#anyway now i can officially make triple a jokes

[astraldraco]

guess who's agender :)

only just realized a few days ago that other people not only actually want to be perceived as having a gender but actually feel like gender is a thing that exists and they have rather than just being their preferred presentation! so.

sticking to all pronouns, mix it up for me :)

[hgfictionwriter]

Self Control: Part Seven - Proposing

Jessie Fleming x Reader

Summary: You are part of Jessie's future and she wants to make it official. With a ring and a plan, she lets you know how much you and your growing family mean to her.

Warnings: G!P smut. G!P sex, preg and breeding kinks, some possessive language/content, language.

A/N: Mostly fluff, but a bit of smut as well. The rest of the series can be found here. Thank you all for reading!

“Jess!”

“Yeah?” Jessie called back, her gaze lifting from her bag towards the bedroom.

“Can you come here?” You called back.

Jessie huffed quietly. She was focused on making sure absolutely everything was in order and didn’t want to get distracted. She triple checked the placement of the small black box before she zipped up the bag and headed into the bedroom where you were getting changed.

She’d planned a hike for you two this morning. Nothing crazy strenuous, but a lesser known, still very scenic path that she hoped wouldn’t be too busy at this hour.

When Jessie walked in she saw you standing sideways in front of the mirror and examining your profile. You had your shirt raised and your pants undone with one hand gliding over your stomach. You looked up to her as she approached.

“I think I’m starting to show,” you relayed with an undertone of wonderment. You eyes returned to the mirror. “Or my pants are just snug because of, you know, all my snacking lately.”

Jessie vaguely registered your joke and offered a faint laugh, but she was much too focused on the first half of what you said. Her eyes were set on your torso as she came up, she laid two hands on your stomach, her thumbs softly caressing and feeling.

She felt your eyes on her and she lowered herself to knees in front of you to get a better look. Tension settled in her forehead as she examined you, looking for signs of what she’d been hoping to see from the beginning.

A slow smile spread across her face as she noted the slightest swell. She looked up at you right away, eyes shimmering and meeting your curious frown. She kissed your stomach.

“I think you’re showing, too,” Jessie said brightly.

You were nearly at the 4 month mark, so it was still a touch early, but all things indicated that your baby was growing well and growing strong, so showing now was entirely possible. Sure, you’d been bloated at various times, of course, but this seemed different.

She laid another, lingering kiss on the slight swell of your stomach where your baby was starting to make themselves known. She pulled back, looking at the very subtle bump, her hands still resting on it.

“Hi,” Jessie said, her voice soft but brimming with excitement. “Hi my little one. Are you growing nice and big for us? Momma’s doing such a good job of taking care of you.” She offered you a smile. “Gosh, I can’t believe we’ll finally be able to see you. In some sense anyway. Pretty soon you’ll be able to give us a soft,” she gave you an exaggerated look, “kick to let us know you’re good and happy.”

You rest one hand on top of Jessie’s and the other caressed her hair. You looked down to your stomach as well.

“Considering who your mommy is, you’ll probably be quite the kicker,” you chuckled, stroking your stomach now. “Try to go easy on me.”

Jessie laughed and kissed your belly once more.

“Alright, little one. I’m going to take Momma on a nice hike this morning. Get some fresh air, get the blood flowing. And someday, we’ll get to take you on hikes too. Carrying you on my back, your little head peeking over my shoulder as you’re pointing at all the trees and things you’re curious about - I can’t wait to show you and tell you all about them.”

A light blush formed on her face as she stood up, now more fully aware of your adoring gaze. She smiled coyly as you kissed her cheek. She pulled you into a gentle hug before stepping back.

“Are you okay to wear these?” She asked as she gestured to your hiking pants. No stores would be open right now, so if you needed a new pair, there was no way you’d be on the trail before the crowds. A small wave of anxiety started to build in the back of Jessie’s mind at the thought, but it quickly diminished with a nod of your head.

“They’re tight, but they’re fine. I’ll need something a bit more forgiving soon though,” you said with a laugh.

“Okay, sounds good.”

——————

Jessie carried the backpack as you two walked the trail between the trees. Rays of light from the early sun filtered through the branches and leaves and Jessie shouldn’t have been surprised to see at least a few other people on the trail, but it worked her up nonetheless.

“Can we stop for a sec?” You asked as you stilled and she stopped with you. “I need some water.”

“Of course,” Jessie said readily as she retrieved the water bottle and handed it to you.

You gulped down a few sips and offered it back to her with a slight frown.

“Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet this morning,” you teased lightly.

Jessie’s eyebrows raised in surprise as she took a swig of water.

“Oh? No, I’m fine. I’m just appreciating my surroundings,” she said with a reassuring smile.

“Alright, if you say so,” you said, not entirely convinced, but accepting it regardless.

“How are you feeling? Okay still?” Jessie inquired. You gave her a slightly chiding look.

“I’m totally fine. Thank you for asking though.”

She nodded and offered you the water bottle again, which you waved off. She tucked it away.

“Ready to go?”

It was true that she was quieter than usual, and that remained true as you carried on up the trail. Jessie had idly thought about this moment for years, but in recent months it was crisp, clear and front of mind.

She thought anxiously about the little box she tucked away earlier. Did she put it in there? Yes. Did she check that the ring was inside? Yes - where else would it be? What was she going to say? She knew. And even if she didn’t, her feelings for you were so deeply engrained she could’ve come up with something on the spot anyway.

She was driving herself crazy. She barely slept the night before. And she knew it was silly. You were having her baby, thrilled about it too, you were buying a house together, you were so compatible - she knew you would say ‘yes’. Yet, she laid there last night as cuddled up to you as she could get without waking you, nervous, yet one look at you put her at ease.

It filled her with a sense of awe - taking in your sleeping form last night or glancing over at you this morning as you walked - this woman who, years and years prior, Jessie didn’t even know existed, but now could never live without.

In some ways it was hard to picture a life before you. And it’s not that she felt unhappy before you - she’d had a very good, privileged life, full of loving family, great friends, and amazing experiences. Sure, her romantic life had never really been much to shout about, but she hadn’t really cared. She had more than enough to keep her busy and her life didn’t lack for care and love.

Yet, once you came into her life, from the moment her chest first twinged when you laughed at one of her lame jokes and smiled at her the way you do, everything changed. How could life have been complete before you? It certainly wouldn’t be without you, now.

Jessie was so lost in her thoughts that before she knew it you were both arriving at the ridge. You stopped as you reached the lookout.

“Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful, Jess,” you said as you surveyed the view before you. “Oh, look, you can see the river cutting through over there.”

She looked to where you pointed, but frankly she was more enamoured with the pink tinge of your cheeks, the dewiness of your skin and the way your shoulders rose and fell.

Her eyes were trained on you as she swung her backpack around and unzipped it. She reached it, but stilled when she heard voices coming up the path behind her.

You both looked over your shoulders to see a couple walking up. Jessie subconsciously frowned at them, glaring probably, but relaxed her features when they smiled at you both and gave a small wave of greeting.

Jessie huffed quietly as she snuck the box into her pocket and flung her bag back over her shoulder.

“Let’s take a picture,” you told her as you beckoned her in. She tried to refocus on the moment and gave you a delayed smile as she wrapped an arm around you and you took a few photos together. She snuck a kiss against your cheek and adored the way you giggled about it.

Jessie walked around, very determinedly looking around and taking pictures as she waited out the other couple. They were finally retreating down the path when suddenly spotted a few bright pops of colour approaching through the trees.

“Are you kidding me?” She thought as a new set of hikers approach. She exhaled steadily through her nose and kicked lightly at the ground.

“When do you want to go back?” You asked after a few more minutes.

“Um, I’m just capturing a few more pics,” she said with a shrug as she continued to look through the viewfinder of her camera. You nodded an occupied yourself by wandering elsewhere on the ridge.

Several more minutes passed and Jessie could feel the tension in her shoulders growing as the other group lingered.

"I love that you appreciate nature the way that you do, but I'm going to have to go pee if we stay up here for that much longer," you told her and Jessie let out an irritated sigh. You shot her a look. "Oh, I'm sorry if your baby pushing on my bladder is an inconvenience for you," you said only half joking. "I'm fine peeing in the bush, I was just letting you know. Geez."

Now Jessie was really stressed. She shot a mild glare at the hikers who now finally seemed to be gathering up their things to leave.

"I'm sorry, babe," Jessie said imploringly, though her eyes were still on the group. She lowered her voice. "I just- I'm just irritated that there are other hikers here. It's not you. I promise."

"Why does that matter?"

Jessie didn't answer right away as her eyes followed the group disappearing down the path. She waited them out and could feel the annoyance start to emanate off of you.

As the last person disappeared out of sight she spun around on her heel to face you, that weight of tension dissipating immediately only to be replaced with a new kind as she stood before you and the significance of this moment began to mount.

You stood before her, arms now folded over your chest as you scrutinized her before holding out a hand in question. Despite how cross you were, Jessie couldn't help but smile at you.

"What?" You asked, mild irritation in your voice.

Jessie continued to smile at you. "I just love you," she said simply.

You rolled your eyes and looked away, but allowed a half smile to peek out across your lips.

"Yeah, alright," you mumbled, granting a small glance back at her, the smile on your face more than a hint now.

"I really do," she repeated. You looked at her again, now holding her gaze and she knew you were about to fire a quip of some kind at her. She spoke first.

"I have for so long," she went on. "When we first met, sitting around that boardroom I couldn't stop looking at you." You smirked, laughing lightly.

"I noticed," you said, as you always did when you both talked about that moment. Jessie chuckled and took your hands in hers.

"It wasn't just how you looked. It was how you carried yourself. The way you spoke. The way you approached things. Without even knowing you, I was curious to know your opinions, your thoughts - I wanted to know everything," she said.

"And thankfully we had to keep talking," you added. You shrugged playfully. "Which was alright. A few people around the office had talked about what a big deal it was having you onside for a project; guess I had to see what the fuss was all about."

"And thankfully I impressed you enough that you were willing to go for coffee with me even though the collab was over," she said. "You made me so nervous, yet entirely calm at the same time. I was already falling for you by the time we went on that date. By the end? It was a done deal."

"Date," you emphasized with a laugh as Jessie chuckled. "I still can't believe you didn't tell me that was a date."

She tilted her chin up pridefully with a grin. "I knew it was a date." She lifted your hand and kissed it, pulling a smirk out of you.

"Well, I figured it out when you kissed me at the end," you teased. Jessie gave an exaggerated shrug.

"What can you do? When it's right, it's right." She grew earnest. "And with you, it's the only time it's felt right to me. From the beginning to now. Every up, and even the downs - I've never had any doubt that we would ride them out together. That we'd choose each other every night and every day. Whether it's something small or simple, like going to the market together or tidying up the apartment, or something huge, like starting a family together - it's you and only you for me."

Jessie took in the soft smile on your face as she spoke and noted the shift of surprise as she lowered herself to one knee and released your hand to reach into her pocket. She couldn't help but laugh affectionately at the expression on your face as she revealed the small box and opened it before you.

When she'd pictured this moment, she anticipated she'd be a bundle of nerves, heart racing, pulse pounding in her ears. Instead, she smiled up at you and spoke easily.

"You've been so much more to me than a girlfriend for so long. And there is absolutely no word or title that could properly capture what you mean to me, but, until there's something even more, I would be honoured to call you my wife. Y/N, will you marry me?"

"Jess," you said sweetly with a soft laugh as you gave her a light tug, coaxing her to her feet and you pulled her into a kiss. "Of course I will," you said when you pulled back, a hand on her cheek. Jessie beamed with a happy laugh and you pulled her into a tight hug.

You suddenly laughed as you held one another in this embrace. "I was going to say, 'You don't even have to ask' but I guess you do."

Jessie chuckled and gave you a squeeze before pulling back and kissing you once more.

"Are you going to wear my ring or what?" She joked as she held up the box. "You're doing this all out of order."

"Then put it on me," you said with as you held out her hand for her. She smiled at you before she slid the ring onto your finger. She looked up at you inquiringly as you held your hand up to look at the ring.

"It's beautiful, Jess," you told her and she set her shoulders back proudly at your approval. You narrowed your eyes at her teasingly. "And just because I'm going to be your wife doesn't mean you can control me. I'll do things in whatever order I want," you went on haughtily.

"Don't I know it," she accepted with an affectionate smirk.

You kissed her once more and when you drew back, the expression on your face cause Jessie to frown.

"I hope you're not just proposing because I'm pregnant. I'm not that traditional - clearly," you questioned. "I only want to get married if that's truly what you want. Not just because you feel the two have to go hand in hand."

Jessie was shaking her head adamantly before you were even done speaking.

"That's not it. I guess it seems that way, but no. You were going to be my wife at one point or another - granted you'd say 'yes' -" she interjected with a mumble, "so why not now? I mean, we've lived together for years, we're having a baby together, we're buying a house together. We're as good as married, why not make it official?"

You gave her a soft smile and kissed her cheek.

"True. And let me be really clear - yes, I do want to marry you. But," Jessie's chest seized up and she did her best to not show it. "because of all the things you mentioned, I don't want to get married now."

"I-I don't understand," Jessie said, blinking at you as she tried to process your wishes.

You moved in closer to her, wrapping your arms around the back of her neck and looked into her eyes. Jessie held you in her arms, the feeling so natural despite the uncertainty around what you meant.

"We're having a baby. We're buying a house and moving. A wedding alone would be a huge undertaking - as much as both of us would want something small and intimate, I really don't know how it'll be possible - so especially in that case, it's going to take a lot of planning and effort. I just feel like we have so much on our plate already. I think our little one is setting the timeline for us - calling the shots already, can you believe it?" You paused with a smile, but carried on as Jessie's expression remained unchanged.

"I don't want to rush a wedding. And, say what you want, but the thought of being pregnant during our wedding or leading up to it just doesn't sound like fun. And I'd love for our baby to be part of our day. All I'm saying is, I don't know when we'll get married. But yes, I absolutely want to marry you."

"That's more than good enough for me. Sounds incredible, in fact," Jessie accepted with a nod, nerves now settled and her mind now thinking about your baby being part of wedding. "They could be in our pictures. Maybe a little, tiny ring bearer - oh my gosh," she went on. You laughed adoringly.

"You're such a softie," you teased. Jessie snuck a kiss.

"To be clear, I wasn't necessarily thinking of a wedding right away, I just wanted to make it official that I want you to be my wife, and I want to be yours."

"I love that," you told her as you gave her a slow kiss. You held up her hand in yours after. "Can we get you a ring now, too? If I'm going to wear your ring for the next couple of years, I want you to wear one as well."

Jessie smiled brightly, her chest warming at the thought of you wanting to stake claim on her as well.

"That sounds amazing to me."

-------

That afternoon, Jessie laid freshly showered on the bed in shorts and a t-shirt reading as she waited for you to finish showering. You came out wrapped in a towel and walked over to the dresser to start pulling some clothes out.

"Hey, this first," Jessie said as she beckoned you over, your ring held between her fingers. You smiled and walked over to her side of the bed and held out your hand for her. She beamed as she slid the ring onto your finger again.

"You look very pleased with yourself," you teased as you eventually pulled your hand back.

"That's one way of putting it," she reciprocated with a smug grin. "I think it looks perfect on your hand. Can't believe I didn't give you a ring sooner."

You snickered at her. "I'm a little surprised too considering how possessive you can be." As if on cue, Jessie's eyes flashed with that familiar sensation.

"Mm," she voiced, gripping your hand again and pulling you onto the bed. You held your towel as you straddled her and she placed a hand over yours. "Come on, baby. You don't need this."

You gave her a knowing smirk and allowed her to pull the towel away from your body.

"You're so gorgeous. And you're mine," Jessie said, nearly in a daze as she took you in. "If not for this," she held up your hand, the diamonds in the ring catching the rays of sun that filtered into the room, "then for this," she went on as she laid her other hand atop the subtle swell of your stomach.

"Shit, Jess," you said as you bit your lip and looked away. You returned to meet her with a teasing gaze. "I thought you said you wanted to go to the store."

"The store can wait," she said as she gently rolled her hips up into you, her cock already starting to harden. "I'd rather take care of my fiancée."

"Is that so?" You said playfully as you began to ground yourself back against her.

"Mhmm," Jessie said, her hands now gripping your hips, thumbs digging into the tops of your thighs. She smirked. "We have to consummate our engagement. That's a thing, right?"

"Mm," you nodded. "Definitely."

"Promise me one thing?" You prompted as you continued to work yourself against her. Jessie exhaled unsteadily as she saw cum marks on her shorts from where you were grinding against her.

"Anything," Jessie puffed out as her hands moved with your hips.

"Promise me we'll get married before you knock me up again," you said very nonchalantly. Jessie's eyes shot up from your heat up to your face at the request.

You chuckled and rolled your hips skillfully against her. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she held her breath in her lungs. She exhaled in a laugh at how you smiled, very satisfied with yourself.

"Well, based on everything that's occurred over the past few months. Including how your cock is aching to be inside of me again at the mention of how I'm starting to swell with your baby, I'd say you may be eager for us to make baby #2 sooner rather than later."

"Fuck," Jessie released in a slow breath. "Jesus Christ, babe," she went on as she began to grind herself up into your with greater force.

"Let's get these clothes off of you," you said benevolently as you swung a leg off of her and began to undress her.

Soon enough, you were straddling her once more, your slick folds sliding directly along the length of her cock which was pressed flat against her lower torso now.

"So? Do you promise?" You asked as you slowly slid up and down her, causing her whole body to jolt when you slid against the head of her cock before sliding back down.

She exhaled through her mouth as you rubbed yourself up and down her, small moans starting to fall from your lips as you angled your clit against her. She pulsed as she watched the way her cock spread your lips and you began to coat her length with your arousal.

"I promise," Jessie told you, dragging her eyes up your body to meet yours. "You may need to remind me though," she added with a smirk.

She exhaled again, trying to steady herself as she helped guide your movements. "You are so tempting and you looking so gorgeous already carrying my baby."

"I'll try to remind you," you told her teasingly before you leaned further forward, allowing Jessie's cock to rise up. You positioned yourself and slowly sank down onto her, both of you moaning at the feeling.

Okay. Yes. Fucking you bare and raw with the pure intent of giving you her baby or simply worshiping you for carrying her baby was going to be something she'd miss.

Jessie's mouth hung open as you began to steadily rise and fall on her cock, her fingers digging into your hips to the point that her fingertips were nearly white.

"God, you're beautiful," she said in devotion as she gazed at you. "I can't believe you're going to be my wife."

You leaned down, kissing her deeply as your rode her, rolling your hips in emphasis.

"And you'll be mine."

Jessie sat up, wrapping her arms around your waist as she did so and you braced your hands on her shoulders. She held you in her embrace and kissed you deeper. Though she loved admiring you as you rode her, she wanted to be closer to you and feel you against her as you made love.

"I love you so much," she proclaimed as she began kissing your neck.

"God," you breathed between moans, "I love you, too."

As she held you in her arms, she was overwhelmed.

First, there was the incomparable feeling of how you wrapped tightly around her cock, massaging her up and down as you rode her, along with the sounds of your soft breaths and moans filling her head.

Then there was the reality that you were finally showing; the life that you both made was growing inside of you and your body was changing with it. Jessie could see it, she could feel it; it was a gentle, barely there curve of your stomach, but it was there and it had her feeling so many ways.

And now, you were going to be her wife. It was official. You were wearing her ring and she'd wear yours.

Jessie looked up at you, your cheeks flushed, lips parted as you grew closer and closer to your high. She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes as all of these emotions and feelings collided. She couldn't believe how lucky she was.

"I love you more than anything," she professed as she kissed down your neck. "My beautiful wife."

"I love you too, Jess. So much. But I'm not your wife just yet," you said with a teasing nibble at her earlobe. She pulled back and gave you a deep frown.

"Don't," she warned.

"What?" You asked innocently as you lifted up and down repeatedly, knowing her so well that you rose exactly to the point where she could nearly pop out to tease her sensitive tip, before sinking down and engulfing her once more. You panted. "Are you picturing me with someone else?"

Jessie growled, clutching you tighter against her and you laughed before giving her a placating kiss.

"Don't be silly. I need to lock you down. I know girls are always fawning over you. It would be easy for you to be with someone else."

"I don't want anyone else," she responded unequivocally. She held your gaze. "I want you. I want your mind, your body, your soul, your time - I want everything."

She didn't break her gaze. Sometimes you two talked dirty during sex, and sometimes your most open and vulnerable declarations were during it. Regardless of where you fell on this, she needed you to hear her. You kissed her slowly, your hands cupping her face.

"Then I'm yours."

"Always," Jessie said, thrusting harder up into you now. "I need you."

You wrapped your arms more fully around her and rode her faster. "I need you too."

Sweat sheened on both your skin as you both drew closer to your climax.

"Jess," you panted. "I'm so close. I need you to cum inside me."

"Oh fuck," she groaned as a wave of pleasure shot through her length at just the mention of spilling inside of you.

She felt your nails dig into her back and she let out a groan deep in her throat as you began to pulse around her cock and you grasped her body tightly against you, whimpering in her ear.

Jessie let out a cry as she let go and ropes of cum began to coat your insides. Her fingers dug into the small of your back and you arched into her even further as she rest her teeth against your shoulder, and used every ounce of will to not bite down.

You'd stilled, your breathing ragged, and after a while Jessie softened inside of you. When you eventually went to get off of her, she helped you as your legs shook slightly.

Jessie looked down at the pool of cum that had leaked out of you and onto the bed. She smirked at you. "So much for clean sheets."

"Clean sheets? So much for having a shower."

"Well," Jessie said slowly as she kissed your shoulder and began kissing down your arm, "if you're going to shower again, first, we might as well really make it worth it. And secondly, I can help you shower."

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I listened to Elis James and John Robins on the Comedian’s Comedian podcast, as I somewhat recently passed the point in their radio show when they recorded it. It was a really good episode, even by the standards of that podcast, which are high. Very little messing around with basic explanations of stuff that we could find on their Wikipedia pages anyway, they jump straight in with analysis.

I cut out a few clips as I was listening. I meant to write a paragraph or so about each of them. I am coming back here after finishing the post to say I ended up writing a lot more than that. This one gets out of hand. It mainly stays on the topic of the podcast episode and the radio show, occasionally veers off into some personal stories of my own, makes tenuous connections between the two. That's what's below the cut that I'm adding because not everyone needs to be subjected to that.

I particularly liked this one, from the very beginning:

First of all, Elis James definitely has met another person who will start a radio episode by sighing and just saying whatever's actually in their mind instead of trying for slick broadcasting. Elis knows him very well, the mother of his children is frequently recording lines to put in that other broadcaster's shows. However, there is the key difference that Daniel Kitson's doing that on an obscure radio station (well, two obscure radio stations as he used to do Triple R in Melbourne, but hasn't for a long time, so I mainly mean Resonance FM in London) that doesn't pay him any money, while John Robins is doing it on a commercial radio station that was presumably a significant source of his income and is definitely the main source of his career success. It's definitely more a risk to try in that context.

Anyway, I'd like to put the above clip next to this one:

I'm now three years into following this radio show/listening to various podcasts and other things they've done alongside it, trying to go mostly in chronological order, and I would say they do this in one form or another approximately every six months. Just explicitly state the status dynamic between them, which is that Elis is more successful but John is funnier, this creates a couple of sources of mild tension that can be funny to listen to and give them something to play into as a double act, but it also balances out enough so their entire relationship isn't going to implode like Jon Richardson and Russell Howard. It's always a bit weird when they actually say that out loud, comedians aren't really supposed to tell us what level of status they've decided to assign themselves/each other for any given moment.

Elis James frequently says John Robins is a better comedian than him, which also a bit weird because it's the sort of thing you'd say as a joke, but he never sounds like he's joking, and it's... I mean, I was going to say it's objectively true, I guess it can't be given how subjective comedy is, but it is pretty clear cut. And it seems to genuinely not bother Elis James, which I used to think was odd, but I guess it makes sense. I've been teammates with people whom I know are better athletes than me, and we can still be friends, and if anyone asks who's better I can be honest about that. It sure would make that easier if I also somehow won more medals than they did (to continue the somewhat stretched analogy of Elis James having more TV work so that balances the scales), though sports tend to be more of a meritocracy than arts so that doesn't really happen.

There's also truth in the thing John said about how one of them has to come up with content for the radio show - they're on the same official footing, co-hosts rather than calling anyone a sidekick or whatever, but the vast majority of the funniest stuff gets said by John, and more than that, John drives most of the discussions. He usually comes in with more features and stuff prepared, he establishes a lot of the running jokes and keeps them going, he's the one who will lead most of their offshoots into weird little sketches and characters. His timing is incredible sometimes, every once in a while he'll have an episode where he's got Lee Mack levels of being able to jump on everything that gets said almost immediately and be funny every time. He seems like he can decide, pretty much based on how he's feeling at the moment but possibly also based on a sense for how much potential something has, whether to wrap up a thread in one incisive sentence or to draw it out. And it's almost always John making that decision (if it isn't the producer telling them to get on with it, that is, but it's rarely Elis' decision). Sometimes I can hear John work out the comedic potential in something they're talking about before Elis does, and Elis will start to move on but John will bring it back and guide him toward it, and eventually manage to push Elis into whatever joke John had figure out would be funny but only if Elis said it.

Having said that, and this is a tangent but discussing whether Elis James is funny just made me think of it, I've been wanting to give him credit for something. At some episode sometime in 2016, Elis James was telling a story about someone he admired, and the story was about something fairly serious, and at the end of it, John asked "Is he a laugh?", which was quite a funny thing to say in the context, it's annoying me that I can't remember the exact story but it was something like that. And it was funny to hear John be so efficiently dismissive of the sort of weird story. But later in the episode, John told one of his stories about one of those vaguely depressing things he does, like obsessively do his taxes four months in advance or drink rum alone at 2 AM and get sad while watching Queen documentaries - one of those types of stories - and at the end of it, Elis asked "Are you a laugh?" And after that, for several months, Elis James brought that back the exactly perfect number of times. I don't know how he did it, how he got it so perfect every time. He didn't drop it for long enough for regular listeners to forget that he'd made this a running joke, so it would lose its power as a callback. But he didn't say it often enough for it to start to get overused and less funny (not that those guys would ever try to milk more from one bit than it should be expected to bear... but of course we're all on email). There is such a small sweet spot, such little room for error in the frequency with which you can bring back a joke and not fall into either of those traps, and he got it perfect every time. Every time he'd said it, I'd have a moment of surprise because he'd left it just barely past the point at which it had been long enough since I'd heard it for it to get really funny again, and every time, I'd take a moment to admire his timing. He kept it going for quite a while, occasionally responding to John's depressing anecdotes from his own life with "Are you a laugh?" So, well done to Elis James, he can be funny too. Also, I mean, obviously he is regularly quite funny on the radio show, just not as funny as John Robins. It's fine, most people aren't as funny as John Robins. I'm not as good at underhook setups as my friend I hung out with the other night, but it's fine, we manage to get on with our lives.

Anyway, that was only very tenuously related to the topic of this post, let me see if I can find my way back. John Robins and Elis James having an odd balance of tensions created by John being funnier but Elis being more successful. I'm not sure that's as true now as it was in early 2014 to early 2017, which covers the period of radio episodes I've heard so far. At that time, Elis had recently had major roles in two sitcoms (Crims and Josh). He'd had one Welsh-language stand-up special released on the BBC and I think was working on recording another one. He'd done some panel show spots, more than John I think. I think he's started on his BBC television travel show with Miles Jupp. He'd gone to Europe to do TV and radio things about the Welsh football team. John Robins, meanwhile, had released the audio from a couple of his stand-up shows himself on Bandcamp, had been on Mock the Week twice and one of those times was a fucking disaster, a couple appearances on As Yet Untitled, and I think he occasionally got on things like The News Quiz but less often than Elis James did. I think he had a pretty good stand-up career going by then, but it hadn't really translated to other stuff. And John complained at times that he didn't get as many reviews and publicity as his stand-up profile deserved, though it's hard to tell if that's true or just his bias. He had a job for a while doing TV warm-up gigs, but then he got fired for what sounds like a combination of drinking too much and being too harsh for the "keep it light" atmosphere. The disparity between his profile and Elis' was probably for two main reasons: 1) Elis has the significant USP of being one of the only comedians who's fluent in the Welsh language so that gets him some stuff, and 2) the reasons outlined in that second audio clip about John having pissed everyone off.

I think their positions are different these days, though. I'm into the March 2017 episodes right now, in a few months John Robins is going to win a Perrier Award, so he can't keep complaining about not having a significant enough stand-up profile after that. That turned into a Netflix special, a significantly bigger deal than Elis' Welsh-language BBC iPlayer special. And then in 2018 he hosts a panel show, which I have downloaded but haven't watched yet, I'll wait until I get there chronologically. To be honest I'm slightly dreading getting there because I have a feeling it might be terrible. I don't think it was hugely successful because I'd never heard of it before I started looking up John Robins things this year, and I went really deep down the panel show rabbit hole in the last few years, I watched some quite obscure ones but never came across this. It also only lasted one season. But still, he hosted a panel show on Dave. That's a TV career.

And now, obviously, he's on Taskmaster. And seems to be playing large rooms in his latest stand-up tour. A tour that I'd assumed would get filmed for another TV special, though he's mentioned recently that he's planning to put it on Bandcamp like his earlier shows, and I do appreciate him keeping it real for us despite now being a Taskmaster star with a huge tour (as much as this shouldn't make sense because there can be visual humour in stand-up, I tend to prefer audio-only stand-up that's usually closer to how it actually sounded in the room, over filmed versions that get more edits). On the other hand, Elis had a TV series about Welsh comedy a few years ago. A podcast with some football players. I've just looked it up and apparently he hosts a football-based TV show on Sky, so that's nice. But the gap in TV-based success has probably closed.

But that discussion they had in that second audio clip - about John Robins not getting stuff because he's (rightly and justifiably) reaping the consequences of being a dick with a substance abuse problem, and Elis James valiantly taking on the role of Robins Apologist - that really nails, for me, what I enjoy so much about their dynamic. I think that my favourite dynamic. I fucking love anywhere where two people get that one going. That dynamic that's summed up by this post htat I remember from ages ago and have somehow just managed to find because Tumblr's terrible search function decided to work for me today:

It was about a year ago that I had the extremely clever idea of adding that Taskmaster screenshot to that other person's text post, but I maintain that it's hilarious. Guy Montgomery and David Correos were so much fun because of this. At the time, I considered instead using a screenshot from Taskmaster UK season 5, with the speech bubble pointing at Mark Watson looking at Nish Kumar. There are so many example of two people whose comedy show interactions have been hilarious because they're based on one person making terrible decisions and the other person looking at them like "I'd follow him to hell and back but I wish he'd just stop going there." And not always a him, it doesn't have to be a him! Danielle Ward and Margaret Cabourn-Smith had some good "I'd follow her to hell and back but I wish she'd just stop going there" energy on Do the Right Thing (with Danielle Ward, of course, in the Correos/Kumar/Robins position).

I'm sure I realized until right now, as I write this, how much this might be my favourite dynamic in comedy because it also characterizes my favourite relationships in my own life. And I am genuinely not sure whether that's a me thing or whether most people can slot most of their relationships into one where someone's the David and someone's the Guy, in terms of who keeps driving things to hell and who follows out of loyalty but also apologizes. When I was in high school, and also for most of my twenties, my nickname among my friends was "loose cannon" because when they were trying to be careful and diplomatic in the political battles within the increasingly high levels that we reached in the sporting world, I was the person who once yelled at my coach in a hallway because I was so angry at the way he treated the athletes, and had a letter in my coaching file by age 22 that accused me of not caring about common courtesy. A letter from a coach who refused to work with me anymore because I was insufficiently courteous, so my best friend had to liaise with him on everything while asking me to please not upset more people and further alienate our team. And I have wonderful friends who tell other people that I don't hate them, really, I just seem standoffish because I'm shy, and later on they tell me that I really need to work on my poker face/ability to be around people I hate without making it incredibly obvious that I hate them. In addition to being genuinely shy. When we tried to get someone from my team elected to the provincial board, we knew from the beginning that 1) I would do all the actual work for both the election campaign and, if successful, the role itself, because I know and care the most about the issues and am good at admin stuff, and 2) I could not be the candidate because I hate most people and everyone I hate knows I hate them because I have no diplomacy skills.

Though I do also have one friend who coaches a team in another city and he knows he can call me pretty much any time and ask me for pretty much any favour and I will do it, and I will edit his emails and do his research for him to help him fight his stupid pointless battles and to try to keep him on top of things even though he can't keep track of anything and keeps making wild badly planned decisions, and people ask me why I don't just let him fail and walk away, and I say I know he seems like a brash asshole with no ability to think ahead, but he's a really good guy, really, once you get to know him. It's got back to me that most people in our sports community assume I am or was sleeping with him, as that seems like the only explanation for why I would stick by a guy who's clearly an idiot. The truth is much weirder, he was my university teammate in 2013 and one time he was in my corner when I had a panic attack in the middle of a match at the university national championships, and he saved me and got me through it and I managed to go back and win, and that's why I had to do things like sleep on a hotel room floor for a week in Atlantic City because he'd talked me into going on a provincial team trip where he hadn't booked enough rooms (or planned anything), because he'd earned my eternal loyalty. Oh God, I just remembered how during that trip he stopped to gamble in front of children, and I ended up yelling at him in the middle of the street in Atlantic City, "You know, I argue with people about you!" And he said, "What people?" And I said "People who think you're not responsible enough to run a provincial team trip! Which is everyone! I get into big arguments with them and you make it hard when you do shit like this!" But a few years later he was the first person I called when our mutual friend died because I realized in that moment, that's the person I trust most in the world.

Anyway. What was I talking about? Elis James and John Robins. I think I was talking about Elis James and John Robins. Okay, turns out listening to people talk about the friendships that you base on blind loyalty and apologism brought some stuff up for me. I think I have, in recent weeks, at times blamed my overly emotional posting - my posts that start out as comedy analysis but then go into oversharing about my person life - on the fact that I'm going through some emotionally difficult stuff as I'm trying to avoid drinking. But that's not the case here, I think I was always going to go on that tangent. I haven't seen my friend from out of town in a while, I'm a bit worried about him. I think he might be ruining his own life again. Something was going to connect to that. Rhod Gilbert reminds me of him.

Anyway. Anyway. Elis James and John Robins. Solid double act dynamic. Weird balance of status and tensions, enjoyable running thread of loyalty and apologism. Amazingly, I'm not done, here's another clip I cut out of that ComCom interview:

This is the second time I've heard John Robins tell this story, and I had the same reaction as the first time, which was: Oh my God oh my God oh my God, how were you ever able to sleep again? The horrible sharp pain of this story keeps me awake at night, just imagining what it would be like if that happened to me, and it didn't even happen to me. How could you ever sleep if it did? John Robins frequently tells stories from what he calls the "shame well", those things that happen where you obsess over how you did something wrong and regret it. John is constantly making jokes (or just statements) about how he lives a life mired in shame and regret. But still, I don't see how he can just casually throw this one out there like it's just another shame well story. It's so much worse. It's the worst one I've heard. I would hide under my bed for the rest of my life.

John Robins went on Adam Buxton's podcast in 2016, I have listened to that episode and it's not great. You want to talk about dynamics created by a differential in status - I think that one went way too far, to the point where nothing could really happen. There was this huge discrepancy of John Robins meeting his hero, which will often make someone sort of adorably giddy but not in this case, he just seemed a bit out of it and subdued. While on the other side, Adam Buxton appeared to have no idea who John Robins was, so not much discussion got generated. It wasn't a complete disaster, but I could understand why John didn't plug that one on his radio show, despite plugging most of his podcast appearances.

Anyway though, if I can manage to get past the sheer horror of the first part of that clip, the second part was sort of nicely validating. Because I am slightly weary of how much my trip down the Elis and John rabbit hole has got quite intense quite quickly, even by my standards of comedy obsession, and possibly taken a turn for the parasocial. I mean, I am currently writing a multi-page post about an interview they gave and it includes several paragraphs about my own life that are only tenuously related, in a way that I can say "Look I do the same thing as these guys I've never met."

The intensity of that has definitely been accelerated by the fact that I happened to, by a genuine coincidence, get into this show at the same time as I decided to try to slow down and/or stop drinking, and God, a lot of the ways in which John Robins talks about alcohol and anxiety resonates. And yep, I'd feel weird admitting it because I know it's sort of inherently creepy to say "they feel like my friends" about some people you've never met, but since John Robins said it first I think I can admit those headphones do make a difference. Might be another reason why I prefer the Bandcamp comedy to a Netflix special.

They touch on this throughout the ComCom interview - not so much in the clips I cut out but throughout the whole thing, it really is worth a listen if you're interested in this - the way their radio show gets so many letters from people who thank them for talking so honestly about mental health issues, people who say they've dealt with their own difficult shit and find this radio show has helped. Probably lots of shows get similar letters, but I think it's safe to say this one gets more than most. The Bugle used to read out their correspondence and Andy Zaltzman wasn't getting people every day saying "Thank you for making me feel less alone in my depression."

They really are good at that, at hitting the exact right balance of honest without being overbearing about it. For a show that spends so much time talking about symptoms of mental health problems, they almost never use the words "mental health". They never sit down and say "let's have a talk about what it's like to live with anxiety." They just describe their week, in more honest detail than you would normally hear on commercial radio. And leave in the parts where they panic about every decision they've ever made and get drunk alone in the middle of the night and cry because they think they've done everything wrong. And by "they", I mostly mean John.

I do like their word, "darkness". I didn't realize, when I first watched The Darkness of Robins in 2022 (a show John first performed in 2017, won a large award for it, released as a Netflix special in 2018, but I watched it in 2022), that that title's been around for ages. Elis James made a joke in an early radio episode, from 2014, about how someday, John should do a show called The Darkness of Robins, where he just lays bare all his anxieties, all his weird toxic quirks and control freak tendencies and oceans of shame and regret and various addictions/self-medication and cynicism and bitterness and anger and deep self-loathing. Elis said this as a joke, the joke being that you can't just put all that in a comedy show. But they kept the joke going for years. John did the Richard Herring podcast, in which he talked a bit about some of the more difficult mental health struggles he's had, and when he plugged it on the radio show, instead of saying "I talk about some of my more difficult mental health struggles", he said, "There's a fair bit of the darkness of Robins in it." And then he started casually referencing it on the show, describing a night when he might have drank too much and had a panic attack with a causal and sort of joke-y "I got overcome by the darkness for a little while." And then they started describing those emails from listeners who say it resonated with "[Person] has emailed in to say they've been afflicted by a touch of the darkness, sorry to hear that." And I just love that word. It's used with enough genuineness to make it clear that they're not making fun of mental health problems, they really do have them and it does feel dark. But also with enough irony - obviously there is irony in using a term as grandiose as "The Darkness of Robins" to describe panicking at 3 AM about something bad you said in school - to make it feel like it's not an after school special. I also like that they found a way to let that word mean no one has to name a diagnosis, to narrow their issue down to a loaded term like "I suffer from clinical depression", when not everyone who has that is diagnosed, not everyone is comfortable naming it, not everyone finds it easy to separate their symptoms into clear-cut causes. They can just use a shorthand like "the darkness".

It has been good, to have this radio show for the last couple of months that have brought some darkness into particularly sharp focus, as I decided to quickly remove the maladaptive self-medication. I've tried to stop writing about it so often the way I did earlier in the year, but as a little update on how that's going, still bad. Not enjoying it. Getting mildly parasocial about some guys on the radio might not be hugely healthy, but it's a healthier coping mechanism than whiskey, I guess. I'd really like some whiskey. Anyway I'm fine.

I do think that's why I find that Adam and Joe story so incredibly painful, though. I get paranoid about whether I get too parasocial about the comedians I like, I try really hard to be self-aware about it and be super clear that I know what I'm getting is a curated public persona and I do not actually know these people, and I am mortified at the thought of being one of those fans who thinks they actually are my friends and therefore they should know something about me. No one should know me. I hang out on Tumblr because it's the one social media platform where I know no famous people are searching their own name or anything, everyone's just an anonymous nerd. The thought of anyone knowing me makes me want to hide under my bed for the rest of my life. Though having said that, John Robins and Elis James are always very nice about people who write in with darkness emails.

Amazingly, I'm still not done this post:

Throwing this in just to say, once again, that I'm sorry for having also thought this but in my defense it's not just me. I am truly sorry that when I first heard John Robins got sober, my first thought was... but he's still going to be bitter and angry and annoying and plagued by regret and self-loathing, right? Because that's kind of the cornerstone of his comedy and is what I love so much about it. I mean obviously I want him to be happy, but could he release a couple more stand-up hours first?

I feel genuinely guilty for having thought that, especially because I do hold the sort of political belief that it's bullshit to say one must suffer to make great art, van Gogh did his best work once his mental illness was being treated, and all that. I do believe it applies to more contemporary things too. Jason Isbell made his best music after getting sober. I think James Acaster's best stand-up show might be his current ones, and it's a "let me tell you how therapy has made me healthier" show. But John Robins did base a lot of his comedy on being bitter and angry and annoying and plagued by regret and self-loathing. That's sort of my favourite thing about it.

I felt slightly better when I re-listened to his 2014 show (recorded in 2015) This Tornado Loves You, and was reminded that he admitted that himself:

That's John Robins talking about how his comedy has suffered because he's too happy in his relationship with Sara Pascoe, a relationship that has ended a 20-year search for happiness. And it goes with the clip I posted before that from the ComCom episode, of Elis James saying it's nice that John's relationship with Sara Pascoe recently ended, because it's given the quality of his comedy a real boost. And maybe they should just ruin John's life regularly to keep it that way. So it's not just me who had that horrible thought.

I'm feeling the need to clarify, once again, that of course I don't genuinely think that's a good thing. Obviously it's good that he got sober, for his sake but also, reports suggest his latest show Howl is excellent. I think Howl was written partly while he was drinking and partly while he wasn't, but performed after he'd quit, and the fact that it's done so well suggests that people can, in fact, make their best stuff after getting their shit together (I haven't actually heard the show, he's said he'll release it on Bandcamp sometime soon-ish, probably). And even if his comedy did get worse, which it clearly hasn't, it would still be best that he quit drinking because suffering wouldn't be worth great art, even if it were required for it. That's how it works. Drinking is bad for you. I definitely don't want to drink any whiskey right now. It's fine.

But. But. I recently re-listened to John Robins' episode of Isy Suttie's podcast, The Things We Do For Love. This is a rare instance that I've heard of a comedian being genuinely drunk while recording something. It's happened before that comedians will claim to be a bit loose and tipsy, but not usually so drunk that they're slurring their words. John Robins on Isy Suttie's podcast was slurring his words. He kept losing track of the question and interrupting at inappropriate moments. It's one of those things that makes me say "Oh, yeah, you really needed to quit drinking. This really was affecting your career, that's just a guy who showed up to work too drunk to effectively do his job."

But it was really funny. It made me laugh so many times. At one point he gets furious because Isy Suttie asked him whether he knows how to drive a car. Later on he threatens to murder her and Elis for their sitcom money, which would have been an okay joke but tbere was a bit of a sense of line crossing when he also threatened their child. (Fun side note that has nothing to do with John being drunk: at one point Isy tells a story about her ex-boyfriend, John Robins asks what the ex's name is but she refuses to say, which is weird because I know. It's weird that I know something about Isy Suttie that John Robins didn't, at least on that day.) It's a mess. It's hilarious. I feel vaguely guilty for finding that so funny, the same way I do about the episodes of No More Jockeys where Mark Watson gets properly drunk - that guy's probably got a problem too, I probably shouldn't laugh at it so much, but I also find those the funniest episodes. I have the say, the episode of Adam Buxton's podcast where John Robins was sort of awkwardly reserved would probably have been funnier if John had gotten drunk before it.

My best defense for that is I would not want John Robins to actually be drunk when he performs stand-up, or certainly when he writes it. Being drunk made him funnier on a podcast interview where he's supposed to tell off-the-cuff stories, because off-the-cuff stories get better when someone's filter has been broken down. But also, in his actual stand-up, or even his actual radio broadcasting, John Robins is doing a thousand little things at once to make what he's saying funnier. He's the master of the well-timed pause and the carefully chosen word. None of that would be any good drunk. So I maintain that you don't need to suffer addiction to make great art. It might help a bit to make funny tangents on an interview podcast, but not the actual substance. Also, however funny I found it, I don't think he was proud of that one. On the radio show, John plugged his appearance on Isy Suttie's podcast before he did it, but not one word about it on the radio after it had been recorded, even though most of those things he'll plug both before and once they're released. Though in a later episode of her podcast, Isy mentioned that the first guest she'd had on was a very drunk John Robins, who called her the next day desperately asking her to cut out the sexually explicit story he'd told using an old girlfriend's real name.

And she did cut it out, it's not in the podcast, as it shouldn't be, because it's not responsible to tell sexually explicit stories in something that's being recorded and will be published, if the audience knows the real name of the person you're talking about. Having said that, I've finally reached the point in the radio show where John's doing WIPs of The Darkness of Robins, where he does just that about Sara Pascoe, and I'm having a bit of trouble morally justifying how much I like the show in spite of that. I think I'll re-watch that show tomorrow, for the first time in nearly a year and a half. I'll see how that goes. I remember it as being very, very good. But also, in the last few weeks, I've had three different people watch it because of my posts about John Robins, and all of them came back to me to point out that the stories about Sara Pascoe are pretty inappropriate to tell on stage. I'm still holding out hope that I'll hear him clarify on the radio show that he did run that stuff by her before saying it publicly, or at least before recording it for Netflix.

Anyway, this post got a bit out of hand. I've tried for the last couple of weeks to slow down on my posting about the Elis/John radio show, and the posting about my personal life, but I seemed to have built up a lot to say and put it all in this one. I'm doing fine.

[fff777]

watched episode 1 of dream x dream with 3j :3

is this the entirety of the 3j content that they'd spoiled? (i'm assuming this was during alley-oop?)

nana mode already on XD

omg they have photocards with the cute card holders ;_; who gave that to them XD

they're going to "be like fans" and have meals with photocards lmfao

jisung was disappointed that he didn't have photocards of fans and had to eat with his own photocard...what a thing to say lol

jeno keeps playing with the fluffy card case

the guys were giving jisung shit about coming in that way because jaemin had to shrink in on the seat lol

what a nice place :3

aw jisung is so serious about his ideas for triple j content :3 and jeno is so seriously listening while jaemin is just chattering in the background

taking pics with the photocards :P

jeno: ...what do the fans do after they take pictures...

jeno is the oldest and the taste tester hehe

jaemin: *samoyed jokes*

jisung: ...are you done

jisung: i don't like sour cream

jaemin:

jaemin said that jisung will get a lot of views on cooking videos, but nomin wants him to do it with no help and no audience

jisung: i'm not actually that bad at cooking, i just do it for the bit

normal dream things

also jaemin: if a samoyed eats that, it needs to go to the hospital

jisung hates the sound of silverware clinking and squeaking against each other

they got caught when playing video games when they were young lol

jisung used to live with his family and only went to the dorm during breaks :o

the guys laughing at the fact that jisung used to have to give his phone to his mom before going to bed so that he wouldn't use it in bed XD

before they started living at a dorm, jisung's mom once drove them to the subway station and jeno still remembered that :3

more photocard photos heh

see this is normally what i think about when i think of photocard meal photos. i imagine the photocard being propped up so it feels like you're eating with someone else

jaemin's been watching a log of nctzen vlogs uwu and he wants them to show their faces....you know he really is like that eh. anyway he asked them to show their faces and they started to do it but now he's complaining about how they only show their faces partially covered XD maybe we fans are the true cryptids XD

and then jaemin complains that he clicks on a thumbnail with a face but the video only has hands XD it's because fans are shy, jaemin

official announcement from president na XD

see jisung and jeno get it XD but jaemin is complaining about the sheer numbers of people not showing their faces lmfao

nana v pose

aw, they're discussing etiquette and habits of nctzens when they hang out with their friends

lol jaemin is convinced that fans get together to celebrate nct's accomplishments

they're talking about things that fans do together and i won't lie...it would be fun to have some czennie friends :3

BIRD

samoyed never goes away

for reference, this was his face when he saw the bird lol

lol they're full

jisung and jaemin liked the pasta and they were surprised when jeno said he liked the baguette ^^;;

jisung concerned with the vibes they were giving off while leaving their meal and jaemin was all "I DO WHAT I WANT!"

they're going to watch videos together like czennies ^^;; honestly i don't watch videos with my friends but that's just because i have too much shame lol

awww they're going to watch fanvideos and fan compilations together!!! i think this'll be fun :3

jeno: we were crazier when we were younger

my guy you are only 24 years old but no, i get what he means, as a 23-24 year old i did facepalm at some of my old memories lol

they're having soooo much fun watching

awww the guys didn't know that johnny and jaehyun were going to come to their cafe :3

lol jeno said filming the cafe video was actually very tiring XD i can imagine, especially since jeno and jaemin were actually making drinks

aw, jaemin was so moved that the fans were just singing never goodbye on their own before a performance

of course romantic little jisung would be moved too <3

lol jisung wants to fight more XD

this was filmed on valentine's day and jisung prepared a cake :o

ahhh next episode will be more 3j :D this was a lot of fun <3 <3 <3

[wonwoonlight]

my way to you / jeon wonwoo | chapter 8

➝ Wonwoo x fem!Reader

➝ rich!AU // heir & heiress!AU // best friends to lovers // idiots to lovers lol // fluff // a lil drama bc why not // somewhat angsty // clicheeeee <3

➝ series warning: OC is Dense with a capital D, so many cliches but idc, implied sexual activities (but no actual smut scenes), eventual suggestive scenes, theyre both idiots, food, insecurity and self doubts, somewhat toxic parents, someone fainted like once, not always proofread am sorry ;-; that’s probably it? tell me if there’s more!

➝ A/N: surprise!!!!!! triple update for this week because today's a special day for me so i want to give you smth instead hehe. i'd love to to thank everyone who has dropped by and sent their thoughts with me til now and i hope you're all still enjoying this story. hope you'll like this update <3

series masterlist

You bite down a satisfied grin when you see how pleased everyone is during the charity dinner, trying your best to keep still despite the pride buzzing throughout your body.

Even you’re pleased at how smooth everything is going. You’ve gone a little bit more extravagant than last year, and despite your own doubt about the concept you’ve chosen, it’s getting clearer that it’s the right choice as the night drags on.

“Tired?” a familiar voice whispers, which makes you squeal a little at the sudden warmth at the back of your neck.

“Soonyoung!” you laugh as you hit his arm and then hug him in greeting. “Thank you for coming. Did you use to come to these dinners before?”

“It’s my pleasure, really. I’ve been wanting to greet you since I stepped in but you seem busy so I let you be,” he flashes you a small grin. “My parents usually attend because I’m not really into these events either, but I have to come now, don’t I? Gotta make sure you weren’t acting when you fainted preparing for said event.”

You laugh again at his words, once again thanking him for the food he’s sent before you tell him you still have some leftovers though you’ve eaten most of the food with Wonwoo and the others.

“Where’s Wonwoo, anyway?” he asks as he looks around the place to catch a glimpse of your best friend. “Doesn’t he usually stick with you throughout the event?”

“He has to go around greeting important people,” you grin, telling him this is usually the only time when he leaves your side. “He usually drags me with him, but I said I’m not in the mood to pretend to laugh at their lame jokes so he went alone.”

You’re not sure how long you’ve been standing there speaking with Soonyoung, but it must’ve been longer than you thought because Wonwoo’s back before you know it and, like before, he doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around your waist the moment he stands beside you while he nods to Soonyoung.

“Done meeting VIPs?” you nudge him with a teasing grin, your body automatically leaning into his. “Did they offer Young Master Jeon any proposal?”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes playfully and pinches your waist, making you welp though you laugh just the same. Soonyoung looks at the sight in front of him with an amused smile, wondering why the two of you aren’t together yet; are you the type of couple who doesn’t want to put a ring on it? Are you still in denial about each other? Or is there any other reason that he’s not aware of?

Whatever it is, it doesn’t make sense.

He thinks it’s obvious that you two belong to each other and he would’ve just made it official if he was Wonwoo. But there’s always something people don’t see behind closed doors and Soonyoung can only guess something’s stopping you both from doing so.

“Hello,” a delicate voice joins your little group, and your eyes find Jennie falling in step right beside Soonyoung, wrapped in a beautiful cocktail dress that stops right before her knees. You can only imagine she probably sews it herself. “I’ve been meaning to catch you guys but I got caught up. It’s a very beautiful party, Y/N, I’m glad I can finally attend Yoon Holdings’ famous charity dinner.”

You smile politely at her, telling the girl you’re also glad she’s able to attend. It might sound like pleasantries, but Jennie is also some kind of public figure on top of her bloodline and you’re actually more than glad that she attends because you’re getting more coverage than the previous year–everyone wants to see Kim Jennie, fashion icon, famous high fashion designer, and Ruby Corp.’s only heiress.

“I love what you did with the decoration; it’s not easy to blend baby blue linings on those tablecloths and the curtains near the entrance,” Jennie says carefully, unsure how you’d take her compliment, But, to her surprise, you thank her for noticing the details because no one says anything about it. “I hope you’re feeling better? Sorry I didn’t get to drop by.”

Something akin to guilt creeps up on you, because it was you who told Wonwoo you don’t really want to meet anyone even though he probably knows you’re just refusing to outright say you don’t want to meet Jennie in particular.

“It’s okay, you’re probably busy too,” you smile awkwardly, very glad that you see Jeonghan and Shua making their way to where you’re at so you're able to steer the conversation elsewhere. Jeonghan takes you away from Wonwoo to his embrace, his arms caging you by the shoulders as he drops a kiss to your forehead.

“You’re lucky the party is wonderful,” he pulls away and narrows his eyes at you. “I wasn’t going to forgive you for fainting if this party was just meh.”

“You think I’d prepare a meh party?” You laugh and reach up to kiss his cheek before moving to Shua and do the same. “Been so long since I saw you in a suit, Mr. Hong.”

“I look good, don’t I?” he grins, not minding the way Jeonghan snickers at him. The night goes on like that, Chaeyoung joins in later on and then steps away because her parents call her to meet someone, Jinyoung and Jisoo make their way to your group too, and some of Wonwoo’s friends stop by to make pleasantries until eventually everyone goes to do their own stuff until it’s just you and Wonwoo again.

“That’s… a lot of talking,” you say after everyone has left.

Wonwoo doesn’t say anything, but he opens his arm and you readily step back into his embrace and buries your forehead into his shoulder. You don’t know how to explain it exactly; but Wonwoo smells like home–feels like home. Like a mug of hot chocolate when it’s raining outside, like the soft breeze of wind that hits your face when you’re out on the beach, like your favorite blanket that you curl yourself into when it’s been a long day.

“Wanna leave?”

“Are you insane?”

The stern tone you’re using makes him chuckle, and you feel the plump of his lips on your head before he nudges you and whispers that your parents are coming this way. His arm doesn’t falter from your waist, and your parents greet him before they address you.

“Good job as always, princess.” Something akin to pride blooms in your chest at his words, though the nickname makes you cringe inside, and not in the way that you cringe because it’s embarrassing, it just feels alien and shouldn’t be. You think it’s because it’s him saying it instead of the man next to you and the straight tone he’s using. Your father calls you that from time to time, but only when his mood is particularly good because you did something for the company. “Perhaps we should build an EO company for you; you’re clearly talented and invested in this field.”

Everything’s a business to your father, which is something that you thought you’ve learnt to accept since long ago. But, evidently, the very sentence he’s just said only proves otherwise.

Why couldn’t he praise you for the event and leave it there? Was it really necessary to point out that there’s a possibility to monetize this and put you in yet another company? You don’t even bother denying something very bitter in your mouth the moment the words are out of his mouth.

Your mother talks about how some of her friends are pleased by the food choice and flowery gate you’ve put on the entrance, and you just know that she’s going to talk about their single sons sooner or later.

But Wonwoo swipes in and turns the topic into something else to entertain them before eventually saying his parents were looking for them earlier, something that your father just can’t resist because he’s always liked talking to Wonwoo’s dad, one of the very few people that he considers equal to him. He pats Wonwoo on the back before telling you once again that you did a good job before walking away to find Mr. & Mrs. Jeon.

“Thank you,” you huff at Wonwoo after they’re out of earshot.

“Should we go?”

You hum, a look that Wonwoo can only describe as sad flashing across your face. It’s gone just as fast as it appears though, and the weak smile you give him afterwards before you square your shoulder and pull him to the desert table breaks him a little.

You’re quiet for a while, like you always are after an episode with your parents, and then you start talking about the sweet treats on your hands as if to distract yourself from the short interaction earlier.

It’s never easy with your parents, and if there’s anyone who understands the entirety of how shitty they make you feel, it’s Wonwoo. Not even Shua or Jeonghan who are literally related to them by blood.

Jeonghan is a family person, and as much as he understands that your relationship with your parents isn’t ideal, he’s the type of person who also thinks that family is family. He’d never truly understand.

Shua would understand. But you’re not letting him because he takes care too much of you already so you never confide him in even though he knows.

You know Shua is aware of your feelings, but Shua has never been the type to push so he never asks even though it’s clear that it bothers him not knowing. He waits. He patiently waits until you open up because he wants you comfortable speaking about it.

Hence you choose to never say anything about it altogether.

“I… kind of want to be alone for a while,” you whisper eventually, and despite the fact that it’s normal for you to be like this, it worries him still. “Cover for me?”

He nods nevertheless, because he knows you need it and then takes off his suit and puts it around your shoulders. You’re probably going to the balcony for a breather like you usually would. Wonwoo reaches for your fingers and squeezes them firmly before letting go.

“Don’t catch a cold.”

And then you’re gone.

Wonwoo tries his best to make pleasantries and entertain the guests, telling everyone that’s looking for you that you’re touching up your makeup or that you’re taking an important call somewhere. No one finds it odd–at least no one that’s not close to you because when Shua asks, Wonwoo simply gives him the look and he immediately understands–no one except for Jennie.

“Is she in trouble?” she asks, genuinely concerned. She has just returned from the restroom when she spots Wonwoo by himself, his suit missing and he’s looking at his phone. Naturally, she makes her way to him. “I know you’re lying, Jeon. She couldn’t have gone this long if she’s simply touching up her makeup.”

“Just… personal stuff,” he gives in, figuring out that he could tell her at least that much. “She needs to be alone at times.”

It’s such a simple sentence, one that wouldn’t mean much to other people in passing. But it gets Jennie pondering to herself and then contemplating whether or not to say what’s on her mind.

“Do you realize how attached you are to her?”

Wonwoo looks at her, confused, and Jennie helpfully explains further.

“It’s just… I know you’re worried and you don’t want to leave her alone. But you know she needs it so you’re here, covering for her, even though you can’t stop glancing at the entrance every few seconds. You’re so… emotionally attached to her, you know? And I don’t mean it in a bad way. It just really amazes me. And even though it was obvious since we were kids that you’re both dependent on each other, I never thought it would go on until now.”

Is it really that obvious? Wonwoo thinks to himself. To the point where Jennie, who barely sees you both, can point it out?

If he’s being completely honest, Wonwoo knows his feelings aren’t subtle enough—at least not to the people close to him. No one has ever really pointed it out though, perhaps aware that Wonwoo isn’t really one to talk about what he feels. So to have Jennie saying it to his face isn’t something that Wonwoo expects to face tonight.

“I don’t mean to prod, I promise,” she says, afraid that Wonwoo might think she’s being nosy. He doesn’t though, just mainly dumbfounded to hear how people outside his circle but close enough perceive the both of you. “I’m really just amazed and, like I said the other day, I’m envious of your friendship. And… umm…”

She hesitates for a bit, the look on her face close to discomfort. Wonwoo simply stares at her though, a curious eyebrow raised as if allowing her to continue if she wants.

“Umm… I hope you’re not going to take this the wrong way, but it’s also pretty obvious that you love her more than that.”

His eyes widen in surprise, coughing to mask his uneasiness, truly not expecting anyone, let alone Jennie, to ever say those words out loud. Perhaps because it’s Jennie who says it, someone he’s just close enough with, but it hits him more than it would had it been Shua or Jeonghan who said it to him.

Jennie looks at him timidly, a little unsure about his reaction. Nevertheless, she continues to speak in a hushed tone, trying to convince him that it’s a good thing and that you’re lucky to have him love you that way.

Wonwoo stays silent though, his mouth a little ajar and his eyes still widen in shock. Is he shocked because she’s being too honest? Or is he in denial about his feelings? “You’re not… unaware of your feelings, right?”

For a few seconds, Wonwoo is too stunned to speak. But then he steps closer and Jennie actually holds her breath because she’s flustered, not in the way that she has butterflies in her stomach but in the way that she’s afraid that she’s offended him somehow.

“Is… is it that obvious?” he says instead, his voice a little shaky. Jennie hates to be the one to break it to him, but she nods and whispers that anyone with eyes and just enough sense would know he’s into you.

“I–”

“Wonwoo?” your voice cuts him off and Wonwoo immediately turns away to see still you wrapped in his suit.

You eye the both of them, and then subtly frown at the proximity when you realize just how close the two are standing to each other. It doesn’t help that Jennie looks a little flustered too, like she’s been caught doing something she shouldn’t be doing, and you think you hear her say something along the lines of ‘we’ll talk about it some other time’ before she excuses herself to find someone.

The whole thing just seems off to you and you can’t help but feel uneasy at the interaction. Has Wonwoo always been that close to Jennie?

“Feeling better?” he softly asks as he reaches for your fingers. His own fingers feel warm against yours, almost enough to make you forget about the uneasiness you felt just now.

Almost.

You shrug, not really up to talk about it, you step closer to him though, because even though there’s a queasy feeling in your stomach because of what you’ve just seen seconds ago, this is still your Wonwoo who brings you comfort when you need it most.

“What were you talking about with Jennie?”

He’s a little surprised to say the least, not expecting you to ask.. You never talk about her, after all. But he shakes his head and squeezes your fingers, his voice a little too strained than he would’ve liked. “Just… something.”

It’s really nothing, but you frown at the way he sounds a little defensive–like he has a secret he’s willing to share with Jennie but not you.

He never does that.

“Really?” you try one more time, looking at him expectantly.

“Mhm,” he hums and reaches out to fix the strands of hair that escapes your ear. His palm pats your cheek once before he closes the topic by saying it’s not important and changes it into something else.

It’s normal, something that Wonwoo often does when he doesn’t wish to talk about something. Wonwoo isn’t exactly a man of many words, after all. You’re used to it and you’re not exactly someone who prods either, especially when it’s Wonwoo. You understand him more than you understand yourself.

So why are you upset that Wonwoo’s doing something he always does?

What’s this uncomfortable feeling inside your chest, settling itself deep within yourself the more you replay the way Wonwoo brushes off the topic like he doesn’t want you to know about it?

©wonwoonlight – all rights reserved. I don’t allow any reposting, translation, and any other kind of redistribution of this fic. Please tell me if you’re aware of anyone doing this without my permission. taglist:@hoe4wonwoo@dnylwoo@yslshua@twogyuu@najaemin138 @blueixnie@boowanie@pwettytae@itsveronicaxxx@aphrodyteeth@leechanniee@jeoonghann@sdoulc@kyeomjjigae@ru-lin@listxn@yngreid@vynnz@lilactangerine@justasoftstan@amymoonl @02psh@lovelywoo@pusangmamon@yoontaedotin@soonchanshua@fanfic24@nothingbutadeadesceane@nollixtrml@sweetheart-gs@rjsmochii

[flightless-rising]

Made a new Flight Rising iceberg and also wrote an explanation.. man, this took way longer than it should have.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy :D

Iceberg explanation

( If there are any mistakes please let me know and I’ll edit this asap. Also, English isn't my first language so please forgive me for any grammatical errors)

EDIT 28/06: Added some new info! Thanks to everyone who tagged and responded with new stuff to add, I really appreciate it!

The Sky

Naomi

Back in the day, whenever you bought or sold something on the auction house a message would show up in your inbox confirming the transaction. These messages were sent by one of the dragon couriers: Pearl, Spitfire or Edgar.

On January 2016, a strange glitch occurred that replaced the images and names of couriers with the ones of a female fae named “Naomi”.

It goes deeper than that, though: if you looked up her name in the user search menu, a clan would pop up with over 15 million dragons.

It was quickly discovered that all exalted dragons had somehow become part of her clan. Naomi herself apparently didn’t exist, and clicking on her page redirected to an error page. This was later fixed and the original Naomi page can be now visited.

What exactly caused this glitch is still a mystery and today Naomi is still a well-known piece of Flight Rising history.

Missing Tidelord

In the official lore, the deity of the water flight disappeared in early 2018, as described in the short story “Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow”.

In the follow up story (Mixed Elements) posted in April of the next year it is confirmed that the Tidelord is still missing, but alive. This coincides with the fact that the Tidelord account hasn’t made any forum posts aside from festival announcements.

Emperors

Emperors are a type of unobtainable dragon that are formed when several Imperial corpses are left in close proximity to each other, which then fuse forming a multi-headed chimera.

Emperors are described in the lore as having an animal-like behavior and destroying everything in sight. They are extremely difficult to kill, which is the reason why in-universe Imperials have such strange burial rites.

An emperor named Luminax is first described in the Raising a Family short story, and their sprite can be seen walking around on the world map.

The Surface

Old color wheel

Originally, there were only 67 available colors for dragons. On June 8th 2016, 110 more colors were added, meaning that currently there are a total of 177 colors available.

When making a custom progenitor dragon, it is only possible to choose among the 67 original colors because it would be otherwise unfair for those who made their account before the new colors were added.

Imperial breed scrolls

Imperial breed change scrolls are one of, if not the most, rare type of item on the site. They were given only to those who pledged 30 dollars or more on the original Flight Rising kickstarter.

At the time, this was the only way of obtaining an Imperial dragon, which meant that the breed as a whole was pretty valuable. Now that Imperials are abundant this is no longer the case, but First generation Imperials are still extremely sought and probably the most expensive type of dragon on the site.

There were also other items that were only given to Kickstarted backers, namely Skycats, Bonefiend, Golden Idol and Cogfrog familiars, and those are also pretty much impossible to obtain.

Baldwin breed change

When Baldwin was introduced in 2015 he was originally a Pearlcatcher. On September 14th of 2016 however his site art started to gradually change, until his transformation was completed five days later.

In-universe, Baldwin started to change after a lightning strike hit his cauldron during an experiment, which made him slowly mutate into the breed we now know as Bogsneaks.

Trans Fiona

When Fiona was added as a trading post dragon people speculated that she was trans, because the female pose for Skydancers only displays two antennae, while the male one has four.

Since Fiona has four antennae in her site art, many wondered whether it was an oversight or actually intended. Aequorin later confirmed in a forum thread that Fiona is indeed trans.

Boolean

Speaking of rare items, the Boolean familiar was only given to a handful of Flight rising beta testers and as such is extremely rare and valuable.

Plaguebringer coli team

On the Plaguebringer’s page she is listed as being part of a coliseum team.

As of now we have no clue as to why this is, and even more strangely she is the only deity that does this.

Boston & Hope

This story is a bit complicated. I’ve scoured the forums in search of info but it seems like there are still some pieces missing. I’ll try my best to explain anyway.

So, for a long while the Lightweaver was the only deity that had other dragons aside from herself in her lair: these dragons were a Spiral named Boston and a Tundra named Hope. Strangely, they were both Earth dragons and apparently have been there since the beginning (?). When asked why (this happened back when deities would interact on the forums) the Lightweaver responded that they were having a dinner party together.

In August 2014 during a pretty heated dominance battle between Shadow and Light Boston and Hope disappeared from the Lightweaver’s lair.

The Shadowbinder now had them, and both their elements were alsochanged to Shadow. The two deities acknowledged this and changed their broadcast messages accordingly.

If I had to guess this was some kind of inside joke that the admins had, although some people got angry that the Shadowbinder now had both Hope and Boston. Some time later(?) Boston was returned to the Lightweaver and for some reason his element was changed to wind.

I don’t have any more info on the matter but if some of you do I would appreciate it if you tell me.

Shallow Waters

Eyepocalypse

On June 8th 2018 eye type variants were introduced. This update was pretty controversial for a bunch of reasons, and the topic is still discussed today. The majority of people(?) seemed to be upset by the fact the “best” eye types (primarily goat, primal and multi-gaze) could only be displayed on dragons that were born with them, and the fact that every dragon born prior to the update couldn’t have these eye types at all displeased a lot of users.

Another problem was the fact that most of the non-special eye types (i.e the only ones that could be applied to already existing dragons using a vial of Scattersight) were not clearly visible on the grand majority of adult dragons.

A smaller(?) complaint was that two of the primal eye types, Shadow and Plague, were seen as kind of disturbing by some people.

Three years later staff attempted to fix this issue by adding Eye type vials for every available eye type. This resulted in a market crash for special eye typed dragons, as now these eye types could be applied to any dragon. The value of Scattersights also tanked, and the people bought them and hadn’t used them yet lost money as now they were infinitely less useful.

EDIT 28/06: Goat isn’t actually obtainable via breeding, faceted is. Bad mistake on my part.

Also, Scattersights were given away freely by Galore on Flight Rising’s fifth anniversary in 2018 and could not be bought afterwards. I admit that I thought people could be able to buy Scattersights due to how upset people were that the value went down, but whatever.

Courier Breed

The courier dragons (Edgar, Spitfire, and Pearl) are part of an exclusive dragon breed that is currently unobtainable. Even though their eye color still reflects the flight they were born in, in-universe they are considered to be “neutral” and they are granted free access to all domains. This raises the question as to which deity created them, as every other dragon breed (Bogsneaks being the only exception) has been created by one of The Eleven.

Multiaccounting

According to the site’s terms of service, no one is allowed to have more than one account. This is pretty standard for pet sites, as having multiple accounts grants unfair advantages and can mess up the site economy. This doesn’t completely stop people for having more than one account, and the practice as a whole is called “Multiaccounting” or “having multis”.

Some people only do this to have multiple clans or reboot their account without deleting their old one. They mostly do no harm but it is reasonable that the site wouldn’t allow this because of how easy it is exploit.

The real harm of multis comes from a practice called “funneling” which is when someone creates multiple accounts only for the purpose of giving items to their main account. This practice violates the game’s rules and can result in a ban. Funneling is not limited to multiaccounting though, and having an account only to feed another is against the site’s rules whether or not the account in question belongs to another person or not.

Some people fear of being banned for multiaccounting even if they haven’t done so, especially if they share a computer with other people.

Purble

“he purble” is probably among the most famous Flight Rising memes.

In 2016(?) a rant was submitted to the original Dramarising blog by a very angry user that wanted to buy an XXX Purple Ridgeback back when triples were pretty expensive, but got beat by someone else.

I’m not going to copy paste it here because in my opinion it’s one of the funniest Flight Rising related posts ever and I don’t want to spoil the experience of reading it for the first time. You can find it pretty easily by searching it up.

Tert Picking

This is something that refaced recently, even though I’ve seen people talking about this for a while. Some people vividly remember being able to pick their custom progenitor’s tertiary color, even though the developers have made it clear that such thing would be impossible. This is without a doubt just one of those weird situations where a lot of people somehow remember the same thing wrong.

Still, it’s fascinating just how many people claim to remember doing picking their tert.

Swiftwings

Swiftwings were a dragon breed that was scrapped in development. The design was rejected because it didn’t fit the 2 arms 2 legs 2 wings format that every dragon design had to follow before the introduction of ancient breeds.

The reason for this rule is that otherwise it would mess up apparel placement. Although the concept was scrapped, echoes of the design were scattered throughout the site: for example, the empty dragon slots that were present prior to 2019 had the silhouette of a Swiftwings dragon. They are also mentioned in the April Fool’s update of 2018.

“Real” Lore dragons

Most people don’t know that some of the dragons featured on the lore stories are actually real, and you can visit their pages. This is the case for Tetra, Cracklinne, Velya, Liefa, Garote and Mirth, which are currently chilling in Aequorin’s lair.

All of the other dragons in the developers’ lairs are not canon and are used to test bugs and features on the site.

The Middle ground

True deity names

When the site first started the deities used to have actual names instead of titles. Some of these names were based off of the site founders’s usernames on other sites.

The names are the following:

Amogayvhi - Gladekeeper Xhaztol - Arcanist Rhenik - Tidelord Akiri - Flamecaller Thrage - Stormcatcher Undel - Shadowbinder Jhortanas - Plaguebringer Ghurab - Windsinger Artaios - Earthshaker Rhiow – Lightweaver

As you can tell, Xhaztol, Akiri, Thrage and Undel are the usernames of some of the admins of the site, and the flight they are a part of corresponds with the previous name of their deity.

No leg coatls

On January 16, 2015 an iconic thread was posted in the flight rising discussion forum, which displayed a photoshopped image of a coatl with its legs removed. Quickly the thread devolved into a general photoshop thread were people took official site art of dragons and modified it.

The thread was eventually locked due to spam and quote pyramids, but spiritual successors of the original “phoatlshop” thread still exist today.

Dress slot unlocking

A thing that a surprising amount of people don’t know is the fact that when buy an additional apparel slot, the slot opens for every dragon in your lair and not just the one you bought it on.

This is something I also discovered very recently and it’s kind of funny that so many people that have been on the site for very long don’t know this.

Clanbound scatterscrolls

I think the wiki explains it best, so I’ll just copy paste this here:

“Tri-Color Scatterscrolls suffered from an issue where they would only scatter a random range from colors 1-47 (white through sunshine) rather than 1-67 (white through rose). They have been fixed and are now functioning correctly with a random range within the 67 color set. The affected timeframe was from August 15th, 2013 until September 22nd, 2013. The admins allowed users who were unsatisfied with their bugged Tri-Color Scatterscrolls to receive the same amount of them back in the form of Clanbound Scatterscrolls to try scattering their own dragons again with the full color range.”

Beta Mirrors

Ever wondered why they’re called Mirrors?

According to Undel, the main artist of Flight Rising, mirrors originally were supposed to have every part of their body “mirrored”, meaning they had two sets of eyes, two pairs of wings, two tails, and so on.

This design ended up being too cluttered and looked weird shrunken down. The name was kept the same, even though the only mirrored part of the design are the eyes.

Dragons are evil

If you read the “Beastclans on the rise” lore bit, the dragons come across as… very evil, stealing territory from the beastclans when they have been living on Sornieth way longer than the dragons have and killing them for loot.

Furthermore, in the Bounty of the Elements lore bit the Beastclan rebellion guided by Talona is seen by the dragons as unreasonable and wrong even when in canon Beastclans are framed as the innocent party.

The Depths

Scroll of Divorce

In the alpha stage dragons were supposed to be monogamous and could only breed with the dragon they were “paired” with. To break their bond you had to use an item called “Scroll of Divorce” which even featured broken marriage rings in the art.

If I had to guess, this item and the concept as a whole were scrapped because the idea of dragons having “weddings” and needing to divorce before breeding with another dragon felt kind of weird, especially in a game targeted towards teens.

First Festival

The first Holiday festival in Flight rising history was the 2013 Brightshine Jubilee. The items that were available for this festival only are incredibly rare, particularily the Light Sprite which is one of the most valuable items on the site. Apart from that and the fact that the skincent contest only had 6 winners, not much is notable about it.

Offsite drama

Flight Rising has had its fair share of drama both on and off site, but due to the fact that it’s against the site’s rule to discuss user drama on the forums most of the notable drama happened off site (mainly tumblr).

Egg rot

Egg rot was a very early mechanic that was pretty quickly removed from the site. If you forgot to incubate your eggs, they would “rot” and no longer hatch.

It’s the reason why in the nesting grounds the text reads “Eggs healthy” and also the reason why on the stats section of the Account settings it says “Eggs discarded”. The mechanic was removed because it heavily punished casual players and the frequent downtimes of the site meant that even if someone logged in every day they could still have their eggs die.

Also, the images of egg rot look extremely cursed.

Pablo

From what I could gather, Pablo is a dragon which became somewhat popular after user “Desmondtiny” wrote a very long and detailed backstory of them being the Arcanist’s lost boyfriend.

I’m pretty sure it gues deeper than that but I couldn’t find any further information. As usual, if you know something more let me know.

Latest News

On November 12, 2014, a glitch(?) occurred that let anyone post in the Announcements thread. Anything that was posted went directly to the front page, which resulted in quite a bit of chaos.

This was fixed only half an hour later, but the screenshots people have from that time are extremely funny.

Lameforger

On the 2014 Flameforger’s festival announcement Undel accidentally misspelled “Flameforger” as “Lameforger”, which prompted the official account of the Flamecaller to respond aggressively. Lameforger is still jokingly used by users, even after the typo was fixed.

Festival of one (1)

On the first day of the 2014 Greenskeeper Gathering a glitch occurred which switched the site banner for the Starfall celebration banner instead of the Greenskeeper one.

It didn’t end there, in the coliseum Magical shards dropped instead of Bladed Flatleaves, even though skin chests dropped as normal(?).

The weirdest thing about it all was Joxar’s Space inventory, which didn’t display any items at all and had glitched dialogue.

The event was nicknamed by the fanbase “Festival of 1” and even the deity’s official accounts acknowledged the incident.

Vape Juice

As far as I know the original forum thread as been lost, but the vape juice fiasco will always remain cemented in Flight Rising History.

A company called Vape Daugz was making vape juice with Flight Rising dragons plastered on their packaging, completely violating the site’s policy.

The company’s site still exists, and browsing through their products I found that the products that previously had Flight Rising dragons on them still exist, but now feature completely different packaging.

I have no idea whether they changed the packaging spontaneously or staff did something about it.

I think there’s a potentially interesting story buried down there, but we’ll likely never the truth behind the Flight Rising vape juice.

The Abyss

Humans

There’s been some speculation over the years as to whether or not humans are canon in the Flight Rising universe. Some people believe that the “Mages” of the second age in the official lore are actually humans, but we can’t be sure because they are depicted with long robes that cover their whole bodies.

The idea of humans existing in canon has spawned a couple of memes, most infamously Thomas.

Plague healers

Again, I think the wiki explains this one better:

“According to Aequorin, Plague healers are an interesting bunch because rather than administer treatments that counter illness, they use a mixture of magic and contagion that stress the affected dragon further, allowing them to reach a stronger, healed, and resistant state faster than other elements. Plague healers will treat physical injuries with sutures, bandages, and braces, but they won't clean the wounds or apply ointments."

Akitla

As described in the original thread, Akitla was a dragon that user “qunii” saw on the front page, but noticed that she wasn’t accompanied by the username of the person owning them.

After clicking on her, an error page loaded. It was discovered that putting her color combination or ID in the search bar would result in an error page. This was later fixed, and both Akitla and her mate were now displayed as being exalted to the Arcanist. T

here are some theories as to what happened to the Akitla’s user, some think that she belonged to a deleted account, others that it was the result of an incomplete account creation.

As with a lot of things on this iceberg, it will likely remain a mystery forever.

Arcane sprite book

“what is the arcane sprite reading??” is probably one of the oldest still active threads on the forums.

On September 25, 2013 user “Kaadashi” started a joke thread were they wondered what exactly is the arcane sprite reading, and playfully suggested that it could be erotic fanfiction. People went crazy of course, and started to wonder what kind of juicy secrets were hidden within the pages of that book.

I don’t want to say too much because I really don’t want to spoil the experience of reading through this very cursed tread.

Sunshine

Sunshine is one of the most… interesting lairs on the site, and certainly one of the most well-known.

They(?) have a lair (almost) completely full of triple basic sunshine dragons, most of which are Tundras. So far they have collected about 320 triple hundred Sunshine dragons, almost all of which are also named “Sunshine”. They’re not all the same, some of them have apparel, some of them are gened and some have unique art and descriptions.

They’re dedicated and I respect that.

EDIT 28/06: Apparently some people seem to think that the sunshine-dedicated lair is based on a meme concerning the announcement of the color wheel expansion, which became so discussed that the itself site broke. The two things are unrelated however, as the Sunshine lair has been around for much longer.

The announcement of the color wheel expansion was cryptic, with only a few post showing off differently colored coatls and then 3 pages of reserved posts, with no explanation whatsoever.

Simple Farmer

Another very famous thread is the “I am but a simple farmer” thread started by user “someKindOfGenius”. It’s not really about anything specific, it’s just a rather silly thread were people photoshop flight rising dragons onto various crops.

Still, this thread is iconic so I had to include it.

Dragon Deaths

Way back in 2014 former flight rising programmer Thrage revealed on a forum thread that way back before the beta, dragons could actually starve to death if left unfed.

Yep.

Obviously they had to remove this mechanic because it would have been extremely harsh to casual players and make people frustrated with the game.

Zalvador

User “manojalpa” became fairly well-known for the extremely dark lore they(?) had written for their Clan, it was so dark in fact that every single one of their dragon’s bios had to moved to their tumblr where they couldn’t be easily seen by the site’s mainly underage usebase.

Their lore centered around their progen dragon, a tundra named Zalvador, which behaved and had the same powers as a flight rising user: buying dragons off of the action house, having “breeding projects”, exalting dragons, etc.

These things seem pretty normal when done by a player, but when taking them as actual real things that happen in universe… yeah, it was way too morbid for the site.

The Pit

Black linen neck wraps

For some weird reason, the apparel piece “Black linen neck wrap” when put on a male pose Coatl wraps around the dragon’s throat instead of it’s neck. It’s kind of subtle and hard to see, but if you compare it with the female pose the difference is clear. This is probably just an art error, although it’s weird that it hasn’t been fixed yet, since linen wraps are a very old piece of apparel.

Another weird thing about linen wraps in general is that the wing wraps just sort of… go through the membrane? This is not possible. These dragons are in pain.

Icewarden ears

Another very remarkably popular thread is the Icewarden ears thread.

In 2014 user “Llanai” simply makes note of the fact that the Icewarden has teeny tiny ears.

As we have come to expect from these threads, it quickly devolved into nonsense.

Forbidden Snapper lore

Snappers used to have a way different lore section that was changed because it deemed too similar to the lore of another petsite.

This is what the original section read:

"Snapper dragons do not sleep, but exist in a constant state of reverie. They receive and catalogue all experiences and stories told within their dreams. This persistent state of awakened dreaming awards them the longest memory of any dragon species. They are living encyclopedias, and any dragon who is seeking difficult-to-obtain information will have the most luck unearthing it from a Snapper clan - provided they have the patience for it. If you want two dozen quick answers, talk to a spiral. If you want a fully developed answer, camp out around a Snapper. These dreamers move at their own pace, which varies from dragon to dragon. For some, the awakened dream can prove to be more interesting than their surroundings. This leads to a focus upon the dream, and the waking world as filtered background noise. Interacting with these sleepwalkers can be a trying and repetitive task. Other Snappers may be fairly lucid, with a focus upon their surroundings and the constant hum of the dream pushed aside."

Bee movie script

I’ve seen this story around the forums a few times but I’ve never been able to learn the details.

From what I’ve heard someone copy pasted the entire bee movie script into their clan bio in a drop down text format, which completely broke the page for anyone who visited it. This was fixed, apparently, although I have no clue as to who this user is.

EDIT 28/06: Zeus

Zeus is an XXX gold g1 permababy imperial that used to belong to user "happywing".

Their account is now locked because Zeus was created with the use of a duplication glitch on an imperial breed change scroll, which is obviously not allowed (although I've heard some people say that the dragon was hacked in altogether). Before the account was locked, people speculated that Zeus was the most valuable dragon on the site, because an XXX g1 imperial is impossibly rare.

Wegg shaming

On July 2017 user “Dreamnorn” made a thread were they(?) claimed to have a dream where everything was the same except people used the term “wegged” when two dragons would lay only one egg in a nest.

Ex. Aw man! I’ve been wegged again! = Aw man! I bred two dragons and they only had one egg!

The dream ended up being prophetic, as the term catched on and people started to use it unironically.

The practice of “Wegg shaming” I think refers to the trend of people posting pictures of the dragons that “wegged” them in order to “shame” them.

Plague nest skull

The site art of the plague nest features an unique dragon skull that doesn’t match with any currently existing dragon breed or creature: It appears to have two sets of eyes, like a mirror, but also long and curled horns.

It’s probably just for decoration and it likely doesn’t have any significance whatsoever, but personally I believe it would be pretty cool if when they eventually release plague ancient it at least somewhat resembled this skull.

EDIT 28/06: On second thought, the skull doesn’t seem to have two pairs of eyes, It just has the generic shape of a carnivore.

Rock bottom

CAPTAINPLANET

…this is CAPTAINPLANET. Somehow, user “Decres”' managed to overlay a Fae skin on top of a Tundra, creating this horrifyingly fascinating abomination.

I have no idea how she did this, and she seems pretty adamant to tell.

EDIT 28/06: People have pointed out that this skin overlay glitch was actually somewhat common (although I still haven't found another dragon like CAPTAINPLANET). What you had to do was breed change a dragon while attaching a skin to them in another tab.

This glitch has been patched and such thing is no longer possible.

Lair 46264

A cursed lair.

Dreams

I’ve seen a lot of people, both on forums and on Tumblr, sharing dreams they had about Flight Rising.

A lot of people dream of just being on the site, while occasionally weird things happen.

I’ve read of people who dreamed the distribution of a new breed, buying an exclusive item, a new Fiona feat or Swipp trade, or just browsing the forums.

The most common type of Flight rising-associated dream I’ve seen however is being caught multiaccounting and having their account banned.

I’m no psychoanalyst, but I think it’s pretty clear that these nightmares stem from the paranoia of being banned from their beloved petsite instead of showing any actual intention of doing the “crime” in question.

Anyways, I think it’s fascinating how so many people dream about this site, and it reminds me of the dreams people claimed to have about Mario 64 where completely new levels were added or a scary monster appeared.

Dragon Slime

Dragon Slime was an infamous thread which was supposed to be start off point for an ARG.

It was deleted because it was considered too “spammy” and also because ARGs are banned from the forums. The thread has been lost, unfortunately.

EDIT 28/06: Thanks to @randompurple-fr for providing screenshots of the dragon slime tutorial! You can find them here

Cucumber

Cucumber is the only dragon ever to have been exalted with a skin, which is something that should not be possible. This raises some questions as to what exactly did the person that exalted them do to achieve this, but we have no way of knowing who Cucumber belonged to.

EDIT 28/06: Actually, we do know who used to Cucumber belonged to! Its owner was Osiem: an official flight rising artist. I couldn’t find the thread where they(?) acknowledged the glitch though, if someone has it please let me know!

[janetbrown711]

“Why are you so nice to me” wakko or yakko max

To Wakko's delight, his brother kept good on his promise. Weeks passed and his brother devoted several days to restoring their bond just as it once was (the other days Yakko spent with Dot or with the both of them).

Heck, Wakko was so secure in his brother not abandoning him when Yakko asked if he could start up writing to Max again (at a much slower pace than before, he promised), Wakko said yes (barely) without hesitation. He knew that Max made him happy... and that he kinda owed it to Yakko to let him hang out with him again, as their little "not exactly falling out" was his fault (to him, anyway).

Everything was starting to seem... good- perfect, even.

However, Dot's birthday was rapidly approaching and Yakko was starting to get ideas.

"You know what we should do?" He said, lounging on the couch in the sunroom. "We should throw a ball for your birthday, Dot."

Dot perked up from her book. "What? Why? We never held balls for our birthdays before."

Yakko rolled his eyes. "That's because Grandma ruins everything. In this book I'm reading it says it was tradition for the royal family to hold big celebrations on their birthdays. I think it'd be fun- plus a great opportunity for you two to start making some friends."

Oh.

This again.

Wakko tried to laugh it off. "You'd have to get mum and dad to agree, and they've been pretty busy with the flooding in the west."

"Bah, that's mostly dealt with at this point. I'm sure they could use the break too," Yakko countered.

"B-but mom's coronation wasn't even that long ago," Wakko argued.

"It was over three months ago," Dot rolled her eyes. "I think a party would be fun," she looked to Yakko.

"Didn't you have fun at mom's coronation?" Yakko asked his middle sibling.

"Well I- I suppose I did..." Wakko thought back to the massive chalk drawing he had covered the floor with. It was pretty fun, and it made a lot of people happy.

"See? I'm sure a party in Dot's honor would be fun all the same- plus, making friends is great, I'm sure you'll love it," Yakko said with a reassuring smile on his face, though Wakko still wasn't quite convinced. However, he could see how much both of his siblings wanted this (even though the idea was only seconds old) and who was he to say no?

"Alright, I guess we can do that," He said, which made Dot clap in excitement as she began to detail everything she'd want for a party in her honor.

Wakko had a feeling this was going to be interesting.

.o0o.

As expected, their parents were ecstatic at the idea, and they spared no expense in attempts to create what they believed a much-needed celebration for the people of Warnerstock and their allies.

And to say it truly was Dot's creative vision would not be false. There were a lot of pinks- a lot, a lot of pinks. Though mostly tasteful, if you saw it it was hard to look away from.

But still, Wakko was happy for her, she was having the time of her life planning it all out with their dad, who was equally happy to spoil his little girl.

However, he knew deep down that despite what Yakko had sworn, her party was probably going to be very different from the coronation. He hoped it would be fun, but the more he watched decorations being put into place and talks about the guests and feasts the more he was beginning to worry.

He didn't say anything though, as the rest of his family seemed far too happy for him to want to bother them with his plight. They deserved this break, he was probably just being dramatic anyways. He'd be fine- and maybe make a friend just like Yakko said he would.

Wakko did his best to remain optimistic, despite the knots forming deep within.

It wasn't too long before the grand day arrived. Wakko had thought they had pulled out all the stops just for decorating but the day itself was insane too. Dot was showered in presents and even was taken out to town with William to go shopping for anything her heart desired, meanwhile Yakko, Wakko, and Lena stayed behind and supervised the final touches on the decorations.

Okay- really only Lena supervised, but Yakko and Wakko were technically there too. They didn't stay with her long, as she gave them a list of things to check up on so she could talk to some people which they were fine with.

Together, the brothers walked through the massive dining hall, checking curtains, flowers, vases, tapestries, etc. to make sure they were in the exact right places (not that the list really said where they were supposed to be) and checked them all off.

"So... are you looking forward to tonight?" Yakko asked, checking off 'left-most curtains'.

"Oh- uh- Yeah! I am... are you?" Wakko quickly said.

"Oh yeah, totally, it'll be great to see Max. It's been a while... you're still cool with that, right?" Yakko glanced down at him before checking another thing off.

Wakko nodded. "I won't try to prank or drive him away this time, I swear."

Yakko snorted. "I know you know better, I'm just asking if you're okay with me hanging out with him for tonight instead of you."

"Yeah, I am. You did say I should make friends after all," Wakko said, fiddling with gloves. Yakko looked away from the checklist and gave his little brother a side hug.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Yakko asked.

"Yeah, yeah," It was Wakko's turn to laugh.

"I'm serious-" Yakko let go and punched Wakko's arm lightly. "You're doing great. You should be proud of yourself too, you've come a long way."

Wakko smiled a little. "Maybe."

Yakko chuckled. "Well, it looks like we're just about done with this list. Wanna go turn it in to mom and go get changed into uncomfortable suits and greet guests for hours on end, or do you wanna just double and triple check the list until the last second?"

"Definitely check the list," Wakko laughed too.

And so the brothers did, until Lena caught wind of their shenanigans and forced them to start getting ready for the party (though they did cut a lot of time so technically they still regarded it as a win). At least those outfits weren't the worst they've ever worn (they were pretty confident nothing would ever top how itchy and miserable their funeral outfits were). Still, standing around and greeting people was a dreadfully boring job, not to mention awkward until their father and Dot eventually came to join them and actually do their job properly.

They knew their mom was busy, but leaving the two of them in charge was a little questionable.

Plus, after all that interaction, Wakko was starting to feel weird. Tired, but also not-? It was complicated. All he knew was that he wanted to be alone and maybe pace for a while, that'd be nice.

However, the party was to start in not too long, so he really didn't have time for that. He followed Yakko around for a while to the main party room where the people they had greeted before were all chatting amongst themselves. It wasn't too loud yet, but Wakko's tail twitched nervously as he weaved between people and conversations.

He hadn't been this nervous at the coronation- Wakko really wished he could figure out why he was feeling this way. Alas, he was unable.

He did feel a little better as Yakko and he found a spot of their own to chill in for a while, away from all the people.

"A lot of people came to this shindig, huh?" Yakko joked, "though probably no more than those who attended mom's coronation."

"Yeah..." Wakko said, trying to compare them mentally.

"More kids though, which is really good for you and Dot to make friends," Yakko said.

"Yep, yep," Wakko feigned enthusiasm.

"Are you okay..?" Yakko asked, causing Wakko to straighten out his act instantly and nod.

"Of course," he said. Yakko frowned.

"You don't have to lie you know," He remarked. Wakko bit his lip.

"M'just a little tired," he shrugged, figuring it was close enough to the truth.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Yakko asked worriedly.

Wakko nodded again. "I'll be fine, I'm probably just hungry."

Yakko laughed a little. "Alright, but you'll tell me if anything is wrong, right?"

"Mhm."

"Good."

The brothers stood in a bored silence for a while, before the rest of their family walked in and the festivities officially began.

It started with the feast, which was pretty harmless, as Wakko enjoyed talking with his family and the food was "quite excellent". The hall was filled with good cheer and hearty laughter, which he could appreciate.

However, after that, things began to blur.

It seemed only moments ago he was eating when suddenly everything was taken away and it turned into social hour. and Dot and their parents disappeared once more. He recalled Yakko asking if it was okay for him to go to Max, to which Wakko nodded and even pushed him away some. Oh god- he hoped that wasn't too aggressive.

Now he was alone. People were talking, walking, dancing, all sorts of activities. Wakko tried to take it all in, but all of the colors and sounds were starting to burn his eyes.

Friends. He was told he had to make friends.

He tried looking around for kids his age, but just turning his head made him dizzy.

Hmph.

Still, he was determined to function as a normal child would so he began weaving through the rapidly shifting crowd as he had earlier, just with a much louder and more busy crowd.

Suddenly his suit was starting to feel a lot more uncomfortable than before. God- if he could just find someone-

He bumped right into a lady in a bright purple dress. He quickly stuttered an apology before scurrying away as fast as he could, not even waiting for a response.

Seriously- was his suit trying to choke him? He pulled on it desperately, but if anything it just made the pull tighter. Wakko growled to himself as he walked further and further away from whoever that lady was, until he hit the wall.

At least the marble was cool, it was starting to feel like it was a million degrees in here.

Still, it wasn't enough. he still felt hot, and stuffy- was he even breathing anymore?

...Yes, yes he was. Rather fast though- oh dear, was that his heart? oh god- what was happening? Why was the music so loud? Why was his collar so tight? When was the last time he blinked? Where were these "kids" Wakko was supposed to make friends with?

Wait- no, he could see those. A group of them- shit, they were looking at him. Wakko noticed his nail was twitching nervously- he grabbed it and forced it to stop, but the kids laughed.

Wakko ran away again, covering his ears, his face turning red and the knot in his stomach transporting itself to his throat.

"No, no, no, no. Please, not now..." He pleaded with himself, but he didn't listen, and tears started to form. Wakko looked desperately for a quick way out, but still couldn't find any- curse the size of this place.

However, as his eyes darted around anxiously, he spotted something- a table covered in a white cloth that went to the ground. Without hesitation, Wakko went to it, making sure no one saw him before crawling underneath.

Wakko stayed there, covering his ears and rocking back and forth awhile, cursing his stupid brain for making these stupid tears that wouldn't end. He also cursed the stupid music for being too loud and the guests for being so many.

He wanted Mom.

He wanted mom to come and find him and scoop him up and take him to the playroom and sit in the rocking chair and rock him to sleep.

However, she didn't come.

No one did.

He was alone, and these tears weren't making him any calmer. Everything still felt so loud- it wasn't this loud before- he loved mom's coronation. Why was his brain so stupid?!

The young prince continued like that for a while, before someone came and lifted the tablecloth. He tried to make a run for it, but the someone grabbed his arm before he could- Wakko turned to look at their face and-

It was Max.

"S-sorry, I probably shouldn't... grab you," He let go, and Wakko scooted back, though he didn't leave. Max saw this as an invitation and joined him under the table.

"A-are- uh... Are you okay?" Max asked. Wakko looked away and shrugged.

"Right... not much of a talker..." Max recalled. Wakko nodded once, though he instantly regretted it, as it made his head feel weird.

Max tapped his fingers on his knee as he tried to figure something out. Wakko avoided any looks the Disney Prince gave him.

"Do you want some water? I can go get you some water," Max offered. Wakko sniffled and thought about it, before nodding once more (and regretting it once more).

with that, he disappeared, though not for too long.

Wakko noticed he stopped crying.

"Here, take this," Max handed him the glass. Wakko accepted the offering, taking a long drink.

Well, that felt at least a little bit better.

He glanced at Max.

"A-aren't you supposed to be with Yakko?" he asked.

"Dot was practically begging Yakko for a dance and I let him, it's her day after all," Max chuckled.

That made sense.

Wakko looked down at the glass, tapping his finger against it and looking at the water ripple.

"Do you need to step out of the party for a sec?" Max asked.

Wakko shrugged, taking a sip.

"Here- I'll help you find an exit," Max said, getting up and holding the cloth open for Wakko.

He hesitated.

He didn't deserve this- such kindness from the guy he locked in the tower mere weeks ago- it didn't make sense.

Then again, he'd give anything to get out of here.

Wakko listening to his senses and got out.

Carefully he followed Max through the gigantic room until they eventually reached a door, through which both of them slipped out of and into a calm and dark hallway.

Instantly, Wakko felt calmed, taking a deep breath.

"Wanna sit down?" Max asked, gesturing to the couches nearby. Wakko nodded. However, instead of sitting on the couch, he chose to lay on the cool floor, even taking off his gloves so he could feel the marble with his fingers.

Max didn't say anything for a while, not seeming to mind the silence. Which was good- because Wakko didn't feel like breaking it.

After a while though, a thought nagged at his brain.

Why.

Why on earth would Max help him? After everything he did? After everything he jeopardized? It didn't make sense.

Wakko sat up. Max looked at him but didn't say anything.

Wakko sighed.

"Why-?" He paused.

"Why... are you being so nice to me?"

"You were in trouble, I couldn't ignore that," Max shrugged. Wakko frowned, putting his gloves back on.

"I-i... Aren't you mad? At least a little?" He asked.

"It wasn't my first time being locked in a room for hours on end," Max snorted.

"Y-yeah, but I tried to hurt you. And Yakko..." Wakko looked at the ground. "I know how much you mean to him."

Max blinked.

"I- uh... well-" Max struggled with his words a moment.

"I don't... blame you, I guess. It's as new to you as it is to me and with a past and family tree like yours, I guess I don't blame you for lashing out? I dunno," Max shrugged, looking away.

Huh...

"Still... you didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to. Trust me, I would've helped any kid I found under there, but I'm glad it was you," Max said.

Wakko looked at him, deciding whether or not he believed that. Ultimately, he did.

"You know... Yakko talks a lot about you," Max said, piquing Wakko's interest.

"He worries a lot, but he says you're a really sweet kid, and I believe that," Max smiled a little. "You should be easier on yourself, you're still growing up you know?"

Wakko thought about that.

"I guess," He said. Max snorted.

"You know... you do seem like a pretty cool kid. I'm sorry if you ever felt I was ignoring you, I promise I'll try to make up for it too," He said.

Wakko thought about that too.

"Thanks," He said.

"I really do hope we can grow to like each other. Yakko means a lot to me and you mean a lot to him... you know?" Max blushed a little, scratching the back of his neck.

Wakko nodded, grinning a little.

"So... are we... cool?" Max asked.

Wakko thought about that as well.

"Yeah, we're cool," He said with his signature smile.

"Cool," Max grinned back. "Because I'm pretty sure Yakko might lose it if his dance with Dot ended and he can't find me."

Wakko laughed.

"Will you be alright?" Max asked, standing. Wakko nodded, getting up as well.

"I'm feeling a lot better... though I think I'll look for mum and dad," He said.

"Fair enough," Max nodded once. "Well- uh... see you around, I guess."

"See you around," Wakko laughed at his awkwardness before going back through the doors and back to the party.

Max followed soon thereafter, hoping Yakko wouldn't be too mad or worried at him for his sudden disappearance.

.o0o.

Yakko couldn't believe that a year ago today he thought his parents were dead. It baffled him honestly- he could turn his head and his parents were right there. They were never really dead- it shocked him to remember sometimes.

He also couldn't believe that only a year ago the most celebration they could share for Dot's birthday was a mini cake they had to sneak late at night.

And now look where he was- dancing in the middle of the ballroom with his little sister having the time of his life- despite the fact Dot couldn't stop giggling and he almost dropped her that one time.

However, he had to draw the line after three songs, which Dot understood, and he gave her back to their parents, hoping Max wouldn't be too mad about Dot taking up so much of his time.

"Ah, Max, there you are- sorry for dancing so long, I have a hard time saying no to her," Yakko laughed between pants, scratching the back of his neck.

"You just got done?" Max teased.

"Yeah, she really liked dancing," Yakko shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You look like you could use a breather," Max raised an eyebrow at him.

"Who, me? Whatever would give that idea?" He played back, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"C'mon- let's go to the balcony," Max said, taking his hand.

When they got to the door Yakko paused as he looked back at his family, unsure. However, his parents looked at him, and after giving a fair look of warning, they both gave him a thumbs up and nod of approval, and Yakko went off with his prince.

However, they didn't pick a random one, they went all the way through the halls to the usual one they'd go to when Max visited Warnerstock (the kid had a thing for balconies).

"Ahh, fresh air," Yakko embraced the cool night.

"Yep," Max embraced it too, immediately going and leaning on the rails.

"Are you liking the party?" Yakko asked.

"It's pretty good- though a little crowded, but I always know how to find some space," Max answered.

"I feel that- when my birthday rolls around, I'll make it a lot less crowded. I don't know what Dot had against having it outside, but what are you gonna do?" Yakko shrugged.

"I think Wakko would appreciate a smaller shindig," Max said, looking at the garden.

"What makes you say that?" Yakko decided to take his place next to Max also leaning against the railing.

"Ran into him- he wasn't having the best time so I helped ground him again," Max said like it was no big deal.

It was.

"Grounded him? You- managed to calm him down? Is he okay? What happened?" Yakko asked quickly.

"Woah, woah, it's okay. He's totally fine, just... overwhelmed." Max said.

"Oh... well... I'm glad he's okay," Yakko took a deep breath. "And I'm even more glad you were able to help him- that's huge... really."

He looked at him when he said that last part. Max blushed.

"I would've helped anyone, seriously," He looked away.

"Mhm, sure," Yakko teased.

"I am serious though- it probably means a lot to Wakko- he doesn't accept help easily and to allow you... it means he's starting to like you," Yakko said in all seriousness.

"That's good," Max nodded. "I really do want your family to like me- I just... don't have the best ways of showing it, I suppose."

"Hey, you're doing great so far," Yakko held his hand.

There was a moment before Yakko realized what he was doing and both boys broke the gesture.

"Haha... yeahhhh," Max looked at the wall away from Yakko.

There was a stretch of silence between the two, neither knowing what to do. Sure they knew what they wanted but... things are never as easy as just doing what you want.

"My dad and uncles like you too- if you care about that," Max decided to say.

"That's good," Yakko smiled a little, rubbing his thumb on the railing.

Another pause.

"You know- It's funny to me how when we met you thought I might too cool for you," Max remarked.

"When did I ever say that?" Yakko said.

"You called me cool at least fifty times upon first meeting me," Max play punched his arm.

"As I recall, you called me cool, so who's the real cool one here?" Yakko punched him back and the princes laughed.

"Alright, alright, you got me," Max chuckled. "I was just trying to say you were totally wrong, I don't have a cool bone in my body."

"God- you're so cool you don't even know how cool you are. Typical," Yakko sighed teasingly.

"Hey, didn't I just say you're pretty cool too?" Max accused playfully.

"Oh please, you're way cooler. No trauma and with fluffy, luxurious hair like that? Please," Yakko rolled his eyes.

"Oh puh-lease yourself. Trauma is just a cool backstory and you're home is a lot more fun and a lot less crowded and your family is a lot more cool too," Max pointed his finger at Yakko.

"You're exaggerating," Yakko pointed back.

"Nope- not at all. You're one of my first true friends and that automatically makes you very cool," Max crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah? W-well-" Yakko paused, looking at Max carefully.

A pause.

Max's dark brown eyes shined back at Yakko, reflecting the stars that surrounded them wonderfully. His fluffy and luxurious hair framed his face with perfect ease. His signature smile slowly turned into that of curiosity.

Yakko felt his heart flutter.

"I'm not as cool as you think," Yakko stepped down, looking at the ground.

Coward.

Another pause.

"..."

"Well maybe you are right- maybe I am cooler than you."

"Wha-?"

Before Yakko could finish the sentence, Max grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a kiss.

"S-see?" Max was internally "fjdkaf;sfj"-ing in his brain. "You've won- I'm a lot cooler."

"Y-yeah," Yakko could barely speak his face was as red as Wakko's hat. "You're... yeah," his face melted into a goofy grin.

"Oh god- I'm sorry- d-did you not mean that..?" Max panicked, quickly becoming embarrassed.

"N-no!" Yakko snapped to life. "I-i... I- uh..."

"I liked it," He managed to say. Max smiled.

"W-... Wanna do it again?" Yakko proposed, and Max nodded, and they shared another kiss.

Yakko knew it was corny to think, but it truly felt just like fireworks in his chest.

He liked Max- Max liked him. A part of himself was realized- and he felt alive. A good kind of alive- not the kind of alive that came from life or death situations.

"So... I guess that makes us even," Max joked. Yakko laughed.

"I guess so," He couldn't get himself to stop smiling- neither could Max. They looked at each other before bursting into laughter again.

"Man, we really should return to the party," Max said.

"Yeah, you're right," Yakko's face was starting to hurt from the smiling.

"Do- uh... do you think your parents will be cool... orrrr...?" Max asked.

"Psh, I'm sure they'll be fine," He said without hesitation.

"Cool," Max said, opening the door out of the balcony.

Yakko looked at him for a moment, trying to absorb the moment as best he could.

"You okay?" Max asked.

"Yep," Yakko said, taking a deep breath as he implanted it in his memory in his brain forever.

"C'mon, let's go before they think we've done something stupid," Yakko said, quickly joining Max and grabbing his hand before running back to join his family.

however, right before entering the party room once more, Yakko paused.

"Does this mean our friendship is basically ruined?" He asked.

Max thought about it.

"I wouldn't think of it as a ruining per se... maybe think of it as an upgrade of sorts," Max winked.

God, he was so much cooler.

"Cool," Yakko grinned, squeezing Max's hand.

"Well... uh- shall we?" Max let go and offered Yakko his arm.

Yakko thought about it.

Taking it would mean no taking it back- it would mean the whole party would basically know that they kissed (holy shit- they kissed! that was a thing that happened!). His parents, his siblings, practically the whole kingdom, and their allies.

Yakko couldn't imagine any other way to walk back in.

He took his arm.

"We shall."

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 The End

[mingying]

[spoilers] hosplay season 2 ep3 - ikjun/songhwa

I am on cloud nine. 

When I posted my theories about ep 1 two weeks ago, never would I have expected such a huge development to happen 2 episodes after! This episode is what I will describe as Songhwa’s preliminary realisation, and the catalyst for this is told through the perspectives of two people in this episode. 

TL;DR: This is a sign that Ikjun and Songhwa are now positively moving in the direction of endgame!!!

cr: _fever_pitch @ twitter 

This scene made me smile so hard! While Songhwa may have asked Ikjun for dinner because she wanted to ask him about DLL, the fact that she initiated it by literally using Ikjun’s iconic “let’s eat” line, speaks a lot. I love the way Ikjun’s face lighted up in an instant when he realised it’s Songhwa.

What I realised also is that he even invited Junwan to eat with them in the cafeteria - maybe he didn’t want to burden Songhwa since they would be alone? Or maybe he was just trying to protect his own heart, we cannot be too sure but definitely, Ikjun-ah, best boi you, best boi. 

The next scene that comes is definitely one scene that highlights their dynamics as work partners. Other than the fact that Ikjun knew Songhwa was worried over something and asked her to just speak up just by looking at her stirring her food, it seems that Ikjun/Songhwa approach things in a somewhat similar wavelength.

Ikjun points out at once that “we can help them”, to which Songhwa confirms saying that she already told them they could. 

When Ikjun says that it doesn’t matter if the patients do it in a different hospital in Seoul because DLL can still provide financial support - Songhwa replies “I told them that”. 

And when Songhwa said DLL will contact Yulje, because the other university hospitals aren’t willing to take the case, Ikjun agreed and said “good”.

Ugh, I absolutely love their rapport here. It shows understanding and compatibility between two friends who clearly share the same opinions about certain things and I love that they’re working together for DLL.

Ms Songhwa saying this line just shows that she values and trusts Ikjun’s judgement. Just as how she whole heartedly believed him when he told her that a “Villain” is someone who works hard to pay bills (BUAHAHA I can’t wait for her to realise the truth and strangle Ikjun).

Ma’am, why do you look like him as he is leaving like he is your entire world?

Coughs. Moving on!

Heo Seonbin~~ Just like how long have you observed your Professor and her best friend that you’re able to form this sort of conclusion that he always makes her laugh and that he will ‘totally’ do it for her if she asks?

Of course, this whole fake dating thing didn’t materialise because Songhwa isn’t the type to go for that - plus she respects Ikjun’s feelings, I’m sure, so she wouldn’t want to put him in that sort of confusing situation after knowing how he feels for her. 

But I have a strong feeling that this scene is strategically placed for a reason and that is to nudge Songhwa towards the realisation that other people are seeing something special between them despite her insistence many times that they’re just friends. And who is the best to tell her that other than Seonbin, who is practically the closest friend that she has at this point that isn’t part of her gang.

In the previous episode, I posted a theory from a kfan that Ikjun was the one who asked for Seokmin’s favour to scrub in the Violinist’s surgery to ease Songhwa’s burden, and that the strawberry cake Seonbin brought for Songhwa towards the end of the ep, was actually bought by Ikjun. This theory remains as a theory until proven otherwise but I live for the fact that SilverDragon may be the ones playing cupid for their Professor this season. I mean, Songhwa did play cupid for them in S1, right?

Kekeke, now, onto my favourite scene of the episode. Kyuhyung’s cameo as Gyeongjin’s brother! I still cannot believe we got this scene handed to us on a silver platter but dude, it’s a complete parallel to IkSong and I absolutely LIVE for Songhwa’s expressions during Hanyang’s (I’ll just call him that) story telling.

Songhwa drank her coffee twice - girlie probably felt so called out that she was flustered and had to busy her hands with something. That’s human tendency, anyway. And we know from EP 1 that her rejection didn’t address Ikjun’s confession in its entirety. So for Hanyang to say “my answer didn’t make sense,” could very well be what Songhwa had in the back of her mind after her rejection, or what she will now realise moving forward.

“As a man and a woman, not just friends.”

A foreshadow, I hope? Because I am betting that this entire scene will play out in Songhwa’s mind over and over again. He is the catalyst she needs at this point of time to realise that the risk is worth taking.

The best line ever. It’s so simple yet so profound. So realistic, too. Because we know exactly who it is that is capable of making Songhwa feel happy. It’s the one person that always makes her laugh. And what more do you need, honestly?

What struck me, as I’ve mentioned on Twitter, is that the scene could have just ended after Hanyang said this line - that being with his gf makes him happy/great. But instead, we got a follow up question from him in that he quite literally ASKED her straight up, if she had someone like that in her life too.

And...guess who showed up at that very moment? Casually, without any hint of jealousy or envy but just decided to stick a straw into his nose?

cr: milly_v_v @ twitter

And made her laugh...without fail again?

I’m not crying, I swear.

My mind is officially at ease, because it seems that IkSong is definitely now headed towards the right direction. ShinLee really wasn’t joking when he put triple Rainbows during the drive in the tunnel. Triple Rainbow...for three episodes? Kekeke.

I’m thinking that Songhwa may still need one or two more eps to sort out her feelings, but by Ep 6 I’m guessing she will finally take the first step towards a relationship with Ikjun. But hey, I’m always prepared to be surprised in the best ways possible (like this entire scene in Ep3) by ShinLee.

[official-weasley]

Godparents - (The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley AU)

Warnings: absolutely nothing

Word count: 3,076

Characters: Charlie Weasley and my OC Nova from TICW which you can find here

Charlie

“Okay, Dee-Dee, remember, we have to triple the ingredients today because a lot of people are coming.” My brother warned my firstborn.

“I know, uncle Georgie.” Aoede glared at him.

“Okay, can I trust you with the measurements while I talk to your dad?”

“Of course. I know how to make cookies.” Aoede turned to look for the flour the second George walked to me.

“Do you remember when I was uncle Geogie?” George sighs. “She is growing up so fast!”

“And so is her attitude.” I chuckled. “What, that?” George shrugged his shoulders, looking at his niece. “She just takes making cookies very seriously.”

“I know and I know you miss her calling you Geogie, but she is five and a half now and a lot of names suddenly changed when she learned how to say R.” I laughed, reminiscing when Tiger's name went from Tigel to Tigerrrr.

“Yeah, I mean Luna Dora said her first word a few days ago so perhaps I have a chance to be Geogie again.” George's eyes shone.

“Don't remind me.” I groaned. “And since she is giving everyone nicknames already you will probably get one soon enough.”

“Are you still grumpy about her first words?” George laughed out loud.

“No!”

“Yes, you are, Charlie! I can't believe it.” George couldn't stop laughing.

Luna Dora said her first word last week and as much as I was proud of it that much I couldn't help that her first word would be something else.

I was luckier with her than with Aoede and I didn't miss any firsts with her. I was changing her diaper when she smiled for the first time and I was there when Nova put her down on the sofa and she sat by herself. Nova was the one who missed the first crawl this time and we both got to see Luna Dora rollover. She is already walking if someone is holding both of her hands and I am planning to be there for the moment of her walking for the first time too. That was the only first I got to experience with Aoede and I promised myself that I am not missing anything else.

I still remember when Aoede said her first word. We were having breakfast and Nova was feeding her some apple sauce and for some reason every time we started talking, Aoede started to laugh and we couldn't help but join her and because Nova forgot for a split second to feed her, Aoede kindly reminded her that she is still hungry and said ma-ma.

As much as I was overwhelmed by her saying her first word, I was a bit down that she didn't call me first. Of course, I was expecting it – Nova being at home with her while I was working – it was only reasonable and the first word usually ends up being mama so I didn't stay down for long.

Nova said that since we are planning to have 2 more kids I have 2 more chances to be called first so that cheered me up a bit.

Aoede was about a year and 3 months old when she started saying her first words so it came as a surprise to the both of us when Luna Dora started showing signs of speaking with mumbling a few weeks ago – meaning before her first birthday which is today – so since I was around more I got my hopes up.

I had to fight the urge to tell Luna Dora to say the word dad or dada since Nova and I said even before we had Aoede that we will never press or push them to do anything, so we waited patiently for what she will say to us.

Luna Dora first surprised us when she was born and she came out with blue hair. The next thing was how fast her magic started to show by the baby powder and Aoede's toys flying around when we were changing her. Somehow, though, we haven't learned that she is full of surprises so when we were watching the telly and she started to make bubbles nobody expected her to say her first word let alone for it to be her sister's name.

First, she mumbled something, so we turned the volume down to encourage her to speak by talking to her. Nova was bouncing her on her legs, making Luna Dora laugh while she was watching her sister play with glitter and her unicorn plushie. I invited Aoede to join our little laughing party and as I called her name, Luna Dora started laughing uncontrollably and because Nova found it funny, she kept repeating the name of our firstborn.

Aoede was almost as confused as I was about what was going on but since Luna Dora's giggles filled the whole lower floor of the house, we started laughing as well. Aoede started repeating her name and in the midst of us having the best time as a family, Luna Dora spoke for the first time, calling her sister Dee-Dee.

The second the name came out of her mouth we all stopped and looked at the blue-haired girl who kept repeating the name and extended her arms to Aoede to hold her.

The second Nova noticed she had her mouth open and closed it, she glanced at me to see my reaction. I was as shocked as much as she was since we didn't think Luna Dora would actually say anything.

Without asking me how I feel about her first words, Nova said that perhaps she meant to say dada or that that is her version of it but Aoede was quick to point out that Luna Dora was saying the word while trying to get Aoede to hold her.

Aoede needed a minute to compose herself and realize what just happened, before clearing her throat and picking her little sister up, and taking her to her toys. The more Aoede talked to her, the more Luna Dora started to repeat her name and the whole situation was so cute that I completely forgot about my wish to be Luna Dora's first word.

That night, when the giggles stopped and we put our daughters to sleep, we knew that Aoede officially got herself a nickname. Nova was so excited about it that she sent letters to the entire family the next morning, and now, even though not even a week later, nobody is using Aoede's full name and she is doing nothing but being very proud about it.

“I am not grumpy about it.” I scoffed.

“Whatever, it's sweet that Luna Dora said Aoede's name first, admit it,” George said with a smug face.

“It's adorable but the wish is still there. You'll see when you'll be a dad.” I tried defending myself.

“I don't know if that is happening for me, Charlie.” George sighed.

“Oh, don't be so pessimistic. You still have time.” I tapped his back. “What happened between you and Angelina, didn't you say that your date went well?”

“It did. But she went to the Yule Ball with Fred and they went on a few dates so it's a bit weird that I'm dating her now.” George avoided looking me in the eyes.

“Yeah, but they weren't that serious, were they?”

“Not really but it's still strange.” George looked at me with pleading eyes as if waiting for my advice.

“Listen, you came to the wrong older brother for relationship advice.” I felt the heat on my cheeks.

“But you're married and have 2 kids. That's pretty successful if you ask me.” George wiggled his eyebrows.

“Yeah, well, I married my best friend. I was lucky. Besides the drama with McNully, I don't even know what heartbreak feels like.”

“You're right. You are kind of useless in that department.” George chuckled.

“In what department?” We both turned around when we heard Bill behind us.

“Uncle George!” Aoede called from the kitchen.

“Well, duty calls. Hi, Bill.” George waved at his eldest brother and walked to the kitchen.

“What department?” Bill asked again as he sat down next to me at the kitchen table.

“I think you need to talk to George about girls.” I sniggered.

“At this age?” Bill raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“He thinks he shouldn't date Angelina because of Fred.”

“Oh, that. What do you think about it?” Bill was curious.

“He clearly likes her a lot so why not. Fred and Angie weren't that serious anyway.” I shrugged.

“True.” Bill narrowed his eyes thinking. “I'll talk to him later.”

“Thanks and welcome to the birthday party by the way.” I chuckled, pointing to the living room where Nova was sitting on the floor with Luna Dora in her lap, conversing with Fleur who was holding Victoire.

“Thank you! Nova said to put Luna Dora's gift into the guest room.” Bill grinned.

“You didn't have to get her anything. She's one.”

“Hey, we bring toys to Aoede all the time, we are not planning to only pamper her.” Bill winked.

“You didn't buy her glitter did you?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “The bottle you got Aoede for her 5th birthday is still sprinkled everywhere around the house.”

“Are you expecting me to apologize? “ Bill tried hard not to laugh.

“I woke up the other day with Nova laughing at my face and she didn't want to tell me what was going on so it wasn't until I looked at myself in the mirror when I was washing my teeth that I saw that I had a few glitter pieces in the middle of my forehead. I have no idea how it got there – it's just everywhere!” I slammed my hand against my forehead.

“Yeah, glitter does do that.” Bill let out a silent laugh knowing full well I would glare at him if he dared to laugh more.

“Just wait until Victoire turns 5 and I'll get my revenge!”

“Don't you even dare!”

“Oh, you'll see,” I smirked. “And if you didn't get Luna Dora glitter I thank you for whatever you got for her.” I put my arm around his shoulder.

“You're welcome.” Bill smiled and turned to where George and Aoede were making cookies.

“Are they making a cookie cake?” Bill giggled.

“Nah, Olivia made the cake, and mum brought all sorts of things so they are just sticking to good old cookies.”

“Are any of the lot coming?” Bill asked.

“Penny and Tulip?”

“Yeah?”

“We thought about inviting them at first, but it's Luna's first birthday and she won't even remember it and they were here for Aoede's birthday party.”

“Yeah, true.” Bill scratched his nose. “Listen, speaking of kids. Fleur and I want to talk to you and Nova about something.”

“Did you grow tired of Victoire already and want to give her to us?” I joked.

“No! She is the best thing that ever happened to us,” Bill said with scarlet cheeks.

“I was teasing you, Bill. I know you are just as manly about being a dad as I was when Aoede was born.”

“Right.” He chuckled nervously.

“So you were saying?” I encouraged him to speak further.

“We want to talk...”

“Daddy! Come and look at my cookies!” Aoede shouted from the kitchen, interrupting Bill.

“Char, could you get Luna Dora ready for her birthday party and I'll go with Aoede to change her clothes?” Nova asked from the living room.

“Dad duty calls.” I grinned at my brother. “Can we talk about this after the party?”

“Sure. Yeah, even better.” Bill nodded and we both got up.

I hurried to the kitchen for Aoede to show me her cookies before George put them in the oven and then brought her to Nova who gave me Luna Dora so we could get our girls ready for the celebration.

—

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Luna, happy birthday to you.”

Mum, dad, Olivia, and George were sitting on the sofa, Bill and Fleur were on the floor with Victoire, I was holding Aoede who was eating a cookie and Nova held Luna Dora while we were singing to her.

We all knew that she had no idea what was going on but she was giggling constantly and that makes the birthday party good enough of a success for us.

Aoede and I helped blew the candles and Nova helped her mum cut the cake. Despite being very excited to blow the candles for the second time this year, Aoede declined the cake and asked George to accompany her to the kitchen to get a cookie.

Both Luna Dora and Victoire fell asleep soon after. Aoede wanted to show George her glitter collection because for some reason he was the only one of her uncles who didn't see it yet and my mum and dad decided to take a walk.

“Now that we're alone, do you think we could have that talk?” Bill whispered to me, as we were both observing Aoede making glitter fly everywhere. “Sure.” I nodded and turned to him and Fleur.

Nova sat down next to me just in time to join the conversation and Bill cleared his throat as I wrapped my arms around my wife.

“Why are you zo nervous, William?” Fleur chuckled when Bill scratched his nose for the third time.

“I am not!” Bill lifted his chin in defense.

“Should I ask zem?” Fleur raised her eyebrows.

“What is this about?” Nova whispered to me.

“I have no idea. I just know they want to ask us something.”

“Nova, Charlie, we want you to be Victoire's godparents,” Fleur said casually.

“That's what you were nervous for?” I raised my eyebrows at Bill.

“Well, I didn't know how you'd react given that you asked us first and we're Aoede godparents,” Bill mumbled.

“What do you mean how we would react? We would love to!” Nova exclaimed.

“So you don't mind zat we are godparents to each other's children? I mean, you're godparents to Teddy, and Penny and Andre's son Max. We don't want to ask too much of you.” Fleur pressed her lips together.

“I don't mind at all. Soon, I'll have my own little army.” Nova giggled.

“At this point, it does seem as if we're trying to have our own little kindergarten.” I joked.

“Army, Char. Army. We strike at dawn.” Nova laughed mischievously.

“So, is that a yes?”Bill asked as he stopped laughing at how silly Nova was. “Of course, it is!” Nova and I said together.

“We would be honored and truth be told, we kind of expected it.” I sniggered. “You did?” Fleur asked.

“Yeah, we see each other often and Victoire adores us,” I explained.

“We knew it was going to be you before she was even born,” Bill admitted.

“As I said. We will take the role gladly.” I smiled at both of them and pulled them both into a hug.

“That reminds me. Did you pick Luna Dora's godparents?” Bill asked. “We did, we just didn't ask yet,” Nova answered.

“Right. We forgot about that!” I gasped.

“Hey, George!” I called his name.

“Busy right now, Charlie.” George who was sitting as still as possible because Aoede was drawing on his arm slightly turned his head to us.

“It's okay. No need to move. We were just wondering if you'd be Luna Dora's godfather?” Nova asked gently.

“What?” I had to hand it to George for not moving even the slightest at the question.

We have been debating who to choose for Luna's guardians for months. We ended up deciding between Ron and George because it seemed that Luna Dora liked them the most when we went to visit or when they were here.

In the end, Nova came to the final decision saying that George adores Aoede so much and she loves spending time with him and there is no doubt in her mind that Luna wouldn't feel the same way and I had to agree with her that even though Ron would have loved the title, with everything that George went through and how much he loves to come and visit us, it would mean more to him.

See him shake from excitement but not move at the same time not to disturb our firstborn at her work, only proved to us more that we made the right decision and we're planning to have another child anyway, perhaps Ron will get his turn.

“I-I don't know what to say.” George tried looking at us despite facing in the other direction.

“You don't have to if you don't want to,” Nova said gently.

“Oh, no! I would love to. In my head, I am already calling myself godfather.” George sniggered. “It's just...I didn't expect this at all. Why choose me?”

“I thought that was obvious. The girls love you and you love spending time with them both.” I explained our decision.

“I do. They are the best!” He moved slightly as he tried to smile at us, receiving a glare from Aoede.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Did I ruin anything?” George apologized.

“No, I know how to fix it. Dad moves all the time.” Aoede sighed and frowned in concentration as she got back to work.

—

“Thank you for this.” George pulled me in the tightest embrace I have ever gotten from him as he was saying goodbye the next day.

“George, we told you that you're a perfect fit. You're great with kids.” I hugged him back.

“No, Charlie, I am serious. You have no idea how much this means to me.” He swallowed thickly as he finished speaking and as I pulled away I saw his eyes were filled with tears.

“I know, George. That's one of the reasons we chose you.” I whispered to him and pulled him in for another hug and smiled.

After a year and a half after the battle, George was doing much better and I knew he was going to be excited about being a godparent but seeing it mean so much to him simply warmed my heart, and any time that I could make one of my brothers excited and smile as George did right now, I felt as if I accomplished something great and there was nothing better besides having my own family than to make the ones back at home happy too.

[blush-and-books]

Juke 48 fluff please...

Prompt #48: “I told you to take care of yourself.”

Ksjahdsf High School AU inspired by the fact that my generation has been so crushed by the pressures of our education system that we would always show up to school with colds and strep and literally anything because we refused to miss school. Double inspired by the morning I threw up at 3AM and had a cold but literally went downstairs and monologued to my mom that I had to go to school bc I had two quizzes that would have been hell to make up and I would have had major anxiety if I missed anything. And she let me go. Triple inspired by the fact that pre-COVID I would get sick routinely 4 times across Oct, Nov and Dec because my peers would also show up sick. So, yeah. Here’s to the american education system 

Luke knows that something is off with his best friend when she finally approaches her locker that Wednesday morning, where he had been anxiously bouncing on the balls of his feet waiting for her.

Where she is usually like sunshine to him, glowing brighter than the California sunrise -- a lyric in the song he was planning to show her, but would never admit was inspired by her as well -- she arrives with the pale glow of the moon instead. Julie’s eyes are half-open, and her usually bouncy curls have been pulled back and up unto a messy bun. 

He hasn’t seen her like this since-

“Jules,” he mumbles, half to himself and half to her when she finally looks up and notices him. Instantaneously, he takes an energetic step towards her, letting his hands rest on her upper arms. “Are you sick? Again?”

As if she doesn’t want to hear it, not again, her bottom lip juts out in a pout that is only seen on a miserable Julie Molina before she brushes past him to her locker. Deeply concerned, Luke trails after her. 

“Julie, hey,” he attempts, but she won’t look up at him. There’s a shame in her face while she gets her calculus textbook from her locker, and it’s then that Luke notices the thermos she’s clutching in her left hand. “Let me take this stuff. Drink your tea. Don’t try and talk, I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

She shakes her head, it’s not his fault, she’s the idiot showing up to school sick, but she couldn’t miss today. She just couldn’t. 

Without putting up a fight, she lets him take her backpack and textbook from her possession while she unscrews the lid of her thermos and chugs two big gulps of tea. Temporary relief is brought to her throat, but it doesn’t last long. 

“I-” She attempts, but Luke shoots her a glare and wags a finger at her. Ignoring him, she powers on. “I have a calc test and a history quiz and an English debate.”

“You can make those up.” “But do I want to? Do I want to miss a whole day of notes and work and assignments because I have a runny nose?”

(And a sore throat, obviously. And a headache. She also woke up right before her alarm to throw up, but she hasn’t felt the urge to do that again since. You get the picture though.)

“Jules, I mean this in the best way possible, but you look like there’s a lot more than a runny nose happening here. A runny nose was two weeks ago. This looks like your whole body aches.”

(Fair assessment. It does.)

She lifts her thermos to her lips once again to soothe the throbbing that resulted from her excuses, feeling her stomach twirl in a way that she can’t tell is another bout of nausea or just Luke making her painfully fall more in love with him. 

He, on the other hand, is one step away from hauling her over his shoulder and driving her home himself. He doesn’t know what to do. Julie’s stressed, and the stress has made her vulnerable to colds for the past couple of months, and this is the third time he’s seen her sick. No matter what, she shows up to school -- freshman year, she stayed home sick with the stomach flu, and had a panic attack in the bathroom on the day that she came back. 

He knows because he was in her music class that year. Her best friend, Flynn, had rushed into the music room to explain to their teacher, and he’ll never forget it. 

Coincidentally, it was two months ago, with Julie’s first ceremonious cold of the year, that Luke officially realized that he was in love with her. It was the feeling of seeing her uncomfortable, powering through because she felt like she had to -- he was so proud, yet so worried, and wanted to bring her home so they could watch Tangled and he could make her the matzo ball soup recipe that Alex taught him when they were kids. 

“I know,” she croaks at him, face crumbling. “It does. I feel like shit. But I just have to get through today, and I’ll be fine.”

(After spending six hours at school, another two on homework, pedaling through five bottles of Gatorade and getting four hours of sleep because her throat and sinuses prevent her from any adequate rest. Yeah. She’ll be fine.) ((She’ll still come to school tomorrow.))

Luke knows all of this. In his head, he’s drafting the text to his parents that he’ll type out in his lap during first period to tell them that he’s going to be at the Molina’s for the next couple of days, taking care of Julie. They do have a band to worry about, after all, and their lead singer needs to be in top shape. 

Just looking at her tired face makes his chest hurt. She looks like she hasn’t smiled in a long time. Wanting to comfort her, somehow, he reaches his hands up to cradle her cheeks -- but she swats him away. 

“Luke, no. I’m not getting you sick.”

Fighting her flailing hands, he manages to slip his own to her cheeks, making sure that the fingers that are wandering into her hair rub her scalp. That’s always a calming, relieving feeling. 

“Impossible, mariposa. My immune system is Herculean.”

She looks up at him, fully, for the first time that morning. He can’t help but grin at getting to see her face, no matter how tired she thinks she looks, and even though she thinks he is full of shit she can’t help but mirror his expression. 

“There’s my girl,” he whispers unconsciously. Her skin warms underneath his hands. “Are you alright? Do you have a fever? You’re getting a little toasty.”

Her skin temperature rises from her blush even higher as his hands slip from her hair and to her forehead, pathetically testing for a fever. 

“I’m good,” she shakes her head, trying to brush it off. His eyes refocus on her, and he sighs; the air staying silent between them as she tries to decipher what he’s thinking. 

“You need to take better care of yourself,” he insists. “I told you to take care of yourself. Can’t have my frontwoman blowing her nose in between each song at a gig.”

“I’m your frontwoman now? Fuck Julie and the Phantoms, I guess.”

Luke smirks, and for a heavenly moment forgets that the precious girl in front of him isn’t in pain, but she stiffles a cough after her joke. Frowning, he drops his hands to grab hers so that he can hold them up between their chests. 

“You’re my everything, silly. Frontwoman, best friend, study partner, favorite person-”

“-Walking petri dish.”

“Yes. My walking petri dish.”

The joke lightens Julie up. Maybe today, if her and Luke can keep making jokes, she will get through. She can’t think of anything else to say as his lips press against her forehead in a gesture so caring that she would grab his face and move those lips down a few inches if she weren’t, you know, a walking petri dish. 

Before either of them can say anything else, the school bell rings. It’s time for her miserable day to start. Just the idea of sitting still in her math class makes her shiver, and she wraps her arms around herself. 

“Are you cold?” Luke jumps to ask, moving closer to her as the halls start moving with crowds of other students. 

“Luke, I’m fine-”

“My locker is right by your math class. I have a flannel in there. You’re wearing it today.”

“Luke-”

“No arguments. I was walking you to class anyways. I’m walking you to every class, actually. Your backpack weighs more than you do and that’s the last thing you need to feel right now.”

(Not to be creepy, but Julie Molina would marry Luke right now if he asked. Sometimes she wonders if her other best friend, Flynn, is right when she makes jokes about her and Luke being a married couple. If this is marriage, sign her up.)

“Thank you,” she says lightly, trying not to strain her throat. Luke responds with tugging on her left hand, beginning to pull her towards the staircase at the end of the hall. 

“We’ll get you better, Molina. Mark my words.”

Tagging @willexx because you got all impatient on me. love you babe and love you too anon!!

[word-scribbless]

Smile Again Part 8

Okay so a soccer mom tries to get in the way here and things get a little steamy but not crazy! This chapter is a bit of a lead up.

Masterlist | smile again Masterlist

————————-

Y/N and Hotch were jogging through the park that wednesday morning when Y/N puffed out a laugh,

“Come on Hotchner you can go your normal pace, I can keep up.” She joked.

She had woken up bright and early, put on her cutest work out clothes, which took a while to find. She drove to Aaron’s house and they drove together to the closest park, laughing and joking happily as they did. Now they were enjoying their jog together before their hectic days began.

“You said you didn’t like running so I thought-“ he said before Y/N cut him off.

“I said you needed to distract me, not go easy on me.” She laughed

“Fine how’s this for distracting you?” He asked as he stopped and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Mmm, that’ll work just fine.” Y/N said as she pulled away.

“Come on Hotch-shot, keep up.” Y/N said taking off causing Hotch to laugh and start after her.

As they ran Y/N let herself enjoy the way it felt to be so close to Aaron. She loved getting to spend time with him and Jack, he also loved the fact that they were starting to spend time alone as well. She couldn’t deny how attractive he looked in his work out gear. She could see his muscles flex and glisten as he ran next to her. Whenever they stopped to take a break, it took everything she had not to jump him right there. She loved kissing him but she couldn’t deny she wanted more, she had to shake that idea. He hadn’t even asked her on a date yet. She couldn’t risk rushing and ruining what she had with him. She couldn’t let her attraction for him win out over her feelings. She was scared to get too involved and he was doing everything he could to show her that she didn’t need to be scared with him. She had to trust him and knew that waiting would be worth it with him, especially if he could make her feel this way just from jogging next to him.

Meanwhile Aaron was having some pretty similar thoughts about the beautiful woman jogging with him. He was not going to rush her in anyway. He would make due with just holding hands if he had to earn her trust. He felt lucky enough just to get to kiss her. He’d let her set the pace forever as long as she was next to him.

As their run came to an end, they began to slow to a fast paced walk to cool down. They started chatting about Jack and work, anything that came to mind. Just as they reached the car they heard Aaron’s name being called behind them. They turned around to see Margret James jogging up behind them in a little track suit. ‘Oh great’ Y/N thought ‘more flirting’.

“Hey Aaron it’s so nice to see you” Margret said putting her hand on his arm and blocking Y/N out of the conversation with her body.

“Hey Margret how are you?”

“Great now that I’ve seen you.”

“Y/N you remember Liam’s mom?” Aaron said as he moved to her side. She watched as Margret got frustrated and turned toward her reluctantly.

“Yeah I do it’s nice to see you.”

“You too” the other woman said rudely as she turned back to Aaron.

“We should head out, get ready for work. We’ll see you around Margret.” Aaron quickly said as he moved to take Y/N by the hand and pull her away. Y/N but back a smile at the sour face Margret made as Aaron referred to the two of them as ‘we’ again.

“Bye” Y/N smiled as politely as she could muster.

“Mm bye” Margret grumbled.

“Now I get why she doesn’t like me” Y/ N said quietly as they approached.

“What?” Hotch asked stopping in front of the passenger side door.

“She’s into you Aaron.” Y/N scoffed lightly fidgeting with her hair.

“I don’t think so.”

“You’re a profiler and you don’t see she’s interested “ she said laughing. Aaron could hear the amusement she was trying to convey in her voice, but knew her well enough to also see her walls going back up as she thought about the other woman.

“I guess but I’ve been hoping I was wrong.” He admitted.

“Nope she likes you.” Y/N said as she pulled her now loose hair back again.

“Well she’s gonna have to get over it” he smirked and moved closer to her, hands landing on her waist.

“Why?” She said shyly, hands falling half heartedly on his shoulders as he pulled her slightly toward him. He hated seeing her lose confidence again.

“You have to ask?” He ducked to catch her eyes with his.

“I’m sure she’s less complicated than me.” She practically whispered and Aaron’s heart broke.

“Hey don’t do that.”

Y/N looked down and started to shrink into herself the way she did when Aaron had first met her.

“We’ve been doing so good, don’t start telling me you aren’t good enough again. Please Y/N.” He moved his hand to cup her face. She looked up at him with watery eyes.

“Aaron-“ she started

“Y/N no.” He cut her off, voice soft but commanding. He refused to hear her question herself again. “You know how I feel about you, nothing has changed that and nothing will. Not Margret, not anyone. You are good enough! More than good enough and I’ll spend every day proving that to you if that’s what it takes.” He moved closer and cupped her cheeks in both hands. “but please don’t pull away again.” He breathes out and she heard the worry in his voice.

At his sweet words, the tears she was holding back escaped and Aaron quickly wiped them away with his thumbs.

“Hey don’t cry. I-“

She cut him off by capturing his lips with hers. The kiss was sweet, but she poured everything she had into it. And he matched her movements perfectly.

“What was that for?” He panted as they pulled apart.

“To prove I’m not pulling away, as much as my anxiety is screaming to run. I’m not going to, because you’re worth it. You and jack, you’re worth fighting for Aaron.” She smiled up at him.

“Mmm I’ll kiss to that again!“

He said pulling her back for another kiss. This one was more sweet than intense, but still made her heart rate triple.

“You know I think your kiss served two purposes.” He whispered against her lips.

“What?”

“I think she gets the picture now.” He nodded behind her to see Margret scowling at them and stomping away.

“Oh no! That’s gonna be awkward.” Y/N said as she buried her face in his chest.

“Why?” He chuckled

“I mean I’m glad she got the picture , but I’m gonna see her at jacks events. She’s gonna be all weird.” She looked back to Aaron to see him with a goofy smile.

“What?” She asked

“I like how much you wanna be around.” He admitted softly.

“As much as you’ll let me.” She gave him one of those smiles that made his heart swell.

“So always?” He said before kissing her cheek.

“Mhm.” She nodded before reminding him he needed to head to work.

The Friday night after their run together Y/N was cuddled up on the couch with Jack and Aaron again. This time Y/N was curled into Aaron’s side with jack on their laps. Aaron’s thumb rubbed up and down her side, her head rested on his shoulder and sweet Jack was tucked under a blanket sitting part way between Aaron’s and Y/N’s laps leaning back between them. Looking in from the outside a stranger would think they were a family. Y/N couldn’t deny that she loved the feeling of having both her boys curled up with her, she wished she spent every night like this. She shook that idea from her head, the two of them hadn’t even been on an official date yet and she was planning forever.

Little did Y/N know that Aaron was having the same thoughts as he sat watching Moana with the woman he was in love with and his son who loved her just as much. He wanted to make her theirs but knew he had to take it slow, he would never forgive himself if he pushed her away by moving too fast. He was just going to enjoy his time with her as it was for now.

As the movie came to an end Y/N snuggled into Jack and Arron and said

“ohhhh I don’t wanna get up I’m so cozy, why don’t we just see whats on tv for a little bit.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me” Aaron said as he switched over to the tv.

“me too” Jack said snuggling deeper into the adults arms.

they spent the next half hour curled up into each other laughing and being silly while watching tv. when it was time for Jack to go get ready for bed he turned to Y/N before getting up and said

“hey Y/N/N?”

“yeah bud?” she answered, turning to him with a smile

“I’m glad you hang out with us.”

“Me too sweet boy” she said as she placed a kiss to his head.

“Daddy likes that you hang out with us too, he told me so.” He said before climbing off their laps, kissing Y/N good night and running to get his PJs on.

Aaron smiled shyly. he knew his son never meant to be a little match maker, but he always succeeded.

Y/N’s smiled as he got up to go tuck Jack in made the nervous pit in his stomach ease up a bit. He knew they’d talk about what Jack said when he got back, but he had a feeling Y/N already knew how much he enjoyed his time with her.

About 15 minutes later (movie night always made Jack super sleepy and quick to nod off from staying up later than usual) Aaron came back into the room and sat down, wrapping his arm around Y/N’s shoulders.

“sooo, You talk to your son about me?” she said with a teasing smile. She secretly loved the part Jack played in their relationship. He was always so good at bringing up topics she was too chicken to bring up on her own.

“I do.” Aaron said with a smirk as he took her hand. “He told me before I even really knew you that I should ask you on a date” He added.

“Oh yeah?” Y/N said snuggling closer, as Aaron nodded his answer.

“You gonna take his advise?” she dared to ask. She loved how confident and forward she could be with him, and He loved it as well.

“I am” He answered matter of factly.

“When?”

“You call the shots remember?” He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

If it was up to him he would have asked her out weeks ago, but he wanted her to be comfortable. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t turn a date down, however he couldn’t risk it.

“Mhm and I can say no if I want... but I can’t say yes unless you ask.” Y/N said softly as she reached up to stroke his face.

“The saying no part is what I’m afraid of.” He whispered, leaning into her touch.

She hated the nervous look on his face and decided she needed to get rid of it. She leaned in, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips before assuring him.

“I won’t say no Aaron.”

He pulled away smiling.

“In that case, will you go on a date with me tomorrow night? We can still go slow, take things one step at a time but I’d like to take you out just you and me.” He said with a smile as he brought a hand up to cup her face.

“I’d really like that.”

“me too.” He said leaning in to kiss her softly. She decided it was time to kick their kissing up a knotch. She knew he would never take it any further than she led, and while she wasn’t quite read to take him to the bed room, she was certainly ready for some making out on the couch.

He had no objections as she pulled him, ton\unge asked for entry his mouth that he gladly granted. She pushed herself up to straddle his lap, his hands fell to her side and he groaned, which made her smirk against his lips.

“Y/N wait”

“too much?” she asked pulling back.

“ no, no, not at all. but i don’t want to push you.”

“You’re not Aaron. I’ll be upfront, id rather wait to go all the way until after at least a date but i am entirely okay with making out and maybe a little more. If you are that is.”

He nodded, dipping his head down to kiss down her neck.

“Oh i defiantly am” he whispered against her skin.

“one condition.”

“hmm?” he hummed looking back into her eyes.

“i’m not made of glass, i will tell you if i want to slow down. You don’t have to be afraid to touch me or to let things happen how they happen okay?” he nodded “ meant it Aaron, I want you. I want all of this as much as you and while it’s been a long time and i know we’re taking things slow, I can assure you I want all of this with you. So don’t be scared.”

“I think I can agree to those terms, if you promise to stop me if i go too far.”

“I promise, same goes for you.”

Aaron chuckled.

“I’m serious Aaron, I know you want this. But just because your the man it doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want to slow down and take a breath. you’ve been through a lot too.”

He pressed his forehead to hers.

“I promise Y/N.”

“okay then, kiss me again,”

that night they engaged in an awful lot of making out on the couch like teenagers before Y/N went home, insisting she couldn’t stay over because she had to prepare for their date. She couldn’t help but feel flush every time the she thought about how Aaron touched and kissed her. If thats home making out with him made her feel, she couldn’t imagine what actually Sleeping with him would be like. Well she did imagine it, often, but she knew her imagination could probably never compare to the real thing.

@badassbitchqueen @violetclifford @kyleetheeditor @diesinspanishbcimhispanic

[ahkaraii]

tov postgame drabblefic (3343 words)

“Raven?! Hey, Raven!”

Raven turns to smile at the little shrimp—who’s really more a jumbo shrimp now, with all the acne that comes with puberty—and waves. “Heya, Boss-man!"

Karol’s embrace draws a startled ‘oof!’ out of him, his blastia-heart creaking against his ribs. “You’re in town!” Karol exclaims. “And you didn’t say?!”

“I just got here, kiddo,” Raven says, patting Karol’s back—it used to be a pat on his head, but his head’s just about level with Raven’s now. “Damn, you’re getting tall!”

“You should’a said you were coming,” Karol grouses into his neck. “I’ve got a client I’m already late for across town.”

“Aww, that’s awright. I’ve got some time-sensitive stuff to get ta, too. We can join up after! Brave Vesperia’s still at the same place, yeah?”

“West corner across Saggitarius, yup!” Karol beams. “See you for dinner, then?”

“I’ll whip you up a Sashimi,” Raven promises.

“That’s a promise, pops!” Karol says, and dashes off. Raven scratches his messy hair and abruptly feels very self conscious about it. It’s just a casual nickname, old man, he don't mean naught by it. Relax.

After a fast-tracked meeting with Harry results in a tussle — poking gentle fun at the boy’s attempt at a beard earns him a “Your ass is grass, old man!!” and a surprisingly competent sword duel ensues — the young Master is turning into a proper Don, now — Raven subtly lets Harry disarm him and sprawls on the floor, dramatically defeated.

“Ohhh, these old bones!” Raven mimics being out of breath. “You’ve finally bested me, Master Harry. Do with my ass what you will.”

“Ugh! You’re so disgusting!” Harry is actually out of breath, so he still needs a bit more practice, but it’s leagues better than he was just a year ago. “A duel is an honourable exchange between men! Stop desecrating it with your jokes!”

“I don’t joke with my ass,” Raven says in his Serious Voice, enjoying Harry’s startled look before he dons his jester’s grin again. “Anywho, this old man’s got places to be, so! Toodles!”

“Wait! Raven! What the hell did you come here for!” Harry’s baritone is quite impressive when he gets proper angry. “Did you just come here to waste my time!”

“Never intentionally,” Raven promises. He’d dropped Flynn’s wax-sealed letter on Harry’s desk during their fight, and points to it as he nimbly leaps up to his usual open window. “There’s your homework, Master Harry! I’ll come by to collect it tomorrow at dawn, ‘kay?”

He leapfrogs out in time to hear Harry’s yelps of protest. “When did you put that there! God damnit, Raven!”

Raven’s grinning as he parkours his way away from Altosk’s headquarters and towards Brave Vesperia’s. If he sharply detours into Saggitarius tavern to catch up with the ladies (and the latest, juiciest gossip — who knew Heliord’s newest guild ambassador was trafficking drugs and possibly underage escorts? he did, now), then that’s just Raven being Raven, right? Karol’ll understand.

“I almost thought you wouldn’t come,” Karol says faux-lightly, when Raven finally makes it back a few minutes past midnight.

Aww, shit.

“Heeey, I promised, didn’t I? Business just stretched out a little.” Raven dithers at Karol’s knowing stare. “C’mon, you still up for a good ol’ Raven’s Special Sashimi?”

“Fish isn’t really fresh by midnight anymore,” Karol says drolly. “Unless you wanna go fishing at this hour?”

They’d only get sewer trash in Dahngrest’s polluted rivers, and the next best thing’s thirty minutes out, at the very least. “Ehhh—how bout a Beef Bowl?” Raven says. “Surely you got some cured meats in your pantry. C’mon!! I’ll teach you!”

“Aw, okay. I am pretty hungry.” Karol’s so easy to please, it’s both heartwarming and kind of sad. “I’ve tried making it before but I can never get mine to taste like yours did.”

“’S all in the seasoning, kiddo. Here, watch the master and learn!”

It’s well past two when they finally call it a night, bellies full and hearts warm; it’s solely because of this that Karol succeeds in wrestling a promise out of Raven that they’d talk more in the morning. See, Raven’s got orders to pick up Harry’s response to Flynn’s letter and hussle back to the Empire ASAP, but even he doesn’t have to heart to deny Karol this simple thing.

Ever since Brave Vesperia saved the world by ruining it, everyone’s been struggling to adapt to life without blastia and Raven’s somehow found himself smack in the middle between the two remaining powers: the Empire and the Guild Union. Former member of both and trusted by all due to his role in stopping the Adephagos, Raven’s got the privilege of being messenger boy between the leaders in lieu of formal meetings, due to the fact that a lack of blastia has made travel…immensely more time consuming.

He’s worn down all the possible routes between Dahngrest and Zaphias for over a decade; the presence or absence of blastia has not really affected Raven’s efficiency and timeliness, which, naturally, has made him an attractive player for both sides. It just sucks that this means he’s always on the go, never really spending much time in one place or another. The first six months couldn’t be helped, it was imperative that everyone get their shit together and master the essentials necessary in order to provide basic living to their respective citizens: barrier blastia had to be replaced with rotating squads of knights and guildsfolk trained to fight; food previously preserved by blastia now had to be kept refrigerated with imported Zophier ice, dominated by the Empire, which had to be kept from melting with salt from Weasand mines, dominated by Guilds; everyone had to coordinate and organise to secure trade routes and avoid conflict, etc, etc.

The next six months after that were peace talks and negotiations between what was quickly becoming independent kingdoms in separate countries. Sea travel had slowed the fuck down overnight, because blastia-fueled engines had become obsolete and everyone now had to rely on wind power, so every passing day each country was slowly but surely becoming more and more isolated from each other, and therefore gradually but surely more hostile.

Emperor Ioder ruled over the continent of Ilyccia with his aristocracy of nobles and meritocracy of knights, struggling to keep the Empire’s global standing while lacking the technology to enforce it; Tolbyccia was pretty much owned by Altosk, ostensibly headed by Harry, who was presently overrun with infighting due to the fact that the Union was composed of many, many guilds all clamouring for leadership, if not democracy; East Desier was dominated by the strong-spirited Palestralle guild and its current leader, Natz, whose militant-minded navy had quickly expanded toward West Hyponia now that the Union’s presence was months away by treacherous sea; East Hyponia was an oddly peaceful blend of both Guild and Empire, unique in its joint origin and therefore vocally neutral, though that was quickly becoming contested, and, hence, required Raven-the-Pageboy’s timely arrival to avoid it becoming a full out war. Ugh.

The Schwann part of him that still lived felt heavy resignation at the inevitability of violence—the first one to fall would be Raven, he knew, as no messenger could truly remain neutral in a tug of war between such powerful masters—but the more upbeat part of him was like, stop sweating the small stuff and just go with the flow. Shit always resolves itself one way or another, right?

Right?

“You leaving already?” Karol mumbles into his pillow when Raven rises at dawn; kid’s no longer the type to sleep deeply, it seems.

“Just visiting the young Master to collect his response letter for Flynn,” Raven promises quietly. “Go back to sleep, Karol. I’ll be back to make you breakfast before I’m gone.”

Karol eyes him tiredly but he manages a wan smile. “Okay, pops. I trust you.”

Raven feels goosebumps up his arm. Stupid blastia heart runs too damn cold. He heads out at a jog to warm himself up, since Dahngrest runs both chilly and damp at this hour.

Raven no longer sneaks into Altosk’s headquarters like he did when the Don was alive and Harry was a boy; for one, Don is no longer alive to vouch for his slipperiness and for another, Raven represents the Empire here as much as he represents the Guilds in Zaphias, and no one tolerates his antics as they did before, not with the threat of conflict so close to the horizon. He walks in through the front door and waves at all the folks waiting in line—Pecan, Cactus, Lima and good ol’ Walt; all familiar faces turning sour, as usual—and knocks politely on Harry’s door.

“Master Harry,” he sing-songs. “It is I, Raven the Great, come ‘round at last!”

“It’s been barely ten fucking hours,” Harry’s pissed off voice rings loud and clear through the door.

“Shall I come back at noon, then?” Raven asks diplomatically.

An explosive sigh. “No,” Harry mutters. “Get in here. And call Cactus in, too, would you?”

“You heard the Young Master,” Raven says, nodding at the aptly-named mercenary, with his spiked up armour and sharpened teeth.

“You don’t order us around anymore, traitor,” the prickly fellow spits and shoves past him, to whom Raven mockingly bows to as he passes.

Saviour of the world or not, it's no secret now Raven was a triple agent. The official story Harry graciously gave him is that the Don always knew about Raven’s split loyalty (which is true, probably) and trusted him anyway (which is true, too), so Harry and Altosk will continue to trust him as well (which is flattering, but increasingly doubtful). Harry's a good kid shoved into a position of leadership he's not very well suited for, but even Raven can't deny he's trying and doing better every day.

“Cutlass Cactus, I want you to deliver this to Sirena of Siren’s Fang as soon as possible,” Harry says shortly, handing the man a wax-sealed letter. “Wait for a response, but I await it at most a fortnight.”

“Understood, young Master,” Cactus says, thumping his chest at the honour. He takes the letter, glares at Raven, and makes his way out.

“As for you,” Harry says, “I have a question to ask you before I hand this reply over. A serious one.”

Raven feels his age and more. “Yeah?”

“Ioder is a good man. His dog Flynn is, too. I know this personally.”

There is no question here yet, and there are a fair amount of insults between the compliments, but Raven knows the heart of Harry, and he means well.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “They are.”

“But,” Harry continues, coldly. “Two kind heads on a hydra do not make it any less a monster.”

Raven hides a grimace by scratching at his sideburns. “The same can be said of the Guilds,” he says lightly. “Or of any organization grown large enough.”

“Stop twisting my metaphors,” Harry says shortly. “The question I wanted to ask is: what do you think the Empire's end goal is?”

And what is the Guild’s end goal, Schwann wants to counter, when the Guilds’ very existence rose out of violent rejection of the Empire? Raven, for his part, takes a deep breath and exhales it out as a thoughtful hum.

“I think the Empire was built to protect and manage blastia,” Raven muses. “And I think the Guilds were built to reject the Empire’ monopoly of them. But, well, there ain’t no blastia left, so… the Empire wants to micromanage what remains. And the Guilds do, too. Yeah?”

“So there can be no peace?” Harry concludes, tiredly.

“Harry,” Raven says, firmly. “Your grandfather, the Don, united the Guilds back when they were just a bunch of rowdy, armed assholes. Y’know how he did it?”

“By fighting the Empire?” Harry says dully.

“By uniting against a common enemy,” Raven insists. “By uniting against a common threat. The Empire is no longer the enemy—hell, think of the Empire as yet another guild. It’s just a group of rowdy, armed assholes. But you and they got a common enemy now, too.”

Harry looks at him sharply. “The Adephagos is no more,” he says, carefully, “right?”

“Not the Adephagos,” Raven says. “The lack of blastia. The lack of technology. The lack of creature comforts all of us got real used to. That’s our enemy now; the thing we all gotta pitch in together to fix.” Raven bows low to Harry, as low as he would to the Don. “I beg you, young Master: do not war with the Empire. Not now. See them as a business partner, instead.”

“Business, huh,” Harry says heavily, and then flicks his sealed letter in Raven’s direction, who catches it just before it smacks him in the face. “All right. Tell your Master we can’t afford a war, anyway.”

Something uncoils in Raven's chest. “You are my only Master, Harry,” he says, cheekily. Just like Flynn is his only Commandant, now.

“Ugh, the way you say it, you make it sound so gross,” Harry complains. “Get the fuck out of my room, old man. And call in Lima!”

Raven sends him a lazy salute and hops his way out, placing the important letter in his robe’s inner breast pocket. His heart blastia emits a small barrier shield of its own, using his life-force; this letter will remain pristine come rain, sleet, or snow, as long as he still lives.

“You’re up, Lima bean,” Raven chirps.

“You call me that again and I’ll break more than just your nuts,” Lima snarls, spits in his direction, and stomps off.

“And we used to have such fun together,” Raven laments. “What happened to us, O expert in nuts, Pecan, my man?”

“Careful, Raven,” the aforementioned Pecan murmurs. “Your jests are no longer in good taste.”

“Your fruit cocktail, on the other hand,” Raven says. “Mmhmm. Top notch, as always.”

Pecan gives him a wry smile. “I saw you buttering up Madam Teal and her girls, last night. They talk about Heliord?”

“Oh, you know me: promise me a free night of drinks and I’ll spill my guts,” Raven winks suggestively.

“Hmm…your costs run too high these days,” Pecan declines politely. “You’ll drink me out of business.”

Raven feels a mild pang of loss; he and the third-waiter-from-the-right Pecan used to be pretty tight. Schwann thinks it’s just how things go. Suck it up, buttercup.

“Next time I’m in town I’ll do you one free, fer old times’ sake,” Raven compromises. “Lemme know what info you want and I’ll get it for ya fer a Mabo Curry and a Don’s Special. Within reason, ‘course.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Black Bird,” Pecan murmurs. “But I’ll be waiting for you.”

Raven walks home with a heavy heart and on lighter feet. He makes a quick detour to the fish market, already bustling with a freshly caught haul; he haggles reliable ol' Fin for a kilogram of merflesh and charms Romelle out of a bottle of soy sauce and pays full price for a sack of white rice before finally making it back to Brave Vesperia’s HQ, just in time to catch Karol in the kitchen about to make morning coffee.

“Raven!” Karol’s smile is brilliant, and very welcome. “You’re back!”

“I promised you my world famous sashimi, didn’t I?” Raven says. “Can't have you saying this old man’s a liar!"

“I’d never,” Karol says honestly, and that, more than anything, is what makes Raven want to noogie Karol and maybe cry into his hair or something likewise unmanful. He settles for making that kid the most delicious dish of fish a Weekend Chef is capable of, and if he finds himself also making Karol his special Pork Stew to eat later, he tells himself it’s ‘cause the boy’s a growing man and not because Raven’s a sap at heart.

“So where ya off to now, Raven?” Karol asks, after they’re done eating and making the kitchen less of a mess. “If, um, you can tell me, that is.”

“Atherum,” Raven says honestly. “Flynn said his girl Sodia’d be there to collect whatever response Harry might have on the new moon, so, there I'll be.”

“The new moon?” Karol stares at him. “But that’s in no time at all!”

Raven gives him a wan smile. “Don’tcha worry, kiddo. I always get ta where I need to in time.”

“We should call Ba’ul,” Karol insists. “You’ll never make it otherwise!”

Raven doesn’t have the heart to tell Karol that it probably doesn’t matter how fast or slow his response arrives; in the end, it’s Harry actions from now on that will be his real response, regardless of what his letter says.

“Judith darlin’ probably has better things to do than be an old man’s cab,” Raven says lightly. “I’ll jes' hop on a merchant ship headed toward Atherum tonight; should make it just in time, if the weather stays fair. This time o’ year, the northern wind’s in our favour.”

“But what if merfish ambush you!” Karol protests. “Or if a storm’s brewing—“

“Tempest!” Raven sing-songs, flicking his hand. “Aw, man, I miss being able ta call up storms willy-nilly. That made me feel God-like, it did.”

Karol frowns at the interruption, but then his face turns thoughtful. “Can’t you still, though? Your blastia’s powered by your life-force, right? So your arts should still be working just fine.”

“Shavin’ a year or two off my life fer a light show is a bit too vapid, even by my standards,” Raven says sardonically. “Plus, I ain’t keen on folks realising blastia’s still useable if you use a human fer a battery.”

He can very easily see it happening in the future: folks trafficking humans for energy. Or, fuck, claiming prisoners of war for it—hell of a good reason to go to war, really, if it’s to dehumanize the ingredients you need to fuel your creature comforts. You justify your atrocities by framing it as necessary or even righteous; Alexei and Schwann used to do that all the time, no brainer. Honestly, this fear is one of the many reasons he’s made Rita promise not to share that part of Hermes’ research, despite the fact that human-powered blastia could solve a lot of the world’s present problems. Schwann’s too jaded to avoid thinking of all the ways it can go terribly wrong, and Raven’s too fucking tired of the parasite that is his heart to think of its more beneficial applications.

“People’ll find out eventually,” Karol insists, at once innocent and wise beyond his years. “Desperation breeds creativity, right? You should tell people about it so they know the risks involved, before someone invents it and says it’s a cure-all or something.”

“Ehhhhh,” Raven drawls. “I’ll think about it.”

He most definitely will not.

Karol drops it, thankfully, but then picks up the old tangent of, “I still say I should call Ba’ul for you. I’ve got the whistle and I was thinking of asking Judy to fly me over to Yumanju, anyway, since my next job’s over there. We could drop you off real quick, no worries.”

“The spa?” Raven perks up. The idea of running off to relax there after all this nonstop political bullshit is extremely appealing. “Really?”

“Really really,” Karol says, smiling knowingly. “So, you wanna come with?”

“Boy, do I,” Raven says excitedly. “Okay, kiddo, you’ve convinced this old man to defect to Brave Vesperia once again.”

“You never left, pops,” Karol says without hesitation, which warms the cockles of ol' Raven's heart. “C’mon, then, let’s head to the usual clearing. Ba’ul’ll show up within fifteen minutes after I call for him.”

“Wait wait wait! We should get Judy a gift first,” Raven insists. “The lady’s coming all the way over here for our sorry hides, we gotta say thanks proper-like!”

Karol blinks. “That’s a good idea! What d’you think she’d like?”

“I know just the thing,” Raven winks. “C’mon, kiddo, we got places to be!”

[dragonlapis]

If Magia Record ever introduces triple units, I think it'll be funny if they did Ayaka, Seika ,and Sana one. It'll be a reference to that "bad" ending one.

The whole thing would be based off comedy and I guess canonly they are in a comedy group.

All three of them are wearing suits and their main attack is telling bad jokes. Two of the members are telling the joke and while their enemy is distracted, the last member rushes in and attack them. This can happen intertwinedly between the members. One example is Sana and Seika telling the joke while Ayaka rushes in and attacks them.

Their magia? Hm..There's many possibilities with this one...If they had a doll then it suddenly gain sentiment and attacks the enemy for a good amount of damage. Or they dressed one of Seika's water sharks as a clown and it attacks while noticeably being embarrassed. Or Sana could just summon something with a goofy appearance from her shield..

The doppel would they have? Well...I'll stick with Sana's since she's the only one with an official doppel design... If that wasn't the case, I would have gone with Ayaka's...Anyways...The doppel would be similar to Sana's normal design, but with some added difference of course. It'll change from creepy to cute creepy and maybe have a very creepy clown on it instead of that slug thing. Ayaka would stand on one side while Seika stands on the other side. Both helping the doppel activate. The clown could jump off from the chair and rushes towards their enemy with an ax or do the normal doppel attack that Sana's does.

They'll probably be forest attribute, but dark works as well.

The story that comes with this? Well...Seika and Ayaka were practicing by themselves until Sana accidentally came across them. Sana became a bit interested and Ayaka noticed and invited her to join them. Seika might become a bit hesitant, but welcomed her nonetheless. The two taught her what they know and Sana begins to question if this is something she truly wants to do.

That one is assuming that Sana isn't part of the group already.

If she is...Then the three are practicing and having a great time until they were forced to stop. Someone walked up to them and yelled at them to stop. Ayaka tried to reason with them ,but they wouldn't listen. Deciding this wasn't worth their time, they left and went to a different area to continue. It happened again ,but this time it was more aggressive. This was around the time they realized something was up. Why is that? They saw Sana..

It didn't take long for them to realize there's a witch around...

There is so much more I can talk about this! Writing this out is making me actually want to make it into a reality. I kinda want to draw this now...

[kinetic-elaboration]

April 14: 2x15 The Trouble with Tribbles

Back to watching TOS on Wednesdays! We’ll see if I can keep this up because I do prefer it to Fridays.

Today’s episode: the Classic (tm) Trouble with Tribbles.

Starting out with a little test for Chekov lol. Just Chekov, his mentor, and his mentor-in-law.

My mom called Chekov “Kirk and Spock’s little project,” which I think is hilarious but also probably true. Only 22 years old and on the bridge crew? Private quiz by the top two people on the ship? Legit interpretation.

“It was just a little joke.” / “Extremely little, Ensign.” Classic Spock burn.

The Organian Peace Treaty--from Errand of Mercy??

I really do feel like Kirk is genuinely amused by Chekov.

You would never guess from this intro about tense diplomatic situations and number-one-top-priority-triple-red-alerts that this was going to be a crack-y episode about space bunnies.

Oh no, a fake red alert! Kirk is really angry now.

Kirk and Spock are very Married today.

STORAGE COMPARTMENTS?? StOrAgE cOmPaRtmEnTs?

WHEAT??

Do not try to imply that Spock doesn’t know things; he is contractually obligated to show off.

Canadian wheat.

Honestly, just let Kirk call it wheat.

Spock is using diplomacy to reign Kirk in. Sarek would be proud. And Spock would be insulted that Sarek is proud.

Kirk is very Sassy today.

Omg the waitresses have little wings.

Spock taking the wheat from behind his back and giving it to Kirk like a magician’s assistant.

I feel like Kirk is bitter about the wheat because it’s the one (1) thing he’s not a nerd about. And he’s from Iowa too!! He should know!

Uhura listening to the salesman; well she IS here to shop, after all.

Is it alive? Is it cute? Oh who am I kidding, I can see it’s cute!

Oh no the tribble is eating the grain.

Uhura is truly adorable.

I can’t believe she just made a joke about never getting any shore leave and here she is, back at her station again.

Can you even imagine AOS Kirk being tasked with protecting a bunch of grain? HE would make Iowa jokes.

And Spock is trying so hard not to laugh.

Tbh I have a real soft spot for these frustrated Kirk episodes. Poor, long-suffering Kirk. So much more serious than all of the nonsense going on around him.

I like this space station design.

Klingons on shore leave. They just want to have some fun. No bowling alleys on their ships!

Technical journal time for Scotty!

“I am immune to their effect....” Sure. What’s funny to me is that Kirk actually is immune to their effect. Truly at no point does he seem charmed or amused by or even interested in the tribbles, except in their capacity as Klingon detectors at the end

“I think they’re old enough [to be adopted].” Lol how can you tell?

One look from Spock reigns Kirk in. #spacehusbands

Oh, you noticed there are 11 tribbles instead of 1? How astute.

“What do you get when you feed a tribble too much?” / “A fat tribble.” This is ACTUAL DIALOGUE. Oh, Kirk.

Honestly McCoy is a medical doctor, so it kind of would make more sense for Spock to be doing these tribble experiments but he has his hands full with Kirk

Kirk is awfully insistent upon Scotty taking shore leave when he should very well remember what happened last time

“You’d think he’d be a vodka man.” And he is!

Klingons don’t understand Kirk at all. He IS a little soft <3

Where’s that post that’s like ‘the AOS writers just listened to this one Klingon speech about Kirk and wrote his character based on that?” I mean... not totally inaccurate.

Actually it is a potentially interesting speech. Is this really how his enemies see him based on his reputation? Or is it just, like, a bunch of generic insults you could apply to pretty much any captain of a group you didn’t like?

Poor Kirk, missing out on this fight scene.

Lol the drink joke. Does it make sense? No, but it’s funny all the same.

“Captain’s log: I am forced to cancel shore leave.”

Angry Daddy!Kirk and his unhelpful children. You’re ALL grounded!!

“No this is not off the record!” Not even gonna debate that Scotty.

This whole Kirk and Scotty scene deserves an Emmy.

Spones + Tribbles

The extra hilarious thing about Spock talking about the uselessness of the tribbles and Bones defending their cuteness as being an end in and of itself is that Spock DOES canonically like soft, pleasing animals. Even in this episode!!

The tribble wants to be captain.

Kirk collecting tribbles lmao.

“Don’t look at me, it’s the tribbles that are breeding.”

The tribbles are bisexual. Just like Captain Kirk. (Yes this is two different uses of the term that mean totally different things and I do NOT care I just like hearing the word “bisexual” in DeForest Kelley’s voice.)

I feel like Uhura must be so lonely.. Trying to talk to Spock about the moon. Meeting shape shifting aliens who become native Swahili speakers just for her. Trying to buy love in the form of small, cute animals.

The tribbles have been taken from their predator-filled environment. I am VERY curious about their native environment now. What eats tribbles?

“It’s you I take lightly.” Honestly this level of sass almost makes AOS Kirk seem IC.

“Licensed asteroid locator and prospector.” Brb changing careers.

“But he is after my grain!”

Kirk saying “au revoir” is funny on its face for how he echoes Cyrano what’s-his-face but also because it reminds me of Shatner saying “I’m from Canada, so I speak French.”

No, the tribbles got in his food! That is the last straw.

It’s hard to tell because it’s covered in tribbles, but Spock appears to have a very odd looking salad. (Or that large piece of fruit is a tribble, really hard to tell.)

Spock’s “fascinating” was so quiet.

“They’re into the machinery all right.” First, lol, and second, isn’t Scotty supposed to be in his room thinking about what he’s done?

You can really see that missing finger.

Gonna beam down some tribbles too.

And now to top off this bad day: the indignity of having a bunch of dead tribbles fall on his head. To wacky music.

“Gorged? On my grain?” It’s more likely than you think.

And like........you realize someone off set is just continuing to throw little puff balls at Shatner's head at regular intervals during this whole scene? One just bounced right off it.

And the answer to the tribble problem is literally “stop feeding them” which is so obvious that I assumed it was just harder than one would think not to feed a tribble. Since no one fed them. And they continued to eat.

I also love how Bones comes into his best friend literally buried in tribbles and doesn’t even blink.

Whereas Spock’s here with his mouth this thinnest possible line, trying not to laugh.

They like Vulcans! They have good taste.

Spock is definitely that type that has secret low self esteem so he builds himself up with confident comments at every opportunity.

“He’s a Klingon, Jim.”

Kirk REALLY likes threatening the Klingons with tribbles.

I feel like leaving Cyrano to single-handedly clean up the tribbles over 17 years is not a punishment that makes sense because like... must the station live with the tribbles until then? Also, where is he to put them?

I think they should be returned to their native habitat to be eaten by predators according to the natural cycle of life.

Are we to understand that SPOCK suggested beaming the tribbles on to the Klingon ship? Perhaps I have underestimated his prank war abilities.

I’ll be honest, this ep is very entertaining and for that reason one of my favorites, but I don’t know that it paints the Enterprise, and Kirk in particular, in the best light.

Like... I am really torn on Kirk’s treatment of the undersecretary. I know he often doesn’t much like administrators and diplomats and other people who don’t seem to have much RL experience, and certainly this Federation official got on his bad side immediately and understandably by misusing the red alert.

But... Kirk isn’t at all subtle about not liking him. I mean he literally says “I don’t like you” and that’s just objectively unprofessional, which he is not. The sassiness was way unsubtle, which could be funny, but it just didn’t seem IC.

I can almost justify it because of the red alert mix up--that’s everything Kirk hates: violating regulations, showing disrespect to him and his crew, uncalled for manipulation--and I think he has the right to be upset about it. But he continues holding this grudge for a long time. It feels like it’s just as much about not personally caring about the grain as about anything else. Like he’s dismissive about the grain because he personally has never heard of it. So obviously it’s not important.

That’s too much that conventional-wisdom arrogant, dumb Kirk for me.

I guess I just don’t understand, why so much hatred for the undersecretary? Because his two biggest sins were the red alert and employing a Klingon. But as I already said, I think Kirk’s ire is disproportionate to the first offense and no one knew about the Klingon until the end--because a tribble, not Kirk specifically, found him out.

Otherwise..this guy was right! The grain was important, losing it or having it sabotaged would have very bad consequences for the Federation, it is Kirk’s job to guard it, and he should do it well. He was also right that the Klingon threat was real!! He’d brought in the Klingon threat but he was still right about it existing. The Klingons did in fact sabotage the grain! And although we hear at the end that there was magically more grain out there... I don’t get how or from where.

Furthermore, he used the red alert specifically because he seemed to think Kirk wouldn’t rush over to protect the grain otherwise, and Kirk is so dismissive of this “just wheat” that he kinda proves the guy right!

Anyway, I can see the grains of this Kirk (lol pun not intended) in his general characterization, but it’s too over the top, to the point where it’s OOC. He does take his job, including the diplomatic aspects of it, very seriously, and I think an IC Kirk would protect the grain, and maybe be only occasionally, subtly sassy to the undersecretary.

But this was such a crack-y episode overall... it was like everyone was turned up to 11 and pushed slightly to the side.

It was a fun ep though with a lot of very classic scenes, and it’s another reminder that Spock likes soft, adorable animals.

I will admit that I actually do not think the tribbles are particularly cute. They kind of weird me out. They’re just lumps of fur.

Next is The Gamesters of Triskelion, which I vaguely remember as a decent but not great episode.

[staytheb]

Moonlight Melody - chapter 3

Word Count: 5,431 previous chapter, next chapter

Moonlight Melody masterlist.

semi-proofread. anyways, the third chapter’s about Jessica as a grim reaper and receiving her next assignment which is Joohyun who later meets Grim Reaper Jessica. happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

Jessica was thrust awake as she found herself at the Reaper Station's conference room already sitting in one of its seat and in her uniform. She groaned as she flopped her upper body onto the table to catch a nap before the meeting began. It was short lived when she felt someone poke her side.

"I swear, Shannon, if it's you, I'm gonna pushed you in front of a bus again."

Grim Reaper Jessica threatened in a muttering tone with her face still against the table and not bothering to check if it was the death watcher that oversees her duties or not. She heard a male chuckle and turned to see that it was another reaper, Gunwoo, who had poked her earlier.

"I thought by now you would've figured out that we won't die from such mortal incidents."

Gunwoo propped an elbow on to the table and rested his chin upon it while smiling at Grim Reaper Jessica.

"Were you asleep before being summoned?"

"Yes. I took a nap as the heat was getting to me." She responded with a yawn as she sat upright.

"Why suffer with those mortal weathers when you can live here and choose whatever season you want to basked in?"

"That's no fun, honestly. I can't dress up with the seasonal fashion."

"How about giving up your triple life and just becoming a full-fledged grim reaper?"

"No, thanks. I'm sti-"

Gunwoo interrupted her while repeating the words that she always gave him as her reasoning.

"-still waiting on my sister."

He rolled his eyes.

"I remember, but I still suggest for you to cross over. Your sister, too. Isn't it boring being a human though?"

"Not really. Isn't it boring being an immortal?"

"Not really."

He eyed his fellow grim reaper with a grin.

"But who knows, one day I may end up as a mere mortal."

"I doubt you'll make it as one in the end."

"Wow, that's rude."

Grim Reaper  Jessica shot him a grin just as Lucifer's booming voice announced his own presence and everyone turned towards the front.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." Lucifer greeted as he sat at the head of the table upon his throne with a large grin.

He went about their usual discussion and updates before moving on to the last bit of the meeting consisting of assigning the reapers with their missions by Lilith. Grim Reaper Jessica hardly received her missions during the meetings as Shannon always gave them to her at all odd hours of the day. So Grim Reaper Jessica used to wondered why she even had to come to these midnight meetings, but later gave up and just went with it. Still though it got her curious and before she could ask Gunwoo about the subject, Lilith's voice interrupted her.

"Here's our latest user, pinkbaechu, on our REAPER CORRESPONDENCE site. The user signed up a few days ago."

Lilith announced upon Joohyun's account profile popping up on the holographic screen for everyone to view.

"She's quite pretty judging by her picture, but in all honestly she's really bland in personality."

There were some murmurs before Lilith continued.

"Now on to pinkbaechu's actual profile. Her name is Bae Joohyun. She's in her thirties. Born on the twenty-ninth of March. Height, one fifty-eight centimeters. Weight, forty-four kilograms. Her blood type is A. Her Zodiac signs are the Sheep and Aries. She doesn't eat chicken and dislikes coffee."

Lilith read out Joohyun's basic information before moving on to the real reason.

"This pitiful mortal officially got her heart broken by her scumbag of a cheating boyfriend of six years. Talk about summer romance, right?"

The others began mumbling comments about Joohyun's situation while Grim Reaper Jessica began to doze off feeling extremely sleepy for some odd reason before Lilith spoke again.

"Now, the one major thing to note about this case is that none of us here in the Infernal Realm had sent Joohyun Bae an invite to the REAPER CORRESPONDENCE. Yue Lao of the Celestial Realm took pity on this silly woman and decided upon himself to meddle a little bit in her pitiful love life while leaving the rest to the Grim Reaper Station to deal with."

Lilith's gaze looked about the room at the other grim reapers and death watchers.

"Who would like to take pinkbaechu's revenge as their own?"

A lot of hands went up, but Lilith's eyes landed on the dozing Grim Reaper Jessica. A smirk crossed Lilith's lips as she slammed her hands on the table which sent vibrations in the female's direction to jolt her wide awake.

"Hmm?"

Grim Reaper Jessica hummed sleepily while looking about the room casually.

"Congratulations, Reaper J, you have been assigned to pinkbaechu's case."

Lilith congratulated while snapping her fingers to make a black file appear in front of the said grim reaper.

"Wait, what?" Grim Reaper Jessica stared at the floating file before her.

"Why?"

Before Grim Reaper Jessica could protest Lucifer moved on to the next person and she reluctantly grasped the file into her hand with a tired sigh. Gunwoo laughed beside her and she elbowed him to stop, but that barely did anything as he snickered to himself. Just as Grim Reaper Jessica was about to make a snarky remark she felt herself thrust forward and she was back on Earth in her bed. She felt wonky, but came to her senses. Jessica checked the time. It was seven in the morning. She sighed while trying to return to sleep, but couldn't.

"What should I do now?"

Just as those words left her lips did she know what she wanted to do. Jessica went to the Eternal Twilight and sat upon the swing with the various sounds around her creating a tranquil melody. Jessica hoped that her sister's wandering soul would appear. Krystal did not appear and the melody that Jessica heard around her faded away.

~~~~~~~~~

"I seriously knew it was too good to be true. It had to be. I'm such a gullible person." Joohyun muttered with a frustrated sigh after checking her phone for the nth time since she had signed up for the REAPER CORRESPONDENCE a few days ago.

"What kind of app exists to make one's dream come true? Zilch."

Joohyun sighed again as her mood dampened.

"Why would one even exist if that was so easy to do in real life?"

Joohyun received no responses since creating the account. Heck, she received no replies after making a post in wanting to get back at her ex-boyfriend. She knew that her post had a lot of views, but not one person commented on it. Even when Joohyun clicked on the other profiles of the other users it went to private mode. She could only see her account and the posts of others, but a click into a profile and it just wasn't viewable. She couldn't even comment on any of the other posts as well. It was totally weird.

"Maybe it's just a site for ranting and nothing more. A place that's just another place to escape from reality."

Joohyun reasoned while putting away her phone and resumed work. She debated whether to take some personal days off, but didn't want to mope around the house causing her mother to worry. Her mother had her health to worry about instead of her own child to add to it. Besides, Joohyun needed to work to provide for herself and for her mother so she couldn't lose her job even if she despised it at times. Plus, the bank were running low on staff when one of her colleague that she was close with was admitted to the hospital in critical condition a few months ago. None of them knew when she would return.

Anyhow, at the time her mood was in high spirits when the thought of actually getting payback against Bogum was plausible. Now, after days of waiting and nothing happening her high energy dwindled. So when Joohyun returned home she was too tired that she headed to her room telling her mother that it was a stressful day at work. It was partially true. There were too many angry clients that took it out on her when they couldn't access their online banking account. Anyways, gathering energy Joohyun went about her nightly routine.

After changing into pajamas Joohyun finally sat on the carpeted floor of her bedroom. She had her knees pressed against her chest with her back pressed against the edge of her bed while staring at her dresser absentmindedly. Her eyes landed on the pretty MOLDIR tote bag given by that nice woman as she recalled the tinge of excitement and happiness she had these past few weeks because of that. Joohyun had received pictures of her modeling the products and her mother commented how surprised her daughter looked with them. She grabbed those photos from her nightstand and admired them.

Jiwoo had never seen her daughter looked so stunning and glowing all at once like that before. The both of them were even surprised to see the check with the sum for just that brief moment and her mother joking suggested for her daughter to become a model instead of a banker. Joohyun declined, but went through the photos seeing how happy she did looked in them. She didn't think by agreeing to these that it showed another side of her she didn't think existed. Still, Joohyun's mind wandered and a familiar feeling began to settled within her.

She unconsciously traced random patterns into the carpet with her fingers as her mind soon blanked out into nothingness causing the photos to lay about her. A moment later Joohyun suddenly shivered as her room grew immediately colder than it should've been. She rubbed her arms to keep warm while following the moonlit rays coming through her window and noticed it was closed. Same with the balcony door. She wondered if her mother turned on the A/C by mistake, but dismissed the idea since her mother would be the one to say something first about the coldness as heat comforted her better.

Standing up and moving under the covers of her bed instead, Joohyun decided it must be because she had gotten out of the shower and that night time had fallen with the slightly cool late June air in effect and settling in. As she was about to switch off her lamp's light, Joohyun's eyes caught a glimpse of something moving in the shadow cast by her lamp's light. She looked around her room cautiously, but shook the thought away as she wasn't one of those people for believing of monsters in the dark.

Then again, Joohyun did believed that a text message would help her to get revenge on Bogum. Maybe it was just the spur of the moment or something had overcome her, but still it felt real. Anyhow, she wasn't quite sure what to believe now. Being an adult was so tiresome and just mundane with little trifles of life. Anyways, finding nothing out of place except for the temperature being colder than normal Joohyun sighed as she was about to switch off the light until she heard a female voice speak from the foot of her bed.

"Don't do that. You should really leave the lights on. It makes things less creepy and daunting during the night, especially when something you're not used to seeing or believing."

Grim Reaper Jessica suggested while sitting cross-legged and hovering a few inches above the end of Joohyun's bed.

"Good evening. I'm Reaper J. You-"

The reaper was interrupted by Blanc who materialized right in front of Jessica and spoke instead.

"I'm Blanc. You should hang out with me because that ex-boyfriend of yours is a total douche and I have way better skills than him. Even looking like this."

Grim Reaper Jessica telepathically pushed Blanc to the side and was about to continued with her announcement when Eclare materialized a few seconds later where Blanc used to be and introduced himself as well.

"Hi. I'm Eclare. Wow, for a bland personality, you really are pretty and you smell deliciously sweet li-"

Eclare didn't get to finish his sentence as he was also telepathically pushed away by the grim 1reaper to join Blanc off to the side as Grim Reaper Jessica continued before being interrupted like nothing had happened.

"Like I was about to say, greetings, I'm Reaper J and you've summoned me so how may I assist you?"

Joohyun was still frozen in place with her body lying on her side half-twisted to turn off the light and the other half overlooking her shoulder to stare at the floating gothic-like female and two winged cats in front of her. She could only blinked every few seconds with her mouth agape. Grim Reaper Jessica sat afloat with a neutral expression as she bobbed up and down slowly while letting the situation sink in. After like twelve minutes passed did Joohyun finally come to her senses as she slowly positioned herself in a upright sitting position and pulling the blanket cozily around her.

"Who are you?"

The grim reaper smiled at Joohyun upon finally being acknowledged and instantly covered the mouths of the felines with her magic from interrupting and butting in like always before speaking.

"My purpose is to help you out as much as I can with your revenge, but I need to know all that you want me to know, Bae Joohyun."

"H-how do you know my name?"

"I know some things about you, but I know that you want to get back at your ex-boyfriend, Park Bogum. So I'm here to help you with that."

When the words sunk in did Joohyun's eyes lit up with the corner of her lips curving upwards. The more she thought of it, the more her eyes and lips grew wider and wider upon that realization that both Blanc and Eclare snapped Joohyun from out of her little moment.

"Yeah, so just tell good 'ol Blanc how you wanna go about dealing with dirtball Bogum for ya."

Blanc fluttered over to Joohyun and started suggesting things.

"Do you want me to bite him all over? Leave snakes under his bed? Haunt him in his dreams? Make him drink cat piss every time he drinks something? Or should I scratch up his pretty little face for ya? Just let me know what you want me to do. Don't hold back. Really. Don't hold back. I gotchu."

Blanc fluttered on over as well and did the same thing which Joohyun felt an even darker aura coming from him than Blanc.

"How about I enter his dreams and turned them into real living nightmares as he experienced them, but can't wake up? Like over and over as he reaches the point of awareness that he's gonna wake up, but repeats it again and again. That'll show him! Oh! Oh, I know! This one's my all time favorite out of the others that I do."

Eclare giggled mischievously as his eyes glazed over with excitement.

"Maybe every time he opens his mouth to flirt I have bugs and critters come crawling out. It doesn't have to be the mouth and could be another opening of the body. Or I could call up a buddy of mine who's been itching to possess some fool into doing stupid things or haunt him forever."

Joohyun looked at one cat to the other cat and totally did not think that these cute and adorable felines could come up with all these gruesome things they had just suggested. Grim Reaper Jessica shooed the felines away as they disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving just Joohyun and the grim reaper alone.

"Anyways, don't mind them. Tell me your thoughts."

Soon enough the words fell from Joohyun's mouth as she began blabbering about this and that while the words she spoke appeared automatically upon the black file that Grim Reaper Jessica suddenly had in her grasp that Joohyun hadn't noticed at all. Soon enough Joohyun's blabbering died down and she stared at the grim reaper bashfully.

"Um, is that good enough for you, Reaper J?"

"Quite. Thank you."

Grim Reaper Jessica confirmed while scanning the new content within the file before looking up at her charge.

"Anyways, in a little bit you should be receiving some items and I'll explain each one when th-"

The grim reaper was unintentionally interrupted when Joohyun began cooing at the sight of three black puppies suddenly appearing on her bed as they jumped about and all around Joohyun. She instantly petted the canines who immediately rolled onto their backs for belly rubs with the items firmly held in their mouths. To Joohyun, they were not the ferocious hellhounds you would assumed them to be. They were like all dogs wanting attention.

"I forget that this happens often." Grim Reaper Jessica muttered as she closed the black file before swirling her hand and the item disappeared.

The grim reaper looked about the room and caught sight of an expensive looking tote bag. Grim Reaper Jessica didn't think much about the MOLDIR bag and of the fact that she had met Joohyun before in her mortal form. When she was either a cupid or grim reaper for a part of that human life memory was blocked as if to not interfer with the other. Likewise when she was out supernatural uniform. She recalled bits and pieces, but other than that she didn't bother with it. Anyways, the grim reaper's attention returned to Joohyun who's mood seemed to have lifted.

"Aww, you three are so adorable."

Joohyun quietly squealed while petting the hellhounds.

"Wow, your fur is so soft to the touch."

She hadn't felt like this in a very long time. Somehow the puppies gave her a sense of calmness and washed away her sadness for the time being. The hellhounds could feel the grim reaper giving them a pointed look and reverted back to their upright position to get back on track. The hellhound with the red eyes was the first one to speak after dropping a small black-like wooden doll with a red bow-tied string around its neck onto Joohyun's lap.

"Hi. I'm Flesh. The DOLL in your case will be someone that you desire to be a replacement for your ex-boyfriend to help with your revenge. Once that occurs you'll pull the string from around it's neck and your new boyfriend shall appear soon afterwards."

Joohyun paused in her action and stared at Flesh who had just spoken before breaking out into giggles while petting his head.

"Oh my! You can actually talk, too? Just like the cats. Wow. That is so cute."

She gushed as the grim reaper patiently waited for the woman to have her moment. Flesh responded with a small bark before poofing away in a puff of red smoke as the next hellhound with blue eyes yawned after dropping a small round and flat stone onto Joohyun's lap before giving out his instruction next.

"Hiya. I'm Ukulele and in your case of the STONE, it will turn into five mini ruby red gemstones that you're able to eat while making tiny wishes."

He stretched his limbs as Joohyun petted the arch of his back which Ukulele quite liked before speaking again.

"Wish your wishes thoroughly. It will backfire if you don't and they'll come out differently than you had originally wished for."

Ukulele poofed away in a puff of blue smoke leaving the last hellhound with green eyes to present the last of the items for the revenge. The green-eyed hellhound placed a tiny black coin in Joohyun's lap.

"Hello, I'm Hibiscus and I actually don't know what the COIN will do for you in the time it's in your care," Hibiscus admitted as Joohyun frowned while petting the hellhound, "But when the right time presents itself or when you're in dire need of it when you don't think you won't, then it'll activate on its own accord."

Hibiscus soon disappeared in a puff of green smoke leaving only the grim reaper and Joohyun in Joohyun's bedroom. Joohyun gathered up the three items and stared at them lost in thoughts.

"Heed their words and followed their instructions well."

Grim Reaper Jessica reminded Joohyun as the woman nodded obediently.

"I will."

"Please make sure that these items stay in your care and to never lose sight of them."

Just as Joohyun was going to reply that she will, she was stopped when she noticed the grim reaper's gaze.

"The consequence of another mortal finding it  or being careless of them will be insurmountable. Do you understand, Bae Joohyun?"

Joohyun slowly nodded in slight fear.

"I will, Reaper J."

"Good."

Grim Reaper Jessica stretched out her limbs as she was now in a standing position while still hovering in the air.

"If you agree to your revenge, then you'll also mark a place besides the one you'll take your vengeance upon."

Joohyun's brows furrowed upon hearing the grim reaper's words.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your soul will also take its place in Hell once your life has ended. Do you comprehend what that means?"

"Will I die after the revenge has been completed?"

"No. You will live your life to its fullest and you'll die when your time to die comes unless the Fates think otherwise or it's a sudden death."

Grim Reaper Jessica calmly looked at her charge.

"Do you wish to carry on with your revenge, Bae Joohyun?"

Joohyun looked down at the items and then up at the grim reaper with a slow nod.

"Are you sure?"

The grim reaper asked once more before a final confirmation.

"I'm sure, Reaper J."

"Very well then. Please hold out a hand."

Joohyun was puzzled by the command, but saw Grim Reaper Jessica slightly motioned in the air with one of her hands and suddenly floating in front of her was a feathered quill and a golden parchment.

"This is a binding contract of your wish to take your revenge," Grim Reaper Jessica explained, "When you're ready to go through with it, then please say, 'I, Bae Joohyun, hereby adhere to the agreement with Reaper J', and it'll finished the rest from there."

Joohyun nodded as she recited the words the grim reaper informed her of.

"I, Bae Joohyun, hereby adhere to the agreement with Reaper J."

Joohyun held out a hand once the words left her mouth after reading the contents and winced when she felt a small prick to her index finger. She witnessed as the few drops of blood splattered at the bottom of the parchment sealing her fate.

"The deed is done."

Just as Grim Reaper Jessica finished talking did Eclare poofed back with a mischievous grin while casting his eyes onto Joohyun.

"Now that the agreement is settled, what should I do first, Ms. Watermelon?"

Joohyun wasn't sure how to reply as everything was still fairly fresh in her mind. She instead looked at the black feline clueless even with the weird name he had just addressed her by, but luckily Grim Reaper Jessica intervened.

"For now, Eclare, tail after Park Bogum. Take all notes of his activities, close relations, and other vital information for Joohyun to exact her vengeance on him when it's time."

"Will do. I got your back, Ms. Watermelon."

Eclare disappeared as Blanc looked over at Grim Reaper Jessica.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing."

"You're joking, right?"

"I'm not."

Joohyun watched as the white feline and the grim reaper banter a bit.

"Oh, c'mon, Sica. Let me help out."

"It's not your place to help here in the first place, Blanc."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"You're no fun."

"We're not supposed to be having fun."

"Says you. This is right up my alley."

The grim reaper eyed the white cat.

"Does that halo of yours need to be replaced?"

"Can't. I figured that out in my first few years as one of Heaven's familiars."

"Make sense."

"Since it does, then le-"

"Anyways, Blanc," The grim reaper was done bickering with the white feline and interrupted him, "Not as of yet."

"So what can I do?"

"Like I said before, but this isn't really your jurisdiction, Blanc."

"But you just said 'not as of yet'. That means I can help."

"For now, just stay on the sideline and I'll let you know."

Blanc huffed knowing that was true, but nodded.

"Fine, but you know my name."

"Indeed."

Blanc looked over at Joohyun

"Remember me, Ms. Watermelon. The name's Blanc and if you need my help just call my name. Like, seriously, I'm being totally serious."

Joohyun just nodded in understanding.

"Okay. Laters."

Blanc poofed away in a cloud of white smoke while Grim Reaper Jessica did some stretching one last time and gave Joohyun a steady look.

"Just call my name, Reaper J, and I'll appear to you when possible. Please only do so if you're in need of me or have any serious questions regarding your revenge plan. Other than that, I'll always be close by even if you don't call for me."

"Um, what about the hellhounds and the cats?" Joohyun asked with a curious look.

"They won't appear on their own unless I send them or they accompany me when I visit you. So you don't have to worry about them unless the need is dire."

Joohyun nodded before glancing at the reaper with a thankful expression.

"Thank you." Joohyun thanked her. "Thank you so much."

"For what?"

Grim Reaper Jessica tilted her head curiously.

"For giving me a chance to get back at my ex-boyfriend for doing me wrong all this time."

The grim reaper shook her head.

"No need to thank me. I'm just here to provide you the means to do so."

Joohyun just nodded as Grim Reaper Jessica gave her another look.

"Now, to seal the deal again."

Joohyun was confused as the grim reaper hovered closer to her and offered out her right hand.

"Your other hand, please."

"But I thought we already did it a moment ago with the quill and paper thing?"

Grim Reaper Jessica continued to offer her hand not explaining what the other deal was so Joohyun did as told and held out her other hand that wasn't pricked before. She winced again when she felt another slight sting to her other index finger as a small pool of blood appeared. Grim Reaper Jessica firmly took Joohyun's pricked finger and placed it against the open page of the black file from earlier.

"Now the other real deal has been finalized, Bae Joohyun. Take care."

Before Joohyun could respond the grim reaper de-materialized along with the black file. She was left alone in her room once again, but this time around she had the three items from the hellhounds in her grasp to let her know that it wasn't made up and very real than before.

~~~~~~~~~

Joohyun glanced at the clock and wished time moved quickly so that she could go on her lunch break already. She thought she would've been fine working as a teller today, but now she wished she was doing consultations instead. The workplace had some early morning gossips that concerned her, but she wasn't aware of it except receiving weird looks and giggles behind her. Besides that there were some rude and impatient customers today as well. Joohyun had no clue why people were so grumpy about their own money even after informing them that she just manages the depositing and withdrawals of their accounts.

After working some more did she finally take her break and away from the workplace. Joohyun learned who had started the gossip as one of her colleagues actually lived in the same building complex and on the same floor as Bogum. He had overheard bits and pieces of the conversation between her and her ex-boyfriend and couldn't wait to tell the others at work after learning a little more, too. Still Joohyun wished that he had minded his own business instead of spreading gossip. She wondered how long before it would die down and they would gossip about something else after.

Anywho, Joohyun comfortably sat outside a small restaurant with the sun blocked by the umbrella and a cool summer breeze coming and going from time to time. She was sipping a pink island ice tea while people watching and eating a smoked salmon sandwich. She didn't have much of an appetite and so thought a light lunch would do her some good than nothing. She reached into her purse for her mobile device when her hand came into contact with something smooth. Joohyun pulled it out and realized it was the black stone that Ukulele had given her.

"I wonder if it tastes like cherries or strawberries when they turn into a ruby gemstone like the blue-eyed puppy had explained."

She observed the stone with an amused look before becoming shock when it suddenly turned into the said ruby and broke into five tiny pieces. Joohyun picked up one of the pieces and felt its texture like it wasn't candy at all. It felt more like an actual real gemstone, but had an airy feel to it, too. Curiosity got the best of her as she ended up popping it into her mouth. She savored the sweet taste of mixed berries as it exploded onto her taste-buds. At that moment her eyes had caught sight of a fancy car with an equally handsome man behind the wheel when it came to a stop due to a red light. In an awe-like state while admiring the handsome stranger Joohyun unconsciously made an indirect wish aloud.

"Oh how I could somehow work for a guy like him and have a boyfriend as handsome as him."

Joohyun swallowed the piece shortly afterwards and almost choked on it a second later when at that moment the good-looking male turned his head in her direction. She averted her gaze and downed the iced tea to distract herself so that it didn't look like she was just staring creepily at him. She eyed the vehicle and the man a moment later just as he had driven off when the light turned green. Joohyun sighed in relief as she shook her head at the situation. She tenderly placed the rest of the gemstones into one of her purse's pockets before enjoying the rest of her lunch and returning to work afterwards forgetting about what she had just done.

When she returned home later that day and entering her room Joohyun noticed that the doll from Flesh had changed it's overall appearance. She clearly remembered that it was still a wooden-like doll with no apparent features when she left this morning. She picked up the now human-like doll and admired how handsome it had become despite the same string tied around its neck. If she didn't know better, the doll's handsome appearance seemed almost familiar. Her fingers slightly held onto one of the bow-tied ends and contemplated if she wanted to pull it loose or not. While quietly staring at the doll she wondered why it had changed yet didn't resemble an exact person she had desired to replace Bogum.

"Wait a minute. Was it because of what happened earlier? Did I do something?"

Joohyun was immediately reminded of the gemstones from earlier. Her eyes widened as she realized that she may have made an unconscious wish when she tasted one.

"What's going to happen now?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Is it going to be bad or good?"

She glanced around her anxiously before settling her eyes onto the doll. She nodded with a determined face as it oddly gave her courage instead.

"Well, I've come this far."

Joohyun told herself as she slowly pulled the string of the bow-tied loose.

"Everything has been decided and I need to see it to the end."

Once the red string became detached from the humanized-like doll did the two items fly out of her hands and into the air. They swirled above her head and around the room before disappearing altogether in a bright yet dark reddish glow. Joohyun shield her eyes from the brightness before she blankly stared at the area where they were once floating before taking a deep breath. She inhaled deeply before releasing it and went about the rest of her day like nothing had occured and letting the grim reaper's doing do it's thing.

[lovelybunny08]

Water Fountain “Prequel”

♡ Pairing- Jungkook X Reader

♡ Genre- Romance (No Smut) 

♡Description- Prequel to Let Me Down Slowly. You were always told that you weren’t beautiful from your boyfriend but you loved him and he was the only thing you knew but everything changed in one night by the water fountain.

♡ Again thank you @artofediting for editing all my story. Seriously love you I dont know what I will do without you.😭😭

♡ Word Count- 4,144

                                                                                                                Part 1>

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You first saw him taking pictures, looking ethereal as the sun shone around him. You couldn’t bring yourself to look away, and the book in your lap was soon forgotten. You somehow knew that if you didn’t approach him now, then you would never have another chance. No way someone crosses paths with an angel twice.

Without giving yourself a way you out, you muster up the courage and begin to stroll over to where his lens was transfixed on a particular flower. He was kneeling close to the ground, snapping close shots when you timidly tapped him on the shoulder. Oh no. What if you interrupted him somehow? What if this was his ‘artistic’ time or something, and you just ruined his concentration. Your thoughts go into overdrive as you stand petrified, watching him turn around as if it were in slow motion. However, as soon as he peered his big brown doe eyes up at you, all your fears vanished. If you thought he was beautiful from the park bench you sat on, then he was truly from the heavens when you saw him this close. His questioning expression brings you out of your silent adoration as you realize that he’s probably wondering why a strange woman just walked up and poked him.

“Oh! I, uh, I’m sorry to bother you, but I figured that if I didn’t come talk to you now, then I might never get another chance to.” You internally grimace. You didn’t mean to be so straightforward, but honesty is the best policy, right?

At your remark, his expression softens as he rises to his feet. Damn, how tall was this giant? He loomed over you by nearly a foot, casting a shadow over you with his back towards the sun. He peers down at you with those sparkly doe eyes and grins shyly. He begins to rub the back of his neck nervously and a red tint colors his cheeks. W-wait? Was he blushing? Did you make this Adonis-like man blush? You quickly give yourself a mental high-five before he finally responds.

“Haha, thanks? What did you mean to, uh, talk about then?” He asks sheepishly. Gah, even his shyness drew you in, even though you normally went for. . . well, overconfident assholes based on all your exes. Whoops. A girl’s gotta learn.

“Honestly, I know this is rather forward, and I’ve never done something quite this impulsive, but would-you-sort-of-want-to-go-out-on-a-date-with-me?” You rush the last words out in fear of your impending rejection. You’re well aware of your looks, but overall you know nothing could ever compare to the man in front of you. Hell, you weren’t even sure there was a person in his league. Besides this, he doesn’t even know you. Heavens above, what were you thinking?!?

“I’m sorry, uh, could you repeat that last part? I couldn’t quite catch it” he responds chuckling. His laugh was another form of endearment, but also FUCK you had to ask again. Your eyes fall to peer at the delicate, white flower on the ground while you scraped together any remaining confidence. You let out a puff of air and stare him dead in the eye.

“I would really like it if you went on a date with me, and I know that sounds crazy and you could be a psychopath, well not that you are one, I mean I could be the psychopath—oh! But I-I’m not I swear, I was just—"

“Woah, okay, I believe you,” he laughs. “This is a first for us both then, but why not? When are you free?”

“Hmm, wow I didn’t think I’d get this far, but I’m free next Saturday? Does that work?”

“I actually finish up a photoshoot that morning, so it’s perfect. Should we meet somewhere, or do you want me to pick you up?” His hand resumes its habit of rubbing his neck.

“Let’s just meet somewhere for now,” you giggle at his nervousness. “Do you know where the water fountain at the front of the park is?”

“Yea, that’s one of my favorite spots to shoot,” he replies.

“Great! So, 5pm Saturday, waterfront?”

“Sounds good to me, but, uh, can I also have your phone? To put my number in? Also, I’m Jungkook by the way, haha. Guess I should have led with that.” He says this as he stretches out his hand, and it takes every bit of restraint to not accidentally throw your phone at him. With great skill, you calmly pull out the device and gently place it in his hand.

“Right! No! I should have introduced myself first. I’m y/n.” Once he finishes typing in his number, he throws you a big grin.

“Right, so just, text me when you get home. Or whenever. If you want. Oh, I would walk you home too, but I need to take a few more shots and—"

“It’s okay,” you calm him down with the softest of smiles. I guess you weren’t the only one who was a little clumsy in the flirting scene. “I’ll text you later, alright?” His face brightens at this, and he winks at you before he’s walking away to another small patch of flowers to digitally capture. You only stare for a few seconds longer before you begin your short journey back to your apartment.

As you walked down the sidewalk, breathing in the crisp autumn air, you felt a strong sense of pride. You had never done anything that bold, and the fact that you were courageous enough to do it and that it worked out perfectly really boosted your confidence. You had nearly a week until your first date with Jungkook, but ideas of your outfit were already swirling through your mind. You continued walking (nearly skipping) down the sidewalk, with a newfound sense of something you couldn’t quite put your finger on. You weren’t sure why, but you had a good feeling about this one.  

Once you arrived back to your place, you immediately peel off your clothes and step into a hot shower to relax, thoughts of your recent encounter replaying in the forefront of your mind. Afterward, you snuggle up in your pj’s and a face mask and head to the kitchen to make yourself some dinner. Hmm, instant noodles? Yes, please.

Settling into your bed with your steaming bowl of noodles, you turn on the tv and begin to flip through the channels for something interesting. However, nothing catches your eye as your mind is far away from whatever was on the TV. You replayed the first time you met Jungkook. Which was in his mind officially this past afternoon, but the first time you ever encountered him was a while ago. The first time you ran into him was actually at a block party.

________________________________________________________________

You were at your apartment putting the last few touches on your makeup and triple-checking your outfit in the mirror. Your then-boyfriend, Jackson, had just sent you a text that he was on his way to pick you up. You honestly didn’t care for the party scene, but Jackson believed that life wasn’t worth living without partying. While you would have been happy to let him go alone, the last time he came back from a part he was covered with hickies that “were just from a dare.” All your friends kept nagging you to break up with him, but you loved him--well, what you thought love was anyways--and you also knew that no one else would be interested in you.

You grew up thinking you were fairly good looking, but when you started dating Jackson he would occasionally throw in some “pointers” (as he called them) in order to “bring out your natural beauty.” It began with “You look great when you wear that, babe” to “You should wear more things like this; it’d look great on you” and eventually to “I thought you wanted to look good when you go out” and “Well, I know the other girls are going to look like this…” It grew into a comfortable routine for your boyfriend to tell you that you were lucky to have him. He used to say it in a joking tone, but not so much anymore. He’s recently added the “If I hadn’t taken you out, I don’t know if anyone else would? Right hun?”. It was gradual. He slowly tore you down bit by bit, and you put up with it because he was so sweet and loving at the beginning. Surely, he still loves you and just wants the best for you. That’s what you’ve made yourself believe. He eventually took to sleeping around every so often. Each time he claimed that it was because you were bad in bed, but that you two could work on it together. You had given your virginity to him a few times after he came back with hickies. You hoped this would make it so he would only want you. After he slept with someone else, you were knee-deep in your own lies to see his own. Yeah, maybe you were bad in bed. But it’s sweet of him to suggest that you could work on it together right? That meant that he wanted to sleep with you again, so you’re headed in the right direction. You knew these were lies, but you were too scared to not believe them.

As these thoughts flee from your mind, and you check your mirror for the umpteenth time. You were wearing a figure-hugging, black mini with a red pair of stilettos. Your friends texted and tried to hype you up with comments like “YES HOT MAMA” and “YOU LOOK LIKE SINNNNN,” but all you could see in the mirror were two boxes: pass or fail. You finally hear a knock on the door 20 minutes past the time Jackson said he would be there. Your stomach immediately twists in knots. You had spent the whole day getting ready, hoping to catch a glint in your boyfriend’s eye when he sees you. You grab your purse, and half walk-half trot to pull open the door. Without even a side glance towards you, he struts into your apartment like he owns the place.

“You ready?” he finally acknowledges you as he searches the kitchen to pour himself a drink.

“Uh, yeah-yeah, I just need to get my jacket” you reply as you slip on the red leather jacket from the back of the couch. Eventually, his eyes land on the already opened bottle of vodka on the counter.

“Ah, I see you started without me?” he asks with a smirk. You slightly grimace at your sudden exposure. The only reason you were drinking early was to get the courage to go out to this party. He shrugs at your lack of response and pours himself a cup. After twisting the cap on, he strolls back to the door and swings it open, waiting for you to walk through first. You scrunch your nose slightly confused at the gesture until it suddenly makes sense as you walk through, and he slaps your ass harshly. You squeal and jump away at the move.

“Sorry, hun. But couldn’t you have waited on me to start drinking?”

“Oh-uh, right. I’m sorry, I know I normally wait to drink when I’m with you.”

“Ah, it’s okay,” he responds as you both step into the elevator. “Oh! I see you put some effort in with the makeup tonight yeah?” He takes a long sip of his drink as you turn away to blush. He rarely recognized your effort... “Yeah, you look better than normal. We’ll keep getting better until you’re finally able to keep up with all the other party girls, right?” He nudges your side with his elbow and offers you a smooth grin like you weren’t recovering from the backhanded compliment. When the elevator doors open to the lobby, you trail behind him, letting his comments sink in. He was right after all; you could never match up to those girls at all the parties.

When you finally arrived at the house, the party was well underway. The yard was already trashed with beer cans, and you could see the mass of bodies swaying against each other through the doorway. You and your boyfriend enter and immediately head for his group of friends on the opposite side of the house. You quickly excuse yourself to go make a drink. Jackson offers a small wave and continues recalling a story from another party while his friends chuckle along like dumbasses. His stories were never that good in your opinion, but hey, he put up with all the stuff you did that he didn’t like. You go to make yourself a drink in the kitchen but end up standing there scrolling through your phone. By the time you finish off your last sip, it’s been nearly an hour. You weren’t really concerned at your unexcused absence because Jackson never really noticed. He and his buddies were most likely all trashed by now anyways. When you make your way back to their spot, his friends were all there with some new girls, but your boyfriend was nowhere to be found. Gaining the attention of one of his friends, you try to ask him.

“Hey! Hey! Sorry I’m shouting it’s just so loud in here! But did you see where Jackson went!?!?” His brows furrow for a moment as his drunk brain processes what you said.

“OH! Jackson?!? O H, yeah sorry toots, but Jackson just went upstairs with another gal. You snooze you lose I guess” he responds and turns back to the girl clawing for his attention.

What??? He did what?? Even when I am here, he STILL goes and finds another girl!! You know what, fine. I’m done. I rather be alone at home than dragged to parties I hate AND be alone. This is the last time; I’m done with him. You grab the shoulder of that same guy and tug him around.

           “HEY! Whenever Jackson gets back, tell him not to bother looking for me. I’m done with him.” The guy nods without much care, and you begin pulling yourself through the crowds to get to the kitchen. After downing one cup and pouring another, you start your journey to the front door. When you had first arrived, you saw a pretty lawn fountain in the front, and you figure you could hang there unnoticed while waiting for your uber.

You were fairly tipsy when you finally navigated yourself out of the house and stumbled to the fountain. There were some beautiful decoration rocks at the bottom of the fountain, and in your inebriated state, you decided that you were going to reach in and grab one as a keepsake of the worst night of your life. You wiped your mascara-smeared, tear-stained face and lean forward to grab one of the rocks. But in your drunken state, you overestimated your remaining coordination causing you to flail as gravity tries to pull you face-first into the water. You squeeze your eyes shut as you mentally prepare for the harsh cold when you instead feel a firm grip around your waist. As you’re pulled up and away from the fountain you turn to see your saving grace.

You were at a complete loss for words when your saving grace just also happens to be the most beautiful creation you had ever laid eyes on. You soon begin to heat up and you’re sure you’re now completely red BECAUSE your drunk ass just nearly faceplanted in front of the aforementioned beautiful creation. You stumble for words as he still holds you tightly to himself.

“I-uh, b-, than—, uh, sorry, I jus—” his nose scrunches cutely at your blabbering as he helps you straighten and stand on your own, but not yet fully releasing your waist.

“Did you drop something?” he finally interrupts you.

“Huh?” you ask dumbly.

“In the fountain? Did you drop something in the fountain and try to get it out?” he restates.

“O-Oh! Haha, well, no. See, I saw this beautiful rock and I wanted it” You explain like it’s the most obvious reason. His eyes turn to smile as he laughs at your story.

“You’re pretty cute,” he says as his eyes flit over your probably atrocious looking face. You were about to thank him for pretending his compliment when you suddenly get tugged back by the shoulder and slapped (spanked is more correct because it was intended as punishment) hard on the ass.

“No, she’s not” Jackson responded through a clenched smile towards the man, and a death sentence glare towards you. Your eyes quickly fall to your feet knowing where this was headed. You were used to his humiliation tactics honestly. You just hated that he had to do it in front of the cute stranger.

“Now, that really isn’t something you should say to a lovely woman such as herself." You whip your head up in shock as a pretty pink coats your cheeks. You can’t remember the last time you were genuinely complimented like that. No aggressiveness, no “pointers”, just admiration. The sudden high you received from the comment gave you enough clarity for what you were about to say. You rip yourself from Jackson’s grip and turn to him.

“Jackson, that is it! I’m done with you! You’ve left me for other girls time and time again, and even when I come with you tonight, you still leave me to go hook up with some other girl. You don’t like me anyway so let’s be done with this and just leave each other alone, okay?” Jackson’s face held a harsh glare for a moment until he broke into a smirk, chuckling.

“Whatever, you were just another whore to mess around with anyways.” He turned to head back into the party without a second glance, and just like that, he walked away from you and out of your life. While there was a relief that you would no longer have to deal with him, the fear of being forever alone and unwanted began to set in. Jackson had truly made you believe you were worthless. Tears begin to stream down your face once more, and you let out a quiet sob when you feel a warm grip on your shoulder.

“Hey,” the stranger calls softly. You had nearly forgotten he was there. Warmth floods your face in humiliation.

“Look, I-I’m so sorry for my boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend, and I just—gah, I’m sorry. . . wait I don’t even know your name—” you speak through tears.

“Jungkook,” he answers warmly. “Jeon Jungkook.”

“Oh, thanks, Jungkook. And I’m sorry again about the guy and the tears and me. I’m Y/N by the way. Y/N Y/L/N.

“Y/N, a fitting name for such a beautiful woman.”

“Are you drunk?” You abruptly question. There was no way someone like him would have said that sober. His face shows he’s slightly taken aback, but he responds humorously.

“Uh, well yes” he laughs. You drop your head. You knew he couldn’t have actually found you pretty. But then a soft touch under your chin is slowly lifting your head until your eyes meet his glassy doe eyes.

“But you’re beautiful whether I’m drunk or not.” He whispers, and you can’t help but smile. There was something about him (besides his devastatingly handsome good looks) that sparked something within you. You aren’t sure if it was because he stood up for you, or if it was because you were sad and needed comfort. You weren’t sure what it was at the time, but before you could rationalize your actions you stood up on your toes to plant a soft kiss on his lips. It was sudden, short and sweet. But it was also like a thank you, mixed with whatever that other feeling was. As your lips separated, your thoughts suddenly crowded you, trained to pounce on you when you’re happiest. What are you even thinking? He was probably just being nice. He wants nothing to do with you. Can’t you see how drunk he is? He probably won’t even remember this.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I’m nowhere close to being beautiful, especially for you, and you’re too drunk to realize that and—"Panic begins to overwhelm you. You’re rambling and you hated yourself for not begin good enough. Not good enough for Jackson, not good enough for yourself, and certainly not good enough for Jungkook. Your eyes begin to look around searching for anything to pull you out of the chaos. Then you feel him wrapping his arms tight around you, bringing you into his arms in a tight embrace. His hand begins to smooth down the hair on your head as he whispers to calm you down.

“Hey, hey hey, shhh. I know it’s hard. Bad relationships can tear people apart, and from the little bit I saw, he didn’t seem to be a keeper. I don’t know your whole story, and you don’t know mine. You don’t think I’ll remember this, and I could say the same of you, but from tonight do this one thing for me okay?” You nod your head slightly against his chest as your breathing begins to level out.

“You’re beautiful. Not because I said so, and not because anyone else does. You’re beautiful because you simply are, and no one can add to that and no one can take that away. Just remember that one thing for me if you forget everything else. And I’ll remember the pretty girl who nearly face-planted into the water fountain.” You pull back and lightly push at him away as you both break into soft laughter.

“At least I’m memorable right? Haha.”

“You are most certainly memorable.” He responds more seriously.

Before either of you could make another move, your phone buzzes alerting you that your uber was on the street.

“Well, it looks like it’s time for me to go home. Thank you for being my good memory.” As you turn to walk away, he softly responds.

“Thanks for being mine.” He was sure you didn’t hear him, but you did. And you knew that no matter what, you would treasure tonight because of it. Even though it came from an inebriated stranger, his words did more healing for you than he would ever know.

________________________________________________________________

Your forgotten noodles are entirely too cold to eat once you come out of your memories. Yeah, you remember that night rather well. Better than he thought I would, and obviously better than he did since he didn’t recognize me. Your friends have asked you why you remember that night so well, and why you give a stranger so much credit for setting you on your path to rebuilding your confidence. Your answer remains the same each time. It’s because that night marks the first time you ever believed in the concept of true love: for another, and for yourself.

           The next Saturday you’re placing the last finishing touches on your makeup. Just come concealer, a little bit of powder, and then mascara. Just enough to make you feel a little extra pretty. You quickly check your reflection in the mirror, and with a soft grin you head out towards the park. As you approach the fountain from a distance you see him first. You can’t help the blush you feel as you get closer. Suddenly his eyes catch yours, and you both draw in a breath as you meet.

“Hey there” you greet with a smile.

“You look stunning,” He comments before even returning the greeting. “Oh, and hey, hi. Haha,,,ready to head over? The movie is about to start.” He grins at you.

“Yeah, let’s do it. I have a feeling I won’t ever forget tonight” you reply softly, grinning down at your feet, attempting to hide how fiercely you’re blushing. He’s quick to lift your head up by your chin and peer into your eyes.

“You don’t need to hide from me. You’re beautiful, and I don’t think I could ever forget the memories we’ll make.” He glances back at the water fountain before chuckling lightly. “You know, I once met a beautiful, shy girl by a water fountain at a party a few years back.” Your eyes snap over in time to see his mischievous smile as he winks at you and begins to walk down the street towards the theater.

“Jeon Jungkook you get back here and explain yourself!” You shriek as you run after him, and he begins to pick up speed down the street. As you case after him, you can’t help but think to yourself, please never let us forget each other.