#again: this is all just clever hans

[icanimagine08]

Whipped

Summary: Yoon Jeonghan gets teased by the rest of seventeen for being whipped for his girl.

Warnings: none! Just Fluff.

Word Count: 773

I couldn't wait to post so here is another Yoon Jeonghan fic. Hope you guys enjoy this! and if you have any requests for any other members/people/characters feel free to request/ask me anything and I'll see what I can do! Happy reading! :)

Yoon Jeonghan of Seventeen wasn’t usually the type to wear his heart on his sleeve—at least, not when it came to romance. He was clever, always a step ahead, and had a teasing streak as wide as the Han River. But since he started dating you six months ago, Jeonghan’s members had noticed a... shift.

And they were having the time of their lives teasing him about it.

It started during a lazy afternoon at the dorm. The group had finished their schedules for the day, and the members were sprawled across the living room, half-watching a drama on TV. Jeonghan, who usually dominated conversations with his witty comebacks, was unusually quiet. His phone was in his hand, and he was smiling at the screen in a way that made the others take notice.

"Oh, would you look at that," Seungkwan said, his voice laced with mock surprise. "Our Hannie hyung is smiling. At his phone. Again."

Minghao leaned over from the couch, trying to catch a glimpse of Jeonghan's screen. "Is it her?"

Jeonghan’s smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced with an annoyed pout. He locked his phone and turned it face down on the table. "Mind your own business, Minghao."

But the damage was done. The members perked up, sensing an opportunity to torment their usually unflappable hyung.

"Oh, it’s definitely her," Joshua chimed in, grinning. "Jeonghan only smiles like that when it’s about her."

"What did she say?" Woozi asked, though the slight upward tilt of his lips gave away that he was more amused than genuinely curious.

"Nothing," Jeonghan mumbled, slumping into the couch like he could disappear into the cushions.

"Nothing?" Vernon repeated, his eyebrows shooting up. "You were practically giggling."

"I don’t giggle," Jeonghan shot back, but the redness creeping up his neck betrayed him.

"Sure, sure," Seungkwan said, waving him off. "Hyung, we all know you’re whipped. Just admit it."

"I am not whipped," Jeonghan insisted, but his voice lacked its usual conviction.

"You absolutely are," Mingyu said, chuckling. "Remember last week when you asked the manager if you could get off early so you could take her to that café she likes?"

"That’s called being a good boyfriend," Jeonghan retorted, sitting up straighter. "Maybe you should take notes, Mingyu."

"A good boyfriend who’s whipped," Dino added, earning a high-five from Seungkwan.

Jeonghan groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I regret introducing you all to her."

That wasn’t true, and they all knew it. From the moment you and Jeonghan had made your relationship official, the members had been nothing but supportive. They’d even gone so far as to declare you "the perfect match" for their mischievous angel, as you somehow managed to keep up with Jeonghan’s antics while also bringing out his softer side. But their enthusiasm also meant they saw every little way Jeonghan’s walls had come down, and they weren’t going to let him live it down.

"You’re so good for him," Seungkwan had told you during a group dinner a month ago, while Jeonghan had gone to get drinks. "It’s like you’re his kryptonite. He’s so soft for you."

Now, as Jeonghan endured their teasing, he couldn’t help but think of you and the way you’d probably laugh if you saw this. You’d tell him he deserved it, and honestly, he’d have to agree.

"Alright, that’s enough," Jeonghan said, trying to regain some semblance of control. "Yes, I’m dating someone amazing. Yes, I like doing nice things for her. Can we move on now?"

"Not yet," Seungkwan said, leaning forward with a sly grin. "Hyung, did you text her goodnight last night?"

"Of course I did," Jeonghan replied, without thinking.

"Aha!" Seungkwan pointed dramatically. "See? Whipped!"

The room erupted in laughter, and even Jeonghan couldn’t help but chuckle. He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips despite himself.

"You’re all children," he muttered, but his tone was fond.

Later that evening, when the teasing had finally died down and the members had dispersed, Jeonghan found himself back on the couch, phone in hand. He opened your chat and started typing.

Jeonghan: Remind me why I put up with them again?

Your reply came almost instantly.

YN: Because they love you. And they’re right, you are kinda whipped.

Jeonghan groaned, but he couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face. He typed back quickly.

Jeonghan: You’re lucky I love you.

YN: I know. ;)

Jeonghan set his phone down, leaning back against the couch, he closed his eyes with a content smile. If his members wanted to play, they’d better be ready for Jeonghan to play back

[tinytinyblogs]

Why not? Just move in with me darling!

The moment they realize you're not where you belong

Hyung line, Maknae line

💬 Update again life’s been such a rollercoaster lately, with so many ups and downs. But through it all, I hope whoever’s reading this is having a good day. Sending you the warmest virtual hug! ❤️

Stray Kids Masterlist 1.0 & 2.0

Your insights and reactions make these posts come alive. Love reblogs, comments, and all the good vibes welcome ✨

Han

Han's cheerful demeanor disappeared the moment you refused his offer. His usual bright eyes dulled instantly, replaced by something far more wounded—something far more dangerous. “You don’t love me enough, do you?” he asked, voice low, almost broken. You tried to explain, to make him understand, but he wasn't listening. In Han’s mind, love meant saying yes without hesitation, without conditions. And if you truly loved him, you would have agreed to move in without a second thought. That night changed everything. Gone was the playful, light-hearted boy you thought you knew. In his place was someone colder, someone who didn’t bother hiding his resentment. Slowly, without you even realizing at first, Han began isolating you from everyone you cared about. He called your friends bad influences, claimed they didn’t truly have your best interests at heart. When you tried to defend them, to stand up for the people who had been with you long before him, he didn’t argue. He simply stared through you, as if your words didn’t matter. Because to him, they didn’t. Bit by bit, he chipped away at your world until the only safe place left was him. The scariest part was how natural he made it all seem. He masked his manipulation behind smiles, behind sweet words, behind concern that seemed genuine.

He wasn’t cruel outright he was clever. Calculated. When isolation wasn’t enough, he escalated. Suddenly, Han grew sick. Or so he claimed. At first, it was minor headaches, fevers, dizziness. Enough to make you worry, to make you drop your plans to be by his side. Then came the injuries. A twisted ankle. A fall down the stairs. Incidents that always happened when you mentioned leaving, always just serious enough to make you stay a little longer. You knew, deep down, something wasn’t right. But every time you tried to pull away, he would look at you with wide, pleading eyes, as if his entire existence depended on your choice. One evening, as you sat by his bedside, wiping a cool cloth over his forehead after he claimed another fever, he reached for your hand. His grip was weak, trembling, but unrelenting. “Stay,” he whispered, voice cracking with emotion. His thumb brushed over your knuckles in a desperate, shaking rhythm. “Because I can’t… If you go, I don’t think I’ll survive.” The words burrowed deep inside you, heavy and suffocating. How could you walk away from him now, when he looked so broken, so fragile? How could you live with yourself if something happened to him? And that was exactly what Han wanted. Not your love freely given but your love trapped by guilt.

Felix

At first, it seemed like he accepted it. When you told him you didn’t want to move in with him, his bright smile faltered, dimming like a light being slowly snuffed out. His eyes glazed over with something close to quiet distress, and for a moment, you almost regretted your decision. Almost. “Okay,” he said in a low, flat voice, the sound so soft it barely reached your ears. It wasn’t angry or pleading. It was... disappointed. But more than that, it felt final, like he had heard you and accepted it. You wanted to believe that. You needed to believe that. But you were wrong. The next day, you came home from work, exhausted and ready to collapse into bed only to find the door to your apartment unlocked. Panic spiked in your chest as you rushed inside, only to be met with a sight that made your stomach churn. He was there. In the middle of your living room, wearing that same bright, sunny smile you thought you had crushed just yesterday. Except now, it didn’t feel sweet it felt wrong. All around him were boxes. His boxes. His clothes. His books. His life. unpacking into yours. You stood frozen, watching him hum to himself as he arranged his things neatly around your apartment like he belonged there, like he always had.

When he finally noticed you, he didn’t look guilty. He didn’t look apologetic. He looked happy. “Finally,” he said with a grin that lit up his whole face. He dropped a stack of books onto your coffee table like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Since you didn’t want to move in with me,” he continued, stepping closer to you, “I decided to make it simple.” You opened your mouth, but no words came out. He didn’t seem to mind. He closed the distance between you, his hands brushing your arms in a touch that should have felt comforting but instead made your skin crawl. His smile softened just enough to send a shiver down your spine. “I moved into your apartment instead,” he said, as if it was the most obvious, reasonable thing in the world. His voice was full of affection, the kind of devotion that could suffocate. “Well, after all,” he whispered, his forehead nearly touching yours now, “you should be near me, shouldn’t you, sweetheart?” You could feel the walls closing in, feel the invisible cage snapping shut around you. Because deep down, you knew this wasn’t a compromise. This wasn’t love. This was ownership. And you had just become his favorite possession.

Seungmin

Seungmin raises an eyebrow, his expression unreadable, voice calm eerily so. “That’s not the right answer,” he says, as if he had already predicted your response but was quietly hoping you’d choose differently. There’s no anger in his voice, no raised tones, just a firm finality that sends a chill through you. It’s not a warning it’s a confirmation. He knew you’d resist, but he also knew what he’d do next. Because Seungmin doesn’t argue. He acts. He is methodical. Brutal, even. When things don’t go his way, he doesn’t sulk or beg he simply takes control. And when you said no to moving in with him, he didn’t plead or ask again. He simply let it hang in the air, gave you that look that said everything without words. A look that said, You’ll regret this. And then darkness. You wake up suddenly, the world blurry and your head pounding. There’s a sharp pressure behind your eyes, a dull ache that throbs with each beat of your heart. You sit up slowly, confusion spreading through your foggy mind as you take in your surroundings. This isn’t your bedroom. It’s far too neat, too cold yet familiar in the worst way. Your things are here.

Your favorite hoodie, your toothbrush on the sink, your books stacked beside his. It’s all been arranged around his apartment like you’ve been living here for weeks. But you don’t remember a single moment of coming here. You blink, trying to make sense of it, and then your eyes land on him. Seungmin is sitting just a few feet away, relaxed, watching you with calm, patient eyes. There’s no guilt in his gaze, no shame. Only satisfaction. “How do you feel, darling?” he asks, his tone gentle, almost affectionate. “You’re home now. Don’t worry. Home sweet home with me.” He stands, taking slow steps toward you. There’s a slight smile playing on his lips, not quite warm, not quite cold. Just... certain. “I hope you understand now,” he continues softly, as if he’s giving you a life lesson instead of terrifying you. “When I say something, I mean it. You belong here. With me. And when you don’t listen…” He leans in, voice dropping lower, more intense. “Well, I’ll make sure you do.” You freeze, heart racing. Your instincts scream at you to run, to scream, to fight but something about his composure is paralyzing. There’s no chaos here. No mess. Just his quiet obsession. And it hits you. You didn’t move in with Seungmin. He moved you in.

Jeongin

Jeongin’s lips form a soft pout the moment you refuse him again. It’s subtle, almost boyish, but the glint in his eyes betrays something far more dangerous simmering beneath the surface. He doesn’t react violently, not yet. He just stares at you for a beat too long, his jaw tight, as if he's holding something back. Then, with a forced smile, he lets it go, for now. But he doesn’t stop asking. Day after day, the same question lingers in the air like a ticking clock. “I just want to keep you safe. Is that so bad?” he says with a calm voice, but there's a tension in it that unsettles you. At first, you try to laugh it off, brush it aside, pretending it’s nothing serious. But he keeps pushing, keeps repeating it like a mantra. Eventually, the persistence wears on you. It becomes suffocating. You snap. “I already told you I’m not moving in with you, Jeongin! Why won’t you just drop it?” The words hang in the air, sharp and unforgiving. And in that moment, something in him shifts. It’s subtle at first just a twitch in his brow, a slow exhale through his nose. But then his smile fades, and the real Jeongin steps into the light. The one he’s been trying to hide.

The one you've been lucky enough not to meet, until now. “I see,” he says softly, voice low and flat. “So that’s how it is.” Before you can respond, he moves. In one swift motion, he grabs your wrist tight enough to hurt. His grip is no longer gentle or playful. It’s demanding, bruising. His eyes no longer hold warmth or affection, only obsession and frustration. “How many times do I have to tell you to move in with me?” he growls, shaking your arm as if trying to rattle the resistance out of you. You try to pull away, but he’s already dragging you toward the corner of the room where a few empty boxes sit, boxes you hadn’t noticed before. He kicks them harshly, the sound echoing through the apartment like a gunshot. “Pack your stuff. Now.” His voice is cold, unrecognizable. “Don’t make me do it for you.” You freeze, heart pounding, breath caught in your throat. The boy who once spoke sweetly to you, who claimed he only wanted to protect you, is gone. Replaced by someone who sees your refusal not as a choice, but as a challenge. And challenges don’t end well with him. In his mind, you’re not rejecting him. You’re just resisting what’s inevitable.

[hansry]

consider this a love letter to A Needle In A Haystack. the dynamics between henry and the monks, and the monks between each other. how the quest engineers you to hone in on the mundanity of these npcs’ behaviors. siskin’s nobleborn frivolity actively reminds henry of capon that he’ll mumble about the similarity to antonius. siskin will say antonius has a calm soul and couldn’t think of anyone better for henry to befriend.

jodok, too, happily places his faith in antonius. meanwhile antonius calls jodok “a slimy worm” and will even entertain the image of jodok committing atrocities at neuhof.

(so ready is antonius to smear jodok that one wonders if antonius was privy to his crimes by way of the abbot’s notes; siskin’s noviciate entry is first, jodok’s second, then antonius-with lucas’ and gregor’s entry last. this would require breaking and entering, nothing a certain pious couldn’t handle. and all the more hilarious given how he may chastise henry for doing the very same)

novices can’t vote in the election of the new abbot, but jodok as the most senior of the novices supports circator john- who popularly reinforces gerontocracy. antonius, on the other hand, would rather vote for brother nevlas.

antonius seems to have observed lucas with startling accuracy: someone not dangerous but deeply perfunctory, as if just waiting for the next day. mind you, lucas says he’s never even approached antonius! we can safely attribute this to timidness and fear of making himself known as a true traveller to vlašim. lucas says himself he wishes no harm to come from sharing careless words. it’s interesting to note abbot peter writes lucas as the most prayerful of all novices and even the older brothers, while the monks tell antonius, for all his cooperations, falls short in matters of prayer.

lucas by technicality is henry’s first brush with a self-identifying sodomite; the vulnerability of this knowledge and its safekeeping having the potential to be truly transformative for henry. and all the more for lucas, though they will never see each other again.

lucas will reward henry’s kindness with a nail on the coffin to antonius’ ruse. he is no merchant’s son, only a bandit too clever for his own good. antonius will sermonise henry with a rather long tale that positions henry as a bloodhound, a hunting dog, a beast, a pawn. henry can put an end to the chase swiftly, though the game will curiously reward you with cutscene closure if henry honors his escape.

if siskin, lucas and jodok remain alive by the end, history supposes they would witness john become abbot— just as jodok wanted. a presumably torturous predicament for poor lucas! but john will die in autumn of the very same year (s. 235, opat jan ii), succeeded by nevlas— just as antonius wanted. nevlas will actually remain abbot for 12 years (s. 610, seznam opatů)

henry will evade conversations about the monastery, but it is one of the slightly more harked-back-to quests in kcd2. word certainly got around, even hans knows henry was once a Brother.

[evilbihan]

Bi-Han was a good brother.

(original post here) I came back only to make this a seperate post so it shows up in the search and Bi-Han's tags again.

I think about this scene a lot.

People like to use Bi-Han's behavior here as an excuse to paint him as a bad brother and instantly assume that he always treated Tomas that way because of one mean thing he says to him in the entirety of the story mode, intros included.

It's almost like siblings never argue and say horrible things to each other that they later feel bad for. Personally, I believe this is the first time Bi-Han ever snapped at Tomas like that, for a multitude of reasons.

Smoke doesn't hesitate to talk back to Bi-Han, he doesn't seem intimidated by him at all. If Bi-Han were to really constantly put Tomas down and say hurtful things to him, he would be more hesitant to provoke him and avoid confrontation as much as possible. But he doesn't.

Of course, every individual is different but take it from someone who has grown up in an abusive household. If someone regularly insults you and belittles you, you're going to start walking on eggshells around them and that's not what Tomas does around Bi-Han at all.

Smoke's expression here displays hurt, anger and confusion. That's the face of someone who just got a reaction he did not expect. His body language would be different if he was used to hearing things like that from Bi-Han. He wouldn't look so surprised if he heard that whole "Lin Kuei blood" speech before. He also doesn't lower his eyes, doesn't flinch... nothing that implies Bi-Han ever talked to him like this on other occasions.

Kuai Liang's silence in this scene speaks volumes too. He doesn't try and defend Smoke, doesn't tell Bi-Han his words are uncalled for and he doesn't interrupt him either. I believe Kuai Liang was just as surprised as Tomas was by Bi-Han's sudden harsh reaction. Furthermore, there is literally no reason for him to step in.

Brothers argue, they get angry at each other. Anger is a normal human emotion and snapping at someone when you're angry doesn't make you a horrible person.

Let's talk about this scene next.

I feel stupid for even mentioning this take here because it's the silliest, most ridiculous and wildest thing I've ever seen but a surprising amount of people with flat-earther mentalities cling onto it, so even though it's obviously bs, let's debunk it once and for all.

Honestly, the first time I saw a post claiming Bi-Han kicked that rock on purpose to kill Smoke I had to re-read it twice because I couldn't believe someone would actually believe that and expect to be taken seriously.

If Bi-Han ever wanted to get rid of Smoke, he could have done so a million times already. He could have banished Tomas as soon as he became grandmaster.

He also could have aimed better.

Here's what actually happened:

Both brothers rush to the edge to check if Smoke is okay. Both are worried about him. If Bi-Han never cared about Tomas he wouldn't even have bothered coming over to see if he's still alive. He would have done the only reasonable thing in this situation, which is keeping an eye on Nitara who just attacked them.

Yes, the rock comes loose as soon as Bi-Han steps closer to the edge but that's entirely accidental and Bi-Han's surprised expression proves it.

You can see the exact moment his eyes say "Oh sh*t" because he briefly looks at the rock and instantly back at Tomas. He looks concerned, not pleased with himself like he just commited a clever murder attempt. He even reaches out as if to stop the damn rock.

He wanted to save Tomas.

It's disgusting how some people try to twist this moment into anything other than that.

Are we also going to ignore the subtle way Bi-Han puts himself in front of Kuai Liang, bracing himself while Kuai Liang flinches backwards during Nitara's attack?

What about the fight against Ermac? Bi-Han almost died, fought an insanely powerful being and his first instinct is asking his brothers if they're unharmed.

I've seen someone argue that he "only asks them if they're fine because he needs them for the mission" to which I say, they were fine. They literally looked fine, no blood on them, no scratches. Tomas didn't even go anywhere near Ermac and Bi-Han still checks on both of them.

We all know what happens next.

Yes, Bi-Han scars Kuai Liang as a way to punish him for his disobedience. Would a good brother do that? No, but a good grandmaster would. Is it fucked up? Absolutely. But again, Kuai Liang seems shocked, hurt and angry by what his brother did, just like Tomas before. Neither of them ever taught Bi-Han capable of something like that, indicating that while flawed, he was a good brother prior to his descent into madness.

When the fight starts, Tomas doesn't even try to step in. He only gets involved after Kuai Liang is injured. He wasn't expecting Bi-Han to go that far. It was a surprise to both of them because Bi-Han never once hurt them before.

As a side note, punishing his warriors for disobedience was certainly not something Bi-Han came up with himself, but rather something he was taught was acceptable by either his father or other Lin Kuei elders, but this post is meant to only focus on canon facts and what we see on screen so I won't elaborate on that here.

In a twisted way of a peace offer Bi-Han still offers a hand to Kuai Liang after scarring him and actually expects it to be accepted. He wants his brothers to join him, he wants to share the glorious future he has planned out for the Lin Kuei with both Tomas and Kuai Liang. Yes, he may be in the wrong but he wants them both on his side.

He wants it to be them against the world. He never intended for it to be him against them.

So far, that's it for the story mode.

Sadly, we never got to see what the relationship between the brothers looked like before Bi-Han gave in to corruption but the intros give us a pretty good idea of that still.

Mileena: "My bond with Kitana can't be broken." Scorpion: "I'd once thought the same of mine with Bi-Han."

They used to be close. If Kuai Liang really thought his bond with Bi-Han was unbreakable, there must have been good in Bi-Han before his frustrations led him to make all these bad decisions. Had he been some kind of abusive monster as the fandom constantly claims, they would have never been close to begin with. The brotherly love between them might be gone now but that doesn't mean it was never there.

Smoke: "Are we to be enemies for life?" Sub-Zero: "Unless you submit, Tomas."

Tomas doesn't want them to be enemies. Yes, he says Bi-Han has always been cold with him in another intro, but cold does in no way equal cruel or abusive. Bi-Han had valid concerns about Smoke's loyalty to the Lin Kuei when Tomas lost his family because of the clan. If anything, Bi-Han not trusting Tomas only shows he was protective of the Lin Kuei and worried that Smoke would end up wanting vengeance one day.

If Bi-Han ever hurt Tomas before, Tomas wouldn't be going out of his way to reunite the brothers, even asking for Liu Kang's help to do so. He says he can't forgive Bi-Han for letting their father die and yet he wants him back in his life. If Bi-Han had always been a bad brother why would Smoke want him back? Shouldn't he be relieved it's just Kuai Liang and him now? Instead, he's heartbroken that Bi-Han and him are now enemies.

Sub-Zero: "Resist me, and there will be consequences." Smoke: "And to think I once idolized you."

Tomas used to look up to Bi-Han. Who would look up to a genuinely horrible person? Absolutely no one. And for Bi-Han's part of the dialogue, he keeps warning his brothers, telling them to submit, to stand down, to not resist or try to fight him. It means he, too, doesn't want to fight them or hurt them.

Scorpion: "A shadow's fallen on your soul." Sub-Zero: "No, brother. I've seen the light."

What more do you need than this bit here as proof that Bi-Han didn't always use to be like this? Shadows only exist where light is present too. There must have been light in Bi-Han before said shadow corrupted him.

Both Kuai Liang and Tomas only resent Bi-Han for two things. Letting their father die and breaking his oath to protect Earthrealm. Nothing else is ever brought up.

At this point I think it's safe to say it's canon that Bi-Han was never abusive or a bad brother towards either Kuai Liang or Tomas.

That's it.

No headcanons, no what if's. No bullshit, just facts.

The only time Bi-Han hurts Kuai Liang is after he reached his breaking point and snapped and they're both equally ready to fight and hurt each other by then. Kuai Liang is even the one who draws first blood. Does that make him abusive too? Not at all.

[notablenotions]

Chapter 22: The Hands That Wouldn’t Clean

Hans Capon had lived his life avoiding concern. It was for other people. Priests. Wet nurses. Men with no wine in their cellars. He had carefully dodged it like a poorly-thrown shoe—right up until Henry had ruined everything by buying him a drink and being unexpectedly kind.

Now concern hung over Hans like a damn cloud. He hadn’t meant to start caring. He certainly hadn’t meant to start worrying about Jitka.

But seeing her, hours earlier, standing before Hanush and Radzig like a general commanding fools, slicing through scandal with a smile and calling Radzig Ziggy of all things—watching two of the most terrifying men in Bohemia reduced to cowed boys in her presence—had shaken something loose in him.

He had married that woman. That sharp, impossible woman.

He had not once thought to ask if she was alright.

So of course, when Henry deserted him—off to visit some rustic imbecile with a story about a friend called ignatius—Hans decided he’d find his wife. Not because he missed Henry. (He did.) Not because he was annoyed. (He was.)

But because, for once, he felt the stirrings of something dangerously close to guilt.

He didn’t knock. Husbands didn’t knock. Especially not when they were still half-convinced their wife might be a witch.

But what he walked into wasn’t witchcraft.

It was hell.

Jitka was hunched over a basin. Her back to the door. Scrubbing.

Her hands—red, torn, bleeding. She was scrubbing like she could pull the sin out of her own skin. There was blood in the water, seeping and swirling. Her wrists shook. Her breathing was shallow. But she didn’t stop.

She didn’t even see him.

“Jitka?” Hans said, quietly, stupidly, like he’d stumbled into a room he didn’t belong in.

She didn’t turn. Just kept scrubbing. Harder now.

“Christ,” he breathed, panic rising like bile. He rushed forward, dropped to his knees beside her. “Jitka—what the fuck—what the fuck are you doing?”

He grabbed her wrists. She flinched so hard she almost hit him. Her eyes were wild. Lost. Not here.

She wasn’t here.

Hans froze.

He knew that look. He knew it from nights Henry had bolted awake in cold sweats, clawing at the air. He knew it from the days after Skalitz, when silence had settled around Henry like armor.

But on Jitka—terrifying, clever Jitka—it felt like a dagger.

“Hey. Hey,” Hans said, gentler now, hands trembling. “Stop. Just—stop. You’re bleeding.”

Still, she stared through him, like he wasn’t real.

She was somewhere else.

He fumbled for the blanket on the bed, wrapped it around her shoulders, shielding her from the cold air, the water, the blood. He didn’t touch her skin. He knew better. But he pulled her away from the basin, held her arms in the soft wool like it could protect her from everything.

And she broke.

A low, cracked sob escaped her throat. Then another. And then she was gasping, full-body shaking, trying to hide her face in the crook of her arm.

It was the sound of someone who hadn’t let herself cry in years.

“I’m sorry,” Hans whispered, over and over. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—God, I didn’t know.”

It was pathetic. He knew it. He should have known.

“I didn’t know” he said into her hair. “I thought you were just... you.”

She laughed, bitter and wet. “I am just me. That’s the problem.”

She told him everything, between sobs. In halting, broken pieces.

“My mother died childbed Papa was at war again. I was 6. She bled out and no one would tell me what to do. So I cleaned. I cleaned the blood and no one stopped me.” Her voice cracked. “They said I was brave. I wasn’t. I was alone.”

Hans held her tighter. His gut twisted.

“It only comes back when I’m overwhelmed,” she whispered. “No one leaves me alone here. The walls are too close. They expect too much. I miss my family. Bart’s the only one left. And he’s a smug bastard...”

She hiccuped.

“The lemon cakes are dry,” she said, absurdly, and started crying harder.

“I know,” Hans said, trying to laugh. It didn’t work. He rested his chin on her head. “They’re dreadful.”

“I don’t belong here,” she whispered. “I never asked for this. I never wanted any of it. They pulled me out of my life and shoved me into a marriage and a title and—”

“And me,” Hans finished quietly.

She didn’t answer. But she didn’t deny it.

And that, somehow, hurt most of all.

He rocked her slightly, the way Henry did when the fear took him. He didn’t speak. Words were too small. He just held her while the water cooled and the blood dried on her hands.

She was human, he realized.

Not a witch. Not a puzzle. Not a punishment.

A woman. Bleeding and breaking in the home she never chose.

And he had ignored her.

He had married her out of pride and duty then left her to rot in golden cages and silent rooms. He had called her impossible.

He’d told himself she didn’t want his affection.

Hans had never felt smaller.

He held her through the night. Blanket between them. No kisses.Just arms and breath and the quiet, crushing guilt of a man who should have seen her sooner.

She fell asleep eventually, curled against him, hands bandaged with his shirt.

He didn’t sleep. Didn’t move.

He just stayed. Because he was finally learning what that meant to be a husband.

[godsholyhat]

Excerpt from a Hans/Henry fic set immediately after the end of KCD2. Posting it here because my usual beta reader is away and I felt like sharing with anyone who'd like to read.

The ache in his heart that began the day they parted bitterly in Troskowitz had never gone away entirely, a strange heaviness that eased only in Hans’ presence. For so long he had not understood the feeling, mistaking it at first for anger or resentment over how badly they had parted, or later, for the affection that any man felt for his closest friend. There was a rightness to standing at Hans’ side, a joy in fighting beside him that could not easily be explained. It was good and proper, Henry told himself, that he should feel such affection towards Capon: surely this sense of devotion was what any true-hearted retainer ought to feel towards his just lord who was at once both master and friend. It was surely loyalty and devotion that impelled him to heights of bravery he scarcely knew he possessed: to toil at labour and physic so that he might save Capon from the gallows; to stand between his injured friend and the bandit who had ambushed von Bergow’s company of soldiers so that his friend might live; to risk his life infiltrating Maleshov to free his lord from captivity. And perhaps, had they never faced the terrors of a siege together inside Suchdol, devotion and duty was all Henry might have ever understood of his affection for Capon, for even at that final farewell, facing almost certain death, he could not bring himself to kiss his friend, though he wished to, so sorely that he thought his heart might break for want of it. But his bravery failed him.

It was Hans who saved him. Hans, who took his life in his hands and kissed Henry so that he might understand that something greater than the loyalty between a lord and his man existed between them. Even there, Henry’s courage had faltered, and for a moment his sense was overruled by fear and confusion. But he had sworn to never run away again: not from a battle, not from death. He would not run from this either.

In the days since, Henry often found himself thinking on that night. He held the memory close to his heart, for it gave him courage when his nerve began to fray in those terrible days before the reinforcements set out to Suchdol and the nightmares of returning to find Hans and Katherine and Godwin dead amidst rubble became so vivid he could scarcely shut his eyes. On those sleepless nights, he would lie in his bed and remember those precious hours. Easy, Henry, easy, Hans had murmured to him as Henry tried in vain to rid himself of his clothes, hands shaking too badly to manage the buttons and ties. Let me take care of that, Hans had said, his clever fingers making short work of Henry’s coat, shirt, and hose. His own clothing soon followed and then they were chest to chest, skin to skin, and Henry could have wept for the easing of a desire so long denied.

[staylovesmiley]

Collision— Chapter 5

ᯓᡣ𐭩Pairing; Stray Kids x afab!reader

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩Summary; You’ve known him for years but you never would have guessed the charming guy you’ve been online gaming with has been an idol this whole time. (masterlist here)

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩Warnings; implied afab reader (only they/them pronouns used for reader), mild angst?, pls I haven’t written fanfics since 2018 patience and kindness is appreciated

You weren’t sure how long it had been since you made your way down the corridor of the JYPE building after leaving the practice room. After retrieving your drink from the vending machine you sunk down to sit beside it on the floor, taking small sips as you got lost deep in thought. It must have been long enough for the boys to start to worry since you saw Han coming into view as he bent down to meet your eye level where you sat criss cross against the wall. “There you are! You okay? We were starting to think you got lost.” He said with a soft smile before noticing an off look on your face, his smile falling. “What’s wrong?” You shrugged, fiddling with the hem of your baggy tshirt and making a conscious effort not to meet his eyes again. “The lights in there were starting to make my head hurt and there were so many sounds-“ you spoke only telling half of a lie. Yes, you were starting to feel a bit overwhelmed in there but it wasn’t from the lights and sounds alone but from all the thoughts racing in your mind. “Oh! You should have told me….it’s kinda bright out here too here follow me.” Without waiting for your response the rapper took your hand and pulled you down another hall and into a room. He flicked one of the lights and only the light inside the recording booth turned on to provide a dim light in the studio. “You can stay here until you start to feel a bit better, okay? I sit in here some times too when I get overwhelmed.” You couldn’t help but smile at his thoughtfulness, wrapping your arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. “Thanks Ji- gosh you’re so sweet.” He blushed, hugging you back before giving you some space. He gave a soft nod before heading for the door. “Wait- could um…can you sit with me for a bit? I’ll be okay in just a second but I’m afraid I’ll get lost trying to go back on my own.” His eyes widened like he hadn’t thought of that before he nodded and sat with you on the black sofa against the wall.

You both shared off into the distance, sitting in silence for a while before he spoke up. “You figured it out….didn’t you.” You sighed softly, for a member of paboracha he really was too clever for his own good sometimes. “Yeah-“

Jisung took a deep breathe before playing with the sleeves of his hoodie. “And?”

You furrowed your brows, staring down at your feet. “Why did none of you tell me? Not even Felix….I just- if you guys trust me enough to allow me to stay with you and had me over almost all the time before that, why couldn’t you trust me with this?” You were hurt, upset and afraid you did or said something that gave off the impression that this was something they had to hide from you. Han’s head raised as he looked at you, placing a hand on your knee to get you to meet his gaze. “Hey, it’s not what you’re thinking. Get out of that head of yours for a second, Star.” He chuckled airily, trying to lighten the mood as you looked into his soft brown eyes. “Then what is it?” You poured at him, making sure to hold eye contact. “Ah don’t none of that- don’t give me that look.” He whined, your cute pout too much for him as he started to fluster. “We wanted to tell you but- I know you’re from America and everything is different there but here people are less than not understanding about this sort of thing….” “And what exactly is this thing?” You questioned, wanting him to admit it now they you knew and he knew you knew, for the most part. “We are together, all of us. Since- well since our second anniversary as a group. Some of us longer than that but that was when we all were officially with each other.” He cringed slightly, like he was waiting for you to scold him or be disgusted. Instead you wrapped your arms tightly around his middle with a soft smile on your face. “I’m sorry you guys have to hide it, but I’m happy for you all. If you’re comfortable, now that I already know, you don’t have to hide around me anymore.” You assured him, your eyes meeting as you pulled back from the embrace. “Especially with me staying with you all while my apartment is being fixed….it could become suffocating to hide especially if it’s for my sake or the fear of me not understanding.” Han just blinked at you for a bit before hugging you again, fighting the urge to cry at hearing your support. “I told them you’d be chill about it- Lix too, so you know….he really wanted to be honest with you since the beginning but some of us were hesitant.” You sighed a bit in relief at this, giving the man a squeeze with reassurance. “Thank you for letting me know. Are you ready to head back?” He pulled back with a nod, standing and taking your hand. “Let’s go.”

Once you arrived back inside the practice room Han gave your hand a slight squeeze before raising it up above your heads. “Cats out of the bag, guys. Sorry-“ they all stared at him in disbelief, about to argue over how he shouldn’t have told you before you put your hands out in front of you in defense. “Don’t be mad at Han okay? I figured it out. You know, you aren’t as subtle as you think you all are.” You said with a slight smirk, taking in their shocked expressions before Seungmin spoke up with a dry tone. “Well? You know now….what does that mean?” You raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to be offended at the lack of trust they seemed to have for you in this moment. “You could have told me sooner and saved yourselves a lot of headaches.” There was an audible sigh of relief from the entire room and you walked up to your close friend and smacked him lightly on the chest. “Especially you. I can’t believe you thought so little of me.” You gave him a pout, Felix going from looking like he saw a ghost to looking like he was a child being scolded by a parent. He returned your pout and looked down at his feet with shame. “I’m sorry, Star….I wanted to- but we couldn’t be sure.” You rolled your eyes playfully before hugging him tightly. He recovered from his sulking quickly and hugged back with a squeeze, Hyunjin soon joined to hug you from behind as well and then the rest of the group followed until you began to shout about being claustrophobic and shimmied out of their hold and to the ground where you then crawled out from what felt like a forest of their collective pairs of legs. They all laughed at the display, you included as they all settled down comfortably. “For all of your information, by the way, I myself was in a poly relationship in highschool. Not like this- we didn’t all date each other but it was an open relationship situation.” Now they all stared at you in shock for completely other reasons. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Felix gasped, looking at you with mock offense. “You never asked?” You shrugged, laughing at their expressions. “Anything else we should know?” Minho questioned now, ever the curious cat. “Yeah” you started, the sound of your stomach growling echoing in the practice room. “We should probably get something to eat soon.” Everyone laughed and Jeongin pulled out some take out menus from somewhere in the room. The air felt lighter and they seemed even more relaxed than you had realized before that something was causing a tension, that something being them trying to hide their affection for each other.

It was a month and a half later and things were becoming blissfully domestic with living at the dorms. You had never gone to college, choosing to start working straight out of highschool instead for a family friend, but you assumed this is what it would have been like if you ever got to live with roommates on a campus somewhere. Your free time was spent buying groceries with Seungmin and Jeongin, watching dramas with Hyunjin, being a taste tester for whatever recipe Minho decided he wanted to try or for Felix baking endeavors, or sitting in the studio curled up on the couch while 3racha worked on new projects like you were now.

It was pretty late in the evening and you felt yourself dozing as you leaned against an already sleeping Han, whose body was twisted in a way you thought had to be uncomfortable as he snores lightly into your shoulder. You never paid much attention to what they were working on unless they asked for your opinion on something, usually keeping your headphones in while gaming or scrolling through various different social media platforms. You were enjoying your time living with them so much you felt a small pit in your stomach fill with dread every time you remembered it wouldn’t be forever. They had been more openly affectionate with one another ever since you finding out about their relationship, kissing and cuddling in front of you like it was nothing because well- it wasn’t.

You began to open up to them as well, your introverted walls crumbling as you got closer with the group to where you began to be more affectionate with them also. It was healing a part buried deep inside you being able to express yourself how you wanted, your family and others always shunning you for being too emotional. When you would give one of the boys a hug as greeting, or cuddle up during a movie night it was immediately reciprocated and it caused your chest and face to warm instantly at the acceptance of your touch and presence. As you scrolled, trying to stay awake as long as you could, you heard Changbin push his chair back and stand abruptly. “Ya- we’ve been working at this for too long, Hyung. I feel like my eyes are gonna fall out of my head.” He whined, nudging the older with a pout. “Why don’t you take Han and Star home, then? I’m good to keep working for a bit longer…I wanna finish this up before I can stop.” The muscular rapper sighed and shook his head, knowing Chan would likely be there till well into the early morning hours. “Come on, Hannie time to go home.” He said softly, poking the younger’s cheek causing him to whimper slightly in his sleep and reach up to bat his hand away. He chuckled, leaning down to kiss his forehead while looking to you for help. You giggled a bit and reached over to tickle at the young rapper’s side causing him to jolt awake. “Ya! Star how could you- that’s such betrayal!” He whined, pointing a finger at you accusingly. You just laughed and shrugged your shoulders. “You guys go on without me, I’ll stay and keep the old man company.” You teased, standing up and stretching before stealing the spot in Changbin’s rolling chair beside Chan. “Oh woah that was so uncalled for- you’ve been spending too much time with Seungmin.” He laughed, shaking his head at you while you smiled at him sweetly.

“As long as you’re sure….don’t let him stay here all night, yeah?” Changbin begged you, patting the top of your head. You nodded towards him in a silent promise, wishing them a good night and a safe drive home as the door closed behind them.

You started to doze off again soon, almost falling out of the chair causing Chan to chuckle at you. “You sure you wanna wait up on me?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at you. You nodded, covering your mouth as you yawned. “Mhm I gotta make sure you leave before dawn.” You teased, stretching your arms up causing your crop top to raise slightly and show the bottom of your bra which caught his eye and caused him to bit his lip and force himself to look away. “Why don’t you take a nap on the couch and I’ll wake you in an hour and we can go home, yeah?” You felt a slight blush creep up your neck and face at his words. Home, that’s definitely what it was starting to feel like staying with them. Though you mainly stayed in Felix room with him, you had slept over with the other plenty of times while having been staying there for various reasons. Tonight you had texted the younger Aussie that you’d be crashing in the 3racha dorm since you’d been with them so late and didn’t want to wake him up by coming in. He had sent a round of pouting emojis and a message about his bed being too cold without you but that he would manage.

You had blushed like crazy at that, your mind reeling any time he said something of the sort making things feel all that more intimate between the two of you. You weren’t going to lie to yourself, you had realized you had feelings for the other gamer after about two weeks of staying at the dorms when you caught him slow dancing in the kitchen with Leeknow and felt yourself longing to be the one with your hands on his waist while you spun around with him looking into your eyes longingly. It wasn’t so much that you were jealous and didn’t want him to be doing that with one of his partners, but that you wished that title included you and that night you couldn’t help but cling a little tighter to him as you cuddled in your sleep and dreamt of him calling you as such.

Doing as Chan had suggested, you curled up on the sofa and hugged one of the pillows to your chest as you allowed yourself to finally drift off to sleep. It wasn’t for long, it felt as you were being lightly shaken awake by a lightly amused Bangchan. “Ya, Star- it’s been a little longer than an hour but I’m ready to go now.” You grumbled and shook your head, refusing to get up. “M’no way it’s been longer-“ you groaned, causing the older to laugh. “Do I have to carry you to the car? I can if you make me but I’m giving you the choice now cause it’s late and if the others found out I kept you here this long they’ll kill me.” You huffed, only holding turning over as a response. “Alright then, here we go.” He chuckled before lifting you up into his arms bridal style. You nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck, wrapping your arms around him to hold on as he carried you down the hall and out of the building towards his car.

After arriving back at the dorm you fully woke up and rubbed at your eyes sleepily. “Are we home yet?” Chan smiled warmly and nodded. “Yeah, just pulled up. Think you can walk in or do I need to carry you again?” Embarrassed slightly, you chuckled and got out of the car. “I’ll walk this time, thanks for earlier though.” The two of you made it in and you cursed slightly when you made it to his room. “I forgot to ask Lix to drop off some pajama’s for me tonight-“ you cursed yourself mentally and cringed at the thought of sleeping in your jeans. “You can just borrow something of mine, it’s fine.” The Aussie reassured you, going over to his drawers. “Do want sweat pants or shorts?” He asked, rummaging around as he pulled out a pair of sweats for himself. “Um- shorts please?” You asked, remembering from previous sleep overs with the oldest member how much of a human furnace he tended to be. Tossing over a baggy black tee and a matching pair of shorts he turned around to give you some privacy and you did the same as you changed. You had done this a few times, not caring to make the walk down the hall to the bathroom to change and just turning to give each other privacy. You both settled under the covers and you could feel him stare at you for a while before you poking him in the chest. “At least try and get some sleep, yeah?” He smiled, chuckling lightly as he shook his hard. “I’m trying but it’s so hard when I have someone so cute in my bed, wearing my clothes.” He teased making you blush and hit him lightly on his bare chest. “Not funny, Chris. Sleep, now.” You turned around so your back was facing him and felt him drape an arm over your side and pull you flush against his back. “Wasn’t a joke, but good night Star.” He said before you soon felt the deep rise and fall of his chest against you signaling that he was drifting off to sleep. His words flustered you more than usual, being so close and in such an intimate setting with him. That was another thing you had come to realize over your time being here with them was how you seemed to have blossoming feelings for each of them, their charms and humor brightened your days beyond imagine and you felt completely blissful in their presence. Still, you held back those feelings to yourself for fear of interpreting their teasing for something more than it could be and ruining what you had going on as it was, even if you felt they were being obvious about the possibility of them feeling the same way. That little voice in your head told you not to be stupid, that they wouldn’t like you back and that it was all in your imagination and they were just being friendly.

Soon, you too fell asleep feeling the rise and fall of Bangchan’s chest behind you and hearing his snores.

In the morning you woke before Chan, smiling at his sleeping face before slipping out of bed and going next door to shower and get ready for the day. You were met with your four temporary roommates sitting and eating breakfast. “Morning, Star!” Jeongin said with a smile that you returned as you slipped your shoes off at the door and made your way over. “Morning! Sleep well?” The all nodded, all except for Felix who looked at your appearance and huffed. “Lix?” You tilted your head in confusion and made your way over to him. “Missed you.” He said with a pout before reaching for you and pulling you down into his lap to nuzzle his face into your neck. “Hey- I missed you too but i really need to go wash up, yeah?” He whined, but let go nonetheless and you leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek. You weren’t sure why you made the gesture, but something told you he needed the extra affection. You watched as his cheeks heated up and Minho immediately spoke up. “Ya! Why does he get a kiss? I want a kiss!” He shouted, causing you to roll your eyes and approach him as well. Smirking, he turned his cheek to you for a kiss only for you to give it a quick little pat before running off in a fit of giggles to get your clothes and take a shower. “No fair!!” He screeched, causing everyone else at the table to erupt with laughter.

While I’m the shower you heard a knock on the door. “Star? Do you mind if I grab something real quick? I promise I won’t look-“ you heard Felix familiar deep voice call out to you. “Sure! I think I actually left the door unlocked anyways-“ you reply, hearing the door open and soon after close. “I locked it back for you!” He said, and you quickly called back a thanks as you heard his footsteps walking away mixed with the water hitting the tile of the shower.

When you got out and dried off, starting to get dressed you noticed the shirt you had picked out had been replaced and you raised an eyebrow. Holding up the shirt that had been set with your other folded clothes you blushed a bit to see it was one of the young aussie’s shirts, his cologne still clinging to the fabric and causing a soft blush to tint your cheeks as you slipped it on over your sports bra before pulling on your loose fitting jeans. Why he switched your shirt with his own you weren’t really sure, fighting with yourself mentally over the meaning behind his actions. When you exited the bathroom and made your way to the kitchen to grab something to eat before class you felt all of their eyes on you and turned to catch Felix smirk before he turned away and took a sip from his mug. You ate quickly before grabbing your bag from the hooks by the door and slipped on your sneakers. “Bye guys, I’ll see you later!” You called, throwing them all a smile and wave as you started to head out. “Have fun at class!” They all called, starting to get ready themselves to head to JYPE for work.

After class, you made your way to JYPE with the takeout the boys had requested for dinner since they were practicing late that evening. As you were making your way into the practice room you heard a bit of commotion. “You’ve gotta be more careful, Chan! Really, I thought you’d know that better than all of us.” It was Minho, raising his voice as he gave the oldest a look of disappointment. “It was late at night and I was just carrying them to my car it wasn’t like we were caught hooking up or anything!” He shouts back, throwing his hands in the air. You weren’t sure what to do, awkwardly standing behind the door with the bags of food in your hands. “Guys, just calm down we can sort this out but we need to get it together before they get here it will be any minute now-“ Hyunjin said to try and ease them down from more of a fight. “Actually their location is showing they are already here.” Felix spoke up, holding up his phone for everyone to see. You decided to open the door slowly, wincing a bit as all eyes shot to you. “S-Sorry um….I can drop the food off and go back to the dorms if you need some privacy?” You said, walking cautiously towards them and setting the food on the table in the back. Chan sighed, shaking head head. “No, don’t go….some- uh, unfortunate events happened that just have us a bit on edge.” He said, looking back over to Leeknow. “I’ll say. A fan, or reporter one it doesn’t really matter, saw Chan carrying you to the car last night and got plenty of photos that are now all over the internet. Dispatch is having a field day.” He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The color drained from your face and you felt a bit faint. “What?” Was all you said, Hyunjin was by your side in a second, placing a hand gently on your lower back as he guided you to a seat. “I’m so sorry I- I don’t know what to say.” “It’s not your fault, so you don’t have to say anything.” Minho huffed, keeping his gaze locked on the oldest member. “Don’t blame Chan either then- it was really late and Star looked so tired in those pictures I’m sure they were out cold.” Changbin spoke up, standing to be beside the leader. “When we left they were already struggling to keep their eyes open and that was way before they got home. “This all goes back to why you shouldn’t be staying so late in the studio, then. Or else this wouldn’t have happened.” Minho spat back, pointing an accusatory finger at the producers. “Please stop-“ you said, looking at them all with worry. “Is there anything I can do to make it better? We could say I’m staff and I wasn’t feeling well?” You suggested, sitting on the edge of your seat now. “That could work- stays would eat that up since Chan is already so kind to our staff.” Seungmin spoke, pondering the idea for a bit. “No.” Felix said, glaring at the floor. “We should just tell them the truth. Star is my friend and they’ve been hanging out at the company with us but stayed too late and fell asleep. It’s the same as if a staff member got sick, Chan is the gentleman he is and was giving them a ride home.” Everyone stared at the blonde, concerned and skeptical faces among them. “It would be less lying and then we don’t have to feel like we are sneaking around…..it’s not like anything scandalous is going on anyways.” He said that last bit with a little huff of annoyance, almost as if he wished there was. You looked down to where you were still in his shirt, blushing a bit. “I’ll talk it over with management before we make any statements but- that isn’t an awful idea…” Chan said, Minho actually nodding in agreement. “It could work. If you’re okay with that, Star….people will inevitably find out who you are and you’ll most likely be pushed into the public’s eye to a degree.” You say and thought it over for a bit, biting at your lower lip as you contemplated the possibility. “Well- if I know anything about fandom culture they probably already know who I am if they saw my face….as in like- my name and stuff. So I can’t see the harm it would do to be honest-“ you shrugged, looking at Felix before leaning into him for comfort seeing he still looked a bit upset. “Then it’s settled….I’ll talk with management once we finish dinner.” Chan spoke, nodding over to the food and everyone made their way over to make a plate for themselves besides you and Felix who stayed in your spots on the couch. “Lix….are you okay? Somethings been off today-“ you questioned him, rubbing his back softly as you looked into soft brown eyes. “It’s nothing- I’ll talk to you about it later, okay? Before we go to bed..” you nodded, biting your lower lip again before rising. “Okay. Let’s go get some food before it’s all gone, yeah?” Smiling up at you he nodded before taking your hand.

The whole rest of the evening you felt your stomach twisting in knots with the anxiety of what it could be that he wanted to talk about when the two of you were alone.

author’s note: ooohh what do we think Lixie is gonna have to say to Star?? ૮꒰ྀི∩' ᵕ '∩꒱ྀིა thank you so much for all the lovely feedback I’ve been getting I try to reply to everyone but sometimes I’m either not sure what to say or I just forget to and then feel like it’s been too long to say something when I do remember to and just- I’m a very anxious person if you hadn’t guessed already heh but anyways I hope you enjoy and look forward to the next update soon ᕱᕱ⊹ ࣪ ˖

tag list (if your name is pink it means I was unable to tag you); @softkisshyunjin @coastinglove @palindrome969 @amara-mars @whiteghostt @ihrtlix @queen-in-the-shadows @soaplickerrr @skzswife

[sarnai4]

Expectation Subversion

Penguins of Madagascar has some of my favorite examples of subverting expectations for personalities. They also gave me something that I try to use when creating my own characters. It seems like the characters can easily fit into a one-dimensional stereotype, but then there's more. Let's start off with Rico.

At first glance, Rico is just a loose cannon. In lesser shows, he might have been. After all, he just needs to be the silly one who spits up weapons and sure, he is, but that's not all. Rico is also fiercely loyal. He's the same one who was terrified of a "haunted" car and still braved it head-on when it had hurt Skipper. Comically enough, he can just as easily turn on the others when Ms. Perky wants him to do something else (cue Rico attacking them because of that darn voice box). An underrated skill of Rico's is how resourceful he is. He always knows exactly what weapon is necessary for the moment. With these skills, his loyalty, and his fun/unhinged flair, he really comes to life as a character.

Private is seemingly just the nice guy of the group. He's the young one who's innocent. Again, this is a part of him. He is very nice, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings like when he was supposed to win a rude-off against Clemson. He's also pretty naive with a lot of things, being unsuspecting about Hans actually being bad. Despite this, there's more to Private than niceness. He's got the most common sense of the group, being the only one to see that grabbing the plant needed to save Maurice's life would be easier than continuing to use the jaws of life AND realizing how unlikely it was that Santa was spending Christmas Eve in a random building. I also love how he's got a backstory of being this almost ruthless mini golf player. His underrated skill is that he's the second best fighter of the group. Solely looking at fin-to-fin combat, Private is the only one who's been on par with Skipper.

Kowalski could have just been the "science nerd." He definitely has this as a core part of him, but he's also such a drama queen. I love it. He's the poster boy for book smarts because this penguin has a score of 0 for practical reasoning. Heck, he had to figure out which instincts to use. His struggles with this leads to him continuously making inventions that almost kill everybody. Kowalski is always an invention away from turning into a mad scientist. I'm convinced this actually has happened before and then he just snaps back to his senses (thinking about times like Jiggles and more). Something else which adds an interesting layer to him is how much he wants to be in charge. He's technically the second-in-command and has made it clear that he'd like to replace Skipper when the time comes. "Kowalski's log...too soon?"

Skipper seems like he's just the tough boss. In a comedy like this, he easily could've been an incompetent leader. Rather than that, he's honestly a very good leader who is clever with his plans. Seriously, his escape plans shown in Pets Peeved and more episodes really demonstrate how thoroughly he can think out a strategy even when he's on the spot. Along with this, Skipper tries to act hard and rough, but he makes it clear that he cares about his team more than anything. He even faced his fear of needles (this show singlehandedly taught me what trypanophobia was) for Private when he learned that the soldier would've been hurt otherwise. It even stretches beyond them. Skipper really cares about everyone in the zoo, going so far as to look out for Julien who is probably one of his least favorite zoo mates. I also really like how much being a leader means to Skipper. When he thought he couldn't be in charge anymore, he was having a meltdown. He even put Private as leader just so that he could make it clear who actually deserves the position. It's so petty, that it's almost beautiful.

[tyriq-edits]

Wish I could be

Part of your world

Breakbee the little Mermaid AU

Up where they walk, up where they run. Up where they stay all day in the sun. Wandering free. Wish i could be part of your world.

Does this AU solely exist because I love mute-Bee angst? Yes

Also before anyone asks: Yes Optimus is indeed Triton because I am a sucker for “tired autistic dad Optimus”.

Megatron will most likely take the role of Ursula.

But there will also be a few changes. Basically in this AU Bee (obviously the little mermaid/Ariel) and the prince (Breakdown) have long long known each other and often met up in secret by the beach or by Breakdown taking a small rowboat out to sea.

But one day Dadimus Prime finds out about Bumblebee’s little excursions and essentially puts him under house arrest and forbids him from ever swimming to the surface again. But does Bee listen? NAH!

He decides to head straight to Megatron, the banished sea witch. All he asked the witch for, was a way to be able to visit Breakdown again. The young merman expecting an invisibility cloak or heck some sleeping potion for his father in order to be able to sneak out again. But instead Megatron, smelling an ideal opportunity to get under Optimus Prime’s skin by making a deal with one of his sons, convinces Bumblebee, through some clever wordplay and fear-mongering, to ditch the ocean and stay on land permanently with his sweetheart for eternity… as a fellow bipedal mech. However the spell came not for free.

For the spell to work Bumblebee had to give up his voice but also Breakdown’s memories of his face. Meaning Breakdown would bd able to remember his time spent with Bumblebee by the sea. But it would all feel distant to him. He can remember the place, even snippets of their conversations but the face and name are a blurr. And as if that wasn’t enough trouble already: He had three days to make Breakdown fall in love with him again or the spell would break and Bumblebee would be forced to slave off his payment for Megatron.

So Bidep-Bee washes up on the beach where Breakdown had been searching for days for the mysterious yellow sea-mech from his memories and things play out more or less how they did in the Disney movie from here.

However my main difference at this point would probably be Megatron putting Bee’s voice box into Knockout to trick him into believing that Knockout is his beloved Sea-mech from his memories. Obviously because of that Knockout won’t have to turn into a biped too.

I am uncertain yet how Bumblebee would make Breakdown realise he’s being tricked and how the two of them would defeat Megatron, but the genuine plan would include them receiving the happy ever after in the end.

CW: Mentions of Suicide

This is obviously a version way closer to the disney movie than the OG fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson. You can obv leave all the disney stuff out and just go straight for the angst with Breakdown truly not remembering who Bumblebee is and falling in love genuinely with another one (still Knockout but this time he’s a fellow bipedal mech like Breakdown with 0 relations to Megatron) and Bumblebee committing suicide, turning into Seafoam.

As always feel free to take this basic idea of mine and make your own version of this AU if you so desire.

[the-flesh-is-willing]

Chinastuck: the alpha kids

Jane Crocker: 王艳芳 (Wang Yanfang). Goes by Fangfang. Lives in Beijing. Han Chinese, with some Korean ancestry.

for the name i sort of went off of pure vibes. wang is ubercommon and means "king", yan means beautiful and i honestly just added it so all the prospit kids could have Y names, fang means "sweet-smelling" or "virtuous".

transmasc jane crocker real to me and he chooses the name 敏敏 (Minmin) meaning "clever" bc detective vibe??

still figuring out how to incorporate crockercorp.

Roxy Lalonde: 刘天秀 (Liu Tianxiu). Lives in flooded, postapocalyptic Shanghai among carapacians. Kazakh and Jewish Han ancestry.

roxy to my understanding means something like "bright dawn". tianxiu means beautiful sky. they share the character xiu with rose's name, xiulan.

Dirk Strider: 赵强剑 (Zhao Qiangjian). Lives alone in postapocalyptic, flooded Chongqing. Jewish Han and Hmong ancestry.

qiang means "strong" or "surpassing" and jian means "sword/dagger", tying into his character and one of the meanings of dirk, a type of dagger. he may be from the mainland, but since He's Dirk he uses traditional and even archaic characters for the ✨vibe✨, much to the annoyance of the other alpha kids. he spells his own name as 趙彊劍 lmao

i feel like doll strider would choose the name 雪莲 (Xuelian), which both means "snow-white lotus", suggesting purity, and is the name of a rare and precious herb. lotuses also have religious significance which she is aware of although dirk is a lil bit of a snooty reddit atheist to me. again she'd spell lian as 蓮 for Dirk Reasons

dirk is as much of a weeb and brony as in canon. he likes yapping abt chinese/japanese/western cultural comparisions and tries to teach himself japanese.

Jake English: Angli, sinicized as 洋格李 (Yang Geli). Lives in rural Inner Mongolia. Mongolian.

mongolian names typically are only the given name. jake's name is literally "english"; post scratch jade named him this to spite the condesce, similar to her taking on the last name english in canon. this also reflects a somewhat old fashioned mongolian naming practice of giving a child a strange/inauspicious name to drive away misfortune. (i am not mongolian myself apologies if this explanation did not make much sense) the sinicization of his name starts with a Y to match all the other prospit kids, with the character 洋 meaning the ocean with a connotation of vastness. this references him growing up in the middle of the ocean.

i like transfem jake english choosing the name lara. in china its spelled 勞拉 👍

idk what other details to change abt jakes life... the general arc of it is similar obviously

[peijizerojournal]

re: 'khaos reigns'

i have SO much to say about it lol but i'm still gathering my thoughts. all i know for sure is : even though the bar (in regards to quality of story and characterization) was on the floor, i am still, yet again, extremely disappointed !

(rant/review/spoilers below. will maybe add to this, but also maybe not. just purging some of my thoughts lol)

in a nutshell,

the way liu kang, kuai liang, cyrax, sektor and bi-han's characters were all deviously misrepresented was just appalling.

kuai liang is depicted as heartless, arrogant and temperamental. posturing as a 'grandmaster' even though he's done nothing but usurp authority by establishing a 'clan of his own' and pointing the finger at everybody but himself. lecturing cyrax about honour... pfft.

liu kang is strangely unforgiving and not very compassionate (he was literally more gracious in how he handled shang tsung/quan chi over bi-han?? like what??) not to mention his lack of urgency with dispatching of havik and rescuing geras. instead of extending some authentic benevolence to bi-han, he instead goads and chastises him after his transformation, and fails to elaborate further when they have their brief interaction regarding his hopes for a different future. the miscommunication between them -- in other words -- continues to be infuriating.

sektor doing nothing but being comically op and fawning over bi-han every three seconds is so all over the place, like they couldn't decide or couldn't find a nuanced balance in her persona (an issue with many characters, it seems...). while i thought she was the most accurately characterized out of all of these major players, her defining traits such as her obsession with the cyber initiative and boosting the lin kuei's position are not made so clear in the actual story? instead the writers chose to focus on her over-the-top, one-sided adulation toward bi-han. it makes her so hard to take seriously as a threat or as the next acting-grandmaster. another storytelling fail!

cyrax starts off the dlc defiantly, standing up for what she believes in and deciding to help the shirai ryu, yet during the rest of the story, she has no agency and just follows kuai around profusely apologizing for something she didn't even do (and kuai was relishing in that shift of power.... gross.)

and bi-han... i think that situation speaks for itself. missing chunks of the leak script and clever editing in the trailers left most of the fanbase baited and switched, and not to mention literally anything could happen next because of the lack of commitment to any of the lore and to even the timeline itself. many of the tower endings contradict much of the intro dialogue and the campaign itself. i guess by introducing alternate timelines and universes so early on, it gives the writers fair game to retcon anything and everything. which, effectively, pulvarizes any meaning for liu kang's 'new era' going forward.

i could keep ranting but, in short: 'khaos reigns' was rushed, boring, full of poor characterization and enough 'macguffins' and 'red herrings' fit for a superhero movie. so many plot holes and loose ends that weren't followed up on (like hello, what's with the hand on noob's hip? and where the hell did titan havik go at the end? was he banished? what about the kamidogu???). there were so many missed opportunities to flesh out preexisting conflicts too, and the pacing of everything from dialogue to the transitions between chapters was completely disjointed. all the characters actions were seemingly shortsighted and many of the decisions made led to nowhere and nothing really changed by the end. nobody went through any real character arc or growth, nobody knows what happened to our over-hyped 'villain of the week,' and the tower endings cancel out the dlc's true ending, essentially making all of it, and none of it, 'canonically accurate.'

it's clear whoever's writing this has no respect or insight for the source material, and is just doing whatever they want: whatever's popular, whatever sells, right? the one thing about a multiverse story is, you can keep that going forever. the possibilities are endless, and if they don't like something... it can be changed with a snap of the finger. kind of reminds me of one of supernatural's awful later seasons, or destiny 2's "shadowkeep" expansion. 'khaos reigns' comes across as a shoehorned seasonal narrative that exists solely to sell noob, cyrax and sektor and little else.

oh yeah, and the future dlc's that are sure to come.

[mouwriter]

making an originals version to this bc I like the concept <3

Star Wars originals main characters reacting to reader with a new haircut!!

characters: Luke, Leia, Han

Luke Skywalker

This sweet boy... I'm so sorry but he does NAWT notice at first

Dw, he gets it in a few moments though

He's like... something's different...

And then he's like !!! OH!!!

His initial reaction is just pointing it out, not really complimenting it

But he compliments it right after, trust 🙏

Honestly he doesn't really care for appearances, but he's happy that you felt confident enough to try something new

He's also down to hear the lore regarding why you cut it if it wasn't a mere stylistic choice

He's a little messy like that, he likes a little gossip every now and again

On that note, if he ever hears someone talking shit about your new haircut, he is SPRINTING at FULL SPEED (/hj) to find you and tell you what they said, but assures you he doesn't agree with what they said at all

Leia Skywalker

MY QUEEN RAAHHHH <33

Sorry I'll resume the hcs

Notices right away, but doesn't say anything

She'll make it very obvious that she's staring though

If you don't bring it up first, she'll try hinting at the subject

"You know, I've been thinking of trying something new with my hair."

Smirks when you finally catch on; she's ready to hear the story of why you cut it

After you give her what she was after, she tells you that you look fantastic :]

She'll always welcome a bold surprise, and what's more bold than a totally new haircut?

Tells you (not a question) that she's gonna try styling it herself sometime

You don't have a say in the matter, but you'll look AMAZING

Like, so good that you'll probably end up asking her to style it again

Han Solo

Oooh I hate him. He's gonna start talking to you then stop mid sentence when he notices your hair

"So what's the situation on—hey, what's with the hair?"

Does he look at you a little nasty? Yeah. Is he gonna apologize? No. Does he actually think it's that bad? ...No, but don't tell anyone

Will spend the rest of the day poking fun at you and giving you teasing nicknames

Honestly, not even the rest of the day—welcome to the next several weeks

Just pray that none of those nicknames become permanent

But, like I said, he doesn't actually think it's bad

He actually finds himself liking it more and more, but he's never gonna tell you

Maybe it slips through accidentally in one of his "clever" nicknames, though

Like he'll call you "pretty hair" or smth

But he's too proud to ever go back on being a hater

[byeuijoo]

fake a kiss and heal a heart 𐀔 han dongmin

⠀⠀⠀chapter one. : a broken heart and an unexpected gesture.

warnings : alcohol consumption, kissing, angst if you squint, a kind of panic attack ⋆ word count : 4,034

serie masterlist ✩ boynextdoor masterlist

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ୨ ✩ ୧

MAYBE DONGMIN SHOULDN'T HAVE LISTENED TO JAEHYUN THIS TIME, perhaps he should have taken it upon himself to endure all the sadness in the world without taking action. what a clever idea it had been to hire someone totally unknown to him to play the role of his fake girlfriend and accompany him to an unimportant student party.

on your side, the end of the month was pretty hard on the money, so an extra income wouldn't go amiss. donghyun suggested this idea after stumbling across this unreliable site : a complete directory of people willing to be paid just to look pretty and stand next to random people for one occasion or another. at first, you didn't give it much thought. but since you knew your favorite artist was coming to your town, you had to save every penny you could to pay for your concert ticket. that's why you decided to take the plunge and create your profile, hoping that at least one person would find you attractive enough to hire you.

and that's what led you to your current situation, walking briskly through the crowded city streets, under the light of the streetlamps, to reach the person who had contacted you earlier in the day. it was probably a bit hasty, and you probably wouldn't have time to learn much about why you ended up accompanying him, but it shouldn't have been too complicated. looking again at the photo of himself that he had kindly sent you earlier, a small smile spread across your face as you realized that, at least, he didn't seem to be an old pervert dude interested in young female students. after a few last minutes of walking, you found yourself at the rendezvous point, looking around for any sign of his presence. furrowing your eyebrows to get a better look at the faces of the people around you, you finally spot him, leaning against a stone wall, headphones on.

trotting over to him, you finally tapped his shoulder, which caught his attention and created a look of surprise on his face. « hey, you're han dongmin, am i right? » you asked softly, tilting your head to the side with a smile as he dropped his headphones around his neck. the black-haired boy nodded, and you could see the tips of his ears redden slightly — cute, you think. « i'm y/l/n y/n, nice to meet you. » you added, leaning forward slightly to greet him, before he did the same.

he seemed shy and unsure of himself, and you could easily guess that the idea of hiring you didn't come from him. his honeyed eyes seemed lost and unsure of themselves — as if they were trying to figure out what to say or what emotion to use. « what time do we have to be at this student party? » you say, changing the subject so as not to make him uncomfortable, while looking at the time on your watch. a small, almost inaudible oh escaped his lips before he looked down at his phone, holding out his hand as if to guide your path, « you follow me? »

his voice was soft, like the lullabies sung by mothers when you're little. it was as if he was afraid to speak too loudly. nodding as you began to walk, dongmin followed your movements, staying close to you. « so.. your name is dongmin and you're 19, right? » you asked, tucking your hands into your jacket pockets to keep the cold from attacking your skin. « uh? oh, yea. » he replied, staring at the road ahead. « we're the same age, » you suddenly felt his gaze settle on your side, which prompted you to continue, « i'm glad you're not a weirdo.. i was a little afraid i'd run into an old pervert. »

dongmin nodded positively, raising his hands and shaking them as if to claim his innocence, « i promise i'm not weird, » he said, insisting that he really wasn't weird at all, « i'm just a little unsettled, i'm not used to doing thing like this. »

you understood how he felt. so you nodded in turn, turning your benevolent gaze on his face, offering him the sincerest of smiles. « i could feel it, » you admit, shrugging your shoulders, « but that's normal since we don't know each other and i'm literally here to play your fake girlfriend. »

his cheekbones flushed, a light red-pinkish shade on it, in contrast to his eyes, which were painted with a glint of sadness. so the subject must have been a sensitive one — but you needed to know a little more. « can you tell me why i'm here, dongmin? » he wasn't surprised by your question, but a sigh left his pretty heart-shaped lips right after it.

« my girlfriend broke up with me a month ago, and i don't want her to see that i'm still moping about our breakup, » he let slip this explanation from his lips, as he carelessly tucked his headphones into the backpack he was carrying, « well, my now ex girlfriend. » you hummed in reply, nibbling your bottom lip as you look away from his face. he seemed really devastated by the situation, you could tell by the way his demeanor had suddenly changed. he seemed to close in on himself, looking all around him as if he were panicking, and the way his thumb played frantically with his rings. you had to do something to divert his attention and help him relax, otherwise his plan would fall through completely.

then you suddenly stopped walking, hooking your fingers into his sleeve to prevent him from advancing any further. and when his questioning gaze landed on your face, you offered him a gentle smile. « everything will be fine, » you started, letting his arm fall back along his chest, « i'll be there to help and support you, okay? »

dongmin took the time to observe you properly, for the first time since you two met a few minutes ago. you were smaller than he was, you sounded fragile, yet your voice exuded boldness and unparalleled assurance. he was slightly jealous — you wore so much confidence on your face, when he could barely look you in the eye. he wasn't usually so shy, so reserved, but the reason for your meeting made him nervous without knowing why. it was probably the fact that he'd spent all his savings on a fake girlfriend, with the sole aim of making his ex-girlfriend jealous. it's ridiculous, he thought, finally looking away from your gentle, kind face. however, he had really chosen the prettiest girl on the website to accompany him.

« yea, thank you. » he finally says, gesturing you to walk again with a simple nod of the head. sliding in beside him with a smile, you didn't dare ask any more questions, as you didn't want to accentuate the sadness that was currently occupying the whole of his heart.

after many long minutes and a dark sky, dongmin stopped moving forward, staring at a point in front of him. following his gaze, your eyes landed on a house that seemed crowded with people — loud music blared from the open windows and people chatted on the porch just in front. finally raising your eyes to the boy beside you, you watched his gaze suddenly devoid of all confidence.

he was on the verge of running away and turning back, but your hand on his shoulder drew his attention to you. « eh, you can do it, » you announced softly, like a whisper that only he could hear, « i'll be by your side from beginning to end. »

he couldn't explain why he found a certain reassurance in your low voice, or how the way you spoke didn't make him doubt your sincerity. you had to play a role, sure, but why were you such a good actress? he didn't know what to answer : he was caught between the desire to show everyone that he was not the sad and depressed boy they all thought, and the desire to run away from all this charade which only accentuated the pain in his chest. and anyway, what was he going to do if he suddenly found himself face to face with her? sure, you were there, but what was really your role in this situation? stay silent by his side and smile at his ex? he couldn't put you through this when you had been so nice to him from the beginning. biting his lower lip while juggling his gaze between your reassuring face and this big house, a shiver ran down his arm when suddenly your cold fingers intertwined with his. and for the first time, his eyes looked into yours.

« eh, han dongmin, » you started to say, taking a step forward towards him, « i'm here to help you, okay? » then, your thumb mechanically caressing his skin caused a comforting warmth to rise along his spine, « we're going to show her together what she lost. »

the boy observed you for a few seconds, before sighing, closing his eyes while applying pressure around your hand clinging to his — then he nodded, gently pulling on your arm to pull you in with him. he didn't notice the little victorious smile on your lips after that, way too busy not to chicken out until he get through the front door. he didn't bother to ring the bell or even knock, immediately going inside and dragging you with him. a few glances landed on both of you, and where dongmin completely ignored them, you responded with a charming smile of which only you held the secret. his hand didn't let go of yours until you reached what you assumed was the kitchen — where he hastened to serve you two glasses of alcohol. which he swallowed in one gulp.

you quickly grabbed his hand, removing the now empty red plastic cup from it, sad eyes settling on your face. « eh there, slow down a bit okay? » a scoff left your lips, placing his glass on the counter next to you, as he lowered his head in a defeatist gesture, « hiding yourself in alcohol won't help you anything. » you explained to him, patting the top of his head with your free hand.

« did you see her? » you asked, taking a sip of your drink as you watched him settle into one of the high stools around the counter. dongmin nodded negatively, rubbing the bridge of his nose without bothering to respond to you verbally. « do you want to play a game? » you said suddenly, pushing your arms up to sit comfortably on the counter, next to his stool. the black-haired boy looked up, his eyes meeting yours as you shook your shoulders, « to pass time. it could be funny. »

he didn't hate the idea of ​​playing a game with you — but he didn't have the faith to make the slightest effort to move. so after a few ideas, you suggested the game of twenty questions with the simple aim of getting to know each other. after all, even as a fake girlfriend, it would be safer to know some details of his personality. « alright.. i'll let you start. » he declared, turning around to pour himself a second cup of alcohol, without you stopping him this time. pretending to think, you stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before returning your gaze to him, « what are your hobbies? »

swallowing a few sips of his drink before answering you, dongmin gave you the opportunity to look at him silently. you had to admit that he was very handsome — and a boy as handsome as him would not be common in the streets. when he finally spoke, you leaned forward slightly to hear him more clearly, not wanting to let the music disturb your conversation. « i like to make music. i like writing songs and composing melodies, » he explained, and you saw the little flame of excitement in his eyes disappear as quickly as it had appeared, « it's the only thing i'm good at anyway.. »

wrinkling your nose as you jostle his shoulder, dongmin ignored you as he continued downing his glass of alcohol. « okay, my turn, » he said, staring at the ground, « why are you doing this? »

rolling your eyes at his question, not finding it interesting in your opinion, you placed your hands against the surface behind you. « i give you three reasons, you choose the one that suit you best, » you replied, and before he could protest, you cut him off by continuing, « one, because you're pretty hot. two, i need some money. and three, because i was bored. which of the three do you prefer? » — tilting your head to look at his face, he rolled his eyes before finishing his second drink, « the second is the most plausible. »

what a shame, you would have preferred that he chose the first one. you weren't going to complain — especially since he seemed to have relaxed since you arrived at the party. a smile took place on your lips as you thought about your next question : part of you wanted to ask him what happened to make him so sad, but on the other, you feel like it was an intrusion into his private life that concerned you in no way. so you simply changed your mind, not wanting to appear intrusive. « why did you choose me? » you asked, as he leaned back so that his back was against the counter. you watched him shrug as he played with the rim of his cup, « you didn't look like a psycho. and it was my friend who chose you, all i did was contact you. »

a sulky pout played on your lips as you looked away from his silhouette — you couldn't say why, but the fact that the idea of choosing you didn't come from him made your heart sink. sniffing before finishing your drink and leaving the cup on the side, dongmin raised his chin towards you and stared at the profile of your face without saying a word. trying to avoid meeting his gaze, you puffed up your cheeks and chattered on the marble with your fingernails — until his delicate fingers encircle your wrist, suddenly attracting your attention. « what? » you say, pulling slightly on your arm to loosen his grip, but your eyes met the pretty smirk on his lips, making you stop moving.

« are you disappointed? » he said suddenly, a scoff leaving his tongue right after. turning away and looking up at the ceiling, you decided to ignore his remark and continue sulking in your corner. a crystalline laugh escaped from his mouth, which somehow filled you with happiness — it was the first sincere laugh you'd ever heard from him. dongmin swiveled around again to pour himself a third glass, but you didn't understand how he could do it without letting go of your wrist. you could still feel the warmth of his fingers around your skin as he took a sip of his beverage. he seemed reassured and in a better mood than earlier in the evening — which was a good thing.

not wanting to disturb him further, you raised your eyes to look around you, until your gaze falls on a face so pretty you could have fallen backwards. « do you know this girl? » you asked innocently, not thinking for a single second that it could be the girl who haunted the young boy's thoughts. dongmin raised his head slowly, his eyes filled with apprehension — and suddenly, his hand around your wrist tightening slightly. he felt like he was running out of air, like he was suffocating, as if all the oxygen in the room had disappeared. the pressure on your muscle caught your attention, and you hastened to place your alcohol on the counter to help him. « eh, eh, what is going on? » you asked, placing your hands on his cheeks in panic, lifting his face tenderly so his eyes locked on yours, « han dongmin, look at me. »

he was trying not to panic, to breathe properly and not to juggle so quickly between your two eyes — but his heart in his chest hurt so much that he felt like someone was tearing it away. his jerky breathing was of great concern to you, so you stepped down from the counter to find yourself closer to him, placing one of your hands on his distraught heart. « eh, listen to me, » you started, looking him directly in the eye, « do as i do. breathe in... breathe out... breathe in, breathe out... that's it, that's good. »

after a long minute of controlled breathing, you felt his heartbeat return to a steady speed under your fingers. he seemed to have come back to his senses. « how do you feel? » you asked softly, tucking the strands of his hair back correctly on his forehead. dongmin nodded, patting your shoulder in thanks, « awful. but.. thank you, y/n. »

just as you were ready to answer him, a smile tugging at your lips, a voice suddenly came from behind you. you could see his face turn as white as a sheet, and his eyes slowly move up to stare at a point — a person, behind you. turning to face the voice, you came face to face with the pretty smile of the girl you understood to be the ex-girlfriend of the boy beside you. « hey, taesan. it's been a long time. » she said suddenly, making you frown. taesan? is this a nickname they used between each other?

dongmin rose from his stool, now standing beside you and scratching the back of his neck. « hey jieum, how have you been? » his voice was much more confident than you'd expected, and the look she gives him doesn't seem to frighten him. so.. her name is jieum, that's pretty, you think. there was nothing about her that seemed ugly : her face was flawless, her smile was to die for, she was tall and slender, she had lovely pianist's hands, and her voice sounded like those used in children's night show, the kind of soft voice that grazes your heart with a gentle kiss. you could almost be jealous of the soft, gentle aura emanating from her, but you remembered that she had to have one little flaw that led her to lose possession of dongmin's heart.

you hadn't followed the conversation in front of you, far too busy analyzing the girl as if she were an object of experience, until you hear your name roll off your new friend's tongue, « this is y/n. y/n this is jieum. »

arming yourself with your best smile, you leaned forward slightly to greet her, looking her straight in the eye, « nice to meet you, jieum. dongmin told me a lot about you. » — a sparkle suddenly appeared in her eyes, and her warm hand came into contact with your shoulder, as she gave you this look full of innuendo, « for the better, i hope ! »

you didn't have time to reply when a fourth person joined the conversation : another boy. glancing at him, then at dongmin, you can see something break in his eyes, as if someone had just thrust a dagger deeper into his heart. diverting your eyes from his face, you subtly slipped your hand into his, squeezing his fingers between yours in a reassuring and comforting gesture.

« ah, guys, meet my boyfriend, his name is sungho ! sungho, this is taesan, and his friend y/n. » she explained, smiling broadly as if the sun had just come into the room. you understood why dongmin had trouble getting over the breakup : jieum was mesmerizing. but what worried you most right now was how he must have felt after learning that this guy was the one to replace him. your hand gripped his more firmly, as you made small talk with the two new people so he doesn't have to worry about it. then after long minutes that seemed like years to the young boy, jieum and sungho waved goodbye and wandered further into the room, leaving you alone with a dongmin even more broken than before.

you tore your gaze away from jieum to meet the boy's devastated face, emotionless eyes staring into space as if nothing mattered anymore. then, when he felt your hand tug on his, his tear-filled gaze locked with yours, « don't cry.. » you whispered, your thumb tenderly caressing his pale skin.

but a hiccup escaped his lips, as he tried at all costs to hold back his tears. « she looks at you. don't cry now, she doesn't deserve your tears. » you explained, bringing your free hand up to his cheek to brush away the pearl of salt water that had just escaped from the corner of his eye. then, biting your lower lip, you looked him straight in the eye, « do you trust me? »

dongmin didn't know what to say : how could he trust a girl he'd only just met? but part of him felt that you were good for his heart's well-being. those last few hours with you proved to him that you wanted nothing more than his well-being. so he nodded, briskly, up and down, looking into the whites of your eyes. and in the madness of the moment, it took him a few seconds to realize that something warm was suddenly against his lips.

your hand against his cheek held his face in place, as you dared to kiss an almost stranger for the sole purpose of making his ex-girlfriend jealous. dongmin's lips tasted like alcohol — which you sensed even more when the pressure of his lips against your mouth grew stronger. his previously empty hand was now placed behind your neck, holding your face close, as he closed his eyes to appreciate the exchange more fully. it was pleasant to kiss han dongmin — but what wasn't, however, was feeling all the sadness of his heart against your lips. he seemed to want to get rid of everything that was eating him up inside, as if all his emotions were too hard to feel on his own.

then, after a few seconds, he finally pulled away from you, his pupils juggling back and forth in the depths of your eyes. « you don't cry anymore.. » you whispered, your index finger tenderly caressing his cheekbone. dongmin nodded slightly, not willing to move one millimetre away from you, before speaking in a broken, weak voice, « we're getting out of here, um? »

nodding positively in turn, you took a step back to retrieve your jacket, putting it on in a hurry, before pulling dongmin by the hand to the front door. passing by jieum, you unintentionally gave her a provocative look, knowing full well that she had witnessed your entire kiss scene. you didn't want to get angry with her, you just wanted to know and understand what she could have done to break this poor boy's heart into a million little pieces. for the little you knew, it was she who had decided to end this relationship, and it was also she who already had a fresh new little boyfriend. perhaps she'd lost her love for him, in which that case, she'd done nothing wrong? but it seemed far too easy, bearing in mind that dongmin was really devastated. nodding politely to her, you end up continuing your walk to the door, before leaving this place and taking a disturbed han dongmin with you.

[buddiesystempod]

Don’t you know the 118’s still standing better than they ever did? 🙌 Looking like true survivors, feeling like little kids.

🎧 Listen on Spotify: I'm Still Standing (Season 2 Wrap) 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/I6aJGlfTZ-8

This week, Han, Cil, and Rachel 🗺️ map out the emotional journey of all our favorite characters in Season 2 of 9-1-1! We explore 🔎 how grief, loss, and trauma shape each character’s arc and how they cope with their pasts while trying to forge their futures. 🔮

We highlight the clever parallels between different character’s storylines and how they reflect the overarching themes of ‘finding your path’ 🛣️ and ‘having each other’s backs’.

We discuss the impact of key moments and episodes that live in our minds rent free, from LSD hijinx 🤣 to confronting the ghosts 👻 of your past, proving that 9-1-1 isn't just a procedural but a character-driven drama.

The ➕ addition of Maddie and Eddie expanded and enriched the found family dynamics we fell in love with throughout Season 1. Buck’s struggles with being abandoned… again and we dissect how his relationship with Eddie opens up a brand new path in his story. 

We hypothesize on ‘What If’ 🤔 scenarios, taking a look at the butterfly effect 🦋 of a single choice. And don’t miss out on the new fears this season unlocked in us! 😱

Hop in the fire engine 🚒 (just not the Captain’s seat) as we look back on Season 2 and how Bobby, Athena, Buck, Eddie, Hen, Chimney, and Maddie choose their lives as first responders with passion and purpose, time and time again. 

[sr71blackbirdd]

To further examine my thought about Raine and Landa being foils we come to the thought of Landa representing Germany. Now, as someone who personifies Germany a lot in my own writing there are a lot of things that stood out to me with Hans. The first and most obvious sign of him being Germany is the ending, he’s allowed to move on with his life, even to become a hero, but he is forever scarred by his past, his history. Germany was able to move on (though split) after the war and ended up housing the most important diplomatic organization in Europe, but forever it will be remembered as the Nazi country because some crimes are too great to fully recover from (and we can only hope that they’ve recovered from it and that the massive failure of Donald Trump prevents the AfD from gaining any more power). This scene in the movie was what made it click to me that that’s what he represents but you can see it throughout as well. Now, typically when someone makes a caricature of Germany, they are strict and orderly and incredibly tempramental (a trope likely inspired by Hitler’s cadence in speeches). Hans Landa is a more quietly controlling presence, manipulative in a way that’s scarily human. I could stretch and say that Landa’s inhuman humanity was meant to represent how it was human evil that led to the popularity of the Nazi party, but that definitely falls outside the realm of authorial intent and solidly into reader response.

Landa is refined, cultured, a gentleman, that’s how he appears. That is how he’s perceived. People fear and respect him, and he is remarkably intelligent. This is how the Reich wished to be seen: cultured, refined, dignified, intelligent, powerful. But there was something that stood out to my friends when watching which was at first written off as just visual comedy but the more I thought about it, the more it ate away at me; Landa’s physical mannerisms are abnormally aggressive in scenarios they really shouldn’t be. The scene with Shosanna was where it stood out most, I recall my friend looking at me and being like “why is he eating like that?” and honestly, I’d never noticed it before but there was a lot of emphasis drawn in the acting and close ups to how he was eating the strudel, once again, could just be visual comedy but where’s the fun in that analysis? On top of that, Hammersmark explicitly tells the audience about Landa being a womanizer, and there is creepy behavior throughout the film that plays into that characterization. The Reich was hungry, aggressive, sexist, selfish, only existing to empower and embolden itself with no care for the people it claimed to be fighting for. Its sense of supremacy masked the cracks. Hans Landa’s selfishness, his hunger for power, his arrogance, all masked behind this clever intellectual personality that crumbles as soon as things don’t go his way… it’s hard to claim he isn’t meant to be Germany.

[bbyquokka]

Just saw Han’s star nails and idk why but I can imagine him letting you paint his nails and he can’t help but coo at how concentrated you are and he’s just admiring how excited you are trying out a new design 🥺

lazy days and painted nails

FLUFF BELOW CUT – MINORS, AGELESS & DEFAULT BLOGS; DNI

warnings: gn reader, idol jisung, established relationship words: 0.5k ~ (587)

dont repost. dont translate. feedback and reblogs are highly advised and appreciated!

“baby, it's time.” jisung looks up at you from his position on the bedroom floor. lay flat on his stomach in just a white vest and grey sweats pants with a manga in front of him.

it's stray kids comeback in a few weeks and jisung is taking this time to relax for a while before things start getting hectic again. he doesn't mind things being chaotic, he likes it, keeps him busy. but he hates being away from you so he wants to spend the free time he has now with you as much as possible.

“nails?” he asks as you sit down on a pillow in front of him. you nod as you put the nail polishes, file and clippers down.

“comeback is soon and i want to do your nails.”

“ok. be my guest baby.” jisung sits up, willingly giving you his right hand. you like painting his nails just as much as he likes watching you do his nails. it's like you're with him when he is away, in a weird yet beautiful way.

“what design are you thinking off?” he asks, watching you file his nails and get rid of the dead skin and cuticles.

“something to do with stars. was thinking stars on all your fingers because y'know, five star.” you giggle.

“clever. just like the album, i love it.” your cheeks turn a soft pink colour as you open the nail polishes. you start by painting his nails, careful not to flood his cuticles or get any on his skin.

jisung watches you, smiling to himself. he reaches out with his free hand to tuck your hair behind your ear gently, which causes the tips of your ears to turn red and heart to thump like crazy against your rib cage.

“you're so beautiful, yn.”

“shh. don't make me lose focus.” you mumble.

“i can't help but speak my mind when it comes to you.” you give jisung a simple “mhm”, a sign that you're half listening. you stick your tongue out in concentration, one of the many habits jisung loves about you.

“even now you're acting so cute. with your tongue sticking out and the way your cheeks are so pink because of me.”

“ji!!” you whine, sticking out your bottom lip as you mess up one of the points of the star. “now i have to start all over again.”

“don't” jisung stops you from grabbing the remover by grabbing your hand gently. he intertwines his fingers with yours, pulling you closer to him.

you stutter. your faces are getting dangerously closer and closer to each other.

he's so close. you can see the fine detail of his textured skin. the skin on his lips, the mole on his cheek. his long lashes and cute button nose.

“you don't want me to fix it up?” you whisper, as you close your eyes.

“no.”

“but why.” jisung pulls you onto his lap gently, holding your waist. his breath fans against your lips as he leans in, tilting his head to the side.

“because it shows that someone i love has done my nails. i don't want them to look perfect, i want people to know, to see that you did my nails. it feels like you're with me.”

you whimper softly as his lips press against yours in a gentle, sweet and delicate kiss. your lips move together in sync, creating a perfect rhythm that allows you both to get lost in.

“it's imperfectly perfect and i love that.”

note: anon, we must have the same mind because i too, also thought about painting his nails and just soft bf jisung. im so soft for him, more than usual and idk anymore. f u jisung /af

tags (open): @sstarryoong ; @myprwttyhan ; @fairylouist ; @septicrebel ; @bbujiikseu ; @alyszaen ; @writerracha ; @aestheticsluut ; @xcookiemonsteer