#I hate it so much when it flops too but I have to remind myself I do art for me

[byakuyasdarling]

Why does my art take forever

[honeylations]

- Angry Pupu -

KIM CHAEWON x FEM!READER

Prompt: Chaewon is known for her anger issues, always yelling at the smallest things whereas you’re her calm and collected girlfriend, always so soft spoken and doing everything with a cute smile. Your members wonder how you two ended up dating despite the obvious opposite personalities.

Warnings/Notes: cute pupu, angry pupu, reader is adorable tooooo, soft and fluffy, a mix of comedy

———

“YAH WHO ATE MY MINT CHOCO ICE CREAM!”

———

“YAH WHO USED MY HAIR STRAIGHTENER? WAS IT YOU HUH YUNJIN? WHY THE FUCK DO YOU NEED A STRAIGHTENER WHEN YOU’RE NOT EVEN STRAIGHT YOURSELF!”

———

“WHERE THE HELL ARE MY TAMPONS?!”

———

“WHO WENT INTO MY ROOM AND TOOK MY FAVOURITE PEN?!”

———

The members lost count at the amount of times their leader had screamed today and you seemed to be the only person unbothered by it. Sakura had just finished taking pills for the headache she received from hearing the short girl’s anger.

“I swear this is her new record. How is her throat not hurting?” Sakura whined, rubbing her temple and flopping down on the couch next to you.

“How are you even dating her, Y/n?” Yunjin groans as she joins you two with a bowl of popcorn in her hand.

“Y/n is like the off switch for Chaewon’s tantrums” Kazuha appeared shortly after with a whisper, tensing when she heard Chaewon’s little feet stomp downstairs.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY ZUHA?!”

The youngest Japanese girl ran to you as a shield, angering the leader even more. “BACK OFF MY GIRLFRIEND, NAKAMURA!”

Kazuha squeaked and ran to Yunjin instead, not daring to say another word. Eunchae comes in with a bowl of strawberries and feeds you one before going upstairs to finish her Lilo and Stitch marathon. You hummed at the delicious taste of the fruit and turned to your girlfriend who got jealous of the hand feeding gesture between you and the maknae.

“We should buy more strawberries, love. They taste amazing” You spoke with a smile, Chaewon’s anger disappearing almost immediately.

She cupped your face and pecked your lips. “You’re so fricking cute. ISNT SHE GIRLS? SAY IT TO HER!”

The 3 girls sitting on the couch flinched and started complimenting you chaotically, voices going over each other, not wanting an ass beating from their short tempered leader.

“TOO MUCH COMPLIMENTS! BACK OFF!”

“Love, calm down please” You said, caressing her arm and Chaewon obeyed, sitting in your lap.

“Ok, babe”

“Whipped” Yunjin commented, earning a couch cushion to the face. “OW! God Y/n, I want you to answer my question for real this time. How the hell are you dating this monster?”

“She’s not a monster. She’s my hero~” You cooed, hugging your short girlfriend tighter.

“I’ll be needing a hero if I get screamed at one more time” Kazuha muttered, seeing Chaewon glare at her.

“Chaewon? A hero? You’re saying this girl who’s scared of a mouse toy is your hero?” Sakura scoffed as the leader flipped her off.

“You’re just jealous” Chaewon hisses.

“And you’re a comedian.”

You held your girlfriend back down on your lap before she drop kicked the eldest member.

“Chae saved me from so many people before we debuted. Her yelling may be annoying to you girls but it always reminded me of why I love her! She’s so tough~ Without her anger, she wouldn’t have saved me from the bullies back in high school. She does the same now with anyone who shares hate comments about me. I’m too shy to stand up for myself like that” You explained, your heart swelling at the memories.

“Yeahhhh. Y/n was this cute little chubby nerd in high school” Chaewon grinned, pinching your cheeks again.

“Woah wait what, okay, this was something we haven’t been told before” Yunjin said, adjusting her sitting position and looking at you, Chaewon growling.

“Oh please, pull your head out of your tiny ass Kim, I’m not gonna take your girl. I just wanna know more about this cute little chubby nerd you were just talking about” The American added.

Chaewon got off your lap and sat next to you instead, pushing Sakura further into Kazuha who was already getting squished. The younger Japanese member gave up and sat on the ground instead, snatching Yunjin’s popcorn bowl.

“Yeah it’s true. I wasn’t that good looking in high school” You shyly smiled.

“Hey don’t say that. Nobody starts off as a hottie, like, me in high school with the dark ass eyebrows that didn’t match my hair colour? Goddamn” Yunjin joked, making you all laugh. (A/N: I’m not actually talking about Yunjin like that guyssss! The whole dark eyebrow thing is something I added based on my experience in high school💀💀)

“I’m being honest, I swear! I was super chubby, wore these thick purple glasses and always got bullied for reading books all the time. See?” You pulled out a photo of you in high school and all the girls (besides Chaewon) gasped.

In the photo was 14 year old Y/n with a bob cut and thick fringe, using one hand to hold a thick novel to her chest while the other put up a peace sign. Your purple glasses were indeed huge and you smiled widely, presenting the braces you had at the time.

“Oh and here’s Chae” You zoomed out of the photo and 14 year old Chaewon was exposed. She looked the same, only difference was the long hair in the photo. Sakura squinted her eyes and noticed how Chaewon’s hand was around your waist in the picture.

“Awwww! Chae did you have a crush on Y/n at this time?” The eldest asked as you closed your phone and returned it to your pocket.

“Yeah I did. Couldn’t tell if she liked me back though”

You blushed and slapped your girlfriend’s arm. “I did! I told you before, I just thought you were too good for a nerd like me”

“Nerdy y/n is cute, don’t get me wrong, but you’re absolutely stunning right now. Hellooooo? Your body? Your abs? Your facial structure? It’s so hard to believe that was you in the picture” Kazuha complimented.

“I just finally took the initiative in eating healthier and working out” You shrugged, letting Chaewon play with your fingers.

“Was Chaewon this loud back in highschool too?” Yunjin asked with a blunt tone.

“YAH IM GONNA KILL YOU, HUH YUNJIN!” The shortest member screamed and jumped onto the tallest member, shoving the couch pillow into her face.

You rolled your eyes with a smile and looked at Sakura. “You grab her legs, I’ll grab her arms”

“Absolutely not, she kicked my face last time we did that. Get Kazuha”

The said member stood up. “Sorry I don’t speak nor understand Korean very well so imma just go” Kazuha quickly says and runs upstairs to join Eunchae.

“Stop pretending you loser!” You screamed out to Kazuha in Japanese, knowing damn well this wasn’t the first time she’s done that. (A/N: Fun fact for everyone, Kazuha sometimes pretends that she doesn’t understand what the members are saying to her in Korean😭)

You sighed and stood up, patting down your pants. “Come on, babe, let’s go to bed”

“WHY DO YOU ALWAYS PISS ME OFF WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAY!” Chaewon continued to scream while violating Yunjin with the pillow.

“Y/N HELP PLEASE!”

This was gonna be a long night.

[maxsimagination]

𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 - 𝗸.𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆-𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀

summary: kyra and yn both like each other and only start to make loves after charli becomes a pest.

𖦹 masterlist

"𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗥𝗘 you and kyra gonna start dating?"

i was caught completely off guard at that statement by charli. "huh?" all the eloquence left my body when i responded. "you and kyra. we all see it. you two make heart eyes behind the others' back all the time."

i could feel the blush creep onto my cheeks and around the nape of my neck. "i don't know what you're on about." it came out as a mumble but charli heard me.

"yn i can see you blushing. can you just ask her out already? the amount of times i've had to listen to her harp on about you is giving me headaches." i didn't know what to say to that either. "she talks about me?" charli looked dumbfounded that i picked up that piece of information out of everything else.

"yes, now can you please go and kiss her to shut her up?"

"you first. i'm not kissing anybody." it was then that kyra herself came over to join us, and had caught the last bit of what i had said. "who's kissing who?" "nothing, no one." i immediately shut it down and charli couldn't seem to find anything funnier. "so i'm gonna go now.." charli started to walk off.

"charlotte layne grant!" my voice held a warning for her that she knew she cop later. she didn't seem to care tho and ran off with a cheeky grin on her face.

me and kyra were left there, the latter not knowing what was going on. "what the fuck?" kyra whispered out at what had just occurred in front of her. "charli likes to screw around with us." i attempted to explain to my best friend of 5 years. a grin broke out on her face as she understood what i was trying to say.

"you got that right. wanna go to lunch with me?" i agreed happily and we headed for her car. what we didn't know was that charli had recruited katrina and they were both watching us from afar.

we went out to a local cafe and i took a seat at a table while kyra went up to order for the both of us; we did this together that often that she knew what i liked off by heart. she came to sit back down and the food followed soon after. we couldn't eat too much because we had training later on in the day.

it was a comfortable silence when we ate, and small talk about anything and everything when we weren't. i just felt so comfortable around her, she was the one thing in my life that i would sacrifice everything for, even my career.

we were in the middle of talking about something we'd both seen on the media, i had pulled out my phone to show kyra, and i saw her looking at me in the corner of my eye. as charli would have put it, she was making 'heart eyes' at me.

i thought back to the conversation i had with the young blonde earlier and her words echoed in my head. 'we all see it.' and 'you both make heart eyes at each other when the other isn't looking.' it got me thinking that maybe i should take that next step, maybe i should take a risk and ask her out.

my anxiety pulled my mind back down to reality, reminding myself of what could happen if she in fact didn't like me like that. everything would be ruined, the team dynamic and the bond we have going for over 5 years. and everyone would know. that's the last thing i needed. i looked back up to kyra who had just finished her food while i, on the other hand, was only halfway due to my daydreaming about the girl sitting opposite me.

"whatcha thinking about?" you. "oh nothing. just got distracted by something outside." i lied through my teeth to her face, i couldn't tell her now. i needed to at least get through training. then if she hated me i could pack up and move to england again.

we finished up, more like i finished while kyra waited patiently, then paid for the food and went back to the hotel the matilda's were staying in. i didn't even bother to go to my room, it was always one of us in the others room and this time it was my turn.

i flopped on her bed, starfishing in the middle, and taking up all the space. "yn move, i wanna lie down too." i shuffled over and held my arms out for her to fall into. she did just that, falling down onto me face first. we stayed like that for god knows how long before i checked the time and had a mini heart attack that we would be late. "i don't wanna leave."

"if we don't go, tony will skin us and drop us off the team." my tone was serious but my face betrayed how i felt.

with a groan she got off me and i grabbed my phone to go get changed in my room. "i'll come back to get you." i called out behind me and closed the door. as soon as i got into my own room i grabbed the first pair of any training gear i saw, changed the quickest i've ever changed and headed back to kyra's room.

it had only been 5 minutes, tops, so i knocked before hearing a barley audible 'come in!' and opening the door. kyra poked her head out from the bathroom and grinned at me. "geez, your quick. that desperate to get back to me, huh?"

i rolled my eyes at her antics, "you wish, ky." i shot back at her. "hurry up, let's go." she yelled back saying she was coming then ran back out to get her shoes on. we left to head down to the field where training was held. when we walked in together, both katrina and charli raised their eyebrows at me in a teasing manner.

i just flipped them off discreetly, trying not to catch kyra's attention.

——

we had just finished doing the last lap tony had ordered and i flopped onto the ground. the other girls were walking around, everyone was sweating their asses off and some had gone to the changing rooms already. kyra came over and stood above me with a sweaty grin.

“are you dead yet?"

"shut up, ky."

i managed to get out. she held her hands out for me to take and i did. when she pulled me up i came face to face, only an inch away from her. our hands had instinctively gone to my waist and her neck.

my eyes flicked down to her lips then back up to her eyes, just in time to see her doing the same to me. i thought back to charli and decided fuck it. "ky, do you wanna be my girlfriend?" it was silent for a second then kyra broke it and kissed me. i reacted instantly, kissing back and pulling her tighter against me.

she did the same with her arms around my waist, one of her hands trailing down to my ass, just resting there. we pulled apart and breathed heavily before i spoke up.

"so i'll take that as a yes?" before she could respond there was a shout from across the field. "finally!" it was katrina and charli, the latter being the one that yelled. "i knew you could do it yn!" while katrina just stood their smirking, even throwing out a wolf whistle. i shook my head at the two and turned back to kyra.

we grinned at each other and i whispered,

"finally."

[mexicanmerridew]

LOTF HEADCANONS YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHJ

( this is 4 @jackmerrizzler btw :3 )

( also sum of these are old )

Jack tried putting face paint on ralph multiple times but ralph kept running away everytime he did

Ralph went like "if you kept doing that im going to break your spear" ( he was buffling )

When it would be Halloween time they would dress up in a group costumes to find each other easily ( Sam & Eric would get lost pretty quick )

Speaking of halloween, its rogers fav holiday

Simon owed cats back home ( 2 to be specific )

Jack's full name name is "Jackson" merridew but prefers his last name more because his first name reminds him too much of his dad ( he's a junior )

After the island Ralph's hair wasent as fluffy anymore ( it became sorta dead in a way )

Jack's favorite color is green

After piggys aunt learned about piggy's death she made a candy about him & named it after him

They tried getting fish one time on the island but they were scared of how much they flopped on land that they resorted to pig

After a lot of the boys were rescued they slept with nightlights

Before crash landing on the island Jack's mom was pregnant ( jack didnt know at the time ) and while of his time on the island she ended up being born ( totally didn't headcanon this onto jack because I have a baby sister myself )

The liluns would gift each other things they found around the island ( like lil rocks or seaweed ) for comfort

( older ) Ralph would visit piggy's tombstone

The bigguns & lilnuns would write letters to their parents despite half of them getting lost

Jack knows how to play the piano

After jack got recued he was kinda paying less attention in choir and got put in dance classes for a while as punishment

Ralph had band classes back home and knew how 2 play the trumpet & flute ( totally didn't headcanon this bc I have a band class & play the flute and get heartburn and stomach aches all the time while playing it )

( IF SIMON WAS STILL ALIVE. ) he would have asked his mom for a lizard a bunch of times after being rescued until his grandma bought him 1 for his birthday !! :D

During the feast, Jack asked Ralph if he wanted to dance with him, and ralph just fucking straight out said "no"

After a few a minutes had past ( like 20 or so ) Ralph asked roger if he had seen simon cuz he wanted to dance with him

Ralph named 2 of his horses after simon & piggy

𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼

Ralph, piggy & Simon made flower crowns 4 each other ( Simon made the most for the 2 of them )

Jack tried teaching a lilnun C# but eventually gave up after a few mins 🥲

Jack would ( on purpose ) practice his C# late at night and drive Ralph CRAZY

Jack would try to teach some of the choir his fav songs

Jack HATED the rain while his time on the island but got used to it after he got saved

One of the boys on the island said sum shit like: "I can't believe I'm gonna die here without my first kiss!" As a joke ( WHICH MOST OF THE KIDS UNDERSTOOD ) except 1 kid who thought he was being serious and ACTUALLY KISSED HIM... ( in front of jack too )

Out of all the boys on the island simon had the most scars ( even after getting murdered ) with jack being the second & Ralph being the 3rd

piggy & simon tried giving sum of simons flower crowns to the tribe but they destroyed them due to "jacks orders"

This post took an hour 2 type pls like it ☹️ ( I'll pin this maybe )

[asmo-d3us]

angsty & regulus’ death || the letter remus received from one his best friends || part 3 of 8

~*~*~*~*~*~

~*Remus Lupin*~

It was darker than usual outside, the stars were glittering brighter than ever and even though Remus would usually feel a sense of comfort at the sight, tonight it brought him a stab of anguish in his gut instead. So troublesome in fact that Remus couldn’t even read his book normally. Well, the book Regulus gave him, at-least.

He huffed, slamming the book shut after re-reading the same sentence over a hundred times. He stared out the bedroom window, glaring at the sky. What the fuck are you up to? He spoke to no one at all. Something wasn’t right, he was sure of it! But what?

He drank his tea and made a face at the cold liquid running down his throat, he had left it out for too long. He was home alone tonight, his parents had left him isolated in the house because of his furry little problem happening in a few days. He’ll admit, he was feeling a bit frustrated at nearly everything, but being alone did help considerably.

His brows scrunched at a sudden pecking noise coming from the window near the front door. Placing his cup down, he made his way out of his room and down the corridor, his mismatched socks sliding against the hardwood floor. He walked towards the window and each step he took his gut seemed to sink deeper and deeper into misgiving. He snatched the curtain and raised a brow at the black owl. Ah, Regulus sent me a letter? He thought before pulling open the window and letting the owl hop in.

Its long claws clicked against the window-sill, the envelope on its leg fluttering slightly from the light breeze. Remus wasted no time in grabbing the tiny rope binding the paper to the owl’s leg. At the first slight touch, his gut did yet another stab of concern. The owl flapped its wings, and took off into the bright sky, and Remus watched it all the way till its miniature figure disappeared.

He looked down at the letter in his hands, and the corners of his lips twitched at the confirmation that yes, this is from Reg. He walked back to his room, shutting the door and flopping back down onto his bed, getting cozy before flicking at the stamped wax, tearing it open and pulling out the unusually long letter. His brows clenched together and his eyes squinted. He usually doesn’t write this much.

He cleared his throat with a shake of his head, unfolding the letter, and he read.

______________________

08/01/79

To the biggest nerd ever,

If you have received this letter, I am dead. I have told Kreacher to send out all of my letters if I don’t make it back. In all honesty, I always knew I wouldn’t make it back, but I foolishly kept my hopes up. I kept my hopes up that if I went on just a day longer, things would change. But they didn’t. To make sure you read this letter, I have sent an owl to accompany it and bring it to the receiver.

Read the book I recommended yet? It was good, right? When I first read it, their dynamic reminded me of us. I’ll admit that when we first started talking I had forced myself to hate you because you liked my brother, but I couldn’t bring myself to. We had a connection that was so different from that of my friends and I. As much as I love them and how different we all are, you were the only one that was so similar to me.

Our book club with Lily were some of the best memories I had. I always looked forward to that time of the day, and I felt at home with the both of you. It upsets me that I’ll never experience that ever again, and neither will you two, but this was bound to happen wasn’t it? It was written in the history books.

I don’t know if my brother will read the letter I sent him, I don’t know if he’ll continue hating me, but if he continues to talk nonsense about me can you tell him? Tell him to read the letter I sent him? I don’t want to still have him lost from me even after death Rem, he’s one of the only family I have left.

I have one wish before I die; if you ever happen to stumble across my friends, show them respect. I want to witness the people I love most showing some form of affection for each other. Will you do that for me? No point in asking, I know you Remus, and I know you will do as I wish.

Thank you for the books you have given me, I’ve kept them in my room under my bed if you ever wish to retrieve them one day, and yes I had read them all, they were amazing of course. I’ve sent a letter to James and Lily, you should go check on them after this.

Thank you for being like a twin brother to me, thank you for providing me with the best memories that I’m grateful to die with, thank you for allowing Siri to tell me your secret, thank you for letting me comfort you before full moons. Thank you Moony, for everything.

Maybe in another life we’ll all be able to grow old together with our friends and the love of our lives. Maybe in another life we’ll be rebirthed as actual twins, and our friendship won’t be considered forbidden. I face death with the hope that you will all live long and healthy lives, and if not, I fill myself with yet another foolish hope that when we all die, we’ll be reunited.

Never forget us Moons, and remember me until you can’t.

R.A.B.

______________________

Remus threw the letter aside, fresh tears dribbling out of his eyes and down his scarred cheeks. He ran out of his bedroom and all the way to the front door, hastening to shove his feet into his shoes and fumbling with the door handle before managing to slam it open, sobs wracking through his body. The door banged shut behind him, and without locking it, he ran straight forward–and with a swish of his body, he apparated.

Being met face to face with the front door of James Potter’s and his boyfriend’s house, he finally felt the fierce surge of bereavement crash into his build. Trying not to collapse to the ground with mourning, Remus creeped his way towards the wooden entrance, clutching his stomach with the torturous feeling of loss. The loss of a best friend, the loss of a misunderstood soul, the loss of someone he could’ve called a brother.

He raised his trembling knuckles, and threw thunder after thunder of fists against the door, until he was met with the face of Sirius Black. And then, he allowed himself to shatter.

4 years later, Remus Lupin began to forget Regulus Black.

~*~*~*~*~*~

[chenziee]

Love at Sunrise (the worst kind)

HAPPY LAWLU DAY!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Coming back with Chains of Fate for @truffyfest Summer of Lawlu!! But also we all know that I am insane so of course I didn't stop there. We have:

Summer of Lawlu, June 6: DAWN | CAUGHT IN THE RAIN | “I never meant to fall in love with you, I just did.”

OP Bingo 2023 (yes I know, don't look at me): Picnic

@opfluffzine Wheel of Fluff event: Kisses

No, I didn't read this after myself, yes, I'm even less prepared than usual this year xD I'm too busy lately 😭 Please bear with me for now and I'll see you next week 🤍 EDIT: I've read it over now, sorry about the weird typos arrvaerv

[ READ ON AO3 | CHAINS OF FATE | COMM INFO ]

----------

There wasn’t much Law wanted in life.

Peace and quiet. Knowledge. His crew’s safety. A dry and comfortable bed. A decent amount of sleep. It wasn’t that much to ask, in his humble opinion.

So then why, why in the world was he sitting out here on a soaking wet picnic blanket at five in the fucking morning, surrounded by laughing and singing and shouting people all around him? It was neither dry, nor comfortable, peaceful, quiet nor was he getting any sleep at all anytime soon, by the looks of it.

Hell, he couldn’t even attest for the safety of his crew; no one was dead, but the recent battle with the Blackbeard pirates had carried its toll. Everyone was injured and most of them shouldn’t be even moving around. Not that that had stopped those idiots from partying after reuniting with their ‘allies’.

Quotation marks because the alliance with the Straw Hats was over. It had been over for two weeks, as Law had reminded his crew countless times. And yet, both crews still stubbornly insisted on calling each other that.

All except Law himself, of course.

“Torao!!” 

Law closed his eyes momentarily, praying for patience as the biggest pain in his life approached him fast—his flip flops slapping in the mud soaked by the sudden downpour that had interrupted the party earlier, a giggle on his lips, and bringing the smell of meat and bonfire smoke and the sun with him.

How did he always manage to smell like the sun, even in the middle of the night, right after a rain, when they haven’t seen the celestial body in hours? Law had no idea.

“Torao~! Why are you just sitting here?” Straw Hat questioned once he skidded to a stop right behind Law, before immediately grabbing onto Law’s shoulders and leaning over to press an awkward, upside-down kiss to Law’s forehead.

Law huffed, raising an eyebrow at Luffy. “Better question, how do you still have the energy to be so loud?”

Law tried to sound annoyed but with the way his lips twitched and one of his hands immediately raised to touch Luffy’s own hand on his shoulder… he wasn’t sure he succeeded.

Either way, Luffy wasn’t phased. “It’s our first time on Elbaf!! Of course I’m excited, look how giant everything is! Even the meat is huge!”

“Of course you’d get excited about the meat,” Law teased.

“Not just the meat!”

“Of course,” Law placated, doing his best to sound as sincere as he could.

“Jerk,” Luffy shot back immediately, giving Law a pout. “I hate you.”

Law couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him at that. “Glad to know my own soulmate hates me.”

“You can be my soulmate and a jerk,” Luffy announced, sticking his tongue out for good measure.

Law shook his head, trying not to show the smile that was pulling on his lips. Not for the first time, he had to wonder how the hell he had ended up with this absolute menace as his soulmate, and why the hell did he actually enjoy it.

It was ridiculous.

This entire… thing they had was ridiculous, just as anything that involved Straw Hat was ridiculous. Like him breaking the chain of a soulmark on Law’s arm with ease on Dressrosa, like invading Whole Cake Island, like beating Kaido, like bringing an entire fucking Buster Call on himself not two days after Law had left him unsupervised.

And yet, Law couldn’t bring himself to hate it—or to regret a single moment they’d spent together since running into each other on Punk Hazard.

That in itself was ridiculous.

But really, who was the ridiculous one here?

Did it even matter?

Without a word, Law grabbed Luffy’s hand still on his shoulder, bringing it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to the knuckles—scarred and rough and rubbery and oh-so warm… 

“Torao? Are you okay?”

No. No, he was not. 

He didn’t realise how scared, how tired, and how stressed he had been since the crew’s run-in with Blackbeard until Luffy was safely back by his side. Just hearing his voice, feeling his warmth, having his presence solid next to him was enough to have Law’s carefully constructed mask of I’m fine fall into pieces.

Law’s soulmark tingled when Luffy twisted his hand so that he could lace their fingers together, squeezing lightly.

That simple gesture was enough to ground Law.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he sighed finally. “Don’t worry.”

Luffy was silent for a moment but then he nodded and, a second later, his usual grin was back. He didn’t waste any time in joining Law on his gross, wet, cold blanket, pressing himself against Law’s side as he huddled close, with Law’s arm automatically wrapping around his shoulders. Before they settled into each other, Luffy pressed a quick peck to Law’s cheek, to which Law huffed. That just seemed to make Luffy laugh.

Sometimes, Law had to wonder what about his reactions was so damn funny.

For a while, they simply watched as the last few people from their crews who were still awake partied together and with their new and old giant friends. Honestly, Law wasn’t even surprised that the Straw Hats had somehow managed to pick up an befriend not one, not two, but five giants somewhere along the fucking way before Law even knew knew the crew. Although, admittedly, one of those five had Nico Robin in a sobbing mess on the floor the moment she saw him, much to her own crew’s confusion.

Law didn’t want to know what that was about. He had enough of his own childhood trauma to deal with, thank you very much. Robo-ya could deal with that particular issue.

As they sat in comfortable silence together, Law played with Lufffy’s hair absentmindedly; eventually, he went to kiss Luffy’s temple where he was resting his head against his shoulder… but as he turned to do just that, he suddenly realised how light the sky was getting on the eastern side of the island.

“You’ve got to be kidding…” he muttered, glaring at the first, slight tinges of orange.

Luffy only hummed questioningly, and Law could just imagine the cute, confused frown on his face.

“It’s dawn. It’s fucking dawn, Straw Hat-ya.”

“Oh! Nice!”

Law took a deep breath, his eye twitching. “I hate sunrises, Straw Hat-ya. Do you know why?”

“But they’re so pretty…” Luffy whined and Law took a deep breath.

“They’re pretty to you. To me, though, there are only three reasons I’d ever watch one. Insomnia, nightmares, or you keeping me up until ungodly hours in the morning doing stupid shit,” Law hissed, shooting Luffy an unimpressed look.

Straw Hat, however, completely ignored the very unsubtle jab. “I like the last option best.”

Clicking his tongue, Law shook his head. He refused to admit out loud that he felt the same way. Being forced to socialise until morning was much preferable to trying and failing to fall asleep in complete silence and darkness for hours on end.

But still…

“I hate you.”

“Liar.”

Law clicked his tongue at Luffy’s all too amused snicker. Brat.

Finally, Law sighed. “It’s still weird though. This.” He gestured vaguely with the hand he had on Straw Hat’s shoulder. “You know, I never wanted a soulmate. I never wanted this fucking soulmark. And now I’m sitting here, as uncomfortable as can be. Because of you.”

“Hey!” Luffy cried. “I didn’t force you to sit on the soaked blanket when there was a nice bonfire going right here the whole time!”

“And who was the one who insisted on me not leaving when it started raining, holding my injured crew hostage?” Law asked, voice dripping in sarcasm. “Someone had to make sure no one fucking died.”

“Excuses.” Luffy waved his hand dismissively.

Closing his eyes momentarily, Law forced himself to stay calm. “What I’m trying to say”—he paused, mentally preparing himself—”is that it’s weird as hell. I never wanted a soulmate and yet I…”

He trailed off, suddenly out of words. What was he saying? Why was he saying this? Is it too late to back down?

“Yet you…?” Luffy prompted.

Yep. Definitely too late.

Fuck…

“I never meant to fall in love with you, I just… did. And I can’t figure out why.”

The silence that followed only served to drive the mortification Law was feeling in. He almost wished Luffy had laughed in his face instead of taking all this sweet time to process Law’s words.

It felt like hours before Luffy finally responded.

“I fell in love with you too. And it has nothing to do with the soulmate thing. I just love you. Don’t think so hard about stuff, Torao.”

Law cringed; having Luffy be the voice of reason always felt like a slap in the face—which was usually exactly what Law needed in the situations it happened.

“It’s your fault for keeping me up so late. I’m getting delirious.”

At that, Luffy burst out laughing; and, even though he was mostly laughing at him… Law couldn’t help but smile. Luffy’s joy was infectious, today and always. Brighter and more beautiful than any sunrise could ever dream to be.

Oh god, he really was sleep-deprived.

With one final huff, Law leaned in, pressing his lips against Luffy’s in that day’s first, proper kiss. Actually, wasn’t this their first kiss since they parted in Wano? Maybe.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was the way Luffy’s lips stretched into a smile against Law’s mouth, his hands coming up to hold onto Law’s coat as he returned the kiss eagerly. Nothing else mattered at all.

Law may not have gotten any quiet, comfort, dryness, knowledge, or the least amount of sleep tonight—hell, even safety was questionable during this party despite there being no danger to them on Elbaf in theory. But, with Luffy and his crew within reach once more, Law really couldn’t say he was complaining.

Maybe, happiness was enough sometimes.

He would still not say no to a fucking bed though.

[fairyniceyeah]

⏳️🦊 My Aurora

Title from AURORA (ATEEZ)

Summary: Wooyoung wakes up sick – literally. He is feeling awful but his captain makes it better.

CW: emeto

Sickie: Wooyoung Caretaker: Hongjoong (and Yeosang)

„Hwa, turn off that god-awful alarm before I shoot myself”, Hongjoong growled into his pillow. As far as he was concerned it was too early and he needed sleep. Badly. It might be his own fault for sleeping like eight hours in total over the span of 48 hours but he was allowed to hate early morning schedules.

“Good morning to you too, Joongie”, Seonghwa answered with a slight laugh. He sounded way to awake and chipper for this time of day. Bastard. At least he turned off the alarm. Small mercies.

But instead of letting Hongjoong sleep, he got up from his bed to peer over the side of Hongjoong’s upper bunk. “Uh-oh, no sleeping”, Seonghwa said and pulled off the blanket to expose Hongjoong to the cold air.

“Meanie”, Hongjoong pouted and yawned.

Seonghwa laughed again. “I distinctly remember you telling me to make you get up by any means necessary last night, no matter how much I beg”, he teased.

“My past self was an idiot. I’m older now, I know better now. And I don’t want to get up”, Hongjoong tried and moved to turn over, away from his annoying hyung. What right did he have to torture him? He was Seonghwa’s captain after all.

Seonghwa’s voice sounded way to gleeful. “I always wanted to do this.”

Before Hongjoong could wonder what he was about to do, Seonghwa had sprayed him with the water bottle he used to mist his succulent plants.

Hongjoong screeched and jolted upright, now wide awake.

“I hate you”, he muttered, wiping his face.

Seonghwa just grinned wider, looking unfairly put together in stark contrast to Hongjoong who probably looked like a mess with an impressive bedhead. He didn’t need a mirror, he knew he looked awful whenever he woke up.

“No, you don’t”, Seonghwa said, “now, do get up. I’ll make breakfast. You get ready, we have a long day ahead.”

“You’re telling me”, the captain grumbled but climbed down the ladder of his bunk.

⌛

Ten minutes later Hongjong was dressed and had sorted out the disaster that was his face and hair. When he stumbled into the kitchen he found Seonghwa at the stove making something, while Mingi and San were sitting next to each other at the table, leaning on each other and half-asleep. Yunho was standing next to the coffee maker, eyes closed.

“Morning”, Hongjoong greeted and received mumbled answers from his members that he wasn’t even sure were words. He could sympathise. Five o’clock was not a time to get up – especially if you only went to sleep at two o’clock.

As he sat down next to San, Yeosang and Jongho made their way into the kitchen, both of them cuddled close together and still in pyjamas. “Morning”, Jongho greeted and flopped onto San. Yeosang sat down next to Hongjoong and turned his attention to the leader.

“Wooyoung-yah is still asleep”, Yeosang explained their roommates absence, “I woke up tonight because he was moving around, said he had trouble sleeping. I let him sleep in my bed but when he didn’t wake up to our alarm I thought he might need more rest and he could maybe eat in the car?” He sounded unsure if he had done the right thing  and worried about his best friend.

“That’s alright, Sang-ah, letting him sleep was a good idea”, Hongjoong praised, wanting to erase the uncertainness off his dongsaeng’s face. He knew how Yeosang often worried if he overstepped boundaries when he decided something – the reason why he mostly didn’t decide anything. “I’ll wake him after breakfast. Sleep is important.”

“I will make him something to go”, Seonghwa added.

⌛

Once breakfast was done Hongjoong and Yeosang went to the younger two’s room, so that Yeosang could grab his clothes and Hongjoong could work on waking up their second maknae.

Wooyoung was curled up on Yeosang’s bed, fast asleep. He was cuddling the pillow to his chest and like that Hongjoong was reminded just how young he was. While he often acted like a nuisance on cocaine on camera Wooyoung was a responsible and caring person. He had seen the awfulness of their industry. Hongjoong would be a liar if he said he wasn’t soft for these moments when his kids, as ATINY would say, seemed like actual kids.

Once Yeosang had left the room, Hongjoong knelt down next to Wooyoung, holding onto the ladder that went up to Wooyoung’s bunk for stability. He placed a hand on Wooyoung’s shoulder and shook it gently.

“Wake up, baby”, Hongjoong whispered, “you need to get ready for today’s photoshoot.”

Wooyoung groaned unhappily but blinked his eyes open. He stared up at Hongjoong for a moment before swiftly turning to the side. Just for a second Hongjoong was confused, then out of a sudden Wooyoung coughed and retched loudly before throwing up onto the floor beside Yeosang’s bed. Hongjoong jumped back in shock, hoping to protect his trousers and socks from the mess and, quite frankly in disgust. He had not anticipated Wooyoung puking first thing in the morning. After a second Hongjoong tried to step a bit closer so that he could rub Wooyoung’s back as the man cried and gagged.

“Oh, baby”, Hongjoong whispered, heart breaking for his sick dongsaeng who was trying so hard to catch his breath. “It’s okay, hyung has got you.”

Finally Wooyoung’s stomach seemed to be done and the younger rolled onto his back again. Tears were gathering in his eyes and trailed down his cheeks. Hongjoong could sympathize: He imagined waking up only to throw up seconds later without any warning was very unpleasant. Ignoring the soupy mess on the ground that resembled last nights dinner a bit too much, Hongjoong sat down on the bed next to Wooyoung’s hip and started stroking his sweaty hair away from his face.

“I’m so sorry, hyung”, Wooyoung whispered, eyes glazed over and sounding exhausted. There was embarrassment colouring his cheeks red.

“It’s okay, Wooyoung-yah, you couldn’t help it”, Hongjoong mumbled back, “is it okay if I call for help? You need to get cleaned up and your tiny old hyung won’t be much of a help, you’ve grown up so much.”

“Can it be Yeosangie-hyung, please?”, Wooyoung asked in a tiny voice. That had been Hongjoong’s plan all along anyways. Jongho, Yunho and Mingi needed to get ready, as did San, and he needed Seonghwa to keep an eye on the others. Besides, if this was a stomach bug then Yeosang had already been exposed – no need to risk getting everybody sick at the same time.

“Sang-ah, come here, please”, Hongjoong called and a moment later the door opened.

“Hyung … what? Oh”, Yeosang said dumbfounded. He quickly gathered himself and made his way over to his dongsaeng who was making grabby hands in his direction. It was cute even in this situation. Yeosang quickly obliged and crouched at the head of his bed, where he could be closest to Wooyoung without getting too close to the mess.

“Why didn’t you say last night that you felt sick?”, Yeosang asked gently.

“I didn’t feel sick then”, Wooyoung pouted.

“Threw up the moment he woke up”, Hongjoong provided, smiling to himself as he watched the interaction between his members. He really loved how they cared for each other like a real family. “Can you get him to the living room so we can get this cleaned up?”

“I’m really sorry”, Wooyoung whispered as he glanced down, paling instantly.

“It’s really okay, baby, you can’t help it”, Hongjoong soothed, “let me just get you a trash can and then you’re all set.”

He got up to get a bucket but then he spotted the room’s trash can. Good enough. It was filled halfway with empty energy drinks that Hongjoong unceremoniously dumped onto the floor.

“Hyung”, Yeosang complained as empty cans clattered onto the floor.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you and Jongho-ah about your excessive consumption of energy drinks anyways. This is just the start”, Hongjoong explained and ignored the following whine in favour of raising his eyebrow at Wooyoung. The second maknae giggled. That was much better than the tears.

“You’re conspiring against us”, Yeosang moaned, understanding Hongjoong’s intention of distracting Wooyoung from his misery.

“File your complains here.” Hongjoong shrugged and pointed at the trash can.

“Hyung, you’re ridiculous”, Wooyoung teased weakly.

“Hyung has every right to complain. Hyung shares a room with Seonghwa. Hyung cleans under the bed three times a week, nothing more ridiculous than that”, Hongjoong said as he placed the bucket down next to Wooyoung.

“Don’t make me laugh, my stomach hurts”, Wooyoung complained, hugging the aching organ.

“Alright, let’s get back to it. Sang-ah, why don’t you get Wooyoung comfortable on the couch with his new best friend while I get medicine and a thermometer?”, Hongjoong said and Yeosang nodded eagerly.

“Up you get”, Hongjoong said and helped Yeosang sit Wooyoung up and then swing his legs over the side of the bed. The sick member’s breathing took on deeper patterns as he tried to stave off the nausea from being upright and Hongjoong was ready to reach over to the bucket if it was needed. Luckily Wooyoung was able to breathe through it.

“I’m dizzy”, he said and closed his eyes.

“Think you can walk or do you want hyung to get Yunho so he can help me carry you?”, Yeosang asked gently.

“Just give me a minute.”

Hongjoong and Yeosang exchanged worried glances. They had never seen Wooyoung this sick before – it was clear he couldn’t stay alone at the dorm, not that Hongjoong would have allowed that. They had an all day shooting of a video on their schedule – somebody who had lots of scenes with Wooyoung could stay back.

“I can go on”, Wooyoung said before Hongjoong was able to finish his thoughts.

“Okay, change of plans. We both help you to the living room”, Hongjoong said, not wanting to risk Wooyoung falling despite his deep trust in Yeosang. Some accidents couldn’t be avoided but he might help as a crutch anyway. Carefully Yeosang and Hongjoong helped him stand, the youngest’s legs shaky and barely able to hold his own weight. The captain reached down and handed Wooyoung the bucket which he cradled against his chest fearfully.

“We’ve got you, it’s okay”, Hongjoong soothed, “if you need to be sick again or feel even more dizzy or anything just tell us.”

Slowly they made their way around the puddle on the floor and out of the bedroom, with Yeosang and Hongjoong having wrapped one arm around Wooyoung’s waist each.

⌛

Yunho was sitting on the couch, fully dressed and sipping his coffee as they entered the living room and he looked up with confusion written plainly on his face.

“What’s going on?”, he asked confused, taking in the view. He clearly wasn’t awake enough yet to understand what was obvious.

“Wooyoung-ah is sick”, Hongjoong explained and quickly Yunho had abandoned his coffee on the TV table to open his arms for Wooyoung to cuddle in. The maknae plopped down onto the couch as soon as he was in reach but refused to lean into Yunho, still holding the bucket under his chin. He tugged at Yeosang’s hand to get the older to sit down with him and Yeosang, reliable friend he was, immediately complied and took his hand.

“You’re really not feeling good, huh?”, Yunho whispered and placed a warm hand on Wooyoung’s back. The younger man whimpered and swallowed harshly.

“I feel so sick”, Wooyoung groaned and burped wetly. Hongjoong winced and sighed. “If you need to be sick, Wooyoung-ah, let it…”

Before he could finish the sentence, Wooyoung lurched forward and buried his face in the bucket, loudly expelling his stomach contents. Yunho helplessly rubbed his back and Yeosang held back his hair from his forehead, steadying the bucket with the other hand.

Hongjoong could only watch, once again. He shuddered at the sound of liquid hitting the bucket and the loud coughing. It was a wonder nobody else had wandered into the living room yet to find out where the wretched sounds came from.

“Breathe”, Yeosang encouraged. Confident his dongsaengs had the situation under control, Hongjoong slipped away to gather the thermometer and some medication from the bathroom. On his way back, he nearly collided with Seonghwa who stared at him – or more exactly at the medication in his hand – with confusion, then worry.

“Hongjoong-ah, are you sick? What is going on?”, he asked frantically, mother henning as always.

“I’m fine, it’s…” Hongjoong was interrupted by the sounds of Wooyoung vomiting again and both of them winced. In the dorm there was no real privacy they had learned – as much as any of them tried to hide illnesses, they would be betrayed by the thin walls. And as the oldest hyungs they were very much aware how easily illnesses spread when everybody lived in each other’s pocket.

They both shuddered simultaneously at the memory of the stomach flu from last winter – it had started one day with Yunho and by the end of the next day only Hongjoong and Seonghwa were left standing (but also with buckets not too far away from them).

“Wooyoung?”, Seonghwa asked.

“Yeah.”

“What about the filming? We need to leave in like less than fifteen minutes”, Seonghwa said.

“I know.” Hongjoong sighed. “I want to know his temperature and then I will call a manager. One of us needs to stay back with him, there is no way he can stay alone. Either Yeosang, Yunho or I – we’ve already been exposed.”

“Who is sick”?, San asked from behind them, a frown on his face. He seemed to have been on his way to the bathroom whose door they were blocking.

“Somebody is sick?”, Mingi asked, popping his head out of his bedroom door.

“Wooyoung is … ah, no, Jongho-yah, don’t go in there”, Hongjoong warned, the younger man having also appeared behind San and reaching for his bedroom door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Wooyoung-ah threw up”, Hongjoong explained with a sigh. “Listen, guys, we need to get ready, okay? San-ah, I hate to ask this of you but could you clean the bedroom? You have the strongest stomach out of all of us present.”

“On it, captain”, San said with a salute, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

“Let’s go check on him. Mingi-yah, can Jongho borrow some of your clothes?”

“Sure.”

Seonghwa and Hongjoong entered the living room to find Wooyoung curled up on Yeosang’s lap, tears trailing down his cheeks. Yunho was sitting next to them, running a hand up and down the second maknae’s arm, the bucket in his reach for easy access.

“Wooyoung-yah, let me take your temperature, okay?”, Seonghwa said and knelt down in front of his dongsaeng. Wooyoung nodded and let his oldest hyung hold the thermometer up to his forehead. Frantic beeping quickly followed.

“Uh-oh, 38.6°C”, Seonghwa read with a frown, “that is really not good.”

“Do you think it’s a stomach bug?”, Yunho asked unhappily. “Did you feel sick too, last night?”

Wooyoung shrugged. “I wasn’t really hungry last night but we had a big lunch so I didn’t think much of it. I wasn’t really able to fall asleep tonight until Yeosang-hyung let me sleep with him. But I honestly thought it was a touch of insomnia.”

Yunho frowned. “We shared lunch yesterday and if you didn’t eat much dinner, I think we can rule out food poisoning.”

“Great”, Hongjoong groaned, “I’ll call the manager. Young-ah, you are in no condition for filming today.” He retreated to the kitchen for some privacy.

“Noona, we have a problem”, he said as the woman picked up, “Wooyoung-yah is sick. He’s thrown up a couple of times this morning and he’s running a temperature of 38.6°. He needs to stay home and somebody needs to stay with him.”

“Dammit”, the manager said, “yes, obviously he needs to stay home. We’ll have to do scenes without him today then. I think it’s best if … hm, Jongho-ah is probably not a good choice. Mingi-yah can stay with him then, they have a few scenes together.”

“Noona, I was actually hoping Yeosang-ah or I could stay back”, Hongjoong said honestly, “Mingi-yah has not been exposed yet and …”

“Yeosang-ah is not an option, he needs to film today. He won’t be able to attend tomorrow due to a schedule conflict. But I guess you can stay home. You have a few scenes with Wooyoung-yah too and your own shoots can be done when and wherever.”

“Thanks, noona.”

“Thank me with the others being punctual, Hongjoong-ah.”

⌛

Hongjoong found Yeosang and Wooyoung in mostly the same position with Yunho still sporting an unhappy frown. Seonghwa was nowhere to be seen, he was probably washing out the bucket.

“Hey, Wooyoung-yah”, Hongjoong said warmly and knelt down to look at the second maknae. Wooyoung blinked owlishly up at him. “Noona said you can stay home today, I’ll be staying with you, okay?”

“Sangie-hyung?”, Wooyoung mumbled, unintentionally pouting. Yeosang was frowning unhappily, rubbing Wooyoung’s arm. He looked reluctant to leave his best friend behind too.

“He needs to go in for filming, baby. He’ll be back as soon as possible, okay?”, Hongjoong explained.

“Oh, alright”, Wooyoung said sadly but let Yeosang get up, instead opting to lie down completely on the couch.

⌛

Fifteen minutes later and punctual as promised Hongjoong and Wooyoung were left alone. Before they had left Mingi had gotten them some supplies and Jongho had brought both of them their bed covers, so there was no need for them to get up at all. They could stay curled up under the covers all day if they wanted to.

Wooyoung had laid down in Hongjoong’s lap, latching onto any heat source he could get. His eyes were closed but Hongjoong knew he wasn’t asleep. There were unhappy lines on the younger’s forehead and the leader could imagine why.

“Baby?”, he asked, “stomach ache?”

Wooyoung nodded weakly. “I’m sorry for all this, hyung”, he said quietly.

“Hush, dongsaeng”, Hongjoong soothed, “you’re sick, it happens. I can’t get you a hot water bottle, your temperature is too high for that, but I can rub your tummy?”

The younger opened his eyes for a moment, blinking against the overhead light and closed them again. “Thank you, hyung.”

Hongjoong sneaked his hand under the blanket and he instantly felt just how upset the younger’s stomach was, gurgling and cramping against his hand.

“Is this okay?”, he asked gently.

Wooyoung just hummed, already mostly asleep.

⌛

Wooyoung felt terrible. Horrible. Disgusting. Weak. Awful. Any negative association he could think off. He hated throwing up and he really had looked forward to filming. Now he was sick and miserable.

He had napped most of the morning except for the few instances where he had gotten sick again. His stomach ached, the nausea was still terrible even when he wasn’t about to puke, his head ached and he felt so frustrated.

He could tell that Hongjoong mirrored the last emotion.

“You should try to eat a bit, baby”, Hongjoong coaxed, obviously at his wit’s end. “I let you slack off breakfast but you haven’t effectively eaten since yesterday lunch. We need to get some nutrients and fluids into you. Then you can even taken some medicine to help.”

Wooyoung knew that the fever was making him feel so awful and emotional but he could help that eating or drinking sounded like the hardest tasks in the entire universe. He was done with being done, done with feeling sick and he didn’t want to risk anything that could trigger another bout.

He only wanted his captain hyung.

Hongjoong had been incredibly patient with him, ignoring his dislike towards skinship to cuddle Wooyoung as much as the younger wanted. He was grateful for his hyung, really. The captain hadn’t even complained when Wooyoung had burst into tears the moment he had stopped touching Wooyoung. Rationally, Wooyoung knew that the bucket needed cleaning out and that for that Hongjoong had needed to leave. That knowledge hadn’t prevented him from crying anyhow, clinging to his hyung. He didn’t want to be alone in his misery, so sue him.

Wooyoung shook his head wildly, his oreo hair stuck to his forehead with sweat so it didn’t even fly around anymore when moved. “I can’t, hyung”, he whined.

“At least some tea? Please?”, Hongjoong asked, obviously desperate. Wooyoung felt sorry towards his hyung who had to deal with him but he didn’t want to be alone.

“I don’t want you to leave”, he whispered, tears gathering in his eyes again. The headache from dehydration had taken up residence ages ago but he was miserable anyway. Tea wouldn’t make it better. Hyung would.

“It’ll be for two minutes, baby”, Hongjoong begged, “you can drink some tea. You haven’t thrown up in nearly two hours now, maybe it will stay down. You need fluids. I hate to do this … but if you don’t drink anything in the next fifteen minutes I’m taking you to hospital for an IV.”

Wooyoung’s eyes filled with tears. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. He wanted to just be okay.

“I know, dongsaeng”, Hongjoong soothed. Wooyoung hadn’t even noticed he said that aloud. “Two minutes.”

Wooyoung let himself be lifted from Hongjoong’s lap and laid down against a pillow.

Within a blink of an eye Hongjoong had appeared with a cup of tea and one of their bamboo straws.

“Just a few sips. I put in some cold water, I tried it. It’s drinking temperature.” The leader smiled down at him and lowered the cup so that Wooyoung could drink. Propped up against the pillow he was able to drink and Hongjoong kept stroking back his hair.

“You are doing so well, baby”, Hongjoong praised when Wooyoung had taken a few sips. “Sleep.”

⌛

Wooyoung barely felt better by evening. His temperature that had gone down with medication in the afternoon had gone up in the evening again. Worse yet, he had slept so much over the day he wasn’t even particularly tired.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa had originally decided to isolate him and the captain but it seemed that shy Yeosang had bullied his way into the bedroom. How that had happened Wooyoung wasn’t sure but his best friend could be stubborn if he wanted to.

That was how he ended up snuggling Yeosang in his bed again, resting on the elder’s chest while he played with Wooyoung’s hair. Hongjoong had pulled out his laptop and was playing soft music over the speakers, working through his email.

Wooyoung still wasn’t feeling good and he would get sick again in the night but soothed by the sound of Hongjoong clicking on keys and Yeosang stroking his hair and telling them about his day he felt better than all day.

Note: For the lovely anon who requested the Wooyoung sickfic with Hongjoong caretaker 💕

I hope you all enjoy!

Masterlist links: Fairy's Full Masterlist Fairy's Masterlist - ATEEZ

[ladykailitha]

The People That See You Part 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Eddie eyed the table critically.

“Hey, Will,” he said. “You think this fight will be wrapped up in twenty minutes?” He liked calling on the younger Wheeler because he was a good DM and was better at knowing how long things would take.

Will looked around at the table and then nodded. “About that, maybe a little more if people take longer to decide their move.”

“Dustin,” Eddie said. “You just took your turn, would you go tell Sir Steve that we’re nearing our break?”

Dustin saluted and went dashing up the stairs.

“Steve!” he called, bounding into the front room like a jack rabbit on crack.

Steve looked up from his book.

“Since when do you wear glasses?” Dustin asked pointing at his face.

Steve sighed and took them off, setting them on the table next to him. “Since I’ve been bashed around so much my right eye has decided it doesn’t want to focus anymore.”

“Eddie says it’ll be about twenty minutes until the fight is over.”

Steve nodded and stood up. He took the lasagna out of the fridge and popped into the oven Steve had kept warm. He turned around to see Dustin staring at him.

“Don’t you have to get back to the game or whatever?” he asked, shouldering past the youth.

“Not for awhile,” Dustin muttered. “I took my turn.”

“Okay...” he said, eyeing him. “So what do you want?”

“You’re in love with Eddie.” It wasn’t a question and Steve was reminded of this one’s ego.

“Doesn’t mean he feels the same,” Steve said, shaking his head.

Dustin just shook his head. Steve could be so stubborn. He went back downstairs yelling, “What did I miss?”

Steve thought back to all his interactions with Eddie and might have to concede that the little punk had a point. He hated it when that happened. It did nothing to temper the ego.

*

He heard the thundering of feet and began cutting the lasagna. He set aside the largest piece and then let everyone else dig in, choosing the piece they wanted.

Erica spotted the other piece on the counter. “That one for you?”

Steve shook his head. “I’ve already eaten. This is for Eddie.”

Just then Eddie came into the kitchen. “Ahh, Stevie, you shouldn’t have.”

Steve laughed. “Yes, I did.” He grabbed the slice and on his way through the crowd ruffled Dustin’s hair. “Otherwise these buttheads would have taken it all before you had a chance to grab a slice.”

“Hey!” Dustin protested.

“No, no,” Eddie said. “I can see that.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Are you sure you’ve eaten?”

“Yeah, I made myself a sandwich about an hour ago when I wasn’t sure how much longer you were going to be.”  

Eddie nodded and dug into the lasagna. He hummed happily. “Fuck, Steve this is so good.”

“I made the noddles, too,” Steve said happily. “It took me a couple of days to perfect it, but I think it turned out great.”

Gareth looked at him in awe. “How the hell did you learn how to cook like this?”

Steve shrugged. “I had to. My parents aren’t around and I played three different sports, so it was either eat out all the time and hurt my playing or I learn how to cook myself and make sure I ate healthy.”

There was a couple people who shifted nervously. It was one thing to hear of the neglect second or third hand, but it was something else to hear King Steve talking about having to fend for himself or perish.

Suddenly Will was there pestering Eddie about the latest battle and just like that the tension was broken.

Steve mouthed ‘Thank you.’ And Will just nodded.

*

After everyone had gone but Eddie, Steve flopped on the couch, exhausted.

Eddie sat down more gently next to him. “You do know, you don’t have to do this, right?”

“No, I enjoy it,” Steve said. “I really do. Hosting is the one thing that’s mine. My mother ‘hosted’ but in a way that meant she held court while she paid everyone else to do the actual work. But taking care of people, making sure they’re having fun, that there is enough food or drink, that’s all me. I love that.”

“I’ll give you that,” Eddie said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a happier group of people than the ones that just left.”

Steve grinned. “Good.” He leaned his head so close to Eddie’s that he was almost resting on his shoulder. “I have an ulterior motive, though.”

Eddie twisted to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“I knew that if I wanted to date you, I would have to win over the Hellfire Club,” Steve whispered.

Eddie’s eyes went wide. “And now?”

“I think I am an overwhelming success, don’t you think?” Steve batted his eyelashes at him.

“You most certainly are,” Eddie said, cupping Steve cheek. “But I would said yes with or without them, you know?”

Steve lifted his head and Eddie bent down to meet him, their lips meeting for the first time. It was slow and sweet, gentle.

“I wanted them to like me,” Steve murmured when the broke off the kiss. “Because they’re important to you. And because you’re already part of my friends.”

“You win,” Eddie said with a grin. “I can’t stop you when you set your heart on something.”

“Well, I’d hope so,” Steve said after another kiss. “Because you are the biggest thing I’ve set my heart on.”

“I love you, too, Stevie,” Eddie murmured.

“Good,” Steve said, and gently lowered them on to the couch to continue kissing.

Eddie couldn’t believe his luck. He knew had all these arguments about how this wouldn’t work, couldn’t work. But he didn’t care. He had the best boy in the world in his arms and he was going to keep him.

Brian was going to be insufferable.

Tag List: @itsfreakingbats @colorful565 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @grtwdsmwhr

For some reason Tumblr isn’t properly tagging so all I can say is I tried.

[needle-noggins]

Trimax Volume 3 time! This one's light on the analysis because it was mostly just The Horrors of Puppetry and Soft Hospital Beds. But there's some stuff here.

First of all, yikes, the body horror. I was joking with a friend who recently got into The Locked Tomb about how our hyperfixations are both Body Horror in Space and I almost doubted myself. I think on my first read I blocked this shit out of my memory.

ok moving on! Hospital shit! This is basically fanfic to me. I love this part.

SO. After the Intense "Shoot" conversation, this is !!!! HUGE. Vash knows his ideals are skewed, but he still can't bring himself to kill, for Rem's sake. This is the first crack in his morality armor. And he's grateful that Wolfwood doesn't share the same ideals, grateful for Wolfwood's ability to murder. On the flippity flop, Wolfwood... hates that he can kill so well. He absolutely despises himself for it, so much so that when he was choking out Ninelives, he had to keep reminding himself of the orphanage just to keep going with the brutal thing. This moment of vulnerability from Vash then makes Wolfwood grumpy and frustrated, which is so... AUGH. They're trying so hard to understand each other. That's love, baby!

so uh. I think it's also really important that Wolfwood also has a conversation with Luida, trying to figure out just what Vash is. He finds out that Vash is essentially immortal in this volume, after all. And poor Wolfwood has to grapple with the fact that, while he's a mortal man who's killing just to survive, Vash is an immortal man who won't even use his powers to save himself - he just eeks by well enough to make sure he saves everyone else. Adding more salt into Wolfwood's emotional wounds, huh ("Is this some kind of attempt at redemption?"). Also important to note that Vash is only covered in scars because he won't use his powers. I think this is an important distinction from Stampede, where at least where that is early on in the story, Vash really doesn't have control over any of them. I dunno, maybe someone who's done more research on it would have more to weigh in on that.

It's also known that Vash hates his scars, but I forget if this is just an anime thing - can someone confirm if this is present in Trimax too? If it is, then there's another layer to this - he hates his scars but not enough to do something about it. That would be selfish. This isn't surprising though tbh.

Vash. Vashito. Baby boy. Who are you fooling here. Why are you getting so worked up HUH do you have a CRUSH, MR DAMSEL IN DISTRESS??? (for real though, he's ridiculous for acting like this to wolfwood, who has fucking seen his angel arm shoot a hole in the moon).

There's a lot of ways to interpret this panel? At first I thought ooo maybe Wolfwood is scared/he's amazed that Vash has seen so many Horrors but he still stubbornly continues on, whether out of hope or out of denial (the horrors are endless, but he really does stay silly). Like, that is pretty crazy, but I don't think it's inhuman like Emilio the puppet master said. But on second look, I think it might actually be admiration. Look, there's a crack in Wolfwood's armor too. Goddamn the way these boys change each other i could SCREAM.

[swordsandholly]

PLEASE IGNORE IF YOU ARE NOT IN A GOOD HEADSPACE TO ANSWER OR IF INAPPROPRIATE (some musings about growing up fat).

Hello. I am currently nearing my mid 20's and still have a hard time making peace with how my body looks. I've been bullied because of it for all my life, both from schoolmates years back and even family. Over time, I realize it became a constant part of me, and even my inner voice now mimics the same sentiments when I look into reflective surfaces.

Sometimes, I thought I was getting better, that I am coming to terms with how I am, but it's always a fleeting thing, and one comment about my looks or a simple bad day takes me back to square one. Because of this, I've let a lot of opportunities pass me by, deem myself unworthy of things that I think I do not deserve just because I'm fat, and it's taking a huge chunk out of me.

My question is, is there a way how to cope with this? Does it really get better? Would I really get better? It's getting tiring most times, to live in a body that you hate and hates you.

I'm sorry for dumping all this in your ask, and I'd completely understand if you ignore it. You're just one of the people I look up to in this app, and your works have sparked the idea to me that I, a fat person, can be loveable too. And thank you so much for that.

Tw for ED mention (I won’t be graphic) and fat phobia

Hi! Sorry for the long answer, I don’t know if this is helpful this is just my experience.

So, to start with, I totally get the external voices becoming internal. My mother cannot handle the fact that I’m fat and always have been (I was literally a 10lb baby). Growing up she was very cruel about it and essentially taught me anorexia starting around age 8. It can be really hard to push those voices away but you have to keep reminding yourself they are external. They are not you - they are other people with their own issues and hang ups. Easier said than done ik but it’s good to keep in mind.

I would say it’s super important to get rid of the idea that your body hates you. It doesn’t - it’s just doing it’s best to keep you alive. That’s it’s only goal. Something that has helped me is separating my body from myself and making it just something I take care of. Like a plant. I feed and water it and let it do it’s thing.

It’s always going to be a flip flopping battle. Some days will always be bad. I think the best goal is neutrality. When I stopped trying to force myself to love my body and sought neutrality I made so much more progress. Now I’ve come to mostly love my body as it is, but learning to be neutral to it first really was the thing that got the ball rolling in a positive direction.

Some steps that helped me a lot were only following plus size fashion vloggers/influencers. Especially if you can find people with the same body type as you. Another was simply not looking in mirrors too much. I’d get stuck staring at my reflection and just only looking in passing for a while helped a lot.

I hope this helps. It makes me really happy that you find solace in my works - that’s a big part of why I started writing them for myself! Us fat babes are hot and I stand by that whether or not everyone sees it🫶

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

Lmfaooo I know I already yapped my way into ur inbox earlier but. Sighhhh aroace reader has been on my mind again and I’m literally screaming clutching my torso rolling around on the floor crying thinking about it no joke <///333

I think that aroace reader + stsg comes with SO much comedic potential I physically cannot 😭😭 especially with reader who’s pretty much romance averse with satosugu (secretly) being their exception… like maybe shoko and utahime end up talking about their love lives and ask reader about THEIR love life and reader just deadpans “oh I don’t do romance. Doesn’t interest me” and satosugu (particular toru) are just like “….🙁ok but but but but but but-“ LMFAOO BUT THIS ALSO WORKS WITH READER WHOS COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF HOW STSG FEEL ABOUT THEM DESPITE IT BEING OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE ELSE???? imagine being with them out in public, being all affectionate n shit and then a cashier asks “oh are you guys dating? :)” and before either of them can get a word in ur just like “oh no, we’re just close friends haha!!! I know it looks like we do but none of us having feelings for each other at all haha!!!!” And they just look so fucking dejected like satorus shoulders slump and he puts on such a babyish pout…… and sugus just nodding and smiling along (he’s trying not to start screaming and crying on the floor) or maybe someone comes up to you and asks for your number before noticing suguru with his arm wrapped around your waist and satoru who’s got his arm around your shoulders and is looking at you like you hung the stars with your bare hands n the person is like “oh sorry I didn’t notice you guys are dating!!!” But reader is just like “huh?? No we’re not dating u can have my number!!” LMFAOOO I CAN SEE SATORU PULLING THIS FACE

They’re so funny I actually cannotttt 😭😭😭 another thing that’s been on my mind is that if sugu didn’t leave and stsg + reader sorted out their feelings for each other, they could all be teen parents to little Megumi ☹️☹️ satoru gets some money from his rich aah family (cause no way they aren’t rich cmon he was spoiled as a kid) and buys a nice apartment for you all, maybe somewhere by the sea… firm believer that suguru is the mother of all time like. He absolutely makes pancakes with syrup and blueberries and whatever else for u all in the morning……. U guys wake up early in the morning sometimes when it’s still a little dark with Megumi in his tiny little raincoat and take him out for walks by the beach….. collecting pretty rocks and seashells….. megumis dogs swimming in the ocean and satoru skipping stones while sugu reminds him not to go too close incase the tide comes in unexpectedly and he gets his shoes soaked…… I gotta stop myself now or else I’ll go on the lengthiest sugu rant you’ve ever seen but. You get the idea. Sugu being a caretaker mommy for one actual baby and one baby that’s actually a tall pouty bastard that’s so insufferably charming <//333 and you ofc!!! (His favourite baby) (joke he adores you all equally) (even if he lovingly pretends satoru is his least favourite)

HAAHHAAAAA I SERIOUSLY CANT STOP THINKING AB THEM I NEED HELP 😭😭😭 AS ALWAYS I HOPE UR DOING ALRIGHT N TAKING CARE OF URSELF!!! AND ARIIIII the merman sugu asks you’ve been getting have actually been making me laugh my ass off everytimeeeee 😭😭 sugu flopping around like a seal and hating all humans except reader is so fucking funny to me like he’s just straight up dissing the human race but just looks you dead in the eyes and says “but you’re one of the good ones” GOODBYEEEEE 💀💀💀 ANYWAYS HOW HAVE U BEEN???? UP TO ANYTHING INTERESTING??? :3 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤 gives u a flower + pancakes (sugu made them) u deserve it mwah mwah hope ur ok <333 🌷🥞

OLLIEEEEEE IT’S ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE U IN MY INBOX DW !!! we are yapping together 🫂🫂

PHDJDGDHDH THIS CONCEPT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME I HOPE U KNOW THAT 😭😭…. aroace!reader makes us all insane god bless. u are so REAL for mentioning the comedic potential bc it’s literally so beautiful….. i think i’m biased towards this option:

reader who’s pretty much romance averse with satosugu (secretly) being their exception… like maybe shoko and utahime end up talking about their love lives and ask reader about THEIR love life and reader just deadpans “oh I don’t do romance. Doesn’t interest me” and satosugu (particular toru) are just like “….🙁ok but but but but but but-“

IT’S JUST SOOOO FUNNY AND SWEET…. but i think stsg would also be so smug abt being reader’s exceptions 😭😭 losers. lovesick fools. utahime is just like… don’t you and those idiots have a thing 🤨🤨 and reader just goes well yeah but that’s different. they’re satoru and suguru. <- as if it’s just the most obvious thing in the world and stsg are sitting there all quiet and smug….. mentally squealing……… idk i just lovelovelove the idea of reader being very blunt with their emotions because they just don’t view romance in the same way others would and it flusters stsg Every Single Time. they used to always daydream abt being teasing bfs and making them flustered by acting all lovey-dovey but as it turns out they’re the ones who keep getting caught off guard by reader….

this is rlly just a random thought but. i’m just imagining them in the future, living together, not necessarily labelled in any way but they very much Love each other… suguru is smoking by the balcony late at night (he’s planning on quitting bc he doesn’t want to worry his babies <3) while satoru & reader are keeping him company… and reader just casually mentions that they want to live with stsg forever. that they’re happiest like that and don’t ever want it to end. and they’re just bluntly telling the truth but suguru and satoru are genuinely Losing It bc????? did we just get proposed to ????????? satoru is oddly quiet bc he’s trying to stop himself from blushing and suguru just clears his throat and tells reader that they feel the same way ….. but he’s not nearly as suave as usual bc he is in fact getting choked up LMAOO i love them sm they’re so silly ….. T—T

ok but back to ur lovely thoughts !!!! the idea of aroace!reader being oblivious is also rlly charming to me 😭😭 SATORU MAKING THAT FACE LMAO HE SOOO WOULD ……. i picture suguru just kinda twitching lol like he’s trying sooo hard to keep it together but a part of him kinda wants to kiss reader all over their pretty face so that they get the message. (jokes on him bc reader would somehow still assume that it was just … platonic kissing … just kissing the homies goodnight …..) sigh. it’s tough out here for stsg BUT i think they’d also be really endeared by it …… their oblivious lil reader….

AND WAHHHHH LIL BABY GUMI 🥺🥺🥺🥺 OLLIEEEE YOU’RE KILLING ME a nice house by the sea…….. taking walks by the beach…… and . mommy sugu ..,, our lord and saviour ……. makes u breakfast every morning and wakes u up by kissing u :(((( lets u cling to him while he cooks .. sighhhh. sigh sigh sigh. being a househusband could’ve fixed him idc 😔😔

Sugu being a caretaker mommy for one actual baby and one baby that’s actually a tall pouty bastard that’s so insufferably charming <//333 and you ofc!!! (His favourite baby) (joke he adores you all equally) (even if he lovingly pretends satoru is his least favourite)

AND THISSSS PLS u know the way to my heart….. caretaker mommy sugu 🥺🥺🥺 he would thrive off taking care of his babies like truly. he’s the Mother ever. and now he has one lil baby to Actually Mother and two overgrown babies to coddle and tease…… his dream life tbh. now i’m just imagining reader, toru & gumi waking sugu up on mother’s day to celebrate LMAOO they made a cake and everything….. he’s exasperated but secretly very touched :’3 maybe tears up a lil later when he’s looking at the world’s best mommy <3 cup u guys bought him LOL he’s such a sap …..

AND ARIIIII the merman sugu asks you’ve been getting have actually been making me laugh my ass off everytimeeeee 😭😭 sugu flopping around like a seal and hating all humans except reader is so fucking funny to me like he’s just straight up dissing the human race but just looks you dead in the eyes and says “but you’re one of the good ones” GOODBYEEEEE 💀💀💀

PHDJDJJD NO BECAUSE SAMEEEE i still have a couple more mer!sugu asks to get to actually… they’re all so great…… my anons have converted me fully into a mer!sugu stan and now i can’t stop thinking abt him 😭😭 HE’S SOOOO FUNNY U GET IT COMPLETELY LIKE …. he’s just a grumpy little seal man ……. ”you’re one of the good ones” NO BC LITERALLY!! THAT’S HOW HE FEELS…… reader is his emotional support human <33 he doesn’t like anyone else and WILL consider drowning anyone who gives them trouble but then reader gives him a Look and he’s like. sigh. 😒😒😒 you’re no fun. <-… he’s insane actually BUT WE LOVE HIM <33333 silly lil fishy !!

WAHHH URE SO SWEET OLLIE 😭😭🥺🥺 thank u for the flowers and sugu’s pancakes…….. i am munching on them gratefully…… here are some nice sunflowers 🌻🌻🌻 and croissants 🥐🥐🥐 for u <333 I’M DOING WELLL trying to catch up on asks + cooking up a lil sashisu/reader thingie.. 👀👀 i haven’t been able to post fics as regularly bc of uni but hopefully i can get it out by next weekend :33 and thennnn i think i’ll focus on mer!sugu…

ANYWAY WHAT ABT U ???? how have u been ?? tell me tell me 🎤🎤…… i hope it’s sunny wherever u are, here it’s still cold n gray T—T but spring will be with us soon … stay strong …….

[your-divine-ribs]

I’m With the Band Part 25

Words: 2.3k

I’m With the Band Masterlist Main Masterlist

Before I've stepped too far away a thought occurs to me and I quickly dart back into my room, smiling to myself at Van's fleeting look off dismay which evaporates as soon I emerge with my phone in hand, urging him to lead the way.

He does, back to the master bedroom where I steal a glance at his bed as I cross the threshold, memories sparking in me of what I was doing there with him just last night. My cheeks immediately tinge pink as I recall how easily he'd coaxed a climax from me, and the fact that just a few hours later I'd led Sam back to my room for more of the same. It certainly wasn't the first time that I'd seduced two guys in the same evening and usually I'd be glowing with a smug kind of satisfaction, but Sam's hurt and angry face keeps appearing in my mind, an unwelcome reminder of how every action causes a reaction... and not always in a good way.

I excuse myself under the pretence of using the bathroom and perch on the side of the tub, opening up my phone, my heart sinking when I see a ridiculous number of missed calls and texts on the screen. A quick scroll through shows none from Portia since her texts from earlier last night but plenty from my other so-called 'friends' and assorted hangers-on who I'm sure are only too eager to ingratiate themselves to me now they think I'm probably part of Sam's inner circle.

I ignore them, scrolling down the list and bringing up Portia's contact, placing the call and anxiously listening to it ring and ring, the answerphone eventually picking up. I try again and again, even persisting when it's quite obvious that Portia is either asleep or still partying or blatantly ignoring me, only giving up when I hear a gentle rap on the door and Van's tentative voice asking if I'm okay.

"Yeah, I'll just be a sec!" I call out, before I'm dropping my voice down low as Portia's answerphone picks up yet again, hissing my words out in hushed, clipped tones.

"Portia! What the fuck d'ya think you're playing at? I've got the whole bloody world trying to get hold of me and Sam Fender hates my guts! Take those photos down... please! And call me when you get this."

I flick my phone on to silent just as I see my friend Dominic's cocky grinning face pop up on the screen as he tries to connect to me through FaceTime. It's the first time he's tried to call me since I've been away. In fact it's the first time any of the others have. Well fuck him and the rest of the London gang!

I swallow down the bitter feeling that's clawing its way up my throat, pushing back through into the room and flopping down on to Van's bed face first with a deep groan. A moment later I feel the bed dip down under his weight as he climbs on, then I feel a large warm hand on my back, soothing touches moving down across my shoulder blades.

"C'mon Bella, it ain't that bad... you'll see. It'll all blow over soon enough. Things like this always do. They'll be gossiping about somebody else in a few days."

Jeez, I wish I had Van's optimism. He's always been like this, not dwelling on the bad stuff, trying to cheer people up when they're down. Even though he used to tease me relentlessly during my childhood summers he also made it his mission to try and make me laugh, cracking a daft joke or pulling a ridiculous face or tickling me until I begged for mercy. He usually succeeded as well, much as I tried to hide it and act aloof. Maybe I just need to switch off for a while and indulge in a bit of his laidback goofiness.

I turn my face to the side, peering up at him. "Did you really do it?"

"Huh?"

I let the smile surface, hoisting myself up and reaching for a huge over-sized pillow, fluffing it up before placing it against the headboard and leaning back against it. "Did you really leak your own nudes? Think you're making up tall tales again!"

I watch the grin spreading slow on his lips as he repeats my actions, coming to a rest next to me on the bed, legs outstretched, slotted tightly into my side.

"Why d'ya ask? Wanna see 'em?"

I narrow my eyes playfully at him. "No! Of course not. I have standards. Anyway, I think you're talking crap."

He chuckles lowly, his eyes glowing with mischief. "Definitely not crap," he says. "Y'can ask Larry if ya like. Sent 'em to NME didn't I?"

Now I'm really confused. "Why the hell would you do that you weirdo?"

"They gave the band a shit review," he grins, mightily pleased with his antics. "So I posted 'em a pic of me completely starkers and said 'review this!'"

I'm stunned for a moment, the laugh bubbling up inside me but held hostage whilst I try to work out whether Van's winding me up or not. He certainly looks serious enough, and it's the kind of outrageous thing he'd do with his exhibitionist tendencies.

"Well?" I enquire.

"Well... what?"

"Well did they... review it?"

"Nah," he shrugs. "Thought they might print it or something but I didn't hear from 'em after that."

I let the laugh burst free then, letting my bare leg nudge Van's as I tilt my head towards him. "I'm not surprised! The person viewing a photo of your pasty white naked ass probably dropped dead of fright with a heart attack!"

"Cheeky fucker!" He fires back, darting a hand out to grab one of mine, entwining his fingers tightly through mine. "You know you'd better watch yourself or yer gonna get into trouble!"

He shifts into a kneeling position, catching my other hand and trapping it too, pushing it back against the headboard.

"Oh yeah, whatcha gonna do about it?" I tease, flexing my wrists but finding that I can't move them at all. The bastard's got me trapped. He looms over me, sly smile spreading.

"Well... I reckon I could do whatever I wanted right now, and there's not a lot you could do about it..."

Fuck... my pulse starts to race.

"I'm stronger than I look!" I warn him. "In fact if I wanted to I could get up right now and kick your boney ass!"

Van chuckles, leaning even closer, our faces now only inches apart. "I'd like to see you try! I'd say you were pretty much helpless right now."

He's peering down on me with an intensity that's making my heart hammer in my chest. My eyes dart down to his lips just in time to see his tongue dart out to swipe over his plump lower lip, moistening it. One of his knees slides between my thighs, parting them. I let him, trying to concentrate on my breathing so Van can't hear the way it's catching in my throat.

"I'm just biding my time, lulling you into a false sense of security," I smirk up at him. "Any minute now I'm gonna spring into action and you're gonna realise you picked on the wrong girl this time!"

The air between us both is thick with tension as he hovers there, his hair hanging down around us both, his necklace dangling in the space between us. I watch him carefully, see his smile fade, his gaze flicking between mine and my lips. I swallow hard, waiting... then his face suddenly creases into a frown as he pushes himself up and away, releasing me.

"Maybe I did... maybe I did pick the wrong girl."

What?

"What's that supposed to mean?" I quickly scrabble up to pull myself into a sitting position, my heart sinking as the atmosphere switches from heady and playful to serious and taut within a split second.

"Nothing," Van mutters and I watch as he gets to his feet and crosses over to the far side of the room, stooping to pick up the acoustic guitar that's propped up there.

"Van..." I begin but he doesn't let me finish, turning to face me and cutting me off, his next words shocking me.

"Fender... you must really like him, huh? With how upset you've been about all of this..."

I open my mouth to reply but I falter. I knew Van was jealous of Sam, that much was obvious right from the start, but I'd thought it was just some ridiculous laddish oneupmanship on Van's part, his arrogant streak shining through as he competed to see who would be the first to bed me. Now I'm wondering if there's more to it, that maybe there was some truth in Larry's earlier revelation. It throws me, and I'm still floundering when I mumble out a reply.

"I... errr... I guess... I mean, I don't know really," I finally admit. "I hardly even know the guy. He seems nice enough, but I only met him tonight..."

Van doesn't say anything, just huffs quietly under his breath and for some reason this unexpectedly cuts me deep. I suddenly feel uncharacteristically guilty for my fickle actions, feeling the need to explain myself.

"It was just the whole party atmosphere, I was drunk, we were having such a laugh... it just... kinda happened..."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," he says stonily. "It's a free country."

"I know... I know... I was just..." I trail off, unsure what to say next. Van breaks eye contact, sighing loudly, glancing at the clock on the bedside cabinet.

"Aren't you tired anyway? It's not even 6am yet. You should try and get some more sleep."

"But I can't sleep, that's the whole point of me coming back to your room... remember?"

He just looks back at me for a moment and I feel uncomfortable under his scrutinising stare. I'm expecting him to come out with something profound the way he's looking at me but then the moment seems to pass. He looks down quickly, pulling his shoulders into a small shrug. "Well, you should try anyway. Tour starts up in a few days. You won't get a lot then. Sure there'll be plenty to keep you occupied."

There's no mistaking the inference in his words and it stings unexpectedly. I ignore it, plastering on a forced smile, trying to resist the sudden urge I have to push myself up off the bed and go to him, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face into his neck. "That's just what Bondy said... about not getting much sleep."

"Yeah, well he's right... anyway I'm... errr... just going out for a smoke."

I consider calling him back but I don't. I just watch him go as he turns, still grasping his guitar with one hand as he pulls open the sliding door with the other, stepping out on to the small self-contained balcony. A strange, sad kind of melancholy settles itself over me and it's unsettling. I sigh to myself, reaching down to pull the bedsheets up as I sink myself down into Van's bed. Maybe he's right. Maybe I should just try and get some more sleep. I'm drunk and I'm tired, my poor frazzled brain now so overwrought and confused that it's actually trying to convince me that I have feelings developing for Van!

Feelings! For Van! Absolutely fucking ridiculous!

No... it's just been a crazy evening and I need to rest and besides, I'm pretty sure I'll have even more crap to deal with when the rest of the world finally awakens and catches up.

I stare up at the ceiling for a bit, ears pricking as I hear the faint twang of a familiar melody that I can't place drifting through the balcony door. It feels strange lying here in Van's bed whilst he's out there, and I wonder what he's thinking about.

Maybe I did pick the wrong girl...

My insides twist as I try to fight the hurt those few simple words incur in me. Van's right. I am wrong… wrong for him, wrong for Sam, wrong for any guy stupid enough to let their guard down around me. I'm so caught up in having a good time I don't stop to consider consequences, and boy have I got consequences to deal with after tonight.

I screw my eyes shut tight, rolling over on to my side and pressing my face into the pillow, hating this new-found critical introspection that's so unfamiliar to me. It's so alien that I don't know quite what to do with it, so I treat it like I usually do with any other problem that I encounter along the way. I shut it down, boxing it up, pushing it away, drowning it out as I try to bring other thoughts into my head. Thoughts of the upcoming tour, flirting with the boys, meeting new and exciting people, just letting loose and doing what I do best... having fun...being a good-time girl... no worries... no guilt... and definitely no regrets...

And if I break a few hearts along the way then I must be doing something right, hey? That's what Portia would say...

I'm resolute as I sink down even further into the soft, sumptuous pillow, finally feeling a little of the night's tension starting to dissipate. Much as I realise I'd been trying to fight it, I am tired, and not just tired. Exhausted. Sleep wafts enticingly behind the comforting blackness behind my eyelids and soon I can feel myself start to drift, lulled by the enchanting melody I can just make out from the open doorway.

I'm not even sure if I'm dreaming when I hear Van's voice start to softly sing, faraway and dreamlike in its quality.

Arabella's got a seventies head

But she's a modern lover

It's an exploration, she's made of outer space

And her lips are like the galaxy's edge

And her kiss the colour of a constellation falling into place...

[morimakesfanart]

out of all the chapters you wrote so far do you have a favourite?

You can pretty much tell which are my favorites based on how much art is in them, but my absolute favorite has got to be is either [33] or [34] because I've been wanting to write those scene since not long after I started posting the fic :3 The flirting, the doming Sinbad, the 'oh' moment finally happening. I have a bunch of favorites for different reasons. They are more groups of chapters since I tend to write 2-3 chapters at a time and have to figure out how to break them up for posting.

My favorite chapters in chronological order:

Chapter [4] & [5] are special because it was writing that version that made me want to start posting. I already posted the Dead End version of ch4, and I'll be doing the same with 5 soon. I'm trying to figure out how I want to handle the art since it's very talk heavy.

Chapter [9] has to be listed because it's the start of the first arc I couldn't shut up about to my family. Writing about my health issues was a big deal for me. It greatly helped me in respecting my own limits and letting myself rest. I over a bit more metical trauma every time I write about Mori being sick.

Chapter [11] is the first chapter I felt the need to turn almost completely into a comic. It was very much about the joy of unmasking around my favorite characters and nerding out X3

Chapter [15] is also a fave for having some of my favorite jokes and references in it, and it's also nerding out. It was really fun all the way through.

Chapter [24] is super special to me because it is the first chapter where the characters changed my plans so far I basically went on hiatus. Sinbad and Ja'far doing that much math was not in the plans and honestly, it's part of why I take so extra long between chapters now. I'm having to pull plot points that weren't supposed to happen until after Sinbad comes back from the Kou Empire.

Chapter [25] is another that I was just so happy with because of the jokes and references. I also used it as an excuse to study Jojo's more in recreating that Rohan scene using Mori UwU

The whole Gender, Jewelry, & Flirting arc [28] [29] [30] is extra special to for it being my coming out chapters. I thought I was going to have to introduce the concept of transness to the world before I found the side comic that showed the okama (Japanese gay and trans stereotype) was more than just antagonists in the canon. So much of chapters 28 & 29 were things I didn't think I'd be able to explore for several more years. I did get a ton of hate comments on AO3 for saying the trans women are women and therefore Sinbad would be attracted to them. It's why ch 29 has the added reminder that this is my fic. Don't like don't read. Ch30 is one I reread often because I love how smooth I got the flirting, and it's when I finally got to give Mori Sinbad's choker :D

Since I already explained 33&34, I want to give [36] for being the chapter with the fewest about of drafts and edits. I got it in 1 and then just tweaked the wording. The way everything fell into place was beautiful and convenient. Chapters [35] & [37] were the hardest to write, so 36 being so easy between them was really nice -u- 37 was the hardest so far and took over 30 drafts -the average is 8-12.

Bonus: My Least Favorite part of the whole fic is the transition between [16] [17]. I was way too stubborn about keeping to the character count per ch limit I gave myself, and too stubborn about getting rid of certain moments to accommodate that. I tried to use Ja'far as a plot device to transition the chapters but it was a total flop. If I ever went back and rewrote sections that would be the first, followed by removing all references to my synesthesia. I've been considering doing that for a while, but I'm not sure what to do with the older versions. I don't just want to delete them. Posterity is important to me. I'll probably move the old versions of scenes being changed to the end of the chapter for those that want to (re)read them.

[crystal-verse]

Wolgraha week day 4: sacrifice

[I know everyone else is doing something with Crystal Exarch and that sacrifice there, but I challenged myself to only write within Crystal Tower questline era, and that means we get this bit of fluff. fluff for the soul.]

"I demand," you begin, on that swelteringly hot day, "a sacrifice."

"Oh?" Is all Raha says, looking over the pile of books beside him to peer at you, an eyebrow raised. "A sacrifice?"

"I demand that you get me some icewater." You continue, laid down on your back and grimacing at the feel of your clothes sticking to your skin beneath your robes. There was a perk to Summoner's Robes, yes -- they held very deep pockets for holding all matter of things, magical components or books or whatnot -- but they were also heavy and trapped in heat. And in Mor Dhona, it had been tolerable enough, but you -- and several other Sons of Saint Coinach, and Raha themself -- have relocated to Eastern Thanalan for a brief while, poking at that large amount of corrputed aether in the Burning Wall.

Ostensibly, you were there to protect the six or so researchers from Mirrorknights, which were a secondary reason why you'd come here. They were of Allagan make, after all, and with the struggle to open the doors to the Syrcus Tower, NOAH as a whole would take whatever Allagan knowledge you could get your hands on. But you figure everyone kind of expects you to not do anything -- you'd done your best to not stumble too much, but you're still recovering from your bout of worse sickness a week prior, and you are still sick. You think that the real reason you're here is because Raha is, but no one would question that. The two of you have been attached at the hip somehow or other -- from him worrying over your poor health, or you showing up to watch while he combed through pages of research and tomestones.

Regardless. It was far too hot, and Raha was laughing at you. You pick a small little stone off the ground and throw it at him, though he dodges. "Where am I to get icewater from?" he asks, infuriatingly amused. (You love him. You remind yourself that you love him, even as he laughs at you. You envy his apparent immunity to the heat.)

"We have ice crystals." You grumble. "And don't laugh at me, I'm melting." Here, you pick yourself off the ground and flop over onto Raha's lap instead. "The heat will surely kill me, my beloved." And there is far more honesty in that sentance then your earlier dramatics would suggest.

At the shift in tone, Raha looks at you, pupils narrowing. They set their book down -- you think they place a bookmark in there somewhere as well. "Truly?" Raha says.

You sigh. Heavily. Then you regret it, because drawing air back into your lungs is harder. "The heat makes my sickness worse." You admit. "I've been nauseous all day."

Raha narrows his eyes at you. "You said you ate."

"I did! Just. . . not a lot."

A blink that's almost painful with how dry the air is, and Raha's sighing now, pushing your bangs away from your face with their hand. "I wish you had mentioned such sooner. Are any of your other symptoms worse?"

"Breathing hurts more." You admit. "And I get dizzy when I stand. More than normal."

Another sigh. "Well. I suppose I shall have to get your sacrifice of icewater then, my love. Will you be alright here?"

You make a little noise of confirmation, and then you peel yourself off of Raha's lap, settling onto that warmer patch of ground that he'd been sitting on as soon as Raha gets up. Thankfully, there's a rug and tend set up, so the researchers can be somewhat shielded from the elements.

"I will return with your icewater anon." Raha proclaims, and you wave a hand in acknowledgement. You'll curl up here and wait. (You hate the heat. Ugh. Terrible, terrible, terrible. If you could avoid Thanalan you would do so for the rest of your days.)

Laying on your side -- for ease of breathing -- you inhale the lemon-and-beeswax scent left behind. Raha's been sitting here long enough to leave a trace of his scent behind, and it's comforting. Makes you settle in further, comforted by it. (Lemon oil for his bow and beeswax for his bowstring, he'd said once. It's important to upkeep your weapons.)

Raha will come back soon enough, but for now you let your eyes fall closed and simply breathe. (If Raha tries to convince you to go to Thanalan again -- well, you'll still go with them, but you'll complain the whole time. You deserve it, you think.

But when Raha gets back with your icewater -- you'll give him a kiss. Just a small one. As thanks. As lovers do. That will be nice.)

[voxasks]

🫐 So she/her, female, teenager, always the therapist friend, always wanting to be the best but then lacks the courage to put effort and gets mad when someone else is better than me, generally gets irritated when someone is better at something I was supposed to be good, like IT and coding (but it sometimes irritates the hell out of me with errors and bugs), loves music way too much my headphones are tired of sending the reminder to put volume down but gothic rock and all some gothic love sad songs are too good to not listen, a dark romantic, has too many ideas to do and ends up doing nothing, heavy simps in patterns like; mad/crazy scientist who has been just through traunatic experiences, character older than me and overall questionable just like my liking and heavy kin to Vox, loves pets but gets easily scared, actually feeling more free in expressing myself in english than my native language, stays almost 24/7 on character.ai creating silly stories with my oc and canon characters, doesn't like to go out and meet with people this much but actually wishes that I would have anyone to go out with and do silly things instead of sitting all day in room, wannabe cosplayer but I need to wait for things to arrive and to gather confidence, loves to dye my hair into unnatural colors as I get easily bored with natural ones

“this  time  i’m  getting  the  vibes  of  some  SERIOUS  mommy  issues,  though  i  could  be  wrong,  i’ll  admit  that.  though  i  gotta  say  character.ai  chats  are  hardly  even  in  character,  or  so  i  was  told  by  my  editor.  you’re  scared  of  putting  in  effort  because  you’re  scared  it’ll  be  for  nothing,  that  the  product  will  turn  out  like  the  explosive  shit  you  see  in  dive  bar  bathroom  stalls,  which  also  why  you  hate  being  upstaged.  the  other  few  people  who  commented  this  emoji  have  actually  either  given  me  hermit  vibes  or  have  admitted  to  being  a  hermit  so,  no  surprise  there.  another  similarity  you  share  with  the  others  is  that  you  just  hate  being  perceived  so  you  never  go  out  and  you  dress  up  as  other  people  to  be  perceived  as  that  character  instead.  you  don’t  really  know  what  you’re  doing  with  your  life  or  who  you  really  are  so  you  flip  flop  between  hair  colors  because  if  there’s  no  one  identity  you’re  anchored  to  then  there’s  no  one  appearance  you’ll  be  satisfied  with.  naturally  with  anyone  who  has  ‘unusual’  interests,  such  as  gothic  rock  and  dark  romance,  you’ve  probably  been  casted  out  by  a  lot  of  people  which  further  promotes  the  comfort  of  being  shut  in.” 

“here’s  the  cheese  on  the  cracker;  i  didn’t  get  to  become  one  of  hell’s  biggest  companies  by  being  like  everyone  else.  and  i  also  hate  any  average  fucker  that  dares  to  tell  me  i’m  not  worth  shit  just  because  i  have  a  few  whacky  ideas  for  tech.  but  people  fuck  up.  even  you.  even  when  you  believe  in  your  dreams  like  a  naive  child  and  do  your  best.  but  that  doesn’t  mean  you’ll  fuck  up  every  single  time.  the  more  attempts  you  make,  the  greater  the  amount  of  successes.  you’re  still  alive.  pick  yourself  up  before  it  gets  harder  when  you’re  down  here.”

based off of the 200 follower event.

“🫐 — tell vox about yourself and he’ll tell you his inner thoughts about you.”

[music-orthemisery]

Hello! It’s me, anon who’s ranting about SP ) thank you for answering my rambling!

The most interesting thing is, that I totally agree with you, when I was high on my #feels for this tiny man, and was dreaming about this album meeting the light of the day in the more kind, more receptive timeline, what I was really wishing for is Patrick incorporating more songs from his album in his piano/acoustic guitar medley ))) or maybe even 8ball?? Because, unfortunately, you’re right, and the whole thing didn’t came from a happy place. And reliving it would be hard on everyone involved. Your relationship metaphor is so spot on, Pete taught us well )) Also, how funny is this, that this man can take the most serious, complicated topics and dress them up as dance, rock’ roll fusion songs … He does this on their latest album as well, it’s fascinating.

As about this famous pop artist whose album kinda flopped for me… I think I just hyped myself up too much, I heard good reviews, and thought it will be a bang of a record, but.. it’s not that bad, maybe I just need more time and some songs will stick with me ))

Anon, I’m going to subscribe to the insane delulu that Mr. Stump saw your ask last night because HE! DELIVERED!!!! WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!

Bad side of 25?!?! I’m dead and dying, honestly.

I am definitely holding your hand in terms of wishing that album could be released in the loving and supportive fan base that exists now. It kills me that he experienced so much pushback and vitriol. I fully believe him when he says that he was ok with it not being “successful,” but it was devastating to hear how much “fans” actively hated it. And be told this at his own shows!!

I try to remind myself that it was just part of the journey, though, and what helped make FOB what they are today <3

It’s easy to get caught up in the FOB feels. They have SUCH a story, and have come so far, yet have remained very true to themselves. That’s incredibly rare to find!

Totally agree that Patrick’s ability to take heart wrenching and serious topics and turn them into total bops is honestly unmatched. The beauty of all of his music is that you can either turn brain off and jam, turn brain on and cry, or do an odd mixture of both (<- me in the car tbh).

Feel free to express the feelings here any time!

(Ok but fr anon I am dying to know who you are talking about I do NOT get offended and prob will agree with you tbh hahahaha)