#well at least someone thinks i'm doing okay

[harmless-variety-of-garden-snake]

For the kids make me write thingy, bucktommy 33? ❤️

(...forcefully)

Okay the typo made me smile so this is the goofy bullshit you're getting I'm so sorry.

This isn't how Tommy pictured his wedding day. For one, he wasn't picturing a tiara. For another, he'd always imagined he'd be wearing a tux or a suit and not a t-shirt that defines a helicopter pilot as "someone who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge."

To be fair, the officiant was also usually not a determined four-year-old wearing butterfly wings and a Spider-Man costume.

Really, the only thing that's matching up is the fact that he's sitting across from a smiling Evan, who is wearing a bow tie, but it's a clip-on resting on one of Tommy's Harbor shirts.

Also, the ring-bearer is a drooling Kevin, who's sitting in his bouncy chair and mashing Gerber Puffs into his mouth. That one's close to the fantasy, at least.

"Now, kiss!" Jee demands. "Or you're not married."

Tommy leans in and pecks Evan on the lips, and there's a huff of displeasure.

"No, real kiss!"

Yeah, okay, she's in a bossy phase. At least it's a cute bossy phase. Her cheeks get all puffed out when she pouts.

Evan bites back a smile before grabbing Tommy by the face and mashing their lips together for a long moment. It's not sexy, it's not even tender, but it's going to make the top ten list based on the fact that neither of them can stop smiling.

"Okay, that's too long," Jee says, patting Tommy's elbow. "You can stop."

Tommy sits back and reaches up to straighten his precariously perched tiara. "Sorry, we got a little carried away. Do we get to have a party now?"

"No," she says solemnly, dragging her brother's chair forward. "Now you have to take care of your baby."

"I thought this was your baby," Evan reminds her.

She stands up and brushes invisible lint off her costume. "No, he's yours now. I'm gonna go potty."

She toddles off, and Tommy looks down at Kevin and then up at Evan. "Well, I didn't think it would happen like this, but at least he's cute."

Evan brushes crumbs off Kevin's onesie and lifts the baby out of the chair, kissing his chubby cheeks. "I don't think Maddie's going to be onboard with it, but we can turn the office into a nursery. Isn't that right?"

Tommy rests a hand on the baby's back and leans in to kiss his cheek and then Evan's, his heart exploding behind his sternum when Evan's smile widens at the touch of his lips.

[earlysunshines]

dontcha (want me?)

kang haerin x fem!reader ; fluff

synopsis: haerin doesn’t like you just because and then you hit her in the head with a volleyball and now she has a valid reason to not like you but now YOU have a reason to try to warm up to her

warnings: volleyball player!reader ; haerin is just like me in this I easily hate ; brief one sided enemies to lovers but very brief ; reader lowk whipped ; haerin whipped but she hides it better... maybe ; pure fluff no angst isn't that crazy ; so cute icl ; anything else I didn't mention ; haven't written in twenty years basically this is nooot my best ; not proofread

a/n: you don't understand how much i appreciate haerin's cover of dontcha (listen while you read!! or at least near the second half lolol) bc I'm so obsessed I keep looping the song that song is my everything... also, tried a diff pacing/writing style so lmk what u guys think :-P

haerin never really liked you. 

she’s never actually met you, but in her defense, once she has a reason not to like someone (or that tiny feeling in her gut that draws her away), the feeling grows and grows—quietly, steadily—until it fills every space it can. and you? you’ve given her plenty to work with.

considering your athletic reputation as the university’s star outside hitter, you're relatively well-known around campus. that’s her first strike—not that it’s a bad thing, just enough for haerin to put you in a different world in her mind. two sides of a coin. peas of different pods—and so forth. you’re louder, more outgoing, bright in a way that feels abrasive to her more reserved nature.

your friends don’t help your case either. they snicker during lectures while haerin is trying to take notes, organize her planner, or simply pay attention. even in the halls of the building or on the  respective way to your classes—you somehow manage to pass by her at least twice a day—-your friends are making you push them away because they made you laugh too hard and suddenly the quiet of the arts building is filled with your voice.

so, she didn’t really acknowledge you at first despite the connections you shared with two of her friends eunchae and minji. but when you decided to switch majors before your second semester and started spending more time in her building, ruining the comfortable routine and atmosphere,  that was the beginning of her personal second semester curse.

(haerin’s heard of the infamous second semester curse; she figured it’d just be due to a heavier academic load and whatnot, not for it to manifest in the form of you.)

and if she was being honest, you’d never actually done anything to her. haerin was just being a little more judgmental than she liked to admit—or as her best friend danielle would say, “you’re just being the usual haerin”—and you, all bright and loud, were simply everything she wasn’t very fond of. it was easier to dislike you that way.

but today, she finally had a tangible reason to back up her detestation.

“holy shit—” haerin hears you curse, your voice panicked as sneakers squawk against the gym floor.

the world spins a little as haerin presses her palm against her head, wincing. 

you’re already sprinting over, wide-eyed and breathless, guilt written all over your face as you slow down to a stop.

“i’m so sorry,” you blurt, unsure of what to do now that you’re right in front of her. “i swear i wasn’t aiming for you—are you okay? can you stand? should i get someone? oh my god i’m so sorry!”

your voice fully registers in her mind and through the haze of pain, haerin blinks up at you.

of course it had to be you.

of course you had to hit her.

of course you had to look at her like that—so worried, so intense.

and for some reason, that annoys her even more.

“i’m fine.” haerin says through gritted teeth, holding the side of her face that was pummeled by a volleyball. now it makes sense why you’re the star outside hitter, because it hurt. it wasn’t even your worst spike. 

she grumbles, “could you watch where you’re hitting next time?”

“i’m so sorry, really.” you hesitate, hand still hovering awkwardly in the air before it reaches over to haerin’s so you can check the side of her face, but she steps back.

“seriously,” she says, sharper this time. “i’m fine.”

you flinch a little at her tone, guilt flashing across your features before you try to cover it up with a sheepish smile. 

“right, um, sorry.” you say, backing off and biting the inside of your lip. “but seriously, i’m so sorry. you can, um, like, hit me back if you want? you can throw the volleyball at my face in return—ah, um, revenge. eye for an eye? or i can treat you to something… if you…”

your voice dies down at the sight of her glare, and because she’s taken her hand off her face and wow the color is nasty—a dark red that might just fade into a near purple in the next hour.

she looks at you, unimpressed, and flatly says, “i’m not five.”

you laugh under your breath, scratching the back of your neck. “fair. but if you change your mind, i won’t argue back or anything,” you offer, pointing to your cheek dramatically. “free shot. no consequences.”

for a second, haerin truly wants to slap you in the face. she wants to roll her eyes and walk away. wants to keep being annoyed, to keep clinging to that righteous, simmering dislike she’s built up for no reason.

but you stand there so weirdly genuine and stupidly endearing in your own loud, clumsy way that makes it harder for her to hate on you the way she wants to. 

she huffs—loud enough for you to hear and swallow lightly from her terrifying energy—then gives you a small groan before turning and walking away without another word.

behind her, you raise your voice just a bit as you call out, cheerful despite the tension, “i’ll take that as a maybe!”

haerin doesn’t turn around. she just keeps walking, cheeks nearly as warm as the side of her head.

—

the next day haerin has to add a good two layers of color corrector, concealer, and foundation in order to cover up the giant bruise on the side of her face. 

after the incident yesterday, the nurse gave her an ice pack and a “take care!” to compensate for your damage because ‘regular’ university students do not get the same attention as an athlete with a torn acl, unfortunately.

she sits down at her usual spot for her music history class, pulling out her laptop and current reading for the course as she waits for hanni. but before hanni can steal a seat next to her, someone else does.

“hi, i don’t know if you remember me. i mean, you probably do…” haerin glances to her right, jaw tensing at the sight of you and hearing your voice. “i, um, got you this…”

you hand her a small box of strawberry chocolate bites, offering her a small smile to break the tension. 

but haerin doesn’t give in.

“why?” she asks.

“what?”

“i don’t need your chocolate,” haerin responds flatly. “you can go back to your friends now.” she adds, redirecting her attention back on the book in front of her. 

“no, no. please, i—i insist. i’ve been on that end, worse than what you had to endure though, and it’s really bad, just—”

“just because i’m not you doesn’t mean i can’t handle a ball hitting my face. i’m good, are we done?”

haerin notices the look of shock that makes your features twitch slightly. you avoid eye contact then, pursing a smile before pushing the chocolate toward her. 

“look. i’m not the type of person to let these things slide. it might seem small to me, but i want to make it up to you. take these chocolates for now,” you sigh, standing up. haerin looks up at you curiously, her expression never shifting as you finally say, “bye.”

—

there was a noticeable routine throughout the next two weeks that you couldn’t seem to break.

you’d cross paths with haerin often, because apparently fate had a terrible sense of humor, and you made sure to acknowledge her each time. it started off small” a smile, nod, or a soft “hey” in her direction. none of it was overbearing, just… persistent. it’s how you are.

even when haerin pretended to notice (she sure noticed each and every time), you never faltered. if her gaze so much as brushed yours, you’d light up immediately, offering a little wave that would never fail to be left hanging. 

in class, it was the same. she always sat in the same spot — the third row from the front, fourth seat in — and you always scanned the room for her as soon as you walked in. when you found her (which you always did), you’d stroll past, knock gently on the edge of her desk with your knuckles, and smile before heading to your own seat across the room.

haerin didn’t understand any of it.

why were you being so nice to her? what were your intentions?

it was all so… strange.

hitting her in the head shouldn’t have led to… whatever this was. she’d expected you to move on and forget it. you have much bigger things to worry about anyway, as the outside hitter. instead, it felt like you were making a point to force your way into her peripheral vision every single day.

she’d been skeptical, very skeptical. she’d spend a few minutes zoned out, trying to think about what you were up to, and why it seemed so welcoming. but no, haerin can’t give in. that’s not like her, not for someone like you.

it wasn’t until her confusion simmered down that she found herself out one afternoon with her group of friends huddled around a crowded table at a campus cafe, sipping on iced teas.

“remember when you told us about the volleyball-to-your-head incident?” minji asks, switching the conversation topic from the most annoying professor to you.

haerin raises a brow. “yeah, why?”

“y/n’s been spiraling because of it.” minji says casually, twirling her straw. “because of you.”

haerin blinks, caught mid-sip. “...what?”

“yeah.” minji grins. “she thinks you hate her. she feels awful about it.”

hanni nods, a bite of a sandwich halfway to her mouth. “i feel bad for the girl,” she adds around a mouthful, earning a look from danielle. “sorry dani. but yeah, minji was telling me about it kinda. damn.”

“so you’re just going to tell hanni about a story that involves… me? without telling me first?” haerin rolls her eyes playfully.

“okay well to be fair she’s my roommate so how about that.” minji argues. “anyway, ever since the volleyball thing,” she continues, leaning forward like she’s about to drop the craziest news ever (knowing minji, it’s probably not that crazy), “she’s been convinced she made an enemy out of you. like, actually upset about it. she keeps asking me if she should apologize again, if she’s being annoying, if she should just stop trying…”

haerin stares at her, stunned into silence.

you? of all people? spiraling because of… her?

 “maybe she’s just not used to people like you, ‘rinnie. i don’t know her like that but i heard she’s very lively and outgoing and basically your complete opposite.” danielle giggles softly. “and i thought i was bad.”

“plus, she thinks you’re like a ghost or something. she sees you everywhere, apparently,” minji adds with a laugh. “she’s kinda going insane.”

for a long moment, haerin just sits there, her fingers gliding along the condensation on her cup. the irritation that she pairs up with you in her head fizzles away just a little.

she hadn’t realized it got to you that much. she never realized how much you truly cared about how she was affected by your killer spike.

maybe, haerin thinks, maybe she’d been a little too quick to judge. 

maybe you’re not just loud and obnoxious. maybe you’re just trying to mend things.

“i guess i’ll be a little nicer. you can’t blame me though, that bruise was purple. i’m just glad it wasn’t that close to my eye.”

“i’ve had worse.” minji snickers, earning a glare from her.

—

today, you have your music history class. 1pm on tuesdays and thursdays, seventy-five minutes long, and one of two classes you have with kang haerin.

you also share the class with two of your teammates: kazuha, the most reliant, talented setter you know, and yunjin, whose killer vertical and presence at the net make her the best middle blocker in the region. 

while the two are a dream combination on the court, they���re a nightmare in any academic setting.

out of the three of you, you tend to be a little more reserved, which says a lot. your composure breaks without fail because they’re so loud and unfortunately so hilarious that it makes you cackle and completely lose any self-awareness in class, or anywhere in general.

yunjin’s nudging you as you three walk up the stairs, teasing you as soon as you reach the second level of the building.

“are you ready to be ignored by kang again?” she snickers, grinning from ear to ear. “i think she hates you even more after all of whatever you’re doing.”

“oh shut up.” you groan, shoving her with your shoulder. “look, i’m trying to be nice. do you know how fucking bad it is to get hit in the head with a volleyball? dude, that wasn’t even my best. it was practice. i feel so bad… one time i got hit by ryujin’s spike and—”

you shiver, remembering how puffy and purple your face had been after the game against your rivals. you looked like you’d gone ten rounds in a boxing ring.

and you can’t stop thinking about haerin after, pinching the bridge of her nose at the thought of her. the faint swelling after the incident, the way her concealer couldn’t quite cover the bruise. the fact that she hadn’t said a word about it, just sat there stiff and silent the next day in class.

“—i need to make it up to her.” you mumble under your breath, almost to yourself.

“wow. i’ve never seen you so sorry.” kazuha hums thoughtfully, sipping on whatever flavored latte she has in her hand. then, she nudges you, nodding her head toward the woman you injured two weeks ago. “but seriously, it’s impressive. i’ve never seen someone make being nice this tragic— hey, now’s your time to shine.”

you glance up.

it’s nine in the morning and you always pass haerin on your way to your first class of the day. today is no different. 

she’s put together, headphones in, and headed straight towards you. 

you feel a lump in your throat. every day, every time, you say hi. and every day, every time, she ignores you.

but you can’t help yourself. you swallow lightly, raising a hand and smiling at haerin. to your surprise—she looks up and meets your eyes, holding the contact for a second longer than usual, something almost unreadable shimmering along the surface before she shifts her gaze forward like it’s nothing, continuing down teh hall.

she acknowledged you. 

you turn to watch her walk away, stunned. “guys, maybe she doesn’t hate me.” you gasp under your breath.

“or maybe: you’re delusional.” yunjin clicks her tongue. “there was probably something on your face.”

“was there?” you say in a slight panic, pulling out your phone to check yourself out. there’s nothing but your plain old face, the face that haerin looked at for four whole seconds.

you can’t be delusional, there’s no way.

when you go to your next class, your spirits are still lifted. you step into music history half an hour later. kazuha and yunjin are already in their seats since you left them to go grab something from your car, and by the time you glance over they’re laughing at something on yunjin’s phone. you linger longer by the door, adjusting your hoodie.

out of habit, your eyes find haerin—third row from the front, fourth seat in—posture perfect with her laptop in front of her, earbuds out now.

something is different this time when you look at her, because she’s already looking at you.

you feel your breath catching. a flash of nervousness rushes through your body and you have no clue why. she blinks once, twice, then quickly turns her focus back to the screen, fingers typing calmly like nothing had happened.

still—you catch yourself smiling, chest a little lighter than it had been all week.

something is different. you can feel it.

and for the first time you can relax your shoulders, because it feels like you’re not just fighting this silent losing battle anymore.

—

you see her again thursday morning, but yunjin and kazuha aren’t there to witness your five seconds of embarassing yourself. 

today her hair is up in a bun and she’s wearing a plaid long-sleeve button paired with wide-leg sweatpants—she looks good, and now that the thought pops up… when hasn’t she?

“hey,” you blurt out before you can even think about what to say after. “good morning.” you add with a friendly smile.

she slows down, her brows twitching just barely as she looks at you like she’s thinking of what to say. maybe she’ll utter nothing and walk off. maybe she’ll reprimand you. to be honest, you don’t really care what happens next because it’s better than nothing.

“hi.” she says quietly, flatly. she breaks eye contact and walks right past again.

your smile widens, and each step down the hall feels brighter.

—

the week ends for most people with relief, but not for you. most friday’s are spent at the university’s court for practice, running a few warmup laps around the small court to get you going.  

everything continues on normally: your team pairs up to pepper for ten minutes before moving into spiking drills, setting, receiving, and perfecting minor details before moving on to scrimmages. it’s a routine you could never get tired of, one your body knows by heart. even when you’re sore and dreading practice, you love it.

what breaks the usual routine is a certain someone showing up twenty minutes before practice ends. 

haerin walks through the door with two of her friends. you recognize danielle and hanni since they’re a weekly feature on your teammate minji’s instagram stories. while everyone gets back into order, your eyes linger on haerin. what you don’t expect is for her to lock eyes with you for a split second, a moment that makes you stop in place, before she breaks the contact. 

you catch the group sitting in the bleachers, sparking a sudden urge to try a little harder.

the last twenty minutes of scrimmage consist of you doing very well. your turns are sharp and precise, your spikes heavy and quick—even some of your teammates are shocked at the sudden boost of energy. you’re playing almost as well as you would in a real game, and maybe it’s because of a special someone in the crowd. maybe it’s to distract her from the fact that one of your spikes left her in the nurse's office.

when practice ends, you run a few laps with your team before stretching together, though not without trying to sneak a peek at haerin to find that she’s already doing the same. you have to fight back a smile each time.

and after everyone finished changing, you caught up with minji, nudging her arm with your elbow.

“hey buddy,” you greet with a teasing tone. “nice blocks today. your vertical is getting better by the day!”

“thanks,” she laughs. “and… buddy? since when did start using that?”

“since now?”

“you sound ridiculous,” minji sighs. “so, what did you need from me?”

“i already told you! you’re doing better… and… well, i have a question.”

minji sighs once more.

“what’s with your little friends showing up?”

“no,” minji starts, raising her eyebrows. “what’s with haerin showing up.”

“no…”

“...yes,” she counters. 

you huff, rolling your eyes as you step back onto the court. minji’s friends are still sitting in the third row of the bleachers, laughing at something from what you can tell. and then minji looks at you from the side, raising her brows again and tilting her head, motioning for you to follow her.

you hesitate when minji starts heading over, but give in anyway.

“i’ll just say hi,” you mutter, more to yourself than minji. your teammate shrugs. 

when you arrive, they’re already headed down the bleachers—it’s a little terrifying. haerin is second after danielle, with hanni trailing behind. you watch as danielle leaps over to hug minji, then catches you while her arms are wrapped around your teammate.

“oh hey!” danielle beams into minji’s ear. “you must be y/n?”

“yeah, right on!” you respond with the same energy. 

then your eyes land on haerin, who’s fixing the collar of her t-shirt before meeting your gaze once again. the energy in your body dims down, your jaw tenses, and you feel like a movie character when the background blurs behind and it’s just them.

“hi haerin.” you greet warmly. 

she scans you again as if she’s figuring out whether or not you deserve a response. you gulp shallowly.

“hi.” she responds. her friends turn their heads toward her, clearly amused. then, her lips curl up just barely, almost imperceptibly. if you weren’t so hyperfocused on her you wouldn’t have caught it. “i’m surprised you didn’t hit anyone in the face.”

your heart beats against your chest like it’s trying to escape. 

minji bites back a laugh as you awkwardly chuckle before saying, “well, that’s progress.”

haerin’s brows raise just a bit as she adds, “your aim must’ve improved.”

minji doesn’t hold back her laugh this time, slapping your shoulder. something about haerin’s light teasing warms your chest, there’s a grin on your face as you respond, “just for you.” and maybe it was risky, but it makes haerin’s lips turn up just a little more. it feels like a standing ovation.

“well,” you begin, because your heart might explode right there and right now. “i was just catching up with minji. i have to uh, i have to… catch up with someone else. see you haerin— and um, you two as well— hanni, danielle.”

they all giggle before waving to you, though haerin only offers you a small smile that makes you want to celebrate.

—

haerin lifts up her head after sensing someone’s presence right by her side. she assumes it’s hanni, so she doesn’t bother to look right away. but when she tilts her head and glances over, it’s not who she expected.

“morning.” you greet, casual, but a faint smile is seen on your face.

you’re here early, haerin thinks. usually your friends would make it before you, loud and probably sharing their whole weekend with the class unknowingly. you’d show up just before class started and scan the room for haerin before making  your way over to the back to join the disturbance. not that she’s keeping track or anything though. that’d be ridiculous.

she blinks once. “morning.”

she turns to grab something from her bag, assuming you’ll leave sooner. but you don’t. instead, she feels your lingering presence beside her desk.

“so, how was your weekend?” you ask, equally awkward as sincere.

“fine.” she replies without looking up. 

you nod, waiting, but nothing conversational trickles in after.

your attempt at dissolving the tension is by clearing your throat, trying not to make it weird. “that’s good. did you do anything fun?”

she turns her head just barely, meeting you halfway—sort of. “why are you bothering me?” she asks, and the bluntness makes you stiffen a little.

your lips part but nothing comes out. you hesitate before answering, “i’m waiting for my friends.”

her brow lifts slightly as if she doesn’t believe you.

“you don’t believe me, do you?” you sigh. “this isn’t me doing charity work because i left a bruise on the side of your face that one time. that was an accident.” 

“right.” she says dryly, her lips twitching faintly.

“i swear!” you blurt out, flustered now. “i felt so bad—like, genuinely. i was gonna ask minji if i could venmo you for your medical bills or something—”

haerin cuts you off by letting out a quiet huff of laughter, looking at you properly for the first time. the corners of her lips lift and something in her eyes soften.

“has anyone ever told you how dramatic you are?” she questions, amused.

you fake a pout. “whatever.”

“you know,” she turns back to her desk, fighting a smile, “you’re not bothering me. i also feel bad that you look like a loser, all lonely and all. you can stay a bit until your friends come.”

“what did you say?”

“you heard me.” she says with a smile. 

and just like that, you’re pretty sure your morning’s already made.

—

you’re not really sure why you decided to put an effort into stepping over the line to make it on haerin’s good side. all the waving at her and making your presence known—maybe it could be labeled as bothering—had been spontaneous. 

there was no doubt that you were drawn to her for whatever reason. maybe it was because she caught your eye each time you would pass her near the beginning of the semester. maybe it was because you looked for the familiar face once you got the rhythm of when you’d briefly be within her presence. 

she was also on minji’s instagram occasionally, so you had a clue of who she was before attacking her face with a ball. and you’d stalked her instagram maybe once or twice on a random evening just because she was tagged in a story. she seemed nice and all, so why not talk to her more?

plus, she was nice to look at at. she had the kind of face that lingers in your mind after being around her, sometimes at night too, or even in random bursts throughout the day. she’s a new smile in your life that you start getting used to. 

haerin found you to be an addition to her routine, a very unexpected one. 

you’d appear at the end of the hall, sometimes with your friends—but recently it had been just you—and wave to her. when it was just you, you never failed to ask her how she was or how her day had been so far, everything friendly. and if she were being honest; she didn’t mind all this energy from you, if anything, she really liked it. 

it took a bit of time for haerin to reciprocate, maybe because of the grudge but also because it was difficult to talk to someone who used to be a world away from her. but here she is asking you if your practice is well, when your games were, and further inquiries that introduce you more as a person. she truly liked getting to know you, even if she pretended to be reserved and hesitant at times.

—

“hey,” you greet haerin as you walk up to her.

haerin isn’t sure when the bumping into you turned into willingly wanting to catch you in the morning or afternoon. this time, she’s waiting in the lobby instead of lingering in the usual hall, and she’s caught you by surprise with the slight change.

“hi.” she greets back.

you’re wearing a blue baseball cap with capital ‘a’ in white on it. your hair is pushed down by the cap just a bit, urging you to swipe it away to prevent it from blocking your view. a loose, white graphic tee also hangs over your figure nicely, complemented by a nice pair of jeans with a color that suits you well. you adjust your cap, finding the way it sits on your head a little off, and haerin wonders why she hadn’t realized how cute you’ve been until now.

“so, i was wondering.”

“oh no.” haerin sighs.

“hey!” you whine playfully. “well now i’m not going to say it.”

haerin looks you square in the eye, tilting her head down and raising her brows just barely.

“okay well if you look at me like that…” you surrender, fixing your hair just a bit. “since we have that mini exam, i was wondering if you wanted to go to the library to study… or, we could hit that cafe nearby.”

“there’s a lot of those.”

“well i know a nice one.”

“me too, y/n.”

“everytime i feel like we’re getting better at this, you suddenly find a way to hate me again.” you joke, but haerin lingers on whatever ‘this’ is. you continue, finishing your thoughts, “but yeah, after class, are you down?”

“sure, sure.” she agrees.

and then you smile, teeth peeking out just a bit. haerin feels a weird tingle run through her body.

—

the tingles get worse the next two weeks.

she spends more time with you, getting a little more personal and she likes it a little too much. you tell her the main reason why you switched majors. you were pressured into something law related, but after taking one elective for that path, you knew it wasn’t for you. and then you did that thing where you rambled on about something you liked a lot, in this case you had rambled about your love for playing the bass, which is the main reason you switched.

“you play bass?” haerin’s eyes widen just a bit from the initial shock. you are so much and so normal at the same time. “since when?”

“ummmm when i was like ten i think. i’ve always played and enjoyed it, even had a few gigs, but my parents wanted me to do law or something that would rack up money.” you shrug. “i got a nice scholarship because of volleyball and realized that i could just… do what i like. and what i like is that—more than anything, really—so....”

she turns to see you staring ahead. you’re both walking across campus to meet up with your friends at the food court, but haerin can’t think about any of that when the afternoon sun is kissing your features perfectly. it hits her that you’re really good-looking.

sure, she knows that’s also another key factor that plays into your reputation. people praise you for your skills, how lively you are, but also how nice on the eyes you are. haerin gets that now.

you catch her staring hard, a smile forming as you mumble, “what?”

haerin snaps back to reality, looking ahead again. “nothing. just thinking, sorry.”

“it’s fine.” you assure, running a hand through your hair. 

when you arrive at the building, ready to split ways to meet your friends, you tap haerin on the shoulder as she turns to leave. she turns, tilting her head and says, “what?”

“you know, if you ever want to see me play bass… you could just ask~”

“you’re full of it.”

you snicker, shaking your head. “well. if you ever stop accusing me of being narcissist, maybe i’ll invite you over to a gig.”

haerin narrows her eyes. “whatever. you should catch up with your friends. i’ll see you, bye y/n.”

“yeah, yeah. see you, haerin.” you smile at her and it feels like the ground beneath is stealing the energy from her knees, nearly knocking her off balance.

—

something about haerin has you rolling around in bed. 

before you dressed in your most comfortable pajamas, flat on your stomach with a pillow under your chin as you stare at your phone, you had spent the evening with minji and her friends—haerin being one of them. 

you set your phone face down and rub your face in your hands. 

it was a spontaneous outing, and you had nothing better to do, so why not tag along with minji? it wasn’t anything crazy, just casual and friendly. all of you strolled along the boardwalk not too far from downtown and playing stupid carnival games. it was fun, especially when hanni and minji started arguing over who would win the most tickets before the sun would set.

what was the most jarring was haerin. nothing in particular, just everything about her that night.

she showed up in a baby tee, beige cargos, and that face of hers. there was something about her that night, or maybe there had always been something about her that you never fully realized until the glow of a building hit her features perfectly. you two were the first to meet up—coincidentally— and without the rest of the group it felt like all the confidence had slipped away from you.

it took a second to greet her, your eyes in awe from how pretty she looked with the slight change in her makeup, or maybe the smile formed on her lips as her eyes landed on you.

you roll over to lay on your back, face still in your hands.

 your cheeks feel significantly warmer as you recall haerin lingering by your side the whole night. her hand had brushed yours multiple times—you remembered each and every time out of fifteen—and she was just so different, charming even, with her friends around. it was a slightly different side of her, one that had your heart beating slightly faster the whole night. 

you can’t stop thinking about the moment she fixed the cap on your head, the hair on your face, and her fingers brushing against your face before telling you how stupid you looked with the loveliest grin. it made your stomach churn. 

the thought of her couldn’t—cant leave your head, even as you take your hands off your face to pinch the bridge of your nose and shut your eyes tightly. 

“what is wrong with me…” you mumble, sighing.

you pick up your phone again, opening on instagram and tapping through stories until minji’s suddenly pops up. your brows furrow slightly as you scan it, eyes lingering on the picture of hanni and haerin, but mainly haerin in that frame. 

she looks good. you can’t get over it. and her user is tagged as well, so you click on it out of curiosity and infatuation.

she has two posts, much less than most people you know. the first one has four slides and a cat emoji as the caption. the first picture is a simple selfie of her with a very neutral expression, one which you stare at for a little too long. the next one is a similar selfie, though she’s smiling instead and you spend more time on that one. the last picture is a cute cat on the street, it makes you smile.

when you catch yourself smiling, you throw your phone across the bed, groaning into your hands.

—

haerin shows up to your next practice without warning you, but to be fair, neither of you had the chance (or guts, really) to ask for each others numbers. the only thing you had was the fact that you were now mutuals on instagram and the fear that held you back from texting her a simple “hi.”

 she’s in the bleachers reading a book—reading while you’re practicing. it makes you laugh more than it offends you, but there’s no reason to be offended anyway. haerin is just being haerin.

you try a little harder just in case she decides to steal a peek at you. today is mainly you serving and spiking up a ton while the rest of the team works to receive it, but when it comes to scrimmaging, you do your best—almost. 

practice ends and instead of heading to the locker room with your team, you run up to haerin, who’s head perks up when she catches the blur of your figure in her vision.

“did you miss me so much that you couldn’t help but stop by and watch?”

haerin scoffs. “don’t flatter yourself.”

“tch, whatever.” you respond.

before she spills the reason she’s there, her gaze shifts to the sweat glistening on your neck, then down to your collarbone, your shoulders, and arms. it’s oddly alluring, but she pushes it down by gulping and meeting your eyes again, trying to ignore the stupid smirk on your lips that tugs at her heartstrings. 

“you put your laptop charger in the wrong bag. i figured you’d be here, so—” she pulls out your macbook charger and hands it to you. “—here.”

“haerin,” you mutter, grabbing the charger. then, you put your other hand out and say, “give me your phone.”

“what?”

“just do it.” you urge, and she surprisingly does.

haerin watches you type in something, then hears the phone vibrate. “my number.” you say it like it’s obvious. “so you don’t have to spend your time reading while the sound of our yelling and the volleyballs distract you.”

“it wasn’t distracting.”

“then why’d you come?”

“to see you.”

your face heats up immediately. 

“whatever. are you doing anything after this?” you ask with a twinge of nervousness in your tone. your thumb presses down on the charger in your hand, an attempt to cool your nerves. “lets hangout?”

“look who’s the one missing me now.”

“oh whatever. do you want to, or no?”

haerin rolls her eyes. “okay, but wash up. you’re sweaty and gross,” she says, her look falling to your bicep as it flexes while you squeeze your charger.

—

“so, you and y/n?” minji asks one afternoon, lazily sitting on the couch.

haerin looks up from her laptop, raising a brow. “what?”

“what’s with you two? are you guys dating?”

“what?” haerin repeats, though much more baffled than before. “where did you even get that idea?”

dating? that’s ridiculous. two people can spend more time together, become friends and whatnot. that’s not dating. and plus, you’re still a world apart. if you’re not around her you’re in your bubble above her, floating around far out of her reach. you guys are nothing more than good friends. you’re nothing more than her good friend.

“y/n talks about you a lot.” minji shrugs, but the flicker of mischief in her eyes doesn’t go unnoticed. “a lot.”

“because we’re friends.”

“y/n and yunjin are best friends, but i haven’t heard much about yunjin in a while.”

haerin bites back immediately. “because you know her as well, you guys are teammates.”

“i know you too, haerin. it’s the same.”

minji’s just being ridiculous. there’s no way she’s implying that you have a thing for her. there’s a ton of girls lined up for you and for you to be fixated on her of all people would be ridiculous.

“there’s a lot of people who are into her, but it seems she’s only into you.”

“i—” haerin doesn’t know what to say, she bites her lip instead.

could you really be into her? she thinks hard about it. you’re so oblivious and idiotic, it would be much more blatant if you were actually into her.

“maybe you should pay more attention to her, because she pays a lot of attention to you, haerin.” minji says, followed by a smirk.

haerin groans quietly, sinking in her spot.

“you’re being stupid.”

minji shakes her head. “i think you’re trying to deny what i’m trying to say because you’re also into her—whether you’re going to accept that or not.”

—

minji’s accusation is proven right when it hits her—or rather you, quite literally—not too soon after the night on the couch.

haerin agrees to go to one of your games, but she doesn’t admit it’s because of you. she purposely meets up with minji first, pretending she isn’t eager to see your stupid face. when you run up to her in your uniform, the short sleeves hugging your arms just right, she has to fight back a huge smile. 

you raise your brows, giving her a teasing little smirk. “look who decided to show up.”

��you love to flatter yourself.”

“and you.” it’s a risky comment coming from you, especially when it’s paired with a wink. your teeth catch your lower lip like you regret it—maybe it was too risky. but haerin finds herself scoffing to distract you from the blush spreading across her face.

haerin gets some downtime to meet up with hanni, danielle, and eunchae in the stands. and then the game starts before she process what’s going on.

your team shows up all smiley in their jerseys, the crowd cheering. haerin isn’t on the loud side, so she claps for your team—a sharp contrast to hanni and danielle who are screaming at the top of their lungs. 

somehow, you catch her in the crowd, winking at her before slapping yunjin on the back to boost her spirits. haerin shakes her head, smiling as she does so.

the game starts off well for your team. yoon’s serves throw off the team in the beginning, giving your team a bit of a headstart before they grow accustomed to her. kazuha’s setting, paired with how quick and determined you are on the court, score two-thirds of the points in the first set.

the second set is rougher, with the other team winning by a few points. haerin can see the frustration in your face from where she’s at. the way you tighten your jaw after each slip up and how minji slaps your shoulder to keep you from losing your cool. she’s never seen you so serious, not even during practice. the way you hold yourself on the court is tremendously different from how unserious and carefree in class or alone with her. it’s admirable—also really attractive

the game goes on. you play well. really well.

the third set has you pumping your fist with each successful spike. haerin’s never been into volleyball like that—eunchae was the one who had to explain all the rules while the game was running—but she can tell that you’re incredible just from the way you leap, score, and celebrate.

everyone cools off a bit before the fourth set, determining if you’ll have to play another rigorous round or if you’re ready to celebrate a win against your rivals. 

it begins well, with one great serve from lily that scores the first point. yunjin’s quick to block a spike from the other side, and then kazuha’s dump scores another point for your own team, earning a slap on the back from you that’s too hard for her liking. she pushes your head roughly with a smile on her face.

for a while, the game goes smoothly—until it doesn’t.

your rivals’ star ace spike was faster than you could react, the ball hitting your temple unexpectedly with a force matching your own spikes. the sharp sound catches everyone off guard, and it’s followed by a few gasps, then cheers as the ball lands on the ground after your team loses their focus to look at you with concern.

it hurts, but you shake it off, signaling that you’re fine with a toothy smile and a thumbs-up.

haerin’s sitting up straigher in the stands now, worry etched into the way her eyebrows furrow. danielle glances at her, brows raised, but haerin says nothing. she doesn’t blink once until the game continues on.

everyone’s on the edge of their seats nearing the end of the game—your team is a point away from winning. the other team serves, your team does their best to keep them from scoring, then the ball is on the other side for them to deal with it.

and then, unbelievably, it happens again—this time way worse. 

their outside hitter jumps, swings, and the ball hits you directly in the face clean, and blood shoots out from your nose like something out of a cartoon. the crowd gasps, and haerin flinches as if it hit her too.

you recover quick, blinking hard, and yell at yunjin. she runs after the ball, keeps it in the air, and the game continues. your team scrambles, recovers, and you manage to run up, leap, and score a winning point that echoes in the court.

the gym erupts.

you exhale in relief, losing strength in your legs and laying on the ground with your eyes on the ceiling. blood trickles down your lip, mixing with sweat, and dripping onto the court where you lie down. it’s kind of gross, but you can’t really bother to care because you’ve won. 

the athletic trainer rushes over and makes you sit on the sideline, ice pressed to your face, tissues jammed up your nose almost comically. your team scrambles around you, and you brush them off, telling them you’re fine.

as soon as you’re left alone, haerin doesn’t think—she just moves. she scoots past legs and bags and down the bleachers, walking fast toward where you are.

you look up when she approaches, and all she can think of is how completely stupid you look. stupid and cute.

something sharp and certain twists in her chest.

she likes you.

not in a maybe, possibly way. in a real way. in a “you just bled all over your team’s side of the court, it’s on your jersey, and you’re still smiling at me like that” kind of way.

“i’m fine,” you say, like it’s the most normal thing in the world to be grinning with blood drying under your nose.

she sits down next to you, looking at you with worry in her eyes. “you look like an idiot.”

“an idiot who scored the winning assist~” you hum happily, then pause. “maybe this is payback for the time i hit you.”

she narrows her eyes and shoves your shoulder—not hard, but enough to make you laugh.

“i hate you. i still have a grudge because of that but,” she smiles, then continues, “that’s way too harsh for payback.”

you laugh—sort of, through the tissue—and it’s not even that funny, but she laughs too. 

and for a second, the sounds around you fade. the gym, the team, the chaos. it all blurs. everything clicks into place like it’s always been leading to this.

it scares you both simultaneously—how real it feels, how quick it settles in your chests—but it also feels safe. god it feels warm. like this was supposed to happen eventually.

you like her. she likes you. it hits you both at the same time—the third time something has hit you today, but this one hits way harder.

—

when haerin sees you next, your face is still swollen from the game a few days prior.

you’ve shown up to class without bothering to cover up the giant purple mark around your eye and another red mark on your nose bridge. but still, like always, you greet haerin with a smile before heading to your friends, who poke at your face on purpose and earn a pained groan.

“damn, ryujin got you good… it’s still there!” kazuha snickers poking you again. “jesus christ, it looks like you got punched.”

you shove her off, scoffing. “i’ll give you a similar mark if you keep it up.” 

“you better pray that the mark fades into something better, friday we’ve got that gig.” yunjin reminds you.

a lightbulb appears above your head. you’ve totally forgotten about the gig you landed—with the help of yunjin—after your little triumph on the court from a few days ago. your rub your face in your hands a little too hard and it hurts, making kazuha chuckle. 

yunjin arranged a little gig for you and two other students to play at a lively restaurant downtown. you’ve been a few times, and each time there’s been musicians brightening the atmosphere while bringing people together. out of all the places, this is the one you’ve been wanting to play at the longest. how could you forget?

it’s been a while since you’ve had a gig, if you’re not counting late-night bedroom sessions with friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends in someone's dorm or rooftop. the though of performing in such a long time, after being occupied with volleyball, makes you a little nervous.

“fuck,” you mutter. “i completely brushed that off.”

“well, you better be ready by then. we’ve got to practice for that after practice practice.” 

you nod, sighing at the slight sting of your injury. your eyes land on haerin, who’s writing something down on a sticky note and placing it in her notebook. she turns to say something to hanni and your eyes linger on the outline of her side profile.

a thought pops up in your head, one that makes you smile ever so slightly.

—

“so i was thinking,” you start, watching haerin turn to look at you with an “oh god,” expression plastered on her face.

“that’s not good.”

“would you not.” you sigh. “just let me finish.”

you two have been studying european music history together on the second floor of your campus’ most popular cafe. chatter is spilling out from every table, some mixed with the sound of writing or a pen tapping against the table, which does a decent job of making the process of studying your least favorite era less dreadful.

haerin has on a slight blush and lip balm that tints her lips, a no-makeup kind of look that prompts you to steal glances every few minutes or so. you can’t not glance at her, not when her hair is up in a high bun, some shorter hairs falling over her face shifting around just a bit everytime she laughs at your stupid jokes or looks up to think about something. 

“okay, fine.” haerin giggles softly.

“as i was saying,” you continue, but haerin is momentarily distracted.

the oversized t-shirt’s collar is loose enough to reveal a fraction of your collarbones. it drapes over you lazily, complimenting the slight tousled look of your hair. plus, you just look cute in general that it had made it really difficult to study with full concentration. the swelling had gone down and the bruise faded ever so slightly, but there’s a natural flush on your cheeks that lingers from the inflammation that haerin can’t help but find adorable. she looks down at the table, biting down on her back teeth and pursing her lips to give you her full attention.

“i have this… thing on sunday. it’s nothing big, kinda…” you say a little quiter than before. haerin’s distracted again, but just a little. your mannerisms are caught by her eye immediately; the way your voice simmers down to something slightly vulnerable when you’re serious, how you bite your lip in between sentences, and the way your eyes dart around are enough to tell her that it’s actually ‘something big.’

“down at that restaurant near the waterfront, the one with the good burgers and italian food—i have a um… a gig.” you explain, eyes meeting haerin’s again to search for something. “and you know, i’m gonna play bass, and yunjin’s gonna be there too with some others. we’re just gonna have fun, have a good time, a good night and stuff. i was um, i was wondering if you wanted to come.”

before haerin can respond, you clear your throat and clarify, “actually, i’m not really asking. i want you to come.” 

haerin is speechless for a moment, responding with only a blush dimmed by the ambience of the cafe and a smile.

“i’d like that.”

“really?” your posture fixes just a bit from sheer shock. “great. you can bring a friend of course! i don’t care, but i’d… i’d like to see you there. i’d like to spend time with you after my little thing too.”

she laughs and her head tilts a bit, eyes softening as she looks at you with those dumb, adorable blue light glasses slipping down near the tip of your nose. her hand moves over to push them back up, making you smile like a child.

haerin moves her hand back to her laptop, eyelashes fluttering as she blinks and says, “i’m looking forward to it.”

—

panic crawls up haerin’s spine before she can stop it.

she was supposed to have everything under control—finish her assignment early, take her time getting ready, maybe even have some downtime before heading out. but the essay took longer than expected because she lost half of her sources somehow, and now she’s scrambling. she types at a speed that blurs her vision and biting the inside of her lip with each typo just to submit with barely thirty minutes left to get ready to see you. 

haerin’s usually composed, easy-going, and on top of things. but now there’s a small pile of clothes tossed on the bed, her phone buzzing with the time, and her thoughts spinning faster than she can catch them. the bus stop is five minutes away, which means she has less time than she thought. her fingers have trouble zipping up her bag.

she ends up in something simple, making her second guess (but there’s no time for that, really). her hair is braided in two, something simple and hopefully cute enough for you. the braids fall neatly over her shoulders, parted slightly off-center. her makeup is light to match the striped, long-sleeve top she has on, paired with comfy jeans. it’s casual, but hopefully enough to make a statement, or get you to notice her, or maybe—

she closes her eyes, thinking of how ridiculous it is to be thinking so hard about her impression on you. she wants to look nice—wants you to think she looks nice. it’s stupid. she knows it’s stupid. and it’s conflicting in the sense that she’s standing in the mirror trying to impress someone who might not think twice about what she’s wearing. but she can’t help it.

now she’s tying her sneakers and thinking about how you’ll see her when she walks in. if you’ll glance at her for a beat longer than usual. if you’ll say anything. and that thought alone makes her blush so hard she has to put a hand over her face, thinking, what’s gotten into me?

—

haerin gets there a little late—heart banging against her chest from the walk and nerves—but it’s fine. the outdoor area is dim from the setting sun, the lights are warm and hazy, and you’re just about to start. the crowd isn’t crazy huge, but only two tables aren’t filled with a group of friends or couple. she spots a table for two, walking over and passing people talking over drinks, leaning into each other, swaying slightly even before the music begins.

you’re on stage, tuning your bass, laughing at something yunjin says into the mic. haerin spots you immediately, and before she can duck or think twice, your eyes catch hers through the crowd.

the moment is like a movie. everything slows down and it’s just you. your face lighting up—small, just a grin—but she feels it right in her chest. you look thrilled. like her showing up meant the world. like she’s not just another person in that room looking for a nice friday night. like she’s there for you and you only and the thought of it makes you soar.

she finds a spot somewhere off to the side, still in your line of sight. the music starts. something low and smooth and groovy—your fingers working the bass like it’s second nature. haerin’s never really paid attention to bassists before. but with you, it’s impossible not to. 

she’s suddenly too aware of every single thing you do. everytime your fingers shift to another note, the way your eyes flicker over her a little too often—none of it goes unnoticed.

yunjin stands beside you, her energy laidback, teasing. she waits for you to finish the opening chords, then strums into the rhythm, syncing naturally with the beat. you move with the rhythm, eyes mostly on your bandmates but still drifting back to haerin again and again like you can’t help it. 

the chorus creeps in, you step up next to yunjin, nodding at her like there’s a silent understanding of what’s up next. the crowd sways with you two, reeled in by your energy and playfulness. you alternate the lyrics with yunjin; she sings the first part of the chorus, and you sing the second part. 

“cause basically i—” yunjin starts, before passing it to you, “i just wanna ride with you”

your voice slides into the space, low and clear, easy but intimate.

“i gotta getcha—’cause i just wanna vibe with you”

yunjin keeps it light, laughing a little as you bump her shoulder during her next line, but when you return to your part, your gaze locks in on haerin. 

“‘cause i just gotta know if you want me too,” you sing. your voice is like silk, the tone is almost inviting, “dontcha want me?”

the lyrics feel different—like they mean something deeper and you’re not just singing it to entertain the crowd, like you really mean what you’re singing and it’s not just the song.

haerin’s heart races in her chest. she feels it even in her neck, in her fingertips, and the thrill of it makes it impossible to look away. the way your voice fills the room, rich and warm, and she’s hanging on every word. you sing with such ease, so naturally, as though this is exactly where you’re supposed to be. and with every chorus that yunjin flows into, you complement her voice without failing to make eye contact with haerin as you dance around with yunjin. 

dontcha, 

dontcha, 

dontcha, 

dontcha want me?

the outro loops, and she’s completely under whatever your voice has cast. her head bobs along, a faint smile on her lips, not even trying to hide how enamored she is. 

as the song ends, you pause for a moment, fingers still resting on the bass strings, and meet her gaze. you have the same look from before. a quiet understanding. your smile isn’t wide now, but it’s full of something softer, steadier. like you’re both aware of the new realization that hangs in the air. 

haerin rises with the rest of the crowd, clapping, her expression a little different now—slightly flushed, eyes bright. she makes her way to you once the applause dies down and people begin settling back into their seats after everyone on stage says their final words of appreciation and gratitude. 

it’s just you and her again. 

you’re both quiet. not because you want to be, but because haerin opens her mouth to say something but nothing comes out. and on your end, it feels like your brain short-circuits the second you see her up close. 

she’s standing there with her hands fidgeting around with the end of her top, her cheeks are pink from the slight chill of the evening or maybe from the song—maybe both. her hair catches the light in soft waves, and her eyes, even as she glances down, make you want to collapse then and there. she looks up again with those gorgeous brown eyes you could probably stare at for the entirety of a lecture and longer and your brain is fuzzy and twisted and tangled. 

the golden light from the streetlamp pools down against a window and it somehow reflects perfectly to make her face glow more than before. everything about her feels surreal, a little too good to be true.

and before you can even process anything other than the slight tilt of her head, you say it.

“wow.” 

your voice is quiet, breathy, like you’ve just found a new wonder of the world. 

she glances up at you, lips parted like she was about to speak, but your next words beat her to it.

“you look beautiful.” and it’s not smooth, or practiced. it falls out of your mouth clumsy and too honest. but the second it slips out, you mean it more than anything you’ve ever said.

her eyes go wide for a second, and then she laughs—soft and flustered and caught off guard. her eyes dart away like they’re too shy to hold yours anymore. she shifts on her feet, head ducking slightly, biting the inside of her lip just barely. 

“you’re just saying that,” she murmurs, her voice quiet but warm, still not quite looking at you. 

“no,” you say, immediate, because it’s true and you need her to know it. “i mean it.”

she laughs again—maybe to calm her stuttering heart, or because she is way to flustered to act normal at all—and smiles into the sidewalk like it’s the only way she can keep from blowing up then and there.

(something like that)

you watch her closely, your heart racing, but not from nerves anymore. from something else. something lighter. better. 

“i um, i—” you pinch the bridge of your nose, cringing at your stutter. haerin laughs, and you do too before continuing. “thank you for coming. i was really looking forward to see you.”

“you were?”

“of course i was, idiot.” you grin. “have you eaten yet?”

haerin thinks to herself briefly. she had crammed before meeting with you, and if she tried to take even a bite out of anything she probably wouldn’t have been able to swallow it just from the overwhelming rush of nervousness that washed over her just from thinking about you and seeing you.

“no. i didn’t get the chance.”

“let me treat you then! the burgers here are great. lets grab two and share the fries,” you suggest, putting your hand on your stomach. “and i’m really hungry after all of that.”

haerin rolls her eyes, then chuckles. “of course you are. let’s go eat, y/n.”

—

after dinner, and saying all your goodbyes to everyone who showed up, you end up walking along the waterfront right outside the restaurant.

(yunjin makes sure to wiggle her brows at you two, and tease you until you’re blushing even harder than before.)

the night is quiet except for the sound of water lapping gently against the edge of the dock and the occasional breeze. the street lamps light up your path, and your steps slow naturally, like neither of you are in a rush to go home.

you nudge her arm gently as you walk. “you know, i always wanted to get to know you better.”

she glances over, rasing an eyebrow. “since when?”

“since that day i hit you in the head.” you laugh a little, eyes on the water now.

she groans. “seriously?” and you grin.

“i felt so bad—you were so pissed,” you say fondly. “i did everything i could to warm up to you because i was so, so sorry. every time we passed each other, you’d act like i didn’t exist or give me that look… my friends poked at me for it but i was kind of fascinated.”

haerin’s already laughing now, shaking her head. “you’re so weird.”

“probably.” you admit with a chuckle. “but i liked finally getting through your skin, getting to know you… you just— you stood out. i don’t think i’ve ever met anyone like you. and i didn’t stick around because i felt bad for giving you a giant bruise. i just thought you were interesting, and smart, and pretty. and when you say you hate me and call me an idiot it only makes me want to stick around and bother you more.”

your voice dies down a bit. haerin notices the shift in your demeanor—something shy, nervous, and adorable.

“i thought you were so odd for wanting to stick around,” she finally says, glancing at you with that same familiar side-eye, but softer this time. “and i didn’t like you before because we were in two different worlds and… your friends were so loud.” she jokes.

you pretend to clutch your chest, gasping. “wow, i’m hurt. you hated me without knowing me?”

“i didn’t hate you!” she defends, pushing you softly.

she laughs again and you both stop walking, pausing near the edge of the water. she’s still smiling when she looks at you, but her voice is smaller when she speaks again.

“i’ve really grown to admire you,” she says quietly. “and i’m glad we’re here, and you invited me to your little gig and i finally got to see you play bass and you…”

“i’m glad we’re friends—kind of,” you say softly, quietly. she looks up at you with a confused expression, to which you respond by looking away, smiling at the water in front of you. “i’m saying ‘kind of because’… i’ve kinda had a thing for you for a while and i’m really glad you came and i wanted to ask you out tonight but god it feels like my heart is beating out of my chest and—”

you inhale, then look her in the eyes before exhaling your confession, “haerin. i really, really like you.”

she doesn’t say anything at first. just looks at you, her eyes darting across your face like she’s searching for something in the sparkle on the surface of your eyes. 

then, slowly, she leans in and kisses your cheek. it’s quick, barely there, but you heat up almost immediately. your chest warms, and then your face, and then your whole body.

you blink. your cheeks are flushed like crazy—they have to be—and haerin pulls back, clearly flustered now too. she bites back a smile.

“i really like you too,” she mumbles, looking anywhere but at you. “you’re so cute. i hate it.”

you grin. “sorry.” 

“don’t be. i like it.” she responds, earning a playful scoff from you.

you can’t stop smiling for the rest of the night. neither can she.

—

your first official date with haerin is downtown, but it’s nothing too far from a usual hangout other than the fact that both of you are crazy aware of the mutual feelings, mutual everything. haerin smiles at you the whole time and you want to capture the moment and hang it on your wall.

the second official date is nothing crazy, but it’s really domestic for a second date. 

you invite her over to your place since yunjin’s out for the weekend helping her mom with something you completely forgot about. haerin shows up in a simple sweater and shorts and the sight of her alone earns a bunch of kisses pressed all over her face. she pretends to be annoyed, pushing you off and groaning playfully, but when you’re settled, she presses a soft kiss on your cheek and calls you cute. you nearly combust.

for a second date, it’s awfully intimate. intimate in the way that you were supposed to be watching a movie together, but a gust of drowsiness decided to sweep by. it hits you first, starting off with a small yawn that leaves your lips, and then your head falls to haerin’s chest, the thump of her heart lulling you to sleep. she’s flustered beyond measure at how calm and settled you look, snapping a picture before shutting your laptop and pulling your blanket over both of you. she moves just a bit so you can both lie comfortably instead of at a questionable angle, and the last of your energy takes over then, your arm wrapping around her.

the second date ends with you waking up to a dead-asleep haerin sprawled out on top of you. the soft breaths from her lips urge you to reach out your hand, even while half asleep, and brush the hair out her face, smiling before you succumb to sleepiness again.

—

an incident familiar to your first mishap with haerin occurs before you even get to your third date. 

it’s just like before–same gym, same rush of adrenaline as you play through another long rally during practice. the ball sails high over the net, your timing feels perfect, and without thinking, you leap up and spike it hard.

the ball’s trajectory decides to swerve and smack right into someone’s head.

you freeze.

it takes less than a second to realize it’s haerin.

“oh my god—” you’re already sprinting across the court before she can even recover from the hit, cradling her head with one hand while waving off the coach with the other. “are you okay? are you—can you see me well? how is your vision? do you feel dizzy?”

“i’m fine,” she says, blinking a few times. “it just scared me—”

“i just hit your head with a nasty spike, do not lie to me. i’m not taking any chances. come on.” you gently take her wrist, ignoring the fact that practice hasn’t ended yet as you pull her toward the exit. 

she doesn’t resist. she just walks beside you with that unreadable expression she always has on her face—though it’s slightly more readable when she’s around you and you take much pride in that—though you don’t catch the way she keeps stealing glances at you.

you head over toward the nurse’s offices, nearly barging into the hallway, but once you’re alone and the noise of the gym fades behind you, you stop and turn to her. 

“let me see,” you mutter.

she opens her mouth to assure you that she’s perfectly fine even though a stinging sensation lingers, but you’re already cupping her face in both hands.

your thumbs press softly against her cheeks, fingers curled just under her jaw, tilting her head from one side to the other. “you’re not dizzy? does your head hurt? is your vision—”

“i’m fine,” she repeats, but her voice is quieter now, and her eyes keep flicking between yours and your lips.

the proximity decreases the more you frown. concern is etched on your features as you inspect her like she’s made of glass. “i swear, i didn’t mean to—the ball just, i thought yunjin would’ve got it but—ugh, you could’ve been really hurt if it were a direct spike. your cheek is already deepening in color, your face—”

and that’s when she kisses you.

a quick, soft press of her lips to yours. barely there. just enough to shut you up.

you blink. 

she pulls back immediately and fills the silence, her voice small. “you worry too much.”

your hands are still on her face, and now they tighten slightly. and before you can overthink it, you lean in and kiss her again. this time it’s slower, softer, and certain. 

she makes a small noise of shock against your mouth, but melts into it a second later. her whole body relaxes completely. 

when you finally pull back you’re blushing like crazy. her eyes are widened and her smile grows the longer you look at her.

“... are you sure you’re okay?” you murmur, your thumb brushing her cheek. 

“i am, stop worrying so much.” she scolds, then giggles softly. “you still hit me in the head me in the head though—again.”

“sorry.” you sigh. “guess we’ve come full circle now.”

“i guess so, loser.” she laughs, then moves over to peck your lips again.

[taeyongdoyoung]

t-t-teach me

summary: college life sucks. but at least you get to study with the hottest guy on campus... pairing: soobin x reader genre: college au, slight angst, smut, colleagues to study buddies to lovers warnings: academic setting, studying, mild allusions to anxiety/insecurities, reader is older than soobin, kissing, praise kink, size kink, handjob, fingering, lots of touching, protected sex (gasp), manipulation if you squint but it's all consensual, some lyrics references as usual author's note: someone on social media commented that soobin's "t-t-teach me" part in love language lowkey sounds like "t-t-touch me" and i couldn't get it out of my head so here we are... word count: 2.2k

Your college life is pretty boring. Study, eat, study some more, eat again, sleep, repeat. So, when your most handsome colleague (in your humble opinion) asks you to help him study for the upcoming exams, you are tempted to agree.

"Pleaseee, Y/N," Soobin begs so cutely. The way his glasses are slightly tilted doesn't help your case. "I can even pay you!"

"I don't want your money, Soobin," you shake your head, determined to play with him a little longer. After all, it is not every day that such a hot guy acknowledges your existence.

"What do you want, then? I'd do anything, I really need to pass, my whole future depends on it."

"Well, shouldn't you have studied throughout the year?" you tease him. "Instead of, I don't know, partying or whatever it is you and your squad do."

"I don't even go to parties. I'm just in my dorm playing games all the time."

"Case in point," you tsk, pretending to be disappointed.

"Okay, I realize I should have taken the courses more seriously, but can you please consider it?"

"What's in it for me?"

"I told you already, the sky is the limit. Just t-t-teach me the material," he stammers sweetly. "When the professors do it, I literally can't focus and understand anything."

"You do realize this isn't an easy task, right? We have less than a month until finals. Even if I do help you study…I can't promise you'll pass."

"Where's your confidence, teacher?" Soobin pouts.

"I haven't agreed yet!"

"Oh, but you just did," Soobin is too adorable to say 'no' to.

So, this is how it starts. Every day, after your lectures end, you go to Soobin's dorm to study. You use every method that has been helpful for you throughout the years. Highlights, flashcards, quizzes, you try everything and anything in order to help Soobin understand the material. At the end of each week you prepare a short test that is meant to aid Soobin in revising the most important information. The first week, his results are disastrous. You honestly don't see any hope but you promised him you'd try your best so you keep modifying the material in order to improve his understanding. The second week, his results are still below average, but slightly better. By the third week, he has definitely reached the expected pass level.

"My God, Soobin, this is amazing progress!" you praise him honestly.

"Really? You think I'd be able to pass?" he asks, still worried about the upcoming exams.

"If you keep up the great work, you surely will," you are confident that he'll make it. "We have one more week until the first exam, I'm sure we'll manage to cover some more ground and revise the essentials."

"Yeah, I think there's still enough time to stick to the plan you made," Soobin nods thoughtfully.

"Here's an idea that might be motivational. If you pass all your exams, I'll reward you."

"Reward me how?" Soobin eyes you curiously.

"However you like."

"What about me paying you back?" Soobin reminds you of the original deal.

"You can just buy me dinner at that sushi place near the university," you suggest simply.

"Sounds good. I'll do my best to pass."

"I know you can do it!" at this point, you genuinely believe in him and are amazed to see how much he's improved.

The exam period starts sooner than you'd like and you now have less time for your study sessions with Soobin, prioritizing individual preparation instead. Honestly, you kind of miss seeing his pretty face every day and explaining things to him. Talking about the material out loud has been helpful for you, as well. The final exams pass by in a flash and now you only have to wait one more week for the results to come out.

"How do you think you did?" you ask Soobin on the phone.

"Ugh, don't ask," he complains. "Even though I felt like we covered all the material, having to explain it in my own words and provide examples was so draining. I have no idea how I did but don't get your hopes up."

"I see," you reply with a sigh.

"I'm not gonna ask how you did, because I'm pretty sure you nailed them," Soobin shuts down any possibility of boasting before it even started.

"Hey, the exams were pretty difficult for me, too," you mumble shyly.

"Yeah, yeah, talk to me again when you flaunt those 100 points."

"Just because I tend to get high results most of the time, doesn't mean I don't struggle," you express your feelings a little harsher than intended.

Soobin is stunned into silence.

"Sorry, that was insensitive of me to say. I guess I never realized how much effort you put into studying."

"It's okay, I'm used to being misunderstood," you answer sheepishly.

"Just because you're used to it, doesn't make it okay. Get some rest. You sure deserve it."

"You too, Soobin."

And with that, the phone call ends. Tensions run high as you anxiously check your email once every two hours for results. You probably care more about this than you should. Only this time your own results are not the only thing on your mind. You really want Soobin to be satisfied with the work he's done. Because you feel like you poured more energy into helping him and you would really hate to see him fail. Not only because you'd feel responsible for it, but because you genuinely like him and want to see him happy.

After what feels like forever, the results are out. Of course, you can only see your own due to privacy reasons. But you know Soobin has also received the same email as every other student. It is only the content that varies. You quickly check your stats and though you didn't get a 100 points everywhere, as Soobin jokingly suggested, you are still pretty proud of yourself. You eagerly grab your phone, meaning to call Soobin when you stop yourself in the last second.

What if he didn't pass all the exams? What if he doesn't want to talk about it? So, instead, you wait until he contacts you first. Luckily, you don't wait long.

"Come over" is the simple message he sends you.

You put on a jacket and practically sprint to his dorm. Is he okay? Is he inviting you over to celebrate or to drink his sorrows away? Your mind races and so do your legs as you near his room. A hesitant knock on his door. A quiet "It's open".

You cautiously enter and study Soobin's expressions in an attempt to read the room. He doesn't look depressed but he doesn't look ecstatic either. What's going on? You just need to know, the uncertainty is killing you.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Soobin asks you coldly.

"Uh…good news?" you mumble, feeling more nervous about whatever he has to say than about your own results.

"Good news is I passed all my exams. I got between 60 and 75 points on most of them."

"That's…incredible! Congratulations, Soobin!" you exclaim proudly. "I'm really happy for you! Wait…what are the bad news, then?"

"The bad news is…you promised me a reward," he whispers darkly.

"Why is that bad news?" you are utterly confused, as you sit down on the couch next to him. "You deserve to be rewarded, you worked so hard to accomplish this."

"That's true, but…I'm not sure you'll like the way I want to be rewarded."

"Anything is okay," you vow, not knowing what's in store for you. "I'll keep my word."

"Oh, I know you will," Soobin smirks and crashes his lips against yours, shocking you completely. Is this really happening? Did you just…both pass all your exams and are now kissing with the hottest guy in your university to celebrate?

"T-t-touch me," he begs so prettily who are you to reject him?

"Where do you want me to touch you?" you easily agree.

He grabs your hand and slides it under his shirt so that you are now caressing his abs. Fuck, his skin is so smooth and hard.

"You're so pretty," you mutter what you've been thinking every time you see him.

"I try to look my best for you," Soobin admits.

"Shut up," you shake your head in disbelief.

"Yes, teacher," he teases you.

"Don't call me that," you groan.

"What would you prefer? Ma'am?"

"Ugh, no, that makes me feel old," your eyes roll.

"Well, you are older than me. How about noona?" Soobin blinks cutely.

"Oh my God, do you ever shut up?"

"Touch me somewhere else," he doesn't ask this time, he demands. You don't even have the time to ask where he'd like to be touched before he's grabbed your wrist again and moves it right on top of his clothed cock. You're seriously gonna die. You're gonna die right in this moment and you won't even go to that cute sushi place. "Take my jeans off."

Your hands are shaking but you do your best to follow Soobin's orders. All your academic knowledge is completely useless in this moment. What you lack in practice, you try to make up for with enthusiasm. Stroking his length and licking him softly seem to do the trick and Soobin grows harder under your touch.

"Why are you so pretty?" you can't help but marvel.

"It's both a blessing and a curse," Soobin grunts loudly. "Wait, stop."

You immediately halt your movements, letting go of his cock.

"Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?" you ask nervously, almost getting teary-eyed at the thought.

"What? No, you're doing amazing, I just…didn't want to come yet."

"Oh, I see," you reply, even though you can't see shit. "When do you want to come?"

"Wrong question, teacher," Soobin disregards your preference for not being called that. But in this moment, you no longer care. "Replace the wh-word with another wh-word."

"Hmm," you ponder out loud. "Where do you want to come?"

"Inside you. If you'd let me."

"Erm, I'm not sure…" you try to find a polite say that you are not really interested in getting pregnant at this point of your life.

"Relax, I've got condoms," Soobin laughs at you gently. "We can save the risky activities for after graduation."

He's already thinking that far into the future?

Soobin touches your folds gently, trying to ease your worries.

"Does it feel good?"

"So good, Soobin," you confess.

"Yeah?" he smirks proudly, as his long finger stretches you open. "Bet I can teach you a thing or two myself."

"I believe you," you sigh wistfully, as you near your high.

While Soobin puts on protection, you try to think of a logical solution as to how this will work. Honestly, you are too wet to care but his enormous size is still intimidating. Your brain seems incapable of coming up with a formula, so you give up entirely. Thinking only makes it worse.

When he slides inside of you, the feeling is so overwhelming you need something to keep you from falling apart.

"Talk to me," you beg.

"What do you want me to talk about?" Soobin asks.

"Anything."

"Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax, morphology, phonetics and-"

"Oh my God, really?" you scoff in disbelief. "Exams are over, let's put that behind us."

"What's your love language?" Soobin wants to know.

"Probably words of affirmation. What's yours?"

"Same. Quality time, as well," he responds.

"Oh yeah, definitely," you agree.

"You're taking me so well," Soobin immediately puts the newfound knowledge to use.

"You're fucking me so well," you whisper sincerely.

And this is all it takes for you two burst in each other's arms, experiencing pleasure like never before.

Once you've dutifully helped clean each other up and are cozied up underneath the sheets, the time for a more serious conversation arrives.

"I don't wanna lose this," Soobin gestures in the air between the two of you.

"We can keep studying together," you reply dumbly.

"That's not what I meant," Soobin chuckles. "Wanna spend time with you. We don't have to be studying, we can watch movies and I can teach you how to play games and…other stuff."

"I like the sound of that," you smile warmly.

"Actually, I have a confession to make," Soobin blurts out.

"Oh?"

"Deep down, I knew I'd pass the exams somehow," Soobin whispers. "I just couldn't be bothered to study. Needed an excuse to get close to you."

You can't even be mad at him.

"I have a confession, as well," you say in return. "I agreed to help you because I wanted to know more about you. I could tell you're smart."

"Is it the glasses?" Soobin pouts adorably, tilting his head to the side.

"Nah, you just give off that…sexy nerdy vibe. Glasses or no glasses."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is. From one nerd to another."

"I can live with that," Soobin flicks your nose playfully.

"You still owe me sushi, by the way. For helping you study."

"Oh, teacher. Sushi is not the only thing you'll be eating tonight."

The End

[branwinged]

do you have any unpopular opinions regarding Arya

what's your opinion on the death penalty type ask. well i think arya prettycourse is insane (she's literally 10? but also im about to type a block of text about it so. sorry ✋) both the "she's ugly fr" takes and the people citing book quotes where someone calls her pretty are missing the point. the books are not interested in engaging with 'objective' beauty (madness wrt dany and the targs is another concept that is not objective. it's a social construct) because the books understand gender is socially constructed so that implies gendered beauty standards are also socially constructed.

the ideal of beauty in westeros is based on a very specific brand of patriarchal femininity. it's obviously race based, like, almost everyone has something vile to say about elia and that's because of in-universe racism against the dornish. beauty is also class based because only aristocratic women have access to expensive fabrics and lace etc and to possess that kind of socially desirable figure one has to have a certain amount of wealth (i.e. access to food) to be precluded from engaging in physical labour. i don't think the books are interested in that class based aspect because all our pov characters are aristocrats, but you do see the other bits in play with a lot of characters. like, cersei and the prophecy about being surpassed by a younger and more beautiful girl. she spends a lot of time worrying about which beautiful girl maggy the frog was prophesying here, but i'm sure (at least in a metatextual sense, because this is a self fulfilling prophecy) "younger and more beautiful" is also meant as a simple truth, that after a certain age she will no longer be viewed as a sexual commodity, and you see this happen in the text in the way jaime is still fawned over at his age but cersei is entering 'socially deemed as old hag' territory. brienne (once) very much desires to be a lady but because she doesn't fit that ideal of patriarchal femininity (the specific way she is made out to be ugly are her height, her girth, that she's flat chested and muscular) she is dehumanised and labeled an outcast. then on the other end we've got daenerys who is considered the most beautiful woman in the world because she's being exoticised for her valyrian heritage, it's not the authorial voice of grrm pronouncing her as the winner of some fuckass planetos beauty pageant okay!! and crucially, these are all teenagers so the ideal of beauty here is also inseparable from the normative sexualisation of young girls who're also simultaneously expected to perform innocence and purity.

so with that context, arya is considered ugly because she's gender nonconforming. arya's anxiety and feelings of inadequacy over not being pretty (like her mother, like her sister) are not separate from her anxiety about not being able to meet the standards of patriarchal femininity.

Her mother used to say she could be pretty if she would just wash and brush her hair and take more care with her dress, the way her sister did.

what cat means here, is that she will be pretty ONCE she's domesticated into being a proper lady. and that one time gendry calls arya pretty it's right after lady smallwood forces her into conventionally feminine attire (Lady Smallwood fussed at the bodice of the gown. “Now you look a proper young lady.” // gendry: "You look different now. Like a proper little girl.") i don't find these instances of her being called pretty particularly empowering because she doesn't like wearing gowns and dresses, she shouldn't be forced to perform 'proper' gender roles in exchange for some assurance regarding her worth as a girl. note that catelyn, lady smallwood, and gendry are not being malicious but they've all grown up with and internalised westeros's sexist values, catelyn in particular is approaching it as a problem of who's going to marry (i.e. sexually desire) arya if she doesn't behave like a well bred lady.

Lady Smallwood gave her breeches, belt, and tunic to wear, and a brown doeskin jerkin dotted with iron studs. “They were my son’s things,” she said. “He died when he was seven.” “I’m sorry, my lady.” Arya suddenly felt bad for her, and ashamed. “I’m sorry I tore the acorn dress too. It was pretty.” “Yes, child. And so are you. Be brave.”

i think this is the most valuable/touching comment on arya's appearance because lady smallwood here is finally not trying to put her in some box of expectations, she's simply recognising her as a child trying to survive and return to her family, worthy of kindness, worthy of love. and that's the main theme of her story, she just wants to exist outside those rigid codes of social conduct for women ("Can I be a king’s councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?") but because she won't quietly let her desires and sense of self be subsumed by westeros's patriarchal femininity (what's happening to sansa in affc), what she's ultimately presented with is complete annihilation of the self. the faceless men tell her, "you will be no one's daughter, no one's wife, no one's mother" - the wording here feels significant because then this path is not an out from that oppressive structure. it's saying: since you refuse to conform, you can't exist within society. you won't be considered a person at all, your body will be a tool to serve the faceless men's desires.

[colpenter]

party 4 you — FC43

summary: franco is absolutely in love with a girl and he's determined to make her fall for him by throwing parties just for her to show up. and he doesn't care about how many parties he'll have to throw.

warnings: there's NO adult content here, it literally has only one single little kiss. idk why it has that warning oml😭😭 it might be the pictures but im not changing it ! this fic has uses of y/n and feminine pronouns

author's note: inspired by “party 4 u” by charli xcx !! AND obviously by “how i met your mother” because this is literally my go-to sitcom and i love ted mosby so much. i don't know if i want a ted mosby or if i want to love someone like ted mosby does. franco's friends' names came from my mind because i wanted to.. english is not my first language so pls ignore any typos. enjoy xx

ℱalling in love is not something Franco is used to. At least not like this. Not with a close friend that made sure she'd never fall in love with someone from their friend group ever again. But what could Franco do? From the very first laugh she gave him, after some flirting to attempt to make her smile, he was down bad.

It was not even the pick up line that made her laugh, Franco knew it was probably the alcohol she was consuming and the surroundings. He remembered it all to well; the first real conversation you had with him.

...

“Come on, Y/N! Just forget about that douchebag! He doesn't deserve your time!” Sofia pulled you to a table where all your other friends were. “It's easy to say but not easy to do when he's literally our best friend.”

“Oh? You had a thing with someone from here?” Jose grinned. You didn't have to say anything, your dead glare made him shut his mouth. “Shush! We're not talking about him. He's not even here! Now, Y/N, will you please come dance with us? It'll make you feel better!” Sofia tried again but just received a shake of head from you.

“I'm not on the mood for this, but thank you. Really.” you offered her a small smile, even though she answered with a roll of eyes. “Okay, I guess. Just don't drown yourself in drinks, you're better than this.” Sofia gave you a serious glaze, remembering of the last time you drank as if there was no tomorrow after a break up. “Then we're gonna go dance, if you need something just scream! We're gonna get you, girl” Maria joined in, giving you a hug and then getting up and pulling the boys from their seats to the dance floor.

It didn't even pass 10 minutes for your peace to be ruined. The rest of the friend group just arrived and of course your ex would be there too. Why did I even think he wasn't gonna come? you thought. His eyes met yours but it was Franco who pointed at you and brought the rest to the table. “Hola, Y/N! Where are the others?” the argentinian sat down by your side and looked around the club.

“Dance floor. They look like they're having the time of their lifes.” You avoided your ex's eyes and gave the others some polite smiles. “Are you having the time of your life here, alone at the table?” Franco smirked, but he meant no harm. “I was just not in the mood to dance, I guess.”

“It's okay, we're gonna keep you company, then.” He gave you a charming smile and then started to talk with the other friends. Of course Franco would look at you from time to time or even maybe try to get you in the conversation, but when you started to give monosyllabic answers he stopped. And when you got up to get yourself some drinks in the bar, he followed.

“What's gotten into you today? You're not usually like this.” Franco leaned by your side in the bar counter. You looked him right into his eyes before talking, “Nothing. I am fine.” you looked back at the barman and ordered a drink. “Yeah? Come on, the Y/N I know would be dancing like crazy at this time of the night but look at you. You look like you've seen a ghost.” “I guess you don't really know me then.”, you sip on your drink.

“Because you don't let me!” he raised his voice a bit but lowered it down right after. “Okay. I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me. It's probably none of my business anyway.” Franco orders himself a drink too.

“It's Augusto. He– well. I don't know if you know but him and I were in a relationship. Actually, I don't even know if I could call it a relationship since he didn't gave a care about our thing. And like, he really seemed in love with me— at least he said he were but then he cheated on me with Martha! And we all hate Martha, and she hates our friends group, it's a mutual feeling! Why would he do this?” you sigh. You would blame your rant on the drink but by only a sip it wouldn't be really believable. You just needed someone to listen.

“Oh. I am sorry to hear that. I get it that's a real awkward place to be right now..” Franco looked back at the table where your other friends were and then back at you. “And it's kind of my fault, he wasn't gonna come but I dragged him here so I really am sorry. And ugh. He's really a jerk. I'm sorry, again!” you chuckled a bit. “What are you so sorry for? None of it is your fault... you didn't even know him and I were having troubles.”

“Yeah but still.. I feel bad. But like, it's his loss, right? Cheating on you” he looks you up and down and give you a smirk “with Martha is really stupid.” Franco makes a disgusted face. “Cause, don't get me wrong, you're like a goddess and she's like... well.”

“Franco! I might hate her but I'm a girls girl. I don't talk about other's appearance. But thanks for the compliment, I appreciate.”

“Eh, whatever I guess. But you do get what I mean.” he smirks again. “You want to stay here? If so, I can make Augusto leave, I have my ways.” “No, it's okay. I guess I can handle being in the same place as him for some hours, right?”

“If you don't then we can always leave and go to a better place, they always say my house is magical.” That's it. the first kinda pick up line he'd gave you.

If it were someone else you'd probably just ignore or maybe stand up and leave, but since it's Franco, you just laughed.

...

“Okay, now tell me a time Y/N laughed with you!” Franco asked Jose, while getting ready to kart. “Everytime, she's the dumbest girl ever, of course she'd laugh about something you said. Now can we focus on karting? I have a bet to win!”

“Ugh! No, Jose. I mean really laughed. Like, meaning it. Or with those shine eyes?” He zips his race suit and grab his helmet. “Like I said, everytime. Franco, you can't feel special by making her laugh if kids falling from their chair make her laugh her ass out!”

“Seriously, I think sometimes you don't have faith in my skills. But I really made her laugh. It's a progress! She's almost falling in love with me. Even though she's still getting over Augusto, I can already see our future together!”

“You're crazy. She was probably just drunk, too.”

“Jose. Just get it. We're soulmates, okay? But anyway, that was not the reason I bought Y/N up. We should throw a party next Friday. Like to all of our friends— minus Augusto, even though he's not my friend anymore— and some more and especially, Y/N. Like, this will help me so much with my plan. Because she will be like “Oh hi Franco” so sweet and then I'll use all of my charm and then by the end of the night, we'll be dancing at a song, body to body, and she'll say something like “Franco... I think I am in love with you”. And then we will kiss and live happily after.”

“Why am I even your friend... It's your house, man! You do what you want. But right now, I just want to focus on karting! Keep your romantics scenarios to yourself, okay? Please!”

“No, no, no. Wait. I didn't finish yet! That'll be a way to ask her out, without asking her out. Get it? All of that because of Augusto, because sincerely, I'd have proposed to her already by now.”

Sitting in a counter table in the library, minding your own business while trying hard to decore all the subjects you had to study for your finals, you didn't expect to see anyone. Neither him approaching you out of nowhere.

“Y/N! Wow! What are the odds?” Franco smiled, walking right up to you. There were books all over the table and there were you with a serious expression on your face. “Oh, hi Franco. How'd you find me here..?”

“Ah! I was walking around and you know... I wanted to find a cooking book! I like to cook but I want to improve my skills!” Sofia definitely did not tell me, he thought. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm studying for my finals”

“Eh, that's boring. But you know what is not boring? Party. I'm throwing a party next Friday, so if you feel like swinging by.. but, you know, whatever! Also, all of our friends will be there! Not him. He's not our friend anymore.” Franco slids down in a chair besides you.

“Oh. I'd love to but next weekend I'll have a family dinner in other city! Too bad your party isn't tonight..” you smile softly at him. Gosh. He loves this smile way too much.

“But it is tonight! Did I say next Friday? I meant this Friday. The party is tonight, yeah.”

...

“Hey, Jose. Invite everyone. We're throwing a party tonight at my place. In 2 hours.”

“Wha—” Franco hangs up.

party number one.

The atmosphere was insanely amazing. Franco's apartment was full of people he knew would make you feel great and happy. After all, he planned this party just for you. All your favorite songs were on the list for the DJ to play, your favorite drinks in easy access. There was nothing that could go wrong.

I only threw this party for you

For the first hours of the party, Franco was still with high hopes. Maybe you were stuck in traffic? Who knows. He didn't. No one actually did.

“Man, the fuck are you doing by the window? The party isn't on the roof, is it? Or is there a VIP area there?” a drunk friend of yours asked Franco, who were sat by the window looking outside, or more exactly, to the front door of his residence.

“What? No, there isn't.” He rolls his eyes, “I'm just.. waiting. I'm waiting for her.”

“Her...? You mean Y/N? Please. There's a lot of hot girls here and you choose to wait for someone who's probably not even showing up?”

“Excuse me? She's a hot girl too. And she is coming, she told me so.”

“Well, she once told me she was fucking my dad. Which is not true! Like, it was an insult but the point is that she's not always telling the truth.”

Franco just laughs at this. “She'll show up.”

I was hopin' you would come through

You didn't show up.

“Ugh.. at least it was a great experience, right?” Franco looks to the side to find no one. His friends were gone by this hour in the morning.

His phone starts ringing. It's Y/N. Franco waits for it to ring for somes seconds before answering. To be casual.

“Hi Franco. I'm sorry I missed your party. I studied all night because I found out I had gotten the wrong book.”

“Oh, hola! Yeah, it's okay.. Did you had a great study session?”

“No.. not really. Well, I wish your party was tonight–”

“It is tonight! It's a two-day party, you know? We always do that. So if you wanna swing by...”

party number two.

It's almost 2 a.m., and to be for real, most of the people in Franco's apartment were extremely tired. The party has been going on for 7 hours, and the same people tonight were there last night. And still no signals of Y/N— which made Franco drink like crazy.

“Sofiaa!! Did you see Y/N coming in? I think I saw her but I might had lost her in this crowd...” Franco slips an arm around Sofia's shoulder and she immediately pulls him away. “No, drunk ass. She's not coming, didn't you know? Spent too much time studying again and is probably asleep right now. Which is sad, because she told me she was really looking forward for tonight's party.” Sofia shrugs and then leave, walking to the center of the living room, where all the others were.

“Franco, can we leave already? I'm not vibing this party anymore!” Maria was the first one to complain, standing up from the armchair almost falling behind.

“No— I mean.. damnit! Wait, what if she forgot about the party? You know, she is always the one who bring the vibes so if I call her maybe it'll make her come and the party will be great as ever?”

“Didn't you listen to Sofia? She's probably asleep now, idiot.” Jose groaned, already making his way up to the door.

“Have faith in my skills! Jose, remember what I told you the other day.” Franco speaks a little too loud and made Jose stop right with the hand on the handle. He grabs his phone and dials Y/N's number. “Ok, listen, you all. If she doesn't answer, you can leave. But, if she does and say she's gonna come, I want everyone to have smiles on your faces! Alright?”

Called your digits, but the phone kept ringin'

“She is asleep, Franco! We're leaving, alright? Gosh. I hate these pathetic romantic men!” Maria gets up, incredibly fine from the drunk state she is. All the rest follow behind her and Franco who threw himself on the couch, was left alone, tired and kind of upset.

...

Franco is awaken up with a special ringtone— the one he chose only for her. His movements were lazy, but as reading the message, he become more and more energetic.

Hi, Franco. I'm so sorry!!!! I was studying a lot again but then when I came back to my place I found out I had to babysit my neighbor's daughter! It was an insane night. I'm so sorry. I wish your party was tonight.

Franco immediately sits up, with an idiot but hopefully smile on his face.

But the party is today! You know, it's a thing here. Two-day parties become three-day parties! If the party number one is cool, why not make it three parties? The whole weekend! You coming, then?

He waits for an answer.

Oh, really? That's a cool thing to do with parties, I guess. I'll come then. Cya!

party number three.

“Franco Alejandro Colapinto. I swear to God! We're here for like 1 hour and she's still not here. I'm losing all the time I could be karting to be here for not one, not two, but three parties just for Y/N to show up! And she never does! I mean, where is she, Franco? Where is Y/N?!” Jose storms out, and when he turns around to leave, he finds you, drink in hand, talking to Sofia. “Oh, hi Y/N.”, Jose immediately leaves.

I only threw this party for you

You try to understand what just happened and you find Franco in the couch, with an awkward expression on his face. “Hum. So, you only threw these parties for me?” You grin as you approach him.

“Uh no! I mean, yes. But, don't get me wrong or anything, I just wanted to see you!” he gets up from the couch and scratches the back of his neck.

“Well, here I am. Anyway, too bad it's not a three-days parties, I really liked the thought.”

“Yeah? We could start doing that, then.” Franco smiles and wraps his arms around your waist. A bold move, but you didn't push him away.

“Just kiss already, oh my gosh.” Sofia says, too drunk, too loud.

Franco closes the distance between the two of you and kiss your lips, inpatient, but sweet, as if he had been dreaming about this moment. And he did.

...

The End!

[rpmemes-galore]

the last of us (game) ... sentence starters

"Endure and survive."

"Holy shit. She's infected."

"There is no other choice here."

"You have no idea what loss is."

"You listen to me, you little shit…"

"Come on. Make this easy for me."

"Yeah, well, I was trying to kill you."

"No, fuck you! You handcuffed me!"

"How is it that you're never scared?"

"I shot the hell out of that guy, huh?!"

"But, man… you can't deny that view."

"And we are going our separate ways."

"We're not murderers. We just survive."

"I will not turn into one of those things."

"It's called luck, and it is gonna run out."

"Well, is that everything you hoped for?"

"You're lucky you're still drawing breath."

"What are we doing here? This is not us."

"It can't be any worse out there… can it?"

"They sacrifice the few to save the many."

"What do you know about us? About me?"

"Yeah, I thought you were one of them, too."

"Just take it easy. Drugs are still wearing off."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit."

"That was plan A, B, C, all the way to fuckin' Z!"

"You're treading on some mighty thin ice here."

"Oh, baby girl. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay now."

"You're gonna be really happy you didn't kill me."

"I'm sure your 'friend' will be missing this tonight."

"(name) saw the world one way, I saw it the other."

"I'm… I'm not going anywhere. This is my last stop."

"I'm exhausted and I just want this to end… So be it."

"Well, I ain't leavin' without you. Let's go wrap this up."

"Ssh, ssh! It's okay! It's me, it's me! Look, look. It's me."

"No, no, no, that was your crusade, I'm not doing that."

"Admit that you wanted to get rid of me the whole time."

"I'm glad I didn't get my head blown off by a goddamn kid."

"Hearing them talk, it's good to know they're scared of you."

"Swear to me. Swear to me that everything you said is true."

"Well, I guess we're both disappointed with each other then."

"This tunnel, you use it to smuggle things? Like, illegal things?"

"Focus right here, right here. Or I'll pop your goddamn knee off."

"Where are anyone's parents? They've been gone a long, long time."

"And just so we're clear about back there… It was either him or me."

"Well, maybe in all that research they turned into fucking monkeys."

"I'm just saying, I'm glad you're on my side. That was a compliment."

"You're right. You're not my daughter. And I sure as hell ain't your dad."

"The tests just keep getting harder and harder, don't they? I'm so tired."

"It's okay. I would've probably done the same thing. Where are you from?"

"People are making apocalypse jokes like there's no tomorrow… Too soon."

"They might still look like people, but that person is not in there anymore."

"Really? Guess what, we're shitty people. It's been that way for a long time."

"I lost most of my crew crossing the country. I pretty much lost everything."

"I guess no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape your past. Thank you."

"After all we've been through. Everything that I've done. It can't be for nothing."

"Listen to me: if I get in trouble down there, you make every shot count. Yeah?"

"Look, there's enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me."

"I believe his last words to me were 'I don't ever want to see your goddamn face again'."

"I hate to interrupt your little biology lesson, but can we get the fuck out of here? Please?"

"I dedicated my life to this cause and… now I won't get to see whether we make it or not."

"I…. can't imagine losing someone you love like that. Losing everything that you know."

"And then you show up and somehow we find you just in time to save her. Maybe it was meant to be."

"I'm gettin' you outta here, baby girl. I got you. I got you. Come on. We're okay… we're okay… we're okay…"

"You know, as bad as those things are, at least they're predictable. It's the normal people that scare me."

"I get it. But whatever it is you think you're going through right now is nothing to what I have been through."

"I struggled for a long time with surviving. And you... no matter what, you keep finding something to fight for."

"Is this really all they had to worry about? Boys, movies… deciding which shirt goes with which skirt? It's bizarre."

"Do you even realize what your life means? Huh? Running off like that, putting yourself at risk — it's pretty goddamn stupid."

"You wanna know the best thing about my job? I don't gotta know why. Be honest with you, I could give two shits what you're up to."

"What if the people are still inside? What if they're trapped in there, without any control of their body? I'm scared of that happening to me."

"Yeah, everyone barricaded themselves in their homes. Then supplies started runnin' low. That's when you saw what people are really capable of."

"You know what? No. How about 'Hey, I know it wasn't easy, but it was either him or me, thanks for saving my ass'… You got anything like that for me?"

"And in this world, that sort of shit's good for one thing — gettin' ya killed. So you know what I did? I wisened the fuck up. And I realized it's gotta be just me."

"Everyone I have cared for has either died, or left me. Everyone—fucking except for you! So don't tell me I would be safer with somebody else, because the truth is, I would just be more scared."

[jacksonekennedy]

"You don't have to hold me to anything. I already know what dress I'm gonna wear for dancing."

Oh. She knew what dress she’d be wearing. Jack tried imagining it, but before he could get too far, his mouth blurted out:

“What dress?”

He’d asked the question before the words had even formed in his brain. It had been a selfish, impulsive thing, and he regretted it as soon as he’d asked.

Jack snapped his mouth shut, as if to make a point that he’d spoken before thinking. He offered a sheepish smile, before thinking about his words a little more cautiously.

“Don’t answer that. I want it to be a surprise, actually.”

It would be torture. Who knows when they’d go dancing? With Alice’s schedule, and Jack set to return to D.C. in the next few weeks for a (likely) disciplinary or investigative hearing. He’d do whatever it took, though. Spend the thousands of dollars just to fly to New York. Just to dance for one night.

Just to see her in that dress, whatever it looked like.

It would definitely be a date, Jack thought. He would make sure to clarify as well, the closer the time came. Or, well, he’d ask. Surely he wasn’t reading this whole thing wrong.

For some reason, the realization that Jack and Alice were both aware of where this was heading was … exciting. A little embarrassing, but in a sweet way? Maybe embarrassing wasn’t the right word for it though. It felt very … innocent at times. The exciting part of meeting someone new and realizing that the feelings go both ways.

If Jack had any doubt, well, Alice had put those fears to rest by suggesting that maybe they hold hands.

“Oh, one hundred percent. It’s probably worse than plastic surgery and the dentist. I really don’t know if hand holding will be enough, but we can give it a try.”

What else could there be?

The promise of a kiss, maybe?

Jack didn’t want to push it though. It was late, and talking about kissing Alice would only make him wade through the water until he was staring up at her, silently pleading for her mouth.

His phone buzzed again. Jack sighed. It was his mother. Was that the third or fourth text of the day?

“You have no idea how badly I want to stay out here and keep spending time with you, but I promised my mom that I’d call her tonight.”

Jack realized how … stupid that sounded. And childish. He felt the need to offer up an explanation.

“I’ve kind of been ghosting her. Everyone, really, since you’ve been here, but before that, too.”

Jack was sure that she could guess why. Things hadn’t been good, but they felt so much better now. At least, in that moment they did. Jack was on a high that no one could bring down. Maybe he’d even make plans to see his mother the weekend after Alice left. That would make her happy.

“She threatened to drive up tomorrow if I didn’t. So.”

Jack offered an apologetic smile. He felt like it was a good place to end the night, though. The promise of seeing each other after the week was over. Already, Jack felt a bit of relief that he’d see her again. He’d see her in that dress, in that Yankees hat — or even a Yankees t-shirt… but maybe that was pushing it.

“I had a really nice day with you though.”

Jack smiled. He really meant it. Enjoying coffee together, swimming, the trip to the falls, dinner. Getting to learn about Alice’s family and their little traditions. Her parents dancing in the living room. And Alice’s voice. Her beautiful, perfect voice that he was certain he’d dream about.

“One of the best I’ve had in … a really long time.”

God. It was really good that there was a body of water between them. Jack wanted to kiss her goodnight.

“It was really perfect, actually.”

Okay. Okay, he could stop talking now. The more that he hung around, the more difficult it would be to leave. The more he talked, the more he'd be tempted to ask about the dress again. Jack didn't want to spoil anything.

“Alright. If I don’t leave now … anyway.”

Jack stood, legs dripping from the water. He scooped up his shoes with one hand. He paused for a second, and his mouth almost did that thing again. There was almost an offer to walk her up to her bedroom, but ... that wouldn't have lead anywhere good. Jack was glad he managed to regain some self control (but not really, because he still turned around).

One last look. He smiled at Alice, very softly.

Isn't this what had turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt? Or what had condemned Eurydice back to the underworld?

Jack was glad that there was no biblical punishment for this. And, even if there was ... fuck it.

"Sweet dreams, Alice."

Alice bites her lip for a long moment while observing his smile— a part of aims for composure, but, alas.

She's fairly certain it's a losing game.

Jack simply looks too handsome like this. He looked too happy, about the prospect of seeing Alice again.

It makes her neck hot. Her hands feel all fidgety too, like they're too flighty to rest in her lap, too twitchy to skim the water. Like she needs to touch something. No. Not something. Jack. She really just needs to touch Jack.

And there was flickering between them right now too; something bright and new and exciting, but it wasn't flimsy, it felt, especially now ... substantial.

What she felt for Jack felt substantial.

'I’m gonna hold you to this. The Yankees game and the dancing,'

'Like, the day you leave, I’m sending you a calendar invite with different days to pick from.'

Alice shakes her head and smiles.

"You don't have to hold me to anything. I already know what dress I'm gonna wear for dancing."

It was black— not too long — and the hem of it had layers, pretty ruffles that moved like rippling water. She hopes Jack will see her in it and feel something. She hopes Jack will see her in it and feel compelled to twirl her, to dip her, maybe even pull her close to her chest and rest his forehead against hers and—

Well.

Alice would really like a kiss.

More than anything, she wants piano music to float above their heads as they stand on weathered hardwood, nicked by years and years of footsteps and dance steps, and she wants Jack to kiss her, and she wants to feel that fire rear up in her belly again like from tonight.

She really wants Jack to want that too.

And when it does happen, she wants Jack to want it again, and then there's another Yankees game, and another dance night on the calendar, and then another set of those, and another, and she's Scheherazade, extending their time together in a never-ending story of stadium seats and slow dances.

Again and again and again.

'We should go to the museum anyway. Get it out of the way so you can’t threaten me with it. And — well, there’s no way you could’ve known this, and if you repeat this … I’ll be very hurt by it — but dolls creep me the fuck out. So… apple dolls? I don’t know. I’m willing to go though. Face my fears.'

Alice smiles like the cat that got the cream.

Willing to face apple dolls for her? Willing to go this creepy ass muesum all because she'd suggested, jokingly?

"Apple dolls are scarier than normal dolls, I think— they look extra wizened."

"It might be a dentist or plastic surgery kind of situation. Where you might need to hold my hand."

Yeah. They definitely should hold hands there.

[codthefishgod]

Analysis post for episode 83 of Faroff, AKA Truth: Part 2

Split below for spoilers!

I am VERY sorry that this is late LMAO, this is probably one of my longest analysis posts so far and I haven't read through it all again yet so I hope it makes sense--knowing me I probably forgot something. 💀

Okay, unfortunately I did skip last episode's analysis post (I've been in a crappy place recently, I'm recovering more now though), BUT I'm BACK and THANK FUCK BECAUSE HOLY CRAP THIS EPISODE WAS JUICY-

First off, Tobias getting really and properly angry for the first time? Tobias in general seems to make a point of never showing ANY extreme emotions, happy or sad or otherwise. He's usually in a state of neutrality, and there have only been a handful of times where he's done otherwise (example of one of these times below.)

Fun fact, when I first saw this panel it was because someone on Instagram had it as their profile picture (they had it before the episode came out to non-Patreon subscribers), and I genuinely didn't think it was real (as in a canon panel) because I didn't think Tobias would show that much emotion until I actually saw the episode myself!

This is yet another way that he's the polar opposite of Fenn, considering Fenn is almost always showing extreme emotions and it's when he's calm that's odd for him.

Obviously this isn't because Tobias doesn't experience extreme emotions, but because it was dangerous to express any sort of vulnerability when he lived with his family. It's become ingrained in his behaviour.

So.

Him being genuinely, seriously, all out PISSED for the first time in Faroff history. Occurring at the same time as him being truly vulnerable about his past for the first time. It's no wonder that he has a lot of pent up anger about his past, considering everything, but what IS interesting is how it's manifesting, considering Tobias has never really directly spoken about his feelings towards his family on screen.

Most of his anger doesn't seem to be directed at his family for treating him badly, but at himself for not meeting their expectations.

He blames himself for them not showing him any love or attention. And he also seems to believe that maybe, just maybe, if he does the right thing or is in a bad enough situation, there's still a chance for them to accept him.

There's this panel to show that, not to mention that I've thought for a while that this is the reason behind why he's looking forward to going back to Vaylin (not so much since the Edward announcement but 😬.) I think he thinks that if he just does what they want for long enough, or at least stays out of their way, they'll care about him. If he fulfills this imaginary role he thinks he's supposed to, they'd love him. Of course, we know this to be untrue--just look at Edward--but one of Tobias' main motivations throughout this series has been shown to be the desire to be loved. And when all he's ever been taught is that usefulness = love, of course he's going to gauge everything by that.

Speaking of this panel specifically, this is actually kind of news to me, considering I've suspected for a long time that Tobias purposely failed out. Turns out that's not the case. He is genuinely, seriously, horribly bad at being a soldier.

Which brings me into my next point.

Fenn being forced to consider a new type of worth.

Throughout this series, Fenn has shown several times that he values himself entirely (or at least mostly) by how good a soldier he is. To him, that is All That Matters--serving your country and doing it well. Tobias has always acted as if he thought this was dumb, but it's being revealed to us now, that NO--Tobias was ALSO brainwashed for as long as he's been alive (though in a different way), and he ALSO values himself by how good a soldier he is. He's just a lot better at hiding that fact.

And this isn't a situation where Tobias actually is good at it and is just being hard on himself. He's the real deal. He fucking sucks at being a soldier.

But we also know that Fenn doesn't think Tobias is useless. We know Fenn values him. And Fenn knows that too. So he will be forced to confront this--that maybe being a soldier ISN'T all that matters, and there's more than one way a person can be important and worthy of love. Not only for Tobi, but for himself.

Continuing on the note of Fenn...

This also tells us some new information. What Fenn says about Tobias has a much bigger impact on him than previously thought. Similar to what I was talking about earlier, Tobias has always acted like Fenn's insults don't mean anything to him. But Tobias bringing up what Fenn has said about him in the past tells us something different--they DO hurt him.

I'll admit that I've seen the similarities in how Fenn (particularly early Fenn) sometimes talks to Tobias and how Tobias' family talked to him. But it's never been exactly clear how much this affects Tobias. It seems that he's been internalising at least some of the stuff Fenn says to him.

Now this is a dark take on this whole situation, but. Abuse victims are more likely to end up in abusive relationships because they're used to abusive dynamics, and may even see normal/healthy relationships as uncomfortable. I am NOT saying Fenn is abusive--he has his own reasons for acting the way he did, many of which are completely understandable from his perspective, though misguided. I AM saying that Tobias has acted uneasy and/or confused in the past when Fenn has acted in a way that contradicted his family's abuse (telling him his art is great, that his ideas are worth listening to, etc.)

This is part of why I think Fenn and Tobias aren't quite ready to be in a romantic relationship yet. There is a certain number of things that Fenn can show Tobias through treating him right, but Tobias shouldn't be dependent on Fenn to know what he deserves and what he's worth. And he should know what sort of treatment isn't okay. He should be able to tell Fenn if something he says hurts him.

Fenn would never hurt Tobias on purpose, but things happen when a person is prone to not speaking out for themselves. Tobias needs to have more character development so they can both have a more healthy relationship in the long run.

...Alright. Moving on.

Minor detail but it was confirmed that Tobias kept his identity a secret because he was afraid of Fenn reacting badly to it. I think most of us suspected that, though.

On a MUCH more positive note, we're about to get into Fenn's reaction!!!

In the past, Fenn has usually only helped Tobias when he's making an excuse for why it's okay, or when he's put their circumstances out of his mind and is refusing to think about them. For example, Fenn cooking for Tobias in the beginning and making the excuse that it's unfair if he's better fed than Tobias, or Fenn pretending that he and Tobias aren't enemies when they were slow dancing together.

But this time, there were no excuses. If he was following the law, he would report him. There was no ignoring their situation or putting it out of his mind. Hell, even Tobias himself threw it right in front of Fenn.

And yet he still chose to help him. I don't know if this development will continue as strongly after this episode--after all, Fenn tends to have a slight development regression after major steps in their relationship--but to me this is showing that he's at least getting closer to not needing some sort of excuse to justify him caring about Tobias. He's getting closer to being able to admit to himself that even if he didn't "have" to interact with him, he would still want to. And he's getting closer to being at a point where he would readily pick Tobias over Sona.

Not only that, but something else was missing as well.

You might've noticed that Fenn sometimes shakes before making a decision that'll bring him closer to Tobi. [Examples below]

I think it signifies internal conflict and struggling with making the decision.

He didn't do it this time, which to me means that this was not a difficult decision to make for him.

And that's not even mentioning the fact that Fenn called Tobias TOBI for the first time!!!

The way this went is quite vastly different from the way the first time Fenn called Tobias "Tobias" went. When that happened, as we remember, it was quite....DRAMATIC. Fenn basically regretted his decision almost immediately and flipped his shit.

But this time around, it was actually a very natural delivery. There was not nearly as much fanfare around it, and so far Fenn is not having the same sort of negative reaction as he did to calling Tobias "Tobias" for the first time. This makes a lot of sense to me, because the two names mark significantly different steps in their relationship.

Calling Tobias "Tobias" was the first proper break into "MAYBEEEEEEEEEEE he isn't the scum of the earth." Fenn reacted very dramatically to it because he had only just accepted that a truce between them was possible and was still deep in Vaylinians-are-inherently-evil-ville. He saw it as himself slipping up and I don't think he even really understood why he chose to do it the first time.

Calling Tobias "Tobi" for the first time, though? Definitely past the "maybe he isn't a bad person" mark. They already have a sort of relationship at this point, unlike the first situation where their "relationship" was basically them just shouting at and insulting each other. Calling Tobias "Tobi" is almost... A term of acceptance to me, if that makes sense? As in, "I'm NOT just doing this because we have a truce, or because I just feel guilty, but because I care about you and you specifically." There is no real excuse for him calling Tobias "Tobi." The only explanation is that he wants to, because he cares about him. It's calmer because it's accepting that. It was deliberate.

They also represent different things. I've talked in the past before about how Fenn says "Vaylinian" when he sees Tobias principally as an enemy, and "Tobias" when he sees Tobias as a real person. I think "Tobi" is not only seeing Tobias as a real person, but as an important person. A good person.

I also think "Tobi" is the signifier that Fenn and Tobias are officially friends now. Before, they always felt like they were this weird in between. Not friends, but not really enemies either. Now I think we've crossed the line into friendship.

And, though I may be wrong about this, I don't think Fenn will be calling Tobias "Vaylinian" at all after this episode. I just don't think Fenn will see Tobias in that way anymore, and now that he knows that Tobias has such low self esteem, I feel he wouldn't want to contribute to it.

Actually, I think this change may be one of the most permanent ones, purely because I don't think Fenn could bring himself to be mean to Tobias again knowing everything that he already thinks of himself. Tobias already thinks that he's useless, that he's a bad soldier, that he's a failure, that he's not someone worthy of love or friendship. Fenn is too good hearted a person to encourage thoughts like that. He can't just change his mind and go all "oh actually I hate you again," he has to think more about how what he does and says actually affects Tobias, and I think he'll become more considerate as a result. I even think Fenn will become more forthcoming about initiating physical contact and other positive interactions. (Speaking of physical contact, this isn't the first time they've hugged, but it's the first time Fenn has hugged Tobias and the first time they've both been an active part of a hug. The other time was kinda just Tobi hugging Fenn and Fenn being too in shock to respond LMAO.)

Overall, I think they're both going to be closer as a result of this interaction. This is the first time Tobias has been truly vulnerable with Fenn, and this is a great sign that the trust in their relationship won't be so one sided anymore (I do believe Fenn has trusted Tobias more than Tobias has trusted him on an emotional level.) Fenn's reaction was VERY important, especially considering Tobi's main reason for not telling Fenn about this was in fear of his reaction. It's proving Tobi's fears wrong and assuring him that it IS safe to tell Fenn about these sorts of things. This is INCREDIBLY important if we want Tobias to get some proper character development. I've always said that I don't think Tobias could get real character development until Fenn got his, and I think this proves that. This is the starting point of Tobias' development arc, and it would've never happened if Fenn hadn't gotten the development he needed to react the way he did. Tobias needs a safe person that he's never really had before, and it's starting to show that Fenn can be that for him, so he can begin to confront his past and realise he deserves better. Fenn's influence especially will probably help him accept the idea that he might not be in the wrong. :)

(I also think the more they both grow away from the people and forces that brainwashed them, the more receptive they'll probably become to the idea of trying to avoid being sent back to their home countries. Escape arc when? 👁)

Thanks for reading!

[burningcheese-merchant]

Okay I was scrolling through the Hollysugar tag after some screenshots from a yuriful trailer popped up on my FYP, and I saw someone begging that Hollysugar be not toxic and able to be healthy, and that ‘Holly is forgiving’ and cursing out Shadowvanilla. What’s funny is 1. This was worded in such a way that it made it seem like OP though Pure Vanilla was also complicit in Shadowvanilla’s toxicity for… fighting back against Shadow Milk (I knew it… PV was the true manipulator all along… oh yeah it’s all coming together…) and 2… why can’t women be toxic, op? Huh???? Why can’t we have our well-deserved toxic yuri??? What do you, hate women???? /lh

Some dumb little stupid baby: pLeAsE dOn'T LeT HoLLySuGaR bE tOxiC waaaaaaahhhhhh I'm too cowardly to accept the dark reality of the Beasts' and Ancients' connection and do proper character exploration of both sides of the dynamic waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh I'm too weak to handle toxic yuri waaaaahhhhhh I dabble in mild sexism by thinking women are incapable of wrongdoing, thus denying women agency and the capacity to be fully realized complex human beings, instead forcing them to be perfect one-dimensional angels that exist only to soothe my paper-thin skin and cater to my boring modern fluffy coffee shop AU fantasies waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

(I'm exaggerating for comedic purposes lol. But regardless, that person genuinely is lame. Eternal Sugar is evil. She has committed heinous crimes against countless innocent people. There is simply no way for the relationship to not be toxic, at least to some degree, as ES is now. That stuff is part of the Beast x Ancient deal. It's enemies to lovers. It's hero/villain. It's forbidden love (but also not, because they're soulmates, forever bound to one another). You either accept that or you admit that Beast x Ancient is not for you. Come on man, have fun, live a little, it's fiction)

[certifiedsexed]

Hey, I saw you reblog that one post that says "you are no different than middle schoolers using "gay" as a synonym for "stupid" or "lame"." And I was just wondering (as I'm in 8th grade now) is it ok for me to say use "gay" in that way if I'm LGBTQ? (Or at least I'm pretty sure I am). Bc I don't mean it in a homophobic way or anything, I js think it's kinda silly 😭 sorry if this is a weird ask

Well, I think joking occasionally about homophobia (in the way you're referencing) can be okay, I'd just be careful about it!

Like, if you're in the wrong crowd, that's just going to be taken as you being homophobic and you'll hurt people's feelings.

It's okay to joke about shit sometimes but like that post was referencing, don't do it about people and make sure you're joking with someone who understands you're just joking.

Also, y'know, moderate. Don't actually use "gay" to mean stupid or something like that, make sure it's actually just an occasional joke. Otherwise, it might become an instinct and that can kinda mess you up.

Btw, no worries about weird asks, I love all kinds of questions. <3

[ofstarsandvibranium]

How to Woo Someone

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing: Poe Dameron x F!Reader

prompt #1464

“Do you have any tips on how to woo someone?”

“You’re trying to woo someone?”

“Why do you have to say it like that?” from @writers-are-writers

After the fall of The First Order, Poe thought life would be a little easier. But nothing ever came easy to Poe. Well, nothing except flying. Everything else was a bit of a struggle.

Rebuilding the galaxy after everything, was no walk in the park. As a general of the Resistance, Poe, as well as Finn and Rey, worked to make sure the galaxy found its peace again.

In the process, he made a lot more friends, a few enemies, but, most importantly, he met you.

You were basically in charge of your small village in Batuu. Poe and a few others had stopped on the planet to refuel and rest. You met him at the market, noticing the Resistance symbol on his satchel. You two got to talking and you brought him and his friends back to your village.

It was some distance from the Black Spire Outpost.

Your village was previously pillaged through by some First Order troops. You asked for Poe's help and he gave it to you.

What was supposed to be a short stop on an Outer Rim planet ended up being a two month's stay. For Poe, at least. He wanted to personally see to it that you and your village got the help you needed, while he let his friends continue their journey.

Poe helped lay more of a foundation again in your village. You already set up the blueprints, he just helped you carry out the plans.

"We make a great team. Honestly, I could use someone like you with the Resistance."

You snort, "Are you offering me a job?" you nudge him with your shoulder and a smirk on your lips.

"If you want it, yeah. Like I said, we need more people like you. People who are still willing to help others," he sighs and looks away from you, instead, looking out on a group of villagers helping build a new set of homes, "A lot of people lost hope and peace when the First Order took over. I want to restore that to them again."

You slowly nod, "I'd love to help, but I need to talk with my council."

"Of course. I'm here for a few more days so you have time," he places a reassuring hand on your shoulder and then goes to join the group of builders.

__________________________

While also helping you rebuild your village, Poe became acquainted with several members of your council. One of them being your cousin who was around the same age as Poe.

As he was helping the builders, Poe pauses to watch you interact with some of the village children.

Your cousin, Sendril, slaps him on the chest, "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, um, ye-yeah," he struggles to pull his eyes away from you as you laugh at something one of the children say. Then Poe asks Sendril, “Do you have any tips on how to woo someone?”

Sendril cocks a brow and asks back, “You’re trying to woo someone?”

Poe's face scrunches up in confusion, “Why do you have to say it like that?”

Sendril shrugs, "I don't know, you just seem so...serious all the time. Didn't think you'd wanna woo anyone." He continues to place bricks to build a wall of a home.

Poe sighs and joins him, "Well, wooing anyone was the last thing on my mind, but..." he pauses and looks back at you, again. His attention is brough back when Sendril snorts, "Good luck."

"Has Y/N ever been with anyone?" Poe asks as he smears concrete and then places a brick down.

"Once, didn't go well. They left her to go explore the galaxy with someone else. She was heartbroken, never saw or heard of her being with anyone else since."

Poe hums, "Would she be interested?"

"In you?" Sendril asks, looking at Poe. When Poe nods, Sendril scrunches up his nose, "Honestly, I'm not sure. Considering you don't plan on being here for much longer, probably not."

"I asked her if she'd want to come with me, help people rebuild around the galaxy."

"What'd she say?"

"She has to talk to the council. Do you think they'd let her go?"

Sendril hums, "It's likely. Y/N is a great leader and has helped us keep our heads above water since the First Order pillaged us, but we're stronger now. We can continue without her." He stands up and crosses his arms over his chest. Sendril may be around the same age as Poe but he's taller and stronger. He casts an intimidating shadow over Poe as he asks, "And are you going to treat her right?"

"If she allows something to happen between us, then yes. While I've only been here for a short time, I already know Y/N to be a strong, caring, and wise person. I admire how well she's led you all through these tough times. She's also funny and beautiful and kind-"

Sendril rolls his eyes and interrupts him, "Alright, I get it. You're smitten for my cousin. I'll give you my blessing since I'm the only family she has left, however, hurt her-"

"And you'll lay me in the ground, I got it."

Your cousin snorts, "No. She'd do that to you, herself. But I'd help bury your body."

"...Thanks, Dril."

"You're welcome, Poe!"

______________________________

You told Poe you’d be seeing the council that morning to discuss your potential leave.

Outside of the building, Poe couldn’t help but pace back and forth. He understands if the council would prefer for you to stay since the village is still in the process of rebuilding. However, Poe really thinks you could do a lot of good around other parts of the galaxy as well. So he hopes the council sees it too.

It was thirty minutes of deliberation before you stepped out.

“Well?”

You smile at him, “When do we leave?”

Poe immediately pulls you into a hug a swings you around, “You’re going to do amazing things out there, Y/N. I just know it.”

You giggle in his embrace, “Thanks, Poe,” you say as you pull away.

You two stare at each other in silence. Poe’s eyes are soft as he looks back at you and then glances at your lips.

He slowly leans in towards you, giving you time to pull away. But you don’t, so when his lips touch yours, he pulls you closer.

You kiss him back with intensity, the secret feelings you’ve kept buried inside you for the past two months. Those feelings and thoughts of Poe spilling out as you kiss him back.

“So this is how you woo her?”

You both pull away to see Sendril leaning against the council building with a smirk.

You clear your throat and ask, “Woo who?”

Poe sighs and shakes his, “Ignore him.”

Sendril laughs, “Just don’t forget to invite me to the wedding,” he shoots a wink at you and carries on his with his day.

Poe clears his throat, “So, um, should probably start packing. Got the whole galaxy to see.”

You smile brightly at him, “Right.”

You step aside and begin to walk to your home, but then you turn around, “For the record, I do still expect you to woo me, Dameron.”

He laughs, “Don’t worry. I plan too,” he smirks your way before you turn back to head home.

[arcadekitten]

I might have a paragraph about the little children..but... OKAY SO. Do the main little three children group (aka Ryo Embry and necrotary) all hangout together? 2nd question: Does Embry like I don't know..joke with necrotary about stuff? Like "oh your gross" and then necrotary would respond like "well at least I'm mentally stable!" And like you know insults as kinda a friendly/jokingly way? 3rd question: Do they play any games together? Like Nintendo or something like that! 4rd question: Similar to one of my other ones! But do they ever get babysat? 5th question:This is like a two in one question! So in BOH are they aged up a bit? And if they are when their aged up do they like I don't know. Be silly still? Like do they still joke around and stuff? (I do have one tiny question for Embry! IM SORRY FOR WASTING YOUR TIME WITH ALL THESE QUESTIONS! But is Embry diagnosed with anything? Like Autism,OCD,PTSD,or like a DID or are they just them? TYY if you'll answer all these for me!)

1: In universes where they are able to meet each other, they do all become friends!

2: I would say they're less like jokes and more like genuine grievances. Necrotary usually starts it but Necrotary and Embry can get very catty with each other, and simple mean comments can turn into real fights. Ryo is often the mediator who has to calm the both of them down. If Ryo wasn't there it's possible that Embry and Necrotary might go their separate ways after a bad fight.

3: In universes where videogames exist, I'm sure they do! They probably all play games together on something equivalent to the nintendo ds kinda. They'd be SO good at pictochat.

4: Depends on the character/situation! Generally Rune considers Ryo mature enough to look after himself at home. Embry would get a babysitter because their parents feel bad leaving them home alone, and Necrotary would get a babysitter to make sure she's not stirring up trouble.

5: They are slightly older in Blackout Hospital! Less like kids, more like tweens. I imagine they like hanging out near the skate park or going to the mall (though they usually need someone to drive them...)

6: Despite other characters of mine having explicit conditions, I don't think I'll ever really diagnose Embry with anything official. Especially given their star game, I wanted it to be open to interpretation! And I think that anyone who relates to Embry or notices certrain traits in Embry can impress their own meaning or interpretation on to what Embry "has" if they have anything at all! I hope that makes sense!

[coffeepaintwater]

old mdzs designs because they've been haunting me

notesss:

okay so character by character, starting right; nie huaisang is someone i've always imagined in contrast to his brother, so a small/frailer person compared to that hunk. so i'm always forgetting that hey, they actually ARE half-brothers!! there should be at least a tiny bit of resemblence!!! i'm not super happy with how much detail i've incomporated into his outfit because he's, at his soul, a young master with a penchant for the five arts, of course he's stylish!!! but also, i wanted to stay within bounds for my usual designs, where i aim to have a basic silhuette of a character down, like for animation. also, he is said to have an elegant face in the novel and i guess i just associate that with a heart shaped face and big eyes, but with added spice bcs i like for him to have that bit of slyness in his gaze.

jiang yanli, light of my life. i wasn't sure what i was aiming for with her because to be honest, besides jiang fengmian, she may be one of the character i understand the least. and not in the sense that she doesn't make sense to me, just that while reading i feel like i've gotten only a brief look at her goals and personality. so her character design reflects that i fear. i wanted to give her that cute, but plain face that yu ziyuan complained about (she describes her to be average/plain but it's also yu ziyuan soo...). and, going by novel canon, she also doesn't seem to have a sword or any weapon, so i've forgone any kind of disciple robes in favor of something a first daughter of a clan would wear. her hair was super fun to draw and a while ago someone advised me about adding golden beads/pearls as a hair ornament and yeah!!! the pattern on the lower part of her robes are also purple peonies :)

lan wangji the repressed fucker got such a basic design at first i had to tweak it by addign patterns to his robes. i love the idea of the lan robes looking like mourning clothes (as described by wei wuxian) bcs it's a) funny, b) devastating in the light of how much mourning lan wangji does in his life. his eyes actually make me wonder how much does cultivation change the features we normally associate with chinese/central asian regions? i caved and gave him golden eyes (described as "light") and then realized that wei wuxian also has grey/light eyes. it's fun to speculate whether it's cultivation shit or just a rogue ancestral gene that got passed down (maybe from his mother on lan wangji's side?? since the gusu lan is a clan settled in one place and one that generally doesn't venture far and then brings back people lol). his expression came out a lot sadder than bitter but oh well. and of course, the jade pendant and a jade crown to match, as a nod to The Untamed. in general, lan wangji was meant to be a mellow, delicate face with a body that, while well-built, gave the illusion of gentleness as well.

jiang cheng was the one i hesitated a bit on. but ultimately, he's got disciple robes and a nice crown since the time line on those designs is around "when no shit was going down". the rigid lines and shapes of his face was smth i can't let go of when is comes to him; it's just such a good fit for his personality. also, wanted him to contrast wei wuxian in his stature; he is centered and sturdy. the most subtle thing ever but the fabric for his pants in also more vibrantly dyed.

wei wuxian, cancelled king, was meant to be long, jagged lines contrasted by the playfulness of his wavy hair. like jiang cheng and jiang yanli i gave him more of a tan, not only for a vague resemblence, but also because yunmeng's climate from my understanding is that it's a subtropical monsoon (as is yunmeng, hubei in china irl) so hot summers with lots of sun to tan from are a thing. also, i just think it looks neat. suibian and his clarity bell are well secured and i still can't comprehend how does hair work in xianxia BC MY HAIR CAN'T DO THAT LONG ASS PONYTAIL WITH JUST A RIBBON. sadly, wwx gets no crown lol

also, someone please introduce the concept of a braid to all those bitches letting their long ass hair hang loose where anyone can grab it

[mclzandaya]

reposting this bc they explained and analysed the situation in such a better way than i did lol!

just to be less biased,, after this rant i decided to play as much as i could without spending too much money — spoiler, i spent way too much money bc it's impossible to catch up otherwise. managed to get up to ep 10 and here's what i will say.

yes, as many said, NG isn't even comparable to how bad CL/UL and LL were; it's a lot more fun to play, (some) characters aren't as annoying. but it still is v much frustrating to play at times for all the issues we evoked, if it wasn't for the fact that i binge-played a bunch of episodes, i would have been so frustrated with the pace of the story coupled with the interactions and again!! that was only possible because i /paid/ and a lot at that!!

just for some positiveness before the negativeness: i did enjoy playing jason's route if i ignored how many times i rolled my eyes. and i still think thomas' route seems the most enjoyable one to play, though devon seems okay as well but my LOM with him is really low so idk. but there are still so many things that just /don't/ make any sense and it's so frustrating to spend so many APs on a ridiculous storyline. spending a whole episode looking for thomas who just ended up being the most irresponsible adult i've ever seen was fucking crazy — and out of character imo!! yes he may seem illogical at times, but having him just leave his bike on the ground after an accident and go on his merry way to buy a new one right away, while saying that he called his insurance that'll cover the costs for the new bike, but just leaving the old one on the ground? that's IMPOSSIBLE!!!! he'd get a fucking fine for that!! pls!!! no one would do that idc how odd and out of touch you want him to appear that's just not something that can happen.

also tried to calculate a bit and if anyone wanted to play from ep 1 until ep 15 in one go, while playing every special scene and making sure u have every illustration (so to have a complete game lol), that alone would cost +350€!! i'm sorry but that's actually ridiculous. yes, the level of customisation we have is something that's rare in most games, but it exists! and in games that are are waaaay more developed character and plot wise! we're most definitely only half-way through the story with only one character imo whose "arc" was sort of concluded (amanda imo, pls tell me if you don't think so). let's say it takes at least 15 more episodes, considering that the chapters consume more and more APs, it would cost WAY over 700€ to play everything, and that's only for one route!!!!

everytime i explain mcl's system to my brother who plays a lot of visual novels but no otome, he's blown out of his mind by how ridiculously expensive it can be. it's not even something that you can defend bc we all know that once they're done with NG, they /will/ stop putting out content (as they've done for MCL and Eldarya), despite the fact that people may spend hundreds of euros on the game over the years.

micro-transactions are a lot sneakier and are encouraged, even if a lot of people will never spend any money on the game, there will always be some that will, and those are the ones allowing beemoov to still exist to this day. the fact that we can find so many defaults in the story plot-wise and character-wise when there /are/ people that are paying to play this game is actually insane. especially when u take into consideration the fact that they're paying for only one route! not even a whole game!

i'm glad they're taking into consideration feedbacks from players in order to better the game, but beemoov perfectly reflects the direction the gaming industry as a whole is taking. it's just really sad to witness that a game that's obviously bringing in money still has so many things to unfortunately complain about — especially when these things could be easily fixed by hiring someone that actually knows what they're doing concerning storytelling and characters development (nine you'll always be missed my shayla).

ps: not saying that this is a direct result of most of the team apparently being cis white men, but,,,,

kinda #sad but i've completely given up on my candy love new gen,, i've played up to episode 3 and then i just... gave up lol. i'm legit coming back only for the events but feel so uninvested that most of the times i'm not even able to get everything which is super frustrating.

i really wanted to like this game bc beemoov's games have been such a huge part of my life!! and despite my frustrations i always loved those games!!

but having the MC being black only in appearance when i thought i'd be able to relate to her a little more; interactions with the LIs still as ridiculous as in CL and LL (pls someone tell me i was lied to and ysaline didn't actually throw up on jason); having to pay to get full scenes even as VIPs already paying every month (just the fact that you have to pay point blank); personality system which doesn't amount to anything and none of the LIs personalities being truly interesting for /me/,,, was such a disappointment.

i truly didn't expect jason to be so cringe,, it feels like the only use they have for roy is having him half naked most of the time; amanda i would've never gone for bc i just — don't care for a rich white girl; devon's pretty petty and childish at times (same as jason imo to be fair) and thomas i guess is the only one i'm okay with. and it's only bc i feel like they did a 180 on his personality since HSL and the fact that they portray him as seeming autistic (in /my/ opinion!! not derogatory!!!) just make him straightforward enough for me not to be annoyed with him.

idk i guess we could say that it's bc it's supposed to be a game whose targets are ~teens, but considering that it's clear (imo) that their true targets are paying players (consumers) rather than F2P players,, then obv you'd think their targets are at least adults? but it doesn't feel like it considering how ridiculous the plot feels at times and how little depth they put into the characters. to be fair i felt that the same could be said for eldarya a new era, campus life and love life. i know they changed scenarists? (idk the word in english but the ppl that draft the stories/plot + the actual ppl who write the dialogues and branchings) but i just truly realised it while playing the few episodes i've played + the events.

i saw a lot of french ppl thought new gen was better than CL or LL tho so i will give it a shot at some point (+ i've actually spent money on the game lol, so might as well see it through), but i never thought i'd feel so sad and unmotivated to play one of their games after playing since 2011.

anyway this was just a lil rant of my personal feelings and why i haven't been active on here lately, pls don't attack me it only engages me!! and /my/ point of view!! not even talking abt chinomiko here bc as far as i know it's not like she can do much abt all of this besides providing a v basic draft of what should happen in the story (but do tell me if i'm wrong! nicely pls). truly no hate towards her!! i'm legit sad that she didn't continue her game beneath our scars bc it was so interesting and i was super excited to get a game of hers outside of potential directives again :( even if it probably will never be finished if i remember correctly there were two eps out so if you have a lil bit of time on your hands you should check it out!!

edit: just realised beneath oyr scars isn't available on the app store anymore :( but she seems to be working on a potential future new game with a sort of dungeons and dragons theme? so i'm super excited for that!! hope we'll be able to play it!!

[willowser]

you meet bakugou because of your job at the news agency, and even though he's not exactly friendly — you don't think he's as bad as most make him out to be.

yes, he calls you a hack and he's never smiled at you once, but his shitty, sharp humor makes you laugh, even if it's a little mean. he's handsome, and maybe that softens him to you in a superficial way, but his scars mean something, you think. something important that too many seem to forget, when they criticize him.

it happens very naturally; some sorry headline grabber comes out with the intention of dogging him, for entirely trivial stuff, and you fire back without thinking. it's not necessarily an article in defense of him, but a series of tweets that are meant to remind the public of all he's ever sacrificed for your country; that his capture rate is almost as high as all might's was at the same age; that crime on the streets he routinely patrols has dropped, severely — and maybe that's because they fear him and his attitude and the walking arsenal that he is.

but how is that a bad thing?

you don't see him all that often, but the next time you do, you don't miss that his eyes are already on you when you glance back at him, or that he seems taller? not standing with that horrible slouch of his. he even brings you a drink, grumbling that he "doesn't drink this frilly shit" though there are two flutes in his hand and he does — indeed — drink the frilly shit.

it's sweet and you feel a swarm of violent butterflies, when he walks you to your car after, but you sit in the dark once he's gone, illuminated only by the blue-light of your cellphone.

and you wonder if anyone, ever, has defended him.

[amtrak12]

HELP! I've fallen down a Bering and Wells hole again and can't stop watching fanvids. I misssssss them!!! 😢