#i could talk about this parade production forever

[phierecycled]

i recently saw a production of parade and a seemingly insignificant set piece was onstage for the entire show (it was a rectangular block which sat at the corner of leo's prison cell). it wasn't used as anything but it was there and noticeable the entire time. at the end of the show, lucille lay rocks in front of it, signifying that it was leo's gravestone. it was such a small detail but it was only then that i realised the block had been there for the entire show- almost like leo was always doomed from the beginning.

it made me actually think a lot about the cube set design of the falsettos revival, and how whizzer's gravestone was a piece of the cube, meaning it was actually on stage from the beginning of the show. again i can see this as a way of showing him as 'doomed' because there was nothing he or any of the other characters in the show could have done at any point to prevent his death.

in both shows it's institutionalised injustice and prejudice which has doomed them both from the beginning.

[multifandomgirl08]

Race Day [Mini Verstappen Series]

Dad!Max Verstappen x Fiancée!Reader (Established Relationship)

Summary: Nico tags along with Max during a race day in Monza, well as much as he can.

Warning(s): Fluff

A/N: Request sent in by @mbappebby. I got to sit on YouTube and just watch a whole bunch of interviews on Max for this. Posting this on Max's birthday today. I will be publishing the last request that I got on Sunday instead.

Words: 2.1k

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Max had wanted Nico to spend every minute of the race that he could with him today. He wanted Nico to experience everything that he could. Walking through the paddock with him and even seeing Max talk to the fans and take pictures with them. Nico never asked why people wanted pictures of him. He had just accepted it, even thanking someone for supporting his Papa during the race today.

As they got closer to hospitality before the drivers' parade started Nico waved at Charles and Lando from Y/N’s arms, both drivers waved back. Y/N and Nico slipped into the McLaren garage to say hi to Oscar before meeting Max back in front of the Red Bull garage.

Nico would be with Max during the driver's parade wanting to take him around the track with the other drivers, before you and Nico would both be sitting in your normal seats while the race was going on.

"You sure you want to take him with you?" You asked Max as he was holding Nico getting ready for the driver's parade.

"He'll be fine, mijn leeuwin." Max said to Y/N. “Right?” Max turned his head to Nico seeing the little boy nod enthusiastically.

“Okay. Be good for Papa.” Max kissed Y/N’s forehead before Max and Nico made their way out to the bus that would take the drivers around the track.

Max knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold Nico the whole time they were making their way around the track. Max sat down towards the back, Nico in his lap pointing out little things in the distance, from the other people to the turquoise Aston Martin safety cars that were at the race.

They would be playing musical chairs for the first part of the drive around the track but he hadn’t been called up yet to talk to the reporter.

He enjoyed holding Nico before he was called over to answer a few questions. Nico wouldn’t let go of his hand when he sat down at the front of the car, “Max 14th consecutive pole of the year, congratulations. So what’s the plan for you and the team today?”

“Have fun, the car has been good all weekend. So, hopefully, we can show that again today.”

“Who is this little boy that you have with you?” She asked.

“This is my son, Nico. Wave hi to Mama?” Max asked before Nico waved to the camera and then quickly buried his head in Max’s shoulder.

“He’s quite cute. I’m sure your fiancée feels the same way as well.” Max gave a slight nod at her statement.

“And just a few words in Dutch.” Max was quick to respond rattling off something about having a productive race day and getting a good result out of the car.

“Well, I hope the two of you enjoy the rest of your day together, and good luck with the race.” Max gave a final nod, and then moved to the back of the car to sit next to Daniel and Checo.

“So, decided to take Mini Max with you before the race?” Daniel asked.

Max had never minded Daniel’s nickname for Nico, ever since the moment that Daniel met Nico, he had been Mini Max. He was the first person on the grid, not including himself, to hold his son.

“I don’t know. I guess I just want him with me.” This was the first time that Max had really spent a race day with Nico. Normally on race days, Nico would be with Y/N. They had their little routine of walking around the paddock before getting lunch and then watching the race when the time came.

“Maybe you’re now realizing that he’s getting older. He won’t be a little boy forever.”

Maybe Daniel was right. Nico was getting older, he had already started go-karting this year, almost the same age as when he started.

“Possibly.” He said before he started to wave out into the crowd.

“Does that mean when the time comes, you and Y/N are gonna have another?” Checo had asked.

“Another, what?” He said dropping his hand for a moment.

“Another one of these.” Daniel was quick to gesture to Nico.

It wasn’t that Max hadn’t thought about it. Sure, one day he could see himself and Y/N having kids but he liked that it was just the three of them. She was already an amazing mother to Nico, she would be an amazing mother to any children that they had.

“I don’t know. But not right now. Wedding planning and dealing with the house. It’s too much.”

“One day, right?”

“Yeah, one day,” Max said with sincerity. Y/N deserved to have her own children, even though she considered Nico her own.

Once they had gotten out of the car, Max was quick to find Y/N in the garage talking to GP while Christain stood by them.

“He’s starting from pole, I’m sure he’ll do fine.” He heard GP say.

"Max always does well under pressure Christian, you know that." He heard you say. Max couldn’t help but smile. You talking Christian down from whatever he was concerned about.

“I know. It’s just another record that could be broken today.”

“He’ll do great, and if he starts to get bored he’ll make jokes about wanting to test the pit crew or something.”

Max couldn’t help but beam. You had that much confidence in his win today even after the issues that they had earlier in the weekend.

Nico was quick to slip out of Max’s arms before running up to Christian, yelling “Grandpa!” capturing the team principal's attention. Christian welcomed Nico with a hug and an exaggerated, “When did you get so big?”

Max couldn’t help but think that Christian was the only grandfather that Nico would have as he grew up.

“I’m not that big,” Nico said, before reaching for Y/N’s hand.

“Not that big?” Christian asked back. “You’re up to here.” Christian gestured up to his hip to demonstrate how tall Nico had gotten since he had last seen him. Nico couldn’t help but laugh before pressing his face into the shorts that Max was wearing.

The small group stayed talking for a bit longer until Max had to go change into his race suit. Nico didn’t want to leave Max until he had to get into the car for the formation lap.

Y/N had been outside while Max was doing his post-race press conference after his P1 finish. She had been so occupied with talking to Alex's girlfriend Lily that she didn't see Nico slip away into the media tent where Max sat between Lewis and Charles.

Max had seen Nico walk into the tent, he knew he shouldn't be around the cameras. Max was able to look past the crowd of people to see Y/N just outside of the tent talking with someone.

The interview hadn't started yet so Max opened his arms for Nico to walk to him. Nico struggled to get on the couch before Max lifted him up and sat him down next to him.

Once the interview had started, Max waited until there was a question to be answered.

"In third place Charles Leclerc, in second Lewis Hamilton, and our winner Max Verstappen. And it seems like we have a guest with us today in Nico Verstappen. To the drivers, if you wouldn't mind telling us about some of the challenges that you faced today." He heard from Tom and fixed his posture toward the cameras.

"Yeah, my first lap was pretty good, was able to avoid a collision after turn 1. Luckily I was able to go wide as to not cause any damage to the car. Things finally looked like they were turning around after I changed to the medium tires given the issues that we had in qualifying. You know, every race is a challenge in their own right. One wrong move and it can change the race at any moment." He rattled off without having to think about the question.

Max saw Nico had tried to get Lewis' attention who was sitting to the right of him.

The question had gone in a semicircle, from him to Lewis and then to Charles before the reporter moved on asking how the car was today.

“Max, 14th consecutive pole this weekend and with a record-breaking 12 wins in a row. How does it feel?”

“It feels good. I never set out to break records. The achievement is something to appreciate and be happy with.” Max rattled off quickly before he thought the reporter would go to Lewis next.

"How do you think your dad did during the race today, Nico?" Max's attention was immediately drawn to the reporter. He never thought that any of the reporters would ask Nico a question.

Nico looked up at him from aimlessly playing with the zipper of Max's suit. Silently asking if it was okay to answer the voice coming from the small crowd of reporters. Max gave a slight nod, encouraging him to speak.

"Papa did well, even if he wouldn't have started from P1." Nico muttered into the mic that Max placed in front of him.

There were chuckles from the reporters.

Max couldn't help but pull Nico in a little closer giving him a proud smile. He loved that Nico didn't care where he was starting the race from, Nico though he did well regardless.

"Would you have changed anything during the race if it was you behind the wheel?" Nico looked back up at Max again.

He would need to ask Christian if he could start bringing Nico to interviews.

"Trying to overtake Uncle Lewis at lap 15. Small gap," Nico said with a shrug of his shoulders. Lewis reached over and gave Nico a little fist bump while Max smiled.

"Smart kid you've got there, Max." Lewis said just loud enough for the mics to pick it up. Max slightly nodded before laughing.

Nico revealing how close he was to the other drivers on the grid wasn't news. He was seen at races much more often now that Max wasn’t hiding his son from the media. It had taken Nico no time whatsoever to start thinking of the other guys on the grid as his family.

"Max, do you agree with that? Would you have tried to overtake Lewis at turn 3 during that lap?" Max couldn't help but laugh. Of course, that's what they'd ask him.

"It's just like Nico said, there was a small gap. But then you have to wonder if it's worth it to overtake or risk damaging the car. I knew that I would get another opportunity so I wasn't worried about overtaking him then."

"Okay, thank you, Max, Nico." Max gave a small nod before looking over the brim of his hat to see Y/N standing in the back behind the reporters with a wide smile on her face.

The reporters asked Charles and Lewis a few more questions. "Last few questions." He had heard.

"My question is for Max." Max moved to sit up a little taller.

"With your son here, do you think he'll follow in your footsteps driving in F1 for Red Bull?"

They were trying to dig deep, huh?

"That's the dream, right." He started before pausing. "No, I mean. If that's what Nico wants, I will support him, even if he decides that he doesn't want to drive in F1. I'll still support him. As for driving for Red Bull, that I don’t know."

Nico tapped Max on the shoulder before he started talking into the mic. "Ask Grandpa Christian." Nico said.

More laughter broke out from the reporters.

Max reached over and tickled Nico’s right side. He broke out in laughter curling up at Max’s side. He loved having his family here.

ynlnusername 📍Autodromo Nazionale Monza

Liked by yourbestfriend and 475,123 others

ynlnusername Second race back after the break. Congratulations to my better half on another record breaking win! You work every day to achieve your dream and I hope that our son is lucky enough to do the same one day.

charles_leclerc Lovely seeing you and Nico around the paddock today!

landonorris The only Verstappen's allowed in the McLaren garage. Don't tell Max.

View all 629 comments

fan76 Y/N calling Max her better half. Babe, you are the better half.

fan46 Was at Monza today. Loved seeing Max spend time with Nico before the race. He's such a cute kid.

fan27 Nico in his Red Bull headphones in the team garage!

wagsoff1

3,472 likes

wagsoff1 Max and Y/N see out in Milano, Italy celebrating after his 12th consecutive win in Monza.

View all 120 comments

fan56 What is this look that Max is giving Y/N? Love?? Respect?? Devotion?? Can I get a man to look at me like that?

fan86 Wondering when the wedding is going to be.

fan29 Probably during the mid-season break next year. Makes the most sense given when Max proposed.

October 20, 2024

taglist: @karmabyfernando, @barcagirly, @sachaa-ff, @iamahallucinationnn, @musingsbyshreya, @glow-ish, @nonsensical-nonsence, @fanboyluvr, @champomiel, @gothicwidowsworld, @lighttsoutlewis, @itsalwaysgay

[maevesheart]

tolerate it

CORIOLANUS SNOW X CAPITOL!READER

note: hiiiii… guess i’m back from a brief hiatus… coriolanus snow has done something to me so i must write about it. this is set before the mentorships, reader is from a very prominent capitol family—also, i changed some things around and made felix’s father the president instead of his uncle. // also.. should i write more with this oc (sort of) and corio? i like the dynamic

summary: your relationship with felix ravinstill is anything but satisfying. thus, when you find yourself intoxicated and in a room with the ever-charming coriolanus snow, tensions run high.

wc: 5.4k

tw: alcohol, reader being drunk, cheating… oh! and of course, smut ;))))

The President’s Palace was filled with only the most prestigious and wealthy people that occupied the capitol.

You entered with Felix, your arm, adorned with only the finest gems in all of Panem, was linked tightly through his, as he lead you through the ornate doors into the ballroom.

The two of you had been together for a little over 6 months now, and to say the relationship was running its course was an understatement, to say the least.

You hated him, to put it simply.

He was arrogant, and displayed you like a shining new toy that no one else could touch.

How dare he! You seethed with anger for him. Your mother was the heiress of the Cardew fortune, spanning back decades of successful bankers. Livia, your cousin, was wealthy as well, but when your mother’s inheritance collided with your fathers, there was no comparison.

Your father, Hyades Mars, was the wealthiest man in all of Panem. Serbo Plinth could not even compare.

The Mars fortune could be attributed to both a long history and incredible reputation in the Panem military, and the production of precious metals that the country needed so badly.

Your ancestors had begun Mars Manufacturing, the biggest ore manufacturers in all of Panem. When the rebellion occurred, they moved to gun and bomb production, leading President Ravinstill to forever be in the debt of your family.

After all, Mars bombs had won the war.

It was baffling to you how Felix treated you like a mere object, nothing more.

You were far more intelligent, the most beautiful girl in all of Panem, and the labeled “Panem Princess”. Felix was a fool.

However, for your family’s sake, you must play the part. Or your father would die of embarrassment.

You plastered the sweetest smile onto your lips, and let Felix parade you around the room. You greeted the Cranes and Flickermans, making small talk with them before you spotted your mother and father speaking with your uncle in the center of the room.

Ushering a quick goodbye to the guests, and assuring Felix you’d be right back, you rushed for your family.

“Daddy,” you placed a peck on your fathers cheek as he placed a hand on your back.

“Hello, shining star.” His nickname for you caused your cheeks to redden, the pounds of makeup on your face covering the blush.

The Mars were the brightest stars in the entirety of Panem. And your father would never let you or your siblings forget it.

You greeted your mother, and then your Uncle Heracles, your father’s only sibling.

A quick kiss and hug, and then two of you were deep in conversation. Heracles was always your favorite. He never married, so all his money was spent on you and your siblings.

Beautiful jewelry, bags, clothing, anything you could dream of. He loved you as his own.

You threw a quick glance behind your shoulder, meeting the similar eyes that bore the same color as your own.

Heracles and you parents gently smiled as they watched your face take over with recognition.

“Percy?” You questioned, a beaming smile now on your lips.

You rushed away from your family, and straight into the arms of your elder brother, Perseus Mars.

“I’ve missed you dearly, little star,” he chuckled as you slammed yourself into him.

You hadn’t seen Percy in over a year. He joined the military right when he graduated from the Academy, and quickly climbed the ranks. He now bore the responsibility of Major, touring around the country and serving the capitol.

Every male in your family before him had done his duty in the military, but never rose as quickly as Percy. You were filled with pride.

“Well you look just beautiful, shining star.” Percy compliments you, making you do a little twirl.

He was right, you looked marvelous.

Your mother had a custom ruby red dress made for this occasion. It was strapless, and showed your chest off perfectly. It was a thick yet flowing material, that fell to the floor. A long slit accompanied the left side, leaving little to the imagination.

You paired the gorgeous dress with black heels, and a low updo sat on the nape of your neck. Your makeup was simple and timeless, accentuating your striking eyes and full lips. You couldn’t look more beautiful if you tried.

“How has it been in the districts? I cant imagine it’s been nice,” you ask, leading him to dive into a long speech about how it’s brought him wisdom beyond his years.

“Let’s get a drink, yes?” Percy finishes, linking your arm through his. He leads you to the ornate bar, and the two of you each receive a China glass, filled with shining red liquid.

You bring the concoction to your lips, and swallow down the rich taste of cherries. As obnoxious as the Ravinstills were, they sure knew how to throw a party.

Suddenly, Persephone, your older sister and Percy’s twin, appeared in front of the both of you.

Her hair was now suddenly pink, a different shade than from the last time you saw her.

Persephone had a strange fixation with constantly changing her appearance; your mother blamed it on her eclectic boss and vibrant coworker: Fabricia Whatnot and Tigris Snow.

“Hello, Perse.” Persephone smiles, giving Percy a hug.

“Hello back, Perse.” He smiles, rubbing her back. The two of them called each other Perse, crediting their shared names of two famous Greek heroes.

Your father loved mythology, and found it only appropriate to have children named after his favorite hero and goddess.

As your siblings fell into animated conversation, you excused yourself and made your way back to Felix.

He was now with his father, his head thrown back in laughter.

You placed your hand delicately on his back, alerting him of your presence.

“Oh, hello, darling,” he smiled, wrapping an arm around your waist.

You smiled and curtsied to the President, before he took your small hand and brought it up to his mouth, leaving a haste kiss.

“Hello, Miss Mars. Pleasure to see you,”

“Pleasure is all mine, Mister President.” You smile.

The three of you fall into easy conversation. Felix and you soon break free, making your rounds to the many other guests, and friends from the Academy.

Soon the familiar sound of Panem’s Waltz began to play throughout the large room, and Felix lead you into the middle of the dance floor, taking your hand into his.

The two of you lead the waltz, other young couples joining in as the adults watching with pride blossoming onto their faces.

You wished the floor would swallow you whole.

Felix aggressively twirled you around the room, his hand rough and burning through your dress, and his other hand squeezing the life out of yours.

He spun you around and around, not delicately like Percy or even Festus Creed would’ve done.

Your eyes quickly met with Arachne’s, who gave you a solemn nod, knowing how much you hated him. You frowned back, and she mouthed “dance”, to encourage you to take lead and show him who was boss.

You quickly moved your feet in the motion of the foxtrot, causing Felix to follow your lead. The other couples soon followed, Arachne sending you a beaming smile.

Felix struggled to follow your lead, he never quite got the hang of any dance other than the waltz, and you knew this would cause an argument as his jaw tightened, and slightly stuck out his foot, sending you stumbling into his arms.

A smug smirk took over his features as you gave him a death stare, pulling yourself back into place and straightening your dress.

The other couples continues to dance while the two of you had a staring contest, before you shoved him slightly and went to leave the dance floor.

His hand harshly grabbed your arm, and pulled you back into his chest. Before you could comprehend it, you shoved his chest, and caught the attention of the entire room.

“Please excuse us, I’m afraid Miss Mars has had one too many drinks,” he laughed, causing the rest of the room to join in, soon making you into a joke.

You knew they weren’t truly laughing, having all drank a little too much themselves, but you refused to let Felix make you into a fool.

“I’ve just got to freshen up in the bathroom is all. I’ll be back momentarily. The foxtrot was never my best anyhow,” you smiled your sickly sweet grin, everyone believing the words falling from your tongue.

“Now, excuse you,” you shoved past Felix, letting your shoulder hit his as you passed him.

You were left with an awful taste in your mouth.

You grabbed a glass of something on your way out, tipping the glass back to empty all of the liquid into your throat.

What you failed to notice was the script Morphling enhanced written on the Avox’s tray.

You immediately felt calmer, the tension leaving your body.

After you finished the glass, you decided that was enough, and made your way through the crowds, needing some fresh air.

You found yourself in a deserted hall, and tears soon found themselves in your eyes. You told yourself to keep it in, but the mix of anger and morphling caused the hot salty tears to pour out of you.

You wailed, and slapped a hand across your mouth to stop the sound of more, eyes darting throughout the hall to make sure no one saw you.

The hall was empty, thank Heavensbee, and you leaned your head back against the portrait of some past Panem military leader, a string of tears passing down your cheeks.

Felix treated you like a fucking doll, and you weren’t some porcelain plaything that if he let go of would smash into millions of pieces.

You were a lady, a strong, beautiful, intelligent lady, who would not be defined by an ignorant, stupid, man-child who didn’t know his right foot from his left.

With that, you pushed off the wall, and headed towards the south end of the hall, which held two large doors that lead straight to the Royal Garden.

You exited to the garden, beautiful flowers lit by the light coming from the ball room. A small bench sat between the rows of colorful exotic plants.

A shadowed figure was hunched on this said bench, elbows on his knees and head in his palms.

You stumbled on your way over to him, picking up your flowing dark red dress to get to this figure quicker.

As you get closer, you notice the sharp black tuxedo and blonde hair. Immediate dread overtakes your body and you stop dead.

Coriolanus Snow.

Of fucking course. You scoff and let go of your dress. Coriolanus looks up, eyes widening as he takes in your distressed figure.

You and Coriolanus were once friends, but his ego got in the way and you found yourself parting ways from him. Sure, he used to be a sweet boy, but now his ego was as tall as he was, and his last name gave him power others could only dream of.

“Y/N Mars.” Coriolanus nodded, standing up and adjusting his cuff links.

“Coriolanus. Long time no see,” you rolled your eyes, morphling continuing to make your blood hot and coursing.

“Enjoying your party?” He asked, venom laced within his words.

You scowled. “My party? Funny.”

“Oh you don’t know? Felix plans on proposing. I supposed six months is the new six years,” a smirk adorned Coriolanus’s face as he watches yours twist with anger and confusion.

“Wha-… Why?” You spurt out. Suddenly you felt extremely sober.

“I couldn’t guess either. Who would want to marry you?” His words were bullets, hitting you right in the chest.

You couldn’t believe it. But as you thought into the night more, it all made perfect sense. Percy coming back from active duty, all of Panem’s most respectable being there, and Felix showing you off to everyone. He had never been that attached to your hip before.

Tears threatened to slip once more, the last thing you wished to do was marry Felix Ravinstill, but you knew once he was down on that knee, your father’s eyes would bore into yours. You wouldn’t have the heart to let him down.

Desperately wishing to change the subject, you placed your head up high and made eye contact once more with the mean boy in front of you.

“Why were you out here all alone, Coriolanus?”

Was that a hint of… of worry across your face? No, it couldn’t be, Coriolanus thought.

He found himself taken aback by your worried tone and soft eyes after he had repeatedly thrown insults your way.

“Some fresh air, that’s all,” he clears his throat, trying his best to suppress his feelings he had fought for so long.

Insulting you, hiding away. That was all he could do. He had be mean to you your entire life, teasing you, stealing your first kiss on a “dare”. He had never once been nice.

But you were Panem’s Princess, and he could not be in love with Panem’s Princess, so he shoved down his feelings and refused to admit them. After all, why would a rich girl like you be with a poor boy like him?

“I haven’t seen you once tonight. It’s freezing out here, come inside and get some warmth,” you take a step closer to him, causing him to sit up straighter on the bench.

Why were you acting like you cared? Did you know his secret? Or did you truly care? Were his feelings mutual?

“You must have been too preoccupied with Mister President Junior to notice my presence. Naturally, we don’t like each other.”

His statement caused you to take a step backwards. The cold radiated off his skin.

You had deep feelings for Coriolanus, and you assumed he knew. You had only given him your first kiss years ago, just to find out it was a dare from Clemensia.

It shattered your little heart, and you had sworn him off since that dreadful night.

So, to find him so cold and mean when you were so vulnerable, it felt like that night when you were 13 all over again.

It seemed Coriolanus had a specific talent for breaking your heart.

“Alright then. You can be miserable by yourself, Snow. All I’ve done is try to help.” You sniffled, turning brisk on your heel and marching back to the doors you had came out from.

Coriolanus leaned slightly back, wondering what he had just done.

The girl he had been pawning over for years came outside and was trying to comfort him, how could he have been so stupid as to turn you away?

On your solemn walk back through the hallway, you figured Felix could be a good husband. The future president of Panem, and not terribly unattractive.

But deep down, your heart yearned for a certain boy with blue eyes and pale hair, a certain boy who had crushed your heart countless times.

Instead of returning to the ballroom, you headed up the large marble staircase, and straight to the first bedroom.

You threw yourself onto the ornate golden bed, undoing your elaborate bun from the nape of your neck.

Your hair flowed down your back, and you stood in front of the mirror, wiping below your eyes. No one could see you like this.

An abrupt knock came from the other side of the door, and your head snapped.

Surely no one had seen you go upstairs. And there was absolutely no way Coriolanus had followed you.

Opening the door, the familiar face from the garden stood in front of you, eyebrows laced and fret covering his face.

“Coriolanus?” You whispered, the tears once more threatening to spill.

“Please, I am not in the mood.” He felt the crack in your voice deep in his core, and felt a pit begin to form in his stomach.

“Can I come in?” He whispered. You stepped aside and his broad frame crossed the floorboards onto the lush green carpet you stood atop.

“What is it now? Come to insult my dress as well? Tell me that my makeup has smeared?” You sat on the edge of the bed, and placed your face in your hands.

Coriolanus stood in silence for a few moments, then he got onto his knees before you and gently moved your hands from your face.

His fingertips gently traced the sides of your cheeks as they moved your delicate hands, and then he cupped your left cheek and you found yourself leaning in.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never been more sorry for something in my life.” His apology surprised you, and your eyes went wide.

“It’s alright, nothing I’m not used to with you,” you mustered a slight smile.

“No, it’s not alright. I’ve been a fool, Y/N.” Your eyes began to narrow, was this another aspect of his cruel games?

“I’ve been a fool for a long time. Trying to convince myself that I don’t love you. But the harder I try to fight my feelings, the harder they come back and burst into my heart. I love you more than a man could ever love a woman. And I’ve been terrible to you, utterly awful. And you deserve someone who treats you the right way, and I know that Felix cannot love you the way I can. Felix could never give you the things I could, he could never make you feel things I can make you feel.” Coriolanus is stroking your face, his eyes soft and glossy.

You want to believe him, you truly do, but he has never given you a reason to.

You brush his hand away from your face.

“Coriolanus Snow. You have tormented me for too long, knowing my feelings for you. You take, and take, and take, and I have nothing left. Felix, sure he’s not the brightest nor the most doting, but he makes a suitable choice at this point. I haven’t got anything left to give to you. So please, leave me alone.”

You go to stand up, but Coriolanus is pushing you back down.

“Cant you see, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember!”

“You’ve never given me a reason to believe that, Coriolanus!”

The two of you were yelling at this point, and you were very thankful for the loud music down below.

“I know, I know. And I’m so deeply sorry. I should’ve been better, I know.”

“Yes, you should have. And you cannot have me just because you decided ten minutes ago that I was suddenly appealing.”

“You’ve always been beautiful, Y/N.”

You shake your head, looking down to the ground.

“Please, give me a chance. Just one. I won’t mess it up.”

You look up and meet his eyes. You debate his plea in your head.

You could give him a chance and dump Felix, a win-win. But what happens if he goes back to his old ways and hurts you again. He would make a fool of you and there’s no way you could ever beg Felix to take you back.

Before your mind can decide, your heart picks.

“Alright. But just one. No other chances.”

“No other chances. I love you, Y/N.”

You cant stop yourself from smiling, truly believing his words this time. “I love you, Coriolanus.”

A grin splays across his face and he places his hands on either side of your face, delicately tucking a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

“May I kiss you?” A small nod is all you offer before his lips come crashing down onto yours, feeling the exact way they did 5 years ago when the two of you sat in a dark closet.

His lips are cold, but they melt together with your warm ones. The kiss is passionate and slow, the both of you taking your time, cherishing the moment.

Soon, he is standing and pushing you back onto the bed, your head lightly hitting the pillow.

The kiss turns rushed and heated, the both of you breathing heavily. Your hand moves from his bicep to his hair, tugging, earning a groan from deep inside his throat.

He slots his legs between yours, and your thighs latch onto his sides.

You move your hands down to his shoulders, digging deep into his back, feeling the tough muscles contract beneath your perfectly polished red nails.

He pulls back briefly, with lust blown pupils. You assume yours look the same.

He takes your hand and examines the nails, the finest ruby ring around your middle finger, with diamonds forming a crown.

He brings your hand up to his mouth and sucks on your middle finger and ring finger, before pulling them back.

You watch with big eyes and a slightly open mouth, feeling your panties pool down below.

“I’ve only ever dreamt of having you like this.”

You don’t respond, just swallowing roughly.

He moves back to your lips, but only briefly, then moves down your neck, taking his time leaving marks. You’re sure you’ll need extra concealer and powder in the morning, but that is a worry for later.

The only thing you can focus on now is the way his lips feel against your sensitive skin.

He looks up while sucking your collarbone, his eyes dark and seductive. He had you exactly where he wanted, writhing beneath him.

His tongue finds its way down your cleavage, pecking the visible skin. “Such a pretty dress,” he whispers, you silently begging him to continue.

He’s soon shrugging off his tuxedo coat and undoing his bow tie.

You sit up and try to unzip the back of the dress, silently struggling.

He unbuttons his white collared shirt and throws it onto the ground before moving to help you, sliding down the zipper with ease.

He rips the dress down your body, throwing it to the floor. He sits up on his knees and assesses your whole body, suddenly bulging against his pants as he takes in your uncovered breasts.

“No bra? Naughty girl,” he tsks, placing his hands on either side of your waist.

The only part of your body covered is your genitals, a simple black floral lace thong sitting on your hips.

You start to wiggle, desperate for him to do something again.

“Use your words, pretty girl.” He taunts, running a finger across the band of your panties.

“Please,” you whisper, taking his hands into yours.

“Anything for you, my love, tell me what you want,” he leaves a quick kiss to your lips, pulling back to allow you to answer.

“Your mouth.” You’ve never given requests like this before. Ha! You’ve never even been listened to during your few times with Felix. He always had you go down on him or be on top. You had never been eaten out before, and you thought there was no better person than Coriolanus.

A smirk overtakes Coriolanus’s face as he realizes you’ve never had someone go down on you before. “Of course, love.” He shuffles down the bed, laying on his stomach.

You sit up on your elbows to get a better view of him, watching with your breath held as he pulls down your thong with his teeth.

You could melt on the spot.

He throws the panties somewhere over his shoulder, and begins to kiss the inside of each your thighs, taking his sweet time.

“Please, Coryo,” you pant, your chest rising quickly.

Before you even have a chance to close your mouth, he is on your skin, sucking on your clit. The feeling is unbelievable and you throw your head back in pleasure.

His tongue glides between your folds, exploring wildly as you try your hardest not to scream out in pleasure.

He continues to suck, and sticks a finger in while you’re mid-moan, leading to a loud, “Oh, Coryo,” falling from your parted lips.

He smirks against your swollen clit, adding a second finger, pumping at an almost impossible speed.

You feel the pit in your stomach start to come undone and once he feels you begin to wiggle he knows you’re close.

“C’mon, princess,” he urges in a hoarse whisper, adding a third finger.

You’re undone in seconds, biting your bottom lip to stop yourself from screaming his name for all of Panem to hear.

He laps up everything you give, and sticks his fingers into his mouth to ducks off your juices.

His legs are back in between yours, swollen lips quickly reattaching to yours.

He wipes the few stray tears that fell, a sense of pride blossoming in his chest, knowing he was the first man to make you feel that way.

“Coryo, let me please you,” you beg, hands fumbling as you undo his belt and begin to pull down his velvet dress pants.

“Next time. I want to focus on you,” he simply states and your heart soars, no man has ever said that to you, especially in these circumstances.

“I need to feel you, Y/N,” he simply states, hands on your hips.

You nod, ready to feel him inside you. You can only imagine how good it will feel.

“Use your words, baby. I need verbal confirmation,”

“Please, Coriolanus, I need you,” you grab his face, pulling it back down to meet yours. You then move your hands down to his boxers, the both of you pulling them down and flinging them off to join your panties.

His impressive length bounces back, standing straight up against his stomach. Your eyes widen with shock and your clit throbs imagining it inside of you.

Felix is nothing compared to Coryo.

“You’re so big,” you mumble, likely the alcohol from earlier speaking.

He chuckles at your comment, watching you size him up. “Don’t worry, pretty thing, I’ll fit,” he smirks, cupping your face once again.

He lines himself up with your slick folds, bringing your hands down to push himself in.

His large hands cover your small ones, and he watches your face as he slowly pushes in.

Your face first twists with pain and he immediately halts his movements, beginning to pull out before you urge him to continue.

“No, no, it feels good,” you whisper, lightly hissing.

“Just tell me if it hurts and I’ll stop immediately,” he reassures, pushing his full length in.

You gasp as he fills you up, your tight folds holding his cock so well, Coryo’s head falls back in pleasure, a light groan falling from his lips.

“You’re fucking perfect,” he whimpers, going down onto his elbows so he can be closer to you.

“I love you,” he kisses the corner of your mouth before pulling out and going right back in, your hands finding his back.

“Fuck, Coryo, I love—“ a moan interrupts your sentence as he roughly pushes his full length in at once, filling you up in ways you’d never imagined.

He continues to flick his hips into yours, your ankles crossing behind his back, pulling him even closer to your body. The both of you are panting and sweating, chests rising into each other.

Your body trembles in indescribable pleasure as he continues thrusting in at an incredible pace, your head thrown back against the pillow and your eyes closed.

You scream out, his hand slapping down over your mouth to keep you quiet. This turns you on even more, and you begin to move your hips with his, allowing him to push in even deeper.

The slapping of skin and your shared groans fill the air, and Coryo’s lips find your sweet spot against your neck, filling you with even more pleasure.

“Coryo,” you moan, fingernails scratching down his back.

Somehow, his thrusts get harder and faster, pounding into you like a fuck doll he couldn’t get enough of. Arousal drips out of you, and Coryo begins to pull all the out before slamming right back in.

You felt like you were going to explode from pure bliss, the feeling of Coryo’s lips on yours, his strong hands holding you in place, and the feeling of his cock deep inside your pulsing walls.

You feel the pit begin to form again, and Coryo knows you’re close when you begin to tighten around him, and you feel his thrusts get sloppier.

His cock twitches as you whimper underneath him, and he grunts, “I’m close, princess,”

“Me too, Coryo,” you moan, hands gripping his biceps.

With a final thrust, the both of you come undone together, Coryo collapsing onto your chest.

You kiss the side of his face, weakly smiling as his eyes meet yours.

He leaves a kiss to your lips before pushing himself off the bed and going into the en-suite bathroom, quickly running a wash cloth under water and coming back.

He wipes it down your legs and over your privates, kissing your knees as he does so.

He lays back down with you, stroking your face and examining the features he’s loved forever.

“You are beautiful,” he smiles, brushing your hair back.

You blush, shaking your head, “I’m probably a mess right now,”.

“Never.” He kisses your forehead and sits up, “but we do have to go back down there.”

You groan with the realization, quickly being snapped out of your bliss bubble with Coriolanus.

He helps you off the bed, steadying your hips. You assure him that you can walk, and he helps you slip into your dress and heels.

He pulls back on his clothing as you try your best to salvage whats left of your makeup in the bathroom.

“I’m ending it with him when we get down there.” You take Coryo’s hand, lacing it within yours.

“Don’t leave my side, please,” you beg.

“I would never.” He reassures you, wrapping his arm around your waist.

The two of you quietly exit the room, slowly descending the stairs.

You don’t even know how long you’ve been up there, or if the party is still going on.

The loud music assures you that it is, and Coryo stands directly behind you as you enter the ballroom, all eyes falling onto you two.

You catch Percy’s eye first, his face twisted with confusion. Persephone is behind him next to Tigris, the two of them size both of you up, worry evident in their features.

Felix makes his way up to you, and the Capitol citizens act as if they aren’t watching any more, despite the stolen glances and almost hushed conversations.

“Y/N. Where were you,” Felix grips your arm harshly, and you let out a whimper.

Coryo is between the two of you in seconds, his brooding frame easily towering over Felix’s cowering body.

“Don’t touch her.” He threatens, eyes narrowed.

He knows he is teetering in dangerous water. The Snow’s are almost nothing, and the Ravinstills rule all of Panem. Felix could have him dead with the snap of his fingers.

But all Felix does is laugh, brushing Coryo off.

“She is my girlfriend, Coriolanus, don’t overstep now,” Felix chuckles, shaking his head.

“Not anymore,” you say loudly from behind Coryo, who slightly shifts to let you have access to Felix.

Felix gives you a confused look, raising his eyebrow.

“Felix, I cannot be with you anymore. You treat me as if I am a porcelain doll who is only for you to show off. I am a woman, and I am no one’s to parade around.” You say, the large room dead silent.

Your father grins in the back, Uncle Heracles joining. Percy is as well, Pride swelling for his baby sister.

“What?” Felix chokes out, looking as if he’s seen a ghost.

“You heard me loud and clear. It’s done. And I will be leaving now.” You hold your chin up high, and march out, passing President Ravinstill.

You give him a small nod, thanking him once again for having you.

Coriolanus trails you, and you are sure everyone must suspect what happened upstairs. But that doesn’t matter to you at all in that moment.

As soon as the two of you are outside the Palace, and in one of the carriages, Coryo is holding your hand, and kissing it endlessly.

“I’m very proud of you, my love.” He says, and you tuck yourself into his side. “I’m happy it’s done. After all, I’ve got my Coriolanus Snow now, don’t I?” You ask, earning a chuckle from the man you love and a giggle from your own lips.

*

[three--rings]

okay so i’m gonna talk about the build thing. 

I’m not going to get into the whole thing and what I think tho.  Like, I have a lot of thoughts.  But the thing is that I don’t KNOW anything.  I don’t know these people.  I can’t speak to them in any way. 

We have literally ZERO facts.  There is not a single fact that we, the public, have received that has any evidence behind it.  We have a bunch of one-sided claims and... some messages?  And some faked photo “evidence” from pinterest.

We don’t have any basis for making a judgement on anything solid whatsoever.  The only people who can do that are first of all police and legal proceedings, which I very much doubt are going to actually come to pass, and if they did would take absolutely forever to shuffle out.

And secondly BOC as an employer.  Which is where we can expect some kind of eventual decision, whatever it may be.

But what has truly upset me since this broke, besides just the natural grief of the situation, is the fandom response.  It’s been truly horrendous. 

The reaction which I expect from a fandom to this kind of news is shock, upset, grief, confusion, bargaining, etc.  And support of each other as we wait for the full fallout.

Instead I’ve seen celebration, I-told-you-so’s, endless attacks on people who refuse to immediately renounce their support of build, or who are at all measured or hesitant in their response.  Calls to reject not only the actor but the ship, the fandom, the production company.  Comparisons to other actors to highlight how their fave could never.  Finger pointing in every possible direction.

In other words, the fandom eating itself alive.  And is it maybe a small minority of people being toxic and most people being silent?  Yeah, it always is.  But it’s so fucking painful to me and to the fandom as a whole. 

Callout culture has reached a point where when anything happens the only performatively pure action to take is to immediately and loudly cut yourself off publicly from anyone at all likely to be tainted in accusation.  Which is exactly why people with bad motives can use accusations to inflict harm on people they want to hurt. 

I’ve seen over and over people being angry and upset that things aren’t moving faster with this situation, that there hasn’t been more statements and official shit done and like, it’s been less than two days?  On a weekend?  Do you really want the official procedures of ANY employer to work so fast that someone is fired within hours of anyone saying something bad about them, because that’s what people are literally calling for. 

I know it sounds like I’m taking one side here, but honestly I’m not.  No I don’t want the accusations to be true, because NO ONE should want them to be true.  But I can’t speak to their truth at all, because I have no basis to do so.  Except that what has been produced so far has been show NOT to be true (the photographs).  But there’s plenty of toxicity to go around in this situation.

What I want is for the actual truth to be known and acted on appropriately.  That doesn’t need to involve dragging facts out onto twitter or into the public eye, either.  The fandom isn’t judge and jury.  Victims shouldn’t be paraded through the virtual town square to be ripped apart. 

People are mourning right now.  What I’m mourning is the loss of a fandom that wasn’t as divisive and at each other’s throats as my last two.  Where I could just go to enjoy stuff without constant infighting.  Well, guess that’s fucking over. 

People are reliving their own abuse.  I know I am. 

STOP ATTACKING FELLOW FANS.  STOP ATTACKING PEOPLE MOURNING.

How individual fans respond to this isn’t any of your fucking business.  People are allowed to wait to see what happens before making judgments.  People are allowed time and space to process.  Shut the fuck up already.

[quantrix02]

The Legendary Akira Toriyama’s impact

I needed an extra day to gather my thoughts before I wrote this. What do I even say about man who has literally help morph me into the person I am today. Some may think it’s a little odd to get emotional over a person you have never met or better yet even seen in the public eye. Mr. Toriyama was a really private man that even people who worked on his project have never met him, but some how his worked has touched and influenced millions across the world. You can hate Dragon Ball, but you cannot deny its influence on not only manga/anime, but pop culture in general. No other series had athletes throwing kamehamehas as celebrations, or rappers using a super saiyan bar in their flow. This man’s doodle of a little monkey kid has made it all the way to nationally watched Macy’s day parade as a float! Referenced constantly in other cartoons, anime, and video games. He set the standards for transformations in anime with the creation of “Super Saiyan”, a very subtle change of the hair (something he was really good at) became iconic and many series followed it. Gear 5, 6 path sage Mode, Super Sonic, all influenced by Toriyama.

I have to talk about my own personal attachment to Mr. Toriyama’s work. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without Dragon Ball coming into my life. If I didn’t catch Dragon Ball randomly on a Saturday morning in the late 90s and then a littler later with Z premiering on Toonami who knows if I’d even be watching anime today. As a kid growing up I was hooked, I couldn’t consume enough DB content. Goodbye Power Rangers, Goku and the Z Fighters were my new heroes. Running home after school to see how Goku was gonna overcome the odds was an event everyday! Going to Suncoast (a true throwback IYKYK) and picking up the overpriced VHS tapes just to watch stuff from a 20 episodes ahead of the Toonami broadcast and sharing it with my friends made me the coolest kid on the block. Going online and printing out cool pictures of Trunks, Broly, Majin Vegeta (before they debut on American soil) and putting them in front of of my school binder was a time. The posters, figures, videos games, t shirts that my mom and now myself has spent on this product is a little ridiculous, but I wouldn’t change it.

This loss has hit me harder than any celebrity passing in awhile. This is a MJ, Kobe level loss for me. Toriyama sama I know that you didn’t interact with fan, but I hope you could see the impact you have made in this world. My other favorite Mangaka made their manga because of you. I’ve met life long friends because of you, I’m on this app weekly livebloggin anime because of you. So many people love your work and that goes beyond Dragon Ball. Dragon Quest, Dr. Slump, Jaco, Blue Dragon, and so much more of your work will forever be celebrated. You are a true legend and will never be forgotten. Thank you for everything you’ve given us. Rest well

_Sincerely a fan 🐉

[gerardpilled]

Did you not see? Matt posted quite a bit about the figures on his Twitter 😭 He was talking about how he wasn’t asked, didn’t know, and doesn’t get any of the profits BUT he then made the little Matt his profile pic which was really funny. I actually feel quite bad for him. Obvs we don’t know the whole story about why he was kicked from the band, but I think I’d be mad too if someone else was profiting from my face.

LMFAO NO WAY... Yeah, I don't know why he left the band. For all we know he could be a complete asshole and doesn't deserve our sympathy, but I still find it weird from like, a Society perspective. Man is probably just a regular dude now. Imagine if what you did at age 23ish was immortalized forever whether you wanted or not just for a product. Even when Kidrobot made the black parade figures I found it funny they included Bob lmfao. I'm not saying we should completely ignore Bob's existence and possible contribution to the music (he's an asshole but to ignore he was there at all kinda feels like just brushing the issues under the rug) but when it comes to a line of toys... would anyone care if Bob wasn't included... does anyone want the Matt figure... Do most people even know his name...

[sebstanseabass]

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 4

Previous chapter links:

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

CHAPTER FOUR

The cab ride towards the White Wolf was much faster and louder than you anticipated. The cab driver's blaring music from the radio was so loud it felt like you were inside a rave. You and Bucky had to yell over the music for you to talk about what has been happening in your lives for the past few months. You couldn't summarize everything in a five-minute cab ride. So far, these were just some milestones you both gathered (well, more of his): while Bucky was in different parts of the world (Greece, Macau, Amsterdam, Monaco, Aruba) managing interrelation business and hosting nightly parties and whatnots, you were just in New York tending to drunkards (and that includes Peter sometimes) and taking photos of whatever products that come your way.

At that moment, you saw your life pass by in black and white, while Bucky's in color -- just a parade of rainbows trailing behind him wherever he goes.

Yet he still found the things you did interesting.

You wondered what the word interesting meant to him. Of course, you didn't bother asking him that. Perhaps he just felt sorry and wanted to make you feel good.

The moment you got out of the cab, you guys took a deep breath, thankful that that awful ride was over. The music floated away as the cab sped up in the streets.

"What a dick." Bucky commented, watching the cab race through the streets. Any more speed, the cab would've flown in the air.

"I know." You snorted. "God, that was an awful ride. I felt like I was at a frat party."

"Funny. You don't look like someone who would go to one." He joked.

"I went once." You defended. "With Parker."

Bucky raised his eyebrows at you and stared.  Blue eyes piercing right through you in disbelief. "Okay." You sighed. "I picked his drunk ass up at that party. But I really have been to a party with Parker." You left out that detail of you and Peter making out at that party. That was just between you and Peter and you wouldn't want to include his stepbrother in it. Or perhaps Bucky knew about it. You did just found out they talk to each other almost every night. But as you told Bucky about that party, you received no reaction whatsoever which meant he knew nothing. You felt good about that.

You and Bucky stood in front of the White Wolf, trying to shake out the ringing in your ears. Stupid cab ride. Why you couldn't just walk here was because of Bucky. Apparently, he was still a bit hungover. You wondered what would take him to get fully sober.

You stared at the wolf headstone once more, admiring it for the second time today.

"I commissioned an artist for that." Bucky spoke, poking his finger on his right ear. "Just found him on the subway one day. He was selling some sculptures he's made. Asked him if he could make me one and ta-da!"

"It is beautiful."

"I have others he has made inside." With this, Bucky started to walk towards the inside of his hotel.

The uniformed man greeted you on the steps. You sent him a knowing smile once his eyes landed on yours. He smiled back as you introduced yourselves to each other.

"Is she still in my room?" Bucky asked the uniformed man who you now know goes by the name Leonard.

"Yes, sir." He replied. "She said she'd -- "

"I know what she said." Bucky groaned, remembering what you'd told him earlier. "I'll call you from up there if anything goes wrong, okay Leonard?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be on alert."

You watched the exchange in utter fascination. It was like watching something straight out of an action movie: "I'll be on high alert" "I'll tell you when the coast is clear" "Roger that" "I'll call you when something goes wrong"

The only thing was, this wasn't some action movie though Bucky did have a plan. You just never knew about it until you got in the elevators.

"Here's the plan." He started. "We go in holding hands, I'll introduce you as my girlfriend. Maybe fiancé! When she sees you, tell her you're my fiancé and when she tells you that she slept with me, I'm going to deny and you're going to believe me because as my fiancé, you deeply love me and believe everything I say."

"Ew, it's like I'm a sub."

"Wow, you're a dom?"

"I can be." You winked at him.

"Huh, I honestly thought you're a virgin. You know, that type of 'never been kissed, never been loved' type."

In your head, you started singing the rest of the song. "I'm an angel in the streets and devil in the sheets, Bucky." You joked which he took seriously seeing it on the look on his face. "Anyway, your plan?"

"Right! She'd yell and go nuts until she gives up and then leaves the hotel -- "

"Then we get married and let Peter pay for our honeymoon!" You finished for him with a sarcastic smile on your face.

He smirked. "I like the way you think, Aria. But I don't think Peter's gonna want that."

"What do you mean?"

"W-well, he's not gonna afford it is what I meant."

"You're probably right." You gave him a low chuckle. "You're rich. Pay for our honeymoon." You joked.

"As soon as we get this bitch out of here, yes I will, doll." He scrunched his nose up and winked at you right before the elevator doors opened. Swiftly, Bucky grabbed your hand and intertwined your fingers. "Let's do this."

Hand in hand, you stepped out of the elevator. What stood in front of you was the same woman from earlier this morning. Body still clinging to Bucky's shirt. Faint red lipstick still smeared on some parts outside her lips. Blonde hair still disheveled. If you didn't know any better she was just here in the penthouse, waiting, not moving even a single inch.

You put your hand on Bucky's arm, hiding a faint expression of how big it felt against your skin. "Honey, who is this?"

"I-I don't know!"

The unnamed woman managed to step forward, looking Bucky in the eyes. "What do you mean you don't know? We slept last night!" Then, she looked at you. "Who the hell are you?"

"His fiancé." There was a sly smug tone in your voice. Even on your face.

"Fiancé? He didn't tell me anything about a fucking fiancé!"

"What the hell are you saying?" Bucky yelled. His grip tightened on your hand. "I've never even met you! How did you get in here?"

"We spent the night together, what the hell, Bucky!" She bellowed like a monster, then her voice softened. "I-I told you I love you."

"You're crazy."

"Call security." You said. "Now, Bucky!"

While Bucky grabbed for his phone, the woman pleaded, still trying to convince you that she slept with your fake fiancé. "If he says he doesn't know you," you responded, "then I believe him." Bucky slipped away from you, probably calling Leonard from downstairs. He gave you a knowing look, as if ushering you to unleash some kind of hell on his one-night stand. "You need to go, lady, if you don't want to be banned in every hotel here in New York. Yes, my fiancé can do that. So better get your ass out of here or -- "

"Okay, okay!" She held up her hands, giving up. "I'm out of here! Jesus fucking Christ -- " She mumbled more under her breath as she took of Bucky's clothes, revealing a white tank top underneath. She picked up her heels that were scattered on the living room: one shoe on the couch, the other near a foot of a small table. Picked up some pair of jeans on the carpet before stepping inside the elevator.

"I wish you luck in your fucking marriage." She said, tone filled with rage. Then, she proceeded to flip Bucky one last time before she disappeared behind the elevator doors, eyes boring into Bucky's.

"Okay, she's going down. Tell her to never come here again. Thanks, Lenny." Bucky dropped the phone call and gave you a smile. "And thank you for your performance."

You bowed, like how actors bow after a play ends, and flashed him a smile. "Why, thank you."

"Thanks to you I'm never gonna see that woman again in my life."

You turned your back on him, seeing the place for the first time without a tainted image of the woman. A line of little sculptures near every wall (perhaps the ones he commissioned from that subway artist). Family photos, albums and trophies took up a whole cabinet. You shifted your gaze towards the living room where a nice brown couch sits on top of a beige rug, which faced a huge flat screen television. Two pairs of love seats sat across from each other. A glass table set in the middle. On the back wall was a photograph of Bucky which took the whole space. He wore a neat, well-pressed grey suit, sitting on what seemed like a throne inside a home office, one leg stretched outwards and one leg just resting normally on the floor. He had this head tilt on one side, right hand under his chin, blue eyes looking directly at the camera. On its floor were stacks of magazines, and papers.

Even you couldn't deny how good Bucky looked in the photo but the photograph itself? You knew you could do better than that.

You turned around and found Bucky nowhere. "Bucky?"

He then emerged from what seemed like a kitchen because he was carrying loads of food and trod towards where you were and placed everything on the coffee table. "Yeah?"

"If I wasn't here, what would've you done?"

He shrugged, and opened a yogurt. "Probably stay in your apartment forever."

"Wow," you sat on the couch, watching him devour the food on the table, "seems like you've planned everything out."

"Seems like it, yeah."

"Do you always do this, Bucky?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have sex with girls, then make up a lie to get them out of your life."

"Oh, that was the first time." He replied. "Those three words really freaked me out. I've never heard that come from someone besides my family. Never even told anyone I've loved them, again, except my family."

You nodded in response and looked around the penthouse some more, admiring some paintings, big and small, on the walls. Perhaps some were real, perhaps some were just school ofs. On your right, was a draped curtain covering a whole glass wall that overlooked New York city. Bucky clicked some button somewhere which let the curtains open, letting some of the New York sun inside. From here, one could see the whole view of New York. All its pleasure, glory, grime, and lowliness.

Oh, the things you would give to live in a place like this. If you wanted to take in the beauty of New York, you had to climb up on the fire exit towards the rooftop. And the view from up there wasn't as pretty as this one. All the pretty spots were behind million dollar skyscrapers.

You looked at Bucky once more who leaned against the love seat, then closed his eyes. That same fuzzy image, which you thought you had buried at the back of my mind, resurfaced.

"Bucky?"

He shot straight up. "Yeah?"

"Have we... met each other before?"

A frown formed on his face, his blue eyes meeting yours, his gaze intense; as if he was trying to put a finger on something, on you. But then he gave up, telling you perhaps you'd just seen him somewhere here in New York the last time he was here, bumped into him. Something like that.

You agreed. Maybe that was it.

Again, you pushed that image at the back of your mind, hoping it would never come up while Bucky was still here.

You were about to ask Bucky how long he was planning to stay in New York before partying in every country outside America when your phone rang.

It was Steve. You picked it up immediately. "Hey, Steve. Is everything okay?"

Bucky shot his head towards you, perhaps wondering who this Steve was.

"Hey." He replied. His voice was groggy, like he just woke up. "There's been some misunderstanding with the shipments. They thought I said drop them in the morning. Long story short, the shipments are just outside the pub's door."

"What? They can't do that!"

"They have a lot of deliveries today so they had to. I told them to wait for you but those are impatient bastards. New shipment boys."

You cursed then stood up. "I'm actually not in the apartment right now. I'm somewhere else. Not important. I'm on my way."

"Get there fast, Aria."

"I will, don't worry. Bye, Steve."

Once you got off the phone, you told Bucky the whole situation.

"Let's go then!" He said with much enthusiasm. "Those drinks are no good sitting out there. How else am I going to make you the best drink you'll ever have, darling?"

[expelliarmus-percabeth]

Pros and cons and dating the avatars of each entity

The Vast

Pros: Literally the best romantic dates ever. Picnicking in the middle of wide-open skies, or giant lakes that stretch on and on forever.

Cons: Kissing at terminal velocity is not as fun as it's cracked up to be.

The Corruption

Pros: Loves you with an intensity. Very clingy. Very touchy-feely.

Cons: You will live in a literal rat's nest.

The Eye

Pros: Knows all your likes and dislikes, knows exactly what you're feeling and what to say and do to make you happy.

Cons: For some reason soon after you start dating them all your computer privacy settings stop working.

The Spiral

Pros: Knife hands! Doors! Corridors! Slowly losing and questioning your sanity the more you spend time with them! Being unsure if they even exist! Fractals! Patterns! What's not to like??

Cons: None!

The Buried

Pros: The blanket forts...... all the blanket forts.......

Cons: Loves the dirt more than they love you.

The Desolation

Pros: Hot.

Cons: Hot.

The Stranger

Pros: They buy so many skin products that your skin will be almost unnaturally smooth after dating them for a few months. Dances with them are great.

Cons: The number of mannequins in the house is starting to get disturbing.

The Dark

Pros: They snap their fingers and the lights instantly go off. Candlelit romance anytime, anywhere.

Cons: There are only so many conversations you can have about the "beauty of the dark sun" until dinner talk grows stale. Will definitely try to convert you to their creepy cult.

The End

Pros: Pulls off the goth aesthetic extremely well, if you're into that.

Cons: Constantly reminds you that you're either going to break up, get married or die, and muses aloud their speculations about which one it'll be. Also, the only album they ever listen to is MCR's Black Parade.

The Flesh

Pros: Very interesting good in bed.

Cons: You will constantly find yourself sighing, "Jason, tell me the truth. Did you cook human meat for dinner AGAIN?!"

The Hunt

Pros: Extremely passionate kisses. Almost ravenous, you could say.

Cons: furry :/

The Slaughter

Pros: cute when they angy!

Cons: You tried to make a "you're not you when you're hungry" joke once and they nearly stabbed your eye out.

The Web

Pros: I mean who doesn't love extra eyes and legs?

Cons: "vriska did nothing wrong"

The Lonely

Pros: Will give you space whenever you need it. Maybe more enthusiastically than you'd want.

Cons: Wants to see you so little you're not even sure whether you're in a relationship anymore. You talk to them once every three weeks. Embarrasses you at the annual Institute party.

[thefanficmonster]

Never Satisfied [Chapter 3]

Corpse Husband x Original Female Character

Warnings: Language

A collaboration between Vy & Ashens 🖤

“I can’t tell if this is a date or a debt collection“

“So where do you want to eat?” Corpse murmurs, sitting in the same car with the same girl he’d been in only a few days ago. His seatbelt clicks and he tilts his head to peer at her from his peripheral vision. She’s buckling up and getting settled in the passenger seat where no one but her has sat in for months. His cheeks turn pink when she turns to look at him, catching him staring which brings a grin to her face. 

“I’m buying you food, bud, you pick.” She answers simply, leaning back in the old seat. 

Corpse sits frozen for a minute or two as he contemplates what the best option would be. 

Nowhere? Could I get away with that though? 

His anxiety is starting to creep up again - the dark demon of his existence. The everpresent rain cloud over the parade of his life. 

What if I make myself look like an idiot. What if I picked something she doesn’t like? Would she think I’m weird? What if whatever I get makes me sick and I end up embarrassing myself! 

Wait, she’s a klepto. What if she robs me?!

“If you can’t think of a place, there’s a little bistro about ten minutes down West Colt avenue that has some pretty bangin’ Greek food.” She suggests calmly, taking his silence as indecisiveness. She’s good at picking up subtle cues, he’s thankful for that. She seems to easily be able to get along with anyone despite her wild personality. She may have a wild spirit, but she’s got the ability to tame it when needed. She’s the only one with that power from what it seems. 

Corpse takes a moment, nods and puts his car into drive to head in the directions she mentioned.

He isn’t completely sure how she’s perceived his indecisiveness though, which is bothering him - was she annoyed by it and wanted to put an end to it or was she just trying to be helpful and prevent him from getting himself worked up? His mind spirals so easily, he hates it. Even in a calm and casual - ok, as casual as it’s gonna get with this girl - scenario, his head is spinning with nothing but the worst outcomes and possibilities. That’s anxiety for ya, it’s a fucking bitch. Either way he appreciates her stepping in like that, saved him quite the bus load of anxious pondering, so the least he can do is offer her a quick smile. 

Don’t make it weird, Corpse!, he scolds himself.

She’s looking out the passenger side window, fingers tapping calmly and rhythmically against her knee, seemingly not bothered by the loud silence in the vehicle. He, however, is not so at peace with it. He’s usually the one to enjoy silences, unless he finds himself in these kinds of situations - in-closed space with another person. He tries to ask himself what would other people do to put an end to the quiet that feels almost like a physical presence. Small talk? That’s one thing he’s never been good at. Music? That’s the key here, however he can’t be sure how to properly use it to his advantage. He can’t just play whatever and expect it to be fine. He appreciates taste in people - he knows he’d be mildly offended if people didn’t respect his taste, that’s why he always pays attention to the favors of others. Especially when it comes to music. 

That’s why, before turning the car radio on, he pauses to ask: “What kind of m-“

“Anything. Really.” She says quickly, cutting him off mid-question before laughing in a certain way Corpse can’t quite place...nervously? Could that be it? That’s a sound he never expected he’d hear from her. Is that feeling even in her specter of emotions? Her? Nervous? - sounds more impossible than him being confident. 

 “Anything?” He’s curious now. She’s managed to intrigue him so easily. He smirks, switching from the radio over to the CD he has placed in the stereo. It’s a compilation of several bands he enjoys listening to, songs that help relax and soothe him. Bonus points for the effect they have on his anxiety - they always manage to suppress it even the slightest bit. Many of his favorites are on there, a lot of genre mixing as well: rap, punk, industrial. But there are also a few mellows on there, even a couple foreign songs that she might not have heard before. 

Much to his relief, a little glow appears in her eyes at the sound of the tunes that fill the car, burning brighter than the reflection of the midday sun that’s already present in them, “I’ve always loved music...haven’t found anything I don’t like.” She tells him, voice traveling softly as she closes her eyes for a moment before opening them and allowing her grin to widen, “So...my choker, huh? Thought it suited ya?”

Corpse laughs a little, low and timid as the car comes to a slow stop at a red light. “I thought it was mine, I swear.” He admits, shrugging slightly. “I go by a C name on the internet so…thought it was a product of my bullshit sentimentality or a shopping spree I can’t recall.” He swallows hard, contemplating whether mentioning he’s online was a bad move or not.

 Luckily, she doesn’t  seem to have acknowledged it, as she promptly speaks up again, “You do look good in a collar, you have that bad dog kind of vibe. If it didn’t have such sentimental value I would’ve let you keep it.” She laughs, a sound so light, almost like a glow you can see more than a voice you can hear. It’s contagious too and he can’t help but chuckle with her, blushing again. 

“You would look good in one too I bet.” He says but cringes right as the words leave his mouth. He’s quick to regret what he has said, his tongue burning with a bitter taste as he tightens his grip on the steering wheel and clenches his jaw. 

Fuck! Stupid! Stupid! Why the fuck would you say something like that?? She’s going to think you’re a fucking creepy pervert who’s imagin-

Corpse’s mental anguish is put to an abrupt pause as something warm covers the fingers of his right hand. He lets his tunnel vision focus on his hand to find hers curled over it. 

“Hey…you still with me?” She asks carefully, thumb touching one of his rings. “You don’t have to worry about offending me. It takes a lot to do that, if you can’t tell. Besides, you seem pretty cool and you’re not a narc so that’s a huge plus.” She squeezes his hand before wiggling her fingers under his palm and pulling it from the steering wheel so their fingers could intertwine. “If you need it, you can always grab my hand any time and squeeze until you don’t feel nervous. Although, you never need to be nervous around me. Consider me your personal human safety blanket. Or a….what to call it?... - A checkpoint! If everything or everyone else makes you anxious, I’m your checkpoint person where that anxiety should evaporate. Sounds good?”

Corpse stares at this literal stranger in his car. A stranger holding his hand and promising to be there for him when his anxiety overwhelms him. Letting him rely on her whenever his chest tightens or his heart speeds up. He feels so much while looking at the sight she is. Gratitude and confusion take over though. “Why would...you-..” He attempts to mutter, but she’s quick to cut him off yet again.

“Because I know what it’s like to be anxious and I wish I had somebody to help me when I was feeling that storm in me.” She replies, shrugging her shoulders with nonchalance and gives his palm another gentle and encouraging squeeze. “Even if this is a one time hang out sesh between strangers, you can count on me until we go our separate ways.” Confidence radiates from her like waves of warmth and safety. 

Her aura’s reaching out to his, offering him reassurance and comfort. And so, he decides to accept.

Corpse finally brings himself to squeeze her hand back. “-...thanks.” He murmurs, lips quirking up in a smile. 

But I don’t want this to be a one time thing…I might actually have a friend. I may have just clicked with someone like I haven’t in so long. 

She releases his hand so he could continue driving, nodding her head as if to tell him she’s still there despite the loss of contact, reassuring him that he could reestablish that contact whenever he’d like or need to. 

He now feels more comfortable in the car, more relaxed than he can even remember. Music plays from the speakers but it’s overpowered by their voices singing along to the songs they recognize. Corpse can’t help but note she sounds nice, singing like that - so carelessly. She’s by no means a Utada Hikaru, or a Mariah Carey but she knows how to hold a tune and he can appreciate that. He’s no BONES either after all.

He doesn’t want this drive to end, he doesn’t want this bubble of comfort and leisure to burst. He rarely gets the luxury of finding himself in a state like this one so peaceful yet so chaotic. So familiar despite him not having experienced it before. It all feels so natural despite how out of place it is. It’s so many things contradicting each other and it’s beautiful to him. It’s comfort, it’s happiness. It’s the absence of anxiety - a feeling he wants to enjoy for as long as possible. He has Cora to thank for this, for managing in less than a full day of knowing him what people who’ve known him for years haven’t been able to do. He’s aware that this is temporary, this car ride can’t last forever and neither can this outing. But he knows that when they step out of this car, when they leave this bubble, her hand will still be within his reach. And when this hang-out sesh is over, he’ll be able to make another one happen. There is always this big step of overcoming his anxiety he has to face whenever he wants to invite people within his proximity and in his life, but with her, that step disappears. It’s erased from existence by the simple touch of her fingers. The oddly powerful grip of her small, gentle hand. 

Corpse is not one to believe in fate, but there are some things that are inevitable. Things that are special and always happen with a reason and a message. He’s not blind either - he knows what he’s got here, with her, falls in that category of special.

@fockingwhore  @vixenl  @annshit  @wineandionysus

[tweetracer]

Hello, I love your work and writing style. I was wondering, since none of the Lost boys is what you could call a boyfriend material - how would they deal with being in a long-term relationship? What would be the biggest challenge for each of them? And maybe for you as their partner? I would love to hear your thoughts.

LOST BOYS + RELATIONSHIP STRUGGLES

DAVID

As an immortal, David lives his life fast-paced and reckless. The people he brings into his world (save for his boys of course) are there for kicks until he grows tired. It’s not the best model for a relationship of course but he never had to worry about anything being truly long-term.

That was until he met you, of course.

The moment he realized he wanted you to be in his life forever he panicked. He’d never wanted anything to be in his life forever- at least nothing he didn’t already have.

But you? You were special- and he wanted you to be with him.

You knew what he was- it was one of the things he loved about you. You knew and you still loved him, you still cared for him even though he was... a monster.

The second he realized he loved you he asked to turn you. He wanted you in his life forever and since he wanted it obviously you did too.

When you turned him down he was crushed. Why? Was it him?

Well.... no... but also yes...?

He was rough and tumble- and while you definitely dug the ‘bad boy’ aesthetic- you also wanted someone who wasn’t scared to be soft with you. David struggled to show his gentleness even when the two of you were alone and...

....while that was fine for a fling....

You expected the moping- hell, you expected him to dump you on the spot.... but he didn’t. He fucked off to the cave for a few days, sitting in his chair- unmoving and so deep in thought you’d think he was a statue.

When you finally spotted him at the boardwalk again, he made a bee-line towards you. Confused, you watched him stomp right up to you, grab your wrist, and pull you into a telenovela-style dip and kissed you right then and there.

He....He could be a bad boy and still love on his kitten..

While PDA and emotional communication still weren’t exactly.. his strong suit he was working harder to be more open about his feelings.

DWAYNE

At first glance Dwayne is everything you could want out of a long-term relationship.

He’s kind, courteous, considerate. He’s like a (sort of) living security blanket. His constant calmness is enough to calm even the worst of your moods..

The only issue is he’s always calm.

You have literally never seen this guy get angry- he always handles you like you’re made of glass. You know comparably you are considerably more fragile but god.

He keeps his feelings and opinions under such tight wraps you might as well be dating a fucking bedside table.

You kept most of your frustrations to yourself, not wanting to really shake the boat but all of these small annoyances built up slowly till it felt like you were going to explode.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was so small in hindsight it was surprising that it was the catalyst. You asked him what he wanted for dinner.

“Whatever you want to eat”

“Dwayne, what do you want for dinner”

His responding shrug and assurance that he’ll like whatever you pick made you fucking explode.

He stood there, wide-eyed as you chewed him out. ‘For god’s sake can’t you ever have an opinion on something?’ ‘You’re being a doormat- you’re a literal vampire have some fucking spine’

When you stormed off he still stood there, blinking and shocked as he tried to really process what you said.

You didn’t see him for the rest of the night and when you went home the cave was empty. Content to fume for a while longer you didn’t see him again until you were out on the boardwalk the next night.

The two of you discussed the previous night’s events, speaking in hushed tones in a quiet corner booth of Stoker’s Diner. You explained that him always agreeing with you put a lot of pressure on you to make all the decisions and how it wasn’t healthy for him to not voice how he was feeling.

He needed to know that you wanted to listen to him too. Both voices are important in a relationship- especially when you hope to be as.... long term as the two of you.

While he’s still more reserved than most people- Dwayne begun to actively communicate a bit more, giving you his opinion a bit more freely and always ready to preen anytime you comment on it.

PAUL

You loved Paul.

You really did.

But where Dwayne was a doormat- Paul was a bulldozer.

His brain moved at a million miles a minutes, constantly pulling him in different directions and making social cues hard for him to notice.

You knew this but good god it was frustrating- sometimes holding a conversation with him was like trying to talk to a moving train. Occasionally you’d have to actually grab him to get him to look at you and get an answer to the question you’ve been asking him for the past five minutes.

Finally, you’d had enough- you had already told him twice that you wanted to go home. That you were tired and your feet hurt and he hadn’t seemed to notice. Every time the two of you would start heading back to the bike he’d get distracted.

You yanked your wrist away from where he had been dragging you towards another carnival game- storming off in the direction of the bikes.

He followed after you like a lost puppy- “Doll? Doll what’s wrong?”

You said nothing until you were at his motorcycle, arms crossed and scowling.

You’d been asking for an hour to go home and he’d ignored you- and as you told him his eyes went wide.

The two of you managed a (rough but productive) discussion, eventually settling on some code phrases to communicate when you felt like you were being ignored or not listened to.

While there are still rough patches, Paul actively attempted to listen better- blue eyes focusing hard as he clung to your words. You could tell sometimes he was trying to fit a square peg in a triangle hole- attempting to force his brain to understand what you were saying.

During those moments you’d calmly repeat the question again, smiling and giving his hand an encouraging squeeze while the words took purchase in his brain.

Every once and a while he’d miss an ‘I want to go home’ but you knew he was trying and, more often than not, all it took was a flirty pick-up line and a far too chaste kiss to have him dragging you back to the cave anyways.

MARKO

Marko’s Napoleon complex was pretty obvious when you first met him. He paraded around with a puffed out chest and a willingness to beat the shit out of anyone who looked at him wrong.

While his edges were a little rough he was always gentle towards you- a little overly cautious, sure, but you knew he just meant well. After all, you didn’t really know how long he’d been a vamp and for all you knew life as a human might have only felt like a dream at this point.

It was sweet how carefully he tended to you.

At first.

After the fifteenth time in one night of being fawned and coddled you felt frustration begin to bud in your chest. You were a human not a baby bird, tripping isn’t going to kill you and you’re ninety percent sure you don’t need to be wearing sunscreen at night.

You tried to discuss it with him gently, you knew he only did this because he cared for you but you explained that it was getting a bit excessive. You were fully capable of doing things on your own and his constant hovering was getting overbearing.

What was supposed to be a civilized conversation ended in a knock down drag out screaming match, the two of you yelling at the top of your lungs and scaring off anyone in a thirty foot radius.

He was trying to protect you! Humans aren’t like vamps! They can get hurt, they can fall and break bones- they can die. And he doesn’t... he doesn’t even want to think about-

....... never mind... he doesn’t even want to go there...

Marko puffed up, furious, and got on his bike; leaving you on the boardwalk alone with a sore throat and red face from yelling.

The two of you fumed for almost a week before his resolve cracked. He poked his head in to the window of your apartment, waiting with a soft-browed scowl before you let him inside.

Your conversation was tense as you tried to explain your individual perspectives, eventually conceding to meet in the middle.

He would cut back on his helicopter-esque hovering anytime you weren’t doing anything but sitting and you would try your best not to get hurt..

...But you still weren’t allowed to ride the bikes with anyone but him. He just doesn’t trust the other vamps with such precious cargo.

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Kanato Sakamaki – (Final)

[Chapter 1]  [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4]  [Final]

一

Place: Roller Coaster Boarding Gate / ジェットコースター搭乗口

Yui: Ka- Kanato kun….will this roller coaster will rise up that high….!?

Kanato: Yes, that’s true. But could it be that you’re scared?

Yui: Eh? No, that was...

(Kanato kun will be riding with me, so I can't say that I wanna get off because I am scared….)

Kanato: Hmm….Is that so?

*Gets closer*

But your hands are...trembling?

Yui: 一 kh!

(He’s holding my hand…!?)

Kanato: It’s alright. Since I’ll be by your side.

Yui: Ye- yes…

Kanato: And also, if we have a surprise ride, then may have so much fun no?

Yui: (Umm...I wonder…)

Kanato: It’s a special parade so the enjoyable things of it will be very interesting. Ah, look, it's gonna start by now.

*Screen black*

*Roller coaster starts*

Place: Saint Honoré Park Street / サントノレパーク通リ

Yui: (I didn’t think the roller-coaster would be so much fun…!)

(Coffee up and target-shooting game, both were very interesting…)

(Maybe that was possible because he was by my side…)

Hey hey, Kanato kun. What will we ride next? Or we’ll have a little break?

I’ve heard that we can have food at a restricted Gelato shop.

Kanato: ...fufu

Yui: What’s wrong? You suddenly giggled…

Kanato: I am thinking that you’re really enjoying the parade.

Yui: Ah, so sorry…! I just kept getting excited…

(I didn’t look at the surroundings when I was just having fun around with Kanato kun…)

Kanato: Don’t worry about it that much. I was having fun too.

Today is the end of the parade, somehow it’s a lonely feeling.

Yui: Yes...it would be better if the parade was for a long time.

Kanato: Shall we live here?

If we do it, then we can enjoy it a lot.

Yui: Fufu, that’s right. As you said.

(If we could really live here, then we may have a happy lifestyle…)

Apple pie shopkeeper: 一 Ah! It’s you guys…!

Yui: Eh…? You are the apple pie shopkeeper san…

Kanato: What? Do you have any business with us?

Apple pie shopkeeper: Yeah, I was searching you all the time. I wanted to apologize for the other day...

Yui: (Oh, he’s talking about the poisoned apple pie that he handed over…?

Apple pie shopkeeper: Sorry for testing you out…

*Bows down*

Yui: Tha- that’s! Please raise your head…!

Kanato: As she said.

Thanks to your poisonous apple pie, I was able to be careful.

Apple pie shopkeeper: ...kh…

Kanato: Above that, everything didn’t turn out bad.

Yui: Kanto kun…

Apple pie shopkeeper: If you say it then I will feel relieved.

And...if it’s okay then I want you to accept this.

Yui: Eh, this box…

Apple pie shopkeeper: Forbidden apple pie from my shop.

I handed over the poisonous one before but this one is genuine and real one.

Kanto: We can’t accept it. We don’t have any reason.

Yui: Th- that’s right...We didn’t do anything.

Apple pie shopkeeper: It’s fine y'know. Even though it’s unreasonable.

You came to an amazing parade. I want you to know the taste of my product.

Kanato: ...Understood. We’ll accept it.

Apple pie Shopkeeper: Sure! I baked it for you guys!

Yui: Thank you so much. We’d really love to eat it by valuing this.

Apple pie Shopkeeper: Enjoy the parade that is a little left!

Yui: Yes, of course…!

Kanato: That person was...nice. Looks like we misunderstood a little.

Yui: ….yes, that’s right.

(There are so many good people in this demon world. I am very glad to know them…)

Kanato: Let’s go back to the hotel and eat the apple pie there.

More importantly, I want two of us to enjoy the end of the parade together.

Place: ホテル•モーントシュタイン  バルコニー / Hotel • Mornstein  Balcony

Yui: Waah! This is the real forbidden apple pie.

Kanato: Yeah, looks super delicious.

*Spoon*

Yui: Here Kanato kun, have a taste?

Kanato: Can I?

Yui: Yes, ofcourse! 

Because it was for you I got back my heart.

This is why I want you to eat first.

Kanato: Fufu, is that so.

Then I won’t hesitate to eat this. ...mn…

Yui: ...How is it? Does it suit your taste?

Kanato: Yes! It’s super...yummy!

As expected, it was called forbidden. It’s the most delicious apple pie I’ve ever eaten.

Yui: I see, then it’s good…!

Kanato: ...here, now it’s your turn.

*Fades to CG*

Yui: Eh, but…

(This is Kanato kun’s fork?)

Kanato: I’ll feed you.

Come on, say “Aaaa”

Yui: ...Aaah….mn…

Mhm….super delicious! Just as you said!

(The sweetness and sourness of the apple has filled in my mouth...really delicious…!)

Kanato: Then I’m glad. You can eat the rest of it then.

Yui: Eh, are you fine with it? Perhaps you didn’t like the taste?

Kanato: No, I didn’t mean that.

But, as I expected. I’d like to eat this way 一

*Fades to another CG*

Kanato: ….nh…*kiss*

Yui: nh….!

Kanato: Fufu. Thanks to that apple pie, I can sweeter more than usual…

...nh...mnn….nh…

Nh *kiss* ….As I thought, you’re precious.

Maybe Yui san is like a forbidden fruit to me…

Yui: ...nh…

Kanato: ...Neh, i want to kiss you one more time…

So, look at this way, Yui san.

Yui: Nh...yes…

Kanato: ….nh...nh...mnn *kisses (3 x)*

I love you…. From now till the end and forever, you are only mine...

一 The END of Kanato’s LP 

[soundofseventeen]

Can You Sit By My Side? (Wen Junhui)

Hi! I hope everyone’s okay! Please remember to help support the black community during these times and help them use their voices! Our requests are still open, but please be sure to read the conditions before requesting! (if you have no money, click here to stream this! The longer you go, the more it’ll donate!) This will be the last non requested fic I write! Lastly, happy birthday Jun!!!

Inspo: Can You Sit By My Side

Word count: 7616

Pregnancy stage: third trimester

You grunted with the effort of taking the plates down from its spot. Sure, now they chose to disappear when each of them have stuck to your side in hopes you’d ask for help. “See? You’re already making things hard for me.” You placed your hand over your tummy and sure enough, the princess kicked in response and you laughed. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” She moved around again, loving the sound of your voice. “Why don’t you move when you hear your uncles? Guys! She’s moving.” 

It never ceased to surprise you that Jihoon was usually the first to arrive, despite swearing that he didn’t even like kids. “Is my favorite niece up from her nap already?” He frowned when he saw that she wasn’t moving. “Oh come on, are you really doing this right now?”

You took his hand and guided to where her feet currently were, placing pressure on it, and when she kicked, he jumped up in response. “I can’t tell if she likes you or just likes making your life hard. But at least she knows who you are. I can never get her to move for Mingyu.”

“That’s because no one likes Mingyu...or Seungkwan for that matter.”

“I wanna feel her kick next!” Jeonghan came into the kitchen, almost knocking the plates from your hand. “She never does it for me unless I’m singing and that’s not fair.”

You rolled your eyes but you knew he had a point. Your unborn child already had good taste in voices but she was a devious one, mostly moving around when she heard anyone singing, and it had to be a raw performance. None of that studio version mumbo jumbo. “Is the pizza here yet? I’m starving.”

“Almost and Jun is also on his way back from the Mexican place with that torta you wanted.” he shook his head. “I’ll never understand a woman’s cravings.”

“You’re just mad because you ended up with the morning sickness. And so did Seungcheol….Chan too.”

“The cravings are weird,” Joshua piped in, coming in with the jar of peanut butter in his hands. “I can’t stop eating this and I’m breaking out so bad. You better name her after me once you give birth, or at least buy me some good facial products.” He asked to touch your stomach with his eyes and you nodded, shooting Jeonghan a small smirk when you felt her kick. “Aww, princess, you’re gonna be the most beautiful of all.”

Mingyu showed up next, water still dripping from hair from being in the pool, but still drying up, and he seemed to be the only one who noticed you still needed to bring the stuff outside. He wordlessly took the plates from your hand and grabbed some plastic bags that were on the table and headed back out. He liked to think he got the worst end of the stick with his hormones being out of whack and being a little more emotional about things. He was the only one who cried when you  announced your pregnancy and when he found out you were having a girl. But that also meant he took it a little personally when she kicked him once and then never again. 

“Mingyu, you're my favorite!” You yelled out to him and she moved around, possibly in agreement. “You’re the biggest little shit I know, do you know that?” Once you ushered everyone outside, you found the rest of the boys, either diving into the pool to stay cool or setting up the table. You noticed that Jun had come home and was playing the piano like no one was around. (Oh Jun, the one thing he wanted was a piano in the backyard when you bought the house and you didn’t know why, but you weren’t complaining.) 

The tune was more than familiar and you weren’t the only one who recognized it because little Wen Meihui started moving like crazy, so you sighed, going to sit next to your husband as he played it happily. You made a face at Jihoon sampling everything that had been laid out on the table and shook your head. (Jihoon had shown the first sign of your pregnancy but no one had given it a second thought at the time, since he was a self-proclaimed foodie, but then when Hao started showing the same symptoms, you had grown a little suspicious.)

Jun didn’t stop playing even as you sat down, but he looked up and smiled at you but even then you knew he wasn’t singing it just for you. He picked up the habit of toying with the instrument when he realized he was gonna be a father, but out of nervousness. And once the little princess had grown into a baby who could hear, she started moving around every time Junhui sat down at the keys. Her favorite seemed to be “Can You Sit By My Side?” and from there, he easily became the favorite parent, which Jun would so rub it in your face in the future. And he fell in love with knowing she recognized him by his voice, often telling her about his day and putting his hands over your belly as he built his connection with her.

When he wasn’t terrified of becoming a parent, that is. With Wonwoo’s (another one with cravings...and spicy foods at that) help, they found beginner books on how to become a good father and how to be patient with you. He and Jihoon turned his home office into a nursery, complete with a Winnie the Pooh theme and baby proofed the place. Seungcheol provided the labor and drove you to your appointments and the boys just turned your house (and their dorms) upside down with clothes and toys and baby food and everything she may have needed.

You rested your head on Junhui’s shoulder, closing your eyes and breathing deeply, trying not to wince from the parade currently happening inside of you. You smiled nonetheless, overjoyed at the reception and Junhui slowly came to a stop, still in his own little paradise.

“Can I protect you by your side?” he whispered, placing a soft kiss to your nose and touching your stomach tenderly with both hands before he pressed another kiss there.

*

Newborn days:

“Jun, come on I need to feed her before I make dinner.”

“But I haven’t held Meihui in forever,” he pouted, cradling her close to his chest. “What if I have to go on tour tomorrow and can’t see her until the end of the year?” He wedged his finger between one of her hands, cooing gently.

“Jun, paternity leave is the reason why you won’t be seeing your band mates for a while. Come on you big baby.”

“Baobei, didn’t you pump? I can feed her.” He looked up at you, looking very unsure and very nervous. “Can I just hold her for a few more minutes? I-I don’t wanna let her go yet.” 

You kissed his unkempt hair, a little jealous that even though he’s been running on the same hours of sleep as you have, he looked like he was in much better shape. “Okay.”

“Can you sit by my side for a little while? I feel like I haven’t been close to you.”

“Okay.” You complied, snuggling close to his arm, hearing him recite the lyrics only loud enough for her to hear. You adjusted the little hat on Meihui’s head so she wouldn’t be cold.

“Can you believe we made someone this beautiful?” It was his turn to kiss your unbrushed hair. “What do you think she’s gonna be like?” Meihui made a small whimpering noise and Jun shushed her gently, rocking her in small motions, feeling a little smug that he was able to calm her down.

“It’s still too early to tell, but if she’s anything like you, we may have our work cut out for us.”

“But if she’s anything like you, we may have to call in our reinforcements.” He stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke again. “Did you really mean it when you said you wanted her to learn Korean?”

“Yes. Wouldn’t it be kinda fucked up to not to give your friends the chance to love her too?”

“I mean, they can always learn Chinese...it’s not that hard.” Another kiss to Meihui. “Our princess is gonna be the smartest human in the world...and the kindest.” This time the kiss was directed at you. “Thank you for giving me the best gift ever.”

You thought back to the dang piano (not the one outside but the one at Pledis...the one that still resided in Universe Factory), the reason you had gotten pregnant in the first place, and every moment that came after until right now. You would’ve done it all over again….just not anytime soon. 

“You know I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you. You know that right?”

“Wen Junhui...you told me that on our third date, when you proposed and every time it seemed like a good idea. Trust me, I know.” 

He cleared his throat. “Baobei, you know you’re the queen of my universe and I would steal all the stars in the sky for you, but I’m talking to Mei.”

Of course he was.

*

Six months old: 

“Alright my little princess, today it’s just you and me. Do you like that?” As if she understood him, Meihui smiled at him, squealing at the idea. “Yay!” he clapped his hands, and she mimicked his movements. “I knew you would.” 

After changing her diaper, he brought her downstairs, along with the swing she’d be in while he made breakfast. It wasn’t everyday he had a father/daughter day but after begging Soonyoung’s fiancee to take you out looking for a wedding dress, you agreed to it and asked Junhui if he would like to spend a day with her. (He was a little curious to see how that future would turn out. They’d both met the American tourist years back when she had been leaving the hair salon to keep her red hair intact.) 

So far, it’s been perfect. Like himself, Meihui was a late riser so he didn’t need to worry about losing much sleep, so he managed to make the bed he heard her making noise so naturally it was time to start the day. He sighed to himself, forgetting that she needed to eat too, so he placed the swing on the side of one of the walls and brought out the high chair instead. “Okay what sounds good for breakfast? I think pancakes for me, but how about you?” 

He placed her on the chair and handed her a spoon which she banged on the table to her heart’s content while he rummaged the cabinets for something for her. “I found some apple juice!” He shook one of the bottles eagerly. “Yes or no?” He poured it into one of her bottles and she picked it up after some difficulty. (A proud parent moment right there.) “Now food! It’s too early for chicken, I think you finished the peas last night...aha! Rice cereal so you can have breakfast with me!”

She drank her juice while he made his pancakes and poured himself a cup of coffee and talked to her as if she was more grown. “Now for the best part,” he rubbed his hands together while he  picked up the remote, “what to watch! I’m thinking Mickey Mouse. You?” She didn't give him an expression, so he tried again. “I would say PJ Masks but they scared you last time. Winnie the Pooh?”

“EEEEE!” 

“I thought so.” He mixed her cereal together and tapped her shoulder. “Can I sit by your side?”

He stared at her while she made more of a mess than actually eating her food, but he was endeared nonetheless. Her eyes, he noted, came out more like yours, but she had inherited his hair, both in color and type, and the freckle above her lip had become more prominent. She was perfect just the way she was.

*

Ten months old:

Jun would’ve given anything to have been able to bring you both on tour, but he knew there would have been so many new adjustments that would’ve been made and he wasn’t too keen on the idea of people laying eyes on his princess just yet. He shared whatever he could, but it was a big step to actually bring her into the public eye. Add him most likely not going up onstage just to spend time with her into the mix and the results wouldn’t be good. Plus he was a little jealous of the vocalists who could coax her into their arms. (If they wanted a child, they could go and do it themselves, thank you.) Every moment he would call you, they would all bunch around his laptop and fight for her attention. (Seungkwan and Seokmin had the upper hand here.) But it was finally over.

You had waited pretty patiently at the Incheon Airport, even with a fussy infant who missed her father. You had managed to get her to go down for a nap while you passed the time reading articles on soothing her sore gums. (Teething...probably the worst thing about having a baby.) And then when she woke up, it took everything in you to get her stop crying. She didn’t stop when you took her out of the carrier and bounced her, nor when you pointed at random things to distract her. The diaper wasn’t an issue….and she wasn’t gassy. You could hear the annoyed travelers whispering and giving you dirty looks, but you ignored them. You finally pulled out your phone and went to the gallery….a last resort for things like this.

A daddy’s girl through and through, Mei immediately stopped her wailing at seeing Junhui on the screen, on that piano playing her favorite song. You could almost swear that he had written it just for her even now, because it always calmed her down and Jun had taken it upon himself to record himself and send it to you for emergencies and it had come in handy multiple times already. Meihui clapped once (the newest thing she learned how to do) and reached for the phone and ultimately putting it in her mouth.

“Princess, we don’t eat that. I need that for things.” Which resulted in mindless babble. “You know, the insurance doesn’t cover baby drool, so if you mess it up, I have to buy a new one, right?” She looked up at you and gave you a gummy smile, unfazed. “If something happens to this, we’re stuck here.” She pulled the phone out of her mouth long enough to squeal at Jun and then squirm in your arms. Your mother-in-law had been quick to confirm that Jun couldn’t stay still and was always making noise….so yep, another point for Junhui. “Okay, fine if it keeps you happy.” You were happy that she had been born in the early fall because she could enjoy the nice clothes right now. 

A few arrivals later, the boys emerged, looking jet lagged but still scoping their surroundings and when they found you, they raced towards you (your child), in hopes of getting there first. Mingyu beat everyone, taking the child out of your arms before you could even say hi. “There’s the most beautiful girl in the world!” He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and after taking the wrapper off, gave it to her. A lot of them, while waiting their turn, enveloped you in a hug and caught you up with the latest tour stories. Junhui finally showed up, helping a hobbling Minghao.

Once he got the younger boy into a seat, he ran to you, throwing every emotion he felt into the hug, and not minding the PDA he displayed showering you with kisses, one for every time he missed you and one for every time he woke up without you on the other side of the bed. “Hi,” he finally said.

“Hi,” you breathed, not wanting to let him go yet. “I love you.”

“I love you.” He kept you in his arms a little longer until he remembered he had a daughter that he missed dearly. He pulled away, but kept one arm firmly around you, just in case he still felt like he was dreaming. He looked around, finally finding his precious baby in Mingyu’s arms. Meihui had apparently found it funny to be licking her lollipop and then sticking it on Mingyu’s face and repeating the process whenever the lollipop would start unsticking. 

“Your hair is as quiet as the dark night…” he began quietly, “making me think of you from night ‘til dawn.” As predicted she looked around for the familiar voice as Junhui continued the tune of his song, not making any more obvious movements he was around her. He bonked his head on yours slowly, enjoying Mingyu spinning around in circles every time she almost spotted him. “If you listen to this song word by word,” he took baby steps towards her, making sure he still had a hold on you, “line by line, can you sit by my side?” Mei finally seemed to outsmart Mingyu, but she managed to turn her head before he could spin and her eyes landed on Jun.

And she cried for him, reaching for him.

*

One year old:

“Junhui, is all this necessary?” You swatted the balloons out of your face, shaking your head at his decorations. Your backyard had turned into a jungle of colors and different shapes and you had to keep yourself calm from the way you noticed an inflatable water slide hovering dangerously close to the swimming pool and you just hoped that none of your husband’s best friends would be dumb enough to use it as a makeshift waterslide.

“Oh its absolutely necessary Baobei,” he argued, keeping a firm grip around Mei hands while she walked. (She had learned to stand not too long ago and once she learned to walk on her own, it’d be game over.) “She only turns one once!” 

“I know, but couldn’t we have taken her to the park or the aquarium or something? It doesn’t need to be a big thing for her.”

“Ah-mah,” Mei called out to you. “Ah-mah.”

“Wow, that’s my big girl,” you cooed. “You’re almost there.” It took so much of your energy to squat but you managed. “Come here.”

“No. Ah-pah.” She struggled to stay in place even when Junhui directed her movements towards you. “No. Ah-pah,” she whimpered.

“She has spoken,” he said smugly. 

“You know, I’m offended right now, but when she’s a moody teenager, I won’t be.” You stood up, walked over to him, pressed a kiss to his cheek and went inside. “The pizza’s almost ready, father of the year.”

“Is there a Chicago style one for Seokmin? I swear he goes on his honeymoon with his wife and spends the entire time in Chicago and now he’s actually thinking of moving there just because she’s from the Midwest.”

“Wen Junhui, do you know you’re whipped for your bandmates?” Yes, you made a special one just for him, because you knew it’d be breaking some kind of promise. “That was the last one that went in.” You squinted at the toddler. “Tell me you’re not gonna give me a hard time today. Your father may be past the wild bachelor parties, but he still knows how to throw them. Should I be surprised if you get a chocolate fountain for this?”

His mouth dropped open. “Did you get the bank statement already?”

You exhaled, unsure why you were even surprised. “Did you get a petting zoo too?”

“I’m thinking of waiting for her fourth birthday, don’t you think...I’ll have you know that I couldn’t find one available for today.”

“Wen Junhui….”

“Wen Y/N, I want you to know that I would’ve done so much for you, but you would’ve yelled at me. I actually had to wait to get a ring on your finger just so I can do this for her.”

“Jun, we got married ages before I was pregnant.”

“Yeah, but now I have an excuse to go all out.” He let go of Mei’s hands and carried her, so he could use his hand to entwine them with one of yours. “Don’t worry my love, I just want her to have the best day of her life. I will try to tone it down from now on.” He rubbed his thumb on your knuckles.

“Next time, just tell me you wanna plan something so elaborate so I can tell you no. We’re the only ones who have a kid right now so it wasn’t necessary.” 

“Oh no, the water slide is for us, and the fountain is for you, because you wanted one.” He placed a kiss on your temple. “How much longer until DK’s pizza is ready.”

“It’ll be awhile. Why?”

“Can you sit by my side, so we can enjoy this little family time for a bit? After all, a year ago, you gave me one of the best things in life.” He guided you to the gazebo to enjoy the warm sun and maybe a little bit of alcohol to relax the tension in your muscles. Junhui sat Mei on his lap and she fell back on him, her eyes closing. “I guess she might be taking a nap.” he wrapped his arm around you and brought you close to him. “So it’s just you and me.” He puckered his lips to kiss you.

“HEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.” Someone yelled from the front yard.

“And whoever decided to show up early.” You stood up, pulled him with you and gave him a quick peck. “Alright dad of the year. Entertain our guests.”

*

Two years old

“It’s here!” Jun screamed coming in as his way of greeting one night.

You looked up at him, trying not to look afraid. The Halloween season brought out the scariest movies and even though you had grown up, it was still foolish of you to binge watch something. “What’d you get now?” You placed your hand over your heart, the racing had gone down slightly but not enough.

“It’s a surprise.” He dropped a kiss on your forehead and headed straight for the kitchen. “How was work?”

“Day off, remember?” You picked up the book that had fallen on your lap when he burst in. “Shh, I just put Meihui down for bed. I think she might be getting over a fever. She didn’t eat much tonight.”

“You know she doesn’t like carrots, right?”

You weren’t sure if the irony was humorous or horrible but you didn’t say anything. “I know; I made her soup. The chicken is for you.” You heard the footsteps going upstairs. “Hey get down here. If you wake her up, you’re putting her back to sleep.” That and you didn’t wanna be alone. “Junhui!” You shook your head. He acted as if he wasn’t going to have an entire morning with her the next day.

“Baobei,” he popped up next to you, and while you did fall off the couch in surprise (and fear), it took everything in you not to scream. “Have you-I’m sorry!”

“Help me up.” That did it; no more scary movies unless you had someone with you. “What’d you need?” It was funny but you still shot him a small glare which still took him a while to compose himself.

“Have you made any plans for Halloween?” He asked sitting next to you.

“No...why?” You hoped he didn’t rope you into something that required you to leave the house.

“Chan is having a party to celebrate his new promotion and he said we should go!”

“Can I think about it?”

“But I’ve already got the costumes,” he pouted. “Please! We’re gonna look so cute together.” 

“You mean, you and Mei are gonna look cute.”

“All three of us!” He heard slight coughing and he turned around to see the love of his life looking dazed and tired, holding the stuffed penguin Cheol had given her. “Hi Princess! Why are you up so late?”

“M-my throat,” she whimpered. “I sit...your side?”

“Okay Princess. Look, do you wanna see your Halloween costume?” He patted his lap and picked her up so she could rest comfortably.

“Scary?” she asked.

“No. It’s cute, like you.” He pressed a kiss to her to her head and then tapped your nose. “Baobei, do you have the scissors? Can you grab them please? And the box in our room? Father duties, you see.”

You shook your head but if it meant he got to take care of her, you would’ve fixed the broken window in the attic. Going into the closet scared you a little at the moment but you weren’t so afraid anymore. But you may have run back downstairs just in case something was waiting for you if you let your guard down. (That’s how it always happened in the movies.) 

Junhui was stroking Mei’s hair when you got back and showing pictures of who knows what and he met your gaze with the biggest grin you’ve only whenever he was plotting something. “Which one are you opening first?”

“The one on the couch. I think you’re gonna like it.” He kissed Mei’s cheek, not minding that she was close to falling back asleep, but he could feel that she wasn’t as warm as before.

“Pajamas? You’re making a big deal out of her costume when it’s just sleepwear?”

“Open mine next! It’ll make more sense.” You ignored his oddly gleeful expression and he made a noise when you pulled out his. “Get it Baobei? Because he saves her even though he scared her!”

Well it definitely explained why he wanted to perfect Meihui’s pigtails and that meant that the box by his feet was yours, and you could only hope he wasn’t a little shit about it. “What am I?”

“Besides my beautiful wife, my everlasting soulmate, and the mother of all my kids?” He waggled his eyebrows at you. “You’re just gonna have to open it yourself.” He kicked it over to you, and it concerned you at how light it was.

You glided the scissors overs over the tape and when you saw the green inflatable, you let out a deep gust of air, not sure whether to be annoyed or amused. “Are you fucking kidding me?” You smacked his shoulder. “Wen Junhui, I hate you.” And then you started cracking up because he was a dumb genius.

“We look good though. I’ve even been showing Meihui how to be Boo.”

“Okay but why do I have to be Mike Wazowski and you get to be Sully?”

“I mean, you could’ve been Randall because she’s scared of you.”

“Wen Junui!” You shook your head, loving the effect of feeling drunk on life he currently gave you. “Why are you so salty?”

*

Three years old

“Grandma!” Meihui jumped out of Jun’s arms and ran to her legs, squealing in delight.

“How’s my favorite princess?” She bent to her level and whispered something in her ear and stepped aside, Meihui calling out to her grandpa. She cradled Jun’s face and placed a kiss to his cheek and did the same to you. “How was Disney?”

“Exhausting. I think we’re happy to be here with you guys,” he admitted, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I have never seen anyone get so excited over Cinderella the way she did.” 

“I haven’t been to Disneyland in years!” you exclaimed in the midst of finding your present for the in laws. “And she’s my favorite princess! You’re just jealous because I couldn’t marry Prince Charming.” You pulled out a snow globe to add to her ever growing collection. “For you.”

“Thank you, my child. Come in. I just started making tea. Are you hungry? There might be rice in the fridge.”

“See, Baobei? We didn’t stop along the way so my mom would’ve been able to feed us and now I have to tell her no.” He glanced apologetically at her. “You have such a thoughtless daughter in law, Mom. I’m sorry.”

“Why do you still give the poor girl such a hard time?” she scolded him.

“Mom, he’s just jealous because I’m your favorite.” You removed your shoes. “Thank you for letting us spend the night. It’s gonna be a long flight back to Korea and I appreciate it. Is there anything  I can help you with since your son will pass out in about five minutes?”

“I’m tired,” he pouted. “Let me go say hi to dad first and then I can tell him how you’re both so mean to me.”

“How do you put up with him?” she shook her head.

“A box of apple juice and crackers.” And no, you weren’t kidding. The older Meihui got, the younger Jun seemed to feel. He now deemed chocolate milk too sweet but if Mei was drinking it, so was he; he liked his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into triangles just like her. “But, if he’s happy I’m happy.” 

“You guys always look happier every time I see you.” She poured two cups of tea and placed them on the table, motioning for you to sit down. “I knew you were a keeper from the moment I met you. But you know that. Tell me, how is everything? Everyone?’

You dove into the events in your life back home, stemming from Vernon finally settling down with someone and dropping hints about Wonwoo’s new book coming out soon to you quitting your job and so you could spend more time with Mei who was feeling jealous now that Jeonghan had become a father to twins and had to get used to sharing the spotlight. Jun and his dad entered the room to grab drinks and Mei skipped behind them chatting their ears off about the fireworks and asking her grandpa to carry her.  Anyone that Junhui loved more than life was her favorite person in the world, and who better than that than the man who stepped in and raised Junhui as his own?

“It’s funny...Mei looks so much like you but she acts so much like Jun. It’s a funny thing.”

“Jun spends so much time with her. He takes her to work every Wednesday and Saturday, and on his days off he takes her, I don’t know where. And to think he was scared of being a father.” The nights he’d be pacing and religiously finding all the parenting sites to help him. It all seemed like a long time ago, especially when he liked to hog her now. You placed your hands over your mother in law’s. “You have the most incredible son; I hope you know that.”

She squeezed your hands. “He has the most incredible wife.”

The late afternoon progressed into dusk, with everyone eating dinner in the backyard to enjoy the breeze and the dusk brought drinks and dessert to the night until Mei was too tired to stay up, falling asleep on Junhui and you bringing out your sweater to keep her warm. Everyone called it quits a little after midnight after a card game since the day would bring traveling back home. 

“Don’t be strangers,” your father in law warned you while you waited for your flight to be called. “I want to see you all in our home more often.”

“Can I stay with them Mommy?” Meihui asked, tugging on your hand. “Please?”

“You can but then we won’t have time to pick you up.” You knelt to her level, wiping her face clean, getting rid of all the stickiness from the orange juice. “And we’ll miss you a lot.” You let go of her hand. “Now, go say ‘bye and tell them thank you.”

The tears in her eyes as she said her goodbyes hurt you more than it should’ve, but you weren’t gonna tell her you planned to spend her next birthday and Christmas with them or that they’d be visiting you in a few weeks for Jun’s birthday. It hurt you too though, but you couldn’t say anything. They waited until you cleared airport security for them to leave and even then you cried. But at least, you could go home, unpack and resume your everyday-ish life. But first the boarding.

“Baobei, window or aisle?” Jun asked you and you shrugged. “Princess, do you want to sit in the middle?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” 

“Are you scared?” He picked her up, and let you take the window seat. He felt the need to give you a kiss on your cheek which flustered you. “Because I am. And I need someone to hold my hand. Can you sit by my side?”

She nodded at that. “Okay. Daddy? Can you sing that song?”

*

Four years old

“Hey you.” Jun removed his glasses, annoyed at how the prescription made him dizzy. He really was getting old now. He loved the days when you slept in and then left for the day with one of the boys’ wives. It meant he could be somewhat productive and he tried but he had pulled a muscle trying to remember one of his martial arts moves. He currently was on the couch, an ice pack on his knee. “What’s up? Can you sit by my side?” He picked up little Mei who looked confused.

“Daddy, Uncle Joshua called Mommy a bad word the other day.”

“He did? Do you want me to beat him up?” He was surprised to say the least. He had always been kind to you, especially when his marriage fell through the cracks and he needed a shoulder to lean on when the divorce had been finalized.

“No, can you tell him not to call her that though? It’s mean.”

“What’d he call her?”

“Y/N. I’ve never heard anyone call her that.”

He almost snickered but the look on her face told him not to do it. “ Princess, what do you think your mommy’s name is?”

“Baobei. You always call her that.”

Okay, now he saw the misunderstanding. “Her name is Y/N but I call her Baobei.”

“Why?’

“We’ve been together for a long time, and I don’t like calling her Y/N.”

“Why? Is it ugly?”

He almost lost his shit there; he really did. “No. It’s just something I call her, even before you were born...and before we got married. I like calling her that.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s like me calling you princess. Your name is Meihui.”

“Why?”

“Because I told your mom if she didn’t give us matching names, I’d be sad.”

Her eyes widened at the realization, her mouth forming into an ‘o’, and forgetting she was so confused. “I’m like you Daddy!” She wrapped her arms around him and then pulled back. “Wait a minute. You and Mommy were together before I came here?”

“That’s right.” 

“You didn’t want me a long time ago?”

Oh no. He wasn’t about to have this conversation with her. She was too young to know how she came into this world. He was gonna let you have this when she was older and he wasn’t around. Ah shit….if she was into boys, that’d be a hard thing to explain. No, he wasn’t thinking about the sex talk and how he’d have to explain it. “Of course we wanted you! We just couldn’t find you. We looked at all the doctor’s places and then one day, we did and we took you home.”

She nodded slowly. “Why?”

*

Five years old

“Are you ready for your first day of school, Princess?” Junhui bent to her level and adjusted the collar around her neck, keeping himself busy so he wouldn’t cry at leaving her behind.

She shook her head. “I don’t know nobody. I wanna go home.”

“We can pick you up after school, Mei, and it won’t be for a long day.” You looked around for a clock, relieved that it was an analog clock so you could explain it to her. You pointed at it. “When the hands are all the way up, you can come home and we’ll be out here waiting.”

“You don’t love me anymore?”

You never did understand how kids always thought that you leaving them alone for a couple hours meant you didn’t love them anymore. But that was also partially her fault. No one told her to run to the toy section when you were getting groceries and she had lost you. Of course, Junhui looked just as offended when you recounted the story. “Of course we do. We just want you to learn. The smarter you are, the more you-” you trailed off, not sure how to finish it. She already knew her colors and could count to 10...in the three languages she knew. 

And eventually, if she wanted to, she could learn more. She needed Chinese to speak with her dad, Korean with her uncles and English because Joshua and Seungkwan insisted she’d get more opportunities in the long run. But you didn’t wanna burn her out and lose any interest she had in learning them. But right now, a private school away from the spotlight and media would do in helping her concentrate. 

“Daddy, can you sit by my side? I’m scared.”

“I wish I could, Princess, but you have to stay here and I need to talk to your uncle Jihoon about something. I’ll be here after school though, okay? And then we can go see some of your uncles, okay?”

“Can we see Uncle Hao? I miss him.”

“Only if you promise you can do this like a big girl.”

“I promise.”

*

Six years old

You looked suspiciously at the father and daughter, both covered in mud and blocking the door to go outside. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” they said simultaneously and beamed at you. They looked at each other, some sort of conversation between them, then back at you.

“How was work, Baobei?” He spoke first, wrapping his hand around your arm in an attempt to distract you . “Did you like it?”

“It was fine. What did you two do today?” When you had gotten home from your first job back in a couple of years, it had been strangely silent, the house in perfect shape. These days, Jun was scrubbing crayon off of the wall, or removing a carpet stain. But today, they rushed indoors dirty from head to toe and you had half a mind to tell them they’d be washing and drying off outside.

“We had ice cream!” Meihui spoke. After I did my homework, daddy said I did a good job and we went out!”

“Mm-hmm, and why are you dirty?’ You heard a thump at the door and then muffled barking. You turned to Junhui who had his hands up in surrender. “I can explain Baobei.” He opened the door slowly and in trodded a Shiba Inu as dirty as the culprits. It took one look at you and growled slightly.

“Wen Jun...hui,” you pinched your nose, at a loss for words. Even after so many years with him, he had always managed to surprise you. “Why?”

“We didn’t mean to. Honest. We really were just getting ice cream and then this little guy followed us outta nowhere. He looked like a stray and nobody was calling out for him, and Mei asked if we could keep him.”

“So you told her yes.” Naturally. He really didn’t know how to put his foot down when it came to her. 

“Baobei, look at her. She did that thing with her eyes that you do when you want something. Can you blame me?” 

No, you couldn’t but you weren’t telling him that. You knew the exact expression he was talking about because you used it one too many times on him and still use it. Then again, Junhui really couldn’t tell you no. You’ve tried that too. You really had queen of his heart titled somewhere. “Yes. It’s not that hard, watch. Mei, go get in the shower and get ready for dinner. And stay away from the chocolate chip cookies. They’re for dessert.”

“Just one Mom?” As expected, she gazed up at you. Those cookies you had realized, were her biggest weakness and would make every excuse possible to get her hands on one. “I promise I’ll eat my food.”

“No.” She turned her attention to the other person who wouldn’t deny her anything, but you beat her to it. “Don’t think about it child. He’s with me on this. And he’s also in trouble for the dog. So, upstairs, now.”

“Daddy, can you sit by my side at dinner tonight? And play that song before bedtime?” She batted her eyelashes. “I miss it.”

Yes, Princess. Shower first and then dinner. I heard it’s your favorite tonight.”

“Mom-om, there aren’t any monsters in there, right?”

“No, I had your Uncle Hoshi come and scare them away.” Children. She was somehow convinced Soonyoung was the loudest person alive and therefore, the only one who could get rid of monsters, the boogeyman and anyone who made her so much as flinch. “Please go shower.” once she was out of sight, you faced him smugly. “See? Not that hard.”

“But Baobei, I don’t wanna see her sad.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Wen Junhui,” you sighed, stepping forward and after debating the risk of getting muddy, you kissed him a couple of times, and shivered at the coldness.

“Why do you say that?” he asked between kisses.

“Meihui wanted a cat, but you know I have a weakness for these pups.” Said pup had somehow fallen asleep in the family drama and would be out a little longer. “Go shower too. I’m not letting you into our bed like that.” Or maybe you could stay a little while like this. You missed moments like this when you could forget you were a parent and you felt no responsibilities other than to mold yourself to your husband’s form.

“EWWWWWWW.”

Or not.

*

Age seven

“Are you gonna tell me, or do we have to play a guessing game?”Junhui peered over his banana split to gaze at the daughter who had been anything but smiley lately. Between his voice actor role and once again fretting the duties of a second time dad, he hadn’t time to do much else besides tuck her in at night and read a bedtime story or two. 

“I miss Cla-i-fonia,” she sighed. “Uncle Joshua took me to the beach and the movies and a lot of places with his new lady friend.” She mushed the Neapolitan together until it became an ugly color.

“Guessing game it is...are you sad you’re getting a little brother?” She looked at him grudgingly but nodded. “Why?”

“What if you love him more than me?” She sniffled, surprised at herself. “You didn’t even ask me if I wanted a brother. You just told me we were getting one.”

“Okay Princess, can you sit by my side for a moment please?” She reluctantly slid off from her spot in the booth and sat next to him. He cupped both of Mei’s cheeks with his hands. “You are my one and only, okay? You were here first, and no one’s gonna take that from you. I’m still deciding what I’m gonna call him, but you...you’re always gonna be my princess.”

“Okay Daddy.”

“Now what’s the other thing bothering you? You still don’t look too happy.”

“Are you gonna be mad?”

“At you? I don’t think so. Is it bad?”

“Well, no, but I think I might hurt Mom’s feelings.”

“Is this about your brother?”

“No. Me.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “How come I don’t have eyes like yours? My eyes look big and circle-y like Mom’s and uncle Vernon’s. They aren’t like yours or my uncles or the kids at my school.”

“Has someone been making fun of you?”

She shook her head. “No, but when you were making me at the hospital...why didn’t you give me your eyes? Why Mom’s?”

Oh he hated genetics...and how this conversation could end. He had to think carefully because seven year olds played with toys and threw tantrums over not getting a candy bar. They didn’t ask questions like this. At least not this seriously. “I wish I could say that they ran out of my eyes when that happened, but I told Mom that I wanted her eyes for you because they’re the most beautiful ones I’ve seen. And they are my favorite.”

“Is that why you love me so much?”

Junhui cut off a piece of banana and fed it to Mei. “I love you because Mom and I made someone who turned out to be everything we wanted and more. It was scary not being a dad at first, but now, I can’t remember why we went so long without you.”

She nodded. “Okay, but Daddy, don’t give my brother your eyes. Or sing him my favorite song.”

“That song is just for you, and only you.” But also you. Meihui didn’t have to know it was why she was conceived, but that could be the family secret. “Are you feeling better now?”

“A lot. Can we go home now?” She finally smiled, revealing a couple of her missing teeth. She wrapped her arms around him. “I love you.”

“I love you.” He waited until Meihui let go and grabbed her hand. “Your hair is as quiet as the dark night…”

[mikeo56]

Zayner, who has a PhD from the University of Chicago, worked for NASA researching the terraforming of Mars, and is the inventor of a musical instrument called the Chromocord that creates sound when light reacts with bacteria, was and is one of the world’s leading “biohackers.” He defines the term to mean “constantly pushing the boundaries of science outside traditional environments,” which he certainly did in this case, taking a radical approach to combating longstanding intestinal troubles. In layman’s terms, his plan was to nuke his natural bacteria with antibiotics, and replace them with bacteria from the feces of others.  

“I wanted to see if, by transplanting different bacteria in my body, they would change the way my gastrointestinal system was functioning,” is how he explains it now. “Because, at the time, it wasn't functioning very well.”

On that May, 2016 podcast, neither science reporter Liz Lopatto nor Arielle Duhaime-Ross, who wrote the story for The Verge, had much that was positive to say about either Josiah or his experiment. In fact, in an eerie preview of the anger of self-proclaimed “experts” that would become ubiquitous among pundits after the arrival of Covid-19, they sounded downright furious.

“Extremely dangerous, possibly stupid,” said Lopatto, of Josiah’s gambit.

“In his mind, it made sense to tell people about it, and inspire them to take their health into their own hands,” said Duhaime-Ross. “The risk of copycats is really real with this.”

“This is one of the things that does bug me about biohackers,” agreed a put-out Lopatto. “I don’t want people playing with pathogens in their bedrooms. Like, I’m not interested in that, personally, as a person who lives in this society.”

A less judgmental New York Times later produced a short film about the episode called Gut Hack:

Whether it’s Zayner gulping down a massive antibiotic cocktail in a WU-TANG FOREVER t-shirt, or repeatedly grimacing as he swallows home-crafted feces capsules in a hotel room, the short documentary is a parade of scenes make your eyeballs pop out in shock and amazement, cartoon-style. Zayner, by any measure, is an extraordinarily interesting character. He has a mind almost perfectly engineered against obedience: brilliant, fearless, and not accepting every assumption but checking the validity of each. He alternately bristles at or ignores judgment, seeming to draw inspiration from it in either case. At the end of Gut Hack, we see him standing on a subway platform, shaking his head as he listens to the two Verge journalists denounce him. We hear their audio:

“Not putting your life in danger unnecessarily is pretty basic,” they complain, adding that his experiment was “not even a blip in the scientific radar.”

“There’s a fine line,” Zayner later sighs to the Times, “between being crazy and knowledgeable.” He goes on to talk about growing up poor, and different, in the Midwest. “When you grow up on a farm, you have all this freedom,” he says. “We don’t have any neighbors or anyone to interact with, so we’re used to just doing what we want. And when you get to this environment were people don’t do that, you’re immediately pegged as, you know, a weirdo.”

Some weeks after, he’s shown feeling better, but he wants more than a placebo result. The film ends with him receiving the results of genetic sequencing tests that appear to show his “gut hack” experiment worked. He bursts into tears. The Times reporter asks, “Do you feel vindicated?”

He seems surprised by the question. No, he says, it’s not about that. “It’s one of those things,” he says, “where you’re so moved and impressed by how science works.”

Zayner went on to claim his battle with irritable bowel syndrome had been won, only to be replaced by a new malady. “My physical signs of IBS were gone,” he said recently. “But so was my privacy. This is when the deplatforming began.”

Around the same time Gut Hack was being made, Zayner founded ODIN, which he describes as “a company that sells science and genetic engineering supplies to people so that they can do science experiments in their homes.”

ODIN’s product line, which includes CRISPR gene-editing kits, seems designed to give ordinary people the tools to experience science as Zayner does, almost more as artistic expression than means to any end. He describes his Chromacord, for instance, as “something more purely inspirational, just outside the average notion of what science even is. In a manner of speaking, it was simply magic.” Or, as he said in another interview, “People having access to this technology allows them to do crazy and cool shit.”

Unfortunately, after the notoriety he gained from Gut Hack, bringing the “magic” of genetic engineering to the layperson suddenly proved a little beyond what science-journalism scolds or the faceless executives at tech platforms felt comfortable allowing.

Amazon and Facebook began delisting his products, and Patreon, PayPal, and Square all shut him down in short order. Sometimes he was told why, sometimes he wasn’t. He was forced to move on, and doesn’t want to jinx his relationship with his current payment processor by mentioning their name.

In between, the State of California brought a case against him on the somewhat preposterous charge of practicing medicine without a license. He won, but California state authorities were so peeved that they passed a law appearing to target his company alone, declaring that firms must append their wares with labels announcing “not for self-administration,” if they’re in the business of selling home “gene-therapy kits.”

In a piece called “Don’t Change Your DNA At Home,” the MIT Technology Review noted with amusement that, even if one includes ODIN, “We’re not sure any such kit exists.” The sponsor of the law, Republican State Senator Ling Ling Chang, appeared to think ODIN’s products were a lot more Frankensteinian and terrifying than they are.

“It was really weird,” Josiah says now. “It’d be like, I don’t know, labeling a computer: ‘You shouldn’t eat this computer.’ I mean, obviously.” Regarding ODIN’s home experimentation kits, he adds, “How would you use it on humans? I don’t even understand. I guess somebody crazy enough could just take some of the DNA that we sell and try to inject it into their body, but it wouldn’t even work in humans because it was meant for other organisms.”

Zayner didn’t comply with the law, and instead just moved to Austin, Texas (“Land of the free, home of the brave,” he laughs) and set up shop there. Then Covid-19 arrived, and Zayner’s biohacking got him in trouble again.

In May, 2020, he read a scientific paper that claimed a DNA-based vaccine against Covid-19 had been successfully developed and tested on macaques.

“I was like, ‘Why isn’t anybody working on this or trying this?’ Why don’t I go and order up the same DNA vaccine, have the company produce it for me and actually test it and see if it works on humans?” he said. “It worked on monkeys.”

Zayner followed through on his idea, contracting with a company to make the vaccine described in the paper. Then he and two other scientists/bio-hackers live-streamed the process of injecting themselves with it. He claims they all had antibody responses, but even at the time — his experiment was covered by Bloomberg — he said, “I’m very suspicious of my own data.” Here is how he describes the results, and his thinking, in a recent essay:

I’m hesitant to say it worked because vaccines are complicated and we’d need further testing to confirm our results. But, even if it didn't work, the fact that someone could have designed a vaccine, and contracted a company to manufacture that vaccine in June 2020 for under $5k is fucking profound — and that is what, at the time of releasing our video, I felt people needed to know.

At the time, there was no action taken against him. But just as mRNA vaccines began to be distributed across America and other parts of the world, he abruptly received notice from YouTube that he’d been banned for “severe or repeated violations of our community guidelines.”

[writingpaperghost]

Prototype

Mighty wasn't sure why he'd showed up. But he was fine with staying here, as long as he needed to.

The problem for prototypes was that they were never the final product.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31846084

Mighty wasn’t sure why he showed up. Was it because of the beginning of Bugsters appearances? Or did it have something to do with the Gashats? Mighty didn’t know, nor did he really care.

When Mighty first “woke up” he was in a funny room. He thought this is what one might call an “office”. There wasn’t anyone in there, so Mighty, bored, hopped up onto the desk there, in front of the big windows. There were a bunch of funny things on the desk, alongside a computer. Mighty sat down, staring out the windows at the city.

He wasn’t sure how long he was waiting, but after a while the door opened and he could hear someone walk in. It sounded like there were other people with him, a voice was talking with childlike glee. “That was really something, Graphite!” The voice declared, “I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”

“That’s good,” Another voice said, “You two will be spending quite a bit of time around each other.”

The first voice spoke again, “So what’s next, Kuroto?”

The second voice, presumably Kuroto, responded, “I need to refine the Gashats,” He said, “Then we’ll be able to move forward with our plans.”

“And how long will that take?” A new voice asked, possibly belonging to that Graphite the first had mentioned.

“A while,” Kuroto responded, “Depending on a lot of things. You’ll have to be patient, Parad, Graphite.”

At this point, Kuroto had arrived at the desk, setting a suitcase on it and sat down in the chair. He goes to open the suitcase when he notices Mighty, examining him curiously. “I didn’t think the prototype for the Mighty plush would be done already,” He muttered, “Especially since the colors haven’t been finalized.”

Mighty blinked. Kuroto was startled.

“Something wrong?” The first voice, Parad, asked.

Mighty stood up.

“What are you?” Kuroto wondered, picking up Mighty. Now the startled one, Mighty began to wiggle, flailing his legs and arms. He felt his hand grab hold of something, which he began to flail with. “Ugh, hammer!” Kuroto dropped Mighty, who missed the desk and landed on the ground, dropping his funny looking hammer.

“What is that?” Graphite asked.

Parad looked at Mighty and his eyes widened, “Woah,” He gasped, “Mighty! And he can move and stuff!”

---

Mighty had been with human Kuroto for years now - six, by his own count - when something happened. Kuroto had been out, doing something now that he’d finished working on the ten Gashats, when Mighty felt a weird sort of feeling. The next thing he knew, {uzzle Bugster Parad was peering at him both curious and startled. Mighty wasn’t sure why.

“Woah,” Parad breathed, “Did you see that Graphite? Mighty just disappeared and then he came back!” Well that explained what happened. Not that Mighty really knew how he just disappeared like that.

After a bit longer, Kuroto returned, looking a bit smug. Parad, though, wasted no time in telling Kuroto about what happened with Mighty. Kuroto seemed surprised, though he often was when it came to Mighty. After Kuroto asked some questions that Parad did his best to answer, with Dragon Bugster Graphite throwing a few words here and there, Kuroto seemed to come to a conclusion.

“It seems,” Kuroto stated, “When I used his Gashat, it made him disappear.”

“But why?”

Kuroto grumbled something about not knowing and marched over to his desk. Mighty wasn’t entirely sure what was going on still, but he was glad to know that he was somehow helping Kuroto. He felt proud of himself, even if he wasn’t directly helping. After all, Mighty liked Kuroto.

---

Mighty wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but he was pretty sure it was the emotion called “sadness”. Mighty human Kuroto had made himself a new Gashat, Dangerous Zombie. Mighty assumed it would work like Shakariki Sports. Except, Kuroto had gone out and come back, with Mighty not experiencing the sensation he’d come to know as his disappearing when his Gashat was used. Mighty was confused, but just assumed that Kuroto hadn’t needed to fight.

At least, until Parad spoke up, “So how did the new Gashat work?”

“Wonderfully,” Kuroto responded, “And I got rid of that snoop, Lazer.”

With a sinking feeling, Mighty realized what had happened. He’d been replaced. As Kuroto sat down at his makeshift desk, beginning to type away at his computer, Mighty took up his usual spot at the edge of his desk. This time, though, Kuroto didn’t even spare him a glance. Kuroto never just ignored him like that.

Then, Mighty realized the true extent of what had occured. He hadn’t just been replaced, that he could deal with - he knew that Kuroto wouldn’t be able to keep using his Gashat forever - no, it was so much worse. Not only had he been replaced, but now that he was completely useless to Kuroto, he’d been tossed aside too.

Shaking with an indescribable emotion he’d never felt before, Mighty hopped off the table and rushed out the room. It didn’t seem like even Parad noticed him leave. Mighty wasn’t sure where he was going, but he just ran through the rain as far as his legs could take him. After a long time, he arrived at a hospital. He’d never been here before, but he recognized the name as the one that those Kamen Riders that Kuroto and Parad fought were. The ones who killed Graphite. But he was soaking wet and sad and unsure.

So he slipped in the door, while someone else was going in. He wasn’t sure where to go or what he was hoping to find, but it almost felt like something was pulling him. He followed it, until he ran into the pink copy.

He and the pink copy both called themselves Mighty. They often argued about who got to be Mighty. The pink one said that he was Mighty and that Mighty ought to be called Proto. Mighty didn’t like that since he came first and often argued with the pink one about. Previously, Mighty wasn’t very fond of the pink one for his dislike of Kuroto, as well. But right now, Mighty really didn’t care.

When the pink one asked him why he was here and called him Proto, he didn’t say a thing, just plopped on the ground and shook, trying to wipe the weird water from his goggles. He’s pretty sure it’s called crying. Mighty doesn’t like it, but he can’t stop.

Pink doesn’t ask anymore questions, just sits down next to him and gives him a hug. After a few moments, Mighty began to explain what had happened. As Pink listened, he seemed upset, perhaps angry. It was odd, no one ever felt angry for Mighty, even when Mighty himself had been upset. Parad would laugh and call him cute. Kuroto disregarded him even on good days when he was still helpful. Graphite thought he was weak.

Mighty hadn’t really realized just how alone he’d been. Perhaps he’d simply found less than stellar company. Maybe it was just because he couldn’t really communicate with them. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was: He was glad that Pink was here.

Eventually, Pink leads him to an elevator, then down the elevator and into a funny room. It had the letters “CR” on some of the screens and a DoReMiFa Beat cabinet in a corner. Pink clambers onto a counter and opens what Mighty has learned is called a refrigerator, gesturing to some of the food in there.

He said that Mighty should have some, that it might make him feel better. But there was a problem. Mighty couldn’t eat. When Mighty told Pink this, Pink looked at him surprised, then touched one of the apples. The apple disappeared with a squeaky sound.

To prove his inability, Mighty made his way over to where Pink was and touched one of the apples. Nothing happened. He picked it up and held it to where his mouth might be, if he were to have one, like humans would. Nothing happened. Mighty could not eat. But it seemed that Pink could.

Maybe Pink was right about him being Proto. He did come from a prototype Gashat and there was plenty of things he couldn’t do. Things it seemed that Pink could, like eat. There was also how his colors were boring and bland, just black and purple. He understood now. He was a piece of history, no longer important.

So Proto thanked Mighty for all he did. Mighty looked confused. So Proto explained. He explained how he couldn’t stay. How he wanted to go back and keep an eye on Kuroto and on Parad. He’d never forgive Kuroto for this, but Parad was ultimately a bystander. A bystander who Proto was actually pretty fond of. He didn’t want something bad to happen to Parad and he didn’t want to deal with the humans at the CR questioning his appearance.

Thus, Proto was going back to where Kuroto and Parad were hiding, for now, at least. He waved goodbye to Mighty and slipped out of the CR and out of the hospital, back to where Kuroto was. Proto was still upset, but he’d calmed down more now.

The feeling of betrayal still lingered, but it was less strong now. He was pretty sure he’d be able to resist the urge to bonk Kuroto with his Gashacon Breaker.

[nothingunrealistic]

15, kleinsen

15. “Shouldn’t you be with him/her?”

Evan walks right up to Jared’s spot in the library, where he’s trying to use the thirteen minutes between eighth period and Model UN productively for a change by plowing through his calculus homework, and stands there looking worried, which throws Jared into a web of tangled emotions that’s neatly, and unpleasantly, unraveled by the first words out of Evan’s mouth being “Have you seen Zoe?”

“Am I your girlfriend’s keeper? No. Haven’t seen her.”

“She was supposed to meet me here, like, five minutes ago,” Evan says, letting the snark roll right off his back — or maybe it flew over his head. “But she isn’t here, obviously.”

“So text her.” Jared does not go quiet for a second to reflect on how thoroughly out of whack his life has been thrown that he’s telling Evan to text Zoe, his girlfriend, instead of continuing to talk to him. He doesn’t. Really. “It’s the twenty-first century, you’re not limited to telegrams and messenger pigeons.”

“I’m going to,” Evan says. “I just figured I might as well ask first, since you’re here.”

“Sorry for neglecting my job as your human search engine,” Jared says, shooting for flippancy. From Evan’s frown, he gathers he’s landed in the vicinity of bitterness instead. Terrible aim. “Guess you’d better wait here.”

Evan pulls out the chair across from Jared’s, and he’s shrugged off one backpack strap when he looks up and across the library and waves to someone behind Jared. There’s only one person it could be, yet Jared still turns to see Zoe, walking fast toward them like it’ll make her retroactively not late.

“Sorry for making you wait,” she says to Evan, arriving at his side and kissing him on the cheek. “I had to ask Mrs. Newcomb about something and she went on for a while.”

“No, totally, I get it.” Evan takes her hand. “She talks forever sometimes, it’s so annoying.” They’re beaming at each other, and Evan’s eyes are bright, and Jared almost feels bad for resenting someone who makes Evan this happy.

Almost. Because Jared is a selfish asshole, and maybe more importantly, Evan is a lying bastard who’s only dating his dream girl thanks to his bastardous lies, so arguably it’s a moral imperative for Jared to rain on their honeymoon parade.

“Get a room,” he says, and watches their smiles fade. “Or a house.”

Zoe looks at Evan questioningly, then drops her backpack to the floor and starts digging through it, which gives Evan the opportunity to shoot Jared a look that plainly says what the fuck? Jared glares back in you know exactly the fuck what before jamming his headphones on and pressing play on Spotify. The music’s quiet enough for him to hear Evan and Zoe speaking in hushed tones; he turns the volume up.

That calc homework is still waiting for him. He stares at the paper, trying to make the solution jump out of the page through sheer force of will, but can’t summon the focus for it even before Evan waves a hand in his face.

Jared looks up. Evan is glowering at him — odds are good he called Jared’s name more than once before realizing he was being drowned out — and Zoe is gone. He pulls the headphones off. “Shouldn’t you be with her?”

“She went out to start her car.” After a moment’s scan of the library, Evan leans in and lowers his voice. “What is your problem?”

“Well, let’s see.” Jared glances back down at the paper. “Given five hundred feet of fencing, what are the dimensions of the largest rectangular area that can be —”

Evan sighs sharply, obviously unwilling to waste more breath than that on saying you know that’s not what I meant. “What’s your problem with Zoe?”

“I don’t have a problem with Zoe.” It’s no lie. As an individual, in isolation, Zoe’s perfectly fine by him. She’s nice enough — of course she is, Evan likes nice people — but not so nice that it’s cloying, and she seems to be the only other person who remembers that Connor Murphy was, by all premortem accounts, kind of a dick and also kind of terrifying. Jared thinks she might be cool to hang out with, if not for —

“Then why do you get so… pissed off every time we’re together?” Evan says, and there’s the problem, the one Evan doesn’t even realize revolves around him. Doesn’t realize yet, anyway, but saying it aloud is a sign he’s coming uncomfortably close.

Jared picks up his phone from the table, flipping it over in his hand. “Oh, would you look at the time, I’ve gotta go to Model UN.” He stands and scoops up his homework, headphones, and backpack, heading for the library door with hands full.

“You can’t walk away every time I try to talk to you,” Evan calls after him, which is a hilarious thing to say to someone who’s doing just that. What does Evan think is going to stop him? A force field?

“Watch me,” Jared calls back. It’s all he’s ever asked of Evan.

[twiceblackvelvet]

Dreams

pt. i. pt.ii. pt.iii. pt.iv.

April 15th, 2022. 13:42 AM. Los Angeles.

California sunshine, there’s nothing like it. Sure, it all beams down from the same star no matter where you are in the world. But there’s something different about the atmosphere. People don’t care here if you’re parading around in a cropped shirt that shows off more skin than you’d usually be comfortable with. They are too wrapped up in their own socially driven lives to bother you in passing unless they recognize you. Then it’s time to whip out the phone to selfie mode in hopes it gains them a few extra likes than usual. Wendy doesn’t mind, it’s only happened twice, but she’s accepted it as part of the package.

When people say Los Angeles is the city of dreams, they mean it. That’s mainly why she finds herself strolling down the busy street with boutique clothing stores galore and people riding around on skateboards, enjoying their lives however they wish to do so. The freedom to explore your dreams in the place that either makes you or breaks you being all too tempting. But, Wendy is determined to be one of the few souls that soar and reach the goal they set out to achieve when they arrived here, rather than let the city suck her dry and toss her aside as it has done to many others.

It’s been eight months since she packed up her things and moved here. Many of her friends back in Korea told her she’d regret it or that she’d be better off staying and never trying to break into the music scene in the US, but Wendy has always been a free spirit, unable to follow what could be the safe path and instead aiming for what she truly wants. That’s how she ended up in Red Velvet. She could have stayed in Canada all of those years ago, become a doctor or a lawyer, but she knew it wouldn’t have fulfilled her. 

Singing just comes naturally. Without music, she’d be a shell of a person and definitely not in the position she finds herself in today. 

After working non-stop for what feels like forever, sleeping in the studio rather than her fancy apartment she paid more for than she’d like to admit, and refusing to acknowledge the outside world, today is the day. Today, the world has been invited to listen to her first full album. Some last-minute changes to cater to Yeri suddenly backing out of appearing as a song-writer and producer were a little stressful to deal with,  but luckily her team eventually agreed to remove the song. Though, if you ask them, being subjected to the torture of a grumpy Wendy who they’d grown used to being bright and fun is something no one should have to deal with, ever.

Before every release with Red Velvet, all the girls would have their own individual ways of preparing for it and calming their nerves. However, being alone now means Wendy can no longer practice hers, which was to focus on everyone else to distract herself from her own thoughts. Thus, the impromptu walk through the blistering streets and people watching is the only thing that feels appropriate. It also stops her from worrying about no one buying it and her hard work going to waste. 

She misses four faces specifically whilst wandering. 

“Oh my god, Wendy?” A shrill voice yells from behind her but before she’s even turned a full 180 degrees, arms are around her neck and wrapping her up into a crushing hug. “It is you, it’s been so long!” 

Had it been anyone else or had she been unable to recognize the voice, it’s very possible that the random strangers passing by would have been instructed to call the police immediately. Thankfully, it’s not someone trying to attack her, well, unless you count affection as an attack, Wendy doesn’t. 

“Tiffany, hey! It’s been forever.” She chokes out, arms still around her throat, making it difficult to speak. 

No one bats an eyelid at the two girls admiring each other mere inches away from each other, though it feels like someone should be there to capture the moment, at least for fans to gush about. Wendy takes a moment to look at Tiffany. Her skin appears to be glowing more than the last time she’d caught up with her. She looks healthy… happy. It’s a breath of fresh air to see someone from her world here alongside her and not seemingly a broken shell of a person. 

“You look amazing, wow! What are you doing here?” Tiffany asks, her voice still far too loud for a conversation in the middle of a busy street, not that Wendy minds.

“I live here now.” She replies bluntly, though, her conscious reminds her for a split second that even though neither of them is in Korea anymore, Tiffany is still a senior to her. Her tone softens naturally before continuing. “I came here after… well, you know.” 

Tiffany nods in understanding, though her eyes show sadness for a split second. There’s no need for either of them to discuss the split of her group, Tiffany herself understands what it’s like to be apart from the very people you spent a huge portion of your life alongside.

“So, what are you up to?” The lack of words between them both makes Wendy blurt out, also, so Tiffany can stop looking at her so pitifully. “I’m on my way to grab a coffee if you want to join me? Catch-up?”

Though it was presented as a question and is a heat of the moment change of plans from what she was doing which was nothing, in particular, Wendy is grateful for this distraction that Tiffany has given her without knowing she has. 

In the blink of an eye, Tiffany has linked their arms together and is dragging her halfway down the street to what she assures her is by far the best place for something way better than coffee.

When they arrive outside of an organic pop-up store that only serves vegan food and uses all non-dairy products, Wendy isn’t surprised. She’s read reviews about this kind of place lately, though she’s never ventured to any of them, deciding that the hype about buckwheat tea and the likes can’t be real. However, she’s been roped into this now and has no choice but to try something once they reach the counter.

“I’ve never been here before, what do you recommend?” She aims toward Tiffany, however, it gains the attention of the young woman stood near the till waiting patiently to take their order.

“The watermelon lemonade is popular, miss.” The girl whose nametag reads Olivia responds. 

Her face is trying its best to put on a smile, though, Wendy summarizes quickly that Olivia does not have an accent that sounds like she’s from California originally, likely moved here to be an actress and just never received an opportunity to do so. Thus, she’s stuck putting on a different act, pretending to be enthusiastic about serving drinks to people that will “cleanse” them.  To put politely.

“I guess I’ll go for that then.” Both Wendy and Tiffany offer her a smile before she darts off to prepare their drinks.

Tiffany tries to pay. Wendy won’t let her. They both try their best to be stubborn about it, however, Wendy somehow wins this round and thanks the heavens that Olivia is a lot better at her job than she expected as no sooner does she leave to make their order, she returns with two recyclable cups in tow. They sit outside and drink what Wendy reluctantly admits is a delicious watermelon lemonade whilst getting re-acquainted with one another. 

Small talk is all that they engage in at first. Politely asking about each other’s families, if they’ve been up to anything special lately. Wendy doesn’t mention the album release, she’s not sure why. Tiffany tells her about how she will be on tour soon and how Wendy should come to one of her shows so they can sing together. Wendy agrees. The mood turns rather solemn when they reminisce on how young they both were when they first began their careers and everything they’ve been through in the music industry.

“Do you like it here?” Tiffany’s voice is soft and her face serious, something that Wendy is unsure she’s ever seen from her before.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s nothing like what I’m used to but that’s a good thing,” Wendy answers, surprised by her own honesty. “It’s nice to not feel judged and that it’s okay if I make a mistake. If I mess up something here, people don’t seem to mind so long as I’m willing to learn from it. It’s not like that… there.” Wendy wants to say home, but she’s not sure if she can call it home for either of them anymore.

“I know what you mean. There’s a lot more freedom out here.” 

A comfortable silence falls between them, both pondering all the times they’d gotten on the bad side of people for whatever reason, big or small. Both being grateful that they still made it here, whilst some others are less fortunate.

Tiffany pulls out her phone to check the time, standing to place her cup in the recycling bin before turning back to Wendy, a lopsided smile on her face.

“Give me your number, I have somewhere I need to be but we should hang out again soon.” 

Wendy obliges, it’d be nice to have a friend here. Someone who understands her. She finishes typing in her number and hands the device back to Tiffany who has pulled sunglasses with a huge frame out of thin air seemingly to place on her face.

“Hey, I know that things may seem a lot better here, and… they can be. But just keep your guard up. The music business is shady everywhere, it doesn’t matter where you are.” Tiffany gently rubs a hand down Wendy’s arm as she speaks. It's not as comforting as she probably believes it is. Whilst she doesn’t say whether she’s speaking from personal experience, Wendy assumes so and appreciates the advice.

"I will, thank you. Let's meet up soon!"

Tiffany turns on her heels to strut back down the street they walked down to get the juice that Wendy realizes now has made her nausea even worse. She watches her for a few steps before she turns back in place to holler in her booming voice that is way more fitting than the serious one just seconds ago.

“Congratulations on the album too.” 

Wendy is stuck in place, jaw agape with confusion. Though she's happy that they didn't end up talking about it, she's slightly worried about how Tiffany knows about it without her mentioning it at all during their catch-up.

“How did y-” Wendy tries to ask but is cut off by an already leaving Tiffany who throws her a response over her shoulder.

“Check the charts, Seungwan.”

to be continued; here