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whumpmatsus · 3 years

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So you can, nice.

I been wandering if you could write something about a painful love triangle between iromatsu and a new neighbor they have met and become Friends with.

She is like the epic older sister type, but with some depression and emptiness. Best if her name was Irusu. She likes to pet the sextuplets.

ichimatsu happen to fall for her thinking she is similar to him and karamatsu falling for her strong personality thinking it was beautiful.

however when karamatsu realized that ichi love her too and saw how close they are. he had a emotional battle with himself not knowing if he should choose his happiness or his brother's, in the end he chose what he thought is the best for them all and immediately give up on her and start avoiding her not knowing that the girl actually have a crush on him (lot of details, ik)

eventually the girl got hurt from Karamatsu action and blamed her foolish messed up self.

Ichimatsu who know the girl's feelings get into a fight with karamatsu and they got injured both physically and emotionally.

I don't know about the ending tho, you can write whatever you want I'm only here to give pain to my heart.

It's a bit long so take your time and don't overdo it pls, love ya💙

ahahaha sorry, was the request "yo girl how much emotional Iromatsu shit can you fit into less than 3000 words?"

... the answer is literally all of it

this was fun, Iromatsu fighting hurts my heart but also I love it, that angst is delicious :D

I made the ending vague in order both to let people imagine their own ending AND to set up for a possible sequel if anybody wants one!

love ya too, I hope this is good for you *fingerguns*

For the first time in a long time, Akatsuka Ward has a new resident.

For the first time in an even longer time, she’s been hanging around the Matsuno sextuplets as if they’re her only friends.

As far as anyone else knows, that might be the truth. No one ever sees her with anyone else aside from the times she happens to work, and the brothers all seem incredibly fond of her, so there’s really no reason to find anyone else when she has six new friends.

Irusu is maybe a strange kind of young lady, but no stranger than the rest of Akatsuka’s inhabitants, to be fair. Around the sextuplets, she doesn’t really rest in making sure they’re all taken care of and happy.

She accompanies Osomatsu to the pachinko parlor, often putting her own money into the machines so he can play. She sits next to Karamatsu on the roof, listening to him play guitar and singing along. She collects magazine articles about idols and proudly sets them into Choromatsu’s hands when she comes over. She brings over food for Ichimatsu’s cats, giving little kissy noises as she feeds them. She always offers to play baseball with Jyushimatsu, even though it always leads to exhaustion later. She displays an incredible willingness to star in selfies with Totty and makes him laugh with silly poses.

And if she’s not doing any of those things, she’s got one of their heads in her lap, stroking through their hair. More than one fight has broken out over who gets to be petted the most on any given day.

All in all, they love having her around. It’s been so long since any of them had a real friend outside the family who treated them so kindly.

Is it really any wonder at least one of them ended up falling head over heels for her?

… Actually, is it really any wonder two of them did?

Neither of them is sure who fell first, though they’re not sure it really matters since they can’t really call ‘dibs’ on a person. All they know is that Ichimatsu is drawn to the similarities between himself and Irusu, sensing a kind of heavy-weighing sadness and darkness inside her that’s not unlike his own… and that Karamatsu is pulled in by her strength and kindness, in awe of someone who can be so brave even when she’s suffering herself.

For the month or so after Karamatsu became aware of his little brother’s feelings, he’s been wrestling with his own heart. What kind of horrible older brother would he be if he stole the affections of someone Ichimatsu’s heart is also pining after? Can he even set aside his own selfish emotions when he’s never quite felt like this for someone before?

The whole thing is just awful. Often as brothers they would playfully fight over Totoko, and yet this is… different. This isn’t Totoko. It’s Irusu. It’s someone that one of them might actually have a shot with.

What is he supposed to do? For once in his life, he wants to step up and have a chance, to not immediately give in to his generosity and wanting his little brother to be happy. He wants to be happy. It’s a shame that he does want Ichimatsu to be happy, too. At the very least, he doesn’t want his happiness to have a hand in Ichimatsu’s pain.

He thinks too long and too hard. Every cheesy romantic line that he aims at Irusu and every time she smiles at him ― it’s getting more difficult to take. Every time she caresses his head. Every hug they share.

Every time he notices Ichimatsu tense up whenever Karamatsu flirts with Irusu. Every time Ichimatsu clenches his fists when she’s charmed by something Karamatsu does or says. Every time he looks angry and insecure when she calls him ‘Irusu boy’ and proclaims herself ‘Karamatsu girl’, even if it’s probably just a joke.

Those are the things he thinks he notices more than any of Irusu’s reactions.

He wants so much to be selfish, to not care how his brother feels. The unfortunate truth is that he does. More than anything, he loves all of his brothers, Ichimatsu included. If something he does is going to hurt one of them, then he doesn’t want to do it.

So last night, he did something that he didn’t truly want to do. As Irusu was leaving, he kissed her hand and told her, in a rather solemn tone devoid of his usual theatrics, “Ichimatsu would probably like it if you asked him out.”

With that, he felt like things were in place. He would keep his distance from her, Ichimatsu would get a chance to be happy with her, and… Karamatsu was sure he would find someone else eventually. The biggest problem was that in order for it not to be so painful for him, he would have to try to avoid Irusu as much as possible.

No more hugs. No more being petted. No more pretty smiles in his direction.

It’s only been a few days of it by this point. However, it’s not easy. Even though he thinks this is the best thing, that he’ll stop craving her attention at some point, right now he still wants it. Losing the closeness they’ve all become used to is one of the worst things he can think of, and it’s happening, and he’s so sure it’s the right thing…

It just sucks that the right thing can hurt so badly.

At least his little brother will have a shot at happiness.

Ichimatsu, on the other hand, is pissed.

He’s sure he must have been this angry at some other point in his life, although he can’t really remember this kind of fury burning him up from the inside. It’s probably been a while since he felt anything other than a boiling of annoyance.

He has a hard time with Karamatsu, that much is for sure, but he knows Karamatsu well enough. The man is a goody-goody, or at least he pretends to be, so he’d never do something like, say, step on Ichimatsu’s toes over a girl they both like. That much is certain.

Except the issue with backing off is that in the process, he’s managed to lodge a big, painful arrow in Irusu’s feelings. That is something Ichimatsu can’t just ignore or let slide.

Why would he do this, anyway? If he was going to let Ichimatsu have a chance with her, fine… how come he had to just start brushing her off, though? What, does he think he can’t even be friends with her in order to let Ichimatsu shoot his shot? The hell is wrong with that dumbass?

This is where his dangerous nature comes in handy, at the very least. He can’t act too scary around Irusu or he risks her being afraid of him. Karamatsu is another story.

Which is good, because he thinks his big, stupid brother needs a scare to make him realize what the hell he’s doing.

Not only is he taking away Ichimatsu’s chance of winning Irusu’s affection fairly, instead of being the ‘runner-up’ like he’s been his whole life, Karamatsu is also hurting her. She’s talked about this to Ichimatsu, and she thinks that this is somehow her fault.

She thinks she’s too messed up and Karamatsu has just lost interest in her, that she did something which turned him off. The way she buried her face in Ichimatsu’s shoulder, mumbling tearfully that she should have known Karamatsu couldn’t possibly like her the way she liked him, is a memory he thinks is going to be burned in his mind forever.

He’s mad at Karamatsu more than he’s ever been in his life. He thinks he’s doing a nice thing stepping aside and trying to give Ichimatsu a chance, but if it hurts Irusu, he doesn’t want that chance. It matters what she wants more than anything, so if she likes and wants Karamatsu, if it’s putting her in pain to have him treat her dismissively, then Ichimatsu isn’t going to just stand by. He’s gonna do something about it.

Of course, perhaps he could have been a little more composed about it than to simply walk up to Karamatsu and punch him in the face. That said, nobody ever accused Ichimatsu of being subtle.

The hit was hard enough to leave his hand aching, so as soon as it connects, he pulls his fist back and rubs at his knuckles. It hurts, yeah. There’s more important stuff than that right now, though. He stares down at his brother, who’s on the floor trying to recover, and for a long moment, doesn’t do anything except glare.

Karamatsu, meanwhile, is pinching his nose shut in an attempt to stop the bleeding from being punched in the Goddamn face without any warning. To say he wasn’t expecting the blow would be an understatement. Even when he gingerly draws his hand away with a wince, everything still throbs. “Ichimatsu, what the hell was that for?!”

“You’re an ass,” Ichimatsu hisses, taking a step closer. “You think I need your fucking pity, huh? You think the only way Irusu would choose to go out with me is because you gracefully bowed out? You’re full of shit!”

Karamatsu is on his feet in a few seconds, only to just barely catch another fist thrown at him. His arm shakes with the muscle strain of holding back his little brother’s ire. “What are you… are you angry at me for taking myself out of the running?! Any other time, you’d be eliminating the competition yourself!”

Ichimatsu throws a punch with his other hand, though it’s caught just the same. There’s too much rage and adrenaline flooding through him, and Karamatsu can’t hold him back forever. “You think you’re doing me some kind of favor?! That’s just so like you! You’ve gotta be the hero right? You stupid, chūnibyō loser! You’re the saintly big brother and I’m the pathetic jackass and you’ve just gotta help me!”

“Wha… h-hey! That’s not what I think or what I’m trying to do!” It’s starting to become difficult to keep a grip on Ichimatsu’s hands, so in a desperate bid for some space, he shoves Ichimatsu back… maybe with a little more force than he may have used otherwise. “I care about you, Ichimatsu! You deserve to have a chance, and I know she likes you, and I just thought… if I allowed her to focus on you, I wouldn’t distract her!”

Ichimatsu ends up flat on his ass, although he’s back up in only a second. “You didn’t distract her, you motherfucker! You hurt her feelings! Who cares if she likes me?! She likes you! But as usual, you had to go and fuck everything up for everybody because you were trying to ‘help’!”

This time when he lunges forward, Karamatsu is ready and they end up grappling like two bucks locking antlers. Nobody really has the upper hand unless one counts that Ichimatsu is putting a little more physical force into it; the emotional toll it’s taking on Karamatsu is obvious, though.

“She never told me anything about that!” His arms quiver as he tries to plant his feet so that Ichimatsu can’t just brute force his way through this fight.

“Should she have had to?! You said she likes me, but she’s never said that, so you could obviously read her to know she likes me! You couldn’t tell she likes you, too?! And so what?!” Ichimatsu rocks forward in an attempt to knock Karamatsu off balance. “Even if she didn’t like you that way, you think blowing her off like you’ve been doing wouldn’t hurt a friend?!”

He winds back and goes in for another punch. “You’re not a good person! You know what you are? You know what I see when I look at you, what everyone else sees when they look at you? A stupid, painful, selfish, sorry excuse for a big brother!”

Something about those words makes Karamatsu freeze. The hit lands full-force, kickstarting the bloody nose that had just stopped a moment ago. Sparks dance around his insides, prompting him to gain back awareness enough to reciprocate the blow.

Before either of them know it, they’re rolling around on the floor, kicking and hitting each other and shouting the worst things they can think of.

“Excruciating bastard!”

“Antisocial asshole!”

“Self-centered, holier-than-thou shitbag!”

“Emotionally constipated, ungrateful bitch!”

“You don’t deserve to be anyone’s older brother! You don’t deserve to be anyone’s brother, period! You deserve to be alone, because nobody should ever have to deal with you and your fucking tryhard bullshit!”

“Oh, and you’re so easy to deal with?! All any of us do is give and give and you don’t give us anything in return! Being an apathetic misanthrope doesn’t make you interesting or special, it just makes you an edgelord!”

“Edgelord, huh? Must run in the family, because you’re even edgier than I am!”

“Maybe, but at least I don’t shut everyone out and act like my brothers don’t love me!”

“Oh, you’re psychoanalyzing me now?! Fuck off! Actually, just die!”

“Is that what you say to everything?! You die first and I might consider it!”

“Great! I’m glad to die! I’ve got a noose and a beam all picked out! As long as I get to choose how you die, I’m ready when you are, asshole!”

“Please! As if I’m going to let you do something like that! What the hell is wrong with you, Ichimatsu?!”

It seems to be the turn in that direction that causes the two of them to start to lose steam. The decline is quick as all the anger between both men crystallizes into fatigue and anguish.

Karamatsu rolls over from where he ended up above Ichimatsu, and Ichimatsu lets his whole body go limp. They lie there for what feels like forever, breathing heavily, covered in new bruises and scratches and flecks of blood, too tired to fire any more shots at one another.

They lie side by side, and when Karamatsu looks over, he sees through his own blurry vision that there are tears in the corners of Ichimatsu’s eyes.

His heart leaps into his throat.

He doesn’t know how else this could have turned out, but it’s undeniable that things have gone way too far, as they always do with any of the sextuplets.

“Ichimatsu…” He reaches for his little brother, only for Ichimatsu to pull violently away and curl into a ball. It hurts, mainly because he knows that’s what Ichimatsu does when he wants the entire world to leave him be. This time, it’s Karamatsu’s fault.

“Fuck off, Shittymatsu,” Ichimatsu mumbles. It’s through experience that Karamatsu can tell he’s starting to cry; that break in his voice might not be evident to anyone except his brothers. “Whatever you’re going to say, I don’t wanna hear it. I don’t care.”

Karamatsu huffs. “Well, you should care. We can’t do this shit, Ichimatsu. What’s wrong with us? It’s not normal for brothers to fight like this. We just beat each other up. Over a woman. … A stunning woman, but―”

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Ichimatsu interrupts. “Are there rocks in your Goddamn head? Do you really think this is just about Irusu? Don’t pretend this wouldn’t have happened at some point even if she never came into our lives. We’re fucking losers who don’t know how to get along and she’s just the latest thing we’re fighting about. We’re both shitheads. Neither of us deserves her.”

Well, at least they can agree on that.

Despite the fact that Ichimatsu doesn’t turn to look at him, not even a little, Karamatsu keeps a hand on his little brother’s back. That Ichimatsu doesn’t push him away or scream for Karamatsu to get off is a good sign.

Although, there aren’t enough good signs to just magically fix this. There’s still so much wrong with the entire situation and nothing is going to tie it up with a neat bow.

They lie next to each other in silence for a long time. Gradually, the tension starts to drain out of Ichimatsu’s body, the more seconds tick by without Karamatsu moving away. His muscles continue to relax until he’s bled out of fury, until he realizes that he doesn’t wantto be mad at his big brother.

The anger isn’t just going to vanish from either of them. It’s not going to disappear because they don’t want to be angry at each other. Their exhaustion bringing true feelings out of the shadows, however, is better than making believe they would prefer staying angry.

“I’m sorry,” Karamatsu finally says. His voice is smaller than usual and breathy and sounds cracked in half by the time he speaks up.

At last, Ichimatsu rolls over onto his back with a grunt. “… I’m sorry, too.”

Karamatsu sighs and shifts his hand away to give his younger brother space. “We really are a couple of pathetic creatures, aren’t we?”

“Yep, we’re shitty.”

“The shittiest.”

They both fall silent for another moment or two. This time, it’s Ichimatsu who breaks the quiet. “What… do we do now?”

There are too many thoughts swirling around Karamatsu’s head. And he would assume in Ichimatsu’s head as well. Everything is tumulting around in an unorganized mess, too much to put together any kind of real plan.

What do they do about what,anyway? About Irusu and who gets to have a chance with her? About their own broken relationship?

Neither of them really knows what to do about anything.

“I think,” Karamatsu hums, “we should patch up our wounds before anything else.”

So Ichimatsu nods.

It’s not going to solve any of their real problems, but it’s as good a place to start as any.

#Osomatsu san #whump #Iromatsu #Karamatsu #Ichimatsu #OC #emotional whump #violence #love triangle #angst #MMMMMMMMMMM Y'ALL TASTE THAT??#FRESH ANGST RIGHT OFF THE ANGST VINE #THESE TWO HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH EACH OTHER #MAYBE THEY NEEDED TO SCREAM AND BEAT EACH OTHER UP #at least it's over! ... for now anyway XD

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debbiechanclub · 3 years

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Best Two Out of Three, Part 26

This is it: the last chapter of BTOOT 😭

I wrote a long, sappy post about what this means to me *months* ago when I thought we would finish much sooner than we did (whoops), so I won’t get into all that again. However, I will say that this is a huge accomplishment for me because I have never finished a multi-part fic until now. But I didn’t do it on my own. I absolutely could not have completed this in the time that I did without @hotyeehawman, and BTOOT absolutely would not be the fic that it is without her. So thank you so much, Lauren. We wrote a whole ass 123,419-word, 228-page mf’in fanfiction novel in less than a year 😳

And, at the risk of sounding cheesy AF, we couldn’t have done it without you all, either. The response to this little wrasslin’ fic consistently blows us away. SO THANK YOU. It means more than words can say. So once you finish reading this last chapter, please come scream at me in your tags, in the comments, in my asks, in my DMs. Because I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

Alright, enough of that 🤧 I’ll let you get to reading 😉

Best Two Out of Three

Part: 26/26

Pairing: Kenny Omega x OFC, Matt Jackson x OFC x Cash Wheeler, Adam Page x himself

Word count: 7.8k

Warnings: Language; MAJOR angst

Catch up on previous parts here.

Tag squad: @freshlysqueezedmox @comeasyoudar @heelchampbucks @bec0m @betsy-bradock @linziland13 @gabbynorth98 @exe-darbyallin-exe @librathepheonix13 @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @kingswitchblade

Callie pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time again. 8:57 a.m. She put it back and glanced anxiously around the hotel lobby. She and Cash had agreed to meet there at nine to head to Orlando, and with each passing minute she worried that it would be Matt who stepped out of the elevator instead.

Their conversation had played on a nonstop loop in her head all night. This all happened way too fast. Yeah, I guess it did. Over and over again. Except, in her head, it didn’t end the way it had last night. Instead of Matt walking off she called out to him to wait. She told him that the reason she’d been avoiding him was because she felt guilty about how much she enjoyed being with him. Her brain told her it was wrong, but her heart told her otherwise, and because she didn’t know how to reconcile the two it was easier to just avoid the issue all together.

And that’s exactly what she was doing now: avoiding the issue by going to Orlando with Cash. And she wasn’t just going for the day—she was staying the night at his place.

It had been Cash’s suggestion that she spend the night. It’ll save me a round trip, he’d said via text. It made sense; they both had to be back in Jacksonville for Dynamite tomorrow, so there was no point in making Cash drive four extra hours tonight. So, Callie had agreed.

But, deep down, she knew she’d mostly agreed because it helped her avoid Matt that much more.

She pulled out her phone again, but rather than check the time she opened the camera and flipped it to face toward her. Her double black eyes had worsened from last night, turning an ugly bluish color, but thankfully some full-coverage concealer had made them barely noticeable. Even so, she pushed her oversized sunglasses onto her face. The last thing she needed was people thinking she was a battered woman.

The elevator dinged, and Callie’s chest constricted as the doors slid open. Mercifully, it was Cash.

“You ready?” he asked as he moved toward her. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

She nodded and jumped up from her seat. “Mhm,” she said as she grabbed her suitcase. She couldn’t leave the hotel fast enough.

* * * * * * * * * *

The drive to Orlando was mostly quiet. Cash had asked her if there was anything in particular she wanted to do or see, but she’d just told him she was up for whatever. She knew absolutely nothing about Orlando outside of the fact that Disney World and Universal Studios were there and the little bit she’d seen when she’d stayed with Britt. But Cash didn’t seem bothered by her apparent lack of enthusiasm; he’d just grinned and said, “I got you.” It made Callie’s stomach flutter.

They dropped off their bags at his place and she met his English bulldog, Pawla, before they set off for their first stop of the day. Cash seemed excited as he steered his truck into a parking lot in front of a large complex. Callie, however, was more than just a little confused when she saw what it was.

“Go-karts?”

She hadn’t meant to sound so disappointed, but Cash just let out a laugh. “What? You don’t like go-karts?”

She didn’t answer, looking skeptically out the window at the building. For whatever reason, it made her think of Alex. Go-karts seemed more her speed. She frowned. I wonder if he took her here, too.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Cash said. “I think you could use the adrenaline boost.”

“I can think of better ways to get an adrenaline boost.”

As soon as she said it, Callie wished she could take it back. It had just slipped out, implication and all. She looked hesitantly at Cash. He was smirking.

“I’m sure you can,” he returned. Callie felt her cheeks burn hot behind her sunglasses.

“Come on,” he repeated as he unbuckled his seat belt. “I’ll let you pick where we go to lunch afterward.”

He got out of the truck, and Callie drew in a deep, calming breath through her nose as she did the same.

Maybe avoiding Matt wasn’t the only reason she’d decided to stay overnight in Orlando.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex still hadn’t gotten over what had happened at the Labor Day party. In a word, she felt awful. She wanted to text Callie and apologize again, but between nearly breaking her nose and all but telling her to stay away from Matt, she doubted she wanted to hear from her. So, in hopes of boosting her mood, she’d decided to sit out by Kenny’s pool and soak up the last vestiges of summer while she still could.

But, so far, it hadn’t worked.

Her phone chirped next to her on the lounger, and she picked it up and unlocked the screen. She had a text from Trent.

Hey loser. You have plans today?

She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips as she typed back. Not really. Why?

She hit “send,” but instead of setting the phone back down she opened up Instagram. She clicked on Jay White’s story and let it autoplay through a couple more people before it unexpectedly came to Cash’s story. It was a Boomerang video of an indoor go-kart track. Alex recognized it; he’d taken her there one of the first weekends she’d stayed with him in Orlando.

A banner appeared at the top of her screen with Trent’s reply. Because Sam is in town if you want to come hang out.

That caught her off-guard. Sam, the boys’ friend who she’d first met five years ago. Alex had had no idea she was going to be in Jacksonville. Had one of them told her and it’d slipped her mind? But she didn’t think too much of it as she opened the text and sent her response.

Idk. After yesterday I kind of just feel like being a hermit today.

She went back to Instagram and refreshed the page—and her eyes widened at the first picture that popped up.

Callie, a bright smile on her face as she posed in a helmet at the very same indoor go-kart track from Cash’s story.

“Are you shitting me?”

“There you are.”

Alex nearly dropped her phone on her face at the sound of Kenny’s voice. He gave her an amused look. “You alright?”

“Yeah…” she started. But she thought better of it and huffed, “No.”

Kenny cocked his head in concern as he sat down on the edge of the lounger next to her. “What’s wrong?”

Alex let out a sound that was half sigh, half groan. The last thing she wanted to do was to complain to Kenny about Callie and Cash, of all people. But if she couldn’t talk to him about it, who could she? “I’m just frustrated with the whole Callie situation,” she breathed.

She glanced at him from underneath the bill of her baseball cap. He frowned sympathetically at her. “I know, baby. But you didn’t hit her on purpose. If she doesn’t believe that it’s her problem.”

“It’s not just that,” she interjected. “According to Instagram she’s in Orlando with Cash right now.”

His brow furrowed in confusion when she said that. Alex knew exactly what he was thinking. “I don’t give two shits about Cash,” she assured him. “He can do whatever and whoever he wants. Honestly, I expect bullshit like this from him. But I don’t get where Callie’s head is at. Where the hell does she get off blaming me for ruining her relationship with Adam while she’s off driving fucking go-karts with the guy who stabbed him in the back? It hasn’t even been two weeks since she left him!”

“Because it’s what Callie does,” Kenny blithely returned. “She thinks she’s blameless in everything and doesn’t take accountability for anything. This isn’t the first time she’s shown you that’s exactly the kind of person she is.”

“But we were friends, Kenny! Somehow, we got over all the bullshit and became friends, and then fucking Adam…”

She trailed off, her voice growing thick with emotion, and looked to the ceiling. She didn’t want to get upset. But it was hard not to. She felt betrayed. That was the only word for it.

“Hey.” Kenny put a hand on her bare leg, drawing her eyes back to his. “Do you want my honest advice?”

She nodded.

“Stop wasting your energy on Callie and Adam. They’re not worth it, Alex. You’ve given them so much of your time and effort and what have you gotten in return?”

A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away. She didn’t need to answer him. They both knew the answer. “I know,” she softly agreed. “You’re probably right.”

A corner of his mouth quirked up. “Of course I am.” He leaned over and kissed the side of her head. “I was thinking about ordering sushi for dinner tonight. That always makes you feel better.”

She perked up a bit at that. “Can we get sake, too?”

He nodded. “Yes, I’ll get you sake, too.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

He gave her leg an affectionate squeeze and stood. “Well, I’m gonna go get a workout in. Wanna join me?”

Alex couldn’t help herself. “Is that a euphemism?”

He grinned. “No, despite how much I want to take that bikini off you right now.”

She just playfully rolled her eyes in response.

“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand. “Endorphins will make you feel better, too.”

Alex emitted a dramatic groan as she put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. “Not if you try to kill me like you did last time,” she argued.

“But I always take good care of you afterward,” he said. “That was a euphemism, by the way.”

She returned his smirk. “Yeah, I got it.”

* * * * * * * * * *

To Cash’s credit, the go-karts had been fun—but Callie was more than happy to take the lead on the rest of the day. She’d picked out a restaurant on International Drive for lunch (Cash had groaned and said that was where all the tourists went, to which she’d cheekily replied that she was a tourist), and afterward he’d convinced her to ride the Ferris wheel at ICON Park, where he’d pointed out some of the different areas of the city to her (Callie, who was afraid of heights, had kept a death grip on his arm the entire time). Then, at Callie’s request, they’d driven around some of the neighborhoods so that she could get a better feel for them (“Obviously, I recommend my neighborhood,” Cash had said). Overall, it had turned out to be a good day after all, and Orlando was looking more and more like the place Callie wanted to move.

But, the more time she spent with him, the more she started to wonder how much of that feeling was due to Cash.

“What’re you craving?” he asked as they sat on the couch in his living room.

“You pick,” she returned. Pawla lounged between them, and she reached down to scratch her behind the ears. “I’m honestly still stuffed from lunch.”

“Chinese it is,” he decided, and he pulled out his phone to order. Callie did the same, but to open up Instagram—and she found that Alex was the first person in her stories queue. She stared at the little circle of her profile picture, hesitant. But she was too nosy not to look, so she angled her phone screen away from Cash and clicked.

There were only two pictures in her story. The first showed her in sweat-drenched workout gear lying face-down on a gym room floor with the caption, “@/kennyomegamanx tried to kill me again.” The second was of her smiling in satisfaction in front of a takeout container of sushi. “He made up for it,” the caption read.

“I guess Alex and Kenny aren’t hiding their relationship anymore.”

She froze and glanced at Cash out of the corner of her eye. That was the second time that day she’s put her foot in her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “They’re probably the last two people you want to hear about.”

But Cash shook his head. “I don’t care. They can have each other.”

Callie frowned. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he spoke up again before she could.

“Do you prefer beef and broccoli or chicken?”

She thought for a second. “Beef.”

A few more clicks and he finished putting in the order. “It says it’ll be here in thirty-five minutes,” he said as he stood from the couch. “You want a drink? I have a bottle of The Rock’s tequila, it’s really good.”

Callie’s nose scrunched up. “Do you have vodka?”

“Yeah. You want it on the rocks or mixed?”

“Mixed please.”

He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Callie occupied herself with petting Pawla until he returned with their drinks a few minutes later. “Here you go; vanilla vodka and Coke Zero.”

“Oo, that sounds good,” she said as he handed her the cocktail. She took a sip. He’d made it just right, not too much vodka, not too little.

“So, what’d you think of Orlando?” he asked as he sat back down. “Did I convince you to become my neighbor?”

His choice of words made her stomach flutter again. “I think so. There’s more to do here than in Jacksonville, and a two-hour drive to work is a lot better than a cross-country flight.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I like it. Dax is planning on moving back to Asheville, but I think I’m gonna stay here. It’s grown on me. Plus, I like Disney and Universal Studios too much.”

“Yeah, I definitely want to check those out,” she returned.

“We should plan a weekend,” he smirked. Callie took a sip of her drink to hide her blush.

They fell into silence, and they both turned their attention to the random show Cash had put on the television. But there was something hanging in the air; Callie could feel it. She was about to speak up when Cash beat her to it.

“So, we’ve avoided the topic all day, but I kind of feel like I have to ask now.”

There was no need for him to clarify what he meant. “Matt?” she guessed.

He nodded. She shifted in her seat. “What about him?”

“Well… are you two not together?”

He sounded almost hopeful. She hesitated to respond.

“That was the rumor backstage,” he added.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course it was. But I guess, yeah, at one point it was moving in that direction. But… I actually told him last night that I think we rushed into things.”

“Oh,” Cash said. It was obvious that he expected her to continue, but her confusion over Matt was the last thing Callie wanted to get into right now. So, she deflected.

“There’s something I need to ask you, too.”

Cash arched his eyebrows as he raised his glass to his lips. “That doesn’t sound good,” he joked.

But Callie wasn’t joking. “Why’d you do what you did to Adam?”

He paused to cock his head at her. “What do you mean?”

She shot him a flat look as he took a sip of his drink. “I mean when you stabbed him in the back, Cash.”

Cash made a noise as he swallowed down the tequila. “Damn, not pulling any punches, huh?”

“You didn’t with Adam.”

He looked back at her in surprise. She didn’t waiver. He breathed out again.

“Alright, look,” he started. “I don’t have anything against Adam. I’ve known him a long time. But he and Kenny had what we wanted, and we did what we had to do to get it.”

She rolled her eyes again. That was such a canned response.

“What?”

“You did not have to do what you did,” she returned. “You didn’t have to manipulate him the way you did.”

His eyebrows arched. “Manipulate him? Callie, all we did was point out that Kenny and the Bucks don’t give two shits about him. He did the rest himself.”

“What?”

“I swear.”

“So you didn’t tell him to sabotage Matt and Nick in the gauntlet match?”

“No! He did that because he was upset about you and Matt!”

Callie’s brow puckered in confusion. “What?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He told us at the hotel bar that night that he found out right before the gauntlet match that you were staying with Matt in California, so he retaliated by sabotaging their title shot. Dax and I didn’t have anything to do with that, I promise you.”

The room grew silent as his words sunk in, stunning her. That was exactly what Alex had surmised when Matt had confronted her immediately after the gauntlet match. But Callie hadn’t wanted to believe it, and after FTR had turned on Adam she’d assumed that they’d been the ones to put the idea in his head.

But if Cash was telling her that they hadn’t, then it meant she really was to blame.

“Hey,” Cash softly beckoned. She looked back up at him. His eyes were earnest. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t mean to make it sound like it was. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Callie stared down into her drink, tapping her fingernails on the glass. She appreciated the sentiment, but she didn’t agree. Not really. “Well, technically I walked out him, so…”

She trailed off and took a long drink. She felt like such a bitch. I shouldn’t be here.

“And?” Cash returned, drawing her out of her thoughts. “I’m sure you had good reason to.”

Callie didn’t answer right away, nearly draining her drink. Once she’d had enough, she looked down at Pawla and scratched her head again. “Let’s not talk about it anymore,” she said.

“Done,” he said, and she sent him a tight, grateful smile. “So what do you wanna do? Watch a movie?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. I just have one request.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Anything but Mean Girls.”

* * * * * * * * * *

When Matt arrived at Daily’s Place on Wednesday, he had half a mind to go to Tony and tell him to cancel the mixed tag match. He had no desire to wrestle a match with Callie anymore. To be frank, he didn’t want much of anything to do with her at the moment.

He knew she’d been in Orlando with Cash yesterday. He’d seen her Instagram photo at the go-kart track and hadn’t thought much of it. But not long after, Kenny had texted him.

Hey, did you know Callie is in Orlando with Cash right now?

It had caught him completely off-guard. No? he’d responded. Who told you that?

He’d been more on-edge than he cared to admit while he’d awaited Kenny’s reply. Alex. I guess they posted photos from the same place on Instagram or something.

A quick search for Cash’s Instagram profile—Matt didn’t follow that asshole—had confirmed the claim to be true. It wasn’t a photo, but a Boomerang video on his story that gave it away. It was unmistakably the same indoor go-kart track from Callie’s picture.

I just thought you should know, Kenny had followed up. Matt hadn’t responded. He’d tried to put it out of his mind ever since, but he couldn’t. He kept going back to what Callie had said to him the last time he’d seen her.

This all happened way too fast.

He didn’t disagree; they had moved fast. But what confused him was that Callie had been the one to set the pace, not him. He’d thought she’d wanted everything that had happened between them.

But the way she was acting now made him feel like nothing more than a regret.

“Matt.”

“Hm.” He looked up from his phone at Brandon. He, Nick, and Kenny all stared expectantly at him from across the EVP room.

“Do you want me to film the mixed tag match for BTE?” Brandon asked. His tone that conveyed he was repeating himself. Matt obviously hadn’t heard him the first time.

“Oh, no. Sorry,” he replied, and he looked back down at his phone. He saw the three of them exchange a wary glance out of his peripheral vision. Thankfully, they just left it alone.

“Alright, I’m starving,” Nick announced as he stood from his seat. “You guys coming?”

“Yeah,” Brandon agreed.

“No,” Kenny wearily returned. “I got that interview with JR.”

There was a pause. And then, “Matt?”

He looked up again, this time at his brother. He shook his head. “No. I’m not hungry.”

Nick let out a breath. “Alright,” he said, and he and Brandon went out the door, leaving Matt and Kenny alone. The silence in the room was deafening. But it didn’t last long.

“Have you talked to Callie at all?” Kenny asked. “About the match,” he quickly clarified.

Matt shook his head again. “No. I haven’t talked to her period. Not since Monday.”

There was another beat of uncomfortable silence. Again, Kenny was the one to break it. “Look, about yesterday. I wasn’t trying to—”

“Don’t,” Matt abruptly cut him off. He knew exactly what he was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear it. “I’m glad you told me. Let’s just leave it at that.”

He raised his palms in surrender. “Fine,” he said, and Matt hoped that really was the end of it.

But then Kenny added, “But I think you owe Alex an apology.”

“What?” Matt cut his eyes at him in disbelief. “For what?”

“Oh, come on, you know exactly for what. For the whole reason the mixed tag match is happening in the first place.”

That confused him even more. “The mixed tag match is happening because Trent can’t mind his fucking business.”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “Oh, okay,” he sarcastically returned.

“What?”

“You called Alex a slut, Matt!” Kenny burst. “That’s what led to the mixed tag match! You accused her of putting Hangman up to sabotaging your title shot and you called her a slut for being involved with both me and Cash. But where was Callie yesterday? In Orlando with Cash, even though she’s apparently with you. So yeah, I think you owe Alex an apology.”

Matt sat back, physically stung by Kenny’s words. They hurt because there was more than just a grain of truth in them. But, at the moment, he was too stubborn to hear it. “Oh, so Callie’s the slut now? Is that what you’re saying?”

Kenny expelled an exasperated breath. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“It sure fucking sounds like it is.”

“I’m saying she’s making you look like a fucking idiot.”

They were thrown into silence again, their arguing replaced with quiet, palpable hostility as they sat opposed on either end of the room. Matt’s eyes turned dark. He didn’t need this. Not now. Not from his best friend.

“Fuck you, Kenny,” he spat. He stood and stalked toward the door, and as he gripped the handle he turned back, a cutting remark on the tip of his tongue. But in a moment of clarity, he decided it was better left unsaid. The shoe was on the other foot now. So he just went out the door, suddenly glad that he did have a match. He needed to hit something.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Are you guys going out for Jim’s match?”

Alex glanced across the locker room at Trent, looking for him to answer Chuck’s question. He met her gaze before responding.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We’ll probably stay back here and focus on our match.”

Chuck nodded. “Yeah. I wish it wasn’t mixed tag rules. I’d like to see Alex hand Matt his ass.”

“Oh, she doesn’t even need to touch him to do that,” Trent returned. “Didn’t he train Callie?”

Alex knew he was asking her, but she didn’t look up as she rummaged through her suitcase. “I think so.”

Trent smirked. “So then kicking Callie’s ass will be kicking Matt’s by proxy,” he said. Chuck blinked at him.

“Wow, you actually used that correctly.”

He sucked his teeth. “Fuck off. I know big words.”

“‘Proxy’ is a five-letter word.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Spell it.”

“Are you serious?”

Alex smirked to herself and let them continue to argue while she grabbed the top to her gear and a pair of joggers and went into the bathroom to change. Truth be told, she didn’t want to talk or even think about the match against Callie and Matt. It was a complete one-eighty from a week ago—she’d been aching to kick Matt’s ass then. But now, she just wished the entire situation would go away.

She finished changing and returned to the main area of the locker room. Chuck was still challenging Trent to spell different words. “I’m going to hair and makeup,” she announced over them.

“What gear are you wearing?” Trent asked.

She turned to face him as she pulled on her zip-up hoodie. Her top was a sparkly dark silver-purple with black trim. “This gear. Why?”

“Because we should try to match. I knew I should have brought the gear from Fyter Fest…” he trailed off as he dug through his things and pulled out his dark gray tights with the blue and pink designs. “Do these work?”

Alex gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, those work. I’ll ask Stella to do a blue and pink eye look,” she said, and she went out the door.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get ten steps before she ran into Adam.

He slowed to a stop when he saw her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she returned, and her brow puckered with concern as she looked him over. He had his ubiquitous glass of whiskey in hand, but he at least looked better than he had when she’d seen him at the hotel on Sunday. “Going somewhere?”

He looked confused at that. “No… why?”

She awkwardly fidgeted with the sleeve of her hoodie. “Well, you just look dressed for TV and I didn’t see you on the card tonight. I wasn’t even sure you were here.”

Adam hadn’t said a single word to her since she’d texted him to ask if he was going to the Labor Day party. But she hadn’t said a single word to him since then, either. Because the more she’d thought about it, the more she’d realized how right Kenny was. It was exhausting putting so much effort into a friendship where she wasn’t getting the same effort in return.

“Oh,” Adam regretfully said as he looked down at his pale blue button-up. “Yeah, I just had an interview with Schiavone.”

“Oh,” Alex repeated. “About—”

“Where I go from here,” he interjected. “I said I was still open to tagging with Kenny if he was.”

He laughed wryly to himself and took a sip of his drink. Alex frowned and looked away. Kenny was not open to tagging with him again; she knew that for a fact. But judging by the look on Adam’s face, deep down he knew that, too.

“Where are you headed?”

She looked back up at him. “Oh, hair and makeup. For the match tonight.”

Realization dawned in his eyes. And then, sadness and hurt. “Oh, right. You have the mixed tag against Matt and Callie.”

“Yeah.” Alex fidgeted and glanced away again. She couldn’t bear the look on his face. But then she wondered: did he know that Callie had been in Orlando with Cash yesterday? Should she tell him?

No, she quickly decided. It’s not your place or responsibility.

“Well, I should get over there,” she said, gesturing in the direction of hair and makeup.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded as she started walking. “Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks,” she said, and she turned and hurried off as quickly as she could.

* * * * * * * * * *

In the years since she’d started wrestling, Callie had never felt as much of an outcast as she did now. As soon as she’d arrived at the arena with Cash, she’d realized she had nowhere to go. The EVP room was out of the question, and she didn’t want to go back to sharing a dressing room with Britt—she was the one who’d blabbed her business all over Daily’s Place to begin with. Cash had offered for her to share with him and Dax, but she’d turned him down; she could only imagine the rumors that would start if people noticed her sharing a locker room with FTR. No, she needed to keep a low-profile, and so she’d found an empty room away from everyone else. Now, she sat in one of the lounges watching the show as she awaited her match, alone.

Orange Cassidy had just beaten Angelico with the Orange Punch. Callie had expected Best Friends and Alex to be at ringside for the match, but they weren’t. She looked away from the TV and down at her phone as Bryce Remsburg raised Orange’s arm in victory, but a commotion a moment later redrew her attention. Santana and Ortiz had attacked Orange from behind. The assault didn’t last long, however, as Chuck and Trent ran out and chased them off like a pair of guard dogs. Callie couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Trent angrily paced the ring, shirtless in his skinny jeans. She sincerely hoped Matt would get a quick pin on him in their match.

Chuck grabbed a mike to speak, but Callie’s phone buzzed in her hands and she looked down at the screen. It was a text from Cash.

Are you free? I need a favor.

Her pulse picked up a bit as she unlocked her phone to respond. Yeah… what’s up? she typed back and hit “send.” She watched as the typing bubble appeared and, soon after, his answer.

Don’t laugh. I can’t decide on a shirt.

Despite his request, Callie couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. But she couldn’t blame him too much; FTR was having an in-ring celebration in honor of their championship victory at All Out that night. He probably wanted to look his best.

Usual room? she asked as she stood to leave.

Usual room, he replied, and she headed off in the direction of FTR’s dressing room.

The door was slightly open when she arrived, and she knocked to announce herself before she let herself in. Cash stood alone in the middle of the room in a pair of dark navy slacks and socks, shirtless. Callie’s mouth went suddenly dry as he looked over at her.

“Okay, I can’t decide between these two.” He motioned to a pair of dress shirts hung up in the cubby behind him—one white with tiny blue dots, the other with a subtle blue and white checkered pattern. She walked over and pulled them both out of the cubby so that she could hold them up next to him. He smirked at her as she studied them. She did her best to ignore it.

“This one,” she decided, handing him the checkered shirt. But she frowned as she returned the white shirt to its place. “Are those the only dress shoes you have?” she asked, nodding at the pair of black square-toed loafers on the floor.

“Yeah…” Cash slowly returned. “Why? Is something wrong with them?”

It took every fiber of Callie’s being not to blurt out with, “Yes, they’re hideous.” Instead, she said, “Just brown would look better with navy, is all.”

“Oh,” he realized. “I guess I should have asked your advice before we left this morning.”

She smirked. “Is that all you needed?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he answered as he pulled on the shirt. Callie watched as he fastened the buttons, and she realized she was staring. She fidgeted and looked awkwardly away, but Cash didn’t seem to notice. “Are you ready for your match?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Physically, yes. Mentally… not at all.”

He snorted. “Make Matt do all the work. He’s the one who dragged you into this.”

Callie anxiously bit her lip. He wasn’t wrong; of the four of them in the mixed tag, she was the only one who hadn’t been present when the match was made. But even so, she couldn’t do that to Matt. “No, I don’t want to do that. And besides, Matt didn’t ask for the match, either—Trent did. All because he didn’t like Matt mouthing off about Alex.”

Cash rolled his eyes as he tucked his shirt into his pants. “That doesn’t surprise me. I think he has a thing for her.”

She scoffed. “You think he does? Please, it’s obvious he does,” she said. And then she muttered, “It seems like everyone has a thing for her.”

“Not me,” Cash abruptly announced. “I’ve moved on.”

Callie looked up at him, but he turned away to grab his suit jacket. She wondered if he had more to say—it felt like he had more to say—but before she could ask the door to the locker room opened and Dax walked in. He halted when he saw her.

“Oh, hey, Callie. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

He glanced between her and Cash. They both quickly shook their heads. “No, I just asked her to come help me pick out a shirt,” Cash said.

“Ah,” Dax nodded. Callie didn’t miss the little smirk on his face. It was her cue to go.

“Well, I’ll go so you can get dressed,” she said to Dax as she started to leave.

“Good luck if I don’t see you before your match,” Cash returned, and she gave him a tight smile and went out the door.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex’s hands were clammy as she stood at Gorilla with Trent. The mixed tag match was next. Unfortunately, it was right after FTR’s joke of a tag team championship celebration. She did her best to tune out Dax’s egotistical blathering as she rolled her neck and loosened up. She needed to focus. A match was a match, and even though she wasn’t looking forward to this one, she still wanted to do her best.

“You ready for this?” Trent asked.

She looked up at him and nodded. “Yeah. Are you?” she meaningfully returned. She still couldn’t believe that he and Chuck had challenged Santana and Ortiz to a parking lot brawl next week. On top of worrying that they’d murder each other, she was concerned that Trent’s focus was no longer on their match.

“Yes,” he assured her. “Don’t worry about me.”

Alex smirked. “Man, have I got bad news for you next week.”

He gave her a crooked smile; but then his eye was drawn to a spot just past her shoulder. She turned to look. Matt and Callie had arrived.

Trent scoffed. “They don’t match at all. Losers.”

Normally, Alex would have laughed. But it was obvious even in the dim lighting of Gorilla that Matt and Callie’s gear wasn’t the only thing off about them. Callie in particular seemed unsure of herself. Her eyes met Alex’s. She turned away without a second glance.

Back in the ring, the “celebration” came to a screeching halt when Jurassic Express dumped a cooler full of beer cans over Cash, Dax, and Tully’s heads. Thankfully, they returned backstage a different way than through the entrance tunnels.

Alex drew in a breath and shook out her arms and legs as the show went to commercial. But it seemed like no time had passed at all when she heard the distinctive beat of the Best Friends theme song sound throughout the arena.

“Let’s do this,” Trent said as he held out his fist to her. She bumped it confidently with her own, and they walked into the tunnel together.

* * * * * * * * * *

A boulder settled in the pit of Callie’s stomach as she watched Alex and Trent disappear down the entrance tunnel. She didn’t know why she’d expected Alex to be just as nervous as her. On the contrary, she’d looked laser-focused; her and Trent both had. It was glaringly obvious that they were ten times more prepared for this match than she and Matt were. The two of them hadn’t even walked to Gorilla together—they’d just happened to get there at the same time.

“I’ll start the match,” Matt said. “I’ll try to keep your ring time to a minimum.”

Callie looked at him in hurt and confusion. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s obvious you don’t want to do this,” he breathed. “So I’ll just make quick work of Trent and get it over with, alright?”

“SUPERKICK PARTAYYYYYY!”

The opening of the Young Bucks theme interrupted before Callie could say anything. Matt didn’t so much as glance at her before he walked into the tunnel, and she had no choice but to follow him out.

The crowd offered a mixture of boos and cheers as they walked out onto the stage, but Callie couldn’t hear them over the music. She stood awkwardly next to Matt and waited for him to do his signature pose, but he never did. He just glared into the ring at Trent, who glared right back.

BOOM!

The cannons on the side of the stage shot fake $100 bills high into the air, making Callie flinch. She looked back into the ring as the paper money floated down around them. Alex rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to say something to Trent.

She stood stiffly at the top of the stage until Matt moved, and they made their way down the entrance ramp. Trent started jaw-jacking, but Callie tuned him out as she took her place on the ring apron. Matt, however, took the bait; Aubrey had to push him back as they yelled at each other. Eventually, Trent scoffed and turned back to Alex.

“You wanna start?” Callie heard him ask.

But Alex didn’t even get the chance to open her mouth before Matt yelled, “No, we’re starting the match!”

Alex and Trent exchanged a look, but she stepped through the ropes and out onto the apron next to the turnbuckle. Matt removed his leather jacket and tossed it to the floor. Aubrey called for the bell, and the match started.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex didn’t know if Matt was ignoring Callie, if Trent just wanted to beat the shit out of Matt, or if it was some combination of both. But whatever the case, the match had been going on for nearly ten minutes now, and neither of them had even tried to tag in her or Callie. It was aggravating, but at least it worked in her team’s favor. The match had effectively become a singles contest, and Trent had far more experience wrestling on his own than Matt did. That, and his cardio was better. If it continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before they won.

Matt tried to whip Trent toward the ropes, but he reversed it and pulled him into a side headlock. He pivoted toward a corner and charged, running up the turnbuckle to hit a float-over DDT. He went for the pin—but Matt kicked out at two. Afterward, both men remained still on the mat, taking what chance they could to catch their breath. Alex eagerly stepped up onto the bottom rope and banged on the turnbuckle. She wanted in.

“Trent! Tag me in!”

She leaned into the ring, reaching as far as she could, and he looked over at her. But just as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, Matt hit him with a clubbing blow to the back. He grabbed him by the hair and jerked him into a chinlock. It wasn’t a move that Matt typically did. Alex knew it meant he was getting tired.

The crowd started clapping in rhythm for Trent, and Alex stomped her boot on the ring apron in time. Trent wrenched at Matt’s fingers, prying them away from his face. In response, Matt pulled him to his feet and swiftly maneuvered to hit a float-over DDT of his own. Alex bit down on her jaw as she watched him hook his leg. Trent got his shoulder up at two.

Alex stepped back up onto the ropes. She was tired of this. “Why don’t you tag in your partner, huh, Matt?” she taunted. “Worried she can’t beat me?”

Matt glared daggers at her as he climbed to his feet. “I don’t want to subject everyone to having to watch you wrestle,” he spat.

But Alex’s wit was just as quick. “Oh really? You look awfully lost without your little brother out here doing all the work.”

That needled him. She knew it would. But what she didn’t expect was his response.

“Please, you wouldn’t even have a contract if you weren’t on your knees for Kenny every night.”

For a second, Alex was stunned into silence. But then a white-hot rage bubbled up inside her. She ducked through the ropes and charged toward him.

“What’d you say to me?”

“You heard me.”

“Why don’t you say it again.”

“Get out of the ring, Alex!” Aubrey ordered.

“Matt!”

At Callie’s warning cry, Matt instinctively whirled around and dodged—and what happened next seemed to unfold in slow motion.

Trent flew toward Alex like a bullet. He crashed into her and knocked the wind from her lungs, sending her violently back into the turnbuckle. She felt a pop in her right shoulder, and then nothing but searing hot pain.

* * * * * * * * * *

When Trent realized what he’d done, he felt sick.

He hadn’t known Alex was in the ring. That DDT had left him dazed, and he’d been oblivious to his surroundings until he’d spotted Matt with his back turned to him. So he went for a spear. But Matt dodged at the last second. Trent had absolutely no chance to stop himself or correct course, and he rammed full speed into Alex.

He watched in stunned horror as she writhed against the turnbuckle. She clenched her right arm, her face screwed up in pain. She was hurt. He’d hurt her.

“Alex—”

Smack!

He was abruptly cut off by a superkick to the jaw. He crumpled to the mat. Matt dragged him by the ankle further into the ring and pinned him. The count sounded distant and faint.

One.

Two.

Three.

The bell rung. Trent felt Matt throw down his leg as the music started, ringing in his ears. He stared up into the lights, unblinking, while Matt’s arm was raised in victory. He’d hurt her. He’d hurt her and then lost the match.

“Alex,” he said again as he rolled over onto his hands and knees. She was still huddled against the turnbuckle, clutching her arm as Aubrey checked on her. He felt sick all over again.

“Alex.” He crawled over to her and put a hand on her knee. She looked up at him. Unshed tears shined in her eyes. It broke him. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It was an accident—”

“Alex!”

Suddenly, Kenny was in the ring. He practically pushed Trent out of the way as he knelt in front of Alex. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“I think it’s dislocated,” she winced.

Trent looked at her right shoulder. It hung visibly lower than her left. His heart dropped into his stomach.

“Let’s get you to Doc,” he said as he tried to move toward her again.

But Kenny blocked him. “I got it,” he bit. Trent didn’t have it in him to argue.

He watched as Kenny helped her to her feet and ushered her to the ropes; he held them open for her so she could gingerly duck through. As she stepped to the other side, Alex looked back. For a brief second their eyes met. But then Kenny put his arm around her, and she turned away and disappeared into the back.

* * * * * * * * * *

Callie couldn’t stay out there a second longer. She was horrified by what she’d witnessed. The way Matt had taken advantage of Trent’s awful mistake, how he hadn’t hesitated to kick him in the jaw—there’d been a viciousness in his eyes that she’d never seen before. And she didn’t want any part of it.

She stormed off before Aubrey could even raise his arm in victory, marching quickly up the ramp. Kenny nearly bowled her over on his way down to the ring, and she turned to watch as he ran to Alex’s aid. But then she saw Matt coming after her, and she turned back around and hurried through the entrance tunnel.

“Callie!”

She didn’t stop or even glance his way. She just kept walking.

“Callie! What the fuck?”

That got her stop and face him. “Me what the fuck? You what the fuck, Matt? What the fuck was that out there?”

If looks could kill, she was certain she would have been dead on the spot. “Are you serious?” he spat. “I won the match and you just ran off!”

Her eyes darkened. “Well, I didn’t want to be a part of it anyway, right?”

Matt bit down on his jaw. There was nothing he could say to that. She gave him one last glare and turned her back on him again, praying that was the end of it. She just wanted to leave. Alone.

“I want your shit out of my house by the weekend.”

Callie halted. His words were like a knife in the back. They hurt. And suddenly, she wanted him to hurt, too.

She turned around again, her head held high. “That’s fine, because I don’t want to move back to California anymore.”

She held his gaze in defiance. But Matt just laughed, cruel and low. “Let me guess, Orlando with Cash?”

She faltered. He knew about yesterday. But she steeled herself again. “No. I want to move to Orlando for me.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

“That’s the truth!”

“Was all this just a rebound to you?”

If his previous words had been a knife to the back, those were a blow to the gut. Tears sprung to the back of Callie’s eyes. Her voice came out strained. Apologetic. “No. I care about you, Matt. So much that it scares me.”

He laughed again and looked away. “Coulda fooled me.”

She took a step toward him. “Matt—”

“Have fun in Orlando,” he cut her off, and that time it was him who stormed off and left her behind. Alone.

#aew fanfiction #kenny omega fanfiction #cash wheeler fanfiction #matt jackson fanfiction #trent beretta fanfiction #the elite fanfiction #young bucks fanfiction #best friends fanfiction #adam page fanfiction #hangman page fanfiction #hangman adam page fanfiction #ftr fanfiction

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yuzusorbet · 4 years

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Translation of Kikuchi-san's book. A friend shared the earlier parts of the Chinese translation with me, so I decided to start from the beginning. Little Yuzu is too adorable. :))

Chapter 1, part 1. On the balance beam, a special boy.

If there are natural inborn qualities, then for Yuzuru, that would be the "ability to attract people".

Yuzuru came to my clinic for the first time when he was in elementary school 2nd grade; he had sprained his ankle because of jump training. When his ankle healed, he started to come for "torso training class" that I conducted.

The Yuzuru exercising in the gym, and the Yuzuru talking non-stop in the clinic, are like 2 different people.

Firstly, his body movements are completely different from the ordinary child. His body posture is very good, and there is a flow in all his movements..... Perhaps these are also the special qualities of a figure skater.

For example, his running. Usually when children want to run fast, even if the posture is good, the legs will make uncontrolled heavy steps. But Yuzuru ran lightly and rhythmically. And it didn't slow down his speed. The way he ran gave a gentle and graceful feeling, there's always something that draws your attention. "What an interesting little fella," he left a deep impression on me.

But, in my training class, he wasn't so enthusiastic all the time. Although he was working hard at figure skating, he often slackened for training in the gym. Like running with not much power, or being sluggish with exercises, I often had to hold up the shinai (t/n. light bamboo sword for kendo practice) and roar at him. When I did that, Yuzuru would yell, "Waa~~ no!!!!" and start running to escape. Chase battles like this between us were always going on. (t/n. so funny!)

Another area that made me feel "this little fella is really interesting" was during circuit training. This is a way of training by combining a few different items like running, hurdles and simple jumps. It is an effective exercise for the respiratory system, so I often get the children to do it.

That day, the last item was walking on the balance beam.

For Yuzuru with his well-developed motor nerves, he walked across the beam too easily; this was uninteresting to me. "What? You simply walked across? What sport are you training for? Don't you have to show beauty? So do it!" I gave ridiculous instructions like that.

He started to walk on the beam while making figure skating poses. Standing around watching him were some children who were quite mischievous. To be made to do figure skating poses and movements in front of everyone, normally you would feel that you're being made fun of, and feel conflicted.

However, Yuzuru confidently and naturally showed signature figure skating moves in front of his peers. In this sport of figure skating, if you feel embarrassed by the movements or the costume, you will not be able to keep going. Especially for a boy.

But Yuzuru is like the main character that draws attention, in the good sense of the word. And in his posture and movements, there is some power that strongly attracts you.

Watching him do all those skating poses, "Ah this child must really be in love with figure skating, from the bottom of his heart," I thought.

How much do you love what you are doing? Not just for figure skating, but for any situation, that is the best short-cut that leads to progress.

Chapter 1, part 2. Growing kids are "good at making requests"

Yuzuru trained at Konami Sports Club, Izumi Ice Rink (the current Ice Rink Sendai); after training, he came to my clinic, it's something he had to do everyday.

If there was a problem with any part, I would treat that part. If there was no pain anywhere, I would do a massage for him and taping. Besides this, he also participated in the 'Sunday night training' in the gym, so I saw Yuzuru almost every day.

Initially he was quiet and spoke few words, but before I knew it, he had already become very talkative. But most of what he said were related to figure skating.

"Axel is like this, Loop is like that," he would be telling me endlessly as I was treating him. I had no concern for figure skating at all, so I could only say, "I don't understand all these things you are saying!" "Be quiet and receive the massage properly!" But still, he went on and on by himself. From that time, in that child's head was figure skating only.

We saw each other almost daily, but I had never heard him say "I want to play" or "I want to stop skating", these sort of complaints.

When Yuzuru was in lower elementary school, I think because of a large amount of figure skate training and also the thought that it's a girl's sport, he told his family, "I want to play baseball," but he had never said such things in front of me. (*notes by me, not from the book: In his autobiography, Yuzu said whenever he told his parents he felt like playing baseball instead of skating, they always said OK but he himself never made the switch in the end.)

Elementary school students will naturally talk about TV games and manga. But at that time I never heard him talk about these topics. I heard him say he watched TV, so I asked him what programme. Turns out, he was just watching a video of Plushenko's performances. And he watched it over and over again everyday, until the video tape was worn out and could not be played anymore.

Yuzuru came to my clinic after training ended, always at night. I had to extend the opening hours of my clinic. Everyday, my clinic was open until late, waiting for Yuzuru to come over.

"Sensei, tomorrow I will come again after training, is that alright?" requested this 3rd or 4th grade child, looking very apologetic.

If parents asked me this, I could still refuse in some way, but to an elementary school kid, I could only reply, "Okay! I will keep my clinic open and wait for you, just come over."

To a child working hard, I wanted to give a helping hand in any way, I guess it's quite natural to have that thought. And without me realising, I started to look forward to his arrival each time.

From here we can also see, from that young age, Yuzuru was already very good at making requests.

But it was not only Yuzuru who was working hard. From his home to my clinic, he came by car. Bringing him here always, was his father.

And also, I heard from Yuzuru himself, that his mother and sister worked on his figure skating costumes, sewing on glittering crystals one by one, late into the night.

After hearing this, all the more I wanted to support him.

2004 October, All-Japan Novice B Championship that elementary 3rd and 4th grade students participated in (9-10 years old), Yuzuru competed in this for the first time and won the championship. As a skater, he was growing well.

Not only Yuzuru, the children who joined the Sunday night torso training class were all "good at making requests", all full of enthusiasm, they made me want to support them from the bottom of my heart.

(t/n. awww........ Kikuchi-san is really a kind and soft-hearted grandpa.)

Translated by me from a Chinese translation by QuailAries@weibo, much thanks to her. Please consider buying the Japanese book to show your appreciation: HERE. I have just placed my order.

(pic: screenshots from gif by redfar@tumblr)

#Akira Kikuchi #Yuzuru Hanyu #update: I amended some parts after reading the original Japanese book #but no major differences in meaning

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busterkeatonfanfic · 3 years

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Chapter 29, Part I

Buster had hoped that the picture would progress more smoothly back in Culver City. New York had been recreated on Lot Two in no time and was ready for filming by the time he returned to M-G-M on Monday the 30th. He was finding that even without the onerous script, however, he just couldn’t go back to the way he’d done things a few short months before.

When arrived on the set, he hadn’t wanted to get into the scenes of him and the girl right away. Instead, he pulled Bruckman aside and chewed over ways to lead the audience into the story, break the ice a little. Maybe a fussy grande dame carrying too much weight wanted a portrait of her little boy. Buster could see them in his head, the fat lady brushing the shoulders of the kid’s jacket, posing him just so. When she wasn’t looking, the scoundrel would stick out his tongue or thumb his nose. In the meantime, he—that is to say, the photographer—would be growing more and more frustrated with the boy. After being scolded by the lady, who wouldn’t hear that her perfect angel was monkeying around, he would finally take the portrait and show her the result. Upset, she’d blame the kid’s behavior on him. The conversation would get heated, drawing the attention of a drunk panhandler who would ask for his portrait to be done too. After all, his cup was full of pennies, wasn’t it? He could afford it. The lady would object. No, her boy was first in line. There’d be a yelling match between the two, the finely dressed fat woman and the ragged skinny drunk, followed by some shoving, in which Buster became collateral damage when the drunk ducked a punch. The hullabaloo would attract a crowd, and finally a policeman (giving Buster a suspicious look as though he was the cause of it all) would disperse the crowd. Buster would be left on the sidewalk, unpaid for his portrait of the kid and worse off than when he started.

This idea having occurred, he’d called to the crew to get him a fat lady, a kid, and someone who could play a drunk. They just looked at him like he had three heads.

“What’s the big idea?” he’d said.

“C’mere, I wanna word,” Sedgwick had said, frowning over the cigarette between his lips.

They’d gone around the corner until they were out of earshot, then the older man rounded on him. “What in the fuck was that?”

“What in the fuck was what?” said Buster, genuinely baffled.

“All the business of ‘Get me this, I want that.’ You made me look like a damned ass in front of my men.”

“How?” said Buster, astonished.

“By undermining my authority, that’s how. I’m the director. You barking orders makes me look like a spare prick.”

Buster had tried not to gape. He felt his own anger begin to rise. Wanting to keep the peace, though, he’d swallowed and said, “Well, I’m awful sorry. It’s nothing personal, honest, I just never worked another way. It won’t happen again, alright? You have my word.”

Sedgwick’s shoulders had relaxed somewhat and his expression softened. “Thanks. Look, I know it’s got to be tough to adjust, but we do things different. Just watch. You’ll see it’ll get taken care of.”

The scene didn’t get taken care of, despite Sedgwick’s assurances. Buster had stood back chain-smoking and watching calamity unfold. The kid was uncooperative, too green to be anything other than nervous in front of the camera. The fat lady couldn’t seem to understand that the camera couldn’t see the kid when she stood in front of him in all her overproportioned glory. The drunk couldn’t take direction at all, to the point that Buster suspected the drunkness wasn’t an act.

Finally, Sedgwick had thrown up his hands. “This is a disaster. Buster, line these god damn people up and get this fucking shot over with.”

Buster stubbed his cigarette out. “Me?”

Sedgwick had looked pained. “Yes, you. Who else?”

Feeling satisfied inside, Buster had taken over and soon had all parties in line and the scene rolling right along. In the days following, Sedgwick didn’t try to interfere with him and he didn’t try to interfere with Sedgwick, and they grew to like each other. A large man, he had a big appetite and liked to come over to Buster’s half of the bungalow to eat an elaborate lunch cooked up by Caruthers rather than patronize the studio cantine. Buster dubbed him Junior.

Even though Weingarten was up his ass about something every other day, shooting was going alright, too. Maybe it wasn’t the way he was used to working, but at least he’d gotten three-quarters of his control back and could dispense with things like jewel thieves and kidnappings.

As April gave way to May that week, he stayed overnight at the bungalow. On Wednesday he managed to sneak Nelly in. They had to forgo their usual activities beneath the sheets owing to her monthly visitor, but they had a nice dinner of roast lamb and potatoes and tried a few foxtrots in the front room, bumping into furniture because was hardly any room, then Nelly practiced her lines while he smoked and perused the latest pile of newspapers and magazines that Caruthers had left.

On Friday night, he drove back to the Villa. He arrived just in time for dinner, catching Natalie as she passed through the atrium.

“Hello, Nate,” he said. He’d just hung his coat and hat and kicked off his shoes.

“Oh, you’re back in time for dinner,” she said without a smile. He could tell by the way she said it that it was a question in disguise: Why haven’t you been home for dinner?

“Well sure, it’s Friday night. Ain’t filming tomorrow. I’m staying at the bungalow while we’re filming,” he added. “Toldja that.”

“You didn’t,” she said, unsmiling. “You didn’t say you were staying at the bungalow this week.”

He considered his wife’s unhappy countenance and tried to remember if he’d called her on Monday. He’d had dinner with Sedgwick, then there was a bridge game and drinks with some of the M-G-M brass. Sam Goldwyn had been there. Or had that been Tuesday night? He couldn’t remember, and couldn’t remember calling her. “I thought I did. Honest. I got caught up in stuff, I guess,” he said.

“Oh, your card games?” she said, hand on her hip. She looked beautiful, all polish, poise, and elegance. “Maybe with that girl from your picture? Marceline?”

His eyes widened. “Marceline? You mean Marceline Day?” He knew he ought to be used to Natalie’s jealousy by now, but sometimes it flew at him out of the blue and smacked him straight in the face like that baseball last July. He’d hardly filmed a single scene with his newest leading lady, let alone entertained thoughts of seducing her.

“I simply find it incredible you’d forget to call me over a card game.”

“Well, it’s true whether you believe it and I said I’m sorry.” He reached for her arm. “C’mon, let’s not fight about silly stuff.”

“Oh, I agree it’s silly alright,” she said, brushing off his hand. “I didn’t make it so, you did.”

“Nate,” he said. “The kids. C’mon, they’re in the other room for Christ’s sakes.” In an attempt to extinguish the argument, he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed both her cheeks in quick succession. “Please? You’ve got me tomorrow and Sunday. I’ll spend all that time with you. I’m all yours.”

Natalie grimaced. “I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon for Lake Tahoe. With Norma. Don’t tell me you forgot that too.”

“Of course I didn’t,” he lied. He had no recollection of her telling him about Lake Tahoe, though supposed it had been discussed in New York when he was listening with half an ear. “Let’s make the most of tonight then, and tomorrow morning.”

“We’re having veal for dinner,” she said, ignoring his offer.

“Good. I’m hungry.”

It wasn’t much of a truce, but he treated it like one and put his arm through hers and walked her to the dining room.

Natalie went to bed early that night complaining of a headache and was too preoccupied the next day buying new outfits for her trip with Norma to trouble with him. “I’m sorry, but it’s supposed to be warm and we’ve got to have some lighter dresses for the trip,” she’d said just before departing.

He tried to distract himself golfing with Tom Mix, but kept getting stuck on thoughts of his wife like a skip in a record. There had been a time when Nate had loved him and they’d gotten along, he could almost swear by it. He’d once spent hours with her mother and sisters, not resenting them for taking up Natalie’s time and attention. Rather, he had been glad to be in their midst even though Peg had never made a secret of the fact that she didn’t think him good enough for her middle daughter. It had been easy then to love the people who loved Natalie.

There had also been a time when Nate and him had talked about more than the children, kissed in more than a perfunctory way, and shared more than just a house and money. To this day he couldn’t understand why it wasn’t that way between them anymore, couldn’t remember when they’d begun to drift apart. He was pretty sure she had still loved him when they’d moved into the Villa. When had she stopped? Why had she stopped?

Tom would bring him back to reality at intervals, reminding him that it was his turn to put. He’d forget about Natalie for a couple minutes, but the needle would return to the beginning of the groove and he’d start worrying all over again. If only if he just—maybe if he just …

That night, he got roaringly drunk at Marion Davies’ party, not bothering to see Natalie off at the train station when she left late in the afternoon.

The Villa was vacant the following day, his sons having been kidnapped by Constance and all the servants but Caruthers dismissed until Monday. Their benevolent mistress had decided they could do with a little holiday as a treat. Tired of fretting about Natalie, he drank some black coffee to tame his headache and called Nelly afterward.

Note: I know you’re all sick of waiting, so I decided to publish Chapter 29 into two parts. The second part will likely be longer. Sorry I’m so busy, but 🤷‍♀️

#buster keaton #fan fiction #actor rpf #golden age hollywood #silent film

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darkpoisonouslove · 3 years

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Winx Club Season 8 Thoughts Part 2

Well, this is it. Last part of the last season (that has come out) and I haven’t even watched any of it (though, I have heard things). Part 1 can be found here.

8x14:

- Why is this opening with a concert scene when literally the second to last scene in the previous episode was a musical number? At least there was that cute Stella and Brandon moment after to make up for it.

- This is actually a legitimate issue but I do not expect the show to handle the fact that Sky has clashing responsibilities on his shoulders well. They’re already implying that it’s more important for him to be a Specialist rather than a prince and that is not true. Eraklyon will suffer without a good king. Though, on the other hand... how good a king would Sky be? Maybe this is better, after all. At least someone actually interested in doing the job can take over.

- They legit made Erendor a lot thinner than he originally was? And somehow ruined his design also. As well as Diaspro’s. Ugh, why is there gonna be drama with her again????????????????? How many times?!?!?! For fuck’s sake! Just let it end!

- Seriously? They’re all blaming Stella for Bloom’s gloom? Stella has the right to talk about her own relationship as well. And when the fuck have Musa and Riven ever talked? Not to mention that now Riven is trying to communicate with her but she doesn’t even want to give him a chance!

- Valtor has become more cringe than he used to be. At least the Trix seem to have become smarter. We didn’t need him to tell us who they were, however. Also, why does he think that they will not use the star for themselves.

- His new powers literally come from stolen star energy and he just said that stars are made from the sparks that witch and fairy magic are also made of. Aka his magic should be compatible with that of Winx and the Trix as well.

- Oh, great! Now they belong to him. They really didn’t have to make season 8 Valtor a Darkar 2.0 and yet, they thought it was a good idea. I just... nggggggh!

- The Wishing Star... is a woman? And wait, what... They’re saying that Valtor is over a 1000 years old now? Yeah, ‘cause a 1000-year-old sorcerer/demon will totes lose against a bunch of high-schoolers. Makes fucking sense.

- How did Stormy summon an asteroid field?

- What... the hell just happened? Don’t tell me the Star made herself fall apart in the different colors of the color spectrum and they’ll need to gather all of them in the stupid star-shaped box!

- Twinkly is back on Lumenia? Did we really need her back? And why is the star-shaped box chasing her?

- If I were Sky, I probably would be scared to tell Bloom that it is Diaspro texting. She can have terrible reactions to just the thought of Diaspro. Though, to be fair I have no idea why Sky keeps speaking to Diaspro. He has every right to just cut her off completely after what she did in seasons 3 and 6.

- Brandon, you know very well who Diaspro is! And no, I don’t care that they are giving a really crashing crash course to the new audience. This is terrible! Also, you have to love how Sky didn’t even think about calling Erendor to ask about the mission. He just took Diaspro’s word for it. Because she is sooooo trustworthy.

- I was almost right. Instead of colors they are going to be collecting Prime Stars instead. I still got the right idea, though. It is a bit... lame.

- Enchantix looks a lot less elegant and a lot more... second-hand fabric sewn together poorly. Also, I hate the fact that they had the transformation song from the first movie and not the original. And they basically used the same sequence as the one for Sirenix but they are only popping their Enchantix on instead.

- “I didn’t think it would be so easy.” Same! Finding that Compass was the easiest thing ever and it doesn’t matter that things will get heated now that the Trix are here because the Compass didn’t pose a challenge of its own.

8x15:

- I am living for the dramatic opening of this episode.

- Why aren’t the rest of Winx covering Bloom so that she can grab the Compass? Five against the Trix should be enough for her to take it.

- Really? You can’t figure out who freed them? I love that they told Bloom to ask herself. That was great!

- I was getting excited that Valtor showed up but it was just an illusion of Darcy’s. Anyway, the question that came to me involves the Trix as well so... How come they followed Winx in the box since Winx needed to use Enchantix to miniaturize?

- So it turns out that it wouldn’t have been so easy to take the Compass even though it looked that way in the beginning.

-Tecna!!!!!!!!!!!! What Musa is hearing is the key to getting the Compass, you idiot! It is important and not something to leave for later!

- They’re just gonna chase after it without paying attention to what the voice told them? Fucking amazing! And Bloom is sending her Dragon after it? I am so glad that this is not working!

- Lmaooooo @ Layla catching Bloom in a baseball glove. XD

- Why are they so fucking dumb? The whole thing is controlled by the notes Musa heard SINCE IT’S A FUCKING MUSIC BOX, NOT LIKE THERE’S MUCH TO IT! and they just need to figure out the pattern. That’s what they were told. “Only the one who listens” Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- I love the spells they’re using, though. They seem to be more creative with their powers here and it is actually interesting enough to distract from their zero comprehension skills and abilities to make deductions.

- Oh, I love the balance thing in the labyrinth! And the Compass hitting Icy on the head was just priceless! But why are you so rude to Stormy, Icy? Don’t be like that.

- Yes, you will make the same mistakes because you are still not FUCKING listening goddammit!!!!!!!!!

- Oh, come on! Don’t tell me Bloom will be the one solving this!

- Good! It was actually Musa that fixed the whole thing. I still cannot make sense of the musical theme of this challenge in-verse but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be so I’m gonna close my eyes for that.

- Why didn’t they try to capture the Trix or something? They just let them go.

- Arken got this right in no time at all and knew it had been Valtor who had freed the Trix. Why is he the only one thinking?

- Is Valtor really going to try to pit the Trix against each other once again? God, please, tell me that they will not be falling for that this time! It is ridiculous!

- Why would Wizgiz be in a trashcan? And they just destroyed the entire classroom looking for him while I suspect he is actually truly just running late... Yep, got that right.

- Don’t tell me Bloom will see Sky with Diaspro at Red Fountain! He’s supposed to be on a mission, not at school!... Oh, good. He’s not there. But why is Bloom weeping? He is on a secret mission! It may endanger the job, him or anyone that knows anything to reveal details! Can she just not be a baby for 3 seconds?

8x16:

- HE’S ON A MISSION! HE MIGHT BE TIED UP!!!!!!! CHILL FOR A FEW MINUTES!!!

- Diaspro is actually climbing? She could just fly! But I guess they didn’t want to draw her fairy form. Don’t tell me they’re retconning her being a fairy! I will smack someone if that’s true!

- She legit threw herself off the rocks just to make sure Sky wouldn’t text Bloom? Crazy much? What if he hadn’t managed to catch you? Girl, you need some perspective! Sky is so not worth this.

- Griffin looks and sounds horrible. And why the actual hell is she exactly as tall as Faragonda?!?!?!?! She used to be half a head taller!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Disguise? You call that disguise? You changed your goddamn hair color!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And what is worse - IT ACTUALLY FUCKING WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did Stella not recognize them? You’d think that she will when she is supposed to be such an expert on fashion and makeovers! And this didn’t even have magic involved in it! (they could have changed their hair without magic is what I’m saying)

- Wait, they actually extended the Cosmix song? Is that new or did I just not notice because I’ve been skipping the transformation sequence?

- I LOVE Griffin and Faragonda’s opening! They are both showcasing the fact that they’re opposites and also being the dramatic bitches that they are and I am so here for it! Yes, this is everything I have wanted (if only it could have been in the old art style).

- The plants won’t speak to Flora? I actually like the fact that they have to work all together AND it is not convergence! This is more like it!

- No! I don’t want the Trix fighting because of Valtor again!

- Why is Stormy playing twister? XD But I love the implication that there are different tests given to anyone who enters but they all require teamwork! That is awesome! Just, please, make something good with it!

- I just thought that Winx were really gonna beat the Trix with a lot this time but it turned out they are not paying attention to their colors! This is kinda like the finale of season 2, except it doesn’t feel as dumb for some reason. Maybe because Stella is just as useful as everyone else.

- Another game? I actually like this? There is the need for logic to be applied here.

- I wish the Trix would just stop fighting! Well, it’s just Icy and Darcy. Stormy is being calm and thinking! I honestly thought that their portal would close while they were fighting but it sucked them in instead.

- They’re gonna be having more fun with the spheres again. Just like with the Compass, I have a feeling there is a catch here.

- Wait, what did Darcy do? Weren’t they supposed to work together? How did she figure that out on her own? That didn’t make sense but okay.

- I love how Valtor is actually gonna fuck himself over because he is trying to make the Trix fight but in order to find the Prime Stars they’ll need to collaborate. This is some delicious irony!

- And Winx found it!

- If I were Diaspro, I would actually have a fake map at the very least instead of a heart of me and Sky on the parchment. If he takes one look, he’ll know she’s deceiving him!

8x17:

- They’re having a test about their biggest insecurities in the episode in which they’ll be looking for the Prime Star of Confidence? And why are these things always about Stella? The Gem of Confidence back in season 5 was also on Solaria and she was the one to get it. Also, I am not thrilled about the fact that they will be pushing each star on a single girl from now on since there are six more to get after the first one that they had to get through teamwork.

- Musa’s biggest insecurity is making mistakes? They could have done something that would speak about why she is so unwilling to get back with Riven but no. Instead Bloom’s biggest insecurity is about Sky because of course it is! God forbid she has something else on the brain!

- Why are we doing the Stella and her parents’ divorce again? And in the exact same old way we have already seen it back in seasons 1 through... about 5? Issues evolve! They could have put a new spin on it!

- How is making a dress going to solve this?

- At least Stella asked for help after she figured out she can’t do it on her own! And I always love seeing Tecna and Stella moments! Stella and Musa are good too!

- We’ve seen that dress already. Stella wore it in season 6. Come on, writers!

- Ah, I see. Stella is trying to please both her parents and is not being herself aka not being confident. Fucking fantastic.

- I think Stella and Stromy passed because they were the first ones to do so and the challenge accepted them as contenders. So now they are separated form the rest because they have to handle it on their own.

- Awww, poor Stella! I think that kids of divorced parents are not the only ones that can relate to her problems! This is so heartbreaking!

- I am getting some bad vibes from Stormy over here, though... Oh. No. She actually totally rocked this because she has confidence in herself and her sisters! That was pretty awesome!

- Woooooo, the Trix actually got the second star? And they left with it?! They are actually making this interesting????? I cannot believe it!

- I absolutely love how both Winx and Stella’s parents showed her how much they love her. And Luna and Radius are not fighting! *wipes away tear* Beautiful!

8x18:

- Bloom is so not here. And Palladium really chose her even though she is distracted after Stella would injure herself because she was so eager to do the potion? Fuck you, show!

- Well, he got what was coming for him! XD And Stella got the last word. Yes, I stan that!

- Damn! I’d completely forgotten about Twinkly. And I could have had that continuing but they had to bring her back.

- If Bloom doesn’t lose her shit over the unicorns and finally stops thinking about Sky, I will be so mad. They already gave her the unicorn obsession! They are obliged to put it to good use at the very least!

- Aaaaand cringe! They had to bring back “starsome” as well.

- Oh, god. They really retconned the fact that Diaspro is a fairy, didn’t they? Otherwise, why would they give her a gadget to fly? Also, please, don’t tell me that they’re at the same place that the Winx are.

- Well, the unicorn lumens seem to imply that they’re at the same place that Bloom and the Winx are.

- See? This is why you need an actual fake map instead of just a doodle of you and Sky! Now he found out! Love how it took him a while to grasp the fact that there is no medallion as well. And wasn’t that a pendant the first time they spoke of it?

- I honestly thought he would let the lumens handle Diaspro but he didn’t. I can’t say if I’m disappointed or impressed. Or kinda both.

- At least Winx missed Diaspro and Sky and the drama that would have started. Thank everything sacred!

- So that’s what Twinkly was for. To make sure Winx don’t have to fight the other lumens. But the Trix will probably have to so that will give Winx an advantage. Just don’t tell me this will stretch for over an episode.

- I loved the way Layla was holding Stella bridal style... right until she threw her to the ground. Dammit, Layla! Be a little more patient! You know how Stella is. And you don’t have to risk breaking all her bones!

- Well, what luck that there are exactly six unicorns. I would be a little worried about Stella’s outfit because that is what allows her to travel through space. So what if it doesn’t work when it’s damaged? But damn, they’re really trying to stretch this to take up two episodes! After they retconned Stella already being a cowgirl as we’ve seen in season 1.

- Poor Stella! She has a fear of heights and her unicorn seems to be an asshole for no reason.

- Why are Sky and Diaspro still there? At least Sky is actually not letting her get away with everything just like that this time. But Diaspro’s arguments are stupid.

- THAT’S “him”? A black uni-pegasus? It looks evil but it probably isn’t. *sigh* And why didn’t Sky just fly up when he faced that rock? It would have ended eventually and he could have passed above it!

- Oh, come on! The drama will be in the next episode and that is why they were stretching out this one? W.H.Y?????? Also, how is Sky flying in the synopsis for the next ep if he broke his flying gadget? Don’t tell me he actually gets Diaspro’s and they leave her there to sulk while they go get the star? (That might actually be the one good thing coming out of all this.)

8x19:

- Of course, Bloom would fly right into Diaspro! (Well, Diaspro was screaming for help but still).

- What happened with Sky? The black unicorn was about the blast him into oblivion at the end of the previous episode but now he somehow got away? And how did Diaspro get there as well? He left her on a much smaller rock island.

- Well, of course, the black unicorn isn’t evil even though he’s just been trying to kill two people. Didn’t I tell you so?

- Ah, so Tecna fixed Sky’s gadget. I thought that would be the other option to fix it.

- I was just gonna say that the horn of the black unicorn looked chipped. Poor guy. They actually made it understandable that he was so mad.

- And Bloom is absolutely exploding. I can understand that she would be angry Sky didn’t tell her and hid the truth from her. But that was not what she was mad about. She was mad that he even WENT on the mission which is stupid because, for all she knows, it could totally be an official mission ordered by his father.

- I knew it! I knew the black unicorn would pick Diaspro. Except, I have zero idea why the hell he would do that. Why, after being hurt? Diaspro is not the most polite person and he saw that for himself. Wtf, writers? I could understand it if Diaspro had been like she was in season 2. But this?!?!?!?! And that was just,.. there? Like, there was nothing more to it. Just a loose end. We didn’t even get to see what happened with Diaspro.

- At least Bloom and Sky are actually talking about the hiding things issue. I have to say, though, that I can’t fully support Bloom because Sky is right. She freaks out over just hearing Diaspro’s name which, again, would have been a totally reasonable reaction considering Diaspro brainwashed Sky if they hadn’t COMPLETELY IGNORED THAT FACT AND PRETENDED IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED. Bloom is not mad because of how much Diaspro has hurt them both but because she doesn’t believe Sky will keep choosing her if Diaspro is around. And this is an issue SHE has to work on.

- The Trix are still bickering. But at least they look a lot more competent in this season. But did they all really think that Stormy wouldn’t have her dramatic ass entrance? If I could summon thunderstorms, I definitely would for making my entrance. Just saying.

- Layla’s morphix bubble was so powerful! I love!

- Wait, Sky and Icy will be fighting for the Prime Star while Bloom was left looking at them disappearing after she stopped her own fall like she should be able to do instead of having to be saved despite being able to fly? Wow. This is getting interesting.

- I should have known they would fuck it up! They should have left Sky and Icy to fight it out instead of having Bloom go in there and “trust” Sky to get himself out of a cage that wasn’t even closing in on him? She could have just went after Icy and freed him after she was done. There was no immediate danger for him. There was no reason for their great trust.This scene had so much damn potential and they wasted all of it. Great going!

- Why is there a musical number when the only public is the landscape (okay, and the lumens and unicorns)? This was so unnecessary. We got it that they trust each other now. Stop driving nails in our heads.

8x20:

- Dammit! I thought that they would head to Linphea right after the unicorn realm. But they’re back at Alfea? And since when is Griselda teaching about plants? That was always Palladium’s job! Wtf?!?!?!

- You’d think they already know all of this about plants considering that Butterflix was a GODDAMN NATURE TRANSFORMATION!

- Griselda is cutting them slack because of saving the universe? Yeah, right.

- How long will Stormy keep bragging about getting the Prime Star? They act like that’s the only thing she ever did. Also, why is she so hung up on being the one to bring Valtor the Prime Star? Her test was legit about her standing up to him (which went over too easily considering Valtor is supposed to have control over them since he even put his mark on them but that did not appear in the vision for a second in order to make it actually complex or something).

- Well, Miele looks younger than she used to in season 7 but they didn’t totally reverse her back into a kid. Yet, it’s stupid that they are still having the argument of “this is too dangerous for you” after season 7 and her saving them. Besides, Flora should know damn well that Miele will follow. She always does! It’s like the writers have no idea who Miele is if they aren’t having her following secretly and proving that it is not too dangerous for her to go.

- They can’t use magic in the forest? Come again? This is such bullshit. It has never been the case on Linphea. I hate it.

- Why do they have to do ballet to open a stupid gate? But I love the fact that Darcy made illusions of them to perform the dance and let the Trix pass as well. She was using her head. And her magic in a really cool way. Plus, it would have been OOC to have the Trix dancing ballet. Can you imagine? XD

- So we’re learning to plant seeds and water flowers? Since when is this one of those shows that are for ages 0-3?

- Is that... a carnivore radish or something? And yeah, Flora, that totally doesn’t look aggressive!

- When is Flora gonna stop treating Miele like she’s three after all the times she’s proven herself (I don’t care if this is a soft reboot)? Though, Miele would have been more convincing if she hadn’t thrown a tantrum and then started crying much like toddlers do.

- Of course, Darcy will use Miele. That was so damn obvious. Love how Miele didn’t even get to transform. Honestly, at this point I am not even sure whether I want Winx or the Trix to get this Prime Star. They’re all being annoying and I don’t care enough for either side to root for their victory.

- Now you’re taking Miele with? When she can’t move? Fucking sound logic!

- Ooh, I guessed that that was actually Darcy disguised as Miele a few seconds before she revealed herself. But if I were Flora, it might have been enough to regain the advantage.

- Darcy just left Miele sleeping out there in the forest? Not that evil. She could have done something much worse.

- What, Layla? Like none of you ever got tricked?

- They are really playing it as if this was Miele’s fault? Man, this season is really starting to waste opportunities which is really annoying because they actually have interesting premises. They just need to do better during the execution.

- At least I hope that Stormy will shut up about recovering a Prime Star now that Darcy has done the same. Ironic how Icy is the only one that hasn’t managed yet. But I suppose that she will also recover one for a 3 on 4 with Winx and a final battle turned cooperation for the usage of the Prime Stars.

8x21:

- At least Griselda is back to self-defense classes. Though, why the hell is she teaching them deflection spells? They should know those already! They had that lesson in season 2! And why are Knut and Kiko assisting her? Kiko has been sidelined with Knut all season! It feels like he’s not Bloom’s bunny anymore!

- Why does this show hate Kiko so much and has him getting hurt all the time? At least Bloom caught him when he got catapulted. But poor Griselda. I have to say that this is her most OOC moment yet. And she even let them go again. She didn’t have to end the entire class, though. She could have kept going with the rest of the students but once again, the world revolves around Winx.

- You want Riven to SHOW his feelings? Which he has been doing ever since he came back so, like, ALL FUCKING SEASON?!?!?!?! WOW. Fuck you, Musa!

- Whyyyy did they think the Trix wouldn’t show up on Melody? But I am glad we skipped the obligatory Valtor scene because it is unnecessary.

- Galatea doesn’t look too much like herself.

- Bullshit. Stella made them much better outfits when they went to Magix in season 3. And there were other designs that were better than these that, frankly, look pretty bland.

- Sooooo... Musa, the fairy of music, isn’t going to be in the dance competition? Are they trying to level up things? And are you seriously telling me that the Trix are going to dance? Ugh, what the hell?!

- Awwwww, look at Riven! He really wants to try and he is even opening up to the guys about his relationship problems. I love it! Idk what Musa’s stupid problem is.

- This dance competition is so dead. You can only hear Galatea. The public isn’t cheering. But aww, at Bloom catching Stella when she got yeeted off the dance floor. That was really cute.

- I guess competitiveness can make even the Trix dance. It doesn’t change the fact that the competition is still fucking dead! And their dancing feels so arhythmical and slow. The music is fucking dull and practically non-existent.

- Ho-boe doesn’t feel like himself either. And doesn’t the house look so different as well? Also, did they ever do anything that doesn’t involve music? I know they’re a musical family but they must have done something else as well!

- Tecna is killing it! But Stormy’s abundance of energy seems to give her a big advantage here. Though, I still love how confident Tecna was! I have to say that this would have been absolutely epic if the music had been intense enough to match their moves. Why did they have to do these scenes so dirty by barely having any tune to them?! If I’m watching a dance competition, I want it to be good!

- Musa and her dad are talking about Riven? And there is a Riven and Darcy confrontation?!?!?!

- Scratch that! They fucked it up in 0.3 seconds! Are you serious? This is literally Riven and Darcy’s first meeting ever since they broke up in season 1 and THIS is how it goes?! She hypnotizes him to use against Musa?!?!?! I hate this! At least let this be the end of their stupid drama.

- Why did the synopsis of the next episode instantly spoil that Stormy will win the fifth Prime Star? You just revealed all the surprise there will be next ep! Man, they really don’t know how to advertise, do they? Also, this dance battle is really stretching over two episodes?

8x22:

- Now all I wanna do is write a fic in which Darcy gets really violent and there are heavy consequences after Riven’s fight with Musa.

- Wait! “...rough and soothing combine artfully and that perfect sound will yield the Star of Harmony”? And the harp that Ho-Boe says needs to be played by two people? That’s gonna be Musa and Riven, isn’t it? And they’ll get the star which will be the twist and that is why they spoiled Stormy wins in the teaser at the end of the last episode.

- Thank you, Musa! It took you long enough! He is so obviously spelled. Though, I kinda love how Darcy was there like “You can’t resist”. This could be so dark if it weren’t a kids show. And now I wanna write it!

- Dammit, Musa! You have your stupid Enchantix in this season! Use your goddamn fairy dust! Or any other kind of magic! And you’re really so damn surprised that it is Darcy?! It was obvious!

- That was the big idea? That Riven is “finally” proving his feelings by refusing to hurt her? Gee. And that’s how the battle between Riven and Musa and Darcy is going to go down? With some stupid formless monsters?

- Well, of course, Bloom beat Icy. But I suspect that Layla is gonna lose against Stormy so it doesn’t matter much.

- You’re now starting to get used to fighting alongside Riven even though he’s been gone a year and they were together for 4 years before that and fought together for about 5-6 years? Really? And that was the big battle with Darcy? They all had about 3 movements!

- Why is Bloom still in this? They should have given us Layla vs Stormy! We know Layla is the best at dancing (or tied with Musa).

- Why doesn’t Ho-Boe know how they met? They used to date for years before Riven left!

- When have you ever felt harmony in your relationship, Riven? Don’t start lying now! And why does he know how to play the harp? I saw this coming but it still kinda doesn’t make sense!

- Finally! The Layla vs Stormy dancing duel we deserved! And the music is more lively now! At last!

- Oh, come on! That’s how Stormy beat Layla?! By distracting her?!?!?! I wanted it to be a fair fight. And why the hell is there goo or jello or whatever falling on Layla? This is terrible. You wouldn’t catch me taking part in that dancing contest. Not to mention that they competed in vain. Although, it was a nice touch to have them misinterpret the riddle.

- Okay, but Riven is definitely not the rough part in that “rough and soothing” combo. He has been nothing but amazing all season while Musa has been pouting and whining!

- The sad thing is that the Trix would have gotten the star if Stormy hadn’t blabbed to Layla where Darcy was. But her cheating came back to bite her in the ass.

- It would have been nice if Musa had saved Riven instead of having Bloom melt him.

- Oh, Riven is a part of the band now? But seriously, will we ever see them talking? Like, actually communicating which is always where their problems lie? Of course not. Why would that be important?

- They’re really saying that Layla is more impulsive than Bloom? Yeah, fuck that big time! Also, don’t tell me that the last star will be obtained by all six Winx again and that is why they will be combining Tecna and Layla in the next ep. Or even worse - by Winx and the Trix together.

8x23:

- “An ounce more or less won’t matter”? That is so not like Layla! It is more like Stella and even Bloom! What the hell? I hate what they’re doing just to set up their stupid conflict for this episode!

- Okay, that shot with the Trix sitting all over Valtor’s throne was pretty cool! And I actually like the fact that he is not exploding at them about the fact that their last mission failed. That was a nice change of pace! Also, digging Darcy and Stormy taking over the throne and the way Valtor is collecting the Prime Stars when he doesn’t have the box. It is... symbolic.

- Be my guest, Flora, and get between Stella and her tanning!

- Reasonable question, Stella! I was also gonna ask why the hell there are corals on dry land. And the Compass is going all crazy.

- Oh, goodie! Hawaiian lumens. In case we’d forgotten about the first half of the season. Which I honestly had.

- Bloom, you really have no other choice but to split up because Tecna and Layla will kill each other otherwise. And yes, Stella sure doesn’t sound distracted now. Only panicky and possibly on the verge of becoming hysterical over the volcano.

- You mean, this isn’t Valtor creating the lava gollems? At least it’s implied that there is one for each girl so the split-up doesn’t put them at a disadvantage.

- Poor Stella, being used as bait. And they just made more of the monsters. I guess her shining personality is not going to be enough to spare the others the notice.

- Did Valtor actually say “boo”? Wow, okay.

- How is a shell the symmetry between light and shadow? It is on the land and not halfway between land and sea! This was absolute bullshit! Meanwhile, Stella and Bloom are getting overwhelmed back there at the volcano against six opponents!

- Valtor cut in just in time! I thought his presence would have been useless. But he upgraded to adapt to his “inability” to touch the Prime Stars even though the source of his magic is literally stars in this season!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just cannot even anymore.

- Yeah, and this bullshit choice again between two things that are important. We’re using this for the third time in ten episodes! Really need to come up with something else over here.

- And we didn’t even see Bloom and Stella really do anything. This episode is put together in a horrible way. Plus, how the fuck are you getting in a volcano that is already erupting! I would have loved for Bloom to use her Dragon Fire here because at least that would have made sense instead of this bullshit we got!

- At least we got that cute Layla and Tecna hug!

8x24:

- Tecna turning into a sheep seemed OOC. And Flora choosing a tiger? Why didn’t she just stop chasing after “Stella” when she saw she was scaring the poor thing? That was unnecessary.

- Stella skipped classes to write homework? And why the hell did Wizgiz give everyone homework when it was obvious that they didn’t know about Stella’s deception?

- Icy could have played that *dramatic pause* cooler. She was being obviously panicky about going to Diamond. She’s better at pretending than this. And her keeping a crystal flower? Waaaay OOC. I don’t care if it is about her dead/lost sister which they totally pulled out of nowhere to make her “relatable”.

- Shouldn’t Sky have asked if he can come along instead of just tail them? He can help resolve things faster... or he can become the reason for their defeat.

- The architecture on Diamond looks kinda... Russian (which would make sense if they’re trying to parallel Siberia with the frozen land). But I am dying at the idea of Icy being Russian. XD

- What trees, Bloom? Where did you see trees? Everything is deep frozen!

- Don’t tell me that fox is Icy’s sister. That will be too dumb.

- Well, of course Bloom doesn’t like Icy’s home planet. How could she? That would have been too mature a notion for the writers. After all, she must hate everything icy.

- What temper? That fox has legit not done anything. Also, it has got to have something to do with Icy. Look at its eyes! And now Icy is attacking Stormy because of it?

- Aaaaand now we’re getting a flashback. You have to love how they made it look like Icy is the little sister when she’s not, And I hate how they made her younger and “untainted” self so different! Like, dammit, a tragic backstory does change you but you need to keep something from your core personality! She is being a totally different person and this totally came out of nowhere! I hate it!

- Took Sky long enough to catch up. Why is he the one saving the fox? And Icy totally went nuts here. This is more like her but still... the dissonance between season 1 and this... Why?

- I knew he was gonna fuck up this whole thing.

- Damn, the fox is looking so lovingly at Icy. It might as well be her sister. But it may just be one of those foxes we saw that isn’t aging because of the ice that appears to be magical. I still can’t decide what they’re doing here.

- Why the fuck do they need Sirenix? But I have to say that Crystal Sirenix (which they totally just made up here because that was never actually a thing and would have been nice to have been mentioned when Daphne was using elemental magic in season 6 since she is the Nymph of Sirenix) looks better than ordinary Sirenix. Except for the... capes? The animators need to consult Edna Mode!

8x25:

- Sky is actually fine? Well, in the very real danger of drowning but still fine-r than I thought he would be. Sky, think about yourself. Bloom is not the one that is this fucking close to dying!

- Aaaaand... she saved him. He wasn’t even underwater that long! Why wasn’t he waking up?! Man, the Dragon Fire healing is getting annoying.

- Yes, spend time together while putting yourself in mortal danger. Sounds like fun times! You can even be buried together!

- Sky is supposed to be a Specialist aka capable of handling himself. And how many times is Tecna gonna be fixing his gear? Though, I am at least glad that Icy’s first instinct was to damage his flying gadget.

- So the fox is her sister. Fucking great! Why are they alone and talking about leaving? Where the fuck are their parents? Also, how does that fit in with the fact that the Trix are descendants of the Ancestral Witches?

- Firing all my thoughts here at high velocity: Who the fuck is that? We don’t get a name? Fucking splendid! Why is Sapphire still transformed? Icy is super powerful at this point and if the Shaman Witch is so powerful, why the hell hasn’t she conquered any other realm? Why does she need a whole planet that is completely frozen? Where is she now? What the fuck is up with all of this? And what happened to Icy’s mother? Was Icy a witch all along? Her being so “obedient” in that flashback is so totes OOC. I hate all of this. And we didn’t need the parallel between Bloom and Icy.

- Icy saying that the Trix are “friends maybe” and the the only real sister she has is Sapphire? Worst moment of the whole season! How fucking dare you?! I never thought that they were related by blood but that didn’t mean that they weren’t sisters!

- Yes, Stormy, tell everyone else (aka Winx) where you are! Or bury all three of you in an avalanche. Such planning! Much consideration!

- Icy, stop being a wimp! Yes, this is all hard but she is not behaving like herself at all! You need to get it together if you want to help your sis, girl! And how do you plan on getting the power to save your sister without the Star to bring to Valtor?

- Why is the Star going in the box? Oh, it’s not. But I hate the implication that only “sisterly” love can get the Star. Icy has been sisters with Darcy and Stormy since season 1 and Winx are all like sisters as well! Fuck that! Also, why is it that this one could have only been earned by two blood sisters? That means that Winx didn’t have the chance to take it at all! This is really stupid!

- The Trix are free now? How did that happen? And Sapphire is back aga- Oh, wait, no! Wtf????? Do they even know what they’re doing anymore? This is becoming such a mess! And why is the finale only one episode long when we wasted two episodes on 3-4 of the Stars? This is stupid!

8x26:

- What the fuck are these things? “Brothers from the Dark Dimension”? What the absolute honest genuine fuck? Why have these things never been introduced if they have always been a part of his plan? What the fuck, writers? You just sent the whole structure of the season to hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How was any of this a good decision?!?!?!?!

- The Trix just showed up at Alfea? And Kiko is beating them single-pawed-ly? Why? But I like the idea of the Trix at Alfea.

- Oh, it was actually Winx. This is part of the plan for beating Valtor, isn’t it? Damn, I was just getting hyped that the Trix decided to work with Winx to fix this whole mess and make sure Valtor won’t trap them again once they disobey.

- Is Icy going to give him the star? Oh, no. She wants to challenge him to get the other Stars. Goddammit! But I love how excited Darcy is about getting to explore more of her illusion powers! Also, Icy both being grateful that they’re with her but telling them to save themselves if things get rough? THAT HUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stormy was so ready to cry! Ugh, that was so amazing! Almost enough to make up for the bullshit they said about them not being sisters!

- They didn’t feel it? That was like a goddamn earthquake!

- I have a question, though. Why didn’t the Trix try to take on Winx? That implies that Valtor is weaker than Winx. But at least the Winx’ plan is actually pretty good.

- Why isn’t Stella Darcy, Layla Icy and Musa Stormy? They could have covered if they needed to use their powers! Stella could have dimmed the light as if Darcy is using her darkness powers. And the other could have pretended to be Stormy and Icy as well!

- Okay, but Winx’ voices are still the same! Why can’t Valtor tell that it’s not them? He’s literally so not paying attention and they fucked up with the spell because it is incomplete!

- And now the plan went to hell because Bloom decided to crash the party! Great going! So it was all for nothing.

- Now Valtor is back in his demon form? That was a curse his mothers put on him and Bloom destroyed that form in 3x26! But at least the remake looks better than the original!

- Why would Valtor destroy the universe? Where is he gonna go after that? Also, what the fuck? You’re making this Icy’s motivation?!?!?! For helping the Winx?!?!?!?!?!?! THE TRIX LITERALLY WERE ABOUT TO DESTROY THE MAGIC UNIVERSE IN SEASON 1 AND IT WAS THEIR ORIGINAL PLAN! NOW SHE’S LIKE “I WON’T WATCH ANOTHER WORLD GET DESTROYED”???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? FUCK ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Is it only me or does this really remind of 3x25? Because the writers were probably trying to cash in even more nostalgia?

- If they don’t bring Icy’s world back, it will be really stupid because that was why she was even doing any of all this (according to this whole season).

- They wished for a power-up? I’m sorry, a power-up driven by how noble they are? The bullshit is unreal. I cannot even.

- No one cares about all the lumens! They should have given the Trix something for their trouble after all of this bullshit and used the screen time in a better way.

- OH, COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY GET A CONSTELLATION NOW?!?!?!?!? THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER WON WITHOUT THE TRIX WHO WERE LEFT WITH A BIG DAMN ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (except for being freed, that is)

- In my book this is the absolute worst finale this show has ever had! It contradicted everything we know about certain characters as well as events from previous seasons, had a theme that sucked completely and had Winx make a seemingly selfless wish that actually seems super shady, gave them glory they do not deserve, introduced a new plot point at the beginning of the very last episode, fucked over the Trix (or at least Icy), did not tie up their loose ends and just completely failed to be thrilling in any way because everything was upside down! I cannot even.

This season started out so well. The first three episodes were extremely promising and had the writers kept their streak, this season could have risen to the levels of the first seasons or even surpassed them. However, things quickly started derailing. First, just lightly and then totally going off the rails. The two halves of the season felt super disconnected, the villain plan sucked, Valtor was destroyed as a character (and as a villain) and the Trix were just... what happened there? The new backstory Icy was given was dreadful because of how much it contradicted what we know about all three of the Trix and it destroyed their sense of unity by obviously placing the narrative emphasis on her not just as the leader but as the one that is most important of the three. The second half got stupider and stupider until it reached a finale that just didn’t logic in any correct way. There was so much wasted potential here that it is unreal. Season 7 had nothing going on but it did not enrage me as much as this one (and especially the last few episodes) because there wasn’t so much absolute waste of perfectly good opportunities. Season 6 retains it’s place as the worst season in my book but the end of season 8 annoyed me enough to make me feel like I could put it over season 7 for worst of the series.

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uncreativetitletrack · 4 years

Text

I Am Me

Pairing: Yeonjun x Reader

Word Count: 15.6k

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Summary: Yeonjun wants to be more than his titles, some that doesn’t even belong to him. He just wants to be himself, but when the media doesn’t let him, it takes a toll on him.

Warnings: Some **spoiler**, but I just want to say that I’m not trying to antagonize BTS or fans from either bands in this story. It’s a highly dramatized, fictional story, and I’m sorry if it offends you in any way!

You’ll never forget that day, walking down the halls at three in the morning. You didn’t want to be there because you just spent the entire day working. ‘Appreciate that you have a secure job at that entertainment agency’ is what your friends and family would tell you after landing a great opportunity to work at one of the most famous music companies. You hated working here because of the pressure of working for nearly the entire day managing five trainees. There’s so much workload that you even contemplated on quitting.

But peeking through the door that’s slightly ajar of a dance room, it changed your entire perspective. It gave you another reason to keep going forward with these trainees. Sitting alone in the hollow practice room is Yeonjun, curled up in a ball. His shirt is drenched in sweat, or at least that’s what you thought. Although it is sweat, it took you a moment to realize that some of the wet spots on his shirt are also tears. This young man, who dreams of becoming a star, is sitting by himself in a defeated pose like he’s going to give in to the overwhelming stress. No one is there to comfort him, left to be ridiculed by his dark thoughts. Only at the ripe age of eighteen, he already thinks that he’s incompetent.

“I can’t do this anymore…” He muttered under his breath.

==========

“Jokbal! Jokbal! Jokbal!” Yeonjun chants, fist-pumping the air.

You and Yeonjun are at the grocery store, looking through the meat section. While you’re looking for pig trotters, he’s singing a tune he made up in his head with the only lyrics to his song is jokbal. He’s wearing a face mask and baseball hat to hide his identity, but those aren’t enough to hide the excitement in his eyes.

“Get the spicy kind!”

“Alright, alright.”

“Let’s also get chicken feet! Pizza! Pasta!”

You chuckle. “You sound like a child.”

“What’s there not to be excited about? You said that we can be spoiled brats tonight, so I wanna eat whatever I want.”

“Yea, but don’t you think it’s going to be too much for you guys to eat?”

“Eh, it’s fine,” he waves his hand nonchalantly. “It’s coming from the company’s credit card, right? That means we’re finally allowed to eat anything with no limits. Besides, we don’t have a recording tomorrow, so we don’t gotta worry about looking puffy.”

You don’t think you’ll ever understand how Yeonjun’s brain is wired. Still, it’s great seeing him smile this much. In the midst of their busy schedule, they have the entire day off. And the day before, it ended perfectly with their first win for Crown. They’ve never been this exuberant before.

“Also, let’s get some bubble tea. Kai and Soobin might want some ice cream too. Beomgyu wants kimbap and Taehyun wants some toast. Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Give me a sec. I still have to get some jokbal, then restock kimchi for you guys. Also, you guys need some more tangerine—”

“No more tangerines! We eat that enough already. Bubble tea!!!” He’s like a child about to receive a lollipop.

Despite being the eldest, he’s got a cute side to him that you find lovable. “Alright, where do you wanna get your drink?”

“Let’s go to 7 Leafs! I heard a new one opened down the street.”

“Okay, after we shop. Text the other boys what they want.”

“Yessir.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He puckers his lips, swaying his head side-to-side playfully.

You hurriedly look through the shopping list on your phone. The boys must be starving back at the dorms, so you want to hurry and get back as soon as possible. You can already imagine Beomgyu clinging onto one of the members and whining about how hungry he is.

While Yeonjun’s distracted with his phones, two women are whispering and pointing at him, occasionally giggling like school girls. Even with his disguise, he’s still spotted. Though, what did you expect? With their explosive debut, they’re bound to be instantly recognized in the public.

“…Go…” One girl mutters.

“No, you go first.”

They nudge each other, pushing one over the other to see who gets to Yeonjun first. He’s still oblivious to the fans, finishing his text message and sending it to the group chat. During times like these, you would push Yeonjun away from these girls to avoid drawing more attention, but since they aren’t hinting at any sort of danger, you decide to let it be.

After some minor arguments, one of the girls approaches him, although she keeps her eyes locked to the ground. “Uhm…excuse me?”

Her voice catches Yeonjun’s attention, so he turns to her, startling her. “Hello?”

“Are you…Yeonjun from Tomorrow by Together?”

He nods, and she squeals.

“I-I’m sorry if I’m bothering you!!”

Her eyes are fixated on Yeonjun. Even though you’re right next to him, she behaves like you don’t exist.

“No, it’s really fine. Did you want to take a picture? Manager, we can take a picture, right?”

You shrug your shoulders. “Go ahead.”

“O-oh, I wasn’t intending on taking a picture. I was just wondering...” she rummages through her purse.

Yeonjun’s eyes lighten up at the thought that this lady is going to give him a gift. He even got his hand out and ready to accept the present. Eventually, she finds what she wanted to give, and it’s a small box of chocolate the size of his hand.

“I was wondering if you can give these to Taehyung-oppa!” She covers her mouth.

And that gleam of happiness is immediately diminished, like a gust of wind blown against a lit candle. You don’t need to see under his mask to know that he lost the will to smile. It’s like his confidence has been stomped on, glaring down at the gift that isn’t even his. It’s not even for another member from his group—it’s for their senior.

“M-my friend and I have been fans of BTS since we were nineteen, so can you let him know that we’re thankful for everything he’s done? He really saved me from the darkest time in my life.”

He’s at a loss of words, baffled at this outrageous request. But rather than going off on the woman, Yeonjun laughs stiffly, scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry I don’t know if I can give it to him because we don’t see each other much.”

Her shy nature disappears, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow. “Huh? But you’re the same company. How do you guys not see each other often? I thought you guys are already like family to them.”

“It’s…much more complicated than that. Our schedules never correlate, so that’s why. If it makes you feel better, we can take a picture and—”

“Then…it’s okay. Sorry to bother you guys. You can have the chocolate though.” She waves goodbye and returns to her friend.

You should’ve stepped in when you had the chance. Yeonjun is at a loss of words as he watches the two girls trek off as if this never happened. Even though they’re walking off, he can hear fragments of their conversation.

“He kind of looks like Taehyungie-oppa…do you think he…passed auditions…becau…looks?” One whispers.

“Maybe. But…chin…too big. Teeth too.”

If you two weren’t in public, then you would’ve smacked them without hesitation. To bother Yeonjun during his day off only to push him aside because he’s not the idol they’re looking for, it’s just outright rude. This clearly ruined his mood, and now he’s become sullen. He rubs his chin, thinking about the last girl’s comment.

“Ignore them. Let’s go back and celebrate, yea?”

He nods, but his smile hasn’t returned.

==========

“Here you guys go!” You set a plate of jokbal on the floor.

In the living room of their crowded dorm, the five of them crowd around the meal that you’ve prepared for them. Despite the many clothes that are sprawled across the floor and trash left out on the coffee table, you’re able to brush them aside to make room for the six of you to sit together. Other than the pigs’ feet, there’s also pizza and chicken feet. Beomgyu’s mouth waters, but before he even eats, he briefly takes pictures of it with his phone.

“You didn’t have to waste your time making this when you could’ve just ordered it.” Taehyun states with a monotone expression.

“I know, but in honor of your first win, I wanted to cook from scratch.”

“You made the pigs’ feet, but you ended up ordering pizza and chicken feet…” Taehyun flicks open a can of Coke.

“Okay, pizza is hard to make from scratch, and chicken feet…the nails…” Shivers run down your spine.

“Taehyun…you could at least say thank you,” Soobin elbows him.

Now flustered, Taehyun looks down. “…Sorry…thank you.”

“No, no! It’s okay. For all we know, my cooking is probably not that great.”

“Anything from the Manager is going to be super great! Thank you very much!!” Huening Kai leans over and rubs your stomach.

“Hurry, hurry! Let’s eat.” Beomgyu takes a plate full of chicken feet.

“Says the one who kept taking pictures.” Soobin mumbles.

Each member takes a plate of food. Even though you know full well how average your cooking is, the boys are starving, so they’ll take anything. Everyone digs in to their dinner, all except for Yeonjun. As you’re eating the pizza, stretching the cheese from your mouth, you stare at him, waiting for him to take a bite.

“Yeonjun? Are you gonna eat?” You ask while covering your mouth full of food.

He shakes his head, rubbing his chin. “No…I’m not hungry.”

“What? But you were so excited to eat.”

“I’m full from the bubble tea.”

He gets up and walks to their bedroom, which is extremely out of the ordinary. He never says no to food. Even when they’re dieting, he’s the one who would sneak in food. Now that they have a chance to eat whatever they like, he’s not eating.

“Did something happen to Hyung?” Soobin asks curiously.

“Some girls were being rude.”

You didn’t expect it to take a toll on him this much. What they did has definitely squash his confidence, but knowing him, there has to be more than what those girls said.

==========

Yeonjun is sitting on his bunk bed, laying on his stomach and watching a video on his phone. He hears a knock at the door.

“Yeonjun? Can I come in?” You ask from the other side of the door.

He pauses the video. “Come in.”

You open the door, closing it behind you. Their bedroom is tidier than usual, and it’s probably because you were coming over for the night. Most of their clothes are hanging in the living room, so the floor isn’t riddled with clothes compared to the living room.

“I told them to save some for you in case you wanna eat later. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fin—.”

“Be honest.”

You take a seat at the edge of his bed. He sits up, placing his pillow on his lap and scooting closer to you.

“Okay, I have a question…and you have to be honest.”

“What is it?”

“Do I look like V-sunbaenim?”

You crease your eyebrows. “V-sunbaenim? As in, Kim Taehyung?”

He nods.

“You two look nothing alike.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you look like yourself.”

“…That’s not what people say. Everyone is always telling us that we look like BTS-sunbaenim or that everything we do reminds them of them. I don’t want to sound like a brat, but I really don’t like it. One second, they’re saying that Soobin looks like Jin-sunbaenim, and the other second, they’re calling Taehyun Jungkook-sunbaenim’s clone. Do we seriously look like them?”

It’s not only himself he’s concerned about, but the other members as well. After their debut, many news outlets exploded with articles about the similarities between them and their senior group. It was your typical cover page with a side-by-side comparison between two members, each from TXT and BTS, red circles around specific parts of their face and drawing arrows to each other. Some of them were outrageous claims, like how Soobin learned how to blow kisses from Seokjin even though Soobin only did it once and it was because the host of the radio show told him to do it.

Some people even went to the extreme and called TXT clout chasers, accusing the young boys for being too privileged. While they were treated with luxuries, they were bombarded with negative comments. It was to be expected, but they weren’t prepared for this extraordinary amount of dislike. Even when they did receive compliments, it never felt genuine because somehow and some way, the same people would draw comparisons to them to their seniors, crediting them for teaching TXT how to be polite.

“None of you guys look like them at all. If you think about it this way, and by no means am I disregarding your frustrations, you guys debuted during the peak of BTS’s popularity. These comparisons were bound to happen. All we can do now is be patient and wait for this to die down. Besides, you guys have a good amount of fans who aren’t forcing themselves to like you guys.”

Despite still being gloomy, you’re able to get Yeonjun to laugh, exhaling through his nose. He elbows your arm. “How are you so optimistic all the time?”

“Because I’ve seen pretty much every second of your rehearsals, and I’m always freakin’ impressed every time I watch. I can’t wait until people acknowledge it too.”

He hides his face in the pillow. “Yea…I can’t wait for that too.”

==========

After being appointed as their temporary manager, the first time you met them was in Los Angele. They looked so young and naïve back then. Beomgyu, Soobin, and Huening Kai had this sort of innocence in their eyes, like they needed to be guided constantly. Despite being the same age as Huening Kai, Taehyun was always calm and professional, never allowing his nervousness show. But as for Yeonjun…arrogant is what you would describe your first impression of him.

The way he stood firm, his chin up and his eyes looking down. You knew that he isn’t a bad person, but it’s just his posture that you never liked. It was like he stood above everyone, his hands in his pockets and constantly in his ‘cool’ pose like a model. Your suspicions of his arrogance came with confirmation when you learned that he’s ranked as number one in vocals, rap, and dance. To add on to the fire, he’s also a trainee for one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea, so it’s no surprise that he’s carrying a luggage full of reasons to feel proud.

Wow, this guy probably got everything handed to him, you thought to yourself. When you started your work as their manager, you put the least amount of attention on him. You assumed that since he’s the eldest and is already sufficient with every aspect of being an idol, you didn’t bother with putting in effort for him.

==========

You sit in a conference room with sales and marketing team. The lead of the team stands next to the projector, slamming a stack of paper on the table. The loud bang causes the other employees to jump, including you.

“61,400 only??” He exclaims. “Just 61k was sold?! Tell me what the fuck happened to the sales?!”

On the projector, there’s a bar graph of TXT’s sales history. It records the number of albums that were sold between the two albums: TDC Dream and TDC Magic.

“S-Sir…we tried our best…but it’s just that…”

“Don’t give me your fucking excuses. You all were riding on the expectation that these teens were gonna bring back the same numbers. This isn’t even enough to pay back the budget used to make the damn music video,” he sighs in frustration. “Jesus Christ. BTS are still on their break, but the amount they made off of their Summer Package is enough to pay for three music videos. We’re gonna have to ask for a lower budget for the second music video.”

You glance back at the chart. It hurts seeing their two albums stand side-by-side and that dramatic drop between them. Not only that, but their music video isn’t doing so well either. Compared to their debut music video, they didn’t even have half of what they got on the first day, going from fourteen million views on Crown to a little under five million for 9 and Three Quarters. This is still exponentially well in terms of rookie group standards, but there’s more to it—there are expectations to be met.

It could easily be excused that the video website’s streaming rules have changed, but to have that huge drop can’t simply be because of a system. It’s already been a few days, and the views are barely going up.

But what you’re mostly worried about is what the boys think about this. To have received so much attention in the beginning only to be pretty much dropped off the face of Earth is no simple feat.

==========

You return to the practice room where the boys are rehearsing with their choreographer. While their coach i flicks his eyes at you then returning back to work, none of the boys bat an eye at you, which is normal. They’re so focused on training that nothing can get them out of it.

Once they finish the entire song, their dance coach turns off their song. “Take five.”

Almost like they’ve been put out of a trance, they snapped to their usual selves, falling to the ground and breathing heavily. Huening Kai is the first to notice you, running to you with what little strength he has left.

“Managerrr!! Save me!” He yelps.

He wraps his arms around you, his hand clasping around your stomach, and you get a strong scent of sweat coming from him. Though, it doesn’t bother you since nearly every time you come into this room, they’re sweating logs.

“Kai is sexually harassing her.” Beomgyu teasingly shouts.

“What?! No, I’m not. Am I, Manager?” He looks at you with his puppy eyes.

“Not at all. How was practice today, guys?”

“We’re doing well! Just tightening some loose ends after we ended our first week of performing.” Soobin pulls Huening Kai away from you.

Huening Kai was about to whine, but Soobin passes a water bottle to him. Dying for water, Kai gives up the complaining for water, taking huge gulps.

“Loose ends? But I thought you guys did great on stage.”

“Not enough,” Beomgyu chimes in. “Our timing is off when we change positions.”

“Kai, don’t take too long to lift me up. If you take more than a second, then it messes up the rest of us.” Taehyun comments.

“Ah…okay…sorry.” He lowers his head.

“I think Kai is improving a lot. It’s so cute seeing him trying to lift Taehyun on his own.” Soobin touches shoulders with Huening Kai to cheer him up.

Huening Kai lets out a small chuckle while you’re adoring their playfulness. You glance at Yeonjun, glaring at himself in the mirror. He runs his hand through his sweaty hair. You don’t know what he’s thinking, but just by that serious look on his face alone, you can tell that he’s not happy.

“How was the meeting?” Soobin takes a sip from the water bottle.

“Uhm…it went okay.”

“What was it about again?”

“It’ll bore you guys if I explain it, so I rather not say. But they’re going to change things up a bit for the second music video’s filming.”

“Oh really?” Beomgyu asks. “Why?”

You can’t bring yourself to tell them the truth. They don’t go on the internet often, especially when it comes to anything that has anything to do with them, so they don’t know much about the records they break or don’t break. If they found out that the number of support they got for this comeback has become lackluster, then it’ll just devastate them.

“Uhm…change in artistic direction.” You pull that out of your ass.

They seem to take your word for it, so it makes you a little relieved. But while the other members moved on, one glance at Yeonjun and you knew that he isn’t convinced. Yeonjun opens his mouth to say something, so you quickly think of diverting this possibility.

“A-anyway, when rehearsals are done, we have to go to on some shows. I’ll let you guys know when it’s time to go.”

You walk out of the room, sighing. Just as you predicted, you couldn’t bring yourself to tell them the truth. How do you go about telling them that they didn’t do so well for this comeback? Not only that, but with your lack of experience as a manager, what can you say or do to encourage them? Even if you don’t tell them, they’ll find out eventually. And you already have a feeling that Yeonjun already does.

You peek through the crack of the door, watching the boys sitting down on the ground. Even though they’re supposed to take a break, they’re watching a recording of themselves to see if they can finds places to improve on.

==========

Yeonjun is in the center of the main dance practice room, free-styling to a song that infuses hip hop and heavy rap. The rest of the students are sitting by the walls. You sit with the other members as they’re just as mesmerized as the rest of the students. The way his body flows so smoothly with the rhythm is so satisfying to watch. If you didn’t know who he was, then you would’ve assumed that he was a coach or a celebrity, not a trainee.

You look at the other members. Soobin is like a high school girl experiencing their first love—his eyes are fixated on him, covering his gaping mouth in pure awe. Huening Kai is bopping his head to the song, more so enjoying the music itself than Yeonjun’s dance, although he still finds it entertaining to watch.

On the other hand, Beomgyu and Taehyun look jealous. Just one look and you can tell that in their heads, they’re most likely thinking, I can do that too. And that’s one thing you don’t particularly like about Yeonjun. He takes the spotlight and enjoys it. He doesn’t share any of it with the other boys. While you’re impressed by his dance, you don’t find his narcissism impressive in the slightly.

When the song ends, the entire class applauds. Soobin claps louder and faster than the rest of the students, bouncing up and down from his spot. The three younger members applaud as well. But Yeonjun doesn’t even look at his teammates. He waves his hands up like he wants the crowd to get louder.

“Okay, who wants to go next?” The coach asks.

A large number of students raise their hands, including Beomgyu. Although Taehyun makes it clear that he’s jealous of the attention that Yeonjun receives, he knows full well that he’s incapable of surpassing him in dance. Then there’s Soobin and Huening Kai who would rather be on the side.

After the coach chooses the next person to freestyle, you were expecting Yeonjun to sit with you and the boys. But to your surprise, he sits with other people, receiving high fives from the other students. It really ticks you off seeing him have the audacity to act like he’s too cool for the boys. You want to bring this up with them, but they don’t seem to particularly mind.

“That was fucking awesome, dude.” One of the students says in English.

“Thanks, I know I was cool.” Yeonjun replies in English as well.

You truly cannot find a reason to like Yeonjun even if he hasn’t done anything directly to you. He’s just so pompous and full of himself. When the members told you that he loves bragging about being ranked top in every category, they weren’t exaggerating. If anything, they weren’t exaggerating enough. With each passing day, Yeonjun starts hanging out less and less with the members unless it’s necessary, such as the private lessons with the five of them or when they’re filming for future projects. Perhaps it’s also the façade that he puts out a lot that you also don’t like. If you really are going to become their manager, you can’t picture yourself being close with him at all.

While you’re too busy finding reason to despise Yeonjun, you catch a glimpse of something. His hands are shaking a lot, but he tries to hide it by putting his hands behind his back.

==========

“You guys look so cute!!” You clasp your hands together.

The boys walk out of their dressing room in matching pink sailor outfits. Your jaw drops at how absolutely adorable they look in them—like anime characters coming to life. When their appearance on the show goes on air, their fans will definitely go insane.

“Huening Kai and Taehyun are the cutest.”

Huening Kai’s cheeks turn pink from your compliment while Taehyun looks indifferent. You turn to Soobin and Beomgyu, and they fit into the cute concept as well.

“I’d prefer something that shows off my more adult side…” Soobin puffs his cheeks while nodding his head.

The way he sulks only amplifies his cuteness. The outfits complement their physical appearance except for their overarching height. But after doing a head count, you notice that there’s somebody missing. You look around, and the eldest is nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Yeonjun?”

“I think he’s still in the dressing room.”

“I’m gonna go get him.”

You walk to the dressing room, knocking three times. “Yeonjun? You in there?”

“Yea.”

“You almost done? You guys have to go on in a few minutes.”

“Y-yea, just give me a second.”

Yeonjun twists the doorknob, opening it and peeking his head out. You cross your arms, waiting for him to completely walk out, but he’s too embarrassed to show himself.

“What’s wrong?”

“I look dumb.”

You scoff. “I’m sure you look fine.”

“No…”

“Come on, it’s not as bad as you think it is. Besides, the other boys are wearing it too, so you’re not alone.”

“It’s just…”

“You’re fine!”

Feeling impatient, you pull him out of the room. Just as you thought, he’s wearing the sailor uniform like the rest of them. He tries to stand in a masculine pose, slouching his back slightly and putting his hands in his pocket. You can tell he feels humiliated to be in this outfit.

“See? You look cute.”

“That’s the problem. Just because we’re young doesn’t mean that we have to dress like kids. I’m twenty-one for crying out loud.”

“Twenty-one and rocking that look. Come on, even if it looks childish, you can still make it look cool,” you check the time on your phone. “Oh, they’re waiting for us. Let’s go.”

Just as you were about to walk away, you look back to find Yeonjun not moving from his spot. He’s still sulking about the clothes. This is bothering him more than you thought, and you wish you can do something about it, but with the limited time that they have, you can’t change the stylist’s mind.

“Yeonjun?”

“…I want to wear suits like BTS-sunbaenim.”

You freeze, everything around you falling silent. You try thinking of anything to make him feel better, but with every direction you go, it doesn’t form proper sentences. You can think of the usual ‘don’t think too much about it’ or ‘you look great in the outfit’, but they’re shallow assurance, and it won’t make him feel any better.

“You guys are on in five minutes!” A staff member shouts from the room.

“Okay!” You let the staff know before turning back to Yeonjun. “Let’s go.”

That’s all you could say, and it made you seem disingenuous. If only there was a way to make him feel better, but with being a new manager, it also comes with many trial and errors, including some major and minor mistakes. You sort of feel pathetic for not thinking of any clever quotes to cheer him up.

==========

You stand on the other side of the cameras as the five boys speak to the hosts, a man and a woman. They’re dressed in a ridiculous amount of pink, and the entire room itself is fluttered with pink too. Despite the pinkness, the other side is contrasted with silent darkness, sound producers, scriptwriters, and cameramen being blanketed with the damp blackness of the studio while the members and two hosts are riddled with twenty shades of pink.

Since they’re still new to the showbiz world, they’re as stiff as usual, but unlike their debut, they’ve loosened up a bit more. They’re moving around and smiling more, which is a huge step forward. However, despite their more natural side are shown in a better light, Yeonjun is rigid. His hands are behind his back, not moving an inch. And that smile that you know is forced.

“We’re really happy to have K-pop’s next big boy group be on the show!” The male host shouts with an exaggerated enthusiasm. “Tomorrow by Together is known as the monster rookie group, already hitting records and completing their first US tour.”

The five boys clap, cheering sarcastically.

“Despite being so young, they’re pretty tall. On average, their height is 181.3 cm, which is an amazing record on its own. None of you guys have a fixed position either, both in talents and looks!” The female host chimes in.

Everything seems to be going well so far. This show is known for portraying each individual members’ special talents, so this is a great opportunity for the boys to stand out on their own.

“Let’s introduce each member from right to left. Taehyun.”

“Yes.”

As usual, Taehyun is excellent in professional settings. Despite his young age, he knows how to think and act on the spot, improvising and thinking of the right words to say. His timing is never off, and he can read the atmosphere without a problem. It makes the audience, even you, forget that he’s a teenager.

The hosts go through each member, showing off more of their personalities. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Huening Kai. Unlike Taehyun who remains calm yet makes witty comments, Huening Kai is less prepared, but he balances that out with his bubbly personality. He laughs to lighten the mood, knowing how to recover from an embarrassing mistake and turning it into a joke.

Although upon first impression, Beomgyu seemed like the kind of guy who doesn’t mind the shy and cute concept, he’s a natural when it comes to being charismatic and masculine. He can talk to anybody and make it appear like they’ve been friends for years. He doesn’t let the air become awkward and is able to fill it up.

Soobin is the one who makes the most mistakes, his mind often trailing off and messing up his lines. He lets the nervousness take over him, often laughing and hugging the closest member to release some tension. Despite the many mistakes, he repeats himself until he perfects it. His cycle of making and fixing his slip-ups makes the hosts find it endearing.

Last person is Yeonjun. When the hosts lay their eyes on him, he nods and forces a smile.

“Now…last but not least, Choi Yeonjun: born on September 13th, the oldest member, been the trainee the longest and is ranked number one on all three categories, vocals, rap, and dance. Wow, that’s a lot for one person.”

“Yes.” He answers.

“Even though I think you’re all very handsome men, I think you should also be ranked number one in terms of visual too.”

“Ah…” he laughs nervously. “Thank you.”

“I mean, you deserve that title! You have a lot of resemblance with your BTS senior, V-ssi.”

And with that, the light in his eyes disappears.

“You have the hair color, the eyes, and the striking visuals in general. I think you two are even the same height.”

“Ah ha ha…yes.”

Huening Kai is the first to sense Yeonjun’s discomfort, so he steps in to make a comment. “Yeonjun-hyung was always the first trainee to introduce himself. He would take us to the whiteboard with the rankings and ask who was number one in each category. We were all shocked when he said that it was him.”

“Oh, really? Okay, let’s give Yeonjun a chance to show off his skills, starting off with dance.”

Yeonjun steps forward, and to your side, the producers choose a song to put on. Unsurprisingly, they put on a BTS song, Dope. Within seconds, Yeonjun got the gist of the beat and dances to the song accordingly. He doesn’t make a single mistake despite the lack of practice, which is remarkable on its own.

They then put on the next song, which happens to be Boy in Luv. Unlike the fast-pace dancing, it switches to a slower tempo, but he has to show more of his aggressive side. And just like that, he’s got the choreography memorized as well. Once again, they switch the song, but…it’s another BTS song, Fake Love.

This wasn’t a part of the script. They were supposed to play other pop songs and some American music to give him the chance to freestyle. With this last-minute change, Yeonjun falters, only knowing the basics to the Fake Love choreography, but not grasping onto the details that well.

The female host signals the music to stop. “How do you mess up one of their recent songs? Fake Love is played everywhere. You two are in the same company and got more chances to see them practice. You should know their songs to heart.”

Although that was supposed to be a joke, Yeonjun took it personally. You can see that her words have pierced through his chest. You don’t like how she’s putting him on the spot with unrealistic expectations.

“Okay,” the male host interrupts. “Let’s try again but with a different song.”

He waves his hand down, cueing for the next song to play. Yeonjun shakes his hands and spreads his legs out shoulder length, determined to get this one right. The producer plays the song, and it’s Boy with Luv.

Yeonjun freezes. He hasn’t learned this dance because this song came out during the most hectic training period. They were practicing to their songs nonstop as well as performing on stages.

The female host makes it very apparent that she’s disappointed. “Stop, stop, stop. It’s okay, even if you don’t know your seniors’ songs that well, you should at least know this one. It’s simple to learn and it’s their latest song.”

Yeonjun chuckles nervously. “You’re right…”

It’s agonizing to watch this host tear Yeonjun down. There’s clearly some bias here, and she’s going at him more than the other members. It might be because he’s been the trainee the longest or because of his title as the ‘monster trainee’ to increase her expectations on him, this is still borderline harassment. Thankfully, the other members are seeing this as well, so they look at each other, almost like using telepathy to back up their eldest member.

Soobin raises his hand. “Taehyun and Beomgyu have memorized the dance.”

“Oh really?”

“That’s right,” Beomgyu steps forward. “I’ve been a hardcore fan of BTS even before I became a trainee. I’ve studied every single thing, including the timing of their facial expressions.”

“I also enjoy listening to Jungkook-sunbaenim’s English covers. I know all his cover songs by heart.” Taehyun enters the conversations calmly.

This is off-script, but it’s a relief that you can rely on the members to help each other out of a pinch. You nonverbally sigh, but your troubles haven’t left you. It was the members who had to help, and you couldn’t do anything. Not only that, but the deed has already been done. To see the sunken spirit in Yeonjun’s eyes, it hurts. You wish you can reach your hand out to tell him that everything’s alright, you can’t just interrupt recording. All you can do is watch from afar.

==========

In the hallway, Yeonjun is just walking out of the restroom after changing back into his street clothes. Opposite to the cute sailor outfits, he’s wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans, with tan boots that completes it all. Even though you liked both outfits that he was wearing today, nothing beats Yeonjun dressed in the clothes that he’s more confident in.

Standing outside of the men’s restroom is you. He’s caught off-guard to see you waiting. “What are you doing here?”

“I just felt like it.”

“Where are the other guys?”

“They’re still changing. Why didn’t you tell me that you went to the restroom?”

“It was just a quick whizz.”

“You should still tell me.”

He walks back to the room and you follow him from behind. “You’re not my mom.”

“But I’m technically your mom!”

“That’s…let’s not get there. Aren’t you our age?”

“I dunno, am I?”

With this conversation going nowhere, he stops. Even though he sounds a bit harsh, you know that he doesn’t mean to. Today’s show recording was definitely unfair, so it’s not a surprise to see Yeonjun down in the dumps.

“Good job today.”

“Thanks, but I don’t feel like I did well. Not even average or decent.”

“Hey, but you got it over with and that’s all that matters. Now, onto the next one!”

“Yea…”

Despite your efforts in cheering him up, it doesn’t work. Pretending like the issue doesn’t exist isn’t going to make things better for him.

“What that host said, it’s still bothering you, huh?”

He can’t hide from you as well. “You got me. This feeling kinda sucks…”

“I can tell. I don’t think she means it though.”

“You’re siding with her?”

“I’m not. Yea, what she did was really horrible, but everyone’s caught up in the heat where they want to only talk about your seniors. TV shows are dying for BTS to be on their show, but they’re too busy touring. It’s rude, but even for other bands, your sunbaenims are constantly brought up.”

“That’s true…”

“Besides, that doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’m gonna drop by the convenient store to buy some snacks. What do you want?”

“…Can I go with you?”

“What? No, you should be resting! Take every chance to take a nap, relax your muscles, or play some video games! Don’t do something as boring as coming with me to the store.”

“It’s not boring to me. Going to the store with you soothes my nerves. No joke.”

Your cheeks turn red when he grins. It’s been a while since you last saw him smile like that, so you can’t say no to him.

==========

Seoul is filled with your stereotypical description of the urban lifestyle—honking cars, citizens striding through thick crowds of people, and flashing lights at every corner. Since it’s night, the skyscrapers are covered in squares of screens that display an array of advertisements such as drinks, clothes, and latest phone models.

You and Yeonjun are two out of millions going through the city and back to the studio. Despite wearing a mask and beanie to cover his identity, he still stands out like a sore thumb. Girls can’t help but glance and admire his towering, lean body.

“Ah, I really like times like these when we get to go out and enjoy the city air.” You point your nose to the sky and inhale.

“You mean the pollution and bacteria traveling into your nostrils?”

You elbow him. “You didn’t have to phrase it like that!”

He laughs.

One thing you like about this is not only breaking away from the busy life in the entertainment business, but being with Yeonjun. Behind the cameras, he’s an ordinary young adult who enjoys the little things, like walking in the city and making jokes. He doesn’t have to put up a show or be conscious of how he dresses and correcting his posture. He doesn’t have to censor his words and can say whatever he wishes.

You get a text message, and it’s from the group chat. “Taehyun said that Beomgyu is starving to death. Let’s hurry.”

You pick up the pace and so does Yeonjun. You two pass by many small shops that are surviving each day to make ends meet. Some of them are antique shops, record stores, and clothing lines. One of them is a toy store. If you could, you would love to go to them but with very little spare time you have in your hands, it’s too far into the future for you think about it.

You look up at the night sky and notice how particularly cloudy it is. Not only that, but the weather has been getting colder these days.

“Geez, I think it’s gonna rain soon. What do you think, Yeonjun?”

No response.

“Yeonjun?”

You turn around and find Yeonjun standing in front of the toy store. He’s staring down at a table that’s filled with a mix of toys. You tilt your head, curious about what caught his eye.

“Is there something you want?”

He remains quiet.

You look down, there’s one particular toy that stands out to you, which could explain why he stopped. You pick up a box with a doll of the BTS member, V, inside. The plastic cover has been battered up, and the doll’s hair is a mess. The limbs are sprawled in directions that a human bones can’t replicate. All in all, it’s a pitiful sight to bear, but what makes it even more tragic is that this outdoor table is for toys that are on discount.

“I remember when the dolls were announced, everyone went crazy for it.” Yeonjun comments.

He was still a trainee at that time, but he already knew about it before the public did. You did too, but you didn’t think too much about it since nearly everything related to BTS becomes impactful to the world.

“But…look at where it is now. It has its quirks in the beginning, but after a while, this doll will never compare to the real person. It’s a temporary escape from the reality that you’ll never get to be with the real V-sunbaenim.”

The way he words it…is so depressing. This is unlike Yeonjun to be spilling poetic lines. You stare at the doll, and the doll glares back at you. You wonder what the doll’s journey was like, from factory to this clearance table.

“It’s just a doll. I’m sure it’ll find an owner,” you assure him. “Let’s hurry back before they get upset.”

He turns to you as if you offended him, not the doll. But he looks away with a troubled look, ultimately plastering a nonconsensual smile. You know you said something wrong, but you don’t know what it is.

“Manager…” Yeonjun calls out.

“Yea?”

“…I’m…different from V-sunbaenim, right?”

This isn’t a hard question, and yet you’re having a hard time answering it. It’s because if you answer either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, they both carry heavy context behind them. It’s plainly obvious how Yeonjun will feel if you say ‘no’, but saying ‘yes’ would also feel shallow depending on the tone. In this situation, how do you answer?

“…You’re fine just the way you are.” You say it with a tone as plain as cardboard.

You can’t decipher his expression, and it worries you more. It’s like you nailed the coffin perfectly and just made his mood worse.

Without putting much thought into it, you take him by his hand, holding it tightly. He’s confused, but you muster a smile. “Come on, stay close so that we don’t separate. You’re the one carrying Soobin’s snacks. He’ll cry if we lose it.”

You drag him along with you. As you walk forward with him in hand, you make quick glances behind to check on him. His sullen expression still remains, and it makes you all the more conflicted. You don’t know exactly what’s going on in his head, but you’re too afraid to ask, thinking that he might just brush off your worries as meaningless thinking.

==========

“Kai, don’t cry.” Soobin pats him on the back.

Occupying a private dance room in Los Angeles, Huening Kai is sitting in a fetal position, wiping his eyes with his hands. Soobin and Taehyun are on their knees, one person on each side. You sit in front of him, thinking of ways to encourage him.

“You’re overreacting. You did everything fine.” Taehyun adds on.

“I can’t dance. I’m really bad at it.” He mutters to himself.

“Have some water and let’s be chirpy again!” Beomgyu kneels down and passes him a bottle of water, but he doesn’t accept it.

“I shouldn’t have tried to become an idol. I don’t like, I hate this. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Huening Kai, don’t say that,” You put your hands over his. “You’re doing great.”

But it doesn’t seem like your message has crossed over. It’s understandable that Huening Kai gets into moods like this, especially being under immense pressure despite only living fifteen years of his life. To be so young yet feel defeated makes your eyes water.

Standing on the other side of the room is Yeonjun, still rehearsing. You’re a little annoyed that he more interested in himself than Huening Kai. You give him dagger eyes, waiting for him to do something, but nothing happens.

“Yeonjun, can’t you at least take your eyes off of yourself for a second?” You pout.

“Manager, don’t…! It’s okay!” Huening Kai begs.

He finally turns to your direction, staring back at you as you glare. He scratches the back of his head, approaching Huening Kai until he crouches in front of him.

“If this is too much for you, then why don’t you just quit?”

Huening Kai gasps, and so does the rest of you. You have the urge to smack him across the face, wondering how he could ask that question when Kai is already at his lowest.

“I don’t want to…”

“Why? You’re the one who keeps complaining about how hard it is.”

Huening Kai looks conflicted, like his words are biting back at him.

“Yeonjun, don’t—”

But Soobin stops you by putting his hand on your shoulder. While you don’t know what’s going on, it seems like the rest of the boys do.

“I don’t want to quit.”

Yeonjun’s serious expression then switches that of an upbeat grin. He pats him on the back, pulling him for a neck hug.

“You say that you want to quit, but deep down, you want to keep going. The moment negative thoughts start passing through your head, shut them out immediately and start finding compliments for yourself.”

“But…that’s a bit self-serving…”

He shakes his head. “Conceited people compliment themselves as a means of building a wall to avoid their ego from being hurt. Confident people are so confident in themselves that they want others to succeed too. Come on, let’s keep practicing. Show me what you need help with and I’ll do my best to help.”

“Me too!” Soobin raises his hand.

“I’ll take part too.” Taehyun adds.

“Hey! Don’t leave me out either!” Beomgyu shouts.

These boys will never stop amazing you, but it also makes you feel bad. You feel like you didn’t do anything, and Yeonjun, once again, knows what to say and do. It makes you feel insecure—like you’re not cut out for the job. Once again, it’s Yeonjun overpowering someone’s abilities.

And despite disliking it, you can’t help but see Yeonjun in a more positive light. You thought that he didn’t care about the other members, but it doesn’t seem like the case all the time.

==========

You’re in the van with the rest of the boys and the driver. This time, they’re dressed in more formal attire, wearing suits. You’re glad that Yeonjun is a little more confident in himself now that he’s wearing what he wanted, but there’s still that lingering sense of gloom that floats around him.

The driver is playing songs on the radio while the boys are busy playing on their phones. Many overplayed songs play on the radio, some that you are still in love with and others where you’re getting sick of.

BTS’s song plays, and already, you can sense Yeonjun feeling uncomfortable. His raises his shoulders, scratching his head more than usual. You can see his distraught being played in the rear-view mirror.

“Excuse me, can you turn off the radio?”

“Oh yea, sure.” He turns it off.

You look back in the mirror, and he’s look like he’s fine, though a little disturbed. He clears his throat, looking at the reflection in his mirror and fixing his hair. Every time the driver hits a bump, Yeonjun would look at his phone’s camera’s portrait mode to fix his hair.

Drawing near the red carpet, the boys get ready to prepare for their walk. They can already hear hundreds of screams, and it only gets louder as they get closer. They check themselves one last time, making sure that every detail is perfect. Through the windows, there are fans screaming and waving at them.

“Alright, good luck, guys! Go make the crowd go wild!” You cheer them on.

They cheer back right as the car parks. In an instant, they shut their mouths, preparing for flashing lights from cameras and the nonsensical screams. They come out one by one, and you wait until they’ve walked enough so that you can enter. You don’t like being in the spotlight, so you rather distance yourself from situations such as these.

Just as planned, the boys stride through the red carpet professionally, waving and throwing finger hearts at fans. Once the crowd turn their heads away from your direction, you speed out of the car, wearing your face mask and parka to hide your identity. You speed to the backdrop where the five boys stand and pose for the hosts of the red carpet.

Behind the photo scene, you watch from behind as a barrage of camera flashes blind your vision. You can barely make shape of the members’ bodies. Judging how the situation is going, they seem to be handling it well. This isn’t the first time they were in front of this many cameras on a carpet walkway, so it’s not surprising that they’re doing well on their own.

“As BTS’s juniors, they’re doing amazing by breaking records of their own and standing out internationally, as well as in Korea. Coming back to the spotlight after two delays of their comeback, they returned with their first full-length album The Dream Chapter: Magic. It’s extremely rare that a rookie group is able to release a full album so soon, so they have a lot to show their fans. And speaking of fans, please pose for them, Tomorrow by Together!” The male host announces.

And doing what they’re told, they immediately start posing, raising their hands up to make hearts. They tilt their heads, some of them smiling and others, like Beomgyu and Yeonjun, making serious expressions. Fans are cheering for them, jumping and waving their hands at them but also hiding their faces behind cameras larger than their heads. They even have built-in lenses that are so large that it makes the cameras look like telescopes.

“Is there anything you would like to tell your fans?” The male host passes the microphone to Yeonjun.

He takes it, waving before taking a second to think about what he wants to say. “First of all, thank you to the MOAs who have been supporting us with our newest title track, 9 and Three Quarters. We worked very hard and put all our passion into each song in the album, so we would really appreciate it if every one of you also sup—”

Suddenly, someone throws an egg at Yeonjun, aimed perfectly at his head. The shell cracks into a million pieces, the raw components splattering all over his face. While the crowd gasps in horror, Yeonjun is in complete shock. During their years of training to deal with not only being exposed to passionate fans but also hate groups.

Among the crowd is a woman wearing sunglasses, a face mask, and a black beanie. She’s wearing all in black and is holding a carton of eggs in her arms.

“YOU’RE A PARASITE TO BTS. YOU LEECH OFF OF THEM TO MAKE EFFORTLESS CASH. THEY WORKED SO HARD ONLY FOR YOU TO TAKE IT AWAY. YOU DIDN’T DESERVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD. YOU’RE ALL FUCKING SCUM AND DESERVE TO DIE IN A SHITHOLE.”

She grabs more eggs to throw at Yeonjun. Bodyguards are sprinting toward her, but with so many people in the way, it’s taking longer to get to her. The staff from behind the backdrop, including you, are rushing onto the scene to grab the boys. But Yeonjun is furthest away from the exit, and the host next to him has ran off. In a state of panic, the staff and guards can only think about saving the idols who are closest to them, but no one is running to Yeonjun.

He’s frozen in shock, still processing what just happened as the egg whites drip from his hair. Even though everything is moving fast, it’s like time has slowed down, giving you milliseconds to think about your next moves. But some of her eggs fail to reach Yeonjun like the first attempt. With the guards tailing in on her, she dashes toward him, grabbing a fan’s large, expensive camera, lunging it back and readying it to hit Yeonjun with it.

Then that’s when Yeonjun’s bright, loving smile flashes through your mind. You thought about all the times you’ve spent with him laughing, playing games, and eating junk food with him. He used to be so happy, and it made your chest warm when you saw him in love with being an idol.

So…when did it start falling apart?

And the last frame in your mind was the first time you’ve ever seen him cry. All alone and on the ground, begging for his stress to go away. He repeats over and over that he wants to give up—the same trainee that was ranked number one, the same guy who everyone dismisses his five years of brutal training as ‘his seniors’ privileged little brother’, the same boy who you disliked because you made an assumption about him before you got to know him.

The next thing you know, you’re standing in between Yeonjun and the camera that the woman has thrown. In that brief moment, you and Yeonjun make eye contact. He looks so scared, like a child who’s been traumatized. But you don’t want him to keep making that face, so in the midst of the chaos, you smile, letting him know that everything will be alright.

Then your vision turns black.

==========

You clasp onto the door frame, your mouth hanging open. You thought you heard Yeonjun wrong. This is the same guy who you thought that he’s full of himself. But to see him on the ground, crying his eyes out, it was like reality hitting you really hard that trainee life can take a toll even on the most gifted of trainees, even Yeonjun.

“What did you say?” Unbeknownst to you, there was another person in the room. It’s their main choreography coach. “You’re quitting? You’re more pathetic than I thought.”

His coach crouches, knocking on Yeonjun’s head harshly.

“You’re so full of yourself that you’ve forgotten how much you’re a fucking sore eye to watch when you dance. Your feet and back is hurting? Bullshit. Those are excuses that quitters make. You think you can keep being number one with that mindset?”

How have you’ve never seen this up until now? How can this crude man be considered a coach?

“I’m sorry, I won’t say it again.” Yeonjun mutters as he sniffs, but he hasn’t stopped crying.

“Might as well make Taehyun number one. He’s doing great and he doesn’t whine like you. And he’s pretty young, too. He’ll top you in no time, and you’ll be last because you’re incompetent.”

Even bringing up the other members makes you sick. There’s something twisted about how he puts down Yeonjun’s spirit by comparing him to the other boys. While competition is great, this is just outright creating unnecessary rivalry. It now makes sense why Yeonjun distanced himself from the other boys; it was the work of this man. He made him fear his own teammates.

“Sitting around and shitting yourself isn’t going to make you a better dancer. Get the fuck up and keep practicing.”

But Yeonjun is hesitant to get up which irritates the coach.

“What are you still doing? Get. Up.”

“But…sir…it’s almost lunch time. The other members are back in the room…and they’re waiting for me.”

“Do I hear a goddamn wimp talking again?”

He immediately shakes his head. “No.”

“Then get up and stop crying. I’ll let you eat when you’ve finished thinking about what you did wrong. Besides…” he pinches Yeonjun’s cheeks. “No girl wants a guy who has fat on their face.”

He swipes Yeonjun’s face away, getting up and stomping out of the room. In the brink of time, you were able to hide behind the door while he walks out. He does what he’s told and gets up, and you cover your mouth when you realize the horror that’s been going on behind the scenes.

You can’t just hide. You want to talk to him, you want to know if he’s okay. If this is how their coach treats Yeonjun, you can’t imagine what he does to the other members.

You peek your head into the room, seeing as he’s already returns to dancing. He’s rubbing his feet and back like it’s in pain. You never noticed this before, but he has a lot of scars and burises on his arms and legs, most likely from excessive practicing. Some are old, some are new. He’s always worn long sleeves during practice and filming, at least long enough to hide them.

However, you’ve been staring for too long that you catch Yeonjun’s attention. You both are startled, but Yeonjun immediately wipes his eyes to hide his wet eyes.

“Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you were with the rest.”

You shake your head. “I came here to let you know that we’re going to get lunch.”

“It’s okay, I’m not hungry.”

You curl your lips inward, trying to fight the urge to cry. You don’t want to make it seem like you eavesdropped, but it’s too late.

“You…heard everything, didn’t you?”

You don’t reply.

“Ah…so embarrassing…”

“I’m…sorry.” You murmur.

“What?”

“I didn’t know.”

You step forward, falling into Yeonjun’s arms. He’s confused, trying to push you away, but you won’t let him.

“What are you sorry for?”

You’re not sorry for listening to their conversation. You’re sorry for making the wrong assumption about him. Because of that, you deemed him as the villain who only wants to win for himself. You feel immensely guilty for pushing him aside without putting much thought. But now looking back, you were wrong for making up thoughts based on how he acted and look.

“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that that coach is fired.”

“Wh-what…? You don’t have to.”

“No! I have to! I don’t want you to debut with that way of thinking! You’re better than what he makes you to be.”

He’s at a loss of words. He’s hesitant about putting his arms around you, but he ultimately does it. His hands are shaking so much, and you aren’t sure if it’s because of malnourishment from extreme dieting or if he’s scared.

“I’m okay…really…” Yeonjun chuckles as he fails to fight back his tears. “I’m okay…I’m fine. I’m fine…I’m…okay…I’m…not…”

He starts crying louder and louder, though not too loud so the coach can hear. He lowers his back, though slowly because his spine is in excruciating pain from so much dancing. He buries his face into your shoulder, sobbing. He clutches onto the back of your shirt, not wanting to let go of this warmth. You can tell by how awkward he wraps his arms around you that he doesn’t hug that often.

Those years of pressure to keep up with his reputation is catching up to him. Everyone may think he’s a super trainee who will undoubtedly succeed, but at the end of the day, he’s still a trainee. You may never fully know what he exactly endured, but imagine five years, 1,825 days, that he had to suffer thinking that he’ll never debut. His naïve dreams of inspiring others with his performances slowly diminishing as time went by, fleeting into dust when he realizes that he may never debut.

That’s why he’s so conceited—hiding away his anxiety and fears of never being able to show the world those five years of torturous training. He built himself up so high because he wanted to believe that he’ll make it, and he wanted to convince others of that too because he never truly did. In the darkness, he was scared that the scars he received, the mental beatings, and the physical pains were for nothing. After all, a narcissistic person tries to hide his flaws rather than having enough confidence to help others.

He was so deep in his vicious thoughts that he forgot what it was like to be comforted. That’s probably why he’s holding onto you so tightly, because he’s afraid that he won’t have another chance to feel this vulnerable. What started as a rocky relationship, he became your harsh reality of the music industry, but you have become his therapy.

But this escape-therapy can only go so far.

==========

You regain consciousness, and the first thing you see is a white ceiling. You hear a monitor beating to your side. You turn your head, seeing the four boys sitting next to you. They’re all frozen, like they can’t believe that you’re awake.

“MANAGER!! I…! You…! Alive!!” Soobin bursts into tears.

He throws himself onto you, losing your breath because of his heavy weight pressing against your chest. Your heart rate increases on the motor, so Huening Kai immediately pulls him off of you.

“Are you trying to kill her?!”

“I’m…I’m…I’m…just so happy!” He’s like a broken faucet that can’t stop crying.

Beomgyu and Taehyun are also crying, though Taehyun tries to hide it with his hand. It doesn’t help when you can see his tears landing on his lap.

“How are you feeling?!” Beomgyu asks.

“I’m…so sleepy…Where am I?” You try getting up.

But Huening Kai pushes your shoulders back down. “Don’t get up! You need all the rest you can get.”

After wiping the tears away, Taehyun clears his throat. “A criminal threw a camera at Yeonjun-hyung, but you managed to get in between, but you ended up getting hurt and got an injury to the head.”

“Calling her a criminal is a bit too much…” Huening Kai states.

“Too much or not, she still committed a crime because she had intent on harming us, especially our hyung. If we weren’t in public, then I would’ve done anything to stop her. But my ideas would’ve sent me to prison.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“IDIOT!!!” Beomgyu shouts suddenly.

His loud voice startles you, creating a spike in your heartbeat monitor. You’re jokingly beginning to think that them being in the room with you is going to do more harm to your body.

“Why did you try to tried acting like a hero?! During times like that, you have to save yourself!!” He keeps on crying and let his nose run.

Honestly, you don’t know either. Your feet moved on its own, and your only goal was to ensure Yeonjun’s safety. And speaking of Yeonjun, he’s nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Yeonjun?”

“Yeonjun-hyung…he…” Huening Kai pauses.

“Hyung is back at the dorms. Because of the assault, we had to temporarily pause activity in the meantime. We were also checked and we’re fine.”

“But Hyung…” Beomgyu trails off.

Your heart drops, fearing for the worse.

“He—”

“He was just a little startled,” Taehyun continues. “He’s taking a break in the dorms right now.”

You sigh in relief. The anticipation was really killing you. It makes sense that he’s still a little shaken up because the threat was aimed toward him, after all. But despite the assurance, you can’t help but worry.

“Is it okay to leave him by himself…?” You ask.

“We were just about to leave to check on him. We’ll let the nurses know that you woke up and we’ll be on our way. We’ll text you if something comes up.” Taehyun says.

Soobin, who’s still riddled with tears, places his hands over yours. “Manager, please eat a lot. Call us immediately if something happens. Text us through Kakao, but if you absolutely have to, then use our actual phone number. Don’t try to do anything on your own and have the nurses assist you. And I know how much you stress out about us, so every morning, afternoon, and evening, I’m going to remind you not to worry. If it makes you feel better, I’ll leave voicemails about what each of us did for that day too. Here, I’ll set up three alarm clocks to remind myself to text you every day.”

Right as he whips his phone out, you raise your hand up to stop him. “N-no, it’s okay.”

“Okay, we’ll be leaving.” Huening Kai winks at you.

“Call me when you guys make it back to the dorms.”

“Yes, yes worry-wart.”

==========

“Why did you lie to her?!” Beomgyu shouts.

“I didn’t want to lie, but I thought it was better that way,” Taehyun crosses his arms.

“But she’s already concerned for Hyung as it is. Lying won’t make it any better!!” Beomgyu’s loud voice draws attention.

Panicked, Soobin shushes him. “Beomgyu, please! People are staring.”

“You do realize that if we tell her, then all she’s ever gonna try and do is sneak out of the hospital and look for him on his own, right? She won’t listen to us if we still that Hyung still comes home every night.”

“But…he’s gone all day, and we don’t know where he goes. We’ve already tried talking to him, but he won’t listen to us!!”

“I think Taehyun’s right,” Huening Kai raises his hand. “At least for now, we should at least keep it a secret until she’s recovered. It’ll just stress her out even more if we tell her now.”

“I agree with the both of them.” Soobin also votes.

Beomgyu looks at the three of them, unable to believe they would continue with this falsity. However, they do have a point. Your stress levels have definitely spiked ever since their comeback, and adding more to that isn’t going to make you rest, but freak out more.

“Al…alright. But we have to tell her soon!”

“Yes, we will,” Taehyun says. “Just. Don’t. Tell. Her.”

He warns all of them, but particularly at Beomgyu. Even though Taehyun says that, he has a strong feeling that Beomgyu will give in to the weight.

==========

Thankfully, the injury to your head isn’t that serious. For the next two days, you remain in the hospital to double check that you can function properly without any disruptions to your brain.

Unsurprisingly, the attack became international news. Accusations were placed everywhere, with fans blaming the awards ceremony for not having high security. Even though fan outrage is to be expected, getting angry over it can’t undo what has already happened. In your opinion, you wish that rather than focusing their attention toward blaming the ceremony, they should be more focused on the wellbeing of the boys. Thankfully, there are fans who worry more about them than award show functionality.

For the last two days, the boys have been taking a short hiatus. They can’t even enter the Big Hit building because there are so many journalists crowding at every entrance. To the best of your luck, Big Hit has never publically shared which hospital you’re staying at, so there are no journalists anywhere here. It makes it easier for the members to visit you during their free time.

Just as Soobin promised, he’s been updating you about the boys. They seem to be doing well, even sending you an entire essay about each member in exquisite detail, with the exception of Yeonjun. For him, Soobin would keep it very vague, and it doesn’t make matters any better when Yeonjun’s the only person who hasn’t visited you. They keep telling you that he’s fine, but you want to see it for yourself.

“Yay! You’re leaving tomorrow morning!” Beomgyu claps his hands.

Today, it’s only Beomgyu who came. Huening Kai and Taehyun had to stay after school to make up a few tests that they missed, and Soobin had already visited you in the morning. Beomgyu is still in his school uniform and he brought some candy for you snack on.

“Yea, I feel like I was going insane being cooped up in this room all day. I guess it’s true that when you see the color white all the time, it makes you go crazy.” You laugh.

“But just because you leave the hospital doesn’t mean that you should go back to your usual routine. Take things slowly. I can play as the manager while you heal!” Beomgyu points to himself with his thumb.

“Uh…it’s okay. If you’re the manager, then the group is going to be in shambles within weeks,” you elbow him. “I’m just kidding. Thanks for volunteering to do that though. That’s mature of you to take responsibility.”

“Anything for you.” Beomgyu holds your hand and sways it up and down as he giggles.

He lets go of your hand then looks out the window, exhaling carbon. The skies are covered with gray clouds.

“Ah…I hope the sky becomes happier when you leave. I want the entire world to be happy when you get out!”

You chuckle. “That’s so adorable. Thank you.”

“But I do hope that this bad weather makes the news reporters just leave was alone. They’ve been camping out in front of the building.”

“Oh yea, on the same topic as that, no one’s been harassing you guys about the whole ordeal, right?”

He shakes his head. “These big scary guards have been protecting us, so we’ve been protected very well.”

“And how’s Yeonjun?”

Beomgyu freezes. You wait for him to reply, but when he takes longer than he should, that’s when you realize that something’s going on.

“…He is doing fine…right?”

“Ye…yea…! He is! He’s terrific, fine, excellent, phenomenal, exuberant!”

But you aren’t convinced. “Beomgyu, don’t lie to me.”

“I-I’m not lying!” He laughs nervously. “Why would I lie to you?”

“Please, tell me the truth.”

With your serious yet calmly desperate tone, he can’t hide it anymore. After a few days of keeping it a secret, he has to tell you. “Hyung has been going out a lot. We don’t know where he goes, but when we ask, he won’t tell us. When he does come home, he goes straight to bed and sleeps until he gets up and repeats.”

“What? Are you telling me that he goes by himself with no guards?”

“W-well…”

“Is he out right now?”

“I don’t know…I think so?”

You throw the blanket off of yourself, moving your legs off of the bed before Beomgyu places his hands on your shoulders to prevent you from getting out. “What are you doing??”

“I’m gonna go look check on him.”

“Are you nuts?! You haven’t been discharged yet, and you’re leaving?!”

“Yes, so let me go.”

“I can’t! Agh…I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. Manager, please don’t try and go. We’re all worried as it is.”

“What?”

“Taehyun told me that we should keep it a secret from you because we want you to rest. We’re already troubled having to find Yeonjun-hyung, and we’ll just get even more worried if you push your body.”

You paid so much attention on Yeonjun that you pushed the other boys aside. The pained expression on Beomgyu’s face says it all—the situation that both you and Yeonjun are in is taking a toll on them too. They may act like it isn’t bothering them when it clearly is; they’re trying their best to do what they can.

You put your legs back under the blanket begrudgingly. “Okay…I’m sorry, Beomgyu.”

He sighs in relief, glad that Taehyun won’t have to get upset. “Is there anything I can do for you? I have to go back to the dorms after.”

“No, I’m good. You can go now. Thanks for stopping by and giving me candy. I don’t think I can last another meal with hospital food.” You laugh.

Although you’re trying to lighten the mood, Beomgyu can sense that you’re still troubled. He pretends like he didn’t notice and forces an obvious fake laugh.

“O…okay. Please text us if you need anything. I’ll be going now.”

Beomgyu leaves and closes the door. Now alone, you think about what to do. Sneaking out of the hospital isn’t going to make things better, even though you really want to. For now, you can only wait until you’re discharged from the hospital.

Or…that’s what they want you to think. Your instincts tell you that if you don’t do something right now, then you’re going to regret it.

==========

“WHAT?!”

Soobin shushes Beomgyu.

“Mi-mi-mi-missing?! What are we gonna do?! Does Taehyun and Huening Kai know about this?? A-and, Manager, she—”

“Seriously, calm down, Beomgyu! They don’t know about it. I think it’s better not to tell them until they come back. As for Manager…I don’t know.”

“We have to let her know!” Beomgyu takes his phone out. “I literally told her that he’s fine!”

“W-wait, let’s think about it first.”

“That’s what we’ve been doing! We kept thinking about it that it drove Yeonjun to go missing!!”

As the leader, Soobin is trying to remain calm, but inside, he doesn’t know what to do either. He feels awful that he kept this hidden from you. However, making you panic isn’t going to make things better either.

He thought about calling the police, but with the media already on their tails, he doesn’t want to cause more trouble and create an even bigger scene.

“I’m going to tell Manager.” Beomgyu dials your phone number.

“Beomgyu—”

“What?! Are you going to tell me to keep it on the down low again?! Sorry, Hyung, but I can’t. I don’t want to keep hiding from each other anymore. I don’t want to disappoint her again.”

Soobin is hesitant, but Beomgyu is right. “…Okay, you call her and I’ll let the younger two know,” he looks out the window, seeing as it started raining. “I just hope Hyung is safe…”

Beomgyu lets his phone ring for a while. After five rings, that’s when he knew that there’s something going on with you. Whenever it’s one of the boys who’s calling, you would pick up immediately unless there was an emergency. And since you’re not picking up your phone…

“H-Hyung…she’s not picking up. Wh-what should we do?!”

==========

You don’t know how, but you miraculously escaped the hospital. Thankfully, the members left some of your sweaters for you in case you got cold, so you were able to hide your patient uniform and leave without anybody noticing. Your hospital bed doesn’t have an alarm, so you were able to get up without having to alert the nurses.

But what you didn’t have was an umbrella. Within seconds in the rain, you’re soaked. And even though you set out in search of Yeonjun, you don’t know where to start. You left your phone in the hospital, so there’s no way you get contact him—that is if he doesn’t ignore your calls or messages.

With the day drawing towards its end, the skies grow darker with the clouds raining heavier. Less people are on the streets, only drunkards waddling back to their homes and college students coming back from restaurants.

You run around the city, passing through citizens who may look like him but to your dismay, he isn’t any of them. From head to toe, you’re drenched. Even your slippers are too wet to keep your feet dry. With each footstep, the pressure put onto the slipper squeezes some water out, only for it to soak up more.

You want to call his name, but you’re afraid that by doing so, it’ll call attention. While he may have dyed his hair blue, he is most likely hiding it to avoid being recognized. Everything is playing against you, and it makes you agonize in your lonesome worries—that you’ll probably won’t be able to find him.

It pains you to think about all this might’ve been avoidable. Maybe if you didn’t push aside his problems, then this wouldn’t have happened. Of course, the attack at the red carpet was unforeseeable, but perhaps the smallest of decisions before that might’ve changed some decisions.

And looking back in the past, to trace your steps to the places you’ve been with him. It might be pointless, but it’s the best you can do. Standing at the dead center of the sidewalk, you scour through your memories, from the convenience store to the variety shows. Of all places, there was one place that stood out to you. It might’ve have very little significance at the time, but after putting everything together, it oddly makes sense. With a destination in mind, you run.

==========

At the toy store, it’s long since been closed for the day, but just as you thought, Yeonjun is there. You’re overwhelmed with an array of emotions, relieved that he’s okay but also concerned to see him just as wet as you. He’s crouching next to a trash bin next to the store like he’s inspecting something.

“Yeon…!” You stop yourself before calling his name.

But he heard you clearly. He can recognize your voice from a mile away, but he doesn’t react whatsoever. It’s only when you stand behind him when he turns around. Even though it’s the same person, his eyes have bags underneath. His hair is a mess, matted to his forehead from the rain. His nose, cheeks, and ears are red, but is skin and lips have lost color. When you trace your eyes down to his hands, he’s holding something.

You snap out of your trance, shaking your head then crouching to his level. “What are you doing here?!”

“…(Y/N)?” He mutters a small chuckle. “Ah…I’m hallucinating now. You should be in the hospital.”

Cradled in his hands is the V doll that you two saw days ago. It’s out of its box now, but it has black dirt all over its clothes and face. It has lost some of its plastic hair, revealing a few bald spots with holes.

“Wh-why do you have that? Come on, let’s go.”

You try helping him up, but he refuses to move. He even shoves your hands off of him.

“Hey, (Y/N). Guess what I just found out?” Yeonjun smiles, though the ends of his lips twitch. “For the past few days, I came here to make sure that someone would buy this poor doll and give it affection. I didn’t want to buy it because I wanted someone else to prove that a doll like this can be loved. Every, single, day, people would pass by this doll and aren’t willing to end its loneliness. And you know what? Just a few hours ago, the owner of the store was clearing out his clearance toys and threw them out, and this doll was one of them.”

He’s talking like a mad man. But his grin slowly twists into a sour expression as he bites his bottom lip.

“It fell out of its box and got dirty. It became nothing more than another piece of trash. And it made me open my eyes: the reason why this doll can’t be loved is because it’s just an imitation of the real V-sunbaenim! There are millions of V copycats, just like this doll, and none of them will ever match his level of superiority. People fall in love with the real V-sunbaenim, not this, so it’s obvious that they want the real one,” he squeezes the doll so tight that the limbs begin to misshapen. “The fake one is just temporary. The fakes are always the ones who are left behind…”

That’s when it hits you; Yeonjun isn’t talking about the millions of factory-made dolls of Taehyung, or any of the other BTS members in that regards.

But himself.

“Ever since our debut, I kept having demented thoughts…I supported my seniors, but deep down…I wanted them to fail. I wanted them see them crash and burn because…the more successful they became, the more pressure that came upon us. And I hate myself for being selfish! But…I’m more scared of disappointing the people…our fans…that I can’t live up to their expectations.”

You’re so shocked that you can’t say anything. All this bottled up emotions has been eating him up, and it’s scaring you.

“If we tried our best, we got hated because they think we’re trying to top our seniors, but if we didn’t live up to their expectations, then we were accused of being privileged and lazy.”

His eyes are turning swollen, and he can’t stop crying. He covers his eyes the palm of his hands, wailing in pain.

“I didn’t become a performer only to continue someone else’s dreams! (Y/N)…I can’t take it anymore…”

No, he’s doing it again.

“I can’t…”

Don’t say it.

“I want to give up—”

“YEONJUN!” You shout from the top of your lungs.

You grab his cheeks, shaking him violently. His face is so icy—so cold that it could give you frostbites. While he’s sitting, you’re standing on your knees, hovering over him small body.

“Get those thoughts out of your head! Don’t ever say that you want to give up! You will make your own mark!! You’re going to go on stage and prove to yourself that you’re not Taehyung from BTS, but Yeonjun from Tomorrow by Together. And…and…”

You can’t hold back your tears either, letting all your emotions out as well.

“I’ll be there…supporting you…Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai. Because we’re a team, and we help each other out.”

You pull him in for a hug, and his head is nuzzled on your shoulder. When he tries to fight you off of him, you don’t let go.

“They may compare you to Taehyung, and they can hate you for all we care. But you’ll never be Taehyung.”

You pull him back, smiling.

“And he can never be you, either. Just like how there’s only one Kim Taehyung from BTS, there’s only one Choi Yeonjun from TXT, and that’s you.”

His eyes widen, then within seconds, he bursts into tears. He hides his face in your chest, sobbing like a child. He drops the doll to hold onto you. Despite you shivering too, your body gives so much warmth, and he doesn’t want to let go.

Having to grow up into the cruelty known as the entertainment world where the agencies and audience has the right to control their lives, Yeonjun could never cry in pain. His fears hold him back from ever revealing his vulnerable side because he’s the ‘number one trainee of Big Hit’. A title so high like that, he had to pretend to be a man who can stand tall. But…as time went by, it broke him bit by bit. He was constantly compared and belittled, and it hurt him more than anyone could ever imagine.

“(Y/N)…I don’t want to let go. I’m scared…I’m scared of the world, myself, everything.”

“It’s okay…don’t worry.”

“I don’t hate my seniors…I don’t hate our fans…I just hate…how the world works.”

“Don’t beat yourself up anymore. You don’t have to be so hard on yourself. You deserve to eat whatever you want, dress however you want, and be the person you want to be. They can judge you, but they can’t define you. Now, let’s go back home.”

==========

Many hours later back in the dorms, the four members are standing by the bedroom door. They want to check, but they don’t want to disrupt you and Yeonjun. You two have been in there for hours. But even with the warnings of the other members, Beomgyu is antsy.

“Why can’t I just look?”

“No! They’re probably tired and just want to be left alone.” Soobin steps in between Beomgyu and the door.

Beomgyu groans. “Those two have been doing crazy things, and I can’t take a break.”

“Lower your voice. They’re most likely sleeping.” Taehyun shushes.

“…Okay…” he sighs. “But just a peek.”

Beomgyu steps around Soobin and tries to open the door.

“No!” Huening Kai pulls him away. “It’s forbidden to intervene in such an intimate moment.”

“…You calling it ‘intimate’ is just making me even more nervous! What if Yeonjun-hyung is, you know, doing things to her?!”

“They both came back to the dorms drenched in rain, potentially sick from being exposed to germs, and that’s what you’re worried about?” Taehyun raises an eyebrow.

“Manager has been in the bedroom for a long time…” Soobin plays with his fingers. “Who would’ve ever thought that they had an awkward relationship from the beginning?”

“Eh? They did?” Beomgyu asks, oblivious.

“Of course. They wanted nothing to do with each other. I don’t know when, but they became friends out of nowhere.”

“It’s even weirder that Yeonjun-hyung didn’t like her at first, but look at him now,” Taehyun crosses his arms. “He’s completely infatuated with her.”

Beomgyu stares at the boys, wide-eyed. “…WHAT?! Ye-Ye-Yeonjun-hyung l-l-likes Manager?! Since when?!”

“You couldn’t tell?” Huening Kai laughs. “He makes it very obvious. There are times when he becomes a vicious wolf when we hog her too much…”

“Manager probably likes him too.” Taehyun adds.

“What…?” Beomgyu looks baffled and disappointed, like he just lost a battle.

“I wouldn’t be surprised…” Kai drags his sentence. “Yeonjun-hyung does have that air of maturity. She probably wants someone like him.”

“…I’m an adult too.” Soobin mutters under his breath.

“I do hope that Yeonjun-hyung does realize that not everybody hates us,” Taehyun turns on his phone, sliding through pages of articles. “We have fans who care about us too. V-sunbaenim also sent us a message in the group chat, asking if we’re okay. He said that he’s even willing to cancel their activity in the U.S. just to visit us…”

“All of our seniors are worried about us. They do treat us too good.” Huening Kai chuckles nervously.

“Oh, I know!” Soobin jumps excitedly. “Before he wakes up, let’s compile all the supportive comments that we’ve received during our hiatus, including some from BTS-sunbaenim.”

“He’s going to cry for sure. There’s so much support from our fans that we can’t count. But…every voice matters, and I kind of want to do that.” Taehyun blushes slightly.

“Yea, yea, let’s do it!!!!” Soobin grabs ahold of Huening Kai and swings him back and forth.

“Gah! Hyung, let me go!!”

==========

Even though the boys are trying to leave you and Yeonjun alone to rest, they’re doing a poor job at it. You’ve been trying to fall asleep, but with their loud voices, it’s nearly impossible. However, you can’t help but find it endearing, disliking them is even more impossible.

You’ve been sitting by Yeonjun’s bed, having changed out of your patient uniform and into clothes that Soobin rushed to buy just for you. Yeonjun has been sleeping since he was showing signs of a fever. The entire time, he wouldn’t let go of your hand, and you’ve been holding it since.

When you look at him, Yeonjun has been awake for a while, but you don’t know when he woke up. He’s on his phone, scrolling through his feed.

“Oh, you’re not sleeping?”

He shakes his head. “How am I supposed to sleep with all the ruckus?”

You snicker. “True. I’m sure they’re just worried.”

“Yea, and I feel bad.”

“Hey, no need to feel bad,” You hold onto his hand tighter.

He gazes at you with gentle eyes, brushing your hair behind your ears. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m better than ever.”

“No fever?”

Yeonjun presses his knuckles against your forehead. As he leans a little closer, it makes you timid with how intense his stare is. It’s too much that you had to pull yourself away.

“How are you feeling?” You avert your eyes, scratching your forehead.

“Well…I’m dying.”

“What?! Wh-what should I do? Ah…we have to go to the hospital. Where’s my phone???”

“I’m dying of embarrassment. I can’t believe I broke down in front of you again.”

You’re still before it finally hits you that it was somewhat of a joke. “Jesus Christ, Yeonjun! You scared me!”

“Seriously! My pride’s been ruined, and now I don’t think I can ever recover. I vowed that I would never appear weak in front of you again.”

You chuckle. “What’s wrong with that? We’re all human.”

“Yea but…it makes it seem needy. I want to be able to take care of you too.”

“You’ve done enough for me too.”

“Going to the store with you doesn’t count.”

“It counts to me!”

“No,” he sets his phone down, cupping your cheek so you can look at him.

With that brief eye contact, it’s already enough to make you all worked up. Your heartbeat becomes rapid, and your anxiousness has risen. You try to turn away, but he doesn’t allow you to do so, turning your head back to him.

“I’m going to prove that I’m not who the media thinks I am, some innocent boy. Don’t forget that I’m twenty-one. There are things that I crave too, you know?”

“L-like what?”

Take smirks. “Take a guess.”

He brings his face closer to yours. You flinch, but you don’t fight it. Your face turns as red as a tomato, so embarrassed that you can’t look at him in the face. He loves seeing you flustered because, for once, it seems like you’re able to see him as a man, not a child.

“Yeonjun…the boys are in the living room. We…we shouldn’t…”

“Let them catch us.”

“Wh-what??”

“If you’re so worried about them, then I’ll stop.”

But you’re hesitant, clearly expressing that you don’t want to turn him down. It makes Yeonjun smirk.

“They already know that I called dibs on you a long time ago.”

“L-long time ago?!” You give him a surprised look. “Since when—”

And without warning, Yeonjun presses his lips against yours. His eyes are closed, the soft sensation of his lips create fireworks in your chest. There’s no gap in between, your face brushed against his, and while he’s breathing steadily, you hold your breath.

He pulls back slowly, almost wanting to go again but stopping before he can’t control himself. Your entire face has burned up so much that he could’ve sworn he saw steam coming out of your ears. He laughs, finding you absolutely adorable.

“I’ll give my everything to the media, our real fans, and especially you, what I’m made of. I can promise you that.”

It’s been so long since you last saw confidence in his eyes. In fact, you don’t ever recall seeing him as confident as this. He always pulled through challenges with a wink of doubt, never none. As flustered as you are with this sudden kiss, you’re nevertheless happy that he’s found his footing again.

“(Y/N), and I’ll make sure that everybody knows that I like—”

“MANAGER! I’M GOING TO SAVE YOU!!”

Beomgyu’s abrupt shouting startles both you and Yeonjun as he tries to unlock the door. You two can hear Soobin and Huening Kai struggle to get him off the door as the knob twists side to side.

“Is he hurting you!? He is, isn’t he?! I always knew Hyung was a fox in sheep’s clothing!!”

“It’s wolf, not fox!!” Soobin corrects him.

You and Yeonjun look at each other with confused looks, but then it turns into sweet laughter.

You don’t know what the future holds for you and the five boys. This isn’t going to be the last time people will send hate toward them. It hasn’t been long since their debut, so they have a long way before they can show how strong they are. Regardless, each obstacle is a test for them to fight back against those who try to pull them down.

The future may be foggy, but there’s a purpose with why you became their manager. You and the boys have come together with the same dream of touching the hearts of many, reaching for a better tomorrow. They may have their ups and downs, but it’s these flaws that they’ll learn to grow and become a better and more confident version of themselves. They don’t know when the day will come, but for now, they’ll enjoy their journey.

[End]

#txt #txt scenario #txt scenarios #txt imagine #txt imagines #yeonjun #choi yeonjun #tomorrow x tomorrow #yeonjun scenarios #yeonjun scenario #yeonjun imagine #yeonjun x reader #yeonjun fluff #txt fluff #yeonjun angst #kpop #fanfiction

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willow-salix · 4 years

Text

Isolation update! I was planning on doing the prompt of "Sight" for @gumnut-logic challenge for the next chapter of the big fat fic (which I'm still gonna do) but this came out too. So I let the boys roll with it.

Day 76 of Isolation on Tracy Island

“Scott?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you know anything about this?” I held up my headphones, which had been previously missing for maybe the last eight months and that I had just found in the cutlery drawer.

“Yeah, they’re headphones.”

“Thank you Captain Obvious, I meant why are they in with the knives and forks?”

He shrugged. “Why are you asking me?”

“Because you were hiding socks around the place for over three weeks.”

“Only because it took you so long to give them back to me. I started after we watched Half Blood Prince, I thought it would make you laugh but you just kept ignoring them.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry I didn’t realise you needed to be freed!”

“Of course I did! I was your house elf!”

“House elves do chores! They don’t sit around being fed and demanding attention!”

“I’m a progressive house elf that is fighting for elf rights!”

“No you aren't, you’re a lazy bum!”

“Lazy? Me?”

“Yes, you!”

“I will never understand the conversations you two have,” John muttered as he pushed past us to fill his mug with the coffee I had just brewed.

“It’s affectionate arguing,” Scott laughed, sliding his mug over to John for a top up.

“So no one knows why my headphones have just suddenly turned up from wherever they vanished to and magicked themselves into the kitchen?”

“Nope,” Scott gave up waiting for John to pour him a drink and stole mine. I narrowed my eyes in his general direction. John slid a fresh cup over to me. Such a great guy.

“You know,” John mused. “I found one of my world geography books in the bathroom cupboard.”

“I found my utility knife in the piano stool,” Virgil added, wandering over to snag some toast that had just popped up.

“I just made that,” I told him.

“Thank you,” he continued to butter it. I stared at his plaid clad back for a few seconds but when he failed to burst into flames I gave up and dropped some more bread into the toaster.

“Now that I think about it,” Scott mused, “I found my guitar pick in the fruit bowl, the one that I got from that little shop in Texas. I thought I lost it for good years ago but it just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Something strange is going on,” Virgil declared. “If stuff we lost is returning there has to be a reason for it.”

“Parallel universe,” I answered confidently.

“I don’t think that's a thing,” Scott said gently.

“Apports then?” I offered.

“No, I don’t think...what’s an apport?” Virgil asked.

“An object conjured out of nothing by a ghost, obviously.”

“I don’t think this is the work of a ghost, love," John said, squeezing my shoulder as he passed by to take a seat. “There’s only one person that borrows things without asking and that’s Gordon.”

“That was going to be my next guess,” I admitted.

“Yet you went straight for ghosts and different universes?” Scott asked, clearly bemused.

“Well, maybe, just for once, I wanted something interesting to happen around here that I could actually deal with,” I huffed. “Sue me.”

“Only you could think ghosts and different realms were something that’s easy to deal with when you were the one that screamed and climbed me like a monkey because a crab ran over your foot on the beach last night,” John laughed.

“Crabs have pincers, any sane person would get away from one of them,” I pouted, reaching for some toast off Virgil’s plate. Honestly I don’t know why we don't just have communal plates in this house, no one seems to eat their own food.

“So what are we going to do about Gordon being a kleptomaniac?” I asked.

“We’ll deal with him after breakfast,” Scott decided, leaning over and biting the corner off my toast. See? No boundaries whatsoever.

***

The klepto in question was sneaking suspiciously around the lounge when we tracked him down and we caught him in the act of leaving a magnifying glass behind a book on the bookcase.

“Busted,” Scott yelled, making Gordon jump about a foot in the air.

“So it was you that’s been leaving our belongings scattered around the house,” Virgil sighed.

“Why are you doing this?” John asked, although his tone said he was debating the wiseness of even posing the question and was unsure he actually wanted an answer.

“Can’t a guy do something nice for his family?”

“He can when he’s not the one thats been stealing things in the first place,” I shot back, arms folded, foot tapping.

“I’m offended!” Gordon gasped dramatically. “A Tracy doesn’t steal unless its Virgil and a bell takes his fancy-”

“That was one time and it was an accident!”

“I may borrow things,” Gordon continued.

“For three years?” Scott snorted.

“I borrow on extended loan-”

“Without permission,” John added.

“But you always get them back eventually,” Gordon finished triumphantly. “I got bored and cleaned my room and it was like unearthing buried treasure. I may have forgotten that I borrowed a few things but you’ve got them back now, so no harm no foul.”

“Is that all you needed to return?” Virgil sighed.

“There might be a few other things scattered around,” Gordon admitted.

“Go and get them,” Scott ordered.

Gordon staggered in half an hour later weighed down by a massive box overflowing with his plundered loot.

“Seriously?” Scott gaped as the box thumped down on the table.

“All of that?” Virgil couldn't believe his eyes.

“Not surprised,” John muttered.

“How did you manage to borrow all that?” Alan asked in awe, having been summoned from his pit to claim any lost items that may have fallen into Gordons possession. “I’m not even allowed to borrow a pen.”

“It’s because he doesn’t bother asking,” John told him.

“That’s where I’ve been going wrong!”

Gordon shooty finger winked at him.

“No!” I yelped, intervening for the first time and grabbing Alan, pulling him into my arms. “Do not corrupt this precious bean.”

“Too...late,” Alan wheezed, trying to escape my python like grasp.

“Oh, sorry,” I let go and Alan took a dramatically deep breath.

“What’s in the box, Squid?” Scott asked.

Gordon tipped the box up and out tumbled a mass of things that shocked even me.

“That’s my baseball cap,” Scott snagged it.

“My gloves,” Virgil claimed them.

“That’s my camera,” John snatched it up. “I thought I left that behind on the beach and the sea took it.”

“Well, technically the sea’s representative did,” I giggled, then noticed something in the middle of the pile. “Why do you have my headscarf? You know that I use that when you guys force me to get in a boat, it makes me feel fancy.”

“Are those my sunglasses?”

“Yes, I broke mine and was going fishing.”

“Is that my lipstick?”

“Yeah, I used it to draw blood on my neck so I could be a zombie at halloween.”

“There’s my ocarina.”

“It was so weird I had to try it.”

“Is that my belt?”

“Yeah, remember that date I went on with Penny? It went really well with those navy pants.”

“I thought I lost that harmonica.”

“I was going through a depressed week and wanted to play the blues.”

“Is that my cologne?”

“Same date.”

“Why do you have my toothbrush?”

“I used it to clean the sand out of one of Four’s filters.”

“My playing cards!”

“Yeah, I wanted to learn card tricks.”

“My travel chess set!”

“Four of the pawns are missing now, sorry.”

“Seriously, my drill?”

“I wanted to put up a picture.”

“Why did you need my tie?”

“That's classified.”

“That’s my favorite pen.”

“Yeah, I’ve got no excuse for that, I used it, put it in my pocket and forgot about it.”

“Gordon, why do you have my flip flops?”

“Mine broke and your’s were nearest.”

An endless stream of lost objects had suddenly returned home and it was a tad overwhelming but along with his more recent acquisitions were items that hadn’t been seen in forever.

“I remember this game!” Alan exclaimed, grabbing the box. “John and I used to play it all the time when I was little. You had to be astronauts and fly through the meteor showers and land on different planets and fight aliens. It was great. We had the best scores, no one could beat us.”

“Actually, I had the best scores,” John corrected him.

“No way, it was a team effort, we played that together every night after I got home from school.”

Virgil chuckled.

“What?” Alan looked confused. “Why are you laughing?”

“I may have taken the batteries out of your controller and just let you think you were playing.” John admitted.

“What! That was one of my greatest achievements in life!”

“Alan, you went into space when you were thirteen,” John pointed out.

“Oh yeah!”

Virgil spotted a book and picked it up. “I haven’t seen this since we were little.”

“Oh, I remember that one,” Scott smiled. “Mom had it when she was small and she used to read it to us every thanksgiving.”

John was busy sifting through the pile. “Hey, my first star globe, why do you have this?”

“Remember when I used to get upset when Dad went away? Well you used to point out all the different stars to me on it and where the moon was near them.”

“Oh yeah,” John smiled, “I remember that, I let you borrow it to keep beside your bed so you could see where Dad was every night.”

“That’s my old teddy bear,” Scott smiled, picking it up and sitting it on his lap. “I left him with you when I went to college.”

“I know, I told you that I was too old to have a plushie in my room but you insisted. I passed him on to Alan and when we moved I guess he got packed up with my things.”

“That’s the children’s guitar that Mom taught us to play,” Virgil picked it up and strummed a few cords but the tuning was terrible.

“I’ve never seen that before,” Alan said quietly. “In fact, I don’t remember much of any of this stuff.” He gestured to the pile of things that still remained scattered on the table top. “I don’t know that pencil sharpener, that snow globe or those shell bracelets, I don’t know any of it.”

“Neither do I,” I reminded him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“I don’t have any memories of them so they don’t mean anything to me.”

“But that’s what’s so great about things and why I keep telling your brother that not everything has to have a use all the time. Things are there to remind us of the good times, just the sight of them can conjure up images, but they are also there to encourage us to share those memories. I used to love looking through my Nan and Grandad’s cupboards because I discovered so many things that were interesting,” I told him. “I’d ask them about them and they would tell me where they got them or who they belonged to before they got them and it was so nice to see the joy that the memories brought them. Pick something and ask about them, let’s share memories.”

Slowly Alan reached out to touch the small pile of shell bracelets.

“Where did these come from?”

“We were on a trip to the beach,” Scott started.

“Gordon was running all over picking up little shells and bringing them back to Mom,” Virgil continued.

“She ended up with a huge pile of them,” John laughed. “But Gordon didn't want her to put them back.”

“She ended up asking Dad to drill a tiny hole through each of them and she made them into bracelets for us as a reminder of the vacation,” Scott picked up the story.

“We wore them for a few days but Gordon kept stealing them because he loved the shells,” Virgil added.

“I remember that,” Gordon smiled. “There’s a picture in the album of me wearing them all, I don’t look any older than five.”

Alan picked them up, rubbing one of the shells between thumb and finger. “Why are there five of them?”

“Because Mom was pregnant with you at the time and said that you were there too so you should have a bracelet,” Scott smiled, reaching over to take one. “This was mine.”

One by one the others each claimed a bracelet, leaving Alan with just one.

“You’re right, that’s a nice story to hear,” he admitted, slipping the bracelet over his hand.

“Hey, here’s an idea,” I suggested. “This has been a mad few months, how about we start a new memory box and in ten years time we’ll look back in it and remember the longest vacation ever.”

“Yeah,” Alan nodded. “That could be cool.”

The box slowly filled up with bits and pieces.

Here are some of them.

-Some of our finished colouring pages.

-Gordon’s tablet that hadn’t recovered from its unscheduled dip in the bath.

-Brains’s broken glasses and a broken piece of his microscope that fell off of Alan when we played human buckaroo

-A small pile of post-it’s which Scott had used on April fools day to label everything in the lounge.

-The rubber spider John had pranked me with.

-A pair of the bunny ears the boys wore to deliver Easter eggs.

-The empty bottle of ‘Chill Pills’ Scott got for his birthday.

-A selection of our pictionary artwork.

-The beauty blender Virgil ruined on Gordon’s face.

-An empty popcorn bag Alan found stuffed between the couch cushions from one of our many movie nights.

-One of Scott’s socks that hadn’t been found before.

-A gaudy necklace from our lip sync battle

-A clue list from our scavenger hunt

-A shell I picked up on the beach the day they taught me to surf.

-The evil Furby

-The purple wig we made John wear (he was very glad to donate it to the memory box)

“OK, so, we don’t take anything out but we can add more for as long as isolation goes on?” Alan confirmed.

“Yep,” I nodded. “Who’s going to be in charge of keeping it safe?”

“Gordon should,” Alan said. “Since he seems to be the keeper of everyone’s things.”

“Even without permission,” John muttered, tucking his pen into his pocket in case it went walkies again.

“Actually,” Gordon said, “I think Alan should look after it for us.”

“Really? You mean that?” Alan grinned.

“Sure, kiddo,” Scott agreed. “After all, they’re your memories too

#memories #Sight #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds 2015

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vodkabite · 5 years

Text

Our Little Secret - Act 1, Preview

To liven the mood inside the dimly lit basement, while cursing at the horribly cheap lightbulbs she bought from the Circle K off Elmwood, Nicole shares a random fact she knows: Superman didn’t always fly; in the beginning he could only leap over buildings, but the animators for the animated series they were doing in the 40s thought it would be too difficult to constantly draw his knees bending, it was easier to draw him in one pose and have him fly.

And how Major League Baseball once had female players; the first was Lizzy Arlington, who pitched during the ninth inning for the Reading Coal Heavers in 1898 and won her team the game, and a little over 30 years later, an African-American woman, Jackie Mitchell, pitched against the Yankees during an exhibition game, striking out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Nicole’s always been one for sharing random facts about things, especially to the break an awkward silence or change someone’s mood. And while Waverly is probably sure that the alpha spends her downtime at the station searching the internet for new things to talk about, she finds it cute. Adorable even, the way it eases the tediousness of doing laundry.

And as she crosses her legs, letting her feet dangle freely in the air against the side of the filing cabinet she sits upon, Waverly stares at Nicole from the corner of her eyes. Through the loose strands of hair that have fallen to form a curtain against the side of her face.

A thought crosses Waverly’s mind: I want to know you, see you, feel you.

Nicole grabs a heap of clothes from the dryer, mostly blacks and grays, and puts them on the folding table for separation. Her hands and fingers glide over the different fabrics, gripping the end of a sleeve or hooking under a collar and swiftly folding them to make a pile. The veins swimming through her wrists and up her arms quietly peeking out from beneath her skin—Waverly licks her lips. It feels nice, getting to be alone with Nicole without constant distractions and interruptions.

She has a great smile, a disarmingly perfect smile, and Waverly wants to see more of it.

The past few years had chipped away the once frequent sight of it, leaving a tightly lipped, exhausted, and irritable grin in its wake. Nicole grits her teeth more often now, due to frustration and impatience. The tension in her muscles defining the sharp curve of her jawline; a feature that hadn’t gotten lost with the weight gain.

Waverly folds another shirt, one of Nicole’s many black undershirts, and leaves it closer to her side than the others.

It’s comforting.

Though, the omega notices the pinched nerve expression on the alpha’s face. Frustration rippling through the air as she organizes the clothes into neat piles, sometimes refolding the same pile several times until all the shirts are in uniform.

Being a police officer, even in a dull town like Purgatory, must be hard; clocking in early and signing stacks of paperwork every day, patrolling the monotonously boring streets just hoping for some excitement. Waverly can’t imagine that coming home is any easier: having to make sure Wynonna and Willa don’t kill each other, driving Waverly to school in the morning and from cheerleading practice in the afternoons.

With Mama being gone so often, Nicole is the only adult who can keep the house in order. Doesn’t help that the washing machine turns off again. The on button keeps coming unstuck during the middle of cycles, needing to be pressed to resume working.

And each time, Nicole presses it with more and more force.

The tension is palpable and she wonders if the alpha had ever… done anything to ease her frustrations.

Waverly is reminded of the times she laid at night with her bedroom door closed after a long and stressful day, searching the internet for a video to masturbate to. The front pages of the sites she usually visits are oversaturated with amateur videos that are less than five minutes long with abysmal film and sound quality, or the more professionally done videos that are always filled with cheesy, half-baked storylines barely stitched together by basic comprehension of plot structure and graphic closeups. Not to mention the overly exaggerated moans by the actors and the director’s near obsessive need to always include at least one POV shot.

But what interests her, is that they all shared the same kind of theme: relieving tension. Whether it’d be an injured frustrated patient getting a blowjob from their extremely busty nurse, or the pool boy being seduced by a woman twice his age who’s frustrated by the lack of attention from her husband, as though sex and all aspects of it is simply a means to an end.

Waverly looks to Nicole again, shoving another batch of clothes into the dryer.

“Nicole?” The alpha turns to her, giving a final dirty look at the washing machine before settling down, more to hide what she feels so the omega wouldn’t see; pretending that nothing is wrong.

But Waverly knows better.

Dropping down from the filing cabinet, Waverly pulls Nicole by her wrists, bringing the alpha to stand in front of her.

“Nicole, I… you…” The words die on her tongue.

Instead, her hands speak for her. Running up Nicole’s forearms, pressing lightly against the veins to feel the alpha’s pulse thrum vibrantly beneath the pad of her thumb. Nicole is frozen still, confused. But her skin responds brilliantly. A shiver runs through, goosebumps rising in its wake as Waverly’s hands find their way over her biceps.

Waverly’s hands continue their exploration: the hardness of her shoulders, the softness of her sides, the muscles of her back, fingertips lightly drifting down the curve of her spine; committing each and every detail to memory. Finally, she reaches the hem of Nicole’s old basketball shorts. Her excitement grows, much like a fever as she slips a finger past the waistband. Breath hitching at the thin hairs that bristle against her index finger. Immediately, the omega’s hands are pulled away. The alpha’s grip is strong, her honey-golden eyes searching Waverly’s own.

For a moment, no one moves.

Part of Waverly fears that she has crossed a line she won’t be able to take back, but the other part, the eager and hungry side of her, takes hold and she takes the deadly plunge. Pulling Nicole forward and kissing her.

Nicole is tense at first, though, she soon quickly melts against Waverly. The acceptance brings forth another surge of confidence; the omega presses their bodies together, adamant in keeping less than a sliver of space between them. Backing into the washing machine that had now sputtered and died, for the third time that afternoon, Nicole is the one who breaks the kiss first. Taking the lead and picking Waverly up and placing the omega on top of the washer.

Even though the red blush that colors her face burns like hell itself, Waverly pulls the basketball shorts low enough to reach through the alpha’s boxers for her cock.

She thumbs at the top of her cock gently, rubbing the sticky drop of precome around with the pad of her thumb, making a mess of the wet spot that grows against the fabric, but the way Nicole inhales deeply above her shakes Waverly to her core. Dear God, fuck, is it everything she’s ever imagined. Waverly presses the flat of her palm along the thick shaft, firmly squeezing and effectively choking off another moan before it can even form. Sliding her other hand down to pull her boxers off, Nicole takes the initiative to help, springing herself free. Uncharacteristically, Waverly stares at the hardened member resting against the cold metal edge of the washing machine between her legs. Awkwardness quickly gives way to awe and hungry praise when she wraps her hand around the shaft and feels a pulse.

Waverly finally begins to stroke Nicole, she does it slowly, still mesmerized by the sounds the alpha makes because of her. It’s a bit too dry without some sort of slick to ease the fiction, so, much like what she’s seen countless of times online, she licks her palm. The wetness makes it slippery, easier, gaining Waverly a high-pitched groan that makes her toes curl; warmth spreading through her chest.

Nicole starts to buck into Waverly’s hand and the omega can only watch, spellbound by her rutting hips desperately trying to reach climax. Letting go, she pulls the Nicole into another kiss, roping her arms around the alpha’s shoulders to keep her in place.

Yet, they break away for a quick second. Waverly wants to whine for the momentary lack of contact, but is shocked still as Nicole mounts the otherwise small surface of the washing machine. It creaks and groans helplessly under their combined weight, and while she wonders if the poor thing can actually support them both, she gasps at how roughly Nicole moves into her, hand accidentally slamming onto the on button.

The omega doesn’t know what hits her first: the vibrations shaking her entire body to the core, or Nicole’s cock slipping beneath the leg of her shorts and rubbing against the front of her sex.

Her cheeks burn hot with another wave of heat flooding between her thighs. Nicole never looks at her, just keeps her eyes screwed shut as though she knows that as much as eye contact turns Waverly on, the omega won’t be able to last with it. Nicole moves faster, rolling into the feeling like her life depended on it; the friction of the alpha’s solid weight moving against her clit is enough to drive Waverly wild. And as such, a sharp cant of Nicole hips leaves her shattered.

Nicole isn’t far behind, her thrusts start to falter; her speed and intensity wane considerably under the consistent vibrations bringing her towards that inevitable—

“Waves?” She blinks and Nicole stands before her, concerned. “Are you alright? I asked if you wanted to order pizza and you just spaced out on me.”

A hand is placed to Waverly’s forehead. “Hm, you don’t have a fever.”

“No, no, I-I was just… daydreaming,” She says saving face, sounding breathier than she wants to. Nicole shrugs her shoulders and finishes up the rest of the laundry, kicking at the washing machine, cursing it and murmuring that she’ll need to buy another one.

All Waverly can do is breath a sigh of relief when no one is looking.

#wearp #wayhaught #fic: our little secret #preview #mine #*fic

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alwaysahiccupandastrid · 5 years

Text

Modern AU where the Dragon Rider gang are at Disneyland Paris

(Yes I’m writing this because I’m at Disneyland Paris)

The first day in the park, just after they’ve gotten off the Eurostar, everyone immediately wants to do different things. In the end, Hiccup decides they’ll tackle the smaller park first since it’s already 3pm.

It’s ultimately decided that it’s NOT a good idea to split up - there are lots of people and Hiccup doesn’t want to lose anyone...especially not the twins, who already look like they want to start mischief.

Most of the gang want to go on the big rides, with Snotlout bragging that he’s not afraid of any of them. However, the minute he’s in place for the Rock’n’Rollercoaster, he starts to panic. Everyone else is whooping and cheering - Snotlout feels slightly sick.

Astrid is a definite thrill seeker and goes on every single ride. She smiles and laughs when Hiccup panics and asks her to hold his hand on some of them, but she does it anyway.

Hiccup and Astrid sit on most of the rides together, as do the twins. Fishlegs isn’t a fan of the big rides so he offers to stay with their stuff and wait - though Hiccup and Astrid make him try some of the less intense ones anyway. He has more fun than he thought he would.

They all invest in Disney hats/headwear, of course. Ruffnut and Tuffnut find the most bizarre, crazy Mickey ears they can find, plus the massive white Mickey and Minnie gloves. Snotlout opts for the Mickey Sorcerer Hat. Fishlegs gets a plain pair of Mickey ears, gushing with excitement. Astrid wears a pair of “unlock the fun” Minnie ears; Hiccup wears a Disneyland Paris baseball cap, not wanting to be extravagant. Astrid rolls her eyes and later convinces him to also buy a pair of Mickey ears so that they match in photos.

They explore the main park on the second day, and theyre all in awe of the castle (though Snotlout pretends he’s not)

They head to Frontierland first, going on the Thunder Mountain ride. They all enjoy it, and the twins spend ten minutes laughing at everyone’s photos afterwards.

Snotlout makes a fuss about being paired with Fishlegs on some of the rides where it’s two per row at first, but secretly he’s glad not to be on his own since he ends up getting dizzy or terrified on some of them.

Hiccup’s metal leg causes some issues with some of the rides because the staff are concerned it counts as a loose article and might fall off. He assures them that it’s securely attached to his leg, rather hurriedly when Astrid looks like she’s going to get mad at the staff.

Much to his chagrin, Hiccup also has to take his leg off every time they go through security to get into the parks; it sets off the metal detectors, so he has to take it off and hop through uneasily. The first time, Astrid tries to help him but the security told her off because only one person can go through it at a time.

They later find out that there’s an entrance for disabled guests, though Hiccup doesn’t like to think of himself as disabled. All of the others repeatedly tell him to just use it so he can avoid being caught out by the metal detector.

The twins are the ones who bring up meet and greets, which Fishlegs agrees with enthusiastically. Hiccup tells everyone that they all pick at least one character - that way, everyone gets to choose what they like/want. Everyone poses with each character.

Tuffnut wants to meet Peter Pan, and everyone is bemused when Tuff and Peter spend five minutes making “cock a doodle doo!” noises together. Ruffnut chooses Chip and Dale for obvious reasons; everyone laughs afterwards, voting which Thorston is Chip and which is Dale. Fishlegs votes to meet Mickey, saying that you can’t beat a classic. Snotlout complains at first that it’s for kids - but then he sees that Darth Vader does a meet and greet, and he gets excited. Astrid chooses to meet Woody and Jessie at their greet, and even though the characters can’t talk, she still beams happily when Jessie gestures to her braid in admiration. Hiccup struggles to choose at first, not sure if there’s actually a character he’d like to meet - he’s just happy that his friends and girlfriend are having the time of their lives. They’re walking to Discoveryland when they see Stitch do impromptu meets - and he goes for it. They all enjoy every meet and greet they go to, even Snotlout.

For some reason, Hiccup finds himself quite taken with Stitch - somehow, he reminds him of his dog Toothless (yes this is a reference to how HTTYD and Lilo + Stitch were created by the same people). Astrid fondly teases him for buying a small Stitch plush later during the holiday, but then kisses his cheek and buys the matching Angel one. (The others tease them both until Astrid glares at them threateningly)

They all end up with toys despite the fact they’re not little kids. Hiccup obviously has his little Stitch to keep him company; Astrid has the matching purple-pink Angel one as well as a tiny version of the Cheshire Cat. Fishlegs geeks out over the Star Wars merchandise, buying himself a plush Yoda. Snotlout buys himself a mini Sorcerer Mickey to match his hat. The twins buy Chip and Dale, of course, and then splash out on other toys; Tuff gets a Mickey, Donald, and an €80 Simba that he can hardly carry, whilst Ruff gets herself a Minnie, Daisy and Little Green Alien from Toy Story.

Astrid manages to talk the whole gang into going on the Hyperspace Mountain ride. By the end of it, nearly all of them are crying. Snotlout has nearly crapped himself, Fishlegs is shaking as he clambers off the ride, the twins are speechless. Hiccup stands, swerves, and has to have Astrid help him off because his legs feel too weak to function. He nearly gags, his stomach turning uncomfortably and his lunch rising back up. Astrid is the only one wanting to do it again.

“Come on, it’s fun, babe!” “Astrid...I love you but I am NOT doing that again! I like my breakfast being inside me, thank you very much!”

In the gift shop after the Star Tours attraction, Hiccup and Fishlegs both geek out over Star Wars merchandise whilst everyone else looks a bit baffled and amused.

The first day in the main park, they don’t realize that there’s a parade and miss it completely. The second day, they end up at the back very far away and unable to see much other than the top of the floats. Finally, Astrid orders everyone to sit their asses on the curb a whole hour before the parade and they wait in the heat for it to start. Most of them are glad just to sit down since there’s been a lot of walking, waiting and standing around. Hiccup accidentally freaks a few kids out when he takes off his leg to massage his sore stump.

They watch the Disney Illuminations on their last night - having learnt from the parade debacle, they have dinner and end up waiting in a good spot for three hours for the show to start. It pays off when they’re all left in awe. Everyone whoops and cheers at the Pirates, Lion King and Star Wars sequences especially, “ooh”ing and “aww” ing at the fireworks and lasers.

As the show draws to a close, Hiccup puts an arm around Astrid, and she lays a head on his shoulder. Neither of them say anything, they just enjoy the moment whilst it lasts.

Leaving the park immediately after the Illuminations, however, is not so fun. Thousands of people trying to rush for buses, pushing and shoving each other...it’s sheer luck that none of them lose each other in the crowds. Someone’s foot accidentally catches Hiccup’s prosthetic and he nearly falls flat on his face, much to his embarrassment.

Snotlout and twins end up with serious sunburn from not wearing sun cream. In the end, Astrid forces them to do it before they leave the hotel each morning.

They all go on the Twilight tower of terror - Astrid, Hiccup and Fishlegs are in the front three seats on the left, Snotlout and the twins on the right three front seats. All of them whoop and scream at the drop, nearly flying out of their seats. Hiccup enjoys it because for a second, as they’re falling, he feels alive and like he actually is flying.

They’re all really sad to leave, and agree that they have to come again at some point in the near future - together, of course, because half of the fun is down to the people you’re with.

Trying to get through customs/security on the way home with a Simba plush as tall as he is causes Tuff a slight problem - it’s too big to fit on the baggage conveyor belt, so they have to scan it with the wands and have him carry it through separately.

Astrid sets off the metal detector at security because she’s been pin collecting/trading, using a Peter Pan lanyard. She has about 20 different pins on her.

Hiccup is so exhausted that he falls asleep on the train, head against the window as he snores softly. Astrid, who is next to him, smiles and simply brushes the hair from his face fondly. He deserves a rest after making sure all of them had the best holiday, she decides - the reason it’s been so successful is mostly down to Hiccup keeping them all organized and planning the day ahead during breakfast. Their holiday could have sucked hard (definitely would have sucked for Astrid) if not for Hiccup keeping the group safe the whole time)

#httyd #how to train your dragon #hiccup horrendous haddock iii #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #hiccstrid #snotlout jorgenson #ruffnut thorston #tuffnut thorston #fishlegs ingerman #disneyland #modern au #how to train your dragon 3 #httyd 3 #httyd 2 #how to train your dragon 2

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petitprincess1 · 5 years

Text

How To Torture Your Heroes

Summary: Demencia and Clem teach the gross cockroaches of the world how to properly obtain and torture your enemy better than some nerdboy could!

Words: 2,454

Characters: Demencia, Flug, Clemencia, and Black Hat (briefly)

Warnings: A bit of torture, but nothing too bad.

I had too much fun with this

Demencia sat at the metallic table with her arms crossed and glaring at the shaking Cam-Bot and Flug, who was clearly smirking underneath his bag. She just narrowed her eyes at him, while, at the same time, erratic noises and lights that were going on beside her. She then slowly glanced over to her side at seeing Clemencia strapped up in a chair, wrapped in a straitjacket, and her mouth covered by a mask. The unicorn witch was currently vibrating in the chair, hearts in her eyes changing various of colors, and her powers were sparking from her horn. She was also making many high-pitched squeaking sounds and they only became louder the moment Dem’s eyes were on her.

Demencia’s stare went back to Flug, who was setting up Cam-Bot and ordering, “Alright, remember that Black Hat wants you to do this. Honestly, I wouldn’t care and the only commercials I would have you do is one for rabies vaccinations or one where we send you off to space.”

Flug was expecting Demencia to make a “witty” comeback like her becoming queen of the moon-people or something that idiotically implausible, but she just kept glaring at him. He just rolled his eyes and then looked as Cam-Bot’s recording light come on, saying, while holding up cards for her to speak off of, “Okay, Cam-Bot is recording. Go, Demencia.”

Demencia narrowed her eyes further at him before speaking in an even, annoyed tone, “Welcome, you bottom feeders, are you sick and tired of using the same old methods to capture and torture heroes? Do they always get away from your clutches? Always stealing your shit-” “Demencia, stick to the cards.” “Ugh! Always stealing your equipment,” she mocked in an obnoxiously nerdy voice by plugging her nose and then continued, “and leaving a mess everywhere? Then, fear not, for- this is so fucking stupid! Couldn’t you at least have tried to make the script sound like me, instead of your disgusting, lameass nerd language!?”

Flug pinched at where the bridge of his nose would be and then spoke in a professional manner, “You know, I really did try to, Demencia. However, you must understand that it is quite difficult to translate caveman speak to our natural, everyday colloquialism.”

Dem slammed her hands down on the table and shouted at him, “Say that to my face, punching bag!”

“You’re literally a few feet in front of me! How is this not saying it to your fa-” “Because it isn’t, chicken shit! If you were brave enough, you would say it right here, instead of-” The two began bickering over one another. Flug giving out the most intellectual disses the world has ever known, while Demencia resorted to “colorful” language, gory descriptions of Flug’s demise, and the occasional, never defeated “bleh bleh bleh” method.

Meanwhile, Clem watched the two fight amongst one another like a child watching their parents argue. She casually shimmied out of her straitjacket, unbuckled the straps, and took off the mask. Skipping over to Flug, she looked down at the cards in his hands and asked, “Can I see those?”

“Yeah, sure,” Flug said absentmindedly, as he just went back to quarreling with Demencia like the goof that he is. Clemencia just went back to her seat and sat down, reading over the cue cards. Cam-Bot turned off its recording for a few seconds to look in-between the two villains and shook its ‘head’, wondering how it hasn’t short-circuited from all this madness. The only thing that was able to break them out of their squabble was Clemencia shouting, “Whaaaaaat!? Dangle them over hydrochloric acid? Painful injections? Lead them to you with what they love? What is this absolute crap? I thought you were supposed to be the best in the business, Flug!”

Flug immediately put a hand to his chest, feeling absolutely offended, while Demencia snatched at the cards and started reading them over. The scientist shouted, “Okay, listen here you randomly generated Tumblr OC, I don’t need someone like you telling me that-”

“I'm gonna stop you right there because you clearly do! None of this would truly work! It's, dare I say, old hat! I mean, who dangles people over acid anymore?” Clemencia asked, while Demencia finished reading and winced, “As much as I hate to agree with sparkles over here, I think she's got a point.”

Flug crossed his arms, scoffing and sputtering, before taking a deep breath and giving in, “You know what? Fine! I'll let you both take over, see how well you do, but I'm not gonna be responsible for how Black Hat reacts!”

The two multicolored women weren't even listening to him, as the two were writing down suggestions and even making some pictures on their garbage writ- er…“script”. Clemencia then pulled down a large, long projection screen out of nowhere and the two hid behind the screen. Clem whispered, “Aaaaaaaannnndddd...action!”

Cam-Bot just shook its head and then rewound the footage before starting it back up again. Suddenly, an image of a half lizard and half unicorn skull crying out rainbows in front of heart that had nails all over it appeared on the screen. The two magically poofed in front of the screen. Demencia was holding a bloodied baseball bat that had nails all over it and Clemencia held a pink and gold axe that had hearts within the blade and pink bows along the handle. Flug groaned, as he sat down with a mug in his hand that...possibly held coffee, “Oh boy.”

Demencia greeted, “Welcome, you gross boils of the underworld, it's your ruthless, badass Demencia to teach you scrubs about how to truly capture and torture your victims, whether they be a hero or a disgusting, useless, sidekick, nerdboy!”

Flug gave loud sigh, but didn't say anything. The lizard woman pointed to Clemencia and introduced, “And who better to check over such methods than with- Gah!”

Clemencia suddenly brought her into a spine-crushing hug and lifted her off of the ground, exclaiming, “Than with her no-as-equally-but-pretty-dang-close-at-least-hope-so-or-I’ll-cry-in-the-tub-again-tonight gorgeous girlfriend, Clemencia!”

Dem growled, as she hit her over head with the bat, “I'm not your girlfriend, dumb broad!”

Each hit that she made just made a squeaky toy noise. Flug blinked at the both of them and then cleared his throat. The two stared at him before going back to their normal poses and Dem went on like nothing happened, “Than with this horrible excuse of a hero over here!”

The unicorn witch smiled and giggled, while her horn made random sparks of pink magic. The screen then changed while Dem continued, “Now, some idiots would give you stupid little ideas that you can lead your victim by using things that they love,” a drawing of Clemencia had her being led to a trap by a Demencia doll on a string, “or being hung over acid,” another image of Clem being hung over acid that she just changed into jello with a confused, smelly Flug, “or, even lamer, with injections,” and then the final was another Flug with the words “gross nerd” over his head poking a confused hero in the eye with a syringe.

Clemencia then quickly added in, “Well, I never thought they were lame or anything, just that I know you can do it a bit better with that big boy brain of yours, Fluggy~!”

Flug corrected, “That’s Dr. Flug Slys to you.”

“Ya got it, Flug-bug!” Clemencia smiled with a cute little wink afterwards, making Flug just take bigger gulps of his “coffee”. Demencia put a finger to her mouth, fake gagging, and asked in an annoyed tone, “Are you two done being weird?”

Clem mumbled, looking slightly concerned, “...I-I was being…” and then a fully forced smile came across her face and she said cheerfully, “Yes, I am, my wonderful savior! ...Um,” she then levitated Flug’s mug to herself, grabbed it, and then tossed it right into his face with a blank expression. The mug spilt all over Flug upon impact and he fell back with a loud thud, shouting, “WHYYYYY!?”

Demencia blinked at the whole and then went back to the commercial, “Anyway, a little help from Dem and Clem will get your ass back in line with these three easy options! Number one: Don’t go for all that complicated garbage! Your own body should be plenty to attract those dumb heroes.”

The image on the screen changed to a drawing of a hero cornering Demencia in an alleyway, while she was wearing chainmail armor lingerie that had a the Black Hat logo on her panties. Clemencia’s eyes turned into hearts, despite one of them twitching at the “dumb heroes” comment, and added in, “Which should be plenty easy, if you’re as sexy as Demencia! However, if you’re not- which a good majority of you aren’t -then this second option is for you! Number two: As much as we heroes love kicking your butts from here to Atreno City,” a Clem drawing had her kicking villains, while they’re curled up on the ground, like Flamme, Mother Poltergeist, Mawrasite, and, of course, Flug, “there’s nothing we love more than peaceful agreements.”

Next was a copy-and-pasted picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but they had a bunch of villains’ and heroes’ faces drawn poorly over all the political figures’ faces with Clem and Dem sharing Thomas Jefferson’s face. The actual document was scribbled with Demencia’s crayon and Clemencia’s sparkly marker writing that read: “Blah blah blah,” “Dem for president,” “Clem was here <3,” and a signature “Flug the virgin.” Clemencia went on, “However, we also have a high sense of smell to know when there's bullshit afoot, so try to at least seem a bit more genuine than what you’re actually doing,” a picture of an annoyed Vanity appeared at a dinner table with Dark Phantom in a suit, who was looking extremely nervous and holding a ray gun behind his back.

Demencia then said, “And, finally, the torture! The fun part! Now that you’ve clearly used the first method to capture your foe because the second one is for complete morons-”

Clemencia shifted on her and chuckled nervously, “Heehee...right…”

The lizard hybrid then went on, “The best way that you can torture your hero is by causing them the slowest amount of pain possible and that their screams are filling your entire lair!”

The image on the screen showed a hero tied up to a chair, looking absolutely terrified, while Demencia was doing various tactics on them like using thumb-screws to drill through their fingers, using a red hot iron rod to brand their skin, or reading bad fanfiction. All the while the hero seemed to be in extreme anguish. Demencia then added, “However, if the hero is somehow resilient, you can also do the same to the sidekick or family,” the drawings changed to her doing the same to those people, instead of the hero.

“Whichever one you do, the hero should be able to do whatever you wish after a whole 24 hours of torture, but if you’re as good as me, you’ll have it done in less than 30 minutes. Heroes are absolutely traumatized afterwards though, so make sure to throw them out afterwards,” drawing Dem was throwing the hero into the incinerator, “Although, that may be hard because most heroes are stupid and useless already to begin with. Right, Clemencia? ….Right!?”

…

Dem growled as she sharply turned to her, only to stop at seeing Clem holding onto herself and also shivering. Clemencia started tearing up and she stuttered, “I-I’m...I’m n-not useless….o-or….stupid...r-right?”

The lizard hybrid just bit her lip and looked away, causing Clem to whimper and then teleport out of there. Right as soon as she did, Flug came back into the lab, holding a cloth covered ice pack on his bagged face, and asked, looking around, “Hey, where did the poster child for insulin shots go to?”

He then noticed Demencia looking somewhat saddened and guilty, as if she made a mistake. Flug was about to reach out to her and ask if she was alright, but then suddenly the projector caught alight by red flames, as Black Hat rose from the flames. His eye completely black with a red, slitted pupil and his form shifting and changing as eyes, mouths, and tentacles appeared. The tentacles squeezed around the two, strangling them, and Cam-Bot quickly ran out out of there before it got taken. Black snarled at the two, “What is going on here!?”

Demencia made a stupid comment about Black Hat always taking her breath away, while Flug made his famous dying seal squeaks.

At White Hat’s manor, as the moon was rising, Clemencia hung half her torso off of the balcony connected to her room, sighing at all that Demencia said and wondering where exactly she went wrong. She messed with the bow on her ponytail, while her unicorn hoodie’s eyes started tearing up. She mumbled to herself, “Maybe I’m just too bubbly at times...and I doubt myself too much...and...I eat too much cake! Ugh! I need to change my ways! I need to get tough and more wild like Demmie!”

She then lifted up her body back up to the top and the moment that she did, she felt lips press against her cheek, as well as catching the scent of roses, spray paint, and raw meat. Clem summoned a large mallet and shouted, “How dare you steal Demencia’s scent!?”

She then looked around and saw nobody there, but did see a note placed onto the railing of the balcony. She tilted her head as she placed the mallet back into her hair and grabbed onto the note to see what it said: “I wasn’t talking about you being useless or anything like that, dum-dum! You’re pretty...alright. I just gotta keep up an image, ya know? Now stop being so emotional or else I’ll have to cuddle you! >:3c”

Clemencia blinked at the letter before her eyes turned into hearts and a dopey smile grew across her face, while hugging the paper close to her chest. Yeah, it wasn’t anything all that poetic, but it was absolutely beautiful in her eyes. She then looked down at at her balcony and noticed some red and green paint that was on the railing of where the note was. She turned the note around and saw red and green painted words that read: “By the way, got ya a surprise! Turn around!”

The unicorn witch spun around with a bright smile and saw a bomb with “Dem waz here” spray-painted onto it, making Clem coo, “Awwww, Demmie!!!”

I’ll probably make some fanfic about the other two...uh...*looks at hand* Shite Bat and Plug

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carlesmeislife · 5 years

Text

Esme Cullens Biography: Redone

@escullen and myself have worked together to rewrite Esme’s biography from the twilight wiki to better fit our collective headcannon. We worked to create a biography that is much more compelling to read and brings some fans a much more detailed bio.

I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

We both hope you enjoy it.

Thank you.

p.s. - thanks for all your help jordann

Rewriting Esme Biography from the Twilight Wiki page.

Authors Note/Trigger Warning: This version is made of many headcanons, and is not PG or sugar coated like the original.

HUMAN LIFE

Esme Anne Platt was born in the early hours of January 1, 1895. She grew up on a 100 acre farm on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio, where she had a very normal childhood. As a teenager, her playful, mischievous nature often got her into trouble. In the summer of 1911, At the age of 16, she fell out of a tree, while attempting to draw the roof of the family barn, and broke her leg. Her parents were upset with her childish behavior, scolding her, as they took her to the hospital. Since the local doctor was out of town, she was treated by Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He treated her so kindly, and talked with her, showing interest in her intelligence and personality, encouraging her to pursue her dream. He moved out of town not long after that, but Esme never forgot the kind doctor with whom she had gotten along with so well. Initially wanting to move west to become a school teacher, she was pressured by her parents to stay and marry. In the autumn of 1917, At the age of 22, in an attempt to please her parents, she married Charles Evenson. He seemed to be a nice person in the beginning, but she soon realized that Charles was an abusive man. He often drank too much, was verbally, physically, and sexually abusive to her; slapping her, threatening her, insulting her. She pleaded her parents to let her come home, unable to stand the undeserved wrath of her husband, but Her family urged her to keep quiet about the abuse, and Esme had no choice but to endure it. Much to her relief, in January 1918 her husband was drafted during World War I, finally giving her some peace.

Esme enjoyed a happy period of time while Charles was away, but when Charles returned in January 1919, his abusive persona resurrected only a few weeks later. Despite the prohibition in place, Charles would obtain alcohol from boot-leggers, and he drank heavily, partly in an attempt to mask the horrors that haunted him from war. Esme always ended up paying the price. For months he abused her, injuring her severely, multiple times. Her blood marked several places in the house where she could not scrub it off. She began to think about running, and started saving bits of change to escape. Charles discovered the money, throwing it at her and in a drunken rage, beat Esme unconscious and raped her. Shortly after, Esme found out that she was pregnant. She didn’t want her child to grow up in such a dangerous environment. One day while Charles was at work, she packed a small bag, bought a train ticket, and ran away to live with her cousin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nearly in her fourth month of pregnancy, When Charles found her whereabouts, she fled again, this time to Ashland, and posed as a war widow. In order to support herself, she became a school teacher, temporarily fulfilling her childhood dream. The child was born in on January 19, 1921, only to die from lung fever 2 days later. Esme was heartbroken, and felt that she no longer had any reason to live, as she attempted suicide by jumping off a cliff, into the icy water. When she was found by two fishermen at the bottom of the cliff they took her to the local hospital. Her condition was so bad, that the medical staff didn't even attempt to revive her. She was immediately brought to the morgue, although her heart was still beating faintly. Dr. Cullen was working there at the time, and remembered her as the ever-so-happy young girl he treated 10 years earlier. Unable to believe that someone as vivacious and beautiful as she would meet such cruel fate, in a moments decision, out of fear of losing her, he decided to save her by changing her into a vampire. Her blood was so appealing to him that he nearly lost his control when he bit her a second time. He snuck her body out of the morgue and ran home with her in his arms, praying he hadn’t been too late. She was still for a short while until the venom caused Esme to regain consciousness. She was in excruciating pain but happy to see Carlisle again.

VAMPIRE LIFE

When Esme first awoke from her transformation she was disoriented. She recognized Carlisle’s voice and the other man he’d been speaking to while she was, what she assumed she’d been, asleep. The pain in her throat was nearly unbearable and the light streaming in from the window was almost too bright for her eyes. Her senses were overly sensitive- the sunlight was overwhelming, the noises of the forest just outside sounded too close, she could smell things she’d never smelled before. Carlisle explained what happened and that he turned her into a vampire in order to save her life. He assured her that she was safe now, and that neither him nor Edward would hurt her in any way. Much to his surprise, Esme was not upset with his act, and she accepted her new life much easier than Carlisle or Edward had. Although she did take some time to warm up to both men, and was battling with several mental illnesses in the first weeks and months. Esme and Carlisle fell in love over the first year that she adjusted to vampire life. He proposed to her on a chilly, windy night after they’d finished hunting. They were deep in the forest sitting alongside a stream that had become a favorite place of theirs. He hadn’t planned to propose that night but after watching her wade her feet in the water and happily skip rocks, he couldn’t stop himself. Before he knew what was happening, he was down on one knee in the middle of the water. They got married in the spring of 1922 after a short engagement. They honeymooned at a secluded cabin in the Canadian wilderness for two weeks. The real challenge for Esme in her early years was the blood lust, and she lost control of her thirst a few times. Though she hasn’t slipped up since the 60’s, she has killed twelve humans in her time as a vampire. In time, Rosalie and Emmett were transformed by Carlisle as well, and Alice and Jasper joined the family, becoming her surrogate children, though Esme has a special place in her heart for Edward, because he was the first of her adoptive children.

TWILIGHT - Esme first appears in Twilight when Edward takes Bella Swan to meet his family at their home outside of Forks. She and Carlisle are both warm and friendly towards Bella, and Esme welcomes her with open arms, acting as though she were already part of the family. This is due to her gratitude of the happiness Bella had brought to Edward. Knowing that her son had created a song inspired by his love for Bella, Esme asks Edward to play it for her on the piano, which he does. It is mentioned that he had already composed several pieces for Esme since she loves to hear him play.

The Cullens later invite Bella to play baseball with them, and she and Esme act as umpires. Before the game begins, Esme tells Bella a little about her human life and says that she is thankful that Edward and her have come to love, as he was her first and favorite adoptive child. She even stated that she had always worried that he would never find true love. When James's coven arrives, the Cullens try to pass Bella off as a vampire, but James catches her scent, and attempts to attack her. All the Cullens spring into action to protect Bella, much to the nomads' amazement. James' coven leaves and the Cullens return home, though James and Victoria have begun to hunt Bella. Esme swaps clothes with Bella, so that they could try to disguise her scent. Esme remains at home with Rosalie to protect Bella's father during her escape to Phoenix with Alice and Jasper.

Esme does not play a major role in the movie, and is seen only a few times. She first appears in the kitchen, preparing dinner with Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie, when Edward brings Bella to meet his family. Esme becomes increasingly excited once she realizes Bella has arrived (catching her scent, like the rest of the Cullens). She is seen again during the baseball match where she acts as umpire with Bella. When the nomads arrive and James attempts to attack Bella, the Cullen family spring into action and form a protective barrier between her and James' coven.

NEW MOON - Esme is seen briefly at Bella's eighteenth birthday which Alice organized; she shares an embrace with Bella and wishes her a happy birthday. Alice gives Bella a present from Esme and Carlisle, which is two plane tickets to Jacksonville to visit Renée. While opening her present, Bella cuts her finger on the wrapping paper and Jasper attempts to attack her. Edward shoves Bella out of the way to protect her, but she crashes into the table containing her birthday cake and a pile of plates which smash, and cuts her arms on the broken shards of china and glass.

Once Jasper is subdued, the rest of the Cullen family, with the exception of Carlisle, smell Bella's blood, and are suddenly ravenous. Emmett and Rosalie drag Jasper outside and Esme follows them, apologizing to Bella and deeply ashamed that she is tempted by the smell of her blood. Carlisle cleans and stitches up Bella's wounds and she leaves; in the living room, she passes Esme who is cleaning up the spilled blood.

When she and her family moved up North, she occupied herself with restoring a 17th century house in the forest north of the city of Ithaca.

Esme is not seen again until the end of the book, when she, Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie go to pick Edward, Alice and Bella up from the airport after Bella and Alice prevented Edward from committing suicide. She is very grateful to Bella for having saved Edward's life, and makes her son promise never to scare her like that again. The next day, Bella asks the Cullens to vote on whether or not they are willing to turn her into a vampire and let her join their coven. Esme votes "yes", and says that she already considers Bella part of the family.

ECLIPSE - When a rogue vampire snuck into Bella's house to get her scent, Esme and her family allied with the Uley pack to watch Bella and Charlie.

Esme is present at Bella, Edward, and Alice's graduation, and the party held afterwards at their house. After realizing that someone is creating an army of newborn vampires to destroy the Cullens and get to Bella, and refused by the Denali coven's aid, Esme genuinely accepts the Uley pack's willingness to join forces with them, as Jasper is an expert on newborn vampires, and teaches them how to fight them. While watching Jasper and Esme train for the upcoming battle, Bella discriminates Esme's fighting skills as weaker, compared to the rest of her family. However, she does show enough skill to handle her own opponents.

In the movie, she first appears in the forest while chasing Victoria with her family and some of the wolves. During the battle, she can be seen fighting the newborns with Carlisle as her partner.

THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER - At the end of the battle, Esme and Carlisle find an intimidated newborn, Bree Tanner, and offer her asylum in exchange for surrender. She agrees immediately. When Jasper tells them that the Volturi are coming, and that their protection over the newborn will cause them more trouble, Esme and Carlisle insist that they should do their best to help the girl and manage to talk him into letting her live. However, despite their attempt, she is still executed by Felix on Jane's command.

BREAKING DAWN - At the beginning of Breaking Dawn, Esme is present at Bella and Edward's wedding, and helps Bella to change into her going-away outfit after the ceremony and reception party. As a wedding present, she allows the newlyweds to stay on Isle Esme, a small island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro that Carlisle presented her with years ago, for their honeymoon. She grows close to Bella's mother, Renée, before the wedding.

When Bella becomes pregnant, with her and Edward returning to Forks, Esme sides with Rosalie and Emmett to protect Bella and her baby because that is what Bella wants, something that also affects Carlisle. She was not as hovering as Rosalie was, but she was there for Bella the moment she needed anything. She is affectionate towards Jacob and his pack when they break away from Sam's pack to protect her daughter-in-law, and she and Carlisle especially are extremely grateful for their sacrifice. Esme provides Jacob and his pack with clean clothes and food, and offers to let them sleep in the beds in the Cullens' house, though most of them would decline.

After Bella gives birth to Renesmee, a human/vampire hybrid, Esme welcomes her granddaughter into the family with open arms and a fierce love, even caring for her while Bella is in the process of becoming a vampire.

In the first part of film, Esme gives a speech about Charlie and Renée, bringing their daughter into the world, and promises to cherish and protect her forever. While Renesmee is unborn, the pack prepares to attack them to prevent the baby from being born for fear of what the baby might be able to do. While the Cullens suffer starvation, Esme does her best to care for her family and Jacob's pack. She is able to stay well composed, as she is accustomed to starving herself; a result of her locking herself up for weeks after every slip up. As Bella's pregnancy nears its end, Esme accompanies Carlisle and Emmett in escaping the pack's observation. Esme gets caught and almost attacked by Brady Fuller and Collin Littlesea, but Emmett and Carlisle come to her rescue. They return in time to prevent the pack from killing the rest of their family, and then await Bella's conversion into a vampire. The birth of Renesmee and the success of Bella’s transformation breaks the tension between Esme and Carlisle, as they reconnect and bond over their granddaughter.

For Bella's nineteenth birthday, Esme and the rest of the Cullens give her and Edward a little cottage in the forest that they renovated. There is an extra room which Esme hadn't found a use for, which later became Renesmee's bedroom. She also gives Bella guidance about how to act human in order to prepare her for Charlie's confrontation.

Three months after Renesmee's birth, Irina mistakes her for an immortal child and reports this breach of vampire law to the Volturi. Esme is devastated when two of her children, Alice and Jasper, leave without notice, and is led to believe that they had abandoned them all. She and her family then gather a large number of vampire friends to be their witnesses, testifying that Renesmee is not an immortal child but a half-human, half-vampire hybrid. After a brief confrontation with the Volturi, Jasper and Alice return with another hybrid to prove their case, though they are able to prove that Renesmee is not dangerous, and the Italian vampires leave in peace. As their group celebrates their victory, Esme opens her arms to welcome Alice and Jasper back into her family. Once the threat has passed, the Cullens are able to return to their normal lives.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE - Physically, Esme is the oldest member in the Cullen family, being changed at the age of 26. She is 5’6’’ and is described to be extremely beautiful, to the extent where she reminded Bella of "the ingenues of the silent-movie era", and meeting her was like "meeting a fairy tale—Snow White, in the flesh": a heart-shaped face with a warm compassionate look, billows of soft caramel-colored hair, delicate eyebrows, and a small slender figure that was less angular and more rounded compared to the rest of her family as (she was changed not long after giving birth to her son. Her human eye color was brown. After her transformation, many of her blemishes, bruises, and scars faded, though several remained visible to the vampire eye as faint silver markings. They are mostly from her ex-husband, and one is from Carlisle where he bit her neck.

PERSONALITY & TRAITS - Being born on January 1, there were fireworks off in the distance in the celebration of the New Year. Her parents always told her that was were she got her colourful personality from. As a child Esme was a curious, adventurous, and bright young girl. Her father hunted and raised livestock, so she was never afraid to get her hands dirty by plucking a pigeon for dinner, or mucking out a stall. As long as she wasn’t the one who had to kill the animals. Once or twice during her preteen years, Esme let loose a few of her father’s captured animals. As an adult, Esme is an extremely warm, kind-hearted individual who is gifted with the ability to love the people around her passionately. She has always had strong maternal instincts, which is why she is able to open her heart so easily to her adoptive children and Bella. This is due to the death of her first and only child when he was only a few days old, during her human life. The trauma of this event, as well as the years of abuse from her ex-husband, left Esme with extreme PTSD, anxiety, depression, stress, trust issues, and thoughts of her suicide attempt for many years into her vampire life. She was quiet, shy, nervous, and heavily secluded herself for the first few weeks of her new life. She warmed up to Carlisle and Edward quickly enough when she felt safe in her environment. She had many triggers in her early years, some which have faded with time, and others she still cannot handle. Most remind her of her abusive human husband; these include: the smell of whiskey, heavy footfalls, work boots hitting the wooden floor, slamming doors, and the sound of coins dropping to the floor; a trigger that was born from the events of the night that her drunk husband raped her after knocking her unconscious. Carlisle and Edward both respectively stopped carrying coins after she had a panic attack caused by the sound.

She was extremely nervous about her wedding night with Carlisle, after the negative experiences she had in the bedroom as a human. But Carlisle was incredibly reassuring and gentle with her, trying his hardest to not trigger any memories. Carlisle’s own nervousness helped comfort her as well. It was the only thing that Esme felt she had the slight advantage due to having more sexual experience than Carlisle.

Esme is described as being as intelligent as her husband, and a very kind and gentle person. The people around her are genuinely drawn toward her gentle personality.

Esme is also very creative and artistic and enjoys renovating old properties. Throughout her years as a vampire, she has studied and earned degrees in architecture, art, and photography.

POWERS & ABILITIES - Upon her transformation, Esme did not develop any special talents like Edward's telepathy, Alice's ability to see the future or Jasper's ability to control emotions. However, her ability to show passionate love to the people around her was enhanced (as with all emotions after the transformation) and this has become her most prominent feature throughout the series.

Bella comments in Eclipse that Esme is not as skilled at fighting as Jasper, Edward or Alice. This is probably due to her loving nature - meaning she most likely hasn't had to fight much in her life. However, Esme should not be underestimated in battle, as Eclipse showed she is more than capable of fighting if needs be. Esme, along with the other Cullens managed to fight off an entire army of newborn vampires created by Victoria and survived.

OCCUPATION - Esme is not employed like her husband but, as a very creative and artistic person, she works as an architect and enjoys restoring old houses both for her family to keep, and to sell when she has fixed them. Esme is an incredibly talented artist- she donates a number of sketches and paintings to different museums and galleries all over the country under false names. In New Moon, Alice tells Bella that Esme has been restoring a 17th century house in the forest north of Ithaca, and in Breaking Dawn, she restores a cottage that's over a hundred years old on the Cullen estate for Bella and Edward. Her desk is said to be stacked with plans and blueprints. Most are of dream homes for the family when they move locations. She has built or restored all of the family homes, including the house on Isle Esme. She has earned degrees in architecture and art, and has studied photography.

RELATIONSHIPS

Parents - As a child she was curious, adventurous, and much too brave for a little girl to be, but also obedient. As a young girl, she would help her mother with cooking, cleaning, gardening, and sewing, and her father with feeding the few animals they owned.

Esme’s relationship with her parents became strained as she grew older. She was reprimanded by both her parents for being “unladylike”. Her mother was much more caring and concerned than her father was for her, when she fell out of the tree in 1911. Both of her parents pressured her into marrying before she “ended up as a spinster”, and they discouraged her “foolish” dreams of moving out west to become a teacher.

Her mother urged her to stay quiet about the abuse that Charles was putting her through, while her father told her harshly to stop telling tales and embarrassing herself and her husband.

Though Esme had a great resentment and disappointment in her parents for not helping her during her human life, she still loved them, and was deeply saddened upon learning she would never see them again. It took some time but she eventually found it within herself to forgive them. She would never understand why they reacted the way that they did- she was a mother herself and would have done anything to help her son, would do anything to help her vampire children.

Charles Evenson - In Esme's human life, she was married to Charles Evenson. All of her friends had already married, and her parents encouraged her to marry Charles, who was a family friend and had good prospects. She agreed to the marriage only to please her father.

He was abusive, however, and shortly before her suicide attempt Esme, then pregnant, ran away from him. The baby died soon after birth and Esme jumped off a cliff in an attempt to end her life. Her body was taken to the hospital morgue though her heart was still beating, and Carlisle Cullen found her and turned her into a vampire

She resented Charles and what he did to her for years after, but her loving and kind nature made it impossible for her to seek any type of revenge on him, unlike her adopted daughter Rosalie later did to her own abusers. Esme was determined to move past the pain Charles inflicted on her and sought out happiness in her new life.

Esme had conflicted emotions towards Charles death when Edward returned home, and admitted to killing him as his first victim, in 1927. She was upset with Edward for going anywhere near her past life after expressing earlier on that she did not want either men to go after him. She hadn’t wanted Charles’ darkness anywhere near her boys whom she saw as the picture of goodness. However, she had to admit to herself that she was glad he was dead and could not inflict the same pain on any other woman.

Esme never told Charles about her pregnancy, fearing that if he found her, he would have the power to take the child from her after it was born. He only learned what happened to his wife and child right before his own death, as Edward tortured him slowly.

Carlisle - Carlisle Cullen is Esme's second husband, and the man of her dreams. He is also her creator. They first met in 1911 when Carlisle treated Esme's broken leg after she fell from a tree. The two clearly left a strong impression on each other - Esme found no other man who measured up to him, and Carlisle’s affection for her was strong enough that he turned her into a vampire when he found her dying in a morgue, after a suicide attempt following the loss of her newborn child in 1921. During the transformation, Esme wasn't sure if she was in heaven or in hell, but was nevertheless grateful for the chance to meet Carlisle again. She could hear both Carlisle and Edward talking to her during her transformation, and only wanted to escape the burning fire to see Carlisle. After he explained to her about what he had done, he expected her to be furious; to his surprise, she took the news quite well, and it did not take long before they were married.

The relationship between Carlisle and Esme is built on a strong spiritual and intellectual bond, aided by their intense love for each other. Esme has never regretted becoming a vampire as she is able to spend eternity with someone whom she loves, and Carlisle's own love for her has never diminished. Being a vampire has given her a freedom that was something out of her wildest dreams. While Rosalie and Edward at times resented Carlisle for changing them, Esme thanked him numerous times; something that Carlisle often asked her not to do. She did not blame him, but there was a part of him that felt guilty for damning her to immortality. Their marriage became strained when Edward rebelled against Carlisle’s way of life in 1927 and did not improve until a few months after their son left. Edward’s departure hurt, but the two of them learned a great deal from their first marital disagreement. When Edward returned in 1931, he noticed that the couple seemed to be even closer. It was as if they had somehow acquired his telepathy when it came to each other. Their relationship also took a hit again when Bella’s pregnancy drove a wedge between them; with Esme opting to protect her daughter-in-law and the baby, while Carlisle sided with Edward, both in fear of the pregnancy costing Bella her life, and in fear of losing Edward in the process.

Carlisle bought Esme an island in Brazil for their 50th anniversary, and named it "Isle Esme". It has become a very special place for the entire family, and a very intimate one for Carlisle and Esme. They’ve shared some of their very favorite moments together on their island.

Edward - Edward Cullen was Esme's first adoptive son, and was turned into a vampire by Carlisle shortly before she was. Initially, they pretended to be brother and sister, but after Esme and Carlisle fell in love she began to pose as his adoptive mother. They care for each other deeply and Edward hates to cause her pain.

Edward originally didn’t tell Esme about his telepathy, worried she would shut down, emotionally, if she found out that he knew how bad the abuse she had been through really was. It wasn’t until she had been with them for several weeks, and Esme began having feelings for Carlisle, that Edward revealed to her that he could read both of their minds, and hinted that Carlisle was quite smitten with her too.

Esme admits to Bella that Edward means more to her than the rest of her "children" because he was her first adoptive child, and is very thankful that he has found his true love in Bella. Throughout their years together she had worried that he would never find his soulmate, until Bella came along. Esme welcomed Bella into the family right away and treated her like another daughter. Esme fondly criticizes Edward and says that he is too much of a gentleman, as he told Bella that she fell off a cliff rather than jumped.

Rosalie - Rosalie Hale was Esme's first adoptive daughter, though it was Carlisle who turned her. Esme was always very affectionate towards Rosalie and Rosalie grew to love Esme just as much. Before Rosalie transformed, she had met the Cullens before and was very jealous of their beauty, especially Edward's and Carlisle's. Esme tells Bella that she and Carlisle originally hoped that Rosalie would be a mate for Edward, but then she found Emmett and they fell in love.

After Emmett joined the family, he and Rosalie were very passionately involved for several decades and destroyed numerous houses during their lovemaking, forcing Esme and Carlisle to kick them out on several occasions but always taking them back in after a short time.

Rosalie strongly resents her inability to have children, as female vampires' bodies cannot change to accommodate a child. She acknowledges that Esme, though disappointed that she cannot have children of her own, doesn't feel as resentful about her infertility because she has her, Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice as substitutes to her lost child.

Esme and Rosalie were both abused by their human partners, so they quickly bonded over that in Rosalie’s first year as a vampire, and it was probably why Esme was so eager for Rosalie to join the family.

Emmett - Emmett Cullen was Esme's second adoptive son. He joined their "family" in 1935 after Rosalie found him being mauled by a brown bear and brought him back for Carlisle to transform him.

Although Emmett can sometimes be a handful, Esme loves him as much as she loves her husband and her other "children". Though she had kicked him and Rosalie out a few times for ruining the houses that she and Carlisle bought for them.

In Breaking Dawn, when Bella challenges Emmett to an arm-wrestling match, they are about to use Esme's favorite antique dining table when Alice points out that Esme will be upset if it gets broken. Emmett agrees, and this implies that he doesn't want to upset his mother.

Whenever Emmett challenges Jasper or Edward to a physical match that escalates to a real fight, Esme would get upset at them, repeating that she doesn’t tolerate violence of any kind in her home, even if it’s pretend.

Alice - Alice Cullen is Esme's second adoptive daughter. Not much is known about Esme and Alice's relationship, but Esme loves Alice as much as she loves her other children, and they are willing to do anything to protect one another.

When the Volturi come to destroy their family, Alice and Jasper leave Forks without a proper goodbye; Esme is the most devastated, going to the point of sobbing despite her lack of tears; thinking that they have abandoned the family, but respects their decision to leave. However, Alice and Jasper return during the confrontation with the Volturi with the hybrid Nahuel and a battle is avoided. Upon their return, Esme greets them with a tight hug.

Jasper - Jasper Hale is Esme's third adoptive son. Not much is known about Esme and Jasper's relationship. When Jasper joined the family, Esme had a hard time accepting him at first after learning of his involvement with the Confederate Army. But she pushed the resentful feelings aside to avoid conflict within the family, and losing Alice, as she took a liking to the young vampire quickly. But Esme loves him as much as she loves her other children, and they are willing to do anything to protect one another.

When the Volturi come to destroy their family, Alice and Jasper leave Forks without a proper goodbye; Esme is the most devastated, thinking that they have abandoned the family, but respects their decision regardless. However, Alice and Jasper return during the confrontation with the Volturi with the hybrid Nahuel to testify in their favor and a battle is avoided. Upon their return, Esme embraces them in a tight hug, overjoyed to have them back.

Bella - Bella Swan is Esme's daughter-in-law, married to her son Edward.

When Bella first comes into the Cullens' lives, Esme notices the change in Edward and is grateful to her for it, as she had previously worried that he would never find the kind of happiness the rest of them had. After Edward and Bella started a romantic relationship, Esme accepts her into the family and loves her as much as her other adopted children, which she admits when Bella asks to join their family.

After Edward and Bella's wedding, Esme lets them stay on Isle Esme for their honeymoon and renovates a cottage on the Cullens' land for them to live in with their newborn daughter, Renesmee.

Renesmee - Renesmee Cullen is Esme's granddaughter, and the biological daughter of Edward and Bella. During Bella's pregnancy, though it endangers her life, Esme sides with her, Rosalie and Emmett to protect the baby because she believes that Bella should be allowed to make her own decisions and understands her desire to have children.

After Renesmee was born, Esme comes to adore the baby like the rest of the family, even sacrificing her second-favorite silverware to keep Nessie entertained. During Bella's transformation, Esme would cradle the baby to sleep, while also sharing the experience with Rosalie and Jacob. She worries the first time that Bella meets Nessie, as Bella has only just transformed into a vampire and they are unsure of her self-control, so she convinces her to feed before meeting her daughter, as it will make it easier for Bella to control her thirst.

Jacob - Jacob Black is a shape-shifting member of the Quileute tribe and a close friend to the Cullen family. Jacob initially disliked Esme and her family due to the natural enmity between vampires and shape-shifters, but after an alliance was formed to protect Bella from Victoria's army, they were able to tolerate each other better.

During Bella's pregnancy, Jacob forms a renegade pack comprised of himself, Seth and Leah Clearwater. Esme is deeply grateful for their sacrifice and feels genuine affection for Jacob's pack, providing them with food, clean clothes and even offering to let them use the beds in their house if they don't want to sleep outdoors. She and Jacob become even closer after he imprinted on Renesmee, and it is implied that he has also been accepted as part of the family.

In Book 2 of Breaking Dawn, Jacob mentions that Esme's hospitality reminds him of his own mother.

#esme cullen #esme anne platt #twilight #twilight renaissance #redoing esme's biography

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