He was confident, folding his arms proudly at his proclamation. "Fine, whatever, show me." You feigned defeat, desperately needing more help. Fred chuckled, pleased by your acceptance and secretly happy that he could be the one helping you for a change. "Alright, let's get started. Firstly, you need to focus on your stance. Feet slightly apart, weight slightly forward."

He demonstrated by adjusting his own stance, and then stepped closer to you, gesturing towards you to do the same. As you adjusted your stance accordingly, Fred came to stand directly in front of you, facing you.

His eyes traveled from your face down to your feet, sizing you up as he mentally began planning the steps he was about to explain. 

He continued, instructing you further as he shifted a bit closer. His voice was now lower, a hint of command in his tone.

"Now, you step back with your left leg first. Slightly bend your right knee as you do." He instructed and you nodded, watching him in a serious demeanour was rather attractive.

Unusual from his playful self, you observed his face, how he was focused, eyebrows furrowed, focused on helping you. "Good, now bring your right foot up to meet your left, closing the gap. Good, good. Keep your weight balanced between your feet. Don't lock your knees, just a little bend will do." You tried doing so but tripped, losing balance. Fred reacted quickly, his hands instinctively reaching out to steady you. He caught you in his arms, pulling you against his chest to prevent you from falling.

He chuckled softly, his hands still on your hips to keep you upright. "Woah, easy there. You're a bit clumsy today, aren't ya?" Yeah because you're so close to me right now Fred. You chuckle nervously. "Whoops, my bad!"

"It's a good thing I've got my reflexes, or you would have kissed the ground just now." He laughed, helping you steady yourself. "Hey maybe the ground needed a good kiss." You tease back jokingly.

Fred laughed aloud at your cheeky remark, his hands still on your waist, thumbs tracing small circles against your sides. He tilted his head slightly, arching one eyebrow mischievously.

"Oh really? And what about me? Do I get a kiss too since I saved you from kissing the ground?" He joked, but something in his eyes told you he partly meant what he said.

You blushed but played it off, "Yeah yeah you wish Weasley, now come on show me the steps."

Fred chuckled at your attempt to brush off his comment, but he couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment. Nevertheless, he complied, refocusing his attention back on the dancing lesson.

"Alright, alright. Let's try that again. Back step, knees bent, weight balanced, and..."

He demonstrated each step as he spoke, his hands guiding your hips gently on your left and right. As he moved, his body was incredibly close to yours.

The heat from his breath fanned against your skin, and his hands firmly grasping your hips sent tingles through your body. He could sense the effect his touch was having on you, yet he kept a calm and composed expression, maintaining the facade of a dancing teacher. Fred continued the lesson, occasionally correcting your stance, or gently repositioning your hips. Each time his touch lingered for a few moments longer than necessary, his fingers gently grazing your skin sending a small spark of electricity through your entire body.

Yet, he kept his focus on the lesson, acting as if he was completely oblivious to the effect he was having on you.

"Like this?" You ask, then show him your steps. Fred watched you closely, his eyes following the movement of your feet and hips as you demonstrated the steps.

He smiled approvingly, impressed with how quickly you were catching on. "Yes, yes, that's it. You've got it. Just keep your weight balanced and move with the rhythm. You're doing great." "Wow really?" You gleamed with joy, finally noting the steps down. 

Fred chuckled, enjoying the joy and excitement on your face as you realised you were getting the steps down. He nodded, a proud smile on his face."Of course really. I told you, didn't I? I'm an excellent dance teacher. Just a few more practices, and you'll be gliding across the dance floor like a pro tomorrow." "I'spose I do have a okay teacher." You remarked nonchalantly. 

George watched us then cleared his throat, holding himself back from chortling, "Okay, okay nice show. It's time for some real dancing now Y/N."

As George cleared his throat, both you and Fred looked over at him, having been so engrossed in the dancing lesson that you hadn't noticed his presence.

"Enjoying the show, were you Georgie?" Fred hummed.

"More like trying not to throw up from the eyes you were giving each other." George joked, knowing Fred's evident crush on you, "Anyway, it's time for practice, it's 7. Came looking for Y/N." George spoke, walking over to me.

As Fred released you from his grip, you felt a short wave of disappointment as his hands left your hips. But before you could dwell on that, George's hand took its place, his touch familiar and comforting yet lacking the spark that Fred's had.

George smiled at you, oblivious to the lingering tension between you and Fred. You looked back at Fred who stood there by himself, then turned to George who was walking with you.  As you followed George, you couldn't help but glance back at Fred. He remained by the tree, watching you as you moved away with George.

There was a mix of emotions in his eyes - disappointment, longing, and perhaps a hint of jealousy. Fred tried to act casually, leaning against the tree with his arms crossed, but his mind was swirling with conflicting thoughts and emotions.

Though he knew George meant no harm, seeing you with George was painful, especially since he was the one who had just been holding you close, teaching you the steps just moments ago.

___ The night of the Yule Ball arrived, and the Great Hall was a vision of sparkling decorations and twinkling lights. As you lined up with the other Gryffindors in one of the waiting rooms before your performance, George suddenly clutched his stomach.

"You alright George?" You ask, placing a hand on his back.

George waved his hand dismissively, trying to downplay his discomfort. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a bit of an upset stomach. Probably ate something rotten earlier. I'll be alright, don't worry." 

George then excused himself and went to the bathroom, feeling unwell. He hurried to the bathroom, trying to compose himself.

Meanwhile, Ginny, Angelina, and Hermione approached you, wearing concerned expressions.

"Is George okay? He look a bit pale just now..." Concern lacing in Hermione's voice.

"Tummy ache, probably ate something wrong earlier, its okay he'll be back in time for the dance..." You hoped, nervously as you began walking toward the hall, everyone waiting for your Gryffindor group, or team, to perform. 

Hermione nodded, her worry still visible. The three girls followed you out of the room, walking down the corridor toward the Great Hall where the entire school was waiting.

As the four of you reached the entrance to the Great Hall, the sound of hushed whispers and applause grew louder and louder. Every student in Hogwarts was gathered within, their eyes fixed on the stage, eagerly awaiting your grand performance. With every step you took toward the stage, the crowd's applause grew louder and louder. As the four of you finally took your places at the front of the stage, the audience erupted into cheers.

The boys then took their positions in their respective places, and the energy in the room was electric with anticipation. Still, George was no where to be seen. "Hey Ron, have you seen George?"you asked, but no luck.

Ron shook his head, looking just as concerned as you. "No, mate. I thought he was with you guys. Have you checked the bathroom?" You shook your head, "Harry, do you know where George is?"

Harry looked just as puzzled, worry etched on his face. "No, haven't seen him. He ran off earlier. Thought he was just going to the bathroom." "Neville, have you seen George?" You asked. Neville scratched his head, thinking. "Last I saw him, he was heading to the bathrooms. I thought he was just feeling a bit under the weather."The minutes ticked by, the tension in the room building. Everyone was in their positions, ready to dance, but you were standing there, feeling anxious without your partner. The audience started noticing the delay, their whispers turning into murmurs of confusion and anticipation. Oh no, you glanced around the room looking at the audience, this was the worst thing ever, you felt humiliated. Your heart raced, the feeling of embarrassment and hopelessness washing over you.

Every pair in the room was in their positions, ready to dance, except for you. Your eyes darted around the room, seeing the murmurs and whispers of the audience. You felt exposed, the spotlight on you as the delay continued.Hermione, Ginny, and Angelina watched you with sympathetic and worried expressions. They wanted to help, but there was nothing they could do. The situation was growing more embarrassing by the second as the absence of your partner became more glaringly obvious to everyone in the great hall. Professor McGonagall, standing at the back of the great hall, noticed the delay and the lack of a partner for you. She furrowed her eyebrows, puzzled by the situation.

The murmurs and whispers from the audience grew louder, filling the air with a sense of suspense. Just as the whispers grew even louder, Fred's gaze fell upon you.

His eyes widened in shock upon seeing you standing alone, looking visibly upset. He exchanged a worried look with Lee, who looked just as concerned. Fred's heart ached seeing you alone up there. 

Fred's mind raced, torn between his conflicting emotions. He wanted to charge up onto the stage and take your place as your partner, but something held him back. He looked at Lee, silently pleading for advice.

--- cue: That's the Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift ---

Fred couldn't bear the sight of you standing there alone, feeling more helpless by the second. He shot a determined look at Lee, silently letting him know that he had made up his mind.

Without another moment of hesitation, Fred pushed past the other couples and walked confidently toward the stage.

The murmurs in the audience grew louder, watching the unexpected scene unfold before them.

It felt as though time slowed down when you watched him approach you, your gazes fixed on each other, drowning out everyone else in the room. As Fred approached the front of the stage, his heart thumping in his chest, he met your worried eyes. He offered you a reassuring smile, silently letting you know everything was going to be alright now. 

Fred took his position beside you, the audience watching in stunned surprise as the change of plan unfolded before their eyes. Fred glanced at you once more, his eyes brimming with a mix of concern and determination.

You smiled at him, relieved, comforted, excited, all at once. Fred smiled back at you, mirroring your own excitement and relief. He offered you a wink, trying to lighten the moment a bit. "You didn't think I'd let you dance alone like this, did you?" "The steps..do you...?" You smile widely but was worried he might've forgotten the steps.

Fred chuckled, noticing your concern. "Please, I've been watching you guys practicing for ages. I know these steps as well as I know the back of my hand."  You smile widely...it was him. Fred, your Fred that you would be dancing with.  Fred grinned in return, loving the look of joy on your face. He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement himself. He had dreamt of dancing with you like this for so long, and now here he was, finally getting the chance.

As the music started, you and Fred began moving in perfect sync, his strong hands effortlessly leading you through the steps of the dance.

The worry and uncertainty from earlier melted away, replaced by a feeling of pure magic as the two of you danced together on the stage. You gazed into his eyes lovingly, blushing, your heart beating faster because of how close your were.  Fred's eyes met yours, his heart racing with every step you took together. He was acutely aware of how close you were, the feel of your body near his sending his body into heat.

He could practically feel your heart beating as fast as his own. He tried to keep his composure, concentrating on leading you through the dance, but the way you looked at him made it incredibly difficult. As Fred pulled you closer, your bodies now almost pressed up against each other, he couldn't help but smile. Your shy smile sent his heart into a frenzy, making the dance even more thrilling.

As the music came to an end, the great hall erupted in a chorus of loud cheers and applause. You and Fred stood side by side, panting slightly from the exertion.

Your hearts were still racing, the excitement of the dance lingering in the air. Fred's hand was still holding yours, a warm smile on his face as he looked at you.

"I love you." Fred suddenly said.

"What?!" You responded, over the loud yelling and cheers. "I said, I love you." He confessed, stepping closer cupping your cheeks tenderly, "I always have Y/N. You're the only thing that's been on my mind for awhile now. Merlin, you consume my thoughts 24/7, I just, you're the best thing that has happened to me and I-"

You cut him off with a passionate kiss, meeting his lips with gentleness.

Warmth blossomed in your chest, sparks igniting as your lips brushed together with Fred's, for the first time. The smell of his cologne, was dizzying, electrifying, sending butterflies in your stomach.

His lips soft and gentle against yours, they were gentle, the way he was gentle with you, the way he cared for you spoke volumes through this kiss.

The both of you pulled away, he leaned down, resting forehead to forehead and grinning widely. "I love you too, Fred Weasley."

[d3lly1000]

I finally watched Sonic 3!!!!! (IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE)

I had been holding back so I could talk without worrying about spoilers, but I think I can now comment on my general opinion of the movie.

There will be spoilers, so you have been warned!

I’ll admit that I found the first act a bit rushed. I understand that they had a lot of characters to “reintroduce” and new ones to add (especially Shadow), but I felt a bit lost with what was happening—it was really convenient how the script handled a lot of things just to get to the point.

For example: Shadow attacking in Japan with no real explanation, Rockwell quickly finding Sonic and the others. Even Commander Walters showed up just to explain what happened in the past, only to die unexpectedly right after. Even though he's not a particularly memorable character, I felt like his death didn’t carry the weight it should have, even for Team Sonic who witnessed it.

There was also the fact that a lot of what happened in the first act had already been revealed in the trailers and TV spots, which kind of deflated my excitement, knowing what was going to happen. But as I said, things were happening so fast that I couldn’t process all the information right away! XD

I have to say, I absolutely love the interactions between all the characters. The relationships and how they were developed felt so unique to me. I’ve always had the headcanon that Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic acted like siblings, and in the movies, I got to witness that in a meaningful and very loving way (shoutout to Tails saving Sonic and Knuckles protecting them, my boys <3).

One of my favorite scenes is definitely the argument between Knuckles and Sonic, as it really shows their maturity. It shows how much they are changing with each movie, which is so valuable to me because it demonstrates that the characters are really learning from their experiences. In a franchise, this deepens their moral journey and enriches who they are — it’s truly wonderful.

Speaking of siblings, I can’t not talk about Maria and Shadow. Right from the beginning, I could already feel the heartache hearing Live and Learn in an acoustic version. I think for fans who know how iconic this song is for the franchise, the idea that MARIA COULD HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL COMPOSER of it (at least in the SCU) hits so hard.

The narrative of Shadow talking about Maria always moved me, and the film managed to emphasize what she meant to Shadow in such a sweet way. Seeing the scene where Shadow recalls the day of the accident and then carrying the Eclipse Cannon gave me chills.

The parallels between Sonic/Shadow and Tom/Maria were something I was really looking forward to! The franchise often makes these types of comparisons between characters, not just in the games but also in the movies. As I mentioned before, I think this makes everything richer — it gives you a new perspective and helps you understand the complexity of characters by revisiting the "same memory" through a different person. I love when they do that!

ABOUT THE FIGHT SCENES, ALL OF THEM. I was breathless! I have to confess I was cursing A LOT during the third act. It was so epic, something you wouldn’t even think you'd see! Super Form battles were such a great concept for the situation, seeing Sonic get so angry really fed my fan dream of seeing him want to destroy everything XDD. Shadow literally crushed him, both physically and mentally. He REALLY IS THE STAR of this movie. The whole year was his. And he delivered in every possible media!

((I screamed so much when they did the pose, Live and Learn, it was so epic.))

Jim Carrey’s performance is always amazing. I’m still stunned at how naturally Gerald and Eggman felt together. It really seemed like a completely different actor, and that’s insane! I think the only thing I wish we’d seen more of was scenes between Gerald and Maria in the past, but who knows, maybe they’re planning something for a "Shadow solo spin-off."

The light shines, even when the star dies. – I was already emotionally losing it inside, there were just so many things to process.

AND THE POST-CREDITS SCENE HAUSFHSAIFHGVSNUHGUSAHGUSAH

OK OK I’M >TOTALLY< NORMAL ABOUT MY BABIES

Literally my two FAVORITES showed up. METAL WILL BE THE MAIN VILLAIN, I have so many theories and DEFINITELY it will be an adaptation of Heroes and CD. I CAN'T WAIT to see him in action, the whole Artificial vs. Natural thing is something that really resonates with me in the rivalry between him and Sonic.

AND HAUSHFUASFHUASFH AMY MY GIRL!!!

She’s so cool, she appeared in SUCH A UNIQUE way, the cracked moon in the background, revealing herself by taking off the hood... I can’t wait to see her in 2027... I need it so much aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I definitely loved the movie a lot. I still want to rewatch it in English since I saw it dubbed in my language, but I think I’d give it an 8.5/10 or 9/10! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!! I’m still shaking remembering the action scene sahufzahghaghs

[burningembers91]

Cosmopolitan Kisses - Cho Hyun-Ju x Fem!Reader

Follow up piece to:

Powder Blue Dress

Synopsis: After a night out, the unspoken feelings between you and Hyun-Ju bubble to the surface

Cho Hyun-Ju couldn’t remember a time when she’d be happier. These days, her face ached from the almost constant smile she wore. Life was almost perfect for her, and she had you to thank for that. For the first time in her existence, she didn’t feel like a freak, like a burden. She felt comfortable in her own skin, she felt beautiful when she looked in the mirror. Your friendship had been invaluable; the love, grace and acceptance you’d shown was unlike anything she’d known. She still endured stares, jeers and awkward comments from those around her, but they seemed to bounce off her a little easier these days. There were still days when the words got to her, but she didn’t have to deal with it alone anymore.

She’d found a great friend group, one who’d accepted her just the way she was. There were no uncomfortable questions, no expectations for her to be someone she wasn’t. She looked forward to her weekends, enjoyed doing her makeup and putting on the feminine outfits she’d bought; she enjoyed being absolutely unapologetically herself. If she wasn’t sipping cocktails, she was singing loudly to karaoke or challenging her friends to beat her high score at the arcade. Sometimes she’d invite everyone to her apartment, relishing in the opportunity to play hostess to the friends who’d become the centre of her world. And right there in the middle was you, the girl who’d told Hyun-Ju that you thought she had a beautiful smile. You looked incredible tonight, in a black dressed that hugged you in all the right places. You laughed as your sipped on your Cosmopolitan, listening as one of your new friends told you about a disastrous date she’d been on. Your lipstick had marked the rim of your glass, the bold, rich redness pulling Hyun-Ju in. She got lost in the way your lips looked. The way they arched up when you smiled, the way the tip of your tongue flicked across your upper lip every now and then. She longed to kiss you, to have your lipstick stain her lips. You caught her smiling, offering her one in return.

She was on her third cocktail now, and her confidence was growing. You’d had brief conversations about your dating preferences over the last few months, and you’d all but confirmed that you fell for someone based on their personality, not on their anatomy. But something still stopped Hyun-Ju from taking the next step. A lifetime of rejection and ridicule had made her doubt herself, and she would hate to ruin what you had. “Do you want another one?” you asked, pointing to her almost empty glass. “It’s my round.” She nodded at you, watching as you made your way to the bar, your dress clinging to your figure. How she longed to put her hands on your waist, to pull you into her and feel your lips on hers. It was a scenario she’d replayed in her head and again, the image fuelling her desires on the nights where sleep escaped her.

You weren’t sure how many drinks you ended up having, not including the shots your friends insisted you downed to finish the night. You were well and truly feeling the effect of the cocktails as you and Hyun-Ju stumbled home arm in arm, laughing the whole way. “My feet are killing me,” you groaned, kicking off your shoes as you finally made it back to your apartment. “And I’m starving. Should we order a pizza?” “I already did.” Hyun-Ju flashed you her phone screen, smiling as she saw your face light up. She’d been on enough nights out with you now to know you always got hungry on the way home.

She wasn’t sure what the time was, but time seemed to stand still with you. She pulled a blanket over you both as you crashed on the sofa, resisting the urge to pull you in close to her. The TV was on, but she wasn’t paying attention to the channel, too busy recreating the frankly award-winning performance of 9-5 the two of you had sung at karaoke earlier in the night. Hyun-Ju had tears of laughter streaming down her face by the time the pizza arrived. It felt good to feel this light, to feel this on top of the world. As you stifled a yawn, she knew it was time to head back to her apartment. Back to the silence of her tiny room, where she knew she’d lie awake and think of you.

“I had an amazing time,” you smiled, your arms snaking round Hyun-Ju’s waist as you pulled her in for a hug. Any form of touch from you left her breathless, and tonight was no exception. You smelled like lavender shampoo and vanilla, your body so warm and soft against hers. She didn’t want to let go of you, didn’t want to end the night when she was having such a perfect time. As you parted, your eyes met, and the world seemed to stand still. She could see the steady rise and fall of your chest, could see the way you nervously bit your bottom lip.

“I’d really like to kiss you,” you whispered, your fingers entwining with hers. “Are you sure?” Hyun-Ju was so taken aback, so thrown off course that she was sure she’d heard you wrong. Never had she imagined that you, the girl she sang with, confided in and counted on would ever see her as more than a friend. “Yes,” you smiled, “I’m definitely sure.”

Your lips met, soft and slow. The feel of your kiss was electric, sending the most delicious sparks through Hyun-Ju’s entire body. She’d spent months dreaming about kissing you, but the dreams were nothing in comparison to reality. Your hand trailed up her back, coming to rest on the nape of her neck. She sighed contentedly into your lips as your fingers entwined in her hair, a feeling she’d thought about endlessly. She wondered how it would feel if you’d pulled on it, if you tipped her head back and explored her neck with your lips. You were so confident, so sure of yourself, guiding her as your kiss deepened. She placed her hands on your waist, feeling the softness of your curves in the dress she loved so much. She felt you shiver against her touch, heard your soft breathy moan as your teeth gently grazed her lower lip.

Neither of you wanted to pull away, but both of you were so conscious of taking your time, of making sure you got this right. You’d wanted each other for so long, but good things came to those who waited. “I should let you get some sleep,” Hyun-Ju smiled, placing a final soft kiss on your lips. “Come and see me tomorrow?” you asked, unable to resist one more tender kiss. Nodding, she left you, her feet dragging her back to her apartment. She wanted to stay so badly, to feel your body against hers, to make you moan her name. But there were so many things unspoken between the two of you, so many insecurities she hadn’t even begun to face yet.

Hyun-Ju wondered if you’d stay, knowing that she still had so far to go. Relationships were an unexplored territory for her, a place she’d never been. She was terrified and exhilarated at the same time, her hands shaking as she readied for bed.

Her transition journey wasn’t over, and she hadn’t even cracked the surface of the lifetime of negative emotions and thoughts she had stored away. She hoped you’d stay with her while she figured this out, she hoped you could navigate this new journey together. You meant more to Hyun-Ju than she would ever be able to express. You were the girl who thought she had a beautiful smile, the person who, for the first time in her life, made her feel unstoppable.