#i thought for a brief moment about using a different screenshot for this but then i came to my senses

[laurelwen]

The Loveliness of Decay: Rotting Flesh, Literary Matter, and Dead Media, Jesse Stommel

(Original Post) Humor Masterpost

[plaidos]

Hi! I’m not a follower but I came across your post while browsing the arcane tag and I was curious bc I’d only heard positive things about the show re: representation so far. I went ahead and rewatched the scene you shared the image of and here’s what I’d say—

i don’t remember much about the character on the left, I think they’re only in there for that brief scene where we see them react as some rando gets thrown out of the brothel theyre standing in front of. They’re not treated like a joke, they just exist.

the one on the right is a yordle which is a race from LoL/arcane, which is why she looks “funko pop” esque. side note, she’s not the only yordle in the show and not all yordles are in the undercity. she’s only in one scene but has a somewhat important role. She’s not treated as a joke at all. When she seductively curls a finger at one of the side characters and he shies away and grimaces, I took that more as a kid (like a 13 year old) being creeped out that a lady old enough to be his grandma is trying to pull him into the brothel.

the whole scene this is a part of is just us being introduced to the city (“the undercity”) the main characters live in, it’s dark, it’s grimy, it’s the underbelly. We see shots of a lot of different types of creatures, different types of people, different races. The primary thing being portrayed here is how dangerous and non kid friendly the place is, as we see lots of criminals, shady characters, and ofc the aforementioned brothel.

all that being said, I’m not trans so I could be missing something here, but I feel like the screenshot is somewhat taken out of context. I myself had to go back and watch the scene to remember what happened.

Also, I really love the show and I think it’s a shame people are shying away from it because it’s based off league. Ofc you don’t have to watch anything you don’t want to, but it’s a great standalone story and I have a lot of friends who watched it despite hating league (and league players) and still enjoyed it!

Anyways sorry this was kind of long and I hope you don’t mind that I dropped into ur inbox despite not following u.

what you’re missing is that it is a joke. like, you’re telling me how you “took the scene” but you’re just wrong, sorry. like you don’t need to explain the scene to me! i went and watched it. and it’s transmisogynistic for all of the reasons i’ve described. just because there isn’t a massive punchline about her being a man in a dress doesn’t mean it isn’t transmisogynistic. like the audience is supposed to think that this huge muscular trans woman and her gremlin friend are disgusting and scary. it’s awesome that you didn’t and you thought this was just, oh cool, nice body types moment! but why were these specific women chosen for a joke about the seedy underbelly of this city? why these specific women for a joke about how scary this place is?

you have to stop closing your eyes when trans women point out the obvious. it is a transphobic joke. anybody trying to argue with me on that in my inbox will be blocked.

[yuurei20]

So in the second novel, after Leona's overblot does it go into his past or is it just the speech afterwards?

Hello hello! We see a brief interaction between Leona and his brother that is similar to how things played out in the game.

Some places are identical but other places are only in the game, other places are only in the novel, and other places are similar in both but slightly different, so I put the pieces from each together into a puzzle--I hope this helps!

(The EN translation is great but I am posting screenshots from both servers for just in case anyone is curious)

"From the moment I was born, there’s been a boulder on top of me that’s too heavy to move.

From the very instant I came into this world—no, long before that. This weight has always been here.

Once, when I was too young to understand anything, I asked about it like a fool, and the butler looked genuinely troubled.

Not once, throughout all his long years spent serving the royal family, had he ever worn such a perplexed expression. In that moment I realized that I had no right to desire the throne.

Not to boast, but I was a clever, intelligent child. But even so, someone should have been able to understand me, sooner or later.

I will have my chance, too. Someday, someone will see me for who I am. I was so certain, and I worked so hard.

Until I realized it was all for nothing.

'Come on, let's finish up quickly before Leona-sama returns.' 

The servants are whispering as they clean.

‘I can't deal with such a moody child.' 

I can hear them through the door. 

‘He’s probably out there asking twisted questions, troubling his tutor. Crown Prince Falena-sama is so bright and cheerful, so why is his younger brother Leona-sama so sullen?’

‘It’s so troublesome. And to think a member of our own royal family possesses magic that turns everything to sand...'

‘Both of you, will you stop with that! What will happen if someone overhears you.’

Nothing. That’s how I want to respond, with a laugh. If I were to open this door, step inside, and show them this ‘terrifying power,’ I wonder what their faces would look like.

Of course, I would never do that. 

I used to have them reprimanded, indiscriminately, for being so ill-mannered, but by this point I had stopped. Because I had realized that it will never end.

Unique magic that is inherited at birth has nothing to do with the person’s will, but humans wrapped up in their own superstitions are ignorant to common sense.

Or maybe they think this is a power that I desired, and fought to obtain. Either way, they are not worth dealing with. I dislike hassles. And I hate doing things that have no point.

And yet, I still find myself thinking.

I bet that if I were the Crown Prince, this is what everyone would have said: ‘A promising mage with strong magical power? He is so thoughtful, composed, and completely different from his carefree younger brother.’

I knew thinking about it was pointless, but I couldn't stop. And I started to hate myself for it.

The hope I had been clinging to finally disappeared with the birth of my brother's son.

'Leona! Why weren’t you at today’s ceremony?'

My older brother was so polite as to confront me directly with reality.

‘Ceremony? Ah, you mean the party you threw to parade your child around in front of the nation? Yeah, sorry about that. I ended up going back to sleep.’

‘Such a lazy…the presentation of a future king to the citizens is an important day.’

‘Certainly. An important, joyous day. Since it’s the same day that the despised second prince’s only chance to inherit the throne disappears. Everyone in town and throughout the palace must be undoubtedly relieved.’

Even if both my father and my brother were to die, I cannot become king. The throne is a hopeless prospect. And he knows. He knows that I have longed for the day I would succeed to the throne since I was a child.

And still he believes that it is only natural that I would celebrate the birth of his son.

I cannot bear the kindness of someone so stupid.

‘Do not say it like that!’ 

If you can make such a pained expression as you speak, why don’t you hand over the throne? That glory that you’ve had since you were born without struggling a day in your life.

‘Being born first must be nice. You spend every day singing and lazing around, and become king.’

He furrows his brows, looking sad, as if preparing to counsel me.

‘Leona…you may never be king, but you are still wise. There is so much you could do for this country.’

For this country. What a cruel, detestable thing to say.

‘And? You’re telling me that, for this country, I should serve you obediently? You have some nerve, saying something like that while trying to be all chummy!’

‘That’s not what I mean! You cannot let that power of yours rot away, unused.’

‘And maybe if this country selected its kings on the basis of intelligence, I’d be motivated to do something with it.’

If I have to talk to this naiive man any longer I might go insane. Just before I left the library I turned to him, and smiled.

‘Congratulations, Falena-sama. I sincerely rejoice in the birth of a new sun…surely the future of the kingdom of Sunset Savanna is incredibly bright.’

Without waiting for a response, I slammed the door shut.

No matter how hard I study, no matter how powerful the magic I become capable of commanding, it will never be acknowledged that I am superior to my brother, and I will never become king. Why do I have to endure such thoughts, just because I was born a few years too late? 

Simply because I was born in the wrong order, everything I do is dismissed; nothing is even acknowledged.

Why did I have to be born second? Why will I never get to be first? Why. Why. Why. 

—Life truly is unfair."

(This connects directly to here!)

[sergeifyodorov]

☕️ Claude giroux

CLAUDEEEEE the milf and dilf of all time somehow... ive both said and seen this said before but his aging has truly been a gift for all of us out there with eyes. wrow.

okay real thoughts time I seriously joined hockey fandom RIGHT at the tail end of his time with the Flyers -- like, I started regularly watching in Januaryish 2022, he was traded to Florida in March 2022. Looking at the Leafs' schedule and from my own memory, I have never watched a Flyers game with Giroux in it. To me they are still intrinsically linked, but it might as well be the Bossy Islanders?? Like it's well established as part of The Myth that claude played exactly 1000 games as a flyer and was Theee flyer and all of that but like. To me he isn't a Flyer, he's an ex-Flyer.

THAT BEING SAID his weird and brief time in Florida also never felt right? Maybe because it was the pre-Tkachuk trade Panthers and that era of them was strange and different and empty but like. Jumbo Joe and Claude Giroux were both Panthers at the same time. Now that he's a Senator, though, he feels... well, he doesn't feel like he was always supposed to be a Sen because he's an ex-Flyer and somehow will always be an ex-Flyer before he is a current Sen or Panther or whatever, but it feels more correct somehow.

I think he's really interesting mythologically. I think there's something to be said about existing after the disaster. I had a moderately popular post a little while back about how he's kind of the Obi-Wan Kenobi of hockey, which was horrifically cheesy and also a lot because he kind of looks like a sexy hockey-er Ewan McGregor but also because they're both kind of destined for infinite sadness, an old man in exile while chosen ones elsewhere succeed. There is this kind of great tragedy to Giroux, without a single moment that really defines it.

I also think he's a really neat character? Like he's constantly described as some sort of trickster type, always with some kind of strange Bit going on. Calling people pigeons and biting Gudbrandson's jersey and the affinity for grilled cheeses. There's this one really great photo (aka screenshot of a broadcast) of him and Wayne Simmonds in the penalty box, and Simmer's jawing and leaning towards someone off-camera and Claude's just holding him by the jersey with the most gleeful shit-eating grin on his face. Hell fucking yeah.

ALSO I THINK HE'S A SEXY REDHEAD

[starry-907]

hi starry!!! <3 i've been seeing so many stick men on my dash, and i've gotten super curious. the fandom wiki page answered none of my questions, so i thought i'll turn to the resident expert <3 <3 <3 whomst may be these characters and where do they come from?

RESIDENT EXPERT SJDLFJSKDJ THANK YOU I GUESS?? i'm just very autistic abt these silly sticks, i don't think i'm much of an expert

the stickfigures are from Alan Becker's Animation Vs series/franchise (calling it a franchise seems wrong but there's multiple series under the umbrella so idk how else to describe it) on youtube! i'm gonna go into more detail on that but i'm putting it under a cut because i don't know how long this'll get to be completely honest

also sorry if this takes a while to get answered i wanted to collect screenshots and visuals

So i'm not gonna get into a full play-by-play, mainly to avoid spoiling you, but the series can be kinda split up into a few different categories (the first two being the "primary" series of the overarching series)

ALSO the creator refers to all the sticks with he/him but a lot of people tend to headcanon differently (it's me i'm people) so i might use my own hc pronouns for characters. honestly part of the series' appeal is the fact that there's wiggle room for headcanons to emerge.

anyway! starting off with the og:

Animator vs Animation

animator vs animation starts off with the simple question of, "hey what if my drawings came to life and fought me", which is somewhat of the overarching question through the first 3 installments

the fourth one winds up turning that question on it's head by the end because of this silly li'l guy, The Second Coming (usually called second or orange by the fandom)

by the end of ava 4, second (and the friends they found on a website) have reached an understanding with the animator (who's also alan, it's a bit confusing but i try to think of it like mcyt rules where there's the creator and then the character), and are now friends with him. ava 1-4 were recently bundled into being animator vs animation season 1, i'd recommend you start with these four if you want to watch the other series.

ava seasons 2 and 3 (season 3 is currently ongoing) take a bit of a different turn, delving into the previously left up to question fates of the past three sticks that alan had made in ava 1-3, along with also dropping some bombshells of lore here and there. semi related side note i'm taking the chosen one and shaking them in a tupperware violently.

Animation vs Minecraft

this one is the longest of the different series, with 35 episodes (36 counting the original). it also pulls off the "mainly filler eps until everything suddenly spurs into motion" thing very well. it's also funny because the series started out named as "animation vs minecraft shorts" when episodes in season 3 would get up into at least 20 minute runtimes.

this series is where we start to get personalities developed for the four sticks that second befriended in ava 4, through the lens of different minecraft niches, from animal care to potions to redstone to noteblocks.

avm seasons 1 and 2 focus more on exploring the different aspects of minecraft (such as build battles), though season 1 does have a very brief arc involving this other stick, purple

(purple shows up in later episodes as well)

speaking of purple, if you're watching animation vs minecraft as a whole, make sure to watch animation vs leauge before you get to season 3 otherwise there could be a brief moment of confusion.

"but starry idk anything about minecraft-" THAT'S OK!! sorry for yelling i got excited. the series does a pretty good job of laying down the basics of the more complex mechanics before the stickfigures proceed to take it to heights that are probably not achievable in vanilla.

"starry what about season 3-" I'M GLAD YOU ASKED sorry got excited again. season 3 takes a hard pivot from "semi-unconnected episodes with maybe a few overarching elements" to "fully episodic adventures that will genuinely make you a bit emotional at times near the end". it also starts with blue going to find netherwart before the escalation escalates and trust me once you know how the season ends that seems so much funnier.

season 4 goes back to the less sequential episodes, just with a few status quo updates from the end of season 3 added in, namely the occasional addition of two characters from season 3 that people go feral over seeing included.

I'LL ALSO USE THIS SPACE TO TALK ABOUT THE ACTUAL SHORTS, which, as stated, are shorts that don't have a runtime over a minute or a minute and a half. they're somewhat of a mix between minecraft themed and being themed around other aspects of the series (there's one where the sticks and alan try to max out a clicker game, for example).

animation vs education

these ones are a bit less "plot" and a little more "hey look at this cool thing". the only character we're familiar with to be in this is second, and we essentially follow them going through these various black spaces exploring different educational concepts. right now we have avmath, avphysics, and avgeometry.

they all manage to be engaging and interesting even when the concept being explored reaches the point where you might not understand what the heck is going on (a big example for me being when avphysics started getting into more theoretical stuff, the sequence was cool enough that i didn't even care that half of it was going over my head).

i also feel like these are the ones that people unfamiliar with the series are likely to find? at least when i mention the series usually if someone's heard of it it's cuz they've watched avmath or avphysics.

even though these don't seem to have any connection to the main series (though a lot of people hc that they're second's dreams), i still recommend giving these a watch if for no other reason that they're really cool!

influencer arc

this one's the newest bit added to the umbrella! it's a 3-episode arc about one of the sticks, green, making a youtube channel with his friends and also exploring adobe products. we only have one episode of this so far, and it was funny because everyone was literally going feral over it when it released.

this one's also fun because there's an actual youtube channel for green, so you can see the full version of the videos they make in the episodes! the channel was leaked before the episode release so everyone went feral over that then too. the videos on the channel are very much "kids messing around with a camera" vibes.

the one-off eps

there's quite a number of these that explore different things, like animation vs youtube, where second and green manage to tick off a video player, or the team trees and team seas videos where blue gets the ability to grow trees and remove trash with money (at least in second's dreams). like i said, for understanding one aspect of avm season 3 (namely why everyone's fairly chill with purple when meeting them), i recommend watching animation vs leauge before reaching season 3, purple shows up there.

if you want me to go more in depth about the characters themselves (with some of my headcanons bleeding through a li'l), let me know and i can make a part two! i recommend giving the series a watch if you want to understand better but you'll likely want to break it up into more managable chunks

i also wrote most of this while on the bus to work

[blackjackkent]

OK, into the basement of Danthelon's Dancing Axe.

Rakha is mildly curious to meet the Harpers of Baldur's Gate; the ones at Last Light seemed, by and large, like sturdy fighters, and she expects these to be no different. She's also acutely aware that Jaheira is deeply stressed out on her account, and that going to see the Harpers seems to have brightened her mood a little, which seems important.

It is, however, a rather unprepossessing group that they find in the Dancing Axe's basement, fronted by an extremely young and nervous-looking half-elf with dark hair who approaches as soon as he sees them enter.

"High Harper!" he says nervously, stopping in front of Jaheira and inclining his head. "May Selune's Tears shine on this meeting!"

Jaheira goes still. The brief moment of open good humor vanishes from her face instantly; her eyes narrow and do a rapid flick-flick around the room, taking in the four other Harpers watching them, the two levels of the room, the open loading-dock balcony that opens onto a cliffside beyond.

"...A very formal greeting, Geraldus," she says neutrally, one eyebrow lifting very slightly. "You are well?"

Rakha registers the change in her bearing and is immediately on guard herself. One of her hands slips behind her, settling on the straps holding her quarterstaves to her back.

"Y- yes, High Harper," Geraldus stammers anxiously. "Standing beneath Selune's Tears." He leans extra emphasis on the words this time.

"The lad's a little nervous, Jaheira," one of the other Harpers - an older halfling woman - says smoothly, sidling up next to Geraldus and smiling blandly up at Jaheira. "We heard of your great victory against Ketheric."

Jaheira doesn't relax at this reassurance - and neither does Rakha. Her initial confusion fades rapidly to disquieting certainty as facts start clicking into place.

Narrator: [INSIGHT] Geraldus isn't nervous. He's terrified. And he's using 'Selune's Tears' as some sort of code.

Jaheira seems to have come to the same conclusion. She settles onto the balls of her feet, her hands hooked behind her. Rakha hears the subtle click as she releases the clasp holding her scimitars in place.

"I understand, Geraldus," she says - and there is a gentle note in her voice despite the sudden rigidity of her bearing. "Take a moment."

She turns her head to look at the halfling and raises an eyebrow pensively.

"And you, Harper..." she says. "There is something familiar about you." She tilts her head slowly to one side, then glances at Rakha with a sudden cheerful smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"Doesn't she remind you of our old friend Marcus?"

Behind Rakha's back, the Weave begins to swirl in tight loops around one of her fists.

Narrator: Jaheira's meaning is clear. Marcus was a traitor, laying a trap. The same, it seems, is happening here.

The beast purrs hungrily in Rakha's head; it's been awake at a low rumble ever since her conversation with Gortash and is becoming desperate for the next burst of chaos. Traitors. Kill them. Kill. Kill. Killkillkillkillkillkill.

Perhaps, were she fully in control of herself, she might make the same decision - that if these are traitors to Jaheira, they must be dealt with summarily. There is, after all, purpose in killing a traitor... But she would be lying if she said it was such clear thoughts driving her now.

Strike while Jaheira has them distracted.

Her fist rockets forward, carrying with it a burst of thunderous energy that sends two of the Harpers flying out of the open dock wall into the air beyond.

(A/N: I took way too long getting these screenshots but I kind of love them. XD )

The whole battle takes less than a minute. As soon as Rakha starts moving, the others swing into action behind her; perhaps they were expecting something like this from the moment Jaheira dropped the hint. Lae'zel's sword cleaves sharply through another of the Harpers; Jaheira thornwhips the remaining one down from the upper level, at which point Wyll and Minthara make short work of him.

And Rakha's blood runs cold to see the corpses they leave behind.

"More of Orin's doppelgangers," she mutters, feeling a prickle of fear run up and down her spine that all but blots out any satisfaction she got from the kills. "How many has she brought to Bhaal's side, I wonder..."

[duckietiewritestoo]

Told You (J. R. Oppenheimer x Reader)

Gee, I don't know what I was doing with this. It's not romantic, but it had horrible attempts at being funny. I really hope the actual Oppenheimer doesn't come back to haunt me. I'll freak out. It's just something I had in mind requested by a friend. Also, take this very cursed screenshot I took.

Warning: CHEESY, short, and I haven't seen Oppenheimer yet so I'm basing things off of clips and what I've read from the book.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Late nights were always the worst. They were always too cold and dark. That’s why I loved sleeping nights away into the morning. A draft of wind came over me. I hated the cold, absolutely despised it. Yet, I was lying down in the short grass atop of a hill. I was on my back, watching the clouds drift over the moon, covering its beautiful light. I didn’t understand why I was out here anyway, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature I enjoyed being in. His hand brushed against mine, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned my head to the sighed, my eyes meeting piercing blue ones. Right, I forgot I was with him.

For once it was strange seeing him without a cigarette in his mouth. He was in a foul mood lately. He seemed peaceful now. I chuckled, ready to crack a wise comment.

“Ah, so I was right. Cigarettes really do sour your mood,” I said. “Maybe you should lay off them for a while. It’s for your health, I mean it. I don’t want to see you cough up your own blood, you know.”

“I don’t plan on stopping, (Name).”

“So it seems,” I replied, watching Robert’s hand move towards his pocket. He produced a spare cigarette and a lighter. “Do you always carry that around? For emergencies?”

“Why do you ask?” he answered, glancing up at me. His face was lit up by the orange hue of the flame and his blue eyes flickered like the fire from the lighter. I propped myself up on an elbow, resting my hand under my chin. “What do you want?” he asked.

“Nothing, you greedy chainsmoker.” That was intended as a joke. Robert never liked it when I made fun of him, though. He had to rain on my parade. I hadn’t seen him smile, not once in the time I knew him.

“You want something. What?” Robert replied. “I’m not helping you break into the lab, not after last time. I refuse to be mocked again. It’s humiliating, (Name).” I laughed, shaking my head. I definitely did not want to relive that experience.

“Oh, I don’t want anything but to see you stop smoking for a minute!” I exclaimed. “All you do is smoke, smoke, smoke! I can’t breathe when I’m around you, you always reek of cigarettes. You’re suffocating, absolutely suffocating!” His eyebrow curved as he raised it. A small giggle escaped my lips.

“I assume that’s supposed to offend me?” he asked.

“Not at all, Oppie.”

“Then what;s it supposed to do, hmm?” 

“I wanted to point that out, that’s all,” I answered. He sighed, putting out his cigarette. The darkness came back, but it had never disappeared. It was always there. His cigarette simply chased it away for a brief moment. 

“Let’s just talk, then,” he answered in a soft voice. His mood changed instantly at that moment. Something felt different, so my mood changed as well.

“What do you want to talk about?” I whispered. I rolled onto my side and tucked an arm under my head. We stared at each other in silence, like our eyes were doing the talking for us. A small chuckle escaped my lips. “What are we doing?” I asked.

“We’re just staring into each other’s eyes,” he answered quietly. “What is so wrong with that, (Name)?”

“There is nothing wrong,” I breathed, blushing. His hand brushed against mine. I felt his fleeting heat from his hand. 

“Should we head back to the campus soon?” he whispered, chuckling lightly. His eyes were begging to stay out here. He loved  nature, he was a nerdy cowboy if you had asked me. He never shut up about his beloved New Mexico.

“No, I want to stay here with you for a while longer,” I whispered back. “I don’t want to go back.”

“Why not?” he whispered.

“I just don’t think I’m meant to be cramped up theorizing rather than making it happen,” I said softly. Robert went silent, his gaze returning to the stars. I knew he felt the same. He didn’t have the best relationship with one of his teachers. I never asked what he was dealing with, I felt like he’d be scared to open up, but I was here. I sighed, taking his hand. “We don’t have to go back,” I whispered, smiling. 

“Then let’s stay out here longer.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, looking back at the stars. They twinkled, like always, and showed off their beauty. We were silent for a moment, just admiring the stars. And we’d steal glances from each other every now and then. It was incredibly peaceful. I could breathe. And so could he. 

But then I had to glance back at Robert after an hour and caught him rummaging through his pocket for his cigarettes. “Seriously?” I asked. The lighter returned in his hand and illuminated his blue eyes again. The cigarette started burning. The smell of tobacco filled our nostrils.

“What? I can’t help myself,” he said, his teeth biting the cigarette.

“Can you go at least one night without smoking?” I scolded, narrowing my eyes. He shrugged his shoulders. “You ruined the atmosphere, Oppie!” I playfully smacked his shoulder, giggling as I did. He grunted.

“And?”

“You ruined it! I was at peace for once!”

“And so what?” I frowned.

“Jerk.” He scoffed, exhaling the smoke. It must’ve been a strong inhale, because the next moment he started coughing. I laughed out loud, rolling onto my back. I hoped that was the universe’s way of punishing him for wrecking a beautiful moment.

“I told you those cigarettes were bad for you, Oppie.”

“Oh just shut up and let us enjoy this moment.”

[write-now-ggs]

Jihyo (Twice)

Wc - 7,300 song

"Beautiful Surprise"

“No I promise it won’t be too long before I can see you again, but I have to go right now, we have to head back on stage for rehearsal.” 

"Okay, It’s fine, just call me whenever you can. Don’t work too hard." You heard her sigh on the other side of the phone before the line cut out. You put your phone down to stare at her contact for a few more seconds before sliding your phone back into your pocket, then you proceeded to walk back into your office.

Your girlfriend had called you just a few minutes ago as you were on the way back from your lunch break. Time for her was limited but you knew She tried her best to keep in contact with you as she was in the middle of traveling for her scheduled World Tour that she had been practicing for for months now. 

It had been about six weeks since the last time you had seen the person you call your other half, Park Jihyo, or when you had met her, Park Jisoo. The two of you had known each other for a long while so this long time apart was no different than her many times abroad before. Well you knew that for yourself being apart wasn’t as hard on you as it was on her. 

As you made your way to your desk chair your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pulled it out as you sat down, “Hmm.” There was a news article about Twice’s most recent performance in Thailand. You smiled to yourself as you read through the article before taking a screenshot of the article's title. 

With the screenshot attached you sent her the following message. 

"See, I'm not the only one who is proud of you ♡"

_

It had been six hours since you last talked to Jihyo on the phone, normally by now she would have sent you a message to keep you updated with what she was doing. You tried to think nothing extra of the time since you figured it was just one of those extra busy days for her. 

Curiosity got the best of you, so you double checked your phone one last time just to make sure you didn't miss a message from her by any chance. You opened up your most recent conversation but the last thing on the bottom of the screen was your message to her without a reply back.

"Hmm," You moved to turn off your computer sitting in front of you. "I know she said they have a new album releasing soon, is that what she’s working on..” You were so lost in thought, you didn’t even realize that you were biting the end of your favorite pen, which was actually a gift Jihyo had brought back from her time in Taiwan with Twice.

A knock on your door brought you back into the present, “Yes, come in.” You called out to whoever was on the other side. 

The door cracked open and it was one of the employees who worked under you that walked in. 

“Oh, Arin, what can I do for you?” You sat up to meet her eyes. 

“Oh nothing, we just wanted to know if you were going to join all of us for dinner today..?’’

You checked the time on your watch before looking back up at her, “I have a few papers I have to run out tonight so I don’t think I’m going to get a chance to make it tonight.” When you saw the look of disappointment on her face you offered her a soft smile, “I’ll try my best to make it next week so how about you take my card to pay for it..?” You reached into your wallet to pull one of your cards out. 

“Oh no, director, it's okay. Dinner is on Minwoo tonight, he lost a bet this week so he has to pay.” 

“Awe dinner is on Minwoo tonight? Man, I really wish I could’ve made it.” You and Arin shared a laugh. 

“Haha well I’ll let everyone else know that you won’t make it. Did you need any help with anything before we head out for tonight?” 

Your eyes panned over all the paperwork on your desk, “Hmm?” You looked back up at Arin, “No, I think I’m okay. Have a good dinner and an even better weekend.” 

“Oh thank you director, I’ll see you on monday.” She flashed you one last smile before heading out of your office. 

Once she walked out you leaned back into your chair, taking a brief moment to yourself, you started thinking about your past.

_

You had met Jihyo almost five years ago when you were in the tailend of your university studies and she was about to debut. You had been working part time at a thrift shop near your university that was fairly popular amongst the students looking to find items for very low prices or who were getting ready to leave university and were getting rid of everything they didn’t need anymore. But then on one lucky day, Jihyo walked in with a small group of girls. 

You remember seeing her walk away from the group she walked in with as they headed to the clothes and she headed towards the area with all the hats and other hair accessories. You watched from afar as she kept looking up to a black hat that was sitting just up above her reach. After watching her struggle for a bit you slowly made your way behind her. 

 “Here I got it.” You reached around her to grab the hat she had been looking at. 

Jihyo had jumped up in surprise at your sudden presence. “Oh my, you scared me.” 

Once you managed to grab the hat you held it near the top of her head, "Wow, this would look beautiful on you." You smiled to yourself while nodding your head in approval of your own statement.

Jihyo smiled shyly and her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, “Ah thank you.” She grabbed the hat from you as you held it out for her to take. “But I don’t know if I’m going to buy it, I just wanted to take a closer look at it.” 

“Haha well it’d be a shame not to, I mean it when I say it would look beautiful on you.” You looked down at the name tag on your chest when you noticed she was staring at it, “Ah and no I’m not saying that because I work here, trust me we don’t get paid commissions here.” You chuckled at your own joke, trying to read her expression before continuing, “I say that because you’re very beautiful, you could wear anything in here and make it look like a limited designer item.” 

"Ah,” She let out a nervous chuckle as she fixed a stray piece of her hair, “I doubt that, but thank you for the compliment."

You tilted your head to the side as you stared at her, “What..?” You raised an eyebrow up in confusion, “I’m not the type to lie, Miss..?” You ended your sentence in a tone that offered the beauty in front of you to finish it. 

“Ah, Jisoo, oh ah I mean Jihyo. My name is Jihyo.” She seemed confused by her own answer. 

“A woman with two names, hmm, what kind of life do you lead..?” You took a small step toward her, “Miss Jihyo.” 

This time you were able to get a laugh out of her as she shook her head before answering you, “No it’s nothing crazy I promise. My birth name is Park Jisoo, but the industry that I am hoping to pursue my career in already has enough Jisoo’s haha. So I figured that before I got started in my dream industry I should change my name. And so Jihyo was my choice.” 

“Oh Jihyo, hmm like the actress.. Oh wait but that’s not her real name..” You looked up in deep thought. “Well I guess it is a beautiful name fitting for a beautiful woman.” 

Jihyo looked down at the hat in her hand before looking back up at you, “Ah if you don’t mind me asking, how much is this hat..? I don’t see a price.” 

“Oh it is..” You grabbed the hat from her as she handed it over, “Five bucks, but just for you miss two names, I’ll give it to you for a single dollar.” 

“What, no you don’t have to do that.” She started to shake her head in protest as you handed the hat back to her. “And it’s just one name now.” 

“Okay Miss Jihyo, but I’m sorry that’s the deal on the hat now. If I could give it to you for free I would, but I can’t do that or I’d get fired.” You smiled at her. 

“Yeah but that’s ju-” Before she could finish her sentence you had to cut her off since you heard your co-worker calling for you.

“Oh Miss Jihyo it is time for me to go, I am being summoned. If I could stand here and chat with you for the rest of the day I would, but I’ll see you at the register.” You sent her a friendly wink before making your way to your coworker who needed help with one of the store's item displays. 

"Wow who and what was that..?" A voice coming from behind Jihyo made her jump. 

“Huh? Oh Sana, hey.” Jihyo smiled at the girl staring at her with wide eyes, “Uh she works here, she was just helping me get this hat.” Jihyo held the hat up to show Sana.

“Just helping you get that hat?” Sana questioned her in an unbelieving tone. “She sounded like she was trying to get your number.” 

“What do you mean?” Jihyo’s eyes conveyed that she couldn’t believe what Sana was saying. 

“What I mean is that she was spitting some serious game, I should really ask her for tips.” Sana joked with Jihyo before walking away. 

“Game?” Jihyo was all alone in the hat section as she revisited the conversation she had with you earlier in her head. “Me?” 

Quite some time had passed and once you had helped your co-worker finish up the item display she was working on, you found yourself looking around the store, hoping for your eyes to land on the beautiful woman you were talking to earlier. After a few minutes of spinning around in a circle you decided to call your failure and you walked to the register to take over check out duty so your other co-worker could go on her lunch break. 

After ringing out a few customers you were soon face to face with those beautiful brown eyes from earlier. “Wow, well if it isn’t the most beautiful person in this store, it’s nice to see you again Miss Jihyo.” You smiled as you took the items she had placed on the counter in front of you. After she didn’t say anything your smile quickly faded, “Oh I’m sorry, was that too much, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” You soon made yourself busy with the hat and the pair of boots she had placed on the counter earlier. 

After just staring at you for a few more seconds she finally decided to speak up, “Is this ‘game’ to try and get my number..?” She asked in what you assumed was a serious tone. 

You wanted to take her question seriously but you just couldn’t, “Haha what?” 

At your sudden outburst of laughter Jihyo decided to add some context to her question, because context is always important and more information behind something is better than no context…

“Oh well my friend came up to me after you left and she said that you were attempting to get my number by ‘spitting game’, whatever that means.” 

This time you were the one to be embarrassed, “Oh wow was I that obvious?” You shook your head as you chuckled to yourself, “Well Miss Jihyo, your friend is correct, I was trying to get your number, but I was hoping to get it after I invited you out for dinner this weekend.”  

Jihyo stared at you in shock for a few seconds as she totally didn’t expect Sana to be right. She thought that it was ridiculous for someone to have wanted her number, especially someone like you. 

“So is that silence a no..?” You sucked air in between your teeth, “Ouch, well it’s okay. I’m sure someone as beautiful as you already has someone waiting for her at home. I just figured it didn’t hurt to ask.” You rang up the items that were sitting in front of you, “Your total came out to two dollars and fifty cents.” 

Jihyo continued to stare at you until she was finally able to find her words, “Wait I didn’t say no.”

Your eyes instantly lit up when you heard her speak, “So it’s a yes..?”

“I didn’t say that either…” Jihyo looked to the side as though she was internally questioning something. 

“I, um it’s completely okay to say no…” You quietly added as you placed her items in a bag. 

“Is this weekend dinner a romantic thing or just a friendly thing..?” Jihyo finally spoke up once she found the courage to meet your eyes. 

“Well I was hoping for it to be a romantic thing, but if that’s not something you’re looking for right now I would be more than happy for it to be just a friendly thing.” 

“Fine, then I’d like to go out for dinner with you this weekend.” Jihyo smiled as she reached into her purse to pull out her card. 

“Wait, you agree on which one, the romance date or the platonic date..?” You questioned as you pointed her towards the card reader in front of you. 

Jihyo smiled once again as she paid for her items, “That’s for you to figure out this weekend.” 

“Oh, so it’s like that then, huh. Well Miss Jihyo I’m just going to assume that you have fallen for my undeniably amazing charm and that you are now in love with me.” You winked at her in a joking way, “Now I was originally trying to get your number but here, take mine instead.” You grabbed her receipt that had printed out and proceeded to write your number down on the back of it. “This way I know you have to be interested, you wouldn’t call me to find out where we’re meeting this weekend if you weren’t interested in me. Especially if I don’t have your number to bother you.” You had a sly smile on your face as you slipped the receipt into her bag before handing it to her. 

Jihyo had to take a few seconds to register everything you had just said but the one thing she commented on wasn’t what you expected her to speak on, “Wait, you already know where you want to go this weekend..?” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at her, “Haha that’s all you have to ask, and yes I already know where I want to take you. I’ve also already completely planned out our wedding in my head.” You studied her eyes to try and read her reaction at your lame joke.

“Wedding? What??” She looked confused at what you said, seeming to not catch that it was a joke. 

“Haha don’t worry, I was just joking. Unless you want to start making plans for that this weekend. I’ll just have to shift a few things around on our date itinerary.” You didn’t realize it but you were comfortable enough talking to her that you found yourself leaning forward on the counter between the two of you.

“No no, that’s okay. Marriage is far out of range for me in the next few years.” She scoffed as she shook her head, “Ha I don’t even know if dating would be allowed for me yet either.” She spoke the last sentence more to herself but you were still able to catch what she was saying.

“You’re not allowed to date..? Jeez what kind of career field are you going into..?” You looked down at the black hat and the black pair of boots that you had bagged earlier, “Oh my gosh..” You gasped dramatically before moving closer to her to whisper in her ear, “Are you a spy??” 

This time you were able to get a laugh out of her, “No, no. I promise it isn’t anything crazy like that. Well? Hmm.. I guess I honestly don’t actually know..” 

“You are one interesting lady, Miss Jihyo. I hope to learn more about you this weekend too.”

Before Jihyo could get a chance to answer you, the small group of girls she had walked in with were calling for her from the front door. “I’m so sorry, it looks like they’re all ready to leave now.” 

“No no, don’t apologize. Go ahead, we’ll have plenty of time to talk to each other this weekend.” 

“Hmm..?” Jihyo's eyebrows furrowed up in confusion before she realized, “Oh right, this weekend.” 

“Well judging by that answer, that’s if you don’t forget to call me.” You let out a small laugh before clearing your throat, “Well I’ll be here all week if you ever need help with anything, or if you just miss my face.” You smiled at her as you pointed to your name tag, “And you can always leave a review online about what a great employee I am. I could use a few good comments.”

“Why? Is flirting with all your customers not a good way to increase your rep..?” This time it was Jihyo who seemed the most confident in her tone.

“Oooh ouch, that hurt.” You playfully placed your hand over your heart to indicate that what she said wounded you, “But no not all my customers. There’s just this one new customer that I think is the absolute most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’ll have to catch me later for an update on her though, because I invited her out for dinner uh, this weekend actually, and I’m hoping she doesn’t ghost me.” 

“Hmm, well she sounds like a very lucky lady.” Once again the girls by the front door called for Jihyo. “But I have to go now, it was nice talking to you.” 

“The pleasure was all mine, have a great day and don’t forget about me.” Once she walked out of ear shot from you, you spoke to yourself. “She is genuinely the most beautiful person I’ve seen walk in here.” 

_

You were standing in the elevator heading down a few floors with a stack of papers under your arm. You knew mostly everybody in the office was out enjoying their time off so where you would normally look professional with the most perfect posture you could muster, you were instead slouched forward a bit as you looked down at a photo strip you kept in your wallet at all times. 

You laughed to yourself a bit as the memories of when you took those pictures came back to you. You managed to talk Jihyo into getting into a photobooth with you on your first date. 

“How have you put up with me for this long..?” You asked the young Jihyo in the photo strip in front of you, as you admired the way her eyes sparkled back then. “Oh how I miss those chubby cheeks..” You smiled at the photos before putting the photo strip back into your pocket as your elevator had made it to the floor you selected.

_

“Yes this is the only one we have in stock.”

“Did you check the back? There has to be a cheaper one back there.”

“Yes sir I promise you this is the only one we have in stock. We’re a thrift store not a department store, we just have whatever people donate to us.” 

“But this one is too expensive and it’s not going to fit my wife, fix it.” 

“Sir I’m sorry but that’s just not something I can do. Now sorry if you’ll excuse me, I have another customer to help.” 

You walked away from the older man who was trying to haggle with you about the price of some shirt he saw and walked around the store like you had a purpose.

“Ugh just four more months until I graduate, I can’t wait..” You mumbled to yourself as you fixed a few sweaters that were sliding off of their hangers. 

“Uhm, excuse me.” A voice behind you made you turn around. 

“Yes, how can I help you.. Wait Jihyo?” You turned around to help what you assumed was just some random customer but instead you came face to face with the woman you were to meet tomorrow for dinner. 

“Haha, sorry I hope I’m not interrupting anything but I just needed some help with something.” 

“No no, you’re not interrupting anything, I was just doing busy work to escape a rude customer.” The hangers you were messing with now sat undisturbed. “What can I help you with..?” 

“Well I have a date tomorrow but I need to find a cute sweater to wear.” Her eyes darted around to avoid meeting yours. 

“Ah a date sweater, hmm.. What kind of style are you looking for..?” You walked her down the rows of sweaters you had in stock. 

“I don’t really know, just anything that would look good on me.” Jihyo followed behind you. 

You came to a sudden stop before turning around to face her, “Well that doesn’t narrow anything down now does it…”

“Hmm, what do you mean..?” 

“What I mean is that you’re so beautiful that any sweater we put on you would look amazing. Now what is a style you like..?” 

“I don’t really know..” With her reddened cheeks, she turned her head to avoid your gaze. 

“Well why don’t we just look around for now, something here will catch your eye.” You made your way down the row of sweaters, occasionally pausing to grab a few off the rack to hold them up against Jihyo. After going through a few you groaned and buried your face in your hands. “This just isn’t going to work…” Your voice muffled out between your fingers.

“Huh, what’s wrong..?” Jihyo asked in genuine concern.

You moved your fingers apart to look at her, “All of these just look so good on you it’s driving me crazy.”

Jihyo giggled as she shook her head at your antics, “Haha stop, you don’t really mean that.” 

You lowered your hands and your gaze was serious. “No Jihyo I’m not joking. Here, for example, look at this.” You grabbed a sweater that was next to you, “This sweater looks like someone spilled coffee on it and called it a day. See nothing really here to marvel at.” You held the tan sweater with the brown splotch in the air for her to see. “But now, if I move it towards you,” You angled the sweater in front of Jihyo to make the illusion that she was wearing it, “Now it looks beautiful.” You groaned in frustration as you shook your head, putting the sweater back on the rack. “You’re too beautiful, it's unreal..”

“Haha stop, you’re just trying to flatter me.” Jihyo tried to play what you said off as a joke. 

You met her eyes once again, “No I’m not, I already have a date with you tomorrow, there’s no need for me to keep flattering you. I’m just speaking my good and honest truth here Jihyo. I seriously think you are very beautiful. It's almost unfair to the rest of the human population that they will never get to see your beauty.” 

Jihyo just continued to stare at you with a blank face, she didn’t know how to process everything you just said. 

After that weird moment of silence you decided to speak up, “I’m sorry, that was weird wasn’t it…” You scratched the back of your head as you avoided looking at her. “It’s just, I’m being sincere when I say that I think you’re very beautiful, so it hurts my own feelings when you don’t think the same of yourself. So I’m sorry that’s something that I can’t force you to think. I just want you to see yourself the way I see you. I am being so honest when I say that you are beautiful.” After your little speech you turned around to continue looking through the sweaters.

“I,” Jihyo started before moving in front of you so you could see her, “Thank you. That is genuinely the nicest anyone has been to me recently. I just, I’m not the best at taking compliments, especially when it comes to my physical appearance, most of my compliments come from my work ethic.” She gave you a small smile before continuing, “It is just a lot for me to handle, especially hearing it consistently from you, but thank you for seeing me in such a positive light.”

“Well I have only two things to say to you Miss Jihyo. The first is that I will try to tone it down, but at times I can’t help it. I will admire your beauty as much as I can in the now, until you can start to do the same. And the second thing is, I think I found a sweater for you.” You held the sweater you just found up to her and smiled in approval. “Yeah it looks even better than I expected.” 

Jihyo took a look at the sweater before matching your smile, “I like it too. I have a black coat that will pair very well with this.” She grabbed the sweater from you and she folded it over her arm. 

“Uh uh..” You wiggled a finger in the air, “Don’t spoil your outfit to me, I want to be surprised when I see you.” You joked with her as you led her to the check out register.

“Haha fine, not another word from me then.” Jihyo placed the sweater on the counter as she waited for you to ring her up and tell her her total. But when all you did was place it in a bag and hand it over to her, she looked at you with the utmost confusion in her eyes. 

“What..?” You smiled as you tried to once again hand her the bag. 

“I didn’t pay for it yet, why are you handing me the bag..?” Jihyo shook her head once again, refusing to grab the bag until you told her the total.

“Don’t worry about it, I got it.” You smiled as you pulled your own money out and placed it in the register, covering the cost of her sweater. 

“Hey no, you can’t do that!” Jihyo tried to reach for your hand before you closed the register drawer.

“Hmm, well it seems as if I did ‘do that’.” You gave her a big satisfied grin as you handed her the bag and her receipt. 

“Okay but that’s not fair, why would you do that..?” Jihyo reluctantly took the bag when she realized there was no winning against you, which we all know it’s hard for her to take defeat. 

“I did that because I wanted to, now don’t worry about it. Seriously, go and enjoy the rest of your day.” You gestured to the door, “I’ll have you all to myself tomorrow, so go and enjoy your evening.” 

“You are very hard to reason with…” Jihyo began to pout as she looked down at the bag in her hands.

“Hey, I just wanted to do something nice for you, and it’s definitely not because I’m trying to get rid of you. You most definitely do not make my heart race like crazy every time I see you.” 

_

You got into your car and checked your phone, still nothing. This was strange. Jihyo would never go this long without talking to you, even if it was just a quick random emoji heart she would send in between working. You were beginning to feel like you were overthinking everything and being too overprotective. You shook off your worries and drove to your apartment.

When you walked up to your door the smell of your favorite dish made its presence known to your nose. "Oh wow that smells delicious." You looked down the hallway to try and guess which one of your neighbors would be enjoying your favorite meal tonight.

You unlocked the door and walked in. The smell got stronger and light was coming through from the kitchen. "Did I leave the light on again..?" You asked yourself as you took your shoes off.

You walked into the living room and you swore you were dreaming. In front of the stove stood Jihyo, wearing your apron and one of your shirts, while her hair sat on top of her head in a messy bun, which still managed to look like a professional hair stylist styled it.

You smiled very happily to yourself as you walked up behind her and hugged her as tight as you could without breaking her.

"You're home," Jihyo spoke with a smile as she turned around to hug you properly.

"I'm home..? Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here..?" You pulled away and looked her in her eyes, trying to make sure that she was really in front of you. You lifted your hand up to place it on her cheek, thumb softly moving back and forth on her cheek. 

"I wanted to surprise you." The smile on her face instantly made your knees want to buckle.

"Oh you're so cute," you groaned in fake frustration before moving to hug her again.

She laughed as she hugged you back, "You always say that.." Her voice vibrated against your body as she rested her head against you.

"Because it's the truth," you pulled away to kiss her cheek, "The complete and honest truth.

You saw the way a light blush creeped up onto her cheeks before she smacked your arm, “Stop that.”

"Wow even after all these years together I can still make you blush?" You smiled and pinched her cheek playfully, "So cute.”

Jihyo pulled away from your embrace, a small smile evident on her face. "Let me get back to the food before we end up setting this building on fire."

You looked at her in confusion, "We..? Last time I checked you were the one cooking in secret while I'm at work worrying about your wellbeing."

Jihyo laughed before throwing a piece of food at you, "Shut up. You know you would try to take the blame for me."

You sighed in defeat, nodding as you ate the piece of food she threw at you, "Yeah you're right, I totally would.”

The two of you shared a laugh before Jihyo spoke up again. “The food should be ready in ten minutes.” 

“Hmm sounds good, I’m going to change out of these clothes.” You began to walk out of the kitchen but then you were suddenly stopped by Jihyo grabbing your arm. 

“Wait..” 

“Hmm, what’s wrong..?” You turned around to face her. 

No words were exchanged, instead she just wrapped her arms around you once more, holding you as tight as she could. 

You couldn’t help the smile that appeared on your face as you went to hug her back. “Did you miss me this much..?” Your voice was soft as you moved one of your hands to run your fingers through her hair. 

“Mhm,” She hummed as she nodded her head, causing her cheek to softly rub against your chest. “You don’t know how hard it was to keep this surprise a secret.”

”Oh,” And in that moment was when everything in your head clicked in place, “Actually speaking of that, how are you here right now..? Don't you have a concert tomorrow night..?”

Jihyo pulled her head away from you so she could look up at you, “Well it turns out our venue is having some technical issues. Something about the foundation’s support or something. I don't really know, as soon as I heard we were going to come home for a bit everything anyone said to me just sounded like nothing, as all I could think about was seeing you again.”

“When did you find out you were coming home..? Because just this morning you told me you had to get back to rehearsals..? So you lied to me Miss Park Jihyo… wow..” You feigned being hurt just to get a reaction out of her. 

“Oh well we actually found out this morning. I booked a flight home as soon as I could. And when I was on the phone with you, I was actually at the airport, we were getting ready to board the plane so I was in a hurry to hang up so you wouldn’t find out.” 

“Wow..” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, the fact that this woman went through so much effort just to surprise you made your heart swell up with pure love. ”That is actually very insane, normally whenever you go to the airport there’s like a million articles published and just about as many photos trending online.” 

“Oh, well that’s probably because I’m the only one who came home today. Everyone else is still over there, they’re flying back on Monday. I just couldn’t wait that long to see you again.” She had her arms still wrapped around your waist, both of her hands resting on your lower back as she looked into your eyes, nothing but pure admiration beaming from them.

You continued to stare into her beautiful eyes until your inner monologue leaked out from your own two lips, “I love you.”

“Hmm..?” Her eyebrows shot up in sudden surprise before they settled back down on her face as a beautiful smile soon overtook her expression. “I love you too.” 

You bent down a bit to place a soft kiss on her lips. “So much, I love you so much.” Your hands were now carefully holding her face like a fine and fragile piece of china. “Thank you for agreeing to go on that date with me all those years ago. I don’t think it would be possible for me to be this happy without you in my life.”

She let out a soft giggle before speaking up, “I didn’t have a choice back then. You were literally begging me to go out on a date with you.” She spoke with more confidence in her voice as she began to tease you, “You were literally obsessed with me.”

“Hey now, I remember giving you my number so you could contact me for the date, not the other way around. So you had to have also been interested in me for you to have called me later that same day for the location and time of said first date.” 

Jihyo squinted her eyes as she shook her head, “I don’t quite remember it that way.” 

You smiled as you pulled away from her embrace, “Well I do, and I have proof.” You dug in your pocket to pull your wallet out, you looked through it a bit until you found a sticky note you had folded up in one of the slots. The weathered paper gave away some of its age as you unfolded it to read the contents of it. You cleared your throat before reading from the paper, “February 11th, 2015, 8:47 pm, the beautiful girl I met at work called for information about our date this weekend. We’re meeting on Saturday at 11 am for our date. End quote. I win.” You had a victorious smile on your face as you turned the paper around for her to read the old ink on the old sticky note. 

“You still have that??” Jihyo looked at the paper in surprise. 

“Of course, it’s my good luck charm, along with these.” You looked through your wallet again before pulling out the photostrip from your first date with Jihyo all those years ago. “And look, it’s the sweater I helped you pick out.” You held the photostrip and the note in your hand with the proudest look on your face. 

“I can’t believe you keep those on you at all times, knowing you I thought you had these locked up in a vault somewhere.” Jihyo joked with you as she watched you tuck everything back into your wallet. 

“I mean I would but I told you they’re my good luck charms. It marks the beginning of us knowing each other. I can’t say the beginning of our relationship since we didn’t start dating until almost a year and a half later but still, I like looking back on our early memories. With me being super busy with school and you preparing for your debut in secret from me.” 

“What do you mean ‘in secret from me’, you had secrets from me too. I didn’t know it was possible to get into university at such a young age until I met you. Plus you found out about my career only a few months later.” 

“Yeah you would not believe my shock when I saw the very same hat and boots combo I rang out at the store showing up on Tv. And also that’s not fair, I worked hard to take as many advancement courses as I could when I was younger. It’s not my fault that they made the courses that easy. It’s like they don’t expect you to read the entire course book before classes even start. It was just like a free pass through so many classes.” 

Jihyo shook her head before lightly shoving you away from her, “You drive me insane with that brain of yours, go dress down while I get everything in here set up. The food is going to burn at this rate.” 

You couldn’t help the proud smile on your face before nodding your head at her, “Yes ma’am, I’ll be right back.” 

“Okay good, don’t take too long either, or else…” 

“Or else what..?” You raised an eyebrow at her tone.

“Or else you won’t get the rest of your surprise gift tonight.” And with only that suggestive smile on her face, she turned away from you, giving her full attention to the food on the stove top. 

“Oh, well when you put it like that, say less.” With your now reddened face you turned around to hurry to your room.

_

It was now only a few hours after the two of you had finished dinner and cleaned everything up. You were both currently in bed looking through what you liked to call your box of memories. In reality it was just an old shoe box you had that you threw everything in that reminded you of Jihyo. Whether it was old birthday cards she wrote you or receipts from dates, everything went into that box.

The two of you had just got done looking at a random phone case for an old phone of yours that seemed almost ancient now. “I still can’t believe you misspelled graduation.” You joked with her as you placed the case back in the box.

“It’s not my fault, I was running off of three hours of sleep that day.” She whined as she thought back to that early date of yours. 

The two of you had met up at a little shop in a spot of town that the two of you had never been to. It was soon after Jihyo’s group released their now infamous release “Cheer Up”, so their schedules had been hectic and their faces had been plastered all over the country by that point, so going out in public as a normal couple just wasn’t available to you. So due to this situation, one of your first official dates as a couple was making phone cases for each other. It was one of your most fondest memories and you had vowed to keep the case she had made you for as long as the two of you were together, and you were big on your promises, the case in your memory box only proved that. 

“I know I'm sorry, I just think it’s cute. You don’t know how many people I had come up to me just to tell me my case had a misspelling on it. But it was the best when I told them my lovely girlfriend made it for me.” You smiled as you leaned against the headboard of your bed. “I never knew if I was going to get attacked for admitting that I was gay to a bunch of strangers or if I was going to get congratulations about being proud of having a girlfriend. It was quite a ride but one I’m glad I went on.”

Jihyo listened to your story as she moved your memory box onto your bedside table. Once it was out of the way she went to lay next to you, softly leaning her head against your shoulder. “You told that many people about us back then..?” 

“Well I never told them who you were, I was just so happy about having a girlfriend I couldn’t keep it contained. I talked about you so much, I would just wait for any opportunity in a conversation to bring you up. So many people thought I was making you up, you don’t even understand how bad I wanted to show them a picture of us together, but at last I held back from doing so.” 

“Well I’m glad you were able to restrain yourself haha, if not who knows what could have happened to us.” 

“It’s okay now though, we don’t have to worry about all those crazy ‘what if’s’ now. We have your company’s approval and that’s all that matters to me. But to be completely honest with you, even if we didn’t have their approval, I would still find a way to make this work, one way or another.” You wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to you, “There's no one or nothing in this world that could ever keep me away from being with you.”

Jihyo took a moment to just look up at you before finally speaking up, “You’re so cheesy, you know that?”

You let out a soft laugh before looking down at her, “Am I? I’ve never noticed.” 

“Yes you are, but it’s okay, I find it very endearing.” 

“Well I’m glad you do, because you’re the only person I’m like this for.” You planted a soft kiss on her forehead before moving to get up.

“Where are you going..?” Jihyo asked with a slight pout when you moved away from her. 

“To take a shower, I won’t be long.” When you saw the look of disappointment in her eyes you had to laugh before adding on, “Feel free to join me if you want, I won’t kick you out.”

And at that her eyes lit up and she basically flew off the bed to join you in walking to the bathroom. She had missed you dearly for the past six weeks so there wasn’t a chance you were going to spend any time alone while she was home. It was still hard for you to believe that you had someone as amazing as her waiting to see you every moment when you were apart, but oh boy did it make your heart swell when she would tell you just how much you meant to her. You were thankful everyday that you made the first move all those many years ago because you just could not have asked for a better ending to your story with the beautiful girl that managed to wander into your part time job. 

[danceswithdarkspawn]

@tsunderesalty

screenshot because the ask isnt in my inbox anymore but HI THIS IS FINALLY DONE FROM LIKE (checks calendar) MAY???? anyway by now i think most of us have figured out #1 is going to happen eventually and #2 is fucking...AU material??? which I can't be caught dead doing.

so that leaves us with the Third Option. Did I actually make Morrigan be nice to Ariel??? idk but i tried babes

Brief warning for:

suicidal and/or self-destructive thoughts

mentions of death and dying

general spoilers (this is set post-Griffonheart)

largely unedited because I wanted this to be a little more casual

Morrigan looked up from her makeshift potions table. Ariel sat at the opposite end of the camp, perched in front of the fire, hunched and staring distantly into nothing. A corner of Morrigan’s lips briefly quirked, finding the image of the brooding Grey Warden somewhat reminiscent of the same one she fought the Blight with. Except now her lines were deeper, her face much more gaunt, and she possessed a darkness behind her eyes that was unnatural.

She swallowed thickly and looked back down to the salve she was preparing. She added a little more beeswax to the melting pot and sifted through a collection of tiny corked bottles filled with various oils, finally settling on three. The first contained royal elfroot oil for its restorative properties; the second held embrium, to make the spread warming. And the third was Andraste's Grace, which Morrigan acquired back at Skyhold just for this purpose. Morrigan carefully added a drop each from the first two, and two from Andraste's Grace. A sharply sweet aroma lifted from the pot when she gave the contents a stir. She rifled through her collection of glass containers, picking out one that was short and round, and gave it a cursory wipe down before pouring the contents of the pot into it. Satisfied, she went about making other provisions for the journey ahead.

Morrigan approached the fire sometime later, jarred salve in her hands. Ariel didn't look up from the fire until Morrigan stood beside her. The sharpness of her features were made even more severe by the shadows resting in their hollows. It made her appear much more slight than she was. Her skin was a sickly pale, nearly taking on the orange hue of the light of the campfire. The only variation was marked by black spidering veins creeping up her neck. Ariel's eyes began to cloud in the days prior, transforming her pupils into endless milky pools.

"Do I look that bad?"

Morrigan blinked, catching herself. She released a small breath through her nose and said, "You've not quite the visage of a hurlock. Perhaps there is some humanity left in you yet." A long breath passed with only the crackle of fire between them, meanwhile Ariel simply stared in silence. "I made more of this for you," Morrigan said, holding out the jar. Ariel took it slowly and turned it over in her hands. "I noticed you were having some trouble walking; it should help alleviate some of the pain."

Ariel set the jar down near her boot. "Thanks."

"Are you experiencing any other pains?" Morrigan frowned a little when Ariel shook her head. "Nothing at all?"

The beleaguered Warden let out a humorless laugh. "I'm dying, but yeah, I'm fine." Morrigan inhaled a slow breath and bit down a scathing remark. Ariel tilted her head up to regard her, was silent for a long moment, before letting out a sigh. She looked down, head dropping between her shoulders. Morrigan thought it reminiscent of a dog tucking its tail in. "I'm sorry," Ariel finally said, rubbing at her eyes. "I know you're just trying to help."

Morrigan released a measured breath, feeling her bristling ire cool. She crossed her arms, shifted from one foot to the other, flippant, meaningless motions meant to distract from her raw heart. Anger was how Ariel dealt with things, Morrigan reminded herself. She supposed she would be angry too, given the circumstances. Still, something about this anger was different. Helpless, perhaps.

The night and the campfire crackled on, unaware.

"Is there anything more I can do for you?" The question came out a little sharper than Morrigan intended.

But Ariel let out a bitter laugh that bordered on a sob. She shook her head in her hands, drew in a seething breath, pushed her fingers through her hair. "You could kill me," she finally said.

"I will do no such thing." Ariel didn't answer, hands clenched. "How severe is the pain?"

"Go stick your hand in the fire," Ariel said, motioning. "It's like that, but everywhere." Another hissing inhale. "And probably...I think I'd prefer to burn, at this point."

Morrigan made for her potions stock before Ariel finished, rummaging through little corked bottles, holding them up to the light, before choosing one. She uncorked it on the way back. "You could tell me before it gets so debilitating. Here." She held the bottle out; Ariel righted herself long enough to take and down its contents. Morrigan retook the emptied glass and returned it to the stockpile.

But she lingered there, frozen at first and eyes glazing over open tomes with their annotations, different reagents and the rest of her supplies. Her heart began to gallop, and Morrigan made herself busy without much thought. Pages turned, bottles opened, a crucible was filled; the scent of crushed embrium and wax and just a little rose water and—

"It's not debilitating," Ariel said from across the fire. "If it was, I wouldn't be walking."

"You are a fool," Morrigan spat. She flicked her wrist and a fire sprang to life beneath the crucible. "You needn't be immobile to be debilitated. You know this, I hope?" She shot a look over to the fire, where a pair of colorless eyes bore right through her. She snapped her attention back down, snatching a stirring rod and plunging it into the waxy slurry. "You should be resting."

"I will, once that stuff starts working."

Morrigan scoffed. Her brow ached. "I will hold you to that."

A strained laugh. "What are you gonna do, turn into a wolf and lay on me?"

A pang streaked through the witch's chest. A memory, long since tamped down, dredged to the surface; her lips flickered, the fire licked at the sides of the crucible. Morrigan hadn't meant for the gesture to hold him down, but rather to—

"It worked for Eran, did it not?"

The night turned deathly quiet. Morrigan tamped out the little fire, went about pouring the mixture  into an empty vessel. It wasn't blended well. Too choppy, too stiff from scorching. She'd attempt to salvage it in the morning. It did not matter much to her now, however; the distraction had served its purpose, though her nerves still felt frayed and raw.

"Would you do it for him? If he was like this," Ariel added, and Morrigan snapped her head over. "If he asked you to kill him, would you?"

Her blood turned to ice. A lump formed in her throat and Morrigan struggled to swallow past it. Morrigan was unsure if Ariel's irony was intentional, but its weight was hard for her to ignore. She wondered how fatally close Ariel was to realizing that was exactly what she allowed before the Archdemon's slaying.

Not that she didn't try. Or plead. Or...

Morrigan said nothing, unable past the vice on her throat, knowing her silence was as good an answer as any.

Morrigan returned to the fire some time later, sitting across from her companion. She crossed her arms, minding off the chill that had settled around their makeshift camp. She'd thought these nights very reminiscent of camping during the Blight, especially when the two of them took watches together. How they'd sit across the fire, with Morrigan trying to do something worth doing, and Ariel still and silent as a gargoyle for most of it, save the times either of them grew curious about the other.

They'd come full circle, like a snake eating its own tail.

"Before I left Amaranthine," Ariel began, and Morrigan started a little, "I sent Leliana a letter telling her what I was doing, that I wanted to find an end to the Calling." Morrigan's eyes flicked to Ariel's hands, where she flipped a twig between gloved fingers, all the while her eyes remained on the fire. "Wanted her to come with me, but she couldn't. She told me Justinia wanted her. And I didn't understand because I thought—" Her fingers closed; the twig snapped. She flung the remains into the fire. "She made me promise I would tell her if I got my Calling so she could be with me."

In another life, Morrigan wondered how different this all might be. She knew solitude had done lasting damage to the Warden; it was evident before leaving Skyhold. It was not until this endeavor, however, that the depths of those scars revealed themselves. It was...sad, in a way. Familiar, but also sad. "I imagine it is difficult that she could not accompany us."

A short laugh. "Leaving Skyhold was about as difficult as leaving for Amaranthine," Ariel admitted. Silence. "She still had work to do for the Inquisition. I can't do much about that." She paused again, her head tilting, until she reached down and plucked the jarred salve from beside her boot. "That's what the ring's for, right?" She set the jar in her lap, then pulled upon the fingers of her gloves until they came off. The aforementioned band glinted in the firelight before it too came off, dropped inside a glove, and then set aside in favor of opening the jar. She took a generous amount on her fingers, spread it between her hands. "Though it doesn't really work in a place like this," she continued, sounding a little more subdued. "This in-between bullshit is weird. I can't feel her here."

"The flux of magic here makes such enchantments unpredictable," Morrigan admitted. Ariel answered with a low hum that mingled with a sigh, having steepled her hands over her nose. Her eyes fell closed, and Morrigan's lips quirked with a twinge of pride. The smell was potent, even from across the fire. "I could attempt to alter it, if you wish."

Ariel shook her head, then lowered her hands. "No, it's fine. We have more important things to do than fuck around with a magic ring." She resealed the jar and fished the ring from her glove. "I just didn't want to be alone at the end," she said lowly, sliding the ring back onto her finger. Her touch lingered, twisting the metal, kneading one hand into the other. "I didn't want to die alone in the Deep Roads and be lost down there. If things became so unbearable...if she was with me, then maybe—" She trailed off, her hands lowered, and she stared into some middle distance for a long breath. "I think it's better this way. I wouldn't want her to see me like this."

"No? She is not unfamiliar with death's face."

Ariel shook her head. "Not like this. It's too much. Even being like this around Kieran, the boy's too young...and if I'm honest, I'm—I'm glad Leliana had to stay behind."

Morrigan leaned back on her perch, a brow arched. That was not something she expected from Ariel. "Should I be flattered that you tolerate my company so?"

"I'm too weak," Ariel answered, kneading a hand into her eyes. "I want to go home. I trust you to get me there."

Ah. Well... "You know that there is a chance this does not work."

Ariel's hand lowered, hollow eyes fixed on Morrigan through the flames. Then her head dropped between her shoulders again, her thin hair becoming a curtain. "I know. That's been a possibility for over a decade now. Always there, always stuck to me like a shadow in my thoughts, my dreams, I—" Fingers clawed through her hair, and a low hiss coupled with the crack of embers followed. "If I were still with Leliana, I would have asked her to end it at least a dozen times already."

Morrigan drew in a slow breath. She was beginning to understand; the evidence had been there since leaving Skyhold, but in all the moons since their departure, Ariel's earlier outburst was the first time she voiced such notions. She supposed it was foolish to assume Ariel meant it in jest, though she could hardly fault her regardless.

And again she wondered how things might be different if things had played out just a bit differently.

Love was such a trap, one all of them had been snared by in one way or another.

"And you think Leliana would kill you?"

"If I were to beg, if things were so hopeless..." She slowly shook her head in her hands, her hair bunching in the crooks of her fingers. "I'd like to think she would," Ariel answered, not looking up, her voice a touch thicker. "I hope she wouldn't."

Morrigan was unsure of what to say. Delicate sympathy was very much out of her element. It was one thing to deal with the ills of her son; it was an entirely different matter responding to grief left to fester for a decade. When everything aligned and horror seeped in, it was everything Morrigan could do to stave away her own grief. "Do you truly believe she would allow you to lay down and die? Have you so little faith in her, in yourself?"

The Warden reared back, her lips spread into a bitter grin and she laughed. Morrigan bit the inside of her lip, golden gaze narrowing, watching Ariel claw at the twin streaks running down her face. "This is what I mean," she said, and Morrigan raised a brow. "Why I'm glad I'm with you and not her."

"I am afraid I do not follow."

"This," she said, balling her fists and shaking them. "This insistence to just...keep going, even if I don't want to. It's what Eran used to do for me. Whenever I wanted to lay down and be done with it all, he'd just—" She sucked in a breath; her colorless eyes were wild. "He'd pick me up by the scruff and say 'Get up.'," she hissed through her teeth, "'You're not done yet, get up!'" A long silence followed while Ariel stared into the fire, her breath heavy, and her visage looking every bit beastlike with the way the fire and ghastly light of the Crossroads lit her face. For a moment, Morrigan wondered if this place knew of Ariel's nature.

"I need that," Ariel finally spoke, subdued again. "I need to be told to keep going. Not soft reassurances and 'oh, darling, rest for a while.' No, as much as I want that, it won't fix me. Once this is done, if I survive this, I'll have a lifetime of that, but for now, I—" She looked off to some unknowable spot beyond the fire, then finally dragged herself to her feet, collecting her discarded things. "I suffer a little now, it'll feel all the better when it's over. That's how that works, right?"

Morrigan's lips momentarily quirked. "Yes, the sooner I return you to that tart of yours, the better, I think."

Ariel tossed her a hollow glare. "She's not a tart."

"No? The way she acts around you, I might have been fooled." The jab dredged out a reaction from Ariel that Morrigan had not seen since departing Skyhold: she smiled, a genuine, lopsided smile, and she raked a hand through her hair, looking down. Morrigan could guess what she might be thinking about. "We should move on from this place come morning," Morrigan suggested before they carried on further. "We have lingered here for long enough."

"Right. That's probably wise."

With that, Ariel vanished into her tent, and Morrigan set about preparing for the journey come morning. She sorted and packed up much of her supplies, putting away the things she would not need immediately and leaving the rest before setting off.

"Morrigan?"

She snapped her head toward Ariel's tent, finding the woman dressed down and standing with her hands fidgeting at her front. Morrigan opened her mouth to ask what was the matter, but she finally spoke.

"Thank you," she simply said. "For everything."

Morrigan's thoughts fell over themselves until she finally managed, "Of course." Of course. As if it were the most...natural, obvious answer. If Ariel thought it indifferent, however, she gave no indication. She nodded in farewell before disappearing back into her tent, this time for good.

Morrigan went back to organizing her things, albeit in a slower, more deliberate manner as her mind wandered. Was she doing enough? Could this be stopped? What if it couldn't?

The heavy lid of the trunk carrying her various reagents thumped shut, but her hands lingered upon it, her eyes following the worn ivy patterns carved all across it. It had to be, she told herself. "Would you do it for him," she mouthed, her fingers curling in on themselves.

She wondered what he might say. She wondered if he'd let her.

[alexturne]

8, 12 and 49 for the ask game!! and 50 :3

Thank yoooouuu 😘 I'm stealing your very brilliant idea of screenshotting the questions!

Oh, great question! I actually used to be very inspired by AM songs and lyrics when I first started writing. Having a lyric pop out to me and spark a whole story in my head or a simple line becoming the title of a fic I simply had to write. Hence why all my fics have lyrics as their titles 😎

To answer the question! Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend! I've got a very tiny wip called "keep your charm where i can't see it (and your hands where i can)" because I just LOOOOOVE that line. And it sparks so much tension and temptation and I had the idea of a spin the bottle/get drunk at a house party/accidentally make out with your friend and BOOM find out you feel very differently than you thought about said friend. The whole trying to resist the temptation because it just feels so good but you don't want to ruin the friendship... That kinda thing. Who knows if it will ever see the light of day 😘

Hmm, I don't know if there are any tropes really to speak of that I didn't like.. But I've gotten a lot better at reading scary/horror themed stories. We have so many incredibly talented writers in this fandom who write the most amazing scary stories and I simply had to learn 😂 Even if they still scare me sometimes! I don't really think I'll ever be able to write any myself tho. The closest I've managed is a very brief wip inspired by What We Do In The Shadows, and let's be real, that's really not scary at all 😂

Ooohh. My current wip is... Well, it's really my white whale. The one that keeps me up at night. It's the first milex fic I ever came up with, the thing that really started it all. And it's just. My baby. I love it so much and I've literally been trying to write it for TWO YEARS and it's just the most difficult thing I've ever tried to write. I'm at about 70k at this point and every word is a struggle but I want it done. I don't know if the two years of effort will be evident in the final work so don't have too high expectations please, but it's just so very important and special to me.

It will be called "you've got control of everyone's eyes (including mine)". And here is a small snippet:

Miles just looked at him, as if expecting Alex to say something. But if Miles thought his mere presence alone was enough to rattle Alex, to throw him off his game, he thought wrong! If he thought he could come here and ruffle Alex's feathers and get him all worked up he was sorely mistaken. Alex didn't care! Not one bit. He was cool. Miles had no effect on him whatsoever. Not tonight, that was for sure, if that's what he thought. Alex was calm and collected and all that.

Aaahhhh you made me choose one too 😂🥰

I'll take this cheeky opportunity to talk about question 17, an au I would like to read/write even if no one else will appreciate it..

Because that's the second long wip I've got going at the moment.

I'm writing a high school rivals fic, complete with americanized stereotypes, the hot jock, the mysterious punk badboy, the obnoxious gossipy cheerleaders.. and of course it's just chuckful of cheesy 90/00s romcom teen moments. Something along the lines of movies like 10 things I hate about you, bring it on, good old stuff. I adore it so far and I really hope I'll one day be able to finish it as well! 💅✨

Thank you so much for the lovely questions!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[behindthewox]

Communication is key

How do you optimise the workflow on a WoX site? It's a question many site leaders will ask themselves at one point or another. Having set rules and instructions for the job and how tasks are to be performed is a good place to start, but make sure to leave some room for improvising too. Good work morale is key so make sure everyone's happy with the work, feel valued and gain satisfaction in what they do. Teamwork is also important and for this you need communication, not just for work-related matters but for personal relations too.

The last one is something most WoX sites seem to be struggling with at the moment, on all levels. Not just teams for student jobs but for management as well. There are many ways to communicate on the sites: club topics, PMs and team chats. That should cover all your work communication needs, right? And to be fair, it would probably cover most of the work communication needs if it wasn't for the fact that the chat function isn't always very reliable, load times are annoying and can slow things down considerably, clubs and topics aren't available if you've fainted and if you want to send a PM while fainted you need to have an existing conversation since you can't create new ones when fainted.

EDIT: apparently you can now create new conversations even when fainted, so that's no longer a problem!

There was an easy solution to this: off-site communication channels, typically discord servers. A lot of people have and use discord already anyway, and it's a quick way to send a brief message without any load times and it's available even when you're fainted on the sites. It's speedy since you don't need to load pages on WoX and it's very practical because you can keep discord open next to your browser while still looking at whatever it is you need help with on WoX. It also allows you to tag/ping someone when they're not active on site and with the recent issue of users getting automatically logged out every so often (which you won't notice until you reload the page, or try to load a different page) it allows you call for their attention off-site if you need help quickly.

So, no problem right? There solution is already there. Well, notice how I wrote "there was an easy solution", emphasis on the past tense? That solution isn't allowed anymore.

I can see why Dan decided to shut down all the discord servers used for work communication. He faced huge backlash after the incident in May 2023 and if he thinks people are talking bad about him behind his back, he's not wrong. If he thought that getting rid of work-related discord servers and forcibly inserting himself into whatever servers are left was a good idea, I've got some bad news for him: it wasn't. It's one of his worst ideas yet. And if the idea was to make sure no one talks shit about him behind his back, I've got even more bad news: it didn't, it just made people talk even more shit about him behind his back.

Why it matters (read more)

If you need to communicate with someone on WoX you use the on-site means of communication to do it, and if those options are inconvenient and slow you down considerably when trying to do your job, you just have to deal with it. Fainted? Tough luck, those club topics you need to access aren't available until the timer is up.

It's even worse if you're in a position of enforcing the rules in the chat, and you need to get hold of someone more senior or need backup, or just want to get a second opinion before you act. With discord it's simple: take a screenshot (if needed), dump in the correct channel, tag/ping the person you need and ask your question. If they're online you usually get a quick response and if they're not, someone else might be online and able to help. The others might also be able to provide you with useful information and advice on how to deal with something, which is extremely valuable if you're new to the job and unsure of what to do. Not only do you learn, but you can proceed with confidence that you're responding correctly to the matter at hand and there's someone on standby to help out if you need it.

But using site communication only? Sending screenshots is a timeconsuming hassle since you need to upload the image somewhere online and send a link, which the recipient then has to copy manually. Switching to the team chat means you'll no longer see the chat where the issue is and switching between chats usually comes with a loading time. If the chat is active the messages you're referring to will be gone before you know it. In the chat you often need to act fast, before the situation escalates or the chat moves on. If you need a second opinion or support to deal with it, it needs to be quick and efficient. If several people are trying to deal with it all at once without any communication between them, you may end up with conflicting instructions or a very minor situation being addressed by several people all at once as if it was a huge deal. That communication needs to be quick and efficient too. Even if it wasn't a problem to switch between chats, you don't get notifications of new messages in other chats, do you? Someone might be trying to tell you something and you won't see it until next time to go into that chat, and that could be hours or even days later. The PM system would be the more practical option here, but there are issues with that too.

So if you're a site leader and you want to optimise the workflow and especially chat moderation on your site, look at the communication and try to make that as smooth and efficient as possible. Consider anything that be a hindrance: loading times, switching back and forth, providing screenshots, access when fainted and how many steps are involved in the process. Ask yourself: does it make sense to keep it on-site? In many cases, yes, it does make sense to keep site work on the site, using the site's features. But in some cases it doesn't make sense, especially not if there's an off-site solution that works better.

A library team will probably be just fine with the site communication alone. Their issues are rarely urgent and if you need to provide screenshots you can take the time to upload the picture somewhere and send a link. It's not the fastest and most efficient way to do it, but it doesn't need to be fast in this case. Same with Journalists and other teams that generally don't have any urgent problems to solve.

Management, prefect team, backstory team and in some cases assistant teachers and plot teams, need to communicate a lot and sometimes speed is vital in handling situations that arise amongst users. Being able to send screenshots is important for doing their work efficiently, and getting that second opinion before you take action can make the difference between solving a problem and making the problem worse. Getting hold of someone more senior or superior when they're not logged in on site is also very valuable: if you need someone to execute a ban of a troll and no one's logged in you can usually get hold of someone through other means, make them aware of the situation and in many cases someone will be able to log in and deal with it immediately. If you can't use off-site means to get hold of people you'll be stuck waiting for someone in management to log in and that could be a while, giving the troll or troublemaker plenty of time to wreck havoc and make it look like there's no admins at all. Not a good first impression for users who happen to join during that time.

As a site leader you can't just create these discord servers and solve the problem yourself, but you can bring it up with your Mug and you can team up with other site leaders to argue for the reversal of the discord rule.

If the removal of the discord servers was to prevent people from criticising or talking shit about Dan behind his back, it probably had the opposite effect.

In the official work-related discord servers there was always someone with a site position who was responsible for it, setting and enforcing rules to keep it respectful and professional. Criticism may have occured but that's usually fair game in a workplace. If someone crossed a line it would've been reprimanded and possibly led to consequences if it was really bad. The rules and enforcement may have varied between different leaders but assuming that your leaders do a good job, the work-related discord servers did a lot of good and very little, if any, harm. They also served a social purpose, a place to chat with your coworkers and build relations and trust within the team in a way that you can't really do in the chat on the sites.

The private discord servers where WoX users gather instead now are mostly friend groups and none of them have any official connection to any WoX sites. Without the official connection to WoX sites the rules are set by whoever owns the server and since it's just friend groups most of them won't have much in terms of rule enforcement and moderators. Wanna talk shit about Dan? Unless the owner has made rules against it, go ahead and rant to your heart's content. Do you have tea to spill? Spill it, if you can trust the others not to rat you out you're safe to tell all the juicy stuff and more. Of course you shouldn't share confidential information, but confidentiality is built on mutual trust and respect. If the trust and respect has crumbled to dust, there's not much left to hold you back, is there? Where do you think I get all my information? Take it from me, Dan desperately needs to work on the whole trust and respect thing...

How do I know that the discord servers were deleted to prevent people from talking shit about Dan behind his back? I don't. It's a guess with some creative license. The only other reasons I can think of is A) keep all work activity on the sites so increase site activity as a whole, and B) increase efficiency. Option A is a possible explanation, but option B seems unlikely since Dan ought to realise that on-site communication isn't the most efficient. Explanation C is that Dan simply wanted to have the option to have full control and insight into all the work that goes on for the sites, which is valid but not something you should do after facing a huge backlash and making decisions that put you in a bad light. People will jump to negative conclusions, like "Dan is a control freak and he can't stand the idea that we could say anything behind his back and he'd have no way of knowing of it's actually site work or just us talking shit about him."

[biscuitdetective]

I wanna know your answers for Pokémon fandom meme too!!

The first character I first fell in love with: Eevee! I remember being a kid back when Pokémon was the hot new thing and thinking I was too cool to get into it (because I just wanted to be contrary or something I don’t know) but then I saw Eevee and that was it. Eevee is my favourite to this day.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Uh probably the whole human cast of ScaVi because I remember not liking any of the pre-release screenshots at all. Also as a kid I really disliked Silver and used to give him embarrassing silly names but when I got older I realised he was very cute.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: I never really got the hype about N but that was mainly because I was really obsessed with Cheren in BW instead lol. I haven’t played those games since they came out so I’ve been meaning to replay them and see if I feel different.

The character I love that everyone else hates: I don’t know how hated he is but I remember a lot of people saying Cheren was really annoying and it made me sad.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: can’t think of anyone.

The character I would totally smooch: I would smooch all of my Pokémon on top of their cute heads.

The character I’d want to be like: I want to be able to make my trainer look like Ilima. It makes me so mad that you can’t even in the games where you can dress up. I think he’s mega cute… otherwise I don’t really know.

The character I’d slap:  Not sure. The Pokémon are doing the slapping but they only slap other Pokémon.

A pairing that I love: I used to really ship Cheren with Black when I was playing it because I thought it was cute how obsessed he was with battling the player character…there was also a brief moment I was really into Archie and Maxie. I don’t think I’m that invested in any ship right now though.

A pairing that I despise: -big shrug-

[mindninjax]

To Shape a Home (3)

Summer- Chapter 3

Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

Bakugo x fem!reader

Warnings: panic attacks, Katsu being an asshole (surprise surprise)

WC: 3.1k

a/n: Welcome to Chapter 3 where you finally say “enough is enough!” Fun fact, the banner for this chapter is a screenshot from my actual game play. If you squint, you can see me and @katsukikitten sitting on bench being all cute together hdbdbdbdb. Anywhoo ENJOY!

Toshi's is usually pretty busy on the weekend but this is madness. Katsuki is convinced Eiji invited the entire town tonight. He huffs, who would enjoy something like this? The small talk and constant introductions.

Hi, nice to meet you. Tsk, fuck off. Who likes that shit?

You probably do. You’re probably used to it, with all the city parties you go to. Katsuki preps a bun for the burger he’s sizzling on the grill in front of him. His eyes flick to the clock above the kitchen door. 6:54. It’s almost time.

The boss was happy to give Katsuki the rest of the day off. To no one’s surprise, he’d liked you too. Though to be fair, Toshinori didn’t dislike anyone. He was kind and friendly, the glue that kept the town together, which made perfect sense for his bar to be the center of any social gathering.

A sweeping cheer erupts from the tiny window Katsuki uses to peek into the dining area. You’ve just arrived—early of fucking course—carted into the bar by Hizashi who proudly pronounces you as the guest of honor. It’s the first time Katsuki really takes the time to observe you.

You definitely look different from the first time he saw you standing in your doorway. You don’t even look the same as you did the brief moments he saw you in town before he quickly headed in the opposite direction.

Your hair and clothes are different, more suited for the environment you currently live in and yeah he’ll admit, you don’t look bad. You’re casual, wearing a thin white shirt and oversized overalls that still find a way to cinch in at your waist. Your hair is tamed now, in two braids on either side of your head and covered with a bandana that fails to capture wavy little tendrils that stick to your forehead.

The most obvious change is the tiny smirk on your lips as Hizashi gestures to you and nudges you into the center of the crowd for everyone to see. You seem more comfortable, though still timid and withdrawn as people smile and introduce themselves to you. The only thing Katsuki notices is the same about you is that unfamiliar thing behind your eyes.

He hasn’t been able to figure out what it is. When he talked to Eiji, he thought it might’ve just been grief, but that’s obvious in the way you shrink and wince anytime someone mentions your grandfather or offers a quick condolence.  No, this is something different, it’s like a barrier, something you’re hiding.

Katsuki clears his throat and removes the almost burnt burger from the grill. From the dining room he hears Eiji’s voice. “Glad you could make it, Darlin’!” He quickly glances back through the window to see you almost skip over to him.

He swallows a lump in his throat. It’s no wonder Eiji can’t stop talking about you. You’re flirting up a storm. Of course he’d fall for you when you’re makin’ goo goo eyes at him like that.

Katsuki turns away again, finishing the burger and ringing the bell for the waitress. He sees the tips of her blue hair in the window as she thanks him. He grunts, “No problem,” before he shuts down the grill and goes to empty the fryers. He tries to tune out the voices of Denki and Hanta clearly trying to impress you as they speak over the country music and the chatter of the crowd.

“So, how you likin’ the book Sugar? It’s good right? Told ya you’d like it!” Denki flirts.

“I was able to get in contact with an old friend of mine who’ll be selling a cow in a couple of months when she’s a bit older. I’d be happy to go with ya to see her,” Hanta mentions.

Idjits all of 'em. Pussy whipped idjits. He rolls his eyes as he finishes shutting down the kitchen. When he can no longer find anything to do, he unties the apron from his waist, hangs it up on the hook, takes a deep breath and blows it out of his nostrils.

If he makes an appearance, if Eiji can see that he’s there and chat with someone on the outskirts of the crowd, maybe he can get away with being constantly bothered and guilt tripped into talking to you by him.

He steps out into the dining area, a classic rock song is playing on the radio, one that twangs the guitar the way he likes. He focuses on it, tapping his boot as he grabs a water bottle and leans against a wall, surveying the scene. You’re surrounded by the idjits, laughing and joking and he’ll admit, it looks like a decent time. However, he’s ok observing from a distance.

He can’t really hear what’s going on but he’s gotten pretty good at reading lips from the times he used to fall asleep in front of the muted TV. It seems like a bunch of harmless small talk.

You keep mentioning some book, probably the one Denki mentioned earlier and everyone in the group laughs when Denki very clearly tries to make a pass at you and you politely —of fucking course you do it politely—turn him down.

It goes on that way for a while and Katsuki is actually starting to enjoy himself. He keeps an eye on you out of the corner of his eye, hoping that you won’t make your way over to him, but you seem to be in your own little world and it doesn’t involve him.

When he finally leaves his safe spot on the wall to go and grab another water bottle, he hears the tail end of a conversation you’re having with Willy, one of the town’s fishermen that Katsuki occasionally buys bait from.

“So I heard you’re quite the fisher young lady,” he inquires.

It catches Katsuki’s attention. You like to fish? He didn't know that. Wouldn’t you fuckin’ know it, another thing you both unfortunately have in common. He strains his ear to hear your reply.

“Oh uhh yeah. Though it’s been a while since I’ve been,” you stammer nervously. Why do you sound nervous? Is fishing something you’re self conscious about? Dumb, what’s there to be self concious about?

“Oh yeah! Yer grandpa used ta take ya a lot right? I remember Mr. Aizawa said somethin’ about yer grandpa findin’ the perfect spot and only sharin’ it with you!” Eiji replies.

There’s somethin’ wrong when you reply, your voice quivers and it sounds like your words are caught in your throat. It takes everything in Katsuki not to turn and look directly at you. What’s yer deal? It’s just fishin’.

“Y...yeah. A while ago… back… umm...back when I was a kid. But I...umm...don’t know that I remember it now. I’m sorry,” you reply with tense nervous energy. All the comfort you had before vanishes and the atmosphere immediately feels awkward.

“Hey young Katsuki! I’ve been lookin’ fer ya!” A huge hand claps on his shoulder and distracts his eavesdropping.

Toshinori shakes him warmly and smiles big. Katsuki can already tell by how much he beams he has some news he’s not going to enjoy.

“S’goin’ on Boss?” he grunts, twisting the cap off the water bottle and taking a sip. Toshi’s smile drops a bit and he chuckles nervously before he replies.

“Sorry to take you away from the party, but I was hopin’ I could talk to you outside for a second?” he asks, slapping his hands together in an apologetic bow.

This can’t be good. Is he about to be fired? He doesn’t necessarily need the job to survive, he’s got savings but it’s emergency money. He swallows, then mutters a deep, “Yeah sure,” before he follows Toshinori outside of the bar near the garbage cans. He sneaks one more glance at you over his shoulder before he leaves.

Crickets chirp in the night air and the music and chatter from the party become a faint buzz in the background. Katsuki readies himself as he turns toward his boss. He can take it. If he is fired, he will figure something out. He always does.

“A couple of the Joja Mart investors came by my house earlier inquiring about buying out the bar,” Toshinori starts. Katsuki lets out a stifled breath of relief. Then he stares and folds his arms over his chest.

“Did ya tell em to fuck off?” he growls. Toshi winces at the intensity but continues to smile nervously.

“Well not in those words but yes. For now, we’re still doing alright enough not to sell but young Katsuki, it’s not looking good fer the other shops in town. Sooner or later there won’t be enough money comin’ in for them all to stay afloat,” he explains.

Fucking Joja Mart. It’s been nothin’ but a ghost town since they moved in and built a little store in town. They rob money from all the farmers in the area who sell their products in the general store.

Already a few local stores have gone out of business because it’s “easier to get all your products at Joja!”  Katsuki spits in disgust, just another reason to hate big ass corporations. They should’ve just stayed in the goddamn city!

“That's bullshit, Boss! The people in this town love this place. It’s where they all come together to act like idjits and get drunk and shit. You don’t got anything to worry about,” he interjects, throwing his hands in the air.

Toshi puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Katsuki can feel his blood boiling, feel himself getting riled up.

“I’m just trying to be realistic. You should too. If this place gets bought you’re out of a job. Your crops are good, perfect even, but if you don’t think about at least selling some to the bigger corpor-”

“Fuck no. I’m not growin’ the shit for people I don’t even know. I’ll sell my shit at the market like everyone else here. You don’t gotta worry about my funds. I got this,” he growls.

His words are biting, too harsh for Toshi's gentle voice. Katsuki’s not angry with him, he should calm down, but thinking about seeing his crops sitting on a shelf next to rotten fruit blinds him with rage.

Toshi sighs, then he steps closer and Katsuki can tell he’s no longer speaking as his boss. He wears that same expression Eijirou does. The one Katsuki hates. Pity, like he’s an injured dog.

“You know you can ask me for help, right? I wouldn’t leave you hanging. If you need anything or feel the urges again you can—”

“I’m fine. I don’t need anybody's help,” he retorts.

Everyone in town knows about Katsuki’s past and Toshi helped him out with a job. He respects him but the pity in his tone, the slight tinge of shame Katsuki feels when he speaks to him like this is too much.

He knows he means well, and he should be able to express that, but instead it always comes out harsher than he wants. He grinds his teeth in frustration as Toshi pats his shoulder sadly and returns to the party.

Katsuki stands near the empty trash cans, fists clenched tightly as he reviews the conversation. Fuck Joja Mart, Fuck the city, Fuck AA, and Fuck… her. He wants to shout or kick something but he refrains and instead shoves his hands into his pocket, pulls out a carton of cigarettes and flips it open.

He’s not usually a smoker but sometimes it kicks the urge of wanting a drink when he’s this worked up. He pulls one out of the box and balances it between his lips as he pats himself down for a lighter.

Right as he’s cursing to himself in frustration for not bringing a lighter, he hears footsteps approaching him. He looks up and as if things couldn’t get any worse, he’s met with your face, panicked as you take deep breaths in and out. You don’t seem to notice him and if he weren’t in an already pissy mood, he’d ask if you were ok.

Instead he groans loudly with the cigarette still between his lips, “Oh for fucks sake. Why are you followin’ me around?”

You don’t notice him at first still breathing heavily and trying to calm yourself. But when you gaze up at him, he’s surprised to see the way your eyes are red and wet but angry and fierce.

“You think because I stepped outside of the bar I’m following you? Man you must be tired all the time to be carrying that huge ego all over the place,” you say in a voice that is almost completely unrecognizable. You sound mean, bitchy, snarky and if Katsuki weren’t riding the high of his anger right now, he’d be a little impressed.

“What the fuck did you say to me?” he asks, stepping closer to you and growling again.  He expects you to step back like you did the first time but you step toward him too, your tiny fists clenched at your sides.

He watches your eyes flick to his face, you look like you’re telling yourself to calm down but the second your eyes fall on the cigarette, he witnesses the rage rush back onto your face.

“That shit will kill you ya know?” The statement sounds like it would be helpful but the way you spew it at him, with disgust and contempt, he’s thrown off and it momentarily makes his mind go blank.

He almost feels bad, like a scolding from you is something worse than a scolding from Eiji. Who the fuck are you? And why the fuck does he care what you think of him?

“Mind your own fucking business.” He turns away then.

He’s apparently gotten you started though. You’re like a completely different person. As he turns away and walks back toward the side door, you take another step toward him.

“It makes it harder to breathe, turns your lungs black, turns your teeth yellow and your gums black, puts you more at risk for lung cancer, and it fucking stinks,” you spit. You say the last word in exaggerated disgust.

He feels as disgusting as you make it sound and for a second he contemplates throwing the cigarette away immediately. The sight of it has definitely set you off, you’re pissed, more pissed than he’s seen you and he doesn’t understand why he’s more drawn to you now than he’s ever been. Regardless, he still matches your intensity.

“Shut your goddamn mouth. You don’t know anything about me,” he bites back, turning his back to you again.

“I don’t need to. You’ve given me enough information with your piss poor attitude and disgusting manners. You’re just a miserable lonely man who runs a farm and pushes people away because you’re afraid of commitment! That or you know you’re too much of an asshole to have any real friends.”

That makes him stop cold. He stiffens in place, the biting cold vicisiousess of your words creeping up his spine. Miserable? Lonely? Who the fuck are you to tell him he’s miserable and lonely? He’s not either. This is his home, not yours. He belongs here, not you. And you have the fucking nerve to tell him he’s too much of an asshole to have any friends?

Fine, two can play at this game.

He spins around and stomps back toward you. Your usual lovely face is twisted in rage, your lips poke out, your tongue flicks out quickly to wet your top lip. Your eyes are squinted but your irises are framed by your long lashes. Your teeth are clenched and your jaw is set. Katsuki leans over you, using his height as a way to intimidate you and make you feel small.

“That’s better than bein’ a stupid city girl bimbo trying to prove that you’re ‘one with nature’ or that you’re deeper than all of the other city bitches who look down on country folk. Think yer better than me ‘cause you know how to hail a taxi or ‘cause you lived in a fuckin’ skyscraper? You’re a fuckin’ poser.You don’t belong here. You don’t know shit about hard work, yer a coward and the second all of this becomes too hard for you, you’ll pack up your shit and flee back to the city with your tail between your legs.”

When he finishes, he looks you up and down again, studies your clothes all the way down to your feet then back up to your face where your expression has changed drastically. You’re hurt, and Katsuki wants to say good you deserve it but he can’t bring himself to. He takes half a step back when he sees your eyes become glossy.

“Go to hell,” you say in a low defeated voice. You shrink away from him and he knows he’s won.

“Ladies first, sweetheart,” he quickly retorts, crossing his arms over his chest.

You spin around so fast, the ends of your braids almost slap him across the cheek. He steps back and watches you stomp to your truck. He almost misses the way you angrily swipe away one tear flowing down your cheek. The pit in his stomach becomes abysmal when he sees it. It almost makes him sick. He should apologize.

The slamming door of your red truck rustles so much, the little Bob Ross figure hanging from your mirror falls. You’re seething now, the windows in your truck are already rolled down so Katsuki can hear you fumbling angrily with the keys and grinding your teeth together. He should apologize. There’s still time to fix this. Just apologize.

“Don’t leave your gross butts on the ground either shithead. It’ll fuck with the dirt. But I’m sure you already know that and don’t give a shit,” you spit at him as you pull the lever to switch the gears and drive away.

Apologize.

“Fuck you, city trash.”

Your screeching tires on the pavement of the parking lot are deafening, Katsuki barely hears Eijirou shuffling out of the door and waving his arms for you to stop. He does see your middle finger and the way you glare daggers at him right before you pull off. 

Your face stays branded in his memory but he doesn’t have any time to think about it further before Eiji is in his face, angrily asking him what he did to you.

“What the hell didja do to her?” he exclaims angrily.

“I ain’t do nothin’!” Katsuki pushes past him in a huff, now heading toward his own car to leave. Before he goes, he flicks the unlit cigarette in the trash, then turns on his truck and disappears in the night, leaving Eiji standing in front of the bar in confusion.

—

Thanks for reading!

[vasiliquemort]

Heyo! How do you make all the jewlery so detailed??? Its absolutely amazing!!! With most art, zooming in seems to distort fine detailed but with yours I can see all the fine details no problem. Especially with beads and filigree. I also saw your new profile pic and I love the gold and the backround is FANTASTIC!! Your ability to make such finely detailed art is like nothing else I've seen. (The screenshots are what I'm talking about detail wise) Amazing art as always and those dragon age commissions are a godsend of cool. 😁

*Gasps loudly and runs towards*

Tis is you! It is so nice to see you again - how have you been? Was everything allright? o/////o

And thank you so much for your patience - I was still and lost for lots of days yet thought about this message day and night and lived pretty much in shame that has no ends<ззз

The jewelry! o////o Those arts, specifically for Secunda (as I made so much redone parts that still in my folders only as I felt deep unrest to post them as they could be redone in so much places again and again o/////o) are outdated to my heart and eye and I see so much missed opportunities, yet still thankful for experiencing them in my life, too<зз Tis is fullfilling at some moment - as doing art is frustrating and requires patiences of all wills, and it is mostly all about trusting your processes, doing in deep aching details part by part until, at some uncertain point, it start to bloom and you get satisfied - or start to redo them over again.

The shameful part of me is that sometimes I reuse same details in different drawings - the one that are for my heart yet require too much time and effort and mental health to create, and sometimes in colder times when colors are brief I just create separate assets to use when inspiration is too bright to last for long, as I do not really believe in inspiration as rather into pure and dark frustration of creation o////o

...Oh, and still I adored those arts for Dragon age, too, because they all were created for the most delightful and lovely people!озо

But do you know who else is delightful and lovely and just wonderful in every way?;зз You are, for the most certain!<ззз

[shorkbrian]

💖💘my heart’s dizzy and I my dose of serotonin whenever I read your prose🤟🏽😩 was wondering if you could do reader with an erratic future-vision!quirk so when they first meet yandere!Hawks they’re suddenly plagued by erotic, sensual, 365days-level of disturbing visions of them, so reader actively avoids them (it’s like those Tik Tok future-seeing videos playing to “Play Date”)

Prelude - Hawks isn’t a famous pro-hero in this, but he still has his quirk. It’s not really mentioned a bunch tho lol.  This is rlly long, but I decided not to put it into two parts because the smut is so slight lol. Hope this meets your expectations anon, thank you for reading!

Pairing -  Keigo Takami X Reader

Warnings - NSFW mentions, dubcon, noncon. No out-and-out explicit smut, just a really long story. Hawks is manipulative and gets what he wants

Music - https://open.spotify.com/track/5ukAQcKEIJuzIbP55xp07x?si=iz6I-RoDSdCNYhT2Du8etg

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was a friend of a friend, someone you had only met once or twice.

Your friend kept bringing him to hangouts, he kept showing up on her instagram feed,  getting mentioned in her twitterbio, and eventually it came out that they had started dating. It didn’t catch anyone by surprise.

What did catch you by surprise, was how infatuated with him your friend was.

“He’s just sooooo hot, isn’t he?” She squealed, shoving her phone in your face to show off a shirtless pic he had just sent her.

You nodded in agreement, quickly appraising the pic before turning your head. Yeah, her boyfriend was attractive, but you weren’t one to ruin relationships. Plus, you and Keigo had never really talked past the brief “Hey” and “Wassup?” said in greeting when introduced the first time.

“Can he come to the mall with us on Friday? I promise there will be no third wheeling.” Your friend begged, clasping her hands together. You thought about it for a second - this had been a fun shopping trip the two of you had planned a few weeks ago, meant as a girls date on a day the mall wouldn’t be crowded. But would it really hurt anything if her boyfriend came along? Probably not.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.” You shrugged, watching your friends face erupt into a wide grin. “But don’t ditch me to go makeout in a bathroom or something, got it?”

“Sir yes sir!” Your friend faux saluted, before patting you on the shoulder. “Thanks girlie!”

You jerked back, head suddenly swarming with visions, your quirk activating. Your quirk was helpful in some ways, but you mainly tried not to use it - headaches resulted, and you hated getting glimpses of the future. Sometimes they’d be good, but they were often bad - you had gotten a screenshot glimpse of your brothers death, his face marred and bleeding out onto the pavement.

It still made you sick to think about it.

Touch wasn’t something you could always avoid, but you tried, seeing as how it activated your quirk, giving you visions of your future with whomever you touched, or whoever touched you.

You saw your friends face, eyes puffy with tears, shouting something. Then another scene flashed, your friend on TV, talking to a reporter.

Thankfully, the visions ended, this episode relatively quick due to how short of a time she touched you.

“Oh shit, I forgot, I’m so sorry.” She rushed to apologize, holding her hands up and backing away from you.

“It’s-it’s fine.” You wheezed, waving your hand in the air to signal that it wasn’t a big deal. The vision just probably meant the two of you would get into a fight soon, which wasn’t uncommon.  It was fine, you were fine.

——

The mall wasn’t too crowded, which made the day pleasant. Your friend was talking to her boyfriend, hand tangled with his as the three of you walked in.

“So (Y/N), what do you think about that new Victoria’s Secret launch?” Your friend bumped you with her hip, drawing your attention as she pulled you into the conversation between her and her boyfriend.

“Oh, um… what?” To be fair, you had zoned out when the couple started being gross and mushy, which was like, the second your friend met Keigo at the door.

The blonde man laughed. “Victoria’s Secret just launched a new line of lingerie, have any thoughts about it?”

Turning red, you smiled sheepishly. “Ah, well…. From what I’ve seen of their stuff it’s… nice? So I’m sure it’s good.”

Your friend mock-gasped, almost slapping you on the arm before quickly remembering your quirk, drawing her hand back. You gave a quick nod of thanks.

“(Y/N)! Don’t tell me you didn’t even know about it?! I practically live, eat, and sleep Victoria’s Secret, it’s impossible to miss their product drops when you’re one of my friends.”

Unsure how to respond, you floundered, opening and closing your mouth like a lost fish.

“Babe, leave her be, she’s probably just shy.” Keigo stepped in, giving his girlfriend a chuckle as he steered you both towards a shop.

“Fineeee.” Your friend whined, turning to focus on the task ahead. “They have a VS shop here though, you’re not getting out of here without going in with me!”

----

The VS store was huge, smelling sweetly of flowers, bright colors assaulting your vision, soft pop music filling your ears.

It was hard not to cringe at all the fancy lingerie, you were honestly a bit embarrassed to be strolling through the store with your friend, let alone her boyfriend by her side.

“Does-does Keigo mind?” You quietly asked your friend, out of earshot of her boyfriend, who was looking at perfumes, last time you checked.

“Not at all birdie, I’m used to clothes, any form, any shape.”

You whirled around, squeaking in surprise at Keigo, who had apparently finished with browsing the perfume. He was flashing you a 1000 watt grin, continuing with what he was saying. “I’m a model, practically every girl I’ve ever met I’ve seen in less than full underwear, it’s no big deal.”

“Oh…. Cool.” You offered, cheeks turning red again. You felt like such a blushing schoolgirl, turning red when faced with looking at bras and panties, flushing when a man got too close.

It was the nature of the store, you told yourself, that was making you so embarrassed.

“Oo! What do you think of this one?” Your friend was holding up a babydoll, pink, with light fabric and zero coverage.

Keigo wolf whistled. “Man, that’d be a good look for you. Lets buy it.” The couple moved on, pointing at different clothes, your friend occasionally picking one from the rack to hold up against her body, looking for Keigo’s opinion.

They were cute together, laughing over the cheesy names on the tags of the lingerie, holding hands as the browsed, your friend occasionally stopping to plant a kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek.

“I think that’s everything that I like…. (Y/N), your turn!” Pulled out of your casual observance, you back pedaled. “Me? No, I’m not really the type to wear this kind of stuff - I don’t even think most of it would fit, I have weird proportions.“

“Nonsense!” Keigo looked around for a moment, going to the nearest rack to quickly sift through bras, before pulling one out. “This one would make all the boys drool over you honey.”

He held it out towards you, shaking it slightly when you hesitated to take it. Was your friend okay with him talking to you like that, pushing underwear at you to buy? A quick glance sideways showed she was more than okay with it, clasping her hands excitedly as she watched you.

The bra was sheer, soft lavender fabric forming the cups, an intricate embroidered detail of flowers dotted haphazardly over the bra. It was pretty, but you weren’t exactly partial to it. When would you wear it? Who would you wear it for? You weren’t sure it was your style. Plus, it probably wasn’t even your size.

“My arm’s gettin’ real tired.” Keigo joked, before you finally took the garment from him. Checking the size, you paused for a second, blinking towards the man.

“How did you-?”

“You spend enough time in the fashion industry, you learn to tell a girl’s size just by looking at her.”  He seemed to puff up, as if he was proud of his bra-sizing skills.

“Let me help her pick out some things too!” Your friend cried, rushing past you to head over to the next rack, ushering you to follow with a wave of her hand.

You ended up with an armful of lingerie - bras, panties,  an odd bustier or two, and some other flowy items, like a sheer robe and a lacy chemise. The choices weren’t exactly made by you, more so made by a combination of your friend and Keigo together. They had alternated holding up items towards your body, comparing color and garment cuts, lost in their own mushy-gushy world, and it was almost like you didn’t exist for a few moments, nothing more than a barbie doll to dress up.

But now the three of you stood in line to checkout, and you felt included again, your friend cracking jokes that were making you snort, Keigo watching the two of you interact.

Until your friend accidentally brushed against your arm as she shifted forward in line.

Again, you saw her tearful face, heard her sobbing, before the other scene flashed, of her on TV, talking to the reporter. She still looked upset, eyes rimmed red, nose running, hair a mess.

With a gasp, your vision returned to the present, and you were wobbling on your feet, almost falling.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry (Y/N), I’m so so sorry. Here, let me take that, go sit down by the entrance.” She fussed over you, face concerned as she carefully took the stack of clothes from your arms, making sure to not make contact.

“Oh fuck, is she alright?” You heard Keigo ask, your friend stepping in front of you as he moved forward to check on you.

“Yeah, she’s just feeling a little dizzy. Can you make sure she doesn’t fall and crack her head open? Just wait by the entrance please.”

“Okay. Oh, here-“ You were a bit dazed, but you saw Keigo fish his wallet out of his pocket, thrusting the entire thing into his girlfriends hands before patting her on the shoulder “Whichever card is fine.”

And then you were stumbling towards the entrance, towards the bench right outside.

You hated seeing the future. Why was your friend crying? What had happened to elicit such a reaction? The unknowns killed you, kept you up at night as you tried to puzzle out the events that could lead up to the scenes from your visions.

Not looking where you were going, you tripped on air, unable to catch yourself as you plummeted towards the ground.

But then you were seeing Keigo.

He was above you, face flushed and sweaty, hair tousled, his chest bare. The room was dark, barely lit, and he was so close. The man leaned down to kiss you, then the scene changed.

You were bent over a table, only able to see the solid wood your face was smushed against. There was a heat in your belly, a tingling between your thighs, and pressure. Someone was talking - Keigo, muttering behind you angrily. You head was pulled up, a hand fisted in your hair, and then one of your knees was pushed up onto the table, and the pressure inside exploded into pure pleasure.

You felt yourself screaming, bucking your hips as you suffered through whatever the feeling was.

The scene changed again.

Hands tied above your head, you were pressed against a wall, sitting on some kind of…. Saddle? Your legs couldn’t touch the ground, and you squirmed, before gasping loudly.

There was a nub in the seat, ribbed and textured, slick with some kind of liquid… From you? Then you saw Keigo, standing in front of you, smirking at you with hardened eyes.

He had something in his hand, arms crossed over his chest while he fiddled with the object, muscles flexing. He was shirtless again, and-and his cock was hanging out of his sweatpants, pressed against his belly, smearing precum over his skin.

You tried to say something, anything - the visions never lasted this long, it was too intense, there was so much sensation. But your mouth wouldn’t move, choked up.

Keigo’s hand was on his length, rubbing slowly, saying something that didn’t reach your ears.

The scene changed.

Something was shoved down your throat, warm and twitching. You were sobbing, choking, clawing at whatever was in front of you. A dark laugh filled your ears, and you opened your eyes, met with the clenching abs of a strong stomach.

Keigo was brushing your tears, no, smudging them over your face. Were you wearing makeup? His cock was sitting in your throat, his hips moving in tiny jerks, stabbing your esophagus, making you gag.

Then you were back in the present.

A hand was holding your arm, keeping you from falling and making contact with the hard floor.

“-N)? (Y/N)? Are you okay? Talk to me birdie”

You made a panicked noise, pulling yourself out of Keigo’s grip so fast that you fell flat on the floor, scrambling backwards away from the man.

He almost looked scared, confused as he followed after you, holding out his hands. “(Y/N), you gotta calm down, you’re gonna make yourself sick.”

The man reached for your arm again and you pressed yourself against the floor, screeching out a loud “No!!” before he could touch you. Keigo paused, looking at his hand, then at you. “Hey, hey, I’m not gonna touch you. It’s okay little birdie, you’re alright.” He cooed, sinking to his knees in front of you.

You were hyperventilating, wide eyes trained on Keigo. Your thoughts were swirling in your head, you couldn’t focus, the sensations of the future still echoing through your body.

Keigo crouched there while you steadied your breathing, talking to you the entire time, trying to help you relax and calm down. You weren’t sure what he was saying, something about the weather? Or a dog? But you could feel your breathing evening out, head clearing.

“Hey, she fall?” You friend was carrying two bags, crouching down beside Keigo, cocking her head at you.

Her boyfriend nodded, turning to her and taking one of the bags. “I caught her, but then she freaked out and fell for real.”

Your friend nodded. “I should’ve told you earlier, she has a touch-based quirk. Every time someone touches her, she sees snippets of her future with that person.”

Keigo cocked his own head, gazing at you curiously. “I guess her future with me isn’t too positive then?”

Your friend shrugged. “Eh, she just hates seeing parts of the future. She doesn’t want to know what’s going to happen, makes her worry or something like that. Don’t take it too personally, she’s like that with everyone.”

“It-it-“ you rasped out, causing both sets of eyes to swivel towards you. “-I hate it... because-‘cause I can’t ever cha-change it.” You shivered.

Keigo nodded in understanding, before rising to his feet. “Think you can walk to my car? I’ll drive you two home, I think you’d benefit from some rest.”

He dropped you off at your apartment, and you wearily waved at the couple as they drove off, before heading inside.

----

A week passed, then two.

The visions you had concerning Keigo were plaguing your mind, filling your body with anxiety. There had been a distinctive feel of fear during each one, and despite all the other various sensations felt, the most overwhelming had been distress.

Whatever was going to happen, you weren’t going to like it.

You were holing up in your apartment, ignoring your roommates when they knocked on your door, only leaving your room to eat or grab water. You couldn’t sleep, too scared you’d have dreams, or more accurately, nightmares of what you had seen.

Curse your quirk.

Trying to pass time, desperate to keep your mind off of the future, you threw yourself into any activity you could find.

First you tried coloring - it was supposed to be relaxing, but it gave you too much time to think.

Then you tried gaming, spending hours in front of your computer mashing the keys. That worked for a bit, but your eyes and head soon protested.

You listened to music at full volume, tried several workout videos, even resorted to cleaning your space with fervent energy.

None of it took your mind off the inevitable.

“(Y/N), someone’s at the door asking for you.” You jerked awake, slumped over uncomfortably on the floor, the half finished card tower in front of you promptly knocked over at your erratic movements.

“(Y/N)?” Your roommate called again.

“Yeah! Coming, sorry.” You mumbled, scrubbing sleep from your eyes. You guess your body would give out sometime and force you to fall asleep, but as you moved to stand, you sorely wished your body had chosen a more comfortable place to pass out.

Opening the front door, you immediately took a cautious step back, sleepy demeanor vanishing.

Keigo smiled at you, one hand in the pocket of his jeans, the other holding a bouquet of flowers.

Flowers?

“Hey birdie, mind if I come in?”

You stared at him for a second, immediately on guard. Why did he have flowers? Why did he want to come in? Wasn’t he dating your friend? She didn’t live here, what was he doing here?

The man cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow at you. You moved to the side, holding open the door for Keigo to come inside.

Your roommates were home. If anything happened, they would be within earshot.

Keigo shot you a smile and a thanks, before immediately moving into the small living room, taking a seat on the couch. When he saw you still hovering by the open door, he patted the cushion beside him.

“Come sit, I promise I don’t bite.” He thought for a moment, before grinning. “Well, not unless you want me to.”

Hesitantly, you shut the front door, going to sit in a ratty armchair further away from the winged man. If this bothered him, the man didn’t let it show other than a short pause before he spoke.

“So, I know it probably seems like, super weird for me to show up at your apartment, but hear me out.”

Flowers were shoved in your lap, Keigo taking great care to avoid touching you.  “I felt bad about the other day, and my girl and I decided that we should get you some flowers. She picked ‘em out, it even says so on the note.”  The man laughed, running a hand through his hair.

“She’s so uptight about this kinda stuff. Anyways, just wanted to say that I’m sorry for grabbing you like that. If I had known, I would’ve let you fall flat on your ass. But I know now, so I’ll be better, cool with you?”

Finishing his little speech, Keigo held out his hands, wings stretching behind him to mimic the gesture.

Looking at the flowers in your lap, you felt your hands shaking. Picking up the little note attached to the bouquet, you found that your friend had indeed picked out the flowers, which made sense. They were your favorites, and in a nice color too.  Keigo had left a messy, scrawled “Sorry!” in one corner, before signing by his girlfriends name.

“Um, thank you Keigo, you didn’t have to apologize.” You murmured, rubbing one of the flower petals between your fingers. You were so glad your quirk extended solely to humans - if you were shown glimpses of the future of everything you touched, you would most likely go mad.

“Nah, I wanted to. Also wanted to swing by, check how you’re doing. You been taking care of yourself?” He relaxed on the couch, legs spread, arms resting behind his head. This wasn’t his home, yet you totally could believe that it was by the ease with which he owned the space with his presence.

“Oh, well… I’m still here, so…” You shrugged.

Keigo frowned. “That’s not a fun answer. How much sleep you been gettin’ each night? Eight hours?”

You shook your head, huffing out a breath in place of a laugh.

Keigo clicked his tongue. “No sleep? That’s bad for you y’know. Have you at least been drinking water? Eatin’?”

You nodded quickly, looking up to meet the man’s gaze. “I’m not a kid. I appreciate your concern, but it’s not necessary.”

At this point, you think the best thing for your health would be for the man to leave.

The blonde man stared at you for a moment, before sighing. “Alright, I get it. But I don’t want to hear that you’ve passed out or something, got it? Your friend would kill me.”

He rose to his feet, and so did you, walking him to the door. “Thanks Keigo, and thank you again for the flowers. That was very sweet of you both.”

Keigo beamed, giving a two fingered salute. “You deserve it birdie. Well, have a good rest of your day, yeah? Eat something.”

You smiled, at Keigo as he turned away, beginning to whistle as he strolled down the hall.

Once the door was shut, you found a vase for the flowers, filling it with water and setting it on the table. Your roommates would think it was pretty, and it was, a nice little centerpiece.

That really was nice of your friend and Keigo to offer you flowers.

——

“Welcome to Gold Nile Jewelers, how can I-“ You blinked at the man entering the shop. “-Keigo.”

“Birdie? You work here?” He looked just as confused as you felt, cocking his head to the side as he approached the counter.

You looked around the small display room, nodding your head. “Yep… You looking for anything specific today?”

“Ah, right!” He clasped his hands together, bending over to lean on the display counter as he looked up at you. “So professional (Y/N), it’s just me.” The man chuckled.

“Actually, I thought I’d get my girl a cute little bracelet or something like that, you think she’d like that?”

Knowing your friend, she’d be ecstactic. “Oh, absolutely. Any particular occasion, or just an “I love you gift”?” You asked, already running through the list of bracelets in stock.

“It’s our two month anniversary in another week, thought I’d get her a little sumn’ sumn’, y’know?”

Gold Nile Jewelers was an expensive store. You patted yourself on the back for not dropping your jaw when he said “two month anniversary”. People came here for wedding rings and special occasion jewelry, not monthly anniversaries like some high schoolers.

Well, unless they were rich.

You showed Keigo the selection of bracelets currently available, the man listening quietly to your product descriptions and recommendations, asking questions about the fit and feel, and if you think your friend would like a particular one.

“Honestly Keigo, I could choose one I think she’d like, but it’d be more special if you chose for her.” You finally told him.  He wasn’t annoying you, but you felt frustrated with his apparent lack of knowledge about his girlfriend. How did he not know what her favorite color was? “I’d suggest coming back in a few days. Go home, see what kind of jewelry she wears, pay attention to the colors she gravitates towards, if she’s allergic to any metals.”

Keigo tapped his chin. “Hmm, you have a good point. I guess I should pay more attention to those kinds of things.”

You nodded as you began to pack the expensive bracelets back into their display cases. “Gifts for a significant other can be hard. Honestly, it means a lot if they pick it out themselves and surprise you with it. Makes it special.”

“Oh, you have a partner?” Keigo asked, bright eyes watching your hands work.

A frown almost crossed your features, but you stopped it before it could show. “Ah, sorry, that’s not really a work-appropriate question.”

“Awh, c’mon! It’s just me, we’re friends, can’t you tell me?” Keigo pouted, batting his eyelashes at you in an exaggerated, dramatic fashion. The display made you laugh, so you indulged him. After all, he was a friend. No harm in telling him something he was bond to know sooner or later.

“I’m actually single right now. But as a jeweler sale associate, I know how much it means to a person when their partner picks out a gift for them, especially if it’s a surprise.”

Keigo nodded his head solemnly.  “That makes sense. I better follow your advice then eh? Find out what she likes-“ he mused “-I can do that.”

“Good luck Keigo!” You called after him as he strolled through the door, waving when he smiled at you, giving that same, goofy two fingered salute that he always did when saying goodbye.

The man unnerved you, the visions you had experienced concerning him making you worry. But as long as he was dating your friend, you felt that you’d be fine.

-----

Keigo showed up again two days later.

“Back so soon?”

“You know me-“ He shook out his umbrella, placing it in the drip-bin by the door, wiping his shoes on the mat. “I always try to be speedy with my work.”

It was grey outside, drizzling slightly. You loved these kinds of days, where you could sit near a window and watch it rain while sipping tea. It was so peaceful and calm, and always soothed your stress.

“Find out anything useful?” Whatever he could tell you would make it easier to refine the jewelry selection for his particular needs.

“So, she doesn’t have any bracelets, and I asked her about why and she said they annoy her. She likes necklaces.” He clarified,. You could tell by the way he puffed up that he felt proud of his detective skills. “I even made a note of the lengths - she likes ones that dip low, which-“ He wolf whistled, and your stomach turned. But it was fine, just awkward.

“Alright, I think we have quite a few like that. Let me collect them for you and lay them out.”

Keigo strolled around the display room while you bustled about, looking in each case at the shiny metals and stones  

You laid out the necklaces, calling Keigo over. The man smiled brightly at you as you showed him the selection, noticing he was gravitating towards the more simply, elegant choices.

“I’m sure she would be thrilled with any of these.” You offered, Keigo silent as he tried to decide between two necklaces.

Still, the man shook his head, quirking his lips. “I just…. I need to see them on, y’know?” Then he brightened, as if he had just thought of something. “Hey, can you try them on? Model one for me? Just to see what it’d look like.”

You laughed nervously. “Sorry Keigo, but I’m not allowed to do that, it’s against company policy. Only customers get to try on the jewelry, and that’s if they’re supervised.”

“Awh, c’mon! No one else is here, and I won’t tell.” The man leaned forward, shooting you a quick wink before he snatched up one of the necklaces, holding it out towards you. “Please? I just need to see it. I promise I’ll buy it.”

He was so insistent, and no matter how loud the alarm bells were wringing in your head, you felt cowed by his confidence.

“Um, still… I don’t think it’s allowed-“

“Fuck what’s allowed-“ He cut you off, snorting. “-I want to see what it looks like. It’s just me (Y/N), I’m not gonna snitch.”

A heavy sigh, and you finally agreed, taking the necklace from his nimble fingers.  You slung it around your neck, not fastening the back as you held it in place. Hopefully that would be enough to sate Keigo’s curiosity.

His eyes immediately followed the curve of the necklace, how it dipped low towards your cleavage (curse you for wearing a lower-cut shirt today). You tried to ignore the leering.

“Here, let me help you fasten it, doesn’t look right otherwise.”

Before you could protest, he was sliding behind you, deft hands reaching for the necklace your had in your grasp.

“Keigo no-!”

But it was too late.

You were pressed up against a wall, face-first, your hands gathered into the small of your back and held there with a vice-like grip. There was pressure between your legs, something hammering into you, in and out, in and out, in and out.

Keigo was talking to you, you could tell it was the man by his voice. What was he saying? You were too overwhelmed with the sensation between your legs to focus on the words falling from his lips.

Sweat dripped from your temples, Keigo’s chest pressed up against your back was slick with perspiration, his nipples hard and pressing into your skin. It was an uncomfortable situation-

And then it changed.

You were tied up now, tight enough that you couldn’t move no matter how you thrashed. Knees bound in such a way so your ass was up in the air, arms stretched out in front of you, anchored to the headboard of the bed.

Keigo was behind you again - nothing to indicate that the tongue running through your core was his, but somehow, you knew.

You were begging and pleading, withing in your restraints against his tongue, but he wouldn’t let up, he wouldn’t let you crest the mountain that had built up inside. He kept chuckling, the vibrations running through you and making you buck your hips. You felt disgusting.

Then the bed was gone, and Keigo was in front of you. He was sitting in an office chair, your legs straddling his lap. Hands on your hips were dragging you back and forth, grinding you on the hard member protruding from Keigo’s lap. He was flushed, letting out little moans as he kept eye contact with you, smiling and praising you.

Then you were back.

Gasping, you shot away from Keigo, the expensive necklace clattering to the ground as it fell from your hands.

The man froze, confusion etched across his features as he watched you bend over, trying to catch your breath, to calm down, to ignore the lingering sensations from the futuristic visions.

“(Y/N)…”

“I think-I think you should leave.” You heaved, tears building. That had been awful, everything had felt good but you hadn’t. You felt uncomfortable and disrespected and stupid. That couldn’t be your future with Keigo, you wouldn’t be able to handle that. He was your friend’s boyfriend, for goodness sake!

Keigo opened his mouth to say something, but you snapped at him “Leave.”, making the man click his jaw shut.

He walked out the door, shooting you concerned glances the entire way.

You felt better as soon as he was gone, the door clicking shut after him. Thankfully, you were the only employee out front at the moment, and no other customers were present, so no one but you and Keigo had experienced your outburst.

Bending down to pick up the necklace, you inspected it carefully, horrified that you had dropped such an expensive item. It was alright though, so you brought it back to the others, shakily beginning to gather them up to put away.

You didn’t want to see Keigo again.

——-

“I just don’t understand!”

Your friend sobbed, surrounded by tissues on your bed, eyes red and blotchy.  You wished you could rub her back, our give her a hug, but you knew what would happen. So you stayed on the floor, passing up tissues and offering wordless sympathy.

“Why would he break up with me? Why?”

You shrugged, looking for words. “I don’t know… I’m sorry that this happened, but if he can’t see how awesome you are, then he’s an idiot.”

She sniffed, blowing her nose. You could tell she wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t say anything further, instead choosing to wipe her eyes.

She had called an hour or so ago, tearful, asking if she could come over. Refused to tell you what was wrong, but the second you let her in, she had burst into tears, explaining everything.

Keigo had broken up with her via text, that asshole.

“I just…. I thought we were good. Did I do something wrong? I just don’t get it.”

“Neither do I. You said he just texted you out of the blue?”

She nodded her head, going to blow her nose again. “We were supposed to go out for dinner tomorrow, it’s our two month anniversary.”

You cringed. Did your encounter with Keigo in the jewelry store have something to do with this? Had you driven your friend’s boyfriend away? Had you weirded him out? Oh god, what if this was all your fault?

Your friend broke down into a sob again, slumping onto your bed. You passed her another tissue. “It’ll be okay. I think he’s a stupid fucker that just wanted to play with your heart.  He isn’t worth shit. You deserve so much better than him.”

She nodded, blotchy eyes seeking out your own. In the back of your mind, you cringed, seeing the exact same scene from your vision. Well, at least the two of you hadn’t gotten in a fight.

——-

A few weeks later, Keigo was at your door.

“You need to leave. Now.”

“Aw, c’mon (Y/N), at least hear me out?”

You huffed, crossing your arms. Maybe he had a dumb explanation for why he had dumped your friend. You were wary of him accidentally touching you again though. “Fine, but make it quick.”

“No promises.” He grinned, breezing past you and into your apartment. He beelined for the chair you had sat in last time he was here, leaving you to take a seat on the couch.

“Alright-“ He settled in, fixing you with a gleeful eye. “How do you feel about your quirk?”

Caught off guard, you blinked. Wasn’t he going to explain why he had broken your friend’s heart? “Um, what?”

“Your quirk, y’know, the one that makes you see the future?” He leaned forward, rubbing his hands together with a smile. He seemed far too pleased, and it made you nervous.

“I hate it. If I could get rid of it, I would.” You stated, ready to move onto a different topic. But just as you were about to ask him about your friend, he rose to his feet, fishing in his pockets.

He drew out a bracelet, black and red, thin. “Well then, lookie what I have.” The man walked over, sitting down quickly on the couch next to you, causing you to immediately scoot to the end. You didn’t want him touching you.

“Oh, sorry.” He apologized upon noticing your unease. Instead of scooting closer, he simply tossed the bracelet onto your lap, leaning back as he watched you look at it curiously. “Put it on, see how it fits.”

“I don’t need jewelry Keigo, and I think we should be spending our time discussing why you bro-“

“Just put it on (Y/N), please? I promise you won’t regret it.”

Huffing, you did as he asked, clasping the bracelet around your wrist. It fit snug, almost too tight, but it hugged your wrist comfortingly. It was pretty, but you didn’t see what this had to do with your quirk, or with your friend, or anything that held any relevancy.

Bracelet now on, you fixed Keigo with a blank stare. “Happy?”

“I don’t know.” Keigo grinned. “Are you?” And then he was hugging you, arms wrapped around your shoulders, face buried in your neck.

You shrieked, already panicking as you tried to ready yourself for the onslaught of  visions that accompanied physical touch.

They never came.

Choking back a surprised gasp, you drew back from his hug to find Keigo’s eyes, the man smiling down at you as he watched your reaction.

“Kei-Keigo…” You stuttered, shocked, surprised, euphoric, confused - so many emotions, all at once. You couldn’t even think to brush off the hands still around your shoulders, thumbs brushing at the tops of your exposed collarbones by the neck of your shirt.

You weren’t able to think rationally, couldn’t focus on anything but the awe you felt at being touched without being slammed with visions of the future.

You forgot about the terrifying visions you had gotten when Keigo touched you.

You forgot about how he had hurt your friend, broke her heart with no explanation.

You forgot about his hands refusing to leave your body.

“Keigo, this is…. Amazing” You breathed, wide eyes snapping up, catching his smiling face, eyes crinkly and twinkly.

“I had my team modify some quirk-cancelling cuffs! You seemed so upset whenever someone touched you, I couldn’t leave you with such a burden.”

Nodding, you returned your gaze to the bracelet, turning your wrist this way and that to look at the bracelet from different angles.

“I mean, I know how much I like being touched, and touching. I think I’d totally die if I couldn’t.” Keigo chuckled, but you weren’t listening.

The rest of his time sitting next to you on the couch was spent explaining the colors he had spent so long picking (“They’re my personal favorite, aren’t they nice?”) and why he had decided on a bracelet (“It could’ve been a necklace, but I think it looks better in it’s original cuff design, looks cooler that way.”).

By the time he had to leave, you were completely sidetracked, so distracted with your shiny new jewelry that you didn’t even remember to ask what his deal was with being a jerk to your friend, his now ex-girlfriend.

-----

“-and then he gave me the bracelet. I wasn’t thinking much after that, I just… I can hug you, isn’t that incredible?”

You gave your friend another squeeze, feeling a smile dance across your face. But then you sobered, pulling back from her with your hands on her shoulders, quickly becoming serious.

“But he’s really starting to kind of weird me out. Why won’t he explain why he broke up with you? He’s being a little bitch. I tried asking him a couple times, but he kept cutting me off, and I feel like the bracelet was a distraction to stop me from busting his chops about his behavior towards you.”

Your friend looked sad for a second, before shrugging. “I dunno, he just said things weren’t working out, and that while he liked me, he’s not ready for a relationship right now ‘cause of where he’s at in his life.”

“Psh-“ You scoffed, going in for another comforting squeeze for your friend. “-that’s code for “I’m a fuckboy and want to sleep around”.”

“I know….. But it still hurts.” You friend sighed, wrapping her arms around your neck. “But at least he gave you that quirk thing. I’ve never seen you so happy.”

“I just wish he was a mildly decent person.” You grumbled, detaching from the hug to sit back, glaring at the ceiling. “He gives me the fucking creeps.”

“How so?” You friend locked her head to the side, throwing her arm over the back of the couch. You had called her over the second Keigo had left, finally gathering your wits about you.

“I dunno…” You shrugged, not quite ready to tell her about the disturbing visions containing him. Did that have something to do with their breakup? Was it your fault? What was going to happen with Keigo? It honestly scared you, the residual feelings and sensations you could remember from the visions.

Your friend nodded understandingly. “Some people just give off those vibes. Well, at least we don’t ever have to see him again. Good riddance I say.”

You agreed.

——-

Knocking on the door, you shuffled your feet as you took in the house.

It was one of those rich places - nice neighborhood, fancy street filled with lavish houses, expensive cars. You felt slightly out of place, shifting from foot to foot in your clearance-rack clothes.

The door swung open, revealing a sleepy Keigo, shirtless, clad in nothing but sweatpants.

“Oh, um-“ You quickly turned, averting your eyes, trying to give the man privacy in case he hadn’t realized he was shirtless. It looked like he had just woken up from a nap, eyes blinking owlishly, hair mussed.

“Hey (Y/N), come on in.”

Still keeping your eyes turned away, you stepped inside the opulent house, trying not to gape too much at the decor inside. You didn’t want to look like a complete peasant in front of Keigo, but he’d already been to your house, so you could imagine that he knew of your poor-ness.

“Something wrong? You can look at me y’know, I’m not gonna turn you to stone or something.” Keigo joked, voice entirely too close for comfort.

Head whipping around, you found that he was too close, practically almost touching you as he stood beside you, head cocked as he watched you.

“No… nothings wrong, you’re just…” You gestured to his torso, and Keigo looked down in confusion, before looking back at you, a grin on his face.

“Ah, just woke up.” He shrugged, before reaching out to touch your arm. “Bracelet still keeping that quirk at bay?”

You nodding, following the blonde as he turned and walked further into his house, towards the kitchen.

“Glad to hear! I just wanted to look at it a bit, make sure nothing’s worn or torn, y’know? Hate for you to have to deal with the no-touching thing again.” He said over his shoulder, gesturing for you to sit down at the island, on one of the barstools.

You did so, watching the man open his fridge, take out a carton of milk, uncap it. “Is it too tight?”

“Nope.”

He drank right out of the bottle, and you watched some dribble out of the corner of his mouth, down his chin. The man finished gulping down the milk, taking the bottle away from his lips to swipe at the white trail of liquid rolling down his chin.

Eyes dark, he made contact with your own eyes as he cleaned his chin with a finger, stuffing it in his mouth to suck it clean.

That was gross.

The next second, he was back to normal, cheerfully putting the milk back into the fridge. “Good, good. Now, mind if I take a look at it? You should keep it on though.”

You nodded, and Keigo straightened, walking around the island to sit next to you, shuffling his stool closer.

He grabbed your wrist, laying it out on the island, before beginning to poke at the bracelet, running his fingers over it, fiddling with it, squeezing the tendons in your hand, smoothing his hand up your arm.

It felt a bit intrusive.

“So the visions are all blocked?”

“Yep.”

“And you can touch and be touched?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s your appetite? Sometimes complete quirk suppression can make you lose your appetite.”

“It’s been normal, I guess I’m a little hungrier than normal, but I’ve been getting out more too, not as afraid of crowds.”

“Nice! And how about your libido?”

You spluttered, choking on your own spit, snatching your hand away from Keigo’s wandering touches.

“Excuse me? That’s a bit personal, thanks.”

Keigo shrugged, bright eyes hooded and lazy. “It’s just a question.”

“Are you done making sure it’s all good? No broken parts?” You changed the subject, narrowing your eyes. You can’t believe your friend had ever dated him, that you had ever thought he was anything but a playboy.

You wouldn’t even be here, in his house, but he had come into the jewelers a while back (both you and your friend had blocked his number), spouting something about your bracelet needing constant checks and maintenance in order to keep suppressing your quirk. (“Wouldn’t want it to stop working, right? Just stop by sometimes, here’s my address.”).

So here you were.

Keigo leaned back a little, raising an eyebrow at your irritated tone of voice. “Woah there, don’t get snippy. I’m doing you a favor, right? I’m not trying to hurt you or something.”

Technically, you guess he was right. But he had played your friend, had fucked with her feelings. He was a fuckboy, liked messing with each and every girl he could find, and you didn’t care to be one of them.

“And I appreciate that Keigo. But I like to keep my private life private.”

Keigo was silent, simply holding out a hand for you to place your arm in, so he could fiddle more with the bracelet.

Several moments of awkward silence passed before he spoke again. “You’re being awfully ungrateful. It makes me think you don’t even want this little gift. If I were you, I’d be doing everything I could to show the person kind enough to do such a thing for me how thankful I was.”

Lost for words, you stared at the man. Was he expecting some sort of award? Some sort of prize? It’s not like you had anything to give him.

“I don’t have anything to give you in thanks. Just my words, which I’ve said plenty of. I didn’t ask you to make this for me.” You pointed out.

“Sure, but you use it, don’t you? You wouldn’t like it if I took it away, right? Think about how miserable your life was before I gave you this.”

Your life had been miserable. Afraid to go out in crowds, afraid to leave the house, Nervous about grocery shopping, about paying and having the cashier touch your hand as they handed over the change.

Scared of public transportation, of coffeeshops and bookstores, of public parks, even your own home. What if one of your roommates forgot and touched you? Or accidentally bumped into you?

Plus, you could hug now, and shake hands, and slap your friends back when she told a horrible joke, or tap her when you wanted her attention.

You didn’t want to go back to before. “I’m sorry Keigo… I really do think it’s lovely, and I can never thank you enough for doing this for me.”

Keigo let go of your arm, and it swung back to your side. You could feel the man looking at you.

“You know what would let me know that you mean it?”

God, it better not be something sexual.

“You could buy me coffee. Or maybe a cookie from that bakery on 1st Avenue, you know the one? With the little bunny pastries?”

That surprised you.

“You go there? That’s my favorite place.” You mused, looking at Keigo in surprise. He didn’t seem the kind of guy who’d like a place like that. But appearances could be deceiving.

“Of course! I really like their stuff.”

“Alright,” You conceded, rising to your feet. “I’ll get you some stuff from there. Want it today?”

Keigo rose to his feet as well, crossing his arms over his bare chest. “Yeah! Let me get dressed real quick, and then I’ll go with you. Don’t go anywhere birdie.” He shot you a wink, before sauntering past you, out of the kitchen.  You raised a brow, surprised. He meant to go with you?

“Make yourself at home while you wait, don’t be afraid to kick up your feet!”  

——-

The bakery smelled as lovely as usual.

A warm atmosphere, good food, friendly employees. It was your favorite place for a reason.

“Alright, what do you want?” You asked Keigo, the two of you staring up at the menu.

“Hmm, I don’t know. What are you going to get?”

“Probably a muffin, those are my favorite.”

“What!?! That’s my favorite too! How crazy.” Keigo smiled at you, dimples showing. You got the feeling that he was brown-nosing you, but you kept the thought to yourself, striding up to the counter to order.

Muffins purchased, you approached Keigo, who was lounging by one of the display cases, admiring the delicate, mouthwatering masterpieces held within.

“All good to go?” His smile was so charming, so friendly, you almost caught yourself wanting to see it more. Huffing in irritation at yourself, you pushed past him, shoving the bag with his muffin into his chest.

“Here’s your stuff. I’m going home now, see you around.”

“Wait!” Keigo turned, jogging a little to catch up as you exited the bakery. “We gotta eat these before they get cold - hey, birdie, are you listening to me?“

You weren’t, stoically keeping your head turned forward, walking with determination. There was only so much of Keigo that you could tolerate, and you had reached your limit. He was starting to really annoy you, didn’t he get that you wanted to go home? You’ll just eat your muffin on the subway, it’s not that hard.

“(Y/N)-“ His sudden growl was punctuated by an arm on your shoulder, spinning you around and pulling you towards the man.

“Hey-!” The sudden collision of your face with his chest knocked your breath away, almost causing you to drop your own muffin in the process.

When you managed to gather yourself, you shot a glare up at Keigo’s face, only to find the blonde smirking down at you, a fierce glint in his eyes.

“I expect you to listen when I’m talking, got it? I don’t like being ignored.”

That’s evident.

You tried to back away, but he still had a hand on your shoulder, squeezing you tight to him. “Keigo! Let me go, you stupid idiot-“

“Stop it, I’m not doing anything to you, ya big baby.” He cooed down at you, before taking his hand away, letting you stumble backwards.

He was just messing with you, teasing you. It was obvious, yet still you allowed him to be around you.

“Alright, I’m sorry, I know all the touching’s gotta be new still. Wanna go eat these in the park? I’ll buy you some ice cream if you want.”

“I don’t want ice cream, I want to go home.”

Keigo frowned, walking after you when you turned on your heel, heading for the subway. “Why do you dislike me so much? I’ve done so much to help you, and yet you spit in my face. Your parents ever teach you how to be grateful? Or even respectful?”

You gasped at his accusation, stopping in your tracks to whirl around, only to find the man far closer than what you had expected. Still, you tried to hide your surprise at his proximity, jabbing a finger in his direction.

“You are a playboy, you broke my friend’s heart, and you want to sleep with every single person you come across just to mess with their feelings. I don’t want to be around you. I won’t get dragged into that.”

The man watched you, face solemn and contemplative. “Is that really how you see me?”

“Why would I say any of that unless it was true?”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking up and around, as if gathering his bearings, before back down at you.

“Have you ever considered that I’m the one getting my heart broken?”

“Yeah right-“ You scoffed, only for Keigo to cut you off.

“People want to sleep with me because they think it’ll get them something that they want. Fifteen second fame, a piece in a tabloid about my “new lover”…. Think it’ll help them further their career, or that I’ll give them money. I can’t find anyone real.

“And my friend wasn’t real enough for you?” You spat, not believing him for a second.

“Nope.  You think she liked me for who I am?”

“Uh, yeah? She gushed to me all the damn time about how good you were, how she felt about you. That girl held nothing but love and affection for you.”

The man snorted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, sure, love for my wallet.”

“She’s not like that.” You argued, brows furrowing.

“Really? Cause she was sucking me dry, and not even in a sexy way.”

You crinkled your nose at what he was implying. Your friend wasn’t like that, she truly had felt for Keigo, had liked him as her boyfriend. She wasn’t just a leech.

“I’m done talking about my failed love life.” Keigo said lowly, nudging your shoulder. “I just thought two friends could hangout, but it seems like you think all I do is try and fuck people.”

“No, Kiego…. That’s not what I meant.” Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but right now…. You almost felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

Some of what he was saying made sense, how people would try and use him for various reasons. But that still didn’t explain his sudden and harsh breakup with your friend. And over text no less, a complete douche move!

But you felt bad about his words, about how he seemed to actually want to hangout, and yet you were accusing him of trying to sleep with you. But what about those visions you had had? Was that even how they went? Or were you remembering falsely based on your bias towards the man?

And what about his suggestive touches, his leering gaze? Was that maybe just how he always was, and it wasn’t exclusive to you? Were you inflating your place in his life, thinking that he wanted you?

It was confusing, and you didn’t want to think about it, try and untangle the lies from the truth. Right now, you just wanted to eat your muffin.

“If you really didn’t mean it, then can we go eat these in the park? I just want to chill with someone that isn’t trying to gain something from me. I want to spend time with someone that’s real.”

With a half-irritated sigh, you nodded, hoping you wouldn’t regret hanging out with the obnoxious man.

-----

He kept calling you, texting you. You’d had to unblock his number at some point, in order for him to text you about the bracelet and when he needed to look at it.

“Come overrrrr, I’m bored!”

“Birdie, are you hungry? The delivery place gave me extra Torikatsu and I don’t want it to go bad. Can I come drop it off?”

He’d swing by the jewelers, leaning over the counter to talk to you about a recent shoot he’d booked, or something he saw recently.

Keigo seemed to slowly insert himself into every facet of your live, against your will, ignoring every subtle, irritated attempt of yours to turn him away. Every single time you saw him, your mind would inevitably think of the visions, but you felt like you couldn’t trust yourself with those anymore.

The man assured you at every step, he had no romantic feelings for you, he just wanted a friend, someone to put him in his place, be honest with him.

You definitely were honest.

Snapping at him when he showed up at your apartment uninvited, coming up behind you on the street and grabbing your sides, laughing when you shrieked and tried to hit your attacker, only to realize it was Keigo.

Tearing into him when he tried to talk badly about your friend - she had been having less and less contact with you, and you couldn’t figure out why. Now your relationship with her was reduced to curt text messages. Maybe she was just going through a hard time, and wanted alone time? Still, you let her know you were there for her, whenever she needed.

You were honest when Keigo asked your opinion on food, TV shows, clothes, movies. It was almost satisfying saying something sucked, just to see Keigo’s face fall slightly, before he shook his head, whining.

“Then help me pick something out! I can’t do it without you-“

He totally could, he was just being a baby.

The more he inserted himself into your life, the more you realized that he was akin to a petulant child, just with muscles and a penchant for inappropriate touching.

Whenever he saw you, he’d try to draw you into a hug, letting his hands drop far down your back, way too low for you to feel comfortable. You’d slap them away, and Keigo would laugh, before ruffling your hair.

He’d have you come over so he could check your quirk suppressor, except he was in the middle of a show, and it was getting to the best part. (“Sit down, shhh, it’s just getting good!”) You’d have to sit through the entire thing, enduring Kiego’s hand lazily drawing shapes over your pants on your thigh, simply putting it back whenever you shoved it off.

He was insufferable, irritating to no end, but you could tell he was a lonely man, bitter about his love life and with his friendships.

So you tolerated his presence.

After all, he wasn’t trying to hurt you. That’s something he reiterated every single time you shied away from his touch. He made you feel like a fool for thinking the man was hitting on you, when he made it so clear that he wasn’t, only interested in friendship.

Until you fell asleep at his house.

Another one of those days were he needed to look at your quirk suppressor (which you were 99% sure was fine, it seemed like he just enjoyed seeing it on your wrist). He had been rummaging around in his room before he had to run and open the front door for you, talking as he walked back to return to his previous task.

Apparently he was trying to find a good shirt, seeing as how he had pants on, but his chest was bare. Keigo instructed you to sit on the bed for a second while he retreated into his massive closet, trying to find a good shirt  to go with the rest of his outfit.

His bedroom was pretty large, a full California King taking up the majority of the space, neatly made. The sheets and blankets felt soft beneath your fingers as you sat on it’s edge, prepared to wait for Keigo for a bit.

The man always took his fashion very seriously - one time he’d even spent two hours trying on clothes until he’d decided on an appropriate outfit to go to the park.

So you followed your tired eyes, exhausted from work and dealing with Keigo, worrying about your friend, daily life stressors and the like.  Keigo wouldn’t mind if you laid back, right? Your feet wouldn’t be on the bed, so it’d be fine.

And it was fine, pleasant, the room the perfect temperature.

You were roughly jerked out of sleep by pressure. Pressure on your hips, pressure on your lips.

Eyes jolting open, you tried to inhale, only to find yourself unsuccessful.

Keigo was on top of you.

Panicking, your hands came to push at him, a muffled sound of protest being squeaked out from where his lips pressed against yours.

Noticing you were awake, Keigo pulled back, smiling the whole while.

“I’m not willing to wait anymore, I just gotta have you.”

His eyes were glinting, hair tousled, still shirtless. You felt goosebumps arise as you remembered the vision you had so long ago, of this exact moment.

“Wai-mmph!” His lips were on yours again, passionate and warm, moving eagerly. A wet tongue pressed at the seam of your mouth, surprising you and making you blanch, which allowed the man access.

Kiego’s tongue explored the inside of your mouth, playfully tapping your own wet muscle, encouraging you to lift it and wrestle with him.

This was too weird, this wasn’t happening, you couldn’t do this-

Biting down hard, you snapped your teeth shut on his tongue, and Keigo yelped, drawing back immediately.

“Ouch, what the fuck!?! Chill out (Y/N), geez.” His hand was dabbing at his mouth, wincing when it came in contact with his bleeding tongue. You had bitten him deep, but you weren’t focused on that right now.

“What are-what are you doing?” Your voice was breathless, disoriented. The room felt…. Dark, and suffocating, as if it was closing in on the two of you, trapping you.

Keigo looked down at you, and it was only then that you realized you had been moved to lie on the bed fully, shoes off, legs splayed. The man rested on his stomach between them, his weight pressed against your body, keeping you still.

“I told you, I can’t wait anymore. I’ve been as nice as I can, but it’s time you started paying me back for everything I’ve done for you.”

What? Paying him back-was he talking about the quirk suppressor he had gifted you? Had he been lying about his true intentions this whole time?

“That’s not right, it was a gift, you-you don’t have to pay back a gift.” You spluttered, feeling as if your chest was collapsing.

Keigo shook his head, swooping down to leave a bloody kiss on your forehead, which you cringed at, before pulling back to speak.

“Nah, it wasn’t a gift. You know how expensive it was? You were always gonna have to compensate me. Now shush, I wanna feel you-“

One of his hands grabbed your jaw, keeping your face turned towards his, pressing down until tears formed in your eyes. His lips were bloody from the bite on his tongue, tasting unmistakably like iron.

You didn’t want this.

Trying to bite him again left you with a slap to your thigh, making you cry out. Keigo huffed out a laugh against your mouth.

He detached from your lips, just to start nibbling at your jawline, elating streaks of red where his lips touched.

“God, you are so sexy. I was trying to chill, but then I came out and you were sleepin’ all cute, and I couldn’t fucking stop myself from touching.”

“Stop doing this, I can pay you with something different. I don’t wanna do this Keigo.” You whispered, on the verge of crying.

“No, I get to decide what you’ll be doing for me, it’s my bracelet-“

“It’s not, you gave it to me, please stop-“

“Shut up.” He growled sinking his teeth into the side of your neck, nipping at the skin hard enough to have you screaming. “You’re so ungrateful, where’s my thanks? I’ve done so much for you.”

“Thank you, thank you Keigo, I appreciate it all-“ You hurried out, hoping it was what he wanted to hear “But I can’t do this, please don’t make me. I wanna go home.”

“There we go, I like the sound of you thanking me. You’re going to thank me for each and every time you cum tonight, got it?”

“No, no, we can’t do this, I can’t! Get off of me, please-“

“You’ll do it, or else I’ll whip you until your flesh hangs off of you in strings.” He hissed, squeezing your jaw cruelly.

The tears in your eyes overflowed as you fell silent.

“Aw, birdie, don’t cry. I’m not gonna hurt you, I never have, right?” He waited for a second, watching your face before he pressed harder, eyes hardening “Right?“

You nodded jerkily, and Keigo came to kiss your tears away, savoring their salty taste as they rolled down your cheeks.

“Keigo, this isn’t right though, please get off me. I don’t want this-“

“You want me to take this away?” A hand caught your shaking wrist, the one that had the quirk suppressor fastened snugly around it, wrenching it up so both of you could see it. “Huh? Put you back where you were in your miserable little life? Running away from everyone, holing up in your apartment, not willing to touch or be touched…”

The very thought made your insides churn, and a fresh round of tears rolled down your face as you shook your head no, lips wobbling as you whined. You felt so pathetic, so small and dumb underneath Keigo.

“That’s what I thought. You’re going to relax now, right? No more begging unless it’s for more.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, beginning to shuffle around until he could slide his hands under your shirt, pressing against your tummy as you flinched away.

“Don’t worry birdie, you’re gonna like every single thing we’re gonna do. You’ve had sex now, yeah? Since I gave you the bracelet?”

You shook your head “no”, it’s not like you were eager for sex before you got it, and all the touching-without-terrifying-visions thing was still new to you, the dating world was being eased into. Somehow though, every single date seemed to be crashed by the man on top of you.

Keigo lit up like a Christmas tree, licking his lips gleefully. “Okay, okay, I can-whew, that’s hot-I can be gentle.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince you, his hands skirting up your ribs, shucking up your shirt as the traveled higher and higher.

“Keigo please-“

“Don’t you dare say stop, I’m not gonna. You’re the first person that doesn’t want anything from me, you’re real, and I’m not stopping.”

His admission made you cringe, recoiling from his touch. He followed you, palms finally smoothing over your breasts, over your bra.

“You’re going to do what I say, or else this-“ Your wrist was wrenched into view, red-and-black bracelet glittering. “-gets removed. And I’ll still do whatever the fuck I want, but you’ll be off in your mind having visions of who-knows-what while I have my way. Got it?”

Your blood chilled, body suddenly feeling ice cold. His tone was dead serious, spitting out the words with a sense of finality.

“So, just lay there and take it birdie, I’ll be good to you.”

[sevenkittensinatrenchcoat]

Cats Historical Hypothesis

So, who wants to hear about the potential history of a few seconds of the 1998 version?

Too bad. This is my channel and I can do what I want.

So, I’m gonna talk about a brief moment that occurs in the 1998 version, as well as a few others and guess about its origins. Why do some productions have it and some don’t? Where did it come from? This is speculation based on comparing 14 different versions (Broadway Revival, Buenos Aires, 1998, German Tent Tour, Hamburg, London circa 2002, Madrid, Mexico 1991, Moscow, Paris, UK Tour 2013, US Tour V, Vienna, and Zurich), and whatever historical trivia I can find on the wiki. This is called a hypothesis for a reason. It’s not proven fact. It’s an educated guess.

Anyway, here’s a screenshot of the thing this essay/tangent will be about:

I’m too lazy to get a version I didn’t type on.

I’m adding a cut for people who don’t care to more easily scroll by this thing.

So, some productions have a joke at the beginning of Gumbie Cat where Misto strikes a pose or otherwise attracts attention to himself, assuming that Munk will sing about him before anyone else, only to quickly realize that that isn’t the case and react accordingly. The exact way this plays out varies between production.

Out of the 14 productions I’ve compared, this gag appears in: Buenos Aires, 1998, Paris, US Tour V, Vienna, and Zurich (where it’s actually more sad than funny).

The fact that all three Vienna-based productions I have access to used it makes it highly likely that it originated there. If it came from Broadway, more of the other Broadway-based, but not Vienna-based productions would have it. But, Buenos Aires and US Tour V are Broadway-based. Where did they get it from? And what about 1998, which is primarily London-based?

So, if you’re looking for something, it helps to look at where it’s not. Buenos Aires was mainly based of the 1991 Mexican Tour, which didn’t include this gag. Hamburg is based on the 1985 Sydney production, which was Broadway-based, and also didn’t include this gag. The London version didn’t include the gag on its closing night (from what I can tell. The bootleg isn’t good quality.)

So, this gag probably originated into Vienna and was then inherited by Paris and Zurich. Zurich, Zurich’s Misto in particular, has a connection to Broadway. Most likely, the Broadway production didn’t include this gag at first, but when Lindsay Chambers, a Zurich Misto, moved on to play the role on Broadway, he brought the gag with him.

This would explain who Buenos Aires includes the gag when Mexico doesn’t. In 1991, Chambers hadn’t yet been cast as Mistoffelees anywhere. But, by 1993, when the Buenos Aires production started, Chambers was playing Misto on Broadway. Though Buenos Aires was mainly following Mexico, changing Broadway trends might’ve led to some changes being made to Misto’s character to match. Buenos Aires Misto does seem to be played a bit younger than his Mexican counterpart, which was another Zurich element Chambers probably brought to Broadway.

As for 1998, Jacob Brent, who played Misto there, was Chambers’ understudy and his version of the character is similar to Chambers’ because of that. Brent probably brought the gag to 1998, and since the gag works well on film, where Misto’s facial expressions can be in close-up, the team decided to add that in.

Then there’s the US Tour. US Tour V started after the Broadway version ended and mostly stuck to whatever the Broadway production was like when it closed. The Chambers/Brent version of Misto was probably kept to the end of that production, and the tour kept that characterization. It was basically the Official Broadway Misto Characterization by that point. And the gag in Gumbie Cat was part of that.

No purely London-based show used this gag. Brent played Misto in London after 1998, but there’s no surviving footage of this. If that gag ever was included in London, it most likely didn’t stick. Even if I’m wrong in my interpretation of the 2002 footage, later London-based productions (UK Tour, German Tent Tour, Moscow) don’t use this gag. Misto’s role in Gumbie Cat is a bit different in those productions and the gag doesn’t fit there.

So, how did all of this happen in the first place? Where did Vienna get this from?

Well, Vienna was in many ways a compromise between London and Broadway, which were both very early in their runs. Vienna’s Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer put the Broadway melody into London’s context, for example. In London, at first, Misto sang lead in Gumbie Cat. This wasn’t changed until over a decade later. On Broadway, that singing role was given to Munkustrap. Vienna went in this direction, but a gag about Misto being the center of attention at the beginning of the number might’ve been a nod to the London version. Vienna was the third replica production, which means that before they came in, the number of replicas where Misto sang Gumbie cat and replicas where Munk sang it was a 50/50 split. It took a minute for Munk and Misto to figure out which one of the them would be singing this time.

Another factor is that Vienna Misto is completely mute. Up until this point, both London and Broadway had large singing roles for Misto, so this was a major change. One of the things that changed was how Misto was introduced to the audience. Singing Mistos usually sing The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball. This calls attention to Misto. He’ll be important later, so we want the audience to pay attention to him. This also served as an Establishing Character Moment. In London, it showed that Misto and Munk were both the narrators. Each one took half of the number. On Broadway, this was Misto being theatrical and putting himself in the spotlight, because he’s Like That.

But, Mute Misto needs a different Establishing Character Moment. In Vienna, this gag showed that, though he didn’t sing, Misto lived for the spotlight just like earlier versions did. When Paris aged the character down, it became more about Misto wanting to prove himself or trying to help, though different versions imply different motivations.

Singing has something to do with this. When Misto is mute, he has fewer opportunities to blatantly attract the spotlight. This element of his character has to be downplayed. It often seems like the Mute Mistos of Paris and Zurich want to be Singing Mistos but can’t. They try to get into the spotlight, but have no idea what to do when they get there.

From the way Zurich Misto responds to realizing that Munk isn’t singing about him, he seems like he just got confused. Though he didn’t sing the Invitation, he still danced with Victoria and was part of this opening act. He helped Munkustrap and now he’s right by his side, looking for acknowledgement. It’s not his turn, so he doesn’t get that acknowledgement. He thought this would go differently and his response is confusion rather than embarrassment. Instead of living for the spotlight, Zurich Misto wants to help and he wants the important people in the tribe to acknowledge him.

1998 Misto sings the Invitation. He’s been established as enjoying the spotlight. So, at the beginning of Gumbie Cat, he tries to stay in the spotlight. While Zurich Misto assumed Munk would acknowledge him for being a helper, 1998 Misto, according to Jacob Brent, who has described this bit in detail, assumed that because he’s a magical prodigy, it was only natural that he’d become the center of attention immediately.

Basically:

Mute Misto + Gumbie Gag= “Didn’t I do a good job? Why are you ignoring me?”

Singing Misto + Gumbie Gag= “Bitch I’m fabulous! Now you’re gonna sing about how great I am, right?”

So, though the gag was made as an Establishing Character Moment for Mute Misto, a Singing Misto version was created. The implication is that Mute Misto has low self-esteem and seeks validation, while Singing Misto aware of how special he is, proud of it, and wants others to acknowledge it.

So, there’s a lot to be said about a few seconds of content.