#discussions around the bird app

[dontforgetukraine]

Steven Seegel: For the record, Germany was responsible for this normalization of Putinism. It was hardly alone in the process, but our historical records are abundant. All the photos, all the personnel. And they'll do it again, back to supposed normalcy, if we don't pay attention. #Zeitenwende

Edward Hunter Christie: The old idea that we need to save Russia. My view: Not only does Russia not deserve saving, but even more importantly, saving Russia is dangerous. We spent the last 30 years being nice and stuffing money down their throats, and look where we are. No more.

Tymofiy Mylovanov: "Vladimir Kara-Murza @/vkaramurza : a peaceful Europe is only possible if post-Putin Russia is integrated into the EU" But I don’t think the EU has any appetite for it. Russian culture, as the war has shown, is very distinct from that of Europe. This statement by a Russian opposition leader demonstrates a colossal gap between the West and the Russian opposition in viewing the consequences of this war. Kara-Murza speaks of Russia as “the biggest European country,” without which Europe can’t exist, which sounds to me as an imperialistic undertone. I am disappointed, but not surprised.

[shootingmorningstar]

[slides on in] well hello there fellow lucifer fanatic

could i request some hcs with luci and an indecisive reader? gn and established relationship!! ex: he asks what they want for dinner and they panic trying to pick something because they feel like they need to decide right then and there or they’ll annoy him.

please and thank you! 🫶

anon, you're just like me fr. i also can never make up my mind and love lucifer. i'd be happy to write this for you .ᐟ

thank you for my first request, by the way ~ .ᐟ now to get to the good part.

LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR X GN! INDECISIVE READER

Look at this man. This is the man who has piles upon piles of rubber ducks in his workshop. You cannot tell me Lucifer isn't also indecisive, at least when it comes to less serious things.

Seriously. You expect me to believe he hasn't looked at his own work and went 'nope, looks bad. starting over.' .ᐣ

With that being said, I think he would find it an incredibly endearing trait in you. The concentrated face you make when you're stuck between two options .ᐣ Absolutely adorable.

That is, until the unsure and conflicted look on your face morphs into one telling of your anxiety and worry.

Now, I hope you'll excuse the bird pun, but he is absolutely a mother hen type.

The second he sees even a hint of panic on your face .ᐣ He's immediately shifting all of his focus on you -- if it hadn't been already.

He's rushing over to you without you having to so much as ask -- his beloved partner, distressed .ᐣ No matter the reason, that won't do. He won't rest until he sees you smiling again.

Wrapping his arms around you in a hug, likely even his wings, too. He's suffered so many panic attacks before, he knows just how miserable they are.

He wishes you had come into his life earlier so you could of comforted him through the worst of his.

Even if your panic hasn't dissolved into a full blown attack, he is there. His touch is grounding, it helps you calm down and come back to reality.

When your heart's stopped racing and you look as if you're able to talk about it, he'll ask you just what has you so distressed.

Don't even bother trying to lie to him. He can tell when someone's hiding their feelings.

He won't force you to tell him, though. He just wants to know what went wrong so he can help prevent it from happening again.

If you decide to share your worries with him, he wouldn't belittle you in the slightest. Is it time you need .ᐣ You two have all the time in the world.

Would you rather he choose .ᐣ Because he wouldn't mind.

Or if it's something more serious, he offers to sit down with you and discuss the pros and cons of each -- maybe you two can come up with a decision together .ᐣ

His face sort of falls if you decide to tell him part of the reasoning behind your anxiety is a fear that you'll end up annoying him. Did he do something to make you think he'd judge you .ᐣ

Or maybe he got short with you .ᐣ He's so apologetic. He wants you to feel like you can share anything and everything with him.

He won't let himself start feeling overwhelmed with guilt, though. This moment is about you and the reassurance you need, not his guilt issues.

Explain to him that you know he'd never do such a thing and that it's just an irrational thought coming from worry and he's taking your face into his hands, telling you that he would never, ever think less of you, much less get upset over something as silly as struggling to make a choice.

Like he said earlier, let him help you choose. You two are stronger together and this is no exception.

He's always soft to you, but count on him being even more so than usual for the rest of the night. You two can watch your favorite show or movie -- or whatever you'd like to do to destress. ♡

first request finished ~ .ᐟ how'd I do .ᐣ i'd love to hear your thoughts. feedback fuels my writing muse more than anything else .ᐟ

i'm really hoping this formats correctly, i'm used to using the tumblr app && currently stuck on laptop </3

[summerlinenss]

Continuing the discussion from Twitter about Taika possibly not being straight, I do hesitate to diagnose strangers with 'queer' because it's usually done by utalising stereotypes (like just him being flamboyant or the latest 'evidence' of him being at a Paris Hilton concert, he seems to go to pretty much everything.)

Without getting too parasocial, the everyone's a bit queer quote from before Thor 4 seemed different though, almost like a soft launch? The dumb backlash was unfortunately familiar to me, as someone who poked her head out of the closet, only to be met with a resounding 'we don't want you'. If he was trying to do that, I dont blame him for not trying since, I certainly havent.

Like i don't think he's a closeted gay, theres no indication that his romantic relationships with women havent been real, but he is from a generation that flat out didnt think bisexuality was a real thing. And the fact he's older and has talked about growing up in a toxic masculinity culture probably has more to with it.

I dunno, i know i shouldnt be think about strangers like this, but some things he's said feel familiar to me

(context for those not on the bird app)

i totally agree with not labelling anyone, and (regardless of how he does identify) taika seems very comfortable in his sexuality, which is all that matters. however, there’s also nothing he’s ever done to make me assume he is straight, if that makes sense?

i definitely took his out magazine interview as a sort of soft launch, as you said. especially since he followed it up with a “coming out” joke tweet. but the amount of vitriol he faced for it was absurd, and it’s still so strange to me how people instantly took his comments in bad faith instead of making the fairly obvious assumption that he was just saying “i consider myself to be part of this community.”

a quote i actually think about a lot is from when taika was on the vanity fair little gold men podcast (around 00:59:45) and got into talking about the stereotypical hyper-masculine culture of growing up in aotearoa, and i feel like it gives some insight into his feelings on this subject:

“I will tell ya, I grew up in a — a pretty macho culture and a very macho country. Where it’s like, you know, you play rugby and, you know, you drink beer, and it’s, like… kind of, life is just set out for you, and… how boring? You know? It’s just, like, you know, it’s like — people are like, ‘Well, I don’t want any immigrants here,’ and then complain that there’s only one type of food to eat. And so, it’s like… you know, that you… want to have an interesting life and you want to be able to — you want to expose yourself to art, and to — you know, to various cultures and various types of people. So for me, growing up, I… I was exposed to that from an early age through, like, on my mother’s side, especially. So it was, like… there were a lot of eccentric and interesting and weird artists and stuff in my life. Um, so it wasn’t, like, a later in life, big shock for me. It was always there. But I think I’ve realized that there are so many ways of being a man, and… and to be… just macho and to just want to be, like… just straight. Just to be, like, so determined to be straight, is… so… sad. And, like — and also is — it just feels so tiring. Wouldn’t it be so tiring just to, like, have to hold on to something that no one cares about? So — so tightly? And it’s, like, look, if you just let go and accept who — then we don’t have to have the conversation. We can talk about more important things. But the idea that we still have to talk about all of this is mad. (…) So, you know, it’s like… I would much rather have the discussions around, you know, more intense, more upsetting things that are happening to humanity than, like, who someone’s in love with.”

[urprettylittlething]

Hiii, I have a scenario opinion in my mind. After a few days, our little kitty became upset because she wanted to go outside and play with butterflies or puppies. So they couldn't stand seeing her like this, so they decided to walk her around. they take her to a park that has puppies and butterflies. She plays with them cutely and tries to catch a butterfly as they watch her. She was so cute...

After they went home, little kitty tried to reach them on their cheek cutely, putting her small hands on Gojo's knee while she was on tiptoe. But when she couldn't reach him (she is too short lol) Her eyes fill with tears

You are loved <3

Thank you so much for this ask ml! <3 This is such a cute ideaaa omg I just had to write some little headcanon thingy for it!! I actually had a different version of this in my notes app ready to be edited but I lost it earlier today in some kind of glitch, so I had to write it all over again :,) so I apologise if it's not my best, but it's such a cute idea how could I not write something <333 and thank you so much :,) you are very loved as well <3

warnings - fluff, mentions of rules, collar and leash but very brief, not used in a weird way, more like they don't want her running off kind of way

≧◠ᴥ◠≦≧◠ᴥ◠≦≧◠ᴥ◠≦≧◠ᴥ◠≦≧◠ᴥ◠≦≧◠ᴥ◠≦≧◠ᴥ◠≦

♡ I imagine that Kitty had been sulking for a few days, her ears flattened and her tail all curled and droopy

♡ Geto would be the first person to notice, of course

♡ A few days before, they had finally let Kitty watch some tv programs with them, the only deal was that they would both be there the whole time and be able to monitor what she watches

♡ That whole thing was going smoothly for a while, until Geto was in the kitchen fixing up a snack and Gojo had 'quickly' scurried off to the bathroom

♡ That meant Kitty was alone with the tv for a short while, and it just so happened that the tv program had rolled over to the next one

♡ A nature documentary, about butterflies

♡ And like at the start of every documentary it starts showing clips of loads of butterflies, some swarms and some singular, zooming in on their beautiful patterns and filming them perched on flowers and leaves

♡ One of the boys eventually came back in time to turn it off before it could really begin but not before she had seen those first few clips, leaving her to deflate at being denied what she wanted to watch

♡ Geto had eventually told Gojo about how sad kitty had been recently

♡ The both of them piecing together that it was probably from the TV incident from a few days ago

♡ So they spend the next few weeks discussing ideas and going back and forth with each other before finally settling on an agreement

♡ When they told Kitty for the first time that was she able to go outside, only for a short while if it would help cheer her up, she was over the moon

♡ Her ears instantly perked up, tail swishing from side to side in her euphoria

♡ While she was rubbing her head all over their chests and purring the loudest they think they've ever heard, they explained the rules that she has to follow

♡ She was to be kept on collar and leash

♡ She was not to stray further than the lead would allow her from them

♡ She is to listen to everything they say when they say it because her safety, her life, depends on it

♡ Kitty was just happy to be able to go outside so she agreed wholeheartedly

♡ The plan was that Gojo would be the one to teleport them all there, to avoid any car travelling or Kitty seeing anything she shouldn't

♡ When they arrive it's to a beautiful spot in the middle of some forest, a big patch of open land filled with wild plants and flowers, honey bees buzzing back and forth in search for nectar, birds chirping and searching for food to feed their young, and the butterflies

♡ Fluttering about and perched on stems and petals

♡ The two boys stood back and let her explore

♡ She looked radiant basking in the sunlight and chasing after butterflies, in the hopes of being able to hold one

♡ Her happiness almost contagious in the way they were admiring her, smiles on their faces

♡ It wasn't long before a little tug on her leash brought her back to them and they headed back home

♡ It had only been about 10 or 15 minutes that she spent outside but it could have easily been the best day of her life

♡ The two of them gently praised her, petting her ears and calling her a good girl for listening to them so well and following their rules

♡ She tried her hardest to reach up on her tiptoes, trying to give them each little kisses to show her happiness to them since she just couldn't find the words 

♡ They both shared a chuckle when she couldn't quite reach, a small pout appearing on her lips until they each bent down one after the other

♡ She immediately perked up again, covering both their faces in little kisses and nuzzling into their chests with a content purr

♡ An eventful day for Kitty that ended with them all sandwiched in bed for a nice long and peaceful nap

[pluralasking]

Answers to: Post #108 (System Rules)

[pt: Answers to: Post #108 (System Rules)]

Since these were not posted yet, sorry about that. I hope you enjoy, and that to some, this might be helpful. This is a very long post.

Note that some of these include potentially triggering subjects. Some of these topics include: alcohol, smoking / nikotin, drugs, intrusive thoughts (about inappropriate relationships / feelings), and slurs.

Please read carefully.

- 🌱 Avery

"If you choose to eat it, you must front during the gastrointestinal consequences."

"No birds in the house."

"Check the archive to see how much caffeine we've had today before consuming more caffeine."

"Don't get us arrested without unanimous consent of all frequent fronters."

"Decisions that affect our general wellbeing in major ways should be discussed as a group."

"No matter what skin color, mental disability or any other factor that gives you rights to a slur you should not say that slur if the body isn't allowed to say that."

"No using profanity or crude language outside of headspace but, avoid saying many curses in front of headmates under 14."

"Respect alters boundaries."

"If you are at front and a new alter shows up, please tell them what is going on and help them set up a profile on Plural kit & Simply Plural."

"Anyone our announcers and or gatekeepers have marked off limits , we aren’t allowed to talk to OR we have to be cautious around."

"As a system we have a very high justice system. Not In the way we have trials but in the way we have councilmen for every layer of the system. The rule is to always respect the rules of the overseer in that layer. Not in a dictator or whatever way , just like make sure to keep the place clean and shit."

"If you have a job in headspace you should always make sure it’s something that doesn’t require money (we don’t have such a thing in headspace). If you have a job related to that we just have trades or give stuff away for free."

"If you encounter anyone that’s not the main partner in our partner system , just be safe n ignore em unless they say hi"

"Always go to a higher up if you want a prnscc made or a card or an anything like that."

"Anarchy: no hierarchies, no one is "in charge", no one "owns" the body or life, collaborative, consenting, compassionate."

"Take care of the little."

"Respect our collective friends."

"Avoid damaging the body (e.g. no smoking)"

"Respect each other's beliefs, privacy, and wishes/boundaries. Don't try to disprove everyone you disagree with. Don't go trying to recall other people's memories, or try to watch when they want privacy."

"Maintaining the body + the singletsona are of utmost importance. Follow the pre-set routine as best as possible when involved in front."

"Don't be a dick. Especially do not be a dick to the short list of system friends; they are the trusted few and these relationships are to be preserved. Before engaging in public spaces make sure you know or can otherwise internally access the local etiquette. Do not damage or remove meatspace belongings. Respect closed doors within headspace."

"The external world does not have the same understanding that the internal one does- some things must be hidden for the continued peace and/or online safety of the system. (eg, Fakename1, bi lesbian, should not get involved with identity discourse. Fakename2, a fictive who was considered a grown adult in her source world but is a minor in this one, cannot interact with nsfw spaces/content and express her sexuality without claiming the body's age instead of her own.)"

"We made it a rule to not get apps or make purchases online without consulting others. This is in part to help make sure impulse purchases are less likely, as well as to help give some protection against viruses and such."

"We use Lighthouse, which allows each member to keep their own private journal. We made an agreement that we wouldn't look at anyone else's journal without their express permission, which we don't ask for unless we have to. This is primarily so we don't have to deal with individual passwords, but we've also carried this over onto other sites, such as chatrooms on Simply Plural, which are chats that are meant for us to have private conversations, and no one is allowed to look in a chatroom they aren't a part of unless invited in another channel."

"We decided that we would keep any and all in-system romantic relationships private. We've seen a lot of people being weird about them, and we didn't want to deal with that. We made this rule when two of our members decided to start dating. We've considered extending this rule to *any* in-sys relationship, as we've seen others being weird about even siblings who are siblings in-source, but at the moment it's just romantic relationships we keep private."

"Our main rule is no self-harm that could permanently damage the body, and no putting the body in situations you know are dangerous."

"As an adult system, we do allow our system members to drink, but the rules remind them that the body's tolerance is low. As drugs including weed are illegal where we live, it is against the system rules to have them, or smoke nicotine."

"Follow server rules is another one, which includes a subclause about persecutors not being an asshole to people we like to try to push them away."

"In our system we allow tattoos, piercings, and hair dye, but we ask that system members think about what would look nice on the body rather than just what they want. We kinda view the body as a dress up doll."

"Be kind and considerate to other members and to people outside the system unless necessary / it's to avoid harm to another or ourselves - this includes asking everyone involved with something that happened for permission for sharing details about said thing, especially ones that are more personal to them, not joking about, say, someone's source if they don't want it even mentioned, etc."

"if there are walk-ins asking to join the system (because our system works like that,) we need to make sure everyone consents to them being around, ESPECIALLY people who oppose them / the orgs they're a part of insource (ex: our hsr boothill fictive when considering IPC members, etc.) we can't exactly just disengage if we're uncomfortable, as our ability to hold our mental tongues / walk away from insys conversation is unreliable at best and just useless at worst, so we're extra careful with who we consider part of the system."

"no claiming to be Literally Part of X Culture when we're bodily not. members can, like, unclaim our bodily race / culture if they feel like it - most of us don't resonate with the body's ethnic experience, even if we do live it - but claiming to be say, black when we're actually 100% not black will never be on the table. this also means no joking about other people being X race, no making comments, etc."

"no purposely using slurs / derogatory terms towards other members or other people irl. if we know something is a slur and someone uses it as an insult knowing it's a slur, that's breaking this rule."

"no yelling or screaming / argue quietly and don't be mean about it, even if someone's being stupid. this one actually started as a way to tiptoe around trauma triggers (waves in trauma holder host) but then we realized that this has 100% helped our own conflict resolution skills and made it an actual thing."

"if someone brings up something they want to do and the brain pushes back, it's off the table 100% until further notice. we have autistic PDA so it's not like it's just a preference; we literally can't branch out that much."

"if two people are hanging out alone in front and are not partners, they must call another person to be a "buffer" the moment someone catches intrusive feelings for another, especially if they're siblings and/or if one is an adult and the other is a minor. i know!! this sounds extremely problematic! so some context: sometimes, our OCD will force members to get crushes on other members, especially if the one of them is being hyperfixated on, and it's always with people that cannot date without one or both going to jail. **it's not something we want**; it shows up and goes away at random and everyone involved hates it the entire time, but we have to deal with it anyway so that's why we have this rule. attempts to just. walk away from co-con for the time being and wait it out just don't work because they'll just teleport back, so we call up a buffer (90% of the time one of the people involveds' actual partner, because of course the brain chooses people in existing relationships too) to distract the brain with jangly headmate-shaped keychain."

"No one is allowed to touch alcohol or drugs."

"Do not intentionally do anything to harm self or others."

"Cursing is banned(with exceptions for words we are more comfortable with)."

"Any breaking of the rules will result in a temporary ban from fronting or certain areas of the inner world depending on where the rule breaking took place."

"All other major decisions must be put to a vote"

"Take the meds everyday"

"Respect the headmates' relationships"

"Respect the body"

"Reach out to our partner systems if needed or in danger"

[ggukkiedae]

anything for you, noona

date: september 4, 2018

warning/s: mentions of hate towards hannah being added into 127

notes from cia: i am in big chenhan mood rn i honestly just here like we should give hannah happy moments 😬 anyway, yeah

dialogue in italics are spoken in english, bold dialogues are spoken in chinese, korean age is still applied here, gif is from google

word count: 2.8k

hannah gets a birthday surprise that she honestly never expected

The day was going swimmingly well for Hannah, much to her surprise.

Not only did Mark and her manager somehow manage to buy breakfast from her favourite bakery (with the best apple tarts she knows), but she was also first in line for hair and makeup, which was the spot she always wanted because it gave her longer and undisturbed time to do what she wants before going to work. When she got to the van, Jeno and Jaemin had saved her her preferred seat despite the usual random seating arrangements they had.

Something was strange, but she didn’t quite know what was happening.

Even then, Hannah focused on working through the day as well as she could, especially because she was promoting with Dream. As much as she loved her 127 members, promoting with Dream always seemed less stressful. If it was because of many fans disliking the fact she was added into 127, she would never admit it. (It was.)

On the topic of comments from fans, Hannah absentmindedly pulled out her phone and opened her secret fan account. She was free until the live interview and stage anyway since rehearsals had already finished.

“Nope,” Renjun’s hand was quick to take her phone from her hand, “no way.”

She gave him a look, raising her eyebrow. “Injun, give me my phone back.”

“No can do, Hannah,” he lightly tapped her head with the corner of her phone then sat across from her, “because I know the things you look at whenever you pull that bird app out.”

She rolled her eyes at him and attempted to snatch her phone back, but he held it further from her. Her glare was met with a smug smirk.

Her friendship with Renjun had definitely evolved since their last comeback as NCT Dream. He was more quippy and less hesitant around her, and he took her teasing and snark with grace.

“You know,” she leaned forward like she was telling a secret, “we all know you just want to use my account to search for yourself.”

“Very funny,” Renjun deadpanned before shaking his head and handing her back her phone, “but, seriously. How many times do we all have to tell you not to look? Do you remember what happened just three months ago?”

“Not gonna happen again,” Hannah crossed her legs with a proud grin, “I’m way over that now.”

Renjun snorted at her, “I’d bet. With all the hyungs watching over you like hawks, I don’t think you can open your fan account or distance yourself again any time soon.”

She just laughed, throwing her feet on his lap, giving him a smile as he glared at her for it. Even then, Renjun placed his hands on her ankles, lightly drumming his fingers on her and humming We Go Up.

She leaned her head on the wall and closed her eyes, thinking about the past few months of training and promoting with the 127 members. It was a big change compared to how it was with the Dreamies.

On instinct, she would do her usual habits of making sure everyone had food and started eating before she would eat, cleaning and chiding when the others don’t clean, and discussing their schedules with managers among other habits, but the older members were quick to catch on to that.

Taeyong would tell her to leave the schedules and agenda to him, Jaehyun decided he would not take a bite of food until she started eating, Doyoung nagged her for nagging, and Johnny would actually physically pick her up to stop her mid-mom tendencies. Even Jungwoo, who started preparing with them for his 127 debut, would try to get her to not act too mature.

Not to mention Haechan stuck by her side the entire time, just hovering like he usually did. He always took those almost three months he was older than her by very seriously.

They all were attempting to baby her like how Jaemin or Haechan would, and it made her miss the casualness with the dreamies and being able to mother her two babies.

“Noona!”

Hannah opened her eyes to find Chenle running over to her. She took her legs off of Renjun so Chenle could pass and sit next to her.

“Yes?”

“You’re coming to my house today, right?” He gave her a hopeful smile. “You have to! The others said they’d come over. It’s for Chenji This and That!”

Hannah patted his cheek, “And what is this episode about?”

“We’re gonna try and cook for you guys,” he told her.

Hannah chuckled and leaned to give Chenle a kiss on the forehead, which he happily bent to receive.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she smiled at him, “just as long as the managers know.”

“Jisung’s telling them right now!”

Just then, a stage manager knocked on the door and stuck his head in. “NCT Dream on standby! 15 minutes!”

“Thank you,” Mark bowed to the stage manager then turned to face everyone, “Alright guys, last hair and makeup check from the noonas then we go. We can do a quick stretch when we’re nearer to the stage.”

“You guys heard the man,” Hannah got up, pulling Chenle and Renjun up with her, “let’s go.”

The We Go Up stage was pre-recorded, so she didn’t need to worry about that. The 1,2,3 stage, on the other hand, was not pre-recorded. It was a strange situation since it was usually the other way around, but she just shrugged it off. Maybe it was the company’s newest wey of making sure the best performance if the title track is what the public sees.

Thankfully, the 1,2,3 stage was going well so far until the bridge where she peacefully sang her line and was going to kneel down like they all would so Haechan would have his Michael Jackson moment, but she felt herself being pulled into a hug.

To her surprise, Haechan had kept her standing with him and pinched her cheek while singing “saengil chukhahae!” instead of naega isseulkae.

She gave him a surprised look while muscle memory brought her back into the choreography. Some of their laughs sounded in her in-ears, meaning it was heard in the performance, but she didn’t mind. She didn’t even process the rest of the performance.

It was her birthday?

Somehow, she was able to dance on auto-pilot while mentally checking her calendar. It was the 4th. It was September 4th, her birthday. That’s why the boys were being extra nice to her.

The end of the song jostled out of her thoughts because, once again, instead of kneeling for the end like she usually would, multiple sets of hands kept her up, and she was brought into the centre of a group hug while Chenle changed a word for his last line, “Noona, just don’t move.”

She really couldn’t move, they were all squishing her in a hug, and she could feel Jaemin on his toes and rubbing his cheek on the top of her head. They started to topple over, making her laugh while she told everyone to get into position for We Go Up, which they’d still be dancing along to so the audience in the studio had something to watch.

The performance went by fast, and she gave the boys a look once they got backstage. Before she could say anything though, Mark yelled.

“1, 2, 3!”

The sound of six boys yelling the happy birthday song as all but Jeno, who had MC duties, followed her back into the green room, garnering some attention from staff and other idols around them.

The door opened, and she jumped back in surprise when confetti appeared and her manager carried a cake towards her. There was even a box of cupcakes on the table next to the door.

“Oh my god,” she laughed before gratefully accepting the cake and blowing out the candle, “I genuinely forgot what day it was today.”

“We know,” Jaemin hugged her from behind, “that was the goal.”

“That’s why we’re all going to Chenle’s house later,” Jisung grinned.

Renjun nudged the maknae while Chenle whacked his arm before looking at Hannah, “We wanted to cook for you because you always cook for us.”

“Let her breathe, guys,” Mark laughed and pried Jaemin off of her, “let the officially 19-year-old breathe.”

“Did you like my surprise?” Haechan asked her, making her turn around to face him.

She kicked him in the shin, “I was surprised! You didn’t warn me, I probably looked stupid!”

While Haechan overdramatically held his leg and complained about the pain, she just sighed and looked at everyone.

“Thank you guys, I really appreciate this.”

“Yeah, don’t get sappy on us,” Renjun stuck his finger into her cake’s frosting and rubbed it on her nose. A silence passed between everyone as they watched Hannah blink slowly and hand the cake to a now quiet Haechan who was watching with wide eyes.

“Hwang Renjun, you have three seconds to run,” she, much to the staff’s dismay, grabbed a cupcake and started running after Renjun who yelled and ran away from her and down the hallway.

“You said I have three seconds!” “I counted three seconds!”

The rest of the boys watched in amusement before turning to Chenle.

“Not the distraction I was hoping for,” he began, “but more entertaining for sure. Haechan hyung, you keep Noona unsuspicious. Jaemin hyung, you have everyone’s gifts, right? Can you message Jeno hyung and remind them to keep those hidden? Mark hyung, you’re on vlog duty, and Renjun hyung, too, when he comes back hopefully alive. Jaemin hyung, Jisung, and I will go ahead to set everything up.”

The five boys nodded at each other, ready for their surprise for Hannah.

“When I said keep Noona unsuspicious, I didn’t mean blindfold her.”

Chenle’s voice reached Hannah’s ears the moment the car doors opened. She snorted at the younger boy’s accusatory tone and the following sounds of Haechan defending himself.

A hand that she immediately recognized as Jeno’s due to their matching pinky rings held hers as he assisted her out of the car. She missed a step, making her stumble forward. An extra set of hands caught her, taking place on her waist as they steadied her.

“Careful, Little Na,” Jaemin’s voice spoke from right in front of her. “We don’t want the birthday girl getting hurt.”

“Maybe if you guys took this blindfold off,” she poked forward, smirking when she felt Jaemin’s chest and heard his small grunt of surprise.

A chuckle from next to her caught her attention, making her snap her head in that direction. Mark.

“As you guys can see,” Mark explained, likely talking to a camera as a different pair of hands took hers from Jeno, “Hannah has absolutely no clue what is going on, and Chenle is somehow guiding her while walking backwards without tripping.”

“It’s his house,” she could imagine Jeno shrugging.

She just shook her head in amusement and focused on where her feet was going, following Chenle’s quiet directions of where to place her steps.

The sound of the door opening was immediately followed by the smell of Chinese food filling her senses. It seemed a lot compared to what she originally thought her two kids were going to cook.

Suddenly, she could hear Jisung’s hushed whispers speaking to Chenle. The latter let go of her hands while someone—she assumed Jisung— stood by her side.

“You’re gonna love this, Noona,” Jisung looped his arm through hers and brought her a few steps forward.

“I know I will,” she laughed, “I can smell food that I didn’t think you two would think of cooking.”

“About that,” he sounded sheepish, “we actually didn’t cook you food. We have a different birthday surprise.”

With that, Jisung gently tugged her blindfold off. She was met with Chenle’s couch filled with toys and small clothes. She looked at it confused as her eyes adjusted to the light.

“I’m pretty sure I won’t fit in those,” she noted as five other boys stood by her and Jisung.

“No,” Jisung smiled before pointing down the hallway, “but they’d fit him.”

Hannah laughed and turned her head, expecting to see maybe Chenle in teenager-sized versions of the baby clothes in front of her, but she was met with another sight.

Chenle did come out from the hallway, but in casual clothes. No, the only thing different was what he had in his arms. A small puppy rested close to his chest, seemingly just waking up. Its tail wagged as soon as it noticed Hannah, much to her surprise.

Jisung gently pulled her arm, making her sit on the floor while Chenle mirrored their actions from where he stood. He gently placed the puppy on the ground.

“Go on,” Chenle encouraged the puppy, “go to your new mom.”

“Mom?” Hannah asked as the small puppy ran right to her, resting itself on her legs and looking up at her expectantly.

She picked him up as the other members gathered around her, sitting on the floor with her. Mark was filming her as she picked up the puppy and brought it close to her face, smiling as it licked her. Jaemin, on the other hand, was already looking at the little dog clothes while Renjun and Haechan were picking which toy to try out with the puppy first.

“Hi,” she smiled at the puppy, letting out a small laugh as it started licking her nose, “you’re an excited puppy, aren’t you?”

“And he’s yours,” Chenle approached, sitting in front of her. “Happy birthday, Noona.”

“Chenle,” she pulled him forward with her free arm, giving him a hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek, “why are you so sweet?”

“I heard from Yoonmi that puppies help relieve stress and anxiety,” he grinned at her, “I just want you to feel better.”

“Noona,” Jisung poked her cheek, “I helped, too! I help choose him, and I got all the clothes and toys and other stuff!”

Hannah chuckled, turning to kiss Jisung’s cheek as well, “You’re sweet, too, Sungie.”

“So,” Mark’s narration caught her attention, “Hannah finally received the gift Chenle and Jisung have been preparing since June. What are you gonna name him, Hans?”

She looked up at Mark, seeing a proud smile on his face, one that made him look like a big brother watching over his little siblings. It clicked in her head, already knowing what to name her new puppy.

“Minnie,” she smiled, “I’m calling him Minnie.”

Everyone cheered at that. Jeno looked at her with a smile as he patted Minnie’s head, “I think you should let Minnie’s uncles play with him before they explode from cuteness aggression.”

The uncles in question were the three who were looking through Minnie’s possessions which were all apparently purchased by Jisung. Hannah laughed at their excited looks and let Minnie on the ground.

“I get him first!” Haechan yelled, immediately being countered by Renjun and Jaemin. She laughed while getting up.

“I’ll go get us food, you can open presents after,” Jeno headed to the kitchen, dragging Jisung with him.

Mark laughed at her confused look as he shut off the camera, “You didn’t expect us to let the maknaes outdo us, did you?”

“I kind of thought you all contributed to this.”

“No, this is all ChenJi, you can watch it when they upload it,” Mark gave her a rare full hug, discreetly pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Happy birthday, little sister.”

With that, he walked to the kitchen to get food, as well, leaving her in the living room with a satisfied smile. As much as Mark and her joked around and messed with each other, he had never forgotten to treat her like she was his own little sister when it counts, ever since they first met. She was thankful for it.

“Noona,” Chenle called her attention, a knowing smile on his face, “Minnie? Like Minhyung?”

“I don’t say it much,” Hannah shrugged, “but I’m actually really glad to have him as a big brother. I do look up to him, you know?”

Chenle nodded, “I know.���

“Never tell him I said that,” she laughed while watching Chenle open his small side bag, “What are you doing?”

“I wrote you something,” Chenle shyly handed her a small brown envelope. She looked at him curiously, but he just smiled at her. “Read it before you go to sleep.”

“I will,” she pulled him into a proper hug, “Thank you, Lele.”

“Anything for you, Noona.”

(Jeno smiled as he saw Hannah hugging Chenle before he turned to Jisung, nudging the younger boy. “How’d you get Minnie to run straight to Hannah? I’m pretty sure Renjun had food in his pocket.”

Jisung snorted. “Chenle stole one of Noona’s sweaters every week and had Minnie sleep in it. I didn’t think it would work, but it apparently did.”)

taglist: @1-800-enhypennabi @strwberrydinosaur @sunflower-0180 @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @world-full-of-roses @stopeatread @allthings-fandoms

drop an ask or a dm if you wanna be added or taken out of the taglist 🥰 requests are also open!

[spnfanficpond]

Weekly Pond Newsletter

This week is #SPNWEEK over on that bird app formerly known as Twitter! Tag us over there (same name as here) and we'll RT your tweets!

Old Business:

New Member Spotlight - The post for August is up and you can click here to meet a new friend!

Angel Fish Awards - The post (finally) went up for the August Angel Fish Awards! Click here for some awesome fic recs!

New Signup Form - We have put into place a new way to join the Pond! Instead of contacting an admin, potential new members can now simply fill out a form. The form includes our Conduct Rules, explanations of our different membership types, and some questions so we can get to know these new people better! At the end of the form are important links like an invite to our Discord server, our FAQ, and links to our sister blogs. If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Pond, click here to see the form!

Fishing For Treasures - This week the @fanficocean is celebrating SPN fics! Head on over there to a LOT of awesome SPN fics! In two weeks, we will be celebrating non-SPN fics for our FFT weekend. If you write for other fandoms and would like to participate, click here for all the details!

Last week's #TweetFicTues prompts -

New Business:

NaNoWriMo - November is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. In the past year, the official NaNoWriMo organization has had some scandals, and most recently has made a startling decision regarding the use of AI. (Spoiler alert - They're all for it, possibly because one of their sponsors this year is an AI company.) Admin Michelle feels really strongly about encouraging every writer to do NaNoWriMo, even without using the official site for tracking or community purposes. We feel that the Pond has the community, so all we need is tracking capabilities and we can do this thing on our own. We are testing out some possible ways to do this, but we would LOVE your feedback! Do you want tools you can use privately for tracking, or would you like to publicly update your word count for the world to see? Would you like to see a roster of Pond writers and their word counts so you can race each other, or would seeing someone writing faster than you discourage you? Do you prefer Google Sheets for tracking, or would a message thread in a Discord channel be better? All opinions and suggestions are welcome! To keep things all in one place, please reply to this post here with your feelings!

Competitive Writing Sprints - On Thursday, Manta Ray Arthur will be hosting a session of writing sprints for prizes in our Discord server! Add words to your WIP and win fabulous prizes!

SPN Rewatch: FanFic Edition - Next weekend, we will be discussing the next two episodes in our rewatch: 3.01 The Magnificent Seven and 3.02 The Kids Are Alright. For more information on how the rewatch works, click here to view The Archive!

Manta Ray chat in the Discord server - After the Rewatch chat next weekend, and a break for lunch and a nap, Admin Michelle will be hanging around to chat with everyone! Have questions about the Pond? Want to chat about this NaNoWriMo thing? Want to do low-pressure writing sprints to force her to get stuff done? Hop into the server on Saturday and we'll do it!

Writer Hangout with Manta Ray Laili - Laili wants to try something new that we think is awesome! We have never used our voice channels in the Discord server for anything, and she'd like to change that. So, on Sunday next weekend, head into the General voice channel and have a hangout with your fellow writers! Encourage your fellow writers, talk about hangups, or chat about anything else that comes to mind. Since this is new, anything can happen, so be there to experience the first one!

(Divider by @glygriffe!)

That’s all for this week! To see all Pond events, and also other SPN-related things like conventions and online concerts, check out our Google calendar! Click here for a static view in Eastern US/Canada time (desktop only, no mobile app access, sadly), and click here to add our calendar to your own Google calendar! We try to keep it as up-to-date as possible. If there’s something you want to see on the calendar that’s not there (maybe a convention we missed, cast birthdays, or something similar), send us an ASK and let us know!

Hope you have a great week! - From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, @heavenssexiestangel, and @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes!

[ravenshavenn]

Modern day muggle Snape headcanon

He would teach chemistry if he still needed to be a teacher but if not then I feel as though he would run a bookstore or work in a library while doing some strange science projects on the side

He'd prefer reading from books rather than technology like a kindle or his phone

All of the technology that he did own would be outdated as he simply doesn't care and prefers items the he knows the function of rather than the latest updates, he'd still be incredibly interested in all the latest advancements but wouldn't bother to purchase many himself

If he owned a car it'd be similar to his phone, computer, TV, ect with the fact that its old, dusty and kept to the bare minimum of cleanliness, he wouldn't leave rubbish in it and would tidy up after himself but it would still need a good hoover, dust and wash in order to be considered clean

Because of the modern day being relatively accepting of receiving help for mental health I'd like to think that as the smart man we know he is Severus would realize he needs help and with some encouragement from friends and family try and help himself

I personally think that he'd at least see a therapist or go to some form of grief support group as he feels more able to now that talks around mental health are more common and seen (by most) as a valid form of treatment

He's fascinated by YouTube videos discussing theoretical nerdy topics such as aliens, conspiracy theories and natural phenomenon not that he believes anything irrational, all his thinking is purely logic based but he still enjoys watching them regardless purely to think about the concepts

Along with this he'd also enjoy works of fiction like Sci-fi shows such as star trek, star wars or anything else that's typically considered "nerdy" but he prefers not to discuss it as is worried he'll be made fun of

There would also be an incredibly grumpy pet that he'd care for maybe a cat, lizard or some sort of bird, he'd have a sort of roommate relationship with it but when he gets tired he'd want to sit down and watch TV with it or it'd just sit on his lap while he reads

I feel as though with mental health support like therapy becoming more normalised Severus may choose to get help, as personally I think he's a smart person and in a

If there's one thing he hates its the concept of dating apps, how are you meant to trust someone you met online? They could be a murderer or the dark lord himself and you'd never know!?

He's also not a big fan of social media, he enjoys keeping up with all of his current fandoms and interests but rarely posts anything if at all, maybe just a few blurry photos of something he found funny like a strange looking cat or a picture of a cool science project he finished once and then he'd never post again

Music isn't something he's particularly interested in but when he does listen to it its normally rock, metal or something gothic but occasionally the odd bit of classical music if he wants to feel high status or is working on a project and wants music on in the background that won't distract him while he works

[training4theapocalypse-backup]

On Her Majesty’s Supersonic Service (Adrian Chase x Reader) Ch. 2

Chapter 2: Bird after Reading

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 7K

Warnings: SMUT, Fluff, Romance, Praise, Descriptions of murder, Descriptions of violence, Phone sex, Send noodz, FaceTime sex.

Summary: On a rare night off after the Glan Tai massacre, Vigilante gets your phone number from the 11th Steet Kids group chat and talks you through some things.

A/N: He is being really, really sweet to Birdie and she can’t help but be charmed by him. My heart :(

Masterlist

Chapter Text

Last night did not go to plan.

Still, the sound of pleasant chit-chat hums through the air as everyone loads up the van to make the two-hour journey back to Evergreen. The team is in good spirits on this bright summer morning after a successful mission. Everyone except you. You just want to curl into a ball and die.

After clearing up last night’s misunderstanding you practically ran back to your tent to hide in shame. Adrian called after you “Wait! So we’re not even gonna cuddle?” but you couldn’t even bring yourself to turn around and acknowledge his wounded voice with a glance. 

It was only when you were nestled back into your own sleeping bag that you noticed your lip was cut and bleeding from when you hastily removed the duct tape to use your sonic scream.

This morning, however, you’re kind of surprised to find that Vigilante has a spring in his step already. “Good morning!” he beams cheerily, leaning against the van as you and Chris are the last to haul your duffel bags and packed tents over to the vehicle. 

“Woah, what happened to your lip?” asks Economos. You give a small dismissive shake of your head and glance at Vigilante. 

“Hey- let me get those for you.” says Vigilante. Chin in the air, you stride past him and load the bags yourself. You can’t accept special treatment from him after last night.

Not any more special treatment anyway. 

“Thanks, Vij,” says Chris, tossing his bag into Vigilante’s outstretched arms. 

“Aw, man!” He pouts after you.

You brace yourself for confrontation as your steel-toed boots continue to stomp over to where Harcourt and Adebayo are discussing next steps. You wait for them to finish, back straight, eyes ahead, hands folded behind you. 

They look up from the iPad. The mischievous glint in Adebayo’s eyes and the smirk on Harcourt’s face tells you that Adebayo has been briefed on the mistaken attempt to rescue you last night. 

"At ease, soldier. Or should I say 'damsel in distress'?" teases Harcourt.

“What was Vigilante going to do, Blackbird? Tie you to the railway like an old-time cartoon villain?” Adebayo adds with a laugh.

The brutal intelligence officer training you’ve endured enables you to remain composed and you stand tall preparing to explain yourself, despite the dread stirring in the pit of your stomach. As neither of them knows sign language you pull out your phone, quickly type a message on your notes app and hold up the screen

‘I apologise for acting unprofessionally last night.’

Harcourt pulls a face, deciding how to proceed. She really should reprimand you for indiscreetly fraternising with a colleague. But you’ve noticed the way her gaze lingers on Chris Smith lately and you wonder if that’s why she’s choosing not to jump down your throat.

Adebayo beats her to the punch “Listen Blackbird, we’re only giving you shit because we’re your friends.”

“Yeah but if Smith or any of those fuckers,” Harcourt points at the rest of the team beside the van “If they have anything to say about last night, we’ll tell them to go fuck themselves.” 

Well. That was very unexpected. And, despite yourself, your shoulders loosen slightly as you feel a rush of gratitude for the pair sweep through you. You have respect for both of your colleagues but you didn’t think that they’d consider you to be friends. Let alone friends who would back you up if the rest of the team gave you a hard time. You type on your phone again.

‘It won't happen again’

They read your screen and then share perplexed glances.

“I get it, I mean, even if I was straight I definitely wouldn’t have sex with either of the roided-up himbo lunatics on this team… would you?” Adebayo asks Harcourt. 

Harcourt hesitates.

“I don’t know. Peacemaker is mostly a piece of shit. But I guess he’s kind of handsome?”

They laugh and you allow yourself a small smile. Harcourt hates that she’s interested in Chris even more than you hate that you might feel a tiny bit of attraction to Vigilante. Your turn to look at the rest of the group and catch Vigilante staring over at you, clearly interested by the giggling. 

“All I’m saying is- it couldn’t be me. Remember, Vigilante is kind of fucked up. I heard he murdered people for doing graffiti for crying out loud!” 

You consider this. Adebayo is right but then again, you’re no beacon of morality. Peacemaker isn’t the only one on this team who’s done unspeakable things on behalf of a government agency. A government agency that now hates you and sent you on this mission as a punishment for your misdeeds. So what if Vigilante kills people on his own accord? 

“Don’t dwell on last night. It’ll only distract you from the mission,” says Harcourt “It’s not even the most embarrassing thing that’s happened so far. Remember when Adebayo showed everyone that picture of her vulva?”

“Hey!” Adebayo hits her arm with the iPad. “It’s a risk you gotta be willing to take for amazing phone sex.”

“Listen, all of us can see that you and Vigilante work well together in the field. Maybe it’d be the same outside of work? You could teach him about sarcasm… he could teach you to be less serious.”

This is rich coming from her, who insisted you all referred to her only as Agent Harcourt until literally yesterday. 

Adebayo echoes your thoughts “Coming from you?!”

“Serious like in a sad, solemn kind of way,” she explains with a pitying look “If anyone needs cheering up it’s Blackbird. No offence.” She adds.

None taken. Losing your voice has made you simply recede into yourself with despondency. You look over at Vigilante who gives you an enthusiastic wave. You feel guilty for ignoring his offer of helping you with your bags. Maybe spending more time with that maniac will do you some good.

“Just be careful.” Adebayo shifts uncomfortably as she watches Peacemaker and Vigilante roaring with laughter at Economos gesturing like he’s wielding a chainsaw, regaling the story of yesterday's mission. 

After finding out that Murn wants a briefing of yesterday's events, the three of you walk back to the van. Vigilante extends a gloved hand to help you up into the back. You hesitate for a beat too long but he keeps his hand out all the same. You grab it, allowing him to pull you in. 

You perch on the seat next to him and when the doors close and Economos starts driving, he removes his mask. 

Ugh, he’s even more handsome in the daylight. 

“Y’know Blackbird, you’re the only one who hasn’t removed your mask yet,” says Chris, removing his helmet. “You saw Vij last night, which means we all know each other’s faces now.”

Oh. Your domino mask - issued together with your suit- covers from your eyebrows to your cheekbones. You’re supposed to wear it on missions to conceal your face from both CCTV and civilians. You shrug and remove the mask, unpeeling it from your face- your life is in London so it’s not as if you have a secret identity here to worry about. 

“Wow,” remarks Adebayo “You look exactly the same.” 

The van erupts in laughter and you smile reluctantly. 

“Nuh-uh, we know she has eyebrows now!” says Adrian. “I’m glad you have eyebrows by the way,” he adds quietly to you. 

The good spirits continue as you speed along the highway- ugh, motorway, you take a mental note to eradicate the Americanisms you’ve picked up on this trip from your vocabulary. The team plays music and bonds over their shared love of Glam Metal. It’s not really your thing but you enjoy just being amongst the camaraderie.

This time yesterday you had all been at each other's throats. But apparently almost being beaten to death by a giant gorilla controlled by a butterfly was just one of those things that you can’t go through without becoming friends afterwards.

Adrian’s gaze lingers on you for longer than usual. Your eyes meet his but he doesn’t look away, embarrassed, as most people would if caught staring. He studies you blatantly and then leans in to whisper in your ear. The sudden intimate closeness takes you by surprise. You’re acutely aware of his knee pressing against your own and you catch another whiff of his bergamot and bonfire smoke scent.

“You’re even prettier without the mask.” Adrian whispers into your ear and the warm vibrations of his breath make the hairs on your neck stand up pleasantly.

You see Harcourt and Chris watching you interestedly from across the van so you give a pronounced roll of your eyes at his remark. “And I can see you rolling your eyes at me even better now!” he adds earnestly.

The van hurtles its way towards Evergreen and Harcourt takes out her phone to snap a picture of you all. You listen to them reminisce about concerts while Adrian tries and fails to include you in the conversation. Chris suggests he asks you ‘Yes or No’ questions and he fails miserably. 

“What’s your favourite band?” You raise an eyebrow as Chris berates him.

“She’s British so I know she prefers The Spice Girls to Motley Crue!” exclaims Adrian “Right?” You nod and he beams.

A while later you pull up to the video shop. You listen as the team debriefs Murn on what happened in the factory. “This is good work,” he says, nodding at the equipment on the desk. “We're gonna need to sort through this but that can wait until tomorrow. You all have earned a rest.”

Adebayo raises a fist in celebration and you all file out towards the car park, laughing and joking. You and Adrian fall behind the rest of the group. “You know I really wish Economos had passed me the chainsaw. I’ve always wanted to kill someone with one.”

You give a small nod but your agreement is actually sincere - it would have been kind of hot if you had gotten the chance to see Adrian wielding the chainsaw. But after last night, you’re definitely biased. His face lights up at your silent encouragement. 

“See!” he yells to Chris up ahead “Blackbird agrees!”

“That’s only because she’s fucking you!” retorts Chris without turning around. You glance at each other and both put your masks back before exiting the building.

Vigilante’s pace drops and you match it- you can tell he’s prolonging your goodbye “I’ve got to get to work but do you need a ride home first? I’ve got the Vigalante-mobile.” he gestures to a beat-up old Chrysler Sebring. You shake your head and jerk your thumb over to Economos who’s waiting at his own car- you’re staying at the same motel. 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks. His eyes are obscured but you think he’s looking at your lips. Is he going to kiss you? You’re annoyed at how hopeful your inner monologue sounds. 

Your heart drops into the pit of your stomach as he places a gloved hand on your chin and tilts your head up towards his masked face. 

“Sorry about your lip. I didn’t realise duct tape was so dangerous.” You shake your head to say it’s not your fault. His thumb brushes the corner of your mouth and you resist closing your eyes and leaning into his touch. Economos clears his throat and Vigilante withdraws his hand quickly as if burned. You give an awkward nod goodbye and walk over to Economos’ car.

For fuck’s sake John.

You glare at him and decide to make him stop by a liquor store on the way home.

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

Back in your motel room you pour yourself a large whisky and run a shower. As the water is warming up you get a ping on your phone.

‘Emilia Harcourt added you to group ‘11th Street Kids’’

Harcourt shares a group photo of you all in the van. A smile creeps over your face as you examine it. You’re sitting next to Adrian and you just now realise his arm is resting on the back of your seat. Was he working up the courage to put his arm around you? He’s less sure of himself in the daytime than when he’s lurking in the dark as Vigilante. 

Notification light up your phone screen - it’s the 11th Street Kids groupchat. 

Peacemaker: [Hands up emoji]

Economos: So fucking cool.

Vigilante: [Merman emoji]

You wonder what Adrian’s emoji means. You type:

Blackbird: Nice one! x

You tap on the name “Vigilante” and your thumb hovers over his contact details, thinking about texting him. Or at least adding his contact details into your phone. Just in case of emergency. Another notification pops up.

‘Vigilante has added you as a contact’

Vigilante: Hey what’s up B- bird? [Penguin emoji] 

You’re relieved he immediately had the same thought. You still haven’t acknowledged what happened last night directly with him. This morning, in the cold light of day you felt ashamed of your one-night stand - not least how it ended. But now as the steam rises in the bathroom and the whisky burns your throat, you’re a little bit giddy that he messaged you. You contemplate for a moment.

Blackbird: Lmao that’s not even close to a blackbird! x 

Vigilante: What’s the X for? Is it a British spy code? 

Oh. Technically ‘x’ at the end of a text is shorthand for ‘kiss’. Back home almost everyone signs off like that to friends or family. It’s second nature to you when you write a message- words, space, x, send. Clearly, this cultural norm doesn’t translate well. You carefully craft a message to explain it to Adrian, trying to sound nonchalant.

Blackbird: Sounds weird but it means ‘kiss’. It’s just how we end text messages in the UK lol :) x

Well, that was lame. 

Vigilante: So you’ve given me 2 kisses since we started this conversation?

Blackbird: Not exactly- It’s just a habit when I send messages to friends x

Vigilante: Oh

Maybe he just isn’t used to being friends with his hookups afterwards? And according to Peacemaker he has plenty- of hookups, not friends - sometimes they even have one-night stands together, with the same woman.

A small stab of jealousy twists in your side at that thought.

Not Peacemaker and Vigilante sharing a woman, God no, but that you’re probably just the latest in a string of casual encounters. After all, he didn’t kiss you this morning when you thought he might, outside the video shop. 

Blackbird: I can stop sending them if they’re bothering you? 

Vigilante: What would you send to someone who was more than a friend?

A lot of people back home would use ‘xx’ at the end of a text to a boyfriend- but you haven’t had any reason to do that for a while.

Throwing caution to the wind, you type a flirtatious message, delete it, reconsider, take another drink of whisky, type the exact same thing again then hit send. You hold your breath.

Blackbird: Probably nudes :) x Blackbird: Just kidding. Probably more x’s. ‘xx’ rather than ‘x’ 

It’s been a long time since you flirted with anyone. It makes you want to launch your phone across the room but instead, you stare at the screen in anticipation.

Vigilante: Damn, this is REALLY bad timing but my break is over. I gotta get back to work. Later Birdie.

You catch your reflection in the bathroom mirror- your face falls. Is he blowing me off? Like I did to him at the van this morning? You feel betrayed by your own disappointment but you probably deserve it.

Stepping into the shower, you sigh as the hot steam fills your lungs. Your hair still smells of bonfire smoke and you’re almost sad to wash it away because it reminds you of Adrian’s smoky and citrusy scent. Shampooing your hair, you think about how Adrian curled his hand through it last night when you kissed him.

Ugh - stop it. You simply cannot catch feelings right now.

You press your head to the cool tile on the wall as the water from the tarnished chrome showerhead flows down your back. You need to scrub yourself of any feelings you have for Adrian. Even if he did feel the same way, what would be the point of starting a romantic relationship nearly 5000 miles from home? Or when you work in a job that has you in a different country every month?

The water pressure is surprisingly strong and you’re grateful for it as it soothes your sore back muscles. Yesterday’s mission and the night that followed have left your body exhausted. There’s still a pleasantly dull ache between your legs from last night. 

You felt a connection with him like you’d never felt before. Like he was reading your mind. Every thought, every want, every need. 

The only thing that has ever come close to it is how well you fight together. It almost seems silly that you haven’t been able to admit that to him today but the sensible voice in your head reminds you that you have a job to do. 

Your hand slips down the nape of your neck to your chest and you think about his skin. Pale and covered with scars, though you couldn’t see them all in the darkness of the tent last night. You wanted to look at each one, you wanted to kiss every single scar, cursing whoever had caused the damage to his lean, sculpted body. 

You find your favourite lavender soap and as you wash your body from your toes to your head, you take note of your own scars. Several cover both of your legs from the jet crash, one deep one in the meat of your thigh where you were stabbed that one time, another on your forearm from when you were stabbed a different time, and one on your shoulder blade where you were stabbed… again. Perks of the job. But you really need to get better at not being stabbed. 

You wonder what he’s doing after this shift and hate that you hope he’s staying safe. He likes to prowl the streets at night looking for criminals and regularly ends up in life-threatening situations but you want him to go straight home - you all have enough to be getting on with, with the butterflies and everything. And if you ever want to get back home and in MI6’s good graces, this mission needs to be a success. 

You finish up in the shower and decide you’d better remind him.

Blackbird: Rest up tonight Adrian. We’ve got a big day tomorrow and need you to be awake x

A few hours later at 11pm your phone pings in reply. Having spent the night drinking whisky and watching terrible TV, your stomach twists with excitement at the interruption. 

Vigilante: Great! Just need to figure out what we could use instead of duct tape…

A pleasant tingle goes down your spine. He must have finished his shift at Fennel Fields.

Blackbird: Not that kind of big day. We’ve got a lot of video equipment to check x

Vigilante: I only need to patrol the neighbourhood for a few hours. Do you wanna join? 

Blackbird: Sure- I can see the headlines now, ‘MI6 linked to string of vigilante murders in Washington.’ x

Vigilante: Awesome! Will I come and pick you up? 

Blackbird: No! That was sarcasm Adrian x

Vigilante: Okay - your loss! A team-up would have been SUPER cool FYI. TTYL

Blackbird: Wait! What can I say to convince you not to go out tonight? x

Vigilante: Awwww, are you worried about lil ol’ me, Birdie?

Blackbird: I need you on top of your game tomorrow. Finding the butterflies’ food source is more important than ANYTHING else we’ve got going on right now x

Vigilante: Stopped reading after “I need you”. Admit you need me Birdie and I might stay home tonight [Penguin emoji]  

You get up and pace around the room. He’s so resilient even after you ignored him last night and outside the van this morning. You’re relieved he’s flirting again. And you can tell from his messages that all he needs is some reassurance that you’re still interested in him after your stand-offishness this morning.

You pause in front of the mirror at the vanity table, catching a glimpse of your exposed neck and the top of your chest flushed red again. And a familiar warm sensation pools in your lower abdomen as your mind wanders back into Adrian’s tent. 

Blackbird: I need you… Blackbird: to see something :) x

Vigilante: Ooookay?

Blackbird: But you need to be somewhere private. Such as your home. Alone. In your bedroom. With the door locked x

Vigilante: I have no idea what’s going on right now 

Blackbird: I will message you a special surprise if you promise me you’re home x

Vigilante: WAIT- are you talking about the nudes you mentioned earlier???

Blackbird: Only one way to find out. Prove you’re home, tucked up in bed with a cup of tea and NOT prowling the streets looking for crime x

Vigilante: On my way home RIGHT FUCKING NOW Vigilante: PS what kind of tea should I get?

Blackbird: I’m just joking about the tea x

In the bathroom, you take in your appearance in the giant, circular mirror. You’re wearing a plain white T-shirt and another pair of unexciting black cotton underwear. Looking over your shoulder into the bedroom at your suitcase, you curse yourself for not bringing at least one set of skimpy lingerie. But then again- why would you? 

After spending all day in a Kevlar and leather suit, all you want to do is to sink into something soft and comfortable. And, after more than a year of abstinence, you never thought you’d find love in Evergreen, Washington. 

A hookup, you correct yourself, you never thought you’d find a hookup in Evergreen.

You squeeze your eyes shut and shake your head at your Freudian slip. You put your hands on either side of the sink and stare at yourself sternly. 

You are not so touch-starved and devoid of self-respect that you’d actually fall for Vigitlane.

Sure, he’s good looking and yes, you have an undeniable connection that you’ve never felt with anyone before but you remind yourself he’s a psychopath. A very enthusiastic and sweet one, certainly, but a literal vigilante murderer nonetheless.

Even so, you sort of want to look cute for the man who, you remind yourself again, is wanted on multiple counts of murder. Christ, what does that say about you?

He called you pretty this morning.

And you just rolled your eyes at him, concerned about what your colleagues would think. When what you really wanted to do was call him pretty too. Grab his stupid, pretty face, straddle his lap and kiss him, bite his lower lip, grind on him, leave love bites all over his neck. Right there in the van. The thought of it makes you feel feverishly hot.

You tie a knot at the back of your white T-shirt, pulling it taught against your body so that your nipples poke through the fabric and your curves are accentuated. You adjust the hips on your underwear so they show off more of your leg. You take a couple of mirror selfies - one with your whisky glass resting subtly on your chest - finger brushing your nipple and one of you sitting on the sink - back to the mirror and looking over your shoulder. Looking over them carefully, you decide you’re pleased- artfully sexy but nothing too wild. You want to give him a tiny little taste to reassure him you like him but no more. You both have work tomorrow morning, after all.

Your phone pings.

Vigilante: I’m home. I wish I’d seen your message before I went to the Starbucks drive-thru.

Blackbird: Lol :) But I’ll need evidence to verify your location x

Another notification. Adrian sends you a photo of himself holding a Starbucks cup- a mirror selfie. He’s got his Vigilante suit on but you can see the mask thrown on the large bed with comfortable-looking burgundy sheets behind him. Ugh, he looks so dreamy with his cute hipster glasses and wavy black hair. His room is very clean but bare- the only decoration seems to be his weapons, at least a dozen guns and several blades displayed on the wall. 

Blackbird: Do you sleep in an armoury!? x

Vigilante: What?? I sleep in a bed in my apartment!

You really do need to teach him about sarcasm.

Blackbird: I’m just joking - you DO have a lot of guns in your room x

Vigilante: Oh, the ones in here are just for display- you should totally come over and see the rest!!!! Vigilante: Anything cool in your motel room? 

Blackbird: IDK… this mirror is pretty nice x

You wander over to your bed as you flick through the selfies you took. Hesitating, you decide to send him the one of you sitting on the sink. 

Vigilante: Did you realise your reflection is visible?

You blink at your screen. Your ass is literally the main focus of the picture. 

Blackbird: That was sort of the point Adrian… x

Vigilante: NOICE!!!! In that case, I am SO glad I came home. I would literally never leave home again if you wanted me to. 

Fondness for him cascades through you and it makes your cheeks grow hot. He is so whole-heartedly earnest about his thoughts and feelings, it makes you wish you told him how good he looked when he sent you his picture. 

Does he know he’s good at getting you flustered over text? Your brows knit together as you remember Chris telling the group about their strings of one-night stands together and horror strikes you.

Blackbird: Adrian, I need you to know that if you show that to anyone I will not hesitate to murder you in cold blood. I’m not one of your women to be shared with Peacemaker. 

There's a pause and you watch the three dots moving as Adrian writes his reply. 

Vigilante: Okay first of all showing your pics to Peacemaker without consent would be classed as REVENGE PORN which - by the way - is ILLEGAL. I’ve killed people for less!!! Vigilante: Second of all there is no way I would ever break your trust Birdie. You are my second BFF.

Oh no, a pang of guilt. Of course, he wouldn’t do that. Another message pings. 

Vigilante: Thirdly you could never murder me because I am a much better marksman AND better in combat AND I know how to disarm you. 

You scoff silently. You could definitely beat Vigilante in a fight. 

Vigilante: And last of all, you are mine and I would never share you [Merman emoji]

You are mine. Your eyes rake over the black pixels on your screen. Mine. Fuck, why is your heart rate increasing? Warmth creeps in deep in your tummy. You smile and shake your head at his audacity. 

Blackbird: Ahem, yours?? x

Vigilante: Yup. At least your pussy is 

Blackbird: Hmmmm is that so? x

Vigilante: I’m the only one who can make you cum (and that’s including you btw) I can show you how if you’re nice to me for like 5 seconds.

Blackbird: I’m not sure I know how to be nice x

Vigilante: It was pretty nice of you to send me a pic of your ass… Vigilante: BTW I will delete that pic if you’re worried. Just give me 3-5 minutes with it. I know the drill - burn after jerking. 

You laugh silently but his consideration for your situation makes you melt. It makes you want to get on your knees for him to show your appreciation.

But he’s not here so instead you finish the rest of your drink in one quick gulp, lift the bottom of your shirt up, exposing your tits, snap another mirror selfie and hit send. 

Blackbird: Don’t delete this one x

Vigilante: Fuck, Birdie you have the most perfect tits I have ever seen. I mean it.  Vigilante: Even if I do delete it, this pic is now uploaded permanently into my spank bank. 

Blackbird: Is this all you needed to keep you off the streets? Just a little peek of me? x

Vigilante: YUP. And I am so fucking turned on right now. I wish you were here.

Blackbird: Show me x

Ping. Another picture. This time you need to sit down on the edge of the bathtub to steady yourself.

It’s just his body - he’s still wearing his Vigilante suit but a familiarly shaped hard bulge protrudes against the fabric. Your breath hitches and you can feel the steady beat of your heart pounding in your chest. You’re a bundle of nerves and you want to see more. Swallowing thickly you type:

Blackbird: You look v sexy in your suit <3 x

Vigilante: Birdie? Is that an actual compliment?! I think it’s the first nice thing you’ve ever said to me.

You’re no good at expressing your feelings but he needs to know how ridiculously hot he looks in his suit. A vivid image flashes through your mind of a masked vigilante breaking into your motel room, holding you down and covering your mouth while he fucks you. Fuck, the imaginary scene nearly burns a hole through you as you wander back to the bed.

Blackbird: Have you ever had sex in your mask? x

Vigilante: I basically only have sex in my mask. Secret identity is kind of a bummer. 

Except for last night. Though you did burst into his tent and catch him off guard. But how does he…

Blackbird: How do you kiss? Or…do anything else? x

Vigilante: Kissing, cuddling, eating pussy - three things I can’t do as Vigilante. You were the best thing I’ve tasted in a LONG time. 

You sit down on the edge of the bed and cross your legs, trying to stop yourself from squirming. The more turned on he makes you, the more reckless you become. In just a few texts you go from a tough superhero intelligence officer with a reputation to protect to a simpering mess with no regard for professionalism.

Blackbird: You are so fucking good at eating me out Adrian. I wish you were here x

Vigilante: You’re gonna make me jizz in my pants if you keep saying stuff like that. 

Blackbird: Hey not yet- I have more to show you x

Vigilante: Fuck. Seeing you talk like this makes me wish I could hear you in person.

Blackbird: You wouldn’t like me if I could talk again. People said I was very unkind - to put it mildly x

Vigilante: HAHA as if I can’t tell what all those eye rolls mean. You’re such a meanie but you LIKE me. 

Everything just bounces off of Adrian. Every cutting glance from you or dismissive comment from Harcourt. Even the time Peacemaker just let Goff torture him. The world is literally ending and Adrian is just riding the wave and enjoying being included in this mission. You wish you could take a leaf out his book and be less serious in the face of an alien invasion.

You hold your phone to your chest and lie back on the crisp white linen bed sheets. Staring at the ceiling you wonder what it would be like to be here with Adrian, in an actual bed rather than in a sleeping bag. Both uninjured and free to take your time, not worrying about other people catching you.

You take your T-shirt off completely this time. You snap a selfie with you laid back on the bed and send it to him.

The phone starts ringing immediately. 

‘Vigilante is requesting video chat’

Here goes nothing. You accept.

“Fuuuuuuuuck.” He drags a hand from over his eyes down his face. You hold the phone still above you. “I just had to check if you were real, Birdie. For a second I thought ‘What if last night was an insanely realistic wet dream and now I’m speaking to a snarky but sexy AI bot’. But you are real.” 

From what you can see on the screen, he’s shirtless too. As he stretches out getting comfortable on his bed, one hand behind his head, you can appreciate his broad shoulders and chest. A flicker of animalistic urge to bite the exposed underside of his arm leaps through you. 

You bring up the keyboard. 

Blackbird: I’m glad last night wasn’t just a dream either x

You watch his face as he reads your words pop up on his screen, blue light reflecting on his glasses. He lights up with a wide smile and it makes your heart leap. You tilt the camera down and gently run your fingers up and down your exposed stomach and tits, your fingertips gently tickling your skin. You hear his breath catch in his throat. You move the phone camera back up to your face and slowly, deliberately suck your fingers and move them inside your underwear to start gently circling your clit. 

Your phone remains pointed at your face so he can watch you sink back into the soft pillows and close your eyes as your movements pick up the pace.

“L- let me see. Please.” he chokes. You shake your head, the corners of your mouth turning upwards in a smirk. You open your eyes and nod towards him. You first.

He removes his hand from behind his head and flips to the back-facing camera so it’s almost like you’re watching from his point of view. He unzips his black kevlar-weave trousers and tugs down his boxers. His cock is hard already. You swallow thickly- you forgot how big he was. Taking it in his hand, he slowly jerks himself up and down. 

How did all of that fit in you? You need to inhale and exhale deeply, steadying yourself. You remember the stretching feeling as he slowly entered you, pressing his forehead against yours and checking you were okay. Oh fuck, the memory makes you speed your fingers up. You move the camera down your body so Adrian can see your fingers working in your underwear. 

“Hold on a sec.”

He pauses what he’s doing and urgently takes off the bottom half of his Vigilante suit. He recentres the camera and lets you see him now fully naked. You can see the strong outline of the muscles on his thighs and decide you’d quite like to bite them too.

“Fuck, I wish you were here. You felt so fucking good last night, the way you took all of my dick in that tent like such a good girl for me.”

You writhe back into the pillows as pleasure begins to wash over you.

“Please… show me how you do it baby. Let me see that perfect pussy again.”

It’s too much, his words make you let out a small moan and - CRACK. The sound of glass breaking. You jump in fright. Fuck! The alarm clock on the motel bedside table is shattered in pieces.

“Woah, are you okay?” Adrian returns to the front-facing camera and adjusts his glasses.

You nod and show him the broken alarm clock. You check for any pieces that might have landed on the bed and he waits patiently.

“Hey at least it wasn’t your phone!” he says enthusiastically. You frown. You should have realised something like this would happen. It’s too dangerous to do this - especially on your own. “C’mon Birdie, it’s okay… I personally think it’s really hot that you could kill both of us by cumming. As far as powers go, you’ve gotta admit that’s pretty OP.”

You give him an embarrassed smile. “Is there somewhere you can balance your phone so you have both hands free?”

You carefully place your phone against the lamp on the bedside table and kneel on the bed in front of it. His eyes look you over from your head to where your knees connect with the mattress.

“Fuck, you look so beautiful,” You blush hot red again and he smiles reassuringly “I can’t believe I get to see you like this.” He is being so sweet and it’s killing you. Last night he was teasing you so much that you’re actually beginning to wonder if he was just getting back at you for being so rude to him the past few weeks. 

You feel exposed, almost the full length of your body is on display on your video tile. The thought of him seeing all of you out so brazenly makes the hairs on your arms stand up. You’re brave in the field but being so openly vulnerable takes a different kind of boldness you don’t get to exercise often.

Heart pounding in your chest, you slip your underwear off and throw them aside. That’s it, nowhere and nothing to hide now. He groans and angles his phone down his body so you can see him stroking his cock, a clear bead of precum leaks from the tip from it. 

You move your hands over your body and watch his eyes follow them. You pinch your nipples and move one hand down to your clit again. “Wait, Birdie, do exactly as I say,” he interrupts “We don’t want you sending a sonic boom through to Harcourt’s room this time.” You bite your lip and nod slowly, it would be embarrassing to say the least, having to explain why the wall between your rooms was rubble if something did go wrong.

“Get on your hands and knees for me,” It’s forward, direct but he says it with such confidence that you don’t even think twice about doing so, obediently. It reminds you of the way he effortlessly relays instructions at you in combat. “Now grab that pillow… lay your head on it and put your other hand down between your knees.” You feel your insides buzzing as you lie, literally face-down ass-up, waiting for him to tell you what to do next.

“Now use that hand to touch your clit for me.” This is obscene, you think but you do it anyway, your head on one side so you can look at Adrian on your phone. He drags his hand up and down the length of himself more slowly than before, taking his time and enjoying the scene in front of him. 

“When you start to get close you can turn your head into your pillow and let it out,” he says, watching your figure, side-on as your walls start to clench, begging to be filled. You allow yourself to test it out quietly, biting down on the linen and polyester and letting a small cry out. It vibrates but nothing else happens. You hear him let out a small whimper at the sight of you biting into your pillow. “Fuck, Birdie, have you ever thought about OnlyFans? I’d subscribe.”

The jape unlocks something in your brain. Shyness quickly disappearing, you turn your body another 90 degrees so that he’s looking at you directly from behind. You open up your knees wider and adjust the pillow so you can lie your head back down. All he’ll be able to see is your spread legs, ass and soaking wet cunt. Your fingers reach down to stroke your wet folds.

“Hooooooly fuck- that view. Keep doing that. No, wait- just your clit. I want to see your pussy leaking for me.”

Your muffled whine is impatient. It’s almost embarrassing how wet you are for him but you can tell from the way his breathing is getting quicker that he’s getting close, just from looking at you like this.

“Hey, look at me Birdie.”

You turn your head and look past the side of your body, and see him on the carefully balanced phone screen. 

“You know what you are, right?”

You bite your lip. I’m a slut, I’m a fucking slut touching myself on camera for you, Adrian.

“You’re mine. And that beautiful pussy belongs to me.”

Oh. It’s too. Fucking. Much. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t stop your fingers as they bury deep inside you curling up and tapping a frantic rhythm while the heel of your hand puts delicious pressure on your clit. 

You can’t see him anymore but he makes sure to narrate it for you. “That’s it. Think about me fucking you as you’re doing it, B.” You hear the wet slick of his own hand speeding up too.

You close your eyes and as you curl your fingers inside yourself, you imagine Adrian’s huge cock filling you up. The way he’d grab your hips, smack your ass and bite your shoulder as he thrusted deep inside you. 

“I love this angle. Keep doing that for me. Fuck, you look amazing like this.”

Letting out another sigh into your pillow, you feel the swell coming, feeling immense satisfaction that Adrian is watching you on his phone and furiously pleasuring himself, he too imagining that he was pounding into you deep from behind.

“You’re doing s-so good, baby. Such - such a good girl.” he stutters and inhales sharply.

In response you bounce your hips a little, in sync with your fingers, wishing you were backing up and gyrating into his hips. You take another peek at your screen to see his head leaning back and his Adam's apple moving as he swallows and clenches his jaw. He looks back at the screen and catches your eye “So… f-fucking… hot.” he pants. You feel another jolt of searing heat between your legs. Your pussy desperately clenches around your fingers, wishing it was his cock.

“Say my name when you cum for me. Come on, you can do it. Into the pillow.”

The pillow envelopes your face just in time for you to moan his name.

The whole bed shakes violently this time. You tumble straight into your release as you continue to whimper. It’s hot and wet and desperate, heat radiates from your centre, making your knees tremble weakly as the orgasm rips through you.

“I’m gonna- I’m - fuuuuck.” Adrian groans and you move your head again to watch him finish. His eyes squeeze shut and he shudders, thick ropes of cum shooting out onto his chest and stomach. 

You lie still for a few more moments, your leaking entrance still twitching and exposed to the camera while you eventually catch your breath. You crawl around to grab your phone and roll onto your back, holding the screen above you.

You both stare at each other, flushed and glowing with sweat. Adrian adjusts his glasses, wipes himself off with a towel and lies on his side, one arm propping his head up. You think it would be very comfy to nuzzle into the crook of his neck right now. Maybe you’d trace your fingers over his scars and listen to him talk about how he got each one.

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. And trust me, I’ve watched a lot of stuff.”

You smile in a self-satisfied sort of way and pull up the keyboard.

Blackbird: I like seeing you too. And hearing you talk to me x

“Okay, so we need to do this again in person next time.”

Blackbird: I’d like that x

“And can you admit you like me yet?”

You give him an indifferent jerk of the head but he reads through you and grins triumphantly.

Blackbird: Okay I DO like you Adrian. But I’m just not sure if we should be doing this at all x

“I get it if you’re embarrassed to be with me - we don’t have to tell the rest of the team.”

You shake your head fervently. Relief washes over his face. 

Blackbird: It’s not that… I can’t let myself fall for someone when I need to leave the country right after this mission x

You also don’t trust Amanda Waller or MI6 right now and don’t want to give them any personal leverage. But you can’t put that anywhere in writing. Even in an encrypted message to Adrian. It’d be too dangerous for both of you. 

“Wait - are you saying you’re falling for me?”

You freeze- your mouth opens stupidly as you reread your last message. Shit.

“Because Birdie I fell for you the first time I saw your burst someone’s head open with your sonic scream. You’re the hottest, most badass person I’ve ever met. And if you feel even sort of the same way, it would be stupid to ignore it- right?”

Blackbird: I think it’s stupid to even discuss it. We shouldn’t get attached when I live on another continent x

“Yeah but you’ll only live there if you actually survive!” he says with newfound enthusiasm “There’s like a really high chance we’ll both die pretty soon.”

Blackbird: And if we’re both fortunate enough to live? x

“Eh,” he shrugs “Sounds like a problem for future us to worry about. No point dwelling on hypotheticals.”

You wrinkle your nose but butterflies dance in your tummy with excitement. Okay, we’re doing this…. and if we both live long enough for me to go home, we can call it a summer fling and move on.

Blackbird: Fuck it. If we’re gonna die we might as well hook up a few more times… :) x

Adrian rolls onto his back and punches the air “Go out with a bang. Literally.” he pauses “Are you going to start putting two x’s at the end of your texts to me now?” 

You pull up your keyboard. 

Blackbird: Yes xxxxx

Chapter 3: The Spy Who Came Out in the Cold

[mrlarkstin]

DT rant below the cut

I'm not looking forward to spoiler embargo being up. I'm really not. Between people who have ShB on this weird untouchable pedestal where everything that came before and everything that comes after it is shit and people who nit pick every little thing- I'm not looking forward to it at all. I'm really not.

The bird app is going to be hell and I'm not looking forward to it.

There is a huge difference between constructive criticism and valid concerns and just being an obnoxious hater for no reason.

I've seen very little in terms of legit open discussions around DT and it's more "I hate it so you should to and I won't take no for an answer so fuck you and your enjoyment!!"

You can enjoy it and still have valid concerns, you can enjoy it and still have discussions around it. Having discussions is fun! But it's not fun when the other party is just "no I hate it so you should too and I won't listen to you so fuck you!"

And don't even get me started on how awful people are being to Wuk Lamats VA.

Spoiler embargo being up is going to SUCK

[rainbowsky]

Hi RBS,

Hope you are doind good !

I saw a lot of discussion on the bird app about the editor on the boat being a creep with WYB.

He looked really comfortable and happy to me. I have not seen him smile so much at an event in recent times…

So, wanted to know if I am reading the situation wrong ..

Hi Choko! I'm doing well, thanks - hope you are too! 💛.

Rocco Liu was not weird in any way with DD. They have known each other for years, and seem to have a normal relationship. DD does not look even remotely ill at ease, so if people think that he was being a creeper, then it only follows that DD was okay with it. Is that what people are trying to put out into the world? 🤔

One thing that I find frustrating about the fandom is that there seem to be quite a few people who try to look for something negative or melodramatic in everything that happens.

This is especially true when it comes to DD. People are constantly trying to make it out like he's crying or sad or unhappy or angry or even hostile or 'rude'. It seems like some people do not know how to read his demeanor at all.

There was a hot search on Weibo during that boat ride, something like "GQ awkward boat ride" or something along those lines. I think it's understandable that people found the boat ride a little bit awkward. I think the whole boat concept in general was awkward, not just with DD but all of the stars. But at least all of the other stars only took a minute or two to get across the water. They seemed to intentionally drag the final boat ride out and it ended up two or three times as long as the rest of them.

EDIT: If you're wondering why there was some tension at times, here's what their view was from the boat:

Awkwardness is one thing. I think anyone with a million spotlights on them taking a weird boat ride that was two or three times longer than necessary could be forgiven for appearing to look forward to the thing being over. 😅😅😅 But to start trying to create all these other kinds of melodramas around it... it doesn't serve any useful purpose besides pointless negative gossip.

During the boat ride both of them looked like I think you or I would have looked; at moments relaxed and laughing, and at moments feeling a little bit 'deer in the headlights'. But toward each other they seemed overall pretty at ease.

In fact DD looked more relaxed than he would have with a lot of other people. He didn't behave in a formal way at all, and I think we all know how formal he can be with people he's uncomfortable with.

Rocco is rumored to be gay, which makes sense because he reads to me as a very queer guy. He reminds me so much of certain queer guys I've been close with.

Gay or not, he seems like the kind of guy I think DD would be comfortable around at times, and other times vaguely annoyed by, just given Rocco's social exuberance and how different it is from DD's quiet, calm personality. But every time I've seen him and DD together they've looked mostly relaxed - even in the clips where people are claiming DD looks uncomfortable - and Rocco has behaved respectfully and professionally toward him.

And I have to say it because it really stands out in this situation: I hope to hell this 'creeper' take isn't motivated by homophobia. There are a lot of people who assume the worst of any overtly queer person, or assume that all homosexuals are always on the prowl.

It's one thing to read a relative stranger weirdly, though, it's another thing entirely to read DD in negative ways.

This type of thing is really nothing new. Every time DD appears in public my inbox fills with claims DD looked sad, or lonely, or upset, or uncomfortable, or even angry or rude. This is one of the hazards of being a pretty calm guy like DD is.

I know this all too well as an autistic person who doesn't have a lot the kinds of facial expressions I'm apparently expected to have. My face is almost always pretty neutral.

Throughout my life I've had to deal with people thinking I'm mad at them, upset, unhappy, sad, and on and on and on. I've had people come to me with entire stories in their head about what I'm thinking and feeling, and why - stories they've cooked up around their own insecurities and expectations, which are totally inaccurate.

And it's always struck me as odd that people would think such things. I don't hide my feelings. I'm pretty direct and forthright, and I don't deal in hints or subtext or try to lead people down a psychological path or play mind games. I don't have any time or patience for that kind of thing - not from either side of the situation.

DD is the same way. He doesn't mess around or perform social behavior the way he's expected to. He doesn't make himself out to be fakely exuberant or cheerful, nor does he hold back his honest feelings when something bothers him. He doesn't conform to expectations or put on a show for people. He's just himself.

Most of his fans have come to understand this about him and have grown to love his honest, authentic, straighforward personality and accept that with DD, 'what you see is what you get'. But there are some people who still seem to read things negatively and expect him to be someone he isn't.

That's my take on it, anyway. Everyone will have to make up their own minds about how to interpret things.

Edit: If you are wondering whether DD is comfortable with Rocco, you might want to take a look at this clip.

For those who missed the event posts:

My GQ MOTY posts

Boat ride

Brick red carpet

[ppenvs3000w24]

Blog 7: Planting musical roots

I believe music in nature is very easy to find. Birds are found on every continent and sea birds such as the Albatross spend most of their life at sea or near water. One could even say that it is very difficult to find a location where birds have not colonized. One of the unique aspects of birds is their mating rituals, which involve multiple dance routines, plumage colors, structures such as nests, and, most importantly, songs.

Male Bowerbird decorating its nest with bright objects to attract a potential mate.

Bird songs and calls are perhaps the most recognizable characteristics of birds apart from their wings and beaks. Many bird species identification books and keys use bird songs and calls to identify the species since you cannot always see a bird, but you can definitely hear it. Characterizing bird songs as music, as defined by humans, tends to be controversial. Musicians, composers, scientists, researchers, and bird experts cannot agree that bird songs are music. One of this week’s assigned papers, ‘The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music’ by Gray et al. (2001) supports that bird songs are music but articles over the years from (2012) and (2023) still showcase that the discussion is ongoing and will likely not reach a concrete conclusion any time soon.

Nature in music is, in my opinion, vague. Can you call a song describing a couple’s divorce, written after the author went on a nature hike as being inspired by nature? Does the song have to mention or explicitly revolve around nature to be considered as a song inspired by nature? I do not know, to be honest, but that’s the beauty of music as an art form, it's subjective, so you can define nature in music however you want.

Plant Wave in progress, where electric singnals from the plant are being converted to music.

Regarding nature in music, I want to talk about a specific type of music or phone application; Plant Wave. Plant Wave is a phone application that converts electrical signals produced by plants into music that plays through the app by using a sensor that is hooked up to the plant. The creator of Plant Wave, Joe Patitucci, has released some songs he has made using plants. I personally find this fascinating since you do not think about plants when it comes to music but Joe Patitucci did, and he has opened a gateway for people to enjoy nature even more through Plant Wave.

My story revolving plant wave is funny as I found one of Joe’s songs on Spotify while listening to a playlist about space themed synthwave music (think about the interstellar movie theme). I found this rather amusing because while looking for music relating to the vastness of space, I ended up back on Earth listening to a plant’s electronic signals instead. This scenario showcases how the reach of nature can be further expanded using media as described by this week’s assigned textbook chapter reading. If Joe had not decided to share his nature experience with the public, I would have never gone down the rabbit hole that was plant wave.

C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song being performed live in public for the first time

As for a song that takes me back to natural landscape, I think about the CAMPFIRE song song (yes it is song song, not a typo) from SpongeBob Squarepants. The whole episode revolves around how camping can be fun and dangerous. Nowadays, whenever I hear camping or campfire, that song immediately comes to my mind, especially the sear bear scene (if you have watched the episode, you know the sea bear scene).

[minggukieology]

Hello hello,

I am new around here. I really enjoy Kookmin’s bond, and I am also a researcher in the narrative space. I found you on Twitter and I was so impressed with your transparent, eloquent commentary on this whole thing. Thank you for running this blog. My question might be odd, but I am really curious to see how much of this ship/fan wars translate within the Korean social media space? The last few days have been nothing less than hell on the bird app, the anon requests on some of the blogs here are just people thinking they are so slick, but are just purely undermining Kookmin’s bond. I assume Naver is like one stop destination for SNS in Korea. I also see that the members have quit Twitter officially (I have no doubt they lurk though). Are ship wars this intense in the online spaces in Korea? Is it between the same ones we see on the I-Army side? I know shipping is a common theme in the pop space there and people might have healthier approach to it? This is also me being wishful that the members don’t see the pure vitriol that’s being expressed. Thank you in advance.

Hi, there! Thanks a lot for your nice message 😊

To put it shortly: no, such shipwars don't typically happen within k-army online spaces (at least not in the same way we know them) because there is never any need for debate around any meanings of words and no wiggle room for alternative explanations and seeing hidden signs in shadows. However, that doesn't mean that I have not come across any Korean accounts on Twitter that like to twist narratives and *especially* in case when their desired narratives feed into what their non-Korean speaking followers want to hear (they do like to take advantage of that language + cultural gap). As with every assessment though, Koreans are not a monolith, the same goes for k-armys or any netizens. There are some general tendencies but there will always be exceptions. Also it is important to note, even though the fandom largely organizes on the Twitter platform, I find it it less prominent among Korean ARMYs as to the amount of time they spend on there and the conversations that are held there.

From my perspective (my subjective opinion, therefore isn't unbiased and might not be representative of the whole community) ships or to be more accurate 'duos' / 'insert name line' are first and foremost among the majority about the members' chemistry, cute moments, looks, vocals and performances together; not about any potential romantic involvement of the two (that is not to say there are absolutely no Korean shippers of course). It is important to remember that the general premise has been that the idol sells their Korean fans the idea of a boyfriend/girlfriend, therefore the whole fantasy revolves around him/her and the fans having a connection, hence why for example idol dating life is still a big no no in the public etc.

To add, sadly since Korean fans can't get away with twisting the meanings of what the boys said (unless they want to appear ridiculous and stupid) the 'wars' therefore turn more vicious than that. There are some prominent 악개 akgae groups within the BTS fandom too which use all kinds of tactics to tarnish the reputation of the other members by spreading rumors through Korean forums, discussion boards, trending tags and by even reaching out to Korean reporters to run stories based on false evidence. So I would say, these things do happen, just in a different way because Korean online space can be truly unhinged.

I don't believe the members have ever witnessed any of the craziness on the international side as it for the most part thankfully only happens on the international side (objectivelly imagine if Koreans were having real arguments over, for example, the meaning of 동생 'dongsaeng' 😂😂😂 it sounds absolutely ridiculous). And in the instances they did, when e.g. someone tried to push a 'ship' narrative on any of them directly, we got the infamous 'get out of your imagination' response.

Hope I answered your message clearly and covered all your points. Once again, thanks a lot for reaching out!

[dropthedemiurge]

Guide of my creations

For all the new people stumbling upon my blog – I know it's very confusing, but I do have some art and fanfics and indie games and other stuff. I finally got around to collect all the links and tags here, thank you for the pressure xD

Feel free to interact even with old stuff and send me asks about anything, even if you just want to chat or discuss new thai lakorn.

Welcome, take some pizza and roam around!

ART COMMISSIONS POST [currently open, DM for more]

ART TAGS:

#my works — everything from art to animations to flash games to random edits etc

#dropthefanart – my fanart (2021-present, mostly Thai BL series + K-pop)

#phanart — Dan and Phil fanart (also animations and flash games)

#supernatural — Supernatural fanart (quite old tho xD)

#dropthegame — my future visual novels (I'll update other games to this tag later)

#dropthemeta — some of my meta posts for Thai BL series

FANFICS:

#dropthefanfic — my recent fanfics (also mostly Thai BLs)

(AO3) Birds On Concrete Wall (Thai BLs and my passionate practice of writing in English)

(AO3) AmetistLex (K-pop, iKON, I have a huge desire to delete it all but for now it's there)

Ficbook (Fanfics in russian + Bad Buddy novel translation)

OTHER:

Love for Love's Sake translation+culture details+meta

Time of Fever recap (Unintentional Love Story spinoff spoilers)

My social media (iKON, phanart, album designs, AR apps, IG masks and filters, vlogs and my other creative projects)

My website with cool projects I made inspired by K-pop group iKON (and their approval :3)

List with my plans and ideas (messy)

[lunarriviera]

so a few months ago some of us on the bird app were discussing the beautiful incoherent banners that one might espy around, um, Dragon of City; and then, well, my finger slipped, and— Haixingren, don't say I never gave you anything. [redbubble]

(@dragoncityinteriordesign I believe these might be your screencaps? I couldn't find a simplified Chinese typeface quite chunky enough for the main text but I tried. dear lord did i try. you wouldn't believe how much time i spent making the type design as absolutely awkward as I possibly could, weirdly letterspaced and with strange greyscale effluvia/ejaculate behind it)

[mayasdeluca]

Do you think you’ll ever leave Twitter? After making likes private now they’re going to make bookmarks public?? It’s such a hellsite but I can’t leave it. I prefer tumblr for fandom but the s19 fandom is so dead here, it’s like Twitter has all the content. And the fomo I have keeps me there lol. Like I want to know what my fave actors are up to lol not to mention hardly any fic writers are on here. They’re all active on the bird app. But god the discourse is awful. Your blog really is the only s19 source. I always check to see if you’ve updated 😆

I can't believe they're going to make bookmarks public now like...what is the point? Making likes privates was a horrible choice too. They just kept making awful decisions so between that and the Marina fandom causing drama every single day it's just not enjoyable anymore. I don't think I'd ever leave completely though because like you said I can't leave it either and I get fomo too lol but I just don't post as much as I used to because it's not fun anymore and when drama stuff happens it's just not worth getting involved.

And yes most of the fic writers are active there and posting updates/sneak peaks about their fics and stuff so I'd definitely stick around for that but part of me is hoping the toxic part of the fandom eventually moves on but the ones who are weirdly parasocial with Danielle and Stefania and have met them probably never will and they're the problem so it's unfortunate. I'll definitely do my best to try and keep things active and alive on here! Posting whatever content we get and continuing to make Marina stuff and I'm always up for discussion about them :)