#WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE NOW THAT PERSONA 4 IS OVER

[forabeatofadrum]

El WooWoo! I have finished Persona 4 Golden (mom holy fuck-) so I have something to share again. Thank you @artsyunderstudy, @bookish-bogwitch and @that-disabled-princess for tagging me and @martsonmars, @wellbelesbian, @whatevertheweather for the Sunday tags.

I just got home from a local Pride event. It was a lot of fun, especially the part where I hit a homophobe with a protest sign. Everybody clapped.

First off, I have revised my submission for the @klainefanzine2025. There's one part I'm stuck on, so I might ask one of the beta's to help me out here. Tenses in the English language are wack, you know? (Although... Dutch isn't much better.) (Sexy fokschaap, anyone?)

AND! I DID WRITING! LJUBILI SE! As I keep saying, I am stuck and I think I will remain stuck. I last published chapter 9 and my head is still :p when it comes to chapter 10, 11 and 12, but I just finished chapter 13! 🥳

Have some of that for this fine Wednesday:

The doorbell rings. Cooper jumps up. “My package!” he runs off towards the door, and Quinn and Blaine share a look. It’s probably Denise. They’ve told their families that Quinn’s “friend” is joining them, but Cooper must’ve forgotten that in his excitement. And they’re right. Cooper returns without a package, but with Denise in tow. Ideally, Denise would’ve come to the Anderson house with Blaine and Quinn, but she had an appointment. “Dee!” Quinn says and also gets up. She introduces Denise as her friend. Judy already knows Denise a little bit, but Blaine’s parents have no idea who she is. If their families think it’s weird that Denise is here, they don’t show. In fact, Cooper seems very excited to her again. He immediately shakes her hand, puts on a dazzling smile, and asks her all kinds of questions about herself. Blaine and Quinn share another look, although this time they’re amused. Blaine’s brother is flirting with Quinn’s girlfriend right in front of their noses.

Lil reminder: Cooper met Denise at the airport!

And now, the weather: @quizasvivamos @coffeegleek @caramelcoffeeaddict @raenestee @tectonicduck @nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @confused-bi-queer @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral @cutestkilla ​ @facewithoutheart ​ @shrekgogurt @rockitmans @bitbybitwrites @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion @esilher @kurtsascot @blackberrysummerblog @nightimedreamersghost @ivelovedhimthroughworse @thnxforknowingme

[dykedvonte]

Danse has to get homesick In Sanctuary. Like despite being uncertain of how much his past is real including times with the Brotherhood, those memories were home. The Brotherhood was home especially the Prydwen.

No matter all the comfort and the luxuries SoSu could put to make him feel more relaxed or like it’s his space it’s still not home. It’s so unique to him cause everyone else has a home in a sense. A thing or place they can come and go to as they please while Danse doesn’t. He can never go back to the people he considered family and they can never go to him without serious consequences. It doesn’t help that (due to his own faults and beliefs) a good majority of the new people in his life do not exactly like him.

It’s so isolating for him as the wasteland is also a different culture in general. Theres so much he’s not used to vs what he is. But all in all I think that’s a good thing. I feel as if Danse had a better arc in game it would 100% have him learning or developing a sense of home before a sense of self. I think it gets overlooked that Danse is a person that likes or feels like he needs to belong to something. A cause, a philosophy, a mission. He needs a goal. He must learn to live for himself and his purpose but it’s clear he wants to find that through something which is why he latches onto the Sole Survivor after rather than just wander the wastes. He needs something, anything to base a sense of self on at this point in time and who better than the person that opened their home to him in the first place.

He’s a dude that needs a foundation or home to ground himself on or else he doesn’t know what to do with himself or even start.

[blackbirdsblackberries]

I HATE THE NEW HERO

Pt 4: No luck today

Pt 1 - Pt 2 - Pt 3 - Pt 4 (You're here) - Pt 5 - Pt 6 - Pt 7 - Pt 8 - Pt 9 - Pt 10

Engineering is probably one of your good subjects - mainly due to the grades you get and the equipment you get to create for your second life.

That being said, your luck isn't very high right now because just as you enter the classroom you're called up to the office. Over the loud speaker. In front of everyone.

This is your last straw. You're going to actually break down and cry.

Taking a deep breath you head to the office and stand in front of the receptionist.

"Uh, hi.. I was called up?" You state to the distracted receptionist. "Huh? Okay. Go into the principal's room I guess." She waves you off dismissively and you hold back a retort.

You make your way to the room and knock on the door. It opens with the principal on the other side. "Ah, There you are. I was worried you wouldn't show! Please, have a seat." He opens the door wide enough for you to get in.

You enter and your eyes fall onto a boy with spiky black hair and tanned skin. His back is to you. Next to him is a taller, more bulkier man in a pressed suit.

Your stomach lurches, feeling ill all of a sudden. Your senses go off and you fight the urge to run away. You can't tell who these people are but something isn't right.

Slowly you make your way to a third chair that was placed at the desk. You glance at the two males and have to swallow the bile - it was none other than Damian al Ghul-Wayne and Bruce Wayne. Your eyes immediately snap forward and you clench your fists slightly.

There's no doubt Tim had said something horrid about you to them, maybe he snitched on the fights you two had, whatever it was now you're in deep shit.

You try to get a read on them but it was near impossible, they were both stoic. It didn't help that you refuse to look at the two. The principal sits down at his desk and crosses his arms.

"So, I have been made aware of some things that you have done recently, (Reader). According to numerous anonymous reports you have cyber bullied someone, picked fights, had plans to build dangerous weapons and had hit animals... Listen, you're a good kid but with what I have here I might have to expel you."

Fuck. You can't get expelled your parents would throw you out or something! You can't! You didn't hit animals! The most you hit was a fly! Dangerous weapons? There's nothing like that at all, besides the plans for you superhero weapons. Those aren't dangerous though. You cyber bullied your vigilante persona to make it more realistic! You never pick fights - you don't want to risk hurting someone with your increased strength!

Though, something makes you freeze. If you were called here for that then why are the two Wayne's here?

You think the principal is a telepath because he speaks up.

"You're very lucky Bruce Wayne and his son are kind enough to vouch for you though they said they wanted a favor in return." Oh. Manipulation. You scrunch your eyebrows, they probably reported me alongside Tim. They're doing this so they can hold it above my head and make me complacent or subservient to them.

Maybe it'd be best if Aranea faked their death. Started a new identity or something... You probably wouldn't go through with it but it's a nice thought.

Well, you don't have much of a choice. You can still silently make your hate known towards the vigilante and it's not worth losing a scholarship over. Especially with parents like yours.

"... Fine... Thank you for this offer, Mr Wayne and Mr al Ghul-Wayne" you mutter. God it's shameful, you want to crawl into your skin and die. Was it worth putting your dignity on the line? You're not too sure. What you're sure of though is that you will get to eat tonight. If your family has the money...

Bruce nods his head in affirmation and puts on his Brucie smile, one that even you struggle to see past. "Of course, what kind of person would I be if I would overhear something so tragic and not do anything about it. We can go over the favor later." He states. You hold back a grimace though you're sure everyone can see the effort.

You don't know what to respond with, humiliated enough by this clear manipulation. You just give him a double thumbs up. Damian stares at you weirdly and the principal raises a brow. Bruce however chuckles, though it's forced.

The principal ushers you out of his office and tells you to wait out the front with the receptionist for Bruce and Damian while they chat some more with the principal himself.

After waiting for a bit the door opens and the two males walk down the hallway to where you are. Damian scowls and glares at you while Bruce looks to you blankly, detached.

You stand and awkwardly rub your hands on your uniform. Something they clearly don't miss as their eyes snap to the motion.

"uh, thank you for this opportunity... What's the favor?" You managed to work up the courage to speak without stuttering like a madman. Something you believed you should get a pat on the back for because the two guys were terrifying.

"The favor is simple really," Bruce starts his Brucie personality back in play "Stop speaking badly of Aranea and don't pick fights with my ward, Tim. Easy right?" You nod. You expected this. Honestly you should be a detective or something you think to yourself.

Nah, that's Batman's job.

You pick up your bag and head to the door, Bruce however had moved while you had seemingly zoned out while in thought and was standing in front of the door while talking to the receptionist and in your haste to leave you bumped into his side.

He automatically puts his arm on your shoulder to steady you and your mind connects the dots.

Bruce has the same build as Batman. Batman seemingly adores Aranea, or at least you think so, he's hard to read - like Bruce (for both being hard to read and adoring Aranea to a weird point). Same amount of kids. Plus Batman had to be rich if he could have a plane and a new looking suit after gruesome nights.

God, how did you not see this before...

Amidst your freaky reality check you fail to notice Bruce trying to get your attention until he snaps in your face - like how your dad does. You hate that.

Your head shoots up and you take a couple steps back while muttering an apology while Bruce stands there with a raised brow, confused while Damian looks at you with disdain as if you soiled a good outfit.

Feeling humiliated and terrified you quickly move around the two men and out of the door. You're in deep shit now... Even something as simple as secretly knowing the identities of the vigilantes that watch over Gotham is a death wish.

This is going to be the worst day of school, so, you decide to leave. You go to the sick bay and get a slip to leave school and you do.

You run home as fast as possible and get to your room. Your mother is out cold in her room with some man she met from the bar so you shouldn't have to worry about her.

You take a couple deep breaths and contemplate on what to do now that you left school, you could catch up on assignments, you could take a nap, or you could go on patrol...

It's daytime and you're pretty sure Signal will be patrolling today, you like Signal, he's a chill guy. Now though, now you don't really want to be near any of the vigilantes.

You decide to check your phone to see what area Signal is patrolling, it comes up in the GC, Westside Gotham at the Midtown area.

Okay. You can do East Park Side then. It's not your favorite area but at least you won't be confronted with one of the vigilantes so soon. Plus, the park is nice.

You suit up and head out. East Park side wasn't far away from you due to the lack of money your family has you are stuck in downtown.

You spend a majority of your time on patrol, helping people and just hanging around. Soon, much to your surprise, you get a call from Batman.

"Aranea. What are you doing patrolling without your comm on and without informing us?" He sounds as serious as ever, usually you'd roll your eyes but right now you're struck with fear. His voice holds maliciousness and anger deep under it. The very same way that Bruce Wayne had spoken to you. You don't want to admit it but knowing the identities of these heroes makes it more suffocating to be around them.

It also meant you had to be much more careful around them.

"Uh... I was bored at home so I went out on patrol?" You respond, trying to keep the energy in your voice, even if it felt like you were going to explode.

"That doesn't answer my question." He responds, you're sure he's picked up on the fakeness of your cheerfulness. "Right! Ha! Forgot about that. I didn't wanna disturb you all! Plussssss, Signal is patrolling so it's all good!" You laugh it off.

Batman isn't laughing. When does he ever?

"That's no reason to not inform us or at the very least turn on your comm. What if something happened to you? What if you died? You aren't invincible. You'll die in that stupid suit if you don't work with us!" You wince slightly. Fuck him. Does he really think you need him and the others to survive? Not to mention him calling your suit stupid, sure it's not perfect but stupid is just overkill. He only even thinks it's stupid because it isn't made with his money!

You honestly couldn't find the effort to continue talking to him, so with your faux cheerfulness you decide to end the call. "I get it. I'll know better next time! Bye bye!"

Sometimes you wish you were old enough to drink.

[smuttaburger]

Mommy Issues (Seonghwea Smut MDNI)

Summary: What happens when you're cuddling your boyfriend and without thinking, you make a comment about another member of Ateez?

There is just filth under the cut, so MDNI brb I'm gonna go dunk myself in Holy Water

In hindsight, you never should’ve challenged your boyfriend like this. But god damn it was it fun.

All because of a damn TikTok. That cursed app got you in trouble so much, but what’s life without a little risk?

Nothing at the start of the evening was out of the norm after Seonghwa got off tour, cuddles while he played Animal Crossing and you doom scrolled TikTok.

Not remembering that you weren’t alone after months of that being the case, you spoke without thinking.

“Damn, those poor San stans, fuck!” You couldn’t help the blush that crawled up your cheeks at seeing your boyfriend’s friend get chained up before Wake Up.

“Come again?” Said boyfriend asked, a brow risen above his glasses.

“Nothing baby,” You patted his head, hoping it would help him forget the words that left your lips moments ago.

Spoiler alert, it didn’t.

“No, what did you just say kitten?” You gulped at the tone Seonghwa used. It was the one that he used when he meant business. And if that didn’t give it away, the use of the word kitten definitely made it crystal clear.

You shook your head, not wanting to awaken the possessive side of your boyfriend. 

In the blink of an eye, he flipped you two so he was on top of you, your hands pinned above your head by one of his large hands.

“I think my kitten is being naughty. What do we do when she’s being naughty?”

“Punish her,” You mumbled, not wanting him to hear you.

“I’m sorry, speak up, I couldn’t hear you,” You shook your head. He grasped your chin in his other large hand.

“I said speak up,” His voice deepened as he slipped into his more dominant persona. The one that made you shake and cry for him either to stop or keep going.

“I don’t wanna,” You whimpered.

“Why not?” He demanded.

“Bcause,”

“Because why?”

“I don’t wanna get punished,” You finally gave him what he wanted. So he had heard you right. And from the look in his hard almost black eyes, he had your punishment picked out.

“Pick a number over 5,”

“Eight,” He smiled a little, knowing why you picked that number. He sat you on his lap. His eyes tracking you like a panther waiting for his prey to enter the trap.

“Bend over Kitten,” You obeyed, resting your belly on your boyfriend’s lap with your ass in the air.

“Good girl,” He purred before ripping your lounge pants down your legs, knowing full well that you weren’t wearing panties since you two were originally winding down  for bed after your shower together.

“Count for me,” You nodded.

Smack

“1,” Your voice was clear in his ears, despite the handprint that was starting to become visible.

Smack

“2,”

Smack

“3,” Your voice started to waver a bit as you felt his large hand start to sting.

Smack

“4,” It started to burn now, making a tear leave your eyes.

“You’re halfway there baby girl,” He switched hands as his first hand started to now sting from spanking you as hard as he could.

Smack

“5,”

Smack

“6,” Your voice wavered as the smacks started to reverberate and spread to the place you now needed him the most.

Smack

“7,”

“You can take one more. This is your punishment, not mine. And you picked the number, not me,”

Smack

“8,”

“Good girl,” He slowly started to massage your now cherry red ass.

“You might as well ride me, Kitten. Since you can’t lay back,” He leaned back, patting his lap, where his cock was strained against his gray sweats.

You swung your legs to straddle him, determined to mess with his head and drive him insane.

“Gotta get rid of these,”

“Who’s the boss here, you or me? Huh? Who was the one being a little slut on TikTok. Looking at someone other than me,” He punctuated every sentence with a roll of his hips, the friction on your bare core making your head swim. 

“You, and I was the bad one,” You whimpered.

“Yes, you were being a bad girl kitten. Now for your punishment,”

“You spanked me! Wasn’t that punishment?”

“That was only part of it. Now’s when the punishment really begins.You’re not allowed to cum until I say so,”

“Okay but no using your tongue. That’s not punishment, that’s torture,” he grasped your chin in one of his large hands again, forcing you to lok him in the eyes.

“First off, who made you think you were in charge of your own punishment? And secondly, who said anything about eating that pretty pussy? But now that you mention it,” he got a devious smirk over his plump lips.

Oh shit!

“If it keeps your eyes from wandering, what’s pleasure without a little suffering? Plus I’m starving,” he growled as he threw you onto the bed, crawling up your body, lapping at your legs. As he got to your thighs, he started to suck harder, even biting a bit. At least enough to give you that sweet mix of pain and pleasure that you oh so craved while he was on tour. You moaned as he inched closer and closer to your heat.

Nothing compared to how your boyfriend ate you out, knowing exactly what areas to put more pressure on than others in order to send you to the heavens. Your hands flew to his hair, wrapping it tightly in your face, making a moan leave Seonghwa’s puffy pink lips.

The moans from him caused a vibration to rub on your pearl, making your own moan rip through the air, and your back to arch.

You were only stopped from him putting one of his large hands on your stomach to keep you still. When he introduced his long dexterous fingers to the mix, you felt like you couldn’t breathe. Without warning, he stood up, stripping off his own lounge pants.

“I want to feel you cum on me,” He explained before entrapping your lips in a heated kiss. One where he dominated, and you let him. Seeing as you trying to avoid it was what got you partially in this predicament in the first place.

In record timing, he had his pants down, his cock springing free: red and angry from being hard for so long without release. As quick as he was off you, he was back on you, slipping into your damp heat.

With how long he was on tour, you had to take a second to reacquaint yourself with how big he was.

“Fuck Kitten! You’re so tight. I’m almost afraid to move. Almost,” he smirked before pulling your lips into another kiss and rocking his hips. You had to grasp his hair in your hands. You needed to pull on something, and your boyfriend’s silky jet black locks worked perfectly.

“I can tell you’re close Kitten. Cum for me,” He ordered and it was like you were pulled down in the tidal wave of pleasure at his words, not realizing how much you both needed this.

“Atta girl, Just keep listening to me Kitten,” He acted as your lifeboat in the tidal wave, keeping you grounded to your body.

“F-Fuck!” He hissed before you could finally make out his contorted features as he let his own pleasure fill him before filling you to the brim.

Once you both were back on Earth, the first thing Hwa saw was you running your fingers through his silky locks.

“I love you,” You whispered as his eyes fluttered and he could slowly piece together all of your features. The sex hair leading to the look of bliss in your eyes, and finally, all of the hickeys he left on your skin.

You attempted to stand to get water for both of you and some baby wipes to clean up. Except your legs weren’t cooperating.

“Damn Hwa, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to walk for a bit,” You giggled and he chuckled, pressing another sweet kiss to your lips.

“I’ve got you Kitten,” He told you before throwing a robe on and getting the recoup items.

“It’ll make you think twice about looking at San, right?” He chuckled, handing you the water bottle.

“I don’t know, seeing you get all possessive was kinda fucking hot,”

Taglist: @the-princess-of-mischief-1998 @multidreams-and-desires @faeratil

Read the other guys here: Hongjoong, Mingi, Wooyoung

[real-british-empire]

An introduction.

I am the totally 100% real official account of the glorious British empire.

You shall expect PROPER English, colonialism, war, tea and an immense disdain for this so called France (not a real country).

God save the Queen

Yours truly,

The British Empire,

(My main blog is @kharak-the-skeleton )

Current condition because anons keep doing witchcrafts (and other stuff reasons):

Can summon kettles

Can summon tea

Currently a spirit as the empire has long since fallen

God of fate

Can now (unfortunately) summon Rishi Sunak

Officially cool

Teabending

Kettle launching powers

Tea gun (more powerful)

Death blade :3

Life blade

Purgatory blade :3

Crystal ball owner now!

I have a small bottle of salt

Void knife :3

Tangerine is in my possession.

Someone gave me a pokeball

Anomalous super flamethrower

Uncompressed to be 280cm tall

Can see trans people

Can slow down time for 5 min on a Tuesday.

In possession of a death bald?

Can drink quantum tea

Mitosis :3

DVD screensaver

Anti-shadow-suppressant weapon

Can do the yapdollar outro to teleport anywhere I’ve been

Power of 2, x, 4 and 1

Purgatory bald

Life bald

Splatoon movement

Has framed pic of a chimp

Has a remote that fires a beam that gives what it hits lore.

In possession of the omnitrix with alien known as “upgrade”

Knife that turns Irish people into well-done steaks

Can change 1 letter in a sentence up to 5 times a day.

Has a needle that turns people to moths for 12 min, 36 seconds and turns moths to people

Has control over march 22nd (goof off day)

Can force anyone to post limit

Control over conspiracy theories and all pointcrow and dougdoug jokes

Can shapeshift into anything but Texas

Magical UNO deck

Fun fact book of every fact.

Can eat anything inedible and be fine

Can turn any app gimmicks into Jack from persona and SMT from megami tensai

Now knows what to do with a drunken sailor

INFINITE ARTICHOKES

Force tea-inator

Luck manipulation

Has an awesome hoodie

1 time use anon-curse reverser

Permanently catgirl-ed

Able to make the best/worst puns.

Can swap between alive and ghost

Can become paper like paper Mario

Has a purple crayon that makes anything it draws real that CANNOT BE EATEN

CUP BENDING

Invulnerable to France.

Can perceive different time zones

Has indestructible Wii u and Wii u game pad with Nintendo land installed

Pastry and bread summoning

Powers of the gum gum fruit but I don’t have any side effects

Has tv remote that can clone and fuse things

Slime Miku powers (?)

Allegations generator TM

Can turn anyone emo

Has Excalibur :3

[giuliettagaltieri]

Trouble in Paradise

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader

Chapter Synopsis: It's not always perfect with him.

Warning: Talks about fertility awareness and pregnancy, lifestyle differences.

Word Count: 4075

Chapter: 4

“For someone who lost the love of his life and his career in one day, you sure have a sunny disposition.” 

Charles watches you pull a grocery cart, clearly not aware that your words weighed a little heavier than you meant.

“She’s not the love of my life.  The worst has already happened and I don’t want to dwell in it anymore.”  He mutters quietly but his dimples deepen at the playful quirk of his lips, making you purse your lips.  “Charles Leclerc the F1 driver is gone now and as for the moment I just want to live without the burden of my name.”

You bite your lip this time, watching him as he places the basket on the bottom tray of the cart.

“I’m sorry.”  You bite your lip, your hands immediately fumbling with your bag and Charles notices it.  “I shouldn’t comment so carelessly about your persona-”

“Sweetheart.”  He cuts you off.  “If anything it’s me who should apologize.  I dragged you into my mess and I’m making myself your burden.”

Your eyes widen and you raise your hands as if asking for a double highfive, he glances at your palm when you shake them side to side erratically, trying to dismiss his statement.  “Charles, don’t think for a moment that you’re a burden.” 

He’s about to protest but you cut him off this time.

“I was willing to let you in that night.  And today, I made the decision to let you stay.”  You sigh when he still looks unconvinced.  “Just think of me as a friend.  Friends do stuff for each other, right?”

“I think we’re a bit over friends by now but sure.”  He nudges you gently with his body so he can push the cart instead, his smile widening a fraction and it just infects you for some reason.

“Charles, I’m trying to be serious.  Don’t laugh at me.”  You say as small laughs escape you.

“Alright then.  I’ll consider this as a favor from a friend.”

“Yes!”  You point a finger at him as if he hit the jackpot.  “Not a burden.  Just a favor.  PLUS!  You’re keeping me company, and I quite enjoy it.”  You mumble the last part, avoiding his eyes as your cheeks flush.

He quirks up an eyebrow, his easy smile becoming teasing.  “Of course you enjoy it.  I’m pretty good company.”

Rolling your eyes, you start picking out the groceries and he watches your selection and knows immediately you’re not exactly trying to save money.

“You can pick out a few ingredients or snacks if you want.”  You tell him and his eyes immediately flit to the line of refrigerators in the corner.  You don’t miss when his gaze linger on the ice cream section.  He tells you that he’ll do it later.

Charles stands there as you try to reach for a bottle of olive oil on the top shelf and he enjoys watching your struggle before he gives in and reaches it for you.  “Could've asked for help.”

“Excuse me, I’m perfectly capable of getting that myself.”  You say sassily, with your hands finding your hips but your act wavers when he leans close to you, a hairbreadth of distance keeping your noses from brushing.

“Of course, whatever you say, sweetheart.”

Your eye twitches and he leans back, standing on his full height, forcing you to crane your neck to look at him.  And Charles proves his point.

“My height is average!  You’re just slightly tall.”  You argue, feeling the need to justify your height.

He yawns as he pretends to clean his ear with his pinky.  “What’s with the squeaking?  Maybe the mall should call an exterminator.”

Charles laughs when your cheeks puff.  Reminding him of those sticky rounded sweets he had in Tokyo.  He calls you the exact same thing in French and you don’t know if you should get mad, because you feel like you definitely recognized a word in his sentence but you couldn’t be sure as you don’t speak the language.

You huff this time, marching off to the next aisle.  “You just wait, Charles Leclerc.  I’ll kick your butt with Duolingo.”

He observes that you systematically choose the items, even constantly checking on your phone, looking quite oblivious to the world around you...and the casual stares you get here and there.  Charles looks at you.  Really looks at you.  You’re not the conventional pretty that he usually sees in his world but you have this charm that really drew him in, even last night too, and he was drunk out of his mind.

“Do you prefer wine or beer?”  You ask and he rubs his chin.

“Mh….both.”

You like his style.  

You put a small box of beer cans and a few bottles of wine in the cart.  “We’re not allowed to get drunk together though.”

Charles nods slowly, looking at you thoughtfully.  Ah…so you don’t have any interest in having that kind of relationship with him.  You said it yourself earlier too.  Friends.

“I also need detergent liquid and fabric conditioner.”  You mutter to yourself.  “Oh and your snack.”

“I’ve decided on ice cream.”  He informs you.

“Sure thing.”

Charles watches as you scan each item as he arranges them in the grocery bag.  He grins when you give him the ice cream tub last so he can eat it as you leave.  You also get a small treat of your own, happily munching on it as you walk side by side.  He looks like a child, pushing the cart filled with grocery bags as he eats on the vanilla ice cream he eagerly chose.

“I can push the cart while you eat.”  You tried to offer but he swerved the cart away from your hand, his reflexes nearly startling you.  “Calm…down, man.”  You gape at him and he only scoops more ice cream to his mouth.

“Ayh ghot et.”

You let him be as you enjoy your own snack.  You also watch him load everything in your trunk since he insisted.

“The meat?”  He asks and you pull out a retractable basin and he seems impressed.

“I take care of my baby.”  You pat your car with a lazy smirk.

He hums, the thick accent coating his words after.  “Yeah, pretty good condition.  How long have you been driving her?”

“A little over a year.  So I think she should be in good condition or I would have been a pretty shit owner.”  You chuckle.  Shit owner.  Charles nods wordlessly, reflecting on how he can destroy a car in a single race.

“Right.”

He finishes loading the groceries along with his stuff and almost heads to the driver’s seat before backtracking and going the other way.

The ride home was not as eventful.  You play as a tour guide and point at historic buildings, telling him briefly what you learned from the time you also got a tour of the town.  Charles finds out that the road around town isn’t that complicated and he can easily commit it to memory. 

The area is not bustling but it also isn’t deserted, unlike that night when he first arrived.  The place looked like a ghost town then, with its eerie fog and flickering old fashioned lamp posts.

“How come your apartment doesn’t have cobblestone streets?”  He asks out of curiosity.

“Some of the apartments at the edge of the town were built a little later than the town center.”  You grin quickly at him before turning back to the road again.

He peers out the window and onto the road.  “It’s like we’re in some sort of Victorian drama.”

You laugh.  “It’s one of the reasons why I moved here.  Plus the beach.”

Charles listens in, liking how you’re openly sharing about yourself without being asked.

“It sucks sometimes though, when a stone is dislodged or when it rains or snows.”  You add.

“Gets slippery.”  He finishes for you and you agree, chuckling.

“It’s slowly sinking in that you are what you said you are.”

His eyes widened, immediately looking defensive.  “I am what I said I am!  You searched me.  It’s on Google.”

“I know but you’re just Charles to me.  Not some Monégasque F1 superstar.”  You say gently and he looks at you, surprised at your ability to make him feel things he never had before.  “And just someone playing the passenger princess.”

Oh no, you didn’t.

He looks at you in disbelief but his lips are quirked up.  “No, no.  Get out of there, we’re switching seats.”

“No!”  You immediately laugh when he starts spewing, what you can only interpret as French curses.  “This is my car, don’t take off your fucking seatbelt, dumbass!”  You yell as you clumsily grip his wrist, laughing at the chaos ensuing inside your car.  “Stop it!  We’re gonna crash!” 

He keeps trying to explain how he is NOT a passenger princess and that he has no problem driving if you just let him.  When he almost sounds begging, his hands make those huge gestures again as you tear up in laughter. 

“Sorry, I didn't know it was sensitive.”  You chuckle as he calms down a bit but he still keeps talking, his English breaking when his native language slips in on his sentences.  “Is it like an alpha male thing?”

This makes him look at you weirdly.  “What?”

“Alpha male?  Or what do they say now?  Sigma boy?”  You raise both brows at him briefly, grinning from ear to ear.  “Are you one of those guys, Charles Leclerc?”

He visibly cringes not knowing what to make of the stuff you’re saying.  “That’s fucking stupid.  I don’t even know what that means.  You are very weird.”  He says while side eyeing you.

“Yeah this is the catch when you live with me.”  You say, attempting to sound cool and obviously failing.  “You get to deal with my weirdness.”

He shakes his head, his hand covering the smile on his lips under the guise of smoothening his growing stubble.  “Is this going to be what everyday looks like with you?”

You suddenly glance at him in your normal calculating eyes.  “Not really.  That was just a sudden burst of energy and I will proceed to ignore you for the next three hours now.”

Charles narrows his eyes at you dramatically.  “You’re like a cat.”

“Thanks.”  Nobody told you that before and you don’t know if it’s a compliment or if it was supposed to insult you.  “Seriously though, I need my social battery constantly recharged so you should cherish it when I’m being playful.”

“Minette.”

“What was that?”  You turn to him briefly before slowing down when you arrive at your driveway.

He shakes his head and steps out of the car when you finally park it. 

Charles was quick to head to your trunk and he insisted on taking the grocery bags.  He actually manages to carry every single bag and you’re impressed.  It usually takes you at least two trips to carry two weeks’ worth of groceries, and that was just for one person too.

“I can help.”  You jog after him, watching how his tendons pop out of his arms, making your throat go dry for a moment.

“Just open the door, babe.”  He tells you and you falter in your steps before doing as he says with your tummy fluttering lightly.  “Where’s the kitchen again?”

“Huh?”  You ask dumbly.  “Uhm, over there.  You can place them on the counter, thank you.”  You say a little meekly, still disarmed by his sudden endearment.  You watch his back as he disappears in the kitchen.

“He’s a French guy…it must be natural for them to be endearing.”  You try to reason out before following him to the kitchen to place in the freezer the variety of meat you bought.  “I’ll wash your clothes for you so you can shower.”  You offer and he tongues his cheek.

“No, just teach me how to do it.”

You beam.  “Alright.”  You lead him to your laundry room, tell him which buttons to use and how the cycle goes.  He impresses you when he does it flawlessly when you tell him to try on his own.  “Good job.”  You hum, clearly impressed.

“Oh please, I am not that helpless.”  He rolls his eyes.  And he glances at your feet and does a double take before he jolts in surprise.  “Fuck!”

You glance at your feet, already have felt Lily’s fur.  You bend down to pick her up and you let her face Charles.  “This is my baby, Lily.”  You gently take her paw to wave at Charles who still looks at your cat like it was a spawn of evil.

“Why is it so huge!”  He asks and you immediately take offense.

“I…excuse me, she is the perfect size!  Lily is just fluffy a-and has…big bones!”  You are ready to throw hands if he insults your baby again.

Charles exhales softly and meets the bored feline eyes.  “She looks angry.”

“She always looks angry.”  You coo.  “Don’t you, honey?”  You hug her a little tighter and the cat just stares off into space, letting you do your antics.

“I don’t know.”  Charles laughs nervously.  “Does she scratch and bite?”

You bubble your cheeks before an idea pops into your head.  “I know!  Let her sniff your… scent for now.”

He reluctantly touches his hat.

“I think it’s good if you let her get accustomed to your scent and presence before you start trying to befriend her.”  You mumble, sounding unreliable but it does sound like an okay strategy so he tries it.

Charles takes off his hat and lets Lily sniff it and for a moment she sniffed eagerly at the foreign scent before she turns her nose away, already losing interest.  She hops off your arms and trots to the doorway and you both watch her silently and disappointedly before Lily meows angrily at you.

“Oh!  Her breakfast!”  You hurry to your kitchen to open a can of wet food for her.  “I’m so sorry.”  Your cat meows sharply before eating and ignoring your pets.

“She’s sassy.”  Charles comments as he crosses his arms, looking at your cat.  Kinda like you.

You pull off your scarf and head to the bathroom to clear a space for him.  You give him a towel and tell him to use the small closet in the laundry room for his clothes.  Charles quickly settles in your apartment thanks to your warmth, even going as far as giving him something that he can call his.  He bounces a bit on your fortunately large couch and hums his approval, yeah he can sleep in this thing.  He hears you in the kitchen, organizing the grocery in the pantry and fridge.  He offered to help but you told him to relax on the couch.

The doctor did say to let him rest and to keep him in close monitoring.

Charles does his laundry while you busy yourself with other chores.  Because it’s your house and he feels like you earned it after moving around, Charles tells you to shower first, refusing to budge and insisting on it when you try to argue.  You can be quite stubborn so he guides you to the bathroom, himself.  The brief glance he makes on your pelvis confirms that he does remember what mess he left in there.

When you step out, looking refreshed, he is waiting right outside your bathroom door like he did this morning but he had fresh clothes draped on his arm this time.

“Were you standing there the whole time?”  You chuckle but his face is etched with a different kind of seriousness that you throw any other jokes that come to mind out the window.

“Y/N.”  Your name rolls in his tongue with the thick French accent you’re starting to get used to.

“Yeah?”  You whisper as you meet his eyes.

He sucks his teeth and sighs loudly, looking unsure how to start the conversation.  “I just need to ask you something.”  He clears his throat and rubs his neck, your eyes following all his nervous habits.  “I mean, we slept together, and we did it without protection.”

Oh…it’s that kind of conversation.

You smile sweetly at him.  “Come with me.”  You lead him inside the bathroom where the scent of your body wash fills his lungs as it hangs heavy in the air, he can almost taste your skin on his tongue.  You show him a tiny table calendar resting on the countertop, it sits next to your bathroom products.  He snaps out from his thoughts and watches as you flip it to the previous month where red exes mark some of the dates.  “These are the days when I got my last period.”  You flip it back to the month now.  “My next cycle should be around here.”  You point vaguely to a few dates and your finger traces the calendar backwards, stopping to point to the date today and yesterday.  “It’s a safe window.”

He looks at you to confirm.  “So you won’t get pregnant?”

“No.”  You smile understandingly as he slowly grasps it.  “Sorry, we probably should have talked about it sooner but you know.”

Charles nods before straightening up, feeling relieved to get it out his chest.

“I mean, you’re a great person.”  He tells you quickly, looking almost afraid that he might have insulted you at some point.  “I just…not yet.”  He smiles softly, bringing out his attractive features, and his dimples make your heart skip a beat.  For a split second you wondered what it would be like to have a kid that has his eyes but you manage to not make a fool of yourself in front of him and instead, you nod, feeling the same as him.

“Well, me too.”  You smile tightly, feeling a little flustered and awkward to be talking about these stuff with him suddenly.  “So uhm…”

“Yeah.”  He says, quickly understanding and he steps back to let you through.  You close the bathroom door for him and he glances at your calendar again.  He reaches for it and hesitates as it was personal but he lets the voices in his head win and he flips through them.  Your cycle isn’t as consistent as he thought but considering you did point to multiple dates earlier, he guesses that it might not be an exact date all the time.  “Come on, Charles.  She said it’s a window.”  He reminds himself.

You on the other hand are still pacing in your room, throwing on the first set of clothes you saw, still trying to shake off the effect he had on you.  Charles is a very goofy guy but he no doubt is able to make you swoon without even trying.  You fan yourself with your hand despite the blasting ac.

Charles Leclerc.

Just who exactly is that guy?  You hop on your bed and reach for your laptop, cursing when you drop your airpods, you refuse to get up from your bed and blindly sweep your carpet floor with your hand, constantly glancing at your closed bedroom door as if Charles would burst in at any moment.  You finally manage to grab your airpods, quickly opening Youtube.  “Cha..rl..es…Le..c..le..rc...oh! And F1.”  You jab your finger at enter.

For you don’t know how long, you just watch the shorts with Charles on the F1 channel.

“He’s funny.”  You giggle.  “And an idiot.”  A hot idiot at that.

A knock on your door pulls you out from whatever is running through your head and you slam your laptop close to open the door for him.  He looks at you suspiciously as your chest heaves, looking absolutely guilty.  Charles glances inside your bedroom before looking at you again.

“Can I have one of your granola bars?”

Lunch!  “Oh my, I lost track of time.”  You push your way through and you quickly hand him a granola bar once you get to the kitchen.  “I’ll make us lunch.”

Charles sits on the barstool and watches you make a quick mac n’ cheese.  It’s entertaining how focused you can be.  He thanks you when you place the bowl in front of him but to his disappointment, you leave for your bedroom.

You come back shortly with your ipad this time.  He watches you work on something he has absolutely no idea about.  You feel his heavy gaze and you slowly look at him with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I’m being rude.”

“Well, kind of, yes.”  He smiles kindly and you immediately set your ipad aside. 

“Sorry, I just needed to contact my suppliers.  Usually, I’d be working in the office by now.”

He understands that you probably haven’t had someone over since forever to disrupt your schedule and nods understandingly.  “Oh yeah, you mentioned it earlier.”  He tries to start a conversation.

“Yeah and it's Sunday so I don’t have much time as I need to meal prep for Monday to Wednesday.”  You explain.

“Meal prep?”  He shifts weirdly and you don’t understand it until he asks.  “You mean you eat the same refrigerated meal that you make days before?”

“Well, I always heat them up real well though.”  You argue but he looks resigned from the conversation.  “Don’t judge me.”  You playfully punch his shoulders and he looks at you again.  “It’s still a normal meal but it saves me so much time.”

“I don’t know.”  He tells you honestly and turns back to his food.  It sounds so practical especially with your schedule but it just doesn’t appeal to him.

“Unless I wanna eat take outs for three days, I have to meal prep.”  You say, feeling slightly offended now.

“It just sounds boring having to eat the same meal.”  Charles swallows the food in his mouth.  “Kind of like having leftovers.”

“I don’t just make a single dish and have it for three days straight!”  You tell him defensively.

He nods hastily upon hearing your tone, not wanting to start a full argument.  “…you know, you’re right.”  He smoothes your hair but you’re frowning really deeply.  “But I tried it once before and it didn’t work for me.  I just think that the texture of food would be better if it was made fresh.”

You shove the spoon in your mouth, chewing angrily what’s left of the mac n’ cheese before getting up to leave him for the sink, his hand that was on your hair still suspended in the air as he stares at you nervously.

“Some of us don’t have the luxury of having chefs serve us with meals three times a day.”  You snap and he feels bad immediately.  He doesn’t even have chefs serving him meals…most of the time.  But you get the point.

“I’m sorry.”  He shoves the mac n’ cheese left in his bowl to his mouth and rushes to your side as you frown at the bowl you’re washing.  “I am being so ungrateful.  Y/N, I am really sorry.”

You place the bowl on the drying rack and turn to him angrily but your eyes are glassy and he wants to strangle himself for doing this to you when you have done nothing but be kind and understanding to him.

“Sweetheart.”  He breathes, not knowing what else to say.

“I am doing what I can, okay?”  You say and he watches you blink away tears.  “This isn’t Monaco anymore, Charles.”

He tries to wrap his arms around you but you pull away just as quick.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to insult you.”  He tells you in a hushed tone, leaning down to try and meet your eyes but you’re glaring at the sink instead.

“If you don’t like refrigerated meals then you are free to cook for yourself.”  You say before deciding to give him the cold shoulder.

For the rest of the day, you stay yourself in your office, he hears the printer working and paper being crumpled, along with cellophane.  You’re packing the orders from your business and he knows better than to mess with you again.

You didn’t even get to meal prep.  

Charles doesn’t understand why it bothered him so much before when now as he lies on your couch, meal prepping sounds very practical and smart. 

People can have different lifestyles, he understood that night.  And just because yours is different, doesn’t mean it’s bad.

He’ll have to make it up to you soon.

Overdrive

[mtkay13]

Wen Kexing!! My focus here was to channel his coolness even through warm colors, and to get his... "essential vibes" through one picture. More (rambling) below! (this is essentially a post about WKX's personality)

A big case can be made about "who or what is the 'true' Wen Kexing". So; let's be real, I don't know if anyone makes a "big case" out of it, but I sure have seen people seemingly arguing against a vague 'common opinion' regarding Wen Kexing's personality. The """common""" opinion (allegedly): the true Wen Kexing is [insert one of WKX's facets] (or something along those lines) The case against it: all Wen Kexing's are the true Wen Kexing Now I do agree with the fact that "all Wen Kexing's" are Wen Kexing, technically. For clarity, let's list and name those various facets (most are commonly accepted, some I'll just name on the go): - Wen Kexing: I'll use his full name for the personality we're first met with in the book. Someone cold, rather quiet, analytical and distant. Giving off strange vibes in social situations (ZZS thinking he's weird, other jianghu figures being creeped out by him or thinking that he's up to no good), contemptuous - Philantropist Wen: The more extravagant, (bullshit) storyteller, outrageous and shameless flirting enthusiast version of WKX. - Valley Master Wen: cold, calculating, quiet, cruel, unbelievably patient, dislikes fun and games, barely feels anything - Wife Wen: The over the top dramatic wife whose life is made difficult by his difficult and shameless husband, essentially a lot of roleplaying the good littol domestic wife and whatnot - The wooden man: similar as Valley Master but demure and apparently subservient? (for calculated purposes) Okay they could be more I guess, but the point is, we have an array of WKX personas and personalities and the actual consensus (I think, my sample is like 10 people so....) is that every one of those is "true" to WKX and that not one of them is a fully constructed persona. Now, while I agree, I guess that what I wonder is: what is WKX in his resting state? If nothing is happening and that he's not in a particularly social or specific situation, what do we get to see? I think that the answer mostly resides in extra 4, which is an INCREDIBLE retelling of TYK from WKX's perspective; someone who thinks quite a lot, and for long, someone who observes things with distance and little to no emotion. Someone who is used to having one goal (revenge, taking care of ZZS during his coma), and who will probably go through a lot of quiet thinking when finally faced with the void of not having one specific thing to aim for. Someone who will have to learn to find joy/happiness, and who probably doesn't... get there "naturally"? (and by that I mean, without ZZS or without directly following ZZS around). Someone whose ties to his own emotions have been severed a long time ago, I guess. Someone still quite contemptuous of many things and people and who has a whole life he didn't plan for or even consider ahead of him. Which is............ what I tried to draw............ here..................... (That and also I wanted to draw a pretty looking hanfu in sepia colors) (but I SWEAR that was not the main goal) (I think) (anyway please ignore me)

[activesplooger]

ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴍᴇ | ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ | ᴠᴏx x ᴀꜱꜱɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴛ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Notes: (MDNI) don't be afraid to give me feedback on this one! (grammar, criticism, wtvr u notice!). idk wtf im doing but it took a long time and like 200 redo's. enjoy!!!

Summary: Years later. The aftermath of the 'incident'. CW: angst, mistreatment of workers, abuse of power, vox being an ass, fluff if u squint, confrontation, lot of exposition sorry lol, Word Count: 2,217 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Masterpost!

Years later... The Vee's empire grew exponentially and are now the three top overlords in hell. As they grew, they upgraded and relocated to a new gaudy building called the "Vee Tower" which's big enough for all 3 members to reside and do their business. Vox now had a similar, but still new, upgrade to his head. His flat-screen face glows blue and has red almond-shaped eyes. The left eyelid of his is black, like his eyebrows, while his right eyelid is a bright teal, like his teeth. He wears a navy blue and teal striped blazer with matching navy slacks. A grand ruby bowtie tied around his neck, just above the red and black dress shirt he now wore. And to top it all off, he wore a top hat and a charismatic smile.

You still worked for Vox, however, your job description changed over the next few years. You went from being introduced as “This is Y/N, my friend and assistant!” to “This is an employee of mine, she won’t be a bother.”. It was agitating that he started to distance himself from you. I mean, you save his fucking life and let him weep in your arms like a child and this is the thanks you get?!

Vox had also acquired a reputation being a friendly, charismatic, entrepreneur. What a load of bullshit. His media persona was all a facade, a scam to get people to buy his products and/or work for him. You feel bad for the newer employees who deal with Vox's wrath. At least for you, you could cling to the old version of him and have some sort of positive outlook on your boss. The new staff members didn't have any outlook on their boss besides terror and apprehension. They would simply get charmed into a job and then see how Vox's personality does a fucking 180, turning into a complete jackass as soon as their soul was his. Your boss is cold to all his employees, abusing his power over them just for a power trip, a reminder of where they stand in this company. If an employee made one mistake, they'd immediately called to Vox's office for the shakedown of their life. Fucking terrifying.

The whole company shifted into a mess of moral corruption. All of VoxTech’s advertisements were schemes to hypnotize you into craving their products. Manipulation is a key tactic at VoxTech. If people watch any of the programs controlled by the company, they’ll likely hear the phrase ‘Trust us’ more often than not. And in turn, If they hear it enough, they’ll start to believe it. That’s what lured people in, making VoxTech and trust synonymous with each other until ultimately, they buy their shit. Pretty subtle tactic compared to the others. Other ways included Vox straight-up hypnotizing people with his powers. Yet another astounding example of the great morals exemplified by your boss!

Some part of you wished you never helped him that day... you hated yourself for thinking that. In spite of how shitty he is, you missed him. Not the fake media version, or the shitty boss version, the old him. The real Vox. You'd find yourself reminiscing on the late work nights you had with him. He'd order takeout, and you'd help him with his work for hours on end until you'd fall asleep at your desk from fatigue. You never failed to wake up with a crick in your neck from the cramped position, but you always had a familiar coat swaddled around your shoulders. It was the little moments with him that meant a lot. Back when he wasn't so hostile. It was starting to get on your nerves. Seeing your boss- no- seeing your old friend become a jaded prick all because of some excessively red deer fucker?! You knew Alastor hurt him, and yeah, it's understandable to be a little messed up after it... But didn't he really have to take it out on everyone else?! 'Why couldn't he just be honest and talk about what happened?! Why the fuck did he forbid you from speaking about it?!'. These questions rang in your head for years. But you could never ask him... Could you? You definitely weren’t a pushover, but you also weren’t a dumbass. As much as you wish it weren’t true, Vox had the upper hand and a mean temper. However, at this point, you were at the end of your rope. You needed answers, just... maybe not now. Soon. Maybe? Fuck! No matter how much you refused to admit it, he terrified you. You knew he could end you in an instant, he made that very clear when he nearly choked you to death. By now the bruises faded, obviously, but the emotional scars were very much there... You don't forget nor forgive what Vox did to you. So much was left unsaid that day and remains unsaid, you still can't really process it all. You tried to make excuses for what happened, something to console you and give you some sort of reason for everything. The blame always fell on Alastor, which, you felt was true to at least some degree. Your theories aren't enough to soothe your troubled thoughts. It still nagged at you, it always did. If there was some way for you to obliviate this, you would done it have a long time ago.

And the cherry on top of it all is the fact that you have to see him every day and pretend like nothing ever happened. Your workplace serves as a constant reminder of what happened, you couldn't possibly get yourself to stop thinking about it. Every fiber of your being just wanted you to call him out and pry into every detail of what happened with Alastor- But you held back... Part of you felt he would hurt you... again... As much as you want answers, being hurt and possibly killed over it definitely isn't worth it.

--

Your heels clicked on the black flooring as you walked to Vox's office. Vox had previously emailed you to bring him some paperwork for some new employees who were recently hired. You carried the heavy stack of documents in your hands, your arms begging for relief. Couldn’t these have been digital like everything else? You could’ve sworn he did this just to make things harder for you. Prick. The path to his desk was long and narrow, with sharks swimming around beside it. A large circular platform that held Vox’s desk and various monitors accompanied by heaps of cords and cables ended the path. From a distance, you can see your boss berating another employee. The worker cowered on the ground beside the desk as Vox loomed over him, a scowl etched across his face. You increase your pace to his desk in an attempt to shorten the eyesore in front of you. "Let me get this straight," The TV demon inches closer "You want to waste M҉Y̴ time M҉Ɏ money, MɎ-". "I-I just want some time off, Mr. Vox," the trembling staff member interrupts "I-It's my wife and I's anniversary I-I just need a couple hours-". A teal blue collar takes shape around the worker's neck, you couldn't believe the sight before you. Rage and pent-up strain filled your core, it killed you to see him doing this to someone else. Right in front of you no less. Your breathing becomes shallow, the memory of Vox choking you haunting your brain as you see another employee going through what you did. Should you stop it? Would that only make things worse? Fuck- 'Getoutgetoutgetoutgetout'. That phrase repeats in your head like a mantra, you need to get the fuck out of there. You couldn't stand being there any longer.

Large teal claws grasp at the end of the leash attached to the collar, pulling the chain closer as Vox speaks. "ɎØ҉U҉ ŁƗSŦɆN ĦɆɌɆ ɎØ҉U҉ F҉U҉ȻꝀƗNǤ-". The slam of papers cuts off Vox, he whips his head to the sound only to find you walking out of the office in a huff. Tears welled up in your eyes. 'Getoutgetoutgetoutgetout'. Pushing the doors open you run out, tears falling down your cheeks as you struggle to catch your breath. You turn the corner and slump against the nearest wall, burying your head in your knees and unsteady sobbing.

After you left, Vox just stares at the door you stormed through. The chain vanishes from his grip, and his hands fall to his side as longing and regret cross his features. Your boss's mind was so preoccupied with you leaving that he didn't notice the employee scurrying out the door. Once he realized that he let the worker off the hook, he didn't call him back. No. He let him go. Vox had bigger things to deal with. You.

Whilst you lay there, slumped against the wall, you feel something drape over your shoulders. But, when you lift your head, you don't see anyone, only a blue zap darting up to a security camera. You furrow your eyebrows and turn your head to see what was draped over your back. Your eyes are met with a navy blue and teal striped blazer comfortably enveloping your shoulders. "...Vox?" --

For a few hours, you clutched onto the jacket as you sobbed, but, eventually, you had to suck it up and work. And return the jacket. Fuck. That's gonna be awkward... 'I can't just keep it, can I?' you thought as you grabbed the jacket and made your way to his office, bracing yourself for the uncomfortable conversation ahead.

You quietly make your way over to Vox's desk, his eyes fixed on the monitors in front of him, not noticing you. "Sir?". "Gah!" Vox springs up out of his chair and nearly falls out of it, "Y/N! What the fuck?!". "Sorry sorry!" you apologize, "I didn't mean to startle you, Sir.". An awkward grin spreads across your face as you hold out the jacket to him "I came to return-" the jacket gets snatched out of your hands "-this". Vox slides the jacket over his black and red dress shirt, "Finally!" he exclaims. You stand there awkwardly after he ripped the blazer out of your hands while Vox just got back to work on his computer. "Can I help you?" Vox questioned with a condescending look on his face. "Hm? Oh! No no, I just wanted to thank you, so- Thank you." A soft smile crossed your features, hoping that this would spark a sincere discussion. Rolling his eyes, he responded with an annoyed tone, "Well, don't. Just accept the gesture and move on, we don't. need. to talk about it."

A scoff escapes your lips, "Typical." you mutter.

“What was that?” Vox eyes bored into yours as he got up to fully face you, his tall stature towering over you.

Normally, you’d back down from a situation like this. You knew that Vox could overpower you in an instant. But something in you just snapped, you couldn't take it any longer. Any fears or doubts you had suddenly disappeared. You just can't take it any longer.

“You heard me” you retort, standing up as straight as possible to try and match his height. Red vexed eyes narrowed at you, staring deeply into your eyes, "If you had any brain in that head of yours you'd back off, Y/N." he barked. The skin over your knuckles pulls taught as you balled your hands into fists, "If you had any brain in that flat head of yours you'd understand why I'm fed up with your shit!" you lashed out, "I swear if I wasn't soul-bound I'd leave your TV ass in an instant!" Vox's crimson eyes widened, he seemed genuinely surprised at your exposure of him, "Excuse me? I've given you ɆVɆɌɎŦĦƗNǤ! You'd be blundering around Hell if I hadn't hired you!" Your eyes practically roll out of your head. "You haven't given me anything besides a daily fucking migraine!" "I will not take this, I'm your superior, Y/N!" your boss blustered, "Or did you forget? Perhaps I should give you a reminder-". The all too familiar teal blue leash starts to materialize in his hands causing a knee-jerk reaction out of you. Your hands instinctively grab the half-embodied chain and yank it to the side.

SNAP!

The two of you stand there, watching in disbelief as the teal links slowly disappear. You're not sure how you managed to stop the soul-leash from fully forming, but you did. Finally prying your eyes off the now absent chain, you look up at Vox. He was still looking down like a deer in the headlights, looking vulnerable and powerless. The sight of him reminds you of the way he looked when he desperately clung to you after his falling out with Alastor. You hadn't seen him like this since then. For the first time in years, he wasn't in control of something. The overlord's voice faltered as he mumbled, "How did-". "I don't know," you responded abruptly. ... Red gleaming eyes lifted to meet yours, "You want to talk? Fine. You've convinced me," he slumps back into his chair, his elbow popping up his head as he looked at you with an exasperated look, "Talk."

--

to be continued! hope u liked this chapterr its the longest of the two. this one took me long as fuck sorry lol i havent had a lot of free time. lmk if u want to be apart of the tag list :) also leave me some feedback in the replies or the ask me anything tab iyw!

COMFORT FROM THE ANGST COMING SOON!

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@lovelyemily, @preppyfellaa

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Safe Keeping | 6

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

What say you, lady? Don't you think the Hound would make a fine husband? He would protect you, yes, and you would bear him many babes." I curtsy again but this time, my voice falters when I speak, "I- I think he would," I turn to my left, "Lord Sandor would make a fine husband... a fine father."

Sandor Clegane x Reader | 6k+ | cw: fem!reader, forced marriage, smut (piv, emotional sex, praise kink), enemies to lovers, slow burn, angst, emotional unavailability, emotional vulnerability, The Hound being abrasive, miscommunication, baby fever, fluff!, typos, etc.

A/N: i said i'd end this on p5 but i think i'll be ending at p7 HAHHAH lol. originally posted on ao3 but felt like posting it on here

Tagging: @otteropera @poisonsage808 @glitterandgoldfinds @the-queen-of-sorrows @minttea07 @fluffpudel @j3nn-1 @jelsasnowflakes1

"My lady," followed by high pitched barking made me turn around from where I sat in the garden.

Maester Yannick was walking over to me, with three puppies on his trail. He lifts his robe when he feels one of the critters nip at it. He hisses at them and tells them not to bite. Rose barks and takes it as a challenge.

I chuckle and shush her, raising a finger as I bend down to reinforce the discipline.

Rose looks at me then scurries off.

I straighten up on the bench as Yannick sits beside me. We both then turn to the soldiers in the making, training across the grounds of Brown Wood.

The Hound barks at them when they get their positions wrong.

"He is lovely today," Yannick tells me.

I turn to him and chuckle, but nod nonetheless.

He continues observing my husband, "he's been training long, hasn't he?"

"Mmm. Perhaps a couple hours," I look back at Sandor, "why? Do you think it is bad for his wounds?"

"I think it is bad for you," he looks at me.

I pull my head back, "me?"

The maester stands, "you are wasting precious time. Both of you are in good conditions," he links his hands together, "for the good of your house, it would be wise for you to be more... vigilant about producing heirs."

I feel my face drop and burn.

"As you know, my lady, the herbs I make for you are not cheap. It would be a shame to put them to waste due to a lack of effort."

I clear my throat and turn away from him.

Maester Yannick nods, "which reminds me, I will go and fetch you some tea right now."

I watch him walk away.

Once he was gone, my attention is averted back to Sandor. In truth, now more than ever has his hound persona been more apparent to me. Besides his fierceness, his snarling, his grit, the way he bared his teeth and howled at everyone, I could see his loyalty, his need to do good by the people in his life, his protectiveness, especially when it came to fighting, and his warmth.

I begin to think about Daisy. I turn to my side and watch as the pups begin to wreck the garden with their paws.

I find myself thinking about that night... that night when he said he loved me.

I rub my belly, not liking the way my stomach churned at my string of thoughts.

I watch as Sandor straightens up a boy, who was about to fall flat on his face, with one hand. He shakes his head at the child and says he can't fight if he's fighting himself too.

I imagine him speaking the same way to our son.

It was a horrible mistake. As quickly as I thought of it, I then remember telling him to give me a child by another woman.

I've set him free. He does not belong to me; in truth, he never did.

I quickly stand and wipe my face.

This was no longer leisure, this was torture.

I quickly run inside, retreating to my bedroom. Once I am there, I takes my shoes off, plop on my bed, and stare up at my ceiling. I look at the cobwebs in the distant corners and I wonder why I felt like crying but had no tears to shed. I lie there in silence, wishing nothing but to waste away.

I lift my head up from the sheets and turn to the door when I hear it open. I immediately stand and brush my skirts, "Sandor."

The feel of the cold floor on my bare feet send a shiver down my spine.

Sandor cautiously looks at me, "is everything alright?"

"Mmm?" I raise my brows, "what- why do you ask?"

"You ran inside and left your babes in the garden"

My lips part at his words. My hand instinctively comes to my belly.

"Pups," he raises a hand, "I meant pups. I didn't mean--"

Sandor is cut off by the voice of maester Yannick calling my name as he knocked on my door. Sandor opens the door for him and the old man enters, smiling when he sees the two of us. He is about to hand me the tea but then decides otherwise and puts it on my vanity.

He turns to Sandor, "I am pleased you decided to attend to your wife. Her fertility herbs are slowly being depleted. I was beginning to fear it would be for naught."

I grow frigid.

With that, the maester nods and exits, "please do enjoy each other's company."

The sound of the door closing leaves me red in the face. I lock eyes with Sandor then look away, clearing my throat. I flinch when he calls out my name.

I turn back and rub my arms, "yes... husband?"

"I didn't come here for that," he mutters, raising a hand cautiously.

My chest tightens. Of course not. I open my mouth, but he cuts me off before I could make a sound.

"I came to check if you're alright," he slowly steps forward.

I tense and nod, "I am well."

I feel my heart race when he takes another step towards me.

"Y-you needn't worry about me."

"I always worry about you," he mutters as he walks closer.

My words catch in my throat, "what?"

"Let me help you," he speaks, now only a few steps away from me.

My heart is pounding. I step back slowly, "h-help?"

"In the way only a man can," he lets out a heavy breath.

My calves hit the bed. I stop in my tracks and stand frozen. The Hound is now looking down at me. I am too overwhelmed by his presence to do anything else but stare.

The next thing I know, my gaze is drawn downward as he sits on the bed and peers up at my form.

"If you want a child from me," he whispers, "I'll give you one by no other woman but you." 

I look at him, heart in my mouth, body burning. I scratch my fingers and nod at his words.

Sandor sighs, "I need to hear you say it."

"I-" I shakily speak, "I want a child," I face him, "a child by you... my lord."

His brows knit.

My breath hitches when he touches my waist.

I can hear his heavy breathing as he whispers, "Sandor. Please."

I gulp as his palm rubs slowly across my belly. The action makes my skin prickle with goosebumps. My hand comes atop his. I oblige, "Sandor."

He gently tugs me in between his legs and my breath nearly escapes me. He rests his hands on my hips then pulls me in, sinking his face into my side. My ribs rattle with how quick my pulse was.

Sandor inhales deeply, "gods, you smell good."

I feel my body burn, "i-it's lavender oil."

I squeak when he pulls me down onto his lap. He cages me against him, my back flush against his chest. He sinks his face into my neck and slowly draws in a breath. His arms snake around me as he hotly speaks, "it's you, my pretty squirrel."

I feel his hands slowly lift my skirts up. My hands latch onto his arm that was still around my belly.

"Be calm, my wife, I cleaned up before coming here, in case I had to wipe your tears."

I make a sound as he knocks his nose into my jaw and exposes one of my legs to him. 

"I don't like it when you're upset."

My breath hitches, "I-I'm not upset."

"Good."

Sandor feels the goosebumps on my skin when his hand makes contact with my bare thigh. He shushes me as he rubs and kneads my flesh. I whimper and begin to squirm when his hand hikes up my inner thigh.

His fingers touch my clothed center. He breathes hotly against the pulse of my neck, "I'm going to take this off, mmm?"

I gulp and nod slowly at his words.

I maneuver with him when his hands come under my skirts to rid me of my smallclothes. He doesn't like the space that is created between us and rips me back into him. He ruts his hips into mine to add to his point.

I whine when Sandor's right hand rubs into my heat.

"Fuck," he hisses, "you've worked yourself up over nothing."

I make a louder noise when he prods his fingers into my pulsing entrance. I can feel his fingers slide with ease against my warm folds. I instinctively grip his arm when he sinks into me.

Sandor's other arm, in turn, tightens around me, "you can take it. You've taken more than my fingers, beautiful."

I whimper when he sinks another finger into me and begins to pump in and out. My breathing grows heavier and I throw my head back on his shoulder as he moves into me.

I feel his beard scratch into my neck. I feel his teeth graze lightly into my skin. His fingers languidly move in and out of me, even as I clench my thighs together. He makes no move to part them, and in truth, it doesn't hinder his movements at all.

I feel his tongue dart out on my neck, "I want to taste you."

I slowly lift my head from his shoulder just as he pulls his hand away from my thighs and brings his fingers into his mouth. I feel sobered by his action, taken aback by how filthy it was yet how eagerly he did it.

The next thing I know, he pulls back and lets my body fall in a space between his thighs. He quickly undoes his trousers. After, he pushes me onto my feet, and grips my hips. He rather impatiently rips up my skirts and I feel my thighs shake when he grips my bare flesh.

He pulls me back down on him, and I mewl when I feel his hardened length slip clumsily between my thighs, not yet entering me. I settle on him; the sensation of his clothes on my skin makes my belly roll.

"Fuck," he growls, as my thighs instinctively clamp around him. Sandor is unable to withhold the bucking of his hips.

When he does this, pleasure, crackling like embers, tingle up my body.

"Open up," he hisses, one hand coming between my legs, "I have to be inside you. I have to come inside, have to come inside your weeping cunny."

"Sandor," I whine as I slowly part my legs.

"I know, pretty squirrel. You're so worked up, for me," he breathes against my ear then nips at my lobe, "so fucking eager."

A drawn out whine escapes my lips when he sheathes himself into me.

He wastes no time in moving. I end up squeaking as he braces me against him and firmly thrusts upward into me.

My cries grow louder as his arms tighten beneath my breasts. I feel his hand knead one breast, but it doesn't last very long.

I am throttled onto my chest and pressed down on the sheets. Sandor lifted me up like I was nothing and adjusted me on the edge of the bed.

I'm barely on my tiptoes, as most of my weight was shifted on my spine from of how my husband was hoisting me up to cater to himself.

His movements quickly pick up the pace, and our position becomes reminiscent of the time he had me like this once before, only this time, his one hand was rubbing my scarred hip and he was much more vocal.

"Look at you, all bent over and mine," he groans.

I nails dig into the sheets.

"I'm gonna fill you up. You're going to be so fucking full of me."

I squeal into the sheets. The idea drives me wild. I plead into the bed but I don't think he hears it.

Just as I felt something begin to build in me, he slows.

I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them as Sandor drops one of my hips. I squeak when I feel him grab my shoulder and slowly turn me on my back.

My jaw drops; I breathe heavily through my mouth. Sandor looks down on me as his hands grip my sides. He pushes me upward and presses my legs by my ribs

He slowly thrusts into me, hands working their way across my body. He rubs my thighs, my belly, my breasts. His brows furrow, "fuck. So fucking soft and warm."

He massages my breasts then works his way up to my shoulders. His one hand rubs my neck before clutching my jaw. His other hand slides back down my hips. I whine when his thumb rubs circles around my sensitive nub. It makes my toes curl.

He sighs, "so fucking beautiful."

I whimper when his other thumb swipes my lips. I find myself licking at it. It makes him groan and buck into me faster.

I push my head back and arch my spine, "fuck- Sandor."

Both his hands land on my hips. He digs his nails into my flesh and begins to move deeper. Eventually, he sinks one hand down by the side of my head for support. My hands latch onto his hips.

"Come for me, pretty girl," he groans, "I'm not gonna last much longer."

I tug at his clothes.

"Be a good girl and come all over my cock, mmm. I want to feel you tighten around me-- get all messy and wet and loud and," he gives deliberate thrusts, "so fucking beautiful."

I whine, "Sandor, I want- I want to-"

I begin to tighten and shake against him. My legs wrap around him and my hands cling onto him for dear life. I find it futile to conceal my sounds, as I cannot find the strength to shut my mouth as I ride the feeling of bliss.

With a loud cuss, Sandor rams into me as deeply as he can. His movements are rough and slow. Both of his hands secured on my waist as he spills his seed into me.

I can feel him throb and can feel myself dripping with warmth.

Sandor takes his time, really drawing out the feeling before slowly coming to a halt. He lets out a final moan when he does stop then takes a deep breath.

I look at him as he closes his eyes and straightens up. My body burns when he looks down at me through hooded eyes and rubs my body again. He enjoys rubbing my breasts the most.

My hands come to his arms, and that seems to stop him.

I am about to tell him not to stop, but he speaks before I can, "wrap your legs round me."

In truth, I didn't have to do anything as he wraps my legs around himself and picks me up in his arms. I hook my feet around each other and am careful not to touch his blistered back as my hands go to his shoulders.

Sandor crawls up the bed with me clinging onto him; I feel the strength in his muscles as he moves. He sets me down on the pillows. He arranges one under my head and brings one beside me.

He looks at me for a moment then whispers, "I'm going to pull away now."

He waits for me to respond before doing anything.

In truth, the thought of him pulling away from me makes my body ache with sadness, but I slowly nod anyway.

I close my eyes as Sandor gently draws away from me. My emotions immediately overcome me in my vulnerable state. I rub my eyes when I feel tears build behind my lids. Sandor fixes my skirt and gathers my legs together. I feel him take the pillow beside me and stuff if bellow my bum.

"This will help keep my spend from dripping out."

His explanation makes my body burn.

I feel Sandor shuffle beside the bed and I hear him fixing his clothing.

I clench my jaw, dreading what I knew exactly was to come next.

I open my eyes when he calls my name. I look at him pathetically, noticing how his skin glowed with sweat, the last evidence that he was ever in me beyond his untucked shirt.

He reaches out to me and I really don't want to take his hand knowing he'll leave me after, so I don't.

I have no idea why he still grabs my hand. The action feels like a betrayal. He rubs my knuckles before kissing them. I chew my lip, feeling wronged over the fact he has never kissed my lips and probably never will.

"I will be leaving now," he mutters.

His words gut me, as always. 

I rip my hand out of his and turn away from him, "very well."

Sandor knits his brows at the sharp withdrawal. He was gentle was he not? Still, he's being turned away.

His mouth goes dry. He slowly steps back, "I..."

I turn my body away from him. I draw in a deep breath and try to make my voice as even as possible, "thank you, Sandor."

Sandor flinches. He steps back some more, "I-I'll bring your dogs here for company."

I chuckle dryly. Company. My voice breaks, "I'm tired."

Sandor's mouth twitches. He backs all the way up to the door, "I'll let you rest then."

I cover my face with my arm and hum in agreement, not trusting myself to speak anymore.

The moment I hear the click of the door, I begin to sob. I whine as his words replay in my head. How could he tell me such things, call me beautiful and say he wants me, then leave me right after? How could he touch me like that then want nothing to do with me?

I pull the pillow from underneath my head and wail into it.

Sandor, who couldn't find it in himself to step away from the door, decides not to walk back in when he hears the crying. His belly curdles with self-loathing. He feels like he's going to choke because of how hurt the noise sounded, nevermind how lovely it was seconds ago; it meant for nothing.

He walks away trying to figure out where he went wrong. He relives every touch, every sound in his memory. His eyes water when he comes to the dreadful realization it must have been horrible being with him. He forced his wretched looks onto an unwilling witness.

He gulps as he sniffles and wipes his face in frustration. He feels like walking into the forest, never to be seen again, but then he steps out to the garden and hears small barking sounds. He looks at the three pups, playing with the boys, who should have been training, and feels his heart twist.

He finds himself imagining what the scene would've been like if Daisy was here... if his pretty squirrel-- he shuts the thought away.

I knock on Sandor's office door and enter when he tells me to come in.

He looks up, does a double take, then immediately stops doing whatever it was he was doing. He clears his throat, "Lady Clegane."

His words pierce through me. He's never called me that before. I close the door and walk towards him, "Lord husband. Good morrow to you. Where is Andrew?"

His shoulders tense, "he... should be here any minute."

I nod as I halt in front of his desk, "he has gotten good enough at reading and balancing coin, I hope?"

Sandor sighs, "yes."

I notice the crumbs on his beard, then I notice a plate on his desk. He must have broken fast here. I fidget with my fingers and wipe my chin, hoping he would get the message. He doesn't. I decide not to note on it and simply get to the point, "maester Yannick said your wounds have dried up, and that if you liked, you could go on your rounds again."

Sandor nods and straightens in his chair, "I think I'll start once I'm confident in the bloke balancing our coin."

I nod slowly and link my hands together, "alright," I shift in my spot and turn to the door.

I look back at him and feel my body burn under his scrutiny. I offer a smile, "that is all I wanted to say," I rub my hands together, "-wanted to check on you."

I gasp when he jumps out of his chair.

I clutch my chest and stare at him. He had an arm raised and reached out to me. It dawns on me he said something but it was too quick for me to catch.

I release a breath, "pardon?"

Sandor lowers his hand, rolls his shoulders back, and clears his throat, "I... I asked how you're doing."

It takes me a few moments to realize the meaning of his words. I shift and my spot and rub my chest. I feel my neck burn when he further clarifies his question.

"Yesterday, when we... bedded, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

I draw out a deep breath and smile softly, "you were... gentle with your touches."

Sandor is unsatisfied.

I aimlessly look around, "and, anyway, I am not as fragile as you think."

He purses his lips and tilts his head. He takes a moment before speaking, and when he does, he does so hesitantly, "I was afraid I made my pretty wife weep again."

I instinctively let out a laugh, but it was clearly unamused and pained. I feel like I was being scorched alive when I look at him looking at me. I shake my hands, suddenly in denial, "no, I was quite satisfied!"

Sandor's eyes widen a fraction.

Fuck. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. What am I saying?

He blinks twice and wipes his mouth. Finally his crumbs fall off. He mutters, "that's... good."

I release my final chuckle. He turns to his desk, fixes some things, then looks back to me. He looks like he means to smile but he doesn't, "I'm glad."

He slowly sits down afterwards.

I feel like I'm being weighed down by anchor.

That was it. That was the conversation.

Sandor is no longer looking at me. He shuffles the paper into a file and I slowly begin to feel the air around us thicken.

He sets the parchment down and darts his eyes to me. He purses his lips again and I catch the way his face twitches. He opens his mouth and slowly points to the door, "if that's all... I would not keep you."

I don't know why I laugh again, but I do. It's not even funny. I feel like being stabbed would have been better, more amusing at this point. I curtsy at him and shuffle backwards, "of course. I do not mean to keep you either."

Sandor feels sick. He clenches his fists and turns to his desk. He breathes in deeply, trying not to rile himself up any more than he already was. Gods knew he would use all his strength to keep this room locked.

I walk towards the door and turn the knob. I feel a wave of tears threatening to spill, and I slap my mouth when a squeak leaves me.

Sandor is immediately alerted. He looks up and pushes himself on the edge of the seat, "what?"

I turn to the ground and wipe my face. I take two seconds for myself then turn to him. I cover up with a chuckle, "I said... y-your beard."

Sandor immediately rubs his beard.

I chuckle louder, trying to convince myself that I actually found it funny, "you have crumbs on your beard."

Sandor looks at me like I grew another head.

I laugh enough that I actually start laughing at myself.

When I stop, the silence is loud.

Sandor clears his throat and cautiously asks, "you find that funny?"

My stomach drops when I see the red tinge of his ears. I walk up to his side and shake my head, "wait, no- I- I didn't mean it like that."

Sandor shakes his head and offers me a quick and small smile, "it's fine. I just wasn't expecting that from you," he looks back to his desk, "anyway, I'm used to it."

I feel like my entrails were being grinded.

A line forms in his brows, "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before."

"I wasn't laughing at you!" I whimper under my breath. The air in my lungs begin to catch in my throat as I exhale, "I was just- I ju-"

Sandor turns to me, face slipping when he catches my teary eyes.

He stands and takes my shoulders.

I blink my tears away and smile in an attempt to calm myself. I am glad I do not shed a tear. I speak through a loud breath, "I'm just nervous when I'm around you!"

Sandor immediately releases me. He sighs through his nostrils, "scared, you mean."

I shake my head and take his shoulders, "nervous."

The Hound seizes up like there was a knife to his neck. I take a moment to look at him and pull back.

I cannot deny it hurt when he immediately steps away from me.

I really should have left at this point, but my mouth had a mind of its own. I furrow my brows and give him an earnest look, "I can trim your beard for you."

He steps back one last time, then looks at me as if I now had three heads.

I realize my mistake, "if-if you want me to. I'm not saying you should, I'm just offering to-"

"You want to do that for me?"

I turn to stone. I look around nervously, "mmm... o-only if you'd have it... ... my lord."

Sandor's face twitches. He sighs and slumps forward. He furrows his brows, "you'd be staring at my face the whole time."

I watch him as he rummages through his things.

My stomach rolls again and I step back, "ah... I see."

Sandor stops to look at me.

"If you do not feel comfortable, I will not..."

My words run dry when he pulls out shears. I watch him as he straightens up. He grips the tool in his hand, "it's you I'm worried about."

I look up at him, not knowing what to say.

"I don't mean to scare yo-"

"I'm not scared of you," I mutter.

Sandor stares at me. After a moment, he slowly takes my hand and hands me the shears, "maybe you should be."

My chest pounds at fleeting touch.

I cut his beard in the garden, as I didn't want to make a mess in his office.

He sits on the bench there.

The breeze blows at both our hair.

"You needn't touch me so gently, girl," he says, "it will take a lot of you to hurt me."

I do not change the manner in which I touch his cheek. I can feel Sandor looking at me, but I do not avert my attention away from his beard, "just because you do not hurt easily doesn't mean I cannot be gentle with you, Hound."

The Hound reaches out to my thighs when my foot rolls on a rock. I barely even fidget, but, still, he holds me in place to keep me from a potential fall. He does not release me. I gulp when I feel his thumb rub my skirt.

"You can hurt me if you like," he says.

I pull back and furrow my brows, "would you like that?"

He grinds his lower lip in his teeth. He debates for a moment and I decide to snip his mustache. I shush him when he tries to speak. He purses his lips tightly.

A moment passes with just the sound of cutting.

"I wouldn't want to cut your lips off," I shift in front of him, still ever so aware of his touch of my thighs, "you still need them to kiss."

I pull away to check if his mustache was straight. I notice his expression, dumbfounded, and continue snipping. I sigh, "that was a jest."

I pull away and again and move to the other side. Sandor still keeps his hands on me. He looks at me as I gently move his head.

I add, "I'm quite funny actually."

He chuckles lowly.

It makes my heart flutter.

He smiles, "oh, I don't doubt it, little girl."

I flatten my lips into a line, unsure if he was serious or not. I trim the hair by his jaw.

"You must like kissing then."

I freeze in my spot. I stop what I was doing, then continue, "what do you mean?"

He pulls his hands away. I watch him link them together and rest them on his lap. He shrugs, "you thought of kissing."

"Do you like kissing?"

I place a hand on my hip. He turns to me and shrugs again, "s'fine."

I furrow my brows and mimic his shrug, "well, you've never kissed me, so I wouldn't really know, would I?"

"You've never kissed a man before?"

"No," I impatiently respond, "I've kissed you, but you did not kiss me back," I take a few last cuts off his beard, "on our wedding day, remember?"

I see Sandor's look of disbelief when I finish and brush him off. Specks of hair fly off with the wind.

"You never kissed a little lord in secret as a little girl?"

"Only a big lord," I make a face, "as according to you I still am a little girl."

He stands from where he sat and peers down at me.

I purse my lips and cross my arms. I shrug, "point taken."

His brown eyes glimmer with confusion. I find myself raising my brows. Just as he is about to speak-

"MILORD, MILADY!"

We turn to the three young men walking over to us. I recognize them as Sandor's training apprentices. They push each other as I turn and smile at them.

"Good morn', lady!" Harry says, bowing exaggeratedly at me, "your dress is very rambunctious."

I furrow my brows at his words and find myself chuckling, "uhhh, thank you?"

Sandor raises his brows and curls his lips.

Daniel slaps Harry behind the head, "YOU MUG, D'YA KNOW WHAT YOU SAID, EVEN?"

Harry hisses and shoves Daniel, "DON'T HIT ME!"

Daniel gets shoved again when he incidentally elbows Richard, "OI, WATCH IT!"

The boys begin to quarrel. 

I step back before they can accidentally hit me, in turn, knocking my back into Sandor's.

"Enough!" the Hound barks, making the three brothers, or at least they acted like that, stop and turn to him.

My eyes widen at the sound of the Hound telling the boys off. I watch each of them tense as their Lord Clegane goes on a whole speech about biting off more than they can chew, and that, "if you lot want to act all tough around me, know I'll knock all three of your egg-heads with my hands tied."

I turn to the Hound, "Sandor."

He lets out a deep breath then eyes the three before him, "fuck off."

The boys immediately scram.

I bend over and grip my hips as I catch my breath. Lucy laughs at me as she beckons the puppies over with a stick. They come running over then she throws the stick for them to chase.

I huff, "these pups will be the death of me."

Lucy snorts, "and here I thought you wanted children."

I glare at her as the three small dark furred creatures begin to chase her around the garden as she runs. I call out in offence, "I do!"

Lucy runs over to me, "well, don't you know babes are far worse that this!" 

She giggles when she grabs my shoulders and uses me as a shield for the dogs. Though I was still winded, I laugh with her as the puppies prance around me. I grab Lucy's arm and begin to wrangle with her, "at least my babes will learn to speak. These pups know no sense!"

Lucy pushes me forward, encouraging me, "no, no, go on, s'your time to run, milady!"

I whine, "I really can't, Lucy."

"Oh, come on, lovie, you used to be full of energy! You're actin' as old as maester Yannick."

I hold back a laugh and shoot Lucy a look.

She shoots one back, "what? Did I lie?"

"Girls."

Lucy and I stop and turn to whom spoke. Sandor looks at us the way he always did, scrutinizing and serious.

I straighten up and nod in regard, "my lord."

Sandor sighs and looks away with annoyance. Wind blows his hair, adding effect to his expression. He looks down when the puppies begin to run towards him. They stand on their hind legs, pant, and bark. I swear I saw his exterior break into fondness.

But then he looks at me and it's all gone, "this came for you." He holds out a letter to me between his fingers, "I don't recognize the house sigil."

I walk up to him, smoothening my skirt out, then take the letter. I look at the wax seal for only a second then open the letter.

Sandor watches me raise my brows. He chuckles.

Lucy watches Sandor smile softly before purposefully frowning.

I look up at my husband, "it's from house Alistair."

Sandor's face scrunches up, "never heard of it."

I huff and delay my response to stop the puppies from chewing at the Hound's trousers. Sandor watches as I do this and gently shakes the puppies away. He takes my arm, preventing me from bending down, "I don't mind. They're just pups."

I give him a look, "if I don't stop them now when they're tiny, nothing will stop them when they're big."

Sandor watches as I sternly tell off the puppies and shoo them away. He chuckles at it, but then freezes when Lucy chuckles as well. The two make eye contact. Sandor doesn't have time to react.

"Cedric."

He turns to me, face contorting, "what?"

The puppies run off and Lucy runs along with them. I continue to explain, "Cedric is from House Alistair. You know, the lord that gave us a place to stay. You called him pretty bo-"

"I remember the fucker," he snaps.

I tense.

The Hound's nostrils flare, "what does he want?"

Suddenly, the letter in my hand feels heavy. I shrug, "he's invited us to his nameday celebration."

Sandor scoffs, "you mean he's invited you."

I release a frustrated huff when he begins to walk away. I follow after him and open the letter. I clear my throat and read aloud, "Fair greetings to Brown Wood, the home of House Clegane. May this letter find you in good spirits and health."

Sandor rolls his eyes as he walks back inside. He makes no haste, but I do, in order to keep up with him. I continue, "Seven days from now, I, Cedric Alistair, will be celebrating my--"

"I don't fucking care, little girl," he stops in his tracks and turns to me.

I nearly collide with him, but I gladly don't. I purse my lips and continue anyway, skipping to the part that holds my point, "if the Lord and Lady Clegane be so courteous in taking time out of their day to attend my feast, I would gladly-"

"Do you want to go, squirrel?"

I look up at him, blinking at the sight of his stern expression. I have to say, the omission of the word pretty for his petname made it feel... wrong. I clutch the letter by my belly, "he hosted us, me, Lucy... Daisy, even you, when we had nowhere to go. I think it only proper to attend his nameday to show appreciation and respect."

Sandor's eye twitches. He looks away and sighs.

I chew my lower lip, "he was kind to us, Sandor. I only mean to-"

"Fine," he cuts me off, "but if he touches you," he walks off, "I'm going to kill him."

His statement make my stomach churn. I cannot for the life of me understand what the intent of his words are. I chase after him again, "what if he asks me to dance with him?"

Sandor chuckles dryly, "a fine reason to chop him up."

He stops when I grab his arm. He looks at my hand on his bicep then gives me a look as I say, "you cannot kill him."

Sandor places his hand atop mine, "then don't fucking dance with him."

He squeezes my hand but it is not rough at all. It's gentle and extremely warm. He doesn't even try to pry my grip off, in fact, it's like he was tightening it on hm. My lips part and my body begins to burn.

I then realize when he was close enough for me to feel his breathing that he had been leaning in. I catch the way his eyes dart down to my mouth. I find myself slowly pressing my lips together.

I close my eyes when Sandor comes close to my cheek. I swear I felt my heart leap into my mouth when he pressed his face against mine.

He draws in a deep breath then sighs, "have you ever seen a hound share?"

The silence between us is deafening.

"Hmm?" he hums.

I open my mouth but nothing but mindless sounds leave me.

"I don't even think your pups do that."

My breath catches in my throat when he I feel his beard and his lips press gently against the crook of my neck.

Then the next moment, he releases me and pulls away like nothing happened.

We stare at each other for the longest second of my life. I feel like I'm on fire. What's worse is that I don't think he realizes just how affected I am, or actually... maybe it was good he couldn't tell I was dying inside.

"Still," he nods, "a dog is a dog and I will do as my master commands."

I feel light headed when he walks away.

I clutch my belly and walk to the nearest surface for support. I rub my neck, wondering if that really just happened.

[megbanned]

I got a qeustion!

So pretty sure your mascot is- MB right? Well I’m curious…

Do they have any character lore or a story? Or just serve as a persona?

I think they look pretty adorable ✨

Was just curious since idk if they have any funky powers, but one of your posts has fire around them? Soooo-

Hi!

MB it's my sona and OC, both things I think XD

And yes, they have Lore!

This is a general reference of how they looks-

MB goes for They/Them in case you get a bit confused-

But for the lore: Right now I'm inspired to write, so expect a LOT of text, some things could be misspelled since I use Google Translate to write-

This image explains it more x'D

Basically it is a subtype of Worker Drone that works Underground at high temperatures where humans and normal worker drones may not be able to withstand that much heat.

They have shiny parts that allow them to light the way, such as their horns and tails. These parts appear to be made of lava, but it is another equally hot material that in turn helps them create mining tools.

This information is new and I did not explain it before: instead of having normal WD feet, they have paws, this in a way helps to feel the vibrations of the ground, as well as feeling that someone is nearby or that the cave where they are possibly about to collapse.

The hotter it is, the more efficient they are, however you should not let them consume each other or things will happen-

BUT Now that the planet froze What is MB's role? Survive

Due to the explosion caused by humans, the artificial heat that the MB colony maintained began to run out and they had no idea how to fix what gave them life, where could they get more heat? They need to consume that to live… They are made of heat, aren't they? They attacked each other until little by little there was no one left.

MB had to grow up during these conflicts and fights over the heat, he had never known what was above them even though some left the colony and did not return (they did not return since the Dissasembly drone killed them, curiously the DD did not come down to the colony since entering the caves was dangerous if you didn't know where to go, so the DDs who entered also died of overheating from not eating)

Due to certain decisions, 4 UWD (Underground Worker Drone) killed the few that remained of the colony, there was no more heat, there was nothing more to consume, MB fled the colony before they killed them, which meant that he had to go up to the surface, it took them a while to get there due to the different caves, MB met 2 other UWDs but no good things happened, when MB finally reached the surface it was not as they imagined it, it was even more spacious, and a great light covered everything, MB had seen the sun for the first time, something they had only heard from stories from other older UWDs, it didn't provide him with as much heat because of the cold snow but it was better than being down and dying.

While MB walked through this spacious place they couldn't help but see parts of other UWDs on the ground, as if something or someone had torn them apart. This terrified them, believing that the surface would be just as brutal as underground, but still decided to investigate, finding traces who were guiding to a camp seeing bodies of… Worker drones???, it was the first time MB had seen the body of a Worker drone, MB had only heard about them again because of what they told them, with the hope that they could help him to look for a warm area, MB was looking for them in that camp, but only saw abandonment and destruction, until saw the tracks left by the tires of a certain machine, a type of transport was what MB thought of, so they followed these tracks, it was a long road and the sun was beginning to set and their internal heat was not going to help for a long time, at one point and near a certain place MB ended up getting cold and collapsing because of it.

They found MB's body, they didn't know what type of Drone it was due to its appearance, but its visor showed the image "Low Temp", so they looked for something that could provide heat and a heater could help with that, for now.

Andddd this is a mexican drone- If MB were on the show, would speak completely in Spanish just like Doll speaks Russian.

SOOO this is what I have for now of MB Lore XD

The inspiration for some of the UWD lore was the Naica crystal caves located in a part of my country. sooo probably I will draw something about it later

OH

and MB original design was this one

I later wanted to convert it into a Worker Drone and ended up creating a whole subtype of WD and the lore that I wrote previously.

SORRY IF I WROTE A LOT, I FEEL INSPIRED ASDSADASDSAD

[writingwithciara]

party games -chris sturniolo-

summary: y/n’s best friend decides to throw a party and when he needs a partner for beer pong, he chooses her. a girl who’s never played the game or had a drop of alcohol in her life. what could possibly go wrong?

word count: 3.7k

pairing: chris sturniolo x bestfriend!reader

notes & warnings: in honor of the triplet's 21st birthday!!! iwrote this before they were 21, but i guess now it doesn't really matter. hope you guys enjoy this bit of self indulgence 😊 w: intended smut; intoxication; drugs; language of course

masterlist

when chris had his 'frat boy' era, he didn't understand why the fans were obsessed or why they labelled him as such.

of course parties can be fun. especially with the right people. but there's no need to constantly be throwing a party every night.

sure he enjoys the occasional party but he doesn’t throw them every weekend like some people assume he does.

he prefers to spend most of his time with his brothers and his best friend, y/n.

he met her randomly at a mcdonald’s when he and his brothers moved to los angeles and he thought she was incredibly nice. she ended up showing them around town the next day and ever since then, whenever they were free, they would hang out together. most of those times it was just them. and chris preferred it that way sometimes.

they’ve been friends for 4 years and within that time frame, chris has never seen y/n drink a drop of alcohol or do any kind of drug. she didn’t even smoke weed and chris always saw her as the most innocent person he’d ever met.

so when he decided to give into his ‘frat boy’ persona & throw a party, he had to beg her to come to it. he had a backup plan prepared in case she said no.

she was sitting in matt’s room, discussing strategies for a game they were both into, when chris barged in to propose his deal.

“i’m throwing a party. i want you both to attend it.”

“chris, do you really-“

“before you say no, like you always do, i’ve prepared a deal that neither of you could refuse.”

“okay. and what’s that?” matt sat up straight and stared expectantly at his brother. y/n mirrored his position.

“yeah. tell us this deal please.”

“it’s different for each of you.” chris smiled and turned to matt. “if you come to the party, i will take my driving test and as a bonus, i will not ask you to drive me anywhere for a month.”

“okay. what’s in it for y/n?”

“remember that really expensive taylor swift concert package you wanted?”

“of course. what about it?”

“i may or may not have bought it for you and i may or may not have planned to give it to you for your birthday.”

“did you?”

“if you come to the party, i’ll let you know.” he sighed. “please? you’re the most important person that needs to be there.”

“hey, i’m sitting right here.”

“you’re lucky i love you, chris.” y/n walked over to him. “whens the party?”

“4 hours from now. and don’t worry. you can get ready in my room. already got an outfit picked out for you.”

“you really put some thought into this, didn’t you?”

“i did. so, are you guys gonna come to the party?”

“for you, i’d do anything.” y/n smiled and walked out to the kitchen. chris watched her leave and matt chuckled.

“you’re lucky she loves you.” he smiled. “you should just tell her you love her too.”

“oh please. we’re as platonic as two people can get. she friend zoned me the first week of our friendship and i’ve never wanted to change it.”

“well i’m sensing a but coming in soon.”

“but" he dragged the word out and sighed. "these last 2 months have made me realize that she’s perfect for me, matt. she’s the right amount of innocent without being too innocent. and she’s funny and she gets along with nick. do you know how hard that is for people to do?”

“you’re right. it is difficult. but she’s a good person. you guys are so opposite.”

“yeah but that’s what makes us perfect.” chris smiled. “wait, hold on. did you just imply i’m not a good person?”

out in the kitchen, y/n was preparing a snack when nick entered the room.

“hey. did chris ask you to come to the party?”

“yeah he did.” y/n put the chips away and took the dip from the fridge. “do you know if he actually got the concert package or not?”

“i’m pretty sure he did. but you didn’t hear it from me.” nick popped a chip in his mouth and walked away. chris came out of matt’s room a second later and smiled when he saw y/n in the kitchen.

“hey. you can shower first if you want.”

“okay. i just want to finish my chips first.” y/n grabbed the last few chips and shoved them in her mouth. “okay. see you in 2 hours."

"2 hours?"

"yeah. i need that much time to make myself look good enough to be seen with you guys tonight."

"you could attend the party in ripped sweatpants and a baggy sweater and you'd still look better than anyone attending."

"awe, christopher. that was sweet." y/n smiled. "but i'm still gonna get all dressed up because when do i ever get the chance to do that?"

"fair point." he chuckled.

"thanks again for the invite." she kissed his cheek and ran down to his room to get ready.

by 9 o'clock, the party was in full swing. most people were already well into their 3rd or 4th drink at this point.

chris, however, had decided to pre-game after his shower and was already on his 6 drink. they were mostly shots but with someone like chris, it was easy to get drunk.

he was surrounded by a group of gorgeous girls. and it just so happened that he abandoned those girls when he saw y/n. she was holding a cup in her hand and looking around the room. she was alone so chris walked up to her.

"is there alcohol in that cup?"

"of course not." she sipped it slowly. "matt gave me some of his root beer. and don't worry. i watched him pour it and i haven't taken my eyes off the cup since."

"well that's good to know."

"so what just happened?"

"huh?"

"one second, you're surrounded by every girl at this party that anyone would categorize as 'your type' and the next, you're over here with me. what makes me so special?"

"i'd tell you, but then i'm afraid i would have to kill you." he put his finger to his lips and looked around. "hey, let's go play some beer pong."

"i don't drink, chris. you know that."

"then be my partner. i know you have really good aim and i could use someone like you as my partner." he pleaded. "i'll drink everything. i promise."

"i can't say no to you, can i?"

"no you can not." he smirked triumphantly and grabbed her hand. they hurried over to the table where someone was setting up the next round. "y/n and i call next round."

"are you sure about that, chrissy? i've never seen her even sip a single drop of alcohol. maybe i could be your partner." one of the girls from earlier batted her eyelashes at him seductively but he paid her no mind.

"alright. let's do this." chris eyed the cups and pointed to the one he wanted y/n to aim for. "let's get the hardest one out of the way first, hmm?" he whispered in her ear and she tossed the tiny ball. it spun around the rim of the cup before landing inside. "yes! i knew you could do it."

"thanks for having some faith in me, chris." she smiled up at him as the guy on the other end of the table downed the alcohol.

"let's see you go 2 for 2." he wiped his lips and y/n picked up another ball. she was about to aim for the front cup but chris leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"back corner cup. you can do this."

she didn't know why but the way his words came out of his mouth, did something to her. she watched as the ball bounced past the cup and sighed. "sorry, chris."

"it's okay. you're still doing great." he kissed the top of her head as the game continued.

they conquered the rest of the game and they were setting up for another round when y/n looked at chris.

"i think i want to try drinking."

"are you positive?"

"100%. it's not like i'm driving home tonight anyway. besides, i'm here with you so i'm the safest i could ever be."

"i won't let anything bad happen to you."

"i know." she smiled up at him with her innocent smile and he knew he needed to protect her at all costs.

they ended up losing game 2 but they wanted to participate in another one. at this point, y/n had downed 6 of the 10 cups so to say she was tipsy would be a bit of an understatement.

halfway through game 3, chris had to cut her off. he had been sobering up while she was drinking and the sight before him was ridiculous, but also funny.

chris intentionally lost the game and finished off the last cup. he grabbed y/n's hand and brought her down to his room.

"ooh, christopher. if you wanted me in your bed, you could've just asked." she giggled when the door was closed.

"i'm gonna get you some water. can you get changed for me?" chris looked at her and smiled when she nodded slowly. He went into his bathroom and grabbed a cup, filling it with water before venturing back to his room. y/n was in the middle of taking her shirt off when he entered the room. her movements became slow and it felt like she was putting on a show for him.

"like what you see, chrissy?"

"no." he swallowed hard. he in fact did like what he saw but she was drunk and it would be wrong to admit it. so he just looked back at her. "you need to get changed into something comfortable to sleep in, y/n/n."

"you're no fun." she pouted and continued to pull the shirt over her head. it somehow got stuck and she turned towards where she assumed chris was. "help, please?"

chris shook his head and approached her. he grabbed the piece of fabric carefully and pulled it over her head, replacing it with one of his new fresh love shirts. her jeans were a little easier to slide down her legs and chris replaced them with some of his old shorts.

"thank you, chris. you're the best." she mumbled as she snuggled deeper into the blankets. just as she was getting comfortable, her face twisted in disgust and she leaned over the edge of the bed. chris grabbed the garbage bin and held it underneath her while she emptied the contents of her stomach into it. he sat next to her and rubbed her back gently while holding her hair back. when she was finished, chris handed her a towel to wipe her lips and he used a damp one to wipe the sweat off her face.

"feeling better?"

"no. i feel like shit." she grumbled and moved to lay on her back. chris still sat on the edge of the bed, but this time, he had to turn his head a little to talk to her.

"i never should've let you drink." he sighed, adding a little chuckle at the end when y/n dramatically threw her arm over her face.

"yeah. what were you thinking, christopher?"

"i would've stopped you but your mind was set on it. and i'd like to think i know you well enough at this point to understand that when you're dead set on something, nothing can change your mind."

"i guess that's true." y/n sighed and closed her eyes. "thank you for being such a good friend, chris. i don't deserve you."

"more like i don't deserve you." chris chuckled and looked back at y/n to see her chest rising and falling slowly, signaling she was a brief moment away from falling asleep. "get some rest, princess. i'll see you in the morning." he moved her hair out of her face and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before slowly walking out of the room & rejoining the party.

matt eyed his brother as he walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "what? no more drinking?"

"oh, this is for y/n when she wakes up." chris smiled and passed the bottle between his hands casually. "i can't believe i let her drink so much."

"she's an adult, chris. she can make her own choices. you don't have to feel guilty for what happened or obligated to keep her from making mistakes."

"i know. but she's my best friend and i made myself a promise that i would never let anything bad happen to her."

"and so far, nothing bad has happened. you're doing a great job."

"thanks, matt. i really needed that reassurance." chris smiled again. "i hope you don't mind but i'm done with the party for the night. duty calls, you know."

"yeah. i get it. you've gotta take care of her. go on."

"i appreciate you." chris hugged his brother before heading back down to his room. y/n was tossing around on the bed as if she was having some sort of nightmare.

chris approached her and noticed her face was covered in sweat so he grabbed the wet cloth and ran it along her face. her movements slowed and her breathing went back to normal, satisfying chris. he placed the bottle on his nightstand and crawled into bed next to her. when y/n's arm landed on his chest, he stiffened up a bit but when he heard light snores coming from her, he just smiled to himself.

he was glad she felt safe around him but he knew he needed to tell her how he felt before it was too late.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

the morning came faster than chris had wanted. he couldn't get any sleep with y/n beside him. she spent a few hours just throwing up in the garbage and chris was there to take care of her each time. he wiped her face with a damp cloth and got her water when she needed it.

when her eyes fluttered open and she made eye contact with chris, she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

"good morning." she whispered.

"good morning." chris smiled and moved the hair that was stuck to her forehead. "how are you feeling?"

"better than i was last night, but still shitty." she closed her eyes. "i'm sorry you had to take care of me all night instead of enjoying your own party. i feel bad you missed most of it."

"hey, don't feel bad. i will always take care of you, no matter what."

"but, your party-"

"it wasn't that important. not nearly as important to me as you are."

"do you....do you mean that?"

"of course." he smiled and played with her fingers.

"you know, even after 4 years, i will never understand why i'm so important to you." she replied shyly, avoiding eye contact with her best friend. "i mean, i'm nothing special."

"hey," he grabbed her chin gently and looked into her eyes. "you are incredibly special. don't sell yourself short, ma."

"t-thanks, chris." she looked into his eyes and before she knew it, she was leaning closer. just as their lips were about to touch, y/n ducked her head to the side and threw up in the garbage bin. chris held her hair back for her while she continued to empty her stomach. when she was finished, she wiped her mouth with the back if her hand. "oh my god. i'm so sorry, chris."

"it's alright. you don't have to apologize to me, ever." he smiled and wiped the sweat from her face again. "especially for something as normal as that."

"you're sweet, christopher." she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. chris rubbed her shoulder and kissed her head. "how are you still single?"

he felt like saying "because i only want to be with you" but he kept his mouth shut. he didn't need to lose his best friend. he could've risked it but he didn't want to say anything until he knew how she felt. and he couldn't ask her in her current state. so he would just have to wait until she was better, no matter how long it took.

when he was sure y/n was fast asleep again, he gently moved her off his body and got out of bed. he went up to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for his brothers and y/n, since he knew they'd all have a hangover of some sort.

matt was the first one awake and when he entered the kitchen and saw chris cooking, he didn't even question it.

"good morning." chris greeted him happily.

"could you lower your voice a little, please?" matt rubbed his head slowly while he sat at the table. chris poured him a glass of water and set it down gently. "thank you."

"matt, can i tell you something?"

"yeah, of course." he sipped his water slowly.

"i almost kissed y/n earlier."

"oh my god. really? what happened?"

"our lips were like 2 inches from touching and then she ended up throwing up. but i may have messed our friendship up by almost kissing her."

"why do you say that?"

"it just feels like it. i don't know."

"look, you need to talk to her and tell her how you feel. the worst she can say is that she doesn't feel the same. but i doubt that outcome will happen because i guarantee that she has feelings for you."

"well, i won't be sure until i talk to her. and i plan on doing it after breakfast." chris heard his bedroom door shut and he finished plating the food. he set everyone's plates on the table just as nick and y/n came into the kitchen. "good morning."

"good morning." y/n sat at the table and looked at her plate. "this all looks delicious, chris. thank you."

"you're welcome." he sat across from her and everyone began eating.

breakfast was mostly silent, aside from the forks hitting the plates and the cups being set down on the table.

when everyone was done eating, chris went to clear the table by himself but y/n stopped him.

"let me help. it's the least i can do since you made breakfast and all." y/n smiled and carried half the dishes to the kitchen. she set them down in the sink and ran the water. "breakfast was delicious, chris. thanks again."

"no problem. figured you'd need some solid food in your system. hopefully you can keep it down."

"i'm sure i will." she smiled. "after all, i had a really good caretaker this morning."

"speaking of this morning, can we talk? you know, about the thing that almost happened?"

"yeah. um, sure. when do you want to talk about it?"

as y/n and chris talked in the kitchen, matt glanced over at them occasionally. nick noticed and raised his eyebrow.

"you good over there, bro?"

"yeah. i just really hope chris and y/n finally admit how they feel about each other. been rooting for them ever since that night we met her at mcdonald's." matt glanced back over towards the kitchen and noticed they were gone. "wow. they move fast."

"not fast enough." nick chuckled as he averted his attention back to the tv.

down in chris' bedroom, he was sitting on the edge of his bed with y/n beside him. she began to fidget with her fingers and chris instinctively reached over and held her hands gently.

"you know, you've been my best friend and favorite person for 4 years. and ever since the night we met at mcdonald's, i've been trying to figure out how you've had the patience to put up with me for so long. you are so incredible and an absolute angel, y/n. and i admire you so much. you have no idea how much you mean to me and i don't think there's enough time in the world for me to express just how strongly i feel about you." chris looked over at her and gently cupped her cheek. "you are so perfect."

"christopher owen sturniolo, you are unmatched. and i love you. so much more than you can ever imagine."

"if you hadn't gotten sick this morning, would you have followed through with the kiss?"

"absolutely." y/n smiled. "would you have followed through?"

"yes definitely. and even though you got sick, i still would've kissed you after."

"barf breath and everything?"

"i'd kiss you under any circumstance, y/n. i love you."

"i love you too." y/n smiled and ran her hand through his hair, bringing his lips down to hers. she smiled into the kiss and chris held her close.

"i'm going to take you on a proper date tomorrow night." chris smiled widely. "Wait, hold on. i actually have something you might prefer."

"something else i'd prefer over a date with you? i doubt it."

"oh but this is better. trust me." chris got up and walked to his closet. he pulled out a medium sized gift box and handed it to her. "i wanted to give this to you on your birthday but since it's this weekend, i think now's a better time to give it to you."

y/n opened the box and pulled out the special taylor swift vip concert package chris put together for her.

"chris, you didn't."

"oh but i did. a week from today, you'll be going to the taylor swift show in la and you'll be watching it from the front row. during the show, there's a surprise. then after the show, you'll be going backstage to meet her and spend some time with her."

"i love you so much, chris. you didn't have to do this." y/n had tears in her eyes and chris wiped them away.

"if anyone deserves this, it's you."

"i truly don't deserve you, christopher." she rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "i'm so glad we met at mcdonald's that night."

"me too." chris smiled and kissed her softly.

they finally got what they both wanted and they couldn't be happier. and without mcdonald's & beer pong, they wouldn't be where they are now.

[rei-ismyname]

Exceptional X-Men #4 REVIEW

I've been singing the praises of Eve L Ewing and Carmen Carnero's Exceptional X-Men, so let's see what they manage to do now that the premise is established and they've got 5 main characters we're invested in. A benefit of establishing your characters early is that you get to focus on introducing plot elements, special guests, and complications - like serialised storytelling does. Uncanny is a good example of how a lack of focus early on weakens everything you try to do. It's hard to care about The Outliers or Nightcrawler when they feel like wallpaper, and now they're running around an event without knowing who they are. The stakes lay primarily with Rogue. Trista/Bronze is a fantastic example of this done right, and as you'll see we can explore plot developments that wouldn't make sense elsewhere. Spoilers ahoy, caveat emptor.

Trista gets a lot of focus which works because we know who she is and what she wants.

Due to Kate pushing back against taking these kids somewhere isolated for training, we get to see them try to live normal lives. Trista has friends outside the tiny mutant peer group, a crush, and an interest in theatre. She declared last issue that her goal is to not hurt anyone, and she's struggling with what people tell her to be and what she wants. She's a sweet kid, and I'd say there's a racial component to this dichotomy - how black kids are perceived and how they need to act to get by in a white supremacist world. That's outside my experience but I'm invested in how Trista deals navigates the issue. After all, being strong, kind, gentle and lovely aren't mutually exclusive

I hesitate to compare to Uncanny again, but they both have high school scenes and the difference is stark. Westinghouse College Prep is a real life school in Chicago (that Biggie, Jay Z, Busta Rhymes and DMX all went to) and it is ranked pretty highly nationally. According to its website it has 98% minority enrollment. Importantly, it feels like a real school in 2024 with real people attending it, and not just because it actually is one IRL. There's no need to reach for played out generic high school tropes when the characters feel like real people with real problems already - verisimilitude.

After a smash cut to Trista with a sentinel looming over her, we learn that Emma does a pretty damn good Danger Room analogue. Trista seems determined and in control at first, using her different powers in concert effectively. She does manage to Empire Strikes Back trip the Sentinel up, but wigs out when it falls on top of her, understandably. Emma calls it, and we see more proof of why she's considered good at training young mutants.

Bobby's entrance at the end of last issue felt like a cliffhanger by virtue of being on the final page, but I'm glad his presence doesn't derail the plot entirely. It's implied that some time has passed, maybe a week - enough time for Bobby and Trista to get to know each other and enough time for Bobby to feel Kitty is avoiding him. Trista picks up on his odd behaviour and asks Emma about psychic ethics, heh. Her answer is funny and sardonic while still getting the point across. Emma and Trista having one on one time tells us a lot about Emma's sincerity and the trust she's earned through good works.

The subtext of Trista's distraction is made text - she's preoccupied with the audition, her crush, and the fear of exposure/social rejection. While we know this already, or could guess, it's effective to have newer characters tell their story. What they say is as important as what they don't say or how they say it. She responds well to being listened to and positive reinforcement, accepting the reframing of the audition as an opportunity.

Bobby is definitely up to something and acting weird. His persona feels performative. He's explicitly faking bathroom usage to text privately, and while his texting is worded vaguely enough to not give much away, it does seem sinister. At minimum he is lying about why he's there. Kitty picks up on the same weirdness Trista did and she's really not having it. He doesn't have the vibes of a friend seeking or offering support, though Kitty isn't interested in either and tells him to leave. Idk if Bobby even has a home right now - he was living in Antarctica because ORCHIS poisoned him and he couldn't hold a solid form for long. He was back with Romeo last time we saw him but also didn't have a physical body. I can't blame the creators for not explaining that, I have to assume they're under the same editorial direction everyone else is.

Trista's warmup scene has excellent layout, with the other kids' faces in circles next to their supportive texts. It's a clever way of showing their faces in an issue they're mostly absent from, and it's a solid method of variety in an issue with more texting than most. Showtime!

Trista meekly introduces herself to the casting guy/director and he suggests that the lead might not be right for her. He's polite, though she's about to disagree when her mutant life and school life clash in an unexpected way. One of those yellow beasts from X-Force appears from a portal and grabs her crush. You don't need to have been reading X-Force, it's a big monster (that were confirmed to be appearing globally in that book) and it's here. Trista rallies and uses her training to bronze up and get her head in the game.

It's a dangerous situation but has a simple solution suited to Trista's skillset. She grabs it with her tentacle things, ties it up and yeets it through the portal. Her overcoming it with pure force or martial skill would be a bit silly, but by linking her training and the progress she's made with Emma to a simple solution, it feels like an appropriate and believable triumph. Strong yet gentle. Neutralizing the beast and protecting herself and others without using overwhelming violence. It's a very effective character beat and the support/adulation from the theatre people is earned. She nailed the audition, and gets offered her choice of parts, though interestingly she turns it down in favour of her training. The theatre folks show solidarity and swear to keep her mutanthood a secret.

Trista shows up to training and seems more confident, her posture showing strength and positivity. It looks like Bronze, Axo and Melee are all benefiting and even Kate manages a smile. Then she overhears Bobby on the phone while grabbing some equipment. It's not a good look.

What Bobby is saying is so weird that she's not even sure it's him. Kate phases her hand next to his heart and straight up threatens him. He explains that everyone is worried about her and she says she's choosing this life. He tries to bring up ORCHIS and she shuts it down, saying out loud that she killed people. A little too loud, it turns out.

The kids overhear and are horrified, understandably. They're really young and don't have the kind of life experiences that come with being an X-Man - of course they are! Tom Brevoort has made a lot of noise about the X-Men killing people in Fall of X, an argument that has ignored the nuance of being at war with genocidal fascists. The issue hasn't made it to the page in a meaningful way until now, and I couldn't be more impressed. Rooting the issue in Kate's trauma and shame - as something that terrifies the students she's trying to help and likely damaging the trust she's built - approaches it on a believable character level.

This is a big part of what caused Kate to hang up her Spandex and it's something she's going to have to reckon with. Add the kids' emotional and ethical reaction and you've got a fantastic cliffhanger with the promise of explosive drama.

Kate grabs Bobby's phone and it's Rogue on the other end. She doesn't look like she's at Haven or in uniform, so who knows what's going on there? They're clearly ahead of Raid on Graymalkin as Iceman is in league with them, as if that book needs more characters. Kate doesn't care and hangs up on her. I wasn't going to compare to Uncanny a third time, but if the two are crossing over it invites comparison. Kurt's glib comment about thinking he was a murderer felt trite and silly, next to the dramatic execution of Shadowkat's actions being confronted it looks downright amateur. Kate is clearly having a PTSD flashback or intrusive thought during this conversation - whereas it wouldn't work for Bobby or Emma to announce that she has PTSD, for example.

I do enough shitting on Uncanny's writing in my reviews of that book, my point is how well similar beats are executed in this book. Eve L Ewing and Carmen Carnero's Exceptional X-Men is aptly named and frankly, if you're not reading it you're missing out. We know all these characters well enough that we care about their reaction to this revelation. Kate looks like she's about to break down, and Bronze and Axo's body language is heartbreaking. Emma knows shit is about to hit the fan and she's surely aware she killed people in Fall of X too. That's how you do a cliffhanger. Issue #4 managed to do a Trista focus issue, some slice of life, excellent character work, and lit a fuse to explode next issue all in 20 pages.

Exceptional X-Men is fantastic and you should be reading it.

[another-day]

time for another lovely EPISODE IN REVIEW!!! and boy, do we have a lot to discuss for this one

!!!SPOILERS FOR II EPISODE 16!!!

oh my gosh

that episode was insane, i’m still reeling from it, but let’s start from the beginning

i remember seeing a post somewhere where someone was saying 3gs would most likely have a very ‘army general’ type personality, and i think that still holds, just not to the degree i intially thought

he’s someone who focuses on motivation and praise to not only please but get people to follow through. this is not in the way of manipulation, just in order to get what needs to be done, done. expanding on his personality like this was so interesting, especially interspersing his moments of fear with his moments of joy because he hadn’t seen other people in years. it really goes to show how cobs can negatively affect other characters than mephone 4.

trophy has really grown as a character in the sense that he can now see the fundamental flaws in the persona of knife, though i do feel he’s still heavily guided in this by his own values. he has this firm belief that knife is similar if not the exact same as him; angry and violent. he breaks down all of the cracks in knife’s facade, but incorrectly so, which was interesting.

alongside this, knife is shown to still be perceived incorrectly to how wishes to be by many of the contestants. considering he’s trying to make such an effort to change and become a good person only for trophy to treat him like this is clearly dishesrtening to him. as much as he likes to build up his whole tough guy persona, in this episode and the last, we’ve seen that the words of others, especially those he considers allies, can really affect him. granted, trophy is no ally of his, but it still has an impact on him to be so shamelessly called out, even if a lot of it is assumption.

i love that they make everyone’s attempts to comfort suitcase feel so condescending in order to emphasise her confusion and disarray in terms of the situation. this feels like a circus, where suitcase is realising she’s a clown for being fooled. i love her reaction to realising nickel and balloon are friends because she has that underlying anger, yes, but more than anything else she’s confused and upset. soooo cool.

i nearly screamed but it was two in the morning when i was watching this so i did not.

but oh my gosh, the idea of “deleting” a character is horrifying. as taco put it, seeing “the life drain out of him” must’ve been horrifying for her. this, oj’s, and nickel’s deletion are only amped up by this prospect of having people around to see the life drain out of someone they were once friends with.

also why did it have to be pickle. literally what did he do.

also also, now we know what happened to toilet i guess.

forshadowing cobs being able to see wherever they go, alongside how everything of theirs in under control, even if not by cobs.

cobs is meant to parallel mephone 4 in this scene. his advertisment is very “brainwash”-y, and it emphasises what a hold he used to have on people and the control he once held through his creations. similarly so, through the reveal at the end, WHICH I’LL GET TO, we see that mephone similarly has control over all of the contestants, whether direct or otherwise. so very peculiar really.

depicting the death scenes like this was brilliant. a persuing entity, sounded by alarms that only the person who is to be killed can hear is a horrifying concept, and something so horrifying from an outsider perspective.

imagine this from paper’s perspective: you’re arguing with your best friend about the amount of tasks you’ve been given for so little credit, and you finally admit everything that’s been bothering you. instead of the reassurance you usually receive, your friend stands there in shock before asking “do you hear that?” you hear nothing. the fear on his face grows and he backs against the door, crying for something you can’t see to ‘stop’. you’re confused, but before you can question it, he’s dead, spilled. any semblance of life in him as disappeared, and everyone is terrified.

this was so masterfully executed all the times it happened; taco’s incoherency when she was found with pickle, the hotel’s reaction when oj spills, and baseball’s silence and shock as he re-enters after nickel’s death. it sets up a tone of horror, and shows just how unaware everyone truly is. soooooo very cool.

it was so cool seeing the purgatory crew again because i really missed these goofy guys. but it really gets you thinking about what role they’re going to play.

unlike bow, all of the “deleted” contestants have had their melife icons completely removed, so that begs the question; will they be turned into ghosts at purgatory mansion? bow states in the episode that it took her a while to appear in the mansion, so it gets you thinking if deletion counts as a perma-death, and those killed will be turned to ghosts.

knife’s very impersonal handling of this situation versus suitcase’s gentle assurance and questioning really brings out the difference between these two.

this scene is meant to make knife seem foolish for wanting to rush by all this, but that’s not what knife intends to look like, again bringing back this idea of misunderstanding his actions. knife doesn’t like focusing on what’s around him when he’s been given a clear objective, getting information to find cobs in this case. alongside this, he doesn’t have the same understanding of what 3gs has been through as suitcase, yet he tries, to a degree, to understand this individual. when knife isn’t given the information he needs, he looks for his own means of finding it, and moves ahead.

suitcase on the other hand is shown to want to take it slower. unlike knife, she’s more invested in the story than the lesson or outcome. this is something normally detrimental to someone in a finale, but due to their working together, knife doesn’t really get too far ahead of her. she wants to understand motivations for actions so that she can figure out how to respond, whereas knife just wants to, for lack of a better phrase, cut to the the chase. very interesting.

now, the titular reveal of the episode, “the reality of the situation”, if you will.

despite how of guard i was caught, this makes perfect sense.

though i don’t really like season three, cabby has a scene where she freaks out when questioned about her parents. i initially thought this had something to do with her memory issues, but this explanation makes much more sense. bot knew about theur parents because their parents actually exist, cabby’s did not.

no character ever talks about their past, nor their parents, nor their motivation to join the show. it all quite literally starts from the first episode, and picks up from there. that is why mephone can regenerate them. that is why when mephone dies they can’t be regenerated, because as their creator, he was the only one capable of REcreating them. its an incredible reveal, and a very well working one.

all in all, this episode was phenomenal. the chracter work and development and storyline were all so well done and i totally adore it. episode 15 was very character focused and took a step away from the plot. this episode on the other hand took the plot and bolted with it, scattering all slrts of bombshells on the way.

i love this episode because it shows unity and disharmony and everything really feels like its coming together and i’m so excited for the next episode.

till next time lovelies!!!

[laylakongg]

my sona in @quartztwst's no yandere au! info under the cut ♡

1. Does your OC have parents or family in the AU? If not, what is their current living situation?

Layla currently lives with her parents and two sisters (one older and one younger than her).

2. What are their thoughts on Quartz?

She considers Quartz her friend, but they don't talk much (she's too nervous to start a conversation with someone as pretty as Quartz!).

3. What is their thoughts and relationship with Azul? How did they meet Azul?

Azul is that smart kid who just talks about politics and tries to trick you into buying from him or doing him favors. They met in class when she needed homework answers last-minute.

4. What are their relationships with other characters/OCs?

Floyd: She thinks Floyd seems nice enough, but they aren't friends, nor acquaintances. Floyd most likely doesn't remember who she is since she thinks he's spooky and doesn't actively try to talk to him.

Jade: They're classmates but haven't interacted much. She's scared of Jade.

Ace: They're friends. Layla sees him like an annoying family member, and Ace sees her as sort of strange (spooky) but she's nice when you get to know her.

Deuce: He's one of Layla's friends along with Ace. She sees him as the more tolerable of the two, but his delinquent persona startles her a lot. He thinks she's nice which is how they became friends.

Idia: They act like siblings who always try to annoy and outdo the other. Stealing from the other, bantering over small things, etc.

5. What grade/year is your OC?

Layla is a 2nd year (17).

6. What is your OCs goal for the school year or in life?

Try to at least pass her classes.

7. Your OC is being framed for murder of another student by Quartz, how does your OC react to that? Does your OC know it's Quartz?

"...What? No, I wouldn't! I didn't do it, I swear!"

She would be startled and stand still without saying anything for a second before responding. If she knew Quartz was the one behind everything, she wouldn't outright say it was her but just try to prove her own innocence.

8. Your OC notices Quartz carrying a weapon in her skirt pocket. That's strange since the female school uniforms don't have skirt pockets. Does your OC report this?

"As long as I don't get hurt, I'm fine, right...?"

Wouldn't tell anyone since she doesn't like blaming others, especially her friends since she barely has any. Who would believe her anyways? They're more likely to think she's the one with a weapon in her pocket.

9. Where is your OC usually with or at during school? Classes? With Azul? Skipping class? Where do they eat lunch?

She usually gets to school almost a minute before the bell rings and makes sure to get to all of her classes on time, but during breaks she usually wanders the school with one of her friends.

Her lunch spot is on one of the benches in the courtyard.

10. How are your OC's grades?

Not the worst. They're passing, but her grades are 50/50. Some classes are A's, while others are C's or D's.

11. What is their magic level? What type of magic are they’re best at?

The magic she’s best at is probably wind magic (she uses it to grab things when she’s too lazy to move).

Her Unique Magic is unnamed as of right now, but it activates whenever she is killed. If she is killed, her UM allows her to steal the body of the one who killed her, completely changing the appearance of the original body to that of her own, removing the original completely and transforming them into a perfect replica of herself. Her conscience is then placed inside the body as a sort of puppet, if you will. It’s important to note that if she steals the body of somebody who can use magic, she doesn’t gain their UM or their magical output. It’s unknown how she discovered her UM.

12. If your OC is magicless, how do they defend themselves fom someone attacking them with magic? Are they good at fighting?

She’s not magicless, but her UM only happens when she is killed, so she usually scratches people or kicks them. She dislikes using magic for no reason most of the time.

13. Your OC stumbles upon a dead body a few feet outside of the school. Do they report it?

Take a picture (for future reference of course), then run away and report it to whoever’s willing to listen.

14. Which elimination tactic is preferred to use on them?

Befriending is the best tactic, as you will gain information as a bonus for becoming acquainted. Trying to eliminate her is near impossible due to her UM, so you only have a few tactics available anyways.

15. How are your OCs outside of school? Do they have jobs?

Outside of school, she has no job and often heads straight home without going anywhere unless asked to.

16. How social is your OC? Do they stray away from crowds?

She doesn’t mind being out in crowds as long as she isn’t being paid attention to, but is unlikely to do things like holding speeches or attending social events.

17. Which TWST character does your OC believe should have more admirers than Azul?

Dilla Spade. Next question.

18. What are your OC's weaknesses? Are they easily manipulated? Easily overpowered by?

Easy to crack under pressure, can’t talk in front of crowds, easily manipulated, etc.

19. Why does your OC like their crush?

Both are mysterious, pretty, cool-headed, etc. (Showed her basic human decency one time)

20. If your OC has no crush, which TWST character might have a liking for your OC?

Probably a few NPC’s who she doesn’t even know exists, but if I had to choose one of the main cast members, maybe Epel or Kalim?

21. Since reputation and popularity are kind of different, is your OC popular in and outside of school?

Inside of school and outside of school are the same, except she doesn’t leave her house that much.

22. Any drama, traumatic story for your OC in the AU?

Doesn’t have a tragic background, but she thinks everything is boring and without purpose, everything day is the same, she’s scared of her parents and teachers in case she gets in trouble, feels guilty for things that humans as a species are supposed to do, etc.

Personality:

Though she looks straight-faced or scary, she actually talks a lot and sometimes can't stop, though only with her close friends. She mainly talks about her interests like games that she plays, books she's reading, her annoying classmates, etc. She's sharp-witted and straightforward to a fault, though she's not impolite, which is why she worries about saying harsh things to people. She gets startled easily, especially if there are any sudden loud noises. She's usually very awkward with her classmates, but they take it as her being intimidating instead.

edit: forgot to add quartz in the crush category so just pretend she was always there

[just--some--prompts]

Sentence/Conversation Starters:

Random things my friends and I have said over the years on Discord

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

✦ — Person A: “Something on my face?” Person B: “Yeah it's called being too handsome, now stop it.”

✧ — "Two cups of chicken broth, two cups of heavy cream, and then add the lego's–"

✦ — Person A: -makes struggling noises- Person B: "Are you ok?" Person A: "Nope" Person B: "Ok then"

✧ — "Don't shoot me! I'm pleasantly thick!"

✦ — "You’re starting another cult. You bitch."

✧ — Person A: "I’m allergic to honey because I’m allergic to beeeeeeees." Person B: "That's… not how it works?"

✦ — "You were here, you were our side hoe!"

✧ — "The hetero's are upsetero."

✦ — "Why does he not have clothes!?"

✧ — Person A: "We're not clean in the eyes of God." Persona B: "You're not clean in the eyes of your bathtub. How can you be clean in the eyes of God?"

✦ — "Consent is hot when you're fucking my life"

✧ — Person A: "You tire me" Person B: "Then go to bed"

✦ — "You were so far in the closet you were finding Christmas presents from 4 years ago!"

✧ — "I want... to put a pop-tart in his mouth. Do you like smores'?"

✦ — "Life of crime? Naw. Life of shaking ass? Sure."

✧ — Person B: "You're the opposite of a friendly boy." Person A: "What's the opposite of a friendly boy?" Person B: "A bitch."

✦ — -takes a fighting stance- “I'm ready to bite yo ass"

✧ — "People not talking to me? Ideal."

✦ — "You are all a burden upon my shoulders"

✧ — Person C: “Ima eat yo fucking al dente ass ligaments u Italian deviant” Person B: “You're welcome to. End my meat lineage.”

✦ — "Lol, simping for some sleep"

✧ — "Cucked for a soft pillow"

✦ — "Get cucked consciousness"

✧ — Person A: -struggles to breathe- Person B: "Breathe" Person A: "Who needs air?" Person B: "You need air to survive." Person A: "Debatable…" Person B: ".......shut up"

✦ — "I like my men like I like my food...  Genetically modified."

✧ — “Bitch, you got crabs?”

✦ — Person A: “Suc-Fuck you!” Person B: “You were gonna say suck.” Person C: “You were gonna say suck,” -Person C leans in closer- “that’s kinda gay bro.”

✧ — Person A: "So what are y’all talkin about?" Person B: "Uh... we were talking about gender reveals but with spaghetti"

✦ — "It's a millennial thing innit? Eatin' ass?"

✧ — "I'd stuff my face with you."

✦ — “Screams in slut, what!?”

✧ — Persona A: “I’m not mad.” Person B: “Don’t lie.” Person A: “Shut your whore mouth!”

✦ — -hands slam down on table- "They’ve had sex together!!!!"

✧ — "Rip in shit, binch. Sloshed and forgotten."

✦ — “This is how I die. Tell people it was something cool and not spicy egg salad.”

✧ — Person B: "You don't eat your phalanges [Person A]. Rookie mistake."

✦ — "When the Campbell's chunky take chunk out of you."

✧ — "Excuse me, Ma'am, can you put down a wet floor sign? You're a bit of a hazard."

✦ — "My gamer arthritis is making it hard for me to hold my wife's hand"

✧ — "Is this roller camping? .............I'm gonna fuck your mom."

✦ — Person A: "I struggle with his emotions–" Person C: "So does he."

✧ — "I thought by ‘squirt’ you meant that the clowns had venom sacks."

✦ — "We learned our lesson, don't convert–"

✧ — "You fed me eggs, now the government can track my location!!!"

✦ — Person C: "Anyway, back to the topic at hand–" Person B: "God, I wish his throat was under my hand–what?"

[storkmuffin]

Hello! I’m the anon that sent you some questions to pick at your brain a couple weeks ago and wanted to swing by since I’ve seen soo much more discussion and questions since then. Love to see it honestly and see that you’ve deep dived even more to Ateez 🤑

I know that my curiosity and questions stemmed when you went off about how Seonghwa was openly expressing himself and KQ being cool with it, but I want to know a bit more about how Seonghwa comes off to you and presents himself to the public. Basically what are your general thoughts about him? I was intrigued after I read your answer to the question that is in the same vein but for Yunho.

Since I've been maniacally spouting off about Ateez I keep wanting to add disclaimers to my opinions because I'm extremely wary of presenting myself as the Korean expert on Korean fandom or Korean public tastes or in any way representative. I'm not qualified to do this, and particularly not about anything to do with kpop. So I guess I'll do that here. And now, for the fun of writing, I am going to just not disclaim or water down anything I say with, I think or To me or Personally because I just want to basically flip out about Park Seonghwa the Idol.

So! My valued Seonghwa anon, strap in, because WHEEEE!!!

General thesis: Seonghwa is the Ateez member whose Idol Persona is the most deliberately crafted, with the most sophisticated understanding of exactly what male Idols are supposed to provide the female Fandom. He's not just the best at Being An Idol in Ateez - he's better than all of the Stray Kids members too (my only other reference, sorry). He keeps evolving the Park Seonghwa Idol Persona by continually adding and amending elements, many of them contradictory, and then playing them against each other to induce curiosity and obsession.

Seonghwa is handsome (strong nose, strong jaw line, big eyes), but he's also pretty (often long hair, pointy chin, full lips, expressive eyebrows). Seonghwa is physically manly (tall, long limbed, broad shouldered, muscular, big feet) but has intentionally added femininity to his frame (itty bitty waist, fluid hip movement, balletic port de bras). The theatricality of Ateez's style to date makes it more clear than most groups that there's a being that's The Idol / Performer/ Performance and The Person Who Has A Performing Arts Job, and what Seonghwa does so well is to make you wonder which one you're seeing, and to often make you believe you're seeing The Person even during what is clearly the Performance by The Idol.

What's real? What isn't? What's performance and what's genuine? Much of the draw of Idols is that the line between those disparate things is deliberately kept blurry and porous. (In ballet, for example, it's not porous. There's the ballet dancer being a Fairy Prince on stage and then off stage he's himself and you're not supposed to wonder if he has Fairy Prince feelings, you know?)

During the very first Wanteez episode, airtime August of 2022, Seonghwa was 24, and already 4 years into his Idol career. The set up for this 'reality' show was that Ateez went back to high school, which was 5 years in his past. This piece of entertainment is in the fine tradition of casting actors who are 26 to play 16 year olds that exists in all of media all over the planet. The self he's presenting here is that of a very masculine, manly guy. He uses the full of his lower register speaking voice. He shoves the other actors aside, shouts at them, and mocks Yeosang because he doesn't know how to do the 반장 (Class President) role of making the call and response to get students to bow to the teacher. He's advertising the fact that in his now-lost and utterly unknowable pre-Idol 'real life' he was, in fact, the Class President of an All Boys' high school. He was a dominant boy, who was popular, and a leader. He was also a good boy, trusted by adults, and not a class clown or a truant or bad at school. He's not insisting on it or anything, because that's not fun, but he's letting you know that maybe, just maybe, he would be wonderful boyfriend material for a good Confucian values girl like most middle class Korean girls are still raised to be. He's hinting that the "eldest in the group but bottom of the food chain" persona in the Ateez group dynamic may just be for the job, and he's an alpha, actually.

I don't know if it comes through if you don't speak Korean, but when he's shouting 가자! 가자고!! (Let's go! Move now!) at Wooyoung in Wanteez #1 during their race, he doesn't even seem like the same person as the one on whose lap Wooyoung tries to do a headstand to be obnoxious in a different content. In that other moment, Seonghwa gently clasped the upside-down Wooyoung in the middle, even though he was clearly in pain, and murmurs, "You'll get hurt. No, really, be careful. You'll hurt yourself."

Which one is he really? Both personas are being created and performed by Seonghwa the real person, in coordination with script writers, editors, and the other performers, so he's both and he's neither. But they're both so appealing to women - the reliable older brother/ leader boy who can bring order to the class chaos maker, and the kind, gentle, sweet dance crew 'elder' who wants a junior dancer to not get injured while gamboling. We want all of it to be real. [Heart eyes go here]

The alleged "real person" Seonghwa breaking through the mask (even if we really love it) of the "Idol genre performer" Seonghwa exists in behind the scenes moments like this one:

He's saying something to camera, speaking in his very polite, Idol Off Stage Talking To Atiny voice and diction and facial expressions. His voice is soft. He's deliberately pitching it higher. He's using grammar that I would describe as Respectfully Friendly. HongJoong, off camera, is doing some Who Is Real? tug of war of his own. HongJoong is supposed to be the clever, goal oriented leader with a lot on his shoulders. What he's doing is being extremely childish, using HIS higher register, to taunt, "Seonghwa is a moron! He's stupid!" in a tone that's somewhere between an annoying younger brother and a boy with a crush.

Seonghwa reacts by 'laughing' at first, and stoically continues to be 'professional' in doing his job of providing information appropriate to a behind the scenes clip. Then, at some point, he 'can't take it anymore,' so he turns his entire face away from the camera to holler, 그만해! ('That's enough!') in a big, roaring voice, stepping entirely out of Respectfully Friendly diction into I'm A Man About To Kick Your Ass diction. He turns back immediately after that, suddenly putting the polite Idol smile back on, and says, back in the higher pitch, friendly diction, "Yes. And now I am going to go get him. Byee~"

I say once again: The whole thing was almost certainly scripted. They may or may not have done more than one take. It's so expert in making the straight female Korean Fan feel that jolt of feeling like she saw The Real Man behind the Idol Mask, but at the same time, not mar her pride (and this is a real thing that the Korean Fans actually profess pride about) that her fave is so good at being an Idol - always polite, always smiling at the fans, in control of his temper, committed to providing good content.

I've never been to an Ateez concert, and I also don't know if this was a concert or a fan meeting or whatever (The different categories of show you can go to for kpop are still kind of confusing to me), but! There was a very young woman who decorated her Ateez wand with the Seonghwa animal character, and managed to catch his eye when he was walking among the aisle of the concert audience. He accepted it when she handed it to him, smiled at it, and then kissed it before giving it back to her to move on.

She was ecstatic, obviously, and I was shocked. This seems like extraordinary levels of fanservice to engage in, while performing live, and while alone among seated fans, far away from the stage, other members, and I assume, his security detail.

It says something about Korean audience behavior and codes of decency, as well as whatever it is that's the trust that's built up over time between Ateez and the Atinys. But I also wonder if say, Hongjoong or Jongho would be able to think of doing this, on the fly, while singing and having to hit marks. Like, he had to move on from this area and get back on stage and sing and dance the next song, right?

And of course, this is the same person who was doing this in concert:

I still find the above type of performance in a kpop concert to be a shock. It's so outside what I understood, in my distant, casual way, to be the norm for what kind of show Kpop Idols are trying to put on. Just amazing.

And then there's the (to my eye, very blatant) queer signalling that he does, which I've already written about. The dress wearing, the choice of songs to cover, and so on. But while he's doing that, he's also very good at gamely doing all the parasocial for-the-straight-girls play acting of being the fantasy boyfriend. He has multiple personas for that too! The intimidating Gyeongsangdo manly man, who will scowl at you when you say you wanna break up, to demand, "Try saying that again," (to which San screamed Please spare my life in response, making Seonghwa 'the real person' break up into laughter) code switches with the nice, decent, conservatively raised country boy who will give a long sincere speech about how well he'll treat his girl to the presumably disapproving parents of that girl. He has facial expressions, body language, and vocal tone and dialect word choices to optimize his performance of all these personas. He's so good at it and it's a delight.

So, as someone who loves theater, performance, dance, opera, ballet and now, 마라맛 Kpop, I think Seonghwa is really a virtuouso at being an Idol. And this is very self-directed and possibly self-taught. There's a performance intelligence he's using at all times any time he's on camera, and it evinces great creativity and cleverness. I especially like that he chose to base a lot of his persona on kindness as the dominant trait, as well.

The thing is!! Compared to HongJoong and Yunho, who have prototypical Boy Idol faces, Seonghwa actually looks like a character actor. He can look genuinely a bit scary. There isn't anything cutsey about him, on sight. San, whose persona is to be Guileless, once said about himself, Seonghwa and Mingi that they have "forceful" (쏀) faces, to which the other two immediately said, No, I'm cute. So that makes me wonder what he's going to do in the time he has left before mandatory military service, and how he plans to go on after he re-emerges as a 30 year old man. All Kpop Boy Idols have an End of Youth time, that is marked by this mandatory military service.

He's definitely one to watch with interest, and so far, I feel like I can be relaxed rather than anxiously concerned, because as I've said, he just seems so good at figuring out how to do what he's supposed to do.

Oh and I found the below 'character analysis' by another Korean Atiny who also clocked Seonghwa as queer in 2021, but using a very different tone and approach to myself, so I thought I'd share!

Translation:

First Impression: By day, an ordinary Kpop Idol, but by night I am emperor of the gay club!?

Character analysis: Was shocked because the face doesn't go with the way he speaks. Gay club doesn't apply - he's the emperor of the stuttering dummy club. He's really awkward, but he manages to not be the town fool purely on the merits of his bass voice. Rather than stand out in group situations, does his job quietly and unobtrusively. Appears as though other members give him due respect even if he doesn't loudly demand it.

I have no idea what they meant when they said "gay club" (again, in 2021 and this would be year 4 post-debut and year 2 of the pandemic) and if in her mind gay men are all socially super adept or speak really fast or something, but from the context it seems like the Emperor of the Gay Club is supposed to be a smooth operator, and Seonghwa didn't seem that way to her. And assuming this OP's reaction was more or less mainstream about Seonghwa's initial Idol Persona, the changes he's made to that Idol persona since 2021 just go to support my Park Seonghwa Is A Virtuouso of Being An Idol thesis.