#i do actually think it plausible that in 4 years there will not actually be an avenue to restore or salvage democracy here
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zoeticthoughts · 5 months ago
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I'm gonna be honest: while i don't disagree with the assessments about the constant abysmal failure of rightward overtures to please anybody, it very much IS the case that the voter base -- i.e. real human beings -- really IS moving extremely far to the right, and the fact that someone as abysmal as Trump can be elected on that basis at all -- that anyone even HAS to "run a good game" -- is genuinely fucking terrifying.
The fear and anger has never been about what Trump might do; the fear is about how many people in this country are actively hoping he does it.
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f1shart · 1 month ago
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thinking about buzz beating up the curious brothers again. like what do you mean
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but buzz is older than them?? time to dissect this (and by that i mean overly complicate it!!)
Making Sense of Buzz Grunt Beating the Shit Out of the Curious Brothers (and Loki)
I went into this assuming that, considering how old Buzz is, him beating up the Curious brothers + Loki as a teenager was statistically impossible, especially considering their age in actual human years—but was I wrong? Is it actually possible that Buzz did fight them within the time he spent as a teenager?
First, some supporting information.
Age Conversions Based on Adult Lifestage
Buzz: Day 14 or 43 years old Pascal: Day 10 or 38 years old Loki: Day 9 or 36 years old Vidcund: Day 6 or 32 years old Lazlo: Day 1 or 25 years old
These aren't even my own age headcanons for them (except Buzz's which is surprisingly accurate), just calculations. If you want to know how I got them then feel free to ask 😇
Evidence Provided by Memories
As seen in the picture, Buzz fought everyone "as soon as he aged up." However, it's possible he just has no memories of early teenhood.
Pascal similarly gained the memory as soon as he aged up. This idea is more plausible with him because he was accepted into private high school after the fact. Sure, in gameplay, this can happen as late as the last day as a teenager, but I doubt this is what Maxis was trying to convey since they literally handpicked these memories. Meaning: Buzz beat him up in middle school…?
Loki's only teen memory is losing the fight.
According to the Sims Wiki, Vidcund has no memory of Buzz beating him up (how hard did he hit him?)
Similar to Loki and Pascal, Lazlo's first memory as a teenager is getting beat up by Buzz.
Is This Possible In Normal Gameplay?
Disregarding any other family memories that arose around the time (I do NOT want to try to decipher the entire Curious timeline), the fight memories are in fact possible with their Sim ages.
The teen lifespan in The Sims 2 is 15 days long. Buzz is 4 days older than Pascal, 5 days older than Loki, 8 days older than Vidcund, and 13 days older than Lazlo.
Ensuring that everyone still falls within the teen lifestage, I made a table of the earliest and latest possible ages everyone could have been when Buzz attacked:
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Converting their teen days into human years, Buzz either beat them all up as an 18 year old OR slowly picked them off until age 17 which is right before he kissed Lyla. None of this, however, is possible based on the initial age calculations.
Buzz's Attacks Based On the Adult Age Conversions
Buzz is 5 years older than Pascal, 7 years older than Loki, 11 years older than Vidcund, and 18 years older than Lazlo. There are two ways we can interpret their memories: either the Curious brothers + Loki were teenagers when Buzz attacked, or Buzz was a teenager when he started attacking them.
On the basis that Buzz is still a teenager, and assuming each fight happened in close proximity to one another, he specifically had to have been 18 years old when each one happened. This makes Pascal a 13 year old, Loki an 11 year old, Vidcund a 7 year old, and Lazlo…a newborn. ☠️ Alternatively, Buzz may have started younger and continued fighting until 18, the only teen year he could have possibly encountered Lazlo in.
If that seems implausible, then maybe Buzz wasn't a teenager and instead beat the boys up as soon as they turned thirteen. This would make him 18 for Pascal, 20 for Loki, 24 for Vidcund, and 31 for Lazlo. (Side note: Tank and Ripp would have been born by then.)
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you base it on Buzz been a teen or the victims being teens, him beating up Lazlo looks pretty bad. And if you go by gameplay rules, everything flows surprisingly well. According to normal gameplay AND real-life age conversions, Buzz is a big meanie who beat up at least one kid as a legal adult, at least with the age conversion system I used…
Me personally, I think he was college-aged when he started bullying them. (Or maybe they attacked him? Plot twist.) Of course, what I discussed weren't the only possibilities, but they should give a good idea of how things actually went… and maybe they can inspire your own headcanons! ^_^
this is such a useless pseudo-essay LMFAOO
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wisteria-lodge · 7 months ago
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Manipulative/Morally Grey Dumbledore? An In-Depth Canon Analysis
So when I look at Harry Potter, my goal is to separate what I think the books are intending to say, from what they actually say, from what the movies say… and what the common fan interpretation is. So today I’m interested in Dumbledore, and specifically in the common headcanon of  Manipulative/Morally Gray Dumbledore. Is that (intentionally or unintentionally) supported by the text?
PART I:  Omniscient Dumbledore
“I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here”
In Book 1, yes Dumbledore honestly does seem to know everything. He 100% arranged for Harry to find the Mirror of Erised, publicly left Hogwarts in order to nudge Quirrell into going after the Stone, and knew what Quirrell was doing the whole time. It is absolutely not a stretch, and kind of heavily implied, that the reason the Stone’s protections feel like a little-end-of-the-year exam designed to put Harry through his paces… is because they are. As the series goes on this interpretation only gets more plausible, when we see the kind of protections people can put up when they don’t want anyone getting through. 
Book 1 Dumbledore knows everything… but what he’s actually going to do about it is anyone’s guess. One of the first things we learn is that some of Dumbledore’s calls can be… questionable. McGonagall questions his choice to leave Harry with the Dursleys, Hermione questions his choice to give Harry the Cloak and let him go after the Stone, Percy and Ron both matter-of-factly call him “mad.” The “nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak” speech is a joke where Dumbledore says he’s going to say a few words, then literally does say a few (weird) words. I know there are theories that those particular words are supposed to be insulting the four houses, or referencing the Hogwarts house stereotypes, or that they’re some kind of warning. But within the text, this is pure Lewis Carroll British Nonsense Verse stuff (and people came up with answers to the impossible Alice in Wonderland “why is a raven like a writing desk” riddle too.) 
This characterization also explains a lot of Dumbledore’s decisions about how to run a school, locked in during Book 1. Presumably Binns, Peeves, Filch, Snape are all there because Dumbledore finds them funny, atmospheric, and/or character building. He's just kind of a weird guy.  He absolutely knew that Lockhart was a fraud in Book 2 (with that whole “Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy?” thing after Lockhart oblivates himself. ) So maybe he is also there to be funny/atmospheric/character building, or to teach Harry a lesson about fame, or because Dumbledore is using the cursed position to bump off people he doesn’t like. Who knows.
(I actually don’t think JKR had locked in “the DADA position is literally cursed by Voldemort” until Book 6. )
Dumbledore absolutely knows that Harry is listening in when Lucius Malfoy comes to take Hagrid to Azkaban, and it’s fun to speculate that maybe he let himself get fired in Book 2 as part of a larger plan to boot Lucius off the Board of Governors. So far, that’s the sort of thing he’d do.  But in Books 3 and 4, we are confronted with a number of important things that Dumbledore just missed. He doesn’t know any of the Marauders were animagi, he doesn’t know what really happened with the Potter’s Secret Keeper, doesn’t know Moody is Crouch, and doesn’t know the Marauders Map even exists. But in Books 5 and 6, his omniscience does seem to come back online. (In a flashback, Voldemort even comments that he is "omniscient as ever” when Dumbledore lists the specific Death Eaters he has in Hogsmeade as backup.) Dumbledore knows exactly what Draco and Voldemort are planning, and his word is taken as objective truth by the entire Order of the Phoenix - who apparently only tolerate Snape because Dumbledore vouches for him:
��Snape,” repeated McGonagall faintly, falling into the chair. “We all wondered . . . but he trusted . . . always . . . Snape . . . I can’t believe it. . . .”  “Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens,” said Lupin, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. “We always knew that.”  “But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!” whispered Tonks. “I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn’t. . . .”  “He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape,” muttered Professor McGonagall (...) “Wouldn’t hear a word against him!”
McGonagall questions Dumbledore about the Dursleys, but not about Snape. I see this as part of the larger trend of basically Dumbledore’s deification. In the beginning of the series, he’s treated as a clever, weird dude. By the end, he’s treated like a god. 
PART II: Chessmaster Dumbledore
“I prefer not to keep all my secrets in one basket.”
When Dumbledore solves problems, he likes to go very hands-off. He didn’t directly teach Harry about the Mirror of Erised - he gave him the Cloak, knew he would wander, and moved the Mirror so it would be in his path. He sends Snape to deal with Quirrell and Draco, rather than do it himself. He (or his portrait) tells Snape to confund Mundungus Fletcher and get him to suggest the Seven Potters strategy. He puts Mrs. Figg in place to watch Harry, then ups the protection in Book 5 - all without informing Harry. The situation with Slughorn is kind of a Dumbledore-manipulation master class - even the way he deliberately disappears into the bathroom so Harry will have enough solo time to charm Slughorn. Of course he only wants Slughorn under his roof in the first place to pick his brain about Voldemort… but again, instead of doing that himself, he gets Harry to do it for him. 
Dumbledore has a moment during Harry’s hearing in Book 5 (which he fakes evidence for) where he informs Fudge that Harry is not under the Ministry’s jurisdiction while at Hogwarts. Which has insane implications. It’s never explicitly stated, but as the story goes on, it at least makes sense that Dumbledore is deliberately obscuring how powerful he is, and how much influence he really has, by getting other people to do things for him. But the problem with that is because he is so powerful, it become really easy for a reader to look back after they get more information and say… well if Dumbledore was controlling the situation… why couldn’t he have done XYZ. Here are two easy examples from Harry’s time spent with the Dursleys:
1. Mrs. Figg is watching over Harry from day one, but she can’t tell him she’s a squib and also she has to keep him miserable on purpose:
“Dumbledore’s orders. I was to keep an eye on you but not say anything, you were too young. I’m sorry I gave you such a miserable time, but the Dursleys would never have let you come if they’d thought you enjoyed it. It wasn’t easy, you know…”
It’s pretty intense to think of Dumbledore saying “oh yes, invite this little child over and keep him unhappy on purpose.” But okay. It’s important to keep Harry ignorant of the magical world and vice versa. fine. But once he goes to Hogwarts… that doesn’t apply anymore?  I’m sure when Harry thinks he’s going to be imprisoned permanently in his bedroom during Book 2, it would’ve been comforting to know that Dumbledore was sending around someone to check on him. And when he literally runs away from home in Book 3… having the address of a trusted adult that he could easily get to would have been great for everybody. 
2. When Vernon is about to actually kick Harry out during Book 5, Dumbledore sends a howler which intimidates Petunia into insisting that Harry has to stay. Vernon folds and does exactly what she says. If Dumbledore could intimidate Petunia into doing this, then why couldn’t he intimidate her into, say - giving Harry the second bedroom instead of a cupboard. Or fixing Harry’s glasses. In Book 1, the Dursleys don’t bother Harry during the entire month of August because Hagrid gives Dudley a pig’s tail. In the summer between third and fourth year, the Dursleys back off because Harry is in correspondence with Sirius (a person they fear.) But the Dursleys are afraid of all wizards. Like at this point it doesn’t seem that hard to intimidate them into acting decently to Harry. 
PART III: Dumbledore and the Dursleys 
“Not a pampered little prince”
JKR wanted two contradictory things. She wanted Dumbledore to be a fundamentally good guy: a wise, if eccentric mentor figure. But she also wanted Harry to have a comedically horrible childhood being locked in a cupboard, denied food, given broken glasses and ill fitting/embarrassing clothes, and generally made into a little Cinderella. Then, it’s a bigger contrast when he goes to Hogwarts and expulsion can be used as an easy threat. (Although the only person we ever see expelled is Hagrid, and that was for murder.)
So, there are a couple of tricks she uses to make it okay that Dumbledore left Harry at the Dursleys.’ The first is that once Harry leaves…  nothing that happens there is given emotional weight. When he’s in the Wizarding World, he barely talks about Dursleys, barely thinks about them. They almost never come up in the narration (unless Harry’s worried about being expelled, or they’re sending him comedically awful presents.) They are completely cut from movies 4, 6, and 7 part 2 - and you do not notice. 
The second trick… is that Dumbledore himself clearly doesn’t think that the Dursleys are that bad. During the King’s Cross vision-quest, he describes 11-year-old Harry as “alive and healthy (...) as normal a boy as I could have hoped under the circumstances. Thus far, my plan was working well.”  
Now, this could have been really interesting. Like in a psychological way, I get it. Dumbledore had a rocky home life. Dad in prison, mom spending all her time taking care of his volatile and dangerous sister. Aberforth seems to have reacted to the situation by running completely wild, it’s implied that he never even had formal schooling… and Albus doubled down on being the Golden Child, making the family look good from the outside, and finding every means possible to escape. I would have believed it if Molly or Kingsley had a beat of being horrified by the way the Dursleys are treating Harry… but Dumbledore treats it as like, whatever. Business as usual. 
But that isn’t the framing that the books use. Dumbledore is correct that the Dursleys aren’t that bad, and I think it’s because JKR fundamentally does not take the Dursleys seriously as threats. I also think she has a fairly deeply held belief that suffering creates goodness, so possibly Harry suffering at the hands of the Dursleys… was necessary? To make him good? Dumbledore himself has an arc of ‘long period of suffering = increased goodness.’ So does Severus Snape, Dudley‘s experience with the Dementor kickstarts his character growth, etc. It’s a trope she likes.
It’s only in The Cursed Child that the Dursleys are given any kind of weight when it comes to Harry’s psyche. This is one of the things that makes me say Jack Thorne wrote that play, because it’s just not consistent with how JKR likes to write the Dursleys. It’s consistent with the way fanfiction likes to write the Dursleys. And look, The Cursed Child is fascinatingly bad, I have so many problems with it, but it does seem to be doing like … a dark reinterpretation of Harry Potter? And it’s interested in saying something about cycles of abuse. I can absolutely see how the way the play handles things is flattering to JKR. It retroactively frames the Dursleys’ abuse in a more negative way, and maybe that’s something she wanted after criticism that the Harry Potter books treat physical abuse kind of lightly. (i.e.  Harry at the hands of the Dursleys, and house-elves at the hands of everybody. Even Molly Weasley “wallops” Fred with a broomstick.) 
PART IV: Dumbledore and Harry
“The whole Potter–Dumbledore relationship. It’s been called unhealthy, even sinister”
So whenever Harry feels betrayed by Dumbledore in the books - and he absolutely does, it’s some of JKR’s best writing  - it’s not because he left him with the Dursleys. It’s because Dumbledore kept secrets from him, or lied to him, or didn’t confide in him on a personal level. 
“Look what he asked from me, Hermione! Risk your life, Harry! And again! And again! And don’t expect me to explain everything, just trust me blindly, trust that I know what I’m doing, trust me even though I don’t trust you! Never the whole truth! Never!” (...) I don’t know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isn’t love, the mess he’s left me in. He shared a damn sight more of what he was really thinking with Gellert Grindelwald than he ever shared with me.”
Eventually though, Harry falls in line with the rest of the Order, and treats Dumbledore as an all-knowing God. And this decision comes so close to being critiqued…  but the series never quite commits. Rufus Scrimgeour comments that, “Well, it is clear to me that [Dumbledore] has done a very good job on you” - implying that Harry is a product of a deliberate manipulation,  and that the way Harry feels about Dumbledore is a direct result of how he's been controlling the situation (and Harry.)  But Harry responds to “[You are] Dumbledore’s man through and through, aren’t you, Potter?” with “Yeah, I am. Glad we straightened that out,” and it’s treated as a badass, mic drop line. 
Ron goes on to say that Harry maybe shouldn’t be trusting Dumbledore and maybe his plan isn’t that great… but then he abandons his friends, regrets what he did, and is only able to come back because Dumbledore knew he would react this way? So that whole thing only makes Dumbledore seem more powerful? Aberforth  tells Harry (correctly) that Dumbledore is expecting too much of him and he’s not interested in making sure that he survives:
“How can you be sure, Potter, that my brother wasn’t more interested in the greater good than in you? How can you be sure you aren’t dispensable (...) Why didn’t he say… ‘Take care of yourself, here’s how to survive’? (...) You’re seventeen, boy!”
But, Aberforth is treated as this Hamish Abernathy type who has given up, and needs Harry to ignite his spark again. There’s a pretty dark line in the script of Deathly Hallows Part 2:
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Which at least shows this was a possible  interpretation the creative team had in their heads… but then of course it isn’t actually in the movie. 
So in the end, insane trust in Dumbledore is only ever treated as proper and good. Then in Cursed Child they start using “Dumbledore” as an oath instead of “Merlin” and it’s weird and I don’t like it.
PART V: Dumbledore and his Strays
“I have known, for some time now, that you are the better man.”
So Dumbledore has this weird relationship pattern. He has a handful of people he pulled out of the fire at some point and (as a result) these people are insanely loyal to him.  They do his dirty work, and he completely controls them. This is an interesting pattern, because I think it helps explain why so many fans read Dumbledore’s relationship with Snape (and with Harry) as sinister. 
Let’s start with the first of Dumbledore’s “strays.” Dumbledore saves Hagrid's livelihood and probably life after he is accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets - and then he uses Hagrid to disappear Harry after the Potters' death, gets him to transport the Philosopher’s Stone, and he’s the one who he trusts to be Harry’s first point of contact with the Wizarding World.  Also, Hagrid's situation doesn’t change? Even after he is cleared of opening the Chamber of Secrets, he keeps using that pink flowered umbrella with his broken wand inside, a secret that he and Dumbledore seem to share. He could get a legal wand, he could continue his education. But he doesn’t seem to, and I don’t know why. 
So, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is a well known fix-it fic that basically asks “What if Harry Potter was a machiavellian little super genius who solves the plot in a year?” I enjoyed it when it was coming out, but the only thing I would call a cheat is the way McGonagall brings Harry to Diagon Alley instead of Hagrid. Because a Harry Potter who has spent a couple of days with McGonagall is going to be much better informed, better equipped and therefore more powerful than a Harry spending the same amount of time with Hagrid. McGonagall is both a lot more knowledgeable and a lot less loyal to Dumbledore. She is loyal, obviously, but she also questions his choices in a way that Hagrid never does. And as a result, Dumbledore does not trust her with the same kind of delicate jobs he trusts to Hagrid.
Mrs. Figg is another one of Dumbledore’s strays. She’s a squib, so we can imagine that she doesn’t really have a lot of other options, and he sets her up to keep tabs on (and be unpleasant to) little Harry. He also has her lie to the entire Wizangamot, which has got to present some risk. Within this framework, Snape is another very clear stray. Dumbledore kept him out of Azkaban, and is the only reason that the Order trusts him. He gets sent on on dangerous double-agent missions… but before that he’s sort of kept on hand, even though he’s clearly miserable at Hogwarts. Firenze is definitely a stray - he can't go back to the centaurs, and who other than Dumbledore is going to hire him? And I do wonder about Trelawney. We don’t know much about her relationship with Dumbledore, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she was a stray as well.
I think there was an attempt to turn Lupin into a stray that didn’t… quite work. He is clearly grateful to Dumbledore for letting him attend Hogwarts and then for hiring him, but Lupin doesn’t really hit that necessary level of trustworthy that the others do. Most of what Dumbledore doesn’t know in Book 3 are things that Lupin could have told him, and didn’t. If had to think of a Watsonsian reason why Remus is given all these solo missions away from the other Order members (that never end up mattering…) it’s because I don’t think Dumbledore trusts him that much. Lupin doubts him too much. 
“Dumbledore believed that?” said Lupin incredulously. “Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James. . . .”
 We also see Dumbledore start the process of making Draco into a stray by promising to protect him and his parents. And with all of that… it’s kind of easy to see how Harry fits the profile. He has a very bleak existence (which Dumbledore knows about.) He is pulled out of it by Dumbledore’s proxies. It’s not surprising that Harry develops a Hagrid-level loyalty, especially after Dumbledore saves him from Barty, from his Ministry hearing, and then from Voldemort. Harry walks to his death because Dumbledore told him too. 
Just to be clear, I don’t think this pattern is deliberate. I think this is a side effect of JKR wanting to write Dumbledore as a nice guy, and specifically as a protector of the little guy. But Dumbledore doing that while also being so powerful creates a weird power dynamic, gives him a weird edit. It’s part of the reason people are happy to go one step farther and say that the Dursleys were mean to Harry… because Dumbledore actively wanted it that way.  I don’t think that’s true. I think Dumbledore loves his strays and if anything, the text supports the idea that he is collecting good people, because protecting them and observing them serves some psychological function for him. Dumbledore does not believe himself to be an intrinsically good person, or trustworthy when it comes to power. So, of course someone like that would be fascinated by how powerless people operate in the world, and by people like Hagrid and Lupin and Harry, who seem so intrinsically good. 
PART VI - Dumbledore and Grindelwald
“I was in love with you.” 
I honestly see “17-year-old Dumbledore was enamored with Grindelwald” as a smokescreen distracting from the actual moral grayness of the guy. He wrote some edgy letters when he was a teenager, at least partly because he thought his neighbor was hot. He thought he could move Ariana, but couldn’t - which led to the chaotic three-way duel that killed her. 
One thing I think J. K. Rowling does understand pretty well, and introduces into her books on purpose, is the concept of re-traumatization. Sirius in Book 5 is very obviously being re-traumatized by being in his childhood home and hearing the portrait of his mother screaming. It’s why he acts out, regresses, and does a number of unadvisable things. I think it’s also deliberate that Petunia’s unpleasant childhood is basically being re-created: her normal son next to her sister’s magical son. It's making her worse, or at the very least preventing her from getting better. We learn that Petunia has this sublimated interest in the magical world, and can even pull out vocab like “Azkaban” and “Dementor” when she needs to.   She wrote Dumbledore asking to go to Hogwarts, and I could see that in a universe where Petunia didn’t have to literally raise Harry, she wouldn’t be as psychotically into normalness, cleanliness, and order as she is when we meet her in the books. After all, JKR doesn’t like to write evil mothers. She will be bend over backwards so her mothers are never really framed as bad.
And I honestly think it’s possible that J. K. Rowling was playing with the concept of re-traumatiziation when she was fleshing out Dumbledore in Book 7. We learn all this backstory, that… honestly isn’t super necessary? All I’m saying is that the three-way duel at the top of the Astronomy Tower lines up really well with the three-way duel that killed Ariana. Harry is Ariana, helpless in the middle. Draco is Aberforth, well intentioned and protective of his family - but kind of useless, and kind of a liability. Severus is Grindelwald, dark and brilliant, and one of the closest relationships Dumbledore has. If this was intentional, it was probably only for reasons of narrative symmetry… but I think it's cool in a Gus Fring of Breaking Bad sort of way, that Dumbledore (either consciously or unconsciously) has been trying to re-create this one horrible moment in his life where he felt entirely out of control. But the second time it plays out… he can give it what he sees as the correct outcome. Grindelwald kills him and everyone else lives. That is how you solve the puzzle.
If you read between the lines, Dumbledore/Grindelwald is a fascinating love story. I like the detail that after Ariana’s death, Dumbledore returns to Hogwarts because it’s a place to hide and because he doesn’t feel like he can be trusted with power. I like that he sits there, refusing promotions, refusing requests to be the new Minister of Magic, refusing to go deal with the growing Grindelwald threat until he absolutely can’t hide anymore, at which point he defeats him (somehow.) I like reading his elaborate plan to break Elder Wand’s power as both a screw-you to Grindelwald, the wand’s previous master, but also as a weirdly romantic gesture. In Albus Dumbledore’s mind, there is only Grindelwald. Voldemort can’t even begin to compare. I like the detail that Grindelwald won’t give up Dumbledore, even under torture. And, Dumbledore doesn’t put him in Azkaban. He put him in this other separate prison, which always makes it seem like he’s there under Dumbledore authority specifically.  Maybe Dumbledore thinks that if he had died that day instead of Ariana…he wouldn’t have had to spend the rest of his life fighting and imprisoning the man he loves.
And then of course, Crimes of Grindelwald decided to take away Dumbledore's greatest weakness and say that no, actually he was a really good guy who never did anything wrong ever.  He went all that time without fighting Grindelwald because they made a magical friendship no-fight bracelet. Dumbledore is randomly grabbing Lupin’s iconography (his fashion sense, his lesson plans, his job) in order to feel more soft and gentle than the person the books have created. Now Dumbledore knows about the Room Requirement, even though in the books it’s a plot point that he's too much of a goody-two-shoes to have ever found it himself. He loved Grindelwald (past tense.) And Secrets of Dumbledore is mostly about him being an omniscient mastermind so that a magical deer can tell him that he was a super good and worthy guy, and any doubt that he’s ever felt about himself is just objectively wrong and incorrect. Also now Aberforth has a neglected son, so he’s reframed as a bit of a hypocrite for getting on his brother’s case for not protecting Harry. 
So to summarize, I think Dumbledore began the series as this very eccentric, unpredictable mentor, whose abilities took a hit in Books 3 and 4 in order to make the plot happen. He teetered on the edge of a ‘dark’ framing for like a second… but at the the end of the series he's written as basically infallible and godlike. I’ve heard people say that JKR’s  increased fame was the reason she added the Rita Skeeter plot line, and I don’t think that’s true. But I do think her fame may have affected the way she wrote Dumbledore. Because Dumbledore is JKR’s comment on power, and by Book 5 she had so much power. In her head, I don’t think that Dumbledore is handing off jobs in a manipulative way. She sees him as empowering other less powerful people. That is his job as someone in power (because remember - people who desire power shouldn't wield it.)
Dumbledore’s power makes him emotionally disconnected from the people in his life, it makes him disliked and distrusted by the Ministry, but it doesn’t make him wrong. That’s important. Dumbledore is never wrong. Dumbledore is always good. That’s why we get the Blood Pact that means he was never weak or procrastinating. That’s why we get the qilin saying he was a good person. It’s why we get the tragic backstory (because giving Snape a tragic backstory worked wonders when it came to rehabilitating him.) And that is why Harry names his son Albus Severus in the epilogue, to make us readers absolutely crystal clear that these two are good men. 
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jungkoode · 2 months ago
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OFF-LABELS
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→ PAIRING : Med Student!Hoseok x F!Reader (Brother’s Best Friend AU)
→ RATING: Mature, 18+, suggestive tones.
→ DATE POSTED: January 30, 2025.
→ NARRATED AUDIO:
→ SUMMARY: You’ve spent four years convincing yourself that your brother’s best friend is just being nice when he remembers your coffee order, quizzes you on neuroanatomy, or lets his touch linger a second too long. Because there’s no way that the golden boy of Seoul National’s medical program might actually be flirting with you. Especially when he keeps saying things that could be perfectly innocent… if only he didn’t say them in that voice.
→ TAGS: second person perspective, female reader, medical school au, brother’s best friend trope, age gap (4 years), pining, touch starved, overthinking reader, confident hoseok, gentle dom hoseok, medical terminology as flirting (lmao), study sessions, domestic moments, innocent (but not really), plausible deniability king hoseok, anxiety, internal monologue, guilty crushes, subtle teasing, emotional edging, gentle manipulation, praise kink undertones, intellectual attraction, competency kink, hand fixation, voice kink, medical intern hoseok, first year med student reader, home setting, casual intimacy, unresolved sexual tension (for now), secret attraction, nervous rambling, self-doubt, intrusive thoughts, anatomy lessons with ulterior motives, competent hoseok, flustered reader, close proximity, accidental touches that aren’t accidents, virgin!reader.
→ CONTENT in this chapter: plausible deniability king hoseok, subtext, dropping slight innuendo with that voice, gentle teasing, double meaning, sexual tension
→ MASTERLIST | TAGLIST REQ | WORDCOUNT: 2.6k
→ A/N: So. Listen. I was out there, freezing my ass off at the bus stop, cursing my life choices because why am I even going to the gym at ungodly hours??? And then—THEN—the bus just had the audacity to drive right past me. Love that. Amazing. Naturally, I did what any rational person would do: opened my notes app and started writing instead of using those 45 minutes to, idk, reconsider my entire existence. And thus, Off-Labels was born. This drabble? It’s about the kind of man who is dangerous in the most insidious way—intelligent, competent, and hiding behind a veneer of plausible deniability like it’s a damn art form. You know he knows what he’s doing to you. You know he’s aware of the effect he has. But can you prove it? No. Because he’s just so nice. So helpful. So unintentionally devastating to your nervous system. It’s honestly sick and twisted and exactly my type. Am I a menace? Absolutely. First installment in what might become a series because apparently I can't stop writing about competent men in medical settings using anatomical terms as foreplay. Will I be taking criticism? Absolutely not. ❤️‍🩹🩺
→ MINI SERIES: NEXT
PLAYLIST
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You don’t believe in stories like in books.
Sure, you like to read them—disappear into them, let them pull you under like a riptide until you forget about deadlines and midterms and the existential dread of being a twenty-something who still doesn’t know what they’re doing.
But that’s all they are.
Stories.
Fantasies about tragic, fated loves and brooding billionaires and dangerous men with wings. You like them because they’re not real. Because it’s fun to pretend, for a little while, that you’re the kind of girl who’s got a winged fae warrior at her feet. Or a CEO husband who calls her darling in an office with floor-to-ceiling windows. Or—God forbid—her hot math teacher, who lets her stay after class for extra lessons.
Or your brother’s best friend’s secret hookup.
Not that you’re thinking about that one.
Not that it would even be your case.
You shift on the couch, burying yourself deeper into the cocoon of your brother’s old hoodie. It’s massive on you, the sleeves swallowing your hands, the faded fabric smelling like dust and detergent.
Perfect. The ideal uniform for an evening of doing absolutely nothing.
Your e-reader is dead, so you’ve resorted to flipping through some random paperback you found wedged under the coffee table, something with an aggressively shirtless man on the cover. You’re only half-paying attention, your eyes skimming over the words without really absorbing them.
Caleb should be home soon. Probably. He has class—or he says he has class, but you’re not entirely convinced. He’s in that phase of university where it’s mostly networking and group projects and going out more than actually studying.
Not that you care. He does his thing, you do yours.
A sharp knock at the door pulls you out of your haze.
You ignore it. Caleb has keys. If he forgot them, that’s his problem.
The knock comes again. Then the doorbell rings.
You groan, untangling yourself from the blanket and shuffling toward the door with all the grace of a sleep-deprived goblin. Your hair is a mess, your socks don’t match, and you’re fairly certain you have crumbs on your face from earlier. Good. Whoever’s on the other side can suffer.
Except—
It’s not Caleb.
It’s Hoseok.
Oh.
You freeze, hand still gripping the doorknob, brain buffering at the sight of him standing there, all easy confidence and warm eyes and—why does he always look so put together? It’s unfair. He’s in jeans and a hoodie, nothing special, but it fits him just right, and his hair is slightly tousled, like he just ran a hand through it, and—
Stop.
You force yourself to blink, to breathe, to act like a normal human person.
“Uh,” you say, which is a stellar start.
Hoseok smiles. “Hey.”
He has the kind of voice that makes people listen, rich and smooth, the kind that carries even when he’s speaking softly. Which he is now, like he knows you spook easily.
“Caleb’s not here,” you blurt out.
He tilts his head, amused. “Yeah, I figured.”
Right. Obviously. Because if Caleb were here, he’d be the one answering the door.
You scramble for something else to say, but your brain is blank, completely derailed by the fact that he’s here. In your doorway. Looking at you. And you must look insane—your hair sticking up in weird directions, drowning in a hoodie that is definitely not yours.
And he’s still smiling. Patient. Like he has all the time in the world.
You clear your throat, gripping the edge of the door. “Um. Did you—need something?”
Hoseok shifts, rocking back on his heels. “I was in the area. Thought I’d stop by, see if Caleb was around.” A pause. “And you, too.”
Your brain does an emergency reboot.
You, too.
You, too.
You swallow. “Oh. Right. Cool. That’s—cool.”
His smile twitches, like he’s holding back a laugh.
You want to throw yourself into traffic.
“Mind if I come in?” he asks, ever-polite, ever-easygoing.
You should say no. Caleb’s not here, and even though Hoseok is Caleb’s best friend—and a genuinely nice person, thoughtful and reliable and the kind of guy who remembers your favorite coffee order—something about being alone with him makes your stomach twist.
But saying no would be weird.
So you step back. “Yeah, uh, sure.”
He steps inside, and suddenly the room feels smaller. Or maybe you’re just too aware of him—his presence, the faint scent of clean laundry and something warmer, something mellow. He’s always been like this, always drawn your attention whether you wanted him to or not.
You watch as he shrugs off his jacket, draping it over the back of a chair like he’s been here a hundred times before. And he has, technically, but not like this. Not without Caleb.
Hoseok glances at the book on the coffee table. “Good?”
You stare at it, momentarily forgetting what book it even is. “Uh. Yeah.”
His eyes flick to the cover. His smile turns amused.
Heat floods your face.
"Interesting choice.”
You freeze. A slow, creeping horror slithers up your spine. Because you didn’t even look at the book before picking it up—you just grabbed whatever you had lying around, assuming it was something boring, something safe—
And now Hoseok is holding a novel titled My Professor’s Secret Temptation.
Oh.
Oh, you actually might be sick.
You scramble for something—anything—to say, but the words wedge themselves somewhere between your throat and your rapidly spiraling embarrassment.
Hoseok flips the book over, scanning the back cover with a curious hum. “Didn’t take you for the forbidden romance type.”
You want the ground to open up. You want to disintegrate.
“I—I didn’t even read it!” you blurt out, a little too fast, a little too desperate. “I wasn’t paying attention, I just grabbed something random, and—and it’s not—”
Hoseok glances at you, amused but not in a mean way, just…interested? "Oh, yeah?”
You nod. Aggressively. “Yes.”
His mouth presses into something thoughtful, like he believes you, but there’s still a flicker of amusement in his expression, like he doesn’t quite know what to do with this new information.
“Huh.” He flips through a few pages idly, head tilting. “He’s pretty bold, huh?”
Your stomach drops. “Who?”
“The professor.”
Your soul leaves your body.
You stare at him, mouth opening and closing, incapable of forming a coherent thought.
Hoseok just nods, easy, unbothered. “Some of these lines are intense,” he muses, flipping another page. “Do real professors talk like this?”
You are going to die. Right here. On the floor.
“I—” Your voice cracks. “I don’t know.”
He hums again, like he’s genuinely considering it, then—just as casually as everything else—he looks up and says, “You think he’s hot?”
Your heart stops.
Not in a teasing way. Not in a mean way. Just…like it’s a normal question. Like this is just an easy, natural conversation between two people who absolutely do not need to be having this conversation.
Your mouth opens. Nothing comes out.
Hoseok’s lips twitch, but it’s not a smirk, not a knowing smile—just quiet amusement, like this whole situation is genuinely kind of funny, and he doesn’t think it’s a big deal at all.
“Relax,” he says, closing the book with a soft thump. “I won’t tell Caleb.”
It’s so casual. So reassuring.
Like he really, really isn’t trying to mess with you.
Which somehow makes it worse.
Hoseok sets the book down with deliberate care, spine aligned parallel to the edge of the coffee table like he’s arranging museum artifacts. Your traitorous eyes track the flex of tendons in his wrist—medical resident hands, steady and precise, the kind that’ve probably held beating hearts in ORs. You bite the inside of your cheek until copper blooms.
He glances at the sofa.
You glance at the sofa.
Three cushions. Two throw pillows. Seventy-two inches of fabric that suddenly feels like the Grand Canyon between acceptable and catastrophic.
“Mind if I…?” He gestures to the spot beside your abandoned blanket nest, already moving before you nod.
The springs creak faintly as he sinks into the middle cushion, thighs spreading in that effortless way men do—knees wide, elbows propped, phone balanced on his lap. You sit next to him—two cushions away—and watch his thumb scroll through messages, the screen’s blue light catching the silver ring he always wears on his index finger. Surgical steel, he’d told you once when you’d asked. Sterile. Practical.
Practical.
Practical like the way his left knee now brushes the edge of your blanket. Practical like the faint cedar-and-disinfectant scent of his cologne. Practical like the half-inch of skin exposed when his hoodie rides up as he stretches his arms behind his head.
Don’t look.
You look.
Stop looking.
He shifts, a subtle roll of his hips that has no business being this distracting. The movement pulls the denim taut across his thighs, and you try—really, genuinely try—to keep your eyes anywhere else. The ceiling. The floor. The stack of medical textbooks by the TV. Anything but the way his thumb now absently traces the inner seam of his jeans.
“Told Caleb I’d wait,” he says, tilting his head toward you. The motion makes his throat work—Adam’s apple bobbing, chin catching gold in the lamplight. “Movie night. You’re welcome to join, if you want.”
Your tongue feels like it’s been replaced with felt. “I—I have… readings.”
“Readings.” His mouth shapes the word like it’s fascinating.
“For… neuroanatomy.” You gesture vaguely toward your backpack slumped by the TV stand, half-buried under a sweatshirt you’ve been using as a pillow. “Midterm next week.”
He hums, low and considering. “Limbic system?”
“Hippocampus. Amygdala. All the… emotional bits.”
“Ah.” His smile softens, crinkling the corners of his eyes. “The parts that make you want to throw textbooks at walls.”
You blink. “You… remember?”
“Your first-year meltdown over the cranial nerves? Yeah.” He chuckles, warm and rasping. “You called them ‘twelve little traitors’ and threatened to switch to art history.”
Heat crawls up your neck. You’d forgotten he’d been there that night—Caleb dragging him along for a pizza run, finding you knee-deep in flashcards and tears. Hoseok had quietly made tea while Caleb joked about selling your cadaver lab notes on eBay.
“Still think about it sometimes,” you mutter, picking at a loose thread on the blanket. “Art history sounds peaceful. No one dies in art history.”
“No,” he agrees. “But you’d miss this.”
“Miss what? The sleep deprivation? The existential dread?”
“The way your nose scrunches when you’re trying to memorize Brodmann areas.”
Your hands freeze.
He’s looking at you now—not the performative eye contact of someone making conversation, but the kind that pins you in place. Clinical. Observant. Like he’s cataloging your reaction.
“I don’t… scrunch,” you say weakly.
“You do.” His knee nudges the blanket again. Accidentally. Probably. “It’s cute.”
The air conditioner kicks on. You count the vents in the ceiling. Eight. Eight is a safe number. Eight is not the number of times you’ve imagined him saying that word in different contexts.
Cute.
Cute.
Cute.
Your lungs forget how to oxygenate.
Hoseok’s phone buzzes. He glances at the screen, then sighs. “Caleb’s running late. Some study group thing.”
“Oh.”
“You hungry?”
“What?”
He’s already standing, rolling his shoulders in a stretch that pulls his hoodie taut across his chest. “I’ll make ramyeon. You like the kimchi kind, right?”
You stare.
He’s in your kitchen now, rummaging through cabinets with the ease of someone who’s done this a hundred times. Which he has—game nights, birthday parties, that one time Caleb got food poisoning and Hoseok stayed over to make sure he didn’t choke on his own vomit.
But this is different.
This is him pulling two bowls from the shelf you can’t reach without a step stool. This is him filling the kettle with exactly 500ml of water because he knows your stove runs hot. This is him glancing over his shoulder to ask, “Soft or firm noodles?” like it’s a question that matters.
“Soft,” you croak.
He nods, turning back to the counter. You watch his hands—capable, unhurried—tearing seasoning packets with his teeth. The steam fogs his glasses when he leans over the pot, and he pushes them up into his hair, revealing the faint scar bisecting his left eyebrow.
Bike accident, he’d said when you’d asked. Twelve years old. Thought he could jump the curb like X-Games.
You’d dreamed about that scar for weeks afterward.
“Here.” He sets the bowl in front of you, chopsticks balanced across the rim. “Careful, it’s hot.”
You murmur thanks, staring at the swirling red broth. He sits closer this time—one cushion away instead of two. His knee brushes yours when he leans forward to blow on his noodles.
Accident, you tell yourself. Always accidents.
The TV murmurs in the background, some nature documentary about deep-sea creatures. Hoseok asks about your classes, and you answer in staccato sentences, hyper-aware of the way his sleeve brushes your arm when he reaches for the water glass.
“—and Dr. Park’s lectures are killing me,” you hear yourself say, chopsticks hovering over uneaten noodles. “She goes so fast, and the diagrams…”
“Want me to quiz you?”
Your head snaps up. “What?”
He shrugs, but there’s a glint in his eye—the same one he gets when Caleb challenges him to Mario Kart. “I handled multiple neuro cases last year. Could walk you through the basal ganglia.”
“You’re… busy.”
“Not really.” He sets his bowl aside, rolling up his sleeves. Your pulse thrums at the reveal of his forearms—dusting of dark hair, veins mapping paths you shouldn’t be tracing. “C’mon. Hit me with your worst.”
It’s a mistake.
You know it’s a mistake even as you fetch your notes, even as he pats the space beside him. Even as his shoulder presses against yours, radiating heat through three layers of fabric.
“Okay.” He scans your color-coded flashcards. “First question. What structure connects the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies?”
“F-fornix,” you stammer.
“Good.” His finger taps the next card. “Main neurotransmitter in the substantia nigra?”
“Dopamine.”
“And loss of dopamine here causes…”
“Parkinson’s.”
“Nice.” He shifts, knee pressing into yours. “Now point to your amygdala.”
You freeze. “What?”
“On your head. Show me where it is.”
“I—it’s—it’s medial temporal lobe, so…” You hover a hand near your right temple, acutely aware of his gaze tracking the movement. “Here? Ish?”
His chuckle vibrates through the couch. “Ish.”
“Shut up, I’m trying.”
“Try harder.”
You glare at him. He grins back, all white teeth and crinkled eyes, and something in your chest cracks open.
“Medial,” he says softly, reaching over to adjust your hand. His fingers graze your wrist—brief, clinical, devastating. “Deeper. Protected.”
You stop breathing.
The documentary narrator drones on about bioluminescent jellyfish. Hoseok’s thumb brushes your pulse point.
Accident.
Always accidents.
Then his phone rings.
You jerk back like you’ve been shocked. Hoseok answers with a calm, “Yeah?” while you stare at your knees, pretending your entire nervous system isn’t short-circuiting.
“Caleb’s downstairs,” he says, standing. “Forgot his keys again.”
“Oh.”
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
He pauses, head tilted. For a horrifying moment, you think he’ll call you out—on the shaking hands, the flushed cheeks, the way you’re clinging to a pillow like it’s a life raft.
But he just smiles. Gentle. Endless. “Thanks for keeping me company.”
The door clicks shut behind him.
You collapse sideways onto the couch, pressing your face into the cushion that still holds the warmth of him. Somewhere in the hallway, the elevator dings. Laughter floats up from the parking lot.
Four years.
Four years of this.
Four years of almosts and maybes and don’t be stupid, he’s just being nice.
Your phone buzzes. A text from Caleb:
𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝙷𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐?? 𝙽𝚎𝚛𝚍. 𝚆𝚎’𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚒𝚣𝚣𝚊. 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎?
You type no with trembling fingers.
The couch creaks as you curl into yourself, knees to chest, forehead pressed against the spot where his ring had left a faint indentation in the upholstery.
Deeper.
Protected.
Somewhere in your medial temporal lobe, dopamine fires for all the wrong reasons.
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→ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @cannotalwaysbenight @livingformintyoongi @itstoastsworld @somehowukook
© 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.
no reposts, translations, or adaptations
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cosmerelists · 5 months ago
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Cosmere Fake-Dating Pairs That Could "Plausibly" Happen
As requested by @room-temperature-orange-juice :)
Sanderson doesn't seem to go for fake dating all that much. But here are some scenarios that could TOTALLY happen if he did want to incorporate some fake-dating comedy into his books...
1. MeLaan & Marasi
The Scenario: Well, they obviously need to go undercover to solve a case, perhaps to a ball or a party or a wedding where it makes the most sense to pretend to be a couple
MeLaan (currently in a woman's body): All right. Let's do this! Marasi: U-Uh, MeLaan? Are you sure that's the...best body for this operation? MeLaan: Shit, you're right. Hang on! MeLaan: [Returns as a much more voluptuous woman] MeLaan: Now everyone will know that you can pull. Marasi (deeply red): T-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT
2. Kaladin & Szeth [Rhythm of War spoilers but NO WAT preview spoilers]
The Scenario: Well, we know that Kaladin and Szeth will be going to Shinovar on a mission. Let's say Szeth needs to explain why he's brought a stone-walker into his homeland. The obvious explanation is that they're dating!
Shinovar authority figure: D-Dating?! Why would you date a stone-walker?! Szeth (expressionless): I like tall men. Kaladin (equally expressionless): He likes it when I hit my head on things. Szeth (still expressionless): Though I love him deeply, I do enjoy a good instance of head trauma. Shinovar authority figure (muttering): Is double "Truthless" a thing?
3. Charlie & one of those princesses
The Scenario: Rather than driving off all of the eligible princesses by being as boring & gross as possible, Charlie finds one who is willing to play along.
Charlie: T-The truth is, I already have a woman I love. The Princess: Really? Charlie: Yeah, but my dad doesn't approve of her... The Princess: I know how you feel. My father also doesn't approve of the woman I love... Charlie: ... The Princess: ... Charlie: ... The Princess: ... Charlie: Five-year engagement? The Princess: At least!
4. Lyn & Renarin
The Scenario: Fed up with her parents being all judgmental because she dumped Kaladin Stormblessed, Lyn decides that she HAS to bring an awesome date to her family dinner--and who better than a Brightlord, a Radiant, AND the king's son?
Lyn: Don't forget to bring up that you joined the 4v1 duel before Kaladin. Lyn: And how you took down a Thunderclast! Lyn: Storms, if you just smile occasionally, I bet that'll make them forget about Kaladin... Lyn: ... Lyn: Honestly, I think you might just be a better catch than Kaladin. Renarin: I'm gay, though. Lyn: Heh, well I didn't say you're a better catch for me...
5. Kaladin & Elhokar
The Scenario: Imagine that, during the infiltration of Kholinar, that part of their disguises involve Elhokar (disguised as a lighteyed woman) being the wife of Kaladin (disguised as an ugly old man).
Elhokar: Mmmm...I don't feel that I would go for a man with eyebrows like that. Shallan: Brightlady, please! Surely you can pretend that beneath his rough exterior, he has a good heart. Kaladin: ...pretend? Elhokar: No, no. I definitely would have insisted that he at least groom better. Can you make his eyebrows at least a bit neater? To sell the illusion? Or, do we have time to stop for nose-hair trimmers? Shallan: What if I just make his cheekbones a bit sharper? Elhokar: Mmmm...okay, yes. I could see myself marrying him. Kaladin: CAN WE PLEASE GET GOING
6. Wayne and Ranette
The Scenario: Wayne begs Ranette to fake-marry him.
Ranette: [looking at Wayne with a mixture of horror and pity] You said you weren't gonna do this anymore, Wayne. Wayne: No, no! Don't you get the wrong idea here! I need you to marry me and then divorce me horribly so you get half of my money in court! Wayne: Please understand--I've tried everything to get rid of this money. I'm desperate here! Wayne: Please! Ranette: ... Ranette: I get to divorce you horribly? Wayne: You better eviscerate me in court! Ranette: ... Ranette: Might be right therapeutic, actually. Wayne: You're such a good friend!
Moash & Kelsier
The Scenario: Moash realizes he's going to be reunited with his former Bridge 4 friends and makes plans accordingly.
Moash: Yup. This is my old Bridge 4 uniform, but now it's dyed black, because I'm new & evil now. Moash: And this is my new boyfriend Kelsier, who's just like you, Kaladin, only he survives MORE and actually FOLLOWS THROUGH on killing the king. Kelsier: Lord Ruler. Moash: Whatever. Moash: So as you can see, I don't even miss you guys AT ALL. Moash: ... Moash: What do you think? Will this make them jealous? Kelsier: ...I think we need to practice your speech a bit more.
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softlee · 10 months ago
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;Submission to Coquette - lee minho.
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Copyright © 2024 softlee
Pairings: Lee Minho x Reader
Word Count: 7.3K
Genre: pwp (well maybe just a little plot), smut, fluff, established relationship, domestic relationship!AU
Synopsis: You take on the challenge of making your boyfriend "Coquette". Will you succeed? Minho only has so much patience when you request him to be submissive. So, ultimately trying to tie him up and use him might be his breaking point.
Warnings: Minho constrained in pink ribbon. Do I really need to add more? Grinding, Bondage via ribbon I suppose, squirting, light dirty talk, reader attempts to be dominant but really how far can that go with Minho? Oral (female and male receiving), and Minho shenanigans (minho just being minho).
Notes:  I was supposed to finish this at the beginning of the year when the coquette trend came out on Tiktok. This trend on TikTok IMMEDIATELY made me think of Minho, I just think this theme fits him perfectly. I mean? When I saw this picture on TikTok of this guy in ribbon my mind immediately went to Minho. I hope you guys enjoy it cause I know I did making it :) 
Here's a TikTok off the overall idea/theme of this fanfic: here
ENJOYYYYY :D
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With the telling ding of Minho’s cellphone in his left pocket on his way home from work, he already had an inkling on who the sender was.
It was, as he suspected, a message from you—his girlfriend, his girl, his lover, his other half.
But to you? No, you were only his errand runner when it came to things you needed before he made his familiar trail back to your shared apartment. 
You: I know you don’t wanna go but can you pleaseeeeeeee get me some pink ribbon before you come home? :) [4:56 PM]
Minho lets out an agitated sigh before washing his hand over his disgruntled worn out face; A repercussion of his stressful day at the office. 
He waited for you to finish typing your thoughts because he knew you weren’t done.
You are his other half after all.
You: Please? It’s for you xox [4:57 PM]
“It’s for me?” He exaggeratedly stated in his mind while he skillfully dogged a piece of gum on the sidewalk before trudging forward more. 
He scoured every crevice of his mind to come up with the most plausible reasoning as to how himself and pink ribbon correlate in some way. 
After a few determined seconds of thinking, he came to the conclusion that there were none and therefore, there was no way in hell he was stopping at the store for pink ribbon of all things. It just wasn’t going to happen. Minho was stubborn and if he set his mind to something, it was going to stay that way. Forever. 
Minho isn’t one to be easily swayed. 
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“I can’t believe you actually stopped to get the ribbon for me!” Minho is greeted at the door of your shared apartment with a love bomb attack. Arms and legs hurling towards him until they somehow get caught into his arms, you attached with them funny enough. 
You’re hugging him, and kissing him like this is the last moment you are together. Peppering his nose, forehead, and cheek with kisses before Minho becomes overstimulated by all the touching and he’s grunting in protest and faking a look of annoyance, face scrunching like he’s trying to get away from your assault of love. 
He’ll truly never admit it to you but this part of the day, almost like the day was mirroring itself every weekday was his favorite part; you meeting him at the door once you got the satisfying notification that your boyfriend was back home. 
Pecking him all over his face like you were some kind of bird.
He’ll never admit it. 
The bag with the ribbon of course fell onto the ground when you flung yourself onto him. 
Minho with his cat like hearing of course hears this, not even looking. 
“Look you probably messed the ribbon up by the way you violently threw yourself at me. It’s almost like you don’t even want it.“ He teases, feeling you slither your way out from the corner of his neck to fully make eye contact with him. The little smirk he has plastered all over his face is slyly gone once you're peering at him. 
“Of course I want it! I was just excited to see you! I haven’t seen you all day.“ You whine a little before Minho gives you a glaring stare, of course none other than to surprise you with a peck to the lips, softly letting you down onto the hardwood floor. 
You quickly swoop to floor level to retrieve the bag with your latest conquest, discarding the bag and holding the spool of pretty pink silk ribbon in your hands before you wiggle your eyebrows in what he would expect to be a playful way. 
“This.” You point at the ribbon, “is going on you.” You smile enthusiastically, pulling your boyfriend by the arm to walk him over to the couch.
He feigns annoyance, throwing his head back in an exaggerated way while making an ungodly noise. He looks like a little boy who is being dragged by his mother because he’s gotten in trouble. 
“Can I at least eat first? I'm tired and just got back from work.” Indirectly trying to crawl his way out of whatever the hell you were trying to do; Minho wasn’t going to let you win without a fight. That’s just how he’s always been. He’ll nag and nag some more, but since he loves you, he'll eventually give up.
Right?
“I promise if you do this for me right now, I’ll make you something yummy.” You traverse your eyes on his own, watching as you get no physical reaction out of him. 
He plops down onto the couch. 
You stand in front of him, both hands on your hips quicking scanning your brain to figure out what exactly you can make to get him to comply. 
Suddenly a light bulb switches on in your mind and you gleam, crawling into your boyfriend's lap, disregarding the ribbon on the side of the couch for right now. 
Throwing your hands around his neck, “How about ramen and kimchi? I think we still have some kimchi left over.” You swivel your head over to the direction of the refrigerator. In comparison, Minho refuses to acknowledge you on his lap, the dinner choices, and how you on his lap is suddenly clouding his judgment.
You turn back to face him. 
“I’ll make you some pork belly too?” Suddenly Minho is intrigued, giving you his full-facing attention before a little smirk takes over his face, unable to contain how good that sounds in reality. 
Suddenly intrigued by the music in the background he didn’t seem to hear at first, he looks at the TV behind you. 
“Were you just about to play Fortnite before I came in?” He randomly asks in the midst of you discussing dinner options. 
Brows twisted in confusion for a second, they return to their natural state when you remember that you were indeed about to play Fortnite. 
“Oh, yeah I was. The season is almost over and they had Poison Ivy in the Item Shop! I had to get her and play a couple of matches with my new skin!” You protest, feeling the warmth of your boyfriend’s arms slide around your waist, fastening you to his body. 
He displays a toothy grin at your comment. “You’re such a nerd.” Yet when he states this comment, you see nothing but love in his eyes. You smile as well, not about to let him get away with his words. 
“Well, you can’t be the one to talk! You also-”
“Fine, I’ll do it. Now hurry up before you change my mind.” He suddenly states, grasping the ribbon in his palm before he looks up to literally see you light up at the words. 
That’s all he had to say, you immediately withdrew yourself from the warmth of Minho’s lap, telling him to stay put while you go to collect a few necessary items to make your dreams come true. 
You come back in record time, three minutes; Minho watches the array of items engulfed in your arms as you make it back to the sofa of your living room, dropping the items onto the coffee table as if they were somehow heavy. 
“Alright,” You grab the black shirt from the assortment on the table, “Let’s put you into this shirt first.”
You turn the shirt inside out, showing him that it indeed wasn’t a plain black shirt like he thought. It was decorated with the words, ‘I love my girlfriend’ right where the top of his chest would be centered if he were to put it on. The word ‘love’ instead being a familiar red heart. 
He chuckles out of bewilderment, eyes turning into your favorite half moons. 
“When did you get this shirt for me?” He’s intrigued.
“I got it about a week ago in preparation for this exact moment!” You wink at him softly, getting closer to him sitting on the sofa.
“So you’ve been planning this huh?” His eyes are wide, trying to figure out exactly what your evil plans had in store for him. 
He tries to grab for the shirt so that he can put it on, but you bring it closer to yourself, shaking your head.
“You said you were tired right? I’ll put it on for you.” He throws his arms down, somehow not making a fuss about you doing this for him.
“Wowwwww,” you’re amazed, he’s glaring whilst he holds his arms up above his head, waiting for you to pull the shirt he’s been wearing all day, off. 
You reach for the ends of his shirt, pulling upwards, “You’re so obedient right now.” You tease, getting him out of his shirt before you reach for the one you’re exchanging it for. 
You’re now sitting down on his lap again, looking up at him while you get the shirt into formation so you can pull it over his head. He obviously didn’t like what you stated, his dark brown eyes beaming intensely into your own.
You look down quickly to run away from them, meeting direct eye contact with his bare chest. He was definitely getting more toned, the lines of his abs becoming more visible. 
Before you could let his naked upper body distract you, you decide to pull the shirt over his head, and watch as you pull each arm one by one into the short sleeves. 
His hair gets ruffled in the process, looking like he just woke up from a nice long nap.
“Cute.” You giggle at this, before you smooth his hair out, back to its familiar state before you’re taking him all in with the shirt now on, smiling again. 
Minho of course doesn’t like such comments, narrowing his eyes and trying to make himself more intimidating by giving you his signature gaze; eyebrows furrowed and lips in a tight line. 
It doesn’t work on you though, he just looks even cuter earning a hearty chuckle at your motion as you throw your head back. 
You turn around in his lap, eyeing the other items plastered on the table as well. You lose balance a little while doing this, so as Minho does with his quick reflexes, he wraps his arms around your waist.
“Next,” You grab an assortment of your most valuable plushies. “I’m gonna put these around you before we start.”
Minho’s eyes washes over your brightly colored plushies; Kuromi, Hello Kitty, and some other bunny looking creatures he’s forgotten the name’s of. Regardless, he watches you in fascination as you start to place each plushie, one by one onto the sides of him, in the corner where his left shoulder rests, and one remaining one (one of the bunnies) in between where you and Minho meet on his lap. 
He raises one eyebrow. 
“So, where does the ribbon come in with all of this?” He questions, your hands reaching behind you on the table once more to secure the scissors in your hands. 
You also obtain the ribbon that fell between the cracks of the couch cushions, before you gleam at him. “Right now actually. I’m going to make you coquette.”
You gleam.
“Coquette?” He’s so puzzled he manages another smirk, letting out a breathless chuckle. 
You hum in agreement, delicately brushing a hair that has decided to fall where Minho’s left eye lays, his eye twitching in the process.
“I saw this Tiktok trend where girls would tie their boyfriends up with ribbons, and put bows made of ribbon on them. I’ve been wanting to do the same to you in private…. and hopefully get some pictures out of it.” You gulp after saying the last sentence. You look down to see that Minho has now closed his eyes. He breathes exaggeratingly outwards, almost like he’s trying to compose himself. 
“So, you’re doing this because really you want to see me tied up and you want pictures of that?” You instantly turn red, quicking seeking cover into his neck to hide how shy you feel when you say, “Yeah, I think it’s hot. It’s one of the things I’ve always wanted to do to you.”
No matter how hard you sometimes tried to hide your motives Minho always saw right through them. He can read you like a book, and that’s truly why you always just plainly tell him what you’re doing before you do things. 
You slowly uncover yourself from the shelter of his neck, finally peering at him to discover he already is, “One of the things?”
Too embarrassed to even mention what else you’ve always wanted to do to him, you reposition the scissors and ribbon in your hands and start measuring how big you want the bows to be. “Hmmm, how many should I put on you?” You successfully dodge the remark as he crosses his arms, glaring at you and your lack of response.
You squint your eyes while looking over his figure, deciding mentally to place two bows on him while tying his arms up. 
You hold your left hand out like you're waiting for him to give you something. 
“Give me your arms so I can tie them up.” You demand. 
Intrigued, Minho does as you say. “How would you like me to place them?” 
Demonstrating, “Lay them flat out where the sides of my hips are.” The warmth of his touch suddenly surrounds your body once more, Minho covering all of your senses. His perfume still lingering from the reminisces he covered himself in this morning before heading to work, his magnetic gaze that was locked on you and your movements, his voice which suddenly woke you out of your Minho heightened trance, and as for taste….well you were already craving him in more ways than one since he was being like putty in your hands right now. 
His lenient mannerisms and compliancy this evening were working you up in all the right ways. 
“I’m waiting for you to tie me up?” His voice continues. It startles you in some way, never imagining you’d hear those words come out of your mouth. His brow ticks. 
“Oh…right.” You begin lacing the ribbon in a tying motion, starting just short of where his biceps start. 
Minho wasn’t one to be submissive. Everytime you guys engaged in sex, he always naturally was the one to take control. It was just in his nature and it was just in yours to be more submissive, complying to almost anything he proposed. And of course, you thoroughly enjoyed it. 
Although, after being together for about a year and two months, you were ready to try something new. Unbeknownst to Minho, you are actually a switch. Yet after the beginning of your relationship you retired that part of yourself naturally when it came to him, since he was very dominant. 
So when you found this trend, you got the sudden urge to try something new and spice up your sex life with your boyfriend. 
And it wasn’t like you guys were vanilla, but you usually stuck to the things that were not foreign to you as a couple. But, you were ready to step out of that comfort zone. 
And right now, it seems like Minho isn’t too opposed to such an idea. That gives you the confidence to continue.
You finish your makeshift confinements on your boyfriend’s arms by cutting and wrapping the ribbon in a bow before you admire your handiwork. 
You softly smile in satisfaction. 
“Alright, now I’ll make a few more bows and stick them to you in different areas.” You look back down at Minho’s arms, “Is it tight or can you easily get out of the ribbon?”
“I mean, I can’t really get out of it, but if I wanted to then yeah I could.” He answers vaguely before humming, agreeing with himself. 
You narrow your eyes, deciding to trust him. 
You make the two bows you plan to plant on him and then begin to place them. 
Taking one of them and putting them on his head, he just stares at you as you manage to securely place it on his black hair so it isn’t easy for it to fall off. Then lastly, you settle with putting the last ribbon in a peculiar spot. Right on his crotch. 
You press it in for good measure, causing Minho to simultaneously move his hands to grip your ass as he lifts his hips, somehow to chase the feeling of your hands ghosting over his dick. He clears his throat after showing a sign of weakness, looking away from you but not shying his hands away from your ass. 
He actually chooses to grip onto it harder.
You tilt your head in feigned curiosity and innocence. 
“You alright?” 
He seems dazed because he doesn’t answer you for a beat.
“Hmm? Yeah, I’m good. What made you choose to place it there?” He questions, now looking up and directly into your irises. 
You shrug, actually not having a particular reason. You just wanted to see how he would react.
You hum to yourself like you’re somewhat proud of your work.
“So coquette.” You drop this outlandish word again, Minho having enough of not understanding exactly what the hell it means.
“What? What does that even mean?”
“It just means you look pretty I guess. I don’t really know what it means either. It’s just a Tiktok trend.” You slowly start rubbing your hands over his shoulders, letting them fall downwards into his lap. You decide to unleash yourself of his hold by standing up quickly.
You search for your phone, grabbing it off the coffee table and positioning it in front of him to signal you want your photos like promised.
He doesn’t look pleased. 
“Give me a pretty smile!” You give an example of your own before you’re waiting for him to repeat the action. It goes by ignored, instead being met with a nonchalant gaze that screams “I’m being held hostage. Please help me.”
You frown. 
“Please smile. You’re not aligning with what your shirt says. Don’t you love me?” You whine. 
‘Oh, so you’re pulling that card huh.’ He thinks. 
He smirks. 
“Yeah, I heart you. Just like the shirt says.” He goes for the literal meaning of the shirt, wanting to visibly displease you.
You pout. 
“You’re so annoying.”
Finished with the photo torture time, you throw your phone on the other couch in fake irritability, turning to face him yet again while standing. 
You give him a glance over and then softly smile, picking up your arms to do away with your shirt first and then your pants. You were wearing just some comfortable clothing; An old ‘May the force be with you’ Stars Wars T-shirt paired with the Yoda printed sweatpants you frequented about once a week. It was nothing too fancy of course. What came as a surprise was what was under it.
In preparation for the evening, you wanted to dress up for your boyfriend. Specifically in lingerie. White lingerie.
Whenever you wanted to spice up your sex life, or suprise him, you always took extra care of yourself. This meant taking an “everything” shower, putting on perfume, doing your hair, as well as doing some light makeup. And your choices for lingerie sets always happened to be in the colors you thought that looked best on you; red, black, and sometimes your favorite nude set. 
About two weeks ago, Minho suggested that you try a lingerie set in white, as he thought you would also look sexy in that color as well. He liked the other sets, but he thought that color would really look good on you. You were a little hesitant at first, but his suggestion paired with a kiss on your forehead, his credit card, as well as the words “surprise me” were all you needed to go out of your comfort zone. 
And hell, it surely did surprise him. 
You slowly saunter up to him, getting right back into your claimed spot, his lap (throwing the bunny plushie somewhere else on the couch), and wrap your arms around his neck. 
“Do you think this color fits me babe?” You rapidly bat your eyelashes, obviously fishing for compliments. Minho's annoyance from earlier, sleepiness, and hunger completely fades away. His mouth slowly parting in awe. 
“Of course it fits you, you look in anything. God.” He groans, trying to take you all in. 
It was a simple dainty set. A white ribbed corset top with shoulder straps as bows which you tie at the shoulder. There was a collage of cotton flowers joined at the middle of the top, a decorative touch to the already light and airy feel of the lingerie. The bottoms were plain panty underwear, the same cotton flowers in the middle of them as well. 
You looked so good. That’s what he thought to himself before he realized that he had to, no needed to touch you. Right now. 
Right as he does so, his body moving at will is obstructed by the familiar feel of the pink ribbon you had just adorned to his arms, securing him in place. 
“Fuck,” He whines, almost like he’s in pain, “And I can’t even fucking touch you right now?” With all the strength he can muster, he tries to pull outwards to break the ribbon, but he’s too slow. You already knew he’d try something like that, so you, in defense, hold his arms in place.
Suddenly feeling red, you look down.
“You can’t touch me or get out of this ribbon until I say so. You have to do as I say tonight.” Shy, you slowly look up at him again, noticing that his whole demeanor has changed since you’ve uttered those words. 
A light airy chuckle escapes him before he can even hide it.
“What, are you controlling me tonight? Gonna use me?” 
His teasing tone almost sounds like a challenge. He doesn’t think you can do it. Your confidence grows in opposition.
“Yeah, I’m gonna be the dominant one tonight.” You lean in, ghosting over his lips, “And you won’t cum until I say you can.”
You fully press your lips onto his, pulling him as close as you can by wrapping your arms around his neck again, getting a high off of you being the one to order him around tonight. 
It gave you a sense of confidence you’ve never felt when having sex with him, his light moan giving you the confirmation you need to kiss him with a little more fervor. 
You slowly begin to start your pace, your hips beginning to gyrate over the crotch of his black jeans. You feel him reach for you, for something, his hands attempting to latch over the bottom of your ass. 
You smack his hands away, pulling away from the kiss. He desperately chases. You stop your pace.
“You can’t touch me,” You echo again, “I can only touch you? Got it?” Your palms are covering his own, proving your point that he had to do as instructed or he wouldn’t be able to have you. Not in the way he wanted. He throws his head back, as that's the only disobedient way he can act out right now, his long strands of hair sheltering his eyes. 
“Fine, have your way with me. I’ll see how long it’ll truly last. You know you love it when I tell you what to do. When I tell you to fuck yourself on my cock. When I have you cum multiple times on my tongue before I even begin to fuck you. I may not be able to touch you, but I can say whatever I want to you and you’ll be begging me to touch you. ” He mutters, shifting his body deeper into the couch. 
His words send a shiver through your body, the remaining of it fading right into your core. Truly, he was right. You loved it when he touched you, it’s how you completely got off. Yet, somehow denying yourself the satisfaction of feeling his touch and edging yourself was making you wetter than you could even believe.
To you, this was foreplay, and getting the privilege of having Minho in this way was what you could only dream for. You couldn't imagine though, even in your dreams, how he would react to you taking control. That’s what led you to this moment, once again leaning back down to the crook of his neck, whispering. 
“It’s just something I’ve always dreamed of doing to you. It’s one of the things I’ve been wanting to do with you, to you. Now, let me fuck you my way.” You truthfully speak, setting your motion against the fabric of his pants again.
Your boyfriend stays silent, once before being able to stare daggers into your soul, now avoiding eye contact all together. He was clearly flustered. You could tell because he was starting to fill up the space in his pants, his length slowly hardening below you. 
“Awe babe, you’re already getting hard. Tell me how good it feels? Hmm?” You push your pelvis harder into his lap, wanting to get a reaction out of him. 
It’s quiet for a moment. Minho desperately tries not to moan to show the effect you have on him before he gains his composure enough to speak. 
“Tell you how good it feels? How about you stop this charade and explain why you’re already this fucking wet? I can literally feel it through my pants already.” He spits out through his breathing which is slowly getting shallower and shallower. His ears are red, this is how you could tell he was turned on, even if he wouldn't admit it. 
“Of course I’m wet, I have my-” You moan, “My boyfriend in a way I’ve always wanted”
You continue your rebellious movement of your hips against his hardened cock, gasping when it hits your clit in a harmonious way. You look down at your panties, expecting to see your arousal escaping from the thin layer of fabric that is holding you all together. 
To your dismay, there was no visible evidence that you were incredibly wet. But, because of Minho’s comment earlier, you decide to take two of your fingers and check, feeling the remnants of your arousal, making you groan. 
He watches you in suspicion, noticing the way your fingers were easily sliding over the laced cotton of your underwear. His mouth involuntarily opens in awe.
“Ugh, I’m so wet. I’m gonna use you to cum. You can’t take your eyes off of me, okay?” For good measure, you lightly tease your fingers that you just used to touch yourself over his soft lips, Minho taking no time to lick your wetness off your fingers before you lightly rest your hand under the left side of his chin, forcing him to watch you reach your high.
In reality, you didn’t even need to do this, he was going to observe regardless. 
You pick up your pace, grinding up and down and then swirling your hips on his as your moaning gets louder. Your other hand stabilizes yourself on his chest while you begin to melt into your high, the line blurring between where your pleasure starts, and where you end. 
Minho throbs below you, eagerly waiting for you to ride out your orgasm. 
You cum, staring directly into his eyes, rocking back and forth slower to balance out your pleasure. You sigh as you come back to your senses, your hand balling up into a fist to pull your boyfriend closer to you for an everlasting kiss. 
Minho moans into the kiss like he’s cum himself, but truthfully, it was because of the way you just used him to get yourself off. Since he couldn’t touch you, he was feeling very understimulated. He was burning for desire for you, its imminence in the way he still continuously pulses below in your lap as you finish kissing him.  
You get up from off of his lap and sit on your knees below him on the floor. 
“You’re awfully quiet now, what happened to your cockiness?” You smirk, grabbing an elastic band on the coffee table to collect your hair out of your face. 
Your boyfriend decides to stay mute, watching you do away with your hair as you begin to graze your hands up his thighs, your hands meeting at the buckle of his belt. 
You unclasp it, looking up at him to see what he’s doing to see that he’s admiring you contently. You look back at your task at hand, pulling at the belt as Minho simultaneously lifts his hips so you can remove it. 
Currently, you’re wondering why he is so quiet. Did he finally submit? Was he so stunned at your ability to dominate that he was okay with you having your way with him? Or was it because he was so turned on that he couldn’t speak, his flushed body a solid indicator. But his body always gets slightly red when you guys have sex, so that couldn’t be it. 
You don’t let these thoughts bother you anymore, you decide maybe it’s a combination of everything, becoming overconfident in the job that you were doing. You let this spur you on, pulling both his pants and underwear down at once to free his hard cock. He lifts the bottom part of his body, viewing the way you let both articles of clothing to collect at his ankles, not fully taking them off. 
You were too focused on what was in front of you, him rock hard. You grab at his length, eyeing him to notice that his breath hitches, your hands beginning an up and down motion. 
His hips follow the rise and fall of your delicate hands, his breath quickening. The scene placed in front of you was heating up your body. You’ve never seen him this pliant under your hand, so eager, so willing to follow or let you command or do whatever you wanted to him. You’re not even being touched, yet your breath follows in sync with him, steadily increasing. 
Noticing he’s still quiet, it starts to concern you. Trying to busy yourself to distract from his silence, you lock eyes with him once again, noting that he was peering at you before you even were. You softly simper, pushing your head down until you take him all in one go, now breaking eye contact to focus on sucking him. 
As you embark on bobbing your head over his throbbing length, multiple things happen at once. At the same time, you hear something snapping and a piece of clothing falling onto the floor. A split second after, you’re moaning over his length, not because it was bringing you pleasure, but because you were being pulled quickly off of his dick. Your eyes go wide once you realize what happened, it comes together when your back hits the arm of the couch with Minho on top of you. 
He broke free.
Your mouth is open in shock as his mischievous smile stares down at you. 
“Minh-” Calling his name, he managed while freeing himself, to collect the ribbon you had used on him. He was pulling your arms above your head as you were trying to get your sentence out.
Minho successfully traps you in your own game. Similar to him before, your hands were now tied with pink ribbon at the wrist, you bewildered at the whole situation. He changed the game. 
He softly pulls you down the couch a little so your arms are comfortable above your head. Then, he leans down to give you a quick soft kiss. 
“Got you.” He arrogantly declares, reaching his hand over the table in front of the couch to grab the scissors, so he could cut the endless length of the ribbon he had tied to your wrists. 
He places the scissors back onto the table.
“But I was supposed to be the dominant one tonight.” You pout. 
“And you did good babe, but you know you love it when I touch you,” He leans in to trail kisses down the corner of your neck, listening as he hears you groan, “and kiss you, “his hands start to graze your body before it gets to your pussy, cupping you between your legs, “and fucking you open with my tongue.” You let out an embarrassing loud moan, not being phased by it since Minho loved to hear you. 
His kisses, which stopped just before your covered breasts, continue their pace until he’s leaving a trail down your stomach, purposely skipping over your throbbing core to kiss the inside of your thighs. Your whole back arches off the couch, whining when you can’t push Minho’s head in the place you need him most. 
He chuckles. 
“Now you see how I felt when I couldn’t touch you hmm? It was killing me watching you grind on me when I couldn’t push your hips or when you took me all the way into your mouth and I couldn’t push your head down.” His kisses start getting closer to your pussy once more. 
He teases as if he’s about to kiss your core over the thin fabric of your underwear. Instead, he stops his mouth just before he reaches it, talking right into your heat. 
“It’s not fun is it? You better be glad I lasted as long as I did in that ribbon.” He explains, looking directly into your eyes. 
You throw a fit, your legs shaking on the sides of him in annoyance because he won’t touch you where you needed him. 
He lets you out of your misery finally as you are whining, the whining turning into a satisfied hum when he latches his touch onto the soaked cotton of your underwear. He groans when he tastes you on the material, taking his time to lap up the juices spilling out. 
“Touch me.” You cry, rolling your body towards his lips, wanting more. 
Minho ticks his brow and lets out an airy chuckle. “I am touching you babe.”
He finds you cute and decides to give in to your requests since he knew what you meant. 
He tugs at your underwear which is clinging to the sides of your hips, pulling them down your legs until they're out of the way, throwing them carelessly onto the floor somewhere. 
You ache in anticipation for him to mouth at you, watching him get back into position to give you what you desired most at this moment; his mouth fully on you. 
The moment his lips kiss softly at your clit, you begin to see stars. He proceeds to lick you straight after, your head throwing back in immense pleasure. 
“Fuck,” You groan, your eyes following your head and rolling back. 
“Tell me how you feel ___.” He chimes, watching as your body tenses below him. It turned him on to great heights to see you this fucked out, his hips rocking into the couch to relieve himself. 
“Good.” You manage to get out between shaky breaths, Minho sucking at your clit before he licks a long stripe across the span of your pussy, him humming into you in satisfaction. You feel the vibration of his groaning below you, adding to the pleasure and washing an intense feeling throughout your body. You were close, and you needed something to grip onto.
Normally, when you were about to cum from Minho eating you out, you had your hands clutching to the back of his hair, pulling him impossibly closer to your pussy. It helped you balance the unstable feeling that overcame your body whenever you were about to release. Now, since your hands were tied, you couldn’t brace yourself. You didn’t know what was about to happen with this knot in your stomach when you were about to release at any second. 
All you could do was announce it. 
“I-I’m about to cum. Minho, I can’t, I don’t know ho-” You lewdly rushed, your body beginning to shake in cosmic tension. 
Too busy with the objective of making you cum, he lifts his left arm out to successfully hold your hand, nonverbally letting you know that he has you and that you’re okay. 
The wave of your pleasure strikes down like a tide that is beginning to crash down onto the shore of a beach, strong yet beautiful. It collects into one singular emotion before it releases in one single motion, Minho lapping at your pussy as you let go. Your body spasms as your orgasm comes to its final end, a gush of remaining pleasure that wasn’t released at that one moment, now finally letting go. 
With your eyes closed, you try to collect your breathing before you hear your boyfriend louding moaning below you, grabbing your attention. You look down, eyes widening in shock. 
Minho’s face was completely wet, a few front pieces of his hair that frames his face damp as well. As you put two and two together, you drop your jaw in collective embarrassment surprise. 
You just squirted on your boyfriend’s face. 
Because of this stupid ribbon, you can’t even cover your face, having to watch him as his ears quickly become red again, the flushing slowly diffusing to his face. 
You physically can't talk right now, not when you just squirted all over his face. It could have been anywhere else, yet it had to be there the first time you squirt. You close your eyes, waiting for him to say something, anything to get rid of this terrible silence. 
Quickly, you feel him shuffle and he’s on top of you now, passionately kissing your lips. You slowly start to kiss him back and slowly open your eyes, feeling him grind his bare cock on your wet pussy. You groan before he detaches. 
He looks you dead in the eyes. 
“I literally had to stop myself from cumming after you just squirted all over my face. Fuck, that was the hottest shit I’ve ever seen in my life. You’re perfect.” He goes in to peck your lips once more before he squabbles off of you a bit to grab the scissors again, cutting away your restraints. 
Suddenly, you’re no longer embarrassed. Sharing the same soft loving smile he gives you as he cuts your ribbon off. 
He once more places the scissors safely back on the table before he brings his attention back to you, laying on top of you again. 
He searches your eyes. 
“Got one more orgasm in you? Let me make love to you.” He softly speaks, waiting for your approval. You nod, excited since you can actually grip his hair now and touch him. You’re sure he’s in pain now since he’s been hard for a while. He always makes sure you orgasm first before he does.
He starts by tugging at the left and right bows of your corset top which are keeping it on you. You arch your back, waiting for your boyfriend to unzip the corset so you’re free. He discards it onto the ground. Then he lowers himself and latches onto your left nipple, observing as you wilt in pleasure, you pressing his head down closer as he grips at your right breast with his other hand. 
He again grinds his pulsing cock into your center, humming into your tit. 
Realizing something, you softly push him off of you. He looks at you concerned. 
“My plushies!” You suddenly realized your near and dear plushies were probably getting squeezed on the couch under Minho’s legs. He quickly searches for them, pulling all three from under his weight and putting two of them on the side where your head was, while he remains holding one of them. 
“What?” You look at him bewildered like he doesn’t realize how important they are to you. Minho doesn’t understand, so trying to fix the problem, he covers the eyes of the one he’s holding, as if they aren’t supposed to see us naked. 
You laugh wholeheartedly, “You’re so weird,” You tease, “I just didn’t want them to get squished before we continued.” 
“Oh.” He states, like saving them was the most important thing in the world right now. 
Knowing he’s done with you right now because you stopped having sex with him to save your expensive plushies, you push him to sit on the couch below you while you sit on his lap. 
“Now, I’ll fuck you since my stuffed animals are unharmed.” You tease before you softly smirk.
You bring your hand to the middle of your bodies, aligning his cock to your entrance before you slowly sit directly on him, taking him all the way in.
He groans, swiftly holding onto your hips to help stabilize you as you bounce on top of you. 
You wrap your arms around his neck, now staring at him. 
“Now, admit that me being dominant does turn you on.” You playfully suggest, circling your hips on his lap as you continue your pace. You moan, leaning down to kiss his lips before you await his response. 
“Of course it turns me on, but-” He holds you harder at your hips. “I just like fucking you more.”
He lifts his hips off of the couch, and begins a ruthless upward pace into you, completely taking you off guard. You hold onto anything you can find, dumbfounded that Minho’s stamina can reach even higher heights.
You moan repeatedly, letting him pound into your pussy below you as you feel another orgasm approaching. You don’t even have to let him know you’re about to cum, he can feel it with the way you go silent, and the sudden tight grip you have around his cock that is also stringing him closer to his own release.
Minho starts to sweat, his stamina even putting a toll on himself. Thank god he and you were about to cum soon.
Your eyes begin to roll back, his pounding finally demolishing you from above him even though you were the one that had the power in this position. 
You cum without warning, legs squeezing as close as they can below you as you fall, laying your head into the corner of your boyfriend's neck, utterly spent. Minho keeps up his pace, signaling to himself that now that you’ve cum that he doesn’t have to hold back anymore. 
He slows his motion, instead replacing it with a hard lingering pounding into your pussy. He cums just like that, quick and with a loud grunt. He wraps his arms around your back, hugging you softly as he comes back down from his high. He finishes off by pecking your forehead with a soft “I love you” that he didn’t say earlier when you put the shirt on him. You wrap your arms around him in return and squeeze, letting him know you heard him.
After a few minutes of recovering, you leave the comfort of his neck, sitting up in his lap to look into his brown eyes. 
He smiles at you. You lift your hand to move the strands of hair in front of his eyes. 
Then suddenly, he’s chuckling, then full out laughing. 
Your eyebrows twist in confusion.
He speaks.
“You know…we just fucked to the Fortnite loading screen music this whole time?” Refusing to believe him, you listen closely to your surroundings, noticing some music.
Omg, it was the Fortnite loading music.
You throw your head back in a fit of giggles.
“Either way, I’ll be glad to make you squirt again if this is the kind of music that you're into, we can make a playlist.” He teasingly comments.
You playfully hit him softly before you’re covering your face in embarrassment, revisioning the whole encounter with the background music. 
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This was my first ever fanfic on this account! Let me know what you think! :)
Copyright © 2024 softlee
All Rights Reserved.
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zeawesomebirdie · 1 year ago
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Superbat Fake Dating + Identity Porn Rec List
Thanks to @jourquet for asking for this!! I hope you find something here to read!! (And paging @steine-druff as promised!)
These are in no particular order, but generally organised by trope. I tend to read longfic as a general rule, so these recs will reflect that :) the titles contain links to each fic.
Fake Dating
1. A Common Misconception by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 91,114 words; 21 chapters; complete
Summary:
When Bruce Wayne comes out, he accidentally becomes the poster child of bisexuality and realizes his lifestyle of sleeping around needs to come to an end. Clark, being the supportive friend that he is, volunteers to pretend to date him for a year.
You know the rest.
This fic has everything that one could want in fake dating: idiots in love, mutual pining, one bed, fake vacations, miscommunication. It also really captures the superbat dynamic of trusting and yes and-ing each other, even when they probably didn't need to be!
(And if you like this fic, any of rotasha's other works are just as good! I've got a few more of them in this list too)
2. over this threshold by orphean; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 59,283 words; 7 chapters; complete
Summary:
'I don't understand how tax evasion relates to you going on a date with, do I need to remind you, Bruce Wayne.'
Clark bit his tongue.
'We're going to get married. It's a tax break, not tax evasion.'
'Are you kidding me.' Lois stared. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.'
———
Bruce asks Clark to marry him for tax reasons. Clark, against his better judgment, agrees.
Exactly what it says on the tin. Some highlights include Bruce buying Clark ridiculously expensive suits, Clark taking forever to tell his mom what's going on, and of course the wedding itself which was just delightful, with speeches from Lois, Alfred, and Dick that had me crying.
3. A Rich Man's Game by malicegreres; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 63,942 words; 13 chapters; complete
Summary:
The editorial staff of the Daily Planet, currently owned by Bruce Wayne, is trying to organize a labor union. Clark can't explain to his coworkers why he can't participate without jeopardizing the campaign—or tell Batman why he's been so cagey around him lately. When Bruce finds out what's been going on, Clark recruits him to resolve his conflict of interest in the only way Clark can think of: by pretending to date him.
This fic is truly glorius. Of all the ways Clark could have solved this problem, he chose the most convoluted. And surprise surprise, it works!
4. mission parameters by shipyrds; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 33,394 words; 6 chapters; complete
Summary:
"Bruce." Clark turns towards him, leaning back against a bank of consoles. "We're not actually going undercover. We don't need an elaborate backstory– if anything, it'll be harder to keep straight. It doesn't have to be complicated." He spreads his hands. "Here's a story: we're members of the same elite fighting force. After years of saving each other's lives in the field, we fell in love. That's it."
Bruce swallows past the almost-truth of it. In Clark's warm smooth radio voice, it sounds plausible. It sounds like something that could happen.
Bruce and Clark pretend to be married for diplomatic reasons. When they return to Earth, things are a little different.
Of all the things that normally Bruce says, Clark is the one to insist on a simple coverstory. And of course, from such simple things spirals out a whole entire adventure that doesn't stop just because the mission is over! This fic features a domesticity that neither of them knew they needed until they had it
5. tell all the truth (but tell it slant) by susiecarter [@susiecarter on tumblr]; rated M; no archive warnings apply; 33,007 words; 1 chapter; complete
Summary:
It takes a while for Batman and Superman to work things out, once Clark comes back from the dead. Pretending to date each other in order to explain why Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are in the same place so often? Doesn't help as much as you might think.
*slapping this fic like that one meme with the car* this fic can fit so much miscommunication into it, it's truly delightful to read!! Also, yet another fic where Clark fails to mention what's going on to his mother. And of course the constant worrying about each other without actually expressing it, which is truly such a golden trope when it comes to these two!
I'm adding a cut here because this is already very long and we are still only just starting, so click the read more to see the rest ^.^
6. there ain't no star that shines by amosangius [@amosanguis on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 11,713 words; 1 chapter; complete
Summary:
“I'm not the same person I was back in high school,” Clark says, “and I doubt they all are, either. What would be the point?”
“Oh, Clark,” Bruce is suddenly holding Clark's face with both of his hands, “the point is that I'm going to land us in a helicopter somewhere for all your classmates to see.”
Clark sighs and closes his eyes.
“Say 'yes', Clark,” Bruce orders.
Clark doesn't open his eyes, just says, “Yes, Clark.”
If you thought Bruce buying Clark expensive suits just for their fake dates was excessive, you ain't seen nothing yet!! This fic also features casual bed sharing (and so many references to casual intimacy oh my goodness it's lovely), Bruce Wayne being Rich As Fuck, and Bruce casually being overprotective of Clark in social situations
7. my heart is an open wound by yukla [@yuebings on tumblr]; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 13,367 words; 1 chapter; complete
“—I’ll see you kneel again,” Luthor is hissing, eyes hungry, and Clark is swaying back in discomfort—and as Lois checks their surroundings again, she notices that Wayne is still standing across the room, staring uselessly, as though he believes the sheer force of his murderous gaze would be enough to laser-blast Luthor into oblivion.
Jesus Christ, Lois thinks. I have to do everything around here.
5 times a Daily Planet employee protects Clark Kent, and 1 time Clark Kent protects the Daily Planet.
Or: Clark's coworkers watch as he fake-dates his crush with limited success.
It is probably obvious by now that miscommunication and Bruce's emotions getting in the way of everything are two of my favourite things to read. All of Clark's coworkers are the best, and once again Clark is a self-sacrificing idiot (affectionate)
8. flash in the pan by shipyrds; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 15,951 words; 3 chapters; complete
Summary:
Here’s the thing. Clark does understand. Superman and Batman are fucking. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are not. Clark can handle this. He keeps parts of his life separate all the time.
It’s possible, Clark thinks, as he glares at a lurid tabloid cover of Bruce’s latest scandalous yacht party in the grocery store checkout aisle, that he can’t handle this.
At the Wayne Foundation's annual holiday party, things come to a head.
Okay there is so much I want to say about this fic and yet there are no words that could possibly express just how incredible it is. Bruce coming up with the worst case scenario for literally everything? Check. Clark agreeing to fake date even though he's majorly head over heels and this will likely end in flames? Check. Ma Kent giving the best relationship advice ever? Check. Dick yelling at Bruce when he tries to self sabotage again? Check. Truly one of the best fucking-but-still-pining fics I've ever read!
9. Operation Sponsalia by Brenda [@brendaonao3 on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 13,610 words; 1 chapter; complete
Summary:
"When did you first realize you were in love with me?"
Bruce coughs up his wine.
"I mean, in this...whatever this is," Clark clarifies, blushing to the roots of his hair. "I don't think you're really — I mean, I know this isn't —"
"It's alright." Bruce's voice is raspy, but steady. "I know what you mean."
Clark's glad one of them does.
Or: Bruce and Clark have to fake an engagement for ~reasons — featuring a metric ton of very romantic dates, enough floral arrangements to start a flower shop, SO MANY puns, and Clark finally getting to know the real Bruce. :D
Clark doesn't find out that Bruce said to the press that they had been dating long enough to be teasing enagagements until after it's already been said. Was there a better way to explain why Bruce just happened to help save the Kent family farm? Absolutely. And yet they follow through on it anyway, and I love it for them
10. Sham-pagne by ChrisLeon; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 8,248 words; 1 chapter; complete
Summary:
Superman is spotted visiting Wayne Manor, prompting speculation about how exactly he knows Bruce Wayne. To protect their secret identities, they need a plausible explanation and it seems easy enough to go along with the tabloid theory that they’re sleeping together. All they have to do is pretend to be in a relationship until the speculation dies down and then they can break up move on.
Or: Superman fake-dates Bruce Wayne, we all know how this ends.
This one was fascinating to me because instead of Clark and Bruce dating, it's Superman and Bruce dating, and let me just say I'm so incredibly hinged about it!! I think there is so much potential in that particular version of their dynamic, and this fic was such a beautiful exploration of it!
11. Speaking in Code by Mithen; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 7,459 words; 1 chapter; complete
Summary:
Clark and Bruce must go undercover at a newlywed resort to try and stop an assassination attempt. Hijinks, UST, and reluctant making out ensue.
First of all, Mithen is a superbat master. Pick any fic of theirs and it will be delightful. Second of all, I could write an entire essay about how much I adore the way they go from irritable about this mission to incredibly enthuasiastic over the course of their two days at the resort, but then we'd be here all day so: if you like banter, one bed, and a case fic this is a brilliant read
12. Kind Truths by Mawiiish [@superbattrash on tumblr]; rated G; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 6,478 words; 1 chapter; complete
Summary:
Bruce needs help with an undercover mission. Clark can never say no to him even though he probably should before he does something stupid. Like tell Bruce he's in love with him.
--
“Why me?” Clark can’t help but ask. He tries his very best to keep his voice level, to not sound as desperate as he feels.
“Because I need someone there to watch my back,” Bruce says, a little exasperated. He really shouldn’t have to explain this to Clark of all people, it’s not like they haven’t been on missions together before.
“I get that, but what about Diana? Shayera?” Anyone who doesn’t have a big fat crush on Bruce would do.
Is it obvious I have a thing for Clark agreeing to fake dating despite his big crush on Bruce? This fic is glorious, and features delights such as Bruce metaphorically putting his foot in his mouth, Clark wanting nothing more than to defend Bruce's honor, and one of the most beautiful confession scenes I've ever had the pleasure of reading
13. where i come from by soetry [@soetrys on tumblr]; E; no archive warnings apply; 52,494 words; 11 chapters; complete
Summary:
Bruce doesn’t have a soulmark, and Clark doesn’t have a soulmark, on an Earth where everyone has a soulmark. Somewhere in there is a simple solution. Somewhere to that solution is an overcomplicated journey. Surely two of the world’s leading superheroes will not take the overcomplicated route?
Surely not?
This one is a little bit of both. The identity porn in this was really well done - Dick is a massive Superman fan, Bruce is unimpressed with both Superman and Clark Kent, and it all goes downhill from there (affectionate). Highlights also include Bruce using a dubiously legal site to crossreference soulmarks, him getting the Superman crest tattooed on his wrist using Kyrptonian tech, and Clark being a self-sacrificing idiot. This is also one of the best soulmate AUs I've ever read!!
Identity Porn
1. Get Over It by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 32,378 words; 3 chapters; complete
Summary:
Bruce needs to get over his inconvenient feelings for Superman and he meets an attractive reporter who he thinks can help him do just that. Little does he know...
Of all the identity porn I've read, this is one of the best! Bruce dating Clark to get over Superman is one of the best things ever and this fic really does a good job of their dynamic!
2. Lost Time Without You by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 68,792 words; 21 chapters; complete
Summary:
In a universe where your soulmate’s injuries show up on your skin, Bruce is convinced he doesn’t have a soulmate, and Clark is seriously concerned for his soulmate’s well-being.
This was my introduction to soulmate!AUs and oh my goodness it was spectacular! The build up to the reveal of their identities was brilliantly done, and the chance encounters that pepper through the lead up to that point were captivating. This fic also features Bruce being a good parent and I really love that for him
3. the cost of being a good dad by Mawiiish [@superbattrash on tumblr]; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 95,533 words; 10 chapters; complete
Summary:
Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian are all tired of watching Bruce struggle with the stress of trying to handle the newly formed Justice League. He needs an outlet, he needs to relax, he needs to get out of the house, he needs... he needs to start dating. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?
--
“Excuse me, I don’t know who you think I am, but I think there’s been a mistake.”
“Bruce, right?” the guy says, albeit less confidently this time. He looks slightly concerned and if Bruce is not mistaken… a tad embarrassed. “Bruce Wayne? You look just like your pictures.”
“My pictures?” Something finally clicks in Bruce’s mind, and he takes a small step back and plasters a smile on his face as to not rouse suspicion. Stalker. “Ah, of course, I’m sorry but I’m late for an appointment.”
This fic features the batkids catfishing Clark on Bruce's behalf, Bruce being a good parent, and the utter chaos of miscommunication that can only come from these two being idiots! It was a delightful read, and of course the batfam in action is always a joy!
4. ship-to-ship combat by pomeloquat; rated M; no archive warnings apply; 62,737 words; 12/13 chapters; incomplete
Summary:
"Clark. What the hell is this," Lois asks, staring at Clark's Bruceman WIP folder. Clark's first instinct is to fly away, but that would still leave his fic on display for her to see. His second instinct is to blast a hole straight through his laptop screen with his heat vision, which isn't much better.
Clark, in an attempt to make some spare cash, unintentionally stumbles into the world of superhero fanfiction, becomes a prolific writer for Gotham's OTP, and tries his best to fend off rival fans who want him to convert to superbat instead.
Oh my goodness okay. Where to start with this fic. First of all, Clark writing Batman/Bruce Wayne fanfiction is such a brilliant concept. Then add to that the fact that Clark is secretly crushing on Batman at the same time, and the entire comedy of a trainwreck is a delight to witness!
5. I'm Not As Think As You Drunk I Am by Mardiaz173; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 12,920 words; 3 chapters; complete
It was like living in the Twilight Zone. Everyone else believed fervently in Bruce Wayne’s reputation. He was a flirty, stupid, and entitled drunk whose only redeeming quality was his bleeding heart. And yet every time Clark spoke with Wayne, the man was clever, mischievous, and sober with an indecipherable ulterior motive.
And no one believed Clark. Not Lois, not his parents, not even Batman.
Clark insisting upon defending Bruce to everyone much to everyone's dismay is one of my favourite superbat tropes ever, and this fic really does it well! And of course, this fic also features Batman shit talking Bruce, which is always a joy to see!
6. Don't Quote Me by metropolisjournal [@metropolisjournal on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 77,131 words; 20/21 chapters; incomplete
Summary:
Bruce Wayne has weathered scandal before, and Wayne Enterprises can handle another publicity crisis. What Bruce can’t handle is one crashing up against his plans to infiltrate Lex’s estate. Set during Batman v. Superman.
This was the fix-it for Batman vs Superman that I didn't know I needed until I read it. The identity reveal was so incredibly well written, and the whole fic was stupendous from the very first chapter!
And that's all for now! I hope you find something in here to read, may you enjoy!!
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fuckyeahisawthat · 2 years ago
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If you see Good Omens s2 as a bridge between the end of s1 and a s3 plot that, it seems, will revolve around [spoilers below]
Aziraphale and the second coming (in a parallel to s1 being about Crowley and the Antichrist) then a lot of things make sense, and actually I think this is one of the only routes they could have taken that would seem remotely plausible.
Because how the fuck do you get Aziraphale back in Heaven after the events of s1? Both you (a writer who wrote s1 as a self-contained adaptation of an existing work, having no idea if there would be future seasons) and you (Heaven within the world of the story).
In the book verse, I could see this playing out as a sort of “you thought you were happily retired and then they pulled you back in for one last job” situation, and I think that could have worked. Because book Heaven and Hell seem to end the story basically agreeing to forget Aziraphale and Crowley’s numbers out of sheer embarrassment, and that works in the world of the book because Heaven, in particular, seems to forget Aziraphale exists at least 80% of the time anyway. Book Heaven is mostly notable for its absence. We recognize their hypocrisy in claiming to be the good guys while mostly doing the exact same shit as Hell with better PR, but in the book Hell seems like the side that’s more dangerous and actively intrusive in Crowley’s life.
But TV Heaven and Hell are terrifyingly, oppressively present in Aziraphale and Crowley’s lives, and both of them very recently (in immortal being terms) tried to execute their respective agents for treason, and still don’t understand why they failed. This raises the stakes and the threat to their relationship enormously, which works great in a television drama where their relationship is much more of a focus than it is in the book. But it also makes it much more difficult to imagine either of them going back to their respective sides after the events of s1. They made that choice already.
So what do you (writer now trying to solve this problem for s2 and potentially s3) and you (Heaven, trying to come up with a way that Aziraphale would walk back into his former prison willingly) do?
You offer Aziraphale the one thing he can’t refuse, the thing he still doesn’t have, even now after Armageddidn’t and surviving the trials and 4 (?) years of living more or less openly with Crowley around. You offer him safety. Safety for himself and Crowley, together.
We know it’s a trap. We know what Heaven is offering is not safety, but control. But Aziraphale hasn’t gotten there yet. We understand why Crowley sees it as a rejection and an insult. But to Aziraphale it’s an offer better than he ever thought was possible to receive.
He thought, all of s1, that he would have to choose between following Heaven’s orders and saving the world and his relationship with Crowley. And he made his choice. Now someone is telling him he can have both? Love and acceptance from Heaven for him and Crowley, and the power to make things better? And when he realizes Crowley won’t come with him…well, maybe at least from Heaven he will still be able to protect him, even if he’s not by his side.
And you know what? I bet, in the short term, this is going to only make him double down on his “it was just a few bad angels” justification for the way Heaven behaved. Because this offer is coming from the literal voice of God. Maybe it even reinforces the idea that God didn’t want Armageddon to happen at all, that Aziraphale and Crowley and Adam and the Them actually were doing her will by stopping it. Because now Aziraphale is being invited back in, with more authority than he ever had before. And they invited Crowley (who he always believed was Good) back in too.
He doesn’t get it yet, that Crowley is right. That you can’t reform Heaven from the inside, because it is not and never was the good side. Because there is no good side.
Aziraphale hasn’t figured that out yet. But he will.
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amber-in-the-rough · 3 months ago
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something that I've been thinking about
what if dark!callum was in fact aaravos? because, like-
1. callum was not dreaming, he couldn't possibly meet his other self in real world. unless he could. he had seen his dark self in water reflections before. on the other hand, reflections and a walking living part of yourself are two vastly different things. 2. aaravos said "he'd seen it in his eyes" that callum would do dark magic- well, seeing as they only met two times, the first one being the possession, the second - an apple offering, aaravos didn't really get to see his eyes. but if they met to talk about dark magic, the cube and all that, i'm sure then callum's eyes said everything. 3. aaravos can shapeshift. and make illusions. and I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to have more than one temporary vessel (such as human!aaravos) at the same time. 4. i'm probably wrong here but dark!callum said he was not created by dark magic which fits the theory - aaravos or his vessel weren't either. on the other hand, he said 'I have always been there' which- doesn't fit it so well. in fact, that statement doesn't fit anywhere. does dark!callum mean he's been present even before callum did his first dark magic? how long has it been, then? since birth??? it makes no sense, why, what?.. now that i'm thinking, this still fits aaravos. because he actually was there hundreds of years before callum was ever born. the dark self never said where that there is. it might as well simply equal I existed. well, he sure did.
sure thing, i may be wrong. but that line from aaravos- 'i've seen it in his eyes'- it haunts me. in s4, they hardly looked at each other for more than half a minute, and even then callum was more scared and curious than anything, i don't think aaravos could get any insights on callum's dark magic stance at that point. next, apple offering. again, nowhere to make any assumptions on dark magic use. callum showed compassion, kindness, suspicion- but no more than that.
so, if i'm not missing something (like, aaravos's unique reading-mind-through-eyes ability, some plot details or whatever), this seems plausible.
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genericpuff · 11 months ago
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I've been seeing you say/speculate Rachel Smythe has been cut loose from webtoon, could you elaborate what you mean by that?
It's only a tinfoil hat theory that people should take with MOUNTAINS of salt (seriously, I'm more likely to believe that Rachel really is just done with LO), but there's a general suspicion that LO wasn't meant to end here and that Webtoons decided to cut the cord. I've made a post about it before but some new stuff has surfaced since then.
1.) The announcement the series was ending was made quietly at NYCC and not shared to either Webtoons' socials or Rachel's socials.
The only way fans initially knew about the series ending was through a screencap from the Discord where someone else who had been attending NYCC passed on the info from a Q&A that LO would be entering its final arc.
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For a good while the only other way to know the series was ending was through the Discord, a Cosmopolitan article, and my own post.
Though it sounds odd for a series to get cancelled halfway through its third season, it's not uncommon for Webtoons to suddenly axe series while they're on their midseason hiatuses, it's happened before. So there's a general suspicion that Rachel may have found out during NYCC that LO would only be given one more arc.
2.) The actual finale announcement was made in a text post on Instagram that suddenly announced it would be ending on May 11th, despite the fact that there was still lots to wrap up in the story.
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What this implies is that Rachel was given one more arc, with no concrete end date... until Webtoons told her to wrap it up in a limited number of episodes, hence why despite us knowing it was in its final arc, the end date still felt too soon. This is also supported by the fact that her initial announcement was vaguely "early/mid 2024" - she couldn't give a more accurate end date because she didn't plan for the actual ending.
3.) Things that Rachel has said implies that she was either hoping for the final arc to go on longer, or that she didn't think LO was going to be ending now.
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(that "nothing is set in stone" quote further supports the theory that she may have been hoping to get renewed in spite of the lukewarm ending announcement - that the only reason the announcement was so quiet was because WT hadn't fully committed to it yet and wanted to see how the series would do upon its return; now that they see it falling behind to other series, it might mean WT became more sure in their decision to cut it and gave her an actual deadline to wrap it up by.)
4.) Webtoons has stopped promoting Lore Olympus despite it ending.
Any promotional spots that it has gotten have been stuffed into the dead zone of the banner reels (seriously, anything past the 3rd spot is practically useless because it takes actual committed scrolling to get there vs. the first 1-3 banner spots which can be seen as soon as you open the app/site) and the banner art itself does not in any way advertise the series being in its final arc. These banners also only seem to be appearing for a day at most, compared to the days upwards of weeks they used to get.
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Webtoons also hasn't been doing any sort of promoting on their socials for it. Considering The Mafia Nanny has been consistently beating out LO in the top rankings for weeks now, and that LO's rating and view count is still dropping, it appears that Webtoons has finally given up on shoving it down people's throats and put their focus elsewhere.
Again, this is all tinfoil hat speculation, so take it with massive doses of salt. Considering this is Webtoons, I wouldn't be surprised if they finally decided to put LO out of its misery, but this is also Rachel and I wouldn't blame her in the slightest if she finally wanted to be done with it after the past two years of people clowning on it. And I say that knowing I, myself, am a clown LOL
Either way, I feel like either outcome is plausible in its own ways, but whatever is the true reason, it doesn't change the fact that LO is ending and has 3 episodes left to wrap itself up. And whatever comes after will likely involve the launch of Inklore which was estimated for the spring.
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icewindandboringhorror · 2 years ago
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Daily Log
Trying out (probably just temporarily) making short daily-ish notes about things, in an attempt to see if it helps me be more reflective or productive lol.
Activities: Badly carved an eye into an avocado pit with a nail cuticle tool thing. trying to think of better designs to carve into avocado pits. I don't really have the right tools, maybe should order some carving tools. I hate buying things online eeeeee..
Worked on translating a poem into Avirrekava (my constructed language for one of my fantasy species) so I can paint it onto a tapestry sort of thing I'm making, kind of in the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts? I do not have paintbrushes small enough.
Spent a lot of time thinking more about the story with an investigator tracking a doctor who's doing strange experiments and they eventually become friends(ish) after trying to kill each other a few times, lol (set in my fantasy world though, so magic is involved, etc. It's just interesting to think about testing the limitations of magic and what type of experimentation people would do, especially if you own a hospital or morgue or other scenario where you have access to bodies, or good cover for hiding them, etc. Plus worldbuilding religions in the world, what their ideas of morality would be, what an "investigator" or police force would even look like in that setting, etc. Two jhevona main characters in a city full of elves and the in-world politics of that, class war and royals, pretentious scholar communities and how they'd operate, actual magic combat between two advanced magic users and what that would look like (mixing illusions or higher level spells with minor brute force tactics, evasion, enchantments, shapeshifting, etc.) etc. etc. ).
Organized some of my plants, but still need to replant some fully. Succulents grow SO fast, I think I'll run out of room. Also one has burnt to a crisp during the heat wave last week.. my son.. ToT.
Edited a few costume photos then gave up because my camera is evil and I always have that thing where it looks really cool in the mirror but then the final photos suck, which demotivates me to even do anything with them/feels like a waste.
Still chronic health issue sick stinky as usual, plus it's still warm inside from the heat a few days ago so being hot makes joint pain worse... evil.. no energy. fell asleep on the floor for like 30 minutes.
Tried a new oreo flavor and ranked it on my comprehensive oreo ranking list. Mediocre as usual, but I'm too far in to give up now gghj.. I have to just try them all. A fool's labor.
Notable sights: found one 6 leaf clover, two 5 leaf clovers, and eleven 4 leaf clovers. Saw a rabbit, 3 cats in windows, and 4 ducks. Also at some point I was squishing gum in my hand and pulling it apart and when stretched out it would make these really cool spindly spider web patterns. The sky later in the day was hazy pink, purple, and blue pastel sunset.
Goals moving forward: Wake up on time even if I feel sick when I wake up!!! Focus on more immediate projects, don't get distracted. Actually make room for investing in social time and replying to people even with minimal energy reserves. Stay consistent with physical therapy exercises. Plant nasturtiums. Finish and upload videos, email doctors, edit pictures, post the poll adventure thing that has been sitting in a draft for weeks.
Notable foods: None today, but I have asparagus for later which is exciting... my new favorite vegetable whilst on the stinky Nutritionist Prescribed Special Limited Diet
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#I don't know the point of posting this publicly#maybe just makes it feel more like I'm doing somehting or easier to hold myself accountable making a public declarations#of my goals and progress or etc. lol#Weird blog content I think but then also this IS like.. my personal blog so#. technically I can do whatever. It's just an atypical format of personal post ghgj#ALSO the finding so many clovers thing is cool because just last week I also found one 6 leaf clover and a few 5 leaves and a#ton of 4 leaves. I hadn't found a 6 leaf clover in a few years until literally the past few weeks Iv'e found two of them#The most I've ever gotten is a 7 leaf. Maybe just one?? possibly two but I think just one of them.#so I guess the ultimate goal would be 8 leaf. if that's even plausible.#I don't know what to do with them all though. I put them usually in the book with the rest of my pressed flowers and then#move them into a container once they're dried out. I could make more flower arrangement type things (like gluing dried flowers#to a page in a pattern) out of them like I have a few times. Or use them with the wax seal stamps or something#but I have so many.. IF i OWNED AN ACTUal house or somehting it'd be cool to do like.. a Wall#a clover wall where I just post them up everytime I've collected some. and see if I can fill the whole wall over time#One day ... if I can ever be successful at the Game Of Resources And Capitalism enough to have a modest little#home in like.. Scotland or canada or something... I can finally paint walls and do interesting things#REALLY have always wanted to have a cloud mural on the cieling of a room or etc.#aNYWAY....#any other Clover Hunters out there.. tell me what you've found. the mythical 8 leaf?? or anything idk.#avocado pit carving tips. tell me what you thought about the Black Out Cake oreo flavor. etc. etc. hgjhghjb#daily log
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machveil · 6 months ago
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Captain John Price is next on the chopping block. another birth year and headcanoned age post because I love digging shit up on the CoD operatives
let’s get our facts straight:
Price was a Lieutenant in 1996 (age N/A)
Price served as a Captain from 2011-2017 (age N/A)
1996 is 15 years prior to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Act 1 - Blackout is dated as 2011, Act 3 - Gameover is also listed as 2011
Task Force 141 began activity in 2019-present day
huge information, his dog tags in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare list his *potential birthday as 01-11-1953
*from what we know about given birth years from my Kyle “Gaz” Garrick analysis, we always check plausibility when given a birth year
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so… we have a solid date [celebration]! let’s confirm what we know and do some math ( ^_^)o自自o(^_^ )
according to Price’s dog tags (huzzah) he was born 1953. as a Lieutenant, Price is 43 years old off the bat. Price is 58-64 while serving as a Captain in 2011-2017
when TF141 started activity in 2019 John was 66 - present day (2024), that would make Captain John Price 71
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headcanon time because holy crap, I would not have wagered that personally—
let’s go over the headcanoned ages I’ve done for Simon “Ghost�� Riley, König, and Kyle “Gaz” Garrick briefly before I continue. respectively, for each of these men, I will list their ages in 2019 - when TF141 started activity: 34-35, 31, and 27
Price is 66 in 2019… maybe it’s just me, but that seems wild - like, it checks out and makes total sense, but still! admittedly, I’m not a huge Price fan - don’t get me wrong, I still like him. since I don’t actively write for him I’m fine with him being headcanoned as born in 1953, it’s just wild having an actual age to put to his face haha
I think I’ll still see him as in his late 50s to early 60s, but plausibility wise… I’d say his in-game dog tags check out
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acourtofthought · 2 months ago
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Can I share a theory? I do think there is foreshadowing for a rejected mate’s storyline but I don’t think it will be Elucien. I think it will be Mor and Eris. That will be the “more to the story” that Eris keeps hinting at. Also the way Mor reacted when Azriel was choking Eris, she was pale and shaking for awhile after. Even though the mating bond can be rejected they still feel it so she felt Eris’ pain in that moment.
I agree. I've had a difficult time imagining any other reason they seem so drawn to the other after all this time, why Eris could scent that Mor had dropped off Cassian, why he left her in the woods for a reason that she's too afraid to admit the truth of.
The most plausible reason (to me) is that they are mates but Eris could sense where Mor's heart lay (that she was not romantically drawn to men) and the only way he could set her free in a way that wouldn't arouse suspicion from his father is to act cold and cruel and leave her in the woods after claiming she was used goods. And that storyline is one where we wouldn't mind seeing two mates not end up together. First we don't know what Eris's sexual orientation is so we aren't sad over the thought of him not ending up with his mate, he's never shown any sort of longing for Mor. Second, while I do think Sarah has written him to be a (sort of) good guy after all, we've spent much of the series feeling a bit put off by him. He was cruel to Lucien UTM, attacked Feyre on the ice, ridiculed Cassian and the IC, etc. and again, while I realize this all may have been a "cover" so that Beron did not suspect him as being anything but a loyal son, Sarah still hasn't confirmed that as the case and after 4 books I don't think anyone truly wants him in a relationship with Mor because of it. I know Azris is a huge ship yet nobody is bothered by the thought of Eris and Mor not ending up together even with all their interactions and I think that would still hold true even if they end up as mates. That really is the best way for Sarah to go about a true rejected mating bond storyline (where the rejection holds) without anyone feeling sad for either of the two that share the bond. Even if Mor and Eris always feel a tug to one another, it still wouldn't be weird because Mor does not prefer females and Eris has shown no romantic interest in Mor so that tug would feel like more of a familial tug than anything. When it comes to Elain and Lucien, we don't have that setup because we know Lucien longs for Elain and we know she is the most beautiful female he's ever seen. We don't know Elain's thoughts on Lucien's looks just yet however Sarah has already give us a setup where it would be odd for Lucien to end up with someone else since Elain has been written as the "peak" for him. Not only because the next best thing is something he already had and lost (Jesminda - who he once believed was his mate) but because his actual mate took his breath away with her beauty and he's spent over two years showing longing and loyalty for only her. That sort of setup does not work well for a rejected mating bond because there really is no true HEA for Lucien and even if Elain went on to have a relationship with someone else, she will always feel a tug to Lucien. Considering she is attracted to men, it's an odd thing to feel that sort of draw to a straight attractive male who you aren't in a relationship with and that makes for an awkward situation for all parties involved.
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jungkoode · 1 month ago
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OFF-LABELS | O6
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→ PAIRING : Med Student!Hoseok x F!Reader (Brother’s Best Friend AU)
→ RATING: Explicit, 18+.
→ DATE POSTED: February 18th, 2025. (Hobi’s birthday special — 2 chapters! <3)
→ SUMMARY: You’ve spent four years convincing yourself that your brother’s best friend is just being nice when he remembers your coffee order, quizzes you on neuroanatomy, or lets his touch linger a second too long. Because there’s no way that the golden boy of Seoul National’s medical program might actually be flirting with you. Especially when he keeps saying things that could be perfectly innocent… if only he didn’t say them in that voice.
→ TAGS: second person perspective, female reader, medical school au, brother’s best friend trope, age gap (4 years), pining, touch starved, overthinking reader, confident hoseok, gentle dom hoseok, medical terminology as flirting (lmao), study sessions, domestic moments, innocent (but not really), plausible deniability king hoseok, anxiety, internal monologue, guilty crushes, subtle teasing, emotional edging, gentle manipulation, praise kink undertones, intellectual attraction, competency kink, hand fixation, voice kink, medical intern hoseok, first year med student reader, home setting, casual intimacy, unresolved sexual tension (for now), secret attraction, nervous rambling, self-doubt, intrusive thoughts, anatomy lessons with ulterior motives, competent hoseok, flustered reader, close proximity, accidental touches that aren’t accidents, virgin!reader.
→ CONTENT in this chapter: Late night study interruptions, chipmunk-themed socks that need mending, educational multitasking, thorough anatomy reviews, parasympathetic nervous system demonstrations, and party background noise that nobody seems to notice. | study breaks, bedroom setting, party backdrop, casual intimacy, domestic moments, academic testing, nervous system responses, physiological reactions, academic authority, late night encounters, casual clothing, short skirt horny trigger, theoretical demonstrations, practical applications, fingering (f).
→ MASTERLIST | TAGLIST REQ | WORDCOUNT: 2,6k
→ MINI SERIES: PREVIOUS | NEXT
→ A/N: Remember when studying used to be boring? Yeah, me neither anymore. Shoutout to everyone who's ever had their anatomy revision get thoroughly derailed. Also, apparently I have a thing for making medical terminology sound… interesting. My search history is just getting more concerning at this point. Do I care? Not really. You shouldn’t either, this is only going down south.
PLAYLIST
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The knock startles you.
It’s soft, almost hesitant, but it cuts through the quiet hum of your desk lamp and the faint noise of Caleb’s party downstairs. You glance at the door, your heart already climbing into your throat. 
You don’t need to ask who it is. You know.  
Still, you move slowly, chair scraping against the floor as you stand. Your bare feet pad across the carpet, and when you open the door—of course—it’s him.  
Hoseok leans against the doorframe like he has all the time in the world, one hand tucked casually into the pocket of his baggy jeans. His green sweater hangs loose on his frame, but it does nothing to hide the way his shoulders fill it out. He looks relaxed. Effortless. Like he belongs here in a way you never quite feel like you do.  
“Hi,” you manage, voice barely above a whisper.  
His eyes meet yours, dark and unreadable under the soft glow of the hallway light. 
“Hi,” he says back, and it’s so casual—so steady—that it makes your own greeting feel ridiculous in comparison.  
Your cheeks burn as you step back instinctively, retreating to your desk like that will somehow shield you from him. 
You sit down too quickly, fumbling with your highlighter as if that’s what you were doing before he knocked—studying, not thinking about him or Thursday or the way his thumb had pressed against your tongue like he owned it.  
(He hasn’t said anything about it since then. No mention of Thursday beyond a vague text asking how your paper was coming along. Nothing to suggest that he’s been thinking about it as much as you have.)  
Your hand trembles slightly as you drag the highlighter across your notes, leaving a thick streak of neon yellow that bleeds into the next line of text.  
“You’re gonna ruin your notes like that.”  
You jump at his voice—closer now—and whip around to find him standing right behind you. 
When did he move? How did he move without you noticing?  
“I—” Your words catch in your throat as his head tilts slightly, studying your ruined page over your shoulder. His scent—clean and warm and always bergamot—wraps around you like a second skin, making it impossible to focus on anything else.  
“You’re too heavy-handed,” he murmurs, voice low enough that it feels like it’s meant just for you.
His hand reaches out—not for the highlighter but for you—and hooks a finger under the thin strap of your tank top.  
Your breath hitches as he slides it down your shoulder with deliberate care, his finger grazing your skin in its descent. The touch is light—barely there—but it leaves a trail of heat in its wake that makes your pulse stutter wildly in your chest.  
“You should use lighter strokes,” he says, like this is normal conversation, like his hand isn’t now tracing down your arm to where it rests on the desk.
His fingers brush yours briefly before continuing their path downward—to your hip, then lower still—to the bare skin of your thigh where your skirt ends.
You can’t move. Can’t breathe. Your entire body feels locked in place under his touch, every nerve ending attuned to the slow slide of his hand against your skin.
“Hoseok…” His name comes out shakier than you intended, barely audible over the pounding in your ears.
“Hmm?” 
He doesn’t look at you—his gaze is still fixed on your notes—but his hand pauses just above your inner thigh, thumb brushing idly against the sensitive skin there.
“You’re…” You swallow thickly, trying to find words that don’t sound insane or desperate or both.
“I’m what?” He finally glances at you then, head tilting slightly as if this is just idle curiosity—as if he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing to you.
You shake your head quickly, dropping your gaze back to the desk because looking at him feels impossible right now.
“Nothing,” you mumble.
His lips twitch—not quite a smile but close—as his thumb traces slow circles against your skin.
“Relax,” he says softly, almost teasingly. “I’m just helping.”
Helping? Helping what? Your brain scrambles for context—for any explanation that makes this feel less dangerous than it does right now—but all you can focus on is how close his hand is getting to—
“You’re tense,” he observes quietly, fingers sliding another inch higher.
Your breath catches again as heat floods every inch of exposed skin.
“I’m not,” you say too quickly.
He hums—a low sound that vibrates through the small space between you—and leans closer until his lips are close, way too close. 
“You are.”
Lips brush against the shell of your ear, soft and fleeting, but it’s enough to send a violent shiver down your spine. The shaky exhale you let out is mortifying, and you clamp your lips shut immediately, praying he didn’t notice.  
(He noticed. Of course, he noticed.)  
But Hoseok doesn’t comment on it. 
Instead, he pulls back just enough to return his attention to the desk in front of you, his gaze flicking lazily over your notes like this is all perfectly normal. Like his hand isn’t sliding higher under the hem of your skirt, fingers skimming the sensitive skin of your inner thigh.  
“What are you studying?” he asks casually, as if his knuckles aren’t brushing against the edge of your panties now.  
You open your mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a strangled sort of sound that doesn’t resemble words at all.  
“Hmm?” His head tilts slightly, and you feel the faintest press of his lips against your shoulder—a kiss so light it might as well be a breath. “Cat got your tongue, Chip?”  
“N-no,” you stammer, forcing yourself to focus on the question. “I’m—um—neurology.”  
“Neurology,” he repeats thoughtfully, his tone almost approving. 
His fingers trace slow motions against the fabric covering your slit, and you tremble so violently that your knee knocks into the desk.  
“Relax,” he murmurs again, voice low and coaxing. “You’re usually so good at multitasking.”  
You don’t know what to say to that—don’t know how to respond when his fingers press just slightly harder against you, finding the dampness already pooling there.  
“Hoseok…” His name escapes in a broken whisper before you can stop it.  
“Shh.” His thumb strokes the outside of your thigh soothingly while his ring and middle fingers continue their slow exploration over the thin cotton barrier. “Tell me about the vagus nerve.”  
Your brain short-circuits completely at that. “W-what?”  
“The vagus nerve,” he repeats patiently, like he’s talking to a particularly slow student. “What does it control?”  
“I—” You gasp as his fingers dip lower, teasing along the edge of your panties now. “It—it controls…”  
“Come on,” he coaxes, leaving another kiss on your shoulder before resting his chin lightly there. “You know this.”  
“Autonomic functions,” you manage shakily, though it sounds more like a question than an answer.  
He hums softly in approval as his fingers brush over your clit. You mewl at the contact, thighs clenching instinctively around his hand, but he doesn’t stop—doesn’t even falter as he continues:  
“And those would include…?”  
Your mind is blank—completely blank save for the overwhelming sensation of his long fingers doing small little circle motions with deliberate care.
 “I—I don’t know,” you choke out finally.  
“You don’t know?” He tsks softly under his breath, almost disappointed. “Chip… I thought you were better than this.”  
“I am!” The protest slips out before you can stop it, but it’s hard to sound convincing when your voice is shaking so badly.  
“Then prove it.” His fingers press harder against your clit now—an all-too-knowing touch that makes you jolt in your seat—and he chuckles quietly at your reaction. “Tell me what the vagus nerve controls.”  
You squeeze your eyes shut tightly, trying desperately to remember something—anything—that will get you through this without completely falling apart under him. 
“H-heart rate,” you stammer finally. “And—and digestion.”  
“Good girl,” he murmurs approvingly, circling your clit once more before sliding lower again. His fingers tease at your entrance now. “See? I knew you could do it.”  
You whimper softly as his lips brush against your shoulder again—this time lingering just long enough for you to feel the faintest scrape of teeth against skin before he pulls away.
“I like this skirt,” he murmurs suddenly, voice still maddeningly casual even as his hand moves with devastating precision between your legs.
Your eyes snap open at that—not because of what he said but because of how he said it: low and amused and just a little too knowing.
“It’s cute,” he continues conversationally, like this is small talk over coffee instead of whatever this is right now. 
His fingers slide back up to circle your clit again—slowly, lazily—as if to punctuate his next words: 
“Easy access.”
Your breath catches sharply at his words, mind reeling as you try to process what he's implying. But before you can even attempt to form a response, he continues:
"You should wear it more often." His voice stays light, even as his fingers continue their torturous circles against your clit.
"W-what?" The word comes out breathless, uncertain.
"Around me," he clarifies softly, and there's something darker in his tone now. “I mean."
You open your mouth to respond—to say what, you're not sure—but the words die in your throat as his other hand slides up your side, fingertips ghosting over your ribs before cupping your breast through the thin fabric of your tank top.
"Now," he continues, like he hasn't just short-circuited your entire nervous system, "tell me about parasympathetic responses."
Your brain scrambles to catch up as his thumb brushes over your nipple, the fabric doing nothing to hide how it pebbles under his touch. Because of course you’re not wearing a fucking bra in your room.
“I—what?"
"Parasympathetic responses," he repeats patiently, though there's an edge of amusement in his voice now. "Basic anatomy, Chip. You should know this."
His fingers pinch your nipple lightly through the cotton, and you have to bite your lip to stifle a moan. "I do—I do know it."
"Then explain it to me." His other hand hasn't stopped moving between your legs, drawing slow, maddening circles that make it impossible to think straight. "What happens when the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated?"
You squeeze your eyes shut, trying desperately to remember anything from your textbooks. 
You shouldn't be doing this with him. Not when he helps grade your practicals, not when he'll be observing your clinical rotations next year. But the thought only makes you wetter.
"It—it causes..." You gasp as his fingers dip lower again, teasing at your entrance. "...relaxation."
"Mm." He sounds pleased, though you can't tell if it's with your answer or with the way you're trembling under his touch. "And what else?"
"Increased..." Your voice breaks as his thumb flicks over your nipple again. "Increased blood flow."
"Where?" His breath is warm against your ear, and you can hear the smile in his voice—gentle but knowing. Always knowing.
"To—to..."
You can't say it. Can't form the words when his fingers are right there, proving your point with devastating accuracy.
"To?" he prompts softly, and now he's definitely teasing you—waiting for you to say it out loud while his hands continue their merciless exploration of your body.
Your face burns hotter. "You know where."
"Do I?" His innocent tone doesn't match the way his fingers press harder against your clit, making your hips jerk involuntarily. "I think you should tell me. For academic clarity."
His fingers slip past the damp cotton barrier of your panties without ceremony, long digits sliding through your slick with a soft, obscene sound that makes your entire body flush. 
“Ah—Hoseok—”
“Shh.” His breath fans across your ear as his middle and ring fingers begin a slow, methodical glide through your folds. “You were explaining parasympathetic vascular responses. Continue.”
His other hand moves to the hem of your tank top, lifting it slowly until both breasts are exposed to the cool air. Your nipples immediately tighten, and you hear his breath catch slightly.
“Poor circulation here though.” His palm cups your left breast, thumb rolling your nipple into a stiff peak. “Look at these.”
You don’t want to look. Can’t look. But his hand slides to your throat, tilting your head back until your neck arches over the chair’s headrest. The new angle forces your chest forward, breasts fully on display as he hums approvingly.
“Beautiful. Like two rosebuds blooming just for me,” he whispers, voice thick with something you’ve never heard from him before—something dangerously close to worship. “Keep talking, Chip.”
His hand returns to cup one breast, thumb circling the sensitive peak as you whine his name.
"Hoseok, please—"
His lips find your pulse point, pressing a soft kiss against the frantic beat there. "Come on, Chip. If you pass, I'll let you cum."
You mewl as both his fingers slide into you with ease, your walls clenching around the intrusion desperately.
"Mm, excellent lubrication," he notes, voice steady despite how his fingers curl inside you. "Explain why that's happening."
"It's—ah—" You try to focus as his palm grinds against your clit, his other hand still teasing your nipple. "I can’t—Hoseok—”
"Shh." His lips trail up the column of your throat, pausing to suck a bruise just below your ear. "You wanna cum, don’t you?"  
The stretch burns deliciously, his long fingers crooking to stroke deeper. "Then answer."  
Your nails dig into the desk, textbook pages crinkling under your grip. "T-the hypothalamus—"  
"Mm." He nips your earlobe. "Specifics."  
"Triggers—" A gasp as his palm grinds harder. “Triggers pelvic nerve activation—"  
"Which causes?" His thumb flicks your nipple sharply.  
"Blood vessel dilation!" You nearly scream it, back bowing off the chair as he scissors his fingers. "Increased—fuck—blood flow and—"  
"Secretions," he finishes for you, voice gone rough at the edges. "Good girl."  
"Please," you gasp, walls fluttering around his fingers. "Please, I can't—"
"Passed," he murmurs, and that's all it takes.
It hits like a seizure—violently, vulgarly, your cunt fluttering around his fingers as you grind mindlessly against his palm. He works you through it with brutal precision, his free hand pinching your nipple now as he mutters filth against your sweat-slick throat:  
"Look at you. Dripping like a melted marshmallow. So sweet."  
When the last aftershock fades, he withdraws his fingers with a slick pop, holding them up to inspect the glistening strands connecting to your ruined panties. 
"Saccharine, even," he declares after sucking them clean.  
Before you can process what’s happening, he’s crouching in front of your chair, hands gentle as he fixes your clothes—tugging your tank top back down, smoothing your skirt over your thighs. His fingers linger at your ankle, thumb brushing the chipmunk embroidered on your sock.
“So cute,” he sighs, pressing a kiss to the cartoon nose. “My little chipmunk.”
When he stands, he looks every bit the composed medical student—sweater undisturbed, hair barely ruffled. 
Only the faint flush high on his cheeks betrays him.
“Thursday,” he reminds you, adjusting his glasses. “Don’t forget your notes on synaptic transmission.”
The door clicks shut behind him.
Downstairs, the party continues—laughter floating up the stairs as you stare at the neon-yellow highlighter bleeding across your vagus nerve diagram.
Your phone buzzes.
𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚔’𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎. 𝙸’𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚊𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚌 𝚐𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.
Next time.
You press your forehead to the cool desktop, the ghost of his fingers still throbbing between your legs. Across the room, your reflection in the vanity mirror shows tousled hair, swollen lips, and the faint red mark below your ear.
Normal Hoseok wouldn’t notice loose threads.
Normal Hoseok wouldn’t taste you like dessert.
Normal Hoseok wouldn’t—
Your phone buzzes again.
𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚢𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎. 𝙴𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚢𝚝𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚜.
You stare at the message, then at the half-empty water bottle by your desk.
Bastard.
Beautiful, terrifying bastard.
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→ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @cannotalwaysbenight @livingformintyoongi @itstoastsworld @somehowukook @just-reading-dany @sanarin @billy-jeans23 @stuti2904 @chloepiccoliniii @kimnamjoonmiddletoe @annyeongbitch7
© 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.
no reposts, translations, or adaptations
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latriviata · 16 days ago
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I don’t do many original posts here but I wanted to get initial Tomb of Dragons thoughts down because I rot13ed them as I was reading on bsky and want to be able to read them easily. Spoilers, obviously! a lot of ship stuff.
Good book overall - the continued worldbuilding was lovely (actual! dragons!!) and I found the overall witnessing/mystery plot more engaging than Grief - but I went in really loving Thara/Iäna and am feeling pretty sad and salty about that. from a character point of view I am delighted Thara has regained his sense of self enough to have an awkward crush. from a “having read half a million words of fic in the past 3-4 years” perspective I wish it was on his cute friend who would do anything for him.
It’s such a weird choice to plausibly set up a romantic relationship from Witness, then double back and introduce an eleventh-hour alternative low-key love interest with several shared characteristics to Iäna (hello, sweet tooth beloved by fic). I liked Hanu fine but all that did was underline how much less depth and interest there was in his interactions with Thara, aside from the sheer fact that Thara was attracted to him. Again: weird. I don’t know if she went in intending to shipbait or if she couldn’t get the story to work out the way she wanted with Thara having to leave Amalo, but the whole no-homo conversation honestly didn’t sit well with me (I did see some people got an aro read from it, which is interesting, though we don’t really know how the concept of marnis maps onto our queer identities. i can see it but personally it felt more like a bi homoromantic guy who hasn’t figured himself out yet) and felt like a massive rug-pull. It felt like the only way she thought she could write their dynamic not as romantic, when I would have been so much more interested in something more open like “sure, I’m marnis, but you’re still grieving and healing and I don’t think I’m the best person for a relationship in that situation”. I am fine having two gay men be very close and still platonic, it’s not something we see a ton of in fiction!
I will say one thing in addition to the usual “well, there’s always fic”. Unfortunately I don’t write fic but I do think there’s lots of tasty scenarios where they could still have a romance (if initially epistolary), when we all assumed Iäna would be the more experienced one/more comfortable being marnis and actually it’s the opposite. definitely rotating that in my mind.
The rest of the overall plot was very good, though! And I was thrilled to see Maia and co again, my beloveds - apart from ship stuff that was the thing I was desperately hoping to get. But unlike the others, with the finality of all I came out of it feeling pretty deflated, and I was hoping to not be immediately craving fix-its. I don’t know how I feel about Thara ending up on the run and separated from almost all his friends - I don’t see it as an unambiguously sad ending like I’ve seen some people read it, because he has managed a huge amount of healing over the series and we know from that final letter that he’s actually ready to reach out and keep in touch with people. And in terms of series plot/worldbuilding (even if KA has no plans to return to this world) it does open up a lot of interesting future plots.
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johanna-swann · 28 days ago
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Before 911 comes back this week:
One thing I've been thinking about in regards to Buddie is that, whether you like the ship or not, it wouldn't really add anything to the show. (Hear me out.)
We already get a handful of very tender, emotional scenes between them every season or a quick moment of Buck acting as a somewhat fatherly figure towards Chris, we already see them bantering or hanging out after work and helping each other out with the big important things. Both characters are already well established mains. They already have an amazing and unique relationship and are family to each other. They already have a kid (sort of). They already know each other inside and out. And all of that is nice and great even for fanfiction, it's a very comforting idea that they could just fall into that romantic partnership they both yearn for so easily.
[I say both, but personally I think for Eddie it's more anemoia than anything else. He thinks he wants what he believes he had with Shannon, but we all know their romance turned very rocky the second things got serious. Between getting pregnant young and on accident, being constantly pressured by their entire social environment, Eddie enlisting then re-enlisting and Shannon leaving when Chris was about 4 years old… They only ever lived under one roof together for months at a time if the timeline is supposed to make sense.]
Anyway. If either of them found a different partner it would add a lot more fresh content to the show which it desperately needs these days tbh. The new love interest would be a completely new character or at least a side character we now get to know much better. The couple would have to work on their relationship and on building something new together. They'd get to know each other slowly. They'd also get to interact with the firefam and be introduced to that family. There'd be a lot of new dynamics and just generally a lot more wiggle room than you'd have with Buddie.
They had a chance to do that with Tommy and fumbled it. Now I know Bucktommy sparked quite some controversy in the fandom, but that doesn't mean it couldn't still work with another character or even with Tommy if they ever decided to bring him back.
Marisol's actress was unpopular with us (fair, she's a transphobe), but before they decided to jump the shark and break out the Doppelgänger plot I was actually invested in Eddie (re-)learning how to build a romantic partnership with someone on both their terms - not society's. Ana was more a symbol than a girlfriend to him and maybe he wasn't ready to be dating seriously at the time, but when Pepa started bugging him about dating again in 6b it actually made sense. He had his whole getting therapy and getting better arc in s5, more time had passed since Shannon's death, it felt like the right time to give Eddie a romance plot again. But then the Doppelgänger plot happened and that progress was nipped in the bud.
Before that we had Taylor and it was amazing how she and Buck almost had a similar energy going as Bobby and Michael at times. Sneaking around, solving mysteries, being brought in for questioning. The usual. There was also this uncertainty in Buck on how to navigate his first stable relationship that actually could have a future. (Ali didn't live in LA fulltime and they only dated for a short while, he loved Abby but let's be honest they were never gonna last.) And it was so easy to let Taylor be a part of the work related plots? She's a reporter, of course it's plausible she shows up on scenes or during investigations. The writers were on to something here, she's still my favourite out of all of Buck's and Eddie's love interests.
But the point is that if they ever decide it's time Buck or Eddie to settle down (please, I am begging) and with the way 911 works (ensemble cast on a procedural drama that doesn't allow its characters to change) there's much more potential for interesting plots with an outside character who isn't part of the firefam yet instead of adjusting the flavour of a relationship we've already had 6 seasons of.
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