#after years before.. being on pace for even MORE points.. and here u have a season where u stayed completely healthy... played 80 fucking

[pshbites]

MY FIRST AND LAST ━ pjs

pairing : bf!jisung x gf!reader genre : est relationship, pure fluff warnings : petnames, crying, kissing, jisung is a lil loser umm thats all! synopsis : a series of firsts you've had with your bf jisung wc : 2.1k a/n : muaahahah finally another ncity fic i larb writing for them! if you enjoyed please join my dream taglist !!

if u enjoyed pls like & reblog, feedback is also always appreciated!!

your first date. before you and jisung started dating you were mutual friends through jaemin. jaemin told you about jisung assuring you that he was a nice guy and since you two were single it wouldn’t hurt to go on a date! so being the good friend you were, you listened and decided to go on that date. it wasn’t like you didn’t know jisung, you guys were both in the same graduation year at your college and had met him a couple times at some of the hangouts jaemin invited you to, what was the harm in going on a date?

the date was a movie and dinner after since jaemin insisted that would be the best way to get to know one another. jaemin also reassured you that jisung was sort of interested in you and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was a set up. the entire date jisung was quite different from how he texted you prior, he was sort of shy and awkward. a part of you thought maybe he was nervous but then the other part thought that he just didn’t like you. 

after dinner jisung insisted on walking you home and it was then that he admitted that he was actually so nervous the entire date, that he couldn’t even bring himself to talk to you. “honestly when jaemin told me you said yes i thought i was dreaming.. i mean you’re just so out of my league” he admitted shyly, scratching his neck and looking forward, as if he couldn’t bring himself to look at you. what a cute loser, you thought. “i am so in your league park don’t even.” you replied, elbowing him softly in a playful way. jisung looked down at the sidewalk, cheeks flushed. 

first kiss. after your first date with jisung the two of you went on three more and talked so much over the phone. at some point everyone around you two was convinced that you were dating but of course, you were just two fools who didn’t know that you liked one another. 

“i mean i don’t even think he’s considering these actual dates, you know?” you said, painting your nails next to your roommate, yizhuo, for whatever reason she was convinced that he had the fattest crush on you but you could beg to differ. “he literally said he was so scared to talk to you, if that doesn’t scream into you i don’t know what does” she sighed out, crossing her arms and sinking further into the couch. you sighed and threw your head back in frustration, why couldn’t he just tell you how he felt?

“i just have no idea how to say it you know, besides there’s no point she does not like me” jisung groaned out, making both jaemin and chenle eye one another. chenle rolled his eyes and sighed, “you take this one” he waved off at jaemin who sighed as well. “if she wasn’t into you do you really think she would’ve gone on like five dates with you?” he looked at jisung who only frowned slightly. “i don’t know! maybe she’s just being nice” he said, pacing around the room once more which made chenle even more frustrated. jisung had been going on for about an hour now and he was tired of it. “dude if you really wanna know her apartment isn’t like far from here, just go” chenle replied, scrolling through his phone mindlessly. 

if chenle were looking at jisung he would see that something clearly was put in his mind, “you’re right..” he mumbled. before jaemin and chenle knew it, jisung was putting on his shoes and grabbing his coat, heading out the door. “dude it’s raining!” chenle shouted, making jisung shake his head, “i’ll be fine!” jisung was indeed not fine because after running to your apartment he was sure there was water in his socks. it didn't help that it was cold outside so his bones were quite frozen. 

in the middle of your conversation you and yizhuo heard frantic knocking on the front door. “what the hell..” you mumbled, glancing at the door then yizhuo. she sank further into the couch and shook her head, “you get it! you’re already standing up” she pointed and you sighed at her childishness. you walked over to the door, opening it to reveal jisung, drenched from head to toe. he seemed out of breath, like he had ran here. 

“oh my god jisung come in” was all you could say as he came in, still shivering. luckily you still had a towel hanging so you draped it over, patting his hair dry, then his face. as you held his face, he looked in your eyes, trying to build up the confidence to say something. you glanced over to the couch, yizhuo was long gone and probably ran to her room.

 “i’ll get you-“ 

“do you like me” 

you looked back to jisungs eyes, staring into them. “i..” you breathed out, unable to find words. “i really like you and i know you probably just don’t feel the same way but we could just be friends-“ “shut up park” you mumbled, leaning in to kiss him. his lips reciprocated, moving against yours. his lips were cold, yet still soft, the same with his hands as they found your waist, pulling you closer. you smiled softly as you pulled back, jisung wearing that same cute smile he always does. 

“does this mean we’re dating?” he breathed out and you nodded, laughing. “yes park, we’re dating.”

first time sleeping over. you and jisung had been dating for about 3 months, it was safe to say everything was smooth sailing. your friends are always sick of you two but that’s just because you loved kissing his pretty lips. yizhuo was especially tired right now because she had to stay in her room while you and jisung watched a movie in the living room. as the ending credits rolled you looked over to jisung who was sound asleep next to you, poor boy. before he came over he had said he was up all day for some labs he had to do but he still insisted on coming over to watch this movie with you. 

you patted his cheek softly, waking him up. he looked around confused then looked at you and frowned slightly. “i fell asleep didn’t i?” he sighed and you nodded, “it’s okay, you were tired don’t worry” you smiled softly, patting his head. the two of you sat like this for a couple seconds until you broke the silence. “you could.. sleep over. you’re too tired to go home” 

immediately jisungs cheeks flushed and you felt yourself melting a little. “uh.. yeah okay..” he cleared his throat, standing up to rub his palms on his sweatpants. “cmon” you smiled, leading him to the way to your bedroom. as the two of you walked in jisung shut the door behind you two, watching as you got into your bed, leaving space for him. jisung stood there awkwardly for a couple seconds and you sighed. “grow up park we’ve cuddled on the couch” you smiled, heart melting at his nervousness 

“yeah yeah..” he mumbled, walking over and slipping under the covers with you. he laid down, turning to face you. you smiled at his rosy cheeks. “hi” you breathed out, eyes not leaving his. “hi” he mumbled back, making you smile even more. you scooted closer to him and nuzzled your face in his chest. jisung hesitated before holding you closer in his arms. “night park” you muttered, making jisung smile softly. he rested his chin on the top of your head, “night baby.”

first time crying in front of the other. for the past week or so, you’ve been distant with jisung. there was no specific reason it was just because sometimes you have those days and strong people can’t always be okay. you didn’t want to burden jisung with this so here you sat, in a booth full of your friends, grilling meat and talking. you picked at the food on your plate and set your chopsticks down. 

jisung noticed and leaned down to whisper in your ear, “you tired?” he spoke, softly. you leaned back a little and looked in his eyes, full of worry. “yeah a little” a lie. he nodded and looked to everyone, “me and yn are heading out guys” he said, grabbing your hand so the two of you could leave. everyone said their goodbyes and you two left the restaurant. 

you found yourself telling jisung everything to the point where you thought you were burdening him. which is why you didn’t choose to tell him how stressed you had been lately. in hindsight it was the worst decision ever but you thought you were doing a good thing. the walk to his apartment was short and silent. as you two entered his apartment he helped you talk off your coat and hang it for you. 

jisung knew something was up, he knew you lied to him in the restaurant but he didn’t want to say anything in front of your friends because he believed it was a conversation the two of you should have alone. “i’m gonna go use the bathroom” you said, not looking at him. “wait” jisung stood in front of you, blocking your way. 

he looked down at you and frowned slightly. “did i do something wrong?” he breathed out and you furrowed your brows looking up at him. “what?” “you’ve just been so distant and i thought maybe today things would be fine and i guess not..” hearing him say those words broke your heart, he thought you were mad at him. the two of you stood in silence, jisungs eyes searching yours. 

the silence was only broken when you started crying. “hey hey hey..” jisung mumbled, pulling you into his arms. “i’m sorry i just i was so stressed out and i didn’t want to bother you” you spoke through broken sobs, jisung stroked your hair and kissed the top of your head. “you could never bother me, baby, don't think that,” he said, holding back tears of his own. how could he have let you think that way?

you pulled back and he wiped the tears off your cheeks, holding your face in his hands. his own eyes slightly glassy. “your problems are my problems and that’s how it’ll always be from now on, okay?” he spoke, looking into your eyes and you nodded, sniffling softly. “now cmon let’s get you something to eat” he smiled, grabbing your hand in his and leading you to his kitchen. 

first time saying i love you. the night before you and jisung celebrated your one year, it was everything you could’ve dreamed of. he took you to a nice fancy restaurant, then desert afterwards and finally you ended the night off with a walk around the city park. throughout the night only one thing was on your mind, you loved him. 

you loved every detail of him, how he lights up your day with his presence, how his nose scrunches when he smiles. everything. you knew deep down you did but last night sort of solidified it for you. you turned in bed to face him, fast asleep, making you smile softly.  

you pushed some of the hair off of his face, making his nose twitch a little. his eyes opened to see you, making him instantly smile. “good morning baby” he said, voice a bit raspy. “morning park” you smiled back, letting him pull you into his chest. his hand rested on your back, drawing small shapes. 

“you sleep well?” you looked up at him, him nodding and rested his chin on your head. “could sleep a little more” he mumbled, making you smile. “you can’t park, you have class at noon” you replied, jisung only groaning aloud in response. “just ten more minutes..” he muttered, holding you closer if possible. 

you two laid in that position for a couple more minutes until you leaned back a little to look up at him properly. you stared in his eyes and smiled softly, cupping his cheek. “i-“ “i love you” jisung breathed out. you stared back, shocked but a little proud? you didn’t think he’d have the guts to say it first. “you beat me to it” you mumbled, making him smile. “not gonna say it back baby?” he teased, leaned in to kiss your face all over. 

you giggled at his acts, feeling ticklish as his hands roamed your body to find your most ticklish spots. “i love you too park stop it!” you spoke through giggles making jisung laugh with you. he stopped to look at you, your flushed cheeks and lips that were pouted oh so softly. all he wanted to do was kiss you. and that he did. jisung always kissed you like his life depended on it and that wasn’t gonna change anytime soon. 

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[homelanderbutbig]

Sympathy For The Dead (G/T Homelander x Reader)

2145 words. Angst, and a bit of hurt/comfort. Homelander is 8 feet tall. Reader is non-descriptive. Established relationship.

You are forced to come to terms with Homelander's violent tendencies when he murders someone for flirting with you. Inspired by an ask from @adryrivera.

It's early in the morning on the set of 'In Depth With Maria Menounos'. Homelander has an interview scheduled today, and you are accompanying him as his personal assistant. This is the first time you've had this opportunity to come along to one of his functions outside of the Tower, and you're pretty excited. Being on a television production is an entirely different world compared to the mundane office work at Vought, and you're enjoying it even if you're just watching on the sidelines.

When it's time for Homelander to go on-air, you're standing back by the rest of the crew so you can witness your favourite supe work his magic. You smile as he switches on that acting charm when the cameras start rolling, so easily bringing all eyes on him with the suave nature he's perfected over the years. He's such a sight to behold when he's in the spotlight, showcasing that electrifying personality that's as big as he is.

"Don't remember seeing you around here before," a voice suddenly says from behind you. It happens to be one of the cameramen, grinning as he checks you out.

"Oh, yes, I'm Homelander's assistant. Nice to meet you," you politely respond, tucking your clipboard under one arm to shake his hand.

"A supe's assistant huh? That must be an interesting job," he comments, still smirking.

"It's never a dull moment," you laugh, thinking to yourself that he doesn't know the half of it.

"So… you uh, you doing anything later?" he asks, resting his elbow on top of the camera. You're taken aback by his words. Is he… is he asking you out?

"I-I'm sorry, I'm seeing someone," you disclose, perhaps a bit more curtly than you hoped. But all you can think of when hearing that is how pissed Homelander would be at this poor guy.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't realize," he blushes, quickly getting embarrassed by how spectacularly he's struck out.

"Don't worry about it, it's not a problem," you giggle. You can't fault a guy for trying. "Let's just get back to our jobs and forget this happened?"

You're glad he doesn't seem to have taken offense as he nods, letting out a flustered laugh. He returns to operating the camera, and you back to focusing on your clipboard full of the day's scheduling. At least you successfully brushed this situation off, with no harm done.

However, you don't notice Homelander's reaction as he observes this from the midst of his interview.

~~~

After the talk show is done filming, you get caught up talking to Ashley and lose track of time. She's yapping on about Homelander's points and how well this interview went, just more work talk that you could care less about. When you eventually manage to break free, you notice that Homelander is nowhere to be found, having already left the set. But you doubt that he'd leave the building without you so you start your search, happy to tell him how proud you are of his interview.

But you weren't expecting what you find in the downstairs hallway.

You figured he just made a quick getaway because he's always mentioned how much he loathes these mind-numbing talk shows. But instead, you discover his true intentions.

He was following the cameraman.

He kept his pace fast but light, allowing him to go undetected to the man's pathetic human ears. And when he had him isolated in the hallway, he wasted no time letting this worthless, primitive vermin pay for daring to make an advance on you. He lasered a hole straight through his crotch, causing the man to collapse on the ground in agony. He reveled in the look of absolute terror as this worm realized his fate was sealed. He then painstakingly applied pressure to his head, savouring the satisfying crunch of his bones until it was crushed under the supe's boot, leaving nothing but an indistinguishable mess of blood and gore.

You are rooted to the floor, petrified at the sight of what he's done. His head snaps towards you, face twisted with rage and eyes still shining a bright crimson as they stare directly into your soul.

"Come here," you growls at you, raising his hand to signal for you to approach him. He knows you are afraid; he can hear your heart's pace quickening and smell the cortisol levels in your blood spiking. In his mind, he believes you will come to your senses and realize this decision was for the best. You will understand he did this to save you. You are his. You will listen to him. You will obey.

But you don't listen. You only freeze for a second before you turn around and flee. The last thing you hear as you run out of the building is Homelander roaring your name.

~~~

You spend the rest of the day aimlessly traversing the city, paying no attention to where you are going. You needed time alone before you return back to the Tower, before you face Homelander.

It still feels so fresh in your mind. One moment you were chatting with this man, and the next his life is over. In a flash, a human life is snuffed out. Someone with a family, with hopes and dreams. All for what, because he made the fatal error of asking you out on a date?

And the worst sight of all, was the expression on Homelander's face. There was no remorse, no tinge of regret for seeing how you reacted. It was just pure hatred for this man, an absolute stranger. You can't help but wonder how many people he's killed without you knowing.

Finally, the sun begins to set along the city skyline. Night is approaching, and you know you can't simmer on this any longer. You need to confront him, you need answers. Gathering yourself, you catch a taxi back to Vought Tower, and begin your ascent to the penthouse.

With a shaky breath, you step off the elevator once it reaches the top floor and walk briskly inside. However, not in a million years were you expecting what you see in the penthouse. Your lengthy absence clearly took a stronger toll on him than you ever anticipated… he's destroyed the living room. The large American flag tapestry is torn to shreds, adorned with scorch marks from a now extinguished fire. Every single marble statue is cut clean from his laser eyes and smashed to pieces, the gray rubble scattered across the floor. Not even his immaculate leather couch was spared, having been ripped in half by two inhumanly strong hands.

And lastly, in the middle of the chaos, silently sits Homelander on the floor. He's leaning up against the wall, his arms wrapped around his bent-up knees. His face is flushed, eyes bloodshot and puffy from what you can only imagine was a waterfall of tears. Right now he looks like a child trying to huddle himself into a ball because he knows he's in trouble. Yet, you can't help but notice the bloody viscera of the cameraman still coating his boot.

"Why are you here?" he utters abruptly, snapping you back to reality after being overcome by the state of the penthouse. Despite his sad demeanor, his words are blunt and laced with deflection. When you don't answer him, he exhales loudly through his nose. "Why did you come back if you hate me?"

"I don't hate you Homelander," you retort, not taking his bait. You're not sure if that was the answer he was expecting as you watch him tense his jaw.

"Are you mad at me?" he questions you further. You aren't certain if he's fishing for a reason for you to comfort him, or so he can kill you too.

"No. I'm not angry at you," you reply. "But I am disappointed and upset at what you did."

He swallows hard at that, feeling the tears once again well up in his eyes. Disappointed.

"H-he was dangerous… I d-did it to protect you," he mumbles hoarsely. Your unimpressed glower signals to him that you aren't buying his excuses. He knows you aren't going to forgive him, and that's enough to make him hyperventilate. He lowers his head down into his arms, unable to stop himself from crying again. Unable to stop his thoughts from convincing himself that this is how your relationship is going to end.

With a deep sigh, you cross your arms and shake your head at his behaviour. These tears aren't out of sympathy for the dead. You know for a fact that he has no guilt over murdering the cameraman, he's only regretful because he's displeased you.

But the longer you stare at him sobbing so pathetically, the more you start to realize something. You're not looking at the same supe that killed the cameraman; this is Homelander's inner child. This is the boy who was tortured and withheld from love, that had this violence forcibly bred into him. His power over humans was all he had, and now it's so ingrained into his psyche that he cannot stop it from rearing its ugly head.

When he killed the cameraman, he was no longer a man but a dog. He presented his carcass to you as a present, to show you his love in a way you could never comprehend. His love is something feral, that scares everyone else away when it bares its fangs. Yet it has no bite, when deep down his love is never reciprocated, but feared when it becomes too much for the object of his affections to handle.

And as much as it pains you, you know you are going to have to accept this part of him. Because you are the only one who's tamed this dog, and seen the sweet puppy it becomes with just a little compassion.

Methodically, you walk over beside him and place a hand on his arm. Right now with him sitting on the ground you're standing about a foot higher, getting a vantage point you don't experience very often. Hesitantly, he tilts his head up at you. His blue eyes are teeming with apprehension, with the longing for your forgiveness of his actions… even if deep down he knows he doesn't deserve it.

"Hun, I would never let someone else come between us," you soothe him, lifting your hand up from his arm to lightly caress his cheek, saturated with his tears. The second he feels your soft fingers his tension begins to melt away, moving his head up and down to desperately facilitate a pet.

Slowly, Homelander opens up his posture, to allows you to come in between his legs and up to his face. He delicately rests his hands on your waist, waiting for permission to hug you. He can't just take what he wants, not now. He can't bear to make you this unhappy at him ever again.

"And you know what? If I saw somebody flirting with you, I'd get jealous too," you remark, your hands still cupping his face. "But I'm not going to stew on my jealousy until I feel the only solution is violence. I'm going to get those emotions out by talking to you. Because I love you, and I care about you more than anything else."

You steadily come closer to him, spreading your arms across his shoulders to finally give him the hug he's been longing for all day. He wastes no time enveloping you in his hold, burying you in his massive arms as he rests his head in the crook of your neck. Your fingers scratch at the back of his undercut, bringing this dog down to your heels in an instant. Any semblance of rage he may have had earlier in the day has now evaporated into the ether, leaving nothing but the desire for obedience.

"The next time you start to feel yourself getting worked up… wherever you are, can you come find me? Can that be something we work on together?" you ask. His brief nod against your shoulder is enough of an answer, you know he would never lie. And besides, the two of you don't need to say anything else right now. All that's left for today is to let this moment fade into sleep, and let tomorrow be the time to clean up the mess.

While sinking into your embrace, Homelander has his own realization. The way he feels about you is different than his past relationships. You are not his 'property' that he is envious of others ogling. You are his treasure, one that sees the good in him despite all of his own horrible faults. One that he feels he must guard with his entire being.

He is going to be better, if not for himself than just for you.

[lovieku]

GOOD LUCK, BABE! #3 ⋆ 정국

what happens when you leave everything behind, only to be faced with it again years later? eunbi is convinced she was given another shot at keeping all she ever wanted, but it’s difficult when that all is her childhood best friend who doesn’t want to do anything with her anymore. how to earn his trust back?

☾ pairing: non idol!jk x fem!oc

☾ genre: childhood friends to strangers, friends to lovers, angst, fluff, smut

☾ word count: 9k +

☾ warnings: explicit language. say hi to eunbi!!! and to the friend group!!! its a bit funny until it becomes angsty … ouch. jeongguk is a bitch lowkey. pun unintended (you’ll see). theyre dramatic as hell. like bro it cant be that serious 😭. im sawrry for this. and its not all!!! see you in fourth chapter 🫡

☾ author’s note: hi hi hi!!! this took a bit to fully convince me but in the end it did. i was frustrated because i felt like i couldnt really use my words properly to tell the whole thing but… here we are now!!! thank u!!! enjoy 🫶🏻

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three ⋆ this is me trying

Up to that point, Eunbi’s life has been a constant adjusting to new surroundings, leaving bits and pieces behind, getting attached to new ones, and hoping they wouldn’t be taken away from her. It would always end up as she feared it would, though. From as early as she can remember, Eunbi would live off her blue backpack, where she gathered a toothbrush, a change of clothes and her favourite plushie to help her sleep and adapt faster to the smaller bed at her dad’s house. When her parents had divorced, it had been a rough patch before the both of them could come to a legal agreement; that being, she would spend the weekend with her father, and then stay with her mother again until Friday rolled around.

She rarely looks back at those days now, but when she does — mostly at night, her mind seemingly incapable of putting a stop to her furious flow of thoughts and just sleep — she thinks if it hadn’t happened to her when she was still pliable and mouldable, when she was yet to be met with what ordinariness was supposed to look like for others, she wouldn’t have been ready to wholly face all that followed. Eunbi was young when she learned that love between two people could end so easily, and her innocent self accepted that as the norm.

As a result, what she found harder to accept, more than her own mother and father not even being able to stand next to one another without ending up quarrelling, was having to leave her small black poodle in Gwangju, with her grandma, after moving away to Busan. Curly (little Eunbi had given him that name for obvious reasons, and to this very day she finds it dumb, but it makes her giggle nonetheless) had been a great companion through the inevitable loneliness she had to face as an only child. She was convinced he could understand her better than no other, even when she would force the tiny creature to sit and listen to her ramble on.

Busan was the next big change that was pushed onto Eunbi, only a few years after her mother got engaged to a man that would soon replace her biological father: with time, sleeping over at his house for the weekend was no longer even a contemplated thought on his side, coming up with excuses after excuses as not to, and that slowly led to showing less and less interest in keeping up with her and meeting up. The little girl had always been numb in relation to such negligence, and because of this she could consider herself lucky in some distorted sense; it didn’t affect her as much as it should have.

Part of that was also due to her step-dad being a great father figure during the initial times of his and her mom’s relationship, making sure to adapt to Eunbi’s pace and boundaries, never overstepping while also being able to bring fun into her life by taking the family out to visit places and eat delicious meals. What he couldn’t do for her, however, was live with a dog. When he and her mother decided to finally move together following their wedding, they both agreed on wanting to restart from a brand new place. Busan was their perfect pick for a variety of reasons: her mom got offered a job at a recently established company that seemed promising, and her step-dad could fulfil his deep-rooted dream of expanding his by starting a new branch.

Every single thing about him seemed perfect to her mom’s eyes, even if he was apparently deathly allergic to dog’s fur. And, of course, she picked her husband over Curly. Eunbi couldn’t believe it, nor accept it. The girl cried over the small dog for the two weeks prior to moving, during the trip to Busan, and for the following days there. Her grandmother would keep her updated by sending pictures of Curly through email, and even after the scar had healed, those would never fail to make her tear up.

As shameful as it might be to admit it, after having dried herself from half the water that made up her body because of the constant crying, it didn’t take long for the scar to close. When she first stepped foot in the big city by the seaside, Curly showed up right in front of her. Just in human form. Big eyes, long black hair and puppy manners, her neighbour was definitely sent to her by something greater. Eunbi was obsessed. It didn’t show at first, her pride prevailing. But it was harder and harder to fight against it. Jeongguk was simply too easy to love.

They became inseparable. Wherever he was, better believe she was there too, attached at his hip. And if they showed up alone, people would naturally ask about the other. Because the moon is never seen without its stars, and sunflowers only ever turn to face the sun. Their bond could be perceived by anyone as unbreakable, a friendship to envy and wish for, and every brick that built it had resulted in the creation of their own safe haven that only had space to contain the two of them. Not anybody else could be let in, the bubble exclusively recognised their password. It wasn’t composed of words, or numbers. It was the look of understanding they would share; the white lies used to cover the mischief of the other; their own handshake, accompanied by an original friendship jingle that Eunbi came up with randomly; the assurance that they could reveal their biggest secrets to one another, and they’d be kept like an oath.

There’s many of those that Eunbi shamelessly revealed to Jeongguk, some with intent and others unleashed spontaneously during their many endless talks. But when she thinks of it, she never admitted the single one that really mattered, the one that her best friend in the whole world needed to know, and remember. At all times. In any circumstance. It wasn’t a secret, it was more a result of her pondering; it came to a full reasonable thought only years later, and by then it was too late to tell him.

Eunbi thinks, and she’s sure, Jeongguk was the reason why all that came before the two of them had to happen. If it didn’t, she would have spent her whole life looking for that missing puzzle piece: under the cushions of the couch, in between her bed sheets, accidentally thrown away in the bin. It was as if all the hardships she experienced were justified, because at the end of the tunnel Jeongguk was waiting for her. And everything finally made sense. The puzzle was complete. Jeongguk was the reason himself. He was sent to teach her an important lesson: everything happens for a reason. There’s a cause and an effect, and even if the cause was suffering, at least the effect was her favourite boy.

Then, a gust of wind had wiped the puzzle to the ground, every single piece losing its place. When her best friend was taken away from her, she stopped being so convinced with the thought she herself had harboured, because she suddenly couldn’t find the meaning behind such a cruel fate. If everything really happened for a reason, then what was it? Jeongguk helped her see colours, only to return to black and white. Leaving him behind had marked the death of a version of herself that she would never get back.

Seoul was big, and harder to adjust to, even more with the baggage she was now dragging behind. Unpacking it, she found out all she had brought with her was a shattered trust and a soon to be broken promise to never get attached again. It was hard to be faithful to such an imposition, when Eunbi was born to give out love. It was hidden in that luggage, in between fears and regrets, but surely present.

And it prevailed in the end. Even at a slower pace, love found its way up and helped a lost Eunbi navigate the big capital city, promising new beginnings and healing. She found that in the faces of people that she would then start to recognise as friends, inside warm cafes during the coldest days of winter, and in the certainty that no matter where she is, she is always looking up at the same moon.

What she has built in Seoul so far feels the closest to stability that she has experienced in years. Starting university and meeting Dahye was the last bit of convincing it took to make her consider once again that a reason could exist, and that in the end it would make sense. Maybe not totally. Maybe just partly is enough after all.

Until, seeing a pair of familiar starry eyes in the midst of dull ones was all she needed to firmly believe in what she had been finding hard to accept. It took one shared look for past and present to get blurred together, and the mixture of old with new feelings created a mess. It was nice, nonetheless. Better than the seemingly impossible to get rid of emptiness at the pit of her heart.

Behind her eyes, Eunbi could see the puzzle slowly reaching its final form again, this time with more missing pieces, but the image was at least recognisable. When Jeongguk showed up in front of her again like magic, she contemplated becoming religious. Getting to her knees and starting praying to whatever greater force was shining on her path to please keep doing that. None of that showed on the outside, her smile breaking and mirroring the expression on the boy’s face. Pure sorrow. She knew she was probably the last person on earth Jeongguk wanted to see, and the fact that he wasn’t even trying to mask it didn’t help.

The most rational response she could come up with at that moment was to act as if nothing ever happened. And then, the bricks that a long time ago held together their safe bubble were being used by the boy to raise a high wall between them, making sure accessing his space would be impossible for Eunbi. Who could blame him? Still, the happiness she shamelessly felt when Jeongguk showed up at her 20th birthday party was too consuming, she selfishly wished for the rest of her birthdays to always look like that as she blew the candles. Nonetheless, when he suddenly left sprinting on his bike she knew the gods would need time to grant her desire. Although, this time around she had faith.

She doesn’t know how long it would take for it to break, though. September getting closer and closer only means that Jeongguk’s birthday is just around the corner. As part of his friend group, she had been involved in the process that led to organising the surprise camping trip, even if she didn’t exactly participate. After all, she doesn’t get to say she knows the boy better than anyone, anymore. Jeongguk has evidently changed, and as a consequence she knows way less about him than the others.

For that exact reason, Eunbi had made various attempts to back down from the trip, fearing her presence could significantly ruin it for the celebrated boy. At first, she tried to be casual about it with Dahye, since she’s the only one she’s opened up to about the whole dilemma, “I think it’s better if I don’t come. After all, it’s a friend trip. I’m not really his friend.” To which her roommate only replied with bullshit, proceeding to type away on her keyboard. That did not help whatsoever.

Then, the night she was too tipsy to take a taxi back home and Jeongguk had offered her a ride on his bike, she came home with a smile on her face only to burst out crying in front of a just as drunk Dahye. In between sobs, she begged to be left out of the trip, “Ple- Please, Dahye. He hates me. I can’t stand it.” Her friend tried to shush her whines, pushing Eunbi’s head on her chest and consoling her, “He doesn’t, baby. I’m sure he doesn’t.”

As a result of that night, Dahye had then sat her friend down with the intent of fully convincing her to be present for Jeongguk’s birthday trip for a number of reasons, “It would be rude to not show up after he was there for your birthday. And also, what if you two end up talking about… things! And everything gets solved! That would be nice, wouldn’t it, Bibi?”

Eunbi had just nodded all the way through the motivating speech, not really understanding nor believing her words, but apparently they were enough to lead her to the present moment: awkwardly squished between Dahye and Jimin on the couch of her flat, while they animatedly converse with the others to approve on the trip schedule. She has never felt so out of place before, not only because she doesn’t feel like she has a say in the whole discussion, but also because as time went by the two friends by her side kept shifting to subtly get closer to one another, not realising they were compressing her body in the process. To the point she is forced to get up, the position she was in being too uncomfortable, and sit on the ground under the couch next to Namjoon.

She can feel her movements being followed by a pair of curious eyes, and when she looks up to meet them, she finds out they belong to the origin of all her worries. Before Jeongguk can divert his attention elsewhere, aware he was caught observing, she gives him a quick tight lipped smile. It goes dismissed, as if it hadn’t happened. Ouch. It’s okay, Eunbi can take it. She used the few days prior to this to mentally prepare. She knows she’s not exactly welcomed anywhere near him, that’s why she made a silent secret pact within herself: whatever happens during the trip, don’t be a bother to Jeongguk. Stay away from him as much as possible, and if not possible, then do anything to avoid putting that frown on his face, exactly the one he’s sporting right now. On a second thought, if just looking at her gets him to react like that, maybe it’s best to mentally wipe that off her list of things to keep in mind for Jeongguk’s birthday camping trip.

With there still being a day left before their minibreak takes off, the girl can already tell it’s going to be hard to follow the flow of that list, Jeongguk making it obvious her presence could have been avoided before the vacation has even started. Still, she remains composed and brushes off what had just happened, instead focusing on the main topic of conversation.

The group (Hoseok) has decided to meet to go over the schedule one last time because, “Everything needs to be perfect, guys. We can’t afford to slip!” It’s still Hoseok talking. Eunbi learned that he had always been the one in charge of organising events and little getaways when it came to the friend group, his obsession with keeping everything under control coming in handy in such scenarios.

Not only that, but the reddish haired guy is also amazingly quick on his feet, and in a relatively short amount of time he has managed to find the perfect excursions and experiences to go over during the trip, making sure every day spent together would be filled with fun activities that he knows the birthday boy is going to look forward to. In between what he has arranged there is cycling, canoeing, trekking, and more stuff that Eunbi can’t keep up with. Surviving this is going to be made ten times harder by the amount of energy that is going to be expected out of her. She sighs at the thought, looking down at her manicured nails. She just got them done, and now they would surely break.

It takes a few seconds for her to realise the sudden silence that fell above the room, and when she looks back up she’s met with eleven pairs of eyes staring at her. She straightens her posture, suddenly too aware of being perceived, and she deduces her previous exhale had been released with more energy than intended. Hoseok sweetly smiles at her, “Anything you don’t agree on, Eunbi?”

The panicked girl opens her mouth to justify herself, her eyes getting wider and shinier with embarrassment, but Dahye beats her to it, “Bibi, didn’t you say you, like, hate cycling? I’m sure we had a whole conversation about it.“

Eunbi is mortified. Her eyes jump from Dahye to Jeongguk, trying to get her best friend to shut up while also registering the boy’s scoff and muted roll of his eyes. Oh god. Her whole be-lowkey-and-make-yourself-unnoticed plan just shattered in a matter of seconds. She can feel Jeongguk’s eyes bore flaming holes into her skull, his arms crossed and his legs furtherly stretching out on the armchair. If she still had a small, tiny hope left that he didn’t fully hate her, she just witnessed that shattering in pieces too.

She quickly shifts to sit on her heels, her hands frantically shaking to try and save her face for what she could, “No, what? I love cycling. Seriously, I’d do it everyday if I could.” She chuckles shakily while subtly shoving Dahye’s knee next to her to signal going with the lie. At first, Dahye looks clearly confused: she was so sure of that information about her roommate. She furrows her brows, looking down at a panicky Eunbi widening her eyes. It takes only a few more seconds for her to suddenly get it, shaking herself from her doubts and catching the ball, ��Oh, right! You do! I got it confused with, huh… something else.” The girl mutters that last part only to join her friend in a nervous laugh, and an apologetic smile. Best believe Dahye is going to hear about this later.

Hoseok looks just as puzzled as the others, but nonetheless he nods, announcing the schedule has been officially confirmed. A collective acclaim fills the room, only for the boy to stop it with a raise of his pointer finger, “Now, I will assign you guys in your respective cars.” Which is comically followed by a joint groan, and some protests. Hoseok ignores them, and goes on reading off his perfectly planned out Word document.

”Namjoon is the first driver, and he’s travelling with Iseul, Seokjin and Sora,” he looks up to briefly check with the mentioned members to see if there are any complaints, then proceeds. “We’ve got Yoongi with me, Aera and Taehyung. Then…” Hoseok squints his eyes while scrolling down the document, and those few seconds of silence are enough for Eunbi’s thoughts to anticipate what is about to follow. She lowers her head, unwilling to meet Jeongguk’s glare when Hoseok says, “Jeongguk is driving with Jimin, Dahye and Eunbi. All set?”

The positive response is quick, even too rushed and disregardful of what was said, as Namjoon and Taehyung have been impatiently begging for the never-ending organising to be over so they could order food and finally fill their starved stomachs. No one pays any mind to it, but Eunbi and Jeongguk stay quiet, while Jimin and Dahye share a knowing look. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

The evening is spent in the cramped living room of Eunbi and Dahye’s shared flat, eating pizza and letting a random movie play, which soon only functioned as a background noise the moment Taehyung started a game of Would You Rather. Even if Yoongi initially shushed him, everyone eventually became more delighted with Seokjin’s unthinkable suggestions than with the film, “Would you rather be trapped in a small room with 10,000 tarantulas for 10 minutes, or eat 10 tarantulas in 10 minutes?”

Eunbi tries to let herself be distracted by the content smiles on her friends’ faces, even feels less distressed when she notices Jeongguk relaxing as well, but that doesn’t stop her mind from overflowing with all the things that could potentially go wrong. It inevitably shows on her face, and in her unusual quietness. She has been pondering on the last information Hoseok had shared about the confirmed schedule for hours now, worrying it was going to start the trip on the wrong foot. There were all the best intentions to not poke the sleeping bear, but she fears being in the same car as him is going to stir him awake.

After the group leaves the apartment at past 1 a.m., Hoseok checking with everyone that they’ll show up at 8 sharp tomorrow morning in front of the same building they’re now parting ways from, Eunbi releases a long sigh as she closes the door behind her shoulders. Dahye catches the look on her features immediately, taking her pretty face in between her palms, “I’m sorry for earlier. I was trying to help.” She pouts, and it makes the shorter girl chuckle.

Eunbi shakes her head, dismissing her apology with a small it’s okay, and freeing herself from her friend’s hold so as to avoid meeting her eyes, instead busying herself with tidying up the mess in the living room. Her flatmate looks at the strangely silent girl narrowly, “What are you thinking? Please, don’t let it be something stupid like I don’t wanna drive in Jeongguk’s car.”

When all Dahye is met with is silence, she knows that specific something stupid is flowing in the other girl’s head. Eunbi spends the next hour packing and letting Dahye think she’s wholly convincing her distressed roommate nothing could go wrong from just being close to each other, and if anything, it could be a starting point.

For the sake of getting at least three hours of sleep before the long drive ahead, Eunbi fake promises her friend that she won’t let such thoughts haunt her mind and stop her from enjoying the holiday (she was forced to repeat those exact words) knowing she’s going to let them do precisely that. She also ends up staying awake all night either way, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse that she can use to ask Hoseok if a small change would be possible, hoping it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to him and his perfect plan.

When the following morning rolls around, the group gathers in the courtyard of the flat complex as instructed hours earlier by Hoseok, who looks like he’s on the verge of a serious crisis when it’s one minute past 8 a.m. and Taehyung still hasn’t shown up. Eunbi fears for her life when she taps his shoulder as delicately as she can, still unable to avoid a jumpy reaction from the boy, who then relaxes when he sees the girl’s sweet smile. That lasts for about one second, because when Eunbi softly asks him if they can talk he’s back to puffing out panicky breaths.

She hesitates a moment before uttering in one single exhale, “I’d rather not go in Jeongguk’s car.” Faced with Hoseok’s perplexed stare, she goes on explaining in a rushed, messy speech, “It’s nothing personal, really. It’s just- Iseul! Yeah, Iseul begged me to be in the car with Dahye… She doesn’t know Sora that well so she said it would be way too awkward. I can go with Namjoon!” She ends it by trying to sport a convincing grin on her lips, but with the way it looks like she’s being held at gunpoint to smile it’s doing the exact opposite, not helping in hiding her own panic at all.

Hoseok takes a few seconds to process her request and read her expression, but in the end he just shrugs and nods enthusiastically, “That’s okay!” He then claps his hands twice, recalling the others’ attention who comically snap their heads in unison, hanging on the boss’ lips, “Tiny change. Eunbi doesn’t wanna be in Jeongguk’s car, so she’s going with Namjoon.”

For the second time in under 24 hours, Eunbi is so embarrassed she prays the ground to swallow her whole. Hoseok doesn’t seem to be making a big deal out of the way he worded his announcement, busy typing away on his phone, probably updating his Word document with the recent change. The others don’t look too fazed either, accustomed with the two infamously not being too fond of each other for no apparent reason, except for Dahye and Jimin: the former is looking at the girl incredulously; the latter has shifted his attention to his best friend.

Eunbi can feel cold sweat dripping down her forehead, the weight of the world crushing on her shoulders. She’s afraid to follow Jimin’s line of vision, but as she slowly does, it leads her to meet Jeongguk’s intense gaze, a slight pissed scowl hardening his features along with his brows almost meeting at the bridge of his nose. His all black attire composed of an oversized t-shirt, cargo bermuda shorts and chunky sandals matches perfectly with the look on his face. He seems confused, and unnerved. And sad? This is not how things were supposed to unfold.

Under such pressure, the girl impulsively releases a nervous laugh, her whole face red with awkwardness, “It’s not like I didn’t- Okay! I’ll just go wait in the car.” Her head hangs as she distances herself from the group, finding an escape from Jeongguk’s disappointment in Namjoon’s car. She bangs her head on the dashboard a few times, making the most of the last minutes alone she’s getting before departure.

Starring in that shitshow was not on her list of things to keep in mind for Jeongguk’s birthday camping trip in any way. On the contrary, what she has been trying to do is going by the rules of the list itself: stay away from Jeongguk and don’t be a bother. Instead, the opposite seems to be happening every time she attempts to be nice to him so as to not be a hassle during the trip. Releasing a shaky breath, she hopes her intentions wouldn’t be misinterpreted by the boy, as she tries foolishly convincing herself the telepathy between them still exists, at least to a small extent. She was only doing this for him. To make it easier for him. Please, please send this telepathic message to Jeongguk.

Connection probably isn’t working too well, because when they all get to the destination after a fairly long ride, Jeongguk still looks pissed, shutting the car door with more energy than required and unloading the luggages, taking his and Iseul’s to the entrance of the camping site. Eunbi narrows her eyes as she observes the scene, the short haired girl thanking the previously annoyed boy and effortlessly putting a smile on his lips, and she almost doesn’t notice Namjoon urging her to move. She abruptly shakes herself out of that trance, relaxing her hands that had subconsciously closed into fists, and takes her bags out of the car. As she clumsily drags them on both of her shoulders, her Converses do little to protect her soles from the rocky ground, and she groans. It’s not like she was expecting Namjoon to carry her baggage, she can do it herself. But as she keeps watching Jeongguk easily handling all that weight, she huffs.

The campsite looks amazing. The space that the group has at their disposal is huge and wholly surrounded by nature, making it the perfect getaway from the chaos of the city. Not too far, in between trees, a glimpse of the sun reflecting its rays in a large lake can be caught. Eunbi witnesses an excellently carried out jam session, with the lively enthusiasm of her friends on microphone, birds on percussion and cicadas on bass. She smiles, and sighs contentedly. Dahye’s words from last night echo in her head, don’t let this stop you from enjoying the holiday, and today she wants to believe them. She’s glad she chose to wear jeans shorts instead of cargos, the heat slowly but surely rising, and a flowy white top that keeps her fresh, for now.

Hoseok instructs them to get to work, and they do. All their bags are gathered under a big ancient tree as each couple and trio starts (tries) setting their tents. While they’re busy figuring out how to ensure the tent won’t fly away, which Taehyung fears particularly, Jimin and Jeongguk offer themselves to go and fill everyone’s water flask at a nearby drinking fountain they had found. Eunbi kneels down to fish hers out of a blue backpack and goes to hand it out to Jeongguk, who’s collecting Dahye’s bottle. The boy smiles at her friend, but it gets wiped off when he shifts his gaze on Eunbi’s shorter figure. The moment is brief, and awkward: her big unsure eyes stare into his hardened ones, arm extended out to him, wondering if there might be something funny on her face for him to turn so serious; she hesitantly lifts her brows, waiting for something; Jeongguk looks her up and down, only to not acknowledge her water flask, and just walks past her.

Eunbi is dumbfounded, the tip of her ears reddening as she remains paralysed with her hand out, even after Jimin collects her flask, muttering something close to Don’t mind him, please accompanied by an apologetic smile. She regains consciousness of her surroundings only when, beside her, Dahye can’t help the snort coming out of her mouth, trying but failing to save it with her hand. The still shocked girl slowly turns to face her amused friend, mouth slightly agape and left eye clearly twitching, “Did he just… act as if I don’t exist.”

The situation shouldn’t be funny, but to Dahye it’s the peak of comedy as she keeps giggling the more the slow realisation of what has just happened shows on Eunbi’s features. Obviously, the latter can’t find one single reason to laugh about it, whining while the taller girl pats her shoulder, still smiling, “You really need to talk to him.”

The targeted girl ignores that, biting her nails nervously, ”Was he saying anything about… me, in the car?”

Dahye lifts her brows, shaking her head, ”Nothing. He’s probably talking shit about you with Jimin, though.” Eunbi follows her pointed finger and catches Jeongguk animatedly discussing with his flatmate, balancing the bottles in his arms, before they turn a corner. Eunbi fusses, lightly tugging on her braided pigtails, and she feels helpless as even the friend who’s supposed to be supporting her through all of this is chuckling at her. Despite being shorter, when Eunbi shoves Dahye’s shoulder she manages to make her stumble, but that doesn’t stop her laughs, though.

”You’re building the tent on your own.” Arms crossed and pout on, Eunbi isn’t joking as she goes to sit under the tree surrounded by bags and ignores her name being called out. Rather than reacting to it, she spots tiny bugs between the grass and inspects them for a while, pretending it keeps her distracted from what’s plaguing her mind. Soon after, with her knees to her chest, watching those ants working to transfer food from one side to the other inevitably gets her lost in her thoughts. What is she doing wrong? There’s clearly unresolved problems between her and the boy who brutally ignored her existence minutes ago, but she thought maybe if she started seeking for truce, then he would too. His response, instead, makes her realise no matter how much she tries, it’s apparently not enough to mend what happened all those years ago. She messed up worse than imagined.

The constant pondering makes her lose track of time, and she comes back to reality with undesired outcomes that she convinces herself to be true. When she recovers from the (as she has deduced, deserved) humiliation, Dahye has already set up half of the tent and Eunbi walks over to her bashfully, “Sorry for being childish. I’ll finish this, Hye.” The girl just smiles softly and nods, sending her a flying kiss that makes Eunbi chuckle before taking her previous spot under the tree. At least Dahye doesn’t hate her.

It takes her a while to figure out what to do but she soon grasps how hard a seemingly simple task can be, feeling bad for letting Dahye do a great part of it on her own. Still, she needs to work fast as lunch time is approaching, and everybody around her is almost finished. She has been crouching on a particular spot on the ground for a while now, trying to properly secure an angle of the tent unsuccessfully. Until she groans exasperated, puffing her hair out of her vision and lifting her body up to find a solution. She tries stomping on it a few times, but it doesn’t work, and if anything it worsens the situation. Huffing out, with her hands on her hips she looks around for help, and the first person her eyes fall on is Jeongguk.

He was already staring at her, comfortably sitting on a deckchair with his legs spread and sunglasses on. His tent looks perfectly set already, with Jimin seemingly fixing the inside of it. His hand is covering his mouth before he uses it to lift his glasses over his head, and is that a smirk? They both stare at each other in silence, Eunbi still struggling to breathe, and she hesitates slightly until her eagerness to be over with the tent becomes stronger. She speaks up to make herself heard over the small distance, “Can you- help me?”

Jeongguk narrows her eyes at her, initially not answering but not even moving from his relaxed position. The girl is ready to be met with silence again, but it’s something worse when he opens his mouth, “I think Namjoon would be happy to do that.” He’s as stern as ever as he returns the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, furtherly spreading his whole body on the chair and facing the sun. Only then, he releases a content sigh, smiling slightly.

All of this cannot be real. What does that even mean? Eunbi can feel her eye start to twitch again and she needs to clench her jaw to stop it. It’s okay. Breathe. She unexpectedly but successfully manages to hold herself from exploding on him, both overwhelmed with tent building and frustrated with his behaviour. She can’t really decipher what led him to not only act cold, as he usually is with her, which is fine, but also mean! But no problem, she’ll try once again. It costs nothing to be nice. And she tells herself she’ll stay that way, even if she’s met with the opposite, until he breaks.

The storm of negative emotions tormenting her thoughts can be distortedly seen as a good thing on one side, if she considers that the sudden adrenaline flowing in her body gets her through most of the task without any help, even mindlessly, while she keeps reflecting on the interaction and the previous ones. Why the fuck would Namjoon be happy to help her? Well, he would, he’s naturally a helper, but why did Jeongguk say that? Is he really that pissed about her going in his car? She tries to understand, she really does. Keep being nice is what she tells herself instead.

When the tent is finally up, only with Dahye’s finishing touches, and food is finally in her stomach, refilling her energy tank, it’s like there’s a switch going off in her head, making it seem as if nothing bad has ever happened. Eunbi is back to her talkative self with a full tummy and a bashful grin while her best friend teases her for the earlier tantrum she went on about, but at least it’s all smiles again.

The first day at the campsite is spent basking in the slowness that follows after ticking off the only two activities planned for today on Hoseok’s schedule: setting their tents and preparing meals for lunch and dinner. The boss then instructs the group on just getting acquainted with their surroundings, and they don’t need to be told twice, making the most out of those short remaining moments of ease.

The rest of those hours are used to laze by the huge lake, in between swims and sunbathes. Luckily, Eunbi had packed a few bikinis and she chose to wear a black set, its laces meeting at the back with a bow. Sitting back and taking it easy, before all that she will be faced with the next few days, gives her a chance to get closer to the others. During the earlier drive, she had the opportunity to chat with Sora and discover the sweetheart she truly is, and the car was then easily filled with laughter, mostly provided by Namjoon and Seokjin’s terrible jokes. She now sits by Sora on a beach towel, all the other girls in a circle catching up and laying by the sun. In the back of their gossip session, the boys could be heard laughing and squealing, and the sound reminded Eunbi of sweet childhood. She briefly shifts her attention to them and smiles when she observes how they’re doing the most to tire their energy out, from using a rope hanging by the branch of a tree to leap into the water, to initiating a volleyball match using one of their rolled up towels.

Eunbi grows even fonder than before of the people she’s surrounded with, the earlier stress leaving her body and being replaced by serenity, a small sigh released from her lips before she returns to listen to the girls’ chat. She laughs at something Dahye says and jumps on it excitedly, making the others chuckle at the two friends eagerly recounting one of their craziest uni experiences so far.

All of it is short lived when Taehyung and Jimin suddenly drop a water balloon over their heads, a collective gasp filling the space followed by the two boys’ childish giggles and Dahye’s screams, getting up to run after them. They all spend the rest of the afternoon trying to get back at each other with more pranks, bathing in the lake’s cold water and taking silly group pictures to seal the day. As the sun begins to set, they all sit on their towels and silently observe nature, definitely too tired to speak, and preferring to savour the sweet moment.

When the sun finally leaves its place for the moon to rise and the group of friends gets back to their tents, their stomachs growling signal it’s time for dinner. They take turns to shower using the nearby public structure and then help setting a campfire to cook. It also works as a very needed source of heat, given the temperature has significantly dropped and their bodies are still humid from washing up. Eunbi wears the grey cargos she had discarded earlier this morning when deciding on what to put on, and a white tee, her damp hair falling on her shoulders and making her feel slightly chilly. She comes up beside Yoongi to help him with the meat, benefiting from the warmth of the fire.

There’s not much talk between the two, only the older boy advising her to be careful of the flames every two minutes, but it’s comfortable. Eunbi still has a hard time reading through Yoongi, and maybe it’s what she enjoys the most about him: his aura is soothing and it exudes security. He doesn’t exactly show it, but he’s deeply attentive and caring of his friends, and the girl feels safe next to him. She can sense him looking over at her while the meat is cooking, and as she turns to him she meets his eyes with a smile. He ponders, scanning her face “You got sunburnt. You need to wear sunscreen tomorrow, or it’ll get worse.”

Eunbi chuckles, dragging her pointer finger up and down her red nose, “Yeah, I know. It kinda hurts but it looks like I have natural blush now!”

Yoongi shakes his head with a small amused scoff, “That’s stupid, Eunbi. Wait for me here, I’ll go get you an after-sun cream.” And even as he walks off, he reminds her to not stay too close to the fire. She thinks that’s an exact demonstration of what the boy is truly like in her head.

The girl keeps grilling the meat, humming unknown melodies under her breath, and she almost misses a broad figure sitting on one of the chairs surrounding the fire. When she looks up, it’s Jeongguk avoiding her eyes and instead staring at the flames, their light reflecting in his big orbs and making them shinier. He wears his bermudas from earlier, but he now has a grey Stussy hoodie on top of it. His locks are still wet after freshly coming out of a shower, and they curl on his forehead, making him look like a poodle. She smiles. It’s like 15 years old Jeongguk is there with her again, his bare, exhausted face and droopy eyes taking her back to Busan. Without even realising what she’s doing, she extends a cooked piece of meat his way, “You want some?”

Startled, the boy breaks from his spacing-out and registers the request. He looks between Eunbi and the meat, gulping. He licks his lips, and she swears she can also hear his stomach rumbling. When he keeps ogling the food without replying, she wiggles the fork and his eyes follow its every movement, as if hypnotised. Then, he suddenly screws his eyelids shut and breaks from the trance, simply shaking his head no and fishing his phone out of his pocket, mindlessly scrolling on it. Just like that, she’s back to the present, and Jeongguk hates her. Eunbi narrowly glares at him while he can’t see her.

Yoongi comes back soon after with two different creams in his hands, and he gives them to Eunbi with a chuckle. She thanks him and lets him take over the cooking, while she curiously inspects the products, still standing next to the fire. When Yoongi spots his younger friend on the chair, he asks the same exact question as her, forking a piece of meat, “You want some?”

Jeongguk’s attention is back up, this time on Yoongi, and when he sees what his hyung is referring to he eagerly nods. Eunbi interrupts her examination just in time to see the boy hungrily shoving the food in his mouth, brows furrowed and praising noises accompanying his munching, making the older friend by her side chuckle. Instead, the girl is once again in disbelief, even more as he watches Jeongguk patting his knee with force, satisfied with the bite, “Hyung, this shit is so good. I want more.”

Eunbi scoffs imperceptibly, leaving the scene with an annoyed scowl wrecking her pretty features. As she enters her tent, she’s glad Dahye is still showering as she makes the most of that isolating moment. She sighs wearily and whips out her phone. Using its camera, she tries to ignore her tumbling emotions and instead puts on the creams Yoongi had given her, but not even those are enough to distract her. She’s still incredulous at what she’s being put through, her patience wearing thin, and the pact she made with herself before coming here is dangerously close to being broken.

Dinner is spent with good food and even better people, and only then Eunbi visibly untenses again. In between bites and full mouths, they go from discussing random facts to casually engaging in games of Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever, the beer bottles slowly being emptied while their tummies get filled. When they’re done eating, the relaxed smiles on their faces implicitly communicate how the meal has been the perfect ending to the lovely day spent together. Still, they stay by the fire and keep up an effortless chat. When one of them comments on the limpidity of the sky, its stars being perfectly visible in this zone of Seoul, they all look up and stare in silence at the fullness of the lights.

Even if it’s not too late, the weariness from being out in the sun for multiple consecutive hours is weightening down on most of them, Seokjin and Sora retiring to their tents, soon after being followed by Yoongi and Hoseok.

It’s a little past midnight, and Eunbi starts to feel more and more affected by the cool breeze, its effects showing on her prickled skin. She tries to warm herself up by rubbing her exposed arms with her hands, but it’s to no avail, “God, I’m so cold.”

A collective agreement follows her claim, with Iseul speaking up and curling herself into a ball on the deckchair she’s sitting on by taking her legs up to her chest and hugging them close, “Me too, it’s freezing.”

”Oh, I have a spare hoodie.” Both girls snap their heads at the voice, which belongs to Jeongguk. However, as he quickly gets up to retrieve the sweater from his tent, it’s not clear who between the two he’s referring to, their curious expectant eyes following his every movement. Eunbi has her reasons to feel so eager, given the fact that she has been begging for one nice interaction with the boy, a spark of hope lighting up in her chest at his offer. On the other hand, she doesn’t know why the other girl seems equally excited, twirling her short hair around her fingers as she waits for Jeongguk to come out of the tent again. She huffs, a pout ending on her features.

When the sought-after boy gets back with a blueish crewneck in his arms, both girls hold their breaths, the sudden tension going unnoticed by the others (except for Dahye, she’s like a psychic when it comes to her best friend’s emotions), until Jeongguk lays the piece of clothing on Iseul’s shoulders, coming behind her and then sitting on his chair again.

Iseul bashfully thanks him, the tips of her ears seemingly reddening while a sweet, alluring smile makes its way on her lips. Eunbi scoffs at that, and if looks could kill Iseul would be dead right now. The dirty look she sends her way luckily goes unnoticed, and she keeps hugging her own body trying to provide herself with warmth. When she shifts her attention to Jeongguk, he’s already looking at her, smirking. She can’t be convinced he isn’t doing all this on purpose.

Even with her teeth almost chattering, the neglected girl forces herself to stay with the others until the end, and with Namjoon and Taehyung retiring to sleep only six of them remain. Under a white full moon, the conversation doesn’t really follow a clear direction, steering from existential questions that none really have the answers to, to Jimin’s drunken adventures. Jeongguk giddily joins the recounting and adds many details to it, specifically highlighting the embarrassing parts that his roommate is trying to omit to save face, and making all of his friends laugh with their whole chest, Eunbi included. She simply can’t ignore the fact that he’s naturally charming, and hilarious as well. In the middle of his storytelling, his whole body gets involved and it makes the events seem even more impressive. Eunbi smiles when she compares the Jeongguk in front of her to the beloved one in her past, the one that would sit her down and force her to keep up with his running imagination, constantly up with new ideas for silly scripts.

Then it’s Dahye’s turn to share one of her experiences, and Eunbi inevitably gets thrown into the tale, which had seen the two friends drunkenly sneaking themselves into a concert. It’s like they’re perfectly mirroring Jimin and Jeongguk’s dynamic, because while Dahye is trying to leave out critical parts of the story, Eunbi strongly insists on specifying them with an unseen emphasis for 1 a.m., causing everybody to laugh along. In between chuckles, her eyes fall on Jeongguk, who is mindlessly scrolling on his phone and seemingly not paying attention. Throughout the recounting, she notices Jeongguk distractly listening but never laughing, and if he does it’s only after something said by Dahye. Slowly, the enthusiasm gets wiped off her face as she curls up on the chair, sulkily letting her friend finish telling the story.

Another hour of effortless conversation goes by, and Jeongguk is back to lively chatting again, his animated gestures and witty jokes getting laughter out of his friends, but this time Eunbi doesn’t join. She silently sets on observing the boy, despite being caught a few times. She really wants to understand the reason behind his behaviour, but there’s no factual explanation she can come up with other than the obvious reasons that put them in this situation in the first place. If that’s the case, there’s nothing much she can do other than going up to him and finally talking it out like the mature adults they should be, but with their petty, silent bickering she doesn’t think that’s happening any soon.

While she’s busy squinting her eyes at the boy, in a borderline creepy manner, she doesn’t notice Iseul crouching in half in laughter at something Jeongguk said, until she’s directly referring to her, “Oh god, Eunbi! Why did you never tell me Jeongguk was this funny?” Said girl is startled by the question and by the abrupt interruption that shakes her out of her trance, confusion written on her face and it must be evident with the way Iseul goes on explaining, “Dahye told me you’ve known him for a long time.”

All at once, the atmosphere is tense and maybe Iseul and Aera can’t feel it, but Dahye definitely can as she snaps her head to her friend, who’s staring directly into Jeongguk’s eyes. The two seem to be battling an unnamed war through eye contact, and the intensity of the boy’s gaze ignites something implacable in the girl’s chest, dangerously close to rage, and it has to do with all the feelings she’s had to bottle up in less than 24 hours. She scoffs, referring to Iseul but never breaking the staring contest with the boy, “Oh, is he? Don’t think I’m well acquainted with that side of him yet.”

If the tension wasn’t palpable to everyone before the comment, it surely is now, the only ones that have something left to say being the crickets and owls in the background. Jeongguk only snickers before washing a hand over his face, an unsettling smirk on his lips. He seems to finally acknowledge the other girl’s presence, but it’s not in the way Eunbi initially imagined it would go. Instead, it’s venom spitting out of his mouth, “You would've been if you weren’t so self centred, always wrapped in your own bubble all the fucking time.”

Eunbi's confidence falls as quick as her heart, a sudden force weighing on it and almost crushing it. She’s fast at hiding it, ignoring the slight sting she can sense in the back of her eyelids, her only goal is to shoot harder. She forces the fakest smile she can muster, “Self centred? Are you sure you're talking about me?” The affronted girl scoffs, loud and sarcastic, “Fuck, and I thought you'd know better than that, Jeongguk. You should try getting your head out of your ass and look around. Maybe you'd see how shitty you've been treating all of us-” me “-for these past weeks.”

Jeongguk is visibly taken aback, and it’s his heart falling this time, his face following suit. His broken features do little to hide the doubts plaguing his spiralling mind. Had he pushed it too far? Had he been actually so bad to his own friends? Seeing his contender’s face relaxing with victory makes him snap out of the sudden trance, as he regains consciousness fast. No, he hasn’t. Fuck this. Blinded by anger, he utters the unimaginable, “Speak for yourself when you say shit like that. As far as I'm concerned, I've been treating you fairly seeing the bitch you are.”

His eyes are as pitch as black, the stars in them that Eunbi would love to get lost into are unreachable now, almost as if a dark cloud had obscured them. It must be the pollution that's taking over his heart too.

She’s frozen in place as the cruel words echo in her mind, the force that was keeping her heart underwater had managed to crush it, and it was now coming up her throat, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Her ears ring with the sudden lack of oxygen, and she can only faintly hear Dahye’s raging comments coming in her defence against Jeongguk. She can only seem to focus on the cracking of the fire, though, its thumping noise suddenly unbearable, as she feels more and more engulfed in its flames. She forces all sounds to come back to her, strongly pulling herself out of her own plagued head, the boy in front of her now unrecognisable to her empty eyes.

Looking around, she notices all of her friends — his, after all — had gone extremely quiet, the pressure weighing on them too. She can't stand it, needs to get out. She wishes she had never agreed to this. So much for keeping her peace. Yet, she'll never give him the satisfaction of knowing how much that hurt her. She'll die before crying in front of him.

“Well, if you don't mind, the bitch has had enough now, so with all due respect, she's going to sleep.” With a forced tight lipped smile, she gets up in one fast movement and walks to her tent, leaving the others disoriented, and a still furious Dahye scoffing at Jeongguk. He follows her with his eyes until she disappears in her shelter, clenching his jaw and announcing his departure soon after.

Inside the tent, Eunbi takes several deep breaths trying to calm down, and she feels frail when she can sense her eyes prickle with tears. She tells herself it’s angry ones. Apparently, being nice isn’t enough, and she watches as the seal to her pact shatters with force, signalling no come back. Following suit, the puzzle breaks once again, and she’s left scrambling for the pieces falling, looking for the one that will start it over again. And this time, it’s going to be even harder.

[mackjlee9]

kay i'll take advantage of the hyperfixation bc i'm hyperfixated too 😋 this one is quite angsty? Depends on how you wanna do the end bc i'll leave it up to you

u see how in re6 chris asks leon if he will protect ada despite all the damage she did and he says yeah he is? What if instead of chris asking is leon's long term boyfriend since raccoon city?

like reader kinda knows he's still not over ada bc let's say reader went with him to rescue ashley in re4 and well, ada was there and shit.

so with that reader this time KNOWS leon is till not over ada no matter how much time has passed and he feels kinda betrayed bc they had a full ass relationship since raccoon city and it's been YEARS.

ending up to you ofc depending on how interested u are on writing this lmao. bye byee 💖

Ehe- I tried lol

Leon Kennedy x Male!Reader [Angst]

Maybe spoilers if you haven't played/watched re6?

Masterlist.

Resident Evil 6

(M/n) almost couldn't believe how awful this vacation was turning out to be.

From shooting the president to chasing after Ada herself, Helena could look at him with an apologetic look in her hazel eyes. (M/n) hasn't explicitly told her that he and Leon were dating, just said they were together on a vacation to relax and unwind a bit from their job on the D.S.O, but the situation had become worse than they initially thought.

And now Ada was involved? Well, when wasn't she honestly, that woman seemed to have some sort of GPS on Leon because she always showed up wherever he was, it was rather odd, still, he didn't question it, coincidences were pretty common in this kind of job.

Just look at it this way, they met with Sherry a while ago and now Chris was here too.

The three of them chased after Ada, Leon in front, and (M/n) right behind him, while Helena did her best to keep up behind them, but she was injured and she was struggling to keep up the pace. (M/n) stopped and made sure she was okay, before realizing how far Leon had run already.

"(M/n), go! I'll... I'll be fine, you go after her," she said gently pushing him away, and (M/n) hesitated for a moment, but Helena's reassuring smile helped him make up his mind.

He continued running after Leon, hearing two more foreign voices echo in the building, his eyes observing how Ada was cornered by two BSAA agents and as one of them pulled the trigger, Leon hit the gun away, immediately getting involved in a fight with the man. (M/n) arrived just in time to catch a stumbling Chris and prevent him from falling when Leon kicked his stomach hard enough to make him lose his balance.

Chris groaned from the pain, even when he was kicked over his bulletproof vest, Leon has always been known for having strong legs after all.

"Here," (M/n) mumbled while standing up and helping Chris get up from the ground, hearing him grunt a small 'thank you', all the while still being pointed by Leon with his pistol, "Leon-"

"Shut up," was all the blond said, making him swallow and nod, standing back whilst Chris and Leon started arguing. About Ada, and why she needed to die. (M/n) saw Leon clench his jaw, tightening his hold on the grip of his pistol, his cold blue eyes staring into Chris', "She's a key witness, we need her."

"A witness? She's the one that did all of this!" Chris replied, angry at what Ada had done, and probably at Leon for stopping him earlier.

"No, it wasn't her, it was Simmons, the National Security Advisor," (M/n) looked at them, hearing Helena's stumbling behind them and he helped her stand up. He wasn't sure what he was expecting the outcome of this discussion would be, but something told him he wasn't gonna like it.

"I lost all of my men because of that woman!" Chris yelled as he approached Leon, who kept a firm stance, not even blinking at his outburst.

"And I lost over seventy thousand people, including the president, because of Simmons!" He replied back with the same tone, followed by a deafening silence, the light of a chopper landing on them through the window.

Chris sighed and looked down, shaking his head before staring back at Leon, "She works for Neo-Umbrella, you know what that means?"

(M/n) watched as Leon sighed, "I do."

Glancing back and forth between the two of them, (M/n) took a deep breath, and took a step forward, slightly covering Chris with his body, he doesn't know what made him do it, maintaining eye contact with Leon's blue eyes, that remained cold and serious.

"After all she did to you, to me, to us... You're still gonna protect her, Leon?" The few seconds of silence that followed made his ears ring, the fact that he had to think about it let him know his answer.

Leon's stare hardened, seemingly unfazed by (M/n)'s words, not caring about the pain in his voice.

"I am."

(M/n) released a dry chuckle, turning around and walking away, "I was scared you were gonna say that," he mumbled as he left, finding another way to go downstairs. While he waited for them, he saw a flash of white, soon followed by Ada's body gracefully flying with her grappling hook.

They made eye contact for an instant before she ran away again, like she always did, never deviating from her mission.

He unzipped his pouch, his fingers wrapping around the velvet box, gripping it tightly as tears began gathering in his eyes. (M/n) had planned this vacation perfectly, wanting to make it special and memorable, after all, he and Leon had been in a relationship for 15 years... Or so he thought, because it seemed like he was the naive one who thought that way, when Leon was clearly smitten to Ada, after everything that happened... Everything he had done to make Leon happy...

(M/n) sighed and rubbed his temple before lowering his hand to grab his pistol, but before he could, he hit one of the pouches around his hips, his world freezing and breaking down piece by piece when he realized what he had kept safe there during this whole ordeal.

All of it had been wasted, maybe... Someone else would appreciate all his efforts?

But who? He has never loved anyone other than Leon, and it's not like he could simply move on to someone else, that wouldn't be fair to the other person.

(M/n) observed the black box in his hand, hearing the footsteps of Leon and Helena approaching his position, and he had to dry away the tears that had managed to run down his face, turning toward them with a hint of a smile, putting the box back and closing the zipper again.

"We have to keep going, let's go," he will figure out what to do when all of this is over, but right now, they had a job to do.

[zombeebunnie]

Trembling Essence Devlog 3:💙Final touch ups to the Afternoon route!💙

Hi and welcome new followers, it doesn't feel like it's been a while month! Here's an update to progress of the game! :]

There will be spoilers if you haven't played through the [Extended Demo], specifically the afternoon route. Click here if you would like to play! :]

*To avoid confusion from my last game development post, please note that game updates about the game will be every two weeks to possibly 1 month(???) this year since I didn't clarify that correctly in devlog 2.

This post will be a little all over the place since there was week and a half where I wasn't able to work on the game mixed in with drawing practice. :,]

The cooking scene:

Outside of testing everything, this section won't be tampered with any further! Woohoo!

While I went to clean up this section with new and updated content I unfortunately had really bad writers block and it took a while before I was finally able to adjust. What caused most of this was redoing a lot of the old code and new callbacks. In the [Extended Demo] I didn't specify them correctly and tweaking it with new situations was hard to do. Once completed I went back and did a couple of test runs and there were still issues with Noah's responses. In the end I decided to just keep what I managed to fix and remove the rest. There was left over new content I forgot to take out in certain choices and pushed it further into Day 4+ to keep the pacing balanced. *Callbacks in canon with how Noah reacts to what's added into the soup are still here! :[]

The sewing scene:

Around this section is when the writers block was really getting to me. I really loved what was originally here along with the new content but not being able to go back and continue from where I left off for almost a week and a half was hard to get used to.

At some point while I was working on all of this I lost the new script I created for this scene and I thought I saved over it by accident and would have to start all of it from scratch if I couldn't find it. In very good news, I found it! I accidently saved it in a different folder. :,P For now I decided to combine the new content with the version from the [Extended Demo] which includes quality of life changes to the dialog/scenes/choices etc. This will take some time to go through and I want to be extra careful not to misplace anything this time. :P

Animated scene:

I finally got the chance to add in a animation scene! Yay! :D

I talked about this some time last year about wanting to animate this part of the game to give that immersive view of how bad the storm is outside. Originally I had planned to animate the morning, afternoon, and evening scenes too but after going over it with my play tester we both agreed that it should only be animated during parts of the game when it's genuinely needed.

Weird glitch/bug encounter solved?:

I have no idea how this happened but at some point through testing out the game, 3 CG's turned completely black, specifically CG's where the player(Y/N) would turn out the lights. I didn't catch it at first until I noticed the screen was too dark and you literally couldn't see anything. I went through the images folder and all of them were pitch black. I thought I would have to go back and remake the images but it somehow fixed itself?

More stuff was added behind the scenes BUT I'm not ready to share it just yet and I don't want this update post to be too long. I'm going to take some time out and complete everything else I didn't get the chance to work on and hopefully by the next game development post I'll be working on the morning route! :,D

If you like what I create, please consider supporting what I do on kofi [Here]! All donations and tips help tremendously while I continue to work on the game. Thank you to those that optionally bought the [Extended Demo] on itch.io. :,]

Q&A / Ask box is open:

To know and understand Noah through Asks and random posts about lore, they'll be under #Get to know: Noah ! :]

I had a lot of fun answering recent asks I've been sent!

**Some asks won't be answered if it contains spoilers but I do appreciate what I receive. :]

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask here or on itch.io please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I enjoy hearing from you guys!

That's all I have to share right now. Thank you everyone for the support and patience! :,]

[faghubby]

Oh Husband

"Husband, why don't you kneel down here and make me cum" Dana smiled. I looked around quickly. She was sitting in one of the patio chairs drinking a glass of wine as I was picking weeds out of the flower beds.

"Dana?!" I said quietly with a stunned look.

"What? You know you want to. Must little chastity bitch" Dana replied. She spread her legs. Pulling up her dress she wore no panties. I kneeled on the stone patio and buried my face between her thighs. As I liked and sucked her pussy.

"Do you hope Bob peeks over the fence and sees you?" Dana teased. I felt the cage get even tighter as my dick tried to get hard but had no room to grow.

"Paul you would like everyone to know what a beta husband you are wouldn't you?" Dana continued. She played with my hair that she had made me grow out as I pleased her. I made her cum. I always made her cum with my tounge. As she did she just pushed me back and fixed her dress. She made a hand motion as if dismissing me. I went back to finish the flowers. Her juices all over my face.

Dana got up and walked over to me. She bent down and grabbed my ass.

"It would be so hot if you wore your little thong bikini while you worked in the yard. Get those tan lines even darker" Dana teased then went inside. I knew she was teasing. She had me go to a tanning salon once a week. She loved my femine tan lines. She wanted anyone who might see me without a shirt to know what a bitch I was.

It had been 7 years ago when she had learned what kind of man I really was. It had started innocent enough. Dana was being adventurous and while she was sucking my dick worked a finger in my ass. I went wild.

I begged her to do it again and then again. This led to inserting a toy in my ass. Then fucking me with a strapon. All within a few months time. This led to a discussion of a threesome. Another man. I was reluctant but agreed. We chose a stranger. After a search on fetish dating sites. Dana found someone. We chatted a few times and finally decided it was time and invited him to the house. We where both nervous. His name was Greg.

Greg took control as soon as he entered. He had Dana naked and bent over before either of us had time to question. He ordered me to strip. As he fucked Dana. Not have sex or make love he fucked her. His hand around her throat his thick 7 inch cock smashing into her at an amazing pace. He stopped at one point and made Dana suck his cock. Tasting her own juices. Before he went back to fucking her. He totally ignored me I didn't know what to do so u stood and watched. As he pumped his seed into her.

"Come clean my cock" he ordered me. I was still in awe and did what he said without hesitation.

"You faggot husband just needs a firm hand" he told Dana. He pushed me away.

"Clean your wife Bitch" he ordered me. Dana spread her legs and seemed even more excited as she watched me clean another man's cum from her well fucked pussy.

We talked at length about what had happened and what we both wanted. We both agreed to explore this more. Dana is one of those people who research everything. And she did that very thing. She soon learned about cuckolding, chastity, FLM, sissy, punishment and a whole lot more. We talked and experimented alot. Now we have three kids so somethings where just not possible but Dana found ways.

Like if she called me husband it was an order. And I was to call her princess when we played. She locked me in chastity pretty fast. Since I had a small penis anyway. I enjoyed it. Well kinda. I enjoyed having to ask to touch myself. I enjoyed Dana being in control of me. Dana also started dating. Telling most people that she was cheating on me.

We told the kids mom had gone back to school to further her education. The kids ranged from 11 to 16. So it was a good way for them not to question, mom's night classes or late study groups. Also since mom was back in school Dad picking up the slack around the house doing more chores. The further she pushed the more I wanted. So when she had me shave, and start wearing panties I didn't argue. She would keep me locked for months at a time. And peg my ass once a week. While she told me about her lovers and what they did to her. She would sometimes show me videos. I understood when I watched. I had never even tried to fuck her lime they did. Most where rough using her.

"Non of them have such a gentle tounge like yours though" Dana told me. The kids now grown or away at school Dana became more open about things. She had confessed to her two best friends a few years ago. But now she didn't mind if others found out.

She took me panty shopping, instead of buying them online. Even telling the sales girl they where for me. She would take me to dinner and order for me. Telling the waiter that I couldn't be trusted to stay on my diet. She openly flirted with people in front of me. Including several of our friends.

She even took me to a gay bar and had me suck the bartenders cock. On the drive ho,e she told me she would never let me inside her again after watching what I had done.

But now rumors got back to the kids. And we are having a family meeting tonight. I know Dana is going to tell them the truth. I just am scared of how they will react.

[superm4ks]

charles didn’t have drs after overtaking 4 cars, it was lap 1. you’re entitled to your opinions, and i don’t even particularly disagree with it, but i find it odd that you don’t acknowledge that max getting 20 sec gap to p2 wasn’t also due to the safety car & red flag while charles’ lap 1 is being justified on the track change. idk just food for thoughts, i don’t think minimizing how good charles was in abu dhabi—not even his best race of the year—and saying it’s not comparable to max’s one when they gained the same number of place, even if under different circumstances, is particularly justified and incomparable

again, it’s not to fight with u, max’s drive in brazil was generational, no one is denying it

😐 Friend. U do understand ur fighting wid me on this. Ur on the defensive here and I have no idea why. I never said sharl gained his initial positions thru DRS no clue where u pulled that 1 from. I described that 1st lap as prolly sharls best of his career. Unsure why this isnt enough of an acknowledgment to u like I gotta prove something here. Thats the trend wid some of yall that ann0ys me. This weird ass insecurity when it comes to somebody like Leclerc, whose record is anything but. I made a reference to a reply from that same user, that Yas Marina doesnt favor overtaking from the back like Interlagos, which imo is untrue. I kinda live for circuit trivia so it was a nice chance to mention that '((in 2021)) Chicanes 5 and 6 were turned into a single wider hairpin, specifically to promote more overtaking, where interestingly enough sharl went outside 4 cars before entering DRS.' BEFORE entering the DRS literally means BEFORE entering the DRS straight. Thats it. I assumed people understood DRS wasnt enabled atp and I was just referring to the track characteristics.

Plenty of sharls charge to the podium during this race was made wid DRS bro believe it or not I think it takes absolutely nothing away from his performance. DRS seen as a clutch but some tracks like this 1 its a wobbly one. A driver has to be able to beat an opponent to a specific detection point not just thru the straight line sections but technical corners as well. There were plenty of other drivers who unlike sharl cud not make use of it like he did because they didnt manage their laps as well. Idk how u can read what I wrote before and say I 'minimized' Sharls Abu Dhabi drive. The op I addressed claimed Sharl 'stole' the best drive of the season from Max's Brazil. Thats not saying shit is 'comparable' and its not 'justifiable' no matter how u wanna look at it. Its laughable even. I wont hold back on that sorry. I think its a bonkers thing to say. Sharls Abu Dhabi was a great drive from an ever growing future threat to the standings, and u wanna etch his 1st lap into the fabric of history like sure. I think he taught some lessons in terms of managing the chaos around him to immediately execute a series of flawless overtakes and reestablish control of the pecking order wid sheer pace and ability in a single lap. But Max's drive in Brazil is not comparable to Abu Dhabi in any way shape or form because its not comparable to anything anybody else has ever done wid cold tires under pouring rain in this era of Formula 1. It exists outside of the average realm of racing. I feel like I'm repeating myself and its getting frustrating. Interlagos wasnt a good career drive, it was an historical individual effort by an all time great who turned unprecedented circumstances into an advantaged he carried to a title. We agree thats generational correct. So lets leave it at that.

[thesweetnessofspring]

hiiii,

i just wanted to say that i recently-ish finished the first book from the chaos walking series, and it completely blew me away!!! it was SO gripping!! the amount of times I almost felt too stressed to read on is a little embarrassing honestly 🙉

but beyond it being incredibly fast-paced it is soooo thematically rich and emotionally harrowing at times (u were right I did cry - rip Manchee 😔). also, idk why but todd really gave me finnick vibes... (more on that when I figure out a way to explain myself, but i'm leaning heavily on the exploration on what it means to be a "Man" that is very prevalent in this book...)

anyway... i'm going on holiday for a few weeks and I've already got the second book locked and loaded!!! thanks for the recommendation 🫶, i'd love to hear some of your thoughts on the books :))))

First I want to apologize for how long it's taken me to get to this. 😭But yay I'm so glad you enjoyed the first book!!!! It's one of those edge-of-your seat reads that also says a lot and draws really interesting and layered characters and the next two in the series only get deeper with characterizations as you get to know the other characters (which you might already know as you might have read the other two by now).

I wouldn't have really connected Todd to Finnick before! I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it.

Part of the reason I delayed answering this is because I wanted to read the 2nd and 3rd books again before giving my thoughts, only my copies of those are buried in my parents' garage and they're renovating so things are a mess but I wanted to respond sooner than I'll get around to digging them out and rereading. It's been on my mind especially with the week we've had. Spoilers and long rambling below

So of TKONLG, what really stood out to me this past read was initiation into being a man by Mayor Prentiss, what Todd discovers. That they take a 13-year-old boy and make him kill a man trying to escape their hellhole of a town, or else pick someone they simply don't like, and make everyone else watch. How Ben and Cillian had to be so careful with their Noise to try and save Todd and set him loose with only a dog and a knife (and perhaps getting Manchee when Todd was 12 wasn't so accidental).

I've especially thought about it this week with the election. That boys are told to be a "man" by putting their pride in front of the lives of others, to the point they were the ones doing the killing. Psychologically, that's an intense ritual bonding them into a cult and letting it change them, especially as trying to leave puts them in the position to be the one who gets killed. And that's not to include the way they'd murdered all of the women in town before that. Prentisstown created scapegoat after scapegoat.

I think most of the boys must have been told that it was they kill or be killed to get them to comply. A few like Davy were probably happy to prove themselves a "man". Todd fought the most, and it was only Viola being threatened that gave him enough anger that he could have killed Aaron. Aaron, whom he never liked and didn't have family or anyone that would ask for justice for his death and wanted to be the sacrifice. Todd still fought it, even though in the end, Aaron had to be killed.

Would killing Aaron have made Todd a man? Did Todd become a "man" when he killed the Spackle before? Did Viola spare him, or are they both "guilty"? Is there an exception for the kind of ruthlessness in which Todd was pursued to complete this mission? I like that these are questions Ness poses instead of telling us. And the plot only gets juicier from here!

[unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin]

Can you do more Yandere Nick Jackson?

Sure! Here’s a little blurb, if you’d like something else let me know!

Warnings: Yandere, Yandere!nick, Mother!reader, talks of traumatic births, controlling behavior, fear of losing a baby, ‘Matt’s wife’ is a character but she has no resemblance to his actual wife, it’s a complete fictional character for this piece

“Very good!” You praised your daughter as she got something right in her work book. She had just moved up to the first grade work and was struggling with it. “Okay, try this one while I get lunch done,” you pointed to another question before pushing yourself up to your feet. You had to balance yourself carefully due to being almost 9 months pregnant.

Slowly, you waddled your way into the kitchen, opening the back door to let some air in. You loved living in the beach, especially when you were pregnant. Something about the salty sea air made your morning sickness so much better.

You started to make lunch for the kids, a fresh fruit plate with some nuts and chicken, but turned when quick footsteps came running towards you.

“Mama, look!” Your son yelled as he ran into your legs, causing you to grab the counter tightly to keep from falling over.

“Michael Jackson, what have you been told about running in the house?” You tried to pull your son from his spot against your legs so that you could see him, but he stayed put. “Michael, look at me.” You spoke again, trying to pull him out from underneath your pregnant belly. As he continued to fight you started to get irritated. “Michael Nickolas Jackson, so god help me get off my leg!” You snapped, which at first seemed like it was going to work as he took a step back. However, before you could say anything he turned and took off towards the open door.

“Shit- Ella, don’t Move! Stay where you are!” You yelled back at your daughter before you three your shoes off and started to chafe after him.

It was hard to run at all, but the grass was do able. You had a large backyard so hopefully he just needed to get some energy out. You followed behind him u til he got to one spot that made your heart sink. There was a whole in the fence. You had been the one to put it there years ago, and Michael was heading right for it.

“Michael! Don’t you dare!” You yelled back, which sorted him on as he tried to wiggle through. You ran the best you could and just as you were about to grab him he fell through and into the sand underneath it.

You didn’t even think as you yanked the gate open and followed after him. You were definitely pushing your body too far as you ran, your lungs burning from it, but you were too scared to stop. He was running towards the water, what if something happened. You closed your eyes for a second before picking up your pace, and you finally were close enough to reach out and grab him.

He was small, but you were going so fast that the little extra weight threw you both to the ground. You did your best to cushion the fall, keeping Michael and the baby inside you safe, but you all but landed on your stomach.

You painted as you held your son to your chest, trying to calm down. Michael was crying against you, and you started to worry he was hurt too, but you couldn’t bring yourself to get up yet. Everything hurt, and you wanted to just lie here forever.

You glanced around your surroundings before a flashing light caught your eye. You looked down and your eyes widened as you realized what was blinking. Your house arrest anklet. You’d left the ‘property’ that had been programmed into it.

“Come on bud, let’s get you inside,” you whispered to your son as you forced yourself up. You’d have to carry him back to the house, which you just knew would be painful, but you didn’t have another option.

______________

Later you were sprawled out on the couch. The kids were in bed, and as much as you wanted to be too, you had to wait for Nick tonight. When you’d gotten back inside your daughter had told you daddy called the landline to ask if everyone was okay and that she had told him brother tried to run away. You were relieved that she had answered, and hoped that was enough.

You checked over Michael, and other then some cuts from the sand he was fine. You however were worried. You weren’t spotting or anything, but you had some pain and just felt like something was wrong. It scared you, you were supposed to have this baby at home just like the others, but what if something was going wrong now?

You were pulled from your thoughts when the front door was unlocked and opened. The door only locked from the outside, so Nick was the only one who opened it. Slowly, you pushed yourself into a sitting position to meet Nick.

“How was your day?” You asked, almost robotic. You knew what he expected you to say when he got home.

“Fine, got some meetings done with Matt and Tony. You know how it is.” And you did. Before any of this you would have been sat in that meeting as well to keep track of notes for Tony Khan. You’d been his secretary, though he called you his second in command for everything you did. You really did miss the job.

“But,” Nick continued. “I don’t think my day was as eventful as yours.” Nick turned to look at you fully, though because he was standing and you were sitting, it made him look huge.

“Michael tried to run.”

“Why was the door open?” You prepared yourself for the onslaught of questions that would attack you now.

“It helps with the nausea.”

“What did you do to make him run?”

“Nothing.”

“Really, nothing?” You fought to not role your eyes at his question. Of course it was your fault, and he wouldn’t stop until you admitted it.

“Yeah, nothing. And he got out of the fence in that damn hole you won’t fix.” You snapped

Nick hesitated, his eyes flickering towards the stairs that led to the kids rooms. “Maybe you should have thought about how dangerous a hole would be when you cut into our fence.”

You started to open your mouth but shut it a second later. This wasn’t going to get you anywhere, you if something more important to fight for.

“I fell when I was chasing him. I need a doctor.”

“Why do you need a doctor, you seem fine.”

“I can feel something is wrong,” you motioned to your large stomach. Nick looked down at your bump for a few seconds before he started to pull his jacket off.

“I can call Matt on the morning, have him send his wife over-“

“I’m serious, something is wrong,” you cut him off, making him hesitate.

“I’ll call now then.”

“No!” Your voice raised as your frustration did too. “I don’t want a fucking midwife over here! I need a doctor!”

“You know no doctors. Besides, she did just fine with the other kids-“

“Just Fine?! To you hear yourself!? Ella came out not breathing and if Michael had been any earlier he would have been dead! I want to know my baby is okay-!” Nick slapped a hand over your mouth and ya led you closer to him.

“Shut. Up. The kids are asleep,” he hissed at you. “Besides, it’s your own damn fault that you can’t have doctors. After what you tried to tell them, the lies about being hurting you, I’m lucky that Matt’s wife was there to explain you ‘condition’ or we would have been fucked.”

Your condition. Because of this damn family your official file said you had early onset dementia. You knew it wasn’t true, and you were sure whatever pill Nick gave you didn’t effect your memory at all, but because it was there, anyone who saw it immediately assumed you were lying and handed you over to Nick. Just like that.1

“I think the pregnancy is getting to you.” Nick said, his voice softening. “Matt’s wife has been learning how to endure labor, we’ll do that tomorrow and get our beautiful baby out, then you’ll have him or her to take care of, how does that sound?”

You tried to shake your head no, you ha don idea what condition your baby was in, and you were terrified of having a baby early after Michael. Nick just shushed you and pulled you into a hug.

“Come on, let’s get some sleep. We need to be rested for tomorrow.”

[actualbird]

totally agree about orange scent being rushed, i remember being pretty upset over it because he’s been stuck in this way of thinking for so long, he quite literally runs away from his problems and hes shown to very much struggle with changing his thinking e.g. worrying and then for him to suddenly change his mind after a walk? idk it seemed quite bizarre to me. like u said i think if there was a gap, where he processed the conversation in the graveyard and maybe aaron talk to him some more, maybe even peanut doing his thing!! it would’ve worked well. moreover what upsets me is that you don’t even see the ring in the evolved cg - you see the ring on mc’s finger in the other 3 cards but not in Luke’s!! also i felt it odd he engraved a french word when the whole spanish neruda thing was RIGHT There. don’t get me wrong i love the card but… i wish it had been written and released way later than the second anniversary you know?

irt my in the moment reacts to SSR Orange Scent and then my day-after reacts/thoughts about the story's pacing

on the rushed aspect: i neednt add more there because yeah i go into why it's odd to me in my last response. like, mc even says it herself in the story, she thinks "one heart to heart wont fix all this" or something along those lines and she understands that!! but the story had to wrap up in one last act jkhVSHFKSJH SADS

....ive actually been thinking about it more and wondering now if the 3-act pacing/structure issues is less a fault of the card itself and more a fault of what was sposed to come before it. because like i said earlier, anniv 1 cards didnt feel rushed even if it they were also 3 acts because they were preceded by the overarching story of the Blossom Chapters. meanwhile.....the Sweet Chapters, while enjoyable, just dont do as much of a good job at developing the relationship mainly because their stories are shorter one-offs. each sweet chapter is self contained instead of leading into each other and that...i think that really showed its downside here with luke's anniv 2.

because if i had to remedy the pacing of the anniv 2 card without adding a scene in between act 2 and act 3....i would change it so that instead of mc referencing the double rainbow back in SSR Iridescent Heartbeat, she references some kind key event that happened in a more well developed previous sweet chapter story, an event that fits with mc's desire for luke to do things for himself and to listen to his own feelings, and express those feelings.

on the ring in the evolved cg: i......actually did not notice that hVOAHFASOFIASFKASBFOASFKA

on the word engraved on the ring: i really like devoument (however u spell it kjHVKJSF) for luke's ring!!! u have a point that a reference to neruda in spanish wouldve also been super fitting, tho idk, i loved that luke's word was devotion/sacrifice. since his devotion and sacrifice (and the Faults of his devotion and sacrifice) is so central in this card's story. is there a pablo neruda poem that uses a spanish word/term that has a similar definition? if yes, then that would So Very Much be a wonderful word as well to replace the french one.

on the "written and released later": i dont completely relate to this one! and thats alright! all of us are gonna be reacting and interpreting stories differently. frankly of all the boys, luke is the most fitting one imo to be proposing after one year of dating, given his circumstances and his worries. the "rushing" that i feel is less on luke's choices and more on the structural pacing of the story (and the stories that have come before it) but man....to me, luke Would propose this early.

tho i have not watched the other boys' anniv 2 cards yet!!! i really wanna watch marius'.....

[unwilting]

Passing Comments on A Recent NC Meeting

The National Committee of the CPUSA has met and published Joe Sims’ speech — some points need to be made.

The speech is a summation of both the recent work of the Party and what is to come before the upcoming convention in 2024.

Nothing is to be said on the sections on the internationalist peace movement and working class leadership — these sections are wholly adequate, making excellent propaganda while highlighting the great work of U$ communists. Let’s listen:

“No matter what today’s Cold Warriors allege, Cuba and China are not Turkey and Hungary. A new, socialist way of being, living and decision making is being attempted in the countries exploring socialist paths and it’s way past time U.S. imperialists realize it. Not every country’s model of democracy is going to be stamped “made in the USA.” The challenge here is not to democracy: rather it’s to the system organized for the pursuit of private profit above all else — this is what’s behind Washington’s and Wall Street’s fear, and their endless drive to exorcize the very spirit of socialism from the public imagination. What they can’t seem to fathom is that the threat to democracy comes not from outside but from within: it’s the relentless drive to maintain maximum profits that gives rise to authoritarianism, or to put it more precisely, fascism. In this regard, Lenin nailed it long ago, describing imperialism as “reaction all down the line.” However it’s packaged and marketed to gain working-class buy-in, it is late stage capitalism that’s breeding war, racism and national hatred. Make no mistake, this is what Washington is selling, but we’re not buying it.”

With this in mind, Sims assures us that continued efforts against the wars, against U$ imperialism, will be brainstormed in an upcoming peace conference in November of this year. He is correct when saying, directly after this assurance, that the peace movement needs to draw in more of the working class, because they are the that ones have everything to gain from peace. U$ workers may benefit from imperialism, from the fruits of it, but we have lost so much in this exchange as well with our home imperialists, and have even more to gain in the process of cutting them off.

The section on working class leadership mostly speaks for itself:

“The road ahead remains long, and the climb steep, but it’s happening. Witness the 154 strikes that have taken place so far this year, keeping steady pace with what occurred the year before. In addition, a number of important organizing victories have been won over the last several months. For example, the Steelworkers won a union vote in rural Georgia at the Bluebird electric bus plant and Amazon drivers and dispatchers voted to join the Teamsters in Palmdale California. The local recently went out on strike. At Starbucks, some 300 stores have been organized. Importantly, the Amazon Labor Union is also keeping the pressure on. Another indication that workers are seizing the time is that petitions for union representation continue to rise. Last year, they were up 53 percent over the year before and the first six months of 2023 are comparable.”

The Party, in a true Leninist fashion, connects these trade struggles with the broader struggle, stating two paragraphs below that it must support these struggles and lend itself to the social-democratic struggle within the bigger context. The party must build “united fronts of support ensuring demonstrable solidarity from elected officials and mass organizations ranging from statements, resolutions and letters to editors, to strike fund support and consumer boycotts.” — the only thing one might want to add here is the necessity to also teach the working class movement its final aim, or speak on how the Party is drawing in the leaders of the trade struggles to our broader struggle.

Now, onto the expected, and the reason any of this is being written: the usual bowing to electoral politics.

Make no mistake — the threat of the christofascists is real in the electoral sphere, but equally threatening is their existence in every other facet of our lives. “Both parties are the same” is a sentiment that loses more adherents as the snakes’ heads make themselves known. Democratic rights are under a barrage of fascist attacks — part of the problem is that the attacks are coming from within the democratic framework, so how does focusing so much on electoral victory do anything other than delay the inevitable.

One may call me a doomer for that last sentence, but if so much effort is put into working within the framework that is set up against us, that a Party forgets (buries?) its real reason to exist, to help build a new machine and smash the old, then my doomerism with the group is perhaps not misplaced. Delaying the return of cristofascists in particular seats of power is only delaying the return of cristofascists in particular seats of power — where is our power being built?

But enough generalities, I’ll let these sections of the speech speak for itself and its entrenched electoralism-in-denial:

“Buoyed by the passage of the infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, despite stiff extreme-right opposition and key Democratic defections, Biden so far has managed to fend off significant challenges, notwithstanding the campaigns of Marianne Williamson and Robert Kennedy Jr. The president’s electoral coalition has been shored up by Bernie Sanders and Brandon Johnson’s coming on board, and has been given additional heft by the AFL-CIO’s endorsement (the earliest ever by the federation) and CBTU’s support. The administration’s foreign policy on the other hand, remains a major negative and may potentially suppress sections of the youth, peace and left vote. While important components of the coalition are coming into focus, a mass movement on the scale of what brought the Biden-Harris ticket to power in 2020 in the aftermath of the George Floyd uprising, has yet to take shape. That’s important, because it’s going to take a mass movement to defeat Trump. Whether the anti-MAGA majority will rise up and meet the demands of the political moment remains to be seen, though this year’s local contests in LA, Chicago, and Tampa are promising. At the end of the day, however, voter enthusiasm will be determined by the degree to which bread-and-butter issues are addressed. Needless to say, such a task cannot be left only to official circles: the people’s front must be fully mobilized, with labor playing a key role.”

“Apparently, Professor West has now jumped ship and is seeking the blessing of the Green Party. But how will the good professor conduct his campaign? Viable campaigns are born of grassroots responses to issues and the movements and coalitions from which they arise. This includes protest campaigns, many of which are shaped by understandable frustrations with the two-party system and a desire not to be associated with its corruption and concessions. But given the U.S.’ winner-take-all set up, a decision to run must take care not to inadvertently contribute to electing fascists and other right-wing extremists. Directing fire at the fascist danger is one thing — a plague-on-all-your-houses approach is quite another. In a close contest, even small numbers of votes can have a big impact. That said, it’s unlikely West’s first foray into presidential politics will garner significant support among African American or broader quarters — a spoiler campaign would be a disaster. The ball is now in West’s court. One should never forget what happened on January 6th and the lead up to it. In this regard, stock must also be taken of the No Labels initiative now seeking ballot status in all 50 states. Organized by center-right figures like Democrat Joe Lieberman, Republicans Larry Hogan, Pat McCory, and the curiously chameleon-like figure of Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis, (formerly Benjamin Muhammed of the Nation of Islam), No Labels claims a pragmatic problem-solving approach to politics. A more likely possibility is that the problem they’re designed to solve is how to peel off the independent vote, providing the MAGA right a stalking horse upon which to ride to the White House. A telling reminder of the potential danger is that No Labels has studiously refused to reveal its funding.”

“Individual votes here and there may not make much of a difference (except in the case of very close contests), but their impact, when joined with tens of millions in a simultaneous, joint action, can be huge. At stake in organizing these collective acts is laying the basis for forcefully addressing the central issues of the day by building movements around them. Jobs, housing, health care, abortion rights, police killings, gun violence, student debt and the environment — the Canadian wildfires are a case in point — are the key issues that will drive election turnout. The role of the party is to help build working-class political independence within these movements, and in so doing, maximize advantage: that’s the essence of Communist mass electoral work. Appeals emphasizing the fascist danger cannot stand alone and must be combined with attention to the issues that matter most to voters.”

[MY EMPHASIS]

The section ends thus:

“Hence, the next election cycle is not so much about the current spate of candidates as individuals, but rather the issues and platforms their coalitions champion. For the Communist Party, the key thing is how, within the broader people’s front, can the working-class movement have the greatest leverage and exert the largest influence? In other words, how can the working class place its stamp on the battle for democracy?”

[MY EMPHASIS]

This question, and it is a great question, is not answered. Instead we have the all too often heard, all too repeated, tautologies for voting blue-no-matter-who hidden within warnings of taking care to not “inadvertently contribute to electing fascists” — these passages contain the obvious lip-service to bourgeois electoralism, and in particular the U$’s constant lesser-evilism electoralism, but the fact it is coming from the communists and not from an average liberal is of concern.

Finally, I will say nothing of the CPUSA’s conception of the democratic front at this time, partly because it would require its own space, and partly because I am not ready to talk on it due to my own ignorance.

[billerak]

RWTC 3

And now we're back for more after finishing V2! What why did it take me so long to do this? Well I was rewatching with a friend (methinks I mentioned that before) but for various lfie reasons we couldn't really meet up properly for a while so. Also, just a reminder: My friend is absolutely fucking loving RWBY so u know. It's not like I'm watching it with a hater. Yeah. ANYWAYS.

Last we left off: Grimm invaded like 2 blocks of a city! A warship showed up to kill like 2 grimm! A team of seniors stole protagonism for a minute or two and Glynda proved she's the most broken person in this universe by fixing the issue effortlessly! Team RWBY decided they'd go to sleep after a hard day, not knowing the worst was about to come. What will the future await us? Nobody will die, surely!

Ep 1: Why thanks Ruby, that IS the point we find ourselves at at this moment! The audience appreciates you for your reminder! Well that's definitely not a PNG of Tai. Clearly Ruby just brought a carbon cutout of him with her. Oh boi. Yeah, listen, I'll cut some slack to the fights this season because Monty had just passed away at this point. They're trying their best, and the fight choreography isn't awful. It's just… There's a certain energy missing. Monty was so… particular in how he did things. I'm not gonna say it's impossible to replicate him, but the very team that worked with him took years to even come close to matching his skill. Ruby, no time to flirt on the battlefield. Why is Roman working for Cinder, anyways? Is she paying him? He doesn't feel like the type that'd work for the love of it, or for Salem, you know? I don't hate the idea of a strange pairing and honestly Weiss and Yang are the strongest members of RWBY at the current time I think. Still, we haven't seem them doing many team things, so to the audience it feels weird. Is Blake only ever used for cat-related jokes? The laser, then the dog, now this with the fish. Oh hey look finally some Nora/Ren info. I don't like the Opening for the season, btw. V1 opening is a banger and iconic, V2 is catchy and well animated. I think V3's is kind of on the nose and I don't vibe with the song either.

On the Bees: They kinda do the combo attack again.

Ep 2: Jaune my guy we just saw the sniper guy blow up a rock I don't know how smart it is to hide behind another rock. THEY'RE GIVING EXPOSITION ON NORA'S SEMBLANCE? I DIDN'T REMEMBER THAT'S HOW WE FOUND OUT. WHAT THE FUCK. SO SEMBLANCES ARE IN NO WAY A SECRET. I was right to be weirded out by the supposed secrecy of Pyrrha's semblance! Anyways I know I said I'd cut them some slack but I'm not overlooking them just… not animating Nora's hit. I get it's a comedy thing and the action lasted a few minutes but… It feels kinda weird. The show's time was already tight and badly paced but team SNNN could have used some more scenes so that we could give a shit. Anyways they did not deserve that win. Oh right I forgot to mention Qrow's here. How nice. EVERYBODY TAKE COVER. SHOULD YOU MENTION THAT BLAKE BLUSHES AT SUN YOU WILL BE KILLED ON SIGHT. THIS HAS NO NARRATIVE IMPLICATIONS EVER! CLEARLY IT'S NOTHING. NO MEANING. THEY TOOK THE TIME TO ANIMATE IT FOR NO REASON.

On the Bees: The sun's looking kind of black right now innit?

Ep 3: Winter introduction! She's kind of a bitch ngl. I've been in the military, and no, not everyone in there acts like that. Does the Qrow/Winter thing ever… do anything? Like, they establish this thing and then… nothing? Like I can get it from Qrow's perspective, he's pissed at Atlas, but this feels more like a thing with Winter than anything else. That being said, it is such a shame that the first time we see these highly anticipated characters fight is after Monty's passing. I know this is the third time I spoke about it after saying I woudln't BUT IT IS A SHAME WHAT CAN I DO. Why thanks, Qrow! That IS the situation you find yourselves at at this moment! The audience apprecaites you for the info! You can tell Ruby learned from him. That being said, man, I really forgot Ironwood has always been kind of sleasy. Nice.

On the bees: Blake and Yang aint even show up this time around.

Ep 4: Fight scene happens. Nothing too important other than establishing Emerald's semblance I think? Why thank you Winter, that IS how your family semblance works! The audience appreciates the info. Maybe you did have a thing with Qrow at some point! So, why is the Schnees' semblance hereditary? If it's a manifestation of the soul, that has some… weird implications imo. I normally try not to think thaaat hard about it but, like, seriously. Does it imply some aspect of their soul is intrinsically so powerful that it overpowers the nascent ability of a newborn? I don't think we've seen Weiss's brother use his semblance but he's supposed to have the same, right? Well look at that Qrow gets to be very heterosexual here. Qrow: "They don't give medals for 'almost'" Ruby: "They do and they're called Silver!" OOOOOOF that's actually good foreshadowing holy shit. I like this Qrow scene. He really lays it on thick. I think I'd like the Weiss/Winter stuff more if it didn't feel so expository tbh.

On the bees: Blake did not show up this episode.

Ep 5: Penny too OP pls nerf. Anyways why wasn't Cardin here. Nuts and Dolts my beloved. Oh setting up that she's magnetic. Would say it's smart but we've seen Pyrrha manipulate aluminum cans so her power does not actually rely on magnetism and is most likely just metalbending. Anyways bluecap girl. She's important, surely! I'm sure we'll see a lot more of her :) Freezerburn fight! Against these dudes that show up once again in v7 I think. I did not remember the boobs joke. Don't know how to feel about it. Though I guess Yang is technically an adult. Think the animators played Jet Set Radio to get into the mood for this fight? What- What? Why did trumpet guy not finish Weiss off? Is he stupid? I know we need RWBY to win but what the actual fuck? That was… really anticlimatic. The rest of the fight was fun, but it kinda felt like it ended not because of Yang's skill but because of Neon's(?) stupidity. See, I think the Maiden Stuff is a bit of a retcon. Cuz in V2 they actually went to great lengths to show how Cinder could do her fire stuff… only to have it be maiden magic thing in V3.

On the bees: The short conversations Yang and Weiss had here gives more fuel to Freezerburn than Bumbleby has gotten yet. Insane.

Ep 6: What do you mean it's been months since I saw last chapter? Nonsense Now that I notice, isn't it HILARIOUS that team SNNN has the two randos nobody even remembers at their front in the OP? lmaooooo Ah yes the completely not out of left field maidens stuff we all know for a fact this was planned from the beginning and not introduced here in a strange attempt to make this story larger than it really needed to be. Despite the shit I give the random appearance of this, I don't immediately hate it. The fact that later on the powers aren't seasonal in the slightest is a big fucking annoyance (Why have them distinguished by seasons if there is no distinction between them) but this avatar-esque sort of powerful baton-pass is, at least, interesting. The fact it ends up being just a literal 'find the mcguffin power to get the mcguffin artifacts' is something I'll maybe tackle later. Ah, yes, Aura technomagical mumbo-jumbo. If only we actually understood how the fuck it actually works. Subtlest transition in the show. Hey, the choreography here is pretty neat! It could be a bit faster and the projectile tornado is not the best choice but we do get the return of the Dempsey Roll! Ok, before I go on a rant regarding the illusion here, I'll wait until it's properly explained, because I may be remembering how it went down incorrectly.

On the Bees: Naught.

Ep 7: Starting with the moment these characters meet is not necessarily bad, it kind of explains why they're with Cinder, but once again I think these scenes are hurt by pacing. I don't mind the Adam scene, I just find it hard to believe he'd ever accept to talk to humans at all at first. Like, I reckon Cinder would've been attacked on sight. And of course the idea that these guys would let a Maiden just go on alone without any vigilance for a while at any point is absolute nonsense. Maaaaaaan last episode I praised the fight but this was b a d jesus. Anyways see what I mean about the maiden powers? Them just being "yeah it's magic whatever" feels kinda underwhelming ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS CHICK'S BEATEN SO STUPIDLY. Anyways Mercury and Emerald dodge lightning here. Just… they just do it. I'm sure there'd be a powerscaler somewhere that would go through the trouble of actually thinking hard on that but let's not go down that route. (note: I asked a powerscaler friend and apparently all RWBY characters scale to FTL I am going to unalive meself) Anyways really girl? All that power and you get beaten by, basically, three grenades? WHY WOULD YOU GO AFTER THE ILLUSIONIST THE DANGEROUS ONE IS CLEARLY THE RED DRESSED ONE Anyways great timing Qrow WHY WEREN'T YOU WITH HER AT ALL TIMES M8. "Nooo his semblance-" IT WORKS AROUND HIM NOT WHEN HE'S AWAY. idk Adam ends up looking quite committed to the plan, it feels off that he was coerced into it. And hte aftermath of the fight… they don't actually explain exactly what happened, but I assume Emerald created the illusion for Yang? How real do her illusions feel? Anyways I was gonna say something more but I forgor, maybe it'll come back to me. Anyways Mercury's VA has actually gotten quite better since his introduction. Cinder… not so much yet.

On the bees: Nothing. literally fucking nothing for 7 episodes in a row I am going insane. Don't even let me count season 2 on the streak.

Ep 8: Honestly, Ironwood having a point aside, Yang got off easy. As far as everyone knows, she potentially maimed a downed student for no reason. Getting disqualified is like, a slap on the wrist by comparison. WAIT. STOP EVERYTHING. FUCKING FINALLY. ONE (1) ACTUALLY GOOD BUMBLEBEE MOMENT!!!!!!!!! UNHEARD OF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can see where Blake is coming from, Yang's reaction is pretty telling. Hell, Blake comparing Yang to Adam is a romantically charged parallel. (also some freezerburn fuel with Weiss refusing to even consider Yang was in the wrong but we'll skip that) The scene with team JNPR is aight. Pyrrha is thoughtful about the maiden stuff, Nora and Ren are comedic, it's all fine. Oh right I just remembered what I was going to say before: NONE OF THIS ACTUALLY HOLDS UP TO SCRUTINY BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE HAVE SUPERPOWERS. YANG MESSING UP LIKE THAT COULD BE EASILY EXPLAINED BY A SEMBLANCE. ESPECIALLY QROW WHO WAS THERE FOR THE EMBER ATTACK AND KNOWS SHIT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN AND THAT HIS NIECE WOULD NEVER DO THAT. I'll proceed to ignore the part of my brain that knows this moving forward. Honestly, the scene between Jaune/Pyrrha here may be one of the best written in the show. They allow it to breathe, the conversation feels real, the music's great, the atmosphere is heavy. I've had my grievances with the pairing, and I still do, but this scene does manage to sell me on the heartbreak that comes later. See, this is what I mean? Bunnygirl gives one (1) hint of the semblance thing to Ruby and she figures it out. How can super experienced teachers and shit not even consider it? "Didn't you say you were going to ignore-" shut up. As much as I really like the buildup to the final scene here, I have one teeny tiny little problem with Mercury stopping Ruby. Come on now, say it with me: YOU. HAVE. SUPER. SPEED. MERCURY SHOULD NO BE ABLE TO STOP YOU. YOU CAN LITERALLY JUST GO RIGHT THROUGH AND HE CAN'T CATCH UP.

On the Bees: WOOOOOOO CELEBRATION TIME WE GOT IT DUDES AND GALS EVERYONE CHEER. Is it enough to make me believe they're already in love and that they're on-route for a romantic development? No, not really, but fucking hell this is the first time this rewatch I've been like "yeah I can actually ship that."

Ep 9: Ozpin: sees what's about to go down Also Ozpin: Does fuckall about it RUBY DON'T FUCKING STAND AROUND YOU HAVE SUPER SPEED THIS GUY IS CLEARLY SUS JUST GO "Mercury caught her-" YEAH BUT SHE GAVE HIM TIME TO GET READY, FFS. Anyways at LEAST she tried ffs. The fight here is ok-ish. Lots of fast and fancy moves that are sometimes hard to parse, but not necessarily in the same fashion as Monty's style. Enjoyable nonetheless. Never quite understood why Pyrrha didn't stop using her semblance after deflecting the blades? Or did she really give them that much momentum? Anyways, it's a fine scene. I'd say it's less impactful knowing Penny comes back to life (and then they kill her again) but I enjoyed Penny's 2nd run so much more so I'm happy for it. The fallout of the whole th- WAIT A GODDAMN MOMENT THE EPISODE IS CALLED PVP BECAUSE IT'S PYRRHA VS PENNY I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL MYSELF anyways as I was saying the fallout of the whole scene is, in my opinion, a bit subdued? Until the actual fallout kicks off but I think there should have been a riot from like, second 5. And we don't even get to see how Ruby got past Mercury actually, do we? Jesus fuck. Cinder's speech is kind of… overdone? Like, you could probably cut it to half the length and have it be more impactful. Also this is a perfect example of the fact that nobody in RWBY should actually be alive. Like, in a worldbuilding sense, even with Ozpin and Maidens helping out, no society should be able to get to the level of any of the big cities. I can't believe they left Roman in a cage for half a volume and then he'll die having done basically nothing. What a fucking waste man he's so much fun.

On the Bees: Nothing. Will we have anything else before the big moment at the end? We better fucking do because otherwise it's nothing for 2 more volumes lmao

Ep10: Once again I am proven right in my assessment that everyone should get their aura unlocked, because then this shitshow would be a lot more survivable. Anyways monochrome here standing still amidst a stampede of Grimm is kind of… a wasted chance? They should've been fighting while talking. Aight the scene of the lockers raining down on the nevermore is quite good. So I understand the civilians, but aren't all of the people in uniforms hunters? Even if they're in training, I reckon there should be a lot more fighting. Blake: "they're shooting at us! Lie on the ground without cover, that'll make them miss us for some reason!" And it works. Using the locker to fly is pretty smart! And we've seen Jaune being thrown in one before so it's not unbelievable- Wait actually why don't students do that more often. BLAKE, WEISS, NEVER SPLIT THE FUCKING PARTY. "My darling." Clearly nothing ever happened between Adam and Blake. OZPIN GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO HELP YOU LAZY FUCK DON'T JUST STARE OUT THE DAMN WINDOW I love the dragon grimm, but if you know me, you know I just love dragons in general.

On the Bees: Great episode for Monochrome actually.

Ep11: Did Neo just flirt with Ruby? Like, come on. I've seen people insist Adam and Blake had nothing going on but all of these "my love" don't seem quite one-sided. Blake doesn't refute them. So, Velvet's ability is really fucking cool, and building a weapon that can take advantage of that is also really cool. If you know me, you know 'copying abilities' is pretty much my 2nd favorite superpower (behind superspeed), so I tend to use it a lot in TTRPG campaigns and such. Hell, I have a RWBY OC with the ability to copy semblances (One at a time, doesn't come with inherent understanding, it's quite underpowered as far as copy abilites go). So yeah, believe me when I say I think this is pretty cool. On the other hand, we have almost no investment in these characters, and I think it woudl've been cooler if her box mechanically transformed into these weapons rather than projecting them. It would also bypass the whole "one use only" deal. And Weiss finally using the knight feels quite nice. Well, only an arm. Don't remember when she summons the whole thing. End of V4, methinks? "It's not what I have to gain, it's what I can't afford to lose". Roman having the rawest fucking lines again and he's about to die this is so fucking sad man. Anyways does it really feel like Roman would work for these people just cuz he's scared? Idk he seems more like the kind to try to get profit off the end of the world. Let's be honests: Roman's death was a clear case of "we can justifiably bring him back if we want to". Just have the destruction of the ship kill the grim that ate him, while at the same time the body protected him from the explosion. Which they should have done because he's by far the most charismatic antagonist the show has had up to this point. For being the first time Qrow uses his scythe, it's quite confusing. He could have 100% done that with the sword. Ok, second big Bees moment! Lemme talk about it in the bees segment. JAUNE, YOU HAD ONE JOB. SEE? WE HAVEN'T SEEN YANG TAKE DAMAGE, HOW HAS SHE ACTIVATED HER SEMBLANCE? Jesus fucking christ have some consistency guys please. Yellow blood? Really guys? I mean I get she's yellow but that's kind of taking me out of it lmao. No Ozpin you don't get to be badass you were sitting around doing jackshit for too long, this is 100% your fault. Anyways, episode full of stuff. First real Salem foreshadowing.

On the Bees: Adam says "I'll destroy everything you love" and yang shows up. Is this shippy? Sure, I can give you that. Was it made with /that/ intent? Allow me to be quite clear: I doubt so. Thematically, it's just supposedly the person closest to Blake, her direct partner. Again, in 3 seasons so far, the show has done absolutely nothing to make me believe they give a shit about representation. Plenty of explicit hetshit going on, but not a single queer person making a clear appearance. So yeah, allow me to cast my doubts.

12: woo magic fight Oh these teachers are alive. Don't remember seeing htem in future volumes so I thought they dead. HANDHOLDING WHITE ROSE CONFIRMED NO MATTER HOW HARD THE WRITERS TRY NOT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. "WE WILL FIND THEM" GAYASS See, Pyrrha was actually going to survive, the problem is that she inadvertedly set off the final Death Flag, 'kiss before an important moment', which usually isn't lethal on its own but can be when you already have more of them. SMH. The fight is badass. Maybe the gears move could have used a bit more, uh, actual using, rather than the usual "pile everything on top of her" thing. But yeah it's pretty good. And of course, Pyrrha's death. It's quite painful, really. Not too shocking but a good scene overall. Do I believe the show could have been more interesting should they have kept her alive? Yes, probably. Silver eyes! The one piece of foreshadowing I can actually believe. For once, someone infodumping the current situation makes sense. Infodumping about silver eyes which won't actually become relevant again for another 3 seasons. Sisterly reunion is alright. All this infodumping is a bit much imo, would rather have some other scene in the middle. Wow Weiss you and Ruby both have PNG dads, you have so much in common. Anyways yeah salem another actual piece of foreshadowing well done. She looked much cooler in this engine too.

On the Bees: Blake runs away from how guilty she feels towards the whole Yang thing, and Yang is clearly hurt. It's a good basis for some angst and yearning that they ABSOLUTELY squander in vol6.

Anyways yeah that's the season! Honeslty having split it down hte middle I don't feel like I can quite make a judgement on whether I enjoyed it more or less than previous ones, but it is overall better written. too bad we're now going into 2 of hte worst volumes of the show if memory serves me right.

Oh, and surprisingly enough, methinks Pyrrha finally passed the bechdel test. Third time's the charm, eh?

Now, for short things:

WoR "Aura": I've never been a fan of the aura/semblance thing. Aura and semblances are fine but this show just isn't very interested in actually exploring what a world with these abilities would feel like. They do a fine job of establishing dust-tech, but nothing regarding semblances? As stated during I think my V1 notes: You should be doing everything to unlock Auras and find useful semblances amidst the population. What if someone has a semblance that just lets them create food or water? or stuff like that. There are no rules attached to semblances other than "manifestation of the soul."

WoR "Vytal Festival Tournament": Oh, wait, were these meant to be seen before V3? or during V2? Whoops. Once again I am forced to ask about the viability of war in Remnant. Its logistics. With Grimm… it just doesn't feel plausible. Anyways this short seems mostly here just to explain Amity colloseum. Which like, fine, it can exist.

WoR "Huntsmen": Why was hunting only a profession after the war thing? Didn't people need to protect themselves from Grimm before? Surely there were already people doing that by then. Wait, what do you mean "now defunct mantle"? I mean it's not the best place to live but it was hardly dead.

WoR "CCTS": One tower going down meaning all towers go down is, in all honesty, incredibly fucking poor design. I get it goes with the themes but you can't tell me they figured out the tech without also figuring out how to isolate towers so that htem falling wouldn't collapse the others. Other than that, it's just a lengthy explanation for "we invented the internet."

WoR "Four Maidens": Nice animation and all, but this could have easily been a world of remnant for s1—except this story didn't exist back then, of course. Neither did the maidens. Other than that, it's quite the boring fairy tale, aint gonna lie. Not much going on, the show's version of it was better simply because it let you imagine what the actual story was. ANWYAYS SEE WHAT I MEAN? THIS THING IMPLIES THE MAIDENS HAD ELEMENTAL POWERS UNIQUE TO THEM. Ugh still angry about that. Way to make maidens indistinguishable from each other.

There's the 4 kingdom WoRs but I'm gonna be honest with you fam, dunno if I actually care to watch them. If I do I'll include them in the v4 notes.

[alpinelogy]

Started following you after reading your Ferrari chalex fic

Any kinda lore/director’s cut about the chalex time travel Ferrari fic

tell me why u follow me on/off anon (& backstory on my fics)

[rises from the dead two months later] HELLO, now entering a world my beloved. Ferrari chalex you will forever be famous

Rambling under the cut o7, heads up for spoilers

God where do I begin

First of all, this was posted post-chapter 4 but it is still a wonderful silly little rant on the story and my thoughts into it. By then I had the rest of the fic figured out and I was really just setting up the future plot points 🙂‍↕️

However, heres is some random rambling on the fic because I have so many thoughts:

I started working on the fic last January, and initially I was hesitant if I even wanted to go on with this, I had just finished writing we found wonderland (you and i got lost in it) few months earlier and in that one the ghost of Max Verstappen too somewhat haunts the narrative and I hate repetition. Then Kiro my beloved asked me to do some writing sprints with her one afternoon and I wrote about 5k of mildly disconnected scenes and I was dedicated to the bit since then

Also initally, this was meant to be either a three or four chapters long fic, clocking in at some odd 24k - 40k. Already a massive range (3 - 4 chapters, each 8k - 10k), but nowehere near the final 51k I ended up at

Please perceive my spreadsheet of plans. Obviously that ended up deviating and I discarded the three chapter option before I even outlined this but some extra things I wanna note:

All options open with the second loop/first time he goes back. I tried to start with the first loop but I could never get it to work. At the end of the day, we all know how roughly the race week works, what is the point in me writing a series of shite but otherwise average race weeks

Yes the first Charles is acting weird loop is in spirit loop 16. I like my number symbolisms even if they have zero mention of the actual fic. Tho also perceive that no plan the idea was for chapter 3 to be loops 5 - 16. Chapter 2 really ran away from me

Congrats to chapter 4 for sticking to the plan. Loops 17 through 22, exactly as it should be 🙂‍↕️

Now as for chapter 5... yeah, that chapters loop was supposed to be the final one. It was actually the plan until like... a week before I posted that chapter, and then I decided to go back and fix my pacing. Therefore while it is not relevant, Alex gets sent back to Bahrain a grand total of 23 times/goes through the first three races 24 times

With each loop being 24 days with a handful of exceptions, if we round down to 21 days that means Alex spent ~500 days in the timeloop. Thats more than a year. Fun!!

Hey what caused the loop? Well thats for me to know and for you to find out in wolves standing (towards the enemies) coming... well I wanted to post the first part on Dec 1st but I fear that is not happening. Burnout is a bitch

Ngl took me a while to figure out what exactly is the way out of the loop. Never let anyone tell you you cannot treat your silly little fanfiction with the same importance as original fiction, I wanted to have a point to the loop, a meaning and I eventually got it; letting people in and trusting that they will not betray you

Charles and Max are significantly more important to the narrative than it may seem. At the end of the day the fic in a way is about the treatment of teammates, and how Alex had to learn that his RBR experience is not universal. Did I have to put him into a timeloop? Yes. Yes I did

Hey why did Charles know about the timeloops? Did he know about the timeloops? What is going on with Charles? That's for me to know and for you to find out in wolves standing. That one is Charles' POV, you get to figure out everything with him there. That being said, subconsciously, Madoka Magica had a lot of impact on the plot and minutia of the timeloop possibly. Make of that what you will

Funnily enough however, initially Charles played a minor role at best. He was meant to haunt the narrative like Max does, not be fully involved and pulling the strings in the background like he actually ends up doing

Last one little silly fact; the fic was almost named wolves standing (towards the enemies). Ended up gong with now entering a world (from which you will never return) but as obvious that original name got stuck and I am using it for the (unplanned) sequel

Anyway I am definitely forgetting something but this is all that I could think of, sorry that it took me so long anon, hopefully you are still here <3

Finally, I will leave you with my favorite line from the fic, coincidentally one of the lines that solidified it for me that i want to write the entire fic

"It is not a declaration of love. It is the closest Alex will ever be to declaring just how much he cares about Charles as long as he is repeating the same three weeks. It is an admittance that he has lost the battle long before it even started. But maybe that was the point, maybe he has to lose the battle, position his troops wrong so that Charles’ cavalry can trample them, to win the war. To be forced to have Charles as his ally rather than his enemy." now entering a world (from which you will never return) chapter 6

One of my favourite things I've ever written, period. I regularly think of this line

As well as the links to the song that gave the fic its name, a remix of it that I listened to a lot when I was writing it, and the song that gave the sequel its name

[3416]

Leafs vs Rangers | 4.13.23

[krypticcafe]

Happy Super Late Valentines </3

rating: PG-13/teen

pairing: harry warden/the miner x gn!reader

warning(s): reader had a boyfriend, brief mention of cheating, small mentions of blood, violence, and gore, and harry being scary, for j u s t a bit.

synopsis: you had a shitty valentines day, and harry comes to pick up the leftovers.

a/n: okay, I haven't written fanfic in years, so please excuse me if this comes off as an uber corny dumpster fire. I'm just trying to have fun :'))))

So what if it's Valentine's Day?

So what if you wanted to spend a peaceful time with your boyfriend at home with some baked cookies?

So what if you accidentally burnt those cookies?

So what if you were so paranoid that it felt like someone was watching you the entire time?

So what if your boyfriend pushed asked you to go with him and his friends in some spooky abandoned mineshaft?

So what if you were surrounded by couples making out in a cramped, dark, and cold nooks and crannies and one of them happened to be your best friend and your now ex-boyfriend?

So what if you lashed out, dumped him, stormed out of the cave only to get more lost due to the heat of your anger?

It's fine. It's whatever. Could be worse.

Or at least that's what you told yourself to cope with the shredding of your heart and the burning tears.

Oooooh, but that bastard! The audacity to cheat on you, with her of all people! And he was such an idiot to do so after inviting you to come! Did he not think for a fraction of a second that he'd get caught? Or did all the blood in his brain just go to his dic-

God, what were you thinking, coming here with those guys, giving him the time of day?

Looking back on things, you realized you dodged not a bullet, but a whole missile. But did it reslly have to be on Valentines Day of all days? The world really is just that cruel.

And it was about to get even more cruel.

Screams, maybe half a dozen of them, echoed and bounced off the walls of the cave, finding their way to you. At first, you assumed the group was messing with each other. Either way, you could care less.

Then they started growing more frequent and louder, and you scowled.

'In here after that fiasco? Really? Christ, I'm never going out with any of them ever aga-'

Then you heard a blood-curdling scream. Suddenly, you started to prefer the possibility of what you originally thought they were doing.

Your head whipped to the tunnel left of you as you heard a scream far too familiar, and your body began to curl in on itself as you sat in a ball in the corner.

Footsteps began beating from the same corridor where the scream originated.

Anticipating the worst, you wiped the blur from your eyes, took a deep breath, and braced your hand over a nearby stone that you deemed good enough to buy you some time.

The footsteps grew louder, but remained at a painstakingly steady pace, as if to tease your demise. There was a loud thunk! before the screech of metal scraping rock pierced your ears. You were half expecting to see the grim reaper at this point.

Instead, you were greeted with someone else who might as well be the same person. They were tall, broad, and clad in nothing but a full set of miner's gear. Not a single speck of skin peeked past any part of their clothing, and their mask even managed to hide their eyes behind the dark lens. With what little brightness there was provided by the dim cave lights, you just barely noticed the glistening of the blood on their uniform and the way it dripped down the tip of their pickaxe.

You recognized him as the man from the town's local urban legend. It always seemed cheesy and way too cliche to you but here you were, face to face with the man, the myth himself. Would he make you another one of his victims tonight? Would your death become just another story told at the campfire? The thought made your stomach turn.

The two of you stayed in silence, your hand still gripping the stone while you stared at the miner, searching for any movement that suggesting that you'd be the next one to eat metal. But all you could see was the way his chest heaved, rising and falling from what you understood as the cause of all those screams from earlier.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Clank!

To your surprise, he set down his pickaxe and approached you, kneeling down to your curled form. His head tilted slightly, as if to get a better look at you. A part of you wished you could see his eyes, wondered where he stared, why he stared. As embarrassing as it is to admit, you froze like a deer in headlights, squeezing your eyes shut when he lifted a hand and-

... wiped a tear on your cheek.

You didn't even remember the stone until he pried it from your hand and interlaced your fingers with his, pulling you up with him and into his embrace as he lightly petted your head.

Was he... comforting you?

It would've worked well if uh, he didn't reek of blood and dust.

Staying still as if your life depended on it (it probably did), you let him do as he pleased.

He pulled away from you but kept a gentle grip on your hand, nodding his head in the direction of the tunnels. You couldn't be bothered to question anything anymore, shock was the only thing that kept the fatigue from catching up.

He led you down countless tunnels and caverns, passing by bodies mangled beyond recognition, except for one. You were pretty sure that one was the cretin.

The entire time, the hold his hand had on yours was nothing short of soft and comforting, it almost warmed your heart. Almost.

Eventually, you found where he was taking you, back to the entrance of the mineshaft. He let go of your hand and urged you to the opening. Hesitantly stepping forward, you paused and looked back. He still stood there, though less menacing than he was before despite all the blood and dirt caked on him.

"I- uh... thank you."

Your voice was shaky from processing the events of the past few hours and you had no requirement to thank him, but you felt like you'd regret it if you didn't. The sentiment came across, and he nodded, reaching up again to trace a thumb on your cheek before giving it an affectionate pinch. You watched as he turned and left back into the abyss of the mines, disappearing into the cavern.

It was still dark outside, but you knew the way back from here. You were no longer shaking, nor seething, and the walk back home was oddly peaceful for it being so late in the night.

So what if you might want to see him again?

Bonus

The next morning, you woke up with your eyes feeling raw and your feet sore, but work calls and you had to get up nonetheless.

Nursing a cup of coffee, you checked your door for any mail, instead finding a bright red, heart-shaped box at your doorstep. Fortunately, it didn't contain any beating human heart as the urban legends told, but interestingly enough, a single wild rose and a card.

"Happy Valentines, won't you be mine? - Harry"

[unpopularbunny]

This lowkey been a long time coming if I’m being honest. I am also a massive fucking hypocrite because I will avoid Baku/kiri/reader fics but this??? This right here??? 🙇‍♀️ I’m on the floor baby. (Ngl this has like a pinch of body shaming in it, just wanna preface by saying I do not hate any specific group of people based on any physical trait they may have. I just want more love for big girlies.)

Pairing: chifuyu/reader/baji

You already know: reader is a fat girl!!!!! everyone’s an adult, no set timeline, fuck it we ball 🏀, paranormal slutivity, your fave mans is a whore, public shenanigans, reader lowkey under the influence but there’s no dub/noncon, no beta reader again so if u point out any flaws ur being mean to me and if ur mean to me I’ll die, reblogs make u SO big brained 🗿🗿

Minors: ur mama know what you doin? I’m telling 💥

A/n: I’ll add a readmore when i get home and can make sure tumblr wont eat my post when I do.

🌹🌷🌹

you just wanted to be different for once. To ignore years of mass media telling you how to dress, to feel wild and FREE. you wanted tight revealing clothes and makeup all over your face, you wanted men to jaw drop and double take at the sight of your hips swaying.

This fantasy never got far and you never predicted you’d end up between two friends who always shared in the name of brotherly camaraderie.

Leeeets take it back about a week.

You weren’t by any means conservative in your day by day fashion, you just didn’t dress how you truly wanted to. You were always worried about the stares you’d get, stares that dared to ask ‘does she know she’s embarrassing herself?’. As time went on the urge to free yourself from the confines of stretchy jeans and sweaters was too much to ignore any longer. All it took was one night of drinking at home for you to blow nearly half a paycheck on clothes that were one inch away from getting you in legal trouble. You felt justified in this, it was your turn damnit!!! You were tired of hours doom scrolling on your phone and watching all the pretty skinny girls be drowned in affection, you wanted to make people notice you. You wanted to make men think about you as you walked passed, you deserved attention and people to fawn over you.

Needless to say, the next day you realized how fucking delusional your thinking was the night before.

You nursed a headache all through the day and when you got home you were greeted by your roommate in the livingroom looking like the cat that caught the mouse. Next to her on the couch was a plastic package, she shook it at you wiggling her eyebrows and you snatched it from her before she could even ask and shuffled to your room. You could hear her cackling. It’s not like you had any kind of bad blood with your roommate, you two were actually childhood friends, you just didn’t want anyone to see your secrets.

You showered and stood in your room, staring at the package on your bed before deciding fuck it and ripping it open. You couldn’t even remember what all you ordered anyway. Most of the articles of clothing were black, save for some racy sets of underwear you thought looked cute. You refused to believe any of it could fit you, it seemed so….small. There was no way in hell you were going to give up now though, you spent all that fucking money so there was no reason not to try the clothes on.

A mistake really.

They fit you far too good.

Sure, it was tight, but not uncomfortably so, in fact the tightness felt comforting in a way? The tops hugged your curves and even though your tummy peaked out at the bottom, you thought it looked cute in a way. The skirts wouldn’t stay down, rolling up your ass when you paced your room, you’d definitely have to wear a jacket with those. The pants needed belts, your waist to hip ratio was too different for them to stay up. They felt tigh and constricting on your hips and thighs, but there was plenty of waist room. After posing a bit in your mirror you sort of lost yourself for a bit. Falling in love with your curves and admiring how your body had so many wonderful attributes.

You almost screamed when someone’s knocked on the door.

You failed to lock it and it was your downfall.

Your roommate was all gasps and awes’ at your state. She paced around you like a tiger and assaulted you with compliments, no matter how you tried to shush her and make excuses, she wouldn’t hear it. She made you re-try on all the clothes so she could see them all. It felt like you were back to school shopping with your mom, except this time she wasn’t forcing you into bullshit khakis and polos. It actually turned into a bunch of fun as she gave you tips for accessorizing and hair styling.

When all was calmed down and you two were on the couch she took your weakness and vulnerability as a chance to strike like the snake she is.

She insisted you two go out this weekend!

You couldn’t even shoot her down, she had just spent the last hour boosting your ego and self esteem that you mumbled out a small ‘I guess’. She clapped her hands in glee and started firing off names of bars and clubs and she got the same responses from you every time ‘you pick’ and ‘I’ve never been there before.’ The most you told her is that you wanted to go somewhere you wouldn’t be recognized by coworkers or other friends and colleagues.

She just threw her head back and laughed, saying that you wouldn’t be recognizable with those clothes on anyway.

You couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid about what she had in store for you.

🌹 🌷 🌹

The week went by too fast for your liking and every time you tried to back out of the plans you were strongarmed by your roommate. She wasn’t going to let you go that easy. When Saturday arrived you tried avoiding her, but she was more determined than you’ve ever seen her.

You gave in and let her do with you as she pleased.

She picked out your outfit from the new clothes you bought and dug around your closet for some platforms you’d bought years ago but never worn (amazingly they still fit regardless of your calves.). She styled your hair and even did your makeup (you still got to pick the colors (: ), you felt like a sacrifice being painted up before the ritual.

How close to this assumption you were.

The club she dragged you two was some hole in the wall in shibuya with low lights and loud music. You were sweating before you even went in and it was only hotter once you two were inside. You could feel the bass shoot through your entire body and you felt so nervous and couldn’t look anywhere but the floor. Your friend ordered you both a few drinks, or rather ‘liquid courage’ she dubbed it. You were thankful for it, seeing as after a few drinks you felt much more comfortable in your skin than before. Your friend excused herself to the bathroom and you smiled and waved her off as she went, taking a few more sips of whatever new fruit concoction was in front of you.

After a few moments you were occupied on both sides by two new people. You glanced to your right and had to look up to see the man, Jesus Christ, even with platforms on he still had a few inches on you. He had long silky black hair, brown eyes, and a smile so sinister you would normally feel scared. You smiled right back and when you glanced to your left you were a few inches taller than other man. This man had short cut black hair, the cutest green eyes you’d ever seen, and ear piercings. Speaking of ears, the tips of his seemed to be tinted a little….pink?

You weren’t sure what to do now that men approached you first so you went back to looking down at your drink and sipping at it. You were a little hunched over and caught bits and pieces of the men having a conversation over your head. ‘You like this one?’ ‘Baji don’t objectify women like that, its kinda gross.’ ‘I’m just trying to help is all’ His laugh caught you off guard and you jumped.

“Eh? What’s wrong girlie? Did we scare you?” You glanced to your right and..baji? Was leaning down into your personal space. When you leaned back you were leaning into his friend, who didn’t exactly seem to hate your body pressing into his.

“No- you’re just a little…close is all” you were surprised anyone could hear you over the music.

“C’mon baji let’s le-“ baji waved his hand and chifuyu stopped.

“Wanna dance with us?” He was pressing himself against your side, his hand gliding up your thigh towards your hips. He laughed at the confused face you responded with, “yeah girlie, both of us, unless that ain’t your type thing. I just assumed on account of how you dressin and all.” You couldn’t tell if your face was hot from being drunk or the embarrassment.

You should feel outraged at the fact that he assumed you were a loose woman but…..was that such a bad thing? You wanted to feel desired, you wanted to be lusted after, and it was happening. He wasn’t using force, in fact his hand was merely resting at the small of your back rubbing small circles. You were still in a public place so it’s not as if he could do anything to you, you didn’t dress up to weigh the pros and cons. You downed the rest of your fruity drink and nodded, relinquishing yourself to whatever ungodly fate awaited you.

“Atta girl,” He took one hand while his friend took your other and gently led you away from the bar, “we’re gonna have so much fun with you tonight sweetie.” It was like micro-dosing danger. Every smile and laugh having some sinister undertone.

But god was it fun.

🌹 🌷 🌹

You got the hang of dancing in clubs a few years ago, it wasn’t hard, it didn’t take any special skill. You just needed to know what to do with your hips and hands.

Which you were currently struggling to do.

You’d danced with other men before, but mostly one at a time, never quite….like this.

You had your back against baji, his hands were on your hips to guide you. He was guiding you to sway against him, every so often pressing his hardon against your ass. one of your arms were up and behind you, wrapped around his neck to keep him close. Your other arm was front of you, draped over the shoulder of his more reserved friend (who you still had to get a name from), whom was doing things that contradicted the cool demeanor he gave off. He was pressed as close as he could be, his pelvis pushed against yours so you got a good idea of the fun he was having. Even if he didn’t do the best job of showing it. He was so close his nose would brush yours every so often and you expected him to kiss, but he didn’t. His hands were at your waist, holding a little tighter than expected, as if he were giving your exposed flesh squeezes here and there.

Something about this felt so shamelessly erotic.

You were so wrapped up that you didn’t give a thought to your friend who had gone to the bathroom, she probably had seen you by now and didn’t want to interrupt. You felt so transfixed on the green eyes infront of you and the hands sliding down your waist to your thighs and pulling up the edges of your skirt-

“Shhh don’t make a scene-“ you had seized up but Baji’s guiding hands kept you moving, “you like this don’t you?” It was his friend, his voice was much firmer, “That’s why you’re here, like this, between us. You want it.” His hand was under your skirt and sliding up up up. So fucking slow that you shifted just to get his hand between your legs faster. Just as his fingers brushed the forming wet spot on your panties, you could hear baji laugh against your neck on the other side of you.

“How the fuck are you so good at spotting the good ones chifuyu” was that his name? A man had his fingers pressed against your clit and you’re just now learning his name?

“Eh? What do you mean so good?” He shot back, his hand was in your panties, rubbing and petting at your clit while having a normal conversation as if you weren’t between them.

“Look at her!” You moaned and grinded against chifuyus hand, doing your best to make them focus on you again, “Perfect size to split between us and such a cute cheeks!” One of baji’s hands came up and pinched your cheek for emphasis.

“Do you honestly believe that every decision i make is backed by some deep analysis?” He laughed, “I guessed!” You arched as two fingers slid inside of you and curled, any noise you made was cut off by chifuyu kissing you. His kiss was desperate. The fingers inside you moved, slowly and carefully- god his tongue was inside your mouth now and you were suffocating but your head was absolutely floating. It was just so hard to keep focus on your surroundings. So many sensations- you could feel slick beginning to coat your thighs as his hand moved faster and you got sloppier. When he pulled away your lipstick was smeared on his mouth and there was a hazy look in his eyes. He buried his face against your neck on one side and baji was on the other. Chifuyu hand was between your legs and one of bajis hands had found it’s way under your shirt and was giving your nipple an unforgiving pull and twist. You three were pressed so close together that no one could really figure out what was happening, not that anyone was going to stop it.

They owned the bar after all.

Chifuyu tilted his hand and when his thumb brushed your clit your legs wobbled and baji had to focus on keeping you upright against him. Chifuyu smiled and laughed, the first you’d seen tonight, and you felt embarassed all over again.

“Hey! Don’t go falling apart on us sweet heart, we aren’t even close to being done with you yet.” Baji was encouraging you and the whine you let out only encouraged him tenfold.

Rather than fight against the waves and risk drowning, you went with the flow and closed your eyes and relaxed into them. You’d never had such a lavish experience of having two pretty boys give you attention like this. It was way past overstimulating but not in a bad way, you’d worry about that in the morning. Right now you your moans were escalating with the music. When said music began to dip but your voice didn’t follow suit, one of bajis hands wrapped tightly around your mouth while chifuyu increased pace.

“Thaaats it,” chifuyu whispered into your neck, “Make a mess for me.”

“You might wanna hold on tight girlie,” Baji mocked, “He overachieves.” You moved your arms so both of them were wrapped around chifuyu.

You had never been more thankful for loud ass music more than now. Had it not been for whatever club mix was on, everyone would hear the sloppy wet lewd noises of the three fingers that were buried inside of you. Any words or pleas you voiced were muffled and baji took on the sole responsibility of holding you up while chifuyu gladly drove you to climax.

They were both so goddamn obscene in their own right. Not only did they casually whisper conversation to eachother about all the wonderful things you three could get up to together, but they each had individual plans for you. Baji wanted to try having you all to himself for a day to see what other kinds of clothes he could put you in and then rip off of you. Chifuyu mentioned something about ‘giving support’ under his desk while he had stressful days at work. Baji definitely agreed with that and had the fucking drive to ask what you felt like inside.

“Inside? Like heaven.” Chifuyu made it sound like a sin, “She’s so slippery and soft.” Stop stop stop! “What about her mouth?” As if on unspoken command, baji shoved two fingers right into your mouth and pet at your tongue. You drooled so easily and licked without hesitation.

“She’s already drooling,” He shoved his fingers deeper, he did it so fast you gaged and coughed, “Gag reflex? We can fix that sweetheart.” Danger alarms began to fire off in your head, unfortunately they went ignored in lieu of the heat in your lower stomach. You were so close and desperate you just let them carry on, anything to keep the fingers inside of you.

Your whole body seized up when you came and you were truly astonished you didn’t blackout completely. They laughed in amazement at the sight of your eyes rolling back and the way you arched. You were putty in their hands, laying limp back against baji but still holding onto chifuyu.

Maybe going out wasn’t such a bad idea after all.