#i like when there's obvious care in telling a story and using time to emphasise it

[torgawl]

it's been like 3 hours and i can't stop thinking about xiao and aether. you guys don't get it. it's the way the heart in qixing is likely referring to aether. it's because aether dedicated his poem and his dreams to xiao. it's because xiao smiled when he heard it. it's the way he's always looking out for aether. it's because even though everything was okay xiao made the effort to be vocal about how worried he was when aether pretended to drown. it's because aether is the only person capapable of persuading xiao, to the point others are aware he would do anything for him only and use it to convince him every chance they get. it's because aether is the only person capable of relieving the pain of xiao's karmic debt, not because of his powers but solely by being a part of xiao's life. it's because during the lantern rite instead of looking at the sky xiao looks at aether. it's because everytime they're together everyone else always comments about how close and fond of each other they are. it's because xiao is the only character aether is able to have alone time with without paimon. it's because as long as aether says his name xiao will always answer his call.

[dyaz-stories]

okay so i fucking hated the airport scene and i need to exorcise it by explaining why and making it everyone else's problem

jujutsu kaisen spoilers up until chapter 236

Okay, so to preface this, my main issue is that this part of the chapter strongly clashed with my interpretation of Gojo's character and, in my opinion, isn't a suitable farewell to him. I know that some people will read this and think "Oh, so you're just mad that things didn't go the way you wanted" and... yeah. You know, I didn't like that something I didn't like happened. That's not unexpected, but if you're not interested in reading that, I totally get it! I just want to go into more detail about why I wasn't happy with the way this went.

I also want to add that I have no qualms with Gojo dying. I'm not thrilled by the way it happened, but this happening is fully expected within shonen codes. I get the significance of it and why it needed to happen for the story Gege wanted to tell. That's fine by me.

Now, to the airport scene.

We'll start with the first panel, mostly as an illustration. This panel shows, from the uniforms to Gojo's glasses and his expression, that we are in the presence of "high-school Gojo". This is reinforced by the presence of Geto, particularly because the only time when we've seen the two of them interact normally was during the Hidden Inventory Arc.

On top of that, Gojo, throughout the airport scene, acts more 'naturally' than he does in the manga, Hidden Inventory Arc excepted. I'd argue that with his students and with everyone following Geto's defection, he tends to have this 'wall' up (both literally and metaphorically). He doesn't talk to them with this kind of ease.

My issue with this is that it very much reads like character regression. It's been a decade since high-school for Gojo, give or take, and for his farewell I don't find it interesting to portay him not as he was, but as he had been.

The obvious answer to that is that this depicts Gojo in the time period during which he was the happiest. I don't wholly disagree with that — especially considering the emphasis in this arc about 'the loneliness of the strongest' and the fact that this was likely the only time when he didn't feel lonely.

I just regret the lack of distance with this idea. Even if it was the time when he felt happiest, he wasn't his teenage self anymore. I wish this had been reflected more. Like I said — this, to me, doesn't feel like a farewell to who he was at the moment of his death, because I'm not seeing the Gojo I'd seen throughout the manga.

Another, less obvious counter-argument could be that this emphasises that Gojo was stuck in the past and couldn't move on from his years in high school. I don't think this is particularly proven as true through the manga. The importance he gives to training his students and his belief that they can become stronger than him seems to show an interest in the future, not the past.

This is the next one. My issue isn't with Sukuna being stronger than Gojo (I don't care about that). Considering the central part Mahoraga plays in Gojo's demise (as Sukuna states right after)

the line about the Ten Shadows feels icky to me, but whatever on that front as well. No, what annoys me about all of that is that considering all of Gojo's confidence up until the end, it... makes him look like a cocky idiot? Which, okay, isn't that far off when it comes to his characterization, I'll give Gege that, but it was always warranted up until that point. Being unable to see danger coming to that degree, especially with the Six Eyes, is kind of ridiculous.

It also lessens the importance of Sukuna's supposed admiration for him, imo.

It cheapens both his death and his character to me.

I'm fully aware that people have used this as proof of Gojo's selfishness and essentially as showcasing his adrenaline addiction, and I get that it would make sense if that was your read on his character, but it came out of left field for me.

Another answer to that argument could be that this is Gojo's perception and doesn't reflect the reality — maybe he thought that but Sukuna didn't — however considering the timing I can't help but feel that we, as readers, are at least supposed to receive it as fact.

This one is less of a criticism and more of a note. It's not uninteresting as far as characterization goes. I think it doesn't come as a huge surprise that Gojo would feel that way but I do regret that this was never explored before. I'm not convinced it was hinted at all that well either, and it doesn't help that the one example we have of him being 'adored' is Miwa being a fangirl. Once again, I regret that we don't see anything about his students here. I think it would have been warranted.

This is probably my favorite panel out of the bunch, which I don't think is going to come as a surprise. This feels like a callback to him being a teacher. I like it.

Okay, this is probably my least favorite part of this. Nanami has said things of this nature before, he's called Gojo egotiscal,

so it's not new that he believes that. However, that is echoed by Haibara (and other people apparently, hence "we all thought that") and also by Geto, since he's the one who concludes "was just proven right by your actions a second ago". I have to assume Geto, in saying that, is referring to Gojo's fight against Sukuna.

I kind of fucking hate that. First of all, what Nanami says is something that I considered to be blatantly untrue in the manga. As far as I'm concerned, Gojo was constantly portrayed as caring deeply for his students, wanting to leave them a better world, and while I don't think he wanted to protect people the same way Itadori does, it's not like it's absent from his motivations either.

(The second panel is him asking about the people that got trapped in his domain expansion, while in Shibuya. This showed he was worried for their well-being. His decisions in Shibuya were also motivated by his decision to limit human losses.)

Geto essentially agrees with what Nanami is saying, which I think is intended to tell the audience that Nanami is right. That's who Gojo is, the person who knows him best even tells you that. Again, this feels very high school Gojo, without the decade of character development and of caring for kids that he has necessarily done since then. It's also telling us that Gojo fought Sukuna because he thought he would enjoy it, not for any sort of higher purpose (I do also hate the "I had fun" panel that comes earlier, in case you were wondering lol).

I also think that this removes any notion of responsibility which Gojo would have shouldered by choice, which I think contradicts other parts of the manga. Honestly, to me, Nanami's take here is so far removed from what I had received from the manga up until that point that it's kind of jarring.

As mentioned before, due to Geto's intervention, I don't think this can be interpreted as "just Nanami's opinion". Due to Gojo's lack of disagreeing and the fact that this chapter is his last, I do think it's intended as the 'true interpretation' for Gojo's character, by the author that is (is it going to stop me? No, but I think authorial intention is interesting to look at/try to find).

This one I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to, because considering Gojo's conversation with Nanami at this point, he could be talking about Nanami. If he is talking about himself (and I do think that is the case), I want to put it on the record that I also hate it! Again, Gojo not caring about the students he's leaving behind, to me, does not feel 'right' or in character, and they're not mentioned once save for that one throw-away line about Megumi.

I'll discuss this real quick before concluding: is it a dream? I don't think it's that important here. Regardless of whether that's Gojo's hallucination in his final moments or truly the afterlife/the antechamber before reincarnation, considering the position this half-chapter occupies in the story, I don't think it alters my reading of it.

With that being said, I'm leaning towards it not being a dream in part due to Nanami's line about Haibara, which echoes exactly what we saw when Nanami dies.

This line is for the audience in my opinion, not for Gojo.

So where does that leave us? Well, to me, the heart of it is what I said earlier: this feels like a goodbye to high school Gojo, not the one we see through most of the manga, and that was who I wanted to see, and the one who I believe deserved this farewell.

On top of that, for the most part, the characterization of Gojo as done by other characters borders on character assassination, in my completely personal and admittedly biased opinion. It's not at all what I would have wanted him to go out on. Leaves a very bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel silly for caring.

What a sad way to go.

I typically conclude these kinds of posts by saying that I'm happy to discuss what I've said if you disagree, however for this one, I hope I've made it clear that my issues lies with the disparity between my interpretation of Gojo and this scene, as well as just what I would have liked to see, and it's therefore very personal. I do think that if Gege wanted me to have this interpretation of Gojo he didn't do a good job of getting me there, but if you disagree and you liked this scene, you know, more power to you. I don't think that means you're wrong. I just had a bad time reading it and I wanted to talk about it. With all that said you can 100% disagree obviously, but I'm not looking for a debate.

[jackietaylorsghost]

I absolutely loved this episode of the last of us but it really emphasised how mean spirited tlou part 2 is and that it was heralded by people as such a masterpiece makes me feel violently depressed about what that says about the bleakness of life and this planet we live on. 

Never more than in this week’s episode have we seen so intimately Joel’s mental state. This is an addition in the show; the conversation between Joel and Tommy is very different in the game. We know Joel feels like that but it never says it so explicitly. And that’s a good thing. So much of who Joel is is shaped by his devastating loss. He has severe ptsd and trauma from not only losing Sarah, but the way he lost her. He wasn’t able to save her, he failed her, and that’s why Ellie terrifies him! Because he presumes he’s going to do the same thing again. He’s going to lose her. He even lists ways he’s already let her down. It’s made patently clear in the way he is with Ellie and things he says to her that this fear is because he cares about her. He tells her he does outright. And as he begins to care for her, we see his ptsd rearing its head in more obvious/physical ways. Makes sense, right? Loving someone, caring for them— that’s Joel’s trigger. But we also see something else. We see Joel talking. Jesus he’s barely talked this series so far in the way he does in episode 6. Most of the time his conversations have revolved around logistics and plans. Now he’s talking about dream jobs and football and his old life. And he’s smiling when he does it. He’s laughing. There’s so much contentment in him in his scenes with Ellie. This is what healing looks like. There are painful, heart stopping moments. But there’s also joy. When was the last time Joel felt joy, do you think? 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The Last of Us Part 1 is a love story at its very core. It’s about how love is where you find a reason to live even in dire times like an apocalypse. It’s about how things can seem so bleak but if you allow yourself to love, you CAN find pockets of joy. You can find hope. This is what Joel learns through Ellie. Love makes life worth living again. And, in fact, it saves you. There’s a reason we have a cutscene with Bill in the game in which he tells Joel that caring about someone only gets you killed. It’s not just a throwaway line as we traverse Bill’s Town with him. It’s a proper, cinematic cutscene. Bill tells Joel/us this, and then the narrative works the rest of the time to undermine it. Ellie’s love for Joel is what saves his life in winter. The things she does to keep him alive and safe are insane. It’s not just finding food and water for them both at 14 years old. She finds medicine. She uses herself as bait to keep David away from Joel. That’s nuts! And it’s because of love. Love is what helps Joel not get killed. It’s the same for Ellie later: because Joel loves her, he saves her life instead of letting her get killed. He sees her as a person of value, as a person whose life means something irrelevant of her immunity. He sees her as someone who deserves to live. Love literally saves her fucking life. And as well as all this, we see how love saves Joel and Ellie in every day ways. Ellie is no longer alone and scared. She has someone. Joel finds joy in life again. He pets giraffes and he laughs at stupid jokes and he talks and talks about a life he’s been burying for decades. Who is the only person he’ll accept Sarah’s photo back from? Ellie! ‘I’m taking a ride with my best friend.’ And they ARE best friends. This episode went to great and beautiful lengths to emphasise how broken and afraid Joel is, and how hard it is for him to show up for Ellie, but that he does because he cares for her. It goes to great lengths to show how Ellie is starting to affect a change in Joel; that she’s helping him overcome the grief that has lain stagnant in him for 20 years. It’s starting to show how they’re best friends. It was an exceptional episode. I loved every second of it. But when I think about part 2, I’m so stuck on how mean it all is and how it works against what they (bruce i see you pal) were telling us in part 1. 

In fact, it’s not just mean, it’s cruel - both to Joel and Ellie, and to the fans who love them and are attached to their journey and got something out of it. What’s interesting is considering Bill and Frank’s story and the changes that were made to it. I absolutely loved the episode but it’s difficult to completely ignore pinkwashing claims (if you care to look, there have been many complaints about the game and its overall treatment of lgbt+) when Bill is rewarded for doing the same as Joel: he protects his one person too. In doing so he hoards valuable resources that could be used to help thousands of people. In twenty years ordinary people just looking for safety will definitely have made their way to Bill’s Town  and been turned away. Bill’s refusal to turn his town into some sort of a functioning community like Jackson definitely killed people. But this is presented as a good thing. He’s protecting Frank. That’s his job. And he’s rewarded with so many happy years and a peaceful death in an apocalypse. There’s a reason that resonates with people more than Bill’s original story which is bleak and sad. He ends up alone. Frank dies hating him. To see instead that actually you can have joy and hope and love in a post apocalyptic world is meaningful to people. 

Joel and Ellie are not so lucky. Joel does the same as Bill. He picks Ellie. He does what he has to to protect her. He defends them both from hostile attackers. His refusal to let her be a lab rat prevents a cure (arguably) so people will die but he saves her life and gives her a life worth living, the same as Bill does for Frank. He isn’t rewarded for it. There’s no great love is so good message here. Unlike Bill, Joel is punished so horribly for years in the narrative through Ellie. She’s used as a pawn for the vehicle in which the narrative tells us Joel did something wrong and he deserves punishment. This hurts her too by the way: love has hurt her too. But the narrative has to punish Joel this way to really make sure we know he did something so terribly wrong, so for 2 years Ellie isn’t allowed to give Joel a proper chance to explain. He isn’t allowed to defend himself. And after these long painful years, Joel is then killed. But he’s not just killed. It’s so brutal. It’s long. It’s painful. And Ellie is there to watch, to be held down on floor level so he’s all she can see as he’s killed, and she’s begging him to get up. Bill’s stance and actions are presented as a good thing. He’s the hero who saves Frank and allows him to live a good life. He gets a hero’s story. Joel, on the other hand, is a villain for doing the same thing. He dies a villain’s death.

Ultimately, Bill is right, despite what part 1 appears to be telling you (that’s part of why I hate 2 SO much, it’s so contrary to the themes and messages of 1). Love does get you killed. If Joel didn’t love Ellie he wouldn’t have saved her and he wouldn’t be dead now. Love will make you soft and stupid. You’ll run into rooms of armed strangers without concern after 20 years of being constantly on guard, or at least that was Neil’s explanation as to why Joel would get himself into a situation that was so out of character for him. If you love someone you will be punished for it. They’ll stop speaking to you because you loved them and because of that love knew you had a life of value that was worth living and not because of immunity. They won’t even give you a chance to explain, after all the ways love drove you to keep each other safe and alive. If you love someone you’ll be brutally tortured and murdered and you’ll deserve it. You will be constantly punished and criticised and villainised for that love. Literally, love makes you a villain. You will suffer because of love, you will lose everything. What’s the message here???? What on earth were Neil and Halley trying to say (sos bruce we miss you)???? That healing from your trauma will get you killed? Will get you punished? That Joel should have stayed broken in the QZ? Because if he’d done that, he’d have been better off than his ultimate fate. He wouldn’t have lost a daughter again and he wouldn’t have been beaten to death slowly and died quite likely thinking Ellie’s going to be killed after him so he’s let another daughter die, and he’d probably still have Tess. 

Joel, through Ellie and overcoming immense fear and ptsd in order to love her, heals from his trauma, he’s finally able to deal with his grief and move on. He, after twenty years of rejecting it because it caused so much fucking pain, loves again! He truly loves! Then it first hurts him again, and then it kills him. Love is good, love is necessary they told us in part 1. But in part 2 they tell us it WILL get you killed though. And that’s so fucking miserable.

[cocoswriting]

lee wilbur, ler techno? maybe smth where wilbur’s being chaotic so techno takes him down a peg? you dont have to tho— /gen

Chaotic Mf

Summary; Basically what the ask says; Wilbur was being chaotic/creepy and needed to be taken down a peg. [PLATONIC. DO NOT TAG AS SHIP.]

Warning(s); This is a tickle fic! If you don’t like that kind of stuff, then I recommend you just scroll past.

“You put ecosystems in jars?..”

“Yeah,” Wilbur responded casually, laying upside-down on the couch opposite Techno. He had his legs curled over the back of the couch and his head was dangling off the edge—it was a wonder how he hadn’t gotten uncomfortable enough to shift positions yet. Wilbur seemed to have a strange habit of never sitting correctly when he was in one of his “chaotic” moods, always finding some weird way to rest instead. “I go out and collect mud, rocks, soil, and I put them inside the jar.” he explained, and Techno scrunched up his face both in confusion and mild disgust.

“And... this is a normal thing?” Techno asked disbelievingly, flipping a page in the book he had in his hands, though it wasn’t as if he was paying much attention to the text anymore. Wilbur nodded happily from across the room, grinning as he opened his mouth to continue explaining, only to get cut off by Techno. “Wil, I don’t really care. I’m tryn’ to read right now.”

Wilbur huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting in fake dismay and staring at Techno almost expectantly, even though the piglin was very clearly no longer looking at him. “Well, you should care,” the brunet replied with a sassy tone of voice, sounding akin to an annoyed child. “I swear I’m not the only one who does this! Ranboo does it too, or at least he did...”

“Ranboo did that—?... No, Wilbur, really, just talk about literally anythin’ else. I do not care about your jar ecosystems,” Techno was already used to dealing with Wilbur’s chaotic moods. They’d come in at random times, last a couple hours, and then eventually he’d lose all the excess energy he had and go back to “normal.” So it wasn’t as if he actually expected Wil to stop when he was told to—Techno knew he wouldn’t—but he figured he might as well try to change the topic that Wilbur would ramble on about. Honestly, Techno just wanted to read his book. “Can’t you bother someone else? It isn’t that late, Phil and Tommy are still up.”

Wilbur let out a loud, dramatic sigh followed by a shake of his head and a couple tutting sounds. “You’re no fun,” his tone was playful, indicative of the grin that was on his face, despite his words suggesting otherwise. “But fine! I’ll talk about something else.” Wilbur rolled himself over on the couch, sitting upright and then standing up to make his way over to the man sitting across from him. Techno tore his eyes away from the book and glanced up when he realised Wilbur had approached, raising an eyebrow and glaring half-heartedly at the musician.

“What?” Techno’s voice sounded tired, more tired than usual, but bore no real malice as he impatiently awaited Wilbur’s response.

“Have you ever seen Doctor Who?”

“Oh my god,” Techno looked down and rubbed his temples, dropping the book beside him and running one of his hands through his hair, groaning loudly. He heard Wilbur’s shrill laugh at his reaction, which was shortly followed by the sound of shuffling as he sat down next to the piglin and crossed his legs, seemingly prepping himself to start telling whatever story he wanted to tell Techno about. “Please.”

“I already told Phil about this one,” Wilbur began, biting back another laugh at Techno’s long sigh which came straight after. “So, there are these things called ‘weeping angels—!” Wil was quickly cut off by a rough jab to his side. He managed to force back any verbal reactions he might have given to the sudden electric tingly feeling that spread all throughout his side, but he couldn’t conceal the very obvious flinch and curling of his lips.

“You good?” Techno asked, having removed his hands from his face to shoot his brother a concerned glance. Wilbur felt heat rush to his face, but he couldn’t tell whether he’d paled, or gone red. “Did you...” He shifted closer to the brunet, cocking his head to one side. “You flinched,” The elder stated quite obviously, expression a mixture of curiosity and interest.

“You caught me off-guard,” Wilbur quickly stammered out, a sheepish half-smile spreading over his face. Techno frowned—and it was clear from just that gesture that he wasn’t buying it.

Techno placed one hand on his side and left it there, unmoving. Wilbur didn’t flinch that time, but he wanted to, his flustered state having raised his hypersensitivity to the point where he wanted to squirm even just imagining that Techno might find out. “I was just tryin’ to shut you up, you needa’ tell me what happened or I’ll assume that you’re hurt,” Techno said, beginning to slowly rub two(2) fingers in small circles on Wilbur’s side. The last part of his sentence came off as more of a threat to his brother—he didn’t want to worry Techno, but at the same time, getting found out like this would be so embarrassing.

“I-I’m not—“ Wilbur was cut off by a quiet gasp, but not quiet enough for Techno to let slip. One of Techno’s ears twitched at the sound and he made a gruff huffing noise, now reaching down to tug up the hem of his brother’s sweater, exposing the bottom half of his side. “Hey, I’m not hurt, okAY—!” Techno, being the oblivious bastard he was, began to rub gentle circles on Wilbur’s bare side, which elicited a comical noise sounding like a mix between a squeal and a yelp from the man. As Wil managed to squirm away from the tingles, butterflies erupted in his belly when he thought; there’s no getting out of this now.

Silence filled the room for a couple seconds, the gears turning in Techno’s head before it finally clicked, and he couldn’t help the smug expression that formed on his face when he realised what Wilbur had been trying to hide. “You’re ticklish,” he emphasised the ‘T-word’, causing Wilbur’s face to heat up even more, and the fact that Techno’s hand still remained hovering just ever-so-slightly above his side, was not helping. “How come I didn’t know this before? You keepin’ secrets from me, hm?” Techno shoved both of his hands up Wilbur’s shirt and gently ran his nails up and down his skin, eliciting a few snickers along with squeaks and he tried to muffle his giggles.

Wilbur frantically shook his head ‘no’ and looked down, his hair falling in front of his face and (thankfully) hiding his bright pink cheeks. Tingles and shockwaves of tickly sensations shot up his sides, the feeling only increasing the longer Techno’s fingers lingered in the same spot. “Well— you’re definitely much quieter now,” Techno remarked, and Wilbur opened his mouth to give a sassy response, only for a loud squeak to come out instead as the gliding nails began to gently scratch at each side of his back. He arched forward but shifted backwards, resting his back against the armrest and laying down. Wil had hoped this would quell the sensations at least a little, but it only made them worse, the little scratches becoming rougher as Techno’s fingers got trapped. “This seems like a good way to take you down a peg whenever you’re in one of your ‘chaotic’ moods.”

“N-no—hohahahaa!” As Techno moved his hands up to Wilbur’s ribs, he couldn’t hold it back anymore. High-pitched giggles flooded from Wilbur’s lips as he wriggled and squirmed, throwing his head back as his hands switched between trying to protect the targeted spots and trying to push Techno away. It wasn’t exactly working out for him, and eventually he just curled up, hoping to drown out the tickles somehow. It only got worse once he felt Techno begin to drill his thumbs into the spaces between each of the bones. “NOHO! DOHohon’t dohoho thahahat, plehehehahase!”

As Techno gazed down at the giggling boy, he’d be lying if he said his heart didn’t melt at the sight of his bright, carefree smile. “Why not?~” His tone of voice was still deadpan, but it had a sing-songy edge to it this time. If Wilbur had the guts to muster up insults at the time, he would’ve called him every name in the book just as revenge for the horrible teases. “Does it tickle too much? Surely you can’t be that ticklish, right?~” Every time the T-word was mentioned Wilbur felt the pit in his stomach fill with more butterflies, and his blush began to slowly spread out to his neck and ears. “It’s your own fault for bein’ annoyin’.”

“Ihihihi wahahasn’t beheheing ahahannoying!” Wilbur insisted, his giggles slowly increasing as Techno’s fingers danced their way up his ribs, heading for his armpits. But before they could reach the spot, he instinctively slammed his arms down to protect himself, blocking the offending hands just in time. It seemed that Techno took this defensive action as provoking, because his immediate response to that was to sigh disappointedly and start skittering around Wil’s neck and shoulders, causing him to scrunch up like a turtle and begin to wriggle side-to-side in a weak attempt at escaping the tickles. “Nohohoho! Fuhuhuahahack ohohoff— yohohou’re sohoho mehehehehahan!”

“Mean? This isn’t mean,” Wilbur could hardly make out Techno’s words anymore, considering he was much more focused on the shocks of tickles and his own embarrassment. But once he heard those words leave his brother’s lips, he couldn’t help but start squirming even harder on top of squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn’t process what the words meant in his state—but he’s heard that tone before. And that tone means ‘you fucked up’. “You wanna see mean?” Techno asked rhetorically and Wilbur began frantically shaking his head, letting out giggly little “nononono”s as he tensed, prepping himself for the inevitable attack that would come next.

“AAAHAA!” Wilbur shrieked as he felt Techno’s lips make contact with his tummy, quickly followed by an explosion of tickles as he blew a raspberry, shaking his head during it to make it even worse. Wil bucked, cackled and squealed, only for his hips to get held down and mercilessly drilled into by two(2) of Techno’s fingers. All of his nerves felt like they were on fire, and he felt everything—every last pinch to his hips, every raspberry that was blown, and it was almost too much for him to handle. But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t loving it. “NAHAHAHAAA! TEHEHEHAHAHAHA—!”

Even after Techno ceased the raspberries, he still seemed fully intent on being as merciless as possible. He continued to drill right into the dip of Wilbur’s hipbone, using his other hand to rapidly squeeze his tummy, never letting up and never slowing down. Wilbur had completely given up on trying to fight back, his arms were too tired for that now and he knew it was no use, so instead he began using his hands to cover his bright pink face with. “Oh, poor Wilbur,” Techno began, a very obviously feigned sympathetic tone in his voice. “Being tickled is just such a hard job.”

“SHUHUAHAHAT UHUHUHUP!” Wilbur forced out through his hysterics, helplessly rolling his torso back and forth, attempting to focus his attention on literally anything else other than the tickles he was receiving. He couldn’t decide if he loved or hated it—it was unbearable and maddening, he felt like he was being driven up a wall, but at the same time he had to admit that he was having fun. He was soaking up all the attention like a sponge. It didn’t take much longer before his laughter became wheezy and strained, though, and he’d decided he had enough. “O-OHOHOKAHAY! STOHOHAHAHAHAP, THAHAHAHAT’S ENOHOHOHOUGH—!”

Techno listened straight away, ceasing the tickles and backing away as Wilbur curled in on himself, hugging his midsection while trying to rid of the after-tingles that still remained. “You alright?.. was it too much?” Techno asked, reaching over to deliver a couple, comforting pats to Wilbur’s head. He would’ve leaned away if it weren’t for how exhausted he was from all his laughter. “...sorry,”

“N-noho, noho... it,” Wilbur knew he should be careful with his choice of words there. He didn’t want to give away how much he’d actually enjoyed himself, but at the same time, he was well aware he’d likely given that fact away while being tickled. He supposed there was no point in lying—especially if it would risk making Techno worry over nothing. “...wahas nice.”

There was no response for a couple seconds, but then the silence was interrupted by a snort coming from Techno, and Wilbur instantly knew what he would have found amusing. But as Techno gently ran his fingers through his hair, practically soothing Wilbur to sleep, he found he didn’t care as much as he did before.

They should do this again sometime.

[fullmetalscullyy]

Yes soft Royai!!!!

Can you write: and only one pillow, so A used B's chest or stomach

(I truly cannot even decide which version I like better slakdfjsdlk;f)

dsafsgd i loooooove that prompt tysm for sending it!! i hope you enjoy! <3

send me a prompt

rated: t | words: 2258  | tags: royai, there was only one bed, fluff, waking together, cuddling, royai banter

read on ao3

“Take the pillow.”

“No, it’s all right. I can use my jacket –”

“Take the pillow.”

“Sir, no, it’s okay –”

Riza watches as the Colonel sighs heavily, and she knows he’s resisting the urge to look heavenward or throw his arms up in the air in frustration. He wouldn’t need to if he’d stop being so stubborn and just take the damn pillow.

“You’re not sleeping on a jacket when there’s a perfectly good pillow right there.” He glares at her, but there is nothing malicious behind his eyes. Just a fire that equals her own.

“What are you going to use,” Riza counters accusingly, “because then you will be left with nothing to sleep on.”

He just huffs, having no answer for her. Silence ensues, descending upon the room as they glare at one another, neither backing down.

Riza’s shoulders slowly start to relax after a few moments, and she sighs.

The Colonel’s do the same and he averts his gaze momentarily before glancing back at her, a small smile on his face. The fire in his eyes is gone for now. “Truce?”

She rolls her eyes at him, but she still smiles at his antics.

“This is a ridiculous thing to be arguing about,” he chuckles.

“I know,” Riza relents.

“It would help if you weren’t so stubborn.” There’s a twinkle of mischief in his eye, letting her know he is just teasing her.

“The same can be said for you.”

He sticks his tongue out at her.

“We can share it,” the Colonel offers. “It’s…” His smile turns sheepish, and he looks uncertain of himself. “It’s not ideal, I know. And only of you’re comfortable with it, of course,” he adds quickly for reassurance. “I know it’s hardly appropriate for us to share.”

As if she’d ever be uncomfortable sharing a bed with him, but Riza still appreciates his thoughtfulness and the offer.

Always the gentleman.

“It would prevent further argument,” she muses.

“It would,” he agrees with a smirk.

“Then I think it’s worth going ahead with it, sir.”

“Of course,” he replies smoothly. “For team morale, we really should.”

Riza smirks at their banter and shakes her head fondly. She reaches into her bag and extracts the pyjamas she’d packed for their trip.

It’s not good professionally, however they don’t have much of a choice, aside from deciding which one of them would sleep on the bed and who would get the floor. They’d already argued about who would take a simple pillow, so that argument would end up being much longer and grander than their previous one.

The bed is small and is the only one in the room. The sheet looks thin and not very warm, and there is one, single pillow on the bed. The room is sparsely furnished, but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Riza was hoping there would at least be a cushion from a chair they’d be able to use after they discovered their sleeping predicament, but the single chair was wooden and bare of any form of comfort. Much like the rest of the room.

This was the last time Riza would let the Colonel book their accommodation for a trip.

He walked into the bathroom of their hotel room to change. She doesn’t know why he felt the need to change in there but leaves him to it and doesn’t question it. They are both above and beyond that. If that’s what he wants or needs to do to try and keep some semblance of a barrier between them, then so be it. It’s understandable. They will already be sleeping in the same bed that night, so perhaps its an effort to try and salvage some professionalism before they willingly choose to careen wildly away from it.

It’s a tight squeeze in the bed, which Riza thinks Roy looks far too happy about.

“There’s not a lot of room, is there?” To emphasise his point, his head rolls and slips off the pillow and onto the mattress. He tuts to himself quietly.

Riza rolls her eyes. “Come here,” she insists. She places a hand on the back of his neck after he cranes it up to look at her and guides it over. She rests his head on her collarbone and Roy stills. She can hear him swallow and Riza has an inkling of what may be going through his mind.

They’d been close like this before for years, so she has no qualms with the current position of his head. It’s almost frightening how easy it is to give in, but Riza doesn’t dwell on it. She’s tired, they’re both adults, and they’ve already dived headfirst into impropriety. What is one more occurrence at this point, while he’s mostly curled up against her body as they share a bed?

“How thoughtful of you, Lieutenant.” He sounds surprised, all teasing and jokes gone from his tone.

“It’s only because I don’t want your head rolling backwards and smacking off the wall behind you in your sleep.”

He pouts.

“I don’t want to have to deal with you having a concussion.”

“Fair point. Oh, what a shame,” he sighs as he eagerly drapes his arm across her waist. He grips on tightly and it makes a warmth spread through Riza’s entire body. “I’ll just have to hold on tight to make sure I don’t hurt my head.” He makes it sound like it’s a hardship, but the glee in his expression tells another story. “If there’s only one pillow then I’ll just have to use you instead, Lieutenant.”

He’s definitely far too happy about their predicament. Riza is tempted to narrow her eyes at him because he’d booked the accommodation. He’d handled it all. She wondered if somehow he’d managed to do this on purpose.

Riza really wouldn’t put it passed him.

“Now, no funny business through the night, Miss Hawkeye,” he adds as he burrows into her. His head finds a comfortable position in the crook of her neck. His breath tickles the skin on show and heats it considerably. Roy shuffles closer so he’s pressed up against her side and hooks his leg across both of hers. He clings onto her like a spider monkey, as if he would fall off the bed if he didn’t, despite being against the wall and there being zero risk of that happening.

Riza is really starting to think he did this on purpose.

She snorts. “Well, you certainly don’t need to worry about that,” she assures him wholeheartedly.

“Ouch,” he laughs.

Not that she’d complain, really, because this feels incredibly wonderful, and her heart is doing summersaults inside her chest. While Roy’s joy was obvious on his face, hers is present too, she’s just better at hiding it. She always has been.

“Go to sleep, Roy,” she commands lightly. Her stomach flips at the thought they’re falling asleep against one another and takes a moment longer to relish in how he’s holding her and how close they are.

“Goodnight, Riza,” he murmurs quietly.

A smile slowly spreads across her face as she feels him press a kiss to the bare skin beneath her collarbone.

When Riza wakes in the morning she’s on her side looking out into the hotel room. Roy’s arm is tight around her waist, and she’s been drawn into his chest. His head rests almost atop hers, but the weight is not crushing or uncomfortable. He certainly didn’t need to lie almost on top of her – the pillow was not that small in size – but they’re even closer now than they had been before falling asleep and a thrill flies through Riza at the thought.

His other hand has snaked underneath her neck so she’s almost lying on his bicep. Both of their hands are joined atop the pillow in front of her face, fingers entwined tightly together.

Even in sleep they’d instinctively found each other.

It’s the best night sleep Riza’s had in a long time.

“Good morning,” he hums against her. He’s been awake for a while, she thinks, simply enjoying holding her. Really enjoying it. Riza can tell without asking him.

“I thought you said no funny business,” Riza remarks tiredly, but she doesn’t particularly mind. Not when this is the most comfortable and at peace she’s felt in a long time.

Behind her, Roy hums quietly in her ear but doesn’t answer. He simply buries his face deeper into the crook of her neck and presses a kiss against her skin. “I don’t recall promising no funny business.”

That’s a good point, Riza thinks, he did only direct his playful comment towards her, however the thought soon disappears because Roy continues to press kisses against her throat, making her sigh instead. He moves slowly down to her shoulder, taking his time to pepper her skin with as many kisses as possible. The arm that had been wrapped tightly around her waist moves away and while she mourns the security and comfort of his hold, she gets to revel in how his palm comes to rest upon her shoulder. He doesn’t grip on, his touch is gentle and comfortable, and he uses it to steady himself as he leans forward to kiss her cheek.

Riza rolls over and can’t help but smile up at him. On one side of his head his hair is sticking up in every direction. There’s a silly, happy smile on his face, making him look years younger than he is, and Riza finds it’s a look she could get used to – Roy, smiling down at her in the morning after they wake up together.

It will never come to pass but experiencing it just this once is enough for Riza. It’s a moment she knows she will cherish for the rest of her life.

“Only having one pillow ended up working out for the best,” he quipped.

Riza lifted an eyebrow at him. “I’m not sure I approve. I was lead to believe this is wildly inappropriate for us, sir.”

She notes how he swallows after she uses his honorific. The look in his eye changes, a new emotion flashing through him. “I don’t care,” Roy murmurs as he leans down. His lips brush against hers, making Riza’s eyes flutter closed. He pulls away too quickly for Riza though, and she lifts her hand to the back of his head, drawing him back for a longer, lingering kiss. She can feel him smiling against her lips.

“I thought you were opposed to this, that it was wildly inappropriate?” He’s teasing her, stealing another kiss.

“Roy?”

Riza pulls away abruptly and he blinks at her, mild concern on his face as he waits for her to continue.

“Shut up.”

He breaks out into a grin and snorts loudly. “Duly noted.”

“Plus, you started this,” she accuses lightly, “I’m simply finishing it.”

“Oh?” Roy pulls away this time, and Riza didn’t think it was possible, but his grin is even wider as excitement overtakes his features. “I’m not sure I did. I think we’re both guilty of it, but do tell how you intend to finish this, Miss Hawkeye?” He can barely contain his delight.

“Stop talking and maybe you’ll find out.”

He actually pretends to zip his mouth closed and throw away the key. Riza can’t stop the laugh that bubbles inside her chest and escapes. It makes him smile and he wraps his arms around her tightly as she cups his face, pulling him back down onto the bed to join her.

After they break apart from a rather passionate embrace, Roy gazes down at her. His eyes roam across her face and Riza watches as they do so, content to look at him. One of his hands lifts to brush a stray hair from her cheek and he tucks it tenderly behind her ear. His fingers trace a line from her scalp to her chin as his expression softens, and so does his smile.

“I would do anything for you, my love.”

The sentiment is unexpected. It catches Riza off guard, but not unpleasantly. It causes her love for him to suddenly surge within her chest. It’s always present, every day, but their night together has caused a resurgence in feelings she has learned to bury in her day-to-day life. Despite how dangerous they are, she lets herself feel them. She embraces it because she wants to. Because she needs to every now and again. With the way he’s currently looking at her, with so much affection and adoration, there’s no way Riza can resist anyway. It makes her impulsive and she gently tugs him back down to her, pausing when there are only centimetres between them. Just enough space so she can still look into his eyes.

“I love you,” she breathes.

His head tips forward so his forehead comes to rest against hers. “You are my life,” he replies, almost overwhelming her. Tears creep into her eyelids, but do not fall. “I love you with my whole heart, Riza Hawkeye, and I have done so for years.”

She laughs, almost choking on the emotions brewing pleasantly within her. She cracks a smile, stroking the skin of his cheek lovingly with her thumb. He turns his head, pressing a kiss against the inside of her wrist.

“As have I. That will never change.”

Her words light up his entire face, painting his features with pure elation.

Only having one pillow really did end up working out for the best.

[yoonjinkooked]

CHEMISTRY | JHS (3)

PART 3 - ONE KISS

(pls ignore my old URL, i’m too lazy to change it now RIP)

DRABBLE SERIES, TONS OF SHORT LITTLE CHAPTERS.

SERIES MASTERLIST Pairing: Hoseok / Reader

Rating: 18+

Genre: FWB, university AU, smut (a bit of a slowburn)

Warnings: cursing, alcohol, hot Hoseok who knows what he wants, kissing (is that a warning), the deal is almost made, JK has a bad music taste (not really tho)

Word Count: 5k

Summary: After a few years of being immune to Jung Hoseok’s charms, you suddenly fall into them, head first. All it takes is one night, too much alcohol and a lot of balls. 

A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts since OCTOBER and i finally edited it today because I can’t f-ing get Jung Hoseok out of my head. Sigh. Let me know what you think! I’m balancing this story with others and I hope I’ll have an update for you soon! 

As the days passed one by one you knew that the luxury of avoiding Hoseok is going to escape your grasp soon. Frankly, it’s a miracle you’ve been able to avoid him as long as you have and with Yoongi’s birthday this weekend, you know your lucky streak will break soon.

You didn’t expect it to break before that, not really. But here you were, minding your own business, studying on campus in a makeshift picnic setting and taking in the first proper rays of sunshine of the year, when he popped up from the tree behind you, very clearly cornering you.

And scaring the living daylights out of you too, as you end up clutching your chest and cursing at him while he laughed his ass off at the sight of you freaked out. “You nearly killed me, you idiot. Was it worth it?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” he laughs as he plops down on the grass next to you, completely casual, as if nothing between you has changed. To be fair, perhaps it hasn’t, in his eyes. “Let’s be honest here Y/N, I had to ambush you. You’ve been avoiding me for days,” he emphasises and although you wish you could call him out for being overly dramatic, you couldn’t. Leave it to Jung Hoseok to not beat around the bush and call you out directly. 

“It wasn’t that bad,” you mumble, not even bothering to try and deny. That makes him laugh, a sound that sounds so misplaced in your current setting. It feels wrong to openly discuss the awkwardness that has formed between you while he is literally laughing at it.

“You ran out of the cafeteria the other day so fast, Namjoon is still calling you Speedy Gonzales,” he jokes, laughing harder when you curse that traitor under your breath. At least he is joking around with you. You wish he would ignore it altogether, but it could be worse.

“I’m sorry,” you let out a groan, consciously avoiding making direct eye contact with him. “You know I can get awkward like this. It’s not your fault, it’s… all me.”

“Y/N, come on,” he leans closer to you and nudges your shoulder with his. “It’s me you’re talking to. There’s not a single reason to avoid me. We are both consensual adults who wanted to make out at a party. It’s as simple as that.”

This time, you turn and give him a good look, unsurprised to find a content smile on his face. He is bright and positive just like he always is, to the point of it being both annoying and overbearing at times. He has always been a great friend but there were times when his positivity and energy were too much for a grumpy ol’ potato of a person that you are 24/7. Now, however, you are glad for it. Unlike you, he obviously wasn’t beating himself too much about what had happened between you.

“So, what you’re saying is that you’re not feeling awkward and I shouldn’t either?” you ask.

“Exactly,” he shrugs. “You are… one hell of a kisser,” his eyes widen in a way that makes it seem like he is shocked by how good of a kisser you are.

“Hoseok, please,” you hiss at him, not even caring if he was telling you the truth or lying to spare your confidence. You are embarrassed and he knows it well.

“I mean it!” he laughs, amused by your sudden shyness – it’s a side of you your friends are not used to seeing, simply because you don’t normally do shit you’re ashamed of, at least not when they are directly involved. And if you do, more often than not, you own up to your bullshit. You’ve had your fair share of moments that would normally be counted as humiliating, only to brush them off casually and move on with your life. Not this one, though.

“You need to stop,” you laugh awkwardly, hoping that this conversation will simply end. “I was drunk, I came onto you way too strong and I am pretty sure I used way too much tongue.”

“If you think that I didn’t find it hot how confident you were that night, I’m afraid you don’t know me well,” he bites back. You are instantly shocked, not imagining him taking the conversation in that direction and also shocked by the nature of his admission too - Hoseok always struck you as more of a hunter than prey. You didn’t exactly keep track of his hook-ups but you were fairly sure that he was the one who initiated them more often than not. “And for the record, it was the perfect amount of tongue.”

Oh good lord. If you knew he would say the things he is saying, you would have tried desperately to avoid him for… well, the rest of your life, really.

“Please stop before I dig a hole for myself, right here, right now.”

“Why are you acting so shy about this Y/N?” he is laughing, once again nudging you with your shoulder, which only makes it more obvious to you how close you are sitting next to each other. Before, you wouldn’t bat an eye. Now, it’s driving you mad. “You know me, I don’t bite. Not unless you want me to, that is,” he adds cheekily.

“Oh, I noticed, my neck had a lovely little souvenir,” you reply before you could realize what you were even saying. There’s no way he’ll let it go now and the worst part is, you don’t even want him to. You’re saying that you do but in reality, you yourself are finding ways to deepen the conversation. This whole thing is crazy and… wrong! “Why are you making it sound like you want to do it again?” you whine, wishing he would just be up for forgetting about it.

“Well… I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

You turn your head towards him so fast, you strain your neck and wince in pain, reaching at it with your hand. “Are you okay?” he asks, wide-eyed and worried, as he watches you rub your neck and grimace in pain.

“Am I okay? Are you okay?” you counter, completely floored by the words that left his mouth seconds ago. You have avoided him because you’re an awkward idiot, not because you thought that he’d be up for a re-run. “Did you just suggest what I think you suggested?”

“To be fair, I didn’t suggest it, I simply said that I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” he shrugs.

“Hoseok,” you glare at him, making him laugh. Even now, he laughs.

“I mean… why not?” he shrugs casually and all you can do is stare and blink dumbly at him, reminding yourself that you’re supposed to breathe, too. “If that party showed us anything, it’s that we definitely have chemistry that… goes beyond friendship. I’m not looking for anything serious and as far as I know, you aren’t either,” he continues and after a few seconds of silence, you realize that he’s waiting for some sort of a response from you. Unsure of what to say, you simply nod your head - after all, it is true. You are not looking for a relationship, not after the last two ended in tears and you drowned in vodka and chocolate ice cream. “Why not… take advantage of the opportunity?”

“I’m gonna need you to elaborate on what that opportunity is,” you’re not sure why you are even asking him that, when you know damn well what he is implying. You suppose that it would settle the last remains of doubt if you were to hear him say it more directly.

“Two single, and if I may add, incredibly good looking, friends who want, or in our case, don’t want the same things,” he cocks his head to the side, a small smile on his face. He looks way too cute for someone who is suggesting you sex with no added obligations. If you are not terribly mistaken and he has something else entirely on his mind. “Why not take advantage of the situation? And the chemistry - holy hell Y/N, you know we have it.”

He’s… absolutely right. Despite being drunk, you can clearly remember how… feverish you felt that night. You just wanted to keep kissing him, annoyed when you had to part for one second to simply breathe. If you had one more drink in you or if there had been fewer people around you, you’re not sure if the night would end with the two of you fully clothed. You have amazing chemistry as friends and you felt the sexual side of it that night. It would be stupid to deny it when you know well how rare it is to simply click with someone in the manner that the two of you had clicked that night.

“We do… but we’re also friends. And you know how shitty deals like these can end,” you point out the obvious. There are millions of books and movies about how ‘friends with benefits’ is a horrible, terrible idea because there’s an incredibly high chance of it ending in tears. “One of us could end up taking that chemistry to the next level and catch feelings. I’m not good in chemistry – I’m an art history major for a reason,” you joke, relieved when it actually makes him chuckle.

“That’s a good point. But we’re also really good friends, Y/N. We know each other well and we talk. If it would become too much for one of us, we could simply… talk. And I’m not suggesting anything… specific. I’m not here saying we should hook up until one of us decides they want to move on,” he tells you.

“Dude, you’re confusing as fuck,” you sigh, laughing along with him. “What are you suggesting then?”

“I’m just saying,” he grunts as he stands up, pausing to wipe down his jeans, while you make a conscious effort of not looking down because... thighs. “The next time you’re drunk, horny or bored, or even all of the above, you know where to find me.”

He looks down at you, the smile gracing his face slowly turning into the tiniest of smirks, before he gives you a wink. And with that, he simply turns around and walks away, leaving you with your mouth open, looking like a complete idiot while you try to figure out what the fuck just happened.

Nah, you know damn well what just happened. You have enough dating and flirting escapades behind you to recognize the look of someone who’d be happy to fuck you. The particular someone being Jung Hoseok is what is leaving you absolutely shocked and at a loss for words. As honored as you are and as much as the offer is… incredibly tempting, this is not something you can decide on the spot.

No, because you’re a dumbass. Of course you can’t decide this on the spot but you could decide in a matter of seconds that you want to stick your tongue down his throat and let him grab your ass while you grind on him as if your life depended on it. You weren’t expecting this turn of events and unsurprisingly, you have no idea what you should do about it. It’s tempting, in all the wrong ways, but it is also making alarm bells in your head go off. It could easily end in tears - the real question is, would it be worth it?

It took three full songs for you to start wondering if you have stepped through a time machine when you’ve entered Seokjin’s house. How Jungkook managed to convince Yoongi to let him DJ at his birthday party was a mystery that you at first ignored, but by the time he played that one Nicole Scherzinger and 50 Cent song, you’ve decided to investigate. “How much did you pay him to let you DJ?” you laugh at your friend, who looks up at you and grins, dancing in place with his trusty neon green Beats around his neck.

“Come here baby, hey be my baby, hey be my baby,” he sings at you, making you roll your eyes.

“Fuck Jungkook, please don’t drop out of school, you need that degree more than you know,” you say as you offer a comforting pat on his back.

“For your information, the theme of the party is ‘guilty pleasure’,” he announces with a proud smile. “And Nicole just so happens to be mine.”

“You and me both,” you admit with a huff, turning around to scan the room in the search of Jin - you’ve been looking for him for the past couple of minutes, with no luck. “Did you see Seokjin? He went to make me a drink with the gin from his expensive stash, but it’s been like…  half an hour?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods, pointing behind you. “He’s right there with Hobi.”

Those were the only words you needed to hear in order to know what you must do next – hide. You did not bother checking, you did not look back – you simply dropped down to the ground and plopped your ass right next to Jungkook’s feet. “Y/N, what the hell are you doing?” your friend laughs, looking down at you in disbelief. “Are you still hiding from Hobi?”

“No, I’m sitting here because the view of your thighs is nice,” you roll your eyes. “Of course I’m hiding from Hobi! I’m not mentally prepared to deal with him right now. Although, you do have weirdly muscular thighs,” you add absentmindedly - what is it with them and thighs? First Hoseok, now him - do they only do leg days when they hit the gym?

“Stop,” Jungkook laughs down at you. “Are you seriously planning on running from him forever?”

“Not forever,” you shrug casually. “Until the end of the year, maybe.”

“I mean, I can’t stop you… but you do realize that if he finds you here, it’s going to look like you were giving me a blowjob or something?” he pointed out, eliciting another casual shrug from you.

“Good. He’ll think I’m busy and leave me alone,” you offer Jungkook an angelic smile. He knows better than to push you – when you want to, you can be stubborn as all hell and sadly, Jungkook’s has plenty of experience with being on the receiving end of said stubbornness.

You know what he’s thinking – you can tell from the way he shakes his head and decides to ignore your presence by his feet while he focuses his attention to that god-awful playlist of his – you know exactly what he’s thinking and he has a point. You’re pathetic. A coward. An idiot.

You have shamelessly lied to yourself earlier tonight, as you were getting ready for the party. You’ve told yourself, repeatedly, that you are ready to face Jung Hoseok, despite not knowing what your answer is to his suggestion from a few days ago. You have convinced yourself that you were ready to face him. Seeing as you're hiding behind a damn desk, just meters away from him, it’s pretty obvious that you are not.

He hasn’t left your head in days, to the point of even appearing in your dreams, even if he was just on the sidelines. For years, you have been blind to all the gifts Jung Hoseok has to give, and now they’re slapping you in the face all day long.

You want him, that much you’re ready to admit. Definitely to yourself, perhaps even to him. But are you willing to put an entire friendship on the line and go through with that desire? That’s not a question you know the answer to. For the time being, you will just… keep on hiding behind the makeshift DJ booth, until Jungkook informs you that the coast is clear.

“We’re drinking that whiskey tomorrow, got it?” Yoongi asks, referring to the birthday gift you’ve given him earlier, which he had to hide in one of Seokjin’s spare bedrooms, given that the house is full of people who’d drink anything that’d fall into their hands. “You and me, tomorrow night, drinking back at my place. Let’s make it fancy. Wear a beret or something.”

“Why would I wear a beret while drinking whiskey?” you laugh in confusion. “What’s the correlation?”

“Both are fancy,” Yoongi shrugs and after a few seconds, so do you. If he wants to drink expensive whiskey whilst wearing a beret, that’s what you’re going to do. Having a drink or two with Yoongi, in almost complete silence, has become sort of a tradition for the two of you. Compared to the rest of your friend group, you and Yoongi are the quieter, less social ones. How you wound up in a circle of friends that include permanent hyper bunny Jungkook and Mr. Loudest-Laugh-Ever Jin was beyond you.

“Can I join?” you hear Joon’s booming voice. He approaches the two of you, throwing a hand around your shoulder. Glaring, you grab a hold of his hand and move it away from you, watching as Yoongi laughs in confusion at your open hostility towards Namjoon.

“Not you,” you point a finger at him accusingly. “I’m still pissed at you. You haven’t gotten to your redemption ark yet.”

“What did you do now?” Yoongi sighs, looking at Namjoon as if you were not in the middle of the conversation with him.

“I teased her about hiding from Hobi,” Namjoon announces with a shit eating grin. “Guess Speedy Gonzales here doesn’t like to hear the truth.”

“Oh, I’m absolutely avoiding Hoseok,” you admit shamelessly – it’s become obvious now, why would you bother to deny? “I just don’t want to talk about it and you can be one pushy bitch when you really want to.”

“You’re both idiots,” Yoongi shakes his head, sighing. “I truly wonder why I’m friends with you?”

“Well, I buy you good whiskey. Dunno what’s his excuse,” you offer Namjoon one last glare. Deciding you’ve had enough of his judgment and teasing for one night, you beeline towards one of your two safety nets – Sana. As good of a cover Jungkook was, you didn’t want to cockblock the poor boy all night, and he has been talking with some freshman for the last couple of songs. Sana, being practically your only female friend in existence would definitely be more willing to help you out, but by the time you’re halfway towards her, you notice that she is talking to a senior she’s had a crush on pretty much since you’ve met her.

Brilliant. You can either find a new cover or be a cockblocking friend. Whatever you decide to do, you need a drink first. Settling for cheap gin this time around, you venture into the kitchen, ready to get wasted and cursing under your breath at Jungkook’s horrible taste in music, as you are forced to listen to Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ at full blast.

One more drink and it’ll be socially acceptable for you to leave the party. You’ve stuck around for long enough, even managing to enjoy yourself a little bit. Not enough though, not compared to the tension that you’ve been feeling in your gut even before you got here.

“Hi.”

If you were holding your drink, you would have dropped it. Even the sound of his voice is enough to make a shiver run down your spine. Closing your eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, you muster enough strength to turn around and face him.

Nope, that wasn’t enough strength. You needed more. You needed more to face Jung Hoseok, in ripped skin tight jeans, a black shirt with a v neck, messy hair and a smirk on his face, casually leaning on the wall next to the kitchen door. You could have taken an hour to collect yourself and prepare for your pending doom, and it would not be enough to prepare you for the Hoseok you were facing now. Especially when he is smirking at you, looking at you like he knows exactly what thoughts are roaming around your head. Add to that the horrible soundtrack courtesy of Jungkook, and you are overcome with a sudden wish to die, right here, right now.

“You’ve been avoiding me again,” he points out the obvious.

“And you’re cornering me again,” you argue back, hoping that he didn’t notice you gulping, literally gulping.

“I’m not cornering you,” he chuckles. Your eyes go wide when he stands up straight, no longer leaning on the wall. Slowly, he starts walking towards you and you walk backwards right into the table, no longer having room for an escape. He stops in front of you but he’s too close, too close for comfort, to the point of you being able to see a single freckle on his nose, despite having a decent amount of alcohol in your system already.

“Oh no,” you suddenly move to the right, towards the door, towards your escape. “Stay away from me, Satan!”

“Satan?” he laughs in disbelief.

“Yeah, Satan,” you confirm without a second thought, looking at him up and down. “Did you look into the mirror before you left your house? You’re sex on legs, Hoseok. So yeah. Satan.”

“For someone who’s about to run for the exit, the words you’re saying are making me think you don’t really want to do that,” he laughs, although he doesn’t step any closer to you. As ready as you were to call him Satan just seconds ago, you see his true good self shining through. He’s chasing you, very obviously so, but he is not pushing you too far and you know that he’ll recognize if he actually should step away. He doesn’t want to literally make you run in the opposite direction and the space he leaves between you is confirmation of that.

“You think I don’t want to run?” you ask and immediately he nods. “Maybe. You’re here. You’re hot. For some reason I can’t fathom, you want something with me. That’s inviting, yet very scary at the same time.”

“And do you want something with me?” he asks, no longer smirking.

“Honestly? Yes and no,” you answer, cursing yourself in your mind – alcohol always makes you talk more than you should. But in this case, maybe that’s exactly what you need - just a little bit of honesty. “I’m attracted to you, you’re an amazing kisser and we’re both single. Why not? And the answer to that question is simple -  we’re friends. There’s… way too much at risk here, Hobi.”

“We’re better than that,” he shakes his head immediately. “We’re not stupid, horny teenagers. We know each other well. We’d be mature enough to stay friendly, or at the very least cordial, no matter what happens.”

Both of you do have a reputation of remaining friendly with your exes. Except for your last one, but that’s a story you don’t wish to revisit, especially not tonight. Broken hearts mend with time, people grow, find others and life goes on. If you set the terms the way you both want them, in theory, it truly doesn’t have to end in tears.

“What exactly are you offering me? And miss me with that ‘whatever you want’ bullshit you offered me the other day,” you interrupt him, chuckling when he closes his mouth dumbly, obviously having been ready to say just that. “Do you want to make out? Do you want to fuck me? Once or on a regular basis? To kill time until someone better comes along or in the hopes of it becoming more? I can’t make a decision if you don’t tell me exactly what you want, Hoseok,” you tell him. You were honest with him and now, it’s his turn.

“I want you.”

“Effective, but not effective enough,” you mumble, ignoring the stirring in your stomach that started as he said those words with… earnesty, with meaning. Hearing that you are wanted is always a good fluff up for an ego, but to hear it said like that, dead seriously, by someone you find incredibly attractive? It’s so good, it’s borderline painful.

“I’ll take what you give,” he shrugs casually. “What do you want?” he throws the question back at you. Shameless is what he is.

“A husband, two kids, two dogs and a house with a white picket fence?” you joke.

“Y/N,” he glares playfully at you, laughing. “You might want that down the road but do you really want that now?”

“God no,” you snort in response.

“So what do you want now?” he asks again. “It can be a one-time thing. It can be regular. As you said, we can kill time until someone better comes along,” he rolls his eyes at the phrase, obviously not liking the sound of it. “It doesn’t have to be sex, for all I care. We can just fool around at parties. Or we can pretend like none of this ever happened and just continue being just friends,” he shrugs.

“When you say it like that I wonder if you even want anything from me,” you laugh.

“Y/N, I have barely been able to stop thinking about kissing you ever since that night,” he deadpans, looking straight at you, not a trace of teasing or joking on his face. “Which was pretty horrible, seeing as you’ve been avoiding me and I had a molecular biology paper to finish. I do want you, probably more than you realize or want to accept. And I’m taking whatever it is that you offer. If I had my pick, we’d be friends that… occasionally become more than that.”

“So, to put it in simple terms, you want a friends with benefits thing with me?” you ask.

“Yes. But if you don’t want that, I’ll respect it and stick to it. You’re my friend, Y/N,” he smiles at you and it’s almost calming to be on the receiving end of his genuine smile and not that evil smirk that does things to you. “I’m not losing that friendship if I want to fuck and you don’t. So… whatever you want to do, that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Here you are again, faced with an opportunity that you know will likely end badly for you, perhaps even both of you at once. And again you wonder, if all the possible negatives are worth it - worth of finally succumbing to this sudden and overwhelming desire you feel for Hoseok. Turning his offer into reality… is it worth it?

“I need to think about it,” you close your eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m not thinking straight right now. I’m not wasted, I’m just… hazed. Horny. However you want to call it. And I don’t trust my judgment around you right now. If we go through with this, I need to have a clear head when making the final decision.”

“Take all the time you need,” when you open your eyes, he’s smiling at you still. “I do have two tiny requests, though.”

“Shoot.”

“Please stop hiding from me. It’s weird and I think you’re scaring Jungkook,” he grimaces.

“You saw that?!”

“Of course I did,” he laughs. “It was cute.”

“Stop!” you order him.

“Okay, okay, I’m stopping,” he lifts his hands up as if he’s surrendering. “I’m pretending you didn’t duck and hide when you heard I was around,” he laughs. The fucker knows how embarrassing it is for you and he’s enjoying every second of it.

“What’s the second request?” you ask, desperately wanting to change the topic.

“Would you let me kiss you again?” he asks.

“Hoseok…” both your words and eyes are warning, as it’s going directly against what you want right now - a clear head. Kissing him would muddle it all, you know it. Not to mention how easier it would be to take things a notch further, given that you both know now that you want more.

“Just one kiss,” he elaborates. “It’s not gonna turn into a kitchen make out session or something more. And if you don’t want it, it’s not happening. We’ll never do something you don’t want, Y/N. You know me, I’m not like that.”

You do know him and you clearly remember him refusing you at first because he thought you might have had too much to drink and were acting out. You didn’t, you were well aware of what you were doing. Yes, you had no idea why you were doing it but your actions were not a drunken side-effect. Not then and not now. And damn it, you really want to kiss him again.

“One kiss,” you lift your hand in warning, but that was enough for him. He takes a few steps and closes the distance between you – was he being deliberately slow or were you imagining things, you’re not sure. All you know is, it lasted enough for your heart to start going into overdrive even before your lips met his.

It’s just a kiss, but at the same time, it isn’t. He’s not grinding against you, he’s not groping you, he’s not taking it anywhere it shouldn’t go. His hands are in place on your waist, gentler than you remember them being the last time. He’s respectful and careful, in every way except with the actual kiss. Before you even get to mentally prepare yourself for it, he parts your lips with his and tongue meets yours.

You’re the one who moves. You’re the one who threatens to take this further than it should go, as you put your hands around his neck and run your fingers through his hair, pressing your body just a bit closer to his.

It’s his fault. His kiss made you do it. He’s way too good of a kisser for his own good.

Thankfully, the one who initiated it is also the one who pulls away. Breathless and with eyes on your lips, Hobi moves away, letting your hands drop out of his hair as he keeps a safe distance.

“One kiss,” he repeats your earlier words. “Until you tell me you want more.”

Yeah, it meddled with your mind. Despite telling him you need more time to think about it, you know it’s already settled in your mind. You’ll definitely be coming back for more.

[groovybaybee]

Circle

words: 6.6k

(orgy!harry)

I’d had no idea what to expect, no notion as to what the evening may hold for me. All I had were bits and pieces, clues to lead me to a night I would never forget. A string of events which had brought me to that evening.

 A brief conversation with a friend, her experience at some new club sketched out vaguely for me, eluding to beautiful men and women and newfound passion ignited within her. My curiosity peaking, I had agreed to allow her to submit my details. She had sensed my hesitance at putting myself out there, assuring me privacy was of the utmost importance, something I later came to appreciate as an NDA was slipped through my letterbox.

I had let the document sit on my desk for a few days, finding myself drawn to it every time my mind wandered from whatever contract I was drafting or reviewing, allowing myself to slip open the manilla envelope and peer inside. Familiar with legal documents, I had assumed I would find errors in the form, legal loopholes one might exploit, however, it was iron-clad. The document covered all grey areas, ensuring that the signor would be well-aware of any legal consequences should they breach any of the terms set out. The letter stated plainly that anyone caught providing explicit details to another party, whether that be a personal acquaintance or the media, of the events bound to transpire, would be duly punished. It emphasised the importance of anonymity within the group of attendees, and ensured safeguarding measures taken on their part to protect the identities of all those involved. At this point I was wondering what I was letting myself get involved with.

 At first, I had assumed this would be some kind of nightclub full of high society types looking to partake in meaningless one-night stands without the ramifications of involving someone not in the industry who may be able to sell their story and make a financial gain, thus the need for anonymity. However, after signing and returning the document, trepidation began to set in, wondering what organisation I was getting into bed with. This was more than a night out. This was going to be, as my friend had explained, an experience that I would not want to forget.

 Trusting her, I let the mystery of it all excite me, adrenaline spiking when I received an envelope through my door. Inside was a small black business card, embossed with a golden circle on both sides. Alongside the card, was an acceptance letter of sorts, thanking me for my interest and inviting me to attend an event this Saturday. I was informed that a car would come to collect me, driving me to the location of the event and would return me whenever I desired to go home. If I changed my mind at any point until then, I simply had to text ‘OPT-OUT’ to a number at the top of the letter.

 I never sent that text. On the contrary, I allowed the excitement to pour through into my everyday life. I bought new lingerie, just a simple sheer black set that hung off my body in a beautiful way. Everything about this ‘club’ exuded exclusivity, and I wanted to blend in no matter what happened.

 When Saturday evening finally rolled around, I could barely sit still, nerves and excitement swimming around in my stomach as I sat in the back of the black Lexus I had been provided. The driver had opened the door for me, offering me a polite greeting, before slipping into the front seat and driving us to our destination without another word as I texted my friend, the anticipation growing almost too much to bear. Watching the city pass through the tinted windows, I allowed my mind to slip into thoughts about the clientele I would encounter. I had been ensured that all members signed the exact same form as me, so I assumed they also valued privacy highly. I wondered if they would also be involved in the entertainment industry, admittedly all I did was draw up contracts and aid in negotiations for a record label, but I found myself accompanied by celebrities and notorious figures more often than I ever might have expected, even forming friendships with some of the clients the label represented.

 Upon our arrival to the location, I almost asked the driver if he was sure that this was the right place. The building looked like any luxurious apartment complex, no loud music, no drunken patrons stumbling in and out of the building. Nevertheless, I thanked the driver, and made my way indoors. My heels clicking against the marble flooring was the only real sound as I passed through the lobby, making my way into the lift as instructed by the letter, selecting the button for the penthouse.

 As the lift rose, I wondered if this was about to be the revelation of some horrific prank. Perhaps when I stepped out on to the top floor, there would be everyone I knew with cameras pointed at me, telling me I had been Punk’d. However, I swiftly reminded myself that the show was no longer airing, and I was being moronic.

 Finally, the lift doors opened once again, and I was confronted with a large, white marble foyer, at the centre of which was a woman sat at a desk, another woman behind her. I began the walk towards them, finally hearing some faint music and beginning to relax under the knowledge that I was, probably, in the right place.

 “Hello,” the seated woman had said, offering me a polite smile once I reached the desk.

 “Hi,” I greeted her and showed her the small, black card I had been instructed to bring along, “I’m not sure I’m in the right place—”

 “Oh, you are,” she had replied brightly, taking the card from me, and scribbling something down on the desk. “It’s your first time here, yes?”

 “Yes,” I nodded, my voice sounding smaller than I would have liked it to, the formalities throwing me slightly off balance.

 “Welcome,” she said, her cheery exterior never faltering for even a second, “Rachel here will take you through,”

 The second woman had stepped forward by this point, offering me a genuine smile and gesturing for me to follow her down an adjacent hallway. I did so until we reached a cloakroom of sorts, providing me with a space in which to leave my coat and bag, ensuring that they were safe and would be returned to me upon my departure, explaining briefly that electronic devices were not permitted past this point. I had nod at intervals to show my understanding and complied with her requests. Then, she led me to a set of double doors, ensuring me that I would be well taken care of inside.

 “We hope you have a pleasurable evening,” Rachel finished.

 I had thanked her and listened to the sounds of her heels diminish as she left me on my own. Taking I deep breath to calm any nerves, I slipped my hand around the door handle and pushed it open. Inside the penthouse apartment was nothing like I had imagined. I was instantly greeted by a young man holding a tray topped with flutes full of champagne. I uttered a small thanks and proceeded through the space.

 Whatever I was expecting, it was not what I received. I found myself in the middle of a beautiful living space, with floor-to-ceiling windows and luxurious leather sofas. The space was filled with elegantly dressed individuals, reminding me more of an industry young professionals’ mixer than whatever sex-filled dungeon I had been expected. The atmosphere felt very relaxed, the whole room seeming to laugh and chatter freely. Perhaps this was some sort of speed-dating and I had just severely misread the information I was given.

 Taking a few more steps into the room, I made eye-contact with a woman around my age, brunette and beautiful. She had smiled gently at me, before excusing herself from her small group and gliding over to me.

 “First time?” she asked, a small smirk playing across her painted lips.

 “That obvious?” I replied, earning a genuine chuckle from her which helped put me at ease somewhat.

 “I can give you the tour if you like… I’m kind of a regular,” She offered.

 I had nodded appreciatively and allowed her to take my hand in hers to lead me around the place. She introduced herself as Samantha, call me Sam, as we ventured through the apartment, smooth beats lining the place. As we walked through, she showed me the ‘main room’, which was really just the living room, where the majority of the guests were mingling, her telling me that it was still fairly early. We delved deeper, heading down the main hallway of the place until we reached a fork and she had me choose left or right. I selected left and she walked me through the next section, showing me more rooms, a few bathrooms situated between bedrooms. Each bedroom seemed to house some of the overspill from the main room. In the first bedroom, a group were sat on the bed, laughing and talking as they sipped at their glasses of champagne. The second bedroom we reached held two women standing in the centre, making out. A little afraid of intruding, I moved to step back into the corridor, but Sam stayed in her spot, sharing a smirk with the room’s inhabitants.

 “Just giving a newbie the tour,” Sam had said, earning a wry chuckle from the couple.

 “Feel free to circle back round,” said one of the women before turning back to her partner, pushing her hair behind her ear, and returning to their previous position.

 “Are you into girls?” Sam asked evenly as she led me back out of the room, focussed more on leading me than the abrupt question.

 “Uh, yeah, I think I like a bit of everything,” I mumbled, my head feeling a little scrambled as I tried to comprehend where I was.

 Sam continued to lead me down the hallway. It was at this point that I noticed that all of the bedroom doors were propped open, people drifting in an out with ease. A pit of suspicion grew in my stomach as Sam led me further along the corridor. My hurried assumption was beginning to be confirmed when we reached our third bedroom, filled with about ten people scattered across the room, all comfortably watching pornography together on the large-screen television.

 “Sam?” I asked, pulling her attention away from the couple fucking on the screen and back towards me. When she prised her eyes from the spectacle, her lids were a little hooded as she eyed me, “Is this an orgy?”

 “Not yet,” was all she had said, a grin forming across her plush, red lips.

 I had involuntarily taken a step back at her response, shock overwhelming any other sensation. At witnessing my reaction, Sam had followed me and led me back into the corridor and away from the room.

 “Obviously, you don’t have to do anything, and you don’t have to stay if this isn’t what you thought you were signing up for,” she said in a calming tone, somehow understanding my surprise to find out that I had wound up at an orgy.

 Definitely not speed-dating.

 After allowing the information a second to sink into my brain, and a large sip of champagne, the shock began to subside, and curiosity took over. I mean, it was never something I had actively sought out, but had always been a bit of a fantasy, even just to attend and watch.

 Seeing the panic leave my body, the smirk I was quickly becoming familiar with returned to Sam’s lips.

 “I’m okay,” I told her, letting a small, breathy laugh escape from between my lips.

 “Want to go back to the main room? I have some friends you might like,”

 I accepted her offer with a nod and let her guide me back through the crowd of people in the biggest part of the property, the number of people having almost doubled since we went exploring. Still, the atmosphere in the room had not changed, everyone still stood talking and laughing as they got to know other people.

 Sam guided me to the group of people she had been talking to before she excused herself to speak to me. She introduced me to them, and we fell into conversation easily. Not long after, the majority of the group disappeared to explore the place and make use of the facilities, leaving myself, Sam, and a man a little older than me, James, clean-shaven and also a brunette. He was undoubtedly attractive, standing a full head taller than me and I certainly spotted muscle definition beneath his white dress shirt.

 The three of us spoke for a while, conversation lubricated by a glass of champagne or two. After discovering that we had a good rapport, the three of us decided to move somewhere a little quieter, Sam promising me to finish our tour. As we walked down the main corridor of the apartment, we took a right, peering through a few rooms as we passed.

 The first room we passed was fairly crowded, people undressing, lips and limbs tangled throughout. Collectively, we agreed to move along, finding the situation more interesting than inviting. We moved away, passing a closed bedroom which James explained meant the individuals wanted a little privacy.

 The second room we encountered proved to be far more enticing than the first. In that room two men lay either side of a woman, hands roaming gently across her naked body while they remained fully or partially clothed. While one pressed kisses to her mouth and neck, the other shimmied down the bed, licking and kissing his way up the length of her right leg, from her feet to her thighs he seemed to place hot kisses, occasionally adding a little pressure with his teeth until he was arching underneath the two of them. I found myself transfixed on the scene in front of me, my lips parting to allow for the heavy breaths in my chest to escape. They all looked so beautiful, bodies moving fluidly with one another as if they had been doing this for years. Maybe they had.

 Only the gentle touch of fingertips on my bare forearm brought me away from the congregation in front of me. It was Sam. That hooded look in her eyes was back, this time accompanied by the tugging of her bottom lip between her teeth. She looked starved, and all I wanted to do was feed her.

 “James says there’s an empty room,” she told me, her voice a few tones lower than it had been for most of the night.

 Wondering quickly how long I had been watching the trio, clearly enough time had passed for James to slip away, locate a vacant room, and communicate that information with Sam, all without me noticing his absence. I nodded my head and let her hand slip into mine yet again. We walked down the hallway together, until we reached one of the last rooms, finding James stood by the floor-length windows, looking down at the city. At our appearance, he turned back to us, a gentle smirk on his lips at our interlaced fingers.

 Sam pulled me into the room gently, making her way to the large bed and dropping my hand as she settled herself on her knees in the middle. James joined her, sitting closer to the edge, and sharing a quick, excited kiss with her.

 “Only what you’re comfortable with,” Sam reminded me softly, her gaze softening at seeing me stood a little way away from the two of them.

 I nodded, grateful for her care, before slipping a hand up the length of my back and pulling down the zipper of my dress. I allowed it to loosen, pushing it over the curve of my hips before letting it drop of its own accord and taking a step closer to the bed. The look in the pair’s eyes made any reservation or self-doubt leap out of the enormous window. Both assessed me with a darkened gaze. James’ sight trailed over the expanse of my body with a lick of his lips, reaching his hands out for me to take. I took them and allowed him to bring me over to the two of them, seating me between them.

 From behind, Sam’s hand reached out to touch my shoulder lightly, pausing to gage my reaction before receiving a positive and breathy sigh. Her fingertips traced lightly across my collarbones, trailing up to my neck to turn my head until our faces were mere inches apart. Her lips were soft and buttery when they met mine. Her kisses were delicate as they moved from my lips to my jaw, down my neck and to my shoulder while James reached a hand out to gently turn my head back to him. I could not help the smirk that tugged at the corners of my lips upon seeing his reaction to the two women in front of him. He had loosened his tie and was watching intently as Sam’s hands began to travel across my flesh. I pressed my lips to his, a hand coming up to reach into his hair as his lips moved eagerly against my own. His lips followed Sam’s path, beginning to kiss down my body. Grateful for the moment to catch my breath, my eyes wandered to the open door and I let a smirk cross my face, deciding to leave it that way.

 Returning to the duo, I pulled at James’ tie, bringing his lips back up to meet mine, hurriedly loosening the fabric knot and discarding it. His hands left my body, fingers worked quickly to unbutton his shirt and rid it from the scene. In the meantime, I placed my hands over Sam’s and guided them up from their position on my waist, up to lay across my breasts. I felt her groan against my neck as her hands gave an instinctive squeeze at the tender flesh. A gasp escaped my lips, my hips involuntarily rolling at her touch.

 “She making you feel good?” James uttered lowly; his voice throatier as lust overtook him.

 All I could do was hum in agreement, a small nod as my eyes settled back on James’, now shirtless, frame, enjoying the way his muscles seemed to flex and relax sporadically as he watched us. I felt Sam shift beside me, pressing a kiss to my breast through sheer black material. Her tongue slipped across the fabric, my nipple hardening against her mouth. Her hand reached up, slipping the cup beneath my breast, and encircling the pert nipple with her lips, providing a little suction that made my back arch into her. She gazed up at me with a smirk, clearly enjoying the physiological effect she was having on me.

 “Really good,” I said, a slight whimper accompanying my words.

 “Wanna feel even better?” she had asked, looking up at me with bright, mischievous eyes.

 I nodded and let her move me on the bed, settling me between James’ outstretched legs, my back to his chest as he leant against the headboard. He peppered soft, sucking kisses along my neck while Sam undressed completely. She had returned to us, fully nude, crawling up the bed, trailing her tongue up the length of my leg, just as the man in the other room had done. Clearly, she had been watching me intently, noticing the way my breath had hitched at the sight.

 “Can I?” Sam mumbled against the flesh of my thigh, her eyes drifting from between my legs up to my face.

 All I could do was nod, desperate to be touched by her. She pressed a kiss over the sheer panties before hooking her fingers under their waistband and tugging them down. Almost in unison, James licked a long stripe up the side of my neck as Sam copied the motion across the length of my pussy, a small smirk playing at her lips as she tasted my arousal. James’ lips passed along my jaw, settling over my ear lobe, tugging ever so gently. Meanwhile, Sam took her time to explore my preferences, observing each and every reaction within my body as she licked, kissed, and sucked different parts of me.

 My eyelids fluttered shut as the two of them worked to pleasure me. It was electrifying, understanding in that moment why my friend had encouraged me to come. The excitement in the room was palpable. Breathless moans tumbled freely from my mouth, back arching between the two of them, feeling Sam’s actions grow sloppier beneath me as she buried her face deeper into me, desperate to taste every last drop of me, while James grew hard against my back, his hands ghosting across my body, manipulating my breasts and playing with my nipples until I was writhing above him.

 “Mind if we join?” I heard a low voice ask, something familiar about its tone.

 My eyes shot open, instantly locking on to his own from his position in the doorway. It seemed strange to see him in such conventional, formal clothes. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up his forearms, and tailored black trousers; no pops of colour, nothing necessarily to draw the eye. He looked like everyone else that night, I suppose that would have been his intention. Clearly, the majority of the attendees would recognise him, but he was not intentionally drawing focus, there to be a part of the experience rather than to be a spectacle.

 It didn’t shock me that he was with a man and a woman. They stood behind him; their fingers curled around his each of his biceps. Harry always attracted attention, something we joked about the last time I saw him; the two of us having a casual lunch while ironing out some contract details before being accosted by paparazzi. It didn’t really shock me to see him at an event like this either. It was no secret that the man oozed sexuality. Honestly, it made sense to see him at a place where he could explore that sexuality, push his limits, and make others feel good while doing so.

 What had surprised me, however, was the intense, hooded gaze he fixed on me. Not sure how long my friendly acquaintance had been standing there, watching as I unravelled at the work of two strangers, the thought brought an intense rush of blood and heat to my cheeks. Immediately, I began to worry about the repercussions of being seen like this. Then, I saw the look in his eyes, the way he followed every roll of my hips, the way he brought his bottom lip between his teeth. He wanted me, or at least a piece of me.

 “Up to you, baby.” Sam had muttered against me, not stopping her motions despite our new company. James nodded into the crook of my neck, confirming his comfort, agreeing that it was my choice. My choice to decide whether or not to allow the man I worked with from time to time to not only see me at my most vulnerable, but to allow him to touch me in that state.

 I nodded my head instantly. A reflexive smirk painted itself on Harry’s lips, quickly looking to his male and female counterparts before moving forward. After just one step, he slipped his hands to the buttons of his shirt, making quick work to rid himself of it before reaching the bed. He sat beside where Sam laid, watching her movements hungrily. His new friends sat themselves on the bed too, both disrobed to their underwear, watching keenly as we played beneath them, each starting to gently touch the other.

 “Can I share?” Harry asked, looking between Sam and myself to sense any discomfort.

 When we both nodded, the grin returned to his face before he dipped down, pressed a kiss to the top of my thigh then slipped his tongue between my legs. I felt a deep, rumbling groan against my dripping core, him moving deeper, sliding his nose and mouth up the length of my pussy. As he settled his lips around my clit, sucking lightly, his eyes cast up to mine. They were dark, his gaze unfocussed as he licked at me as though I held the magic elixir of life. He moved wild and free, occasionally flattening his tongue, and dragging it back and forth across the width between my thighs, his eyes shutting tight whenever he did, fully wrapped up in his motions.

 My body jolted under his touch, his mouth sending me into overdrive; hips rolling and grinding down against his mouth, back arched to the point it almost became painful, loud and desperate moans slipping freely from my lips. I had no control. And I adored it.

 Sam and Harry took turns sharing the pleasure they gave me, alternating between providing and watching with carnal gazes. Between the two, they quickly had me melting underneath them, on the verge of begging as Harry’s friends sat either side of me, each wrapping their lips around my nipples, licking and sucking deliciously. Ten hands on me, five mouths. I was a mess, calling on God to explain how one person could deserve this much pleasure.

 My eyelids squeezed shut tight, but the darkness only heightened the sensitivity of my skin, each graze of a finger or swirl of a tongue drawing expletives from my lips. I am not sure how many hands slipped beneath me, keeping me elevated until I felt like the queen of an ancient civilisation, but this new angle was more than enough to push me to my climax. My hips ground violently against whoever’s mouth, hands thrown outwards desperately seeking something to cling on to; some awareness that world still existed, and this was real. My body buzzed, blood fizzing through my veins as I came back down, lowering into the mattress as people pressed soft, sweet kisses to my body.

 My eyes eventually fluttered back open, seeing Sam in between the two people I did not yet know the names of, clearly excited by their presence and keen to get to know them.

 “Well done,” Harry purred into my ear, having placed gentle kisses up the length of my torso.

 At that moment, a look was exchanged between the two of us, our chests occasionally meeting through the heavy rise and fall of our breaths. My eyes flickered to his mouth, his lips and chin slick, covered in me.

 “Hi,” I greeted him, a breathy laugh exchanged between us.

 “Hi,” he replied softly, bringing his hand up to cup my face and press a gentle kiss to my lips.

 The kiss was warm and tender, however, the look that flooded his face when he pulled away was anything but. He looked at me hungrily, watching the way James’ hands gently caressed me as I came down from my orgasm. Sensing the effect seeing my body react to another’s hands was having on Harry, I slipped out from his touch, turning over and sitting up on my knees. I took a second to appreciate the two men beneath me, laying shirtless in almost-matching tailored trousers. Each excited me in different ways. James was muscular, clean-shaven, and seemed to be drawn most to watching others’ pleasure, while Harry was a little leaner, tattooed, and looked ready to pounce in the blink of an eye.

 Meeting James’ eyes, he smirked as I lowered myself to press kisses from his chest to his stomach, hands grazing up his thighs to unbutton his suit trousers. Feeling myself become antsy, I made quick work of ridding him of his clothes and taking him in my hand. It elicited a light gasp from him, clearly having been confined by his boxers for too long. I let my tongue slip across my lips before taking the very tip of him in my mouth, gently moving my hand along the length of his shaft. My gaze flittered upwards to his face, keen to see the parting of his lips as he allowed soft moans to tumble from them. To my surprise, he was watching Harry as much as me, his eyes jumping between the two of us as his hips drove up in search of more. Dropping my gaze, I looked to Harry, noticing the way he looked at me; half-lidded, his irises almost black with lust, observing the way I took James deeper in my mouth. He looked a little jealous. To this day I’m not sure who he envied more.

 “Can I fuck you?” he asked me deeply, swallowing hard while he awaited my response.

 Slipping James from my mouth, I nodded my head, a strong of saliva still connecting me to the man beneath me. Bottom lip tucked tightly between his teeth, Harry let out a mix of a hum and a growl. He pressed a quick kiss to my mouth before reaching behind him to grab a condom from the glass bowl on the nightstand, refusing vehemently to tear his eyes from the sight of James’ cock between my lips.

 Settling himself behind me, I felt his hands sliding across my back, unhooking my bra with one hand while the other roamed the expanse of my back. His fingertips glided down my spine, across the curves of my waist and hips before both hands ghosted over the swell of my ass, grabbing eagerly at the fleshy parts, and delivering a light smack to the right cheek. I could not help but smile around James at him, hearing Harry groan when his actions seemed to speed up my movements.

 I worked James with both hands, tongue swirling messily around his tip. My ears pricked up to the sound of slapping flesh, spotting to my right Sam laying on top of the other woman, lips reconnecting softly as she was fucked from behind. Excited to mirror her slightly, I felt my back arch, hips tilting towards Harry. I could have sworn I heard him chuckle breathily, before leaning over me, one hand moving my hair out of my face as his lips tickled the shell of my ear.

 “You want this?” he whispered, his free hand teasing his cock against my pussy, slipping the head of it between my pussy lips and taking extra time to guide it over my clit.

 I hummed, giving a little nod as my head continued to bob up and down James’ dick, each motion getting sloppier as I salivated at the thought of being filled by the two of them.

 “Sorry, didn’t quite hear that,” his voice was a little louder this time but still husky and deliberate, confidence growing.

 “Yes,” I had gasped, desperately rocking my hips against his for some kind of friction or stimulation; anything he could give me I wanted.

 I could feel him smirk against my skin before he pressed a kiss just behind my ear.

 “Good girl,”

 Before I had a second to drink in how good that sounded coming from him, he pushed himself inside of me. He leant back up, grasping my hips in his hands as he filled me completely. My pussy ached as he withdrew himself, desperate to feel him again. A needy whimper tumbled from my lips.

 Pretty soon I became a mess under him. I melted under his touch. Each thrust of his hips elicited a shocked moan that even James’ cock could not muffle. Every movement had my eyes rolling back and mouth-watering. Harry felt delicious. Every rut of his hips aroused me more and more, the sound of our bodies meeting repeatedly sounding like music to my ears, a sweet, carnal cacophony. From his grunts and groans of my name, and the way his fingers dug deeply into the flesh of my hips, I could tell the feeling was mutual.

 I hoped for bruises. I wanted some reminder of his hands on my body. I needed to know that the moment had been real, and that we had both been consumed with one another.

 A hand cupped the side of my face, bringing me back down to Earth. It was James, looking down at me with a dark gaze as I tried my best to pleasure him. Having Harry behind me really threw off my rhythm, each time our hips met my jaw slackened. His eyelids flickered up to Harry, he smirked, and then came back to me.

 “Too good?” James had asked, a slight teasing lilt in his voice.

 I lifted my head, pulling him out of my mouth but unable to fully shut my mouth as Harry picked up his speed. Meeting James’ line of sight, I nodded with watery eyes. He returned my admission with a gentle smile, removing his hand from my face and slipping it around his cock. He began to pump his hand slowly, his movements lubricated by my handiwork. Our eyes disconnected as he looked behind me and nod his head.

 At this, Harry took full advantage of my newly liberated upper half. One of his hands slipped from my hip around to my chest, using it as leverage to pull my body upright. Immediately, his lips attached themselves to my neck, puckering and sucking at the sensitive flesh. His breath was heavy in my ear, and this new position gave me a chance to appreciate the quieter noises I had missed; the soft pants and whimpers he made when my hips tilted to meet his. The new stance also allowed him to reach deeper inside me, each thrust almost knocking me forward.

 A hand in the centre of my chest was all that held me to him. The other snuck its way from my hip to nestle between my legs. His fingers made soft, gentle strokes around my clit. Tight, deliberate circles contrasted his messy thrusts, teeth nipping at the skin of my shoulder as his hips worked quickly and roughly against me.

 Still sensitive from my previous orgasm, these two sensations drew me close to the brink of a second in record timing. My body ached for him as Harry held me even closer to him, desperate to make me come by his actions. In an act of urgent desire, I grabbed at the hand on my chest, dragging it up to my throat. I heard Harry groan wildly at the action, his head lifting to press his lips against my ear.

 “You tap my hand if its too much,” he said softly but confidently, waiting until I nodded before applying any pressure.

 The pads of his fingertips began to dig into the skin at my neck, slowly controlling the blood-flow to my brain. Gentle choking was all I needed for my moans to become extended, head thrown back against his shoulder as he thrust harshly into me. It was all too much in the most delicious way.

 “Come for me,” he growled, his voice deeper than I had ever heard it, too raspy for me to be able to deny him.

 When his fingers started to move quicker, and sloppier around my clit I was a goner. A hand shot into Harry’s hair behind me, instantly grabbing a fistful as he fucked me through my second orgasm, uttering filthy words of encouragement as my body tensed, then relaxed into him. Removing his hand from my neck, he brought it down to my abdomen, holding me upright as my muscles lost their strength.

 “I want you to come…” I whispered breathlessly, my eyes shut as my head rested on his shoulder.

 “Yeah?” he panted, clearly creeping up to the edge of his own climax.

 “Come inside me,” I had nodded weakly, desperate to know what would happen when he came undone.

 I did not have to ask again. His hips picked up their speed, moans became more concentrated until he stilled inside of me. His body shuddered against mine, lips finding the skin of my neck one more time as he slowly rode out his high.

 A soft giggle left my lips as I titled my head to look at him. When he met my gaze, it was impossible not to press a kiss to his flushed cheeks. He looked so precious; hair an absolute mess and eyes barely open.

 “Hi,” I had greeted for the second time.

 This time he just gave me a soft chuckle, eyebrows furrowing at the sensation of still being inside me as we laughed. He pulled out of me gently, a kiss to my shoulder blade as he did before stepping off the bed to discard the condom.

 It was only at this moment I remembered my surroundings. Instantly, I looked to James, a slight pang of guilt for having left him hanging while Harry fucked me. However, the feeling quickly subsided when I saw Sam straddling him, both of them smirking at me.

 “Not bad for a rookie,” Sam managed to comment before turning back to James and pressing her lips flushed against his.

 “Wanna come get cleaned up?” Harry asked me softly as he returned to the bed. He had taken one of my hands in his and was looking at me with the gentlest gaze I had ever seen on him.

 I nodded and allowed him to lead me to a bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. He was patient with me as I stepped down from the bed, waiting as I adjusted to putting pressure on my weakened legs. Once inside, he locked the door and had me stand with him in the shower, already having grabbed the showerhead. He checked the temperature of the water before running it across my body. The water was just hot enough to melt away the strain in my muscles, continuing the dream-like feeling I was experiencing. I held my hair away from my body to avoid wetting it as Harry covered me, the showerhead in one hand and a soapy washcloth in the other.

 “Can I do you?” I asked softly, still feeling a little fucked out and floaty.

 Harry just smiled fondly at me, nodding his head, and passing over everything he held. Bathing with Harry was not what I had expected to come from this evening, but I could not say I minded as I watched the way his body melted under the hot water. Despite the steam, I could see the grin on his face as I washed him carefully, before nodding happily to myself when I deemed him clean.

 “Not bad for a rookie,” Harry had teased gently, shutting off the water and returning the showerhead.

 Stepping out of the shower, he wrapped me in a soft, pale blue towel, using it to pull my body to him. Our chests grazing, I peered up at him.

 “Was it obvious?” I asked, bottom lip tucked between my teeth as I wondered curiously if I exuded inexperience.

 “Not at all,” he had reassured me, “Kind of wish I knew you weren’t used to all this… Would have gone easy one you,”

 “I don’t want you to,” I quickly responded with a shake of my head.

 “You don’t?” Harry grinned smugly, catching my mistake.

 “Didn’t… Don’t, whatever,” I mumbled, casting my gaze to the ground in embarrassment.

 “Oh, now you’re feeling bashful,” Harry chuckled gently, tilting my face up to meet his gaze with a simple finger under the chin, “I really enjoyed fucking you. We should do it again.”

 “You have my number,” I managed to tease, earning a wry smile from him that made my stomach squeeze excitedly.

 “I was thinking tonight, my place?”

[kinsey3furry300]

5 ships I hate, why I hate them, how to (kinda) fix them, the better ships you should be doing in that universe, and why you should ignore me and keep writing them if it makes you happy.

Note: this is done for amusement, please don’t be offended; I’m not attacking your ship, I’m just listing some ships I do not always care for, and how I think they could be improved, and maybe made brilliant, by clever writing.

In no particular order, and focusing on ships that often annoy me, with no attempt by me to say anything meaningful or popular about the current state of any particular fandom. I’m also a firm believer in the idea that there’s no such thing as a bad ship, only a badly executed ship, so my objections to these is less a dislike of shipping, or the paring, and more that they raise writing issues that I think are difficult to fix in a satisfying way. That’s why in a lot of the examples below I prefer AU ships to ones that try to messily work it into the cannon. Anyway, enjoy... I guess?

 Marco x / anyone (Animorphs)

Why I hate it: Animrophs is an intensely character-driven story, where the tension of each book comes from the conflicts, external and internal, that the five Animrophs (and Ax) face during a long, hard, traumatic war.  And while several of the character are paired off romantically, it’s always to emphasise character conflict over their different points of view. Jake and Cassie are a pair because Jake’s struggle with having to make hard, grey, morally ambiguous choices as leader is highlighted by Cassie’s burning need to make the right choice, the lesser evil, the choice that leaves some small shred of humanity and dignity and kindness left in this bleak world. Tobias and Rachel are a pair as their arcs deal with literal and figurative loss of humanity, as the slow accumulation of trauma over time turns these happy(ish), normal kids into psychologically ruined husks of their former selves and destroys them slowly, one fight at a time.

Marco’s arc, isn’t about either of these things: Marco’s arc, is about the bright, clear line between A and B, between problem and solution. Marco is a utilitarian, a pragmatist: his concern isn’t the burden of leadership, or the cost of the decision, but about how to put that all aside and make hard decisions that actually work regardless of cost. It’s not about what to do, the path is obvious: the bright, clear line of ruthless logic, but how to do it. His match, his counterpoint, the other character who’s all about the logic of taking awful decision in a way that actually works for the team, and his foil, his female counterpart in this, is not a romantic partner, but his mother: Visser one, making the exact same hard, difficulty ruthless decisions using logic and maths, but for the other side of this war. A romantic paring gets in the way of this arc because a partner doesn’t help him with that bright, clear line, and worse, any attempt to pair him of with either Rachel or Cassie breaks up not only a cannon paring, but their respective character arc.

How to (kinda) fix this: Marco’s arc is, at the end of the day, a trolly problem. So make sure whoever you ship him with is one of the people tied to the tracks. Introduce a character he crushes on, and then in the second act reveal that they are either a Controller, or in the family of a Controller or the proximity of the target of their next mission in a way that will make them collateral damage ,and let Marco struggle with what happens when that bright, clear logical line from A to B cuts through someone he actually loves; you know, like it did with his mother. See, even trying to fix this ship is weirdly Freudian.

The far better ship you should be doing: Ax x / EVERYONE. Ax in human form is described as a worryingly pretty, worryingly androgynous male of indeterminate race. He is a literally Bishonen alien hedonist with no familiarity with human senses, poor impulse control in human form, and no knowledge or understanding of human courtship rituals, and he can shape-shift, including into other members of the core team if needed to compel a mission, he calls Jake his prince,  and he is incredibly close to Tobias, the lonely outcast woobie that the LGBT fans adopted as their poster boy. Come on, the potential for shipping, both with wacky hijinks and sad, tragic star-crossed lovers’ trope is endless. Every line dedicated to Marco shipping is a line of text that could be dedicated to Ax trying to eat a Cinnabon erotically on his first date as a human and hulking out mid way because he forgot just how good they are. What could be better than him leaning into to erotically kiss a team-mate, and then fucking up due to his failure to understand human mouths, making weird mouth sounds, and then licking crumbs of the table in the middle of the mall, in front of the entire school, while his crush awkwardly tried to pretend this is normal? What’s wrong with you Marco-shipper people, do you hate fun?

 Riz/Tem (beastars) Why I hate this ship: Okay, just to quickly ask a question, to people who un-ironically like this as a serious ship and not a dark joke, just one little question: What’s wrong with you? I mean,are you okay? Keep taking the meds: the show is VERY clear on that point.

It’s like those people who say Joker X Harley Quinn is their ideal dark, edgy relationship: no it’s not, it’s abusive! Morticia x Gomez is dark and cool but CONSENTUAL and HEALTHY. This… this is a deeply imbalanced person murdering someone and telling themselves after that fact it was special and rare and magical. ITS HOMICIDE! And even if you write that out (and you shouldn’t, because that changes the character arc of every other major character) it’s still got more red flags that a soviet military parade. This is the botulinum of a toxic, one-sided teenage infatuation. Riz’s entire arc is about how he projects his thoughts and feelings about himself onto this idealised, made-up version of his and Tem’s relationship which, from Tem’s point of view, never existed. Riz never loved Tem: he loved the idea of Tem, the idea that someone would see the real him, see his inner pain and accept him anyway, but he never once told Tem this. He didn’t warn him “Hey, because of you I don’t feel I need my meds any more, do you mind if I try not taking them and we can meet and talk about this in a safe, well-lit pace?” He’s not honest with Tem, and on top of that It doesn’t make sense from the point of view of either of the characters for them to be actually, romantically in love (although  they were clearly close friends), because it undermines and cheepens Riz desire to just be seen and accepted for his real self, and the cannon Tem X Els ship. It also doesn’t make sense from a story point of view: Riz is a shadow archetype for Legosi. He’s what Legosi would have become if someone hadn’t interrupted his attack on Haru. That’s why Legosi needs to beat Riz with his own hands: because then he’s beating the darker version of himself he’s been carrying with him, and he can finally move on with Haru guilt-free. Having Riz and Tem’s relationship actually be what Riz imagined it to be undoes that. It undoes Riz’s interesting, dark inner struggle between truth and fantasy, it turns Tem’s tragic, unsolved murder that sets the entire story in motion into a just sort of weird Romeo-and Juliet suicide. It’s ruins the character arc not only for Riz, but for Legosi, and also, by extension, Louis and Haru, because Legosi’s internal angst over whether or not herbivores and carnivores can have a relationship as true friends needs this example of a tragic, flawed, toxic, failed friendship to bounce off of.

How it could (sort of) work: an AU where Riz’s attack on Tem is interrupted and Tem lives with a slight arm injury, and doesn’t tell anyone out of his complex feelings for Riz. Meanwhile, that bunny girl from the gardening club had been brutally devoured and Rz and/or Tem are so horrified with how close this was to their own near-miss, they start to investigate the murder, and in doing so get caught up in Louis’ inner struggle. Because that’s how the story needs to work, it’s about duality and struggle: and if Riz takes Legosi’s role, and by dating a herbivore he de facto takes the role, so Legosi must take Riz’s. This could be a great AU!

The better ship you should be doing: Pina/Riz (with a dash of Pina x Els), no, seriously, I’m not shitposting. You want to give Riz a redemption arc with a cute woolly boy? How about a story where Pina, out of a need for closure about at happened to him, starts to visit Riz in jail and they talk, mockingly at first, confrontational at first, but later Pina slowly becoming more fascinated in Riz and Tem’s life and asking Riz for more and more detail until they both bond over their shared traumatic experiences and their sense of loss for Tem’s senseless death, Tem’s unfished life casting a shadow over both off them. Eventually, the two of them find, from Legosi who still has the diary, that Tem had planned out an elaborate and beautiful first date with Els that he never got to take her on, and Riz, guilt ridden and sad than Tem never got this beautiful moment, decides to ask Pina take her on that date for Tem, with Riz coaching him by phone cyano-de-Bergerac style, Riz finally getting some closure that he helped one of Tem’s wishes come true and finally acknowledging to himself that Tem had a life and loves outside of him that were cut of short by his actions, and just crying over his lost friend, as Pina and Els slow-dance in Tem memory. Or if you just want to see Tem awkwardly date a carnivore boy from school, why not something less creepy and more wholesome and ship him with Jack? That would be cute AF, and more importantly, not romanticize brutal murder. Or an AU where everything is happy and nice, I’d argue at that it’s no longer Beastars at that point, but if it makes you happy, go for it. Let’s not shame anyone here.

 Snape X Lilly (Harry Potter)

Why I hate this ship: honestly, it’s not for the reason you think; I just like Snape too much as a tragic character, and making him in any way happy destroys his arc in my opinion.  The objection’s others have raised: that Snape acts in a worryingly possessive stalker-ish way towards Lilly, and that if Voldemort had gone for Nevil rather than Harry as a child Snape would have remained a loyal death eater, are true and I acknowledge them as having some validity, but that’s not why I can’t stand this ship. Snape is supposed to be a morally and emotionally complex, tragic figure. That “After all this time?” line was the best line in the Deathly Hallows.  Snape is supposed to show the equality destructive and redemptive power of  love. It’s sort of trinity: Lilly shows the pure power of true, unconditional love in her sacrifice to save Harry, Voldy shows what self-destruction and cruelty a life without understanding love leads to, and Snape sits somewhere in the middle: his one-sided  un-requited love being both the cause of his darkest, and his greatest actions. His curse, and his redemption, fall and rise. Making him happy messes that up.

How to (kinda) fix this ship: make them miserable. Make them fall for each-other only to be pulled apart by circumstance (you know, like they were in the darn original source material). You’re serious about making this a tragic, dark romance? Don’t ship them when they’re at school: Ship them during Voldemort’s rise to power, in the 80’s, after Lilly is married. Have the original Order of the Phoenix send her to meet with Snape and use their previous relation to try to milk some information out of him. Have her feel conflicted about it, have James furious about it, but have her do it anyway for the greater good. Have her meet up secretly with Snape who is angry and distrustful, knowing his must be a trap, and talk. Have the relationship slowly build over time against the backdrop of a cold-war spy thriller, as Lilly slowly realizes that she has some lingering feelings for Snape, but can’t reconcile them her loyalty to the order and her family. Make this a love story of conflicted feelings, divided loyalties, and spy-work against the background of drawing war-clouds. Have Snape offer to leave Voldemort, if she’ll leave the Order, and run away with him, but by that point she knows she’s pregnant and chooses to stay, out of loyalty even though she’s crushing on Snape. Have him show up at the rendezvous expecting for her to be there only for James to lead an Order Ambush, and a fight to ensure, on top of Tower Bridge in the howling wind and rain, Snape surviving but having his spirit crushed and fleeing before Lilly can tell him her true feelings. Make it big, and melodramatic, but above all, make it tragic.  Because that’s the only way Snape works as a character. Always.

The better ship you should be doing: Ginny X Nevil or Luna x Nevil: You want tragic lovers, at school, with divided loyalties, who never get together in the main cannon because a Potter ruins it and gets the girl? Ginny X Nevil. Write what was happening that final year Harry wasn’t at school when they took Dumbledore’s Army and make it work in earnest. Heck, you could even have Snape, as headmaster, hated by them but secretly trying to protect them as a secondary character to their secret, forbidden love. You don’t want to break up Harry X Ginny? Luna X Nevil is sweet and wholesome, but also tragic as they never get a chance, having their school life taken over by the horror of that final year and the need to fight for their very souls in a school run by Death Eaters and the trauma of the Battle of Hogwarts meaning that in order to put away the past and move on, they need to leave each other behind. Hell, do an AU where they canonically end up together, why not? They deserve happiness.

 Dean / Sam AKA Wincest (Supernatural)

Why I hate this ship: They’re brothers. The show even makes a joke about how squick this is. Several times.

How you could (sort of) fix this ship: You can’t: They’re brothers. The show even makes a joke about how squick this is. I guess a body-swap arc could fix this, as it’s less squicky if its just their bodies with someone else’s minds,  but seriously, the reasons why this shouldn’t exist are extensively covered in the show, and it was hilarious.  To be honest, I don’t hate this ship done as a joke, but I have seen some dark spots on the internet, and I can say with all honesty it’s not always treated as a joke. Some folks are really invested in this, and all I can ask is, is your home life okay?

Now, done as a joke, I’m 110% behind this. This is exactly the sort of insane wacky bullshit that makes for a good crack-fic. For example imagine that the supernatural threat of the week was book that made anything written in it come true, and the brothers are trying to find and destroy it, but they keep getting distracted by their burgeoning romantic feelings for each-other, and suddenly realise that the owner of the book is a fan on the in-universe novels, and writing slash-fic in the book. They need to find the writer before they make them do something they’ll both regret, but it’s just so distracting when Sam’s beautiful eyes are right there and- dammit, Sam, it’s happening again! Make Sam less concerned and even a little amused, with it, but make Dean hate what’s going on. Especially when the writer’s description suddenly makes Sam noticeably better hung that him. Make the villain turn out to be Becky from “Sympathy for the devil” and end with them trying to take the book away as she writes frantically to force them to do her bidding, and you’ve got yourself a good fic.

The better ship you should be doing: Cas/Sam or Cas/Dean or Cas/Sam AND Dean fic. Duh. Once again the show-runners beat the fans to the mark and pointed out that this is the best ship, and then they took it away just to fuck with us.

 Any Katniss ship that ignores her obsession with Emotional Security Logic. (The Hunger Games)

Why I hate these ships: Katniss is, briefly put, a mess before the books ever start, her father’s death and harsh upbringing have arguably given her PTSD before she ever volunteers for the reaping, and it doesn’t get better from there.  In psychology, Emotional Security Theory (EST) is a hypothesis that the heightened emotions surrounding repeated violent exposures leaves children vulnerable to dysregulated distress responses and eventual psychopathology, aka, why Kat be so messed up.  Her internal monologue makes the books completely clear that her choice in partners is not motivated by normal affections, but by deep, deep fear. A fear of loss, abandonment and death that leads her to make every decision about what minimises her, and her sister’s, exposure to potential physical and emotional harm. It’s frantic, fraught, cold survivalist thinking. And the other characters in the book notice and acknowledge it! “Which of us will she pick?” “She’ll pick whoever she can’t survive without.” Kat doesn’t like herself for it, but she does eventually admit to herself that she makes her decisions like this.

How do we fix this ship: Ship Kat with whoever you like, but give her a good reason to pick them: and in Kat’s mind “A good reason” is based on Emotional Security Logic, she needs to have a pressing reason why this ship makes her and her sister safer. Do that, and you’ve got yourself a good Katniss story. Don’t do that, and while you may or may not have a good story, the person staring in it isn’t Katniss Everdeen anymore.

The better ship you should be writing: Finick X Annie. Or, Haymitch prequel ships

FinAnn. This, this ship has some real potential to it, and is criminally underutilized. Finick and Annie’s relationship is one of the most tragic and romantic in the story, and has so much to offer. Or, if you want to have a hard-bitten character from district 12 struggling with trying to find love in the hellish combat of the games, do a prequel in which Haymitch finds love in the capitol during training, but loses then in the area and turns to drink as a result. Heck, you could even have some fun with this and turn it into a dark comedy, or a great tragic love story, whatever you like. It’s got potential, and his backstory is vague enough you could do a lot with it.

So, tell me below why I’m wrong, and have fun with your writing: just because I hate that ship doesn’t mean you should. Enjoy yourselves.

I’m off to write awful Ax/Pina/Luna Polyjuice’d into Nevil/Cas/Finick fiction set at an anime high-school that fights a magical war against other fictional schools, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[theonceandfutureking6481]

BBC's Merlin Season 1 Episode 3: The Mark of Nimue Analysis

*SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE SHOW*

First off I always look fondly on this episode, mainly for Morgana being hilarious and epic, I mean she has the best line in the whole episode:

Arthur: You could get hurt

Morgana: So could you.... if you don't get out of my way

This episode is also fun and interesting from the perspectives of plot, characters and themes. Sorry, this is extremely long, I have a lot of opinions about Merlin.

Gwen and Merlin

This episode is in many ways about Gwen and Merlin's friendship, it is the driving force behind all of Merlin's actions within this episode and is the stepping stone for this show considering how to find a balance between acting for the greater good without suggesting that the ends justify the means.

Merlin and Gwen are first off just very sweet, their friendship is really characteristic of this show's representation of friendship overall, just genuine love and consideration for others. It is also self-sacrificing, that's one thing about the relationships in this show they are so self-sacrificing.

When Merlin says to Gwen "I didn't like to see you upset." It reveals a wonderful fact of Merlin's characterisation that I would argue stays consistent for the whole show. His motivation is always grounded in how much he cares for the people around him. He cares deeply about his friends and they are largely his reason for doing the things he does. This line is a wonderful parallel to in season 3 when Merlin decides to let Morgana die (after he accidentally trips her down the stairs), but then in the end he heals her because he couldn't watch everyone's grief. Merlin cannot separate his actions from the people he's doing them for, and he can't stand to see people hurt when he has the power to fix it because the people he loves are his motivation, they are the reason he wants a better world. This show does establish (as I'll discuss further down) that what seems immediately right (healing Gwen's father etc) isn't necessarily the right decision to make for the greater good. This is some ways always questions the validity of Merlin's motivations and his actions, but I'd argue it more seeks to find a balance. Besides a Merlin who didn't act motivated by his love for others is not a Merlin that could have helped Arthur build Camelot.

Medievalism: duty and social obligation

Quick disclaimer cause I'm touching on a more scholarly issue here that I have limited knowledge of, so I will undoubtedly make mistakes and this is my opinion. Everything I write is my opinion, but that's more obvious when I'm commenting on the themes of a fictional world rather than making a comment on actual fields of study which is what I'm doing here.

BBC's Merlin is an example of medievalism, it is an engagement with the medieval era (or ideas/images associated with it) for modern times. I honestly don't know that much about medievalism, or the medieval era, certainly not enough to make an extensive commentary on its representation in Merlin. One thing I would argue is that Merlin's representation of friendship has its roots in idealised views of the virtues of the medieval era. For many people the Middle Ages represents a time of duty and social obligation, this on one hand does lead to a stringent class divide but it also finds its idealisation in the sort of friendship represented by Merlin. The premise in most societies that place great value on social obligation is that the needs of the community outweigh the needs of the individual, that people should sacrifice themselves for the community as a whole. Every society places emphasis on this in different ways and to greater or lesser extents and our view of it as being prevalent in the medieval era is largely an idealisation based in some historical reality but also our own desires about what this era represents. There is a kind of social responsibility in the relationships in Merlin, there is a great emphasis on loyalty which is part of this idealisation. However, Merlin makes it more personal than is often depicted. We idealise social responsibility and obligation, it is often tied into the social roles of people such as loyalty to a king, or paying back debts of honour which is a form of social obligation. Merlin is more about friendship, it takes our idealisation of medieval social obligation and makes it the obligation and loyalty we owe to people who love us and who we love. I will always say that fundamentally Merlin as a show is about love, and it emphasises what we owe to people in our lives in a way I believe echoes idealisation of medieval loyalty.

This idea can also be seen in Arthur's fundamental trust of others, his fundamental assumption that everyone around him is not seeking to harm him, and that people are generally good. This ties a bit into the idea of social obligation. Arthur's idealised world is one in which people have bonds of social obligation towards each other, that people are seeking to act in the interests of the community. It's an idealisation, both of the medieval era but also an idealisation in Arthur's own head of the world he lives in.

Morgana and Gwen

Their relationship is somewhat expanded on in this episode, and they are just so sweet. Gwen gives Morgana flowers to cheer her up and its just lovely. They have a very genuine and close relationship. Morgana also has great respect for Gwen, for the work she does, and she treats her with respect.

Morgana: "If she was a sorceress, why would she kneel on the cold stone floor every morning if she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers, like an idle king."

Aside from being one of Morgana's many quality burns towards Uther, this also illustrates one of her greatest characteristics, her empathy and genuine respect and admiration for what Gwen does everyday. She doesn't see the class divide in the same way Uther sees it or Arthur pretends to see it.

Also interesting note I heard in a Merlin podcast (I can't remember which episode), it could have been the episode about this episode. It's called Destiny and Chicken (you can listen to it on Spotify and anywhere else you find podcasts- they even did an interview of Bradley James who plays Arthur at one point), and its very good. But, they said something interesting about the paralleling between the relationship between Merlin and Arthur and the relationship between Morgana and Gwen. Both are fundamentally important and genuinely caring relationships for the character. However, for Morgana and Gwen (unlike Merlin and Arthur) the class divide remains much more in place, Gwen treats Morgana like her friend but she also treats her like her mistress in a way Merlin just doesn't with Arthur (especially not so early in the show when he's not so admiring of Arthur). This isn't to say their relationship is bad or has problems, its just different whilst still acting as a parallel. I'm not sure exactly the extent to which I agree or what this says overall in themes but its definitely interesting to think about.

Uther: "A Good and Terrible King."

This episode shows Uther at both his best and his worst which is always fun because Uther is a genuinely interesting character. I got the line from my favourite Merlin fanfiction Coronation by rageprufrock, which you should definitely read, I'll link it down the bottom, it's not too long so you can read it in half an hour. It's a character study of Arthur more than anything else and its amazing, wonderful and deeply poetic. Uther is not a huge part of this fanfic, its about Arthur's character and his relationship with Merlin and his kingdom, I'm not even sure he actually appears. This line though perfectly tapped into how I always felt about Uther so it connected:

"He's been a good and terrible father, a good and terrible king."

I often think in characterising Uther we do tend to villainise him to an extent which I personally don't find accurate. This is obviously just my opinion, and I have a tendency to think the best of people so more intensely negative views of Uther are very jarring for me. He did terrible things and I truly believe he is the ultimate villain of the show but he is very human and he could be a good king and he loved his children more than anything else. We cheapen Merlin's point if we cast Uther as pure evil, everyone is capable of evil just as much as goodness. Uther is the tragedy (like Morgana) of a person who could have been good or at least halfway decent corrupted and destroyed by his own hate and ignorance. That's the point of the parallels between Uther and Morgana, we love Morgana and she was capable of so much good, but she corrupted herself with hate.

Onto this episode, Uther shows both his capability and goodness as a king in this episode as well as his hatred and ignorance. Uther's initial reaction to the fact that the plague is caused by magic is a concern about his own authority, which isn't entirely unfounded, but does reveal a huge priority of his which is control. He fears not being able to control, that's were his cruelty as a father comes from and to some extent his opposition to magic. This does not show Uther in the best light, but his actions later in regards to dealing with the plague show a decent king who cares about his people. This scene in which he tells Arthur to shut off the lower town perfectly illustrates this:

Arthur: But what about the people who live there

Uther: Don't you think I haven't considered it? What else can I do? I have to protect the rest of the city

In this situation Uther is right, there is very little other choice, he's making a hard call but it's one he has to make, and he seems genuinely distressed at having to make it. He does care about his people's well being, and he feels the burden of their protection, he can be a good King. Much of Arthur's story is in breaking away from the legacy of Uther, and rightly so, but Uther also taught him many things and one of those things is the duty Arthur has towards his people, it's a duty he takes even more seriously than Uther, but nonetheless he learnt it from him.

This however, as I've hinted, is not the whole story of this episode, Uther is also shown at his worst, and his worst is his ignorance and prejudice towards magic. He is willing to sacrifice justice and even sacrifices logical thought to his blind persistence that magic is evil.

Arthur: She's right Father. You hear the word magic you no longer listen.

Uther: You saw it for yourself, she used enchantments.

Arthur: Yes, maybe. To save her dying father, that doesn't make her guilty of creating a plague. One's the act of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girl's heart

Aside from what this says about Arthur. Arthur's comment about Uther hits right to the point of things "you hear the word magic you no longer listen". You no longer listen implies its a choice, and it is. Uther has made the choice for the last 20 years to choose to go on a dogmatic campaign of hate against magic because its easier than considering the alternative, that he was complicit in his wife's death. What Uther says immediately after "there are dark forces threatening this kingdom." is the argument used by so many people throughout history, used to justify so much hate. That there is an evil out there threatening the stability of life, that the world must be controlled and people have to live a certain way or risk destroying their own lives. It's an argument that justifies campaigns of hate and makes them personal to ordinary people who usually wouldn't care, and it is always a lie, that's not how the world works.

This episode thus shows Uther at his best and his worst, both a dutiful king and a stubborn tyrant. It's a tragedy of what he could of been, and shows how twisted up people can become when they justify their decisions with hate and fear.

Arthur

This is the first episode where Arthur really opposes Uther, he directly questions Uther's indiscriminate hatred of magic, and an episode where he realises to an extent he perhaps hadn't before some of the ways in which Uther has failed as a king. He also consciously acts in deception of Uther, because he can see Uther can't see sense. Arthur shows far more nuance of view than Uther does, understanding (even whilst still accepting as he will for a long time that magic is dangerous and it corrupts) that using magic doesn't make you automatically evil. To see the world the way Uther does is a conscious choice, you have to choose to be blind to the virtues of every apparent magic user you come across, you have to believe harmless spells are the signs of greater evil. Arthur is not someone who lets his own cowardice blind himself to reality, and so his worldview can see far more nuance than Uther can.

"One's the act of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girl's heart."

He further has a very positive view of others, Arthur will always see the good in people and that is a great strength in my view. In a lot of versions of the story Arthur's not just inspiring because he's good but because he assumes others are good too, he trusts people to do the right thing and I do believe that, that can inspire people to do the right thing. It's funny in Merlin Arthur's trust gets betrayed so many times but it never really hardens his heart, he continues to trust people no matter how many times he gets betrayed. This can be seen in his perception of Guinevere here, he will not assume she is evil because she has made a mistake, he can see the virtue in her actions, and he will assume goodness until proven otherwise. Innocent until proven guilty, in other words. It's its own form of justice, a justice Uther is forgetting, its a tenant of many legal systems and its a tenant Arthur clearly supports.

Arthur is also seeing his role as the king of Camelot in creating a Camelot that he would like to live in.

"Yes I am yet to be king, and I don't know what type of king I will be. But I do have a sense of the type of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime."

It's not the Camelot he would wish to rule, its the Camelot he would wish to live in. Arthur wants to live in a just world, he wants his people to be treated with justice just as he would like to be treated with justice. This further illustrates that unlike Uther he is not letting anger or ignorance blind him to reality, he wants the world he lives in to be fair without exception.

Finding the Balance between The Greater Good and The Immediate Good

The Greater Good is a tricky concept, you can justify any amount of cruelty if it will lead to good later on, but do the ends justify the means? It's not really a question its ever possible to provide a definitive answer for. It's easy to say that they don't, that you should just do the right thing, the nice thing, the good thing in the moment but actions have consequences and doing the good thing all the time (especially in a position where thousands of lives depend on you) is not usually possible. Merlin tackles this theme, I believe, quite well, trying to find a balance between acting for the greater good and acting with what is immediately good, and this episode is a good example.

In a just and fair world you would be able to do good all the time, but this is not the case for everything, though you should never use the worlds not fair as an argument for not doing good things but I digress. Merlin's decision to save Gwen's father ultimately backfires on Gwen because the world is not fair, the world Uther has created mean even these acts of love are punishable with death. Because, for Uther, magic is magic, and magic is evil. Gaius was, in this situation, ultimately right, Merlin can't always do what is easy and what feels right because the consequences may not be good. In other matters like closing off the lower town, Arthur's initial response is concern for the people who live their, but Uther's right he has to make this one tough decision because otherwise he risks the whole city.

However, Uther's attitude to Gwen (aside from revealing his own stubbornness and prejudice) is an example of the greater good taken too far. He has absolutely no evidence that killing Gwen will stop this plague, but he's making that sacrifice anyway because it might, that is not justice or fair or anything resembling goodness. And he justifies his decisions with what I've already said is an age old argument- "These decisions must be made. There are dark forces threatening this kingdom." This is just another version of any easy choice, acting without regard to the greater good is an easy choice but so is ignoring what is immediately right in pursuit of some ambiguous goodness. He's confusing his own weakness and ignorance for strength.

The point Merlin is, I believe trying to make is that there must be a balance. Sometimes you have to pursue the greater good, but the ends don't really justify the means.

There is a reason Arthur and Merlin will create the Camelot of legend and Uther and Gaius don't, Merlin and Arthur aren't going to sacrifice their own goodness for the sake of the greater good. Merlin for one ensures Arthur never has to, its sad but Merlin in many ways makes the harsh and cruel decisions that Arthur never has to make. However, he also often doesn't make those decisions. He reaches a point where he wants to let people die, but he never actively attempts to kill Morgana or Mordred by himself unless it is an absolute in the moment choice between them and Arthur, and even though there is plenty of moral ambiguity about that and plenty of debates you can have about that. Fundamentally the point remains, Uther would have killed them and that's why he could never be the king Arthur would be or the influence for decency Merlin would be, the ends don't ever entirely justify the means. Besides if Merlin had thought that and killed Mordred and Morgana for their possible futures he would not have been the decent person he was and he could not have helped Arthur build a good Camelot, Camelot would not have existed if Merlin had acted entirely with the greater good in mind to ensure Camelot's future.

Other Stuff

Gwen's scene in the cell is so terribly sad, she's trying to be brave and her final request to Merlin is just so sad, "Remember me." She's so young and its the injustice and cruelty of Uther's kingdom that's condemning her, his own blindness to anything involving magic. We all want to be remembered don't we, especially when you die so young that you've barely had the chance to live. -----Also Guinevere will be remembered, she is a legend so there's something very bittersweet in this. She is not forgotten, then or ever

It's funny watching back to season 1, Merlin spends a lot of the time complaining about how Arthur will never recognise him for who he is. He wants recognition. But by the end of the show, yes of course he'd like recognition but he's learnt to just put up with never getting it. His priorities have changed so much.

There's this thing that happens a lot in season 1 and 2 (and I think a bit in season 3 but its less funny then) where Morgana persuades Arthur to do things by insulting him and its the funniest thing ever, and the first instance of it is here. I like to call these her 'epic sibling powers' cause they are just such siblings and its hilarious every time

"You are one side of the coin, Arthur is the other."- Kilgaharrah--> Just, yes.

Also when Arthur gets Merlin out of when Merlin confesses to being a sorcerer—> he's obviously making stuff up on the spot—> like he might sort of believe it (the stuff about Gwen) but fundamentally he's just trying to protect him without really knowing for sure why Merlin's lying

"One day people won't believe what an idiot you were."- Gaius--> Fun little nod to the audience who know Merlin of legend (as nothing like the BBC Merlin)

Also at this point we don't know why Uther really banned magic so there is an element of moral greyness to it all. We know magic's not evil, we know Uther went too far but at this point there is still a question about 'how too far' did he go?

Coronation by Rageprufrock (seriously read it. It's amazing): https://archiveofourown.org/works/5749

[thisismyhell]

Hired to Kill 1/?

Plot:  On the run after killing your abusive ex husband, you end up as a thief in Gotham. Living in your quiet apartment, you’re surprised to enter your home only to find a bald man dressed in black laying his weapons out on your dining table. Apparently he works for Penguin, aka, the person whose mansion you just ransacked for cash and valuables. He’s here to kill you, but what he isn’t prepared for is that you may be more qualified than he to take out a hit. So when you bring his tied up a gagged ass back to his employer, the 3 of you have a conversation on how to move forward. Will you leave the mansion alive and independent? Or will you be forced into partnership with your attempted killer?

Warnings: one mention of reader killing themselves as a threat

Words: 1,800

___________________________________________________________ It was pouring rain by the time you left the property with your bag of prizes. About an hour earlier, you broke into the mansion of some rich guy you had been stalking. He seemed the vulnerable type, what with the amount of guards he always had trailing behind him. So you waited them all out, until they left for the better part of the evening to attend the man’s club. You didn’t give a shit what he did, you only cared about his stuff. And he had a house full of stuff you could steal and sell on the black market. 

Once you were back in your building, you started itemizing everything you stole in your head. You’d be damned if you missed out on some extra cash. You entered your small apartment, only to begin hearing someone … whistling? Setting your bag down quietly on the floor, and taking your gun out from its holster, you slowly made your way to the source of the sound. You then met the eyes of a tall bald man, dressed in all black, whistling while he unpacked his collection of weapons on your dining room table. He smiled at you, charmingly. 

“I was wondering when you were going to show up”, he said through a stupid grin. “Do you know who I am?”.

“Frankly I don’t really give a shit who you are”, you said still brandishing your weapon, “but I sure would like you to leave”. 

The two of you held a brief standoff, until the man rolled his eyes and introduced himself. “My name is Victor Zsasz. You’ve probably heard of me -”

“Nope.”

“Well, maybe you’ve heard of the scariest assassin in Gotham -”

“Try again”

“Okay listen. I work for Penguin, you know, the guy you just got home from stealing from?”

You lowered your weapon, taking in his introduction. Seems like you weren’t as stealth as you thought you were. Or maybe you just didn’t realize who this Penguin guy really was. “How did you find out so quickly? How did you beat me home?” 

“You must not be as smart as you are cute. Do you really think a man like Penguin would live in his house without security cameras? I watched you break in and steal shit from my phone. You really didn’t think of that?”

“I’ll be honest, I was more worried about getting enough valuables than I was about the sanity of your boss”, you slithered. 

Victor chuckled to himself, and it seemed genuine. “Miss y/n, you must realize the moment you set foot onto his property you were way in over your head”.

“Maybe. But what are you going to do about it?”

“Y/n, isn’t it obvious? I am going to kill you, and bring your dead body back to Penguin to gloat. Now come here and sit down”.

You sat down at your table, now a display of horrific instruments. Was he going to torture you? Why did he bring so many weapons just for killing a thief? Maybe he had a vendetta out for something. Now sitting in front of Victor, you realized you could not care less about his intentions. Because there was no way this night was going to end the way he plans on. You looked up at him, smiling to yourself. 

“What? Why are you smiling? I’m literally here to kill you, and you’re smiling at me?”

You couldn’t dignify that with a reason. Instead you replied, “tell me what you think you’re going to do to me”.

Victor gawked at you, smirking. “What I think I’m going to do to you? Y/n in case it wasn’t obvious before, I am a very successful assassin. Everyone knows this. What makes you think you’re so special?”

You smiled, “because if you are so successful, then all your victims are dead. Which means you must be the one telling everyone. And how foolish do you think I would be to think you wouldn’t embellish every killing story you tell people?” 

He stared at you, seeming a bit irritated. You shared a look of silence, before Victor started to unbutton his suit jacket. Then his vest. Then he took off his tie, and his black button down dress shirt. He gently set them down beside his collection of guns and knives, and kneeled in front of you with a stare that could kill. “Do you see all these scars over my body y/n? I did these”. You looked over his upper half, noticing tally marks covering his pale skin. 

“I did these, to represent every single person I have killed. This is just the upper part of my body. And after I kill you where you are, y/n, I will add another scar to my resume”. 

You looked at him in the eyes, challenging him. “And yet, dear Victor, you kneel before me”. 

Before Victor’s questioning look can change, you grab his head, kneeing him in the face. As he bounces backward in pain and brandishing a bloody nose, you flip your table covered in  weapons over, making them unreachable. Now it’s just you, and him, and the knife in your boot. You go to reach for it, but he grabs your wrist, throwing you against the wall. You bounce back, grabbing the knife before it even hits the floor, and swing at Victor. Slicing him across the chest. “That’s for thinking I wouldn't do it first” you snarl. He tries to lunge at you, but you lunge right back toward him catching him off guard. Your forehead clashes with his nose, causing it to bleed a lot more. He bends over in pain and you take the opportunity to double elbow him in his spine. He lands on your dining room floor, and you kick him in the head knocking him unconscious. 

You arrive at Penguins about an hour later, rolling in Victor Zsasz, the most successful assassin in Gotham, right up to him in his chamber. Victor is still unconscious, shirtless, gagged and bound to a 2 wheel standing trolley. You slap him across the face and he wakes up, confused and sweating from the pain of his broken nose. 

“I believe this belongs to you”, you drawl while making painful eye contact with the man who ordered your prisoner to kill you. Victor starts to mumble, and you rip away the duct tape from his mouth harsher than you probably needed to. “OW?!” he screams, glaring at you. “Unnecessary!”. You roll your eyes and direct your attention to Penguin. “So. I broke into this place a few hours ago not realizing you were smart enough for security cameras. I came home to this idiot telling me you sent him to kill me. He failed. And now I am standing here with him, alive, as a warning”. Penguin opens his mouth for the first time, “What can I do for you, y/n?” “You can all leave me the fuck alone. I got what I wanted and got to hand this guy's ass to him as a bonus. He spent his time with me gloating, instead of killing me”. Penguin thought about this, and Victor seemed embarrassed. “Penguin, I assure you that is not all that happened-” “Yes he’s right. I also broke his nose”. 

“Give me Victor’s job. And pay me double. Or I will break back into your mansion and kill you, while all your security watches on their phones”. 

Penguin looked stunned, “And what is stopping me from killing you right now?”.

“Because I have a gun in my holster and a knife in my boot. And if you even think about jumping me, I’ll kill all 3 of us right here. Right now. And then your empire will fall, and you will be forgotten. Killed where you stand by some thief, in front of all these cameras laughing at you”. 

Victor and Penguin share a look, one more pleading than the other. “Do it, boss. She’s quicker”. 

Penguin considers his assassins words. “Okay, y/n. You can work for me. But consider this a trial basis. More people than you realize are under my command. You have 30 days to earn my trust and prove to me you are better than Zsasz. And if you do not, I will have a hit on you. You seem the type to value your privacy, and I would hate to have all of Gotham threaten that”. 

You understand the threat looming ahead of you. If you were in over your head, it was far too late now. Back home at your small apartment, you smell him ahead of you. Victor followed you home. 

“Do you really think I’d let you walk away that easily? “, he purrs. 

“Well, we both know what happens when you threaten to kill me”. 

He’s quicker than before, shoving you against the wall with his forearm against your throat and a dagger in his hand. You smile up at him. “I see you had time to get dressed first”, you spoon feed him the advantage. He sneers down at you, not easing any of the force or tension coming from his large form. He takes a lock of your hair between his fingers, smelling it. “Don’t be mistaken, miss y/n. You and I will be spending quite a lot of time together. See, as you will be working to kill people for Penguin, I’ll be ahead of you stealing the spotlight. You’ll have to be quicker than me, in every. Possible. Way”. He emphasises the last words by pulling you up to him by the lock of hair. You are face to face with the man while standing on your toes. 

You looked him in his big eyes, not daring to look away or blink. “I love a challenge, Victor”. You see his pupils dilate at the sound of his name leaving your lips. He moves his thigh between your legs, causing your own eyes to dilate as well. He removes his forearm from your neck, moving instead to place an open palmed hand on your sternum, though continuing to press you against the wall. You let him play control for just a moment longer, before using all your strength to push him so you have now switched positions, now with Victor against the wall of the hallway. You look up at him coyly, “Sounds fun. Now get out of my building before I change my mind about you”. “And how is it you feel about me, y/n?”. You don’t miss his wink. “I think you know how I feel about you, Zsasz”, you purr. You get off the man, and he leaves your building and quietly as he came. 

This is going to be an interesting job, you thought before entering your apartment and cleaning all weapons from the dining room.

[fangirl-ramblings]

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x gn!reader

Summary: A return trip from Annesburg is about to change your life forever

Word count: 1520

Notes: CW: vague descriptions of wounds | Unsure how to tag this right now, Amensia Plot | Unbetaed [Any feedback is appreciated]

Tags for: @husbandits.

I was so excited when I saw that I was assigned to be your Secret Santa this year (even if i do still have a request I need to fulfill for you 🙈) I loved each item on your wishlist, but this one really jumped out at me.

"okay, so there was a post going around like last year i think where arthur had gotten amnesia and the reader took him in, and honestly i haven't been able to get it out of my head these past few months for some reason"

I couldn't find the original post you referred to, but a rough idea started to form in my head...The only problem is, this idea is so much bigger than the stories I usually write and I was starting to run out of time to get it posted for in time for the @rdr-secret-santa event (as you well know, I'm a slow writer) so...please accept my humble offering of the first chapter while I try chip away at the remaining parts.

The Best Kept Memories

[working title]

Chapter 1: Late 1899 [Oct/Nov]

All this commotion was frustrating to say the least; you'd arrived in Annesburg late yesterday afternoon, ready to pick up the supplies you'd needed to stock your cabin up with before the weather turned back into the harsh winter the Grizzlies were famous for. Despite arriving in town a good 30 mins before the train carrying your supplies from Saint Dennis was due in at the station, an hour later you were still standing on the platform waiting for it to suddenly come rumbling down the tracks.

   "All the trains have been delayed you know" A local busybody informed you.

   "Yeah, I kinda gathered," you politely replied - not really wanting to be drawn into conversation...too bad the older lady didn’t get the message.

   "Talk is…" she leaned in close, as if she was sharing confidential intel that only you were to know about, "a bunch of degenerates living not too far from here, decided to rob one of the earlier trains coming up from city." 

You found yourself rolling your eyes internally upon hearing this; you were aware the Murfree Brood were a sadistic bunch of murdering bastards, but from what you previously heard about them, they could barely care for and ride their horses, let alone plan to board and rob a moving train.

"Terrible affair I heard, seems they managed to make it all the way up towards Bacchus Bridge before…" she stopped mid-conversation, not because she ran out of gossip to share with you but she had noticed that the tracks began to rumble and the sound of a train's whistle could be heard approaching the station.

   "Well, looks like the delay is finally over," you commented, pointing out the obvious.

  "Oh do excuse me will you." You sighed with relief as you watched the woman move a little down the way, heading towards the train's engine to see if the driver had any updates of the goings on in Saint Dennis to share with her.

By the time you'd finished loading your wagon up, you were exhausted and couldn't face the thought of driving home through Roanoke Ridge in the dark, especially if the Murfree Brood were still loitering about. Looking down the main street you saw the local hotel had some vacancies and made the impulsive decision to spend the night in one of the rooms there, ready to feel refreshed in time for your morning ride home.

While it seemed like a very good idea at the time, you soon realised you'd made a huge mistake. After waking up and having a quick wash before getting dressed, you made your way back outside to find the most peculiar sight. The mining town of Annesburg, usually full of workers with dirt covered faces, wandering about in their equally filthy overalls, was now overrun by well dressed men in suits. 

   "They say they're Pinkertons." You overheard the gossiping woman that you encountered the previous night, telling her newly captive audience. "One of them told me personally that there was a gunfight up near Beaver Hollow."

   "Well Eunice, I heard talk there was reports of those hooligans that they're after, fleeing into the night and the 'Pinkertons' had to chase them all over the Ridge well into the early hours of the morning," another lady informed her, looking super smug that she'd been able to provide some information that her friend wasn't already privy too.

   "Well either way, several roads around the area have been blocked off by the men in suits." Eunice huffed before walking off, looking for a less informed person to chat too.

Shaking your head, you dismissed their talk as nothing but idle gossip and jumped up on your wagon, ready to head back home along one of the roads leading South.

   "This road is closed," the well-suited man hissed as you approached the roadblock with your wagon. "I suggest you find another route."

   "It wasn’t closed yesterday when I rode into town, any chance you could let me go past just this once?" you protested, not really knowing why you were bothering. His stony face told you this was not a man who had much compassion for others, but wanting to get back home before the storm brewing on the East side of the Lannahechee river rolled in, you persisted, "I can be home within the hour if you let me past, whereas the other route will take me twice as long - not to mention those treacherous mountain roads I'd be forced to travel along."

   "I said, find...another...way" he growled at you, clenching his teeth as he emphasised each word.

   "Fine," you sighed as you reversed your wagon and drove along the road heading north.

Even though this route would take you the better part of the day to get home, you didn't mind so much as you could take the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this part of the country, especially the area around the huge mountain that rudely stood directly in front of you.

Taking a left hand turn to finally head southwards; you trundled along, lost in a world of your own as you admired the red wildflowers that grew in abundance here. Making a mental note to maybe pick some up on your next visit up here, so you could liven your cabin up, you were shocked when your horse suddenly reared up, whinnying a distressed shrill.

   "Hey now Ponos, what's to do with you?" you asked gently, hopping down off your wagon to assess the area around you. There was nothing obvious that you could see in the road, but out of the corner of your eye you noticed a flock of scavenger birds circling over something that must be hidden out of sight behind the giant rock to your right.

   "Trust you to be scared of a half-eaten animal" you chuckled as you patted Ponos' neck in an effort to calm him down. A beautiful Chestnut coloured Belgian Draft, you'd named him after the Greek God of hard labour & toil and while you couldn’t fault his excellent work ethic and seemingly unlimited stamina, you soon realised why the stable owner had offered you such a cheap price for him all those years ago; this giant of a horse was easily spooked by the smallest of things.

After reaching up to grab your gun from underneath your seat, you started walking over to the most likely spot to investigate. If it was a fresh kill you had enough space on your wagon to throw the carcass on and take it home to make a nice meal or two out of.

Approaching the overgrowth behind the rock, the birds squawked and scattered when they realised that you were about to steal the meal they had their eyes on. Getting closer, you noticed a heaped mound laying there. Your mouth started to water as you realised whatever this was, it was certainly likely to be bigger than a rabbit and therefore would provide several tasty meals over the next few days. Using the barrel of your rifle, you cautiously moved apart the long grass, almost dropping your gun as you finally saw what was previously hidden.

Looking like death personified this was certainly no animal, but a seriously injured man. His poor face, gaunt, bloody and bruised. Judging by the shallow, laboured breaths you could see him trying to take, he was still alive - but only just.

   "Sir? Sir? Can you hear me?" You asked, not really expecting a response but the almost corpse groaned and weakly nodded in response.

You glanced back at the grey clouds that had followed you on your journey from Annesburg, before looking back at this wretched soul. What was it your old pa used to tell you?

   'There's never any harm in being a good Samaritan to those that need your help.'

Realising that you could never let yourself walk away and leave a healthy man to be stranded in a storm, let alone an almost dead one to succumb from his wounds, you quickly set your gun aside and placed his arms around your neck. Summoning all the strength you had, you somehow managed to pick the sandy-haired man up and manoeuvre him onto the back of your wagon. 

   "I live a short ride away, you’re welcome to rest there until you get your strength back up.” Unravelling a few pelts you had stored with the rest of your cargo, you tossed them over the injured man to help try to keep him warm.

   "Sorry it's not very comfy but I guess it beats lying there in the cold waiting for the cruel embrace of death," you explained whilst taking out a carrot from your satchel to feed Ponos, in the hope he had gotten over his fear and was willing to continue your journey back home, “Tell me, do you have a name sir?”

Jumping back into the driver’s seat, you looked back over your shoulder, only to find your passenger had passed out.

[mybg3notebook]

I LOVE reading those, so just right from the beginning, I wanted to say that I'd love to see you keep up the good work, but with that being said, I just wanted to add my two cents if that would be okay!

Overall, my thoughts on those analysis, is that they're really on point huge majority of the time. But they misunderstand the most basic part of his character. He is not psychopathic. He has emotions, feelings, but just as you said, is also a victim turned abuser, that is in constant survival mode, and is actively trying to insure his survival by means of manipulation.

The scar reading scene is the biggest example of them being, to some degree, fundamentally wrong. He is vulnerable in that scene, showing trauma and genuine shame. Even though he is doing is very consistently, he's not manipulating Tav in that instance. It's one of those rare raw moments where he drops the facade.

He was a bad, corrupt man as a mortal, but that doesn't exclude him from also showing the subtilty of simply being quote "human"

Underneath that mask, he's scared, and traumatized. And those factors manifest as him entering the cycle of abuse and that 24/7 survival ensuring strategy.

Hello!

Thank you very much. It's very nice to read someone disagreeing in a mature way, since I've been receiving several hate messages from Astarion fanatics (because there is no other way to call them, defending a fictional char as if it were a holy symbol when in the end it's all about EA and the interpretation done by a nobody). I'm glad you enjoyed these notes and I thank you for your insight. However, I'm afraid that I’ll stick with my interpretation because, so far, I don't see strong enough proof to see him in another way yet.

If you check the list of approvals and disapprovals of Astarion, he has a very psychopathic behaviour in my opinion. Psychopathy is characterised by lack of empathy and remorse, and disinhibited, egotistical traits. Reading the list of meta-knowledge I've compiled, it seems fair for me to use that adjective to describe him.

The whole interpretation of his character would be very different for me if he truly would have been a victim before turning into a vampire. But he was a victimiser before, and ended up as a vampire because of his own greed and abuse (again, all EA). In a way, Cazador “brought” justice to Baldur's Gate (a wicked justice, that is). This is why I insist that I see the story of an abuser who found a bigger abuser, not the story of a victim turning into a victimiser. He started as victimiser, and as a spawn, he became victim of Cazador, aspiring to retake his position of victimiser.

I agree with you. I never denied his “humanity” as vulnerability. I emphasised many times that, like any victimiser, he suffers his own pain. Being evil doesn't make him immune to it. But it's always about him and himself. We all agree that since he is free for the first time in 200 years it's reasonable that he is more than eager to just think only about himself. So, once more, all these characteristics we agree revolt about himself and his pain, which is what psychopath cares about. I just add the context of his mortal past, which was of an abuser as well.

For some reason if you describe Astarion with what we see in the game, some people think you are judging him, and there is this need to justify all his list of evil approvals and disapprovals because he became a victim of Cazador after failing in outsmarting him in his corruption. But the raw description of his persona is that: a psychopath, who approves most assaults, and assassinations without being provoked, he approves all sorts of cruelty, animal cruelty, slavery, torture, humiliations. He even comments/approves Arabella death's and Mayrina's tragedy as “funny” shows. We don't see remorse when he accidentally kills Tav, supposedly the unique ally he has so far. He was sure that he had gotten ridden of Tav—his secret was safe—, so he is surprised when he sees them alive, and then he dismisses Tav's anger, adding that they should thank him even, because he is not a true vampire. The datamining scenes only show he suffers his own curse, and aspires for more power to be free first, and to bend the will of others, later. I only see a reiterative psychopath behaviour mirroring Cazador. I know that if Tav doesn't fail those checks during the bite scene, Astarion says that he won't forget the gift (a gift Tav doesn’t know because only via datamining we know that scene was not about thirst). I point this out just to show how, in the only reasonable situation in which we could have seen remorse, we see none.

The scar scene, in my opinion, is about vulnerability as you say, true. And shame, shame for having been too careless in outsmarting Cazador and ended up as his spawn after accepting his bite. We see this is an issue since he is pretty sensitive when Tav suggests to outsmart Raphael. He feels that mistake deep in his bones.

I see you understand the scar scene differently, and it's totally valid. My main goal in doing this blog was to keep my own interpretation in one single place, to easily share with friends, and to keep it as an archive for when the game is fully released so I can see how wrong I was or how much the characters changed. And also, as a side-consequence, to share it with the fandom if they want to read these long posts since an Astan friend encouraged me to do it. Evidently, this was a terrible mistake according to a certain group of his fans.

Again, I never denied that he is not traumatised, nor scared (therefore his paranoid attitude with Cazador), but he comes from an evil past, passes through vampirism (which increases even more his evil traits) and spent 200 years under a sadist master. Then you see all of his approvals and disapprovals, all the confrontations you can have with him with a good-aligned Tav, and the bear-drunk scene (which implies that any attempt to keep a facade is lowered because he is drunk on blood), I can't see, so far in EA, any hint that can tell me he wants to be something different of what he is in terms of evilness (also, why would he be? Bg1 and Bg2 have many wonderful Evil chars that never changed their alignment in the 2 games, not everything is about redemption, which is exactly my point in the post of Power). He only wants to kill Cazador, hinting that he may be the next most powerful vampire afterwards (with the help of the tadpole). We all see how much he enjoys the tadpole powers to bend the will of others. But he doesn’t care in the slightest to inflict upon others that mind control that tortured him for more than 200 years. The lack of empathy in him is obvious to me: he doesn’t even hesitate to inflict on others what tortured him for centuries. All these details bring me to interpret all what I wrote. And again, I’m describing him, this is not to judge evil chars. I like evil chars too, my point is I work with what I see.

It's also true that all the info we have is in EA, but like I said before, my interpretation is neither “sacred word” nor “unable to change''. So far, I see all that list of content in EA, the datamining information, and the Dev's notes (which were really key for me to see many details I was not seeing) and I conclude what I did in those analyses. The devs notes made me realise that more than one situation was manipulative when I was understanding it in a more honest way. For this reason dev's notes were removed from the game. Sven said that the core concept in the relationships with the companions was going to be trust. Evidently Dev's notes were ruining that process. So, sadly, no more narrative peeks in the code.

So, I agree to disagree. I never had the slightest pretension of being... I don't know, “the truth” of anything. If some people think so is because they love to misinterpret what's plainly written. Or my English is truly that bad.

With all this said, once more I thank you for being the first mature message in a while, and I thank you for your opinion. I also would take advantage of this message to say that I will refrain myself from doing Astarion-related content anymore. I'm very tired of these attitudes in fandom. I don't want any more headaches. From now on, I will focus on the rest of the companions instead.

Thank you again.

[awomanofscience]

HEADCANON: On Carina and "filthy pirates"

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

TL;DR:

Carina has a Canonically disparaging view of pirates that I believe is influenced by her upbringing within the fold of "polite" society, the fact she's not a perfect character, and her treatment at the hands of Jack and crew. Their shared adventure and her familial connection (via. Barbossa) somewhat challenges this perception. More, positive encounters with pirates and a better understanding of their motivations would do this better. Eventually, I think she'd find certain elements of the pirate's life appealing (freedom from social constraints, fighting back, etc.).

*Longer explanation under the cut*

Throughout Dead Men Tell No Tales and her spin-off novelisation, it's pretty obvious that Carina has a disparaging view of pirates. There's evidence of this everywhere:

Calling Jack a "filthy pirate" during their near-execution

Expressing no moral opposition to his execution, unlike her own ("Kill the filthy pirate. I'll wait.")

Repeating the insult "filthy pirate" several times throughout the film

Refusing to believe one of Jack's crew could have an educated parent ("You're telling me your mother was academically inclined?")

Taking offence to Barbossa suggesting her father was a thief, particularly because he's a pirate ("The memory of my father will not be defiled by the tongue of a pirate!")

Regularly using "pirate" as an insult/judgement of character

Her perception of pirates doesn't really change until towards the end of the film, when she learns that one of the most infamous pirates of her time - Barbossa - was her father all along.

As an otherwise unusually progressive personality, why does she automatically take this view?

Carina is a product of her upbringing in "polite" society

For all the hardships she's endured throughout her life, financial/social hardship isn't really one of them.

Unlike pretty much every orphaned child in her time, Carina is neither condemned to the streets nor to a workhouse. Instead, she's sent to a "children's home" run by a rich and charitable benefactor in the countryside. This is highly unusual for her setting, given that the first real orphanage in the UK - The Foundlings Hospital - was opened in 1741. The orphanage movement didn't really take off until the mid 19th century, and although a few places did exist beforehand, most parentless kids were simply... abandoned. Some went to monasteries, others to work (and likely die) in workhouses. Some ended up on the streets. But very few were admitted into care.

In this care, Carina was also fortunate to get some semblance of an education. She's literate, well-spoken, has a higher-than-average understanding of the world around her, and is even tutored to near-fluency in Italian. The objective of this education is to turn Carina into a young lady worthy of polite society, and who can take up a working position in an upper-class household.

And this is what happens. Her first job is as a maid to the extremely wealthy Lady Devonshire, but she doesn't stay in this position for long. After bonding over their love for astronomy, she's taken in as a Lady Devonshire's ward. This is emphasised to be an elevated position that earns her a room in the estate, relief from her duties as a maid, and even curtseys from the other staff. She's in this role for four years before she leaves for St. Martin, directly before the events of the film.

The point of this context is to show that whilst canon!Carina has absolutely suffered hardship and discrimination (I am by NO means saying that 18th c. orphanages were good places to live), she still had a relatively privileged and sheltered life, compared to others like her, before DMTNT. She was brought up by and lived in "polite" society as a member of it in her own right, and so naturally reflects some of the attitudes that she doesn't yet know to challenge.

Before DMTNT, her perceptions aren't challenged

Carina doesn't live in a period where privileged society understood the links between social/financial desperation and piracy. Until you either lived or saw it for yourself, what evidence did you have to know to challenge the narrative? Carina grew up far removed from anywhere where she could see or experience it first-hand, and had nothing but stories and what she was taught to go by. And let's also be honest - real-life piracy could reap violent and unjustified consequences for innocent people. Without ever meeting a pirate for herself, or having a sympathetic example to relate to, how can see them as anything but the bogeyman?

Carina isn't a perfect person. She's highly flawed, and only truly understands how social barriers have impacted her and influenced her choices. Part of her journey throughout DMTNT is learning how they impact others, too.

Her first impressions of pirates don't exactly challenge them either (tw: sexism, objectification)

Carina's first encounters with pirates include being tricked and thrown off a building, bound and held captive, continuously condescended for being a woman, sexually objectified, and countless other pretty shit things that don't really do much to challenge what she thinks she knows.

Jack's crew treat her pretty awfully and belittle her throughout most of the film, and Jack's has his moments too (undressing scene on the boat, anyone?). I actually take issue with this narratively as a lot of this treatment makes no sense given the events of the previous films. But it's "canon", and it's pretty reasonable for Carina to feel negatively towards the only pirates she's met under those circumstances.

She isn't shown any respect from a pirate until Barbossa gives her the wheel of the Black Pearl, and even then we get that stupid line from Mullroy/Murtogg: "Sir, you wouldn't allow a woman to steer your ship...?"

Honestly? Throughout most of the film, Carina doesn't get to meet a "good" pirate who she can empathise with. By the end, she has both a shared experience and familial connection to begin the process of challenging her perceptions, but little else to take it further.

Do I think her views would continue post DMTNT?

No, I don't. Finding out Barbossa was her father was the first "big" step towards canon!Carina empathising more with at least one pirate. But even then, I headcanon that she would have a really hard time coming to terms with it, and the objectively awful things he's done, once the initial emotion wore off.

What Carina needs is to meet not awful examples of pirates that don't interact with her exclusively with put-downs, discrimination, and objectification, and learn more about what motivates them/the hardships they're often trying to escape. I think later conversations with both Will and Elizabeth would go a long way towards this in Canon, and am hoping to explore this with other characters here too.

I actually think Carina would eventually find some elements of piracy attractive. The idea of living a comparatively "free" life outside of society's constraints, and getting to "fight back" against the authorities that have persecuted her for so long.

BUT, I don't believe she'd ever really be on board with violence and acting against the innocent. Not outside my more "Dark Carina" verse anyway.

Does she take this view towards everything she's taught by society?

Absolutely not. I am not saying at all that Carina accepts all truths as taught by society as being absolute truths, including ones that don't relate to her. She is not discriminatory, or judgemental, and society was (and is) in many, many ways. But it's easier for her to accept "all pirates bad" as truth when there's significant evidence to support it right in front of her.

Summary? It's hard to challenge what you're taught as an absolute until you know how to. Carina does this well in some areas, but not in others - and that includes piracy. DMTNT gave her nothing to challenge her perceptions, so I'm going to do it here instead ;)

[nagisasstunningpersonality]

The Character As A Tool: Why Your Fave Doesn't Get More Screentime

Please refer to this post

REMINDER THAT ALL VIEWS HERE ARE MERELY MY OWN OPINIONS 

In truth, one of the most common complaints I see within this fandom is the treatment of side characters. Meaning, in short, a fair amount of the fandom are less connected to what’s going on with our main group of Nagisa, Karma, and Kayano, and instead relate to some of the less obvious choices. Now, there’s no problem with doing this. Hey, if you see something you like in a less important character, then absolutely go for it!

What We Do Know

I discovered for myself, whilst making my About Ass Class series posts, that absolutely some characters’ actual canon information is very dry. Matsui gives everyone a few bits here and there in both the Roll Call book and Graduation Album. If you’re lucky, there’s further points you can pick up just from watching/reading.

Now, and this I want to emphasise I’m stating as an opinion, Matsui actually gives us quite a lot to go from. Even if not every character is highly developed, there’s still a genuinely very solid starting block to go from with your own headcanon. Perhaps it can be argued that it’s not the reader’s job to supply that, but I’d counter that it’s actually kind of fun to not be fed every piece of information. Though more facts and a deeper dive into interpersonal relationships would be admittedly nice, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us as a fandom coming up with those ideas on our own, using the pointers Matsui does give us as a starting point. Honestly it would take the fun out a little if there was too much information, and we’d have less possibilities to play with.

Why Certain Characters Exist

I’m sorry to tell you, but one of the first things you’re taught in any kind of writing or literature analysis class is that characters are not people, they’re tools. This may feel a little harsh to say, and I’m aware that many people get attached to characters and have genuine feelings towards them. And that is totally valid! Definitely not on the same scale, but I too enjoy when people have real emotions towards my OCs, so I get it.

(rest under cut) 

To put it plainly: characters exist within a story as either a plot tool, or a message tool. A plot tool is someone who, as it sounds, exists to move the story along. Characters that need to exist in order for the story to happen as it does. Now, don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to have planned this out. You don’t need to specifically introduce Hara, for example, for the sole reason of her upping the stakes in the first Itona/Shiro arc. Characters existing for filler is still, in a way, a plot tool. It’s like… you set up a chess board. Sure, you might use the knight or the queen piece the most, but the pawns are still an important and useful piece, even if you don’t always utilize it for every move, or they don’t always stand out. Message tools are when a character doesn’t really do anything, but they help to assist in the message you want to send with your art/writing. There’s not so many examples of this in ass class, the best I can think of is either Yuuji or Sakura, who don’t do much at all but are beacons for what Matsui wants to say with them (which if you think about it is just ‘don’t do drugs kids’ and ‘stay in school’ :’)).

So free bit of writing advice for you: your character is your chisel. Once you’ve picked them up and started to work at carving out the story you want, then you can start adding all your fancy upgrades and personality points, which is what ultimately makes your character stronger. You grow attached to them when you’re done? Totally fair. Just… don’t go through this process the opposite way.

Without going too in depth with them right now, Nagisa Shiota is a plot tool. He is a plain easy to follow narrator whose observation skills intentionally mean the reader can see things clearly through his eyes. Where he loses relatability is when he displays his talent, but at that point he’s been so clearly introduced that it doesn’t matter as much, we can hear his voice. Him being more plain makes his talent more effective and shocking as it is. Karma Akabane is a plot tool. He exists so we have those somewhat comedic moments, and so we can have these big bad ass mental/physical fight moments. I actually think him not being the protagonist is something that makes Ass Class hugely stronger (and less cliché) as a series. Kayano Kaede is a plot tool. Admittedly, less so, but she has a lot of function as a back up to Nagisa, and then later is the catalyst for Korosensei’s backstory. The story starts to come to its climax due to her arc alone. As an aside I think a lot of criticism for Matsui isn’t that fair within the fandom, but I will openly say his treatment of her post reveal was not the best at all. He kind of lost control of what to do with her.

So, let’s talk about archetypes. I intend to write a whole meta about why Ass Class is predominantly written as a comedy series, but for now just take that statement as my opinion. Honestly, I do think Ass Class, with a few tweaks, could have worked with a bunch of unnamed characters. I’m instantly going to follow that up with: I’m very glad it didn’t. I love that it feels more like a large ensemble with a variety of characters. So instead of just plain filler, Matsui kind of makes good use of archetypes. You know, such as Takebayashi and Fuwa as otakus, Hazama as the dark occult girl etc. etc. All of this for comedic purpose, more than anything, which we really see in something like Koro Q which is more directly comedy. You might argue this is one dimensional, and I’d agree, but in this situation it’s achieving an effect. It’s genuinely better than having nothing. And honestly, they all do stuff. Some characters are far more effective and entertaining as a background character (i.e. Terasaka) than carrying a bunch of weight themselves.

Matsui Actually Does This Comparatively Well

Honestly, try and name another popular series in a classroom setting, with this many characters who all have individual personalities. Genuinely, the only one I can kind of think of is BNHA, and that’s not a fair comparison given the difference in story length. Comparatively to most series, Ass Class actually has really good side characters. If they were completely uncaringly written, nobody would stan them as hard. For the most part, I’d certainly argue everyone is memorable. Given that we’re juggling at least 30 people here (including teachers, Gakushuu etc.), I’d actually argue that’s kind of impressive.

And the thing is, Matsui does care. He cares enough to give everyone designs, hobbies, and personalities. A good portion of them have an entire chapter to themselves, although relative to the story as a whole they might not do so much (example: Kimura). Matsui could have been lazy with it, but he was not. I don’t want to invalidate anyone’s feelings with this, but I do argue here that those who think the opposite might be a little wrapped up in the character they stan. And I can totally understand that rightfully, you want the character you love to have more screen time. However, just because you happened to fall in love with them (figuratively I mean), doesn’t change the purpose they were originally created to fulfil.

It’s an unfair criticism that not giving every single person a huge arc makes Matsui a poor writer. Honestly, if everyone was equal without a few main characters getting a greater amount of the attention, the entire series would be a hot mess. It might be fun to reimagine the series that way, and go ahead in your own time, but as a series from start to finish, as a first time consumer, it would be genuinely very hard to follow. Not without changing the entire structure and many many plot points.

I do intend to write more about this too at a later point (because I will admittedly need to do more research), but in my opinion the biggest issue with Ass Class, and the cause behind the problems I have with it, is the genuine lack of time. It’s a relatively short story, compared to a lot of manga, and thus there isn’t the space to contain everyone’s story in deep way. I’m absolutely certain, had there been 50/100 chapters more, every character would have had a stand out chapter to themselves.

So thus I bring up the fun and stimulation that is headcanon.

The Issue with headcanons

(this point will go much quicker, I promise)

Ass class ended a looong time ago, let’s be fair. Whether you’re newer or older to the fandom, there’s still been quite a while since any kind of new content (Korotan D being the last official piece, Koro Q manga being the last anything, though I could be slightly wrong with that). That means, especially if you’ve cared about this series for a while, that we’ve considered the series to death.

Playing with headcanons is great! It’s fun! But, I do fear that especially when it comes to perhaps the more popular of the minor characters, a lot of us are getting wrapped up. It needs to be kept in mind that whilst these headcanons may have been around for a while, they are not directly correct to the source material. As a quick note, since I have seen people within the fandom getting kind of bothered over opposing opinions to the things they assume as canon. That’s not really anybody’s fault, but it does warrant saying, I think.

A Conclusion

Basically, loving a main character is great. Loving a more background character is great. You’re not a better or worse, more intelligent or more basic person for whoever your fave is. The point is, you see something you like in a character and you relate to them, or else just enjoy them. But as fun as that is, characters are tools. They exist for a specific purpose. Sometimes, that purpose doesn’t warrant them having a huge stand out character arc.

But hey, that’s totally okay because we’re fortunate enough to have such a community (arguably, I’d say a genuinely active one too) where we can dream that up ourselves. We can pretty much endlessly explore these possibilities. So, perhaps instead of negativity complaining about certain narrative issues we find (just putting this here: it’s fair to do this, but I don’t think it should be the FOCUS of conversation), we focus on driving that energy into creation. And there’s a lot to play with and create. And honestly, seeing HC posts and all sorts staring these more minor characters is great, and I’m pretty sure the majority would agree with me on that. I fully realise and accept that I have a platform here, and going forward I personally want to be a part of that. In a constructive way, rather than ‘deconstructing’ (yes, there’s a pretty big different as I see it).

(I realise that this last part comes off a bit call out post like, and I want to ensure that it is not intended to be that. I just have a general sense of some attitudes towards things floating around in a very generalised way right now)

[innovativestruggles]

TsukiYachi speculations, thoughts and theories based on canonical evidence

WARNING: THIS IS A LONG LONG POST!

So I wanna share my thoughts with everyone - especially ya’ll TsukiYachi lovers (notably @mimi-cee-hq​) whoever that’s left (and clearly I should be working but doing this cause I apparently like to procrastinate)

Canonical Evidence

I want to reinforce the point here. When I write about character analysis and speculations, I base things on canonical evidence - that is - based on what I see and interpret from the manga and anime. I usually prefer to use manga as that is the ultimate canon but seeing as the anime is quite loyal to the manga, I’ll be using it too. Of course, this is all interpretation base (and maybe biased) which is why I will put forward evidence that I see so it helps people see where and how I got to my conclusion (instead of looking like I just made something up). Teehee.

So....HAPPY READING!

Manga Vs. Anime

I only recently started the anime and reading the manga (yes yes I am aware I am late to the party but I’m FASHIONABLY LATE) and it is amazing how loyal the anime is to the manga (so far) but I have noticed a few discrepancies. And because this is a TsukiYachi post I am going to focus on this. 

The anime unfortunately toned down some of the interactions between Tsukki and Yachi, which is a huge shame - BUT it does make up for some parts by extrapolating and adding more cute details that was not seen in the manga. So I suppose there are elements of balance, although the details the anime omitted was important as it gave off more interesting vibes. 

For example; this interaction below was downplayed in the anime. Yachi only talked of Tsukki’s liveliness and the flustered “he usually acts so cool” was left out. So sad, I would have totally liked to see a flustered Yachi talking about Tsukki <33

AND THIS ONE BELOW! THE MOST DISAPPOINTING OF THEM ALL! I was sooooooooo sad when the anime left this specific part out where Tsukki and Yachi were sitting next to each other. In the anime, Yachi was somewhere on the other side holding plates or something. LIKE SERIOUSLY? When manga panels are drawn, they usually draw who they would like to emphasise in the centre or draw them bigger. LOOK AT TSUKKI AND YACHI BEING THE CETNRE OF ATTENTION! LOOK AT HOW BIG THEY’VE BEEN DRAWN!! LOOK AT THEM SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER. 

STUPID EFFING ANIME HOW DARE YOU DENY US TSUKIYACHI FANS OF THIS!!! *rant rant rant*

Anyways, one thing I did like about the anime was them extrapolating this scene. Teehee. Look at Tsukki just staring at Yachi even whilst Yamaguchi was talking. And then Tsukki continues to talk to Yachi as if Yama didn’t say anything at all. This scene was so adorable <33

So moving on

Interactions

I gotta agree with everyone here and the obvious is that the interactions between Tsukki and Yachi are minimal. It is so sad but you know, Tsukki is a side character and Yachi is like a side side character so I do understand why their interactions would have very little screen/page time. In saying that, whenever they do have their interaction, or when one talks of the other, it was rather significant. This was most notable in the Shiratorizawa arc. Let me explain;

Yachi is extremely caring of all her teammates and her interactions lie predominantly with Kiyoko and the four first year boys. Of the four, Hinata would be the one she interacts with most. I suppose this is because Hinata is the main protagonist so he gets thorough interaction moments with all characters. It is a given. 

Kageyama’s interaction with Yachi was second in terms of screen/page time but I believe the vast majority of the time, it was together with Hinata (ones that are significant anyways). 

Then there is Yamaguchi, who so adorably thinks she is cute. I am still unsure whether he actually likes her (maybe a little crush?). But I reckon Nishinoya likes Kiyoko more than Yamaguchi likes Yachi LOL. So it might just be a tiny crush, I don’t know. Anyways, YamaYachi have very little screen time as well and their direct and indirect interactions don’t particularly stand out to me. I mean, they do have their little fluff moments but nothing significant in terms of development.

Now we have Tsukki. In terms of screen/page time, Yachi and Tsukki, like I said earlier, have minimal interactions - but I mean this in a direct interaction kind of way. What I noticed were their indirect interactions! I’ll explain more later.

I went into watching Haikyuu with a very neutral standpoint and my TsukiYachi shipping did not start until quite some time later (most notable during the Shiratorizawa arc).

Shiratorizawa Arc

Tsukki underwent a major character development during the Shiratorizawa arc so this was a time where he shone the brightest. During this arc, Yachi had some of the biggest screen/page time - it was so awesome! 

Aside from when Yachi was first introduced, we never really got to see much of her, but her screen/page time appeared a lot more during this arc. It so happens that this very arc was the most important for Tsukki. Three major things I noted from this arc,

1. Akiteru’s presence

2. Akiteru and Yachi’s interactions (direct and indirect)

3. Yachi’s commentary of Tsukki

Akiteru’s Presence

Akiteru, we all know, was Tsukki’s biggest influence when it comes to his ideas around volleyball, so naturally his presence there during Tsukki’s major development would be significant.

Akiteru and Yachi’s Interactions

These two have an absurd amount of interactions during this arc. Have a look below!

This was only a handful of times! There were so many more I couldn’t possibly add them all to this post! They only just met that day yet they talked so much to each other! And it wasn’t just all about Tsukki, it was about the game in general and I just love the friendly interactions between them. Like the most important person to Tsukki was interacting so much with Yachi <33 My heart...

Furudate could have made Akiteru interact the same way with any of the other three on the stand i.e. Saeko, Takinoue or Shimada but he made the focus on him and Yachi. And to have Yachi closely interact so much (and on a deep level regarding Tsukki) with someone so close to Tsukki, I thought this was so adorable!

Yachi’s commentary of Tsukki

Then we see Yachi’s commentary. FML don’t get me started on this. I don’t tend to be too observant with these kinds of things but I remember when I was watching this arc for the first time, the amount of times Yachi made some sort of comment about Tsukki was pretty much the only time she had screen time (aside from when Akiteru was talking to her). 

I don’t know whether Furudate was being deliberate with this (he probably was), but anyone on the team could give the same comments as Yachi regarding Tsukki! They probably know his play a lot better as well, but then the audience were given scenes of Yachi commenting on Tsukki instead. ALSO, NOT JUST ANY COMMENTS, they were quite deep-seated ones too. Yachi was just so observant of him and she watches him so closely it was so sweet. She seems to know his state of mind really well <333333

So have a look at some of her comments

Of course there was the one panel earlier when she was talking about how lively Tsukki appeared. I won’t duplicate it. I really can’t help but notice how much she talked about Tsukki during this arc, and they were all mostly directed towards Akiteru as well! HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT? I gotta reinforce this but talking so deeply about someone to the most important family member of that person is so.....HNNNGGGG!! It was no wonder Akiteru was so surprised that Tsukki may have other friends other than Yamaguchi. Teehee. 

Also note that Yachi has not spoken about Kageyama or Yamaguchi (or even Kiyoko) in such a deep manner. She has done so bits and pieces toward Hinata, but tbh not as much as this arc here re; Tsukki.

Below are some Yachi reactions specifically towards Tsukki spiking (first two images) and blocking (last two images) - I had to put these in cause it’s soooo cute!

Something extra for thoughts. I really love the below panel. Something about Yachi speaking of this was so sweet and tender. As if she truly knew exactly how much pain he was in. AAAAAHHHHHHH T____T My gorgeous babies.

Also this one below as well, which occurred earlier in the manga. I just love how Yachi looks out for everyone but she finds Tsukki just that much more challenging to decipher. It just makes it so great when she was able to tell the differing emotions from Tsukki later on in the series... even though he was so apathetic most of the time...

Finally this image below which I already posted above but would like to say a bit more about. So this scene occurred right after Karasuno beat Shiratorizawa. I just love it how with all the emphasis between Yachi and Tsukki during the entire arc, it was so beautifully wrapped up with them sitting next to each other <333

Extra Side Story

Right I ain’t gonna leave this one out. This panel below just goes to show that there was something going on here. Whether I have overanalysed it or not, on face value, it just seems a bit too different for me. What I mean is that Tsukki is a very apathetic, standoff-ish kinda person. If he is not being aloof, he is making some sort of snide and snarky remarks about someone. So Tsukki literally going out of his way to try and say something nice, to make Yachi feel better about her body and then getting a bit miffed because it didn’t get through the way he wanted, was very, very out of character for him. Which is why I just feel like he may have a soft spot for Yachi. Or maybe he is nicer to girls? Though I haven’t seen him saying anything remotely encouraging to Kiyoko.

Then I thought of what he said. As I mentioned in some other post (I posted heaps I don’t even remember where now lmao). “There are definitely people who like smaller girls...” If the translation was done correctly from Japanese to English (I can vouch for this as I can read a bit of Japanese), then the word ‘definitely’ he used was rather brazen. It just means he knows with 100% accuracy that there are people out there who likes smaller girls... And it’s normally a reference to the person speaking because they obviously know that they like the person hehehe.

Okay almost done with my thesis.

Star References

Yo this one is so fluff I fucking love it. I already made brief comments about this in some of my other posts and replies and Mimi (@mimi-cee-hq​) has done an amazing job writing two mini fics on this for me (ILY MY TSUKIYACHI SOUL HAS BEEN FED). See Matching Stars and the sequel A Blue Star! Thank you Mimi you’re a legend <33

So I started watching it a little closer in the anime (and manga), and Tsukki really favours his star shirts a whole damn lot (like the whole moon and star reference probably re; play on his name). Yachi on the other hand favours her star hair ties, blue ones she wears as manager and black ones during school times. I mean come on! Subtle references much? Either I am overanalysing this way too much and Furudate was half asleep when he designed these accessories or he truly be putting in some sneaky TsukiYachi references <333

P. S. Couple accessories that reference each other in subtle ways are common in Japan.

Concluding Thoughts (this honestly feels like an essay fml)

So these are my evidence for this pairing so far. I may have overanalysed this and Furudate could be like “wtf this person be taking this whole thing out of context that was not what I intended” OR “yeah man she totally nailed it right on the spot. I’m surprised she could pick this up so well” HAHAHA. 

Either way, this was my interpretation based on what I saw/read. As a long time manga reader, I know that manga artists portray characters and place emphasis on certain things in differing ways because the audience reading and seeing a drawing is different to them watching something. It’s a lot more difficult to portray your point across to readers than watchers. So that’s why when I read manga, parts such as drawing things bigger, more detailed and at the centre signifies more emphasis, as well as having certain characters together in panels.

At first glance, I actually thought this pairing would be like a crack pairing because there was no absolute way there could be anything remotely romantic about this ship. But the more I watched and read, the more I realised that this pairing does have some sort of potential. I mean, just because of all the direct and indirect interactions I wrote about them here, it does not automatically mean that there would be a romantic development. What I’m trying to show is that there is a lot more to this pairing than just thinking of them as a crack ship, b/c there are developments for these two. Furudate seems to make it so that these two know each other a lot more than what the audience is being given. Do I even make any sense? LOL

Feel free to refute every single thing I wrote here. I love a good debate. As long as you can back it up with evidence and keep things civil that is. It would be so nice if Yachi ends up with Tsukki but yeah who knows. I’d rather her end up with no one if she doesn’t get together with Tuskki (but that’s my personal opinion). Leaving things to interpretation can be a good thing.

BONUS

LMAO YACHI! HAHAHA! But I just love it how Furudate drew her close to Tsukki again <33 T___T so beautiful. And Tsukki in his giant star shirt...what’s new? lololol

BONUS BONUS

Nervous Yachi awaiting results of Tsukki’s injury. AHHHHHHHH LOOK HOW ADORABLE SHE IS! LOOK AT HER! I can’t make GIF but if you go and watch this scene she is literally shifting nervously on the spot. My precious gorgeous girl waiting for her man. I can’t, I just can’t ....

That’s all folks!

EDIT: I made a Part 2! Read it here

[fyexo]

200925 SuperM Dives Deeper with Super One

We meet the game-changing and boundary-breaking supergroup everybody needs to know.

There’s a rumble in the ground, a rupture, a star shining in the sky. Like a meteor landing on a quiet plain, SuperM – the Avengers of K-pop – landed in our lives, igniting the industry in unprecedented ways. With K-pop now considered a global phenomenon, how much more innovation is required to demand attention? The answer lies in the Capitol Records and SM Entertainment supergroup: the first K-pop act to debut in the US who immediately stole the show and made music fun again with their record-breaking 2019 introduction. SuperM consists of a diverse group of stars hailing from different groups: Taemin from SHINee, Kai and Baekhyun from EXO, Taeyong and Mark from NCT 127, and Ten and Lucas from WayV. They are the future, the charismatic force managing to both elevate and inspire. With Super One, the group’s first full-length album released on 25th September, they graduate from simply jumping and popping (Jopping!) to invoking the sincere emotions of listeners while simultaneously lighting up the room in the way that only they know how.

Baekhyun – the soulful vocalist, humble leader, and oldest member of SuperM – opens up about their growth: “When we first met, I could tell that the younger members were feeling a little nervous. But aside from working and performing together, we also naturally spent a lot of time together off stage, too.” In fact, their chemistry is palpable: “From sharing the same rooms when we were on tour in the US to shooting a reality show together recently, we made a lot of memories. Now, we’re like close brothers. We feel very comfortable with each other.”

Since joining the supergroup, Baekhyun’s Delight, released in May, became the first album in 19 years by a Korean soloist to sell over 1 million copies. Baekhyun says, “Shortly after completing my solo activities with ‘Candy’ [the lead single], I regrouped with SuperM, and I definitely feel more at ease in a group.” As evidenced by their discography, which fuses elements of hip-hop, pop, and various other genres, “We are always experimenting with different styles and trying to create something new so the synergy that we bring to the stage is very distinct and unique.”

Taemin has found similar success with his solo endeavours, recently releasing his best-selling project to date just this month. His 3rd Korean studio album, Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 1, hit number 1 on several iTunes Top Albums charts including the US and Canada. The graceful performer ponders the importance of embarking on this journey with the rest of SuperM. “Through our individual teasers, we wanted to tell a personal story about our beginnings—from how we developed our dreams to how we got to where we are now. They are reflections of our past that allowed us to become the artists that we are today.” For Taemin personally, who first debuted in SHINee in 2008, “This experience helped broaden my boundaries as an artist and I’m very thankful for that.”

Taemin’s wisdom is apparent in how he interprets his growth, “Although I’ve performed abroad many times before, SuperM was formed with the global market in mind so I took this as a new challenge and a great opportunity for me to learn and grow even more. Through SuperM, I was able to get closer to my international fans and learn more about their cultures. Because of the opportunities I’ve had more recently to perform on a global stage, my stage performances and mannerisms have improved and this has made me a stronger artist.”

Branded as fast-moving and dynamic, there were certain expectations for them to continue on this path. The motifs are intentional, but fitting, and as the endearing Hong Kong rapper Lucas puts it, “‘Movement’ and ‘speed’ for us carries a deep meaning and represents our strength and energy. It also describes how SuperM is always moving forward no matter how difficult the situation may be. There is no better tomorrow if you’re not moving forward.”

Taemin further reflects on this. “I think fans will be surprised to hear mellow, medium-tempo tracks that are not performance-based. Incorporating the performance element is of course one of the most important parts of what SuperM does in our music, but this time, we also wanted to emphasise a message of hope.”

Kai, lead dancer of EXO and Gucci ambassador, who will also be embarking on his solo career soon, shares that “I really want to perform ‘Infinity’ and ‘Monster’. Together, they form our title track, ‘One’. I’m excited to perform ‘One’ as well, but also would love to showcase the two tracks separately, as I think that would bring a different charm on stage.”

The love for this track is echoed by Taemin, an expert when it comes to this fusion of songs as SHINee also had a combination of tracks with 2012’s ‘Sherlock’, a mix of ‘Clue’ and ‘Note’. “With K-pop, you often have a gradual change of genres in one song, but ‘One’ brings together two completely different songs, so it’s fresh—but it still sounds very natural and seamlessly put together.” He adds, “The members’ vocals really stand out through these tracks so I hope fans enjoy!”

B-sides like ‘Together At Home’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’ are like a comfort blanket for fans, suitable for the current world climate. Kai recognises that impact and describes it as intentional, “Music can really lift your spirits when you’re feeling down so I hope people find healing and happiness while listening to our music. That would make us very happy.”

“FROM SHARING THE SAME ROOMS WHEN WE WERE ON TOUR IN THE US TO SHOOTING A REALITY SHOW TOGETHER RECENTLY, WE MADE A LOT OF MEMORIES. NOW, WE’RE LIKE CLOSE BROTHERS. WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH EACH OTHER.”

Prior to the official album drop with title track ‘One’, several songs were released, each accompanied by their own electric music videos. The single, ‘100’, has lyrics written by youngest member Mark, who explains, “For ‘100,’ I wanted to really bring the energy of SuperM, because my verse opens up the track, and I wanted to really complement the song while emphasising our strength as a group and that we have the capability to be at the top.” The Canadian rapper, whose positive energy is contagious, says, “Taeyong and I also wrote our verses for ‘Together At Home,’ and I think we tried to keep the lyrics closely tied to the overarching message of the album. So for that song, we tried to envision what it’s like to be “together at home”, so staying connected to the fans and our loved ones while we are physically apart.”

Ferocious single ‘Tiger Inside’ was released on 1st September, and NCT leader Taeyong describes it best, “as a hip-hop song with an Asian-themed vibe. One part of the lyrics says, “Wake up the tiger inside” which I think describes SuperM’s energy really well. He eloquently personifies the group through a more artistic lens. “SuperM coming together is almost like a painting created using these different colours, to create a new work of art.”

Though promotions are hectic, Taeyong opens up about life outside of the spotlight, sharing, “I personally spent a lot of quality time with my family and also creating new music.” Mark has also been in tune with his rhythmic side, adding, “I’ve been listening to a lot of the new music that’s been coming out… Recently, Big Sean’s new album and Dominic Fike.”

The fashion of the group ranges from traditional Korean wear to modern hip-hop stylings, reflecting the merging of cultures, sounds, and themes apparent in their music. Lucas took a special liking to the outfits they wore for this comeback. “I wore a black outfit in the ‘One’ music video and it made me feel like a fictional character from a film or a book. I really liked the concept of that look. For ‘Tiger Inside’, I wore this beautiful emerald colour outfit with gold embroidery and intricate Asian-themed details—that was another one of my favourites!”

With everything going on in the world right now, Ten, the multilingual Thai singer and dancing king, says, “Right now, our biggest goal is to interact closely with our fans in the best way possible given the current situation. Even though we can’t meet each other in person, we want our fans to know that we are always thinking of them and that we are always trying to create opportunities to make us feel close.” He mentions ‘Beyond Live’, the platform SuperM spearheaded earlier this year to provide a virtual concert experience for fans.

“We are always thinking of fun and innovative ways to interact with our fans so we are definitely planning on doing many more online promotions that bring us closer together.” He elaborates, also sharing that he’s excited to finally perform songs off of Super One.

This album is a new era for SuperM, whose journey as a group has been far from ordinary but delightfully rewarding. As Baekhyun concludes, “When SuperM was first announced to the public, it may have been odd to see members from different groups come together like this to form a new group. But in spite of that, our fans have always cheered us on from the get-go and we’re incredibly grateful for their support.” SuperM’s awareness of the times they’re in and ability to adapt allow them to be a tantalizing force in the industry.

Though awards and accolades are nice, what makes this group special beyond their obvious talent and charm is the passion, grit, and hard work they put into what they do, and Super One is the ultimate care package and culmination of their gifts. Through music, they remind us that we all have the power to unite together as one no matter where we come from.

Ashlee Mitchell @ TMRW