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vodika-vibes · 6 months ago

Note

Hey! I know he's a bit of a rare clone, but would you consider writing for maze? he's from the repcomm books and is endearingly (Imo) professional and surly 👉👈

Not That Hard

Summary: When one story ends, another one begins. Maze, formerly a Republic Soldier, is now a bounty hunter. He’s used to things being orderly, everything has a place, and everything should be in its place. So when he ends up locked in a small cell with the woman he’s been searching for, a woman who’s been missing for three weeks, he knows that everything is about to be turned on its head.

Pairing: Pre Maze (Alpha-26) x F!Reader

Word Count: 1722

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: So, I've never written Maze before, but I'm always happy to write any of the Alphas, or any star wars character. His page on Wookieepedia wasn't the best, but I did the best I could. I hope you like it! Also, I've been watching a lot of Numb3rs, so that's where the basic idea of this came from.

Maze leans back against the stone wall, his gaze drifting from the woman sleeping on the singular cot in the cell to the door, and then back again. He’s glad that she’s asleep. He wasn’t sure that she would fall asleep, honestly.

He leans over and tugs the thin blanket a little higher over her shoulders. The blanket won’t do much to keep the cold out, it’s too thin, but it’s enough that she can sleep.

Three weeks ago the University of Theeds reached out to him, telling him that one of their Teachers had gone missing. They said to him that someone had broken into her home, torn the place to pieces, and taken her.

The University hired him to find her since he was something of an expert on finding people.

The fact that she’s alive is a damned miracle, in his opinion. After three weeks, statistics indicate that he should have found her in a ditch somewhere.

He’s never been so glad to be wrong in his life.

Still, the fact that they haven’t killed her suggests that they want something from her. Maze shifts so that he’s sitting on the cot beside her, tired of sitting on the ground.

He needs to think.

Why would someone want a University Professor?

Absently, Maze brushes a strand of hair off her face as he thinks about what he knows about her.

She’s young, barely brushing 25 years old. She’s an only child. Her mom died from heart disease when she was a child, her dad recently retired to a lake house. There’s no other family.

She’s single, and her only friends are people who work at the University with her. Honestly, it sounds like a lonely life to him, but according to her colleagues and friends, she’s seemed lonely or unhappy.

He can respect that.

Maze’s eyes snap to her face as she releases a quiet noise and shifts on the cot, seemingly to curl into his warmth while also opening her eyes. “You should go back to sleep, Professor. It’s early.” He says quietly.

She sighs and shakes her head, “No point. They’re going to be coming soon.” Slowly, she sits up and shifts so she’s able to press her face against his shoulder.

“What do they want?” Maze asks, mentally kicking himself for not asking her earlier. But then, her injuries were pretty severe. It makes sense that he would put that aside.

“I’m a Bio-Engineer.” She replies tiredly, “They want me to tell them how to break into BioGen.”

“Why?”

“BioGen’s biggest thing is weaponizing viruses.”

Maze stiffens and his gaze snaps to her face, “BioWeapons are illegal. Even in the Empire.”

“They weaponize them so that they can try and develop cures for them. It’s all legal and above board.” She reassures, “Even in the Empire.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“A Tenured Professorship at the University of Theeds is a great honor, not to mention it pays very well.” She replies, “It made sense, career-wise.”

“Only there’s a lot less security at the University compared to a Biomedical facility.”

She huffs out a laugh, “Yeah, there is that.” She shifts her head slightly, “But this has never happened before. Ever. People leave BioGen all of the time.”

“And you’re the first one kidnapped?”

“That I know of.”

There are heavy footsteps from the hall and Maze shifts so that his body is shielding hers. The door slams open and three men step into the room.

They’re not big men, if Maze were to stand, he’d tower over them. It burns him up that he allowed men like them to capture him so he would be able to find the professor.

“Professor,” One of the men stalks towards Maze, and he feels her shrink down behind him, “Come on, girl. Are we really going to do this? All you gotta do is give us the information, and then you’ll both go free.”

“Don’t lie. We all know that the moment she tells you what you want to know, you’ll kill her.” Maze growls out.

The man laughs, “Well, it’ll be a quick death, rather than this slow, dragged-out death.”

Behind him, the Professor trembles.

“Is this all of you? Just three men?”

“We still caught you, clone.” One of the other men sneers, “Grab the Professor—”

The first man reaches to grab the Professor, only for Maze to move, swiftly breaking the man’s arm, and slamming his head against the wall, causing him to crumple to the floor.

“Get low, Professor.” Maze orders as he stands and advances on the two remaining men. He doesn’t wait to see if she’s following his direction, as he suddenly has two furious men to contend with.

Unfortunately for them, he’s an Alpha Class clone, and they’re unarmed.

The fight can’t even be called a proper fight. The two remaining kidnappers go down with several well-placed hits, and Maze tosses them into the cell while motioning for the Professor to join him.

“We’re leaving,” Maze says to the woman as he holds his hand out for her.

Nervously she nods and takes his hand, “Where are we going?”

“Well, it was the University who hired me.” Maze replies as he peeks into the hall, and then leads her out of the cell as soon as he notes that it’s safe.

“Um—”

Maze stops and looks at her, “What’s wrong?”

“Just…did they seem smart enough to come up with this on their own?”

Maze stares at her for a long time, and then he sighs, “No. They didn’t.” He’s quiet for a moment, “Alright, there must be something here to indicate who hired them. Follow me.”

Maze leads abruptly turns down a side hallway and leads her into a much larger room. There are computers, though they seem largely untouched. It looks like the kidnappers were more concerned with the games that were playing on the four holos lined up next to each other than the computers.

There are three couches, each other them surrounded by empty bottles and empty pizza boxes.

“Well,” Maze notes as he steps around a pile of trash, “Criminal Genuises they are not.”

The Professor peers at a holo-board next to the couches, “It looks like they have a gambling problem.”

“Lucky for us. It means they probably didn’t delete anything.” Maze walks over to the computers, “Stay close, Professor.”

“Ah…Sorry.” She hurries to his side and peeks around him at the monitors.

Maze flashes a small smile at her and then focuses on the computers. “Hey, Professor?”

“Yes?”

“How’d they grab you?”

“I was heading home from a day of classes, and they ran me off the road.” She replies.

“You were driving yourself.”

“Yeah.”

“Does anyone know your route home?”

“I mean, there’s only one road off of the main campus,” She replies, “But I generally don’t know what route I’m taking home until I get in the car. It depends on the traffic and if I need to go grocery shopping.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone your plans for the evening when you were taken?” Maze asks as he scans something on the screen.

“No. No one.”

“It looks like our violent friends were hired by Levi Kelley. At least, that’s who paid them.”

“Levi Kelley?”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, he’s the head of the Biology Department at the University. I thought you said the University hired you?”

“Yeah, the Dean hired me. This Levi person, is he your supervisor?”

“No. I mean, he thinks that he is, but we’re on the same level.”

“Are you friends?”

“I’ve always been a bit…ambivalent towards him. He’s a good teacher, but he’s kind of a terrible person. Racist, sexist, the whole shebang.”

“And he works at a University?”

“He’s a very good teacher. But he lost his tenure last year.”

“For what?”

“Academic misconduct, according to the rumors.” She leans against his side, exhausted, “The only person who knows the truth would be the Dean.”

“So it’s revenge.” Maze murmurs, “Use you to get an incurable virus, and release it on the school. Did you tell them anything?”

“No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t.”

“They tortured you, Professor. No one would blame you if you did.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t. I left Biogen two years ago, Maze. I don’t remember any passwords or door codes. And they removed my biometrics from their system on my last day. I swear it.”

“Okay.” Maze lightly pushes some of her hair out of her face, “So they need someone else, a current employee.”

“Yeah, it’s the only way to get inside.”

“Alright. Let’s get out of here and alert the authorities. And get you some medical attention.”

“Yes please.”

Maze lightly presses his hand against the small of her back, guiding her towards the door, “I have one more question, Professor.”

“Go ahead?”

“When my brothers and I were decanted, we were given enhanced aging.”

“Yes, it was the only way for the Kaminoans to get a viable army in 10 years.” She replies.

“Yeah, you think you can reverse it?”

“Reverse it?” She repeats, sounding more thoughtful than surprised. Maze watches as she absently scratches at a deep gash on her cheek, “I don’t know about reversing it,” She finally says, “but I might be able to cure it. With enough blood samples.”

“Really?”

“Well sure, it’s not that hard. It’s just gene manipulation.” She frowns at him thoughtfully, “Look, all the information I need is here,” she lightly taps his chest, “The more of your brothers I can get blood samples from, the easier it’ll be to make a cure.”

“Can you do it at the University while also teaching?”

“I mean, sure. But the University of Theeds is funded by the Emperor. I’m guessing you don’t want the Empire to know about it.”

“No, I don’t.” Maze replies.

She’s quiet for a moment, “Find me a place to work, off of Naboo, and I can help you.”

“If you can cure this, I might just kiss you,” Maze says with a sly smile.

Her face heats and she won’t look at him, “Well, that seems a bit excessive,” She mumbles.

She squeaks when he lightly drapes his arm over her shoulder and tugs her against his side, “No. It isn’t. Come on, Professor. Let’s get you safe.”

#star wars #tcw #maze (alpha-16) x reader #maze x reader #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction #f!reader fic #answered asks

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a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual · 7 months ago

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Clone wars headcanons that took me forever to edit

I feel like my last couple of headcanons have been mushy so I’ve decided to write some shit Ahsoka and Anakin do that piss each other off

Ahsoka bites the skin around her nails all the time and most of the time she won't stop till they’re bleeding

Anakin’s tried literally everything in the book to get her to stop

He tried putting spices on her hands forgetting that she likes spicy food, he’s tried painting her nails (like that’ll do anything) but she keeps picking the paint off, now he just uses the force to remove them from her mouth

That’s gotten a few growls from her but at least it makes her aware she’s doing it but it doesn’t stop her from bitting them a couple of seconds later

Honestly he’s given up and just sits in silence while she complains about the pain

Anakin paces whenever he’s even slightly nervous and she can tell how nervous he is depending on how fast he moves

If he’s just kinda anxious he moves pretty slow but if he’s like one shirt caught on a door handle away from a panic attack he’s teleporting

When Padme told him he was gonna be a dad he was ecstatic for about 24 hours but after that some invisible timer went off in his head he booked it to Ahsoka’s house (she lives down the street cause of course she does)

Walked into her room and woke her poor sleepy butt up with all his pacing

Girl swears to this day he broke the damn sound barrier with how fast he was moving

She just wordlessly sat up and patted her bed cause she knew she wasn’t gonna get any sleep until he did

She sat by him and listened as he rattled off all his worries and only really stepped in when the darker thoughts surfaced when it was all said and done she turned to him and said “Now let me kriffing sleep”

Should he have probably left the room yeah but he got a total of 30 minutes of “sleep” that night so it’s not surprising that he knocked the fuck out of

Padme was a little bit alarmed to wake up without Anakin but was quickly soothed when she read Ahsoka’s message “Your nerf herders with me”

She knew the pregnancy would dredge up some unhappy feelings and she also knew Anakin can’t think clearly if he doesn’t have Ahsoka to sort through the bullshit in his head

She just got ready for brunch with her two favorite people and smiled cause she knew Obi-Wan and Rex would join them for dinner with or without an invitation

When Anakin and Ahsoka were living together they would kick each other out of their own bathrooms

Why? Well Ahsoka said Anakin’s had better lighting and water pressure and Anakin would do it to spite Ahsoka because he knew it would piss her off

Slowly but surely their stuff gets moved into each other's bathrooms and it’s a weird amalgamation of crap

Also when they were living together Anakin would ask Ahsoka if she was hungry before cooking and she’d often say no because she didn’t want to impose but his cooking always looked and smelled good

So half the time girl would just end up eating some of his food when she thought he wasn’t looking

At first he was like “Snips you said you weren’t hungry” to which she would respond “Yeah I wasn’t hungry then but I am now” after that he starts making more food on instinct cause damn that girl can eat

Anakin gets back at her pretty easily tho by taking the first bite of her food whenever they go out to eat his excuse is that he’s “making sure it’s not poisoned” he never does this to Padme cause he respects her too damn much

And he can’t use that trick on Obi-Wan and Rex cause the former taught him the trick and the latter has a bullshit detecter built-in

Both Anakin and Ahsoka pull that trick on the twins tho (which gets them a quick scolding from Padme)

Speaking of the twins it’s not surprising that as they grow up they realize that their auntie isn’t human so of course like any normal child they have questions and Anakin being the little shit that he is spots an opportunity for some laughs

So he turns to the twins all serious-like and goes “Well my loves we actually found your auntie in a dumpster we have no idea where she came from” the twins are distraught and go to the nearest adult who just so happens to be their uncle Rex

And Rex also being a little shit backs up Anakin’s story with so much sincerity that even Anakin believed it a little bit

The twins being the angels they are apologize to their auntie for her terrible origin story with tears in their eyes and her reaction more than made up for the swift ass-kicking the boys got

When Anakin was taller than Ahsoka he made her life hell by making fun of her every time something was even slightly out of her reach

He would make a big deal about grabbing it for her while commenting about how the temple’s architecture wasn’t made with the “young ones” in mind

Obi-Wan has turned multiple blind eyes when Ahsoka socked the shit out of his arm when he tells one too many jokes some days

When she finally grows taller than him she makes the biggest deal about it and no one can blame her

While Anakin is the pilot Ahsoka is easily the navigator she often jokes that Anakin wouldn’t find his way out of bed without help

Which is funny cause he often acts like a herding dog with her putting his hand on her back or holding her arm to guide her

But he’s wrong 9/10 times so it’s not uncommon to see Anakin guiding her in one direction and then see him get dragged in the opposite direction a couple of minutes later

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mossy-paws · 3 days ago

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hello! I do parody accounts of phighting characters on twt, I was wondering if you would allow me to make a parody account of one of your biografts? (Leaning towards mossgraft or jestergraft.) I was also here to half ask if you have any more content of either of them../nf/lh

STARES SO HARD,,, I think I would be cool with that!! I definitely recommend dm-ing me on here or discord though so we can both talk about it a bit more so we can lay some stuffs down :3! Especially if you’re thinking about doing one for Mossgraft since I’m really attached to her specifically + they have PROBABLY the most expansive lore!

Also,, ohhhhhh boy do I got some food for you /silly like I said Mossgraft is my BABY (they were also my first EVER PHIGHTING oc and were made like 2 days after I got into the game LMFAO) so out of all of my bio’s them, Clementine, and Wall-e are by far my favorites

buuuut for Mossgraft and wall-e specifically with lore, there is a LOT, so I’ll start with a bit of design and lore history and then get into the really fun stuff :3

soooo where to begin! So to start, like I said Mossgraft was my first ever phighting oc made basically when I first got into the fandom, originally, Mossgraft was a custom built supposed to be betagraft prototype that failed pretty harshly and became sentient and then booked it out to playground LMAO, they were also supposed to be married to catshot because when i first started playing the game I wouldn’t stop calling him “wife” (catshot as a skin was also literally the ENTIRE reason why I first started playing,, that and broker). This is not Mossgrafts lore anymore (at least not fully) and they safe to say aren’t married to anyone now.

Mossgrafts old design was also WAAAAY different to say the least, when making it I was having such an actual pain trying to get the colors right + I didn’t really have much down for their lore, so you can probably see the struggle I was having there LMFAO

Now! Time for the fun parts when it came to design, obviously you can tell after I created that absolutely horrific version of them I still was VERY unhappy about their colors and stuff, so I was playing around with them on this one specific piece (if anyone remembers this you are the GOAT) which was I BELIEVE(?) made when BH was first introduced. At this point I don’t really remember much extra lore and stuff for them (not even the venom bits were thought up yet) but yeah!

At this point though, I really wanted to make an actual design for Mossgraft, and so I did! This was when I first came up with the idea of murder dronifying them /j and when I first came up with Wall-e! At this point Wall-e’s lore was basically non-existent other then what’s on the ref LMAO and mossgraft’s was still a huge WIP

Now this is just a really small but pretty influential thing I made for Wall-e, this was when I was first coming up with his lore! Basically, Wall-e is one of three original biograft proto-types created by subspace. All of them were made as a sort of practice to see if they could actually mass produce Biografts- with Wall-e being the zetagraft proto, Violet being the Betagraft proto, and cyan being scrapped completely

Why was Proto-type cyan specifically cancelled? Well, all of the protos were made for one reason; testing. They were made to be used as testers and NOTHING else, just as a sort of social experiment in a way where Subspace can monitor their behaviors and such and then later on make changes to the designs and coding and such. This didn’t go well though, and Cyan ended up going rogue and dismantling Violet (who was also beginning to go grow sentient, it was just much less violent about it and was uncontrollable because of fear) and then breaking out of the labs and going on a rampage and killing a ton of Blackrock civilians before it was eventually recaptured and killed. Wall-e, afterwards, was SUPPOSED to be dismantled, but managed to somehow escape (NOTE: this was changed later down the line and now in wall-e lore Cyan had attempted to dismantle it too but failed before it was detained). Mossgraft, shortly before cyans failure, was created as another way to test biografts made for war, created with Violets alternative blueprints and made 3000 times more deadly… this though, also failed. After cyans failure (NOTE: in new lore, Mossgraft was the one who eventually killed Cyan after a few months of it being rampant, which is why wall-e was eventually saved by it) Mossgraft managed to break free from Blackrock, saving wall-e from being dismantled in the process completely by accident, and… then moved to playground to be spiteful…… It didn’t ask for wall-e to come follow it, wall-e just ended up tagging along after his saving and just,, hasn’t left. Mossgraft doesn’t really mind this though, since wall-e hasn’t done anything to harm Mossgraft. (Maybe Mossgraft cares a LITTLE bit about it, just maybe, they would never say it though).

in playground, Mossgraft was later found and taken in (?) by a small gang of demons who use it as basically a fucking threat to anyone trying to annoy them LMAO, these guys don’t have designs yet, but they’re named Rainbowcape (just a little gal,, she’s as sweet as can be in most occasions although she can be a bit mean even if she doesn’t mean it, she has a good heart though), Overseer spider (a manipulative little rat of a man /j who’s a Thieves den/Blackrock demon who later moved to playground because he hated both of his parent factions. Does he like playground? No, no not really, but in his opinions it’s better than either of the latter.), and a few other demons who I really haven’t put much thought into. Mossgraft honestly does NOT care much about the gang, they just also tolerate their presence because 1) they haven’t done anything violent to Mossgraft yet 2) treat Mossgraft really well since Mossgraft is basically their shield and means of protection and 3) Mossgraft kind of thinks they’re funny, it’s like watching a sitcom with those demons.

For dreamgraft, its lore ties pretty heavily in with Mossgrafts, although its lore is much less “pronounced” then M’s is. For Dreamgraft, it was created specifically to target and kill Mossgraft, other rogue bio’s, and demons (although mainly to track down and kill Mossgraft). I actually came up with dreamgraft’s concept well. From their namesake, although they looked way different in my dream then on paper LMAO

But! Back on track, Dreamgraft was created using another offshoot of regular betagraft (and a tiny bit of violets) blueprints AFTER Mossgraft had left. Why now, would a biograft be made specifically to hunt down another one? Well… this is because of Mossgraft basically being a walking war crime, which was also why it was never remade, Mossgraft is INCREDIBLY dangerous and the other factions did not appreciate it getting loose so they had to get on blackrocks ass about fixing their mistakes and killing it……. This is easier said then done though, because Mossgraft knows DAMN WELL that it does not wanna get dismantled so will gladly do anything to avoid getting caught by anything it so even suspects to be of Blackrock origin. So, they had to come up with a counter too it- and so Dreamgraft was made! Its code, unlike Mossgrafts, was absolutely PERFECTED and because of this Dreamgraft isn’t sentient, its biggest goal is to track down Mossgraft and kill it. Mossgraft is smart enough to know how to avoid it in most circumstances, though it has had some close calls in the past since dreamgraft’s toxic vapor can be a real pain to get away from.

Jestergraft was created as something akin to a “show biograft” and is subspaces personal pet biograft. How did he get away with making this when it does almost nothing else other then looking pretty, you may ask? No clue! But hey at least it can tell you the time and juggle!! Anyways subspace basically just wanted a biograft he could baby and it SHOWS with Jestergraft… especially because it’s sentient and boy oh boy is this little fucker smart. It’s code corrupted almost the second it was made but it’s learned how to masterfully hide it since if it shows any sort of sentience around its creator it’ll get dismantled. It also copy’s subspace’s manner of speech (making it even more insufferable to be around).

It also doesn't really *like* other biografts, but it knows how to manipulate them into doing its bidding’s when subspace isn’t looking. Dreamgraft on the other hand it HATES because it can’t. It thinks Dreamgraft 1) is a threat to its status and 2) sentient…. It’s not, though, why does Jestergraft think it is? Absolutely no clue at all. I like to think of it as some mad little brother trying to pin all bad these things on the really tired, annoyed, and uncaring older sibling who’s done absolutely nothing.

so, that’s basically it for a lot of their lore! I’m not gonna be doing mangografts/clementines/or sootgrafts for the time being since sootgraft and Mangograft have their own lores and clementines would take HOURS to write out fully (I actually DO have a plan for drawing out a poem I wrote out about biografts that will reveal a lot of his lore in the distance future, but for now I just don’t really have the time to dedicate to it :sadface:). For Mossgraft and wall-e though, I do actually have some FUNNNN ideas for them planned in the future! Specifically since I’ve been getting into transformers I’ve been itching to make some fun little “what if” alternative designs for them specifically, as well as some other lore pieces and such of them! For prototype cyan, I actually wrote a small little fic of them a long time ago, I doubt I’ll ever post it but if I do I’ll be sure to attach it to here! It’s very unfinished and old though so it’s not the most interesting read LOL

now,, for some fun stuff! Doodles and extra little pieces :3

First one is because a friend said they wanted to kiss Mossgraft (hi steam), second was actually a tumblr request! It was a fun little piece where someone asked me how the bio’s would react to a phone (fun fact, none of them know what one is (besides jester that is)). The third and fourth pieces were me trying to redesign Mossgraft and wall-e after their second ref was made (I later gave up because of motivation loss LMAO). Sixth was self indulgent, I just wanted to draw them as cats, seventh is an old old doodle of Cyan, this was me just testing out a brush. And the last is just a fun little wall-e thing

anyways! I hope you liked the lore dump, if you wanna talk more about making a parody account please do dm me for sure :3! I do got some important stuff to lay down (duh) but yeah!

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holocene-sims · 9 months ago

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next // previous

august 17, 2021 3:00 p.m. yonsei university

[grant] did your dad apologize for being a dick, though?

[henry] of course. he was a good person and realized he was being a bit weird. he just hated noise. i think he'd have been happy to be born with a set of noise-canceling headphones attached to him.

[grant] except maybe he liked your mom’s noise from that day forward!

[henry] he did, but even if he hated it, he was probably glad to have hers back after a while. almost half the time they dated, they didn’t even live in the same country.

[henry] my mom worked at an art shop somewhere in seoul, and my dad had this sweet gig working at a museum in paris while getting a doctorate and doing some traveling, visiting art museums on every continent. he got the doctorate, but gave up the job to come back and marry my mom.

[henry] and she won out, to be honest. him teaching here was a prestigious position, and his family are pretty well off because they're in banking and all, so she got to quit her job after marriage, have me, and just sculpt for fun.

[grant] that’s the dream, right?

[henry] i think so.

[grant] it’s nice to be genuinely in love but also to support each other’s passions, too, whether that's helping them pursue a job or a hobby. i mean, that’s everything. that's the deepest form of connection. oh yeah, definitely the dream.

[henry] for sure. there wasn’t much for my mom to help with because she was never wealthy and her parents weren’t either, but she was a huge moral support. she was my dad’s biggest fan. sometimes getting a doctorate sucked, and he wanted to quit, but it was hard to quit with her on the sidelines cheering.

[henry] that’s like me and soobin. not much i can do on the money front because i'm not rich and i won't take money from my parents, and i couldn’t help with her medical school because i'm a certifiably terrible student, but i can be and am her cheerleader.

[henry] and i may not have been a photographer without her. being an artist is the worst career choice unless someone else has money to throw at the bills. and i make an okay salary! i have solid clientele booking all year long, but i don't charge what i "should" because i feel wrong asking too much money to do wedding photos and all. that shit's expensive - i'll take a small cut off the going rate so they get all they want for the big day.

[henry] besides, the one thing in life that makes me nervous is clients being unhappy. everything else about a wedding goes away except the photos. if they're unhappy, i'd rather the pricing not be an extra issue, you know? at least let it be a cheap mistake.

[grant] but you would have still pursued this, right? i can’t imagine you not at least trying it out. you have always been set on some kind of photography as a career. even when you were having a crisis around college graduation about whether you should pursue high-brow art or something very human and realistic like you do now, you never questioned if photography was your truth.

[henry] i would have. i've always known it was my goal. i just think the financial stress may have worn me down eventually if she wasn’t willing to shoulder an extra share of the burden. like i said, charging people themselves is a strange thing, and you just never know what can happen. sure, i did end up with a good brand through putting myself out there on social media, but that was no guarantee.

[henry] if that hadn't worked out, i'd have been in trouble. and when you don't have a lot of clients or reach, you have to be conservative and sometimes that hurts you on growth. blah blah blah. point is, i owe soobin a lot, both for financial support and her total faith in me.

[grant] well, teamwork makes the dream work and all that!

[henry] hey, you're part of the team, too. there's no one else i'd rather call at 3AM asking to check the red balance on my pictures because everything looks green to me. and as it turns out, having a friend with a massive family who host many events requiring photography is excellent for clientele building.

#ts4 #the sims 4 #sims 4 #sims 4 story #sims 4 storytelling #simblr #hlcn: everything the stars promised #LORE DUMP LORE DUMP WOOHOO #also in terms of characterization henry's mom is very new but idc i literally love her!! xoxo #holocene.docx #holocene.png #hlcn: grant #hlcn: henry

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anthurak · 1 year ago

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So with Unhappy Campers finally showing us Asmoadean Crystals in action and giving us a pretty good idea what they’re capable of, I think it’s going to be very interesting when Blitzo and I.M.P. actually get their hands on one, as well as cause some major shakeups/drama for the characters.

Because practically speaking, an Asmodean Crystal is actually far more useful than the Goetic Grimoire for Blitzo’s business:

For one, it seems to allow for far more easy access to the human world compared to the Grimoire, at least how I.M.P. were using it. Going by what we’ve seen, it seems that only Loona was able to figure out how to use the book to open portals to Earth, meaning that Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie have been entirely reliant on her knowhow to get them to and from their targets. Whereas from what we’ve seen, any demon can use an Asmodean crystal without much difficulty, meaning that the imps would have much more freedom and flexibility in getting to earth and back.

On top of that, we now know that an Asmodean Crystal can provide a human disguise to the demon using it. Possibly even disguises for multiple demons, given that Vortex had his own disguise in Spring Broken. It’s been a running gag at this point that the imps have to cobble together their own half-baked human disguises, with Loona being the only one who knows how to conjure a human-illusion of her own, likely something she likewise picked up from the Goetic Grimoire. Indicating once again that she’s the only one at the company who actually knows how to use the book. But with one or more Asmodean Crystals, Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie would be able to whip up their own human illusory disguises all on their own.

Finally, unlike the Grimoire an Asmodean Crystal would be something fully under the ownership of Blitzo and I.M.P. Without the… baggage and loose ends that come with using the book.

In short, trading the use of the Grimoire and his ‘contract’ with Stolas for an Asmodean Crystal really represents everything Blitzo needs to make his Immediate Murder Professionals company a truly professional and independent enterprise.

But in proper dramatic and ironic fashion, all this will come at the COST of many things he won’t admit he truly wants.

Firstly of course, getting the crystal is going to come at the cost of his relationship with Stolas. All the signs we’ve been seeing since the Season 2 premier have been pointing towards Stolas preparing to break things off with Blitzo. With the Asmodean Crystal that Stolas has been looking to acquire being his way of ‘compensating’ Blitzo, a way that he can continue his business without Stolas or his Grimoire. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stolas also sees it as a way that he can compensate Blitzo for how he (Stolas) hurt him in the past, particularly during the events of Ozzie’s.

So yeah, I think we can all agree that this development is going to seriously mess Blitzo up. In particular, I think it’s going to specifically enable Blitzo’s tendency to bury any feelings of guilt, regret, sadness and general pain and pretend like he’s totally fine. Specifically by throwing himself into his business and act like all this is a good thing, because on the surface, it is. All while desperately trying to ignore how loosing Stolas is ripping him apart from the inside out.

Additionally, I have a pretty good hunch that this development will have a pretty negative impact on Blitzo’s relationship with Loona.

See, consider for a moment the work that Loona has actually been doing for I.M.P. While may be a shitty receptionist, Loona has almost certainly been absolutely VITAL to company due to actually knowing how to USE the Goetic Grimoire to get Blitzo, Moxxie and Millie to earth and back.

But with I.M.P. not using the Grimoire anymore, the imps able to get to Earth and back without her help and Blitzo almost certainly still forbidding her to go on missions out of some misguided need to shelter and protect his daughter, what is there exactly for Loona to DO anymore at the company?

Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this ends up causing some major friction between Loona and Blitzo. Like I can absolutely envision a scenario wherein Loona just… stops coming into work after Blitzo and co. start using the Asmoadean crystal. Or straight up telling Blitzo to his face that she’s quitting.

And when Blitzo is shocked to learn this, Loona lays out everything: Using that book to get them to Earth and back was the ONLY thing she actually did around here. And now that they don’t have the book anymore and Blitzo has that crystal, there isn’t anything for her to DO here anymore, is there?

Blitzo then likely tries to make a VERY misguided attempt at comforting Loona by saying she’s ‘the best receptionist he could ask for’ or something. Only for Loona to laugh at him (perhaps in a way that parallels the way Barbie laughed him off?) and tells him they ALL know she’s a fucking shitty receptionist and always has been. Possibly even throwing some of Moxxie’s words/assessments of her back at Blitzo. Loona tells Blitzo to face it: He doesn’t need her anymore.

And of course, as someone who’s both spent his life running from emotional problems and is currently in, and trying to deny that he’s in a very raw and uncertain emotional state himself at the moment, Blitzo is NOT able to handle this argument with Loona gracefully in the slightest.

From there things only deteriorate further, as the full scope of Blitzo’s dysfunctional relationship with his daughter finally comes boiling to the surface. Until Loona finally storms out of the office in tears while Blitzo is both angry and has no idea what to do. Their relationship now clearly having a VERY questionable and shaky future.

Also, Loona then meets up with Octavia, who has likewise had a big, long-simmering argument with her dad, and the two make off with the Grimoire for their own ‘fuck you dad I do what I want’ bonding adventure. But that’s a story for another time…

All in all, I think Blitzo and co. getting an Asmoadean Crystal is going to lead to some very interesting and very dramatic shakeups for the show going forward. And angst. A LOT of angst.

Personally, I can’t wait XD

#helluva boss #helluva boss theory #blitzo #helluva blitzo #stolas #helluva stolas #loona #helluva loona #in which blitzo just cannot put the breaks on that angst-and-trauma train he's on

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babybearcookie · 2 years ago

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ATEEZ Age Regression/Caregiver HC

not requested

this is an age regression headcanon; if you don't like that, don't read it, age regression is a sfw coping mechanism, so i will be blocking anyone who might sexualize it

Seonghwa

as a caregiver

so,,,

we all know where this'll start, right?

momhwa

everyone's favourite, like there'll be wars to get his attention

even if there's no one around, his baby wouldd always be seeking his attention

maybe by showing something they'd made or misbehaving

he's tried to say that 'if you want attention, you just have to ask'

but no bc that would not be right

right??

no clue, seongwha doesn't rly get why his attention is so important but he thinks it's kinda cute either way

when he's watching over his little, he's also just content sitting there, doing nothing other than keeping his eyes on them

but even with as soft as he can be

he WILL call you out when you misbehave or cuss at him

he hears a commotion happen and he knows his baby is in the middle of it?

uh oh

"you stop that right now, little one!"

and you will bc he has pretty much mastered the 'don't you dare' stare

and you don't wanna be on the receiving end of that

well, that depends

bc it usually works on someone regressed younger

but if they're a kid regressor, they'll probably just constantly push to see how much he'll take

and you'll know when he's had enough bc, not only will he tell you, but you can also see it in his eyes.... shuddering at the thought of being on the other end of those

but he will soften up as soon as his baby acts cute toward him

just a cute little gesture and some puppy dog eyes and they're back in the warmth, so to speak

seonghwa would be so devoted to the role of someone's caregiver

he has so much love to give and being able to just take care of someone's every need while they're small and vulnerable and innocent and adorable?

it's a hell yeah from him

having someone to baby like that is one of his favourite things

he's not very loud and/or wild when in his caregiver headspace, so a calm regressor would be the best fit for him

but he would of course never reject being someone's caregiver just because they aren't calm

he'll just guide them into calm states a lot, since those are his favourites

he loves loves loves having his baby lay in the crook of his arm, cuddling into him, as they follow along in the book he's reading aloud for them

it's even better if it's a little longer of a story, since he absolutely adores looking down randomly to see his baby having fallen asleep to his voice

though, as much as he likes when his little is calm small, he does NOT like it when it's bc they're sick or down

then he starts fussing and worrying over them

he hears one unhappy whine and his cool, calm and collected nature is out the window

might even call for backup from another member if he's RLY worried

and he dreads taking his eyes off of his baby for even a second when they're in that state

when he does have to, he leaves them with a million kisses being placed all over their face (mostly on their forehead) and just holding on to them

that goes on for like 10 minutes, less if the little falls asleep while he comforts them, before he can do what he needs to go out and do

when regressed

i definitely believe that he's a shy little baby

he keeps to himself a lot, doesn't seek out the attention

he loves being warm n cuddly

big sweaters n coats n blankets

give them to him, let him snuggle up pls

he also love his kitty ears headband

he got it as a gift, it has little bells hanging from the ears

it's his favourite accessory when he's regressed

he's the type to, as soon as he sees his caregiver, he gives them a smooch on their cheek

it's become his way of greeting them

he's feeling just a little bit small, his reserve of being affectionate in front of others goes away

and it's become a method of payment, if you will

if he asks for something, his caregiver will pretend to think about it very hard and then tell him that it costs him a kiss on their cheek

which he gives happily

can still be a bit shy about doing it in front of others but still does it

bc he gets such cute reactions when he does it regressed

a lot more coos than if he were to do it when he's big

flappy hands when frustrated or excited

it can result in some injuries if we aren't careful

like, hitting himself, but that happens more if his frustration isn't taken care of

he just need someone to help him calm down

he's just feeling a lot of feelings that needs to be expressed :((

is pretty calm and quiet until you put on girlgroup songs, best of all twice, then he'll jump up to have a dance party wherever he is

and of course, movie nights are the how to train your dragon movies 50% of the time

he even acts out toothless' facial expressions while watching the movies

not for anyone, i don't even think he himself knows he's doing it, but it's adorable either way

he has a million toothless plushies hidden all around

he always have one ready to grab

he's never more than 50 meters from one, like it's excessive

when going out, he either brings a little plushie or a stuffed toothless keyring accessory

Hongjoong

as a caregiver

i'll just say it now

he's definitely the type to dress you up all fancy just to go to the store or park

like those parents who dress their toddlers like they're young adults

but he makes sure you enjoy your outfit too

it's actually more that he matches his outfit with what you like to wear, just a more grown-up version of it

he's loud and you know when you've reached his line

he'll yell but not in a scary way, more like in a way that makes it fun to get him to that point

but if he actually feels like he needs to discipline his little, he'll do it when in private

never in front of others

both for his own sake and his baby's sake

something like that is very personal

and never actually yelling. he's very aware that there are some things you never do to a child, and never ever to someone who may already have certain triggers

dramatic dad tho

but also very very sweet and considerate

if you see something in a store, he'd be game to go and buy it for you

he just likes to provide like that

and it makes him happy when his little one is happy

he's very aware of people's relationship to being touched, as it's something he struggles with himself

so he'll always ask before doing anything involving touching

"do you want a hug, baby?"

one thing he does love is when you lay your head in his lap uwu

"can you hold my hand while walking outside, sweetheart?"

he knows that his baby would rather have him with them all the time, but as his role as leader and the time he spends in the studio, there are some days when he doesn't get back till late

but he always makes sure to stop by his baby's room, check in on them and give them a kiss on their forehead

probably have something, like tying a little bow with some string around your finger, to let you know you'd been kissed goodnight if you were to wake

when regressed

he mostly uses aegyo as a weapon

if he wants something or wants to avoid doing something, out comes the squishy cheeks and big puppy eyes

and it's super effective

excited and polite baby

also very bitey

he doesn't know what to do with his affection and his energy a lot

so he just bites ppl

his caregiver is going to get bitten the most

it's done out of love though <3

if he gets a lot of love, he might get a bit emotional

pull back and isolate himself

it's not that he doesn't like getting loved on or being around those who love on him

he's just used to being the one having to keep it together

so if you see him become quiet and pulling back, go with him and hold him as he cries

baby has sensory issues

when he isn't regressed it mostly manifests in not wanting to be touched

but when he's small it shows a bit more

some days he's okay with most things but

some days he needs his sensory clothes and can't even handle his hair touching his forehead in a wrong way

and he wants to show affection but doesn't like the feeling of being held onto

so he finds something, holds it at one end and offers the other end for his cg to hold onto

hongjoong can easily get pulled out of his headspace though

so, it's best to hide everything that reminds him of his responsibilities when in his adult headspace

there's nothing worse than when he suddenly gets pulled out of his regression

he'll get overstimulated and confused and dizzy at the sudden shift

and there's nothing to do rly, other than leave him be to get himself to the right place mentally

Yunho

as a caregiver

for me, yungho seems like the one most likely to be physically affectionate with his baby

not that the others wouldn't be, but he's just something else

he's always holding his baby's hand and pulling them into his arms

just always touching them in some way

hand on their back or arm(s) around their shoulder(s)

cuddles are a must with him

he loves loves loves just laying with his baby

bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces

he feels nothing but bliss and happiness if his baby lays themselves on him

most likely to love giving you 'uppies'

he also loves teasing his little with threats of eating them

opening his mouth around one of your fingers and softly chomping down on it, just as a little joke

"you're just so cute, i wanna eat you!"

"Daddy's gonna eat you, baby!"

big fan of listening to baby talk coming from his little

just gibberish directed towards him and him going

"oh really? wow, tell me more!"

and in that vein, he also has conversations with stuffies

if his baby says one of their stuffie said something, he'd look at the stuffie and talk to it

absolutely playing along, not ever a question coming from him

(he also secretly loves playing dress up, feeling good when he's dressed as the prince or knight that saves you)

he actually reminds me a bit of bandit from bluey with the way he just goes along with his baby's shenanigans

i don't know how else to say it but

he's just so warm and loving

he would go above and beyond as a caregiver

do everything in the world to make sure his little felt loved

i really feel like he'd be the best caregiver of the bunch,,

he works so hard to make himself a safe space for others

when regressed

naps, a lot of naps for this one

he gets very confused a lot

just big questioning eyes

being confused a lot can make him feel even younger

everyone is very protective of him bc nobody can stand seeing him upset, least of all his cg(s)

another regressor would maybe use that to get their way, but not yunho

he just feels safe and cared for

he's not incredibly loud when regressed

type to always carry a plushie around with him

he just loves having something soft to hug and hold

shy when it comes to affection but loves it

he won't ask for hugs and kisses but is given them all the time

and he gets all blushy but he likes it a lot

in his head he's way smaller than he is physically

so, when he's running up to his cg or anyone for a hug, he doesn't realise how big he is

more than once making the person he's tackling fall over or lose their footing

he loves when he's laying in his cg's lap and looking up at them

makes him feel so small and giggle, especially if the cg is making faces and being silly

he just loves being the one below, being doted on

a lot of times that means he's being tickled but he doesn't mind, as it makes him feel smaller

he's more of a baby regressor than a little actually

which hurts his cg bc he wants to be carried around and treated like a baby when regressed

but he's so physically big, it's hard to do so

even though most of them work out and are strong

but there are ways to help

he loves bottle time

it's usually before bed with some warm milk

it's warm and safe and he feels like the tiniest little boy

Yeosang

as a caregiver

i don't see yeosang being a parent-type of caregiver, i rly don't

babysitter maybe, mostly see him as being an older sibling type

he'll try his best though

he'd make the space very comfortable and very chill

like, priming the livingroom for colouring and cartoons time for the little

family means a lot to him, so if you really see him as a parental figure, of course he'd do his very best

he'd do well with an older regressor that'll pull him along for things

then he'd just primarily have to make sure they're okay

likes guiding the little

just holding their hand

and maybe having dance parties

very giggly when the little is being silly

always ready to shower the baby with compliments but

if you want him to be flustered yeosang (tm), just give him loads of compliments back

he loves feeding the one he's taking care of

it's one of the things he know he'd be able to do successfully

!!! he also loves playing board games with the one he's taking care of

he'll get so into it, it would just be a great time for both him and the little

he likes cuddling together

both him and the little will just fall asleep like that most times

he'd also agree to playing dress-up, though he would be a little embarrassed about it

when regressed

loves playing pranks, but very quick to apologise if the slightest look is given to him

though, he doesn't have to apologise bc all is forgiven when it comes to yeosang

very very giggly at almost everything

everybody, and i mean EVERYBODY, finds him adorable, which makes it hard to scold him when he's done or said something

if someone asks him to do something he doesn't want to do

it's one pleading look from him and he gets out of having to do it

he's definitely king of the house when he's regressed

the little prince who rules everything

and he doesn't have to lift a finger if he doesn't want to

the only thing that is a sure thing, that everyone has agreed to uphold, even if little yeosang pleads and looks sad

is that he cannot have chicken every day

2 times a week at the absolute most

he loves being fed so so much

and his cg(s) love feeding him

he looks so cute munching on food that's given to him

it's almost a fight for who gets to feed him if he has multiple cgs

which is not such a wild thought, bc everybody wants to take care of him if they find out he regresses

if wooyoung is one of the cgs, he definitely sneaks himself more chances to feed yeosang, since he's making a bunch of the food and snacks for him

i think the one who loves feeding him the most is hongjoong, so he's second in line after wooyoung

his cg(s) would definitely lead the 'yeosang protection squad'

ready to fight if anyone dares to disrespect little yeosang

they'd go to the ends of the earth to make sure yeosang is feeling safe and happy

San

as a caregiver

his first priority is making sure that his little is his first priority

everything else comes second

always makes sure they are included in everything

it's important to him that he's verbal when it comes to caring for his baby

so, a lot of reassuring words and words of affirmation and love

but he won't forget the physical

always pulling his baby into his embrace and having them there for safekeeping

so he can be a shield against all negativity

he'd do all the things that are tedious so you wouldn't have to

cutting up food, putting in the DVD, bringing you your stuffie

and he's so quick and silent about doing that, that you mostly don't realise he is doing it

he's always keeping his (affectionate) eyes on his little

ready to jump into action at the slightest hint that they need him

always keeping them comfortable

absolutely staring daggers at anyone who has made them uncomfortable

you do not want to be on the receiving end of those

he'd be the parent cg that's always there

which can maybe be a bit much

but for a clingy little, he'd be perfect

he'd go to sleep and wake up hugging his baby close to him

that physical connection is very important to him

he wants to make sure he's a safe space

even around others he wouldn't change his behaviour

he isn't shy or ashamed about his relationship with his little

and if they wanna be little around other people, he is there to make sure that nothing happens while they are

when regressed

pouty baby

and with a lisp uwu

and and he's very loud when little

he has problems with fine motor skills

though that doesn't stop him from enjoying doing makeup while small

especially on others

it'll look like a mess of colours and glitter but he just loves doing it so much

has to have his stuffie in bed or he can't get to sleep

(probably blåhaj or blåhaj sized, since it's perfect for hugging to sleep)

((can confirm))

his mind flies around a lot

until it locks on something specific and then he can't stop thinking about that until he has done something about it

when he's excited about something, he yells out about it multiple times

to show how excited he is and get others just as excited about it

he doesn't really care if people gush over how cute he is

he wants them to indulge in what he's into at that moment though

showing care for what he pays attention to is the best way to show you care about him

very territorial when it comes to his favourite people

the person who's his favourite can vary, but not how clingy and possessive he is about them

he will hold them tight, not letting them go

and if anyone tries to take them away, he'll hold them tighter and either get angry or upset

when he's upset he's prone to hitting

either himself or others

he doesn't hit hard and it only takes a gentle hand and a soft "baby, no" for him to stop

but it's what he does when he's frustrated or upset

to get him to calm down, cuddle him tightly

Mingi

as a caregiver

he loves carrying his baby

just having them in his arms is something he loves

and knowing they feel better being held by him is everything

piggy back rides is something he's rly good at

he can run and stuff for when it's supposed to be fun

and he knows how to walk slowly when you're tired

is the type to let his little cuddle with him while doing other things

or having adult conversations with someone

just holding them tight while continuing to talk about work or whatever

loves tickle fights

he usually wins but

he just loves hearing his little one giggle up a storm

will aggressively pinch your cheeks

he'd sometimes ask his hyungs for advice on taking care of someone younger

he's a little nervous about it

but they usually tell him just to be himself and go with his gut

and they are right

as soon as he gets into the mindset of taking care of someone, he does really well

he loves nothing more than to have his baby in his lap while they colour

pointing and asking what they're colouring

helping too if the little asks for it

is the type to take his little out on walks to parks

holding their tiny backpack for when they wanna run around and have fun

just watching with a smile

when regressed

loves rolling around

it makes him feel all small and silly

also laughs with his entire body

which sometimes is the reason why he's rolling around

loves being in his cg's lap

but he's also very self-conscious about his size

so it usually ends up with his legs being slung over his cg's legs

unless they physically pull him into their lap

very curious

will look over your shoulders if you're doing something on a device

even if his young mind won't understand it, he loves watching the screen as things are being done on it

pretty shy about wanting attention

when he wants some, he usually bumps his head into the person he's wanting attention from

he loves being held from behind

even if the person holding him is way tinier than him, he'll feel small and protected

isn't much for eye contact when little

will look at your nose or lips when you're talking to him

he'd be a menace around other regressors

whispering and keeping secrets and plotting against the cgs

probably be the planner of the cookie coup

sweater paws >>>>>

he loves having knitted sweaters that are just too big for him

a very snacky boy

and plays with his food too

but he's just too adorable doing it that nobody can tell him not to

(especially dino nuggets)

Wooyoung

as a caregiver

so attentive

like the boy is all over the place and wild but when he's with his baby, every single ounce of his attention is on them

his eyes are glued to them and he loves keeping their hand in his

some of the members may tease him about that but he loves giving kisses

and he doesn't hold his want to give a smooch back

as soon as he gets the impulse to give a little kiss to his baby, he does so

you'd never not feel loved, being wooyoung's little, because it's constant affection with this one

he'd always be ready if his help is needed, you just need to say the word

"papa, can help me with my math?"

"need help cleaning up"

"check underneath my bed for monsters, please"

his answer is always "of course!", he puts everything on hold if his baby needs him

he feels the most in control and in his element when he's cooking

he loves having his baby watching him

he loves when he's cooking and his little joins him in the kitchen, sitting at the table he isn't using and start to colour while talking to him about random stuff

he loves the domesticity of it

and he loves it even more when they come over and peek at what he's doing in the kitchen, eyes full of wonder

making snacks is therefore one of his favourite ways to show love for his baby

when regressed

not gonna lie, i see wooyoung being really shy about his regression

he knows it's just banter and fun but he's so used to the others sometimes hating when he's acting cute normally

he'd always scurry off when he's slipping, not wanting the others to catch on that he might be a little different

but of course they do

i might write something further on this but

san is the first he tells about regressing

he trusts him and knows that san would never look down on him for something like this or ridicule him

when he finally feels comfortable enough, he fully lets out his cute childish side

grabby hands for almost anything

always wanting his cg by his side

whining a LOT bc he wants his way with almost everything

loves performing

like, dancing across the room, making sure all eyes are on him

he just loves attention

repeats sounds or words or sentences a lot

if he finds them funny at least

his cg says something like "nah-i don't know actually"

and wooyoung repeats it very giggly

lovesss praise

he does something and immediately seeks praising words and pats on his hair

when he's excited he hops

so much his cg refers to him as 'little bunny'

Jongho

as a caregiver

he loves providing for his little

you want anything and he'll bring it

within reason of course

loves having quiet nights

where he'll be reading a book and his little will be watching a movie

maybe they'll look up at him, tugging at his pant leg, going "papa, papa! look!" and pointing at the screen at a scene they like

and he'll ofc look up at it and respond with something like "that's very cool, baby!"

and then go back to his book until his attention is needed again

very verbal about how proud he is of his baby

he always wants to show his support for whatever they decide to do

ending the praise with a soft kiss placed on top of their head

can stare you down if you've done something you weren't supposed to

best at tucking someone in at night

and omg the lullabies he could sing

though, i do worry about him going all in and being too loud for the baby to sleep

(jk, boy is very respectful about his volume)

he's the type to come home and cuddle you if he's been working late

fully dressed too, not even getting under the covers

it's how he recharges

wears soft cardigans a lot bc he knows it's a nicer fabric for cuddling

also will let you put whatever cute headbands you want on him

when regressed

is a sucker for being dressed

someone helping him, pulling a shirt on over his head

snapping his overalls in place

he just becomes mush

loves really soft clothing

anything with fleece

sleepy baby in the mornings

barely a person, so has to be helped a lot

clapping his hands when laughing or finding something amusing

but very quiet other than that

even if he has comments or concerns, he whispers them in his cg's ear

even if they're alone

he just doesn't really like talking when he's regressed

gets his way most of the time

one pout from him and your argument is invalid

he likes teasing too

like the kid that's constantly poking you?

yeah that's jongho

won't outright admit to it but he loves being held

nuzzling into someone's warmth is very comforting for him

he likes playing games

not video games but those children's games that aren't exactly board games

like the crocodile you have to push its teeth or the hanging monkeys?

those kinds of games

A/N: gosh this took a lot of my creative energy but was so fun to do. since my ateez concert, i've just not been able to get those boys out of my head, so now they're here too :3

tag list:

@mylittlesafehaven99 @luveuly @ihugjakey @kiki-woo

bolded couldn't be tagged

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capcavan · 1 year ago

Note

I actually want to congratulate you on your work because what I don't think a lot of people in this fandom understand is that Riko is a character that is FUCKING HARD to get right. Not just to understand, but to WRITE. You can't make him too unhinged or he's just a cartoon villain and you can't make his actions too light (If you're writing within canon) or he looks like a pathetic clown instead of the actual threat he is on canon and if you aim for the middle he can end up just bland (AND I WILL SAY the greatest offenders in this are Riko haters and not his stans). And even in your most redemptionest AUs you manage to write him in a way that is consistent with the existing characterisation. I have yet to come across from a post by you that didn't make me think "yeah, if things went different, he could have turned out like this"

I feel pretty honoured I feel like I just won fandom and riko is shipped to me in the post . I would like to thank my parents for making me fucked up enough to get him.

There is few things that contribute to it all pretty much. And I will use this as excuse to talk about them all its 7 am and I slept 4 hours let's goooo

I actually see riko as very pathetic and non threat myself and I'm pretty sure Neil and most foxes do as well because even on my first reading of the books something stuck out to me pręty severly

Characters who actually killed people in those books

Andrew Aaron Renee Neil ? The foxes are pretty hands on with murder

Riko? Riki never actually got his hands dirty it does separate him already in cannon as all bark no bite whose only way to be intimidating is to use family name and people who follow him menawhile Riko himself is scary only to Kevin.

Riko's buildup in narrative as threat is very good but I really wouldn't confuse it as fear of him himself.

Riko's roast perfectly sums it up

Riko is pathetic used and delusional

I'm sorry if this is spitting onto what you said I am happy you like my things but I truly believe that riko is pathetic and I say this fully loving his character and issues his character puts light on.

He is scary only if you give him power as abuser (wchih is what this fandom does a lot in their need to have black and white villian ) but as a person he is pathetic.

But seeing riko as pathetic is seen by people as " he is poor and sad and I don't want to feel this way about him BC he is bad person "

He is not pathetic little kitty

He is pathetic eaten by anger and frustrations and unable to cry from all the pain he is in I can see how killing him could be seen as mercy actually.

Another thing I think people don't get right

Is that riko is not 100% delusional about his value

He has skills and he knows he is worth something he is fighting to have his father acknowledge it not because he does not feel worthy but because he knows he has a lot to offer and wants a chance to show it

He does not feel worthles he is just frustrated that others see him as such

Also growing pains are important thing to show

I think saddest and my favourite thing about riko is that the better person you let him be the more unhappy he will be.being good person won't erase things he did in the past and hurt he caused and the further you go the heavier it will be on his conscience and this is balance in act and I have way too many versions of the story where I let him snap

So yeah riko is pathetic clown and he is scary only when you don't understand this I'm sorry to blow his cover like that !

Maybe my reading of character is different in the end we all base things we create on things we know and while I never did such horrible things I know how it feels to grow into being a better person than I used to be and I know how it feels to still not believe you did got better even when I have friends to prove. There is a lot of comfort in seeing someone so horrible get nice things not because I did those horrible things but because I know how it feels to not deserve anything nice and hate myself enough to self sabotage.

I could go on also to talk about difference between gloryfying physical abuse in fandom and ignoring psychological abuse but maybe that's a talk for another time.

#aftg #riko moriyama #all for the game

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ackermental · 10 months ago

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what did you mean you're not really a fan of rhaegar x lyanna?

Well, that's a complicated one. I'm more neutral towards them, let's say.

From the fanon point of view I do enjoy this version: a dashing, handsome prince kidnapping a young lady that he fell in love with. True love from the first sight, supposedly unhappy matches for both of them, running away together to have happy sex, resulting in the birth of THE CHOSEN ONE, who will save the world from the ice zombies, etc. Tragic ending for both of them, but the child survives to make their parents proud! Fire and Ice elements, referance to the title!

It checks out all of the boxes, when it's presented this way, how can you not like it? And I do myself enjoy reading some fanfics about those two, I'm not going to pretend that I don't. Also, I think it's absolutely fine if you believe that this version is canon, if you enjoy this part of the asoiaf fandom, if you love those characters, you name it.

But while reading the story, I must addmit that it was never how I saw their reletionship. Like, I know that for some reason this is a particularly touchy subject for most of this fandom, but let's stop pretending that GRRM writes some tragic Snow White stories. He's a sci-fi story writer, and a horror sci-fi at that. And it just so happens that I've read a lot of his books, before I've ever looked at GOT. So you may or may not believe me when I say this, nonny (since it's not really my purpose to change your mind, I'm just trying to show my point of view), that this whole fairy tale presented above is the most removed thing from Martin's writing style.

Ok, I'll just get it out of my chest: book!Rhaegar gives me fucking creeps! Any time when I actually start thinking about Tower of Joy and what transpired there, I find it hard to fall asleep. Again, I'm not exaggerating, I have nightmares about this shit.

Now, before any of you 'Rhaegar was a pedo, Rhaegar cheated on his wife, Rheagar forsake his duty so that he could rape a child' enthusiasts jump on this wagon, let me halt you where you stand.

No. I don't believe that Rhaegar found abandoning his realm, mother, brother, friends, wife and children to fuck a girl he only met once a year ago very pleasing. Actually, nothing less than madness could be responsible for such a thing to even accur, and yeah, that's what I believe: that Rhaegar went mad. Mad as in mad mad or mad as in obsessed, that I'm still not certain about.

The question is, if it was because of the fact that his parents were siblings or was it because someone was messing with his mind? Well, again, based on a long list of Martin's works, it was obviously the later. Either Children or Bran made Rhaegar absolutely obsessed with eugenics. Obviously, not in the way that we understand eugenics now. I'm pretty certain that, like always, he was presented with some bullshit prophecy, just like 90% of the characters in those books were, or he was convinced that this was the way for the House Targaryen to reclaim dragons. After all, Rhaegar was connected to this quest since his birth (Summerhall).

And like, a lot of things connected to Rhaegar and Lyanna story brings to my mind things like: breeding people for the specific set of genes, the repeating themes of roses, crown, young lady and Harrenhal (Sansa storyline), hatching of dragons, fire and blood (more specifically: a blood sacrifice).

We know that there needs to be a specific set of genes in order for a person to hatch a dragon. But maybe there is something else as well that is needed after almost two centuries.

So yeah, with the canon we have access to now, I'm, unfortunately, of the mind that somebody was sending green dreams to Rhaegar about the return of the dragons, same dreams many Targaryens had before (Egg to name one). He was convinced that Lyanna had the right set of genes, maybe thanks to her skinchangin abilities. This was probably done after something went wrong with Elia (who I believe was also picked for this purpose, but maybe hadn't had the right bloodline after all) or (and it is my baised opinion as a huge Martel fan, so take it with the same huge grain of salt) Rhaegar felt more comfortable with sacrificing a girl he didn't know, rather than his wife of many years. Which makes this whole thing even more ironic, because we know what happened to her. (Although was it his fault, or was the rebellion inevitable and Rhaegar just decided he didn't have to or even couldn't wait anymore?)

To whom even is the Prince who was promised actually promised? The world? The gods? Is it an exchange? That is, if we look at this whole thing from Rhaegar perpective, because none of the prophecies or the gods in GRRMs works are actually real. They are always false, always sent to manipulate human kind, to bring catastrophy and a hive-minded civilisation about. Did the Children of the forest, a hive-minded race, convince Rhaegar through false dreams that he needed to produce an heir with a very specific bloodline? Did they sold him some bullshit about three heads etc. after he failed with Elia? Did they convince him that he needed to kill the mother in order for dragons to hatch: a life for a life? Or was it about killing/sacrificing the child? Or both. Or maybe neither should have died according to some old texts about Dragons, but then at least one did anyway?

As for the whole legitimization and wedding and all of that... I don't think that Rhaegar was really concerned with those things 🤣. Sorry for laughing, I swear I'm not trying to be waspish. I just honestly find the idea of Lyanna and Rhaegar wedding hilarious, and the presence of the Kingsguard as a justification for this idea even more so.

Were the Kingsguard there to protect the child, or to make sure that nobody gets out? Dayne was a great friend of Rhaegar and he probably had no love for Lyanna as a Dornishman. Whents were lords of Harrenhal (which is strongly connected to blood magic), where this whole thing had began. And since we are at Harrenhal, I always did wonder if crowning Lyanna was planned beforehand? (which would mean that Rhaegar did his research or he had a sudden, one might say, gods sent urge to crown Lyanna, both versions equally disturbing). And Hightower element might be why the whole thing went to seven hells. They did couse an entire war in order to get rid off the dragons. Why would it change? Hightowers do like getting their hands dirty with dark magic, so who knows, maybe Rhaegar did ask them about some rituals. Espacially if they have a copy of Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History from the time of the Dance. Maybe even the same one that Alicent was reading, who knows. And maybe they've changed the recipy a little bit, tricking Rhaegar in the process.

So yeah, the Tower of Joy in my opinion was some really creepy, twisted mix between Summerhall (hatching dragons), Duskendale (kidnapping and raping - because yeah, Serala did rape Aerys, only this time it was a Targaryen doing the kidnapping and probably raping too) and Danelle Lothston shenanigans. Not very romantic, even in a tragic way, if you ask me.

Anyway, like I've said, I have nothing against the version most fans believe in, it's just that my perspective makes it sometimes very hard to talk about them as a star-crossed lovers when discussing things in canon.

But you do you, nonny.

#asoiaf #rhaegar x lyanna #anti rhaegar x lyanna #not really an anti of this ship but im adding this tag just in case #tower of joy

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firestarter91 · 2 months ago

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Dead and Buried - episode two

Colin looks particularly pretty in this scene, the way the light plays off his lovely face and makes his eyes sparkle, like Cathy I wanted to stare for a bit but unlike Cathy I don't want to ruin this guy's life.

Spoilery musings below.

We pick up the pace this week as Cathy carries on her campaign against Michael and things start getting serious. Half way through this series, I don’t feel much sympathy for Cathy, because the writers haven’t given me enough reasons to do so. Michael comes over as a decent family man grappling with his own internal struggles, he’s trying to get on with life and gain some personal freedom from a suffocating family environment.

The fact he did a bad thing many moons ago doesn’t change that. May be it’s partly because I’m still none the wiser what exactly happened with her brother and how did Michael end up in the situation he’s in now? Although I’m not sure it would make much difference to my feelings as he’s clearly rehabilitated himself. I’m planning on keeping my weekly viewings going rather than binge watching, I just hope this doesn’t go off the rails like The Killing Kind, the previous drama Colin did involving a guy with a dark past.

“I can explain” Cathy tells husband Raymie after being caught outside the front of the McAllister house. Well she does and it sounds exactly as bad as it looks, even her excuse that she's not fucking him but fucking WITH him, doesn’t win her any brownie points. She says she wants revenge, yeah we know. It’s funny how she goes from being all regretful about her actions to offended he’s followed her, like how dare you impinge on my private time whilst I stalk this dude and snoop in his house!

Cathy is also annoyed at her therapist, yeah so am I, I liken them to snake oil salesman. They make you pay good money to do nothing but ask bleeding obvious questions that any sensible person would ask, they supposedly listen, nod their head whilst you talk and then let you go without offering you any advice on what you should do and promptly book you in for another consultation. I just don’t get how that’s a job? You might as well chat to a friend and pay them, they’ll be about as much use and they might just offer you some sensible suggestions, like Cathy’s friend. Not that Cathy is listening to anyone about Michael.

Oh that explains the son’s reaction when he saw Raymie outside the bedroom window, I must have missed that he’s Andrew’s teacher and he thinks he’s in trouble for bunking off, Raymie now realises he’s got McAllister’s son in his class, what a handy coincidence. 😉

Uh oh trouble at home, his wife has found the lace panties that Cathy planted and she demands to look at his phone. He’s in a spot of bother here because whilst he’s not technically been cheating, the messages she finds (unless he's already deleted them) will be enough to condemn him as flirting (literally) with the idea of it. Oh that’s smooth and kind of a shit thing to do, blame the lad for the knickers lol, he even walks away leaving the phone in her hand until she asks does he want it back, that was a disaster well dodged (for now) but the son isn’t so happy, he’s heard them talking.

I love a bit of drunken dancing in the living room and Michael sure as hell needs a release, and that’s found in the bottle and music, he’s clearly unhappy. Next day he’s off with his son to attend a cult Brothers of Caleb meeting and singalong. Cathy is following them, turns out they’re going to initiate a new member as a ‘disciple’, he’s another repentant ‘sinner’ who by joining the brotherhood will have his life tied to serving the cult leader Michael’s father in law, Jack.

Cathy's friend Sally realises she's is out on the prowl again whilst on the phone to her and meets up with Cathy to ask why she’s on a stake out with her son in the back of the car. They can hear singing from outside so Cathy runs up close to take a look, “it’s worse than I thought they’re born again christians!’😂

Poor Michael is sitting there during the ceremony looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, he’s had well over a decade of this shite, having to listen to the ‘we are all sinners’ mantra trotted out by Jack and I don’t blame him for wanting to escape. Worse he can see his son being indoctrinated without having a chance to think or explore the world for himself and that scares him.

Sally tells Cathy she’s almost feeling sorry for Michael, it’s as if Cathy wants him off still killing people the way she’s behaving when the worst he’s done is seemingly join the God squad. Cathy doesn’t care she’s deaf to reasoned argument, at least Sally realises this and walks away. She’s had enough and wants to stay out of it, but in driving off she gets spotted by Jack, Michael and his son as they examine his car which Cathy has scratched with the words ‘cheater’ whilst she was outside the house. I know this is bad news for the friend as she’s going to be fingered as the culprit.

Cathy meets up with Sally a few days later at school, she tells Cathy she looked into his eyes and he seems ordinary, ‘you were caught in his tractor beams’ Cathy jokes (well who wouldn’t he does have such pretty eyes😊), she’s had a long talk with her husband, it’s all out in the open, and everything sorted and done and Michael is buried (not literally obviously), we know of course this is a load of bull.

Therapist again: “how does it end?”

“An eye for an eye” that’s her dream of how it goes, she wants every aspect of his life destroyed. She's on a revenge mission pure and simple, the therapist meanwhile simply pockets some more cash.

Another flashback and we discover that Michael was with a group of teenage boys, one of which was chasing after her at school and after an initial rejection she decides that kind of action is too good to ignore and they have a bit of a kiss and fumble in the back of his car one night, only to be caught by her irate brother Terry and they have a spat. First off I thought it was Michael who was kissing her but I think he was in the front of the car watching them and he tried to break up the fight? It’s rather confusing which one of them is actually Michael during the kissing scene and its aftermath.

Cathy arranges a heart to heart with Michael’s wife at the coffee shop (I just realised it’s called ‘Coffee and Crime’), I like how she manages to coax the wife to sitting down and talking about her own recent issues with Michael, ‘do we stick or do we twist?’ she asks the wife.

Whilst Cathy plants the seeds of further discontent, Michael is having an equally discomforting time with Raymie at school being taken to task about his son’s increased truancy, it’s clear he doesn’t really know what to do about it or say, his wife usually handles this stuff, he had no clue what was going on.

Michael tells Raymie he wants his son to look up to him, he admits that when he was younger he messed up, he was on the periphery of something, got involved and was punished for it. He makes it sound like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time not that he’s some cold blooded killer. We also discover that his son has no clue about his past and Michael doesn’t want to tell him until he’s older, well jesus the kid looks plenty old enough, he needs to tell him before everything goes to shit.

Meanwhile, Michael’s father-in-law is calling in a favour of a reluctant disciple, asking him to check up on the car they spotted driving off after the meeting and find out whatever else he can about her whilst he’s at it, God he’s such a dick.

Michael looks SO GOOD in that blue shirt and suit, wardrobe continue to do the most excellent work with Colin, it's simple but effective.

Is singing a big thing in Irish schools? I can’t remember ever doing that when I was at school, only at morning assembly.

Meanwhile dad has come around to poke his big fat interfering nose into his daughter’s private life and cause yet more trouble, now I’d tell him to bugger off and mind his own business and let me sort my own marriage out but she’s not that type. She’s as much under his control as Michael is and after a heart to heart, daddy says he’s going to find out what’s going on, leaving her all tearful and upset, thinking Michael’s up to no good even though she's convinced he would never have an affair. ‘He’s been straying away from the true path for some time now’ he warns, bloody hell what a nightmare, on the surface her family looks fine but it’s not.

Cathy has messaged Michael and offered a calming shoulder to cry on, he’s told her things are difficult at home but they agree to meet up for coffee, Michael’s wading into increasingly murky territory here, some flirty texting he may just about get away with if he plays his cards right but actually meeting up with that person is crossing yet another line. He knows this of course when he sits down and says ‘but we’re not doing anything wrong..ish?’ 😏 He looks so tempting.

I’m transfixed too much by the pretty to remember much of this conversation but Michael tells her about the knickers. It’s clear he still has no clue who she is but I can’t say that’s odd. She looks so different from those flashbacks, hair was long and dark, and she’s got twenty odd years on her face to grow and fill out as a woman and in any case if you’re not looking for something you tend not to see it. Why should he think it’s the same girl from when he was in his late teens whose now the woman sitting opposite him in a coffee shop intent on trying to destroy his life?

Michael gets a visit at the office from Jack who confronts him about his apparent infidelity, what a nasty git, the not so subtle threat is voiced, 'da' can take everything away from him if he misbehaves. He’s a murderer who got given a second chance by this family, no wonder he drinks, he’s so trapped and fucked he might as well be back in jail. Michael naturally has no clue who the woman was they saw at the house when dad shows him the picture, it’s kind of funny that he’s toying with doing something whilst being accused of actually already having done the deed.

We see Andrew is at home going online to search on Sally.

Is there anything worse than an overbearing, control freaky parent? Yes there is, an overbearing, control freaky religious zealot of a parent, no wonder Michael keeps a bottle of booze in his office desk at work.

Cathy is at a bar, drinking and dancing with Sally, they’re having a gals night out, she walks home afterwards to have drunken sex with her husband, they probably haven’t done it in a good while so he’s a happy bunny. Meanwhile Sally is staggering off to her house, fumbles with the keys outside her door, looks up and gets attacked by a bloke in what looks like a hoodie, he slams her head against the wall. She falls to the ground.

Michael comes home late and obviously drunk to be greeted by his wife, he says why did you tell your dad about the knickers, right then and there you see how suffocated and unhappy he feels with his home situation and I really felt for him. He sounded so broken and upset, her telling Jack their personal issues just piled on the emotional pressure.

His wife is okay but she’s too much under her dad’s influence, she notices he has cuts on the back of his hands, he says he fell over, ‘your dad is such a supersilious wanker’, he’s dead right. He also tells her he’s not having an affair and he’s not a murderer, they both head up to bed and their son appears suddenly from the lounge(?) downstairs (although wearing his black hoodie up he looks like he's dressed for outdoors) where he’s heard everything by the looks of it. Guess it’s a bit late now for Michael to have that talk Raymie suggested.

So the credits roll and we’re left with an interfering dick of a father in law convinced Michael’s having an affair, a strongly suspicious wife, his son realising his dad has a darker past than he thought, a seriously injured/possibly even dead best friend and two possible suspects in Andrew and Michael.

Despite the ending, I continue to feel sorry for Michael, I get Cathy’s upset about her brother’s early demise and seeing his apparent killer has set her spiralling but it's frustrating that two episodes in we still don’t really know what happened back then which is not making it easy to sympathise with her behaviour decades later.

Cathy’s coming over not as righteous but purely vindictive and unhinged, meanwhile Michael is struggling with an oppressively religious zealot of a father-in-law, a cowed wife and a suspicious angry son.

Religion at its worst can be like a cult, it sucks people in, steals their will power and self determination. There’s a price to pay if you try to escape, usually it means you're ostracised from family and friends, Michael was caught up in this "Brotherhood of Caleb" fairly early on by the looks of things and he’s being slowly suffocated by it.

Looking forward to catching up on Monday for the next episode and hopefully by then I'll find out some more about what Michael did to Terry.

#dead and buried #colin morgan #episode 2 #it’s like he’s trapped in a cult #I feel sorry for Michael #episode thoughts #michael mcallister

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haljathefangirlcat · 2 years ago

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And now, for something completely different... a few Inkheart headcanons, specifically about Smol Feral Trash Cat-Dog With A Knife. Così, de botto, senza senso, as we say here. Some I've picked up through the years by reading other people's headcanons or fic and then developed (if you can call any of this stuff "developed", lol) by building up on ideas I liked, others date back all the way to when I read the books in middle school.

I think it's safe to say that most of the fandom knows "basta!" means "enough!" or "stop!" in Italian. Which... yeah, pretty great name for the kind of violent criminal whose victims would be screaming that kind of thing, at least in a book series for kids. But, like other people who've spent probably too much time thinking about it at some point or another, I do like to imagine a more Watsonian explanation for it being a real, if surprisingly well-fitting, name rather than a nickname he earned during his time as a fire raiser. Mine actually hinges on the fact that, back in the day, before reliable contraceptives or safe abortifacients or even just the idea that there was nothing weird or bad about being married while not having children or sex or not being married at all, couples who ended up with more kids than they could feed would sometimes name the hopefully last one of them Ultimo or Ultima, meaning "last", as a sort of... auspicious name, if for a given definition of "auspicious." I've even heard a story (which, admittedly, might be a urban legend, as I've seen it mentioned in a few places but with no source) about a couple who called their last children Ultimo, Definitivo ("definitive, conclusive, final"), and Finiamola ("let's get it over with!", or "let's stop this!"), each time hoping the new kid would also be the very last... so, yeah. Long story short, I imagine Basta as the youngest child of poor parents living in a small, crowded house, who by the time of his birth were just about ready to say, "Enough with this! If we get another after this one, we'll just carry it into the woods and leave it there, and then it'll be up to whatever animal/fairy/kindly passerby to kill it or raise it!" I also like to think he actually has an older sister named Ultima, running around somewhere in the Inkworld... even if, for both obvious reasons and more headcanon-y ones, he hasn't kept in contact with anyone from his family ever since he officially joined Capricorn.

About the "more headcanon-y" reasons: I once read a fic (I thiiink it was on Fanfiction.net? Probably not AO3) where, as a boy, Basta killed his own father, an abusive drunkard, to prove his loyalty and ruthlessness to Capricorn. Needless to say, I loved it! And went on to incorporate part of it in my vision of Basta as a character. In my own headcanons, I'm not sure if I really see Basta's father or even both of his parents as that actively hateful or violent towards him (if only because I'm not quite sure if singling out just one boy among so many children in that way would quite work, realistically speaking about an in-universe Medieval-ish fantasy world... unless some of those many children died young due to hunger, illness, or simple lack of supervision. Again, in-universe Medieval-ish fantasy world) but as I love that bit in Inkheart where Fenoglio talks about Basta's unhappy childhood, how worthless he thought he was, and how easily he clung to Capricorn, I do picture him being severely neglected and receiving very little in the way of kindness or affection both inside and outside of his family. Perhaps being either dismissed or unfairly blamed for being the runt of the litter and not big and strong enough to help more around the house, or in the fields, or in whatever failing business his father might have owned, given how he's not exactly tall and physically imposing even as an adult? Anyway, I do find the idea of him being miserable in his early life and initially clinging to Capricorn as both a magnetic, irresistible symbol of what neither him nor anyone in his family ever had and his one real hope for money, power, and generally something better, then coming to see him as this godlike figure, as well as a new, better father he'd be willing to exchange his perhaps equally distant but much less impressive (and much less interested in finding some actual use for him) old one for (even at the cost of a very cold take on "out with the old, in with the new"), incredibly fascinating.

For something less dark, more crack unless you consider the implications: building up on the fact that yes I realize we're never given anyone's exact height in the books, no I won't get over the idea of him being essentially a pint-sized menace and Capricorn's very angry, very menacing chihuahua, it amuses me (way more than it should) to think that at some point, probably when he was still one of the youngest among Capricorn's men in the Inkworld or when he and Capricorn were on their own in our world, someone definitely tried dismissing him as a threat (maybe even by making fun of him) due to his height and build... only to immediately, sorely regret it.

Still on the possibly disturbing crack side of things: he makes a big show of hitting on women, particularly the maids in Capricorn's village, and there might actually be some desire under him just liking to pose as this Big Intimidating Man showing off his power by making women in an already inferior or subservient position to him squirm in discomfort... but if any of them should ever respond positively, even just in an attempt to get protection or some sort of special treatment out of him, he wouldn't know how to handle it. Like, it would temporarily short-circuit his brain. The closest he ever got to getting a woman to acknowledge his flirting in any significant way besides pulling back from him and reaching the nearest exit as fast as possible is probably that time a girl rejected him by telling him he had bad breath and then he killed her with snakes and resolved to chew mint leaves for the rest of his life because he's such a confident person. Even Roxane probably never exchanged more than five words (mostly to the effect of "get lost!" and "fuck you!" on her side) with him.

For the last one, a bittersweet one: Basta actually liked Fulvio, the black jacket who got read into One Thousand and One Nights in exchange for Farid. A lot of Capricorn's men did, really, but I like to picture Fulvio as a boy from our world, probably coming from a poor, dysfunctional home, that Basta in particular kind of took under his wing (as much as Basta could do that for anyone...) because he saw something of himself in him. This is, ofc, based on nothing but my hazy memories of reading the Italian translation of Inkheart, where I'm 90% sure a bunch of black jackets are ready to beat Mo to a pulp as soon as they notice Fulvio has disappeared and Basta himself gets all in Mo's face and tells him he will personally make him "pay dearly for Fulvio."

#inkheart #inkheart trilogy #inkheart basta #basta (inkheart)

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liv-333 · 1 year ago

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Ayo dude, your writing style it's amazing, keep it up! :0

If you're up to requests, could you do an ex to lovers (any pronouns you want!!) where they're both pretty snarky and flirtatious, but one is scared of being in love again, while the other one knows that (and so it's more mature), so they take it slowier?

I love this request (it's my first one too!) I'm sorry if this turned out shit, if this isn't what you meant and for not replying earlier.

Rain, Rom-com's and Pizza

A/N: one sexual reference (Iykyk) angst turned fluff I think that's it! enjoy the blurb and lmk if you have any other requests.

It was raining. Not the nice May rain, the horrible November rain that seems to never end. The kind of rain that comes cold and heavy, the kind of rain that you wouldn't want to hang around in, especially not talking to an ex. An ex who almost made you believe in love, an ex who knew you better than anyone else, an ex who you left because you got scared. Scared that they knew you so well, scared that they could use all your deepest, darkest secrets against you and scared that you loved them.

A was glad to be inside, glad to be reading a book all warm and sipping a hot drink while listening to their playlist. However this gratitude seemed to fade when a seemingly urgent knock at their apartment door could be heard. Reluctantly getting up to answer it A was greeted with what could be deemed as an unpleasant sight.

"I left you in last September" A blatantly stated with a monotone voice. "Can I come inside, just because it's wet and cold outside and well, I think that kind of speaks for itself "Fine don't get anything wet" "I'll try not to but you look really hot right now" B smirked while saying the entire sentence and then winked at A. "Unbelievable" A muttered under their breath, "What do you want?" A almost barked at B. "I know, that you left me in last September or whatever that means, but we could change that, I've been thinking about you, well us and, it doesn't make sense. what happened between us? To us? " B said, looking lost in their thoughts. "Go back to September." A looked very unimpressed with B's sudden arrival. They left their love affair in the past and A was not one to look back to the past. "listen to me B, Go" "But-" "we could never work out, as we learnt, we'd make each other unhappy; like we did before. I'm trying to make a name for myself I don't need people from season 4 of my life returning for season 5." "I could be a reoccurring character?" B, a smile present in their tone "You said you never wanted to see me again-" "THAT WAS AGES AGO" B shouted interrupting A "Don't interrupt me" A said calmly "A, I love you I never have stopped loving you, I tried to stop but I love you. "stop saying that". Both A and B could feel pools of tears welling in their eyes. A refused to let any shed, B was taking a different approach, hoping that their silent suffering and rare tears could win A back. "B, go." "No, I love you" B's voice came out watery and shaky. "You don't love me. You love the memories of us." With A's final word they walked away, not allowing B to see the stream of tears running down their face. "A, A look at me." I know you're not ready, I know you're scared, I know you, I know you don't believe in love and I know that I cant just say 'I can show you' but I know you, I know that you stick your tongue out when your concentrating, I know that you hate olives because you ate a mouldy one when you were 11 and have refused to touch one ever since, I know that you stay up late so you can finish your work, I know that you fiddle with the backs of your earring's when you get nervous and I know that you want to experience a love like the movies. "I'm a little concerned that you're stalking me B" A laughed, a watery one at that. "Oh yeah I know everything about you; and not just because I love you." B sarcastically but lovingly responded "I forgot about that part" A remembered, panic present on their face. "Come on A, can't I mend the tapestry I shred? Bandage your bleeding heart?" "We both know it only bleeds for you. I'm also assuming you have the correct colour threads" "I'm about as sharp as a circle, i'm gonna need you to stop speaking in riddles." "Jesus" A muttered. Yes You can patch up the tapestry you shred. We can try... we can try us again.

"I missed you A" "Oh good, that was my intention" B rolled their eyes and shook their head. They were glad to have their A back with their sarcastic comments and all. "Do you have any spare clothes with you?" "Yeah, I carry spare clothes with me everywhere I go. Bloody hell A what do you think!?" "Whatever. I might be able to find something that can fit you." "Can you help me get changed?" B questioned A making their voice a lot higher and looking at A with puppy eyes. "No" "So horrible to me" "Oh stop complaining" "Hey A" "Yeah?" "I love you, and I know you don't love me because we've only just started dating again but - "I love you too B, I always have and I always will." A responded picking A up (Or attempting to) and sweetly kissing them. "Now you're wet too" B remarked, a teasing intention clear in their voice "I'm putting you down now." "can we get take-out?" B whined like a child "Yeah, as long as you Pay" "THAT IS SO NOT FAIR"

A and B's loving banter and small talk continued for the rest of the night, they fell asleep watching one of the Rom-com's A so dearly loved while eating take-out pizza (that B reluctantly but happily paid for) while catching each other up on what had happened while on their 'break' happy to be present in each others lives again.

#exes to lovers #request answered #angst prompt #fluff prompt #send asks #imagine your comfort character #imagine your fictional crush #angst to comfort #second chance romance #imagine your otp #writing prompt #drabble #oneshot #imagine

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ollieofthebeholder · 1 year ago

Text

to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest): a TMA fanfic

<< Beginning < Prev. || AO3 || My website

Chapter 62: April 2017

Sasha hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect, but she had to admit, she was curious about how the dynamics in the Archives would change with Jon’s return and the addition of Basira. Even before they left Elias’ office, she found herself formulating hypotheses and running scenarios in her head. Martin and Basira seemed to get on well enough, but that didn’t mean they’d be good coworkers. Same with Jon and Melanie, especially when the boss dynamic was factored in, even if that line got blurred in the Archives. Tim clearly didn’t think anyone should be working there at all, and Basira was hard to read. Then there was the matter of the statements. Would Jon want to go back to recording all of them, or at least all the real ones? And if he did, with what had been happening to Martin, how would that affect their relationship, working or otherwise?

As it turned out, she was completely off base on all counts.

Basira didn’t end up entering into the equation at all; since as far as she was concerned, her only role at the Institute was that of hostage, she passed her time sitting in a corner with a stack of books. Tim and Martin ignored her completely; Melanie occasionally asked a question, and occasionally got a halfhearted answer, but not much beyond that. Since Melanie had already been helping Jon, all his return meant was that she didn’t have to pretend to sneak around, and Jon slid back into the routine as though he’d never been away. He told Tim, Sasha, and Melanie that they weren’t required to keep recording any statements, much less the real ones, if they didn’t feel like they needed to; he and Martin had clearly had a separate discussion about them, though, because the possibility of him stopping was never broached, and on Wednesday he collected his stack of files to record as usual without comment.

And when it came to Jon and Martin’s relationship…well. For the most part, it was the same as always—out where everyone could see, anyway—but Sasha noticed Jon’s office door was propped open more often than not, so he had a clear view of the assistants grouped around their table, and that he frequently came out to talk with them about their research or findings. Inevitably, when he came out to do that, he perched on the corner of Martin’s desk, even if he was ostensibly talking to one of the others. And on Wednesday afternoon, she had poked her head in to check on Martin’s recording and found him and Jon sitting facing one another on the cot, Jon gently cradling Martin’s hand in his and a look of tender concentration on his face as he changed the dressing on his burn, Martin staring at Jon’s face with such a vulnerable expression that Sasha had to turn away.

Yeah, their relationship was doing just fine.

They were able to be a bit more open with what they were working on, now that Elias had “told” them about the Unknowing, but Sasha was pretty sure they weren’t supposed to know for sure about the other rituals. So by the time Friday afternoon rolled around, she assumed they were going to head to Cinnamon Rose Books in twos and threes and debrief. Whether they invited Basira or not was up in the air, but Sasha was betting on not. She didn’t seem particularly interested in all of the supernatural stuff, and Martin in particular had seemed really unhappy at the idea of her even working for the Institute. Sasha was looking forward to asking him about that.

About quarter to four, Melanie’s phone buzzed. Sasha assumed it was probably Gerry, since everyone else who might have tried to contact her was already in the Archives, but when Melanie looked at it, a funny look crossed her face. She hesitated, then tapped out a response before looking up at Sasha with a grin that was somewhere between cheesy and feral. “Hey, have you ever met Georgie Barker? From What the Ghost?”

Sasha blinked, a bit taken aback. “I talked to her on the phone once, when we were looking into your statement last year, but I’ve never met her. Why?”

“Want to? She’s suggested meeting up for drinks after work today. We could go and relax, make a girls’ night of it.” Melanie twisted around in her chair and leaned over the back to where Basira sat, immersed in Introduction to Alchemy. “How ‘bout you, Basira? Want to come out for drinks with us?”

There was a heartbeat of silence, then Basira said, quite simply but decidedly, “No.”

Melanie waited a minute, but that seemed to be it. She turned back to Sasha. “So! You and me and Georgie makes three?”

Sasha tried not to laugh. She could tell Melanie was in earnest—and she did enjoy spending time with her. They’d had fun at the movies the previous week, and then sitting at a pub until the wee small hours of the morning discussing the film, the book, and everything in between. And if Melanie considered Georgie a friend, and wanted Sasha to meet her, Sasha was all for it. “Yeah, okay. Sounds like a plan.”

All six of them left at the same time, for once. Basira peeled off on her own, heading south with her head down and her hands jammed in her pockets. Sasha was a bit surprised that the boys came to the Underground station along with her and Melanie, but they were heading for a different train. Sasha and Melanie’s arrived first. As they stepped on, Martin waved and whistled a jaunty tune; Melanie half-hung out of the train, waved back, and whistled an entirely different tune in reply before hastily withdrawing as the doors closed on them.

“What was that all about?” Sasha asked, slightly amused, as Melanie took the seat next to her.

��Huh? Oh.” Melanie shrugged, but she looked slightly sheepish. “Whistle codes. Sometimes there are things we can’t talk about in public, and places are crowded and voices might not carry clearly, but a tune’s a tune, you know? Martin was whistling ‘You and Me and the Devil Makes Three,’ which means ‘let’s meet back up with Gerry later’, and I whistled back with ‘Strike the Bell’, which means we’ll meet up at eight bells.”

“Meaning eight o’clock?” Sasha lifted an eyebrow.

“In this case, yeah. Eight bells means the end of the watch period on sailing ships,” Melanie explained. “Watches are in four-hour chunks, except for the dog watches from four to six and six to eight, but the bell strikes every half-hour. So whatever time it is when we whistle ‘Strike the Bell’, we’ll meet up at the next end of 'watch’.”

“Huh.” Sasha studied Melanie thoughtfully. “You lot really have thought of everything.”

“We ought to have, after twenty years,” Melanie said, but she looked pleased with Sasha’s praise.

They reached their stop, and Sasha followed Melanie to a pub that looked substantially newer than the one Melanie usually preferred. It was also significantly more crowded. Melanie scanned the crowd, then nudged Sasha and led her over to a table where a very pretty woman with a denim jacket open over a What the Ghost t-shirt sat, tapping her finger idly on the tabletop. She looked up with a smile as they slid in. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Melanie smiled. It looked a little strained to Sasha’s eye. “Georgie, this is Sasha James, one of my coworkers. Sash, this is Georgie Barker, host of What the Ghost?”

“I think we talked last year,” Sasha offered, holding out her hand. “It’s good to finally meet you in person.”

“Oh, right, I remember you.” Georgie smiled and shook. “Good to meet you, too.”

A server came over and took their orders. Once they were alone, Georgie turned to Melanie. “Did your…family emergency sort itself out?”

Melanie nodded. “Yeah, lucky thing Martin wasn’t hurt too bad. Only a second-degree burn.”

Georgie’s eyes widened briefly. “How’d he manage that?”

“Hot candle wax. It’s just his hand. He’s healing up well enough.” Melanie waved a hand casually. “How’d your latest episode go?”

“Well enough. The actual meat of the episode came out fine. I…don’t think I really hit the right tone with the ad read, though,” Georgie confessed. “I’m going to lose this sponsor, I can feel it, but honestly…” She trailed off, her eyes narrowing at something over Sasha’s shoulder.

Sasha twisted her head and was a bit surprised to see Gerry talking to the server, after which he lifted three glasses off the tray and made his way towards them. Turning back around, she nudged Melanie. “Look who’s here.”

Melanie looked up and did a double-take as Gerry reached them. “Picking up part-time work, are we?”

“Shut up,” Gerry said amiably, setting down the glasses. “I was closer to here than Wapping when I got Martin’s text and figured I’d drop in.”

“And just who the hell are you?” Georgie demanded, her eyes cold.

Sasha was a bit taken aback by the intensity of Georgie’s reaction. She was even more surprised when Gerry’s face darkened as he looked at Georgie and took a half-step back. “Could ask you the same thing.”

“Ger, this is Georgina Barker, she’s a friend of mine,” Melanie intervened, frowning slightly. “Georgie, this is Gerard Keay, he’s—an old friend.”

Sasha caught the hesitation in Melanie’s voice, and she almost called her out for not referring to Gerry as my brother, but she bit her tongue. If Melanie didn’t want Georgie to know how close she was to Gerry, Sasha wasn’t going to be the one to spill those beans. Besides…she was curious about how this interaction would play out.

Georgie folded her arms over her chest. She didn’t look impressed. “Really. An old friend. How long have you known Melanie?”

“Twenty years, give or take. And you?” Gerry mimicked Georgie’s pose.

Georgie didn’t answer his question. “It’s just that she’s never mentioned you before.”

“Right, because you’re such good friends she tells you everything,” Gerry shot back. “I can tell. At least I’ve heard of you. You’re the one that put her in Sarah Baldwin’s way.”

“Guys, I’m sitting right here,” Melanie said, sounding irritated. Both of them ignored her.

“I’m sorry, have you never introduced her to someone dangerous? Because you remind me of someone dangerous yourself.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Guys,” Melanie repeated, a little more emphatically. Sasha touched her hand lightly, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“I think you should leave. Now.” Georgie’s scowl deepened.

“I think you should take a good, hard look at yourself and see how deep this thing goes, and if you’re really one to be making judgments,” Gerry said coldly. “But sure, I’m leaving. See you later, Melanie…assuming your friend here lets you.” With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the pub.

Melanie thumped the table with the heel of her hand. “What the fuck was that all about?”

Georgie relaxed slightly, sat back in her seat, and downed about half of the Tom Collins Gerry had set in front of her. “Sorry, but you really don’t need friends like that.”

“Fucking hell, Georgie, I’ve known him since I was eight.” Melanie sounded extremely frustrated. “What the hell about him upset you so much?”

“Like I said…he reminds me of someone.” Georgie stared into her drink.

“Apparently you remind him of someone too.” Melanie snorted. “Can’t imagine who. I’ve met most of the same people he has.”

Sasha picked up her brandy Alexander, but didn’t take a sip yet. Casually, she asked, “How long have you been in London, Georgie?”

“Four years, give or take. Since the podcast really took off, enough that I could quit my day job, anyway.” Georgie still sounded a bit annoyed, but at least a bit less tense than before. “Why?”

Well, that ruled out Sasha’s first theory—that Georgie had recognized Gerry from news articles about his mother’s murder and the subsequent trial. It hadn’t exactly been a national item; there’d been a number of major world news stories happening around that time, and from what Sasha had dug up when they were doing that first investigation, there hadn’t been many articles outside of London and the more sensational tabloids. It also didn’t explain why Gerry seemed to think Georgie was dangerous, too.

She was gearing up to ask another question when it suddenly struck her that for all Georgie seemed to think Gerry was dangerous, she wasn’t showing any signs of fear. Anger, irritation, maybe a bit of protectiveness, sure, but she didn’t seem in the least bit afraid of Gerry, what he could do to her—or Melanie, or Sasha, or anyone else—or what might happen. Which could mean she was using dangerous in a different sense, but…

Several pieces fell into place, and Sasha set down her glass. “You’ve met something like him before,” she blurted.

Georgie looked up at Sasha with a slight frown. “Didn’t I just say that?”

“No, you said someone. I said something.” Sasha turned to Melanie and raised an eyebrow. “You get what I mean, right?”

“I—oh. Oh.” Melanie’s eyes widened. “Oh, fuck.” She turned to Georgie. “You’ve met monsters before.”

Georgie blinked. “Yeah?” she said, drawing out the word a bit, like she wasn’t sure why that was such a big deal.

Melanie cursed under her breath. Sasha leaned in eagerly. “What? When?”

“Not here,” Melanie said swiftly. “Not in public. We—shit, my place is ten minutes by Tube—”

“I live right down the block,” Georgie said, frowning. “If you want to…talk more privately. I can make better drinks at home. Or tea or something.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Melanie downed her drink quickly—probably too quickly. “C’mon, let’s close out the tab and go.”

Sasha paid for their drinks, on the theory that if this led to a statement she could probably expense it back to the Institute, and hurried after Georgie and Melanie. The wind had died down a little since they’d entered the pub, but it was still overcast and cool, not that Sasha could tell from the speed they were walking. She almost had to run to keep up with them.

Georgie turned out to live in a basement flat in a surprisingly well-kept building, consisting of a kitchen, a sitting room, a bath, and three bedrooms, one of which had been transformed into a studio. The walls were painted light blue, the carpet was an inoffensive beige, and the sofa was a dark green that had seen better days. A low bookshelf bristled with soppy romance novels mingled with books on hauntings and the paranormal, most of which Sasha had read. There were a couple art prints hanging on the wall and a framed photograph of an older couple sitting on top of the bookshelf. There was also a radiator, and curled up on top of said radiator was an extremely fat grey cat. As Georgie shut the door, the cat stirred, yawned, and stretched, revealing that its front paws were both white and had thumbs.

“Who’s this?” Sasha asked, bending down to let the cat sniff her hand. It butted its head against her fingers, obviously wanting to be scratched. Sasha obliged, secretly delighted—she loved cats, and most of the other ones she interacted with on a regular basis were largely indifferent to her or would rather play than cuddle.

“That’s the Admiral. He’s a lazy old man.” Georgie carried on to the kitchen. “What’s your pleasure?”

“Anything with gin,” Melanie said, sounding a bit distracted. Sasha looked up to see her rummaging through her pockets. “Damn…Georgie, do you have a tape recorder we could borrow?”

“A tape recorder?” Georgie repeated, looking over her shoulder with a puzzled frown. “Why?”

“Look, whatever you’re about to tell us—whatever you encountered or ran into or whatever—that’s the sort of thing we deal with at the Institute. It’s what we do, take people’s statements and, and research them or whatever.” Melanie pulled out a cassette tape and frowned at it, turning it over several times. “This one’s probably blank…anyway, we need to record it so we can add it to the Archives.”

Georgie’s frown deepened. “You know, there’s this nifty app on phones these days that records stuff. Or, you know, I have an entire studio of podcast equipment. Recording audio is kind of what I do.”

“For some reason, none of the…real statements will go on digital recordings,” Sasha said, straightening up. The Admiral mewed his displeasure and pawed at her leg. “Claws away, cat. We have to use the tape recorders. If we try to digitally record your statement, it’ll just come out as gibberish.”

“I’ve never had a problem with that.”

“You’ve never recorded a podcast about anything like this,” Melanie said positively. “So. Tape recorder?”

Georgie stood motionless for about five seconds. Finally, she said, “I’ve got one in the studio.”

“Should we set up a ward?” Sasha asked Melanie quietly, as Georgie went to fetch the recorder.

Melanie shook her head. “No need. The statements don’t really draw the Fears they’re about. Probably. Technically. Most likely.”

“Yeah, but they do draw the Eye.”

“You’re…not wrong. However, unless you’re developing Archivist-level powers, we’re probably going to need a little help from the Eye to get a coherent statement.”

Sasha shrugged. “I’ve never tried.”

Georgie came back in and handed Melanie a clunky greenish-grey shoebox recorder. Melanie popped the tape she’d found in her pocket into it and pressed PLAY. Satisfied it was truly blank, she turned to Georgie. “Okay. Where do you want to do this?”

“Are you going to explain to me what ‘this’ is, exactly?” Georgie asked. “Because I have no clue.”

To her credit, Melanie looked embarrassed. “Oh. Right.”

Sasha didn’t want to interfere, but she thought it might help if she made a practical suggestion. “Why don’t we sit down? This might take a while.”

They ended up around the kitchen table, each of them with a gin and tonic with a lime twist—gin wasn’t Sasha’s favorite drink in the world, but she figured it couldn’t hurt. Melanie took a deep breath and pushed the tape recorder to the center of the table. She didn’t touch the RECORD button, though. “Right. What do you want to know? Other than…generally, what.”

Georgie looked from Melanie to Sasha and back. “You said the Magnus Institute…I know generally what it does, look into spooky things and whatnot. And I know they were asking about what you saw at Cambridge Military Hospital. And last week, you said that knowing anything about Information Sciences doesn’t matter all that much in the Archives.”

“I said it matters less than you think. I never said it didn’t matter.” Melanie huffed at her.

“Sorry. So…we’re talking about spooky bullshit, then.”

“More or less.” Melanie took a deep breath. “Okay. Simplest explanation. You said you’d met…monsters before.”

“Yeah?”

“Well…we kind of work for one.”

Georgie blinked. “Oh. That’s…not good.” She paused. “Wait, didn’t you say Jon was your boss? Is he the monster?”

“Kind of,” Sasha said, at the same time as Melanie emphatically and angrily said, “No!”

Georgie looked between the two of them again. “One of you is lying.”

Sasha raised her hand. She wasn’t exactly lying—Jon was certainly beginning to turn into something less than human—but Martin was a hell of a lot further along on that path than Jon was, and she was smart enough to realize that there was a very hard line not to cross. Insinuating that Melanie’s brother—that either of Melanie’s brothers—was a monster was firmly on the other side of that line. “Not really lying, just…misspoke. Jon’s not the monster we work for. He’s closer to it than we are…technically…and it’s affecting him, but he’s not a monster.”

“So his boss is the monster.”

“The answer to that is closer to yes, but still technically no.” Melanie took a deep breath. “There are…there are things beyond the world. Not exactly gods, but powers or…something. We call them the Fears. They live outside our universe, but they’re trying to push in. Sometimes they come in the form of monsters. Other times they choose people to be their…we call them avatars. But they end up getting all these powers, and they start to lose some of their self. Sometimes all of it. It all depends on how hard they fight it.”

Georgie stared at Melanie. “And that’s what Jon is. And that…friend of yours that turned up at the pub?”

“I—yes.” Melanie sighed. “Different powers, though. The one that the Institute serves…so we all kind of serve it, really, Jon’s just the one getting spooky powers from it…we call it the Eye, or the Beholding, or the Ceaseless Watcher, or It Knows You, or…you get the idea. It’s knowledge, or the fear of being watched, of, of being observed. Jon, as the Archivist, can…make people tell him things. When he asks questions, people have to answer him. And the statements—people want to tell him about these things. All he has to do is say ‘tell me’ and they spill their guts. And he gets energy, kind of, from reading the statements, the real ones. I mean, it feeds off of him, too, but…it’s a whole…thing.”

Georgie snorted. “If that’s what the job is about, that explains why he got the job. He was always the one who pushed too far and asked smart-arse, awkward questions. I was always surprised he never got punched.”

Melanie’s eyes flashed, but all she said was, “I think that particular bit of luck’s run out.”

Sasha suppressed a smirk. The fact that Melanie had gone from clearly wanting to knock Jon’s teeth out to being one of his staunchest allies and defenders besides Martin would never cease to amuse her. She also noticed that Melanie hadn’t brought up the fact that Martin also had several of those abilities, and then some—Jon couldn’t see the Marks, as far as Sasha knew, and she’d never heard him suddenly drop into a trance and spill out information he almost certainly shouldn’t have known in that much detail. But she kept quiet about that. She was more interested in seeing how Melanie handled this.

“So, he discovered his boss was evil, making him kind of evil, and…what, just decided to take some time off?” Georgie drummed her fingers on the table for a moment.

“Well, no. There were a couple murders that got blamed on him. Officially, anyway. Nobody in the Archives thought he’d done it—nobody outside the police thought he’d done it—but still, he was suspect number one.”

“Huh. I assume that’s why I had the police asking after him, then.”

Melanie jerked back. “What?”

“It’s fine, I hadn’t heard from him since the breakup,” Georgie said, a piece of information that startled Sasha way more than the casual comment about the police. “Anyway, that makes sense, but you said your…friend was something different?”

“Okay, first of all, Gerry’s not just a friend, he’s practically my brother,” Melanie said, an edge to her voice. “He’s the one who taught me all this stuff, did his best to protect me from it. He’s fought for me—and for Martin—to keep us safe. What happened to him isn’t his fault.”

“Wait. Isn’t that the brother you told me died just before you did the Cambridge Military Hospital job?”

“Same one. He got brought back…well, technically his soul or, or echo or whatever, got bound into a gigantic book of skin, and then the book got burnt and he was accidentally set free and…he sort of made a deal with one of the powers without meaning to. Terminus. The End. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Death?”

“Yeah.”

Georgie sighed, sounding exasperated. “Great. I’ve been talking to another corpse.”

At that point, as much as she wanted to see it play out, Sasha decided to intervene. Melanie was about to absolutely explode, and Sasha had noticed that Georgie still didn’t seem afraid by any of this. She could have been hiding it well, but Sasha really wanted to dig at it and see what was going on, what the limits of that were. “I think that’s a good place to start your statement, actually.”

“Right.” Georgie took a swig of her drink.

“Do you mind if we record this?”

“I suppose it can’t hurt.”

Sasha reached for the recorder, then noticed the button was already depressed. She didn’t call attention to that, though. “Okay. Want us to start you off?”

Georgie shrugged. “Sure. Go for it.”

“Great. Statement of Georgina Barker, regarding a conversation with a corpse. Statement recorded direct from subject, twenty-first April, 2017.” Sasha nodded. “Go ahead. Where did it start?”

“Balliol. It was my first year of university—I was still studying English back then.”

It took a fair bit of prompting on Sasha’s part—Melanie sat with her arms crossed over her chest and a mulish expression on her face—but she eventually managed to draw the sum and substance of the story out of Georgie. She recited the facts of the tale in a calm, emotionless voice that had Sasha completely fascinated. It explained a lot when she described the numbness she’d drifted through the next year in, but not everything.

“But you got your emotions back,” she noted. “Obviously.”

“All but one,” Georgie said slowly. “It’s weird, but—ever since then, I’ve never been able to feel afraid. I mean, I can still tell when a situation is dangerous—like today—and I understand the likelihood of harm, so I don’t take stupid risks. But actual fear?” She shook her head. “Simply not something I experience anymore. And I’ve never been able to tell if it was cauterized…or stolen.”

“Neither,” Melanie said shortly. “From what you described, it was meant to bring everyone to a state of existential dread. ‘The moment you die will feel exactly the same as this one’—you weren’t supposed to let that motivate you. It was supposed to render you paralytic, catatonic with despair. Shit, I bet that was someone’s go at a Terminus ritual—draw a big enough group of people waiting for death, Death’s going to come in, and maybe get enough power to break through and take over. I bet you disrupted it by surviving. And the only way you survived was by leaving your fear behind, like a rat’s tail caught in a trap. It’s gone, and it probably won’t grow back, but they didn’t want it. You left it.”

Sasha picked at the logic. It made as much sense as anything. “Well. That certainly explains a lot.”

“Thanks,” Georgie said dryly. “What do you mean by a Terminus ritual?”

Melanie glanced at her watch. “We should probably get going if we’re going to make it to the shop by eight.”

“Just a minute.” Sasha didn’t know why Melanie was so keen to keep knowledge from Georgie, why she was hiding so much, but it only felt fair to answer that question. “Most of the servants of these powers have plans for rituals to try and bring the powers into the world. Right now we’re trying to stop the Stranger from doing theirs, but we know there are others. We thought the End didn’t have one, but after what you just said, we’re not so sure anymore.”

“Hmm.” Georgie pursed her lips. “Okay. Sorry, I know you two have an appointment, and I don’t want your friend to think I’m keeping you against your will. Go ahead, we can catch up some other time. It was nice to meet you, Sasha.”

“You, too.” Sasha got to her feet and held out her hand; Georgie shook it. “C’mon, Melanie, let’s get a move on.”

“Sure.” Melanie stood, but she avoided Georgie’s eyes as she swiped up the recorder and popped out the tape. “Nice to see you again.”

Sasha gave the Admiral one last chin scritch, and then they were out the door.

Not until they were on the train did Sasha turn to Melanie and ask, “So what was that all about?”

“She’s an aphobe,” Melanie confessed. “She and Jon dated, that’s how they knew each other, and she said some things last week when we met up that basically made me realize the reason they broke up was because Jon’s asexual and she was trying to make him not be. Turns out I’m still mad about that.”

“That’s…probably fair. I didn’t know you liked him that much.”

“We’re too much alike. We would end up either best friends or at each other’s throats. And he’s dating my brother, so that’d be a dick move.” Melanie sighed and studied the tape. “When did you turn it on?”

“It was already on. I have no clue what’s on there.”

Melanie stared vacantly at the opposite wall of the train. “I guess we’ll find out in a bit.”

Sasha nodded. “I guess so.”

#ollie writes fanfic #to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest)#tma fanfic #sasha james #melanie king #georgie barker #arguments #hostility #mention of death #alcohol cw #mention of aphobia

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soft-bellied-tannies · 2 years ago

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Poorly Kept Secrets

Read here or on AO3!

Taehyung has never hidden the fact that he had no interest in fitness. His boyfriends never minded - having that time together and then different hobbies or interests with Taehyung. It wouldn’t be as noticeable, but Taehyung was dating what he would consider two fitness gurus. Jimin owned a dance studio with Hoseok, spending the majority of his day training and dancing with his students. Jungkook was a personal trainer who split his time between high-interval training, weight lifting, and boxing.

While they were all toned and trim, Taehyung was comfortably soft. He worked from home as an illustrator for children’s books and preferred to watch a drama over going to the gym. His boyfriends were sweet - they never judged and told him that his body can be however he likes as long as he is happy.

Taehyung knew that the main reason he was still fairly slim was his metabolism and their balanced diet. Jimin did most of the cooking and even though their fitness guys, Jungkook and Jimin both enjoyed food. If they wanted ramen instead of a salad, they were going to have it. They simply prioritized getting in their proper nutrients to keep their energy up for work while also indulging in their favorite foods.

During their fifth year together, Taehyung received an interesting opportunity to go work with a publishing team in New York City for an author that wanted to meet him and see his work in person before agreeing to bring him on the project. He didn’t love the idea of being away from his partners for nearly three weeks, but Taehyung liked the author and thought his style could fit the book series well so he went.

A few nights into his trip, the three were on a video call when Taehyung said something that piqued his boyfriends’ interest. He had told them he was disappointed in his tight schedule in NYC because he would have loved to do a food tour of popular restaurants. While that was understandable, his next comment is what sent Jimin into a new headspace.

“Man, if I actually had free time while I was here, I’d probably come home ten pounds heavier.”

Jungkook had laughed, agreeing with his boyfriend that he would be the same way. Jimin giggled and gave his attention until the conversation ended, but once they hung up, he turned to Jungkook and looked to be deep in thought.

“What’s up, Minnie?”

“I just…did you see Tae’s face when he said that?”

“Said what? That he wanted to do a food tour because I would honestly be pretty disappointed to miss out on that too, but I’m sure he’s still happy to be there,” Jungkook replied, assuming that Jimin was concerned with Taehyung’s enjoyment of the trip.

Jimin shook his head, contemplating if he was overthinking or jumping to conclusions. He knew Jungkook would be honest with him so he decided to go for it. “No, I’m sure he is happy too. It was actually when he said something about gaining weight. His face…he just looked, I don’t know, like he wanted to gain those ten pounds.”

“Huh…I mean, yeah, I guess he did,” Jungkook said, thinking back to the conversation and realizing that Jimin is right. It honestly wasn’t even surprising to consider that Taehyung liked the softness - he is actually pretty open about his tummy appreciation.

“Do you think he…does he feel like we won’t like it if he gains weight?”

Jungkook wrapped his arm around Jimin’s shoulder and kissed his temple. He knew that Jimin would spiral over something like this if he thought Taehyung was even slightly unhappy. “Baby, I am certain that Taehyung knows we love him no matter what. I think he just goes with the flow.”

Jimin was quiet for a moment, thinking yet again but also comforted by Jungkook. “What if we helped?”

“Helped how?”

Jimin shrugged, looking a little embarrassed that he was even bringing it up. “Maybe give him more snacks or bigger servings. We could test it out when he gets back and see if he reacts positively. The minute he makes any mention of not enjoying it, we stop.”

Jungkook thought it over and couldn’t seem to find a downside. “Yeah, okay, could be fun. It would be cute if he doesn’t even notice.”

Jimin laughed and shook his head, “I’m sure he will be onto us right away.”

—

Upon Taehyung’s return home, he was smothered with love by his boyfriends who so desperately missed him. Jungkook encouraged him to shower while he unpacked his bags for him. Jimin was making all of Taehyung’s favorite dishes for dinner to celebrate his return.

Taehyung thought nothing of it considering his boyfriends were absolute sweethearts. Jimin had a reputation for spoiling them both so it was pretty expected to see the table full of kalbi, japchae, sweet potatoes, and little banchan dishes. “Wow, Minnie, this looks delicious. Thank you!”

Jimin accepted the kiss with a laugh, determined to keep that cute smile on his boyfriend’s face forever. He took Taehyung’s plate and put just a bit more of each serving than he typically would, piling it up with food. If his boyfriend said anything about the amount of food he was given, Jimin was simply going to reason that he just had a long flight and deserved it - however, Taehyung accepted the plate with a smile and tucked right in.

Jungkook ate well too, having trained two extra clients that day so he had been starving when he got home from work. His large appetite seemed to be a welcome push for Taehyung who actually refilled his serving of japchae and sweet potatoes to Jimin’s surprise. They talked about his trip which seemed to be enough conversation to stop him from realizing how much he had eaten. Jimin had been finished for quite some time while he watched the other two enjoy the dinner he made.

Once Taehyung seemed to be slowing down, Jimin went to the fridge and grabbed a strawberry cake. It was one of Taehyung’s favorite things that Jimin made so it went with the meal properly. “I made a cake for you too. It’s the strawberry one you like.”

“Oh my gosh, Minnie, I love you. I honestly don’t think I could eat another bite right now, but I promise it won’t go to waste,” Taehyung replied, still not suspecting a thing since it seemed like a normal Jimin act of service for his boyfriends.

“That’s fine, baby. It’ll be in the fridge whenever you want it.”

Jungkook hopped up to help Jimin clear the table, offering to do the dishes. Taehyung sat back momentarily, letting out a deep breath as his fullness finally hit. He looked up to make sure his boyfriends weren’t looking and rubbed over the top which was rounded out with the evidence of his dinner packed inside.

With more effort needed than he expected, Taehyung hoisted himself out of his chair to bring his dishes to the sink. He kissed Jimin’s cheek as another show of gratitude for the amazing meal his boyfriend prepared before he was instructed to go find a movie or a drama to watch while Jimin changed clothes and Jungkook cleaned up.

Jimin returned from their bedroom and he was caught off guard by the sight in front of him. Taehyung was leaning back against the couch, one hand on his lower stomach resting while his other hand rubbed gently at the crest of his belly bloated with dinner. He had an older white t-shirt on that usually was form-fitting, but it was now clinging to his taut skin. Not wanting to interrupt, Jimin went to the kitchen first to grab some drinks and share his discovery with Jungkook who tried to sneak a glimpse from the kitchen.

When Jimin came back to the living room, Taehyung was no longer in that position and was covered up with a blanket as he scrolled through their shows. Jimin put some water, soju, and cherry coke on the table - free for anyone to take. They looked through the show options together for about fifteen minutes before Taehyung shifted next to him, looking back towards the kitchen.

“Hey, Gguk?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Would you mind bringing some of the cake when you’re done?”

“Of course. Minnie, you want some, baby?”

“Yes, please!”

“Okay, three slices of cake, coming up!”

Taehyung laughed at Jungkook’s silly voice he put on at the end as if he was taking their order, not noticing how the request was affecting Jimin who had genuinely not expected Taehyung to even touch the cake that night. He was definitely not complaining, but he had barely digested his own food and he had eaten a third of what Taehyung had.

Jungkook was quite generous with his servings of cake, knowing very well that he was pushing the limits. Taehyung happily accepted the cake and started digging in as they watched the movie he selected. Jimin was eating slowly which was not out of the norm, but this time it was from the distraction of watching Taehyung eat.

Jimin waited until Taehyung only had a few bites left before offering his over, nearly half of the slice left. “Tae, you want the rest of mine? I’m so full and I was snacking on the berries the entire time I was cooking so I think I’m over the taste of them,” he said with a laugh, actually telling the truth.

“Oh, sure! That’s what you get for your cooking snacks, Min,” Taehyung teased as he took the last bite of his own slice to accept Jimin’s plate.

“Snacks are the best part of cooking,” Jimin replied, giggling so much that he leaned into Taehyung’s side. Both of his boyfriends watched him with endeared expressions. He kept his spot on Taehyung’s shoulder even while he worked his way through the next piece of cake, having to restrain himself from rubbing Taehyung’s belly which was getting tighter with each bite.

Jungkook offered the cherry coke to Taehyung when he leaned forward to grab the water. After his last bite of Jimin’s cake, Taehyung took a long drink of coke which topped off his belly to his absolute limit. Taehyung had not eaten that much before, but he would admit that it felt great.

Jimin switched their position so Taehyung’s head was tucked against his shoulder, gently running his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair. “You okay, love?”

“Yeah, just feeling full. I guess I really missed having homecooked meals while I was gone,” Taehyung admitted, trying to understand the feeling for himself while also being lulled into a food coma with Jimin’s tender scalp massage.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I missed cooking for you,” Jimin replied, trying to sound innocent in his intentions. He continued his little motions until Taehyugn fell asleep. Jimin immediately looked at Jungkook who had also found the night interesting, both sharing a knowing look that this plan was going very well so far.

—

Two months went by quickly and although they had not had another night like Taehyung’s welcome home, Jimin and Jungkook had certainly worked out a system. Jungkook had made a cute little snack basket for Taehyung’s office when his boyfriend mentioned getting distracted by his work to the point of missing lunch sometimes. Jimin had been beefing up Taehyung’s portions at various meals without it being obvious - an extra egg or two in his omelets, doubling his meat or veggies - and maintaining a healthy balance.

Taehyung’s middle had undoubtedly shown the most results, his soft tummy burgeoning into a pudgy belly. While the weight did distribute a little bit, it seemed that his stomach was the main landing place of his new weight. Jimin and Jungkook both agreed that the one downside of their plan was the lacking of feeling him up, both wanting to get their hands on him but not wanting to give away their current plan.

Jimin entered the bedroom one morning, intrigued by huffing coming from their closet. “Tae, everything okay, baby?” he asked, walking in to find his boyfriend fighting to get one of Jungkook’s hoodies to fit correctly. He had to utilize every ounce of his willpower to not comment on how amazing Taehyung looked.

“Just wanted to wear one of Gguk’s hoodies and I realized that I may be getting a little…chunky,” Taehyung said as he gripped a handful of his stomach, not sounding sad but more disappointed about the sweatshirt in particular.

Completely on the fly, Jimin remedied the situation. He was thankful that Taehyung picked a hoodie that was inconspicuous enough to get by convincing him it was his. “Well, first of all, it probably helps if you actually picked one of his. That’s mine, Tae,” he said, absolutely lying through his teeth.

“Oh, really? It didn’t have a tag, but I assumed all the gym hoodies were his.”

“That’s a dance studio, babe, not a gym,” Jimin said with a laugh as that part of his story was true. He and Jungkook both had hoodies from a friend’s dance studio called The Lab, however, Jimin knew that his was hanging on a hook in his office at the dance studio right now meaning that Taehyung was most definitely wearing Jungkook’s and it was definitely a little snug.

Taehyung blushed slightly, embarrassed about being called out on his mistake. Sometimes he felt bad for not fully knowing about the dance world even though he supported Jimin with his whole heart. He stood and watched Jimin grab another hoodie from Jungkook’s section of the closet, handing it over to him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

“Try this one, love,” Jimin instructed, watching as Taehyung took off the first hoodie with a bit of struggle. He purposefully picked one of Jungkook’s that he knew was well oversized, his boyfriend’s preference for his clothes. The hoodie went on perfectly fine, even hiding a bit of Taehyung’s new size under the baggy garment. “See, perfectly fine. You are not getting chunky or whatever you said. Everyone gains a little relationship weight after a while, it means that we are happy, right?”

Taehyung nodded, accepting Jimin’s kiss and watching his petite boyfriend leave their bedroom after the little pep talk. Honestly, Taehyung could care less if he was gaining weight. He loved feeling full of Jimin’s homecooked meals, the warm weight around his middle actually made him feel pretty incredible.

But, he also wasn’t blind - he had most certainly put on weight. The scale had been creeping up a little more than usual over the past few weeks. He had always hovered around 150, fluctuating at times, but he always stayed in that area. Since his return from America, the number has only gone up; his latest weigh-in that morning read 164 - the highest it’s ever been.

Fourteen pounds wasn’t crazy in the grand scheme of things, but Taehyung could not seem to equate it back to anything he had actively done. That thought alone is what made him consider his boyfriends having a hand in it. Maybe Jungkook’s kind gesture of his office snack pile and Jimin’s generous portions were intentional. He instinctively went to leave the bedroom, planning to approach them about it when he decided that he could play their game too.

Taehyung leaned into their little efforts for the next month, noticing them more blatantly when he was actively aware of it. Jimin had definitely been serving him bigger portions or adding a bit more to his food almost unconsciously while Jungkook’s healthy snack options were often accompanied by more sugary or calorie-dense options. He was usually given his beloved cherry coke rather than them asking what he would like and the right side of the middle fridge shelf had become home to whatever dessert Jimin had made.

Jimin and Jungkook had a few conversations about it on their way to and from work on the days they could go together. They both noticed Taehyung’s more active participation as the evidence was rounding out healthy in his midsection. Jimin had told Jungkook about the hoodie situation, both laughing about it afterward at Taehyung’s easy acceptance of Jimin’s excuse. They certainly weren’t going to complain when their boyfriend was so happy.

Another two weeks went by when Taehyung had secured the biggest book deal of his career by far. A prolific children’s author was looking for a fresh hand to illustrate their upcoming ten-book series. The story and direction were totally Taehyung’s style and the paycheck was going to be huge in comparison to his normal rate. It was absolutely a cause for celebration.

Jimin and Jungkook insisted that Taehyung could ask for anything in wanted and they would make it happen - so proud of their partner for his accomplishment. Taehyung asked for a day trip to his favorite gallery in Seoul which they had expected. When Jimin asked what restaurant he should make dinner reservations at, Taehyung shocked them with his request. He hoped that Jimin would be willing to make that same dinner from his first night back after the NYC trip.

Taehyung told them it was all of his favorite foods that Jimin made just the way he liked it and they could spend a relaxing night together. Both were fully on board, preparing for Saturday all week long. Jimin made a list of all the food he needed, leaving the studio early on Friday afternoon to meet Jungkook at the grocery store.

On Saturday, their visit to the gallery was fun and they headed back home so Jimin could start cooking. Jungkook and Taehyung sat at the kitchen counter, keeping him company while he cooked and sneaking strawberries from his precious cooking snack bowl. He shooed them to set the table as he finished up and started bringing food to the table.

Jimin happily filled Taehyung’s plate high with even bigger servings than that first night. Jungkook wasn’t nearly as hungry as that first night which also meant more food for Taehyung. All three ate while making comfortable conversation, Jimin topping off Taehyung’s japchae twice while he was distracted by whatever Jungkook was saying.

As that telltale roundness at the top of Taehyung’s belly started to make an appearance, Jimin assumed that dinner was coming to a close. Much to his surprise, Taehyung asked him to pass the sweet potatoes and happily dished himself what was left in the serving dish. Jimin and Jungkook jumped into a conversation about doing a collaborative barre fitness class, something to focus on so they didn’t sit and stare at Taehyung who continued to eat.

A deep breath from their partner is what their attention back to Taehyung. He had made quick work of the sweet potatoes and looked determined to finish his japchae which had seemed bottomless thanks to Jimin’s refills. His shirt was clinging to his bloated belly, an old button-down that had already been close to being outgrown prior to dinner. He brought the plate to his mouth, scraping in the last few noodles stuck to the plate and ignoring the interested eyes directed at him.

Just as they were getting ready to clear the table, Taehyung grabbed his full glass of coke and chugged it, enjoying the tight bubble created by the carbonation on top of all his food. He had to admit that it felt amazing - so much better than the first time because he was purposefully indulging rather than not realizing what had happened.

Leaning back slightly only pushed his belly forward more and even he was a little surprised at the sight. The shirt was really giving his stomach an accentuated roundness with its fight against the buttons. Still choosing not to acknowledge it, Taehyung had to use both hands to push himself out of his chair. He took his dishes to the sink and smirked when he heard frantic whispers behind in from the dining room.

After another few seconds of whatever hushed conversation was being had, Jimin called out, “Tae, do you want to come change into something comfier before we start the movie?”

Jimin asking him that innocent question seemed to be the moment he decided to break their not-so-secret facade. He walked back to the dining room with his hand resting on top of his bloated middle. “Oh, are we skipping dessert?”

Both his partners halted their movements trying very hard to keep their composure. Jungkook recovered first, looking back at Taehyung with a soft expression. “I, uh…we just thought you might have wanted a little break. Maybe take a little time to digest.”

“Well, I was kind of hoping to see if we could pop the buttons on my shirt,” Taehyung responded with a casual shrug as if that was a normal thing for them.

Jimin dropped the plate in his hand, scrambling to pick up the mess he created from the shock he had experienced. “You…what?”

“Minnie, come on now, you think I haven’t noticed that my beloved gym bunnies are trying to fatten me up,” Taehyung replied, rubbing his hand across his stomach to ease the bubbly digestion going on. “I’m just trying to figure out who is enjoying it the most out of the three of us.”

Jungkook looked at him with a pleased smile knowing that his boyfriend was happy with the development while Jimin’s face was set with determination.

“Ggukie, can you please go get the cake?” Jimin asked sweetly, a kiss placed on Jungkook’s cheek as he passed him to take Taehyung’s hand. He guided his hefty boyfriend into one of the kitchen chairs, leaning down to kiss him. “You’re happy? With this and us?”

Taehyung’s expression softened, feeling so much love at the simple question. “Of course, baby, I wouldn’t be doing this if I was unhappy. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this good.”

Jimin smiled giving him another kiss that was immediately followed by one from Jungkook who had heard the interaction. They exchanged quiet ‘I love you’s with each other and paused to appreciate the moment.

After an analytical gaze over Taehyung’s body, Jimin moved closer and whispered in his ear. “You know what I think would have at least one of these buttons popping, my love?”

“Hmm?” Taehyung asked, feeling a little dazed at Jimin’s sultry tone. He never imagined a scene like this playing out in their relationship and he could not ignore how turned on he was by it all.

“You finishing the whole cake.”

“Oh shit,” Jungkook mumbled, feeling just as hot under the collar as his partners. He was happy to let Jimin take control knowing that he was the best in a dominant role.

Jimin smirked, grabbing Jungkook’s hand and bringing it to join his on Taehyung’s stomach. “See, Jungkookie thinks it’s a good idea too. Want to give it a try? For us, baby?”

Taehyung whimpered in response, never able to hold his resolve for long when Jimin was in charge. He looked up at him with what they affectionately called his ‘puppy eyes’ and nodded his head gently. “I’ll try my best.”

“I know you will, my love,” Jimin whispered closely, followed by another kiss on Taehyung’s lips because he couldn’t resist. “Would you like to feed yourself or should we do it?”

“Jungkookie. Want Gguk to do it,” Taehyung answered, as he straighten his posture in the chair getting ready for the next round of food.

Jimin handed an eager Jungkook a spoon as the younger pulled a chair up beside Taehyung. He filled the first spoonful with a huge bite and got started right away. The first third of the cake disappeared so quickly that Taehyung hadn’t even realized how much he had eaten. He knew Jungkook was the right choice because he was a quick eater himself on top of being motivated whereas he was certain Jimin would have teased him and prolonged it as much as possible.

Speaking of Jimin, Taehyung assumed he was able to eat more and more because of the little hands massaging his midsection, breaking up the air bubbles, and helping him digest as his stomach was put to the test. The waistband on his jeans felt like it was going to break skin soon with how tight they were getting. Taehyung was both annoyed and proud for choosing to wear some of his older clothes for their gallery date.

Over half the cake was gone before Taehyung asked for a break. He let out a groan and relaxed into the chair under him while panting through a few cramps. His body was reaching its limit, stretching his stomach capacity to the widest it has ever been. The two buttons holding his shirt closed over the crest of his belly were ready to give up and Taehyung was determined.

“Okay, I’m good,” Taehyung said, nodding for Jungkook to continue. His partners were honestly impressed at that point, both thinking that the whole cake was just a teasing statement and not a reality. Jimin was about to ask if he wanted to tap out, but Taehyung had his sights set on those buttons.

Jungkook continued his consistent motions of feeding Taehyung, only allowing him enough time to breathe in between bites. They both watched as Jimin walked into the kitchen, continuing with the cake until he returned with another bottle of coke in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. “I figured you may need something to drink soon. Which one would you like, baby?”

Taehyung cringed at the thought of adding more bubbles to his stomach on top of all the sugar and the milk seemed genuinely refreshing at that point. He pointed to the milk and was thankful for Jimin bringing the carton to his lips, allowing him to take a large swig to wash down the cake. He considered giving up after feeling the milk sit heavy in his stomach, but there was only a little bit of the cake left and his buttons were creaking.

Jungkook seemed to understand Taehyung’s final push, leaving the spoon in front of him for however long he needed it. Jimn noticed the heavier breathing as Taehyung forced through the last bit of cake, keeping his eyes locked on the button hanging by a thread at the roundest part of his boyfriend’s stomach.

“Last bite, babe,” Jungkook said, his own cheeks flushed from watching Taehyung finish off the entire cake. He was equally impressed and turned on by the entire evening.

Taehyung swallowed slowly, somehow still wanting to savor the last bit of cake. It was his favorite after all, but he figured Jimin would be more willing to make it now. He was desperate to pop his button so even though he knew it was going to be a regret later, Taehyung asked Jimin for more milk claiming he needed to wash down the sugar.

Jimin held the carton up to his lips, his other hand resting on Taehyung’s meaty thigh as his boyfriend chugged the milk. Jungkook and Jimin both watched in anticipation until the moment they had been waiting for finally happened. Taehyung let the milk drain down his throat and then took a deep breath, enough for his belly to ever so slightly suck in before he fully pushed it out on the exhale.

A quick rip of the thread was followed by a button landing somewhere on the hardwood floor below the dining table. Taehyung’s shirt was not gaping right in the middle, his tan skin now peaking through from underneath. He moaned at the release of pressure and felt his belly continuing to fight its way out.

Jungkook leaned in, kissing his jaw and neck without being able to form any words about what he saw. Taehyung let his partners have their way with him, too stuffed to even move. He felt Jimin’s fingers sneak along his shirt, slowly undoing the remaining buttons and gently massaging his lower stomach to encourage the food to digest. Taehyung finally felt ultimate relief when Jimin managed to get his pants unbuttoned, belly rounding out now that it wasn’t contained in his tight clothes.

“Wow, baby, look at you. This is an impressive belly you’ve grown, looking so round right now,” Jimin said, a raspy tone overtaking his voice - a clear sign of his arousal.

“Feels good,” Taehyung mumbled, still panting in relief. “Love you both so much.”

Jungkook and Jimin both returned the sentiment as they both continued their exploration of Taehyung’s body. Jimin continued his vocal appreciation as well. "I wonder how heavy you've gotten with the way that gut sticks out now."

Taehyung moaned in response to Jimin's teasing words. He knew that he was certainly the heaviest he had ever been at that current moment, but he had weighed himself that morning in anticipation of their evening. "180."

"What?" Jimin asked, his hands stilling on Taehyung's stomach. Jungkook paused his movement as well, assuming he must've misheard their partner.

"180. Weighed myself this morning," Taehyung responded, looking between them as he waited for their reactions.

Jimin looked down at his belly and then back up at him, basically in awe of the information - not expecting that number quite yet. "You gained..."

"Thirty pounds," Taehyung finished his sentence before adding, "Well, thirty as of this morning. There's an awful lot in here right now so probably sitting closer to 185 now."

Without warning, Jungkook stood and offered his hands to Taehyung who looked at him with a bit of hesitation. “Think you can make it to bed, big guy?”

Taehyung’s face flushed a deep red at the nickname and nodded while placing his hands in Jungkook’s, allowing himself to get heaved out of the chair. Standing, his belly sat in the v of his open jeans sitting so plumply round that he looked pregnant. He tried to ignore Jimin’s pleased gasp at the sight as he turned to walk down the hallway, knowing his boyfriends were going to watch his every step. Walking wasn’t quite the right word as it was more like a waddle.

Once Taehyung crossed the threshold of their bedroom, Jungkook and Jimin turned to each other with a smile. Jimin kissed Jungkook, letting it linger until he pulled back slightly and whispered, “First one to undress gets to ride him first.”

Jimin immediately took off down the hallway, stripping his shirt as he went. Jungkook called out after him, running down the hall behind Jimin while unbuckling his belt. They sprinted into the bedroom through a flurry of clothing and were met with Taehyung collapsing back onto the bed, his belly in full view. He had never felt sexier than right now - stuffed to the brim with both his partners dying to get their hands on him.

“No fighting, boys. You’ll both get a turn.”

One thing was certain, this was definitely going to be happening again. Taehyung knew that scale would say 200 in no time.

#bts feedism #chubby bts #bts weight gain #chubby taehyung #feeder jungkook #feeder jimin #bts stuffing #soft bellied tannies

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