#but mostly because they're low drama

[quasi-normalcy]

Every "Nu Trek" (2017- ) Series Ranked from Worst to Best:

Very Short Treks (2023): There's really no words for just how terrible this series is. I mean, I know that it only barely counts because it's explicitly not canon and has a total combined run time of about 15 minutes, but *my god* is it bad! Only one of its episodes is remotely funny, and even that manages to feel like it's driven its main joke into the ground by the end of its 2-minute runtime. The only thing that I can say for it is that is that it gives me an easy, uncontroversial choice for worst Star Trek series, not only of the last 7 years, but of all time.

Picard (2020-2023): Listen; I know that this series is unpopular with the Tumblr Trek fandom, but it actually breaks my heart to have to put it so low on the list. It has, in my own opinion, the best dramatic acting of any Trek series and among the best directing, and almost every individual scene, in isolation, is compellingly watchable. More than that, it has fascinating worldbuilding choices, you can really *see* the passion of the writers for what they're creating (at least in the first and third seasons), and Agnes in particular is among my favourite characters in anything ever. It's got a lot of great moments, too! Picard and Seven bonding over shared Borg trauma; Soji uncovering the truth of her identity; Jurati hacking the Borg Queen's brain; Picard's final farewell to Q; Shaw's Wolf 359 monologue; Geordi's reunion with Data...I could go on. And yet, it just feels like so much *less* than the sum of its parts! Incredible ideas are introduced and then just shrugged off to pursue much more boring ones. Story arcs feel pointless if not actively offensive. Absolutely baffling writing choices are made throughout, with no indication as to why. And the nostalgia baiting , particularly in the final season, becomes so intense that it just chokes the plot to death. One comes away haunted by the feeling that this series should be so much better than it is.

Discovery (2017-2024): Really, this is two separate series: a twisty, grimdark, sci-fi war drama and a gentle queer coffeeshop AU about scientists who talk about their feelings. Both of them have their moments, but they each fall down in the same way: a focus on epic, high-stakes mystery box storytelling that undermines one's ability to really get invested in the characters, or even know who they are when they aren't off saving the universe. Without that, while I liked many of the characters and loved seeing them science the shit out of things using teamwork and the power of math, it's kind of difficult to get invested in this series one way or another. In spite of its absolutely gorgeous visuals, it comes off feeling weirdly...flat.

Short Treks (2018-2020): Not a lot to talk about here; just kind of an anthology series of short films adjacent to Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Mostly they're varying shades of mediocre, but a few of them are as brilliant as any episode of Star Trek ever made, so the series gets to be relatively high on the list.

Strange New Worlds (2022- ): This is the first entry on this list that, in my opinion, belongs on the top shelf with some of the best of the older series. And it achieves it basically by adopting the same formula as the original series or the next generation--socially conscious planet-of-the-week adventures with enough wit, cleverness and joie-de-vivre to keep it interesting. I remember in 2017, there was plenty of discussion of how it's possible to update Star Trek's formula for prestige television; how funny that the solution turned out to be "don't change it at all, just give it modern special effects and actual character arcs." That said, the series is a bit *too* beholden to the original, with focus primarily on a bunch of characters who aren't allowed to grow or change too much because we already know how they'll turn out. It would be even better if it were about a new ship and a new crew full of nobodies who we can come to love. Which brings us to...

Lower Decks (2020-2024): Above, I said that Picard felt like it should have been so much better than it was. Lower Decks, frankly, should have been so much worse. How is an adult animated sitcom with Rick and Morty style animation and constant memberberries this freaking good!?! Every episode is a master class in efficient storytelling, with 22 minute runtimes often feeling like they contain as much story and character work as episodes twice as long. And the characters are incredible--like TOS and TNG, they feel almost archetypal, and even though you've never seen them before, they slide so seamlessly into the Star Trek universe that it's hard to believe that they weren't just *always* there; that there was ever a time when you could imagine the Star Trek universe without just intrinsically knowing that Tendi and Shaxs and Mariner were off somewhere in the background. It's greatest success though, the reason why it's comedy works when it really shouldn't, is that it's only *slightly* sillier than the serious series. What we end up with a fantastic series with an ethos that is pure Star Trek, and in fact, if I had written this list a month ago, it would certainly be in the #1 spot. However...

Prodigy (2021-2024?): The first season of Prodigy is...charming. It's got some fun characters, some spectacular visuals, some interesting premises. And if the plots tend to be a little too simplistic to be engaging to an adult, hey, it's a kids' show. It's good. Solid. Above average. And if I had only the first season to go on, it would probably be in third position on this list. But then, a few weeks ago, it went ahead and dropped the best season of Star Trek in a quarter-century, and I really...I just cannot recommend this series highly enough. The sheer, ambitious scope of the narrative; the arcs it puts its character through; the cleverness of the writing; the fricking GORGEOUSNESS of it! And it does all this while redeeming deeply unpopular characters and plot points from other series, in a way that never feels forced or pandering. Not only is it the best Star Trek series of the 21st century, it's one of the best children's animated series since AtLA. Go. Go! Watch it! Watch it now!

[lovendermist]

i dont know if u do aus but if u do🥹 i have a tini tiny request of an actor au where reader and hange are both famous actors, they get casted in a movie where its their first time working together and fans begin editing their chemistry and after some time they get together because maybe one of them already likes the other and finally asked the other one out hmmmhmhmhm🤨🤨 if u ever decide to write this THANK YOU

a scenario and headcannon PLEASE

Actor!Hange x Actor!Reader

Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you... even I do

Type: Headcanons, Scenarios, fluff

WC: HC: 332, Scenario: 4k

Pairing: Actor!Hange x Actor!Reader

A/N: Firstly, I had written too much than I expected and I feel very guilty. Secondly, this was fun to write. Thirdly, I hope you like this one anon, cause oh my, did I have a lot of giggling done while I was writing this. I honestly have low hopes for this one to go well, but I wanted to do it justice, hence the late upload. I hope you like it regardless! ;v; I also forgot if there was anything else I should've italicized. I did this on the notepad on my laptop, so. Please ignore any typos or else I will die.

(Also, a text with [this] means it's your text. I just didn't feel like doing that y/n business for this one.)

hange masterlist

HANGE ACTOR AU: PROJECT 1

ACT 1: HANGE

I wholeheartedly believe Hange is naturally flirty, even to their past co-stars and actresses

It's kind of what they're known for, actually. If it's not their big projects in the past, it's their flirtatious and witty behavior

Hange stars a lot in action, thriller, and crime films

Very rarely in some sci-fi movies

Hange doesn't always wear glasses, they're wealthy enough to afford contacts

But when they do, the public screams how perfect they'd look in sci-fi films, especially with the type of glasses they have

The public also screams how insanely hot they look with it

There's been some times where Hange does wear their glasses during movie premiere red carpets

And what makes the public lose it when they wear their glasses is that during these interviews, they occasionally look at their co-star with such adoration

A straight up half-lidded gaze, tilted head, and occasional lip twitches as their co-star talks

It's all inadvertent, they'd say in another interview

But the next victim of Hange's glassy-eyed stare? You.

ACT 2: YOU

Your career consists of mostly side characters in arthouse films

The sharp-witted, helpful, sometimes annoying side character

You occasionally get a center role, though

Sometimes you star in drama, horror, or even action

But soon, you get paired up with Hange in one of their main career genres

A crime film, with you as Hange's sidekick, an assistant of sorts

The film has a certain twist to it, where your character is actually the one pulling some of the strings behind the case Hange's character and you yourself were working on

And it includes a scene where— if seen under a different assumption, a different light— you'd think it wasn't a heated interrogation but a build up to something more

A different kind of heated, let's just say.

But after all that time on set, and now during that red carpet interview,

You're not sure if Hange's scrutinizing gaze is all part of the act anymore

ACT 3: ACTION

The cameras flash and the people scream out both of your names to get your attention. You two are the stars of the night as the movie premiere's red carpet event takes place. You answer some of the interviewers as best as you can, trying your hardest not to give out any spoilers, but other than the paparazzi's gazes, you can feel someone else's eyes on you.

From your peripheral vision, you can see the way Hange towers just beside you, ready to jump in to give an answer of their own if needed. You think you're seeing things, but after a while you notice that Hange's eyes are not on the interviewers where they should be— but on you instead. Their grey glasses glimmer under the light of all the flashes sometimes. When you turn to look at them, they only smile back ever so softly.

You've known them to be a flirt. You do a bit of your own research before jumping into a project after all. It's been said by their past co-stars time and time again that they have a charming and playful personality, and flirty is not exactly far from the top 5 words the world has been using to describe them.

Was it your turn to be under Hange's watchful, half-lidded gaze this time? Instead of mulling on it over and over, you decide that it's best to focus on the event for the meantime. You don't want the cameras to catch you zoning out now, do you?

"So you and Hange have amazing chemistry on-screen. Was it hard to maintain that bond off-screen, considering it's your first time working together?" The interviewer asks.

"No, not at all! They have an easygoing personality, so you can imagine what that's like." You both smile as you answer the question, "Hange knows this is a bigger project than what I usually do, and they helped a lot in making me feel settled and welcomed. So that already helped a lot with our dynamic even off-screen."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Hange's soft voice speaks up as they pull you a little bit closer by your waist. You laugh in surprise at their sudden action, and even the interviewer can't help but be entertained by Hange's antics. You can't tell if they're just playing around or being true to themselves at this moment.

Throughout the event, all eyes are on you two. Hange is much more of an expert than you in dealing with the public and reporters, so for the most part, you let them deal with it. But you work together really well, the answers and banter flowing easily without a single problem.

"Well don't you two seem awfully close. Did the on-screen chemistry match the off-screen one?" Another interviewer asks.

"Oh, well you know. On-screen chemistry often translates off-camera too." Hange leans in closer to the mic, their voice low and teasing, confidence in full display as they answer the question. They even add a wink after answering.

"Oh, you flirt," You tap Hange's arm playfully, "Ignore them."

Hange laughs at your interjection, "See what I mean?" Hange pulls you closer to them, "This one keeps me in line."

As they pull you closer to them, you realize you're not exactly sure anymore if Hange's flirtatious character is just a front or if they're being serious for real. Sure, there's truth to their words: You do have great chemistry on and off-screen, but how much of Hange's flirty answers are true? Are you their next victim? Were you willing to be, anyway?

In the midst of this excruciatingly tiring event, you don't miss the way Hange's concerned eyes land on you as if to ask if you're okay. It's one of your first big events as an actor who mostly does small, indie projects after all. You smile at them throughout the night as a silent response.

During the movie premiere itself, you and Hange talk occasionally. You two make fun of your own characters, pointing out which scenes were hard for you two to film, which moments in the movie you loved best, and the likes. Sometimes, and yet again you think you're seeing things, but it looks like Hange's eyes are not on the screen but on you instead. You try to catch them, but the frame of their glasses and the darkness make it hard to see exactly where they have their eyes on. And even then, by that time, Hange's eyes are already back on the screen.

Before long, the moment of your character's betrayal was shown. Hange watches, their eyes almost sparkling in excitement.

"You were absolutely brilliant in this scene." Hange whispers, eyes glued to the screen. You mutter a thanks to their praise.

It was rather intense, the confrontation scene. Your usually apprehensive character's demeanor changed into a defiant, cheeky troublemaker the moment Hange's character figured out your plan. Much to the dismay of their character, your character wasn't exactly eager to spill out their secrets, leading to a bit of heated argument and some physicality.

Things resolved in a way that you were already sure would lead to split opinions in the community. This much you've discussed with Hange, but fan theories and scene dissections aside, you two were happy with how your characters resolved their own arcs in the end.

During the afterparty, Hange doesn't leave your side either. You were glad for this, as there's still a lot of people you didn't know aside from the filming crew.

"Thanks for sticking by me," you mutter, "I don't exactly know what to do during these events. It's all such a headache."

"Oh it's no problem, darling," Hange's hand settles back down on your waist as they speak in a low voice. "I'm more than happy to accompany you."

But it's not long before someone else calls for Hange's attention. Of course, it's to be expected. Hange's the more popular one in this industry, in this event. They excuse themselves from you with a wink, slipping their arm away from your waist and reluctantly leaving you alone for the meantime to talk to another actor.

As you wait for Hange, someone else comes up to talk to you. You try your best to engage in conversation, but you're more than eager for this to end so you can go back to Hange's company again. You spot Hange in the corner of your vision, and they're just as aware of your new chatmate.

Hange watches with a slight tension in their shoulders, their eyes occasionally darting to where you and the other actor are talking. Hange tries their best to maintain a cheerful conversation of their own, but their eyes remain watchful and annoyed at the fact that someone already talked to you the second they left you alone. It's not unexpected, it's a social event after all and you're the main star as well. But it does irk Hange to no end.

After what seems like hours, Hange's conversation ends first. They keep their eyes locked on you as they make their way over to where you are, excusing themselves along the way as they bump into other people.

"Hey! Hi, sorry, I just need to borrow this one for a second," Hange exclaims sweetly as they interrupt your conversation, "Mind if I steal them away for a bit?"

"Oh, of course, no problem."

And with that, Hange happily snakes their arm back around your waist and leads you away somewhere with less people.

"Was that a bit of jealousy I heard in your tone?" You tease Hange as you two settle somewhere quiet.

"Me? Jealous? Hardly." Hange teases.

You two walk around for a bit, greeting some guests and some crews. After some time together, you finally bring up what's on your mind. All that staring during the red carpet, their flirty behavior, even the way they whipped you away just now, it all comes flooding back to you.

"So, all that staring you've been doing." You turn to face their tall figure. It didn't really register to you how good Hange looked tonight— they had a dashing coat on, colors fitting to the aesthetic of your film.

"What about my staring?" Hange crosses their arms, a smirk appearing on their already smug looking face.

"You know what it does." You look at them, stern yet playful.

"And?" Hange urges you to continue, that smug look never leaving their face.

"Well, I would just appreciate it if you dropped the act."

"What act, darling?" Hange tilts their head, which you grow a little annoyed at. But you can't deny that it's an endearing sight too.

"The flirty comments, the…" You wave your hand around in an attempt to express yourself better, "the lovesick gaze…?" You cringe at your own words.

"Oh, darling." Hange drawls out, their tone playful yet serious, "I wasn't acting at all. I'm not playing pretend here."

Hange leans closer, close enough to the point where you can smell their perfume on them. It smells expensive, and it takes every single fiber in your being not to squirm where you stand.

You're seeing it again, up close and personal— Hange's pretty face so close to you, a sly smile tugging at the corners of their lips. The last time they were this close was during the shooting of that damned confrontation scene. After what seems like an eternity, they finally speak up, their voice dangerously low and sultry.

"Unless… you want it to be part of the act?"

It takes you a second to reply, but even then you stammer in your own words.

"Wha-"

Someone calls out to both of you, distracting you momentarily. Apparently, the afterparty is done and the cabs are here to take everyone home. Hange looks at you, that smile still etched on their gorgeous face before taking you away, back to where the people are. Your little conversation will have to be postponed for now. You're not worried for the lack of time at all, for there will be plenty of promotional interviews this week with Hange. But the suspense will be enough to leave both of you with a bit of tension until you two see each other again, with the perfect amount of privacy for you to talk your feelings out.

"I'll see you soon." Hange murmurs before kissing your hand. Their lips linger a second too long, and so do their eyes as they look at your stylish outfit.

"See you, Hange." And with that, the waiting game begins.

—

It takes a few days and a bunch of interviews before a long string of messaging happens between you two. It was Hange who reached out first, with a rather interesting message.

Hange: Have you see the edits?

You smile to yourself before replying to their message. For sure, they’re talking about how your movie is all the rage at the moment, including online.

[yeah. they're definitely something, aren't they?]

Hange: It's like they can't get enough of our chemistry. Hange: I guess the fans just see us and can't help but ship us. But it is kind of flattering, isn't it?

[its entertaining, yeah]

Hange: Though I guess that means we make a good pair, huh? 😉

[we do :)]

From your message alone, Hange already has a hunch that you two had totally different ideas in mind. After a few minutes, you receive another notification from them, confusion obvious from their message.

Hange: Wait, which edits have you been seeing exactly?

[the interview ones. what else?]

Hange responds rather quickly. From their end, they’re grinning mischievously from the newfound knowledge that you haven’t seen everything yet. They keep their message short and cryptic.

Hange: Oh.

You grow confused. What other edits could Hange be talking about? You wait a few seconds before receiving another message from them.

Hange: So you haven't seen the ones of us during the confrontation scene?

[the confrontation scene?]

Hange: So I take it that you haven't.

[,,, no? why would they be making edits about that ?]

Truth be told, you haven't exactly been online too much since your movie had shown in theaters everywhere. But from your social media's algorithm, that's really all you've been seeing: edits of you and Hange during past interviews this week, the videos cutting to when you two locked eyes and what the fans say is you acting shy from Hange's actions. Nothing more, nothing less.

Hange sent a link.

Hange: So you haven't seen these kinds of edits??

[no.??? wait i'll watch them now]

And watch them, you did. It takes you a second to get it, but you know what it is. You've seen these kinds of edits float around before; clips of movie scenes together to make a narrative, sometimes even to fit a certain song. And these fans certainly outdid themselves when it came to your movie, specifically catering to that scene where Hange’s character finds out and confronts you about your betrayal on them.

You scroll past a few of them, but another very particular edit grabs your attention. You make a mental note to never mention it to Hange and bury it in your mind. After a few minutes of replaying that edit, you decide to reply to Hange.

[ohhhh. those kinds of edits]

Hange: Ha! See? Aren't those cool?

[they’re certainly creative, thats for sure]

You hide the fact that that one particular edit makes your heart swoon a bit.

Hange: Come on, give them more credit than that. Hange: Or maybe you’re saying very little because you’re flustered from watching them?

[no, no, they’re good, really. im just surprised, i didnt know abt these.?]

Hange: They’re amazing, is what. I definitely see it now, how that confrontation scene can ultimately look a rather different kind of… intense 😉

[u are a joke. but i dont disagree]

You leave the conversation at that, and Hange lets you be. Unbeknownst to you, Hange has been uncontrollably smiling all the way from start to finish of your conversation. They already miss your presence and the time you had on set. In fact, their mind has already wandered back to how you looked in the red carpet. They just couldn't let you go, and you didn't let them.

After a few busy days, you decide to revisit some of the edits on social media. But before you could fully succumb to sleep, you decide to view that one particular edit that caught your attention. Yes, you did replay it a bit. Was it so wrong? It’s not like anybody will know. It’s not long before sleep takes ahold of you after the last replay of that video.

Soon you wake up well and refreshed, that is until you read Hange’s message. It's not like there was anything wrong with it, but it was odd enough that your gut tells you otherwise.

Hange: You sure are amusing

[good morning to you too. and what does that mean]

Hange: Well good morning! Looks like someone forgot to log in to a dummy account last night

[???]

Now you’re not only confused, but nervous as well. Nervous enough to double-text Hange.

[Hange??]

Hange sent a link.

It's a tweet of your activity online, a screenshot that you've liked that one particular edit of Hange from a different movie of theirs, a scene where they were alone and the scene itself being rather impure. The edit itself is a 2 month old upload, and netizens are going crazy for your unexpected interaction on such a late upload, additionally the fact that it's an edit of your co-star, and most especially the fact that its in the middle of your promotion for your movie with Hange.

When Hange saw that tweet, they were more than ecstatic to talk about it with you. It took everything in their bones to not post anything exclaiming their happiness of your sudden activity, especially that it's content of them.

You distinctly remember clicking like on it after multiple replays before dozing off to sleep. It happened quickly. So much for keeping your attraction to it under wraps.

[fuck]

Hange: Hehe Hange: I'm coming over

[???]

Hange doesn't reply anymore, making you nervous. The fact that you know they live pretty close to where you are puts you in such unease.

In the meantime, you look at how people are reacting to your activity, and in some ways it soothes you. Most are shocked, obviously. Who wouldn't be, when edits of your movie are going all around and here you are, barging in with an interaction on an old, and rather spicy edit of Hange.

It worried you, what this might do to Hange's reputation. Are they coming over because they're pissed? Probably not, they put a 'hehe' there. But still, you're worried how this would unfold for both of you, but especially for Hange, being the more popular actor they are.

Some reactions are… excited? Looks like some already shipped you two the moment some behind the scenes photos were posted. You're just thankful there's not a lot of negative feelings and thoughts being shared.

After some time, your doorbell rings. Hange's here. From your peephole, you can see that they're wearing a mask and a cap, most likely to hide from any paparazzi. You let them in with a guilty look, averting their gaze.

As soon as Hange walks in, they take off their disguises and the hoodie that they were wearing. They're wearing a white blouse that looks good on them. In addition to that, they're also wearing that stupid smug smirk on their face that also, unfortunately, looks good on them. After closing the door, they turn to you with their arms crossed, grinning as they speak.

"So looks like someone liked a pretty steamy edit of me in one of my older films." Hange says, their tone a matter-of-fact.

"Hange, I-I'm sorry if that weirded you out or anythi—“

"No, no. It didn't, don't worry about that. But I do want to know, though…" Hange cuts you off, leaning a bit closer again with their folded arms, the same way they stood when you accused their lovestruck gaze as mere acting. The same way they stood when you smelled their perfume the night of the premiere, only this time they smell a bit like a part of home.

Hange's lips curl up a bit slightly before they speak again.

"Tell me darling, was I a good actor there?" They ask, their voice low and raunchy, and you find you can't give an answer the way they just explicitly asked you such a bold question with such a tone, right after entering your apartment.

Your mouth remains hanging open as Hange chuckles softly, leaning a bit back to give you more space.

"Sorry, too much? But you do look cute all flustered like that. But really, you must've found it good if you liked such an old post of me like that."

It takes you a while to compose yourself. You sigh and let your shoulders down a bit.

"Fine, you were a good actor there. Happy?"

Hange nods, "Very. Although pestering you to the point of blushing about that post wasn't the only reason why I wanted to come here," Hange fixes their glasses before mumbling under their breath, "But it made for a very good reason, too."

"Okay… so why are you here exactly?"

"I wanted us to continue our conversation from that night. You know, the red carpet? movie premiere?" Hange looks at you warily, gauging your reaction to their words.

"Oh, when you were looking at me so dearly?" You say, your tone fully dipped in sarcasm.

"Exactly." Hange smiles at your remembrance of that night despite the sarcasm.

"Okay. What about it? Didn't I tell you to quit it?"

"You did, yes." Hange adjusts their stance, "It's just that I also told you that I wasn't acting."

"Right. So where are we going with this?"

"Darling." Hange sighs before looking into your eyes, "Is it not obvious how much I'm pining for you?"

You look at them warily but don't stop them from continuing.

"You know, ever since filming wrapped up, I just couldn't keep myself from being curious about you," Hange admits. From the way they look right now, so unsure and cautious of their own words, you wouldn't even be able to tell they're an actor with such a confident reputation.

"Well, honestly, even towards the end of filming, I think there were some obvious signs that I had some feelings for you," Hange adds, their hand scratching their nape bashfully, "But I think everyone was too busy on the project to notice. Including you, of course."

"Don't fuck with me," You tilt your head at them, still confused about their sudden admissions, your mind rejecting the fact that this confession will make you fall bit by bit for them, "You're acting."

"Do you think I'm acting?" Hange bows their head, a smile dancing on their lips.

They walk closer to you, taking in your hands as they speak in a soft voice.

"Maybe you think I'm acting, maybe you think I'm playing around," their thumb draws circles on the back of your hand, their touch light and soothing.

"Maybe you think I don't mean any of these words or these touches. But I'm not acting. I'm not playing around. I know I started liking you in the middle of production, but…" Hange locks their eyes with you, their gaze unwaveringly soft and stern.

"I tried my best not to let it show even during our time on set. I only acted a bit on my feelings after, and that was way after filming too."

"So you really are serious then…" You take a deep breath, looking down at your hands then were being held by Hange's before looking back up to meet their gaze. They nod their head with a smile.

"Yes, of course. I'm not messing with you. I'm not playing some kind of game with you. Why do you think I've been looking at edits of us? I'm not that egotistical, darling. I'm watching them because I… guess I wanted to see more of you. You don't even know how happy I was to see that news about your activity last night, with that edit of me," Hange chuckles.

"It's good to know you're serious… but shit, why tell me all of this now? We're in the middle of our promotion." You squeeze their hand a bit, furrowing your brows, "I was here worrying about how me liking that post would do to you or… ruin your reputation or something. And here you are confessing to me right after I did that."

"You didn't ruin anything," Hange chuckles lightly, "And, well, even if there's going to be some.. dating allegations after that…"

Hange chucks their head side to side, a smile playing on their lips.

"Well, they're just fan theories. Mere speculation. Just harmless gossip, don't mind them too much. Unless…" Hange ducks their head to meet your gaze once again, their eyes visible just below the frame of their glasses.

"Unless you want to disprove them, darling?" Hange chuckles again, "Because after all that confession I've been doing, I didn't exactly hear any rejections."

"Well…" You ponder for a second. You have had your eyes on them for a while now. And who knows, maybe it'll be fun, hiding this relationship for a bit, having Hange to yourself before the world's speculation proves themselves right. "I'm not rejecting you, no."

Hange smiles, a glint in their eyes appearing.

"Good, good." Hange kisses your hand softly. "So…" Hange straightens their posture and looks at you with a rather mischievous, playful look in their eyes.

"What do you say we recreate our confrontation scene and make our own spin on it?"

[kookslastbutton]

Too Late to Dream ༓ jjk (m) || ch. III

✑ Summary: You did it. You married your college professor. You even bought a house together. Against all odds, everything had fallen into place. But after two years of marriage, you begin feeling something was missing. You want a baby but your husband can’t say the same.

Pairing: economics professor!jungkook x fem!artist!reader

AU/Genre: angst, smut, fluff, marriage au, age gap, series

Rating: M, 18+

Word Count: 3,375

Warnings: 8-year age gap, big flashback of bromance between Tae and JK, slight drunkenness, family drama in-laws, imperfect relationship with parents, pent-up issues/desires, jk has daddy issues, mentions of therapy, kookie trying to be a good husband, needy kook 😶

Now Playing: Make It Right, Tryna Be, Infinity, It Will Rain, Heaven+

A/N: chapter 3 is here! I know its so short 😩 but I promise it sets up the next chapters really well! Also, I wanted to get into jk's background a little this time, his undergrad days, and Taehyung of course. It's a big leap but they're older now so...meh. Tysm for everyone's patience! 💞

<< ch. II ༓ ch. IV >> | series masterlist

There weren’t many people Jungkook envied in his life. He was 34 years old, had top-notch experience as an economist within the business and legal sphere, and taught at one of the finest universities in South Korea. He also earned his Ph.D by the time he hit 30, which was undoubtedly the cherry on top.

But if there was one person who could shake the ground from under his feet it would be Kim Taehyung.

The pair met during undergrad through mutual friends. Jungkook had been invited to an off-campus party his first year and Taehyung was an unexpected third party. The man was so put together that it was as if Michelangelo himself reached down and sculpted him from the clay.

16 years ago

“Hi,” a low, baritone voice rumbles. “I’m Taehyung.” He sticks his hand out, waiting for a shake. He’s a little timid but mostly stands upright with a few pieces of his caramel hair falling over his eyes.

Jungkook chuckles at Taehyung’s stark formality. “What’s up, man!” He slaps Taehyung’s hand casually. “Jeon Jungkook.”

Taehyung reeks of sophistication and has the most annoyingly gorgeous face. His boxy grin could charm the pants off anyone who was two feet from him. Hell, even Jungkook feels a little starstruck by him.

Though barely acquaintances, it doesn’t take long for Jungkook to realize they are on opposite ends of the same stick.

Taehyung comes from a wealthy upper-class family. They have four mansions plus a beach house. Every Christmas, he goes to Italy to visit his aunt and uncle. For his 18th birthday, Taehyung got a brand-new Corvette, red with black rims. Everyone wants to be him…everyone wants a piece of Kim Taehyung.

But underneath the surface of his flashy lifestyle is something oddly endearing. Jungkook can’t quite put his finger on it but as the night goes on, he enjoys the man’s company. Taehyung seems to latch onto him as well which shocks both of them to the core.

“Seriously hyung,” Jungkook slurrs. “I don’t know why you’re hanging around me this whole night when you could be getting off with one of the fifty girls who’ve come up to you. Are you playing it cool are you really a loner or something?”

Taehyung snatches the beer bottle from the younger’s hand. “That’s enough drinking for one night Jungkook. You’re about to pass out, I can tell.”

“I’ll decide when I’ve had enough.” Jungkook grabs the bottle back, taking a big slug before wiping his mouth off with his arm. “Something to know about me Taetae. I live by the work hard, play hard kinda philosophy.”

Taehyung cringes at the pet name but chalks it up to Jungkook being off his rocker. “That’s the type of philosophy that’s gotten my family to spend millions on useless crap. It’s fun for a while but it never lasts. I don’t recommend it Jungkook.”

Jungkook snorts. “So you are a loner huh? Because my parents have been stuck in the same loop for years. All work, no play. It’s caused them both to lose every hair on their head. Do you wanna lose your hair by the time you’re 45 Tae? I wouldn’t think so with those luscious locks of yours. Bet some chick would love to yank on them while–”

“I’m not a loner.” Taehyung interrupts, feeling a surge of embarrassment creep up his cheeks. He knows the looks people shot at him and while he didn’t entirely hate it, it always took more than it gave. All he wanted in those moments was to retreat into himself with his paints. Taehyung loved art and like many, found it therapeutic. “I’m not a loner,” he repeats. “I’m just not interested.”

“Sure you’re not buddy.” Jungkook gives a nod but remains largely unconvinced. “But you didn’t answer my question. Why you hanging around me? I’m not that cool ‘cause if I weren’t here, I’d be at the library right now with my nose in the books. Economics doesn’t slap all the time you know.”

Taehyung is silent for a moment before answering.

“I feel like a normal person with you," he starts. "Everyone looks at me like I’m some spoiled golden boy who they can get a free ticket of off if they talk sweet. And yeah, I’m aware of the advantages I’ve had…the struggles most people have that I don’t. But I’m still a real person that wants what most people do...purpose, belonging, someone that just gets them.”

Taehyung takes a breath before continuing.

"I really fucking love painting. It’s my heartbeat honest to god and I’m tired of being looked at as merely an object of someone’s unfulfilled wishes and desires. I like that I don’t need to worry about that with you. I think...we come from different backgrounds but we’re cut from the same cloth Jungkookie. Oh, are you-are you crying?”

“Fucking beautiful Taetae. You’re straight out of Vanity Fair you know that? I’m more of a Forbes magazine guy myself though.”

Taehyung throws Jungkook a puzzled look. Is he being condescending or is this just the booze talking?

“‘Cause I’m a small-town boy with great ambition, intelligence, and gall? We covered this earlier man, keep up!” Jungkook emphasizes his words, hands flying about.

“Right,” Taehyung joins in, recalling the conversation. “You’re father is an analyst for the city and your mom’s an accountant. They want you to get a job nearby after graduation but you don’t want to because–“

“Because it’s too small, boring, set in its traditional ways, and I for one am not fucking with it.” Jungkook sends Taehyung a lopsided grin. “You got a pretty good memory man. Maybe we can be friends after all.”

“I’m so glad,” Taehyung drawls, a slight trace of sarcasm. Jungkook doesn’t notice, however, too busy staring at the strobe lights dancing across the ceiling.

“Hey!” he suddenly pipes up, eyes wider than before. "What are you doing next Friday?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Why?”

“I got this boring family reunion to go to. Happens every year. I don’t wanna go but my parents force me to. You wanna come?”

Taehyung hesitates. “A family reunion? I know I said we’re cut from the same cloth, but we’re not…related Jungkook.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll ask my parents if I can bring a friend. They won’t give a shit as long as I’m there. Also, I heard from my brother that Ha-Yun’s gonna be there.”

“And Ha-Yun is…?”

“Some girl that my parents want to set me up with. Family friend’s daughter. I went to high school with her.”

“So you think that if I’m there I can be your right-hand man or something? Make you look good in front of your future wife?”

“Fuck no. I’m hoping she’ll go to you instead.” Jungkook laughs when he sees the color draining from Taehyung’s face. “It’s nothing against her bro. She isn’t weird or anything. I say this lightly but, I just don’t wanna go out with her and she’s not my type.”

“I’ll think about clearing my schedule for this but I’m not being your meat on a stick,” Taehyung seethes. “But since we’re on this topic, what is your type?”

“Mm, not sure.” Jungkook shrugs. “Someone who’s unexpecting I guess. Like you shouldn’t be together because it's outside of the usual. But you can’t help it. You gotta have this person or it’s over. What about you?”

“Easy,” Taehyung mutters. “I like artists.”

“Artists huh? Like you? Well, I guess I can understand.” Jungkook smirks before leaning his head back against the couch. “One day, I’ll find an artist for you Tae. I promise.”

Oh, the irony.

present

“Jungkook, stop! I need to get up.” You struggle in his arms, biting back a grin. Jungkook has you in a locked position. His hard chest presses close against your back and his leg hugs your body.

“Mm,” he groans. “It’s not time yet.”

“Yes, it is. Also, you’re nearly suffocating me.”You wiggle your body but to no avail. Your husband always tends to get needier as the school year approaches.

"I just don't want you out of my arms yet. Is that a crime now?"

No. No it's not, you sigh to yourself. By this time next week, you’ll be waking up to an empty bed. "Okay." You glance at the alarm clock. "Ten minutes and then I really need to get ready for work."

"Fifteen," Jungkook mumbles.

"Twelve."

"Thirteen."

"No. It's twelve or I'm going now." Jungkook gives a cute grunt and tightens his grip. He really doesn't want you to leave this morning.

"Fine," he says. "Twelve. But we're snuggling again tonight."

"Jungkook. Can't. Breathe." Being spooned by your husband is nice but this isn't spooning anymore. He's completely cacooning himself over you. As soon you feel him shift his weight off you, hand loosening from your waist, your ribs hum in relief.

After what seems like three minutes of complete silence you decide to bite the bullet and ask the question that's been on your mind for the last couple of days.

"Um Jungkook?"

"Yeah?"

"When we went to get ice cream the other night. There was something that happened...to you." You're uneasy bringing it up but you can't shake your concern. When Jungkook saw the little girl with her dad, he went into a bit of a trance. He didn't talk, didn't move, and was pretty numb to your presence all together.

"Oh god," Jungkook groans. "I was hoping you didn't notice but you're my wife so I guess it's fine."

Crap. Was this a sore subject for him? You twist your head over your shoulder, just enough for your ear to be near his lips. You're in high alert now. "Why weren't you hoping I noticed?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's embarrassing." Jungkook smacks his lips before continuing. "But do we really have to talk about it? Spilling ice cream on my shirt at 34 isn't something I really wanna relive through early morning conversations."

Oh he thinks....of course he thinks that's what you're refering to.

"I'm not talking about you being clumsy Jungkook. I'm talking about the little girl with the ribbons. When she was with her dad, you kinda went a little frozen."

Jungkook doesn't reply immediately so you prod him a little. "I just wanna know if everything was alright. I suppose with our current situation I get it if it hit you in a sort of way. Good or bad, whatever the feeling was, you can tell–"

"They seemed happy is all," he croaks, voice dropping an octave. "The kind of happy that makes someone's entire soul stop, I guess. Like they had something special that no one else could. Does that make sense?"

If you look down you think you'll see goosebumps. The words coming from your husband's mouth are, at most, mumbles but they aren't coming from a place of unease or hesitation. Instead they allude to something warm, wholesome, and new.

"Yeah of course, it makes perfect sense. I had a similar experience when I met Si-woo. The way his face light up when he saw his mom comforted me but I felt envious too. Is that wrong of me?"

"Not at all. I think it's a natural response when you see something you want but don't currently have. You know, there was one thing that popped in my thoughts while I watched that father and his daughter..."

"Hm?"

"I thought, maybe I'll be happy too. If we actually have a kid, we'll be happy together like them or something." Yawning, he continues. "I dunno, honey. Kinda sleepy still so if I fall asleep I love you and I hope work goes well. But we can keep talking if you want."

You untuck your hand from under your head and close it over your husband's arm; the one draped around your waist.

Hope. Real hope.

"Dammit why won't you open?!" Jungkook bangs the jar on the side of the kitchen counter. He's been trying to get it open for the last five minutes. With you at work, it's his turn to prepare dinner.

"Take a breath kid," Yoongi says from the other line of the phone.

Jungkook ignores him of course, continuing beat the shit out of the jar in his hand. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. You stupid jar!"

"Kid!" Yoongi tries again, this time grumbling. "Stop doing that and go get a butter knife or something to hit the side of the lid with. It'll pop right off and I won't sue you for making me go deaf."

"Hyung–"

"Oh I thought you didn't call anyone that anymore. Now that you're a real boy and all. With big boy things." Jungkook shakes his head, hearing the older man snort through the speaker.

"You been talking to Taehyung?" That big mouth, he's become as bad as Jimin. What happened to the more reserved Tae he met in undergrad. He likes him better than this new, cocky mf.

"He may have slipped out a thing or two. But I'm glad to see you're still scared shitless of me that you'll keep calling me hyung."

Jungkook slams the jar on the counter, having enough. "Why the fuck did you call hyung? Can't you tell I'm a little busy right now."

Yoongi chuckles. "Alright I'll stop picking on you. I need a favor. The wife and I want to go out just the two of this weekend. I know you got your professor duties starting but would you and __ be willing to look after our gremlins for a couple hours Saturday?"

"Uh–I'm gonna have to talk to __ about this but maybe?" You and him have babysat for Yoongi's twins a handful of times before. They get a little rowdy but it's been mostly fine. Jungkook's not sure if either of you have the energy or time this weekend though. "I thought you usually got a babysitter."

"Yeah, usually but they're unable to this weekend. I'm hoping this time the babysitter will be you and __. We won't be long but we'd really appreciate it if you guys could do this for us. Could you maybe let me know by Thursday if you can?" Yoongi waits for an answer.

"Yeah alright," Jungkook finally responds. "I'll talk to __ about it when she gets home. No promises though." Jungkook wipes the sweat from his brow. It was a little hot in the kitchen. "Listen Yoongi, I gotta get back to prepping dinner but thanks for that tip about opening the–"

"Jungkook! Hello?" A familiar but muffled voice hollers from the front door. "Are you home?" The door bell is pressed continually without rest.

"Uh my ears," Yoongi pipes. "Who the hell is at your door?"

Jungkook walks towards the front of the house, peaking out the window. What the fuck are those two doing here? "Damn it, I gotta go hyung. My parents have decided to pay an unexpected visit." Before Yoongi has time to reply, Jungkook ends the call.

fuckfuckfuckfuck, he repeats under his breath. Could they not have called beforehand? It's a friggen' ten hour drive. Did someone die or something? Why are they here?

"We can hear you Kookie," Jungkook's mother coos in a sing-songy tone. "No one died. We just wanted to see you and __."

Jungkook opens the front door, not even caring if his face shows he's pissed off. "Mother it'd be nicer if you, I don't know. Planned these things?!"

"I told you," Jungkook's father grippes. "I told you woman, didn't I? We should have called. You never listen to me!"

"Oh shut up you goat," Jungkook's mother pushes her way through the door and into the house. "My son loves me and he's happy to see me." She wraps her arms around Jungkook's waist and presses her cheek against his arm.

"Yeah," his father steps in the house. "He's just jumping with joy with that silly apron on. C'mon, he was obviously in the middle of something. Ugh I'm sorry son. Your mother is, well, you know how she is." He slips out of his shoes and shuffles to the kitchen. "Whatcha cooking anyway? Something good I bet."

Jungkook rubs his face in agitation. __ is not gonna like coming home to his parents running around the house.

"You're not mad at me are you?" His mother lifts her chin, big doe eyes just like his own. "We just missed you and we figured you'll be busy with teaching soon so...we just decided to drive down last night."

Trying to smile, Jungkook brings his arm around her. "No, no I'm not mad. I'm glad to see you and __ will be too."

"Jungkook, why the hell are your parents here?" You force yourself to keep a low voice. Your in-laws were steps away and they had the sharpest pair of ears you knew. You didn't want them to hear a single beat.

Your husband pulls at his hair, pacing small circles around the bedroom. "Trust me, I didn't invite them. They just showed up. I don't even know why they're here besides they just wanted to. I'm really sorry."

You yank your silk blouse over your head, tossing it in the hamper. "I love your parents but you're gonna need to tell them this can't be happening." You change into a basic t-shirt and jeans. "I know they're probably a little lonely with you and your brother so far away but I'd be a far better host with some pre-warnings."

"I know. Mom's just so-" Jungkook pauses, scratching his head. "Persistant...and dad will do whatever she wants."

"Look I get it. Saying no is hard when they just want to see us. But what if we had something going on tonight?"

"You're right, you're right," he sighs. "I'll try bringing it up to them."

"Anything else new happen while I was gone?" You mean it as a joke. You really do. Jungkook gives you a look that says yes though. Excellent.

"Well, uh...Yoongi hyung asked if we could babysit Saturday. Him and the Mrs want to go out but thier regular babysitter isn't available that night."

Groaning, your shoulders slope down. "Wha–uh at this rate why the hell not? I was just looking for more things to do."

"Honey," Jungkook makes his way over to you. "We don't have to if–"

"You guys still in there?!" Jungkook's mother intrudes, pounding on the door. "You better not be having coitus! Though grandchildren would be nice if that were to ever be in the cards."

"Coitus?" You mouth silently. Jungkook's parents were a little old fashioned sure but who the heck still says coitus?

"We'll be out in a second. Can you and dad set the table?" Jungkook responds, girmacing at his mothers word choice.

"Okay but wrap it up in there. I'm only here for two days. I wanna see my beautiful daughter in-law!"

You and Jungkook immediately exchange a slack-jawed expression. "What?" With the door thrown open, your husband's eyeborws furrow. "Mom you can't be serious."

"Oh don't look so worried!" The older woman lets out a restrained chuckle. "We're not gonna stay in the house with you or anything. We got a hotel. But ten hours is a long drive and I really wanted to see you. Your father and I don't hear from you often and you didn't come to the last family reunion. What do you expect us to do? Just not see our son?"

"Please don't say it like that Mom," Jungkook combs his fingers through his hair, teeth grinding together. "You know that __ and I are–"

"Always happy to see you!" You rush next to your husband who's startled by your sudden change in demeanor. "Jungkook's just been a little anxious about returning to the university. But we'd love to spend a couple to days with you and dad. Let's start with dinner!"

You usher everyone down the hall and towards the dining room. Jungkook's mother is filled to the brim with joy while your husband slightly, actually very, concerned.

A/N: Apologies for any editing errors! Also close to adding some spicy stuff but we gonna wait on that a little longer 😉 Lmk what you think and if you wanna join taglist comment or send an ask. Thanks!! 😙💗

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[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: Wild Hearts

In the idyllic English countryside, far from the hustle and bustle of the big city, two teachers at Willowbrook Hall set out to transform their students’ lives through the world of theatre. But for Mr. Crowley, the challenge of navigating his long hidden feelings and dear friendship with Mr. Fell may prove to be the greatest drama of all.

Length: 145,589 Words

AO3 Rating: Explicit/ Spice Level 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Best for: Mostly Safe in Public, Human AU, Romance, Slow Burn

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by foolishlovers

*Minor Spoilers* Welcome to Willowbrook Hall, or as I like to call it, The Gay and Trans School for Gay and Trans Teens. Come meet professors Mr. Fell and Mr. Crowley, and their colorful cast of teens as they spend the school year getting ready for the performance of a lifetime in the school play. This place has it all: hijinks, dances, costumes, drama, and best of all a cat.

What I really loved about this story was how cinematic it felt. Sure, some scenes intentionally reference a movie (Wild Child, so fun and camp!), but that's not what I mean. The whole thing plays out like a movie or its own TV show. We get big dramatic moments of romance and heartbreak, plus fun ones like a mini makeover, the school dance, and the play. And there is tons of subtle foreshadowing along the way that will make you jump up and down when things come to fruition. It's thrilling and engaging, and waiting for updates when this was a WIP was excruciating because I wanted to know what was going to happen next so badly!

The side characters especially are so much fun! I loved the kids and their side plots. Even though we don’t follow their story directly, we see enough to get hooked. Adam and Warlock are standouts, but they aren't the only ones I enjoyed! Honestly, I'd read a standalone from the kids perspective! The teachers are excellent too. I have a soft spot for Newt, who pops in now and then, always a sweetheart. Crowley could be in the depths of heartbreak and still manage a smile for Newt. All the teachers (plus Nina) don't feel like they're just there. I was interested in them, and you really get a sense of how much of a family they all are. It's a real skill to make side characters as interesting as the main duo.

Of course, the main attraction is Crowley and Aziraphale. They’ll make you fall in love with them all over again. They’re the perfect domestic couple well before they admit anything. So many lovely details about them, from note passing and bets, to their shared bond with Beethoven the cat (aka the best character ever). You'll experience everything with them: the highs of gender discovery and euphoria, and the lows of miscommunication and misunderstandings. What drama is complete without that? Yes, they’re a bit thick headed, and yes, a single conversation could have fixed everything. But where's the fun in that? I'm here for the drama! The pang of heartbreak and yearning makes the reunion so much sweeter! They are wonderfully characterized, and yet still have an air and life of their own. Unique to this story, but true to their characters.

You’ll be mostly safe reading this in public. There are a handful of explicit scenes but you should have enough notice to get away from prying eyes. The sex here is delicious and heart pounding! Plus the way that Crowley's gender fluidity plays into those scenes was very beautiful. There are so many reasons to love this story. It's engaging, cinematic, dramatic, funny, and romantic. This was an incredible achievement and I hope you have just as much fun and I did!

Read it here, fic by foolishlovers

[inoreuct]

zosan with abba's super trouper.

is this essentially a pop star au? yes. bear with me anyway.

so the entire vinsmoke family are pop stars and they're perfect in the public eye but actually toxic as HELL, and sanji's sick and tired of it— so he breaks away from them and joins another agency, and zoro's assigned as his bodyguard.

they fight SO MUCH at first. i'm talking screaming and yelling and throwing things across the room (mostly sanji) and being stubborn and straight-up refusing to talk after a certain point (also mostly sanji) and then apologising with food and gifts and not words (mostly, well, both of them). they're like flint and steel; putting them together is just asking for trouble, but the years pass, and somehow through the endless bickering they end up best friends. who would've thought? their sharp edges have softened just enough and they're both too old and too tired and too busy to have cold wars anymore. they know more about each other than perhaps anyone else, and they care.

(they're also both in love and refuse to admit it. idiots.)

and then sanji goes on tour, and zoro has to leave for a training refresher course thing, and sanji's MISERABLE. luffy's with him as a bodyguard instead and it's fine, he's great, sanji loves him— just not the way he loves zoro. he feels fucking homesick in a way he never has because he's never really had a proper home and he knows, he knows it's because zoro isn't here with him. sanji turns around to tell him something and is met with empty air. he keeps trying to order double portions of food and booze before he catches himself and maybe he's being dramatic, but it feels like he's missing a fucking limb.

nami, his manager, has to yell at him to stop moping because all he's doing is eating chocolate and binging french soap operas in his hotel room and huddling up in the big leather jacket that zoro left behind. he just wants to get back to his tiny apartment and curl up on his shitty couch to eat pizza and watch Mean Girls for the hundredth time as zoro complains and gets invested in the drama all over again anyway.

he's nearly dead on his feet as finishes yet another exhausting show, trying to take comfort in the fact that it's his second last; his shoes are kicked off to the corner, his makeup barely removed, and just when he's about to turn in for the night his phone rings and when he sees the caller ID he SCRAMBLES to pick up.

"hey," zoro says, low and rumbly and so achingly familiar that sanji doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice," he breathes, and he means it. he means it more than he even knew he did and it hits him all at once as soon as the words leave his mouth. he misses his best friend, no matter everything else that zoro is to him.

zoro's chuckle is a balm to his soul. "i'm coming to see you tomorrow."

sanji sits bolt upright from where he'd been laid back against the pillows, eyes going wide. "are you serious?" he can't help the hope and excitement that unspools in his gut, the warm rush in his blood as zoro laughs.

"yeah. i'm done with the course. speedran the fucking thing and scored so well they had no choice but to let me go. couldn't miss the last chance i had to see you on tour, could i?" sanji can hear his grin through the phone. "i'm flying in tomorrow morning."

"i'll come pick you up from the airport."

"like hell you will," zoro retorts immediately. "you have a press conference at ten."

shit, he'd forgotten about that. "how'd you know, huh?" sanji counters, faux-petty and reclining back against his plush bedding. god, if there was one good thing about being on tour, it was the fancy hotels.

"been talking to nami," comes the reply, amused and teasing, and sanji groans. "what's this i hear about you acting like a widowed husband?"

"you fucking wish, you moron," he snaps, curling up on his side and hugging a pillow to his chest. the bed is awfully big and awfully cold.

zoro sighs, and there's the sound of something zipping up briskly. "missed you too, curls. look, listen— i gotta get to the airport. see you tomorrow night?"

"...yeah," sanji says, because there's so much he wants to tell zoro and no idea how. he doesn't know where he'd start. he doesn't even know what he wants to say. "yeah, i'll see you. you'll be in the crowd, right?"

"mhm," zoro confirms, accompanied by what sounds like the chirp of an electronic lock. "you just sit tight, curly. i'm coming home."

they exchange a few more words before the line cuts off, but sanji's mind is stuck on three specific words and the possible space for three more after. i'm coming home. but he isn't home right now; he's in a foreign country, in a bed that isn't his, and zoro's flying to him. this isn't home to either of them. unless... and that silence afterwards, like zoro had wanted to say something that would have fit right in. something that would have been a natural end to that string of syllables.

sanji takes a deep breath and does his best to push all thoughts of i love you, spoken or not, to the back of his mind.

still, he can't help but let it all boost him up like a buoy bobbing merrily on the sea. one call from zoro, one short conversation, and he's fucking effervescent; he wakes up smiling and breezes through the press conference with effortless charm. he's bouncing on the toes of his heeled boots even before he steps onto the stage, thrilled by the thought of zoro being in the audience. thousands of eyes on him, thousands of people screaming his name, and he only cares about one. he takes a deep breath as the lights change and the platform he's on begins to rise, fingers tightening around his mic. it's his last night here. he's doing it all for zoro.

it turns out to be the best performance of his life, if he does say so himself. he powers through the entire two hours with ease and hits every note perfectly. he enjoys himself for the first time in a long time, soaks up the glitter and glamour and blinding lights, lets the atmosphere wrap him up and tousle his hair, and he wonders just how it's possible that one person's presence could change so much.

(he doesn't need to wonder. he already knows.)

when he says his final goodbyes for the night he's breathless, heart pounding, anticipatory. the hands patting at his back in congratulation backstage are superficial compared to who he knows is here, and he spares nami a few seconds for a rare squeeze, pausing for a few more when she whispers i'm proud of you in his ear.

and then sanji sees him, and nothing, nothing else fucking matters.

he sprints forward and they crash together and something slams into place inside of him. zoro sweeps him off his feet, squeezing him tight enough that he laughs, bright and merry and real as they spin around and around and he's so dizzy when he's set back down, light-headed and his heart full. he doesn't care where he is, he's home.

zoro takes his weight as easily as anything, tucking sanji to his chest. "god, fuck, you were amazing up there," he says breathlessly, the words pressed into sanji's bejewelled hair. "you were incredible."

the words rumble through his chest and sanji clings tighter, holding zoro desperately around the waist and taking in deep lungfuls of laundry detergent and the fancy pine-and-sandalwood body wash he'd given zoro for christmas. "you're here."

"'course i am," zoro replies, matter-of-fact. "said i'd be here, so i'm here."

his earrings press against sanji's cheek. "can we go get pizza?" he asks meekly.

zoro's answering laugh pours into the horrible aching pit that's been gnawing away at him, fills it up with liquid sunlight as he answers, "we can do whatever the hell you want."

they get pizza. sanji lets zoro pull him around town swearing at the Google Maps on his phone before he finally takes pity and steers them towards the little pizzeria he'd found when he'd snuck out with luffy on their first night here. the tongue-lashing from nami had been worth it, but even so the experience back then had been dull. muted, at best.

now it's like he's seeing the whole world through a whole different lens; the fluorescent sign in the window beams charmingly as the bell above the door chimes, and sanji doesn't even care about the raised eyebrow zoro gives him when he wiggles into the booth seat with undisguised glee. between them they put away a large four-cheese pizza and a frankly massive slice of apple pie à la mode, and sanji's feeling pleasantly stuffed as he finishes up his vanilla milkshake and successfully fends zoro off from stealing sips when he isn't looking. he has plenty of experience with that, after all.

the walk back is filled with comfortable silence. sanji doesn't need anything else— zoro here with him is more than he could ask for. scary dog privilege aside, the man next to him is sanji's best friend, and he loves zoro more than he can, or will, ever say.

zoro drops him off at his room and hugs him goodnight. sanji strips down, blasts the shower as hot as it can go, and scrubs the gel out of his hair along with any of the remaining dregs of emptiness he resolutely tells himself are not there right down the drain.

it can't stop him from thinking, though. of zoro. of compression shirts and cargo pants and worn black boots. of the nights zoro had taught him self-defense and the time sanji nearly broken his jaw with a roundhouse kick neither of them had known he was capable of; the other had grinned up with him with blood all over his teeth, proud and raring to go, barking again! and sanji had glowed. his mind swims with it all even as he towels off and slips into his silk pyjamas— memories of late-night talks with wine and beer, sometimes tea, quips all around, beds shared back-to-back under unspoken agreements when neither of them wanted to sleep alone.

three knocks sound on his door.

sanji hates the way he rushes to the peephole and yanks it open as soon as he confirms who it is. zoro stands there, one hand on the back of his neck, looking bored yet unsettled in his baggy tee with his damp hair sticking up everywhere. "jetlag?" sanji asks, raising an eyebrow as zoro grunts.

"you could say that."

he steps aside in a silent invitation, and zoro looks around as he goes in. sanji topples onto the bed with a sigh of relief and crawls under the blankets, patting the space beside him as he switches on the television. "mean girls?"

"god, i fucking hate you," zoro groans, but he settles in anyways, and sanji grins triumphantly.

it's still not his apartment or his shitty couch— but zoro's here, so it's the next best thing.

they make it through the movie without incident. zoro parrots the dialogue and cheers when regina gets hit by the bus like he does without fail every time. sanji knees him in the thigh for it with a scowl like he always does and it starts a fierce kicking battle under the sheets that results in zoro dangling half off the mattress and sanji laughing so hard he can't breathe.

when they've mostly calmed down, sanji sighs out one final chuckle and sinks back into the pillows. "think you can fall asleep now?" he murmurs, turning to look at where zoro has his head propped in one hand.

"maybe," the other allows, and sanji swallows before he smiles.

"goodnight, marimo."

"goodnight."

the flick of the light switch feels like finality. in regards to what, sanji doesn't know, but now that they're in the darkness and zoro begins to get comfortable behind him he cannot deny that he wants.

he wants those arms around him. wants to sleep even better than he does when they're back to back, wants to fit within the circle of zoro's embrace like he belongs there. wants to belong there. wants zoro as his best friend and everything more. it manifests as a tight ache in the centre of his chest, a knot around his heart that he knows he cannot untangle by himself. sanji curls up into a ball and hugs a pillow to his chest, biting his lip— because zoro is right next to him instead of thousands of miles away, and he's still untouchable all the same.

he's on the cusp of restless sleep when he feels zoro shift, and he prays that the hitch in his breath is unnoticeable. he forces the rise and fall of his chest to stay even as the blankets are smoothed securely around his shoulders, a callused palm brushing his hair away from his face; a soft kiss is pressed to his forehead, a hand cupping his face tenderly and trailing away with the brush of a thumb over his cheekbone. "sweet dreams, curls," zoro whispers, before light cracks in from the hallway as his room door opens and shuts.

the electronic lock beeps, and sanji's eyes fly open. the white ceiling swims as he stares at it, unseeing, and the sheets on the right side of the bed are still warm. there's an indent where zoro's body was and sanji gasps as he drags himself into it, huddling down and pulling the covers over his head until all he can smell is zoro.

his heart stutters, mind racing, fingers tightening in the plush duvet. he's confused, so confused. hopeful. a little mad, if he's being honest, and his next breath trembles out of his lungs. mostly still confused, though, because what the fuck did that mean?

he'll find out, he swears. he will. he'll storm his way to zoro's room and break the damn door down if he has to. but for now, if he hides for a little while until he stops feeling like he's about to cry—

well, that's a secret for his hotel room to keep.

[risingmoonyue]

Some more notes and world building for my Lucy redesign:

Celestial spirit mages have a really hard time learning different kinds of magic if it's what they first start out with, since they naturally flow towards opening interdimentional doors. They'll usually find themselves accidentally opening different keys instead - if they have more than one, then it's usually whichever spirit is most comparable with the type of magic they're trying to learn, and if that doesn’t apply, then it’s just the easiest spirit to summon. Path of least resistance and all that.

This is doubly so if the celestial mage in question is naturally born with great aptitude for celestial spirit magic

Lucy herself was born to a long line of celestial spirit mages, as well as has an extreme aptitude towards summoning them. Her magic almost exclusively works with spirit keys because of this. If she works at it, she might be able to learn some basic requip, but she's pretty much completely locked into spirit keys or weapons specifically made to channel her type of magic (think Fleuve d'étoiles)

Celestial mages also have to be careful when making promises. It's all too easy for their magic to flow into one and make it a Contract, which has major consequences when broken - especially towards a spirit or concerning something an involved party feels strongly about. Even disregarding that, most will always keep their promises since once word spreads through the spirit world that you don't, not a single spirit will want to contract with you. In some cases, depending on your existing contracts, it may be grounds for them to be broken.

It also works somewhat the other way around. Breaking a promise to a spirit mage is a Big Deal, and can have detrimental affects to the people involved. The spirit mage can take the backlash themselves though, in the even someone breaks a promise to them. Usually it's not a big deal because it's not super important, but the ones that really mean something to one or both has a much heavier backlash

Lucy works hard to foster close bonds with her spirits, and on every anniversary of her gaining their Key, she lets them ask anything of her (within reason) and she'll do it. In all honesty, they could ask her to do something at anytime, and she'd totally do it, but enough spirits protested her doing that all the time, so they compromised to once a year

The protests may have mostly come from Aquarius and Cancer, who didn’t want other spirits to take advantage of the fact that Lucy will do basically anything for them. Loke was extremely relieved when he heard about this.

Aquarius helped raise Lucy, and she's basically Lucy's second mom - or at least overprotective guardian figure.

Cancer, who has been with her the second longest, has similar feelings. He tends to act more as the cool uncle tho.

Later on when Loke joins the roster, he becomes her BFF/Best Bro. He's very protective, and has basically formed the Lucy Heartfilia Protection club aka her celestial spirit fanclub. He is low key actively recruiting members.

He likes to tease her with his flirty drama, but also won't hesitate to punch someone eyeing her the wrong way. She knows he's not serious with the flirts towards her, and he knows she knows. He is very serious about singing her praise tho. He lets loose his cat behaviors when they're together because he trusts her and also because it's funny

But in all seriousness, Loke is solid and dependable for Lucy, and a great source of comfort. He knows when to be serious and how to make her smile when she’s upset, or when she just needs someone to be there for a while to let her know she’s not alone.

Virgo is also part of the bff/sibling club

Celestial Spirit Magic is rare, and not a whole lot of people know anything about it. In fact, the keys sell for a lot in the black market, and doubly so if included with the mages themselves. Lucy, having grown up in a rich mansion with basically only her spirits as her friends, is surprised at how little everyone seems to know about them and how dangerous it actually is to openly be a spirit mage. Suddenly her spirits’ overprotectiveness and nagging about never leaving her keys anywhere and keeping them out of sight makes a lot more sense.

The spirits’ overprotectiveness is admittedly justified, since Lucy is very trusting and is always trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. She's actually not bad at picking out suspicious people, but she doesn't really trust her own instincts.

It’s a relief for everyone involved once she joins Fairy Tail, because now that she’s part of an official guild, especially as well known and powerful as they are, it is way harder for anyone to try and capture her and her keys.

Makarov is aware of this, and takes measures to make sure people (especially the more powerful people) know that anyone who lays a hand on Lucy will regret it very, very quickly. He also makes sure Mira knows since Lucy tends to hang out at the bar a lot, and Mira quietly spreads it to the rest of the guild.

Loke, before he joins Lucy, quietly makes sure to tell Natsu (and Erza and Gray later) more specifically about being careful and why they really, really need to watch out for and be careful with Lucy. For all that he’s trying to avoid spirit mages, he definitely doesn’t want to see another one dead, or worse. Sadly, he’s seen it all - and since they’re always with her, they’re probably going to be the ones who run into the most situations.

[emilybeemartin]

Ok ok ok ok listen. Because I have anxiety I feel it's my duty to say that this show won't be for everyone. I came to it over quarantine because my husband suggested we read Bernard Cornwell's series together, and I agreed because I liked Hornblower and knew this was the army equivalent and, let's face it, I wanted to see scruffy mid-thirties Sean Bean in uniform.

THE PREMISE:

Richard Sharpe is a lowborn rank-and-file soldier in the 95th Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars who is raised to an officer after saving Sir Arthur Wellesley's life (this all happens differently in the books, but the basic event is the same). Throughout the series, he rises in the ranks thanks to his bravery and heroism/recklessness, but he's always caught between two worlds--trying to be a leader of common men while never being accepted by the rest of the highborn officers.

Let's start with the bad:

CONS:

Look, this is a 90s drama glorifying the British army. So like, there are gonna be issues. Women are mostly romantic side pieces to be wooed and rescued, and there are plenty of subplots, verbiage, and stereotypes that didn't age well. Production values are low for the first few and so you've got battle scenes with like fifteen guys and a horse, which honestly I find endearing. But no episode is more cringey than Sharpe's Gold. Due to legal issues, the script had to be rewritten with none of the original material, and it turned into this bizarro semi-supernatural horror involving Aztec gold (in Spain, yes). It's completely different from all the other episodes, and even Sean Bean didn't like it (he called it a "mish mash," which is true). It's such a weird piece of work that we almost stopped watching the show, but we continued, and we were relieved to find that the rest of the series is markedly better. History Hack podcast does a great dive into why this episode was so whack.

PROS:

I MEAN COME ON

Sean really understood this character--absolute chaos on the battlefield and shy and awkward pretty much everywhere else. He's amazing in battle scenes and he's EPIC at acting wounded. But the scenes I replay over and over are when he's socially out of his depth and gets flustered and sputtery and so Sheffield the captions can't handle it.

Supporting cast:

You'll find a lot of your classic British TV favorites making appearances throughout this series, and the camaraderie among the riflemen is always fun. Obviously this is a dude fest, as stated above, but some of the women are also written and acted really, really well--- Assumpta Serna as Teresa is that winning combination of a love interest/action heroine who doesn't devolve into a damsel in distress, and even passes the Bechdel test on a few occasions. And Diana Perez as Ramona is so badass and enjoyable.

Locations: Aside from a few interior sets, these films are mostly shot outside on location, with practical effects and stunts. There's some gorgeous scenery of the Crimean peninsula standing in for Spain and Portugal, and it's just really fun watching these guys run around rocky escarpments and fields with flares and stage explosives going off around them.

Music: I saw someone tag the opening theme as "electric guitar jumpscare" and they're not wrong. It's wonderfully anachronistic and totally 90s and you'll never get used to it. But far better are the soldiers' songs John Tams threads throughout, as well as his and Muldowney's thematic scores, and you will always, always finish an episode with him singing "Over the Hills and Far Away" stuck in your head.

Filming Lore: There was a LOT that happened during filming. Everything from Paul McGann having to drop out as the lead to misadventures in filming in Crimea just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. History Hack podcast has an awesome series of "filming of" episodes with input from cast, crew, and historians, and Jason Salkey (Rifleman Harris) has a book called "From Crimea With Love" that details the batshit filming adventures. I haven't read it but he references it every six minutes throughout the podcasts.

So: you've been warned, you've been primed. Start with Sharpe's Rifles; it's on Youtube. Watch it and Eagle, maybe jump to Battle or Siege if you're not sure, and then make up your mind.

If this all sounds enjoyable to you, but you wish there were more tall ships, more Paul McGann, more heroic brooding, and even MORE true love cosplaying as masculine camaraderie, you're in luck! Because you should also watch Hornblower!

And then draw fan art of it all! Please,,, I am so lon el y

[pinetrees-in-the-water]

Slender mansion headcanons?

Aight anon you didnt mention who to write for so I'm gonna write about all my favs, also this will be infuenced by my personal rewrite so I hope you dont mind!!

(Charcters included: Jeff, Ben, Nina, Toby, EJ, Clockwork, Jane, Masky/Tim, The Operator and a hint of Laughing Jack)

I'll make a part 2 as soon as I can because I have way too many thoughts about the Mansion to fit in one post.

Thank you for the ask!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

◇Slender Mansion Headcanons◇

◇Part 1◇

• Actual fucking chaos

• Thank god the Mansion is so deep in the woods because they would have been reported for SEVERAL noise complaints.

• Ben and Jeff usually play videogames late into the night (usually old PS2 titles, horror or multiplayer games) and Jeff has almost 0 voice control.

• So Tim (or Jane) usually has to barge in and yell at them to keep it down, not that he sleeps much anyways but theyre annoying and Nina is a light sleeper.

• Ben, Clockwork and Tim are all insomniacs so they usually all play board games or go for long drives together, Ben has successfully gotten them into dnd.

• Ben is pretty bad at taking care of himself because he just kinda....forgets due to his ADHD so everyone in the mansion gives him their little reminders or help out.

• Whether its Nina brushing his hair, Jane bringing him dinner when he forgot to eat or Toby essentially throwing him in the shower (never the bathtub his phobia of deep water is too strong and everyone in the mansion is mindful of it)

• Nina, Jeff and Ben all have movie nights every Tuesday. Occasionally the other members of the mansion will join them if the're free but they all have different hunting schedules set by The Operator.

•Nina screams at every jumpscare in a horror movie, her screams are so loud that EJ can hear it from the basement.

• The Operator himself doesn't live in the Mansion although it is his. Hes rarely seen or heard from, only leaving notes around the house. The only one really fond of him is Nina.

• The Operator usually leaves breakfast on the table in the morning for all of them, Clockwork has a small feeling that he doesn't like Jeff because his eggs are never done the way he likes.

• Speaking of Clockwork, the only people she really relaxes around are Toby and EJ, otherwise shes the resident strong, scary, silent type. Ben was low-key scared of her at first but theyre cool now.

• She has major anger issues so his fears are validated, she mostly does a good job of hiding it and generally is very friendly although her bluntness comes of as being mean sometimes.

• EJ and Clockwork usually give each other book and audio drama podcast reccomendations. They're so comfortable around each other that everyone though they were dating at first (They're not).

• EJ was studying to be a surgeon before he got into this mess, his skills carried over and he acts like the in house doctor for the mansion, frequently gets annoying at Tim's smoking.

• EJ honestly spends more time in his lab in the basement than his actual room, he doesn't let many people down there for "sanitation" reasons but everyone else knows its just to keep the teenagers from being more traumatized than they already are.

• Nobody goes into the attic as The Clown (Laughing Jack) lives there, they're all a little afraid of him but he only leaves and enters the room through the attic so hes never seen in the rest of the house.

• Jane had to go into the attic to speak to The Clown once on instruction of The Operator and acted out of character for the rest of the week, keeping all the cupboards and wardrobes in her vicinity open at all times.

• Jane and Tim are often regarded as "The Parents" of the Mansion as they're the oldest, both being in their mid to late 30s, everyone MOSTLY respects them enough to listen.

• Nina treats Clockwork and Jane like big sisters and often finds every excuse to tag along and spend time with them, usually ends up rambling about random fanfiction or a new show she's watching while they listen.

• Clockwork and Toby are like Ben and Jeff just older. Two peas in a pod, they go everywhere together and Clockwork becomes a little more unhinged around him. They've been hiding a stolen stoplight in Toby's room for 3 months and nobody has noticed yet.

• Toby and Jeff either get along a little too well or are fist fighting there is no in between. They're both loose canons. Nobody can tell if they're friends or hate each other.

• Toby and Nina both get along well as they're able to understand and read each other better than the other mansion members due to their shared experience having bpd.

• Toby often accompanies Nina on missions and looks out for her, similar to an older brother, and Nina goes on frequent trips with him to help bring firewood for the Mansion.

• They have their moments but overall everyone gets along pretty well.

[dotthings]

So The Winchesters and Kung Fu are done at CW. I'm not shocked by either news.

And about The Winchesters, particularly, CW Nexstar can't afford The Winchesters. This isn't because TW was a flop or didn't perform big enough in streaming. It charted near GoT and TLOU levels for months internationally, and was decent on US streaming as well. (Don't listen to any gaslighting stupidity from antis about this).

This came down to licensing fees and CW Nexstar insisting on a cap of $1M/ep on everything.

I said WBD and CMP and everyone wouldn't want to kneecap TW's budget to fit CW's needs.

The Deadline article says The Winchesters will be shopped, that per their sources, WBD has been preparing to shop it

Yeah. Because they were never going to accept such a low licensing fee from CW Nexstar for a property as valuable as SPN. WBD knew.

According to Deadline WBD tried to shop Kung Fu already and couldn't find a place for it. Truly sorry about that. I think there was more story there--but I was right about it being valuable to WBD.

The S3 finale of Kung Fu was a strong episode closure for the series, so that's a satisfying 3 season closed story to enjoy, if anyone wants to check it out. Highly recommended. And keeping up those streaming numbers helps demonstrate a demand for that kind of series--genre series that are centered on female characters, all PoC cast, with queer leads, with magic and myth and kickass fight scenes. I'd love to see more series like this even if I can't have more Kung Fu.

SPN may be done at CW but that doesn't mean that WBD is done with SPN. I think The Winchesters will most likely land on Max, along with any future SPN shows.

And if anyone else has noticed--all of CW Nexstar's acquired shows (mostly Canada) are not genre. There's one show with a slight supernatural element but it's really more of a crime thriller. Everything else is drama.

This is part of an overall slide on linear big broadcast networks. ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS, they don't care about genre. They have almost no genre series. CW Nexstar is following common business practices and tailoring its lineup like the big networks. More drama. Bet they'll start developing lawyer-cop-firefighter-doctor series.

This isn't a knock on drama, I have some drama shows I love a lot and many are made well. But I'm mostly a genre fan who loves genre tv and I think it's a mistake for these companies to ditch genre.

The thing is...they're ditching drama not because genre isn't lucrative. Genre is HUGE. There are big genre IP's and I'm sure any network would love a slice of that pie. But they really can't afford it.

Bottom line: CW Nexstar couldn't afford SPN.

[harmonysanreads]

Seems I’m not the only one who loves the idea of vamp kaveh, like yes vamp kaveh supporters rise up let’s go! Now I kinda want to see the alternate timeline where we get sandwiched between both guys (al-haitham baby I still love you but a part of me also craves drama please forgive me)

There'll be more drama than you could probably digest, dearest.

On their own, (vampire or not) these two are... manageable as yanderes, if you know how to utilize their infatuation to your advantage, that is. But somehow, they always bring out the worst in each other when they're after the same darling. Here's the thing ; Alhaitham doesn't like sharing but Kaveh is hell-bent. And when Kaveh is serious about something, he finds ways to get what he wants. In this case for Alhaitham to agree to sharing ; it took half of carefully weaved threats to expose the secret Alhaitham has been keeping from the Vampire Lords and a half of your testimony (mostly the latter because Alhaitham can't really say no to you).

Still, Alhaitham seizes every chance he gets to rub it in Kaveh's face that he's found you first, he's tasted you first and he has your obedience. This often results in heated arguments and you have to intervene every time so that they don't tear each other apart. It's exhausting, keeping them satisfied with pieces of your attention when they both crave it whole and alone. And unfortunately, this constant competition will blanket the more tender side of Vampire Alhaitham.

Alhaitham's care is subtle, he's not one to declare it verbally, he's not one to initiate physical intimacy as prominently either, unlike Kaveh — it takes time and mutual trust for him to bare his soul to you. His innermost desire is a peaceful life with you and he'd planned to achieve that in his own pace. But having Kaveh constantly stuck on you like a leech will bring out the more forceful, more desperate and less delicate side of him. His possessive nature is more concretely expressed and you're less likely to establish that special connection with him.

Kaveh on the other hand, is unbelievably jealous. He hides it pretty well most of the time but spend enough moments with him and you'll know the envy is eating him up inside, taking over his rational thoughts every day. Alhaitham's continuous prideful declarations don't help either, if anything, it chips away at his self-control alarmingly. Kaveh's embrace is always so suffocating, his words drip with obsession and he's always trying to mold your thoughts into hating Alhaitham, trying to get you in his control.

At least, Alhaitham doesn't stoop that low. At one point, if you still have grip over yourself, you might realize that Kaveh really isn't the empathetic and gentle man you'd thought him to be. But at that point, it's already way too late to take back your words.

[monstersinthecosmos]

but now the cosmos crawls with monsters

KACY. 30s. She/They.

This blog contains adult content, please do not follow if you are a minor.

hi friends! I'm Kacy, I write fanfiction! I like ducks and heavy metal! I mostly use this space to talk about The Vampire Chronicles, but I also like Sheith, and horror films, and kink theory! I am an asexual porn writer and I'm obsessed with Marius!

LINKS

AO3 - I am monstersinthecosmos on AO3, I write porn about VC, Sheith, and sometimes YOI!

Bsky - kacycarr on bsky - you will find mostly Sheithing here!

Ko-Fi - feel free to buy me a coffee if you like my fics! I have some fics available for purchase in digital download and paperback! I will also invite you to check out projects I created & co-mod called @vamptember (vampire prompts during the month of September!) and @priapus-at-the-gate (the VC Kink Meme!) VC STUFF!

I mostly use this space to talk about VC since the fandom is either dead or toxic as fuck on other platforms. I've been into VC since like THE YEAR 2000 LOL. I had fics that got taken down in the FFnet purge! Ancient! Marius is my favorite character and I'm more partial to Marius subplots/timelines. I'm also really into the Devil's Minion and Trinity Gate! I'm super into whatever the fuck was going on with Marius & Daniel! I could talk about Armand all fucking day! Pandora is my hero! Please expect posts about these things! I didn't love the AMC adaptation so I don't talk about it very often, because I try to focus on stuff I enjoy. ♡ TAGS

#stuff i wrote - IT'S FOR STUFF I WROTE. contains fics and discussion of fics. if they're very short they might only be on Tumblr and not on AO3.

#deep ass thoughts about vampires - my meta tag, sorry I came up with the name while I was stoned back in 2016 and I'm too lazy to change it :)

#trauma hole theory - if you want even DEEPER ass thoughts about vampires, this is where I park thoughts related to "do vampires have neuroplasticity?" and "would therapy even work on them?" #asexual vc - I don't really shut the fuck up about vampires being asexual so if you wanna hear about it CLICK HERE

#simple italian perv - MISC SMUTTY THOUGHTS to keep the rent low lol if you're new here I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me

#the skateboard of shakespeare - I visited Tulane last year and documented a ton of info from the Anne Rice collection! I use this tag when I share! #vampire chronicles- for book stuff!

#vampire pajama party on amc - this is my tag for the AMC show; I'm not a big fan of it so please feel free to mute if you don't want to see salt posts. (I have a second, even saltier tag called #the rolin jonestown massacre if you want to mute that one as well!)

#devils minion girlies - STILL WORKING HARD TO POPULATE THIS TAG but if you like thinking about Armand & Daniel as lesbians please see this tag. #unethical marius - I've been really obsessed lately with thinking about an AU where Marius is an unethical therapist LOLLL please feel free to peruse or mute as needed. #vampire music - I have like a ND relationship to music and I love sharing it even if no one else cares and taste is subjective but if you ever want vampirey music recs they will be here :D #fandom lolitics - I try not to share too much discourse & drama but it's here if you want to mute it! #vcficfriday - when I have time & remember to I like to share fics I've read on Fridays!!!! Please feel free to use this tag in your own blog as well, to build up fic writers!

I THINK THAT COVERS IT, FELLAS, please be kind to each other and don't be shy to send me asks if you have any questions!

[lurkingshan]

Since you've watched a lot of kdrama, what are common things you've seen in kdrama that have been consistently ported into K-BL, and what is your assessment of that approach?

Ooh, interesting question. So first, let's acknowledge a few things:

Korean bl is short format, with even the longest shows (Light on Me, The Eighth Sense) not even half the length of a standard kdrama (16-20 hours), and most clocking in around 2-4 hours

Kbl operates under much smaller budgets and significant constraints around casting as compared to mainstream kdrama

Kbl often draws from webtoons and manwha and mostly does not have the kind of auteur writers and directors behind it that you get in kdrama (Hwang Da-Seul is the most consistent creator in genre with Where Your Eyes Linger, Blueming, To My Star)

All that said, there are a few features of mainstream kdrama that have definitely ported over into kbl despite these constraints:

Slick production values and strong use of setting and color: even the cheapest kbls still look decent, and there is always intentionally behind the setting and use of color palettes to set the tone and feel. Korea has a very well-developed film industry and it shows. Color Rush, Semantic Error and Blueming were fantastic examples of this: even within more familiar school romances, the settings felt specific and the use of color to communicate character and themes was striking. I also think often of Our Dating Sim and Choco Milk Shake and the very effective characterization work achieved through design of the apartments.

Sound production and music on point: the home of kpop is not going to be caught sleeping on the OSTs. Nearly every production has original songs and given the leads of these shows are usually idols, they're often the ones on the tracks. And when they use music that is not original, like in The Eighth Sense, it's a very intentional choice to set mood and tone. Korea is not going to let a boy who can't actually sing take the mic (*side eyes Thailand*). To My Star is a great example of memorable OSTs even in a fairly low budget production, and Wish You and Sing My Crush showed us what kbl can do when it decides to bring the full kpop treatment to bear.

A keen understanding of the international audience: kdrama production is a big part of South Korea's explicit goals to take the global media landscape by storm, and kbl is included in that. It's not a coincidence that Korea decided to step up its game in this arena shortly after Thai bl exploded (shoutout to 2gether and pandemic lockdowns). Kbl follows trends and explicitly caters to international audiences in a way jbl does not. The Eighth Sense was basically a case study in marrying kdrama sensibilities and western aesthetics for maximum international attention.

Second leads and valorization of unrequited love: you and I have discussed this one a lot because this is a feature of kdramas that will never die and that kbls also clearly love. Korea loves a one-sided love story and culturally, there is a certain dignity afforded to owning your feelings and being honest with the object of your affection, even when there is no hope of reciprocation. Often second leads don't get the guy/girl because they hesitate or hide their feelings until it's too late: the trope is used to underline the important of honesty and effort as well as providing a catalyst for the main lead to make their move. In Korean culture, the trying is what matters much more than the succeeding. We are meant to like most second leads and see them as honorable and dignified for their sincere feelings toward the protagonist. Second lead syndrome is a thing for a reason. It's also just a cheap and easy way to create drama so you'll often see it in the lower budget kbls. Second leads showed up recently in kbls like The Tasty Florida, Jun & Jun, Oh! Boarding House, Bon Appetit, etc. We also sometimes see kbls playing with the idea of unrequited love in the main pairing that is actually requited, like in Our Dating Sim.

Love triangles: relatedly, Korea loves them a love triangle, and they are uniquely good at doing it well when they want to. Light on Me is a fantastic example of a narrative where you can legitimately see the protagonist liking and ending up with both the main and second lead. And that is rooted in the way the narrative treats Daon with dignity even as it punishes him for his hesitation in reciprocating Taekyung's feelings (see above). When you have a strong second lead who engenders real sympathy with the audience, love triangle excellence is achieved.

Workplace romances: kdrama loves workplace romances, and we have seen kbl start to move into that space recently with shows like Roommates of Poongdock 304, Love Mate, Our Dating Sim, Jun & Jun, and The New Employee. Kdrama workplace romances run the gamut, but they often feature chaebol characters paired with a "normal" aka not wealthy person, and we are starting to see that more in the bl genre as well, as we discussed a bit yesterday. I believe @nieves-de-sugui commented on your post about how the rich/poor romance fantasy trend in recent bl may be coming in from kdrama. I think there's some truth to that, but really it's a foundational romance trope that predates kdrama by literal centuries, and is absolutely rooted in heteronormative patriarchal dynamics that assume men are breadwinners and caretakers for women (translated to seme/uke dynamics in bl). Often in kdrama the chaebol character is unable to live an authentic life due to the demands of filial piety and the expectations tied to their wealth, and I do think that dynamic is ripe for enrichment when you layer on gay identity in a homophobic society. But that requires shows leaving the no homophobia bubble, which few kbls have done.

Physical intimacy squarely in the middle space: comparing to heat levels we see across the spectrum of dramas, I think kdrama and kbl are pretty consistent in that they tend to land right in the middle of the spectrum. It's rare to see straight up dead fish kisses from romantic leads anymore (though it still happens, wincing at Unintentional Love Story), but they are also not going to be serving authentic sex scenes. What you get instead is very pretty open-mouthed kissing that feels more realistic than, for instance, the pure jbl lane, but still polished and aesthetically pleasing. Think Semantic Error, Blueming, Roomates of Poongdock 304, Love Mate, To My Star 2, Jun & Jun. This seems to be where the genre is landing and I don't expect heat levels to get any higher for kbl, as this is right in line with mainstream kdrama. The Eighth Sense offered a less polished version of intimacy that felt right in line with its grittier sensibilities.

So, after that long list, on to your second question: my assessment of this approach is that kbls are doing fairly well for themselves when you consider the constraints they are operating under. Look at a show like Love Tractor stacked up against something like Hometown Cha Cha Cha. These are both based in the classic romance trope of a city slicker coming to the country and falling in love with a humble working person. But where HCCC has 16 hours to build a quasi-enemies to lovers narrative with a rich community of side characters, LT has 3.5 hours to achieve the same thing. So it makes sense that it would fall back on well-worn tropes and story beats it knows the audience will recognize to help save time. These shortcuts help the audience ground themselves and get invested in the stories quickly.

One thing I'll say is that kbl mostly stays in the romcom lane with very occasional ventures into melo, and despite what casual observers think, kdrama actually has a lot more to offer than that. It's a giant world with stories based in every possible genre, tone, and style, and Korean media is particularly adept at embedding romance plots that actually work in all kinds of stories including action thrillers, horror, crime narratives, mysteries, supernatural and fantasy epics. I'd love to see kbl try this, though of course it would require the resources and runtime to do it successfully. Here's hoping they get the chance.

[canary-song]

So I've been thinking about

Spiderverse and the developement of its supporting cast.

And now I'm going to make it everyone else's problem! Today, unsurprisingly considering my track record, I'm going to discuss Peni and Noir from ITSV, and then Hobie and Peni from ATSV, with focus on characters as stereotypes of genres/ideologies.

Let's begin!

Into The Spiderverse is a great, self-contained story, but in terms of Spiderverse, it's also our introductory movie, and I believe this effects how the story is told in terms of its supporting cast. (As a warning, I will be discussing Noir and Peni in this section without much mention of Ham as, though I believe these points might apply to Ham as well, I haven't read his own comics and thus am not familiar enough.)

Noir and Peni are, in ITSV, personifications of their genres. I mean this with no disrespect, but its evident that they are, first and foremost, representative of their stories and styles moreso than they are characters with much depth.

Starting with Peni, I do know that others have discussed this in terms of her before, but she is quintessentially the bubbly anime girl contrasted against a cast of american comic/movie characters. This isn't specifically my issue, but it's more that this facet of her is highlighted moreso than mostly anything else - her place in the SP//DR program is referenced, along with the death of her father, but ISTV spends no good deal of time until the end evaluating how these things might effect her. She's mostly stagnant, about equivalent to how she was at the beginning by the time she leaves, with the only major difference being the loss of her robot.

And then there's Noir, who I have, as friends will know, discussed consistently to be a character treated as 'Spiderman cardboard cut-out with a bucket of 1930s aesthetic dumped over him'. Though ITSV gives a very fun interpretation of his character, playing up the drama, it also doesn't escape said issue in terms of treating him as more an aesthetic than a product of his times. He's written with even less space given for his backstory, supplying no particular comic details beyond punching nazis, and any references to the emotional turmoil of his character are reserved to the 'moral ambiguity of your violent actions' gag. Similar to Peni, he has little to no character developement and only a smidge of emotional dialogue, which is mostly only present near the end with saying that he loves the rest of the spiderpeople (undercut by another Not Knowing Colors joke, but I digress).

I am not arguing that this is poorly done and negatively impacts ITSV - it doesn't, to me. It's still well told, and this story doesn't suffer from underdevelopement because there's so much else it is doing. This is, as stated earlier, the introductory movie. Peni Noir and Ham are examples of the wider, diverse Spiderverse, and they're personifications of their genres because they're short-hand for telling your audience that the multiverse is vast, setting expectations accordingly. ITSV doesn't need to do the hard leg-work of making them all 3-dimensional because that's not the point of this supporting cast, at least not yet.

So let's talk ATSV, Hobie, and how that changes.

Hobie is another example for "Characters as personified stereotypes" (even if its not a genre this time, and instead more an ideology) because his character, at the beginning, is all about being an anarchist, an anti-fascist, and an Over The Top punk. He plays into it as is what's expected of him, both from the people around him and, to a degree, us the audience. He's his beliefs personified in the most comedic, low depth lense possible, but over the course of ATSV, as everyone knows, his true personality and motivations reframe how he's been previously characterized;

It's not shallow writing, and he's not 2-dimensional, with all of his jokes being instead an active choice. He still stands for (mostly) everything he's joked about, but in a far more genuine and real sense, going out of his way to watch out for Gwen and Miles, and take all steps necessary to support them and plan for jumping ship. He's only a joke because he makes himself one.

This leaves us with one final example, being Peni in ATSV, who I'm bringing up as another contrast despite her (more or less) minute and a half of screentime. Because here, I think we can more clearly see how the way ATSV is told is different from ITSV - she's experienced her 'canon events', and the version of her that we meet in ATSV has developed into something with more depth than she had previously, given the chance to appear solemn, tired, and under the strain of her Responsibilities. She's, in this way, more comic accurate, and her own life is given more weight than her sparkly anime aesthetic.

ATSV can do these things, giving characters like Peni, Hobie, Pav, Margot, Miguel, and Jessica Drew all their own distinct lives and motivations, because ITSV did the ground work of establishing the story and themes beforehand - giving ATSV more time spare to give us multi-faceted supporting characters.

Does this mean BTSV will continue this train and give us more developement for the characters we've not gotten much of? Maybe! I'm just excited to see where this story can go now that it feels its found its footing and isn't having to sacrifice depth for story, and instead is able to balance the two.

[kidresearcherindigo]

'Sup; name's Indigo! I'm 17, I'm a They, and I'm also a student at Naranja-Uva! Originally I'm from Unova, though! And I lived in Galar for like a year before moving to Paldea. Been in Paldea for about a year now?

I had a rotomblr for a while, but I mostly just lurked. Figured I might give socializing a try!

I'm like. One of the champions? But it's literally no big deal I don't even like to battle unless it's with friends.

I really like Pokémon Biology; I wanna become a Pokémon Biologist someday. I have three close friends; I won't namedrop them because that's rude to do without permission, but you're probably gonna hear about 'em a lot; we call ourselves the ✨️ Sandwich Squad! ✨️ (ok, only two of us call it that, but shhhhhh)

I got a full team team of Pokémon, and they are:

Luna - (Unovan) Zoroark; the one in my picture. She moved to Paldea with me!

Yuki - (hisuian) Zoroark; don't ask how I got her it's complicated. Also moved to Paldea with me!

Ember - Skelidirge; got him as a Fuecoco when I enrolled in the academy

Loaf - Daschbun; We met before I beat my first gym badge as a fidough

Doc - Hypno; he constantly tries to hypnotize me, but the insomnia's just too strong lol

Magnolia - Ampharos; just happy to be a part of something like all the time.

I also got this robot Cyclizar named Miraidon? Doesn't go by any nicknames officially but I call them Salami Monster sometimes as a joke. They're super smart though!

Also I have exactly one (1) weird talent and that's that I can talk to Zoruas/Zoroarks in their language. Only them though; I'm still working on learning how to talk to other Pokemon.

Anyway I'm probably just gonna talk about school, and pokemon like everyone else. Just boring shit. Maybe make a meme or two, we'll see how it goes!

//ooc under cut

Everything's on; M!A is on but lightweight

No NSFW

ic hate is fine

This character's lore is connected to @profchamomile and by extension @porygon-supremacy and @anomaly-sanctum (but you won't see interactions with the latter two for a while). I run all of those blogs.

Canon's a combination of games, anime and whatever else. As far as the SV story goes, it's post main story and pre expansions. Also the ruinous treasures haven't been unlocked yet.

This blog is primarily low stakes. Might get up to drama stakes down the line but at this moment those plots will be between my own characters only (with other characters being portrayed via fics. If anyone WANTS plot involvement feel free to ask me!

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

hi!! i know this depends a lot on personal taste but i thought i'd ask you because you know the game so well, which dlc do you think is the most worth it?

(note: this anon clarified in another ask that they meant all DLCs but were most interested in the Cove Step DLCs; thank you!)

Hi!

First off, gonna give you massive credit here because I think this is a super fascinating ask, so much so that I want to do a bit of a deep dive!

(skip to the end for the summarized/basic stuff)

Personal Preference

I'll begin by saying that if you just ask me this question outright and it comes down wholly to my opinion and my opinion only, then I'd say that Baxter's DLC was the most worth it to me. The actual reasons for it are a bit too extensive - I'll leave it at me simply adoring Baxter and what his DLC contributes to the story's narrative - but that would be my answer.

However, I'd really like to go into something that I find more objective. We'll do this by splitting that idea of "worth it" into different categories and going from there, because it could mean so many different things depending on player preference.

Story Relevance

This just boils down to what DLC adds the most to Our Life's story, which I'm defining as "moments/scenes that would feel natural in the base game" as opposed to a DLC that comes off like extra content but not necessary content.

For this one, I'm going to award the points to the Step 3 DLC, mostly for Reflection, Late Shift, and Serendipity. All three of these moments provide something for what already existed in the base game, to the point where I almost think it's odd for them to be DLC content.

Reflection gives both backstory to Cove's scar (something that had been talked about before but not fully explained) and closure on Cove's conflict with his parents over their divorce. It also shows character development for Cove as he moves past all of that.

Serendipity follows up on Liz meeting Shiloh in the Step 3 intro. Even if the player doesn't care about Shiloh, I think it makes sense for Liz to go searching for him even if you didn't have the DLC, and then the DLC just lets you actually see what comes from it (that's not how it works in-game but I'm just making a point).

Late Shift follows up on what the MC's job is if they chose to have one, as well as showing Cove at his job. It expands the initial choice of "job"/"no job" during the intro into an actual moment, which gives it more meaning. I'd consider it an equivalent to Charity in that way (which is impacted by whether or not the MC volunteers at ORCA).

So yeah, Step 3's DLC, no contest.

Consistency

This is what I'd imagine to be the DLC that is the most "all-around" of the DLCs; maybe not too high of highs, but not too low of lows either, just an all-around solid product.

I'm giving this one to the Step 1 DLC. While it's the shortest of the DLCs, I think the content is consistency good throughout all moments. All feature the MC just doing assorted kid things and satisfy MCs who might be Indifferent to Cove early on (all except two allow the MC to mostly ignore Cove if they'd prefer to spend time with others), whereas the Step 2 and 3 DLC can be more mixed.

For example, Reflection - while solid and emotional if you're invested in Cove's backstory - is a lot of talking and not a lot of doing, Happiness is hilariously short if you're Indifferent to Cove, and Serendipity is probably a total skip for players who aren't interested in Shiloh. For the Step 2 DLC, Soiree tends to be a standout moment that overshadows the rest and other moments are largely out of the MC's control (Escapade if the MC isn't having fun, which has little impact, and Summerwork if the MC isn't the type that would lead to the drama in said moment).

But the Step 1 DLC is the one I feel would be most consistently enjoyable throughout the whole thing, at least when keeping in mind the limitations that would naturally be placed on the MC given that they're a child. I always enjoy playing each fairly equally.

Fun Factor

This just comes down to the highest highs - the DLC that provides the most fun - and I'd say that the Step 2 DLC does that.

Mall allows you to spend roughly equal amounts of time with Derek, Lee, and Cove (both a different experience from the base game and gives the MC a new location to mess around in).

Birthday lets you engage in various games and meet with Miranda (which could be something fun for the player, either meeting Miranda early if they haven't played the full game yet or seeing younger Miranda if they have). Plus, that this is the moment where the MC can retaliate against Jeremy (dooting Jeremy into silence is one of my personal biggest non-Cove non-Baxter highlights of the game) which gives the moment worth all on its own.

Soiree being a big win whether you want to bring Cove or not and giving the MC multiple different ways to experience it (including having a dance with Baxter, regardless of whether they go down his route or not). This allows MCs who might not be Indifferent to Cove but still don't want to bring him for whatever reason the full freedom to do so (unlike Happiness), which allows for more replayability.

I've expressed points about Summerwork and Escapade already, but even disregarding the potential fun of those, I think the highs of the others outweigh the lows, which I don't think the Step 3 DLC would do with the ones I've gone on about. The Step 1 DLC is overall more consistently good and I think a player is more likely to enjoy all of the steps, but I think the Step 2 DLC is more fun.

Other Matters

These are a few details I don't want to get too much into but still wished to address. The Step 3 DLC, content-wise, is unquestionably the largest out of all of the Step DLCs (provided that you play all of the moments in each), even though all Step DLCs are the same price. Likewise, the Step 2 DLC is larger than the Step 1 DLC.

Goes without saying that quantity does not equal quality and, while not pointing to any specific target, I want to add that I don't think it's acceptable for things like CGs to not be up to par with the ones in the base game when you're paying for the DLC while not paying for the base game.

Additionally, I think it's strange for the moments that feature the alternative guys to be locked away (Mall and Summerwork for Derek, then Late Shift and Boating for Baxter; Derek won't even join the player at their house if the MC is Indifferent to Cove and Terry/Liz will jump into Cove's place in Late Shift/Boating respectively rather than the MC potentially getting Baxter). This can make Derek's proposal in particular at the end of Step 2 confusing to base game players because they will have only seen Derek in the intro and ending, thus making his crush come out of nowhere.

It doesn't change the quality of the DLCs themselves, but I just wanted to point out that both Derek and Baxter kind of have an extra price tacked onto their DLCs because most players would probably want to see more of them before buying those.

And yes, it does indeed give the Step 2 DLC a few points towards the story relevance category because Derek's proposal is there no matter what, but I thought the Step 3 DLC still outweighed it.

Just wanted to get all that out of the way.

Addressing the Cove Wedding DLC

I sometimes call this the "Wedding Planning DLC" because that's what you'll spend a large chunk of time doing. That's not a criticism if you like that, just stating an observation.

Unlike most DLCs where I can weigh the various moments' pros and cons, the Wedding DLC is just one long "moment" where you plan your wedding with Cove, have the wedding with Cove, and then have the reception.

Also, Baxter is the wedding planner, so if you hate him then prepare to hold your breath before diving into it.

I think it does well for what it's trying to do (it's a little sad that there's no CG but there are so many mini-CGs that I get it), so it really is just a matter of whether you want it or not.

The Step DLCs are $4 each and the Wedding DLC is $3, so do I think that the Wedding DLC is worth 75% of any of the Step DLCs?

Not really (I eventually got tired of the planning part to the point where Baxter giving dance lessons became the most exciting thing that happened, as it felt like there was some development going on, lol), but I can see why it'd be worth it for other people. I recommend it if people are just very dedicated to planning a wedding in addition to seeing the wedding and reception.

Derek's Story DLC and Baxter's Story DLC

These two are another case where it very heavily leans on personal preference. I've already said that I like Baxter's DLC the best, but I might as well talk about Derek's too.

My feelings on his DLC are... complicated. Basically, it's the Derek and His Family DLC and I think that's great, but when it comes to plots centered around families, my attention tends to drift (this includes the moment titled Family in Step 2, by the way). Found family holds my interest a bit more though, one example being a potential plotpoint you can go down in Derek's DLC where you consider Mr. Holden a father to you.

While I do enjoy the personalities amongst Derek's family (barring Nicolas until Step 4), I think it might end up being a problem for some because the story stops being about you and starts being about Derek due to the amount of characters exclusive to his DLC all connecting back to him and not you. You take a backseat to the plot and Derek's issues in Step 4 actually end up being resolved without you during an argument/conversation with his brothers.

Which is good if you just want to kick back, watch the plot unfold, and listen to Derek talk about his problems, especially as his major issue takes place between Step 3 and 4 so the player doesn't witness it. Me personally, I had a lot of my agency taken away during key moments, such as Siblings where I didn't think going to see Elizabeth was a good idea, nor Boardwalk where I missed out on seeing Jorge (who is my favorite Suarez) and Elizabeth's relationship develop because the game has you go with Derek, nor the ending of Step 4 where I wouldn't have just run off with Derek due to wanting to spend more time with the family.

Another awkward little detail is that Derek will crush on the player and try to get them into a marriage proposal regardless of the player's own feelings, which can lead to some awkward moments (like Nicolas wanting to see the player in a swimsuit "because that's what Derek wants").

Baxter's DLC is the opposite because his family is only mentioned occasionally and not even seen on-screen. You largely spend one-on-one time with him and characters tend to focus on the player rather than Baxter (and when they do focus on Baxter, it's often as an extension of the player's connection with him).

It's very high drama/angst for a typical Our Life story, which can naturally turn people away who prefer the slice of life nature of most moments. It's a very different feel from the rest of the game and not just because the player is spending time with someone who isn't Cove. Cove is set up as the character that the player is with for all steps and in-betweens, inevitably meaning that Derek and Baxter won't stick around after their step until their Step 4; it's just that one of them makes far bigger drama about it than the other.

The DLC also lets you meet Miranda's brother and you get a psuedo Wedding DLC mashed into Baxter's Step 4 where you're part of the wedding planning process without being one of the people the wedding is for. Miranda gets a mini-plot for herself involving her relationship with Terry in addition to already getting one of Baxter's moments centered around giving her a birthday party.

On the downside, the interest system in Our Life does not function towards going down in interest (doesn't function well in general with how Baxter's DLC works, really), so going into Baxter's Step 4 with the idea of never forgiving him or not at least becoming friends again won't work. The game assumes by the act of choosing Baxter's Step 4 that the player wants to eventually hear Baxter out and becomes friends/lovers again, otherwise they'd be doing Cove's Step 4 instead; it's just something to keep in mind.

Speaking of Cove, while Baxter's DLC gives a little more focus towards Miranda and Terry, Derek's DLC has a moment where Cove shares equal screen time with him, so you could consider both DLCs to give extra focus to separate groups of people (Cove+Mr. Holden or Miranda+Terry).

Basically, both DLCs are entirely different and I can't really give them a category because they're so different compared to the base game, so I'll give some bullet points later of who I think would enjoy the DLC rather that putting them in a box.

The only other thing left to say is that, while Derek's DLC pairs with the Step 2 DLC and Baxter's DLC pairs with the Step 3 DLC for getting that little bit of extra time with the respective character, story-wise I think the Step 2 DLC is also good for Baxter's DLC because of Birthday and Soiree.

Recap

Overall, I do believe that every DLC has its own value and anyone could think differently on which is the best to them. I felt like it'd be too cheap to just claim which one is the best, especially since I like the more controversial Baxter DLC (the Step 2 DLC is my favorite Step DLC, for the record).

So to summarize:

Step 1 DLC (for Consistency)

most consistently likable and good all around

if one moment stands out from the others, it's not by much

the "safest" choice of the DLCs, which could be seen as either a good or bad thing

Step 2 DLC (for Fun Factor)

highest highs of the Step DLCs

allows for multiple assorted character interactions

Soiree being a strong moment to lean into the MC's independence

meeting younger Miranda in Birthday and finally retaliating against Jeremy

solid addition in combination with owning the Derek DLC or Baxter DLC as an extra bit of fun

but can have a feeling of the MC being "taken along for the ride" in some moments or doing things that might not seem like something that'd happen to them

Step 3 DLC (for Story Relevance)

includes the most content that adds to the MC's/Cove's story in a meaningful way

serves as an extension of a few happenings in the Step 3 intro

heavy on emotion

works in combination with the Baxter DLC to give the player extra time with him

feels the most natural amongst the base game moments

but can be a mixed bag depending on the MC's feelings on Cove and other characters like Shiloh, potentially leaving at least one moment as a total skip

The Cove Wedding DLC is good for people who:

like the idea of planning their wedding the way people spend hours doing character customization in games

can enjoy or tolerate/put up with Baxter as the wedding planner

are cool with a low conflict/casual plot (as nothing goes wrong during the process)

are fine with having no Cove CGs, only mini CGs

The Derek's Story DLC is good for people who:

like plots centering heavily around family

enjoy young children acting like young children

want extra time with Cove and/or Mr. Holden, as well as Elizabeth (who features in two separate moments and also Step 4)

prefer sitting back on some level and watching the plot happen around them instead of directly from them

don't mind being reminded every now and then that Derek is crushing on the MC if playing a friendship-only route

And the Baxter's Story DLC is good for those who:

prefer one-on-one time with characters

want a change of scenery from the usual Our Life plotlines and a heavier dose of drama than the usual

are seeking more time/development for Miranda and Terry, as well as their relationship

like the potential option of having a fling with Baxter in their story (whether that ends with the MC romancing Baxter in the end, someone else, or no one at all)

wish to be involved in a wedding with a conflict attached, as well as the MC not being part of the couple having the wedding

Hope this answers your question!

[btsgotjams27]

this is us ~ jjk | 1

you start to fall hard for jungkook.

✨ title: this is us | (sequel to all grown up) ✨ pairing: jungkook x f!reader | ✨ rating: m/18+ | minors dni ✨ genre/au: drama, romance, angst, fluff, smut | est!relationship, age gap, bff's younger brother ✨ playlist ✨ a/n: if you haven't read the prequel to this, please do so here! :) you can read them here on AO3 & Wattpad

[ SERIES MASTERLIST ] | next ✨ 2 ~ back hugs and peppered kisses

chapter one: this is how you fall in love | wc: 5.4k warnings: kisses, teasing, jungkook is a horn-dog and is always up for sex with oc, jungkook gets an erection, jungkook teases oc for always (playfully) hitting him, memory of fingering, they're so in love it's nauseating but sweet

It was inevitable. You knew it would happen. Every cell in your body wanted to fight it. Fight the possibility of loving Jungkook even more than you already did. You were beginning to fall hard and fast. The small moments of back hugs and peppered kisses, the late-night runs to the convenience store, and the heated moments in the middle of the night, didn't help. The gentle whispers of sweet nothings, handwritten love notes, and the excitement of spontaneous adventures, were the beginnings of how you fell in love with an incredible man.

~ Three months after Yuna and Namjoon's wedding ~

"I want to take you out on a proper date. We haven't done that yet," Jungkook stated, opening the third pack of ramen to add to the pot on the stove.

Goodness, this boy can eat. You swore you had to restock your pantry every few days if he stayed over. Your grocery budget went up because of him.

You were sitting at the kitchen counter when you darted your eyes up from your computer screen, amused by how cute your boyfriend was. "You know I don't care about stuff like that, right? I'm perfectly fine with staying home."

You were a homebody and grew to love being by yourself. It was calming and peaceful, a great time to sit and think, especially through all the writing you needed to do. Although it was nice to go out every once in a while, you've known Jungkook for so long that you felt like you didn't need to 'date him' to get to know him.

"Yeah, but we didn't get to do the 'dating' thing. You kind of went straight to sucking my dick," he said with a smug smile. Then he ripped the next pack of ramen with his teeth.

That's four packs of ramen now.

You gasped. You couldn't believe the words coming out of Jungkook's mouth. "And whose fault is that?" you huffed.

A piece of the ramen bag stuck to his mouth, and he spat it out. "Uh, yours. You kissed me, remember?" He cocked his head to the side and grinned stupidly at his comment.

"I hate you."

He shook his head and smiled. "I highly doubt that. You love me."

You scowled and threw the pen that was next to you at him. He was right. You did kiss him first. Technically, it was his fault. He invited you out, sang a beautiful song, and slow danced with you. He knew exactly what he was doing when he texted you that night. Alright, you were also to blame for it, but it was mostly due to you being on the rebound and making yourself feel good.

Regarding his other comment, you liked Jungkook a lot, like a lot, a lot. But you didn't want to rush into saying anything you weren't ready for. You had said you loved him at Yuna's wedding, though you hoped he forgot about it since you were caught up in the heat of the moment. 

Sometimes you wanted to repeat it, especially at the night's end when you were together in bed or on the phone. And you felt at times he tried to say it as well, but he probably felt your hesitancy because he hadn't heard you mutter those three words since the wedding.

"Okay then, where should we go on this date?" you asked curiously, wondering what kind of boyfriend he was. You've only known him as the bratty young boy, but not how he treated his girlfriends. And grand gestures or elaborate dates weren't your thing, and you were a low-key kind of gal.

"Mm, I have an idea." He glanced at you and smirked. "Wear something nice."

"How nice? Like cute carnival type date outfit or…" Your thoughts trailed off now, thinking if you had anything nice to wear. It's been a long time since you've gone shopping for new clothes. Was your closet too 'millennial' feeling? What were the latest trends? What are young people wearing nowadays? What does Jungkook even like a woman to look like? These were the questions you were pondering.

"Remember when you came to open mic night? I really liked that outfit." His nose and shoulder scrunch gave away his excitement.

It was the night when you were vulnerable and susceptible to compliments from handsome men. Jungkook being one of them and had Jin say something to you, you'd be in a completely different situation.

Thoughts were running through your mind as you tried to remember your outfit. Ah yes, the black bodysuit, wide-leg pants, and black heels. There wasn't anything particular in mind when you chose that outfit. It's funny that Jungkook loved it.

You raised an eyebrow. "That's your favorite outfit?"

He nodded furiously, indicating a hard yes. "Noona, you were gorgeous that night. It was a mixture of sexy and sophisticated. It didn't show too much but just enough. I'm getting all tingly just thinking about it."

"Tingly?" you laughed. "So now I know what you like." Well, that meant you needed to do some more shopping. Not that you needed to impress him, but more of boosting your confidence and ego, and maybe a bit for him. There were still times when you felt 'old' when you were with him, whether it was things he was talking about or slang he was using. You swore Urban Dictionary was your best friend.

His ramen finished cooking, and he grabbed two chopsticks to try it. You were watching him as he slurped the ramen. His brows furrowed, suggesting it was indeed heavenly. Eating angrily was a cute habit you noticed when the two of you ate, and you didn't want to point it out if he caught himself doing it and would stop this ultra-cute habit.

"Is it good?" you asked, hoping he'd give you a bite. The growls in your stomach were beginning to grumble louder and louder by the minute.

He groaned in delight. "Oh–so good." He turned off the stove and continued slurping a mouthful of ramen as he came and sat next to you. He was such a boy, eating right out of the pot.

"Are you gonna share?" you asked with a pout, trying to give him the saddest puppy eyes.

He didn't budge. Instead, he moved the pot of ramen away from you, trying to hide it. "Noona, this is all for me. Make your own food."

"Kook! You made four packs of ramen!"

"Yeah, and?" He continued eating with no intention of giving you any.

"YAH! Share!" you cried, trying to take a bite of the ramen, but he kept you at arm's length, chuckling as his mouth was full. You wrapped your hands around his slim waist, tickling him so he'd give in.

"Noona!" he cried out, trying not to spill the ramen. "Okay, okay." Finally, giving into you and turning around to provide you with a bite.

You grinned, knowing he couldn't resist you.

You went shopping for a new wardrobe with Hyunie, your colleague and friend. She was younger, and you knew she'd help you in any way possible. You even looked up the new trends for the season to get some inspiration. The two of you spent all day looking for clothes and shoes. You wanted to look like you belonged with him, despite the age gap between you and Jungkook.

Everything you saw in the stores didn't feel like you. All the trends you saw leaned back into 90s fashion, making you chuckle. You supposed fashion loves to come full circle. The first thing you picked up was a cropped button-down sweater.

"This is so tiny. If I try to reach for something, my boobs will fall out." You put it back on the rack, shuffling through the following few things hanging.

"I don't think Jungkook will mind," Hyunie teased, continuing to browse the racks. She picked up a tank top. "How are you supposed to wear this?" It was a one-shoulder tank top, but there was a gaping hole. "Is your boob supposed to go here?" She stuck her hand through it and laughed.

You took the hanger in your hand and examined it, then also put your hand through it. Then a lightbulb went off in your head. "Ah! I think the hole goes towards the back." Jeez, what are people wearing these days?

Hyunie mouthed an "oh," and she took the hanger from you to hang it back up. "I wouldn't even wear half of this stuff. I don't have the guts."

"You're telling me that," you commented, unsure if you'd find anything you'd love.

After a few hours of shopping and trying many different styles, you returned to what you were most comfortable with. The two of you passed by a store that suited your style more, which you liked to call 'effortless chic' if that was even a thing. It was a mixture of comfy and casual and mostly looked like you rolled out of bed but could turn heads.

You chose a few items to try on. The first was a simple black slip dress, and it was basic, but you figured it was always good to have a little black dress in your closet for special occasions.

"Wow, you look hot." She couldn't stop eyeing you from head to toe and whistling as you modeled for her.

"Are you sure? Isn't this too much? My boobs are practically hanging out." You cupped your breasts, meticulously analyzing the dress you had on.

"It's the perfect combination of sexy and refined. It doesn't give away too much but just enough. That's what you want, right?"

You sighed, thinking about what she had just said. You were never the type to wear short and tight dresses or expose too much of your body. And Jungkook said he loved the outfit you wore on open mic night, which didn't show anything except maybe your shoulders. So you hope you have chosen the right outfit for your first date.

Jungkook was very secretive about your 'first date.' He wanted to keep everything a surprise. Would it be dinner and a movie? Or would it be something wild and crazy, like bungee jumping? You scratched the second one and thought about how he wanted you to dress 'nicely.' There's no way he'd make you do something extreme, would he? Then again, it's Jungkook, and he loved living on the edge. Another thought crossed your mind, "Oh god, he's gonna make us get matching tattoos or piercings or something." The last idea would be alright, except for the needles and the matching part. You were curious if you'd ever get matching tattoos with someone, no matter how long you've been with them.

After looking at yourself in the mirror for a few minutes, you wondered if the outfit was too much or just enough. The sheer black long-sleeve blouse paired with a lacy black bra underneath screamed desperate in your eyes. If you saw someone else walking down the street in this outfit, they'd probably pull it off with confidence, but you weren't sure if you had that same attitude wearing it.

"This is as good as it'll get," you sighed, turning to check out your backside, debating if you had time to change into something else.

Before you knew it, you heard the door buzz. You put on your heels and quickly ran over to the door. A deep breath left you as you tried to calm yourself. You weren't sure why you were nervous. You've known Jungkook all your life, and there was nothing to be scared of. It was Jungkook, only this time, he was Jungkook, your boyfriend.

You opened the door to find a bouquet of red roses held by your cute bunny boyfriend. You adored his nose scrunch when he was excited, and boy, was he excited.

"Hi," he uttered with a gentle smile and a glimmer of sparkle in his eyes.

"Hi," you replied with a wide grin spanning from ear to ear.

"These are for you," he said, handing them to you. "I realized I didn't know what flowers you liked, so I went with roses. I hope you like them."

To be honest, you hated roses. You thought they were very unimaginative and expensive for no reason. You found other flowers more beautiful but didn't have the heart to tell him. He was so cute and sweet; you didn't want to ruin the moment.

"I love them, Jungkookie. They're beautiful. Oh--and I really love peonies," you said, lying through your teeth while trying to throw in what you liked so he could remember it.

"Ah, okay. Got it, and I got it locked in my brain. Noona loves peonies." He pretended to take a mental note of it.

You told him to come in so you could get the roses in a vase. While filling up the vase, you noticed his look for tonight. It was simple, like he walked straight out of a magazine. His hair was parted off to the side, it was getting long, starting to hit the apple of his cheeks, but you loved it at this length. His black shirt had a few buttons undone, just enough to get a glimpse of his toned chest. He was sex on legs, and it was hard not to ogle him. And, of course, he was wearing tight denim jeans that hugged those delicious thunder thighs of his. Fuck, he looked so good.

"What?" he asked with an amused look on his face.

"Nothing…" you mumbled, trying not to be so obvious, being very attracted to your boyfriend.

"You're undressing me with your eyes. I can see it." He teased, walking into the kitchen, with one elbow leaning on the counter. Watching you from head to toe, putting the roses in the vase, not wanting to miss a single detail about you.

"Shut up, Kook." He wasn't wrong, though. You didn't even want to leave for the date at this point, and you'd rather have him fuck you relentlessly over the counter. "And what about you?"

His attention was finally on your eyes again and not your chest. "You've been staring at my goodies since I opened the door."

He scoffed. "Hmm, well, they're a nice set of knockers." His eyes moved down to your chest, and he smirked, "I have to appreciate whenever those babies are out."

You used your arms to cover yourself, now feeling ashamed of your outfit. You may be in over your head about this outfit. Could you pull it off?

Jungkook scrunched his nose and lightly chuckled at you. He held his hands for you to take them and pulled you close to his frame. His arms now wrapped around your waist, and your hands settled on his chest. "Are you getting self-conscious?"

You gave him a pout and nodded as you looked up into his honey-brown doe eyes. But now, feeling dumb for even doubting yourself and having him reassure you. You weren't sure what it was…why you always felt insecure, and he didn't make you feel insecure, and it was more of you not feeling good enough to be him and why he chose you of all people.

"Noona. You. Are. Insanely. Gorgeous," he stated in between, pressing kisses into each of your cheeks. He let the last one linger for a little bit longer. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against yours, gently nudging your noses together. "And sexy and beautiful, and you drive me completely insane. Do you know that?"

A small smile left your lips. "Mmhm, I know. I can feel how insane I drive you." His bulge pressed firmly against your stomach. You resisted doing anything that would hinder you from leaving the apartment tonight, but you couldn't help and tease him. You patted his crotch gently. "Easy bunny. We have a date to get to," you said, giving him a small peck.

He whined when you dragged him by the hand, heading towards the door. "You're the one who wanted to go out on a date."

Jungkook drove to an unexpected location. It was in a charming neighborhood. He slowed the car down, stopping in a random spot on the street. Nothing was indicating a restaurant or any public place with crowds of people.

"What are you doing?" you asked looking around.

"Can you grab something for me? It's in the glove compartment."

You did as he asked and opened the compartment, revealing a silky black scarf. You grabbed it, cocking your head to the side as you held it up, "Um, what is this?"

He bit his lip before chuckling lightly. "Put it on."

You became flustered, almost dropping it. "I'm sorry, you want me to do what?"

"Please…" he begged with a sparkle in his eyes.

You sighed before reluctantly tying the blindfold over your eyes. "I swear to god Jungkookie. You're the only person I'd do things like this for."

"Ooh, is this a kink you have?" He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

You could hear the excitement in his voice. "You're pushing it, Jeon Jungkook," you warned. Completely in the dark, not knowing what would happen next or where he was taking you.

Jungkook giggled before uttering a 'thank you, Noona', putting the car back into drive. He intertwined his hand with yours, brought it up to his lips, and pressed several kisses against the back of your hand. You let out a small smile, wondering what the hell this man was up to. He definitely kept you on your toes, that's for sure.

A few minutes later, the car rolled to another stop. He told you to 'hold on' as he came around to open your door. He held your hand to help you step out of the car. He stood behind you, asking if you were ready, and you nodded as he took off the blindfold.

"Jungkook, where are we? You didn't buy this house, did you?" you asked, mouth agape, staring at this insanely gorgeous house in front of you.

He wrapped his arms around your frame, and you held onto his warm embrace. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he said, kissing the nape of your neck. He could smell the citrus-infused perfume you put on and inhaled your scent.

"It's gorgeous. It must have cost a fortune." Still astonished that your boyfriend has a place as impressive as this one. He was doing well for someone his age, and you had to give him that.

He took your hand and led you to the front door. When he opened it, you let out a cackle because you realized it wasn't his house, and it was Jin's. A gigantic framed photo of himself decorated the entryway and a few other pictures of him and his family.

You smacked Jungkook in the arm. "Yah–this isn't your house!"

He snickered because you were highly gullible and would probably believe anything he told you. "Gah, you're so cute," he stated, proceeding to boop your nose.

The two of you made your way through the magnificent house. You couldn't get over that this was Jin's place and was exquisite and spacious. The two of you stood in the dining room looking out into the backyard, which had a fantastic deck and a nice grassy area with a pool.

"I never said this was my place. You assumed." He scrunched his nose and chuckled. "Come on, this way."

Jungkook guided you around the house, weaving in and out of the hallways. You were curious and couldn't help but peek into a few of his rooms. You didn't know him well, only that he was well-off and apparently loved himself very much to hang a photo in the entryway. You supposed it took a lot of confidence for someone to do that.

Jungkook led you up a steep flight of stairs, and you couldn't help but stare at his perky ass, so you gave it a good smack for lying to you. He quickly turned around and glared at you. "Yah–Noona."

You giggled. "What? I couldn't help it. It was staring right at me."

He let you go first when you got to the top of the stairs. But before he opened the door, he asked you to close your eyes, not wanting to spoil everything.

A faint breeze tousled your hair as he helped you step outside. With your eyes still closed, he held onto your waist, guiding you to your destination, then a sudden hint of warmth filled your presence.

"Can I open my eyes now?" you pleaded. This was already the second time you were blindfolded tonight.

He hummed in response. As you opened your eyes, you found yourself on a rooftop deck overlooking the city of Seoul. The view itself was to die for. Jungkook went all out. If this was only for one date, you wondered what else he did for others. How would he top this?

There were candles everywhere, surrounding a table on the floor with a chilled bottle of wine and pasta ready for the two of you. Pillows and blankets were included since the nights in Seoul dropped in temperature. Then you noticed the plethora of peonies outlining the rooftop.

You gasped and turned to him. "You said you didn't know my favorite flowers."

"I might have told a little white lie…and I kind of, sort of know your best friend."

"So you knew I didn't like roses?"

He laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face when I gave them to you."

You smacked him on the chest. Goddamn it, Yuna. What else did she tell Jungkook about?

"Noona–you're a very abusive girlfriend, and I don't appreciate it," he teased as he crossed his arms and turned away from you. "You keep saying you hate me, hit me, steal my food. I wonder if this is how you treat all of your past boyfriends," he added, still looking in the other direction.

You walked over and stood before him, gazing into those honey-brown eyes. His perfect pink lips were so plush, just waiting to be kissed. Your eyes dart back and forth between his eyes before uttering, "I'm sorry."

His brows furrowed, entirely confused by your apology. "What? No, Noona, I'm just teasing. You don't have anything to be sorry for." He let his arms down and brought them to your waist, pulling you in closer to him.

"I'm sorry...because I never told you before getting involved with me. I love to hit my boyfriend, steal their food, and sometimes I'll even take their clothes and wear them. I might make my boyfriend buy very expensive things. And I could hog all the blankets in the same bed." You confessed to him with a slight smirk. "I hope all of that is okay with you, boyfriend."

His eyes lit up, and his mouth turned into a smile, showing off that bunny smile you loved so much. "I'm more than happy to do all of those and more. I'd do anything for you, you know that?"

You tiptoed, reaching up and gently pressing your lips into his, smiling as you pulled away. "Mm, good to know." You ran your hand through his hair, thinking about the sweet things he's done over the past few months. How lucky were you to have someone like Jungkook? He was the complete opposite of U-jin. Thank God. He was sweet, thoughtful, funny, caring, and so fucking delicious to look at.

"Shall we go on our date?"

You hummed in response, ready to be surprised by your boyfriend with whatever he had planned for the evening.

A lovely pasta dinner was prepared. Apparently, Jin did all the cooking. You found it awfully nice of him to let Jungkook borrow his house and even have him cook for the two of you. They must be close friends if he trusted Jungkook enough to let him have his date here.

The conversations throughout the night were silly and lighthearted, busy reminiscing about the past of the two of you growing up. You were reminded that you didn't get to hear much about his time away in California, and you only heard bits and pieces when Yuna caught you up on him. To be fair, he didn't update Yuna that often either.

"Okay, tell me about California because I don't know what you did out there."

"Just the usual…school, read, study, party…" he answered, groaning with satisfaction at every bite of pasta and bread. Not really caring about his response to you.

"Ouh, you partied, huh?" you said, "I guess you never got into trouble if you never called me."

His cheeks were filled with an overabundance of pasta, and he looked like a chipmunk hoarding his food. He gazed in your direction and shook his head. He finally swallowed his food and spoke, "Noona, I got into plenty of trouble," he smirked, "I just didn't want you to tell my sister."

"Yah--I can keep a secret," you huffed at him.

"I got arrested once." He was still stuffing his face with no intention of stopping.

You choked on your wine, almost spitting it out. "You got arrested?! Who bailed you out? I told you to always call me if you cannot tell Yuna! I swear to God, Jungkook, we should have kept a better eye on you. What if—"

"Noona, I'm kidding," he interrupted. "See how gullible you are?" Chuckling as he sipped on his glass of wine.

It took everything in you not to throw your shoe at him. What a little rascal, a cute one at that.

"Boyfriend--tell me something real, please..." you begged him.

He sighed. "I did do what I said, not the getting arrested part, but my time in California was mostly school, studying, and hanging out with friends."

"Did you have a girlfriend out there?" you asked him hesitantly because you hadn't had this conversation yet. He obviously knew about U-jin, but you didn't know about his past relationships. Previously, he claimed to have done many things with women, but you needed to find out for yourself.

"Mm, I guess I had a girlfriend if you could call her that."

"How long were you guys together?"

"We were on and off for a year," he mumbled and nodded, still thinking about his answer.

"Oh…" you acknowledged. "Was she the same age as you?" You were curious to know his preference.

"She was," he paused, trying to remember, "two years older than me, I believe?"

Your heart dropped when he answered. Another older woman…was he always into older women? Is that why he was into you? Did she teach him all the things that he knew now? You hoped the expression on your face didn't give anything away, but it must have.

"What's wrong? You can tell me." He finally put down his fork to give you his attention.

"Did you--love her?"

He thought about his answer for a moment. "I don't know if what we had is called 'love.' We had a lot of fun together, but she didn't want a long-term relationship."

"Oh, but you did?"

"I don't know, you can call me old school. I just pictured something different when I had my first girlfriend, you know?"

You nodded in agreement. That made sense. To want butterflies when you saw the person you liked, to have your heart race when they walked in the room, that was how you felt when you had your first boyfriend.

"Anything else you want to know?"

You smiled and shook your head. You didn't need to know anything else about her. Otherwise, you'd be in your head the whole time, speculating about Jungkook and this girl.

He leaned in over the table a little bit. "…can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

He cleared his throat. "What pet names do you like? Or should I continue to call you Noona?"

You bit your lower lip, thinking about your answer. "Mm, I don't know? I didn't use many pet names in my previous relationships."

"How about angel?"

You cringed at the pet name. "No."

He gave a half-smile. "How about princess?"

Your eyes widened, almost gagging. "I--no, nope, absolutely not. Do not call me shit like that. I will choke you."

He clapped and let out a hearty laugh. "Noted. No angel or princess, but you're into choking. Got it."

"Kook–" you cried in annoyance. You were so close to taking off your shoe and chucking it at him.

"Kidding, not kidding," he chuckled. "Okay, how about babe, baby?"

"Babe--baby--hey babe…" you muttered and nodded, thinking you could get used to him calling you those names. "Yeah, yeah, I think those will work."

"Good. Now, onto the next portion of our date, babe."

He stood up, brushing off crumbs that settled onto his jeans. He held out his hand, waiting for yours. You took it willingly, excited to see what else he had planned for the rest of the night. You quite enjoyed dinner and loved that he didn't go over the top, minus the excess of peonies surrounding you. Other than that, it was exactly what you wanted, something low-key.

He led you back into the house, down the steep flight of stairs, and into the backyard, where lights were strung across from the roof's edge to the fence. You wondered how you missed this setup earlier, and maybe you were too busy fawning over Jin's house to notice. Jungkook guided you towards the circle of fluffy blankets and pillows facing a screen and projector on the ground.

You sat against a slew of pillows, excitedly staring at the popcorn, chips, and chocolate. Then your eyes widened as you spotted your favorite candy: Sour Patch Watermelon. When you grabbed the bag, a note fell out. It read, "Please don't have sex anywhere in my house. Kay? Thanks. - Jin." You softly chuckled.

"What's that?" Jungkook asked as he came over, hands filled with more snacks.

"Oh, Jin left a note asking us not to have sex anywhere in his house."

"Well…he didn't say anything about doing it outside. I think we're good to go." He wiggled his eyebrows and gave a devilish grin.

"Stop, we're not doing anything inappropriate at Jin's place. He asked us not to."

"You didn't stop me when we were at Hyunie's housewarming party."

You chucked a handful of popcorn at him.

The only thing you could remember from her party was trying not to make a sound as you sat on his lap. His hand began to slide in further and further up your skirt. Luckily, a tablecloth hid the naughty act Jungkook was doing underneath. He continued smiling at everyone and even kissed your shoulder as his fingers moved aside your lace underwear, slowly circling your clit. You bit down on your bottom lip to try and stifle your squeal but failed. Even Lee Sora glared your way, wondering what you were doing.

He put the rest of the snacks down and cuddled up next to you, laying his head on your chest. "I know you love it, babe," he grinned as he gazed into your eyes.

God, he really was so bad for you, but at the same time, he made you feel so alive. It was easy to forget your worries and troubles in moments like these, and your only focus was on him and him only.

You stroked his hair and softly brushed your thumb against his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut at your touch, feeling delighted by it. A soft smile left his lips before you leaned down to press your lips against his.

And that's when you knew you couldn't hold in the feelings that had been intensifying for the past few months. Tonight's date left you speechless that a man like him would be eager to make you feel infinitely loved, adored, and cherished. How did you get so lucky? How could you ever doubt giving him all of you?

When you pulled away, you let go of the fear of not fully embracing him and everything he encompassed. The ache in you irrevocably released when you tenderly cupped his cheek, gazing into an endless galaxy that was held in his eyes. A gentle smile swept across his face, "What?" he asked softly.

That's when you uttered those three words he had longed to hear, "I love you."

✨ next ~ back hugs and peppered kisses