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lavenderwhore444 · 3 years

Note

*cracks knuckles* alright let’s get this started so imagine this toga begs shigaraki to go to the beach but we all know shigaraki will say no but little shiggy here has a HUGE crush on u plus he might get to see u in a swimsuit so he says yes ( not toga trying to hug shigaraki, RIP toga 😔) anyways let’s say you usually wear sweat pants and sweaters like baggy stuff, so shigaraki is excited to see what’s under ur clothes ( pervert shigaraki again 😀) when y’all arrive there shigaraki was basically shaking from excitement he was always interested in u but he was too insecure and was afraid you’ll reject him and find him ugly, and plus u were intimidating as hell your always saying what’s on ur mind even if it destroys someone’s self-esteem anyways shigaraki was wearing some shorts and his sweater ( our baby here is insecure don’t worry we’re gonna fix that😏) as shigaraki was sitting he was disappointed since he didn’t see u yet, *turns on the moto moto song* ur coming out of the water like a sea goddess ur hair is wet u were wearing a Bikini( it can be any swimsuit u do u boo) let’s say shigaraki’s jaw dropped he was drooling as u were coming out u noticed ur boss and ran to him ( do u know those moments were the hot chick runs in slow motion that’s how shigaraki saw u) long story short shigaraki was a stuttering mess and was red as a tomato my dude was starring on ur tits the whole time u were talking ( you had a little crush on ur boss ngl u knew shigaraki liked u back so u were the one who told toga about the beach thing u were planning something 👀) shigaraki accidentally pops a boner home boy wanted to cry from embarrassment of course u noticed it and dragged him a a private place where let’s just fuck his brains out until he’s crying from how good it feels as u were dragging shigaraki was thinking ur going to beat him up or something he was terrified until u pushed him against a wall whispered to him what ur gonna do shigaraki almost fainted, as u trying to take off his sweater he started ti cry he thought u might think he’s ugly and make fun of him ( u were lowkey shocked like 😃what now??) So u decided to kiss every part of his body and tell him how beautiful he and eventually he lets u take it off. I’ll let u take the led now loll

( for kinks now I’ll say a lot of body worship kink and a lot of praise kink, I would say the reader is a super soft dom, shigaraki is a super shy and cute sub maybe the reader gives shigaraki a boob job idk do whatever ur comfortable with babe, btw it’s super fluffy)

-🤡

My Pleasure

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My masterlist got a little longer since I updated everything so you can go check it out if you want ig...

If you want to use interactive fics, it's easy and makes reading fics SO much better. First, you download the Google Chrome extension. You'll see it in the top right corner of your screen. Next, you enter your name in the first box. If you want to change something other than y/n, please click on the text that says “want to change something other than y/n?” here, you can change any word you want to a different word. When I talk about your quirk I will use y/q

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Warnings: Boob job, cunnilingus (oooh fancy word), Shiggy is insecure but dw we fix that, praise kink, use of the nickname “puppy, ” Shigarakis a pervert (not news to us), nipple play ig, body worship, soft dom y/n, sub Shigaraki, he cries :(, I hc that Shigaraki has sh scars on his thighs and they are mentioned

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“Beach!” Toga yelled, “we’re going to the beach!”

She ran up to you and hugged you.

“Y/n we’re going to the beach!” she said, grinning up at you.

“We are, ” you nodded, ruffling her hair.

She ran over to Shigaraki, “come to the beach with us, Shiggy, ”

“No, ” he said, looking back at his game.

“Please, everyone is going, ” she pouted, “even y/n is coming, ”

A vision of you in a bathing suit flashed in front of his eyes. He imagined you putting on sunscreen and laying on your stomach on the beach, accidentally spilling water on your chest and your nipples perking up because of how cold you were out of the water.

“Fine, ” he said.

Toga squealed and hugged him.

“Oh- hey, what the hell?” he said, pushing her off, “don’t do that toga,”

She moved on to her next victim, “Dabi, go to the beach with us!”

“Who’s coming?” he asked, lighting a cigarette.

“I got everyone to go, ” she bragged.

“Wow, kid, everyone? Even y/n?” he asked.

Toga nodded frantically, proud of her achievement.

“God job, I’ll go, ” he smirked, “plus i’ll get to see y/n in a bathing suit, ”

You walked by and flicked his forehead, “eyes to yourself, bacon bits, ”

“God, babe, I love your little pet names for me, ” he teased.

Shigaraki glared at him, but you were already halfway up the stairs.

“Don’t look at me like that, ” he said, looking at Shigaraki, “we’re both going for the same reason, ”

“No, ” he denied, “I’m going because it's summer, and when it’s summer, you go to the beach, ”

Dabi rolled his eyes, “whatever you say, boss, ”

“Shiggy!” Toga yelled, “go get ready. We’re leaving, ”

He stood in his room staring at his swim shorts. He knew he’d have to wear them, and he could just put a shirt on too. He didn’t have to swim. He could just leave the shirt on. It would be fine. He really didn’t have a chance with you, but if you saw him without a shirt, you’d be disgusted. He felt disgusting.

You pulled out a bikini Toga forced you to buy and flopped down on the bed. Shigaraki was coming, which meant you were gonna get to see him without a shirt. You blushed and giggled, already daydreaming about him. Even though it was wrong, even though he was your boss, you just couldn't help it. You were one-hundred percent certain you were going to melt when you saw him. Toga had always said he had a crush on you. Maybe he would finally make a move. That was the plan anyways. The whole reason Toga had bugged everyone to go was by your request.

With your bag packed and swimsuit on under your clothes, you were ready to go. Shigaraki wanted to cry when he looked in the mirror. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe he shouldn't go. He heard a knock on his door.

“Hey, we’re about to leave. Are you ready?” You asked, “if not, I'll wait with you, so you dont have to go down by yourself. I hate being the last person ready. I don't want you to go through that pain, ” you laughed.

“No, I'm ready, ” he said, opening the door. No turning back now.

“Alright, let's go, ” you said, already walking downstairs.

He tried to calm himself as he walked down, trying to stop the grin that wanted to spread across his face. Finally, he thought, what was y/n hiding all this time? He was last to go through the warp gate, upset that you had already runoff. He waited around, nearly sweating to death until he heard Dabi yell.

“C’mon y/n, give us a little spin, ” he yelled.

He saw you blast him with sand using your quirk. He chuckled at Dabi’s predicament. You screamed as Dabi jumped in, splashing you with water. He picked you up in his arms only to throw you back in the water. You came up for air and splashed him again. Your splash war continued for some time, providing Tomura with entertainment until, ultimately, you called it a draw. He watched you and Toga play mermaids for a while before he grew bored and continued with his game, that was until Dabi wolf-whistled and he saw you begin to walk out of the water. You used your quirk again, sending a small tidal wave towards him.

“Youre so mean to me y/n, ” he complained.

“Shut it, patchwork, ” you said.

“Stop you're giving me butterflies, ” he smirked, getting splashed again.

You started walking again, the water slowly getting shallower and revealing more of your body. You were glistening, the sun reflecting off the water on your skin. Your cheeks were red from the sun, and he realized you had put sunscreen on in your room. Damn it. You brushed some wet hair out of your face, and your chest was now entirely on display.

“Fuck, ” he whispered.

He tried to be discrete, and the sun shining directly in your eyes certainly helped him. He stared at your stomach, the next part of your body to reveal itself. All he could think about is tracing little designs on it, laying his head on it, and putting a baby in it. Your thighs were an absolute show stopper. He wanted to suffocate between them. He averted his eyes when he realized you were walking over to him.

“Hey, can I sit here?” you asked, wringing out your hair.

“S-sure, ” he said, trying to focus on your face, which was definitely beautiful but...boobs lol.

“Thanks, ” you said, “I’d rather sit with you than all of them. I love Toga, but she’s a handful, and everyone else is staring at me. Bunch of creeps, ”

“Sorry about them, ” he said, unable to stop his wandering eyes.

“It’s ok. Nothing you can do, Shiggy, ” you said, “oh my god, you’re bright red. Did you forget sunscreen? It’s ok. I've got some, but you’re on the paler side, so you've gotta be careful, Shig, or you’ll burn up, ”

The redness on his face was because you were sitting next to him, nearly naked, but he wasn't going to admit that, especially when he saw you bend over to get sunscreen. He was trying desperately to control himself, but part of him had a mind of its own. He nearly died when you leaned in and put sunscreen on his face, laughing as you put a glob on his nose. He let out a genuine laugh that warmed your heart. You started talking, but honestly, he couldn't listen. You were very expressive when you spoke, and all the movement caused your tits to bounce, mesmerizing him.

He could only half listen, nodding and ‘mhm’ing when appropriate. You noticed quickly and gave him a few minutes to redeem himself but he failed. You grabbed his chin and made his eyes meet yours.

“Tomura Shigaraki, we're you staring at my boobs?” you said, feigning disappointment.

“N-no, I wasn't, ” he said.

You sighed, “lying about it only makes it worse, ”

“I'm sorry, ” he whispered, “I know I shouldn't have. I just...”

You let go of his chin and looked down at his lap.

“Really?” you asked, pointing out his obvious boner.

“Shit, I'm sorry y/n I'm so sorry. I know I'm gross and awful, and I'm just so sorry, ” he said, trying to cover it.

You grabbed his arm and dragged him away to the deserted changing rooms. Originally this beach was supposed to be a hot spot for tourists, but the water park a few miles closer to the city shut it down, leaving the beach in good condition. He braced himself for a slap, a punch, a kick, but he never could've prepared himself for a kiss on the cheek.

“I've been thinking about this for a while, Shigaraki, ” you whispered, “thinking about all the things I'd do to you, all the ways I'd make you feel good. Did you know I can block skin-to-skin quirks? You can touch me, baby, ”

“Y-you're not mad?” he whispered.

“No, I'm not mad, ” you shook your head, “I've always had a little crush on you Shiggy, ”

“Tomura, ” he corrected, “call me Tomura, ”

“Tomura, ” you whispered, “I can't wait to touch you. Fuck, I'm gonna kiss you all over. I can't wait to get between your thighs, baby. We've got all day, ”

He kissed you softly, enjoying your lips. They were sweet and soft in contrast to his dry, chapped ones. He felt so lacking, but the way you were kissing him made him feel like he was floating. You pushed him further against the wall, running your hands through his hair. Your arms hung around his neck, and he wrapped his arms tight around your waist. You kissed each other for a while, no teeth or tongue, just your lips pressed together. Eventually, things began to heat up. You let your tongue try and find its way between his lips and into his mouth. He groaned into your mouth. You tugged his hair, trying to get even closer. Your hands traveled up and down his chest, reaching for the bottom of his shirt.

He grabbed your hands and pulled away.

“No, ” he whispered.

You nodded, “that's ok, you don't have to, Tomura. Did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head, “you’ll make fun of me, ”

“Why would I make fun of you?” you asked, stroking his cheek.

“Because I'm not, ” his voice broke, “I don't- I'm ugly y/n. My body is disgusting you-you won't like me anymore, ”

Your eyes widened, “what?”

“You heard me, ” Tomura said, wiping away tears, “I hate myself, and you would too, ”

“That's bullshit, ” you said, “I think you're beautiful, ”

He scoffed, “you've never even seen me in shorts before now. How would you even know?”

“Because I’ll think you're beautiful no matter what, Tomura Shigaraki, ” you said, “and nothing could ever change that, ”

He shook his head and turned to walk away, but you took his hips and pushed him against the wall. You grabbed his face and kissed him harshly. You kissed his forehead next, the scar on his eye, both of his eyelids, his cheeks, the scar on his lips, and the mole under them.

“You have such a pretty face. You have gorgeous eyes, Tomura. I love kissing you, ” you whispered between kisses.

You kissed away a few stray tears that fell and pressed your forehead to his as he cried.

“Please don't look at me, ” he whispered, pressing his face into your neck.

Seeing him like this broke your heart. You held him as tight as you could, kissing the side of his head. You were going to kill whoever did this to him. You lifted his head and kissed him softly this time. You rubbed your hands up and down his sides. You sunk to your knees and kissed his thighs. Every scar was kissed and stroked lovingly even though your heart broke for him. You moved up his body to his stomach, lifting his shirt even though he tried to pull it down again. You kissed his stomach, soft, light kisses.

He started to relax a bit more, petting your hair instead of trying to pull down his shirt. You moved to his hands next, standing once again. You took his right hand and kissed his knuckles, then the top of his hand, and lastly, his palm. You repeated this on his other hand. You started kissing the scars on his neck, sucking softly. He moaned.

“That feels good y/n, ” he said, moving his hands to your hair.

“I'm gonna make you feel good, baby, don’t worry, ” you mumbled against his skin.

You bit the skin at the juncture of his neck, he groaned and whispered, “yes.” You kissed down to his collar bones, hearing his breathing get faster. This time you practically yanked off his shirt before he had time to stop you.

“So fucking beautiful, ” you said, standing back to admire him.

This time he didn't turn away from you but blushed and shut his eyes. You ran your hands up and down his chest and stomach. Shigaraki whimpered when you tweaked his nipple.

“Good boy, ” you whispered.

He nodded, “I wanna be your good boy. Please, ”

You smiled and brought his lips to yours again. You kissed his cheek and bit his ear softly.

“You're doing all the work, ” he said, “that's not fair. Besides shouldn't I be in charge? That's what it's like in...” he trailed off, embarrassed.

“No, ” you said, “I want to do this for you. I want to be in charge. I want to take care of you, baby. You deserve to relax, ”

He kissed you again, holding you tight to his chest.

“Tomura, ” you said, taking his hands in yours, “I have a question for you, ”

He nodded.

You leaned in and whispered, “how would you like to fuck my tits. You were staring at them all day so why don't you have a little fun with them, ”

He nodded frantically.

“Use your words, puppy, ” you said, scratching his head.

He groaned softly, “yes, please y/n, ”

You guided his hands to your still-clothed chest. He squeezed gently, cheeks growing bright red. You giggled and undid the back of your bikini, letting him see your tits without the thin material over them. He was practically drooling over you, wrapping his lips around your nipple. He sucked and licked them, causing you to moan. Every sound you made was a symphony to his ears, the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard, and he was desperate for more. He moved upwards to litter your neck with hickeys and coax more moans from your beautiful lips.

His long fingers found their way to the strings on the sides of your bikini bottoms. With one tug at the strings, they were around your ankles. It was your turn to blush at the exposure of your body while Tomura’s eyes gleamed. He was on his knees in mere seconds, admiring your sex. You felt self-conscious as he stared at your most intimate area.

“Please, ” he said, looking up at you, “can I taste?”

“Let me do something for you first, ok?” you said, “sit on the bench, ”

He nodded and did as he was told. You kneeled in front of Tomura and took off his pants before pushing your tits together around his cock. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched you. You looked up at him as you bounced, moving him between your breasts. He let out a strangled groan and threw his head back.

“That's my good boy, ” you praised, “that's my baby, feels good, yeah?”

He nodded.

“Use your words, puppy, ” you reminded him.

He bit his lip and blushed, still silent, except for his little noises.

“Aww, is someone feeling shy?” you asked.

He nodded and hid his face in his hands though it did little to hide the shy smile on his lips.

“If you want me to keep going, you're going to have to be a good pet for me, Tomura. Be a good boy and speak up, ” you said, pulling his hands away from his face.

“Feels good, ” he whispered.

You decided that was good enough and continued moving him between your boobs. You watched the head of his dick throb and pulse. He began whimpering as his thighs shook. He got louder, whining and moaning desperately.

“I know, baby, I know, ” you said in response to his beautiful noises.

He cried out whimpering.

“Y/n, ” he cried, “I need to cum, ”

“Hold just a little bit longer for me baby, ” you said.

“Can't, ” he cried out, “can't hold it y/n please lemme cum, ”

“Just a little longer, ” you promised, “be my good boy, ”

He whimpered and tensed up in concentration, trying his hardest. He struggled for a while longer begging and crying to cum.

“Go ahead, cum for me, Tomura, ” you said.

He came hard, splattering your chest with his cum. Tomura was left panting and shaking while drool dripped down his chin. His dick twitched a few times more as you let it free from between your boobs. He whined pathetically. You cleaned the sticky mess up as best you could.

“Shh sweetie, I know, I know, ” you said, sitting next to him and pushing hair out of his face.

You pulled him to your chest, watching and listening to him breathe.

“Now, can I taste?” Tomura whispered.

You kissed his forehead, “of course, puppy. Go ahead, ”

He sunk to his knees, spreading your thighs. He groaned when he saw your sloppy cunt drooling for his mouth. He licked a long stripe up your entire cunt, licking over and over. Focused on taste rather than pleasure, finally indulging himself in the delicious juices of your cunt. He grew needier for your moans, trying to find the right places to lick and suck. He found a little bud at the top of your cunt to suckle on and flick his tongue over. Tomura smiled from ear to ear at the sounds coming out of you. Every moan and whimper, every grunt and groan made his heart swell. His fingers once again found their way down, this time finally entering you.

Unpracticed thrusts turned into brushing your g-spot until he realized that curling his fingers was the way to go. Hearing your moans and lewd squelches was a fantastic prize to collect.

“I'm close, Tomura, keep going sweetie, ” you choked out.

You were close, oh god, yes, you were going to cum in his mouth. He ate you out with a passion, desperate for your gorgeous pussy to drip down his chin. Harder, faster thrusts. Stronger licks and desperate slurping. When you finally tensed, he moaned in premature ecstasy, ready for your delicious cum. The vibrations coaxed a gorgeous moan from you. Cum gushed from your pussy and into his waiting mouth, lapping it up like a starved puppy. You tried to shove him away, overstimulation stabbing your cunt. When he finally pulled away, his face was red and coated in your slimy juices, as well as his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He was panting and absolutely blissed out.

He crawled back to you, clinging to your legs.

“Good puppy, ” you praised him, “you did great, Tomura, ”

He grinned, hiding his face in your thigh and giggling. You pulled him up and onto your lap, kissing him on the nose.

“Do you want me to fuck you properly baby?” you asked.

His face fell, “I can't. I'm...I'm not hard. I'm sorry, ” he whispered, tears of embarrassment welling in his eyes.

“Oh, baby, ” you said, stroking his hair, “it's ok, Tomura. It’s ok. Don't worry baby, ”

He sniffled, “ Please don't be mad at me. ‘m sorry. I'm sorry y/n I-I’m a bad boy, ”

“No baby, no, ” you said, wiping away his tears, “you're not a bad boy. You're my good boy, my special boy, ”

He whimpered, bottom lip quivering. You rubbed his back, praising him.

“My good boy, my sweet boy. You did so well for me. Tomura, you're amazing, you're such a perfect boy Tomu, ” you whispered.

He nodded, trying to compose himself.

“Lets go swimming honey, ” you said, stroking his cheek.

He shook his head frantically, “n-no I don't want them to see me, ”

You looked him in his eyes, “you are beautiful. Now come on, we’re both sweaty. Besides, I think they'll be more focused on all the hickeys you gave me, ” you giggled.

He bit his lip.

“C’mon baby, ” you coaxed him, “can you be my good boy?”

He nodded hesitantly, “I'm...a good boy. But-but what if they make fun of me?”

“Then I’ll kill them, ” you smiled, “if they're going to disrespect you, they don't deserve to be in the league anyways, ”

His eyes widened, and a small smile played on his lips. He nodded and stood up, offering a hand to help you up. You accepted, and he pulled you up and to his chest. He held you there, pressing his face into your hair.

“Thank you, ” he whispered.

You kissed him, “my pleasure, ”

#tomura fluff #tomura smut #tenko smut #tomura x reader #mha tomura #tomura imagine #shigaraki tenko #tomura shiragaki #tomurashigaraki #shigaraki tomura #shigaraki fluff #shigaraki smut #mha shigaraki #shigaraki x reader

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violetwolfraven · 4 years

Note

41 for javid would work so perfectly ahfkfjxhsga and/or 34, whichever one u want 🥺🥺🥺

I was scared to come out and ask you out because I didn’t know our entire friend group was gay but I definitely know now???

and

We broke up but I found the letters you wrote me before that and I still love you so wanna get back together? (did I copy this from one specific fic I read? Possibly.)

Ok! Buckle in your seatbelts, y’all! This is gonna be a MASSIVELY LONG THING! Also @61-flaming-sour-cherry-scones I love your url. Just getting that out there. Modern AU, btw. Also does this end in December, 2019, conveniently avoiding COVID? Possibly! :)

...

Jack didn’t mean to find that box, but in his defense, it was not hidden well. Just in the back of his closet, which he hadn’t cleaned out since... damn. Since the breakup.

And Jack was fine with said breakup, by the way. Him and Davey weren’t right together anymore.

And Jack didn’t smile less, or work himself harder as a distraction, or whatever bullshit his brothers, mom, and all his friends said.

If Davey never texted first anymore, or barely even talked when friends asked him to hang out or whatever, that was none of Jack’s business.

Jack had texted Davey exactly once since the breakup, because Elmer had told him that he had an anxiety attack in a bar, which he was only there in the first place because he was designated driver.

Davey had said he was fine, and that meant he was, right?

Davey had not mentioned anything about leaving a shoebox in Jack’s closet. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t mentioned it, ever.

Did it sting that Jack’s ex had kept a secret box of... something? from him? Maybe. Whatever the case, Jack was curious by nature, and he was definitely opening the box.

It was... letters? Sealed letters in envelopes, the earliest one on the very top, in one corner of the box. The only thing written on it was a date; September 7th, 2011.

That would be... 8th grade? Probably the first day of school? Jack was super confused. Still, he opened the letter.

Dear Jack Kelly,

I know this is terrible and corny and I’m probably going to shred this letter with the pocket knife Sarah got for our last birthday, but I had to write it down somewhere.

I think I’m gay. Specifically, gay for you. And I know that’s weird, I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re like the living personification of the moon. (Not the sun. I’ve never understood why people compare their crush to the sun. Nobody likes looking directly at that.) You saw me sitting alone before school and you took me in. I mean it. You brought me over to your friend group and said I was a new kid who was going to be your friend now, and the whole group just adopted me without questioning it. All of you are so nice. At first I thought it was a trick, but then I saw you comforting Blink when he had a panic attack. (Also, I’m still getting used to the nickname thing. That’s still weird and I’m not sure how I feel about the one you gave me.) You were so gentle with him, Jack. You knew exactly how to calm him down and you were so patient with him while you helped Mush drive the fear away. I didn’t think boys our age knew how to be like that. I do now, because of you. Well, and because of Race being, well, Race. I don’t think anyone could mistake him for a bully. Or Crutchie. Or Romeo. Heck, most of your group is just so nice I can barely believe it. I think I’ll bring Saz to meet you tomorrow. She already made a friend, but she said that this girl, Katherine, said she already knows you. Maybe we can all be friends.

I really wish we could be more, but I know that would never work. I can’t tell anyone I’m gay. You’d think I’m a freak. But since you’ll never read this, I can admit it here: I have a massive crush on you, Jack Kelly.

Sincerely, David Davey

Jack was not going to let himself cry about a letter written in 8th fucking grade. He was, however, very confused about why it was in his closet.

A letter from before Davey was out of the closet found in the closet. If Jack wasn’t so goddamn depressed, he would appreciate the irony.

The next letter was dated: September 24th, 2011.

Dear Jack,

We’re all friends now. Gotta say, I already can’t imagine my life without you and the other guys. And maybe I didn’t meet Kath that first day, but she’s probably my best friend, besides you, of course. She’s the only other one with brain cells, besides maybe Specs. Us three had to talk you and the others out of riding a shopping cart Albert stole from Walmart down a hill yesterday. Honestly, would it kill you to be a little smarter? I know for a fact you can be, Jack Kelly. You and the others actually have a fair amount of brain cells each when apart. It’s only when the only group gets together that you all do stupid stuff.

I didn’t shred the first letter. I think maybe I’ll keep these and we can look back someday and laugh about me having a crush on you in middle school. Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to get over it before it ruins our friendship.

I honestly don’t see how I’d survive losing you, Jack. So, please, do me a favor and keep being oblivious to how I really feel about you until I digest those butterflies you give me.

Sincerely, Davey

Damn. Reading that was like a punch to the chest and Jack had to take a deep breath before moving on to the next letter.

The next few were just mundane stuff. Little notes on how Jack laughed or interacted with certain friends or whatever. The way he painted each friend something little for the holidays and how they all had a picnic potluck for Thanksgiving.

Then he got to one that was different: January 22nd, 2012. It was written in a panicked, hurried script.

Oh, damn. Jack remembered what this was about. What happened January of 8th grade.

Dear Jack,

Something’s wrong. You’re on my couch right now, crying. I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re trying to put on a brave face for Les and failing miserably. Medda didn’t have time to say much when she dropped you, Crutchie, Race, and Romeo off, so all I really know is that Blink is in the hospital and she’s gonna pick up Mush before going to see him. Crutchie is trying to comfort you, by the way, but he’s crying nearly as much as you are. Race and Ro are in shock, I think. They haven’t said much. Sarah’s making them hot cocoa. I’m in my room, writing this really quick because I don’t know what I can do. You’re so good at comforting people, but I don’t know how. I wish I knew how you did it. I think I’ll go try one of the things I’ve seen you do with panic attacks. It’s got to be better than nothing.

The rest was calmer, clearly written later.

It turns out Blink is in the hospital because his dad put him there. And he wouldn’t be alive at all if he didn’t call Mush in a panic right when he heard him get home. Mush called the cops and they barely got there in time. Blink was already half-dead when they did, but they managed to keep him alive long enough to get an ambulance. God, I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if they’d been just a little bit slower.

Medda called you a couple hours ago to let us all know that Blink is in bad shape, but he’s gonna be okay. She’s gonna try to file for custody of him, but Mush’s mom is gonna try, too, just to give him twice as much chance of staying with us. His dad is in jail, but you and me agree that he deserves to die for what he did. In the selfie Blink made Mush send the group chat, there was more bandage visible on his face than skin. It made me so damn angry, but I didn’t show it because you were so angry you almost punched a hole in my wall.

I’ve made a decision, Jack. I can’t be separate from the group anymore. I always hang with Kath off to the side where we can intervene as the voices of reason if needed, but I’m not going to do that anymore, because I. can. not. do this again. I want our friends to trust me like they trust you so maybe if one of them is in a house with a dad that would beat them within an inch of their life, they’ll tell me and I can get them out.

I guess that means I’ll have to get better at lying. I’ve been staying separate mostly to hide my crush. And I think I’m pretty good at that, but being right at the center of things, with you? I’ll have to be careful to make sure no one notices. Especially not you. I hope I can pull it off.

You definitely aren’t making it easy on me, are you? You’re passed out in my bed, for heaven’s sake. But it’s fine. This is fine. I’m fine.

Sincerely, Davey

Jack remembered that night as one of the worst of his life. He’d thought Blink was dead by how Mush sounded when he called. And even though it turned out he wasn’t, he was going to be okay even if he lost an eye, after Jack’s childhood, he’d always hated when he couldn’t protect the people he loved.

Davey had been the one to reach him in that bad place he fell back to, the one where people he loved, kids he considered his little brothers, were getting hurt. Davey had pulled him out of there, and though it would take Jack months to realize it, that was the day he started to fall in love with him.

The next Monday, though, Jack had tried to give him space. Knowing how intimidating it all had to seem, he wasn’t sure if Davey would bail on them.

But he didn’t. Jack had never stopped appreciating how Davey had seen the darkness under the innocent, normal friendship and stayed anyway.

The next few letters were mostly a lot of pining on Davey’s side as he struggled to integrate himself more deeply into the group.

Jack still remembered that shift, how once Davey earned the others’ trust, Jack had gone from being the only one everyone was relying on to half of a pair that a lot of their friends had jokingly called ‘mom and dad.’

It was kind of sad, knowing that for most of them, Jack and Davey gave them more love and attention than their actual parents did, but the two of them would have to do—and they had. For a long time, the two of them were an unstoppable duo of hugs and snacks and homework help.

The letter from June 15th, 2012, had weird spots on it, almost like... almost like tear-marks. It was shorter than the previous ones.

Dear Jack,

Saz just came bouncing into my room to announce that she’s going with you to the Eighth Grade Dance.

I don’t know why I’m sad about it. I knew you and me would never be a thing.

But it still hurts, Jackie. It hurts so much.

I’m going with the rest of the group, just as friends. No one has dates except you, and I think maybe Romeo.

Jack knew for a fact that Blink and Mush had gone together because he remembered accidentally walking in on their first kiss, but apparently, Davey hadn’t known that.

Les is knocking on my door, so I’m gonna have to drop my math textbook on the floor really loudly so I can tell him I’m crying because I fell.

Sincerely, Davey

There wasn’t another letter until 4 months later, Octobe 16th, 2012.

Dear Jack,

So. Something weird just happened. Saz just came into my room and said she’s not going with you to Homecoming because you’re going with Kath. I tried to comfort her, but she didn’t seem sad about it?

She asked me if I wanted to go with anyone and seemed surprised I said I didn’t. (Not like I’m telling her a part of me wishes I could go with you.) Then she mentioned that Blink and Mush are going together, and I don’t see why she cares because if you don’t have a date why not go with a friend, right? Why do girls have to be so confusing?

Sincerely, Davey

Oh. Oh, God.

By the beginning of freshman year, Blink and Mush hadn’t been the only gay couple in their friend group.

Albert and Finch had gotten together over the summer, and so had Smalls and Sniper.

Romeo and Specs were in the ‘flirting terribly’ phase, and though Jack didn’t know it at the time, Race was already sneaking around with Spot by that point.

Ike had asked Hotshot to that Homecoming, though they wouldn’t officially become boyfriends until almost a year later, Buttons and Elmer became official at that dance, and Jojo and Mike had that falling out because of misread signals towards the end of it.

Hell, Jack only went to that dance with Kath because she couldn’t let her parents know she was actually going with Saz.

Homecoming freshman year was... eventful, to say the least.

And Davey had known exactly none of this. That... explained a lot.

Being only freshmen, none of the couples were exactly casual in their relationships. They didn’t kiss in front of people, and a few were too embarrassed to so much as sit next to each other at lunch. With the ones who weren’t embarrassed, it still honestly wasn’t much more than the affection they all already showed among friends.

God, if Jack had known how scared Davey was to come out, as he said in the next few letters, he would have... what? Told him he loved him right then and there? Probably not, but he would have done something differently.

The next really significant letter was dated December 11th 12th, 2012.

Dear Jack,

I have no idea what to think.

I’m in the bathroom right now, and it’s just after midnight on 12/12/12. You and your brothers threw a party in case the world ended with the whole friend group. It was kind of like a New Year’s party, but with a lot more cynical talk about the coming apocalypse and bet placing on what said apocalypse would be. Towards the end, we all got caught up in the drama and sleep-deprivation and started giving speeches about how much we loved each other. It was cringy, but in a good way? I’m sure we’ll laugh about it someday.

Or maybe we won’t. Because I have no idea what to think anymore.

Oh, shit. This was the part Jack was kind of dreading reading.

I’ve been terrified to come out because I thought I’d get kicked out of the group if you guys knew I was gay.

Which was why it was such a shock when the countdown to midnight ended and half my friends kissed friends of the same gender.

Jack remembered yelling at them to break it up. He’d been so busy being exasperated with his kids that he hadn’t even noticed Davey had slipped away until Crutchie pointed it out.

It was quick, so I don’t think I could name all the pairs if I tried, but I definitely saw Sarah kiss Kath, which, honestly, explains a lot.

I can’t help but wonder... Why didn’t anyone tell me? How long has this been going on? Has it been since the beginning and I was just too oblivious to see it?

Oh my God. Now that I’m looking for it, I can’t stop seeing it. The way Blink is defensive and angry all the time and he’s soft for Mush. The way Sarah hates spending time on her hair and she’ll sit for hours letting Kath try out styles on her. The way Buttons and Elmer just do little things for each other every day. None of them are subtle and I am an idiot.

Jack had to laugh at that.

Does this mean I should come out, too? I know now no one would judge me for it, but... I don’t want to mess things up. I love our friends, and I don’t want to lose them. If I lost them, now, it would be because I like you, specifically. Would you be disgusted with me if I told you?

“No,” Jack whispered, before remembering that this was 14-year-old Davey, and he wasn’t here.

I like to think you wouldn’t be, but I can’t risk it. If I lose you, I lose all of them. And if I have doubts about if I could live through losing you, I definitely can’t survive losing everyone. I love them all so much. I love you.

Jack sucked in a breath. As far as he knew, this was the first time Davey had ever said anywhere that he loved Jack.

But I can’t tell you that. So if I come out, it definitely won’t be by saying who I like.

Love, Davey

Jack totally wasn’t crying as he reached for the next letter. It was just current events, random stuff. There were certainly a lot of letters, weren’t there? Davey had documented everything, from Jack attempting to teach him to draw, to the time they both auditioned for the school play, to that time they had to talk Jojo off a ledge when he realized he loved Mike. That one was short but bad. (Honestly, Jack still hated Jojo’s super religious parents for that. Fuck Jojo’s parents.)

Davey did come out in a letter from almost six months later, but it wasn’t until Homecoming sophomore year that things started getting really interesting.

Dear Jack,

I honestly might never talk to you again outside these letters. Sarah’s banging on my door telling me to, and I’m quoting her here, “open the fuck up, David Jacobs.” Mom’s yelling back at her to watch her language. They’re now having a screamed bitching match in the hallway.

Long story short, we were at Homecoming and you asked me to dance. My brain kind of short-circuited, but I said yes right as a slow song came on. Shockingly, you didn’t seem to mind, and you danced with me to Photograph by Ed Sheeran.

Oh, God, Jack remembered that song. It had been their song. He still couldn’t listen to it anymore.

You were singing along to it and smiling at me. It was really sweet, and it was kind of my dream, to be honest, and I guess I lost all control of my body for a second because I kissed you during the last chorus and I didn’t stop kissing you until the end of the song.

Jack remembered that like it was yesterday, because it was their first kiss. It was a million perfect colors exploding across Jack’s brain and feelings he could barely identify swirling into a moment more beautiful than any painting he could ever create.

Then a faster song came on and I don’t know if anyone saw, but I really hope they didn’t because if they did that means they saw what happened next. Which is: I ran away. I ran all the way to my car and drove home and locked myself in my room. Sarah came home not 5 minutes later, so I think she knows, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t know how I can face you after this. In hindsight I think you were kissing me back, and if you were that means I just ran out on you and it probably hurt when I did. If not, that’s even worse because I kissed you and you probably just didn’t pull away out of pity.

Holy shit, I think you’re here, now. I can hear you outside my door with Saz, and maybe Kath, too. She’s trying to calm her down, which, honestly, good luck, Kath. Wait. No. Shit. I guess being her girlfriend has its benefits. It’s just you, now. You’re talking really softly, but I can’t understand you through the door. This is why we enunciate, Jackie.

Jack rolled his eyes on reflex.

I’m still pretty scared, but I think I’m gonna open the door. Scratch that, I’m definitely gonna open it. If you yell at me, I’ll probably yell right back. Funny, isn’t it? How I never would have done that before meeting you? If we have a huge fight, remember that you’re the one who taught me not to censor myself. David never would have even opened that door, but Davey is your monster. Good luck. I’ve out-argued you before, Jackie, so you’ll need it.

I should stop stalling and open the damn door.

If you break my heart, Jack Kelly, I’m going to kill you.

Love, Davey

Reading that last sentance, Jack froze.

If you break my heart, Jack Kelly, I’m going to kill you.

Time was a bitch, because by all accounts, they were both broken-hearted, now.

Jack wiped away his tears and realized there was a little bit more writing.

P.S. I guess you get to live, Jackie, because we had a talk and you kissed me again and now we’re together. Like, boyfriends. I can’t stop smiling. It’s stupid. I’m probably not going to sleep tonight and it’s all your fault because my stomach is full of butterflies and I can’t stop thinking about how much I love you.

Jack didn’t let himself process that, going for the next letter instead.

Oh, shit. November 1st, 2013. This was going to be a bad one. Still, Jack took a deep breath and started reading.

Dear Jack,

Well, today was emotionally draining. (Halloween was fun, but what came after definitely is not.) It’s already past midnight, but it’s okay because I’m sleeping over at your house tonight. After Saz and I explained the situation, Mom and Dad agreed we should. God, said situation it makes me so angry.

Katherine’s parents kicked her out. They found out about her and Sarah, made her pack a bag, and tossed her away like she was nothing.

She’s 16. She’s a goddamn child like the rest of us. How could they do that to her? I guess it’s good she’s out of that environment, where she has to hide who she is and walk on eggshells with every conversation, but she’s on your couch right now, crying so hard she can’t even drink the tea Medda made her. Sarah and you are trying to calm her down, but I hate seeing her like this. Kath always seems kind of unshakable, like nothing anyone says will get to her. I’ve never seen her this broken. Judging by the look you’re giving me from across the room, you haven’t, either.

You think I’m making a grocery list. Medda told me to, seeing as how she’s busy helping clean out your guest room, Saz is on ‘shoulder to cry on’ duty, and I’m the only boy who lives with a girl. Kath didn’t get to pack much more than a couple of outfits and her toothbrush.

You know what? Fuck it. You and me are her parents, now. You’re good with that, right? We’re already stand-in Mom and Dad for several of our friends—what’s one more? Ha ha, you and me have so much practice already that we are going to be great parents for real one day.

Jack sucked in a breath. Real parents? As in, the two of them staying together long enough to have kids?

Wow. That is wildly inappropriate to think about when we’re literally a couple of 15-year-olds. Also, it makes me think about how Kath is technically a few months older, but whatever. I guess I should actually make that grocery list, now, and stop daydreaming about a hypothetical future while one of our kids now is sobbing across the room from me.

Love, Davey

Davey had never even told Jack he wanted kids.

Sure, they were both a little young for that, but in the future..? Jack had always been scared that he wouldn’t be a good dad, after never having a good dad, himself, but sophomore year Davey was right. He had gotten a fair amount of practice with his friends.

That night, when Kath showed up at the Larkin house, crying so hysterically the makeup from her Halloween costume was running and saying she didn’t know where else to go, Davey was the first person Jack called. Him and Sarah had shown up not fifteen minutes later, probably having been lucky not to pick up a speeding ticket (or you know, gotten arrested for underage driving without an adult) on the way.

15-year-old Davey was right. That night was the most broken Jack had ever seen Katherine. Even if it had worked out okay in the end, with Kath staying with them and being their new sister in every way but on paper, Jack still kind of wanted to throat-punch her parents.

It was... oddly comforting, to know that Davey felt the same. He hadn’t shown it back then, knowing Kath needed him calm, but... to be honest, Jack would have feared an angry Davey Jacobs more than an angry Jack Kelly. You’d get punched by an angry Jack, but an angry Davey? He was smart enough to burn down your world. Jack smirked, thinking about how lucky the Pulitzers were that Davey possessed impulse control.

Most of the rest of the letters were just Davey talking about their relationship as it evolved or recounting whatever drama happened to be going on, (with one in the middle of junior year that was basically just ‘wtf Race is secretly dating Spot Conlon???’) because as the only group of out gays in the school, a few of whom happened to be in not-so-good homes, there was always drama.

Then came the stress of senior year, SATs, and college applications. Davey and Jack had a few fights, which were all well documented here. 17-year-old Jack and Davey hadn’t known that those fights were the beginning of the end.

The letter dated June 5th, 2016 was the one that finally made Jack cry for real .

Dear Jack,

We’re fighting again. We have before, but this time, it’s actually serious.

I get that you’re going to school in Santa Fe and I’m staying in New York. What—did you expect me to follow you all the way across the country? I’m not asking you to stay, because that wouldn’t be fair of me. You’ve got dreams and a scholarship to an art school and that is great. I’m happy for you. But I’m not going with you, because why would I? I’ve got dreams, too. Did you think I would put my life on hold for you?

We can’t stay kids forever, Jackie. Growing up means things change. I thought you knew that. Our friends are spreading out across the country and most of the couples aren’t going to be in the same state. Hell, Specs is going to Harvard in Massachusetts and Romeo is moving to Hollywood to go try his luck and they’re not having problems. If your own brother can do the long-distance thing, why can’t you?

I’m scared, too. I don’t want to lose you, either. I know doing a long-distance thing won’t be easy, but when was the last time either of us gave up just because it was hard? Jackie, if I wanted something easy, I would have bailed after we almost lost Blink. My love for you aside, I didn’t because that’s. not. me. I fight for what I love. And I know you do, too, so... so fight for me. I need to know you love me enough to fight for me, Jackie.

I know you. When you want something—really want it, there is not a force in this world that can stop you from fighting for it. I love you, Jack Kelly. I’m not going to stop fighting for you, so please don’t stop fighting for me.

Love, Davey

Jack choked on a sob. He’d failed. Davey had asked him to fight for him and he failed.

Sure, he hadn’t known that Davey wanted him to fight for him, but... God, if he had...

Jack would have fought, would have walked through hell, would have done anything to keep Davey by his side.

He still loved Davey, no matter what he’d been telling himself since the breakup, and... And he needed to read the rest of these letters. Even if Davey started hating him when the fighting got really bad or wrote about what he was feeling during it.

Shit. There weren’t that many more. The remaining letters were spread out somewhere between high school graduation and when Jack and Davey broke up; a year and a half ago, and... and those would probably be the hardest ones to read

Jack waited a bit until the tears had stopped before opening the one from November 20th, 2016.

Dear Jack,

I haven’t wrote one of these in a while. College has been a bitch, but also...

You and me barely talk anymore. We text each other memes about once a week, (don’t worry. you still know exactly how to make me laugh with those dumb little shitposts.) but we don’t really talk. I can’t remember the last time we FaceTimed. I miss you, but I don’t know how to say it anymore.

I’m thinking about this because it’s Thanksgiving break. Of course, it’s good to see everyone. Kath got home this morning. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her. Elmer texted me a couple minutes ago that he’s an hour away. Of course that dumbass is driving all the way from Michigan. I’m sure we’ll both have more than enough words for him when you get back because you’re flying in tonight.

I don’t know how I feel about that. I should be excited, but... I don’t think I’ve been this nervous about anything involving you since I ran away after our first kiss. I think I preferred it last year, when we were fighting, because even when we were pissed at each other, at least we were communicating.

You remember when we were kids and you always knew exactly what to say exactly when someone needed to hear it? How you helped calm down Kath when she got kicked out, talked Jojo off a roof, and convinced Spot to tell Race he loved him? It was amazing. I never quite mastered that. I usually know what to do, just never how to voice it. But this time, I don’t even know what to do. We’re not on the same page anymore. I don’t think we’re even in the same book.

Jack took a shaky breath. He and Davey hadn’t been on the same page. And Jack definitely hadn’t known what to say to him, either. They weren’t the unstoppable duo they’d been in high school.

But... damn. Those things Davey had mentioned him doing? He couldn’t have done those alone. For all of those, he had needed Davey there, helping him. Maybe that was why it was so hard, being there for anyone since the breakup.

I hate how five years of being an unstoppable duo can be undone in only four months, and it wasn’t even by fighting. If it was a fight, we could solve it, you and me vs. the problem. But there’s no fight, no problem. It’s just you and me and the growing chasm between us.

You know what? It’s probably just the distance messing with us. We’ll be fine. We just need some time together. Thanksgiving will be good for us. And I’m flying out to Santa Fe for the winter holidays to spend it with you, so that’ll be good, too.

I’m gonna text you right now. Your flight probably won’t be leaving for another hour or so, so we can talk. Get back in rhythm.

I still don’t know what to say. I guess I’ll just ask about how hot Santa Fe is in winter and we can go from there. Here’s hoping this makes things get less awkward.

Love, Davey

Jack remembered that text conversation with Davey in the airport. He remembered how much hope it had given him, and how after Jack went back to Santa Fe when the holiday was over, how much better Davey and him had been. That Christmas/Hanukkah had been great, especially considering most of Jack’s classmates were at home and they’d had the dorm to themselves.

Of course their friends and families had known that was why Jack didn’t come home that year, and he distinctly remembered getting texts from all three of his brothers on Christmas morning asking if Davey was good in bed, but that was besides the point.

The next several letters were from their second wind, the rest of the school year. And yeah, they were hard to read, but they brought back happy memories. Even only seeing each other over breaks and computer screens, it seemed that Davey was happy, too. For a while, it had seemed that Jack could have his dreams of art school in Santa Fe and the love of his life.

Then, of course, during that summer of staying together at whichever house more often than not, they started fighting again. Over nothing. Over stupid things. Over who loaded the dishwasher wrong and who said he was going to pick Les up from his friend’s house.

Then they started fighting over big things. Over harsh words Jack never meant and judging by these letters, Davey didn’t meant, either.

August 2nd, 2017:

Dear Jack,

I fucked up. We just had a big fight, I said a bunch of things I didn’t mean, and like an idiot, I let you leave for the airport without apologizing. Now, you’re acting like your phone is already on airplane mode even though I know for a fact your flight doesn’t leave for another hour. Also, I can see that you’ve read all of my texts, you moron, so I know you’re just ignoring me.

Aw, hell, I don’t even blame you. I said some really bad things. I said you love your art more than me, and I know that’s not true. I know you’d never prioritize material things over the people you love, because Jackie, you prioritize those people who have earned your loyalty over everything, including your own mental and physical health. I know because it annoys the hell out of me, how you never give yourself a break. They’re all adults now, Jackie. They don’t need us as much anymore and you never stop acting like they do.

I shouldn’t be angry with you for that. I know with your childhood, trying to protect Crutchie, Race, and Romeo and sometimes failing, you still feel like you have to save everyone. It’s how you’re wired and I love that about you. I wouldn’t change it if I could. I just wish you’d stop running yourself into the ground to do it.

Is this it? I already feel like we’re on borrowed time, here. Sarah says she thought we were going to break up last year. Kath says she’s sure it’s not that bad. (they’re talking about it very loudly in the hallway. or maybe they’re arguing. who knows?) Les just said that my mom said nobody marries their high school sweetheart. (thanks, Mom.)

I think even if we never said it, that’s what we were both hoping for. I know you, Jackie. I’ve watched your favorite romcoms and Disney movies. I know you want the perfect fairytale relationship with the whole package of ‘and they get married and have kids and live happily ever after.’ And I want that, too. I really wanted it with you. Ugh! I still want it with you! I can’t imagine any alternate universe where I don’t want that with you!

It’s probably inappropriate to think about all that. We’re nineteen. We’re not even old enough to drink yet and we’re definitely too young for me to be thinking about marrying you.

Jack inhaled sharply. Oh, God. He was going to cry again.

But for the record... I do want to. I want everything with you and I cannot imagine any circumstance, any extreme, any bad breakup where I stop wanting that.

Just to be safe, though, in case something I can’t foresee happens and I never say it again...

I love you, Jack Kelly. I have loved you from the first day I met you and I can’t see anything happening in any version of reality that makes me stop loving you. You’re still like the living personification of the moon to me and no matter how much you piss me off, Jackie, your glow doesn’t fade. You shined a light on the parts of me afraid of judgement and taught me to shine, too, despite them.

I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you and I probably never will. I just need you to know that.

Love, Davey

Jack was already crying, but he panicked as he realized there was only two more letters.

A part of him wanted to wait. These were words Davey hadn’t spoken to him. These were the last pieces of Davey that were still Jack’s.

But he needed to know. Were these letters from before they actually broke up? After? Had Davey been wrong in the previous letter and he’d stoped loving Jack?

There were no dates on the envelopes. Still, Jack had to know. He took a deep breath and opened the second-to-last one, the paper covered in old, dried tear marks.

Dear Jack,

We had another stupid fight and we tried to fix it but that just ended in more yelling. That’s happened a few times before, now, but this time, it was different.

Oh, no. This must be from the big one Spring Break of their sophomore year of college.

Jack had come home for the break, it had been great to see his friends, but then he and Davey had started fighting. Like, really fighting. Worse than they ever had before.

And then there was the big one. It was two days before Jack flew back to Santa Fe. It was the one where they actually broke up.

This time, you told me to leave. And I kind of yelled at you to just go back to Santa Fe as you shoved me out the door. Then you yelled that if I wanted you to fly away so badly, I shouldn’t bother visiting again and you slammed the door in my face.

I think we just broke up. I’d be angry about it if I wasn’t so damn sad.

God, this is messed up. I know you’re alone on your bed with those stupid Star Wars sheets you’ve had since you were twelve and you locked the door because you don’t want anyone to see you cry. Thinking about that makes me want to run right back there and say I’m sorry.

I wanted to do that the second I got back to my parents’ house, but they convinced me not to. Sarah yelled at them for it. She said I had to make my own decision. They said I’m too emotional to think clearly. They’re right, of course, which is why I’m here writing this and not on my way back to your mom’s house already.

Now, Les is the only one outside my door. Are Crutchie, Race, Romeo, or Kath outside yours? Les is trying to guilt me into opening the door by telling me he cancelled a date for me. I’m not weirded out at all by the fact that my baby brother has way more game than I did when I was fourteen.

Are we really done, Jackie? For good? I keep waiting to hear you out in the hallway. And probably Kath, because she’s a better driver than you. I can’t keep thinking about this. I’m just gonna to go to sleep.

Davey

Jack wiped his eyes furiously. There was one more letter and he needed to read it, consequences be damned.

This last letter was probably from when Davey cooled down. Maybe the next morning or something. If he didn’t hate Jack while he was emotional and raw from the initial breakup, he might in this letter. But Jack opened it, anyway.

My Dearest Jack,

We really are broken up. You haven’t called me, but I got a very angry text-rant from Crutchie (for which he apologized 10 minutes later) which basically boiled down to him saying I broke your heart. Romeo called me, said ‘dude, not cool,’ then hung up. Race and Medda seem to be trying to see both sides, and though Kath did tell me that the last few months have been like ‘listening to mom and dad fight downstairs,’ she’s not offering any advice. I think she and Sarah are waiting for me to come to them.

I’m so sorry, Jackie. I know this is mostly my fault. Still, I can’t make the first move. Don’t forget: I know you. You’re more concerned with other people’s feelings than yours, so if I ask you to take me back and you do it, I can’t be sure you didn’t just do it for me. If we ever get back together, it has to be because you want it, too. However, I know you won’t even consider we could get back together unless I give you a sign, which is why I’m leaving you my letters.

You went back to Santa Fe two weeks ago and I’m finally stable enough to come get my stuff from your house and drop off what little you left in my room. While I’m there, I’m gonna hide this somewhere. I guess we’ll both have to pray no one else in your family finds it. That would be awkward.

When you find this, I want you to think long and hard about what you want, Jackie. I want you to make a decision for you. Goddammit, think about yourself first for once.

If you fight for me, I want you to do it because it’s what you really want. That fairytale romcom ending with me is still yours if you play your cards right. (Don’t think I forgot all the hurtful things you said to me, even if I’m 70% sure you didn’t mean them.) It might take... I dunno, therapy or something, but I still think we can fix this. It won’t be easy, but neither is love. Neither is our entire messed-up, broken group of friends.

I used to think I’d lose all of them if I lost you. Maybe I would have, if I’d messed up like this in 8th grade. But now, I know I won’t, because they’re all blowing up my phone as much as I’m sure they’re blowing up yours, asking if I’m okay. I see now that they need me as much as I need them. And they still need you, too, even if you do need to accept a little more that we’re all grown-ups now.

Where was I going with this? I had a point.

I guess all there’s left to say is that if you still want that perfect ending with me—getting married and having kids and having them call all our friends ‘auntie’ and ‘uncle’—fight for it. Loving someone the way I’m in love with you doesn’t happen twice, so I’m not going anywhere. You know where to find me.

You probably won’t find this for a while. Hell, you’re not even coming home again until summer break. But that’s probably a good thing. It gives us both some time to cool off and think.

So think, Jackie. Think long and hard and make a choice. Fight for me or don’t. In case I never get a chance to say it in person again...

I love you, Jack Kelly.

Love, Davey

Oh shit.

Davey left this in Jack’s closet a year and a half ago. He’d probably expected Jack to find it that summer. In fact, he probably thought Jack had found it and just decided not to fight for him.

Jack still wanted to fight for him. He had no doubts about that.

But did his have to discover this box now? When he was leaving for Santa Fe to finish his senior year tomorrow?

Fuck it. Even if it had been almost two years, even if there was a high chance Davey wasn’t waiting for him anymore, he still had to do this

Driving to the Jacobs house right then and there was probably the stupidest thing Jack had ever done, and that was including riding that Walmart shopping cart Albert stole down a hill in 8th grade with Race, Romeo, and Albert when Davey, Kath, and Specs weren’t there to stop them.

Sarah was the one who opened the door, and she... Jack hadn’t talked to Saz since the breakup, since she’d been staying mad at him out of solidarity. Honestly, he was now realizing that he’d missed her nearly as much as he’d missed Davey. They’d been good friends, once upon a time.

Now, she glared at him, “The fuck are you doing here, Kelly?”

“I...” Jack honestly couldn’t think of a good way to explain this, “Is he home?”

Sarah snorted, “What? After a year and a half, you’ve finally come to your senses and realized you’ll never find another one like my brother?”

“I never planned on anyone like him in the first place,” Jack snapped, “Davey was always... even back in middle school... You think I’d ever believe I could find someone else like that? I’m dumb, Saz, but I ain’t stupid. I always knew I was givin’ up on forever when I didn’t try to get him back, but... but I thought he didn’t want me anymore.”

Sarah froze, then leaned against the doorframe, laughing kind of hopelessly, “You are stupid, Jack Kelly, if you think my brother wasn’t totally gone for you and totally broken-hearted when you didn’t try to fight for him.”

Jack definitely had an oh shit moment, “Wait, do you know? About the..?”

“The box of letters he left you? Yeah. He told me last year, after you left for junior year without coming for him.”

Jack took the last letter out of his pocket, “I just found it.”

Saz took a second to process that before motioning for Jack to come in, shouting up the stairs, “Davey! Get your butt down here!”

Les, sitting at the kitchen table, looked up from his sandwich, “Holy shit. Jack?”

“Hi, kid,” Jack said, trying not to be weirded out by how the now-16-year-old was taller than him.

“Davey?” Sarah yelled again, clearly impatient.

“Alright, alright! God, Saz, what couldn’t wait 10 se—“ That was when Davey looked up, seeing Jack in his kitchen.

“That couldn’t wait,” Sarah said pointedly, “Les, let’s go... not be here.”

“If I eat in my room, Mom’ll kill me,” Les said, picking up his sandwich, anyway.

“Eat in my room, then.”

Jack and Davey were silent until the other two Jacobs siblings were upstairs.

“Why are you here, Jack?”

Jack had to take a deep breath before he responded, “When was the last time you went somewhere besides school if somebody didn’t drag you out of the house?”

“What?”

“Do the people who love you say you’ve changed? Do they keep saying they need a designated driver only to try to get you drinking and dancing like it’ll make you smile?”

“What are you—“

“Are there songs you can’t listen to? Movies you can’t watch? Have you so much as called someone back when they gave you their number?”

“Jack,” Davey looked at the ceiling, “What’s this about?”

“You once said you wouldn’t put your life on hold for me,” Jack said, “And you were right not to. I can be overprotective, sometimes. No one should put their dreams on hold because of a lover, but... my dreams are the only thing I haven’t put on hold, Dave. I ain’t been living since I lost you. Not really. And when our friends all said I was smilin’ less, I never let myself think about it, because if I did, I’d have to think about how much I was still hurtin’ over you.”

Davey laughed sady, “Jack, if you really wanted me, you would have fought for me a long time ago, so—“

“You’re talkin’ about the letters?” Jack asked, holding up the one he had on him, “Davey... I just found them. Today.”

Davey was silent, his face completely unreadable. Jack was holding his breath.

“Jack Kelly,” he finally smiled, “I should have known you would take this long to clean out your damn closet.”

“I think you spent enough time in the closet for the both of us.” Jack joked.

Davey rolled his eyes, “Very funny, Jackie. Anyway... I don’t think it’s any secret that we can’t just pick up where we left off.”

“Of course not.”

“So... coffee? If we’re trying again, I’d prefer to take things slow.”

Jack nodded, “Probably a good thing I’m going back to Santa Fe after tomorrow. That ain’t enough time for us to do something we’ll regret.”

“Yeah, I guess mostly just texting is one way to take it slow... speaking of which, one of us should probably text the group chat.”

“Oh yeah,” Jack grinned, “They’re gonna freak.”

#newsies #javid #javey #jack kelly #davey jacobs #jack and davey are the mom and dad friends #sarah jacobs #katherine plumber #background newsbians #background blush #background spromeo #background belmerttons #slight angst #violet’s writing

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hanniiesuckle17 · 5 years

Text

Human

A/n: Again not requested but I wanted to do it. Requests are open btw!

WARNINGS: swearing, bangchan being freaking swoon worthy

Member: Bangchan ft. Seungmin (and obviously a couple other members)

Summary: Your friend (we are just gonna call her Irene idfk) had this huge crush on your brother's friend, who you didn't really know that well but you were really chill with everyone and you agreed to help her. Over time you slowly inch yourselves into your brothers friend group, but what happens when feelings go different ways.

Genre: student au, school au, dancer reader!au, fluff, angst towards the end.

Get ready. This is about to be long. Part 2?

(Also I honestly should be writing my next chapter for my fic on quotev or doing hw but I'm doing this instead. Love that.)

_________________________________________

"He is just so cool! Why won't you help me?" Your friend Irene pleaded from her spot on your bed. I lay on my bedroom floor with my legs propped up against the wall. Her long hair fell off the side of my bed as I looked over at my bestfriend since fourth grade.

"I don't even know him!" She sighed, clearly distraught. "He's friends with your little brother, right?" I scoffed. My brother Jeongin had immediately befriended the boy whomst our conversation was about. The boy in question was a senior exchange student at our school named Bangchan, but my brother only referred to him as Chan. "How the hell am I supposed to get him to-" "I'll buy you sushi from the corner store every friday."

"Really?" I flipped over to send her an intense stare. "Really." Irene returned the look with a smile. "Every other day." She looked up in thought, probably imagining her wallet screaming. "Deal!" I scooted over and we did our bestfriend handshake.

"YAH! YANG JEONGIN!" I screamed at my little brother, causing Irene to laugh beside me. "WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT?" My brother yelled from what what sounded like downstairs. I heard laughter as well which meant he probably had a couple of the boys over. I motioned for Irene to follow downstairs.

Before we could finish descending the staircase, I stopped in my tracks, causing Irene to bump into me. "Y/n what the hell-- Oh." I could practically hear the smirk in her voice. He sat in my living room looking ironically perfect. The boy who I had painstakingly had a crush on since the fourth grade. My brother sat with him and our friend Jisung on the couch. I still don't understand why he affects me this much. I hang out with him, Jisung, my brother, and our friend Felix all the time.

"Oh, hey Y/n!" Kim Seungmin said with a smile that cause his eyes to crinkle on the sides. "Uh- I- Hi!" Something about him caused me to turn from my usual cool character into a lovesick little girl. The worst part was I didn't mind. "Did you want something, noona?" My brother asked, grabbing my attention again.

"Oh. Yeah, are you guys going to practice tonight?" Seungmin, Felix, and his friend Changbin were all on the football team. The boys would go to all the games and practices to support them and occasionally I would come along (for the view). They nodded and told us they were leaving in about ten minutes. "You mind if we tag along?" Jisung quickly agreed with me and said he would drive us.

"Great! We'll be back in a sec!" I quickly shoved Irene back up the stairs and tossed her a pair of my jeans before trading out my sweatpants for another pair of denim pants. "Why are we going to the practice again?" I threw on a crop top and a light oversized jean jacket. "All of the boys go to support the team. Also I would like an excuse to stare at Seungmin without anyone finding out that I think he is hotter than Minho thinks his reflection is." She chuckled and grabbed a crop hoodie from my closet, knowing I was used to her borrowing my clothes.

The two of us rushed downstairs and got into Jisung's jeep, which he and I often went off roading in after a heavy rain. As we got out of the car, Seungmin came to walk beside me. While he had to leave to get changed, we followed the other boys up into the bleachers and to a pair of boys I vaguely recognized sitting in the middle of the risers. While my brother and Jisung sat next to them, Irene and I sat on the riser below them.

"Chan, Woojin you remember my sister." I looked at the boy my brother identified as Chan and immediately realized why Irene was so infatuated by him as he shook my hand. He was obviously older than us, most likely a fourth year, yet he had this youthful glow about him. He had a bright smile with a cute pair of dimples and fluffy dirty blonde hair. "I'm Y/n and this is my friend, Irene." He smiled at me, his dimples showing as he greeted the both of us. The six of talked as we waited for the team to come out.

"That is the worst name you could possibly have in a high school!" Bangchan laughed. "I'm not lying! My Pre-Cal teacher's name actually is Mrs. Head!" I tried to convince them through laughs that I was indeed telling the truth. "No way!" Irene wiped a tear from her cheek, smiling ear to ear. "The worst part about it is that she's a mouth breather too." With that Jisung laughed so hard he fell backwards between the riser and the ground, effectively causing his butt to become stuck. Everyone but my brother couldn't stop laughing. He just look at us in confusion.

"I don't get it." Jisung leant up about to whisper in my brother's ear. "Hey! Let's save some of his innocence." Chan breathed out between laughs. The coach's whistle sounded and the team came out. We all cheered, but the rest of the group soon went back to their conversation. I however was fixated on player number Six, Seungmin.

"Yeah! Go, Seungmin!" I shouted after he caught a pass from Changbin in a scrimmage down field. I thought I felt someone looking at me, but when I turned all I saw was Bangchan who was watching Irene and Woojin talk about choir. Shrugging it off, I went back to watching the practice.

The coach signaled the team to go in about an hour and a half later, and by then we were the only people left in the stands. My friends moved to the back of the bleachers to wait for our other friends, but I stayed and walked to the fence that lead to the field. Immediatley I spotted Seungmin as he ran towards me taking off his helmet, a huge smile across his face. "Hey, Mr. All Star." I said as he reached me, wrapping and arm around me over the waist high fence. "What's up, Twinkle Toes?"

I blushed at his nickname for me. Ever since he found out I studied ballet, he has held the only girly thing about me over my head for the past four years. I looked down as he laughed at my reaction, blush creeping to my cheeks. "Wait for me?" I nodded and he jogged off to the locker rooms.

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I walked back to my friends. As I rounded the corner I saw Felix and Changbin were already with everyone. As soon as he saw me he screamed, "Y/N!" The blonde boy sprinted towards me, lifting me over his shoulder and spinning me in circles. "FELIX IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN RIGHT FUCKING NOW I WILL SCRATCH OFF EACH OF YOUR FRECKLES WITH THE REMAINDER OF YOUR GAME CONSOLE!" He laughed, placing me with two feet on the ground.

His smile disappeared when he pulled away and saw the scowl still on my face. "Oh shit. Are you really mad at me?" I smacked him upside the head and broke into a smile. "Ehhh! I knew it! Honorary Aussie Activate!" We high fived each other and screamed, "AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI!"

Everyone except for probably Chan and Woojin ignored the two of us, used to our relationship. Soon Seungmin joined us and we all stood outside the stadium talking. With the night getting later, a cool breeze started to blow and I started to shiver. "Are you cold?" Chan asked. I shook my head no, but felt something being put around my shoulders. I turned to see Seungmin next to me wrapping his Letterman around my shoulders.

I blushed and pulled the fabric closer to my body. Far too soon, it was getting close to Jisung's curfew and he was our ride, therefore we all went our separate ways and headed home. When we dropped her off, Irene pulled me aside and said, "Do you think you could maybe hang out with Bangchan a little more and get some info for me?" I shrugged. He seemed like a pretty cool guy anyway. She smiled and kissed my cheek telling me to text her tomorrow morning.

I got back in my spot up front with Jisung and he drove us back to our house. Before I could get out of the car, Jisung stopped me. I turned to find him tapping his turned cheek. "I want a goodbye like Irene!" He whined. "You want to know how a girl kisses?" His eyes went wide for a second and then the sophomore vigorously nodded. I could see my brother shift in the backseat. I grabbed his cheek and gave it a long wet lick. "EWWWW Y/N!" He wiped his cheek with his sleeve as Jeongin and I laughed.

"Bye, Jisung!" I called back as we entered the house. Going up to my room, I changed into pjs and got ready for bed. Before I could get under the covers, my phone dinged with a notification. Picking up the device from my night stand, I opened Messenger.

UNKNOWN: hiii🙂 umm it's Chan! Ur brother gave me ur number

Y/n: Um Heyy! Why did you need my number?

Channie: Well u see I have this project for my musical composition class that deals with mixing two art forms that dont normally mix. And Jeongin told me u do ballet. I was wondering if u could help me?😅🙏

He was literally making free sushi the easiest thing ever. He would finish his project, Irene could get her info. It was a Win, Win, and Free Sushi for Y/n!

Y/n: Yeah! Sure! When do you want to meet?

Channie: Is tomorrow during eighth too soon😅

Y/n: nope! I can do that!

Channie: great! U r a life saver!

I smiled thinking this was going to be easier than I thought. I climbed into bed and looked at the Letterman on my desk. After hesitation, I got up and slipped the jacket on before climbing back into bed, and I honestly was not ashamed that I slept in that shit.

_________________________________________

At the beginning of eighth period the next day, I went to the room Chan texted me with my shoes in hand not knowing what to expect. To my surprise he had just asked me to meet in the choir room. Bangchan sat at the piano with a laptop sitting atop the instrument. He played a few chords and then jotted something down on a notepad next to him. "Knock, knock?" He turned at my voice and smiled, his dimples appearing in a cute way. "Look at you coming prepared, shoes and everything!" I laughed and sat next to him when he motioned me to.

"So, I kind of told you what this was about last night." The boy with messy blonde hair and headphones around his neck said. "For my senior project I wanted to try and mix a rap/hip hop/EDM track with ballet choreography. I thought that might make a really cool visual representation on what the project is about." I nodded as I followed along with the older boy's thought process.

"The problem is I am just terrible at classical music, I mean I've had classical training and I took a few ballet classes when I was young, but I just know the bare minimum and that I absolutely cannot do the splits." My mind pictured Chan in one of my classes, my instructor telling him to push his long ass legs down into the splits and I couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, I was just hoping you could help me adjust the music so it would be easier to choreograph for ballet and maybe dance to it as well....hopefully. You want to listen?" I nodded and he took the headphones around his neck and placed them over my ears, chuckling when they fell down a little too low.

His long fingers reached over and pressed play on the laptop and a soft electronic beat filled my ears. My eyes closed as I listened to the track. It wasn't what I expected it to be based on how he described his idea. It was incredibly complex, but nonetheless pleasant to the ear. My fingers tapped out the beat on my leg and I could kind of see where he was going to add in lyrics or where he might add a bass drop, or switch to the underbelly track. When the song ended, I removed the headphones and looked at the boy next to me.

He smiled and asked if I wanted to listen to it again. I nodded and went to put on my shoes while he switched out the headphones for a wireless headset. Moving to a clear space in the room, Chan started his track again and I just let my feet do what was natural and remembered the beats that could be changed. I kept my movements small so not to go full out in the tiny space. I marked places where I thought maybe a saut de chat or lift might work. As the second bass dropped I tried doing a fuete keeping my feet en pointe and straight. I could feel Chan's eyes on me, but I focused on marking the rest of the song.

Coming down from my toes, I slid the headset from my ears and went to stand in front of the fourth year boy. "I think I can help you." He beamed up at me excited for the project ahead.

A few months had passed and I had spent most of my time with Bangchan working on his project. Most days I could be found in the choir room with him, or at his house in his makeshift recording studio (i.e. his mother's basement). I spent most of my free time with Bangchan whether we were working or not. Usually Chan and I spent free nights on his bedroom floor watching some show he found or hanging out with Jisung and Felix at the diner near my house. I hadn't heard from Irene in weeks. And to be honest, I hadn't noticed she didn't call.

Chan slowly began to replace her as my bestfriend. Nights in with her became afternoons out with him. Morning calls from Irene turned into late night calls from Chan waiting for the sun to come up. He even became my new source for Kim Seungmin problems and how to solve them.

Although, I hadn't heard from Seungmin lately either. It wasn't unusual. This time of the year he usually hid away and focused on his studies so he could still play on the team. I almost forgot what my life was like before I saw Chan every day after school.

It was the friday before the last away game for our school and I arrived early to the choir room to meet Bangchan. He texted me saying that he had almost finished the lyrics for the track so, I decided to come early and set his things up for him. His laptop was set on the piano and both our notebooks were on the bench. I rolled up the hem of my jeans and took off my sneakers. All of a sudden the door burst open and the room was filled with the sound of giggling and hushed whispers. My head shot towards the door and I froze at the sight.

"Y/n?" Seungmin pushed away the girl whose lips were attacking his neck. His cheeks were flushed and his lips were swollen. My brain screamed for me to run, but my muscles wouldn't move. I tried to keep from bursting into tears at the sight of him with someone else. The girl turned and seeing her face felt like a thousand blows to the stomach. "Oh. Hi, Y/n." Irene.

I wanted to say something. I wanted to scream. My eyes burned as I tried to keep back the tears. Seungmin just stared at me jaw slack. Silent. I couldn't hide the pain on my face and Irene scoffed. "Please, you know he never liked you." Something about her small smile didn't allow me to turn away. "It's only fair."

I couldn't take it anymore. My bare feet pushed myself away from the room. If I didn't leave now I would be stuck there; a prisoner of my own heart and mind. I ran down the hall tears finally spilling over and clouding my vision. My body collided with someone's chest and the force sent my already shaky legs tumbling to the floor. "Y/n?" I hid my face and scrambled to my feet. Can't I just get out of here? "Wait! Y/n!" The person yelled after me.

I let my feet carry me as fast as they could, not caring where. My hands reached for the nearest door and finally found a place of solitude. I placed my hands on the wall and tried to brace my shaking hands and legs. Crying wasn't something I was ashamed of. I was just hurt and embarrassed. My chest started to feel tight and there was a pain in my forehead. I tried to focus through the tears to see I was in the empty boys locker room. With shaking hands I placed a hand on my chest as the room started to tilt and spin.

I couldn't breathe.

I stumbled through the locker room and my head started to spin. My hands found a metal knob and I desperately turned it feeling the tiniest bit of relief when the ice cold water hit my skin. The tile wall was the only thing holding me up as the freezing water drenched my hair and clothes. I couldn't stop thinking about them. What she said. How she was right. How I didn't understand. My legs finally gave out and I collapsed onto the floor trying to take deep breaths through the sobs. I clutched my head trying to relieve the pain I felt there. I wanted to scream. I wanted to keep crying but it hurt to do so. My head slowly lowered itself to my knees and I tried to make myself as small as possible. The harsh feel of the water left red marks on my skin as I tried to stifle my cries.

A pair of arms tried to wrap themselves around me, but I struggled against them shouting to leave me be. After awhile, I felt nothing. I looked up to see Bangchan sitting in front of me, letting the cold water fall onto him. His hair and shirt had already drowned in the water. He just looked at me with almost recognition through his wet blonde locks.

"Don't look at me." I managed to say through broken sobs. "Why?"He cocked his head trying to find a way to make contact with my E/c eyes. My mind struggled to find an answer that made sense.

"I-I don't want you to see me break." "Bullshit." His harsh words shocked me and made me jump back a little. He could see his outburst wasn't the right thing to do. "Y/n did you expect him to run in here and apologize for breaking your heart?"

"No, but-"

"This is what heartbreak feels like. It is a literal and figurative battle in every sense of the word. The thing is....." He struggled to find the right words, he himself knowing he could accidentally set me off in my fragile state. My body had started to shiver from the water, but my face still felt the hot tears rolling down my cheeks.

"It's not glorious. It's not beautiful, and it's definitely not heroic because we can't even save ourselves from how we feel. The thing is you are going to get your heart broken again and again and again. I can promise you that. It is the one sure thing in life. It's going to happen until you look like this."

Drops of water fell onto his skin, as he held my gaze. "One day it isn't going to hurt anymore and you will be able to wear your battles proudly on your sleeve. And it won't be because some guy came and rescued you."

He paused a moment letting me process what he said. The sound of the water hitting the tile echoed throughout the room.

"Heartbreak just means we are human."

After a couple minutes of silence I realized he was done speaking and looked up at him. All he did was gently wrap an arm around my waist and pull me into his chest. His fingers tangled themselves in my wet hair and he held me against his body, which felt safe and warm. He traced soothing patterns into the skin on my side to calm my sobs.

Bangchan didn't try to get up. He knew I wasn't ready. He simply let me sit in his arms and be human for a fleeting moment.

Part 2

Masterlist

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therewillalwaysbeapril · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: Sixteen Hours

6:30 AM The alarm rang abruptly in the stillness of the morning, a rude shrill noise, splintering our warm, nocturnal embrace and throwing us both into the coldness of the day.

“April, we gotta get up”, I said, mumbling as I shook off the last remnants of sleep. She groaned softly, rolling over and pulling the covers away. “Hey, get up. Geee-tta UGH-PUUUU! Get TU DA CHOPPAH!” I did my terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger impression loudly and poorly, adding in a loud grunt for full effect.

“Argh, I need muh clothes, my boots, my motorcykalll”, she said, in the same bad Austrian accent without opening her eyes. “Come ONN, do it. Do it Nah-OW!”

Stumbling out of bed, vision still blurry, and nearly tripping over the corner of the blanket now fallen to the floor, I reached over and grabbed from the basket the first item of clothing on the pile of clean laundry that we neglected to fold from the previous night. I pulled open the top drawer of her dresser and felt around for a bra. I threw both toward the bed as I made my way to the bathroom. April put on her top as she stood up. Hair a mess and eyes barely open, April exuded a dreamy, other-worldly quality as she floated from the bed to the sink wearing the dark red floral patterned shirt dress I had bought for her the weekend before. I blow dried my hair into a more presentable state and shaved as she washed her face and finished combing her hair.

I packed April’s belongings into her backpack for her, the both of us hurrying downstairs to my car. After stopping by a McDonald’s drive-thru on the way, we ate Egg McMuffins sitting in the early traffic heading toward Downtown LA. I looked at her as she opened a ketchup packet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!” she said, laughing as she carefully squirted the ketchup onto her hashbrown.

Briskly walking up the parking lot escalators and half-skipping across Pershing Square, April got to the bus stop just in time as the vehicle screeched to a halt. “WESTWOOD/SANTA MONICA” said the display. A quick kiss goodbye and she was off to class.

8:00 AM The office was dark as I stepped out of the elevator. Walking toward my desk, I was greeted by lights flickering on as motion sensors began to stir. Fresh cup of coffee in hand, I left the kitchen for the far side of the floor toward my favorite viewing spot.

The Los Angeles morning was peaceful when viewed from high above. Cars moved slowly down Broadway; I could hear their distant honking noises in the early rush hour. Construction workers below near Third Street walked carrying their equipment, passing by the shops just beginning to open in Grand Central Market. From my hawk’s nest I saw a cyclist zipping down Grand Avenue past the Museum of Contemporary Art, in front of which a food truck was beginning to set up shop. My breath and the steam from my coffee fogged the glass as I stepped closer to look at the crowd of people gathering by the Broad. The early light bathed my city in a warm amber glow, thawing its sleepy commuters as a new workday began. Flecks of gold and saffron twinkled as the dawn bounced from the stirring skyscrapers and automobiles, blinding me. I, too, was beginning to wake as I finished my coffee.

With my headphones on, back at my desk, I continued sketching out the wireframe concepts from the day before. Wireframes are the foundation of plotting out designs for interactive products such as apps and websites. They are a high level way of designing ways in which someone can use a product and the organization for which types of information and interaction appears on which screen, before a designer has to focus on the finer details such as animations, visual appearances, and the style of smaller items such as buttons. Even though the other designers created wireframes in programs I was also familiar with such as Adobe XD or Sketch, I always took great care in sketching out early ideas neatly on paper. I felt there was a purity in shaping ideas away from a computer, a kind of humility in making things with my hands.

8:30 AM The office is still dim as I make myself a second cup of coffee. This was one of those sluggish days; I felt slow to start, and was glad to still be the only person in the office. There was less pressure this way. I returned to my desk and cleaned up my lines with an eraser, reinforcing others with a Sharpie. Boxes with crisscrosses represented images, various other shapes representing icons and call-to-actions. Simple line patterns signified text, clearly showing the underlying grid to the layout. Adding final touches, I drew an outline of an iPhone over all of the screens before using a green colored pen to create the markings that showed how a user interacted and navigated from screen to screen. I felt pride for the cleanliness of my draft, as I never knew whether the second draft in the computer would be made by myself or a different designer. Finished, and satisfied with my work, I walked over to the simple Kanban board on the far wall and moved the task’s corresponding post-it note from the column labeled “in work” to the column labeled “done”.

Aside from a few coworkers from accounting, the floor was still mostly deserted. Sitting back and listening to the rest of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on my headphones, I fidgeted at my desk for a while. Impatient, I walked back over to the job board and grabbed one of the tasks from the column labeled “backlog” and moved it to “in work”. This should keep me occupied, I thought.

10:00 AM Standup was always kind of fun. Normally I have always preferred to work alone, with headphones on, lost in thought as I built designs and mockups, in an almost-meditative state of flow. However, I liked my coworkers very much, and it was also nice to see everyone at the beginning of the day and update one another on our work progress in the morning as we created the pieces of our product together. I enjoyed this kind of organized interaction that afforded me boundaries and space to create.

<Walalala..>, texted April. It was her way of greeting. Warm and cheerful, albeit at times a little silly, it was a greeting that I had come to love. It would also be a salutation I would receive less and less over time until I would not see it at all. <What you doing?>, she added.

<Lol. You should pay attention! I’m pretty tired too. I don’t think I woke up yet>

<Haha, I miss you a little too.>

<Pfft, you still need me to remind you?>

<Ha, you should pay attention in class. Your mom will kill me if you fail because of me>

11:00 AM Sketches spread out on the table before me, I began to create the second round of digital wireframes. As much as I enjoyed sketching, this step was also one of my favorite things to do. The useful aspect having hand sketches was their looseness — from a high level perspective, during this stage there were still so many possibilities. Creating the first digital wireframe versions, despite their inherent roughness, narrowed down those possibilities. To do so felt like taking a camera lens and turning it slowly into focus. At this stage, it was not a crisp focus, but much more recognizable as a coherent direction. The process was therapeutic as it was methodical; moving through it step by step, there was room to make improvements on the fly, perfecting each idea. However, today, my process of refinement would be interrupted by a different task.

There needed to be a version of our project for a new client, said marketing. A simple mockup of our app must be made in the style of our new client, a baseball team. The refinement of the new screen designs would have to wait. Grumbling to myself a little, I closed the program and neatly piled the sketches into my drawer.

<Heyyy, why u ignoring me?>

<Sorry, some other stuff came up at work>

<I’m sorry. Would you feel better if you ate something? What are you gonna get for lunch?>

<Expensive grass, haha>. “Expensive grass” was April’s name for salad. They always cost more than they should, she would remark.

<btw…>

<what’s wrong?> Nothing good ever happened when April said “by the way”.

<We’re not breaking up. We can make this work>

12:00 PM It is lunchtime. Mood now sour, I didn’t feel like leaving the building. After informing my deskmates that I was taking my lunch break, I grabbed a stale bagel from the kitchen and microwaved it with a slice of cheese. Taking that and a diet soda from the fridge, I returned to my viewing corner.

We had only recently moved into the forty fourth floor of the building from six floors above. The company had now grown bigger and the fiftieth floor was not enough space. However, it was only the design, marketing, and accounting teams on this floor, leaving most of it empty. In fact, we only occupied one corner, leaving the other three quiet and deserted. I enjoyed taking walks around the empty areas, sometimes even bringing my cello to work and practicing in one of the empty rooms during breaks. Today though, I only wanted to look outside and think.

Now midday there was visible smog in the Los Angeles air. Protestors were forming on Grand Avenue. I looked closer, curious as to the reason for this group. I could not make out the writing on their signs. A car accident was visible further down on the 2nd Street intersection, blocking it off. The authorities closed off one of the lanes, backing up traffic. A bus awkwardly took up both lanes as it attempted to merge into the available space. An adjacent driver made a rude hand gesture out of his window. I sighed, feeling exhausted as I learned against the wall near the window. I sat on the floor as I drank my soda and looked out of the floor to ceiling window, thinking. The conversation I thought of was not with April, but one with someone else, from a different day, in a different language.

•••

<Yeah, I took her to the airplane museum the other day.>

<Well, she kept asking me to stay over, and then I had to stay with her after she crashed her car. Lately though, she tells me she just doesn’t like it when I’m away. It feels weird, but I’m really happy with her and I love her, so I guess I’m not complaining. She’s been coming to work with me and taking the bus to school too>

<Hey, you should pace yourself. All couples need their space from time to time.>

<Maybe? Sometimes I go to work and five minutes after I leave she texts me that she misses me. I think she’s very sweet.>

<Okay, I’m just looking out for you. What if she turns out to be one of those possessive types?>

<Hey! I knew it!! Is that why you didn’t answer any of my calls or texts last winter in China?>

<Sorry. I guess it’s just weird, what happened between us.>

<Well, nothing happened between us!>

<I know! Well, I don’t know. You are one of my best friends, and what happened affected me very deeply. It may have been nothing to you, but it was definitely something to me.

<I’m sorry about that. I really am. I was as confused as you too. I never meant to be cruel. I hurt you, and I ended up hurting myself too.>

<I’m glad we’ve moved past it and we’re still friends>

<Yes, I remember. And I will keep my word. I just need to figure this out. She’ll come around eventually. I really think the two of you would become great friends.>

<Well, you gotta figure it out eventually, because this is just awkward what you’re doing>

•••

1:00 PM I snapped back to reality as my phone alarm went off. It was time to go back to work.

The caffeine was beginning to wear off. Still debating whether or not I should have a third cup of coffee, I flipped through the Android Material Design Guidelines online, pondering what visual branding treatments were acceptable within Google’s design parameters. Writing down the correct color hex values on a notepad, I began to change colors on app elements in Photoshop, reskinning the interface. The phone beeped again, as another text message arrived from April.

<I’m sorry. I want to stay with you too. But I’m so worried>

<About what?>, I answered.

<Yeah, but what if we DO break up eventually? You’re not a doctor and I’m supposed to marry a doctor.>

I stopped working. Taking off my glasses, I sat back in my chair, rubbing my forehead. I was getting very tired.

, I texted back.

<There’s nothing wrong with what I do. I am a designer and I’m good at it. I make a decent salary and I like my life>

<It’s different>

<Well that’s just your viewpoint. We’re just different, I guess>. I saved my work and walked to an empty conference room.

<Why do you even love me?>, I texted. My thumbs began to sweat. Typing was becoming difficult.

<I’m getting back to work>

I stomped back to my desk, angrily chucking my empty soda can into a nearby wastepaper basket. A couple of coworkers stared.

3:00 PM For the next two hours, I tried my best to focus on creating more animations. More interactions. I compared the mockups I made against the Android and Apple guidelines. So far, so good. Sending the finished mockups back to marketing, I went back to the kitchen and made myself the third cup of coffee.

I chugged the hot beverage, nearly searing my throat. I went back to designing the wireframes. There were only three hours left in the workday, and I originally wanted to have had this perfected at the end of the day.

<Are you done with class yet?>. There was no answer from April.

Frustrated, I placed my phone face down on the table and returned to the designs. These have to get done, I thought. So little time. Fuming, I angrily threw the boxes together on the computer screen, connecting the button hotspots together as violently as someone could inside a digital space.

“Hey are you ok?”. It was Julie, who sat across from me behind my monitor. “I can hear you breathing from here”

“I’m fine”, I said. I sat back in my chair and looked at what I’ve made. It was sloppy and nowhere near the level of detail that I have been known for around the office.

“Take a break man. I just got an email that we have until the end of the week for these screens now”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. You can just chill”

“I think I’m gonna take a walk then.”

4:00 PM I looked at my watch as I waited in the elevator. Who does she think she is, I thought. So what if I’m not a doctor? Life can’t only be about status. I was so mad. That is such a shallow way of thinking! And it wasn’t me who started all this. I was just minding my own business working. She was the one who had to bring up Taiwan, and her parents’ crazy expectations for who she should be dating.

I walked outside briskly in the shade of the tall buildings. It was much louder now that I left the lobby. A street performer was beating a drum across the intersection. A crazy person was yelling about the end of times on the other corner. Good. Noisy enough that no one could see how angry I was.

And I hated the way she texted. How am I supposed to always be at her beck and call? I have a job to do; I can’t be there to simply answer every time she worries about crazy hypotheticals. I was doing fine today, I should’ve simply not answered. And now that she’s finished ruining my day, she’s stopped texting and has gone back to whatever she’s doing leaving me to pick up the pieces. Every single month, we have to have some fight about something completely stupid like this. Every single month —

Oh.

April had complained about being tired. April had experienced stomach pains during class. I counted the days since the last time I remembered similar complaints. There were many things I remembered for her. April could be so forgetful.

“Twenty-seven, twenty-eight….”, I counted in my head. I knew what she was going to need.

I stopped at the Rite Aid on 5th and Broadway. Quickly making my way through the aisles, I picked up a pack of Ibuprofen, a box of what appeared to be feminine pads, and a bottle of water. The cashier handed me the items in a paper bag after I made my purchase. Strolling further south, I began to think about what transpired.

Did she really mean all that she said? Perhaps a deeper question was, WHICH of what she said did she actually mean? You can’t tell someone you love them for who they are but also want to change them, I thought. Girls just say crazy things during their time of month right? I checked my phone.

Still no answer.

This is bad, I thought. Perhaps I was too harsh. Her car is in working condition. She chose to take the bus because she genuinely wanted to spend time with me. And now she’s probably on the bus home, in pain. All for me. I’m such a jerk, I thought.

Ducking into Bottega Louie on 7th, I bought a box of half dozen French macarons. They were rather pricey, but came in a beautiful box and were, I had heard, delicious. The small rigid box was not unlike jewelry packaging, with beautiful calligraphy and gold speckles dotted throughout its powder purple surface. It was a small gift that was sure to brighten up anyone who was having a less than perfect day.

6:30 PM The workday was now over as I closed my work laptop and packed away my things. The bus from UCLA arrived as I waited on a bench in Pershing Square.

“Hey what took you so long?”, I asked as I took April’s bag from her.

“I had the most horrible day!” she said.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I sounded so mean—

“No, not you! My period started and I forgot to bring pads so I had to use tissues. And my phone died, and then the bus had to take a detour. So I needed to get off and wait for another bus, but I couldn’t use Google Maps and I’m so tired and I just want something to eat”

“Well, first things first I guess”

I handed her the box of macarons and discreetly showed her what was in the paper bag. “Let’s find a bathroom,” I said.

She looked into the paper bag. She looked at me. She started giggling, the happiest I’ve seen her all week.

“What? What is it?”

“Have you never bought pads before?”

“Well, no, but I figured you needed them. Was I right?”

“Those are panty liners, not pads!”

“Oh.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be alright. Cmon, let’s eat”

•••

8:30 PM After April had a chance to change, I took her to a nearby Hong Kong styled cafe. It would be nice to have some porridge, she said.

As we sat down and waited for our food, by reflex I folded April’s chopstick wrapper into an origami chopstick stand, as I have always done since our first date. I looked out the window into the dark.

The San Gabriel traffic outside was a lot calmer compared to the city. It was quiet and I could just make out the sounds of crickets. A high school couple walked out of the boba shop across the street, laughing to themselves, carefree. An elderly man picked out a newspaper from a box near the entrance. I felt a soft caress on my forearm.

April handed me a crudely folded flower made from a chopstick holder.

“I’m sorry about today. I keep forgetting how to fold that fancy origami, but I want to thank you for taking care of me.”

She smiled the familiar funny smile.

•••

9:30 PM As we walked in the darkness at a nearby park, digesting our meal, I stayed quiet. How can I make all nights like tonight?, I thought. Is there really an expiration date to our happiness?

Perhaps reading my mind, April said, “I don’t know what we’ll do if I really have to leave…”

I looked at her and kissed her forehead.

“Whatever”, she added. “If I have to go back to Taiwan, I guess I’ll just get another boyfriend, and it’ll be a doctor this time! HA HA!”

I did not laugh.

I let go of her hand and walked a few paces ahead, sullen.

“I’m kidding!” April grabbed my arm. “I really do love you, alright?”

0 notes

flyingangelofblueislands · 7 years

Text

Flower Boy Prince pt. 5

VIXX Leo (Taekwoon) X You X VIXX Ravi (Wonshik)

genre: fluff (and a slice of baby angst, i think?)

a/u: college friends

Bias X Reader

After your roommate, ran interference via request by text message in the middle of the movie theater, Wonshik took her home and you left the theater with Taekwoon. You had walked down just a few blocks to a small hole in the wall “mom and pop” type restaurant. Sliding into a seat next to a wall, you waited for someone to come up and take your orders. After placing them fairly quickly because it was a specialty food shop, you sat grinning at each other. You dipped your head and looked at your lap out of overwhelming shyness all of a sudden. Taekwoon chuckled and leaned forward as he lightly tapped the table. “What is it? Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?” “It’s nothing, it’s just….” You looked back up at him, “You’ve been so different since yesterday. It’s hard to believe. Feels like it came out of nowhere.” He smiled and sat back in his seat and glanced to the side a bit unsure about how to say his next words. “It’s not really out of nowhere…I’ve just never had the chance…found the time to tell you…” You nodded because you knew the very feeling and found it quite ironic. But mostly, relieving. You hadn’t been crushing on him in vain. You weren’t just imagining the glances he would give you on nights out with his friends. Or the nervous pitch in his voice the first time he called your phone after you exchanged numbers. Taekwoon continued, “I’ve liked you for some time now. Ever since we met in Costume Design…” You stifled a scream at the memory. The day he transferred into your professor’s class from a different costume design class, your “model” had been out sick, so you were busy showing your draft to some other class mates on yourself. You were mid-unnecessary spin with your arms spread out to the sides moving up and down, when he came in the door and you whacked him in the chin. He stumbled backwards and your classmates half laughed, half gasped. You rushed him with apologies and helped him get his balance back. You ended up following him to an empty seat to make sure he wasn’t bleeding or bruised. You had recognized him from other classes before, but that was your first time actually meeting. “It really didn’t even hurt. I just liked the attention I was getting from you after it happened.” Your mouth dropped open and eyes widened. He smiled smugly, “It was worth it.” After that day you didn’t talk much per-se besides a standard greeting on entering the classroom or leaving for the day or questions about the coursework. Until one day you had to pick reading partners and he waltzed up and picked you. “I knew you were serious about work, so it was a plus.” “That’s the story you sold to me!” You both laughed at the memory. You crossed information in your mind and started to see all the tiny hints he had laid out all along. Shaking your head you commented, “This is unbelievable.” “I didn’t wanna ruin anything. We were becoming such good friends. I wanted to wait until I was sure..” “Sure about what?” “Sure about my feelings…I liked you, but I didn’t know how much. though it would fade over time. But it’s been a year and now it’s like–I felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t tell you soon. I wanted to tell you at the cat cafe yesterday…” He sucked his teeth with regret, then reached over the table and took your hand. Stroking the backs of your hands with his thumbs softly, he looked deeply into your eyes and asked, “Y/N…I like you. As more than a friend. I want to walk you home from work and meet you on our lunch breaks, and take walks on the weekend and eat food together. I want you to wait for me after class and walk me to the train before I go to work. I want to kiss you good night…” You could feel your breath quicken. You blinked rapidly to make sure you were really awake. Taekwoon’s voice drifted across the table softly and tickled your whole body. You couldn’t help but smile at the warmth spreading inside you. “Will you give me a chance? We’re already such good friends, I know I can take good care of you and you of me.” As much as you crushed on Taekwoon, you couldn’t help but feel a string of hesitation plucking away in your brain. You were great friends, yes. You secretly crushed on him for the last couple of months and apparently he had liked you from the moment you officially met each other. But romantic relationships had a way of changing people. Had a way of layering expectations that one would never put on a friend. Even though you both had been great friends all through and until now, how could you be sure your relationship would live up to expectations and maintain your friendship at the same time? You didn’t know Taekwoon as a boyfriend. He had given you very minute snippets in these last 24 hours, with his gentle worrying and careful demands. But what if, like it was said to, the things you liked so much about him became the things you hated? What if the same happened to him? What if his heart changed after seeing more of you than before? You wouldn’t be able to be friends again, and you would lose someone who was now very close to your heart. In the face of this real proposition and not a mere crush fantasy playing out in your day-dreaming head, you were actually scared. Taekwoon noticed your hesitation and stroked the backs of your hands with his thumbs. “You don’t have to answer me know. I just…needed you to know my feelings. Whatever you decide though…I don’t want our friendship to change…” “Me either, Taek…don’t take this the wrong way..I’m just..I’m just a bit..apprehensive about all this–not that I hadn’t thought of it myself!” You blurted out not wanting to give the wrong impression. Taekwoon’s facial expression suddenly brightened at your words. His eyebrows raised as he asked you, “Really? You’ve thought about us before?” “Yeah…” You nodded shyly. “I’ve had a crush on you for a couple months now…but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I was scared I was overthinking things and confessing to you would ruin our friendship.” Taekwoon shook his head as he laughed softly. Sitting back in his seat he ran his hands through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. Before looking at you seriously, “Our friendship is important to me, too. Very important. I wouldn’t even bring this up by chance of ruining it but–” he leaned forward and folded his arms on the table as he looked into your eyes. he seemed so determined and sure. “I’ve never felt this strongly about anyone before. I dream about you. I wake up wondering what you’re doing. I can’t wait to get to school and see you. I walk down the street and think I’ve heard your voice or smelled your perfect scent and lose my mind–” Leo exhaled harshly and sat back again, restless. “I feel like I’m going crazy, Y/N–I know I’ve gone crazy–crazy about you.” You baulked at the surety in his tone. His words spinning your head around. “Taek…” You breathed out. Taekwoon took your hands from across the table again. “Just promise me you’ll think about it some more. You thought about it before..think about it again, won’t you?” You nodded silently, and looked into your lap where your phone was vibrating. Wonshik was calling..

**********************************************************************

part 5 yeahhh!!! So my Marshmallows, where ya’ll at right now with this? Fed up? Stressed out? :D

I’ll wrap it up here,huh? Their stages seem to be abruptly finished (and so this fic will be, too).

All the other comeback eras ended with a neat little video addressing the wrap-up but this year nothing? I guess because we got some videos for their anniversary (which were so cute btw). Anyway. Don’t hurt me! XD! Think of it as an open ending for you to make your decision! A/N ** they eventually posted a "wrap up" video for their Shangri-La promotions. But this is it for this series still. lol

Love, Peace, and quick Fluff reads!

-admin Fluffintine

#vixx scenarios #vixx fluff #vixx leo #vixx ravi #jung taekwoon #kim wonshik #kpop fluff #kpop scenarios #Fluffintine #fluff #au fanfiction #VIXX

7 notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 5 years

Text

November 26th-December 2nd, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 26th, 2018 to December 2nd, 2018. The chat focused on Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R by snuffysam.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R by snuffysam~! (http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 2nd to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Since the comic utilizes a wide variety of comedy, what have been some of your favorite jokes to appear in the comic so far? What about the joke worked for you? Name as many as you would like for this question.

QUESTION 4. Do you believe that Mizuki will eventually discover her own magical talent, or will she be stuck stealing others’ abilities forever? What might her magical talent be? Also, regardless of your answer, how might this issue change Mizuki?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Okay, so I haven't actually gotten to reading this comic yet-- just started like... right now. But OMG. XDDDDDD I'm loving how they're breaking the fourth wall and poking fun at stuff. My favorite scene so far is this one:

And of course the follow up:

I really like the guard so far, though I have absolutely no idea if he'll ever appear again seeing as I'm still in the first chapter. ;v;

The fact that he makes fourth wall breaking remarks is what sort of sold me. If he doesn't appear again, hopefully someone else along with the main character will make better jokes that will sell me good.

BUT OMG!!! This one really caught me off guard:

XDDDDDDD

The comedy here is really up my alley man. ;W;

O v O

Just found my new favorite character.

Mr Holy Tree:

AH! Btw, I love how the siblings who are governers of the Sikode plain's clothes sort of match up with the work hours they took. <333

Just finished Chapter 3. 8^U!!!! If I have more time tonight, Imma try to read a few more chapters yo! But this comic is really snatching me with dem scripts.

snuffysam

glad you like it so far!

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Of course! >W< Thank you for creating this silly hidden gem!!! <33333

ShaRose49

I love that it’s not perfect, and this is not an insult. My favourite character so far is the guy who sliced that squid in half he seems like a boss

It’s also amazing to see how far the author has come in their art, I looked at the original pages a bit.

snuffysam

Cahe Is A Good Boy

Kabocha

Cahe is good, but I do wonder about the magic of how quickly they had their baby... Maybe it's one of their magic love powers.

snuffysam

also yeah, I've changed a lot over these past three-ish years lol

there's been exactly one hint as to why that happened, and it's in probably the most obscure place imaginable

the game where you can play as everyone's favorite archery ace

ShaRose49

I obviously didn’t get to any baby yet whups

snuffysam

oh no that's not for a while

ShaRose49

Snuffy is pretty good at lighting and shading too. I still have plenty to learn about that

snuffysam

the baby doesn't happen for another like 350 pages from where you are

ShaRose49

Oh hi snuffy!

My bad lol

snuffysam

hi lol

i'm in blue this week

ShaRose49

Hey how do you know where I am?

snuffysam

oh i just assumed given your comments

ShaRose49

Yeah I know

Oh okay

I’m in the middle of chapter 2 I think

snuffysam

yup so i was right lol

Kabocha

Daaaaaang. That's some good accuracy. I'm lucky if I can remember my own name some days

snuffysam

i did have to look up the page numbers lol. it was just a matter of guessing that sharose hadn't started chapter 3 yet

ShaRose49

Hahaha

snuffysam

anyway yeah i wrote a shader script for blender to do the lighting properly. took me a couple years to figure it out but i got there eventually lol

ShaRose49

Oh my word I can barely use blender yet

So it IS CGI! I couldn’t tell for sure I thought maybe it was supposed to mimic CG

snuffysam

a lot of stuff is drawn in with photoshop. and i think i just recently passed the point where more than half the comic is CG as opposed to being drawn.

but ye

ShaRose49

Wow. I don’t think I’ll be doing my comics with CG but I do wanna be an animator one day. Good for you!

snuffysam

thanks!

ShaRose49

No prob. I just got to more doodley pages

snuffysam

yeah haven't updated chapters 3 onward yet

ShaRose49

Oh okay. I can relate lol. I’m glad to see this up here, you’re a brave artist

snuffysam

thanks ha ha

ShaRose49

They are so innocent ohmiword

“I thought for sure 1+1=2!”

snuffysam

mizuki may not have gotten an A in all her math classes, but she at least knows that much

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Who exactly are/were the Galaxy Knights? How did they come to be, and what goals did they have? Do you think we’ll see more former or current members? Also, what are your theories about their involvement in the story given they’re in the title?

RebelVampire

1) it's still the end fight of book 1. which i wont go into too much detail cause i dont want to spoil for those just starting up. but i still love the entire choreography of that fight. seeing mizuki solve everything in the most unconvenentional ways possible is so immensely fulfilling. 2) cahe's mustache. i cant wait till it gets fed up with cahe, rips itself off his face, and joins mizuki to fight the good fight. (but also probably electric zebra because he believes in the power of love) 3) there's too many jokes to name. theres a lot of great ones. although one of my favorite more recent ones has actually been a callback to the fact that cahe never names his village. and lo and behold his village is revealed to be unnamed village. i was slain by the joke. 4) i think eventually mizuki will discover her own thing. but at the same time i dont think thatll stop her from using others' abilities cause i think she turns what others view as a weakness into a strength. so basically mizuki will just have more ammo for her mind magic arsenal. 5) i mean the obvious answer is that they were protectors of ppl and that mizuki is gonna join them. but idk. i def think were gonna see more former and current members though given the title. and mizuki will thrash them all with the power of stealing their abilities and stubbornness. in the end, there is only one super galaxy knight deluxe and that person is mizuki. lets not ask what the r stands for.

shim

I haven’t even finished chapter one yet but I love this guard guy.

snuffysam

lodu is best boy. i'm actually planning on having him show up again for real in the next chapter. and by book 3 he may even have enough screentime to jump up to major character status.

snuffysam

also rebel you really have a knack for asking questions that will be straight-up answered within a month or two.

like in the weekly chat back in may one of the questions was "what is the plot of book 2"

not saying which of the questions you asked will be answered in a month but just overall, it's an impressive skill lol

snuffysam

and yeah chapter 8 is my favorite arc in hindsight. i'm not sure i'll actually manage to out-do the 1v1 fight choreography there for a while.

Kabocha

I have to admit, I'm really enjoying the current fight scene. The banter's top notch. >:3 Dramatic text meets no-nonsense. Now give Mizuki that damn generator so she can win the talent show!

snuffysam

talent show > crimebusting

Kabocha

he can get it back after the crimes are solved... But the bigger crime really is that the King--- wait the King gets to make the laws doesn't he

Kabocha

....wait, what I just said doesn't make sense. Oh well. He can get it back after the talent show is done -- it's a crime Mizuki can't win it!

snuffysam

the two of them should bring criminals to the talent show and bust them on-stage

RebelVampire

mizuki should get back to the talent show if only because i bet the old man is still on stage trying to tell horrible jokes

Kabocha

get that man a google assistant... or sub him to r/dadjokes

https://www.blog.google/products/assistant/ok-google-tell-me-a-joke/ I'm sorry, I can't get over how bad some of these jokes are.

snuffysam

it's been well over 12 hours, and it's the middle of the night now. do you really think he's still on stage?!

(the answer is yes)

Kabocha

Of course! He's waiting for Mizuki

RebelVampire

of course he is, he is an angel. and everyone is too polite to tell him to get off the stage and go home

snuffysam

well they're waiting for mizuki too

snuffysam

interested to hear what the caught-up folks' reactions to today's page will be...

shim

don't say that, now I want to throw all my homework out the window and catch up all the way

snuffysam

lmao

as much as i want to tell you to go for it... put your homework first lol

shim

I am definitely planning to catch up once I have homework and finals out of the way. Unfortunately…that will also be after this week's bookclub will be over and we'll be discussing someone else's comic by then.

snuffysam

aww oh well

shim

I hope to read more before, then, though, so I can discuss some things. I just won't be fully caught up, hehe.

snuffysam

and of course, no reason you can't keep reading after your finals are done and just comment in the comic itself

(though this is a much better place for people to get theories out there)

shim

-procrastinates from homework-

Okay this restaurant owner

"Everyone does horrible things sometimes. So really, I was completely justified."

I love this so much

THEY JUST COVER EACH OTHER'S FACES THIS IS GREAT

snuffysam

Protection from indecency!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Why do you think Mizuki drifted apart from Cahe and Pejiba so much between Books 1 & 2? Why did the couple not invite Mizuki to their own wedding? Will Cahe and Pejiba make a comeback, or are they settled down into domesticity forever?

RebelVampire

im gonna be optimistic and say her letter just got lost in the mail

because cahe asked someone terrible to deliver it

maybe the anecestral tree

and cahe walked away before the ancestral tree could remind him that hes rooted to the ground

or the ancestral tree was pissed he wasnt invited

Kabocha

I think Cahe and Pejiba were just so in love they forgot! Or ultimately, they just didn't like Mizuki so much. Granted, it's been ... a very short duration

RebelVampire

maybe its gonna be an it was all a dream thing somehow

mizuki has been having trouble sleeping

snuffysam

there is a misunderstanding involved, but it’s less about “why didn’t they invite mizuki” and more “why would they invite zebra over mizuki”

RebelVampire

thats easy: zebra is the best

Kabocha

Zebra also is much better at music, so

ShaRose49

I don’t mean to be rude but I wish Mizuki would wear more clothes

shim

Actually, me too…

ShaRose49

And IMO the boobs are too exaggerated. But I like how she eats the food lol

snuffysam

y'all are on chapters 3-4?

shim

Yeah I'm on 3

ShaRose49

I guess she actually doesn’t know what a shirt is? Whoa there are cool animations!! And the lady’s power is cool. @snuffysam I’m not sure hang on I’ll check

shim

No wait I'm on 4, oops.

ShaRose49

I’m on chapter 4

snuffysam

she buttons the jacket in chapter 5, and her proportions get fixed when i switch to 3d

ShaRose49

Yeah she’s less exaggerated in 3D for sure, and I’m glad she buttons up the shirt

snuffysam

the outfit in chapter 4 is a reference to how in the original short film i made that this comic is based off, her actor decided to wear the jacket with no shirt (which is not something i, like, wanted or expected)

ShaRose49

Huh okay

snuffysam

but i changed it because i didn't think it made sense to draw her like that

ShaRose49

How did you get gifs in the comic?

snuffysam

(though the in-universe explanation is that it just got windier)

i use photoshop to animate, if that's what you're asking

ShaRose49

Oh awesome, I didn’t know photoshop could animate

shim

Oh cool! I've dabbled with PS animations before.

snuffysam

most things are frame by frame, with motion & opacity (like the lights fading in and out, cahe flying around the room) being done with photoshop's tweening

shim

Ahhh.

Ow hot sword.

ShaRose49

You are a better animator than me so far lol

Or you have more experience

I love how they’re like “Oh no prob!” After the whole fight

I think that whole fight was a test to see if the two main characters were fit to be the new Galaxy knights or something

And that’s a nice sunset drawing in chapter 4. I love sunsets

shim

"What, are you going to throw your sword at people now?" HAHA!

ShaRose49

So so,done just got shot in the face

Someone

Yikes that!s a mean lady

snuffysam

and a magic mean lady at that

ShaRose49

Yeah I can’t believe he’s not dead

snuffysam

captains are very resilient

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Do you think we’ll see Gynu and Suzigu in Book 2? If so, do you think they have one of the power gems Mizuki needs? Will they give it to her? Alternatively, what other places or characters might reappear do you think, and how will things have changed?

mathtans

"Maybe we DO want them to get the wrong idea."

Using this as an excuse to finally get caught up with SGK. Should have a remark or two by weekend.

snuffysam

looking forward to it!

RebelVampire

(the archive for last week's chat on The Angel with Black Wings is now up! @Mharz https://comicteaparty.com/post/180645388940/november-19th-25th-2018-ctp-archive)

QUESTION 8. Why do you think King Zebugu closed the magic portal? Is he up to something evil, or did he actually turn over a new leaf and is trying to do something helpful that he just won’t explain? Will he succeed or will Mizuki defeat him do you think?

snuffysam

king zebugu turns over new leaves all the time

birch, pine, oak

it's the highlight of the month

shim

what about old leaves?

-is still in chapter five and has no idea who this king is-

snuffysam

if my leaf of the month club sent me an old leaf, i'd probably cancel my membership tbh

unless it was like... historical in some way

shim

haha

RebelVampire

this is too plausible not to be true

7) I think we'll see Gynu and Suzigu probably. Although I feel Mizuki might be at a disadvantage since they already lost to her. so now they know what he game is or something like that. and i dont think theyre gonna just give her the gem given the whole food fiasco and i kind of get this sense they want to test her? as for other characters, i hope we get to see our favorite immortal captain again. and electric zebra. electric zebra needs to come and sing about the power of love and all that. or at least be on tour and give mizuki a signed cd. 8) i feel hes not doing the evil, but i feel whatever the king is up to probably is dumb at least. maybe this is an elaborate prank from the wizard guy who is mad about having to put all the food back. he gave the king the wrong prophecy and now the king is trying to undoom the world. at the end mizuki will win, but winning might not matter. i think shell lose the talent competition tho. shell make it back in time but get disqualified over something trivial. like misspelling something on the contest form.

snuffysam

something worth pointing out about both those answers - in book 1, nobody knew what zebugu was up to except for the people in the castle (and the ancestral tree, cause of the omniscience). people like gynu and suzigu wouldn't have agreed with zebugu if they had known what he was doing. in book 2, zebugu has roped other people into his plan by giving them a gem to protect. zaxaty knew what her brother did, and so did the ancestral tree (being specifically instructed by the king to guard the gem and not tell mizuki the reason why). even taci ramino knew that the portal had been turned off, and zebugu didn't even give him a gem! so if gynu and suzigu do have a gem, what did king zebugu say to them to get them on board? and was he truthful to them, or is this all an elaborate ruse?

RebelVampire

the fact hes roped other ppl into it makes me believe that it is for the greater good. but on the otherhand blackmail and bribery are also options. maybe zebugu has an embarrassing photo of gynu from their last xmas party.

snuffysam

*life day

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Do you think Mizuki will be able to win against Sword Warrior? Do you think Sword Warrior could be a potential ally, or is he just a one-off villain? What are Sword Warriors actual goals?

snuffysam

keeping in mind that sword warrior now has twice as many swords as before

RebelVampire

i feel like thats a hint

he must want the worlds largest sword collection

snuffysam

that was a hint as to whether or not mizuki can win

but sure

also, interesting how you seemed to describe "ally" and "one-off villain" as the only two choices...

RebelVampire

mostly cause i dont want the questions to be immensely long

snuffysam

lol

that's fair

RebelVampire

i believe in mizuki to be able to win. shes just gotta punch the swords hard enough to shatter them. and then sword warrior will have to change his name to just warrior

snuffysam

she already shattered a sword though. was sword warrior just "warrior" for that two-page period? are names all but an illusion giving us some sense of identity? is that identity earned?

RebelVampire

yes to all that, with a semi yes on the third one. you cant call yourself sword warrior without a sword. thats false advertising otherwise

mathtans

Okay, so, obviously the baby isn't theirs, unless gestational periods are really short or there was time travel hijinks. My money is on them looking after Zebra's kid, in exchange for him performing at the wedding. That's why they got him on short notice, for free. Though adoption's also possible.

snuffysam

I mean y’all can’t just skip over short gestational periods and time travel hijinks in a world where trees talk and sailors just forget that they’re mortal

But that’s a solid possibility

mathtans

I mean, there's magic, and then there's magic!

Clever plot twist in the most recent pages. I did not see that coming. I actually thought Taci had lied about getting one of the gems because he was embarrassed that the Swordsman had already stolen it.

Also, magic can be used to change dialogue into cursive, or something.

mathtans

I'll get to the questions later.

mathtans

-Scene-wise is tough, I don't even recall what I said last time. ^_^; The fight against the king was pretty epic though. Character-wise, I like Pejiba. Just something about her I guess, helpful, first major magic user, that kind of thing.

-Like Rebel, I'm not sure about grabbing any particular comedic moments. The stuff with the tree is pretty good though. Even more recently with the 'I am a jerk but that's not the reason' sort of thing. Also, used firewood...? O.o

-I dunno, stealing the powers of others can be a power itself, see Rogue from X-Men. Plus I think Mizuki'd be worried that once she finds her own, she'll lose the ability to copy everyone else.

-The Galaxy Knights are actually a bunch of mathematicians, that's why the King's advisor is one (if memory serves). Seriously though, I like how they were just randomly brought up recently. It's kind of like they're their own story running in parallel somewhere else. (Which isn't too far off, Gynu and them were in a guest comic series elsewhere, I think.)

Actually, it's impressive the number of guest comics and literary tie-ins that exist.

-Since only, like, a week passed between Books, idk. Maybe Cahe was given bad information, or their messages were cut off. Though the whole wedding seems like a rush job because honeymoon in an all female hotel what now? I feel like they'll still have cameos.

-Hoping we'll see Zaxaty again. That blush had to mean something. (Also, back to comedy, "Get out of my house", hah.)

-The King's probably doing this as some sort of test, like to see if Mizuki can be a new governor or something. After all, he seemed okay with how she spared him. Alternatively, the Galaxy Knights wanted him to do this, so that they could test for new recruits.

-Related to that answer is the possible answer to snuffy asking about what Gynu might have been told if he has a gem. All in a day's work. (Though a photo would be amusing.)

-Sword Warrior will be useful in terms of giving Mizuki many more magic ideas to steal. (Also, since he can make his own swords, I don't think Mizuki will win that way. Maybe she can get him to zip off the edge of a building.) I think Taci just has a thing for vigilantes.

snuffysam

math, are you completely caught up now? including wednesday and friday's pages?

mathtans

Yis.

I'm trying not to be too spoilery though. (I may be failing at that.)

snuffysam

na it's all good lol

also i don't remember gynu being in a guest comic series somewhere else? so if someone did that without letting me know

whoops

actually i guess there were the crossover things on comicfury. but that was ages ago

if that's what you're referring to

mathtans

Yeah, the crossover things. I'd read those for the original Discord chat.

I haven't kept up on the latest literary stuff from StArt Faire though.

snuffysam

to respond to some of your things specifically - - the advisor is a statistician, which... i guess is a mathematician? usually when i think "mathematician" i think of people who write proofs for really difficult problems and not, like, nate silver. also, the wizard is a magic researcher, so he does a lot of math for his work. i guess the active galaxy knights are pretty math-y, except for that third as-of-yet-unnamed active galaxy knight that's shown up. -yeah the wedding was very much a rush job. zuzu was already a member of the family by the time cahe and pejiba were on their honeymoon. -we'll see zaxaty again sooner than you expect. and yeah, there's something there. blushes don't lie. (fun fact: the fight against zaxaty was originally going to be the first time in the comic it's implied that mizuki is into women. when drawing book 1 chapter 6, i changed my mind and worked a love triangle plot into the story. that's the main reason why mizuki never says anything to pejiba about being interested - because it's not in the script. that's also part of the reason why zaxaty's island is "lesbos 2: sappho harder". the timeline for making the comic gay got moved way up, so zaxaty had to be a bit over the top) -won't say much else here, but i like that people's impressions seem to be that zebugu's plot might be morally dubious, but maybe not exactly evil. we'll see how that pans out. -if he had the chance, taci would absolutely start dating sword warrior. he's totally into the tall, slender, vigilante crime-fighter type. (which may lead to some butting of heads down the line...)(edited)

mathtans

That's very cool... both about having Zaxaty in mind so early on, and for managing to foreshadow Mizuki's interests. Also, I don't know that Zaxaty was necessarily over the top (I didn't see a harem), though she does seem to like putting her interests (frustrations?) into her artwork.

As to Zebugu's plot not being evil, it allows for a scene where Mizuki goes off on him and him having some sort of retort. Even if it is to defer to the wizard or something. (Hey, maybe the wizard wanted all magic off so that no one would know that he was on sabbatical.)

snuffysam

you don't see a harem NOW because zaxaty went into seclusion.

it would be nice if zebugu gave his wizard a vacation, considering that he was kind of a jerk to the guy in the first book

mathtans

Ahh, right, I vaguely recall that. Missed the free love vibes what with all the tripping out.

To be fair, he was kind of a jerk to everyone.

snuffysam

true. maybe this is part of his new leaf that he's turning over?

mathtans

I wonder who convinced him to collect new leaves. His other sister, Pokemon? ^.^

snuffysam

he's a big animal crossing fan

he thinks he's stealing people's furniture

Kabocha

I guess his wizard better tell him he's moving to another town soon, so Zebugu can try to give him leaves and present boxes to get him to stay.

snuffysam

wizards love to scam people out of presents like that

Kabocha

... T_T Same with half of my animal crossing townies

shim

ahhhh animal crossing

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

snuffysam

one thing i'm really looking forward to as the author is creating book 3. i think it'll answer a lot of your questions about the series, and there will be a bunch of character interactions that I know people will want to see

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

What I'm looking forward to is seeing the creator update all the pages into the 3d model style! <333 Although, I gotta say I really do enjoy seeing the hand drawn pages too. ;V; I'm still behind in reading, but hopefully when I have time, Imma try to get through more pages. But what I've seen, I've liked and enjoyed immensely!

But can I just say, I love how crazy and silly everything has been so far? XDDD Thanks to this discussion, I found this gem and ended up sharing it with a friend of mine. And they loved the golden comedy too! (Not to mention they're favorite scene was the tree saying they were a jerk as well. O v Obbb)

And I'd also like to commend the fact that the creator has been able to power through and draw so much content (not to mention reworking those pages into new ones. OMG!) OAO!!! As an artist myself, I know how much work it is to get to the number of pages I am now. Thank you so much for signing up for the discussion (because if you hadn't-- I probably would have never discovered yer work) and hope you continue to update the awesome sauce of a story Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe is! <333333(edited)

mathtans

More hints of Galaxy Knights is always fun. Wonder if they're all human, given there's a tree as a character.

snuffysam

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) glad you and your friend liked the comic! I hope you both continue reading after the week ends! and yeah, getting this far has taken a bit of time. I've spent over 1000 hours total on the art aspect alone!

@mathtans i originally planned on one of the galaxy knights being a giant cyclops (in a future book), but i ended up writing him out.

mathtans

I could see lack of depth perception being a problem.

The big twist is probably that Cahe's kid is a Galaxy Knight. Explains everything.

snuffysam

...i'm trying to remember if zuzu actually does grow up to be a galaxy knight or not...

"marries a killer cyborg" is definitely in there for one of the zuzus, but i'm not sure about being a galaxy knight

RebelVampire

im looking forward to finding out if that old man really will just continue on with the talent show until mizuki comes back. and then ironically winning because ppl decided they liked his talent of talking for billions of hours

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R this week! Please also give a special thank you to snuffysam for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/

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