#I also gotta figure out which one of these are going to be keychains or stickers or buttons

[decadentrot]

It is finally summer so i have the time to pump out a couple AUs out in the open cause they have been taking up too much free real estate in my brain (●'◡'●)

Ok so BKDK Nerd AU right:

Izuku and Katsuki are best buds as kids who live their life to the fullest until tragedy strikes. Izuku’s father gonna divorce his mom and leave his ass but as a parting gift he gives Izuku an All Might plush.

From there on, every traumatic experience Izuku has, Izuku will treat himself to buying a new hero plush and thats his coping mechanism. Basically at the tender age of 5, Izuku has developed the habit of retail therapy.

He finds out he's quirkless, ‘dont worry he has an all might doll to remind him to be strong in tough times.’ Kacchan starts bullying him, ‘ok let me buy that mirko doll to remind me that you always gotta keep going and stay determined.' His mom dies, ‘oh look a ms.joke plush to remind me to always keep smiling no matter what ( totally not b/c the green hair reminds him of his mom.’ Izuku gets sent to an orphanage, ‘ahh ill get a present mic figure. Maybe his confience can rub off on me and I’ll befriend the other orphans…’

At the orphanage he meets his roomie… dun dun dun Shinsou woo and at first they kinda ignore each other until Izuku wakes up at 2 am and feeling scared of this new environment and wants to sneak out to buy a new plush and sees his roomie also awake crouched over a laptop with over 300+ items on his amazon wishlist (hes even more aghast when he sees all of those items are cat related.) Nevertheless, together they enable eachother's bad shopping habits and become the resident disaster duo. Also Izuku decides not to go to the UA and instead decides to follow in his moms footsteps and become a nurse, while Shinsou learns of UAs difficult entrance exam and when inquiring about Izuku's ms joke plush, he decides to attend Ketsubutsu Academy where she works and try to learn to be an underground hero like her (I like to think shes also underground cause shes close to aizawa)

Meanwhile, Katsuki was never really one for plushes or dolls thinking thats soft shit but he always still kept the matching Endeavor keychain he still has when Izuku's father also got them when they were kids so he doesnt feel left out. Anywho he goes to UA, feeling like something is missing but adamantly refusing to admit he misses  certain green bean. He goes on grumpy and frustrated and eventually meet Shoto who sees the Endeavor keychain and gets angry at it to the point where he burns it and Katsuki is angry cause 'hey thats the last reminder of my connection to my childhood best friend' and Shoto gets angry cause 'what the hell he just said he wasnt gonna use his fire ever and he just broke his promise' They become ultimate rivals ™ which eventually turns into friends eventually in their UA years and they all work out their trauma together

Speaking of UA years, in this au I imagine there are a lot of differences but ill probably draw snippets of it later like for one All Might saves the students at the USJ but hurts himself and ends up in the hospital and surprise surprise Izukus there volunteering as a nurse (to get experience yk) and he ends up caring for Yagi-san and blabbers about heroes this and All Might that, unaware of who exactly he is talking to. I also like to imagine that Kota instead of being sent to live with his aunt, they think heroics are too dangerous and send him away to the orphanage for 'his own safety' and he become little brother to Izuku and Shinsou and slowly also becomes a hero plush fanatic ect 

The real meat of the story begins when everyones all graduated and grown up and debuted as heroes and Class 1a is asked to attend a hero con where they answer questions and give out merch to start a fan base and Izuku, Shinsou, and Kota are living their best lives in the crowd buying everything ‘woah look Hito-chan its Red Riot or woah is that Uravity yk they really captured her muscles in this figurine i boug- not that i was ogling her muscles no stop laughing at me Hi- OH MY GOD oooh cool its Creati and shes even using her cool quirk’ Meanwhile Katsuki is in his own personal hell at this convention and when overhearing a conversation, is flabbergasted his his classmates mention that this so called cute MEGA DORKY HERO FANATIC LOSER is going to all their stands and buying all their merch and complimenting them, but dares to IGNORE THE MIGHTY GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT'S MERCH?? I mean damn he may not like this aspect of heroism but he didnt sit through over 10+ hours of trying merch meeting discussing whether he wants ebony black or midnight black to be he color of his figure to be ignored. He didnt get woken up at 3am in the morning by his manger for his opinion on whether he wants to sell a 32 ounce or a 40 ounce hydroflask for this shit. So obviously he has to go and confront the nerd and he almost shits his pants when he realizes this mega loser dweeb is fucking DEKU!

Katsuki talks with him and eventually asks why he doesnt want to buy any of his stuff and Izuku ends up admitting that this merch, all this stuff is basically his therapy, when he sees these dolls he is filled with hope that he future is gonna get bad and he wont be haunted of the past and katsuki is the antithesis of that. Getting a Dynamight figure will just remind him of the past he wants to forget and while he loves Kacchan and believes in him and truly does believe he is destined for great things, he needs to let him go. Please Kacchan, let me let you go...

FUCK YOU DEKU! take my phone number and since you keep associating me with bad memories, well then lets go make new BETTER memories shitty nerd. And suddenly Izuku is hanging out with Kacchan again and Katsuki is giving it his 110% until he slowly but surely builds up Izuku's Dynamight collection.

The End lmao (hopefully i explained it well and you get the premise)

Bonus: RING RING RING "Hey Half and Half remember when you burned that Endeavor keychain... wanna help me burn down some other merch?"

#so thats the main au ill be focusing on #i mainly wanted to draw izuku and katsuki at the carnival winning plushies #i also just love quirkless izuku and the misadventurous he gets on when he isnt breaking his bones 24/7 #i also love the izuku/shinsou dynamic #and the shoto/katsuki dynamic #izuku midoriya #bakugou katsuki #bkdk #dkbk #dekubaku #bakugou x midoriya #class 1a #mha #bnha #DKBK Nerd AU #bakudeku

[polyamorouspunk]

Yooooooooooooooo Good Morning!

i actually woke up feeling better than I have been so my plan is to try to be just a little bit productive. Maybe wash some clothes. Maybe clean up my room. The possibilities are endless!

Also! Last night was my niece’s birthday and I gave her present to her! I got her and I tickets to go see the offspring, sum 41, and simple plan in september! She was so excited that she dive bombed me and almost broke my glasses!! I think I won the birthday this year lol

Oh wow! Amazing! What a line up!

I met some cool people at the concert last night including a guy and his girlfriend who had been a fan of them since they were Chicago locals (he was next to me so I talked to him more than her but she kind of nodded and listened) and a woman who said she was going to let her wife know she was getting out of line with me. I’m not good at starting conversations at concerts really but it seems people always end up talking to me, or I chime in eventually. I hope you both have fun.

I know this was sent like yesterday I think and then I talked to you today. I said I was reading and then going to bed but right as I put my book down everything hit me again and I started getting freaked out again so I figured I’d answer your ask.

My mom put my table back up in my craft room, so I can start working on physical stuff again. Right now I’m working on a series of hand-drawn pride pins. The first one I did was asexual and the design was recycled from the pin I made my cousin for her bag (which I posted on here and sent to you) and it feels very cottagecorey but I made a bisexual one of just flowers and while I’m really happy with the design I feel like it misses the mark of the vibe I’m going for. As a consumer I’m more drawn to greenery and mushrooms vs flowers, but I spent so much time on it I’d hate to scrap it. I’m hoping I can make other ones that really capture that cottagecore feel more, but it’s very hard since I’m trying to focus on realistic things that include those colors in my pride flags. I’m hoping to do some poison dart frogs with the lesbian flag or the rainbow flag maybe, since frogs are cottagecore. But yeah.

I want to start working on my patch pants in case I end up going to SSC. I know I told you originally I was and then I wasn’t going to which I haven’t like announced anywhere because even then I was still thinking “fuck it maybe I’ll just fucking fly up and go” BUT my best friend is trying to plan her wedding reception that week so we can still go BUT I called it off because our other best friend’s brother’s wedding got moved to that weekend and her family is very over-the-top so it’s going to be a all-weekend thing at LEAST and while I’m fine with having her reception on a weekday because I gotta take time off to go up there anyway I know I’m not the only guest. I’d *like* to think I’m the closest thing to a Bride’s Maid of Honor, you know, which was the dream back when I thought we were all cishet but mildly weird, before we were both like “fuck church weddings” and also before she was like “I’m going to get legally married for the tax benefits and shit” so like you know back when I dreamed of being her brides maid of honor. I am racking my brains trying to come up with a good present for her (my literal best friend since I was 5) and I have a few ideas but they’re going to take research and effort. You know I can’t just buy her a post card or like the keychain I got her when we went to pride for her literal wedding present.

Anyway that’s what’s up here I think I’m going to go eat and take my meds and do the self care you told me to do and hopefully by then I won’t feel so jittery.

#punk gets mail #love you

[banannabethchase]

Take a Chance on Me Chapter 2: Honey, Honey - on AO3

~

The weekend of the wedding arrives, Wheeler reveals his other dad plot to his groomspeople, and Wheeler and Claudio make good use of the hotel bed.

~

There are mentions of LiveJournal in this chapter that may, if you are over the age of 30, make you feel old. Two chapters today since the first one is basically a repeat of a Friday post and I...cannot endure the way AO3 formats multi-chapter fics when you only have one chapter up, so I must fix it.

~

After over a year of planning, the weekend sneaks up on Wheeler like a particularly stressful panther. He’s put in extra hours at the gym to look good in his suit, rehearsed his vows to Lee, to Danny, to Mox, to everyone who’ll listen for more than thirty seconds.

“I just want to make sure it’s good,” he always prefaces with. “I get worried it’ll sound bad.”

Despite the reassurances, the hesitation is still there.

Danny’s the first one from out of town to arrive for the wedding weekend, bright eyed with a few hickeys all over his neck before the events even start.

“Who’d you bang?” Wheeler asks. “Also, hi.”

“Hey, dumbass,” Danny says, shining with excitement. “Just had a quick blowjob in the bathroom while I was waiting for you.”

Wheeler rolls his eyes. “Don’t pretend to be a stereotype. What actually happened?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, marriage boy.” He frowns as he gets a good look at Wheeler, who is manning his computer, his phone, and his dad’s iPad all at one. Danny pushes at his shoulder. “What’s with the face, Wheeler?”

“Waiting for Lee and Kris to answer the facetime,” he says. He holds up the computer, shows it to Danny.

“Is – what’s that?”

“LiveJournal,” Wheeler says. “Like this old blogging platform? I found it on the Way Back Machine.”

“Okay,” Danny says. He’s staring. He already knows something is up.

“Yo yo, Wheely, what’s up?” Lee’s face pops onto the screen.

“Hey, Lee,” Wheeler says. “I found something I want to share with you all. Since, you know, my groomspeople and all.”

“Hey guys!” Kris says, popping in. She’s got full face of intricate astronomy themed designs this time, which would look strange with her NASA badge around her neck on anyone else, but on her it just looks right. “What’s going on, Mr. Marriage?”

“I just called him something like that, too, and I want to make it clear we did not plan that,” Danny says firmly.

“Whatever,” Wheeler says. “Look, I may have done something stupid.”

“Yeah, tell me what else is new,” Lee says. He turns away from the phone to his computer, typing quickly. “Hold on, I gotta answer this – and done. What’d you do?”

Wheeler turns his phone so everyone can see the screen.

“Is that LiveJournal?” Kris asks. “My sister used to write fanfiction on there back in the day.”

“Yeah, uh, my dad used to post there, too.” Wheeler scrolls through the old blog. “It was kind of the only place he could talk about his transition and being a guy and all that, until he came out.” He looks between the three of them. “Guys, my dad was kind of...I don't know how to put this.”

Danny peers over, eyes widening. "I know how to put it," he says, looking far too pleased, "and I would say, affectionately, your dad was kind of a slut."

Lee barks out a laugh, big smile lighting up the screen. “I would pay good money to see you tell that to Mox.”

“I’d pay good money to get him to prove it,” Danny says with a leer.

Wheeler, like always, just pie faces him until he half falls over. “Okay, shut up. But I don’t know my other dad. Right?” They all nod, and Wheeler takes a deep breath. “I think I might have found him.”

The other three go silent for a second.

“Um,” Kris says, fidgeting with a keychain on her lanyard, “this might be one of those things you shouldn’t ask, but didn’t you not care about that?”

“No, you can ask,” Wheeler assures her. “I brought it up. And I don’t care who it is, not really.” He searches for the right words. “I just…” He pauses, trying to figure out how to say it. “I want him at my wedding. Or. Or maybe just to get an invite, you know.” He shrugs, curling in on himself, just a little. “It’s my wedding.”

Danny wraps an arm around Wheeler’s shoulders and Kris boops him through the screen. 

“Then we make it happen,” Lee decides. “What’s his name?”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Wheeler says, laughing a little. “Around 9 or so months before I was born, there’s three guys.”

“Slut alert,” Danny says with a grin.

“Yes, Danny, you already said that,” Wheeler says, scrolling up to the three posts in a row. “Look. Three in a row, three different guys.”

He reads the posts out loud, one after the other. Kris frowns in concentration, Danny makes wildly inappropriate commentary, and Lee, the one with connections, googles names and locations as they come up.

“Fuck,” Lee says, frowning. “I mean, I have some names, but everything’s behind a paywall.”

Wheeler nods. “I ran into that too. Another thing, they all happened so close together. There’s no guarantee which one would actually be the other dad.”

“You could have called them,” Kris suggests.

Wheeler grits his teeth. “That felt…wrong somehow? Like calling them would be too much or something.”

Danny frowns. “So you...sent them emails?”

Wheeler squirms in his seat. “Not exactly. I paid extra to use one of those White Pages programs.”

Danny narrows his eyes. “Wheels, what did you do?”

Wheeler squirms in his seat, feeling three sets of eyes keyed in on him. “I sent them wedding invites, around a month ago.”

Kris’ eyes widen. “And you’re just telling us now?!”

“I told Claudio, even before I sent them!” Wheeler defends. “He thought it was a good idea.”

“You could decide to join the circus and become the clown and Claudio would think it’s a good idea,” Lee says. “When do they show up?”

Wheeler grits his teeth. “They, uh. I think they’ll all be getting here tomorrow morning.” He pulls up his email. "They all sent their RSVPs and marked the 'Friday around noon' box."

“You think they'll get there all at the same time?” Kris asks. “That feels like a recipe for disaster."

Wheeler frowns. "I didn't think of that." He exhales, trying to keep his nerves under control. "But that's, like, way too much of a coincidence for them to get there exactly at noon, right?"

Nobody responds. Wheeler wishes they would.

Danny nudges Wheeler's arm out of the way to get to the computer and scrolls the posts, frowning. “Wheels, uh. There’s no pictures here.”

He nods. "Yeah."

“So,” and there’s that careful tone from Danny, when he’s about to say something rational that Wheeler doesn’t want to hear, “not to be a dick, but how the hell will you know who is who?”

“I’ll know my other dad when I see him,” Wheeler says, “or, like. At least be able to put a name to a face.” He frowns. “Probably. One of them is British so, like. At least that’ll help.”

“That’s the first post guy, right?” Kris asks. “He's fancy, and he was the guy your dad slept with first. My money’s on him.”

“My money’s on the one he flirted with by insulting him,” Danny says. “Best way to get laid.”

“Nah, it’s totally the interim gym manager,” Lee says. “He was the last on the list, and guys with a beard have the best dick in the game.”

“You don’t even like dick!” Danny yells.

“Yeah, but I got a great beard and great dick game,” Lee says with a grin.

Kris rolls her eyes. “Can we focus?” She adjusts her badge. “Lunch is almost over and I may not be the best with social stuff, but I’m pretty sure yelling about dick game is not work appropriate.”

“Yeah, good call, Stat,” Wheeler says. “Anyway. Danny’s here to help me figure this out. But I wanted to make sure you two know so if things get messy…” He trails off. “Well, you’ve got my back.”

“Course we do,” says Lee. Something on his watch beeps, and he presses the button to turn it off. “I gotta go. See you soon!”

They all say their goodbyes and hang up, and Danny claps Wheeler on the back. “You doing okay?”

“What? Yeah.” Wheeler frowns at his computer screen before he closes it, like the decades old posts will give him answers. “I’m good.” When he looks up, Danny’s got this little concerned crease in his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

Danny exhales slowly. “I don’t want you to get disappointed by this, is all,” he says quietly. “I mean, what if your dad only recorded three people in that time but there were others?”

Wheeler freezes. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Did you ask him?”

“Who?”

Danny stares at him. “Your dad?” He stares harder. “Oh, you fucking idiot. You didn’t tell him about this.”

“I didn’t want him to freak out!”

Danny groans, scrubbing his hand over his face. “And Claudio didn’t talk you out of this batshit crazy plan. Of course he didn't.”

Wheeler shakes his head. “He said it was my call and that he’d support me with any idea.”

“Yeah, that tracks.” He reaches out a hand. “Come on, Wheely. Let’s go drop you off to your almost husband so I can scout the pickings here.”

Wheeler wrinkles his nose. “Please don’t fuck my dad’s friends.”

Danny’s grin is lecherous. “No promises.”

~

“So, your friends didn’t quite get it,” Claudio says, stroking Wheeler’s hair as they lay in bed. The hotel is comfortable, the smell of sea air and the taste of salt over everything, and Wheeler wishes he could stay here forever. “That’s okay."

"I guess I didn't expect them to totally understand,:" Wheeler says. "It's - I know it's weird."

Claudio sighs. "As long as they’ve got your back.”

“They do,” Wheeler says. “I know they do.” He plays with Claudio’s fingers where they rest on his chest. “I’m just wondering if it was a bad idea.”

Claudio shifts, catches Wheeler’s chin in his hands. “You’re doing what you need to do, Schatzi. Plus, it’s your wedding.”

“Our wedding,” Wheeler corrects. He grins. “Remember?”

“How could I forget? I’ve said the word ‘linens’ more time in the past few months than I have in the rest of my life.” Claudio flops back onto the bed. “If I have to hear Renee explain table settings one more time, I’m stealing you away to elope into Switzerland.”

“Still an option,” Wheeler says. He shifts so he’s leaning on Claudio’s chest. “Though I think my dad might shoot me if I leave him alone with his one night stands.”

Claudio laughs, eyes bright. “Yeah, I don’t think he’d forgive either of us.” He reaches up, brushes some floppy hair from Wheeler’s face. “I’m glad I ran into your dad’s gym that day.”

“I’m glad it was raining so you had to bang on the door.” Wheeler gets this swell in his heart, something that damned near renders him speechless, when he thinks of he day he saw Claudio the first time. Tall, dripping wet, frazzled as all hell. Seeking shelter from the storm as Wheeler was closing up for the night.

The rest, he supposes, is history. And the future.

Wheeler leans in, kisses Claudio with what he hopes is a promise of forever, and they fall into each other like so many times before this. Clothes scatter around the room in no time at all.

Claudio grins up at Wheeler. “You know,” he says, lips moving their way down Wheeler’s chest, his stomach, “this is the first time we’re having sex in a hotel room.”

“Mm, yeah,” Wheeler says as Claudio’s lips skip between his hips, avoiding where he wants them, “get on with it, baby.”

“So impatient,” Claudio says, but when his lips wrap around Wheeler’s cock, the whole world melts into the moment.

Wheeler finds himself more present than usual, focused on the feeling of Claudio’s tongue as it skates across the slit of his cock, the smell of the salt in the air, the sound of the waves in the distance. It feels like a fairytale, like a setting from someone else’s life, and Wheeler wants to bottle it.

“Claudio,” he whimpers, “can – can I – I want to fuck your mouth?” He glances down, watches Claudio's mouth stretch. "Fuck, please?"

Claudio tilts his head up, winking, and moves his arm from Wheeler’s hips. With reckless abandon, Wheeler pushes up into the wet heat of the man he gets to claim as his in a few days, in front of the world.

“Gonna –” Words fail him as the idea of keeping Claudio forever gets him close to the edge, but Claudio already knows his tells, already knows what it means. He dives down, Wheeler’s cock plunging down his throat, and Wheeler is coming hard and relentless and so, so good.

Claudio pulls away, pressing a kiss to Wheeler’s thighs as Wheeler comes down, stroking gently. “You’re always so pretty like that, Schatzi,” he says, voice sounding wrecked.

“Get up here,” Wheeler says, a little dazed but still focused.

He presses Claudio down to the bed, taking the time to lick the taste of himself off of Claudio’s tongue before sliding down his body to take his cock into his mouth. The sounds Claudio makes, the way he threads his fingertips into Wheeler’s hair, the way his name tumbles from Claudio’s lips like a prayer. It’s enough for Wheeler to promise him forever, even without everything else.

When Claudio comes, he babbles something in Swiss German, a sound that reminds Wheeler of home, and he crawls back up Claudio’s body to get wrapped in strong arms.

“This time Sunday night,” Claudio says, lips against Wheeler’s temple, “we’ll be married.”

#ClaudiYoots #Hello tis me with chapter 2 because the formatting on AO3 made me want to die #anyway #Mamma Mia AU #wtf i like wrestling now??? #in which Sara writes #Yes they bang in this chapter

[fourseasonsfigs]

Cool Boy

Here we have Gong Jun in his Mujosh glasses endorsement - an endorsement I am very sad to have ended! We got so many good looks from this partnership.

At least we have the figs - there is quite a few of them! And I also have a pair of the glasses, which I'm very happy with. My optometrist commented on how nice they were!

Here's the photo of the inspiration for the fig, but the true inspiration for this is Gong Jun's "New Paradise" ad campaign for Mujosh. I'm adding a behind the scenes shooting video since that has some really good shots of this outfit right away:

My cute little endorser arrived with the glasses separate. Most fig glasses, I have found, don't tend to work very well. They don't fit around the contours of the fig face, and either don't stay on at all, or obscure so much about the features that it doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

This fig, however, true to the spirit of the endorsement, has some really nice glasses! These are heavier weight than most of the glasses I have gotten before, and they fit really well. I'll do a series of pics with and without the glasses so you can see which one you like better.

Gong Jun often wears glitzier clothes than this, but he's still rocking this khaki utility wear like it's our finest runway best. He has his hair artfully styled, he has a model pose, and he's got the cutest little sideways grin. I love him! His eyes are sparkly (as they are!) and he has the sandy/rocky landscape of whatever planet he's on in the ad in his eyes. I was surprised how much I liked this fig when I got him (I too like the glitzier clothes).

The complexity of his explorer wear is really well done, I think. They do a nice job with all the pockets detail, together with the harness and the undershirt. It's all nice and cleanly done.

I really like his sweepy, styled-back hair. Has some good volume and lift to it! Gotta look polished when you're exploring strange new planets.

The fig maker did a nice job making it look like the fabric was tucked into the boots, the belt, the harness etc. Nicer than just straight plain lines.

I like his little bent leg pose too. The artist does a really nice job on these figs.

These angles are particularly good for all the little details. Nice and clean without paint overspray.

He definitely has some of the Fig Forward Lean going on to offset some of the weight of his head. He does stand fine on his own.

Some rosy cheeks there! His fingers are also gently blushed.

We'll go ahead and do the front view. The slight bend in his leg is much more noticeable here.

And the back. What looks like little divots in the line between his boot and the pants are just little areas to represent folds and tucks in the fabric.

Alright! Here we go with the glasses. I'm going to stop nattering on for a bit and let you see the whole look with the glasses on.

Cute cute cute. I really like the glasses on! You can see how well they fit and how solidly they are on. Which is no small feat given these figs don't have noses. I'm absolutely leaving these on the fig - I mean, it kind of of course is the whole purpose of the fig, so it would actually be sad if they looked bad on. I'm happy it looks so good!

Here's the top view, so you can see how well his glasses fit from this angle too.

Each of the figs in this series had an optional matching keychain purchase. I opted in for them all! I wish I had peeled off the protective layer before photographing this - it looks dull and faded, instead of bright and colorful (well, as colorful as khaki gets!). The protective peel really does wash out the acrylic.

And speaking of the rest of the series, here they are! You've already seen our Go Fighting Jun, so I'll do the two Zhehan figures next. Come back tomorrow for Pearl Beauty!

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 298

Scene Count: 23

Rating: The coolest of boys!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

#junzhe #gong jun #word of honor cast #woh cast #shl cast #figthusiast

[audiovisualrecall]

A list of things I want or need to do.....

Schedule driving lessons

Work on unicorn painting

Work on illustrations for steph book

Work on 'cinderell' comic rewrite/update

Laundry today

Dishes+ run dishwasher today

Schedule dentist appt

Schedule vet visit for Edison- he has a cold or allergies or something, also a growth on one of his toes??, and I want to really in-depth discuss a plan for his weight bc ive had no success. Also he's due for annual vaccinations presumably, so. (Wish blue pearl was not so expensive bc they now have Fear Free vet visits and the difference in his behavior when we went there last time compared to other vets weve gone to was just amazing. He was able to wander around the room and it didn't feel like a typical exam room for pets so he wasn't scared and hiding, he allowed the vet and assistant to poke and prod him and manhandled him even if he wasn't thrilled, he didn't cry or hiss or scratch anyone! But for regular vet visits they're really pricey :/)

Work on Eitan and Zahav story/comic

Work on iron man/dragonriders of pern au story

Buy parts for pvc watering system for garden (need to go with dad) and set up

Work on bookcase (with dad)

Window-shop/buy stuff for steph bridal shower (with ma or on my own, but the best store to go to is far enough I'd rather go by car, and it's more fun to go with someone else and discuss ideas and also less likely to impulse buy everything?)

Go to DSW to get new sneakers (with ma, access by car travel only and easier to have a second opinion on shoes. My current pair I have a hole in the top by my big toe...oops)

Work on website: photograph artwork professionally, edit photos, design website layout and complete that. Add artwork to portfolio gallery on the site, add my photo and about me info. Request refund for the dumb add-on I didn't realize was useless. Make the website what I want it to be. May need to learn coding. Need to slim down choices for artwork to include to only the best stuff it makes sense to include, not just things I like.

Design pride plants stickers/pins

Plan for rainbow enamel or just hard enamel autisticat pins. Also, keychains?

Rework/update etsy listings/items available...

Come up with additional ideas for products. Stickers/prints/pins...keychains?

Fulfil current etsy order - soon

Organize my room - try on clothing, go thru piles of stuff, figure out what to do with certain things and if the new bin will help what to put in it, decide what to put back into drawers and which ones for what items, go thru some other stuff like bank statements, organize receipts, etc

Put shelf above window above curtain rod for displaying some stuffed toys (need dad's help)

Hang up new Queer pride flag (need help, also it's way bigger than I expected so may need to fold some of it behind and stitch it to itself to fit on the wall, need help to pin it up on the wall and probably a second step stool at least)

Look for vases for bridal shower for flowers (with ma or solo)

Go thru and organize stuff on breakfast bar

Plan out a budget - figure out how much I tend to spend on different categories of stuff per week or every 2 weeks or monthly, figure out how much I earn in that time period (if it's weekly it's half of my pay bc I'm paid every other, if it's monthly gotta double that amt, also gotta average it out/pick a general usual amount since depending on how much OT I do my pay is more or less lol). Consolidate that info together to decide on a basic budget for each category/ overall spending for the time period.

make list of things I need/want to buy or tend to buy, marked with priority or how often for repeat purchases, compare with budget for what impulse items/wants I can acquire in a given time frame and which to save for the next etc

Get a new bike or get mine fixed...

Spend time outside/go on walk

Water plants

Draw for fun. Draw tony or stevetony or dragons or cats

Read...

Get ice cream at some pt like tomorrow night if I'm off Thursday or on Thursday if I'm off Friday 🥺🥺🥺

Plan days to do activities! Kayaking/beach/farmers market/street fair/museum. With steph?

Plan to do something fun w work friends outside of work

Pride fest: who is going with me?

Renfair when it's time???

Pay for tallis!!! Today preferably! Write check and take it over to shul?? (Or give to ma to take to services this evening or go with her?)

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter Thoughts: 359, Place of Learning

Sorry for the lateness on this one, gang; was tied up with other writings. Look for next week's to be more timely, and in the meantime, hit the jump!

"The messenger-bodyguard said he'll be going up top too!"

I hadn't caught this in just the scanlation, but comparing the official here to the leaks for Chapter 360, I guess that'd be Mirio, huh?  I suppose he or whoever put down his game piece in the planning session figured he wouldn't be much use against Shigaraki—his phasing is great, and his fighting style even better, but a normal human punch is not going to do anybody much good against Noumu-style toughness.

Comparatively, his phasing probably allows him to get around the interior of the structure much faster, which is an advantage when supplies need to get from one point to another ASAP.  But then when ShigAFO turns into an enormous barricade of hands, well, being able to phase suddenly looks a little more useful top-side, huh?  I had been wondering as of the end of this chapter why he hadn't been with his Big Three compatriots from the start, so I'm glad to see this little nod.

The business course stuff:

I have somewhat mixed thoughts, but on the whole, I rather like it.  On the one hand, I think "promoting heroes" has a tang of propaganda to it, which is rather at odds with the (nominal) objectivity of something like news footage or documentary filmmaking.  Of course, any kind of information can be skewed by its presentation, but it seems to me that talking of hero promotion, of image and presentation to the masses, is inherently embracing a certain narrative you're trying to put across.  Spiral Stack Hair Boy there even says it outright: He and his classmates are preserving a record of Heroes Victorious.  They are not there to preserve a record of e.g. The Tragic Death of Shimura Tenko or what-have-you.

On the other hand, I like Spiral Stack firing back—against an uncommonly young parroter of the "you kids and your cellphones" complaint!—that having records of events is valid and extremely important work.  He remains vague about "past wars",(1) but given how recently and repeatedly Skeptic and Dabi have demonstrated the impact of being able to choose how to frame a story,(2) the heroes would be wise to stop letting villains control the narrative!

In short, I'm dubious of the narrative that the Business Course kids are presenting, but I like that the story is engaging with the idea of how the events it's portraying look within the world.  It's good follow-through from earlier iterations of the topic, from aforementioned villain meddling to all the eyes on Endeavor, and even the whole discussion about heroes-as-entertainment versus heroes-with-human-needs.

Bakugou Stuff:

I like the jolt of panic in Bakugou's eye when ShigAFO breaks his arm; it feels like a relatively rare expression for him.

I had jotted down in my notes, "Bakugou thinking about the gap is good Endeavor paralleling," but I gotta say I liked it better before it got localized with baseball metaphors.  I already know there's a baseball OVA coming out, Caleb!  You don't need to remind me of all the inane tripe meant to move keychains and vinyl standees we're getting instead of anything remotely interesting!

I don't have anything in particular to say about the whole "Bakugou is, in AFO's opinion, closer to Deku than anyone else."  Frankly, as frustrating as it is being a villain fan at times, I'm extremely glad that I have barely any investment in Bakugou and negative investment in Deku, because I can't even imagine how much it must suck to be an even-keeled fan of either character trying to find any content that isn't vapidly OOC or vindictively mean-spirited.  Good Christ, the spoiler tags were still a shitshow two full weeks after the initial leaks for this chapter.

Aizawa (and Mandalay):

The electromagnetic interference could be legit, but also feels a bit retconned, particularly the handwave of Aizawa protesting that she got Midoriya a bit ago, so why can't she now?  Is the erratic communication going to serve a dramatic purpose at all?  Is it just to keep Hori from needing to update the reader on what Deku ran into last time we saw him when he isn't ready to transition scenes yet?

Also, Aizawa, exactly how fast do you think Deku is going to get here from halfway across the country?  Japan is seriously not that small.  Honestly, the American jets picking him up really is your best bet.

I enjoy his desperation, though.  S'good crunch.

On UA and the Big Three:

Man.  They really did just take the whole school up, huh?  Somehow I'd been under the impression that it was a fake, that Troy Fortress, not UA itself, but nope, that's absolutely UA.  What happened to all the refugees?  Are they still in the building, or hiding out underground?  Were they evacuated out to the refugee housing on the campus before the school took off?  But then why didn't one of AFO's spies contact him to let him know?  What was the point of the whole thing where the facility connects to Shiketsu if the school was just going to fly off into the sky alone?

It's—a shame, I guess.  I feel like there ought to be a lot of power in seeing the school trashed like this—it's been the main setting of the series for three hundred and fifty chapters!  It's the place where a bunch of friendships have been made, powers forged, little day-to-day victories and losses accumulated, all things a student would remember upon seeing their high school demolished. 

Also too, the symbol that UA represents is in ruins, the Number One Hero School that produces the very best heroes, the ivory tower the students were kept in that controlled what knowledge they gained and, for a very long time, cut them off from the world and the people they were training to protect.

UA needed to go down, I think, as so many other structures in this society do, but I wish the one toppling its towers could be Shigaraki Tomura, who once wanted to be a hero, for whom the whole building has been converted into a deathtrap rather than—per the title—a place of learning.  Instead, we get the AFO Vestige, whose only attachment to hero schools has been plucking promising quirks out of them like grapes from the vine.

Further, the students we get reacting to the destruction aren't the students I'd expect—the students of 1-A, the ones whose schooling we've spent the entire series watching.  Sure, the Big Three, as seniors, spent three times as long there as the main cast, so I'm sure they have a lot of regrets seeing those thrashed classrooms.  But the audience has never been privy to Mirio and the rest's school lives, so what they're remembering and mourning here is entirely opaque.

The only emotion I feel looking at the three of them is sympathy pangs for Suneater, because Suneater's one of my favorite students, and he gives me moe aggression.  That's entirely down to my being predisposed to empathy for Suneater when he's faltering, however, not because the story's given me any reason whatsoever to care about his feelings about seeing his school trashed.

Also, to come full circle back to the messenger/bodyguard, it's kind of eyeroll-inducing that Lemillion is now parroting the talk about holding out until Midoriya shows up.  Maybe it's just to make Bakugou look more singular next week, maybe it's the streak of pragmatism Mirio learned from Nighteye, but it does feel kind of a shame that the young hero who ran ahead to fight Overhaul solo is now also trapped in that mentality that only One For All can strike the necessary decisive blow.

I critique him now, but Mirio will have a much better showing in the next chapter, and I'm looking forward to writing quite a bit about it.

Odds & Ends:

Hori's dedication to Ame-comi-style sound effect lettering continues to impress.

Oh my god, Nejire's girlfriend complaining about her hair.  XD  I did laugh.

Shigaraki's hair not even getting solid black outlines anymore, even in closeups.  Good stuff.  Wish I wasn't so soured on the anime so I could more genuinely anticipate seeing it in color.

That heavy black silhouette of Shigaraki against the shattered outline of UA fuckin' rules.  Wish it was more "him."

---

1: But talking about concrete records of wars at all is a possibly interesting choice, given Japan's noted tendency towards historical revisionism re: Japanese warcrimes.

2: Not just Dabi's video, but also Skeptic's doctoring of the Deika footage.

#bnha #bnha 359 #bnha spoilers #(mild ones for 360) #chapter thoughts #the ua big three #bnha worldbuilding #-ish

[amys-adventures]

London

And that’s a wrap on London! Two days ago I took a train from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverly Station, so I figured I should try to write this post now before I forget to and find myself back home.

God, where to start. London was absolutely amazing. Hands down one of my favorite places I have visited so far. I don’t what it is about that city, but I would love to move there. Maybe it’s the fascinating mixture of old and modern architecture, or the adorable charm of the British accent. Maybe it’s the fact that the city is so accessible to all types of people. They post signs on bridges with the number for the suicide hotline, they have signs on the buses and trains reminding people that not all disabilities are visible. There are countless advertisements for mental health support options throughout the city. It’s such a warm welcoming place, despite its cliche for cold, dreary weather.

Speaking of which, I feel like I got to experience every aspect of London’s weather in the 10 days I was there. My first day, it rained the entire time. My host and I took a walk along the River Thames and I would just stare up at the sky and smile at the rain coming down. In my opinion, there’s nothing quite like sitting in a warm cafe while it absolutely pours down rain outside. The middle of the week, however, heated up quite a lot and even reached 79° F, which was much too hot for me. But it cooled back down for the last leg of my stay and there was even a thunder and lightning storm!

I got to visit so many places in London, and all of the museums I went to were free! I saw the Tate Modern, the National Gallery, and the V&A Museum, all for free. My favorite of those three is hands down the National Gallery, which houses some of the most beautiful paintings I’ve ever seen in my life. When I got to the room with Van Gogh’s paintings, I literally spent 10 minutes just staring at each painting in awe.

Other than museums, I also went to see Borough Market, Camden Market, Soho, Primrose Hill, and Brick Lane, among other places. I would highly recommend all of those places for their awesome shops and food stands. Camden Market was probably my favorite because of its walled perimeter and narrow alleyways that looked like something straight out of Harry Potter. I wish I could have bought so much more stuff but my limited luggage capacity really put a damper on all that. There are so many record stores in London that I had to physically restrain myself from going into. Nevertheless, I did end up buying a book that I really shouldn’t have, especially because it was hardcover and is currently adding an extra pound to my already heavy bag. But oh well. You only live once right? Gotta collect as many books as possible while you can.

On my last full day in London, I got another tattoo!! This one is on my collarbone, which was my first time getting tatted on my main body instead of a limb like my arm or leg, and let me tell ya, it hurt like a bitch! But it was so worth it because the tattoo turned out amazing. I love it so much. The artist was super sweet and she brought her four-month-old puppy to the studio!

I think one of my favorite memories from my time in London is actually when I woke up at 4:55 am to listen to Harry Styles’ new album just so that I could listen to it at the same time as my best friend back home. The same day, I went to his pop-up store and waited in line for two hours just to buy a hat and keychain. Seems ridiculous, but it was such a fun experience.

Anyways, I’m in Edinburgh, Scotland, now and it is so breathtakingly beautiful here. I’ll get more into that when I post about it next week. For now, I’m just marveling at the fact that I have less than a week before I will be back home. It feels like I’ve been gone for so long but also like I’ve just arrived. I’m excited to see my family and friends again (and to have a room to myself haha). Alright, this is me signing off for now! The next time I post will probably be from the airport on my way home :D

[theeyeofthetigger]

Lemme know if there’s anything that stands out to you guys, I’ve got a fair amount of ideas but I’d love to see which ones are most wanted, as well as which characters/ships!

#Etsy #Etsy seller #anime #manga #video games #also yes I have the ZE watches already but I’m debating on the actual characters too #and I might update the watches to be a bit better quality they’re one of my older designs #I do want to reupload my death note ones but I got dinged on those last time so I may have to be more careful labeling #also probably going to add Matt and maybe Light L and Misa cause all I have rn is mello and near #I also gotta figure out which one of these are going to be keychains or stickers or buttons #I’m quitting my job at the end of the month and going back to school #so this is going to be my backup source of income for bills

[gavin-plz-call-me]

The brothers + Luke do a gem digging kit with you

When I say gem digging kit, I mean one of these. It's basically just a hunk of chalk with gemstones inside that you dig into until you find all the gems. It's supposed to be for little kids, but I did one recently and it was pretty fun.

Also, a note: the gems I attribute to each character are purely based on the appearance/name of the gem. I'm not taking into account the meanings of the gems just because that sounds like a lotta work and I'm lazy.

~

Lucifer

Why?

No, seriously, he's confused as to why you'd want to spend your time doing that.

If you want a gemstone so badly, he could just buy you one, no need to go digging into a hunk of whatever that is to get one.

He'll end up doing it with you, but don't expect to do any of the digging.

"You're not doing it right, here give it to me."

He's a control freak, what'd you expect?

He's, for some reason, really good at digging out the gemstones.

Doesn't care about identifying what types of gems you find, leaves that work to you.

You two will get done pretty quickly because he did all the work

You pick out a garnet and hand it to Lucifer as a thank you.

He scoffs a little but pockets it.

Will 100% have it cut and made into a gorgeous ring or something.

Treasures it way more than you thought he'd treasure some random gem.

Mammon

"Of course ya want Mammon's help. You're just a puny little human, so I'll do ya a favor, as long as I get to keep a couple."

He's practically drooling at the thought of gemstones, and all he's gotta do is dig them outta this brick? Score.

Don't tell him he's probably not going to get anything worth any Grimm, or he'll be no help at all.

Let's you do, like, 70% of the work, but as soon as you guys spot a gemstone, he's ripping the chisel from your hand so you don't damage the stone.

Get's pretty into identifying each gem because he wants to see what they're all worth.

You get done in a decent amount of time.

You hand him pyrite from the pile of gems (also known as fools gold.)

Mammon knows a thing or two about gold and knows what you gave him isn't the real deal.

He'll put it in a little jar and makes a keychain out of it so he can keep it with him at all times.

Will loudly complain, but secretly not so secretly treasures it because it's a gift from you.

Leviathan

Has probably seen something similar in an anime or something.

So he's super excited to do it with you.

Will get jealous if you hog up all the time, but turns around hogs it.

He'll end up doing like 80% of the work, letting you do some if you ask nicely.

Isn't very good at it, though.

Get's frustrated in the end and puts the brick in water so it's easier to break.

So, initially, it took a while for the two of you to break through the brick, but once you soak it in water it goes by quickly.

Will try to identify the gem types, but doesn't care too much about guessing correctly.

You give him the biggest gem in the pile, an amethyst, and he turns into a blushing, stuttering mess what's new?

He'll proudly display the gem in a place of honor in his room, definitely beside a super rare, limited edition Ruri-chan action figure in a glass case to reduce damage to both Ruri-chan and the amethyst.

Satan

Is a bit confused as to why you want to do this, like Lucifer, but gladly joins you.

Will start off like Lucifer, taking charge of breaking the brick open, but the moment he gets frustrated with it, he hands the chisel to you.

You'll split the work about 50/50, with Satan giving you control whenever he gets frustrated with himself, and taking it back once he's calmed down a bit.

Be careful, though, if he doesn't give you the chisel in time, the brick may go flying out of rage, but at least all the gems are out now.

Get's very into identifying what types of gems you've collected.

Will bring out books on gemstones because the sheet the kit came with doesn't include enough information to properly identify them.

It doesn't take too long for the two of you to finish, probably because you're sharing the work so evenly.

Asmodeus

You give him a peridot, which he has made into one of those fancy metal bookmarks, putting the peridot at the end.

something like this

Oh devildom no, you're not roping him into this

Two words: his nails

and his clothes

and his skin

He will gladly watch as long as you're not doing it in his room, but don't expect any help.

If you wash the gems of any grime before handing them to him, he'll gladly help you identify what kinds they are.

Plus, they're all so pretty, he should at least be there to look at them.

You're done fairly slowly, due to the fact that you had to do it all by yourself.

Despite Asmo being no help, you give him an opal.

He'll squeal because opals are just so beautiful.

If there's only one, though, he'll have it made into a stunning choker.

If there are two opals amongst the gems you found, he'll demand ask nicely for the second one so they can be made into earrings.

Beelzebub

I know it kinda looks like chocolate, Beel, but you can't eat it.

Yes, I know you're hungry, Beel, but it's not food.

In all seriousness, he thinks it'll be fun and joins.

Lets you do most of the work, but not out of laziness, but because you look like you're having so much fun.

Will only help when you ask him to.

If you get bored and frustrated, Beel can and will just rip the brick apart with his bare hands if you ask.

Likes looking at the gems, but isn't too interested in identifying them.

You don't get done super fast, but definitely a lot faster than you would have doing it alone because of Beel's help.

You give him a ruby as thanks.

He either won't have it made into anything, opting to keep it safely in his room, or he'll have it made into a simple necklace.

Belphegor

Like with Asmo, good luck roping Belphie into this.

Not because he's afraid to get dirty, but because it just sounds like so much work.

He might help you out a bit, but will most likely just watch you, trying not to fall asleep during the process.

He fails and definitely falls asleep at some point.

Doesn't care about identifying the gems.

The process is somehow slower with Belphie's help, but it eventually gets done.

You'll place a sapphire next to him when you've finished because he's too asleep for you to hand it to him.

He doesn't have it made into anything because, again, that sounds like so much work, but he'll definitely keep it on his bedside table to look at and think of you with.

Luke

This kid's gonna have so much fun doing this with you.

And you better let him do all of the work, even though he's not very good at it.

He'll ask you for help every once in a while but wants to do as much of it by himself.

Is very excited about correctly identifying the gemstones, he may try to rope Satan in so the two of you can use his books on gemstones to make accurate guesses.

It's gonna take a while for you two to get it done, but Luke's having so much fun it doesn't really matter.

In the end, you let him keep all of the gems because he was so excited about it.

After a few days, though, he'll come to you with two identical friendship bracelets, one for him and one for you, both with rose quartz on them.

If you ever take it off, he'll cry.

So don't take it off.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie #obey me simeon #gn!reader #gn!mc #obey me gn!mc #obey me headcanons

[taelme]

Enemies-to-lovers!Changbin

request: Hiiiii I read you bangchan enemies to lovers au and I swear if I could like a post more than once I'd like that one a MILLION TIMES I'm wondering if maybe you could write an enemies to lovers au for changbin pretty please? 🥺🥰 genre: enemies-to-lovers!au (again, not Super extreme, low-key clash bc they’re both stubborn), film club president!Changbin, childhood penpal!au (fluff, very mild angst, they bicker a lot, kind of cheesy bc changbin’s a sap and we know that) pairing/s: Changbin / Reader (ft some skz members)  word count: 17k+ tw: mild coarse language (they say shit a lot LOL)  a/n: THE ANON WHO REQUESTED THIS...IM PRETTY SURE you waited months for this so thank you for being so so so patient!! I decided to try something a little different from my usual style but idk if it’s That Obvious, but its more structure wise I guess, but nonetheless, I'll be getting a little busier soon so I’m not sure If I'll be able to put out Full one shots for the next few months but I'll try my best w those little shorter ones maybe! (I'll have to see how Tired I am) also p.s I love this gif thank u to whoever made it but changbin is blonde in this fic bc of Personal Reasons 

To: my penpal Y/N

How are you?

I had a good day today. Sorry if the paper is crunchy I am writing this on my bed because my mom thinks I am already asleep. Today I went out with my mom and we went to the park and ate some sandwiches at the park. We had a picnic but with no juice because my sister finished everything. And then we went to the toy shop after lunch. I saw a keychain of a camera and bought it for you because you like acting and cameras can take a video of you acting.

This is a picture of me next to the wishing well at the park, you cannot see it but i’m making a peace sign. I threw a coin in the well and made a wish that your audition will be good. I know you will do very well because you practiced a lot for it. That’s all. I’m a bit tired now. Goodnight, or good morning if you are reading this in the morning. Or afternoon.

I hope i’ll be hearing from you soon, Binnie.  

“So, do you wanna keep them? If not I can chuck them together with the rest of your old things,” your mom began, already reaching over to take the letter from you.

Your eyes widened just as quickly, shaking your head quickly as you gripped the envelope and its contents behind your back away from her reach.

“No, no. Don’t throw them away,” you said sternly, softening your gaze when you noticed the way her eyebrows had raised in amusement, embarrassment washing over your features.

“I’ll keep them. Gimme the box.”

Your mom set the beaten looking converse shoebox down onto the table, shaking her head at you as a small chuckle escaped her. Mental note to transfer the letters to a smaller (and more durable) box. 

“Alright, alright,” she waved her hands at you in dismissal, “hurry up or you’ll be late for school.”

She shut the door behind her with a light thud, leaving you to stare at the grainy polaroid your childhood penpal had sent you when you both were only eight and still exchanging letters every week.

Inhaling deeply, you shoved the polaroid picture back into the envelope, slipping it into the box of envelopes before getting up. You figured that was a box you wouldn’t have the time to delve into when you were already keeping Jisung waiting.

Driving as fast as you could (or as fast as you dared to) within the speed limit, you’d reached your campus soon enough. It wasn’t that long of a drive and it would be even shorter (walking distance to be specific), when you move into your apartment nearer to campus in a few days. But that didn’t change the fact that you were running late now, spotting Jisung standing by the fountain with a sour look on his face that had only deepened once he’d spotted you.

Before an utterance of apology could leave you, Jisung had pursed his lips, stretching out his hand that held your cup of drink, a small hint of a smile playing at his lips.

“I’m starting to wonder which one of us has worse time management,” he sighed deeply, shaking his head with feigned disappointment as he glanced at his nonexistent watch on his wrist.

Jisung was one to talk, for sure. His crumpled looking shirt over baggy cargo pants and a hat to cover his head of messy hair told you his journey to school wasn’t exactly ‘leisurely’ either.

You rolled your eyes, taking a sip of your drink and sighing at the taste, “it’s definitely you. I was only late today ‘cause my mom was showing me my old stuff she found in the storeroom.”

Jisung waved you off, “fine, whatever,” he fished his phone out of his pocket as you started walking towards the auditorium for a class you were both dreading.

“Oh, shit, Hyunjin says the professor’s already in class, we should hurry up.”

Quickening your pace, you were glad to have reached before your professor had started, Jisung directing you towards where Hyunjin was seated at the side of the auditorium, giving him a small nod as you sat down.

Not that Hyunjin noticed anyway, the said boy busy with messaging someone on his phone with a frown on his face.

“What are you doing?”

Jisung peered over Hyunjin’s shoulder, frankly not wanting to focus on the lesson as the professor played a video on boring business things he figured he could just ask you for later.

Hyunjin sighed, setting his phone down onto the table and pushing his laptop open further, going to his email with quick clicks on his trackpad, “gotta send the scene for the auditions later to Changbin.”

“Oh, for that film thing?” Jisung asked, earning a nod from Hyunjin, whose eyebrows furrowed as they remembered your presence.

“Y/N should audition,” Hyunjin nodded his head towards you, his mention of your name distracting you momentarily, but you’d brushed it off quickly as you tried to take down whatever your professor was rambling on about.

At your lack of response, Jisung nudged your shoulder with more force, “hey, did you hear what Hyunjin said?”

You tore your gaze reluctantly from your professor as your fingers finished typing whatever you had left in your memory, the confused look on your face prompting Hyunjin to take over.

“We’re having auditions later for the movie the film club’s gonna be making,” he started, nodding slowly as his eyebrows raised, “I was saying you should join, you’d be good for the role.”

You narrowed your eyes at Hyunjin, “what’s it about?”

Jisung huffed, “some cheesy penpal shit, the last I heard.”

Your quirked an eyebrow at that, Hyunjin rolling his eyes.

“Something like that, but it’s not super romantic. They’re childhood penpals who meet again in the future but they don’t end up together, I don’t know how to explain it to you as well as Changbin can, but will you come anyway?”

You scrunch your nose as you consider his offer.

Was there anything you needed to prepare? You didn’t even know exactly what you were signing up for. Or much less anyone in the film club. Well, other than Hyunjin, of course.  

“Is there any script I'm supposed to prepare with?” you asked, making Hyunjin’s eyebrows raise, his lips parting in realisation.

“I’m pretty sure it depends on what role you want…” he trailed off, making you scoff.

Not being able to help the laugh from escaping you, you narrowed your eyes at him, “you sound like you’re not even in the club.”

Hyunjin flashed you a sweet smile, “you know what? I’ll just send you what I sent Changbin. You can just prepare with that! Penny’s role!”

Jisung snorted, his hand coming up in a poor attempt to stifle his giggles.

“Penny? Is it because...she’s a pen pal?”

You pressed your lips into a firm line, finding it awfully amusing as well.

Hyunjin frowned, scrunching his nose up in distaste, “we couldn’t think of anything better, okay?”

You huffed, lower lip jutting out in a small pensive pout. You didn’t have much going on in terms of school productions as of now, anyway, you guessed there would be no harm in showing some support for Hyunjin.

“What time are the auditions?”

“They start from lunchtime until like five,” Hyunjin tried his best to recall, looking at you with his best pleading gaze.

Sighing again, you nodded, “this is my only class for today.”

Hyunjin was practically beaming now.

“Perfect.”

===

“I don’t like it.”

Hyunjin sputtered over his sip of coffee, an incredulous expression on his face, attracting looks from the other film club members in the dance studio. Excusing himself, he’d made his way outside, oblivious to the squeals and stares the girls waiting to audition were directing towards him, settling himself in the middle of the field outside the dance studio.  

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t like it’?” he asked you again, his eyebrows furrowed as curiosity took over him.

You sighed, rolling your shoulders back as you nodded at one of your teachers you were walking past, your grip relaxing on your phone as your arm had started to get tired.

“I mean, I read through the script, and something about Penny’s character just doesn’t sit right with me,” you told him, “it just… doesn’t make sense for her to come to that conclusion when she’d been having a perfectly good time with the guy before that, you know?”

Pausing, you’d waited for him to respond, his silence prompting you to continue with your elaboration.

“Okay, I’ll put it this way,” you started, adjusting your grip on your laptop in your arm, “If I were a reader, or like, a viewer in this case, I would wanna be able to pick up on these small moments or signs that Penny is actually thinking about her relationship, do you know what I mean? Because now the way it looks is that she’s just a plot device meant to hurt him, and that there’s no exploration of the development of their relationship at all.”

Hyunjin let out a deep sigh, “Okay, I know, I know, but the thing is… this was Changbin’s idea, and I don’t know if you’ve heard—I mean, you probably have, but… nobody really questions him.”

You hummed, following Hyunjin into the school building and tugging your coat tighter around yourself, the cold air in the building shocking you as you entered.

“Yeah, I get that, but you’re forgetting that I don’t have the same relationship with this Changbin guy that you guys do. I don’t mind telling him that I have a problem with it. I don’t wanna be acting out some two-dimensional love interest character if I can help it.”

Hyunjin grimaced, not seeming to be too keen on your insistence, “I really think it might be a little late for him to change the script.”

“It’s never too late.”

“Well to Changbin it could be!” Hyunjin insisted, making you roll your eyes, a small chuckle leaving you.

You huffed, “I still think the audience deserves a better film with better crafted characters.”

Hyunjin let out a sound in between a sigh and a groan, “Okay fine, you just have to make sure you get the role, and then you’re free to argue with Changbin all you want. Deal?”

“Deal,” You turned the corner and spotted Hyunjin standing in the middle of the field, already making his way back to the dance studio.

“Okay,” he spoke before you could end the call, “I gotta go, see you later.”

You didn’t expect there to be so many people at the auditions, mostly girls and just a handful of guys. Though you seemed to piece the uneven ratio together when you saw the not-so-furtive stares the girls would cast in Hyunjin’s direction whenever he’d peek his head out from the crack in the door to call the next person in.

You recognized one of the guys who’d come in later than you, one of Jisung’s upperclassmen friends whose name was Minho.

“Didn’t think i’d see you here,” he gave you a small smile as he took a seat next to you.

Shrugging in response, you let out an awkward huff of laughter, not used to talking to him about anything other than his cats and Jisung’s whereabouts.

“Yeah… well, Hyunjin asked me to come, so I figured I might as well,” you fiddled with the slip of paper with the scene printed on it, “not like I had anything better to do, anyway.”

Minho nodded slowly, leaning closer to you and dropping his voice to a murmur, “I’ve never seen any of these girls before.”

You huffed, “I’m pretty sure most of them are here for Hyunjin.”

“Oh yeah, makes sense,” Minho hummed, a small lilt of amusement to his tone, “where is he, anyway? He told me he would be here—”

Minho’s question was answered when the girls beside the both of you had erupted into harsh whispers and murmurs, tapping each other excitedly as Hyunjin could be seen through the window panel in the door, looking on seriously as one of the girls inside the room was auditioning.

You huffed, gesturing to the window.

“Found him.”

Inside the room, Changbin was distracted.

He knew he had a certain image in his head about what he wanted ‘Penny’ to be. But whatever the girls that had auditioned so far had been showing, that dramatic ‘i never loved you!’ emotion, that wasn’t exactly it. And it didn’t help either that they struggled letting go of the dramatics when Chan would prompt them to try a different angle.

Hyunjin cast a (mildly concerned) look at Changbin, trying to gauge his expression, figuring the pointed look Changbin had sent his way was enough to say he didn’t think this girl would be shortlisted.

“Who’s next?” Chan leaned over in his seat to peek at the clipboard of names of signups, Changbin leaning back in his seat and pushing the clipboard towards him, not finding it in him to be able to be more hopeful about the next person.

“Oh, Y/N,” Chan hummed, nodding with an impressed expression on his face, the name catching Changbin’s attention, “that’s cool, didn’t think they’d audition.”

“Y/N?” Changbin echoed, something about the name awfully familiar to him, yet not being able to make the connection in his memories yet.

So for now, he’d simply gestured to Hyunjin to signal that he could send the next girl in, Chan sweetly thanking the girl that had just auditioned as she left the room.

Making your way into the room, you scanned the ‘panel’ of judges.

You recognized Chan, the said pale-faced boy looking even more tired when he’d yawned as you made your way to the centre of the room. He came to your school productions often since he and Felix were friends, and Felix was always involved in some way or another. The other boy, though, you didn’t think you’d seen before.

The two of them seemed to exude completely different auras, with Chan smiling warmly at you and gesturing for you to come closer while the other boy sat with his arms folded across his chest, frowning at you as though you were a code to decipher.

“Hey, didn’t expect to see you here,” Chan broke the silence first, giggling.

You shook your head, “honestly didn’t think i’d sign-up either.”

You pressed your lips together in a tight-lipped smile, rocking back on your heels as you glanced at the boy next to him again, “I actually only heard about it from Hyunjin this morning,” you admitted, Hyunjin flashing Chan a grin from behind you as if to say ‘you’re welcome’.

Changbin cleared his throat, making Chan perk up.

“Right, sorry. So, we’ve obviously met but this is our club’s president Changbin,” he gestured to the boy sitting next to him.

Changbin nodded curtly, bringing his hand up to run it through his bleached hair and shoving his cap back on his head with habitual movements.

Now you were starting to understand why Hyunjin was so intimidated by Changbin, always having heard stories about him but only now being able to put a face to the name.

Nodding slowly, you gave him a smile, “nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.”

Changbin had to stop himself from faltering, his breath hitching when he realised why your name was so familiar.

After all, it had been the first candidate before they’d decided to go with ‘penny’. He wondered how cruel fate was to have brought you, someone with the same name as the person he’d practically based this story on, to be auditioning for the very role.

You tried not to be offended by the way Changbin had simply nodded at you, straightening up in his seat, “and you’ll be auditioning for the role of…?”

Would it hurt him to smile?

You inhaled deeply, trying to hide your amusement as you answered him, “Penny.”

Changbin nodded, Chan humming as he looked up from his copy of the script to give you another reassuring smile.

“Alright, whenever you’re ready. I’ll be taking the lines of the male lead,” Chan told you.

You understood that the scene was some sort of scene where the two romantic leads have some sort of confrontation, and you did your best to get into what you imagined Penny would be feeling, Chan reading the line asking if ‘penny’ had even loved him at all. Dramatic was the word to describe it, really.  

You softened your gaze, unintentionally letting it rest on Changbin but deciding to let it stay there, executing your lines all the while trying to ignore the way Changbin’s stare was unnerving you, making you want to prove to him that you were a good actor even though he hadn’t questioned your acting skills.

Hyunjin had been watching the exchange closely, Changbin’s grip on his pencil loosening as he’d let the pencil fall softly against the table.

Changbin wondered if it was some sort of coincidence, because whatever ‘it’ was that he’d been looking for in Penny’s character, you’d managed to convey almost perfectly.

And it was clear that Chan had felt the same way as well, since once your audition was over, the smile on Chan’s face was nothing but beaming.

Once you’d left the room, Hyunjin telling you that they would contact you by the next morning, Chan had turned to Changbin, the same stupid smile on his face.

“That was great!” he nudged Changbin, the younger boy still recovering from the shock of the coincidence of it all, managing to muster a small huff in response.

“Yeah,” Changbin reached over to grab his water bottle, prolonging his silence as he took a long sip, “I don’t think we’d even need to see the rest.”

Chris scrunched his nose up, grinning, “but you know we still will, of course. Just in case.”

Changbin sighed, glancing at the clock, agreeing with Chan even though he knew he’d already had his mind made up.

“Yeah, just in case,” Changbin mumbled, looking out the window and seeing you talk to Minho, tearing his gaze away and rolling his shoulders back.

“Okay, send the next one in.”

===

To: Binnie

How are you?

I’m okay. I like the picture you sent me of you using your scooter. My mom says you look nice. I think so too.

Today I went to the museum and I ate an ice cream for lunch. I don’t have a picture of it but it was a Strawberry ice cream.

I just finished reading your letter. Sorry to say it using a bad word, but i think what your sister did was stupid. I think you should still tell her to ask for permission to use your scooter. But if she still does not listen, maybe you should tell her again. Because my mom always tells me that if I want something, I have to ask for it. So you should do that. Maybe she does not know you don’t like it when she plays with your scooter. Or, you could buy a new scooter. Here is some money so you can buy a scooter. I drew you $50 because that is a lot of money. I hope you have a good day when you read this.

Till next time, Your penpal Y/N.

You weren’t the world’s kindest human alive, you had your petty moments. I mean, there were so many songs and literature and movies that highlighted that idea that no human was perfect, right? But you tried your best, surely.

So, you’d gladly complied when Hyunjin asked you to grab extra cups of coffee for Chan and Changbin (as reluctant as you were. You were strapped for cash as it was).

You figured that was the least you could do before the trouble you were about to cause the both of them. But hopefully, if office etiquette was anything to go by, the simple gesture would show that you were kind, and someone who appreciated the offer given to you, as much as you hated the superficiality of your character.

However, when you showed up at the room, you were reminded that Changbin wasn’t just anyone. And while Chan made his appreciation known, Changbin… was the same as ever. Intimidating, and very hard to read. The sight of it almost made you want to take back his coffee.

He wasn’t wearing a hat today. Instead, he’d let his blonde hair (which looked darker since the last time you saw him, or maybe it was just his dyed-black undercut) fall messily over his forehead in a slight side part.

His black shirt did nothing to hide his physique, every movement of his coming across as a subtle flex, making you have to remind yourself time and time again that you weren’t exactly here to fawn over him.

He would lean back in his seat, scrolling through whatever he was looking at in his phone with one hand, his other hand draped over his stomach and propped underneath his elbow to support it. The way he would look made it seem as if he was almost oblivious to the world around him, only paying attention to what was on his phone until he would laugh at something Chan said, Chan being the only person you’ve seen that managed to elicit seemingly uncharacteristic giggles from him.

Though it wasn’t as if you were given much time to get used to it. The moment Chan had murmured something in his ear, his expression had switched back to ‘strictly business’.

Chan straightened up, looking around the room with his eyebrows slightly raised in question, one hand adjusting the braided leather bracelet around his wrist

“So, shall we get started then?” Chan asked, gesturing to Changbin before typing away at his laptop.

Changbin took his cue, getting up from his seat and making his way around the table to the front of the room, pulling the overhanging screen up to reveal the whiteboard.

“So, first of all, we’ve finalised the actors playing the characters,” he gestured towards you and Minho, “Minho as Soobin and Y/N as Penny. So, we can start shooting about next week. I would say we’re working with a pretty loose deadline because we don’t have to submit it until a few months from now.”

Changbin rolled his shoulders back, his body language seeming fairly relaxed although his expression remained serious nonetheless, “but that doesn’t mean we should slack, obviously.”

His statement elicited a small groan from Hyunjin, who muttered a ‘figures’ under his breath, making you stifle your giggles for Changbin’s sake.

“But we will start with maybe going over the script once through, go over the technical stuff after we get any issues with the flow out of the way.”

He looked as though he were going through a mental list of things to cover, his gaze flickering momentarily to Hyunjin, as if his face would give him answers to the invisible question in his head.

“The people in charge of the props, have you started preparing the letters?” Chan stepped in, earning a shake of the head from the two girls sitting next to Hyunjin, making Changbin wave a hand dismissively in their direction.

“They could start on that after we confirm the script,” Changbin leaned over the table to grab his cup of coffee, proceeding to take a long sip from it.

“Alright, let’s start then.”

Changbin took the empty seat he was standing next to, pulling his laptop closer to him to pull up the script.

Throughout the reading, you tried to keep your comments to yourself, you really did. It just fascinated you how fearful the team was of Changbin (well, aside from Chan), the way everyone seemed to bite their tongues or withhold their comments caused a permanent frown to be etched on your face.

It didn’t make it any better that Minho seemed to have no problems with the script, not even when you’d occasionally leant over to whisper to him and ask if he found that part a little weird or a little abrupt. But you held your tongue for now, (and also because of the side glance Hyunjin would cast your way whenever you would let out a small sigh),  you wanted to give Changbin the benefit of the doubt, figuring maybe if he read through his script again he’d realise how one-sided it was.

But thankfully, when you were reading out the lines where the two main characters had ended their date, and on a particularly high note for that matter, it seemed the opportunity to voice your concerns about the script was presented to you when Changbin had spoken up.

“Okay, since the next scene onwards will be where their relationship breaks down, any questions so far?” He asked, though his tone didn’t sound like he was really asking for feedback. But, hey, an opportunity as an opportunity, wasn’t it?

You cleared your throat a little too harshly, raising up your hand as you leaned against the table to be seen better, “uh, actually, me? I mean, I have some feedback actually.”

Changbin looked at you curiously, his gaze landing on you with slight surprise, as if he hadn’t expected it to be you of all people. There was a slight hesitancy evident in the way he paused before giving you a short nod, prompting you to go ahead.

You smiled, ignoring the way Hyunjin had sighed deeply a few seats away from you, dreading the chaos that could have come with people like you and Changbin bumping heads.

“Well, it’s not really specific to this scene. It’s kind of about the whole flow of the plot in general…” you fiddled with the corner of the page you were on, “but I was thinking it would be better to show more of Penny’s point of view? You know, because when I was reading it it just felt a little… weird for them to suddenly break up if everything seemed to be going fine.”

Changbin narrowed his eyes at you, looking back down at his computer with a simple dismissive shake of the head, “That’s not necessary, they’re going to break up anyway.”

The room had fallen silent, everybody seeming to have taken that as a ‘end of the conversation’ kind of line, already beginning to bring their attention to the next scene.

You frowned, unable to control your expression as you made your dismay obvious, casting a desperate look to Hyunjin who honestly looked as though he would pay you not to pursue this.

“But that’s not the point,” you spoke, getting Chan’s attention as he looked at you, silently urging you to continue, “you wanted to show their relationship, right? So, shouldn’t you show… both their parts in the relationship? Since it’s not like this is told in Soobin’s point of view.”

Changbin pursed his lips, “the point is,” he brought his cup of coffee to his lips, taking a small sip before continuing, “their relationship was superficial so it doesn’t matter.”

You mirrored his expression. The way it sounded was that he was just trying to convince himself that it didn’t matter.

Your frown deepened, quick to respond to him.

“That’s the thing, if you’re so insistent on them breaking up, why don’t you just make their relationship lead up to that? The way they’re interacting up to this scene makes viewers think they’re just going to end up together,” you tried to reason, hoping Changbin would understand where you were coming from.

Minho took that opportunity to excuse himself to the bathroom, and as you gave the rest of the film club members a once-over, you hated the way they were all looking at you as if you were cussing Changbin out instead of just giving him constructive feedback, or just voicing your thoughts for that matter.

“Well, not everyone gets a happy ending, I guess.”

He was practically avoiding your message at this point, making you grow more frustrated.

“Okay, look, what’s your intention behind making this film?” you asked, watching carefully as Changbin huffed, looking fairly amused at your insistence, which only served to irk you more.

“Simple,” he shrugged, “to show people like you that not everything that seems so perfect ends up perfect in the end.”

Your lips parted, scoffing, resisting the urge to get up from your seat as you heard Minho re-enter the room.

“People like me?” you echoed spitefully, “okay, fine, whatever. But as you said, if that’s the point of your discourse, shouldn’t your message be to tell people that they can work through things like this instead of just giving up and leaving like Penny did?”

Changbin was annoyed now. To him, you seemed too idealistic to understand his reasoning behind the story. He wondered why it had to be you that was telling him this, you were the only one that was trying to find problems with his story, that he’d based on his own life for that matter.

“Well what if she did, huh? What if Penny did just up and leave with no warning?”

You rolled your eyes, hearing Chan struggle to stifle his laugh, your exchange with Changbin being just about the most excitement he had in the whole school year.

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, “which is why I'm saying that your job as a storyteller is to shed some light on the reason behind that. Then your story wouldn’t be about showing how things don’t turn out the way they seem, it would just be telling you, but not showing you. You could just ask literally anybody to hurt Minho—”

“Soobin,” you heard Minho correct from beside you, making you huff, scrunching your eyes shut tightly before opening them harshly.

“—Yes, Soobin’s character, and it would be the same? The story wouldn’t show me anything other than the fact that it was Soobin’s fault he ended up that way. He didn’t question anything that happened, he just let it happen to him,” you sighed again, clenching your jaw, “Penny isn’t anything other than some 2-dimensional plot device designed as an excuse for Soobin to sulk about how cruel love is.”

Changbin scrunched his nose up, his brows knitting in annoyance as he stared at you, a silence falling again in the room. Changbin was about to interject when Chan had decided that would be a good time to step in.

“C’mon guys, let’s… calm down a little. We’re talking about penpals here, not the king’s lover betraying him.”

You cast Chan a questioning look at his example, making him shrug, continuing, “we’re running a little overtime anyway, we can just continue discussing this another time.”

Just like that, the rest of the film club members seemed eager to leave, either rushing for their next class or just not wanting to be in the same environment as an irritable Changbin.

Chan directed his gaze towards you as you were getting up from your seat, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“I’m sure Changbin will keep your points in mind, don’t worry,” he reassured you just as Changbin chimed in with a ‘no, I won’t’ behind him, leaving the room promptly afterwards, leaving you free to let out the frustrated groan you had been withholding.

“Thanks, Chan. Sorry I kind of made you guys overrun your time,” you sighed, watching Hyunjin making his way to you with wide eyes.

Chan shook his head, holding his laptop securely in one arm as he let out a burst of giggles.

“No, don’t apologize! I should be thanking you, I didn’t think about your point until you mentioned it just now,” he murmured, “but again, sorry about Changbin. He’s just a little… protective of his work.”

Hyunjin let out a low whistle from next to you, “Extremely.”

You nodded, shrugging, “It’s alright, I get it.”

Chan flashed you a smile, his hand reaching out to give your shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “Thanks, again. See you around.”

Leaving the room with Hyunjin, you ignored the way he’d begun to chuckle to himself, “honestly, in this whole time i’ve been in the film club, i’ve never seen Changbin actually… argue with someone.”

You rolled your eyes, kicking at the stray pebble “well if he continues like this, you’re gonna be seeing a lot more of it.”

“You sure seemed like you were having fun, though, weren’t you?” Hyunjin was being sarcastic, knowing he was just doing this to dissuade you, his tone eliciting a scoff from you.  

You shook your head.

“You know for a fact I wasn’t. But it wouldn’t sit right with me if I just kept my mouth shut like you and the rest of your film club goons,” you shot him a pointed glare.

Hyunjin pressed his lips into a firm line, holding his hands up beside his head in surrender, prompting you to continue.

“If I want something done, I’m gonna ask for it. It’s as simple as that.”

===

To: my penpal Y/N

How are you?

Was your audition good? Thank you for the money. But $50 is a lot of money so I don’t think I should spend everything, my mom says I need to save money. Thank you for telling me what I should do, but in the end I didn’t buy another scooter. I did this because we were learning about needs vs wants in school and I think the scooter is a want. My teacher says this means I don’t really need it. But needs are things like colour pencils and pens and paper so I can write letters to send you. Maybe your mom tells you you cannot buy so many stickers because the stickers are a want and not a need.

Anyway, I think I can just let my sister take my scooter. Maybe I will just get another scooter for myself when I am older and I have more money.

I hope I will be hearing from you soon, Binnie.

As you said before, you weren’t perfect, but you surely did your best. But days like this you wondered if people like Changbin even tried.

After your interaction with said stubborn being during your meeting with the film club had put you in a bad mood, you were currently seated with Jisung in a booth at a popular burger outlet outside school, thankfully having managed to get a place in the midst of the anxious afternoon crowd. And even more thankful that you could eat your lunch in peace where you were very much away from Changbin.

“What did you say to him, again?” Jisung hadn’t bothered trying to hold in his laughter as he was almost shouting over the noise of the crowd, making you huff as you bit into your burger.

“I said it’s funny that he was talking so much shit about the main couple when he’s dedicating his entire movie to them,” you drawled, your annoyance returning as you recounted the spat you had with him during the small meeting you had with the film club just before lunch.

Jisung’s shoulders shook as he laughed, fumbling with his drink as his eyes shut tightly, giggles leaving him and seeming as though they would never end, “and that’s what you said word for word?”

You nodded, reaching over to press the lid of Jisung’s drink down firmer before he could spill it all over himself.

“I know you’re friends with him but I really don’t know how you work with this guy, he’s as stubborn as stubborn goes,” you huffed, taking another bite into your burger as Jisung’s laughter had died down, though his smile had only lingered.

“You’re worse,” he snickered, earning a glare from you.

Jisung remained unaffected, “Look, he’s honestly fine once you get to know him,” he tried to reason, sounding as though he were trying to convince a child to make friends, “I mean, we’re all still kind of wary around him when he’s in a mood but honestly, if not for the way you guys met, I’m pretty sure you two would get along well. He seems like he’s your type.”

Your eyes widened, scandalised at Jisung’s implication.  

“The only thing he has in common with my exes is being annoying, okay?” you rushed to push away the curiosity of what Changbin would be like as a boyfriend. Curse Jisung and his stupid implication.

“And plus,” you continued, hearing the doorbell chime for what sounded like the thousandth time to signal yet another entry into the diner that was now overflowing with people asking for take-out, “it’s not like he’s been very nice to me since I got involved with his stupid short film.”

Jisung sighed, his gaze momentarily distracted by something behind you, making you wave your hand in front of his face to keep his attention. He’d glanced back at you, an almost dazed look in his eyes before he’d given you a small smile, taking a bite out of his burger and not waiting to finish chewing before he answered you.

“I honestly think that he just needs a little more persuasion. Like, take this for example, something similar happened with him and Chan when they were composing something in the past, and trust me, if you don’t give up now, i’m pretty sure he’d agree to come to a compromise or something,” he gave you a shrug, his gaze returning to whatever was behind you (probably someone cute, you figured). You couldn’t say you blamed him; almost all your conversations revolved around you and Changbin’s squabbles these days.

You pursed your lips, narrowing your eyes at him, “you really think he’d be willing to rewrite his script?”

Your tone was skeptical, already imagining how Changbin would simply tell you to keep dreaming if you’d brought up the proposal to him.

At Jisung’s lack of response, you’d frowned slightly, seeing him turn back to you calmly as his smile widened, giving you yet another shrug.

“Maybe you can ask him yourself.”

If there was any feeling one would get just before something bad was about to happen, that was definitely what you were feeling now.

You didn’t dare to tear your gaze away from Jisung as you watched him turn his body, his hand coming up in a wave that had only turned into a hi-five, his behaviour only adequately described as boisterous as he welcomed the people you were hoping you wouldn’t have to see for another week until the next film club meeting.

Well, Chan was fine, you were simply referring to Changbin.

“Oh, hey, Y/N! Didn’t know you and Jisung were friends,” Chan gave you a sweet smile, gesturing between you and Jisung as he spoke.

Jisung chimed in with a nonchalant “Best friends, actually,” which had only made you shoot him a glare.

“Might have to re-evaluate that,” you muttered, turning back to Chan and Changbin to give them as warm a smile as you could muster.

“Are you guys eating here too?” you asked.

You were oblivious to the way Changbin’s gaze flickered from your face to the food in your hand, and then back to Jisung, looking perfectly unaffected as he joked with Jisung about something you didn’t quite catch.

“Well, we wanted to, but, you know, with the crowd and all we probably won’t be able to get a seat,” Chan’s gaze was pitiful, to say the least, making Jisung raise his eyebrows, and that sinking feeling within you had only intensified as his next sentence left his lips.

Jisung had barely glanced at you as he held onto Changbin’s hand.

“Well, our booth’s actually meant to seat four people, so you guys could squeeze in if you want,” he offered.

Changbin quirked his eyebrow, skepticism written all over his features, though mostly directed towards you, “you guys really won’t mind?”

You glared at your burger, scrunching your nose up as you avoided Changbin’s pointed gaze.

Jisung scoffed, giving Changbin a loud smack on the arm, “of course we won’t, right Y/N?”

He turned to you, giving you a smile you could only describe to be devious (and fairly amused).

“Yeah,” your voice took a pitch higher unintentionally, “go ahead,” you murmured, scooting into the booth to make space for them.

You took another bite from your burger, watching out of the corner of your eye as Changbin took a seat next to Jisung, Chan excusing himself to retrieve both their orders.

“Funny that you showed up, actually. Y/N and I were just talking about your short film,” Jisung spoke, earning a pointed glare for you, as if daring him to continue (and you should’ve known that wasn’t going to faze him at all).

“Oh, were you?” Changbin drawled, his eyebrows raised and a slight smile playing at his lips, “I’m sure Y/N had a lot to say about that.”

As you were about to speak, Jisung had interjected with a little giggle, “she did.”

Changbin didn’t seem to take Jisung’s comment as an answer, simply keeping his gaze fixed on you, prompting you to produce an answer of your own. You ignored the knowing look Jisung gave you.

You sighed, “maybe I wouldn’t, if someone just took my suggestions.”

Changbin had let out a small huff at that, leaning back in his seat with his arms folded over his chest as Chan returned to the table with his and Changbin’s food, casting curious glances between the three of you seated at the table.

“Hope you guys didn’t fight while I was gone,” he joked, making you sigh, and you missed the pointed look he cast Changbin’s way when the boy had scoffed, “what were you guys talking about before I came?”

You shrugged.

“We were talking about the short film,” you told him, “kind of.”

Chan had perked up at that, turning to you as he handed Changbin his food, “oh yeah, I wanted to ask if you had more feedback about the scenes.”

You nodded, “I do, actually.”

Changbin’s gaze lifted from his burger to look at you as he sighed, “what is it now?”

You huffed, “It’s not that bad. I was just wondering if the content of the letters were gonna be read out during the scene? ‘Cause if it is, then maybe we could kind of make it a little more relevant to their personalities or something.”

“Will that be hard? What do kids even talk about in their letters?” Jisung laughed.

Changbin’s lips parted slightly before pressing them into a firm line.

“Well, they’ll be like 9 when they’re exchanging letters, I suppose, so I guess they’d at least know how to have a conversation… ” He sounded almost hesitant, making you wonder why he made talking about childhood penpals seem like such a complex thing.

You thought about your own penpal, Binnie. You were about that age when you were exchanging letters with him too, figuring you could give some insight on that until Jisung had intercepted.

“At that age all I did was talk about hot wheels, to be honest. Much less talk to girls,” he snorted, making you scoff, using your shoe to nudge his leg under the table.

Chan, who had been silently thinking, had straightened up abruptly.

“Wait,” Chan’s eyebrows lowered, frowning slightly as his lower lip jut out in a slight pout. He directed his attention to Changbin, pointing his index finger towards him, “didn’t you used to have a penpal?”

You had to stop yourself from making your shock too obvious, your eyes widening as your gaze became nothing but accusatory. How badly did his penpal experience go for him to be so cynical about it now?

Whatever it was, the newfound information made you curious as to exactly how much of the story he’d changed, more importantly, how much he’d retained.

“You?” you couldn’t help yourself from blurting, though Changbin remained unamused.

“Yeah, I did,” he bypassed your incredulous stare, answering Chan simply.

Jisung hummed, bringing one hand up to fiddle with his ear piercing, not having expected Changbin’s response.

“Oh, well, what was it like, then?”

Changbin shrugged, resting one of his forearms on the table to support himself, his other hand reaching down to pick up a fry, “was nice. We would exchange letters every week. Talked about a lot of things, sent each other pictures, you know, all that stuff.”

“Do you still keep in contact with them?” Chan asked, genuine curiosity in his voice, not having heard much from Changbin about this penpal in the entire duration of their friendship.

Changbin shook his head, “nope,” he popped the p, picking up his cup to swirl it around noisily, the ice rumbling as it got tossed around in the paper cup, proceeding to take a sip from it as the rest of you looked on curiously at him.

“Well, why not?” you dared to ask, a million different possible reasons running through your mind.

Maybe they did something to piss Changbin off, or maybe they got into a big fight (which also made you wonder how heated fights could get over snail mail), or maybe one of their parents disapproved of the other. The possibilities were endless as you anticipated just why 8 year old Changbin would’ve cut ties with his penpal. And maybe, you were enjoying the dramatic aspect of it a little more than you should’ve been.

But something about the way he replied felt restrained. Maybe you were reading into it too much, but he almost sounded evasive. But, of course, you chose to ignore (suppress) it for now, watching intently as Changbin had once again shrugged, an air of nonchalance to his gestures as he met your gaze.

“Just… grew out of it, I guess.”

You huffed, memories of your own penpal making his response sting.

You don’t think you ever ‘grew out’ of talking to binnie. You remembered how frustrated you were when you’d stopped hearing from him after he moved, and every letter you’d sent to his new address had only been returned back to you. Maybe he grew out of it, but you wouldn’t have left it like that if you had a choice.

You rolled your eyes at his response, something in your response seeming to have irked Changbin.

“What?” he snapped, making you hesitate just the slightest bit, deciding to bite your tongue and shake your head.

“Nothing.”  

Chan let out a huff of laughter through his nose next to you, shaking his head at you goodnaturedly.

“Forgive us, you always seem like you have something more to say,” Chan spoke, apparent ‘damage control’ for Changbin’s abrasiveness.

“Wait, so, you’re really not gonna have a happy ending?” Jisung frowned.

“Well, Changbin and I were talking about it after the meeting that day, we figured since we have time we could afford to change the script a little,” he hummed, turning to you, “you know, since it could be a chance to kind of send a more hopeful message like you were talking about.”

Your eyes widened, your hand almost reaching out to touch Chan’s arm but realising you were still holding your burger, “really? You’re open to changing it?”

Changbin’s gaze flickered momentarily to you, observing your posture, noticing how open and comfortable you seemed with Chan, the sight alone enough to make him scoff. Call him a cynic, but he couldn’t tell if this was you acting or not just to get your way.

“There could be another meeting for you to discuss and work on the script together, but yeah, we’re alright with changing it.”

You turned to Changbin, a hint of distrust in your stare, making him huff again, putting down his drink on the table with a little too much force.

“He said it, not me,” he told you, pressing his lips firmly into a tight line, “you wanna change my script so badly? Fine. But your ideas better be worth changing it for.”

Jisung scrunched up his nose as you turned back to Chan, not wishing to look at Changbin’s face any longer, leaning over to whisper to Changbin, “you two don’t like each other very much, do you?”

If he was caught off guard by Jisung’s statement, he didn’t show it.

Changbin shrugged, picking his drink back up, “they started it.”

At the sound of his accusation, your eyes narrowed, turning to glare at Changbin, thankful for Jisung nudging you under the table before you could retaliate with a comment of your own. Chan simply casting you an amused look, his eyebrows raised in a silent question of what you were about to do.

You shook your head.

Whatever, you pushed your annoyance away in your head, as long as Chan was there during the rewrite meeting, you’d hopefully still be able to maintain your sanity.

Or at least, that was the hope that you were holding on to until that night when you’d gotten a text from Chan.

Chan 11:17pm - hey, i gave changbin your number if you don't mind... you know, since you guys have to discuss to rewrite the script and all -

You’d almost sat up from your bed in shock, frowning against the harsh light coming from your phone and the contents of the text, the latter obviously making you more disgruntled.

11:17pm - won’t you be discussing with us?? Why not just make a group chat??? -

Your heart was pumping with anxiousness as you awaited his reply, something about the sound of the clock ticking putting you in an even more anxious state, your heart almost sinking as texts from him and Changbin had come in at the same time.

You looked at Chan’s first.

Chan 11:18pm - oh i didn’t tell you? All script writing is done by Changbin. I’m just in charge of the other elements like props and directing and whatnot -

You shut your eyes, suddenly wishing you could travel back a few seconds back in time and not have checked your phone when Chan had texted you. Bringing your fingers across your screen reluctantly as you typed a reply to him.

11:18pm - ohhh hahaha right i forgot, thanks chan -

Now for the bigger menace at hand. You swiped over to Changbin’s message, your finger lingering on his chat as you decided to stop being petty and just open it.

seo changbin 11:18pm - just so you know, i’m doing this only because Chan asked me to. we can go over the changes at my house. is saturday okay with you? -

You pulled your notifications bar down. Tomorrow was Friday, and from what you knew you were pretty much free on Saturday. Fortunately or unfortunately for you.

You took another deep breath as you typed out your reply to him. For your own sanity, you tried to ignore the way he felt the need to clarify that he wasn’t doing it for your sake.

11:18pm - saturday’s fine. What time?-

Resisting the urge to go offline when you saw him come online, you felt as though you were in some sort of staring contest through your phone as you watched him type, his message coming in quickly.

seo changbin 11:18pm -1? We could order in and discuss -

You sighed, it wasn’t enough that he had to take away one peaceful lunch from you today, but yet another one on Saturday.

11:19pm -okay text me your address-

Another sigh left you when you read that the address he’d sent you was just a few blocks away from your apartment. Maybe he lived alone too; most of the apartments here were occupied by college students looking for affordable rent and shorter travel time.

seo changbin 11:19pm - don't be late -

You scoffed, shoving your phone back onto your bedside table as you slumped back against your pillow, burying your head into your pillow and kicking at your blanket that covered your feet uncomfortably.

Fine, if he wanted to be that way, that was fine by you. You would just do this for the sake of the short film. Yeah. That’s all it would be.

===

“Let’s make this quick and painless for the both of us,” you blurted the moment Changbin had opened his door to let you in, glad to see he was donning an outfit similar to yours (sweatpants and a t-shirt), your previous worries of being underdressed dissipating instantly.

He let out a sigh, his hand coming up to run it through his hair, his hair messy and sticking up at one place awkwardly, looking as though he’d slept on that side for too long.

“Hello to you too,” he grumbled, shutting the door behind you as he gestured to the living room.

You glanced around his rather plain apartment as he led you to the living room, his laptop resting on one of the cushions of the sofa, soft music verberating from the device.

“What food do you want?” he asked, earning a thoughtful frown from you as you set your things down on the floor next to the sofa, taking a seat on the other side of it.

“Fastest delivery would be if we order from that Chinese food place nearby, right?”

Changbin’s eyebrows quirked up in intrigue, “I was thinking of that place too,” he handed you his phone, letting you order what you wanted before handing it back to him.

It was otherwise silent between the both of you as you waited for the food to arrive, neither of you quite knowing how to break the silence. The tension slowly made you grow increasingly fidgety as time passed.

Changbin had sat down on the floor next to the coffee table, resting one hand on his soft rug as he pushed a stack of papers towards you, drawing your attention away from your soft copy of the script on your phone as you realised it was a hard copy of the script.

“Just use this, i’ve got a copy on my laptop,” he mumbled, making you nod, accepting it from him as you flipped to where you left off.

Changbin glanced at the clock, in disbelief that only 10 minutes had passed and yet he found himself feeling jittery at your silence. Turning his gaze towards you, he let out a small sigh.

He had expected you to say something by now, or let out some snarky comment about something he wrote. Your silence was unnerving him, it was almost as if he wanted you to say something, especially with the way you were scribbling notes beside the pages with a mechanical pencil he didn’t even recall seeing you take out.

“Which scene are you at?” he blurted, his anxiousness getting the better of him, making your head shoot up abruptly, surprised at his sudden outburst.

“Uh,” you glanced back down at the page, “I’m at the part where they find out they used to be penpals,” you told him.

“Okay,” Changbin murmured, thinking about where to go from there, momentarily distracted when he’d heard the doorbell ring. Pausing, he’d stepped out momentarily to retrieve your food, the rustling of bags getting louder as he neared the table.

Setting the food down on the table, surprising you when he’d pushed the food towards you, your surprise hadn’t gone unnoticed by Changbin.

“What?” he scoffed.

You shrugged, “nothing, just didn’t know you were capable of doing nice things,” you told him, a sarcastic lilt to your tone.

Changbin inhaled deeply, shooting you a patronizing smile as he broke his chopsticks, “anyway, I think we could start from there, since that’s kind of the turning point of their relationship.”

You nodded, pulling your food towards you as you began to eat.

“I was thinking,” you spoke, pausing to chew on your food, “this part has a lot of unanswered questions, like… I wouldn’t just let it go so easily if I found out someone was my penpal that I grew apart from. I felt like they should’ve had a bit more of a confrontation there.”

Changbin hummed, shocking you when he’d leant closer to you to look at the script, making you push it towards him, a small huff leaving him at your action.

“What questions do you think Penny would ask, then?” he asked you.

“I don’t know, maybe why they stopped talking in the first place?” there was a hint of sarcasm in your tone, making Changbin look at you over his mouthful of noodles.

“I told you already, Soobin grew out of it—”

You grimaced at his answer, your chopsticks halting before your mouth momentarily before you shovelled your noodles in with annoyance, “I don’t believe that.”

“I used to have a penpal, and I can guarantee you, the reason why we stopped talking wasn’t because we ‘grew out of it’,” you told him pointedly, having to stop yourself from growing too riled up about it, Changbin tensing up at your revelation.

Bringing his glass of water to his lips, he let his gaze wander around everything but you as he thought, curious as to what your penpal experience was like. Finally meeting your gaze, he almost sputtered over his water with how much he wasn’t paying attention to his actions, the only thing on his mind being to get his words out.

“You did?” It was pathetic, really, that that was all he’d come up with after such a long pause.

You nodded.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter, the story isn’t based on my penpal, it’s based on yours,” you attempted to draw the attention away from you, unsettling feelings of sourness building within you at the thought of how you left things.

“So, think. What would you be curious about?” you prompted him, seeing him purse his lips, a certain dazed look tinting his gaze.

Swallowing his mouthful of food, he looked at you as he thought. He would want to know if they were still passionate about acting, he would want to know how their family was doing, he would want to know if their personality had changed, if they were still the assertive ‘go after what you want’ character that had encouraged him so much. Or maybe, just how they are.

Changbin’s lips parted, shaking his head slowly, “... so many things,” he murmured.

An unexpected tension fell between the both of you, Changbin’s eyes meeting yours with a sort of unspeakable thoughtfulness, as if he was still thinking about your question.

You broke eye contact first, “write that, then. Who knows? Maybe they’re both as curious as the other.”

“You’re one of those glass half full people, aren’t you?” he huffed, making you click your tongue in annoyance.

“And what? You have no glass at all?” you retorted.

“Would you still be… curious too? Even If it didn’t end well?” he asked suddenly, a stupid question, Changbin thought, but still something he felt compelled to ask in the moment, as if he wanted the confirmation that you, someone with a penpal experience as well had shared the same sentiments as him.

You nodded, “of course I’d be. I could hate you and still be curious about you,” you shrugged.

“Me?” Changbin asked, making your eyes widen, the tension dissipating slightly as you shook your head vigorously, your hands coming up to wave at him dismissively.

“No no, not you. I meant-” you stopped yourself, glaring at him, “I just meant it as an example.”

And for what you were sure was the first time, Changbin had laughed, beginning to feel a bit more comfortable around you, his eyes forming narrow slits and the apples of his cheeks rounding slightly as he grinned, soft breathy giggles leaving him.

“Alright, I get it. It’s not a secret that you don’t like me.”

You huffed, not being able to help but feel the need to reassure him, “you’re not… that bad I guess. Jisung talks you up all the time.” you said, unsure why you felt the need to reassure him that you didn’t have a burning hatred for him, “you’re just stubborn as hell.”

He scoffed, “I could say the same about you.”

You quirked an eyebrow at him, reaching over to flip the page, “glad to know we’re on the same page, then.”

“Now that you said it,” Changbin began, moving on quickly from your bickering as he shoved his empty food packaging aside, “I do think Soobin would be curious about the things they talked about in their letters.”

You perked up at that, eyebrows raising, “That reminded me, I actually still have some of the letters from my penpal when we were younger, if you want I can loan them to you for some inspiration or something.”

Changbin nodded, flipping over to another page before pausing to type something on his computer, “yeah, actually that would be useful.”

You continued to look at the script for what had become hours, the both of you deciding it would be easier if you each assumed one of the character’s voices, speaking on behalf of the characters as you discussed. Coming up with a ‘what would soobin/penny do?’ process.

All the while during this discussion, Changbin had been scribbling down in his beaten up journal, the sides of the spine of the book peeling off when he’d set it down on the table, making you grimace.

“Do you think Pe—”

“Why don’t you just get a new journal? This one’s making such a mess,” you blurted out, frowning at the way the little brittle pieces of God knows what material covered his notebook had fallen onto the coffee table, making him tear his gaze away from what he was writing, looking at the mess on the coffee table you were gesturing at and letting out an amused huff.

“Oh, didn’t notice,” he smiled, “but that won’t be necessary, this journal’s been serving me fine.”

“It’s literally falling apart,” you pointed out.

“And you’re literally exaggerating.”

You scoffed.

“I mean, look at it, it’s such a hassle to use, since you have to keep cleaning up whenever you do so much as touch it,” you reasoned, seeing him shake his head.

“I don’t need a new journal, I’m perfectly fine using this one,” he told you, making you scrunch your nose up in distaste, Changbin looking at you with amusement heavily laden in his smile.

It seemed that there was something about the hours of bouncing off ideas and bickering that warmed the both of you up more, not feeling as wound up or hostile towards each other as you did a few hours ago, bonding over a shared want for the short film to be good.

“What?” he asked, leaning back against the sofa and resting his arm on one of the cushions, his other hand grasping his fingers as he awaited your response.

“You sound exactly like my mom,” you had a sour look on your face, continuing, “I bet you’re one of those needs versus wants people.” You huffed in amusement, shifting in your seat as you flipped through the scene you were about to discuss.

Changbin’s lips parted in shock, a breathy huff leaving him, “and what’s that supposed to mean?”

You shrugged, “You know, those people that decide on buying things through the concept of needing it or not.”

Changbin rolled his eyes, “yeah, like any other normal person.”

“It’s so boring! Ever heard of the concept of treating yourself?” you huffed, gesturing wildly. You were clearly very passionate about this.

Changbin shook his head, the smile lingering on his face, “I’m starting to understand why you’re Jisung’s friend. Sure, a treat once in a while is understandable, but i’d rather not waste my money on things I could do without.”

You huffed, a deep sigh leaving you, recalling a conversation you had with Binnie about his scooter.

“What’s up with boys and this need versus want thing? My penpal said the same thing even though he was only eight,” you mumbled, a small breath of laughter leaving your lips, leaving Changbin frowning at your statement.

Maybe other kids just talked about the same things he did with Y/N? He brushed the thought aside.

“He did?”

Changbin’s voice came out more hoarse than he’d intended, the intent in his stare making you falter momentarily, forgetting what you were doing just for a second.

Thankfully, you’d snapped out of whatever trance you were in, shaking your head dismissively, “nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

Changbin tilted his head at you, narrowing his eyes as he contemplated whether to pursue it or not, watching closely as you busied yourself with flipping pages just to look busy, even though the inside of your mind was spinning with an indescribable feeling that came with convincing yourself that the drift between you and your penpal was merely circumstantial.

You chewed on your lip, hating the way it felt as though your stomach was churning as you remembered the disappointment you felt when your letters had stopped getting sent through.

You were young, surely you shouldn’t blame yourself, you believed that. Your finger fiddled with the corner of the page, staring at Soobin’s dialogue.

‘Did our conversations even mean anything to you?’ the dialogue read, and you inhaled deeply as your head lifted to look at Changbin, your abrupt movement almost making him flinch in surprise.

“Why did you really stop talking to your penpal?” you sighed, curiosity getting the better of you. Though at this point you weren’t sure if it was curiosity or simply reassurance. Maybe even closure. All of which you needed to satisfy.

Changbin knew you weren’t going to accept his ‘grew out of it’ statement for an answer, deciding to be honest with you, you know, for the sake of the short film.

“I just… stopped hearing from them,” he began, heaving a sigh of his own as he shifted in his seat, picking at the imaginary dust on his sweatpants, “guess they had nothing to say.”

You couldn’t lie about it, you felt relieved. A part of you began to understand why he’d painted Penny’s character out to be like that, or furthermore why Soobin had seemed so affected by the revelation.

“Nothing to say…” you echoed, as if trying to wrap your head around his reasoning as well.

A small huff of amusement left him, though there was a hint of bitterness in his smile.

“I wouldn’t have minded, you know.”

He took his lower lip between his teeth, letting it go and you watched as the blood rushed back into his lips, looking redder than before.

Your eyebrows knit into a frown, “Wouldn’t have minded what?”

Changbin met your gaze, giving you a resigned shrug, “hearing it,” he continued, “nothing, everything.”

You could almost feel your heartbeat slowing down, the tense silence returning in the room and making you feel like you couldn’t breathe. Now that was some dialogue.

“Oh,” you broke the silence, your blank expression reading pure shock, your reaction catching Changbin off guard, “write that down, that’s such a Soobin thing to say.”

Changbin couldn’t do anything but laugh, shaking his head at you, “how opportunistic of you,” he teased, though he wrote it down nonetheless.

Maybe you being here was good, Changbin thought, it reminded him not to take himself too seriously sometimes.

===

To: Binnie

How are you?

I hope you are not still sad about your friends. I would tell you not to listen to them but i know that’s difficult sometimes because you can hear everything they say. But they were being very mean so they are not nice people. I don’t agree with what they said, because i think you are very nice and you have a nice smile. I don’t think you are scary. Sometimes my mom tells me i should smile more so people think i’m happy but I think you should just smile if you are happy. If you are sad then you can be sad. It is not a bad thing. I’m your friend because you’re nice to me and I like talking to you. If they’re going to be mean to you then they’re not your friends. If they do that to you again you can tell me their address and I will go and tell them myself!

Till next time, Your penpal Y/N

You’d shown up on the filming set on the first day absolutely buzzing from head to toe and ready to go (though, when you told Jisung about how you felt he’d insisted it was because of the lack of substantial sleep and the cans of energy drink you’d both drank the night before while he was helping you prepare your lines), but it seemed that everyone on the set was more tense than ever.

You found Hyunjin huddled with a few of them next to the sound cart, deciding to approach them to ask where Changbin was, having bought a coffee for him along the way.

“Hey,” you called, Hyunjin jumping in shock as he turned, his hand over his heart as he winced at you.

“Why do you move so quietly!” he groaned, making you dismiss him with a wave. 

“Did something happen? You guys look stressed,” you took a step towards them, possible reasons fluttering around in your mind but none seeming quite appropriate for the context you were in. Maybe the semester’s GPA results were out?

“Whatever, do you guys know where I can find Changbin?” The boy next to Hyunjin, a freshman by the name of Jeongin had sucked in a sharp breath at your question, making you grow even more confused.

“He’s… a little tense these days, so I’d suggest being a more careful around him,” Chan explained, earning nods of agreement from the film club members.

Your eyebrows raised, confusion showing in a slight pout on your lips. You didn’t remember him behaving out of the ordinary when you’d seen him the day before.

“Where’d he go?”

“He’s over there,” Chan pointed towards where the camera was set up and true enough, you saw Changbin seated at a bench there busying himself with his phone.

Nodding, you’d made your way over to Changbin, discomfort growing within you at the stares you were getting from the club members (some of which you didn’t even know the names of) as you made your way towards the blonde haired boy. It was a wonder why they all avoided him like the plague.

Changbin seemed to have sensed your presence, looking up from his phone and giving you a small wave as you reached the bench, sitting down next to him and holding out his cup of coffee.

Accepting it gratefully, he’d given you a nod.

“Thanks,” he glanced at your hands, “you didn’t get one for yourself?”

You let out a small burst of chuckles, “nope, figured it wasn’t the most logical thing to do since i’m already pretty alert from last night’s energy drinks.”

Changbin sucked in a sharp breath, clicking his tongue in teasing disapproval, “I figured as much, Jisung was way too hyper when I met him at the studio.”

Your expression was sheepish, “I’d say I was sorry but it was... important.”

Changbin huffed, “It’s alright, as long as you’re taking care of yourself.”

Before you could react to his statement, Changbin had acted as though he hadn’t said anything, an amused smile playing at his lips as he tore his gaze away from you, looking forward as he took a sip from his cup, “ready to film today?”

You nodded, regaining your bearings, trying not to think too much of his words.

“Pretty much, you?”

Changbin nodded, “yeah, even though we still have a little bit of the script left, I would say i’m pretty confident.”

You glanced behind Changbin, spotting Hyunjin looking at the both of you with sheer disbelief, making you roll your eyes, turning back to Changbin, angling your body on the bench so you could hug your knees to your chest, looking at him curiously.

“Are you feeling okay?”

He nodded, looking at you with confusion written in his features, clasping his hands around his coffee cup as he rested his hands on his lap, “yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”  

Maybe it was just his resting bitch face.

“Smile,” you commanded, nodding your head when he’d looked even more confused.

You watched in amusement as Changbin had laughed, shaking his head before looking at you with an all too sarcastic smile, his hand coming up in a peace sign next to his cheek, a smile unknowingly making its way onto your face at the sight.

“Okay now, don’t smile,” you continued.

Changbin had let his smile fall, looking just the same as he did when you’d shown up, making you press your lips into a firm line, a slight knit in your brows as your eyes narrowed.

Turning his head, he straightened up.

“Cool, Minho’s here,” he said, getting up and holding a hand out to help you up.

“Thanks,” you muttered, not expecting him to turn around and give you a smile.

“Let’s go, Penny.”

It was strange to you that there was something that felt so familiar about his smile, it reminded you of something that made you feel nostalgic. You liked seeing him smile. Changbin had a nice smile.

You brushed the thought away, nodding as you took his hand, letting him help you out.

“What, so you guys don’t hate each other anymore?” Jisung groaned later on that same week when you’d told him about the exchange you had.

He lifted his head from where he lay on your bed, “God, with you guys it’s like everyday’s something different.”

You quirked an eyebrow at him in amusement, “well… that’s because it is, isn’t it?”

You spotted the box of letters from your childhood penpal hidden beneath a stack of novels you had yet to unpack, your eyes glistening with triumph as you reached into your storage closet, fishing it out with a grunt.

“Come to think of it, Changbin hasn’t said anything about you since that day you met him to rewrite the script,” he murmured thoughtfully.

Heaving a sigh as you got up from your squat, you closed your closet, “which day? We met up a few times for the script.”

Jisung perked up at that, sitting up slightly and supporting his weight with his elbows.

“You did? Why am I only finding out about this now?” he scoffed.

You rolled your eyes, walking over to your desk to set the box onto it, “I told you about it, you just forgot.”

Making your way over to the bed, you flopped down onto your belly next to Jisung, looking at him curiously as he frowned at you. His mention of Changbin had made you curious.

“He… really hasn’t said anything about me?” you dared to ask, regretting it almost immediately when Jisung had taken the opportunity to twist your words.

Jisung’s expression had changed to one that you were all too used to, how his eyes would give away that he was thinking of saying something to tease you, his lips curving into a slight smirk.

“Why? Do you want him to be talking about you?”

You wrinkled your nose, a small panicked scoff leaving you, “yeah, right. Don’t get too carried away there.”

Jisung prodded further, leaning closer to you as he drawled, “well, why not? I mean, you said it yourself, you guys are on pretty good terms now, aren’t you?”

You purse your lips. The film club had been nice enough to give you a month longer to work on the script, you and Changbin ending up getting carried away and doing the whole thing over. And of course, within that month, you interacted with Changbin in some way or another almost everyday.

It could be meetings at his or your apartment, or spontaneous phone calls when one of you thought of an idea and you’d felt inspired to discuss it (even if you were on your bed tucked into your sheets when it happened most of the time), sometimes it was even just simple texts checking up on each other and asking what the other thought about the updates.

Nonetheless, you’d grown used to Changbin’s presence, finding that after that meeting at his house, it was like it had softened the both of you up to each other, especially when you realised your perception of Changbin was all wrong and that really, he was as soft as softies go.

You gave Jisung a shrug, tugging the neckline of your shirt down, feeling as though the room had gotten hotter, “I mean, yeah, I guess. He doesn’t annoy me as much as he used to.”

Jisung let out a chuckle, the laugh bubbling out louder as he continued.

“You know if you tell me you like him now,  I won’t make fun of you.”

“You’re lying.”

“So, you do like him?” His grin widened, making you sputter for a better response, figuring you’d dug your own grave with that one.

“Don’t stir shit,” you narrowed your eyes at him.

Your reaction had only tickled him even more, clutching his belly as he sighed, “I knew it. Remember? I told you he was your type!” his tone was triumphant, making you regret fuelling his suspicions.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re very happy about that,” you huffed, turning away from him and burying your face in your soft sheets, your hand coming up next to your head to smooth over the fabric.

You felt Jisung’s hand on your arm, his expression grim.

“Wait, so am I really right? You like him?”

You shrugged his hand away, though he hadn’t budged, giving up soon after.

“I mean,” you enjoyed your last moment of peace before you decided to reply to him, “he’s cute, I won’t deny that. And he’s become a lot nicer to me… he’s fun to talk to? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little attracted to him.”

Jisung snickered, “that’s cute, but gross. I can’t believe you like Changbin.”

Trust him to only get that out of whatever you’d just told him.

You turned to give him a wide-eyed look of disbelief, “oh, please, you were the one that kept fluffing him up to me!”

Jisung had simply shrugged, unfazed by your outburst, a small sound of hesitation leaving him.

“I would say I did a minimal amount of fluffing. I just called it before the both of you realised.”

You grit your teeth, “fine, enjoy your moment. But one word about it to Changbin and you’re dead. Got it?”

Jisung’s eyes widened, his hand coming up to mimic zipping up his lips.

“Got it.”

===

“Cut!”

You turned to cast a desperate look to Chan, the said boy looking apologetic as he called for a stop again. You watched as he leant down for Changbin to murmur something in his ear, Chan nodding before making his way over to you and Minho.

“We’re thinking maybe you could try that scene again but maybe with just a little more… in the moment? Maybe try not to rush through it,” Chan suggested to Minho, making the said boy groan.

“Sorry, it’s my fault. It’s just- we’ve been filming for hours, if I wasn’t so scared of Changbin I would’ve—”

“I know,” Chan reassured Minho, giving the both of you a small smile, “hopefully we can get this scene done quickly and then we’ll all be free to go, hmm?”

You nodded, letting Chan make his way back to where the monitor was as you got back into position with Minho.

Changbin watched intently as you and Minho acted out the scene again, something about the way Minho was delivering his lines seeming so unaligned with the picture Changbin had in his head. Was it the lines that weren't doing it for him? Was it because Changbin couldn’t quite tap into the emotions of the character in this scene?

He wasn’t sure what exactly it would look or sound like to be in love, but whatever ‘Soobin’ was showing, sure wasn’t what Changbin wanted it to be.

After you’d finished the scene, the film club members had waited anxiously for Changbin’s greenlight on whether they were free to go, all of them anxiously looking on as Chan went to talk to a few of them at props.

You taken the liberty of making your way over to where Changbin was, seeing him intently monitoring the scene that you’d just shot, the reason behind why he’d made you and Minho run through the same scene 15 times starting to become clear to you.

“That’s not gonna help you make it better, you know?” you spoke, shoving your hands into your pocket and scrunching your eyes shut as you braced against the cool wind that was blowing your way, the trees rustling loudly as Changbin’s head shot up, the frown remaining on his face.

“What?” Changbin figured he came off as a little too annoyed, but he stayed unwavering nonetheless, wanting to know just what you thought you knew about him.

“You know, I watched an interview once, and this actor said something that was so true,” you began, taking a seat next to him, feeling his gaze on you before you continued, your gaze falling on the image of you and Minho on the monitor, “he said that playback makes scenes seem a lot more dissatisfactory.”

Changbin’s frown deepened, “I don’t get it, just spit it out.”

You rolled your eyes, though you couldn’t help but smile, “I’m trying to give you advice here, okay? As I was saying, be in the moment. Not everything’s gonna turn out like how it is in your head.”

You inhaled deeply, a slight shiver running down your spine at how cold you felt, taking a hand out of your pocket to tap him on the arm.

“Now can you wrap it up and call it a day? The rest of them have been dying to go home but they’re too scared to tell you.”

Changbin hummed, “They are? Why?”

You nodded, seeing Changbin already making to stand up and call for the rest’s attention, with you taking the opportunity to lean over to him and mutter, “Dunno, maybe they just haven’t figured out what a softie you are yet.”

Changbin attempted to press his lips together firmly to contain his smile, though eventually giving up and letting the soft smile be shown on his face as he dismissed the club members, the rest of them already having started shifting their equipment back.

You’d decided to help them shift the equipment while Changbin talked to Chan about something, trying your best to ignore the way the weather seemed to be getting chillier as all the equipment had started feeling cold to the touch. Mental note to start wearing warmer clothes out after today.

“Thanks for convincing Changbin to free us,” Hyunjin sighed when you were coming down the stairs after locking the club room, making you huff.

“He’s not some dictator, you know. You guys could just ask him next time,” you reasoned.

Hyunjin scoffed, “I’d much rather keep my life, thank you very much.”

Rolling your eyes, you pulled out your phone as you thought whether to text Jisung if he’d wanted to meet for dinner.

“You’re so dramatic,” you told Hyunjin, “I told him and I got to keep my life.”

Hyunjin scoffed, “that’s cause he—”

He stopped himself abruptly, eyes widening for a split second before he shrugged, “that’s cause you fight with him all the time, it’s different.”

You saw a text come in.

Changbin 8:14pm - do u wanna go get dinner? I’m done talking to Chan -

“Speak of the devil,” you murmured, erasing your drafted text to Jisung and replying to Changbin to say that you would wait at the quad.

Changbin 8:14pm - i was thinking of eating some cold noodles -

You grimaced at the thought, Hyunjin pulling you out of your thoughts, “are you waiting for Changbin?”

You nodded, sensing his hesitancy to let you wait there alone, “you go ahead, I’ll be fine, he’s already on his way.”

Hyunjin frowned, turning to see Changbin from afar already making his way over, Changbin having spotted the both of you and given Hyunjin a wave.

Waving back, Hyunjin nodded, “alright, I’ll see you.”

Tugging your jacket tighter around yourself, you folded your arms, hoping Changbin would hurry up so you could finally go somewhere with heating.

Though once he’d met up with you, you were a little confused when he’d gone a completely different direction than you’d expected, leading you to a traditional restaurant that served mainly soups and broths instead.

Don’t get me wrong, you were thankful for the warmth of the restaurant, of course, but just a little confused about why he changed his mind.

You let him order for the both of you, looking curiously from where you were seated facing him, leaning back in the wooden chairs as Changbin ordered from the older lady running the shop.

“I thought you wanted to eat cold noodles?” you scanned the menu in search of the item, confusion increasing when you found nothing of the sort.

Changbin shook his head, “figured you might wanna eat something warmer,” he admitted, making your lips part in surprise.

“How’d you know?”

Changbin didn’t know how to explain that it was because he’d kept looking at you during shooting and he didn’t miss the way your hands would clench and unclench the fabric of your clothes, or how you’d fold your arms more and shake them out in between takes when you thought no one was looking.

“…  just a wild guess.”

You brushed his comment aside, the both of you talking about your upcoming classes or complaining about readings that had yet to be read, the sheer boiling temperature of the stone pot making heat rush to your cheeks and spread through your body, thankful for Changbin’s wild guess.

Leaning back in your seat with your hands over your stomach, you sighed at how full you were feeling, already anticipating your food coma as you let yourself zone out staring at the label of Changbin’s bottle of soju.

“Are they really scared of me?”

You’d dragged yourself out of your daze (reluctantly), your lips pursing, “sorry, what did you say?”

Changbin averted his gaze, fiddling with his fingers under the table. Smoothing his thumb over the soft skin at his palm, his tongue poking at his canines before he looked back at you, meeting your gaze with a certain determination.

“The film club people,” he repeated, “are they really scared of me?”

You shrugged, “yeah, I guess. Like, they talked about it before… I guess it’s because you have that serious expression on a lot so they might take it the wrong way.”

Observing his expression, his lips had parted, a blank expression on his face, “I have a serious expression?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, tilting your head at him, “I think It’s just your resting face. They’re kind of wary of how they act around you during meetings, you know, which is why they had that kind of reaction when I first spoke up about the script.”

Changbin let his grip around his spoon relax, whatever rice he’d scooped into it dispersing into the soup.

“Then why aren’t you scared?”  

You almost snorted with how immediate your laughter had bubbled out of you, a bout of chuckles leaving you as your shoulders shook lightly.

“Because,” you waved your spoon slightly, “there’s nothing to be scared of.”

Changbin’s blank expression had prompted you to continue.

“I have no problem with you being assertive about what you want,” you explained, “I mean, if it were my script, i’d probably be equally, if not more, assertive about how I want it. But that’s a good thing about you. You don’t just… shut up if something doesn’t sit right with you. That’s something I’ve always thought was really important.”

Call him crazy, but Changbin couldn’t adequately describe how your words had done more in spreading a giddy warmth in his chest than the food ever could.

He wasn’t always like this. If anything, he’d wanted to say that he’d pushed himself to be more assertive after countless conversations with his penpal about not being afraid to speak up for what you want.

Though he’d always been scared of whether he’d be doing a disservice to the people he worked with if he chose not to speak up, he was glad that you reminded him just why he started doing it in the first place.

Penny’s character in his head had started to look more and more like you. And he was glad.

“You wanna hear something crazy?” You blurted.

You didn’t know where you were going with this. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, really. You just knew that saying what you said to him had triggered a sense of what you could only describe as love within you. If you knew anything about it.

“What?” he asked, the smile on his face making you stop in your tracks. How could he remind you so much of someone, yet seem so much like a mature, upgraded version of them at the same time?

You couldn’t possibly tell him that you were starting to be kind of glad that you didn’t meet Binnie, because you felt like you were looking at him right now. And childhood penpal or not, you were so much more smitten with the one sitting before you.

“Nothing,” you breathed, “nothing, sorry, forget I said anything.”

Your revelation reminded you that you’d brought your old letters from Binnie for Changbin to tap on for inspiration to write the last scene, shutting your mouth and turning to fish the box out of your bag.

“I just remembered, you asked for these right?” you pushed the box towards him, seeing him pick up the box gingerly (as though it were that brittle old notebook he uses), placing it into his bag.

“I’m assuming they’re the letters from your old penpal?”

You nodded, “but don’t laugh when you read them, okay? He was really nice to me.”

Changbin huffed, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips, “yeah, yeah, no promises.”

After you were done with your dinner (Changbin paying for it as a supposed ‘thank you’ for being patient during filming), you’d prepared yourself to fight against the cold night breeze as you stepped out of the restaurant before Changbin, not having expected to feel a warm weight being draped over your shoulders.

“I don’t know why you decided to come out without a coat when you know now’s usually when the weather gets colder,” he tutted his tongue, feigning disapproval, not giving you any time to be shocked at his gesture.

He stood in front of you, tugging the coat tighter around you as he met your gaze, giving you a tired smile.

“I’ll walk you back to your apartment.”

You bit down on your lip, your racing heart and panic making the best reply you could come up with to be a mere, “didn’t peg you to be so gentlemanly.”

To which Changbin shrugged, a small smirk playing at his lips.

“I can be pretty romantic if I want.”

You were gonna get whiplash at this rate.

That same night (or day, 3am was a fine line), you’d received an email from Changbin of the last scene for the film, reading through it and having to stop in between for breaths and water breaks because you had no idea Changbin was capable of encompassing such romantic sentiments in a scene.

Looking at what he wrote, you would never have thought he was the same person that kept arguing with you about happy endings going to shit.

Changbin had written the scene in a burst of inspiration, having felt an almost uncomfortably foreign giddiness within him after returning home from your dinner, feeling even more motivated when he’d watched the film footage they’d shot earlier that day (unconsciously rewinding more than once to watch you act) deciding to just go with whatever he was feeling and write down the scene he had in mind.

And if anyone was asking, no, he totally didn’t picture you as Penny and himself as Soobin the entire time while doing so.

By the time you were done, it was almost an hour later, the aftermath of reading his scene making you pick your phone up and send him a text.

4:02am - did something happen? What’s with the lovey dovey script? Did someone finally change their mind about Penny? -

Not long after, Changbin’s reply came in, feeling thankful that he’d only decided to open your box of letters, or more accurately his letters, after he was done with the scene, something about what he found putting him in an all too thoughtful mood.

Changbin 4:04am -let’s just say... i took your advice-

===

“What do you think, Changbin?” Chan’s voice had snapped Changbin out of his daze, the latter looking at Jisung with a shrug.

“I would say you’re just short changing yourself if you didn’t talk to her. I mean, you said you liked her, right? So what are you waiting for?” Changbin sounded almost impatient, his tone eliciting a grunt from Jisung.

“Yeah, you say it like you’re not the one hiding your hopeless crush on Y/N.”

Chan’s eyes widened, not having expected Jisung to say it so blatantly.

Changbin sputtered, looking at Chan for help only to be met with giggles.

“I’m sorry, dude, it was really quite easy to tell.”

Changbin wanted the cushioned booth to swallow him whole, scrunching his eyes tightly shut in a wince.

“Whatever, that’s not the point,” he waved Jisung off dismissively, “we’re talking about your love life here.”

Jisung pursed his lips, shaking his head, “it’s not fun anymore, I wanna talk about yours.”

Changbin glared at Jisung, “i’m not having this conversation with you.”

“Good, ‘cause you should be having it with Y/N.”

Chan raised an eyebrow at the younger boy, humming in suspicion.

“Why do you sound like you know things...”

Jisung shrugged, raising his hands to give a dramatic shrug, “Do I? I guess we’ll never find out since Changbin ‘isn’t gonna have this conversation with me’.”

Chan turned to Changbin, who currently looked as though he would rather die than be here right now, “actually, what are you waiting for?”

Changbin brought a hand up to massage his fingers on his temples, a resigned sigh leaving him.

“I don’t know, I’ll probably not do anything until the showcase. I still don’t know how exactly I wanna go about it.”

Jisung snickered, “you’ll be fine, seriously.”

“Yeah, whatever, I’ll just enjoy whatever time I have left to think about it till the showcase. Now back to your issue… ”

But obviously, Changbin didn’t use his 3 days of buffer time very well.

He was lucky the atmosphere of the showcase and the unexpected crowd of people had prolonged the time until he’d be in a situation where he’d feel compelled to talk to you about it. Whatever it was.

You hadn’t noticed, obviously, the way Changbin had been keeping himself busy talking to guests and teachers that had shown up, people from the media and publications club. You were too busy being whisked away by your own friends and a already slightly tipsy Minho who thought it was a good idea to pregame drinks before the afterparty later on.

It’d only been when things started calming down and people were actually watching the film that you’d been put in a position where you had no choice other than to think about the boy seated in front of you tapping his foot incessantly on the carpeted floor of the auditorium.

Once the show was over, you’d leant forward, about to congratulate him when you’d both been whisked up by one of the teachers-in-charge, pulling you together with Minho onto the stage to answer questions from the audience.

The questions were fairly simple, most of them from the media and publications club trying to get technical details for their article, allowing you to zone out from where you stood on the stage, letting Changbin smoothly answer all the questions they could possibly throw at him. It wasn’t like Minho was in any position to answer them, tipsy and zoned out of his mind.

It was only when you’d heard him fumbling around with his words that you looked up from the spot on the wall you were staring at, turning to look at Changbin with an embarrassing amount of concern on your features.

“I’m sorry can you repeat the question?” you’d spoken into the microphone, hearing someone that sounded almost identical to Jisung asking how he got inspiration from the story.

You looked at Changbin curiously, as if silently asking if he needed you to step in, only to have him look at you with a blank expression, his mouth opening and closing as he fumbled for an answer.

“Oh, well, I’m sure I can answer this on behalf of Changbin,” you began, “we’d worked on the script together, and it was inspired by a lot of things, like our experiences with pen pals as well as movies like ‘you’ve got mail’.”

Changbin’s shoulders slumped with relief, nodding towards you as a silent thanks, the moment cut short when you were once again whisked away into different crowds to take pictures or to carpool to the afterparty.

Though you were bored 10 minutes into the party, Minho having gotten drunk before you could even get past your second drink, you’d let Changbin have his fun. You figured it was a good thing that he was being recognized for his efforts, even if he didn’t look like he was enjoying the attention very much. He needed it, you supposed, to be forced to see how much people enjoyed the work he made.

But you didn’t stay to see it too long, adjourning to the porch of whoever’s house you were in to enjoy an environment away from the loud music and too many people you didn’t know.

“Already bored?”

You’d jumped at the sound of Changbin’s voice, his footsteps loud against the wooden porch as he took a seat next to you on the swing, holding out his bottle of soda to you, “do you want some?”

You shook your head, seeing him shrug, “suit yourself, then.” He took a long sip of his soda, sighing afterwards.  

A tired smile on your face, you let out a deep sigh, “didn’t expect you to find me here so quickly.”

“How could I not?” he laughed, shaking his head, “In case you didn’t notice, I was suffocating in there, figured I deserve a break.”

“Good job, though, I’d say you handled everything well…” you started, your smile growing, “... though there is one thing…  I didn’t think you were the type to struggle with public speaking.”

Changbin’s lips parted in shock, scoffing, “shut up, I don’t usually.”

“Sure, you don’t,” you teased, bringing your hands to your sides to support your weight, letting your legs lift off the ground as Changbin used his feet to move the swing gently.

You leant back in your seat, enjoying the silence you were able to get out here as compared to the chaos going on within the house, noticing how tense Changbin seemed, his posture anything but relaxed as he’d let out sigh after sigh, tapping his rings against the seat of the bench absently.

“Relax,” you chuckled, “it’s already over.”

Doing the opposite of relaxing, Changbin simply stopped moving the swing, angling his body to face you more as he fished in his blazer pocket for something, pulling out an envelope from his jacket, “I have uh… something for you.”

Holding it out for you to take, your gaze fell on the colourful envelope, the little strawberry stickers you remembered using your savings to buy as you frowned at the address written on the envelope in your old messy ‘princess handwriting’.

Your gaze darted from the envelope back to him, “how did you… how do you have this?”

“I have it,” he began, letting out yet another sigh, “because you sent it to me.”

If it could, your heart would’ve stopped in that exact moment.

“Read it,” he prompted when you’d stayed silent, your hands moving urgently to open the envelope, your heart feeling warm when you pulled the paper out, already being able to see the ‘To: Binnie’ written with your favourite scented marker.

To: Binnie

How are you? I’m fine. I am writing this very late in the night because I finished my rehearsal for my school play in the evening and I just finished taking a bath. I have to be quick or my mom is gonna scold me for not sleeping yet. I wanted to tell you that you should sign up for the competition. Which is why I have to mail this to you A.S.A.P as possible because you said the sign up closes in a few days. I think that you should just try it out, even if you don’t do well. Because then at least you can say that you gave it a try and you had fun. I saw this on a tv show, and they said if you don’t try, you will never know if it will turn out well, because you didn’t try.

So I’m telling you to try!!!!! Just try your best and have fun. I think you will do well.

Till next time, Your penpal Y/N.

“So this is me… trying… it. Whatever it is,” he sounded out of breath, almost, and your heart had begun to pick up speed at how it seemed as though this would be the time where he would confess his feelings to you (if Soobin and Penny were any guide to go by).

You should’ve known Changbin better by now, though.

“Thank you… for helping me with the film. You know, for giving me crap about it because I know that that wasn’t really what I felt. I was just… bitter, but for some reason, you giving me shit about it kind of reminded me why I liked being friends with my penpal- or, I guess, liked being friends with you, so much in the first place.” he was looking at you more confidently now, straightening up as he continued.

“It wasn’t because you gave me fake money to buy a scooter, or anything,” he laughed, “it was more because you were someone that was friends with me for who I was? You were kind, and you were honest.”

Changbin fiddled with the envelope in his hands as you tried your best to contain your smile.

“And you were especially supportive, you know, in your own argumentative way.”

You let out a huff of breathy laughter at that, your hand coming up to touch your necklace, finding something else to fiddle with to contain your anxiousness.

“I’m glad, though, that I didn’t know you were that Y/N,” he told you, “because I already grew to like this Y/N so much, that… finding out was just… a pleasant surprise.”

For the first time since you saw the letter, you’d spoken, a breathy, “me too,” leaving you, embarrassing you to no end.

“I’m glad it was you,” you murmured, averting your gaze, not having expected Changbin to have reached out a hand towards yours, hovering just momentarily before making the decisive action of grasping it gently.

“Me too.”

“So are you gonna explain why my letters—”

“Shh,” he shut his eyes, the smile on his face making you give in almost instantly, “don’t ruin it.”

===

“I didn’t know people even still sent letters these days,” Jisung snorted, sipping on his coffee that he’d just gone downstairs to buy, “here, you have one, but there's no name.”

You frowned, picking it up and finding the handwriting of your address awfully familiar, feeling as though you’d definitely seen it scribbled on a specific brittle old notebook before.

You flopped onto your bed, opening the letter as Jisung resumed playing whatever game he was busy with on your desktop computer.

Thankful for the distraction, you’d quickly unfolded it, scrunching your nose at his choice of pen name.

To: my penpal Y/N

This letter may just be over a decade overdue, but I wanted to firstly say I’m sorry for making you wait so long. That letter about my film competition, that was the last one I received from you, and one of my favourites. I figured it out, by the way, I gave you the wrong address. Phonics was a very tricky thing for my eight year old stubborn self that refused to cross check with my mom.

I figured sending you a letter was best, you know, since you know I'm not the very best at public speaking, or just speaking in general sometimes, I doubt I'd be able to say as eloquently what I wanted to say to you in this letter.

I wanted to give you a few updates. Firstly, I met someone in my film club. Well, technically I auditioned them for my short film so there’s no one to blame for the trouble they caused other than me. I didn’t like them that much at the beginning. I thought they were just trying to impose their stupid happily ever after beliefs on me, someone who thought I was a big bad cynical bitter man that didn’t believe in love stories.

As you probably guessed, they challenged me (a lot), and waiting to see them started to feel like the days where I would wait to hear my mom tell me that a letter came in for me, even better actually. They reminded me of the qualities in myself that I was always afraid of showing, and they reminded me what was so good about being unapologetic for who I was sometimes, because they accepted all of that, (but not without giving me an shit about it first, of course).

But i’m thankful, I’m thankful because I really grew to like them a lot. I liked how I could be comfortable being myself around her, and I liked how they would support me when I needed it, but also to correct me when I need to be corrected.

They were real, and I liked that, a lot.

So, the point of this was that if they ever happen to receive this, you know, (because I totally didn’t know your current address, obviously), I hope they know that I’ve grown to like them very much, to like the personality that i’ve come to know, and that i’m very excited to grow to know (and like) even more.

I’ll be seeing you, Binnie.

#changbin #seo changbin #seo changbin au #changbin au #changbin fluff #skz changbin #skz au #skz #stray kids scenarios #stray kids #stray kids au #stray kids fluff #enemies-to-lovers!changbin #on track #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #I love changbin

[rolandtowen]

three times Zuko comes into the Jasmine Dragon coffee shop, and one time Sokka leaves with him. Set in the Neurodiverse Zukka AU, but can read as a standalone.

*banging pots and pans together* "Come over here and get yall Neurodiverse Zukka!"

Read it on Ao3 or under the cut!

TW: discussions of skin picking and implied child abuse

i.

When Sokka pulls into the parking lot of the Jasmine Dragon, he is unsurprisingly the first car there. Being a freshman in town means getting the worst pick of shifts at local businesses. Sokka was hired on to work the opening shift, which means he wakes up at the ungodly hour of 5am to open the shop before the first round of sleep-deprived college students comes in. The pay isn't bad, Mr. Iroh is an incredibly fair man,

The bell on the door jingles on his way in, and he flips several light switches on, watching as the coffee shop slowly comes to life. He busies himself with getting the beans for the day grinding, pulling his first shot and dialing in the expresso. When he takes a sip, the espresso is spot on for the day, which is a relief. Having to make adjustments as customers start filing in is a nightmare.

Today's brew is floral and citrusy, so he decides to make himself and iced lavender latte - with oat milk, of course, because he's gotta do it for the gays - and he spends the next 20 minutes setting out pastries and fiddling with the display cases, making everything look perfect.

At 6am sharp, Sokka unlocks the front door and flips their sign to open, before retreating behind the bar to nurse his latte. Not even five minutes later, the door bell jingles, and Sokka sees a flash of dark hair, face obscured by a pile of textbooks and binders. The figure runs into one table, and then another, and Sokka is rushing out from behind the counter. He gets there just before textbooks go toppling everywhere, his hands taking a firm hold of the top bundle. As he pulls the books into his arms, he sees the face behind them.

Breathtaking golden eyes.

And.. a massive burn scar.

"Hi!" Sokka says, "I'm the barista on shift today - my name's Sokka." He would reach his hand for the other man to shake, but for the stack of textbooks in them.

Golden Eyes smiles.

"I'm Zuko, Zuko Sozin," he says, setting his remaining textbooks on the table by his side. Sokka follows suit.

"Hey, I think I've seen you before - are you taking Piandao's Intro to Biology class?"

"Uh, yeah - yeah! You sit a few rows in front of me." Zuko laughs. "Your doodles are uh, something alright."

Sokka knocks him good-naturedly on the shoulder. "I gotta keep my hands busy for my brain to focus." He looks down at the stack of books on the table. "What on earth are you studying, to have that many books?"

"Uh, Biology and Chemistry double-major, Pre-Med track." Sokka's eyes widen. "It's really not that much! I got a bunch of stuff out of the way with AP credits."

Sokka raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, it is a lot - but I'm really passionate about it. I want to be a doctor."

"Well, Dr. Sozin, what can I get started for you today?"

"Can I get a iced matcha, with a lot of honey?"

Sokka raises his other eyebrow. "A doctor with a sweet tooth?"

"Kind of?"

"Don't worry, I won't rat you out to your dentist. An iced matcha with extra honey?" Zuko nods and Sokka smiles. "You got it, doc."

ii.

Sokka falls into a routine at the Jasmine Dragon. He opens the shop every morning, and every morning of the fall semester so far, Zuko Sozin comes in at precisely 6:05am. Zuko will order an iced matcha with honey, and sits at a table by the window with his laptop and at least two textbooks open at all times. Then, at 11:50am - Sokka guess he has a class that starts at noon - Zuko leaves the shop, always making sure to throw his spare change into Sokka's tip jar.

He's so beautiful.

On a slow day, Sokka comes out from behind the safety of the counter and works up the courage to ask Zuko if he can study with him. Zuko looks shocked at first, but his lips quirk up in a smile as he gestures for Sokka to sit in the chair across from him, moving his textbooks to make room for Sokka's one book and laptop.

"What are you studying, Sokka?" Zuko appears to be genuinely interested.

"Oh, uh, social work, with a concentration in mental health." Sokka waits for Zuko to laugh at him. It never comes. He looks up at him over their laptops.

"That's really cool."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! I mean, some pre-med majors can be really pretentious, really dismissive of mental illness, but um - not me. I don't really have that luxury." Zuko laughs, as though at a joke with himself. "What's the Intro to Biology for, then?"

"Not all of us got our common core out of the way with AP credits, like some nerd I know." Zuko smiles at that, and looks back down at his laptop screen.

Sokka pulls his keys from his pocket and starts fidgeting with the stim toy he keeps on his keychain as he reads through his latest assignment for his Mental Illness and Society class. He bought it on Etsy, relieved to find a neurodivergent-owned shop after scrolling through a lot of stores that just seemed to be hopping on the 'trend' of selling fidget toys. He flips to the next page in his textbook, popping the buttons back and forth in a steady rhythm. He remembers Zuko's sitting across from him and stops abruptly.

"Is this annoying? Do you want me to stop?"

Zuko just cocks his head. "Why would I get a say in what you do? It's kind of your shop, right?"

"Um, to be polite?" Sokka laughs. "And you would be surprised how many customers I get who think they get to tell me what to do." His eyes settle on the half drunk latte in front of him. "It's not really my shop either, I just work the early morning shifts so Mr. Iroh can sleep in. If you ever get to stay past noon sometime, you'll see him come in. You can't miss him, short guy, talks in riddles. He's older, a war vet I think - I just get that impression from some of the stories he tells me. But anyway, did you want me to stop fidgeting?" Sokka looks back up to meet those golden eyes.

Zuko glitches for a second. "Oh! No, no, go for it - if it helps you to study, I'm all for it."

Sokka smiles, and looking at the way Zuko keeps picking at his cuticles gives him an idea. He digs into his backpack and pulls out another stim toy, an acupressure ring. ""Do you want to try this instead of maiming your hands?"

Zuko hesitantly holds out a hand and Sokka drops it into his palm. "You don't have to."

Sokka scoffs. "I know I don't have to - I want to. Come on, I wear it on my thumb sometimes -" and suddenly he's taking Zuko's hands into his and getting very close to Zuko's face. Zuko can smell espresso on his clothes and Sokka's hands are so warm against his. Calloused, sure, but warm. He holds Zuko's right hand gently, pressing the spiky ring onto his thumb. "And you can rub it back and forth with your pointer finger and it gives you that kind of prickly sensation that you get from skin picking, just without the skin picking." Sokka pulls his hands away and Zuko immediately misses them. "Give it a shot, tell me what you think."

Zuko tentatively rolls the ring over his thumb. Huh. The cute barista's right, the acupressure gives him that same prickly, scratchy feeling that picking at his nails and cuticles does. "Wow," he says, "I think you've converted me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then keep it, I've got a thousand more where that came from, ADHD perks."

Zuko instinctively opens his mouth to protest but the words die in his throat.

"You, you have ADHD?" He stops rolling the ring across his thumb.

"Yup." Sokka's lips popped on the 'p', and he turned to the next page in his textbook. "And I'm pretty sure you've got some spicy stuff happening your brain, too. But you don't have to tell me."

"How are you so open about it?"

Sokka's hand stills around the fidget. "My parents never treated me like I was deficient in any way - my brain just works differently, which means I have trouble with some 'normal' stuff. But I also strengths in areas that others don't have naturally. Accommodations aren't anything to be ashamed of."

"Sounds nice." All of the levity drops out of Zuko's voice.

Sokka levels a look at Zuko. He lets his eyes flit to the right side of Zuko's face and the scar there. He's seen it so many times, and the burns look so concentrated, almost... intentional. His stomach churns at the thought. The scar's old... and Zuko's at college now, he has to be safe - he has to be.

"Like I said, you don't have to tell me." Sokka's hand starts to fidget with the buttons again. "But I have it on good authority that I am a good listener."

"I'll... I'll keep that in mind." Zuko looks down at his hands, fingers rolling the ring back and forth against his thumb. "Thank you."

"Anytime, doc."

iii.

Somehow, fumbling through their collective social awkwardness, they manage to swap numbers.

At the end of the fall semester, Sokka texts Zuko for the first time.

S: hey, im gonna be a few minutes later. don't worry, im still coming.

Z: okay. thank you.

When Sokka finally pulls into the parking lot fifteen minutes late, he sees Zuko waiting outside the door, sitting on a bench, head buried in one of his chemistry textbooks.

"Hey," he puts his keys in the door. "You can just come in while I open, it won't take too long."

Zuko follows him inside, and he closes the door against the chill.

"You didn't have to text me," Zuko says, like it's a question.

"I wanted to," Sokka starts flipping on light switches. "I know you've got your routine, and I didn't want to stress you out when it got messed up."

"Why would that matter to you?"

"Um, I don't want you to be stressed? I kind of care about you."

"You... you care about me?" Zuko stands in the middle of the coffee shop, unmoving.

Sokka smiles. "Yeah, I think I do."

"Why?"

"I think we could be friends?"

"Oh." Zuko's face falls for a second - what Sokka has come to understand is his 'processing' face - and he looks back up a second later. "I think we could be friends too."

"Friendship with a barista has great perks, you know." Sokka laughs as he starts up the grinder. "Although the perks of a social worker friend aren't too bad either."

"How's that going? With your first semester ending?" Zuko sits on a stool at the bar and watches Sokka putter around behind it.

"Well, I'm going to pass Intro to Biology, not for lack of trying on Piandao's part - I swear he's trying to weed out all the humanities kids. It isn't even a weed out course!" He polishes an espresso glass furiously. "How are you doing?"

Zuko chokes. "Oh, I'm - I'm fine, you know it's a hard class and all -"

"You're getting an A, aren't you?" Sokka squints at him from behind a bag of coffee beans. "Curve breaker," he scoffs.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm, what did you call it? A 'burnt-out gifted kid with people pleasing tendencies'." Zuko crosses his arms and huffs at the memory of that conversation. Sokka had read him like a picture book. And it was not fair for one person to be that good at emotions.

"You are correct, I did indeed call you that." Sokka pulls the first shot of the morning. "And it looks like I was right."

"You know what you said the other week, about being a good listener?"

"Sure do," Sokka takes a sip of the espresso, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, if we're going to be... friends, I just think you'd want to know that - I'm autistic." Zuko stares at Sokka searching his face for any cues about what the next words out of his mouth will be, waiting for the facade of friendship to drop. He furiously rolls the acupressure ring up and down his thumb.

"Okay, that's great!"

"...what."

Zuko's hands freeze and he squeezes the ring against his skin, feeling the pressure increase.

"That's great, I'm glad you felt safe enough to tell me that. I kind of guessed your parents weren't as accommodating as mine?"

Zuko laughs something sour. "No, no they were not." He looks up in surprise as Sokka puts an iced matcha, extra honey, in front of him. "You're right though, I do feel safe here. I feel safe with you." Zuko looks down at the acupressure ring on his thumb, softening his grip. "You could have totally ignored me, but you didn't. Or you could've been mean about my quirks - but you weren't. Why?"

"Well, for starters, you tip well." Sokka smiles and leans across the counter, bracketing Zuko's elbows in with his own. "But you're also a really great guy - you're passionate, you want to make people's lives better, and you're also like, really beautiful."

Zuko feels his cheeks flush. "You really think that?" His fingers still against the fidget again, but he doesn't feel the need to press it into his skin. He's captivated by Sokka's words. Surely, Sokka couldn't actually mean -

"Oh, yeah. Every bit." Sokka brushes his hand against one of Zuko's, the one with the fidget ring. "Can I hold your hand?"

"Yes, please, yes." After weeks, Sokka's hand is back in his, and Zuko thinks he's going to implode. "Can, can you hold both of my hands? With both of your hands?"

"Of course," Sokka's positively beaming, grabbing Zuko's hands and running his thumbs across his knuckles. "Now you're absolutely allowed to say no to my next question, and there are no hard feelings."

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Fuck yes."

The iced matcha is forgotten.

+ i

Sokka's feet hurt like hell. Mr. Iroh had called in him to work a double on Friday, and since he doesn't have any classes on Fridays, he foolishly agreed.

It won't seem so foolish once you see the paycheck, he reminds himself. He and Zuko have a deal. Zuko pays for his medical school with his job shelving books at the University library, and Sokka pays for their tiny apartment by caffeinating all of the other broke college kids in town. By some miracle, they seem to be able to make it work. Zuko graduated into the medical college a year early, which helps with tuition costs, and of course his brilliant boyfriend got all kinds of scholarships.

Sokka is indescribably proud of him.

The door bell jangles just as Sokka is wiping the crumbs off the last cafe table. "Hey, we're starting to close up for the night, so it'd better be a to-go order," he calls over his shoulder.

"Even for me?"

"Zuko!" Sokka drops his cloth immediately and spins around, pulling Zuko into a hug. Zuko taps the small of his back when he's ready to let go, and Sokka lets him go, beaming. "You came to visit me at work?"

"More like I picked up your favorite soup dumplings from Haru's across the street and thought we could walk home together?" Zuko shrugs, gesturing to the brown paper bag in his arms. "How's that sound to you?"

"Baby, that's just what I needed today." Sokka picks up his cleaning supplies. "Okay, I just need to put all of this away and then we can lock up and go home, how's that?"

"Great," Zuko smiles at him. "I may have also picked up some more Doctor Who DVDs from the library," he smirks.

"Oh, you trickster!" Sokka yells from the kitchen, before appearing again. "You used my one weakness, pork soup dumplings, against me in order to get your nerdy way."

"Oh, big talk coming from the guy who watches astronomy documentaries for fun," Zuko laughs as Sokka leads him out of the shop, switching off the lights and locking the door behind him. "If it were up to you, we'd be watching Cosmos all weekend, and I can only take so much of Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining the peculiarities of the moon."

"Hey, the moon is cool!"

"You are correct, the moon is very cool. It's freezing, because it's a rock. In space. With no atmosphere. Or life." Zuko deadpans, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Sokka.

"Fine, you get Doctor Who tonight, but Saturday is going to be all PBS Nova, baby. Brace yourself." Sokka takes Zuko's free hand into his as they start the walk home.

"Well, as long as you're there, I'm happy."

Notes:

fidgets in this work were inspired by those from shop StimBox

#neurodiverse au #neurodiverse zukka #neurodivergent zukka #autistic zuko #adhd sokka #coffee shop #modern au #college au #med school au #bisexual sokka #asexual zuko #gay zuko #zukka #first kiss #zuko is an awkward turtleduck #pre relationship #developing relationship #sokka is a nerd #zuko is also a nerd #touch starved zuko #stim toys #fidget toys #fluff #romantic fluff #how many tags can char fit on a post #rolandtowen #my fic #atla #avatar #the last airbender

[2-cute-4-school]

NCT Dream reaction : you give them a handmade gift

M.list

Genre : fluff fluff fluff

Word count : 2.5K words

Mark Lee

*sigh* my overworked baby, SM pls let him rest

he probably forgets to eat from time to time or just doesn’t time to

which breaks your poor little heart :<

so when Mark stays in the recording room until late in the night once again, you don’t go to him empty handed

you go to him with a handful of homemade cookies!!! ヽ(^◇^*)/

when you enter the studio, Mark’s slumped figure immediately straightens up, tired eyes lighting up at the sight of you

he turns in his chair and stretched out his arms to you with a puppy face and your heart :((( just :((((( melts :(((((((((( wow mark no need to kill us all with your babie culture

but who are you to say no to this angel with somewhat less appropriate thoughts but you didn’t hear this from me so you don’t hesitate to walk into his open arms

he lays his head on your stomach, nuzzling into you and cuddling up to you like a clingy koala bear as you run your fingers comfortingly through his hair, lightly massaging his head 

with the serene atmosphere you almost forgot why you came so you pulled away from Mark, your heart clenching at his whine and bring the bag with the cookies out of your backpack and thrust it in his hands

he looks from you to the bag and back with eyes so wide and innocent your brain almost short circuited at the utter cuteness

he digs into it once you prompt him to, a soft ‘woah’ coming out from him once he was hit with the sight of freshly baked cookies

“daaamn these are so good, babe” your eyes shine with pride

as he sticks one in his mouth, munching delighted at it (◠‿◠✿) , he grabs you with an arm, sitting you on his lap like a baby that you are and prodding your lips with another cookie he grabbed out of the bag

“oh no, I made these for you, I don’t-”

he doesn’t let you finish your sentence as he pushes the cookie in your mouth, watching you fondly as you start munching on it and patting your head with a gentle hand

“you’re so much cuter when you’re not nagging”

*GASP*

the Disrespect

Huang Renjun

this baby probably also showers you in his own gifts such as paintings or drawing of you sooo

it’s only proper that you also gist him something made by you (°∀°)

you work your cute ass off to perfect the most adorable Moomin key-chain you can come up with *huff* 

the day you finally deem it good enough to be shown to the top artist Huang Renjun you sweat buckets as you approach him

Renjun is busy on his iPad as you paddle over to him and stick the key-chain in his face with a dumb but proud smile “here”

Renjun turns to you with a blank face “what is this?”

●‿●

when I tell you the blood drained from your face and you died 50 times internally, your soul just left your body and you saw your life flash before your eyes ‘well life was good, time to say goodbye eyy’

you manage a loud and definitely not artificial laugh

“HAHAHA JUST AN UGLY THING I made I MEAN FOUND HAha ʰᵃ!!! Hey doesn’t it look like you in the morning?!” 

that’s when you knew you gotta bolt the scene

but Renjun of course couldn’t let your embarrassment end there the grumpy little gremlin

he snatched the keychain from you and curled his other hand around you, gluing you to his side and you froze as you looked into his sparkly wide eyes ( Renjun’s eyes are galaxies fite me )

“you made this for me?”

“uh yeah” 

warning : you were strangled to death by Renjun who deemed that a simple ‘thank you’ just couldn’t suffice, you had to die asphyxiated by his bear hug

“thank u thank u thank it’s so cute, I love it so much! I love you so much!!!”

“do you love me more than Moomin?”

warning 2 : he threw you away faster than he captured you in his deathly cute hug

“know your place, no. 2″

(¤﹏¤)

Lee Jeno

so Jeno is just a biiiiit upset at you maybe

okay maybe a bit more than just a bit

because you might or might have not broken his favorite cup which, mind you, was also a gift from you, when you were at the dorms

so now this overgrown baby gives you THE stinky eye and makes sarcastic and grumpy remarks with any chance he gets

and honesty as much as you love him, you’re ABSOLUTELY DONE with his pettiness :’)

that’s how you find yourself seated at your desk with a blank cup, acrylic watercolors and brushes spread everywhere as you squeeze every ounce of willpower to finish what you started

so after 2 mental breakdown, painted fingers and a veryyy dirty desk, you finished painting a cute design on Jeno’s new cup

you let it dry and didn’t waste another second to bring it to Jeno who still sulked at the dorms

once you were let inside, you trudged over to Jeno who was sat at the couch, refusing to get up and greet you with kisses as he usually did and slammed the cup on the coffee table in front of him

his frown turned into a confused puppy face so fast his duality amazed you once again, he lifted the cup gently, running the tips of his fingers gently over the paintings you worked so hard to complete for him

“are you still mad, nono?”

his silence was quite unnerving as you started to tire yourself out, your voice weakened by worry, but he lifted his head, looking at you with eyes so soft your heart fluttered wildly in your chest

“mad? you-you did this for me and you think I’m mad?”

he put the cup down much gentler than you and stood up from his seat, engulfing you in his arms, one of his hands squeezing you impossibly close to him and the other one cradling your head to his chest

“I think I just fell in love with you once again”

“if you fall in love just from a painted cup I should be more careful when I leave you alone”

he chuckled at your witty remark, kissing the side of his neck

once you broke apart, he placed his new favorite cup on the highest shelf and turned to you with a shit-eating grin

“i’ll put this here so maybe you won’t break this one too”

“sleep with an eye open tonight, lee” (☉‿☉✿)

Lee Donghyuck

so another overworked baby of mine bless his soul

his schedule is so packed so even though he’d cuddle with you until the end of times you actually didn’t get to do that as often as you’d like

and we all know how whiny lil cutie baby Haechanie can get when he doesn’t get what he wants :’))))

and since unfortunately you can’t be beside him all of the time like he wants you to, you decide the next best thing : you knit him a scarf !! you even stuck a tag made out of a soft material with a drawing of a smiley sun to one end of the scarf

he looks so shocked when you skip into his room and lovingly strangle him with the scarf

and you swear you could see his eyes glisten when you tell him you made it yourself and he remembers the bandaids that seemed to grow in number every day which you always shrugged of when he asked

although the tears may be from the lack of air  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

n e way, he looks so thankful as he wordlessly cradles your hands in his, bringing them up to his lips and taking the time to litter kisses over every single one of your small injuries, whispering a soft ‘i love you’ at the end

you swear your heart runs leaps through your rib cage

he just loves you so so much and would appreciate anything you give him 

you bring his face back up and press a huge *smooch* on his lips and you both giggle in between your kisses

why so cute you lovebirds?!?

he brings the scarf everywhere he goes, to the dorms, to every show, concert, whenever he travels somewhere, no matter the season

it becomes his lucky charm

once, Renjun sends you a picture of your Hyuckie sleeping cuddled up to the scarf, his nose nuzzled into it

“you know I won’t let him forget about this. EVER” you smirk at Renjun’s text, typing back a reply

“pls do” ( ಠ◡ಠ )

Na Jaemin

this sweet boi hold close to his heart anything you give him

so there’s literally no reason to stress over the bracelet you decided to craft for him

but you being you of course you want to rip your hair out every time something doesn’t go your way ah the levels of patience are definitely soaring through the roof

you even swallowed your pride and asked Jeno for help (read as used him as a puppet) so you were sure you’d get the right size

so after doubting the colors, patterns, material, your entire life choices, you asked Jaemin to close his eyes the next time you met up

with extra shaky fingers, you wrapped the bracelet around his wrist and fumbled to tie it properly

“I’m not getting any younger over here, y/n”

“shut up, mommy jaemie”

he managed to slap the back of your head even with his eyes closed (>‘o’)>

so when you finally tied a sturdy knot with your chicken fingers, you let him open his eyes and beach let me tell you the way his entire face broke into a smile at the sight of the pretty bracelet around your wrist

the sun seemed to pale in comparison with his precious smile, jaemin lights up the world no question, there’s no way you can convince me otherwise

“oh my God, my baby spent time making me such a pretty gift, I must have saved a country in my previous life, come here, let me smooch you into next week (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ “

so that’s how you ended up trapped in Jaemin’s embrace FOREVER

he kept on complimenting you the entire day and made it his mission to boast to every member he could get is hands on about his pretty gift made by his even prettier baby, he’s such a sucker for you no joke whipped culture right here m’am

“Jaemin, the the threads are getting dirty, don’t you think it’s time to take it off-?”

“I’ll die wearing this ʘ‿ʘ“

Zhong Chenle

among all of his ultra expensive things he has, he is dead sure that you’re the most precious in his life

he often told you he’d give up every penny in his bank and all his fame as long as he got to keep you by his side

he regarded you as a ray of warm light when the world left him cold and he swore he’d fight off anything and anyone who dared to hurt you

so this is how he found himself a bit confused and extremely guilty over how he is supposed to fight himself, watch and learn baby

he never meant to upset you, especially over something you poured your blood, sweat and tears into perfecting it just for him

sure, you were aware the Chinese patters you sewed carefully into a pristine white material weren’t perfect, but the way he laughed in you face once you offered it to him toppled your negative emotions over

he wasn’t aware that you sewed it yourself when he made fun of it

“jeez, where did you get this from, Y/N, the clownery fair? even though you should report them for to costumer protection for its ugliness”

“maybe I should report you for being a bitchy prick” ʕ ಡ ﹏ ಡ ʔ

you glare at him and storm away, slamming the door

chenle, the most oblivious and babiest boyfriend : (Θ︹Θ)ს well shit

but of course you couldn’t stay mad at him for long when he sweet talked his way back into your good side basically every minute of the day after finding out from Renjun (this angry angel helped you bless his soul) how hard you worked to sew that

so even though you’re still sulking a lil bit

you accept to come over at his house and as soon as you enter his room you’re shook

where one of his posters once hung above his bed now stood your sewing project proudly

you stared in awe like （’◎’）

“but I though you said it’s ugly”

“that’s before I knew it’s made by you. Anything you did is directly promoted to gorgeous, admirable, incomparable-”

ヾ(＠⌒▽⌒＠)ﾉ

3 weeks later while cuddling 

you : *GASP* “I’m so sorry for calling you a bitchy prick, baby”

Park Jisung

he is a giant as much as he is a baby and you agree with me even if you don’t 

babies are fascinated by almost anything, especially colorful things

which means Jisung is also fascinated by colorful things ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ

so when you met and you pulled out a few origami figures of different, lively colors, Jisung : (✪㉨✪)

“woah, how did you do these?”

“they’re like basic origami figurines”

if he wasn’t amazed enough already

when you picked up a purple frog and pressed on its bottom and it jumped, Jisung jumped up with it

“WOAH, how did you do THAT?”

you didn’t have the heart to break his innocent awe and tell him it didn’t take longer than 5 minutes to make that frog

so you just settled for a shrug and a simple

“magic, Jisung, magic”

at that, he straightens up in his seat, his awestruck expression fading into a serious one as he grips your shoulders tightly （´＿｀）

“you’ve been lying to me, haven’t you?” ~(｡☉︵ ಠ@)>

“what do you mean, sungie?”

“you’re a wizard!!!!!!!!!”

*facepalm* *internal sigh* *whale noises because cuteness levels are just too high* 

“uh, yeah sure, baby, whatever floats your boat”

you try to turn away to hide your growing smile, but jisung isn’t having it

“no, you can’t leave me like this!! teach me!!!1!”

he grips your sleeve and looks at you with such wide innocent eyes as if you’re another wonder of the world and you swear you melt on the spot

“well, you know, my services aren’t free” (¬‿¬)

“what do you want?”

“kisses?” ( jisung shutting down )

“k-kisses? kisses??!? i mean *clears throat and buffs up* yeah sure, that’s all? i can do kisses” ( this baby blushed after only mentioning it but okay boss baby go off I guess ) (*~▽~)

he could’t even be disappointed when he found out origami was nowhere near to magic when you spoiled him with kithes all evening *cue a red Jisungie*

#cznnet #nct reactions #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct dream #nct fluf #nct angst #nct dream scenarios #nct dream reactions #nct dream fluff #nct dream angst #nct renjun #nct mark #nct jeno #nct haechan #nct jaemin #nct chenle #nct jisung

[pigstepmp3-moved]

holy hell, gamers, i finally reached one whole thousand followers! how bonkers is that! when i first made this blog in december 2018, i was just trying to start over in a new fandom. ive been active on tumblr for a looong time (since i was like 11, which is. not great, but we wont get into that). i cant remember quite why i decided to remake, but i never imagined getting a higher following than i did before, but i did! 1000 followers is bonkers, i’ve never had a thousand of anything! i seriously cant thank each and every one of you enough, whether you followed me for 911 or for mcyt or for whatever!

now, since ive reached this absolutely bonkers milestone, im feeling particularly sappy! so under the cut, i have some friends and mutuals tagged who are super great n who are always an absolute pleasure to see on my dash! <3 again, thank you all so much! (ps, if we’re mutuals and i didnt tag u in this, that doesnt mean i dont love and appreciate you!! i mostly am just picking people to tag based off how often i see them on my dash! i love all of u so much <3)

♡ 911 FRIENDS ♡

(aka the ogs, aka the fire fam)

♡ @lovelessmotel ♡ emily!! god, where do i even begin with how much i love and adore you!! i know youre one of my big sisters, but wow i am so proud of how much youve discovered yourself since we’ve met!! like wow, look at this epic, gorgeous person whos one of MY close friends! im so lucky to be friends with you! thank you so much for being my friend, i appreciate you and all the sisterly advice you’ve given me more than i can ever put into words!

♡ @eddiediaz-buckley ♡ sav!! mom!! i love u so unbelievably much!! i am so unbelievably grateful for you and everything youve done for me! all the advice youve given me and all the times youve let me vent to you have been so important to me and i cannot thank you enough for all that. im soso appreciative of you and im so glad that i have someone as amazing as you as my mom/big sister (we’ll never really figure out our fams family dynamics, will we?) (ps, whenever i go outside and have my keys with me, its always so comforting to feel the keychain you got me! its like my moms with me everywhere i go!)

♡ @liesoverthec ♡ bonbonbonbon!!! i love you so much, you wouldnt BELIEVE how much i love you!!! im so glad we met bc you are so unbelievably kind!! there is a very good reason a nickname for u is bonbon bc you are just as sweet as candy!! maybe even more so!! i love having you as one of my big sisters, you give such wonderful advice and talking to you always makes me feel a million times better!! i love you and i am soso glad i get to call you my friend!

♡ @marauder-girl ♡ sabsabsab!! i love u so much, u funky lil future lawyer!! im so proud of u and i can hardly believe ur gonna be my Lawyer big sister!!! thats so awesome!! i cant believe such a rad person is one of MY friends!! how lucky am i!! i love having you as one of my big sisters, youre so kind and funny and talented and your advice has always been so helpful to me too! thank you so much for being my friend and for always being there for me!!

♡ @nighting-gale17 ♡ cait, my love, my wifey!!! wowowow i love u so much!!! im so glad we’re friends, you are so unbelievably lovely!! youre also so unbelievably talented like??? hey queen wanna hand some of ur writing ability over to the unfortunate (like me). i’m so glad we’re friends, youre so sweet and even tho we dont talk as much as we used to, i still have SO much love for you in my heart

♡ @africaneuropean ♡ rae, my father!! i love u so much!! i know we havent talked at all in. who knows how long. but i still have so much love for u in my heart!! you are so iconic and cool and funny, im so glad i met you n became friends with you!! ur one of the coolest people i know, i hope i can be as cool and mysterious and wonderful as you one day

♡ @evaneddie ♡ DHYL!!! dhyl pickle i love u so much!!! whenever u pop into my inbox with random nice messages, every part of me lights up!!! u are so kind to me and for what!! i miss talking to u as much as we used to, you are so sweet and you are such a good friend!! i love u n im SO proud of how far youve come with gif making, i still remember when u first started n youve gotten SO amazing at gifs lately!! i love u soso much n im so glad we’re friends, youre so awesome!!!

♡ @basil-the-writer ♡ des!!! i love u so much!!! i know we’ve never rly talked all that much but im glad we have interacted in the ways that we have!! u are so sweet n so talented!! like the fact that u have the patience for those lil video edits u do?? that is so cool!! all ur edits are so cool, i cannot imagine being able to make stuff like that without dying every single time. u are so cool n i love being able to call u my friend!!

♡ GRIFF ♡

(aka griff)

♡ @yawnralphio ♡ u get ur own section bc u are my only 911 friend who isnt an og, but thats ok bc u are so swaggy!! i love being friends with u griff, u are so cool and funny and i am so glad that u still want to be friends with me despite all of the horrifying things u’ve learned about mcyt from me jdhfajkdhfa. i love u so much n i am so excited to get to know u more n get closer to u!!

♡ FRUITBLR ♡

(aka mcyt friends)

♡ @fear-epidemic ♡ atlas u are so swaggy and funny!! tumblr funny man!! im so glad we’re mutuals, i love u a whole lot. that one time u me n wilby played bed wars together was so fun even if we’re really bad! n that one time we played on the fruitblr server while on vc was so fun, i loved talking to u n playing with u so much, we gotta do that again sometime. i love u so much chapin n im so glad we’re friends!!

♡ @netheritedream ♡ hari my beloved... i love u so much. like literally so much that its really embarassing. i am so glad u tagged me in that one follow forever post n put the offer on the table to let me join the server. i love being ur dumb lil husband!!! jus like actual fundy, i would risk it all to watch treasure planet with u. i love u sososo much, i wish i could live closer to u so i could actually talk to u more often </333 im going through severe withdrawal, pray for me. im gonna stop talking for now bc if i kept going on, this post would be several miles along n nobody has time for that </3 just know that i love u so much and i love having matching icons n i love being ur husband, i love u so much

♡ @sootswilbur ♡ tommy... i care you so much. little bromther!!! im sososo glad we’re friends bc u are so kind to me all the time n u are so easy to talk to!! ur also so talented, ur writing n ur gifs are so amazing n im so proud of all the awesome stuff u make!! seeing u experiment more with ur gif sets n trying new things is so awesome n inspiring and i love seeing ur experiments work out!! i love u soso much n im so happy to be ur big brother!! (or one of them at least)

♡ @fruitbur ♡ virgil my Other beloved... i love u so much!! u are one of the kindest people ive ever met n im so glad i met u!! i know ive already told u this before but ur tagging system is so sweet n i love seeing u reblog my posts bc im like “yay alastair is gonna tell me that he loves me in the tags :D” i also lovelovelove ur theme, i love the soft pink and the lil aesthetic board that u have pinned, its so nice to look at!!! ily sososo much <333

♡ @theartofmining ♡ hey fruit ily. like genuinely, u are so unbelievably funny that u make my ribs hurt so much. i know we’re like never rly that serious but i love u so much. as much as i joke about hating u, i really am glad we’re friends n i really look forward to becoming better friends with u. i love u a whole lot rain, i love seeing u on my dash bc ur full of good takes n funny posts

♡ @sapnaplive ♡ dream.... bonks our foreheads together... i care u so much. my other half!!! i love u with my whole little heart. u are soso cool and im so lucky to be able to call u my friend!! ur themes are always so cool, i wish i could be half as cool as them!!! ur art is also so epic like??? u are a triple threat: good at art, tumblr themes, AND minecraft building. and ur also so kind!!! u are one of the sweetest people i know, i love u so much and im so glad im friends with u!!

♡ @dreams-little-kitten ♡ corn u are so weird and i mean that in the kindest way possible. u are so cryptic n i love that so much about u. ur like the wilbur to my philza sometimes and i think thats so awesome. that one time u came into my inbox to talk shit about that one cuphead boss was so funny and absurd, i loved that so much. i love You so much. i love how ur just so effortlessly funny, n im so glad i can be friends with u

♡ @dreamsmp ♡  JEL!!!! i love u so much holy cow. u are so sweet!! all the time!!! ur also so talented, ur gifs always look so good!!! i love being friends with u, ur always so nice to me n u always leave rly nice tags when u reblog my gif sets that make me so happy!!! i think about that one time u rbed my fundy gif set n said “FUNDY GIFS” and “GIFS BY FUNDY” it made me so happy!!! i love u a whole lot, im so glad we’re friends :)

♡ @leaguelol ♡ damien!! i love u so much u funky little cryptid!! i love when u pop into the gc just to share cryptic thoughts, u are so strange but i think thats so cool of u!!! i honestly see u kinda like a lil sibling, im always so proud of u when i see ur art on my dash!! u are so talented at art!! i love u so much n i love being ur friend, ur rly sweet n i love seeing u on my dash and in the gc!!

♡ @its5undy ♡ idk why im putting u on this, ur my mortal enemy. jkjk, i actually love u a lot clay! i love joking around with u, ur so funny and for what. im so glad u joined the gc bc i love talking to you so much!! i still love that one time u reblogged that fwt gif set n tagged me in it moments after I reblogged it. i love that u thought about me, that rly warms my heart! i love being friends with u sososo much

♡ @cavalreee ♡ oh hey, another great big fruit!! i dont think we talk all that often, which is a shame, bc ur so sweet!! and also so fucking funny, why is everyone in this friend group so fucking funny, its not fair. i love seeing u on my dash talking with ur other friends, u always have the funniest convos ever. also? ur desktop theme is SO epic, it threw me off the first time i saw it but its so swaggy, just like u!! i love u soso much azzie, n i hope we can talk more in the future bc ur so cool

♡ @technosoot ♡ i love u even tho ur a br*t /j /j /j. jannat u are so unbelievably sweet. im so glad u joined the gc bc u are such a kind presence both in there and on my dash! u radiate very Warm, Friend energy. ur friend shaped. i love u so much n i love being friends with u!! im very eager to become closer friends with u bc u seem like a really amazing friend to have

♡ @sortasortaspicy ♡ les where are u in the gc i miss u </3 i love u so much, u fit in so well from the very beginning n brought so much more fun and laughter into the gc. i dont know u all that well n i dont think we’ve talked one on one like. at all. but id love to get closer to u bc ur so rad and ur so sweet!!

♡ EPIC PEOPLE  ♡

(aka mutuals who are so cool n id love to be friends with u pls talk to me)

@eurytherm ♡ @vampkings ♡ @weelbur ♡ @wilburtheesoot ♡ @quackityskarl ♡ @wimblrscoot ♡ @technofarmer ♡ @wooteena ♡ @bloodforblood ♡ @smpsapnap ♡ @literallynotfound ♡ @hearty-an0n ♡ @enderanboo ♡ @springbonniecpu ♡ @pandascanpvp ♡ @tommylnnits ♡ @strawberrygogy ♡ @timedeo ♡ @nymika-arts ♡ @h-isforhome ♡ @eboykarl ♡ @joe-alkaysani ♡ @betwecouldmakesome ♡ @squirrelstone ♡ @maddieandchimney

#hehe idk how to tag this #ive spent SO long on this post im so glad its done #follow forever #eden.txt

[imagine-loki]

Omega Mine

TITLE: Omega Mine

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 5/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Loosely based on: Imagine Loki discovers the Avengers have an omega who has healing powers living with them. He’s an Alpha and he wants her, badly. 

RATING: M (eventually ) 

NOTES/WARNINGS:  Also on AO3 click here

Your life was a whirlwind of activity as soon as the team decided that they were hiring you.  While Tony set up whatever was necessary to hire you, Cap went over the benefits and salary, which as Beta Ann had indicated, was very generous.  The duties weren’t onerous either.  Yes, you would technically be on call 24/7 for Alpha-related emergencies and healings, but you wouldn’t be busy all the time and would have plenty of time for your own endeavors.  Room and board was covered and most of your expenses were covered as well, on top of the salary.  

It was beyond generous. 

After Tony got things settled with Beta Ann, Cap and Nat rode with you in the limo back to the Omega house.  They helped you pack the few belongings you could take with you.  Most of the things you had technically belonged to the house and would be passed down to the next Omega who moved in.  Your clothes, a few books, and the one comfort toy stingy Beta Ann actually allowed you were the only things that were coming with you.  

Neither Nat nor Cap looked happy about how few things you actually had of your own.  They exchanged a glance and you wondered briefly what they were up to.  

It only took one trip for the three of you to get your things up to your new apartment.  Cap gave you the key for both the apartment and the Omega room on a little keychain and reassured you that no one else had a physical key and Jarvis would only let someone else in your space in an emergency or with permission.  

As soon as you’d put away your things, Stark came up to tech-out your apartment.  They hadn’t known what you’d be bringing with you.  They hadn’t expected nothing, but Stark was prepared anyway. You got a brand new Stark-tech cell phone, laptop, and tablet and had a nice TV in both your living room and bedroom before he was done wiring the place.  

Nat insisted that you were leaving the tower with her while Stark was working.  None of the Alphas complained.  Clearly Cap knew what she was up to and trusted you to her care. “Do you know how to drive?” She asked as she led you down to the parking garage. 

You shook your head. “I never needed to learn, Beta,” you replied politely. You’d only just moved in and everything was going so fast.  It was best to be polite.  

She gave you a warm smile. “No need to be so polite, Meimei,” she told you fondly.  You couldn’t help smiling at the nickname.  It was an old pet name for Omegas that one was particularly fond of.  It came from the Mandarin for ‘little sister’ as well as coming from the ‘me’ in Omega.  The term had grown in popularity.  “You can call me ’Nat’.  And I’ll teach you how to drive.  It’s a useful skill to have,”

“You think I’ll need to?” You asked her, surprised.  You’d never needed to before.

Nat grinned.  “There are a lot of things you’ll learn here that you might not ever need to know.  I’ll also be teaching you self defense.  Just because you’re an Omega doesn’t mean you can’t defend yourself until an Alpha can come help you,”

Your eyes widened in surprise.  “You’d do that?” You asked with interest.  Almost no one would ever think of allowing an Omega to learn to fight.  It wasn’t in your nature and it was… unnatural.  

And you found that you wanted to learn.  It sounded so appealing.

“At least enough to protect yourself until a warrior can come help you.  We’re in a lot of dangerous situations.  It would be cruel not to prepare you,” she explained.  She led you to an SUV, which you both climbed into.  She then went on to explain that when the team went out on interviews or other press conferences, balls, charity events, and such, that you would be expected to go with them.  

Apparently, that also meant that you had to have a wardrobe to handle all of those things.  So Nat took you on a whirlwind shopping adventure, getting you a wardrobe to accommodate practically anything you could ever imagine having to go to.  She also helped you pick out pillows, blankets, and fairy lights to make a den out of.  

Dens, or nests, were important to Omegas.  You needed a safe space that was comfortable and away from the outside world and influences.  

Then came the bookstore and the stuffed animal stores.  You got an entire set of Avengers build a bears.  Comfort objects were also important to Omegas and it was cruel of the Beta you’d lived with to only allow one per Omega.  Your poor old stuffy was falling to pieces.  Nat and Cap had both been upset by it, apparently they knew Omegas well enough to know what you needed to be happy and healthy and Nat was making sure you had all of it.  

After the whirlwind adventure, Nat left you to set up your den and put all your new things away, promising that Jarvis would call you for dinner.  

Your new life was definitely shaping up to be interesting so far.

*

“Meimei, can you come to the med room?  We just got back from a mission and you know how Clint is,” Nat asked through Jarvis one afternoon. 

You laughed.  Clint had a terrible habit of getting shot while he was on missions.  “I’ll be right there,” you promised her and got up from the couch you’d been sitting on, cuddled up with Bucky.  You’d been in the tower a few months by then and had gotten comfortable with the team.  They’d all accepted you, welcomed you, and were all comforted by your presence.  Even Bucky had warmed up to your presence, though was still… dark… around some of the others.  He’d taken to you on sight and scent and that hadn’t changed.  It was helping him warm up to the rest of the team.  

You kissed his cheek as you stood.  What might’ve been considered far too forward for a Beta, was perfectly normal and acceptable for an Omega to do.  It was a friendly, comforting gesture, especially to an Alpha who you were close with.  The Avengers felt more like family than coworkers.  They clearly felt it too as all of them had adopted Nat’s nickname of ‘meimei’ for you.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” you promised him.  

He gave you a wry smile.  “I look forward to it, Meimei.  Don’t let that bullet magnet work you too hard,” he said warmly.  

You laughed at that apt description of Clint and headed off to the medical room to heal him.  There weren’t many people in the tower that day.  Stark and Bruce were at work at Stark’s company.  Nat and Clint had been out on a mission.  Steve was busy with something for SHIELD and Thor had gone back home to Asgard for some duties there.  So you’d been enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the couch with Bucky, cuddled up watching a movie.  

You found Clint and Nat in the medical room.  Clint’s arm was bleeding and you saw where the bullet had gone through.  “Looks like it’s just a flesh wound,” you told him as you looked it over.  “You’ve gotta stop getting shot, Clint,” you teased gently.  You made sure the bullet had gone all the way through before you placed a glowing gold hand on the wound and healed it.  

“Thanks, Meimei,” Clint told you warmly when the wound was healed and ruffled your hair. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll beat him up in the training room to teach him a lesson for getting shot again,” Nat reassured you, making all of you laugh.  

The three of you headed back to the common room.  Nat and Clint were heading to the elevator to go to their rooms to clean up from the mission and you were planning on cuddling back up with Bucky for the rest of your movie.  It was comfortable in an Alpha’s arms, even if he wasn’t your Alpha.

You all paused when the elevator doors opened.  You hadn’t expected anyone to be home yet. You felt Thor’s presence as you looked to the elevator.  

But he wasn’t alone.  

Another figure stepped out of the elevator with him.  Tall.  Dark raven hair. Striking emerald eyes.  Pale skin.  Chiseled cheekbones.  Thor’s brother Loki.  The Alpha who had tried to take over Earth under duress of torture and mind control. 

His identity wasn’t the first thing that hit you.  

The first thing that hit you was his caste, his overwhelming presence of Alpha.

You’d never felt anything like it.

Alpha. 

You couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

Not just any Alpha. 

Not just a strong Alpha.

Your Alpha. 

#Loki #Lover #Submitted fic #submission #Omega mine #Chapter 5 #nekoamamori

[staplernpaper]

WHO IS YOUR JJK SOULMATE (CITY KIDS EDITION) - TAROT READING

Hello there, if you haven't seen the first post. Click right HERE

Disclaimer: All readings are for entertainment purposes only, please do not stress over the reading as at the end of the day free will is a thing.

Since this is a general reading, there may be some aspects of the reading that may not fit you

Also, I'm only a beginner at tarot reading, therefore I'm not the best at doing readings, so forgive me if this is shit

Ahh... I see you have chosen that Spiderman pointing at spiderman keychain. Well in that case your soulmate is...

YUJI ITADORI

The Dynamic Between You and Yuji

Card 1- Judgement (you)- Judgement, Self-evaluation, Awakening, Renewal

Card 2- Four of wands- Happy families, Coming Home, Community, Security, Stability

Card 3- The Empress (Yuji)- Nurturing, Creativity, Beautiful, Feminity, Nature, Harmony

You two would make an interesting duo

Oh dear how do I explain this

Basically, how I see it is Yuji is someone who thinks '"I'll treat everyone with kindness". You, on the other hand, thinks "I'll treat others with the same respect as they treat me"

Because of this, I feel like there is a good balance between the two of you

Coz sometimes you may judge people too harshly but Yuji will encourage you to give them a chance. Or Yuji may be the one being taken advantage of and you will highlight his mistreatment.

This makes me think that Yuji is the heart of the relationship and you are the mind of the relationship

Since Yuji is represented as this nurturing figure, this makes me think that he's the type to ask you how your day was, he would be the type to cuddle with you when you're upset or he would cook meals for you.

Also, I have a feeling that Yuji is a little bit of a softie

Another scenario that I see is if you ask Yuji "is there something that I can personally improve on", he would say that you are perfect and you don't need to change. You on the other hand, if Yuji asked the same question to you, you would give him actual feedback.

The Relationship

Row 1- Five of swords (rev), The chariot, King of pentacles

The two of you are very determined people

Like REALLY determine

There is a sense of strong willpower and focus present that allows you guys to overcome any obstacle that gets in the way of reaching your goals

Here's the thing that I really like about the two of you. You two don't mind comprising, for as long as in the end, the two of you are able to achieve your goals.

And I feel like because of this trait, I'm 99.9% sure that the two of you will always be able to achieve your desires

Row 2- Three of Pentacles (rev), Knight of Cups, Eight of Pentacles (rev)

I don't think there's a lot of grand romantic gestures present in this relationship. However, I do feel like smaller stuff like holding hands is common between you but things like candlelight dinner at a high-end restaurant is a little bit unlikely or rare.

I feel like with the two of you, you guys can get a little bit lazy with grander gestures cause they do require a bit more planning and effort.

There are definitely people out there who don't really like to stress out on planning for a date. And I think You and Yuji are definitely those types of couple

I feel like the two of you would prefer to go on dates where there is little to no planning involved. Like "hey let's just hang-out and see what happens"

Row 3- Two of cups, Knight of swords, Seven of wands

Okay here's the thing, I feel like when the two of you first got together, there may have been a lot of people who opposed. (Which make sense since he is Sukuna's vessel and will be killed when all 20 fingers are collected)

But I feel like the two of you were already expecting some sort of backlash before news of you two dating got out

So the two of you were already mentally prepared for it

Even though you guys were prepared for the backlash, that doesn't mean the two are just gotta sit back

No no no

The two of you fight back and stand your ground

I have a feeling that if someone said something out of line about Yuji, you wouldn't think twice about defending and protecting him, and vice versa.

Your trait that made him attracted to you

Card 1- Six of Pentacles- Gift, Generosity, Charity, Community, Support, Sharing, Kindness

Card 2- Eight of Cups- Abandonment, Walking away, Letting go, Disappointment, Loneliness

Card 3- Six of Wands- Success, Victory, Winning, Goodwill, Strength

You like to gift presents to friends, family and even strangers. Although you enjoy giving, I think you know when you need to stop. Especially if the person receiving doesn't appreciate the gift or abuses your love for gifting. I think if that ever happens you'll straight up say no or stop giving them gifts altogether. Of course, it can get hard sometimes but I think you do succeed at stepping your foot down

Also to clarify, gifts are not limited to physical objects to your time and effort are also considered

#inumaki toge x reader #itadori yuji x reader #maki zenin x reader #kugisaki nobara x reader #megumi fushiguro x reader #jjk soulmate reading #jjk compatibility reading

[buckysmischief]

pinch me, i'm dreaming

Scott Lang x reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: A trip to San Francisco reveals a side of Scott you didn’t know about

Warnings: language, fluff, a little angsty if you squint

AN: this is for @starspangledseb​ ‘s writing challenge, sorry it’s so late. I hope you like it 💙 prompt is bolded

Masterlist

“I just don’t see why we have to stay with Scott.”

“We can’t stay in San Francisco and not stay with Scott, Yn, that’s just rude.”

“Come on Sam,” Bucky chimed in, “you know why she doesn’t want to go.”

“Oh, yeah, you’ve gotta thing for tic tac.” Sam knew what he was doing, and you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction.

He wasn’t wrong though, you do have feelings for Scott, but he was with Hope and you weren’t a homewrecker. It was pretty easy to suppress those feelings when you lived on the other side of the country, what were you supposed to do sleeping under the same roof?

“I will put this jet so deep into the pacific, don’t think I won’t.” You had two options: suck it up and act like a normal person, or possibly set yourself up to get your heart a little broken.

If you didn’t already know for a fact you were going to embarrass yourself, things might be different, but things just happened when you were around Scott. Like the time Sam had a dinner party and was passing out the food, Spaghetti had fallen in Scott’s lap and for whatever reason you jumped to help. Hope had walked in while he was unbuttoning his flannel and you were gripping his bicep, just trying to get him cleaned up.

“Don’t think too much about it, Yn.” Bucky tried to calm your nerves, but it was too late for that. “Just say you’re tired from the mission and flying and just go to bed, I’ll even sneak you some food later if you want.” It wouldn’t be a lie, and if Hope was there it would probably be for the best.

Unfortunately though, Scott seemed to have other ideas.

“Hey guys, hey Yn.” He always seemed to be smiling, but you could have sworn it got a little bigger after saying your name. “I figured you guys might be hungry so I ordered food, it just got here maybe five minutes ago.”

The table only had four places set, so Hope probably wasn’t there, but Sam couldn’t resist himself, “Is Hope not here or-”

“We broke up a few weeks ago, it was a mutual thing.” He was answering Sam, but his eyes kept darting to you.

“Mutual?” Sam asked, knowing there was more.

“Okay, so maybe it was more my decision.” That got your attention. “She didn’t fight it though.”

The possibility of Scott being single wasn’t anything you considered before, but now it was mind consuming. So much so that you didn’t notice everyone was done eating until they were getting up from the table.

Bucky had mentioned something about watching a movie, and by the time you got to the living room the only seat left was on the loveseat next to Scott. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that Sam and Bucky did it on purpose. Now that Hope was out of the picture, nothing was going to stop them from messing with you.

“I thought you might want a blanket,” he whispered as you sat beside him. With a smile you thanked him, but warning him it might make you fall asleep before the movie really even got started. “I can sit on the floor if you want to lay down-”

“Please don’t..” The words came out desperate and whiney, thankfully Bucky and Sam didn’t seem to notice. Scott smiled and covered you with the oversized blanket. Gathering all the confidence you had, you gestured for him to cover up too. It was cold inside, and it wasn’t fair he was the only one without a blanket. Just as predicted, though, you were asleep before a movie was even picked.

It had to have been after midnight when you woke up. The TV was still on, Sam and Bucky were nowhere in sight, and your head was in someone’s lap. Oh shit, Scott.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you..”

“It’s fine, you moved around a lot at first and somehow found your way here.” He looked down at you and moved the hair out of your face. “Go back to sleep.”

He said it so naturally, like this was something that happened between you two every night. For the first time you let your imagination run wild with thoughts of him. Was waking up to him always this peaceful? Was he the type to fall asleep with you on the couch, or would he carry you to bed? Was he even the cuddling type?

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Then you can help me pack up some stuff.”

“What kinda stuff?” You sat up and tried to fix your bed head.

He smirked, “Stuff for New York.” Apparently while you were sleeping, the boys had convinced Scott to get away from San Francisco for a few weeks.

You followed him to his room and picked out his outfits while he got all his Ant-Man gear together. This was the first time you were ever truly alone with Scott and it felt more normal than it should. Nothing felt awkward, nothing embarrassing happened, it was nice.

When everything was packed, Scott shrunk his bags down so they would fit in his suitcase keychain. He could tell you weren’t ready to go back to sleep, even though you both looked exhausted, so he took you back downstairs. “What are we doing?”

“I want to show you something.” He put his hand in yours and led you through the basement and to a room behind a bookcase. It was filled with different suits, gadgets, tools, and a wall of glass that covered the dirt. “I wanted the ants to have their own area that didn’t feel like it was a part of some science experiment, there’s glass tunnels so they can come and go but you should see the colonies they made in the dirt. It’s amazing.”

“It’s beautiful.” You whispered, watching the ants move around the tunnels. “You didn’t show Sam and Bucky?”

“I haven’t shown this room to anyone.” He didn’t move from behind you, but you could see him in the reflection of the glass.

That was the ego boost you needed apparently. You turned around and looked into his eyes, they were tired but focused only on you. “I’m glad that not everyone gets the privilege to see this side of you, then. It makes me feel more special.”

Again he smiled down at you, placing his hand behind the nape of your neck like it was always meant to be there, “Then I know exactly what I’ll be doing the next few weeks.”

“What?”

“Doing whatever I can to always make you feel more special.” How was this not a dream? It’s not a dream… right? “Do you want some coffee?” You nodded and followed him up the stairs, not remembering a time he’s sounded so serious.

Sitting in the kitchen, you noticed the sun was going to come out soon, which meant the boys wouldn’t be asleep much longer. No matter what timezone they were in or how sleep deprived they were - if the sun was up, they were up. Whatever Scott wanted to say, you just hoped he said it before one of them came downstairs and ruined the moment.

He prepared everything in silence, waiting until he handed you a steaming cup with some cream and sugar on the side. “For a long time I knew I had feelings for you, but I didn’t know what they were exactly...”

He paused to take a sip of his coffee and continued. “It wasn’t too long after Sam’s dinner and the spaghetti incident, remember that?” You nodded, slightly surprised that he remembered.

“Well, after Hope and I got back she.. She would get upset whenever you were brought up, like when I got called in on missions that you were on. I didn’t understand until after the rescue mission in Vegas-”

“You were there?” It shouldn’t have been a surprise considering it was a rescue mission for you.

“Yeah, Tony called and said you were kidnapped. I asked him where you were and left without saying anything to Hope, it was like my body was on autopilot.. After I got back Sam called and told me you finally woke up.. that’s when I realized what the feelings were and why Hope was getting so upset, she saw what I didn’t.”

“And those feelings are what exactly?”

“The kind where I’ve been wanting to kiss you since you walked through my front door, the kind that made me stay awake for hours even though I’m beyond tired because I wanted to appreciate every second I had. Sam was dropping hints all night to just make a move but didn’t think you felt the same, I still don’t-”

Before he could finish, Bucky walked in the kitchen and did exactly what you knew he’d do. “Stop rambling, she likes you too. Now just kiss the damn girl and let’s go.”

“DAMN IT Bucky! Don’t you have anyone back in the 40’s you can go back to like Steve did?!” He stood there in shock, realizing he should have just waited an extra five minutes at the top of the stairs.

While you yelled at Bucky, Scott made his way around the kitchen island and did exactly as Bucky suggested and kissed you right there. It was a moment you only thought would exist in your dreams, except for Bucky standing seven feet away and Sam sitting on the stairs giving Scott two thumbs up. It took Sam physically pulling you away from Scott for you to come up for air.

“If either of you mention this to anyone I’ll get Scott to put ants in your ears.” You threatened, knowing they already got the proof they needed.

In the end it didn’t matter though, it took less than an hour for Tony to notice that Scott was never more than a foot away from you. Sam and Bucky’s laughter was all the confirmation everyone needed, but what surprised you the most was money being passed all around the room. “You’re all assholes, I hope you know that.”

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#scott lang x reader #scott lang imagine #fluff #bucky barnes #sam wilson #tony stark #mcu fanfic #marvel