#totally wrote this bc I was watching this YouTuber try dresses

[purplebass]

A soft name but she uses it like a knife: an analysis of Lila's identities

Because I think about Lila so much and because I like to analyze names and symbolism so much... I realized something about her given names. I could write an essay about her multiple identities and Kell's but maybe in the future. Tes says that names are a valuable thing and people used personal names to curse those they disliked. Her birth name is Delilah which means "delicate". When Kell first meets her, he thinks that she has a soft name but she uses it like a knife, which is an accurate description of her character.

Only the people closest to her call her Lila, which is more informal. Lila Bard is a double faced matryoshka, we could say. There is one side she shows the people closest to her, which are few, and another side she only shows Kell. He's the only one who sees the tiniest doll in the heart of it all, and even so, there are still sides to her that he doesn't know. He's also the only character she openly told that it was fine to call her Lila after their first meeting.

According to other sources, Delilah could also be the epithet for "traitor" because in the Bible, Delilah cuts Samson's hair and he loses his strength (interesting fact that when Holland and part of Kell's magic end up in the inheritor, their hair turned white - could be inspired by this? Bets are on).

Delilah is also pronounced De-lie-la and I believe she is one of the characters who lies the most in this series and her pov is not 100% trustworthy (which I see as an amusing thing bc she is harder to figure out and it's fun when her lies are unmasked!). She introduces herself with her full name to everyone, but only few people keep calling her Delilah instead of Lila (among them Holland, Nadiya, and Ren). They aren't close, hence they don't dare to use her shortened name, I guess. It's also a way to distance themselves from her or to treat her with respect.

Delilah Bard is one of the identities she has, one she couldn't choose (because her parents gave her this name). Delilah Bard is the exterior, the person on the outside. Even when the text describes her and uses Delilah and not Lila, it's to paint a picture of her from an external point of view. We can explain who she is by thinking about a matryoshka doll: Delilah Bard is the bigger doll, the one everyone sees. Inside there are different sides to her: the magician, the thief, the captain, which have different names as well (the Sarows, the Shadow Thief, casero Bard, even Stasion Elsor).

Lila is the name she seems to prefer for herself, and the name which connects her to her magical part because one of the meaning of this name also refers to the lilac tree. When Lila calls her magic, mostly fire magic, she uses a line from Blake's poem: "Tyger, tyger, burning bright,". The "tiger lily" is also a species of lily flower. Her name Lila then encompasses her magical connection to Red London because it is connected to a flower. But it's yet another interesting connection to Kell because well, the tiger lily is orange-red with black spots. The tiger lily flower is also toxic for cats and we know that Esa doesn't seem to like Lila that much and the feeling is mutual. lol

If you want me to write about more of this stuff send me asks please 🥺

[narilgc]

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐀 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 . . . but i don’t regret the thing that i did !! hello all, i’ve been keeping this under wraps for the past few days but on a whim i’ve decided to bring on my second ( and last, i promise ) muse for the ride !! with that being said, it is jada here, max’s mun, but this time i’m presenting to you the wonderful im nari !! she was my initial idea before max, but i loved her too much to get rid of her !! i’m so excited for her to be here and i really hope she’s well received as well !! i’ve been slow on his acc for the past few days, and she’s the reason why, but now that i’ve gotten my life ( mostly ) together & things are running just fine again !! anyways, her profile’s here, and below you can find some general trivia on her as well as connection ideas !! oh, and like this to plot ! 

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 :

from damyang, south korea !!  a v small agricultural town & was born into humble beginnings - a seamstress for a mom, and her dad a farmer !! so she lived on a small farm when she was younger and was raised with pigs, cows, and goats as pets !

she helped around the farm her whole time she lived home, so she has a lot of life skills t & knows all about caring for animals and tending the farm !

they weren’t well off by any means - they had a small income to spread thin between all those people - but they made it work !! she never felt truly slighted as she knew their situation, in fact in her own way, she was spoiled in the best way she could be given their predicament.

raised in a household full of boys - she’s the youngest w a family of 6 loud, rowdy boys.

so in a way she’s more of a tomboy, used to roughhousing and all her sibling’s antics !! she’s also used to doing a lot of heavy lifting around the farm so has surprising strength for her size.

on the other hand, being the youngest & only daughter has upped the girliness !! she’s used to being babied so knows all about acting cute & her mom was always using her as an experiment for all her clothes !! was raised on handmade dresses her mom made in all sorts of intricate patterns & loved it !!

has been an actress in the making for a g e s !!! it all started when she was a really young kid, her mom would let her watch the tv in the tailor shop so she’d have something to do while her mom was at work !!

so there was this drama “a rolling hills romance” ( which i TOTALLY made up lmao !! ) that she absolutely loooved !! it was about a farm romance and was one of the only ones she saw that wasn’t taking place in the city !! it just got her in love with acting in general though, she’d eventually memorize scenes from all the dramas she’d watch and recite them out of the blue !!!

eventually it got her into theatre acting, which was her favorite !! she started watching broadway shows from abroad, memorizing the songs even though she didn’t always know what they were saying. but she just loooved the whole thing, and when she was in middle school she joined her school’s theatre department !

this is where the majority of her english skills came into play - she would memorize the lyrics, and though she didn’t really know what they were saying after a while she began to understand some words !! so while her pronunciation is pretty good from mimicking actors, she lacks the vocab to really use it !!

so she’s really hesitant to speak in english, because if people hear her speak they think she’s a lot more fluent than she is & it lands her in awkward situations !! so she mainly just ... doesn’t do that lol !!

i can’t believe i forgot this when i first wrote this !! this is a very vital part of her character omg !! her first “acting debut” if you could call it that was for a chocolate commercial when she was 8 !! basically she was in this christmas commercial for peppermint chocolates that got on tv and everyone in her town went crazy !! she like goes and delivers these chocolates while singing jingle bells and it’s wholesome and cute and swet !! it wasn’t that big at all lol but for their small town it was, and to them she’s a sort of small celebrity for it !! i’m sure some people might remember the commercial but notlike .... her yk ?? because that was her first and last role for a while lol !!

anyways !! she’s always been self-conscious of her looks - she felt like she wasn’t pretty enough, and limited her confidence. so at 16 she got 2 part-time jobs to begin saving up money, and at 17 she went to seoul to get a nose job & jaw reduction surgery.

and things seemed to be great after that !! she was confident, gaining more friends, but the real excitement came when her mom read online about an audition for legacy and jokingly asked if she wanted to do it. 

legacy had never even be on her radar !! she had always heard her friends talk about them for idols, but she had never thought of them as a company that accepted actresses. upon reading though, she was hooked !! she begged her parents, and they originally rejected the idea because they thought it was one of her phases. however, after much persuasion, they allowed her to attend auditions !!

she never expected to get in, she wanted to do it more as an experience than anything. but to say it was a shock was an understatement !! but she was so so incredibly happy.

had a hard time adjusting initially - she was only 17, and almost right after getting there she had to spend her birthday alone since she hadn’t made any friends yet. and although she’s naturally outgoing, it was really hard for her to be social at first because she was surrounded by so many more people than she was used to !!

for the past few years nari’s been doing general idol training, though that’s about to change !! she’s significantly improved her dance skills ( which were nearly nonexistent prior to training ) & gotten a lot better at her singing !! but her heart’s still deep into acting, and she knows that she wants to do that as well as some modeling !

she still suffers a lot with her self confidence, and there’s a lot of pressure for her to do well ! in school, because she’s the first of her family to go to university, and as a trainee, because she’s risked so much for it & doesn’t want to disappoint since her family has v high expectations for her !

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 :

a little lovebug !! she’s literally so loving and accepting of everyone - definitely, someone you can come to talk out any issues, she listens & provides support, free of any judgement !! also v keen on skinship i apologize in advance

she’s come out of her shell a lot since she got to seoul, but she’s still a little shy if she doesn’t know you well or is put in a situation w a lot of people !! pls be patient with her ^^

like max, she’s got a lot of energy in that little body !! but she actually has adhd so a lot of it isn’t really by choice. it frustrates her a lot because it limits her focus & has the tendency to make her restless. it was worse when she was younger, but has gotten better as she’s gotten older and she takes medicine to keep everything in check.

she’s also got v low self-confidence, she’s never been satisfied with herself and constantly wants to get better !! despite the surgeries, she’s still got a lot of insecurities both physically and not, but keeps them bottled up a lot bc she doesn’t want to burden others !! ( i want to shake her !! ) bc of that, she takes both criticism & compliments very seriously, she’ll turn all red if someone gives her the smallest compliment but will also overanalyze & judge herself if she gets critiqued. 

in fact her surgery’s almost made her more self-conscious, as she now feels that all the opportunities granted to her are because of her looks post-surgery. the worst insult she could get was she’s only succeeding because of her looks, because she’s worked so hard on her skills and she wants them to be what takes her forward, not something she had to pay to get.

despite that, she’s the true definition of a happy virus !! on the outside, she’s almost always smiling, and when all the other stuff doesn’t get in the way, she is on the inside too !! always trying to look on the optimistic side & give people a fresh perspective !

on that note she’s v childish, and sometimes she has to remind herself w younger trainees coming in she’s being seen as more of an example and needs to be ~serious~!!

the duality is real !! in performances, sad / angry scenes are actually her specialty, and right after she’ll just spring up and smile like what’s up guys !!! a lil creepy when she goes from sobbing to giggling so she’s learned to transition a little better lmao !!

she always wanted to be a youtuber, but never got the chance, and by the time she joined legacy she wasn’t allowed to have an account. so now she has these little vlogs she does to send her parents ! they’re mainly of her getting ready, hanging out with friends, and practicing ( all out of training hours, ofc ) so she can often be found seemingly talking to herself, even though she’s really recording videos !! 

though being an idol wasn’t her initial dream, she adores the music. her love for the kpop genre has made the last few years more bearable, and girl crush concepts are her absolute favorite !! she’s been religiously keeping up w future dreams like she’s still just a fan back at home, and you’ll catch her humming all around the company building !!

in fact, prior to joining legacy, she had a fan blog for all her faves where she would provide commentary called ri raves !! it was ... a sight !! 

she’s pansexual, and leaning towards girls !! it’s something she’s really shy about sharing bc of the fear of judgment, but if she tells you know you have all her trust !!

a little spoiled tbh !! she’s got the youngest child syndrome BAD, and since she was the only girl she’s used to things being done for her !! not in the bratty way, it’s just made her a little lazy and she loooooves attention and being doted on.

don’t let her appearance fool you though !! she’s got surprising strength ... strong woman do bong soon’s not her favorite show for no reason !!! all those years of defending herself from her brothers’ teasing had to come in handy, you know ?? we’ve got a black belt in hapkido here folks !!

definition of a theatre kid, starts bursting out into songs she loves out of nowhere omg it’s embarrassing ?? also overreacts about everything omg the world is on fire according to her !! she’s gotta faint dramatically !!!

she’s got the jeolla-do dialect, and prior to working on her standard dialect it was veeery prominent ! it makes her say a lot of words differently than someone from seoul might, and after realizing she was one of the only ones with it she’s been trying to make her speech sound more like standard korean nowadays.

she’s taken up sewing from her mom, and especially loves embroidery !! so she always loves upcycling & spicing her outfits up !!

definitely has a unique fashion sense because of it - in addition to that she’s very frugal, and favors thrifted clothing !! she’s got a mix of vintage, chic, and artsy style !

 a rule follower !! veeery unlike max, she tends to stick to the rules out of fear of what will happen if she doesn’t, because she has way too much on the line to quit now !

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 :

acting buddies ?? i know there aren’t too many, but even if that’s not your muse’s preferred career path, any muses who have a passion for theatre are welcomed as well !!

someone who unlike her, is v wild and lives on the crazier side !! she’s constantly going into a responsible panic when they’re around and they’re always trying to get her to loosen up !!

someone who co-stars in her little vlogs to her family !! hey, if you can’t be youtubers for real you might as well pretend, right ??

someone who made her adjustment to seoul easier as she transitioned from country to city life !! they’ve lived in seoul for a long time / their whole life and know all the best spots to show her !!

someone who’s clothing she likes to spice up, she’s always embroidering or adding pattern to their clothes to give their outfit a little flair !

someone who knows her past her happy side, who she’s got on speed dial whenever she’s feeling down and needs someone to talk to, and vice versa !!

someone who she came out too, be it on purpose or by accident, and it’s caused her to grow really attached to them bc it’s one of the most personal things about her !

a girl she’s got a crush on but is terrified to tell !!! like yes you’re pretty .... but these things are never easy !!! she’s gonna tell you .... eventually !!

and ofc - exes, flirtationships, summer loves, anything of the sort !

someone she lowkey fangirls over ?? she still hasn’t accepted the fact that she & the other trainees are kinda on the same level, someone she’s kind of became a fan of and can’t really function around them ??

by some crazy chance, this person has come across her old kpop fan blog at one time or another and won’t !!! let !!! her !!! live !!! it !!! down !!! will you accept her bribe and swear to never bring it up again ??? please ???

someone she doesn’t like ??? this is v rare but ... for one reason or another, she can’t stand them and transforms to a completely diff person around them !!

someone who made the mistake of teasing her a little too much or insulted her so much that she just straight-up tries to take them down !!! v unexpectedly !! bonus if it’s someone way out of her fighting capabilities !!

more ideas coming when i create an official plots page !!

[cerealmonster15]

yo fam i read ur grifnut/rvbnut tags,,like just make a post, i want to reblog this

OOH u mean my tags on this post yea? i’ll just make it THIS POST 8))) i was just gonna screencap all them juicy tags but since rvbnut [best term ever thank u for that] is otp, i will retype for better readability + i thought of some extra things to throw in, so here we go:

as mentioned already, there’s donut’s super secret diary where donut describes"gazing silently into each other’s visors” and feeling a connection, as well has having sat in grif’s lap”. i very much believe donut had a crush on grif at some point

there’s some PSA or something that for the life of me I can’t remember the name of, and it might just be a dvd extra cause I found it on youtube not through the rvb channel, where the reds are getting on motorcycles to go somewhere and grif has to share w/donut, and hes Very Hesitant and i dont remember what exactly donut was saying but it was Very Suggestive how he was telling grif to get behind him and hold on tight or w/e, and when grif didnt wanna get on it with him he was like “whats wrong ;(?? dont be shy~”

ive pulled out my book now and donut describes the play they put on for tucker as being about “the band of handsome male survivors braving the elements together” so, donut thinks he + the other BGC members are handsome

“The first thing the doctor did when we got him back over to our base was pin Sarge against the wall with the Warthog. I always thought if anyone was going to ram Sarge up to the wall, it would be me, seeing as how I’ve been angling for a promotion lately” -another entry in donut’s diary. i honest to god have no idea how this could be taken as an innuendo, bc it straight up sounds like donut wants to fuck his way to the top

also in the book, simmons’ self insert fanfiction “Hero In Maroon” has… a special scene with “Donut the Enchanter,” who is “spreading his temptation magic through scandalous dancing.” This is SIMMONS writing this, and simmons has himself say “Tell me what you know about Sarge, else I will have to run you through with my long sword” and, sure, he has donut speak in innuendos and reply to that line with “I like where this is gong. Maybe I’ll keep you here… FOREVER!” but like, simmons literally wrote himself throwing an innuendo to donut. then you have the next few lines “DONUT USES OFFICER HOT PANTS HANDCUFF ATTACK” “”Oh no!” Simmons exclaims. A bed appears behind him. His hands are cuffed to it.” And while the next line is just donut laughing and saying “Now you must watch my rendition of the musical CATS” so while donut wasnt gonna do anything creepy, this really sounds like simmons writing a self insert fic that includes a provocative donut flirting with him while talking about musicals…. simmons dont repress ur crush on donut

^not to mention the officer hot pants comes from donut having dressed up and jumped out of a cake for sarge’s birthday……..

at the finale scene of s13, donut says “I love you, too, Lopez”

Donut lived offscreen with Doc in valhalla, and then was dropped back off there to continue living in valhalla with doc (and lopez’s head) (i could talk for 60 years about them but anyone who’s followed me long enough has heard it all before and i’m tryin to keep the points b r i e f lol)

church has said “I like donut. He’s pretty harmless, man. I-I don’t think he’d hurt a fly.” and upon finding out donut got crushed by a spaceship, he paused his snarking to say “Oh, wait, the pink guy? Oh, I actually liked him!” to which grif replies “Seriously, what’s with all these feelings for donut?” 

tucker, thinking donut was a girl bc pink armor, asked donut if he “wanted to date one of us” and then called donut a “tease” when he said he wasn’t a girl

donut polished tucker’s codpiece 3 times when he and caboose were helping tucker get the black gunk off his armor, saying something along the lines of “a 3-coat waxing is just my way of saying I Care :)”

epsilon!tucker, while not canon to actual tucker, is implied to have jacked off to donut bc he thought he was a girl 

seems to be implied that tucker and donut were both assigned to the same desert location when everyone got split up, and donut passed out from thirst/exhaustion trying to get tucker’s distress call to the others

in The Best Red vs Blue DVD Ever of All Time, there’s a scene where tucker and donut are introducing “best couple.” Donut goes on about romance, while tucker says couple doesn’t necessarily mean romance, and  that “you[donut] think everything is romance! last week you called it romance when i accidentally took a bite of your sandwich” “was it really an accident tucker? was it?” “YES!” “time will tell” “ugh, whatever-” dudes, donut totally had a crush on tucker at least once

i dont have a good source but i remember seeing in a post a while back that there was a scrapped plotline that was gonna be a love triangle between donut, a “confused caboose”, and an unknown third party

i’m willing to bet the confused caboose bit is because caboose seems to have thought (and maybe still does? who knows) that donut was a girl, likely because of the armor. in caboose’s mind, donut’s a girl who says things like “I love caboose, and yet, I’m still afraid of him, he’s so scary :)” [cause he seems to think of himself as intimidating to the red team lol], and then in Head Canon, caboose!donut says something like “i like [something] almost as i like to paint my nails and not talk to boys. i would never talk to boys, especially not caboose for some reason!” which… is hard to make sense of tbh lol, but since everyone in caboose’s mind is how caboose perceives them, it maybe seems like caboose doesnt get as much of donut’s attention as he’d like?? lmfao, it sounds like “not caboose for some reason” means caboose doesn’t really understand either. 

donut tearily said to caboose way back in KITBFF: “ Mister Caboose, I just want you to know that even though we are on different teams, and we may never see each other again, whatever happens out there today, I’ll always remember the moments we shared together. You are now, and forever will be… my friend.” very emotional if i do say so myself

there’s this reconstruction deleted scene where i guess donut had gotten transferred to doing special agent stuff w/wash’s division or something (wash calls him Special Agent Donut so, i guess lol). Wash speaks in donut innuendos the whole time he’s talkin about donut [”He’s a back door expert” “if there’s an unsecured rear entrance, he’s your man” “legend has it he can get through even the tightest cracks-” lmfao and they address each other by name, so i like to think they’ve worked together and donut’s… mannerisms… have been Rubbing Off on wash ;p

^also in that deleted scene caboose goes “DONUT! :D” when donut appears and talks, so he’s clearly excited to see him!!!!!!!!! 

ahem. point being: the bgc needs to embrace the donut love and i firmly believe that if someone didnt have a crush on donut, donut had a crush on one of them at some point in time

[jejublr]

Seatmate!Hoshi

A/N: Anon and Cinderella Anon requested for Seatmate!Hoshi this time! I’m sorry I haven’t been updating bc of school but I have my drafts saved so don’t worry! I’m still writing! To those who are back at school, I hope you guys are doing great! To those still on summer vacation (and to all of you in general): STAY HYDRATED!!!

This one was really fun to write because, let’s be honest, Kwon Soonyoung is everybody’s bias wrecker. Even if you don’t have him as a bias, he’s somewhere lurking on the top of your bias lists don’t lie to me. This one’s a long one so I hope you all enjoy and have a great day~! ^^

How do I start with this guy

Calls himself 10:10 because of his slanted eyes cute

This kid is also pretty hyper ok

Once got into detention because he randomly stood up on his desk in the middle of a lesson to shout “IT’S 10:10″ when the clock strikes 

Often has random dance offs with Junior!Seokmin and it’s the most hilarious thing to watch

Has a lot of friends from every grade because he’s so fun to be around

Cares a lot about his underclassmen and is the one of the nicest upperclassmen around

Everybody knows Soonyoung’s really good at dancing

And I mean, real good

He even has his own YouTube channel NaegaHosh where he dances his own choreos to pop songs

Most people at school follows him and even the teachers stalk his videos lol

Soonyoung is basically in everyone’s good book

Well, everyone’s but yours

You see, you’re childhood rivals

You can say you’re a pretty chill person

You have your own group of friends you usually hang out with but you’re on good terms with people in general

Nobody can deny that you’re an equally talented dancer

You may have a different style from Soonyoung but your dancing is just as captivating as his

While Soonyoung’s style is leaning towards breakdance, you style leans towards contemporary ballet

And it gets pretty heated and entertaining to see you both try out-do each other during the end of year talent shows

For few years in a row, the winner would either be you or Soonyoung

Usually you guys take turns

People are so tired of it tbh

“Just kiss already.”

Your friends like to tease you that your resentment is just internalized crush

But you’re in deniaaallll /guitar rift/

Anyways, you decided early on into the year that you will beat Soonyoung once and for all by winning for the second consecutive year

The story starts in the early morning of your Junior year in high school

So the system in your school was they always pick people randomly to be put into a new class every year

So you can be friends with everyone

And guess what? 

You’re in Soonyoung’s class

For the second consecutive year

People were groaning internally because here we go again

Being in the same class with you both was like being in a real-life drama

Because everybody knows you’re childhood rivals

And imagine the tension of sitting behind two people who are always ready to rip each other to shreds

The teacher was aware of this and tired of this s*** so she decided to sit you guys together this year

What was she thinking lmao

You guys might wonder the backstory behind this age-long rivalry

It began once upon a kindergarten

You never really had any beef with Soonyoung

He’s pretty hyper as a kid; got his hair stuck up everywhere and always the one to break it down on the ol’ kindergarten dance floor

Ok dark secret here; but you had a crush on Soonyoung back then bc he reminds you so much of your hamster Cici omggg

You let him steal your sandwich and borrow your color pencil during art as a result of this crush

This crush went on until that time in second grade when your school held Nutcracker 

And he totally stole your role as the Nutcracker bc you were sick during the dress rehearsal

By the time you got better the night before the show, they had given the role to Soonyoung

So you got stuck playing a candy cane tragic

IMAGINE THE BETRAYAL

That night marked the day you got your first heartbreak and sworn to make Kwon Soonyoung pay one day

Yeah, you’re a pretty dramatic bitter child and you continue to carry that bitterness up till this day

Anyways

It’s that time of the year again

Tension is in the air, looks shared between people

It’s the annual talent show

People are sharing nervous glances bc when are they finally gonna lose it

And by “they”, they meant you and Soonyoung

When you saw the form pinned on the bulletin board this morning, you never wrote your name faster

But guess what? By lunchtime, Soonyoung already had his name scribbled under yours

It’s officially on

“Watch your back, Kwon.”

“Good luck.”

Funnily, you were both dragged into the principal’s office by the time school’s out

“This year, you won’t be participating” the principal said

“What.”

“People are getting discouraged signing up for the auditions bc they know that in the end, the winner would only be between the both of you. That’s why I decided to remove you both from the competition this year.

“And no, Soonyoung, if you think you’re entitled just because your internet name Hoshi means star, you can find your way out.”

You were about to snicker when she went “Y/N, you will not find it funny when I tell you that you two will work together to create and perform a dance to be showcased during the talentshow. While you’re not participating, you and Soonyoung both

You went 0_0 w hat

“I’m not going to work with them!” both you and Sonyoung said in unison

The teacher was like “lmao get over it kids, it’s 2K17″ and then sauntered off like a bo$$

You realized you didn’t have a choice but to do as she said to be able to perform this year

And you see no point to arguing

So you both begrudgingly agreed to do the collab

At first, you and Soonyoung wouldn’t meet in the middle

You try to find faults in each other’s dancing, to 

You ended up trying to sabotage yourselves

Also, you still didn't have the right music to dance with so you and Soonyoung were a complete wreck

Also bc you kept arguing which song to pick smh

It came to a point that one day, Soonyoung went up to Senior!Jihoon 

“Hey, can you whip up some swaggy beats for my performance for the talent show?”

“Tell me a reason why I shouldn’t hit you with a guitar right now.”

“I’ll buy you a burger.”

“I can buy a burger.”

“I’ll buy you a hundred burgers.”

“Deal.”

So that’s how Soonyoung had gotten himself the perfect remix for the dance the next Monday

When you listened to it for the first time, you knew, it’s perfect

Because somehow, Jihoon was able to mesh songs to create one that would work perfectly with you and Soonyoung’s style

And so you two began to work

And you couldn’t help but observe Soonyoung as he worked 

Because you’ve never seen someone do something so passionately

Soonyoung gave his all in his dance and it’s something everybody can see

Watching Soonyoung work his magic woke up something in you

Funnily, you don’t feel intimidated at all

For once, you embraced the fact that you now work with Soonyoung, not against him

So you ended up enjoying it a bit

So you’re finally done with the last steps of planning the choreography

It’s time for you to test it out for yourselves

So you played the music and danced

And you both had gotten so wrapped up in the music and with each other that when the music ended in a crescendo, you suddenly found yourself tangled in his arms

And you were so close in each others arms and he could see the specks in your eyes and suddenly he could feel his breath hitch 

Because Oh no, you’re actually really attractive. How could he not see this?

And all of the sudden, he became hyper aware of how close you both are, his hands on your hips and your warm breaths mingling

It wasn’t until you pulled away that he went woah

Because what was that???

You on the other hand

You tried to play it cool, but inside?? 

You can’t deny you and Soonyoung have a tension chemistry 

But God forbid if your age-old crush was revived 

You thought it was the time you spent together that drew you closer

I mean, you meet the guy in class then spend the rest of the afternoon choreographing and dancing with him

You’d expect yourself to be at each other’s throats 

But you grew comfortable with his presence???

It’s like you started to care about each other

You never really showed it but it’s there

Like that time it was raining by the time you both finished

You had forgotten to bring your umbrella and he basically forced you to use his instead as he dove right into the rain

(The next day you gave it back to him with a small thank you note slipped inside)

He thought it was cute

And that other time when you noticed he looked rather pale and tired

So when you went to the convenient store near the school on your break, you bought him an extra carton of milk and bread

He looked confused as heck when you gave it to him

“I don’t want you to collapse a week before the show, Kwon.”

You totally didn’t blush

You also noticed the change in Soonyoung’s behavior 

When you caught him starring at you in class one day, you were like “What are you looking at, nerd?”

He said “Your hair looks nice today.”

“My hair looks nice everyday, thank.”

And while he didn't say anything in return, you swear you heard him whisper “Yeah it does.”

It’s so confusing bc what’s happening? Why is he suddenly like this? Does he..like me????

And while it’s a nice change from having to bicker everyday, you started to wonder what happened that triggered this change

Bc this is not the standard Soonyoung behavior

Also maybe bc you miss the bickering a little bit

But practice went on like usual

Before you know it, it’s the day of the show

Everyone’s freaking out

And you were too bc this reminded you too much of the first time you performed on stage

The adrenaline and the nervousness coiled in your stomach like a snake strangling its prey

In a way, this does count as your first dance

Your first time dancing with a partner

Your heart skipped a bit when you saw him in the dressing room, made up and dressed in all black

And you stopped in your track bc he looked good

You missed the look he gave you as he scanned you head to toe

He had to stop himself from blushing bc oh my god it’s happening, he’s going to dance with this attractive person

He must’ve sensed your nervousness bc he turned to you

“Hey, don’t sweat it. You’ll do great. I promise.”

Those little words gave you a boost

You can say it’s like his way of saying “good luck”

But who needs luck when you got Kwon Soonyoung amirite

The stage dimmed and it’s just Soonyoung and you and the music

Your body seemed to move on its own, giving up all control to muscle memory and to Soonyoung

You memorized the routine like the back of your hand

Soonyoung’s touches and your eyes teasing, almost sensual, writing a story only the two of you knew

And to say that you wow-ed the audience was an understatement

You bombed the place

You were so in tune with both the song and with each other that what was supposed to be a three-minute dance felt like mere seconds

Before you know it, the song was over, you’re in his arms and you’re both breathing hard

It just felt..fleeting

The show was easily a success

Nobody thought you would work so well together after all those years of rivalry

But it just proves how two great dancers could overcome boundaries if they had enough will

Your friends and family crowded you when the show was over,

They went to congratulate you and tell you how amazing the performance was

But you could only think about Soonyoung

You wanted to thank him for the hard work he’s put into the performance and for all the times he took care of you

You tried to swallow the sinking feeling realizing that it’s over now

You’ll go back to your live before the dance and he’ll go back to his

As the tension was revolved by the time you spent working together on the dance, you knew there was no more reason for you to start something against him

Because you’ve grown so accustomed to him, and him to you

It’s like a routine you couldn’t shake off

It was at that moment that you realized you liked having Soonyoung around

Speaking of Soonyoung

You found him propped up on the edge of the stage, the lights from the projector up in the projector room far ahead in the the auditorium casting white light on him, his silhouette a giant background on the stage

Your silhouette joined his as you plopped down next to him

“What are you doing?” you asked him

“I like sitting along in a theater like this. Makes you feel small.”

“I had fun” you admitted

His lips quirked into a lopsided smile, his bunny teeth showing

“I had fun, too.”

You joined in as you took in the view

How the place seems so vast with the empty red velvet seats

“Hey, Y/N.. about that Nutcracker incident?” Soonyoung started

“What about it?”

“Can I pay you back with a kiss??”

FFFF WOT

And you expected him to suddenly say “SIKE.” and for someone to jump out of the curtains with a camera but it didn’t come

Instead, Soonyoung was looking at you with what seems to be apprehensiveness 

And the realization hit you like a truck

Bc he literally just asked you if he could kiss you to make up to all that childhood bitterness

At this point, Soonyoung looked ready to apologize and disappear from the face of the earth but before anything

You dove in like a hawk

You didn’t know what to expect when your lips finally locked but the kiss was chaste, almost shy even

The kiss felt like your dance; brief, fleeting, teasing

But it brought a certain fulfillment in your heart

When you pulled away, Soonyoung’s cheeks were colored red and he couldn’t stop smiling

“Oh. Oh.”

“What??” you feel yourself heat up in embarrassment 

“...Can I kiss you again??”

“Oh my god.”

So at the end of that night, Soonyoung walked you home, with your pasts melting off like candy with every step that you take and laughter that you shared

And in the end, the kid who once stole your sandwich and role in that grade school musical ended stealing your heart, too