#I’ve had to deal with pushy or rude people over the years | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghost-party · 3 years

Note

hi~ o/ for your follower event, I'd like to request *covers Gojo's eyes* Sukuna on either Office Coworkers, or Villains prompt; whichever tickles your fancy more. (look at what your AU!Sukuna has done to me, requesting him instead of Gojo... I am going to go put myself in time out now). Grats on 200 again ♥ and thanks for doing something for us on it! ♥ ♥

Aww, thanks for the request! Your secret is safe with me. 😂🤐 Gojo never has to know!

Warnings: swearing, alcohol, brief mention of losing parents/family, some spicy content A/N: Sukuna and the reader work at a company that produces corporate events. (That was my last experience working in an office, so... 🤷🏼‍♀️)

• • •

Sukuna + Office Coworkers

It’s your first day at your new job, and you’re currently hiding in a bathroom stall, certain that one of your coworkers already hates you.

When you arrived that morning, your boss walked you over to your cubicle, with its dual monitors, already-worn-out swivel chair, and short walls. She waved at the man sitting on the opposite side, hunched over his laptop.

“Sukuna! I want you to meet Y/N.” As she rattled off bland introductions, you barely heard a word, focused instead on the sharp gaze now locked onto yours.

At first glance, he was handsome, with a lean build, strong jaw, and dusty pink hair that somehow suited him. You also noticed a few empty piercing holes in his ear lobes.

But that expression... Why did he look so annoyed? You hadn’t even said anything yet. Maybe he was in the middle of something important, you reasoned, repeating the same cheerful “nice to meet you” you had given everyone else... only to be met with a soft grunt.

And it only seemed to get worse as the day went on. While you were on the phone with IT, going through the process of setting up your database login, you looked up and found Sukuna staring at you over the top of your joined cubicles, his eyes slightly narrowed.

When you tried to print your new hire forms and the paper jammed, there he was, standing behind you with a bored look on his face, uttering a simple, “Move,” before popping open the front of the machine and quickly resolving the issue.

At lunchtime, you both ended up in the kitchen, just the two of you, him microwaving something and you half-heartedly poking at your salad. Before you could even attempt benign conversation, he punched a finger at the keypad, removed his meal, and strode away without even sparing you a glance.

You stood there, feeling painfully awkward, until you managed to finish eating and retreat to the bathroom to calm your nerves.

Maybe he’s just not a people person, you think, biting your lip as you finally emerge from the stall and face yourself in the mirror. But the least he could do is be nice, right? Geez... Does he treat all the new hires like this?

After a short mental pep talk, you nod at yourself and make your way back to your desk. As you sit down, you avoid eye contact altogether, instead directing your attention to your email inbox.

Nearly half an hour passes before Sukuna asks, “Do you drink?”

You blink up at him. “I’m sorry...?”

His head is resting on his hand as he stares at you. “Do you drink? We usually take newbies to the bar across the street on the first day.”

“Uh... Yeah. That sounds nice.”

He makes a noise of acknowledgement and looks away — until you ask, “Who’s ‘we’? Everyone?”

Sukuna shrugs. “Whoever wants to come, but it’s usually the office events committee. We organize that kind of stuff.”

“You’re on the events committee?” The idea of this man planning birthday parties and fun, team-building activities is honestly baffling.

He raises an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No offense, but you just... don’t seem like the type.”

“And what type do I seem like?”

Before you can think better of it, you blurt out, “Rude.” Panic quickly sets in as you watch his eyes widen. But then... he laughs. It’s a low chuckle, but even just seeing his stern mouth lift into a smile fills you with a strange sense of relief.

“You’re honest. I like it.” He leans back, crossing his arms behind his head. “Sorry if I’ve been a dick today. I’m a bartender on the weekends. Had to stay late last night and didn’t get much sleep.”

“Oh.”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m sunshine and rainbows on a good day,” he warns, sitting forward in his chair.

“Duly noted. It’s just nice to know you don’t hate me.”

“Yet.” He’s still smiling, but it’s a wicked, crooked thing that has your face heating up.

• • •

Over the next few months, as your division preps for events season, you spend more time working closely with Sukuna. You learn that there’s not a huge difference between him on a good day and him on a running-on-caffeine-and-no-sleep day. He doesn’t talk much in meetings, but his facial expressions say plenty — though you’ve learned that he sometimes looks annoyed when he’s really just... fine. It’s confusing, to say the least.

Along with his piercings, he has at least a few tattoos on his forearms. It’s hard to tell how many, since he keeps them covered while at work. But you noticed them while having dinner with the team one night. He sat beside you, sleeves rolled to his elbows, holding a frozen margarita as he argued with someone from sales about marketing list sizes. You think about the mental image more often than you care to admit.

You’ve collected small details about him. He’s been tending bar for almost eight years, mostly as a side gig. He has a bad temper, which is why he was drawn to a marketing position — not nearly as many phone calls and general human interactions as you have to deal with in event production. He lives with his younger brother, Yuuji, who’s enrolled at the local university. They’ve been on their own since Sukuna was seventeen.

“He’s a good kid,” he says. You two are taking a brief coffee break in the kitchen, leaning against opposite counters. “Decent grades, working part time... He even has a girlfriend.”

“Wow.” You sip your latte, wondering how to ask the question on your mind without being painfully direct. But what comes out instead is, “Do you have a girlfriend?” because apparently your brain hates you.

Sukuna shakes his head. “Finding someone who can put up with my shit? Easier said than done.”

“Oh, come on. You’re not that bad.”

He smirks at you. “Is that so?”

You shrug and turn around, busying yourself with pouring a refill as an excuse to hide your flustered expression. “I mean... You’re still pretty annoying.”

It’s only when you feel him standing behind you that you realize he’s moved. “Don’t mind me,” he murmurs, reaching above you to grab a plastic lid from the nearest cupboard, his chest just grazing your back. You can’t help but freeze, your heartbeat erratic as you watch his shirt sleeve slide back, giving you a glimpse of the black bands of tattoos encircling his wrist.

When he pulls away, snapping the lid onto his paper cup, you glance at him over your shoulder and he meets your gaze with a knowing smile. “Annoying, huh? I’ll take it.” And with that, he walks away, leaving you scrambling to figure out what just happened.

• • •

“So... What do you think?” You swirl the ice in your glass and nudge Sukuna with your shoulder. “Your first live event.”

“I hate it.”

You’re both sitting at the hotel bar, having finally escaped the welcome reception upstairs. Although marketers don’t usually travel to your company’s events, a team member’s sudden illness left you in a lurch. Sukuna had begrudgingly agreed to accompany you to help with on-site prep and operations.

“Somehow I knew you’d say that.” You take a sip of your drink, already feeling pleasantly buzzed. “Is it the pushy attendees, the boring presentations, or the thrilling nightlife?” You gesture around at the exclusively 50+ clientele, along with the stuffily-ornate lobby full of classic artwork, antique carpeting, and gold everything.

“Yes.” You laugh, and when you look up at Sukuna, he’s staring at you thoughtfully. “But the company’s not too bad.”

“You should put that on the post-event survey.”

“Definitely ‘exceeds expectations.’” He drums his fingers against the bar top. “My room’s not bad, though.”

“‘Not bad’?” you tease. “I made sure you got the nicest one in the staff block.” When he looks surprised, you glance away. “It’s the least I could do — as a thank you for coming.”

Sukuna chuckles. “You’re always too nice to me. Might give me the wrong idea one of these days.”

Your grip tightens on your glass. “Or the right one...”

When you end up in his room, the both of you fumbling to unbutton and remove clothes as you kiss, his mouth soft yet insistent against yours, you tell yourself this is enough. As he pushes you down onto the bed, strong arms caging you in as he bites and sucks the tender skin between your neck and shoulder, you tell yourself this doesn’t need to be anything serious.

But afterwards, when his hard, lean body curls languidly around you, bare skin warm and smooth against your own, it’s hard not to imagine more — waking up beside him every morning, having breakfast together, straightening his usually-crooked tie while he pokes fun at you... You want all of it.

For now, though, you settle for his deep, steady breaths and the way he sleepily pulls you closer, arms tight around you.

• • •

When you wake up the next morning, Sukuna is propped up beside you, dark eyes unreadable.

“Watching me sleep?” you ask, voice slightly hoarse as you roll over to look at the clock beside the bed. Six o’clock. Plenty of time to get ready for another day of work.

“Creepy, I know.” His tone is flat, but he looks gentler than usual, with his bed head and placid expression. In the early morning light, you can see the full extent of his tattoos, bold, wide lines that trace across his body. They suit him, but you can’t put your finger on why.

“Look, can we... talk? About last night?”

You stiffen, mentally preparing yourself for what comes next.

“This was fun, but we’re better off as friends.” “We can do this again, but I’m not interested in anything serious.” “This was a mistake. Let’s pretend it never happened.”

But instead, what Sukuna says is, “This wasn’t just sex for me. I’m not really into that. Well, not anymore...” He runs a hand through his hair. “I, uh... Like you?” It comes out as a question, and his brow furrows, looking agitated. “I’m fucking this up.”

He must not expect your laugh, because his eyes widen at the sound. But you’re just so relieved. “I like you, too, dumbass.”

“Dumbass?” He playfully shoves at you. “So romantic.”

“What, you’re gonna change your mind?”

His hand moves from your shoulder to your face, stroking your cheek. “Nah... I knew what I was getting into. But the romantic thing... I think I can fix that.”

“Oh yeah?”

He grins. “You. Me. The huge, fancy bathtub. Room service. Does having mimosas with breakfast count as drinking on the job?”

You turn your head and press a kiss to his palm. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“You’re bad,” he growls, leaning over you, his breath warming your upturned lips. “When did that happen?”

“When I met this guy. He’s smart, sexy, kind of a jerk —” The rest of your words dissolve into a breathy gasp as he kisses you, teeth nipping against your bottom lip.

“Yeah, yeah... Less talking, hm? Now, how about that bath?”

#200 followers event #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #ryomen sukuna #sukuna #au sukuna #sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna x reader

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smallrainclouds · 3 years

Text

Part five of marriage AU. Sorry for being gone for so long, I'm moving rn and my dog had to go the vet so I been busy. Hope you enjoy. Part six should out later this week.. net part will have more hypnos x reader.

🌙💤💤🌙

Time passed much quickly here. Almost too fast. Weeks had passed into a full month before You knew it.

Dusa came every other day to dust and You looked forward to your chats.

The library was coming together nicely. Even though You did have to read every scroll since no one, not even Nyx knew what they held.

Nyx had been surprised by how much there was. You thought you even saw the faintest of blush on her cheeks.

"I knew I had a big collection but I didn't realize how many I've picked over the years." Nyx murmured. "I was so busy raising several children along with Zagreus once he came later with Hypnos and his brother."

You also found out that Hypnos had way more siblings, way way more than you had sisters. But you haven't quite gotten the story about why he talked only about two of his brothers.

You peeked over the scroll you were reading in hopes that maybe somehow it had gotten smaller.

The pile still loomed threatenly the corner.

You tsk when you saw it was still the same as before.

Slowly, the gods and shades of the underworld were becoming friends of sorts.

Zagreus, much like Hypnos, had also become a regular to your library. Often with questions about your former home and any advice you may have.

You knew you weren't getting the full story of why he really wanted out but all in due time.

Charon, a god that Hermes often talked about, was nerve wracking to meet at first but he warmed up quickly to You when sharing stories of Hermes.

Nyx, even as your mother in law, had become someone who You looked forward to having the chats with. The both of you talked over the scrolls and you quite enjoyed the stories of her youth, the rare times she talked about it.

And there was Dusa, Achilles (even after that embarrassing day), even Cerberus would give you a small single wag in greeting.

And so many others. They felt more… honest. Your old home had rules and politics that you were never able to quite grasp.

You never felt right at home, with a different father than all of your sisters and a different power from all of them.

But they loved you and you loved them in return.

Homesick as you were, You were embarrassed to admit there was someone else on your mind.

Hypnos.

You haven't seen Hypnos since that night he slept in your bed. Not really anyway.

He came once a day for a few minutes, made a quick comment on the library or at Zagreus if the prince was going through the scrolls when he came in. But that's it. You felt almost like a pet that Hypnos just made sure was still alive before taking off to wherever.

You blinked at the scroll as you realized that you didn't read a single word. Your mind had drifted away from the scrolls and back to Hypnos.

Again.

🌙💤💤🌙

"Do you have anything on a thing called a Bone Hydra?" Zagreus had asked one day out of the blue, his desperation was clear in his voice.

You put down your tasks list to look at him. "I know what a hydra is but what do you mean by a bone hydra?"

Zagreus slumped, "It is this horrible thing that-"

"Didn't I already tell you what you needed to do?" Hypnos interrupted. "Just don't get hit or die!" He floated to the pile and plucked some scrolls from the top.

Zagreus sighed, "I know, I know. Don't die. It doesn't help as much as you think, Hypnos."

Hypnos dropped the scrolls on the table for you. Slowly but surely the piles had been going down. However, it was helpful to have someone who can easily get to the top.

"Maybe the issue is that you're not moving fast enough." Hypnos said.

"Yes, I am sure that is exactly why, Hypnos. Thank you, all my problems are now solved." Zagreus rolled his eyes.

"Fantastic! Glad to be of service!" Hypnos laughed.

You had to cover a smile before you looked back at Zagreus.

"Zagreus, if I find anything on this bone hydra you will be the first to know." You said.

"Y/N, you're being too kind to Zagreus. Like I said, just move faster."

You laughed at Zagreus' eye roll.

"So this is where you been hiding boy." Hades stepped in the room despite being almost too tall to do.

The energy in the room changed in a way you never felt before. The sheer anger that came from both father and son made the room feel so small.

All three of you stood but it was Hypnos who moved toward you. He blocked you from Hades' sight, his smile never leaving his face. But there was a tightness to his smile. You peeked around him, eyes focused on Zagreus and his father.

Zagreus scoffed, "Oh good Father you were able find the library, would you like some help reading or -"

"Watch your mouth, boy." Hades growled. Then he turned to look directly at you and Hypnos.

You tighten your hands, hoping your nervousness won't show.

"Y/N. Correct?" Hades asked but not in a way that was a question.

You pushed past Hypnos and You ignored his look, you did tell him you couldn't hide from Hades forever.

"Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Hades."

For a moment, no one said anything.

Then finally Hades spoke, "I heard from Nix about your work on the library."

"Yes, I have some experience with libraries and thank you for the opportunity." You replied, grateful that your voice stayed calm.

"Hmm." Hades looked around the library and You wanted to hide behind Hypnos but resisted the urge.

"Father, what is it that you want?" Zagreus sighed, "Can't you tell you are making everyone uncomfortable?"

Hades' eyes snapped back to Zagreus, "Silent! Your rudeness is what makes people uncomfortable."

Without taking his eyes off his son, Hades said to You. "Y/N, you may continue your work."

"Yes sir, t-thank you." You said, your heart racing, still not convinced father and son will start fighting in the library.

You felt Hypnos' hand on your back, warm and steady, and you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding in.

"Well!" Hypnos said cheerfully, "Y/N needs to get back to work and I know I certainly do."

Hades sighed, "Yes You do. In fact, Hypnos. I need to have a word with you. Alone."

Without waiting for Hypnos' agreement, Hades turned and walked off.

"I'm sorry about my Father." Zagreus' hands in

"No. It's fine. Went as well as it could have." You said, glad the whole event was over.

Zagreus murmured his excuses and quickly left the library.

A moment passed and you turned your head to look up at Hypnos, his hand still on your back.

"Thank you." You whispered, a blush on your cheeks.

"Oh, sure. Hades takes some getting used to." Hypnos grinned. "I've to go see what Hades wants from me."

"Are you okay with being alone with...him?" You asked. You would happily never share a room with Hades ever again, let alone a one on one meeting.

His hand moved away and you found yourself already missing the warmth.

"Of course, he loves my charming wit." Hypnos waved a hand in farewell.

You laughed and watched Hypnos floated off.

With a sigh, you fell into your chair. Not even the underworld gods were spared of politics and drama.

🌙💤💤🌙

"So- so could I ask you a question?" Dusa asked, her duster moved in quick, neat movements.

You pulled your eyes away from the new take list you made. Since the library was getting closer and closer to being done, you had thought about opening it up but there was still much to do. Also you weren't sure of the best to keep track of who borrowed what. And you still needed to ask Nix but you pushed the thoughts out.

"Of course, Dusa. Is there a scroll you're looking for?"

"Well, no. I wanted to ask… how did you and Hypnos meet? I wasn't aware he was seeing anyone let alone getting married." Dusa bit her lip, "But don't feel like you have to talk about it if you don't want to! I know it is not any of my business."

"No. No, it's fine. I didn't meet him until our wedding or at least I think so." You put down your quill. You couldn't help but feel like you met him before that but for the life of you, you couldn't remember. "It was an arranged marriage. I… I've been told he did a favor for my mother during a war, one she would have lost if not for him."

Dusa bobbed next to you, "I'm sorry. I don't know why people or gods act like their daughters are things to trade. It's like they don't even see their daughters as full people."

You blinked, surprised at Dusa's tone. But you smiled, liking the more fiery side of your friend.

"I don't know either. But at least he is kind to me. And he hasn't been pushy if you know what I mean or anything like that. It could have been worse."

"That's good!" Dusa sighed, "Hypnos and I don't exactly get along really but I'm glad to know he has been kind to you."

"You don't? Is there a reason?" You cupped your face in your hands, elbows eyes on Dusa.

Hypnos didn't talk about other people in the house, other than his mother and brother. You wanted to know more but couldn't get him to crack in the few minutes you saw him every day.

"Well I mean." Dusa paused as if trying to find the words. "He isn't mean but you can tell he doesn't care about his work. And he doesn't seem to understand why anyone else cares. He… I don't know. I'm making it sound worse than it is. I'm sorry, Y/N."

She bobbed again nervously. "He is a good guy! He and I just don't click at all."

You smiled even as a knot formed in your chest. Is that what Hades wanted with Hypnos a few weeks ago? Again you cursed yourself for not being able to get Hypnosis to talk to you.

"It's okay, Dusa. It is not a big deal."

After a few more minutes of chitchat, Dusa left, her duster still working madly.

You sat down and stared down at your list. The words might as well be scribbles for all of the sense it made to you.

With a sigh, you pushed away the papers. Why in the world do you care that Hypnos wouldn't talk to you? Or that you still didn't understand a bloody thing about the god.

Why do you care at all?

#hades hypnos #hypnos x reader #marriage au #tangled starlight

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chaletnz · 2 years

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10 Things I Will Miss When I Leave Japan

All good things must come to an end. In order to pursue my “American dream”, claim my green card, and start my travels in the Americas I am preparing to leave Japan.

I’ve met some great people and had a lot of wonderful travel experiences while living here. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to visit places like Kyoto, and ski in Niseko without the hordes of tourists usually present. During the pandemic it’s like I have never stopped travelling and seeing new places and for that I am very grateful.

As I reflected upon my time in Nippon, I compiled a list of things I would miss the most about this beautiful country that I’ve called home for almost two years.

1. Safety

Everywhere I have travelled throughout Japan, from large sprawling cities to small towns, all feel safe and secure. I don’t ever have concerns about being attacked, robbed, carjacked and so on. I leave the car unlocked while I’m at the supermarket, I leave my bag unattended at a café table while I order or use the bathroom, our house is left unlocked 24/7 and only the occasional mailman will let himself in to put a box inside.

2. Polite people, calm queuing systems

Japanese society has an impression of patience, even when there is also this stereotype of people having no time and being super busy all the time. Perhaps it the aging population that are happy to wait their turn but everywhere you go no one complains or gets pushy about having to wait in line and it suits me well.

3. (Mostly) considerate driving

The patience of Japanese people also generally translates to the road too. People do drive a little bit too slow, but it’s cautious and relaxed. There is almost no road rage from anyone, no tailgating or rude hand gestures. I’ve felt the most comfortable while driving in Japan, even more so than in my home New Zealand. Of course, a few drivers do some very stupid things but I have addressed the driving culture in depth in an earlier post.

4. Pod/Capsule hostels

In any case, I love staying in hostels. As a traveller you meet the most interesting people this way and I have stayed in various places all throughout Europe. In Japan, they take this a step further and provide you with the fun hostel experience, as well as actual privacy! Pod/capsule hostels are very popular throughout the country as budget accommodation, they’re also utilised by salarymen who are travelling for work. You typically find a row of pods stacked on top of another row with some ladders in between. I guess it would resemble a morgue... And each pod has a mattress, light, and power outlet inside. Some fancier ones also have lockable storage compartments, coat hangers, televisions, pyjamas. Each pod as a curtain that you can roll down for privacy while you’re sleeping, although I often just left my stuff all over the bed and rolled it down while I was out due to the safety in Japan now there are no foreign tourists to steal anything!

5. Public transport ease and reliability

This would be one of the things Japan is known around the world for, punctuality with public transport. You can search on Google for a specific route and it will follow those times to the minute (well for trains at least, buses still deal with road traffic). Public transport is very well connected and within cities it is reasonably priced. Intercity trains can cost a small fortune though so there is room for improvement! I’m yet to try the shinkansen (bullet train) for the first time but I am looking forward to it.

6. Seasonal snack foods and drinks

I had experienced a taste of this in 2015 when I first came to Japan and found some new Kitkat flavours like green tea and wasabi. However, since living here for a longer time I have come to realise that there are always new flavours of things to try! I often buy things and then end up leaving them sitting around because I found other new things! In my experience Japanese people love tasting different foods, they jump at the chance to snack on something new like Vegemite or Bamba peanut butter flavoured chips that Olga sent me from Israel. It’s really no surprise that Japan is constantly coming up with new chip flavours, weird Kitkats and seasonal ice creams and drinks. I have to say some of my all time favourites are the caramel banana Kitkats, Morihico café cheesecake mini Chocopies, ginger pork yakiniku chips, and the custard and biscuit ice cream. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

7. Washlet toilets

Another famous Japanese invention that the rest of the world is weirdly obsessed with talking about. It’s just more hygienic I guess! I’ll dearly miss the washlets.

8. Lucky Pierrot

This is a chain restaurant that only exists in Hakodate. They have a huge menu and loads of restaurants with an almost cult-like following. I’ve only been to Hakodate twice but I have eaten Lucky Pierrot at least 5 times... The Chinese chicken burger is just so delicious and the chocolate shakes were about 100 times better than McDonald’s!

Also a special mention to Japanese KFC, I was never a big fan of KFC but the Japanese version is delicious. Much less oily, smaller portion sizes and you can get ginger ale!

9. Convenience stores/vending machines

Although I didn’t utilise these all that often they are certainly (and by definition) an ultimate convenience. As a traveller it’s so easy to find one about a stone’s throw from wherever you are and you can get something nice for breakfast with all the cutlery needed too. Cheap lunch bentos, hot cabinet food like fried chicken and hashbrowns, ice creams. Yeah they have everything you could need for a road trip. There is a reason Japanese people don’t cook that often – you can get everything you need at the conbini! Whenever you get hungry you can just pull in and get something delicious. Also they all have a toilet if you need it at the same time!

10. Clean and free public toilets everywhere

In New Zealand it’s easy to find public toilets so maybe it’s not a hugely foreign concept but Japan is next level. Convenience stores on every corner will have at least one toilet. Shopping complexes have loads too, all with washlets. Train stations, cafes, restaurants, some larger retail shops all will happily let you use their facilities free of charge. Compared to Europe where you can hardly ever find a free toilet (even if you make a purchase) it’s amazing! I’ve been in much nicer free toilets in Japan than some I had paid money for in Europe. I guess that’s why Japan is so clean too, you don’t have people taking a leak all over the city to avoid paying!

Honourable Mentions

Yamato luggage shipping service: so easy to send your stuff ahead of you and have it arrive in 2 or 3 days. Saves you so much effort carrying it. I wish I’d known about it before I arrived! But at least I was able to use it on my departure.

UniQlo: A clothing shop that has enabled me to find many cool Japanese style tshirt designs for less than 1000 yen each! I’ve bought so much of my wardrobe here from top to bottom. It’s also great for getting winter thermal gear.

Lemon Sour/Chu-hi: Although beer is still widely consumed here, you can easily find these drinks. I’m not a beer or wine person and usually relied on finding cider. Chu-hi is a versatile Japanese alcohol that can be mixed with anything to flavour it. Also you can pick up cans at the supermarket for 100 yen each with flavours like apple, pineapple, lemon, ginger ale, cola, or “cider”.

Mitsuya Cider: The Japanese cider is infinitely better than regular cider! It’s not really cider though... it’s a bit like a ginger ale/sprite mix fizzy drink. The above cider chu-hi is definitely my favourite alcoholic beverage!

#Japan

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yandere-ac · 4 years

Note

Maybe some yandere redd but for tom?

Ohohohoho!!! I’ve been waiting for this one!

Heads up! This one is a bit darker than my usual content (or well. The fix is normal but there’s one part that’s pretty dark) so if you’re faint of heart this probably isn’t the fic for you. I’m gonna post a different one in a few days, hopefully it’s not as dark. But with that aside, I hope you enjoy!

Yandere Crazy Redd X Tom Nook

Business partners

Oh Tom, his sweet Tom. Redd observed his past parter as he peacefully slept. His stomach was slowly rising and falling, rising and falling. Standing besides his bed, Redd watched him in amazement. He considered stroking his soft fur but that would undoubtedly wake him up. But god would he do anything just to touch his fur again. It wouldn’t have been the first time. After all, when he said that they were past partners, he didn’t just mean that in the business sense. Oh how he yearned to those days when he and Tom would work together, running that shop, then after the shift was over they’d go down to his place to watch a movie while snuggling. Tom would make dinner that he and Redd would eat while watching said movie. After that they would go up to Redds room and cuddle under the covers. Only to fall asleep in each other’s arms. Back then Tom didn’t have his own house so he usually stayed with Redd. Not that he ever complained.

The day that Tom first walked into Redds store and Redd first laid his eyes on him, he thought he would just be another fool that he could scam. He started to sweet talk Tom into trusting him, like he did with everyone. But then something peculiar happened. Tom had asked for a job. This baffled Redd beyond belief, no one had ever been interested in working in Redds shop considering how sketchy it looked. Then on top of that there was the fact that most people had grudges against foxes and usually would want to get out as soon as they bought their item. To see someone so eager to work with someone like Redd...it felt nice, almost reassuring in a way. And so, Redd accepted Toms offer and he became the second employee at Redds little shop. Needless to say, things got a lot nicer once someone else began working with Redd. The atmosphere was a lot less heavy and scary whenever someone came in to buy something. Tom would always walk up to them, telling them about their sales and deals and prices. That was something that Redd adored about his friend. He had such a calming and comforting aura surrounding him that no one ever felt uncomfortable walking in the store. Redd had never gotten any of his “customers” to feel safe around him. He just had that kind of menacing and untrustworthy look to him huh? But that was another thing about Tom. Back in the day when he was much younger he was still very uncorrupted. He hadn’t been exposed to just how cruel and unjust the business world truly was. Redd made sure to keep it that way. Tom wasn’t naive, not in any way shape or form. Redd knew that, but he still felt like he had to protect his parter from any scum around them. The world was imperfect, it was dirty and foul and didn’t deserve someone like Tom. That was the beginning of Redds downfall.

When Tom asked him out he was shocked. Shocked that someone like Tom would want to be with someone like him. He accepted of course and after a few dates they became an official couple. They displayed full affection when at Redds house but Redd made a rule never to show any sign that they were a thing while in the shop or outside. That wasn’t because he didn’t want to, no, Redd would love to be able to wrap himself around Tom when they were outside. Kissing him and holding him, making sure everyone knew he was his. You see, the part of town we’re Redd and Tom had their shop, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly the most clean place with the most accepting people. Redd was scared that something would happen to Tom if they did show public affection. Of course, Tom wasn’t happy about this. Not happy at all. This is ultimately one of the many things that led to him wanting to break up and move out.

“Redd, listen-“

“Oh c’mon nookie, quit fooling around like that. You scared me” Redd said trying to avoid the subject, desperately wanting to keep Tom from leaving him. He had packed all of his clothing and such and was simply wanting to tell his partner that he was going. “Redd, I’m leaving. You know it’s been a long time coming so please, let’s just not make this more difficult then it needs to be” Tom said sternly. Redd hated when he spoke like that, when he had practically no emotion in his voice because he knew he was just stating the obvious truth. He was trying to pretend that he wasn’t feeling something just so this can be easier. Redd knew he was bluffing, under that poker face was a storm brewing up. He just had to make it break out. “So that’s it huh? After all I’ve done for you? After all the sacrifices I made? After all those nights we spent you’re just giving up? I know you’re not that weak Tom” Redd said, trying to convince his soon to be past lover into staying. “There it is! That’s exactly why I’m doing this! All the time it’s just all about you ain’t it Redd! About how you feel. How you think. How you want it. It’s NEVER about ME is it!? You’re so selfish that you can barely look past your own ego to see that I’m unhappy!” Tom was now yelling. Tears threatening to spill out from his big eyes. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve last written to my friends back home!? No? ME NEITHER! YOU FORBADE ME TO DO SO BECAUSE YOU’RE TOO INSECURE TO TRUST THAT IM NOT CHEATING ON YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS REDD?! TO KNOW THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND DOESN’T TRUST YOU!” And there it was, the storm. Hot tears were now rolling down toms cheeks as his ears were down pointed. Now, he just had to...

”Oh...nookie...i...Im so sorry. I didn’t know you felt that” he reached out his arms and walked towards Tom. “Come here and-“

“Get away from me Redd...” Tom backed up and Redd stopped immediately as he heard this. “Get away from me! I know what you’re doing you bastard! You’re not sorry! Don’t EVER try to feed me that horseshit! You know it! I know it! I thought we could talk this out like adults...but I guess not...” the room became dreadfully quiet. The air felt like concrete. “I-“ “save it! I’m leaving. Goodbye...” and so the tanooki walked away, pushing into Redds shoulder as he stomped out of the house.

That was the last time Redd saw Tom for years. He moved back to his old home, completely giving up on his business dream. Redd stayed back in the shop, trying to move on. But everyone could see that something was different. The store became even more unsettling after that. For about two months, any and all hospitality that Redd gave his customers flew right out the window. He was snappy, rude, pushy and all in all just not having it. He couldn’t muster up any reason to even try to scam gullible people, the only thing he could think of was Tom. How did he do it? How did he manage to have such a welcoming exterior? It could have something to do with his comforting voice, the voice that he missed so dearly. Or it could be his big eyes, those big blue orbs that Redd would get lost in. Or maybe it was just that he basically looked like a giant teddy bear. Either way, Redd has none of those qualities and he wouldn’t even TRY to replicate them. He was to angry, but none of that anger was directed at Tom. Redd loves Tom more than anything and if anything was just mad at himself for letting Tom get away. He should’ve just taken him, locked him up in a cage where only he could see him. Yeah, just Redd and him. Alone together with nothing to disturb them.

And it was like that for maybe a year or two. That was until Redd found out were Tom was. And when he found out, he wasted no time taking a train to the town in which his ex now lived. He didn’t know why but he just had to see him again. He knew Tom wasn’t gonna be happy to see him but he didn’t care. The ride was long and unbearable, he couldn’t wait to see Tom again. He could barely hold in his excitement. Finally after driving for about 7 hours straight he arrived at his stop. Stepping out of the train he could see a big sign welcoming him to the small town. A small town with a peculiar name. “Mudmore? That’s an...interesting name...” As redd walked closer he swore he could hear distant music however he payed no mind to it at first, all he cared about was finding Tom. As he entered the town premises it was loud and clear what was going on. There was some sort of festival accruing. Although, it didn’t exactly change anything. He just had to find-

“Ough!!!”

“Ouch!!!”

Right before Redd could even manage to think of what to do next he had felt a strong impact on his left side. Someone had bumped into him. And in the process fallen down to the ground with him as well. They sat there for a few moments, rubbing their head before turning to look at him. Now he could see them more clearly. It was a girl, a girl with long black hair and brown eyes. She looked at him with worry. “Oh no! Are you alright? I’m sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going” she said as she rose up and reached her hand out for him. At first Redd was hesitant but after a few seconds he grabbed her hand. She pulled him up to his get and he brushed off some dust from his clothing. “Hey don’t worry about it kid...by any chance do you know if a tanooki called Tom nook lives here?” She looked at him and her eyes instantly lit up. “Oh yes! Oh yes I do! He’s my contractor and I work for him! I can bring you to him if you’d like!” This made the fox smirk. “Yes, I would like that very much”

The two of them walked through the town. A bunch of colourful characters running pat them as they were walking. Some stopped to say hi to the girl and some ran right past the two. “So, what’s your name?” A soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked over to the girl. “Redd...it’s Redd...and you?” He said bluntly, he didn’t like to make small talk but it seems like he had no choice. “My name is Mariam! It’s nice to meet you Redd! So, why do you want to find Tom? Are you guys friends?” At this statement, Redd and to physically stop himself from laughing. “Umm...yeah I guess you could say that... we’re uh really close. But I haven’t seen him in a while and I wanted to visit” the human looked at him and smiled as he said this. “Aww, that’s so sweet! Well his store should be just around the corner now!” Store? Oh come on! Really? Tom would rather have some small store in this town than with him? That’s just insulting.

After a while Mariam stopped following him. Giving him directions as to where to go before running off to hang out with other villagers. No matter. It’s not like it would be hard to find the only store in town. Eventually he arrived at the so called store. Hmm. “Nooks cranny...not a bad name nookie...okay Redd...you can do this...” he took a deep breath before walking into the store. “Hello hello! Welcome to nooks cranny!” He heard a familiar voice call out to him. He was nowhere to be seen but he could hear the voice coming from the back room in the shop. “Just a second, I’ll be with you in a minute!” The door stood ajar as it filtered his voice slightly, not enough to block out his voice completely but just enough to silence it. And it was just open enough so that you can hear his voice. Looking around the shop while waiting in anticipation he could CLEARLY see that some inspiration was taken while making it. Shelves upon shelves stacked with items and furniture of all sorts. Soft footsteps could be heard coming towards him. The door opened to reveal a tanooki, walking at a brisk pace as he neared Redd. “Now what did you wa-“ the man in front of him halted as his eyes widened. Looking the fox up and down to make sure that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. “It...it cant be...” his voice was low and breathy, almost like he couldn’t, like he refused to believe what he saw before him. “Redd?” At that Redds lips turned into a small smirk, eyes still remaining gentle. He didn’t want to break the poor man so he had to be careful with his demeanour. “The one and only” he tried to ease the tension which lingered all too long, that of course didn’t work as most his attempts at bringing up someone’s mood. “What are you doing here Redd” he said. A now harsher tone underlining his voice. “Hey can’t a guy want to visit the oh so famous Mudville as it’s undergoing a festival? God Tom, my world doesn’t revolve around you, the small fact that you’re here as well is simply a coincidence” He said nonchalantly as he walked closer to his former boyfriend. He looked at one of the items on display. A glass chimpanzee statue. “How much for the monkey?” Before Tom could get the chance to say anything the sound of a chiming bell broke the tension. The girl from before ran in with a purple cat with a red shirt following behind her. “Hi Tom! Do you know where the fireworks are?” She asked him. Without taking off his gaze from the fox Tom quickly replies. “In the back room” the girl gave him a smile as she rushed past Redd, but as she past him she stopped. “Oh Redd! So you found Tom after all! That’s good. I felt a little guilty about letting you find him on your own but I see now that you’re more than capable!” After that she ran to get the fire works...

Well shit.

All the while the human and cat was in the store, Tom was glaring at Redd. He could almost feel his gaze burning into him as the two waited in uncomfortable silence for the shoppers to leave. Redd was trying to not look at Tom, fumbling with the monkey instead of facing his ex. Once they were gone Toms eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, all the while Redd put down the statue and giving him a sheepish smile. “Coincidence huh? And for your information, it’s Mudmore. Not Mudville” ”same difference!” Tom could feel his temper get shorter and shorter as the fox started getting on his nerves. “I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to see you ever again Redd. The only reason I’m not kicking you out right now is because there’s a festival going on, and i dont wanna spoil my good mood any more than you’ve already done!” Tom said as he shot the fox a glare. “Now, get out of my store! I need to close it up so I can spend the day with my children” Tom ordered as he went out of the store. “Pff! Fine! Like i- CHILDREN?! YOU HAD KIDS!?” Redd was completely stumped. How did Tom manage to move on with his life so quickly in the span of a couple of years! What was he married as well?! “Yes, I did. Or well, I adopted them” He said as he reached for his keys in the pocket of his apron. “Oh...why though? Kids are such a hindrance of your freedom. I thought you were all about that nooki-“ “don’t!....call me that...and for your information. I found them in a box underneath a park bench. It wasn’t exactly a decision that I could think about long and hard. But they’re the best thing that ever happened to me” Tom said, his voice becoming almost tender as he mentioned the small boys. “Hmm...well I never figured you as the dad type but sure. Whatever makes you move on from me!” Redd figured that he wasn’t gonna be able to get back with Tom so he thought, why not be a little petty while he’s still there. It’s what he does the best. When Redd said this Toms face went into a grimace that was a mixture of disgust and a mocking grin. “Oh that’s rich coming from you. I’m not the one who’s seemingly looking up where my ex is so I can stalk him when he was clear he didn’t want to see me!” Tom was now dragging Redd out of the store so he could get out of this predicament. “Yeah? That’s because you’re boring! You never wanna take risks! You never wanna do anything exciting! You never wanna-“ “scam innocent people?” “And you always do that! You make everything sound so horrible!” Redd rolled his eyes as he heard Toms statement. Anyone who’s gullible enough to be scammed shouldn’t be trusted with money! He’s simply teaching them a lesson. “I don’t make everything sound horrible. I just say things for how they are! And let me tell you how THIS is, I don’t want to see you! I don’t EVER want you to come near me, my sons, or my village ever again!” With that, Tom walked past him. “Goodbye Redd” his voice was cold and unwelcoming. And with that he stormed off. Redd could see two smaller tanookis run up to him and tackle him into a hug. Almost instantly Toms face went from irritation to pure joy. He was laughing. He looked so happy. He missed that. He missed being able to make him laugh. But it’s been about five years and Tom had moved on, gotten his own shop, found a home, gotten new friends, even started his own little family. A family that Redd was never gonna be apart of...

“...fuck, no! Not now!” He felt his eyes sting as they began to well up. “No no no no no!” He quickly rushed to the train station and once he made sure no one was in sight, he let the tears flow down his cheeks. He fucked it up yet again! He fucked it up the first time and now he did it again. Why did he have to be so stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did he even show up here?! He thought that seeing Tom again would make him feel better! Just make him feel good for once! But no! Seeing him completely happy and having moved on makes him feel even worse than before. He regretted that night so much! The night that he let Tom walk away! Why did he let him go! He couldn’t stand this exile any longer!

Redd started showing up to the outskirts of the village in a little tent. He called it his black market. It was a cute name he thought. But soon crossed out the “black” part of the sign outside. Even if it was a joke he didn’t want to get in trouble, after all, he didn’t have a licence and was basically doing this illegally. But he didn’t do this for the money. No, he did this so he could still be close to Tom. He will admit, even if seeing him so cold towards Redd made him feel like garbage, seeing him happy awoke something I him. It reminded him of when they were together. It wasn’t ideal but it would do. However he stayed out of his way, not wanting another confrontation with him. The worst thing that could happen to him would be if he actually started crying in front of Tom. He didn’t want to show any weakness, that would show that he cared. And he couldn’t have that. The shop wasn’t exactly popular by any long shot. Only a few people came in once in a while but usually left because of his insane prices. Redd would spend his days in the shop and during nighttime he would spy on Tom. And that was pretty much how life was for a while. That is until Redd got some horrible news.

“MOVED!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE MOVED?! WHY?! WHERE?!” He was shaking the person in front of him who had given him the devastating news. “Well I’m not sure why he did it but I have a hunch it could be because a certain someone wasn’t leaving him alone.” As the person said this their voice became more prominent, clearly putting the blame on Redd. “As of where, I can’t tell you. Even if I knew where, I wouldn’t say.” After that, they left. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all! If he wasn’t with Tom, he feared that he might do something crazy! He felt completely and utterly hopeless, he just found Tom again! He couldn’t loose him! After about two weeks of nonstop searching Redd started getting desperate. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to see Tom again! And so, he started to consider doing some...morally questionable things. He may be a scammer but he never wanted to hurt someone...but...if it was for Tom...

“I’m telling you! Please I don’t know where he moved! I promise!” The owl begged shaking in the chair that Redd had tied him down to. He wasn’t gonna lie, he was a little ashamed he let things get this far. But it’s all for Tom. He had pretty much abducted the museum owner, Blathers. And was pressing him for the information of where Tom had moved. Throughout the time he lived in Mudmore one persistent thing was that Tom and this owl seemed to be friends, close friends. If anyone knew where Tom had moved, it was blathers. “Please! I don’t know where he went. You can take everything I have! My wallet, my clock, my bells, everything! Just- please don’t hurt me!” His pleading was wearing short on Redds patience. He narrowed his eyes even more than they already are. Walking closer to the quivering owl. “Tsk tsk tsk. Blathers, blathers, blathers...I didn’t want it to come to this...but I guess you leave me no choice” Blathers eyes went wide as his breathing hitched. “W-what are yo-ou going to do to me?!” Redd let out a heavy laugh as he walked away from the owl and into the darkness.

“No...no...I’m not gonna hurt YOU” blathers could barely see redd anymore, just his figure. “....say blathers...what would you do if your sister...LOST HER HEAD!!!” Suddenly, Redd threw another owl out from the shadows. It was Celeste! She was shaking as she layed before her older brother. Redd came up behind her and used one hand to lift her head up, Revealing her throat. Placing his other hand over it, his claws very prominently pointed to her. “NO!!!! LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!!! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER!!!” Blathers was now thrashing violently in the chair. Trying all he could to break through. “PLEASE SHES THE ONLY ONE LEFT!!! THE ONLY ONE I HAVE! YOU CANT TAKE HER!!!” Redd wouldn’t lie. Something about this situation, about seeing someone who were taking up Toms attention being in such pain...it felt good. To the point where he let out a deep chuckar at serien the owls futile attempts at escaping. “Now now Blathers. I’m not gonna hurt her...yet! All you need to do is just tell me where Tom moved. And I’ll let her go unharmed” Celeste looked at her brother, tears spilling out of her eyes. “B-blathers?” Her voice was raspy, damaged from crying to much. “I’ll tell you everything! Please just let go of her!” Blathers begged. Redd got what he wanted. He’s not gonna press the poor owl any longer. And so, he let go of the little bird. She quickly scrambled over to her brother. Placing her head in his lap as she cried. “Now talk!” “O-Okay okay! Tom has been working on this project for the past couple of years. H-he called it the- the island getaway package!”

Blathers told Redd pretty much everything he needed to know. About where Tom was going, what he was doing and how long he’d have to wait until Tom came out about it publicly. “Alright....now, where is he?” Redd asked, judging from Blathers eyes becoming slightly wider he guessed that he didn’t know. “I-uhh....he’s- he’s moved to this city called Bumbleville! Up north!” Blather said, Redd tried his hardest not to roll his eyes at this. “You’re not a very good liar blathy boy” “but I-“ “no! Shush!...lucky for you, I’m in a good mood. You’ve given me plenty of information. And off that I thank you” Redd walked up behind blathers, and in a swift movement he cut up the rope that was holding him to the chair. Immediately, Blathers embraced his sibling, trying his best to comfort her. “Get out of my sight Blathers. And don’t make me regret this” without skipping a beat. Blathers ran out with his sister. Redd would be leaving tonight. He’d just have to roughly wait a couple of months before he could see Tom again. He’d waited years already, so a couple of months wouldn’t be too bad.

And that leads us to where he is now. Watching Tom sleep. It had taken about five months until Nook inc came out with the news of island living. And as soon as Redd found out the general area of the islands that was gonna be used, he went to his boat that he’d saved up for during the five months and went out to sea. After that it only took a lot of trial and error to finally find the island that Tom lived on. He wouldn’t lie and say it was easy, because truth be told. It really wasn’t. He started looking way back in March and the day he finally found him was in the beginning of May. It had been long and tedious, but it was so worth it. He had finally found him again, just being in his presence made his stomach fill up with butterflies. This time he wasn’t gonna let him leave. Not EVER again. Taking out a white cloth and a bottle out of his apron he soaked it with the liquid inside. That liquid being chloroform. Getting ready to put his lover into a deep sleep he hesitated for a moment. What if...what if he just woke him up before? He wanted to see the fear in his eyes as he fell asleep once more. Looking at his soft fur, he decided. Taking out his paw, he carefully started stroking Toms head. He could hear him letting out a soft mumble, it was adorable. Toms eyes opened slightly, but once he saw Redd, they went wide open. “REDD- MMMPHH!!!” Redd pressed the cloth against his nose and mouth. Tom was flailing around like crazy, trying to get Redd off of him. But nothing worked as he felt himself drift off. Tom tried to hold on but he just couldn’t. The last thing he saw before he lost his Conscience was Redd smiling down at him. And just like that. He slipped into unconsciousness.

Part 2

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theleftovertaco · 3 years

Text

Ratel

Someone sent me this amazingly specific ask about a Afro- Caribbean girl at Hogwarts and I loved the idea so this is the result. I would like to preface this by saying that I am not afro-Caribbean. While I did spend a few hours researching Trinidadian, Kenyan and Nigerian culture, food and customs, I am extremely sorry if anything here looks stereotypical or if i get something wrong. Please correct me if I mess up because I would never want to dishonor a person’s culture or country.

ONTO THE STORY

Y/N’s arrival had been a bit of an event. Transfer students were rare, and when they occurred, they were treated as a big deal, since often they only happened for some political reason of the students parents. This was exactly the case with Y/N

Dumbledore had stepped to the front of the Great Hall at the beginning of the year after the first years had been sorted and called everyone’s attention.

“This year, we have a new 4th year transfer student joining us,” excited chatter erupted around the room, “I trust you will make her feel welcome and show her what Hogwarts School is all about. Please welcome Mrs. Y/N Y/L/N from Uagadou School of Magic in Uganda!” The doors opened and you walked through, head high and looking straight ahead despite the stares that followed you.

Professor McGonagall gave you a smile and instructed you to the stool for your sorting.

The hat barely touched your head before “HUFFLEPUFF” was exclaimed and rapturous applause came from the yellow and black table.

As you sat down for the feast, a tall boy with fluffy brown hair reached out to shake your hand, “I’m Cedric Diggory, sixth year. That was quite an entrance. Welcome to Hufflepuff.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you surprised to be in our house? Honestly with the way you carried yourself I would have guessed Slytherin.”

“Not really. Hufflepuff is the house of the loyal, kind, and hardworking. Just because I’m sharp or harsh looking doesn’t mean I can’t have those traits.”

He looked at you in shock

“You’ve done your research. Yeah, I guess you’re right, a person can be more than one thing. So what’s Uganda like?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I went to school at Uagadou but my family is mostly Nigerian, Kenyan, and Trinidadian and most of my life we’ve spent moving around those areas and the Americas. My parents have some sort of business here for the next year or so, and I decided that I might as well try a new school, so they let me come here.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” A younger blonde girl jumped into the conversation, “Sorry to interrupt. Hannah Abbot, third year.” You nodded her way and shook her hand as well as other Hufflepuff’s began to introduce themselves and listen into the conversation.

“So,” Susan Bones asked, “Do you speak any other languages?”

You nodded and listed them off, “Yes. Officially, English is the main language in Nigeria but in Kenya and Uganda, Swahili is also common. I also speak Spanish, Portugese, and I’m familiar with French and the Trinidadian dialects of French as well as French Creole.” A chorus of wows surrounded you.

“What’s Uagadou like?”

“It’s nice, just very different from what I can tell. They are a lot more loose about how they teach things there. It’s strange, everyone here is dependent on wands.”

“You don’t use wands?”

“We do, but before that we’re taught to use magic with our hands and nonverbally. Helps avoid detection and makes it easy to still use magic if we’re disarmed. Dependence on a wand is pretty strictly European. Almost every other country learns without them first.”

“So you can just do magic, like with your hands?”

“Yup.” You flicked your fingers and the fork and knife in front of your plate did a little dance before picking up a piece of chicken and bringing it too your mouth.”

You looked around and your cutlery show had attracted the attention of a few of the surrounding houses students as well as professor Flitwick’s attention.

“That was marvelous, Mrs. Y/L/N! Would you mind demonstrating some of that again in my class tomorrow?”

“Sure, I have charms tomorrow at 2 pm so it should work.” He nodded and walked back to his table with the other professors.

The conversation deviated and eventually with dinner over, you were ushered to the coziness of the Hufflepuff common room and dorms. Plants and comfy blankets were all about the rooms. This was exactly the house you belonged to.

-----------------------------------

Breakfast the next day saw a new set of questions and some repeats from other houses students who hadn’t gotten the chance to ask. Word had made it’s rounds by then, and people realized you were exceptionally gifted.

During your free period after lunch, you were practically assaulted by a set of identical red headed string beans.

“You’re the transfer student right?”

“Yes, I-”

“We heard you’re gifted.”

“I mean I suppose-”

“What else can you do?”

“Can you show us?”

“Someone said you’re already an animagus?”

“OK SHUSH! One. I am not a goddamn zoo animal for you to just ask to do tricks at your whim. Two. One question at a time, for fuck’s sake.”

Shocked identical looks were followed by sheepish remorse.

“And three. Yes I am and animagus.”

One of them stepped forward.

“Sorry, that was kind of rude of us. We didn’t mean to come off so pushy. I’m George. He’s Fred.”

Fred also apologized and once you accepted, they asked again, albeit a little more gently.

“So, what animal can you turn into?” Fred asked slowly, like he thought he might annoy you again if he asked.

“You don’t have to talk that slowly, I won’t bite.” Fred laughed some and motioned for you to continue.

“I’m a Ratel.”

“A wot?”

“Also known as a honey badger.”

“Ohhhh.” Fred gasped

“I actually like that better than honeybadger. Sounds nicer.”

“Can we call you that? Ratel?” You shrugged and from there on out Ratel was more your name than your actual one. The teachers, staff, students. Even Dumbledore called you that.

---------------------------

The one group of people you refused to tolerate was Malfoy and his goon-squad.

It’s the superiority complex for me.

And everyone.

“How dare you look at me, filthy little-”

“Malfoy I know you weren’t just trying to beat up another first year.” You marched over to him with Neville, Luna, and the twins behind you. Crabbe and Goyle immediately dropped the Ravenclaw they had hoisted over their shoulders, and the small boy raced behind you and clutched onto your side. Crabbe and Goyle knew not to mess with you. Not after the thrashing you had given them before winter break.

Apparently Draco hadn’t learned the same lesson.

“Technically, I wasn’t.”

“Not you trying to use that smart shit with me. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size.”

“And if I don’t? What are you gonna do Princess?”

Princess. Absolutely not.

You stormed over to him, grabbed his pressed collar (fucking prick) and slammed him against a tree.

“If you even look in the direction of any of the younger kids. If you even look my way, or my friends way, or anyone’s way really. I will shove your own wand so far up your ass your can taste it, throw you to the forbidden forest, chuck whatever is left of you at the Whomping Willow, and then throw the remains in a disintegrating solution. Don’t try me. You know I’ll do it.”

You leaned back, and then punched him in the sternum. He crumpled to the ground before stumbling back up and running off.

You checked over the first year and then sent him on his way. As you walked off with the others, Neville spoke up.

“I’ve never heard of a disintegrating solution. Did you just make that up?”

“No, my mother and her twin have this old family book of spells and potions. It’s been passed down through the past few generations and people add to it often.”

“Wicked! Is that how you managed to remove Parkinson’s nose the other day?” Fred asked.

“Yup. She still in the infirmary?”

George laughed before responding, “Yeah, Pomphrey still can’t figure out how to reattach it and Parkinson refuses to say who did it.”

Everyone laughed as you headed to the library.

----------------------

“What are you doing in here?” Dean and Seamus stepped behind the portrait in the kitchens.

“Jesus CHRIST! You scared me.”

Seamus smiled and kissed your cheek, “Sorry, love. So, whatcha making?” He leaned over the pot you were stirring.

“Trinidadian curry. I missed home, and no offense, but British food has little to no flavor.”

“None taken- Mm! Thasth really goof!” His mouth was full but you picked up the gist. Dean laughed as he also stole a bite.

“Quit it you two. It’s not quite done yet.”

“Fine.”

“Sorry, Ratel.”

-------------------

“Harry James Potter!” Harry jumped as you stormed into the Gryffindor common room.

“How did you even get in here, you’re a hufflepuff?”

“Don’t change the subject. Why didn’t you tell me you were getting headaches? I just had to find out from Hermione!”

“Ratel, it’s not a big deal calm dow-”

“Kid. If you’re getting headaches everyday you need to get some help for it.”

“I’m not a kid, and it’s none of your concern!”

“You’re my friend. Of course it’s my concern. And don’t pull all that ‘Oh I’m the Chosen One, I need to do shit by myself’ because it’s dumb, ok Harry.”

He paused, “Fine… I’m sorry.”

“Damn right you are, now sit your ass down and I’ll grab you a headache potion.”

“Ok… Hey, Ratel?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

--------------------------

“The mandrake leaf has been in your mouth all month, you’ll all be fine.” Fred, George, Seamus, Dean, Luna, Neville, Cedric, Ron, Harry and Hermione all stood surrounding you in a circle as you held a glass phial. A flask of a potion was passed around and then each of them chanted the needed incantation.

All around you, each of them shrunk or grew as their form took place.

Fred and George transformed into identical hyenas who turned towards each other and erupted into a high pitched cacophony of screeching and laughing. Seamus turned into a phoenix with bright orange and yellow plumage, while Dean turned into a rather large fluffy golden retriever. Luna turned into a white hare and proceeded to dart around the hill you were on. Neville was now a meerkat. Cedric was a Lynx. Ron was now a roaring lion, Hermione now a river otter, and Harry a similar Stag to his father’s.

You shrunk down to your badger form and the lot of you rushed around for the next few hours until the sun came up. Racing, messing with each other,

Hogwarts had turned into home.

--------------------

If you saw something incorrect or inconsistent with any culture PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FIX IT. There is such a lack of POC representation in the fandom and as someone who is latina, I love when I see even a scrap of representation so after this I will probably start doing more like this (likely more mexican/ salvadoran cause thats where a lot of my family is from).

Also I’m sorry if this is too long or I wasn't able to get every detail in I hope this was what anon wanted!

#fred weasley #george weasley #seamus finnigan x reader #cedric diggory #ron weasley #neville longbottom #draco malfoy #dean thomas #luna lovegood #hermione granger

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superpaperclip · 4 years

Text

Fuck it here’s the start of a Javid fake dating AU.

Ch. 2 | Read on AO3

***

David had been sitting at the dining room table when it started. Sarah sat down across from him with a grin on her face, which David knew meant trouble. He tried unsuccessfully to ignore his sister and focus on his work for about five minutes, during which she didn’t move, before giving up.

“What do you want now and why can’t it wait until I’m done with this paper?” David asked with a huff, lowering the computer screen slightly so he could stare at his sister. Sarah just smiled wider.

“Well, it can’t wait because I know you, and you’ll just start another paper after you’re done with this one. Now as to what I want, I’m telling you you’re coming to a party this weekend. No arguments. The only things you do are go to class and do your work. College is supposed to be fun. You’re supposed to meet people. You haven’t gone on a single date since the semester began. You’re going to this party and I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, it’s hosted by one of Katherine’s friends, Bill. He’s rich, so all the important students will be there.”

Months, and even years, later, when David thought back on that moment, the two of them staring at each other across the dining room table, he had no clue why he said his next words. Maybe some spirit or supernatural entity possessed him, or he momentarily lost his mind. Indeed, he didn’t register what he had said until the words were out of his mouth.

“I already met someone.” Fuck, he’s in trouble. Now Sarah will never let this go. He’s too focused on trying to come up with a believable lie to register Sarah’s questions, which were undoubtedly along the lines of who the hell is he and why didn’t he tell her sooner and when does she get to meet him.

“Uhm, well, he… works at… that coffee shop right by campus. And his name is… uh…“ David desperately tries to think of a common name. “Jack! His name is Jack. And that’s all you’re getting from me. Now go away so I can finish this paper.” David resolutely stared at the computer, but Sarah unsurprisingly didn’t put up a fight, opting to leave the table instead. David’s gut told him this was going to backfire and blow up in his face, but he ignored it. Surely nothing too bad could happen, right?

Jack was fed up with his job at the coffee shop. More specifically, he was fed up with the customers. He was fed up with having to put on a fake smile every day and deal with rude, disrespectful, and downright mean customers, which seemed to be in abundance lately. Jack was counting down the minutes to the end of his shift when a girl burst through the doors, an annoyed look in her eyes. Jack internally sighed, then plastered his awkward-winning Customer Service Smile on his face, preparing to be berated again. Before he could launch into the standard greeting, the girl spoke.

“This is the fifth coffee shop I’ve been to today. Please tell me there’s someone named Jack working here, for my brother’s sake.” Jack’s mask slipped, his confusion evident on his face. He didn’t know who this girl was or why her brother’s… health?... rested on his existence.

“Uh, I’m Jack. Can I help you?” Belatedly, he wondered if he should’ve lied or used a fake name. At hearing his name, the girl’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands.

“Are you the guy who’s been dating Dave? God, I’m gonna kill him. He said your coffee shop was close to campus! I’ve been walking around all afternoon looking for you.” Jack was even more confused by the sudden shift in her mood, and her apparent belief that he was dating someone named Dave.

“Wait, what?” The girl gave him a puzzled look, as if he was an idiot and she hadn’t come barging into his shop claiming he was dating some guy with absolute certainty. When he didn’t show any sign of recognition as to what she was talking about, she huffed and launched into an explanation.

“I’m Sarah. Jacobs, I mean. Sister of David Jacobs. He told me you two were dating, and that you worked here, though he underestimated the distance from campus.” Ah. Her brother- David- must have told her to get her off his back. Jack had enough experience with pushy people to do what he would’ve wanted any of his fake boyfriends to do- lie. Jack just hoped he could be convincing enough.

“Oh, yeah, Davey! He’s told me about you, I just didn’t recognize you. Wait, he… he said we were dating? Really? I didn’t… well, it’s only been a few dates, and I didn’t want to put a label on it, but… he really said we were dating?” Jack hoped his performance was convincing enough, and would give him some leeway to not know anything much about David. He gave Sarah a half-smile and rubbed the back of his neck, pretending to be bashful. Sarah, on the other hand, seemed to buy it. She was almost giddy with joy, and something that seemed like pride.

“My brother has finally met someone! Oh, by the way, are you coming to Bill’s party this weekend?” Jack fought to keep his face neutral. Going to a party with someone he hadn’t known existed five minutes ago? No way. But still, he decided to let Sarah down easy. She seemed like a nice girl. Let this brother of hers deal with the blowback.

“Well, Davey didn’t say anything. And depending on when it is, I may not be able to go. I have some things to do this evening. But I’ll see if I can.” That seemed to satisfy her. She thanked Jack for his time, told him she hoped to see him at the party, and left. As Jack finally clocked out and walked home, he thought back on what was probably the weirdest interaction he’d had at his job, and hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

David was once again being stared at by his sister from across the dining room table while trying to do his work, and once again, ignoring her wasn't working. Sighing, he closed the textbook and stared back at his sister, who had a smug smile on her face.

“You never told me how cute he was. And you greatly underestimated the distance.” Now David was confused. HIs eyebrow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what she said, having already forgotten their earlier conversation. Sarah threw her hands up when it became evident he didn’t know what she was talking about and muttered something under her breath, probably about how clueless he could be.

“Your boyfriend, Jack! Average height, cute, works at Universal Grind Coffee Bar- which, by the way, is not ‘right by campus’. I stopped in to meet him. And I invited him to Bill’s party this weekend. Don’t think you’re getting out of that just because you have a date.” David went pale, his eyes wide. Sarah had actually tracked down some poor guy named Jack who worked at a coffee shop near campus? He needed to apologize, and apparently thank him for playing along.

“Uhm, I gotta… go… do… something.” He stuttered out an excuse as he shot up from his seat and out the door. Jumping in his car, he punched the name of the shop into his GPS, hoping there was only one. Luckily, there was. When he got there, he rushed inside, desperate to apologize. He went up to the nearest employee.

“Excuse me, is Jack here? I really need to talk to him. My name is David.” The employee looked him up and down, confused.

“I’m his coworker, Spot. His shift just ended. Why? Who are you? What do you need to say to him?” David ignored the questions.

“When’s his next shift? Please, it’s important.” Spot regarded him again.

“He’s working tomorrow. His shift starts at noon.” After thanking Spot, David left the coffee shop and got back in his car, opting to just sit in the parking lot. What had he gotten himself into?

Jack was feeling good when he walked into work the next day. That changed very quickly. As soon as he got in the door, he took stock of the customers already there. His gaze stopped on one particular guy sitting at the counter. His leg was bouncing and he kept fidgeting with a straw, twisting it around his fingers. He looked familiar, Jack thought. Maybe they had a class together.

Jack was trying to figure out why he recognized this guy as he put on his apron and planted himself by the register when the guy came over.

“I’m sorry, are you Jack?” Was he someone else who was sent by the David guy? Seriously, what were the odds of two attractive strangers asking for him by name two days in a row? He internally grimaced.

“Yeah, I’m Jack. Who’re you?” Jack immediately regretted how sharp his tone was when he saw the guy wince.

“Um, I’m David Jacobs. My sister, Sarah, told me she came to see you yesterday and I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I made up a fake boyfriend with a fake name. I never imagined she would actually go looking for you. Uh, him. But thank you for playing along. Oh, she also said she invited you to a party. Please don’t feel obligated to go. I really don’t want to inconvenience you any more than I already have. Again, I’m sorry.” Honestly, Jack was starting to feel bad for the guy. So he motioned for David to follow him to the back of the shop. Jack sat in a booth that was tucked into the corner, and gestured for David to sit across from him. When he did, Jack asked the question that had been bugging him.

“Why?” David looked to Jack in surprise, obviously not expecting the question.

“Why what?”

“Why did you make up a boyfriend?” At the look on David’s face, Jack worried he crossed a line, but David launched into an explanation.

“Sarah’s always been on my case to get out of the house more, even while we were in high school. One of the ways she tried to do that was by setting me up with different people, hoping I would date someone. After the hundredth girl, I told her I’m gay, but she just started setting me up with boys. The last straw was the party she told you about. I don’t know what came over me, I just blurted out that I was seeing someone. She pressed me for details, and I panicked and said he worked in a coffee shop by campus and his name was Jack. I never meant for you to get caught up in this. I’m so sorry.” Jack thought for a minute before responding.

“Maybe this unfortunate situation can be beneficial for both of us.” He had a mischievous glint in his eye.

“What do you mean?

“Well, my friends are always teasing me about my lack of a partner. So whaddya say we get back at everyone? Your sister and my friends. Here’s what we do: we go to this party, pretend to date for a few months, then have a horrible breakup. That’ll get them off our backs.”

David sat there, contemplating Jack's offer. Jack could almost see the gears turning in his head. Eventually, he stuck his hand out to shake.

“Deal.”

***

#meg writes #im in the middle of a second chapter but i have no motivation #maybe this will give me some #newsies #newsies fic #jack kelly #david jacobs #sarah jacobs #javid #jack x david #jack x davey #fake dating au #jack newsies #david newsies #davey jacobs #I Never Planned (on someone like you)

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lily-orchard · 4 years

Text

You know what? Let’s vent some more because looking through that shitshow has now got it on my mind.

One thing I’ve noticed from the... what should I call them... illiterate fucksticks! That works! One thing I’ve noticed from the illiterate fucksticks is this aggressive tone-policing. I don’t think people realize just how much tone-policing makes up the bulk of the crying about me.

People get mad that I don’t take suggestions because they really want that affirmation. But instead of making that the central issue (because... ya know... it’s bullshit) they make it about how “rude” I am to people who can’t comprehend a simple, basic level of common courtesy.

It’s okay to be aggressively and persistently rude and disrespectful to me, but not for me to do it in return.

I ask not to be spammed with requests and suggestions because I already know what’s out and what’s airing because it’s LITERALLY MY FUCKING JOB TO KNOW THIS. People don’t listen and are extremely pushy about insisting I cover their favorite show. I respond to the rudeness with rudeness, and people act like I’m the asshole here.

I ask not to have extra weight tacked onto my avatar because I have body image issues and struggle with anorexia and that only exacerbates it, people ignore this and do it anyway, I get rightfully angry about it, and people act like I just fucking clubbed a kitten to death.

I get abused and beaten down and gaslit for several years, but when I show that I’m still angry about it, I’m “obsessed” and “not moving on with my life” even though I have literally moved on with my life I’m just not over having been hurt that badly. That is literally chastising a victim of abuse for talking about her abuse. The whole idea of “don’t victim blame” just vanishes from people’s fucking minds the moment I’m the victim in question.

I get racist, homophobic, and transphobic drivel in the “criticism” against me all the fucking time, I get invasive questions and people prying into every aspect of my life they possible can, but I’m not allowed to respond to that hostility with hostility?

It’s okay to be rude to me, but it’s not okay for me to respond to that rudeness with rudeness? I’m expected to just smile and take it? Fuck that garbage. What you’re actually mad about is that I won’t take your abuse lying down. That I won’t bend over and do whatever the fuck you ask of me, and that’s it.

The reaching and the sheer amount of delusional fucking bullshit I get is nothing short of fucking shameless. It’s a wonder I actually do listen to real criticism when it comes my way, because I’ve had people tell me they’d understand if I just shut off all avenues of communication. And it can be hard to descern actual criticism when it’s buried under an avalanche of tone-policing from people who think an image of themself blowing on a teacup is a workable substitute for literacy skills.

I’m actually expected to entertain this garbage? To act as if someone’s inability to understand what a contest is for is somehow criticism I need to take on board? To act as if other people’s lack of reading comprehension, lack of consideration for other human beings, and inability to follow a few basic rules is my problem to deal with? To act as if I have to be completely and totally polite to absolute fucking hobgoblins who do nothing but scream and make demands of me?

Why? Why should I do that? Why should I be considerate to people who spew all this deranged garbage about me? Because 90% of the time this always ALWAYS comes back to me not affirming their fandoms. This isn’t just an excuse, I’ve seen this happen. Very rarely does the inciting incident for people come down to something I actually did. The most common reason for people to despise me is my criticism toward Rebecca Sugar for being crap at her job or something similar. Everything else is stuff they latch onto with no consistency.

I blow the lid on pedophiles in the cartoon fandom and people say I’m just going after people for the sake of a personal vendetta. But then I start dating in woman IN HER 20′S and people make up this self-serving fanfiction about me supposedly grooming her despite claims from the woman herself that we barely interacted.

This happened when I was dating Lizzy as well. In order to keep up this idea that I’m an abusive monster they claimed I was abusing her. When she said many fucking times that I wasn’t, she was ignored and accused of having Stockholm Syndrome. And when this concern was going around nobody actually messaged her to go “hey are you okay?” No, they just screamed at me about it because it wasn’t about someone being hurt. They didn’t care. They only cared about having another arrow in the quiver to justify this aggressive stalking.

The girl who was the most adamant about this was someone who aggressively deadnamed and misgendered me and claimed I didn’t deserve to have my gender respected because I SAID HER BOYFRIEND WAS WRONG ONE TIME. That was all it fucking took to make what had previously been a lukewarm viewer into a fucking lunatic aggressively stalking me for a year.

And let’s not forget that when it turned out that I was the one being abused in that situation, everyone just claimed I was lying without any proof. My friends all confirmed that I was being treated like dogshit and Lizzy did nothing to contradict any of it. But NOPE! Lily must be lying! She has to be, because she’s literally Satan.

Lily couldn’t have been raped! She has to be lying! We have no proof she is, but she’s literally Satan!

I have to be friendly and approachable and receptive to everyone, no matter how rude and dehumanizing they are to me, even when I’m dealing with long-term stress and PTSD. I’m not allowed to be angry about being treated badly, because then I’m just being toxic. How dare I be toxic to toxic people, right?

Did you hear? Lily Orchard is still mad that she was abused, gaslit and had her self-worth broken down over several years by someone she trusted enough to be vulnerable around. What a bitch, right?

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dalamjisung · 4 years

Text

see me ❋ bambam

word count: 5877

genre: hospital!au, fluff

pairing: Ophthalmologist!Bambam x Photographer!reader

description: it takes him a while to see the bigger picture, but when he does, it’s so worth the wait.

“Ah!”

“Are you fucking blind? Watch where you’re going.”

Funny to think that that’s how you met him. In college, running late to your class, and then running late into him. After his rude remark, this happened again twice; one in the cafeteria, where you dropped your noddles on his designer shoes, and once in the library, where you ‘accidentally’ kicked him in the chin as he tried get to the book you both wanted. After that, as you giggled nervously while hugging that godforsaken book to your chest, he sighed, blocking your way out of the isle.

“I guess there’s no other way,” He says, crouching down to match your height. “Hello, there. I’m Bambam… can you see me? How many fingers I’m holding up?”

“Of course I can see you,” You roll your eyes, pushing his hand out of your face.

“Just had to be sure,” He scoffs and straightens his back. “This is the third time you run into me in a month. That can’t be normal.”

“I’m just… distracted,” You mumble, blushing furiously. “Sorry. I’m Y/N.”

After that, whenever you’d run into him, it would mean another step towards your friendship– bumped into him outside of class, introduced him to your friends; tripped over him as he sunbathed in the grass outside of the literature building, exchanged numbers; ran into him after work, went out for drinks. It felt almost as if you two had been friends for ages and, the next day, once you woke up next to him, memory wiped clean and feeling like your head might just explode, you knew Bambam would be in your life for a long time. And you were right. To this day, you still bump into him, even though it’s been years of watch out! and be careful! He is not really as bothered as he used to be, but he still wants you to go for an eye check-up every six months.

“What’s the use of having a doctor best friend if not for the health benefits?” He’d always say.

And really, what’s the use? So there you are, waiting at the front desk of the hospital Bambam works, talking to Nurse Kim as if you two had been long lost friends.

“You should visit more than just for check-ups, Y/N,” She whines. “We all miss you. Even Dr. Jaebeom asked about you the other day! He said he wanted to introduce you to his girlfriend, she needs someone to photograph her cafe for a magazine ad, and he instantly recommended you.”

You smile. Thanks to the short period in which you and Bambam lived together right after college, you had been lucky enough to meet his group of friends– all of which are doctors. You are set for life in this hospital, and you know it.

“Y/N!” You hear someone shout and you are suddenly being lifted from the ground, Jackson’s laugh ringing behind you. “We missed you!”

“I missed you too,” You chuckle. “But please put me–“

“Jackson Wang, you better let go of her right this instant,” You laugh at how serious Bambam sounds. “Or I will kill you. She is a patient, Jackson, a patient.”

“Routine eye check?” Jackson asks once your best friend pulls you behind him.

“You know it,” You sigh. “Bam’s been insisting for me to come, so… here I am.”

“You tripped five times,” Bambam scolded. “In a day. I can never take you to the mall again, you were considered a safety hazard to yourself and others!”

“It was just an accident,” You pout, hugging his arm to you, pulling on it like a small child. “I was too focused!”

“Looking at disposable cameras,” Bambam deadpans while hugging you closer.

You two had always been, and will probably always be like that; touchy. You best expressed your self through touch, hugging him closer when your sad, gabbing his hand when your nervous, jumping on him when your happy. It’s always been easier to express yourself thought touch then words and he didn’t seem to mind; in fact, you think he feels the same way, always hugging you silently, or shaking you in excitement.

“Okay, I get it, I get it,” You grumble, pulling away from him and dragging him to the elevators, having the way to his office engraved in your mind. “Let’s go, I have a date in a couple of hours.”

“A date?” Bambam asks, wiggling his eyebrows. The fact that there is a doctor sharing the elevator with you two and he is staring makes you blush. “Who with?”

“A guy I met through a friend,” It all you say about it, voice curt and distant. You never liked discussing these things with Bambam for various reasons– you feel shy, you’re scared he’ll react badly to the news, like he used to in college, you didn’t want him to think you are replacing him. Those are just a few, but the main reason is simpler than all of those together; it’s stronger, too. You love him. Not like he thinks you do, though. More. You love him in a way that makes you wish he’d be there in the morning to wake you up, and that makes you fall asleep thinking of him kissing you goodnight. You love him in a way that he remains your best friend, but also becomes something else. You just love him. But he never really saw that, and you don’t think he’ll ever see it.

So you allow Jinyoung set you up on a blind date. Apparently his girlfriend works with a guy that knows a guy that is also single. And nice. And cute. And all of the other adjectives Jinyoung used to convince you of going. He’s just not Bambam, but you’ve learned to deal with that. It’s been years, after all; of watching him with other women and of letting him watch you with other men. You feel as pathetic as it sounds, but what can you do? You are in love with your best friend.

“Oh?” Bambam’s eyes widened. He holds the elevator doors for you and you walk in front of him, too shy to look him in the eyes. “What friend? I thought I was your friend!”

“Best friend,” You roll your eyes sitting on his desk, knowing he hates it when you ignore the papers on top of it. “And I know other people, too…”

“Yeah,” He shrugs and squints, as if examining you already. “But I know everybody you know, so spill; which one?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

The thing about your friendship with Bambam is that he knows you inside and out. He knows when you are lying, he knows when you are tired, he knows when you are hungry– all from just looking at you. So it’s only natural for him to also know when you’re uncomfortable, like right now. Bam knows all about your past relationships and how none of them seem to have been…. good; so his protectiveness extends even to his friends, especially when they try to take you places you don’t really want to go, or to do things you don’t really feel like doing– like going on a blind date.

“Y/N,” He frowns, looking stern. “I told you already, tell them no! The boys are pushy, but they adore you and they won’t get angry if you–“

“But I want to.”

You see the surprise in his face.

“I’ve been single for a while,” You nod to yourself, chuckling humorlessly. “I need to be single after a while after what happened with my ex; but I want to go on dates, Bam. I miss it. I miss the prepping, and the excitement, and… well, you know. I miss having someone telling me I look beautiful and that they had a good time and we should do it again. So I asked Jinyoung, because at least he’ll be able to choose me someone nice.”

“So it was Jinyoung,” Bambam hums, deep in his thoughts. “I would’ve guessed Jackson or Youngjae, but not Jinyoung.”

“Yeah, well, this time I wanted someone sane,” You joke, but he doesn’t laugh. “Now let’s get this done.”

The consultation follows as it usually does– messily. After the initial shock left him, Bambam went back to his goofy self, making jokes about you dressing up and “getting some” as he checked your eyes. Besides your glasses prescriptions going up– again– there is nothing wrong with you, as predicted, and you are soon released to go off on your date.

“Call me if you need anything,” Bambam laughs, winking, and for a second you allow yourself to feel sad over the fact that he looks more excited about this date than you. “And don’t forget we have our weekly sleepover tonight! See you later, and bring me the deets!”

“The deets?” You repeat, laughing.

“The details, girl!” He waves you off. “Now go, I don’t want you to be late to meeting the possible love of your life because of me. And don’t trip him! Actually, do! You can say he fell for you at first sight!”

“Yeah, that won’t happen,” You smile tightly, starting to back away before this conversation takes a path you are not sure you’ll be strong enough to brave.

“You never know,” He shouts after you. “You might just run into the love of your life!”

“I did,” You mumble to yourself, and with one last glance at your stupid friend– who’s laughing at his own joke still,– you leave the hospital, feeling as insecure as ever.

This might be it, you try to reassure yourself. The guy that makes me get over him. This has to be it.

————————————

The guy, Wonpil, is… okay. Unfortunately, you don’t have much to say about him, because all he’s shown you is that he is an okay guy, with an okay talk, and you two went on an okay date. Nothing about him made your heart race, he didn’t make you feel anything at all; no laughter bubbling inside, no frustration over disagreements, no anger, no happiness, not even nervousness. You are as numb as one gets.

“Y/N?” Wonpil calls, smiling a bit. “Are you okay?”

“Ah,” You smile back, hopefully disguising your lack of enthusiasm. “Sorry, I got a little distracted.”

His smile falters a bit at that. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” You freeze, feeling guilty. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I know this is not being exactly fun,” Wonpil sighs, allowing his head to fall in his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Reaching out to him, you uncomfortably tap his shoulder. “At least you’re trying, you know? I should be the one apologizing; I should be trying harder, I’m just–“

“Nervous? Sad? Frustrated?” He lists, looking at you with knowing eyes.

You shake your head. “I’m just… here.”

“It’s worse then I thought, then,” He mutters, and takes a deep breath. “Jinyoung told me.”

“Told you what?”

“About Bambam.”

If you were drinking water, you are sure you’d be choking to death now. Or at least you wish you were.

“What about Bambam?” You whisper, too scared to speak up.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Wonpil chuckles and you can just hear the sadness in his voice. “I’m not much different right now…”

“Wonpil–“

“The love of my life left me,” He almost shouts, and a few people look at you. Your mouth opens to say something but you don’t know what, as you listen to this odd man spill his guts. “She left because she said I didn’t appreciate her… but at least I had her at one point, I guess. It’s not as bad as your situation.”

“First of all,” You say, sounding just as you felt, confused. “No need to rub it in. Second of all, Jinyoung knows?!”

“Uh,” Wonpil scratches his head, as confused as you now. “I’m pretty sure everyone but Bam knows.”

“Excuse me as I go jump off of a bridge,” You try to get up but just as you are about to turn around and leave, he grabs your hand.

“I have a better idea.”

And that’s how you find yourself sitting on a bench, looking at the river, and drinking cheap, shitty coffee. Wonpil tells you all about his ex; how she left, what she said, and how he’s miserable without her. It’s been almost six months, now, and he still hopes that one day he’ll come home and she’ll be there.

“She was– is– my best friend,” He chuckles, taking a sip of his cup. “So I understand. Your situation; I understand. Too much to lose.”

You nod. “Yeah…”

“But it can work out, too,” Wonpil shrugs. “He can feel the same.”

“For a while I thought he did,” You smile, remembering how you would spend nights thinking of how to confess to Bambam back in college. “We were closer than ever, that time, and I thought he liked me too. I’m not sure why, I could just feel it. But I guess I lost my chance once he started dating a girl from his Biology class, and even since then I just never felt it again; I just assumed it was a phase.”

“Jinyoung told me all about you two,” Wonpil whispers, almost as if he is telling you a secret you shouldn’t know. “He told you are a photographer, and he showed me some of your work. Why is Bambam the only person you photograph?”

You close your eyes and tilt your head back, allowing the evening sun to warm your cheeks. This is not the first time someone ask you this, and you are sure this wouldn’t be the last; but the answer would always be the same– I don’t know.

“Everything else is scenic,” Wonpil continues. “All landscapes, buildings, art. Bambam is the only person.”

“I don’t–“

“You do,” Wonpil laughs. “You know why. You don’t have to tell me, Y/N, but it’s all over your face…”

“What is?” You open one eye to look at him sideways. “Tell me, Mr. Know It All, what is written on my face? Why do I only photograph Bambam?”

“Because you see him,” Wonpil sighs. “You see him the way he is. The way you wish he’d see you. That’s why.”

When you part from Wonpil, the sky dark and the streetlights shinning the way to your building, you tell him he’s an odd guy and that this was the weirdest date you’ve ever been to, but that doesn’t stop you from texting him once you lay down to sleep.

You were right.

————————————

“What the hell happened yesterday?”

You don’t have to open your eyes to know that Bambam is behind you, hands on his waist, and eyes trained on your back.

“What about yesterday?” You groan, still waking up and regretting giving him the code to your door.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Bambam says sarcastically climbing in bed and getting comfortable under the covers; he slides his arm under your head and turns your body to face him. “You went on a date with a stranger, didn’t text me, didn’t call me, and didn’t show up for sleepover night!”

You shoot up, blankets falling on your friend’s face as your body moves wildly, hand pushing your hair out of your face and covering your face.

“Bam, I’m so sorry!” You say, looking at him from where you not sit. He sighs, sitting up too.

“I thought something happened, Y/N,” He scolds you. “You never missed sleepover night… ever! And when you didn’t show up and you didn’t pick up I got scared that he might’ve done something to you and–“

“No,” You shake your head, groaning in frustration with yourself. “He’s great. Weird as fuck, but a great guy, and we talked until it was dark and then I forgot and came home and fell asleep.”

“You forgot?!” Looking offended, Bambam grabs both of your hands and looks into your eyes, looking for any signs of deception. “What happened yesterday? Did he do something to you? Were you uncomfortable? Are you okay? I’m going to kill Jinyoung!”

“No no no, it was nothing like that,” You roll your eyes, walking to the bathroom as he follows you. “We just talked about… stuff. And I needed to think and I guess I forgot– I’m really, really sorry Bam. We can do it tonight! Sleepover here; I’ll get snacks and we can order from that Thai place you love so much– it’ll be great!”

“Of course I’m going to sleep here,” He points to the backpack near the bed and you don’t know how you didn’t notice it before. “But that’s not the point, here; what happened yesterday? What stuff were you discussing? What made you need to think so much?”

“Bam, drop it,” You mumble, trying to walk away from him and into the kitchen, only to have him following you. “It’s nothing big.”

“That’s a lie and even you know it,” He says. “You missed sleepover night, Y/N!”

“So what do you want me to do?” You shoot back, turning to look at him. “I’m sorry, Bam, really, but you also missed sleepover night before and I never interrogated you about it!”

“That’s different!” He defends himself, and you know what’s about to happen; it’s not like you never fought before, but something about this is feels off– something about him. “I was dating! I had a girlfriend!”

“Oh, so it’s okay for you to miss sleepover night because of your girlfriend, and it’s not okay for me to miss it because of my date?” You question, and you honestly can’t believe this is happening. A fight over something as stupid as this.

“Yes!” He shouts and this is wrong. It’s all wrong; Bambam never shouts at you like this, with so much anger and frustration. He’s usually dramatic, but never angry. “It’s different because–“

And he stops himself before he says something he knows he’ll regret it.

“Because what?” You taunt him. “Come on, Bam, tell me; what’s so different?”

“Drop it, Y/N,” And he turns around to go to your room, but this time, you’re the one not letting him leave.

“No, I won’t drop it,” You say and you wonder if you sound as hypocritical as you feel. “Tell me, Bambam! What is so damn different?”

“Y/N–“

“Tell me, goddammit!”

“Because I liked her!” He is on your face in a second, and never before you felt uncomfortable with Bambam’s proximity, but this time you are shaking; not in fear, never in fear. You are shaking with anticipation. “I liked my girlfriend, hell I might have even loved her!”

“And who says I don’t like Wonpil?!” You question, rage bubbling in the pit of your stomach. “Who–“

“Me!”

“And how would you even know?” You cry out, tears pricking the corner of your eyes. You’ve never been this frustrated with your best friend, and you know why. You know why you feel so angry, so sad, so everything– which is why you’re not surprised when he looks at your with empty eyes.

“Because you like me!”

You let out a sigh, eyes shutting and hand rubbing your face, as if the friction could bring you back to reality.

“You knew?” Your voice sounds weak and small, and when you look at him, face stained with silent tears, you see the regret in his eyes. “You knew all along?”

“Y/N–“

“Just answer me, Bambam,” You ask, voice choking on a sob. “Please.”

“Yeah,” He sits down on your bed, looking down at his clasped hands in his lap. “I’ve known for a while.”

“How long is a while?”

“… a year.”

“Oh my god, I think I’m going to be sick,” You mutter to yourself, feeling your pressure crash as the adrenaline in your body fades. “Why? Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“And risk losing you? I would never!”

“But you just did!” You shout, and everything is blurry. You don’t see Bambam precisely, but you see his outline and you just want him to leave. For the first time, you want him to leave you alone. “If you told me, if you shot me down, I’d still be your friend! Goddammit Bambam, I love you! That is worth more than anything to me– you are! But this? What you did to me? I’m not sure–“

“Don’t say that,” He begs, walking to you and grabbing you by the shoulders. “You’re my best friend, Y/N– you’re my family!”

“Friends don’t do this, Bam,” You whisper, hands softly wiping his tears. “You knew, and you watched me hurt. You watched me go on dates with other men, and you watched me cry myself to sleep pretending ignorance… I don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“You knew, Bam,” You repeat like a broken record, and then you take a step back; and then another, and another, until you are next to the door. “You knew, but you never really saw me, did you, Bambam? I was just the best friend that would always be waiting for you, arms wide open.”

“I saw you, Y/N,” He walks after you as you leave the room, walking to the front door. “I see you!”

“You don’t,” You don’t have the strength to shout and fight anymore; what’s done is done. “You never did.”

And you left, ignoring the man you loved the most in your life; ignoring his cries, and shouts, and pleads. This was it. It finally happened and although you’d give anything to go back in time and prevent this ridiculous fight from unfolding, you felt lighter than even as you walked out of your own apartment.

————————————

“Wait, wait, wait– he knew?!”

“I’m telling you he knew,” You nod. “And we had this huge fight and now I kicked myself out of my apartment.”

“Why were you the one to leave?” Wonpil asks sipping his beer. “It’s your apartment!”

“Because I could never, for the life of me, kick Bambam out,” You sigh. “I love him too much for that.”

“Oh wow, was not expecting that,” Wonpil mutters.

“What does it matter?” You shrug and waves to the barista, asking for another shot. “I didn’t like saying it outlaid before because I felt like if I did it would be too real and he’d know… stupid, right? He’s known all along. I feel pathetic.”

“This is the last one, Y/N,” The barista says and you look at her with a pout.

“But we’re friends!” You hug her around her waist.

“That’s exactly why,” She laughs. “You have to slow down, dear.”

“You sound like Jinyoung,” You mumble, letting go of her and downing your drink. “It’s freaky.”

“He is my boyfriend,” She chuckles and takes the cup away.

“And your boss,” You point out with a wink, feeling the alcohol getting to your head. “Kinky.”

“I’ll ask Jisung to bring you some water,” She says and goes back to her position behind the counter.

“She’s probably going to call Jinyoung,” Wonpil says looking at you with wide eyes. “Is that okay?”

You just shrug. “I texted him before and asked him to keep an eye on Bambam; so I’m not sure he’ll come over here.”

“Say that again.”

You look to where Wonpil is pointing and you see Jinyoung running to his girlfriend at the counter, and then she’s pointing at you. He’s not alone though; Jaebeom and Youngjae are with him, looking as worried if not more.

“Well, fuck me,” You whisper, ignoring the sudden need to up and leave.

“Y/N!” Youngjae shouts and runs to you, enveloping you in a tight hug. “Oh my god, we’re so sorry about what happened!”

“Are you okay?” Jaebeom’s eyes do a once-over and he nods, satisfied that you don’t look physically hurt. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story…” You sigh, and they all sit down around the small table. Your eyes find Jinyoung’s and you know he’s worried. “How’s he?”

“Jackson, Yugyeom, and Mark are with him back in his place,” Jinyoung says softly. “But how are you?”

“Angry,” You say instantly. “At myself, mostly. I shouldn’t have blown up like that, guys. I’m sorry I hurt Bambam but–“

“Right now,” Jaebeom says grabbing your hand. “Fuck Bambam. He was an idiot for doing what he did. We didn’t think he knew…”

“W-what?”

“We’re here for you, Y/N,” Youngjae smiles. “Don’t look so surprised!”

“I just thought–“

“You’re family,” Jinyoung says. “And Bambam made a mistake. He knows that now. Give him time and he’ll be back.”

You just nod, holding in tears that threatened to spill. You never knew this is how they saw you– as family. Having met them through Bambam, you really thought they’d be with him right now, but the fact that they are here, holding your hand and comforting you, makes you want to cry. They show you, again and again, how much they love you, and in the end of the night you are drunk and tired and Jaebeom is carrying you on his back to your apartment.

“Youngjae,” You call out, half mumbling, half shouting. “Tell me you didn’t leave your pregnant wife alone to come here! I will destroy you if you did!”

“She’s not alone,” He chuckles. “She’s with Jaebeom’s fiancee. They are having a girls’ night.”

“Girls’ night,” You echo. “Sounds nice. I never had one… it’s always been Bam and I.”

No one says anything, and you don’t blame them. You just fall asleep.

You think you’re dreaming when you open your eyes to see Jaebeom on the phone; and then again when you see him letting someone in. Everything is hazy from the alcohol and the sleep, but when you feel someone press their lips to your forehead and whisper in your ear, you start to doubt yourself. When you wake up, there is an envelope next to you, and on it are the words you heard last night.

“I’ve always seen you.”

————————————

You don’t open the envelope for two weeks. You stare at it, you shake it, you touch it, but you never open it. You also don’t hear from Bambam during these two weeks, and you know that whatever is in that envelope is his way of reaching out to you; you’re just not sure if you’re ready for that. The days now consist of working, viciously, until you don’t have any more work to do and you have nothing to do but think about it; about him. It was during one of those weak moments that you decidedly grabbed your camera and went out in the streets, walking to the park and taking sporadic pictures on the way. Wonpil’s words echo in your mind, you see him the way he is. The way you wish he’d see you; and you decide that this is the perfect moment to prove him wrong.

You snap what is probably hundreds of picture of strangers; it’s ridiculous the amount of pictures you had to delete later, once you see them and frown, realizing that none of them have that thing you’re looking for. And that’s when you realize that ‘that thing you’re looking for’ is Bambam.

“I have to do this sometime,” You sigh, putting your camera and computer aside. “Might as well do it now.”

Inside the envelope is a letter. And pictures. Dozens of pictures of you; selfies with half his face in the frame and focus on you, pictures of you eating, laughing, making faces. Some of them you remember, but others you aren’t even looking.

Hey you,

I know you don’t want to hear from me right now. And I’m sorry. It’s all my fault and I know. You know it, too, so don’t blame yourself like I know you’re doing. And stop frowning. I know you’re frowning– stop it!

I wish I was there to show you these in person, but I also know you are stubborn as a mule and you won’t ever open the door if I just show up, so here I am; writing a letter, like one of those books you like so much.

Y/N… Do you hate me? Did I ruin us? Because we were an ‘us.’ We’ve always been an ‘us.’ If you hate me, you should stop reading this here. If you don’t, forget that last sentence and continue. I have a lot to say, and it all start back in college, that one night. Do you remember? We went out drinking and then you woke up in my bed. Don’t worry, nothing happened. But I wished it did– for so, so long, I wished something happened that night. I was in love with you and I’m surprised you never realized it. I’m not going to say I got over you because I don’t think I ever did, or else I wouldn’t be writing this, but I do think they fluctuated. When I started dating my ex, we weren’t in love. I’m not sure I even liked her like that, but I liked her in a different way– she made me forget about you for a while. That’s why I would skip sleepover nights. It took me a while and I’m sorry for being so stupid, but I finally realized I didn’t want to forget you, and if I had to silently love you from afar I would. I know you know what I mean. You did the same.

I didn’t find out through anyone but you. You’ve shown me you love me again and again, and by then I think I spent so much time telling myself that this would never happen that I convinced myself that I didn’t love you anymore. But I did– do.

Do you believe me?

You told me you’ve always seen me; and that I never saw you. That’s wrong. I see you. I’ve always seen you. And if you don’t believe my words, then believe what you love the most– pictures. Those are just a few of many, because even though I’m not a professional like you, I still love the nostalgic feeling that those pictures carry. You taught me that pictures last forever, and I wanted ‘us’ to last forever, too. I’m just too late in realizing that maybe that wasn’t the ‘us’ I thought we were.

So please, Y/N, give me a chance. Give me a chance to show you that I see you as you are; that I see you as you see me.

Come see me, again. I won’t mess up this time.

Please.

I love you.

BB.

You are out the door before you can find your jacket and you run. You run the fifteen blocks to his apartment, knowing that if he’s still at work, you can just wait inside with his cats. People look at you in a way that would make you shrink within yourself, but right now you don’t care. You even give a guy the finger, for cussing at you. All you can think about is getting to Bambam, scolding yourself for taking two weeks to read the letter.

“He probably thinks I didn’t forgive him,” You mumble to yourself, panting like a dog once you slow down in front of his building. You fast walk into the elevator and anxiously waits until it reaches the seventh floor. “Come on, come on…”

Running to his door, you start to punch in the code but the door suddenly swings open, hitting you in the face and pushing you down to the floor.

“Ah!” You shout holding your forehead in pain.

“Y/N?” Bambam’s head pop up from behind the door, eyes wide and puffy. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know–“

“Yeah, well, I didn’t really call in advance,” You joke, hand shooting up to show him the envelope your finger are holding onto. “Can I come in?”

“O-of course!” He stutters a bit, and you smile, knowing he’s nervous. “Let me help you up.”

He offers you a hand and you grab it, not letting it go even after you are inside the apartment. You hold onto to him, now, throwing the letter and pictures in the coffee table, and dragging him to the couch, where he sits silently, still in shock. As you try to let go of his hand, he tightens the grasp, pulling you to him. His arms circle your waist and he rests his forehead on your belly, hugging you closer to him.

“I love you,” You say. “But you know that.”

“Not the time,” He groans and pulls away, tears running down his face.

“Why are you crying?” You chuckle softly, grabbing his face in your hands and kneeling in front of him so that you are eye to eye. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“What took you so long?” He frowns. “It’s been two weeks!”

“I needed time, Bambam,” You roll your eyes. “But I’m here now.”

“Yeah, you are,” He sniffles and you melt on the inside from how cute he looks. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more.”

“Impossible,” He whispers, pulling you to sit on his lap. “Look at me. I’m a mess! Can’t you see how much I missed you?”

“According to you,” You poke his nose. “I can’t see at all.”

“And according to you, I can’t see either!” He smiles and you feel a giant weight leave your body. “We are a couple of idiots.”

“We are, aren’t we?” You chuckle, hugging him and nuzzling your head on his neck. “I ran into you and we became best friends; now I ran into your door and–“

You stop yourself, not knowing exactly what will happen now.

“Now you ran into my door,” He whispers, turning his head to face you and ending much closer than expected. “And you are my girl.”

“I’ve always been your girl,” You whisper and allow him to kiss you.

It feels weird. Weirdly good, but weird nonetheless. I’m kissing my best friend, you think, scooting closer to him. And I love it. Bambam groans and pulls your by the neck, trying to get as close as possible, and you feel a shiver run down your body, and stop at the pit of your stomach. Oh.

“Babe,” He whispers, lips grazing yours.

“Hm?” You hum, wanting more of him.

“Nothing,” And he’s back to kissing you, taking over you, making you hot and bothered. “Just wanted to test it out. Feels right.”

“You feel right,” You say, pulling back just to wiggle your eyebrows.

“Don’t be weird,” He sighs, but you know he’s holding his laughter in. “Please.”

“This is all weird,” You say, moving from his lap to the couch, despite his protests. “I’m just following the concept.”

“Oh god, should I schedule an appointment with Jaebeom, now?” He jokes. “Did the door hit you too hard?”

“Fuck you,” You pout.

“You want to,” Bambam winks, partially joking. It takes you a minute to answer, but once you do, he’s already carrying you to his room.

“Yeah, I do.”

------------------------------------------------------

I am so sorry for the delay loves! I hope you all enjoy this one! Bambam is such a lovely idol to write about ❤️ his personality is so strong! Let me know what you think! Likes, comments, reblogs, they all matter for us writers ❤️ thank you for the constant support loves!

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tiliamericana · 3 years

Text

Muay Thai: 1.13

“I can’t believe you’ve done this,” said Agatha acidly as Nairi held the door to the pizza place open for her.

“I’m sorry,” said Nairi, no longer feeling particularly apologetic after a week of saying nothing but. “We’ll only be here for what, an hour? And then we can go.”

She didn’t love that she was already on edge. It was hardly the first time in her life that she was deliberately sitting down to spend a couple of hours with an unpleasant man, but it was still frustrating. She liked spending time with Agatha and Linden who were only occasionally frustrating, but they tended to get tense and catty with each other, and Nairi’s teeth were aching at the thought of dealing with that on top of Simon.

Well. They were usually catty, but when not talking about relationships they could be relied on to be friendly-catty rather than terse-catty.

Linden was sitting alone at one of the tall tables near the centre of the restaurant, and she waved at them as they approached, her smile wide. “Hey guys!” she said as Nairi sat down across from her, and if her smile was fake then she at least sounded pleased—or, well, relieved, at any rate.

“No boyfriend yet?” asked Agatha archly, sitting next to Nairi with a disapproving curve to her lips as their eyes met.

“He’s running late,” said Linden, clasping her hands together in front of her and making her bracelets jingle. “Promised he’d treat me to a nice big pie and dessert to make it up to me, though!”

“Nice of him,” said Nairi, snagging a complimentary breadstick, more out of habit than hunger.

“Very,” said Agatha, inspecting a menu without looking up.

Linden’s expression faltered. “Yeah,” she said anyway.

Nairi knocked their ankles together under the table in an attempt to reassure, and Linden flashed her a grateful look, the tension across her shoulders loosening a little. “Things are going well then?” she asked, pouring herself a glass of water and pushing the jug towards Agatha, who ignored her.

“As well as they can be,” said Linden, nodding a little too much, her bracelets jingling again. “I mean, things get bumpy occasionally, but we really haven’t known each other for long in like, the grand scheme of things. We already know we like each other, so we’re just feeling everything else out as we go.”

“Oh goodie,” muttered Agatha, pushing her glasses up her nose again before setting the menu down and joining the conversation. “Nick likes this one, then?”

Linden snorted. “Simon’s not that exceptional,” she said dismissively. “Nick thinks he’s too flaky.”

Agatha glanced at her watch conspicuously. “I wonderwhy.”

Linden gave her a sharp curve of a smile, darkly amused. “Look, that might be a dealbreaker for Nick, but he’s not the one dating him. I can handle a little flakiness, and besides, he’s working on it.”

“Is he working on anything else?”

“Yes,” said Linden, looking Agatha right in the eye. “Nick told me—I promise he won’t call you that ever again, I even slapped him around a little to make it stick.”

“Right,” said Agatha, unimpressed in the face of Linden’s humour. “Because if he does then I’m just going to leave. Why does he even talk like that in the first place?”

Linden wrinkled her nose. “It’s his masters, I swear, he spends his entire time with his nose up the ass of these old school poets, and then he like, forgets that language has changed in the last eighty years? It’s really annoying, he literally called me the ‘whore of Babylon’ the other day and then got offended when I told him to fuck off because I ‘didn’t get the compliment’.”

Nairi snorted.

“Oh! Such a catch! I suddenly understand why you’re so determined to make this relationship work,” drawled Agatha.

“It’s a better basis for a relationship than some I could name,” said Linden snidely, narrowing her eyes across the table.

Damn, Agatha’s last boyfriend must have been a real piece of work. “There’s always going to be worse relationships out there,” said Nairi diplomatically. “And I mean, people are even meeting and dating on the internet these days, everything starts somewhere.”

“Exactly,” said Linden, relaxing a little with a grin. “That’s a bad basis, we all know the internet’s for porn and arguing with strangers.”

“And LOLcats, don’t forget those,” said Agatha, nodding at her.

“How could I?” said Linden, her grin widening.

Nairi was saved from having to ask what the fuck a ‘LOLcat’ was by Simon’s arrival. “Hello ladies,” he said breezily, draping his coat over the back of the free chair with a waft of eau-de-cigarette over the table. He leaned in and kissed Linden’s cheek from behind before sitting. “Hello babe, sorry I’m late, transport was a bit of an issue.”

“You’re fine,” said Linden, smiling indulgently at him as he sat. “Just gave us time to work up an appetite.”

Thankfully, the process of deciding on pizzas and drinks, and then the conveying all of that information to the waitress meant that Nairi didn’t have to speak directly to Simon. It also meant that he didn’t try to speak with Agatha, who was coolly ignoring him from across the table with a total lack of eye contact that veered dangerously close to the border between ‘civility’ and ‘rudeness’.

Once the food actually arrived however, she was out of luck.

Pretty much every pizza on the menu that wasn’t explicitly vegetarian had some kind of bacon or ham or pork-based sausage in its toppings, so there wasn’t any quibbling or half-and-halfing on the one Nairi was sharing with Agatha. Simon, however, had ordered without asking Linden, which she’d ignored, much the same way she’d ignored Agatha’s quiet snort at him doing so. Nairi was about ninety percent certain Linden didn’t even like green peppers.

“So,” said Simon brightly, gesturing across the table with his wine glass. “How have you two been this week? Anything exciting?”

Agatha took an enormous bite of pizza and chewed loudly, glancing at Nairi. Nairi sighed internally and lowered her own slice to answer him. “Not terribly exciting. Work, mostly.”

“That’s right,” he said, chewing obnoxiously and giving Nairi a chance to start eating. Next to him, Linden was carefully tugging peppers off the surface of her pizza. “Lindy said you did some kind of fighting thing, right? MMA? Kickboxing? Sweaty punch ups in sports bras?”

“…I teach judo,” said Nairi eventually. “Early days at my dojo, I don’t have a lot of students yet, I’m afraid. Uh, Agatha’s working on a paper at the moment though, that’s a bit more interesting.”

“Really? What’s it about?” asked Simon, turning both his attention and his chewing maw towards Agatha.

“Diatomic elements,” said Agatha shortly. “It’s just about nucleics, I’m not reinventing the wheel or anything.”

Simon stared at her blankly. “Oh, of course. Uh, I’m afraid I’m not familiar, is your field—?”

“Chemistry,” supplied Agatha, turning her attention back to her dinner. “My PhD was on inorganic, but I’m still in the process of post-doc applications so I’m mostly twiddling my thumbs and writing contributions in the meanwhile.”

“Right,” said Simon, his face showing a total lack of comprehension. “Academia’s a lot like that, terribly stiff in the paperwork and appropriateness departments. The right body of work and all that—I know exactly how it feels, I was going to do my thesis on the erotic underpinnings of Virginia Woolf’s work and the reflection of her relationship with her husband, but my advisor was really very pushy about playing it safe and sticking to Eliot’s body of work in the immediate post-war era.”

“Oh yes, much safer,” said Agatha with no inflection in her tone.

Simon laughed loudly, leaning back in his chair and taking another long drink of his wine. “You know, Lindy said you had a sense of humour, and I must confess I didn’t quite believe her at first! Mistakes all around.”

He punctuated this with a conspiratorial wink across the table at her, though Nairi didn’t quite understand what was so funny about it. At a glance, neither did Agatha or Linden. Linden actually looked… embarrassed? It was only for a second, the expression gone almost as soon as Nairi noticed it, Linden covering the bottom half of her face with her glass as she took a sip.

“So how long have you two lovebirds been dating anyway?” Simon continued, not even glancing at Linden next to him with her small pile of peppers or his ignored slice of pizza on the plate in front of him.

“A few months,” said Nairi, her own dinner looking more unappetising by the second. “Since September, I think?”

“That’s about right,” said Agatha, the lines around the corners of her eyes easing as she glanced at Nairi. “Five or six months now.”

“Charming,” said Simon, polishing off his wine, smile bright and enthusiastic as he gestured. “You know I’ve always greatly enjoyed the figure of the lesbian, in real life as well as literature. Excising the men from the bed and the home—it’s always so representative of the purest form of womanhood, really illuminates the truth of femininity. And the politics of it! The ultimate commitment to the feminist ideal, the usurpation of the patriarchy from its most foundational stronghold in the home at the head of the family. Really brilliant stuff!”

Agatha’s eyebrows were somewhere around her hairline.

Linden laughed awkwardly, nudging Simon as she leaned in a little over her plate. “Well, I mean, it’s always gonna be a bit different from books, hun. People are people, real life is always more, uh—”

“Oh yes, yes, of course,” said Simon dismissively, nodding at her. “And writers have a tendency to exaggerate and eroticise that type of relationship as well.”

“And what exactly do you mean by that kind of relationship?” asked Agatha, tone sharp.

Nairi tensed as Simon opened his mouth and started bloviating again. Linden swallowed whatever she was going to say, giving up and quietly eating instead, leaning on one elbow.

Simon’s phone buzzed loudly, and he took a second to check it while Agatha sucked down on the straw in her water glass through her furious, pinched expression.

“Oh, I’m so sorry ladies,” he said, standing up as he punched a few buttons on his phone. “I have to run. I have thoroughlyenjoyed this discussion though, especially with you Miss Davids, we’ll have to do this again sometime—”

“Doctor,” corrected Agatha.

“Oh, that’s right, very good, attagirl!” said Simon breezily as he tugged his coat on, and a muscle in Agatha’s jaw visibly twitched.

“Oh, Si, really?” said Linden, frowning at him anxiously as he kissed her cheek. “But we were gonna go get ice cream af—”

“Really?” said Simon, with a piss-poor attempt at a surprised look. “I didn’t think so, babe, I had plans. There’s no need to end the night just because I’m leaving though! You should all have some fun, I’ll see you later, and I promise I’ll catch the next cheque!”

He was already walking away as he spoke, hand raised in farewell even as Linden opened her mouth in dismay. “Wait, Si, I can’t—and he’s out. Great.” She slumped in her seat as the door swung shut across the room and gave them a glum sort of smile. “Sorry guys, I kind of thought that would go better.”

“Really?” said Agatha under her breath, covering it with the movement of setting her glass down.

Nairi ignored it. “I mean, it’s not exactly your fault—” Agatha snorted “—do you want me to grab you a pizza you actually like?”

Linden gestured at Simon’s largely untouched pizza with an eyeroll. “No, I’ll live. Already gonna have to pay for this one.”

“I’ve got it,” said Nairi, tugging her wallet out. “May as well just pay for everything while I’m up. Do you want something a bit cheesier?”

Linden looked at her for a moment, expression unreadable, and then something in her relaxed and her mouth twitched into a wry smile. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Agatha turned her head as Nairi left the table, saying something she couldn’t quite hear. Her tone sounded dry rather than snappish, so Nairi didn’t think too hard about it. She got them another round of drinks while she was sorting out the extra pizza as well—it would probably go a ways to easing Agatha’s temper and cheering Linden up.

From the looks of things when she returned to the table though, they’d managed to have an argument in the few minutes she’d been gone.

“Better food and new drinks on the way,” she said, sliding into her seat and pretending she couldn’t see the angry twist in Linden’s lips, or the clenched tension in Agatha’s hands.

“Awesome,” said Linden, flashing her a sunny, fake smile as Agatha scoffed. “You know, I was just saying to Aggy that since this turned out to be such a bust that maybe we should try having a girl’s night instead, you know? Just us, maybe with Flo too.”

“Oh yeah,” said Nairi mildly, gently pressing the back of her hand against Agatha’s on the tabletop. “What did you have in mind?”

#serial fiction #series honey tree #book muay thai #113

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punkscowardschampions · 3 years

Text

Amber & Cosmo

Amber: [Okay so I’m just gonna write my diabolical idea here so we know how it’s kicking off, basically whenever Dash and Amber hooked up- which was long ago enough that he should but hasn’t given her the stash back but literally never long enough ago that it won’t be gross to Cosmo that this happened, soz boy- she thought they were doing so in Dash’s bedroom but it’s actually his brother’s so when she comes back looking for her stash/anything she can replace it with, she’s actually ransacking Cosmo’s room and we know it’s blatantly because he lied that he didn’t have any drugs when he in fact did so he’s an all around lovely boy]

Amber: [picture the scene of him walking into his own room like wtf and then she has to hurriedly explain all of the above and then I figure I can start this convo when she’s for real in Dash’s room searching the right one lol]

Amber: I’m so so so sorry

Amber: I can’t find the words…

Cosmo: [The levels we would’ve been like GET OUT without terrifying her into fully leaving, in our room fuming rn]

Cosmo: Did you take any of my shit?

Amber: I’m not here for anything that isn’t mine, I told you

Cosmo: You said a lot

Cosmo: and fast

Cosmo: You’ll excuse me if I was more distracted by the more pressing issues like the stranger in my fucking room

Amber: Because you were saying the same thing again and again

Amber: and loud

Amber: my pressing issue was, and is, me not getting arrested

Cosmo: That’s your life choices

Cosmo: maybe don’t break and enter if you don’t wanna be worrying about that, there you go, pro-tip

Amber: Passive aggression towards me is understandable but please don’t threaten a real act of, you know I’m no burglar

Cosmo: I don’t know that, I don’t know who the hell you are

Amber: If you need to empty out my pockets to be sure, I’ve not left

Amber: yet

Cosmo: I can’t see anything missing

Amber: I feel stupid for not realising it couldn’t be his room

Amber: stupider

Cosmo: It’s an unpleasant way to find out he’s a piece of shit for you but you’ll be better off for knowing

Amber: Typically unfair of the universe not to let me have the information before we had sex

Cosmo: I might be more willing to extend sympathy if it weren’t in my fucking bed

Amber: Take mine because it was

Amber: but believe me that I didn’t know

Cosmo: Doesn’t change the fact

Cosmo: He’s fucking dead

Amber: I can’t change it now, but I’ll bring you some new sheets to show you the sorry was meant

Amber: and knock before I come through your window

Cosmo: Or you could just not, on both counts

Amber: if you want

Cosmo: Funny when someone breaks in you don’t really get much say

Amber: It’s your choice from here on though, I was being pushy when I thought it was your lying brother’s window

Cosmo: Generous

Cosmo: What are you even looking for?

Amber: 🌿 I borrowed my dad’s stash

Amber: borrowed is the important part

Cosmo: How does that work

Cosmo: except for not, clearly

Cosmo: You may as well go, ‘cos that will be long gone

Amber: Empty handed!? I can’t do that

Cosmo: Help yourself to any crap he’s got in there

Cosmo: doesn’t bother me

Amber: I don’t think there’s anything in here my father would accept as a 🕊

Cosmo: No shit

Cosmo: Unless he’s also got the taste of a wannabe hippie

Amber: Their wardrobes are unsurprisingly similar but he’d kill me if I brought home new items to replace the handful of old clothes he already owns

Cosmo: You’re one of them

Cosmo: Figures, only people who’ll associate with him at this point

Amber: Them?

Cosmo: You live in the compound

Amber: oh right 👽

Amber: yes, I’ve lived there for a few months

Cosmo: My sympathies on that one

Amber: 😂 Thanks, but even going back empty handed wouldn’t result in a RIP 🥤 ending, it’s okay

Cosmo: There’s hardly a shortage where that came from

Amber: or of worse places I could or have lived

Amber: Have you always lived here?

Cosmo: I’d phone social for you but the case is well-established already, I reckon

Cosmo: Dublin? Always

Cosmo: Better postcode for a bit but now just on the weekends

Amber: better because…?

Cosmo: All the reasons they put on the listings

Cosmo: price, location, near to whatever amenities you might want, idk, you know what better means

Amber: You forgot no strange girls climbing in your bedroom window, it was the perfect opportunity to stay angry at me

Amber: but this is better, agreed 🙃

Cosmo: I’m still angry, don’t worry

Cosmo: you’d not get anywhere near my dad’s windows

Amber: so you get the weekends off from me

Cosmo: I’m definitely not doing his dirty work for him, he doesn’t deserve that but neither do you so

Cosmo: If stealing your stash and not letting you in his room wasn’t hint enough, he’s not gonna make you his girlfriend, okay

Amber: I’m not THAT stupid, I don’t know what you got from first glance or this on going impression but it sounds like I don’t want to know

Cosmo: You aren’t going to be here every weekday then, that’s what I mean

Amber: I could be, I found a lot of spare rooms on the way to his, they’re not as nice as yours but they don’t have horrific memories attached

Amber: yet

Cosmo: We’re not looking for lodgers and you just moved

Amber: over half a year ago isn’t a just

Amber: Why don’t you want to live with me?

Cosmo: 😂

Cosmo: You’ve got jokes, at least, if not your stash

Amber: if you had manners you’d help me

Cosmo: You and my brother desecrated my bed

Cosmo: Why’d I owe you anything, like

Amber: You’re 🤬 at him, he’s owed us both getting our own back and I can’t do a good enough job at it on my own

Cosmo: You’ve got a point, alright

Cosmo: [Come in]

Amber: [picture her buried in this carnage because she’s so smol and his room was such a mess before she even got there, just looking at him as she’s trying unsuccessfully to like throw this mattress out of the window like hello]

Cosmo: [just walking over and taking that off her with ease because you’re tall, lean it against the wall like not gonna happen babe, because as much as we’d like to throw your mattress in the stinky pond, we don’t want to cause hassle for Ali or Billie because we’re a good boy unlike someone, rifle through the mess of clothes and put aside any that might be worth something, indicate as much by doing the money thing with your hands like kaching]

Amber: [at least she’ll be too busy being shamelessly impressed by how tall and strong you are to pout about it, so you’re welcome but also lowkey not because like I said shameless haha]

Cosmo: [at least you can maintain eye contact and look at her right back as you’re like ‘what?’ ‘cos you don’t not know what you look like lol]

Amber: [sitting down on a skateboard that’s on the floor because the bed would be off limits even if the mattress wasn’t on the lean ‘what are we doing?’ like we need do more than raid his clothes if we wanna really annoy him but also the saucy undertone is obvious especially because eye contact hasn’t been broken remotely]

Cosmo: [shrugs ‘he doesn’t care about anything’ but not as offhand as that sounds because we are constantly and entirely at a loss with him ‘take what will make it worth it for you’ break that eye contact to look around like hmm]

Amber: [rolls the skateboard at him but obvs in a playful not aggressive manner cos we’re getting up as if to leave like ‘it was nice to meet you’ because not at all unspoken vibe of that makes it worth it for me]

Cosmo: [pick it up as we raise a brow half like was it and half yeah it was ‘cos duh ‘these are pricey-’ gesture to all the skateboards lying about with the one you’re now holding ‘and easier to get out the window’]

Amber: [sitting on said window ledge rn because even if it’s a tiny one so is she and we were gonna climb out before he made that suggestion DUH ‘maybe but what’ll I do with them’ looks down at self and her aesthetic because we’re nothing if not self aware baby ‘other than string one of the wheels onto a necklace’]

Cosmo: [a small lol but in a yeah that’s true look at you way without being THE RUDEST ‘put ‘em in a sock and you’ve got a weapon’ does the thing where you pick something up with your toes on some laundry ‘I’d supply your own sock though’ like ew]

Amber: [a lol of her own at his monkey footed antics and opening the window like that sock is THE GROSSIEST and it stinks in here which lbr isn't that much of an exaggeration 'the creativity doesn't sweeten the deal enough that part of it would be allowing me to use violence for conflict resolution, sadly' a pout 'but admitting you want me to stay here instead of trying to get me kicked out of there remains an option, thankfully' a grin like 😁]

Cosmo: [at least you can throw some of his clothes out the window without affecting your mother and grandmother so doing that without touching anything truly DISGUSTANG but giving her a look as if that suggestion is, but with a 😏 ‘cos don’t need to go that hard with the rudeness rn ‘we’d charge more rent’]

Amber: [looks around at the stuff he has already said is worth money before hopping down from the window to pick up a guitar Dash has obvs left lying around 'how much?']

Cosmo: [shrugs because not our bag ‘aren’t all instruments kinda expensive?’ ‘cos true unless it’s like a play guitar lmao]

Amber: ['instruments in this condition are, sure' because we're blatantly holding a flashy electric guitar rn not a beat up acoustic like she's used to seeing all the hippies play 'but it can't have any sentimental value' like there's no point taking it if he's not even gonna notice]

Cosmo: [‘good luck with that’ like he don’t care about anything ‘cos that’s how it seems hen]

Amber: [such a face on because even though he's proved they weren't friends and he's a dick she at least thought his hippie vibe wasn't total bollocks but all this expensive shit hard-core goes against that so with a sigh and a shrug she's going back to the window like well I might as well leave then 'thanks anyway, and sorry, again']

Cosmo: [a noise like that’s simplifying things a bit, a psh if you will, ‘guess he fucked you over first’ but a sincere face to show we know he did ‘just don’t do this again’ gestures vaguely like what bit do you mean sir]

Amber: ['it's my dad's stash, not mine' as if that's the only thing Dash did wrong because we're not gonna get into the fact you've known him for months you thought and likewise thought you were friends as everyone just thinks you're a slutty hippie stereotype so you have no reason to believe it's not the same assumption here 'I'll find a different way to replace it']

Cosmo: [reach in your pocket like how much even though you are a bit 😒 because essentially paying for your dickhead brother’s habit rn]

Amber: ['no!' such a fierce shake of her head and such a fiercely angry face because it's not his debt or problem even if it was actually about the money/ drugs instead of the lies and Dash's shitty behaviour which turns into a sad face/head in hands moment when she says 'I was beginning to think I couldn't feel any worse about how I've treated you' and just really quietly basically under her breath adding 'stupid' because @ herself for everything including thinking this was a good idea and still being here]

Cosmo: [‘hey’ and moving forward but then moving back awkwardly just as fast ‘cos we don’t really know what to think about you rn, as is this weird situation you find yourselves in ‘forget about it, I’m fine’ add ‘and the bit that ain’t fine is on him so don’t feel bad, honestly’]

Amber: [at least you can't see that awkward move back and feel worse for that gal because even though he's right and it's not really your fault you feel bad 'it's my fault he used your room, plenty of other girls from the commune wouldn't and haven't insisted on going anywhere else, and mine too that I'm at your house again today...I should've let it go' because we're never gonna be the peace and love cliche soz parents but we know that's what you want]

Cosmo: [‘he’s owed worse’ like I get why you didn’t let it go, even if your method is dubious babe]

Amber: [a smile that’s genuine relief because who else gets it in your life remotely but then you remember that so you’re like ‘retribution delivered karmically not by me’ but we still haven’t left and we obviously don’t mean it and aren’t trying to pretend we do with our tone because we’re not at the commune now bitches fight us]

Cosmo: [‘good luck with that’ ‘cos same energy of that’s bullshit]

Amber: [a little lol because he literally typed exactly that earlier like okay boy I get it ‘I’m owed worse’ than bad luck or being called out on bullshit that isn’t even hers but he thinks is, both definitely]

Cosmo: [‘undoubtedly’ and a shrug like soz, life’s shit]

Amber: ['where did you get it?' Meaning the money he just tried to give her obvs because she's thinking she might have to get a job to pay her dad back and even though she's clearly worked out from what he said about a better postcode at the weekend and how much stuff Dash has and how he treats it that it's likely from his dad but we hate when people make assumptions about us so we're not trying to do that]

Cosmo: [‘I go to a football academy’ not in the braggy way that sounds just stating the fact, she’s probably not aware that means you get paid boy but go off ‘if you need the cash, you should just take it’ like seriously gal, looking at her like]

Amber: ['What's that like?' SO surprised and intrigued in all the ways not like you could NEVER boy but she's obviously never met anyone else who does anything like that and even more importantly just really driving the point home that we don't know a thing about you and how wild it is we are here having this convo not to mention you're literally offering us money again which we are gonna shake our head to again as we make yet more eye contact 'when I need the money, I'll figure it out for myself' not angry tone this time just stating a fact]

Cosmo: [When you don’t really know how to answer that ‘cos the assumption always is that it’s a dream come true obvs because it is a big opportunity but it’s still a job at the end of the day, one you start much younger than most kids even get a part-time so we’re kinda like what do you mean lmao ‘yeah, it’s great, better than wasting my time at normal school, like’ asking a question back ‘cos not rude ‘you go to school?’ ‘cos undoubtedly aware loads of the commune lot don’t]

Amber: [‘I'm picturing the hunger games with a football' cos we are and that's what we mean lol because normal school is savage enough never mind something so focused on talent and competitiveness like 'are you a scorer?' Bringing back her adorably not knowing football terms and it's like it makes sense you would thrive there if you are and that type haha, nodding our answer to his question 'my dad teaches the kids who don't go' as if that's the only reason we go to school]

Cosmo: [little lol ‘maybe when you’re younger’ ‘cos obviously not all of you make it ‘but we all have pro contracts now, the deadweight is gone’ pop off with the basic explanation of your position on the team for her, we know the vibe hun, nods back ‘better than nothing, I guess’ but we clearly don’t really think so ‘you’re in his year?’ part sympathy part disgust lmao]

Amber: [obviously gonna ask him who his contract is with and if she can see him play but I won't commit you to picking a real team if you don't want to it's just to show that she's genuinely interested because likewise asking him other relevant questions when he's explaining the position he plays etc 'I don't mind school, being in the year above him definitely helps’ because my vibe is she would like school for lots of reasons but she's also Lowkey struggling a lot with it hence she doesn't really have time for a job rn very past me energy of having to do schoolwork until you literally go to bed]

Cosmo: [‘I don’t think it’ll be your scene’ and such a look of confusion that she asked like what do you want, suspish lol, smile though ‘that’s something’ ‘cos no one should have to suffer Dash in our opinion lmao]

Amber: ['Why not?' Such a genuine question but we aren't mad yet because we've clearly never been to a football match before so he might have a valid reason for thinking that and gonna give him the benefit of the doubt and obviously gonna throw something vaguely school related out of the window but nothing that would inconvenience your poor mother or nan though like yeah it's gonna be very important to me that we don't have to cross paths at school as well cos livid lol]

Cosmo: [‘Come on, you don’t think it’s all meat pies and

misogynists, like?’ with a 😏 energy ‘people like you are more likely to run onto the pitch with a sign than sit in the stands’ shakes head ‘sure he skives loads anyway, as the rest of this house actually has places to be and can’t keep a constant eye on him like the kid he is’ like you’ll barely have to see him, don’t worry, probs true]

Amber: [a lol ' are you saying it is or just that you don't want someone like me waving a sign with your name on from the stands?' Ignoring the Dash stuff entirely because now we know what a knob he is we are so over him]

Cosmo: [who can possibly say energy because that’s amused us lowkey]

Amber: ['I wanna see you play' because we do]

Cosmo: [‘why?’ because the levels we’re like WHAT DO YOU WANT cannot be overstated lmao]

Amber: [' Because I think it sounds fun, why don't you want me to?']

Cosmo: [‘if you want to go to a football match, you can’ like you don’t need to come to mine, which sounds ruder than we mean it, just pointing this out]

Amber: [the poutiest because rude and also we aren't stupid we're aware of that thank you boy 'and hold up a sign saying what, for who?' Because duh the fun is cheering you on sir]

Cosmo: [‘We don’t do cheerleaders’ but looking at her slightly less suspish and more curious]

Amber: ['okay, I won't wear the outfit, your loss' accidentally very saucy mental image soz not soz]

Cosmo: [we’re getting such slag vibes ‘cos of how this has all gone down so we’re like steady on gal ‘cos we’re not trying to put out that we’ll get on you ‘cos we know you’ve got previous, not that kinda boy, very #awks on your behalf ‘funny’]

Amber: [Ngl love that because she’s really not but he’s gonna keep thinking this for ages if she hooks up with a random at the clerb again this time and when she dates this old ass dude despite the fact it’s the first time she’s done either haha ‘Pom poms are usually plastic’ spoken like plastic is a swear word lol ‘and tissue paper isn’t recyclable either, environmentally responsible arts and crafts are the limit’]

Cosmo: [rolls eyes but not in the sarky energy of the emoji ‘what the fuck would you wave, some broccoli?’]

Amber: ['I can cut the cardboard into any shape’ so amused genuinely ‘so yes, if you like’]

Cosmo: [‘sure I wouldn’t wanna hinder your creativity, express yourself’ in a faux hippie energy]

Amber: ['I wouldn’t want everyone to think I was there protesting the pies and misogyny’🤔 ‘What number are you?’]

Cosmo: [‘hopefully I don’t mess up or you’ll have to add the racism to the list’ but tell her your number obvs]

Amber: [do a tick on the palm on her hand with her finger like noted ‘Does that mean I’m invited?’]

Cosmo: [‘it’s not an invite event’ shrugs ‘cos we still do not get this lmao ‘can’t stop you’]

Amber: [‘Unfriendly’ because I’m bringing that pun back thank you]

Cosmo: [my boo says I can and I will, ‘so weird’ kinda under our breath but not in a snide way so she could hear]

Amber: [‘it being weird to be interested in getting to know you says more about you than me’ like 😏 energy of what you’re so unlikeable are you as if the weirdness doesn’t come from the fact you hooked up with his brother and then broke into his house but okay babe]

Cosmo: [‘we’re not going to be friends’ like that’s a fact, bit rude but also I understand]

Amber: [‘We could be’ again so genuine as if there’s not reasons why you wouldn’t]

Cosmo: [‘no’ very simply even if we’re a bit #conflicted ‘cos don’t want to be a dick to you]

Amber: [‘okay’ because you literally can’t and wouldn’t argue with that so just actually go to leave for real this time gal]

Cosmo: [gonna have to let her go for now but let some time pass but like 15 mins ish not like a long time, enough that she’s gone though]

Cosmo: I didn’t mean to offend you

Amber: You didn’t, it would have offended me if you’d said no after your first 👀

Cosmo: Good

Cosmo: because it’s not about you

Cosmo: it isn’t a problem with you personally, I mean

Amber: it’s about your brother, I know, I’m not a real 👽 I understand why

Cosmo: Amongst other things, yeah

Amber: other things you don’t have to explain to me, it’s okay, I meant and mean it

Cosmo: alright

Amber: Thanks for trying to help me

Cosmo: There’s other ways to screw him over, if you want to

Amber: are there?

Cosmo: ‘course

Cosmo: there are things he cares about, even if not his things

Amber: like…?

Cosmo: think about it, he made it obvious

Cosmo: access to drugs and hippie girls

Amber: I don’t have a way to take either of those from him

Cosmo: Yeah you do

Cosmo: you live there, they’re your ‘family’ or whatever nonsense

Amber: not the girls he goes for, they’re always new

Cosmo: you can’t put it in the welcome pack

Amber: I’m not going to draw more attention to him, there’s already too much, and some of these girls would be more attracted to any negatives I pointed out, for reasons I don’t need to explain

Cosmo: drugs then, the new girls won’t be the source of those

Amber: Neither am I

Cosmo: it’ll be blokes

Cosmo: or at least adults

Cosmo: braindead or otherwise, they can’t all be fooled by him and his bullshit

Cosmo: get him cut off

Amber: I’m flattered you think my word is worth more than money to a dealer, but I’m not sure it is

Cosmo: I thought it was nature’s bounty with you lot only

Cosmo: and you pretended to have morals about it all

Amber: pretended being the key word, but I’ll try and get him blacklisted

Cosmo: I’m just saying, fuck up his spot there, that’s the only thing that would bother him

Cosmo: If you can’t then you can’t, sorry

Amber: I just don’t want him to think I care about his behaviour because of the bad sex we had, which he probably will

Cosmo: Yeah, probably

Cosmo: he loves himself enough to believe everyone else does

Amber: If they were my sisters this would be a lot easier

Cosmo: It’s a big enough place to avoid him, yeah?

Amber: But letting him get away with this is giving him free passes for as long as he wants to lie and treat other people the same, I shouldn’t allow it when the only reason is because I don’t really have time for a full blown vendetta, who am I if I do that?

Amber: …sorry for the vent, this isn’t your responsibility

Cosmo: You’re clearly a decent person

Cosmo: You can’t be responsible for all the ones that aren’t

Cosmo: I should do something because he’s my brother, right

Cosmo: but I can’t

Amber: I’m taking the compliment, after that we can stop talking about him

Cosmo: You wanted help with it

Amber: And the dealer angle is helpful ⭐️

Cosmo: Alright, I didn’t have to like but I felt bad for you

Amber: You could’ve stopped there and not made me feel bad about myself

Cosmo: I was trying to do the opposite

Cosmo: you got sarky with your ⭐️s

Cosmo: I didn’t fuck you over

Amber: It was genuine, for a genuinely good idea! I also said thank you and sorry, like, multiple times

Cosmo: Who uses gold stars genuinely

Amber: My dad has sheets of them he never uses sarcastically if you wanna start being someone

Cosmo: Alright, teacher jokes

Cosmo: You understand that it looks sarcastic though

Cosmo: To standard people

Amber: To people who don’t think it was a good idea, you mean, but who are they? It makes sense and will probably work

Amber: and I understand why it’s easier for you to take this stance with me, sure, we’ve been through that

Cosmo: What stance?

Amber: close to argumentative without crossing over the line, defensive

Cosmo: You broke into my house, I dunno how you aren’t getting that

Cosmo: unless you’re purposefully pretending not to, which is your dick move, not mine

Amber: I know I did, but you have no reason to feel unsafe because of me, which we’ve also been through

Cosmo: I don’t, feel unsafe

Cosmo: I don’t think that means we need to talk or get to know each other

Amber: It’s not going to happen again which means you don’t have to see me again, and we can stop talking any time too

Cosmo: You’re acting like I’m being rude

Amber: No, I said it was fine when you asked me if I was offended

Cosmo: What were you trying to do, asking about me

Amber: get the answers

Cosmo: 🙄

Cosmo: Yeah but why

Amber: Why wouldn’t I want to leave you with an impression which isn’t me as some BIG BAD coming through your window? Because I’m not and you wouldn’t think so if we bumped into each other in town anywhere ‘normal’

Cosmo: So you was trying to get yourself out of trouble

Cosmo: Yeah, okay, that makes sense

Cosmo: I just wanted to know why, that’s all

Amber: I don’t wanna be in trouble but it wasn’t that calculating

Amber: isn’t

Amber: meeting new people, striking up conversation in situations that other people often don’t think are natural, kinda are to me

Cosmo: It’s not a bad thing, I could’ve called the police on you

Cosmo: obviously you don’t want that

Cosmo: you don’t need to worry, I won’t, even if it is a bit late now anyway

Cosmo: Sure, but even so

Cosmo: you can’t say you’re doing that on the regs

Amber: You don’t have my name and the description you could give wouldn’t narrow it down very much once you directed them here

Amber: but I’d still prefer you didn’t, I’m not gonna lie

Amber: I don’t get pushed to those extremes regularly, no, because most people who say they’re my friends are and don’t treat me how Dash did

Amber: if you’re waiting for me to say sorry for making the best out of the unexpected, you being there, I’m not going to

Cosmo: I’ve seen plenty of them, they don’t look like you

Cosmo: Well I’m glad to hear you aren’t regularly breaking and entering

Cosmo: I don’t need an apology

Amber: What do you need, besides the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️?

Cosmo: Ha ha

Cosmo: like I said, I just didn’t get it

Cosmo: and who says I want to leave a bad impression either

Amber: I haven’t met a ⚽️🏆⭐️ before, if I asked too many questions, that’s why, but if I made you feel uncomfortable, that’s a worse impression and you’ll get an apology anyway

Amber: Not you, or you wouldn’t have helped and I’d be talking to the police instead

Cosmo: I’m used to that

Cosmo: Usually from lads though

Cosmo: or girls but it’s more obviously fake

Cosmo: I’m no ⭐️ yet anyway

Cosmo: I’m not being compared to him, even if that means doing shit it isn’t my job to, I’d rather

Amber: I’m not comparing you, in spite of it turning out I only know Dash as well as I know you

Amber: you could’ve told me you didn’t want me coming to watch you play because of the other girls that do, I’m used to plenty at school being jealous of the way I look

Cosmo: And I intend to keep it that way, the lack of comparison

Cosmo: If I say that’s not what I meant will you accuse me of trying to make you feel bad again?

Amber: What did you mean? If you’re not trying to make me feel bad, I won’t accuse you of anything you haven’t done

Cosmo: It’d be weird if you came because my dad will be there

Amber: I’m even more used to that, all my ‘normal friends’ parents are judgmental about my piercings and the tattoos they can see, it’s okay, I don’t have to come

Cosmo: He wouldn’t judge you, but games are about winning, focus, all that

Cosmo: not inviting random strangers

Amber: He’d still be judging me for how he thinks I’ll behave, as a distraction, either way I’m a bad influence 😈

Cosmo: He’d just be pissed off with me, honestly

Amber: I’ll have to wait to watch you on tv one day, keeping it a secret from my parents who’d be 😠 at me

Amber: and if I get too impatient I can always break into the bedroom of one of your teammates, befriend them and cut their number out of cardboard…

Cosmo: You reckon, do ya

Amber: That you’ll be a 📺⭐️ or someone else on the team will be happy to have me appear in their bedroom? Because yes, I do

Cosmo: 😂 Can’t knock the confidence

Amber: Negging hasn’t been considered flirting since approximately the 90s, so no

Cosmo: Reckoning I’m flirting with you borders on delusional

Amber: which borders on what, ableism? Keep going if you have nothing to do but dig to Australia

Cosmo: Entertaining your fantasies isn’t a requirement for being a good person, whatever politically correct label you wanna throw on it

Amber: If my fantasies were that instantaneous I wouldn’t need entertainment from anywhere else

Cosmo: Good luck with that

Amber: Thanks, I am bored enough to attempt construction of a fully make believe world

Cosmo: You have time to get bored?

Amber: it’s not a forced labour camp

Cosmo: you wouldn’t keep around useless stoners if it was

Amber: And as someone who fits that mould, thank god 🙌🏽

Cosmo: it’s usually more exploitation in the name of free love anyway

Cosmo: and that doesn’t sound familiar at all

Amber: Because you’ve never been in any way exploited

Cosmo: I haven’t, actually, but that’s not really the point

Amber: Of course you have

Cosmo: How have I?

Cosmo: You’re chatting shit which won’t detract from the fact that place attracts nothing but predators of one kind or the other

Amber: Your parents sacrificed you to ⚽️🏆⭐️ the same as mine did to me with ✌🏽☮️💙 we’re both indoctrinated, yours just has a definite job prospect attached to it

Cosmo: You don’t know a single thing about me or my parents, you asked a few questions

Cosmo: you confirmed my brother picks off new girls like a opportunist abuser, and I know he ain’t the only one who treats that place like that

Cosmo: I didn’t say fuck all about you or your parents

Amber: Sport attracts predators too, nobody’s condemning it because of how a large number of people in positions of power treat the ones they have power over

Cosmo: Sport is regulated

Cosmo: for fuck’s sake

Amber: We open our doors to vulnerable people, there are always going to be other people who try and take advantage of that, and maybe at the next place they do there won’t also be as many people around who care

Cosmo: Yeah, you’ve identified the problem there

Cosmo: vulnerable people need protection and actual help

Cosmo: not care from a bunch of people who are entirely unqualified to do shit

Amber: They get help from qualified adults, not every person living there is a clueless teenager and you are actually allowed to leave

Cosmo: Yeah, that’s the point, anyone getting enough real help would leave

Cosmo: it’s a half-way house at best and for every ‘success’ and person that gets the fuck out, you have just as many that get sucked into bullshit they otherwise wouldn’t if you weren’t there

Amber: You’ve never even been there

Cosmo: Don’t need to

Cosmo: if the evidence weren’t out my window, it’s in my house and all so

Amber: Dash based evidence would make anyone cynical

Cosmo: You wish he was your only problem

Cosmo: just because he’s a dick, don’t mean he’s not got it from somewhere, or he wouldn’t get away with it

Amber: Nowhere’s perfect or fucked irreparably, you wish it was that cut and dry

Cosmo: I’m not the one who thinks I’m creating a utopian society

Cosmo: no one needs perfect, just not batshit harmful bullshit

Amber: Neither am I

Cosmo: Not you personally

Amber: So stop attacking me personally, get a 📢 and point it out of your window towards someone who really believes all the things you think are harmful bullshit

Cosmo: I’m not attacking you

Amber: You’re saying things I either have to agree or disagree with about my home and way of life that I’ve already had to spend a really long time defending or denouncing in exactly the same way

Cosmo: You don’t like it because it’s true

Cosmo: I can’t help that

Cosmo: but it’s exactly why there’s no point talking again

Amber: I can’t help that my parents like it there and really believe in things I don’t

Cosmo: Don’t they care what you want?

Amber: I go to school, we’ve stayed long enough for me to make friends, as far as they are concerned, I’m getting what I want

Cosmo: Is that all you want though?

Amber: it’s getting my own way more than a lot of my friends do, what 17 year old gets everything they want?

Cosmo: Parents should give a shit about their kid’s happiness

Cosmo: it’s not being a brat about wanting more money and a later curfew

Amber: I care about their happiness too

Cosmo: they aren’t meant to make that your problem

Amber: Putting me first and their own lives to the side would cause problems for all of us, if they’re miserable I’m not gonna be happy, and not expressing it wouldn’t mean it wasn’t still obvious

Cosmo: Are they happy?

Amber: Happier than they’ve been for years, my dad left his girlfriend and my mama has a new boyfriend, they’re both loving their jobs and the people they’ve met here who they aren’t dating too… I’d say they are

Cosmo: You’re scared they’ll want to leave again

Cosmo: or that place will get shut down and they’ll be no choice in it

Amber: They will or it will, what I’m afraid of is when it does I’ll make the choice to stay and they won’t

Cosmo: If they’d rather be helping other people than their own kid that’s fucked

Amber: I’m their 👶🏽 forever but not a child, they’d rather treat me like an adult

Cosmo: Whether you’re ready for that or not?

Amber: Some things you don’t ever feel ready for, but they have to happen anyway and when they do you’re almost always 😁 or at least slightly relieved it’s done

Cosmo: You aren’t old enough to be left anyway, whatever they’d rather do

Amber: An irrational fear for a while longer

Amber: I’m not bored enough for crystal healing

Cosmo: That’s not a thing

Cosmo: you’re taking the piss now

Amber: it’s not something that works, but it’s something that happens

Amber: often

Cosmo: I suppose I don’t even wanna know what that entails

Cosmo: if it’s not good enough for max boredom even

Amber: What are you doing? Now that you’re done making me question my entire life

Cosmo: I really weren’t

Cosmo: I know there’s fuck all you can do but there’s plenty actual adults there could and haven’t long before you showed

Cosmo: I need to go do my run

Cosmo: I’m behind schedule now

Amber: You haven’t really, don’t feel bad, it’s my turn again for putting you behind schedule

Cosmo: Inexcusable, really

Cosmo: If we’d have found a way for you to get back at him and/or get your money back we’d be further behind so win some lose some

Amber: I’m sorry x 9

Cosmo: I get it, I don’t deserve the sincerity of actually bothering to type it out

Cosmo: Call it even then?

Amber: I’d prefer to call us odd but okay

Cosmo: ‘course, got to keep it 👽 I know

Amber: Tempting fate slightly, unless you want to get abducted on your run

Cosmo: I was clearly after an invitation, yeah

Cosmo: I’m alright, tah, only one dickhead who looks like me will be showing

Amber: Is that my invite to a race? Because I don’t think I’d be able to beat you

Cosmo: Is that humility? Doesn’t seem like you

Cosmo: you’ve already been abducted yourself, obvs

Amber: Or shameless untrue flattery

Cosmo: Hmm

Cosmo: Possible, yeah

Cosmo: but you never would beat me so we’re at real delusion again

Amber: Distance or speed?

Cosmo: I have unfair advantages for both

Cosmo: I run up and down a field for 90 minutes a time, and I have about double the leg length you do

Amber: It’s really cute you think I’d let anything happen fairly when I could just cheat

Cosmo: There’s no point having any kind of competition if you don’t follow the rules

Cosmo: take your hollow victory then, see if it feels good

Amber: You’ve made me not want it now! 🥺

Cosmo: N’awh

Cosmo: right buzzkill, I know

Amber: Besides leg measuring, what do you do for fun? And don’t say run up and down a field for 90 minutes

Cosmo: Just what us footie lads are like, good clean fun, unlike rugby

Cosmo: what do you actually do, when you’re avoiding crystal healings?

Amber: The big 🚿 at the end can’t be what makes you happiest either, I don’t believe that’s true of anyone

Amber: other than shopping, I’m sure I do mostly the same as the rest of the girls you know

Cosmo: IDK I’m sure it makes the predatory coaches buzzing when we’re all lathered up 🧼

Cosmo: but shopping is all the girls I know do 😜

Cosmo: I’m the same, is your actual answer, what every 17 year old lad with some disposable income does

Amber: Great, I’ll need the healing to erase that visual…

Amber: It can’t be, because then I’ll have to feel sorry for you AND the girls you know, they’ll have other interests they’re avoiding telling you about, like I am

Amber: the boys I know our age definitely don’t seem like they do much of anything, besides get drunk and high, so there must be A LOT of other hobbies they’re keeping secret from me too

Cosmo: Maybe you’ve uncovered the truth there

Cosmo: Girls and boys don’t tell each other everything, or anything

Cosmo: Or we both know poor examples

Cosmo: Who’s to ever be sure

Amber: But now it’s been uncovered, either way, we can change it

Amber: I’ll go first, the childish faves I was keeping from you are swimming and dancing, because they make me sound about 9 years old

Cosmo: I don’t think so

Cosmo: depends on how you frame it, swimming is great cardio and underwater is a great place to think or not think as much as you need

Cosmo: dancing, likewise great cardio, and good for the soul, sure your lot would put it, mood-boosting for the rest of us

Cosmo: you sound very well-⚪️ed, if anything, not 👶

Amber: It’s your turn

Cosmo: alright, bossy

Cosmo: you already know I like football and I like to run

Cosmo: I like the gym too, swimming as well, actually

Cosmo: going out for meals, drinks, all that stuff

Amber: Nobody likes the gym, the effects and ego boost maybe

Cosmo: I do

Cosmo: it’s a building with workout equipment in, not a torture chamber

Cosmo: and the one at the academy is really good

Amber: you like how much you can 🏋🏽‍♂️ and having your friends to compete against

Cosmo: is that a question or an assumption

Amber: I’m changing it to a question because you caught me in an assumption, which I hate, so ?

Cosmo: 😏

Cosmo: competition is a good motivator, so is seeing progress in your abilities, sure

Cosmo: exercise makes you feel better, whatever form you like doing it in, it’s that simple

Amber: I’m not gonna lie and pretend I do yoga for any other reason than how flexible I am as a result, I guess we finally agree on something, even if it is something shallow

Cosmo: It’s not shallow

Cosmo: giving a shit about your body and your health isn’t just because looking good is nice, it also feels better

Amber: but if I cared about my health there are vices I’ve picked up that I wouldn’t have and things I wouldn’t put into my body which I do, you’re on a journey and I’m doing the occasional day trip

Cosmo: Very hippie-approved

Cosmo: songs about it and everything, right

Cosmo: I do drink, I just try not to get wasted

Cosmo: it’d be unsociable not to at all

Amber: You’d look like a 👽 and you’d have to move somewhere that isn’t Dublin

Cosmo: And change my occupation

Amber: drastic avoidance tactic to stop me from meeting your dad or watching you play

Cosmo: 😂 Not all about you, hippie

Amber: That’s the rudest thing you’ve said to me so far!

Cosmo: And WAGs are meant to be high-maintenance…

Amber: meaning they put time and effort into their appearance, which you just applauded as a virtue in yourself

Cosmo: No, meaning you have to put a lot of effort in to maintain the relationship

Cosmo: but it was a joke before you get all soapbox about it

Amber: a joke I’m not gonna let you get away with making, boy

Amber: but if we need to talk about anything it’s that you don’t think all relationships require a lot of time and effort

Cosmo: I didn’t, it’s a joke that’s made, by people in general

Cosmo: it’s more 🤑🤩 maintenance people are implying, not 🥰😘

Amber: You repeated it, like it’s funny or true, or both

Amber: after I told you I hate assumptions, and stereotypes aren’t any different

Cosmo: They’re inevitable and you’ve made loads about me, my friends and my family so

Cosmo: that sounds like your problem

Amber: The difference is, I’m trying to not and I apologised when I did, you’re doubling down

Cosmo: I’m not doubling down because it’s a joke, which means I didn’t mean it in the first place

Cosmo: You did and that’s why you’re mad

Amber: Why are you like this?

Cosmo: Like what?

Amber: 2 seconds away from an argument at ALL times

Cosmo: You’ve started every one

Cosmo: People like you reckon you can say whatever bullshit you want like you’re so knowing and zen and then I’m the arsehole for not just letting you chat shit on me

Amber: You keep saying people like me, when I’m obviously not like that

Amber: zen or all knowing

Cosmo: I said it was bullshit

Cosmo: It’s what you wanna project

Cosmo: that you’ve got it figured out, which is why you live such a mental way of life, because it’s actually the RIGHT way of life and we’re all stupid and brainwashed, not yous

Cosmo: ⭐️

Amber: I told you why I live there and that I don’t believe in it

Amber: using ⭐️ against me is bullshit

Cosmo: Maybe you can’t help it

Cosmo: you don’t even know you’re doing it

Amber: Do you know you’re being a fucking asshole?

Cosmo: Yeah

Cosmo: do you?

Amber: now I do

Amber: It’s not an intention, but you’re right, sometimes I open my mouth to speak and either of my parents come out

Cosmo: I know the feeling

Cosmo: maybe that’s inevitable too

Cosmo: how individual are any of us really, we’re all just a mess of the people we know

Amber: Better not be! Or I’ve really wasted years fighting to think for myself, carving out compromises to end up not even wanting them

Cosmo: Won’t say good luck with that but

Cosmo: it’s a nice thought, anyway

Amber: A nicer thought than becoming them, living like this forever and being happy with that

Cosmo: What do you want to do?

Amber: It’s stupid

Amber: but I wanna eat 🍕 and buy a new 👗 to wear out somewhere and come home and sleep in a 🛏 on my own or with the same fucking person

Cosmo: That isn’t stupid

Cosmo: I think that’s what a lot of people want

Cosmo: Some variation of, when it comes down to it

Amber: It’s what my school friends already have, that’s why it’s stupid, because I shouldn’t have to fight for it, it’s stupid because they think I have the type of freedom they daydream about

Cosmo: Maybe you do have things they don’t have but want

Cosmo: maybe they’re not as close to their parents, or they’re an only-child who would kill for all the people around

Cosmo: or maybe some people are lucky from the start and some have to make their own

Amber: maybe x 9

Cosmo: If you’re keeping count

Cosmo: You’ll be able to get all those things

Amber: Not for a while, but one day, maybe

Amber: because if I’m keeping count that’s only 4

Cosmo: There’s time for a few more

Amber: If you introduce me to the girls you know who do nothing but shop, I could get a new 👗 in no time, right?

Cosmo: Or you could go with your own friends

Cosmo: the non-commune ones, that won’t cry at a plastic bag

Amber: Maybe… if I hadn’t had the fast fashion rant at them all, I don’t even know I’m doing it, I told you you’d got that right

Cosmo: Ah

Cosmo: I see

Cosmo: I could take you if you want

Cosmo: you’ll have to take cover in the rails if you see one of them coming

Amber: I don’t wanna mess up your schedule again, you’ll have to fit me in when it suits you, not when I’m pouting

Cosmo: Right, so when are you not pouting? 🤔

Amber: When you stop being mean to me

Amber: maybe

Cosmo: Good use of a maybe

Cosmo: How about Saturday lunchtime

Cosmo: I have to eat, after-all

Amber: Teeth off me and my 👗

Cosmo: Not a cannibal

Cosmo: or a moth?

Cosmo: I’m just saying, that’s a free hour, if you’re worried about my schedule

Amber: okay, 1 shop, I promise

Amber: less than an hour

Cosmo: I’ll take that as a maybe

Cosmo: I’m not going to put you on a timer, like

Cosmo: Saturdays are pretty flexible and you’re going to wanna take time to enjoy yourself and all

Amber: You don’t wanna race me, I know

Cosmo: You don’t wanna cheat no more

Cosmo: maybe

Amber: I won’t

Cosmo: Alright

Cosmo: I still don’t wanna make you sad

Amber: I’m not gonna cry because you take 🥇

Cosmo: As long as that’s a promise

Amber: it is, maybe I didn’t know anything about ⚽️ before today but I understand sportsmanship`

Cosmo: What shops do you want to go to?

Amber: I was kinda hoping you’d know the answer

Cosmo: I do, I’ve got you covered then

Cosmo: Pick you up [time]

Amber: from where?

Cosmo: There’s a phonebox outside there, right? Go there

Amber: 🦸🏽

Cosmo: I’ll look for the 🤓 then

Amber: When you asked me what I wanted to do, my first thought was my homework

Cosmo: Serious?

Amber: I have a LOT and it’s really hard to concentrate here

Cosmo: You remember what window is actually his?

Cosmo: ‘cos he’s never in so

Cosmo: You could

Cosmo: as long as you don’t come in the rest of the house, my room included

Amber: Are you serious?

Cosmo: It isn’t my room

Cosmo: just keep to sociable hours, why not

Cosmo: you said homework, not wild party

Amber: thanks

Amber: I’m almost as speechless as I was when you were telling me to leave

Cosmo: I know

Cosmo: I’m not saying I didn’t say some harsh things

Cosmo: It’s been weird but there’s no reason you can’t have somewhere quiet

Cosmo: and apart from me and him, no one really comes up to the first floor much

Amber: weirder than my usual daily life deserves every ⭐️ my dad has

Amber: and so do you, for this and everything else you’ve helped me with

Cosmo: Nah, it’s nothing

Cosmo: not my finest hour, actually

Cosmo: but it’s alright

Amber: it’s not nothing, it’s definitely something

Cosmo: We’re even

Cosmo: it wasn’t all ⭐️s so

Amber: plenty of it was

Cosmo: That don’t make it alright

Cosmo: I don’t make it a habit of being a fucking asshole, believe it or not

Amber: Neither do I

Amber: we’re even

Cosmo: 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Amber: that’s a weird visual, thanks for it

Cosmo: You’re welcome for the artistic inspiration, like

Amber: if your idea is that your teammate bans me from matches too, there are gonna be easier ways than encouraging me to show up with 9 thumb shaped cardboard signs…

Cosmo: My theoretical teammate

Cosmo: That you ain’t gonna meet

Amber: Yes, him

Cosmo: 😏

Amber: The entire squad can’t all have pushy parents and intense girlfriends

Amber: ⚽⭐🏆🥂🤵

Cosmo: You’re doubling down on the whole stalker thing then, yeah

Amber: The positives speak for themselves

Cosmo: Maybe you’ll be offered a better place to do your homework

Amber: for when you’re spending your weekends in a better postcode and Dash’s room’ll have to be off-limits unless I make no noise and write my essays in the dark

Cosmo: Of course

Cosmo: unless you really wanna explain wtf you’re doing to my nan

Amber: Is the 🍊 thing real? To win over your friends, not your grandma, necessarily

Amber: I’d go for a different fruit in that case

Cosmo: It’s more of a thing when you’re a kid but it’s not not a thing

Cosmo: And fruit baskets too, very retro

Amber: okay, there’s my in

Amber: using the wonky ones would help my cause if we’re pretending to your nan I’m in that dire need of sanctuary, but find out her favourites, if she’s not gonna fall for the SOS

Cosmo: Would you rather not be incognito

Cosmo: She might think you’re Dash’s girlfriend or something

Amber: It wouldn’t take long to correct the assumption, but I only would if I had to, like, if she’s suddenly scared she’s living somewhere haunted

Cosmo: Wonky veg at the ready 👍

Amber: Always

Amber: but I’m actually excellent at hiding, which makes me sound how old? 3 maybe

Cosmo: It makes you sound deluded, definitely

Cosmo: I found you well easy

Amber: Because I wanted you to

Cosmo: Not me

Amber: yes you, Dash enters a room very differently, I knew it wasn’t him

Cosmo: You didn’t know me, you couldn’t want me to

Amber: You’ve heard of curiosity, right? I didn’t have to know you to want to find out who you were

Cosmo: I’ve not got 9 lives 🐈

Amber: that you know of

Cosmo: You think that’s a theory to test?

Amber: I’m not dangerous, remember

Cosmo: Allegedly

Amber: You can allegedly run away at the speed of light and even though you haven’t bragged about it, could probably also pick me up and throw me out 💪🏽⭐️

Cosmo: I’m not going to do that

Amber: I’m not a test

Cosmo: Debatable

Amber: Today’s events, maybe, but that isn’t what you should define me by

Cosmo: It’s okay, I won’t

Cosmo: we said we were even, I meant it

Amber: make your mind up on Saturday when I test your patience by trying on every dress I like and ask you what you think

Cosmo: That’s your prerogative

Cosmo: delegated to the bench with the other men

Amber: 🥼👖👟👓 I know you have the money to get a new outfit too because you were willing to give it to me twice

Cosmo: I might

Amber: I won’t tell you what I think if that’s what’s putting you off 😶

Cosmo: I think I can handle your fashion critiques 🤣

Amber: Because I don’t have any fashion sense or because yours is ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and above criticism?

Cosmo: We have different styles

Cosmo: I’m not going to dress like a stoner, you’re not gonna dress like a WAG

Amber: Like a stoner? Really?

Cosmo: I went for the male and female equivalents

Cosmo: so you can’t pout

Amber: Yes I can, you’ve seen me in 1 outfit, which I wore to climb through a window

Cosmo: And I ain’t said nothing bad about it

Amber: there’s nothing complimentary in the tone of us having different styles when you follow it up with I’m not gonna dress like you

Cosmo: Are you going to get your own footie strip? No

Cosmo: It wasn’t an insult, not towards you

Amber: If they weren’t ridiculously expensive, I would, if only because it would annoy you now

Cosmo: Now that sounds 👶

Amber: it’d be worth it to see your face

Cosmo: 🙄😏

Amber: Besides, we’re the same age, I don’t have anything to prove

Cosmo: Am I a test?

Amber: you’re a boy I wanna know, it’d put me to the test if you hadn’t said no already

Cosmo: Somehow I doubt that’s ever been a challenge for you

Amber: I don’t see it as a challenge, no means no, and if you change your own mind, it means you’re open to it and there’s no obstacles to get over

Cosmo: A PC response but a fair one

Amber: I can’t complain when boys take my no for a maybe if I do the same, and I don’t like it, so keeping my mouth shut would be hard

Cosmo: Your mind just jumps to some weird places

Cosmo: I just said we’d make no sense as friends

Amber: That’s your mind leapfrogging to the strangest possible place

Amber: thinking all your friends have to be like you

Cosmo: It’s easier

Cosmo: like you and your school friends, you already put your foot in it

Cosmo: that doesn’t happen when you’re the same

Amber: Nothing happens when you’re the same, nothing ever changes

Cosmo: You want things to change for you, it makes sense for you

Amber: why don’t you?

Cosmo: Why would I?

Cosmo: I’m set up in ways people would kill for

Amber: Why wouldn’t you, even if you love everything that’s happening in your life right now, change can still be good

Cosmo: I’m not anti change

Cosmo: as long as it’s in the right direction

Amber: and I’m the wrong direction?

Cosmo: No, you’re like

Cosmo: a completely different path

Cosmo: we run parallel

Amber: I’m not gonna force you down any paths

Cosmo: I know

Cosmo: and I know it’s rude

Cosmo: but it’d be ruder to waste your time, I think

Cosmo: and I don’t want to do that

Amber: What do you wanna do?

Cosmo: I don’t know

Amber: I can go by myself on Saturday, to make things easier

Cosmo: There’s no need

Cosmo: It’s not like we need to be besties to do that

Amber: besties

Amber: maybe if we were 👶🏽

Cosmo: Well exactly, you get my point

Cosmo: we can just

Cosmo: be aware of each other

Amber: Thanks for not asking me to become unaware of you

Cosmo: Be unfair of me to ask when I won’t

Amber: and when you hate when I pout

Cosmo: That too

Amber: you’d especially hate being at school with me, pouting’s all I do

Cosmo: I thought you liked it? 🤓

Amber: I like learning new things, but not how many new things there are that I have to, what feels like all the time

Amber: progress doesn’t just apply to fitness, I wanna see some with this

Cosmo: That’s understandable

Cosmo: It’s a lot, leavers cert

Cosmo: Do you get any help or whatever?

Amber: Extra work whenever I ask for it, but none of the teachers are expecting me to still be here by the time we take exams, which means I’m another school’s problem or success story, and that could be a different country, so they aren’t gonna work hard to get me through leavers cert, are they?

Cosmo: No, I guess not

Cosmo: They should but you’re right they probably won’t

Cosmo: Do you think you’ll be here?

Amber: No, we’ve been here for months already

Cosmo: If you was leaving you’d be gone already, like

Cosmo: Maybe get another student to tutor you

Cosmo: they’re better than teachers ‘cos they’ll let you know what you actually need to know to do well on the tests

Amber: We’re not leaving while my parents are happy and feel needed but nobody at the commune wants summer schooling and my dad will get restless

Amber: but that’s a good idea while I am, I’ll find someone

Cosmo: I’m not smart enough or I would

Cosmo: I just did what I had to to coast by but it’s not the focus

Amber: You don’t have the time, boy

Cosmo: True

Cosmo: Speaking of

Amber: Oh sorry! 🤓 rant over

Cosmo: You’re alright, I need to actually get a decent workout in now though or it doesn’t really count

Cosmo: Saturday though, yeah

Amber: I’ll be at the phonebox at [just before whatever time he said]

Cosmo: 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Cosmo: You’ll remember what I look like and not get in a random car, right?

Amber: I’m not a goldfish

Amber: and if I did forget I’d stalk your 🏋🏽📷

Cosmo: Oh right, I forgot you were a dedicated creeper

Amber: I wouldn’t be 😠 if you did

Cosmo: Too bad 😏

Amber: goodbye x 9

Cosmo: 👋

1 note · View note

smarchit · 4 years

Text

Flash Dance pt 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Read the whole thing on ao3 Here

"M-mystery girl?" Janine stammered, completely caught off guard by her statement.

Her cheeks turned bright red when Karen mentioned she was Maxwell's secretary. She really didn't think anyone would directly inquire her about what she was doing there. And then there was that comment. Mystery girl.

Karen gave a warm smile and patted Janine on the arm. "Mr. Lord's had this glassy look in his eyes for the last few weeks. He mentioned ordering flowers today and I realized instantly he'd taken notice in someone. Even powerful men like him can fall hard."

"Fall?"

"Oh, I've said enough already. What's your name, honey?"

"Uhh, it's Janine."

"Janine, it was so nice to meet you," Karen said as she slid into the backseat of the cab. "I hope to see you soon!"

The cab pulled away from the curb and Janine was left standing on the curb, completely dumbfounded. She didn't even notice she had been standing there like a statue until a cab honked at her, startling her from her stupor.

She pulled open the door, gave the cabbie her address and sat back as he pulled into traffic. So Maxwell was thinking about her? Obviously that much was true, considering he'd sent her flowers. How would she even get ahold of him to thank him? He knew how to contact her, but she didn't know how to find him.

Twenty minutes later, the cabbie pulled up to the little apartment that sat above a surprisingly delicious pizzeria. She handed him her cab fare and got out, making sure not to leave anything behind before she fished for her keys in the pocket of her windbreaker.

The bell jangled in the pizza shop door and Mr. Russo, the large, balding Italian man that owned the whole building popped his head out. "Home early again, Janie?"

Janine smiled as she stuck the key in the lock. "Yeah, again."

"You need to go on a date," he tutted, wagging his finger playfully at her.

She chuckled and shook her head. "And you still need to fix that leaky faucet in my bathroom, and the squeaky floorboard on the landing..."

Mr. Russo chuckled and swatted his hand at her. "Ehh, I'll get to it. In the meantime, come down in ten minutes, I'll have a fresh pie for you, okay?"

Janine nodded and nudged her door open with her hip. "Extra mushrooms and pepperoni, please!" she called over her shoulder before the door swung shut.

She bounded up the narrow staircase and flung her bag to the floor, followed soon after by her jacket and her tennis shoes. Her apartment was dark, and she padded over to the light switch in the hall. She flipped it on and blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light that flooded her apartment.

Janine had left the roses at the office that day; she knew she wasn't coming home directly after work and she didn't want to ruin them. Now that she was home, however, she wished she'd brought them to brighten the place up a little. It always surprised people when they came over at how bleak her living space was. It didn't match her personality at all.

She grabbed a can of Tab out of her fridge and walked into the bedroom to change her clothes. She kept thinking about what the receptionist, Karen, had said.

Did Maxwell talk about her often enough that his employees knew who she was?

The thought made her bite her lip. How did he talk about her? She hoped it wasn't anything like how her friends talked about him. They said he was rude and pushy. Laurie said she dated a guy like him in college, and that he was an absolute monster.

But the few interactions she'd had with Maxwell didn't make him seem like a monster. If anything, he was a little awkward and unsure about how to interact with people.

Janine wished she could talk to him for more than a few minutes at a time. He never seemed like he was able to sit still.

The last time she'd seen him, she hadn't exactly been cordial with him. Still, he seemed like he wanted to keep getting to know her, if the flowers were any indication.

She sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the painting that hung on her wall. She chewed her lip for a moment until she got an idea.

Janine went back out to her living room and stood up on tiptoes to get the yellow pages out of the coat closet, where it sat collecting dust beneath an ancient Clue game. It wasn't often that she used the phone book. Most of the numbers she used daily were scribed onto a legal pad beside her telephone.

She quickly scanned the "L" section, hoping that just maybe by some stroke of sheer luck, his name was printed there. Lamarr, Lacour... Lorenzo.

"Shit," Janine sighed. She shut the phone book with a thud and tossed it onto the coffee table. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. It didn't surprise her that he wouldn't be in the phone book. She couldn't exactly look up David Bowie in the yellow pages, why would Maxwell Lord be in there?

She glanced at the clock on her stereo and realized it had been fifteen minutes since she got home. Mr. Russo would have her food ready and, as kind as he was, he was very punctual and didn't like to be kept waiting.

Janine pushed herself off the couch and went back down the stairs to the shop.

Let's Make A Deal! was blaring from the wall-mounted TV and Carla, the teenage niece of Mr. Russo, grinned at Janine when she walked in. She cashed out Janine's order and leaned across the counter towards her.

"Sky and I are going to the Depeche Mode concert next week!" she squealed.

Janine picked her pizza box off the counter and rested it against her hip. "That's awesome! I thought it was sold out?"

Carla shook her head. The long earrings she wore jangled noisily against her cheeks. "Sky's older brother knows a guy that works at the arena - front row tickets!"

"That's so cool! You girls are gonna have a great time," Janine said with a smile.

"I'll tell you all about it!" she said, dancing in place.

"I can't wait to hear about it!" she said, turning to call into the kitchen. "Thanks for the pizza, Mr. Russo!"

There was a response from the kitchen that Janine only vaguely registered as she turned to head back out the door. Just as her hand brushed the door handle, the TV caught her eye.

Maxwell Lord was grinning down at her, hands clenched in victory. The closed captioning was a few seconds behind, but Janine knew the commercial well enough to know he was on his bullshit spiel about achieving greatness through hard work blah blah blah.

"God, I can't stand that guy," Carla sneered. She picked up her magazine and rolled her eyes. "I'm just sick of looking at him."

Janine bit her lip as she watched the commercial. It was longer than it usually was, most likely the extended versions they played from time to time. He had the money for primetime advertising. Might as well use it.

Carla glanced over at Janine and snorted. "Seriously? I know that look, Jay. It's the same look Sky gives to her poster of that other guy from Van Halen. Gross!"

Janine shrugged and continued to watch the commercial. Looking at it now, it was easy to see that the Maxwell on TV was just an act. It always seemed super fake and put on but now that Janine had met him, the real him, she realized something. The awkward guy who she saw standing outside her studio was more genuine than the man on TV.

She just wished she knew how to get in contact with him.

Janine slid the pizza box on the rickety card table she used for a dining room table and went to turn the television on. She was surprised to see the red light from the answering machine blinking up at her. She was absolutely sure there weren't any messages when she'd come home a bit ago.

She turned from the TV and pressed the playback button on the machine.

"Hello? Hello? Talk louder, I can't hear you! Haha, gotcha! This is Janine, I can't come to the phone right now, or I don't feel like talking to you. Leave your phone number, maybe I'll get back to you." Beep.

There was an awkward pause on the other end for a moment before the caller spoke up.

"Uh... Janine. This is Maxwell. Uh, Maxwell Lord. I, uh, hope you got the flowers. I hope it wasn't too much or anything like that - I wasn't trying to be too forward. If you want, I'd really like to be able to take you to dinner some time."

Janine lowered herself into the chair beside the phone and quickly reached for the pen and sticky notes she kept by the answering machine. She scribbled down his phone number as he mumbled it off, her cheeks flaring as he murmured, "Hope to see you soon," before he ended the call.

Pizza forgotten, she picked up the receiver and dialed it quickly. She assumed that someone else would pick up; maybe a fancy butler with a British accent, or to her horror, another woman. Maybe he wouldn't pick it up at all?

Maxwell himself picking up the phone barely made the top 5 of what she expected to happen when the phone stopped ringing.

"Hello?" His voice was instantly recognizable.

"Maxwell," she said softly. She bit her lip when she waited for his response.

"I didn't think you were gonna call me back," he chuckled. "I got your machine and thought you were upset or something."

"I..." Janine hesitated for a second. "I was downstairs getting food. I actually wanted to call you earlier. But I---"

Maxwell swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. "You did?"

"You aren't in the phone book."

He chuckled and smiled to himself at how sincere she sounded. The ache in his chest dissipated slightly at the fact that she wanted to call him.

"I haven't been in the phone book for a few years now," he replied. "It would be ringing off the hook if I was still listed there."

Janine paused and then sighed. "Did you mean it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"In the message you said you want to take me to dinner. Did you mean it?"

"Of course, why would I lie about that?" Maxwell was slightly offended that she thought he was lying. Then he felt angry that maybe someone lied to her about it in the past.

"Sorry, I just... sorry. Uh... I'm free on Friday night. If you wanted to go then?"

Maxwell swore his heart stopped. "Friday. Friday! Yes, that's -- yes. Friday is great."

Janine almost laughed at how eager he seemed.

"What should I wear?" Janine got the sinking feeling she would be drastically underdressed for wherever Maxwell decided to take her.

"A dress," he said, after he thought for a moment. He quickly added, "The color doesn't matter."

Janine smiled and nodded. "Okay... I'll see you Friday."

"Eight o'clock?"

"Sounds great. I -- I can't wait."

"I'll pick you up, okay?"

"Wait!" Janine nearly shouted, "You don't know where I live."

She could almost hear the smile in his voice at his reply before he disconnected.

"You're in the phone book."

++++++

If you want to be added to my tag list, please let me know!

#Wonder Woman #wonder woman 1984 #maxwell lord x oc #maxwell lord fic #ww1984 #my writing

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summerspn · 4 years

Text

Felicity

Tv series (1998-2002)

Spoilers...

I’ve gradually been watching Felicity for the past few months & have completed watching the series. I gotta say it’s charming & oddly addictive.

At the beginning of the series Felicity (Keri Russell) is an extremely shy & introverted character. She’s adorable. We see her proudly graduating high school but also feeling some trepidation about it. Naturally.

She sees her high school crush, Ben Covington, (Scott Speedman) at their high school graduation & decides to just go & talk to him. She regretted not getting to know him before. So she fixes that. Her yearbook had some sort of printing issue so they gave it to her on graduation day. So she asks Ben to sign her yearbook.

Surprisingly he sits down & writes a very thoughtful message to her. It’s sweet & inspiring. She decides to follow him to New York & she gets into NYU.

In tv land one can get into school in just a couple months - ya know completely ignoring the hundreds of people waitlisted lol That made me chuckle when watching. No big deal though.

Felicity gets to school & realizes Ben was just a nice guy & wasn’t in love with her of course. So she gets a bit of a reality check.

She makes a few friends & lives in the biggest dorm room on the history of planet Earth!

My room in my old dorm was ‘big’ and it had 3 feet of space between the beds...much bigger than my sister’s dorm lol

Felicity is likeable because she’s sweet, smart, shy & confused & just trying to figure her life out. All she knew is she didn’t want med school as her parents kept trying to shove it down her throat.

Ben is a nice guy who struggles with feeling stupid sometimes (though is actually really smart). He struggled with some of his classes & lacks a clear path for his major.

Occasionally Ben has these lines & that message in the yearbook which made me stop & go ‘you’re a writer’. I kept thinking he was going to become a writer...then in season four he decides to be a doctor. Okay...it was an alright decision & I like his academic plot lines in season 4 so no real complaints there.

We meet Noel Crane (Scott Foley)who is super dreamy. He’s smart, nice, outspoken but sensitive. A straight laced student & Resident Advisor (RA) who becomes Felicity’s friend & has a crush on her.

Throughout the series that’s the love triangle. It was interesting but there was far too much emphasis on it. Often it overshadowed the more interesting storylines on the show, IMO.

Noel pines for Felicity & loses sight of his life then soon graduates without a plan then later develops depression. I thought that was a great storyline. Noel’s family history of depression was compelling & how the character described it was very well done.

Back then tv shows didn’t talk about mental illness but this was handled delicately.

Noel gets help & gets better. He gets his life back on track, pursuing his dream of graphic design. There’s a line where he gets teased for liking computers...ya know as only ‘nerds’ like that stuff 😂

Felicity’s roommate Meghan Rotundi (Amanda Foreman) is a bit of a goth/Wicca practitioner. Every other character wear clothes I assume that are from The Gap so Meghan looks very different in her black mesh clothes & dark makeup. Nice contrast but I feel like Meghan’s development was overlooked for the most part of the series. She’s very blunt, unapologetic, sometimes mean...but she also cares for others even though she’ll deny it.

In her romantic life there’s growth but not academically. It’s only in the end of the last season does she realize she wants to pursue psychiatry. I think there were some missed opportunities there.

Though I will say I like that her uptight parents accept her for her quirks & clothing choices.

Sean Blumberg (Greg Grunberg) ...I have mixed feelings about his character. He’s an ambitious inventor & sort-of businessman. He owns a loft where Ben sublets /shares with him. Sean’s nice, caring & excitable. He’s also several years older. Around 5 or 6yrs difference I think.

His age difference was brought up several times, as if it were supposed to be important. In my last year of school I lived with a woman who was 15 years older than me. So what? Not a big deal. I’m not sure why the show kept pointing it out.

The only issue with his age is that at one point he’s 27 and STILL has no steady job. None! He’s all-in with his inventions that make no money & his family isn’t rich so how does that work now? He has a loft in New York with zero income? One episode talked of him owing money but come on, get rid of the loft, downsize then get a job, even if part time. *sigh*.

At the start of the series I liked Sean but then they turned him into a pathetic leech who gets mad & throws tantrums easily. He became incredibly annoying.

When I was near the end of the series I started to think that Sean would actually make a good salesman. Imagine him trying to sell cars, just the right amount of pushy. Though they put an episode in that made him look like a buffoon when making a sales pitch. So I feel like the writers were confused or trying to sabotage his character because he still ends up leeching off his buddy Noel & they end up business partners. 🤷‍♀️

Sean & Meghan date & eventually marry. I thought they were cute together at first but not as long term. I feel like Meghan would murder him due to being sick of his shit.

Elena Tyler (Tangi Miller) becomes a good friend to Felicity. All the ladies care for each other a great deal. Elena is very intelligent & a hard worker. She had a few romances & nearly got married. But I’ll be honest I found her boring. Not sure why. I think the most interesting part of her character was that she chose not to marry her fiancé Tracy. I thought it was a very smart move. And I found her background with her mom interesting but they didn’t do much with that.

Richard Coad starts out as an annoying member of the dorm. He & Noel become friends then later gets befriended by the group. Richard is a neurotic, blunt talking mess. He’s somehow still kinda adorable though does have some rough spots. I really liked him up through season 3. Season 4 he was in much less and then the writers turned him into a racist moron. Even if he had those thoughts I feel like his character would be more subtle & not as rude due to his overly developed sense of self preservation. Plus he’s not stupid, just blunt & a bit disconnected.

He did apologize but still it felt just so...wrong. Out of character even.

In any case I think the writers should have made him a little more like Rob Benedict, the actor who played him. Rob’s loveable.

Javier Quintata (Ian Gomez) is the owner at the coffee shop Dean & Deluca. He’s the boss but becomes very close with everyone, especially Felicity. I really liked him at first. Eventually his personal favours become outlandish & his stories started to make my eyes roll.

He & his devoted husband break up over non-issues. Why? It added nothing to the plot. Javier also wants to pursue acting at NYU. He’s really not good so it came off as a dumb idea & all scenes in acting class become annoying. I feel like the writers didn’t know what to do with him. I’d have preferred if he pursued a different dream- one that made sense. Like maybe all the years working with coffee & pastries inspires him to want to be a chef? 🤷‍♀️

Felicity. Throughout the series she’s shy, gradually getting more of a backbone. She admits to loving art & wants to pursue it. Her parents constantly pull her down , try to talk her out if it, even bully & manipulate her. She is for the most part uncompromising. I loved that! She held her ground & from a person like her, who always kept the peace at the expense of her own happiness, that’s amazing.

We see her grow though she spends far too much time angst-ing over Ben & Noel. Often she seems tortured with very few moments of being free & having fun.

I loved how in season 4 she befriends fellow artist Owen. I feel like that was huge. I loved how they went to galleries together & talked about their art & life. It was refreshing. I love that Felicity’s honours art class was so important to her & everything around that plot.

I hated however, how she always put others first.

So...I have to mention Felicity’s haircut from Season 2. I didn’t find it that bad...but apparently Keri Russell got death threats from it. Complete insanity!

Though I do think as it was 1999 back then, people were more uptight with personal style. If she had dyed her hair pink instead people would have flipped out too.

I do think there were better hair styles to choose from though. I think if she had a cut her hair to chin length & straightened it it could look pretty & still have a big impact. Something like that.

But honestly it’s just hair. I had a horrible haircut one year in university but it grew out on a few months & was fine. No big deal....but I wasn’t on tv so no one cared I guess 🤷‍♀️

In the ‘series finale’ , Felicity abruptly chooses medicine. Why??? That uncompromising love for painting just gone....And back to medicine? I wanted her to be an artist!

Every artist has a day job to support them. Felicity was acting like she was going to starve because she couldn’t sell her paintings.

I wish they found her a day job she really liked to support herself. I wanted her to be all-in.

Or they could find her a middle ground. That internship at the architectural firm, she could have realized she wanted to be an architect or something. Something other than medicine.

I really like though that she chose herself finally. Then Ben follows her to school. That was perfect. I just wished she didn’t want to be a doctor. I feel like that goes against everything she wanted.

Overall a great series. I love how they approach mental health - Felicity’s too. She was getting therapy regularly. It was nice to see. Very healthy.

I like JJ Abrams’ work but I (like everyone else) question the last several episodes. Nonsensical & out of place.

Personally I think the show should have put less emphasis on the romantic relationships & drama & more on self discovery by all characters. That’s more interesting...then sprinkle in a few moments here and there. A few episodes on love etc each season. We didn’t need the constant longing looks & drama of Will they won’t they.

I know I’m in a minority when it comes to such things but I feel the media - tv & movies especially focus WAY too much on the romance.

Then of course people like me who are borderline Asexual (except when it comes to fictional characters lol), I find it exhausting to always be bombarded with romance from all angles. However, if Felicity (and other shows) just used it occasionally & not every single episode I wouldn’t mind.

It’s just hard to care about a show if it just feels like it’s only about relationships and not much about life. But that’s just me.

The storylines that had me intensely interested in this show were:

- Ben’s relationship with his dad

- Ben gaining self confidence & realizing he’s actually smart

- Noel’s graphic designs & career

- Noel’s mental health

- Meghan’s rebellious nature & wanting to see what happens when she gets over the need to rebel (though we didn’t see much of it).

- Felicity’s parents’ attitude - I wanted them to see that they were wrong & admit it to her (though they don’t) 😞

- Wanting to see Richard find something he was really interested in & good at (which never happened)

- Wanting Felicity to have fun! Random silliness or parties...they rarely partied or did weird outings to things like paintball or bowling. College is for doing a million things. I wish tv land would do more if this

- Wanting Felicity to stop making decisions because of her love interests

- Wanting Felicity to go on a summer trip or internship to Europe on her own (never happened)

- Wanting Felicity to choose art (also didn’t happen) & support herself with either a job she simply likes (dog waking, tutoring, retail etc) or something in the art field (art therapy, illustrator etc)

To me these should have been the priorities & add romance occasionally...

But overall the series was good. The acting was really good from everyone. Even minor characters had pretty good actors. So well done!

The actors are great in other projects too. Keri Russell was in The Americans, even the Rise of Skywalker. Never saw them but I heard great things. Personally I really liked her in Austenland, August Rush, Mission Impossible 3 (small but great role), and I LOVED her in the movie Waitress.

Definitely give the actors a watch in other projects, even if you have mixed feelings about them in Felicity. They’re all good.

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comicteaparty · 4 years

Text

February 22nd-February 28th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from February 22nd, 2020 to February 28th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

How do you deal with people shipping non-canon ships for your story?

Deo101 [Millennium]

To be completely honest, I've only had one person ever ship a non canon/endgame thing. I kinda just ignored it. I think I would in general just ignore it, no matter how many people did ship a non canon thing. But it does make me uncomfortable

carcarchu

I once had a professor tell me "once you release your story to the world it no longer belongs to you" and i think he was right. once your story is shared with others it can no longer be said to be solely your creation anymore. you can't stop other people from shipping non-canon ships and even if you want to discourage it it's kind of beyond your hands at that point. other people's interpretations of your work is something you have to accept as a creator even if you find it unsavoury

Tuyetnhi

this is always in the back of my mind so uh, I let folks be and try not to search up fandom pics of my comic. at the US at least, I remember reading that creators who are currently writing/creating a story and it's not up to completion, anything like viewing fanart or reading fanfiction of alternative interpretations is not advised. So you have to stow it away till the story is thoroughly done, then you can just check out what fans are doing rip. I think it's aimed towards creators who have like NDA thing they're working on or if they're working with a publisher. still, I thought that's an important thing to keep in mind.

though I do get folks send me like single character fanart and really doesn't interfer with the story anyway so I accept those lmao

carcarchu

@Tuyetnhi that's for creators to not get sued for having their story turn out similar to people's fanfics

Tuyetnhi

aahhh :0

still er lmao. if the possibility is there, I rather not uh.... seek it lmao

especially like shipping fanfiction of my characters when the story isn't over yet lmao

eli [a winged tale]

I totally agree carcarchu. Readers can interpret character interactions through their own lenses and sometimes what we as creators intend in the story may be seen as a potential ship to varying degrees. I actually just had a conversation about this within my beta circle where a friend who hasn’t seen the whole script shipped a non canon pair and it was interesting! I personally don’t feel disturbed by it unless the pair had a large age difference/can potentially be unhealthy etc. There is a threshold I won’t cross but that tends to be quite high. Otherwise I just think it’s interesting and continue the actual story

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I haven't come across this with mine yet, but given that my story is deliberately non-romantic and the whole cast is aroace, I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone shipping any characters romantically. But that's very specific to my comic.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

To me, there are four levels of "non-canon" with regards to shipping. 1. You were supposed to ship this and get disappointed, so good job. The obvious example is the Mizuki-Cahe-Pejiba love triangle. Mizuki x Pejiba doesn't work out in the end, but it's not like it was a non-viable ship - if Mizuki x Pejiba wasn't compelling at all, it wouldn't have been much of a love triangle, now would it? 2. Didn't think of it myself, but I get the dynamic you're going for. One surprisingly common ship in the shipping contest poll was Taci x Coruby, which isn't a ship I was deliberately teasing... but, like, I get it? Coruby is outgoing, loyal, and makes lots of dad jokes. Taci is prickly, self-absorbed, backstabbing, and was (is? probably is) literally afraid of dad jokes. I can definitely see why people would want to see more of that dynamic. 3. ...Why? An example of this is Zaxaty x Mr. Enetoro, which showed up in the poll. Even ignoring the bad age gap (22 vs 50 which is like... all right... she's half your age but ok...) and the sexuality incompatibility (Zaxaty's only into women, Enetoro's not into anyone)... these two have literally never spoken to each other either on or off screen. Literally what drew you to this pairing??? Like I'd almost believe it was a mis-click on the poll over anyone actually thinking these two work together. 4. Bad, bad, very very bad. AKA "they're related", "one's underage", and/or "i know exactly why you want this ship, and I don't like it". For a while during the shipping poll's running, the third place ship was Mizuki x Nothing. First off, the age gap there is pretty gross, but I guess I can't expect readers to know that (Nothing is an immortal demon, but relative to other demons it's a kid so... someone's underage there). And second... I know exactly why people were shipping Mizuki with the giant demon that uses tendrils to mind control people, and I do not like that dynamic.

As for what I do about the ships in #3 or #4... so far, nothing, because they've been contained to the poll. If someone drew actual art of them, though, I'd probably tell them to stop, and I for sure wouldn't post the art on my fan-art page.

kayotics

I don’t have a very present fandom, at least in the sense that there’s any amount of shipping that’s unexpected. Or maybe it’s tucked away? I think the people who read my comic aren’t ones who make their own content. Either way, I’m pretty ok with shipping non-canon ships. I’d encourage it, really. I love the idea of people having fun with my characters in a way I didn’t expect. As for ships that are taboo... as long as they’re not hurting real people, I just don’t want to see it really or be made to be part of it. It would make me uncomfortable.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, how pushy/not pushy they are with Weird Ships is a big factor for me as well.

As long as they keep it to themselves, they can ship all the ships they want, no matter how icky. I'd prefer to not know if it's really icky.

So far there is only one Potentially Viable ship in my comic, though. And that Viable ship is very, very important to me. So if anyone ships one of the involved characters with someone else, I would seriously hope it's not because I've failed to develop the Viable Ship in a compelling manner. People are free to ship whoever, but don't let that be because of my own failure as a storyteller?

I've actually had anti-shippers against that Viable ship though lol, which may be relevant to the topic. What do you do when you get vocal anti-shippers of canon ships

I do think it is related, like another variation of "people sticking to their own thing with regards to ships."

kayotics

As a shipper: any crack ships I come up with is usually just because I like to explore the dynamic. Some people are more extreme about hating ships but... idk it’s probably just because they don’t like one of the characters for some reason

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Believable crackships can be a lot of fun to observe, as a non-shipper. Like I look at this amazingly well-written crackship and I'm like, wow, this is sorcery

sagaholmgaard

I haven't had it happen yet (my comic is less than a year old and doesn't have a lot of followers haha) But I'm really open about shipping! Much like @kayotics I would probably encourage it. I'm personally aroace and in my original writing I like to explore non-romantic relationships, but I know the appeal of shipping and tbh i ship my own ocs that aren't canon to the story/don't get explored in the comic because they're background characters for whatever reason. It would be genuinely fun to see if other people started exploring those ships on their own! Or things I haven't thought about! If something made me really uncomfortable, I would likely ignore it. If someone tried to get their non-canon ship to become canon that would be worse, no matter if i personally liked the ship or not, lol.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, people need to respect boundaries, always

kayotics

Yeah, definitely. It wouldn’t make me uncomfortable unless someone was trying to break into my personal boundaries

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

It doesn’t happen so much currently with Phantomarine, because I just don’t have enough shippable characters yet (related, underage, or otherwise just kinda squicky). I wonder what will happen when I introduce more. But as long as people are interacting with my characters in a fun healthy way, but still respect my choices in the end, they can ship away in any (legal) direction. It’s honestly not a ship-heavy story. It’s far more about friendship and healing and rebuilding strength/trust after trauma - if any shipping were to happen, it would probably be in a sequel or continuation when everyone is... feeling a lot better

DanitheCarutor

Depends on the characters. 90% of the time I don't care, I may even make jokes. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to see my hideous characters getting together, although there are two things that would make me a little salty. 1. If there is a scene going on that I want readers to take seriously. Such as if there is a part in the story where someone is overwhelmed and having a mental break down, then another character comes over to help calm them down. It would be kinda rude to get a bunch of comments screaming "KISS THEM!", "KISS NOW!" Although that could just be me being a stick in the mud. 2. Anything involving Julian. They are currently not mentally stable enough to properly consent to any romantic endeavors, so when people try to ship other characters with them it's a little... eeeeh! Kinda non-con, and it feels a little gross. I try not to get on anyones ass about these, realizing no one means any harm, they may not even be full aware of the situation. (Especially with Julian since they're still functional enough to talk to people sometimes and hold down a job.) Normally I leave the comments be, they just kinda irk me sometimes.

em.rowene

Honestly, I think I'd be flattered to see more fan interaction with Fractured Magic. Even if it's a ship I don't really get, it would just be nice to know people are engaged with the story and like my characters enough to interact with them beyond just reading (though this answer's definitely coming from a place of having been publishing it only half a year and not having a huge readerbase yet) Someone making fanfic with my characters is actually a major goal of my writing, but I agree with the above people who said reading it before the story's done probably isn't a good idea. I don't think there's much legal risk to it (I actually wrote a major paper on this in law school) - there's only been one case even remotely analogous in the US. Someone wrote a Rocky fan script and sent it to the writers, and then the next Rocky movie had a similar plot and the person sued. The judge said if you make a derivative work (like fanfic), you can't sue the creators of the original copyright for infringement. But I do think it would be bad form bc it is really easy to be influenced by stuff like fanfiction of your own story, even if you don't mean to be

Mei

Thankfully I haven't had to deal with people shipping my characters from MHIAC with anybody else. But that's mostly because I've only actually introduced the two main characters, who are husbands, and one friend. I think it'd be super interesting to see how people view the character relationships once I introduce more of the cast. I'd be really curious too! I mean, I don't want people to try and break up the canon couple that's for sure... but I guess all the side characters are fair game for shipping if people choose to. I'd honestly be super flattered if people shipped any of my characters, it would feel like I'm doing something right. As long as there's no NSFW stuff because boy that'd make me uncomfortable.

chalcara

Shipping‘s fan stuff and just for fan, as long as you do it in your own space, go hog-wild. Have fun! Not gonna watch/read/view it, but have fun! People taking their headcanons as fact for the main-comic might end up a problem, but I‘ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

So far, I've only had people ship the canon main couple, so I haven't had problems yet. But honestly, I don't care who the readers ship for the most part, unless it's gross and/or illegal. For example, if they are related or underage... Other than that, I don't mind. It's all in good fun

Deo101 [Millennium]

I actually wanna add on to my comment: non canon ships only make me uncomfortable if they go against the Characters sexuality, or if it's an abusive ship or illegal. If it's not one of those then it doesn't bother me! My Characters are generally friends so I totally get someone wanting to ship two who won't be endgame

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I dunno. I just can't be bothered by stuff like that for multiple reasons. 1) Most of my characters don't talk about their sexuality in the comic. 2) Because of setting and time period, everyone expects everyone to be straight (which of course isn't true). 3) And I don't think readers typically mean anything bad by shipping people with each other that won't be together (again, unless it's gross or illegal).

One of my characters, for example, is aroace, but he doesn't even know that's a thing, because sexuality and mental health is not understood in this time period. So of course he hasn't mentioned that he's aroace at all. He is married to a woman, because of societal expectations, so likely he will be shipped with her. But their relationship is horrible, and it was definitely a marriage of convenience. So if readers decide to ship him with other people, I can't fault them, because they simply do not know.

Him being aroace is only in the subtext and in my heart.

Deo101 [Millennium]

I make my Characters sexualities pretty clear, so I consider it akin to homophobia to want to see my gay man with a lesbian

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

In your case, it's definitely a bit different, because you have made it obvious.

Capitania do Azar

Too bad @Deo101 [Millennium] i am preparing problematic ships right now (no I'm not)

I don't care about what people would ship, and I would be curious as to why people think this or that pair could work it's a very interesting way to see how people are interpreting the story and the characters

Deo101 [Millennium]

LMAO

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I'm definitely scared of people shipping incestual relations in my comic, because there is a situation where characters are related, but it isn't known to the audience (yet)

And I really don't want that mistake to be made

Deo101 [Millennium]

Lia/luke shippers before the last star wars movie came out...

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yep

I'm like... soooo nervous right now

I can just feel the bad ships encroaching

Capitania do Azar

If people don't know can you blame them?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah I think it's only bad if the ships persist after it's revealed

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I can't blame them, but I just don't want to think about it

sagaholmgaard

ack, good luck cronaj! I wanted to add that when it comes to shipping and canon sexualities i'm the same boat as you cronaj. I have my own idea that my main characters are pan and ace respectively, but it doesn't come up in the comic and they don't have the lingo for it during this time period, so I can't blame readers for making up their own headcanons and ships

I have comic ideas that are a lot more centered around sexuality and getting into a relationship. If i ever make them happen I'm sure I would mind a lot more it people's ships went against the characters' canon sexualities

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Lol, haha, I also have a pan character whose sexuality isn't revealed in comic XD

Like... A little bit of subtext, but not explicitly said

FeatheryJustice

I actually don't mind people shipping things in my comic that is non canon, because it just proves people read my comics. I myself love crack pairings and dumb things, so I treat their ships like crack pairings. I think an example in Teasday was someone joking about shipping Vander with Spyder, two characters who never met and I was like "Haha that's funny." Because it just proves they read my comic to even know the names at least.

Capitania do Azar

They never met but... If they did

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

I've had more readers want to date the characters themselves then ship them with another character, so it's hard to have a solid thought on how I'd feel with ships so far That being said however, i don't really mind ppl shipping as long as it's respectful to me and the readers boundaries. There's been people honestly wanting more interactions between characters that aren't shippable in my eyes, so i most likely would advert them if i saw ships i didn't agree with. That said, go wild!

Kat - The Yuri Canon

I get a lot of non-canon shipping, mostly because there are so many possibilities. Mostly I allow it, as long as they don't get too extreme or overly sexualize my characters. But I did have to stop some when they kept insisting my Ace go out with one of my characters. I finally had to say it just wasn't happening.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Its never happened to me, but if it did that would be fine I guess. I’m not about to change plans in how I write the story to spontaneously put characters together unless there was good chemistry maybe

I would be happy overall that people were engaging with my characters on that level

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I have only had one single ship comment in the 14 years I’ve been doing webcomics, and it was over a decade ago. But it was also an intensely uncomfortable one, where a reader was trying to ship my 14yo gay character with an adult female villain. Needless to say I put the brakes on that right away, and have never had a ship comment since.

But secretly I wish readers did occasionally ship my adult characters, because so long as they don’t get toxic, I think non canon shipping can be fun. If the reader doesn’t demand their ship be made canon or fight with people shipping a different pairing, I’d be all for it.

Ash🦀

Honestly I would love to see ships. I've never really had an audience for Foxes with Machine Guns, so seeing people care that much? I think I'd just be grateful. TBH I cried when I got a comment so someone having a whole ship? Of My OCs?? I'd probably end up sobbing like an idiot. They're all adults, ship away, you have my blessing.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I personally love shipping, and in regards to my comic, I'm excited, but also nervous. I have a main ship that I push myself that so far a lot of readers have been really receptive to (Merlow/Nocturne <3). I also have a few more ships coming up... but in the meantime, I like to see theories, but I worry that either a) the ships I end up with will make folks unhappy, or b) folks will ship things that ignore a character's established orientation. Like, it's fairly clear Diana is a lesbian, but I already had a casual suggestion from a rl reader of her and Merlow getting together and I'm like. N no. No please. Please, just let them be besties, they will be best friends I promise but Merlow is not a lady.(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

See, I don't care about people having ~gross~ ships. I might not want to hear about it -- and if you expect it to become canon, you're probably out of luck -- but if a reader enjoys imagining or exploring it on their own time? I'm not gonna police them over that.

Just because a thing is illegal to do IRL, that doesn't mean it's illegal to imagine it or write about it. (If it was, I'd be in a whole lot of trouble...)

...not that it's really come up, since with my comics it seems like most people are happy to go with the canon mostly-healthy ships anyway, but.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Same with shipping against orientation -- if some reader wants to imagine an AU where the character realizes they've been bi the whole time after all, why not? The canon representation you wrote is still there. It's not gonna be compromised or erased unless you write that happening.

(And if the reader's imagination is more like "everyone is actually straight and some people, including these characters, just get temporarily confused"...I mean, at that point they have waaaay bigger problems than which webcomic characters they like to imagine kissing.)

kayotics

I think I gotta agree with Erin here. I’m not gonna police what people want to imagine. It’s not my business. They can do what they like in their free time.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I assume most of "I don't want X" folks mean "I don't want to see X." I can't even imagine policing what people do in their own time! I mean, what are you gonna do, be like the NYC library parking sign?

(That sign is real and I have seen it)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

"I don't want to see X" is definitely true for me

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Yeah, any time someone's clear that they mean "I don't want to see X" or "I don't want readers telling me about X", that's a different story!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

And if said illegal/gross ships are perpetuated on the internet, I'll probably try to step in

ESPECIALLY WITH UNDERAGE CHARACTERS

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

...see, that's getting back into "policing what random people do with their free time" territory.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I WILL FIGHT YOU

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

um, there's a difference between things you do on your free time, and things you post where children can see

it's an important distinction

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I specifically have one character who is a small child who I do not want to see in ANY romantic situations

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I mean, we don't have psychic filters on "check this box to confirm that you are over 18" filters, so in theory "children can see" just about anywhere...

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

unless, of course, the character is aged up significantly

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

And cute ships with young characters having crushes on each other have been around since forever.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

oh young characters having crushes on each other is one thing

but there are far worse things on the internet

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yes

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Right, but we're talking about "shipping" as a general thing, which includes the cute crushes.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I don't want any weird pedo crap

keep that aaaaawaaaaay from my characters thank you

Deo101 [Millennium]

on the subject of what people do in their free time, it's pretty obvious that I can't control what people are doing but that doesnt mean I support any free time activities.

I'm not gonna say I'm okay with adults shipping adults and children even if they do it where no one can see

like they CAN and I can't stop them but I wont say i'm okay with it just because I can't control it

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Sure, but, we're not talking about any "free time activities" -- we're talking about people using their imaginations. That doesn't cause me any harm. And if nobody ever sees it? Geez, plenty of people have waaaay darker thoughts than that in the privacy of their own heads.

Deo101 [Millennium]

I think it causes harm to how they interact with the world, though. and just because it could be worse doesnt mean it's okay

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

If they are interacting with the world in a specific harmful way, that would be a thing we can discuss on its own merits!

FeatheryJustice

I feel like if you police people from not doing something, they want to do it more.

So by not drawing attention to it, it might be a better move? For Ships, if someone ships something you don't like, don't draw attention to it kinda thing?

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Also true!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think "I won't say I'm okay with it" and "I will actively make an effort to police it" are two very different things?

You can definitely have this... area where the distinction isn't clear

FeatheryJustice

For example, if someone is like "Don't draw this character as X because I don't like it" People might do it because you said something?

People are weird, I wish they will listen to author wises but not everyone will.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I mean, yeah, but "I won't make an effort to police it because that would be physically impractical" is also different from "I won't make an effort to police it because that's not my job."

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Well, if they do that, then they are an asshole(edited)

because they aren't respecting the creator's barriers

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

@FeatheryJustice Not spreading ideas you don't like in the first place is a smart move, yeah. Put your energy into promoting and spreading the things that make you happy.

FeatheryJustice

Yeah! Promoting things that make you happy might be better. Like "I like the fact you guys enjoy drawing my characters" Something like that that's more positive

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Sure, they can do it, but if you do something like that, which is also illegal in most countries, then you are disrespecting the creator, the character(s), and the law

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Wait, what are people doing that's illegal?

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) Today at 11:19 PM And if said illegal/gross ships are perpetuated on the internet, I'll probably try to step in ESPECIALLY WITH UNDERAGE CHARACTERS

FeatheryJustice

Oh yeah that's something different. That's just illegal.

RebelVampire

I'm just admin stepping in here to remind people to remain respectful. Cause this is the sort of conversation that can quickly go out of hand.

FeatheryJustice

Got it Rebel

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Doing bad things is illegal. Writing about bad things happening isn't illegal. (Again: I have written fiction about soooo many illegal-to-actually-do things.)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I think there is a difference between writing about a terrible thing happening and putting it in a negative light and shipping pedophilia(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

I think writing about underage characters with the intent for sexual pleasure counts as CP

FeatheryJustice

I mean drawing and writing about murder is okay, actual going out and murdering someone is not okay. But I think for this context we are looking at something that is a bit more worrying.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

But I wouldn't want to read a story where murdering for pleasure is glorifed either

FeatheryJustice

Yeah, that's why I think context matters.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

and I frankly think media like that shouldn't be shared with the world

Like, i guess write it and stash it away on your computer somewhere

but don't show it to people

Tuyetnhi

i can hear the police sirens blaring from the sound of someone writing cp lmao

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Lol

FeatheryJustice

Back to talking about shipping (Sorry I got this conversation derailed here), I think there will be people who will never announce their ships as well.

Or have it so open ended no one knows what's what.

And maybe we can brainstorm good ways to tell people we would like them to not ship certain things?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Probably don't say anything unless it does become a visible problem

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

...I get that nobody wants to go into this too closely, and I sure don't either, but I also think someone should say -- legally speaking, a work is only CP if a child is harmed in its creation. If there's a living, human victim. Conflating that with other things is not beneficial to anyone, and can itself be hurtful to survivors.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Honestly, I don't feel the need to warn people not to write inappropriate ships about my underage characters, because it should be common sense not to do such a thing

I really won't say anything about it unless someone actually posts it on the internet

Tuyetnhi

rip I hate to burst it but under us law, even drawn cp is considered illegal

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I think it depends on the country

but in some countries, yes, it is considered CP

RebelVampire

But see that brings in the complecation of international law. If an artist is in the US but the fanartist is in say Japan where they have a much different relationship, whose laws apply?

Tuyetnhi

it depends on the site host i think?

like if it's a US based site

and there's CP there, it's under US law correct?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

the fanartist can't be be punished if they live in a country like Japan where that's legal, but I would still try to contact them and ask that they take it down(edited)

FeatheryJustice

(I wasn't talking about CP in my post I was just like if you don't want these two characters to be shipped together what can you say? Didn't mean to spiral off like that sorry)

RebelVampire

But it might only apply to US citizens. For example, some sites specifically alter themselves so part of their site follows European GDPR laws but tell the americans they suck

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

But that is also the difference between law and site terms

the person might get banned from the site but not sued

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I can't speak for every country, but it's genuinely not illegal in the US -- and, yeah, I don't know why a general discussion about shipping had to go this far either! You don't need to go right to the most disturbing possible interpretation when thinking about hypothetical shippers...

RebelVampire

Yeah. All my point is is blanket saying its illegal just cause it is in the US is inaccurate.

Deo101 [Millennium]

also morals =/= law, and a site is allowed to say no to that even if it is legal

they are not owed a platform

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Individual site TOS can be stricter than national laws, yeah.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn) I think the reason people discuss the worst case scenarios is because those scenarios are precisely what they have issues with, as opposed to other kinds of non-canon ships

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn) In my case, I mentioned it because that's where I draw the line with shipping. Other stuff, no matter how much I disagree with it, I don't really care enough to do anything about it

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I get that people have those lines in their heads, but when you don't describe the distinction, when you talk about "shipping" as if "everyone should understand that I exclusively means graphic photorealistic sexual content"...that's a big leap to make!

Tuyetnhi

@Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn) agreed but er.... I still do believe that the US has a law about drawn CP being illegal. it's something that I found out when I had to help a friend out from a situation (I won't go to details rip)

but yeah it's a big assumption lmao

I know shippers in good faith won't try to push that onto others

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

And it seems unfairly harsh on any shipper with literally any other interests or activities.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Honestly, even if someone only commented about a ship with an adult character with a child character, I would still ask them kindly to delete their comment, or delete it myself

Tuyetnhi

^ye

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

It doesn't have to be a visual representation for me

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

And when you're talking about your own website, I think setting rules like that is completely reasonable.

Deo101 [Millennium]

again, I wont say im okay with it even if it's only in someones head. Just cause theyre not sharing it doesnt mean I'm okay with it

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

If I have the power to remove their comment or report them, I would

but if I don't, I will ask them to refrain from such comments

That's all the power I have

And as @Deo101 [Millennium] said, I also don't have to agree with people's filthy thoughts

Deo101 [Millennium]

I understand they can think them and i cant do anything about it but i wont offer support for it i dont think

RebelVampire

As a reader, I want to second that it's important to distinguish what you mean when you say you don't tolerate specific ships. Obviously, no one think pedophilia is okay and that would be a fine ship to not tolerate. However, if all you say is you don't tolerate specific ships, readers will also jump to the worst conclusion possible, which in this context is you don't tolerate anything that is non-canon (vs. what creators think is the worst possible conclusion when they hear non-canon).

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

see, this sort of thing is exactly why i have four tiers of "non-canon"

Deo101 [Millennium]

please elaborate!

Tuyetnhi

4 tiers? :0

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oh yes, definitely

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

i mean it's in my post a few days back To me, there are four levels of "non-canon" with regards to shipping. 1. You were supposed to ship this and get disappointed, so good job. 2. Didn't think of it myself, but I get the dynamic you're going for. 3. ...Why? 4. Bad, bad, very very bad.

with more detail explaining specific ships that ended up in my poll that fit into each category(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Even if stuff is noncanon, or goes against a character's canon sexuality, I don't really care, because fan AUs exist

and it's pretty hard to offend me

mostly the pedophilia thing is the only thing I'm passionately against

So yeah, #4 is the only place where my hair stands on end

Deo101 [Millennium]

oh sorry I did read that but I didnt realize thats what you meant by the tiers ^^;

Tuyetnhi

its helpful!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

It is indeed

I read it before, and I still find it useful

I'm sure #1 and #2 is where most of the WotP shippers will reside

And there will definitely be a few #3s

FeatheryJustice

That's very useful, the tiers XD

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

@RebelVampire absurdly late, I know, I just wanted to second that "obviously, no one thinks pedophilia is okay" is really important to keep in mind. No matter what anyone says about any kind of shipping -- people should be able to feel comfortable that nobody's gearing up to call that into question. We're all on the same side with that one.

spacerocketbunny

There's a few characters I'm a little protective over regarding their sexuality, but most of the characters are bi/pan so it's pretty free game! I'm so here for random crack ships honestly

Capitania do Azar

Get ready

AntiBunny

Personally I enjoy seeing what random ideas fans come up with. It's all part of being a creator.

meek

lmao i'll try to get one comment in before the discussion closes As a creator, a lot of my feelings about shipping is related to how I am as a reader/audience member for media? Character dynamics and relationships are one of my favorite things + what'll usually hook me for a series, and definitely exploring relationships that either didn't receive any attention or were completely non-existent in the original material is one of my favorite things to do! And that'll inspire me to create or make certain choices with my original characters based on that "Well, what if [this] happened in that story?" So with that, I don't find myself get super-attached to canon/endgame ships and I'll just do my own thing, regardless. I always respect the original intent when it comes to character's sexuality or preference (unless it's a case of 'everyone's straight' lol), but I'm a rabid multishipper in fandom anyways so I'll carry that energy over to my own works LOL And let it be free for all, even if I have an 'end' goal in mind. After all, I'm the biggest multishipper for my own characters too!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

>I always respect the original intent when it comes to character's sexuality or preference (unless it's a case of 'everyone's straight' lol) @meek Just for the sake of argument, why do you respect the characters' sexualities unless everyone is straight? Personally, I don't mind sexuality swapping in fan ships and such, but I do wonder why there is this specific stipulation for you.

meek

Also input as a reader: sometimes it's good to be completely upfront about where your boundaries are as a creator! And also being explicit about certain character details or relationships can help, because a lot of times readers don't.. really know.. I can't tell you the number of times I've started reading a comic where the ages of the characters are very ambiguous with: - specific ages are never said - the art style is stylized in a way that unless they're explicitly a child or an elderly person, everyone looks like they're the same age - the context clues on their age is limited to.. they worked a minimum wage job - in-story they are treated with the same level of respect and authority status as everyone else around them - characters that are older than them that act the same age and that's led me several times to thinking a character was at least 18-23+ and actually they were supposed to be 14.....

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I assume it's for the same vein of reason why we don't have a Straight Pride Day. This is getting into the weeds though, so I'm very hesitant to approach further

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Sure

meek

The short answer is that there's no harm in adding more gay or trans representation to a work of fiction

but erasing canon gay or trans representation to make it cis or straight is bad and homo/transphobic

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with respecting characters's sexualities or messing around with possibilities, but it just seems rather... odd

meek

also just straight up it's complete white-washed fiction that LGBT or POC did not exist in history until [convenient time here] so acting like you're being "historically accurate" by exempting them is just.. bad

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Well, depending on location, that would be incorrect

But again, I'm not particularly upset to see "straight" characters depicted as gay(edited)

meek

well i'm a queer nb person so i've encountered innumerable works of fiction where everyone is straight, cis, and white so i'd much rather diversify that then perpetuate it

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

You're not wrong about there being a numerous amount of straight, cis, and yes, white characters in media

But I feel like it's destructive to society as a whole to suddenly decide to be more courteous toward LGBTQ+ groups than toward straight people

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

This is getting too political for me and I feel it could get out of control quickly

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Maybe it is political

You don't have to participate

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It also feels off topic

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

But I think it's important to politely discuss it

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Maybe not in this channel specifically

meek

i'm going to be honest, i feel incredibly uncomfortable to be asked to continue this conversation

if you want to talk more, then write a DM but this has nothing to do with the main part of my comment or the topic for this channel

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

If you feel uncomfortable, then I respect your decision not to continue this discussion

I've said my piece

Spring-heeled Jack

Jumping in before this closes: I'm not there yet but I'm in the camp of "whatever floats your boat!" If someone ships my characters I think I'll be flattered that they are that invested in them to have those feelings. But also I'm super new to this and the only comment so far is my friend jokingly saying she ships herself with one character.

Ash🦀

I'm in the same boat as Spring-heeled Jack- the idea that people would even be invested enough would be flattering, yes. It would be really cool, but I doubt it will happen since there's a limited cast and it's not a romance. I do have personal ships, but since romance isn't a factor, shippers... Just won't be canon, kinda no matter what they ship. Maybe if my story was more romance-centered I'd care more, but as it is... Do what you want, it's not going to hurt my feelings if you think Ren and the Oni would be a power couple or whatever.

kayotics

I’m just gonna pop in here and say this: shippers making queer content of (presumably) straight characters is a large part of how I figured out I was queer, because for the most part (especially when I was younger) that doesn’t exist in the public eye.

Spring-heeled Jack

My comic isn't romance based, it's horror but I feel that really good horror is best built off characters you can connect to. So I have some families. I have some married couples. The older two "children" (they are in their 20s) are dating. I made one of my main non-binary and their partner is ace. Another main is a transman. In my heart my characters are all pan anyway so I like just putting them with who I think works best lol

I also low key ship one of my married characters with another character that is coming in later. I do enjoy shipping so I might be biased lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

my comic is pretty romance based, it's not a romance but there are pretty strong romance threads in it, and my characters arent all pan so I feel differently, so I do see why you would feel differently than me on this subject!

Spring-heeled Jack

I can also respect a creator having an idea for a character and not feeling comfy with people going different directions with it.

Ash🦀

Oh definitely- How individuals interact and feel for their characters varies from person to person.

Kabocha

I don't mind people making changes for shipping purposes or shipping non canon stuff -- so long as they don't expect me to change my writing to suit them. And like Snuffysam, I kind of have similar tiers for ships, too. I don't want to (and can't, really) control what other people do, but I'd prefer that if a reader knows it's going to make me upset or something I've expressed wishes against, that they not share it with me. Besides, if what I'm writing doesn't meet their needs, I'd rather see shippers search out, celebrate, and elevate work that better matches the values they idealize in pairings. (and trust me, romance is FULL of it if you look. :D)

Spring-heeled Jack

I thought about my only canonically het character that I have (I only rp him now, I have a comic planned for him down the line) and even with him all I can think is "if someone wants him to kiss a boy, I super don't care."

Ash🦀

Wait, hold on, have people actually asked to change the story based on who they think should get together? Is that a thing people do? (Forgive my ignorance, I’m not really a fandom person? I’m p shy and keep to myself)

FeatheryJustice

I seen it happen. Which in itself is pretty rude soemtimes because people get angry if their ships aren't canon kinda thing

Ash🦀

Oh my. Thank you for the warning then, I’ll keep it in mind. That’s very rude! Would probably fill me with spite, to be honest. The “well now I’m not doing it” haha. I’m... disappointed but not surprised this happens. Still, it won’t change my mind. XD

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I have run into more than one person who hyperfixates on a ship (in any media, not just comics) that's... honestly, truly, never going to happen? Like, a main character crossed with a background character who had no lines and showed up in a single scene. That sort of thing. Then they implode/explode when it doesn't become canon by the end. If it happened for my own work, I don't know what I'd say. Apart from telling people not to put all their eggs in one basket, I guess I fear that kind of manic fanaticism.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Wasn't that the reason behind that infamous blackmail incident, the Voltron one

or am I mixing it up with a different fandom?

Spring-heeled Jack

Looking at fandoms in general, there are people that get over invested and become possessive. It's a shame.

Deo101 [Millennium]

the fact that it could be more than one fandom says a lot, i think :P

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

yeeeeeah ugh

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

If it's not, I'd still believe it (edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Also the needle in the cookie one (though this was given to a fan artist who drew a ship they didn't like, not the actual author)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Hoooooooly hell, I feel like I remember that, but not specifically what it was for. NIGHTMARE SCENARIO.

Deo101 [Millennium]

thought that was because they didnt draw a character fat?

again, the fact it could be multiple things

hugely concerning

Spring-heeled Jack

Just, please, never take consumables (food, drink, ect) from strangers.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, I think the "you didn't draw her fat enough" was a different one

Deo101 [Millennium]

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Scary world we live in -_-

Spring-heeled Jack

There are people who get too invested in things and don't know how to process those feelings. Be smart and careful, but don't let those people stop you from making your comic, art, fanart, or anything.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

ngl, I'm honestly legit scared. Not quite terrified but lowkey fear in my mind... I'm not at all active in con circuits, etc. so I don't think any physical harm will happen to me, but I do worry about potential online harassment.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Me too, to be completely honest

Spring-heeled Jack

Conventions are usually really great. I've been at some for about three years now and everyone has been so kind. Online, however, is more of a concern because people can post anything, it's easier with that distance.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Even with a low likelihood of something happening, common sense is definitely good. Don't take food, have a buddy nearby, have an 'out' if you feel uncomfortable. But yeah, cons seem to be lovely so far. If anyone causes trouble, staff usually does a good job wrangling them

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yeah, I've had great experiences at cons for the most part. A few creepy people that camped out at my table for a bit longer than comfortable, but otherwise it's been great

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Oh yeah The campers. They mean well, but man... they CAMP.

Spring-heeled Jack

I get a lot of lingering people and returning people,. but only once so far did I really have someone just stand there and block others. But he was a bit older and was putting his change in his wallet from a sale, so I didn't want to say anything

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I love the people who return! I usually get people returning the next day to buy something (or to buy more stuff). Those people always seem so invested in my work.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, it's more the online stuff I worry about

o(-<

Deo101 [Millennium]

me too, I've been real lucky to have people mostly be very kind but theres always new fear with new readers, or every new thing i introduce that someone will be mad about it

Spring-heeled Jack

Lemme clarify, returners are okay, but the ones the are weird and linger and block the booth. That makes me a little stressed out

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Oh man, Deo, I can feel those fears in my bones.

Deo101 [Millennium]

ahahha a bunch of new people show up and youre just like thats a lotta people who could be pissed at me huh?

I had someone get very upset with me over something once, in a way i never imagined someone would, and im coming up on a scene I've been planning for like a year now which canonized my characters trans identities, and I worry some people will think i am hmmmmmm doing a bad job

or not the job they want

Spring-heeled Jack

Forget them. Do what you have planned!

Deo101 [Millennium]

yup! but if people do get very upset with me I will still be hurt, even if I think I am really doing the best job I can

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

hard same

I won't bend my story, but I sure as hell will be hurt

Spring-heeled Jack

I understand. I worry that my queer characters aren't queer enough, but then that's a worry I have about myself IRL, sooooooo, I get you

Deo101 [Millennium]

someone once got upset with me over that ;) so i worry about it too

Spring-heeled Jack

It sucks because the opinion of others both don't matter and SUPER matters

Deo101 [Millennium]

or, sorry, they said I was blase my bad

and yeah like, im gonna do what i want but it still sucks when people are mean about it, regardless

which ^ is kind of how I feel about this shipping topic. Im gonna do what I want but Id really prefer people not be upset over not getting what they want.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think everyone's mileage varies on what 'the right representation' of relationships and characters is. Barring obvious no-nos, I don't think everyone will ever be 100% satisfied. I do very much dread that one person coming into my comments to tell me "You did this character/ship wrong, thus, you are a bad writer, and probably a bad person - gonna write an article about you now kthxbye" At that point, I would just hope enough people come to my side to go "Um... no?" because I would definitely want to recede far into the nearest dark corner and think about what I've done

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah. when I did get that comment of someone kind of telling me off about how Ive chosen to represent things. I really kind of started... not overthinking, because I dont think that worrying about doing a good job and taking comments into consideration is BAD, per se, but I started really worrying about whether or not i DID do something wrong. my friends came to my defense, which was very nice, and the person did actually end up changing their mind and kind of rescinding their comment. I think places like this and having people that support you to back you up when stuff like this happens is really important

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It happened to me and it did absolutely suck. I'm genuinely unsure I can take another one if it happens again

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah idk what I would do if someone went... that hard..

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think there are some reactions that not even sensitivity readers could predict. Like, things that are so out of left field, but also still make a bit of sense if you really, really stretch your brain? Arguments that would make for excellent thesis papers someday, tbh

Spring-heeled Jack

:( I'm really sorry it hurt you that much, Keii. I know I can say "don't let it get to you" all day but you will feel how you feel when someone pulls that kind of stuff. I hope it doesn't happen again and, if it does, I hope it doesn't hurt you!

I hope it helps to remember that there will probably be many people out there that see your work and see the characters and go "That's me!" or "I feel seen!"

Spring-heeled Jack

We get a new topic tomorrow, yeah?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think so

Spring-heeled Jack

Nice!

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble #comic tea party #ctp

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she-is-tim · 5 years

Text

I love hating you | Elu enemies to lovers AU | Ch.9

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 8

Lucas is an angry, closeted and frustrated gay teenager, while Eliott is the handsome, smart and popular guy in school. They hate each other… but not forever.

My life is better with you in it

Lucas came home from the grocery store with Manon, finding Eliott playing video games with Mika on the couch. He smiled and put down the bags in the kitchen for the girl to take care of it, joining them. Both guys were so into the game that they didn’t noticed him arriving. He just used his chance to just glance at them lovingly. Eliott seemed so carefree, playing around with his idiot flatmate. He even laughed, looking years younger than he actually was. Lucas leant against the wall, then he cleared his throat, bringing the boys attention to him.

“Hey guys.” he said softly, looking at his boyfriend lovingly.

Eliott immediately put down his controller, leaving the game to get up and walk to Lucas, bright smile appearing on his face. He totally ignored the whining Mika was doing because he just left him play alone. He was wearing a bordeaux shirt that belonged to Lucas and grey sweatpants. All that looked lovely on him and made Lucas feel like a beloved boyfriend.

“Hey” he said happily, standing just a feet apart from the other.

“I can see that you’re having fun.” the short boy said on a soft voice.

“Yes, but I still missed you.” Eliott said, putting his hands on Lucas’ face now, kissing him slowly. “How was the shopping?”

“We got everything we needed.” he shrugged, shooting heart eyes towards his beloved tall boy. “She said we can use her room tonight, since she will be sleeping at Emma’s place.” he said smirking, Eliott’s face lit up in a second.

“Oh really?” he asked excitedly.

“Yeah, but I had to promise that we will use my bedsheet and not hers.” Lucas chuckled and wrapped his arms around Eliott’s waist.

“I can deal with that.” he said, rubbing his nose to Lucas’ happily. “Also Lucille will leave tomorrow afternoon, so we can finally go to my place to have more privacy.” he added smirking, licking the boy’s bottom lip seductively. Lucas made a squeaky noise and felt the heat crawling up on his face.

“Oh, really?”

“Jesus, guys. You’re making me so sick!” Mika said suddenly, bursting out their happy little bubble with his rudeness. “You two are the cheesiest, most disgustingly romantic couple I’ve ever seen.” he said, making a weird face which made Lucas roll his eyes at him.

“Shut up, Mika. You are the one showing naked guys on Grindr to your flatmates every saturday.” he said with just a handfull of salt in his voice.

“There’s no need to be so mean to each other.” Eliott said softly, looking at Mika and then at his boyfriend, caressing his cheeks with his thumbs. “We will take over Manon’s room once she left.” he looked into those bright blue eyes and smiled fondly. Lucas felt like he’s melting into Eliott’s arms, it was still so unbelieveable to have a boyfriend like him.

“We could go out, it’s still early.” he suggested suddenly. “The boys just texted me that they are at the park, we could meet up with them.”

“You want me to meet your friends?” Eliott raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Lucas sighed. It was already tuesday afternoon and so far he haven’t had the chance to get the boys and Eliott to meet. This was the last week before their spring break, so the teachers were extra pushy with tests, essays and other stuff. All of them were just busy studying all afternoon and in the small school breaks too.

“Yeah, they have been begging to me to bring you there with me. I think it’s a great opportunity.” he explained. Not like his friends didn’t know Eliott, but this was still different. He needs to introduce him to his friends as his boyfriend, which was a bit scary, but also exciting.

“If you really want that, then let’s go.” the tall boy said with a bright smile, kissing Lucas passionately, rubbing his thumbs on his soft cheeks. The short one chuckled between two kisses, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend happily.

The park was quiet, considering it was a weekday afternoon, but there were still some kids, couples and people with dogs around. The boys were chilling on a blanket close to the water, around them drinks and opened books. Lucas smiled softly when he saw them, keeping his arm around Eliott who now buried his face into Lucas’ hair. He had to giggle at his boyfriend’s shyness, it was so unusual, but really sweet of him. Since they were together, Lucas got to know the many layers of his personality. He wasn’t as perfect as he always tried to seem like, he could mess up things, say stupid stuff, be speechless and shy. It just made his feelings even stronger.

When they got closer, Lucas cleared his throat, getting the attention of his friends. Basile looked at them surprised, while Arthur and Yann seemed to be excited to finally have them around. Lucas haven’t really met them since friday either, being too occupied with studying and spending time with Eliott. He smirked at his friends.

“Hey guys!” he waved. “I guess you guys know Eliott.” he said nodding at the boy next to him.

“Yeah, of course.” Arthur said, shaking himself out of the shock.

“Well, Eliott, these are my friends. Arthur, Basile and Yann.” he introduced his friends proudly. “Boy, this is my boyfriend, Eliott.” he said with a wide, bright smirk on his face.

The boys jumped up fast, surrounding them while laughing and clapping. Lucas blushed a little, enjoying the support of his awesome friends. He was a bit surprised when Yann pulled him out of Eliott’s hands into a bone-crashing hug. He squeaked and then started laughing, hugging his friend back happily.

“I thought that you will never introduce him to us.” Basile said suddenly. “I mean... we were so damn curious. Did you guys bang in the common...” he started, but let out a groan as Arthur hit him in the stomach with his elbow. “What?” he pouted, wrapping his arms around himself.

“You are being inappropriate.” the blond boy said with a piercing look on his face.

“Well, I have to disappoint you. We did not.” Eliott said with sudden confidence and a cheeky smile on his face. Lucas eyes shot wide, looking at him in disbelief.

“Are you serious?” he said still shocked and he leant back into Eliott’s arms from Yann’s. “You are unbelievable.”

“I can’t be honest with your friends?” he asked smiling, kissing the boy on the cheeks. “We had a good time in the common room, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to get naked with all those paint...” he continued his embarrassing story, earning a slap on his mouth from Lucas, keeping his hand there.

“I think you’ve said enough, Eliott.” he gasped, face red as a tomato. His friends laughed at that.

“I like your boyfriend, Lucas.” Basile said smiling. Lucas could feel Eliott’s cocky smile forming under his palm and jumped when he suddenly licked his hand. The boy pulled back his hand and wiped it in his jeans.

“Oh, fuck you! Was that necessary?” He complained, looking at the tall boy, while his friends laughed even more.

“It was fairplay.” he winked and pulled him close to give him a kiss on his lips. Arthur smiled brightly, like a proud mother, Basile was obviously jealous, while Yann just seemed happy for his best friend.

After talking to the boys for almost an hour, they decided to head back home and let them continue studying. On their way Eliott stopped by a bakery, buying croissants for both of them. Lucas smiled softly, enjoying the kindness of his handsome boyfriend. It was nice to have someone that cared for him so much, and he wanted to do the same for Eliott.

When they entered the flat, Manon was just about to go. She kissed the boys on the cheek and left with a bag in her hand. The boys smiled at each other, taking their shoes off and headed to the girl’s room now. Lucas was grateful when he saw that she already changed the sheets, so they could just lay down and enjoy each other’s company.

The boys were making out for hours, slowly taking off their clothes in the process. First their pants landed on the room floor, then Eliott threw away first Lucas’ shirt and then his own. They were laying in each others arms now, exhausted, lips swollen and red from all the kissing, only wearing their underwears. Lucas rested his head on Eliott’s chest, fingers running up and down on the boy’s stomach.

“You know what I was thinking?” he asked suddenly, looking up at his boyfriend.

“I can do a lot of things, but reading your mind is sadly not one of them.” he answered with a soft smile, stroking Lucas’ hair gently.

“You jerk.” the short boy chuckled and kissed his chest softly. “There is this thing... Whenever I make a choice I feel that another Lucas in another parallel universe made a different one, maybe the better choice. And there are infinite versions of me out there living different lifes, or even the same as mine just with a small difference.” he mumbled, tracing circles on Eliott’s chest. “There might be a Lucas who lives in a different country, being happy with his own Eliott and going to a fancy college. Maybe there is a Lucas that is still apart from his Eliott, turning to weed as a way of comfort...”

“That sounds a bit sad.” Eliott said, playing with his boyfriend’s hair. “So every Lucas has his own Eliott?” he asked, sounding really interested in the topic, which made Lucas really happy.

“Yeah, there is probably Lucas No.94 who is totally in love with is instagram famous Eliott No.94, or there’s a Lucas No.345 who grew up with his Eliott No.345 having the chance to slowly fall in love with him. Lucas No.265 got into an embarrassing situation which got him into a fake relationship with Eliott No.265 and so on.” he said in a dreamy voice, running his fingers up and down on the small tattoo above Eliott’s heart.

“I’m sure every Eliott out there is the luckiest bastard for having their own Lucas.” he said smiling, giving a small kiss on Lucas’ head. “You are a real catch.”

“I am not.” Lucas laughed. “You are just stupid enough to choose someone like me.”

“Then I like being stupid.” Eliott replied and gave him another kiss on the head. “If that means I can be with your in every single universe.”

“Stop saying smooth things like that.” he mumbled, burying his face into his boyfriend’s neck now. Eliott chuckled, wrapping his arms around the boy, squeezing him gently.

“I can’t stop. I want you to know how I feel.” he whispered softly.

“Can I ask something?”

“Go for it.”

“Is there a story behind this tattoo?” he asked, stroking over the beautiful letters on Eliott’s chest. It catched his eyes before to, but he was too shy to ask about it back then. But now they were a couple and they were honest with each other, so he felt like he could ask about things like this.

“Oh yeah, the Life tattoo.” Eliott smiled softly, but there was a little sadness in his voice. “I got that one not much after my girlfriend left me.” he started which made Lucas to pull back a little and look at him, focusing his eyes on his boyfriend. “Her name was Sophie, we were together for almost three years. She was beautiful, kind and we loved each other so much... but things started to happen. Sometimes I got sad for no particular reason, sometimes I felt like a horny teenager from an american movie...” he sighed now, focusing his eyes on Lucas’ hair, running his fingers through it several times. “When I was 15 they diagnosed me with bipolarity... It was a huge shock, both for me and my family. I didn’t dare to tell anyone first, not knowing what to expect. Sofiane knew that something was wrong and he kept asking me until I told him. He and Idriss were really supportive and encouraged me to talk to Sophie. I felt like if they accepted me the way I am, then why would it be different with my beloved girlfriend.” his voice was really bitter now, letting the short boy know that things weren’t exactly smooth. “When I told her and explained what this all means... she yelled at me. She said that I was deceiving her, that she didn’t wanted to live her life with a crazy boyfriend that is depressed one day and excited the other day. She threw at me her necklance I gave her for our three year anniversary and left.”

“Okay, that is really rude.” Lucas said, because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “That girl clearly didn’t know what she missed out on.” he said with a soft smile, kissing Eliott’s nose, which finally made the boy smile.

“At least I got the opportunity to change schools and meet you.” he shrugged and placed his hand on Lucas’ cheek, caressing it softly. “I was depressed for weeks, not leaving my room, crying my eyes out. My parents, Lucille, Sofiane and Idriss were really worried. Then I got better all of the sudden, which made them suspicious. I could feel their eyes on me in every moment. My sister followed me basically everywhere. It was really annoying. I was feeling better, I decided to do something with my life and I started with designing this tattoo. I got some money after taking the necklance to a pawnshop and I sneaked out one night, going to this shady place downtown. They were asking a bit too much for such a small tattoo, but since it was late and I really wanted it, I agreed on the payment.” he explained with a little smirk. “My family was shocked when they saw it, my mom almost fainted, but I was proud of it.”

“Does it symbolize something?” he asked curiously.

“It does.” Eliott nodded. “I means that Life is a lie. I feel like that is the truth, that lying is something that will always be part of our lifes, that sometimes we have to lie to live a good life... there’s a lot of meaning to it.” he explained and kissed Lucas on the lips slowly, but passionately. They broke apart after long minutes, the short boy looking at his boyfriend with a dumb smile on his face.

“I know it’s a stupid thing to say, but I am really glad that girl left you. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here, laying in each others arms, talking about our parallel selves.” he said softly, stroking his face before planing a kiss on his soft lips. Eliott chuckled and pulled him closer, kissing him deeply.

“I totally agree. My life is better with you in it.” he said smiling and kissed Lucas again, this time being a bit more demanding and wild than before. The boy wrapped his arms around Eliott happily, pressing their body together as he gave in to the kiss.

Wednesday was chaos, the girls hanging on Lucas all day, hoping to see him with Eliott, but the boy was really busy trying to catch up on all the classes he missed the last weeks. Then they just dragged him to the common room to play some stupid board game. He had no choice but agree on it. Of course they couldn’t stop asking questions about his relationship with Eliott, especially not after what he posted on instagram.

Daphné and Alexia went crazy, asking questions nonstop as they played, confusing everyone, because they had no idea who comes next or who is supposed to move their piece. After 30 minutes of suffering, Lucas got annoyed and got up from the table, walking to the couch and laying down on it. He looked for his phone, checking his messages. There was one from Eliott, some from the gang and one from Sofiane.

srodulv I can’t walk you home today, cause I gotta go to the station with my sister, but see you tomorrow morning

lucallemant Take care, and I hope your sister isn’t mad at me

srodulv She is always mad, don’t take it on yourself

lucallemant I gotta meet her at some point, though

srodulv Just let me take my time with it

lucallemant Sure thing

He sighed, looking at the ceiling. He wouldn’t be seeing his boyfriend until tomorrow. It was already painful not spending time with him, but this just made him feel so damn miserable. It felt so wrong not being with Eliott, not hugging him or holding his hand. He shook his head and decided to check his other messages. The boys were just talking about studying and upcoming tests, so he ignored that.

sofalaoui How’s it going, Lucas? You wanna hang out with me and Idriss today?

lucallemant Are you serious?

sofalaoui Yeah, why not? Eliott will be busy studying and taking care of Lucille

lucallemant Okay, meet at the Youth Center?

sofalaoui In an hour?

lucallemant You got it

He smiled just a little, at least he will have something to distract himself with. He already liked Eliott’s friends, but it made him extra happy that they actually wanted to hang out with him. And not just Sofiane, but Idriss too. He glanced at the girls who now tried to play some sort of card game, while Imane was reading a book quietly. His eyes wandered off to the new mural he and Eliott created. He couldn’t believe that they had something to remember them how much they mean to each other. Not just a message, a bracelet or a picture, but a whole fucking wall painted by them. Lucas could see the memories again as he stared at the mural. Eliott’s soft lips on his, their touches, the paint fight and just everything. They were standing there, being open with each other.

His afternoon with the boys was a complete blast. He knew that Sofiane was a sunshine, but he had a lot of fun with Idriss. They were mostly teasing and roasting each other, making Sofiane turning into the serious mother sometimes. Of course the favorite joke was always Lucas’ height, which he felt was an unfair topic, considering that Idriss was basically a giant. Although he was acting grumpy and salty, he really had a lot of fun. They posted a shit ton of videos in their insta stories. Idriss recorded Lucas sitting on the swing, Sofiane pushing him laughing. Then Sofiane made a video of Lucas hanging on Idriss’ back, yelling “Go, my horse!” at least 10 times. Lucas mostly posted the two boys running around in the kids park, doing silly shit, while he laughed his ass off in the background.

They also made selfies together. Lucas posted one with the boys, but he was covering Idriss’ face with his hands. He laughed when the boy saw it and started complaining, posting a selfie with him and Sofiane where only Lucas’ hair was visible. The boy got grumpy at that and started to argue with Idriss, but of course Sofiane, as the good mother he was calmed them down within moments. When it got later, they grabbed some food and Idriss took them home with his car.

In the morning, he was packing stuff to his locker, getting ready for his classes when he suddenly felt long arms sliding around his torso and a warm body pressing to his back. He smiled happily, leaning to Eliott’s chest and glancing up at his beautiful boyfriend. He was ready for their usual morning kiss, but the tall boy seemed to be grumpy. Lucas turned around in his arms and put his hands on his face softly.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked worryingly.

“You were together with Sofiane and Idriss yesterday.” he said, eyes looking darker than ever. Lucas tilted his head, hand still resting on the other’s face.

“Yeah, what’s the problem with that?” he asked, not understanding Eliott’s grumpiness.

“I don’t like it.” he said seriously, which made Lucas feel a tiny bit angry, raising his eyebrows in question.

“You don’t like it that I hang out with your friends?” his tone was maybe a bit too salty, because Eliott’s face flinched, but he couldn’t let himself be treated like this.

“I don’t like all that stuff you put up on instagram.” he said honestly, looking into the boy’s eyes. “You barely post anything about us, but you are okay to have videos where you ride Idriss’ back?” he asked, voice being sharp and angry. “But I guess you weren’t thinking about my feelings when you did all that.”

Lucas wanted to be mad and yell at Eliott that he didn’t belong to him, that he had all rights to post whatever and with whoever he wanted on his own instagram, but seeing his boyfriend’s upset face kept his mouth shut. He let out a deep sigh, pulling Eliott’s head down until their foreheads were touching, looking into those dark, stormy eyes.

“I am sorry, Eliott. I never meant to hurt your feelings. I just had a good time with the boys... I mean, have you seen my old posts on insta? I never think before putting something out there.” he said softly, even smiling a little, which seemed to calm down his boyfriend. Eliott closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and rubbed his nose to Lucas’.

“I’m sorry too... I shouldn’t lash out on you like this...”

“Hey, it’s okay.” he said softly, giving him a gentle peck on the lips. “You are sweet when you’re jealous.” he said smirking.

“I don’t know why, but I get jealous easily when it comes to you...” he mumbled, looking into the other’s eyes. “I guess I’m too afraid to lose you.”

“You are not going to lose me, okay?” he said, rubbing his cheeks with his thumbs, smiling softly. “You are worrying too much.”

“Guess you had no idea what you’re getting yourself into when you agreed on being my boyfriend.” he said, a soft smile starting to form on his lips. Lucas chuckled and bit his bottom lip, then kissing him passionately, cupping his face in his hands still.

“I knew exactly what I have to deal with.” he said smirking when they broke apart. “And I regret nothing.” he added, stroking Eliott’s wet lips with his thumb.

The tall boy seemed to be calmed down now, mouth slightly open, like he’s ready for the next kiss, eyes looking cloudy. Lucas had to admit that he was super hot when he got angry, but this soft, lovestruck expression on his face was just so soft and lovely, he felt extra lucky on this fine thrusday morning. Having a boyfriend like Eliott was a blessing.

“You know, Idriss told me that there will be a party on this saturday... he said that Imane and the girls will be coming and he asked if me and the boys wanna join.” he said softly, studying the expressions on the boy’s face, but he seemed to be okay for now, he even smiled a little.

“You wanna go?”

“I will be going if you come with me.” Lucas answered seriously.

“That is not answer to my question.” he raised his eyebrows. “Do you wanna go or not?”

“I think it could be fun.” he shrugged and kissed the corner of Eliott’s mouth. “I wanna dance and drink with you. Showing everyone that I have a beautiful boyfriend.” his words seemed to cheer up Eliott completely, because now his eyes were sparkling, toothy smile appearing on his face.

“In that case we are going.” he said happily and pulled Lucas closer to kiss him wildly. They completely forget that they were on the school hallway, it was just the two of them in their happy little bubble, until the ringing of the bell pulled them back to reality. They broke apart, looking at each other sadly and grabbed their bags. Eliott walked Lucas to his classroom, giving him a few kisses before he went for his own class too.

The party was loud, crowded. This was a big party in an actual bar. The bey were really impressed as they entered the place, music thumping in their ears, drumming on their chests. Eliott pulled his boyfriend closer, making sure to protect him from all the people that were dancing around them. Yann, Basile and Arthur got excited, looking for some booze immediately. Lucas followed them, while still leaning into the protecting arms of his boyfriend. He liked and hated this at the same time. It was nice to finally go out and have some fun after this stressful week, but he hated that the bar was so damn full.

When they got to order some drinks, the gang asked for beer, just like Lucas, while Eliott went for a zero coke. They talked about this before leaving, the tall boy wanted to let his sweet boyfriend to have a good night, so he agreed to stay sober, while Lucas can drink as much as he wanted. He was a bit surprised by the idea, but then realized that Eliott probably liked to avoid getting drunk because of his illness.

After everyone had a bottle in hand they settled at a table in a quieter corner. Eliott sat down first, pulling Lucas on his lap, who gladly took his place, smirking proudly. He enjoyed his boyfriend’s arms wrapping around him, feeling his breath on the nape of his neck. His friends smirked at them, but had nothing to comment on it, they all just started drinking. Of course Basile couldn’t shut up for too long and he started to talk about how he’s definitely going to get a girl for himself tonight. Arthur, like the good friend he was obviously supported him, giving him some advice and saying positive stuff between two gulps of his beer.

At some point Yann disappeared with a really pretty brunette girl, probably Chloé, the one he was dating with. Then Basile got some confidence from the three bottles of beer he chugged up and decided to get himself in action, Arthur following him like a mother chicken. There was just the two of us. Lucas felt a bit dizzy, considering he also drank a few bottles of alcohol by now. He turned aroun on Eliott’s lap to face his boyfriend, who seemed to really enjoy the situation. He still haven’t drink his first bottle of coke, because his hands were always occupied with touching Lucas.

“You look beautiful today.” he whispered, filling the space between their faces with the smell of beer. Eliott smiled softly, keeping his hands on his waist, pulling him a little closer. Lucas already had his knees resting on the bench next to Eliott’s thighs, but now he got a little excited as their crotches got so close. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck.

“You are beautiful too, my dear.” Eliott said softly, his thumbs slowly sliding under Lucas’ shirt to caress his bare skin under it. The short boy shivered and his face got a little red shade on it after that.

“I just wanna go home with you and kiss all night.” he mumbled, leaning his forehead on Eliott’s shoulder, taking deep breaths.

“We can’t, you promised Idriss and Sofiane to come, and I want you to have fun with all of our friends.” the tall boy said softly, stroking his boyfriend’s back now, only one hand wandering under the soft material of the shirt.

Lucas let out a disappointed sigh and started to shower Eliott’s neck with kisses. He had no shame thanks to the amount of alcohol in his body. His lips wandered up and down, licking his boyfriend’s earlobe, his jawline and even sucking soft mark on his skin. Eliott shivered, grabbing the boy’s waist tighter, fingers gripping into the warm skin under the shirt. He obviously enjoyed the attention of his tipsy boyfriend, but he gently pulled back Lucas’ head by grabbing his hair softly. The boy had a dazzled look on his face, eyes opened wide, pupils so big that his eyes almost looked black. Eliott couldn’t believe that such beauty could exist on this world, but it was right in front of his eyes.

“Stop this, before I do something we both regret later.” he mumbled, voice a bit deep thanks to all the tension he was feeling after those kisses.

“Maybe we should just let it flow.” Lucas muttered, head still held back by Eliott, but he didn’t mind it. Even his hair pulling was as gentle as possible. “Let future Lucas and Eliott deal with the consequences.” he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows seductively. His boyfriend let out a soft giggle, stroking the back of his head now.

“Don’t you think Lucas No.683 and Eliott No.837 are already making out shamelessly on this party?” he asked smirking. Lucas for some reason found it really pleasing how his boyfriend used his parallel universe theory so casualy. Like he already believed the same.

“I think Lucas No.483 had already dragged his Eliott home and now they are probably laying in bed together... naked.” he whispered the last word, making the tall boy under him shiver. He smirked victoriously.

“You clearly have no shame right now, huh?” Eliott laughed, playing with his boy’s hair.

“Around you? Never.” he smirked and was ready to lean in for a kiss when Idriss and Sofiane appeared next to them.

“Look at this! The party barely started and they are almost having sex.” Idriss said smirking, poking Sofiane’s side with his elbow.

“You guys have no chill for sure.” the boy said smiling and hopped down across the couple, putting his glass of orange juice on the table. His friend joins him too, taking a sip of his beer. Lucas makes an unpleasant noise now, turning around in Eliott’s lap, not even planning to leave that comfortable place. His boyfriend smirks, wrapping his arms around him, fingers gently stroking his stomach through the thin shirt.

“How are you guys?” Eliott asked casually, resting his head on his boy’s shoulder.

“We are fine.” Idriss said. “Met the girls before coming here with them.” he smirked. “They are really cute.”

“Imane was actually asking about you two, and I told her that you will be here.” Sofiane added with his angelic smile.

“Yeah, I still haven’t had time to introduce Eliott to the girls.” Lucas mumbled and let himself relaxed in his boyfriend’s arms. “I mean, they obviously know him, but...”

“You gotta introduce him as your boyfriend.” Sofiane nodded with a soft smile. “I get it. You guys like to rub it into others face, huh?” he said with a cheeky smile, earning a middle finger from Eliott.

“I deserve to show off. Have you seen this boy? He’s gorgeous.” he said proudly, kissing Lucas’ cheek happily, which made the boy let out a cute chuckle.

“I am the lucky one here.” the short boy said, reaching for a full bottle of beer and taking a sip of it.

“You sure that you wanna drink more?” Eliott asked concerned.

“Oh, come on, Eli! It’s saturday night and you are not his father.” Idriss said, smirking widely. “Let the boy have some fun tonight.”

“He can have fun without getting wasted.” he shot back with a disapproving look on his face, tightening his hold around Lucas. The boy chuckled, planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

“Don’t fight with your friends. I’m a big boy, I know when to stop drinking.” he giggled and took another sip from his beer.

He clearly didn’t know when to stop. Hours went by and Lucas just kept drinking and drinking, until he was just a giggly mess. Eliott didn’t leave him alone all night, being afraid that either he trips in his own feet, getting himself hurt or that he will get into the arms of some perverted asshole, who would use this beautiful, drunk boy for his own pleasure. He couldn’t let that happen. They met a couple times with the boys again, Basile letting them know that he was hooking up with a girl, barely able to speak, since he was almost drunker than Lucas. Yann seemed to be just a bit tipsy, introducing his girlfriend, Chloé to the others. The girl was cute, pretty face, long brown hair and big eyes, she seemed to be happy with Yann, so Eliott obviously congratulated. Arthur seemed to be the most sober of the gang, holding a beer in his hand, but walking steadily, making sure that Basile doesn’t fall.

Eliott had some troubles with his drunk boyfriend, considering that he kept falling into his arms, laughing and kissing his neck, trying to make him horny. Of course the tall boy felt shivers going through his body with every kiss he got, but his sober brain kept reminding him that he has the responsibility to take Lucas home safe and sound. Also the crowd, the mass of people and the loud music started to get on his nerves, so when he found Sofiane and Imane, he kindly asked them to look out for his boyfriend while he went to the bathroom.

He washed his face, trying to normalize his breathing. Even if he wasn’t drinking or smoking, his head still felt dizzy. He haven’t took his meds since they got back together with Lucas, because he was feeling okay, but it was probably a stupid idea. He couldn’t help it, he hated that he had to live on meds to be like everyone else, to control his mental illness. It took him a few minutes to calm down. He splashed cold water on his face once again before walking back to the others, fairly remembering where he left his boyfriend.

When he got there, he was shocked. Lucas was hanging on Sofiane, making smooch sounds with his lips, while Imane tried to pull him away. His friend seemed to feel really uncomfortable in the situation, especially when he saw that Eliott came back. His apologetic expression reassured the tall boy that all of this was because his stupid boyfriend was completely wasted. He walked to them, gently grabbing Lucas’ shoulder. The boy looked at him, his blue eyes cloudy, his pink lips slightly parted.

“Maybe this was enough for tonight.” Eliott said calmly, trying to keep his jealous self back for now. Lucas eyes opened widely as he noticed who he was facing with and he shamelessly pressed his full body on Eliott’s.

“Eliott!” he screamed happily, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Where were you?!” he asked, pouting like an adorable puppy. Eliott couldn’t help, but smile softly, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.

“I’m here now. Let’s go home.” he said softly, kissing the boy’s forehead gently. Lucas chuckled and buried his face into his neck.

“Okay, take me home, please.”

I think drunk Lucas is a good way to end this fanfiction. I kinda enjoy making some insta posts and put them into the fanfiction, not to steal ideas from our beloved choupi of course, but it’s easier to use them to end a chapter or just to put it in for fun. I hope you guys liked this fluffly, sexy chapter, enjoy it while you can, cause angst is in the air. *wink wink*

#Skam France #Elu enemies to lovers au #I love hating you #Elu #Eliott Demaury #Lucas Lallemant #Eliott x Lucas

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