#hes literally a cat dad what do u expect

[anayaslvr]

this is a very random thought but

max verstappen is the type of guy to text you 'okie' 😭😭😭😭😭

[obsessedwrhys]

okokokok HEAR ME OUT !… rottmnt brothers x a gn! younger adopted sibling medusa hcs… whose snakes are lowkey protective of them… sometimes they act on their own but if the reader is feeling an emotion strongly they’ll feel that emotion… yeah… (can you also make the reader calm, collected and reserved?)

(Idk if ur reqs are closed or not so u can do this later or delete it if you want)

ROTTMNT X MEDUSA!READER

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ fluff, bit of angst, reader is gn!! (Look at how cute they are)

RAPH

As babies he was always so scared of the snakes on your head. Like what do you mean it's supposed to be your hair? How does that even work?

Every now and then when he's passing by your room, he couldn't help but sneak a glance of you pampering to the snakes. It's just so amusing to see you treat them as if they have a mind of their own.

Which they do in some cases.

Growing up together, he has gotten use to the fact that the snakes happen to also feel whatever emotions you feel. Anger. Despair. Joy.

Never in his life would he ever think to see a hundred snakes smiling at him. But oh well, at least you're happy.

He is honestly very astonished with your ability to turn any living or non-living things to stone.

There was this one time where you guys were fighting and a member of the foot clan managed to sneak up behind you, but due to your enhanced reflexes, you were fast enough to turn him into stone. You simply blew at the sculpture and eventually it loses its balance and falls.

Remind him to never mess with you 'cause being turned into stone does not look fun.

Despite your scary appearance, you were the most chill person in the group. You would always be found either in the living room watching tv or in your room doing your thing.

What I'm trying to say is that you're the least expected sibling to create the huge mess of the day for everyone to deal with.

He doesn't find the snakes on your head too much of a deal, he cares and loves you all the more.

LEO

He finds the snakes on your head so cool!!

Since ya'll were kids, he's been constantly storming up with stupid tricks or ideas to do with you.

And you obliged each time because you didn't feel like it was anything dangerous. Most of the time you guys end up having fun.

He has once asked you to turn Donnie to stone. Obviously you said no.

Even though your ability to turn people to stone is irreversible, it still doesn't give you the excuse to just do it to anyone or anything as you liked. Which is the same thing you've said to Leo multiple times and he always let's out an annoyed groan at your reminder.

He 100% picks fight with the snakes on your head. Always sneakily poking one or pulling one (obvs not that hard) when it's not looking, what he doesn't realise is that you can feel it too. He's been bit many times for doing that but he never learns.

He just enjoys messing with you :(

It's the sibling energy in him.

Did I forget to mention how he managed to convince you to turn him to stone in order to escape Raph's lecture? Yeah that happened.

I've said this before and I'll say this again, he definitely makes terrible dad jokes related to snakes towards you. It always entertains him and him only.

"You know, people always say snakes are so venomous but I think they're just slitherin around"

"That was terrible Leo"

He likes to hug you because he just loves the feeling of the snakes on your head rubbing against his face. It's like the same feeling you feel when a cat rubs it's face against your face. So relaxing.

He loves to especially bury his face into them.

It weirds out the others but you don't mind as long as he doesn't hurt you or the snakes.

He just LOVE LOVE LOVESSSSS it.

Also the way your eyes glows red alongside the snakes whenever you turn something to stone? You look ethereal!!

And the tiny traces of scales across your skin??? Badass!!

He'll literally wear a cheerleader fit and swing around pong pongs to cheer you on.

DONNIE

Since you were kids, he was always drawn towards the snakes on your head. He always wondered how did it even get there.

He once accidentally pulled on one of the snakes as a kid and the bite on his hand is now scarred to life.

He doesn't tell you but he thinks the snakes looks great on you, the green matching the green in your eyes is like the cherry on top. Not to mention your fashion sense is amazing!!

He doesn't mind having you stay in his lab, you're not loud and don't disturb his work which he appreciates it.

I like to think that whenever he's bored, he'll probably approach you to examine on the snakes on your head. You don't really mind and just continue on doing whatever it is that you were doing in the first place.

Though, there was this one time you caught him waving at the snakes and smiled when they all greet him back.

He definitely asks questions about stuff.

Some of the questions that still stuck to you was "If you used a mirror and activated your power, will you be able to turn yourself to stone?" And "Do the snakes on your head grow like hair?"

The last one might be true in a way. The snakes only extends when you want it to. You just do it when it's convenient, whether to toss a bad guy away or to grab a cup of coffee on the table.

He would hyperfixate on Greek Mythology when he sees the obvious similarity. However it just made his brain spin even more. Were you also cursed? He never knew how to ask you about that since he's afraid to trigger your emotions.

The last time he did that the snakes on your head all began hissing at him, not to mention seconds away from attacking him.

But it doesn't matter, you'll tell everyone when you want to. All he knows is that you grew up together and care about each other, that's already enough.

MIKEY

Oooh snakes.

I just have a feeling that since babies, the snakes on your head has always been so affectionate towards Mikey.

Like out of all the brothers, he's the only one they let him do things with. Helping you do different hairstyles, feeding them and even giving them accessories. Anything he can do to make you look glamorous.

He also happen to name each of the snakes. He says he doesn't have a favourite but it's way too obvious that you're his favourite.

He hates it however when you're sad, the way the snakes on your head pretty much drops with a frown breaks his heart.

Everytime Leo decides to mess with you, Mikey is 100% already there and simply standing menacingly behind him, waiting for him to finally notice him.

"He's standing behind me isn't he?"

"😡"

A lot of the days where its sunny, he would definitely take you go swimming. He knows how frustrated you get when it's too hot.

Same goes to when it's winter, this boy will go out of his way to make a comfortable beanie for you to use and for the snakes to nestle in.

Also you have a big appetite but do not fear!! He will prepare you the most delicious meal you'll ever eat!!

You're surprisingly good at communicating with animals. You've befriended some of the rats in the sewer and he can't help but call you the "Rat Whisperer"

He loves hanging out with you, whether if it's doing nothing together or having fun, he likes spending every second with you.

[jwonsite]

hii ely happy halloween !! <333 it's my fav holiday and even if i don't really celebrate it i'm so excited. i was wondering if you could write some halloween hcs with bonedo??? i'm missing them a lot lately T-T fluff, suggestive or smut, whatever you prefer! tytyty 😽

btw i will be considering making a blog so if i do dw i'll moot you instantly <3

— 🐈‍⬛

happy halloween bby!!! i also loveee halloween but honestly don’t get to celebrate it too much cuz it’s my dads bday so im usually forced to be home spending time w the fam instead of out and about but i love halloween sm🥹 i also had class today all day sadly so i couldn’t do anything 💔 and yes def moot me ahhhh always looking for some inspo you seem like you have a good brain☺️☺️

i was thinking about jae and some halloween hcs so i’m super excited to right this HEHE

tw: suggestive in hyung lines i think, mostly fluff, mentions of horror movies and characters

sungho -

would be the sweetest boy!! honestly would go along w any costume you asked for

maybe it’s just me but he would be such a good flynn rider… his long pretty hair and slim waist he would look soooo freaking good in the costume, and would love matching you if you dressed as rapunzel!!

but honestly even if you chose any sort of silly costume he would love to match with you too🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

gru and a minion? he’s down. teletubbies? he’s also down. the lorax costumes? absolutely

he just loves seeing you happy!!

if you do dress up in something that highlights just how pretty you are,, he would be reeling a bit ngl

wanting to be alll over you and next to you,, constantly holding your hand while you guys are out and holding you sooo close to him

when you guys get home,, expect to be showered in affection, kissing alllll over you and marking you up so prettily so that everyone can see that your his!!

riwoo -

honestly riwoo would be such a silly boy🤕

he would LOVE looking for costumes together, like he’s gonna be so active in picking one out for the both of you

i def see him getting multiple costumes too for the diff parties you guys go to, one silly one, one really cute one, and one scary one

i also see him loving going to parties and stuff around this time of year, i mean it’s an excuse to just get dressed up and go out so why not!!

i def think he would also be super possessive, but in a more subtle way

leaving a pretty mark on your shoulder before you both left the house, so that even when he’s not with you everyone knows you’re taken

or just bringing you up in every single conversation he can

he’s a little down bad!!!

when you guys get home, def expect to be cuddled up and watching a halloween movie,, that won’t last very long before you both get distracted with the others lips tho☺️

jaehyun -

myungjae my best boy :(((

i am being totally biased to what i was thinking about earlier so that’s what you guys are gonna hear 🧎‍♂️

i think jae would love spending time at home with you on halloween!

sitting on your front porch with your last minute makeshift cat and dog makeup handing out candy to the kids

once you guys run out he’s totally asking to put on some comfy pajamas and cuddle up in bed, turning on some scary movies for you two to watch (he wants you to get scared and get as close to him as possible!)

he would have all the best snacks and food too,, literally would be so comfy and fun

he would love feeling like he’s protecting you while you watch the movie :(

holding you tight and close to him, telling you that you’re okay and that the scary scene on the tv in front of you is over!!

would give you so many kisses on your head and cheeks,, he’s so clingy it’s adorable

overall best boy so cuddly and handsome ugh :(( my sweet boy i love him so bad u guys don’t get it

taesan -

feel like taesan likes standing outside and scaring the children don’t ask questions you know i’m right.

like he would literally go out and buy a costume just so that he can stand out there and scare all the tweens/teens that come to the house😭

of course not the babies!! bring him a babygirl and he’s immediately taking his mask off and reaching into the bowl to grab a giant handful of candy to give to the sweet little girl

like he would just love interacting with the kids and having sm fun :((

he would love just spending that time w you and being so,, domestic about it. he just loves that type of quality time

taesan may be a menace but he’s a fake ass emo too he loves kids and his partner!!

(i exited out mid way to take a break and then ended up watching tiktok asmr and now im exhausted these next two are lowkey boutta be ass so sorry…)

leehan -

i think leehan would def prefer staying in on halloween

if you did convince him to go out he’s dressing like a fish and getting u a costume to match too prove me wrong.

but i def think he would enjoy staying in,, watching some not so scary kids halloween movies while baking cookies and making hot chocolate w you 💔

i feel like his fav movie would be the nightmare before christmas idk i just get that vibeeee

he would also rly love coraline!!!

would ask to do face masks and skin care w you while the cookies bake

also would let you paint his nails halloween themed after you guys eat your cookies!!

all of this in matching halloween pajama pants of course

woonhak -

such a baby omg

planned his halloween costume out MONTHS in advance

his favorite day of the year is when he gets to go trick or treating

he would love to match his s/o too!! planning out a matching costume for them too

would literally drag you around to different houses all night, until you can’t find anymore houses to get candy from😭

his candy haul would be HUGE, freaking giant pillow case filled with candy

he would get so scared anytime he gets jump scared while trying to get candy🤕

even running away from a house that had a guy with a jason mask jump out at him😭

take tons of pictures of him!! he’s just a boy and he’s having so much fun

would love to sort his candy out with you after,, sitting down in the kitchen with you and separating them all based on candy type, and of course making sure to separate all your favs to give to you!

would give you the biggest kiss ever and say thank you for going with him before telling you how much he loves you,, bestest boy :(((

i hope you enjoyedddd i got so tired halfway thru HELP so maknae lines was kinda half assed💀 happy halloween everyone!!! 🎃🎃

[milaisreading]

🌱🩷: Hope u all enjoy the 11th story!

Pairings:

Tokimitsu Aoshi x Manager!Yn (Post-Blue Lock)

Warnings: Reader uses she/her

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura ⚽️

🎄Dec 20th🎄

Days prior to the current event...

"What?! N-no! I can't do that! Please, anything but that!" (Y/n) flinched as she moved the phone away from her ear. As expected, Tokimitsu has started panicking at the mention of him joining her family for dinner. It's been a year since they started dating and both her father and brother wanted to finally meet Tokimitsu in person. Isabella and Marc were excited to meet him, and from the things he heard about the two, Tokimitsu is excited to meet them as well. The only problem were (Y/n)'s father and brother... they were a handful.

"Aoshi, I know it sounds scary, but they are both very nice." (Y/n) tried to argue over the phone.

"That's not what you said months ago! (Y/n), they will eat me alive! I can't do that! I really can't!" Tokimitsu said back, causing (Y/n) to feel offended a little.

"You act like both my brother and dad don't have common sense and can't control themselves. Aoshi, I am just asking you for one night to not be a scaredy cat."

"Me? No, no I am not doing this. I love you with all my heart, but I can't possibly do that."

"Aoshi..." (Y/n) bit on her lower lip, trying not to say something mean or rude.

"You promised you won't let your fears get in between our relationship."

There was no response from the other line and (Y/n) could feel her heart break a little at it.

"And this isn't the first time either. I understand you have your fears, we all have them. But, this is very important to me. I love you and... You know what, I give up."

"(Y/n)-" Tokimitsu started speaking, but got cut off by her.

"Save it. I will just say you are unable to come. Have fun during Christmas, I guess."

"Wait! That's not-"

But before he could finish the line went silent. Frustrated Tokimitsu started calling her again, but every time his call got declined. Tokimitsu, frustrated, put his phone away and went to lay down on his bed. He screwed up bad this time.

'I knew this would happen...' The boy thought.

'I should have never asked her out. Now she is stuck with me until she doesn't grow tired and break up with me...' Tokimitsu closed his eyes and tried to think of a solution. Flowers, apologies,gifts, and everything in-between won't help him out this time. He needed to change this, but how?

"Aryu! Aryu can help me!" The brunette thought as he took his phone back, dialing the other's number.

☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄

"And you said all that?! Refused to meet her family?!" Aryu's yelling caused Tokimitsu to flinch as he slowly spoke up again.

"Y-yeah. I screwed up, didn't I?"

"Yes, of course you did." Aryu let out a frustrated sigh from the other side.

"It's her family. You would have met them eventually. Rather sooner than later."

"But, her father and brother sound like very scary people-"

"Oh my! Tokimitsu, you are ruining your own relationship right now!" Aryu interrupted the other, clearly mad at Tokimitsu for it.

"A lot of us would kill to be where you are now, and you are just like that ruining a perfectly normal relationship. Tell me, did (Y/n) ever force you into anything? Did she ever whine when you refused to do an activity with her?" Tokimitsu was silent for a moment, trying to remember if she ever did any of that.

"No. In fact, she was very understanding whenever I refused to do anything. She is always patient and kind with me over these things." Tokimitsu admitted.

"Right, and I can imagine that she had enough. Look, (Y/n) obviously cares for you and sees a future with you. She literally invited you to meet her family! Listen, I can't tell you how to cope or handle your fears, but this is costing you a relationship. Figure this out and man up, Tokimitsu. (Y/n) loves you, and she wants you to meet the people she loves, too."

Tokimitsu was silent as every word hit him like a brick. How did he not think of that?! He was so focused on his own fears that he forgot what this meeting could mean to her!

"Oh... I messed up..."

"Yeah, you did. You need to get this back in order. Good luck." With that, Aryu ended the call as Tokimitsu stayed laying in his bed.

'I need to fix this. I need to get my act together... I... I don't want to lose her to anybody.' Tokimitsu thought in determination as one sentence Aryu said kept repeating in his head.

'A lot of them would kill to be me...'

🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️

At the same time, (Y/n) and Isabella were back home watching a Christmas movie. Well, Isabella was, (Y/n) was still focused on her conversation with Tokimitsu. A lot of thoughts were going through her head, as well as emotions. Anger, sadness, anxiety were the most notable ones. And, while she tried not to put the attention on herself, the troubled look didn't escape Isabella's observations.

"What happened? You look like you are about to throw up." Isabella asked, pausing the movie so that they could talk. (Y/n), while hesitant at first, spoke to the older.

"It's just... What would you do if you partner didn't want to do something important for you because he is scared? How would you approach it?"

Isabella blinked for a moment at the question.

"Is it about Tokimitsu coming over?"

"Yes..." She admitted.

"Well, that would certainly be a bummer, but I think I would understand it to a degree."

"You would?" (Y/n) wondered, earning a nod from the woman.

"Yes. As much as it sounds like hard work, I would help him overcome that fear. Relationships are built together, you know? It important to have love and understanding for one another. Just because you are ready for something, doesn't mean the other person is." Isabella said softly which caused (Y/n) to freeze up a little.

'Maybe... maybe he wasn't ready at all?! And I just sprung this whole idea on to him! Oh... Tokimitsu...' The girl thought sadly.

"It's important you two grow together and help each other." Isabella added in.

"I see..." (Y/n) muttered, getting up from her spot.

"Where are you going?" Isabella questioned.

"To fix something." (Y/n) smiled softly and ran up to her room.

Once inside, she quickly went to grab her phone.

'Tokimitsu, I am so sorry. I never asked how you felt about it!' She scolded herself and her carelessness as she dialed the boy's number. After like 3 rings the said boy picked up the call.

"(Y/n)..." Her heart broke as she heard his voice. It was full of sadness and worry.

"Aoshi..."

"I am so sorry for my stupidity." The two said in sync. Surprised, they stopped talking for a moment and then laughed a little.

"I love you, I am really sorry for being so careless."

"And I love you more. Sorry for being so stupid."

🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄☃️

And that is how they landed in the current situation. (Y/n) squeezing Tokimitsu's hand as the boy took in a few breaths. The cold, December air helping him calm his nerves down.

"We cam really do this another time, Aoshi. I am happy if-"

"No. I want to do this." Tokimitsu spoke up, giving her a determined smile.

"This means a lot to you, and I want to do this." The boy added in. (Y/n) felt her heartbeat quicken and she smiled at the boy.

"I will be with you, don't worry." She said back, packing his cheek.

"I-I-I... Why now?" The boy stammered out, causing (Y/n) to giggled as she slowly opened the door to her house.

"It's for courage." She said as Tokimitsu took in a deep breath.

"Thank you. I love you." The boy said, squeezing her hand as well.

"Love you more. Now, let's do this."

"Yep, together."

[crushedsweets]

OK I NEED TO CLEAR MY ASKBOX

IM JUST GONNA ANSWER A TON OF THEM HERE SO I DONT CLOG UP MY FEED....

hi >.<

this is so fucking sweet i remembered how happy i was when i first got my car. i cried everyday for a week straight because i was so happy. very glad yall got to watch me get my first car. i spend over an hour in her every day commuting now. LMFAOOO (i named her lindsay btw) ((after tdi lsinday)). im so sorry im late but thank you so much this meant sm !!! <3

you asked me this in august im evil oh my god. anyway i aagree. but i am always inclined to forever think he's a midwest emo guy. twin sized mattress forever

SHE NEEDS AND DESERVES SO MANY.

im immediately inclined to say clocky or toby the second i see time and fire mentions. so ticciwork. my clocky is often a bit messy so she'd be pissed and angry and upset over the sort of war she's found herself in, especially as she sees toby just falling deeper into it. 'my god, was i oblivious?' when she finally realizes toby will always, always put Slenderman before her. frustrating. 'hell stays hungry for a world so weak' natalie is hungry for a good world, but she thinks everyone is too weak for goodness, meanwhile toby is hungry for power so he can make everyone else seem weak. etc. 'they only want you to bleed' they being slendy, operator, zalgo, etc etc etc... power, being a pawn, fighting, using humans as toys in a battlefield, etc etc.. yeah

RELEASE ME JOEY

i genuinely think nina is a really good influence on so many of the creeps. like theyre all assholes, traumatized, refuse to believe in the good in the world, etc etc. but nina is traumatized and still kickin. she comes in like ^_^ hello chat. and i think that, while its still important to feel the shitty feelings, it's really grounding to see someone whos just so .. able to be happy. idk. someone who SEEKS joy, rather than expects it to fall into their lap, and blames the world when it doesnt

this si perfect idk why i forgot about bats for him. gotta get back into this idea

AHHH OK I WILL DO MORE EVENTUALLY i just wanna say thank yewww i think theyre such a good sibling dynamic. like little brothers and big sisters and both being little assholes to eachother but would die for the other. idk. ugh. important to me.

actually this sounds really sweet..... thats funny cuz i was JUST talking to a friend about who i would have EJ go endgame with if i had to, but i couldnt settle on anyone. but liu seems like a good fit for ej. i think they'd be super sweet

ANON ME TOO AHHHH ITS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE FUCKING THING EVER. I DONT GAF ABOUT EVIL MEAN 'CANON' SLENDER I LOVE WHEN HE'S A DAD AND WORRIES AND STRESSES. IEPFB AND KASTOWAYS SLENDY>

AH THANK YOU!!! he reminds me of my little cousins HAHA theyre like 10-14 right now and theyre all cuties.... just playing roblox and being mischievous...

THIS IS ABOUT THE BLUSHING NAT DRAWING ISNT IT AHAH OMG THANK YOU!!! i think shes so cute. i know she cant handle compliments. she's either deadpanned 'thanks' or just covers her face and says 'shut up' cuz she doesnt know what to do.

I LOVE HER TOO!!!

GOOD NEWS THEN ive drawn her a handful of times since u sent this HAHA TYSM

you sent like... natobina i think... ok tbh kinda slaps

OK REAL but also when i read it i keep reading it as 'cochina' and i cannot bring myself to name the throuple that </3 HAHA

TBH AHAHA I SEE IT. TOBYS AMETHYST GARNETS NATALIE AND NINA IS STEVEN.

i want jeff to ache in his loneliness

i need to draw connie asap but also THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR THE CAR CONGRATS I REALLY APPRECIATE IT IM SO HAPPY I LOVE MY CAR SO MUCH i gotta go vaccuum her..

shes such a cat to me. feline. of sorts, if you will

also good news for you anon, i have also drawn her an ungodly amount of times since youve sent this. LOL

THEYRE MY ANGELS I HAVE MORE OF THEM !!! I LOVE THEM!! AHHHGGG

literally the second that people tell me i made them start to like clocky i am overwhelmed with joy. i feel so much ache when people aren't fond of her bc shes so fucking cool and such a good character and so much fun. so sad that 2015 era creepypasta fandom destroyed her. but im here to fix it...

IM SORRY ANON I BARELY DRAW HIM HES JUST SO BOYISH I LAUGH EVERYTIME I SEE HIM FKAHAHAAH OK OKOK ILL CHANGE ILL DRAW HIM I SWEAR

I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST STARTED DOING EMOJI ANONS BAHAHA u guys r funny

incredibly. happy. to do this to u.

nope! im not too interested in the 2021 nina just cuz i feel like i've seen that character concept many times (not just in jane), BUT if i had to do my own intepretation of her, 2021 nina would be INCREDIBLY immature in like. not a childish way, but an entitled, angry-fueled adult who cannot comprehend anyone else's thoughts/feelings. and thus, would despise OG nina (although within reason, OG nina idolizes the person who killed her family) . but even if there wasnt a good reason to dislike OG nina, she'd be mean. and OG nina would be mad and bitch. and theyd theyd fight. HAHA

I-IF...???????? ANON?

HELD TO THE FUCKING BRIM

[moldingtundra]

thought I’d talk about my interpretation of unpleasant because yes (also I might make an ask blog about it)

Ok so lord timeee!! Content warning for some really sensitive topics (genocide, murder, prostitution, implied abuse, etc.) so watch out.

so unpleasant gradient (aka gradie) was born because his mother was a prostitute (so was his dad but much less so) and his fathers parents found out so they made him marry her, obviously that does shit and eventually when he turned 7 his father left and he was left along and u can kindddaaa imagine what happeneds when ur left with this type of mom whis also an alcoholic and smoker…yeahhh, so he gets two sibs (one if them is older the other is younger, same mom) pleasant gradient (older, named penny) and monotomous graident (younger, named mono) who took care of him when his mother escaped without him at 11 years old including a third sibling who used to take care of him when he was a toddler but ran away from home due to his mom (they were mutated gradient). (gradie has a shit ton, you can imagine why lmao) but he only sees it once and never again, so the three brothers have to survive the famine and genocide going around (it started before gradie was even born) but obviously u can imagine what happens in this typa scenerio (gradie had to almost say bye bye to half of his body bc of a bomb at 12 and watch penny die and mono run away then escape at 15 (the scars dwindled over time dw but it’s still there )) and then there is an opurtunity to escape the country with a bus, but theres only one bus ticket, so a random woman gives it to gradie and sends him off bc she knows he has the most potential and promises to find him (its been 45 years he still hasnt seen them) here’s art of what he looked like back then:

so after he escaped he rebuild his life in the land equivalent of AMERICUH and he attends this high school and he falls in love with builderman but decides not to confess and they both decide to graduate together and try getting it big, builderman did it by building the robloxia community and gradie byt writing his experiences with genocide and hiking high feets no one reached, like he won some guinness world record and some new york times bestseller thing- my guy was packed!!!…..until he got hit by a truck and couldnt do anything anymore (sad 💔) ON TOP OF THAT builderman married jane doe and had thier kid (infected) and graide would by to babysit infected since he was a wee little baby.

so kasper got infected at his 12th birthday. But the infected turns him into a vicious furry or whatever (werewolf if you want) and the first time that happened, he fucking ate his parents and gradie literally just came by to give them lasagna and infecteds present, so now his parents are dead, and graide decides to adopt infected (who hates it lol) and they just raise infected while tryna deal with his furry issue (his furry issue caused him to eat his own cat and some residents) and graide is just like tryna fucking hold himself together bc if the kid u had to babysit thats from ur one sided gay lover who married a fugly woman decides to kill yo one sided gay lover and u had to adopt him I wouldve eaten my organs)

and that’s basically it! Expect an ask blog for him soon this week or before I die lol

toodaloo!

[borom1r]

WEIRD fuckin ask but we talked about it once and it would not exit the brain. Flavours of neurodivergence within the fellowship: discuss?

OGH. no, good ask. good ask I love it. AUTISM FLAVORED bc that is my own experience :3

Aragorn— autism of the “I Am 100% A Changeling, I Have No Idea How To Relate To Humanity” variety. like yea being partly raised by elves didn’t help but he absolutely wandered around mimicking people to learn how to Behave Like A Person. autism trait absorption for the win!! comes to Minas Tirith and gets a painful crash course in masking, but never quite figured out how to Not stare at someone like a feral cat when he wants something from them (despite the Stare, HATES eye contact)

Boromir— OPPOSITE AUTISM. very direct. EXTREMELY rigid routines. military history special interest (literally just undiagnosed dad autism). probably has food sensitivities but he’s spent so long as a soldier he can just eat anything now. he hates it and he won’t eat a big portion of non-safe foods, but at least he can swallow them. he IS absolutely 100% undiagnosed and doesn’t think there’s anything wrong but if he doesn’t get to perfectly make his bed every morning he will be in a Noticeably Bad Mood for the rest of the day < does not understand that this isn’t normal

Gandalf— oh there’s definitely something going on there, but good luck with figuring THAT out

Legolas— AuDHD king. the autism/ADHD comorbidity is real and he barely bothers to mask. least of all in front of men?? he’s an elf prince and you expect him to act “normal” by human standards? I love how jacked up the Hobbit film timeline is bc Thranduil implying to Legolas “yeah go hang out in Rivendell with a ten year old” is SO funny. canon to me tho. there was a very significant chunk of time where Aragorn was just Mini Legolas. hell world for civilized Rivendell elves. unlike Aragorn, however, prefers very direct eye contact. WILL fully hit you with the 👁️👁️ almost unblinking for a whole conversation

Gimli— I’m gonna be real here. I think neurotypical but in the sense of like. literally nobody cares. dwarves are craftsmen, artisans, smiths, you think they’re going to risk squandering talent simply because somebody needs some accommodations? are you nuts???? like yea maybe somebody’s a Little Weird Sometimes but they can work the forge just fine or tool leather for straps/handle wraps, or draft designs, or stamp metal for decorations, like?? doesn’t particularly grasp the need for labels when you can just work with ppl to figure out what’s best for them + then everyone’s happy. fully has to stew on the fact that Men Don’t Do That, men are actually very rigid about what is socially acceptable and won’t provide accommodations Unless there is a label. wild.

Frodo— autism/depression hell combination. no meltdowns, only shutdowns. auditory processing disorder!! definitely also has poor temperature regulation (CONSTANTLY cold). hey did u know that’s a symptom of ASD? crazy. WILD. anyways. Sam knows he can barely handle the feeling of mittens/gloves so half the time when they’re hanging out is Sam just holding Frodo’s hands so they actually fucking warm up for a bit. not too rigid about Big routines, most of his are Little (always putting a specific amount of sugar in his tea, for example)

Sam— neurotypical but in the sense of my dad where he was just SO used to me being Autistically Strange that he was just like. “well, that’s Strider!” < blissfully unaware. fully just SO used to whatever’s going on w/ Frodo+Merry that it’s Normal to him. like wdym they’re different?? those are just his friends?? hello??

Merry— ADHDDDDDDDDD. and look ik Tolkien said pipeweed is just tobacco but that’s a lie and we all know it, right? right. self-medicating with pipeweed.

Pippin— neurotypical but Pippin-flavored

[zvmz]

Writing down my thoughts while watching monster high for the first time Pt. 2

alright y’all now we’re watching why do ghouls fall in love let’s go

oh oh new and improved intro

the one long shot as the intro is so cool

ohh shoot we 3D now

actually might like it better than the 2D

wait r they saying Valentine’s Day was literally made for Draculara?

im confused 😁

can I get a sugar daddy like clawd

CAN I GET DRACULARAS DAD?????

oh

um this is awkward

so guys it was all in our heads apparently 😊

clawdeen is kinda slaying this new animation style

oh this song goes so hard

the bats flying out of clawds wallet is so real

come again how old is draculara

why is she still in school

was she held back a few hundred years

and I thought my grades were bad

the cat people make me uncomfortable. stranger danger

damn these cats are menaces

arent they always

not the driving lessons book

just pass it the first time fr 🙄

GUYS

GUYS

GUYS

CUPID

SHES HERE

LOLL NOT THE STOOL CLAWD 😭😭

vampire daring charming???

“misunderstanding with the locals”?? 😭 what did girlie do??? 😭😭

is ghoulias back okay like fr

the collection of broken hearts is so extra

kinda metal idk I almost cant be mad

imagine eah characters trying to navigate the catacombs

girls would not last a minute

actually can someone make a fic I would totally read that

why am I just now realizing ghoulia can’t talk

like idk I just thought she was a bit quirky this whole time

WHY DOES DRACULARA HAVE KNIVES ON THE CEILING OF HER CAR

oh my god Draculara HIT HIM

FLOOR IT DRACULARA

she missed her chance :( vampire Elvis lives

The shot of them running towards each in slow motion just to maintain a 3 feet distance was so unnecessary

WAIT A MINUTE DRACULARA YOURE BETTER THAN THIS. YOU ALREADY HAVE A BOYFRIEND

why is dueces animation specifically so rough

he kind of reminds me of sparrow

i kinda like him

yes Draculara break it off

oh- um

THE ANIMATION ON THEIR PHONES OF DRACULARA DUMPING CLAWD?? WHO MADE THAT?? WHERE DID IT COME FROM?? 😭😭😭

wait a minute I recognize Frankie’s voice. Is that Barbie?

why does some random cow go to their school

CUPIDDDD

LOL NOT CLEO BREAKING THE CLASS

yeah Cupid shoot her

pow pow pow 💥🔫💥🔫💥🔫

okay now what the hell

get it together cupid

why does Cupid keep accidentally getting love enchanted? First clawd then Dexter lolll

the dog whistle?? 😭

clawds like. I guess you can say I got… W rizz...

”what u want” ABBY 😭😭 BEST CHARACTER ONG

this party looks kinda fire ngl

not sure how I feel about the food being served next to the body odor pit

okayyy frankieee kinda slaying her party look

cleo barely changing after being love enchanted to herself

Could this be considered a school shooting? like legally

um anyway Kitty Cheshire supremacy

rizz lord clawd

hell yea body odor pit for the win ✊🏻

why was the kiss sound so um squishy

abby is such an icon

okay it’s over

I liked this one a lot better than the last movie. I hope we see Cupid again or else I’ll rage

the pacing was like SO much better than the last movie.

my only complaints are that toralai and vampire Elvis's motivations either weren’t really explained or made no sense to me. Also the animation still isn’t great but what do you expect lol

oh wait one more complaint. where is Frankie’s personality. I do not see it

hopefully we get a good frankie episode to get to know her a bit more

also it keeps telling us clawdeen and draculara are best friends but not really showing it??

In conclusion clawd is the rizzard and Abby solos

[catdemontraphouse]

Yo hold up wtf…

I never noticed this, thoughts?

In this scene if I’m not mistaken(which I could be as I haven’t read it forever) Sebastian was threatening to take Ciel’s soul after he started to question if he should give up revenge against the cult. (This whole discussion is kinda void if he did not try to eat Ciel during this interaction and only threatened to kill him, but I recall he at least acted like he would eat him)??

Does Sebastard have to make a contract with someone in order to take their soul? Or can he just do that to anyone? Because if that’s the case that he can only take a contracted soul after the agreement terms are met… if Ciel were to annul the contract and release the contractor from having to complete the work order doesn’t that mean the originally required payment is no longer a valid expectation? 🤨I mean, their contract said you help me get revenge and when it’s over u can kill me and eat my sorry ass. So if Ciel giving up means a breach of contract… how tf can Sebastian still be like ok kid imma kill u now? Is it just cuz he feels he can do whatever he wants if the contract is annulled? Ok so why make a contract to begin with then… wtf just let the kid wallow in his sorrow for a while and then eat him (not that I think that’s nice or ok obviously LOL) like why not say “Ouu I will help u to be nice” and then kill him when u get tired of it, rather than saddle urself with rules? That action implies only being able to eat a client lol

Did they ever set any terms for if someone breaks the uh, idk butler lease as it were, early?? Is there some settlement for Sebastard if Ciel decides to abandon his revenge? Or would it just mean he could manipulate him about “wasting his brother’s soul being a sacrifice” and nothing more? What I’m saying is how can he threaten to take Ciel’s soul when he didn’t fulfill the contract because it’s been canceled… doesn’t it just mean Sebastian keeps the initial down payment of all the cult mf’ers evil souls or watever? He didn’t finish the job… the complete payment was to be released after the work was complete. Ok so maybe Ciel has to pay some kind of legal price for terminating the contract unfairly or watever, but I would expect it still to not be the full soul as described in the contract.

“Oh this is stupid it’s not a literal contract it’s a demons pact literary device boohoo” ya ok but whatever I don’t care I want to play layman’s court with y’all and have a needlessly in-depth discussion abt it🙄if Ciel fires Sebastian does he owe his evil adopted dad type thing some stock in Funtom or some money for a cat or something? Does Sebastian take partial ownership of the soul I mean wtf is going on here honestly

[definitelynotshouting]

Do not apologise at all for responding late!! Holiday burnout is so real, theres sm to organise so I understand completely 😅. I hope youre getting some rest between xmas and the new year, or that at least whatever you have planned isnt too hard on you :)

I am 100% willing to believe you blessed my flight lmao, hopefully it works on the way back as well :D

Is it weird to say i dont think ive ever had a blackberry before?? Idk i might have had one when i was a kid but when you mentioned the blackberry jam I completely blanked. So um. Hope it was good?

Oh no your cat!! D: Hope he's all better now

YES I WOULD LOVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT MALAYSIAN FOOD!! I would show u pics but um 🧍->🏃‍♂️💨. Ur gonna have to google it king LOL. The first day back my dad and I went out to a mamak stall (basically just a restaurant for malay-chinese-indian food), and I had roti canai (a type of flatbread with curry) and teh tarik, which I have missed dearly. I dont typically like normal english breakfast tea so getting to have authentic teh tarik was SO GOOD. Teh tarik (translating to "pulled tea") is made with condensed milk and gets its name from how after the drink is mixed it gets continuously poured over and over from one container to another until it gets super frothy.

I've also been getting reacquainted with my favourite fruits 🥰 that you cant get in Australia like mangosteen and jambu air (ai-yer). Mangos and dragon fruit you can get in australia but. um. Theyre bad. They just taste like sweet water. Also unfortunately for me rambutan i havent been able to find rambutan 😔😔. Those look similar to lychee but they taste pretty different, less tangy and sweeter.

Ive gone out with a friend to have cendol (c promounced as a "ch") which is a cold desert with coconut milk and rice jelly, along with other toppings should you choose it. Im also in the process of convincing my bff to do a 3h road trip with me specifically for food in a city called Ipoh 😭 wish me luck.

AND, im getting one of my relatives to teach me how to make rendang and char kway teow. The rendang specifically because the one she makes i prefer over what's usually made in restuarants. I think it's a state difference in recipes or smtg? So the ones you'll find in restuarants are KL/Selangor rendang and she makes from Kedah. Thats just a theory tho im not actually sure.

🧍 i realise this ask has become like 70% about food so i apologise. But. In my defense you asked >:) /j

ANYWAY. I hope youve gotten a break from the holiday work or at least have one coming up <33 Take care of yourself; indulge in your cheeses :D

-☀️

SUN ANON HELLOOOOOO im so excited to hear you got those desserts, those sound AMAZING...... also i looked up all the foods you mentioned and MAN THESE LOOK GOOD.... im a shrimp lover im gazing so hard at the char kway teow...... 👀👀👀👀👀 also holy shit these fruits look so cool???? Thats WILD ive literally never heard of these before and im having a lot of fun looking them up online and reading about their flavours and stuff!!!! Incredibly curious about mangosteen, i was not expecting it to be white inside when i looked it up and just like, the contrast of the purplish rind vs the white insides is SO neat to look at, like that feels really good on my eyeballs if that makes sense JSDBEKDNMDD also also teh tarik sounds and looks amazing i want to try that SO bad now omg

Its so funny you say that about blackberries bc where i live we have them literally growing everywhere on the side of the road AKDNWKDNKWDN in the summer when they start putting out fruit one of my roommates will sometimes go out and just pick a bunch for the whole household, and they always taste SOOOOO much better than the store-bought ones. Im genuinely not sure how to describe the taste of blackberry other than like. Its very sweet but also very tart (i go for the slightly less ripe ones tbh bc i prefer tart things to super sweet) at the same time, and sorta pops in your mouth a little bit when you chew it. Honestly its one of my favorite fruits i would highly recommend them if you can find em anywhere!!!!

My resolution this year is a bit silly but i wanted to go for a very fun easy one, so its to use every sticker i own this year :] ive already started by putting a few on the creeper minifridge that my roomie got me for xmas 😂😂😂😂😂😂 and i have some scrapbook ideas as well to use my fancier ones that my friends have gotten me!!!! Also you are so valid about the writing-- tbh if you wrote more than expected then it sounds like you succeeded instead of failed, so thats awesome!!! :DDD

I hope you're doing well on your travels, sun anon!! And when the time comes may your flight back to Australia be as peaceful and pleasant as the one you experienced when you left it :]

[yukiwrites]

Fire and Honesty

Thanks for the support and the boundless patience, @authordgaster! I had a blast writing this and I hope you like it!

Summary: Percy had been together with Byleth since they were children, after they met completely by chance. He had a fiery personality to contrast with Byleth's apathy, and that brought him a fair amount of trouble...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

Byleth had developed a liking for fishing from her father and mentor, Jeralt.

Ever since she was a young child, she liked to cast the hook and pass the time peacefully waiting for a bite in between training sessions. Jeralt would often be present with her, the both of them comfortable enough in their silence to spend hours beside each other without uttering a single word as they fished.

What Byleth never expected, however, was that she was going to end up fishing a boy out of the river one day.

She thought that the catch would be too much for her to handle as her fishing rod almost turned in on itself from the weight, but with Jeralt’s help, she managed to fish out the biggest catch of her life, quite literally: a boy a couple of years younger than her.

Confused at first, then startled, Byleth hurried to check for his pulse and breathing while Jeralt roared for one of the healers to come over.

The boy, sporting a bright red hair and quite a few wounds unbefitting of someone so young, woke up several hours later, amnesic and confused.

The first thing he saw was Byleth, who was holding his cold hand in hers.

“Big Sis…?” he mumbled in a confused fog, struggling to focus on the silhouette in front of him. Once he saw Byleth’s face, however, he squinted and shook his face. “No, you’re not…”

Byleth stood in silence waiting for him to get his bearings, but the boy never quite did.

“Wait, who are you? Where’s this?” he sat up quickly, feeling dizzy and nauseous. “Urk… what… happened to me.”

“I fished you out of the river,” Byleth said matter of factly. “How did you get there? Do you remember anything?”

Holding his aching head, the boy lowered his gaze. “I…” he didn’t even remember calling Byleth ‘big sister’ earlier either; perhaps that had been the last bit of his former self ebbing through his lips as his memory faded to oblivion, perhaps forever. “I don’t know. What’s going on?!”

“You’re fiery for someone as small as you, aren’t you, kid?” Jeralt walked in on that moment. “Maybe it’s the hair.”

The boy flinched, hiding behind Byleth’s shoulder as Jeralt approached. “Who’re you? What have you done to me?”

Jeralt snorted, glancing at Byleth as she shrugged and shook her head in response.

“My kid fished you outta the river. Before asking anything, did you thank her yet? If it weren’t for her, you’d be fish food by now.”

The boy widened his eyes. “I thought that was a joke,” he looked at the expressionless Byleth. Seeing no lie in her gaze, the boy lowered his in a humble bow. “I’m sorry I didn’t take you seriously… And thanks for saving me; I’m Percy.”

“So you do remember something,” Byleth commented.

“Oh!” Percy blinked. “Maybe that was all, though. My head hurts like hell.”

“Hah!” Jeralt scoffed. “What a potty-mouthed kid you hooked up, Byleth.”

Percy’s face flushed, but he kept a grumpy frown, hiding behind Byleth’s shoulder again. She placed one hand on his, shaking her head as if telling him not to mind Jeralt’s teasing.

“Dad, he doesn’t remember anything. Can we keep him?”

“What, is he a pet now, or something?” Jeralt sat on the bed, making it sink towards him. “Let the kid heal. Maybe he’ll remember something later.” He patted Byleth’s head. “You wouldn’t wanna keep him away from his family, right?”

Byleth looked down, introspective. “Hm…”

Jeralt knew that look, so he just shifted his attention to the puffed up stray cat of a kid behind her. “Percy, right? Don’t force yourself for now, just take it easy. We’re not leaving this place until we finish the job anyway, so you can stay until then.”

“Job?” Percy’s ears perked up, though he still warily kept himself behind Byleth.

“We’re mercenaries,” Byleth replied before Jeralt could.

“I am a mercenary,” he corrected, pointing his thumb at himself. “The kid’s here’s still a recruit,” he pointed to Byleth, then told her, “don’t be too hasty in putting yourself out there, kid. You’ve gotta train a lot more ‘till you’re useful.”

Byleth nodded, unfazed.

“Wow, you’re almost my age and you’re already training to be a mercenary? That’s cool…” Percy’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the pensive Byleth. Jeralt smiled at the scene, seriously taking Byleth’s earlier request into consideration.

For the next few days, Percy’s memory showed no sign of returning, even after his wounds were healed to an extent. Healing magic wasn’t all-powerful and even if it were, high-ranking Healing magic wasn’t really something Jeralt’s mercenaries knew how to do, so their first and subsequent aids on Percy’s wounds left much to be desired.

He was left with sequelae on his right arm, making him unable to properly hold a weapon for the rest of his life.

Far from being affected by it, however, Percy took it all in stride. He had no previous self to compare himself to, nor did he know what he specialized in before he lost his memories, so he considered himself to be a blank slate ready to be molded by training.

Since he was young and had to convalesce, he was unable to start training as early as he wanted, though Byleth sneaked in some practice with him after she was done with hers. She figured that since he couldn’t hold a weapon, he should just hit the enemies with his fist, so she taught him the basics of what she knew.

Days turned to weeks that turned to months, and Percy’s presence was no longer a novelty to the mercenaries — Jeralt had allowed him to join as an apprentice, finally stopping pretending not to know that Byleth had started training him behind everyone’s backs.

As the years passed, Percy realized he had a hidden power within himself — the power of a Crest. Since neither Jeralt nor any of the adults at the mercenary band cared much about Crests and what not, Percy asked Byleth to help him find out what kind of Crest that was.

It took a long time of visiting local libraries and talking with any available scholars around the cities they were stationed at, but eventually the pair narrowed down Percy’s Crest down to one: The Crest lost to history, the one that belonged to Ernest.

If Percy had been in an environment around people who were passionate about Crestology, just that discovery would be enough to warrant a lifetime of study. However, since they were only teens looking for the answer of a single question, they felt accomplished after knowing its name only.

Along with the power of the Crest, Percy realized he also had an affinity with Fire magic, though, again, since the mercenary band lacked mages or scholars, Percy had to teach himself how to use it. Eventually, he incorporated the fiery magic to the hand-to-hand combat he had been specializing in since childhood to effectively punch people with fire.

It was a very useful skill, especially in the hands of someone as hot-headed as Percy… or so he thought, anyway.

After stopping by Remire village to finish up a job, Jeralt’s mercenary band would bump into the ace of Berling’s Mercenaries, a purple-haired man called Shez, just as a trio of noble students were being attacked by a pack of bandits. As if Fate had willed it, Byleth, Percy, Shez and Jeralt fought back against the bandits led by Kostas and ended up saving the heirs to the Kingdom, to the Empire and to the Alliance in one fell swoop.

Since Byleth had grown into the vice-captain of the mercenary band, she took most of the credit for the tactics used in that battle, being ultimately invited to be a teacher at Garreg Mach Monastery, where the three heirs studied. Percy followed her with the ease of habit, enrolling into the school as a student alongside Shez, who would stay with them from thereafter.

Percy, despite his initial bluntness, was a man who was fiercely loyal to those he deemed worthy. He followed Byleth into the Black Eagles class and mingled with the students there without a single speck of care towards lineage or nobility.

He just cared about the person themselves and how they acted towards others in their own ways. 

Thus, he could not stand people to whom being a noble or being with a noble was above treating people decently, and he was not shy about voicing such thoughts either. Conversely, he got along well with people similar to him: loyal and/or honest. Honesty was a complex act, but Percy knew a kindred spirit when he saw one.

Perhaps that was why his first instinct was to run towards Bernadetta’s scream the moment he heard it when he was exiting the training ground with Shez.

“Percy? Hey!” Surprised by Percy’s sudden bolt, it took Shez a moment to run after him.

Percy ran at full speed towards the dorms — that was where Bernadetta would be without a doubt — as fire magic started to swirl around his fists.

He wasn’t one to think too much before acting. 

He saw Bernadetta as a small rodent who needed ultimate protection, and hearing her scream made all alarms inside his brain to sound off, shutting down any coherent thought before it was even created.

“Bernadetta!!” He yelled, his voice reaching her before he did.

“P-Percy! Help!!” the girl wailed, her voice struggling to come out.

Someone else’s voice gasped as if wronged, “w-what? Why’re you calling for help like that? Just come out here so we can talk!”

Seeing red, Percy sped up towards Bernadetta’s room, only to find a chaotic scene: the door had been smashed to pieces, and a long-haired blonde girl was manhandling Bernadetta at the door frame.

“Ingrid! What the fuck d’you think you’re doing?!” Percy held onto a pillar to brake his sprint, using the momentum to throw himself between the two girls. “Let her go!” He bellowed, his hands burning with fire magic as he gripped on one of Ingrid’s wrists.

“Ack- ouch! You’re burning me!” Ingrid flinched, letting go of Bernadetta so as to push Percy out of her way. “What’re you doing?!”

“Shut up! I’m the one asking the questions here, you crazy bitch!” Percy forced himself to stay between Bernadetta, who cowered back into her room, and Ingrid, who stepped back into the corridor as she held onto her burned wrist. “What d’you think you’re doing, breaking the kid’s door like that?! Is there a fire? Are you the fucking headmaster? No, even if you were the headmaster, what right do you have to destroy a peson’s fucking door like that?!” he yelled, louder and louder, filling the entire corridor with heated energy.

His hands were shining in a bright red — if one would touch them right now, they would certainly melt.

Filled with terror, but too certain in her point to back down, Ingrid shakily took a step forward. “I was doing it to help her! Staying cooped up in her room is not going to do anything good to her. She needs to get out, get some air, get some training; anything! Staying in there isn’t the answer!” Ingrid screamed back, getting more confident with each word she uttered.

Ingrid knew how it felt to want to run away from the world and stay under the covers for the rest of one’s life. She knew how that could end up.

So, she did what she thought was right: she was going to drag Bernadetta out of that room by force if it meant helping her see what was wrong with her.

“You’re fucking delusional.” Percy spat on the floor right beside Ingrid’s foot. He took a step forward to her, his hands already crackling with energy, but a shaky touch on his back made him stop.

“P-Percy…” Bernadetta sniffled behind him, shaking like a leaf.

That made him both calmer and angrier at the same time. He couldn’t see the logic of Ingrid’s train of thought, especially when he saw how frightened Bernadetta was; but he also wasn’t a complete moron enough to jeopardize his own position by attacking another student like that.

So, he managed to take a deep breath and calm himself.

Yet, he also shook with rage the longer he looked at the trembling Bernadetta and the unapologetic Ingrid.

“Fucking crazy,” he stomped out into the corridor, forcibly bumping into Ingrid, who lost her footing and collapsed on the floor in shock.

Shez arrived at that moment, seeing Percy leaving, taking the heated energy with him. There was only a cold corridor left in his wake.

“What the hell happened?!” Shez huffed. “Did Percy do this?” he pointed at the broken door, not putting it past Percy to do it, knowing him.

“N-no! He saved me,” Bernadetta cowered, running behind Shez. “He wasn’t the one who broke the door.”

Seeing the interaction and how Bernadetta’s terrified gaze landed on her, Ingrid started feeling that she perhaps had done something wrong. She shakily got to her feet. “She’s right, it wasn’t him. I did it.”

Shez widened his eyes in surprise, but the moment he looked at Ingrid to ask the reason why, he saw the burned bits of Ingrid’s sleeve. “Wait, you’re hurt! Was that—”

Ingrid hid her hand behind her back. “It was nothing.”

“Don’t give me that, you gotta—” The moment Shez was about to step towards her to take her to a healer, a loud explosion sounded on the second floor of the dormitory, right above them. “What the f—”

“Kyaaa!” Bernadetta ran back to her room, hiding beneath the covers as pieces of shattered glass showered the ground in front of the corridor.

Rubble and a large piece of broken wood fell on top of the glass. At closer inspection the piece of wood was nothing other than a door, much like the one Ingrid had destroyed just a few minutes previous.

From above them, behind the destroyed window frame of Ingrid’s room, Percy leaped out, landing on top of the ruined door. The shouting had already attracted a small gathering, but the explosion called a large group of people to huddle around and see what had happened.

Amidst the dust, smoke and his own flames, Percy looked like either a deity dealing diving punishment or a devil ready to drag Ingrid down to hell with him.

“You pull this stunt again with anyone and it’s gonna be you here next time,” he stomped on the door beneath his feet, making it crack and burn to ash. “You hear?”

Shaking, but not about to be intimidated, Ingrid stepped forward angrily.

“What right do you have to call me out like that? I was just trying to help a classmate.”

“Help my ass, lady! Look at how terrified she is! Is your concept of help skewed or something in that pretty head of yours? Do knights in your Kingdom drag people out of their rooms by force to help them ‘see the error of their ways’?! I bet the fuck not!” He pointed at her chest, pushing her out of his way so he could head back to Bernadetta’s room. “What you’ve done here was something a bully would do, not a knight. You preach about wanting to be a great knight or whatever and look at you now! Pulling a screaming girl out of her room just ‘cause you think you’re right. Right my fucking ass!”

Ingrid opened her mouth to retort, but the blow to her convictions and pride had hit right where it hurt. She looked around the mess she had made, then to the mess he had made with her own door and to the crowd of onlookers around.

Feeling small and ashamed, Ingrid turned around and left, running to nowhere in particular.

“Hey, wait!” Shez looked at her, then glanced at Percy and Bernadetta before going after her. She was still hurt, so he would at least check on her. The mess here was out of his hands.

Percy entered Bernadetta’s room with soft steps, his hands extinguishing the flames before touching on the covers under which she hid.

She flinched with his touch, shrieking. “N-no!”

“Sorry, Bernadetta. It’s me,” he said softly, sitting on the bed as she scooted away from him. “I’m sorry I scared you like that. Are you okay? Did you get burned at all?”

Bernie shook her head in response, sniffling as he softly patted her head.

“That’s good. I’m gonna go call Raphael and Leonie to see if they can help fix up your door right away. I’ll be going now,” he said as he got up slowly. Once he stepped out of the room, he roared to the crowd. “What’re you looking at? Scram!” He stomped on the ground, making the students disperse like a flock of birds.

One person amidst them did not move, however.

It was Byleth, who had her arms crossed and her brow sported a frown.

“... Oh, crap.”

No matter how long they’ve been together, Percy’s actions were inexcusable, and Byleth had to exercise her authority as a Professor to punish him. Ingrid had done something similar, but since that had been a spat between nobles, it was over with after a pat on the back.

In Percy’s case, however, since he was a commoner who had not only attacked a noble but also destroyed a noble’s propriety, he had to be punished accordingly.

… Well, if he was going to actually be punished by the Kingdom’s law, he would have to receive a few lashes and work under Ingrid for a few years to pay back the damages, but since they were at a teaching institution, the punishment was rather light in comparison. He would have to help install another door and build the window frame himself and he would help the servants with cleaning the noble students’ dormitory for the remainder of his stay as a student at Garreg Mach.

Between that, classes, training and monthly missions, Percy was in for one hell of a busy year, just as the battle of the Eagle and Lion approached.

[jenrecs]

omg i'm in puppy heaven... this has inspired me so much to get off my ass to stop neglecting puppy jimin !!!! anywayyyyyyy

You sigh again and head back to your bedroom for a hoodie and some shoes. Miss Zinnie needs to run, apparently. 

oh hellllll no. i can't even be assed to go out after 8pm let alone 2 in the freaking morning !!!!!!! 😭

You hold the door on your way back in for a tall guy with a baseball cap tugged low over his brow, leading a fluffy, blue-eyed dog back into the building. He nods in thanks and hurries past you. You have to step inside for a second to let him by, his shoulders take up so much of the doorway despite his slender frame. 

aljkshskahkas jin hoe why r u up there at 2am

“We did,” he says confidently. “I’d remember a face that cute anywhere.”

HOEEEEEE 😭 he's coming in hawttttt

“Jimin’s a miracle worker,” he says. “I’m glad you called them.”

JIMINSSIIIIIIII 🗣

Your heart trips over its own feet and faceplants in the dirt. You feel your eyes go wide as he puts words to something you’d suspected but had been afraid to assume - that you’d both been coming here at the same time on purpose. Not just you, but him too.

oh the butterflies... this detail made me drop to my knees for this dude

“You cook?” you blurt.

yes we been knew that he's perfect 😔

“He’s good at his job,” Jin agrees. “I don’t know about genius. Did you know he’s secretly a cat person?”

you know what i actually put down my phone and clapped like an absolute idiot

You hear Jin exhale beside you, his fingers twitching against your shoulder blade, almost like he had the reflex to squeeze you and fought it just a second too late. It strikes you, deeply, that he’s relieved. He doesn’t know your parents, has no real stake here. But his relief is palpable next to you; your worry had become his own. 

okay i am fully in love with him. he's hot and stupid and funny and and caring and a dog dad and cooks and i need him tf 😭

Jin ties the girls’ leashes to a low branch near the trail and fishes a collapsible water bowl from his backpack, filling it with water and setting it down.

i loved this 😭 just jin and his 3 girls <33333333333 and only one is human

He grins, cocky. “They’re pretty good,” he says. “But, honestly, mine are better.” Then, he presses the knuckle of his index finger gently to the bottom of your chin and kisses you gently - again, so gently it’s barely there, so gently it would have taken just a breath of space for you to pull away if you wanted to. 

KITHINGGGGGGG :o puppies look away !!!

“I have a suggestion,” Jin says, voice low. You flush, expecting him to flirt, to offer to rub your tired legs or something suggestive. Instead he says, “You ever try epsom salts?”

i s2g his whole life motto is "never let them know your next move". love that for him tho. this jin is an enigma

Just like that, the toughness drops out of him. Somehow he’d been the one your mom had called, the one responsible for relaying the information, the one responsible for making and supporting medical decisions. You’re the elder, it should have been you. As soon as you take the reins again, he folds, pressing his hands to his face and letting out a shuddering breath. 

You feel horrible, instantly. He’s the baby, he’s not supposed to have to shoulder the responsibility. 

i already told u that this bit got me 😔 i was yeeting tears away and thought "why are we doing this on a sunday morning"

Neither of you notices Seokjin and Blue pass by, glancing at you curiously over his shoulder on his way into the building.

+

But your messages are empty. Your heart sinks with disappointment.

JIN HOE NOOOOOOOO 😭 oh mister kim seokjin why would you do this to me we literally live in the same building and it's not even like, a proper LIE yk jin hoe chill 😭

His face, already blank, somehow slides blanker, like something falls away from it and leaves it even more empty. Then he pulls his gaze away from you, orders Blue to his side with a single, muttered syllable, and turns on his heel to walk to the stairwell at the end of the hall. 

oh lord i would be confused and embarrassed as hell even tho i didn't do anything wrong :/// to be suddenly dropped by the dude you're seeing who - again - lives in the same building and wooed you with a bag of bath salts just a month ago?? how did she do it 😭 i would move lolllll even tho he's being the douche here

He just looks at you silently, but you can see the changes in his expression - that flatness melting away almost imperceptibly, making way for something chagrined. You take this as a good sign and continue, explaining what had happened - from your brother showing up, to the surgery, to your family heading home again - leaving your space emptier than they’d found it. 

SEE jin hoe this is what you get when you jump to conclusions and stop communicating !!!! girl get his ass 👏

“You didn’t come,” he says, frowning adorably. 

bc i'm petty as hell jin hoe you ghosted me for weeks 😔

He breaks the kiss and whispers against your jaw, “Let me show you how sorry I am.”

okay alright you got me. i'll fold.

You try to speak over her, stumbling over your words. “What I’m trying to ask you is… will you…”

Zinnia’s barks get louder; the ball is stuck under the couch and she is pissed. You turn, calling to her, “Zinnia, sit!” 

The command works. She plops onto her butt obediently, and silence descends on the room like a sprinkle of snow. 

You turn back to Jin, heart racing, to finish your question. “...stay?”

okay this is genius !!!!!!!! if zinnie can't learn how to stay then i'm sure jinnie will <33333 also, i genuinely don't know where the jin hoe came from but i just rolled with it lmfao

when i opened this fic i was like, i'll read half and get up and save the rest for later but before you know it i'm fully kicking my feet and everything and devouring this in one sitting. thank yu for making my sunday morning muah <33333333

Sit. Stay. || KSJ

(banner by @kth1)

Title: Sit. Stay. WC: 14k one-shot Genre: fluff, s2l, neighbors!au, baby angst for a quick minute?, smut

Summary: Your new puppy, Zinnia, has turned your world on its head. She’s ruined everything from your sleep schedule to your favorite shoes, and you know it’s your own failure to train her properly. When your cute upstairs neighbor tells you about a local obedience academy, he slowly starts to make himself a place in your schedule, your life, and your heart. After your last relationship went up in flames, will his affections be something else you can count as a failure?

Rating: NSFW - Minors DNI, i mean it

Warnings: language, casual drinking, a parent is having heart problems and seeing doctors for it, miscommunication sort of, immaturity lol, kissing, mentions of surgery/doctors/hospitals - but everyone is okay!, an argument, protected penetrative sex, doggy style (i mean how could i NOT), fingering, a nanosecond of nip stim

A/N: Written for the Paw Prints Academy Collab hosted by @kth1fics! Typo-check by @oddinary4bts - thank you, Ella!!!

--

You’re asleep, dreaming something plotless - your grandmother, long deceased, is there. It doesn't feel sad - it feels peaceful. It feels like, oh, it’s nice to see you again. 

And it’s ruined, too early, by a long, high-pitched, inhuman cry. You startle awake, heart pounding as your brain scrambles to make sense of the sound. The whine - it’s a whine despite the loudness of it - dies down and is followed by a series of yips and sharp barks. Every noise seems to pierce straight through your skull.

You haven’t slept through a night in four days.

“Zinnia,” you beg, pushing the comforter off your body and making your way blindly across the unlit bedroom, “you have got to chill. You are not dying.”

Zinnia, an eleven-week old chocolate labrador, yaps even louder once she hears your voice.

You’re reinforcing bad behavior by getting up, a voice in your head reminds you.

You know it’s true, but what’s the alternative? Let Zinnia wake up every apartment on the whole floor? 

You open the bedroom door, and Zinnie bounces with excitement in her crate, her tail flapping against the wall of it with a rhythmic thwap-ap-thwap-ap.

You sigh. She’s so dang cute, you can’t even be pissed that it’s two in the morning. “Hi, silly girl,” you say, resigned. She rolls herself in a full circle, going belly up and then back to her feet in less than a second. 

You unlock the crate and watch absently as she catapults around your feet, races into the kitchen, slides across the linoleum and crashes sideways into a wooden cabinet door, and then dashes - unphased - back towards you, barreling into your shins. 

You sigh again and head back to your bedroom for a hoodie and some shoes. Miss Zinnie needs to run, apparently. 

You hook up her leash and grab your keys, patting your pocket to make sure your phone is in there before heading to the hallway. Zinnia zips left and right, tripping you more than once on the way to the elevators. 

You take the elevators up instead of down. There are a lot of perks to your high-end apartment building - covered parking, a pool, a 24-hour gym - but the best is by far the dog run, outside on the twelfth floor. You’ve used it approximately sixty times in the days since you brought Zinnia home. 

You realize as you push open the glass doors to the rooftop space that you forgot poop bags. 

“Zinnia,” you say seriously, “I need you to promise not to poop. Got it?”

Zinnie gags once as she pulls too hard on the leash. You rub a hand over her face and reach down to pick her up, opting to carry her hyper ass the rest of the way to the dog run. You hold the door on your way back in for a tall guy with a baseball cap tugged low over his brow, leading a fluffy, blue-eyed dog back into the building. He nods in thanks and hurries past you. You have to step inside for a second to let him by, his shoulders take up so much of the doorway despite his slender frame. 

“His dog isn’t choking itself on the leash,” you point out to Zinnia sourly. You make your way over to the dog run and make sure to latch the gate before setting Zinnia back on the ground and unclipping her.

“Go, you absolute menace,” you tell her. “Go run until you’re tired. Please, for the love of god, run until you’re tired.”

–

You’ve always gotten a mid-afternoon energy slump; Zinnia’s nighttime shenanigans haven’t helped that at all. You’re bent over your desk, trying to inhale the caffeine from your two pm coffee, when your phone pings on your desk.

Your heart sinks when you see the name of the college kid who’s supposed to watch Zinnia on weekday afternoons. 

“Please just be a cute picture,” you mutter as you unlock your screen. No such luck. The text informs you that, in your absence, Zinnia chewed through a pair of shoes you’d been stupid enough to leave out.

There is an attached picture.

It is not cute. 

–

You get home earlier than normal somehow, letting yourself into the apartment and kicking off your shoes. You immediately pick them back up, cradling them against your chest like they need to be protected.

They kind of do. Zinnia hears you and blasts straight at you, running circles around your legs, tail flopping side to side so hard her whole butt wiggles.

“Hello, silly beast,” you say affectionately, though truth be told you’re still mourning those chucks she’d ruined. 

Ry, Zinnia’s college pal, gathers her belongings and tells you goodbye. Alone with your shoe-destroyer, you sigh and head to your bedroom, closing the door behind you. Abandoned in the living room, Zinnia begins to sing the song of her people.

“Oh my god,” you huff. “Please, can you let me pee and change clothes? It is okay to be alone for five seconds!” 

You ignore her complaints as you do just that, emerging in joggers and a hoodie, and sneakers that aren’t your chucks, since those live in the garbage can now. 

You’d been planning on taking Zinnia on a walk walk, but there are some pretty ominous clouds out there. You pull your phone from your pocket and check the hourly - 80% chance that it’s already raining. 

A quick trip to the dog run will have to be better than nothing. 

You two head to the elevator, and you push the button for the twelfth floor, the ring around the button lighting up red.

The elevator slows to a stop on the eighth floor. The doors open and you spot the dog you’d passed last night, the one with the pretty blue eyes. You raise your eyes to look at its owner, the guy with shoulders the width of the moon.

He’s got a cap on again, but you can see his face today. He lights up when he sees you, stepping inside to let the doors close behind him. He glances at the button panel to make sure his choice is selected - he must be heading to twelve as well.

“We met you last night,” he says slyly, smiling at you. You’re unable to answer for a second; he’s so good-looking you think he must model or something. He’s got a strong brow, beautiful dark eyes, and lips that should be a museum, carved from marble.

“I think we did,” you agree, feeling suddenly shy, completely unqualified to speak to this absolute god.

“We did,” he says confidently. “I’d remember a face that cute anywhere.”

You feel yourself flush, suddenly so warm that you want to strip off your hoodie and maybe your shoes too, just to cool down. Then you realize that he’s looking down at Zinnia, whose tail is wagging so ferociously that she’s almost toppling over as she sniffs noses with the stranger’s dog.

“Is she okay?” you ask suddenly. “Do I need to –?”

“It’s fine,” he says easily, flapping a hand at you. “Blue’s very maternal. She knows a baby when she sees one.”

“Okay,” you say, sighing a little in relief. Being a Bad Dog Owner is bad enough, you’d hate to make a mistake with someone else’s dog in the equation. 

The elevator doors open on the twelfth floor, and the guy holds out a hand, beckoning you to go first. You try to exit, but Zinnia is so obsessed with the guy’s dog - Blue - that she won’t budge.

“Good god,” you grumble, reaching down to lift her, stalking out of the elevator with only a scrap of your dignity. You’re pretty sure you hear the guy snicker as he follows you towards the doors to outside. 

There’s an elderly lady and a corgi in the dog run, and you and the guy from the eighth floor hurry through the gate and latch it quickly. 

Zinnia takes off sprinting the second you unclip her. Blue trots over to the corgi first.

“So,” you say. “You have a dog that listens.”

The grin he shoots you is amused. “I’ve had Blue for almost eight years. You have a baby. A lot of her behavior right now - the energy, chewing on everything she finds - she’ll grow out of.”

“That’s a relief,” you say, thinking of the ruined chair legs under your kitchen table. You’d had that kitchen set for a decade and Zinnia left it covered in teeth-marks within the seven minutes it took you to switch laundry loads. 

He shrugs. “Some of it has to be trained out, though,” he warns you.

“Damn,” you sigh. A raindrop hits the back of your hand; instinctively, you raise your eyes to the clouds. Beside you, the guy does the same. On the other end of the dog run, the older lady calls her corgi over and clips its leash, ready to head in.

“You better pee fast, you monster,” you tell Zinnia, who doesn’t hear you and wouldn’t care even if she did.

The guy laughs quietly under his breath, then whistles once. Blue stops sniffing the ground and trots over immediately. Either his competence is really sexy, or you’re biased by his face. 

“I’m Seokjin, by the way,” he says, looking up at you as he bends over to clip the leash back on. “Most people just call me Jin. This is Blue.”

As the rain starts to patter more strongly, you tell him your name, and then point at your bonkers puppy, who is currently trying to wedge herself under the metal beam below a bench. “That absolute disaster is Zinnia.”

He smiles and repeats it. “We’ll see you around,” he says, heading back in towards the building, leaving you and your puppy in a suddenly steady rain. 

–

You stagger like a zombie to the elevators in the morning, hands clasped around a travel mug full of hot tea. Inside, you lean heavily against the wall, willing your eyes to stay open as you descend. 

You’ve made it down two floors before you even register that another human is in there with you. One more before you register that you know that human.

“There she is,” he says brightly, when he sees that you’ve clocked him, finally. “Good morning!”

“Sorry,” you say, smiling ruefully. “I’m exhausted.”

He nods understandingly. “New puppies will do that,” he says, still cheerful. “Are you crate-training her at night?”

“Trying to,” you grumble. “It’s not going great.”

He seems like he’s going to answer, but the elevator stops on floor three and four more people shuffle in between you. When you’re released into the lobby, he nods goodbye from the opposite side of the small crowd as you make your way through the front doors. 

–

You barely make it through the work-day without taking an illegal nap at your desk, but somehow you do. When you get home, Ry slipping out your front door the second she hears you, you want nothing more than to collapse on the couch and close your eyes. 

Instead, you leash up Zinnia - without even changing clothes first - and head up to the dog run. You figure if she handles her business now, it might buy you a few hours of couch time.

You also wonder if the guy - Jin - is usually out there right around now. He was yesterday, after all. Maybe that’s his normal schedule. 

He’s out there before you, this time. Your hunch was right. You unclip Zinnia and lean back against the fence, hoping you don’t fall asleep on your feet like this.

Jin sidles up beside you and you can’t deny the warm, pleased feeling that rises up in you. 

“Tough day at work?” he asks.

You can’t fight the smile off your face - you don’t even try. “Normal,” you say. “Yours?”

He shrugs. “Normal.”

You wait a beat, two beats. Jin leans comfortably next to you, his eyes watching Blue as she runs happily alongside someone’s doberman. 

“What do you do?” you ask, curiosity getting the best of you. 

He gives you a sideways look that you can’t decipher. “You’ll be disappointed,” he says, sort of like a warning.

This surprises you. “Disappointed? Why?”

He shrugs. “It’s pretty boring.”

Your smile turns a little knowing. “And you don’t like looking boring?”

His mouth twists to the side. “I don’t like feeling boring. But anyway - I’m a salesman. I work at a sporting goods store. I do consultations for certain equipment, but most of the time I’m just trying to make commission.”

I think with that smile you could probably sell me a used tissue, you think unhelpfully. 

“That’s more exciting than mine,” you tell him, hoping it cheers him up. “I spend all eight hours behind a desk.”

He grimaces. “Do you hate it?” he asks. 

No one’s ever framed the question like that before. You ponder this as, across the dog run, Zinnia happily harasses a pair of doodle-mixes. 

“I don’t hate it,” you say slowly, weighing the truth of the words. “It’s just… monotonous, sometimes.”

“So you got a puppy to break up the monotony,” he guesses. 

Now it’s your turn to grimace. “I got a puppy because my boyfriend moved out.”

He turns to look at you sharply, expression stricken. “I’m sorry - I didn’t -.”

“It’s fine,” you assure him. “I kicked him out. Caught him - well - it doesn’t matter. The point is I wasn’t sad to see him go. And I’d been trying for a long time to talk him into getting a dog, so. I gave myself a few months to get back on my feet and then I got myself a damn dog.”

And now she’s eating everything I own, you don’t add.

“Sorry you went through that,” Jin says seriously. You wave him off.

“It’s ancient history,” you tell him. “Besides, I’d trade him for Zinnie any day. Even when she pees inside.”

He laughs at this. 

You stand chatting for a while - long enough for the doodle-mixes to get taken inside, and for a whole herd of dachshunds to come, chase circles around Zinnia for thirty minutes, and leave again, shepherded out by a middle-aged man. Long enough to learn that Jin went to college in the city, has an advanced degree in Business Management that he’s never used, adopted Blue when he was twenty-one. Long enough to learn that his parents live on the coast, that he can do most board-centered sports well, that he likes food and video games more than he likes most people. Long enough for him to learn your answers to the same questions. 

“I should probably take her in,” he says finally, as dusk settles around you. “We both need dinner.”

“Sure,” you say. “I should, too. Zinnie! Zin! Zinnia, come!”

Jin snorts as Zinnia happily ignores you. 

–

Your Friday is off to a bad start. Not only did Zinnie scream through the night, until you caved and let her out of the crate and spent the rest of the night on the couch so she wouldn’t feel lonely, but you break a heel on your way out the door. 

The sudden break sends you sprawling onto your carpeted entryway floor. Your thermos of tea rolls away - thankfully sealed tight - but you feel your tights tear on your knee where you land. And your face ends up almost under a kitchen chair, eye to eye with a delightful little gift that Zinnia must have left you sometime while you were trying to get dressed.

You pushed yourself to your feet, eye your ripped tights and then the clock, and burst into tears on the spot. “Zinnia!” you wail. “I do not have time to go change! And I definitely do not have time to scrub the carpet right now!”

You do both, shooting the puppy death-stares as you scoot out of the apartment twenty minutes late with a blotchy face. You’d better not meet Seokjin in the elevators today, like this.

Luckily you don’t - but that’s about the last good thing you can say about the rest of your day. You get a nasty email from your boss for arriving late, you realize once you get to your office that you’d left your thermos of tea back on your kitchen table after you’d tripped, and Ry texts you to say she’s got a flu and she can’t take Zinnia out to pee after lunch the way she usually does. 

You can’t leave early to handle it; you’re already in hot water for being late. You have to accept the fact that you’ll be going home to a mess - Zinnia can’t be expected to hold it that long, and it’s your fault, not hers. You just hope that, without someone there to play with her, her tiny, baby bladder is the only mess you’ll find, and not more ruined furniture. 

It sucks, and you feel horrible - hoping she doesn’t cry and bark all afternoon, alone - but there’s nothing you can do about it.

When you get home, it’s about what you expected. You spray the carpet, hurry to change clothes, then come out to scrub where the spray had been sitting. You clean this up, and then the shreds of paper towel from the paper towel roll that Zinnia somehow got from the kitchen table, and face the puppy, utterly exhausted and at wit’s end. Somehow, you find yourself wanting to cry again.

“Maybe,” you tell her, as she looks up at you expectantly, “I am just not meant to be a dog parent. Maybe you need someone who knows what they’re doing. Or works from home. Or has a roommate to help. Something. Something that isn’t this.”

Oblivious to your emotional spiral, oblivious that you’re questioning your place in her life, Zinnia lays down and yawns, pink tongue curling and paws stretching as far as they can reach. 

You skip the dog run. You think she probably needs an actual walk since Ry didn’t play with her this afternoon, and you don’t think you can face Seokjin in your current mood. He’ll either be friendly or sympathetic, and you can’t handle either of those with grace right now. 

You strap Zinnia into an actual harness, not trusting her on just a clip-leash off the apartment property, and head towards the river. You detour through the park on your way, hoping the fresh air, exercise, and sunshine will work their magic.

They don’t. You fight back tears all the way to the riverside, Zinnia trotting along at times, pulling the leash towards passersby and random garbage at others. 

Near the river, you spot a restaurant with outdoor seating. A few tables have brought their dogs; they lay on the pavement next to their humans’ tables happily, causing no fuss.

“What do you think?” you ask Zinnia wryly. “Can you be good long enough for one drink?”

You don’t give her the choice, getting yourself a table and tying her leash securely to your chair. One drink turns into two, then somehow you’re working on a third, your chin resting in your hand, a little stormcloud brewing above your head. 

You’re startled when a body drops into the chair across from yours. You reach for Zinnia’s leash, alarmed, and then you realize it’s only Jin.

“What are you doing here?” you ask, at the same time that he says, “You look miserable.”

You stare at each other, not sure who should address what first. 

“I was on my way home,” he explains. “The subway stop here isn’t that far from our place, so I’ll take it sometimes when the weather’s nice.”

You nod, accepting this. Then you decide to address what he’d said. “I am miserable,” you admit. “I am the worst dog owner on the planet. Come see me in five years, I will have one hellion of a dog, and exactly zero unruined square inches of apartment.”

Jin looks at you with an expression that’s both amused at your hyperbole and a bit sympathetic. You don’t know what you expect him to say, but it isn’t this - he leans forward, brows furrowing seriously, and asks you, “Can I make a suggestion?”

“Please,” you say, somewhat desperately. “I will take any suggestions.”

He sits back, the intensity leaving his face. “I have a few friends who work at this place in town? It’s called Paw Prints Academy.”

You chuckle. “Is it for bad dogs?”

He flashes you a smile. “Their secret, unofficial motto is there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.”

“Sounds like the place for me,” you admit. 

“They’ve got it all - obedience classes, experts to run your questions by, groomers, boarding, day care.”

“It sounds great,” you say. “I obviously need some expert help. I’m a disaster.”

“I’ll send you their website,” Jin promises, and then pauses, his hand halfway to his phone. He seems, suddenly, less sure. The tips of his ears are suddenly red. “I… that is… if you’re okay with giving me your number?”

You hide your smile behind a hand. “Sure,” you say, trying to bite back the grin. “You can have my number.”

“For puppy purposes,” he clarifies with a cheeky smile. As if you both know that’s a lie.

“For puppy purposes,” you reassure him, feeling your little stormcloud start to dissipate.

–

Seokjin doesn’t abuse having your number. He sends you the website to Paw Prints Academy, and adds, “my friend’s name is jimin, tell him you know me” and then you don’t hear from him again. You call the academy and get Zinnia registered for obedience courses. You also sign yourself up for a seminar called New Puppy 101. 

Slowly, things actually start looking up. It happens in a trickle, so gradually it’s barely noticeable. You don’t notice - until the first morning your alarm goes off and you realize with a jolt of terror that Zinnia hadn’t woken you up in the middle of the night, even once.

But when you trip over your own feet in a panic, throwing open your bedroom door, terrified of what you’ll find… you find Zinnia lying peacefully on her side in her crate. She begins to thump her tail happily when she sees you, and you nearly sag with relief. 

Things improve for you at work, too; it’s almost like getting a full night’s sleep makes you more productive or something. 

You go a full five days without scrubbing your carpet or throwing away any shoes.

And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that you meet Seokjin and Blue up in the dog run nearly every evening after work. 

It’s during one of these unscheduled, yet oddly routine instances that Jin points out Zinnia’s progress. 

You’re leaning against the fence together, watching absently as the dogs run around, as you have almost every day lately. Sure, you take Zinnia up as soon as you get home from work for her sake. But the coincidence that Jin is usually there around the same time doesn’t hurt.

“She seems way better,” he observes, turning his head to watch Zinnia zip by. “I can’t believe how big she’s gotten, too.”

“I know, right?” you explode, responding to both observations at once. But you can’t help it - you’re proud. “Watch this! Zinnia! Zinnie!”

And Zinnia, your wild baby, stops running and turns to look at you eagerly, waiting. 

“Sit!” you call.

And Zinnia sits.

Seokjin whistles low, appreciative. 

“Jimin’s a miracle worker,” he says. “I’m glad you called them.”

“Me too,” you admit. “Did I ever thank you for sending me their info? Because, seriously, I think you saved my life.”

Jin laughs, full and deep.  

It scares you how much you like the feeling of making him laugh. It makes you want to sprint out of there, with or without Zinnia, hopping the fence if you have to.

–

The next afternoon, you get home and get ready to head up to the dog run. It’s a beautiful day, but you barely notice as you rotely go through the motions - change shoes, clip Zinnia’s leash, grab your keys from the countertop, head for the elevator. You keep your phone in your hand, hoping for a vibration, terrified of the vibration.

The dog run is empty when you get there; normally you’d be a little bummed that Jin isn’t there with Blue as he is almost every weekday evening, but today you’re relieved that you don’t have to try to carry a conversation. You unclip Zinnia, who darts away, and give a heavy sigh, leaning heavily against the fence, your phone still between your white-knuckled fingers.

Your relief is short-lived, because the building door opens less than two minutes later and Blue leads Jin out into the sunshine. 

He smiles when he sees you, loping over and taking his now-familiar spot next to you as Blue sniffs the ground next to the metal bench to your left. 

He’s chattering at you, and you think you’re answering, but it all kind of flows around you. After a few minutes of this, he pauses mid-sentence, brows furrowing.

“Hey,” he says kind of softly - there’s a definite change in his tone, which is honestly the thing that grabs your attention. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you answer on instinct. “All good.”

There’s something sharp in his sideways glance. “You sure? You seem distracted.”

You wave the hand holding your phone a little, nodding your head toward it. “My dad’s at a cardiologist appointment right now. I’m waiting to hear if everything is fine… or if everything is not fine, in which case I probably need to go pack a bag and look up train times…” You trail off. Seokjin is listening intently, his face serious. You feel a flush of embarrassment anyway. “Sorry. I shouldn’t unload on you. We’re practically strangers.”

The crease between his eyebrows deepens with his frown.

“Well, now my feelings are hurt,” he complains. 

You blink back at him, surprised. This was not the response you were expecting. 

“I thought we were friends,” he continues, an exaggerated pout creeping into his tone and onto his features. “I don’t keep a steady schedule at the complex’s dog run for just anybody, you know.”

Your heart trips over its own feet and faceplants in the dirt. You feel your eyes go wide as he puts words to something you’d suspected but had been afraid to assume - that you’d both been coming here at the same time on purpose. Not just you, but him too.

The playfulness melts away with the fake pout, and he’s back to looking at you seriously. “Have you had dinner?” he asks. There’s something gentle about the way he says the words; you feel something warm drop to your toes, intoxicating. “Let me cook for you.”

“You cook?” you blurt. 

He smiles warmly, a touch of amusement in it. Like he’s thinking, but is too polite to say, how much you don’t know about him. It’s definitely what you’re thinking. 

“Come on,” he says, heading around you towards the gate, giving your elbow a gentle touch on his way by. “I’ll make you something good.”

–

Jin’s apartment is cleaner than you’d expected, to be honest. He sets you up at his breakfast bar with a generously poured glass of red wine and gets to work in the kitchen. 

“Is Zinnie okay?” you ask him, looking over your shoulder anxiously as Zinnia sniffs his couch frantically, like the fabric is holding every secret the universe could ever hold. “She tends to… chew. It’s been better since we started classes with Jimin, but nobody’s perfect.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Jin says, waving a hand at you. “Blue did her share of damage to my stuff when she was a baby.”

You watch him in comfortable silence as he dices vegetables, a pot of water heating on the stovetop. Maybe it’s the wine talking, but it’s lowkey pretty sexy how he works a kitchen knife. It’s almost enough to distract you from the churning pit of anxiety in your stomach as you tap your fingers absently on your darkened phone screen.

“So it’s been going well with Jimin, huh?” Jin asks over his shoulder, and you tear your gaze away from your phone and try to catch up to the conversation.

“Oh,” you say, once you’ve processed. “Really well, actually. I think he’s a dog genius.”

Jin laughs at this, lifting the cutting board to slide what he’s chopped into the pot of water. Then he comes over to his side of the breakfast bar and picks up the other glass of red wine, still untouched. 

“He’s good at his job,” Jin agrees. “I don’t know about genius. Did you know he’s secretly a cat person?”

This makes you giggle a little, your eyes falling back to your screen. Again, Jin tries to pull you back.

“Is she following any other commands now?” He eyes you over the top of his wine glass as he takes a long drink from it.

You smile a little, well aware that he’s distracting you on purpose, well aware that you aren’t sure you deserve this level of care from him. 

But apparently you’re friends.

“She’s pretty good about here, and sit,” you say. “Not so good with stay. It’s a work in progress.”

Jin grins at this, something sparkling in his eyes. 

“She’s sleeping in her crate at night, too,” you add.

“Wow,” Jin says, eyebrows raising. “That must be nice.”

“I don’t know how I was surviving before,” you tell him seriously, and he laughs again as he turns back to the stove to handle something.

You chat like this, in starts and stops, until the meal is done. Jin slides a steaming bowl before you and sets up a few sides before coming to take the seat to your right. Zinnia appears underfoot, nose sniffing wildly.

“I agree,” you tell her seriously. “It smells amazing. Who taught you to cook?”

His smile softens, going a little sideways. “My grandfather, actually. Weird, right? He was widowed when my dad and my aunts and uncles were all pretty little, so he had to learn, had to feed all those kids.”

“That’s not weird at all,” you tell him. “It’s actually kind of beautiful.”

Emboldened, Jin continues, the fond smile remaining on his face. “He’s a brilliant cook - we’ve told him forever he should have a cooking channel.”

You laugh a little. “People would probably be into that. Especially if you were the assistant.”

This comes out of your mouth without you realizing; the second you register that it has, you feel yourself blush furiously. And, dammit, Jin clocks the whole thing.

“Oh yeah?” he asks, that soft smile turning razor sharp. “Why’s that?”

You’re saved by your phone buzzing on the table, the screen coming to life, illuminating with the notification from your messaging app: Mom.

Frantically, you swipe to open the message, eyes flying across the screen as you read her update. Then, you close your eyes, pressing your forehead to the breakfast bar, the fake granite cool beneath your skin, letting out a shaky exhale.

You feel Jin; he’s instantly in your space, one large hand resting lightly over your shoulder as he hovers closer to you. Aside from his hand on your back, comforting, he’s not touching you at all. But somehow it feels like he’s surrounding you.

He says your name quietly, inquisitively. 

You reach out blindly, your hand finding his knee. “It’s okay,” you say, taking a deep breath and sitting up. Your head spins. You press the heels of your hands to your eyes and take another deep, bracing breath. Seokjin’s hand stays on your back. “It’s good news.”

You hear Jin exhale beside you, his fingers twitching against your shoulder blade, almost like he had the reflex to squeeze you and fought it just a second too late. It strikes you, deeply, that he’s relieved. He doesn’t know your parents, has no real stake here. But his relief is palpable next to you; your worry had become his own. 

“I’m sorry,” you tell him. Your problems shouldn’t be his to bear. “I know I wasn’t great company tonight.”

He shakes his head, following your lead and placing his hand back on his own legs, as if wanting to cover the spot on his knee that you’d left vacant. “I enjoyed your company,” he says openly. “I’m glad you came over.”

You sit in silence, both sneaking glances, neither knowing what move to make yet. You feel like you’re playing Chutes and Ladders and a chute just sent you sideways around the Peppermint Forest and dumped you seven spaces ahead when you don’t really belong there yet. Or maybe you’re mixing up your board games. 

“I should probably go give them a call,” you say reluctantly. “Can I help you clean up? You cooked.”

“No,” he says firmly, shaking his head. Both dogs look up at this familiar word, gauging if they’re the ones in trouble. This makes you smile, and it breaks you out of the weird headspace you were in. “I’ll clean up.”

You rise, calling to Zinnia as you grab her leash. You clip her up and head for the door. Jin trails behind you, walking you out. You pause near the door, looking at him balefully.

“Thank you,” you say quietly. “Seriously - for everything. For… caring about my problems. For the delicious food. For cooking and cleaning up. You should have let me do the dishes.”

He smiles at you, sunlight spun into the quirk of his lips, the soft wrinkle at the edges of his eyes. “If you’re that worried about it, I know how you can make it up to me,” he says, his voice a little teasing. 

“Oh?” You quirk an eyebrow. You’ve got emotional whiplash; in the last three hours you’ve gone from flirting to panicking to soft to awkward to flirting again and you cannot keep up.

He leans against the wall, crosses his arms over his chest, that smile turning sharp again. God, you like his face so much. You like him so much. “Mhm,” he says, mock seriously. “I found a trail I want to check out with Blue, but as a general rule I don’t do mountains alone.”

“Sure,” you deadpan. “You need an Adventure Buddy.”

“Yes,” he says eagerly, snapping his fingers in excitement. “Exactly. So, what do you think? This weekend? The weather’s supposed to be great.”

“Can I let you know?” you ask. “Text me the details.” Truth be told, you want to look up the trail first and decide if it seems too challenging. 

Jin slips out of that teasing, flirtatious mode easily. “Sure,” he says, all casual again. He’s so hard to keep up with, you think you’ll never get used to it. “I’ll text you.” 

You open the door, tripping over Zinnia a little as she pushes past you into the hallway, but you’re stopped when Jin says your name one more time. You look back over your shoulder, curious.

“I’m glad your dad’s okay,” he says, giving you a rueful smile.

You give a tiny smile back before Zinnia bodily tugs you further away, spurring you into movement. “Thanks,” you say, and turn to go.

–

[9:19 PM] You: idk about this trail…. looking at the elevation… do you think it’ll be too hard for Zinnie? she’s just a baby :’)

[9:21 PM] Seokjin: the elevation’s misleading, it’s honestly not that bad

[9:22 PM] Seokjin: you’ll be totally fine

[9:23 PM] Seokjin: oops i mean “Zinnia” will be totally fine 😏

[9:23 PM] You: … what exactly are you implying here

[9:24 PM] Seokjin: just that any and all babies will be fine :) 

[9:25 PM] You: …….i think we’re fighting

–

Seokjin drives you - and the dogs - to the trailhead early Saturday morning, the low rising sun dodging in and out between buildings as they pass you by. The forecast calls for a beautiful day - bright and clear, not too hot to hike, but not so chilly that you’ll shiver the whole first leg. 

As Seokjin parks and organizes his backpack, you stand next to the car, shielding your eyes and peering at the top.

He laughs when he notices, the sound alive and as bright as the weather. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he promises, coming close, looking at the top with you. His presence, so close to you, feels thrilling - like electricity, like a promise.

“You keep saying that,” you deadpan, “but if Zinnia conks out on me, you’re carrying her up the mountain and back.”

“Have some faith,” he teases, and heads for the place where the trees split, the path tamped down from many feet, leading into thick forest.

Zinnia keeps up pretty well, actually, and you and Seokjin set a steady pace up the trail. 

About a half a mile in, he asks, “How’s your dad?”

It startles you, and you look over at him kind of wildly. He looks back at you like it’s nothing - like it’s nothing that he remembered and thought to ask - waiting for your response.

“Fine,” you say, a habit. Then, reconsidering, you add, “I mean, the same. He’s got more tests and stuff lined up, but the verdict from the cardiologist was that there’s no immediate concern. So… that was a relief. His primary care doctor looked at his EKG results and said to go immediately, so we were pretty scared.”

“I’d be scared, too,” he admits. “I’m glad you got good news. I would have been a wreck.”

You continue talking as you walk - about your families, your parents, your siblings. This moves into a conversation about things you both remember from growing up, until the conversation has delved into you both laughing too hard to get a sentence out as you manage, “Wait - wait, do you remember -?”

This takes the conversation to old movies you remember fondly.

“Can you believe my ex had never even heard of those?” you ask a little indignantly, before registering that maybe that was a weird thing to say. 

But Seokjin takes it in stride. “The one who cheated on you? We’ve established his poor taste already.” 

This makes you giggle. “Yes, that winner.” 

He looks over at you, as the trail veers left and sharply steepens. “I’m sorry you went through that,” he says evenly. “I can kind of relate. It’s not fun.”

You peer back at him, not sure how heavy this conversation is going to, or should, get. 

Hesitantly, you ask, “Do you want to tell me about it? I don’t want to… y’know. Pry.”

He shrugs. “At the end of the day, there’s not much to tell. My last girlfriend… I don’t think she cheated - or, well, I never had proof that she did.”

“You suspected?”

He wiggles his head, indicating a maybe. “I think it was heading that way with her and a co-worker. It’s possible that I ended things before it got to that point. But she started lying to me about him - about little stuff, stuff that shouldn’t matter. And I just… I’m a pretty understanding, easy-going guy, but I’m not going to tolerate someone lying to my face.”

You continue in silence for a few minutes, weighing these words in your mind, adding this new knowledge to the idea of Jin that’s in your head. 

Then, he flashes you a cheesy grin and says lightly, “And that’s my sales pitch! Want to date me?”

You laugh out loud, mostly in surprise. But he’s still looking at you, and you feel your eyebrows raise.

“Was that a real question?” you ask, a little disbelieving. God, he’s the most unserious person you’ve ever met. 

“A little bit,” he admits. 

Stunned, you manage, “You might need to do a harder sell.”

His brows furrow dramatically. “Please, I’m a catch. Didn’t you taste my food the other night?” 

“That’s true,” you muse. “The food was bomb. I’ll think about it. Gotta decide if this purchase will break the bank or not.”

While you’re just going along with his little bit, it kind of feels like code. You do need to consider if you can afford dating Jin - emotionally. Mentally. Are you ready for a relationship again? Would that even be what he wants?

“That’s fair,” he says easily. “Crunch some numbers and let me know.”

You think with anyone else it would be awkward the rest of the way, but Jin doesn’t allow it to be. He carries the conversation onto the next topic - gossip about your dog-trainer, Jimin - without a hitch.

You follow the conversation somewhat absently, still in your head, questions rising up to stare at you like Marley’s ghost, covered in chains. What do you want? What are you ready for? 

You aren’t sure - about any of it. But Seokjin’s presence feels like warm rays of sunshine, warming you from a chill you didn’t know you had, and his laugh feels like the toll of city bells, telling you it’s time to come home. 

–

Zinnia doesn’t conk out on her way up the mountain, but she definitely slows. Jin ties the girls’ leashes to a low branch near the trail and fishes a collapsible water bowl from his backpack, filling it with water and setting it down.

“Wow, that’s fancy,” you marvel, as Zinnia attacks the water bowl with vigor, water splashing the rock beneath, painting everything a darker shade of grey. “If we’re gonna keep doing this, I might need to get one of those.”

But Jin’s attention isn’t on the dogs anymore - it’s on the view. He’s wandered to the edge of the flat expanse of rock, where grey meets the green of far down below. You join him, and he puts an arm around your shoulders, glancing at you to make sure this is okay. You look out at the view, and it is beautiful… but your mind is too busy to appreciate it.

“Jin…” you say slowly, and he looks down at you, hand tightening against your shoulder almost reflexively. 

“Hm?”

“If I were interested… what exactly are the terms of sale?” you murmur, feeling kind of shy. 

Jin laughs, delighted, throwing his head back with it. His hair falls away from his face and he uses the hand that’s not on your shoulder to push it back. “What do you want them to be?” he asks, and you feel a tingle down to your toes at the dangerous undercurrent that flows along with the question. 

“I’m not totally sure,” you admit quietly. “Is there any kind of… trial period? Any way to start is slow and see how it goes?”

Seokjin gives you an understanding squeeze. “Listen, as much as I love the bit and your dedication to it, I really want to communicate clearly about this. So - just to be very clear - I’d really like to date you. If you’re more comfortable starting slowly, I’m okay with that.”

You press your lips together, reaching a hand up to gently touch his fingers where they rest on your shoulder, considering. 

Seokjin watches your face, then says, “I know a great burger joint on the way home. Let me buy your dinner, and we can call this a first date. What do you think?”

You turn to face him, looking up and up into his warm eyes, and his hand shifts from your shoulder to the center of your back, holding you loosely enough that you don’t feel held in place, feel free to go if that’s what you choose. 

“That’s a pretty good first date,” you say seriously. “But it’s really gonna depend on how the burgers are.”

He grins, cocky. “They’re pretty good,” he says. “But, honestly, mine are better.” Then, he presses the knuckle of his index finger gently to the bottom of your chin and kisses you gently - again, so gently it’s barely there, so gently it would have taken just a breath of space for you to pull away if you wanted to. 

You don’t; instead you press forward, pressing your lips more firmly against his, your hands coming to rest on his upper arms, feather-light. Behind you, Zinnia begins yipping - loud, insistent, each sharp sound piercing the silence around you.

You pull away from Jin, flushing, pleased to see a smile on his face. “She’s just jealous,” he deadpans. 

You roll your eyes, laughing. “Please. She gets to kiss me all the time. She can share.”

Laughing, Jin heads for the dogs, ready to head back down to the cars. “Come on,” he says over his shoulder. “Let’s go get some pretty good burgers.”

–

They are good - better than pretty good, you think, and you tell Seokjin so after a beer and a half at the burger joint’s outdoor patio. The mountain you’d tackled looms in the distance, blue and shadowy.

“I’m telling you, mine are better,” Jin insists. “I have a secret method.”

“Yeah?” You tease. “Taking it to the grave?”

“You say that like it’s a joke,” he says seriously. “But I am.” 

On the wooden deck beneath you, Zinnia lays on her side, eyelids fluttering and paws twitching as she dreams.

“We really knocked her out,” you observe.

Jin laughs, reaching his arms over his head to stretch, the movement causing his shirt to ride up just enough to show a slip of belly before it falls back into place. You try not to look, try not to remember kissing him at the mountain’s top. 

“That’ll be us in a few hours,” he jokes. “I always knock out after a hike like this.”

“I’m going to be sore for days,” you agree, rubbing your calves in anticipation of the aching muscles you’ll have tomorrow.

“I have a suggestion,” Jin says, voice low. You flush, expecting him to flirt, to offer to rub your tired legs or something suggestive. Instead he says, “You ever try epsom salts?”

You blink at him, bamboozled. You just can’t predict him - he zigs when you expect a zag every damn time. 

“I have, yeah,” you finally stammer. “I don’t think I have any left, though.”

“I have a huge bag,” he tells you, finishing the last of his second beer in one long draught. When he sets down his glass he tells you, “I’ll bring you the bag later. It’ll help a lot, I promise.”

You look him over. “You’re a guy with a lot of solutions, huh?”

He coughs, averting his gaze. You notice the tips of his ears turning pink and you hide a smile behind your hand. So cute. 

“I try to be solution-oriented, yes,” he mumbles, embarrassed. 

There’s no sign of that - the pink ears, the averted eyes, the mumbling - when he shows up at your door about twenty minutes after you arrive home. Zinnia is passed out on the floor behind you, having first lapped up her body weight in water from her silver bowl in the kitchen. As for you, all you’ve managed to do so far is shed your sneakers, your jacket, and the tshirt that had been sticking to your back, leaving you in athletic leggings and a sports bra. 

Jin’s gaze sweeps you from head to toe and then settles determinedly on your eyes, like he’s got to work at it. “I brought the epsom salts,” he tells you unnecessarily, holding up the bag. 

“I see that,” you murmur, feeling warm under his gaze. “Thanks.”

You reach to take the bag from him, but he tugs back on it a little, effectively pulling you to him. You trip into his arms willingly, ready for it this time when he kisses you. 

He walks you backwards into your apartment, out of the threshold, letting the door close behind him. You hit the wall of your entryway, let him cage you in against it, his lips insistent against yours. When he runs a hand softly up your arm, summoning a wave of goosebumps in its wake, you sigh against his lips. 

He takes advantage of the opening, teasing your bottom lip with his tongue before venturing further. You open for him happily, leaning back against the wall, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms on either side of you, the feeling of his tongue sliding against your own, the feeling of his hair between your fingers - when had you grabbed his hair?

You kiss him until you’re dizzy, until your legs feel weak beneath you, until you feel his hand travel from between your shoulder blades, to the small of your back, to the side of your ribs.

You break the kiss gently, nearly panting for breath. You can feel Jin’s pulse jumping as he does the same.

You look at each other for a long moment, communicating silently, weighing options.

You could invite him in. He’s here already, Zinnia’s unconscious, you’re holding a bag of bath salts (wait, no, the bag is on the ground - when did you drop it?). But something in your stomach tugs, tells you not yet. So that’s what you tell him, on a whisper, your teeth coming to toy with your swollen bottom lip as soon as the words are out - not yet. I’m sorry.

“Hey,” he says, cupping your cheek with a hand, so soft. “It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting anything. Don’t apologize.”

You glance around the room, desperate for a distraction, but nothing comes. “I, um,” you say, looking anywhere but him, “I think I’m gonna try the salts now. My legs are like jello.”

He gives you a tiny grin, and you roll your eyes. “From the hike!” you protest.

He gives you a playfully disbelieving look but backs off, giving you some space again. “Sure, of course,” he says, smirking. 

You bend to pick up the discarded bag, holding it in your hands, feeling along the rubber zipper. Then, you cross Jin’s path and open the front door again, looking up to find him still watching you.

He gives you a playful smile. “I had a nice first date and a half,” he says, losing the fight against a pleased smile. 

You huff out a laugh. “This was the half?” you clarify.

“I don’t kiss like that on the first date,” he sniffs in mock indignation.

You giggle, following behind him as he heads to the hallway. “Goodnight, Seokjin. Thanks for the salts. And the date and a half.”

–

You soak away your sore muscles and sleep deeper than you have in months. 

Your days continue this way as April’s grey and rainy afternoons give way to sunshine, bright afternoons, trees starting to bud as the temperature grows milder. You meet Jin at the dog run every afternoon unless you text to make different plans - sometimes a walk with the dogs through the park nearby, sometimes dinner out, sometimes dinner in. 

Dinner in usually means more kissing.

Sometimes, dinner out does, too.

In retrospect, you should have known. You should have known that as you fall for Seokjin little by little something else must be coming. Things can’t just be bright sunshine and Seokjin’s laugh, Zinnia’s wagging tail and linked fingers under starry skies.

Your brother shows up at your door, unannounced, almost a full month after your first date with Jin.

You almost don’t recognize him; it’s not that you haven’t seen him in that long - you have. It’s just that he’s still a kid in your head, a gangly, acne-prone teenager with earpods and a scowl. The man who stares at you, a rolling suitcase in hand, is in a suit. He looks put-together, and grown.

You say his name nervously, and he sort of grimaces at you. 

“Sorry I didn’t call,” he says. “I’ve been on the phone with Mom and the doctors.”

“Doctors?” you echo, backing up to let him inside. 

He gives you a look as he wheels his little suitcase inside. You don’t like the look. It says something bad is coming. 

“It’s Dad,” he says.

–

You end up going out to grab dinner - you have no groceries to cook him a meal, and you’re a terrible cook anyway.

Your little brother fills you in - that cardiologist appointment over a month ago had ended with a positive outcome. They’d told your parents not to worry, there was no immediate danger, but there were certainly concerns.

Concerns that had worsened in the following month, apparently.

“They’re going to see a cardio team at the hospital here in the city,” your brother explains. “Mom was going to call and explain all of this to you, but I told her I was coming here anyway. She can focus on them - getting a hotel set up, packing, all that stuff. It looks like he’ll probably need surgery - they’ll decide at his appointment tomorrow. If that’s the case, they’ll stay in the city for a little until he’s recovered enough to go home again.”

You feel like you’re in shock; it’s a lot all at once. Your whole family suddenly in your city, under terrible circumstances. Surgery? Heart surgery?

“I’ll get a hotel, too, if it turns out they’ll be here a long time,” he says.

You come back to earth sharply. “You don’t need to do that. You’re welcome with me and Zinnia as long as you need, okay? Seriously. I’ll talk to Mom in the morning. We’ll get everything figured out.”

Just like that, the toughness drops out of him. Somehow he’d been the one your mom had called, the one responsible for relaying the information, the one responsible for making and supporting medical decisions. You’re the elder, it should have been you. As soon as you take the reins again, he folds, pressing his hands to his face and letting out a shuddering breath. 

You feel horrible, instantly. He’s the baby, he’s not supposed to have to shoulder the responsibility. 

“Hey,” you say softly. “It’s gonna be fine. Dad will be fine. We’ll find out tomorrow what his treatment plan is, and how long they’ll need to stay. You’re fine staying with me, okay? It’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” he says, uncovering his face and reaching for his water glass. “You’re right.” Then, quieter, “You’re right.”

At the end of the meal, walking back to the apartment, you stop near the door and give him a hug, your brave little brother.

“You did well,” you assure him. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

He hugs you back, holding you like he’s been drowning and you’re a buoy. It breaks your heart to think that may sort of be the case.

Neither of you notices Seokjin and Blue pass by, glancing at you curiously over his shoulder on his way into the building.

When he texts you that night, not long after you’ve set your brother up on your couch and crated Zinnia for the night, it’s not entirely unexpected, considering you’d skipped your normal trip to the dog run earlier, and you’d been too spun in circles to text him an explanation.

His message lights up your screen - “missed you earlier. everything ok?”

You hesitate, nibbling at your lower lip as you consider. What could you really tell him right now?

Not really, my baby brother showed up unannounced and emotionally hanging by a thread, and we’re waiting to find out tomorrow if a team of surgeons will be opening my elderly father up for heart surgery. 

Not really a text message conversation, right? Honestly, you’re not sure it’s an in-person conversation, either. The relationship - if you can call it that without having discussed exclusivity yet - is still new, blooming, fragile. Is it too much, too soon? Would you be better off telling him later, when things are settled, when you can tie up the story nice and neat?

We had another health scare with my dad, but it’s okay now. He’s recovering. 

Isn’t that less heavy? Your problems should not be Seokjin’s to carry, and you know he’ll try to carry them. He’s wonderful that way, always doing. There’s something scared and snappish inside you that wants to keep him far away from this until you’re sure you can look brave, until you’re sure you won’t fall apart in front of him. 

In the end you send back, “all good! just got busy. how was your day?”

It strikes you as a little weird that he hasn’t answered by the time you go to bed. But as soon as you’re up the next day, you’re completely focused on your parents. You call them before you’re even out of bed, checking up on where in the city they’re staying, what time your dad’s appointment is. You call out sick from work, glad you hadn’t wasted sick days back when Zinnia was keeping you from sleeping - even though you’d definitely considered it more than once.

You and your brother both go to the cardiologist appointment, you two and your parents squeezing into the little consultation room as the surgeon examines your dad’s results on his computer screen.

Your heart hammers as you wait. You see your mom’s foot tapping, tapping, tapping, and you reach to hold her hand, hoping to comfort her, calm her down.

The surgeon removes his glasses and looks at your father seriously. “I do think surgery is the best course of action,” he says calmly. Your heart drops. The doctor continues, “It’s a pretty routine procedure, as far as these things go. Nothing to worry too much about. I’m confident that a stent will work.”

You lock onto the words minimally invasive, listening eagerly as the doctor continues to outline the plan he thinks will work best. 

“I think it’s best to admit you today and schedule the surgery as soon as possible,” you hear the doctor says, and the rest of the day is a blur - signing papers, answering doctors’ questions, running back to your parents’ hotel to throw together a bag of personal items for your dad, running to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee that has been your only meal all day, more papers, waiting room after waiting room after waiting room.

When you finally get home, long after dark, your brother trailing wordlessly behind you, you’re so mentally and physically exhausted, you could cry. Zinnia waits for you in her crate - Ry had luckily been around when you texted, and came to take her outside a few times while you were gone. You let Zinnia out of the crate and collapse on the couch. Your brother takes the recliner, staring at you like you’ve both emerged from a warzone. 

As you unwind, try to unclench your brain and your jaw and your shoulders, you think to check your messages. Part of you hopes Jin’s sent you something.

But your messages are empty. Your heart sinks with disappointment. You plan to go to work tomorrow; your dad’s surgery should end midafternoon and you can go straight to the hospital from work. It’s another day that you’ll miss Jin at the dog run. You think about texting him with an explanation, but that last message you sent him still sits there, unanswered, calling you a fool. So, instead, you slide your phone into your pocket and ask your little brother if he wants you to order delivery.

–

It takes you two more days to really get the message - Jin’s silence is deliberate. Your father’s surgery goes well, and if all goes according to plan your family should be heading back home in just a day or two. Crisis handled, on the day after surgery you swallow your pride and send Jin, “Sorry I’ve been MIA - family thing. All good now. What’s new with you?”

Not only does this go unanswered - like the one before - but another three weekdays go by and your trips up to the dog run at 5:15pm remain devoid of company. 

Your father heals. Your mother takes him home. Your brother packs up and leaves just a folded up blanket on the couch he’d occupied for almost a week. April turns rainy, like the children’s rhyme says. And you… you slide back into your old routine, sans Seokjin.

You’re sad - of course you’re sad, you liked Jin. He was funny, charming, and so ready to do for you. You’d gotten used to having him around - his windshield wiper laugh, his great cooking, the way he’d carry the same joke or bit with you for a whole day before letting it go, the way the monotony of your day to day seemed interesting again once he was in it.

And you missed Blue, too.

But it wasn’t that deep - not yet. You’re not sobbing, heartbroken, into your pillow or anything. You feel disappointment above all else - disappointment at the loss of what could have been something. 

You really do think it could have been something real. 

You also feel… confused. What had happened? Had Jin seriously gotten mad at your silence for a few days and just ghosted you? You replay your last few conversations in your head, scour your last few text exchanges for anything that would make sense, but nothing does. 

Some little part of your brain niggles, suggests that you’ve been wronged, somehow. That something had happened to you that you didn’t deserve. It’s enough to start just the tiniest flicker of anger, deep in your belly. 

Thursday brings rain - relentless, cold, the kind of rain to make you wrap up in a jacket and tell Zinnia to hustle when you bring her upstairs to pee. 

For the first time since the day your brother showed up at your door, you run into Jin and Blue. Jin is coming in from outside, both he and Blue soaked from the rain. His jacket sticks to his chest, his drenched hair pushed away from his face. He pauses as Blue shakes the water from her fur, and that’s enough time for your eyes to catch his.

You freeze, not sure what will happen - will he talk to you? Should you say hi?

His face, already blank, somehow slides blanker, like something falls away from it and leaves it even more empty. Then he pulls his gaze away from you, orders Blue to his side with a single, muttered syllable, and turns on his heel to walk to the stairwell at the end of the hall. 

He’ll take the stairs, you figure, so he doesn’t have to walk past you to get to the elevator.

That little flicker of anger builds into a flame, and even the mid-April downpour can’t put it out.

–

It rains for days, your apartment cast in grey. You don’t know if it contributes to your mood or if it’s just mirroring it, but you feel grey, too. You quit using the dog run and start taking Zinnie on loops around the block, instead. After her walks, you lay on the couch, cheek pressed against the soft material, dramas playing on the screen without your attention.

Zinnia lays on the floor against the couch, occasionally whining and licking your hand. Sometimes she digs out toys - rubber kongs, plush ducks she’s practically decapitated, rawhides - and drops them at your feet, looking at you hopefully. You toss them for her or play tug each time, but you think she knows your heart isn’t in it.

Later, when you try to remember April, all you can think of is grey and rain.

–

It seems, though, that you’re not the only one who gave up on the dog run. On the first weekend in May, on a day that is - yes - grey, but thankfully not rainy, you run into Jin on the sidewalk a few buildings down from your own.

Blue wags happily when she sees you, but you feel yourself frown, already sliding your gaze to the ground. You don’t want to watch his face go ugly again, like last time. You can’t bear it, you think you might snap. That indignant little flame tickles in your veins. 

You have to pass each other unless one of you turns around, so you grit your teeth and push on. It feels like an imminent collision, tension and anxiety building in you the closer and closer you get - and then Zinnia decides to make it an actual collision, zigging sharply towards Blue at the last second, knocking you off-balance right into Seokjin’s space.

His hands take you by the upper arms, steadying you, placing you back on your feet. There’s something tender in his touch, you think, and then you glimpse his face. That blankness again, the flatness nastier than any scowl he could send your way. 

His hands are off you quickly, and he’s pushing past you, not a word spoken.

That flame bursts from a tickle to a storm.

“Hey!” you shout, the word tearing from your chest like it had to detach from something, burning up your throat like the burn of liquor. Seokjin turns, that flat expression starting to border on a defensive sneer. “What the hell is your problem?”

Now it is a sneer. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me!” you shout, stomping closer. Zinnia follows, her tail down, sensitive to your tone. “What exactly is the problem, Seokjin? I’m dying to know.”

He opens his mouth to answer you, but you cut him off with a bitter laugh. “No, seriously,” you say, that same bitterness marinating every word. “I’m dying to know. I’ve been trying to figure it out, and I can’t. So please, enlighten me. What did I do?”

Your body sings with adrenaline, your chest heaves with quick breaths as your body tells you it’s ready to fight. 

Seokjin lets out a single huff of a laugh. “What did you do?” he echoes sarcastically. “Literally the only thing I consider a hard no.”

You don’t follow. “What?”

He shakes his head, like he can’t believe that you don’t get it. “I saw you hugging that guy,” he says evenly, “and then I texted you to see what -.”

“That was my brother,” you blurt furiously, eyes narrowing. “Is that what this was all about? You didn’t strike me as a jealous, jump-to-conclusions kind of person -.”

“I don’t care about that,” he says over you, tone stoney. “You lied to me - right to my face.”

You stare at him blankly, trying to put the pieces together. He’d seen you hugging your brother, and then he’d texted you “everything ok?” and you’d said… “just busy”. It was a lie, sort of - barely. 

You laugh - actually laugh. “You’re out of your mind,” you say coldly. “You dropped me over that? I had things going on that I didn’t want to get into. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t care,” he says, not cruelly, just truthful. “It was a lie.”

You heave a frustrated breath, casting your gaze at the full clouds above you. “Seokjin,” you say slowly, “you’re not being fair.” It feels suddenly very important to you to defend yourself, to explain it all away - even if he still walks away after, you want to be sure he knows he was wrong. “I wasn’t lying about, like, where I was, or who I was with. It was just… omission. The situation felt… too heavy for whatever this is. Whatever this was,” you amend. 

He just looks at you silently, but you can see the changes in his expression - that flatness melting away almost imperceptibly, making way for something chagrined. You take this as a good sign and continue, explaining what had happened - from your brother showing up, to the surgery, to your family heading home again - leaving your space emptier than they’d found it. 

Finished, you look at him silently, watching him process. Then, everything off your chest, you move to continue on. You feel, suddenly, like you have nothing else to say to him. “We were just casually dating,” you point out as you take a step away. His ears are red again, but he hasn’t tried to speak. “At no point did I lose the right to choose what to tell you and what to keep to myself. You acted like a child when you could have just communicated with me.”

You give Zinnia a gentle tug and she follows as you head back to the apartment’s front doors. You don’t look back; you don’t think you can.

–

Upstairs, you unclip Zinnia and sink into a kitchen chair, head in your hands. It felt good to yell at him, felt good to find out the reason for his silence. You’d made your peace already with losing him - so why do you feel worse now?

You’re there only minutes when you hear a soft knock on your door. You sigh, knowing exactly who and what it is, and forcing yourself to rise anyway. All the anger you’d felt outside seems to have leaked out of you; now you just feel resigned.

Jin’s ears are still bright red. “You’re right,” he says in greeting. Then, he waits, leaning against the door jamb as you process, as you decide how to respond. Blue stands just behind him patiently, the leash slack. 

Mouth twisting, you look at him flatly. “Care to elaborate?”

“Ah,” he utters. He looks embarrassed, one hand still absently on the back of his neck, eyes on the ground. “I owe you an apology.”

When you still say nothing, he continues. 

“You’re right - you don’t have to tell me your business. I’d like you to - or, I’d like to feel like you can - but you’re not obligated to. I… overreacted. And then I was being too rigid to look closely at what was going on. I just…” 

He trails off and looks at you balefully. “I’m not trying to make an excuse,” he tries to explain. “I know I was wrong. I just made myself a promise years ago to never let anyone lie to me again… hoping I’d never feel so stupid again… and I let it… take over. I’m sorry.”

You consider this, foot tapping nervously. “Okay,” you say finally.

Something hopefully breaks over his face; he moves minutely closer to you. “I feel horrible,” he admits, voice hushed suddenly. “You were going through all that, and I absolutely made more problems for you. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” you say, your voice echoing a little flatly to your own ears. “I forgive you.”

He takes a step back, like the unbending insincerity of your words actually knocks him off balance. 

“Okay,” he says, his voice somehow small. He starts to back away from your door, Blue scurrying out of his path, but his eyes remain on you. “I’ll, uh… I’ll probably be at the dog run tomorrow? Normal time?”

The way he says it, a question, asks if you will too.

“I don’t know,” you answer, even though he didn’t technically ask. “I don’t know yet. Maybe. We’ll see.”

You agonize over it all night. You’re mad - mad that he reacted childishly, mad that he added stress during a hard time for you, mad that he doubted you and judged you and didn't give you a chance to explain yourself. Mad that he let you down. 

But, something logical inside you counters, he’s apologized. He’s taken accountability for it, admitted he’d behaved immaturely. Didn’t people, generally, deserve second chances? Didn’t you want to give him a second chance, regardless?

By the time you get ready for work the next morning, you still aren’t sure. Your stomach churns with indecision all day. When you get home, you sit on the couch, still in your work clothes, and eye Zinnia thoughtfully. She sits and cocks her head to the side, almost quizzical. Like she’s asking, okay, boss, what’s the plan?

You still don’t know. With a sigh, you change out of your office attire and take Zinnia out. At the elevator, you stare at the buttons: physical embodiment of this choice.

In the end, you hit down, taking Zinnie out through the lobby and heading down the street. The idea of Seokjin up at the dog run, eyes on the glass doors - hoping to see you, makes you hunch your shoulders up against a wave of guilt.

You feel like now you’re being the childish one. You know you want to give him another chance. Pretending otherwise just to punish him for hurting you… it’s not a good look, and you know it.

When the knock on your door comes, several hours later, as the sunset casts your apartment in deep blues and shadows, you feel like you were expecting it the whole time. You feel like it’s your own second chance.

“You didn’t come,” he says, frowning adorably. 

You sigh, taking a step backwards to let him inside. He does, the door shutting behind him.

“Why are you here?” you ask; not demanding, not to fight - you want to know. You want to know what he’s hoping for right now, what he wants to happen, so that you can decide if you’re game or not. 

He seems to understand, seems to hear the question for what it really is. He says your name, still hushed, like if he says it with too much force the letters will blow away like dead autumn leaves in a November squall. 

“Well?” you prod.

“Please,” he says, something so desperate playing on the notes of the word. 

“What?” you repeat, hating that your voice is choked. “What do you want, Seokjin?”

He closes the space between you, one hand coming to cup your jaw so light you aren’t sure he’s actually touching you or if you just feel the warmth of proximity. “Forgive me,” he whispers. “I want you to let me try again. Let me do better.”

“I don’t know,” you whisper, but you lean into his touch, closing your eyes. He strokes your cheek gently with his thumb, then pulls his hand away and cups the back of your head, guiding you close enough to press his lips to the top of your head, the kiss lost in your hair.

“I promise,” he whispers, “I won’t fuck up like that again. I want to try again - I like you so much, I want to do everything right for you. I feel like such an idiot for wrecking it.”

“You are an idiot,” you say, and you feel him smile against your forehead before he laughs. 

“Never again, Jin,” you say sternly, leaning back to look up at him. His hand slides down to the back of your neck, resting comfortably. “I don’t do bullshit like that. We’re adults. We have to communicate. We have to speak -”

Behind you, Zinnia barks once, sharp and proud. 

You and Jin both dissolve into giggles, both of you praising Zinnia for following the command. 

When you turn back to Jin, he’s looking at you warmly, eyes shining with fondness. He dips his head to kiss you, and when he feels you kiss him back he tugs you closer by the small of your back, grunting into your mouth when your bodies collide. 

He breaks the kiss and whispers against your jaw, “Let me show you how sorry I am.”

You let out a breathy sound somewhere between a whimper and a sigh, tilting your head to give him more room as his lips go from whispering his desire to kissing your pulsepoint, teeth barely there before his lips soothe the spot. 

You fist your hands in the fabric of his shirt, holding on tight, relying on him to hold you upright as his mouth makes you dizzy. When his lips make it back to yours, you tug on his shirt and walk him backwards towards your open bedroom door. You giggle against his lips when he kicks it shut behind him. 

You’re kissing again as you shed layers in tandem, breaking apart to pull shirts over your heads, kissing messily again as you balance on one foot at a time to remove socks, giggling as you lean back to get a good look at him as he undoes his belt. Would it be crass of you to whistle in appreciation? His shoulders are just... so… wide.

When your leggings pool on your carpet next to his blue jeans, he backs you up to the bed, where you sit heavily. He crawls over top of you, mouths clashing again as he holds himself over top of you. You feel like you’re spinning - you cling to his shoulders, focus on the feeling of his tongue sliding against yours, his fingers tracing the outline of your breast, the insistent press of his clothed erection hot against your thighs.

He kisses you like he’s devouring you, like he’s claiming you, like he’s pouring out every frustration into his lips and teeth and fingers and tongue and they’re all spinning you in bigger and bigger circles, ever widening.

Then the spinning crashes to a halt, because his fingers are meandering lower and lower, skimming your last rib, skating over your lower belly, sliding over your cotton panties and hovering just out of reach from where you want him the most. 

He presses kisses down your jaw, down your neck, goosebumps rising up your arms as his breath ghosts along your throat. His fingers skim your slit over the damp cotton, making you moan shamelessly against the top of his head, but his hand travels back up, fingers sliding up your stomach and back to your chest. 

“Jin,” you breathe, as he rolls your nipple between thumb and forefinger, sending jolts of electric delight clear down to your toes, and he answers you with a low groan before capturing your mouth in another deep kiss. 

You’re spinning again.

Then his hand is back where you want it - fuck, you want it everywhere - fingers sliding through your folds before pushing deep into you. You gasp, but your body shifts to meet his knuckles, hips tilting to let him deeper still. 

It takes you only minutes before you’re begging for him, unashamed, whispering his name around a litany of please and I need you and more, please, more.

He rolls away from you wordlessly, shifting to dig through his wallet. You hear the telltale sound of foil ripping and then he’s back over top of you, lips marking a path from your stomach, up between your tits, past your collarbones, before latching onto your neck as he gives you exactly what you asked for.

The stretch stings but you don’t care, moving to meet him, to take him all the way. Seokjin buries himself deep with a throaty groan, the sound mingling with your own whine.

He keeps a slow pace at first, content with exploring every new everything - every new sound he can pull out of you, every new spot he can touch that makes you arch your back and moan a little louder, every angle that makes you pitch go high and your nails find his shoulders. 

It’s not long before his resolve breaks, his pace quickening as his hips snap into yours, the room filled with the sound of his thighs slapping yours. The tightening ball in the pit of your stomach swells, and your fingers find your clit as you careen towards the edge. Seokjin talks you through it when you crash past the precipice, calling you beautiful, telling you that you feel so good as you clench around him in waves. 

Your limbs feel like jelly as you come down from the high, but Seokjin isn’t done with you. He presses kisses to your jaw, your cheek, the space just beneath your ear. Then, he whispers, “Can I go behind you?”

You nod - words are still too far away, slipping just outside of your fingertips. You can touch them, but can’t pull them close enough to use. Jin uses gentle hands to roll you over and backs up to stand next to the bed; he guides your hips backwards until your knees rest on the edge of the mattress. Still boneless, you fold your arms and press your face into them, moaning loudly when he enters you slowly. 

At this new angle, you feel like he’s somehow, impossibly, deeper, and it’s all you can do to dig your fingers into the sheets beneath you and survive. His pace is slow for only a moment, letting you adjust, and then he’s pounding into you again, hands tight on your hips, pulling you backwards to meet each thrust. 

You can tell it immediately when he’s close - the sounds spilling out of him turn from deep grunts and quiet gasps to lengthier sounds that verge on whiny. You gasp in time with him as he pumps into you more shallowly, barely pulling out at all, as one last strangled, broken sound leaves his mouth. 

You collapse forward onto the bed the second he releases you, your heart hammering. Behind you, he must be handling the condom because when he flops next to you, eyes searching for yours, it’s gone.

“Hi,” he says, smiling. 

You laugh. “Hello there.”

He rolls onto his back next to you, radiating happiness. “So?” he asks your ceiling. “Am I forgiven?”

You roll your eyes, but you can’t erase the smile from your face. Oxytocin is a bitch. “I guess,” you allow. “But you’re on thin ice for a while.”

He makes a thinking sound. “I’ll have to fix that,” he muses, one arm thrown over his head. He looks over at you. “How about you go shower, and I’ll cook you something?”

You twist your lips, considering. “Mmm,” you say. “I think I’d rather you join me in the shower first.”

His smile grows impossibly wider, and his hand creeps to find yours, his fingers lacing between yours and squeezing tight.

–

When you think about May, you remember pink. 

Pink flowers blooming on the trees outside. Pink sunsets as you and Jin walk Blue and Zinnia through the park in the evenings. The pink of Zinnia’s tongue, lolling out of her mouth as she pants happily at your feet. The pink of Seokjin’s ears when you tease him or call him handsome in front of your friends. 

You started things slowly - even slower than the first time; you’re nervous that something will happen again, that this second chance was indeed a mistake. But, true to his word, Seokjin shows up for you every day - he misses no chance to remind you that he’s here, and he’s got a score to settle with his past mistakes. 

As the month comes to a close, spring teasing at tepid summer, you make a decision. You head to Seokjin’s place before dinner, as you do most evenings lately, letting yourself in with the door’s code. Blue is resting on a dog bed near the kitchen, placed there so she can see Seokjin even when he’s cooking and doesn’t feel lonely out in the living room. Zinnia slips through your hands the second the door opens, zipping into the apartment wildly.

“Zinnie!” you call.

Seokjin’s voice carries out to you from the bedroom - “Yeah?”

You laugh, shutting the door behind you and heading to where you’d heard him from. “I said Zinnie, not Jinnie!” you clarify. 

He comes out of the room, laughing at the miscommunication, pausing to kiss your cheek. “How was your day?” he asks, before heading around you into the kitchen, where he had apparently been halfway through chopping some veggies. 

“It was fine,” you hedge. “There’s something I was thinking about today, though.”

“Oh?” he says, looking over his shoulder at you as he picks up where he left off with the chopping.

You lean over the kitchen table, palms a little sweaty with nerves. Below you, Zinnia zips around, chasing a rubber ball of Blue’s, barking loudly as if scolding the toy for fleeing.

“I was thinking about us,” you say slowly, and Seokjin stills, setting down the knife and turning to face you, sensing that this talk is serious. His ears tinge pink almost instantly. 

“Okay…” he says slowly. 

You take a deep breath and push forward. “I was thinking about how I asked if we could do this slowly. How we were taking it one day at a time, not putting a name to it or anything.”

He nods, eyes on you, listening.

You shrug, look away and lick your lips. “I think I’m ready - I think what I want is…”

Behind you, Zinnia’s repeated yaps overtake the room, echoing through Jin’s kitchen. 

You try to speak over her, stumbling over your words. “What I’m trying to ask you is… will you…”

Zinnia’s barks get louder; the ball is stuck under the couch and she is pissed. You turn, calling to her, “Zinnia, sit!” 

The command works. She plops onto her butt obediently, and silence descends on the room like a sprinkle of snow. 

You turn back to Jin, heart racing, to finish your question. “...stay?”

--

Thank you so much for reading! <3 Please look forward to the other fics in the collab and support those excellent writers as well!!!

[evilbeepthemeep]

I posted 9,304 times in 2022

163 posts created (2%)

9,141 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@agentduckorico

@sandal-shuriken-no-jutsu

@eroticcannibal

@ratsetflummi

@dappercyborg

I tagged 203 of my posts in 2022

#killing stalking - 15 posts

#eurovision - 14 posts

#mystic messenger - 6 posts

#cat - 3 posts

#unreality - 3 posts

#bum - 2 posts

#dikadoll jean - 2 posts

#dikadoll - 2 posts

#ball jointed doll - 2 posts

#soup - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#though to be fair we were the weird ones since i had a massive unicorn balloon that made us friends and i let people feel me up

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So currently I'm stuck in bed sick and unable to do much. I've had to pay out to get paracetamol and food which gets expensive.

Since I'm on universal credit I don't have a lot of money so if you can, please send some money via my PayPal which is hawkgay@outlook.com

66 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

#4

Kiwifarms is dying, reblog to make it die faster

73 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#3

I swear down the people who shit on mogai/aces/aros/pans etc because they used to identify as one of them but came out as lesbian/gay/binary trans just can't admit they were wrong.

they'd much rather throw a bunch of minorities under the bus than say they were wrong about who they are.

like somehow it's our fault they thought they were ace cause we "tricked" them into it when actually we just gave out resources.

it's okay to be wrong sometimes, I thought I was a lesbian but no I was ace, NB and pan. I don't blame lesbians for that, it's just the language I had for myself at the time.

being wrong is apart of growing and admitting it is so much healthier than sending death threats to people who's identity you don't like.

77 notes - Posted December 6, 2022

#2

race is abt how ppl see u. when most ppl look at u, u look white. they cannot see into ur mom’s mixed genes before they decide whether or not to discriminate against u. there’s nothing wrong with being white. u can be white and celebrate ur mother’s heritage

First of all that's called white passing privilege which to be fair I do have to a certain degree. Like the other women at the domestic violence shelter my mum was in when she left me dad did say she was lucky we could pass but still doesn't erase the fact we weren't white

Second of all I have faced racism due to me and my family being mixed race. Details about my mother's upbringing were called stories by social workers and even an outfit worn by my grandmother on her 50th wedding anniversary was called a costume. I was literally taken from my mum and given to my abusive dad because she raised me in a very not white way

Third of all I've been an outcast my entire life due to not looking like my white peers. Hell I don't even fit into my dad's side of the family because when I stand next to any of them it's very clear I'm not white.

I've been discriminated against due to my status as a mixed race person in a country that fucking hates anyone who isn't white or performs whiteness correctly.

It's not just genes that impact how people treat you, it's also how you are raised and the people around you. I'm still as much mixed race with my green eyes and pale skin as my sister who has dark brown eyes and tab skin.

But what else do I expect from a terf who thinks biology is immutable and gender isn't a social construct

148 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Narc Abuse And Why It's Bullshit

Long post ahead and tw for rape apology, homophobia, transphobia and ableism

I decided on a whim to do a deep dive on who coined the term Narc abuse and the ideology used in narcissistic abuse circles.

And oh boy I found some info.

The term Narcissistic abuse was first coined sometime in the 90’s by a guy named Sam Vaknin. Notable things about this dude is he’s a writer, a philosopher, a physicist and has npd. Oh apparently he might not even have NPD and is just spouting bullshit to get away with being an unrepentant asshole.

Fun fact he was arrested and jailed for committing securities fraud in 1996.

Here’s a link to his CV. 

notice anything? He holds no qualifications for psychology or psychiatry. 

And even has this fun disclaimer on his website

Which means he has no credentials to talk or teach about NPD. Or Abuse. Or Domestic Violence.

I have combed through this man’s website, interviews and his medium articles and found some truly terrible shit. 

He’s misogynistic

Jacobsen: You agree with First Wave Feminism and Second Wave Feminism, and disagree with Third Wave Feminism and Fourth Wave Feminism. What defines them?

Vaknin: First and second wave feminisms (in plural: there are many schools) were focused on leveling the playing field and fighting abusive and exploitative practices such as prostitution and pornography.

Starting with the suffragettes, they focused on the franchise (the right to vote), equal wages, access (to healthcare, education, the workplace, daycare), revising the dress code (“rational dress”), the right to own and dispose of property, and converting marriage from indentured bondage to an intimate, hopefully lifelong equal partnership.

The third wave was a psychopathic outgrowth. While claiming to be inclusive and permissive, it was a defiant and reckless attempt to “empower” women by eliminating all boundaries, conventions, and mores of any kind in all fields of life.

What women have garnered from the confluence of the three waves is that they should make their careers the pivot of their lives, avoid meaningful, committed relationships with men, and pursue sex as a pastime with any man.

Ironically, the third wave played right into the hands of predatory men (“players”) who took advantage of the newfangled promiscuity while assiduously avoiding any hint of commitment or investment. Third wave feminists internalized the male gaze (“internalized oppression”) and pride themselves on being “sluts”.

The fourth wave of feminism is focused on real problems such as sexual harassment, rape, and body shaming as well as intersectionality (discrimination of women who belong to more than one minority). In many ways, it is an offshoot of second wave feminism.

Quote taken from Prof. Vaknin on Misogyny and Misandry

Transphobic

Philosophically, there is little difference between a narcissist who seeks to avoid his True Self (and positively to become his False Self) – and a transsexual who seeks to discard his true gender. But this similarity, though superficially appealing, is questionable.

People sometimes seek sex reassignment because of advantages and opportunities which, they believe, are enjoyed by the other sex. This rather unrealistic (fantastic) view of the other is faintly narcissistic. It includes elements of idealised over-valuation, of self-preoccupation, and of objectification of one's self. It demonstrates a deficient ability to empathise and some grandiose sense of entitlement ("I deserve to be taken care of") and omnipotence ("I can be whatever I want to be – despite nature/God").

This feeling of entitlement is especially manifest in some gender dysphoric individuals who aggressively pursue hormonal or surgical treatment. They feel that it is their inalienable right to receive it on demand and without any strictures or restrictions. For instance, they oftentimes refuse to undergo psychological evaluation or treatment as a condition for the hormonal or surgical treatment.

It is interesting to note that both narcissism and gender dysphoria are early childhood phenomena. This could be explained by problematic Primary Objects, dysfunctional families, or a common genetic or biochemical problem. It is too early to say which. As yet, there isn't even an agreed typology of gender identity disorders – let alone an in-depth comprehension of their sources.

A radical view, proffered by Ray Blanchard, seems to indicate that pathological narcissism is more likely to be found among non-core, ego-dystonic, autogynephilic transsexulas and among heterosexual transvestites. It is less manifest in core, ego-syntonic, homosexual transsexuals.

Autogynephilic transsexuals are subject to an intense urge to become the opposite sex and, thus, to be rendered the sexual object of their own desire. In other words, they are so sexually attracted to themselves that they wish to become both lovers in the romantic equation - the male and the female. It is the fulfilment of the ultimate narcissistic fantasy with the False Self as a fetish ("narcissistic fetish").

Autogynephilic transsexuals start off as heterosexuals and end up as either bisexual or homosexual. By shifting his/her attentions to men, the male autogynephilic transsexual "proves" to himself that he has finally become a "true" and desirable woman.

Quote taken from Homosexual and Transsexual Narcissists Frequently Asked Questions # 18

Homophobic

See the full post

355 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[absolutepokemontrash]

ayo!! congrats on 666 <33 I'm not sure if its much of a request but I love how you wrote the demon kids personalities! I was wondering what kids of personalities you would see the other brothers kids having? Hypothetically of course (unless 👀)

BRO- I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while! Fan kids are fun to think about, what can I say? Now, these kids aren’t canon to the Awfully Familiar series, the HOL is crowded enough as is… but I hope you enjoy anyways!

(I’m giving all the kids names just so no one gets confused with which kid is whose)

Levi’s Kid

Uh let’s use probability to figure out how rare children of our snek boy are. The Otaku left the house (unlikely), spoke to a human being (very unlikely), did the devil’s tango with them (impossible)

I’m kidding, but seriously what the fuck why did this human exchange student look so much like Levi? Was that a tail? Hehehe… what a weird practical joke…

(I’m calling this MC Percy. Three guesses as to why)

Okay, onto the kiddo’s personality. I’m picturing them being REALLY hyped and REALLY enthusiastic about their hobbies and isn’t afraid to yammer about them. They’re good at what they do and they’re damn proud of it! They turn their envy into *~inspiration~* and get better at the things they enjoy doing!

In all fairness to Levi, it’s a bit easier for his kid because Percy isn’t literally being eaten alive and consumed by this sin every waking moment of his life… perks of being half human! :D

Percy loves swimming, and the ocean, and fish, and they brought a shark back from the beach- wait hang on a second-

It’s not uncommon for Levi to be hardcore gaming while Percy swims around in the fish tank.

The pair of them have a very good relationship, Percy is kind of Levi’s hero with how eager they are to get better at the things they love doing and how they almost never self pity spiral. The one issue is… ugh… Percy is a 🤢…. Sorry. Percy’s a 🤢 🤢-

They’re A FUCKING NORMIE. THEY DON’T LIKE ANIME!

Other than that, the two get along swimmingly. (Ba dum tisssss)

Percy’s reaction to Levi’s cool military titles is basically “WOAH! YOU HAVE BOATS?! CAN I GO ON ONE?!” And Levi would be a monster to decline.

Percy wore a pirate hat despite Levi telling them numerous times that they were a part of the navy, they CATCH pirates. Which are apparently still a big problem in the Devildom…

Also, Percy and Lotan absolutely adore each other. It makes Levi very happy

Satan’s Kid

Satan’s a pretty charming guy, and it’s canon that he’s amazing at seductive speech craft so it’s no surprise that he was able to seduce a human.

You know what is a surprise? The fact that Satan, the smart one, didn’t think to use protection! Like- DUDE I EXPECTED BETTER FROM YOU.

Whatever, anyway, when this kid slammed onto the floor of the assembly hall no one had time to react when the kid suddenly grew horns… and fangs… and a tail… OH FUCK THE KID WAS GOING THROUGH THEIR FIRST TRANSFORMATION WHAT THE FUCK-

(For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to call this kid Lyssa, mainly because of the meaning of the name)

The first thing Lyssa did was launch themselves straight at the first person they saw, and I ask you to guess exactly who sits in the middle seat of the assembly hall. That’s right… Satan… yay…

This kid nearly clawed his face off in the span of two seconds and it took Lucifer and Beel working together to drag them off of him and then Asmo had to step in to use his powers to calm them down. Well. That was eventful.

So Lyssa has a volcanic temper and they’re honestly really bitter and upset at everything, which is something that’s supposed to come in adult life, not so early. So what’s up with this kid? Well, when you’re born with a burning rage deep inside you that can be set off at even the slightest inconvenience and because of that everyone around you immediately assumes you’re dangerous or crazy can really do some damage to a kid.

So who oh who is Lyssa going to blame for this…? Hmmm… who is responsible for the anger? *Side eyes Satan*

“Wow, this kid is blaming me for passing down my wrath even though I couldn’t control giving it to them and if I had the choice I would have made sure they wouldn’t have to live with it and they’re mad at me for subjecting them to existence itself… wow this feels so bad :( who would treat someone like this..?” “*Dad sigh*”

The two of them do eventually get along. It’s actually Satan who extends the olive branch and offers to help them control their anger. As the two spend time together, Lyssa’s intense hatred slowly subsides.

So… what’s Lyssa going to do now? They’ve spent so much of their life being defined by their anger… who the fuck are they????? U-uh… cats! Cats! Lyssa likes cats! Is liking cats a personality? No? Okay… um… Music! Music is relaxing! Lyssa likes music! Um… um… ooo- look at that! They like space! And stars!

You knew what they don’t like? School. Lyssa doesn’t like learning in a controlled environment where they’re being told what to learn. Leave them alone so they can go read about space.

Beelzebub’s kid(s)

*munch* *munch* *chew* *chomp* huh, *chomp* why does the takeout- I mean the human look so much like him…? They’re his kid..? *choke* *cough* *cough* …Huh. Want some chips?

Surprisingly chill first meeting. Well, Beel and the kid were chill, everyone else was freaking the fuck out.

I’m calling this kid Pepper. Why? Fucking guess.

Pepper themselves is just… chill. They’re sort of like a capybara, their vibes are just so immaculate that everyone wants to hang out around them.

Unlike Beel, Pepper’s penchant for food mainly comes from “food is good.” instead of “my body is literally eating itself alive every second of the day and I need to be eating something at almost all times in order to stave off a rampage.” Beel is very happy that his kid doesn’t have to live with food constantly on the brain.

All was well until three days into the exchange program when Pepper asked at the dinner table “so when are we bringing my twin down here?”

…twin genes man… twin genes…

Second kid, I’m calling them Cane. (CANE PEPPER, GET IT?! GET IT?!) this kid is less like a capybara and more like a honey badger. They don’t give a shit.

Here’s the thing though… they’re identical twins.

Cane is basically Beel but smaller. They follow Beel to the gym and usually get stopped at the door. “Kids aren’t allowed in the gym.” Ha, the rules don’t apply to Cane, they just cross their arms and raise their eyebrows and whoever is stopping them just steps aside. Don’t fuck with the honey badger kid.

Pepper and Cane are super close though, but don’t ask if they have a telepathic link or something, Cane will fuck you up and Pepper won’t be able to stop them. (I know a pair of identical twins, and the amount of times they’ve been asked if they can read each other’s minds is enough to make anyone homicidal)

Belphegor’s kid

*squints* how’d this happen..?

Whatever. When Belphie’s kid woke up on the floor of the assembly hall everyone took one look at this kid and collectively went “shitballs”

Belphie was in the attic and his kid was wandering around the house like they ran the place! What the fuuuuuuuuck was Lucifer supposed to do with this????

Anyway, meet Arien.

Arien, how does one describe this little hellspawn? Well, one would call them the brood of Lucifer or the spawn of Satan but that would be false because this manipulative evil devil-child that crawled straight out of a teacher’s nightmares is BELPHIE’S kid. And it fucking SHOWS.

This kid won the demon/human genetic lottery and they’re going to make it everyone’s problem. Basically, they’re sin is sloth, but unlike Belphie, Arien’s is more voluntary, if that makes sense. They sleep and slack off because they like not doing work, not because they’re always tired. They have this sort of lazy relaxed facade that vanishes the second it’s not needed, it’s honestly kind of terrifying.

They quickly learn that if they just pretend to be having troubles with being constantly tired, the rest of the house will go easy on them if they miss their chores and schoolwork.

Jeez Louise when this kid met Belphie…

They both just stared at each other for a solid five minutes before anyone said anything. Belphie somewhat nervously started up his “oh woe is me get me out of here :(“ charade, and the kid played along for a few weeks, until of course, they got suspicious.

You remember how Belphie guilt spiralled with L!MC? Yeah imagine that but 40 times worse, and he hadn’t even done anything yet.

But yeah, blah blah blah Arien breaks Belphie out, they don’t die, family’s back together, happily ever after. But not quite. Arien’s “oh no I’m sorry I’m sleepy…” charade was found out and boy howdy was everyone pissed.

Surprisingly, it was Belphie who gave Arien the wake up thwack, but Arien called Belphie out on his laziness so Belphie was forced to become a better example.

The way they fixed Ari’s behaviour? Extra chores, extra schoolwork, extra everything, and the boys did nothing to help. Basically, “this is how we felt! Deal with it!”

It worked… thankfully.

[collisiondiscourse]

Got any future love interests for the kids?? ^^

YES ohakgnsj I LOVE THEM SO BAD THANK U FOR ASKING!!! ausgsjs theyre all also kid ocs and i have designs for them in mind BUT IM A LIL TOO TIRED TO DRAW RN SO I HOPE YALL UNDERSTAND 😭

NANA

has two childhood friends which are iidachako's kid (Mizuki "Tsuki" Iida) and kirimina's kid (Yōko Ashido)!

theyre... close. and hang out a lot and all that stuff but REALLY — at some point it was hard for them to tell if it was because it was just expected of them to be friends or if they really actually clicked.

especially since yōko and tsuki knew each other and only got introduced to nana when she was around 5. yōko is the eldest followed by tsuki and then leaving nana as the youngest. theyre all gapped in age by one year, but that didnt change much since nana was very... mature.

in late middleschool to highschool, they all kinda grew apart and made friends in their respective year groups instead.

after all graduating from UA, tsuki and yōko reconnected with each other but nana stayed apart for a bit, being too busy training and learning to take on the mantle of OfA

she briefly dated someone from the general studies of UA in 2nd year all the way until maybe a few months after graduation — but it didnt work out bc her partner turned out to disapprove of her want to be a hero and the next wielder of ofa, misguidingly believing her fathers forced it on her (even though thats FAR from the truth)

after reconnecting and settling into her new life, she ends up in a very loving relationship with yōko!

bakugou regularly calls up his best friend to ask for updates on his kid and her relationship like a nosey old man

TOSHI

CLICHE AS HELL BUT WOULD U BELIEVE ME IF I TOLD YOU HE HAS AND ALWAYS CLICKED WITH TODOMOMO'S KID? (shiki todoroki-yaoyorozu, they/she/he)

theyre about the same age, and i'd describe their dynamic as the classic introvert x extrovert that adopted them

shiki and toshi been close since forever!! toshi always willing to jump in and do dumb shit while shiki stands off to the side like "you know what maybe we shouldnt use my mom's bo staff to poke that hornets nest to check for honey..."

and like. theyre INSEPARABLE right? so even as the two of them grow up its so hard for toshi to see them as anything other than this person he grew up with even as shiki grew into a combo of their parents deadly gorgeous looks

because to HIM shiki is just... shiki. the same ole shikj he saw eat their own boogers and get sick from trying to lick back a stray cat that took a liking to them.

and the amount of jokes shiki and toshi make about each others parents? unBEARABLE. absolutely devastating.

the phrase "your dad"' is literally banned in both the midoriya-bakugou and the todoroki-yaoyorozu households

when they enter ua u can rest assured knowing every single teacher of theirs started greying at the hair trying to contain the both of them. it doesnt help that theyre both very obviously powerful and dominate the sports festival every damn year

they get seperate for nearly two years because shiki decides to go travel the world and train elsewhere for a bit and they FIGHT and its bad and ugly and for a good year and a half they dont talk even tho theyve both been stewing on that damn argument

and as the date of shiki's arrival goes closer and closer both of them cant wait to reunite and finally apologize and make amends, shiki expecting toshi to meet them at the airport and getting excited to finally confess their feelings, thinking that as long as toshi shows up, they have a shot—

— and then toshi gets shot back into the past (15 years ago) for 6 damn months.

and all that time shiki spends lamenting wasting their time and the loss of their best friend who went missing after a villain attack and its all sad and shit until toshi shows up out of the blue after going through his Own self discovery journey and tackles shiki's tall ass to the ground

and thats toshi's own "oh" moment especially after meeting and growing close w todoroki from the past

and they get together! the end. katsuki has another conniption.

SORA

in a committed relationship with causing problems

[piromina]

OK OK GUYS ONE PIROMINA ANALYSIS COMING RIGHT UP!!!

*proceeds to put everything in the tags again*

JK JK ummm gimme some time to look at their costumes.

Got it!!! ok so basically what we gotta do first is see what exactly they wanted whenever they transformed.

*looks up transcripts*

Ok I think I'm on to something......

DESPERDADA:

adrien: she thinks im the perfect guy for this mission!!!! plagg: u cant be chat noir and another superhero at the same time! which means that ur NOT the perfect guy for this mission. adrien: the lucky charm told her I am!!!

REFLEKDOLL:

chat noir: do u know why master fu gave u the ladybug miraculous instead of me? ladybug: bc it requires someone w/ a sense of responsibility????

alright so what we have here is: in desperada, adrien wants to be the 'perfect' partner for ladybug. in reflekdoll, adrien wants to be a 'responsible' partner for ladybug.

BASICALLY, adrien wants to prove himself to ladybug.

aspik wants to be the Perfect Adrien. mister bug wants to be the Responsible Chat Noir.

(and when i say chat noir, I mean the black cat to the ladybug. the partner. the person who she can trust, and who he can trust back, no matter what miraculous. someone she can rely on. someone RESPONSIBLE.)

Aspik is him crafting a persona that he thinks ladybug would love (kinda like catwalker) so he makes it based off of what his FATHER would love (kinda like catwalker) bc his father is also someones opinion that adrien very much cares about.

HENCE this costume looking VERY MUCH like ephemerals. but ofc in the tags for that post I did say that it means that Adriens Dad Doesnt Care Abt His Safety but here it means something else!!! HERE it means that adrien is NOT a coward, he is a BRAVE person who Doesnt Need Protection From Bad Guys.

aspik designed his costume after a diamondback rattlesnake, which represent Dangerous Things! surely he can protect ladybug from desperada!!! diamondbacks r super venomous!!! he can do this!!!! desperada should be cowering in fear rn!!! dont worry ladybug!

aspik, as the wielder of the snake miraculous, cannot AFFORD to die like he does as chat noir (which is why he has the very little protection that he has). aspik is brave (which he thinks ladybug would like) and doesnt need protection (which ladybug would like very much) and will in fact protect ladybug from desperada WITHOUT protection for himself because She Goes First just like Father Goes First (which surely ladybug would kiss him for protecting her like that) and if hes living up to his FATHERS expectations and if hes living up to LADYBUGS expectations and if the lucky charm even TOLD HER that hes the perfect guy, then obviously he is the perfect guy!!!!

MISTER BUG's costume on the other hand. mister bug is very different looking from aspik, ephemeral, and cat walker, bc mister bug is not adrien, he is chat noir. mister bug is the responsible partner that ladybug can trust. ladybug knows that mister bug is chat noir. he still needs to act like chat noir. he still needs to be like chat noir. he is still ladybugs partner.

just.......more responsible. ladybug is responsible. he should try being more like her. but as u might notice, mister bugs costume literally looks nothing! like ladybugs! and thats bc hes trying to be not EXACTLY like ladybug. ladybug is a good enough ladybug. he still needs to add the chat noir-ness to the team. just...more responsible.

hence the cat ears were not replaced by ladybug antennae :(

so when adriens subconscious was designing him a costume, it decided: hmmm, what does ladybug NOT like about chat noir? wellll, she teases him abt the bell a lot, like flicks it and stuff. thats kinda childish of him, dont u think? father wouldn't approve. SCRAP THE BELL (or anything ladybug-related that would fit for it) and.....what else? ladybugs costume is super simple. maybe get rid of anything thats a bit too over-the-top and won't rly help with the mission. OKAY FOLKS WERE GETTING RID OF THE POCKETS AND ZIPPER we have literally Never Used Those during a fight and Why Would We Start Now. erm, also! ladybug doesnt have gloves so why should we. GET RID!!!

and then, he was left with almost Nothing Else. he has on the shoulder pads for protection and he has on the boots for also protection and the black is just to deviate from ladybug's costume and add a sense of chat noir to the whole look. and unlike scarabella, the yoyo is in the same place as ladybugs. adrien designed his suit sorta like ladybugs by using the bare minimum of what he could, but also trying to impress his father by adding in some fashion choices using the scraps he had left.

and both of their outfits are actually rly good despite what everyone says✨

I don't think we talk enough about the similarities of Cat Walker's and Ephemeral's costumes enough and the implications it raises.