#and i try not to keep this internal score but i do anyway and it takes up so much space

[mrgaretcarter]

i think i unintentionally keep a tally in my relationships to try to figure out if someone really does like me and i think thats kind of exhausting

[mejomonster]

I said I was writing a novel to someone

and they were like "oh that's good! Writings a good way to process what you've been through" and hoo boy right then did it slam home that to a medical professional it would seem I got health problem related trauma out the wazoo

[sharkorok]

ooo u want me so bad

or…grumpy!enha being in luv w u

requested: nope

cw/genre: cursing, grumpy enhypen, fluff, humor, crack-ish, fem!reader, non-idol au, I wrote this during a zoom class, not proofread fuck it we ball, one joke about reader getting jumped?? anyways lmk if anything else should be tagged hehe

a/n: this was inspired by @macahoons grumpy enhypen texts that I just adored!!! Such a cute trope <3

•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•

heeseung

-he’s the basketball team captain, always idly boasting about his talents and loves being first place

-the only exception is you.

-he will never admit it but he absolutely lets you win every time you find him at the basketball court and u challenge him to some dumb scoring game where u see how many baskets u each can get

-“OMG HI HEESEUNG!! :3” when u find him at the basketball court and he sighs but he’s trying not to scream at how cute u r lowkey

-ur all giggly when u keep beating him “hee r u even trying?” “I’m just having a bad day don’t even” like he isn’t completely distracted by the way you look when ur grinning at him

-“I think I can take ur place as basketball team captain!” “In ur dreams??” but he’d gladly give it up if you would keep smiling like that

-insists on walking you home from the court because “I’m not gonna be held responsible for you getting jumped”

-and the next time you catch him on the basketball court it happens all over again! <3

jay

-you can’t even finish saying “I’m cold” before his jacket is over your shoulders and he’s scolding you for not being prepared

-sitting down and your skirt is riding up? his uniform blazer is over your lap and he’s shaking his head

-“what would you do without me??” “do you want your jacket back then , jay?” “…no”

-while it’s also because he cares about ur wellbeing, he also just really likes the sight of you wearing his clothes and you smelling like his cologne

-you literally walk into the room and he’s immediately “y/n you need to buy a thicker jacket you’re gonna get sick” not even a good morning or anything…

-“don’t tell people ur wearing my jacket I don’t want them to get the wrong idea 🙄” but lowkey he wouldn’t mind at all

-gets so (internally) giggly when u sink into his jacket because it’s chilly

-finds excuses u give u his clothes at this point …the tiniest piece of lint on ur shirt and he’s handing you his blazer

-“u can keep it ig”

jake

-gets you tiny gifts and acts like he just randomly found them

-he totally went out of his way to find you two matching keychains but he doesn’t wanna admit that

-“y/n I just randomly found your favorite seasonal pastry. no big deal. don’t thank me.”

-BUT HE ALSO KEEPS EVERY GIFT U GET HIM OMGEEE, he has a whole area on his desk dedicated to notes, trinkets, stickers, if you drew on his paper he’ll tear the section off so he can keep it LOL

-will never admit that. to anyone. but gets pressed if you give gifts to anyone else because that’s his y/nnie!! giving HIS gifts to some rando!! D: the cruelty!!

-gets sooo dramatic if he doesn’t get at least a little doodle he’s texting you like you killed a man

-one time his friend asked if he could borrow a pencil and he was like yea man sure and then realizing it was a pencil YOU!! gave him he snatched it back so fast trust

-he’s so cutie patootie but internally…4 now…

-wishes he could get over himself and kiss you all over when you shyly present a little plush toy you won at a claw game he’s RAHHHHH !!!

-for now he’ll stick to “thanks 😒”

sunghoon

-he’s really protective over you me thinks

-but he’ll be really quiet about it, maybe a girl makes you upset and he sees and he’ll “accidentally” knock over her bottled water on her notes, a guy is talking shit about you and sunghoon is squaring up in the courtyard no questions asked

-“sunghoon u dont have to protect me” “it’s not about you” even though it’s totally about you and he will die defending your honor

-one time on your walk out of school a tree branch poked you and u were all like “oh owie : o” and he was following behind before GLARING the shit out of that tree branch…

-another time this guy made a degrading comment about you and sunghoon managed to find receipts on him cheating on his gf and posted it on the school newsletter…cuz he’s silly like that <3

-honestly it’s a little scary the lengths he’ll go for you and still refusing to admit he’s doing it for you

-he’s not really good at comforting you when you cry, so he’ll make sure to protect you from anything that could make you cry

sunoo

-he’ll always listen to you

-if someone said “sunoo can u go grab me a drink from the vending machine” he looks at them like they’re insane but if YOU’RE asking??? he’s sprinting down the hallways

-“it’s literally just because ur lips get all chapped when your dehydrated don’t get an ego,” while he’s handing you like…water purified in Antarctica sourced from glaciers with a little paper umbrella

-even smaller things, he prioritizes your advice

-“guys should I have hot pot or panera for lunch?” and a rando will go, “panera!” and hes dead silent but you go “oh you should totally get hot pot!!” and he’s basically booking a reservation

-probably “accidentally” books a reservation for two and forces you to come since “it’s a waste of table space” if no one else does lol

-also if you don’t like someone he doesn’t like them either

-“sunoo are u friends with Ria?” “shes okay” “she said my makeup looked bad today :(“ and sunoo will act like he dgaf

-but next time you bring her up he scoffs and is all, “why even bother crying about her? she’s not worth your time and she’s annoying anyways” even though he’s never talked to this girl

-tldr ur word > anyone else

jungwon

-always speaks highly of you

-never to your face but he’ll always defend you when necessary, or speak up for you, or just praise you LOL

-“y/n actually scored higher than you, so idk why you’re bragging so loud” to some rando kid talking about test scores lmao

-or “y/n doesn’t like that snack get her another” when your friends are debating how to surprise you

-ur name is always in his mouth but positively LMAO

-brushes it off if you take note of this and says “people are just exaggerating, I barely talk about you, don’t get it twisted >:T” but everyone knows he’ll take any chance he can get to praise you

-“y/n is better tho” and everyone’s like?? who asked??

-it’s endearing but he doesn’t even notice it, he just is proud of you in every shape and form and since he can’t really express it around you he has to project it anywhere else he can hehe

-“jungwon do you think my hair looks okay?” says hee, looking for an actual answer. “y/n’s hair is nicer” responds jungwon, not missing a beat.

-“did you guys know y/n got a 100? isn’t she smart? don’t tell her I said that.”

niki

-does things for you without you asking and then acts like it’s a habit

-it is definitely not a habit for him to run out of his seat to pull out your chair for you, but he insists he literally does it for everyone (he doesnt)

-opens your capped drinks before handing them to you, stops you suddenly to tie your shoelaces, sends you photos of notes if you missed a day..

-“y/n you’d literally be hopeless without me” but he’d be hopeless if anyone else helped you because it’s his job!!

-it makes him feel special when he gets to do so many acts of service for you, for some reason he doesn’t mind running errands or whatnot, he’d much rather he be the one who does it than anyone else

-“y/n u forgot a hair tie today?? ur lucky I brought one” knowing damn well he brought it specifically for you ☹️☹️ cutie

-if the train is full you don’t even have to ask and he’ll let you take his seat “y/n you have weak legs, you need to sit”

-he secretly loves being someone you can rely on, no matter how much he denies it <3

[luimagines]

Can i request a thing where modern!reader teaches the chain about rhythm games?

-🍄

Yes.

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

"You have to hold it for longer." You explain gently.

"This too hard!"

"Because you keep doing it wrong." Legend snorts. "Let me try."

"Let him finish."

Another bad score. Another embarrassing defeat.

"This game sucks." Wild growls, tossing your device back to you.

"You have to listen to the music other wise you're going to struggle with it anyway." You roll your eyes and restart the game.

"Let me try!" Wind cries happily, wanting to snatch the device out of your hands before you can set up an easier level.

"No way! I said I was next!" Legend tries to block the young boy. You however, are doing your best to not get trampled.

Time passes without much comment, only sparing your small group with a disinterested glance before walking away.

You get an idea.

"Hey Old Man! Wanna give it a try?" You stand quickly, wanting to catch him before he decides to "run away" from the chaos you're not creating.

You see him sigh internally before turning to you, deciding to humor you. "What is it?"

"I have a rhythm game I've been trying to master." You grin with hidden delight. "Try it. It's easy."

"Lies!" Wild calls from the distance.

Time raises a cool eyebrow. For a moment you think that he's not going to do anything about it and leave you to your devices.... But he holds his hand out.

You grin and hand him the device. You teach him the way the game works ad soon everyone huddles around to watch him try and take out the level. He keeps getting higher and higher, beating boss after boss.

Everyone is enthralled with watching him.

It takes fifteen minute before he finally gets bested by one of the harder levels and hands it back to you with an unimpressed face. "It's alright."

"Alright?!" Legend all but screams. "That was incredible! How did you keep going?!"

Time shrugs and stands. "It wasn't difficult."

Four has to physically restrain Wild from throwing an apple at Time's head. Twilight and Warrior are trying to fight Legend for a turn on the game next while you're back to setting the little character back to the lower levels.

Sky continues to watch but doesn't seem to interested in giving it a try.

You grin towards Time and tilt your head. "He's not wrong. For someone who's never come close to this kind of game, you're really good at it. Got any story to explain why that is?"

"Maybe." Time shrugs.

You wait for him to elaborate.

Time smirks and walks away.

"WHAT?! Nothing!?? Not even a crumb!?"

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Two Three

When uncle Wayne had walked into the room the first time, Billy had said, who the fuck is this guy?

Now, strangely, Wayne seems to be the person Billy likes the most. The visits are never long, he still has a job to go to, and the outside world seems to be picking up the pieces quicker than Eddie could have imagined.

“They had that kids funeral the other day. Shame, too young for something like that.”

“Yeah, yeah it is a shame.”

Jason Carver was a massive prick.

Didn’t deserve to die though. Probably. Maybe.

Billy snorts. Ask him how the Pacers are doing.

He’s going to get suspicious if I keep asking him this shit.

Wayne’s reading a newspaper, oblivious to the internal conflict happening three feet away in Eddie’s hospital bed.

Come on man, he’s literally the only person you know who speaks any sense. Please. For me.

“So, uh, watch any good, uhm, sports games, recently?”

Smooth.

Shut up, I cant just go right in. It has be like, making small talk, or whatever.

Wayne raises an eyebrow over the top of his paper, “maybe, a few.”

“Right. So. How are the Pacers doing? They, uhm, score any touchdowns recently?”

Oh my god. Oh my god you just cannot be trusted with a single thing. You-

“Eddie.”

- absolutely useless bag of -

“The pacers are a basketball team.”

“Right, right, sure I knew that. So how are they doing?”

Billy finally shuts up so he can listen too.

“I’m going to tell you, but only because I know exactly what’s happening here.”

“You do?”

He does?

Wayne nods, “I’ve got eyes Eddie. That Harrington boy, don’t think I don’t see how he looks at you-”

Oh my god.

“-and how you go all moon eyed over him. But listen now, it’s okay that you have different interests, you don’t have to try and change just to impress some boy-”

What is happening-

“-if he likes you, he’ll like you for you, understand?”

“I...yeah.”

“You’re a good kid Eddie. And you’ll be good enough as you are for the right person. Just promise me you’ll be careful, alright?”

Just say yes. This is...just say yes.

“Yes, uncle Wayne.”

Wayne stands up, folding his his news paper, “I got a shift in a few hours, but I’ll swing by in a couple of days, okay? Hopefully you’ll be out soon. I don’t know what the hell happened and I don’t think I want to know, but you’re going to like the new trailer, your rooms twice as big as the old one – Steve’s been in and out setting shit up for you.”

“Uh hu, and since when has he been Steve.”

“Since he watched the Pacers game with me, anyway, I’ll see you.”

What the fuck! Steve gets to watch the – never mind, get the paper! Get the paper Eddie! At least get the fucking-

“Hey, Uncle Wayne? You finished with the paper? I want the. The uhm. I want to do the cross word?”

Wayne frowns at him, but comes back to leave the rolled up paper for him.

Right, now open to the sports page and stare at it.

I don’t even-

I really don’t care. I’m reading about fucking elves and dragons, you can do this.

Eddie sighs, because, to be fair, Billy is right.

Part Five

[kaisaerinlover]

alexis ness

tw: yandere themes , kidnapping

alexis ness, before if you heard that name all you would feel is endearment and love, your childhood best friend ness. he was always so sweet, and he still is, kinda? you guess? you’re not really sure. what are you supposed to make of him now? this isn’t the ness you once knew and loved? i mean, was he always like this? the type to tie you up and keep you locked away in his bedroom like a sick version of a disney princess? did you miss the signs? seriously, what the fuck is going on right now?

you and ness grew up alongside each other, childhood best friends. your parents had both joked that you guys would get married, but being kids you never understood that. or you didn’t, only you, because from what he did now you’re sure he always knew the implications of that. you feel betrayed really, how could he do this? you and him spent hours together as children, since his parents were so busy. you remember playing in the streets of hamburg pretending you have magic powers, just being children. you miss those days so much, because whatever is going on now is just messed up, wrong. what changed?

well, now that you think back on it, in highschool guys did avoid you a lot, until ness left. it was weird, but you didn’t think too much of it. was that seriously his doing? did he get guys to stay away from you in some sick act of possession? you’re sick to your stomach. there were so many signs that you missed that he was… like this. is there even a word for this other than deranged or psychotic? you could almost throw up, almost, and the silence in the room whilst ness is out practicing is ironically killing your ears. you almost miss him, almost, because he’s been gone for so long you’re losing your mind. your just tied up sitting on his bed.

as you fidget around with the rope constricting your hands, you find a loose part. yes!!!!! yesyesyesyesyes!!! you scream internally, you begin shaking your wrists a little, trying to free your hands and then the rest of your body. you can feel the binds starting to loosen and they’re almost off. just a little more. almost there almost ther-

he’s back, he pushes open the door to his bedroom. “i’m home engel!!!” he says so characteristically cheerful of him. you’re so… so… you were so close…? how is he so fucking cheerful right now. you’re biting your tears back, blinking rapidly as to not cry, as he just walks over to you and mindlessly starts babbling about his day whilst stroking your hair. what the fuck? this is so unfair. this is so fucking unfair. you were so fucking close.

“…and then kaiser scored, it was soo cool!!! how was your day? did you miss me?” he looks at you dead in the eyes, you used to find his smile cute. now it’s just… unsettling. alexis ness is truly sunshine in a bottle. if the sunshine was crazy. and had eyes that bore right into your very being. and a smile that’s a little too big for your liking. and barely blinked. and- “well? did you?” he’s still looking at you with that humongous smile. jeez it’s uncanny. you gulp nervously and nod your head, not trusting your voice to not shake if you verbalise the (kind of) lie. he laughs at that and comforts you “well i’m here now!!” you’re still tied up, well kind of, the rope is all loose, you might still have a chance of getting away from this sicko.

“do you want me to untie you?” he muses. no? don’t, don’t, he’s going to see that you almost escaped. but if you say no, that would be weird? just try anyway. “uhm- n-no thanks alexis- i don’t mind being all- like- tied- it’s nice i guess?” you give him your fakest smile and bat your eyes, partially to be cute and partially to not cry. he simply just laughs at you, “oh baby you’re too cute! of course i’ll untie you, i’m home now, and you won’t be able to get away. and you didn’t even try to get away. ah, i guess that means you looove me doesn’t it, liebling?” fuck. no. now you even feel a little guilty, he seems so fucking happy. fuck you alexis ness.

as he goes to begin untying you he realises that his ropes are so loose now around your wrists. he freezes, hovering over your shoulder hands on your wrists. it’s scary, he’s not even moving, what the fuck? your heart is going erratic in your chest, it might rip out of the confines of your ribcage and onto alexis’ bed. “you tried to leave me, didn’t you?” he still hasn’t moved. “oh- well- no? w-why would i- i do that?” you try to sound as convincing as you can, but you know it’s fruitless. and you’re fucking scared. as kids, you always pulled stuff like this, when you were first getting into magic. you guys watched an escape artist in the streets and thought it was so cool, how did he get out of those binds? maybe ness will just see it as that and everything will be okay! yes; that’s exactly what’s going to happen, you shouldn’t stress yourself!

his head sinks into your shoulder and you feel him scowl. “how could you try to leave? don’t you like me? don’t you remember all the time we spent together as kids? how come you don’t love me anymore? when we were younger you said you loved me, did you stop loving me? what did i do wrong” he hits you with too many questions at once, and you don’t know what to do. you did say you loved him as kids, and you still do a little, but you miss the ness you thought you knew, this isn’t the alexis you knew and loved. you almost had a crush on him in highschool, almost. but he moved away to focus on soccer more. maybe if he never left, you would be in a normal relationship right now, not this scenario ripped straight out of a 12 year olds wattpad story. you’re not exactly scared of him hurting you, you know he wouldn’t ever do that. but since when did he get so… needy? was he always this insecure? you don’t ponder on it, because you already missed so many signs of him being completely and utterly crazy, you’re just not sure what to do, or say.

“ah- uhm- ness- it’s okay, sorry, i just really needed to go to the bathroom…? so i was- trying to like get untied i guess. sorry” you murmur out. fingers crossed he’ll believe it. he’s still quiet, head resting on your shoulder looking out into the rest of his bedroom. your heart is racing, your blood has probably circulated ten times that of the distance of a normal marathon around your body by now. man, you haven’t wished this since you got here, but can he just talk to you? say something maybe? he would never hurt you, he’s too sweet, but even you’re starting to doubt it now. the lack of communication is terrifying in this moment.

he just looks up after a while and smiles at you. “oh okay, i knew you’d never do that to me anyway! next time i’ll get you an ankle chain, so you can still go to the bathroom, would you prefer that?” he’s still smiling up at you from your shoulder. what is with this guy? how did his mood change so fast? you were sure he was about to rip your throat out just moments before. gosh, how can he say that with such a smile on his face. you just nod in return to his question, and he sits up and kisses you all over your face. “i love you, prinzessin! i’ll get you your chain tomorrow first thing in the morning, hope you won’t mind being tied up a little longer!” all you can do is smile awkwardly at him. yep, you don’t mind at all. definitely not. and as your kidnapper peppers your face with kisses and lets his hands roam all over your body, you can’t help but to wonder, is this really what the rest of your life is going to be looking like? maybe you can just pretend you’re kids again, playing some game, where he’s the wizard and your the locked up princess. just distract yourself from this, it’s sick, he’s sick.

and it’s even sicker when you struggle to know how to feel, since he’s kissing you so sweetly, so innocently. are you scared that you’re going to come to enjoy this arrangement? you should be. because you will eventually.

[p0orbaby]

can i request a katie mccabe x reader??

reader is pregnant with their 2nd kid and they go to watch one of her international games! pure fluff please :)

Family Fun Day

warnings: talks of pregnancy and morning sickness

a/n: I’ve been on a roll with the pregnancy fics recently I’m ngl

word count: 815

-

“Oh Christ, your mother is going to kill me” Katie mumbled to herself regretfully as she tried to wrangle a very squirmy toddler.

The task usually hard on a good day, but when a child is loaded with sugar and covered in, she wasn’t quite sure, it takes ten times more effort to keep them still.

“Who’s idea was it to give you chocolate, eh?” She asks her son who just looks at her with his bright blue eyes and confectionary covered cheeks.

“Well it certainly wasn’t mine”. Both Katie and your two year old turn their heads in unison at your voice. Two sets of eyes landing on you, finding arms folded and brow raised accusingly. “I leave you two alone for five minutes and look what happens”

You knew their tricks. They were the perfect tag team, and it was exhausting trying to keep up with them. But you wouldn’t have it any other way. The laughter, the chaos, and the love that filled your life were all worth the effort. Your family was your greatest joy, and you wouldn’t trade these moments for anything in the world. Even if your kid was covered in chocolate and ready to bounce off the walls.

“He just got confused,” she explained. “I said one, but he thought I meant one handful. An easy mistake to make”

You narrow your eyes, looking between the two of them with a smirk. “Sure babe”

Katie sets Finn down so he’s standing on an unfolded seat. His sticky little hand clinging onto hers like a lifeline. “You good?” She asks, eyes sliding to your protruding belly.

Despite your size, you didn’t actually feel too bad. It was the first trimester that almost killed you off. Morning sickness was no joke and it caused you your fair share of rough days. But now, well into the second trimester, you were starting to regain some energy and getting back to feeling a little more like yourself.

Katie had been incredibly supportive throughout it all, taking on more responsibilities at home and making sure you had everything you needed. She had a knack for making you feel special and loved, even when you felt like a bloated, hormonal mess.

You smile softly at your wife’s concern. “Never better”

Even now your wife was hesitant to leave your side. She glanced at the field, then back at you, a bit torn. “I’ve got to start my warm-ups soon, but I don’t want to leave you alone with his sugar rush,” she says, her eyes filled with guilt.

You chuckle and give her a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be just fine, won’t we, buddy?” You direct your question to your toddler, who beams and nods enthusiastically.

She smiles, relieved, and leans in to give you a quick kiss. “Alright then. Finn, you’re the man of the house while I’m out there scoring goals, okay?” She ruffles Finn’s dark hair, and he nods with a sense of importance, puffing out his chest a little.

Katie turns to you this time, “be careful. If there’s any problem with the baby, remember to flag-

“Flag down one of your medical staff, I know” you finish for her.

“Promise me”

You lean in for another kiss. Lingering long enough for her to know you will do exactly as she says if need be. “I promise. Anyway, I’m supposed to be telling you to be careful”

She grabs your chin with her thumb and forefinger to keep your eyes on hers. “I’ll try”

“Babe”

She rolls her eyes at your seriousness and smirks. “I promise I’ll try to be careful”

Well, you suppose that’s the best you can hope for.

Katie grins at your reluctance to take her word for it, and places a hand on your growing belly gently in appreciation. No words needed as you answer her silent question.

“She’s been kicking since we got here. I think the noise has woken her up” you state, stroking the top of your stomach.

Katie chuckles and leans in, placing a gentle kiss on your baby bump. “Sounds to me like she’s just excited for the game”

“Speaking of, you’re being summoned” you tilt your head in the direction of the field. Her teammates waving her down, instructing her to get into the grass sharpish.

She gives you a final quick kiss and ruffles Finn's hair once again. “I’ll see you both after the game. Love you”

“Love you too. Go show ‘em what you’ve got,” you say with a proud smile, watching her make her way down towards her team.

As the game begins, you and Finn settle in to watch and cheer for your favorite player, your heart swelling with delight. Your baby continues to kick and move inside you, as if she knows her ma is out there, ready to conquer the world.

[xuchiya]

"Quick Reaction" || kang yeosang || one-shot

| genre: non!idol ateez. fluff. slice of life | mentions: teasing. fainting. jewelry gift. | This is literally my high school delusions. My old school is literally an 'old school' school like no phones and computers, being in a relationship is not allowed, and big ass windows as our source of fans--- i mean we do have electric fans and ceiling fans but with the weather and a very old, close to dying, e-fans? We really have to depend on the wind from our windows. Anyways, this list is basically a true experience. My personal favorite? Song Mingi's.

You were bored out of your mind, wishing you could have brought your book or your drawing pad to pass time, although everything seemed to be going smoothly—until your professor called you to the faculty room. "You're missing an assignment," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice as she added, "and so is your classmate, Kang Yeosang."

Anything but that. You cried, stomping your foot to the ground out of frustration. You sighed internally, mentally retracing your steps to figure out which assignment had slipped through the cracks. As you walked to the faculty room, carrying your notebook and pen, you bumped into Yeosang, who had the same expression of concern on his face. You both exchanged knowing glances, resigned to your fate.

“You lost your assignment?” Yeosang asks. You shake your head, “I’m not sure either but I know I wrote it and had a perfect score. What about you?”

Yeosang shrugs, “I guess I was cutting class when it was given.” Both of you giggling knowing that is farfetched. He never does and never will, most especially his mom is your math adviser. Besides, there are guards blocking the two entrances of your school gates, so there is no point in cutting class unless you decide to fake ‘sickness’ to not attend school.

Standing outside the faculty room, you could hear your professor bustling about. "Alright, since you two are here, I’ll dictate the assignment instead, but since students aren’t allowed inside, I’ll give you the answers too. Be quick, though—it needs to be passed immediately and the head will not be happy to have students inside."

You pouted, “We could just work inside the classroom.” 

“Oh … you’re right. You may go but I hope to get this one before dismissal and ask one of your classmates to dictate some of the homeworks you both are missing.”

And that’s how you found yourself inside your classroom. Yeosang stays at the other but you both agree to stay at your classroom instead. You pulled out your notebook, your pen poised to capture every word. Years of training as a news anchor for your upcoming college years had honed your ability to take notes swiftly and efficiently. Yeosang, however, wasn’t faring as well. As your classmate, Hongjoong rattled off the questions and answers, you noticed him out of the corner of your eye, struggling to keep up. His eyes darted from his notebook to yours, then back again, frustration clear on his face.

"Hey, hey, what’s this..." he whispered urgently, tapping you on the shoulder to grab your attention, leaning over your shoulder. It wasn’t until you leaned back to check on him that both of you realized how close you were. Your faces stopped just inches apart, your breath brushing against his lips. Yeosang froze, his gaze trailing over your features, taking in every detail. His heart pounded in his chest as he noticed every imperfection—each one making him feel something unfamiliar yet undeniably warm.

"Hey, if you two are gonna kiss, let me turn around first!" Hongjoong teased, breaking the moment.

Startled, you both pulled away, cheeks burning with embarrassment. You quickly handed your notebook to Yeosang, avoiding eye contact as you nervously fiddled with your pen. Meanwhile, he hid his face behind your notebook, furiously scribbling down the remaining answers, trying to ignore the heat still lingering on his cheeks.

As both of you finished the assignment, he took your notebook and he handed the assignment to Hongjoong who insisted on bringing them to your professor since he will be passing by the faculty room and towards the auditorium. After thanking Hongjoong, Yeosang glanced at you, a shy smile tugging at the corners of his lips. You met his gaze for a brief moment, sharing a silent understanding, before both of you looked away, the air between you filled with unspoken words and the beginnings of something new.

[bbina]

"what are you doing here?"

wonbin stifles in his laughter seeing you all alone in the same restaurant he was at. it was valentines day and since he had no one but himself, he decides to take himself out on a date (totally not because he was moping in his dorm that he couldn't score a single date, no definitely not that)

you roll your eyes, crossing your arms. you just had to run into him at the restaurant your date told you to go to.

"obviously i'm on a date? can't you see that?" you grumbled, turning away to look at the empty seat in front of you. your date was late that it had you a little worried

wonbin bursts out laughing at the mention of your "date"

"you have a date? how much did you pay them?" he cackles, lowkey feeling jealous that you even scored one. not that he wanted to ask you in case you didn't have a date. no he didn't want that. he'd never. or does he?

feeling irritated with just his presence, you slam your hands against the table. he stops laughing as he gets startled at your outburst

"how about you? what are you doing here? didn't think you'd be the type to celebrate this corny day" you raise an eyebrow at the boy in front of you. what was he doing here anyway, you think he'd probably had a line of people asking him out for valentines day but you didn't think you'd see him all alone

wonbin scoffs, "for your information, i told my friends i'd go on this stupid double date with them." he lies. he wasn't just gonna admit out loud that he was bitchless on the most romantic day of the year. he'd probably never hear the end of it coming from you

you hum, totally not buying it. it was almost physically impossible for wonbin to go out on a double date that his "friend" asked him to. park wonbin on double dates? there was just no way

"and you're telling me all this because..?" you stare at wonbin who looks like he was at a loss for words. he rapidly shakes his head as he composes himself

"it doesn't matter. now back to you, where's your date at?" it was his turn to pester you

you purse your lips shut as you pick up your phone to bombard your date for tonight. he wasn't even replying to your messages, despite him asking you out. you checked the time to see he was already 30 minutes late to your appointment. it's safe to say that you were stood up

wonbin picks up on your silence and lets out a chuckle

"you've been teasing me all this time just for you to get stood up?" he taunts. internally cheering that your date didn't show up. this could be his chance to have a date with you

"..."

you keep silent after that, feeling the embarrassment creep up your veins. with a sigh, you start to gather your stuff before wonbin invites himself to your table.

"you're lucky i'm hungry." wonbin muses, picking up the menu in front of you as he scans through it

"what are you doing..?"

wonbin peeks at you through the menu, a gummy smile on his lips, "on a date"

the way he said that was so smooth that it gave you whiplash. there was no way in hell that wonbin suddenly had this effect on you

"i thought you were on a double date? what happened to that?" you asked, raising an eyebrow at the now blushing boy in front of you

"... i lied. i had no date" he confesses, dropping the menu down the table. you laugh at his demise, forgetting that you also got stood up.

"you're no in position to laugh at me! you got stood up so that makes us even" wonbin points out. now no one's laughing. you awkwardly cough in response to his truthful accusation

"whatever" you huff, snatching the menu off the table to start ordering.

"well it's a good thing i arrived, no?" wonbin says smugly that it makes you want to pull your hair out.

"i hate you" you grumbled, feeling defeated over the whole thing. you just wanted to get this night over with even if it had to be with your sworn enemy

"the feeling is mutual" he coos, teasing you. "i know we started on the wrong foot but just this once i want us to try again"

"what do you mean?"

"let's reintroduce ourselves" wonbin proposes

you think this valentines day craze is getting to his head because what did he mean by that? you've known him since middle school being in the same sport as him and since then you've become enemies. he has always pestered you and vice versa. at one point you two have claimed that you were sworn enemies but look at you now

"i'll start" wonbin says, "i'm wonbin" he reintroduces himself again. you still didn't understand where this was going but since you had nothing to lose, you play along

"i'm y/n.."

"hi y/n, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

'he's definitely lost it' you think to yourself. you start laughing like crazy, "give me your plug. i need some of that too after tonight"

wonbin frowns at your comment. why can't you take him seriously

"i'm serious!"

"i'm serious too. seriously wonbin, what the fuck's gotten into you?"

you think this was way below the belt. it's not nice to get your feelings played and to think wonbin was pulling shit like this is making you genuinely upset

wonbin sighs, "fine. i'm sorry. i know i've been an asshole to you all this time but it's because i didn't know how to talk to you so let me make it up to you after all those years. please?"

you sat there staring at wonbin for who knows how long. trying to process what he was trying to say. what you're getting is that wonbin wants to start things fresh with you

"i had the longest crush on you and i actually can't believe you still haven't noticed after all these years" wonbin murmurs, feeling small with the way you've gone silent. maybe he shouldn't have dropped the bomb so casually with the way your eyes have widened

"what?"

"whoops. secret's out" wonbin holds his hands out

you actually cannot believe what the fuck is happening. first you got stood up, then you unexpectedly meet wonbin at the same restaurant, now you're hearing him say things you thought you'd never hear from him

"you call all those teasing and tormenting, flirting?" you ask bewildered, making sure you heard him right the first time. there was actually no way in hell that all this time, wonbin has a crush on you

wonbin simply shrugs, "it is in my books"

"you're unbelievable, park wonbin" you breathe, in disbelief over the turn of events

"you still haven't answered my question yet!" he protests. your answer is all he needs and if you say no then he'll never bother you again

with an irritated sigh and a pinch of your nose bridge later, you defeatedly say yes

"fine! i'll go on this date with you. you have one chance to prove all that yapping you just did" you turn away from wonbin to hide the small blush dusted on your cheeks

wonbin smiles and looks down at his lap. "you won't regret it. i promise"

"i better not!"

"can we order now i'm starving and i know you haven't ordered anything in the past hour"

"you paying?"

"a man should never make his lady pay" he waggles his eyebrows suggestively before calling out for a waiter. with an unexpected turn of events, this valentines day will be something worth remembering

permanent taglist: @callanton @fxckingshame

[kimsmuse]

Hiii, I just came across your blog, and I L O V E it! Since you said you were looking for a recommendation, here's one from me. Yandere school president. They have immense power at their school because not only are they the president, but their parents own the school. Their word is quite literally the law at this school. He just so happens to be head over heels in love and obsessed with you. Give in to their obsessive and possessive love or suffer the consequences. Since he holds so much power, he can make you a school outcast in less then a week, and he can have teachers fail you or pick on you for the stupidest reasons ever, he'll make your life a living hell at school if you don't accept his twisted and fucked up love, it's best to just be a good darling, and let yourself be loved on his own terms. It's a concept I've thought about a lot, but I haven't seen much of it. Anyways, thank you for your time, and keep up the good work!!!

okay okay omg first of all your brain???? this way too good and oml now i'm sad i spent my entire school life without a class prez like this :( but let's talk about this !!! this is mildly inspired by this one guy from the kdrama called taxi driver (ep 3) !!!

gender neutral!reader. warnings for obsessive behavior, mentions of killing someone but it's nothing graphic. blackmail/coercion type thing?? and typical yandere behavior.

okay so yandere!class president who is so focused, he's the top student of the grade and he's good at sports too?? captain of the basket ball team?? i don't know how he does it because i really couldn't but anyway even apart from that he keeps on taking part and neatly scoring in debates, and writing contests, you name it and he's doing it. it does happen sometimes that he ends up getting silver or bronze but he's there on the list somehow.

and obviously if you've ever been a teenager then you know how attractive this type of people are, because they're good at everything, because they look very unattainable and bonus for our class president is that he's super hot as well. so obviously he had a classroom filled with admirers. and he loved the attention, who doesn't? but he's never thought more of it than that, the aspect of romance is kinda alien to him, he's had his fair share of physical relationships (if they can be even called that) but none of them too good to stay.

so he keeps on with his day, his cram school, having lunch, dinner, studying, more studying.

and when he bumps into you from his way back from the library, he just stops dead in his tracks as you attempt to pick up the books you both dropped, and when you look up at him he's literally frozen. who are you? why has he never seen you around? why do you look so pretty? hey, where's that romantic instrumental playing from? why-

"hey, mister, are you okay? i didn't hit your head or anything right?"

and trust me when he's the literal embodiment of the ":0" emoji.

anyway, but that guy has never had a crush before so at first he just feels like its some kinda internal intuition? that there's something wrong with you or something.

but then he finds himself trying to find your class, sitting there on the excuse of talking to some friends and obviously he's welcomed there.

and he figures that his initial impression might be a wrong because you were such a sweetheart. not as popular as him, and you stuck to your 2-3 friends but he saw the way you would smile at people - a gentle, warm one. and he quite literally died when you greeted him that way once, surprised that you would know about his existence

it wasn’t that he forgot he was famous but having a crush really does wonders to your self esteem.

also you best believe he's digging up all your information, your past schooling if you've transferred, your parents' background, your social media and duh, where you live, where you work.

and if you work somewhere like a cafè or a convenience store, he's there for half the day, "studying" for exams and stuff, he claims it helps more than studying at home. and all the time his eyes barely register a page because he's looking at you as you're hard at work, helping customers, greeting them with that damned, charming smile and then in rare moments he looks at you as you lose that demeanor and sigh out of exhaustion. poor baby, he wished he could something for you so bad in those moments.

and then comes the part where his friends (he has a lot of friends but he believed that when you have a crush you shouldn’t tell everyone? also given his popularity... he figured it wouldn't be a greatest idea ever. so he only told like a guy or two) they adviced him to just go up to you and ask you out? what's the problem even? he's literally the golden boy of the school, why would someone reject him ever? you shouldn’t even be worried about that, dude! but with that confidence in himself, he decides on a day, nothing too significant and he looks at himself in the mirror.

"uh, actually, i do have a partner," did you hear that? the glass shattering? uh, that was his heart. that was his reaction when you told him this. but it was true, you had a partner in another country (which made sense that the yandere did not come to know of this before because he had been following you, just to make sure you were safe ofcourse, and he did not see a persosn who could classify as a romantic threat) and you loved them very much! no matter how cute and great this guy was, you were loyal to them.

and now cue the yandere's sad era. but only for like a day or two. until he realizes something. this was absurd, you were rejecting him? when so many people would literally kill for something like this? it was unbelievable. but he was deadset, this was the first time he felt this way for someone and he was determind to make you feel the same, or at least keep you with him, and he would do it with any means necessary.

he realized that your friends' parents were mere employees in his dad's company so all it took was one meeting. "stop talking to y/n." for them to start ignoring you and they did not even try to keep it lowkey and you had to resort to sitting alone at lunch, giving an easy access to the guy who used it as a time to sit beside you and tell you about his day, nevermind the fact that for the first few times you would just up and leave. and then you finally decided to just snap.

"what the fuck do you want?" you look at him, frustrated by all these things, and changes happening in your life in less than a week.

he just smirked, that mf had the audacity to smirk? "you, ofcourse,"

now he wasn’t quite violent because he'd just entered adulthood, he did not want to fuck up and spend the rest of his years in jail (not that he actually would because his parents would be hiring the world's best lawyers for him) but he did imagine it, murdering your s/o. he did not know what they looked like, but all they saw was you happy in their arms and as much he loved that little smile of yours, he wanted it to be for himself! not someone else!

so anyway, after you storm out on him after the last conversation, you get your english test results back and a big, red F is staring at you.

and normally your parents weren't grade obsessed but you would boast to them about how good you were at english and how much you loved the subject and even the teacher agreed thaf you were good at it.

when you meet with the teacher after class, he just removes his spectacles and rubs his eyes, "listen, y/n, you're one of the smartest students i've had the pleasure of teaching. so make the right choice, it's good for your future. just say yes to him. he's not bad, you know,"

he was behind this???????

you felt even more utterly helpless when you found that the yandere's parents fund almost more than half of the school so there’s nobody who would be willing to go against them and help you, no matter how much you would plead them.

"a transfer? don't even think about it, baby, nobody is going to issue that certificate unless i say so,"

chills run down your neck as he whispers this. you were truly stuck with him.

[late-to-the-party-81]

Daddy's little cumdump

Request: Been toying with the thought of a dom!Tony lately, maybe he’s the readers boss or just with some DBF! energy? 😌 They definitely fuck! With a bit of slapping or spanking, hair pulling too and maybe just a little (or a lot) degradation 🫠😩❤️

AN: @lauratang - you asked for filth and here it is. I do not apologise for this one iota….

Beta’d by @mxaether

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and banner by me

Masterlist

Summary: A summer internship with your Dad’s boss and friend, with the man you’ve had a crush on the past 4 years? What could possibly go right wrong?

Relationship: Boss and DBF! Tony Stark x Intern Reader

WC: 2k

CW: Age gap (reader early 20’s, Tony mid-late 40’s), power imbalance, forbidden relationship, Tony has BDE (and a BD), spanking, hair pulling, rough sex, unprotected sex, blow jobs, vaginal fingering, degradation, Daddy kink, cum play, pet names, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, mention of sex toys, mention of exhibitionism.

Smack!

The heavy hand came down on the meat of your right asscheek and you let out a noise halfway between a shriek and groan. All the time he continued to plough into you from behind, his thick cock rubbing against your walls in the best way.

“You’re just dumb for it, aren’t you sweetheart? You’d let me do anything I wanted, wouldn’t you, as long as I promised to stick my dick in you somewhere.”

His grip was harsh in your hair, holding your head back, and making you bend into a bow shape. The pain was a delicious counterpoint to the pleasure shooting through you.

Smack!

Another slap to your ass, the other side this time.

“I didn’t hear you answer, babygirl. Use your big girl words for Daddy. Agree you’re a dumb slut.”

You let out a low whine, your pussy somehow getting even wetter at his words.

“‘M a dumb slut, Daddy. Want your dick in me all the time.”

He snorted in amusement from behind you.

“Now, there’s a thought. Wouldn’t it be nice to have you sitting on my lap, bouncing up and down when I’m in a meeting. In front of everyone. Even your father…”

Oh fuck! Your walls clenched, as a mixture of arousal and shame rushed through you, and you heard him chuckle.

Tony Stark. Your father’s best friend and colleague, and your boss for the summer.

You’d met him for the first time when you were 19, home for the summer from your first year of college. While you’d been away expanding your mind your father had scored a new job in the R&D department of Stark Industries. 

It hadn’t meant much to you at first, other than a bit of fan-girling over the fact that your father actually saw Tony Stark regularly. However, the charismatic face of the company had decided to hold a company picnic for 4th July weekend, and it was there that you’d been introduced to him.

You’d been shy, ducking your head and trying to hide behind your hair as your heart had been beating loudly in your chest, you swore that your parents would hear it. You knew what Tony Stark looked like, of course, had seen him in the media, but meeting him in the flesh was altogether a different thing. He’d been dressed down, in scruffy jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt, but he still managed to knock all the air from your chest with one smile.

He’d been convivial, taking your Mom’s hand, kissing it, flattering her just the right amount to make your Dad beam with pride. Then your dad had introduced you, waxing lyrical about your college achievements so far.

Tony had shaken your hand and then smiled at your Dad before bumping his shoulder.

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree then. Careful, bud. She might run you out of a job if she keeps on.”

All three of them had laughed out loud, your Dad reminding him you were studying marketing, and therefore no threat to him, and your Mom giving you a jovial shoulder hug, but you’d just wanted the ground to open up and swallow you, because the sinful thoughts you’d been having were gonna send you straight to hell anyway. You’d somehow gotten through the day, sticking close to your mom as much as you could, and pretending not to notice the man who was goddamn Iron Man, because your body had been pulsing with a hereto unknown level of desire.

Luckily, or unluckily, you didn’t see him again for a full year, until the next corporate picnic. You’d hoped that with the passing of a year he wouldn’t affect you so much, but you’d had no such luck. His effortless charm and handsome face had been as distracting as previously, and you hadn’t known whether you’d wanted him to pay you attention or ignore you entirely - when he’d spoken to you, you’d barely been able to get a word out past your suddenly parched lips, but once he’d gone, circulating amongst his guests, you’d hadn’t been able to take your eyes off him. The cycle had continued for a further two years until you’d finally returned to live with your parents again, having gained your Bachelors degree in Marketing.

Getting a job was the next hurdle for your life, but you’d frozen in panic when your Dad had gleefully announced that he’d managed to organise for you to have a summer internship at S.I., assisting Tony  directly, no less. Which is what had led you to where you were now. 

Within a week he’d cornered you in his office, and let you know he knew how you felt, had been watching you watch him over the last few years, and said if you wanted to do something about it, all you had to do was ask - he was captivated by you too. Your internship wasn’t at risk, and neither was your father’s job - he’d made that clear. The ball had been fully in your court.

You’d dithered for a few days, not feeling as though what was happening was real. He was older than you (although not as old as your Dad) and was, obviously, exceptionally powerful. You weren’t a shy virgin, having had a boyfriend in senior year of high-school and had a few dalliances while at college, but you’d have been the first to admit that the sex had never been as mind blowing as you’d been led to believe it would be. To be honest, it was that thought which had decided you on your path, because if sex could actually feel the way it was described in books and movies, then you’d had no doubt that Tony would make it feel that way.

Monday morning of your second week had rolled around and as Tony had returned from his first meeting, and flashed you a smile as he’d walked past your desk, you’d gotten up, followed him into his office, shut the door and dropped to your knees in front of him.

“Aren’t you an eager little thing?” 

The condescending drawl had gone straight to your pussy as your fingers had fumbled with his belt and the fly of his Armani suit pants. When you’d freed his cock, you’d come to a grinding halt, the thick warmth of it lying in your hand and your mouth open in a small ‘o’. Tony had titled your chin up with his index finger and when you’d looked at him you’d seen he was smirking.

“Don’t be intimidated, sweetheart. I’m sure you can manage it, a clever girl like you. Come on, give it a go.” 

You’d done so. You’d licked up and down his length, before swirling your tongue around his tip and then taking him in your mouth. He’d tasted wonderful, and as you’d bobbed your head up and down, jerking the lower half of his cock with your hand, Tony’s broad hand had stroked over your head and his lips had started to spew filth.

“That’s it, baby girl. You take what you want, what you need. And you do need it, don’t you. Aah-aah, not too fast. Savour it. Savour it. It’s not a race. Take your time.”

You’d done as he’d told you, slowing your movements, and, fuck, it had done something to you. You’d felt every ridge, every vein, as his cock had moved through your lips and over your tongue. Without realising it, you’d let out a little moan, when you’d tasted the drops of pre-cum that had leaked from his tip. You’d heard a thunk, and a glance up had revealed that Tony had let his head fall back against the wall behind him, but your attention had returned almost immediately to the task at hand.

“That’s it. Isn’t that better?”  He must have looked down at you, because he’d chuckled again. “You gone dumb on me already, sweetheart? No thoughts in your head at all now apart from having my cock inside you. Just… aah… think how good it will feeling when I’m deep in your pussy… fuck. Yes… come on… you’re gonna swallow it all, like a good cumdump, aren’t you? Swallow all of my cum. Don’t waste a drop…”

He’d cum with a groan, flooding your mouth and you’d tried your best to comply with his demand. You’d licked all over his softening cock, cleaning him up, and when you’d finally tucked him away you’d realised that your pussy was throbbing with need. Tony had seemed to immediately know what you’d needed. He’d pulled you up, and spun you both so your back was now to the wall. He’d swiped his thumb at the corner of your mouth, and then pressed it between your lips. You’d sucked on it automatically and he’d smirked.

“Told you not to waste any, baby girl. Now, let Daddy help you out. You must be drenched and aching after that.”

His other hand stuck its way up your skirt, deftly pulling your panties to the side and sinking one finger straight into your soaked pussy all the way up to the third knuckle. The thumb in your mouth muffled your moan, and you’d sucked on the digit harder as he’d pumped his finger. Within a few strokes, one finger became two, and then became three. Your hands had clung to Tony’s suit jacket as his fingers had filled you. When he’d taken his thumb from your mouth you’d whined, but he’d covered your lips with his own, kissing you, claiming you, and you’d cum on his fingers as his tongue had tangled with your own.

That had been three weeks ago, and nearly every day the pair of you had fucked in the office. You’d also had your theory proven correct - it wasn’t sex that hadn’t been as good as you thought, it had been those you’d been doing it with. Tony, however, could turn you on with just a touch, and could drag wave after wave of pleasure from you. It was addictive. He’d also unlocked kinks within you that you didn’t know you had. You called him Daddy, the taboo nature of it sending a thrill through you every time the word left your mouth, and his sweet but condescending degradation left you soaked and in need of new underwear.

Today you’d managed to keep your hands off each other until lunch time. Tony had buzzed  your desk from his office at 12.30, and you’d picked up your notepad and pen as cover before heading inside and closing the door behind you.

He’d pulled you into a deep kiss, hands popping the buttons of your blouse and groping at your tits, before he’d roughly spun you and bent you over his desk. Your skirt had been pushed up and your panties dragged down your legs, which were then kicked apart to allow him access to your already dripping cunt. His plunging fingers had stretched you out quickly, before he’d sheathed his cock in you to the hilt, and set up a punishing pace.

Now here you were, agreeing you were a dumb slut.

He’d already wrung one orgasm from you, the evidence coating your thighs and you knew you were close to another. He never edged you, preferring instead to make you more and more delirious from overstimulation. At least today he wasn’t cupping a bullet vibe right over your clit - you’d had to spend the rest of the day sitting at your desk after that one…

The tension in your body and the clenching of your pussy gave you away to him, and he chuckled darkly.

“You gonna cum again, baby girl? Gonna cum on Daddy’s fat dick? Yeah, you are, aren’t you? Come on. Milk it. Make me cum too. You’re so greedy for it. Need your pussy full of cum to keep you happy when it’s not full of cock.”

“Yes, Daddy. Need your cum. Cum in me. Please!”  You broke off with a whine, your pussy spasming, your own cum rolling down your thighs and your vision going black. You heard Tony’s own cry of completion, felt him continue to pound into you as he filled you with rope after rope of cum until it too was leaking out of you, mingling with your own.

You didn’t like to think about what would happen when the summer came to an end. Would Tony still want to see you when you were no longer a convenient fuck? And what would your parents say if they found out?

Your worries disappeared though, driven from your head, when Tony pulled his cock from you, but immediately replaced it with his fingers, pushing your combined cum back into your puffy cunt.  

“You’ve got another one for me, haven’t you sweetheart? Gotta stuff that cum deep into you so you don’t lose any later on when you’re taking the meeting notes and your panties are in my pocket…”

!

[luimnigh]

Let's Rate The New Champions!

So, this month Marvel is doing a run of themed variant covers. Each cover depicts a design for a teenage sidekick of the star of each book. This is inspired by the recent creation of Spider-Boy, aka Bailey Briggs, a young boy who claims to have been Peter Parker's sidekick for the last three years, but who all memories and evidence of his existence have been erased from reality.

So the idea is that all these characters are sidekicks that existed, but had their existence erased.

The weird thing is that Marvel didn't call these the "Teen Sidekick" covers, they're calling them the "New Champions" covers- the Champions being an existing team of teenage superheroes.

Almost as if they're saying they want to make actual characters of these covers.

As a resident fan of a Marvel character spawned by a run of themed variant covers inspired by a character created for a Spider-Man storyline, I thought I'd give my thoughts on each, propose a name and secret origin, and rate each concept.

Now, I am not an artist or a character designer, I am absolute layperson, the opinions expressed within are merely my own impressions.

So let's begin with:

Comments: I really like this. It's fairly simple but the pearlescent colours really add an oomph to the design. She looks like she either has hard light or magical powers, and they look really neat. And I really like the clawed fingertips on her gloves, tieing her back with Black Panther.

Secret Origin: Probably a tech or magic prodigy, out to defend Wakanda. I know T'Challa is no longer King in his current run, and is dealing with internal struggles, so maybe she's someone trying to step up and fill the void.

Hero Name: Is Neon Panther too obvious? ...wait is this design a Nyan Cat reference?

Score: 8/10. Just a really solid design.

Comments: That's Timothée Chalamet. That is Timothée Chalamet as a teenage boy version of Doctor Strange.

Secret Origin: Well, due to Strange not learning magic until he was an adult, "Time Travelling Teenage Strange" is out. Honestly, Strange is old enough to have a teenage kid, but also Strange is married to a woman from the Dark Dimension who is half-energy being, so who knows how quickly a child of theirs would age. If we're going with the idea that these characters were erased from existence, "Strange's Son" is a workable idea.

Hero Name: Well Dr Strange is the guy's real name, so this kid would probably just be Timmy Strange. Or whatever first name you wanna give him. Not Adam Strange, though, that's owned by DC.

Score: 5/10. It's not bad, it's just not creative.

Comments: Yes. Punk Rock Thing? Absolutely Yes. Fantastic design, oozes personality, the background gives a clear idea of character to this kid. I love it.

Secret Origin: The aforementioned Yancy Street is Ben Grimm's home turf. In the past, he's done some work combating gangs and mentoring the kids there. So this is a kid who's grown up in a bad neighbourhood, but has had a big-name superhero who grew up in the area keeping an eye out for them and their friends. At some point, they got caught up in a Fantastic Four adventure, get hit by cosmic rays, and become a Thing, so Ben takes them under his wing. They become a protector of their neighbourhood.

Hero Name: Wild Thing. Punk Rock. Spike. Take your pick of stone-based puns.

Score: 10/10, no notes. It's a punk rock Thing with stalagmites for spikes, it's a perfect idea.

Comment: Maybe I just like the punk look, but this is fucking adorable. This is a tween kid, who upon developing weather powers has decided she wants to be like Storm, and specifically she wants to be like Storm in her punk phase. Good taste, kid.

Secret Origin: X-Men are really easy to justify giving teenage sidekicks to, because even when they don't have a school, they're usually inviting mutant kids to come live in their mutant communities to escape violence anyway. So, X-Men, Mutant, fan of Storm.

Hero Name: I've heard people use Maystorm for this kid, but I don't know of that's an official name or not. If it is, may I suggest a real name of April Showers for pun value.

Score: 9/10.

Comment: On first glance: generic. It's just a kid version of White Vision. Gotta love MCU synergy. And there's already a teenage Vision, his daughter Viv. But there's an extra layer to this that they could use. White Vision was a version of Vision that was rebuilt after being destroyed, without his memories or personality. With his flight and intangibility, the ghost symbolism is obvious. So, symbolically, what we have here is a robot ghost child.

Secret Origin: Like I said, Robot Ghost Child. I mean, if you want to break the rule on these being new characters, there's an obvious candidate: Vin Vision, Vision's dead son from The Visions. A ghost of his son, haunting his and his daughter's lives.

Hero Name: Probably something kinda poetic, like "The Spectre of Vision".

Score: 5/10 for basic concept, points docked for lack of creativity and an already existing teenage version of the character, 8/10 if they decide to make them a Robot Ghost Child.

Comments: Okay, first off: Blade already has a teen sidekick, his daughter Brielle aka Bloodline. And as a result of that, I almost dismissed the design as merely okay. Then I had to describe everything this guy is wearing, and I realized that this design fucks severely. Two belts? Three necklaces? A fishnet sleeve under a elbow brace? Dude's stepped right of Final Fantasy to kill vampires and get into a homoerotic rivalry.

Secret Origin: Well, he's here to kill vampires. He was probably traumatised by vampires at some point. He probably started out hunting vampires on his own, crossed paths with Blade, and Blade took him under his wing.

Hero Name: ...I'm trying to think of a name based on blood or a bladed weapon, but I got nothing.

Score: 8.5/10.

Comments: Adorable. Like, maybe too adorable. That's either a very young kid, or that species is naturally quite small. I do love that they went with something more non-human.

Secret Origin: Absolutely some alien kid who looks up to Star Lord.

Hero Name: Squid Lord.

Score: 8/10.

Comments: Could Nora Valkyrie and Pyrrha Nikos please come pick up their child? No, but seriously, this really works. Like, it's recognisably Magneto-inspired while having it's own colour palette and identity. She clearly has hard-light abilities rather than Magneto's magnetism, but the top left also seems to imply hacking as part of her powerset as well. Perhaps that's justified by the electro- part of electromagnetism? Y'know, interesting direction to take it.

Secret Origin: ...look, I don't want to call Magneto a slut, but this would not be the first time he had a child who just reappeared in his life. If she's like, fifteen, then she would have been conceived soon before he made his debut on the world stage. Given how she favours his aesthetic, she may have even been brought up knowing he was her father, unlike the rest of his children. Probably idolizes him to an extent.

Hero Name: I've seen a lot of people suggest Magenta. I feel that maybe that could be her real name, though? Her being named after his pseudonym would be interesting. As for the hero name, though? Well, Monica Rambeau isn't using Spectrum right now, and that's a term in both light and electromagentism...

Score: 8.5/10

Comments: Y'know, I'd once again point out that there is a teenage Venom around... but given that's the white symbol on his chest, I think that could be Dylan Brock. Anyway, adorably creepy, clearly a kid. The question is: Alien or Demon? Venom is an alien, but Inferno (2022) did put Venom into contact with demons. And they do kinda look Dracula-inspired...

Secret Origin: Maybe alien, maybe demon, either way looks to be a Venom fan. Honestly, probably some sort of baby that's imprinted on Venom and follows them around like a lost puppy. A very deadly lost puppy. With the fluffy ruff? Nobility of some kind, too. A alien/demon prince.

Hero Name: I kinda want to do something with "bite", but I also think they could just be "The Prince In Black" to match Eddie Brock's current "King In Black" title.

Score: 7/10. Point docked for there already being a teenage Venom, who even has own sidekick in Rascal.

Comments: The problem with trying to make a Wolverine sidekick is twofold: one, Wolverine already has plenty of sidekicks. Two, there's already plenty of Wolverines. This person is competing with Fang aka Daken aka Akihiro, Talon, Laura Kinney, Gabby Kinney, Bellona, and Jimmy Hudson. And that's just counting the ones that I know are alive. And even the concept of a "more feral Wolverine" isn't even unique or original. It's just another Wolverine.

Secret Origin: ...the one thing that I keep looking at is that foot. It doesn't really strike me as Wolverine-y. It feels more... Sabertooth. So fuck it, let's pull a Conner Kent: they're a person who was made from the DNA of both Logan and Sabertooth, to try and create the ultimate killer. Logan's taking them under his wing to try and make sure the kid grows up to be a better person than either of them, hoping that nurture beats out both the natures in them.

Hero Name: Well, "Feral" is already taken, so fucked if I know.

Score: 4/10. Unoriginal, and the position's already filled multiple times over from multiple different directions.

Comments: There's already a Kid Deadpool. Kidpool. He was a member of the Deadpool Corps. He died in Deadpool Kills Deadpool, the second sequel to Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe Vol 1. This design is just Deadpool as a teenage boy, and that's not even a unique idea.

Secret Origin: Fuck it, clone. Can't be a biological son, both because that would undermine the previous storylines surrounding Deadpool's daughter, and if he was as much older than Ellie as he looks, he'd have been born before Deadpool got his powers. So clone.

Hero Name: Probably just Teen Deadpool or something. Teenpool.

Score: 4/10. I'd score him lower but Wade seems to like him.

Comments: Cyberpunk Rollerskating Teen Girl Ghost Rider. I fucking love it. Like, being a Ghost Rider makes anything fucking metal, but the contrast between "teen girl on rollerskates" and "flaming skull demon of vengeance" really adds to the cool factor. The digital design to the skull also adds a unique quality, and it's not unprecedented, Robbie Reyes' skull is also more artificial that his two predecessors. It's clearly a Ghost Rider without being a copy of prior designs. Absolutely perfect.

Secret Origin: Well, from what I know from Tumblr is that teen girls like the occult, so I can imagine this girl summoning her demon of vengeance herself. But fitting the cyberpunk angle, rather than bullies I think she was probably out to get some corporation that was running riot over her community. Ghost Rider likely then heard stories of a demon of vengeance wrecking havoc on evildoers in the area, and went to check it out, and that's when he met her.

Hero Name: Firewire, the Unholy Roller.

Score: 10/10. I've seen some argue that Robbie Reyes already fits the Teen Ghost Rider niche, but he's alway been more of a Young Adult, so no points docked.

Comments: Speaking of contrasts, one of the major points that basically every popular version of the Hulk does is contrast brains and brawn. Every human side of a Hulk is an intelligent person, to contrast the brawn of the Hulk form. Bruce is a genius scientist, Jennifer is fantastic lawyer, and Amadeus (the existing teenage Hulk!) is the seventh smartest person in the world. So making a Hulk that's a dumbass, as the image implies, removes a layer of complexity from the character. Aside from that: it's just a blonde Hulk.

Origin Story: The only interesting thing I can think of is making him a kid who drove onto a nuclear testing range, but unlike Rick Jones, he didn't have a friendly scientist to save him. Then he probably seeks out Hulk himself, to help control his powers.

Hero Name: I dunno, Bulk?

Score: 4/10. It's just... so unoriginal. So close to the original.

Comments: It's the Mark 1 Iron Man suit with wings. So it kinda looks like he's taking inspiration from Mach, the former villain turned hero who changes his codename every time he upgrades his suit. Despite there already being a teenager in an Iron Man suit, Riri Williams, this one actually does provide a contrast with her by using the clunkier, more primitive design of the Mark 1.

Secret Origin: As the original, there's been multiple versions of the Mark 1 armour over the years. Not a far reach to assume one was destroyed at some point, and it's remains went unrecovered until this kid found it, fixed it up, and decided to use it. Tony, having a history of bad things happening when he loses control over his tech, likely went out to confiscate it, saw the kid being a hero with it, and gave his approval.

Hero Name: Honestly, Mark-1 sounds like a hero name already.

Score: 7/10.

Comments: Well, it's just someone in Miles' suit, but with long dreadlocks. Not the most creative, to be completely honest, but it does an eye-catching distinction. However, I think this someone is supposed to be a girl, and that does imply something specific going on here...

Secret Origin: Miles Morales had a Clone Saga of his own a couple years back. So, in the tradition of Ultimate Universe Spider-Men: a girl clone of Miles. This time we can probably have discussions of gender dysphoria and explicit comparisons to being transgender as part of her story. Give everyone who wanted more out of Ultimate Jessica Drew exactly what they want.

Hero Name: There's already five people sharing the name Spider-Woman, one more won't hurt.

Score: 7.5/10, not the most creative, but extra points for the potential for social commentary.

Comments: Oooh, I like this. The hat, hood and facemask gives him a sort of Bedouin-inspired look that really works with Moon Knight's Egyptian origins. And I love the little throwing moons between his fingers, and the armoured gloves, clearly this kid is nearly as violent as Moon Knight usually is. This design overall works pretty well.

Secret Origin: It is my understanding of Khonshu that it would be totally in-character for him to resurrect a dying child to be a Fist of Khonshu, and then dump him on Moon Knight to take care of and train him. Which would lead to conflict between Moon Knight and Khonshu, and also inner conflict as Mark/Steven/Jake could see this as them training their eventual replacement, while also grappling with the morality of putting this life on a kid.

Hero Name: Well, unfortunately Moon Boy is taken. Moon Squire? The Lunar Page?

Score: 8/10.

Comments: The more I look at this the more I like it. It's not an incredibly striking design, it's quite subtle and simple, but it's well-put together and it does grow on you. I didn't even notice the horns the first few times I looked at her. It looks similar enough to Wanda's current outfit in the comics that it's easy to see them as team, without being a direct copy.

Secret Origin: Well, there's probably a demonic or eldritch component to it. Honestly, Wanda recently absorbed Chthon, maybe she accidentally a magic baby using part of a demon again. Give her a kid to raise who isn't off ruling the Kree-Skrull Empire or wherever Tommy is nowadays.

Hero Name: Stellar Witch?

Score: 8/10.

Comments: So, interesting contrast with the other Hulk on this list, the cover ultimately gives us less information about who she is, but given that I didn't like the last guy's information, that ultimately comes off as a bonus. Comparing her to the motorcycle, she appears to be the smallest Hulk we've ever seen, and I like the contrast of small size/physical powerhouse. The design is very civilian, but that does work for a Hulk

Secret Origin: In the spirit of She-Hulk, let's say she became a Hulk due to a medical emergency. Childhood cancer, experimental gamma-ray treatment gone wrong, activates a latent mutation, permanent Hulking like She-Hulk used to be. She met Jennifer Walters when her parents hired her sue the hospital. They won the case when Bruce testified that without a latent mutation in her DNA, the amount of Gamma rays she was subjected to would have killed her.

Hero Name: Hulk Girl. Hulk names usually aren't creative.

Score: 7.5/10. Not the most creative, but some effort put in.

Comments: Okay, giving Black Cat an apprentice does seem like a cool idea. I do like the jacket over the jumpsuit, and the inversion of Felicia's usual colours. Though I do question a thief dressed in bright white, it's probably not the most impractical thief outfit in this image.

Secret Origin: Well, given the shared hair colour, I'd suggest they're related. Cousins, maybe? I know Felicia apparently has a niece, maybe it's her nephew. At the very least, I think he sought her out to learn from the best, rather that her deciding to take someone under her wing while spotting them out thieving.

Hero Name: I'm sure there's a White Cat out there, so instead I'm going to suggest Calico.

Score: 7/10.

Comments: Now here's one that went in an interesting direction with the assignment. The suit is very Steve Rogers, but the wings harken towards Sam Wilson. Taking elements of both Captains America, and making something new out of them. The insect-like design of the wings make them distinct from Sam's. They almost look like they could belong to The Wasp. The hexagonal paneling and the way they glow makes it look like they're made with hard-light.

Secret Origin: Honestly, she looks like she could be the daughter of Janet Van Dyne and Steve Rogers, so why not just make her the alternate-universe daughter of Janet Van Dyne and Steve Rogers, stuck on Earth-616. She traveled to this universe, chasing a villain, but found herself unable to return home after the villain stole her travel device. The whole "all evidence of her existence being erased" thing would hit harder for her, as this would be the second time that people who are supposed to be her parents don't know who she is.

Hero Name: I'm torn between Glowbug, for the glowing wings; or Doodlebug, for Yankee Doodle.

Score: 8.5/10

Comments: Once again: there's already an existing teenage version of Captain Marvel. You may have heard of her. Aside from that, I do like how he takes elements from both Carol's Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel outfits, and I do have to give it props for being one of only two designs here where a male sidekick is taking inspiration from a female character. I do wonder why this teenager seems to be working with the US Air Force, though.

Secret Origin: Actually, that gives me an idea: this kid's parents work for the US Air Force. One night, he wanders out onto a restricted part of the base, and stumbles on an Air Force experiment that goes wrong and ends up empowering him. The Air Force goes "it's free supersoldier" and starts sending him on missions. Carol finds out, and after blowing up at the Air Force for deciding to employ a child soldier, takes the kid under her wing.

Hero Name: Well, Marvel Boy is taken, and so is Captain Marvel Jr. How about another one of Carol's aliases: Warbird.

Score: 7.5/10.

Comments: Oh this is fucking awesome. I've seen people say she looks like Jinx Arcane/LoL, and yeah I see that, but it still looks absolutely rad. Her mace has a very interesting design, and it's clear that she has lightning powers, which connect her to Thor, but the Ravens are usually symbolic of Odin. Almost as it trying to say she's connected to both. A lineage.

Secret Origin: In myth, Thor has three biological children. Magni and Modi, his two sons, have been explained in Marvel comics as existing in a prior version of the Aesir, from before a previous Ragnarök. But no such explanation exists for the lack of Thor's daughter, þrùdr, or Thrúd. With both visual references to Odin and Thor in her design, she clearly looks like she's supposed to be related to both, and this character being Thrud would do that. Thor's daughter, who's existence was erased from reality, but who's name is still uttered in the Poetic Edda. Hell of a concept.

Hero Name: Even if she's not Thor's daughter, I'd still vote to call her Thrud. Have his sidekick be mistaken in myth for his daughter.

Score: 10/10. Absolutely great. No notes. Surprised she doesn't exist already.

So in conclusion, a lot of great concepts mixed in with a few not-so-great ones. I don't think all of these should be introduced to the 616, but a couple of these would work as great additions. Personally, I'd predict the Thorsdottir has the best shot of actually coming into existence, purely for the fact that she'd work as MCU synergy, with MCU!Thor now being a dad. And I can't be mad at that, she's one of the best concepts here.

[extasiswings]

I have been noticing things, and I don't know what to make of them, so I am bringing them to you, because you have been blessed/cursed by Apollo's dodgeball and are also great at connecting dots. I apologise.

I am worried about Buck's lungs. His sats dropped when he was in a coma, to the point of needing ECMO, but during his recovery we only saw him see a cardiologist, no respiratory rehab was mentioned. Now his PT scores are down. The show has also been weirdly pointed about focusing on sats monitors being put on people's fingers during calls. They've done it on at least 3 of the calls since Buck's been back, and at no point have the people's sats been mentioned - even the woman face down in dough, who was started on oxygen. That in itself isn't a big deal - they're a quick way of getting a heartrate, and its standard practice to put one on. But why keep showing them? Then this week, Maddie had the call with the kid where she had to remind him how to breathe.

So, what do you think? Is there anything there, or am I projecting because I'm having to have respiratory physio after covid?

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more unhinged! No, there is DEFINITELY something there and I'm not gonna be normal about it. There are a couple of different places my mind went to (because it's not just Buck, Eddie's in this too) so apologies if this is scattered:

Buck + Death is the big overarching theme looming over Buck's healing journey. Buck's life has been about Death since before he was even born, when he was conceived to be a savior baby...and was a match...but Daniel still died anyway. And Buck has been running towards Death ever since, seeking it out, courting it like a lover without even realizing why, never knowing that Daniel's ghost was haunting him. He has internalized so completely this idea that his value is entirely dependent on what he can do for others, on how much he can sacrifice, can give, up to and including his own life. The fact that the problem was Buck's lungs in the episode where he was reckoning with Daniel for the first time while trapped in his subconscious mind was inspired and a huge callback to Buck Begins, after Buck first learned about Daniel, with Buck in the warehouse fire taking off his mask and telling the guy he was trying to save that he would just hold his breath. And Buck's been holding his breath in a sense ever since. Spiraling. Stagnating. Regressing. He quit therapy. He trapped himself for a year in a soulless relationship because he was already depressed but then the shooting happened and Eddie basically told him he wasn't allowed to keep trying to kill himself, taking away one of his main self-harming coping mechanisms (passive suicidality brushed off by telling himself he's actually helping people), all of that.

There are also the crush injuries surrounding him (which I wrote about in 6A as being super sus). Thomas and Mitchell and a car accident crush injury, the first call where Buck begins explicitly associating romantic love with death. Buck being crushed under the ladder truck, which ultimately led to the blood clots and a pulmonary embolism because he wouldn't let himself rest and recover, wouldn't let himself heal or slow down, because he was too focused on getting back to work where he could (in his mind) be useful, be worth something, could save lives. And he admitted then that he didn't know what/who he was without the job, and ironically almost torched all of his relationships with the people who love him regardless in order to get back to it. And then of course there's also Lev. Lev trying to find the secrets to happiness but instead being crushed to death by a walkway that collapsed because the hotel identified the problem but never made the repairs. And it was through him that Buck started thinking that he could find all the answers he's been looking for in death.

But...Buck died. Actually died. And despite his joke about his math powers and being the guy with the answers, he doesn't have them all.

At the end of 6x11, he took a breath. He took a step. He allowed himself a little bit of self-awareness, of self-reflection, he dipped his toe into the water of the root trauma that has led him to all the others. But he's awake now, and what has he done? By all accounts it looks like exactly what he's done every other time/like he's falling back into the same bad habits. He let his mom steamroll him into getting him a couch that he didn't want. He threw himself back into work as soon as he could and keeps trying to brush off the fact that he went through a serious trauma (physical/mental/emotional) to the point that the people who love him have to keep reminding him that he literally died. He has the tools he needs to heal, but isn't actually taking the steps to get there. And, as you point out, they're potentially foreshadowing that there are still problems with his lungs that may still get worse.

Because Buck is, at heart, one big crush injury. He has been suffocating under the weight of trauma after trauma since he was born, conceived in grief and then discarded. He has been suffocating under the weight of hiding his true feelings from others (up to and including hiding them from himself) and leaving so many necessary things unsaid. But it also makes me think about Eddie and Home Invasion and the call at Marisol's and everything that I've been saying about insulation as protection but too much protection stifling you so much that you can't breathe. Buck being "the settler" in romantic relationships because he can't get hurt (at least not as badly) if he's not actually attached to the relationship, never going after/asking for what he really wants. Eddie being his own variation on "the fugitive" always running from the things that he's most afraid of. Both of them trying desperately to protect their hearts from getting broken and instead ending up in a place where they are both always dying...

Idk, there's something about Buck + Death and Eddie + Fear and Buck constantly suffocating vs. Eddie drowning, and Buck starting the season not wanting to make the same mistakes but also possibly "misunderstanding the assignment" with this death doula, and water finding its level...yeah...yeah...

[plural-affirmations]

Heyo I don't know if this is a good place to ask, but. Our partner system has recently had alters born within their system (natalgenic) and we've been struggling to find anything about how other systems raise literal brain babies.

We've both been finding out as much as we can about childcare, but with the kids being born in-sys, there's just. Quite a few things that are different (like ya know, the whole different people controlling the body thing).

If anyone has any resources or advice of any kind, it would be greatly appreciated!!

— 🌳🐗🌸

This is a tough one, but according to the internet, here's some things I'd recommend. Under a cut for length reasons. Also, the advice about trauma is easy to skip if it doesn't apply to you. I'm not trying to assume anyone's origins, just covering all the variables haha.

Keep in mind that baby headmates can have severe trauma and trauma responses like any other system member. Trauma can happen at any age, any time. Also, what's traumatic to a baby is a much lower threshold than adults for obvious reasons. The body keeps score even if you don't remember the event.

Babies often have basic feelings such as happy, sadness, scared, etc., and they're commonly without speech. (They may or may not understand language on a conception level, but unable to express themselves through it for whatever reason).

You might need help taking care of them properly. I'd strongly suggest supervision during fronting, either internally (co-front) or externally (someone in the outerworld watching them).

I'm not one to promote forcing people to stay away from front since it's really shitty to do that in most cases, but if they genuinely have no way of guaranteeing the system's safety (due to the inherent vulnerability of an infant), it might be best.

If you CAN let them front though, try to set up the area around you in advance. Sensory items, blankets, a pillow fort, toys, somewhere to read or listen to music, maybe even some kid's TV, things like that.

Like you already mentioned, parenting books might be helpful. I'd personally go for things geared around newborns, or whatever age the headmate is.

Babies form for tons of reasons; innerworld pregnancy, being traumalocked, needing to have basic needs met more often, brain just decided "idk man why not", etc. It's in no way required to know (and certainly not worth stressing about), but if you happen to be able to figure out why they formed, you could change your approach to suit whatever helps them grow and heal.

Speaking of growth! They might not be babies forever. I unfortunately do not have a crystal ball, but some alters can age later on. The kids in your system might just be that type of brainmate y'know? So be prepared just in case.

Wow, this is entirely too long, but I've spent too much time on it so it's getting posted anyways 💀 Sorry for all the information, I hope I didn't overload you! Godspeed 🙏🏻

🖤💜💙💚💛

[intheholler]

Been reading your posts about the accent and all, and I wanted to share two horror stories I wrote in my accent. :)

Knock Three Times

Ol' Knocky

Also it's interesting reading your posts about it - I've always been proud of my accent and my home and not exactly able to empathize with people who internalize the prejudice and turn against their home. So your posts are helping me see that side of things more.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Mount Airy, and of course we pride ourselves on Andy Griffith and Mayberry and all that. So maybe I got lucky and didn't grow up around the shame as much.

As for people assuming we're "dumb" - in 7th grade I scored high enough on the verbal part of the SAT to go to Duke's TIP program. There was a girl there from Tobaccoville with the thickest accent I've heard yet. I hope she kept it and I hope she's proud of it.

Anyway I love your blog and I hope you keep fighting the good fight. :)

hi, thanks! also thanks for being here contributing a counterpoint perspective.

i'll explain it how i see it personally: it isn't like the accent is just a collection of sounds or something equally as simple. it is one of the accents and dialects that carries on its back something much heavier. this has to do with code-switching, which occurs in all sorts of sociolinguistic cases.

it also isn't necessarily us 'turning away from home' (i'd like to address that further in a minute).

so to the sociolinguistic point:

in my case--and in a lot of cases given by those who have shared their stories with this community here--we are queer, non- or ex-religious people with leftist ideals. the opposite of what people are adamant about associating this region with.

the accent has become like a hallmark of that kind of behavior we don't align ourselves with but are still stereotyped and harmed by.

it seems to be a common experience that we want to hide the accent so we aren't automatically pegged as being the exact opposite of who we truly are.

because so many people, consciously or subconciously, revert to their misconceptions when they hear it, before we even have a chance to show them we're of like mind. i say this as someone who moved away from appalachia for several years. it's a thing. i promise.

so if you're trying to see it from our perspective, i think that's an important thing to understand. lord knows there ain't shit wrong with the accent itself. to me, it's home-y and warm, soft and familiar and hospitable.

it's what the accent unfortunately implies before we can get a word in edgewise. it isn't fair that we are made to feel this way, and i am hoping by reclaiming my own accent as i have been, i will be changing minds for the better.

but socially--its HARD. its EXHAUSTING. and code-switching has historically just been so much easier.

also--and i say this gently--i struggle with your idea of "turning away from home," because it reminds me of something regressionists in the south/appalachian south say about young people leaving the region, calling them traitors. this us-them mentality simply needs to be dissolved.

i am not turning away from my home when i protect myself from hatred and vitriol based solely on how i drawl my "i" sounds. my home has turned away from me.

it was always mine, always ours. my ancestors--our ancestors--were generous, loving, community-driven, hospitable folks. these hateful fucks have stolen what it once was and projected an awful image out into the world instead. that's not on me. all i can do is try to set it right again.

thanks again for your thoughts! <3

[archiveikemen]

Liam Evans Main Story: Chapter 1

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by downloading and playing their games.

read this before interacting with my posts

If I'm understanding the story correctly, Liam tends to have an internal monologue. He hears someone talking to him, and he'll respond to their words through his thoughts. It could also be that he has some hallucinations. But anyways, when the voice is talking to him, their lines will be written in bold to show the difference. Liam's thoughts / response to the voice will be in italics (like this). This will apply to all of Liam's stories.

—

Under the dazzling spotlight, he received the rounds of applause and cheering that resonated through the theatre.

The audience's eyes were so filled with emotion, it was as if they were reaching for the brightest star in the sky.

[Liam's POV]

Liam: Thank you all for coming to our theatre tonight!

(I’m back to being me again.)

The magical feeling of living as that role faded away, and everything was back to reality.

A cold feeling radiating in my heart as reality was thrust before my eyes.

Hey, Liam. These cheers aren't meant for you.

These passionate, starstruck eyes aren't directed at “you”.

(Yeah. I know.)

That’s right. So, what is it you have to do now?

(... Work harder.)

(I’ll work harder and harder. It's okay, I know what I’m doing.)

(Or else, I…)

Ahaha. Correct, Liam. Good job, perfect score.

…

[Kate's POV]

After I was brought to Crown’s castle, I only managed to catch a few winks of light sleep before morning came.

Sitting on the bed in a room still unfamiliar to me, I thought back to the words I heard last night.

– Flashback Start –

William: There is an imperial organisation under direct command of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, all of its members are “cursed ones”.

William: — And that’s us, “Crown”.

William: We take on shady tasks ranging from spying to assassinations. In other words, the dirty work that the police or military can’t do.

– Flashback End –

(“Fighting evil with evil” for the sake of England’s prosperity.)

(That is Crown’s duty… as I was told.)

I spent a whole night here, and yet there were still so many things I didn't understand.

But there was one thing that was clear to me.

It was that I had “found out about a forbidden secret”.

A secret that nearly cost me my life.

(If I want to return to my normal life, I have to fulfil my role as a “fairytale master” for one month.)

While I “recorded”, Crown would be “watching” me.

(They’ll let me go once they can believe that I’m trustworthy enough to keep their secret.)

I looked at the jet-black typewriter on my desk.

I chose to work as a postwoman because I enjoy seeing the moment people's hearts are touched.

A few months ago, I started practising to use a typewriter, in hopes that I could one day help others write their letters.

(I never expected to end up using that skill to save my own life.)

(I wonder what kind of stories I will be writing as a fairytale writer.)

That evening, William invited me to go on a mission with him.

William: Victor said “Kate’s first partner should be William”.

Alfons: As usual. That's our overprotective aide to the Queen for you.

Kate: Alfons, will you be joining for the mission too?

Alfons: Yes, it’s my honour to be present for your first time. Let’s enjoy your first mission together.

Kate: I’ll try my best to not get in anyone's way. I look forward to your guidance.

At the same moment I suppressed my feelings of anxiety and bowed my head—

???: Hey, hey, are you going on a mission?

(...?)

A sweet vanilla scent that could drive a person crazy wafted through the air as his rose coloured hair swayed.

Liam: And Kate’s going? Wow, then I want to come along too!

Kate: Liam-san…

Liam: Uh-uh, not “Liam-san”. Just Liam. We’re friends… right?

Kate: Wah…!

With cat-like movements, he linked his hand with mine, and I caught an even stronger waft of that sweet smell.

Liam: Hey, Will. Can I go too?

William: Do whatever you want.

William: — But I just want to say, judging from that script you're holding in your hand, aren't you rehearsing for a play?

Liam shrugged his shoulders like a child getting caught for mischief, and I heard him mutter “too bad” under his breath.

Liam: Kate, are you scared to go on the mission? Will you be alright?

(... I’d be lying if I said I’m not scared.)

I refrained from saying anything that would increase my fear.

Kate: Thanks for worrying about me. But I’m really fine. I’m tougher than I look.

Liam: Ahaha, really? Even so, be careful not to get hurt.

William: Now, let’s get going. Kate and Alfons.

Kate: Okay…!

We took a carriage through the dense forest and arrived at the gate of a mansion seemingly belonging to an aristocrat.

…

Kate: Erm, is it really fine for us to enter without permission?

William • Alfons: It’s wrong, right? // We shouldn't.

(Huh?)

Servant: Who’s there!

Alfons: Speak of the devil. Here comes the guard.

William: Alfons.

Alfons removed his leather gloves in a bewitching gesture and stroked the nape of the guard’s neck with his fingers—

Servant: Hm? Are you done serving our master? You maids better work harder than you’re paid to.

Alfons: Yes, yes, that's right.

In that servant’s eyes, the three of us appeared as maids and not strangers.

(... What is this?)

Alfons: I can temporarily alter someone’s memories. A very convenient ability, don't you think?

(Oh right, every curse has its own “ ability”.)

The night I first met Crown, William used his ability to make me “obey his every command”.

William: Come on, let’s hurry. Our target is waiting for us.

When we pushed open the heavy door and entered the room, the mansion’s owner seated at the dinner table rolled his eyes.

Mansion Owner: W-Who are you…

William: Good evening.

William: I’m your friend who wrote to you saying “let’s talk in person tonight, just the two of us”.

William: How could you forget about that?

He was tricked — the blood drained from the mansion owner’s face when it hit him.

Mansion Owner: Hey! Someone come! Anyone…

William: “Shut up and stop moving. Answer my question with honesty.”

Mansion Owner: …!

William walked gracefully around the owner, who sat motionless on the chair.

William: “Golden Butterfly” — do you know anything about it?

Owner Mansion: I don't know… I really don't…!

William: Hmm? Is that so…

William: In that case, you’ve “served your purpose”.

William picked up a knife from the dining table and handed it to the owner—

William: “Slit your throat with that knife. Be quick about it.”

(...!)

In the blink of an eye, my vision was painted red.

My heart pounded at the sight of the disastrous scene in front of me — my heart was raging.

(I…)

(... I didn't expect…)

Kate: … Why?

Kate: … Why… did you have to take his life?

William: This man offered an investment opportunity to an aristocrat at a salon. He told him that he had an excellent deal for him.

William: With the money he made from those “investments”, he involved himself in human trafficking.

Kate: … Oh my gosh.

Alfons: While claiming them to be investments, the money was used on such shady business. And the mastermind behind all that… is this gentleman right here.

William: After his first strike, Her Majesty the Queen had her eyes on him. But he committed the same crime a second time, so I took matters into my own hands.

William: It’s easy to imagine the number of victims who will end up dead if this man were to be kept alive, no?

(So that’s why you beheaded him. Like removing a flower with rotten roots…)

William: Kate.

William: I’m not going to say that what we did was the right thing. No matter what the reason is, the act of taking a life can never be justified.

He narrowed his blood red eyes as he saw through my confusion.

William: Now, how do you intend to write about this as a fairytale writer?

Upon returning to the castle from the bloody mission, I sat in a corner of my room with the lights still turned off.

…

(Maybe I… I didn't understand Crown’s resolution at all.)

They accepted their own evilness, and are fighting it with evil.

— In the pitch darkness.

I was the only person at the scene who was unprepared for the situation, so I couldn't give an immediate response.

The maid brought me dinner, but I couldn't bring myself to even touch it.

My eyes were downcast as I questioned how I was going live in this place from tomorrow onwards, and that's when—

???: Hey. You’re not going to eat that?

(Huh…?)

(I’m sure I just heard someone’s voice.)

I looked around my room, but saw that I was the only one there.

Suddenly, Liam appeared out of nowhere, similar to how the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland appeared.

Kate: Wah…!

Liam: Wah! I’m so sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you.

Liam: I was worried about you, so I snuck into your room.

Kate: How did you do that…

Liam: I can become “invisible to the human eye”. In other words, I have the ability to make myself disappear.

Kate: Are you saying that you used that ability and entered my room with the maid who brought me dinner…?

Liam: That’s my Kate. Spot on!

Liam: I planned to sneak back out after seeing you eat your dinner, but…

Liam glanced at my untouched dinner.

Kate: I’m sorry for causing you worry. … I’m pathetic, I know.

Kate: I was allowed to accompany them on the mission, and yet I couldn't say a word because I lacked the same amount of resolution they had.

(I shouldn't have said that. I’ll only make him worry about me even more.)

Kate: But tomorrow, I’ll start afresh.

When I turned to look at him with a smile, Liam touched my cheek with his finger.

(...?)

Liam: Hey, Kate. You don't have to force a smile when you don’t want to.

Liam: Forcing a smile is an act of kindness towards the people around you, but you’re not being kind to yourself, you know?

(...)

Liam: Still… I guess there are times you have to keep smiling. But, for now, it's alright to take a break.

Liam: Alrighty then. I’ll show you something good to reward you for your hard work.

Kate: Something good…?

Liam: Yup, it’s especially good. Let me see… Kate, I’ll borrow “this”.

He leapt onto my bed with swift movements like a cat’s—

The bedsheets fluttered beautifully in the moonlight.

Liam: Well, well, looks like there's only one audience member for tonight?

Liam: One is enough, though.

Liam: Now, as a stage actor and a member of Crown, I will put on a show just for you.

The moonlight softly framed Liam’s figure, he was the only one shining in the pitch dark night.

— He was like a star.

My feelings of depression were forgotten, and I could only stare at him in awe.

At that moment, for the first time ever, I felt like I was visually captivated by something.

Liam: ��� The name of tonight’s show is called “Don Quixote”.

Liam: It’s showtime! I’ll make you forget all about those frightening and unpleasant things.

Even now, I remember you as a star that fell from the sky without warning.