#and outerwear? you wear your outerwear on the way there silly!

[airandangels]

I don’t like this because every time you want a pair of pants you have to disturb everything else.

How to Pack Luggage?

[after-witch]

A Snowy Interlude [Yandere Illumi x Reader]

Title: A Snowy Interlude [Yandere Illumi x Reader]

Synopsis: You play in the snow--a rare treat.

Word count: 1418

notes: yandere, kidnapped reader, mentions of past abuse

“Are… you… sure this is… allowed?”

Even if it weren’t cold, your words would have come out slow and almost stuttered. But the cold air doesn’t do anything to help the eloquence of your speech, which comes out haltingly, words carefully chosen and accompanied by puffs of your whitened breath. 

Illumi’s face remains, as almost always, impassive.

“What do you mean, allowed?” He asks, finally, watching as you take each piece of winter clothing from the standing butler and slip them on. Gloves, a scarf, a hat, all fitted perfectly to your form. 

It would have been nicer to put them on before stepping out into the winter air, but you hadn’t been outside in months, and you weren’t going to complain about a thing. He did have you step into winter boots first, at least, and a winter coat. 

“I just mean,” you reply, watching as the butler gestures for you to step into a pair of thick, puffy snow pants–the kind you used to wear as a kid, “I haven’t been outside in… a while.” 

Your voice warbles as you hold onto the butler’s arm support and step into the puffy pants; butlers were the only other people you were allowed to touch, besides Illumi. Even then, they knew to never touch first; you could touch them like furniture, like a useful thing. 

Illumi hums. “No, you haven’t. I felt it inappropriate for you to be outside.” 

You don’t comment–you don’t want him to elaborate and change his mind. Or worse, decide that it is inappropriate for a newly-minted Zoldyck wife to step outside the mansion looking like an oversized marshmallow.

Once you’re dressed, the butler stands aside, and you let your gaze wander across the garden. 

It had really been snowing. Illumi had let you sit at the window watching as the flakes fell, thin and almost rain-like at first, but then gradually getting thicker and fluffier as the day went on. It snowed for almost three days straight and now the entire estate looked like something out of a pretty winter story–the roofs all covered in white, the same pretty sparkling white that covered the ground and went up past your knees.

It was all waiting, just beyond the cobblestone path leading back inside the estate. It had been neatly shoveled out and you tried to picture the butlers shoveling it bit by bit, as your neighbors were no doubt doing back home. Well. What had been home, before all this. 

Illumi doesn’t make to move, and you give him an awkward look. 

“Um. So. Can I… go out there?” It’s a silly question, you realize. Why get you all dressed up for being outside if you were just going to stand on the shoveled path? Oh. Well. Actually. Maybe it's not so silly, and Illumi was just being irritatingly over-protective about the cold.

And perhaps you’re right to question it, because Illumi’s eyebrows furrow. Just a little. Just enough to notice.

“Oh,” he says, as if he hadn’t considered it. He pauses, and you wonder if this is it, your time outside will just be spent standing at staring. “... Yes. I suppose that’s all right.”

Something like happiness prickles your chest and you step away from the shoveled cobblestones, boots sinking into the deep snow. The sound of each step is so familiar, so nostalgic; the swish of your snow pants with every movement, the soft crunching of the snow, the way it yields underneath your boots.

Your smile grows without you realizing it as you make your way into the garden, arms out at your sides for balance. How long is it since you’ve been in the snow like this? Even before Illumi took you, it wasn’t like you had the time for it. 

You were a kid, surely. Maybe 12 or 13, the last time it was still considered cool to dress in bulky outerwear and trudge your sled up to the neighborhood sledding hill. 

A sense of wonder overtakes you, and it feels like the past few months are left behind you, standing alongside Illumi and the butler–the training, the pain, the burns, the bruises, the broken arm and fingers. The instructions and etiquette and rules, rules, rules. 

How could they come with you, as you begin to trudge–happy then happier–through the snow? 

It’s so thick you feel like if you fell down, you’d be lost in it. Maybe you’ll sink to the ground. Maybe you could make a snow angel–or a cave. The urge to fall overtakes you as it so often did in childhood and you simply plop backward in the snow. The thump hides the sound of Illumi rushing forward, though perhaps he would have known how to run through the snow silently anyway.

When you look up, you see Illumi, of course. But beyond that is what you’re interested in: the sky above you, all blue and lovely. There’s whiteness, too, the sparkling prettiness of the snow all around you. Some of the cold has seeped underneath your coat and scarf, burning your ears. But you don’t mind.

Of course, you’re eventually forced to acknowledge him, and you finally let your gaze focus on Illumi. He’s leaning down, his hair almost becoming a black curtain.

“Why did you fall?” He looks–almost concerned, you think. “Are you having a heart attack?” It’s funny, really, the way he phrases his so calmly. If you weren’t becoming somewhat decent at reading him, you might think he was joking. 

He’s not. So��

You blink up at him.

Then you move your arms and legs up and down, up and down, making a snow angel underneath you.

Illumi blinks back.

“Perhaps you’ve had a stroke.”

You grin, then, and clutch a handful of snow underneath your gloves. 

“I didn’t, to both. Haven’t you ever made a snow angel?” You ask, curling the snow together, beginning to form a ball and idly wondering if you’re brave enough to do it.

Illumi straightens his back, and looks at the impressions of snow you’ve left behind your arms and legs. He doesn’t seem impressed.

“No. I haven’t.”

Something pangs inside you, and a question floats up: what kind of childhood did Illumi have, anyway? Maybe he never played in the snow. Never made a snow angel, never spent hours digging out a snow cave with friends. Never slid down a hill and bashed into a tree and it hurt but it was fun all the same.

It must have been hard. 

Your fingers curl around your newly made snowball and instead of chucking it as his face, you sit up, and start pulling in more snow to make it bigger.

“What are you doing?”

You don’t answer. Instead you keep going, scooping, gathering, and rolling until you’ve got the makings of a fantastic snowman butt.

“Are you going to answer me?” There’s enough of a sharp pin in his tone and you hoist yourself up, using the round snowman butt as leverage.

“I’m making a snowman,” you answer. “But all I’ve got is the butt.” You gesture to your creation, stalling for the time needed to create the words, to ask the question. Surprising, how hard it is to ask Illumi to do something like this.

“If you want, you could… get some gloves and join me?” 

Illumi looks around you, at the disheveled mess you’ve made of the pristine fallen snow, at the clumps of snow clinging to your snow pants, your gloves, your hat. At the large round ball you’re proclaiming is a snowman butt.

At your face, beaming, carefree, in a way he’s never seen you look since before he took you.

“I don’t mind the cold,” is all he says, before he leans down and begins to mimic the way you scooped snow together. 

It doesn’t hold. He’s awful at it. And you do something you’ve never done before, at least, not on your own initiative–you place your gloved hands over his and curl your fingers in the right way, so that the snow gets packed together properly.

Illumi goes still, and you pretend not to notice, because you think he’d rather you didn’t. 

Instead, you keep on making your snowman, as Illumi slowly but surely gets the hang of it.

“I’m glad it snowed so much,” you say, quietly, cheerily, wondering if a butler could run inside to get carrots and something for the snowman to wear.

Illumi, in response, hums.

It’s as close as you’ll get to agreement. 

[chososcamgirl]

CLUBBING TOPS! - yeah this bitch goes partying EVERY weekend. also most weekdays bc sjap yn has a high alcohol tolerance. alcohol poisoning? never heard of her. these tops do it every. single. time. without fail. she wears any one of these slutty tops and she’s going home with a man. this girl has a mission! (and no it’s not to sleep with every dj that plays ayesha erotica for her. looks at megumi) don’t be fooled though she’s always down to share her clothes with maki or nobara bc she’s a girls girl (not rlly but she just loves her friends so much) she once caught panda trying to put her tank studio top one once and LOST IT. she started screaming at him that he already stretched it and he needs to buy her a new one… whole time the material was just stretchy she just wanted another one in a different colour (bc why would she pay $120 for a top when panda can!)

ACCESSORIES! - yn is a silver girl BY FAR. you’ll always catch her leaving with one if not all of these. she basically lives in hoops. showers in them, sleeps in them (i know that back piece is smells NASTY) she lives off the quote “the bigger the hoop the bigger the hoe”. MARC JACOBS FRIENDSHIP NECKLACE!!!! (yes i might’ve based this off me and my bff irl ok burn me) she has one on but the real question is who has the other? hint starts with p and ends in anda. but don’t be silly there’s no duos or trios cough yes cough in the group. they all have matching necklaces for eachother bc they couldn’t find a 4 friendship way necklace laugh out loud. she just prefers the marc jacobs one bc it makes her feel superior. CLIPS!!!!! yes she’s a sucker for cute hair clips arrest her. you will never see her with flyaways nah uh.

WHATS IN HER BAG! - her most prized possession… miss miu miu… she got it from the group for her 19th birthday (yes they all were broke afterwards and dine and dashed dinner but hey! can u blame them, that shit is expensive) and in so called expensive bag is ALWAYS a sonny angel. yes he does bring her good luck. the only time she forgot to put a sonny angel in her bag was when she got harassed via imsg.. sound familiar? this bitch vlogs EVERY MOMENT of her life. she has a secret youtube account where she posts her cute little city vlogs of her and her friends. she doesn’t expect it to go viral but it does shortly after she debuted man eater. one time she was at dinner and forgot her handy cam so she called her friend at home to come pick her up, drop her at home to grab her handy cam and then drop her back to dinner which she arrived shortly after her food did (wdym this isn’t a personal experience… heh… i lied sorry bff) and lastly her infamous pink hello kitty lighter. for blunts. and cigarettes occasionally. but mainly blunts.

TEES! - these are just some of the tops she would wear on air. the listeners can’t see her anyways but she loves to dress cute because it makes her feel good doing so. she was always so expressive via fashion because it’s illegal to kill somebody you hate crowd boos

BOTTOMS! - yeah so this bitch basically lives in mini skirts and booty shorts. no mind that her ass is out she refuses to wear pants. on the rare occasion she DOES wear pants it’s usually just bootcut jeans that flare at the end because it makes her ass look good.

OUTERWEAR! - she loooveesssss her jackets like she adores them. cold? putting on a jacket. being harassed? putting on a jacket legs are freezing due to said mini skirt? putting on a jacket. such a multi use piece of clothing! also comes in handy to choke out roommates when they eat your leftovers from the night before! oops!

SHOES! - this girl only wears two types of shoes. heels or knee high boots. nevermind that we are going to the beach she WILL pull up with kitten heels. but who needs the beach when clubbing is just as fun right? she does everything in heels. cook, work, griddy, kick a guy in the dick for groping her? you name it. put this bitch in 5 inch stilettos and she would still would NOT falter once not even stumble. she is a pro and actually needs to be considered for the olympics because that footwork technique is impeccable.

masterlist

taglist: @shokosbunny @luvvmae @catobsessedlady @satoryaa @prozacprinc3ss @essjujutsu @therealsatorugojo @yeehawslap @gojodickbig @dawnisatotalqueen @j2upiters @nappingnai @lalalasillybilly3000 @totallytatum @3cst4syy @lysaray @saltypuffin1040 @aozui @noodles-icetea @makeshiftproject @kurtcobaingirlie @kokoiinuts @renbittt @dashingaurries @slvttycorpse @cuupidsss @mochroialainn @tenjikusstuff4 @oroborosttheiii @ichcocat @iiwaijime @drugzforyou @sugurubabe @allthestarsarecloserrrrrrr @tyigerz @yoyo-yui @megoomies @yizmiu @jasminasblog22 @yomamablazeit @marst4rz @guitarstringed-scars @qtnfer @kalulakunundrum @lovefrominaya @beepbopzlorp @iheartlindz @itsdragonius @meguemii @chilichopsticks @7kn0wn @starantulas @1l-ynn @bonitoflakez @rcveriees @solaqes @starrysho @sukunaspillow @evry1luvssm

*if i can't tag you please change your tag settings otherwise i will remove you from the list!

[soobnny]

winter wind — lee minho.

trope. best friends to lovers. pining. minho is astronomically down bad.

synopsis. a look into lee minho’s realization that maybe he is eager for the affection of someone else featuring the menaces, seungmin and jisung

word count. 1.5k words

warnings. curse words and nothing else i think

note. this idea just suddenly came to me so please enjoy tsundere minho and this silly little fic

Lee Minho sighs out in relief when the pair of you finally make it to Chan’s apartment, immediately being greeted by a warmth in sharp contrast to the weather outside.

The winter wind was unforgiving, as it always is, nipping at Minho’s skin and harshly blowing a deep shade of red on his nose and cheeks. It’s a sight that elicits teasing from his friends, and he tries to shut them up right away before you can hear anything.

You’re still by the doorway, struggling to take off your winter boots. With the information that you’re out of earshot, verified by a quick glance your way, only heightens their teasing.

Heavy on Seungmin. He’s the only little fucker that isn’t easily intimidated by Minho’s infamous glare.

“You’re practically naked, hyung.” Minho wants to wipe the smirk off of his face so bad, but Seungmin isn’t technically wrong, only confirmed further upon double checking his appearance from the huge fucking mirror decorating Chan’s living room.

A sweatshirt and some pants — a pretty fucking terrible choice considering the temperature outside.

“It wasn’t that cold.” He dismisses.

His shivering hands and runny nose deeply contradict with his statement, and Seungmin all but laughs at how persistent Minho is at defending his case. Though, he is having an awful time trying to justify his friend’s clothing choice when he knows Minho usually walks to Chan’s place.

Lee Minho is far smarter than a sweatshirt and some pants.

Seungmin, and the rest of the boys, can only share glances in understanding when you come stumbling into the living room wearing almost all of Minho’s outerwear. His favorite puffer jacket is on you, engulfing your entire figure and that scarf sitting on your neck looks awfully like the one Hyunjin had gifted the boy a few birthdays ago.

So you’re the culprit as to why Minho’s quietly made his way to stand by Chan’s heater to catch a glimpse of his normal temperature.

“Coldcoldcoldcold—“ You pause your conversation with yourself when you see the boys all smiling at you in the living room. As if they know something yoh don’t.

“Hi.” You mumble, trying your best to show a smile as you puff out a breath of winter air. They greet you back right away with accompanied squeals and pinches in the cheeks.

The scarf looks adorable covering half your face, and Seungmin has to physically bite back his laughter when you raise your hand and Minho’s (too big for you) gloves greet them. His friend is horrendously in love with you, and it’s so obvious that Seungmin’s dumbfounded as to how you haven’t realized it yourself.

It doesn’t help that Minho is absolutely useless and won’t confess first — refuses to, even. It’s come to the point where Chan, always the one to tell the boys not to meddle, has practically begged the boy to confess.

The boys probably can’t count with all their hands combined the number of times they’ve told him to confess and he outright avoided the question.

Though, despite being the most straightforward in the group, it seems his feelings for you has made him turn a complete 180 (at least when it comes to the part of his brain reserved for romance). They can’t blame the boy though. It might as well be his first time experiencing the overwhelming tides of feelings and everything that comes with it.

Lee Minho has never been the type that was eager for the affection of someone else either. Among the eight boys, they’d say he was the one who didn’t really have the time for intimacy.

And then you came, in the form of the biggest contradiction to everything Minho had established about love.

Now, the poor boy is falling over, pupils dilated as he silently makes his way to stand by your side to ask you — in the softest tone the boys have ever heard from Minho — “you weren’t too cold from outside?”

There’s a faint smile on his face when you shake his head. And the scene playing in front of everyone would perfectly fit in one of the sitcoms they watch together when they’re bored from how fast Minho’s fond smile changes into a look of feign annoyance when he turns his attention to his other friends in conversation.

Perhaps they just aren’t lucky enough to look behind the scenes, to bear witness to his gentle voice and sweet smile and the way he (without a question) stripped himself off of his outwear as you tread against the white blanketed ground minutes earlier.

He simply shrugs his jacket off and slips it on you, dropping the scarf on your neck and tying it to make sure it’s secured on your neck. Quiet scoldings leave his lips as he does so, eyes focused on taking his own gloves off to put on your hands. If he was too much of a coward to hold your hand, he would have to sacrifice his gloves and bear the cold.

He’d take the harsh winter wind over a call in the morning telling him you’d caught a cold from the winter. Nevermind that there’s a higher chance he get sick instead.

The coming scratchy throat and runny nose are nothing compared to the grateful smile you had directed to him and the way you look clad in his clothes. He almost feels guilty for thinking he could get used to that sight, for hoping to be subjected to your beauty everyday for the rest of his life.

Almost. He was nothing if not a boy who was willing do anything just to see you in his clothes again.

Of course, he hides it well. He’s practiced enough from the months of his dawning realization to the present. So, he keeps the abundance of his teasing remarks high in hopes that they continue to work.

He tells you his hat is too big for you that it makes you look silly or how your height matches that of a 12 year old compared to him which is why his clothes are swallowing you whole. And he tells you that the red on his ears are definitely because of the sandpaper wind and not because of the warmth he felt when you hugged him — it shocks him to the point that he had to push you away and you almost fall on your butt because Lee Minho doesn’t think he can hold back the confession bubbling in his throat if you kept holding him like that.

“You seriously need to tell her.” Jisung is the one who breaks Minho out of his reverie.

The boy can’t just catch a break.

Minho had just settled on the couch, watching you intently as you laugh with Hyunjin at one of Seungmin’s jokes, when Jisung decides to add another tally to the number of times they have failed to get him to confess.

The unconscious grin from watching you laugh turns into a scowl as he directs his attention to Jisung.

“No.” He says pointedly. Han Jisung doesn’t need to clarify for Minho to know what he’s talking about.

“I don’t like her like that.” Minho adds as a weak attempt to get the boy to stop trying to meddle but he knows he isn’t being truthful. And he knows Jisung knows too.

“Sure you don’t.” Jisung snickers, playfully nudging the boy’s side. “We’re not blind, you know. We can see the way you look at her… and the way you’re looking for her right now.”

Minho’s heart thumps at being caught. He simply groans in response, begrudgingly grabbing the brownie in Jisung’s hand and shoving the remains down his mouth.

“She’s in the kitchen, by the way.“

“I didn’t ask.”

“But you were thinking it! You are soooo down bad that it’s actually kind of funny now.” Jisung giggles to himself. “You’d do anything for her, wouldn’t you? So stop being a pussy.”

Minho would’ve lunched his friend to the living room ground if not for your voice calling out his name from Chan’s kitchen. Han Jisung is saved another day from Minho’s wrath.

(He’ll thank you later.)

“Min?” He’s quick to give up, and he closes his eyes in surrender because Han fucking Jisung was right, he would do anything for you, and Minho can already hear the boy telling him he told him so.

Perhaps Lee Minho isn’t as immune to love as he thought he was. There’d have to be a new rebranding towards the part of his brain he had thought was repulsed by the idea of romance. Especially when you had introduced to him the feeling of beating hearts and sweaty hands.

So this is what love is. Now, he knows of the fondness he used to think he could only direct to his cats. He knows of the romance he used to laugh at when watching romantic comedies.

And maybe Lee Minho isn’t so opposed to the idea after all. Especially upon walking in to the kitchen and seeing you smile up at him with a new batch of brownies Felix had saved up for you (that you’d happily share with Minho).

Despite the cold, Lee Minho feels warm, and he looks at you like he does with the little things he loves — a small grin tugging on his lips and his eyes focused on you, diluted and relaxed. Genuine.

Perhaps there is time for intimacy, and perhaps he’d have to put an end to that tally and finally fucking confess.

(If he didn’t, the boys will have owed Seungmin a lot of money).

[catspittle]

This notif is only showing up on mobile and it won't let me physically answer the ask, tf.

Anonymous asked: "👗 what is your muse’s fashion sense like? are they able to dress the way they want to? what would they wear in an ideal world?"

As a physically disabled man, first and foremost Jonathan wears whatever's comfortable and relatively easy to put on. Barring the Scarecrow costume, which was made when he was a much younger and slightly less disabled man, very little of his clothing has complicated closures and it's often somewhat loose. There's a lot of sweatpants, leggings, and outerwear like cardigans, sweaters, and ponchos in his wardrobe. He does own a few fancier coats, and prefers boots above any other footwear despite having exactly 1 pair of flats. There's also some elements of traditional wear blended into his daily attire, such as the handful of cheongsams inherited [stolen] from his great grandmother and tang suits in various colors and patterns. Outside of prison, he dresses however he likes. In an ideal world, he'd wear exactly the same clothing as he currently does; he sees no reason to change his fashion sense. Anonymous asked: "✨ what aesthetics or symbols do you reference when writing your muse? are these backed up by canon, if your muse comes from a canon? is there any specific relevance to these choices?"

All jokes aside, there's a lot in his 719 image large aesthetic folder on my computer, so let's break that down by chunks. A lot of it's black and white or in sepia tones; this is because I try to pick and stick with a certain color to describe each of the characters I write. There's also a significant chunk of the folder dedicated to his lack of self-esteem and how other people tend to view him as meat, which as far as I'm aware isn't a thing in canon but, when you're a minority in America and all that. It's a logical character progression imo. +Some gripes over his being transgender that I think he'd sympathize with, overall silly shitposts I thought would fit him, and another significant chunk dealing with his past drug abuse and regrets in life. How he's a better ghost than a living being. These are backed up by my own personal canon, but given the endless DC reboots Scarecrow as a canon character is hard to analyze aside from saying he has delusions of grandeur in most canons, is a lot more timid in private than in public [a showman], and is overall withdrawn when he's not putting on an act for an audience. I think that Scarecrow having self-esteem issues is logical, he's been pigeonholed into only being known for one thing for decades. He's also just an angry, horny cat here. Dude has cat vibes. I'm right.

[harrieatthemet]

K but why have we never talked about how lavish and expensive angel baby’s wardrobe would be?!?!?

YEAH WHY HAVENT WE???????

Everyone knows Harry's got a thing for designer wear so imagine how completely unhinged he'd be with a limitless credit card and a baby on the way.

"Oh! Oh!," and he'd be squealing and wiggling with excitement when he'd show you his newest find, "Gucci sneakers! But fo' babies. "Need em f'angel baby."

You wouldn't even have enough time to part your lips in refusal before he's fishing for his wallet in his pocket, fawning over the mini-sized shoes zoomed in on the screen of his phone.

Maybe you'd even be a little more apprehensive to curb this ever-so-expensive habit he's picked up because, realistically speaking, babies grow. And while yes, the shoes are absolutely adorable, angel baby would get 3 to 4 months wear out of them. If that.

The shoes would pale in comparison to some of the higher end gifts you'd get from friends and family alike; Givenchy stuffed animals, Bonpoint nursery accessories, the crystal Tiffany & Co baby rattle that had essentially no purpose.

Once angel baby comes though, lord, does he spiral. She'd barely know how to blink but all it took was a small yawn or a half smirk and he was ready to empty his pockets. At the ripe age of 6 months she'd already managed to find ways to completely bleed him dry financially and have him swoon in response.

"Harry," and you'd start finding yourself asking him this question quite frequently, "why is there a $2600 credit card charge?"

"Been gettin' cold out, love" but he always came back with a reason, ready to back his newest spend, "don't want th'baby t'get sick!"

Maybe it's justified. It's all good-hearted, and while he's willing to spend whatever dime he has left to take care of angel baby, he's also fully willing to disregard common sense. Which is obvious, because no infant needs a $2600 outerwear set from Versace to keep warm.

Holidays are his favorite shopping expedition too, because every event requires a new, never-before-worn outfit for angel baby. It doesn't matter if its Christmas dinner at Anne's - angel baby is clad head to toe in a Gucci ensemble. Visiting your mother for a birthday dinner with your family? Yep - angel baby is decked out in a custom-made Balenciaga tracksuit he paid to have made so she was the only one to own it.

"She has more clothes than I do!" you'd be sifting through your now-toddler's closet, which held clothes worth more than a regular-sized home.

"She does not," and he'd have her on his hip, the two of them berating you from across her room, "s'important t'have options, right Bub?"

He'd totally create a monster with an insatiable taste, too - a total diva. She'd be in her early years of childhood picking outfits for playdates with Gucci logos or Fendi print. And he would just eat it up, watching in amusement and adoration when she'd mix and match her seemingly endless options.

"I can't believe you bought that." and now you're standing alongside him, sending in your kindergartener for her first day of school in a Burberry raincoat and matching dress.

"I know," he'd sigh, and you'd think you finally got him to see how silly his spending habits have been, "I completely forgot t'get the matching rain boots."

[hqcult]

21ST ## the miya twins

you visit hyogo to celebrate your 21st birthday with your extended family. you met atsumu and osamu, who were oh so excited to meet you.

. tw manipulation, pseudo-incest, noncon, cunnilingus, masturbation, exhibitionism, voyeurism, mindbreak, implied double penetration, dark content . wc 4.3k

looking back, the twins are good fucking actors. they deserve some oscar-level award with how much they smiled those sweet honey smiles and lured you into a sense of security before baring their fangs and pulling you down to hell with them. but they never would’ve gotten the chance to act if you hadn’t been there as their audience. so, the truth remains the same—this is all your fault. you never should’ve insisted coming to hyōgo in the first place.

ever since getting adopted at the tender age of thirteen and moving to tokyo, you’ve seen everything there is to see, ate at every restaurant with a 5-star review on google. you’ve done them all at least thrice by now and it’s getting boring.

so, when your adoptive father had jokingly talked about coming to hyōgo to meet your extended family for your 21st birthday, you perked up in your seat and your eyes twinkled like stars. 

your mom didn’t want to go at first, of course, claiming you’ll get carsick but your parents eventually gave in after seeing the pleading look in your eyes and the genuine excitement in your stance.

long story short, you did end up getting carsick. quite a few times too, actually. but you were already driving along the expressway and your mom’s sister was already expecting the three of you. so, naturally, you guys pushed through, your dad making sure he drove as smoothly as possible in order not to trigger another barfing session from you.

it was twilight by the time your dad pulled up on his sister-in-law’s driveway and the first you see were two identical faces—twins? for step-cousins? well, now that was something. you’ve never really met twins before so it was a whole new experience and it excited you greatly. 

not to mention how you and atsumu instantly hit it off, your personalities aligning. yet when you sat next to osamu during dinner, the younger twin found it wasn’t as hard talking to you compared to his brother. in fact, he found it interesting how easy it was to converse with you, the words flowing out his lips. you were just so painfully compatible with them that why oh why did the universe have to make you their half-cousin?

the shift in their behavior wasn’t at all gradual but can you really blame them? you were such a good daughter, such a beauty. and they guess the whole ‘pseudo-incest’ taboo thing amplified your appeal all the more. 

well, at least in their defense, atsumu and osamu genuinely wanted to get to know their new cousin in the most innocent, platonic way and not this weird thing they’re feeling right now. but you were so damn irresistible that they couldn’t keep their feelings in check.

how kind of ‘samu to grab the coffee container at the topmost shelf for you during breakfast, not knowing he purposely puts it there every night so he can “accidentally” rub his morning wood against your ass.

your ‘tsumtsum is such an angel when he doesn’t hesitate to take off his outerwear and lends it to you whenever you forget yours, not knowing he snatches them from the laundry basket and leaving you no choice but to use his. the sweet scent you leave on the jacket is enough to throw him off the edge and have him climaxing as he fucked his own hand.

nobody noticed, everyone was distracted by their achievements at such a young age. all their mom had to say is how osamu yet again made it to dean’s lister or how atsumu got scouted for a national team.

your mom and dad didn’t notice, lost in the daydream of always wanting to have their own son only to end up with you. blinded of their dazzle that the rotten pieces of them were fully camouflaged by the glow.

it all came to a peak when the twins were pulling all-nighter playing games like always. 

atsumu needed to use the restroom, and just as he’s passing by your door, he heard a questionable sound that made him stop, frozen and unbelieving.

carefully, he tiptoes closer to place his ear against your door, praying to whomever that the floorboards don’t creak and disrupt whatever you’re doing. silence, seconds of it. then click, a switch turning on, he hears low vibration and a shaky whimper, a slick sound that reminded him of—

you were touching yourself.

holy fucking crap.

atsumu can only stare at the door with a knowing curl in his lips as he quickly pushes down his boxers. the risk of getting caught masturbating so out in the open making all the blood rush south.

“guess yer not as innocent as i thought ya were,” he mutters, spitting on his palm before wrapping it around his dick.

he shut his eyes close, clinging desperately into the imagination of how it would feel like to fuck your cunny instead of his hand. how the view would be like as he forces your legs up and into a mating press as he rutted his hips into you. at least you were loud, the moans he can hear as clear as day and he’s thankful he needn’t depend on his imagination anymore like all the other times.

you better be fucking thankful that the rest of the rooms were downstairs or else your parents and their mom would’ve heard by now. eh, atsumu didn’t mind. he got off on the risque idea of getting caught in the act.

when your pitch grows whinier and he hears your quick rufflings on the bed, he knows you’re close. he can hear the frantic and changing levels of the vibrator as you fucked it into your walls. 

“fuck,” he hissed, the mental image of you masturbating and putting on a show for him making him teeter over the edge.

he grunts, low and animalistic, as spurts of his cum stains his hands and the floor. he didn’t care. he pumped himself through his orgasm and it was the best he’s ever got in a while. who knew all he needed to hear was his little step-cousin lewdly touching herself? naughty, naughty girl.

when he heard your panting after cumming against your little toy, he took his cue and speed-walked towards his and osamu’s bedroom to get a cloth he’ll use to clean the front of your door. but just as he caught you in the act, he caught his own brother red-handed, too.

the tiny specks of cum on the wall where osamu stood is a ghastly sight but atsumu couldn’t care less. 

silently, the twins exchanged a knowing glance.

“ya heard ‘er too?”

someone knocks on your bedroom door on the eve of your birthday. 

osamu was tasked to wake you up while atsumu started the car. you didn’t respond. were you… he slowly opens the door, he spots you immediately in the bundle of blankets atop your bed. when he stalks closer, you looked so cozy that osamu almost got tempted to ditch the idiot and come snuggle with you under the blankets instead. 

but he has two heads and the one he’s using to think is located south.

he wakes you up with a gentle shake on the shoulder. “‘samu?” you mutter, voice low and croaky from your deep sleep when you see a blurry tousle of gray hair.

“let’s do a countdown for yer birthday, angel. come on, put on a jacket. ‘tsumu’s already startin’ up the car.”

osamu’s blunt nails dug half-moon crescents into his palms as he saw your tiny pajama shorts and the slip top when you shoved the blankets away. he swore his palms would’ve bled, especially after seeing you bending over to look for a hoodie inside your luggage. 

he stared so openly, it was almost predatory in a sense. 

as you scamper down the stairs with the younger twin’s hands dangerously grazing the top of your rear, you thought it’s plain old protective ‘samu being worried you’ll make a misstep and break your neck.

“where’s everybody?”

“just us three, angel. ‘lil cousin bonding before yer big party tonight, y’know?”

you giggled. how sweet, you thought.

you didn’t sense a thing. didn’t see a single red flag even if it was being waved across your face like what they do in bullfights. osamu felt a little sorry for how they’re blatantly manipulating you but it’s too late to back out now, much less let the guilt eat up his insides. he shouldn’t be a hypocrite considering he jacked off to your moans, too, that night. 

he’s really no different than atsumu and it’s a tough pill to swallow.

“shotgun!”

it wasn’t osamu that stops you, but atsumu, from scampering into the front seat. the older twin quickly locks the door before lowering down the passenger side’s window. 

“nuh-uh, birthday girl. ya can’t sit here or the surprise’ll be ruined!”

you grumble, frowning as you scoot yourself in the backseat of the car. atsumu twists his torso towards the back, asking you to wear the blindfold he’s handing you. it was a little tough with how stubborn you are but ‘tsumu’s just too good with his words.

you drove for thirty minutes before the car pulled up somewhere. the world is tranquil outside, so you couldn’t have driven to the nearest city. your initial guess is a beach, but there were no splashes of water. maybe a cliff-side or a forest?

the car’s ignition turns off and you call out to the twins. 

“‘tsumu? ‘samu? where are we? can i take my blindfold off now?”

“just a moment, doll.” there’s an excited lilt to atsumu’s voice and you can’t help but fidget in your seat, feeling the excitement crawling up your spine as you think of what their surprise could be.

you hear them clamber out the car. you scoot closer to the door just as the backseat opens, a silly smile on your face. “you guys didn’t have to do this, you know, but i appreciate it so mu—”

someone tackles you to the seat and the air gets knocked out of your lungs. he’s heavy and you felt the muscles underneath his shirt as you tried to push him away but to no avail—you know it’s a man, it has to be because you felt the broad shoulders and something poking at your thigh. you feel him nosing the side of your neck and his hands crawling under your shirt. his freezing skin against your own is what snapped you out of it.

“atsumu! osamu!” you cried, calling for help.

you inwardly gasped, realizing something. maybe they were hurt! maybe your assaulter had creeped up behind the twins just as they opened the door for you, knocked them out cold, before trying to have their way with you. at the thought of the twins getting hurt, you thrashed, fought, and screamed with newfound fervor.

“couldja calm down and shut yer fucking trap?”

when the blindfold flies away and you see the man straddling you on the backseat of atsumu’s car, how you wished your assaulter had never taken it off.

atsumu had never looked this scary from your point of view, then again he never straddled you like this in the weeks prior. never looked at you like how he’s looking now—there’s clear hunger and lust in those eyes. you’ve seen that look one too many times from boys back in your university when you had your one night stands. but it had all been consensual and you loved them looking at you that way but this is different.

so, so different.

you can’t look at him in the eye, not when he’s staring at you like that. it felt like you’re pushed into a corner, vulnerable and bare even with the clothes you’re wearing.

“please, get off of me.”

“get off ya?” he repeats, mirth in his eyes as he hauls you up to a sitting position. he finally shuts the door behind him. “but i’ve been wantin’ to do this for weeks.”

to further emphasize his point, he grounds his hips against yours, making sure the tip of his already erect cock grazes against the bud of your clit. his boxers and the thin fabric of your shorts isn’t helping. he groans wantonly, angling his hips to do it again until you slipped out from under him and maneuvered your way to the other door.

osamu! osamu will stop him, you thought with teary eyes as atsumu growls and quickly pulls you back by the forearms, your back to his chest as you try to claw your way out of the athlete’s grip.

“‘samu! ‘samu, help me!”

but when the said twin opens the door and slips inside the car with little to no surprise present in his face, a type of fear you’ve never felt before runs up your spine. the look in osamu’s eyes reflected that of his twin’s and with sinking realization, you knew he wasn’t there to help you.

“happy 21st birthday, angel.”

and then he’s ducking down to kiss you. his lips are soft and they moved tenderly, in contrast to the barbaric way they tore at your clothes, the cold making you shiver in your underwear.

dealing with one sick person is enough, but with two, you’re not so sure. you only had two hands, if you pushed osamu away, atsumu would have free access and vice versa. your legs couldn’t move either, thanks to the cramped space of the backseat.

while holding down your hands, atsumu marks every inch of untainted skin he could see as osamu swirls his tongue inside your mouth. you’ve never felt so disgusted and dirty, but above all, betrayed. even if it was a few weeks since you’ve met, you still saw them as family. sure, you weren’t technically blood-related but in the papers it’s a different story.

when osamu pulled away, you averted your eyes but his hand reached up to hold your chin, forcing your eyes to meet. you feel his other hand trailing up your thighs, fingers dangerously close to your clothed sex as he watched you like a fox. he wanted to commit this moment to memory. every twitch and small gasp you make as his cold fingers pinched at your clit and traced your pussy lips.

“staying quiet, princess?” atsumu comments, hands snaking around front to squeeze and grope your breasts over the bra you wore. “ya weren’t like this when i caught ya touchin’ yerself last week.”

your eyes widened. when you tried turning your head to look over your shoulder towards the other twin, osamu shoved two fingers inside you.

your reaction was immediate. the pleasure and pain mixing as a loud gasp escapes your lips. “eyes up front,” he murmurs, the firm hold on your chin going higher to encase your whole jaw.

“oi, ‘samu, didn’t think you’re the possessive type,” atsumu says, teasingly placing his chin on your shoulder as he smiles that lazy smile you know osamu hates. “not that i’m going to lose.”

the older twin slips your bra off just as osamu takes his fingers out to lewdly lick up your slick. he moans, keeping his eyes trained on your horrified face. “sweet. but not wet enough for us, angel.”

“what—no—!”

“let me have a go.”

before you could even react, atsumu’s spinning you around to face him as he shoves your shoulders down. due to the cramped space, your head collides with osamu’s thighs, narrowly missing the tent in his joggers. the weight in his thighs makes the younger twin fidget and squirm as he hastily reaches for your hand, pulling his bottoms down just enough for his cock to spring out. you wince when it hits the side of your face. osamu loved the disgust in your face when he spat at your hand and used it to get himself off as he started stroking his cock.

meanwhile, in one swift motion, atsumu is pulling your panties down and licking a stripe up your cunny, the tip of his tongue prodding at your clit as his hands come up to slap your pussy. “how dare ya be so quiet,” he hisses, sucking harsher on your clit to pull a reaction out of you. “let me hear ya whine and moan, babe. i’m fuckin’ sure as hell my tongue is better than some cheap ass vibrator ya used.”

but your lips are stubbornly sealed as you arched your back. like hell you’d play into their wants and sick fantasies. they were your cousins! forcing you to enjoy this is just downright wrong. and knowing they’ve eavesdropped and silently lusted over you while having those innocent little smiles on their faces… were they not in the least bit guilty for deceiving you? deceiving your parents?

“give ‘er somethin’ bigger. i think she’s askin’ for it.” osamu says, kneading one of your breasts and tweaking your nipples as he continued to pump himself using your hand. 

because he lost to rock paper scissors, he’s going to fuck you after atsumu and no matter how furious he was, a deal’s a deal.

like an idea switching inside his head, atsumu falters, staring right at you with sparkles in his eyes before his lips curled into a devious smirk.

“no, no, no,” you scramble, trying to sit up in order to push him away but osamu is quick to pin you down. “atsumu—no—you don’t want to do this, please—!”

“shut it, princess. i know what i want and that’s to fuck yer sweet little cunny right ‘ere,” he mocks by planting a sweet kiss against your lower lips.

“can ya stop with the dirty talk my dick’ll go soft, ya scrub!” osamu hisses, his hands wrapped around yours getting tighter as the lewd sounds of his slick gets louder. 

no matter how much osamu denies it, he’s getting off on seeing you squirming under atsumu and god he never thought to have a voyeurism kink but here we are.

atsumu shoves his boxers down and you turn away from glancing down at his cock, osamu had to ruthlessly pull your hair and make you look as you slowly start tearing up. he was bigger than most guys you’ve met in college and you dread the painful stretch it’ll take for him to shove that dick inside you.

“shh, princess. don’tcha worry, yer all prepped to take me.” he scissors your pussy lips, the sticky wetness creating lewd sounds before pushing his stained fingers into your mouth. “hear that? go on and taste yerself.”

he gave you no choice, fingers pushing your tongue down until you obliged to his wishes. from behind you, you hear a low grunt and a pant as osamu throws his head back. he was close, you could tell and you surely didn’t want your face to be near his cock once he cums.

“‘tsumu, god damn it! hurry and fuck ‘er already!”

osamu was close and his mind was clouded. he needed to see you get railed in order for him to teeter towards that delicious edge of pure ecstasy. needed to hear the noises like the ones you made that night.

“i got it, i got it. fuckin’ impatient bastard.”

“atsumu, stop—!”

but he doesn't bother to listen, pushing his cock deep all in a single thrust. you were right. the stretch slightly stings and you bet it would’ve hurt more had he not bothered to suck and lick at your pussy earlier. “it hurts,” you sob, trying to curl in on yourself while keeping atsumu from leaning in.

but your strength is no match for him as he peppers light kisses down your neck, osamu helping with pushing your hair away to expose more skin. “shh, shh,” the faux-blond coos. “it’ll get better, i promise ya. yer gonna love it so let me move, okay?”

“no, wait, take it out, wai—!”

he starts thrusting, timed and rhythmic as his hands reach under your thighs, slightly raising your lower body to meet the angle of his hips. you couldn’t deny that it felt good like he said. the heavenly drag of his dick inside your walls, feeling you squeeze around him just as he nearly pulls out, only to thrust it all back in again. he wanted to keep this “making love” pace as long as he wants but he’s getting irritated but how you still wanted to keep your pretty lips shut.

that’s when you truly felt the vehicle jolting back and forth, brought by the sudden way atsumu manically fucks you like some animal. the change of pace surprised you greatly, choking on your saliva and letting out a pornographic “ah!” as he started railing you in the backseat of his car. you were way past the point of no return as immense pleasure spiked your nerves. all thoughts of somehow fighting their advances being shot out the window.

“that’s it,” atsumu pants, swinging your legs up against your chest to fuck you even deeper. “come on, make some noise, princess. i want people to hear how good i make ya feel even if they’re miles away.”

after all this is over and the lustful haze they forced you under is gone, you’ll regret the way you moaned and groaned and whined like how you’re doing now. embarrassing, how even as atsumu leans closer to kiss you, you don’t push him away. a mess of saliva and sweat mixing as his pace doesn’t relent and the fierce jolts of the car only adds up to your pleasure.

“‘tsumu!” you screamed, one hand holding onto his hair and the other scratching at his back. “i’m close—shit!”

he replies with a moan of his own, drawn out and whiny, feeling your walls suffocating his cock as he continues to drive it in and out with a speed you’ve never experienced with your past rendezvous. perks of being an athlete, you guess. “don’tcha dare fuckin’ cum until i tell ya to or else.”

but that little devil is making it harder for you to obey him as one of his hands snakes in between your bodies to start toying with your clit, drawing firm circles and figure 8’s to draw in that eventual release. “no, no, ‘tsumu don’t!” you tried reaching down but his hand only tugs it back, firmly holding your wrist as he continues his ministrations.

it’s too much. you were feeling it all too much and in the heat of the moment, you forgot everything else—you arch your back and felt your climax crashing over you as your cum steadily makes a mess off the backseat with every thrust atsumu made.

he stops.

his head hangs low, looking at the view of your interconnected bodies before scoffing in disbelief. menacingly, he raises his head to make eye contact with you. “didn’t i fuckin’ tell ya to cum only if i tell ya to cum?”

the faux-blond grabs at your hair, ruthlessly tilting it back as you feel a sticky sensation running down your nether lips. you shake your head, eyes wide like a deer in headlights.

“but—!”

“i don’t care. i warned ya, didn’t i? so don’t fuckin’ hate me after all this is over.”

suddenly you feel your fight surging through you again like a tidal wave. this is wrong. how dare they do it even after you said no. how dare they do it and make you enjoy it?

“aw, cute. angel’s still got some fight in ‘er left.”

you thrashed against atsumu as soon as he swiftly pulls out of you. he doesn’t even break a sweat while restraining you with his bare hands.

“let me go! you fuckers! i’ll tell—”

“tell who? our parents? this isn’t elementary school, princess. ya get what ya fuckin’ deserve and it’s not our fault ya like swingin’ that pretty ass so much.”

you growl as a retort, attempting to bite atsumu’s hand off as he swiftly spins you around to lay on your stomach. you cringe, feeling your sticky essence against your skin. you didn't have time to feel humiliated, not as you came face to face with osamu’s still erect and angry dick.

you weren’t dumb, you knew why the faux-blond made you face his twins’ way—this is to be your punishment, he said, all the while feeling him scramble about behind you. it wasn’t only ‘til you feel atsumu’s tip prodding at your ass did you realize what’s going to happen.

“go on and give our ‘samu a nice suck, yeah? put on a show and if ya dare use yer teeth, i’ll personally make sure ya regret ever coming to hyōgo.”

you came back at dawn, during the sunrise. it’s glow basking the whole house in a nice orange tint. “what are you guys doing up so early?” your mom asks when she sees the three of you piling in from the front door.

she was too busy rubbing the sleep out of her eyes that she missed everything—the way osamu’s oppressive arm wrapped around your shoulder got tighter, the way atsumu gave you a nasty side eye, and especially the fearful expression on your face.

“no - nothing, mom. they just wanted to have a birthday countdown for me.”

“oh, right! happy 21st, sweetheart.”

[the-only-ace]

Hey I know you are really busy with all the request and job and all that but can you do shinee's reaction to s/o stealing their t-shirts and hoodies?? You can make them one shots of you want too😁

shinee reacts: their s/o wearing their clothes

heyyy~ i really liked this request because i personally love to do this. for this request, i want to try something new since you gave me an idea with the one-shots part. so instead of describing their reactions, i'll convey it in a form of a short story. it will still be per member! i hope you will like this one (heads up though, the posts is a bit longer than my usual shinee reacts) <3

p.s. if you guys can, kindly let me know if you like this kind of format for shinee reacts. thank you!

send in your requests here!

onew / jinki: you sighed for the nth time within just 10 short minutes. you were staring and pouting in front of your closet for you can't find the perfect clothes for your brunch date with onew. it was a hot day today and you just wanted to wear something cute but comfortable. however, it seems like your wardrobe doesn't offer that kind of outfit.

your eyes slowly traveled toward onew's part of the closet. his side was full of quirky graphic tees which you always find adorable. you don't usually borrow his clothes but you can't help but to take a peek at them and take the one that caught your eyes.

it was a white oversized shirt with a cute box cartoon drawn in front of it. you tried it on and it stopped perfectly on your thighs, making it look like a cute dress. surprisingly, it even matches the pair of sneakers you were wearing.

before you can even decide whether you were keeping it on or not, onew walked into your room. his hair a bit damp and he was only wearing a towel considering that he just took a shower.

"oh, is that my shirt?" he pointed at you.

"uh... yeah. do you mind? i just wanted to wear something that is yours." you sheepishly replied.

"no problem!" he beamed his big bright smile before proceeding to get his own outfit.

you muttered a thank you then went to your vanity to finish touching up your makeup. afterward, you grabbed your phone and wallet and placed them inside your shoulder bag.

"alright, I'm ready to go..." you trailed off as you saw what he looked like. "what the hell are you wearing, lee jinki?"

"your shirt?" he raised an eyebrow, clearly feigning ignorance.

he was wearing your favorite grey t-shirt and it looked pitiful on him, it was as if it can tear at any moment. it barely covered his abdomen and was stretched to its limit.

"no shit, sherlock." you facepalmed at his usual weirdness. "what i want to know is why... why are you wearing it?"

"i thought we were doing a thing wherein we wear each other's clothes." he shrugged as if his response should be expected.

"what? no! please have mercy on my shirt and put on your own clothes." you can't help but laugh at him as you pushed him back to the dresser.

"alright, alright! i just wanted to make you laugh and look, it worked perfectly." he playfully pinched the tip of your nose before taking off the top he borrowed. "also, you should keep that shirt since it looks a hundred--no, million--times better on you."

"thanks, love," you whispered as you wrapped your arms around his waist and pulled him into a warm hug.

key / kibum:

after the long busy months, you were finally having a girl's night with your best friends. you stood in front of the full-length mirror in your room to give yourself a final check. your hair was styled into textured waves and your lips were colored with the boldest red lipstick you can find. your nude heels matched the little black dress you were wearing. your outfit looked almost perfect and you just knew what you were missing. you quickly snatched key's gold leather jacket and put it on. ah, perfection.

this was the norm for you. your boyfriend's wardrobe was beyond incredible especially his outerwear collection and you just had to wear them every chance you can get. to be honest, key was very stubborn in letting you borrow his clothes... at first. after all the compromising, begging, and crying you made, he eventually budged and gave up. of course, it does not come for free. he practically made you sign a contract that once you stained his clothes, you have to shoulder the bill of the laundry and the shop will be chosen by him. however, if you damaged or god forbid, lost his clothes, you have to replace them. you immediately said yes to all of the conditions in a heartbeat. so far you only paid for 2 incredulously expensive laundry bills.

now, you were finally ready to leave. you walked out of the bedroom and made your way down the living room. there, key was sitting on the couch watching one of his favorite tv series.

"I'll be going out now," you announced as you grab your car keys near the front door.

"hey, hey, hey!" key clicked his tongue upon seeing your clothes. he was now looking behind his shoulder and giving you a stink eye. "is that my jacket?"

"um... maybe?" you gave him an awkward smile.

"of course, it's mine." he shook his head disapprovingly. "only i can pull that off, by the way." he sassily added.

"wow, i didn't know the fashion police was here. you should have given me a head's up, babe ." you bit back with a scoff. the last time you checked, you looked damn fine in it.

"just stating facts, baby," he replied in english.

"alright, then why don't you take me shopping then? so you can buy me a new set of clothes that will satisfy your standards." you challenged and if he said yes, you were clearly the winner.

"excuse me, i do call you 'baby' but i am not your sugar daddy. go now, you'll be late." he shooed you off.

"okay bye," a playful smirk appeared on your face. "daddy."

this made key rolled his eyes before turning his back on you. he would very much rather ignore you if you keep on acting that way.

"it's bye now, for real." you giggled as you open the door. "love you!" you called out before stepping out.

"love you too, brat." key mumbled with a small smile.

minho:

winter was approaching and the air was slowly becoming colder than usual. it was the best time to stay in the comfort of your warm home and enjoy hot cocoa with your loved ones. a perfect time to wear your sweaters and hoodies indoors. however, this was not the case for minho for his favorite hoodie was missing.

"hey, babe?" he called out from the bedroom. "have you seen my black hoodie? the one with the white writings on it."

"what's that, i didn't hear you?" you went inside a few seconds later.

and there it was, his favorite hoodie being worn by his favorite person. you looked smaller while wearing it since it was way too big for you. the hem almost touched your knees and your whole arms were lost inside the sleeves. he can't help but smile at the sight.

"nothing, i was just looking for my hoodie but it looks like i found it." he gestured at the clothes you were wearing.

"oh, shoot. sorry, i didn't tell you that i borrowed it." you hit your forehead with your palm.

"it's okay. you're free to use them anytime, anyway." he patted the top of your head.

within the last few weeks, minho noticed that you sometimes wear his clothes. it was not a daily thing though and you even asked for his permission. slowly, it became every day and he would just be surprised to see you walking around the house parading his jackets and sweaters. he didn't mind it though, he was just curious about what you do to your own clothing. also, he hoped that he still had some remaining tops for himself during the cold season.

well, guess luck was not on his side.

his eyes were staring at his closet wherein there was only one jacket left, one. you followed his gaze and you promptly felt the warmth raised to your cheeks. you were surely red from embarrassment now. you were happily wearing his clothes that you didn't have the time to count how much was left.

"oh my god, i'm sorry! i didn't--" you cut yourself off as you watched him put on the lone jacket from his dresser. "i'm sorry, i didn't notice it. i just... can't help myself. your jackets are so comfortable and warm compare to mine." you tried to explain yourself. also not to mention that they all smelled just like him.

"don't worry about it." he reassured you as he placed his arm around your shoulder. "just be mindful next time. i might end up half-naked someday, you know."

"how can you be so sure that's not my goal?" you teased before sticking your tongue out.

he laughed at your silliness and then pressed a soft kiss on your warm forehead. you decided to make a cup of hot cocoa for him as a peace offering.

taemin:

it was past midnight and it was raining cats and dogs outside. you visited taemin in his apartment for a stay-at-home dinner date but a storm came before you can even go back home. taemin then convinced you to spend the night there instead. it was not a big deal anyway since you stayed over a lot of times already. you just didn't bring your sleepover bag with you and the dress you were wearing was definitely not comfortable to sleep on.

your caring boyfriend of course promised to ease your worries. the two of you shared a warm bath after dinner and he lent you his clothes for you to change to. so that was how you ended up on his couch, fighting off sleep because the show you both were watching always had a cliffhanger ending per episode. you two needed some answers before you can drift off to sleep peacefully. it was the weekend tomorrow anyway so staying up late won't hurt that much.

your head was laying on his lap while his right hand was playing on the locks of your hair and his left one was comfortably resting on the top of your hip. his hand would occasionally rub circles on the exposed skin. as much as you hate to move from your cozy spot, you had to or else you might end up dozing off right there and then. not to mention, him playing on your hair does not help at all.

you slowly got up from the sofa as you tried to stifled a yawn. "i'll just go get some cold drink." you pushed yourself up from your seat.

you then raised your arms and stretched with a satisfied groan. your shoulders and back were sore after laying down for more or less 3 hours. you can even hear your joints cracking from stretching out. also, you felt the shirt you were wearing raised up.

taemin's shirts were not overly huge for you whenever you wore them. the hem barely covered your behind and right now you were sure that a tiny portion of your buttcheeks was peeking through the white tee. you weren't conscious about it, taemin saw much more than that anyway.

suddenly, you felt a slap across your behind which made you freeze on your spot. you looked behind and saw your boyfriend confidently leaning on the couch with his legs crossed.

"did you just slap my butt?" you inquired.

"uh-huh," he nodded with a cocky grin. "want me to spank you again?"

you frowned a little as you processed the sudden change of mood. taemin won't deny it though, seeing you in his shirts always made his heart skip a bit and his breathing ragged. you always looked effortlessly sexy in them.

"sure, why not?" you replied wickedly after a few seconds of silence.

taemin processed your answer in a split second and he hastily grabbed you by the waist and threw you on his broad shoulders. he did not forget you give you another smack on the ass when he made his way toward the bedroom, the television was completely forgotten.

[popatochisssp]

Aesthetics Ref - UG Bros

Nickname: Ash (Undergloom Sans)

Height: 4” taller than you (OR 5’3”)

Eye-lights: Ash gray (#B2BEB5)

Magic Specialty: Cyan

Scars/distinguishing marks: Pronounced and apparently permanent shadows beneath his sockets, even when well-rested

Preferred Style: Convenience cozy, everything he wears is picked to fit the criteria of being easy to put on and comfortable enough to sleep in—soft and warm is a (preferred) bonus, but not necessarily a requirement. His chronic fatigue makes it so that he can and usually will fall asleep just about anywhere and he doesn’t always have the time or energy to change. Easier to just have a whole wardrobe of clothes that can do double-duty. Favors heather fabric, the black-and-white spectrum, and washed out colors.

Outerwear: Hoodies of all kinds, pullovers and zippered alike; fleece is a big favorite, especially in the lining.

Top: Oversized t-shirts and tunics, a good mix of shirts bought a couple sizes too big and shirts intentionally designed to be loosely fitting. Sweaters to wear over them, but under his hoodie; mostly basic crew-neck pullovers but knitwear isn’t out of the question as long as it’s nothing especially complex in terms of design.

Bottom: More sweatpants than anyone probably really needs to own, especially because he has a few favorite pairs and almost always wears one of them. He likes the thicker ones, generally, and the ones with the elastic at the ankle, and of course fuzz or fleece on the inside is a bonus. He owns some pajama pants too, in black-and-white flannel and silly patterns (like skull-and-crossbones), but those don’t get out as much

Footwear: Slippers, naturally; fuzzy inside is great as usual, but he likes the outside to be more just…normal fabric, and the soles should have some decent grip on them since he’s pretty much wearing them everywhere

Trademark accessory/accessories: Not really any one thing in particular, but taken as a whole, definitely his layers! With all the padding he piles onto his bones, he tends to look even chubbier than Sanses already tend to look

-

Nickname: Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus)

Height: 1’4” taller than you (OR 6’3”)

Eye-lights: None (magic otherwise manifests pearl gray [#DEE4DB])

Magic Specialty: Blue

Scars/distinguishing marks: None

Preferred Style: Sunshine academia dark academia eat your heart out, he’s all about the scholarly, nerdy kind of aesthetic and thinks it’s a genuinely very cool Look. He’s right, it is! Especially the way he does it, which is to keep the traditional forms but ditch the dark stuffiness and aim for bright and light instead. Favors neutral tones (like white, beige, tan) and nature colors (like yellow, green, blue).

Outerwear: When the occasion calls for outerwear, he’s got lots of knitwear ready, especially cardigans and sweater-vests. No patterns more complicated than a simple rib, he’s a simple man!

Top: Button shirts, mostly, but a few loosely fit sweaters (v-necks, notch-necks, and cowl necks). The only short-sleeved shirts he owns are a couple of polos, but he almost never wears them, long sleeves are his preference!

Bottom: Pleated pants, lots of slacks and khakis in their ranks. A few pairs of jeans, one a decently fashionable pair of gray skinny jeans, but the rest are mom jeans so…there’s that.

Footwear: A very healthy collection of dress shoes—oxfords, loafers, derbies—and a few pairs of nice leather Chelsea boots for when he needs something a little more all-purpose.

Trademark accessory/accessories: His sweater-vests are a big one! He’s a little slimmer in the chest and shoulders than most Papyri tend to be, and his favorite fashion statement tends to accentuate that in a very nice way. The other is probably his glasses—with round and rimless lenses—they’re a bold choice (in his mind) and for all that he’s not typically bold, he thinks they’re pretty cool.

[seokmingiggles]

comfortable.

@gloryofroses19 requested on 201219: “Would you write a fluff Min Yoongi one shot where he’s crushing on Jimin and Taehyung’s fellow 95er best friend who’s birthday is 11 days before Taehyung’s (aka today), so she and Yoongi get together when he find her taking a break on a balcony at a surprise birthday party they threw for her (lying to her that it was for Taehyung) even though they know she hates the idea of being the center/doesn’t like making a big deal about her birthday?”

Pairing: Min Yoongi x female reader

Genre: fluff, friends to lovers(?), first confessions.

1.96k words

Warnings: some alcohol consumption.

At your surprise birthday party, you find yourself to be more enamoured by the musician accompanying you on your balcony than the happenings inside. Alternatively, where Yoongi has been waiting for the opportune moment to confess to you, unknowing that his feelings are mutual.

A/N: First of all, thank you for being my first request! I hope I’ve done your concept justice :) There are a couple of small details that I haven’t included, but the overall gist should be the same. I hope you enjoy it! And happy birthday if it’s anyone’s birthday who may be reading!

•• "I can't believe you two! This looks amazing. Thank you," Jimin beamed as he spun around to look at the array of decorations you and Taehyung had embellished his apartment with earlier that afternoon.

For Jimin's 25th birthday, you wanted to do something special. The boy was the biggest libra you knew—loving to host parties and social gatherings. While parties weren't typically your cup of tea, you and Taehyung knew that Jimin would appreciate the sentiment.

"I think we make a pretty good team, right, (Y/N)-ie?" Taehyung smiled back at Jimin's praise, patting your shoulder as he referred to you.

•

Only a couple of months later, you found yourself in a similar situation.

"Surprise!" A chorus of voices called out as you stepped into your apartment, Taehyung nudging you through the doorway as you were momentarily stunned.

"What's all this?" You forced a smile and directed the question to your tall friend beside you, slipping your shoes off and proceeding to remove your outerwear. You could already feel your face beginning to heat at all of the gazes directed at you.

Taehyung chortled, "It's for you, obviously. Happy birthday, (Y/N)-ie."

You had just been out for your annual birthday dinner with Taehyung and Jimin, your two best friends for many years. You should have suspected something when the elder suddenly stood from across the table shortly before he finished his meal, claiming he got an emergency text from his brother and had to leave right away. Really, the blond just wanted to make sure everything at your place was properly prepared before your arrival. Jimin picked up some last-minute snacks and drinks on his way to your apartment where everyone else was waiting patiently for your appearance.

You scanned the room around you. Where you'd normally have your comfortable, minimalist furnishings occupying the room, you found yourself standing before what had to be nearly a dozen people. You knew everyone here, that wasn't an issue. Instead, the matter was you simply didn't find joy in parties—even your own birthday party—despite the kind gesture from your two best friends who you knew put this gathering together out of love.

Your eyes landed on Seokjin, who was standing at your kitchen island having a conversation with Moonbyul and Sana; the two girls were laughing at something the eldest had said. Hoseok, Namjoon, and Nayeon, three you weren't completely familiar with, went to greet Taehyung behind you after wishing you a happy birthday. Mingyu and Jungkook were sitting on the sofa, each already with a drink in their hands. Yoongi sat in the armchair next to them; the youngest was beckoning you over to join them. As you were still a bit bewildered by the noise of the party, Jimin collected your hand and guided you to join him and the other three in the seating area.

Jimin took a seat on the floor after stealing a couch cushion to sit on, wanting to be close to the array of snacks organized on your coffee table. You figured it was because he had left the restaurant before he finished the last bits of his dinner (which Taehyung had no problem volunteering his stomach to handle the few remaining bites). You squished onto the end of the couch next to Mingyu, declining the offer of a drink that the boy held out to you as you sat down. Jimin accepted the drink on your behalf and the three gave a brief toast to you.

You eyed Yoongi for a moment. You knew him as a like-minded individual to yourself, in the sense that he also wasn't too fond of parties. Maybe that's why he was occupied with something on his phone. You noticed the slight pink tinge to his cheeks, likely from the beer, you considered, spotting the can on the side table next to him.

In reality, Yoongi was forcing himself to keep his eyes on his phone because he's sure he'd otherwise be caught admiring you. He already took in the pretty blush on the apples of your cheeks and the way you styled your hair nicely for your dinner with Jimin and Taehyung.

Yoongi didn't let himself have crushes very often, yet, he was unmistakably drawn to you. With your airy laughter and bright eyes and the most beautiful smile; how you'd appear lively even though he knew you were uncomfortable in party settings. Words couldn't encompass the effect you had on Yoongi. He was tongue-tied; smitten like a schoolboy having his first love.

He wanted to do something about his feelings for you, but he didn't know where to begin. Yoongi first met you through Taehyung when you were all back in college. He didn't know what to expect when the younger boy asked if he could bring his friend to Yoongi's piano recital later that spring but agreed nonetheless. Apparently, you were fond of classical music.

What was initially only some small talk at the end of the recital became a new acquaintance between the two of you. Sharing your favourite musicians and songs over coffee or the occasional study session after class happened naturally. Yoongi cherished the times you spent together during your studies. It was only natural for him to become disappointed when you drifted apart after graduation.

He thought that his feelings for you would subside from the distance created, but here he was in your presence once again, and it was like nothing had changed in his heart. He gulped down the last of his beer in an attempt to calm his senses.

•

Some playful conversation with your friends and a drink in you later, you found the heat radiating off your face becoming unbearable and decided to excuse yourself for a moment onto your balcony to regain your senses. For a one-bedroom apartment in the city, the balcony wasn't anything special to you. You typically didn't use it at all during the colder months of November to March, instead truly only utilizing it for the early summer sunrises that you had a front-row seat to.

Yoongi figured he must have done a poor job concealing his concern for you when Jungkook asked if he had too much to drink.

Yoongi just shook his head, muttering that he was fine as he watched you close the balcony door behind you.

"You should just tell her, hyung," Jimin had one hand on his full tummy and the other clutching a drink half-full, still sat on the floor. "Otherwise, nothing's going to keep happening between you two."

Yoongi tried to act like he was none-the-wiser of what the blond was talking about, only stopping his act when Jungkook interjected, "The least you could do is check if she's alright out there. Or maybe bring her a coat."

Yoongi wondered since when has Jungkook thought of good ideas? Especially after having a couple of drinks. The kid was more profound than he let on.

The nervous musician stood from the chair he'd been glued to thus far, wiping his clammy hands onto his jean-clad-thighs as he neared the balcony door after collecting your jacket. He told himself it was silly to be so anxious; he was only checking in on you.

Yoongi cleared his throat to prepare his voice from faltering, "Hey, are you feeling alright?"

You turned away from the cityscape to see him stepping outside, eyeing the bit of warm air escaping from inside as it became visible, mixing with the cool night atmosphere. The closed sliding door nicely muffled the overlapping voices and music from inside.

You nodded as Yoongi approached you, "I was getting a little bit stuffy inside. I'm good now, though. Crowds can wear me out after a while, especially in that small of a space."

"I'm the same way. I should've told those two to hold off on inviting so many people," the boy admitted. He briefly stood behind you to help you slip on the outerwear before taking a spot next to you by the railing.

"No, it's okay. I know how Taehyung and Jimin can get carried away when they plan something together. They were just excited and went overboard. Besides," you looked over your shoulder to peer past the door, "it looks like they're enjoying themselves, so it's all worth it."

The boy turned to look where your gaze was directed at, although he first admired the way your lips were tilted upwards as you watched your best friends dancing around in the living room with some of the other guests. Currently, Taehyung was trying to convince Seokjin to join him on the makeshift dance-floor between your furniture.

"This was supposed to be for you, though, (Y/N). It means nothing if you're not comfortable. If you're not enjoying yourself."

You turned your attention back to Yoongi, considering his point and then saying, "I'm comfortable. I feel comfortable out here with you, where it's much quieter other than the street noises below. You make me feel comfortable, Yoongi."

Despite the chilly December temperature, Yoongi's face never felt more warmed.

"You make me feel comfortable too, (Y/N)," he whispered. He saw your expression change as he spoke; you now looked genuinely content than how you were acting inside.

You maintained eye contact with the boy in front of you, taking in every feature on his face; the way his eyes looked in the moonlight, the small roundness of his nose, his cheekbones slightly flushed, his lips.

You'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't find Min Yoongi attractive. From the moment you first saw him, you had been entranced by his performance on the piano; and it grew every minute after. Beginning to learn more about him as a person just made your admiration grow stronger.

"Forgive me if I'm being too forward, but could I kiss you?"

Your eyes widened for a split second as you processed the words leaving Yoongi's mouth, but you found yourself nodding before you could verbalize your thoughts.

Yoongi brought his hand gently to the side of your face, grazing your hair out of the way before he leaned in to connect your lips. His hand was cold from standing outside, but his lips were hot; you relished in the feeling of moving your mouth against his. He tasted slightly of beer but smelled of vanilla and musk.

You finally parted but kept your bodies close. You noticed how your hand made its way to his arm while his other one was delicately resting on your waist.

"Was that okay?" Yoongi timidly asked, not removing his gaze from you, your noses barely brushing.

"That was wonderful, Yoongi. The best birthday present," you smiled up at him and wrapped your arms around his torso.

"I can think of something better," he began, taking in the cute tilt to your head as you questioned his thoughts. "How about I take you out for dinner later this week. Does Saturday night work for you?"

You hummed like you were in deep thought, earning a light chuckle from the boy in your arms. "Tomorrow? I'll agree to dinner on one condition."

"And what might that be?"

You smoothed your thumb against his side, suddenly taking an interest in the collar of his jacket, "Could you kiss me again on Saturday?"

Now Yoongi was the one to pretend to be in profound consideration, finally replying, "I guess you'll have to wait to find out. But the odds seem likely. I like you a lot, (Y/N)."

"Good," you giggled, pulling him closer into your embrace, "I like you too. Otherwise, that whole interaction would have been uncomfortable."

Yoongi squeezed you back and smiled at your words, already wanting to kiss you once more without waiting for Saturday.

••

[carmenxjulia]

Another Duane interview transcript, coming at you! This one was from a smaller Carmen Sandiego chatroom. There were several interviewers, so that’s why the name of the question asker changes. Get the details below the break! Stay tuned, more interview transcripts coming soon.

Duane Capizzi:

HI EVERYONE! I'M IN!

Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the way haha. Then got lost trying to change my PFP

Thanks for gathering! Shall we get started? Let's do some Q&A!

(as long as they are not geography questions haha)

Fuel:

What characters or plot points were cut from the final product?

Duane Capizzi:

Ooo, starting with a right hook to the jaw!

Let me think about that for a moment: I'm hesitant to give too much away because I'm really hoping we can tell more stories in this world at some point

Which is to say, we tend not to waste anything: if we don't use it when we originally planned, we usually find a way to use something later - and there's usually a "karmic" reason that we waited.

I'll also preface by saying this: I know season 3 was more of a mini-drop and some felt season 4 was rushed. But I wish EVERY season were longer. Season 1: ideally, i wanted the Pilot to be its own event and 10 more episodes after that (but we had to tell the post-Pilot story in 7. At the end of the day, that had its benefits: we got to the Shadowsan turn earlier and I think that's when a lot of viewers realized the ride they were truly in for). Season 2: we initially figured we'd need 5 episodes to have Carmen doing the ACME dance with Chief, and wound up doing it in 3 - mostly because it quickly became clear that Rio needed to be a 2 parter, and the Zack and Ivy backstory a rough 2 parter. So we squeezed 3 episodes worth of plot into 209. It was exhilarating!

So, we had hoped to have more episodes for Season 4 of course. We had a ton of ideas and had to compress things a bit. But honestly in many ways it was for the better. I know we all wanted to live in this world longer, but I think sometimes the flip side is true - when you have big ongoing storylines, it can get frustrating when some things drag out too long. But, we got all the "story" we wanted to tell in Season 4 - we just lost some "incident" if that makes sense. We would have taken longer to get there.

So, all that preface to answer the question: we wanted to do more musical numbers! We had a Bollywood dance sequence in a return to India caper with Paperstar. We wanted to do a famous Elvis suit theft in Las Vegas during an Elvis impersonator convention (Shadowsan's an early elvis guy; Brunt likes the Vegas "jumpsuit" era). We also wanted to do a thread where Gunnar gets captured by ACME so that Julia could interrogate him and he could play mind games with her a la Hannibal Lector and Clarice. CAVEAT TO ALL THIS: these were some ideas that were bouncing around, that may not have seen the light of day if we couldn't get them to work. But they were on our wish list.

re: "other stories" - I could live with these characters for another 32 episodes easily and there have of course been discussions. But alas, that is up to the powers that be. Let's keep fingers crossed - and keep the Carmen love alive online so that someone up there takes note

There is more of course, but those are some things that spring to mind.

Fuel:

Were there any scenes cut for time that were your favorite?

Duane Capizzi:

Not much springs to mind: our directors were amazing at getting everything in the scripts to fit naturally (and in fact, I was the one who was usually suggesting trims to let other things breathe, etc). We were limited to 22 minutes of episode time, NOT counting front and end credits so a little longer than the average show. We have a pretty good idea when the SCRIPT is too long, so the cutting usually happens at script stage before it gets to the board crew so that they don't waste efforts over-boarding material that won't be used.

We had hoped to build out Chase and Carmen teaming up for the first time, meeting at Carmen's hotel lobby etc for more scenes of them together; but had to reduce that to get that all to fit in the VERY packed episode 406. But again, tighter was fine considering. That's one area that leaps to mind. (note that when I say packed, I don't mean that in a bad way: we spend a lot of time pouring over details in editing to make sure everything gets its due).

If I think of anything, I'll circle back at a later point. But the simple answer is that scenes were usually trimmed or compressed at script rather than board or animatic. So nothing comes to mind. I know it's hard to believe, but "shorter is usually better."

except for my answers to fan questions of course

Fuel:

We saw that in s4 episode 6 that Julia's mother(?) is wearing a necklace remarkably similar to the one Julia wears all the time. Is this the same necklace and if so, why was it given to Julia?

Duane Capizzi:

Just when I thought I was detail oriented! Wow! You guys blow me away

I can't take credit for that: it was either the board artist or director who added that. They do slip things in! As I've said before, EVERYONE on the crew really brought their A-game and were as deep thinking and as passionate as I was/am about the show.

It's a nice detail and I would say your interpretation works!

It took me three or four reviews before noticing that the team had slipped in baby Carmen near the play set in Mom's front yard at the end of 408. When I caught it, I was like: bravo!

Fuel:

When they first met, Zack and Ivy said to Carmen that they were the only family they had, do you know what happened to the rest of Zack and Ivy's family?

Duane Capizzi:

I don't. At least, I don't yet until such a time that I might have the opportunity to explore that. It was important to their relationship with Carmen that they be orphans, so they had that common bond (aside from being "thieves who steal from bad guys" - even if it was only gonna be one time for Zack and Ivy).

I know there are writers out there who like to do entire bio's for characters up front but i'm not one of them. It could be a trap in many ways. I like to have a general idea but be open to the demands of the ongoing storyline. You discover things along the way - it's like you're taking a journey with the characters by writing them, and the longer you spend, the better you get to know them (that was not a prepared statement by the way - I just made that up but I'll have to use it again :). So in Z/I's case it wasn't important to the story or Carmen's relationship, we felt. Conversely, we STARTED with Shadowsan's family backstory with 203, but more important to me was that we use it as a platform to explain why he stays with Carmen and crew. He really has no home at that point, so it was relevant to the present ongoing story. Which is what made that especially powerful to me.

Also, there's always a push-pull between telling character back stories while balancing them with ongoing episodic plots. You have to service both. If you just tell back story, then you're writing a biography

Arden:

What was the biggest challenge when designing these characters, especially the pre-existing characters from the series in the 90's?

Duane Capizzi:

This is probably more of a question for Chromosphere, re: challenges. But from my standpoint overseeing that process, the first thing I'll say is that we weren't necessarily trying to be "true" to those characters since we reinvented nearly every one from the ground up. (with the exception of Carmen of course - her trademark red hat/coat weren't going anywhere! But mostly the update with Carmen was in the styling of her "outerwear"

ALTHOUGH: I will admit that I was pushing for Carmen to have shorter hair as Carmen. I thought it would be a cool update. Chromosphere were really passionate about giving her long full hair and I have to see that they were right. The short tomboy cut worked so well for Black Sheep anyway. We had a different hair style for each of her ages.

So about the reinventions: Gunnar is in spirit a similar character to the original (old colleague in Vile and an early mentor if I remember), but his presentation completely different. We weren't trying to be "in canon" with the original. The beauty of CSD is that every incarnation has been its own entity so that freed us to reimagine the characters. THE CLEANERS, for instance: gimme some Cleaner love! There were a pair of janitors from the original game named RICK AND NICK ICK. They were literally janitors, it was too silly for our purposes. But, it's one small step to make them "Cleaners" (in the sinister hit men sense) - and lo, our reinvention.

So to summarize the answer to your question, they weren't really challenges to me so much as FUN to creatively reinvent the original characters (many of which were from the game, so not really "characters" per se with dialogue and inner lives). Whenever we could, we tried to use character names from the originals and update their looks and personalities. Where we couldn't find an equivalent for what we needed, we created characters from whole cloth. For instance, it seemed a miss to do a heist show without a tunnel guy and a high rise climber guy. Hence, LC & ET, everyone's favorite taco truck vendors!

(yes, i've seen some short hair carmen fan art on Twitter - someone did a great one recently!)

Arden:

Are there plans to give us more of the characters in, say, novel/graphic novel form?

Duane Capizzi:

I know HMH has done a bunch and no doubt have more in works. There's currently a novelization of the Pilot with some additional material if anyone's interested. I consulted on the second one, Clue for Clue, because it falls in the timeline while Chase was still Interpol/pre-Acme so was tricky.

And depending on whether another series in this canon makes it to air, I may just approach them about writing one or two myself to get some "further adventures" our there. Anything is possible!

Arden:

If you could go back and change anything about the series, what would it be?

Duane Capizzi:

File under anecdote, but there was what I felt was an important expression on Gray that kept me awake at nights, from his graduation ceremony at Vile. When we revisited those flashbacks in the Gray arc in Season 4, I had them change his expression there (to be more evil less innocent). We had it corrected in 404 so was able to get permission to have Netflix "fix" the Pilot by adding that shot in. I am tenacious!

We really poured over everything, it's the series that I have virtually zero complaints with the end product to be honest. But the simple answer is: I would have gone back to 106 and "un-greek'd" Gray's nametag. It's sort of a rule for international that we scramble signage (which is weird for a show that takes place in many countries/languages, I know I know). It's mostly for localization/translation reasons. And I'm sure there are some countries where Gray's name might be spoken differently. But as a proper name, I think we could have made an exception and seen "Gray" on his name tag. See? Details! But that's about the worst of it

there's also like one small line from Chief in 208 where she indicates she knows Carmen is a good guy (something to that effect) which I felt was too absolute and would have tweaked the line to temper it a bit. It's tiny, but looking back it sort of bugs me and I kick myself for not catching it. But this is absolutely the series I wanted and couldn't be happier.

Carmen:

How did Carmen know she could trust Julia? As far as we know, she has not seen or heard Julia defending her, and in the Fashionista Caper, Julia even held up her gas gun to her, saying she was under arrest. Do you have any opinions on this? Was it just intuition?

Duane Capizzi:

I'm gonna go with intuition

Carmen was raised on an island with some hardened criminal types. I think she's a pretty good judge of character. Poor Julia, trying to be tough with Carmen didn't suit her.

But, great observation! I'd have to mentally step through everything to see if Carmen had any earlier indication but i think you're right there.

Yes, sometimes you just gotta follow your heart

Carmen:

Are there any characters that didn't actually interact that you think would get along well?

Duane Capizzi:

Amazing question! First, I'd have to think more about who DIDN'T meet - you're asking the hard questions haha. But "get along well" is very specific! Hmmm, care to volley anyone?

I'll also add that so many smaller moments get lost in the "binge" of it all, but I am surprised how few fans have noted the first meeting between Player and Julia. THAT was a good one IMO! Very sweet!

Before getting back to your question, I also want to add that we were originally going to find a way for Carmen to lose her earring in Stockholm so that Julia could pick it up and be communicating with Player. BUT, I cut it at treatment stage because I knew we didn't have room in that episode to service it. Circling back to questions 1 & 2, another case where it turned out better saved for later IMO (saving Player meeting Julia, not to mention the earring business in 402 with Ivy).

Oh of course, Julia and any of the other Vile members. It would have been Gunnar for my vote, as mentioned earlier. We probably would not have had Julia meet anyone else and mixed it up more. I like that Cleo sort of became J's personal nemesis.

YES, SONIA & XIFENG (and LUPE PELIGRO, if I can add). The intent was (and is, if we ever get to revisit) to see them again in Carmen's travels. We started to expand Carmen's world but when we finally learned the finite number of episodes we had to finish the story, we drilled back down into the essentials. Would love to see them some day!

I'm hesitant to share too many things I have in mind in this forum for hope that they will see the light of day one day. You know, "spoilers"

Julia:

Do you have any opinions on Zari? Just in general? Some thoughts on her backstory would be nice if possible

Duane Capizzi:

I love Zari! I really don't have any back story on her at this point. She was originally just "Agent B" but when the need arose to give story points to another agent, we chose her because she looked so awesome! And Sharon Muthu gave voice to her so wonderfully.

I love when we finally teamed her with Chase. Hopefully the anticipation was that she would give him a hard time. I love that we defied expectation (organically, of course) and had her respect him by the end of that episode (for believing that he foiled Carmen!)

Julia:

Do you have any thoughts on small facts about any character, major or minor, that you think are fun/interesting to think about, but don't necessarily add to the plot itself?

Duane Capizzi:

Bellum, like myself, likes cats. But you knew that!

I try to put everything pertinent on screen, doing double duty to service any given episode's story but also the overarching story. That "journey" thing I mentioned earlier - we had no idea Chase falling on his own car would be a thing when I first came up with it. But as other characters refer to the incident, it took on a life of its own and made the characters feel more real.

Sorta kinda related to this question and some earlier ones, I will say that I DO think there's more to learn about Shadowsan's past vis a vis Lady Dokuso: it's clear to me that they have a history together, and it's something I hope to explore someday soon (maybe in a book if not another series

Julia:

Are the Carmen Sandiego books a part of canon?

Duane Capizzi:

I only consulted on the first two or three (too busy with series!) and have not read them, so hard for me to answer in a definite way. They are definitely in the universe we've created, but not in the timeline that I know of (which would have been too hard to pull off with our script development running concurrently). But do know that the book team at HMH pays close attention to the series and world so they should be perfectly compatible. Look no further to their clever social media on the series for example.

Kenz:

We saw in season 4 that Julia and Carmen helped each other mid to long term; would there ever be a possibility that Julia would permanently or semi-permanently join team Red?

Duane Capizzi:

Of course there's a possibility. But in a sense, with ACME now finally on Carmen's side, in a sense if Carmen were back in the game Julia, Chase, Zack and Ivy would ALL be an extension of Carmen's crew. But, would J remain with ACME or literally come to Carmen's team at her HQ? As they said in an old radio show: "Only The Duane Capizzi knows ..."

Kenz:

Where do you see Carmen in her retirement (if she retires)? Do you think she would still travel the world or settle down somewhere? Similarly, do you have any thoughts on what some other characters could be doing years down the line?

Duane Capizzi:

That is a big question, and one difficult to answer without some potential future spoilers (and yes, I really want to tell more Carmen stories if you can't tell But I'll answer by giving you one "read" on our open-ended ending as seen in 408 (read no further if you haven't seen it - yeah, right haha). The ending suggests to me that Carmen settled down for a spell to forge that relationship with her mother, to make up for lost time. But, if that is indeed Carmen that we see on the rooftop, I think the ending suggests that Carmen doesn't stay still for very long. If Vile is back, there is work to be done! Carmen has a life mission - she's one determined lady.

But of course, it's deliberately ambiguous: "anyone with your heart, wisdom and courage can be Carmen Sandiego." Is it Carmen? Sonia? Someone we haven't met? I think both endings resonate: Caroline and I always said "Carmen is bigger than a person, Carmen is a movement" would be a great message to end the series on. And I think our ending resolves this chapter of Carmen's journey as a person, but also elevates her to mythic status. Which is why I love it!

And, that seems to me a pretty perfect question and answer to end our chat on. Thanks everyone! Again, I cannot tell you how moved I am to see that we have such a passionate, intelligent and talented fan base. THANK YOU.

Take care guys, thanks again for having me! 'night!

[marshmallowprotection]

Hello! I'm interested with your romantic match-up, so I want to try it too hehe^^

I'm a girl —- 21 years old. My height and weight are 159 cm/52 kg. I have short-curly-brown hair (I think the length is until shoulder?) and brown eyes. Additional note, um I always wear veil every time I go outside. I got INTJ in a personality test.. and sometimes I get ISTJ too.

I rarely watch movies, because I don't have a friend to watch with, so it tends to be boring. I love rainy days, hot chocolate, bread, and sweets. I love cooking but I'm not a pro haha. I like cleaning home too because it helps me to relieve my stress.

My outfit is tend to a feminine look. Mostly I wear long skirt and outerwear. And I like to wear a match-color outfit. I wear a round-shape eyeglasses and — I love to wear a warm orange-colored lipstick, because it makes my face stand out.

Ah, I really love reading book! My fav genre are fantasy, romance, historical fiction, and children book. I always get excited to visit a book store or a library, it always give me a big comfort. And, I love reading fan fiction too, it's good to make me drown in a fantasy world to escape reality.

I only have a few friends, it's hard for me to make a friend. I think it's because of my Resting-B-Face that always make people scared to ask me first... actually I'm a shy person and do not interact with people if it's not necessary. Because of that, I'm a type that loves to stay at home (I can stay at home for 2 months without going out at all lmao) and write a diary every night (because I don't have somebody to talk to /sad). And I'm a type that will be quiet in a loud place, because a loud place always drain my energy. but I'll be loud if I surrounded with my comfort people.

I never been in a relationship before....... so I don't know what actually my love language is. But, I love to give a mysterious gift to my best friends on their special day — sending them a gift without my name on the package. It always give me a big happiness if they love my gift, but they don't know who the sender is.

Umm I'm looking forward to a partner who want to listen to all of my story (even it's silly) and okay to accompany me doing many fun things at home. I'm desire to give a hug and get a hug too!! Hugging someone is always make me feel at ease, but because of this current situation, I can't hug people easily.

I'm sorry if this is so long.... it's okay if you want to skip this. Thank you and hope you always be healthy!!! <3

I match you with...

Saeran!

You like to do things but you only like to do them when you're with someone that you care about. It just doesn't feel right when you don't have to company of someone that makes you feel warm inside. You like a little bit of structure but it's okay to have some fun and go dancing in the rain sometimes. It's okay to throw caution to the wind but it's important to be able to know when enough is enough. For that reason, someone with a good head on their shoulders and who is trying to find their place in the world deserves to have someone that understands them the best. You want someone who listens to your voice since it's not often heard.

Who could be better for you than someone who knows what it feels like to not have your voice be heard by anyone? Saeran is an avid listener. You don't need to worry about pushing yourself to do things that you don't want to do. You can be yourself with him and he'll never pressure you to be anything else. He doesn't need to do things that are wild and unbelievable, all he wants to do is experience life with you no matter what that means. As long as you're smiling, and he knows that things are going to be okay. Talk as much as you want about anything and he's always listening.

He's still not entirely sure what his love language is either. It's definitely acts of service and physical touch though. He likes being able to do little things for you to see you smile. He also likes the fact that he can be there with you and hold you as much as you want. He's always holding on to your hand because that makes him feel better when he's got unease and anxiety. What better way to cure your woes than to curl up on the couch together? You just know that you're going to find peace with him. He just knows that he's going to be happy with you.

[mahalkitajohnnysuh]

Video Call

Imagine if this was the view on your phone screen. 

I might pass out in real life, but we have Essie to fulfill our fangirl fantasies. 

Before you think anything else about this piece, let me say that it’s fluffy and funny. Well, a bit funny. You guys know how I write already. 

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)

–––

Summary: To change things up, this piece was not written with a fluff generator in mind. I was just missing Johnny and thought of writing video call snippets and more between him and Essie. 

POV: 3rd person 

Word count: 700 + words

Warning: One of the scenarios here was inspired by real-life, and as usual with me, it has sexual innuendoes. Nothing extreme, just a bit perverted. There’s also a song at the end of the post since I mentioned one here too. Lastly, text messages are with single quotations and italics. 

–––

“I miss you so much already,” Essie whined to the screen, pouting when she saw her boyfriend smirk at her. 

Johnny was in Chicago right now, visiting his parents. Although she had already met them here a couple of months ago, they returned to the place they called home a week after that. 

The first week of December passed by with them apart from each other. She was sad that he wasn’t going to spend the holidays with her, and that included her birthday. She understood that he has family on the other side of the globe, and it has been a while since he was there.

“Don’t you think that I feel the same way?” Johnny huffed, looking briefly at both of his sides, “I miss you so much too, baby. I’ll find a way to be there on your birthday,” He looked sadly at the camera and frowned when he saw that his girlfriend was tearing up. 

“It’s fine, love. I understand your obligations,” she sniffed, “the most we can do is to keep in touch with each other. But I hope you’ll be here for my 27th…”

“I’ll try my best, okay? Don’t cry now,” he comforted her through the screen, pressing his thumb lightly over the image of her crying face. 

Their call lasted for a few more minutes since Essie had visitors coming. She decided to host a fancy dinner for her closest friends – Nini was out of the country with Jongin, if people were curious to know – before their social calendar becomes full with other holiday parties. 

Later on, she received a text from Johnny: ‘Hope you had fun with your dinner party! And I hope you didn’t drink a lot. I’m not there to baby you and your hangover. Be a good girl tonight, and I promise to make it up to you when I get back. I love you so much, my baby princess!’

She couldn’t help but get teary-eyed again with his message, but at the same time, her smile grew bigger. 

Essie felt so loved this evening despite the distance she has now with her boyfriend. 

\\\

Johnny laughed when he opened the photo that his girlfriend of more than six months sent him.  

Essie sent him a photo of her eating a Hungarian sausage with gusto. She bit into the meat stick with her eyes closed, with cheese oozing out at the sides.

He knew that his girl loved meat, but this was telling him something else as well. The message that accompanied her photo was: ‘I got myself a Hungarian sausage with cheese at the food bazaar today. It reminded me of you; I don’t know why. Or maybe I do know why! Hahahaha love you John hope you eat something that reminds you of me~’

“Baby, you’re hilarious,” he said to no one in particular before he burst into laughter again.  

A few hours later, he sent her a photo of him eating a carton of her favorite ice cream.  He added a message too: ‘Of course, I just have to eat your favorite baby! As one of your favorite songs said: you’re cold as ice cream but still as sweet. So dry your eyes, Sunday girl~’ 

After reading it, the girl sang the lyrics he referenced, earning her looks from fellow pedestrians. She shrugged them off and hummed the song as she continued her walk home. 

\\\

There was nothing new with Essie swiping Johnny’s clothing, especially his outerwear. 

The guy chuckled when he received a photo of his love wearing his brown fuzzy jacket. The caption of her photo read: ‘Mama Bear misses you so much, Papa Bear. Since you’re not here, I’ll wear this for now. Thank you and love you forever John!’ 

He replied to her post with a selfie of him pouting. ‘Who said you could wear that, Mama Bear? Loljk of course we have shared custody over that fluffy jacket haha I love you more Essie!’ was the message he typed after sending his photo.  

On the other side of the screen, Essie giggled when she saw her boyfriend’s response to her photo. “Shared custody, eh?” She eyed at the teddy jacket she now wore, “As if this thing’s our baby! John is silly, as always!” She wiggled her fingers first before she composed her reply to his latest message. 

––

FIN

[vintagesimstress]

1894 cape coat for boys

Vintage Winterwear Collection pt. 10

Hello everyone, happy April Fools! Wishing you all only genuinely funny jokes today and no silly / disappointing / annoying ones. Please don't forget what day it is if you read any unbelievably exciting news today, ok? I still remember last year's outrage after SimsVip 'announced' a 'Get Schooled' EP...

Anyway, this ain't no April Fools joke: I finally made my first outfit for boys. I know it took me forever and I'm so sorry for this discrimination; dear simboys, please forgive me! The truth is, it's very difficult to find any reference pictures for boys' outfits, and the ones which are out there are... Let's say, not exactly thrilling. But well - thrilling or not, boys need something to wear too, right? So, I finally overcame my dislike for those dull fashion plates and tried to change them into something wearable.

The outfit comes in 2 versions: with bare legs (a) or with trousers (b). I know you can't see it on the main picture, but trust me, there is a difference ;). Both versions come in 15 swatches:

Base Game Compatible

HQ mod compatible

all LODs

custom thumbnail, bump and specular maps, no shine

found under outerwear subcategory

tagged as everyday & cold weather

colour tagged

disallowed for random

PDN for recolours included (no trousers version - if you want to recolour v1b, you'll have to copy & paste the trousers from any of the existing diffuse maps). You don't need it for the mesh to work!

Known problems: I mean, it's a cape coat, so obviously it comes with some imperfections... But I think it works quite fine. As good as it gets, I'd dare to say ;). Let me know if you experience any bigger issues!

Hope you'll like it. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD (free on Patreon, no ads)

***

Terms of Use

Don’t: steal, claim it’s yours or monetise in any way

Do: recolour, include the mesh, edit the mesh to create something amazing - just please tag me once you publish it, so that I could also see it!

[themoderngothicheroine]

Etiquette for Dinner with a Vampire

You receive an invitation on the finest of paper, a crimson seal splashing across it like blood - an invitation to a dinner at the manor of a noble figure, a lord or lady about whom rumours swirl. Dark whisperings suggest that although you are being invited to a grand meal, you may end up being supper instead.

Goodness, could you even imagine saying no?

Dress

When you receive the invitation, it should list the dress-code for the evening. In today's society, the average heroine will receive few invitations to events that have dress-codes, aside from weddings. Miss A will decode it for you, and offer you some suggestions.

White Tie and Black Tie

The difference between white tie and black tie lies primarily with suits, as opposed to dresses. For those who prefer gowns, floor-length is the most appropriate for a dinner. Opera gloves are an optional choice, but if your host is from a bygone era, it might be best to err on the side of caution and wear them. For jewelry, white tie often indicates your finest jewels, while black tie is simpler - typically only earrings and a bracelet. One must consider if there will be dancing afterwards, as larger pieces of jewelry will be in the way. For this particular dinner, the most important question is the neckline of your gown: will you cautiously cover up your pulse, or will you answer your host's invitation with one of your own?

For those who prefer suits, the difference between the two is more substantial. For white tie, one requires a black wool tailcoat with satin or grosgrain lapels, matching trousers with a satin or grosgrain stripe down the side, a white pique waistcoat, a white shirt with a stiff bosom and a high, detachable wing collar, a white pique bowtie, black pumps or oxfords, along with the accessories of mother of pearl cufflinks and buttons, button on suspenders, and optional linen pocket-square, boutonniere (traditionally a carnation, but one might be careful and use an allium or a wild rose!), pocket-watch or fine wristwatch, and kidskin gloves. Whew! And that's not even looking at the outerwear. Black tie is somewhat easier - a simple tuxedo will do, and is easier to acquire through rental or purchase.

Dress suggestions: Jenny Yoo Ryland Dess, Anthropologie | Montreal Dress, Anthropologie

Suit Suggestions: White Tie, Tuxedos, Ladies Tuxedos

Cocktail and Semi-Formal

We now ease into something a little less formal. The cocktail and semi-formal require a suit (with pants or a skirt) or a dress that typically falls around knee-length, depending on your preferences and comfort. Cocktail usually requires a little more sparkle in terms of jewelry, while semi-formal is more toned down, but in the vast scheme of things these codes are similar enough to pass for one another. Neither are as in-depth as the white tie or black tie, so unless your host is a fastidious member of the old school, as they might be depending on how many centuries they've lived, you're probably safe treating them the same.

Dress Suggestions: Menen Swing Dress, Collectif | Amethyst Dress, The Reformation

Suit Suggestions: Hemsworth Stripe Suit, Indochino | The Georgie Black Suit, Kirrin Finch

No Dress Code

Should your invitation not carry any dress code, it's best to fall back on the cocktail dress. It's formal enough to carry you through black tie, and if you end up being a little overdressed for the evening, we have the advice of Oscar Wilde:

"If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated."

Please note: unless you have been explicitly invited to dinner as the vampire's bride, this is not the occasion for the classic white gown that heroines so love - save that for racing down the corridors and into the night after dessert!

---

The Table

Your place will be laid out with utmost care for the courses that will be served that evening. If you are unsure where to start when the first course is served, the following diagram should assist. One usually starts from the outside in - the fork furthest to the left will be used with the knife furthest to the right, and in from there.

This table setting is missing the following: fish fork, fish knife, bread plate, butter knife

A formal table setting will go as follows, from left to right:

1. Fish fork

2. Dinner fork

3. Salad fork

4. Dinner plate with soup plate laid on top

5. Salad knife

6. Dinner knife

7. Fish knife

8. Soup spoon

9. Seafood fork

Above the plate you should find, from left to right:

1. Bread plate, with a butter knife laid across it

2. Dessert/coffee spoon 

3.  Dessert fork

4. Water goblet

5. Wine glass - there should be a glass for each type of wine served, following the same order of left to right as the courses continue through the meal. Either the host or a servant should pour, meaning you need not worry which glass is which. Remember to hold your wine glass by the stem so as not to warm the wine - if your host is holding theirs by the cup, that's likely because their 'wine' is already warm...

---

The Courses

Depending on the number of courses in your meal, you may find yourself a little overwhelmed. A dinner can range from one course to twelve! In hopes that your host is a bit impatient to get their own meal, we shall go with the more modern formal six course meal that matches the above place setting.

First course: Hor d'oeuvres

This is when one might expect the shellfish to be served - use the fork furthest to your right, after the spoons. Otherwise, hor d'oeuvres are typically designed to be eaten by hand.

Second course: Soup

When eating soup, it's best to fill your spoon while dragging it through the soup away from you - this way you can gently brush the bottom against the rim of the bowl to prevent drips. Your soup spoon will be first after the knives.

Third course: Fish

This is the most likely dish to be excluded from a full course dinner - as the entrée is often meat-based, some in the modern day think it's silly to have two meat courses. However, in olden days fish was not considered a 'meat', and therefore had a place in the full course meal. Your fish fork will be the furthest fork to the left, and your fish fork will be the furthest knife to the right.

Fourth course: Main Course

The pièce de résistance of the meal, this will be the most extravagant and richest part of the meal - it can range from a ham to a risotto to a chicken. For this you will use the dinner fork second from the plate to the left, and the dinner knife next to the plate to the right.

Fifth course: Salad

Although typically a salad is served as an appetizer in restaurants, a full course meal will serve it after the entrée. Use the fork closest to the plate.

Sixth course: Dessert

For your dessert, you may find a trifle, a cake, a crème brûlée, or any other delicious sweet thing (past yourself). Use the fork or spoon above the plate.

If you suspect that your host is the flamboyant type who might wish to make a spectacle of your final meal, you may wish to research further into multi-course meals - one doesn't want to show too much shock when a sorbet appears mid-meal!

---

Manners

These are the basic manners that one should follow at the dinner table, regardless of how formal or informal your dinner is. Though obviously your own manners are dictated by who you are with and your own culture, if you are invited to a meal in a castle with a strange and eerie host, it's best to play on the safe side, whether you're having roast mutton or burgers - or if they're having you.

One should only use your mouth for three things: conversing, chewing, and drinking, and your mouth should only be open for the first. No picking your teeth, or spitting, or smoking, or singing Love Song for a Vampire in an attempt to seduce your host. Use your utensils with grace - do not use them to rip at your food and make sure to cut only small, bite-sized pieces at a time lest the ghost of Miss A's grandmother appear to slap your hand for putting too much in your mouth at once! Only tuck the knife up your sleeve for later after the main course and if you know it's true silver. If anything is further than an extended arm's reach away, ask for it to be passed to you - do not reach or loom over the table. Elbows are not to be on the table except while conversing between courses, which is easy to avoid as long you avoid slouching. And of course, do not check your phone until you are away from the table - unless you are sending a coded emergency request for help. (🧛🦇😱💀🏰!!!)

Dining together is rarely done just for the food - conversation is often more thrilling than what you're eating! It may even have been centuries since your host last had an invigorating discourse. Easy topics include the host's home and décor - how long has the manor been in the family, and whose foreboding portraiture is that hanging on the wall? If you're a little more daring, you might even ask for a tour afterwards, and mention which views from the upper floors you'd like to see best - the rose garden, or the canopy of their bed? One of the best pieces of advice your governess has heard is to ask open-ended questions, and always follow up with another question. This assists in helping the conversation flow and finding common ground.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My host does not drink wine - is it alright if I have a glass, at their insistence?

A: Typically a guest will follow the lead of the host. Should the host not drink... wine, the guest should not imbibe either. However, if the host is insistent that their sobriety need not hamper your choices, you may go ahead and have that glass of bordeaux - provided it is, indeed, bordeaux.

Q: Should my napkin go on my lap or be tucked into my collar?

A: The correct way to lay your napkin is across your lap, but if you intend on being your host's dessert, politeness and concern for your outfit might suggest tucking your napkin into your collar at that time.

Q: My host is of a non-Western culture - what do I need to know for etiquette?

A: Alas, Miss A's experience and training only taught her the dining habits of the nosferatu, the striga, and the vampir - if your host is a jiangshi or an adze, Miss A is at a loss. This website has a quick guide to international table etiquette and links to more specific regional advice.

---

Well, heroine - are you ready for dinner?

Your doting

Miss A

Many thanks to my models @cavortingcadaver​ and @tyloke​

[gryffindorcls]

I'd love to see "2 I'm cold" ♡

I had Valentine’s Day on the brain when I was writing this one!

Post-Reveal/Established-Relationship Board

(If anyone else would like to submit a Lovesquare Fluff Bingo request, you can find the ask prompt here.)

February 15th

AO3

Marinette groaned and pulled her blanket over her head after a second volley of loud knocks sounded against the hatch on her floor.  She was too tired to wake up, and she was too comfortable to move.  In an attempt to block out the disturbance, Marinette snuggled further into her nest of warmth and softness.  She squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the hatch slowly creak open.

“Princess?” Adrien’s voice filled the room.  “Where are you?”

“She’s not here,” Marinette mumbled into her pillow, “Try again later.”

He chuckled.  “Do I need to come up there and get you?”

“NO!”

“I’m coming up.”

“No, Adrien, let me sleep!”

“Too late!”

Within a matter of seconds, her boyfriend’s head peered over the edge of the wooden platform that lofted her bed above her room.  The weight of Adrien’s body caused the far end of her mattress to creak under the pressure.

“I will tickle your feet if you don’t get up,” he warned with a teasing lilt in his voice.

Marinette quickly pulled her legs against her body.  “Why are you being so mean?”

“Because I can’t wait to spend the day with the most beautiful girl in the world.”

She sat up and was met by two bright green eyes and a lopsided smile.  “Aww, Adrien, that’s so sweet!”

“I can be cute sometimes.”

“No, you’re cute all the time, but it’s too early for your cuteness.”

“It’s ten o’clock, Marinette.”

“And we had to fight four Akumas yesterday.  FOUR.  That’s three more than one.  And we didn’t finish fighting the last one until one o’clock this morning.”

Adrien scooted next to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.  “I know, but it’s not every year that February 15th falls on a Saturday.  This is our day.”

She relaxed against his chest.  “I know.  If only Valentine’s Day wasn’t so terrible for us every year.  I’m starting to think that Hawkmoth has no life.”

“Really?  You’re just picking up on that now?”

“I wish we could celebrate Valentine’s Day on the actual day like every other couple.”

He pulled away.  “But you and I are not like every other couple.”

“Hmmm.  I guess you’re right.” She gave him a gentle peck on the lips.  “We’re pretty super.”

“Please let me kiss you again for saying that pun!” Adrien begged.

She giggled.  “Nope!  You wanted me up, so now you have to let me get ready.  Save the kisses for when I’m looking a little better.”

“But you look beautiful right now!” He pulled her close. “You always do!  You are more radiant than the sun!”

“How poetic.”

“It’s true.”

“Well, thank you.  Now let me go!”

He dropped his arms with a flourish and pouted.  “Fine.  Go get ready.  Just leave me up here all by myself!”

“You’re so dramatic sometimes.”  She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  “That should tide you over until I’m done.”

Without waiting to see Adrien’s reaction, Marinette climbed down the ladder, walked to her closet, and pulled out a light pink, long-sleeved dress with a fitted bodice and a knee-length circle skirt.  She held the garment up to the light and bit her lip.  Today was her day to finally celebrate with Adrien, and she really didn’t want to wear jeans.

“Hey, Adrien?” she called across the room.

“Mmmhmm,” Adrien responded, “What’s up?” 

“How cold was it outside before you came into the bakery?”

“It was pretty brisk.  The wind made the air feel extra cold.  You should bundle up.”

“And what are our plans for today?”

“The same thing we do every February 15th.  We’re going to brunch at our favorite cafe, and then we're going to the drugstore to buy several boxes of discounted chocolate truffles before heading back here to watch five hours of movies.”

“And we’re walking right?”

“Yes...will that be a problem?  I didn’t think you liked having my bodyguard accompany us on all our dates.”

She took another look at the dress.  “No, that won’t be a problem.”

“I should be okay if I wear tights,” she thought, “Besides, I’ll be wearing a hat, mittens, and a scarf along with my jacket.  I’ll be fine.”

With a determined nod, she got dressed, ran into the bathroom, quickly styled her hair into a low bun, and applied neutral make-up.  After giving herself a once over in the mirror, she hurried back to her room and put on her winter outerwear.

“I’m back!” she announced.

Adrien scrambled down the ladder.  “Does that mean that my Princess is ready to go?”

“Yeah, just let me grab my purse.  Does Plagg want to join Tikki in my bag today?”

A tiny black blur shot out from behind Adrien’s collar and stopped in front of Marinette’s face.  “Yes, it does.  You two and your silly rituals.  Blech!”

Tikki zipped next to Plagg and poked him in the stomach.  “Stop it!  I think it’s wonderful.  AND they worked hard yesterday with all the angry love Akumas.  They deserve a day for themselves.”

“We worked hard, too, Sugarcube.  Ugh, and they always get so mushy.  Why do we need to see that on our day off?”

“Because it’s sweet.”

“Oh, yeah?  Good to know your sweet-tooth is being satisfied.  I’m starving.  Adrien forgot to feed me this morning.  If they’re gazing into each other’s eyes all day, who’s going to give me cheese?”

“Hey!” Adrien glared at his Kwami. “I said that I would feed you at the cafe.”

“You’re always thinking about your stomach.”  Tikki crossed her arms.

Plagg threw his paws into the air.  “Well, someone has to!”

“You know, it’s February 15th for us, as well.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re right.  We do need to rest, and I was looking forward to spending some time with you today.  Just you and me inside Marinette’s bag.  Maybe some cheese and cookies, as well.”

“We need more than just one day to make up for yesterday.”

“If you’re not going to be nice, then you can spend the whole day by yourself!”  Tikki flew into Marinette’s bag with a huff.

“Sugarcube, wait!  I’m sorry!”  Plagg dove into the purse and snapped the top of it closed.

Marinette’s gaze slowly shifted away from her bag and eventually landed on Adrien.  The second her eyes met his, both teens began laughing uncontrollably.

“What are we going to do with those two?” Marinette said, holding her stomach.

Adrien wiped a tear away from his right eye.  “I told you we weren’t a normal couple, Bugaboo!”

“I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right.  We are an extraordinary couple.”

Marinette grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the hatch.  “Come on, kitty-cat.  Let’s go enjoy our day!”

Adrien followed without hesitation.  Soon enough, they were making their way down the sidewalk hand in hand.  When they reached the cafe, Marinette resisted the urge to chatter her teeth.  Her legs were freezing. 

After taking off her coat and putting it on the back of her chair, Adrien paused and looked at her in awe. 

“Princess,” he began, “I know you look amazing every day, but I must say that you make that dress look stunning.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Don’t you mean that the dress makes me look stunning?”

“No, the clothes don’t wear you, Marinette.  You wear the clothes.  The only reason that dress looks good is because the person wearing it is you.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm. “Flirt.”

“Ahh, yes, but I’m your flirt!”

They spent their time at the cafe laughing, talking, and relaxing.  Even though it was no longer Valentine’s Day, she still felt the love that radiated off both of them.

When their identities had been revealed three years ago, she never pictured that their relationship would grow into something this beautiful.  Not only were she and Adrien dating, but they were best friends.  They were partners.  They were made for each other.

After taking their time at brunch, they left the cafe and made their way to the drugstore.  Once they had purchased a dozen discounted boxes of chocolate, they headed back to the bakery with their spoils.

Halfway through their trip back, Marinette’s teeth began clacking together.

“Is that you, Princess?”  Adrien asked, turning his head towards her.

“Y-yes,” she responded quietly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m cold.  Even though you told me to bundle up, I wanted to wear something nice.  I should have listened to you.  Now my legs are stiff and frozen.”

“Oh, Marinette, you could have worn a paper bag, and you’d still be beautiful.  Come here.”  

In one sweeping motion, Adrien scooped her up and began carrying her bridal style down the street.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked.

He kissed the top of her head.  “Making the most of my day with the girl of my dreams.”

She giggled.  “Happy February 15th, Adrien.”

“Happy February 15th, Princess.”