#this was just mainly a warmup to coming back

[gracev0609]

Get Your Blood Pumping

Josh Kiszka X Reader

I apologize, I'm not sure who to credit for the gif, it's been in my gvf folder for forever! But thank you for your service! EDIT: @joshsindigostreak informed me that the gif is by @readyforthegarden , so thank you!!

WC: 3k+

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI, Explicit Sex, Rough Sex, BEEFY GYM JOSH

A @lipstickitty / gracev0609 collaboration.

Fic based on this request!

When Josh wasn’t on tour, the weekends were your favorite time of the week. This was mainly because in most instances, that was when the two of you had the most free time to spend together. Saturdays were usually more of an errand day, getting any running done that you hadn’t had the time for throughout the week, Target trips, coffee dates, hanging out with friends and family. Sundays were almost always reserved for the two of you- eating breakfast together, spending as long in bed as you wanted, just being with each other and recharging after the busy week.

You would usually wake up on a Sunday morning to the sun gently shining through your windows and Josh’s gentle touch easing you awake. Here lately, however, he’d been hitting the gym most mornings before the sun even rose. Sometimes you’d still be tucked away in bed fast asleep and he’d gently pull you from your slumber with coffee and breakfast after showering off the sweat from the gym, other times you’d already be awake doing some cleaning around the house or cooking breakfast for the both of you- the latter being your favorite by far.

There was no other sight quite like Josh walking into your shared home after leaving the gym, glistening with sweat, curls all in disarray from being shoved back off of his forehead. He would always shed his shirt on the drive home, hating the way the damp fabric would stick to his skin and the leather of the seats. He had a few different pairs of shorts he liked to work out in, being rather particular about the way clothes fit and moved with his body when he was active like that. Your favorite pair by far being the shortest, skimpiest ones- and the ones he wore least often. You swore it was simply to torture you, he knew how much you loved that pair of shorts on him, so he would pick and choose what days he wore them to really get you going.

Today seemed to be the day. You had awoken naturally, early in the morning and you had already brewed a pot of coffee in anticipation of his arrival. You heard his keys jingle in the door lock, and he made his way through the threshold. His light grey t shirt in his hand with numerous dark sweat spots hanging limp between his fingers. His tiny shorts hung low on his hips, the bottom hem landing only a few inches underneath his goods. Your eyes studied his form, his newly sculpted obliques framed his, thankfully, still soft stomach. Following the planes of his body you observed his pectoral muscles, now round and full. Dancing across his collarbone your sight followed his arms down to his recently sculpted biceps. Once again your eyes bounced down to his teeny tiny shorts, and more so you looked at his bulging protrusion between his legs.

“See something you like sweetheart?”

You blushed bringing your coffee mug up to your lips,masking your smirk.

“What? You're blushing like a school girl,” he makes his way over to you, caging you in his arms. Watching his muscles ripple, you reluctantly met his eyes. He leaned in and his scent infiltrated your nose. You smelled the stale cologne he applied hours ago and the unmistakable musk he acquired from his workout.

“Impressed baby?”

Raising your hand your fingers delicately traced his chest, feeling the muscles flex under your touch.

“You've gotten so…. Solid recently. Tell me Joshy, what have you been doing at the gym?”

He brushed his nose over your cheek, voice coming out low and smooth as silk, “I start with a warmup…” one of his hands moved to your throat, not squeezing, just trailing his fingers over the delicate skin. “When I wanna work out my chest, a bench press is my go to…” his breath warmed the skin of your jaw and you felt the rumble of his chest against yours as he spoke. His hand skimmed down your neck, following the trail of your collarbone to your shoulder and back again before just barely brushing against the tops of your breasts over the thin material of your worn sleep shirt. You could feel your slick threatening to drip down your thighs already and he’d barely even touched you.

“Bicep curls, and overhead bar extensions for the triceps.” His fingers started at your wrist and ran their way up the length of your arm, tracing over the muscles he named. “Lat pulldowns work your back…” both his hands traveled to the small of your back, thumbs stroking over your heated skin. “Squats, and hip thrusts…” he trailed down to grab a handful of your ass, squeezing and pulling your body impossibly further into his making you gasp. “Be patient baby, I’ll show you how much I can hip thrust.”

The smirk never left his face, clearly enjoying how easily he could get you all worked up.

He knelt down before you, thumbs stroking over both of your hips before he started peppering kisses there, slowly feeling his way down every inch of your bare thighs. His lips left a searing trail of kisses everywhere that his hands touched, every touch building the burning need inside of you. “On leg days I do lunges and calf raises.” His touch had migrated to the tops of your calves, leaving a few love bites down your thighs as he went. “There’s more, of course, but I’d hate to bore you.” He teased, hands locking around your legs and throwing you over his shoulder. You giggled and squealed the whole way there, begging him not to drop you.

He tosses you onto the bed like you weighed nothing, making you squeal again. In an instant he was on top of you, blanketing his body over yours. His bare chest rubbing against yours makes your nipples ache under his brief touch.

Hot wet kisses from his lips make you moan out his name.

“What, baby?”

“I need you.”

He chuffs a laugh, his cocky smirk still plastered on his lips,” I know you do.”

You huff lifting your hips off of the bed to meet his. Gasping when you rub your sensitive core against his hardness straining in his tiny shorts.

“ ‘M so wet. Need you.”

He grinds his hips down, pushing himself to press against where you're aching.

“Yeah? Does my pretty baby wanna make a mess? Grind her beautiful cunt against me until my shorts are wet?”

You smile, teeth showing,” I think that's what you want Josh.”

“Is that so bad?”

Quickly he rolls off of you, scooting his body up the bed so he can lean in the mass of pillows. He grips his length through the tight fabric of his shorts, squeezing himself for some relief.

“Take your panties off baby. I know they're soaked and uncomfortable.”

Hooking your fingers in the cotton underwear you pull them from your hips, wincing lightly when the material sticks to you between your legs. Slowly you crawl up the bed, straddling his hips. You watch as he adjusts himself in his shorts, laying his cock straight up letting his tip peek out of the waistband. Whispering he croons,” Come on baby, grind that pretty wet pussy on me.”

You breathe out a sigh of relief once your hot aching core makes contact with his covered cock. Tentatively you rock your hips, pressing your swollen clit against his length.

Josh keeps his voice low as he pushes your bed head back, tucking the stray hairs behind your ears,” There's my good girl… I want you to grind on me until you cum okay sweetheart?”

You hum in agreement, rocking your hips against him, already losing yourself in the pleasure. Your fingers dig into his bare shoulders, your toes curling as you hump against him. Feeling him twitch as your wetness soaks his thin shorts. Josh's hands find your hips as they begin to stutter, pushing and pulling you. Suddenly the band in your tummy snaps and pleasure floods your body. Crying out as you shamelessly buck your hips against his swollen length. As you start to still he pulls your hips closer to his, pressing you completely flush against his length.

“Good girl, that's my good girl. Now get up, Daddy wants to see your mess.”

Your limbs felt weak as you clambered off of his lap settling down on the bed beside him.

His breath shudders as he spies the large wet spot sitting over his length. Hooking his fingers into his waistband he pulls his shorts off. What he does next shocks you, a flood of slick threatening to drip down onto the bed sheets below. Instead of tossing them to the floor he brings them to his face, inhaling deeply as his eyes roll back. He connects his lips to the ruined fabric, and sucks your juices off of them.

After a few moments he discards them, looking at you with an unhinged, feral look in his eyes. You knew you were in for it.

“God damn it.” He groaned out and you reveled in the sight of him, a pool of his arousal accumulated where his length rested, flushed red and twitching against his abdomen. “Get the fuck up here baby.” His words came out in a low growl, gripping your hips and pulling you up the bed to straddle his chest.

You hovered over him, a bit nervous to rest all your weight on him every time despite knowing that not only can he take it, he aches for it. “Josh, I don’t want you to suffocate!” You giggled, supporting your weight with your hands planted on each side of his head. He scoffed, letting you know once again how silly he always found it that you weren’t immediately willing to smother him, and yanked you down until you felt the delicious feeling of your dripping core meeting the wet warmth of his soft tongue.

His fingers gripped your hips so tight you knew you’d have fingerprint-shaped bruises to serve as a reminder of his animalistic need to taste you. His pointed tongue drove into your entrance, greedily lapping you up, moaning into your aching heat as your taste overwhelmed his senses. You cried out, one hand propping you up, the other gripping onto his curls for leverage.

His tongue explored every inch of you, licking and sucking at your clit, pleasure surging through your entire body. “That’s it Joshy, such a good boy for me.” You whined, fingers tightening in his hair. He let out a deep growl into your cunt and you felt the sharp sting of his teeth nipping at your sensitive bundle of nerves making you yelp.

“Fuck Josh!”, you raised your hips from his face, sitting back onto his chest. Eyeing him he had a lazy lust filled smile on his lips, his mouth and cheeks shining with your wetness.

His voice raspy with arousal,” Wanna fuck you now. Can I baby?”

Gently you pat his messy cheek,” Of course you can lover boy.”

Once again he uses his newfound strength to flip you on your back, settling between your legs,” I'm gonna let you adjust to me, and then I'm not gonna go slow. I've been aching to fuck you for days. We've been so fucking busy.”

You giggle knowing it was all his own doing, spreading your legs wider enticing him to enter you.

His breath catches in his throat as he grasps his painfully hard cock, swiping it through your entrance.

“So pretty and pink, just for me.”

Canting his hips forward he gently plunges into you, letting your body slowly stretch to accommodate him.

He leans his head down to your chest, letting you relax around him. He squeezes his eyes closed as if the sensation of your pussy around his cock is simply too much for him to bear. Running your hands across his toned shoulders you try to ground him, easing him back to you. You feel his lungs expand and take in a deep breath as he lifts his head,” You ready for it baby?”

You smirk,”Go ahead Joshy. Wreck me.”

You watch his jaw clench as he powerfully thrusts his hips forward, already tapping against your most sensitive spots making you gasp.

“Be careful what you wish for honey.”

After a few deep thrusts, his hips harshly colliding with yours, he grasps your right leg hitching it up over his shoulder. His hands desperately grab at your stomach and your ass, gripping on for leverage as he goes impossibly deeper, pushes impossibly harder into you. In and out he pounds, your eyes rolling every time his swollen tip hits your cervix. The pain and pleasure make a delicious combination. Fluttering your eyes open you first meet the sinful image of his chest, beads of sweat rolling between the valley of his breasts. Following the shimmering trails upwards you're met with his flushed face, cheeks red and lips pink and pouty. His brows are deeply furrowed. He almost looks in pain, but you know better. A small sparkle drips down the side of his head, trailing down in front of his ear, down his cheek to drip off his chin splattering on your stomach.

The sight of him sends you spiraling, the need to have another orgasm already swirling deep in your stomach, you mumble your tongue feeling heavy as if you're drunk on him,” Josh… ‘m gonna cum.”

He curtly nods his head as if words are too much for him now, and he grips your body even tighter pulling you in to meet his punishing thrusts. It doesn't take much longer until your walls are fluttering around him and your back arches off of the mattress. A long wailing moan pairs with the gush of slick around his cock as you come undone for him.

As soon as your body stilled Josh was pulling out and manhandling you once again, maneuvering you onto all fours. You gripped onto the sheets, arching your back for him. Josh buried himself inside your walls fully in one brutal thrust, a strangled moan tearing from your chest.

He brought one arm around the front of your waist and tangled the other hand in your hair, pulling you up so your back was flush against his chest. The strong arm around your waist locked you in place as Josh resumed his harsh pace, bruising thrusts hitting every spot inside of you perfectly. The sounds of Josh’s hips smacking against your ass filled the air mixed with the sinful sound of his cock driving in and out of you relentlessly.

The force of his tip nudging your cervix rendered you speechless, no sounds escaping from your lips other than your ragged breathing and strained gasps. Josh, however, couldn’t keep quiet, a constant chorus of moans, groans, whimpers and cries flowing freely from his lips.

“So fucking good, baby.”

“Shit, your pussy’s squeezing me so fuckin’ tight.”

“You just love having my cock this deep, don’t you sweetheart? Filling up your pretty cunt so good you can’t even speak?”

You tried to respond, but with the way Josh was pounding into you, you couldn’t manage anything more than a breathy, barely audible chant of ‘yes’ as your walls constricted around his pulsing cock once more. You couldn’t find the words to let him know you were close but your body gave you away, Josh instantly knowing you were right on the edge. “That’s my girl, cum for me.” He choked out through clenched teeth, hips stuttering briefly as you vaguely registered the sensation of him twitching inside you but keeping their pace as he fucked you through your intense high. “That’s it, soak my cock. Just like that.” He growled as he felt you gush all over him again.

His hips stilled while you recovered, letting you float back down to earth before he pulled out of you again making you whimper at the empty feeling. “Get on top of me sweetie, don’t wanna cum just yet. Wanna feel you a little longer.” He cooed, helping you climb onto him taking in your bright red cheeks and fucked-out expression with pride.

Slowly you rocked your hips with what little strength you had left. Josh has utterly and thoroughly expended all of your energy.

“Hmm is my pretty girl tired?”

Nodding your head you agreed as you tried to rock your hips with more gusto.

“That just won't do sweetie, you want me to cum don't you?” He grabs a hold of your hips helping you bounce,” Hold on to me baby, gonna fuck you good.”

Before you can really register what's happening, his hips push up off the bed into a sort of bridge pose. Wildly he thrusts in and out of you, sopping wet slapping sounds fill your bedroom as he pounds into you from below. He lifts your hips up and down, meeting his thrusts pushing himself ever deeper inside of you. Your brain is thoughtless. Pleasure is the only thing you feel.

“Getting close.” He whines.

His legs shake as he slams into you for the final time, holding your hips in place as his cock swells and bursts, flooding your insides with his release.

As he settles you both back down onto the mattress he listlessly mutters,” Fuck” under his breath. You can feel his entire body trembling, the same as yours. Limply you slump over, one locked arm bracing you from landing on his chest. You're panting and sweating and your legs burn like you went to the gym.

Josh gathers your ratty hair into a makeshift bun at the base of your neck with his fist, an attempt to cool you off.

His other hand comes up, lovingly stroking your cheek,”You okay, love bug?”

Mustering up a smile you mumble,”Mmhmm, jus’ tired. That was a lot.”

Worry flashes across his face,” Too much?”

Leaning down, you nuzzle your face into the damp skin of his neck,” No, never.”

After a few beats of silence you're suddenly aware of how sweaty and slick you two are. Sitting back up in his lap, you grit your teeth as he twitches inside of you, he lets out a small whimper from the back of his throat,” Sorry… Sensitive.”

Gingerly you rise from his lap, careful not to disturb his abused flesh, and you lay down beside him.

Sighing, you say,” I'm sleepy now.”

He giggles, his fingers intertwining with yours,” You have two options. We can shower and nap. Or, we can shower and go get breakfast and coffee. Your pick.”

Bringing your hand up to your face, your index finger taps your chin pretending to be deep in thought, “ I'm thinking a nap.”

You watch as Josh's face visibly falls, clearly looking forward to breakfast.

You giggle, grasping his face between your hands,” Baby I'm joking! Let's go get breakfast.”

His eyes light up,” Crepes?”

“Sounds perfect Joshy.”

You rise from the bed making your way to your bathroom, eager to wash the mess from your bodies.

You start the water, waiting for it to heat up, Josh's large palms gently massage the tension in your shoulders.

“Sweetheart, can I wash your hair?” Josh places loving kisses to the nape of your neck, trailing down your spine.

Turning slightly in his grasp to face him,” Only if I can wash yours too.”

He smiles, teeth on full display, eyes scrunched,”Deal!”

[blingblong55]

The art of flexibility- 141

Based on a request:

hii!! here to make a request if this makes u uncomfortable or ur just not in the mood, feel free to ignore !! 141 x flexible! reader and im talking really flexible. and 141 walks in on reader doing one of these poses just a fun idea i thought of!!

GN!Reader, flexible!reader

A/N: The picture for the poses will be at the end :)

It was a usual day at the base. Breakfast, meeting, training, another meeting, lunch and then working out. But as their day finally was coming to an end, Gaz and Soap wanted to try some new moves out. Ghost said he was willing to watch and Price too, mainly because he was bored. Who would be the subject of the newly discovered moves? You. The only one who fell into the trap of volunteering.

"Alright mate, just stretch a little and then we start to see if what we learned can be used in the field," Gaz spoke as he and Soap smiled at each other. In their minds, you wouldn't be able to fight them off.

You slowly started to stretch your arms and legs, it wasn't anything too advanced, yet. Ghost and Price made small talk as they waited for what the sergeants wanted to show them. Once Gaz and Soap were done doing some basic warmup, they turned to you who by now was raising your leg higher than any of them thought possible.

Price panicked a little, Ghost was more amused but he would not let himself feed your ego.

"Mate, this is literally unfair," Gaz complained as he knew the first move he wanted to try would not work on you. Soap was almost like a child, crossing his arms and pouting just a little. "Fuckin' well, first last week with ya speakin' Hindi and now this? Try 'ard." It was not your intention to show off such skill but you know that you had to warm up and stretch enough for whatever those two had in mind.

Then you arch your back and touch your ankle while doing so. The poor men didn't know a human could even do that. "Alright, Grim, you'll fucking break yourself, stop that." What a concerned father was Price in this instant. Ghost and Gaz moved their head as they watched you arch your back, curious little things they were.

"Price, tell 'em to stop, they are ruining Gaz's and mine moment."

"Quit crying ya baby." Ghost says, never taking his eyes off the weird position you were in.

Price walks to you and then physically stops you, makes you stand up normally and sighs in relief. You look at the men, three of them surprised, confused and amused, the other mad like a child.

A/N: I literally am terrible at describing this.

Tags: @josieguts

[macolethings]

Sonraun Rein Kiken Snippet

Apologies to followers of my Clexa story, "Sonraun." I'm about a month away from having a baby and the tiredness of both my brain and body have finally affected the posting of a new chapter. Only two small sections to write before I do my own editing and have it beta checked, so hopefully it will be out within the next few days!

In the mean time, here is a snippet from the upcoming Chapter 7 (untitled so far). It hasn't been edited, but I want to get something out to you all. Pretty sure there is another small trope in here...

- - -  ∞ - - - 

An eight-foot wall and wrought iron gate separated the common grounds of the tower to Lexa’s training grounds. Lexa fished a key from around her neck, unlocking the gate, and allowing them both entrance. Clarke took in her surroundings. The space was mainly grass, most of it having browned with the winter cold. Workout equipment was placed around the perimeter, leaving a large space in the middle for sparring. Clarke could find similarities in the equipment here to that of the ark thanks to her many days trailing her mother while she walked through physical therapy workouts for her patients. There was a bench with weights, bars for pullups, some weights from the old world, and a punching bag. 

“How often do you come here?” Clarke asked.

“It depends on what training I want to do that day. I come here to build my strength a few times a week, spar with Kensie, or to just practice on my own. The other days I like to run, or fight with the gona (warriors) at the training grounds.” 

After taking time to fully take in all the equipment, Lexa started Clarke off with some warmup movements to get “the blood flowing and muscles lose.” Apparently, Lexa’s warmup was an actual workout for the non-athletic types such as herself. While Lexa acted no different than they had after walking down to the space, Clarke was a different story. Her breath was harsh and fast, her body already quite warm, with flushed cheeks to prove it. 

“First, we will go over assorted defensive moves to get out the most common ways someone may try to take you. We will practice each several times, but I want to focus on introducing them all today, and we can move to memorizing next time.” 

Lexa started simple with wrist and arm grabs, explaining to Clarke that the thumb is a weak point and if she turned up towards her attacker’s thumb, they would not be able keep their hold on her. The two went back and forth, Clarke practicing to free herself from Lexa’s hold, and attempting to keep hold of Lexa in different places to view how she handled the different holds. 

Next, Lexa turned Clarke’s attention on what to do if she’s grabbed from behind. Lexa clamped both of Clarke’s arms to her own side with one arm and wrapped the other around her throat. Unfortunately for Clarke, her body was not ready to have Lexa wrapped so closely around her, and was most definitely not ready for Lexa’s whispered instruction on how to remove herself from the precarious situation. Surely, the lower octave whispers Lexa was using weren’t necessary. 

Lexa chucked. “Clarke? Did you hear me?”

She cleared her throat as best she could before muttering a simple “no,” not daring to turn her face towards Lexa when they were this close. 

Fortunately, Lexa separated her body from Clarkes before discussing, again, how to use her opponents’ weak spots to break free or cause enough pain to bring attention to herself and her attacker. It took a few more attempts before Clarke understood the mechanics of the moves, but she blamed that on Lexa and the fogginess that had taken over her mind. Especially since she was sure the Commander was doing it on purpose. 

[snugglebug-92]

Luke Hughes x Reader

When Jay went to the women’s hockey game he wasn’t expecting many people to want to come with him. Yeah, they were playing MSU which was their biggest instate rival but no one cared about Women’s hockey. He just wanted to go to watch his girlfriend but he invited anyone on the team who wanted to come as well. Moyle and Grano both came like usual but when Luke jumped up saying he would go they were all shocked. They knew he obviously liked hockey and he didn’t mind women’s hockey because of his mom but he never wanted to come before. They all just shrugged it off knowing Jay’s girlfriend would have told them if Luke was dating someone on the team.

Sunday rolls around faster than any of them would have liked but they are all there anyway. During warmups, the four boys watch the UMich girls while Luke gets distracted by a certain #21 on the other team. Throughout the whole game, the boys watch as he watches her skate whenever she’s on the ice. At first, they think nothing of it. Maybe he knows her from somewhere but then late in the second period she takes a nasty check to the boards and is taken off the ice. Luke sits on the edge of his seat leg bouncing constantly checking his phone. That’s when Jay knows Luke is dating an MSU girl. He doesn’t say anything the rest of the game and lets him sit and check his phone. As soon as the game is done Jay is going to get celebratory dinner with his girl while the other 2 boys are going to work on homework. 

Luke rushes to the visitor locker room and waits for his girl to make her way out. When She finally does she looks heartbroken. She’s in a sling and she looks heartbroken. Luke does the only rational thing in his mind. He goes cups her face kissing her. Her free hand tangles in his messy curls and when they pull away she has a few shocked teammates looking at her.

“Oh yeah guy this is my boyfriend,” she says giggling.

“We knew you had a boyfriend we just didn’t know you were dating Luke fucking Hughes,” one of her teammates says causing all of them to laugh.

“I’m sorry about your shoulder baby,” he says rubbing her cheek.

“It’ll heal,” she half-shrugs. The two spend a few more minutes together before she is leaving to go to the bus. 

When Michigan plays MSU a few months later Jay is slightly less shocked Luke is coming but does nothing to show it. They sit down and it's a repeat of the last time. Luke watches his secret girlfriend and this time she doesn’t get hurt. Afterward, they split up giving Luke more time with his girlfriend. This time it’s a 2 game weekend that just happens to coincide with the one weekend Michigan doesn’t have a game. The two sneak to Luke's dorm where they spend the night wrapped in each other's arms.

The next morning the two get breakfast before she has to go back with her team. Luke meets Jay at the rink as Grano and Moyle were too hungover to come. As Jay sits down next to Luke he can’t help but laugh at the poorly hidden hickey on his neck.

“Look’s like 21 did a number on you last night,” Jay laughs at Luke.

“What?” Luke questions.

“The hickey.”

“Oh shit.”

“Look I think it’s cute. Having a secret girlfriend at our rival school. Don’t worry I won’t tell.”

“How did you find out?”

“I had a suspicion when you wanted to come in the first place. But then I remembered that Leah would have told me if you had a girlfriend on the team.”

“Good point,” Luke shrugs.

“So I figured well maybe he was bored or something. Then I saw you watching 21. And when she got hit you kept checking your phone as soon as she got taken off the ice. I do the same thing when my girlfriend gets hurt. So I figured she was the one,” Jay shrugs like it’s nothing. 

“Oh,” is all Luke can say.

“Don’t worry your secret is safe with me,” Jay laughs putting an arm around the boy. But that’s all Luke can do. The two of you agreed to keep your relationship a secret only telling who needed to know. Mainly because she didn’t want people to think she was using him. His brother’s got plenty of grief when they were first drafted and he didn’t want that for her. He turns his head back to the game and ignores the growing pit of nervousness in his stomach. As soon as the game is done he’s rushing to find his girlfriend and tell her the news.

“Baby you say that like half my team doesn’t know we are dating,” she says shaking her head at the boy.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” he laughs.

“Plus whatever it is we’ll get through it together,” she smiles kissing his cheek. 

@drysdalesv

[inkareds]

Flying Together Miles Morales

nav // marvel m.list // ko-fi

✧.* word count: 3.3k ✧.* genre: Fluff ✧.* warnings: the reader is an aerialist so is assumed to be physically fit, but otherwise they are completely neutral

Miles finally realised how brave you truly were to be part of a circus troupe as an aerialist

This is heavily self-indulgent because I'm also an aerialist (mainly with lyra and silks) who desperately want to be able to do flying trapeze sometime in the future :')

"You do this without a safety net?!" Miles looked around as he walked into the gym space. All starry-eyed, he looked at the many aerialist training on their different apparatuses. 

“Well, the flying trapeze people get a foam pit, mostly because of space reasons.” You explained as you pointed over towards the specific area where a foam pit lay, on either side of the foam pit was a tower where people would climb and then perform their act. 

You couldn’t help but grin ear to ear as you watched Miles look around your space. The circus gym was like your second home at this point with how much time you’ve spent. So having him finally visit the space and meet all your teammates excited you. 

Miles looked about the space, it was built similarly to a gymnastic gymnasium. Though instead of the normal gymnastic apparatuses, everywhere he looked were gears for different kinds of circus acts. 

“Have you done all these?” He asked with so much admiration in his eyes that you couldn’t help but feel slightly flustered. 

“Not really,” you chuckled diverting your gaze from your boyfriend, “I’m an aerialist so I mostly stick to the aerial stuff. Y’know, like aerial hoop, aerial silks, static and flying trapeze oh but I’m also learning-” 

As you continued explaining, Miles listened to you intently. After all, it wasn’t every day he got to see you so passionate about something. He nodded along with what you were saying, not really understanding everything as you had now started to explain the semantics of being up in the air. He didn’t realise how complicated it was to actually be upside down until now, he just does it. Nothing happens thanks to his spider powers. 

But when it comes to you, you had to remember to breathe, remember not to be there for too long, and remember to engage your muscles lest you want to accidentally pull something. All of it became second nature to you once you got used to it. Though with him, all of it was second nature the moment he did it. He wondered if any of the other spider-people had to deal with the issues you talked about. 

Right as you started explaining about flying trapeze and your role in the performance your troupe was about to do very soon, one of your teammates called out to you. 

“Oh shit, I have to go, you can watch me practice if you want?” You shrugged off your jacket as you started your stretches. 

“Yeah, that’s cool.” He shrugged making his way over to the many benches on the side of the gym. 

Miles started to actually pay attention to the people around him the moment he sat down. 

There was someone in the aerial hoop apparatus teaching a student of theirs how to grip the hoop properly. Another person just got down from performing some flips on the silks only to groan at his burning hands, their spotters chuckling as they scolded him for not doing enough warmups. The final person he observed was you. You had just climbed up to the tower to get started on some flying trapeze routines. 

His eyes widened the moment he saw you confidently take off, your hands gripping the bar as your body swung by. He saw the large smile on your face as your core tightened to force your body to swing backwards and land back on the tower platform. 

You turned to speak something with your teammates, motioning to your hands before looking towards Miles and beaming him with a large smile all before jumping off again. At that moment he felt all the love he had for you rush to him like a crashing wave. Unbeknownst to you, he swung himself from building to building every single day. All with the knowledge that if he ever misstep, he had his healing factor, his inhuman strength, and his webs to catch him. 

But with you, every time you jump off that platform and you take off into the open air of the circus gymnasium, there’s nothing there to catch you if things went wrong. Only something to cushion your fall. Yet, you still do it, all with a massive grin on your face as you flipped around and a teammate catches you. 

He knows he isn’t special to be able to do what he does, there are thousands of spider-people out there doing the exact thing he did. Yet, when he looked around, seeing these truly fearless people put their trust into their hard work and muscles. When at any time they could fall, and those who didn’t do the trapeze, break a bone or injure themselves badly. He didn’t know how they could do it. 

Throughout the rest of your practice time, he had a warm feeling in his chest. 

~

When you finished, Miles insisted on walking you home. Joking about how it was the gentlemanly thing to do, to which you only responded by bumping his elbow. Stating how adorable he was when he tried to be chivalrous. Through the laughter and jokes, he finally asked you the question he had been dying to ask you ever since he saw you in action. 

“Do you not get scared?” You smiled at his question. 

“I used to, I still sometimes do, but whenever I do I just think about the fact that there’s this person out there who does exactly what I do but without the fixed routines and spaces I’m given.” You looked down at your feet as you explained, “When I think about it that way, I forget about being scared.”

Miles felt his chest tighten at your explanation. He knows you’re talking about Spiderman and the fact that his existence could make you feel that way makes him feel things. Though through the silence and wide eyes, he realised he needed to act normal about your statement. Quick, what would Miles who wasn’t Spiderman say to you at this moment?!

“Didn’t know you were such a fan.” He mumbled awkwardly after clearing his throat.

Shoving his hands in his pockets in an attempt to act casual. You rolled your eyes at his statement, lightly nudging his side. 

“I just think he’s pretty cool, that’s all.” Now Miles' eyes were wide open. 

“Really?” he elongated the y in the word. 

“Yeah, I mean he swings around and fights crime, who wouldn’t think he’s cool? Also, he does tricks in the air too! A lot of my teammates tried to do some of the tricks, they don’t do it as well though.”

“Well, I mean, he has powers, so I think his tricks are harder for normal people to do.” Miles rambled. “He also got his webs that lets him go anywhere, you don’t got that in trapeze or any of the other things there.” He explained. 

You nodded along with him, “I guess you’re right.” Miles couldn’t really pinpoint why, but he must’ve said something wrong as your expression fell slightly the moment he stopped talking. 

Before he could correct himself and lighten up the mood again, the two of you had reached the front of your flat. You both said your goodbyes, but the moment you got to your door you looked back to Miles. 

“You’re coming to my performance on Saturday, right?” You asked hesitantly. 

Miles nodded excitedly, “Of course I will.” 

His simple response made a bright smile creep its way to your face. 

“Alright, cause,” you hesitated, wondering if you should say it. “I based my routine off of you.” 

Before he could respond anything you opened the door to your flat and run in. Ignoring the fact that Miles stood there like a baby deer in headlights, shocked and speechless. Of course, all before a love-sick grin made its way to his face. He’s definitely looking forward to Saturday. 

~

When Saturday did come, you looked out the curtains when the first act had just finished to find that Miles wasn’t anywhere in the crowd. Your lips tightened into a thin line at the thought of Miles not making it to your big performance but you brushed it aside. He must just be late.

So, you toughened it out. There was still around an hour before your act, the final act. You wouldn’t be the sole flyer of the act, but you’d be the centre of everyone’s attention considering yours would be the furthest ones. 

You just hoped Miles was here to see it. 

To no knowledge of yours, Miles was currently trying to swing his fastest towards the location of your performance. He had decided to take up some daytime patrolling today, considering how he wouldn’t be able to do any of it at night due to being with you. But then he got way too caught up and one thing led to another, so now he was late.

As he swung around the city he passed by a street he frequented, a guy whose been watching him from across the block yelled out to him, phone in hand.

“Do a trick!” 

With a chuckle and, to be honest, for his ego, knowing it’ll be posted. He flew himself off his web and spun his body around in the air before webbing himself up from the ground before he could fall. The people around him cheered at him as he chuckled and quickly swung away in your direction. 

~

The time was nearing even more, the act right before your show had just wrapped up. You still hadn’t seen Miles around the audience. 

“Hey,” one of your catchers tapped your shoulders seeing how anxious you were getting, “He’ll show, don’t worry too much about it.” They spoke right before it was their turn to go up to the rig. 

You shook your head and gritted your teeth. They were right, Miles will show up, he knows how important this is to you. So, with a deep breath, you prepared yourself mentally for your performance. 

As the song started to play, you walked out with a bright smile. The crowd goes wild as the lights blared in your direction, blinding your view of the crowd. When the beat quickened you knew it was time for you to climb the trapeze rig and begin the tricks portion of your act. 

Your quickening heartbeat deafened your ears as you best to strain them to listen to the music beats through the loud noises of the crowd’s cheers. 

Though you didn’t see it, Miles had made it just in time. He realised he was extremely late, but knowing that your act was the final one he figured he’d still come in time to see your act. But because at this point all the seats were taken up, he stayed near the entrance of the show stage and watched from the corner. 

Miles mumbled your name under his breath when he saw the way you looked. You looked ravishing, your face caked with stage makeup and a shiny costume. Despite how far away you were from where he was watching his senses let him see you much closer than anyone else. 

He cemented the way you looked in his memory, wanting to sketch this in his book later on. But just as you were getting to the last hold to get up to your rig, your hand missed the hold. Almost on instinct, Miles readied to lunge forward his costume still underneath his civilian outfit. But, one of your teammates grabbed a hold of your hand and pulled you up. 

He saw the way your expression fell from the careless mistake. Why were you so nervous? Your head slightly turned towards the audience and he realised why you were nervous. You were looking for him. Miles immediately beat himself up for it, but he stepped forward a little towards the light. Hoping you would catch his eyes. 

You scanned the room a couple of times, your heart dropping at every second you didn’t see your boyfriend. But finally, your eyes met his, and just like that, all the anxious energy in your heart dissipated. 

“You got this.” Miles mouthed towards you. 

He knew you probably wouldn’t be able to see it, not with all the bright spotlight in your eyes. But from the way your eyes lit up and your smile got even larger, he realised it didn’t matter what he said to you. The fact that he was there at all was enough. 

Funny, he thought to himself. After all, the fact that you were there with him, despite not knowing the secrets he withheld from you, was also enough for him. 

With your confidence boosted you performed. 

Along with the music and the practised routine of your teammates, all of you performed with pizzazz. Miles watched and cheered along with the audience. Yelling slightly louder than the people around him more than once. 

When your final move came, you took a deep breath. You had only successfully tried this trick once, amongst the countless times you had practised it. You knew it was possible, after all, it is an official move. But no one else in your gym had been able to get it right. 

You wanted to get it right. 

You had to. 

After all, your choreo was dedicated to Miles Morales. You needed to hit this trick. 

Opening your eyes wide, you let the wind catch you as you leapt off the platform. The wind against your skin, your mind focused on the next things you had to do. For a moment, time slowed down. 

You could feel your palms burning from all the tricks you’ve been doing. You could feel the sheen of sweat and the way your stage makeup refused to melt off. You could hear the way the crowd’s breath hitched at the final trick. You had to make it. You will make it. 

Swinging ones to the front you pulled your body back for the momentum. When your body was high enough you immediately threw yourself forward, propelling yourself to the sky right at the moment you see the catcher in front of you leap from her own platform. 

The moment you let go of your bar you willed your body to stand in the air as your hands folded in front of your chest and you forced yourself to twist upon itself. Spinning mid-air, a full twisting double. 

Miles' eyes blew wide the moment you landed the trick, as you fell to the ground your catcher immediately took your hands in theirs and flung you to the other platform as crowds cheered. He stood there, frozen. 

That was Spiderman’s trick. You landed Spiderman’s trick. 

When the realisation hit him, he erupted into cheers. His own applauses were drowned out by the crowd but as he watched you take your bow he realised you were just looking at him. 

After your bows, you ran backstage and Miles followed. 

Behind the stage, acrobats and aerialists were already taking off their greasy makeup. Congratulating and hugging everyone they come across with tears in their eyes. Months of work and training have finally come to a close. And the show was a hit. 

Throughout the rush of people congratulating you for your success, you weaved around from them. Of course, you expressed your gratitude, but you needed to see someone else right now. 

Miles embraced you the moment he saw you. Not caring about your sweaty body or your stage makeup, not even your chalky hands that definitely left an imprint on his clothes. He only wanted to hold you right now. 

“You were incredible!” He enunciated every word, a bright smile on his face as he continuously cheered for you. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here from the start but the way all of you were just flying in the air! And that trick you did halfway through where you flipped mid-air?! How’d you do that?!” 

Miles wouldn’t stop talking as he kept complimenting your performance. 

“I’m just going to change and take all of this off real quick, wait for me?” Miles nodded enthusiastically. 

“Well, duh.” You chuckled before going to the dressing room to change. 

~

When you got back to Miles he was already ready to walk you home. The way back home was quiet, mainly because the adrenaline within the two of you finally ran its course. What was left was exhaustion on your part and a busy mind trying to process everything that just happened on Miles’ part. 

Because he was doing all of that, one moment stuck out to him. The last move, the last trick, was supposed to be the most special trick. It was the closing move and if your choreography was dedicated to him, why did you do Spiderman’s trick?

“Hey, what was that last trick you did?” Miles started. With the way your eyes lit up, he realised you were waiting for him to realise. 

“It’s a full-twisting double.” You smiled. 

“Oh- huh- guess you gotta sneak a move for Spiderman in there? Right?” he joked. 

Though his heart stopped when you stopped walking. Miles turned around to find you staring at him. 

“Is something wrong?” he started, slowly getting antsy. 

“Miles,” you spoke, “You know you’re not good at hiding it, right?” His mind ran a thousand different scenarios. Though it landed on one. 

“Pshhh, what? What are you talking about?” He shrugged, averting his gaze from you. 

“That wasn’t for Spiderman, that was for you, Miles Morales, my Spiderman.” You stepped closer towards him. 

“What?! Spiderman? Oh you mean like, you idolise me and stuff. I don’t know nothing about Spiderman.” He rambled on as took step after step closer to him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

To cut him off, you pulled him in for a kiss. Both your lips crash into one another in an unsynchronised manner. Miles let himself be shushed in favour of your affection. When you did pull away, he chased after you, causing you to slightly chuckle. 

With the way, you looked at him, all doe-eyed and in love. He couldn’t help but admit it. 

“How’d you find out though?” He said with a lop-sided grin. 

“Well,” And then you began explaining. It started with the inconsistencies. 

There were times when he’d disappear and you’d ask him where he went off to only for him to tell one story and then tell a completely different one the next time you asked him. At first, you thought he was hiding something else, but then other things started happening. 

The biggest one was the first time you showed off one of your tricks to him on video and his reaction, safe to say wasn’t like most people. 

“What if I was just some guy who wasn’t easily impressed?!” Miles argued. 

“Nope! That’s not it! You started talking to me about the physics of it and like the momentum and stuff. Something only someone who has done it would know about! That alone wouldn’t have been suspicious but c’mon with all the other stuff?! It was just a matter of time before when I’d get it!” 

Miles groaned while his head hung long. Though not long after he smiled. 

“Guess I didn’t have to worry about anything at all huh?” You shook your head at his response. 

It was true, he shouldn’t have worried about telling you his secret. You would’ve figured it out either way, but there was no harm in telling you. The most it would change was you’d be much more understanding now and he wouldn’t have to lie to you so much. 

A comfortable silence slipped between the two of you as you made the final stretch towards your home. A silence that was broken by your voice. 

“So, could you train with me with your webs when I can’t go to the gym?”

“No.”

[huggybug]

So for briss, since we all decided that it was once he got to vegas this is what I expected.

You were going to college in Henderson so you and your girls decided to splurge and get tickets right by the glass. You watch the guys do warmups and after a few minutes, a puck is by your feet. You look up and see a guy about your age wave at you before continuing on with warm-ups. You see Brisson and look him up. It's only his third game with the team and he just joined this year. He's only a few months older than you. You continue to watch the game that's playing right in front of you while thinking about the cute boy. You roll the puck around in your hand before realizing that there's a phone number written on the back. You text the number after the game and the next thing you know you are getting lunch with a professional hockey player. You show him all the ins and outs of Henderson and in return, he gives you and a friend free tickets to the rest of his games. Before long the two of you are dating. One thing leads to another and you are now 5 months pregnant at the start of Brendan's rookie season. And to say his dad was unhappy was an understatement. Pat was livid. It only got worse when he found out that Brendan wasn't leaving you. Brendan stuck by your side the entire time you were pregnant. You would still go to every game but you were getting more and more pregnant every day. It's late in the 2nd period when your water finally breaks one march evening. Brendan rushes to change during intermission and meets you in the hospital. 5 hours later your baby boy is born and as you see him and Brendan having skin-to-skin contact you can't help but think how lucky you got with your boys.

Eventually Pat comes around mainly because Jordy keeps asking about the nephew he has yet to meet and Kim wants to meet her grandson. During the offseason, they get together, and just like that the little baby is wrapped around both grandparents' fingers. Plus Jordy's happy he's no longer the youngest.

not pat wanting him to leave😭😭😭 he would for sure be so worried about brendan’s career. omg totally forgot about jordy lol when he and bren are together in the summer with the baby, they try to convince you to let them teach him how to surf (even though he’s like 6 months old

[gaphic]

answer all of the artist questions or u a coward

WELL FUCK. OK

1. Art programs you have but don't use? Medibang Paint is the only one I can think of- everything happens in Procreate now!

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)? definitely left, but right/front aren't too bad

3. What ideas come from when you were little? I'm not 100% sure I understand this one? My fairy fixation goes way back tho

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw? Boys.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself. Probably a 90/10 split, tbh? At least 80/20. I don't post much of my art

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it) I feel like I don't really experience this with drawing? With writing and character creation definitely, but I feel like I'm conscious of all my biggest drawing inspos

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate? Hmmm. Legos

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in? Camp Cauldron

9. What are your file name conventions?

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw? Probably swishy skirts!

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what? Just my regular music

12. Easiest part of body to draw? Arms, probably

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing? I'm also not sure about this one? To me admiration goes hand in hand with liking... I respect a lot of artists whose work I'm not into though

14. Any favorite motifs? -patrick voice- is gender a motif?

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth) At home mainly, sometimes at work or just wherever I happen to be. I'm trying to spend more time in Third Places

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing? I can't think of anything? I'm getting better at enjoying every part of art

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what? No? I use my hands to draw

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken? Not that many tbh! I've always been very careful with my art things. A handful of pencils, surely

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.) Probably plants!

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy? HANDS I love drawing hands

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways? Art styles unlike my own are my favorites! Jamie Hewlett, @tanglefootcomic, @ampreh, and @maruti-bitamin to name a few

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any? I always do some light warmups/hand and arm stretches

23. Do you use different layer modes? Yes ofc, great shortcut for shading and lighting

24. Do your references include stock images? I don't have like, a set reference folder, I just google what I need. So yeah, that usually includes stock images!

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by? Scott Pilgrim

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended? I don't post enough for this to happen to me B)

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with? I warm up with spirals, connect the dots, and snake in a basket

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines) nope :\

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically? Oxymoronic. Everything I love inspires me

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated? I DON'T POST ENOUGH FOR THIS but my color study self-portrait was really good

[cloudscare]

ASK & REQUEST BOX INFO

I figured I’d put this out here in general as well so people know my boundaries when requesting/asking things in our box !!

No I will NOT do anything NSFW, if you ask something along those lines your ask will be deleted.

If you want something suggestive that is fine, however you may only do so if you request it not anonymously. Due to my own comfort I don’t particularly like drawing suggestive things for minors as an adult is all 👍 so please respect that.

Never ask for something problematic, especially ships. If done over and over we will end up closing our box for some time and only take requests on our OTHER platforms.

If you sent a ask in already please be patient with me, I have a life outside of social media that I have to attend to. If it’s a simple question where I don’t have to draw anything then maybe yeah I might be quicker, but art takes TIME.

Keep in mind that I only take requests through our ask box as warmups typically, the pieces that come out aren’t always going to be the same quality as a previous one. This depends on many things but mainly my mood and how busy I am 👍

Our box is not a way to get content like a commission from me, if that is what you want please DM us privately so we can talk to you about it. It is also not a way to get free art of any ocs, if I ask for some to draw this is fine otherwise do not ask.

It’s completely fine to fill our box with questions of how we do things, AU questions, memes, pictures or just things you want to tell me !! It doesn’t ALWAYS have to be art related though that is my main focus

I want to state too I’m incredibly grateful that so many of you actually send me things, I just wanted to set some boundaries and rules before anything got too out of hand. This is both for my sake and for anyone else that sends me stuff through our box.

If any clarification is needed please comment or send a question to our box and we will answer you back as soon as we possibly can !! Thank again for being patient with me and for all the kind words on our posts as well 🙇

[microwave-core]

Weeping Athena

Eri x Fem! Reader

You want to get stronger. Eri is the paragon of strength and is far too kind to turn away anyone that comes looking for help. 

You were originally weary when the members of Team Star returned to the academy, as were most students. You understand that they were the victims of bullying and were just trying to make their situation better, banding together for a better chance at fighting back but… Some of them were really intimidating. 

In particular, Eri scared you. She was massive and built like a truck. She could pick you up and snap you in half if she really wanted. Who wouldn’t be a little scared of her upon seeing her for the first time? But even if she scared you, you at least made an effort to be kind to her given, well, everything.

It’s funny, in retrospect, given that she is easily one of, if not, the sweetest, most gentle people you’ve ever met. 

Originally, you had approached her, quite some time ago at this point, because, despite being a little put off by her outward appearance and physical strength, you wanted to get stronger. And according to every rumor you’d heard, she was the one responsible for training every member in Team Star.

You desperately attempted to keep yourself together, afraid to come off as rude, but you quickly found that you had no reason to be scared of her. That meant the only thing you had to worry about was how attractive she was.

Taller than six foot, muscular as hell, incredibly kind, and the odd combination of wrestler and princess in her outfit? How were you expected to not be into her?

Honestly, it’s kind of unfortunate that she’s so sweet. When you asked her for help, she instantly accepted, and that means you had to see her consistently, which, on one hand, was great because you were into her, but on the other hand it sucked because you had to keep it under wraps.

And now here you are. Stuck exercising every other day with the girl you were really into while desperately trying to conceal that fact.

“Hey! Are you doing alright?” Eri, ever so sweet, had stopped in her tracks and turned to you. After running a few laps (something she considered to be a warmup), you flopped onto the ground to take a breather. Of course, while you were stuck catching your breath, she continued to run. 

Obviously, you took the opportunity to watch her run, admiring her form from across the field. It’s nothing new, you do this every time you work out together, but normally you avert your eyes before she gets too close, unwilling to get caught.

Unfortunately this time, you were in too much of a daze to notice her getting close. 

“Oh! Um, yeah. I’m fine. Just a little, uh, winded still.” Real smooth. “Oh, I was going to get some weights ready but if you aren’t feeling too well, we can take a break!”

“Weights? Yeah, let's get some weights! Actually, why don’t you sit here and I’ll get everything set up for us?” “But I thought you were still out of it-” “Don’t worry, I’ve got it!”

You weren’t lying, you were still a little out of breath, but you couldn't bear to sit in her presence after getting caught staring.

Even though it was your legs that were overworked, getting weights out was proving to be a challenge. Mainly because Eri uses stupid strong dumbbells. It’s incredible that she could lift them effortlessly one-handed while you could barely carry one using both.

“Here, I’ve got it.” Holy shit when did Eri sneak up on you? If she hadn’t already taken the dumbbell out of your hands, it would have toppled to the floor, if not your foot. Your face now feels unnaturally hot.

“Hey… are you sure you’re alright? We can stop if you want.” The way she cares about your own health makes your heart throb painfully. If only she knew the kinds of things she did to you…

“N-No! I’m alright-” Before you can even get your half-assed excuse, she’s placed the back of her hand against your forehead. “You're burning up! You should have told me before! I don’t want you to push yourself like this!”

“Hey, hey! It’s fine, I’m fine, honest. I’m just a little worked up from running, that’s all!”  If she wasn’t so dense, you’d be so screwed. “Heh, you’d think that after all this time I would have more stamina, huh? Kind of pathetic of me-” 

“That’s not true at all!” Eri’s sudden outburst almost knocks you off your feet. In an instant, she grabbed your hands with her own, staring you dead in the eyes. 

“You’ve come out here just about everyday because you want to improve yourself for the better. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you’ve improved much yet, because you’re trying!” She was so genuine it hurt.

“Besides, I think you’ve improved so much! It might be hard for you to see but I can see it well!” Tears seem to form in her now glassy eyes. “So don’t… don’t say such terrible things about yourself, please…” 

“Eri, I…” You what? What could you say at this moment? Should you embrace her, wipe away the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, apologize, or all of the above? The answer should be obvious, but your brain is completely scrambled. Every thought completely fizzles out.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t just stand here and listen to someone I love put herself down. I care too much about you to let you say those things.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to say-” Eri cuts herself off. For a moment, it seems like she is going to pull away. You want to pull her back in, keep her close. Maybe pull her down by her tie. Let her feel the heart drumming in your chest. Thankfully, you don’t have to make that decision, as she decides to pull you into a full embrace, wrapping you in her strong arms.

“I didn’t mean for it to come out this way, but… I really do love you. Seeing you out here makes me so happy. The fact that you asked me to help you makes my heart jump, but I’m always worried that I push you too hard.”

“You’ve never pushed me past my limits! I come out here to work with you because I know you would never let anything like that happen to me. You're always so kind to me, Eri, so sweet… Whenever you express concern for me, I… my heart can’t help but race!” 

“Wait so you-” You can’t see her face, but you can hear the smile in her voice. “Yes, I like you too, you dork!” 

“Oh! You make me so happy!” Suddenly, you are swept off your feet, as she lifts you high into the air and spins you around. You wished you could see her whole face in this moment, but the glassiness remaining in her eyes, so overjoyed that you returned her feelings, tells you everything you need to know.

Eventually, your feet hit solid ground as she holds you impossibly close, nuzzling her head into your shoulder. You never expected that the girl of your dreams would care so much about you, and you especially didn’t expect that girl to let it slip and hold you so close when you were both somewhat covered in sweat, but you wouldn’t trade this moment, or Eri, for the entire world.

[jeiceys-dead-poets-hcs]

Dead Poets Dance Au

Pt. 1; Todd Anderson.

so here it starts! i’m gonna do the characters as different parts so hopefully not everybody has to wait for this big, extravagant thing.

i probably will do a bigger group dynamic one in the future!

please enjoy part one!

His strengths seem to be anything to do with strict musicality. He can add dynamics that not even his lead choreographer would come up with.

He also improvises when the music is left on, giving more ideas for choreography whenever the teacher is stuck on what to do.

This makes him both great in tap and contemporary.

Being one of the senior students, he helps out with choreography for solos, duets, or younger classes.

Oh boy does his choreography do great at competitions.

He gets at least one choreography award at every competition every year.

He likes doing dynamic choreography because of the expression it entails. He loves the freedom and inspiration of finding just the right song for his vision.

He also takes time to know whoever he’s choreographing for well, so he can even adapt moves to match personalities.

Mainly talks with noises instead of counts, it just makes more sense in his brain that way when he vocalizes rhythm and movements rather than boring counts.

Another thing I think he’d be good at is acro.

A quiet man with the flexibility of a rubber action figure? What better combination?

He’s probably the most common one to get a new trick first. Tumbling, limbering, it was just his thing since day one.

Definitely the partner who gets lifted in partner work.

Probably yells aggressive positivity at Neil when he is so close to getting a trick.

“WHY DID YOU PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN?”

“IT’S SCARY!”

“NEIL, YOUR HEAD WAS LIKE— TWO FEET OFF THE FLOOR. YOU’RE FINE. Now go do it again.”

“aaaaaAAAUGH. fINE.”

He 100% has an advanced warmup routine for competitions. Mainly because his friends told him to show off to intimidate others (which originally wasn’t his goal at all).

Always the best with handling nervous littles too scared to go onstage <3

Literally gets so happy when his friends win first place in solos, duets, trios, anything he’s not in with them, he will be so happy. Even if they were against him.

Knows the most, but makes the funniest mistakes sometimes.

Never vocalizes about his distaste for songs or costumes, but, his face can’t hide everything he was thinking.

“Todd’s face says no, so I guess it’s no-“

“Wait what?? It’s fine!”

Always found lying on the cold floor in the corner after a long day. Probably interrupted by Charlie stepping on the small of his back which causes a huge groan to erupt from Todd.

“You good there, Todd?”

“Yup- ooOOHKAY— too far, Charlie!”

Sweet, sentimental pep talks.

Genuinely so upset when it comes to his final, graduating year.

His voice breaks during his speech, and he wraps his choreographer in the biggest hug as soon as he finishes.

If anybody were to lean against a mirror and accidentally break it, it would be Todd.

Always ends up with the coolest solo pictures of the season? His friends don’t understand how.

Probably almost dies when the season comes back after the summer. It takes him some time to regain the stamina he lost after two months off.

Dance would be something so genuine and fun to Todd. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. His friends make it even better.

[starcrossedkaiju]

Kingslayer AU: Chapter One

Finally! I’m sorry this took so long, I’m a nervous wreck.

Notes: this was originally a warmup for character interactions/setting. It is very dialogue heavy.

\\ Warnings: alcohol //

A single tumbleweed was all that crossed Scott’s path when he arrived in the Red Desert. It was rather comical, he stood and watched it roll away until he couldn’t see it through the sheets of sand blowing over the ground.

In the distance, the only mountain located in the desert biome loomed over the horizon. Imposingly backlit by the red, swirling, tendrils of the world border. Most residents kept away from the thing, as it was meant to give off an unsettling aura. Although Scott never minded it. The wall of his room was almost right up against it after all.

On top of the mountain was a barely visible “castle”, which looked as if it was built by someone wearing a blindfold. The inhabitants of the castle, and the aptly named “Monopoly Mountain” could be accurately described as menaces.

Clumsy when it came to forward thinking, and leaving hidden traps around so frequently that traveling through any wooded area required either a very long stick, or someone willing to take the business end of a TNT trap for the team.

They also happened to be Scott’s nearest allies. It hadn’t always been pleasant between them, but circumstance led to circumstance, and now Scott was making his semi-weekly visit to Monopoly Mountain to shoot the breeze.

Typically the only person at the base would be Grian. Scar liked to make himself elusive by causing problems elsewhere and returning late into the evening with a story to tell over dinner.

The base of the mountain was void of a bubble-elevator. To reach the top one must climb an absurd amount of stairs. Scott huffed and resigned himself to the task in front of him.

As his perspective grew higher and higher the rest of the map revealed itself. The roof of Joel’s house peeked over a swathe of trees, and the tall barricades of Dogwarts stood out as a stark silhouette against the sky. Scott took a few minutes to regain his purchase, shielding his eyes from the whipping wind.

The season was gradually descending into winter. Made obvious by the deciduous trees’ leaves choking out the last of their green pigment for fiery shades of red and orange. The weather was far less pleasant to endure. Everywhere outside of the Red Desert had to deal with bitterly cold conditions, although there hadn’t been snow yet, the sky churned with a constant overcast. Threatening to storm at the drop of a coin.

Scott rubbed his arms to fight off the oncoming chill and continued his ascent, hoping someone had installed a fireplace since the last time he visited.

Finally he rounded the last of the stairs and gazed up at the tall, thin roof of the Sand Castle. The Red Desert flag strung on the tallest rooftop flapped around in the wind. Pizza, the pet lama, grunted in Scott’s direction when he approached the front door. He hesitantly reached out to pet her (she bit him once and he’d never fully gotten over it) from over the fence of her pen, and she let him rub her fluffy bangs.

Scott knocked on the door three times and gave Pizza one last pat, anticipating someone to open the door. It would be a shame if he’d hiked all the way out only for nobody to be home.

Thankfully, the door swung open with a welcoming screech of it’s hinges.

“Hey dude,” Grian welcomed him from the front steps.

“Hey,” Scott greeted in return, “may I come in?” he asked.

“Of course! It’s freezing out here,” Grian replied and stepped away from the door, which slammed with a squeak behind the two of them.

Scott closed his eyes and waved to the resident enderman, who greeted him with a friendly, distorted “hello”. A furnace was running to warm the living room.

Scott took his coat and hat off. He draped them over the arm of the couch before swatting a layer of sand from the cushion and sitting down, observing the scene in front of him. There was always something going on in there.

This time, a myriad of blueprints were strewn across the floor. Each of them depicting heavily annotated structures and what looked like plans for redstone. Grian had planted himself on the floor with a pencil, and was furiously erasing a line of text.

“What’s that?” Scott pointed over his shoulder.

“These,” Grian held one of the outlines up to the other’s face, “are the blueprints for our secret bunker,” he explained.

“You hear that? Secret Bunker, so don’t go telling anyone about it m’kay?” He tapped the paper with the end of his pencil.

“Okay, fair enough. Is that redstone?” Scott slid another sheet of paper towards them with his shoe.

“Yup. I’m gonna equip it with a lava trap,” Grian said proudly.

“And this one will work?” Scott teased.

“Hilarious,” Grian pushed the other’s shoulder, “yes it will work, it’s going to be my best yet,” he assured.

“Oh good! That’s not a very high standard to meet then,” Scott congratulated.

“Blah, blah, blah,” Grian mocked back, “you better be careful what you say with twenty five reputation points,” he said.

Scott threw his hands up in surrender, still laughing at how the other man’s ears turned red.

The house fell into a comfortable silence after that. The sound of scribbling and wind served as a calming ambience. Scott intermittently shared a few words with the enderman, who seemed to understand more of what Scott said to him than the other way around.

“Hey, Grian?” Scott turned over on the couch to face his friend.

“Yeah?” The other said without looking away from his work.

“Do you think you would have still been friends with Scar if he hadn’t died from that creeper?” Scott asked.

There was a pregnant pause, then Grian said, “I don’t know. I never thought about it,” he doodled absently on the margin of his paper.

“Hm,” Scott replied halfheartedly. He mainly asked because whenever he visited Grian was alone. If they were even home at all. Other than that him and Scar were always attached at the hip.

“Why?” Grian asked in return.

“I don’t know, forget it,” Scott waved him off. Not wanting to get into it.

“When’s he gonna be back?” he asked instead.

Grian sat up and stretched his back, “uh, I don’t know actually. He said he went to gather resources but you can never really count on him doing what he says he will,” he explained.

“You didn’t go with him?” Scott asked.

“I don’t want to babysit him anymore. If he gets in trouble that’s not my problem,” Grian said. He stood up and wandered over the the kitchen, carefully avoiding the blueprints on the floor.

“Ha! I would drink to that one, Jimmy is the same way sometimes,” Scott replied and watched as Grian contemplated the contents of their cooler, reaching in and pulling out a bottle of red wine.

“Well then, let’s drink to it,” he held the bottle up with a grin.

“Where did you get that?” Scott vacated the couch and made his way over to his friend, taking the bottle and studying it, “I haven’t seen the fruit of the vine in years!” he recalled.

The bottle had clearly been tapped into before, although not much was absent from its contents.

“I have my ways,” Grian rummaged around in a cabinet and pulled out two glasses.

“I would say it’s too early for this, but for once, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” Scott uncorked the bottle with a satisfying pop and poured each glass a third of the way.

Grian cleared his throat, “To the safety of our stupid partners,” he raised his glass.

Scott nodded in return and connected their drinks with a polite clink, then they drank to the sentiment.

The conversation traveled to the dining table, which was more of a booth. Talking points ranged from preparing for winter to future plans to expand their bases.

“I’m not going to get anything done with the weather coming on,” Scott complained over his drink, “I don’t handle the cold very well,” he downed the last of it.

“Well you can always move in with us for the season, the attic is vacant,” Grian offered.

“Never in a million years. I’d rather be sick at home than spend a week living with barbarians,” Scott refused the offer.

Grian rolled his eyes, “it is not that bad,” he defended himself.

Scott raised an eyebrow and shoved his hand in between the cushions of the booth. Pulling up a handful of sand, which he deposited on the table.

“We live in a desert! What do you want us to do about it, of course there’s some sand in here,” Grian threw his hands up.

“Some?” Scott repeated.

“Okay,” Grian glanced under the table and shuffled his foot around, which scraped across a layer of sand, “a lot of sand,” he corrected himself.

“Get a vacuum. For the hundredth time, get a vacuum,” Scott demanded.

“We have a broom that works perfectly fine,” Grian stood up and opened a linen closet to reveal a single broom leaned up against the wall.

Scott didn’t comment on it, but he had a feeling that broom never left the closet.

The conversation was effectively halted when the front door screeched open, letting in a gust of wind and sand. It blew a few papers off the floor and scattered them around the living area.

“Hey,” Grian called out, “Scar? You back?” he asked.

“Yeah,” came from the front of the Sand Castle.

“Okay! We have company by the way,” Grian prefaced.

Scar’s head poked around the doorframe, he waved at Scott who returned the gesture.

“What have you guys been up to?” He inquired at the sight of the wine on the counter.

“Just hanging out. It gets a bit lonely up here you know,” Grian closed the linen closet and took Scar’s backpack from him. He opened it and looked at the contents.

“Oh, you actually did what you went out to do,” Grian revealed a bundle of wood from the bag.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Scar crossed his arms.

“Never mind, go wash up. I assume you’re hungry,” Grian opened a pantry and took some spices out, “are you staying for dinner Scott?” he asked.

Scott leaned out of the booth to check the time on the clock above the door, “mmm, yeah why not. I’m already here,” he decided.

“Let me just page Jimmy and tell him I’m gonna be home late,” Scott patted all his pockets but found no sign of his communication device.

“Hey Grian? Can I use your pager?” he requested.

Grian fished around in his back pockets and pulled out his pager, tossing it towards the other who caught it with both hands. Scott thanked him and flipped the screen up, selected the address he needed to contact, and typed out a short message. Making sure to say it was from him and not Grian before sending it to Jimmy.

“What’re we making?” Scott asked once he finished, intent on trying to help in the kitchen.

“Well, it’s Spaghetti Friday,” Grian declared and revealed a bag of Rigatoni pasta.

“That’s a thing?” Scott inquired, taking the bag and examining the packaging. It was pretty simple, mostly cardboard with a plastic window. Presumably from the village on the other side of the map.

“We’ve gotta have some fun around here, come on now Scott,” Grian said.

“You’re right, how can I help?” Scott said. Grian side eyed him.

“You can add the salt when I say you can add the salt,” he offered. Scott crossed his arms.

He wasn’t that bad at cooking. He’d only burned a few things, smoked the house out for three days once, and set scrambled eggs on fire.

“That one time was just a rookie mistake,” Scott retorted. It’s not like he did it on purpose.

“A rookie mistake that almost burned your flower forest down. I wouldn’t let you near the kitchen if I was Jimmy either,” Grian set a pot down on the stove.

Scar came back in the kitchen then, and was pulled into it almost immediately.

“A man can’t even sit down in his own house without his culinary skills being put up for debate?”

Grian laughed at him, sliding the pot under the water pump.

“That’s not an answer at all! Can you or can’t you?” Scott demanded to know, holding a salt shaker.

“I can cook,” Scar’s gaze wandered into thought, he started counting on his fingers, “pasta, assorted vegetables, mac and cheese, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and I can bake a half decent carrot cake,” he recited.

“I worked in a supermarket before the borders. We made some of our own stuff for the bakery and the buffet,” Scar said. It was the first mention he made of what he did back when things were normal. At least to Scott.

Scott was pleasantly surprised. He nodded, seeing as he’d been given a satisfying answer.

The spaghetti went off without a hitch, Grian was surprisingly good at making it. Scott had the sense that he’d done it many times before.

“Remember, you can put the salt in but you can’t take it out. Here taste the sauce and tell me if it’s alright,” Grian fished a spoon from a drawer and handed it to Scott.

“Hmm,” the other pondered after trying a spoonful, “maybe a bit more salt?” he suggested.

A window was propped open to let the steam and heat out. It was getting dark now, and the world border stood out against the purple hues of night falling over the server. The brightest stars made themselves known to the east as the sun set to the west. It was peaceful, the wind had died down. Scott wondered if anyone else was watching.

Personally, he enjoyed stargazing a lot more. His servermates knew next to nothing about the cosmos, which made him wonder who was teaching them about the greater universe. Clearly they’d never been out there.

“Yo,” Scar called him out of his trance. He handed the other a ceramic bowl.

“Thank you,” Scott said and waited to serve himself.

The spaghetti was pretty good. Decent meals were hard to come by, especially with the limited resources outside of villages.

Over the course of dinner, Scar explained his excursion of the day. He had been gathering wood to stockpile for the winter months (no wood in the desert, better to have a source available and not have to hike out and get more constantly) when he came upon Etho’s base.

“It’s entirely made of wool,” he recounted.

Grian raised an eyebrow in confusion, “All of it? Why?” he mused.

“Dunno. There was nobody around,” Scar replied.

“You didn’t steal from them did you?” Scott interjected.

“Not this time,” he said, which earned him a jab in the ribs from Grian.

The three laughed it off and switched the subject to current server affairs. Who had the best gear, everyone’s respective allies, the phantom problem, and the pros and cons of a vacuum.

“Well, I would say this is a fine work of spaghetti,” Scar complimented when he was finished.

“Indeed, couldn’t have done it without Scott. The best salt dispenser among us,” Grian agreed.

Scott tried to look offended but couldn’t repress a smile. He stood up, about to take his bowl to the sink; but Scar insisted that he was the guest, so he handed over his dish and sat back down. Preparing his “i’m out of here” pleasantries.

He settled on, “Well, I’m out of here,” after a few more minutes of banter.

“Okay! Thanks for keeping me company dude,” Grian gave Scott a hug as thanks.

“My pleasure,” Scott replied.

Scar offered to accompany Scott back to the Hobbit territory, but he refused.

“No need Scar, you’ve been out all day. I’ll be fine,” he assured as he adjusted his hat and jacket for the chilly walk home.

“Alright then, let me walk you out,” Scar proposed instead.

Final waves and good wishes were exchanged and Scott started back down all those stairs. It was quiet, save for the gentle buzz of the world border which sat right against the Red Desert.

Lost in thought for most of the journey, Scott traveled into the dark canopy of leaves. There weren’t many mobs out due to the moon being in its Waning Crescent phase. Scott rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his pockets, wishing he’d brought his mittens.

As he crossed over a clearing, an arrow whizzed over his shoulder. Scott ducked down in surprise, turning around and expecting to see a skeleton, but there was nothing there except a dreadfully dark bank of trees and a vacant plot of land.

Scott squinted into the darkness.

Then the handle of a weapon was brought down on the side of his face, and all the lights went out.

[pinkmirth]

➳ REINER, THE FITNESS TRAINER

[ MAINLY FLUFF/GENERAL HCS + FITNESS TRAINER!REINER + TW: LANGUAGE + A FEW SLIGHTLY SUGGESTIVE HCS ]

═════════°∴,*⋅✲══〖✰〗══✲⋅*,∴°═════════

SFW:

Fitness Trainer!Reiner who’s a literal slut for exercise, and the buffest guy you know. He feels as though the profession was made for him, ever since his highschool days playing Varsity when he realized that at football practice, he’d always be the last to grow tired. He's got this little knack for carrying mini dumbbells wherever he goes, lifting them until they press against his firm bicep before gradually bringing the twenty-five pound object back down and repeating the cycle until his muscles strain.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who’s a workout junkie and never knows when to stop jogging in place. Waiting for the microwave beep to commence while waiting for his food? Might throw in a nice forearm plank for a good minute until his instant ramen finishes up. He eggs you on to pick up similar beneficial habits, though the pair of you know damn well, you’re much more on the “—what the fuck is a jumping jack again?” side.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who works out with you, but does so in a way that’s more amusing for both parties. He bench presses you and reaps your giggles and squirms in return, which eventually ends up as some tickle fest, usually filled with your cracked shrieks and his own mellow laughter.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who allows you to latch onto his broad, muscular back whenever he does his push-ups, attempting to lift the pair of you back up with one arm instead of two. Eventually, expectedly, Reiner winds up falling on his face. He could do push ups with one arm alone, of course he could. Though, the ballgame was all too different when you’re carrying the weight of not just yourself, but your sadist of a friend who’s cackling over your little exercise mishap.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who suggests that you, a very close friend of his, should consider hiring him as your personal fitness coach; as it would turn your life around for the better, as well as making his job more all the more eventful and enjoyable with having you around. The pair of you go to the gym together more often than you used to, and you’re surprised that he’s right for once; It is, infact, enjoyable— considering that he even allows you to pick out his gym outfits. It’s usually a simple muscle tee or a skin tight base layer shirt accompanied with a pair of shorts or sweatpants. Though, when he tends to get you a bit upset, you make different choices, better choices. Five layers of clothing on the top and bottom, with a nice thick scarf and bubble coat to top it all off <3

Fitness Trainer Reiner who’s more than a trainer to you, but a close friend. That being said, he’s comfortable enough to come over and bring you to the gym with him. First things first, since he knows you’re fast asleep, is waking you up. Reiner is knocking incessantly at 6 in the morning, all the while you’re still tucked underneath your sheets and drooling on your linen pillow. He plucks the spare key from under the mat to unlock the door and barges in with a damned mega phone (where the hell did he get that from?), and you begin to regret telling him where that key was hidden. “Get up already!” Is what he says on repeat, and he has the literal audacity to smirk. You shoot him the nastiest look before scrambling out of bed and knocking the bullhorn out of his grasp.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who sometimes blurs the boundaries between ‘stern but supportive exercise bestie’ and ‘mean ass trainer who can’t stop fucking shouting’ when trying to encourage you to push past your limit— The only reason you don't yell right back is because you know, at least he’s got good intentions. It usually occurs when the pair of you have barely begun your daily workout regimen and it’s only warmup time. That’s unfortunately when he has to yell at you the most, since you find it too early to physically function properly. “Just three simple stretches,” he told you, but you're already shaking your head with zero compliance, body slumping down onto the mat as you tiredly whimper. As your fitness trainer, Reiner has to do something about that— has to push you further and help you aspire until you’re fit as a damn fiddle, even if all you had to do for the time being was touch your toes..

SUGGESTIVE:

Fitness Trainer Reiner who’s allowed to stay in the gym after hours due to his employment, and we all know what that means. Keeping you around for a good forty-five extra minutes that consist of dreaded agility drills and knee-down lunges. He urges you to go through with one last push up, albeit your trembling arms and form, and aids you in your final squat with firm palms holding you at your hips as you lower your knees with a fatigued body. Sometimes he has to get a bit close to help you out, and it’s a part of the reason you keep coming back to that damned gym every day.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who can be something of a pervert at times, and he’s damn lucky that you never catch on. Sometimes, his touch lingers, so does his gaze, but you seem to be oblivious. Instead of pulling his eyes away as he knows he should, the blonde merely drags his gaze along your pretty form, battling and opposing the act in his head, though it doesn’t make a difference; He’s already got a good eyeful and he’s saving it, tucking it away as a cherished memory.

You don’t know it, since you don't care much and Coach Reiner’s too hesitant to let you know of such, but your sports bra has shifted a little too low for the good of you and him both. The curve of your cleavage is prominent, and they’re gradually spilling out your bra to show more and more. You’re glistening with sweat as you huff and perspire, and he’s beginning to do the same, busying himself by getting physical to take his mind, his eyes off of you. You take notice of the red dusty hue scattered along his face and sharp cheekbones, and when you ask what’s wrong, all he does is state that training is done for the day.

Fitness Trainer Reiner who loves to aid you in stretching, especially when it requires your laying down. You’re resting on your back, acting on a couple of leg raises as he scrutinized your form that could be better, standing not too far away. He was occupied with taking a quick guzzle from his water bottle, but ultimately decides that hydration can wait, because you don’t even know that you need his help right now.

He strides up, slow and observant, amber eyes flitting along you and the shaky rise of your legs before you bring them back down with an exhausted groan. He kneels before you abruptly, and it causes you to hum in surprise when his strong palms find purchase at the back of your thighs, pushing your legs further with a grunt. He says you’re supposed to do it this way, but you claim that you just can’t do it without his help. You know, and it’s obvious that he knows, that you’re purposely pretending to be clueless, and he’s alright with letting you slide in the meantime. Reiner continues using the pressured push of his hands in an effort to move your legs all the way back until they’re near your head, which spurs up your 'imagination' all too well, never wanting your warmup to end.

═════════°∴,*⋅✲══〖✰〗══✲⋅*,∴°═════════

[comicnerd557]

Stray Kids as Teachers!!

Bang Chan

Definitely the music teacher

Type of teacher that is super caring

Anyone can talk to him about anything

Offers life advice

Mostly good, sometimes joking

“Pay your taxes and don’t drink and drive.”

Finger guns

Tries to use young people slang

Fails even though he himself is super young

Keeps pictures of his dog on his desk at all times

“Mr.Bang, who’s that?” Points at picture of Barry

He then goes into Barry’s life story, slowly gaining an audience of other students

Every kid has a crush on him

It’s a rite of passage at this point

“Have you seen his ass?” “Duh, who hasn’t?”

Lee Know

The tired art teacher

Has sass battles with his students

Winner gets some candy

He almost always gets the candy

Plays movies once a week

Thinks everyone deserves to relax

Super chill with what students want to create

After all, art is personal

Not at all harsh with grading

Sneaks his cats into the school sometimes

Gets caught, claims they’re there to be models

Almost always has music playing

Students go to him when they need someone to vent to

Gives somewhat violent advice so.... Don’t take it

Everyone wonders when he’ll get with Mr.Han

There’s bets going

Even staff are in on it

Mr.Bang started the bets

Seo Changbin

Everyone’s favorite gym teacher

Specializes his class for students' needs

For example, the asthmatic doesn’t have to run laps, instead, they do some weight lifting

Stresses the importance of warmups and cool downs

Thursdays are pool days

Everyone worships Thursday, as shirtless Mr.Seo is quite the sight

Fridays are fun days

Students pick whatever they want to do that day

Even group nap time has been approved once or twice

He is the best spotter

Have you seen his arms?

Can be frequently found bothering Mr.Kim

Always wearing a tank top. Always

If students aren’t feeling well, he lets them take a nap in his office

Has a special cot with soft blankets and pillows he bought himself

Does not tolerate students making fun of their peers

Has the record for the most detentions given in one day

The class ganged up one on kid who wasn’t good at the sport, so they all got detention

The kid got a free soda of their choice

Hwang Hyunjin

Drama instructor

Specializes in helping students put emotion into their lines

Musicals are his favorite

He makes the Choreo himself

Kind of strict about it ngl

Still understanding somewhat

Just... Not as much as he could be

Basically a mom to his drama kids

Gets told all the tea

The Gretchen Weiners of the staff

He knows whats happening with literally every student

Has shown up hungover a few times, just lets the student directors take charge

Will fight for the theatre department to get more funding

Makes some of the costumes himself

Talented boi

Tries to modernize everything

“Listen, I know Hamilton takes place in the boring times, but Jefferson needs some shades.”

KING of improve

Actually an amazing actor

Blows everyone's minds

Like, yeah, he’s goofy and hot, and he LOVES spilling the tea, but holy shit can he do Shakespeare

Leaves the school at exactly 3:30 PM, unless there’s practice

Has stayed till 11:30 PM once

His students worship him, trust me

Han Jisung

The cheery Kindergarten teacher whos energy rivals the kids

His classroom is an explosion of color

Loves his kiddos

Is great at calming upset little ones

Works incredibly hard

Every other teacher thinks his classroom is a total mess

Blocks everywhere, paints on every table, and nap time mats still out

If you look closely, he does have a system

Only pink paint on this table

The mats are in a specific corner

The blocks are for the kids to make words whenever they understand how to spell something

Big fan of the reward system

Has had many kids call him Dad before

Parents love him so much

Their kids come home rambling about their teacher who taught them the alphabet and they can count to five now!

His kids are pretty much little geniuses

Gets sick so often since he works with little kids

Makes sure his sub is fun

Also make sure the sub isn’t as fun as him so the kids still like him best

Found in Mr.Lee’s art room… way too much

Lee Felix

The school’s therapist

His room is the definition of Happy Yet Zen

Light yellows, pinks, and blues fill the room

Basically a pillow fort

Has a scent diffuser and let’s the student pick the essential oil 

Walks around school with a happy smile always

We know he’s Stay’s sunshine, but he’s now the students

Has a wall of cheesy jokes for students who just need something to make them laugh

Let’s students show him their special interests with no complaints

Gets into almost all of them himself, just to bond with the kids

If the kids just need somewhere to calm down, his room is almost always open

Need a twenty minute nap? He’ll put on some calming sounds and supply the pillows and blankets

The type of teacher who gives gifts to his senior students when they graduate

Always ready to show students music he thinks will help them

The other teachers love him because he brings baked goods once a week

Doesn’t care if students swear in front of him

Kim Seungmin

Middle school English teacher

Students are lowkey scared of him

But they still enjoy him alot

He frequently roasts students and other teachers alike

“Mr.Bang said he’s the best producer? Next person to have his class, tell him to check his ego.”

His favorite time is independent reading time

Mainly cause the kids know to be quite

Heaven forbid someone interrupt his reading

Every time they finish a book, the movie is played

It’s a nice break for everyone

It’s also a break for him

It’s tiring being that sassy all the time

Pretty strict grader when it comes to essays

Only because he goes over what to do super thoroughly and even a baby could do it truly

You think he wants to grade a 7 page paper? No

4 Pages maximum

Definitely has favorites

Tries his best not to show it

Everyone knows

Loves the quiet kids in the back who love reading

Reminds him of himself at that age

Ya know, a whole 5 years ago

Mr.Seo shows up in his classroom all the time, just to mess with him

The kids love it

Yang Jeongin

 The other kindergarten teacher

The admins of the school put the quieter, more nervous kids into his room

Jeongin has a very gentle personality when it comes to kids

The shy ones tend to flock to him

His classroom closely resembles a herd of sheep

Just a bunch of baby sheep hiding behind protective mama sheep

Super calm, but someone messes with his kids?

He’ll fuck you up homie

While Mr.Han’s classroom is an explosion of bright colors, Mr.Yang’s is more pastels

Parents are amazed as their kids slowly open up

Seriously, sudden their super shy kiddo has like, five other super shy friends and won’t stop rambling about  their cool teacher

Prefers a quieter way of teaching, unlike Jisung

Gentle nursery rhymes, soft blankets, no dance parties

Even though him and Mr.Han are polar opposites, they’re best friends

He calms the excitable teacher, and Han brings out his energy

It’s always funny watching the two classes interact

It’s like watching a sheep and fucking golden retriever interact

When the two classes go to gym?

Mr.Seo is in for a treat

One side of the class is screaming like madmen while running around, their teacher joining them

The other is calmly waiting for instructions on the line

Not that Mr.Han’s class is badly behaved, just… energetic

Mr.Yang just chills in the back of the gym, working on some lesson plans while his kids get their limited energy out

Nap times are the best

He sometimes joins in, but shhh, don’t tell the other teachers

Only Chris knows, and has a million photos of Mr.Yang napping at his desk while his students sleep soundly

[hargrove-mayfields]

Growing up in the Harrington’s mansion, there was a beautiful grand piano in the upstairs salon, deep mahogany with gold trim to contrast meticulously polished ivory keys.

Steve’s parents would let him play it whenever he wanted, ignoring the off key banging on the keys until he was old enough to do it right, and eventually, when he’d proven to be somewhat proficient in the skill with nothing but his own messing around and a few stray pieces of sheet music to go by, he’d been signed up for professional lessons.

Every other weekday at four o’clock, he met with an instructor, a strict woman about his mother’s age, to be taught discipline and control. How to channel himself into an outlet and use his hands to make something beautiful, melodic, powerful.

It was being able to use what he’d learned to create that got him through some of the hardest moments of his life. His frustrations and his fear and his pain were just between him and the ivories, pouring out through gentle musicianship rather than a more destructive habit he might’ve favored without the skill.

So when Billy Hargrove, permanently hooked up to an oxygen tank and in a back brace, gets out of the hospital and moves into Steve’s place without the motivation or the trust in his own body to do much of anything, Steve thinks about his lessons. About all he learned about himself when he got to just sit and create, and he decides to share that with Billy.

He doesn’t take to it very well at first. When Steve went to play, Billy would just sit on the bench beside him while he did his thing, his hands shoved in his hoodie pocket and not paying him a smidgen of attention. That’s okay with Steve, he gets it.

The circumstances that landed the two of them in one place were strange enough, doctors orders were to keep him out of the abusive situation he’d have been in had he gone back to his own home, and governmental orders were for him to stay with someone aware of the conspiracy that got him hurt in the first place. So Steve didn’t exactly expect him to be open to the idea of playing the piano, and especially not with as many ailments as he suffered through.

When Billy was in the hospital, the nerve damage to his chest combined with fibromyalgia setting in after one too many surgeries had been so severe he hadn’t been able to even raise his arms or close his fingers to make a fist. Even still his mobility was rather limited.

Steve got it if he didn’t want to hurt himself, so he gave him his space, hoping that through observation alone of Steve’s playing he could feel that soothing of the melody that he had so often chased when he wasn’t feeling his best.

Overtime, Billy becomes more interested, his tired gaze attentively following every last movement of Steve’s thin fingers across the keys. Steve feels himself get more showy, just the tiniest bit more dramatic in his movements because he knows Billy’s paying attention now.

After Steve finishes out the melody of a song he knew by heart from those long days in his lessons, he turns to look at Billy, to see what he thought.

Billy’s already looking at him, and he clears his throat and says in a voice that’s scratchy and quiet, “What song was that?”

It’s the first time Steve’s heard him speak since he’d been discharged, even in the hospital he’d only ever talked to his sister in whispers for nobody’s ears but hers.

She told Steve not too long after Billy had moved in that he had been too scared to talk, in part because of the chemical burns in his throat, but mainly because he was scared of himself. Of what his body had been used to do.

Steve stumbles over his words, shocked to hear Billy break his vow of silence. “It’s uh- it’s Rainy Days and Mondays.”

Billy clears his throat again, takes his hands out of his pocket and says, in a voice determined and strong as it can get, “I wanna play that.”

It takes a long, long time of practice, with Billy’s hands shaking the way they do from the effort, and with Steve being a less than perfect instructor, teaching solely from the knowledge he’d acquired when he was 8, but he gets there, slowly.

They sit at that grand piano for hours on end, working through scales and trying to get Billy to remember the keys, doing warmup after warmup as Steve did his best to drill the fundamentals of playing piano into Billy’s mind to make this a little easier.

It doesn’t go terribly, he’s good considering what they have to work with, but Billy gets frustrated very easily.

When his hands just won’t do what he wants them to, he loses his confidence entirely. Steve tries to remind him over and over that he’s just starting and that musicianship is a difficult skill to pick up, even more so at 19 years old with no experience and a former prodigy as his teacher. But Billy is too in his own head, he equates the difficulty of playing with being unable.

It makes him feel stupid for ever even trying, for thinking he could be more than his injuries, so he gives it up. Goes back to just brooding on the bench with his hood drawn up, pretending like he doesn’t care.

Steve knows that he’s not going to let him give it up. Not when he saw how Billy’s eyes would light up in a way they hadn’t since before he got hurt every time he’d play a progression, or even just a trill. This was far too important to let him be discouraged.

The solution he finds is to show Billy something he already can do instead of jumping straight into teaching him new things, and that something is dueting Julie Andrews’ Do-Re-Mi back and forth with him.

It starts like this. Steve plays through it first, starting with doe a deer and coming back ‘round to do, and asks Billy when he’s through with it, “Do you want to try?”

Billy doesn’t even look at him, just slouches his posture as much as is possible with a sheet of plastic strapped to his back to keep him sitting upright, and shakes his head no. His dejection only makes Steve more determined to get him to do this.

So he plays it for him again, just a hair slower than the first time, and watches Billy’s face instead of the keys while he plays. This time through Billy’s trying too hard to look like he’s not watching, so Steve plays through it again.

Steve looks over at him expectantly, and Billy looks like he’s thinking hard about something, worrying his lip between his teeth, until he lets out a shaky breath and shifts forward on the bench, resting unsteady hands below bass F and treble C until he has the courage to move them.

Delighted by the attempt, Steve sings the words for him so he has something to keep up with, keeping his voice soft while Billy stumbles his way through the notes.

For a first attempt without sheet music, it’s not terrible, and he can tell from the way Billy’s cheeks flush that he doesn’t think so either. Steve offers him a smile that he hopes is encouraging, and starts his turn again.

That becomes their thing to get Billy back into playing. Everyday they sat down on the bench and bounced back and forth playing through Do-Re-Mi as many times as it took for Billy’s confidence to be up, and for him to give Steve the okay to try to teach him something new.

He learns how to play Rainy Days and Mondays and a handful of other songs, and though he still has trouble with certain things, like keeping his wrists too tense and never getting sharp notes quite right, fumbling with straddles and playing much slower than Steve could, his confidence is up, and he understands that feeling Steve described.

That liberation of being able to make something with hands that had destroyed, that had hurt and taken away, and he feels free of it, not just when he plays. He’s lost in the good of the music so as not to dwell on the bad.

Billy sings on his own for the first time a year in, his voice still strained ever so slightly as he carries the tune by himself. It’s unexpected, and though it’s a silly thing to get emotional over, Billy singing Julie Andrews off-key, Steve would be lying if he said he didn’t tear up, just a little.

It’s Billy’s turn to try to gauge Steve’s reaction, a shy smile playing at his lips as he eyes the look on Steve’s face, the shock he finds there and the tears welling in his eyes.

High on the courage it took to let his guard down and sing, he takes another chance and leans over on the bench, and presses his lips to Steve’s. Captures the words unspoken in a kiss that is in every part as beautiful, melodic, powerful, as the music they make together.

Steve taught Billy to play the piano, but he also showed him how to cope, how to forgive, how to feel. More than anything, Steve taught Billy how to love.

[chalkrevelations]

Huh.

Well, this is not the next episode reaction you were expecting, but a while back, in the middle of the night, while I was ready to cry from working on a pharmacology paper, out of nowhere, Youtube threw up Street Dance of China S3 Ep1 at me. And yeah. I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show. (There are enough SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal that I feel there’s no point denying this.)

So – no, actually, wait. FIRST of all, I do NOT believe the “towel vote” we ended up being given for the opening routines from the four captains. That was the most blatant bit of bullshit chicanery I’ve seen in my LIFE, and I say this as a person with a ton of SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal, and I also say this not because Wang Yibo ended up last (well, not entirely), but because I saw Wallace Chung’s routine. As someone closer in age to him than to the other three captains, I have to give him props for trying, but come on, man. The critique that Yibo got from random contestants – if the subtitles are to be believed, so I realize this needs a grain of salt - basically boiled down to “it was too good for the stage lighting.” :hands: Also, I saw your face at the reveal, Wallace, and you were as shocked as I was. No way you got more towels/votes than Wang Yibo. Not unless there’s some super wild undercurrent of nostalgia propping you up, which, I guess could happen, because literally all I know about pop culture in China, current or otherwise, is filtered through Tumblr and Youtube, both notoriously suspect, but … anyway. There’s got to be a TON of behind-the-scenes manipulation going on for Yibo to be rock-bottom with last pick of teams but then also to end up with THAT pool of possibles. Are you kidding me with this?

ANYWAY, what I wanted to say is that I actually really like Wang Yibo here, and it’s not just because he’s the only captain I have even a sliver of familiarity with, and it’s not just because Lan Wangji was banging Wei Wuxian. I do realize all of this is influenced by whatever edit they’ve decided to give a particular captain or contestant, but I’m impressed with the way Yibo immediately starts team building by getting his group into a warmup, getting them dancing together, getting them dancing with him before they have to worry about dancing for him. (I mean, come on, Jackson Wang. The way to get people to stop being nervous is not to say “Stop being nervous! It will make you fuck up!”) The way Yibo immediately recognized and responded to his group’s concerns about that one dude copying someone else’s routine probably also bought him a lot of return investment. He’s dressed to work it, in his sweats and his flannel (what IS that fake-leather TAC vest and random leg holster-looking thing, Jackson Wang?). He’s convincing me he really loves to dance, he can’t hold still while he watches the contestants, he’s wandering over into other captains’ turf when it sounds like there’s a dancer performing who he might like to see, he’s being the best Yibo he can be, and I’m grooving along, wind in my hair, totally down for this ride. He’s also adorable at the beginning when all the other captains are like, my goal for this season is to slaughter the competition and dance on their graves! And he’s like, well, I’d like to … make some friends? And learn some new stuff? I don’t know if the perpetual Humble Student schtick is natural or persona, or whether it’s general or specific to dancing, but it’s working for you, my dude. This is also made better (read: ironic), by the fact that it’s immediately before the towel reveal, when he flips over to utter disbelief and gets all sulky for a while over the “fact” that his dance routine got the least votes.

Also, OH WAIT. This is where that clip of Yibo dancing with his crew ALL OVER HIM came from that I saw floating around a few months ago, isn’t it? You’re telling me those guys had never danced together before and had like, three minutes to throw together that routine? I’m even more impressed than before. Meanwhile, the towels symbolize courage and challenge, Mr. Emcee? OK, fine, cheesy reality show blah blah whatever. Can we get to the dancing now?

I’m going to put the rest of this behind a cut, because it got super long, because it turns out, when you watch in 5-minute increments, it takes two and a half weeks to get through a single episode, but you actually can see and have opinions on all 5,328 contestants, plus every single one of the captains’ battles. Meanwhile, I’m trying to convince myself this is not going to be another series of episode reactions, but 1) I do have the benefit of not having a ton of hometown media giving me a next-day play-by-play, so even though this is six months old, everything’s a surprise; 2) I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show; and 3) it’s easy to watch in 5-minute increments between researching drug interactions in hypothetical hypertensive patients with stable ischemic heart disease, erectile dysfunction, and seasonal allergies. So, I guess we’ll see. It’ll be slow going, though, because I don’t ever have two and half hours to sit down and watch an ep cover-to-cover – if it happens, it will likely keep happening in 5-minute increments. Meanwhile, there is a metric shit-ton of nattering below the cut, so caveat lector. No, seriously, I kept adding to this little by little until it became a monster. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

OK, I am generally out of my depth here, as this is not at all my area of dance not-really-expertise, but some reactions:

Team Wang Yibo: I can see why he didn’t want to choose between Colin and Dian Men – Colin might have been a touch better technically and a better showman, but Dian Men didn’t seem to have a single wasted move – but, also, my dude. Yibo. You maybe should look a little bit less stunned and overwhelmed by the mere presence of Colin, it’s giving me ideas about your taste in men. Continuing with the powerhouses, I probably shouldn’t even attempt to critique Klash, but I did feel like he was a bit stiff in some of his footwork; that final V kick, though, shit, that’s what having that kind of upper-body strength is for. Bouboo … I mean, excellent flexibility and control, of course, but mainly I’m just terribly amused that Yibo got last pick of teams but somehow ended up with the guy who’s literal world champion, and who’s just as useful for getting into the other captains’ heads – without even trying – as he is for his talent. And then there’s a montage of Yibo giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you cannot keep up this pace. There are still too many dancers to see, and you don’t have that many towels. AAANNNND Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Jackson Wang: I do like Gai Gai, although that may be influenced by the fact she’s working in the twilight area between hip-hop and contemporary that I have more familiarity with - but also, I suspect she’s pretty good in her genre. I thought Xiao Jie was inconsistent and didn’t stick the landing on his initial attempt, so I have to give you that hesitation, Jackson, even though you’ve somehow ended up the villain in my inner narrative for this show, for no particular reason I can yet discern. Maybe it’s that you’re the direct competition for Yibo’s team in the towel battles. Good enough. Anyway, Xiao Jie definitely stepped up his game for the battle with Bingo, so I can kind of see why both of them got a towel, but we’re not even halfway through this, and most of y’all are giving away towels like you have an endless supply. Yang Kai is a fucking menace with fantastic musicality, and I’m just gonna say it and take the fallout - I think he gave a better performance first time out of the gate than any of Yibo’s powerhouses did. Whatever power Klash has got, whatever skill Bouboo has got, Yang Kai feels more explosive and engaging, at least in these initial showings. He’s going to be one to beat, I’d hug him too, if he was on my team and was going to help me WIN. Yibo’s probably lucky that happened during his little stroll over to check out the competition, so that he can see they’re definitely competitive and be prepared for it. Also, Jackson, I have to admit - that face you made when Chao really kicked in? That was the same face I made, because wt actual f, you have a literal secret weapon – secret because he CAME FROM NOWHERE and NO ONE EVEN KNOWS him, how is that even possible, how did he get that good – fluid, creative, controlled, incredible musicality - without anyone having any idea who he even is? And then there’s a montage of Jackson just giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you need to slow down. You can’t just be like, “THEY LOVE DANCE WITH ALL OF THEIR WHOLE HEARTS!!!!1111!!!!11!” I get it, but everyone there loves dance with all of their whole hearts, and there are not enough towels to send all of them on to the next round. ANNNND, Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Lay Zhang: lol at how diplomatic you’re being, Lay Zhang – your team’s fierce roar startled you, OK. At this point, I suspect you’re the street most likely to have a knife fight break out before this is all over. I do like Alex, I think he’s got a lot of interesting, super-clean details in his moves, and he’s engaging - I cannot BELIEVE you made him battle that dude whose moves were so mushy, Lay Zhang, it leaves me doubting your ability to judge this thing. At first I thought maybe you were just looking for an excuse because you wanted to see Alex freestyle, but then you actually said something about both dancers being equal, and my estimation of you plummeted, and also sadly, my sound dropped out for the actual battle, including the part where the clearly inferior dancer fell over and then accidentally POPPED ALEX ONE IN THE EYE, and I TOLD YOU SO. I do agree it’s a good idea to make dancers in the same genre do some battling, so you can kind of plan out your towels and put together a team with broad strengths, instead of giving out towels like you’re making it rain for the first 20 contestants, and then you have 1,375 more people to get through, with 3 towels left, as EVERYONE ELSE seems to be doing, so it’s nice that at least one of you guys is thinking – if not actually acting - strategically. That was clearly not even a contest, though, GIVE ALEX HIS TOWEL and send him to the next round. Xiao Bao is hilarious, with his concern that his team captain, who’s into krump, which is “beating,” isn’t going to appreciate his waacking, which is “slapping.” I also don’t know a whole lot about waacking, so thanks for the primer, Xiao Bao, and don’t worry, your performance is just as engaging for those of us who don’t know what we’re watching as you are generally. You deserve that towel for your ability to interact with and engage your audience, alone. Lingo is a good solid performance, although he’s got his team captain strategizing edited over some of it, and here’s the thing: we are 1:56:00 into this, at this point, with another half hour to go, and all of you are starting to disappear into the sea of dancers who are very good at what you do, but at generally the same level? Anyway, Lingo, I approve of your ability to interact with your audience (read: your captain) to ensure engagement, too, so keep that up. Annnd, we actually haven’t seen that much of you guys, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

Team Wallace Chung: I’m glad Su Lian Ya insisted on performing, I thought she started off slow but warmed up, and that ending was creepily fantastic and had me spontaneously grinning at the screen in delight. Then we lose sight of this group for a really long time, actually. We go back to find Wallace putting through a couple of urban dancers who we barely see, but who apparently claim to have some choreography experience, and he really likes that. TI shows up, and they’re solid, but honestly, not as good in this performance as they were in some of the stock footage the show threw up to introduce them, but Wallace remains super-excited about the idea of choreography and sends at least choreographer Zhang Jiang Peng through to the next round. And then, we really haven’t seen that much of you guys, either, which maybe doesn’t bode well, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

FOOTNOTE 1, aka TOWEL BATTLE ONE, Team Yibo vs. Team Jackson, 3V3 freestyle: First of all, I have to say, I love Yibo - Mr. I Just Wanna Make Some Friends And Have Some Fun - being all, “I have three crappy white towels I’m stuck with for coming in last place that I can’t use to send dancers to the next round and that I DO NOT DESERVE, and I am getting BACK the colorful towels that ARE RIGHTFULLY MINE. I am coming for whoever is in my way.” Team Yibo is Bouboo, Klash, Dian Men, and OK, given what we’ve seen so far, that’s the safe choice, but honestly, I think we’re just taking some things for granted right now, and I’m not sure they actually have given the best performances so far. Yeah, I said it. Team Jackson is Yang Kai, Chao, and Xiao Jie, and … ok, on that last one, I think you probably could have substituted Bingo, but all right. Yang Kai is a definite yes. Chao will be great if he can stay out of his own head and not psych himself out, but given what we’ve seen so far, he’s an obvious pick. First round, Yang Kai vs. Klash, and Yang Kai is still a fucking menace, with super lines. Klash definitely stepped up his game for the battle, and I can’t get over the upper body strength he’s got, to get that kind of airy bounce in his moves, but to be honest, I can’t even be mad the first round went to Yang Kai and Team Jackson. Second round, Yang Kai is still … y’all, the beautiful lines from this guy in his poses, I can’t get over them, but I think he doesn’t have the stamina, his footwork is getting sloppy. Bouboo also steps up his game for an actual battle, his fluidity and control is amazing, and yeah, round to Team Yibo. Round three, Xiao Jie gives it a decent effort, but the polish isn’t there; meanwhile Bouboo is still in champion mode, and I was kind of surprised this was a split vote and went to another round. Xiao Jie absolutely surprised me, coming back stronger on his second try, although I suppose a more familiar genre helped, but Bouboo continues in champion mode. Round four, Chao looks like he’s going to throw up right before he steps out there, and then as soon as the music starts, it’s like, he doesn’t even think. The music just moves him. I feel like his dance vocabulary is more limited than Bouboo’s, though, and Bouboo’s flow is amazing at this point, so I feel like the judges just want to drag this out and see more dancing when we go to one more round. Strong effort all around, but yeah, round four and two towels to Team Yibo. I can’t really complain about that. I do feel like Yibo’s powerhouses have been holding back until now, though, and I’m not sure how I feel about THAT.

FOOTNOTE 2, aka TOWEL BATTLE TWO, Team Zhang vs. Team Wallace, 3V3 w/ captain: lol, Team Zhang really wants someone to pick the Sailor Moon song because they know Xiao Bao and his waacking will tear it up. Anyway, Team Zhang includes Lingo and Xiao Bao, who does not get his Sailor Moon song and continues to be hilarious in his disbelief about being chosen to participate in this battle, when he’s not looking almost as sick as Chao from Team Jackson before HIS performance. Team Wallace includes Su Lian Ya – and honestly, despite how I’m getting ready to bag on him for the entire rest of this battle recap, I like that Wallace put one of his female dancers up there for the battle - and some dude named Ba that they haven’t given us any footage of, up ‘til now, at least that I can remember and who I … don’t even know has been formally given a towel and sent on to the next round, yet? Oh wait, he must have, because there’s talk in the pause for choreography about somehow using the towels during the battle. Wallace relies on Su Lian Ya and Zhang Jiang Peng to choose Ba, and then Ba ends up choreographing a lot of the performance, at least from the edit we see. I continue to feel you may be in over your head, Wallace. This feeling … is not assuaged by your performance in the first round, which is fine, but not really up to the level of almost anyone whose name I’ve bolded so far in this entire recap. Also, using the towels was a cute idea, but it doesn’t translate well, and Team Wallace has a lot of wasted time throwing the towels around instead of actually. You know. Dancing. Lingo gets a credible solo during Team Zhang’s performance, and even though Xiao Bao is clearly lost during a good bit of his backup dancer duties, he manages not to throw up, which – given this team’s general skill level – should be enough to give them the first round, EXCEPT SOMEHOW Team Wallace gets the point from the judges, who then try to justify this inexplicable decision by saying Team Wallace had better interaction, I guess because of the hot mess with throwing the towels around, but adding that Team Zhang was more scattered, which what? More scattered than the hot mess with the towels? I’m not buying this. I can’t tell if they’re propping up Wallace or fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, but I’m having bad acid flashbacks to the many and varied ways dance show judges will try to gaslight you, telling you that things you just saw with your very own eyes did not actually happen when it’s right there! On camera! Visible, despite whatever edit bs you’re pulling! ANYWAY, they’re definitely managing to fuck with not only Lay Zhang’s head, but Xiao Bao’s, and Xiao Bao still doesn’t seem to have his choreography down, but they manage to pull it together enough to take the second round, which to be honest is kind of a muddled mess on everyone’s part. The only one who really stands out to me on this go’round is Su Lian Ya, but OK, Team Zhang might have had it slightly more together as a unit. And then, yeah, OK, I think they were fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, because we then find out that, holy shit, the song the show powers-that-be chose for the tie-breaking third round is that gd Sailor Moon song, and we can all see the writing on the wall. Poor Team Wallace is no match for Xiao Bao, who frankly, carries this entire round on his shoulders without breaking a sweat and barely needs any backup dancers to do it. There’s some ridiculously dramatic reveal of scoring, with the judges dragging out their decisions like this was any actual contest - I’m beginning to suspect that some of them grew up with Wallace Chung posters on their bedroom walls - but finally, round and towel to Team Zhang.

Cut to a little bit of Next Time On, and wow, the first two-and-a-half-hour episode is over, and we aren’t finished with the initial round yet. It’s gonna be Christmas before I make it halfway through this season.

[tarteausuga]

maybe soon

Contents: fluff, basketball player! Johnny Featuring: Johnny x reader, other members of NCT sporadically A/N: there could potentially be another part... word count: 2.4k-ish

In which you’re the head athletic trainer of the basketball team that Johnny is the captain of...

"Mark, I know you can wrap it yourself. I've taught you multiple times." You breeze by one of the youngest players of the team who was begging you to wrap his ankle for him.

"You do it so much better though! I don't play as well if I do it myself." He whined as you rolled your eyes at him.

"You'll have to wait your turn then." You direct your attention to Johnny, the captain who has been nursing a sprained knee for the past few weeks. "Have you been icing it on and off like I've told you to?" You ask him but your attention is directed at his leg.

"Yes and I've been keeping it elevated. How can I not when you're in half of my classes nagging me during lectures?" He smirks at you but you don't pay him any attention.

"It looks a lot better now. I'll find you a knee brace and you shouldn't need to wrap it anymore." You smile, content with your treatment as you pin the bandage in place.

"You're a lot less scary when you smile, you know?" He jokes with you as you give him a slight push. Telling him to shut it before finally attending to the needy Mark Lee who is being touted as the next star of your university's basketball team.

You felt a lot of pride in your work with the team. Sure it was all for course credit towards your athletic training degree but something about it made you feel like you were part of the team. They relied on you and you often felt like you were supporting them through your work. You were never great at sports so this was your one way of being part of something that you love so much.

Your dedication had paid off as you had been named the head student trainer after years of running water bottles and hauling medical kits. Working under the advice of your professor, you were trusted to call the shots and unlike some of your classmates, your advising professor rarely questioned you.

"Alright boys, gather around." Johnny called out in his booming voice just as you were finishing up wrapping Mark's ankle. You then proceeded to help your junior trainers with packing up the kits and filling water bottles.

"Johnny is always watching you." One of the younger girls said to you and giggled.

"He's so hot, I wish he would look at me." Another girl pouted and you fought off the urge to roll your eyes in front of them.

You found that a lot of the students who signed up to be part of your team were mainly a) female and b) trying to get close with at least one of the players. It was frustrating on your end because it often meant more work for you as they were often too flustered or distracted to focus on their actual jobs.

"You know that I help to grade you guys, right?" You glare at them as you found yourself doing your kit inventories alone while they were busy giggling about the players.

"You're no fun. You can't possibly say you're not attracted to any of them." A third girl scoffed at you.

"I can honestly say that when you deal with their sweaty feet enough, they lose their allure." You lie as they all become visibly disgusted and finally start doing their jobs assigned by you. You stifle a smile as you look up and meet Johnny's eyes from across the room. The last thing you were going to do was admit to your juniors that you were interested in someone. And the second last thing you were going to do was tell them that the person in mind was none other than campus celebrity, Johnny Suh.

You approved the medical kits as Johnny dismissed the team and they proceeded towards the gym for warmups. You also sent your trainers to follow, reminding them to do their inspections of the gym and not ogling the team.

"Go easy on them." Johnny nudges you.

"That wouldn't be any fun then." You nudge him back.

"See? Much cuter with a smile on your face." He chuckles while running away before you can smack his arm.

There was always so much going on during game nights. The basketball team was the most popular on campus, beating out the soccer team somehow. There were hoards of fangirls in the stands screaming out the names of individual players. Then there was the band and of course, the cheerleaders but to no one's surprise, the players were the centre of attention.

Johnny seemed to thrive in this environment. He would flash a smile every once in a while to the girls in the stands, drawing screams sounding like they were in pain. You could even see some of the cheerleaders try not to lose their composure from the sidelines when they saw him push his hair out of his eyes.

"That kid is lucky he's great at basketball," the coach mumbled before shouting "FOCUS ON THE PLAY SUH!"

You couldn't help but fight back a chuckle as Johnny posted up a 3-pointer before saluting his coach.

---

The game was over and while everyone was returning to their respective homes to rest after the exciting win, you were back in the training room making sure the team started their recoveries well: Attending to bruises, strains and pre-existing injuries as quickly as possible. Johnny often sat back and watched you work. Laughing to himself whenever you made a quick comment towards any of the guys.

"Are you going to ask y/n out anytime soon?" Jaehyun, another popular player on campus, slid next to his captain.

"Nah I'm just going to get rejected. I've tried every year and it's always a no." Johnny smiles fondly at all of the times you've turned him down.

"You seem oddly happy about that." Jaehyun frowns.

"We spend more time together like this. We would have to be separated if we started dating. Conflict of interest or whatever but I still ask every year just to make sure we feel the same way." Johnny explains.

"And you're okay with the rejection…" Jaehyun tries to confirm but Johnny only nods, continuing to watch you work with the team. "There are other girls out there. You know that right?" Jaehyun suggested.

Johnny tried not to seem physically disgusted at the prospect. "I'm aware, Jaehyun. Thanks." He said in his low tone that often scared the other players.

"Alright, I'm just saying." Jaehyun slid away.

When the room quiets down and all of the team has trickled out, you're left with melted bags of ice and cut up pieces of athletic tape surrounding you. But you're not alone as Johnny seats himself across from you on the training table.

"Is it my turn now?" He smiles.

"You need to pay attention better," you sigh with a faint smile, undoing the bandages wrapped around his knee, "one slip and you're doing to hurt your knee again."

Johnny always had knee problems. He tore his ACL during your second year of university and it never fully recovered after surgery. That was probably the toughest year of Johnny's career, facing the fact that he likely wouldn't make his dreams of playing in the NBA come to reality. You tenderly apply ice to his knee as he winces at the cold.

"You worry too much." He says.

"You make me worry." You respond quickly.

"At least you feel something for me." He lowers himself to look up into your concentrated gaze.

"Let's not do this now." You look away and go make an ice bag for him.

"Oh come on, we always do this. I ask you out, you reject me, we bicker back and forth then we both quietly know the feelings are still there." He leans over you at the ice machine.

The best you can do is sigh and roll your eyes, "you're insufferable, Johnny Suh."

"And that's why you love me." He looks for an agreeing smile from you expectantly. You force one to appease him.

---

It was the morning before one of the last midterms of your university career. Nervous energy was all around as that classic air of tension flooded the campus as students wracked their brains with exam material. Your morning cup of relief, a coffee in your hand and Taeyong, one of your best friends and another member of the basketball team, talking your ear off.

"I spent all night making this tiny little cheat card my prof is letting us bring in but Yuta fucking spills water on it this morning, I was ready to kill the guy but-" he stopped talking when he noticed you stop dead in your tracks. He looked back to see you with a mortified look on your face. "Hey, what's up?" He gently touches your shoulder before turning towards your line of sight to see what had stopped you.

What he saw shocked him too. One of the cheerleaders who always made it known that she found Johnny attractive was seated on his lap in the food hall. He seemed disinterested but nonetheless, there she was. You immediately turn to walk the other way even though you were on your way towards your exam.

"Are you okay?" Taeyong struggled to catch up as you quickened your pace to make it in time while taking the long way around.

"It's fine, Taeyong. It's not like we're dating." You huff.

"I know but you guys like each other, don't you?" He asked.

"No," you lied, "I could never like someone like him so he can do whatever he wants."

"Hey." He finally stopped you.

"I don't have the time for this, I have to write my midterm." You slip away as you threw your untouched coffee in the trash. The thought of drinking coffee disgusted you all of a sudden. Your brain associated the beverage with Johnny as he was the one that introduced it to you during your first year of university.

You walked out of your exam and saw Taeyong waiting patiently outside. He had his fair share of fans around campus but he never entertained them as much as some of the other members of the team. He was often depicted as cold and scary so not many people approached him, unaware that he's one of the most kind-hearted people in your life.

"Hey, how did it go?" He asked you meekly.

"Pretty sure I bombed it," you sigh, "what about yours?"

"The twisted thing is that those cheat sheets force you to study so I guess I don't need to kill my roommate." You both laugh.

"Hey what are you guys laughing at?" You hear the voice you were dreading from behind you.

"I'll see you later, Taeyong." You say before quickly finding a new path for your afternoon.

"Is she okay?" Johnny asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"That's not for me to answer." Taeyong shrugs.

You try your best to act normal for practice that evening. You go through your usual motions of getting everyone taped up and ready but everyone seemed to notice your usual lack of spirit and friendly banter with the team. Even your junior trainers talk quietly about whether you broke up with Johnny despite you telling them repetitively that there wasn't anything going on between the two of you. You avoid his eye contact as their coach runs through their plays and generally avoid looking at him in general during the whole practice.

When the training room cleared out, you were left with Johnny again and you tried to rush through wrapping his ice bag onto his knee when he grabs your hand. He bends his neck down again to look into your eyes which were starting to fill up with tears.

"Hey what's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm just stressed about midterms." You turn away from him to wipe your tears.

"I'm sure you did fine," he uses his strength to force you to face him. "You're the smartest person I know."

"A lot of good that does me." You scoff.

"Did I do something?" He asked.

"It's nothing, Johnny. I'm fine." You insist but he's not convinced.

"Are you mad at me or something?" He finally struck a chord with you.

You can only look at him for a moment as you try to tell him why you're upset with him. How do you word this without making things even more complicated than they already are?

"You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just dumb and thought I was special but I'm just like every other girl out there for you. It's my fault." You try to force a smile but he only looks at you in confusion.

"Other girls? What other girls? Oh did you see me with…" he pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he lets out a breath of frustration. "That bitch…" he mumbles to himself.

"What?" You say.

"You saw that, didn't you?" He read the expression on your face before continuing, "we were just talking about midterms when she suddenly sits on me. I asked what she was doing and she said she saw her ex and needed a cover because she's trying to get across the point that she's not into him anymore."

You continue to look at him, trying to figure out whether he's telling the truth when he continues his explanation.

"Did you see me touching her at all?" You shook your head in response. "I didn't want to push her off, I might have hurt her so I just let her be. Now I'm thinking she only did that because she saw you." He took your cold hands in his. "I only like you, alright? I've always liked you otherwise I wouldn't bug you so much about everything."

"But I keep rejecting and you can have literally any girl you want." You say quietly.

"And where am I? Hanging out with you whenever I can. Waiting for basketball to be over so we can maybe be an actual couple." He laughs.

"Really?" You ask with tear soaked eyes.

"Yeah." He says.

"That's… kind of dumb." You say with a soft laugh,

"Thanks, I love you too." He smiles, running his thumb over the lines of your hand.